I took a bit of a holiday from personal blogging (and the comment spam) to concentrate on other writing. However, I thought I would start again, just in time for the beginning of the 2011 new year. 

A few updates on the health front:

Healthy choices in food and vitamins can go a long way.

Juice Plus+ - I tried Juice Plus+ and as a consumer, I can honestly say I'm undecided. I can't vouch for its benefits, but I don't believe it's a waste of money, either. I like their business model and even a little effort as a distributor can reap the equivalent in rewards.

Vitamins - Usana vitamin products have proven to be a good choice for me personally. I especially like the BioOmeg (Omega 3) product. I physically felt the effects which reduces inflammation better than many over the counter and prescription drugs, but without the side effects. After researching and learning about the health benefits of Omega 3, I decided to try brands other than Usana. After all, omega 3 is omega 3, right? Well, sort of. I have to admit the brands that I tried over the months were those that I could conveniently pick up at health food or vitamin store chains. However, I also have to admit that they were not as effective. I could tell the difference. So, I'm back to ordering Usana and I highly recommend the vitamins (Essentials) and BioiOmega. I have a post on the benefits of Omega 3, things I found out through my research and doctor feedback.  Vitamins are a good place to start for overall health, but just make sure they are potent and effective. Besides Omega 3, antioxidants are another great choice for getting on track for a healthy body.

Hair - I found a new hair product that has been great for me. Wen Hair Care. I like the Fig cleansing conditioner, which I chose because of my specific hair type. I also followed directions completely. I really, really like it. I also purchased the Sweet Almond Mint, but I haven't tried it yet. I'll report back when I do. Check out the Wen website and if you chose to try the product for yourself, just make sure you match your hair type with the correct product.

Weight Loss - I heard about HCG from a friend who had lost about 30 pounds in two and half to three months. She had always be a little heavy and was ecstatic about losing this weight so easily. Another person lost about 70 -80 pounds in about five months. However, this person looks a little sickly. Perhaps she lost it too fast. Plus, I don't think she's taking enough vitamins. I want to try this, but as with any weight loss program researching it is critical. Everything is not for everybody. Also, finding out it is the hormone produced in pregnant women and is harvested from the urine of pregnant women, was a bit of a turn off. As well as the unfortunate side effects and health risks. The total daily calorie count on this diet is around 500.

Now, for the record, there is a synthetic version of this hormone available for purchase and use in the HCG program. Also, for the record, some of the side effects can be minimum and/or emulate those of pregnancy. I'm backing out of this for the moment, but I have a friend on a quest to lose 100 pounds and has decided to commit to this program. I will certainly give my account of my friend's journey. I'm making them take Usana and raise their calorie count to 800 since I've learned this can be an acceptable number. 500 is dangerously low - like pass out low. Personally, I will keep up with Zumba, Usana vitamins (needed more because of Zumba is hard on my knees!!!) and cutting out sugar while adding more veggies and fruit. However, I told my friend that I will keep an open mind about HCG.

Skin - I tried the line of Isomer skin care which is supposed to help with signs of aging amongst other things. I personally had zero changes in texture, clarity, freshness, elasticity, or within the eye area. I do mean zero..nothing..zilch. I cannot express my complete disappointment after using this line of products for months and spending hundreds of dollars. Right now, I'm using skin care products that I would label as "ok". I'm still looking for a product line that I love, love, love so much that yes, I will want to marry it. Of course, first I have to find it. My expensive quest continues.

I received my Juice Plus+   and it came in only three days which was a surprise ( I was told it would take about 7 days). So officially this is my first day. They send you a four month supply but bill you (auto debit) monthly. So the first payment is taken at the time of shipment and the next payment is taken in 30 days. When it’s time for the next shipment, it’s your rep’s job to call you and make sure it’s ok to ship out another four months. The good news is that you can cancel at anytime and stop the monthly charges by returning the unopened bottles.  

They do charge you a four month processing fee of $4.00 and the total shipping charges were $7.00. Both charges are incorporated into the monthly billing amount.

Now in my shipment, I also received a free four month supply for my son. So all together that’s 16 bottles – 8 Orchard Blend (fruit) and 8 Garden Blend (vegetables). The dosage is two fruit and two vegetable pills each day.

The free supply is available for a child (age 4-18) or college student (up to age 22) with a paying adult (BOGO- buy one get one free). The catch is you have to participate in their children’s study. They sent a Children’s Health Study enrollment questionnaire which consists of 36 questions. The questions are a mix of basic information (child’s age, weight), the child’s diet, the child’s health (medications, wellness visits), school attendance and extra curricular activities.  I think it’s worth participating in exchange for the free health supplements.

Now I read lots of labels nowadays. (I like to see if I can pronounce the stuff I’m putting in my body) and I was struck by this information on each bottle:

However, one thing that is added is lactobacillus acidophilus which is a “good” bacteria normally found in the intestines and vagina (yes, you read that correctly).  As a dietary supplement, it’s supposed to enhance the immune system. There are other uses for this bacteria when taken orally (it’s used to treat urinary tract infections), however it hasn’t been approved by the FDA as a health supplement. On the other hand, this bacterium is commonly used in dairy products such as yogurt. There may be side effects such as bloating, nausea and stomach discomfort but if you can eat yogurt, you should be okay.

Here’s my first concern already with Juice Plus +. Will I actually be able to tell if something good is happening? I don’t have a health problem like when I first used Usana vitamins, so how will I know to give it thumbs up or down or sideways for that matter?

Hmmm…I want to be fair but I want to be honest. I know people always report that they have so much energy when starting a new health regimen; however that has never impressed me. I mean, unless you transition from laying on the couch, barely having enough energy to wipe the Cheetos crumbs from your chest to training to run local marathons, I usually completely discount claims of more energy. Besides, I get plenty of energy from chocolate donuts with sprinkles and…uh…I’m pretty sure that’s not something to brag about.

Well, I just have to report what happens. I just hope it’s more than a few bursts of energy.

By the way, the Juice Plus company does not claim to be equal to eating whole foods, just the next best thing.

First the only reason I have shown any interest in this product is because a good, long time friend spoke to me about it. No sales pressure (that’s not her style). She simply shared her own experience with Juice Plus+ after I shared my personal experience with Usana. However, I have looked into this product enough to want to give it a try.

When taking vitamins, our bodies only absorb around 15%. Usana products seem to be highly concentrated and contain amounts greater than the U.S. recommended daily/dietary allowance for vitamins and minerals. (I was actually concerned about this when I first started taking them – especially vitamin A as too much can be toxic.) Consequently, because of quality and quantity, I was probably absorbing higher amounts and benefited. However, I was taking 14 pills a day.

Juice Plus+ is not a vitamin supplement product as we know it. It is basically concentrated whole foods in pill form. Their claim is that they have a process to reduce whole foods to nutrient rich juice, convert it to pill form and still maintain the healthy quality.

Juice Plus + is trying to give the benefits of whole foods, which contains a variety of vitamins and minerals in pill form. While vitamin supplements try to reproduce (often synthetically) specific vitamins and nutrients, usually in pill form. Juice Plus+ requires taking just 4 pills a day for healthy results. 

So far I’ve found the following to be favorable reasons to use Juice Plus+”

Cost – It’s fairly economical

Children’s Program- Right now they have a program that allows children to get their vitamins for three years free. In other words, for each paying adult, a child receives their supply at no extra cost.  The current program is for children ages 4 -18 and full time college students up to age 22. For parents of children who don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables this is extra incentive.

Independent Research – The have been independently researched by multiple universities in different countries. The research was done as double blind placebo clinical studies and the findings supported health benefits to the immune system, cardiovascular wellness and delivering antioxidants to reduce harmful oxidative stress. (Oxidative stress is involved in many diseases, including heart failure. (I haven’t personally read up on the reports, yet).

Most people probably hear terms such as antioxidants and free radicals as it relates to anti-aging products. However, lots of people don’t exactly understand it so here’s a good explanation by Dr Richard E. DuBois (former Chief of Internal Medicine Atlanta Medical Center):

“When you burn a pile of wood, you get smoke. When your body burns fuel, oxidation occurs. You’ve got billions of cells. Each one of those cells gets thousands of oxidative hits every single day. You’ve go to have some antioxidants there to fight that kind of oxidation.”

So in other words, think of what would happen if you created a fire pit in your living room and kept a continuous fire going. The smoke damage that would occur in your home (body) is the oxidation. The floating soot that would find its way to your walls (skin) would be considered the destructive free radicals. So the importance of antioxidants to slow or prevent oxidation is not overstated.

The timing between my last Usana vitamin and my first Juice Plus+ will be at least thirty days. I want to keep up with the Usana Omega 3 product, but for now, I’ve back off of that, too.

Wish me luck!

Usana vitamins - Good product or good scam? A personal account and review of the product and company.

I had previously blogged (posts have been removed) about my road to recovery from having multiple bulging discs and sciatica (and spinal bone degeneration was thrown in after my x-rays).  My mode of transportation around my house was crawling on my hands and knees and the thought of going on simple outings would bring on such anxiety that I often opted to just stay home. The pain was chronic and severe and the frustration of not being able to stand up straight or stand long enough to fry an egg was mounting. For the first time in my life, I used a wheelchair. 

I was given multiple prescriptions for chronic pain and inflammation and other symptoms but they didn’t work for me. So the next step was MORE pills and stronger prescriptions with even more side effects. Honestly, while taking more powerful pills was tempting, I just refused to accept the status of my health given to me by the doctors. (Actually, I got mad – see The Trouble w/Doctors post) The drugs designed to “take the edge off” had harmful side effects and quite possibly I would have take medication to counter act the effects of my other medication. Hmmm...this was not how I envisioned my life, so on to less invasive treatment which included healthier behavior.

I had been approached out of the blue by a Usana rep. She told me the story of a woman with fibromyalgia who was on multiple medications but was only relieved of pain after using Usana vitamins. Now ordinarily I would have thought, “Yeah, ok. Anything to sell me on this.”  However, I did want to begin a healthy diet regimen, so I thought “why not?”

I became an associate so that I would get sales credit for anything I bought but first I had to research the company. I didn’t really like what I found out about their business practices. For instance, some would label this company’s practices as a “pyramid scheme” while others refer to it as a multilevel networking. What’s the difference? Just your perspective. You build yourself up on the backs of the people that you bring into the business and place under you. Those people then bring others into the business beneath them for you to profit on as well (think of building a human pyramid like cheerleaders). The more people brought into the business under your business line, the more money you make. The money flows up so someone is standing on your back and making money off of you and your associate line, too.

Now, I don’t necessarily have a problem with this since every profitable business is built practically the same way. Every time I buy a product, the money flows up and the guy at the top reaps the biggest benefits. My problem with many pyramid schemes is that most of the products are mediocre with a high price tag. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what the product is, (you could be selling ocean water to a drowning man), because the object is to sell a piece of the business not the pricey products.  That’s how you make the big money quickly.

My problem with Usana specifically, was their convoluted point system and continued product buying requirements for associates, just to name a couple. However, even with my doubts about working for the company, I didn’t find anything to deter me from using the products. It was a little pricey but I didn’t mind paying the price (it wasn’t outrageously expensive) as long as I would get my money’s worth. In this instance, the bottom line ended up being that I could afford the vitamins but not the chronic, severe pain, so it was worth it to me to give it a try.

I began using the Healthpak 100 which was a packet of pills to be taken in the a.m. and p.m. The packet contained:

Mega antioxidants, chelated minerals, calcium and an “AO Booster” which mostly contain grape-seed extract. (Grape-seed extract alone has a lot of positive health and anti-disease effects). 

The antioxidants and minerals had more than the recommended daily allowances of just about every vitamin and mineral designed to improve health. In addition, I also took their very potent Omega 3 which has its own benefits such as being an anti-inflammatory. I didn't know it when I first started taking it. I just felt the improvement, so I researched Omega 3 benefits. It worked better than the prescription I was given and it came without the side effects. The Healthpake 100 packed a pretty good healthy vitamin punch.

How did it all this work out for me? Well, in the end, I used Usana and I’m now pain free. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.  Would I recommend it to others? Actually, yeah I would recommend it to any health conscious person, even at its current prices. Is there anything about the product (not business practices) that I don’t like? Yep. I don’t like taking 14 pills a day, which is why I’m about to try another product called Juice Plus+. With this product, you only take four pills, (6 with the Omega 3). 

I’m usually of the frame of mind that “if it ain’t broke don’t fix” it but someone I trust is using/selling Juice Plus+ so I’m willing to take a look at it (and blog about it). Of course, even though I trust my sales rep, I still have to research it and try it for myself.  

After using Usana for myself, my final grade of Usana:

Vitamin Product :A –          (more economical pricing would improve the minus)

Business Practices – D+

I watch The Learning Channel (and other similar channels) where they have show documentaries on the super obese (more than 200 lbs over ideal body weight). It can be a very emotional show as it usually focuses around medical procedures to help them lose weight as a matter of life or death. In some instances, even sitting up too fast can cause cardiac arrest. I feel sympathy as I try to understand the long, painful process they will have to endure to reshape their bodies and their health. Some, do not make it as the various complications brings on death. Again, there's sympathy to be had but it's always overshadowed by the question "How did their weight get so out of control?"

If you're an 800 pound woman, what was going on with you at 300 or 400 pounds? I mean, why did it take another 4 or 5 hundred pounds before the decision was made to get help? If you're a 1000 lb man who cannot even move from the bed, why wasn't the decision made at half of that weight (while he could still walk), that continuing his current lifestyle would be self defeating?

The other question is at a certain point, the super-super obese cannot take care of themselves. They need someone to bring them food. The problem is the food served is such that it sustains or actually cause weight gain. That's not such an easy task when the food consumed in one day is the equivalent to the amount an average weight person eats in 5 to 7 days. I don't understand completely why loved ones help to create or continue the unhealthy and many times deadly habits on the super-super obese. Of course, enabling is often an emotional issue. I just don't completely understand it.

On another note, the documentary "The 650 Pound Virgin" follows a young man who lost 410 without gastric bypass surgery. He did it the old fashion way of diet and exercise and it all started with a decision, his decision, to change. 

It happened suddenly. I felt a pain deep in my …well…my “derrière” to be polite. I had felt it before but usually while under stress so I thought it was somehow related to anxiety. So while it was familiar, something was a little different. It felt as if something had shifted and while that cannot be confirmed, I can tell you that my temporary pain that I assumed was stress related was lingering and it was debilitating. I couldn’t stand or walk for more than five minutes. After personal research, lots of doctor visits for a complete medical workup, six different ineffective prescriptions and physical therapy, I was sent to an orthopedic surgeon. That guy set me on a path to personal health management which includes a serious quest for weight loss. How did he do that? By snatching whatever faith I had in doctors or medicine away from me like the guy who never pays grabbing the last piece of pizza - your're amazed at how little he cares.

I haven’t officially been diagnosed but it’s a version of sciatica. My discs in my spine are compressing the sciatic nerve. Stretching my spine and allowing the weight of my body to stretch my spine (ex from seated position raising my body up and being supported only by my hands) is the only physical behavior that provides relief.

Anyway, the orthopedic doctor was uninterested (he’s certainly seen it before) and gave me the same options and information I found out myself on the internet: anti-inflammatories, needle to the spine, back surgery or heavy narcotics. He told me it all with a shrug of his shoulders with a “s--- happens” look in his eyes. I let him know I wasn’t interested in invasive procedures and narcotics were out of the question. He had no answers, no alternatives and I felt his impatience looming. It was as if I was making him late for a golf game.

I asked him about a chiropractor and he said some of his patients have experienced relief but insurance didn’t cover it. Number one, I didn’t ask him if insurance covered it (by the way my insurance does cover it).  Number two, is that why he didn’t mention it to me – no insurance?  How thoughtful of him to think about money or what he believed I could afford before actually thinking about what might be good for my health.

I asked him about acupuncture. Oh sure that’s an option he tells me and again he let me know some of his patients have found relief with that option. So why didn’t he tell me that? Insurance concerns, again? I wasn’t asking for his endorsement of any procedure, but I was paying for his consultation.  His patients reported back to him positively on non-invasive procedures. He should have volunteered that information when I asked for options.

I asked how long I should take the NSAID - as long as you need it (another shrug of his shoulder). No warning from him that prolonged use can cause other health issues like stomach bleeding. (He can warn me about issues of insurance but not health?) I didn’t ask about weight loss since I already knew the answer to that too. Although I’m not exactly overweight, I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of telling me I could lose a few pounds. That visit was like a bad, bad date - except I was paying.

So after all the doctor visits and especially this last doctor visit, I have now decided that there are other options. I’m getting healthier and rebuilding my body from the inside out and it starts today. My plans can't be any worse than the doctors.