De-stressing inside and out!

Stress relief is important to the overall health of our bodies from sleeping to weight loss and even the health of our skin can be attributed to our stress levels. There are many techniques available to help us with stress relief. Going to the spa, eating healthy foods, exercising and using supplements can all aid with stress relief. According to the ISPA spa goer study, the number one reason why individuals choose to go to the spa is for stress relief. De-stressing goes beyond just feeling better and dealing with difficult situations. There is an entire other side to stress that occurs on the inside of your body.

Stress within the body
The accepted definition of stress is the emotional and physical strain caused by our response to pressure from the outside world. Stress begins in the brain by intense hormone surges and neurological signals and from there, it can begin to trickle its effects to other parts of the body. Ultimately, too much stress will negatively affect the functionality of every bodily system including the circulatory, nervous, digestive, and immune and even our muscle and skeletal system.

When we go through stress every function in our body is disrupted. Our nutrient absorption is affected in two ways – one by choosing the wrong foods during stressful times and two our blood vessels begin to constrict, which raises our blood pressure and decreases circulation. When circulation isn’t at its optimal performance our body does not obtain the vitamins or minerals needed to overcome the negative effects of stress. Hormone release is interrupted causing digestive functions to be interrupted. Finally, our immune system can be negatively affected due to lowered white blood cell count making us more prone to infections.

The power of nutrients to help the body cope with stress
An imbalance in our diet or a vitamin deficiency has been linked to damaging the stability of the human body. Now add stress or even chronic stress to the picture and the imbalances increase from hormone secretions to neurotransmitters sending wrong data to our brain. With the right combination of nutrients the body can overcome some of these abnormalities and provide the body with nutrition it needs to handle stress at the cellular level. Here are some of the nutrients found in Calm to help your body combat stress.

Lactium®
Lactium is a milk protein hydrolysate that contains a bioactive peptide with anti-stress properties. It has been tested in several human clinical trials with positive results depicting stress relief. Lactium is a food grade ingredient that has no side effects and is lactose free. In addition, studies have shown that Lactium results
in a significantly positive evolution of stress symptoms in 5 different areas: digestive, cardiovascular, mental, emotional, and social. For more information please visit www.lactium.com.

B-Complex Combination
B vitamins have been well researched for their anti-stress properties. B1 (thiamine) is essential for nervous system support, muscular function, and cardiovascular function, all of which are adversely affected by stress. B2 (Riboflavin) is essential for the proper functioning of the adrenal gland and digestive system. Niacin, or vitamin B6, is essential in production of hormones related to libido and stress. It is a natural source of energy and provides support for enhancing circulation and stabilizing cholesterol levels. B12 is integrated in the formula to assist in the maintenance of healthy nerve cells and red blood cells. Vitamin B5, Pantothenic acid assists in the normal production of
neurotransmitters. Deficiency in any of these B-vitamins can cause abnormal neurotransmitter production resulting in difficulty of dealing with stressful situations.

Inositol
Inositol has been widely researched clinically to assist neuro-functioning. Inositol acts as a guidance signal for neurotransmitters, produced by the brain, for proper cellular communication to support stress relief.

GABA
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) has been researched since the 1950’s as a neurotransmitter regulator in the brain. The regulation of neurotransmitter release from the brain aids in preventing restlessness, irritability, insomnia, and seizures. GABA is able to induce relaxation without any sedative effects.

Rhodiola rosea
This ancient herb has been the topic of many research and clinical studies. It has been used for centuries by European and Asian civilizations to support conditions of fatigue, depression, gastrointestinal ailments, and nervous system disorders. Further research has indicated that Rhodiola rosea protect animals and humans from mental and physical stress and toxins and colds. Neurologically, this herb has been shown to relieve fatigue and increase attention span, memory and work productivity.

Panax Ginseng
Popularly referred to as “adaptogen”, stress aiding nutrient. Ginseng has been studied to increase resistance to physical, chemical, and biological stress. Ginseng has been traditionally used in ancient Chinese medicine for thousands of years to prevent weakness and fatigue.

Ashwangandha
This herb is a well-known Ayurvedic herbal ingredient. It comes from a plant used therapeutically by people in India and Africa for boosting immunity, mental clarity, and total body rejuvenation. Clinically, it has been researched to aid in mental deficiencies, cognition-enhancing and improving memory.

Magnesium
Magnesium is a well-researched mineral responsible for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. Magnesium has been shown to help maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium regulates blood sugar levels, and promotes normal blood pressure, which provides support in stress relief.

Calcium
Calcium’s benefits cover a wide range of health issues including stress. Calcium supports the optimal function of the nervous system, aiding in the production of energy, stabilizing proper heart rate, and supporting normal muscle contraction and calming nerves.

Sequence XO’s Calm – the anti-stress tonic
Calm has been specifically formulated to assist the body’s natural ability to handle stress. Our formula includes every ingredient listed above in effort to provide a formula that provides stress and tension relief at the cellular level. Calm has been designed as an effervescent tablet to create a tastefully satisfying anti-stress tonic to help melt your stress away.

The 3 D’s to Healthy living – De-stress, Detoxify and Defend

Relaxation can be hard to come by, especially if our body is dependant on caffeine or nicotine to keep us on our toes all day. Many of these internal and external toxins can disrupt our natural equilibrium flow, which potentially alter the key to maintaining good health. Toxins present an added burden on the body that deplete our energy and disrupt the normal functioning of the body. By simply adding a detoxification program, exercising and treating yourself to a spa treatment can keep you healthy, energized and feeling younger.

The detox factor for a healthier immune response

Detoxification through proper digestive function plays a key role in our ability to live healthier. Research has shown that keeping a healthy, clean colon is an effective tool. Remember, our blood has direct contact with our colon. If your colon is packed with toxins (waste), then that waste is releasing toxins into your blood, which ultimately travels throughout your entire body. Colon health is directly related to proper digestion and a healthy diet. It is difficult to keep a detoxified body in the world we live in today. Our food is packed with preservatives and sugar, while being treated and controlled with pesticides and genetic alterations. Additionally, we are trained to take prescription or over the counter drugs to mask effects of almost any condition. Now more than ever is the time for all of us to take a proactive approach to detoxify. With proper detoxification we can have a more optimal digestive system, immune system, and circulatory system.

With stress relief and proper detoxification, our bodies will spend less time trying to clean and release stress and more time helping us protect against infection and disease. Remember, our body is a living machine, always repairing and defending. If we can help it by having it focus on building a stronger immune system, then we can live a longer, cleaner, and a more stress free life.

Did you know?
The normal transit time of waste through the digestive tract is 24-48 hours. Low fiber diets can increase the normal flow up to 96 or more hours. When waste is impacted in the colon the toxins can be reabsorbed into the blood stream and begin to pollute our blood and organs, which can lead to the poisoning of the body.

Spa Nutrition: Sequence XO’s de-stressing and detoxification solutions

Radiance – Age Defying Formula

Dubbed as our internal skin care product, Radiance has an array of health benefits that positively affect the health of our bodies that have a direct reflection on our skin. Radiance is sweetened with fructooligosaccharides also known as (FOS) or sweet fiber. FOS are extracted from fruits and vegetables and known to contribute to our dietary fiber intake. Provide your body with great nutrients on the inside and see the beautiful results on the outside!

Calm - The 15-Minute Relaxing Fizz

Calm is an effervescent nutritional supplement created with the right combination of B-vitamins, adaptogenic (stress-aiding) herbs and proper minerals to provide stress relief

Fusion – The Antioxidant Solution

Fusion is a formula developed with the world’s most effective antioxidants including Acai berry, pomegranate, grape seed extract and green tea for immune support, enhanced circulation, and detoxification for healthier looking skin.

How to incorporate Calm in your spa

Step One: Provide the 15-Minute Relaxing Fizz to your clients!

Calm is a product created to help your client’s release tension before a spa treatment. Calm can be used within your spa by serving 8-ounces, 15 to 30 minutes before a spa treatment to enhance the spa experience of every client. You can premix Calm or have individuals add their own fizzing tablet into a water bottle!


Step Two: Offering a spa experience that touches on a few senses!

Calm is not only visually relaxing with its effervescent bubbles, but also offers another sense – olfactory! Yes, the sense of smell – as the natural smell of cucumber and mint slowly drift up through the nostrils to provide a feeling of relaxation and rejuvenation. Then as the tablet reaches full dissolution the taste of cucumber-mint gives your clients a satisfying and refreshing familiarity to the spas cucumber water to top off a stress-free experience.

But we also need to acknowledge the other wonderful benefits of this fizzing tablet such as boosting immunity, supporting healthy skin, helping to protect the heart and also providing a connection from the internal to external spa treatments!

Step Three: Your Retail Presence

When presenting Calm to your clients at the retail counter, remember to mention their internal stress relief comes in a 30 day supply at only $1.33 per serving.

Learn more about other Sequence XO products: Radiance and Fusion

The skinny on holiday weight gain…

Fortunately, just thinking about holiday cookies, cheesecake, honey-glazed ham and egg nog can’t make you gain weight, however we all like to indulge a little during this time of year. You don’t have to completely deny yourself, you just need to be smart about countering all the “bad” foods with good nutrition.

The Solution: Antioxidants and Portion Control

Have you ever heard about “The French Paradox”? This refers to findings indicating that although the French consume some of the richest foods in the world, the population as a whole is much more slender than Americans. The French Paradox starts with two phenomenons – the high consumption of red wine polyphenols and the other is portion control. “Even though the French eat more fat than Americans, they probably eat slightly fewer calories, which when compounded over years can amount to substantial differences in weight”, said Paul Rozin, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Though as a society we are eating less fat then the French but we’re also eating about 25 percent larger serving sizes. Next time you are at the buffet table and you want to taste the array of foods just take a bite size – you’ll satisfy every taste bud and lower your chances of battling the bulge in January.

Where do the antioxidants come from in wine?

Red wine contains powerful polyphenols and flavonoids that have a variety of health benefits – promoting healthy cholesterol levels, inhibiting hardening of arterial walls and boosting immunity. Also in that glass of wine you have the skin and seeds of grapes. The skins and seeds are highly concentrated with proanthocyanidins – what has come to be known as the most potent form of antioxidants.

Fusion: Why it's your antioxidant solution!

Fusion combines world renown ingredients from the most exotic places in the world that have been using such ingredients for thousands of years for longevity and good health. One of these revolutionary ingredients is grape seed extract – a subclass of proanthocyanidins originating in France. Grape seed extract has been extensively researched and continuously utilized source of antioxidants to help in the strengthening of the veins, arteries, capillaries, nerve endings and even sugar management.

Green Tea has been traditionally used in Asia for centuries promoting and array of health benefits to the body ranging from healthy skin and weight loss to immune enhancing and supporting a healthy cardiovascular system. This is such an important ingredient to the health of our bodies today that we included this in both our Fusion and Radiance formulas. Everyday more and more exciting research is uncovered demonstrating great promise in benefiting the health of our teeth and providing antibacterial properties. Much more research is needed in these new discoveries but the documented studies are extensive.

Fusion is a great addition to any detoxification, weight-management and healthy aging program. For more details click here!

Antioxidants are a useful tool in the fight against premature aging of our bodies. To learn more about grape seed extract, green tea or other important antioxidants please visit the National Center For Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Visit Sequence XO Product Line

It’s the most (wonderful) stressful time of the year!

The holidays are here! As wonderful and joyous as the holiday season can be, for many people it’s one of the most stressful times of the year. One of the main causes of anguish for people this time of year is the possibility of weight gain. But whether it’s the thought of weight gain, financial concerns or dealing with the in-laws stress can affect your body in many negative ways. Fortunately there are escapes that allow us to relieve the tension. One great solution is Calm, our anti-stress formula combines a B-vitamin complex, minerals and adaptogenic (stress aiding) herbs to help in the release of everyday stress. Calm is designed to stabilize our adrenal system, replenish lost nutrients and assist the mind and body to reach balance and tranquility. Let Calm, the 15-minute relaxing fizz, melt your holiday stress away.

Your health and your clients heath start on the inside. So give the gift of healthy stress relief with Sequence XO’s Calm.

Spa Treatments and Spa Nutrition

It’s no secret that consumers have adjusted their way of thinking when it comes to the spa experience. The spa, once thought of a place only for the wealthy to be pampered, has now transformed to a popular place for holistic healing and wellness. Today, the spa offers number of therapeutic solutions for arthritis, inflammation, pain, skin disorders, stress, and fatigue with the use of ancient remedies and practices. These therapies often incorporate vitamins, minerals, plants, spices and herbs to provide healing and total rejuvenation.

Nutritional supplements have a very similar foundation. Physicians of old used natural medicine to help heal patient’s ailments. At the turn of the twentieth century however, the United States saw a shift in medical practices and began branding natural therapies and the spa as hogwash and old wives’ tales. The medical community replaced ancient remedies with modern pharmaceutical creations focused on treating a disease instead of preventing it. Though with time and education even the most conservative minds have begun to see the health benefits of nutritional supplements.

In the early 1990s the Journal of the American Medical Association and New England Journal of Medicine began recommending vitamin supplements for many health conditions. The birth of alternative medicine in the media mainstream has made nutritional supplements a hot topic among all avenues of healthy living.

The Best of Both Worlds Under One Roof
Here is a list of some ingredients used within the spa and in supplements. Whether your guests are enjoying these ingredients as a spa treatment or as a nutritional aid we think you and your guests will love the Sequence XO product line. What better way to enhance your guest’s spa experience with an express mini facial and an anti-aging smoothie on the go!

Multifunctional Ingredients: Topical and Internal Uses
Why do we need vitamin A?
This vitamin comes in two forms: retinol (fat soluble) and beta-carotene (water soluble) and is essential for normal vision, cell growth, reproduction and immune response.
Topical uses:
Vitamin A helps prevent and combat photoaging and is used for problematic skin.
Internal uses:
The best vitamin A source used in dietary supplements should be in beta-carotene since the body can metabolize large quantities without fear of toxicity. Ideally, you would like to consume 5000-10,000 IU’s per day through food and nutritional supplements.
Good sources:
Fish oils, carrots and leafy vegetables.

Why do we need vitamin E?
This fat soluble vitamin is mainly used by your body as an antioxidant to protect the body from cellular damage and protects the cardiovascular system and is essential for energy metabolism.
Topical uses:
Vitamin E has been used to rejuvenate skin by decreasing inflammation and has shown to reduce scarring.
Internal uses:
In supplement form the best and natural source of vitamin E is d-alpha tocopheryl succinate in about 200-400 IU’s per day. Vitamin E has been extensively researched for supporting a healthy heart to the health of our cells.
Good sources:
Olive oil, peanuts, seeds, nuts, oats, coconut, wheat germ and asparagus

What is Lutein?
Lutein is a carotenoid, which gives the yellow and orange pigment color in many fruits and vegetables. Particularly studied for its strong antioxidant properties, which targets eye health but is now showing remarkable results in skin health.
Topical uses:
A recent study by Professor Pierfrancesco Morganti from the University of Naples, reports that Lutein applied topically in combination with oral supplementation increased skin protection six fold from free radical damage, boosted skin hydration and elasticity.
Internal uses:
As little as 10 mg of Lutein a day showed a significant boost in skin hydration, elasticity and superficial lipids of skin.
Good sources:
Green leafy vegetables, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables and egg yolk.

What is hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid is a component of connective tissue whose function is to cushion and lubricate joints, heart valves, eyes and much more. This ingredient is often called “the fountain of youth” because of its history of usage in cultures known to have long life spans.
Topical uses:
Hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in the deeper layers of the skin and has shown to keep skin smooth, supple, and moisturized, plus helps heal scars and wounds.
Internal uses:
As we age our bodies produce less and less of hyaluronic acid and can be difficult to replenish. It is recommended that we use hyaluronic acid to protect our joints, eyes, and skin.
Good sources:
Quality supplement, and a Japanese potato called satsumaimo

What is Grape Seed Extract?
Grape seed extract is a natural plant substance that has a concentrated source of proanthocyanidins – super antioxidants that protect the cells from free radical damage and promotes circulation.
Topical uses:
This powerful antioxidant has shown remarkable results in protecting the skin from UV light and photoaging.
Internal uses:
Grape seed extract is shown to be 20 times more potent than vitamin C and 50 times stronger than vitamin E. Grape seed extract has been extensively researched in France for its heart protecting properties as well as increasing circulation which helps nutrients enter the cells and aids in the removal of toxins
Good sources:
Grape skin, wine and quality supplements.

Why Green Tea?
Tea is an ancient herbal drink known for its stimulating qualities mainly from its natural caffeine content. This drink has been used traditionally to combat heart disease, gum disease, skin issues and assist in weight loss.
Topical uses:
Green tea has shown to protect the skin from potential sun damage and reduce inflammation.
Internal uses:
The array of health benefits attached to green tea fall anywhere from supporting a healthy heart, immune response to supporting healthy cholesterol levels.
Good sources:
Tea and a quality supplement.

What is Turmeric?
A spice derived from the curcuma longa plant also known as curcumin, which has been used traditionally as a digestive aid, help support a healthy prostate in men and provide a detoxifier agent.
Topical uses:
Turmeric has shown to be a powerful antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties that may prevent aging by oxidation.
Internal uses:
Has been recently researched for brain disorders and is showing promising results. Also known as a powerful free radical scavenger protecting our vital organs from oxidation.
Good sources:
Turmeric extract, tea, curry, curcumin, and a quality antioxidant supplement.


** All of these wonderful ingredients are found in Sequence XO products