nickkogos115, Author at CustomCare Nutrition

Health Benefits of Green Tea

by nickkogos115 | Nov 12, 2019 | Wellness Foods

Green tea seems to have become wildly popular overnight! I was at a popular coffee shop chain recently and found a green tea latte and a matcha smoothie. I love it when healthy products hit the mainstream market! Green tea is not just a fun-colored drink at a coffee shop though. It has amazing benefits for our health, including antioxidant support, disease prevention, supporting metabolism, and boosting our detoxification!

How Green Tea Benefits Your Health

Brain Health

Studies have shown that green tea can boost memory, brain function, and attention/focus while reducing anxiety. This is due to the amino acid, theanine, found in many types of teas. Theanine is a wonderful stress-reducer.

Antioxidants

Green tea is full of phytonutrients called catechins. Catechins are antioxidants. These protect our body’s cells against free radical damage. Free radicals are produced through normal energy production, as well as through a poor diet and high stress. It’s important to eat a variety of plant-based foods in order to daily replenish the antioxidants you need.

Disease Prevention

Green tea can also prevent many types of diseases, including breast cancer. The odds of getting cancer reduces as green tea consumption increases. Green tea also increases glucose metabolism, helping to control blood sugar spikes and prevent type 2 diabetes. Lastly, green tea helps lower the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. It does this through the catechins mentioned before. These phytonutrients are a type of flavonoid and they help control blood pressure and lower LDL cholesterol.

Ways To Get Green Tea

There are so many benefits to green tea, the best way to start is to jump right in! Green tea is available as tea bags or loose-leaf, and also has matcha powder. If drinking green tea is a bit too strong for you, you can also try supplementing with EGCG. This stands for epigallocatechin gallate and is the common ingredient in green tea extract. Lastly, green tea does contain caffeine, albeit much less than your standard cup of coffee. Green tea has between 25-29 mg of caffeine compared to 95-165 mg in a cup of coffee.

Make green tea a part of your daily ritual and enjoy these amazing health benefits!

As told by Nick Kogos from Southwest Microadventures.

Quality Control of Supplements

by nickkogos115 | Aug 18, 2019 | Supplements

As consumers, we know that quality counts. Most of us have heard the saying that cheap things are made to be sold. What does this say about high-quality items? Usually that they are made to work well and last long. Supplements, whether vitamins, minerals, or enzymes, are categorized no differently. Some are made to be sold and some are made to work. Contrary to common thought, supplement manufacturing is indeed regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Manufacturing companies undergo quality control testing that is then submitted to the FDA. The loophole is found in the fact that the companies who supply the manufacturers with the raw material are not regulated. The raw material can thus be contaminated with compounds ranging from heavy metals to industrial solvents, to unwanted bacteria, and the manufacturers would not know to test for these in their finished product. What does this mean?? It means contaminated supplements make their way to store shelves, unbeknownst to the manufacturers or the FDA.

Why would anyone buy supplements then?

There are several supplement companies who are committed to providing pure, high quality products. This is made possible by independent 3rd party testers such as U.S. Pharmacopeia, NSF International, and Consumer Labs. Quality supplement companies voluntarily pay thousands of dollars to have their products third party tested and certified. These certifications ensure that the supplement is not contaminated with dangerous substances or chemicals. It also verifies that the supplement contains the amount of ingredients listed on the label. CustomCare Nutrition wants to ensure that you receive the maximum benefit from your customized nutrition plan. Therefore, we only recommend supplement companies who have undergone rigorous quality testing.