Category: Nutrition

What Vitamins and Minerals Help Support my Immune System?

Post author By CF Clinical Nutrition
Post date November 11, 2021
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As cold and flu season is officially upon us, knowing what vitamins and minerals help support immunity isn’t easy. Today, we break down four of the essential vitamins and minerals that help support your immune system. CF(Rehydrate)® IMMUNITY+ was designed with an extra dose of Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Magnesium, and Zinc to strengthen your immune system, especially during cold and flu season. Drinking one serving a day may help prevent you from getting sick this season.

Vitamin D’s Role in the Immune System

Vitamin D plays an essential role in immune health. Its function is to regulate adaptive immune responses. Additionally, Vitamin D deficiency appears to increase the risk of certain illnesses and lower levels of Vitamin D may increase infections. Low Vitamin D levels may make you more susceptible to have recent upper respiratory tract infections when compared to those with sufficient Vitamin D levels. Consuming just one serving of CF(Rehydrate)® IMMUNITY+ meets 25% of the DV of Vitamin D. Another way to ensure adequate Vitamin D is getting enough sunlight. Just taking a 15 minute break at lunch to get your daily dose of Vitamin D can help prevent deficiency in this essential vitamin.

Vitamin C’ and Your Immune System

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps the formation of collagen. As an antioxidant, Vitamin C protects against environmental oxidative stress. Deficiency in Vitamin C may lead to impaired immunity and increased infection. The way it works is, Vitamin C can readily donate electrons and, in turn, protect from damage by oxidants which makes it an essential part of wound healing. Consuming one serving of CF(Rehydrate)® IMMUNITY+ provides 100% of the DV of Vitamin C. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits can also help ensure you are getting enough Vitamin C in your diet.

Magnesium’s Role in the Immune System

Magnesium is necessary for healthy muscle function and glucose metabolism. This means it plays a vital role in the use of energy-rich compounds. When we exercise, magnesium may be depleted, which can sometimes compromise the ability to perform physical work. Immune function may also temporarily suffer during bouts of prolonged exercise or excessive training. Sometimes, this can lead to infection. Replacing magnesium is crucial and by consuming CF(Rehydrate)® IMMUNITY+ after a workout, you are able to replace some of the magnesium that may have been lost during exercise. Magnesium also has a strong relationship with the immune system. Deficiency in magnesium may lead to an inflammatory response which can be detrimental to our immune health. There is 10% of the DV of Magnesium in one serving of CF(Rehydrate)® IMMUNITY+.

Zinc Can Defend Against Oxidative Stress

We often hear about Zinc being important for our immune healthy, but what role does this mineral play? Zinc strengthens the immune system and promotes healthy cell function. When we have a bacterial infection, plasma zinc levels decline. Dietary zinc (meaning the zinc we get from food or drinks) deficiency predisposes individuals to certain infectious diseases. Zinc also defends against harmful internal macrophages and decreases oxidative stress. There is 25% of the DV of Zinc in one serving of CF(Rehydrate)® IMMUNITY+.

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Now that you have a better idea of the four essential vitamins and minerals that support your immune system—be sure to browse the rest of the CF Nutrition blog for empowering health, wellness, and lifestyle tips. And don’t forget to fuel yourself and your family with the clean, clinical replenishment and immune support of CF(Rehydrate)® immunity +.

Nutrition

Eat In-Season to Improve Your Health

Post author By CF Clinical Nutrition
Post date November 4, 2021
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It is common knowledge to eat 2-3 servings of fruits and 5-7 servings of vegetables per day. Today, we will deep dive into how you can get more bang for your buck when eating fruits and veggies. What does that mean, you ask? While you incorporate fruits and veggies into your diet, you may not know how important it is to eat in-season. If that’s you, have no fear! CF Nutrition is here to break down the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables in season and to help you choose seasonal foods today.

If you’re like most people, you probably aren’t aware of what fruits and vegetables are in season or what “in-season” really means. It’s not an easy task and—just like anything else—it requires a little mindfulness and effort to make this diet and lifestyle change. Seasonal food is produced and consumed around the time it is harvested. Eating seasonal foods offers an array of benefits—they’re fresher, tastier, cheaper, and more nutritious.

Most people don’t eat seasonal foods because it is relatively easy and convenient to eat most fruits and vegetables year-round. This explains why some of us may not realize that the broccoli we have in July isn’t really in-season, nor is the watermelon we have in December. Due to high consumer demands, farmers and grocery stores have created ways to meet the needs of the consumers by modifying fruits and vegetables so they can be produced and sold in large quantities year-round. Although this is very convenient for us as consumers it may not be best for our health.

Wondering why eating seasonally is important? We’ve got you covered….

1. Eating seasonally is better for you.

Arguably at the top of the list, eating seasonal foods is better for your health. Foods grown in season are more nutritionally dense, meaning they provide you with more antioxidants. Plus, when foods aren’t grown in season, they may have chemicals added to them to speed up and interfere with the usual ripening pattern. Some fruits and vegetables available year-round have ripening agents added to them to make them taste good to consumers. This is great for those who want to eat an apple in spring, but it affects the nutrient content and freshness of the food. By choosing to eat fruits in their harvest season, you provide your body with more vitamins and minerals. You also avoid the harmful chemicals added to enhance the ripening process, color, and flavor of the food.

2. Produce tastes better when it’s in season.

The second reason to eat in season is that veggies and fruit taste far better when you do. Large production of off-season produce tends to affect the flavor. Ever notice how tasty watermelon is in the summertime? It isn’t just because the heat makes it seem so refreshing. It’s fresher and more flavorful in the summertime when it’s in season. When fruits and vegetables are naturally grown and picked in season, they are full of flavors and nutrients. Again, there is less added to the food and you can taste its natural flavors as they are intended to be.

3. Eating seasonally is more affordable.

Another reason to eat fruits and vegetables while they are in-season is that they are more affordable. When fruit and vegetables are in season, they are typically grown in bulk. This means there will be more available to the consumer and more for the producer to sell. To cut the cost further, buy fruits and vegetables locally. This will cut transportation time and cost. Whenever possible, it’s always best to buy from a local farmer or farmers market.

Psst…to see what fruits and vegetable are in season visit: https://www.seasonalfoodguide.org/

Although it is easy to consume the same fruits and vegetables that we are used to year-round, you are truly doing yourself a disservice by not consuming foods in-season. At CF Nutrition, we encourage you to educate yourself on seasonal foods to improve your health and get the tastiest and freshest produce available.

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Ready for more goodness? Browse the rest of the CF Nutrition blog for empowering health, wellness, and lifestyle tips. And don’t forget to fuel yourself and your family throughout all of the seasons with the clean, clinical replenishment of CF(Rehydrate)® Immunity +.

Healthy Lifestyle Nutrition

What do Electrolytes do in Our Bodies?

Post author By CF Clinical Nutrition
Post date October 28, 2021
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Oh, those pesky electrolytes. We hear all about them—and we know we need them—but what do they actually do? Today, we’re breaking down all you need to know about electrolytes, including the role they play in our wellness and how, exactly, to make sure you’re getting enough of them. Read on for a helpful breakdown!

What are electrolytes?

Electrolytes are vital minerals that help regulate a variety of essential functions throughout the body. They include minerals like sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, phosphate, and bicarbonate. When they’re in a fluid environment (like water), these minerals carry an electric charge.

Scientific American puts it this way: “In the world of nutrition, we use the word ‘electrolyte’ more specifically to refer to minerals dissolved in the body’s fluids, creating electrically charged ions. The electrolytes that are the most important in nutrition are sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate.” So, if we had to sum it up simply: electrolytes are simply minerals that are electric.

What do electrolytes do for our bodies?

So we know they’re electric minerals, but what does this mean exactly? Electrolytes are essential to a properly functioning body. They are the minerals responsible for directing water to the areas in your body that need it most. They also help maintain optimal fluid balance within our cells themselves. When we sweat, it’s electrolytes that do the important job of keeping proper water balances both inside and outside of our cells. This helps us stay hydrated and ensures our body can function well overall. This is essential for healing after a sweaty workout session, a cold or flu, or a medical procedure.

In other words, the answer to the question: Electrolytes serve a number of roles, which, together, help ensure our cells, tissues, and fluids can “communicate,” allowing our bodies to function properly. These roles include:

Sparking nerve impulses (nerve impulses allow muscles to contract, which, for example keeps your heart beating)
Balancing the amount of water in our bodies
Balancing blood acidity and blood pressure
Helping our bodies build new tissue

How do we lose electrolytes, and how can we replenish them?

When you exercise, you lose a significant amount of vital electrolytes through your sweat—including high concentrations of sodium and chloride, and low concentrations of potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Rapidly replenishing these minerals with an electrolyte drink, then, is essential for rapid recovery—as you can’t get these electrolytes from water alone.

Is that why CF(Rehydrate)® contains so much sodium?

That’s exactly right! We often get asked about the levels of sodium in our electrolyte drink, CF(Rehydrate)®. The reason our electrolyte solution contains higher levels of sodium is because it’s meant to help you quickly and effectively replenish all of those important electrolytes you lose through exercise, sweat, and dehydration.

While our electrolyte drink contains a significant amount of sodium to help you replenish electrolytes, what’s just as important as what it does contain is what it doesn’t: Just like all of the medical-grade clinical-nutrition products our team of scientists and nutritionists formulates here at CF Nutrition, CF(Rehydrate)® is free from artificial colors , flavors, and sugars. This makes CF(Rehydrate)® the superior option out there for health-conscious athletes, moms, and everyday on-the-go professionals who want to hydrate wholly, without inundating their bodies with the excess sugar and harmful neon dyes you’ll find in sports drinks.

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Overall, the answer to the question is pretty simple: electrolytes help our cells communicate and our body perform at its absolute best. Without electrolytes, your heart wouldn’t beat and you wouldn’t be able to function—making them important heavy-hitters for healthy, happy bodies.

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Now that you have a clear answer to the question What do electrolytes do?, be sure to browse the rest of the CF Nutrition blog for empowering health, wellness, and lifestyle tips. And don’t forget to fuel yourself and your family with the clean, clinical replenishment and immune support of CF(Rehydrate)® Immunity +.

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Tags electrolyte, electrolyte drink, immunity

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