Is that Vitamin doing you any good?

I get asked about vitamins and supplements a lot, and especially lately after the media latched onto a study done by the pharmaceutical industry recently about supplements being a waste of money. You may have asked yourself this question too. Am I wasting my money? Does this really help my health? Can it really prevent disease? How can I find a good supplement? How do I know it is working in my body? What should I buy? Where should I start?!……

Before I get into my answers to those questions, my question to you is how is your health? How is your families health? Are you often sick? Colds come and go from one family member to the next? Chronic ear infections? Asthma? Eczema? Allergies? Arthritis? Lack of Energy? Headaches? Weight issues? Depression? Often irritable? Are you just plain old sick of being sick??…..well there IS evidence that many of these things are caused by nutritional deficiencies and CAN be prevented but sometimes food just isn't enough.

I went to an excellent Shaklee conference this past weekend in Chicago. I was really drawn to this conference because of the expert scientists who were to be speaking and I was so glad I went. Two of the main draws for me were Dr. Bruce Daggy and Dr. Stephen Chaney. Both gave excellent and informative talks about dietary supplements and the literature and "urban myths" that the media tends to highlight.

In their talks, I learned that it is so important to really look past the headline. Often they are used to draw you in and sometimes create uncertainty in the reader, but when you really read the content of the article and more importantly the content of the research they may be referring to, most of the time it doesn't really relate to the headline at all! The studies that show the benefits of supplements are not big news so you really don't hear about those. They aren't the latest thing being shared on Facebook. But there are several studies that do show how supplements can help you. So it is always important to….

Dr. Chaney shared how the United States spends more on health care then any other country; yet, we are one of the unhealthiest nations in the world!! 
I spoke with Dr. Chaney after his talk on Friday evening and shared that the topic of his talk can be heard as typical dinner conversation in my home. Some of you may know my husband, Dr. David Colby (no, I don't usually refer to him as Doctor. lol) who has a PharmD as well as a PhD in organic chemistry and is an expert in this area as well. 

David runs a research lab and also teaches at a research-intensive university. He studies natural products and makes them into pharmaceuticals. He also lectures on dietary supplements and knows a heck of a lot about this topic. I learn so much from him about this! When I asked David about this study that made headlines recently about supplements, he had a very casual kind of shoulder shrug response knowing that the media likes to hype up headlines and often what the headline reads has nothing to do with the content of the study or its findings. So to him, it was no big deal at all and he continues to take his vitamins daily just like everyone in my family and knows the benefits in doing that. :)

Dr. Chaney mentioned a number of well-done studies that did show that dietary supplements could help with some of the main health issues in America (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke) and that some forms of these diseases can be prevented.

Dr. Chaney talked about how the whole is better then the sum of its parts. He mentioned this when speaking on colon cancer. Studies show that colon cancer is decreased by a lifestyle that includes: high fiber diet, low fat diet, adequate amounts of calcium intake, B vitamins, exercise and weight control. However, none of these by themselves can decrease your chance of colon cancer. But when put together, studies have shown a tremendous benefit in preventing this disease.

He also talked about an Italian study showing how supplementing with Omega 3 Fatty acids can reduce your risk of a heart attack by 40%! Statin drug studies show to reduce this risk by only 5%.

Supplementation appears to benefit high risk groups of people such as people with nutritional deficiencies due to a poor diet and people with hereditary issues. It is very difficult to show prevention of disease when looking at healthy individuals for several reasons; yet, we could look at the Landmark Nutritional Study done at the Berkley College of Public Health in 2007 as an example of people who are long term users of Shaklee supplements being healthier with lower cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, and overall well-being then people who took no supplements to people who took another brands multivitamin. Dr. Daggy talked about this study and how the Shaklee group had no deficiency in Vitamin D - it was neither too high nor too low. The nutrition was shown in the blood samples taken. The average age of this group was 63, which is interesting because a person doesn't typically think of people in their 60s and up having optimal health and being disease-free! Dr. Daggy said this study carries a lot of weight in the industry because they looked at all of the main health issues in one study.

Dr. Daggy also mentioned a number of studies looking at the health benefits of Vitamin C in the body and how it has been shown to reduce risk of certain diseases like scurvy. 

So what brand is good? How do I know? Dr. Chaney recommends a holistic vitamin brand. One that is tested for bioavailability and is a whole-food supplement rather then synthetic. It may surprise you that the FDA does not police supplement companies. So a supplement maker does not have to put money into research to prove anything it claims on its label! The take away from this is to do your homework. Which I assume you are doing by taking the time to read this. :)

Here is a quick video demonstrating vitamins breaking down in vinegar and a simple test you can do on your own vitamins. They should completely dissolve within 30 minutes or you know they are just passing through your body so in those cases are a waste of your money!

Can we Get our Vitamins from Food alone?

Dr. Daggy talked a lot about why we should supplement. For one, our food supply has a lot of problems and is not what it was 50-100 years ago. Produce is picked before it is ripe and loses nutrition in storage. Our food supply also goes through excessive processing. We live in a fast food, fast paced world. 

And nobody these days really truly eats the optimal diet. I know I don't and we generally eat pretty healthy. Here is a picture of the optimal diet.

It is so hard to do this. And of course there are temptations all around us. So supplementing can help to fill in many of these nutritional gaps in our diets. Many diseases are preventible with proper nutrition and good quality supplements can help with this.

I help people all of the time with their health goals. Prior to taking Shaklee supplements, I was tired, overweight, had a tendency toward depressed moods and attributed it to getting older and chasing after my little boys and normal stresses of life.

I grew up with Shaklee which is the #1 natural nutrition company in the US, and as a kid was rarely sick, but I got away from Shaklee when I went to college, and looking back got sick more often during that time in my life. My husband and I decided to add Shaklee back into our life when we started a family and after he looked into the science and research of Shaklee and was blown away!  I started on Shaklee supplements a few years ago and I am so thankful for the amount of energy I have, how my entire family is rarely sick (kids have never had ear infections!) and when we are we are sick we are able to fight it off quickly. It has impacted not only my energy and immune health but the health of my skin, hair, nails, weight and that of my family too! Life is so much more enjoyable because we are functioning at optimal health.

So if you are sick and tired of being sick and tired maybe I can help. 

If you are and are considering supplements or have questions about them or where to start, let's talk about some good options for you, or contact the person who shared this post with you. Supplementation can have good health benefits when you are choosing the right one for you.

Thanks for reading and I would love to hear from you and your thoughts on this important topic! Do you find benefit of supplements in your diet?

~Rebecca~

B vitamins - Are you getting enough? I wasn't!

Are you getting enough vitamin B in your diet? Most people aren't. I was one of them! I was surprised at this because I feel like I eat a pretty balanced diet and also supplement with Shaklee's Vitalizer food supplements, which contain a sustained release B + C vitamin. This was enough for me most days; however, when my youngest son was born 6 weeks premature last August and spent 19 days in the NICU, my stress level went up so much and my body wasn't handling it well at all!

Even after he was discharged from the hospital, I found my stress levels to be high. My hormones were out of wack from having the baby, pumping, nursing, etc. I wasn't able to hold him, let alone nurse him, for the first week of his life, so my body was pretty confused. I felt like I was going through some sort of post-pardum funk and asked the advice of Joyce Hoffmann, who is a retired nursing supervisor and lifetime master coordinator with Shaklee. Her advice was to increase my vitamin B intake! So I did. I added 3-4 of Shaklee's Vitamin B Complex per day for a few months. And it worked!!! I was out of my funk. I was not nearly as moody and irritable. My husband was so thankful! lol.

Why Vitamin B? B is known as the "stress vitamins" or "happy vitamins". There are several B vitamins - 8 to be exact and they are all in the Shaklee B Complex. (B1 Thiamine, B2 Riboflavin, B3 Niacinamide, B5 Pyridoxine, B12 Cyanocobalamin (which could be lacking for strict vegetarians), Biotin and Folic Acid which is the important one for pregnant women as it reduces the risk of birth defects)

Vitamin B can help immune functioning & antibody production, red blood cells, nerve function & communication, skin, hair, cardio function, cellular energy, hormonal balance (which is what I needed, big time!!), metabolism, digestion, colon function, sleep (another thing that I was needing with a preemie and toddler at home!), brain functioning, learning & memory, and anti-aging (also found in Shaklee's awesome Enfuselle Vitamin Skin Care products.)

Vitamin B is so great for any stress (such as a premature baby in my case!), nervousness, anxiety or panic issues, mood swings, depression of any level, calms hyperactivity, important for good digestion, crucial for weight loss, fatique, headaches, migraines, and so much more!!! It truly is a wonderful group of vitamins that helps us in so many ways! My kids even get it in their Children's Vitamins, which is so important for them too!

How do I know when I am getting enough Vitamin B?

Your urine will tell you through it's bright fluorescent yellow color. If your urine tends to be very pale in color, then you need more Vitamin B! B vitamins are water-soluble so like Vitamin C, they cannot be stored in the body. Everyone's needs differ and change daily.

Why Shaklee? Why not just get it from the drug store or other natural market?

I choose Shaklee supplements because of the science and quality in each of their many products. That is what really impressed my husband, who is a natural product researcher, about Shaklee. The company has been around for over 50 years and is the #1 natural nutrition company in the US. Their B complex is balanced according to the laws of nature and in an optimum ratio for body requirements. This provides greater bioavailability and greater absorption in the body. Shaklee also uses a unique patented processing which incorporates folic acid in the coating of the tablet, which results in high bioavailability. This is unlike anything else on the market that I am aware of. Also, unlike other company's B vitamins, Shaklee's B Complex will not cause a 'niacin flush' of reddness on the face.

I hope that was useful info for you about Vitamin B. So now I must ask, are you getting enough B each day??

And remember that new Shaklee members can get the Sports Nutrition Pack ($75 value) for FREE with a $70 order. Ask me for the details if you're interested.

Thanks for reading and have a healthy and great week!

Rebecca

How to get more energy in your day

A lot of my friends have been telling me lately how tired they are and how they don't have much energy. I could relate to that 11 months ago. We had our youngest child then, 6 weeks premature. It was a whirlwind of a time for us, chasing an almost 2 year old and meeting his needs while running back and forth to the NICU, where our baby was. I was sleeping in the NICU most nights, spending as much time as I could there during the day, and driving home every day to spend time with our toddler who's world was just rocked beyond his comprehension! I was up every few hours at night either trying to nurse our baby or pump milk for him so I would have a good supply. It was exhausting!! But then I found some relief. Enter Shaklee's Energy Soy Protein.
What a lifesaver this became for me! Dr. Shaklee used to say that if you could only afford one supplement, then choose protein. Protein is the building block of all cells in the body - bones, muscles, organs, blood, hormones, arteries, skin, hair, antibodies (disease fighters), etc. Next to water, protein is the most abundant substance in the body. Our bodies require daily intake of a high quality protein which is essential to facilitate growth, repair and heal any and all body parts.

My favorite protein is the energizing vanilla flavor pictured above. It also comes in cocoa as well as Instant Protein, which is great for baking. My parents like the Cinch Inch Loss Protein in their morning breakfast shakes. I put mine in my and my toddler's morning oatmeal. It is a great way to gain some energy and also healthy protein that keeps me feeling full for hours.

I also love Shaklee's Cinch Energy Tea to give me a little extra pick me up once in awhile.
It comes in Pomegranate and natural or green tea flavor. You can make it hot or cold and it has natural caffeine for that extra energy when I need it. It gives me a gentle, natural energy boost and is blended with taurine to enhance the feeling of well-being, alertness, energy, endurance and mood. As an added bonus, the tea helps to boost metabolism, and has a lot of antioxidants, which are great for immune boosting. I am hardly ever sick with Shaklee and when I am, it doesn't hit that hard. My favorite is the green (natural) flavor since I prefer non flavored tea, but most of my friends like the pomegranate the best.

I also REALLY love the Energy Chews for a little boost of natural energy.


I don't need these too often, but when I do, I just take half of one and it gives me so much more focus and energy. They taste kind of like a green tea/citrus starburst would. They also have natural caffeine in them from the green tea extract as well as vitamin D. The other day, I was going to a music therapy contract that I have once a month at a local nursing home. I was feeling more tired then usual that morning and really wanted to be more focused while I worked with the residents. I took half of one before I went, and was so pleased with the extra energy and focus I felt while I worked. It was great! These are also great for athletes before a workout.

The energy chews also come with the trio of Sports Nutrition that are FREE to new members with only a $70 order. Members save 15% on all products, always.


This is over a $75.00 value and includes Shaklee Performance which is a rehydrating product that you mix with water. It comes in orange or lemon lime (which is my favorite!). My family loves this and we have found that it also gives us a nice boost of energy. It is much better then other sports drinks we have tried and is all natural, so it is a great choice for both of my young kids too. The other product in the trio is Shaklee Physique which repairs and builds muscle faster for recovery. This comes in a natural banana flavor and is great for people looking to add a little muscle during their workout. The Shaklee Nutrition products are used by many US Olympic teams and other world class athletes and explorers. I am not a world class athlete, but I know first hand how these products work for me, giving me more stamina and energy for my day. I also know that because they are made by Shaklee, they are excellent quality with pure ingredients. That means a lot to me as a mom of 2 small children.

So there you have it - some ways that I have regained my energy this past year. How do you keep your energy level up?

Thanks for reading. Have a great rest of your week!

Rebecca

cold? what cold?!

I mentioned in a recent blog post how we try to keep our kids healthy and how they have never had an ear infection - ever! Well, that doesn't mean that we don't get sick. A cold bug passed through our family of 4 last week like wild fire. This is how it went down:

Saturday: we attended 6 year old's birthday party of our friends who live about an hour away from us. They told us that they were battling colds for over a week, but were better. They even went to the doctor and were given the go-ahead to have the party. However, the day after, this is what happened to our family:

First victim on Sunday afternoon: our 8 month old preemie
Second victim on Sunday night: Me!
Third victim on Monday morning: my dear husband
Fourth victim on Tuesday evening: our 2 year old

How could this be, you may ask? We all take Shaklee supplements- excellent health insurance.

Well, the truth is that you CAN get sick, even with strong immune systems through Shaklee.

The difference however, is that we were all over our colds within a couple of days of them occurring. When we were exposed, our bodies were able to defend and bounce back quickly. We all continued to take our usual vitamins but when we started showing symptoms, I took a few extra things like Nutriferon and Defend and Resist Complex. We also increased the amount of Vitamin C that my husband, toddler and I were taking.

We were nervous about the baby, because he was born 6 weeks early and had respiratory issues in the NICU. This was his first big cold. We decided to take both boys into their pediatrician on Wed. to have them checked out. The doctor said that the baby's lungs already sounded clear - like he never had a cold. And he said that our toddler would probably battle this for 10-14 days and would have a fever come and go.

But he hasn't! He has gotten better every day since, and his fever never returned! (and the baby never even ran a fever)

And to top it off, our friends called us to tell us that they all tested positive for STREP THROAT!!!

When I heard that, I immediately called the pediatrician to see if he thought we should have throat cultures done. My toddler and I did just to be safe, and we were absolutely fine. whew!

So to recap, we were exposed to strep throat over the weekend and the end result for each of us was a cold that lasted no more then a few days. (for my husband, it never actually matured into much at all)

We were all very thankful that it did not turn into a secondary infection and we have all been well on the mend.

Thank you, Shaklee!!!

With as many things that are still going around now, I hope you take care of yourself and consider extra health insurance through good vitamin supplements. We are grateful for them:)

Thanks for reading and have a good and very healthy week ahead!

Rebecca

Vitamin C - not just for the common cold!

For the past several weeks, I have been seeing post after post on my facebook account, of friends near and far who are being taken down by the stomach flu. My house was not immune to this either! I had the nasty bug over New Years and let me tell you I was NOT happy about it! You know the signs - it starts with a little stomach ache that quickly moves to serious nausea. I will spare you the details, but I was pretty sick. My husband watched me go down hill fast as he helped with the kids and let me rest. And then several hours later while I was enjoying some rest and thinking how great it was that I had a husband to take care of me and our 2 boys, he came to me and said he wasn't feeling well at all. Ugh. So it was time for me to be recovered and take over with the kids so he could go through the horrible events that I had just experienced. The only difference was - he didn't! He was spared! How could this be, I thought? Why did I get so sick with the vomiting and diarrhea and he got off so easy with some nausea and a few hours of mild diarrhea? The next day we talked about it and he told me his secret.....

Vitamin C!!!!!

Really??? Vitamin C????! It was that simple? Well, the research isn't exactly conclusive on this topic, but there is evidence that vitamin C can actually be taken for several different things and have therapeutic effects. My husband is a research scientist, so he was aware of this and after he saw me go down with the flu, he took immediate action at the first sign of his symptoms. He took 3 or 4 of the chewable C that we give to our toddler here - chewable vitamin C


Each of these has 100 mg of C in them. He had also taken his usual sustained release C in the morning with 500 mg before his symptoms showed up - seen here sustained release C and he repeated this the following day. One Shaklee chewable vitamin C is equal to eating 1.5 organic oranges! good stuff!

Like I said, the research on this isn't conclusive but taking a higher dose of C sure did seem to work for my husband! And our toddler didn't get really sick either. Just a little bit of diarrhea. During flu season, we give him a chewable C 2-3 times a day plus he takes his chewable multivitamin once a day here Incredivites As a side note, our toddler has never had an ear infection and very rarely gets sick. We attribute a lot of that to the Shaklee supplements that he takes.

My original intention for this post was to help people with symptoms of the stomach flu to stop it in its tracks. But after I started researching Vitamin C a bit more, I was surprised at all of the additional benefits it could have!

Vitamin C is an immune booster, a vital antioxidant. It fights free radical damage and promotes strong bones, healthy gums and teeth, cartilage, fights infection, is anti-stress, builds red blood cells, prevents radiation damage, protects against allergic responses, helpful with arthritic symptoms, boosts good cholesterol, and the list goes on. I was surprised to learn that smokers rapidly use up vit. C with each cigarette they smoke! Vit. C is water soluable so we need to continually replenish our supply daily. Animals can actually produce their own Vit. C but humans cannot. Most people just don't have enough of it in their diet. It is recommended that adults get 500 mg a day of vitamin C, and no more then 2000 mg per day! Vitamin C can help with immune system deficiencies, eye disease, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, helping us to live longer and even with our skin as we age. Vitamin C is even being used to treat cancer and diabetes!

Vitamin C is found in a lot of the fruit and veggies that we eat, but the problem is that most people just aren't eating enough. I know I am guilty of that, esp. in the winter months in the midwest when it's just not as easy to get. The farmers markets are all closed in the winter. The produce prices increase and the quality seems to decrease in the winter. The result? More sickness.

Here are some natural sources of Vitamin C:

• Cantaloupe, 1 cup (8 ounces): 59mg
• Orange juice, 1 cup: 97mg
• Broccoli, cooked, 1 cup: 74mg
• Red cabbage, 1/2 cup: 40mg
• Green pepper, 1/2 cup, 60mg
• Red pepper, 1/2 cup, 95mg
• Kiwi, 1 medium: 70mg
• Tomato juice, 1 cup: 45mg.

Frozen produce is another good option for getting some vitamins. Frozen produce is picked and frozen at the optimal time in order to contain the most vitamins and nutrients. And by freezing the produce, bacteria and pesticides are killed in the process. I still prefer fresh myself, but we have started buying more frozen lately and it isn't that bad.

If you are not getting enough C in your diet, I do think it is a good idea to think about a good supplement. Last week, I talked about a few of Shaklee's wonderful natural cleaners. I didn't mention though, that they also make a wonderful line of food supplements. They are all sourced from nature and have gone through the ringer with scientific testing, looking at the purity of the product. Dr. Shaklee created one of the first multi-vitamins back in 1915 in order to "fill in the gaps" in our nutrition. It was called Vitalized Minerals but today is Shaklee's Vita Lea. This is the most complete multi vitamin on the market and you can get it with or without iron. Shaklee also makes it for people who are over 50 or for children. Dr. Shaklee was very much ahead of his time as he knew that the best source of vitamins and minerals came from natural sources. He used to say that when you go to the grocery store, only shop around the perimeter, where all of the fruits, veggies and natural foods usually are. I think that is more true today then ever as we live in a fast food society and so many of our foods are processed, have additives, dyes, added sugars, etc. My thought is that if God meant it to be that way, then it would be.

So I hope you learned a little more about the many benefits of Vitamin C. I know I did! And I hope you will remember this post at the first sign of the flu, so you can beat it before it beats you!

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a healthy week!

Rebecca