SFERA’S BASKET OF HAPPINESS
Sfera Bio Nutrition offers a Basket of Happiness with selected products, to bring out the best in us!
We occasionally need a boost and these products are formulated for optimal well being in mind.
What are the most important factors that help us cope with daily life? It is a good mood, high energy levels and physical health. Having these key factors in place allow us to take life on with optimism and ease, no matter what is happening around us! We can consciously set out to maximise our potential and give ourselves an advantage by boosting these key areas with herbs and nutritional supplementation.
The following products from our Basket of Happiness can aid mental and physical performance, putting you ahead of the game.
1. Ashwagandha
Also known as Indian Ginseng, Ashwagandha is one of the most highly prized herbs for rejuvenating and strengthening mind and body. As an adaptogen, this herb increases vitality and health. In Ayurveda, Ashwagandha is known as a “Medhya Rasayan” or mind rejuvenator and is used for enhanced memory and overall brain function.
Ashwagandha may assist to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress-related symptoms by reducing blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol after just two months of daily use.
It also aids in restoring energy, mood, vitality, poor concentration and building resistance to chronic stress, chronic fatigue, and physical and emotional burnout as well as enhance performance under stress.
Ashwagandha has been used by Ayurvedic practitioners for hundreds of years as an aphrodisiac to improve fertility and libido for both men and women.
Ashwagandha brings both body and mind into balance.
2. Maca
Maca or ‘Peruvian Ginseng’, is a radish-like root vegetable native to Peru, which grows at high altitudes of 4000 to 4500 meters. Often referred to as a superfood with incredible energy-giving properties.
Maca root has been described as an adaptogen, increasing the body’s ability to defend itself against physical and mental stressors. It is traditionally used for energy, stamina, and libido to help improve energy levels and reduce fatigue, anxiety, and depression.
3. Magnesium
Magnesium is one of the most important minerals for your body, bones, and brain. Every cell in your body contains it and needs it to function properly.
Magnesium deficiency is quite common and has been linked to many diseases and health issues including cardiovascular disease, cognitive disorders, osteoporosis, anxiety, depression, and chronic fatigue.
An underlying magnesium deficiency, even if ‘sub-clinical’, can result in chronic fatigue and similar symptoms. Many chronic fatigue syndrome patients have been shown to have low red blood cell magnesium levels.
Magnesium supplementation can improve treatment-resistant depression symptoms, which include headache, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, and short-term memory loss. It also has a calming effect on the central nervous system and aids women with PMS symptoms.
4. 5-HTP
5-HTP is an amino acid produced naturally by the body. It plays an important role as a direct precursor in serotonin production, the feel-good hormone. Due to a busy lifestyle and stress, this amino acid is depleted, and supplementation is required.
5-HTP supplementation helps promote mental wellbeing and improves mood, reduces nervousness, aggression, panic disorders, and anxiety. This supplement can also assist with ADD and ADHD.
If taken before bedtime, 5-HTP boosts sleep quality by aiding the increase of melatonin production to induce sleep via the serotonin metabolism pathway.
5. Bacopin
Bacopin (Bacopa) is truly a great overall brain tonic. It is an adaptogen herb that has been used traditionally to boost longevity and enhance cognitive function. The herb shows promise in memory enhancing and anxiety-reducing effects, making it a useful nootropic.
Bacopa helps increase mental alertness, improves concentration and learning ability, as well as long term- and spatial memory.
Furthermore, Bacopa may help to alleviate anxiety and depression and assist the brain to cope with excessive stress.
6. L-Glutamine
Glutamine assists in providing energy for the brain, effectively counteracting fatigue, brain fog, and afternoon energy slump.
As a key neurotransmitter, it helps increase mental function, alertness, and has an antidepressant effect. L-Glutamine assists with ADD and ADHD, enhances concentration, increases learning ability, and improves memory.
It helps to balance blood sugar, manages hypoglycaemia, and reduces cravings for carbohydrates and sugary snacks.
The above-mentioned supplements are part of Sfera Bio Nutrition’s intuitive range and combined with a healthy balanced diet will add great value to assist in mental and physical health.
These supplements are brought to you with the utmost care, ensuring quality and purity.
Shop on our website for these, and many more complementary supplements.
REFERENCES
Ashwagandha
1. Singh P, Guleri R, Singh V, Kaur G, Kataria H, Singh B, Kaur G, Kaul SC, Wadhwa R, Pati PK. Biotechnological interventions in Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. Biotechnol Genet Eng Rev. 2015 Mar 19:1-20.
2. Kuboyama T, Tohda C, Komatsu K. Neuritic regeneration and synaptic reconstruction induced by withanolide A. Br JPharmacol. 2005;144(7):961–971 3. Pratte MA, Nanavati KB, Young V, Morley CP. An alternative treatment for anxiety: a systematic review of human trial results reported for the Ayurvedic herb ashwagandha (Withania somnifera). J Altern Complement Med. 2014.Dec;20(12):901-8.
4. Malik A, et al. Effect of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root powder supplementation on the VO2max and hemoglobin in hockey players. International Journal of Behavioural Social and Movement Sciences 2013 Vol. 2 No. 3 p90.
5. Mahdi AA, Shukla KK, Ahmad MK, et al. Withania somnifera improves semen quality in stress-related male fertility. Evidence- Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2011;2011:9 pages.576962
Maca
1. Wang Y, Wang Y, McNeil B, Harvey LM: Maca: an Andean crop with multipharmacological functions. Food Res Intern 2007, 40:783-792.
2. López-Fando A, Gómez-Serranillos MP, Iglesias I, et al. Lepidium peruvianum chacon restores homeostasis impaired by restraint stress. Phytother Res. 2004 Jun;18(6):471-4.
3. Stone M, Ibarra A, Roller M, Zangara A, Stevenson E. A pilot investigation into the effect of maca supplementation on physical activity and sexual desire in sportsmen. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Dec 10;126(3):574-6.
Magnesium
1. Rude RK. Magnesium deficiency: a cause of heterogeneous disease in humans. J Bone Miner Res. 1998 Apr;13(4):749-58.
2. Eby GA, Eby KL. Rapid recovery from major depression using magnesium treatment. Med Hypotheses. 2006;67(2):362-70 3. Volpe SL. Magnesium in disease prevention and overall health. Adv Nutr. 2013 May 1;4(3):378S-83S.
3. Eby GA, Eby KL. Rapid recovery from major depression using magnesium treatment. Med Hypotheses 2006;67:362–70. 4. Cox IM, Campbell MJ, Dowson D. Red blood cell magnesium and chronic fatigue syndrome. Lancet. 1991 Mar 30;337(8744):757-60.
5HTP
1.Young, S. N. (2013). The effect of raising and lowering tryptophan levels on human mood and social behaviour. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 368(1615), 20110375. http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2011.0375
2.Jensen K, et al. (1975) Tryptophan/imipramine in depression. Lancet.;2:920.
3.Moskowitz DS, et al. (2001) The effect of tryptophan on social interaction in everyday life: a placebocontrolled study. Neuropsychopharmacology. 25:277–89.
4.Demisch K, Bauer J, Georgi K. (1987) Treatment of severe chronic insomnia with L-tryptophan and varying sleeping times. Pharmacopsychiatry. 20(6):245-8.
Bacopa
1. Kashmira J. Gohil, Jagruti A. Patel (2009) A review on Bacopa monniera: Current research and future prospects, International Journal of Green Pharmacy
2. Calabrese, C., Gregory, W. L., Leo, M., Kraemer, D., Bone, K., & Oken, B. (2008). Effects of a Standardized Bacopa monnieri Extract on Cognitive Performance, Anxiety, and Depression in the Elderly: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 14(6), 707–713.
3. Stough C, Lloyd J, Clarke J, Downey LA, Hutchison CW, Rodgers T, Nathan PJ. (2001) The chronic effects of an extract of Bacopa monniera (Brahmi) on cognitive function in healthy human subjects. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 156(4):481-4."
4.. Raghav S, Singh H, Dalal P K, Srivastava J S, Asthana O P. (2006) Randomized controlled trial of standardized Bacopa monniera extract in age-associated memory impairment. Indian J Psychiatry 2006;48:238
5.Calabrese, C., Gregory, W. L., Leo, M., Kraemer, D., Bone, K., & Oken, B. (2008). Effects of a Standardized Bacopa monnieri Extract on Cognitive Performance, Anxiety, and Depression in the Elderly: A Randomized,Double-Blind Human Cognitive, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 14(6), 707–713.