We've developed an optimal supplementation pack for trips to high altitude. The packs are individually day wrapped for ease of use
28 Days Packs, containing:
RHODIOLA ROSEA x 2
This is a wonderful Russian herb that has been used for hundreds of years to improve energy levels, immune function, memory and concentration and modify adrenal stress response. Any natural supplement that modifies adrenal response is a great benefit to high altitude trekkers because stress hormones from the adrenal glands (adrenaline and cortisone - catecholamines and glucocorticoids) cause havoc in every system of the body. Adrenaline stresses the cardiovascular system. Cortisone attacks neural cells, breaks down bone and muscle, suppresses immune function, raises blood glucose to dangerous levels (hyperglcaemia) and potentiates memory loss osteoporosis, muscular weakness and diabetes.
All diseases involve adrenal stress response to a greater or lesser degree. The clinical therapeutic evaluation of Rhodiola has been carried out by the many clinical research institutes in Tibet and China . It has been proven effective in treating weakness, poor appetite, palpitation of heart, dizziness, chest distress and insomnia. It could also increase hemoglobin in blood, white blood cell and platelet count, and reduce heart rate, obvioulsy ideal for high altitude trekkers.
Rhodiola may protect hypoxia-induced pancreatic injury in two ways. Rhodiola prevents hypoxia-induced biological changes by increasing intracellular oxygen diffusion and efficiency of oxygen utilization. Also, it reduces hypoxia-induced oxidative damage by its antioxidant activities. Rhodiola decreases the oxygen consumption of myocardium and oxygen consumption index in anesthetic dogs, decrease the coronary artery resistance, but have no marked effect on the coronary artery blood flow. It also has the function of decreasing blood pressure and slowing heart rate.
TOP VITAMIN C 1000mg
Vitamin C is vital for all systems of the body. It is essential for production of collagen the material that strengthens all connective tissue, particularly in bone and muscle.
It is in fact the degeneration of the connective tissue in blood vessels that creates the conditions that ultimately result in heart disease. Small lesions in blood vessel walls are repaired by the body using fat/protein complexes know as lipoproteins or apoproteins. These vascular band-aids then become the focus for the build up of deposits from within the circulation and eventually can result in blockage of arteries. Oxygen and fuel supply to the heart is blocked and heart attack results. Heart disease is essentially blood vessel disease that is caused by poor collagen. Poor collagen production s caused by vitamin C deficiency. Ultimately heart disease is caused by a sub clinical for of scurvy.
There are other factors at work such as oxdation of fats. Oxidized fats adhere to blood vessel walls, particularly where lesions have occurred. Vitamin C is a powerful water soluble antioxidant in circulation and prevents oxidation of fats within the circulation.
The benefits of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) are clear and yet largely ignored by the medical professions.
A Californian study in the 1980s demonstrated a 420/0 drop in cardiovascular disease in an elderly population over 10 years who were given 400mgm of the vitamin daily.
This is an astonishing result unmatched by any cardiovascular drug of any type.
Human breast milk contains around 45 mgm of ascorbic acid per litre. This equates to 90 mgm in 24 hours. An infant weighs around 3 kilos and this equates to 30mm per kilo. The government RDA for vitamin c is 60mgm for an adult male or around lmgm per kilo. Does this make sense? To ask the question is to answer it. Vitamin C is also essential for growth hormone production and therefore is vitally important for repair and recovery after exercise and sport.
TOP ULTRAFIT
Ultra Fit Optimum dose Multivitamin and minerals
Ultrafit is an optimum level multivitamin and mineral supplement ideal for people going to altitude either recreational or professional.
It contains high level B complex vitamins which are vital for energy production and for cardiovascular protection. It contains potent antioxidant protection, particularly in terms of vitamins A, C and E and the minerals selenium and zinc.
Antioxidants protect against a variety of degenerative diseases including atherosclerosis, some cancers, diabetes, ageing and a number of inflammatory diseases.Although we require oxygen to bum fuels and create energy it is toxic to us and indeed all biological systems.
TOP OMEGA 3
During prolonged exercise, and at higher altitudes, blood cell changes produce reduced capillary efficiency, particularly in the lungs, liver, and spleen and reduced ability to carry and transfer oxygen to peripheral tissues. Supplementation of diet with fish oil (omega-3) suppresses the harmful blood fluidity changes encouraged by endurance exercises and high altitudes. Fish oils reduce capillary resistance to oxygen uptake and increase blood circulation to peripheral areas. The efficiency of oxygen transfer from blood to muscle cells is enhanced by a reduction in tissue rigidity and an increase in red blood cell presence at the capillaries.
At higher altitudes and during endurance exercises, fish oils increase the oxygen desaturation of the haemoglobin. For altitudes over 2000 m and for high endurance activities, a supplementation of omega-3 fish oils is highly beneficial.
TOP Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo Biloba may be the oldest seed plant in the world, midway between a fern and a conifer. It traces its ancestry almost unchanged via Ginkgo Adiantoides, which flourished in the Tertiary Period (56 million years ago) all the way back to the Permian period, 270 million years ago.
Ginkgo is known to exert its positive effects on human health in a variety of ways. In terms of acute mountain sickness, two of its most important effects are its ability to improve blood circulation and its ability to allow the brain to tolerate low oxygen levels. In recent years, two groups of researchers have examined the effectiveness of ginkgo in preventing the symptoms of AMS, and both studies showed that it can help prevent the most common symptoms.
Two Studies, Similar Positive Results
The first study looked at the effects of ginkgo on a group of 44 healthy male climbers who had experienced symptoms of AMS on previous climbs. The men were randomly divided into two groups - one group received 160 mg/day of Ginkgo biloba extract, while the other group received a placebo. The trial took place in the Himalayas , where the group climbed.
When the snow cleared, so to speak, it turned out that the treatment group showed far fewer symptoms of AMS than the control group. With ginkgo, in fact, there were no reported symptoms related to brain hypoxia, such as headache, dizziness, insomnia, or nausea. By contrast, 41% of the control group did report such symptoms. Also, only 14% of the ginkgo group, but 82% of the control group, reported respiratory symptoms such as undue shortness of breath at rest or upon exertion.
TOP Iron
Iron is stored in the body as Ferritin. Ferritin is used to make red blood cells that carry Oxygen around the body. If you have low Iron stores you will either not be able to develop new red blood cells or your body will rob iron from the muscles to produce these cells. Good Iron levels is essential for high altitude trekking.
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