Did you know that Youngevity led the way in petitioning the Food and Drug Administration to establish health claims regarding the benefits of omega-3s (aka fish oil)?

Omega-3 essential fatty acids are vital nutrients with well-documented health benefits. They are commonly referred to as “fish oil" because primary sources include cold water, fatty fish such as mackerel, herring, tuna, halibut, and salmon. According to a recent survey by ConsumerLab.com, as many people now take a fish oil supplement as a multivitamin.

In addition to their cardio-protective benefits, omega-3s are increasingly recognized as important support for eye, brain, immune, and joint health and cancer prevention. Two newly-published studies further underscore these potential benefits.

Prostate health

New research conducted by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and published in Cancer Prevention Research suggests that a dietary regimen of low fat and fish oil supplementation may be effective in slowing the progression of prostate cancer, as compared to a typical Western diet.1

The typical Western diet is inordinately high in pro-inflammatory omega-6 rich foods such as red meats and processed and fast foods, but low in anti-inflammatory omega-3 rich foods such as fish, flaxseed, dark green vegetables, and nuts. Many nutritional researchers blame this imbalance, estimated to be as high as a 17:1 ratio, for the epidemic in inflammatory chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and arthritis.2

A phase II randomized trial showed slower cancer-cell growth in men with prostate cancer who ate a low-fat diet with fish oil supplements for four to six weeks prior to having their prostates removed, compared to men who ate a traditional, high-fat Western diet.

Researchers collected blood samples before and after the diet began, and tissue samples from the removed prostates were examined. Among their findings:

• Cell membranes of the low-fat/fish oil supplement diet group had heightened levels of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil and lower levels of omega-6 from corn oil.

• Blood from the low-fat/fish oil group showed a slower growth of prostate cancer cells whereas blood from the Western diet group showed no slowdown in growth of prostate cells.

“You truly are what you eat," said Dr. William Aronson, who led the study. “We are extremely pleased about our findings, which suggest that by altering the diet, we may favorably affect the biology of prostate cancer."

Aronson cautioned that he could not recommend dietary changes based on the study due to the short duration and small sample size. However, based on these results he is organizing a much larger, randomized, longer-term study.

Joint health

A new animal study published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, suggests that omega-3 fish oil may “substantially and significantly" ease signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA).

Researchers at the University of Bristol fed OA-prone Dunkin-Hartley (DH) guinea pigs and OA-resistant Bristol Strain-2s (BS2) guinea pigs either a standard diet or omega-3 rich diet for 10 to 30 weeks.

The OA-prone animals fed the omega-3 diet showed reduced disease. Early signs of OA, such as degradation of collagen in cartilage and the loss of molecules that give cartilage its shock-absorbing properties, were reduced in the omega-3 groups.

Said lead author Dr. John Tarlton, “Osteoarthritis in guinea pigs is perhaps the most appropriate model for spontaneous, naturally occurring OA, and all of the evidence supports the use of omega-3 in human disease."

He added, “Most diets in the developed world are lacking in omega-3, with modern diets having up to 30 times too much omega-6 and too little omega-3. Taking omega-3 will help redress this imbalance and may positively contribute to a range of other health problems."

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"

Sources:

1. Aronson WJ, Kobayashi N, Barnard RJ, et al. Phase II prospective randomized trial of a low-fat diet with fish oil supplementation in men undergoing radical prostatectomy. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2011 Oct 25 .
2. Hibbein JR, Nieminen RG, Blasbalg TL, Riggs JA, Lands WEM. Healthy intakes of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids: estimations considering worldwide diversity. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;83(suppl):1843S-93S.
3. Knott L, Avery NC, Hollander AP, Tarlton JF. Regulation of osteoarthritis by omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids in naturally occurring model of disease. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2011 Sep;19(9):1150-7.

Using Twitter to Grow Your Business

Are you using Twitter to your advantage?

As we all know, Twitter is a microblogging service that lets you instantly share short messages (“tweets") with people who are interested in hearing from you (“followers"). It’s potential for influence can be enormous. Just ask Ashton Kutcher, the actor whose 1,000,000-plus followers hang on every 140-character tweet about latest acting gig, his favorite coffee drink, etc. Or our current President, who used Twitter to influence millions of first-time voters.

But beyond sharing personal updates, Twitter is paving the way for entrepreneurs to reach captive audiences and increase their brand recognition – without spending a ton of money.

If you’re interested in adding Twitter to your arsenal of business building tools, here are a few basics to get you started:

• Get a handle on it. Make sure your username, or Twitter handle, says something about you. For example, @MakeMoneyNow, or @NutritionGuy, etc. Once you set up Twitter handle, link it to your Facebook page, print it on your business cards, and make it part of your email signature! In other words, give people every opportunity to follow you.
• Keep your profile short and sweet. Your Twitter profile should be unique and succinct while telling people what your business is about. For example, “Dedicated to establishing financial freedom through good health," etc.
• Develop a following. Twitter works by pushing out messages to people who follow you. Do you want to connect with people who are interested in nutrition or a healthy lifestyle? Entrepreneurial opportunities? Through online search directories like Twellow or Just Tweet It you can find other Twitter users by area of interest, expertise, profession, or other attribute listed in their personal profile. Once you find them, follow them. Most will respond by following you.
• Make it a habit. Tweet daily. Provide product updates, share your experiences with products, and ask questions that will engage your followers to interact with you. For instance, “Given the latest economic news, what are you doing to increase your #income?" (Notice the #, indicating "income" is a keyword. This makes it easier for people who are searching tweets about income to find you.)
• Provide value. Share links to news, product pages, contests, etc. Most links are too long to include in entirety, but you can shorten them using tools like bitly or tinyurl. For example, “Want to increase your income and take care of your health at the same time? Find out how at http://tinyurl.com/3hjz63v" (links to Youngevity.com Starting Your Business page.)

There are obviously many more ways to turn Twitter into a powerful business development tool. Setting up an account and growing a list of followers is an important first step. And remember, Twitter is only one of many methods you should be using to build your business.

Vanessa Hunter
Vice President of Marketing
AL International