Students This Is For You

Why take Nutritional Supplements? 

You really do need to do your due diligence when selecting what products you decide to purchase.  Our society has become too complacent with leaving the details up to the advertising and marketing departments and of course thinking that the cheapest is just as good as the more expensive. This can be the case sometimes but unless you do the research you are taking a gamble with your health and your pocketbook.   

I suffer from Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia and have tried so many options to improve my health over the years (19 to be exact).  I needed to be sure these nutritional supplements were safe and effective and affordable.  I truly can't tell you the number of vitamins I have thrown away over the years due to ineffectiveness.  It wasn't until I was introduced to USANA and was shown the scientific research did I learn why all these products weren't working as well as the fact that nutritional deficiencies are believed to be the leading cause of over 70 degenerative diseases including Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia, diabetes, lupus, degenerative disc disease, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, cancer, Alzheimer’s, obesity and skin cancer just to name a few. Now it was all starting to make sense.  That is a staggering number and no exaggeration.  The nutritional deficiencies cause the cell's to become unhealthy.  Your cells are what you are made of, trillions of them.  Every hour 1 billion cells renew.  So, think about it, if your cells aren’t getting what they need to remain healthy through proper nutrition and nutritional supplements than the when you cells renew the cells will seek out the deficient vitamin such as calcium and will take it for example from your bones.  What can that cause?  Osteoporosis.   This is just one example of what can cause cell degeneration and it can be happening for years prior to you even showing symptoms.  Once you start having symptoms you need to realize degeneration has been happening for years and will now most likely become a degenerative disease.   The good news is some of the damage can be reversed if you take action today to feed your cells what they need every day 24 hours a day. 

 

Research of Dr. Bruce Ames, professor of toxicology at UC Berkeley

has demonstrated that “a deficiency in any of the micronutrients such

as folic acid, Vitamins B-12, B-6, niacin, C, E, iron or zinc, mimics

radiation and chemicals in damaging DNA by causing single & double

strand breaks, oxidative lesions or both”.

In fact, the damage your system will endure from a nutrient deficiency is hundreds of times greater than any damage cause by radiation or chemicals.

               

The US Census Bureau published in 2005 that ¾ adults will have a degenerative disease by the time they are 65 and of those 3, 50% will have 2. Sadly, 33% of all children in America are expected to develop Diabetes 2, if you’re black or Hispanic, the number jumps to 50%. Of course our children are simply copying our health habits. So not only is there a need for healthy lifestyle changes for ourselves, but also to educate and be the example for the next generation.

Weight Control Facts

Currently, 67% of Americans are considered overweight or obese. By

2015 it’s predicted that 75% of adults and 24% of children will be

considered overweight or obese.

•30% of Americans are trying to lose weight. Another 30% are

trying to maintain weight.

•Americans spend $30 Billion per year on diets and weight control

plans.

•Two-thirds who lose weight on diets gain it back within 1 year.

•98% gain their weight back and more within 2 years.

When I say proper nutrition I don’t mean McDonalds, Taco Bell or Subway.  That is a bad enough diet in itself and certainly will result in nutritional deficiencies.  Of course there are better choices that can be made even at those places to eat.  Let’s face it, we are all running of empty these days when it comes to time and keeping a balance is certainly getting harder to do.  So, we inevitably will be stopping off at fast food restaurants or for some of you, you just won’t eat.  However, even for those of us who don’t frequent fast food restaurants and cook at home and eat our fruits and vegetables, we still must give our cells nutritional supplementation.   Even the best of eating habits simply can’t get enough from our daily intake of food to keep our cells healthy.  For example, to get the recommended 400 IU of vitamin E every day, you would need to consume several servings of foods rich in Vit-E – 3.5lbs of wheat germ, 2.3lbs of almonds, 28.8 lbs of spinach.  I don’t know about you but I certainly can’t or even want to eat that much every day or even 1 day.    The USDA surveyed 16,000 Americans and found that not one person obtained 100 percent of essential nutrients such as magnesium, vit E and zinc.  So, yes we need to eat as healthy as we can, but in addition we need to supplement, especially with our busy lifestyles which in turn requires even better nutrition to help maintain optimal health.

                To be honest the benefits of proper nutritional supplementation goes on and on.  There simply isn’t a bad reason to supplement except to supplements with an inferior low grade product.  I invite everyone to watch my online nutrition seminar and begin to learn how, what and why you should start your new journey to a new healthy you.  Learn why diets don’t work and how you can get your weight under control and keep it off.   Visit www.livewellinlt.com/jackiebennett , the seminar is on the left hand column.  Please don’t be afraid to email me or call me with any questions you may have.  If you don’t ask you will never get the answer.  I also invite you to take the Health Assessment to see the recommendations for your particular body and lifestyle.  Visit www.jackiebennett.usana.com and click on the Health Assessment tab.  So, whatever your health goal is:

·         Long term Weight Loss

·         Lose Belly Fat

·         Increase Energy

·         Reduce Cravings

·         Improve Fitness

·         Strengthen Immune Health

·         Increase Meatbolism

We can help you reach that goal.

My husband and I are truly grateful to have been introduced to USANA and Live Well International.  Although there is no cure for Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia I can tell you that my health has improved dramatically.  My husband has lost an incredible amount of weight as well as myself and we have been able to maintain our weight goals.  We just recently had our blood work drawn and everything is now within normal range.  This is due to learning how to eat a low glycemic diet, nutritional supplementation and moderate exercise.  All of which we learned from USANA and Live Well International and would love to teach you as well. 

God Bless,

Ed and Jackie Bennett

What are free radicals?

Cells are made up of many atoms and replicate an exact copy just fine when they are healthy. This in turn helps keep the body young, well and free from disease. How do we know if a cell is healthy? A healthy cell has paired electrons. When an atom is missing an electron they can actually destroy surrounding atoms in an attempt to steal their electron. An atom missing an electron is call a Free Radical. Unfortunately, this causes another free radical and the process can alter or destroy cells. When our cells die or replicate in that damaged state this contributes significantly to diseases such as cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and many other diseases. It can contribute to premature aging and sickness as well. Free Radicals can come from many different sources such as smoking, stress, sunlight, pesticides, pollution, exercise and many more. So, what is the solution? The solution is antioxidants because they have extra electrons that the damaged atom (free radical) can take which neutralizes their harmful effect. This stops the chain reaction and reduces your risk of most sickness and disease. You can get antioxidants from fruits and vegetables and they can be found in nuts, oils and beans, etc. However, if your like most Americans you simply aren't getting enough servings each day. Antioxidants are also found in high quality vitamin supplements. This is what I take, it's called Proflavanol C100 and it combines the power of grape-seed bioflavonoids with a potent dose of vitamin C. I highly recommend this product from USANA. Especially if you suffer from any chronic degenerative disease. You need to give your cells what it needs to stay healthy.

Get your antioxidants today at www.jackiebennett.usana.com

Do you get enough antioxidants daily?

Storybooks For Children | Storybooks For Children Online

Storybooks For Children | Storybooks For Children Online

Join the OCA-Endorsed National Buying Club for Organic and Non-GMO Foods: The Green Polka Dot Box

Join the OCA-Endorsed National Buying Club for Organic and Non-GMO Foods: The Green Polka Dot Box

Where do vitamins/minerals come from?

Hello Everyone,

Hope you are having a wonderful day.  Have you ever wondered just exactly where do vitamins/minerals come from?  Well here is what I have learned so far.

Vitamins are natural substances found in living things such as plants and are not produced in the body.  Therefore they must be obtained from the foods we eat or through supplements.

Minerals are also found in plants which they get from the soil and the soil get them from the water, etc.  For vitamins to be able to do their job in our body they need certain minerals.  So, we must obtain our minerals from our foods we eat or through supplements.

Antioxidants and an important specific vitamin that the body uses to protect the body's cells from damage caused by the effects of Free Radicals.  Free Radicals are produced in the body daily and can be increased due to stress, smoking, sunlight, exercise etc. and are the leading cause of sickness and degenerative disease as well as premature aging.  More on this topic later.

How we get the vitamins and minerals into our bodies seems quite simple, we just eat.  They come from our plants, fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, fish, meat, spices, sun etc..  However, the average American diet doesn't get the vitamins and minerals necessary for our bodies to work at their optimal levels leaving us with vitamin and mineral deficiencies that are the leading cause of over 70 degenerative diseases.
We can do something about this however by simply taking supplements that have been taken from plants, fruits, vegetables, etc. and created in a laboratory and put together in the rite formula with the rite combination of minerals allowing them to be used and absorbed by the body therefore eliminating vitamin deficiencies.  Thereby preventing and/or even eliminating or reversing degenerative diseases.

So why don't we all take supplements?  Because there are effective, ineffective and hazardous supplements out there.  The nutritional supplements industry is only required to follow food quality standards and literally has no true guidelines or watchdog making sure what is on the label is truly in the bottle.  That is just one of the primary reasons people don't supplement or the consumer is uninformed and misdirected by misleading marketing and advertising or they believe the cheapest vitamin and mineral supplements out there are just as effective as the more expensive ones.  Well I am sure you have heard the old saying, "You get what you pay for" and this rings true for quality supplements you can trust that are safe and effective.  What good is a vitamin supplement that doesn't dissolve or get absorbed into the body and is simply pooped out?  I think you know the answer to that question.  So, don't waste your money, time and health on low grade, fly by night supplements.  What I have found is the biggest reason for not supplementing is the old "I can't afford it."  I can understand this to a point but what I can't understand is that with a small amount of re-directional spending, i.e. avoiding the Late or McDonalds for lunch and buying all the junk food that is in people's cabinets you could afford your supplements twice over.  The truth is you choose not to afford your supplements therefore you are choosing degenerative diseases instead.  Remember, the cost of a heart stint is well over $200,000 while the cost of diabetes amputation will also run in the tens of thousands.  Or, perhaps the monthly $400 or more for prescription medication is a better choice.  I don't think so.  Not only do we need re-directional spending what's needed is re-direction thinking.  The old "it will never happen to me" just doesn't apply.  It's time to think how to truly implement preventative measures from degenerative disease and proper vitamin and mineral supplementation is the first step.  More on choosing the rite nutritional supplements later.

So, why should I care about getting the rite vitamins and minerals and what do they do for my body anyway and where to they go in my body?  To tell you the truth I didn't want to know this either but if you don't educate yourself on these things it's simply too easy to rely on marketing and scupulouse companies telling you what you need.  With that said you need to know that after eating the vitamins and minerals they go to your stomach and then will travel to your intestines where they will go through the bodies complex process of distributing them to the parts of the body that need them the most.
 
 But what happens if your body needs more vitamins and minerals than your body has to offer?  Your body will determine which part of the body needs it the most and if necessary will take the nutrient from the less important part of the body and reallocate it to the more important part of the body.  This is the old "rob Peter to pay Paul" routine.  This is what causes deficiencies and can begin the process of degenerative disease.  Such as Osteoporosis, if your body doesn't have enough calcium it needs it will steal it from your bones thereby thinning of the bone tissue and loss of bone density over time.  You of course do not know this is happening until you begin to have some kind of symptoms.  You see by the time you get most symptoms the damage has been occurring for years.  Such is the case with pre-diabetes; you are usually pre-diabetic for up to eight years before it is usually diagnosed and detectable.
We have to look at vitamins and nutrients, not a independent vitamins and minerals but as a co-operative network working together.  If you are missing one nutrient it will throw off the entire network of nutrients in your body.

"A deficiency of a vitamin or mineral will cause a body part to malfunction and eventually break down - and, like dominos, other body parts will follow."

James F Balch, MD

Prescription for Nutritional Healing

Everything we do uses vitamins and minerals that the cell's in our body need 24/7, 365 days a year.  Just thinking uses vitamins and minerals as well as exercise, stress, eating and breathing, etc. The use of certain diuretics (substances that increase the discharge of urine) such as drugs, alcohol, coffee, tea and sodas, to name a few, washes the vitamins and minerals rite out of the body creating deficiencies, which can create major health problems.

Certain medication actually inhibits the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals or accelerate the loss of them.  Tobacco and alcohol are two substances that can have these same effects.

"Insufficient vitamin intake is apparently a cause of chronic diseases... Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone.  Pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements."

- American Medical Association

Vitamin and mineral supplementation is necessary for the following reasons:

1. Crop nutrient losses - Our soils have been depleted from decades of agriculture overworking and depleting the soil of minerals.
2. Poor digestion - Over eating or eating to quickly can cause stress to your digestion system.  Indigestion hampers the body's ability to absorb vitamins and minerals.
3. Over-cooking - Destroys food nutrients
4. Microwave Cooking - Microwave cooking has been show in studies to alter the nutritional structure of food.
5. Food Storage - Freezing and lengthy storage deplete the nutritional value of most foods.
6. Food Selection - A small pallet of food groups or too limited range of foods eaten will result in nutrient deficiencies.
7. Food omission - Sometimes due to food allergies or crash dieting where complete food groups are eliminated or poorly administered vegetarian diets will inadvertently omit very important sources of nutrients.
8. Environmental factors - The increased use of herbicides and pesticides used on crops, leaves them with low nutritional value.
9. Antibiotics - Antibiotics inhibit the absorption of essential nutrients and can greatly reduce the amount of good bacteria in the GI tract which is essential for healthy digestion and sound immune function.
10. Poor lifestyle habits - Alcohol consumption, smoking of tobacco and caffeine can also inhibit the absorption of vitamins and minerals.
11. Stress - Increases oxidative stress, be it emotional or physical stress and increases the bodies requirements of vitamins and minerals.
12. Out of balance - Having out of balance levels of each vitamin and mineral has an adverse effect on the others, so keeping them in balance is crucial because it effects the performance of the all the others.  They work in a co-operative network.
13. Nutrient variance - Fruits and vegetables are not all created equal.  One tomato can have 10 times more nutrients than another depending on many factors such as pesticides, herbicides, soil depletion, etc. 

Now given the list above, I don't know about you but to me it is a no brainer, proper vitamin and mineral supplementation is a must.    Below is just a few of the benefits of what Vitamins and Minerals do for you.

Build up Your Immune System
A person doesn't catch cancer or heart disease or even diabetes or even a cold.  These ailments are created due to deficiencies based on what you do or don't eat.

Increase Your Energy Level
Your level of vitamins and minerals has a direct effect on the release of energy from digested foods.  Keep your vitamin and minerals at optimal levels and get strong, lasting energy.

Enhance Your Appearance
Every aspect of your appearance is a direct result of proper vitamin and mineral levels.  Everything from your hair strength, thickness, color, shine and length to your finger nail strength, length and texture as well as your skin elasticity and skin tone and clearness.  Some people look 50 years old at 30.  While others look 30 at 50 years of age.

Expand Your Intelligence
Vitamins and Minerals have a direct impact on your brain function and memory function.  Both require the proper levels of vitamins and minerals.
Based on this information, I would say it's time to order your vitamins and minerals today.  The vitamins and minerals I take myself after much research on the company and referring to the "Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements" by Lyle MacWilliam, BSc, MSc, FP, which compares over 1,500 companies in the United States and Canada and making sure the company meets the guidelines they recommend for choosing a safe and trust worthy company to trust my health to, I started taking Usana Health Sciences Nutritional Supplements.

You may be asking what vitamins should I take?  Everyone, and I do mean everyone should be taking at least the minimum recommended daily vitamins and minerals, Usana's Essentials.  The perfect combination of vitamins, mega antioxidants and chelated minerals to ensure proper absorption and balance your body needs daily.  You will also want to take BiOmega fish oil for your Omega 3 fatty acids.  The American diet is currently highly deficient in Omega 3 fatty acids and over consuming Omega 6 fatty acids causing and epidemic of chronic inflammation.  This is also a leading cause of heart disease and is why fish oil is recommended for prevention of heart disease.

Visit www.jackiebennett.usana.com and place your order today!

I truly hope this information was helpful to you in making the decision to start you 
supplementation today.  Don't wait any longer, put your health first!

Best Regards and God Bless,

  Jackie Bennett      


Please note, however, that certain medications or health conditions may affect your supplementation needs. If you are currently taking medications or seeing a doctor for a specific health condition, please consult your physician, pharmacist, or health care specialist to determine which products are most appropriate for you.
 

Congress Raises Debt Ceiling, with Shifts and Cuts in Student Aid Funding - Fastweb

Congress Raises Debt Ceiling, with Shifts and Cuts in Student Aid Funding - Fastweb

Diabetes Epidemic

Diabetes Epedimic

I recently read a newsletter that gave some shocking statistics regarding diabetes, and juvenile diabetes.  Here are just a few of those statistics.  What's most shocking is that this chronic degenerative disease can most of the time be reversed and even prevented with simple healthy lifestyle changes.

1. Diabetes mellitus has increased by over 500% during the past three decades.
2. In 2010 there were approximately 465,000 new cases among individuals between the ages of 20 and 44.
3. Diabetes will shorten the lives of men diagnosed by age 30 by 14.5 years.
4. A man diagnosed with diabetes at age 20 can expect to die 17 years earlier than a man who does not develop diabetes.
5. A woman diagnosed with diabetes at age 30 will shorten her life by 16.5 years.
6. A woman diagnosed at age 20 can expect to die 18 years earlier.
7. Today adult diabetes is the main cause for blindness in the western world.
8. Diabetes is also the main cause for kidney failure and the need for lifetime dialysis and kidney transplants.
9. Diabetes is the most common cause of non-traumatic amputations and nerve damage.
10. Amongst most physicians it is well known that 80% of diabetic patients will die prematurely because of a cardiovascular event such as stroke or heart attack.

According to Dr. Choi, chief of vascular surgery and the Limb Salvage center at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia has the devastating results of early diabetes among our youth today.  He states his team has had to perform 40 or 50 limb amputations this past year.  He told USA Today that 10 of those amputations occurred in adults under the age of 45.

Many have been lead to believe that central obesity is the cause of diabetes; however it is only one of the signs of underlying insulin resistance.  It is not the cause of insulin resistance or diabetes.

Once you develop pre-diabetes, or insulin resistance you become less sensitive to your own insulin and you tip into an abnormal metabolic state.  Your body tries to fix this state by producing more and more insulin causing your blood pressure to raise, your triglyceride levels to go up, and your HDL cholesterol goes down while your LDL cholesterol goes up and you begin to put on unusual amounts of weight around your middle.  (central obesity)  You may have heard this called syndrome X or metabolic syndrome and is now called pre-diabetes.  Once you develop pre-diabetes your arteries begin aging much faster than they should.  What's also very alarming is that you can be pre-diabetic 10 to 15 years before you actually develop diabetes.  What this means is that if you are diagnosed with diabetes at age 30 you were already a diabetic at age 18.  That is why 60% of diabetics already have major cardiovascular disease.  There is already too much damage to their arteries.

When you become insulin resistance and tip over into that abnormal metabolic state a calorie is no longer a calorie.  Many of the calories that your muscles previously used for energy are now diverted to the  fat cells of the abdomen.  The high insulin level (insulin is your storage hormone) now converts the glucose or calories to fat and blocks the release of that fat.  This is why a pre-diabetic or diabetic holds on to fat like a sponge holds onto water.  You can't effectively lose this fat unless you reverse the underlying insulin resistance.  Not by the use of drugs but by applying Healthy lifestyle changes.  Learn the cause of over 70 degenerative diseases that can be avoided and sometimes reversed.  Such as Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Heart Disease, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus and many more.

This is the heart of my Healthy For Life RESET event starting August 17th 2011 at www.hflreset.eventbrite.com   We teach a triad of healthy lifestyle changes teaching you what a healthy diet is including good low glycemic eating, good fats and good proteins along with a modest exercise program and nutritional supplementation.

When you truly establish a healthy diet, modest-exercise, and consume high quality nutritional supplements - you will improve your sensitivity to your own insulin.  This gives you the best chance of avoiding becoming a diabetic or even reversing your diabetes.  This is the message that our adults and youth need to hear and understand.   YOU CAN TAKE BACK CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTH and become Healthy For Life!

For more information please visit my site at www.livewellintl.com/jackiebennett and click on the online nutrition seminar.  Then visit my event at www.hflreset.eventbrite.com and get registered today.

God bless,


Jackie Bennett
LIVEWELL Certified Coach