Sunday, September 24, 2006

Beneficial effects of magnesium are similar to statin drugs

Because of its many cardiovascular benefits and good safety profile, many researchers suggest that magnesium supplementation could be a viable alternative for those who cannot or choose not to take statin drugs.

Statins are a class of drugs commonly prescribed for individuals with elevated cholesterol levels, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. While statins are effective, they also carry undesirable side-effects, and some people cannot, or choose not to use them. A review published in the October 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that the essential nutrient magnesium provides many of the same cardiovascular benefits ascribed to statin drugs. The authors noted that both statin drugs and magnesium can inactivate the enzyme responsible for the first step in cholesterol formation, thus lowering LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Both can improve the function of blood vessels, reduce inflammation, and provide other cardiovascular benefits. Magnesium, however, can also help elevate beneficial HDL cholesterol levels while reducing triglycerides. In addition, magnesium is necessary for the enzyme that converts essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acids) into compounds that reduce inflammation. Optimal levels of magnesium also provide natural calcium channel blocker activity, which helps dilate blood vessels and control blood pressure. Because of its many cardiovascular benefits, relatively low cost, and good safety profile, the authors suggested that increasing magnesium intakes through diet and supplementation could provide a viable alternative for those who cannot, or choose not to take statin drugs. Note: If you are currently taking a statin drug to lower cholesterol, do not discontinue its use except on the advice of your physician. This information is not meant to imply that magnesium supplements should replace all statin drugs. However, adequate magnesium is very important for cardiovascular health, especially for those at risk for coronary artery disease.

Source: Comparison of Mechanism and Functional Effects of Magnesium and Statin Pharmaceuticals, Andrea Rosanoff Mildred S. Seelig, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 23, No. 5, 501S-505S (2004)

Friday, September 22, 2006

"The Power of Two" theme song

Listen to the theme song from the International Convention 2006.

The Power of Two by Collin Raye

I used to think that winning
Was to break the tape alone
And to climb the highest mountain
Reach the top on my own
But the climb is so much lighter
When there’s someone helping you
And there is no greater glory
Than to share the summits view.

The pastime of the lonely
Is the game of solitaire
But for life to be worth living
It always takes a pair
If you’re staring in the mirror
And all you see is you
It’s time to look beyond yourself
And see the power of two

Chorus

Can you feel the power of a million voices
Who have all made choices to share a higher view
Can you feel the power when we join together
To make the future better
For me and you
Can the feel the power
Can you feel The power of two

Once in every lifetime
There’s a song you want to share
A song of health and freedom
With people everywhere
There’s a vision of tomorrow rising up inside of you
But you’ve got to pass it forward
To get the power of two

Chorus

Feel the power, we’ve only just begun
To feel the power, of just one plus one

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

USANA patented product "Olivol"

At Convention, Dr Ladd MacNamara of the Medical Advisory Board spoke about the following (briefly noted):

Goddess Athena gave Athens the gift of the olive branch.

Polyphenol antioxidant unique + Vit C + Vit E decreases risk of disease - mediterranean diet best.

Crete 1st, Italy 2nd, Spain 3rd - in Crete cancer is rare .... UK/US some 37 times less olive oil is consumed.

Cretians consume 2 to 3 oz per day / 60 to 90 grams per day (700 cals per day).

Essentials Mega Antioxidant has 30mg of patented Olivol product = 60 grams of olive oil.

Hepasil has 45 mg of Olivol extract = 90 grams of olive oil.

Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women ... treatment? nothing just a mammogram.

With just 10 grams of olive oil, breast cancer risk is halved.

Magnesium

At Convention, Dr Monica Lewis of the Medical Advisory Board spoke about the following (briefly noted):

Magnesium in Active Calcium and the chewable version for kids contain magnesium to help absorption of calcium into the bone.

Osteoporosis -> bone pain, collapsed vertebrae, fractures, starts in teens.

USANA Active Calcium study: 100 no. 12-year olds took 4 tabs a day and 4 placebos over one year ... showed increased bone density and bone tissue.

Magnesium is the forgotten mineral which we universally require.

Mg and Ca work together for bone, muscle and nerve transmission.

We all need extra Mg.

When muscles/nerves relax - Ca out, Mg in.

Shortage? Ca is not a problem as it is stored in the body but Mg is not.

Mg shortage - nerves on edge. Muscles all over body can be affected - raised blood pressure, muscle tightening (asthma, cramp, migraines), nerve twitching - anxious, on edge, depression, grumpy teenagers, poor sleep, inability to relax, heart palpitations.

You're short of Mg when you crave chocolate!

Conclusion: treasure these products - Active Calcium and Chewable Calcium.

The USANA difference for kids

At Convention, Dr Christine Wood of the Medical Advisory Board spoke about the following (briefly noted):

A. Why do kids need supplements?
B. USANA difference?
C. Why take the opportunity to educate?

A. Why do kids need supplements?

Advergaming - advertising of food and drinks on-line
Are kids too wired for their own good?
TVs in bedrooms - 3 hrs/day, 8 hrs media multi-tasking
Changing food - depletion of nutrients
Microwave nutrient deficiency - 97% lost compared with 11% steamed
Kids junk food

B. USANA difference?

Spinabifida from folate deficiency

Tablet disintegration study - 3 out of 9 vits aren't released

Consumerlabs.com reviews

Use betacarotene - precursor to Vit A - no toxicity

No iron - no toxicity build up

Comparative Guide 5* listing

Xylitol inc. in Usanimals - natural sweetner decreases dental caries and ear infections

Omega 3: 6 ratio (brain development, behaviour ADD/ADHD)

Recommendations: Usanimals, OptOmega in shakes, Calcium, bioflavinoids (Proflavanol), macro optimisers (Paediactrics March 2003)

C. Why take the opportunity to educate?

Doh! because of cradle-to-grave marketing affecting us and our kids. Take social responsibility to educate.

Dr. Wentz's tribute to Linus Pauling

At Convention, Dr Wentz spoke about the following (briefly noted):

USANA's success is due to focus on the balance between micro and macro nutrition.

Introduced Linus Pauling who had wide interests with his wife Ava Helen - two Nobel prizes in 1954 for biochemistry and in '62 for peace. More here.

Read more of his work here ... in a nutshell, he became interested in orthomolecular medicine (vitamins, minerals and antioxidants) in the 1960's.

Oxidative stress/cell degeneration is the major cause of all disease - causes us to rust from the inside out. Free radical theory of aging -> chronic degenerative disease.

AO's understood then to be vits A C E and zinc ... now many - see Essentials list. Different AO's act against different free radicals. AO's act as teams. Men need more AO's than women. When you reach 50, you need more AO's.

Current free radical research

Trial: high level AO's successfully treats Alzheimers.

Wide range of AOs plays important part in body health - eyes, prostate, cancer.

Polyphenol (olive oil) reduces HDL cholesterol.

Vit E protects against pesticides.

Oxidative stress = 80/90% of all chronic degenerative disease.

Pharmaceutical-induced disease (statins) causes deficiency of CoQ10 and also cholesterol which is a precursor to healthy hormones necessary for the building blocks Vit D and bile (for digestion). The low cholesterol level leads to stroke, respiratory disease, depression and in some cases suicide.

Quotes

"Greatest contribution to public health is intake of AO's at optimum level" ref. Dr. Pauling.

"Nutritional medicine will be taking a prominent place in 21st century healthcare" ref. Dr Wentz.

"I think it is a good idea to regard the 21st century as a century for life when attention is paid to human beings and their happiness and health" ref. Dr. Pauling.

"That's why USANA is focussed on researching the best nutritional supplements in the world. Supplementation is key to preventing disease." ref Dr. Wentz.

"Our goal should be a world that every person born into it has the possibility of leading a good life." ref Dr. Pauling.

Linus Pauling Institute and USANA history

1974 Gull Labs (Dr Wentz's previous company) was formed and Linus Pauling Institute was partly-supported by Gull
1994 Linus Pauling died - troubled times -> Oregon State Uni
2006 USANA celebrates Linus Pauling's legacy being continued by Steven Lawson

Steven Lawson talks about LPI and the healthcare economy.

Glycemic control

Just come back from Convention - excuse the plug, but simply awesome.

Dr. Ray Strand of the medical advisory board spoke on the captioned topic.

Hypo-caloric diets are doomed to fail:

  • low or v.low caloric intake (400 to 1,000 cals)

  • tremendous reliance on will power

  • many are high carb/low fat programs (isogenics, Jenny Craig, weight watchers)

Metabolic syndrome X - an underlying disease process

  • central obesity - muscle becomes insulin resistant first

  • high blood pressure

  • low LDL

which happens because of oxidative stress which creates insulin resistance and therefore increases insulin levels => glycemic stress.

In 5 years diabetes +500%.

Triglycerides/HDL >2 => insulin resistance.

25% adults have metabolic syndrome (Ford, JAMA).

1/3 of children today will become diabetic (CDC).

45% of diabetes in children today is Type 2.

Children given high GI meals ate 80% more calories in a day.

Then there's a techincal looking curve which shows a graph over 20 years where as insulin resistance increases then so does fasting plasma glucose with a corresponding reduction in insulin production leading to Type 2 diabetes.

The Health for Life Program

1. Healthy diet - low GI carbs, good fats and proteins

2. Modest exercise

3. Cellular nutrition - USANA's Essentials or HealthPak 100

Transition with products:

a) Start with RESET (5-day high fibre cleanse);

b) followed by Phase 1 maintenance with two meal replacments and one low GI meal and snack; and

c) followed by Phase 2 maintenance with with one meal replacment and two low GI meals and snacks.

and Certified Team Leader program - education, awareness and behaviour modification program which I am registered on to teach.

Western Internation Review Board (with Drs Tim Wood and Ray Strand)

Study protocol - 25 participants, 12-week clinical trial

Average 13 lbs weight loss, 2" waist loss

Cholesterol 206 -> 176

Triglycerides 141 -> 106

Systolic bp 131 -> 121

Diastolic bp 86 ->80

Insulin sensitivity index 111 -> 127 (+12%)

Blood insulin (120 min) 34-> 19

Holistic prevention to cancer prevention

Just come back from Convention - excuse the plug, but it was a wonderful experience.

Dr. Monica Lewis of the medical advisory board spoke on the captioned topic.

There are no drugs which can prevent cancer but nutrition can (quoted various studies).

Breast cancer

Risk factors: night work, HRT pills, excess alcohol, red meat and high fat intake.

+ve studies for vitamins E, B6, K and folate - and the mineral selenium.

Aboriginal women have no breast cancer!

Breast fat stores toxins and chemicals from household cleaners and parabens.

So have massages and if poss lymphatic massages from time to time and wear a loose bra or camisole!

Bras - increased odds of getting breast cancer
24 hrs/day - 3 out of 4
12 hrs/day - 1 out of 7

Prostate cancer

Studies show decreased risk with selenium, omega 3 and lycopene.

Treatments

Two areas for action: attack cancer cells and strengthen immune system.

Cancer cells grow fast and outgrow oxygen supplies.

Treatment 1 - make life hard for cancer cells by:
a) low sugar/ low GI diet as cancer cells need sugar;
N.B. 40% of cancer deaths are caused by malnutrition
b) exercise as cancer cells do not like oxygen; and
c) alkalise.

Treatment 2 - conventional therapy

Treatment 3 - protective and beneficial lifestyle, diet and exercise by:
a) eating organic, in technicolour and dont overcook cruciferous foods;
b) massage and detox;
etc...

Treatment 4 - nutritional supplements - see Linus Pauling Institute

Treatment 5 - mental attitude
a) if a patient is confident about a treatment, don't knock it;
b) meditation and imagery; and
c) spiritual awareness and growth.

Drug-induced nutrient depletion

Just come back from Convention - excuse the plug, but it inspiring.

Dr. Bart Moore of the medical advisory board spoke on the captioned topic. A google search using the same term provides only a few references.

Top 5 causes of death:

1. Cancer
2. Heart disease
3. Stroke
4. Lung disease
5. DRUGS
6. Accidents

Also, Dr. Wentz spoke of Lipitor and Zocor - two of the US's best-selling drugs at $15bn sales and 75m prescriptions - these deplete Coenzyme Q10 which lead to high blood pressure, congestive heart failure and low energy.... and the no. 1 prescriptive drug at 100m is acetaminophen which depletes glutathiones which decrease hepatic detoxification and immunity.

Success from Home

Success from Home a third-party, national newsstand magazine that focuses on the direct sales industry, has chosen to profile USANA in its entire November 2006 issue.

The magazine includes profiles of some of USANA's top independent Associates, an in-depth look at USANA Founder Dr. Myron Wentz, articles about USANA's nutritional and skin-care products, and profiles of some of the many world-class athletes who trust their health to USANA.

The issue also contains articles from well-known authors and business consultants Robert Kiyosaki, Stephen Covey, Denis Waitley, and Amanda Gore.

Included is a combined DVD and CD featuring about 10 mins of content to whet your appetite!

Read press release here. Ask and you shall receive ...

Friday, September 15, 2006

Vitamin D 'slashes cancer risk'

Ref. Daily Mail 15 September 2006
Many more here

Taking vitamin D tablets could substantially reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer, research suggests. US scientists found taking the tablets cut the risk of a disease, which has a poor prognosis in almost half of cases. There are more than 3,600 new cases of pancreatic cancer in women and more than 3,500 in men in the UK each year. Surgery is not often effective. Vitamin D was examined as it previously showed promise in cutting the risk of prostate, breast and colon cancer. See here.

The results of this study don't mean that people should take vitamin D supplements to ward off pancreatic cancer. Henry Scowcroft

Except for smoking, no environmental factors or dietary factors have been linked to the pancreatic cancer. But previous studies have suggested that vitamin D might help to block the proliferation of cancer cells. And pancreas tissue - both normal and cancerous - has been found to contain high levels of an enzyme that converts vitamin D into its active form.

Big study
For the new study, which was led by Northwestern University in Illinois and features in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, researchers examined data on more than 120,000 people from two large, long-term health surveys.

Taking the US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin D (400 IU/day) was found to reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer by 43%.

They said further work was necessary to determine if consuming vitamin D in the diet, or through sun exposure might have even more of an effect than taking supplements.

Vitamin D helps the body to form and maintain strong bones by encouraging the body to absorb calcium.

However, the researchers found no evidence of a link between risk of the cancer and calcium, or retinol, a vitamin which affects vitamin D's impact on calcium absorption. Multi-vitamin supplements, often contain retinol.

Lead researcher Dr Hal Skinner said: "There is a growing body of information indicating that achieving higher levels of vitamin D through supplements, diet or prudent sun exposure may provide a range health benefits by preventing common chronic diseases."

More work needed
He said certain groups could be defined as being at higher risk for pancreatic cancer - for example cigarette smokers or those with a family history of the disease.

However, he said: "I would make no specific recommendation for vitamin D supplementation to prevent pancreatic cancer until we can carry out a trial to determine definitively who might benefit from such an intervention."

Henry Scowcroft, science information officer at the charity Cancer Research UK, said: "The results of this study don't mean that people should take vitamin D supplements to ward off pancreatic cancer, especially as vitamin D can be harmful in large quantities.

"As the authors themselves point out, this is the very first study to find any association between the disease and vitamin D intake.

"So this result needs to be repeated in other large studies, and scientists need to show exactly how vitamin D might prevent pancreatic cancer before we could issue any specific lifestyle advice."

Friday, September 08, 2006

Power of Two Videos (8 +10 mins)

Hot off the presses ... for launch at Convention 2006, 13 to 16 September

In two parts ...

Part One - about the company, its brand and the people involved (8 mins)

Part Two - about the market and the business opportunity (10 mins)

Introduction video (3mins)

Introduce yourself to USANA by seeing this 3-minute video.


True Health video (8 mins)

This is a 8-minute video entitled True Health.

Ask and you shall receive if you want your own DVD!

in Spanish; in French; in Chinese; in Japanese

True Wealth video (8 mins)

A shortened version of a 20 minute DVD giving an overview of the compensation plan.

If you want your own copy, get in touch.

Click here.

The Product Difference

Check out this buyers comparison .... saves you alot of research headaches and travel miles.

The Wellness Revolution video (9 mins)

TV interview with economist Paul Zane Pilzer who talks about wellness (or rather sickness) statistics, growing trends in the US, the control of the food industry over the media and the need for a quality supplement as there are so many poor ones in the market.

View here.