Edition #23

What is HEALTH?
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living organism. In humans it is the ability of individuals or communities to adapt and self-manage when facing physical, mental or social challenges. The World Health Organization (WHO)

Combination of stroke, diabetes and heart attack ‘significantly reduces life expectancy’

Having a history of diabetes, stroke or heart attack can lower life expectancy significantly, according to new research, while a combination of two or more of these conditions – defined as cardiometabolic multimorbidity – can reduce it even further.
read it all…

Healthy Body, Strong Foundaton

The human foot is one of the most amazing of all physical phenomena.
Composed of 26 main bones, the average foot takes over 5000 steps a day.
Over the years that naturally leads to a lot of wear and tear.

The study of biomechanics, the physical laws governing the way our body moves,
has revealed a direct relationship between abnormal foot function and
problems higher in the body. read it al…

Recipe of the Day- Superfood Salad
click here

More Health & Nutrition from Nutrobalace

How to Cope with Stress

Stress is all around us, and food provides a welcome,
if momentary break.
Unfortunately, the foods we often turn to in times of stress,
like coffee and sweets,have a way of making us feel even more frazzled later on.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Research has shown that eating more of some foods and less of others can cause stress hormones in the body to decline.
Making slight changes in your diet will produce physical changes in the brain that can make the world’s problems just a little bit easier to handle. read it all…     

Protect Your Health 
Maintaining your health is much easier than trying to regain it.When you are in good health, your goal should be  to support your good health and to protect yourself against degenerative
diseases , by combining a healthy diet and exercise with nutritional supplementation. . read it all…

Nutritional Supplementation

 Without  science and technology, our lifespan would not have been
increased as much as we experience it today.
However, they were not be able to secure for us our long-term health.
As Dr. Myron Wentz, founder of USANA Health Sciences likes to phrase it:
“We are living  too short and dying too long.”

Healthy living means:keeping a balanced, healthy diet, avoiding smoking,
excessive use of alcohol and toxic chemicals,taking regular exercise and
supplementing our diet with high quality nutritional supplements.
read it all..

The human foot is one of the most amazing of all physical phenomena.
Composed of 26 main bones, the average foot takes over 5000 steps a day.
Over the years that naturally leads to a lot of wear and tear.

The study of biomechanics, the physical laws governing the way our body moves,
has revealed a direct relationship between abnormal foot function and
problems higher in the body.

Unbeknown to many people, problems with the  feet can result in lower back trouble,
knee pain, hip-pain and a variety of other physical problems.

The philosophy behind “Footwork”, a North Fremantle business, is:”Healthy Body,
Strong Foundation.” It believes that for the human body to reach its full potential,
it needs a  healthy base. Footwork looks at correcting structural problems with
the body so that it does has a strong foundation.

Biomechanics has been around a long time. It is a scientific approach to the diagnoses
and treatment of the many problems caused as a result of sports and daily activities.
Several techniques are available to help find out what is causing pain,from simple
visual assessment of posture and leg configurations and leg length measurements to
muscle strength and length assessment, joint range of motion measurements and even
video gait analysis during walking.

When this information has been collated, correction and compensation for abnormalities
can then be made using a treatment plan. On hand to do this are podiatrists who
analyze the view taken of a patient on a treadmill, where every aspect of the
walking process is studied. A treatment plan may incorporate shoe modifications,
stretching/strengthening exercise programs or orthotic therapy.

Footwork has attracted patients from a broad background, including those with
sports injuries, young children and the elderly.

Many people are in search for a healthy lifestyle, but what are really
the essentials for “good health”?
How do you achieve overall wellbeig and a healthy life?
When you have a closer look at the concept, it all boils down to the
following three components,which are crucial for healthy living.

They are:
*1  Good Nutrition
*2  Regular Exercise
*3  High Quality Nutritional Supplementation

I will describe in more detail the above three components for
healthy living.

First of all: Good Nutrition.
You probably heard it before: “You are what you eat.”
Although I like a more accurate definition.it is better to say:
“You are what you can get out of your food.”

Good nutrition is fundamental for good health.
The human body is a complex system that requires a full spectrum
of nutrients for optimal health.

What do we mean by “good nutrition”?
Good nutrition means: eating the right food that contains all the right
carbohydrates,protein, fat, fatty acids,vitamins,minerals and trace elements,based on your body type.

When your metabolism is slow, you belong to the “Endomorphs” group of
people. You are naturally overweight, you gain fat and retain water easily.
If you belong to this group, you need:
45%  Carbohydrates
35%  Protein
20%  Fat

Wen your metabolism is higher, you belong to the “Mesomorphs” group of
people. You are naturally muscular and have little or no body fat.
If you belong to this group, you need:
50%  Carbohydrates
30%  Protein
20%  Fat

The group with the highest metabolism are called the “Ectomorphs”.
You are generally skinny, could eat anything without gaining any weight.
If you belong to this group, you need:
55% Carbohydrates
25%  Protein
20%  Fat

A second factor that determines good nutrition is our body’s ability to
absorb the nutrients from the food that we eat.
The nutrients have to be in a form that the cells can accept them, and the
cells have to be in optimum condition to be able to absorb the nutrients.

That is one of the reasons most nutritional supplements miss the mark,
they don’t address the cellular condition of the body.

We also need a sufficient amount of antioxidants, to counteract the
formation of free radicals, caused by our stressful lifestyle,
pollution in air and water and malnutrition.
Oxidative stress has shown to be the root cause of over 70 chronic
degenerative diseases.

It is not all about nutrition, neither is it all about exercise.
A balanced lifestyle is the key.
Exercise at least three times per week.
Aerobics, jogging, swimming, cycling and also include weight
lifting in your exercise routine, which is important for maintaining
a healthy bone-structure.

Another important factor is proper pace. Don’t overdo it.
You can’t force things to happen at once.
The secret to good health is consistency and steadiness.
The right amount of food and exercise regularly.

The third component is: a high quality nutritional supplement.
As I mentioned earlier, most supplements do not address the
cellular condition of your body.
Even worse, many are in a form that is unacceptable for the cells
themselves and don’t contain biological available substances
that are useful for the cells in your body.

High quality supplements  are bio-available,well balanced,
preferable manufactured according to pharmaceutical standards
and potency guaranteed.

Hopefully people who are overweight, don’t exercise or suffer from
any degenerative diseases will take note of these three components,
which are essential for healthy living.

You can assure your health with USANA’s Nutritionals. You can find them here.

Although Fluoride is a normal component of calcified tissue (bones and teeth),
it is not considered an essential mineral for humans.(Paul Bergner,The Healing Power
of Minerals,page 118). It appears to stimulate bone growth and deposit calcium in
the bones. However the issues of dental Fluoride and water fluoridation have not
been satisfactorily settled and are still being hotly debated.

There are two types of Fluoride: Calcium fluoride and sodium fluoride.
Calcium fluoride could be good for the teeth, but for sodium fluoride, hexafluorosilicic
acid is used and is a waste product of the fertilizer manufacturing industry and the
aluminum industry. (See Dr. Paul Connett’s book:The Case against Fluoride.
Dr. Connett is the world’s leading expert on the dangers of fluoridation and the founder
of the Fluoride Action Network.

There is mounting peer reviewed evidence that swallowing fluoride causes harmful effects
on the body, including bone strength, thyroid issues and brain development in children.
Tooth decay rates in continental western Europe where 98% of the population rejects
fluoridated water are as low as tooth decay rates in countries such as Australia and
United States, where majority of the population is mass medicated with fluoridated water.

Most western industrialized countries never have, have already rejected or lowered
substantially the recommended amount of fluoride in drinking water but nevertheless
have still experienced the same decline in childhood dental decay as fluoridated countries.

The skin consists of layers of different cells, binded together to form
tissues and other structures.

Our skin is divided into three layers.The outer layer is called the epidermis.
The thickness of this layer varies with age, sex and the area of the body.
It varies between 5 cells under the forearm to as much as thirty cells
on the sole of the foot.
It provides a keratin – filled cellular coating for our body and has the cells
that:  1) determine our skin and hair color (melanocytes)
2) provide immunities (Langerhaus cells )
3) enhance our sense of touch (Merkel cells).

Immediately below the epidermis is a second skin layer: the dermis.
The dermis holds a fiber mesh of collagen and elastin that acts as a
home to our oil-producing sebaccous glands and veins.
Within this layer lie the water-binding GAGs that provide fullness to
the skin by maintaining moisture within its layers.This is a filling of
long-chained sugar molecules. These molecules bind together with
proteins to form glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) GAGs are the skin’s
moisture-storage structures. They act like sponges and bind with
water molecules.

Moisturizing is generally the process of attracting and retaining water
in the  the layer of skin above the dermis – the epidermis.
We can, however, stimulate the production of GAGs through proper
nourishment.

Finally, the third layer, called the hypodermis, is primarily a layer of fat
within which our sweat glands reside. These sweat glands help regulate
the body’s temperature and produce the acidic component of the skin’s
protective acid mantle.

The impact of aging
Visible changes of our skin start at the age of twenty-five, as our natural
regenerative processes begin to slow. Damaged protein as a result of
scarring, sun damage and oxidative stress. The proteins that comprise
the collagen and elastin fibers lose their uniformity and protein chains
start cross-linking with adjacent protein chains.
This negatively impacts the uniformity of the skin.

You can protect your skin against environmental toxins and damage
and improve look and texture by applying USANA’s  SENSE skin care
products. You can find them here.

Osteoporosis is a weakening and painful disease, caused by
a nutritional deficiency. It can cause fractures of the spine and
extreme pain for a long period of time.

Bones are a living tissue and are constantly changing through bone
forming and bone resorbing activity.

As it is a living tissue, our bones are engaged in biochemical reactions
that depend on many different micronutrients and enzyme systems.
Like any living tissue, bones have specific nutritional needs.

A diet consisting of white bread, white flour, refind sugars and fat is
very much deficient in the essential nutrients for our bones.

To reduce the risk of hip, spine & wrist fractures, we must preserve
adequate bone mass, prevent the loss of the  protein matrix part of
the bone and take care of providing sufficient nutrients for repair
and replacement of damaged areas of our bones.

Nutritional supplementation plays a vital role in all  these areas
of preserving and building our bones.

Calcium deficiency can lead to osteoporosis. It is an essential
nutrient in the fight against osteoporosis, but as studies has shown,
calcium and vitamin D supplementation slowed down the
osteoporosis process and helped to reduce fractures, but didn’t
prevent it.

Depending on the calcium intake from our diet, supplementation
of 800 – 1500 mg daily is essential for both sexes, taken with food
and vitamin D for optimal absorption.

Children, who take 800 – 1200 mg of calcium daily before puberty,
will increase bone density by 5 – 7%. This level of bone density
will carry over throughout their entire lifetime.

Another important nutrient is magnesium. It plays a role in several
biochemical reactions,which are taking place in our bones.
It activates alkaline phosphatase, which is a required enzyme
in the process of new bone crystal formation.

Vitamin D needs magnesium in order to transform it to its most
active form and vitamin D is necessary for the absorption of calcium.
Because vitamin D is formed in the skin that is exposed to sunlight,
elderly people can get vitamin D deficiency, as they usually get
less sunlight than younger people.

We can get vitamin D from our food and milk, but because our body
has to convert vitamin D in its biologically active form, vitamin D3,
it is better to take vitamin D supplements by using the active form D3.

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study, in which
researchers looked at the level of vitamin D in 290 patients from
the Massachusetts General Hospital, who had a normal active life.
Hospital staff found that 93% were deficient in vitamin D levels.

The study came to the conclusion, that it was necessary to take
500 – 800 IU’s( IU stands for International Unit) of vitamin D
supplements daily, which is much higher than the RDA level
(recommended daily allowance ), if it is going to have any effect
on the epidemic of osteoporosis.

We need Vitamin K  to produce osteocalcin, which is a protein
found in large amounts in our bones.
It also helps to absorb and retain calcium.

We also need Manganese for the formation of connective
tissue in cartilage and bones.
Manganese and magnesium are lost in processing whole grain
into refined flour. This nutrient also need to be present at optimal
levels if preventing osteoporosis is important for you.

Folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 were necessary to reduce the
homocystene levels in our blood to prevent cornary artery
disease & stroke, as you could have read in my article:
Cholesterol versus homocysteine.

But homocycteine is also bad for your bones. People with high
levels of homocysteine also had significant osteoporosis.

Premenopausal women are more efficient in breaking down
methionine and consequently have less building up of
homocysteine. However, this changes dramatically after
menopause.

Post menopausal women have a much higher level of
homocysteine. This could explain the increased risk of
heart disease and osteoporosis in those women. As a
matter of fact, they need more folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12.

Boron increases magnesium levels and decreases phosphorus
levels. Supplementation with 3 mg daily is more than sufficient.
People with osteoporosis also need higher amounts of silicon
for the formation of new bones.
Zinc is important for the normal functioning of vitamin D.

Osteoporosis is a disease not only caused by calcium
and estrogen deficiency, it is also important to control our
oxidative stress.

You not only have to supplement your diet with the important
nutrients for bone production, you also have to take all the
antioxidants and supporting nutrients  to build-up your
antioxidant defense system.

In addition to taking high quality multi mineral and antioxidant
tablets, people under the age of forty should apart from a
healthy diet, also take calcium,magnesium, boron, silicon
tablets and weight-bearing exercises to stimulate the formation
of new bones, if they want to protect themselves from this
devastating disease.

The heart is a simple organ, who’s main function is to pump blood
throughout the entire body.

Congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy are diseases of
the heart muscle and can have several causes, like:
hypertension, repeated or severe heart attacks, viral infections
and infiltrative heart diseases like lupus or scleroderma.

In each case the disease weakens the heart muscle and disable it
to handle the amount of blood it receives from the body.
The heart tries to compensate for its weakened state by dilating
and beating faster. Ultimately, blood backs up into the lungs,
filling them with fluid.

This is called congestive heart failure. The patient starts to drawn
on his or her own fluid.
Weakening of the heart is called cardiomyopathy and is a very
severe case of congestive heart failure, characterized by a large
dilated heart.

When the heart muscle is weakened, it places an increased
demand on the nutrients the heart cell need, in order to create
energy. Because of excessive use of these nutrients, the heart
muscle becomes depleted of CoQ10, which is the most important
nutrient for energy creation.

Patients who take this supplement are be able to replenish their
weakened heart muscle’s stores of CoQ10, generating more
energy and compensate for it’s weakened state.
Patients should continue to supplement their traditional medical
treatment over a long period of time.

Clinical studies on CoQ10, which involved 2,660 patients with
heart failure, resulted in nearly 80% improvement in three major
symptom categories. CoQ10 can be a significant helpful
supplement for the treatment of the heart muscle.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a fat – soluble vitamin and a strong
antioxidant. Coenzymes are cofactors, essential for a large
number of enzymatic reactions within the body.
CoQ10 is the cofactor for at least three very important enzymes,
used within the mitochondria, which is the furnace of the cell,
where its energy is produced.

Mitochondria enzymes are needed for the production of the
high – energy phosphate and adenosine triphosphate, upon
which all cellular functions depends.
It is in the mitochondria where the energy starts, but where also
dangerous by-products, free radicals, are created.

CoQ10 is very important to help neutralize free radicals and
most importantly, to create energy.
CoQ10 is produced by the body, but this is a complicated
process. It is also found in a variety of foods, like organic
meats, beef, sardines, mackerel and peanuts.

Doctors need to learn and understand how natural products
can help their patients. By supporting the natural function of
the body and trying to enhance its ability to perform at
optimal level ; only then everything possible is done to benefit
the healing process of the body.

How to Make You Look 10 Years Younger!

Would you like to live a long and healthy life?
If it’s going to be, it’s all up to you!
That sounds simple, but it’s a fact!

Health is a matter of CHOICE.

If we choose to make good nutrition – including supplementation –
and an active lifestyle a daily habit, we could add 5 to 15 healthy
years to our lives.

Without science and technology, our lifespan would not have been
increased as much as we experience it today.
However, they were not be able to secure for us our long-term health.
As Dr. Myron Wentz, founder of USANA Health Sciences likes to phrase it:
“We are living too short and dying too long.”

Healthy living means: keeping a balanced, healthy diet, avoiding smoking,
excessive use of alcohol and toxic chemicals,taking regular exercise and
supplementing our diet with high quality nutritional supplements.

However, the nutrients have to be in a form that the cells of our body can
except them and the cells have to be in optimum condition to be able to
absorb the nutrients, this is called bio-availability.
These are the keys to successful nutrition and two often overlooked facts.

Maintaining your health is much easier than trying to regain it.
When you are struggling with your health, you can empower your body
to fight and even reverse chronic diseases.

By providing the necessary nutrients at optimal levels, your LDL cholesterol
is more resistant to oxidation, your eyes have greater antioxidant protection
from sunlight and you provide optimal protection for your lungs.

You increase your immune system and antioxidant defense system.
You decrease the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, cancer, arthritis,
diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson disease and more.

People who are suffering from a chronic degenerative disease are under
greater oxidative stress than normal.In this case, optimizers are important
to use in order to support any existing nutritional program.

It’s been scientifically proven that there are substantial health benefits in
taking nutritional supplements. The benefits of nutritional supplements
are scientifically verified over the past two years.

Hundreds of scientific studies have proved that nutritional supplements
can significantly reduce the risk of degenerative diseases.

The American Medical Association (AMA) now encourages all adults
to supplement daily with a multiple vitamin. Based on a landmark review
of 38 years of scientific evidence by Harvard researchers, Dr Robert Fletcher
and Dr Kathleen Fairfield, the conservative Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA) has rewritten its policy guidelines regarding the use of
vitamin supplements. In a striking departure from its previous anti-vitamin
rhetoric, JAMA (June19,2002) now recommends that, given our nutrient-poor
modern diet, supplementation each day with a multiple vitamin is a prudent
preventive measure against chronic disease.

The researchers point out that more than 80% of the American population
does not consume anywhere near the five to eight servings of fruits and
vegetables required each day for optimal health.

Dr Robert Fletcher, co-author of the groundbreaking JAMA studies, states:
All of us grew up believing that if we ate a reasonable diet, that would take
care of our vitamin needs. But the new evidence, much of it in the last couple
of years, is that vitamins also prevent the usual diseases we deal with every
day – heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and birth defects.

Most people simply accept the onset of arthritis, heart disease and
diabetes as inevitable results of the aging process — the truth is, these
conditions are largely preventable.

Apart from the future benefits, eating well and exercising regularly
also enable us to enjoy life so much more right now!

It is still a proven fact that USANA Health Sciences can provide
you with high quality Nutritional Supplements.

I have been using them for many years with great results!
I highly recommend them for your long term OPTIMAL HEALTH!

Adrian Joele became interested in nutrition and weight management
while he was an associate with a nutritional supplement company.
Since 2008 he wrote several articles about nutrition and weight loss.
He has been involved in nutrition and weight management for over 8 years
and he likes to share his knowledge with anyone who could benefit from it.
He enjoys helping other people solve their problems.

For information about the USANA products, click here!