Zestt Wellness

Darcy is attending the Forbes Middle East Healthcare Leaders Summit at the moment - Learning from the very best as well as taking New Zealand innovations to the world! 😁

He has been able to have fantastic discusions with the CEO of PureHealth, Shaista Asif. She is ranked the No. 1 Healthcare Leader for the region by Forbes Middle East. He has also met with a number of other healthcare innovators and leaders.

The two-day summit is being held in Abu Dhabi with the theme
“Beyond Boundaries: Advancing Health Towards Longevity.”

Topics up for discussion include:
-Public-private partnerships in improving community health.
-Advantages of a holistic lifestyle.
-Use of intelligent technology to increase lifespans.
-Advancements in stem cell research, regenerative therapy, and biotech innovations.

Forbes Middle East English

New Aging Therapies are Coming & We Can Learn from the Naked Mole Rat!

I have been reading about senescing cells, as you do, when I discovered research into the Naked Mole Rat 😲

• In biology, senescence is a process by which a cell ages and permanently stops dividing but does not die.
• Senescing cells release inflammatory signals and can contribute to levels of chronic inflammation in the body.
• Most species in the world go through stages of senescence, like autumnal trees.
• There are species which are the exception to this, such as the naked mole-rat (negligible senescence).

The fabulous Naked Mole Rat has astonishing longevity compared with other rodents its size. They have a lifespan of 37 years, have low levels of cell senescence and are remarkably resistant to disease like cancer and cardiovascular disease 💥

Researchers are trying to work out why these little furry rodents age the way they do – is it hard-wired genetics leading to physiological superiority, is it the way they live, or a combination of both?

In a recent Nature Communications publication, it is postulated that Naked Mole rats have evolved a number of physiological mechanisms which allow them to prosper in a low oxygen-high carbon dioxide environment underground.

On top of that, they adopt insect-like social mechanisms for breeding and feeding. Could this social behaviour also play a part in their aging?

Until we know, let’s make like a naked mole-rat and reduce/delay senescent processes as long as possible. I am not sure about living underground, so instead let’s eat foods high in antioxidants to reduce oxidative damage and extend our social activities. Sounds good to me 💜

Sleep Apnea and its Hidden Impacts on Your Respiratory Health 😲

When one of my sons was seven, he suffered from sleep apnea. I would watch him sleep and be alarmed at the long periods of time he wouldn’t breathe, before he choked and gasped, breathed for a little and then stopped again, in an ongoing cycle. He had his adenoids and tonsils whipped out, plenty of icecream and jelly and was immediately more energetic and less tired.

It is not that simple for many people who suffer from sleep apnea which comes in a variety of shapes, forms and causes.

The most common type of sleep apnea is caused by an airway blockage and because of that is called obstructive sleep apnea. This occurs when the muscles in the back of your throat relax too much during sleep, causing the airway to narrow or close, blocking airflow.

Another type of sleep apnea is central sleep apnea which occurs when your brain doesn’t send proper signals to your muscles which control breathing. This is less common but can be combined with obstructive sleep apnea to cause mixed sleep apnea for some people.

Symptoms of sleep apnea include:
• Loud snoring;
• Gasping or choking during sleep;
• Morning headaches;
• Excessive daytime sleepiness;
• Difficulty concentrating;
• Irritability;
• Dry mouth or sore throat upon waking.
• Chronic coughing.

Risk factors for sleep apnea include:
• Obesity;
• Gender and age (it’s more likely to be older males who suffer);
• Smoking;
• Alcohol use;
• Nasal congestion and allergies.

If sleep apnea is left untreated ...
When you have sleep apnea, your oxygen levels can drop significantly while you sleep because of the pauses in breathing.
It's a good ideas to eat foods which support oxygen levels in your body. These include…

Read more here...
https://www.zesttwellness.com/blogs/wellness-for-the-rest-of-us/sleep-apnea-and-its-hidden-impacts-on-your-respiratory-health

Sleep Apnea and its Hidden Impacts on Your Respiratory Health When one of my sons was 7, he suffered from sleep apnea. I would watch him sleep and be alarmed at the long periods of time he wouldn’t breathe, before he choked and gasped, breathed for a little and then stopped again in an ongoing cycle. He had his adenoids and tonsils whipped out, plenty of ice...

My new regular habit is a Sunday morning polar plunge ❄️

It’s not always easy, this morning the southerly bites and the water temperature is a tropical 9 degrees.

My habit has been enabled by joining the wonderful women of Brighton who make up the Sunday polar plunge group 🙏

Brighton has some wonderful avian residents too, which include these ducks and geese who patrol the main road. This morning they held up three cars, including a police car, while they crossed the road!

I’ve earned a quiet read this afternoon. I have two non fiction books on the go-
One an easy to ready but heavy hitting foray into New Zealand’s alcohol culture, The Drinking Game by Guyon Espiner (you may feel anger if you pick this up).

The other, an intense molecular foray into “Why We Die” by Nobel Prize Winner, Venki Ramakrishnan.
“As science advances, we have much to gain. But might we also have much to lose?”

Here’s to contemplative Sundays 💜
Have a good one!

What you miss when you dismiss nature's medicines

Darcy is in Doha, he sent back a photo waxing lyrical at the beauty he saw. I looked at the same photo and saw my anathema - concrete and straight lines.

“They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.” Joni Mitchell.

Darcy is an engineer, I am a biologist. Darcy loves concrete where he can control the variables to produce the perfect, functioning product. I love marvelling at how one blackcurrant will never be the same as another.

Between us, we have managed to celebrate the wonderful variation in blackcurrants to produce a consistently efficacious respiratory health product to downgrade inflammation and repair lung tissue.

We have put a huge amount of work into ensuring that during the drying process we do not lose the bioactivity of the blackcurrants. Darcy’s engineering skills are magical for this. In most commercially available blackcurrant juices and extracts, heat and other processes destroy bioactivity and the remaining product is a sugary drink with few health benefits.

It’s interesting to understand why blackcurrants are so good for breathing. We often talk about the anthocyanins in blackcurrants but by doing that, we are ignoring what else is there.

Blackcurrants are rich in many compounds including other polyphenols, like hydroxycinnamic acids and different types of flavonoids (anthocyanins are a sub-group of flavonoids). On top of that, there are many different types of anthocyanins and in New Zealand we grow blackcurrants with high levels of all these compounds.

Read more here...
https://www.zesttwellness.com/blogs/wellness-for-the-rest-of-us/what-you-miss-out-when-you-dismiss-natures-medicines

What you miss out when you dismiss nature's medicines Darcy is in Doha, he sent back a photo waxing lyrical at the beauty he saw. I looked at the same photo and saw my anathema - concrete and straight lines. “They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.” Joni Mitchell. Darcy is an engineer, I am a biologist. Darcy loves concrete where he can control ...

There is Something Missing in the Carnivore Diet

I was standing in a fancy kitchen-type food shop, you know the kind, where a mixing spoon costs $50 and looks like the very funky accessory your kitchen needs but doesn’t change the way in which you mix your food.

As I was waiting to pay for my new apron, with a crossover back no less, I eavesdropped on the conversation at the next teller.

A woman was telling the shop person that she had lost 20kg and reversed an unnamed digestive illnesses and she couldn’t believe how easy it had been.

“I’m following the carnivore diet,” she stated. “I eat only meat for every meal, every day.”

Part of me thought, well, all power to her, it’s great she’s feeling better and I empathise with how hard it is to lose weight.

The other part of me thought about what it smells like when my dog farts. Not the thought you should have in an up-market kitchen shop.

You see, there is something missing in the carnivore diet.

It’s called plants.

I could wax lyrical about the wonderful plant compounds that support your immunity and reduce inflammation.

I could also talk about the different types of fibre - soluble, insoluble, bulking - and how important these are for gut health. Of course, because I am a scientist, I had to made a table for you showcasing the different types of fibre found in plants and their role in digestion.

Read more here...
https://www.zesttwellness.com/blogs/wellness-for-the-rest-of-us/there-is-something-missing-in-the-carnivore-diet

There is something missing in the carnivore diet I was standing in a fancy kitchen-type food shop, you know the kind, where a mixing spoon costs $50 and looks like the very funky accessory your kitchen needs but doesn’t change the way in which you mix your food. As I was waiting to pay for my new apron, with a crossover back no less, I eavesdrop...

GLP agonists found in nature can help with long-term weight loss

There is nothing more frustrating than starting to cook, only to realise you don’t have one of the recipe ingredients. This happened to my daughter when she was making the wonderful gluten free bread recipe by Sophie Steevens (Raw and Free).

We had no psyllium.

I wasn’t at home to impart the properties of psyllium and my husband stepped in “naaa, I don’t reckon you need it.”

Needless to say, the bread turned out crumbly ...

“You left out the psyllium?”

“Yeah, Dad told me to”

“Have you ever seen what happens when psyllium is soaked in water? It’s a miraculous feat I promise you.”

Another loaf was made, the psyllium was admired as it soaked up all the water and the bread was scrumptious.

It got me thinking about the incredible properties of natural foods. Psyllium husks act as a gentle, bulk-forming laxative. Benefits range from relieving constipation and treating diarrhoea to managing blood sugar levels, boosting heart health and managing digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome.

Psyllium is also one of the natural food products that can shift the dial in terms of activation of GLP agonists.

Let’s get into that ‘cos GLP agonists are hot right now.

GLP agonist medications

If you are battling with obesity and or diabetes, chances are you are considering the GLP medications on offer.

These drugs mimic the action of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1. When blood sugar levels start to rise after you eat, the drugs stimulate the body to produce more insulin. The extra insulin helps lower blood sugar levels...

Read more here
https://www.zesttwellness.com/blogs/wellness-for-the-rest-of-us/glp-agonists-found-in-nature-can-help-with-long-term-weight-loss

GLP agonists found in nature can help with long-term weight loss There is nothing more frustrating than starting to cook, only to realise you don’t have one of the recipe ingredients. This happened to my daughter when she was making the wonderful gluten free bread recipe by Sophie Steevens (Raw and Free). We had no psyllium. I wasn’t at home to impart the pro...

You are the CEO of the New Health Model 💪

My daughter was sick, stomach cramps, vomiting and a fever. It was Christmas and I was visiting family in a small New Zealand town. I rang around all the GP clinics and no one would see her – “sorry, we are booked out and we are not taking on new patients or people from out of town.”

I was getting pretty frantic, in full-on “Mum-mode” and close to taking her to A&E, when eventually I found a clinic in another town who would see her, off we drove.

She was diagnosed with campylobacter food poisoning and recovered well after a few days, but I will not forget the feeling of despair and anger when no one would see us.

A shortage of medical staff is affecting people all over the country from GP visits to long waiting lists for specialist appointments. Yes, we could train more medical staff, but the challenges are deeper than that. Our medical system is not really set up for the types of illnesses many of us are experiencing relating to chronic disease, nor have we adequately prepared for our aging population.

This blog is not to highlight the flaws in our healthcare system, rather, I wanted to offer thoughts on the opportunities to transform healthcare.

Read more here ...

https://www.zesttwellness.com/blogs/wellness-for-the-rest-of-us/you-are-the-ceo-of-the-new-health-model

You are the CEO of the New Health Model My daughter was sick, stomach cramps, vomiting and a fever. It was Christmas and I was visiting family in a small New Zealand town. I rang around all the GP clinics and no one would see her – “sorry, we are booked out and we are not taking on new patients or people from out of town.” I was get...

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Hot of the Press - New Study Results!

Oral probiotic BLISM18 (which we use in our Zestt Oral+ and Cardio+ lozenges) have been shown in a recent double-blind, placebo-controlled study to:

• Reduce gingival bleeding after 1 month of use, with continued improvements at 2 and 3 months;
• Decrease dental plaque accumulation at 2 and 3 months.

You can read the full study below - or contact me ([email protected]) if you would like a full copy of the paper...

https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6767/12/7/222?hss_channel=lcp-1025731&utm_campaign=URTI&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--6s9nUcW7UNFWHZeswof18YXZHcMeTcIWDNn0HhChATAC4tCrddvma9kImEFXwhaISkAeczayozpm5oK6dvjP9bwe0XQ&_hsmi=318058753&utm_content=318058753&utm_source=hs_email

The Olympics of Aging - What Sport do you Choose?

Isn’t it fun watching Olympic athletes in peak physical condition fight it out over a 10th of a second, a twist of an arm or a kilogram of weight?

We are not the ones who have had to spend hours face-down in a swimming pool or practicing drag flicks. We haven’t had to put our life on hold - long lunches, fine wines and sleep-ins not taken in a singular focus on a podium placing.

The glory and the despair of the Olympics makes for scintillating viewing - it also makes me marvel at the capacity of the human body and mind. And it’s never too late to strive - it might not be Olympic glory we chase, yet we all have mental and physical challenges to overcome.

I have carried too much weight for years and it was starting to affect my metabolic health. Slowly, I have shed some kilos (8 in total) but more excitingly, I have been able to commit to a gym routine – this week hitting a personal best in a fitness test (since I started), improving my VO2 Max,from average to the top quartile for my age, and yesterday I lifted a personal best in a back squat – if you message me, I will tell you what it was, but don’t expect a big number!

My personal best is relative – it’s not what I could have done at 18, it’s not what I could have done before having children - but it is what I can do now and that’s enough. I celebrated last night with carrot cake – I never said I was consistent!

As we put together our short documentary celebrating Darcy’s incredible health journey, it has made me think about what we leave on the table because we think it’s too late to change.

Darcy has improved his VO2 max lung capacity (from the late teens to the mid-forties), (read here), reduced his exhaled nitric oxide levels (a measure of respiratory inflammation) from 40 to 20 parts per billion (Yay Zestt Breathe+) and shed a whopping 40 kilos. He is improving his flexibility, strength and endurance across the board and is a shadow of his former self physically, yet larger than life in person - with an extra dose of annoying!

My brother-in-law, Colin Wilson, is similarly inspiring...
Read More Here...
https://www.zesttwellness.com/blogs/wellness-for-the-rest-of-us/the-olympics-of-aging

Uncut Fitness

The Olympics of Aging Isn’t it fun watching Olympic athletes in peak physical condition fight it out over a 10th of a second, a twist of an arm or a kilogram of weight? We are not the ones who have had to spend hours face-down in a swimming pool or practicing drag flicks. We haven’t had to put our life on hold - long...

Check out the Zestt products at roslynpharmacy and go to our website, www.zesttwellness.com for a list of other retailers - or buy online.

Here’s to good health 💜 this winter ❄️ 🥂

Health of the Oral Microbiome Supports Immunity and Oral and Respiratory Health

Oral probiotics, BLISK12 and BLISM18, have been shown to reduce gingivitis (gum disease), halitosis (bad breath) and suport the immune system to protect against viral and bacterial infections.

Streptococcus salivarius BLIS K12 adnd BLISM18 are probiotics strain developed for
application to the oral cavity. The BLIS K12 strain was originally characterised for its
antibacterial activity against the oral pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes.

Here are a couple of the scientific papers describing the action and effect of oral probiotics:
Recent research (Babina and co-authors, Nutrients, 2023) has expanded the applications of oral probiotcs to reduce halitosis (bad breath), prevent otitis media (ear infection) and protect against virus infections of the respiratory tract.

In another study (Laws and co-authors, 2022, Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins), define a new mechanism of action for oral probiotics in supporting an immune response (alongside the mechanism of competitively colonising the mouth and throat ahead of pathogenic bacteria).

Having these published data, validates the use of oral probiotics BLISK12 and BLISM18 in efficacious products that change lives.

Zestt Oral+ Lozenges (pictured) are the only product available that contains both BLISK12 and BLISM18 oral probiotics. These are paired with New Zealand Gold Kiwifruit which supports probiotic colonisation with its prebiotic and enzymatic properties.

Please contact us - [email protected], of you would like to read the full published science papers or want any more information, and visit our website www.zesttwellness.com

Feeling Low in Energy?

There are a bunch of reasons why you might be low in energy, one underlying reason might be poor mitochondrial health.

Mitochondria are organelles which are present in all your cells – they are often called the “cell powerhouse” because they have an important function of producing energy (in the form of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP) through the process of cellular respiration, where the cell converts glucose from your blood stream and turns it into energy for your body.

Aging and mitochondria

As we age, mitochondrial function declines through oxidative stress, accumulation of mutations, inflammatory processes and a decline in the creation of new mitochondria (biogenesis).

What can you do to enhance mitochondrial health?

You can improve your mitochondrial health a variety of ways – here are some of the evidence-backed methods:

1. Regular exercise, incorporating high intensity interval training.
2. Good sleep – clearing toxins and neural waste from your brain and body.
3. Healthy diet rich in antioxidants – anthocyanins are amazing on this front (present in our Zestt Breathe+ and Zestt Cardio+ products).
4. Reduce exposure to toxins, such as cigarette smoke, pollution and alcohol.
5. Taking supplements such as CoEnzymeQ10 (in our Zestt Cardio+ lozenges), Alpha-lipoic acid and N-acetylcysteine (NAC).
6. Temperature manipulation, like cold therapy – anyone for a polar plunge?
7. Build muscle mass to support removal of glucose from the blood stream.
8. Manage stress levels.
9. Stay hydrated.

Most importantly – how will you feel with healthy mitochondria?…
Read more here...
https://www.zesttwellness.com/blogs/wellness-for-the-rest-of-us/feeling-low-in-energy

11 Signs of Chronic Inflammation 💥

The first time I heard the term “chronic inflammation,” it was a relatively unused term – now I hear it everywhere.

I wonder, is it a bit like the scenario of buying a new car and seeing the same model everywhere, or are we becoming more aware of chronic inflammation and the effects of lifestyle on healthy aging?

Chronic inflammation underpins, or is the precursor for, chronic disease – that’s why it’s important to understand. Chronic disease kills 41 million people each year, equivalent to 74% of all deaths globally (World Health Organisation).

Deaths from chronic disease tend to be of longer duration – and often the warning signs of chronic inflammation are there well before a person shows any disease symptoms, which is why it's so important to act early as we may be able to stop the formation of disease.

Chronic inflammation underpins the following chronic diseases:
• Autoimmune diseases, like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and ankylosing spondylitis;
• Cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and high blood pressure;
• Certain cancers;
• Gastrointestinal diseases, like Crohn’s disease and inflammatory bowel disease;
• Lung diseases, like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• Mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety.
• Metabolic diseases, like Type 2 diabetes.
• Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

Let’s understand what the differences are between acute and chronic inflammation - then we can explore what the signs of chronic inflammation are.

There are two main types of inflammation: acute and chronic. Acute inflammation is sudden and temporary, while chronic inflammation can go on for months or years..
Read full blog here...
https://www.zesttwellness.com/blogs/wellness-for-the-rest-of-us/11-signs-of-chronic-inflammation

11 Signs of Chronic Inflammation The first time I heard the term “chronic inflammation,” it was a relatively unused term – now I hear it everywhere. I wonder, is it a bit like the scenario of buying a new car and seeing the same model everywhere, or are we becoming more aware of chronic inflammation and the effects of lifesty...