How You May Prevent Some Deadly Degenerative Diseases Before It Is too late

There is yet no effective cure but degenerative diseases can be prevented. Many people still think of chronic diseases as unfortunate, but inevitable results of old age. We now know that 'old' does not equal 'sick'. Many of these diseases are man-made. They are largely due to modern lifestyles and the accompanying risk factors such as :-

A. High fat diet
B. Lack of exercise
C. Exposure to toxic environment
D. Increasing stress levels
E. Foods low in nutrients

Thus balanced nutrition, physical activity and a healthy lifestyle give us a better chance of avoiding degenerative diseases.

Many of us are too busy trading hours for dollars. It leaves us little time to listen to our bodies. Some of us spend thousands of dollars maintaining our homes and cars, and very little maintaining our bodies. Yet, houses and cars can be replaced, but not the body. We don't really appreciate our health until we suffer some setback which can be in the prime of our lives!

There is a saying, we spend the first 40 years of our life neglecting our health to make money, and then we spend the next 40 years or less spending that money to regain out health!

How true, yet how foolish!

Nothing is more valuable than your health, not even your family, because when you lose your health, everyone you respect or love suffers with you. Ask yourself this question - Are you maintaining your health by Chance or by Choice?

How our cells are damaged?

Free Radicals are highly destructive molecules. Because they are missing an electron, they destroy healthy molecules by stealing their electrons and making them into free radicals too. This causes a chain reaction of damage to various parts of our cells.

Free radicals can result from our environment. They are also produced by our body in the process of burning food for energy. We cannot avoid them, but we can neutralize their action.

Food, particularly organic fruits and vegetables supply many types of antioxidants, which donate their extra electrons to neutralize free radicals. Eating a variety of healthy food also gives our body the nutrients it needs to repair and regenerate damaged cells.

With proper nutrition, our cells can last a lifetime.

'Health is not just the absence of disease. It is the empowering of our bodies to perform at their optimal level.' Dr. Myron Wentz, Founder and Chairman, USANA, Inc

But I eat fruits and vegetables!

It is easier said than done.

We know how difficult it is to provide three fresh, balanced meals each day for our family. Yet, many people continue to believe that we can get everything we need from food.

In practice, even very careful eaters find it difficult to receive the range of essential vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in their daily diets.

Here are some reasons:

1. Food Choice and Habit
We don't eat a sufficiently wide variety, often sticking to the few types of food that we like.

2. Over Cooking
Heat destroys many valuable food nutrients. But for the sake of taste, we continue to boil, fry, roast and grill the goodness out of our food.

3. Variation in Nutrient Content
The same food cultivated in different countries, planted in different seasons, or processed to different degrees can end up containing very different nutrients profiles.

Who says so we should take a Nutritional Supplement?

A nutritional supplement does not replace a healthy diet. But proper supplementation can bridge the gap between what our body needs in optimal nutrition, and what most of us actually get from food.

Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) under Scientific Review and Clinical Applications category says this:

Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. Pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements.

So, what is the solution this opportunity can offer?

For a start we can eat a varied and well-balanced diet and exercise regularly.

More and more scientific research provides evidence to indicate that antioxidants can play a role in optimizing our health and we can benefit from supplements.

While the key is to supplement your diet with antioxidants, the idea of going to the health store to purchase different supplements is not the way to provide optimum nutrition. This is because antioxidants work properly in synergy with each other. Even if one nutrient is missing or not in correct ratio, it adversely impacts the effectiveness of all the others.

Science tells us the cells in our bodies are continually being replaced by cells reconstructed entirely from the nutrients we consume. Hence, it makes sense that the quality of the nutrients we consume determines the quality of our renewed cellular structure, the level at which it can function and thus the overall quality of our health.

USANA Health Sciences is a science based company that produces products that contain nutrients needed for life in the right form, in the right quality, in the right quantity, and balanced in the correct ratios.

USANA nutritional products are designed and engineered by Dr. Myron Wentz (PhD) who is an internationally recognized microbiologist, immunologist, and pioneer in the development of human cell culture technology and infectious.

He grew billions of human cells to isolate and diagnose viral diseases for 20 years. From daily growing billions of healthy cells in his laboratory, Dr Myron Wentz became an expert in growing cells. He learnt first hand the importance of correct nutrition to grow healthy cells. He observed that unless the ratios of specific micronutrients were precise, the cells begun to degenerate. This implies he has an intimate knowledge of the nutritional needs of the human cell. Not many people can make the same claim.

With the right combination of all the nutrients essential for life, I could maintain human cells in a healthy state almost indefinitely, without any signs of degeneration or diseases
- Dr Myron Wentz

Not all supplements are created equal

5 level-headed questions you should ask when selecting a nutritional supplement. They are:

1) Are they complete?
A little of every nutrient is better than lots of one or two. A good supplement provides a broad spectrum of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals and a variety of antioxidants such as bioflavonoid, alpha lipoid acid and coenzyme Q10. Many multi-formulas miss out the more costly nutrients.

Herbs from the mountain peak; algae from the deep sea; roots from virgin forests and the search goes on. Such supplements like herbal medicines can benefit some people in addressing specific health issue. But no natural food can replace the broad spectrum of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in optimal amounts and balanced that USANA has.

2) Are they balanced?
Nutrients work best together, in synergy, not alone. A good supplement delivers nutrients in balance, so your body can enjoy their synergistic benefits. Out of balance formulation may be harmful, as excessive amounts of one nutrient can sometimes hamper the body's absorption of another.

3) Are they potent?
Too much of any is harmful. But too little is ineffective. The amount of each micronutrient we need is very small (often in thousandths of a gram a day). However, a good supplement provides sufficient amounts for optimal health. Their amounts are often higher than the RDAs (Recommended Dietary Allowance), which are minimum levels to prevent deficiency diseases.

4) Are they bio-available?
What doesn't get absorbed and used, is wasted. Vitamins and minerals can come in various forms, some more easily absorbed and used by the body than others. A good supplement always uses the most bio-available form. For example, chelated minerals, i.e., those bonded to amino acids, are more readily absorbed than mineral salts.

5) Are they safe?
Above all, do no harm. A good supplement avoids nutrients like iron, and preformed Vitamin A, which can be harmful on long term use.

Manufacturing to pharmaceutical standards are the best to ensure exact standards are followed to ensure purity and uniformity in every tablet.

The bottom line is much of the food we eat has been over-processed, and various chemicals and preservatives have been added to improve taste and increase shelf life. Over-processing can lead to nutritional deficiencies in food and having to live in toxic environments can cause increasing cellular damage. Without proper nutrition, the cells of the body are overwhelmed with preventing and repairing cellular damage. As a result, we lose more cells than we can regenerate and regenerate with poorer quality cells. It can have adverse effect on long term health.

This is a huge industry. Although there are many competing products in the market, by far the majority of products in the general market place are produced for the needs of specific target market. For example, the health products are produced to be sold at a price that manufactures consider the market would be prepared to pay. As such profit may be the prime factor rather than optimum nutrients.