Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Wellness from the Inside Out

The average person in North America lives about 77 years.

Imagine building a skyscraper that was 77 stories tall. How sound would it be at the top floor if a beam were mislaid in the foundation? Healthy aging means that we build a structure (us!) that is sound, habitable and healthy - right to the very top floor. This life-long building process begins at the foundation: our DNA.

How cells work

There may be trillions of cells in the human body. Cells are like tiny factories. Each one has a function and a product to produce. Our DNA orchestrates the production of tiny proteins that are made into enzymes, hormones and other products of the cell.
Under extreme circumstances the cell will alter its production of basic, life-sustaining proteins and produce whatever is necessary to meet a crisis. For example, when we are under stress our adrenal glands produce large amounts of adrenaline. They don't normally produce much adrenaline; they usually produce mineral corticoids that help us build healthy bones. Under stress they change their function.

Under stress our cells stop producing the things that build us up (anabolism) and start producing things that tear us down (catabolism). Your body does this because the message of stress is that it must sacrifice healthy function - healthy aging - for a time to produce energy needed to ensure our safety.

This is an acceptable trade if we are using the energy to get out of oncoming traffic! It is a poor way to deal with constant, chronic, daily stress.

The DNA is sensitive to signals of stress because it is designed to help us survive. We must be very careful of the physical, emotional and mental signals we send our cells. According to Candace Pert, Ph.D., author of the book, Molecules of Emotion every thought we think, every food we eat or drink, and every breath we take washes over our DNA as information. Our DNA responds by either building us up (anabolism) or tearing us down (catabolism) to sacrifice on the altar of chronic stress. Adaptogens carry information that helps our DNA select anabolism to build us up, even under extreme stress.

Building healthy cells

Healthy cells make healthy tissues. Healthy tissues of different types are collected together as organs. For example, your liver consists of many hundreds of different types of cells all collected together to make up your liver. Organs work within systems (for example, your digestive system, immune system, etc.). Systems combine to form a healthy, functioning body. Still, the basic unit of life is the cell and the basic "conductor" - orchestrating the function of the cell - is the DNA.

In order for our DNA to accomplish the task of building healthy cells we must provide the necessary nutrients every day. We have specific requirements for health: fats and proteins, carbohydrates and water, oxygen, minerals and vitamins, etc. If we are missing even a single nutrient at the critical moment it is needed, our cells will not be able to carry out their work of creating healthy proteins. Incomplete proteins are produced, cells become toxic and these become the focus for inflammation and disease. We simply must provide our cells with the nutrients they need every day.

Toxic DNA

It is important to know that your DNA never produces disease. Instead, it produces proteins with the raw materials it has at that moment and in response to information it receives. That information comes in the form of nutrients and toxins from both inside and outside our body. Healthy application of the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness and daily healthy aging nutrients send positive (anabolic) messages to your DNA. Trauma, toxins, deficiencies and stress send negative (catabolic) messages to your DNA.

Trauma, toxins, deficiencies and stress damage your DNA and cause it to produce incomplete, toxic proteins. These proteins become the source of inflammation and disease. Many nutrients help repair the DNA. A special antioxidant polyphenol called ECGC found in green tea and concentrated in Energy Now!® takes the lead in antioxidant DNA repair. CoEnzyme Q-10 (CoQ-10) adds fuel to the repair process and works in concert with ECGC.
ConclusionLike a healthy building, we need a solid foundation.

The difference between our health and the health of a building is that our cells renew periodically; they are not fixed when manufactured. Therefore, we can correct any building errors by applying sound, healthy essentials. We can improve our health by building healthy cells at any age. We are literally one choice away from improving healthy cellular function: the choice to live the 10 Essentials.
TriVita's Weekly Wellness Report [weeklywellnessreport@trivita.com]

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Homocysteine, Genetics & Vitamins

Homocysteine (HCY) is a tool used by your body to modify protein. Specifically, homocysteine carves up the amino acid methionine into smaller amino acids. Each of these amino acids has important functions. The "leftovers" from this construction project are not thrown away. Instead, your body recombines the debris back into methionine again.

Methionine is the protein that serves as the foundation for all other proteins. It's like concrete:

You can build a small cottage or a large skyscraper on the same concrete foundation. You can build brain cells, heart cells, bone cells, and healthy cells for your entire body on the protein methionine. Homocysteine is responsible for crafting that foundation. While homocysteine is an excellent tool for your body, too much of it can be fatal.

It's in the genes

There is a common gene defect among people in North America. It is called an MTHFR defect. It allows homocysteine to escape into the bloodstream and literally shred your arteries, causing a stroke; tangle your brain cells causing Alzheimer's disease; shatter your bones causing osteoporosis; and inflame your heart, causing a heart attack.

Another common genetic defect is MTHFD. It allows homocysteine to run amok inside your cells. This can lead to cell mutations and even cancer.
What an elegant, yet destructive element homocysteine can prove to be! How can we modify homocysteine and harness its constructive power while protecting against its destructive rampage?

The answer is found in Vital Amines.

A tale of two families

Vital Amines are active enzymes in your blood, organs, and even inside your cells. You may know them by their shortened name - vitamins! In the world of "B" vitamins there are two families:

1. The MTHFR family a. B-12b. Folic acidc. B-6 d. Biotin

2. The MTHFD family a. Riboflavinb. B-1 c. Niacind. Pantothenic acid

Elevated homocysteine can be caused by genetics or poor nutrition. When a person has an active genetic defect they require intense nutrition to offset the imbalance caused by the gene mutation. Supplemental nutrition is very effective in most cases. TriVita's HCY Guard® was designed specifically for high HCY. One study on TriVita's HCY Guard found that HCY levels could be reduced by 35% in just 6 weeks!


Vital amines such as the Riboflavin family of B vitamins combine with antioxidants to help reduce the activity of cellular homocysteine. One study found that the specific antioxidant ECGC (the antioxidant found in green tea) stopped the trigger DNMT (an enzyme) from releasing homocysteine inside the cell. People consuming large amounts of ECGC have reduced DNMT and have fewer cases of cancer.

Riboflavin and ECGC are both found in Energy Now!®. In fact, just as TriVita's Sublingual B-12 and HCY Guard supplements contain the B-12 family of B vitamins, Energy Now! contains the complementary Riboflavin family of B vitamins. They work together to form a perfect B complex that helps your body reduce homocysteine.

Are you at risk?

Is there a way to tell if you have one of these common disease risks? Yes; one way is to have a genetic test performed. This is usually done by drawing enough blood to collect DNA and submitting this to one of only a few labs in North America that can perform genetic testing. A second way is to have your homocysteine levels tested. This can be performed by most medical laboratories. Ask your doctor to do this test with your annual physical.

Another indicator of elevated homocysteine is your own family tree. Does any "first-degree" relative (father, mother, brother, or sister) have any of the conditions attributed to homocysteine? If so, you likely have the gene defect. Does a "second-degree" relative (grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins) have any of the conditions attributed to homocysteine? If so, you may have the gene defect as well.

Did you know nutrient deficiencies can mimic a genetic defect by failing to provide the minimum amount of vital amines necessary to prevent elevated homocysteine? A poor diet, illness, pregnancy, aging, and stress can place you at risk for elevated HCY. Children and adults with asthma and irritable bowel syndrome are at high risk for elevated HCY.

Lowering your homocysteine High HCY in your blood is linked to serious illness. Helping your body reduce high HCY may greatly reduce your risk for serious illness.

These actions will also help:
  • Eat fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants - 5 servings daily for children, 7 servings for women, and 9 servings for men.

  • Reduce your stress load.
  • Get at least 30 minutes of vigorous activity every day.

  • Supplement your diet with nutrients such as TriVita's HCY Guard and Energy Now!.

  • Defeat stress by nurturing your spirit with healthy relationships and a healthy sense of purpose.

  • Remember, genes are not fate; you have as much control over your genes (through nutrients and nurturing) as they have over you.
Build a healthy foundation for your future by balancing your homocysteine.
TriVita's Weekly Wellness Report
[weeklywellnessreport@trivita.com]

Lose a Little Weight - Gain a Lot of Health Benefits

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
Setting and achieving worthwhile goals is the key to lasting happiness. Some goals seem so large that they must be comparable to eating an elephant - just too big to even know how to begin. Weight loss can be that challenging for many. Looking at the BMI chart and knowing how far you have to go can be discouraging. There is good news, though. Losing just a little can have profound health benefits.
How to eat an elephant?
I want to make a suggestion that I have seen work countless times: If you are overweight or obese, set a goal to lose only 10% of your body weight. That's all - just 10%. Meeting this goal will give you most of the health benefits and much of the energy you will need to improve your life substantially. It is often said that weight loss is simple, just not easy. Many experts tout the "calories in - calories out" formula as if it were Holy Scripture. I first heard this as the prescription for weight loss when I was a teenager. Now, here I am well over 50 years of age and I still hear it almost daily. In those intervening decades we have experienced an explosion of obesity. So, merely repeating the same formula over and over is clearly not working!
What does work? Purpose!

Purpose works because it ignites passion. Purpose defines the reason for effort - for example, the reason we want to lose weight - while passion translates that sense of purpose into motion. Granted, some people want weight loss for reasons that do not require much passion. Cosmetic weight loss may be one example and disease prevention may be another.

Purpose requires a plan.

In a previous Weekly Wellness Report I detailed how we set "SMART" goals:

Specific Measureable Attainable Realistic Timely Take that sense of purpose fueled by your passion and structure a plan that will help you accomplish your mission.

Purpose, passion, plan and mission are successful strategies when it comes to weight loss. We have seen this time and again. Now, this is not as simple as "calories in - calories out." But it is easy. And it works with the way we function as human beings: with purpose!

Even a little helpsTo reach your SMART goals you will likely need better health and more energy. Did you know that even modest amounts of weight loss can provide you with substantial improvements in vitality? Use the chart below to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI).

TriVita's Weekly Wellness Report
[weeklywellnessreport@trivita.com]

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Strategies for Protecting Your Eyesight

Vision is freedom. With good eyesight our world abounds with endless opportunities. With diminished or lost eyesight our world must get smaller as we rely on other senses and other people for mobility. No one can truly understand how much we rely on our vision until they are deprived of this precious gift.

Protection: The first stepNourishing vision that will last a lifetime requires a combination of nutrients from within our body, and barrier protection from irritants outside our body. The most important of exterior protection is protective eyewear. Glasses, goggles and face shields provide barrier protection from injuries, toxins and poisons, sun and wind (select lenses or coatings that offer both UV-A and UV-B light filters).

Protecting our vision from the inside requires:

Appropriate hydration (water) – We should calculate our body weight, cut that number in half and convert this final number into ounces of water we will consume every day. I weigh about 190 pounds. Half that number is 95. So, 95 represents the number of ounces of water I should drink every day for good vision.

Intense nutrition – Nutrients must include vision-specific antioxidants such as
lutein and zeaxanthin. Other nutrients may be added depending on specific needs. For example, poor night vision responds well to anthocyanins – nutrients found in berries such as bilberries and schizandra berries. As the ancient physician Maimonides once said, “To heal an eye you must heal the head and even the entire body.” In keeping with this ancient wisdom, we need Healthy Aging nutrients as a foundation for eye health and a healthy body.
Sleep – Is sleep really that important for healthy vision? Yes! Your eyes heal from all the stress and strain of the day. Also, as with any other body system, your eyes run on the nutrients mentioned above. These nutrients accumulate at a slow rate and are expended at a fast rate. Sleeping allows nutrients to accumulate so you can awaken with bright eyes! This is the reason I suggest taking TriVita’s
VisionGuard™ at bedtime.
Maintenance and prevention

Imagine for a moment that you have perfect 20/20 vision (you see objects 20 feet away from you as if they are actually 20 feet away). You have no family history of vision problems at all. You drink enough water, get enough rest, take the appropriate nutrients and employ the best eye protection. Should you still get your vision tested? Yes, you absolutely should!

A healthy person should get their vision and eye health tested every decade of their life until they reach age 40. As you enter your 40s you should have your vision tested about every two years. This is appropriate maintenance.

If yours is not the fairy-tale world described above, then a solid, aggressive program of prevention is essential to help protect against these common eye conditions:

Presbyopia is the inability to focus and clearly see objects that are within reading distance or closer. See a skilled optometrist for eye exercises which can help prevent or treat it.

Cataracts form when the outside of the eye is damaged. Protect your eyes from smoke, injury and UV-light rays with appropriate eyewear and by simply staying away from dirty air. Insulate them from within with antioxidants known to slow the progression of cataracts. Hydroxytyrosol is a good example of a protective antioxidant, and it is contained in
VisionGuard.
Glaucoma occurs when pressure builds up inside the eyes and distresses the optic nerve. If the nerve dies, your vision dies. Get regular eye-pressure tests to detect glaucoma and use nutrients that encourage normal pressure in your eyes such as Vitamin C and Alpha Lipoic Acid. Remember, glaucoma is a medical emergency and you must seek out the very best medical care to preserve your vision.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness in North America. The eyes simply wear out. Some of the premature aging of the eyes in AMD is because of poor interaction with genetics. For example, a person with a family history of AMD should take better care of their eyes than a person without that family history. They should apply these recommendations more aggressively instead of accepting vision loss without a fight!

The most common contributors to AMD are overuse and undernourishment of the eyes. Many people with AMD are exposed to environmental factors such as the bright lights of a welding torch. Again, aggressive protection can delay vision loss from external sources while appropriate water intake, sleep and nutrition can increase the health of the eyes.

Conclusion

Healthy vision means freedom. Being aware of the little things – and the big things – you can do every day to guard your vision is a step toward ensuring you have the mobility you need to meet the many purposes in your life!

TriVita's Weekly Wellness Report [weeklywellnessreport@trivita.com]