With the onset of spring each year comes sunny skies, beautiful flowers and trees, and warm weather. Unfortunately, spring also brings sneezing, itchy, watery eyes, and runny noses. Despite the never-ending winter, this year is no different, and the onslaught of symptoms brought on by pollen, mold and fungus spores, and even pet dander is enough to make anyone want to stay inside until Labor Day.

Unfortunately, over-the-counter allergy medicines can bring on side effects that are almost worse than the allergies themselves, including drowsiness, upset stomach, and dry mouth, nose and throat. Luckily, there are many natural remedies that can bring relief with few, if any, side effects. Here’s a roundup of 4 of our favorite products for combating seasonal allergies without all of the nasty side effects:

• Sovereign Silver: This high-grade silver hydrosol not only helps boost your immune system so that it doesn’t react to allergens in the first place, it can also kill the bacteria swimming around in your head, and help reduce the inflammation of nasal passageways that leads to headaches and that stuffy feeling. Our Sovereign Silver 2 oz. vertical spray is especially great for helping clear stuffy nasal passages.
• Allergy Response: Allergies occur when our body reacts to a foreign pathogen (pollen, dander, etc.) by producing histamine, which is what causes sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes. Innate Response’s Allergy Response contains Quercetin, a compound that supports your body’s ability to stabilize histamine production and keep it from reacting to allergens so wildly. Allergy Response also contains herbs and a high dose of Vitamin C to further boost your immune system and keep allergic reactions from happening in the first place.
• SafeCareRx Allergy Support: SafeCareRx’s line of pharmaceutical-grade homeopathic remedies offer support for a multitude of allergies, from food allergies to chemical allergies. They also have formulas that offer relief from many allergies that are exacerbated in the spring time, such as dust mites, animal hair and dander, mold, and hay fever. They even have a formula for red eye relief from allergies and conjunctivitis.
• SafeCareRx Regional Allergy Support: SafeCareRx’s line of regional allergy support provides super-targeted relief for residents of specific geographic areas. Using extracts from the plants of a given region, they have formulated products that help patients in 9 different sections of the U.S., including Desert states, the Great Lakes area, Hawaii, the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, the Plains states, the Rocky Mountains, the Southwest, and—our favorite—the Southern U.S.

Try these 4 products to help fight your allergies this spring, and stop and smell the roses without sneezing!

You may have seen the big experiment on TV, or the bottles lined up on the end caps at your local pharmacy, but it can be hard to find real, useful information on green coffee bean extract through the noise of e-mail offers and internet ads. What exactly is green coffee bean extract, and how does it work to help you lose weight?

Green coffee bean extract comes from the unroasted beans of the coffee plant. When the beans are processed to make coffee, we roast out the bitterness and add flavor, but destroy a compound called chlorogenic acid. It’s this chlorogenic acid that is believed to be responsible for the weight loss that has fueled the popularity of green coffee bean extract.

Studies have shown that chlorogenic acid slows the absorption of fat from food, and also stimulates metabolism. It has also been shown to inhibit an enzyme that promotes the formation of glucose in the liver, so it may even have an effect on diabetes and other glycemic disorders.

A small study from 2012 showed an average weight loss of 17 pounds in participants while taking varying doses of green coffee extract (up to 1,050 mg) versus a placebo. While more comprehensive studies need to be done, this finding shows that chlorogenic acid may be a contributing factor to real weight loss.

Chlorogenic acid is taken as a supplement, since the amount of green coffee we’d need to drink in order to get the dose of cholorogenic acid seen in the study would be huge, and it wouldn’t taste very good either. It’s recommended to look for a potency of at least 45% cholorogenic acid in order to aid weight loss. The recommended dosage is 1200 mg of chlorogenic acid, or at least 400 mg before each meal.

Our favorite green coffee bean extract is the Nature’s Dynamics Organic Green Coffee Extract. Not only does it contain 1200 mg of 45% chlorogenic acid per 2-capsule serving, but it also offers a proprietary energy and wellness blend that includes organic ginseng and other antioxidant rich spices and botanicals to support healthy energy, blood sugar & stress levels, and aid in weight loss.

While green coffee bean extract needs more study, and may not be the magic bullet to weight loss that some claim, it can lead to real weight loss when taken in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise.

We all suffer from stress. From work to family to even what to cook for dinner every night, we all feel the pull of stress in our daily lives. But when the pile of little stresses becomes too big, our body’s response can weaken and we can suffer from a multitude of symptoms, such as extreme fatigue, digestive problems and difficulty recovering from illness. This weakened stress response is known as adrenal fatigue, and it results when our fight-or-flight response goes into overdrive, and our adrenal glands can’t keep up.

Situated above the kidneys, our adrenal glands are responsible for creating the hormones (namely cortisol, epinephrine and dopamine) that regulate energy production and storage, muscle tone, heart rate and other functions that help our bodies respond to extreme stress. What started out as the fight-or-flight response of the occasional life-threatening event in our caveman ancestors has now morphed into the chronic stress of daily life, and our adrenal glands can’t keep up the hormone production needed to keep our energy levels high enough to deal with it all.

This adrenal fatigue manifests itself in extreme tiredness throughout the day, trouble sleeping when we do actually get to bed, sugar cravings, poor digestion, and food and environmental allergies. You can take an online self-test to help you see if you might be suffering from adrenal fatigue, and your practitioner can also administer urine and saliva tests to further diagnose your condition.

If you are diagnosed with adrenal fatigue, it’s important to avoid caffeine and other stimulants until your hormone levels are regulated. You should also minimize stress on the adrenal system by balancing your blood sugar (and your energy) with a diet low in refined carbohydrates and sugars. Find time in your busy day to do something that helps you relax and de-stress, such as meditation, a relaxing walk, listening to music or reading.

A supplement may also be necessary in order to restore balance to your adrenal system. Horizon Health Shop offers a great selection of natural adrenal support supplements, such as:

• Adrenal Response Complete Care by Innate Response is packed with nutrients and herbs that can help strengthen your body’s response to the stresses of modern life and nourish your adrenal glands.
• Medix4Life’s Adrenal formulation is a powerful stem-cell activator that regulates intercellular communication and supports cellular and tissue regeneration in the adrenal glands so your adrenals can respond more efficiently.
• For overall balance of your endocrine system, try Anova Health’s AvinoCort. This powerful supplement can also help regulate blood sugar and improve sleep quality and lower fatigue.
• Avinotropin 45mcg deer antler velvet extract is a high-potency, natural extract of growth hormones that can help your body’s recovery time and regulate cortisol levels.

Worried about adrenal fatigue? Don’t stress! With a balanced diet, stress-busting activities and the right supplements, you can get back to feeling full of energy and save the fight-or-flight response for when you’re facing real danger.

With the growing awareness of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure as the top causes of death in the U.S. (and the world), people are looking for more ways to keep their heart healthy and lower their risk of these prevalent diseases. Along with changes in diet and exercise, studies have shown that fatty acids, such as omega-6 and omega-3 found in fish, nuts and seeds can help lower the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and even Alzheimer’s. Fish-oil supplements are the most popular way to get these fatty acids, but what are the differences between the different oils, and which one should you take? We’ve compiled a primer on omegas and fish oils to help you decide which supplement is best for you.

Omega fatty acids are a type of fat that our body needs in order to build healthy cells (especially heart cells), and maintain brain and nerve function. The three important ones for these functions are omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids. Since our bodies can create omega-9 when we eat unsaturated fats, it’s not considered an “essential” fatty acid, and isn’t usually included in supplements. Omega-3 and omega-6 are the essential fatty acids, since our bodies don’t synthesize them and we need to get them directly from the things we eat.

Omega-6 comes primarily in the form of linoleic acid, which is found mostly in vegetable oils—such as corn, soybean and safflower oils—and nuts and seeds. Omega-3 fatty acids come primarily from fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna and mackerel, but can also be found in smaller amounts in walnuts, leafy green vegetables and flaxseed. Doctors recommend keeping your intake of omega-6s about even to your intake of omega-3s, because too many omega-6 fatty acids (mostly in the form of vegetable oils) can actually disrupt all of the good that omega-3s do by causing inflammation and increasing cardiovascular risk.

The two forms of omega-3 fatty acids—EPA and DHA—that are responsible for lowering inflammation and protecting against heart disease are only found in fish oils. ALA is another omega-3 fatty acid that is found in flaxseed and vegetable-based sources of omegas, and while your body can convert some ALA to DHA and EPA, it’s not clear how much, so the most efficient way to get your heart-healthy omega-3s is through fish-based sources.

Since the amount of healthy omega-3s with species of fish can vary by as much as 15%, it may be beneficial to supplement your fatty acid intake with a fish-oil supplement, such as Metabolic Maintenance’s Ethyl Esters Omega, which contains 400 mg of EPA and 300 mg of DPA per serving, and is more concentrated than other fish-oil supplements.

One of the side effects of fish oil supplements is that for people with compromised digestion, they can cause upset stomach and the dreaded “fish burps.” Nature’s Dynamics’ Omega-3 Gummies are a great-tasting way to get all three fatty acids (Omega-3-6-9) without any digestive problems.

Krill oil is another great supplemental option for your essential fatty acids, and your body absorbs it faster than traditional fish-oil supplements. BioKARE’s KrillKARE is a rich source of essential fatty acids, as well as astaxanthin, a cousin to beta carotene that promotes optimal health.

For vegetarians, Metabolic Maintenance’s Evening Primrose Oil is a great way to get some of your essential fatty acids, and may even be used to help with skin disorders and rheumatoid arthritis.