Why our PM Relax & Sleep Works

We’ve had ongoing delighted customer feedback about the excellent effects of our vitamins. I often get asked why they are so effective so thought I would start a series about the active ingredients in some of our products and why they work so well. The key is the combination of vitamins and minerals in our formulas that create just the right balance. In our PM Relax & Sleep supplement it is the magic mix of the 11 ingredients with 5HTP and Valerian making the difference.

5-HTP (5 Hydroxytryptophan) is an amino acid that is the intermediate step between tryptophan and the critical brain chemical serotonin. Extensive international research evidence suggests that low serotonin levels are a common consequence of modern living and contribute to depression and sleeplessness. The lifestyle and diet of many people living in these stress-filled times is compromised and results in lowered levels of serotonin within the brain. As a result, many people are overweight, crave sugar and other carbohydrates, experience bouts of depression, get frequent headaches, and have vague muscle aches and pains. All of these symptoms are correctable by raising brain serotonin levels.

We’ve noticed that many of our customers are those suffering hormonal imbalances during midlife when stress and sleeplessness seem to peak. Their excellent response to this product in combination with our AM Feel Alive energy boosting multi-vitamin has improved their mental and physical well being.

Although 5-HTP was relatively unknown in New Zealand, it has been available through pharmacies for several years and has been intensely researched for the past three decades. It has been available in several European countries as a medicine since the 1970s.

Its popularity overseas is due to the many advantages natural 5-HTP has over the chemical L-tryptophan. Firstly, because it is one step closer to serotonin, 5-HTP is more effective than L-tryptophan. 5-HTP is also inherently safer. Although L-tryptophan is safe if properly prepared and free of the contaminants linked to severe allergic reaction known as eosinophilia myalgia syndrome (EMS), L-tryptophan is still produced with the help of bacterial fermentation. In contrast, 5-HTP is isolated from a natural source – a seed from an African plant (Griffonia simplicifolia). Evidence that this natural source of 5-HTP does not cause EMS is provided by researchers who have been studying 5-HTP for over 25 years. They state that EMS has never appeared in the patients who received only uncontaminated L-tryptophan or (5-HTP). There are also several studies that show 5-HTP is equal to or better than standard antidepressant drugs and the side effects are much less severe. The natural effect 5-HTP has in supporting Serotonin levels in the brain, is why it is so effective in improving sleep patterns and reducing stress.

 

Do You Need a Multi-Vitamin?

What am I looking for again? Can’t remember a name? Having trouble sleeping? Feeling anxious about things that didn’t used to bother you before? Suffering with body aches and low energy levels?

Lack of sleep, stress, low levels of nutrition and poor lifestyle habits can contribute to irritating changes in your brain and body function. As we age our bodies are less effective at extracting vitamins from our food and we become starved of essential nutrients to function at our optimum. A vitamin deficiency can be the root cause of many of your symptoms.

Health Script Ltd designs their own vitamin formulas here in New Zealand. They’re made to the highest quality standards under strict GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) guidelines, which is audited and certified by Medsafe (part of the Ministry of Health). Every ingredient is independently tested to guarantee its quality and purity. Gluten, dairy, soy, nut and bee-product free with no additives, preservatives or colourants.

Health Script’s premium quality AM Feel Alive multi vitamin and PM Relax and Sleep Dual Pack has 35 essential minerals and vitamins. The Dual pack has more antioxidants than most leading brands with 6,000mg of grape seed extract along with other essential nutrients. Our customers are delighted after experiencing big improvements in their overall energy levels, concentration and sleeping patterns. Another outstanding product is Health Script’s JointFX which blends ancient and modern remedies, giving you anti-inflammatory nutrients for joint, cartilage and muscle recovery.

We’re offering a special promo for Growups readers. You’ll get $5 off and FREE delivery when buying online. Just copy this promo code LiveLife online or click the mail order option (for manual payment), on the delivery page and you’ll get 60 (two months supply), quality capsules made and manufactured right here in New Zealand for only $39.95.

Why take our word for it?  See what our independent customers are saying.

What Makes a  Top Quality Multi Vitamin?

GMP Approved: New Zealand has strict regulations governing the labeling and contents of health supplements and vitamins. Make sure you buy GMP approved products.

Complete: We need at least 30 different vitamins and minerals says the latest scientific research. Health Script AM Feel Alive is a complete multi-vitamin to boost your energy levels and improve your concentration.

Guaranteed  Quality: The best health supplements are put through rigorous quality testing so you get exactly what it says on the label.

Bio-available: The nutrients must be in the most bio-available form. Natural  and free of artificial preservatives, dyes, allergens or other contaminants.

You be the Judge: Try another formula if a multi-vitamin doesn’t make you feel better within the first 30-60 days. All your symptoms may not have improved in that time, but you should notice a real improvement in your overall energy levels and wellbeing.

Find out more about top quality vitamins, formulated and made here in New Zealand at: http://www.healthscript.co.nz/

Is Vitamin Deficiency holding you back?

Here’s an interesting article about vitamin deficiency in older people, particularly women in their forties and older. This reinforces the role a good quality mult-vitamins like AM PM from www.healthscript.co.nz can help support the right balance of nutrients in your system so you feel and look your best 24 hours a day. I’ve uploaded it on our FaceBook page so you can check out other relevant information and articles too. Please LIKE us too to get access to promo codes and special  discounts on our products.

http://www.facebook.com/HealthScriptLtd

Health Script’s products are certified GMP quality and Medsafe approved. See our website for more information and a list of stockist if you want to see them for yourself. Otherwise buy online and have them couriered to your door for free with promo codes available on request. Email info@healthscript.co.nz

On Your Bike!

By the time I was 45 I was over loud, crowded, sweaty gyms, and stressed and frantic in a corporate job. So I had that age-old excuse of “no time”.  I took a variety of vitamins to maintain and support my health but knew this wouldn’t do the trick on its own. After a couple of years of wallowing and becoming increasingly guilty at my lack of activity, I took up cycling.  How hard could it be? Back in the day I cycled 5km to school and back, not like lazy, computer playing kids of today conveyed to school by car or bus while chowing on takeaways!

My husband, a keen cyclist, was delighted. He swooped in with all kinds of advice, he even bought me a bike. I cunningly bought some Lycra gear so no one would know I was a novice – yeah right. An intense discussion ensued around pedals and bicycle clips. I hadn’t factored in any of this but went along for the proverbial ride. Clips then? Yip.  I omitted to say he is VERY economical with his communication. I had no practice and therefore no understanding of how the clips worked. I was mildly alarmed when I watched him screw the pedal lock things under the cycling shoes and change the pedals into some weird looking metal contraption that the shoes would now clip into. No matter. If he worked them, surely I could.

Early on Saturday morning, I transformed myself into a pseudo-tour de France contender, trussed up in tight fitting Lycra from nobly knees to neck. I complained about the thick padded crotch and was convinced I looked like I was wearing four incontinence pads as I duck-waddled to my bicycle. Helmet – check. Gloves – check. Water bottle – check. Anxious – hell yeah!  With a look from him and a grunt that sounded like “follow me” we took off.

I fumbled and wobbled and after about two blocks managed to get both my shoes into the cleats. That would’ve been reassuring, if I wasn’t so frightened about how to get OUT of them. There was so much to watch out for, trucks, people, dogs, traffic, parked vehicles, and of course my husband. I struggled to keep up with him and then a red traffic light. I slowed and started to wriggle my right foot, trapped in the pedal. I frantically watched the back of him disappear around the corner and slammed on the brakes, falling hard to the right, both shoes still cleated into the racing pedals. Had anyone seen me? NO. This is the reason cyclists go out really early in the morning! I scrambled up, my elbow, knee and thigh bleeding – miraculously through the Lycra, which remained intact.

I leapt back on the bike. I can do this. Frantically ridding in his general direction and now aware of Le technique, was no assurance that I could execute it! Get at least one foot out and ready to hit the road before the traffic lights. Another set of lights and another fall. Sensibly, I fell on the left ,to balance out the grazes and bruising, now on both sides of my body. During that first ride I fell about 5 times and travelled about 30km. The second time I only fell once. I rode most of the time with one foot out of the cleats and balanced precariously on top the metal pedal clip – it inadvertently slipped into position and I fell at the next stop street. I argued for “real” pedals and he insisted I would never learn to ride “properly” and I didn’t. I gave up after several attempts and one race along the coast where I came in the last third of the pack. Some years later he confessed at a dinner party that something was wrong with the cleats themselves that should just slide out easily. Ummmmmmmm.

Now ten years later, I walk, jog and listen to music as I move through the park or along the coast. It’s calm and pleasant, my cycling scars have almost healed – just the psychological ones remain. I did ride again, about a year ago, with real pedals to see if I could get to work each day. In Mission Bay an idiot in a 4WD swung his door out from a parked position, I shouted, swerved to miss being hit head on by his ignorant manouvre and went into the oncoming lane. Fortunately, for me, there was no traffic and I survived – unlike the young woman killed on Tamaki drive two weeks after this. That was the end of my cycling. I will stay firmly on terra firma and enjoy the stress-free ease of moving at my own pace and in my own style.

Enjoy Successful Aging

Live longer, healthier and look better too

You don’t have to starve yourself, or miss out on tasty treats….or pound the pavements for hours a day to keep fit and healthy. I firmly believe that a little of what you love does you good – as long as it’s not EVERY DAY!!

Moderation with food and also moderation with exercise. See what they say here about maximising the results of your efforts:

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/06/26/10-minutes-of-exercise-yields-hourlong-effects.aspx

Getting your heart rate up for 20-30 second intervals helps burn fat and improves your overall fitness. This is far more effective than a gentle stroll around the shops (as much as we all love that!). And NO – house work doesn’t count!

Think of cave men – after all that’s where we came from and how we are biologically designed. They were constantly moving and sometimes in very stressful conditions and at speed! So it makes sense to consider “Interval” training so you rest and relax your breathing and give your body a break inbetween pushing it hard, lifting that heart rate and your breathing in between. In the link above they say 20 minutes of this a day and you’ll be fit and flourishing in no time.

Eat a balanced diet, drink lots of water and keep moving – especially if you are over 30. It’s hard to drag yourself around the park in winter – but that’s the time your body needs it most. The tendency to slouch on the couch and eat more stodgy food is always higher during cold weather – so keep yourself in check. Lifting a few weights won’t do any harm either and keeps your muscle tone in good condition. Good quality supplements – a multi-vitamin to ensure you get all the nutrients you need will help support you healthy aging programe! ENJOY!

See www.healthscript.co.nz

Ten Stress Indicators – How stressed are You?

Read the ten points below and if you answer yes to 3 or more of these indicators, then you are living a stressful existence. If you respond to 5 or more of the statements below, then you are seriously stressed and need to take some positive action to improve your health and well being.

• Broken sleep, resulting in less than 5 hours sleep a night

• Feeling overwhelmed and drained by day to day activities

• Mood swings, quick to anger or upset with family and work colleagues

• Memory loss and concentration issues. Distracted at work or with family demands

• Headaches, sore eyes, tension in shoulders and neck.

• Over eating or snacking the wrong foods in a rush. Or under eating and effectively “starving” becoming mal-nourished through bad eating habits.

• No time or motivation to exercise. Can’t be bothered about much these days.

• Body aches and pains, digestive issues and mid-life problems.

• Sometimes just want to run away from it all and hide. Don’t want to face each day – fantasize about escaping the job, home, country etc.

• Tired and exhausted when only half way through another demanding and stressful day – fall asleep at any opportunity but cant stay asleep.

We’re not getting any younger – so doing all you can to ensure you maintain your mental and physical well being, and enjoy healthy aging is a good start. Using the right skin care, getting a good hair cut and buying a new outfit with a great pair shoes will temporarily make you feel good. But what about the real you on the inside? Just how stressed are you and also what effect is it having on your appearance? Nothing ages your mind and body faster than stress and can be a trigger for serious illness too.

Vitamin Deficiency contributes to feelings of stress and exhaustion

A major contributing factor to feeling under par and exhausted with an over-reactive response to stress, is vitamin deficiency. This is particularly evident as we age. Your body becomes less efficient at extracting the nutrients you need to function at your optimum and feel in balance.

Add to this toxic mix, the stress of work and demands at home and you’ll soon feel distressed, sleepless and exhausted and on the road to feeling down and de-motivated, if not depressed.

Taking a top quality multi-vitamin is the first step to boosting your energy and getting yourself back on track. Health Script’s two-part breakthrough formula in the AM PM Dual Pack is uniquely designed to deliver the nutrients you need to energise you during the daytime with the AM http://www.healthscript.co.nz/Products/vitamins-supplements-AM-feel-alive.aspx

and another completely different formula for the evening in the PM http://www.healthscript.co.nz/Products/vitamins-supplements-PM-relax-sleep.aspx

which you take in the evenings to unwind and relax for a good night’s sleep. To learn more or buy online http://www.healthscript.co.nz/Products/vitamins-supplements-products.aspx

It stands to reason, if you sleep better, you’ll feel better. If your energy levels are enhanced, you’ll cope better and feel great. You’ll look great and have the energy to cope with day to day frustrations.

It will take about 2-3 weeks of regularly taking the AM in the morning and the  PM at night, to notice improvements. These are not drugs, contain no chemicals and are dairy and gluten free. Vitamins need regular absorption to bring your body back into balance. Then you’ll start to feel on top of the world! You’ll have more motivation to exercise, take charge of your life and be better at coping with the daily stresses at work and home. But why take our word for it? See our customer feedback http://www.healthscript.co.nz/Feedback.aspx

Return From France

Returned on the weekend after three weeks in France. They really have things sorted. Their cities actually function for the people living in them. How?

Every city and village is alive with a sense of community. The design of every block having a central square with trees and the buildings surrounding it, even with intersecting roads at times, means that people flock to local cafes. There are millions of them everywhere. The shops are on the ground level and then the owners and general populous live above the first level.

This means the cities and villages are alive with people. They flock to the cobbled square nearest them and sit down and enjoy a drink or a meal and chat to one another. Their town planning was done centuries ago and far more people centric than ours!

Every 500m it seems is another square and another range of shops, cafes and vegetable shops. There’s very little evidence of major department stores, even in Paris. The old fashioned small shops and everyone chatting and making a living, rather than massive conglomerates schmoozing the consumer en mass in shopping malls is rare. We did visit one, and were cured. Just like being at home – crowded and noisy with no village atmosphere.

We could do a lot to improve our cities and the quality of the lives of those who live in them by making some simple changes. Traffic free central squares and encourage people to live in them above shops, which service the area. Voila! You have a village atmosphere within a city. The place is alive – you can feel the buzz. It was uplifting and positive – it was summer too of course and being on holiday always helps! But what a healthy, easy way of living.

Well enough of all that – the coal face beckons – so am safely back in harness and at home. Good to be back home in NZ too, but I now understand why not many of our immigrants come from Europe!

Oui Oui Le Tour De France Begins

Finally packed, pressed, pushed and squeezed my summer gear into one suitcase. It took three attempts – and even one where I removed over 50% of the contents to travel light. It was however, a pipe dream. Then broke into a sweat at the thought of surviving a few weeks with only one pair of shoes…so shoved most of it back in! Well if you take the shoes dahhhling, you need the outfits to go with it don’t you? Everyone knows that!

Been a frenetic whirlwind for the past few weeks getting things sorted, writing process documents for my sister Kait who is holding the fort while we are in France. She has the household, two cats and the business to manage – so no pressure! She is so capable that I may just stay away for longer!

One thing bothers me though. When I booked the tickets I told the travel agent that whatever flight we took, it must not be on one of those huge new A380 planes with 5,000 passengers and a double storey fuselage. NO. That would not do. You need to understand that I am one of those people who would still be cooking on a coal stove after the introduction of electricity. I’m like that about hair removal too. Don’t get me started about the pain and suffering of wax – I just won’t go there – AGAIN!

Once the air tickets were issued, sods law prevailed and of course the second leg of our flight from Singapore to Paris is in one of those monstrous huge dangerous looking planes. I’d blocked it out until 3am this morning. But since then, and we leave in three hours, I cant stop thinking about maintaining a steady breathing pattern and calming my frantic heart beat. I’ve had a friend’s son explain to me the physics of flying ….ostensibly to calm my fear. NO. Not working at this hour. Of course Bin Laden had to get killed two weeks before we leave too so I’ll be checking everyone’s demeanor and shoes, shifty looking luggage as I wait in the queues. So packing was just the start of the tension.

I distracted myself by thoughts of entertaining my face book followers with photos of me following the “planking” craze of late. The thing is, I don’t like heights, but figure I could still raise a laugh by planking on the ground. You’ll see – I’ll post some planking pix of me in bed after 26 hrs flying and airport terminals….why do they call it that. “Terminal” it’s so inappropriate! OK. Deep breathing…NO I will not be going anywhere near the Eifel Tower but could plank on the ground at the Arc de Triomph…..will use my waiting time to think of interesting ground level places to get planked! Am mildly amused now..but my heart is still anxious……so will be taking Health Script PM to calm my nerves..and eventually catch up with some sleep!

Clarifying the Calcium Debate

I’ve been told calcium carbonate and magnesium oxide are the most difficult for the body to assimilate. It’s so difficult to decide what really is a good supplement?

Recent studies have indicated that in fact high release Calciums are not good for your body. It gets absorbed too fast and contributes to high levels for a short period of time in the blood, raising the risk of heart problems and/or stroke. Our registered Naturopath Rob Martin, specialist in Phytotherapy and R&D responds: This is why we selected a calcium that is absorbed more slowly to reduce this risk factor – you may have been given the opposite advice as that was certainly the thinking up until the report about six months ago. There is a further study currently being conducted at Auckland university, the results of which should be out next year, backing up previous research that the high-release calciums are one of the leading causes of myocardial infarctions (heart risk). It seems the slower absorbed a calcium is, the lower the peak calcium spike, leading to a longer term absorption.

From a naturopathic view, 90+% of the world gets its Calcium from Calcium Carbonate (the lime in water, dissolved limestone etc) or from Calcium Phosphate – found in milk or bone. If either of these calcium salts were so poorly absorbed, the population of the earth would have died out a long time ago. In my opinion (and I admit it’s contrary to many more ill-informed naturopaths) the Calcium Carbonate is better – The calcium is absorbed well, and the carbonate ion helps to alkalise the blood.

Magnesium Oxide provides magnesium in a pure and simple absorbable form. The Magnesium is easily dissociated in the stomach to the Magnesium ion and absorbed quickly. Magnesium is traditionally used in many sleep formulae for its ‘relaxing’ properties. Therefore it is a vital part of the PM Sleep & Relax formula as well as supplying the magnesium the body needs on a daily basis.

Find out more: www.heathscript.co.nz

Why Don’t Vitamins meet RDA?

Some of our customers are worried about vitamin deficiency and how the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) effects them: Our registered Naturopath Rob Martin, specialist in Phytotherapy and R&D responds: For example Selenium found in Health Script’s Supplements, is sometimes added to some foods and health drinks. We felt the strong antioxidants and Vitamin B’s took priority, so again, this was the trade-off in developing our formula, focused on energy boosting and healthy aging – so our emphasis in the contents is aimed at that objective.
The RDA of Selenium is much lower than many people believe – it is only 70-80mg/day from all sources. People routinely state the lack of Selenium in NZ soils, however many food crops are imported (grains from Australia, USA, Canada) which tends to have sufficient Selenium in the soils and therefore in the crops grown in them. Also, in NZ, farmers being aware of nutritional deficiencies  in NZ soils tend to supplement their animals with mineral supplements in the form of Selenium going in to water troughs, mineral licks, minerals going into food pellets or added into silage. Minerals are also added to fields (and not just NPK) and so on.

The desire in NZ to supplement Selenium does not take into account ‘From all sources’ and can lead to excessive doses – the symptoms of which are hair loss, fingernails dropping out and curiously, ‘Onion breath’!

If we were to put the full RDA of vitamins in a single multivitamin – the tablet would have to be delivered as a suppository – and even then, the size would make your eyes water! But in all seriousness, we have had to formulate a balance of ingredients to deliver the best results for energy boosting, healthy aging and to maintain and support a healthy balance of nutrients without going overboard.  We believe in clever combining of ingredients, rather than “over dosing,”  which can overload your kidneys and liver, and lead to other health problems. In terms of health supplements, we believe less is more for a better and smarter outcome!