USANA Expert Advice: Staying Healthy the Natural Way This Christmas

In our previous blog, we shared some practical tips from USANA Associates about how to find a balance between indulgence and health this summer. This time, we’d like to share some tips from USANA experts, Brenda Rogers, USANA’s Training & Development Manager, Qualified Naturopath, and Sheila Zhou, USANA’s Health Product Expert & Technical Scientist

The underlying principle of Dr. Myron Wentz’ extraordinary understanding of the cell and how it impacts our health, is: the body cures itself.

But we need to give it the right resources to do this! And this is what cellular nutrition is all about – giving the body the nutrients it needs to do its job, for example the liver needs sulfur, the immune system needs Vitamin C, the blood needs B12, the nerves need calcium. Then, on top of all that for effective absorption sulfur needs the B vitamins, Vitamin C needs calcium and magnesium, vitamin B12 needs good digestive function and calcium needs magnesium and phosphorus. WOW!

So, while we know how vital it is these days to supplement our diet with additional nutrients, we also know that optimal health will not occur without the hand of nature and that a healthier diet is essential.

So this summer, take the opportunity to improve your health. Here are 5 challenges for you for over the summer and Christmas period:

1. Improve your eating habits. It doesn’t have to be huge. You could simply swap white rice for brown rice, or replace soft drinks with water (or herbal tea or Rev3, or water with mint leaves or water with lemon juice – just for a few ideas). Or add a soup or salad to your evening meals 2 or 3 times a week. Every little improvement counts.

2. Try adding a freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juice to your diet once a week – carrot and apple with ginger is divine.

3. Experiment with new fruits and vegetables. Have you ever tried Jerusalem artichoke? Do you know how fabulous lychees are? Go on, try something new!

4. Grow something. Grow a herb, grow lettuce, grow anything. Even if you fail and the thing dies on you, you’ll have a greater appreciation of the growth and preparation of food – how much work it is and how precious the food is that we put in our bodies.

5. Exercise a little more. It helps digestion, it gives us energy, it helps circulate the blood. Use the longer days to add in a bike ride after work, or a swim at lunch time or a yoga class over the weekend. We are deluded if we think exercise is optional! It’s not.

In health.

– Brenda Rogers

While summer means fun in the sun, holidays, barbecues, outdoor activities, and much more; it could also mean sunburn, dehydration, and over-indulgence. In addition to eating a healthy balanced diet, staying healthy for the summer season requires 3 simple rules – hydration, sunscreen, and antioxidants.

Drink fluids throughout the day – Water is essential to ensure the proper functioning of your body. Adequate fluid intake is particularly important during summer month to prevent dehydration. Sweating in hot days can cause dehydration, loss of electrolytes, and muscle fatigue. Take bottles of water with you when you go out. Make sure that you replenish electrolytes such as potassium from your diet.

Slip, Slap, Slop – Sunburn is not only unpleasant but also unhealthy. UV radiation is the major cause of skin aging and can induce skin cancer. Use a good broad spectrum SPF30+ sunscreen to protect the skin from the short- and long-term effects of UV radiation, and re-apply it frequently during the day. Always wear protective clothing, a hat and sunglasses when going out in the sun.

Add antioxidant to your diet – Too much fun in the sun can induce extensive generation of free radicals from UV radiation, thus increases oxidative stress in the body. Under these circumstances, many antioxidants undergo depletion and must be replenished continuously.

Free radicals have been implicated in the development of many chronic disease as well as aging. Antioxidants counteract the toxic effects of free radicals in human body through physiological and biochemical mechanisms.

Fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, olive oil and tea are all rich sources of antioxidants. Throughout summer, lots of fruits and vegetables come into season. It is a great time to eat plentiful and variety of fresh seasonal produce, as antioxidants in food have varied biological potency, and have synergistic and interdependent effects on one another. A broad spectrum antioxidant supplement that contains various antioxidants is another great way to effectively boost the antioxidant levels in the body, and to protect your body against the damaging effect of oxidative stress.

– Sheila Zhou