Healthy Weight Loss One Way to Prevent Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease that involves elevated glucose or blood sugar levels because there is not enough insulin production in the pancreas or there is insulin resistance in your body's cells. Diabetes is thought to be caused by obesity, possibly by an unhealthy diet. High blood sugar levels are damaging to your cells and can produce short and long term health problems.

Pre-diabetes is a condition where your blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not so high as to be classified diabetic. If you are pre-diabetic you are at risk to develop type 2 diabetes (adult onset diabetes), heart disease and stroke. Being overweight and physically inactive are associated with both diabetes and pre-diabetes.

The good news is that both of these blood sugar conditions can be prevented. There has been extensive scientific research and studies to measure risk for diabetes and how prevention can affect the development of diabetes. When you lose weight and increase your physical activity level you can prevent or delay diabetes, and help your blood sugar levels return to normal range.

A large, three-year prevention study, the Diabetes Prevention Program, showed that losing 5 to 10% of participants' initial body weight reduced the risk of developing diabetes by 58%. For people aged 60 and over the reduction was even higher at 71%.

When you get to a healthy weight level you also have a better chance of preventing other illnesses and disease that are associated with being overweight or obese, such as arthritis, heart disease, stroke and cancer. In addition you will increase your energy levels and have a better quality of life.

To learn more about healthy weight loss, here is an audio presentation that offers some great information and hopefully some motivation for you if getting to a healthier weight has been a challenge:

Healthy Weight Loss

Information about individual natural nutrition and healthy weight management products can be reviewed at http://havegoodhealth4life.com.

The Importance of Vitamin D

Vitamin D doesn’t just build strong bones. It has many roles in your body.

Every cell in your body has its own DNA tracker that tells the cell how to respond to anything that might affect it. The activity of the tracker, a very important job in the body, is triggered by vitamin D.

This is why Vitamin D is important in many of the functions in your body, and affects a great number of various diseases and health conditions, including heart disease.

Vitamin D production in your body through sunlight exposure can affect these physiological systems that also help fight heart disease:

• increase in your body’s natural anti-inflammatory properties
• suppress vascular calcification
• inhibit of vascular smooth muscle growth

Depending on where you live, what time of the year it is, and your skin color—you may be among the many Americans who aren’t getting enough of this essential nutrient.

Scientists have proven through multiple research studies that if you optimize your vitamin D levels it can help maintain a healthy heart:

• Researchers have found that people with the lowest average vitamin D levels had a 124% bigger risk of dying from all causes and a 378% greater risk of dying from a heart problem.
• A study in Finland showed that when compared with the participants with the highest vitamin D, those with the lowest levels had a 25 percent higher risk of dying from heart disease or stroke. When only stroke was looked at, the lowest levels had twice the risk as those with the highest.
• When women take vitamin D supplements, they lower their risk of death from heart disease by one-third.

Being Vitamin D deficient leads to increased risks for heart disease – risks that could be avoided simply by optimizing vitamin D. If you can’t get enough Vitamin D in your diet or your doctor is telling you that you are low or deficient in Vitamin D, you may want to consider a natural supplement.

Vitamin-D3 is clinically proven to be the most potent form of vitamin D. You can take a vitamin D3 supplement in combination with your multi-vitamin or nutrition foundation program.

Learning About Our Brand..

Two common questions that I am asked are:

1) How is Shaklee different from other brands?

2) What is the history of Shaklee - the company?

Today I would like to share information to help answer those questions. The second question is answered in the link at the end of this post and is taken from a long-time member of the Shaklee field (a distributor familiar with the origins of the company).

But first, the Shaklee difference.

When I was first introduced to the company, I remember hearing that the science and research that this brand has always been committed to is a major factor that sets this company apart. And the quality of the products is so good that you EXPECT them to work - to give you the results that you seek.

That level of quality and integrity and science extends across all products of the brand - from anti-aging skin care to personal care products and green home cleaning products. The standards that are set have always been very high and distinguishes the brand in the market.

Products are not brought to market unless they can be proven to be effective and also scientifically proven to be beneficial. There has never been a product of the month or product of the year simply because it is popular at the time. Years of research and testing go into a product before it is released. This is, at times, to the frustration of all of us in the field who are anxious for a product like the recently new Vitamin D3 that distributors had requested for the past few years.

It's very interesting to attend a company event and talk with Shaklee scientists. They are great at explaining scientific information in ways that non-medical people like myself can understand. You learn about things like the unique delivery systems in the nutrition products - there are 4 delivery systems in Vitalizer alone - so that the nutrients break down in the part of the body where they can be absorbed best and work best.

When a new product is finally announced, there is a great deal of documentation that supports the science behind it. In a product manual there can be hundreds of pages of specifications to make sure the detailed instructions of how to make and test that product are always met. There are extensive quality checks on all materials before they are accepted from vendors and over 600 inspection tests of raw materials before they used to make products.

The manufacturing and processing controls exceed standards used by other companies and include rigorous testing throughout the development of products. Post-production testing ensures products are potent and fresh. The commitment to quality is evidenced by the 100% money-back guarantee that has been offered on all products since the company started.

After using the products for years, I can testify that the science, research, and quality that attracted me to this company in the first place keeps me a loyal user today. When you find something that WORKS, you stick with it!

We don't like to compare ourselves to other brands. Partly because of our philosophy of doing business by The Golden Rule which for us means not putting down another brand, and also because there aren't many brands that can be compared. Natural nutrition products cannot be compared to synthetic vitamins and supplements. And you can't compare a brand that does extensive scientific studies and testing of raw ingredients and finished products to companies that do not.

To me what matters a great deal is that the products WORK - they give me the results I want in building better health. I was told from the first day I was introduced to the brand that if the products don't work, you get your money back. There's no risk involved, only the benefits you can get when the products start working for you. This has been true for me and it's why I am a loyal user.

In a future post we will look at some unique stories about this brand.

Here is the link to the information about the history of the company: Shaklee History

Natural Ways to Lower Cholesterol

A report from The National Center for Health Statistics states that over 80 million adults in the U.S. have unhealthy cholesterol levels. That’s 1/3 of the American population. Many kids also have unhealthy cholesterol numbers.

If your cholesterol numbers are not in the healthy range you may be on medication to lower your bad cholesterol and improve your good cholesterol. If you aren't taking meds yet, you may be looking for natural ways to lower your LDL cholesterol and raise your HDL.

Scientific research, including 80 studies over the past ten years, on plant sterols and stanols show that they can help people achieve healthy cholesterol numbers naturally.

We have known for a long time that cholesterol is a big risk factor in developing heart disease. It is important that you know ‘your numbers’ because there’s a lot you can do to impact having healthy total cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a waxy fat-like substance that occurs naturally in your body. It is an essential part of your cell membranes and used to both create and repair cells. Your body makes cholesterol and you get it from the foods you eat as well. You can control the cholesterol you eat if you stay away from foods that have unhealthy cholesterol.

In August, 2010, the Annals of Internal Medicine stated that people who have high cholesterol in their 20’s are more likely to have signs of heart disease by the time they reach their 40’s.

High cholesterol numbers are associated with high blood pressure, vision loss, Alzheimers disease and dementia. People with high cholesterol levels in their 40’s may have a higher risk of developing dementia.

These may be scary statistics but science, research and clinical studies have given us lifestyle choices that can help us build better health.

Diet is one area where you have control over healthy choices: cut down on high cholesterol foods like trans fats and saturated fats and increase lean meat, eat fish more often and consume foods with high fiber content (or at least eat more fiber overall each day. These actions will help your cholesterol levels.

Everyone should be getting some form of daily exercise. It is good for your overall health and even 30 minutes per day can help lower your bad cholesterol and raise your good cholesterol numbers.

Plant sterols and stanols work in the body by preventing absorption of cholesterol that leads to heart disease. It would be hard to consume the amount of sterols and stanols by eating them in fruits, vegetables and grains in your daily diet. You need to take the 2000 mg daily that has been proven to positively impact your cholesterol levels in supplement form. It is a way to reduce cholesterol naturally, and without all of the calories you would be adding to your diet if you tried to get them from food.

2000 mg of sterols and stanols each day is available in a gluten-free supplement form. Results should be expected in 4 ot 6 weeks and you should have your doctor check your cholesterol levels after that time.

There are no significant side effects of supplement sterols and stanols. They are highly effective even if you are already on a heart healthy diet, and safe to use with statin drugs. Your doctor should monitor your blood levels of cholesterol since the dose of meds you take may need adjusted when natural cholesterol reducing sterols and stanols are also lowering your overall cholesterol numbers.

Lowering your cholesterol by 10% reduces your risk for heart disease. Clinical studies show that taking plant sterols as a natural way to lower cholesterol can help lower your overall cholesterol number 5 to 15%.

Click this link to listen to a comprehensive discussion about: CHOLESTEROL.

1000 IU Vitamin D & Your Healthy Heart

In this video Dr. Oz shows you a healthy heart and a diseased heart. Note how he mentions that all a sick heart can do is 'enlarge'. Dr. Oz teaches us ways to build good health and in this case that includes supplementing your daily diet with vitamin D.

If you listen to the end, you will see him recommend 1000 IU of Vitamin D every day for your heart health, and he states how vitamin D helps your calcium be absorbed where it is supposed to be absorbed in your body.

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

To learn more about a pharmaceutical grade vitamin D visit: 1000 IU Vitamin D.

Vitamin D3.. Will You Get Enough This Winter?

Here Comes the Sun..


It was a beautiful fall day here in central Pennsylvania today and we enjoyed the sun and some fall sights, and some others got a great sailing day! This year the fall foliage is not expected to be brilliant like we usually enjoy due to the hot, dry summer this year.


Soon we will not see nearly as much of the sun. The long winter months can be challenging to get through. Since we go days, or longer, without seeing the sun or getting outside long enough to get our vitamin D, many of us are looking for alternatives to make sure we are not deficient in this essential nutrient.

Why are you at risk for vitamin D insufficiency? There are several factors that influence the amount of vitamin D in your body each day. Vitamin D is formed in the body when your skin is exposed to sunlight, or it's consumed in vitamin D-rich foods. For many people it is difficult to get enough vitamin D from their daily diet.

Other critical factors that can create a greater need for vitamin D include increasing age, being overweight, lack of exercise, and low intake of fish and other vitamin D-rich foods in your diet. Even people who live in warm climates year round may not get enough vitamin D if their skin is not exposed due to sunscreen use.

Vitamin D is associated with heart health, immune function, bone health and not having enough has been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers. A high-quality dietary supplement of vitamin D3, the most potent form of vitamin D found naturally in the human body, is an option you have to insure your body has enough on a daily basis to help give you the good health you desire.

Vitamin D and Pelvic Strength, Incontinence and Slimming

I read a question in regard to vitamin D and incontinence in a woman's magazine. It was stated that a research study at SUNY Upstate Medical University and the gynecology and urogynecology unit at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, both in Syracuse, NY, linked vitamin D intake to improved pelvic-muscle strength, which also helps incontinence. Another vitamin D benefit that would be beneficial to many people trying to lose weight is that it can help speed slimming. The article also stated that doctors are recommending daily servings of 1000 IU vitamin D to patients and that it only takes a week or so to build up adequate healing amounts of this nutrient in your body.

We have our own substantial team of highly regarded doctors and research scientists on staff at Shaklee. It took several years for our brand to develop and introduce a stand alone vitamin D3 supplement - that's not unusual, it's the Shaklee way to provide science, research, a proven need and high quality ingredients. We had between 800IU and 1000IU in the multi-vitamins and Vitalizer servings and many of us get even more when we take our calcium supplements or drink a Cinch Shake. Still, it was determined that the separate supplement is needed for people who need even more daily vitamin D3 or don't take those other products on a daily basis.

To learn more about pharmaceutical grade, high quality supplements, including the very affordable vitamin D3 ($7.95 for a 3 month supply) that are 100% satisfaction, money-back guaranteed, visit Vitamin D3.

Filtering Your Own Drinking Water

Would you feel better about filtering your own drinking water? After you read this article, you might!

The Real Dirt on Clean Water

Does it seem like healthy people are getting sick and there are in general a lot more illnesses and diseases today? We know that there are many more chemicals in use today than there were even 30 years ago. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that they established a "Chemicals of Concern" list and are increasing measures to protect human health. Is there a connection?


Here are the facts:

More than 300 agricultural and industrial pollutants were found in tap water of 45 states according to an Environmental Working Group study. Many of these pollutants do not have drinking-water safety standards.

Up to 20% of lead exposure originates from drinking water - in infants and children the risk is reduced IQ, learning disabilities and impaired growth, in adults the risk is kidney problems, nerve disorders and high blood pressure

Public water utilities violate the Safe Drinking Water Act (more than 700,000 times in the past 7 years)


What is in your drinking water?

1) Disinfection by-products: we know that if you have long-term exposure you may have an increased risk of cancer or liver, kidney or central nervous system problems

2) Heavy metals - associated with behavioral problems and learning disabilities

3) Agricultural pollutants - increased risk of cancer and eye, liver, kidney, spleen, blood and nervous system problems

- Atrazine is one of the most frequently detected pesticides in ground water, surface water, and drinking water; it is outlawed in Europe and 70 million pounds are used per year in the U.S.; long-term exposure may cause cardiovascular and reproductive problems

4) Industrial pollutants - long-term exposure may cause increased risk of cancer and blood, nervous system, kidney and liver problems.

- Benzene: up to 6 million pounds are released into the U.S. each year; long-term exposure may cause anemia, decreased blood platelets and increased risk of cancer


Problem:

We need to disinfect our public drinking water in order to control waterborne disease. The problem is that the chemicals used can form by-products in our treated water that increase the risk of cancer.


Bottled Water not the answer

1) 100s to 1,000s more expensive than tap water

2) bad choice for the environment
1.5 million barrels of oil are used to make bottled water each year
1,640,000 tons of packaging waste
only 34% of water bottles are recycled

3) may not be contaminant free - 10 popular brands had a total of 38 contaminants


Answers:

1) Educate yourself: go to epa.gov/safewater/ccr to learn what is in your water

2) Look for water filtration systems that are independently certified to reduce contaminants that are hazardous to your health

3) Filter your own water and use a re-usable water bottle - enjoy cleaner, healthier water and help the environment

To learn more about the most effective and affordable water filtration systems, visit our clean and safe water pitcher filtration page.


Sources: ewg.org/tap-water/executive-summary; EPA.gov/ogwdw000/hfacts.html; epa.gov/safewater; epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadinfo.htm