All Ages

Top Tips to Lose Weight and Make 2022 Your Happiest Year Yet

VPH 1 Comment 19 January 2022

If your New Year’s resolution is to find the fastest way to lose weight and be healthier, these motivating tips will get you started. There’s something exciting about starting off the New Year with a fresh set of goals – new year-new you. Want to know how to burn fat fast? Here are some top tips to help you reach your goal.

Don’t Starve Yourself

To burn fat you need to eat less, right? Well, not quite. Quality over quantity; the types of foods you eat is more important than the volume.

You might think you need to be overly strict with yourself when losing weight, but this confining method ultimately leaves us feeling hungrier and more deprived.

By replenishing up on nutritious low energy density foods, like fruit and veg, and foods that are most filling – or fulfilling– like lean meat, fish, eggs, pasta and potatoes, you can actually eat larger amounts of food and feel more satisfied whilst still losing weight.

Weight loss shakes are also a good alternative to meals if you live a busy lifestyle or find yourself gravitating towards junk food for a quick hunger fix. If weight loss shakes sound perfect for you, VitaProHealth sells a variety of meal replacement and weight loss shakes designed to provide you with all the nutrients you need.

It’s OKAY to Walk Before You Run

Dieting alone produces a weight loss of 1-2lb per week. The addition of activity, three or four times a week, creates an additional weight loss of 1-2lb a month.

Adding exercise into your routine preserves muscle tissue and increases the amount of fat you lose when you lose weight, which includes that pesky face fat. What is most important is making exercise a regular habit – as natural to your day as brushing your teeth.

If you’re looking to join a gym in the New Year, read our blog on 5 Workouts for Beginners to Get You Started at the Gym.

Be kind to yourself

It’s easy to beat yourself up for going off track with your healthy eating, but the truth is that we’ve all been there.

While self-criticism often leads to comfort eating and giving up completely, when people learn to be kind to themselves, they quickly get back to healthy eating, lose weight and keep it off. So, cut yourself some slack.

Remember, there is no instant fat-burning rescue remedy pill, everything takes time. Just keep reminding yourself that. In order to avoid becoming trapped in the yo-yo diet cycle, it’s important to approach weight loss as a permanent change and focus on developing new healthy habits that are sustainable for life.

Have Any Questions?

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any enquiries. Contact us by email via info@vitaprohealth.com. Our team would be happy to assist you with any of your enquiries.

Routine, Slimming All Ages

5 of the Greatest Foods for Your Healthy Weight Loss Journey

VPH 0 Comments 19 January 2022

Healthy bodies come in all forms and sizes. Whilst weight loss is not a supernatural remedy for health and not everyone needs to track weight loss, you might work towards it to feel healthier. Combined with regular exercise, your diet can affect your health results. If weight loss is your aim, these 5 foods may help maintain a healthy weight loss journey.

Whole Eggs

Eggs have made a huge comeback! They’re extremely nutrient-packed. Remarkably, almost all its nutrients are found in the yolks — like choline and vitamin D — yet egg whites provide 4–6 grams of protein each. These can be found in our Routine Brain Function Support and Routine Advanced Immuno Defence.

They’re high in protein and fat, thus aiding you in feeling full. Acknowledging your body’s internal fullness and hunger cues can help you reach or maintain a healthy weight.

Feeling full can help combat overeating driven by feeling excessively hungry. Therefore, eating eggs maintains your weight loss goals whilst also packing healthy nutrients into your day.

Tuna

This lean fish is high in protein, supplying you with healthy fats whilst keeping you full. Alongside this Tuna is particularly high in omega 3 fatty acids. They’re good for the body, and they’re thought to decrease cholesterol, increase brain function, and improve eye health. Vitamin B12 is abundant in this food. Tuna is high in vitamin B12, a B vitamin that aids in the formation of new red blood cells in the body.

Among these healthy fats is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a form of omega-3 fatty acid, which benefits your heart. VitaProHeath’s Routine Omega 369 and Routine Krill Oil Capsules both contain this essential healthy fat, which also helps your brain and eyes.

Nuts

Nuts are high-fat foods that also provide you with protein, fibre, and other plant compounds that benefit heart health. Studies have shown that eating nuts can improve metabolic health and even promote weight loss. Try our Routine Maca Capsules for more help on this.

Mind your portion sizes if your goal is to lose weight. Eating a handful of unsalted nuts at first and see how you feel after 15–20 minutes. If you still feel hungry, try half of another handful and give yourself some time to digest.

Chilli Pepper

Like our Routine Organic Turmeric Blend, they contain capsaicin, a substance that makes chillies spicy. Capsaicin improves how quick your body metabolises fat and increases your feeling of fullness. Together, these support your healthy weight loss journey. Red capsicums aid in the activation of thermogenesis and the rise of metabolic rate. As a result, unlike spicy peppers, they have a modest thermogenic effect that boosts metabolism without raising heart rate or blood pressure. As a result, capsicums can help you lose weight.

Full-Fat (Whole) Greek Yoghurt

Greek yoghurt is great for weight management, as it has twice the amount of protein as regular yoghurt, containing probiotic bacteria that can improve the function of your gut. Look in the ingredients list for a mix of probiotic strains, such as Bifidobacterium infantis.

VitaProHealth’s Multi-Strain Function, Gut Serenity and Routine Flora Pro all contain these beneficial bacteria, check them out! Full-fat dairy is associated with a lowered chance of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes over time.

The bottom line

Many foods are delicious, and help your goals to reach a healthier weight. Along with moderation, regular exercise, eating these nutritious foods, along with supplements should pave the way to a healthy life.

At VitaProHealth, your health is our priority. We have specialists that know what you need to better your physical and mental wellbeing. Visit our website for lifestyle and supplements advice. Take a look at our lifestyle page for Slimming for tips and tricks. Contact us today by email at info@vitaprohealth.com

Slimming All Ages

How Boxing Can Help You Lose Weight

VPH 0 Comments 19 January 2022

Boxing is an exercise for both the mind and body. The aim of boxing is to have control over your body and its action. Regardless boxing can be whatever you make of it such as stress release, building strength or even a way to channel your anger.

Want to know how boxing can aid you to get you into the best shape of your life? Here are four reasons why boxing is the perfect workout for weight loss.

Prerequisite Before Starting

Firstly, you need to have a satisfying breakfast, it will give you the energy you need to perform. Here are some ideas on what foods will give you the required energy to finish your workout. For example, scrambled eggs, cereal, porridge, bananas or even protein shakes.

At VitaProHealth, we have a range of protein powders to help you build the body of your dreams. Here is a list of our protein powders.

If you are looking for more supplements to help get to your ideal body, check out our range of products to see what we offer.

Intense Cardio Workout

Everyone knows cardio is the way to go if you want to lose weight. But simply sweating it out on a treadmill can be tiring and very boring. No one likes doing the same thing every single day. While steady-state cardio can definitely help you burn calories and aid weight loss, it’s very hard to keep up because you can have no more gain due to your body having adapted to it.

Enter boxing, the ultimate cardio workout that will engage both your upper and lower body. Also, helps your reflexes like a praying mantis. Boxing trains cardiovascular strength and endurance more effectively than the majority of the workouts available today. Boxing has the power to condition the human body into an energy-efficient machine. Take one look at the body of a professional boxer, and you’ll see an incredibly lean and cut athlete that is in prime condition.

The intensive pad work exercises in boxing and the constant fast-paced repetition of striking and punching techniques are great in developing enhanced aerobic and anaerobic respiration.

Full Body Workout

Boxing isn’t just about punching or attacking. It’s so much more than that. There’s head movement, footwork, defensive techniques such as dodge, as well as workouts to develop power and speed. More importantly, boxing is a full-body workout as it engages the entire upper and lower body.

Boxing workouts allow you to stimulate muscle fibres that you have never used in a while which is, you will discover, explosive strength you never had before. This is because most of the muscles used in boxing workouts are fast-twitch muscle fibres that are often neglected in traditional workouts.

Set Fire To Your Belly Fat

Burning calories and melting fat aren’t complete without building lean muscle. The movements and techniques in boxing, fortunately, allow practitioners to build lean muscle and look extra cut and ripped.

If you’ve ever wanted those six-pack abs and that well-defined chest and arms, boxing can get you there. Boxing is very intense, one that engages every part of your body. So you can be sure that you are targeting all areas you would like to improve aesthetically.

However, boxing ultimately makes you a better all-rounded athlete. Boxing is one of those sports that enhances every aspect of your physical capability.

How Can We Help!

At VitaProHealth, we value you as the customer and want you at your best. We have specialists that know what you need to better your physical and mental wellbeing. Regardless, don’t hesitate to visit our website for lifestyle advice and supplements. Take a look at our lifestyle page for Slimming for tips and tricks.

General Health All Ages

Everything You Need To Know About Dry January

VPH 0 Comments 19 January 2022

New Year, it is time to revisit your Dry January promise. At the end of the Christmas period, we always say to ourselves “never drinking like that again” or “I want to cut down on the amount of alcohol I drink”. Dry January is used as a way to spread awareness of the effects alcohol has on your body. This is a month-long challenge that encourages you to go 31 days without alcohol. What a brilliant way to give yourself a break!

How does Alcohol Affect the Body?

Like anything you eat or drink, there are after-effects on your body. Alcohol has short-term and long-term effects on your body. Many of these effects are down to the number of alcohol units you have within a period of time.

Alcohol Short Term Effects:

Here is a list of the short-term effects:

Feelings of relaxation
Changes in mood
Slowed or slurred speech
Impulsive behaviour
Trouble focusing
Loss of coordination
Gaps in memory this is also known as blackout drunk
Changes in hearing, vision and perception
Being giddy

As well as the effects of drinking the next day (hangover), such as nausea, headache and dizziness.

Alcohol Long Term Effects:

Here are some of the long-term effects of drinking:

Insomnia
Changes of mood
Weakness of the immune system
Changes in libido (sex drive)
Changes in appetite and weight
Problems with memory
Difficulty focusing

What Counts As Too Much Alcohol?

Do you look at the recommended amount you should drink on a night out? Does it cross your mind? Do not worry if it does not, but maybe you should look into this.

Like calorie intake, there is a recommended amount of alcohol you should be having so it does not have a massive effect on your body. For both men and women, it is recommended that you shouldn’t be having more than 14 units a week. It is advised that if you regularly drink, you should spread these units across three or more days within a week. This allows your body time to remove the alcohol from your system.

What happens if you drink more than the recommended amount?

If you binge drink or drink a large number of units regularly, you may be at risk of other health conditions. If you are drinking more than 14 units of alcohol per week for over 10 years, you have a higher chance of getting these types of illnesses:

Cancers of the mouth, throat and breasts
Increased risk of having a stroke
Heart disease
Liver disease
Brain damage
Damage to the nervous system

There is also some evidence that constant drinking of more than 14 units a week may cause your mental health to deaerate.

Additional Information

Alcohol change has an app that helps to keep track of the amount of money you have saved by not drinking called Try Dry.

Here are some more sites with info on how much alcohol (units) is recommended per week:

How We Help

Here at VitaProHealth, we provide the highest quality supplements available to help you with your needs. Whether you looking for supplements to help perk you up during Dry January or if you want to look after your health within 2022, we can help you there.

Our supplements are the best vitamins and minerals for people who keep vegan helping to give their bodies everything they would need. If you have, any questions about what the best vitamins are for you or want to know more about our general health page. If you have any queries please contact us via email at info@vitaprohealth.com.

Slimming All Ages

5 Supercharged foods for weight loss

VPH 1 Comment 12 January 2022

Weight loss is not only about exercising, but also about having a balance between dieting and exercise. There are certain food categories called supercharged food that will aid you in your weight loss journey. These foods have various properties to help you lose weight. But remember, to maximise your outcome, it needs to be in sync with your exercise plan to make the most impact. If you are unsure of where to start, here are some foods you should start introducing into your diet to get started in your weight loss journey.

Broccoli is being underestimated compared to all supercharged foods

Vegetables will be beneficial for you in the grand scheme of things. But increasing the consumption of a type of vegetable family called “cruciferous vegetables”, for example, broccoli will aid and reduce weight over a long period of time. Broccoli is a type of supercharged food called “nutrient-dense”. This is a term used to state that the food is high in nutrients but relatively low in calories. Even though you might introduce broccoli into your diet and expect results immediately, it does not work like that. This type of food will be beneficial for you in the long run. So keep eating your greens! Nevertheless, adding broccoli should be a vital part of your diet to help make the weight loss journey healthier. Most people hate broccoli but integrating it into your meal can be as simple as putting broccoli into your salad as well as other vegetables.

Eggs are the peak of all supercharged foods

What is a full English is classed as supercharged food? You guessed right, eggs. However, you should remember what is inside and eggs. Think of eggs like Pandora box, no one knows what nutrients are inside it. But there are a heap of benefits, such as vitamin B12, phosphorus, riboflavin and selenium. One property that eggs possess is having a feeling of fullness. This is due to the high level of proteins eggs contain. This, therefore, helps your weight loss journey due to feeling full. There are many different ways to eat your eggs. Some people like the running, some people like them fully cooked. One type of egg that is beneficial and delicious to eat is hard-boiled eggs. These eggs are a nice snack with some salt and pepper or whatever you personally put on them. You can also enjoy eggs in omelettes, breakfast burritos and stir-fries.

Sweet Potatoes is a lite snack of all supercharged foods

Sweet potatoes are a vibrant, delicious, and nutritious supercharged food. They are loaded with antioxidants, along with vitamins A and C, manganese, and B vitamins. What’s more, sweet potatoes are high in fibre, which slows metabolism. You can bake, mash, boil, or sauté sweet potatoes and enjoy them as a filling snack or side dish. This is a healthier option compared to chips and will provide you with a lot more benefits.

Chickpeas provides the most harmony of all supercharged foods

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a type of legume closely related to other types of beans, including kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans. Each serving of chickpeas contains manganese, folate, phosphorus, and copper. Chickpeas are also high in fibre and protein, which can slow digestion, regulate your appetite, and promote weight loss. You can swap chickpeas in for other sources of protein in meals to give any recipe a plant-based twist. You can also bake or roast chickpeas and season them with your favourite spices for a simple snack.

Green Tea is the most calming of all supercharged foods

Green tea is a supercharged food and potent source of disease-fighting polyphenols and antioxidants. However, green tea is rich in antioxidants like quercetin, chlorogenic acid, and theogallin.
It’s also high in epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant that may help boost weight loss, boost metabolism, and lower belly fat when taken in high doses. You can brew a cup of green tea and enjoy it as is, or try adding a bit of lemon, honey, or ginger for some extra flavour. Living a healthier life can be as easy as brewing a cup of tea and relaxing.

How Can We Help!

General Health All Ages

Ways to Improve Your Mental Health in Winter

VPH 0 Comments 15 December 2021

Winter is in full swing. This time of year can prove to be challenging for many individuals, not only for their physical health but mental health also. With shorter days, less sunlight and colder weather, it can leave us all feeling a little lonely and down.

Winter blues, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, affects about 2 million people in the UK and 12 million across Europe. There are many different ways you can do to help your mental health during the season. We have gathered a list of ways to improve your mental health this winter.

Exercise

Exercise is proven to increase the levels of endorphins and serotonin in your body, both these hormones contribute to a happier mood. This in turn will improve your mental health. It is understandable at this time of year all you want to do is bundle up and keep as warm as possible. However, exercising has many benefits. Even the government recommends at least 150 minutes of moderately intense exercise each week.

It is important to remember that there are many ways to exercise. One of them may be running with the treadmill at home, another could be yoga, gym, or even indoor swimming. It does not necessarily have to be out in the cold. Now that makes the idea of exercising a whole lot more inviting. Another benefit is that this is effective in warding off health issues, in the future and the present.

Vitamin D

There are many benefits of vitamin D, as it helps to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. During summer, it is easy to get the required amount of vitamin D you require due to the amount of sunlight we get. However, as there are fewer hours of sunlight during winter, we get a fewer amount of vitamin D. Studies have proven that there is a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and poor mood. This will result in damaging your mental health too.

In order to combat this, either take vitamin D supplements or consume foods that contain vitamin D. These are oily fish, red meat, liver, egg yolks, and fortified foods (e.g. fat spreads and breakfast cereals).

Here at VitaProHealth, we have 3 products containing vitamin D: Routine Brain Function Support, Routine Advanced Immuno Defence, and Routine Ashwagandha Capsules. To find out what other supplements we offer, check out our shop now.

Meditate

This is something you may have heard many times but not actually considered. Yes, this does make a difference. It is so easy with life to get caught up. Job, working out, eating and showering. We form habits and sometimes we are mindlessly living. It is important to take time to pause and just breathe. When you meditate, this allows you to remain in a state of being calm and feeling peace, which drastically improves your mental health. If you want more information on meditation, check out this blog we have done on meditation.

Socialise

It is very convenient at this time of year to be able to, isolate yourself and not want to socialize. Contrary to what feels easiest, this is not the best thing to do for your mental health. Spending time to socialise, whether it be with friends, family or your significant other can make a difference. Whether it be from being able to vent about your thoughts or feelings, or it can be another reason that is completely different. An example of one is just grabbing lunch, or even doing something, like going to watch a movie or playing sports. It really is up to you, there are so many ways to socialise, that there is bound to be one that floats your boat.

How we can help you?

Here at VitaProHealth, we care about both your physical and mental wellbeing. The fact is that the two are more related than you would think. This is why it is essential to keep an eye on what kind of food you are eating. It isn’t easy to meet all your dietary needs purely through your regular meals. That is where supplements come in, an easy method to intake the vital vitamins and minerals your body needs. The good news is we sell them, so look no further. Check out our shop page to find the perfect supplements for you.

General Health, Slimming All Ages

Can Dieting Really Improve Your Mental Health?

VPH 0 Comments 13 December 2021

Mental Health has become one of the most important topics to cover in recent years. Compared to the past, speaking out about mental health issues has become normalised. Mental health issues are something that everyone is susceptible to. Having a healthy diet and eating good foods can influence your moods. This means what you eat affects how you feel.

Nutrition for Mental Health

There have been many links shown between food and mood. This has been shown in studies showing a strong link between your brain and your gastrointestinal tract. The bacteria within are able to create substances such as dopamine and serotonin, both of which are able to a significant boost to get you out of a low mood. Eating healthier food helps to produce good bacteria by producing mood boosters. Whilst eating unhealthy and junk food creates substances to put you back into a low mood.

woman holding sliced watermelon

Foods That Help Mental Health

Fibre

Plant-based foods are rich in fibre and help to absorb glucose. This decreases the chance of sugar crashes. A sugar crash can make you feel fatigued, anxious and dizzy. Eating foods high in fibre can prevent this.

Protein

Amino acids are used to regulate your mood. Proteins are an excellent source of amino acids and can help to pull you out of that low mood. This means eating foods like chicken, fish, eggs and cheese.

Iron

Iron is needed to make you feel energised. Without it you’ll start to feel tired and lethargic. Feeling like this can have a huge toll on your mental wellbeing, which can lead to further issues. Therefore eating foods like red meat, fish or beans can help to alleviate this.

Folate

Folate is a natural producer of dopamine. Eating foods such as leafy greens, lentils or cantaloupes will increase the amount of folate you’re taking in. This will help boost your mood while avoiding a crash typically associated with sugars.

Fermented foods

Fermented foods help to promote healthy bacteria to grow within your gut. Things like kimchi or kombucha can help to encourage these bacteria to flourish and will increase your mood overall.

How We Can Help

Nutrition for mental health is an incredibly important thing to be mindful of. There are numerous ways food and mood are connected. By following a specific diet you can help to increase your mood overall. Dieting with foods that help mental health can make a big change in your life. Here at VitaProHealth, we can help you to improve your mood with a variety of products. From products to increase healthy gut bacteria, to supplements to assist in your dieting, we’re the best supplier of nutrition for mental health.

General Health All Ages

How to Get Rid of Brain Fog

VPH 0 Comments 9 December 2021

Brain fog can occur at different moments within your life. It is common for middle-aged adults to experience mental changes, which can cause your brain not to function at full capacity. Common symptoms that may occur are forgetfulness, taking a long time to learn and having short memory recall time. Aside from old age, other factors can cause brain fog. These factors are a lack of sleep, overworking and stress. Ignoring brain fog can cause you to become frustrated with yourself as you will become more focused on things you can’t do.

What is Brain Fog?

Brain fog is not technically a medical condition, but rather a way to describe the feeling of being mentally slow. It can be a symptom of a health condition or a side effect of different types of medication. Brain fog is having a lack of mental clarity; it can affect your ability to focus and have difficulties in recalling things. Brain fog is caused by several factors but sometimes it can be caused by a combination of causes.

Causes

There is a number of factors that can cause brain fog. Brain fog is not constantly associated with one medical condition.

Here are some different causes of brain fog:

Lack of sleep
Increase in stress Level
Depression
Dementia
Hormonal conditions (e.g. thyroid disorders)
Nutrient deficiencies (e.g. B12 Vitamin)
Viral Infections (e.g. COVID-19)
Chronic Health Conditions (e.g. multiple sclerosis)

How Covid-19 Causes Brain Fog

COVID-19 causes inflammation in the brain, which affects neurons ending in brain fog. However, stress, anxiety or isolation can cause brain fog.

Menopause Brain Fog

Women in their 40s or 50s will go through menopause. Symptoms are different for every woman and include anything from night sweats, and gaining weight to hair thinning. Many women also report feeling forgetful or having brain fog that makes it hard to concentrate.

What do studies say?

In a 2018 study, researchers have found that 60% of middle-aged women report difficulty focusing and other brain issues. These issues spike in women going through perimenopause.

Perimenopause is the stage just before the menstrual cycle stops. Women in the study noticed subtle changes in their working memory. However, the researcher believes that having a negative effect may have made these feelings more pronounced.

The researchers explained that women who go through menopause may feel a negative mood, and that mood may be related to memory issues. Not only that but “brain fog” may also be connected with sleep issues and vascular symptoms associated with menopause.

Another study focused on the idea that women in the early stages of menopause may experience more noticeable issues with brain cognition. Moreover, women in the first year of their last menstrual period scored the lowest on the test.

The test evaluates:

Verbal Learning
Memory
Motor function
Attention
Working memory

Memory for women improved over a certain time, which is the opposite of what the researchers had initially hypothesised.

The science behind brain fog in menopausal women

Scientists have found that, in menopausal women, an imbalance of certain hormones can cause brain fog. These hormones are oestrogen, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormones. All four of these hormones are responsible for different processes in the body, including brain functions.

As perimenopause lasts an average of 3-4 years, this depends on the woman, during this time your hormone levels may fluctuate unpredictably. As there will be an imbalance in hormones this will cause a bunch of symptoms, while the body adapts to the changes.

Symptoms Include:

Insomnia
Headaches/dizziness
Low energy or fatigue
Decreased cognitive function
Lack of mental clarity
Forgetfulness
Lack/no motivation
Depression
Multitasking
Low concentration level
Mood swings

Reducing Symptoms

Get Some Sleep

Sleep is important for your brain and body. Try to make a sleep schedule and make it a rule to have 7 – 8 hours of sleep every night. Avoid using mobile devices because blue light is harmful to your sleep.

Avoid Multitasking

Multitasking can drain your energy and lower your productivity, especially if you are trying to do two activities that require more brainpower. Instead, try having a mono focus

Exercise regularly

Staying physically active can improve your mental health. If you want to know what exercises to do at the gym, we have a blog to help you out.

Avoid Alcohol and Drugs

These drugs or substances can impair your senses and adversely affect your brain. When you have alcohol your hormones are flooded into your brain, one particular hormone is dopamine which is responsible for pleasure and motivation. Alcohol floods the brain with dopamine reducing the brain’s dopamine receptors in the process.

How Can We Help!

At VitaProHealth, we value you as the customer and want you at your best. We have specialists that know what you need to better your physical and mental wellbeing. Regardless, do not hesitate to visit our website for lifestyle advice and supplements. Look at our lifestyle page for general health for tips and tricks.

General Health All Ages

Why Sleep is Important

VPH 0 Comments 6 December 2021

Sleeping is one of the ways that keep our brain functioning properly. It is important we get enough sleep every day. Do you know the effects on your body if you lack sleep? Sleep is part of our daily routine, it plays an important role in physical and mental processes. Sleep is the most effective way to reset the health of our brain and body each day. Read on to find out why sleeping is important.

Why sleeping is important

Sleep is important for brain health, mental performance, physical performance, immune function, and psychological well-being. Every adult should have at least 7-9 hours of sleep daily to maintain good body health. But sleep is as important for good health as diet and exercise. There are many things you can do to improve your sleep. Sleep hygiene is important too as good sleep hygiene can lead you to have better sleep.

In the UK millions of people do not get enough sleep and many suffer from lack of sleep. There are many reasons why we lack sleep. It could potentially affect you at work which decreases productivity. Good sleep improves your brain performance, mood, and health.

Advantages of sleeping well

Help Boost Immune System

Your immune system releases proteins called cytokines during sleep, some of which aid sleep. When you have an infection or inflammation, or when you’re stressed, some cytokines must increase. The synthesis of these protective cytokines may be reduced by lack of sleep. Therefore sleeping well will increase these cytokines and bolster your immune system;

Healthy heart

Did you know by having enough sleep your heart will be healthier? When you are sleeping your blood pressure decreases. However, if you don’t have enough sleep your blood pressure stays longer in your body. This could affect your body’s health potentially leading to more serious issues in the future.

Prevent weight gain

According to research, there have been studies stating that obesity is linked with poor sleeping patterns. When you sleep well or have enough rest you may feel less hungry whereas the less sleep you get the more hungry you may feel.

Better mood

Sleeping can help you have a better mood. When you have good sleep this can lead you to have a good the next day. Whereas if you don’t have good sleep your mood may not be as good. Studies have shown you are five times more likely to have depression when you have insomnia.

What happens when you have insufficient sleep?

When you don’t have enough sleep it affects your overall health short-term and long-term. Lack of sleep could lead you to have long term diseases.

The effects of lack of sleep:

Weakened immune system
High blood pressure
Weight gain
Memory issue
Risks of diseases

Sleep disorders such as insomnia or sleep apnea may need treatment to help with sleep issues. Also, insufficient sleep can affect your mental health which might be depression and stress. Without enough regular sleep, the brain will not function properly. A good night’s sleep is essential for maintaining a good healthy life.

Have any questions?

Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@vitaprohealth.com. Our team would be happy to assist you with any of your enquiries.

Immune System All Ages

How to Prepare for Flu Season

VPH 0 Comments 2 December 2021

Winter is here, and with it comes flu season. There are different ways to help you prevent yourself and others from getting the flu. Whether this is getting the flu jab or taking care of your body’s health, these methods will prevent anyone close to you from getting the flu.

Preparation for Flu Season

There are different ways to boost your immune system to prepare for the flu season. This can be done by taking supplements and/or eating more healthy food. The combination of both things will help your immune system to fight off the flu.

Another way you can help prepare/prevent yourself from getting the flu is by following simple hygiene rules that you can follow throughout your daily life. These are:

Washing your hands regularly – especially before handling food and after going to the toilet
Avoiding touching your face before washing your hands – as you could be spreading the germs you’ve touched on different surfaces
Clean frequently touched items (e.g. door handles, light switches, counters) this is so the germs will be killed on their surfaces
Limit contact with people who are sick
Limit the amount of time you spend in crowded places

By following these rules, you will reduce the likelihood of getting the flu or spreading it to people around you.

Aside from looking after your body’s health, the first initial response to someone preventing himself or herself from getting the flu is by getting the flu jab. It is recommended people should get their jab at the start of the flu season, which is around October. This allows the people who are more susceptible to getting the flu to be protected when flu season is in full swing.

How to get over the flu

Once you have had the flu, you need to allow your body to get over the illness. Everyone knows someone who has different methods on how to get over an illness. However, even though everyone has ways to get better, there are some things you should do to help you get better from an illness.

These are:

Drink lots of water
Sleep more than normal – this gives your body time to rest and repair quickly
Take antivirus medication
Eat healthy food – this increases the number of vitamins your body has access to
Keep warm
Take ibuprofen or paracetamol – this eases any pains and/or fevers
Saline nose drops – blow your nose after every use to clean out your nose
Steam – this helps you breathe better

Following these suggestions will help you recover from your illness a lot sooner than if you don’t try anything.

How to help

Here at VitaProHealth, we provide the highest quality supplements available to help you through the flu season. Our immunity supplements are the best vitamins for vegans and gluten-free giving their bodies everything they need. If you have any questions about exactly the best vitamins are for you or want to know more about our immunity lifestyle, please contact us via email at info@vitaprohealth.com.

Have a look at our immune system page for tips and tricks on how to improve your immune system. Or have a look at the NHS flu page for more information and the list of flu symptoms.

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