Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1501141
www.AbbysHealthFood.com | # 57| Page 27 Q & A with Collin Gow, C. N. C. Q & A with Collin Gow, C. N. C. Collin Gow, C.N.C. is a certified nutritional consultant who has been working in the fields of health and nutrition for 12 years and researching for over 20 years. Collin is currently employed at Abby's Health and Nutrition consulting and educating in the Tampa Bay area. Q: Do you recommend probiotic supplements or is it best to just get it from food? A: If I had to choose between fermented foods or probiotic capsules, then I would recommend fermented foods. In South Korea, they eat fermented foods with every single meal in the form of kimchi, and South Korea has the 10th longest living population in the world. But it's not an either/or thing. It's a both thing. I recommend both probiotic supplements and fermented foods, which contain probiotics. One of the keys with probiotics, as regards the health of your microbiome, is getting a variety of strains and species. Doing both probiotic supplements and probiotic-rich foods gives you more variety of strains and species. Hope that helps. Thanks for your inquiry. Q: Are there new developments that you know about for smell loss or taste loss after having covid? A: Yes. New evidence is showing that anosmia (loss of smell), ageusia (loss of taste), and dysgeusia (altered taste) may be caused by dysautonomia, where the autonomic nervous system becomes dysregulated due to maladaptation to pro-inflammatory cytokines. This may cause excess sympathetic nervous system activity in the head and neck region, leading to symptoms. There is a procedure that can be done called "stellate ganglion block" that has shown "immediate" improvement in some patients with anosmia and dysgeusia. For this procedure, a doctor injects local anesthetic into the stellate ganglion region (a region of nerves in the neck). However, there are herbs and supplements one may try that are known to shift sympathetic nervous system activity towards parasympathetic nervous system activity, which this author theorizes may be of help also. If you're not ready to go to the doctor, then consider trying two of the following options: taurine, skullcap, ashwagandha, magnesium, lavender, holy basil, lemon balm, choline, serine, and/or reishi. One may also consider taking Life Extension Cytokine Suppress (with mung bean extract) to suppress cytokine levels. Of course, Abby's carries all of these supplements. For more info on loss of smell and taste after COVID, see the book I wrote on COVID-19 and Long COVID, which Abby's carries also. Be well. Q: Does Abby's have anything for stress during pregnancy? What can I take that is safe? A: Abby's carries a product called Peaceful Mama by Redd Remedies. It contains b-vitamins, casein hydrolysate, lemon balm, and ginger. It is safe for pregnant and nursing moms, as well as all moms looking for stress relief. The main supplements that one should avoid during pregnancy are very bitter herbs. Bitter herbs can stimulate contractions and cause a miscarriage. There are no bitter herbs in the Redd Remedies product and its ingredients have either traditional and historical use in infants and/or have been demonstrated to have no adverse effects to both fetal development and the health of the mother. It is also formulated by a master herbalist, who is a mom. Another way to go, to keep it simple, would be to just buy lemon balm. It is one of my personal favorite herbs and, in addition to its calming effects, it also happens to be antiviral and helpful for focus. Talk to your doctor before making any changes, but those options get my approval. Do you have a question for Abby's Nutrition Specialists? Send it to us by clicking the ASK OUR STAFF button under the Abby's Mag tab on our website. Check for the answers on our website in the Abby's Answers section. Abby's Nutrition Specialists also offer consultations. Please call (813) 265-4951 between the hours of: Mon-Sat 8am – 9pm or Sunday 9am – 8pm Or come in to see us so we can help you in person! 14374 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa, FL 33618 M A G A Z I N E