The Utzy Blog

This week, millions of us will gather around the table, enjoy delicious food, and celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family. In addition to the food, many households traditionally have everyone go around the table and say one thing they are thankful for this year.

This year, we want your health to be something you're thankful for!

One of our main goals at Utzy is to help you live a healthy lifestyle. So you can be your best, not just for this Thanksgiving, but all year long!

Being Grateful Helps Your Health

There are a lot of ways you can be thankful for your health this week. Simply acknowledging that you're grateful for your health could help improve it. It sounds strange, but stay with us. Research has actually shown being grateful helps improve your health. A study conducted in 2015 by the American Psychological Association found people with high levels of gratitude were in better moods, had higher quality sleep, and had reduced inflammation in their hearts. So not only will being thankful for good health put you in a good mood, but it'll help your heart, too!

Good Health Can Get Lost in the Shuffle

Many stores (and maybe even some of your neighbors) have already started setting out holiday decorations. As the holiday season officially kicks off, it brings with it additional stresses that can affect your health. The stress of work, holiday shopping, and family and friends coming into town can take its toll.

During a regular week we rarely have time to take care of ourselves. However, when you take care of yourself, the rest usually follows. It's easy to forget that our health is connected to just about everything we do in any given day. Thanksgiving gives us an opportunity to get away from the normal day.

This Thanksgiving, make your health the priority so you can enjoy time with family and friends!

What Can You Do?

We all have a lot to be thankful for every day of the year, but especially during the Thanksgiving holiday when we are constantly stimulated by everything around us, it's important to be conscious of our health.

Utzy offers several different supplements to make sure you're at your best for this Holiday season and as a fresh start entering the New Year. Make sure to consider adding our magnesium drink, called U-Mag, to your daily routine. While Thanksgiving is filled with delicious food and family, it can also be stressful preparing for the day. Magnesium is a natural relaxer and it may come in handy during the hectic Thanksgiving weekend.

Lack of sleep also affects your health and energy levels. Our Utzzz's: Sleep Support System not only helps you fall asleep, but stay asleep. Have plenty of energy to celebrate not just this Thanksgiving, but the entire Holiday season.

Check out all of our different products to help you on your healthier future! Make sure to keep your eyes open for our special surprise offer coming on Black Friday!

Did you know that more than 75% of Americans are deficient in Magnesium? One of the most important and well-known minerals for human health, it is a natural calmer and helps relax heart, muscle, and nerve cells.

 Five Potential Signs of Magnesium Deficiency include:

• Muscle Cramps and Spasms
• Trouble sleeping & fatigue
• Headaches
• Loss of Appetite
• Numbness or tingling

A great way to ensure that you are getting enough magnesium into your diet is supplementation. Foods such as nuts, whole grains and green leafy vegetables are all great sources of the mineral. However, even those with healthy diets, your body can be low in Magnesium.

Why You Need Magnesium:

• Beneficial for relaxing sleep
• Helps muscle and nerve function
• Regulates blood sugar levels
• Helps regulate blood pressure
• Calming properties

How To Add More Magnesium To Your Diet:

• Utzy Magnesium (U-Mag) supplement, 1 scoop per day
• Almonds or other low-fat nuts, like walnuts
• Green leafy Vegetables

Certain medications and alcoholism can be contributing factors in deficiency, and as always, you should seek your doctor for medical advice.

For a link to our Magnesium supplements, click here

Put the code UMag15 in the coupon code box for 15% of your order.

This week’s blog continues a conversation with Dr. Jeremy Johnson, PharmD, PhD., our Scientific Advisor at Utzy Naturals.

We couldn’t be more grateful that Dr. Jeremy is a part of our Product Development Team, and as such, conducts important research and formula advisories for Utzy. His knowledge of botanicals and phytochemicals is vital to what we do here every single day. 

Let’s continue our conversation from where we left off in last week’s blog (for Part 1, click here):

UTZY – Are you involved in clinical research?

Dr. Johnson: "Yes.  As a pharmacist I am very interested in clinical research. My co-workers and I recently completed two different clinical trials evaluating resveratrol, the compound found in red wine, that has been reported to promote health.  One of the things that I have been fascinated to discover is how to best dose these compounds. In many instances, I believe, the recommended dosage is not correct.

 For these very reasons, we recently completed two unique clinical trials evaluating dosing strategies for resveratrol.  The findings should be published soon."

UTZY – How do you figure out the mechanism of action of different antioxidants, such as found in resveratrol?

Dr. Johnson: "To be clear, I evaluate plants and individual antioxidants (i.e. phytochemicals) to understand their mechanism of action.  We grow specific cells in the laboratory (breast, colon, prostate, cartilage, and others), treating these cells with different combinations of antioxidants.  We can then evaluate DNA, RNA, and proteins to understand their mechanism of action."  

UTZY – In light of your various researching, what is your favorite botanical at the moment?

Dr. Johnson: "This is difficult because there are so many interesting plants.  One that jumps to mind, that many people probably have not heard of, is an antioxidant isolated from the plant Goldenseal.  The antioxidant is known as Berberine.  It has been studied in clinical trials for supporting healthy cholesterol and sugar levels, a healthy GI tract, a healthy heart, menopause, weight loss and others.  Berberine is one of the antioxidants that is up and coming!"  

UTZY- Just because a single product ingredient has great findings, would it be accurate to say that this doesn’t mean that different company offerings of that raw material are of the same quality? Is this why ingredient source selection is so important at Utzy?

Dr. Johnson: "Yes and yes! Let me give an example: A fruit extract was evaluated for use in an Utzy Naturals product.  According to three different ingredient suppliers the levels of pesticides were below detectable limits. However, when we analyzed them in our laboratory only 1 of the suppliers was truthful in its claim about its pesticide content.  The decision in this case is easy about which one will be used to formulate an Utzy Naturals product."

UTZY – Lastly, as a researcher on many things nutrition, what advice to do give someone that is just getting back on the path of health & wellness?

Dr. Johnson: "Baby steps in the beginning are the easiest. Slow changes and not drastic ones are key to success. They should be thinking about diet and how to consume different fruits and vegetables – 5-7 daily is a good number. The different colors of fruits and veggies, indicates different types of antioxidants. Also, how many calories one consumes daily is an important question. In the U.S. we consume way more calories than we should.

I would also recommend fiber; almost no person consumes the recommended amounts.

Finally, let me add that natural supplements are not drugs. Therefore, one should consider supplements as a part of a healthy lifestyle."

Utzy Naturals is committed to bringing you the best supplements in the world. Whether it is our SuperPremium ingredients, pharmaceutical level production facilities, or our amazing quality control standards for effectiveness and safety, we are committed to our customers at all levels.

This wouldn’t be possible without an excellent team of professionals in every area at Utzy. At the top of list is our Scientific Advisor, Dr. Jeremy Johnson, PharmD, PhD. 

Working along side of our Product Development Team, Dr. Jeremy conducts vital research and formulation advisories for Utzy Naturals. He received his PharmD and PhD at the University of Wisconsin, where he also completed a clinical research fellowship evaluating phytochemicals and botanical extracts.

As an assistant professor and licensed pharmacist he offers a unique perspective on the most current scientific literature related to health and nutrition (you can read latest research on his website Plant Medicine News).

His research has led to more than 45 publications and published abstracts in the health promoting properties of natural products, phytochemicals and plant extracts. He has presented some of his research findings at international scientific meetings in the USA, France, Turkey, and Israel.

We thought it was time to share Dr. Jeremy with the world – because we think he is an amazing guy. Below is Part 1 of 2; Q&A with Dr. Johnson (Part 2 is available here)

UTZY - How did you become so passionate about botanical and supplemental nutrition?

Dr. Johnson: "During pharmacy school we are taught guidelines on how to treat cholesterol, high blood sugar, high blood pressure and other conditions.  The very first recommendation on these guidelines is diet and lifestyle.  Botanicals and supplements are a logical choice to support healthy diet and lifestyle choices."

UTZY - What type of training have you received?

Dr. Johnson: "I received a bachelor’s degree (Biology major/Chemistry minor), a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and a PhD where my thesis was on evaluating antioxidants.  I also completed an NIH (National Institutes of Health) fellowship that funded my research on botanical medicine.   I am also a licensed pharmacist."  

UTZY  - What is your area of expertise in Pharmacology?

Dr. Johnson: "My research lab has a variety of projects that are investigating the health promoting properties of antioxidants isolated from different plants (botanical medicine).  For example, we are evaluating the Mediterranean herb rosemary; a fruit from Southeast Asia known as the Mangosteen; and, are also studying the mango fruit, licorice, and resveratrol (the compound in red wine)."

UTZY - What makes Utzy Naturals the best choice in supplements?

Dr. Johnson: "When it comes to supplements the consumer needs to know that they can trust the product.  From the point of where and how the plant was grown, to manufacturing, and to what type of research supports the formulations, all are so important. This is what makes Utzy Naturals unique."  

Up next week, Dr. Johnson discusses his work in research, clinical trials, and why this is all so vital to Utzy Naturals commitment to the health and wellbeing of our consumers…