Mental Management Manifests WHOLE Wellness

by Mitch Booth

We are well over two plus years in surviving COVID and we now have a brief respite until the fall flu season. The one lesson we have learned from our customers is that those who have fared the best, with or without the vaccination, were those who managed both mental and physical stresses while pursuing their goal of staying disease free. Even before COVID invaded our consciousness, Americans were struggling with anxiety and depression. Fifteen million was the conservative estimate before 2019 (Anxiety, Depression). This same organization reports that over half of all recovering COVID patients have suffered depression. This has affected adults as well as children whose lives are dependent on adults struggling with either the disease or the impact it has had on every aspect of their lives. The CDCs latest report confirms that from August 2020 to February 2021 anxiety and depressive disorders increased from 36 to 42 percent report/April 2, 2021/20(13). Anyone reading this article has either had personal ex-periences with COVID stress or have watched media coverage of the tragic outcome of the first phase of the pandemic: over one million lives lost in the US.

It’s not over yet. We have no other option but to carry on and assess what we can do to maintain wellness. After months of speaking with customers at both stores, I have put together a compilation of survival tips. Based on a one page hand out created on our twenty -fifth anniversary entitled Breaking Metabolic Inflammation, I revised the sheet to reflect COVID challenges. I now invite those who want to prep their psyches for the next viral assault to remember SOS.

The first “S” stands for Supplementation. There’s no one reading this article who hasn’t increased their vitamin/mineral supplementation in the last two years. Increased Vitamin C, Zinc, and Vitamin D3 at a minimum. Like any product in the market place, some work better than others. Our twenty-one year partnership with the largest nutraceutical producer in Canada, Natural Factors, has been a key to our success in the battle with COVID. If there was ever a time when these tools to weaponize our immune systems as well as our brains was needed, its now. Not all supplements are the same.

Go to consumerlab.com and compare brands. Does your’s meet the label claim? Natural Factor products consistently meet or exceed their label levels. If a herb like ashwagandha is used, has it been tested to actually reduce serum cortisol levels?

Natural Factors uses Senoril which is a patented nutraceutical that has reduced cortisol levels in humans by 26 percent. You can’t manage stress until you lower cortisol.

Taking a supplement that has not been verified will have a negative impact on your health. This is just as true for the food and drink you consume. At Love Whole Foods, we screen our supplements to meet the same high standards we demand of the food we carry in both our stores. For example, Natural Factors is one of only a handful of companies that have testing done for GMOs. That testing includes not only their St.

John’s Wort but also berberine and even their tumeric, all brain supplements we have profiled in store presentations. Look for the isura testing label that tests for multiple contaminants such as glyphosate.

Not eating enough veggies? These same quality standards apply to their Wholefood formula Whole Earth and Sea supplement. Do they cost more? Any cost is too much if a product doesn’t perform or has contaminants that can increase the burden on our immune system. This is more critical since we have all eaten more convenient comfort food over the past two years! Food high in calories and lacking in nutrition—from the fast food industry.

One way our customers have minimized this nutrient stress is by cleaning up the neural network reaching from the gut (comprising 80 percent of our immune system) to the brain. Natural Factors has provided a high potency N-ACETYL-L-CYSTEINE (NAC) supplement to get this job done. It is utilized by the body to create higher levels of glutathione, the body’s most important detoxifying amino acid. It scavenges accumulated free radicals and reduces oxidative stress head to toe. This is essential to insure a proper immune response to any pathogen, viral, bacterial, or both. Whatever the future brings, boosting glutathione levels is paramount.

Next we turn to the O. It stands for organized, disciplined exercise. Please re-search which program works best with your limitations. Our YMCAs are a great place to start. Go to the American College of Sports Medicine website. You will find dozens of clinical trials covering all ages which document the profound health benefits of regular planned exercise. Diabetes, heart disease, weight gain—and depression in particular, were all mitigated without needing drugs.

The last element is S for sleep. The im- mune system cleanses itself and gets re-charged with real dream state sleep. If we don’t get quality uninterrupted sleep, we are running on empty. Again Natural Factors Pharma Gaba formula, when combined with their ANTI V formula, along with their pure Vitamin D3, insures a rejuvenating sleep—you wake up refreshed. If you have not tried melatonin along with magnesium glycinate, these have both been highly recommended by folks struggling with the stress we have all had these last two years.

So send out an SOS to your family and friends. Whole Wellness is achievable with the help of trusted partners. Until the end of the month, Natural Factors has made their entire product line available at 25 percent off at both stores. Be sure to ask for their support literature as well a specialty coupons for even better savings. Let’s make this Memorial Day memorable for all the joy and happiness it can bring when we have maximum health.

Mitch Booth is the owner of Love Whole Foods in Ormond Beach and Port Orange —the area’s largest organic and gluten free food stores.