IV therapy: magical health infusion or expensive and temporary placebo?

The Future of Fitness Explained: IV Therapy

If you love to learn about new exercise and fitness trends, The Future of Fitness explains it to you in a way you can understand and separate the hype cycle from actual results.

IV therapy has been used for decades in hospitals to treat a range of conditions from dehydration to nutrient-absorption disorders. However, IV Therapy clinics have started to pop up in busy metropolitan areas. Boasting miraculous hangover cures and immunity boosts, are these expensive shot infusions worth the price or are they just hype?

What is IV Therapy?

IV Therapy is an infusion that is specifically designed to address a health concern, to increase immunity, as a beauty treatment, or to boost energy. A cocktail of vitamins and minerals combined with fluids and electrolytes are delivered to your body intravenously. With IV Therapy, as soon as your infusion starts, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients are quickly circulated through your bloodstream and delivered to cells.

What Do I Need to Do?

If you are interested in IV Therapy, you need to book an appointment with a clinic. You can find a number of locations online that explain what combinations and treatments they offer. You arrive at the clinic, sign a waiver (or waivers depending on health history or age), and wait to be hooked up to an IV by one of the healthcare professionals.

Does it Work?

There are lots of stories about people who felt IV Therapy was invaluable in helping them manage a variety of chronic conditions like migraines, fibromyalgia, cardiovascular issues, or adrenal fatigue. As someone who recently tried IV Therapy, and with most alternative healthcare practices, I feel that results may vary. I booked myself an appointment when I was feeling rundown and susceptible to a cold. After my treatment, I did feel renewed and energetic — and I did not get sick. However, it was only four days before I returned to my previous tired state.

Should I Try It?

It depends. How do you feel about general IV infusions? Have you had any previous difficulties having your blood drawn or receiving fluids through your veins in a hospital setting. Fighting your own history of IV drips to try a trendy cure is probably not worth it.

If you have no problem with IVs and want to see if IV therapy can restore your energy or help you fight off a cold, this might be for you. If you have been working long hours or extending yourself, IV Therapy may be a quick solution to prevent the inevitable burnout and crash that comes with over-work and over-play.

Do keep in mind that IV Therapy is quite expensive — prices are usually over $100 per session and are generally paid for out-of-pocket.

More Information Please!

Try these links and get educated about IV Therapy:
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2016-07-07/should-you-try-iv-therapy
https://www.healthline.com/health/under-review-IV-vitamin-therapy
https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/iv-drip-bars-is-this-the-new-path-to-wellness/
https://www.medicaldaily.com/hydration-therapy-benefits-and-risks-behind-iv-infusion-water-and-minerals-401808

Your gut is your second brain

Have you ever heard of the gut-brain connection? If not, you’ve definitely experienced it. It’s that nervous feeling in your stomach when you’re in an unfamiliar situation or that full feeling when you’ve received unexpected sad news. Emotions such as happiness, anger, anxiety, and sadness can all cause a physical reaction in your gut.

The gut includes every organ involved in digesting food and processing it into waste. The gut or “second brain” can operate on its own and communicates back and forth with your actual brain. The vagus nerve controls messages to the gut and runs all the way from the brain stem to part of the colon. Hormones and neurotransmitters also connect your gut chemically to your brain.

To maintain or restore gut health and support good overall health, it is important to maintain a strong balance of beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract. Eating a diet that includes foods with probiotic or prebiotic ingredients support a microbial health by restoring balance.

What are Probiotic Foods?

Probiotics contain live beneficial bacteria grown during carefully-controlled fermentation processes. You may already have probiotics in your diet: plain yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, fresh sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, apple cider vinegar, and miso.

What are Prebiotic Foods?

Prebiotics do not contain bacteria. They contain indigestible fibers that ferment in the GI tract. There, they are consumed by probiotic bacteria and converted into other healthful substances. Prebiotic foods include artichokes, leeks, onions, garlic, chicory, cabbage, asparagus, legumes, and oats.

Are There Other Foods that Benefit the Gut-Brain relationship?

The following foods have also been shown to balance and improve the gut:

Omega-3 fats

High-fiber foods

Polyphenol-rich foods

Tryptophan-rich foods

If you’re experiencing indigestion or even if you are prone to depression or anxiety, you may want to look at your diet. By incorporating gut-healthy foods, you can begin to nurture your second brain.

Image: healthbeat.spectrum.org

Video: Ghulam Ali

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