Guest blog from our friends at Natural Factors.

Quercetin for your immune support!

Each year when the colder months roll around, we stock up on supplements to help support our immune and respiratory health. Along with trusty ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, and elderberry, there’s another superhero ingredient that belongs on the team: quercetin.

Quercetin is an antioxidant bioflavonoid that’s increasingly being researched for its benefits for the immune system, blood vessels, and respiratory health.* These benefits are important, not just for the cold weather season, but for heart health too.*

If quercetin hasn’t been on your radar until now, that’s probably because it’s had some delivery challenges. Most standard supplement forms of quercetin are difficult for the body to absorb, making it hard to reap the full benefits. That’s why we’re so excited to introduce our new Quercetin LipoMicel Matrix, which is uniquely designed for up to 10x better absorption to help unlock the full benefits of quercetin.

Your Immune Support Ally

Quercetin is a bioflavonoid — a plant pigment found in many fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Bioflavonoids are potent antioxidants that help protect your body from oxidative stress, which can damage cells and weaken your immune system.*

Quercetin is known as one of the most powerful antioxidant flavonoids, making it a great ally for your natural defenses.* But quercetin also has another superpower: it can help boost the activity of your other immune-support nutrients.*

Quercetin: A Team Player

Quercetin is one of the bioflavonoids found in elderberry and is considered its most active antioxidant compound.[1] It’s also found in many foods that are high in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits.

Nature puts these ingredients together for a reason: they seem to work in synergy. Studies suggest that quercetin and vitamin C complement each other’s immune benefits and may work better when combined.*[2],[3],[4] Vitamin C also helps to extend the life of quercetin in the body.*[5]

Quercetin plays well with the rest of the immune support team, too. It boosts the activity of zinc by helping to transport the mineral across cell membranes.[6] And it seems to help activate vitamin D receptors,[7] supporting the activity of this crucial vitamin in the body.*

Healthy Blood Vessels, Healthy You

Oxidative stress doesn’t just weaken your immune system. It can damage the delicate walls of your blood vessels and interfere with healthy blood vessel function. This can impact your blood pressure and circulation — and put stress on your heart.

Quercetin supports your blood vessels by protecting against the damaging effects of oxidative stress and supporting a healthy inflammation response.* It also helps your blood vessels contract and relax properly, which you need for healthy circulation and normal blood pressure.* That’s good news for your heart health. In fact, it’s great for your whole body.

Unlocking the Benefits of Quercetin

To enjoy the benefits of quercetin, your body must first be able to absorb it. But most previous forms of quercetin have been difficult to absorb, making only a fraction of it available for use.

Our new Quercetin LipoMicel Matrix was designed to solve that problem. A unique, patent-pending technology creates a liquid micelle matrix that disperses quercetin into tiny microdroplets, making them easier for your body to absorb.

Researchers put Quercetin LipoMicel Matrix’s bioavailability to the test, by comparing it to two other forms of quercetin. Twelve volunteers took turns taking single doses of 500 mg of each kind of quercetin. The amount of quercetin in their blood was measured at various time points from 0–24 hours after taking each supplement.

Here’s what the study found. First, thanks to its sustained release design, Quercetin LipoMicel Matrix stayed in the participants’ systems longer. And second, it led to higher blood concentrations of quercetin — up to 10x higher a full 12 hours after ingestion.[8] That means just one 250 mg dose is as effective as 2,500 mg of regular quercetin! Look for Natural Factors Quercetin LipoMicel Matrix at your local natural health store.

Come in to Rebecca’s for Natural Factor’s Quercetin LipoMicel Matrix and many more Quercetin supplements.

REFERENCES

[1] Simonyi A, et al. Life Sci. 2015 May 1;128:30-8. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2015.01.037

[2] Askari G, et al. J Res Med Sci. 2012 Jul;17(7):637-41. PMID: 23798923; PMCID: PMC3685779.

[3] Colunga Biancatelli, RML, et al. Front. Immunol. 2020 Jun 19;11:1451. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.01451

[4] Kallio J, et al. Planta Med. 2012 Nov;78(17):1824-30. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1315388. Epub 2012 Oct 11. PMID: 23059632.

[5] Colunga Biancatelli RML, 2020.

[6] Dabbagh-Bazarbachi H, et al. J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Aug 13;62(32):8085-8093. doi: 10.1021/jf5014633

[7] Lee, KY, et al. Biomol. Ther (Seoul). 2016 Mar 1;24,2:191-8. doi:10.4062/biomolther.2015.122

[8] Soulnier J, et al. J Nat Health Prod Res. 2021 Jul-Dec;3. doi: https://doi.org/10.33211/jnhpr.17

 

Photo credit: Stephanie Gross