Category: antioxidant

Diabetes is a disease that causes an abnormal increase of blood sugar levels. The trigger is a deficit in the production, and therefore the efficacy, of insulin, the hormone produced by the pancreas that keeps glucose levels in check in the blood (glycemia).

Consequently, diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s metabolism, influencing the way food is transformed into energy. Another physiological reaction affected by diabetes is the production of free radicals, which are responsible for oxidative stress and which, in turn, can increase the risk of heart disease, as well as damage to the retina, kidneys and nerves.

This is why it is worth remembering that an appropriate intake of antioxidant vitamins can help to reduce the negative effects of oxidative stress in diabetes sufferers.

The benefits of vitamins and minerals on diabetes

As explained, a correct intake of vitamins and minerals has a significant impact on fighting oxidative stress in diabetes sufferers. This is why the first precaution to take is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, eating fruit and vegetables regularly.

Vitamins and minerals that must be assured in order to control any complications linked to diabetes are:
 

• Vitamin B1: a precious vitamin for the health of a diabetic heart, the benefits of which help to prevent cardiovascular complications in patients suffering from both type 1 diabetes (present from childhood), and type 2 diabetes (which occurs due to a sedentary lifestyle).
• Vitamin D: is essential not only for the health of the bones but the whole body. A study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore demonstrated that vitamin D helps to reduce the risk of a heart attack, a stroke or type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
• Vitamin C and E: the benefits of vitamins C and E have a number of implications and, in particular, are excellent antioxidants for the memory and brain health. In fact, diabetes tends to expose the nerve cells in the brain to greater oxidative stress caused by the inefficient use of sugars and the consequent intense production of free radicals.
• Magnesium: some minerals are also a key factor in controlling the side effects of diabetes. Magnesium plays a fundamental role in heart function, neuromuscular communication, blood pressure and muscle contractions.
• Selenium: people suffering from diabetes often have to cope with selenium deficiency. This mineral is very useful for intestinal and thyroid health, and is also a valid support for regulating normal glucose metabolism.

How to integrate vitamins in the diet when suffering from diabetes

With diabetes, it is essential to keep the body weight in check, to ensure correct glycaemic compensation and avoid the onset of complications. But you don’t need to adopt a drastic diet or, even worse, one that lacks vital nutrients for health: the important thing is to ensure the body the right intake of vitamins and nutrients, avoiding some mistakes that put health at risk when eating.

The Mediterranean diet is the best alternative, as it is rich in fibres from fruit and vegetables and whole wheat cereals and low in animal fats. A few extra tips:

• Prefer fish to meat, particularly oily fish.
• All vegetables are fine, particularly leaf vegetables including lettuce, chard, spinach, chicory, and root vegetables including carrots, beetroot, turnips, broccoli, fennel and cabbage.
• And make sure there are pulses in the diet, as these are a source of vitamins, mineral salts and fibre, helping to increase the feeling of fullness
• Prefer whole grain products, as they are rich in fibre.

H2: Vitamin supplements for diabetes sufferers

ApportAL® products are nutritional supplements formulated to ensure an effective antioxidant action in the body, supporting the health of the immune system and compensating any nutritional deficiencies.

They are also very well tolerated even by diabetes sufferers, who will find the ApportAL® range to be a valid and protective support to fight all the side effects caused by this disease. All this is possible thanks to the presence of 19 nutrients, including five fundamental minerals developed with the innovative Sucrosomial® Technology: Selenium, Iron, Zinc, Iodine and Magnesium.

When the first seasonal ailments appear, or whenever we feel weak and lacking in energy, it is always a good idea to top up on vitamin C. It is well known that vitamin C, ascorbic acid, offers many benefits for the body. Among these, research in recent years has shown that vitamin C also has positive effects on cardiovascular health, reducing the risk of heart disease.

According to a recent study by the American Heart Association, low vitamin C levels are associated to a high concentration in the body of a special protein called high sensitivity C-Reactive protein (hsCRP), a marker for inflammations and a risk factor for heart disease. With strong antioxidant powers, vitamin C raises the immune system barriers and helps the body to prevent the risk of heart attacks and general atherogenesis.

Vitamin C is also important for cardiovascular health as it plays an important role in fighting free radicals and cholesterol. But that’s not all: it helps to strengthen the blood vessel walls and prevent the coronary arteries from shrinking. And we mustn’t forget that vitamin C is also fundamental for preventing heart disease as it improves vasodilation, the ability of the arteries in the heart to widen when a greater blood flow is required.

Which foods are rich in vitamin C

Above all, fruit and vegetables are richest in vitamin C, even though this concentration can vary depending on the storage conditions, the type of cooking and degree of ripening.

In fact, vitamin C is sensitive to light, heat and oxygen, and this leads to a loss of between 30 and 50% when cooked for a long time.

The most effective methods for conserving most of the available vitamin C, especially for some vegetables, are steaming, pressure cooking, pan or oven cooking, without excessive heat.

As vitamin C is hydrosoluble (i.e., it dissolves in water), the body does not store vitamin C but eliminates it in the urine. So to have the right intake, it must be consumed regularly in the diet. The following foods must be included in the diet to ensure vitamin C intake:

• Citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, grapefruit, lime, mandarins etc.)
• Pineapple
• Melon
• Kiwi
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Lettuce (fresh)
• Radicchio
• Spinach
• Broccoli 
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Potatoes (especially new)

Supplements containing vitamin C

When a healthy, varied diet is not enough to provide the right amount of vitamin C, supplements can help to strengthen the immune system and fight both free radicals and all the diseases linked to the deficiency of this essential vitamin.

Apportal® and Apportal® Vital are nutritional supplements with an antioxidant function, formulated to ensure a complete charge of vitamins and minerals for the body, stimulating the immune response and helping the body to defend itself from heart disease.

The change of seasons often brings a number of side effects due to stress and tiredness. Both when the temperature increases and there is more daylight, and when the cold starts to creep beneath our clothes and the darkness drastically reduces the amount of time we can spend outdoors, these changes can significantly affect our body.

It is not unusual to feel irritable and tired as we adapt to the new temperatures, habits and rhythms. These are passing, natural and physiological conditions, but if neglected they can affect our physical and mental well-being, even compromising our quality of life and limiting the energy we have available during the day.

Symptoms of stress from change of seasons: how to recognise them

It is not just particular fatigue that acts as an alarm bell for stress from change of seasons. Other symptoms, while only transitory and not dangerous, can interfere with the management of our daily tasks.

Here are some of the most common symptoms underlying the stress from change of seasons:

• Insomnia or excessive sleepiness
• Migraine
• Irritability
• Fatigue
• Lack of appetite or nervous eating
• Weakening of the immune system

As explained, these are all short-term side effects. However, they can be combated and relieved in order to better cope with the transition from the warm to cold season, or vice versa.

How to combat stress from change of seasons

Let’s start by underlining, once again, that the best ally for fighting all the symptoms of the change of seasons is a healthy lifestyle, with regular physical activity and a balanced diet.

Practising physical activities regularly, even for just 15 minutes a day, helps to improve the production of energy by the body, stimulating the metabolism and mood and improving sleep quality.

At the same time, a diet rich in both fresh fruit and nuts, vegetables, whole wheat cereals and lean meat is the first step to positively affect the body and reduce physical and mental fatigue.

In particular, group B vitamins and vitamin C are effective in coping with the symptoms of the change of seasons, without forgetting the benefits of iron, magnesium, vitamin D, arginine and carnitine.

Which foods are rich in these precious substances? Here are some that are readily available in supermarkets and easy to include in your usual diet:

Vitamin B

• Whole wheat cereals (bread, pasta, rice, flour and breakfast cereals)
• Yeast
• Pork
• Legumes
• Nuts
• Milk and milk by-products
• Eggs
• Green leaf vegetables
• Liver

For example, a simple and complete meal for ensuring a rich quantity of vitamin B without having to work too hard in the kitchen is a salad with lettuce or spinach, boiled eggs, beans or pumpkin seeds, with whole wheat bread croutons. Extra-virgin olive oil is also the ideal condiment to combat stress and low levels of vitality, as it is rich in antioxidant properties.

Vitamin C

• Citrus fruits (orange, mandarin, grapefruit, lime, lemon)
• Kiwi
• Grapes
• Redcurrants
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Strawberries
• Melon
• Mango
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Peppers

Substantially, fruit is rich in vitamin C and, as all nutritionists advise, it must be included in a healthy, balanced diet.

Iron

• Liver
• Meat, particularly turkey
• Fish
• Clams and shellfish
• Egg yolk
• Legumes
• Dry mushrooms
• Nuts
• Whole wheat cereals
• Dark green leaf vegetables

Magnesium

• Almonds
• Cashews
• Peanuts
• Hazelnuts
• Pistachio nuts
• Walnuts
• Dry chick peas
• Sweetcorn
• Lentils
• Cooked chard
• Cooked spinach
• Artichokes
• Courgettes
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Potatoes
• Fennel
• Peppers
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Nuts are therefore the best source of magnesium available through food. The trick is to consume them more often, perhaps adding to a salad: in addition to the nutritional benefits, this will also make it more tasty and appetising.

Vitamin D

• Cod liver oil
• Oily fish, particularly mackerel, herring, tuna and salmon
• Oysters and prawns
• Fatty cheese
• Butter
• Egg yolk
• Mushrooms

Mushrooms are therefore the only vegetable source of vitamin D and should never be left out of a varied diet, particularly if fresh and not in oil. The best way to increase the absorption of vitamin D in any case is in the sunlight. Just a few minutes walk outdoors every day can meet the daily requirement.

Arginine

• Poultry
• Bresaola
• Tuna fish
• Mackerel
• Sardines
• Cod
• Sole
• Peanuts
• Pistachio nuts
• Cashews
• Hazelnuts
• Walnuts
• Legumes

Carnitine

• Mutton, lamb, beef, pork, rabbit
• Cheese
• Fish

H2: Supplements in sachets to fight the symptoms of the change of seasons

If your diet, sports and, generally, your balanced lifestyle are not sufficient for coping easily with the change of seasons, it is possible to make recourse to complete nutritional supplements.

ApportAL^® (link) contains a combination of vitamins and minerals suited to helping the normal functioning of the body and the immune system, and is a valid support against tiredness and fatigue.

We often hear talk of oxidative stress  and more or less effective remedies to fight it. But what does this actually mean?

Oxidative stress refers to the hyper-production of oxidative chemical substances, a number of alterations affecting the tissues and cells due to excessive exposure to oxidising agents.

Causes of oxidative stress

Free radicals, i.e., waste products of the body that form inside the cells due to a number of external factors, are responsible for oxidative processes. Some of the most frequent factors in everyday life include:

• Pollution
• Active and passive smoke
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Smog
• UV radiation
• Aggressive chemicals
• Stress
• Incorrect drug intake

Free radicals can cause serious damage to the cells and the DNA. Luckily, the body contains antioxidant substances and enzymes, which help to prevent, and in some cases, neutralise the formation of free radicals. However, when the level of free radicals in the body exceeds the counteracting capacity of these antioxidants, we talk of oxidative stress (also known as REDOX imbalance).

Symptoms of oxidative stress

The symptoms of oxidative stress are not always easy to identify, but generally them come in the form of:

• Migraine
• Muscle pain
• Digestion problems
• Frequent and abundant sweating
• Early skin ageing
• Vitiligo
• Hair weakening

In the most severe cases, the immune system reacts to the oxidative stress triggering a serious tissue inflammation, and this often leads to diseases such as diabetes, depression, obesity, heart problems and neurological and degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers.

Oxidative stress remedies

If oxidative stress is suspected, the recommendation is to seek specialist medical advice, with careful examinations and a diagnosis based on objective data.

Generally, every day we can effectively fight oxidative stress by adopting a healthy lifestyle, starting, as always, with our diet. The proliferation of free radicals can be actively fought with a diet rich in foods containing natural antioxidant substances. The recommended foods obviously include fruit and vegetables, specifically:

• Black grapes
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Plums
• Avocado
• Kiwi
• Citrus fruits
• Goji berries
• Carrots
• Green cabbage
• Tomatoes

As well as other foods, including:

• Whole wheat cereals
• Green tea
• Bitter cocoa
• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Cashews
• Dates
• Dried figs

But the fight against oxidative stress goes beyond food: avoid a sedentary lifestyle, always use sun cream when out in the sun and avoid the excessive intake of sugars and harmful substances.

What are antioxidants

As explained, antioxidants are our body’s weapon for fighting free radicals, the primary enemy of cell well-being.

The main antioxidants are vitamins A, B, C and E, and Coenzyme Q10 and some oligo elements, including selenium, manganese, copper and zinc, which help the antioxidant enzymes that are produced by the body to function.

Some foods are naturally rich in these: most worthy of mention are nuts, one of the foods that contains the highest levels of antioxidants. Many studies have also shown that red wine, obviously when drunk with moderation, offers benefits due to the antioxidant properties of polyphenols.

Nutritional supplements for oxidative stress

ApportAL® products help the body’s defence system with a formulation rich in antioxidant nutrients. Vitamins A, C and E, Selenium, Coenzyme Q10 are in fact some of the nutrients contained in ApportAL® that help to prevent the formation of free radicals and also support the body during more intense stressful periods.