Have a Seat, and Relax with Relaxzen Day & Night Formulas

Stress. Everybody has to deal with it, some more than others. Some cope better with stress, while others simply cannot handle any stress, and then there are individuals who experience chronic stress. In fact, chronic stress is the worst type, which is known to make you fat. Let's face it, stress is everywhere - at home, at work, financial stress, and so on. You can't escape it, so you have to learn to deal with it, make the best of it, and most importantly, avoid falling into the vicious trap of chronic stress. Many research studies have found is a direct link between stress and chronic stress with weight gain and visceral obesity.

So exactly what is stress and chronic stress?

Stress is a state of disharmony caused by internal or external forces that threatens your state of homeostasis. This stress is counteracted by a series of physiological and behavioral responses that aim to re-establish homeostasis within your body. Chronic stress is a prolonged threat to homeostasis by frequent and constant stressors that could lead to a wide range of diseases and metabolic syndromes. Getting stressed out can cause you to gain body fat, and being overweight can become a chronic stressor that leads to even more stress. Talk about a vicious cycle. In a study done by Kyrou et al., they stated that obesity and metabolic syndrome often correlates with indices of stress. Stress contributes to the accumulation of fat tissue, and that obesity in itself can constitute as a form of chronic stressor. [1]

The researchers also stated that "chronic stress is associated to derangement of metabolic homeostasis that contributes to the clinical presentation of visceral obesity, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome... Notably, indices of stress in the modern western societies correlate with the increasing incidence of both obesity and the metabolic syndrome which have reached epidemic proportions over the past decades."[2] There are some stress that you can work to remove from your everyday life, but there are also other stress that you just have to deal with. But when you're feeling stressed out, there are stress relief supplements you can take such as Relaxzen.

Are You Stressed Out? Take Relaxzen for Stress Relief

Relaxzen relaxation beverages are designed to help reduce stress, and help you feel relaxed.

Disclosure: I was contacted by Mike S., a representative of Relaxzen regarding their product line. A request for reviews was made, and I was happy to oblige. Please note, however, no payment or compensation was received in any way, and you can be sure that this review, like all other reviews on the site, are free from bias and free from manufacturer influence. For this review, I received one box (12 bottles) of Relaxzen daytime formula.

Below is a list of Relaxzen ingredients:

Serving Size: 1 container (74ml)
Calories - 0
Fat - 0g
Carbohydrates - 0g
Vitamin B6 - 4mg
Vitamin B12 - 12mcg
Proprietary Relaxation and Stress Relief Blend: 225mg
Acai Extract, Passionflower Extract, GABA, L-Theanine, L-threonine

Acai berry grows on acai palm trees located in the amazon rain forest of Brazil. It is a small round fruit that looks very much like a grape, but even smaller. The Acai berry itself has a rather large seed, making up about 90% of the berry, and its pulp makes up about 10% of the berry. Despite this, the Acai berry has an exceptional nutrition value content, and is now widely recognized as a health supplement that works as an effective anti oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and helps to improve overall health. There are many claimed health benefits of Acai, including:

Increase energy levels and improve stamina
Anti inflammatory
Strong anti-oxidant
Supports stronger immune system
Reduce pain and soreness
Promoted better sleep and rest
Very high in fiber and other important nutrients

Passionflower Extract has anti anxiety effects. There are some in the weight loss industry that goes as far as to say that passion flower extract reduces belly fat... What a bunch of @#$%! The diet and weight loss industry preys on the uninformed consumer to no end. You cannot spot reduce, and there's no evidence that passion flower reduces belly fat! However, there is real scientific evidence that passion flower extract can help reduce anxiety. One research studied the efficacy of Passionflower extract for treating generalized anxiety disorder. 36 individuals participated in this study, and half were treated with a passion flower extract, and the other half were given oxazepam (an anxiety drug) for 4 weeks. The study results found that both oxazepam and passion flower extract were effective in treating anxiety; however, the passion flower extract group experienced much better job performance. [3]

GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. It helps regulate neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. GABA is also known to help induce relaxation and reduce anxiety. It acts as a "balancer" for the brain where excitation of the brain is balanced with inhibition. Studies have found that deficiency in GABA can cause anxiety and stress, and enhancing GABA function can relief anxiety. Research have also established the connection between low GABA levels with panic disorders, where patients with panic disorders had a 22% reduction in total GABA concentration. [4]

L-Theanine is an amino acid that is often found in tea. It is able to cross the blood brain barrier, and research has found it to reduce stress and improve mood. L-theanine has been approved for universal consumption in Japan since 1964, and in the US, it is considered GRAS (Generally recognized as safe) by the FDA. In one study, 12 participants took either L-theanine, or a placebo, and the results found that the L-theanine group had a reduction in heart rate and better responses to acute stress tasks compared to the control group - suggesting that oral intake of L-Theanine could cause anti-stress effects. [5]

Relaxzen Makes You Feel Relaxed

So, how did I make out with my samples of Relaxzen? It was excellent, indeed. It certainly tastes good. The day formula is called "mellow berry' flavor, and it tastes great. I almost wish that they made it in to a 355ml can or bottle type of drink.

Before I tell you more about how Relaxzen worked on me, I need tell you a bit about my background and situation, so you have a better understanding of the stressors in my life, and the current situation I'm in while I tested it out. I have two beautiful kids, 3 and 1 at the time of this writing, and let me tell you that going through the birth of both of my children are probably the two most stressful events in my entire life.

Recently, my sister-in-law, who lives down in California, also got pregnant, but since she is a Canadian citizen, and because of the health care advantages of Canada, she decided to give birth in Canada. So she stayed with us for sometime before and after birth, and I have to say that this totally stressed me out. I'm beginning to think that being around pregnant women stresses me out. =)

I was very receptive when I was contacted to do a review on Relaxzen, and have to admit that they sure picked a good time for me to try out their product.

When I received the samples in the mail, I did not hesitate to try it out. When I felt stressed out due to the pregnant sister-in-law, I'd have a relaxzen. On the night (11pm) when she was about to go into labor and preparing to head for the hospital, boy was I stressed out - to the point where I have to tell myself to take a deep breath (LOL). So I grabbed a bottle of Relaxzen. It works! And shortly after, I told my sister-in-law that she's welcome to have as many babies as she wants at that point in time, since I was feeling pretty darn good. =) I was not feeling stressed.

The wonderful thing about Relaxzen is that you never realize that it's doing what it's supposed to do because, honestly, when you are feeling perfectly fine and good, you're not going to be paying much attention to your state of well-being. So when I'm stressed out, and take a Relaxzen, I have to pause for a moment, and actually put some thought into how I was feeling at that particular moment in time, and it's not until I've made an effort to evaluate my state of well-being that I realize and say to myself: "Hey, this stuff works! I don't feel stressed out right now."

I was relaxed and calm, and things that might normally bug me or drive me up the wall seemed rather trivial, and having 2 kids in the house surely tested those limits on a constant basis.

Relaxzen claims to promote an optimal state for recovery. I don't know if it felt like an optimal state for recovery, but it certainly felt like an optimal state of goodness. =)

Relaxzen seems to start working almost right away - at least within the first few minutes of taking it. But, your state of feeling and relaxation is such a subjective assessment that it's hard to pinpoint when relaxzen is working, until you realize, and say to yourself: "hey, I'm not feeling stressed right now! And that's making me feel pretty good."

There you have it, my experience with Relaxzen, and I commend Mike on his impeccable timing for sending me product samples.

Notes:

1. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Nov;1083:77-110.
Stress, visceral obesity, and metabolic complications.
Kyrou I, Chrousos GP, Tsigos C.

2. Horm Metab Res. 2007 Jun;39(6):430-8. Stress mechanisms and metabolic complications.Kyrou I, Tsigos C. Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes Unit, Evgenidion Hospital, Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece.

3. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2001 Oct;26(5):363-7.
Passionflower in the treatment of generalized anxiety: a pilot double-blind randomized controlled trial with oxazepam.
Akhondzadeh S, Naghavi HR, Vazirian M, Shayeganpour A, Rashidi H, Khani M.

4. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001 Jun;58(6):556-61.
Reductions in occipital cortex GABA levels in panic disorder detected with 1h-magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Goddard AW, Mason GF, Almai A, Rothman DL, Behar KL, Petroff OA, Charney DS, Krystal JH.

5. Biol Psychol. 2007 Jan;74(1):39-45. Epub 2006 Aug 22.
L-Theanine reduces psychological and physiological stress responses.
Kimura K, Ozeki M, Juneja LR, Ohira H.

Sept 2010