Give Your Digestive System a Break This Festive Season!

When you realise that we eat about 500kg of food every year on average, it is no wonder we sometimes get a bit of indigestion! In fact, thanks to the festive season, many might feel as if they’ve eaten that much during December alone! If you will be over-indulging or will be starting (or re-starting) weight management programmes in January, it is doubtly important that you make sure, whatever you decide to do, that it also helps you to maintain a healthy-functioning digestive system.

Do you have a dodgy digestion?
Our digestive systems are remarkably resilient, although bad eating and lifestyle habits can stress them out, leading to a number of unpleasant symptoms such as bloating, water retention, constipation, flatulence, cramps and indigestion.

If any of the above sounds familiar, read on for some simple ways to improve your digestive health…

It is not just what you eat, but how you eat it…
For healthy digestion, it is as important to look at how you eat as what you eat.

Chew your food as saliva can only break down food so far – your teeth need to do the rest.

Eat regularly and moderately as if you eat too much and too often, your digestive system will not get a minute’s peace and it is important it does!

Eat slowly and calmly: high stress levels are a major cause of both constipation and diarrhoea. If you rush when you eat, you’ll increase your chances of bad digestion.

The essential ingredients of good digestion

Wonderful water!
If you aren’t drinking your daily eight large glasses of water, then start today! The fluid you drink dissolves minerals, vitamins and nutrients, which are then more easily absorbed by your body. Water also relieves constipation by lubricating and softening food waste.

Friendly Fibre!
The average European only consumes half the daily recommended amount of fibre (25-35g), even though it is crucial for healthy digestion. Essentially, fibre is food your body can’t absorb or break down, which passes into the colon and is eliminated as waste.

As well as aiding digestion and relieving constipation, fibre also has other health benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Some tips for including fibre in your diet
Try to eat as wide a variety as possible for the greatest health benefit:

Try wholegrain bread, brown rice and whole-wheat pasta. Refined products like white bread remove the outer coat from the grain, which lowers fibre content.

Eat fruit at every meal – apples, oranges, pears and berries are great sources of fibre. But beware! Removing the skin from fruits and vegetables decreases their fibre content.

If you want to snack, how about some (low-fat) popcorn? Two air-popped cupfuls give you 2.4g fibre.

Herbalife Solutions for Healthy Digestion
If eating too much of all the wrong kinds of foods has really taken its toll, you may benefit from Herbalife’s core nutrition product – Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix, which can be used as a healthy breakfast as it contains protein and complex carbs and 4 wholemeal toasts equivalent of fibre.

In addition to Formula 1 shake, the following Herbalife products have been specifically formulated to aid Healthy Digestion:

Cell Activator
Your diet is only as good as what your body can absorb. Cell Activator contains a blend of nutrients, plants, and B-vitamins that support energy production and improves performance by helping essential nutrients reach their destination. More about Cell Activator…

Herbal Aloe Concentrate
Stressed digestive systems can be soothed and cleansed by Herbal Aloe Concentrate’s aloe vera and camomile. A couple of glasses a day will also held up your fluid intake, so essential for healthy digestion. More about Herbal Aloe Concentrate…

Florafibre
Digestive problems are often a result of an imbalance of “friendly” and “unfriendly” bacteria in your digestive tract. Florafibre contains millions of good bacteria to help ease a stressed system, plus fibre to boost your daily intake. More about Florafibre…

Also, let’s not forget Herbalife’s Christmas Survival Kit:

FibreBond Tablets and Formula 1.

The rule is – ‘never to go to the banquet hungry’!

As long as you take a Formula 1 shake half an hour to an hour before heading out to the party – it means you won’t be famished and eating everything in sight at the buffet table! Also, take 1-2  FibreBond Tablets before your meal to ensure up to 50% elimination of fats from your food. This is one cheat you will not feel sorry about!

Changing seasons? In bed with a cold? Here is how to ensure Consistent Health throughout the year…

It’s that time of the year, the weather’s all over the place – freezing cold, brief sunshine, wind, rain, some sleet at some places. Because of these changes in weather conditions, we become susceptible to colds and bugs and stay in bed! Saying that, our body, given the right conditions, is a powerful self-healing organism. It is only when we let down our guard and don’t provide those “right conditions” that ill health creeps in.Here is how to put the Right Conditions in place, Right Now and defend your health…

Let’s start with stress!

Our modern lifestyle means that many of us are under constant pressure. Stress releases a flood of chemicals that should only really be triggered in life-threatening situations. These chemicals must be eliminated, which is a process that depletes essential nutrients needed by the body to maintain health.

This is where daily moderate exercise, preferably in the fresh air, becomes essential. It distracts us from our daily troubles, enlivens the body, oxygenates the blood, and like laughter, releases healing endorphins. Exercise also improves the flow of lymph around the body – the lymph system is the body’s waste disposal system, essential for toxin elimination.

To minimise stress, you also need to relax and rest properly. At the end of each day, escape for 15-30 minutes, sit quietly, empty your mind and focus on gentle breathing to minimise stress. Just 60 seconds focusing on your breathing can take you from fast, anxious breathing, to calm, controlled breathing, curbing a stress response and saving your body a lot of unnecessary work.

You need 6-8 hours sound sleep every night so that your body can concentrate its efforts on repair and maintenance. Go to bed in good time, avoid loud, upbeat music, intense exercise or heavy meals three hours beforehand – a busy digestive system doesn’t contribute to restful sleep.

Finally, the key to a healthy defence system is a rich supply of hard working nutrients – antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, protein, healthy fats and colourful carbohydrates.

GROUND RULES:
Fill your plate with colourful carbohydrates – seasonal fruit and vegetables: include a generous salad every day (raw food provide more nutrients than cooked foods). Choose light steaming or quick frying when cooking, to preserve nutrients.

Go for organic. This reduces your intake of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, growth promoters and other chemical toxins (toxins overload the organs of elimination, wasting precious energy and nutrients).

Eat fruit on an empty stomach, not with other foods, to ensure proper digestion.

Eat when relaxed, chew properly, take your time and enjoy.

Five portions of fruit and vegetables daily is the minimum. Double up for double protection!

FOCUS ON:
Sprouted Seeds
They are living foods bursting with vitality and nutrients – a must for winter health maintenance.

Vitamin C rich foods
Such as citrus fruit, kiwis, blackcurrants, dark green leafy vegetables, strawberries and red peppers. Vitamin C enhances immunity and can shorten the duration of colds.

Winter berries
They also help protect against colds and flu. Try blackberries, blueberries, elderberries, cranberries.

Vitamin A rich foods
Vitamin A helps to fight infections and accelerates healing. Found naturally in oily fish, offal, yellow, orange, red and dark green vegetables, egg yolk, milk and dairy products, yellow and orange fruits.

Zinc rich foods
Zinc helps to fight infections and accelerates healing. Found naturally in lean meat, shellfish, wheat germ, brewer’s yeast, wholegrains, eggs, seeds and nuts.

Antioxidant rich foods
These include apples, berries, carrots, citrus fruits, garlic and onions, greens, red grapes, seeds, soy foods, sweet potatoes, green tea, turmeric, walnuts, winter squashes…

Healthy Fats
They protect and insulate the cells. Increase your intake of Omega 3s, found in oily fish. If you do not like fish, take a supplement (such as Herbalifeline).

Hot spicy food
Include a hot curry once a week with garlic, which helps fight infection, ginger which relieves cold and flu symptoms and turmeric for its powerful antioxidant properties.

Water
Drink eight glasses of water daily, vital for the transport of precious nutrients!

Herbalife Solution: Take out extra health insurance with our potent antioxidant supplements:

RoseOx
Stone Age man knew instinctively how to protect his health; his diet was rich in seasonal berries, fruit and plants, all loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants support the body’s natural immune function, which is far busier during the cold season, fighting off bugs and colds. Modern Day man can turn to nutritional science for an equally effective supply of antioxidants, in the form of RoseOx. This powerful supplement provides a daily top up of antioxidants within its exclusive blend: Rosemary extract, Sage leaf, Extracts of Curcuma (Turmeric), Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Carrot, Tomato and Clove. It works synergistically with the body’s own resources, helping to regenerate Vitamins C, E and carotenoids, and replenish precious nutrients lost daily through pollution, stress and poor diet. More about RoseOx.

Schizandra Plus
The colourful berries of the Schizandra plant have been highly regarded by Chinese and Asian herbalists for centuries and more recently, the berries have been recognised by western civilisation for their positive effect on the body as an “adaptogen” – a sophisticated substance that can help the body adjust to environmental conditions. Together with Kelp, Vitamins C, E, B6, B5 and amino acids L-Phenylalanine and L-Cysteine, Schizandra Plus provides a powerhouse of antioxidant nutrients to help fight bugs and viruses, perform 24-7 repair and maintenance and disable free radicals. More about Schizandra Plus.

ShapeWorks Formula 2 Multivitamin Complex
Most health experts recommend taking a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement, with good reason: depleted soils produce harvests with reduced nutrient content, modern fast foods typically have all the goodness “processed out”, poor diet, smoking, alcohol, stress, pollution, excess weight, all create a demand for a higher intake of vitamins and minerals. The kindest habit you can adopt for your health is a daily multi-supplement; it’s the most authentic all-year-round form of health insurance and Herbalife’s Formula 2 is one of the best quality multi-supplement you can find around! More about Formula 2 Multivitamin Complex.

What did you have for breakfast Today? Healthy Breakfast – Good nutrition starts every morning!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it gives your body the fuel that gets you going so you can hit the road. Breakfast not only starts your day off right, but also lays the foundation for lifelong health benefits. It gives us the energy to make it through the day and keeps our metabolism high as well.

It’s easy to skip breakfast with everything we have going on in the morning: walk the dog, get the kids ready for school, feed the cat, iron the blouse we’re planning on wearing to the office etc. Fixing a healthy and nutritious breakfast just doesn’t seem to fit in a lot of times. Here are the options that most people think of as breakfast and actually, they are just loading themselves with empty calories with not much nutritional value that would, in most cases, just turn into body fat:

Too fatty. Fried eggs, sausages, bacon, cream cheese on your bagels, cheesy omelettes, Egg McMuffins, Sausage McMuffins, hash browns, anything English or Scottish. Too much fat means excess calories and sure weight gain.

Some people even skip breakfast because they sleep too late or because they think it’s a way to stay thin. But skipping breakfast doesn’t help people maintain a healthy weight. In fact, someone who skips breakfast tends to eat more calories throughout the day as your blood sugar levels drop below normal level and you experience cravings and a drop in energy. Chances are you’ll revert to simple carbs to achieve quick surge of blood sugar to overcome drop in energy and hunger. Simple carbs will cause an immediate surge of blood sugar levels and substantial insulin emmission, which turns the sugar into fat and the cycle repeat itself during the day a few times, as explained above in the too-sugary or carb example of a breakfast
A healthy breakfast should consist of a variety of foods, for example, whole grains, low-fat protein or dairy sources, and fruit. This provides complex carbohydrates, protein and a small amount of fat — a combination that delays hunger symptoms for hours. So, your morning meal doesn’t have to mean loading up on sugar, fat and cholesterol. Making nutritious breakfast choices can set you up for healthier eating all day long.

(click on the image to enlarge)

To make a healthy breakfast each day, choose one item from at least three of the following four food groups:

People who eat a healthy breakfast are more likely to:

Consume more vitamins and minerals and less fat and cholesterol
Have better concentration and productivity throughout the morning
Control their weight
Have lower cholesterol, which reduces the risk of heart disease
Breakfast is especially important for children and adolescents as children who eat a healthy breakfast are more likely to have better concentration, problem-solving skills and eye-hand coordination. They may also be more alert, creative and less likely to miss days of school.

On a scientific level, our body has over 100 trillion cells which demand 114different nutrients every single day that provide energy and nutrition and nourishment to our body. And, let’s not forget the water. So, based on that, there are four criteria of a good and healthy breakfast:

Provides body with all vital nutrients to rebuild the body;
Provides the body with energy in terms of protein and complex carbs to help body burn the calories and sugar;
Provides the body with water, a couple of glasses before and a couple after breakfast;
Helps to maintain a normal blood sugar levels

Balanced protein breakfast supplies our body with all vital nutrients without increasing blood sugar or insulin levels. It helps to avoid dependence on carbs during the day. In this way, apetite stays under control, cravings for carbs diminish, and the body uses it’s own stored fat to get more energy.

Herbalife’s Formula 1 Nutritional Nutritional Shake fills the above criteria and will, indeed feed your body with ALL the much needed nutrients that would be difficult to achieve with any other regular breakfast, unless you eat 1000 calorie and nutrient packed breakfast of eggs and wholegrains and fruit and veg, etc.

Herbalife’s meal replacement shake is not just a balanced, healthy, low calorie meal, but a quick and easy option too that can be prepared the night before or on the spot – it takes a couple of minutes only…

Just pour some semi-skimmed or soya milk in your blender, add any of six delicious flavours of Formula 1 Nutritional shake mix, and you can even add fresh or frozen fruit, if you like. Blend it well for a lovely, frothy texture and enjoy on it’s own or preferably with Formula 2.

These two will give your body all the nutrients it needs, in a perfect balance, it will fill you up for up to 4 hours, balance your sugar levels, give you plenty of energy, help you sleep better, it will also help manage your weight or even help you lose weight if you fancy one of those instead of lunch or dinner, they would help improve your general well-being, it will positively influence your mood and is great for your digestive system.

It truly is an intelligent meal that is one of a kind and that whole family can enjoy. They are just great for kids too; my kids just love them, especially younger one as I was taking them also during pregnancy and started him on it when he was just 6 months old.

As Dr Louis Ignarro, Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine in 1998, has said at one of his trainings: “Change in diet can improve your health, but taking Herbalife products can improve your lifestyle”. This is so true as making positive changes with diet surely does make a huge difference, but, nutrition you get from consuming Herbalife shakes and supplements is optimum nutrition that can take your health on a completely new level.

So, whatever you decide to do for breakfast, just remember the benefits of a healthy breakfast: More mentally alert and ready for the day, Improve mood by keeping your blood sugar levels even, Better cope with stress, Consume less calories throughout the rest of the day. So, set a good example for loved ones and friends – set aside a few minutes in the morning and fix a smoothie before you head out the door!

Fruits and vegetables: Fresh fruits and vegetables, 100 percent juice without added sugar
Grains: Whole-grain rolls, hot or cold whole-grain cereals high in fibre
Dairy: Skim milk, low-fat yogurt cups or low-fat cheeses, such as cottage and natural cheeses
Protein: Hard-boiled eggs, cottage cheese, lean slices of meat and poultry, or fish, such as water-packed tuna or slices of salmon

Too sugary or carb-filled: Pancakes, waffles, toast, donuts, pastries, scones, bagels, pies, sugar cereals, breakfast bars, muffins (which, let’s face it, are usually just cake). I’m not anti-carb, but the problem with many breakfasts is that they are low in fat and protein, and nothing but empty carb calories. Carbs start your day with a high blood-sugar level, which will result in emmission of insulin; the insulin removes sugar from blood, turning it’s excess into fat. The result very shortly is low blood sugar levels, which results in cravings for more carbs. You’ll be on a roller-coaster blood-sugar ride all day as this cycle repeats itself 2-3 times during the day and is a major cause for diabetes, high blood pressure and extra weight.

Omega-3 and soy may protect against pollution harm: Study

Supplements of omega-3 or soy may protect the heart against certain damaging effects of air pollution, according to a new study from an international team of researchers.

Exposure to high levels of particulates from vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions is known to detrimentally affect the heart, possibly by inducing oxidative stress. Particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres may also inhibit the action of protective antioxidant enzymes in the body, such as copper/zinc (Cu/Zn) superoxide dismutase (SOD), manganese SOD, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px).

Supplementation with omega-3 or soy may cause an increase in Cu/Zn SOD activity and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, according to findings of a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The greater protective effects were observed following omega-3 supplementation, which the researchers said could be due to the different types and amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the two supplements: fish oil contains EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), while soy oil contains ALA (alpha-linolenic acid).

“This is the first study to evaluate the impact of supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on biomarkers of response to oxidative stimuli related to air pollution exposure among individuals in a non-controlled environment,” wrote lead author Isabelle Romieu from the Mexican National Institute of Public Health.

Study details

Romieu and her co-workers recruited 52 elderly nursing home residents (average age 76.5, average BMI 26.1 kg/m2) and observed them for seven months. An initial three-month stage with no supplementation was followed by four months of receiving either fish oil or soy oil supplements. There was no placebo group, and the subjects acted as their own controls.

Analysis of blood samples taken before and during supplementation showed that consumption of the omega-3 supplements was associated with lower levels of oxidative damage in blood cells, with the greater effect observed in the fish oil group.

Moreover, Cu/Zn SOD activity increased by 49 and 23 per cent in the fish and soy oil groups respectively. GSH levels increased by 62 and 55 per cent in the fish and soy oil groups respectively, report the researchers.

While no effect on levels of lipoperoxidation (LPO) products – a marker for oxidative stress – was observed in the soy oil group, a 72.5 per cent decrease in LPO products was recorded in the fish oil group.

“A major concern with dietary supplementation is the effective dose,” stated the researchers. “The fact that fish oil appears to be more effective against oxidative stress related to PM2.5 exposure than soy oil suggests that the small amount of ALA – further elongated in EPA and DHA – in soy oil might be insufficient to protect against the adverse effects of PM2.5 exposure.”

“We based our results on a limited sample size but suggest that essential fatty acids might play an important role in modulating the impact of PM on health, which warrants further investigation in larger populations,” they concluded.

Source: NutraIgredients.com
Environmental Health Perspectives, Volume 116, Pages 1237-1242, doi:10.1289/ehp.10578, “The Effect of Supplementation with Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Markers of Oxidative Stress in Elderly Exposed to PM2.5”, Authors: I. Romieu, R. Garcia-Esteban, J. Sunyer, C. Rios, M. Alcaraz-Zubeldia, S. Ruiz Velasco, F. Holguin The journal is open access. The full article is available here

Herbalife Solution
High quality Omega 3 Fish Oils are found in Herbalifeline – a premium-grade nutritional marine lipid complex (Omega – fish oil) capsule with special nutritional and herbal factors.

Also, our Formula 1 Nutritional Shake mix and Formula 2 Multivitamin Complex are ideal combination to increase body’s defence against environmental effects such as chemicals, fumes, dust and smoking…

Omega-3: Lifelong intakes necessary for benefits in old age!

Latest research on Omega 3 suggests the importance of getting the right amount of nutrient from an early age as it’s effectiveness lowers with age. According to three new studies, higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), may decrease the risk of dementia, and improve survival in older people, if taken throughout one’s life.

Two prospective studies from Norway and France measured omega-3 levels using biomarkers and showed positive benefits for the fatty acids in relation to mortality and cognitive function, respectively. However, supplementation of older people with high dose omega-3 does not affect mood or well-being, according to the findings of a third study from the Netherlands.

Putting the studies into context, William Harris from Sanford Research at the University of South Dakota commented in an accompanying editorial:

“In short, the story they tell is this: low in vivo concentrations of EPA and/or DHA predict an increased risk of death in frail, hospitalised octogenarians from Norway and an accelerated cognitive decline in free-living septuagenarians from France. On the other hand, intervention with EPA plus DHA in the healthy elderly had no effect on mental well-being. Together, these findings suggest that dietary habits that include higher versus lower intakes of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids may bring certain health benefits that short-term supplementation cannot provide.”

Norvwegian Study: Omega-3 versus mortality
In the Norwegian study, Morten Lindberg from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim and co-workers recruited 254 frail, elderly patients and measured dietary intakes of omega-3 fatty acids using plasma phospholipid concentrations of EPA. Over the course of three years of follow-up, the researchers found that people with the lowest average plasma phospholipid EPA concentrations were about 40 per cent more likely to die, compared to people with higher levels. “Overall mortality in frail, elderly, acutely sick patients was inversely and nonlinearly associated with EPA concentrations,” concluded the researchers.

Commenting on this study, Harris said:

“The authors concluded that only those in the at-risk quartile might have benefited from omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. Clearly, this is a speculative extrapolation; nevertheless, it is fair to say that higher tissue omega-3 fatty acid (at least EPA) concentrations appeared to be protective. Although no specific mechanism of action was identified, a generalized health benefit arising from a prolonged dietary intake of oily fish (the presumed source of the plasma EPA) would surprise no one familiar with the omega-3 fatty acid literature.”

French Study: Omega-3 versus dementia
In the French study, Cecilia Samieri from Inserm (U897) in Bordeaux and co-workers followed the 1214 non-demented participants in the Three-City Study from Bordeaux. Over the course of four years, 65 of the participants developed dementia, state the researchers. Comparing blood levels of EPA, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and total omega-3 levels, the researchers found that only higher blood levels of EPA were associated with a 31 per cent lower incidence of dementia. Moreover, higher ratios of omega-6 fatty acid blood levels, particularly arachidonic acid (AA), to DHA and total omega-3 levels were linked to a greater dementia risk.

“A high plasma EPA concentration may decrease the risk of dementia, whereas high ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids and of AA to DHA may increase the risk of dementia, especially in depressed older persons,” stated the researchers.

Dutch Study: Omega-3 and mood
For the Dutch study, Ondine van de Rest from Wageningen University and co-workers performed a 26-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 302 volunteers. The 65-year old subjects were randomly assigned to consume high dose omega-3 (1800 mg/d EPA plus DHA), lower dose omega-3 (400 mg/d EPA plus DHA), or placebo. While plasma concentrations of the fatty acids did increase according to the omega-3 dose, this was not associated with any significant change in the mental well-being of the volunteers in any of the groups.

“In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial we observed no effect of EPA plus DHA supplementation for 26 wk on mental well-being in the general older population studied,” concluded van de Rest.

Commenting on this study, Harris said:

“Although one can always suggest that higher doses may have been more effective, it is more likely that what is done is done; at 70 years of age, supplementation is simply unable to materially alter emotion or mentation. All three studies underscored the importance of maintaining high dietary omega-3 fatty acids intakes throughout life”

All the studies are published in the new issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (Source: Nutraingredients.com)

Herbalife Solution: Herbalifeline - a marine lipid complex fish oil capsule enable you to benefit from the fruits of the sea; formulated to help maintain supple joints as well as to support the natural function of the heart and circulation. This exclusive formula contains a marine lipid complex together with Vitamin E in a base of Wheat Germ Oil… Order online or read more about Herbalifeline…

Heart Health: Vitamin C linked to lower stroke risk: study

Increased blood levels of vitamin C may reduce the risk of stroke by 42 per cent, suggests a large European-based study.

Increased levels of the vitamin, associated with increased intake of fruit and vegetables, were found to offer significant cardiovascular benefits among the 20,649 men and women taking part in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer.

The authors, led by Phyo Myint from the University of Cambridge, state that blood levels of the vitamin could be used as a biological marker of lifestyle used to identify people at high risk of stroke.

“An intriguing possibility is that the plasma vitamin C concentration is a good marker of a wider range of health behaviors, such as fruit and vegetable consumption, that may be protective against stroke,” wrote Myint in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “It is also plausible that vitamin C may biochemically affect stroke risk.”

Strokes occur when blood clots or an artery bursts in the brain and interrupts the blood supply to a part of the brain. It is the leading cause of disability and the third leading cause of death in Europe and the US. According to the Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE), about 575,000 deaths are stroke related in Europe every year. In the US, every 45 seconds someone will experience a stroke, according to the American Stroke Association.

Myint and co-workers followed the subjects for 9.5 years and documented 448 strokes during this time. The subjects completed a health and lifestyle questionnaire at the start of the study, and blood samples were taken to measure vitamin C levels.

The highest average blood levels of vitamin C (greater than 66 micromoles per litre) were associated with a 42 per cent lower risk of stroke, compared to the lowest average blood levels (less than 41 micromoles per litre), after adjusting the results for potentially confounding factors such as age, sex, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, BMI, physical activity, and use of supplements. When the Cambridge researchers excluded participants who consumed vitamin C-containing supplements the results were the same, indicating that the benefits could have been from vitamin C-rich foods, such as fruit and vegetables.

“We believe that these findings are of interest for several reasons,” stated the authors. “First, the strong inverse association between plasma vitamin C and stroke suggests that plasma vitamin C is likely to be a good biomarker of whatever causal factors affect stroke risk, most plausibly the dietary intake of plant foods.

“Second, irrespective of any causal associations, plasma vitamin C appears to be a good predictive risk indicator of stroke, independent of known risk factors such as age, BP, smoking, lipids, diabetes, and BMI.

“Given that about half of the risk of stroke is unexplained by conventional cardiovascular disease risk factors and that the predictive validity of traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors appears to diminish with age, risk markers that may help to identify those persons at greatest risk of stroke for targeted preventive interventions with established therapies, such as BP reduction, may be of interest.”

While further study is necessary, Myint and co-workers aid that it is unlikely that long-term randomised controlled trials using isolated vitamin C supplementation would be conducted using cardiovascular disease as an end-point. “Nevertheless, the magnitude of the association between plasma vitamin C and subsequent stroke is substantial and independent of known major risk factors for stroke,” they concluded.

In an accompanying editorial, Sebastian Padayatty and Mark Levine from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) welcomed the study as “refreshing in that its findings are both clear and not overstated”.

“We need readily measurable and reliable biomarkers of fruit and vegetable intake,” they continued. “Vitamin C is an attractive marker of fruit and vegetable intake because these foods are the primary sources of dietary vitamin C.

“However, use of vitamin C as an intake indicator has limitations. With ingestion of pure vitamin C, there is a steep sigmoidal dose-concentration relation in humans for doses between 30 and 100 mg. At 100 mg, fasting steady state plasma vitamin C concentrations are about 60 micromoles per litre. At 200 mg, corresponding to an intake of about 5 servings of fruit and vegetables, fasting steady state plasma concentrations are about 70 micromol/L and do not increase much with higher doses. It is unknown whether the same dose- concentration relationships hold for vitamin C in foods.”

The take-home message from the study, said Padayatty and Levine, was that the public should aim for between five and nine servings of fruit and vegetables per day and to consume a wide variety of such foods.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2008, Volume 87, Pages 64-69, “Plasma vitamin C concentrations predict risk of incident stroke over 10 y in 20 649 participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer – Norfolk prospective population study”, Authors: P.K. Myint, R.N. Luben, A.A. Welch, S.A. Bingham, N.J. Wareham, and K.-T. Khaw
Editorial: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2008, Volume 87, Pages 5-7, “Fruit and vegetables: think variety, go ahead, eat!”, Authors: S.J. Padayatty and M. Levine.

Herbalife Solution

This study is rather interesting but minor compared to the well known research done by Dr Louis Ignarro, who was awarded Nobel Prize for his 25 year research on Nitric Oxide, signalling mollecule in our body that is, amongst other things, responsible for our cardiovascular health and it’s production involves comsumption of antioxidants, including Vitamin C as well as some specific aminoacids, some of which are difficult to consume through a regular diet. Dr Louis Ignarro’s research was revolutionary as it made and proved a direct link between our diet and the lifestyle choices we make and our cardiovascular health.

Herbalife is proud to have Dr Louis Ignarro as a member of our Nutritional Advisory Board (NAB). We are also quite proud of NiteWorks, nightime heart supplement that aids natural production of Nitric Oxide, which could reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and strokes in particular. The following are the articles that are directly related to Dr Louis Ignarro and his awarded research, NiteWorks supplement and Herbalife’s solutions for Heart Health:

Herbalife’s Healthy Heart Programme Introduction

NiteWorks™ – Herbalife Heart Nutrition – Amino Acid and Vitamin Drink Mix

Heart Nutrition: Ways to improve levels of Nitric Oxide in the body – key to a longer, healthier life

Celebrate February – the Heart Month! Healthy Heart: Dr Louis Ignarro and Niteworks: Say YES to NO!

Other Targeted Nutrition Articles

Study: Mum’s vitamin D during pregnancy strengthens kid’s teeth

Higher intakes of vitamin D during pregnancy may lead to stronger teeth in children, according to researchers from University of Manitoba, Canada.

High blood levels of vitamin D, related milk consumption and prenatal vitamin use, were associated with lower incidence of caries in the children, according to research presented at the International Association for Dental Research meeting in Toronto, Canada. This study shows for the first time that maternal vitamin-D levels may have an influence on the primary dentition and the development of early-childhood-caries.

Vitamin D is produced in the body on exposure to sunlight. Dietary sources of vitamin D provide relatively low doses. In the US, where over 1.5 million people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year, experts are pushing supplements, claiming recommendations for sun exposure are “highly irresponsible”.

New findings: the study
Schroth and co-workers recruited 206 pregnant women during their second trimester, and assessed dietary habits using questionnaires. Blood samples were taken in order to measure vitamin D levels.

The average 25(OH)D blood level was 48.1 nanomoles per litre, while 34.5 per cent of the women were vitamin D deficient, defined as levels 35 nmol/L or less. Only 10.5 per cent of the women had adequate levels of vitamin D, defined as levels of 25(OH)D of at least 80 nmol/L.

Just over 33 per cent of the infants, examined at an average age of 16.1 months, were found to early childhood caries. The mothers of these children were found to have significantly lower 25(OH)D levels than mothers of caries-free children (43.9 versus 52.8 nmol/L, respectively).

According to the American Dental Association, early childhood caries are defined as “the presence of one or more decayed (non-cavitated or cavitated lesions), missing (due to caries) or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth in a preschool-age child between birth and 71 months of age.”

The study was funded by Manitoba Medical Service Foundation, Manitoba-Institute-of-Child-Health, Dentistry-Canada-Fund, University of Manitoba, and Dairy Farmers of Canada.

Vitamin D and babies
A study from the University of Southampton (The Lancet, 2006, Vol 367, pp 36-43) reported that higher intake of vitamin D during late-stage pregnancy was linked to stronger bones in children.

Another study that was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2006 (Vol. 174, pp. 1273-1277), reported that women with low milk consumption during pregnancy had lighter babies, an association linked to the vitamin D content of the milk.

Source: International Association for Dental Research, 4 July 2008, Abstract # 1646, “Influence of maternal vitamin D status on infant oral health”, Authors: R. Schroth, C. Lavelle, M.E. Moffatt

Herbalife Solution

Herbalife offers the following products that contain the sufficient amounts of vitamin D, when taken in combination, to combat the risks associated with deficiency of Vitamin D:

Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix – 1 shake contains 50% of the EU RDA of Vitamin D.

Formula 2 Multivitamin Complex – 3 tablets recommended to be taken daily contain 0,01mg of Vitamin D or 200% of the EU RDA.

XtraCal – Calcium supplement, our special formula that is loaded with the most concentrated form of Calcium available and it also contains Vitamin D (15% EC RDA), essential for calcium absorption.

Also, view Vitamin D related article: Study: Vitamin D Deficiency and Risk of Breast Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease: sunlight or supplements?

View article on Healthy Pregnancy

NEW: H3O Pro™ Isotonic Drink from Herbalife – Powering Exceptional Performance – Demand more from your sports drink!

Top athletes push their body to the limit to deliver an exceptional performance. Two crucial factors aid an exceptional performance: energy and hydration.

Developed with experts in sports nutrition and in consultation with our Nutritional Advisory Board, H3O Pro™ is an innovative isotonic drink helping to power exceptional performances. As we demand more from our bodies during exercise, it’s vital that we support our body and provide what it needs. Herbalife’s new isotonic drink, H3O Pro™, has some unique advantages over the leading brands, which will be highlighted below.

Whatever your sport, whether you are a keen team player in a sport like football or hockey, a fan of challenging endurance activities such as marathons or triathlons, a fitness enthusiast who enjoys activities such as gym sessions, or game of tennis – hydration and energy are vital in achieving results to be proud of.

Here are the H3O Pro™’s key benefits:

Hydration: Sweating during exercise causes loss of essential electrolytes (or salts) such as sodium as well as potassium, calcium, magnesium and chloride. Replacing electrolytes can aid rapid hydration and help you avoid the negative effects of dehydration such as muscle cramps, fatigue and headaches.

Energy and Stamina: Energising carbohydrates provide your body with immediate and sustained energy to prevent unwanted performance dips – keeping you at the top of your game!

Absorption: Energy releasing B-vitamins help improve absorption of essential nutrients which means that your body can react faster to the number to the nutrients provided in H3O Pro™ helping to power your performance.

Protection: Oxygen production during exercise increases free radical production which can cause damage to the body’s cells. Key antioxidants Vitamins C & E and mixed tocopherals help protect the body’s tissues against the potentially damaging effects of free radicals.

Extensive research and development by our NAB experts has resulted in a science-based sports drink which offers more than other leading isotonic drinks available to consumers. Here are the key ingredients in H3O Pro™ and why they are important in an isotonic drink:

Source of sugar which forms the carbs in the drink: Isomaltulose: Isomaltulose is a naturally derived source of sugar that acts as the key carbohydrate in H3O Pro™, providing immediate and sustained energy to prevent unwanted performance dips – it will not create a quick spike and crash energy as some sports drinks do which contain glucose syrup/ maltodextrin instead of Isomaltulose

Key electrolyte: 140mg potassium: H3O Pro™ is over 3 times higher in potassium than leading competitors. Potassium is essential for water and electrolyte balance throughout the body and helps support muscle function.

Calcium (120mg) and Magnesium (50mg): H3O Pro™ is 12 times higher in calcium than leading brands and it also contains magnesium, unlike leading brands. Calcium is essential for bone health and combination of both calcium and magnesium is great for muscle function especially for muscle cramps during and after excercise.

B-vitamins: contains 15% RDA for each of the five B-vitamins to help the body to absorb the nutrients in H3O Pro™ to power your performance. Leading brands contain 17% RDA of four B-vitamins only.

Antioxidants: Vitamin C (15mg), Vitamin E (2.5mg), Mixed tocopherals (30mg): Unlike any leading competitor, H3O Pro™ contains key antioxidant vitamins C & E and mixed tocopherals – a powerful combination to help protect the body’s tissues and immune system against the potentially damaging effects of free radicals often induced during exercise.

Exceptional performance – exceptional taste!
For many athletes and sports people taste is a critical factor in choosing the right sports drink. Whether you are exercising for 45 minutes or four hours you need to be sure that it won’t leave a bad taste in your mouth. Many sports drinks are made with artificial flavours producing an over-sweet taste which some people find overwhelming and sickly – H3O Pro™ doesn’t contain artificial flavours, sweeteners or preservatives.

We’ve carried out extensive taste-testing with professional athletes and sports people to develop a clean isotonic drink with a hint of tangy lemon, guaranteed to keep you refreshed, hydrated and performing at your best whatever your sport.

For an exceptional performance, water alone is not enough
Your body is 60% water so, for the results to be proud of, your body fluid must be kept at its optimum level. When you exercise, you sweat which increases the risk of suffering from the negative effects of dehydration such as headaches, fatigue and cramp.

Today, isotonic drinks are the preferred choice for most fitness enthusiasts and athletes wanting exceptional hydration and energy. Isotonic drinks have a similar carbohydrate and electrolyte concentration to your body meaning they are absorbed as fast, if not faster, than water.

Balanced osmolality
An osmolality level of 270-330 Mosm/kg in an isotonic drink helps to maintain the required concentration of electrolytes in your blood. Water alone has a very low osmolality level as it typically does not contain electrolytes. Although it is a great hydration, water also stimulates urine output which reduces its effectiveness during your exercise or any sporting performance.

Getting the best from H3O Pro™
Available in convenient single serving sachets, H3O Pro™ is easy to use. Simply pour contents of one sachet into a water bottle and add water to produce 500ml of H3O Pro™. One serving of H3O Pro™ in 500ml is recommended for every 60 minutes of strenuous exercise.

The best time to enjoy H3O Pro™ is during your workout to keep you hydrated whilst providing a supply of energy, electrolytes and antioxidants to help power an exceptional performance. However, H3O Pro™ can also help you stay hydrated and energised before your work out.

Top Tip: Sports scientists recommend that you consume isotonic drinks at room temperature to help the body absorb it more effectively.

Please call Sanela on 01225313218 for more information or to order or text “H3O Pro” on 07737053498. Or order online

Exceptional Sports Nutrition from Herbalife – Fitting H3O Pro™ New Isotonic Drink from Herbalife into your fitness routine!

At Herbalife we understand that good nutrition is important through every stage of life. Performing at your best is not just about regular exercise and training. Equally important is ensuring that your body receives the right balance of good nutrients on a daily basis to support and maintain your body.

Herbalife’s formula for success:

Achieve and maintain healthy nutrition with a balanced and varied diet (which includes plenty of fresh colourful fruit and vegetables) supported by Herbalife’s Core Nutrition products and complementary products from the Targeted Nutrition range.

Take regular physical activity to support your healthy lifestyle

Keep your body hydrated with sufficient fluids – especially when exercising

Benefit from a continuous support of your Personal Herbalife Coach.

Herbalife’s Core Nutrition Products:

Formula 1 Healthy Meal Replacement Mix is a tasty meal replacement which helps ensure your body gets the nourishment it needs every day.

Formula 2 Multivitamin and Fibre Tablet is part of a nutritional maintenance system designed to help replenish the body’s nutritional resources and create a foundation to support long-term health

General Fitness
Whether you enjoy regular cardiovascular gym workouts or general aerobic exercise such as rowing, spin classes or a sport like tennis – your body’s cardiovascular system is working so your heart and lungs become stronger. Nutritional supplements include carbs for energy, fluids for hydration, protein for muscle repair and recovery and antioxidants to help defend the body’s cells from free radical damage.

Your workouts could benefit from the hydration, energy and protection that H3O Pro™ Isotonic Drink offers. Support your body’s needs further by supplementing your healthy diet with Herbalife’s Core Nutrition products and Protein Bars or Formula 3 Personalised Protein Powder.

Endurance
Running, swimming and cycling all come under the “endurance” banner: performing strenuous exercise for long periods of time. These activities require carbs for energy, protein for muscle repair and recovery and plenty of fluid to avoid dehydration.

H3O Pro™ can help power exceptional performance by providing hydration and energy – just when you need it. Support a healthy, balanced and varied diet with Herbalife’s Core Nutrition products and Protein Bars for post-work-out muscle recovery.

“When training hard and sweating a lot, drinking water is not enough to fulfil the body’s demanding hydration and energy requirements. And a subtle tasting isotonic drink suits ne – nothing too sweet – as I can sip it as often as necessary throughout my training sessions”, Olly Freeman, Triathlete

Team Sports

Football, hockey, basketball or volleyball – whichever team sport you play, you need to be sure to perform at your best to support your team’s results – you can’t let the side down!

A supply of carbs before a match can help provide initial energy whilst H3O Pro™ can help keep energy levels topped up whilst aiding hydration. After a match, a Herbalife Formula 1 Shake personalised with Formula 3 Protein Powder can help aid muscle recovery.

“We’ve learnt from experience that lost electrolytes and water can really effect our performance so replacing them quickly and easily is important – that’s why we drink isotonic sports drinks”, Lucilla Perrotta & Daniela Gattelli, Beach Volleyball Team, Italy

More support for omega-3 and weight management… combined with exercise!

Researchers from Japan have recently reported that omega-3-rich fish oil could reduce body weight gain by boosting fat metabolism – in mice at least.

Laboratory mice fed a high fat diet and supplemented with eight per cent fish oil gained less weight and metabolised more fat than their murine counterparts not receiving the supplement.

The study adds to an ever-growing list of potential health benefits from the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, identified as one of the super-nutrients taking the food and supplements industry by storm.

Much of its healthy reputation that is seeping into consumer consciousness is based largely on evidence that it can aid cognitive function, may help protect the heart against cardiovascular disease, and could reduce the risk of certain cancers.

The Study:
Lead author Takuya Mori and co-workers from the Biological Science Laboratories, Kao Corporation, Tochigi, fed obesity-prone C57BL/6J mice the diet with 30 per cent of calories from fat for five months, with half the animals supplemented with fish oil (eight per cent). At the end of the study, the researchers reported that the fish oil-supplemented group exhibited increased levels of lipid metabolism-related genes, including carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a, cytochrome P450 4A10, and malic enzyme.

Moreover, fish oil ingestion boosted the activity of enzymes related to metabolism. Specifically, enzymes related to fatty acid beta-oxidation, omega-oxidation, and malic were 1.2-, 1.6-, and 1.7-fold higher in the fish oil-supplemented diet, compared to those only receiving the high fat diet.

“These findings suggest that an up-regulation of intestinal lipid metabolism is associated with the anti-obesity effect of FO,” wrote the researchers.

Back in May 2007, Australian researchers reported that a combination of fish oil supplements and exercise led to reductions in fat mass by about 1.5 kg, as well as improving heart health markers.

The researchers, from the University of South Australia in Adelaide, studied 75 overweight adults (age range 25-65). They reported that subjects who received daily fish oil supplements (260 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 60 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)) exhibitred decreased blood triacylglycerols levels (14 per cent) and increased plasma HDL cholesterol levels (10 per cent) relative to baseline amounts.

“The present study is the first properly controlled trial to show an improvement in body composition in overweight or obese subjects after intervention with omega-3 fatty acids and regular aerobic exercise,” wrote lead author Alison Hill in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The combination of fish oil and exercise reduced fat mass by 1.6 kg, with no significant changes observed for fish oil alone, or placebo with or without exercise. No significant change in lean mass was observed for any of the groups.

“We have confirmed the independent benefits of supplementation with DHA-rich fish oil for triacylglycerols, [and] HDL cholesterol,” said the researchers. “We also showed that both fish oil supplementation and regular moderate exercise reduced body fat in overweight or obese subjects who were at risk of CVD.”

Moreover, researchers from the University of Georgia reported in November 2006 that the omega-3 fatty acid DHA could affect adoptosis (programmed cell death) and significantly decrease the accumulation of fat in the preadipocytes in a dose-dependent manner and the development (differentiation) of mature adipocytes in culture (Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 136, pp. 2965-2969).

Source: Journal of Nutrition, December 2007, Volume 137, Pages 2629-2634, “Dietary Fish Oil Upregulates Intestinal Lipid Metabolism and Reduces Body Weight Gain in C57BL/6J Mice”, Authors: Takuya Mori, H. Kondo, T. Hase, I. Tokimitsu, T. Murase

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 85, Pages 1267-1274, “Combining fish-oil supplements with regular aerobic exercise improves body composition and cardiovascular disease risk factors”, Authors: A.M. Hill, J.D. Buckley, K.J. Murphy, P.R.C. Howe

Herbalife Solution:
Herbalifeline – a marine lipid complex fish oil capsule enable you to benefit from the fruits of the sea; formulated to help maintain supple joints as well as to support the natural function of the heart and circulation. This exclusive formula contains a marine lipid complex together with Vitamin E in a base of Wheat Germ Oil… Read more…