Tag Archives: food for sleep

Proven Benefits of Full Fat Dairy: Healthy Weight, Bones, Sleep

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full fat dairyWhen was the last time that you purchased whole, full fat yogurt or cheese and ate it without a second thought?

You may be enjoying these foods, but on the other hand, you may prefer non-fat or skim-type dairy foods as they’re supposedly healthier for us.

This isn’t by accident. Full-fat dairy has been shunned by U.S government guidelines for many years. Even today, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that only babies under the age of 2 should drink whole milk. In addition, school lunch programs provide only low-fat milk and no whole milk at all,

As a result, it’s long been expected and encouraged that children and adults only eat low-fat dairy or non-dairy alternatives. But is our avoidance of whole, full-fat dairy justified?

Instead of threatening the body’s health, recent research now suggest what many natural health experts have known all along: full-fat dairy supports our overall health and offers incredible benefits.

European studies have even suggested links between full-fat dairy and lower rates of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. The fats in whole dairy may also play a role in beneficial hormone regulation.

The Many Health Benefits of Full-Fat Dairy

While non-fat dairy offers less than 10 mg of omega 3 fatty acids (healthy fats) per cup, whole, full dairy contains 183 mg per cup! This is a dramatic difference considering that omega-3’s are known to improve risk factors for heart disease, fight inflammation and boost brain health.

Whole dairy is also rich in vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin that depends on the fat content to be absorbed into the body and to be used to generate energy, strengthen the immune system and so much more.

In addition, full-fat dairy is designed to nourish the body, so it is loaded with other nutrients like calcium, magnesium, B vitamins, and selenium.

Together, the contents of whole dairy support the body’s well-being in many ways:

  • Strong, healthy bones
  • Lower risk of obesity
  • Improved brain health
  • Natural sleep remedy
  • Longer lifespan

Whole Dairy and Better Sleep

Warm milk is a well-known and time-tested sleep remedy thanks to its high concentration of magnesium and calcium. Both of these nutrients promote rest and relaxation by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of the body responsible for slowing the heart rate and conserving energy.

In fact, magnesium and calcium trigger the same chemical messengers as sleep drugs like Ambien, which are designed to treat sleep problems but come with many side effects.

If you want to enjoy the powerful mineral-based sleep benefits of whole dairy, consider also using a mineral-based sleep remedy like Sleep Minerals II. These natural sleep aids are growing in popularity as more and more people are seeking to achieve high-quality sleep without the use of sleep drugs.

Sleep Minerals II contains highly absorbable forms of calcium and magnesium.  It’s effective for sleeplessness and insomnia, as well as for heart health, restless leg syndrome, bone strength, menopause insomnia and teenage insomnia. It also contains vitamin D and zinc and is delivered in a softgel form mixed with natural rice bran oil, making it better assimilated than tablets or capsules and providing a deeper, longer-lasting sleep.

L.R.C. of Massachusetts says: “I had become dependent on sleeping drugs and couldn’t sleep without them.  Now I take the Sleep Minerals before bed and I can sleep through the night without drugs.  I’m also able to easily fall back to sleep if I do have to get up.  Another benefit is that this helps alleviate my chronic fatigue and aches and pains.”

With the healthy and effective sleep remedies out there, you should never have to toss and turn through a restless night or resort to sleeping drugs.

And if you aren’t already, you may consider adding some full fat dairy to your diet to benefit from its many health improvements.

For more information on Sleep Minerals II, visit this page.

Food for Sleep: Study Says Salmon Remedies Insomnia

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This natural health news is shared by Nutrition Breakthroughs,
maker of Sleep Minerals II
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A good night’s sleep is one of the four main pillars of health, with the other three being eating healthy food, getting regular exercise, and having a positive outlook.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health reports that up to 70 million U.S. adults experience sleeplessness and insomnia, with 63 billion dollars lost each year in productivity.

On a personal level, those who have trouble sleeping are familiar with the many ways it affects their lives.  In an effort to help people sleep better, research scientists are discovering that eating certain foods can have a profound effect on the quality of sleep.

One good example is a recent study from the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.  Researchers in Norway have combined two of the major health pillars into one by proving that eating fish has a positive impact on good sleep and overall daily functioning.

In this study, 95 males were divided into two groups: one that ate salmon three times per week, and the other group that ate an alternative meal (chicken, pork or beef). During the 6 month study period, their quality of sleep was measured in several ways including the amount of time needed to fall asleep, and the actual time spent sleeping in bed vs. their time awake.

The results showed that eating fish had a positive impact on sleep in all the ways it was measured. The researchers mentioned that fish is a source of the amino acid tryptophan, which is a precursor for melatonin, and that other studies have found tryptophan in foods increases sleepiness in the evening. The fish group also reported better daily functioning, alertness and performance.

In this study, vitamin D levels were also found to have a significant impact on sleep quality.  Blood samples were collected during the study that measured the participant’s vitamin D, and those in the fish-eating group had a level that was closer to optimum.  The study revealed a major, positive relationship between daily functioning and a better vitamin D level.  Those eating the salmon had higher levels of vitamin D and had better sleep quality, shorter wake times, and a higher percentage of sleeping time while in bed.

The study also uncovered that eating fish creates a positive improvement in heart rate variability.  This is a measurement of the length of time between heart beats, and a greater variability between the beats shows that a person is stronger, more adaptive and physically flexible.  In addition, the fish group had a significant increase in basic heart power.

Several other foods have also been proven to help with sleep and insomnia such as bananas, walnuts, tart cherries, turkey, almonds, and supplements containing vitamin D, zinc, calcium and magnesium.  In a study from the European Neurology Journal, researchers uncovered that calcium levels were higher in the body during the deepest levels of sleep and that insomnia is related to a calcium deficiency.  When the blood calcium level was normalized, optimum sleep was restored.

This natural health news is provided by Nutrition Breakthroughs, a publisher of nutrition articles and a supplier of effective natural remedies since 2002. Nutrition Breakthroughs makes Sleep Minerals II, the effective natural sleep aid with calcium, magnesium, zinc and vitamin D, and also Joints and More, the natural solution for joint relief, aches and pains, stronger hair and nails and more energy.

 

Reference: Fish Consumption, Sleep and Daily Functioning – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4013386/

Insomnia Remedies: The Science Behind Sleep-Inducing Foods

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sleep foodsThe type of foods we eat in the evening can have a pronounced effect on the quality of our sleep. One of the keys to a restful night’s sleep is to calm and relax the brain, rather than stimulating it.

Certain foods are a natural insomnia remedy that contributes to restful sleep, while others keep us alert and awake.

The calming foods contain the amino acid tryptophan, which is a precursor to the sleep-inducing substances serotonin and melatonin.  Two recent studies confirm that eating more carbohydrates than protein increases tryptophan production, while eating a higher protein ratio increases tyrosine – an amino acid related to a stimulated, alert frame of mind.

One key study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is titled “High-Glycemic-Index Carbohydrate Meals Shorten Sleep Onset”. The glycemic index measures the effect of different types of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Researchers at the University of Sydney Australia gave two different kinds of meals to the study participants, a few hours before bedtime. They found that a carbohydrate-based, high glycemic index meal resulted in a significant shortening of the time needed to fall asleep, compared with a low glycemic meal. (Feb. 2007, Vol. 85, No. 2).

In another study done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, scientists honed in on specific measurements of tryptophan vs. tyrosine in the brain, based on whether carbohydrates or proteins were eaten at breakfast.  Blood samples were collected after the meals, and the researchers concluded that a carbohydrate-rich diet raises tryptophan levels, while high-protein foods depress it. (Amer. J. of Clinical Nutrition, Jan 2003, Vol. 77, No. 1).

For those who need to stay alert and sharp during the day, high protein, medium-carbohydrate meals are best eaten for breakfast and lunch. For dinner and bedtime snacks, eat a meal or snack that is high in healthy carbohydrates, with a small amount of protein that contains just enough tryptophan to relax the brain.

According to William Sears, M.D., “The best bedtime snack is one that has both complex carbohydrates and protein, and perhaps some calcium. Calcium helps the brain use the tryptophan to manufacture melatonin. This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods.”

Dr. Sears recommends that foods high in carbohydrates and calcium, and medium-to-low in protein, make the most ideal sleep-inducing bedtime snacks. Some examples are whole-grain, gluten-free cereal with milk, oatmeal and raisin cookies with a glass of nutmilk or regular milk, or an almond butter sandwich with ground sesame seeds.

Sesame seeds are rich in tryptophan. Other foods that are high in tryptophan, which can be combined with healthy carbohydrates to become natural sleep remedies, are whole grains, lentils, chickpeas, beans, eggs, sunflower seeds, and miso. As always, it’s best to stay away from caffeine, sodas and nicotine in the evening.

The well-known nutritionist Adelle Davis writes about the roles of calcium for sleep in her book “Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit”.  She discusses a natural insomnia remedy and says: “A calcium deficiency often shows itself by insomnia, another form of an inability to relax. The harm done by sleeping tablets, to say nothing of the thousands of dollars spent on them, could largely be avoided if the calcium intake were adequate.”

Sleep remedies containing highly absorbable, quick acting forms of calcium and magnesium, such as Sleep Minerals II from Nutrition Breakthroughs can be helpful with both falling asleep and staying asleep during the night.  This natural sleep remedy contains highly absorbable forms of calcium, magnesium, zinc and vitamin D – all combined in a softgel with carrier oils. Oils such as rice bran oil have been shown to increase mineral absorption and reduce calcium excretion.

P. P. of Houston, TX. says: “I am a physician in Texas. I had developed sleeping problems and took sleep medications for several weeks – Ambien and then Lunesta. I discontinued them and then I had terrible rebound insomnia. At that time, I literally got only about 20 hours of sleep in 6 weeks. I was staring at the ceiling all night long, praying to God for some sleep. Then I found Sleep Minerals II on the Internet. I’ve been taking it for a couple of weeks and now I get a full 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night. This is a great way to help people without unhealthy sleep medications. As a doctor, I would never prescribe sleeping drugs – I would recommend Sleep Minerals II.”

In conclusion, bedtime snacks and dinners that are high in carbohydrates, low-to-medium in protein, and contain calcium, will help you relax in the evening and set you up for a good night’s sleep.  And an effective natural sleep remedy such as Sleep Minerals II can also be taken before sleep and during the night if you find yourself waking up and unable to go back to sleep. Here’s to your good sleep.

For more information visit the Sleep Minerals II page.