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Let's start with stress!

Our modern lifestyle means that many of us are under constant pressure. Stress releases a flood of chemicals that should only really be triggered in life-threatening situations. These chemicals must be eliminated, which is a process that depletes essential nutrients needed by the body to maintain health.

This is where daily moderate exercise, preferably in the fresh air, becomes essential. It distracts us from our daily troubles, enlivens the body, oxygenates the blood, and like laughter, releases healing endorphins. Exercise also improves the flow of lymph around the body - the lymph system is the body's waste disposal system, essential for toxin elimination.

To minimise stress, you also need to relax and rest properly. At the end of each day, escape for 15-30 minutes, sit quietly, empty your mind and focus on gentle breathing to minimise stress. Just 60 seconds focusing on your breathing can take you from fast, anxious breathing, to calm, controlled breathing, curbing a stress response and saving your body a lot of unnecessary work.

You need 6-8 hours sound sleep every night so that your body can concentrate its efforts on repair and maintenance. Go to bed in good time, avoid loud, upbeat music, intense exercise or heavy meals three hours beforehand - a busy digestive system doesn't contribute to restful sleep.

Finally, the key to a healthy defence system is a rich supply of hard working nutrients - antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, protein, healthy fats and colourful carbohydrates.

GROUND RULES:
Fill your plate with colourful carbohydrates - seasonal fruit and vegetables: include a generous salad every day (raw food provide more nutrients than cooked foods). Choose light steaming or quick frying when cooking, to preserve nutrients.

Go for organic. This reduces your intake of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, growth promoters and other chemical toxins (toxins overload the organs of elimination, wasting precious energy and nutrients).

Eat fruit on an empty stomach, not with other foods, to ensure proper digestion.

Eat when relaxed, chew properly, take your time and enjoy.

Five portions of fruit and vegetables daily is the minimum. Double up for double protection!

FOCUS ON:
Sprouted Seeds
They are living foods bursting with vitality and nutrients - a must for winter health maintenance.

Vitamin C rich foods
Such as citrus fruit, kiwis, blackcurrants, dark green leafy vegetables, strawberries and red peppers. Vitamin C enhances immunity and can shorten the duration of colds.

Winter berries
They also help protect against colds and flu. Try blackberries, blueberries, elderberries, cranberries.

Vitamin A rich foods
Vitamin A helps to fight infections and accelerates healing. Found naturally in oily fish, offal, yellow, orange, red and dark green vegetables, egg yolk, milk and dairy products, yellow and orange fruits.

Zinc rich foods
Zinc helps to fight infections and accelerates healing. Found naturally in lean meat, shellfish, wheat germ, brewer's yeast, wholegrains, eggs, seeds and nuts.

Antioxidant rich foods
These include apples, berries, carrots, citrus fruits, garlic and onions, greens, red grapes, seeds, soy foods, sweet potatoes, green tea, turmeric, walnuts, winter squashes...

Healthy Fats
They protect and insulate the cells. Increase your intake of Omega 3s, found in oily fish. If you do not like fish, take a supplement (such as Herbalifeline).

Hot spicy food
Include a hot curry once a week with garlic, which helps fight infection, ginger which relieves cold and flu symptoms and turmeric for its powerful antioxidant properties.

Water
Drink eight glasses of water daily, vital for the transport of precious nutrients!

Herbalife Solution: Take out extra health insurance with our potent antioxidant supplements:

Schizandra Plus
The colourful berries of the Schizandra plant have been highly regarded by Chinese and Asian herbalists for centuries and more recently, the berries have been recognised by western civilisation for their positive effect on the body as an "adaptogen" - a sophisticated substance that can help the body adjust to environmental conditions. Together with Kelp, Vitamins C, E, B6, B5 and amino acids L-Phenylalanine and L-Cysteine, Schizandra Plus provides a powerhouse of antioxidant nutrients to help fight bugs and viruses, perform 24-7 repair and maintenance and disable free radicals. More about Schizandra Plus.


ShapeWorks Formula 2 Multivitamin Complex
Most health experts recommend taking a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement, with good reason: depleted soils produce harvests with reduced nutrient content, modern fast foods typically have all the goodness "processed out", poor diet, smoking, alcohol, stress, pollution, excess weight, all create a demand for a higher intake of vitamins and minerals. The kindest habit you can adopt for your health is a daily multi-supplement; it's the most authentic all-year-round form of health insurance and Herbalife's Formula 2 is one of the best quality multi-supplement you can find around! More about Formula 2 Multivitamin Complex.

Vitamins and minerals are natural substances found in living things such as plants and they are vital nutrients for bodily functions and prevention of disease. In a massive study of 26000 people it was concluded that not one person received nutritional requirements set by Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). This pretty much does it for an archaic argument of "I can get everything I need from food!" Well, no, you can not!

The fact is that every one of us will eventually die, however, how you look and feel for the last 20 to 50 years of your life will depend on your lifestyle and vitamin and mineral intake throughout your life as Vitamins and Minerals influence the following:

Your Immune System: They help build up your immunity as heart disease, cancer and other illnesses and ailments are created due to deficiencies based on what
you eat or don't eat.

Your Energy Levels: Optimum consumption of vitamins and minerals will increase your energy levels and vitamins and minerals are involved in the release of energy from digested foods. Strong and long lasting energy levels are pretty good indicators of a healthy nutrition.

Your Appearance: Vitamins and Minerals influence the appearance of your skin, tone, elasticity, hair strength, thickness and colour, fingernail strength, colour and texture, etc. Ever came across someone who looks 50 at 30 or someone who actually looks 30 at 50?

Your Intelligence: Brain function, ability to concentrate and memory are boosted by proper vitamin and mineral intake.

According to the research in the US alone, 96% of Americans die of disease attributed to NOT getting proper nutrition. This figure will be close to majority of the Western countries. Considering that the UK is The Fat Capital of Europe, straight after the USA in the World, this figure could be closer to the UK than any other country.

"A deficiency of a vitamin or mineral will cause a body part to malfunction and
eventually break down - and, like dominos, other body parts will follow", James
F. Balch, M.D., Prescription for Nutritional Healing

Here are the reasons why there is an increasing evidence that vitamin and mineral supplementation is absolutely necessary:

Crop nutrient losses - decades of agriculture have overworked and depleted soils of minerals.
Poor digestion - eating too much or too quickly and stress can cause indigestion, which, in turn, reduces absorption of vitamins and minerals.

Over-cooking - can easily destroy valuable food nutrients.

Microwave cooking - easily alter the nutritional structure and value of food

Food storage - length of storage and freezing deplete the nutritional value of most foods.

Food selection - eating a too limited range of different food groups will result in nutrient deficiency.

Food omission - allergies to foods, crash dieting and poorly designed vegetarian diets omit significant dietary sources of nutrients.

Environmental factors - herbicides and pesticides are used on crops, leaving them wit low nutritional value.

Antibiotics - interfere with the intake of essential nutrients.

Poor lifestyle habits - smoking, alcohol and caffeine can inhibit the absorption of vitamins and minerals or accelerate the loss of nutrients.

Stress - be it physical or emotional, it can increase body's requirement of vitamins and minerals.

Out of balance - the level of each mineral and vitamin in the body has an effect on others, so, if one is missing or out of balance, all will be effected. All combined enhance the power of the others.

Nutrient variance - there are substantial differences between one fruit or vegetable and another. One tomato can have 10 times more nutritional value than another - which one did you eat?

"Insufficient vitamin intake is apparently a cause of chronic diseases... Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. Pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomised trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements",
American Medical Association.

Vitamins and Minerals in your body work in synergy as a network of nutrients working together and if one nutrient is missing, it will throw the entire network of nutrients out of balance. That is why supplements should include many different types of vitamins and minerals, combined in the right proportions.

Please note that not all supplements are beneficial. For a supplement to be beneficial to your body, it must be absorbed by your body. Research has proven that many, especially low cost supplements from high street stores, "name brands", would do you absolutely no good as the x-rays have shown that they simply remain in your colon, completely undissolved!

Herbalife's products are Cellular Nutrition and, as such, guarantee to be of the highest quality and completely absorbed by your body. That is why people say that they feel a difference when taking Herbalife products. Find out more about Herbalife's Cellular Nutrition Technology.

So, considering the above and the fact that your health, intelligence, energy levels and your looks are dependent on you replenishing your vitamins and minerals several times per day, have you decided which life are you designing for yourself?