Support for sunless days

Michael Ventresca • December 30, 2025

The winter blues: It’s not depression, but a normal response to reduced daylight and a disrupted internal rhythm.


Snowy path along a lake, person with umbrella walks past trees and streetlights.

If you’re like me, you can feel the season change the moment December arrives. The days get dark early, the sunlight fades, and before long your mood and energy shift right along with it. There’s a reason for this. Shorter days affect the part of the brain involved in regulating serotonin, the neurotransmitter tied to calmness and emotional balance. When serotonin dips, it’s easy to feel tense or slightly out of sync.


We have a name for this: the winter blues. It’s not depression, but a normal response to reduced daylight and a disrupted internal rhythm.


One option I find helpful this time of year is L-theanine, an amino acid naturally found in green tea. Research shows L-theanine promotes healthy alpha brainwave activity, the same relaxed-but-focused state associated with meditation or mindfulness practice. What I like about L-theanine is that it helps settle the mind without causing drowsiness. 


If you’d like to try it, Vital Choice offers L-theanine in both capsule and chewable form, made with AlphaWave, a clinically studied form of L-theanine. Research shows AlphaWave supports calming alpha brainwave activity and often begins working in about 30 to 40 minutes. It doesn’t sedate you. It simply helps ease that tight, out-of-balance feeling that tends to show up during the darker months. It’s gentle and suitable for daily use.


If the lack of sunlight has been affecting your mood or stress level, small steps like getting outside when it’s bright, keeping a regular sleep schedule, and using natural options like L-theanine can make winter feel a lot more manageable.


Mike Ventresca is the owner of Vital Choice Health Store located at 9243 Sprague Road in North Royalton’s Timber Ridge Plaza. The phone number is 440-885-9505 . This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

By Michael Ventresca • October 28, 2026
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By Michael Ventresca • October 14, 2026
Have you ever eaten a meal with garlic or onions, and almost instantly had stomach upset? Does it seem like just about everything you eat causes gas, bloating or indigestion? If this sounds like you, or if you’ve been told to try a FODMAP diet, today’s article could be the missing piece to a very frustrating puzzle. I know it was for me. Most people have heard of lactose intolerance or gluten sensitivity, but far fewer are familiar with fructan sensitivity. Fructans are naturally occurring carboyhydrates found in a wide variety of foods but in especially high concentrations in everything from garlic and onions, to asparagus, wheat and even watermelon. For people who have difficulty digesting fructans, these foods can cause gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, and sometimes diarrhea. The frustrating part is that fructans are found in so many seemingly unrelated foods that it can feel like almost everything you eat is causing a problem. That was my experience for years. Over the years, I tried a number of digestive enzymes. While many of them helped, none of them were a perfect match for the garlic, onion and pasta found in some of my favorite Italian meals. Then I stumbled across a product called FODZYME. FODZYME contains three digestive enzymes, including fructan hydrolase, an enzyme specifically designed to help break down fructans. FODZYME is a tasteless powder that you sprinkle directly on your food just before eating. The enzymes mix with the food and begin breaking down the fructans as you chew, before they cause problems further down the digestive tract. For me, the difference has been night and day. I am finally able to enjoy foods I have avoided for years. It’s important to note, there is still some trial and error involved regarding dosage. Because the amount of fructans varies from meal to meal, I find I need to adjust how much I use. Sometimes, one scoop is plenty, other times, I’ll use two. But if garlic, onions, wheat, or other high-fructan foods consistently leave you feeling miserable, FODZYME may be just what you need to start enjoying the foods you love. To learn more, or to try FODZYME, please stop in today. Mike Ventresca is the owner of Vital Choice Health Store located at 9243 Sprague Road in North Royalton’s Timber Ridge Plaza. The phone number is 440-885-9505 or visit VChoice.com . This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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