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According to a new survey, the top dietary supplements in America are (in order of popularity):

• Fish oil (omega-3 essential fatty acids)
• Multivitamins
• Vitamin D
• Calcium, and
• CoQ10.

Two out of three respondents said they use fish oil and multivitamins, and approximately half said they used vitamin D, calcium, and/or CoQ10. These findings are based on responses from ConsumerLab.com’s annual survey of its e-newsletter readers conducted in November 2011.

The survey also uncovered some interesting trends in how people of different ages and genders shop for dietary supplements.

Gender and Age

Women are more likely than men to take vitamin D, calcium, B vitamins, probiotics, and iron supplements.

Men are more likely than women to take supplements that are generally thought to boost energy, slow aging, or lower cholesterol, such as CoQ10, resveratrol, amino acids, nutrition drinks and powders, green tea, and muscle enhancers.

Many supplements vary in popularity based on the consumer’s age. For example, while only 31% of respondents under age 35 use vitamin D, the use of vitamin D increases to 50% for 45-54 year olds and to 58% for 65-74 year olds. Other supplements that are especially sought after by older consumers include calcium, CoQ10, B vitamins, vitamins C,E, and K, and resveratrol.

Conversely, some supplements become less popular as consumers age. These include amino acids, nutrition/protein drinks and powders, green tea, nutrition bars, weight loss supplements, muscle enhancers, and superfruits. Younger adults are also slightly more likely to use fish oil or multivitamins than older adults.

The most heavily used supplements are especially popular with people who take multiple supplements every day. For example, fish oil is used by 81% of people who use 10 or more supplements per day. CoQ10 is used by 76% of people who take 10 or more supplements per day, but only by 10% of people who use one supplement per day.

Buying Habits

The survey also found the Internet to be the most popular place to buy supplements.

42% of respondents reported buying supplement from online stores, followed by health food stores (29%). At least 20% of respondents reported buying from warehouse clubs, mail order catalogues, supermarkets, pharmacies, and vitamin stores. They also purchased from mass merchants, direct distributors, and health care practitioners.

The biggest supplement users are likely to shop online. Specifically, 56% of those taking 10 or more supplements daily purchase online versus 23% of those taking only one supplement daily.

Younger shoppers prefer the Internet. More than 55% of adults under 45 buy supplements online. More than 33% in every age group up to 85 use online stores. Even those over age 85 said they shop online.

Science-based, Quality Nutrition from Youngevity

Youngevity makes it easy to get the top five most popular nutrients-and much more-with our pre-packaged Health Paks^‚Ñ¢. These include:

• Item #10245 – Healthy Start Pak^‚Ñ¢ – Foundation nutrition to support a healthy lifestyle plus added support for cardiovascular, brain and eye health and strong bones and joints.* Each pak includes Beyond Tangy Tangerine^™ – 420g canister (1), E.F.A. Plus^‚Ñ¢ (1), and Osteo-fx Plus^‚Ñ¢ (1).
• Item #10246 -Healthy Blood Sugar Pak^‚Ñ¢ - All of the nutrition in our Healthy Start Pak^‚Ñ¢ plus extra support for healthy blood sugar levels.* Each Pak includes Beyond Tangy Tangerine^™ – 420g canister (1), E.F.A. Plus^‚Ñ¢ (1), Osteo-fx Plus^‚Ñ¢ (1), and Slender FX Sweet Eze^‚Ñ¢ (1)*.
• Item #10247 – Healthy Bone and Joint Pak^‚Ñ¢ - All of the nutrition in our Healthy Start Pak^‚Ñ¢ plus extra support for healthy bones and joints. Each Pak includes Beyond Tangy Tangerine^™ – 420g canister (1), E.F.A. Plus^‚Ñ¢ (1), Osteo-fx Plus^‚Ñ¢ (1), Gluco Gel – 240 capsules (1) and CM Cream (1).* †
• Item #10248 – Healthy Digestion Pak^‚Ñ¢ – All of the nutrition in our Healthy Start Pak^‚Ñ¢ plus extra support for healthy digestion. Each Pak includes Beyond Tangy Tangerine^™ – 420g canister (1), E.F.A. Plus^‚Ñ¢ (1), Osteo-fx Plus^‚Ñ¢ (1), Ultimate Enzymes (1) and Ultimate Flora fx (1).*
• Item #10249 – Healthy Brain and Heart Pak^‚Ñ¢ - All of the nutrition in our Healthy Start Pak^‚Ñ¢ plus extra support to promote healthy brain and cardiovascular function. Each Pak includes Beyond Tangy Tangerine^™ – 420g canister (1), E.F.A. Plus^‚Ñ¢ (1), Osteo-fx Plus^‚Ñ¢, Ultimate E.F.A. Plus^‚Ñ¢ (1) and Selenium (1).*

Until next week,

Best Wishes for Ultimate Health and Majestic Dreams!

Steve Wallach

CEO

AL International

Helping YOU Live Younger, Longer!

“Resolve Today to Make the Best Use of Tomorrow”

Source: https://www.consumerlab.com/news/Most-Popular-Supplements-Survey/2_5_2012/

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure any disease.

Make Twitter a Part of Your Marketing Arsenal

As the above article shows, most consumers of dietary supplements-even 85 year olds!-are comfortable with the Internet. Therefore, savvy use of online tools will not only give you an edge, it can almost be considered an absolute must!

Six years ago, Twitter gained popularity as a quick (140-character) way to answer the question, “what are you doing?” But today, there’s more to Twitter than just telling people you’re waiting in line for a latte. In fact, today’s version of Twitter is one of the most powerful online marketing tools out there-and it’s FREE!

The social media marketing firm, Hubspot^™, says this about the power of using Twitter to promote your business (excerpted from their ebook, “How to Use Twitter for Business”):

“Quite often, people‘s gut reaction to Twitter is, ‘No one needs to know what I‘m doing,’ or ‘I don‘t care what other people are doing.’

These views are common among those who just don‘t understand the value that Twitter can provide for business. In the words of marketing expert Chris Brogan, Twitter is a useful communication tool that allows you to interact with people around the world in three different ways:

1. Send a short message to a bunch of people publicly
2. Send a short message to a specific person publicly
3. Send a short message to a specific person privately

Twitter is also referred to as a “micro-blogging” service, meaning you can post short updates limited to 140 characters or fewer. Why? Originally, this character limitation was implemented to make Twitter compatible with mobile phones and text messaging. Now, it‘s a useful characteristic that allows users to receive rapid-fire, concise information from many, many people!”

From a business perspective, Twitter is a relationship-building and relationship maintenance tool; the most obvious business use of Twitter is to meet potential customers and leads the same way you would at networking event or tradeshow.

You can also use it to:

1. Develop and promote your brand
2. Interact with your customer base
3. Track what people are saying about your company and brand
4. Create buzz around upcoming events, such as meetings, webinars, etc.
5. Generate sales leads for your business

If you’re looking for new and creative ways to promote your business, why not give Twitter a try? You may be pleasantly (and profitably) surprised!

Vanessa Hunter

Vice President of Marketing

AL International

Source: Hubspot, “How to Use Twitter for Business: An Introductory Guide. Getting Started with Twitter to Achieve Business Goals.

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