Quit Smoking the Natural Way

The statistics on smoking are truly frightening. Each year, smoking kills more people than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car crashes, murders, suicides, and fires combined! It’s the single most preventable cause of all deaths, and is a major risk factor in contributing to coronary heart disease, emphysema and other respiratory diseases.

Smoking also drains the body of many essential vitamins and minerals, affecting the body's ability to absorb these vital nutrients. The major nutrient affected is vitamin C. The more you smoke, the more vitamin C you lose from your tissues and blood. The damage that smoke inflicts on your cells causes your body to need more vitamin C to counteract this damage. Vitamin C is one of the body's main antioxidants, which are linked to the prevention of a number of diseases. By reducing the body's ability to absorb this vitamin, smoking increases the individual's risk of developing these diseases.

The good news is that smokers have a much better chance of quitting if they are on a good nutrition program at the same time! So how can one naturally quit smoking with the help of Shaklee nutrition?

It starts with Shaklee’s trio of fatty acids:

1. Omega-3 Complex
2. GLA Complex
3. Lecithin

to raise dopamine levels, which replaces having the cigarettes raise the dopamine. Nicotine raises dopamine levels chemically and prevents food cravings.

Ginseng, the main herbal ingredient in Shaklee’s CorEnergy, also has an affect of diminishing the craving for nicotine by raising alkaloid in the brain, since nicotine also raises alkaloids. Ginseng is also an adaptagen that calms and reduces stress. Cordyceps, another ingredient in Shaklee's CorEnergy, increases oxygenation to the brain.

Stress Relief Complex helps people to not smoke after eating. It also aids in sleeping and can lower elevated cortisol levels, thereby lessening the cravings for a cigarette.

There is also a homeopathic ingredient (Sabadilla) in Shaklee’s Appetite Reducing Spray, which helps to reduce the craving for food and cigarettes, if needed.

Finally, on a social level one CANNOT be around smokers for two to six weeks while the dopamine levels adjust. And last, but not least, exercise as much as possible as it creates a response in the muscles that produces alkaloids.

Nutrition Program for Smokers

A recommended nutrition program to help one quit smoking depends on age, caloric expenditure and cholesterol levels. Below are suggestions for teens and people in their 20’s, and for people in their 40’s, 50’s and beyond who have smoked for longer periods of time.

For teenagers and young adults who are ready to quit smoking:
(suggested daily use)

• 1 Shaklee Basics
• 1 Omega-3 Complex
• 1 GLA Complex
• 2-3 Shaklee Lecithin

Suggested Shaklee nutrition program for people in their 40's & 50's and older, who are ready to quit smoking:

• 1 Shaklee Basics Daily Vita-Strip
• 2-3 Essential Omega-3 Complex per meal
• 2-3 GLA Complex per meal
• 1-4 Shaklee Lecithin per meal
• 2-6 Stress Relief Complex per meal (more if experiencing anxiety; plus two at bedtime, if there are sleep issues)
• 1-2 CorEnergy per meal
• Appetite Reducing Spray 15 min before meals (critical to spray 15 min beforehand). Use it before two meals with no off week.

Note: When quitting smoking Do NOT take additional B-Complex, as it may CAUSE cravings due to niacin. Also, do NOT take Shaklee's Craving Reduction Complex.

Ed. Note: Thanks to Dr. Brouse for providing this important information and recommendations. Dr. Brouse is a widely recognized authority in the fields of nutrition and prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. He has a Master’s in Biochemistry and is a Doctor of Chiropractic. He was an Associate Professor of Clinical Nutrition for 14 years and founded the renowned Sunnyside Health Center in Clackamas Oregon in 1977. Since that time many people throughout the world have regained a greater measure of health while following the recommendations of the clinic’s health professionals.

I hope this blog helps you or someone you care for take the critical step to good health!

Jeff & Bonnie

www.pjstory.com

TOP TEN BENEFITS OF SOY

Looking for reasons to add healthy soy to your diet? Here's the top 10 reasons:

1. Antioxidant. Soy has two important antioxidant components; genistein and phytic acid. Soy also blocks the formation of nitrosamines, dangerous carcinogens leading to liver cancer, better than acorbate (vitamin C) which is currently added to cured meats to protect the consumer.
2. Breast Cancer. Asain women who eat a great deal more soy than Western women also have a much lower incidence of breast cancer. Also, in lab studies soy compounds inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells.
3. Cholesterol Lowering. A number of studies have shown that adding soy to the diet lowers cholesterol significantly, especially in people with elevated levels.
4. Colon Cancer. Several studies indicate significantly lower incidences of colon cancer in persons who consume soy regularly.
5. Hip Fractures. Based on the 50 percent lower number of hip fractures in Japanese women, the reduced amount of calcium found in urine of soy eaters, and the weak estrogen effect of soy, it is hypothesized that some property of soy may help to retain bone mass.
6. Hot Flashes. Japanese women don't have a word for hot flashes. It is proposed that weak estrogen effects soothe the symptoms of the withdrawal that characterizes menopause.
7. Immunity. Studies show that peptides (amino acid chains) enhance immune response.
8. Kidney Disease. Soy protein is thought to be easier on the kidneys than animal protein. Thus, substituting soy protein may slow down or prevent kidney damage in people with impaired kidney function.
9. Lung Cancer. At least one study (1500 subjects) shows an inverse relationship between lung cancer incidence and soy consumption.
10. Prostate Cancer. Epidemiological studies and in vitro studies with genistein, an iso-flavone found in soy, indicate that soy inhibits the growth of prostate tumor cells.

According to Earl Mindell's Soy Miracle References: Nutrition News

Independently certified (called the Identity Preserved Program), ensures that our soybeans are free from exposure to genetically modified soybeans. From seed to shelf, you can trust this soy.

Protein Shakes Help Outsmart Diabetes

Nutrition in the News

The constant struggle diabetics face to monitor and maintain stable blood sugar levels may have just become much easier, according to a new European study. Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 82, No. 1, 76-83, July 2005?), the study found that supplementing high-glycemic meals with protein shake supplements helped keep blood sugar levels near their normal levels in many type 2 diabetics.

When the shakes were replaced with other protein sources, such as lean meats, the stabilizing effect was much more muted. Researchers plan further studies on the ability of low-glycemic foods such as protein shake powder to achieve a muting effect on blood sugar after the consumption of particularly starchy foods.

Ed. Note: Thanks to Tony Vallentine for finding and sharing this information. We have an excellent selection of low-glycemic protein shakes. For more information go to:
Soy Protein
Meal Shakes
Slim Plan

In addition our Weight Management Program incorporates the latest research and science on the glycemic index (G.I.) For more information go to our Weight loss center!

Preparing for the Upcoming Cold & Flu Season

Recently both the Senate Majority and Minority leader appeared together on ABC-TV’s Nightline to discuss the importance of becoming aware and preparing for a potential deadly flu strain. Called avian flu, scientists’ recent discovery of the strain showing up in migratory birds raises the fear that the virus could spread beyond East Asia.

That makes this upcoming cold and flu season even more important for us to have our immune systems functioning at the highest possible level and using a full spectrum of nutritional support to keep our bodies functioning at peak efficiency.

About six weeks ago Shaklee introduced Nutriferon, the world’s first natural interferon booster. Nutriferon targets specific immune nourishment to enhance the production of natural interferon in your body. Interferon is a natural substance produced in the body that signals neighboring cells and triggers their defense mechanisms, and it activates other immune cells that kill invading pathogens. Nutriferon provides the highest level of immune protection on the market today and optimizes immune response against environmental irritants and airborne substances.

As important as Nutriferon is, there are other critical nutrients you can take to build up your overall health defenses. Shaklee’s Essentials Foundation is the best, most complete nutritional program you can find. It comes with both the Shaklee Basics daily vita-strips and Energizing Protein to provide the critical nutrients your body needs to build healthy cells. With the Essential Foundation you get Shaklee’s legendary Vita-Lea multivitamin, that supports the immune system. And Sustained Release Vita-C and Vita-E Complex, two potent antioxidant vitamins that help maintain natural antioxidant defenses. Plus Energizing Soy Protein, the healthiest source of natural, biologically complete protein to keep you energized and feeling your best.

For the most powerful antioxidant protection you can buy, Shaklee CarotoMax® and Shaklee FlavoMax™ Antioxidant Pack delivers a 30-day supply of whole-body antioxidant protection. CarotoMax contains the six most important classes of carotenoids, while FlavoMax provides the six key classes of flavonoids. Combined, they are nature's antioxidant powerhouses, protecting your cells and DNA from free radical attacks.

Shaklee’s Defend & Resist Complex is another important product to keep in your medicine cabinet to quickly supercharge your immune system the moment you feel anything coming on or to lessen the severity and minimize the downtime should a cold develop. It gives you four clinically proven immune-supporting ingredients:

1. echinacea
2. black elderberry
3. larch tree
4. zinc

Each supports, enhances, and promotes a healthy immune response.

Finally, Immunity Formula I® provides the essential nutrients for healthy immune function. Starting with your biggest weapon - your skin - Immunity Formula I provides zinc, vitamins E and C, and beta carotene to maintain the health of this first line of defense. In addition, it protects on the inside with beta-carotene, vitamins C, E, B6, B12, and folic acid, as well as mineral support from copper, selenium, and zinc. Full nutrient potency is guaranteed with ShakleeGuard®, a patented blend of antioxidants and rosemary extract.

So how much immune supplement protection do you need? It depends on your lifestyle, diet and health history. If you are often stressed and/or fatigued, chances are your immune system is weakened and you need more immune supplementation. If you have a poor diet that rarely includes fresh fruits and vegetables you may want to supplement more to build both your overall health and your immune system. If you frequently catch colds or consider being sick two or three times a year normal, you should consider extra immune supplementation. And finally, if you just want to be prudent and take a preventative approach to health especially during the flu season, you’ll want to take additional immune supplementation.

Soy 'stops cancer and baldness'

Researchers believe the molecule could help treat baldness

Scientists have claimed that eating soy could help prevent men from developing prostate cancer and from going bald.

US researchers found a molecule produced in the intestine when soy is digested stops a hormone which can fuel prostate growth or cause baldness.

Writing in the journal Biology of Reproduction, they said the finding could explain why Japanese men, who eat more soya, rarely have prostate cancer.

They said the molecule could be used as a treatment for cancer and baldness.

The team found that the molecule, equol, "handcuffs" the male hormone DHT - a byproduct of testosterone.

The researchers say this could be particularly important for men who have been diagnosed with either an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia), or cancer of the prostate.

DHT has also been implicated in research into the causes of male pattern baldness.

Other drugs developed in recent years aimed at blocking the effect of DHT have been developed.

But these drugs, which stopped an enzyme converting testosterone into DHT, were found to cause side effects.

'Holy grail'

The US researchers found equol does not prevent DHT from being made, but it does stop it functioning.

They carried out two experiments on rats which showed injecting equol into male rats reduced the size of the prostate.

In one, the testes of male rats were removed, so they produced no DHT. When investigators injected DHT into rats, their prostates grew.

When they injected rats with both equol and DHT, the equol prevented the DHT from functioning as it normally would - as a stimulator of prostate growth.

Professor Robert Handa, from Colorado State's College of Veterinary Medicine, who led the research, said: "Directly binding and inactivating DHT without influencing testosterone gives equol the ability to reduce many of the harmful effects of androgens [male hormones] without affecting the beneficial ones."

Dr Kenneth Setchell, of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, who first identified the potential of equol 20 years ago, said: "These findings are of immense clinical importance because blocking the action of the potent male hormone DHT has been one of the holy grails of the pharmaceutical industry as a strategy for treating prostate cancer and other related diseases."

He said the soy molecule did this "very effectively."

A spokesman for Cancer Research UK told BBC News Online: "One third of all cancers are thought to be linked to diet but it is not known exactly which components of our diet protect against cancer or indeed place us at increased risk.

"We do know that countries with a high intake of soy in their diet, such as Japan, tend to have lower rates of prostate cancer and some other types, with the active ingredients in soy thought to be isoflavones.

"There's a lot of research into whether isoflavones can be used to prevent the spread of prostate cancer, which usually develops slowly."

He added: "This study is interesting in that it raises the possibility of using a metabolite of isoflavones as a preventative agent against prostate cancer, which is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer in British men."

Older adults are deficient in essential vitamins and minerals

We know that older adults are generally deficient in essential vitamins and minerals that help to stave off age-related diseases and even early death. Theresa A. Marshall, M.D. and colleagues published a study in the 2001 issue of Nutrition indicating that nutritional deficiencies greatly increase with age, and that supplement use eliminates these deficiencies in the elderly.

The researchers studied 420 seniors over the age of 78 and found:

• 80 percent of them consumed inadequate amounts of at least four nutrients.
• 75 percent did not consume enough folate, an important nutrient for heart disease and stroke prevention.
• 83 percent did not consume enough vitamin D
• 63 percent ate a calcium -deficient diet.

In another study, conducted between 1981-1984,researchers assessed the nutritional status of 747 non-institutionalized Massachusetts residents aged 60 years. Nine to 12 years later, the researchers examined the associations between intake of antioxidants (carotenoids and vitamins C and E) and mortality in this group of seniors. The results indicated that high intakes and plasma levels of antioxidant-rich vegetables and of supplemental vitamin C are protective against early mortality, and death from heart disease.

Overview:Nutritive Options for the Aging Population

Following is a reference guide that highlights the key nutrients that are associated with the prevention and/or treatment of prevalent health challenges that the aging population faces today, as described throughout this section.

Nutritive Options for the Aging Population (aged 50+)
A Quick Reference Guide

General Support: Calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C, folate, and a multiple vitamin/mineral supplement
Alzheimer Disease: Spinach, grape seed extract, vitamin E, vitamin B12, folate, vitamin C, vitamin K, and a multiple vitamin/mineral supplement
Cataracts: Vitamin A
Cognitive Function: Vitamin B12, folate, Vitamin C, vitamin E, and spinach
Gastritis and Low Stomach Acid: Vitamin B12
Heart Disease: B vitamin complex, including vitamin B12 and folate
Immune Health: Multiple vitamin/mineral supplement, thiamine, vitamin E and selenium
Macular Degeneration: Vitamin C, vitamin E, Zinc, and a multiple vitamin/mineral supplement
Memory: Soy protein


Learn to Maximize Memory & Brain Power

The Perfect Multi for People 50+

Dr. Shaklee developed his first multivitamin product called Vitalized Minerals all the way back in 1915. Since then Shaklee’s Vita-Lea has been the gold standard for millions of customers. What makes Vita-Lea the perfect multi is the high quality of its ingredients, backed by an astonishing 349 quality tests on this one product alone!

Plus a formulation that stays up to date with the latest scientific knowledge. The newest addition to the Vita-Lea family is Vita-Lea Gold a specially formulated multivitamin/multimineral supplement designed to meet the nutritional need of people 50 years and older.

In addition to providing 23 essential nutrients at clinically proven levels, Vita-Lea Gold’s comprehensive and balanced formula addresses four key concerns for people over 50:

1. vision
2. bone health
3. energy
4. foundation for a longer, healthier life.

Vita-Lea Gold has more bone-building nutrients to preserve bone integrity, including double the Vitamin D to help reduce osteoporosis and hip fractures. It also delivers increased Zinc for eyes and immunity health and increased B-Vitamins to compensate for lower absorption as we age. Absorption of nutrients becomes critical as we age. A recent article in (JAMA) the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that people over sixty absorb certain vitamins and minerals better from supplements than even from food! Vita-Lea Gold compensates for the slower absorption rates of nutrients of people 50 and older by delivering a patented, bioactivated absorption system for folic acid to ensure increased absorption, which supports healthy DNA replication. Finally, Vita-Lea Gold is the only multi with added n-acetylcysteine, an amino acid that helps protect against free radical damage, a potential cause of premature aging.

Available in formulation with or without vitamin K the latter to accommodate those who may be taking blood-thinning medication, Vita-Lea Gold is the champion of graceful aging!

Vita-Lea Gold will be available to order on September 13, 2005.

Compare Vita-Lea Gold to other leading brands

If you're under 50, we've got the perfect multivitamin for you too!

Breakthorugh Immune Protection

Shield Yourself Daily

Everyday we read about concerns over SARS, Avian Flu, and worse. We have been warned that these deadly viruses could cause world wide pandemics, yet we have no effective vaccines or treatments. While these dangers may seem remote, the fact is that every day we breathe, eat, touch, or share millions of dangerous microbes. It is only our immune system that protects us from their harmful effects. In addition, every day dozens of cells in our body become cancerous and we rely on our immune system to zap them before they can form tumors.

But the World Health Organization warns that immunity is the number one health concern of the 21^st century. Our immune systems are under attack from pollutants, from the foods we eat and from our lifestyle. Stress, lack of sleep, smoking, caffeine, obesity, too little exercise and too much exercise all weaken our immune system. Our immune system also naturally weakens as we age unless we take steps to reverse this process.

So what can we do to protect ourselves from dangerous and deadly microbes and cancer? Fortunately Shaklee has the perfect answer - NutriFeron. The story of NutriFeron goes back 40 years ago to Dr. Yosuhiko Kojima, who discovered interferon. Interferon is a master hormone-like substance that stimulates and balances the immune system. When our body is under attack, either from microbes or cancer cells, our bodies produce interferon. Interferon then calls the cells of the immune system to action and orchestrates our immune response. Interferon is so potent that pharmaceutical companies produce it artificially via genetic engineering and it is successfully used to treat various kinds of cancer. But this genetically engineered interferon is also incredibly toxic.

Dr. Kojima was widely honored for discovering interferon, but he saw the toxicity of the genetically engineered interferon and set out to find a way to stimulate the body to produce interferon naturally. Dr. Kojima and his colleagues spent the next 40 years testing over 200 natural herbal extracts to perfect what we now have as NutriFeron. NutriFeron stimulates the body to produce its own natural interferon with no side effects. The interferon in turn stimulates the body to produce more macrophages, natural “killer cells”, and other white blood cells and strengthens the immune system, all within three days. But it doesn’t stop there. If your immune system is out of balance, it modulates, (i.e., balances) your immune system within 6 to 8 weeks. Finally it also helps modulate your endocrine (i.e., hormone) system.

This incredible product is backed by 4 published clinical studies which show that it:

• Decreases both the symptoms and levels of virus in the blood of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.
• Increases interferon levels and decreases symptoms of mild nasal allergy or hay fever.
• Normalizes hormone levels and decreases menopausal symptoms in post menopausal women. In this study it also lowered blood pressure, plasma triglycerides and LDL cholesterol in this group of post-menopausal woman.
• Reduces abdominal cramps, low back pain, swollen breasts, acne, breast pain, constipation, nervousness, sleepiness, short temper and improves concentration in women with premenstrual symptoms (PMS).

Best of all, now that Shaklee has the world-wide rights to NutriFeron.

No one else has anything remotely like NutriFeron. Dr. Kojima’s formulation has more immune reactive polysaccharides than any other product on the market, yet it is incredibly safe. This is a product that most of us will want to add to our daily health routine to help protect ourselves from microbes and cancer, to balance our immune system and balance our hormone levels. More importantly, this is a unique, once in a lifetime product that has the potential to significantly improve people’s health.

Below are two links one to the NutriFeron page on our web site http://www.shaklee.net/pjstory/prodNuFeronHome and one to The Center for Immune Research http://www.naturalinterferon.com. These will help you understand how natural interferon functions in our body and how NutriFeron boosts your body’s production of natural interferon, optimizing your natural immune response process.

Let's share the story.

Jeff & Bonnie