The Root of What Matters

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects ten to fifteen percent of Americans. It is often triggered by stress and particular foods. Whether you suffer from occasional IBS or a serious IBD, the latest research indicates that adding curcumin to your diet could help alleviate your symptoms.

MILWAUKEE — #ZYNISLIFE isn’t just a hashtag at the innovative Milwaukee-based company.  It embodies the fundamental foundation of goodness, from fair and equitable treatment of people, to charitable contributions, to community engagement, social justice and protecting the environment.  The encapsulation of this hashtag is now demonstrated to the entire world with ZYN’s addition to the Certified B Corp™ global community, making ZYN 1 of only 10 in the State of Wisconsin, 1 of only 165 in the U.S. Food & Beverage sector and 1 of only 2,668 across the World.

To date, over a thousand clinical studies have been done on curcumin, the active compound found in turmeric. According to research, Curcumin has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which make it such an interesting topic of study. Researchers around the world have wondered – and found some promising results – about curcumins power to fight such diseases as arthritis, certain cancers, neurological disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and gastrointestinal diseases.

An injury to my foot in 2004 triggered the onset of my Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) at the age of 29. What was probably in my system my entire life decided to make its appearance when my immune system did not know what to do with that freak injury. My immune system went haywire! My added stress due to my job, lifestyle, chronic fatigue and significant weight loss prior to my injury did not help my case.

Arthritis comes in more than one hundred different forms, but the most common form is osteoarthritis, which affects about 27 million Americans. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that occurs when the protective cartilage in joints starts to wear away. It is most common in people who have passed middle age, because as we age our bodies become less able to suppress inflammatory responses. When inflammation occurs on a regular basis in the joints, that’s when cartilage and bone start to degrade, causing pain and difficulty moving.

Type 2 diabetes is becoming an increasingly common problem that can have devastating effects upon a person’s health. People with type 2 diabetes are forced to eat an extremely restricted diet and many must get shots of insulin everyday to help regulate their blood sugar levels. When type 2 diabetes isn’t properly addressed, it can lead to numbness in the feet, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and stroke, among other complications.

Obesity is a major problem here in the United States. According to the CDC, nearly 38% of adults over the age of 20 are obese in America, and nearly 71% of adults are overweight (which includes obese people). One of the worst parts of the problem is that, for many people, it starts in childhood. 20.6% of adolescents age 12-19 are obese, as are 17.4% of children age 6-11 and 9.4% of children age 2-5.

Chronic inflammation can cause and contribute to a lot of serious problems throughout the body. When an injury occurs, the immune system causes an inflammatory response to help fight infection and promote healing. But when the problem is a chronic one like arthritis or diabetes, continued inflammation can make matters worse instead of better.

Did you know that acute inflammation is actually a good thing? It’s one of the many tools that our body uses to protect us. Think about pain generally. We tend to think of pain as bad, but if we never felt pain, we wouldn’t know when we were accidentally cutting ourselves or burning our hands on the stove. Pain serves a very important purpose – it tells us, “Whatever you’re doing, stop it!”

Glutamine is a common workout supplement that has been shown to have benefits for people who are in recovery, whether that be recovery from a tough workout or a serious illness. Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body, so some athletes are under the impression that you can never take too much glutamine, but that isn’t true.

Arthritis pain can take the joy out of every day activities. When you no longer get to enjoy gardening or cooking or playing with your grandkids on the floor, it’s time to do something to address your joint pain. If you don’t want to be resigned to popping pills every day to manage your arthritis pain, there are a number of natural remedies that you can consider.

Muscle fatigue can be a crippling problem for people of every age and demographic. Maybe you’re a mom who is weary from chasing after and picking up her children day in and day out. Perhaps you’re a runner who has pushed his body too hard for too many miles. Or maybe you’re a writer who suffers from arthiritis and can barely move your hands after an hour of typing. Whatever the case, the inflammation that causes joints and muscles to burn, tighten, and ache can have a terrible impact upon your life and overall well-being. Anti-inflammatory medications can be quite effective, but they come with a slew of side effects and can be hard on the digestive tract.