Everyone feels a little melancholy this time of the year. The days are short and cold. The economy is shaky. For some people, the change to winter brings with it something more serious than the blues: seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a form of depression that can be debilitating. 

Medically speaking, the blues are known as winter-onset seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression triggered by the seasons. Mild forms of SAD are believed to affect as many as 20% of people in the United States. 

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, some 500,000 Americans have the full-blown condition; another 10% to 20% of us experience a milder form. It's more common in women and residents of northern states, where winters are longer and drearier. The checklist of symptoms includes:

• Change in appetite, especially a craving for sweets or starches
• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Tendency to oversleep
• Difficulty in concentrating
• Irritability/anxiety
• Increased sensitivity to social rejection (an over-reaction in taking things too personally, especially, from loved ones or even best friends.)
• Crying easily or feeling overly "touchy"

Given these symptoms, the half-a-million estimate seems pretty low. Yet, every single one of my clients has at least a couple of these feelings, and can be aggravated easily due to; fatigue, anxiety, concentration problems resulting in weight gain from 10 to 20 pounds or more.

This in turn creates stress - then, our bodies react to the "fight or flight syndrome", (see Figure #4) and hormonal changes happen, fatigue, lack of sleep or too much sleep, unhealthy eating habits creating a toxic overload on colon and liver, and, an out-of-balance-unhealthy immune system results. This can create illness such as a "bad cold" or flu. 

The Good News is that it just takes some simple adjustments by becoming pro-active once again and a bit of exercise "to get moving".  Remember, summer isn't too far off and "to feel good means to look good"!

It cannot be overstated that the importance here is to remember that our body runs on the foods we eat.  The nutrients in foods are important in all functions in the body, from the production of hormones to the integrity of the immune system.  

However, not all of us are getting the best nutritional value from the foods we are eating.

When we find we haven't been eating as many greens for instance, we need to supplement with enzymes such as our proprietary Daily Health® Enzyme Formula and Probiotics to enhance intestinal "friendly" bacteria.

If you've been snacking on carbs "to fill a void", you are in need of a huge boost of energy with our powerful antioxidants OPC-165^TM.  These power packed antioxidants will provide oxygen to all the red blood cells and assist with mood swings and depression. There isn't a better time than the present to make some simple adjustments!

During a visit to Life Sources, Inc®, we will target your nutritional needs - not make recommendations based on the massive population.  We call it "Targeted Nutritional Intervention^TM". This information is in combination with the evaluation through Vital Hematology ("living blood" analysis) - which, leaves no clues behind; no guesswork!

** Don't forget this month we are offering a substantial savings on Vital Hematology! ** Give our office a call at (916) 536-9930, and, visit our web site at www.life-sources.com for further information.  

The information is not presented as medical advice or treatment and is for informational purposes only. Please refer to your physician for any questions regarding advice or treatment.