Jog on (and on)!

Hi and welcome (back) to our newsletter.

Well here in Glastonbury spring has definitely sprung.  The sun is shining, the maypole is going up as I type and enthusiasts of all different creeds, colors, shapes and sizes are descending on the town to prance around it.

In this newsletter we will have a brief look into the world of running and how tweaking your nutrition can help you run at your absolute best.

Also in this newsletter we have a number of new products to tell you about and of course you will find your regular monthly discount code.

Enjoy

Nutrition for Running

Running is a very popular sport that is really great because it is accessible to almost everyone.  It can be really good for physical and mental fitness and in almost all cases if you are competing at all you are competing against yourself (except for the elite few).

So here are a few running related nutrition tips.

Training …

Staying healthy and avoiding injury are vital to a successful training phase.  During training months, make sure your body has the fuel it needs to build muscles and keep you going.  High protein foods like Spirulina can play an important role.  High Omega foods like eggs, oily fish or Acai berry can help prevent inflammation.  Chia seeds which contain proteins, slow release carbs and omegas are almost designed for runners and are becoming increasingly popular.  And if you want an extra boost during a training session, try taking a spoonful of Tribulus terrestris powder in a glass of juice an hour before.  This Ayurvedic herb (also known as Gokshura) is renowned in the sports world for improving stamina and allowing you to push yourself that little bit more by boosting hormone levels.

After Training…

It is very important to re-fuel your body after a training session to maximise the benefit of the hard work you just did.  A healthy mix of carbs, protein and fats are what is required. A fruit juice based, super-green laced smoothie is a great start  followed by a good square meal.  And if you’re making a smoothie, consider adding in some Cordyceps mushroom powder. Cordyceps are believed to be the secret behind China’s ’96 Olympic success.  Research appears to back the story up although subsequent studies suggest that shorter periods of daily cordyceps intake (less than 3 months) may have less effect.

Before the event…

Carb-up!  Traditionally many runners will eat lots of carbohydrates in the weeks before a big run so their muscles are loaded with glycogen.  The latest thinking dismisses this as a myth and some even believe that weeks of high carb diet are actually detrimental to performance.  However a recent report suggests that a high carb diet for just 24 – 36 hours prior to an event makes a considerable difference to performance.  Another, larger study goes into more detail.   It suggests that it is the point where runners ‘hit the wall’ that the difference in performance between those who carbed up the day before and those who didn’t is most marked.

Interestingly, both studies agree that carbs eaten for breakfast or during the race make little difference.

New Products

This month we have added 5 more great new products to our range.

• Baobab Powder
  A South African fruit that is packed with lots of nutrition including vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and iron.  It is also packed with dietary fibre.
  
  
• Dandelion Leaf Tincture
  A classic herbal tea and renown tonic for ‘the waterworks’, we now have this herb in tincture form.
  
• Ginger Tincture
  Known as a digestive aid that stimulates the digestive tract encouraging the production of bile, we new have this herb in tincture form as well.
  
  
• Yerba Mate
  A classic South American tea where it has been drunk by indigenous people since pre-columbian times and is still a hugely popular beverage today. Yerba Mate is used for a range of benefits including weight loss, depression, allergies and improving circulation. It is also a source of anti-oxidants.
• Purple Corn Flour Extract
  Grown in Peru, Purple Corn Flour is high in a number of natural goodies including anthocyanins giving it huge anti-oxidant capability.
  
  
• Sweet Violet Tea
  Perhaps best known as an expectorant (helps when you have a cough), this herb has been present in European herbals since the time of Culpepper (1600s).



• Tongkat Ali
  There are a number of potential medical benefits associated with Tongkat Ali, but by far the most researched and discussed is it’s effect on testosterone levels and the knock on effect on male performance in physical sports and in the bedroom.
• Tribulus Terrestris Extract
  Tribulus Terrestris (Gokshura) is also renown for improving performance (sports and sex) and we now have a much stronger extract available.


• Turmeric Tincture
  Not just a culinary herb, turmeric has been studied for a wide range of benefits including digestion.  We now have turmeric available as a tincture.

Monthly discount code

As usual here is your monthly discount code.  To use it you need to mention it when making an order over the ‘phone or add it into the discount code field and press update cart.
The discount code field can be found on the ‘view cart’ screen.
And don’t forget, all UK orders over £100 qualify for free postage.

Asleep, awake, alive!

Apologies that this month’s newsletter is a little late.  I have been busy producing some videos based on interviews with David Ash, nutritionist and author of ‘Love Your Liver’ and creating the Indigo Herbs TV channel.  More on this below.

This month is (according to The Sleep Council) national bed month and in this newsletter we will be taking a little peek at the latest research on our sleeping habits and looking at some natural products associated with better sleeping.

Also in this newsletter we have a number of new products to tell you about and of course you will find your regular monthly discount code.

Happy Easter

Indigo Herbs TV

Here at Indigo Herbs we have long aspired to making videos to help spread the knowledge about using herbs and superfoods to maximize our health and get the most out of our lives.  So I am very pleased to announce the launch of Indigo Herbs TV.

You can check out our first videos below and don’t forget to subscribe to make sure you don’t miss out on our latest releases.

David Ash Interviews

Very recently I was lucky enough to visit the family home of David Ash to ask him all about his work as a nutritionist, strategies for optimum health and of course our new product, the Love Your Liver daily superfood mixes.

We recorded the entire interview on video and these have been edited down into 5 short videos.  There is a summary article about them all on our blog here.

They’re all absolutely brilliant and they’re all available right now on youtube … here’s the links for you to click straight through … 

Part 1 – The Glucose Addiction Cycle

Part 2 – Glucose Addiction & Related Disease

Part 3 – The Importance of Fasting and Feasting

Part 4 – Nutrition for Liver Health

Part 5 – The Love Your Liver daily superfood mixes

Win David’s Book

And to celebrate the launch of Indigo Herbs TV and the release of these splendid videos, we’re giving away a limited number of signed copies of the latest (2013) version of David’s book ‘Love Your Liver’.  To enter the competition you need to answer this question … “Based on the latest research, what daily intake of vitamin C does David Ash now recommend?”
(Clue: The answer is in video 4).

Send your answers by email to sales@indigo-herbs.co.uk and make sure you put ‘competition’ in the subject line.

Sleep Month

This month is national bed month according to The Sleep Council who have marked the event by publishing their latest research.

The survey reveal (not surprisingly) that getting enough sleep is vital if we want to feel positive, happy and productive.  But astonishingly, 70% of us get less than 7 hours of sleep per night and 33% only get 5-6 hours per night.

Also of interest is the fact that 14% of us have used over the counter sleep remedies at some point in our lives.

There are a number of herbs that are associated with sleep.  Some, like Chamomile, Vervain or Lavender are not really sleep remedies but they are generally calming and relaxing and therefore make an excellent night time tea to get you in the mood for a nice regenerating sleep.

There are also a range of herbs that are soporific or sleep inducing.  These include Passion Flower, Valerian, Skullcap and Wild Lettuce.  They are often taken as a tincture and can really help in times where sleep is illusive.  Soporific herbs really do make you drowsy however and some people find the effects are still felt the following morning.  As with all herbal remedies, experimentation and careful use are necessary.

Here at Indigo Herbs we make a herbal tea blend called Sleep Deep which contains Skullcap, Valerian, St Johns Wort, Chamomile, Lavender, Passion flower, and Lemonpeel. Delicious, calming and gently soporific.

According to the Sleep Council, one of the best ways to get more sleep is to take more regular exercise.  Not surprising perhaps but it’s worth remembering just how important regular exercise is.

Interestingly, it is also reported that people with higher incomes seem more likely to enjoy better sleep and those on very low incomes seem to have much worse sleep.  This could be because the wealthy are more secure and sleep better, or is it that sleeping more can make you more successful? Or both?

Relaxing bed-time brews…

Soporific herbs

Discover Passion Flower
Discover Valerian
Discover Skullcap
Discover Wild Lettuce
Discover Sleep Deep Tea

New Products

This month we have added 5 more great new products to our range.

• Hoodia Gordonii
  Due to long  term customer requests, we are very pleased to have now sourced a 20:1 Extract (20 x stronger) of Hoodia as a powder. This is the same powder used in capsules and sold as a slimming aid, needless to say buying the powder direct from us is massively cheaper than the branded capsules. Take a level teaspoon twice a day for appetite surpression. Hoodia Gordonii is native to South Africa and has traditionally been used by the bushmen of the Kalahari for staving off hunger. We are now stocking 2 sizes Hoodia Gordonii 20:1 Extract Powder 50 grams and a largerHoodia Gordonii 20:1 Extract Powder 150 grams
  
  
• Chaga Mushroom
  We have know about the ‘fame’ of the powers of Chaga for sometime, and have at last found a good supply. We are now stocking, Scottish hand harvested Chaga, both in chunks, and stone ground into a powder. We are happy to be able to offer this quality of product. For more info on Chaga click here
  
  
• Organic Raw Banana Powder
  Freeze dried and powdered Banana is nutritionally intact, full of natures goodness and beautifully sweet. Perfect to use as a sweetener in smoothies or raw chocolate.
  
  
• White Willow Bark
  White Willow bark has been to treat pain. White Willow bark contains salacin, which was isolated and used to develop aspirin in the 1800s. We are now stocking White Willow Bark Powder 100 grams and White Willow Bark Tincture 100ml
  
  
• Vitamin C / Ascorbic Acid
  By customer request we have now started to stock Vitamin C powder, to add to your daily smoothies. we are packing a wide range of sizes 100 grams to 1Kg to suit everybody’s requirments and budgets.

Monthly discount code

As usual here is your monthly discount code.  To use it you need to mention it when making an order over the ‘phone or add it into the discount code field and press update cart.
The discount code field can be found on the ‘view cart’ screen.
And don’t forget, all UK orders over £100 qualify for free postage.

Spring Ahead

Hello one and all and I hope you’re enjoying the slightly longer days as we approach spring.  There have certainly been some delicious outdoors days in the Glastonbury area recently.

In this newsletter we have a number of new products to tell you about.  And I’m particularly excited about two groundbreaking new products, our ‘Love Your Liver’ mixes.  eveloped in conjunction with nutritionist & author David Ash, these super nutrition blends provide the ideal food for optimum liver health.

In addition we have some great new additions to our range, and you will also find your regular monthly discount code.

Enjoy

Love Your Liver

Recently here at Indigo Herbs we have been working with renown author and nutritionist David Ash to produce a supergreen blend to support liver health.  And I am delighted to announce the launch of 2 new products.

What we have developed consists of the renowned liver herbs Turmeric and Milk Thistle with a potent antioxidant combination of Proanthocyanidin Flavanoids in Grape Seed extract and Vitamin C in Ascorbate and Camu Camu. This powerful synergy is enhanced by Barley Grass & Chlorella powders providing chlorophyll and additional phytonutrients. 

The subtle flavour is enhanced by refreshing, effervescent, alkalising Sodium bicarbonate & Banana to make a delicious green food your liver will love. 

In addition, the fortified mix is strengthened with additional vitamins, minerals and amino acids for the liver detox enzyme glutathione.

David Ash’s work as a Nutritionist has made him a critic of irresponsible food producers and he has called for high sugar, low nutrition foods to be governed by similar laws to tobacco.  We will be publishing a full interview with him about his work in the next few weeks so if you are interested, keep your eye on our blog.

And if you are really keen to find out more, the latest edition of David’s Book “Love Your Liver – Loose Weight And Beat Food & Alcohol Addiction” will be available on Amazon & WH Smith in the coming weeks. In the meantime you can buy them from David Ash himself who is selling them for £6.99 inc p&p and a free copy of his book ‘The power of physics’.  To do this you will need to email David directly… davidash333@btinternet.com.

Get a book for free

However, we have copies of the 2012 edition to give away absolutely free with the first 30 orders we receive that include either of these new products.  So make your order now before it’s too late.

Other New Products

And as well as the Love Your Liver range we have 5 great new arrivals in our range;

• Astragalus (Tincture & Tea).  A traditional chinese medicine with a long tradition of use for supporting the immune system and heart problems.  This traditional use is supported by research. There are so many studies into the various ways it can support the immune response it would be misleading to cite just one. Research also suggests it could help treat cardiovascular disease.
• Cleavers (Tincture & Tea).  A mild diuretic used in western herbalism for swollen glands, tonsillitis and treating the lymphatic system.  In chinese medicine, cleavers are used for urinary problems. Research suggests it is a good source of antioxidants.
• Mugwort (Tincture & Tea). In chinese medicine it is known as Moxa and burnt in cigar like smudging sticks.  Mugwort is traditionally used to treat a huge range of issues from alimentary to breathing to menstruation problems. Research supports its use in treating asthma and hyperactive gut, and as an anti-inflammatory and for treating liver disorders.
  
• Turmeric (Powder).  A delicious Ayurvedic spice used widely in cooking, Turmeric has been used to treat a very broad range of health problems.  The research appears to support this with results suggesting it will help prevent arthritis, and deal with ulcerative colitis and cataracts amongst other things. There are also a number of studies suggesting Tumeric can be used for treating cancer.
• Crystal de-odourant stones.  A conglomeration of mineral deposits are compressed to form a crystal that when rubbed on moistened skin leaves an  odourless residue that is harmless to us but deadly to the bacteria that cause body odour.  They last for absolutely ages.  Highly recommended if you want to smell nice.
  

Monthly Discount Code

As usual here is your monthly discount code.  To use it you need to mention it when making an order over the ‘phone or add it into the discount code field and press update cart.
The discount code field can be found on the ‘view cart’ screen.
And don’t forget, all UK orders over £100 qualify for free postage.

New Year, New You

Happy new year to one and all and I hope you enjoyed your festive feasting, celebrating and generally having fun with friends and family!

In this newsletter;

• How to make your new year’s resolutions stick.
• Detox, stay healthy & save money – Massive 15% discount offer.
  
• The liver & weight loss – a Nutritionists Perspective.
  

I hope you enjoy it.

xxx

New year, new you

Having survived midwinter’s proclivities, here we are again at that time of year for making plans and commitments to improving ourselves.

New year is a great time to make changes in one’s life style as there is a natural restart we can key into.

It’s also a particularly good time of year to start healthy eating habits, because by now most of us are fed up with over-eating & hangovers and keen to get back to the swimming pool, fitness class, golf course or whatever it is you like doing to keep active.

But behaviouralists know that no matter how much willpower you have, you can improve your chances of succeeding in your resolution with some practical supports.  So if you are planning on joining the ranks of us who make (and try to keep) a new year’s resolution, here are some tips on making them stick.

1. Take it easy on yourself.

First of all make sure you set yourself goals that you really can reach and if you find you don’t succeed 100% don’t beat yourself up about it.  Focus on the 2 weeks of healthy breakfasts you did eat not the 1 time you grabbed a bacon roll.

2. Write out your goals

Dont just rely on your memory.  Write out your goal and put it somewhere sacred or important.   For most of us writing something down makes it far more real than just holding it in our imaginations.

3. Team Up

We tend to respond better to peer pressure than to our own discipline.  I remember when a friend of mine gave up smoking tobacco.  He had tried to stop a number of times but finally succeeded when he stopped with a friend and agreed to do the 5 Tibetans every day instead of smoking.  At the end of each day they texted each other either with the word ‘Tibetans’ or with a confession if they had smoked.  He stopped doing the 5 Tibetans ages ago but hasn’t smoked tobacco now for over 10 years.

4. Use practical strategies

There are an endless number of practical  moves you can make to support your resolution.  Create visual clues like leaving your wheatgrass in front of the toaster. I often use a reminder word, picture or sigil in my wallet so I am constantly psychologically nudged about whatever I am trying to achieve.  Try setting an alarm on your ‘phone to remind you to drink your smoothie or take time out to meditate or whatever.

Also remember to take whatever practical steps you need as soon as possible.  Throw away those choccie bars now so you can’t eat them later.  Mix up a month’s worth of superfoods whilst you’ve got all the enthusiasm of the first few days, then takiing them will require less effort for the next month.

5. 30 day rule

And finally a really good stategy for lifestyle change success is to limit your change to a short trial period.  Some gurus advocate 30 days, some 7, but whatever you choose it will be easier to commit to an easily achievable (short) goal.

Then when you are enjoying the afterglow of a succesful trial period, you can always extend your trial or start something new.

2013 Superfood Trial Offer

If you are making plans for a healthier lifestyle in 2013, then why not include a super healthy, super nutritious, supergreen smoothie into your daily diet and take advantage of our massive New Year 15% off special offer?

Making a breakfast smoothie one of your healthy lifestyle new year’s resolutions will bring a number of benefits …

1. Nutritional … Wheatgrass, barley grass, spirulina and chlorella all offer a broad range of vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
2. Medicinal … Include a herb in your smoothie and gain the benefits.  For example echinacea has been clinically shown to boost immune response.
3. Psychological … Drink your smoothie first thing in the morning and you’ve already succeeded in something before you’ve even got dressed.  It’s the breakfast of champions. And what’s more you’ve now focused on your healthy lifestyle which will boost your chances of succeeding in any other resolutions you may have made.

And to help you get off to a great start, we are offering our loyal newsletter readers a massive 15% off all our best selling January detox and immune boosting products as well as our new vegetable powders (see list opposite).

The offer applies to all order over £30 (excluding postage) that are made by the 31st January.

The discount code is … DETOX2013

To use it you need to mention it when making an order over the ‘phone or add it into the discount code field and press update cart.The discount code field can be found on the ‘view cart’ page.

Check out this secret page on our website for details.

The Liver and Weight Loss Link