ANC’s Healthy Reds is a highly nutritious blend of beetroot juice, citrus peel, tart cherry, MCT oil, astaxanthin and pomegranate powder, perfect for busy people on-the-go. The specialised blend is rich in antioxidants, protecting cells from damage and phytonutrients that support skin and blood vessel health. Healthy Reds is useful for individuals who want to support their energy and vitality or just want to increase their daily intake of nutrients for optimal wellbeing.
Ingredient in Focus:
Nitrate (Nitric Oxide)
You may think of nitrates as a bad thing, commonly found as additives in processed meats like ham, bacon or hot dogs. Nitrates and nitrites alone cannot be broken down by stomach acid and differing factors (like cooking protein-rich food on high heat) can cause them to ultimately form into the undesirable nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are more likely to be produced from meat than vegetables. The best way to not become confused with nitrates is by understanding that added nitrates and nitrites are harmful, while naturally occurring nitrates found in vegetables can actually be beneficial to your health. This is because naturally derived nitrates can be converted by your body into nitric oxide (NO), which is the end product that we want as NO has proven to have vasodilating activity. NO is involved in a variety of important physiological processes including blood pressure regulation, intestinal motility (via relaxation of smooth muscle), inhibition of platelet aggregation and macrophage function.
Beetroots are exceptionally high in nitrates and antioxidants and multiple clinical studies have concluded that beetroot juice is effective in achieving cardio-protective activity. Many studies comment on the importance of NO within beetroot to be a significant driver of these hypotensive properties, however there is evidence to suggest NO alone is also capable of such actions.
MCT
Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) are fats that are mainly found in coconut oil. MCTs are generally not considered harmful because they are far less likely to get stored in the body as fat and instead travel to the liver to be utilised as an energy source. MCT intake has shown to improve energy levels, exercise endurance and support weight management and blood sugar levels.
Astaxanthin
Astaxanthin is a red pigment (carotenoid) found in certain algae as well fish like salmon and crustaceans. It is a potent antioxidant and has shown to have many additional healing properties including antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, immune-stimulating and skin-protective activity. Additionally, astaxanthin can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce hyperglycaemia by facilitating glucose transport and metabolism.
References
Gropper, S., Smith, J., & Carr, T. (2017). Advanced nutrition and human metabolism. Cengage.
Mirmiran, P., Houshialsadat, Z., Gaeini, Z., Bahadoran, Z., & Azizi, F. (2020). Functional properties of beetroot (Beta vulgaris) in management of cardio-metabolic diseases. Nutrition & metabolism, 17, 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-019-0421-0
St-Onge, M. P., Bosarge, A., Goree, L. L., & Darnell, B. (2008). Medium chain triglyceride oil consumption as part of a weight loss diet does not lead to an adverse metabolic profile when compared to olive oil. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 27(5), 547–552. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2008.10719737
Sztretye, M., Dienes, B., Gönczi, M., Czirják, T., Csernoch, L., Dux, L., Szentesi, P., & Keller-Pintér, A. (2019). Astaxanthin: A Potential Mitochondrial-Targeted Antioxidant Treatment in Diseases and with Aging. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, 2019, 3849692. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3849692
Wang, Y., Liu, Z., Han, Y., Xu, J., Huang, W., & Li, Z. (2018). Medium Chain Triglycerides enhances exercise endurance through the increased mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism. PloS one, 13(2), e0191182. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191182
