Quarantine baking can be relaxing and nutritious if you incorporate the right ingredients. Sesame seeds are rich in vitamins B1, B3 (niacin), B6, and folate, as well as minerals iron, copper, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and manganese. ⁠ ​​__⁠ ​​They’re also a source of healthy fats, which is why they’re pictured with the fat-transporting supplement acetyl l-carnitine.

#quarantinereading⁠ __⁠ #quarantinereads #thegeniuslife #geniusfoods #maxlugavere

Some of the most important white blood cells in the immune system require selenium to proliferate in response to threats. Some studies suggest that deficiencies in selenium — as well as zinc and other nutrients — exacerbate the immune system suppression from stress due to chronic disease. “Adequate levels of Se are important for initiating immunity, but they are also involved in regulating excessive immune responses,” write the authors of a review on the topic.⁠ __⁠ Selenium is a powerful antioxidant that can mitigate the damage of excessive free radicals that leads to oxidative stress, which is associated with premature aging. ⁠ __⁠ “Adequate dietary selenium is essential for the activity of virtually all arms of the immune system. It is particularly significant that supplemental selenium can improve immune function in British individuals who consume diets that are considered adequate by World Health Organization (WHO) criteria but do not meet the British Recommended Daily Intake,” write the authors of an article in the Journal of Nutrition.⁠ __⁠ Worldwide, researchers say that selenium deficiency affects 500 million to 1 billion people due to low dietary intake. Selenium content from plant sources is dictated by selenium content in the soil, which varies by region. In the United States, even people in the regions with the lowest soil selenium do not often have deficiency as food transport serves these lower selenium regions. Indeed, the NIH says that even North Americans living in areas where soil is low in selenium consume the RDA of this mineral. Selenium deficiency is common in China where diet is mostly vegetarian and consists of plants grown in selenium-deficient soil. ⁠ __⁠ Brazil nuts, eggs, sunflower seeds, beef liver, tuna, chicken, salmon, chia seeds, and mushrooms are solid sources of selenium and eating moderate portions of these foods will cover your selenium needs.

Please look for Lypo-Spheric supplements from our trusted distributors. A Google search for “Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C” will produce official LivOn Labs distributors who may have product in stock.⁠ __⁠ A note on packaging: We’ve re-opened some of our original packaging lines to keep up with demand. Please be aware LivOn products may arrive in the traditional (horizontal) carton format or our new (vertical) cartons. The product in either carton is the same — not newer or older product as the only difference is the carton configuration. We’re making them as fast as we can! ⁠ __⁠ Please Note: There's no guarantee distributors will have LivOn supplements in stock. Because LivOn distributors are independent businesses, we can not track their active inventory. ⁠ __⁠ Also, distributor carton and shipping pricing may vary.⁠ __⁠ Follow LivOn Labs on Facebook and Instagram for updates.⁠ __⁠ We thank you for your patience and understanding during these trying times. LivOn intends to continue to manufacture the products you want even through the current challenges. Together (yet apart) we can get through this!

Anyone else have a new quarantine hobby? We've taken up thinking of creative ways to caption photos that we took pre-pandemic.

Malnutrition does not only refer to starvation. If you are not getting all the nutrients you need for your body — including your immune system — to function as it should, you are malnourished. As the researchers behind a 2014 B12 supplementation and immune system study write, “Malnutrition inhibits the immune function.” ⁠ __⁠ Since B12 only naturally occurs in proteins, they studied rats fed a low-protein diet. This “protein malnutrition” reduced the circulating number of several types of white blood cells needed for proper immune response. “Vitamin B12 supplementation significantly reduced the negative impact of protein malnutrition after 30 days.” Even though the authors note the promise of B12 supplementation, they cautioned that it did not treat overall long-term malnutrition. ⁠ __⁠ Studies show that B12 deficiency decreases activity and quantity of multiple types of immune system cells, and that B12 injections restore that activity. B12 deficiency also leads to high levels of the dangerous chemical homocysteine.⁠ __⁠ According to the National Institutes of Health, B12 deficiency is common and occurs in 1.5–15% of the general population. The NIH lists several groups as at risk for the deficiency:⁠ __⁠ ✅Older adults, due of a lack of stomach acid needed to extract B12 from foods⁠ ✅People who have had gastrointestinal surgery, due to malabsorption from removal of part of the stomach⁠ ✅People with gastrointestinal disorders and pernicious anemia, due to malabsorption⁠ ✅Vegetarians, due to a lack of dietary B12 ⁠ ✅Numerous medications deplete B12, including acid blockers/antacids, antibiotics, hypoglycemics, oral contraceptives/hormone replacement therapy.

​​When life gives you lemons, use them for a Vitamin C boost to ration your Lypo-Spheric C. Our team is working as hard as possible to get Lypo-Spheric C out to those waiting for shipments. ⁠ __⁠ We appreciate your patience while our crew in Nevada deals with new challenges every day of evolving situation, including supply chain disruptions and shelter-in-place declarations. The date that our products again will be widely available is forthcoming.

Folate, Vitamin B9, is critical to producing the nucleic acids RNA and DNA that critical to the immune system response to threats. ⁠ __⁠ According to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, “Clinical folate deficiency, known as megaloblastic anemia, results in impaired immune responses, primarily affecting cell-mediated immunity; correcting the vitamin deficiency with folic acid supplementation restores the affected immune functions.”⁠ __⁠ Research confirms that folate deficiency reduces circulating levels and proliferation of T lymphocyte cells that play a central role in immune response. ⁠ Folate is also critical to proper immune function by minimizing internal dangers to your health. ⁠ __⁠ Homocysteine, an animo acid produced from protein metabolism, can reach dangerous levels without sufficient folate and Vitamin B12. In addition to numerous other health problems, elevated homocysteine causes oxidative stress which suppresses the immune system.⁠ __⁠ Due to the mass awareness of folate’s importance as a prenatal nutrient, outright deficiency in the United States is rare. However, certain factors may put you at risk for marginal folate status:⁠ __⁠ ❗Poor diet⁠ ❗Chronic medication use (including acid blockers, antacids, antibiotics, anti-convulsants, anti-inflammatories, potassium-sparing diuretics, hypoglycemics, oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy)⁠ ❗Malabsorption (gastric surgery, celiac, MTHFR gene mutation)⁠ ❗Obesity⁠ ❗Smoking⁠ ❗Alcohol use

3 ways to retain Vitamin C content in cooked foods⁠ __⁠ 🌶️Minimize the cooking time. In a 2013 study, researchers found that Vitamin C content in vegetables declines with the greater time exposed to heat and water. Raw peppers, for example, had 15.39 mg/25ml Vitamin C. The vitamin content dropped to 13.58 after cooking for 5 minutes and plummeted to 5.43 after 30 minutes. Blanching requires the food to sit in the water for less time, and this method is ideal for softening ingredients such as bell peppers.⁠ __⁠ 🌶️Try cooking without water. The combination of heat and water can destroy Vitamin C in foods before you eat them. Vitamin C is water-soluble, so common cooking methods like boiling can cause the vitamin to leach out of food. The water in which you boiled broccoli, the water you just poured down the drain, is rich in Vitamin C while the broccoli on your plate is not.⁠ __⁠ 🌶️Cook with less water. Steaming allows the heated water to gradually soften the produce without removing all of the Vitamin C. Microwaving, while not seen as particularly sophisticated, can also help to retain the Vitamin C content in vegetables.

One of the most important things you can do for your immune system is give it the materials it needs to produce cells and antibodies. B6, also known as pyridoxine and pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP) when in the body, supports the production of antibodies. Researchers have found that a B6 deficiency reduces antibody formation, as well as the growth, proliferation, and activity of certain types of white blood cells. ⁠ __⁠ B6 is needed for optimal immune system response, and to absorb B12 which is also critical for immune system function.⁠ __⁠ In 2006, Taiwanese researchers noted that a previous study found that people had sufficient dietary B6 intake, but their levels significantly declined after spending time in the ICU and they had “abnormal immune responses.” They theorized that the stress and inflammation increased utilization of the circulating B6, thus causing suboptimal levels. In the subjects that supplemented with 50 or 100 mg of B6 for 14 days, “several cellular immune response parameters (i.e., T lymphocyte, T-helper and T-suppressor cells) significantly increased after the supplementation of either 50 or 100 mg/day of vitamin B6 for 14 days; whereas immune responses showed no significant changes in the control group.”⁠ __⁠ Other studies have shown that B6 supplementation enhances the production of lymphocyte white blood cells in elderly subjects who were not deficient.⁠ __⁠ A NHANES study reported that 40% of young adult women sampled in the United States were deficient in B6 in 2004. The large study noted three other groups who showed abnormally high rates of B6 deficiency: male smokers, African-American men, people over age 65. Most people who were deficient were consuming the Recommended Daily Allowance. Other factors like malabsorption and medication use (specifically oral contraceptives in the case of the young women) can affect B6 absorption. Researchers note physical inactivity and poverty as predictors of low B6 status as well.⁠ __⁠ The most B6-dense whole foods include salmon, chicken, pork chops, beef, sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados and pistachios.

With limited production abilities at this time due to significant disruptions to our supply chain and Nevada declaring a "Shelter-In-Place" order, LivOn can not produce the necessary volume of Lypo-Spheric products to meet demand. ⁠ __⁠ Therefore, an exact date for LivOn products being WIDELY AVAILABLE is forthcoming, but not immediate as originally hoped. ⁠ __⁠ Please Note: Limited amounts of product continue to be released to LivOn’s various sales channels.⁠ Doing a Google search is your best option because we do not know our partners’ fulfillment details, including what has been shipped to them that is on back order. A Google search for Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C will bring up several approved online retailers that may have product in stock. __⁠ Please do not ask for a specific date for product availability either through Direct Messaging, the Contact Us function on LivOnLabs.com, calling Customer Service or posting on social media. This over-burdens LivOn Customer Service who are better served making sure all current orders are being shipped to customers and distributors.⁠ __⁠ LivOn's Instagram and Facebook pages are what we are using for product availability updates, so please check these channels moving forward. You can also subscribe to our newsletter on our website.⁠ __⁠ We are so grateful that you have come to rely on us over the years, especially during this very uncertain time. We are doing everything within our power at this time to continue to offer you the products you have come to trust. ⁠ __⁠ We will get through this together.

When you’re trying to conserve your stores of Lypo-Spheric® C or waiting for your order, it’s not the best idea to chow down on candy cigarettes, light any real ones, take a megadose of acetaminophen, or binge-drink those bottles of Georgian schnapps that you’ve been eyeing apprehensively in your home bar for years. All these activities generate free radicals, and you don’t need oxidative stress if your antioxidant supplements are still in transit. ⁠ __⁠ Here’s the full list of things you should avoid to limit oxidative stress, not just those that are in our social media director’s apartment…⁠ __⁠ ✅ Cigarette smoke (duh)⁠ ✅ Excess body fat (we’re not talking ingredients for making soap Fight Club style…oh geez, will it come to that?)⁠ ✅ Pollution (hey, this is the silver lining of everyone working from home)⁠ ✅ Certain pesticides (you likely do this anyway)⁠ ✅ Certain drugs (acetaminophen, SERMs, clozapine, doxorubicin, atorvastatin)⁠ ✅ Industrial solvents (watch your breathing and skin contact when you’re cleaning surfaces ad nauseam)⁠ ✅ Radiation (please don’t get yourself in a situation in which you need an x-ray)⁠ ✅ Reheated cooking oils (so far we have not heard of oil hoarders, so hopefully it doesn’t come to this) ⁠ ✅ Oils heated past their smoke points (if your smoke detector goes off, start over)⁠ ✅ Processed meats (there are better options)⁠ ✅ Alcohol (spring break is a bad idea for your cells)⁠ ✅ Excess sugar (in case you missed that message)⁠ ✅ Stress (yeah, that may be difficult)