Healthy Homes e-News from February 2006

We've experienced quite a January here in Illinois… it makes me a bit nervous for February and March! My kids have been outside quite a bit – sometimes in 55° weather, and sometimes sledding on 10" of snow! Either way, it's been wonderful to get out of the house and get fresh air. I wish we had snow now so I could do a little Winter Olympic competition for the kids. Things may change this week.

This month, I focus on heart health. My family has a history of heart disease, so this is information I need to know too. But knowing and doing are two different things! I encourage you (and me) to make one change this month towards better health. Happy Valentine's Day!

In this issue:

1. Top 3 Tips for Healthy Hearts
2. When to buy Organic
3. Watch Shaklee-powered athletes at the Olympics
4. Trouble remembering 10% special? Here's a tip!
5. New promotion

1. Top 3 Tips for Healthy Hearts

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in America – for both men and women. If you have a family history of heart disease, now is the time to start working to prevent it. So, what are the top three tips for preventing heart disease?

1. Exercise 30 minutes a day – doesn't have to be all at once!

2. Manage your stress – try stopping once an hour to breath deeply. It will help you relax.

3. Eat well – a good rule of thumb is 2/3 – 1/3. 2/3rds of your plate should be vegetables, 1/3 protein. Also, provide nutritional insurance through supplementation.

One thing you could do this month is add fish oil supplement to your diet. The American Heart Association says that Omega-3 fish oil protects your heart, but wild fishes are likely contaminated with mercury, PCBs, lead & dioxins. The solution? An ultrapure, full-spectrum omega product. It is all-natural, full-spectrum omega supplement guaranteed to be free from contaminates.

Wondering what else you can do to help keep your heart in shape? Drop me an e-mail or give me a call to discuss your concerns.

2. When to buy Organic

From ABC News:

When buying some products, it may be worth the extra money to buy organic for health benefits. But these days, with almost everything possible being labled organic, it's difficult to know when to pay the extra money.

A "Consumer Reports" investigation concluded that shoppers do not need to buy organic across the board – that some products are worth seeking out, some are worth buying only if price is no object, and some are not worth buying at all because they don't offer additional health benefits.

Organic products worth buying to avoid chemicals found in conventionally produced versions: apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, spinach, strawberries. ABC News medical editor Dr. David Katz said that the above items are likely to be contaminated by pesticides.

"You're going to see a big difference between an organic apple and a conventional apple when it comes to chemicals and pesticides," he said. "So, if you buy anything organic, buy these things organic."

Organic products worth buying only if price is no object include: processed foods, cauliflower, sweet corn, broccoli, mangos, sweet peas. Katz said the above items tend not be as affected by pesticides as those in the first category because "either they aren't sprayed as much or they don't absorb chemicals as easily."

"You're not going to see as big a difference between the organic and the conventional produce in these cases," he said. "So it may not be worth the extra money."

Organically labled items not worth buying: seafood and cosmetics.

"You can't really control what gets into fish," Katz said." If there are chemicals in the ocean, they're going to be absorbed into that fish and there is no way to tell how much is in there. So labeling any sort of seafood as organic is a bit misleading."

Dr. Katz called it "just plain silly" to even call cosmetics and shampoo "organic."

"Companies slap 'organic' on the label if there is one ingredient out of 100 that is organic. All the rest could be chemicals," he said.

3. Watch Shaklee –powered athletes at the Olympics

Shaklee is the proud nutritional sponsor of the US Ski Team and SnowBoarding athletes. In fact, this immune boosting program™ is the official immunity product of the team.

The U.S. Ski Team is comprised of 14 different men's and women's national teams in Alpine, Cross Country, Disabled, Freestyle, Jumping, Nordic Combined and SnowBoarding categories and has been training with Shaklee as their official nutritional sponsor for the past two years. The teams are competing hard and are very selective about their nutrition, so Shaklee is honored to be the product of choice for this outstanding line-up of athletes.

Shaklee works closely with the team nutritionist; keeping athletes healthy is the primary challenge as they push through tough competition schedules. Their goal is to win the most medals of any nation in skiing and snowboarding this month, when all eyes will turn to Torino, Italy, February 10-26, 2006.

Here's what the United States Ski Association (USSA) Sports Dietitian and Physiologist, Susie Simmons, had to say about the product:

"[This product] has had a huge impact on the health of many of our athletes. U.S. Ski Team & U.S. Snowboarders travel four to five months straight each year, flying in winter conditions to many different countries. [This product] makes a big difference in strengthening their immune systems, as they push through jet lag, drastic temperature, tough training and the stress through competition. The team takes [this product] wherever in the world they are traveling to train and compete."