Diabetes

Diabetes is the name given to a group of different conditions in which there is too much glucose in the blood. Here’s what happens:

• The body needs a special sugar called glucose as its main source of fuel or energy. The body makes glucose from foods containing carbohydrate such as vegetables containing carbohydrate (like potatoes or corn) and cereal foods (like bread, pasta and rice) as well as fruit and milk.

• The glucose is carried around the body in the blood and the glucose level is called glycaemia (glyc = glucose; aemia = in the blood). The glucose level must be neither too high nor too low, but just right.

• The glucose running around in the blood stream now has to get out of the blood and into the body tissues. It’s the cells in the body tissues that actually do the work – brain cells so you can think, heart cells so you can pump blood and muscle cells so you can walk. Glucose is also stored in the liver, like you would store food items in the kitchen pantry.

• This is where insulin enters the story. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas, a gland sitting just below the stomach. Insulin opens the doors (the glucose channels) that let glucose go from the blood to the body cells where energy is made.

• This process is called glucose metabolism.

• In diabetes, the pancreas either cannot make insulin or the insulin it does make is not enough and cannot work properly.

• Without insulin doing its job, the glucose channels are shut. Glucose builds up in the blood leading to high blood glucose levels which causes the health problems linked to diabetes.

Mannatech’s goal is to empower you with the nutrients your body needs to stay fit, active and successful. Take control of your health and share wellness solutions with others by learning more about Mannatech's cutting-edge technologies which help provide what every body needs for optimal health. Vibrant health is no longer a certainty. Mannatech is on the cutting edge of new technologies that provide what every body needs to stay healthy.

Is Organic Worth More Money?

Have you eaten your 60 servings of spinach today?

You’d have to eat that much in order to get the same amount of iron you would have gotten from one serving of spinach grown in 1948. And you’d have to eat 25 cups to get even the measly RDA of vitamin E.

What’s going on here?

Modern agricultural techniques are the culprits. The fruits and vegetables on today’s supermarket shelves come from nutrient-poor soil grown on chemical fertilizers and sprayed with pesticides. Not to mention genetically modified produce, which farmers aren’t required to label.

What’s more, in order to get these foods to the store before they start to rot, commercial growers harvest fruits and vegetables before they’ve had time to ripen. (You’ve noticed how bananas in the produce aisle are green when you buy them.)

Before the onset of industrial agriculture, farmers relied on natural fertilizers to grow their produce. In order to insure freshness, grocers bought foodstuffs from local farmers, so the fruits and vegetables available to Americans decades ago had time to ripen in the sun naturally - so yesteryear’s produce contained much higher levels of vitamins, minerals, and other natural compounds essential to your health.

What can you do about it? One simple way to go is to buy local organically grown fruits and vegetables whenever possible. Not only will you avoid pesticides and other chemicals – you’ll get a lot more of Nature’s beneficial ingredients.

A recent study published in The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry found that organic tomatoes contain almost twice as much of an important type of compound – called “flavonoids” – as conventionally grown tomatoes.1

Flavonoids are naturally occurring anti-oxidants found in a number of plants, including tomatoes, blueberries, grapes, and green tea. The benefits of anti-oxidants cannot be overstated. Here are just a few of the benefits linked to flavonoids:

• Improved circulation
• Lower cholesterol
• Lower blood pressure
• Reduced inflammation
• Reduced risk of rheumatoid arthritis
• Increased bone strength
• Reduced risk of heart disease
• Stronger immune response
• Faster recovery from sunburn
• Reduced risk of many types of cancer, including lung, prostate, and skin cancer
• Memory loss prevention
• Higher metabolism and greater weight loss

So if you find both conventionally grown and organic tomatoes at your local grocer, the choice is a no-brainer – go organic. Even better, find a local farmer or co-op to buy from. The same rule of thumb applies to meat, eggs and milk, for the simple reason that they will contain more of the ingredients your body needs for optimum health.

Taking supplements is another effective way to compensate for today’s nutrient-poor produce. Vitamin E, vitamin C, selenium, CoQ10, and alpha lipoic acid are all powerful anti-oxidants that improve heart health, slow the aging process, prevent cancer, and even boost your brainpower.

Nutritionists recommend daily amounts for each of these nutrients. They are the building blocks for an anti-oxidant powerhouse:

• Vitamin E – 400 IEU
• Vitamin C – 1,000 mg
• Selenium – 55 micrograms
• CoQ10 – 100 mg
• Alpha lipoic acid – 100 mg

Mannatech products are at the cutting edge of nutritional science. The breakthrough innovation found in many Mannatech products is Ambrotose® complex, which is designed to provide supplemental glyconutrients. Mannatech leads the industry in glyconutrient technology around the world and strives to offer better solutions for global health.

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Foods must bridge the gap in healthy aging, nutrition experts say

While dietary supplement marketers have long targetted baby boomers, this generation is still in need of more functional foods geared towards their nutritional and emotional requirements, according to speakers at IFT Expo.

Development of such products could boost the bottom line of manufacturers, but also increase the longevity of what has been the most educated and affluent generation to date. Antioxidants, calcium, vitamin D and zinc for instance, can slow the rate of age-related disease and increase the number of healthy years in a person's life, the speakers said in a symposium on healthy aging.

"We need to take that information and apply it,", a nutrition scientist at Tufts University, told IFT attendees. "We have to be willing to create new food products that older people can consume on a regular basis."

While the research shows that antioxidants, zinc and copper can delay AMD (age-related macular degeneration), the nutrition scientist also estimates that - in the right doses - this type of fortification or supplementation could prevent 300,000 cases of blindness in a five-year period.

However, there are numerous factors that set the stage for an aging person's nutritional health, according to the speakers.

These include socio-economic influences - such as a person's economic status, their psychological health, or the impact of changes in their environment as they age - and also physiological factors - such as altered nutrient metabolism, a reduced ability to absorb nutrients, or the interaction of nutrients with pharmaceutical drugs.

Aging boomers are generally more aware of the relationship between food and beverage and how they feel physically - according to a researcher with the Hartman Group in Washington state - and they want feelings of vitality rather than foods that make them feel sluggish. They also want to feel independent and be in charge of their own health.

The speakers also highlighted the potential positive impact on healthcare systems if disease were delayed significantly in the aging process.

It is time to guard yourself against dangers like, pollutants, questionable farming practices, and stress – these factors increasingly contribute to a growing healthcare crisis. Mannatech has championed revolutionary discoveries designed to help boost your body’s ability to stay healthy. Offering a solution for overall wellness is Mannatech's commitment.

Chalk & Cheese: Optimal Nutrition for Bone Health

Almost every 8 minutes, someone is admitted to a hospital somewhere in Australia with a fracture due to osteoporosis. 1.9 million, which is 1 in 10 Australians have the condition. Osteoporotic fracture occurs in more than 65,000 people each year.

Just losing 10% of the bone mass in your spine can double the risk of spinal fracture and a 10% loss of bone mass in your hip can increase your risk of a broken hip, two and a half times. By 2020, one third of all hospital beds in Australia are likely to be occupied by hip fracture patients and 20% of people with hip fracture will die within 6 months.

There are now one in three Australian women and one in eight Australian men over the age of 50 years who will experience osteoporotic fracture and might need to join the admission queue to hospital. The foods we eat and other lifestyle factors earlier in life can have a major impact on our risk of osteoporosis. The amount of calcium-rich foods we eat early in life will have an impact on the peak bone mass we develop. Achieving your optimal peak bone mass in childhood and through adolescence can help to protect your bone health later in life.

Mannatech has been a pioneer and unsurpassed world leader in “glyconutrient (sweet nutrient) supplements” since 1994. Glyconutrient supplements are now recognized and defined in Harper’s Illustrated Biochemistry, a premier scientific textbook used in universities and medical schools worldwide. These products, which include sources of the same sugars found in glycoproteins, appear to have numerous structure/function mechanisms within the human body. Mannatech’s proprietary glyconutrient technology is currently covered by over 20 patents issued worldwide with more patents pending.

Phytochemicals

Let’s look at other antioxidant factors besides vitamins and mineral catalysts. You also need in you daily diet, antioxidants from Flavonoids such as quercitin. These are co-factors or synergists for antioxidant activity. Flavonoids belong to a bigger group called phytochemicals.

The word phytochemical is taken from the Greek word photon, meaning plant, or plant chemicals. Phytochemicals, also called Phytonutrients, are not vitamins, minerals or herbals. They are specific chemicals found naturally occurring in plants, which are healthful to you. Phytochemicals, such as Flavonoids and indoles, function as anti-oxidants and free radical scavengers to protect plants from highly reactive oxide radicals, sunlight, weather and viruses.

We are designed to benefit from eating plants that contain such disease fighting phytochemicals. They are abundant in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussel spouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and turnip. They are found in smaller levels in many vegetables and fruits as well. This is why those vegetables are so highly recommended in our diet and are the basis for some nutritional supplements. Some Phytochemicals also help to detoxify your body.

There is also an antioxidant produced by your body called glutathione.

Glyconutrients, among all of their benefits, is another one scientifically validated by a joint study at the University of Texas and Texas A&M. They found that the glyconutrient complex, when taken orally, actually raised glutathione. In fact, the glyconutrient complex raised glutathione levels in healthy tissue by 20%, and protected against depletion of gluthione by 50% when that tissue was subjected to direct toxic chemical assault.

The toxin used in the study is called patchulin, which is mycotoxin. The study shows a significant benefit in adding glyconutrients, even when subjected to toxic chemical assault. According to Dr. Les Packer at the University of California at Berkeley, a leading expert in antioxidants, you cannot eat enough food to get enough glutathione in today’s environment to protect you from free radical stress.

If you cannot eat enough food to do this, and you need it to protect your body from oxidative stress and cleanse your body, the only sensible thing to do is to take a dietary supplement that can raise your glutathione levels in serum (blood).

Article from: How to Survive a Toxic Planet

Hope, Health and, Opportunity: these are the three components of a successful and happy life. Mannatech helps make these goals attainable through progressive, scientifically-proven nutritional products. Mannatech’s goal is to empower you with the nutrients your body needs to stay fit, active and successful. Take control of your health and share wellness solutions with others by learning more about Mannatech's cutting-edge technologies which help provide what every body needs for optimal health.

Antioxidants

If there is a fountain of youth, it probably flows through a stalk of broccoli or circles around in an orange. These foods are rich sources of antioxidants—food substances that slow down cell damage and may improve immune function and lower cancer risks. Every day more research emerges that supports the health benefits of an antioxidant-rich diet. So, read on to find out how you can get more of them.

What do antioxidants do, exactly? Consider car rust. The main reason that a car rusts is that over time oxygen starts to wear the car’s body down, allowing for damage in the most vulnerable places. Oxygen works on your body over time, too, and causes rusting of the human sort—wrinkles, cancers and heart disease.

Antioxidants work to capture “free radicals” or unstable molecules that are a byproduct of oxygen. These free radicals damage your body’s cells, tissues and DNA. Cigarette smoke and excess sun exposure can also form free radicals.

But you can bind the action of these free radicals by eating a variety of antioxidant-rich foods, protecting your skin from the sun and kicking the smoking habit. The table below details vitamin and mineral sources of antioxidants, how they protect the body and good food sources for them.

Antioxidants By Nutrient Type: Carotenoids, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Magnesium, Copper, Zinc

Antioxidants include plant chemicals called phytochemicals that fight disease. Lycopene (tomatoes) and liminoids (oranges) are among many phytochemicals that are found in the foods above. Additionally, red wine, tea and chocolates are all sources of antioxidants that are at the top of MyPyramid. So, drink unsweetened teas, occasionally enjoy a couple of pieces of high-quality dark chocolate and limit your intake of red wine to one glass per day for women and two for men. There are also many supplements that contain these nutrients, but it is always best to get them from food.

Cut your disease risks by enjoying a variety of antioxidant-rich foods. Drinking from the fountain of youth is as simple as munching on a red pepper.

Hope, Health and, Opportunity: these are the three components of a successful and happy life. Mannatech helps make these goals attainable through progressive, scientifically-proven nutritional products. Mannatech’s goal is to empower you with the nutrients your body needs to stay fit, active and successful. Take control of your health and share wellness solutions with others by learning more about Mannatech's cutting-edge technologies which help provide what every body needs for optimal health.

Doctors and Supplements

It is amazing when a patient asks his or her doctor if a dietary supplement is all right to take. MD’s, with very rare exceptions, do not have adequate training in the therapeutic use of dietary supplements. They often know less factual information than some of the general public. It is never surprising when a doctor, who has no clue what a supplement really is or what it does, tells is or her patient no to take the supplement or says it could be harmful. Don’t ask a plumber how to fix your roof. Ask about your MD or DO’s level of training in natural supplements before asking them or advice in those matters.

Medical doctors are taught objectivity, but for some of them it seems to be selective. MD's are people, exceptional people, but people nonetheless. They cannot be expected to know absolutely everything that relates to health. Some rare MD’s do take additional training in natural therapies. ND’s (Doctors of Naturopathy) or NMD’s (Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine) are trained specifically in the therapeutic use of dietary supplements, as well as all the other natural therapies. Some, but alas, not all Chiropractic doctors are trained in the use of natural therapeutics, but on a limited basis in line with their health philosophies. Yet Chiropractors recommend more dietary supplements than any doctors, except ND’s and NMD’s. Some ND’s and NMD’s have both allopathic (medical) and Naturopathic training and some do not. All Naturopaths have training in the use of dietary supplements but the levels of knowledge can differ considerably.

More medical schools are realizing that the public demands natural therapies. Among Americans over 50, for instance, 65% surveyed say dietary supplements are a necessity. More courses in integrative, complementary and alternative medicine are being taught in medical schools. MD’s who can talk nutrition are in demand and are fast becoming prosperous, even famous. ND’s and NMD’s for the most part struggle to make a living. The ideal doctor of the future will understand both allopathic and naturopathic medicine. Hopefully Naturopathy survives and allopathic medicine converts. Only time will tell.

In 1989 the National Academy of Sciences did a full and complete re-evaluation of all vitamins and mineral and their requirements.

Then, in 1998, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) commissioned a study that resulted in the now familiar, but rarely followed, recommendations for minimum antioxidant support from food. This study told us that we should be eating two to four servings of fruit, and three to five servings of vegetables every day to get the minimum antioxidant support from our food. Five to nine servings daily of fresh raw fruits and vegetables wasn’t terribly realistic. Of course, almost no one followed those recommendations. They were not only inconvenient, but the majority of Americans simply didn’t want to eat that much food each day. Even if they wanted to, it simply wasn’t economically feasible for millions of Americans.

Too often, refined food packages, with so-called nutrition facts labeled on the package, led people to think that they were getting more nutrition than they actually were. Our system of medicine has also conditioned people to think that as long as they are symptom free, they are well. Because people have no obvious symptoms and they believe they are getting adequate nutrition from refined foods, there has been no motivation to eat fresh fruits and vegetables in the levels recommended by USDA or NAS.

In the year 2000, the National Academy of Sciences evaluated only those nutrients that are known to be either antioxidants or catalysts for antioxidants. An antioxidant is a substance, which can neutralize and render harmless a free radical. Free radicals, which are not neutralized by antioxidants cause damage to your cells. These free radicals left unchecked, cause free radical oxidative stress disease such as cancer and heart disease. They also contribute to other illnesses such as diabetes, as well as the aging process itself.

The National Academy of Sciences issued a statement in January 2001. This statement said that Americans were getting approximately 50% less antioxidants from their food than had been previously estimated. They did not recommend a dietary supplement but recommended that Americans simply double their intake of fruits and vegetables. We were originally told to eat two to four servings of fruit, and three to five servings of vegetables daily. Do they want us to eat 10 to 18 servings of fruits and vegetables daily? Even if you wanted to become a cow grazing all day long on your 18 servings, can you afford to do that? Who has the time to do that? You’d spend so much time eating there would be no time for anything else. Foods have become so deficient since the fifties that some natural foods have to be consumed at more than 50 times the previous levels to get the same nutrition we got back in the 50’s. The foods may look the same but the similarity ends there.

All medical health care practitioners at every level are taught that we should be able to get our basic nutrition from food. This is based on outdated information that does not take into account the full spectrum of the threats and stresses to human health in the 21^st century. I want all people to eat right, fresh raw and natural as much as possible. Realistically, we know they won’t. But if they do not, their health will be compromised without essential nutritional support from scientifically validated dietary supplements.

Right now, the only thing that makes sense is to use dietary supplements to provide adequate antioxidant protection. Not all dietary supplements are created equal.

“Only 1% of the US population consumes a diet meeting the five food group recommendations that are the basis for the food pyramid in the Dietary Guidelines for America.” Am J Clin Nutr, 1997

Even the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) finally entered the modern age by publishing an article that stated “Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone…It appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements.” JAMA. 2002

That JAMA article was a huge step forward for medical doctors everywhere. There can be no doubt that dietary supplements are no longer a luxury. In the 21^st century they are a necessity!

Dietary supplements need to be in everyone’s monthly budget just you budget for food, fuel for your can, water, and all the daily necessities.