Happy March!
The times, they are a-changing (are you ready for the new new new new new normal yet?)
The names, they are a-changing (can you say “Gqeber(h)a” without being frog-marched to a covid quarantine site?)
The morals, they are a-changing (no alcohol / you may drink alcohol / no smoking / you may smoke / no haircuts / you may cut your hair / no parties / no parties / no parties / no parties)
The viruses, they are a-changing (but you are not allowed to call it the Gqebera variant!)
The terms, they are a-changing (remember when “going viral” was something highly desirable, or a “mask” was something you put on your face at night to make your skin look younger?)
The greetings, they are a-changing (aah, the good ol’ days, when you sneezed and somebody said, “Bless you!” instead of “Push off!”)
Thankfully, we have one constant: Three weeks of lockdown (of which we’ll be celebrating our first anniversary soon).
After 365 days of April 1 on endless repeat, let’s look at the bright side.
If you are reading this, congratulations! You survived the second wave. But our prophets of doom are already predicting the third wave. Makes you wonder how they know these waves are coming. The last time anyone heard of a third wave was on the beach. Yes, the same one you were not allowed to enter when the second wave crashed.
Make no mistake. Covid is a serious disease with serious results for some. Likewise, living in South Africa carries some serious health risks with it. But if we can’t laugh about it now and then, what’s the point of surviving the odds? And besides, nobody will notice when you smile behind that mask.
OK, let’s get a bit more serious. But only a bit. *
At Integrow Health, we’ve also been changing, adapting to the times.
Our “Complete E” is now available!
Complete E contains all eight natural Vitamin E types found in nature. In other words, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. If you can say that out loud fast enough, people will start staring at you strangely. Point is, your garden-and-home variety Vitamin E supplement found in your garden-and-home retail store, only supplies ONE of the eight vitamin E forms. By coincidence, it happens to be the one that can be made in a factory. Go figure.
Our Complete E is the ONLY Vitamin E sold in South Africa that includes all eight natural forms of Vitamin E. We’re selling at R299 per 30 capsules, which is one month’s dose. If that sounds a bit steep, consider that the average price for 30 capsules of standard Vitamin E is usually R200. You are literally getting more than double the value for only a little more in price.
Who needs Vitamin E?
Nowadays, vitamin E is one of the most widely used supplements. Nearly a quarter of United States adults ages 55 and over take it regularly. Studies over the years suggest that vitamin E’s antioxidant properties could help stave off common age-related ills, such as heart disease, cancer, and cataracts.
Here’s a quick recap of what science says Vitamin E can do for your body:
As an antioxidant, it lengthens cell life.
It softens arteries (leading to lower blood pressure and reduced heart attack risk).
However, if people take too much of the alpha-tocopherol (synthetic) form, they may harm their health. Balance is key when it comes to staying healthy. This may be one reason why the effect of Vitamin E on cancer risk is not clear. The studies only used the alpha-tocopherol version. This may also explain why foods rich in Vitamin E (full spectrum) show great benefit in reducing heart disease and cancer risk, while studies with supplemented Vitamin E don’t show the same great benefit.
Macular Degeneration
It appears that Vitamin E in combination with Zinc, may prevent or slow down the development of age-related Macular Degeneration. This eye disease mostly affects older people.
Fatty Liver
Fatty Liver Disease can be called a silent pandemic. It is affecting more and more people around the world, but is hardly ever diagnosed. It is often present in patients with Type 2 Diabetes. Vitamin E has been proven to significantly improve health status in patients with Fatty Liver Disease.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease
It has been found that Vitamin E blood levels correlate inversely with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) status. In other words, the lower the Vitamin E blood level, the worse the cognitive decline. Some well-designed studies found that high doses of Vitamin E given over two years had a significant effect on slowing down cognitive AND functional decline in moderate AD. Diseases such as AD have many causes and thus there is no one silver bullet that will help everyone, but Vitamin E does seem to be a promising and useful treatment for all patients with AD.
COVID-19
While there are no published studies, there is circumstantial evidence that the antioxidant effect of Vitamin E could help reduce disease severity in COVID-19.
