When we talk about aging, getting sick and getting disease, usually we don’t realize that we don’t, but actually our cells do. The health of our body depends on how healthy our cells are. The human body is made up of about 80 trillion cells.
Those cells continually replicate themselves.
Consequently, to slow down our aging process and limit our change of getting sick we have to protect and feed our cells properly.

Our cells are made up of atoms. If these cells are healthy, they consist of paired electrons. Healthy cells replicate and keep our body young and disease free. But if atoms are missing electrons, they destroy surrounding atoms by “stealing” their electrons. Atoms that are missing an electron are called “free radicals”. Free radicals alter or  destroy cells and
are the cause of premature aging, sickness and disease, like cancer, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and many others.

Pollution in our environment, pesticides and insecticides used on our land, water treated with chlorine and smoking are sources of free radicals.

So what’s the solution? Fortunately, there are antioxidants who have extra electrons to give away to free radicals, which eliminates their harmful effect and are our body’s defense against the harmful effect of free radicals, causing aging, sickness and disease.

What causes heart disease?
There are several forms of heart disease but they primarily come from the buildup of fat on the inner tracks of our arteries. Eventually, these fat deposits block blood flow, leading to heart attack and stroke.
But scientists now believe that it’s not just the eating of fat that causes the buildup in our arteries, but those fats that have been damaged by free radicals, called “oxidized fat”. These free radicals cause the fat to be more sticky, so that it sticks on the artery walls more easily.  This explains why smoking, stress and high fat consumption are risk factors for heart disease.

How antioxidants reduce the risk of heart disease.
Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, reducing the damaging effect of oxidizing the fat in our arteries. The threat that free radicals pose on our health is significant and can’t be ignored. Scientists now believe that free radicals are the cause of every known disease, from heart attack, osteoporosis to arthritis.In fact, free radicals are a major culprit in the aging process itself. Controlling free radicals can make the difference between life and death as well as how fast and how well we age.

What is cancer?
Each of the cells in our body has a set of genetic instructions in its center, called DNA. The DNA controls cell growth, development and replication. When the DNA gets damaged by free radicals, it can replicate a damaged cell.
Many scientist believe that the damaging effect of free radicals on the DNA is the beginning of many forms of cancer.

How antioxidants reduce the risk of cancer.
The most important role antioxidants play in our body is the protection of the DNA against free radical damage.
Particular antioxidants can actually repair damaged DNA before it replicates.
Consequently, it is important to maintain decent levels of antioxidants.

Not long ago diseases where accepted as unfortunate but inevitable facts of life.
We now know that diseases are caused by what we eat and don’t eat.

How can we get antioxidants?
Antioxidants are present in fruits and vegetables.They are also found in nuts, oils and beans etc.Organic foods usually have a higher level of antioxidants than foods treated with pesticides.

Because most people don’t eat the right food in order to properly feed our cells, supplementation is recommended with high quality vitamins, minerals and antioxidant supplements,which are bio available, balanced, and potency guarantied.
You can find those by visiting: http://nutrobalance.usana.com

For the truth about vitamins, look to experts whose status and salary does not depend on
continuing disease. The evidence has now convinced thousands of the leading scientists in America. And, despite of the risks to their university careers and federal research grants, those with enough guts and integrity are saying so in the public media.

Let’s look at a view of their comments.
Jerome Cohen MD, Professor of Internal Medicine at St Louis University School of Medicine used to be against vitamin supplements. Now he will tell you he takes 400 IU of vitamin E daily to help protect his heart.

Dr. Simin Meydani of the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Turfts University,
Boston: “We used to think of vitamins strictly in terms of what you needed to prevent
short-term deficiencies. Now we are starting to think what is the optimal level of vitamins
for lifelong health and to prevent age-associated diseases.

To demonstrate the effects of vitamin C, Dr. Gladys Block, formerly of the National Cancer Institute, now at the University of California, Berkeley, reviewed the 15 top studies on
vitamin C and cancer rates. People in the top 25% regarding vitamin C intake, had only
one-half to one-third the rate of cancers of the eshophages and stomach of those in the
bottom 25%.

Dr. Daniel Menzel of the University of California at Irvine:
“Priming children with antioxidants could protect them against lung disease as adults…”

Eminent researcher Dr. Walter Willett of Harvard:
“Untill quite recently, it was taught that everyone in this country gets enough vitamins
through their diet and that taking supplements just creates expensive urine.
I think we now have proof that this isn’t true. I think the scientific community has realized
this is a very important area for research.”

Those I have quoted are representative, though they only scratch the surface of the huge
vitamin revolution now happening in America. It gladdens my heart to see that this vital
health information is finally getting out to the public.

Sixty percent of all Washington State dieticians now take multi-vitamins for example.
And a new poll shows that 78% of Americans now believe that taking supplements
will help to maintain their health. The prestigious Kellogg Report estimates that
dissemination of new nutritional information will save $20.5 billion in health care costs.

After having watched the evidence in favor of vitamins grow for years and recorded
the guarded but gradually changing public statements of the top researchers at the premier government nutrition research organization, the USDA Human Nutrition
Research Center, on 4 March 1994, their Director of Antioxidant Research, Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, as conservative and careful a scientist as I’ve ever known, finally said it straight.
Talking about supplements of vitamin C and E and beta-carotene, he said:
“We have the confidence that these things really do work.”

“Our current health-care crisis is the culmination of public despair at the inability of
our medical priesthood and it’s high technology religion to perform miracles with
bodies that are already in death’s boat and halfway across the Styx.” – Michael Colgan
Medical Lectures ,1994.

The virtue of foods rich in cellulose is that, once they have parted with their nutrients,
the cellulose remains and , as it is capable of holding water like a sponge, it encourages
peristaltic action and also prevent the drying out of food debris which causes
constipation.

A moment’s consideration of the dietary adopted in most civilized countries, reveals
that it is excessively constipating because of it’s relative lack of cellulose.
These foods are meat, fish, eggs, boiled potatoes, white bread, biscuits, cake,
confectionery, processed breakfast cereals, jams, sandwiches , etc.

Vitamin B1, which helps to stimulate the peristaltic action of the intestines,
is notoriously lacking in the diet of constipated people.

The foods containing cellulose are the fruits, both fresh and dried, and vegetables –
particularly such salad vegetables as lettuce and celery.
Potatoes do not contain much cellulose , a mere 3.1% against 18% by cabbage and
25% by pears. At the other extreme is white flour, with less than a half per cent
of cellulose.

Prunes are rich in cellulose and those subject to constipation are advised to soak
six to eight good quality prunes in a cup of water overnight, and eat them on rising,
then drink two glasses of water.
Wheatgerm promotes muscular tone and regular bowel activity, and this food
should be eaten as breakfast instead of processed cereals, and plenty of fluid
should be taken during the day.

Exercises to Prevent Constipation
The following simple exercises are helpful for those who suffer from constipation.
1. Squat down, knees bent, back held straight, then arise to an erect posture again.
Do this a few times each day.
2. Hold both arms straight out at right angles to the body and walk on tiptoes.
This pulls in the abdominal muscles.
3. This exercise can be done before rising.
Lie flat on the back and bring the thighs back against the chest as far as possible.
4. Place hands on hips, with the body erect, to circle from the hips six times
in each direction.

    12th edition

Link Between Children’s Brain Development And Physical Fitness

Two experts have given their top tips for a challenging at-home program…

More Health & Nutrition from Nutrobalance
The value of cellulose
The Truth about Vitamins
Facts about the Cause of Disease

It is a simple fact that a majority of athletes use nutritional supplements
to optimize performance.
Yet today, this use is tempered by substandard product:
supplements that contain banned ingredients not disclosed on the label.
The strict liability standards of organizational bodies leave the athlete
personally responsible for substances contained in their bodies,
however introduced; whatever the source.
As the International Olympic Committee’s Medical Committee sadly discovered
in testing over 400 different supplements, the contents and dosage levels
reported on the labels of many supplements can not be relied upon.

Athletes, coaches and trainers are faced with difficult choices.
Inadvertent introduction of banned substances destroys careers.
Unreliable product undermines carefully balanced dietary regimens.
As supplements are not subject to the rigorous tests required of
pharmaceutical drugs, the supplement manufacturer’s reputation
is key to the sports community.
One company has an unblemished record: USANA Health Sciences.
Pharmaceutical grade and quality assured, USANA products are
the Gold Standard for the sports community.

  11th Edition

What is Nutrition? Why is Nutrition Important? 

Why nutrition is important. Eating a balanced diet is vital for good health and well being. Food provides our bodies with the energy, protein, essential fats, vitamins and minerals to live, grow and function properly. We need a wide variety of different foods to provide the right amounts of nutrients for good health.
read it all….

A Personal Statement

A speaker stood before a group of alcoholics determined to demonstrate to them,
once and for all, that alcohol was an evil beyond compare.
On the platform he had what appeared two identical containers of clear fluid.
He announced that one contained pure water and the other was filled with
undiluted alcohol. He placed a small worm in the container while everyone watched
as it swam around and headed for the side of the glass, whereupon it simply crawled
to the top of the glass. He then took the same worm and placed it in the container
with alcohol. The worm disintegrated right before their eyes.
“There,” said the speaker. “What’s the moral?”
A voice from the rear of the room said quite clearly: “I see that if you drink alcohol,
you’ll never have worms.”

This story indicate that you hear and perceive exactly what you want to hear based
upon many of your own values, beliefs, prejudices and personal history.

Men who kept highly fit in midlife reduced their cancer death risks in older life

Men who kept a high level of fitness in their midlife would then have around a third lower risk overall of dying from certain cancers after the age of 65. The benefit was in comparison with those men maintaining low cardio respiratory fitness against treadmill tests in a study that followed nearly 14,000 men from 1971 to 2009.
read it all..

More Health & Nutrition from Nutrobalance:
An extra hour sleep boosts women likehood of sex
The truth about counting calories and weight loss
Nutritional Supplements for Athletes

The Truth About Counting Calories And Weight Loss
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS

Do calories matter or do you simply need to eat certain foods and that will guarantee you’ll lose weight? Should you count calories or can you just count “portions?” Is it necessary to keep a food diary? Is it unrealistic to count calories for the rest of your life or is that just part of the price you pay for a better body? You’re about to learn the answers to these questions and discover a simple solution for keeping track of your food intake without having to crunch numbers every day or become a fanatic about it.

In many popular diet books, “Calories don’t count” is a frequently repeated theme. Other popular programs, such as Bill Phillip’s “Body For Life,” stress the importance of energy intake versus energy output, but recommend that you count “portions” rather than calories…

Phillips wrote,
“There aren’t many people who can keep track of their calorie intake for an extended period of time. As an alternative, I recommend counting ‘portions.’ A portion of food is roughly equal to the size of your clenched fist or the palm of your hand. Each portion of protein or carbohydrate typically contains between 100 and 150 calories. For example, one chicken breast is approximately one portion of protein, and one medium-sized baked potato is approximately one portion of carbohydrate.”

Phillips makes a good point that trying to count every single calorie – in the literal sense – can drive you crazy and is probably not realistic as a lifestyle for the long term. It’s one thing to count portions instead of calories – that is at least acknowledging the importance of portion control. However, it’s another altogether to deny that calories matter.

Calories do count! Any diet program that tells you, “calories don’t count” or you can “eat all you want and still lose weight” is a diet you should avoid because you are being lied to. The truth is, that line is a bunch of baloney designed to make a diet sound easier to follow.

Anything that sounds like work – such as counting calories, eating less or exercising, tends to scare away potential customers! The law of calorie balance is an unbreakable law of physics: Energy in versus energy out dictates whether you will gain, lose or maintain your weight. Period.

I believe that it’s very important to develop an understanding of and a respect for portion control and the law of calorie balance. I also believe it’s an important part of nutrition education to learn how many calories are in the foods you eat on a regular basis – including (and perhaps, especially) how many calories are in the foods you eat when you dine at restaurants.

The law of calorie balance says:

To maintain your weight, you must consume the same number of calories you burn. To gain weight, you must consume more calories than you burn. To lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than you burn.

If you only count portions or if you haven’t the slightest idea how many calories you’re eating, it’s a lot more likely that you’ll eat more than you realize. (Or you might take in fewer calories than you should, which triggers your body’s “starvation mode” and causes your metabolism to shut down).

So how do you balance practicality and realistic expectations with a nutrition program that gets results? Here’s a solution that’s a happy medium between strict calorie counting and just guessing:

Create a menu using an EXCEL spreadsheet or your favorite nutrition software. Crunch all the numbers including calories, protein, carbs and fats. Once you have your daily menu, print it, stick it on your refrigerator (and/or in your daily planner) and you now have an eating “goal” for the day, including a caloric target.

Rather than writing down every calorie one by one from every morsel of food you eat for the rest of your life, create a menu plan you can use as a daily goal and guideline. If you’re really ambitious, keeping a nutrition journal at least one time in your life for at least 4-12 weeks is a great idea and an incredible learning experience, but all you really need to get started on the road to a better body is one good menu on paper. If you get bored eating the same thing every day, you can create multiple menus, or just exchange foods using your primary menu as a template.

Using this meal planning method, you really only need to “count calories” once when you create your menus, not every day, ad infinitum. After you’ve got a knack for calories from this initial discipline of menu planning, then you can estimate portions in the future and get a pretty good (and more educated) ballpark figure.

So what’s the bottom line? Is it really necessary to count every calorie to lose weight? No. But it IS necessary to eat fewer calories then you burn. Whether you count calories and eat less than you burn, or you don’t count calories and eat less than you burn, the end result is the same – you lose weight. Which would you rather do: Take a wild guess, or increase your chance for success with some simple menu planning? I think the right choice is obvious.

For more information on calories (including how calculate precisely how many you should eat based on your age, activity and personal goals, and for even more practical, proven fat loss techniques to help you lose body fat safely, healthfully and permanently, check out my e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle.

About the author:
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide. For information on Tom’s program,visit==>
www.perfectformulaoline.com/tom

Are We Getting Enough Vitamin D In Our Day?
As we all know, too much sun can cause skin cancer and we in Australia and also in
New Zealand already have the highest rate of skin cancer in the world.

But the sun is also the main source of vitamin D and a significant part of our population
is deficient in this vital nutrient.

UNIQUE VITAMIN D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin (which means it can be stored in the body) and
it is unique because unlike most vitamins which we get from foods and drinks,
most of our vitamin D is produced when a fatty substance in our skin reacts
with the sun rays.
The body then convert this into vitamin D and stores it for when we need it.
Circa 90% of our vitamin D is produced in this way and circa 10% comes from our food.

Are we getting enough?
It is important to get enough vitamin D for several reasons.

Healthy Bones
Vitamin D is essential for bone health because it helps to absorb calcium and other
minerals we need to build strong bones and teeth.
Over time, low vitamin D levels can lead to conditions like rickets in children and
osteomalacia (soft bones) in adults. Low levels in the adult years also increases the risk
of osteoporosis, a condition that’s characterized by porous bones which in turn
increases the risk of fractures and falls.

Healthy immune system
Low blood levels of vitamin D have been linked with a wide range of health problems
including polycystic ovary disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, muscle weakness, memory loss and some cancers.

Skin health
Although it is well known that too much sun exposure can cause skin cancer, vitamin D
and related compounds in our skin may actually protect against damage from UV radiation, according to a current research by Professor Rebecca Mason from the University of Sydney.
This is because vitamin D compounds in skin reduce DNA damage after UV exposure.

Low Levels in Australia
Low vitamin D levels are a proven problem, even in the sun-drenched
southern  hemisphere.
Generally there are few symptoms of deficiency except general aches, pain and tiredness.
When the deficiency is severe, extreme symptoms like bone deformities and intense
pain can be observed.

A large Australian Study (AusDiab) indicated that 40% of females and 27% of males have low levels of vitamin D in summer-autumn and these figures increase to 58% of females and 35% of men in winter-spring time.

Reasons for deficiency
Professor Mason explains: we use a target value for vitamin D based on a concentration of
vitamin D where most bone and muscle function are close to normal.
This is a little higher than the figure we used to use.

There are other reasons as well. There are more people in higher risk groups like older people (who are not going out in the sun much and may not be able to make vitamin D
quite so effectively. More people with naturally dark skin, as melanin absorbs the UVB
that converts a compound in the skin to vitamin D and/or who cover up with closing.
More obese people (vitamin D gets into fat, but doesn’t get out again until you break down
the fat). More people working indoors and entertain themselves indoors (Computers,
video games,etc.)

People with osteoporosis and babies of mothers who are low in vitamin D, especially
if they are being breast-fed, also fall into the high risk group for vitamin D deficiency.

The USA recently increased the recommended daily intake of vitamin D in order to reach
optimum blood levels of the vitamin. Our last NHMRC recommendations were made
about a decade ago and are currently being reviewed and it looks like the daily levels
are set to rise.

According to Professor Mason,’Most people agree that the minimum acceptable level
is 50 nmol/L’. At this level, bone and muscle function is close to normal and also the
handling of calcium by the body.

‘This is also the minimum level recommended by the AusNZ Bone and Mineral Society,
the Endocrine Society of Australia and USA, and the Institute of Medicine of USA.
Some groups recommend even higher levels, with some, though not conclusive evidence’.

Combination of safe sun and food.
As we know, our major source of vitamin D is the sun. We can also get it from food,
like oily fish (salmon, sardines) and cod liver oil, eggs, butter and meat.

A combination of safe sun and vitamin D containing foods is wise.
The energetic UVB-rays that make vitamin D are there for most of the day in summer,
but only around noon in winter, particularly in southern parts of Australia.

When we expose the skin of our arms and hands during the peak UV periods, which is between 10 am and 3 pm in summer for 6 – 10 minutes should be enough for our body
to produce the required vitamin D. In winter we need to extend this for seven minutes
in Cairns to 40 minutes in Hobart and it has to be at noon.

Vitamin D Supplements.
Vitamin D supplements are suitable for people who are advised not to go outside,
people with sun-sensitive skin and those who are immune suppressed,
says Professor Mason.
People with naturally very dark skin may need three to six times this amount, so it may
not be possible to maintain vitamin D levels and supplementation may be needed.

Commenting on USANA’s Vitamin D supplement, Professor Mason said:
“Vitamin D3 supplements as cholecalciferol provide the same form of vitamin D
as we make in the skin and supplements are a reasonable way to improve vitamin D
status if more sun exposure is not practical.
For those with a higher degree of deficiency, more than 1000 IU per day might be required.

Cellular nutrition has become more important in our modern society than ever before.
Our bodies have to face daily an over-production of free radicals, caused by our
polluted environment, stressful lifestyles and malnutrition.

However,we can reduce the production of free radicals by avoiding smoking,
toxic chemicals and decreasing our stress levels.
But the majority of our bodies are still unable to fight the overwhelming daily attack
on our natural defence system.

Balance is the key.If there are not enough antioxidants available to neutralize
the free radicals, oxidative stress develops.

Over the past 50 years, nutritional medicine has been concentrating on supplying
a nutritional deficiency. Many hours and dollars have been spent trying to determine
exactly which nutrients our bodies are depleted of.
Blood and urine tests,hair samples, muscle testing and more have been conducted
in an attempt to determine which nutrients we need to supplement.

However, we have been aiming at the wrong target.
The problem is not a nutritional deficiency, but rather underlying oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress has shown to be the root cause of over 70 degenerative
diseases, like heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease,
dementia, lupus,MS… and the list goes on!

Because the problem is oxidative stress, rather than specific nutritional deficiencies,
the best approach to prevent or to control oxidative stress is to strengthen
our natural defence system through cellular nutrition.

Cellular nutrition means: supplying the cells with all nutrients at optimal levels,
without having to worry about determining which nutrients the cell is deficient in.

By providing all the important nutrients at optimal levels,which has
been shown to provide a health benefit in the medical literature, we correct
automatically any nutritional deficiencies over the next few months.

Cellular nutrition is providing the body with all the antioxidants,
along with the supporting B vitamins & minerals at optimal levels.
This is “preventive medicine” at it’s best, because we can attack the
disease process at the core by preventing oxidative stress.

Australians enjoy high level of health and longevity….at least that is what we have been
led too believe.
Yet when we look at the almost fairytale level of health and extraordinary lifespan
of primitive people,nagging doubts begin to arise that we may not be doing so well
after all.
To find out, we only have to look at the facts and figures for the disease status of our
population.

If this sounds like a forecast of doom and gloom, please don’t be put off! After all, the
statistics are no worse than the reality around us – they merely put the spotlight on
what is already there.

The great value of getting the picture straight – that is, putting Australia’s health in true
perspective is the motivation that comes from discovering our true potential for physical
and mental well being.
Setting ourselves the goal to get closer to this potential can bring rewards that are out of
all proportions to the effort required.

Firstly, let’s look at how the mix of diseases in Australia has changed since the beginning of
this century.
Some years ago, a Sydney pharmacist turned naturopath. Michael McInerney took out some statistics-which where reported in “Natural Health”, April 1987, page 8.
They showed that in 1905 there were 25 people per thousand of thee population dying of
infectious diseases, like influenza, pneumonia, cholera, etc. with only one per thousand
dying from degenerative diseases like heart disease.

Eighty years later, in 1985, he found that deaths from infectious diseases had dropped
to only one per thousand, seeming to reveal a considerable improvement.Not so!
Deaths from heart disease alone had reached 38 per thousand, more than neutralizing
the improvement in the former.

Infectious diseases are no longer a major threat, thanks largely to modern sanitation,
but instead there has been an explosion of degenerative conditions.
Besides heart disease, many other diseases add to the death toll in modern Australia.

You can avoid becoming another victim of these conditions by protecting yourself with
nutritional supplements by visiting: http://www.nutrobalance.net