Wellness That Works

It's a coveted moment in advertising when a campaign image, phrase, or song becomes an icon in the culture. From Wendy's "Where's the beef?" to the Coca-Cola polar bears, those hooks are everything in advertising.

Verizon has done it's share in the U.S. with its long-running "It's the network" campaign, featuring the huge crowd of support staff in the background of just about every situation you can imagine. This followed it's familiar "Can you hear me now?" series that touted the company's coverage. Quality and breadth of service from a leading provider were the focus for these memorable campaigns.

But if you've been a Verizon customer and not experienced service excellence, the cleverness of the advertising doesn't matter. The long-term proof is in the results that you personally experience.

These are also the keys for pursuing your family's wellness strategy. You're part of the growing number of wellness-conscious consumers who are taking responsibility for their own health and well-being and are certainly looking for results. You see that the best strategies begin with more knowledge and better choices on food, exercise, rest, and water consumption. But you are also joining a growing number of consumers who are looking for effective wellness products and services to be a part of their wellness strategy.

How do you choose those suppliers? They essentially become your partners in achieving your wellness goals, so what should you consider?

For product suppliers, here are some key factors that can make the difference in whether you get the results that you want.

1. Experience matters. Length of time in business is not the only thing that counts. But in an industry already shifting into a turbo-growth mode, everybody and their brother will be offering products. The shorter the company's time in business, the more scrutiny other factors should get before choosing that supplier. A supplier who can genuinely say "We were into wellness before wellness was cool" is worth a closer look.

2. Top-drawer quality. In the U.S. nutritional supplement industry, for example, some fundamental shifts in quality are occurring thanks to new enforcement by the FDA of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), a long-standing requirement for the production of pharmaceutical products. What do you know about the quality standards of your nutritional product supplier? Are you assured that the products that you buy actually contain what is claimed on the label, and that they are safe for you to use? Are credible, third-party certifications offered for quality claims?

3. Backed by science and research. In an industry with more and more voices saying "buy me", how do you choose? The products that impact your wellness often involve a level of trust about how they were designed, developed, and made. With nutrition products, the action is mostly inside your body. Unless you happen to be a biochemist, molecular biologist, or other specialist trained in the field, you are betting (trusting) that the supplier has done their homework on the design of the product that you are considering. Since most of us have neither the time nor inclination to visit a supplier's research facilities, what about checking online (or with email, etc.) whether they even have a research facility (many do not)? And then do some homework on the percentage of the company's revenues that is invested annually in research and development (few invest more than 1% in ongoing R&D).

4. Product backing. Does the supplier you are considering leave it to "individual results may vary"? Or do they offer a solid satisfaction guarantee? If the proof is in the results, how confident is the supplier that you will experience results as demonstrated by their guarantee?

The list could go on, but holding your wanna-be wellness partners to even these standards will go a long way toward ensuring that your investment will provide the results you are looking for. The best partners will meet those qualifications - and more.

If you use nutritional supplements you are certainly not alone. With 2003 sales of nearly $5 billion in the US, dietary supplements seem to matter to the majority of us.

What prompts you to make that investment?

There is growing support for supplement use, including voices who previously maintained that it was a waste of money. For example, in 2002 the American Medical Association stated that it is "prudent" for adults to use a daily multi-vitamin. But this was just added fuel for a long-term global trend that was already well underway, a trend that viewed nutritional supplements as key components of personal wellness and prevention strategies.

Whether you are a careful student of nutrition and design your own supplement program, or you are following the suggestions of a buddy, or something you read on the web, there are three basic reasons to use supplements:

1. Completing your individual body's nutritional requirements.
This is 'plan A', the ideal, the optimal situation. You are choosing supplements to fill gaps in your nutritional needs. These gaps are what prompted the AMA to reverse its long-standing position that supplements were not necessary, and begin recommending a daily multi-vitamin. Even the U.S. CDC is in the prevention and wellness game now, with the 2008 announcement of its "Healthiest Nation" campaign.

A 'completing' strategy leans on the fact that when your body has the resources it needs - from cells to tissues to organs to systems - the built-in defense and repair functions have their best opportunity to take care of business for you.

This is also the cost/benefit sweet spot - you are adding what you need, but not what you don't need. The challenge is knowing which nutrients you are missing, of course.

2. Compensating for a health issue.
You can think of this as a supplements-as-medicine approach. In other words, selecting a supplement for the modifying effect it has on some body function. This is what pharmaceutical formulas do.

If you walk into a room of middle-aged men and ask "What do you take if you're starting to have prostate issues?", many will answer, "Saw palmetto". But this herbal is not a solution because men have a saw palmetto deficiency. Rather the compounds in saw palmetto are thought to have a desirable effect for men when they are consumed.

This can be vital or life-saving, whether it's a natural compound or a pharmaceutical. But it is still basically a 'plan B' situation, since we are overriding the way the body would otherwise function. If we are correct about our assessment of what is wrong, we can benefit from this choice. But if we are incorrect, or have not focused on the root cause, we may add complications or waste time, energy, and money.

3. Complementing the body's routine function.
Special circumstances may make it advisable to choose nutritional supplements to enhance the body's built-in function with that circumstance in mind. Just like when we plan to have extra water available for high temperature or high exertion situations, or when athletes plan for 'carb loading' prior to events, we may select supplements that help the body's energy cycle or recovery functions.

Athletes using banned and dangerous performance-enhancing drugs would be a negative example of a complementing strategy. Fortunately, there are safe and natural choices for athletic performance that supply the body with what it needs in high-demand situations through food-based technologies.

The human body's design is to tend toward good health on its own (homeostasis). This is being rediscovered in our culture. The rise of chronic health challenges in recent decades - and its devastating impact on both quality of life and finances - has caused more of us to examine lifestyle choices for opportunities to reverse this. And to look more closely at the latest discoveries in nutritional technologies as we explore how nutritional supplements can play a role in that change.

It's hard to believe that I am approaching the end of my second decade of martial arts training. I am grateful on many levels for what began as a short-term activity to support a family member, and has developed into an enjoyable and useful pastime for me. In addition to technical knowledge and mental benefits, my martial arts training has also provided consistent physical conditioning (which I appreciate more now in my late 50's than I did when I started!).

As I mentioned in the previous installment, attitude and perspective were the first secret to staying power that made sticking with that training possible.

But another secret proved vital as well. And this one has made the difference between merely 'sticking it out' and actually 'enjoying the ride'. This secret involved a lifestyle choice that I made to use nutritional science that helps my body do what it was designed to do. In this case to perform - and recover - in situations that are a little more demanding than taking out the trash.

I became sold on the Real Food Technology products from Mannatech, after adding their core Optimal Health formulas to my daily regimen. (So much so that I started my own work-at-home business as a Mannatech Associate.)

I went on to experiment with other Mannatech formulas, including their sports-focused products, and experienced additional improvements in both performance and recovery. CardioBalance and Empact were among my favorites as 'secret weapons' for meeting my goals for my training. I was also impressed that the science behind these formulas was sound and proven, and the production quality best-in-class.

And I learned I was in good company with my perspective, when I met pro athletes who also spoke highly of Mannatech technologies as difference makers in their performance, even though they were not paid to do so. In the martial arts arena, Team Mannatech athlete Chip Townsend, a world 14-title ISKA Breaking champion, was one example. A high-caliber person both on and off the deck.

Looking ahead to my next belt test in 2010, I really appreciate all that these 'secrets' have offered me in succeeding as a mid-life martial artist. All of them have helped me to start well, and to finish well on each of my milestones thus far. I can't wait to see what's next.

I was fortunate in our choice of martial arts schools to find a program that brought me along in physical conditioning as well as technical knowledge. Going from infrequent physical activity after my college years to consistent workouts every week, it took some time for my middle-age constitution to be OK with that.

But seeing that part through was more than worth it. And as I began to value the fruit of my conditioning efforts more over time, I learned how to maximize those results through other lifestyle choices.

This led to two other secrets that offer the middle-age martial artist staying power to continue training for a long, long time.

The first secret to staying power involves two parts: attitude and perspective.

How well this secret works for me hinges on my conscious and consistent choice of attitude. I place a high value on this principle in all aspects of life anyway. So it was not hard to see its application to my martial arts training. (Except maybe for the times when my body hurts a lot!)

But another part of this secret is more subtle, involving an unconscious aspect of perspective. Its related somewhat to the secret I discussed in my last post, the grey-haired advantage. But it might be considered a outside-in, flip-side to that discovery.

I realized over time that being one of the oldest participants in our training programs shifted my outlook. I was tending to lean on my younger colleagues around me as a sort of unconscious mental picture of myself. At least in terms of physical training we may be doing together at any particular moment. In that view, I'm not primarily thinking of me being older than them. We're all doing the activity without regard to who is what age.

This is in contrast to other mental pictures or messages I might otherwise dwell on. Such as, "I am too old for this stuff." Even though this happens unconsciously, the internal image it offers goes a long way toward redefining what 'normal' is for me each time I step into the dojo to train. Especially when there are so many other voices in our culture defining 'normal' much differently for my biological age.

So this group perspective factor helped pull me along into better levels of conditioning, instead of being unconsciously talked out of it because I'm 'too old' to be doing it.

Next: conclusion - my most recent staying power secret

Grasping that first secret about success in martial arts performance put my head in a much different place as I continued my training.

And it set the stage for the next secret that I learned from observation:  there can be a grey-haired advantage.
 
What I noticed in sparring, for example, was an ability to hold my own with individuals younger and physically superior. (Which was occasionally a source of frustration to some of my training partners!) But since I am nothing special in terms of athleticism or raw martial arts aptitude, I could see this little edge arising from some advantages the mature martial artist may have in applying the mental component of martial arts skill.

Here are some ways I believe this plays out for middle-agers:
- more settled in who you are
- not as moved by competitive comparison with an opponent
- little less prone to operate from emotion
- pure necessity to use other tools if at a disadvantage physically
- more mileage at reading another person
- better sense of your own limitations
- more experience with assessing risk versus benefit in real-time

A few caveats are in order. 

I am, admittedly, glossing over the many possibilities of any given older person having problems in some of those areas, rather than being at an advantage.

And I am also not making a case that those of us with extra years are ready to jump in the ring in full-contact mixed martial arts bouts with professionals half our age. There is a reason that top athletes in their sport retire at what we consider a young age!
 
But in my experience - and in comparing notes with other middle-age colleagues - there is reason for you to take heart if you are considering the martial arts as a new pastime in mid-life. You could very well excel more than you realize.
 
Explore that for yourself as you get started, rather than assuming that you will need a dumbed-down, 'seniorized' version of the regular training. You have the opportunity to leverage your grey-haired advantage. Experience mileage is worth a great deal.
 
With commitment and hard work, I believe middle-agers can achieve the full range of physical, mental, and emotional benefits that martial arts study offers.

Next: a secret to middle-age staying power

Don't let anyone tell you that it's easy to begin a martial arts program at age 39-plus. Unless you are already in good condition - perhaps a dancer, or gymnast, or some other good-at-moving-through-space individual - that initial klutzy phase of studying martial arts is a challenge.

But when you are committed to do your part and to stick with it, the best programs will pull you along at an appropriate pace to get you back into shape, learn essential technical information, while providing an opportunity to test and refine what you are learning.

In the early part of my training, I began to pick up on a few secrets of how to thrive in martial arts training.

The first secret:  effectiveness is as much mental as it is physical. 

Perhaps you knew that already. But it was a revelation to me. And an interesting boost to my expectations for what I could ultimately achieve in my martial arts journey as a 40-something. 

Without realizing it when I started, I had downgraded some of my expectations. I developed a subconscious assumption that the martial arts was entirely about an individual's absolute level of athletic skill with the techniques we learned. And I, of course, was no longer 20 years old! 

Now I was being presented with a much more level playing field. After working past a little denial - that perhaps I was just being told that secret as a motivational trick to keep seniors and non-athletic types in the program - I began to see wider possibilities, and to experience them firsthand. Perhaps my age would not limit me quite as much as I originally thought. And that perspective led me to another discovery which was even more intriguing.  

Next:  more secrets a Boomer can love

Lots of excellent resources have been published on helping an individual choose a martial arts system, an instructor, training programs, and so on. These resources - and your doctor's support! - are invaluable for any middle-ager considering a martial arts program as a beginner.

But this first step is critical to achieving your rest-of-life goals for participating in martial arts, whether they involve fitness, self confidence, self defense, or just a recreational alternative. It is challenging enough for the average middle-ager to start on a martial arts path, without adding problems of a system or instructor that introduces more friction than benefit for where you want to go. 

The longer it's been since you've done any regular sports training (if ever!), the more choosy you should be in determining where you spend your time, energy, and money in martial arts training. So doing your homework on what life is like in the program you choose is likely to be more important than cost, convenience to where you live, and other factors.

The right martial arts school will have no difficulty taking you where you are - previous sports background or not, with the specific goals you have - and direct you on a path to personal improvement and fitness that you can enjoy, in an environment in which you can thrive.

- Look closely at the school and instructors
- Ask lots of questions: school's history, how instruction is given, who will be your instructor(s), typical class content, how progress is measured, time commitment expected
- Get referrals from other students
- Request a trial participation to 'kick the tires' of the program for month or more 

And be prepared to walk away if the fit is not right. You may be walking a lot of miles in these 'shoes', so you need the best fit possible for the journey that you have in mind!

And I know you're already thinking it:  as a middle-ager, you don't have a lot of time to waste going down a wrong path! So spending the time to start well is the secret to getting more than notoriety from learning martial arts.

Next:  there is a middle age advantage

Forty years of age did not seem "old" at the time. Until I went into my first karate dojo with our then-15 year old son to explore starting martial arts training together.

From all appearances, I had an excellent shot at being the senior 'poster child' of that program. Was I a little intimidated after only minimal athletic activity for 20 years? I'll give you three guesses.

Our son had participated in several team sports, but not with any lasting passion. The idea for the two of us studying martial arts together had started as an alternative parental strategy to encourage physical activity for our son. I thought I would be in the program a few months to get him going. And then bow out and let him continue on his own.

After sixteen years of participation and still active, I guess you could say I am hooked. My son and I had several years of great times together, and I stayed with it after he eased out in favor of other life priorities. So it's been me thanking him for opening this door to an invaluable activity for my health, mental growth, and enjoyment. The personal rewards have been more incredible than I could have imagined.

Next: I discover a few secrets that make it all possible.

More on my continuing experiment with Mannatech's OsoLean powder that targets fat loss.

My early results motivated me to stay consistent with taking Osolean as recommended: added twice a day to beverage or food. I have still experienced no complications or side effects with adding Osolean to my regimen, after 11 months of use.

Posted with this update is a photo of one of my belts that pretty much tells the story on my results. I have continued to lose abdominal fat. My waist is smaller by another inch. And my 'spare tire' continues to shrink as well.

At around 9 months, I bought my first pair of size 32 trousers in probably 30 years. I don't yet fit in every size 32 I try on. But I know where I'm headed in that regard, so that's a big time smile-producer.

I've also observed recently that taking Osolean before a meal does make a difference in the amount that I eat. My habit initially had been to take the second serving at night with my other supplements. But I am adjusting to get that second serving taken prior to dinner, to take better advantage of the part of the formula affecting the 'satiation' triggers that signal the body to stop eating.

Beyond the time of day change, I have kept my same workout routines and general diet choices. So I continue to be very pleased that adding OsoLean powder to my diet and following the recommended plan is delivering a leaner body as a result. It's the real deal.

Described by the supplier as an "advanced protein peptide technology", Mannatech's OsoLean powder generated a lot of interest prior to its release in the U.S. in September, 2008.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study conducted earlier in 2008, this patented protein peptide formula was shown to enhance fat loss while maintaining lean muscle when combined with the "OsoLean Plan" and proper exercise.* The OsoLean Plan basically involved a commitment to reduce food and beverage intake by 500 calories per day, about the same as, say, 3 beers, or a quarter-pounder with cheese, or 2 scoops of ice cream.

MY TRIAL

I was anxious to try this for myself, and began using the product at its release in 2008. In my case, I was not planning to make changes in my diet or exercise regimen, opting instead to see what kind of baseline results I experienced with just adding Osolean. I consider my diet above average - infrequent fast food consumption, choosy about whole grains, avoiding high carb items, etc. And I had been routinely exercising 4 times a week (martial arts training).

Although my diet and exercise habits were above average for my age group (mid 50's), I tended to, and was then, still carrying extra abdominal fat that I wanted to find another home for!

MY RESULTS

Within in the first 4 weeks, I felt like my tummy and 'spare tire' areas were getting leaner. I regularly used a pinch test on the spare tire to monitor what was happening, probably losing an inch there. My first milestone was an old pair of jeans that I not been able to get into for several years (no ... I don't know why I kept them!), and was able to start wearing again.

After 4 months, I bought my first pair of jeans in 10 years that were the next size smaller. I was still noticing less spare tire to pinch, and that my old jeans were noticeably baggy in the rear pocket area. I had not weighed myself very much, since the product was described as targeting fat cells well enough that inches lost were generally more noticeable than pounds lost. This matched my experience with only 2 or 3 pounds lost in 4 months.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

- Since my trial went through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, I could see that I could certainly affect the fat loss progress by my calorie intake. And also by missing my regular workout days. But I was pleased to see that I had much less fat gain after the holidays than had been typical.

- I experienced some changes in appetite. Most noticeable at first was how long a carton of ice cream began staying in the freezer. Very unusual at our house.

- The OsoLean formula provides a very good amount of additional protein, calcium, and magnesium in readily-absorbed forms, which can mean a nice nutritional bonus beyond its intended fat-loss effect.

- No other side effects were noticed. Since the OsoLean approach is not based on stimulants or other thermogenic compounds, I did not experience any of the side effects that sometimes go with those kinds of formulas.

BOTTOM LINE

Mannatech has a winner with OsoLean powder. Especially as part of a healthy strategy of good diet and exercise choices. I'm looking forward to seeing how my results can accelerate as the weather changes back to where higher levels of outdoor activity are the norm.

OsoLean is also well-positioned for use as a weight-management component in a wellness-oriented business. With the rapidly-growing interest in weight management, this kind of proven, all-natural, consistently-effective technology should be very successful.

*According to Mannatech: this statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

You already get it.

Being smart about how you eat, drink, sleep, and exercise is already important to you. And you've already seen changes from making better choices today than you did before in these areas. That part of your plan is working.

Did you know that your choices about managing stress greatly affect how much you benefit from the choices you make in the other parts of your wellness strategy?

There are two primary 'control knobs' that most people have for managing stress: external circumstances, and internal response to those circumstances.

INTERNAL

Whether you are in a good period, or happen to be in-between good times, equipping your inner person to deal with less-than-desired circumstances is always a wise investment of time and energy.

The existing elements of your wellness strategy - diet, sleep, exercise - do significantly enhance the way you physically and emotionally respond to stress. But placing an emphasis on your emotional well-being is another important inner-life factor. This includes choices around what we think about and especially what we focus on.

You can also make proactive choices in your spiritual life to build your capacity to respond in a low-stress way on the inside to what may be high-stress circumstances on the outside. For example, no matter what your particular spiritual world view, you may also benefit from disciplines such as meditation, yoga, or tai chi that focus on the interface between spirit, mind, and body and produce tangible benefits for dealing with stress.

EXTERNAL

Not every aspect of your external circumstances may seem under your control. For example, you may not able to single-handedly pull the world economy out of recession. But in most cases there are a set of choices that are within your power to make. And adjusting your view so that those choices are clear, and then taking action on them, is critical to minimizing the stress you will otherwise experience.

For example, if your continued employment is no longer a sure thing, you may not be able to change what is causing your employer to consider work force changes. But you can start looking for opportunities to supplement or replace your program, such as starting your own work from home business. The right home business can provide you even more control over your finances than you had before, and offer some time freedom that you did not have in your employment situation. Both of which have tremendous potential to reduce your day-to-day stress.

It happened in the mid twentieth century. Dietary fat became the great evil to avoid in American food choices.

And this fear of dietary fat -- and the health risks claimed for it -- still drives how we eat and the advice we get from most health care providers.

This increasing fat awareness does have an up side. It is giving American consumers a useful education that is visible in how we spend our food dollars:
- Seeing trans fats increasingly disappear from our prepared food is a very good thing. Most savvy consumers are now paying attention to it, and thus so are suppliers.
- And the growing awareness of essential fatty acids and other 'good fats' that are critical to health, is also encouraging. More of us are understanding the difference between the fats in shortening and the fats in olive oil. Which is also not lost on food suppliers and marketers. Mainstream advertising that mentions products having omega-3's as a benefit would have been unheard of just a few years ago.

But the October/November, 2008 issue of Mother Earth News includes an alarming overview of the downside of our half-century of anti-fat prevailing wisdom, and its probable effect on the trends for increased obesity and related chronic disease.

Recent studies are re-confirming what used to be common knowledge just from observation. It is not fat in your food that adds fat to your body. Excess carbohydrates lead to excess body fat. And excess body fat, especially abdominal fat, is now considered a far more dangerous risk factor than dietary fat for chronic illness such as heart disease or diabetes.

And it would be ironic, if it wasn't so tragic, that the key to reversing some of these diet-driven health trends could be as simple as returning to being more cautious about dietary carbs than dietary fats. Both how many carbs we consume, and what kind of carbs we choose.

As the author of the M.E. News article puts it:
"As it turns out, every hormone in our body works to release fat from our fat tissue, with the singular exception of insulin, which works to put it there. And insulin levels in our blood are determined primarily by the carbohydrate content of our diet."

If your waist size is larger than it should be, there may be some urgency to do further 'homework' on your carbohydrate intake and your risk for heart disease or diabetes.
1. What are you doing to reduce your total carb intake every day?
2. Are you selective about what kind of carbs you consume?
3. What are you doing to increase your daily activity level?
4. Have you explored fat-targeted strategies to specifically reduce the amount of abdominal fat you have?
5. If you are evaluating over-the-counter supplements to help with fat loss, are the formulas proven, science-backed, and free from side effect risks?

"Is fat the next tobacco?"
Article headline, Fortune magazine, 2003

This question is showing up everywhere. Online searches show hits in medical publications, legal discussion boards, consumer advocacy groups, and nutrition advice resources.

The issue is big, dangerous, and growing. Depending on the source you consult, obesity is already -- or soon to be -- the number one root cause of health-related disability. It plays a direct role in issues such as circulatory health or diabetes, and a contributing role in other conditions such as joint health and cancer risk.

The good news is a growing number of individuals are taking action. A publication of the American Dietetic Association placed U.S. consumer spending on weight loss products at $43 billion in 2004. Unfortunately, not all of those investments are worthwhile. Some are unproven and ineffective. And some are risky or dangerous.

As the pro-active consumer drives the current boom in wellness toward a trillion-dollar industry a generous percentage of their wellness investments will be on proven and effective solutions to their weight management challenges. If providing those solutions is not currently on the radar of your wellness home business, it's time to start your homework for shifting that direction.

Sifting through the maze of choices already being offered will be a challenge. But choosing the right wellness partner for weight management solutions obviously affects how quickly you will succeed in that arena.

You are looking for a provider whose products are:
- providing consistent results
- unique and proprietary
- backed by proven science
- top-drawer quality

The best suppliers offer satisfaction guarantees as well.

With the right choice here, you and your wellness home business can be in for a very rewarding ride. One leading wellness supplier launched a unique product this year based on a patented peptide technology that effectively targeted abdominal fat loss, while protecting lean tissue. The demand so far exceeded expectations that they sold several months of inventory in the first few weeks after the launch. In addition to the exciting amount of new business conducted, think about how many people were also on their way to a healthier life.

Makes the mind race.

As a savvy wellness consumer, the quality and effectiveness of the products I buy will make-or-break any decision to keep them in my wellness strategy. Should I care how that supplier distributes the products I want?

Choosing a supplier that sells through a traditional or online retailer is a familiar option. What affects me in this situation beyond the quality and features of the product? I care whether I'm getting value for my purchase, and whether the retailer has the service I'm expecting such as having the product on the shelves or offering good shipping options.

A number of product choices in the wellness industry are offered direct-ship to me through companies that use network marketing as their form of distribution. Here, too, I care about whether I'm getting value for my purchase. And I expect quality service as well, with purchases delivered correctly and in a timely manner.

But the top network marketing companies offer me something more. With most I can receive a commission from others' purchases, which can offset some or all of my own product expense. And if I choose to leverage this, the arrangement can grow to be a launching pad for my own business, either as a side endeavor or as a lucrative career change.

No surprise: not all companies are the same. Some network marketing companies offer superior wellness products. Others provide an edge in the way they compensate me and help me achieve my goals.

But I love having choices, even if it means more homework. Homework on deciding how to choose a company based on their network marketing qualities as well as their product quality and features.

Plastic: (plas-tik) adj. "capable of being molded"

While life today would be problematic if we did not have it, we tend to view "plastic" in a bad light. At least the all-around-us derivative of petroleum that will live forever in landfills and is constructed into millions of things that we take for granted.

The more-classic use of the term "plastic" has to do with the quality of things that can be molded from one form into another, whether those things start as petro-based synthetic chemicals, natural materials, or even living tissue.

This is where there is good news for you and me. Recent research into the nature and activity of brain physiology shows there is an ability for the brain to develop throughout life. While our capacity to learn throughout life is not a new idea, this was still viewed as an absorbing-new-data function with a more or less unchanging brain hardware.

What is new is the understanding that the brain (and our other neural hardware) can continue to develop physically as well. The conventional wisdom had been that brain physical development basically stopped after childhood, and we were all in a 'run what ya brung' mode the rest of our lives. Oh, and of course that we could diminish our brain hardware through bad lifestyle choices, too. ("Mmmm, beer." Homer Simpson)

New research into "neural plasticity" is showing remarkable capacity for the brain to form new neural pathways when exposed to new information, a significant departure from the model that had all such pathways being created only during childhood development.

(Additional excitement here may involve non-brain neural development that's been demonstrated as workarounds for spinal cord injuries. Not a cure for the original injury yet. But amazing quality of life improvement. Do some searching on that when you have a minute.)

But in the meantime, you and I have some options to leverage this capacity to extend useful abilities around memory, following conversations, retaining reading material, and general cognitive sharpness. How do we do that? "Use it or lose it", as it turns out.

You can already find at least one commercial software offering that is specifically designed around leveraging this through exercises designed to tax the brain in specific ways that trigger neural pathway development. It's intriguing that mastering the exercises has general benefits to your brain function - not just increasing your ability to do the exercises. In the similar way that going to the gym provides your body a general health benefit with all of your activities.

You can foster this brain mold-ability in creative ways on your own. Pushing into new frontiers seems to be especially helpful. So here are some thought-starters of ways you can push yourself into improved brain function.

1. Become conversant in that new language you've been saying you were going to learn.
2. Learn to play a musical instrument.
3. Learn a new physical activity, such as ballroom dancing, self defense, weaving, painting.

The key to these activities - from a brain improvement standpoint - seems to be the new and the learning, more than performing something already learned. So perform that music for the pure enjoyment of it. But don't stop learning new pieces or new instruments.

What an exciting opportunity to mold ourselves into a better quality of life through deliberate and ongoing development of our brain's neural wiring. And to think that you even started the process by reading this post. See where it takes you next!

Being in my second decade of participating in martial arts as a middle-ager, I'm always watching for things that can enhance my experience in this activity. "Enhance" sometimes meaning "survive physically", other times meaning "more satisfaction or enjoyment".

Using my head as much as my muscles was a key part of that. As was being choosy about things like stretching, conditioning, rest, and hydration.

A few years ago, I also started a more intentional nutritional regimen, including a set of dietary supplements that worked for me. Since then these supplements have proved to be an equally important element in both the "survive" and "enjoy" aspects of my ongoing martial arts experience. And I certainly 'don't leave home without them' these days.

This led to some observations about the role of nutrition in sports performance, and dietary supplements in particular.

1. Filling a nutrition gap - This is meeting the ongoing requirements of the various systems of your body. In this case systems that are at work during sports activity, or in post-workout recovery. Choices for the food you eat at meals is the first place you can help or hurt your performance. And there are thousands of perspectives on what foods are best for various sports disciplines. Unfortunately, even the best food on the planet does not contain many vital nutrients that our bodies are designed to get through food. So intelligent supplementation is necessary for getting all the resources you need for consistent top performance.

2. Optimizing systems for performance - In a different vein, there are nutritional components that can optimize body systems for the unique demands of sports activity. Getting the most of what you have when you're all out. This is tricky in recent years, with all the strategies that have involved unnaturally pushing body systems to higher levels, with stimulants, steroids, or other compounds. Even though I am not involved in official sports competition that monitors for doping compounds, it is still important to me to 'keep it natural'. That gives me the best performance I can expect from my age, level of fitness, etc. without stealing from my future health with substances that modify my body to the point of cumulative harm. So I use a supplier that supports the World Anti-Doping Agency mission and offers products that are free of all banned substances.

3. Side benefits from meeting other needs - And then I also found instances of my sports experience being enhanced by a supplement strategy that I had been using for a non-sports reason. A side benefit. For example, in my supplement 'makeover' a few years ago, I added a formulation that targeted general heart and circulatory system health. And it met expectations in that area. But I also noticed that it made a difference in my workouts, with more cardio reserve and a little quicker cardio recovery. A secret weapon in a way, but one that was good for me instead of risky.

I'm not sure where I got the idea that my immune system was like a fortress, with hard-wall perimeters that succeed against infectious invaders by keeping them away. I suppose I figured that when I was sick it was because someone left the fortress gate open, or an invader sneaked inside the fortress to attack my health.

Then someone pointed out to me that a healthy immune system doesn't really function like a fortress. I'm not that removed from the invaders in my air, water, food, and the things I touch. Even if I'm careful with things like hand-washing and food preparation.

So, fortunately, when the invaders do come strolling through the woods of my air passages or my digestive tract, my immune system, when it is fully equipped, is more like an overwhelming highly-diverse ambush force that takes out the invaders. Plus takes away the trash when the smoke clears!

This changed the view of what my part is in ensuring that the immune system is fully resourced. I wasn't building better fortress walls. I was equipping an army of specialized cells that identify, destroy, and remove invading cells.

So what I eat -- and knowing whether the nutrients in my food were adequate -- took on a different importance as well. I learned that the supply of ammunition for this specialized cell-level army was vital to how well they took care of the invaders I'm exposed to every day.

Antioxidants, glyconutrients, phytosterols, essential vitamins and minerals, and other micronutrients play a critical role in ensuring that this army is ready for the life-and-death struggle constantly waged in my body at the cell level. I choose whether those compounds are available, not the army.

My army also functions better when I have adequate rest, manage stress effectively, and drink sufficient amounts of good water. My responsibility again.

So, now I'm focused better on my role as quartermaster for my immune system army. And I think every day about what I can do for them ... as they do what they are designed to miraculously do for me.

If you need a nice pre-Halloween scare, check this NY Times peek at the hot-selling nutritional program,
"Eat This Not That". The summary of top-10 worst foods is where the bad news lurks. Getting a whole day's worth of fat, calories, or sodium in one menu item should be plenty alarming to the wellness-conscious consumer.

Look if you dare ... but you need to know what's there. Even if your usual favorite at the restaurant is not listed, it could very well rival those that are listed.

"You are what you eat" as they say!

See the complete NY Times blog entry here.

For a long time it seemed like with each national election cycle we would joke. Around the water cooler or wherever, we would joke. About the need to keep our hand on our checkbook, for example, or about some personal quirk or mistake of one of the candidates.

It doesn't seem like there's much that's funny this cycle (except the occasional JibJab video). We are especially not amused with what's happening to our pocketbook in 2008.

With the state of our healthcare system in the U.S. - the crushing financial weight of it, as well as the disturbing questions around its effectiveness - it's timely for 'we the people' to do some homework on what we can expect with the next presidential administration (and don't forget congress) for our health and well-being. Anything new? Or pretty much the same?

One view of the two presidential candidate positions is offered by Your Candidates - Your Health web site. Using the "Compare" function offered on their Presidential Candidate page, you can see a side-by-side comparison of the response to health policy questions submitted for this web site.

Most of the McCain responses did not include a direct response to the questions asked by the authors, but did provide considerable text about the specifics of Sen. McCain's perspective and proposals related to the question topic.

No big surprises here, if you've followed the TV coverage at all in recent months.

Obama believes the current system is broken and in need of an overhaul. McCain believes the primary problem with the current system is the cost.

McCain says that Americans need federal government to ensure "access" to affordable healthcare. Obama says Americans have "a right" to same.

On what I consider to be a key aspect of effective health policy going forward, the candidates both claim to be pro-prevention. McCain offers this: "Focusing on prevention and wellness is an important aspect of my health care plan." Obama: "Increasing the focus on prevention and wellness is a critical part of my health care plan."

The comparison includes several other detailed topics, including healthcare professional staffing levels, medical research support, and federal support for state and local health agencies.

Know where your candidate stands on issues and priorities that will affect you and the welfare of your family for some time to come. See the McCain and Obama campaign web sites for more details on the candidates' proposals to deal with one of the biggest domestic issues in this election cycle.

Oh. And don't forget to vote!

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) have been a regulatory requirement for the pharmaceutical industry in many countries for some time. In mid-2007, the US FDA published new rules for the dietary supplement industry that require GMP standards in the manufacture, handling, and packaging of supplement products.

The advent of GMP requirements was not universally welcomed by supplement suppliers, but is overdue for us. Among other things, these rules will help ensure that you and I will be getting what the label claims is contained in the supplement products we purchase.

Earlier studies in the US and Australia of product contents versus label claims have been shocking at times, with the amount of active ingredient being many times higher or lower than the label claim.

But the change is underway in the US now. As consumers, we can't presume yet that all supplement suppliers are GMP-compliant. Standards organizations (such as not-for-profit NSF, see link below) are working through the certification and enforcement process. If you currently use dietary supplements, check the status of your suppliers. You have a right to expect GMP quality and consistency.

http://www.nsf.org/business/gmp/index.asp

For additional general information on GMPs, see this article at Wikipedia.

USA Today reported on a new public health campaign in a July 7 online article.

According to the article, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is announcing a new campaign aimed at "changing the conversation" around health. The "Healthiest Nation Campaign" hopes to raise the average American's awareness on individual and family responsibility for prevention and health maintenance.

Says CDC Director Julie Gerberding, "We put way too much emphasis on treating disease rather than protecting health in the first place."

Although an encouraging shift in emphasis for US public health policy, this announcement is not without its sad touches of irony.

For one thing, it's hard to believe that an emphasis on protecting health wouldn't be an obvious common sense first priority to just about anyone you talk with. But here we have the obvious making news, as part of a 'new' campaign, a new public emphasis.

For another, the US is far and away the biggest spender per-capita of any other nation on 'health' care. Yet we have allowed decades to go by before deciding that are our priorities - and spending - may have been misdirected.

The US ranking in key health statistics (e.g. chronic disease, infant mortality) has been tragically upside down with our level of spending on those areas. And we apparently can't even look around to get a clue. Director Gerberding stating the obvious again, "Many countries have put more emphasis on health promotion than the United States."

No specific slam here on the CDC. Ultimately, responsibility rests with 'we the people' for letting things drift this far this long.

So kudos to the CDC for this new emphasis, but lets get into high gear for covering some distance down this new road. You and me, elected and public officials. Let's leverage these changes so that the commercial element of our health system get's the message as well. We're due.

See complete article at USA Today web site:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-07-cdc-gerberding_N.htm