Category: Health and Wellness

One of the fascinating studies I did recently was on extending quality of life. I decided to research centenarians and get their advice. Anyone who is living past 100 and can get in front of a camera to describe how to live life with enjoyment and health is worth listening to. As one lady who is 103 years old described it, “People think money is what makes you happy….oh no, it is attitude. Keep your attitude up, up, up!! ”

By the way she described her life she must have found the TriVita Essentials at an early age! Attitude with gratitude is probably some of the best advice I received in my research. Here are 5 great tips for extending quality of life to embrace at any age.

1. 1. Have a purpose in life that is interesting, enjoyable and engages people and your mind! This is common amongst many of those who live long lives that are still full of zest and vibrancy even past 100. Today, leading healthcare physicians are encouraging people to embrace purpose for their lives to live with greater wellness and quality of life.
   2. Stay positive in the bad times and good times. Yes, keep your attitude up, up, up! Life gives us opportunities to respond or react. If we react to avoid failure rather than to enjoy success, your life will be lived trying to avoid failure and the real potential of your talents, gifts and purpose will be diminished. As one centenarian said, “Even the five years of World War, it was an adventure even amongst the bombs!” Positivity will add life to your years and years to your life!
   3. Keep physically active was a common theme throughout their lives. Find ways to enjoy physical activity from yoga, golfing, walking, hiking, swimming, tennis, dancing, gardening and the list goes on. Many people don’t like the idea of exercising as it denotes as not being fun. Find activities you enjoy that keep you moving!
   4. Remain socially engaged as frequently as possible. Most centenarians loved people all through life and being with people is a must for them. Don’t shut yourself off from people, love people! Even in an age of technology many people today are lonely. In fact, Harvard Medical recently reported that loneliness is the number one health risk now in corporate America! Friends on Facebook will not substitute for real friends in communities of worship, activities, volunteer work and most valued are the family members! Find a reason to engage socially at any age.
   5. Develop a relationship with God and His creation. I personally enjoyed the added dimension from the centenarians’ perspective of developing a relationship with God going beyond meditation and prayer which was in His creation. I have always loved the outdoors since I was a very young boy. Today that love is expressed even as I see a flower, I will see God in it; when I look at the beauty in a butterfly, I will see God in it. The rivers, meadows and mountains are all ways of reminding me of the wonderful Creator and His love for me. Look for new ways to engage in your relationship with God!

   At TriVita, we are always searching for new insight for quality of life. Wellness and purpose go together like hand and glove. Our purpose is to help you experience greater wellness!

I thought I was the poster boy of TriVita, but I step down (temporarily) to Harry at age 93 along with his wife Marvis at age 92. They are the new TriVita wellness poster boy and girl living with wellness!!

It is always a highlight of any day to receive a wellness testimony from a TriVita member like the one from Harry and Marvis. This is the experience we live for every day; the joy of wellness in our lives and the lives of our members!

Living with the abundance expressed through the Essentials for Health and Wellness jumps off of the page of their letter. Read their inspiring story of a life lived with freedom, independence and wellness!

This is our wellness story to inspire others to use your vitamins.

We have trusted TriVita since 2001. Harry and I are on no medications. Harry will be 94, October 15th and I am 92, as of April 1st this year.

We were featured on the front page of the TriVita magazine with our story inside along with pictures a while back.

We do TV commercials and modeling. We ran big yachts and ferried airplanes and now big RVs all over the USA.

We have been everywhere in our own RV, including Alaska. Our map on the outside of our motorhome is full.

Last summer, we left for Seattle to see our grandchildren in June, drove over 11,000 miles, stopping to see friends and family along the way, and didn’t return home until December 6th. It was a wonderful trip.

We dance a lot and enjoy life. I’m sure we wouldn’t be able to do all those things, if it wasn’t for taking TriVita all these years.

Thank you for our healthy life!

Harry and Marvis Long

 

Gratitude is an attitude that enhances wellness. I think this letter exudes gratitude, and I am grateful to Harry and Marvis for sharing their life, journey and wellness experiences to inspire all of us to the possibilities of greater wellness at any age. I believe in the awesome design of our body by our CREATOR when given the right nutrients and nurturing; it has the healing power within to enhance our wellness.

If you have wellness goals, call TriVita CARE at 1-800-991-7116 and share your goals and we will share our best steps towards helping accomplish those goals.

If you have a wellness story you would like for me to share to inspire others, write me at CEO@Trivita.com.

Pursue wellness with passion!!

In The Pursuit Of Wellness

“I have hope again and am motivated to continue my health journey. With TriVita there, I feel like I am not alone in this!” Laura Burford, Member since 2004, hardly ever visited the doctor. She always felt “fine” and never saw the need, until she received routine health screening at work; Laura was diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension. After this diagnosis, she followed her doctor’s recommendations, but she knew she needed to do more. “In the last ten years, things caught up with me. That was a whole process because I was in denial and I was angry. I had a lot of knee pain that turned out to be severe stage osteoarthritis. I couldn’t believe it; I just took my health for granted. I wasn’t doing anything to keep it and a lot of wrong things that hurt my health.” From that point on, Laura was dedicated to learning how to fuel her body and live a healthier life. “I found a couple of reputable companies that I thought I could trust and started taking some supplements. Then I saw an ad about TriVita and Alfred Libby’s Slow Dissolve B-12 for energy. I ordered some and what a life changer! I got the Super B-12, and I haven’t been without it since and never want to be.” After seeing that first program about TriVita’s Slow Dissolve B-12, Laura began reading the monthly catalogs and learning more about the body. From there she tried different products, “I added Nopalea to try and Adaptuit because stress has always been a problem for me. Then I ordered Nerve Formula because of my diabetes. These products really helped me feel better along with physical therapy. I want to save my own parts as long as possible rather than having surgery. The Adaptuit has helped me have a better attitude so that I can nurture the relationships in my life and work.” By the winter of 2016, Laura began feeling rundown and learned she had anemia. She was losing hair, her nails were splitting and lacked the energy she usually had. While her doctors tried to identify the source of her anemia they discovered an ulcer and benign tumor. To make matters worse, while preparing to undergo a small bowel resection, they found several large tumors on her ovaries and uterus. “It felt like a whack-a-mole game. What was going to pop up next?” And something did; “My piriformis muscle was swollen and pressing on my sciatic nerve. It was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. I went to physical therapy and realized that I had stopped taking the Nerve Formula and gotten lax about taking Nopalea. Now I know the value of stretching and won’t stop taking Nerve Formula and Nopalea again.” In addition to these longtime favorites, Laura started using MyoHealth to help her regain the muscle she’s lost. “It is truly helping me feel stronger and able to exercise. This is amazing because I was sedentary for so long. My last surgery is behind me, and I want to make this my year of wellness! I am increasing my strength, mobility and overall health. It’s like my job now to be as healthy as I can so I can live a good life and help others!” “I sound like a real mess, and I have felt that way too, but the great TriVita products and the encouragement and knowledge I am getting from them help me know that I can overcome and be healthy so I can enjoy my life. Even though I had wonderful doctors and surgeons and I am grateful for how much they have helped me, I would much rather spend my time and money on these products so I can live a healthy and productive life.” For anyone looking to improve their health, Laura offers this advice, “First of all, never give up hope! Find what you can, for me, it is faith and believing that He is the healer. But I also know that I have to do my part. I have a responsibility to do what I can to build my health even though it’s a long process. We all have struggles, but everything can get better if we learn what we need to do and apply it. A lot of people are just like I was, they just don’t know.”

Guided by Hope

Let perseverance be your engine and hope your fuel. – H. Jackson Brown Jr. For many that have struggled with illness or setbacks in life, it may seem as though health and happiness are out of reach. However, hope is about perseverance and perspective. Joanna Schick’s journey to wellness and recovery hasn’t always been easy, but through it all, she kept searching for answers. “I was misdiagnosed for over 20 years. I went from doctor to doctor, and they changed my medications every week. I was like a zombie… When I was trying to find answers to all the pain I was in, I tried everything! But through it all, I learned a lot.” Joanna’s challenges with health began at a young age. As a child, she experienced terrible headaches and suffered three strokes when she was in her twenties. She suffered her first at 22 which left her with burns on her arms after collapsing on a radiator, and her final stroke at the age of 27 left her temporarily paralyzed. “Because I was young all my feeling came back, but that’s when all the doctoring started,” says Joanna. Joanna recounts that she constantly tried to obtain information and resources from anywhere she could, but all she found was drug after drug. After many years of searching for answers and always coming up empty-handed, she requested a particular test from her doctor. It took some convincing, but her doctor finally approved the scan. Little did she know it would change her life forever. The results showed that she had an obstruction that required brain surgery. “After my first brain surgery, I was able to return to school and receive my high school diploma. Because of my grades, it was recommended that I enter college. I didn’t finish college, but I came a long way,” Joanna explains. However, after the operation, she experienced depression, weight gain and developed disordered eating; “I was just lying around all the time, I couldn’t go to work, and my husband was ready to plan my funeral, that’s how bad it was.” But Joanna never stopped looking for answers. In her 40s, she turned to nutrition to help control her weight which is what led her to start researching nutritional supplements and sharing what she was learning with family and friends. After regaining her health and moving to Eureka Springs, Arkansas with her husband Ernie, some of Joanna’s issues returned. Once more, she struggled to find answers before learning she required another operation. Joanna recounts, “They said it was a good thing I came in because I could have died.” It was around this time that Joanna found TriVita’s products. She first read about Nopalea in 2012, and has since taken many other TriVita products. Joanna’s and Ernie’s favorites are CoEnzyme Q-10, Vital C, Cholestria, Vision Guard, Nopalea, MyoHealth and Adaptuit. “I love Adaptuit! I take three ounces before bed, and I sleep like a baby. It’s wonderful and besides it tastes good… I don’t know if there are any products I don’t take!” Looking back Joanna says, “It’s really the nutrition that saved me left and right … I highly recommend all these products!” For Joanna and Ernie health is a priority; “It’s very important for people to be consistent when it comes to nutrition because it pays off. And a little exercise doesn’t hurt.” The couple enjoys staying active with walks, and her husband enjoys working outside. Joanna makes it habit to exercise for 45 minutes a day, she even performs therapy exercises with her 14-year-old dog to keep him healthy! “Our doctors say we’re doing great and we should just continue what we are doing.” Joanna is also passionate about charity work and helping others feel better. “Right now I’m making jewelry for all the volunteers at Good Shepherd Rescue, the local animal rescue, which is over 40 people. We have a tiger rescue here, and I’m working on pieces of jewelry for all their volunteers, too. I also give to all their silent auctions. Plus, I’ve done some jewelry shows at assisted living facilities and the money is always going to charity. At Christmas and Valentine’s Day, we’ve given to residents at some of the assisted living homes because we feel that a lot of them don’t even get a visitor all year. That’s our passion!” Joanna and Ernie are currently planning a family trip to Stuttgart, Germany in August with their son, daughter-in-law and their two children. “We moved to Arkansas because it reminds us of Germany. I went to school in Germany for a while. My mother took me for my grandparents’ golden anniversary. The neighboring town’s school heard about me and invited me, so I went to school there for a year. It’s really a great memory!”

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Get to Know the Keto Diet

Weight loss diets aren’t new. From the Paleo, Vegan and Dukan diets to the well-known Atkins Diet, there are a plethora of modern low-carb diet plans that focus on maximizing health while facilitating weight loss. But in our rush to improve our health and enhance our life, we all too often overlook the one thing we can easily change — our diet. And as we strive to achieve long-term cardio and brain health, nothing holds the potential to have a bigger impact than our diet. The Keto Diet is a low-carb diet that focuses on limiting net carbohydrate intake in order to force the body to use more fats for fuel.  High carb diets lead to excess glucose and insulin production. This can lead to several problems. Because glucose is the easiest molecule to convert and use as energy, the body will choose glucose as its primary energy source whenever it’s available. However, with all that glucose present your body needs to produce insulin, a fat storing hormone, to distribute the surplus evenly. With the glucose now being used as a primary energy source, the fats your body would otherwise use as energy are not needed, which means they get stored…as fat. The Keto Diet functions to reverse this process by lowering the intake of carbs, thereby coaxing the body into ketosis, a natural survival technique whereby the body endures on low amounts of food. The Keto Diet gets its name from the ketones we produce while in this state, which are derived from the breakdown of fats in the liver.¹ Meal examples:

• Chicken breast basted in olive oil, with broccoli and cheese.
• Steak topped with a knob of butter and a side of spinach sautéed in olive oil.

KETO DIET BENEFITS

Numerous studies have shown that low-carb diets are extremely helpful when it comes to weight loss, especially for individuals that are overweight or obese.2 Low-carb diets have also been linked to numerous other health benefits, including the reduction of belly fat, a dangerous situation due to the proximity to our vital organs.3 A low-carb diet such as the Keto Diet works by reducing your appetite, and when you’re not hungry, you ingest fewer calories.⁴ Studies have also shown that low-carb diets may minimize many major disease risk factors, including weight loss to insulin and blood pressure levels.⁵ Weight Loss By using your body fat as an energy source, the ketogenic diet reduces your insulin levels to turn your body into a fat burning machine.¹ Control Blood Sugar Eating fewer carbs naturally lowers your blood sugar.  In fact, studies show that the ketogenic diet is a more effective means of preventing diabetes than traditional low-calorie diets.¹ Mental Focus Lowering your carb intake not only lowers your blood sugar, it also limits any sugar spikes along with it. As a result, Keto Diet devotees can experience improved focus and concentration. Along with that, studies have shown that the high concentration of fatty acids (the Keto Diet calls for a nutrient intake of 70% fats, 25% protein and 5% carbohydrates), can beneficially impact how our brains function.¹ Increased Energy & Normalized Hunger With a better, more reliable energy source fueling your body (fats are the most effective molecule to burn), you’ll feel more energized. As an added bonus, fat is also naturally more satisfying, which leaves you feeling “full” longer.¹ Cholesterol & Blood Pressure Compared to low-fat diets, low-carb/high-fat diets show a dramatic increase in HDL and decrease in LDL particle concentration. Low-carb diets have also been shown to treat blood pressure issues — frequently associated with excess weight or obesity — more effectively than other diets.¹ Insulin Resistance An abundant amount of research shows that a low carb diet can lead to lower insulin levels, thereby helping many people avoid contracting type II diabetes.  However, it’s equally important to realize that even people who exercise regularly can benefit from the insulin optimizing properties of many high omega-3 fatty acid foods found in the Keto Diet.¹ What to Eat

• Meats – fish, beef, lamb, poultry, eggs, etc.
• Leafy Greens – spinach, kale, etc.
• Above Ground Vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, etc
• High Fat Dairy – hard cheeses, high fat cream, butter, etc.
• Nuts and Seeds – macadamias, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.
• Avocado and Berries – raspberries, blackberries, and other low glycemic impact berries
• Sweeteners – stevia, erythritol, monk fruit, and other low-carb sweeteners
• Other Fats – coconut oil, high-fat salad dressing, saturated fats, etc.¹

What Not to Eat

• Grains – wheat, corn, rice, cereal, etc.
• Sugar – honey, agave, maple syrup, etc.
• Fruit – apples, bananas, oranges, etc.
• Tubers – potato, yams, etc.¹

THE IMPORTANCE OF KETOGENIC AMINO ACIDS

Essential Amino acids are the cellular building blocks of protein.⁶ There are 20 primary amino acids in your body’s proteins, 9 of which are essential to your diet because your cells can’t manufacture them. By contrast, your body can produce enough non-essential amino acids to meet its needs.⁷ Glucogenic and Ketogenic Amino Acids Amino acids can also be classified as glucogenic, ketogenic or glucogenic-ketogenic depending on how they are metabolized. As it does with carbohydrates and fats, your body metabolizes the amino acids in proteins to derive energy. Glucogenic amino acids yield glucose for energy production, while ketogenic amino acids like lysine and leucine are converted into ketone bodies via ketogenesis. Ketone bodies provide an alternative fuel source when glucose, the body’s preferred energy source, is unavailable.⁸

How to Reach Ketosis

1. Limit your carbs
2. Limit your proteins
3. Don’t worry about fat intake
4. Drink plenty of water
5. Stop snacking
6. Start fasting
7. Exercise
8. Start supplementing¹ with Omega3 Prime and MyoHealth Essential Amino Acid complex from TriVita

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References

1. http://www.ruled.me/guide-keto-diet/
2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19082851
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15533250 
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17228046
5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11795/
6. Robert Wolfe, Essential Amino Acid Solutions for Everyone (unpublished, 2016), 29
7. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/many-amino-acids-body-require-6412.html
8. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/ketogenic-amino-acids-9147.html

KEEP ON, KEEPING ON Helen Swanson has lived in numerous cities and towns throughout the Midwest, and everywhere she goes she brings with her a keen sense of service. “I’ve always tried to help people and to have a servant’s heart. That’s just what I do because you never know what tomorrow’s going to bring. There are a lot of people my age with pretty severe physical problems who’re really struggling, and I try to do whatever I can to help.” In fact, several months ago she found herself trying to break up a fight in front of a bank. “It happened right in front of me—I couldn’t just ignore it. One of the men had his glasses knocked off, and they landed right by my car, so I got out of my car, grabbed the glasses and told those two to knock it off.” In other words, this is a woman who stands on principle. “I was born in Joliet, Illinois but we moved to South Bend, Indiana when I was six months old, so that’s where I call home. As you might guess, I’m a huge Notre Dame fan. My other love is babies. I’m planning to volunteer at the local YMCA daycare because I just love being around them so much. When I’m out, and I see babies, I almost have a fit.” After growing up in Indiana, Helen got a job as a teletype operator and load planner for United Airlines right out of high school in 1957. “This was back in the days of prop planes, and I was in charge of weighing each to make sure they got off the ground. Four years later I got married, and in 1965 my husband and I moved to Sandusky, Ohio. He was with a freight company, so we moved quite a bit; first to Marshall, Michigan in 1969, then to New Berlin, Wisconsin in 1972 and finally to Hermitage, Tennessee right outside of Nashville in 1973.” “While we were in Tennessee, I went through nurses training, and after we were divorced in 1975, I ended up moving back to South Bend in the late 70s with my son and daughter and working almost 20 years as an LPN on a medical surgery floor. It was a small hospital, but we really provided great care. By 1998 my daughter was married with a family and career of her own, and I moved to Pennsylvania to help care for my grandchildren.” “These days I live in New Hope, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, where I’ve been for 12 years—the last 10 in an independent senior living facility. When I first moved here, I worked for two home care agencies as a nursing coordinator.  That was right about the time I became a TriVita customer. I was working late one night, and I heard James Robison on TV talking about Super B-12, so I ordered a box. Well, I felt an immediate difference in my energy and my mood right from the start—and I still do. Ever since then, the first thing I do when I get up is drink a tall glass of water and take a B-12 tablet. I can’t imagine being without it.” “I have had my share of health problems, including breast cancer, and for many years I had extremely high blood pressure, too. At one time I was on about six different medications for that alone, and in 2009 I was put in the hospital when my numbers hit 265 over 120. But the doctors took out my adrenal glands, and now I’m down to one blood pressure medication a day, which helps because I’m very sensitive to medicine. “I currently take VisionGuard and Omega3 Prime, but last August I also started taking MyoHealth, and there’s no way to explain how it has made me feel. I have a herniated disc in my back that was very uncomfortable, and now I can do almost anything I want pain free. There’s none in my back, none in my hips, and none in my knees. Plus, within two days it killed my appetite, and I’ve lost 18 pounds! It’s just an absolutely wonderful product. Sometimes I take it in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon as well for an energy boost. If somebody had to take everything away from me, they couldn’t take my B-12 or MyoHealth.”

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