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Welcome from Vantage Business Support & Insurance Services
As an added benefit to our customers and associates VANTAGE is publishing a semimonthly newsletter with information, interactive tools, podcasts and other resources to help you live healthier. We will explore topics on total health and resources for you and your family, including fitness, nutrition, mental and physical health, weight management and more.
Thank you for being part of the VANTAGE family.
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Please view our products list in the right sidebar.
This is just a sampling of what we feel would be important to you. We have much more to offer. If you have any questions or need more information please contact us at 877-886-8277 or click the link below.
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Why a 20-minute nap could change your life
 While your boss may not appreciate the snoring in the office, the truth is that well-timed sleep actually boosts your effectiveness as a worker. "A brief mid-day nap can reduce levels of fatigue, improve reaction time, promote learning, and improve coordination," says Michael A. Grandner, Ph.D., instructor and a member of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania.
There is, however, a right and wrong way to grab some quick shuteye. Try to sleep as close to the middle of the day as possible, preferably 8 hours after you wake up, says Grandner, or else it will be more difficult to go to bed at night. Ideally your snooze should be 20 to 30 minutes--it's best for regulating brain functions and keeping you from feeling like you've been hit by a truck when waking up from deeper sleep. (Having trouble nodding off?
3 benefits some short shuteye provides other than helping you be well rested
Improve Your Memory
A 2012 Northwestern University study showed participants could play a recently-learned song on a keyboard more accurately after it played in the background of their afternoon nap. The reinforced tune helped consolidate the memory, making it more easily reactivated when awake, according to the study authors. Wondering why we're pushing a catnap in place of simply a steaming cup of joe to motivate your noggin's memory? According to a University of California San Diego study, people did significantly worse in memory exercises when hyped up on caffeine compared to people who slept in the middle of the session.
Additionally, UC Berkeley research shows that memorized facts are briefly held in the brain's hippocampus before being sent to the prefrontal cortex for more permanent storage, which occurs during your Stage 2 sleep, or the point you reach in a 20-minute nap. Without this transfer of memories, your hippocampus "fills up" like your voicemail inbox and wouldn't be able to hold new information, meaning a siesta preps you for learning more stuff, concludes the study authors. (Still tossing and turning?
Relieve Stress
Looks like it's possible to sleep your worries away: Night shift nurses who took two 15-minute naps during 9-hour work shifts reported feeling less stress and tension in a recent Japanese study. The researchers noted that if the medics followed a stricter snoozing schedule during their breaks, they would feel the napping benefits more strongly, such as feeling more alert. Need more convincing? In a study from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, students who dozed after taking a mentally taxing math test had significantly lower blood pressure and thus higher cardiovascular recovery than those who stayed awake.
Lose Weight
Immobility as a sort of calorie-burner? This sounds too good to be true. "What we know about sleep and weight loss, the more sleep-deprived you are, the less likely you are to lose weight," says Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., author of The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan: Lose Weight Through Better Sleep. If you're consistently shorting yourself on pillow time, taking a longer, 90-minute nap that encompasses a full sleep cycle will help lower your sleep deficit and positively alter your levels of hormones ghrelin and leptin, making weight loss more likely, Breus says.
Leptin tells your brain when you're full, while ghrelin gives you an appetite. Studies at the University of Chicago and Stanford University found that when participants slept less, leptin levels decreased while ghrelin increased, meaning the men felt more hungry and craved high-carb foods 45 percent more than those who got more shuteye.
SOURCE: Ashley Balcerzak of Men's Health |
 Zinc is an essential mineral, critical to human health because it is found in every tissue in the body and is directly involved in cell division. Like many natural minerals, the importance of zinc to human health has to do with preventing zinc deficiency. While not having enough zinc in your diet can cause health problems, too much zinc intake in the body can be toxic and lead to a variety of health conditions as well. It is extremely important to balance zinc levels properly. Perform a zinc level test or consult a physician before taking zinc supplements.
Here are 10 health benefits of zinc:
Cancer Prevention
Maintaining proper levels of zinc in the body is an essential part of cancer prevention. Zinc deficiency may play a crucial role in the development of many types of cancer, particularly prostate cancer. In a study with rats, zinc helped prevent the proliferation of prostate cancer cells. While zinc in and of itself does not prevent or cure cancer, it is needed to maintain a healthy immune system and may have antioxidant properties that help to fight conditions associated with cancer.
Cancer Treatment
Zinc supplements may help curb the side effects of cancer patients receiving radiation therapy. It helps to stimulate the taste buds and research shows can reduce the instances of mouth sores.
Immunity Support
Adequate levels of zinc help maintain a healthy, productive immune system. While taking zinc supplements is known to help boost the immune system of a zinc deficient person, it has not been proven to help people with healthy levels of zinc in their body. In fact, an overabundance of zinc can actually weaken the immune system.
Heart Health
Avoiding zinc deficiency is key to preventing cardiovascular disease. Not only does a shortage of zinc contribute to higher cholesterol and increased inflammation, but can actually amplify the negative effects of these and other conditions resulting from poor cardiovascular health.
Antioxidant
Zinc is considered a powerful antioxidant that helps to prevent free radical damage and oxidative stress to the body's cells.
Athletic Strength & Performance
Zinc plays an important role in the production of three hormones considered essential for developing and maintaining muscle strength: testosterone, growth hormone and growth factor-1.
Reproduction & Fertility
Zinc plays a critical role in the reproductive health and fertility of both men and women. It is essential for proper hormone production. In women, zinc is necessary for the growth process of the egg and the proper function of estrogen. In men, zinc helps balance testosterone levels and may help to boost the libido.
Diabetes
Zinc deficiency can lead to a lower level of insulin sensitivity and greater intolerance to glucose. Maintaining good zinc levels may help patients suffering from diabetes and even help to prevent the development of diabetes.
Brain Health & Alzheimer's
Zinc helps the body to detoxify metals and remove high levels of minerals like iron from the brain. This process is necessary to maintain healthy brain tissue and good brain function and may play a significant role in reducing the chances of developing Alzheimer's disease.
ADHD
Zinc may play a role in treating attention deficit hyperactive disorder. Studies show that children suffering from ADHD generally have notably lower zinc levels than those that do not.
SOURCE: healthdiaries.com |
Here's your "QuoteAction" for this issue:
"A true measure of your worth includes all the benefits others have gained from your success."
Writer, Cullen Hightower Your action for today is to think of three people who have benefited from your success.
Have an extraordinary day!
SOURCE: Betty Jo Waxman
Productive Learning & Leisure, LLC |
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Disclaimer of Liability
Our firm provides the information in this e-newsletter for general guidance only, and does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation. Tax articles in this e-newsletter are not intended to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding accuracy-related penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The information is provided "as is," with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose.
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| Health & Wellness Products |
VANTAGE has a wide range of products designed to aid in health & wellness for both your personal and business life.
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| CONTACTS |
Please contact one of our VANTAGE professionals for assistance or click on the help picture. Paul White 510-595-0904
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