Increase in vitamin sales during economic recession!

I found this article about the increase in vitamin and nutritional supplement sales during the economic down-turn to be extremely interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/business/05vitamins.html?_r=2&hp

People are going to the shops or other sources to purchase vitamins as "insurance" for their health as they have been increasing numbers that cannot afford the health insurance here in the United States. But how do you know what is considered to be a good vitamin? by what standards can you judge a vitamin supplement's quality or effectiveness? By large, most vitamins found in supermarket shelves or the industry in general are not worth taking.

The article by Alex Williams indicates that "growing interest in vitamins and herbs as a logical extension of the concept of “consumer-directed health care” — the idea that people will take more preventative measures if their insurance deductibles are set higher — which has been working its way from conservative policy circles toward the mainstream over the last 20 years.

If you want to find out how your vitamins rank out of over 1500 products, you can check out the NutriSearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, 4th edition. This is the most complete 3rd party guide out there that was commissioned by the Canadian government to determine which vitamins were worth taking. This was to enable their citizens to make more informed choices about vitamin supplements in the over-cluttered market-place.

REV 3 Energy drink

Energy drinks have made for an interesting discussion about whether they are good or bad for you. For the most part, the news about energy drinks is not positive as they do impact on your health in negative ways.

There was a very interesting article written by Katherine Ponder that appeared in last month's Direct Selling News "Buzz in the Biz: Energy Products Energize the Market,". USANA's Rev3 Energy™ is discussed along with several of the leading competing energy drinks in the marketplace.

According to Dan Macuga in his Usana blog, USANA is definitely on track with its energy drink. He also mentioned that it is imperative to remind ourselves about the fact there are so many energy drink choices on the market today and that USANA's REV 3 is establishing itself as a leading healthy alternative in the multi-billion dollar energy drink industry.

REV 3 contains no preservatives, artificial colors, flavours or sweeteners. The article by Katherine Ponder also points out that REV 3 contains "antioxidants, thermogenic agents, low-glycemic sugars and vitamins and minerals to support the body at the cellular level."

The majority of the article discusses ways in which direct-selling companies market their energy-drink products and Usana's Rev3 is already making an impact in what is a crowded marketplace, but its potential is enormous. One of the significant advantages that Usana's REV 3 has over big-name energy drink manufacturers and that is the ability to personalise REV 3 through people's network of friends and colleagues. The trust factor is there and it is very easy to make product demonstrations.

Katherine Ponder concludes in her article: "Direct sellers are undeniably in the energy product market. They’re taking advantage of the need for healthier alternatives, convenience, scientific testing and personalized marketing. This is absolutely a market that is set to continue its growth and continue shifting into new phases."

Glucosamine better alternative than ibuprofen!

Research finds glucosamine as effective as ibuprofen for treating TMJ pain

At a Glance Research published in the Journal of Rheumatology compared the effects and benefits of glucosamine sulfate and ibuprofen in patients diagnosed with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritis. The temporomandibular joint or the joint of the jaw is frequently referred to as TMJ. Read more about this study below.

The randomized double-blind study included 45 adults that received either glucosamine sulfate at 1,500 mg per day or ibuprofen at 1,200 mg per day for 90 days. Assessments included: TMJ pain with function, pain-free, and voluntary maximum mouth opening, Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) questionnaire, and masticatory (chewing) muscle tenderness. Tests were performed at the beginning and at day 90. Acetaminophen (500 mg) given for breakthrough pain was counted every 30 days to Day 120.

Positive clinical responses were seen in 71% of the glucosamine sulfate group and 61% of the ibuprofen group. Patients taking glucosamine sulfate had a significantly greater decrease in TMJ pain with function, effect of pain, and acetaminophen used between Day 90 and 120 compared with patients taking ibuprofen.

Glucosamine sulfate and ibuprofen both reduced pain levels in patients with TMJ degenerative joint disease, but in this group of patients glucosamine sulfate had a significantly greater influence in reducing both pain produced during function and effect of pain with daily activities. Researchers also noted that glucosamine sulfate had a carryover effect.

J Rheumatology 2001 Jun;28(6):1347-55.

Misconception about supplementation

Dr Ray Strand, who is a leading authority on the use of vitamin supplements, has mentioned that people often have a major miconception about supplementation and most feel that you should expect results within a few days or weeks. He is quoted below:

"There is a major misconception about supplementation. In this era of medication, people believe that they should notice differences within a few days to a week or two. However, nutritional medicine is totally different from allopathic or traditional Western medicine. Nutritional supplements are simply nutrients the body uses in its normal enzymatic reactions. They are not medicines. They are nutrients from our foods, but supplementation allows us to get them at optimal levels that diet alone cannot provide.

It takes between 6 to 12 months to replenish any nutritional deficiency and optimize the body’s natural immune system, antioxidant defense system, and repair system. If you are over 30 years of age or already have a chronic degenerative disease, it may even take longer. This is why I stress over and over that you need to give nutritional supplementation a minimum of 6 months, or even better a year, before you evaluate the benefits. When my patients tell me that they will try using my recommended supplements for a month, I tell them not to even start. If you are not willing to try my recommendations for at least 6 months, you should not even begin".

Glucosamine helps with knee or joint pain

Glucosamine improves function in people experiencing regular knee pain

At a Glance

In a group of adults experiencing regular knee pain, a daily dose of 2,000 mg of glucosamine sulfate reduced pain, improved function, and enhanced quality of life in as little as eight weeks.

Read more about this study below.

USANA.comA study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine examined the effects of glucosamine supplementation on functional ability and chronic knee pain in individuals with previous cartilage damage or osteoarthritis.

Subjects were randomly supplemented with either glucosamine or placebo for 12 weeks at a dose of 2,000 mg per day. Four testing sessions were conducted during the study. Changes in knee pain and function were determined by clinical and functional tests (joint line palpation, a 3 meter "duck walk," and a repeated walking stair climb). Additionally, two different questionnaires were used to evaluate changes in pain.

The glucosamine group was found to have significantly better quality of life scores at weeks 8 and 12 than the placebo group. Based on self-report evaluations of changes during the 12 week supplementation period, 88% of the glucosamine group reported some degree of improvement in their knee pain versus only 17% in the placebo group.

These results suggest that glucosamine supplementation can provide some degree of pain relief and improved function in individuals who experience chronic knee pain due to previous cartilage damage or osteoarthritis. The results also suggest that at a dosage of 2,000 mg per day, the majority of improvements are apparent after eight weeks.

Br J Sports Med 2003 Feb;37(1):45-9

Grape Seed Extract Kills Laboratory Leukemia Cells, Proving Value of Natural Compounds

Source: American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)


An extract from grape seeds forces laboratory leukemia cells to commit cell suicide, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. They found that within 24 hours, 76 percent of leukemia cells had died after being exposed to the extract.

The investigators, who report their findings in the January 1, 2009, issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, also teased apart the cell signaling pathway associated with use of grape seed extract that led to cell death, or apoptosis. They found that the extract activates JNK, a protein that regulates the apoptotic pathway.

While grape seed extract has shown activity in a number of laboratory cancer cell lines, including skin, breast, colon, lung, stomach and prostate cancers, no one had tested the extract in hematological cancers nor had the precise mechanism for activity been revealed.

“These results could have implications for the incorporation of agents such as grape seed extract into prevention or treatment of hematological malignancies and possibly other cancers,” said the study’s lead author, Xianglin Shi, Ph.D., professor in the Graduate Center for Toxicology at the University of Kentucky.

“What everyone seeks is an agent that has an effect on cancer cells but leaves normal cells alone, and this shows that grape seed extract fits into this category,” he said.

Shi adds, however, that the research is not far enough along to suggest that people should eat grapes, grape seeds, or grape skin in excess to stave off cancer. “This is very promising research, but it is too early to say this is chemo-protective.”

Hematological cancers – leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma – accounted for an estimated 118,310 new cancer cases and almost 54,000 deaths in 2006, ranking these cancers as the fourth leading cause of cancer incidence and death in the U.S.

Given that epidemiological evidence shows that eating vegetables and fruits helps prevent cancer development, Shi and his colleagues have been studying chemicals known as proanthocyanidins in fruits that contribute to this effect. Shi has found that apple peel extract contains these flavonoids, which have antioxidant activity, and which cause apoptosis in several cancer cell lines but not in normal cells. Based on those studies, and findings from other researchers that grape seed extract reduces breast tumors in rats and skin tumors in mice, they looked at the effect of the compound in leukemia cells.

Using a commercially available grape seed extract, Shi exposed leukemia cells to the extract in different doses and found the marked effect in causing apoptosis in these cells at one of the higher doses.

They also discovered that the extract does not affect normal cells, although they don’t know why.

The researchers then used pharmacologic and genetic approaches to determine how the extract induced apoptosis. They found that the extract strongly activated the JNK pathway, which then led to up-regulation of Cip/p21, which controls the cell cycle.

They checked this finding by using an agent that inhibited JNK, and found that the extract was ineffective. Using a genetic approach – silencing the JNK gene – also disarmed grape seed extract’s lethal attack in leukemia cells.

“This is a natural compound that appears to have relatively important properties,” Shi said.