USANA, word!

USANA is rev-ed up!

2012-03-16T12:12:00.008+13:00

Written by Daniel Walshaw

Cruising along the beach on your bike. The sun is shining, the ocean is to your left, the smell of salt is in the air...can you feel the wind in your hair? You stop along the beach, at a fish-n-chip shop feeling a little thirsty. You feel like you need a bit of energy boost... looks like an energy drink is the way to go! But which drink to choose? You don’t want to crash and burn later on in the day, as you have lots to do in the afternoon and you want an energy drink that is a healthy choice.

You shouldn’t have to miss out on the things that you love..and that includes energy drinks! You reach into your backpack and pull out a can of USANA’s Rev3 Energy^TM Drink!!!

Yes, USANA has listened and we are proud to introduce our healthy take on the energy drink. USANA’s Rev3 Energy Drink is Cleaner. Smarter. Stronger.

Our Rev3 Energy^TM Drink has lots of unique ingredients (that have really long names!) that really set it apart. L-Carnitine and Coenzyme Q10 will help with your energy production, making sure you are powered throughout the day. Magnesium, which is an important mineral, will also help in the generation of aerobic and anaerobic energy…so you can push that little further at the gym! Rev3 also contains vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and Biotin, which are key to supporting the body’s natural energy production. Another benefit is that one of our ingredients Korean Ginseng, helps with resistance to stress and fatigue and is also a potent antioxidant, which is great news for your body! Rev3 is also low glycemic and formulated for sustained energy, meaning that you won’t get that crash and burn feeling that you sometimes do from other energy drinks. We want to support your energy levels throughout all your activities!

Oh did I mention the taste?? Rev3 has a crisp, all-natural taste that will change your thoughts on what an energy drink should taste like! Rev3 has no artificial flavours, no artificial sweeteners, no artificial preservatives and no artificial colours. It contains natural green and white teas.

All of these benefits to your energy levels in the convenience of a can, that can go with you anywhere! From the beach to the gym…it is perfect for all occasions and will quench that thirst!

Whatever your activity, we could all do with a little pick me up...that is Cleaner. Smarter. Stronger. So Drink Rev3 and

Join the Revolution!

USANA Rocks with the Denkster!

2012-03-14T13:18:00.007+13:00

Last night over 150 Associates and guests enjoyed a great evening in the USANA offices in Castle Hill with Ruby Director, Top Associate Enroller, Top pacesetter Creator, and North America Growth 25, Alexander Denk (also known as “the Denkster”).

Alexander had a powerful message about taking responsibility for where we are, and where our business is at (“it’s always a good day, it’s what you do with it that makes the difference”). He challenged us not to “try” but to “decide” (“you decided to come here tonight and you’re here. The people who were going to “try” to come, are still at home”).

What does the Denkster eat? “A prospect for breakfast, one for lunch and another for dinner” . No wonder he is so successful!

Alexander also talked about the importance of giving. “Unselfish thinking increases the quality of life”. One of his famous lines is “Give while you live”.

Did we have fun? For sure! Did we learn a lot? Yes, and it was very motivational.

The Denkster left us with one last thought

“Happiness is not pleasure, Happiness is victory!”

Thanks for the night Alexander, we hope to welcome you back to Australia and New Zealand soon!

The Awards Ceremony, the last day and the wrap up!

2012-03-10T13:50:00.012+13:00

Written by Ravinder Lilly & Amy Haran

The 2012 Awards Ceremony at the USANA Asia Pacific Convention was a glamorous affair - one to rival a Hollywood awards show with all those tuxes and sequined gowns, red carpet, paparazzi, and excited fans!

That spirit of generosity and enthusiasm was clear throughout the 2½-hour ceremony. Top executives recognized USANA’s newest Million Dollar Club members and major rank advancers. Dr Wentz, Dave Wentz, Deborah Woo, and Kevin Guest also helped hand out the year’s biggest honours including the President’s Award, Top Associate Enroller, Rookie of the Year, and the Dr. Wentz Vision Award.

Yet, beneath all that glitter and glamour was a powerful sentiment. summed up by the words of Dr. Monica Lewis, winner of the evening’s distinguished Dr Wentz Vision Award:

‘This company is amazing!’ she said. ‘Listen to everyone clap, cheer and support for each other. We are proud of one another’s achievements, and with a spirit in this company like that, it’s not possible ever to fail.’

Dr. Monica Lewis and Dr. Gerald Lewis dropped by the Social Media booth today

Now, it’s the last day of the AP Convention and the crowds are just as enthusiastic as ever. The Convention Shop has reported record sell-outs of the Co-Quinone (over 4000 packs sold) and the 10-pack vanilla NutriMeals have been other stars of the show. The Convention-only specials included the toothpastes and the special packs of Sensé hand relief were a convention sensation.

There were 2662 fantastic and fanatic participants at this year’s event, and as well as the enthusiastic USANA-ites at this scintillating Sydney show, it’s time to say adieu only to say g’day again next year in Hong Kong or in fact back at base in Salt Lake City later this year.

Over and out…

The party's still going strong!

2012-03-09T20:18:00.012+13:00

Written by Ravinder Lilly

It's Friday 9 March 2012 and the second day of the Asia Pacific Convention. Having liberally applied the Rice Bran Polish, rinsed carefully and latered up liberally with moisturiser, I was set to see how my skin was shaping up at the skin analysing unit at the Convention. Unfortunately, a number of ladies and gentlemen had beaten me to it and were already there having their skin analysed...

Undeterred, I wandered back to the front entrance to sign up for the USANA True Health Foundation in order to pledge my monthly donation to this very worthy cause. It was introduced last night by Dave Wentz and it seeks to provide help for underprivileged people and children wherever in the world they are. The tables at the booth were full of people signing up to for the same great cause. Some of the people said they had chosen to give regularly to this because it was a great way of giving something back to people in need and just a few dollars per month could make a world of difference.

Dave Wentz turned up the True Health Foundation booth and I swooped for a quick interview. Asked how he felt that the new initiative to help underprivileged people all around the world was going he said, 'As you can see, it is already going wonderfully well - we have had a fantastic response to the launch of The True Health Foundation and feel privileged that our USANA family have the compassion and care to reach out to all of humanity that needs help.' He added, 'Australia has been the stage for the worldwide launch of the Foundation, truly a wonderful cause that is set to better the lives of many around the globe.'

A glance at my diary revealed there were so many speakers and so many sessions to get involved in today that it was going to be a little tricky fitting it all in.

I caught a little of Tyson Ng talking about the importance of digestion. As well as the basics - he spoke about the need to chew foods well so that the body's digestive enzymes have the opportunity to do their job well - he also spoke about how ageing reduces the body's ability to produce digestive enzyme. Even more important to eat a really healthy, balanced diet. On the plus side, Tyson advocated the use of probiotics to boost immune health and would also help cleanse the gut and remove wastes - a bit like a sweeping your insides clean of the nasties!

Tyson then focused on the body's second biggest organ - the liver. Talking about the many ways in which the liver cleanses and detoxifies the body, he urged all of us to love our liver by taking the unique liver protective formulation of HepaPlus and most importantly cutting down on sugars and saturated fats and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables including leafy greens. By the way, did you know that HepaPlus contains broccoli extract?

Then was a talk I was especially looking forward to. Being mum to not one but two teenage daughters, it was very important for me to race across and hear Michael McQueen talk about how to speak Gen Y. In his very interesting presentation, Michael revealed the stark truth. They really do speak another language and have a whole host of different qualities... For example, if you want to get through to Gen Ys as future Associates and buyers of our fab products, remember that to them, the truth is relative. Unlike us older generations, truth comes in shades of grey and not black and white and Michael urged us to understand this. Respect must be earned too - Gen Ys don't want a lock in plan - they want to be flexible. As Michael put in, 'Don't ask your Gen Ys what they want to do in five years - they may not know what they're doing in five days!' And not just career wise but also socially and in relationships.

And talking about relationships, young people are more likely to be loyal to you than to the business - until a later stage anyway. So, set the best example, don't try to be perfect - when you make mistakes, young people like it because like anyone else can, they can relate to it and to your humanity!

Next came a fascinating talk by holistic nutritionist Dr Libby Weaver. She outlined nine factors that can make it difficult to lose weight. From stress that triggers stress hormones which in turn encourage your body to store fat rather than burn it to an overworked liver which then finds it difficult to remove toxins which then build up. (Mental note - stock up on HepaPlus before it all runs out!).

Libby then went over diet and explain just why low GI foods are best: 'Nature really does know best so go for foods that are in their most natural and unprocessed way as possible.' Libby also spoke about the virtues of green vegetables which help to make the blood slightly alkaline, the pH that the body functions best at. 'Kale, cabbage and broccoli are great foods as are all green leafy vegetables.' Note to self - don't forget to pick up some HepaPlus which contains broccoli extract to go with my stir-fry tonight.

It's nearly 5pm and time to share some info from the last session of the day I went along to see. The intriguingly entitled Vitamin D - the vitamin that could change the world was presented by experienced cardiologist Dr Gerald Lewis.

He introduced his session by speaking briefly about an article in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine which showed that eating walnuts could decrease blood cholesterol by a whopping 16 per cent. Unfortunately, the way that laws stand, he said, walnut producers could not make this claim or mention the study as the research had a therapeutic effect and could thus walnuts could be deemed a drug (with cholesterol-lowering abilities akin to some trade marked medicines). Walnuts could thus bee deemed a drug - and an illegal one at that...

Dr Lewis went on to say that as an independent cardiologist, he wanted to share some of the research that has been conducted on the many health benefits of vitamin D. Having optimal levels of vitamin D has many health benefits he said. Virtually all body cells have vitamin D receptors and this vitamin is just one of many nutrients needed for the correct functioning of the cell and for the working of the genetic material DNA. DNA tells the cells when to produce hormones and other substances, when to grow and when it's time for them to be replaced. Many diseases have been linked with low levels of D including multiple sclerosis, heart disease and cancers.

We get most of our vitamin D from the sun but it seems that even in sun-drenched Australasia, many people have low levels. The only way to boost levels and get the health benefits of optimal vitamin D levels said Dr Lewis is a healthy diet, safe sun and supplements. USANA's vitamin D provides 1000 IU of vitamin D and the levels of vitamin D in BodyRox and Usanimals have also been raised in line with current research. By the way, if you don't want to take supplements, you could sunbathe in full sun for 30 minutes or drink 30 glasses of milk - each provide the same amount of vitamin D. Or, take one USANA vitamin D supplements daily.

Other highlights of the day are:

Dr Wentz and Dave Wentz at the Book Signing Session

We've got a long queue of people at the Social Media booth, who wanted to have their say about the Convention and got rewarded with USANA Social Media cushions.

These two Associates were really excited about winning the cushions!

OK that's all from me. I am off to get some more Sense Rice Bran Polisher, more brightening treatments, HepaPlus, Fibergy, Probiotic and Vitamin D. Better go before the shop shuts!

See you tomorrow!

Look what you've missed on the first day of the Convention!

2012-03-08T19:48:00.010+13:00

Written by Ravinder Lilly

The soggy weather in Sydney did nothing to deter visitors come over in floods to USANA's Asia Pacific Convention - a fantastic 2,278 visitors had registered by 4pm on the first day, Friday 9 March 2012.

Being quick off the mark, I was one of the first on the scene and the very first person to try out the state-of-the art facial skin monitoring machine. It penetrates deeply into the skin to show areas of damage and the presence of the "W" word - wrinkles. There is no need to get into details but apparently, I could do with some Rice Bran Polisher and some Sense brightening treatments. And I thought they were just freckles...

Needless to say, I was first in line to hear Viola Wong speak about Sense products. It seems USANA's Research & Development team discovered the benefits of topical (applied) antioxidants well before anyone else. Viola has 15 years' experience in the cosmetics industry and doesn't use anthing else. I admit it: I am now a fan!

Then, while it was quiet, I thought a little tennis would be fun so I tried out the Wii tennis game at the WTA booth. After two very rapid defeats, I think it is safe to say that I won't be challenging Sam Stosur just yet!

People were coming in crowds and I wanted to know the best sellers at the shop. Unsurprisingly, the Essentials and the HealthPaks were doing well, but the ladies' and mens' hoodles and the USANA Foods were super popular too.

Then, it was off to the Training Stage to see the launch of two new products to the Australia and New Zealand markets. Brian Dixon spoke about why healthy eating is just so important for our children. He spoke in particular about fats and how the modern diet tends to be low on a special type of fat called omega-3 fats. It seems that nine out of ten of our children don't get enough of these essential fats. The body can't make these for itself, so these fats must be provided in the diet or in the form of supplements. Oily fish like salmon and fresh tuna are rich sources of these, yet many of our children don't eat fish. That must have been the cue word because then something very fishy happened: Enter stage right the normally booted and suited figure of Australia's Network Development and Marketing Manager, Geoff Watt, dressed in boardies, a snorkel and complete with flippers. In his fishing bag, he brought with him one of Australia and New Zealand's latest product additions--BiOmega Jr. These, fun-shaped sachets, he explained, were rich in essential omega-3 oils called DHA and EPA, important components of the cells of the brain and the eyes. The sachets provide an effective dose of these oils that many of our children are short on. Each supplement comes in a tasty, creamy orange format - great on its own or stirred into yoghurt.

Check out this visitor getting to know the new BiOmega Jr.!

Next came what we thought was a little light music, but the group of lady musicians seemed and sounded a little, well flat! Enter a masked stunt bike rider who, after a couple of daring stunts, gave each of the girls a can of Rev3 Energy drink. Within moments, the troupe were dancing to the Rev3 Energy drink - surely a number one download hit in the very near future. Then, the bike came on stage again and it was none other than the VP of USANA Pacific Region David Mulham. Who knew he had such acrobatic talents? David introduced Rev3 Energy, a cleaner, smarter, stronger form of energy drink. Rev3 is low GI, low in calories, salt-free, and is powered by B-group vitamins, ginseng and the benefits of tea extracts. Later, there was a tasting and the fresh clean taste went down very well with everyone - check out the snaps!

Brian Dixon was on stage again later talking about the the most debilitating condition in the world - osteoarthritis. He explained how the condition develops and cited research by The Orthopaeadic Speciality Hospital (TOSH) in Utah, who recommend the same nutritional ingredients for both prevention and treatment: Vitamin D, fish oils and essential fatty acids, and chondro- and osteo-protective supplements. Did you know that USANA's Procosamine is a listed medicine in Australia and New Zealand, as it contains these important, potent ingredients?

Some other highlights of the day included Sheila Zhou, reporting on the main fat found in the brain - yes, it's our old friend again, that omega-3 fat, DHA.

Paula Gosney also revealed how having a plan that can be duplicated over and over again can have great business-building results.

'Remember the 10-4-1 rule' she said. 'For every 10 meetings you have, about four will show interest and want to follow-up. Out of these four, you are likely to get one person fully committed to your business.'

Got to run! I'm off to the opening general session at 7 p.m. Look for more exciting updates tomorrow.

At USANA, we are all fun lovers!

2012-03-05T12:24:00.005+13:00

Training, presentation, networking, catching up with old friends and making new ones…It seems like your days will be extremely busy during the 2012 USANA Asia Pacific Convention. But if you find yourself with some spare time, and want to make the most of your Convention experience, here is a list of some fun things you can do:

Know Your Skin

Come to visit the Sensé Dome at Asia Pacific Convention store for a FREE Skin Analysis. You have this exclusive opportunity for a one-on-one consultation so you can really get to know your skin. See what your skin looks like 2mm beneath the surface (it’s really not that scary!) and we will be able to identify a skin-care regime to suit YOUR needs. The Skin Analysis consultation will cover skin pigmentation, a vascular scan, wrinkle analysis and also tell you your skin’s age!!! (which is hopefully not older than your real age!). All of this will be done in a few minutes by a qualified technician, on a state-of-the-art skin analysis system used by high-end skin clinics world-wide!

So make sure you stop by the Sensé Dome, at the Asia Pacific Convention store for a FREE consultation and for all your skin care needs!

Wish it… Dream it… Do it…

For almost 20 years, USANA has changed thousands of people’s lives and helped their dreams come true! Remember ‘Nothing happens unless you dare to’. So if you have a USANA dream, why not share it with us, your family and your friends? Because together, we can make it happen.

Located in Hall 1, next door to the Social Media booth, USANA Dream Booth allows you to video record your dream and share it with others via email or social media. Wish big and dream big, we can’t wait to hear from you!

USANA + WTA = a perfect match

Tennis lovers, it’s your turn to test out your skills! Stop by the USANA + Women’s Tennis Association booth to have a game of tennis on Wii. This is a perfect way to warm up your body, especially after hours of sitting at the General Sessions and the Breakout Sessions.

Did you know about the USANA’s partnership with WTA? We are proud to have the top female tennis stars as our USANA Ambassadors.

Have your say about the convention!

And get the chance to win a cool USANA Social Media cushion and a free ticket to the upcoming USANA International Convention at the Social Media booth! Read our last blog for details.

Have fun!

World Glaucoma Week: surely the perfect time to focus on your eyes!

2012-03-01T12:36:00.007+13:00

Written by: Ravinder Lilly

Sunday 11th March to Saturday 17th March 2012 is World Glaucoma Week. So, what better time is there to consider your own eye health? Focus on our tips for healthier eyes!

Shield with shades!

Whatever time of year, whenever it’s sunny, protect your eyes from intense sunlight. Too much sun exposure damages the delicate tissues and has also been linked with development of cataracts. Choose good quality glasses which filter blue light and have 100 per cent UV protection.

Screen time and downtime

If you spend long hours working in front of a computer screen (or if leisure time means screen time) be sure to take regular breaks. Even focusing on an object in the distance can help to reduce eye strain.

Nourish yourself

Healthy eating is good for your body and mind and it’s good for your eyesight, too. Opt for plenty of fruit and vegetables. They contain many antioxidant vitamins, minerals and plant pigments that can help to combat the effects of free radical damage helping to keep your eyes healthy.

What are free radicals?

Free radicals are unstable molecules that can damage cells and slow the regeneration process especially with advancing age. Of course, your body has a whole wealth of natural protective processes to guard against free radical damage. But, under certain conditions, these defences may not be strong enough.

What is AMD?

Ageing causes body changes including changes to the eye. For example, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the biggest cause of blindness in the over 65s in Australasia. The macula is the part of the eye where the sharpest central vision occurs. The affected person can only see dim images or a black hole in the central of vision although peripheral (outermost) vision is intact.

Don’t smoke

The noxious mix of chemicals in cigarette smoke increases free radicals and robs the blood vessels of oxygen. Smoking increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)ⁱ and cataractsⁱⁱ. Plus, the heavy metals in tobacco smoke can accumulate in the lens with direct toxic effects that may contribute to cataract formation. Smoking also reduces the levels of two key antioxidants, lutein (pronounced loo-teen) and zeaxanthin (pronounced zay-a-zan-thin).

See your optician

You cannot self-diagnose eye problems such as AMDⁱⁱⁱ. So, regular check-ups with an optician are essential to ensure that your eyes are healthy. They are also important to ensure that you receive the correct treatment promptly. Your optician will advise you about how often you should come along for an eye check.

The power of plants

What you eat can help to protect your eyes as well as your general health. As well as the antioxidant vitamins and minerals, many studies are examining the potentially protective factors of two plant chemicals, lutein and zeaxanthin. Some experts believe they play a major role in eye health.

More about lutein and zeaxanthin

Both lutein and zeaxanthin are found in high amounts in your eyes. Here, they absorb potentially-damaging blue light and mop up (neutralise) free radicals relieving oxidative stress (this is damage that occurs when free radicals challenges the ability of the body’s natural antioxidant defence system to neutralise free radicals before they cause damage).

Lutein is a carotenoid (orange-coloured pigment) found in green leafy vegetables and orange- and red-coloured fruit. It protects by filtering high energy blue light and its antioxidant activities allow it to scavenge and neutralise light-induced free radicals.

Zeaxanthin is a yellow carotenoid and it is a modified form of lutein. Zeaxanthin is thought to be an even more powerful antioxidant than lutein.

You’ll find both lutein and zeaxanthin in fruit and vegetables. Leafy vegetables like kale, cabbage and spinach, Yellow and orange capsicums, mango, blueberries, bilberries and citrus fruits like oranges. In addition, these foods also contain the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E so they‘re a powerhouse of protection!

Eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, fresh tuna, and sardines has also been shown to benefit eye health. Plus, antioxidants such as bilberry (European blueberry) may also help to support vision.

Lutein-zeaxanthin containing fruits and vegetables^iv
(The Macular Disease Society)

Kale
Collard greens
Spinach
Celery
Onions (raw)
Broccoli (raw)
Leaf lettuce
Green peas
Pumpkin
Brussels sprouts
Summer squash
Sweet corn
Yellow pepper (raw)
Green beans
Green pepper
Cucumber pickle/gherkin
Green olives
Prunes
Raisins
Blueberries

Lutein: are you getting enough?

Experts agree that if you eat a healthy, mixed diet that contains plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, you should be able to get sufficient lutein and zeaxanthin. Do you eat the recommended two and five portions of fruit and vegetables daily?

According to the UK not-for-profit organisation Sight Support, ‘We need 6-10mg (lutein) a day. It is estimated that the average western diet contains only 2-3mg per day, which means most of us lack lutein in our food.’^v

Another study showed that lutein supplementation of 15 mg every three days significantly improved visual sharpness and glare sensitivity in older people. Plus patients given lutein had improved macular function^vi.

Even if you have a relatively good diet, you may find that hard to manage to consume enough of this important nutrient. Do you know how much lutein you’re consuming daily? Check your intake by logging onto: www.luteininfo.com/abouthowtake.

Nutritional supplements

Although supplements aren’t an alternative to a healthy diet, they may be a good idea for people who don't eat a healthy mixed diet. The organisation, the Macular Degeneration Foundation Australia says, ‘Lutein has been shown to be protective of MD. If your diet is deficient in fresh fruit and vegetables, a lutein supplement should be considered.’ ^viiFor more information:

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/For+Consumers-1
Macular Denegation Foundation Australia. http://www.mdfoundation.com.au/default.aspx

USANA's Visionex^TM is a comprehensive formula designed to promote healthy eyes and acute vision. It contains two of the most powerful free-radical fighting antioxidants; lutein and zeaxanthin. It contains a unique and comprehensive formulation of ingredients.

Visionex^TM:

Supports healthy eye function and acute vision
Aids long-term eye health
Helps in the maintenance of macular health
Provides antioxidants to defend against free radical damage to the retina
Guaranteed levels of lutein and zeaxanthin
Vitamin C, bilberry extract and zinc for additional support in the maintenance of healthy eyes.

Visionex^TM is laboratory tested, quality guaranteed. It meets British Pharmacopoeia (BP) specifications for potency, uniformity and disintegration where applicable.

USE ONLY AS DIRECTED. ALWAYS READ THE LABEL.

Vitamin supplements should not replace a balanced diet.

Note: Supplements are not a cure for health problems nor are they a substitute for medicines your doctor may have prescribed for you. Check with your doctor before taking dietary supplements especially if you are if you are taking prescription medicines, or have a medical condition.

References:

i JM Seddon et al. Association between C-reactive protein and age-related macular degeneration. JAMA 2004 291: 704-710. Accessed 10 February 2012. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14871913

ii Feeling good. Looking great. A guide to how a healthy lifestyle can help prevent sight loss. Royal National Institute for the Blind. Accessed 10 February 2012. Available from: http://www.rnib.org.uk/eyehealth/Documents/Feeling_great_looking_good_PDF.pdf

iii Macular Degeneration Foundation Australia. Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed 10 February 2012. Available from: http://www.mdfoundation.com.au/aboutmd_faqs.aspx

iii B Olmedilla et al. Lutein, but not alpha-tocopherol, supplementation improves visual function in patients with age-related cataracts: a 2-y double-blind placebo controlled pilot study. Nutrition 2003 19: 21-24. Accessed 10 February 2012. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12507634

iv The Macular Disease Society. Nutrition and the Eye. Accessed 10 February 2012. Available from: http://www.lmsg.nhs.uk/LMSGDocs/Other/Nutrition_and_the_Eye.pdf

v Sight Support. Preventing sight loss. Accessed 10 February 2012. Available from: http://www.sightsupport.org.uk/preventing-sight-loss.html

vi B Olmedilla et al. Lutein, but not alpha-tocopherol, supplementation improves visual function in patients with age-related cataracts: a 2-y double-blind placebo controlled pilot study. Nutrition 2003 19: 21-24. Accessed 10 February 2012. Available from: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/182_06_210305/letters_210305_fm-6.html

vii Macular Degeneration Foundation Australia. Frequently asked questions. Accessed 10 February 2012. Available from: http://www.mdfoundation.com.au/aboutmd_faqs.aspx

Have your say about USANA Asia Pacific Convention!

2012-02-23T16:13:00.005+13:00

As we were looking at the feedback from ‘the best seat in house’ competition, we realised how hard it was to decide on the winners. The stories that have been sent through are just touching and phenomenal! I’ve been told that USANA has changed people’s lives, which made me think ‘Wow, it’s such an honour to be working for this company!’ In another 20 years’ time, USANA would have changed even more people’s lives. Watch out for our upcoming blog featuring the winner’s stories.

We’d like to thank all the participants – You are amazing! Also, we would love to congratulate the winners who have secured their VIP seats during the Asia Pacific Convention! That will surely be an unforgettable experience.

If you have missed this opportunity, here is another one:

Have your say about the convention and say it loud to the world!

Your chance to get a cool USANA Social Media cushion, and win a FREE ticket to USANA’s International Convention 2012!

What you will need to do?

Just come to the Social Media booth during the USANA Asia Pacific Convention and post your experience about the Convention on USANA’s Australian and New Zealand Social Media sites. Your posts can be in texts, images or videos.

If you are a Facebooker, ‘LIKE’ us and post your updates on our Facebook Wall and include @USANA Asia Pacific Convention 2012 in your posts. If you are a Twitter user, follow us and post your updates on your Twitter home page, but don’t forget to include @USANA_ANZ and #USANAAPC12 in your tweets. If you are Blogger, subscribe to our blogs and post your comment on any of the convention blogs on ‘USANA, word!’.

And the prizes are…

20 cool USANA Social Media cushions for the first 20 participants per day and a ticket to the upcoming USANA International Convention for the winner of each day.

Don’t take it as a challenge, just do it as you would with your friends on Social Media. Don’t forget Social Media is about having fun and meeting people, and if you could win a prize at the same time, why not?

Don’t know what Social Media is?

That’s all right – there will be Social Media Q&A sessions during the convention. Just mark this time down in your diary and come and say hello to our Social Media gurus:

Thursday 8 March: 10am – 12pm
Friday 9 March: 11am – 1pm
Saturday 10 March: 8am – 10am

AP is almost here – can you take the pace?

2012-02-21T17:01:00.005+13:00

USANA’s long-anticipated AP Convention is almost here. If you’re super-organised, you’ve probably already planned your days around your favourite speakers and their fascinating topics. But if you’re only human like the rest of us and you could do with a little organising, read on!

A word from Dr Wentz

Our chairman Dr Myron Wentz will be showcasing USANA in its 20th anniversary year. He began his career in microbiology and pioneered the first commercially-available test for diagnosing infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (thought to be responsible for a number of diseases including glandular fever). Nowadays, Dr Wentz’ work focuses on humanitarian issues such as helping children in Cambodia fight contagious diseases for which he was awarded the Children's Champion Award for his work. Hear his reflections on the last 20 years and his vision for the future.

Other highlights to plan in your diary include:

How to lose weight and stay at a healthy weight by Australasian weight-loss expert Dr Libby Weaver.
Essential approaches to creating better health – both general health and financial health and how to help others make gains in the same way by Dr Paige Hunter.
An intriguing and practical guide to nutritional supplements by expert Canadian biochemist and author Lyle MacWilliam.
Practical tips and tools to help your multi-level marketing business flourish from über-successful best-selling author Jason Shih.
An insight into the science-based development of USANA products from the research and development experts headed by Dr Brian Dixon (who also happens to be an accomplished athlete!)
And Michael McQueen who’ll help teach you the language of Gen Y’s – the buyers and the Associates and of today and tomorrow.

Don’t forget to get the inside information from the ‘been-there-and-done-that’ two-star Diamonds and hear whole host of shining success stories from the USANA Associates world. Plus, see how far we’ve come in 20 years of USANA as we gear up for an even more successful 20 years to follow.

Get to know the many new and updated products in the USANA range and take advantage of the AP Convention-only discounts available at the Convention shop. And, of course, this is your opportunity to get out and about and explore the iconic landmarks of the beautiful city of Sydney.

Happy AP Convention everyone!

Get outdoors – great for your mind, body and soul!

2012-02-14T16:04:00.007+13:00

Written by: Ravinder Lilly

Summer’s nearly over but it’s still a great time to get out and about and enjoy the fresh air. Pick a sport or an activity that you love, and you could feel happier, healthier and more energised!

Happier

When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, feel-good chemicals that lift your mood. Aerobic exercise burns calories (but you need to exercise fast enough to be a little out of breath yet just about able to hold a conversation) so try to fit in at least half an hour of exercise on most days. Combine this with resistance training (training with weights) and over time, it may also help you to feel more confident about yourself as you firm up, tone up and shift some extra kilos.

Try team sports, cycling, swimming or the gym. Or grab the kids’ skipping rope and jump to it! It’s hard work but it’s worth it.

Healthier

Get an exercise buddy on board. Whether you want a friend to join you and get fit with you or you just want to hear some positive encouragement, buddies helps to keep you on track towards your fitness goals!

Exercising outside can be exhilarating and healthy, too. However, make sure you protect your skin from the damaging sun. The Cancer Council says, ‘UV radiation levels in northern states are higher than southern states, so in some parts of Australia, sun protection is needed all year around at certain times of the day. In these areas, it is safe to go outside without sun protection in the early morning and late afternoon when the UV Index is below 3.’

But a little sun is an important source of bone-building vitamin D. It’s made by the action of sunlight on your skin (you can also get some from foods such as fortified cereals and oily fish). So, try an early morning or an evening walk without sunscreen to boost your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D can be surprisingly low in some people. For example, if you are dark skinned (the pigment melanin can interfere with the reaction of sunlight on your skin) are elderly or housebound, if you cover your skin for cultural reasons or you have osteoporosis, your doctor may recommend a vitamin D supplement.

Getting out in the sunshine encourages your body to produce serotonin, a hormone which regulates your normal sleep-wake cycle, too. So, by getting a little daily sunshine and exercising outdoors, you could sleep more soundly too.

More energised

Exercise regularly and you’ll boost your muscle strength and your stamina. Your body will become more efficient at delivering vital oxygen and nutrients to your system helping your heart and lungs work more efficiently. In turn, this means you’ll have more energy for daily activities. Try setting the alarm clock to go off half an hour earlier so you can fit in a brisk walk or a cycle. Early morning exercise can even help you start the day feeling more in control. Don’t leave exercise too late in the day – this could actually keep you awake and disrupt your sleep patterns!

Remember, if you haven’t exercised for some time or if you are being treated by a medical condition, check with your doctor before you start an exercise program.

Photo Credit: Scenic Reflections

Calling all USANA AP Convention Visitors – welcome to Sydney!

2012-02-07T16:10:00.004+13:00

USANA’s Asia Pacific Convention 2012 is just a month or so away – are you ready for your visit? Whether it’s the first time you’re coming to Sydney or you’re a seasoned Sydney-sider, here are some tips on travelling, accommodation and dining for a fun and fabulous trip!

When you travel

If you’re flying over, try to book a window seat for beautiful glimpses of the city of Sydney.

Grab a copy of the Sydney Tourist Guide booklet when you arrive at Sydney International Airport; the booklet contains vouchers and money-saving coupons for many of the activities on offer in this vibrant city!

Sydney is crowned by a stunning, natural harbour and is home to the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The bustling city centre boasts numerous fine restaurants and fabulous shopping centres.

For the Convention, you’ll be heading towards Darling Harbour, home to the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and just a ten-minute walk from the CBD. Darling Harbour offers a unique combination of waterfront dining, excellent accommodation, entertainment, shopping and leisure activities – truly the perfect backdrop to any event!

The Visitor Centre at Darling Harbour provides brochures, maps and other info about activities and events in and around Sydney. The friendly advisors will answer your questions and many speak a second language, too.

Websites which you may find useful include:

Accommodation and dining

The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre is located within a short distance of a wide range of hotels and restaurants.

Visit the AP Convention 2012 website to view hotels and their locations or book hotel accommodation online. Some hotels are offering a special rate for USANA Convention attendees.

Read the Top 10 Magazine Gourmet Destinations online for more about the most exclusive dining restaurants and luxury accommodations around. We will also compile a list of recommended restaurants on the AP Convention website, which offer discounted meals or a complimentary glass of wine. So don’t forget to check back for it.

What to bring

Pack comfortable clothing like short-sleeved shirts, shorts and summer dresses and comfy walking shoes. The weather in Sydney is warm and wet in early march so carry an umbrella just in case of showers. Pack a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and sunblock to protect you from the sun which can still be intense this time of year. And, if you’re planning a visit to any of Sydney’s beautiful beaches, don’t forget your swimmers and flip-flops. You might need a jacket or pullover in the evening as the temperature can drop down to around 18°C at night. And finally, don’t forget your USANA nutritional supplements to help you stay on top of your health!

Here’s wishing you a wonderful and enjoyable stay in Sydney!

Could your liver do with a lift?

2012-02-02T16:57:00.007+13:00

Written by: Ravinder Lilly

With the festive season now over, February is the ideal time to take stock and focus on your health – and that includes the health of your liver. Keeping your liver healthy is important. This large organ is a major way that your body cleanses itself of toxins and processes nutrients from food – all the blood from your digestive system filters through to your liver where it is cleaned before travelling around your body.

A build up of toxins can lead to an accumulation of fat in the liver (a place where fat is not normally stored); this is called fatty liver.

Drinking too much alcohol used to be the most common cause of fatty liver. But increasingly, doctors are seeing fatty liver being caused by eating an unhealthy diet, carrying too much body weight and not exercising enough.

Being overweight can cause fatty liver

Studies suggest that more than half of all Australian women (52%) and two-thirds of men (67%) are overweight or obeseⁱ. And, according to experts from the university of Notre Dame in Western Australia, non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects around 25-30% of Australiansⁱⁱ as a result of being overweight or obese.

Fatty liver used to be considered generally a harmless condition but now, experts agree that the condition can progress to more serious health problems if left unchecked.

Thankfully, most cases of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease respond well to lifestyle changes. You can help to protect your liver and your general health by:

Getting into a healthy weight range.
Enjoying a diet that’s rich in vegetables and fruits. These contain protective antioxidant plant pigments called flavonoids (which help to neutralise damaging free radicals) plus antioxidants vitamins and fibre.
Eating a diet that’s low in saturated fat (from animal foods like fatty meats and fried foods). Eating more unsaturated fats from oily fish, nuts, seeds and olive oil but replacing total fat (because this is the most concentrated form of calories around).
Eating more wholegrains and replacing foods made with white flour with wholegrains such as heavy, grainy breads, wholegrains cereals and opting for low GI options wherever possible.
Avoiding or reducing alcohol intake – the NHMRC recommends a maximum of two standard drinks per day.
Exercising moderately on most days of the week – any moderate exercise (such as brisk walking) should make you feel out of breath but still able to carry on a conversation. If you have any medical conditions or you haven’t exercised for some time, consult your GP before starting an exercise regime.

USANA’s HepaPlus™ and liver health

This unique blend has been specifically developed to help protect liver cells and positively support the regeneration of new liver cells.

USANA’s HepaPlus™contains:

Milk thistle: an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory which can help to protect the liver and may also stimulate new growth of new liver cells. Used for over 2000 years as a liver tonic, the active ingredients in milk thistle, sylymarin may assist in the production of several antioxidant enzymes involved in the detoxification processⁱⁱⁱ thus helping to protect liver cells. USANA’s HepaPlus contains around 200mg of milk thistle extract per tablet.

Other antioxidants: USANA’s HepaPlus contains potent antioxidants from green tea extract, olive fruit and broccoli concentrate.

Choline: a substance which helps to emulsify (break down) fats helping them to be removed from the liver.

Turmeric: used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine, the active turmeric has major antioxidant properties^iv.
Alpha lipoic acid (ALA): a naturally-occurring antioxidant that helps neutralise free radicals^{v vi}. ALA can enter both the fatty and the aqueous (water-based) sections of the cell and this boosts its ability to trap free radicals wherever they are.

USANA’s HepaPlus provides comprehensive support for the liver and in the maintenance of general wellbeing. Laboratory tested, quality guaranteed HepaPlus meets British Pharmacopoeia specifications for potency, uniformity and disintegration where applicable. USANA’s HepaPlus is suitable for vegetarians.

References:
i What is the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Australian adults and children? The Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society. Reviewed 2008.
Accessed 1/2/2012/. Acvailable from: http://www.asso.org.au/profiles/general/faq/prevalence

ii The University of Notre Dame, Australia. Diabetes and Obesity. Accessed 31/1/12. Available from: http://www.nd.edu.au/research/ihrr/diabetes_obesity.shtml

iii Flora K, et al. Milk thistle (silybum marianum) for the therapy of liver disease. Am J Gastroenterol 1998;93(2):139-43. Accessed 31/1/12. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9468229

iv Balasubramanyam M, et al. J Biosci 2003;28(6):715-21. Accessed 31/1/2012. Available from http://www.usana.com/media/File/dotCom/company/science/crb/CR_HepasilDTX_Poster.pdf

v Bustamante J, Lodge JK, Marcocci L, Tritschler HJ, Packer L, Rihn BH. Influence of alpha lipoic acid on antioxidant status in D-galactosamine-induced hepatic injury. Toxicol Ind Health. 2008 Nov;24(10):635-42. Accessed 31/1/2012. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19141568

vi Bustamante J, Lodge JK, Marcocci L, Tritschler HJ, Packer L, Rihn BH.Alpha-lipoic acid in liver metabolism and disease. Free Radic Biol Med. 1998 Apr;24(6):1023-39. Accessed 31/1/2012. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9607614

Want to win the “Best Seat” at USANA AP Convention 2012?

2012-01-30T12:18:00.007+13:00

Most of you are aware that 2012 is an important year for the USANA family – it’s our 20th Anniversary! So we have decided to make this year big. The New Year started with a very successful kick-off road show, Connect4$uccess; then followed by the exciting ASB Classic and the Sydney Apia International, reinforcing the partnership between our USANA family and WTA. So what’s next then? We are putting the finishing touches on the next big event ... Asia Pacific Convention 2012!

Whether you’ve been with USANA for 12 months or since we began 20 years ago - you must have a lot to say about how USANA has changed your life. Now, here is the chance for you to speak loud to the world and get rewarded!

Tell us in a few lines

How has USANA changed your life?

by either leaving the comment below, or sending an email to facebook@au.usana.com, before 22nd February. Don’t forget to include your full name and Associate ID in the wordings.

What’s in it for you?

We have reserved six of the ‘best seats in the house’ in the General Sessions for three lucky winners with their partners! This means, as a winner, you will sit right amongst the USANA Diamonds and top managers, for almost three days! You will not only get the best view of all the performances and presentations, but also get the opportunity to learn from Diamonds.

What else you need to know?

You can write either in English or Chinese.

To be eligible for the competition, you will need to purchase and register your ticket for the convention. If you haven’t purchased yet, ring your local Customer Service office for help. To check out the pricing info, visit the AP website.

Keep an eye out for the upcoming convention blogs, or Facebook postings about the convention @USANA Asia Pacific Convention 2012, where we will offer you more chances to win more prizes.

USANA Body Rox: POWER your teen!

2012-01-25T13:25:00.000+13:00

Written by Daniel Walshaw

Beep, beep, beep. Alarm goes off. Slowly crawl out of bed. Monday morning again. Get dressed and grab a quick breakfast on the go. Walk to the bus stop. Arrive at school. English, Science, Physical education, Geography and Computer class. Hang out with friends for lunch. Maths in the afternoon and sports practice after school. Catch the bus back home. Play video games. Homework. Do some chores around the house. Go to the movies with friends in the night. Sleep (if you’re lucky). Then the day starts all over again…talk about a busy lifestyle.

As we know nutrition plays an important role in everyone’s health but it is especially important during adolescence and the teenage years of growth, development and physical maturation. With teenagers constantly in “drive” mode, they need to make sure that they are receiving the adequate nutrients their bodies need.

USANA’s New! and improved Body Rox^TM specifically formulated for teens will help teenagers to have the power they need to be in “drive” mode at any time of the day, no matter what activity they are participating in.

With more energy support from increased levels of B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12, teens will be supported to have normal energy production and stamina…which could mean winning the final point on the sports field. The upgrade also looks after teens’ skin (we know what those awkward teenage years are like..hello pimples!!). We haven’t forgotten about the school smarts that are essential for teens so that they can impress their teachers (and trick them into thinking they’ve done some extra homework). We want to support teens to help them work at their very best. Body Rox^TM also helps with active lifestyle support, supporting healthy bones, skeleton structure and teeth. Another benefit is that their sharp eyes will be supported, which means they won’t miss out on anything in the classroom (or more likely they won’t miss out on getting to see that person they’ve had their eye on for a while). To round it all off, everyday health and immunity is supported, which is essential for teens when they’re constantly on the go.

So if your teen needs a little power so that they can stay in “drive mode”..then get them to try the New! Body Rox^TM!

Here’s to the Year of the Dragon!

2012-01-24T16:17:00.003+13:00

Written by Ravinder Lilly

According to one UK-health research body, most of us ditch our best-made plans just ten days into the New Year – the January 1 New Year that is. So if your best-made January 1 plans have fallen by the wayside, bring on Chinese New Year!

2012 is the year of the dragon which symbolises good fortune, energy and vitality. But whether you feel that good fortune is more down to luck than choices, one thing is a given – you definitely can make a difference to your energy and vitality! And, what better way to prepare for a thriving and energy-filled dragon-filled, fire-breathing New Year than by beginning or rethinking your New Year’s resolution?

Studies show that top of most peoples’ New Year’s Resolution list is to get healthy and/or lose weight. And with up to two out of three adults now being classified as overweight or obese, getting into a healthy weight range is so important. It can help to reduce the risk of developing long-term conditions like heart diseases and Type 2 diabetes and it can give your self-esteem a massive boost, too.

More and more research is showing that an effective way to kick-start a healthier life is to follow an internet-based lifestyle health program. One study by the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado, Denver and USANA Health Sciences showed that a 12-week online lifestyle program including a low-glycaemic diet and low-glycaemic meal replacements, nutritional supplements and moderate exercise (at least 30 minutes per day) had effective results. In less than three months, participants showed significant improvement in metabolic and heart health, and lost an average of 5.5kg. See start your RESET program today and see for yourself!

Click here for a general overview of the program.

For success, we went to connect! (Continued)

2012-01-18T18:21:00.004+13:00

We just had the last of the great 2012 kick-off events in Auckland on Sunday night. USANA’s Connect4$uccess has created a huge response amongst New Zealand Associates and USANA corporate staff – Every attendee left with excitement, energy and confidence for a prosperous 2012. This is exactly what we we’re aiming for, isn’t it?

The guest speaker, Emerald Director, Dalin Wang touched hearts and inspired all the attendees. He shared his personal stories about the rise and decline of his USANA business - the difficult road to rebuild the business in order to achieve even greater success; the role that family plays in his USANA business; setting goals and lessons he learned. ‘It is a fantastic event - Great turn out and great recognition sessions! There are so many successful Associates out there and I can learn a lot from them as well!’ Dalin said. Connecting with like-minded USANA Associates and learning from each other’s success – this is what Connect4$uccess is about!

Not surprisingly, we have received great feedback. Here are just some:

‘The Connect4$uccess event in Auckland had such a great combination of product information and personal inspiration - what an awesome way to begin the year!’
Helen Bolton-Jamieson

‘Connect4 Success in Auckland was a great start to the Usana year - reconnecting with team memebers, crosslines and corporate! A full room, we were all inspired and challenged. Dalin Wang's honesty about his life in Usana, ups and downs and lessons learnt, told with great humour was just what I needed. Several short testimonials from Associates and recognition, together with David and Raymunds's input all made for a fast paced afternoon. The corporate focus on Personalisation- each Associate matters- was welcomed news. Many took up the chance to buy the special of the day, and there was a feeling of anticipation and excitement among both associates and their guests. I was so glad to have a good number there from my downline!’
Dr Monica Lewis

Game on!

2012-01-17T11:30:00.018+13:00

Tennis fans rejoice – the 2012 tennis season has already started down under! As a long-term partner of WTA, USANA really is a perfect match! And already this year, we’ve really made our mark both in New Zealand and Australia.

Tennis in Auckland, New Zealand

If you’ve been to the ASB Classic, you may have met our enthusiastic USANA team. In these pictures, you’ll see the familiar faces of Dr Monica Lewis and her team; Vicky Jamieson and Sue Stone; Carolyn Edwards and Fiona Clayton-Law with their team and Fiona Jamieson-Folland and Chris Folland with their team.

Samples of our new energy drink USANA Rev3 were flowing – the perfect remedy for flagging energy levels!

Rev3 Dragon Team - Fiona Clayton-Law and her team

Carolyn Edwards & Elsa Andres

Monica Lewis’s team with Monica Niculescu

Vicky Jamieson, Zheng Jie & Sue Stone

Fiona Jamieson-Folland and Chris Folland with their team

A HUGE thank you to the USANA Associates for the positivity and enthusiasm that shone through!

Zheng Jie thaws the delighted winner of the ASB Classic championship! ‘I’m so excited to win this title,’ said Zheng Jie, ‘especially as it has been more than five years since winning my last title. I had two big injuries – my wrist and my ankle – but now I’m back!’ What a wonderful win! USANA is proud and delighted to have Zheng Jie as USANA’s Ambassador.

ASB Classic champion, Zheng Jie signs autographs at the USANA booth.

Photo: Chris Symes/www.photosport.co.nz

Tennis in Sydney, Australia

It’s been broadcast on TV, featured in commercials and aired on almost every type of media you can imagine. So, if you’re a tennis lover, you’re bound to have caught at least some of the action from the Sydney APIA International. If you were lucky enough to have attended the event at Sydney’s Olympic Tennis Centre, you may also have spotted the enthusiastic individuals at the USANA booth. We made heaps of new friends and were privileged to have some tennis stars come along to sign autographs at the stand, too.

Visitors also had a fun time competing at an on-court competition. And the kids didn’t miss out either – youngsters had the unique opportunity of sharpening their tennis techniques from the world #1 doubles players, Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond at the USANA Kids Clinic.

WTA Tennis player Jelena Jankovic visited the USANA to sign autographs for delighted fans!

Congratulations to the winners of USANA's on court competition!

US Open Doubles Champions Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond pose with USANA kids at the USANA Kids Clinic

The USANA prize wheel attracted lots of attention too. Crowds were keen to spin the wheel to see what they could win – prizes on offer included USANA hats, USANA Nutrimeals or USANA Rev3. The major prize was six months’ supply of the award-winning USANA Essentials – definitely a healthy start for the New Year!

Check out more photos on our USANA Australia New Zealand Facebook Fan page.

WTA – New Year’s Resolutions

Like most of us, the top tennis stars made their own personal resolutions for 2012 – we’re guessing that staying healthy is high up there on the list! Hear the resolutions made by some of our favourite tennis stars from Sam Stosur, Daniela Hantuchova, Jelena Jankovic, Shahar Peer and more. In case you’ve missed the stars’ resolutions:

For success, we went to connect!

2012-01-13T14:32:00.006+13:00

We’ve had a great kick-off to 2012 with the fantastic Connect4$uccess events. Held in Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, over a thousand Associates attended these motivating get-togethers.

Connect4$uccess, Brisbane

Connect4$uccess, Perth

Connect4$uccess, Melbourne

Connect4$uccess, Sydney

Associates shared some inspiring stories about their personal journey to USANA success and revealed their special goals for the year ahead too. Gold and Ruby directors were warmly acknowledged and encouraged by all involved.

Hearing about the 10 Laws of Success was a major highlight and another high point was the stirring presentation by two-star Diamond Director Mr Chris Folland. Chris inspired and challenged audiences to set goals and make greater success a reality over the coming year. Together with his practical and useable insights to success, Chris shared his views on the characteristics that make a great leader. These include:

Be a 100% user of the USANA products
Grow a base of preferred customers
Hold at least three to five presentations every week
Make sure you invest in your own personal development daily
Always be open to learning – in other words, be teachable!
Be accountable to yourself
Follow the USANA system
Attend events (especially ones like the upcoming AP convention!)
Edify, enlighten and encourage everyone around you.

Thanks Chris for sharing your insights so generously, you are a USANA legend!

These uplifting sessions helped everyone leave the events feeling boosted, motivated and enthusiastic – 2012 is going to be a brilliant year!

Next stop, Auckland. If you have missed previous sessions, come to The Langham Hotel this coming Sunday, 15th of January. We look forward to seeing you there!

Hey you, yes you! Do you know how to power yourself?

2012-01-12T11:45:00.005+13:00

School, sports practice, video games, music classes, homework, going to the movies, catching up with friends, gym, shopping, parties, going to the beach..life can be hectic (but so much fun!) as a teenager. It is extremely important to look after our bodies in this growth stage and to develop good and healthy habits for the future, so here are some tips to keep our bodies in tip top shape:

Eat well: Make sure you have a nutritious diet, with lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Try to limit the amount of fried and salty foods, as these foods make the skin more oily, which is not what you want as a teenager…hello pimples!
Take a nutritional supplement: With all these activities that are a part of our lives and with our bodies still developing, it is extremely important to fuel our body with the right nutrients, so that we are on our ‘A game’ at all times. A nutritional supplement should form part of your diet and is very important, as we can’t receive all the nutrients we need from food alone. Our new upgraded Body RoxTM is specifically for this purpose and is made specifically for teens, so you know you’re in good hands! Some of the benefits include; more energy support (so that you can have stamina on the sports field), healthy skin (to keep you looking fresh), school smarts (to impress your teachers), active lifestyle support (to support healthy bones, skeleton structure and teeth), sharp eyes (you’ll thank us later!) and everyday health and immunity (to keep you performing at your best)!
Drink water: Make sure you drink enough water, as this helps to purify your body from the inside out naturally.
Get the recommended amount of sleep: Now let’s be honest, this is often overlooked by us. Did you know that the average teen requires 9.5 hours of sleep per night? By ensuring you get enough sleep, you will be able to perform at your very best!
Exercise: Now is the best time to get into the healthy habit of exercising. Exercise helps to eliminate toxins from our bodies (through sweat) and helps to keep our bodies healthy.
Protect your skin: It is important to use sunscreen not just during Summer (my favourite season..gotta love the beach!) but during the whole year when outside, as the sun is harsh in Australia and New Zealand.
Have a hygiene regimen: Look after your skin by cleansing, toning, moisturising and replenishing your skin through a masque or serum. While you may not see the immediate results, later on down the track, you will be happy you looked after your skin!

So get out there and kick start your 2012 by incorporating these simple, yet effective tips to keep your body in tip top shape for years to come!

Professional Athletes know the secret to achieving their best – you can too!

2012-01-05T12:34:00.004+13:00

"It is important that I take products that are safe and of the highest quality. This is what USANA represents.” – Samantha Stosur, Tennis Player, Champion of the US Open 2011, Australia

Did you know that "couch potatoes" often live longer than professional athletes? This might sound like a lie, but the extreme exercise a professional athlete endures, means they place more strain on their bodies than the average person. An athlete sweats more in 5 years than an inactive person does in 75 years, which means they're losing more nutrients from their bodies.

But professional athletes treat their bodies like temples, and they know how important it is to replace these nutrients and look after their bodies to stay healthy and fit. But how do you replace all these lost nutrients?

The athlete's secret weapon is nutritional supplements. And more and more athletes are turning to USANA to provide them with all natural, scientifically proven nutrition for optimum health.

“USANA was a key difference in my winning the gold and setting the world record at the 2002 Winter Games.” - Derek Parra, Olympic Gold and Silver Medal winning US Speedskater.

Liezel Huber is the world's No. 1-ranked doubles tennis player. Listen to why she trusts her health to USANA:

Even if you're not a professional athlete, you still want to perform at your best in everyday life. Whether you're training for a marathon, enjoying a new sport or simply trying to stay fit and healthy, you know the importance of good nutrition in your life.

Sometimes it's impossible to get all the nutrients our bodies need from food alone. This is especially true today, when many nutrient-rich foods are grown, processed and stored in a way that depletes their nutritional value. Taking nutritional supplements from USANA's Essentials range keep your body in top form.

“USANA Essentials have made an amazing difference to my health. I feel that my body is stronger and healthier, and recovers faster when I use it.” – Britta Martin, Triathlete and Triathlon coach

Professional athletes may put more pressure on their bodies, but they live healthy, active lives and reap the benefits of pushing themselves to their limit. Their secret for success is making sure they're getting all the nutrients they need. If you want to be healthy, fit and in control, you should, too.

USANA is gearing up for AP Convention 2012

2011-12-28T16:10:00.006+13:00

Have you secured your ticket to USANA Asia Pacific Convention 2012? Or are you still not sure if it’s worth attending? Perhaps the five reasons to attend AP2012 will help you make up your mind. Even though it’s now the festive season, USANA Australia and New Zealand office is still buzzing in anticipation for AP… After all, it’s going to be a huge event!

So, where we are at?

If you have visited the AP Convention 2012 website recently, you will have noticed our new look and feel, while still providing all the essential information you will need to make your trip to Sydney an unforgettable experience. Of course, as time goes on, we will be adding more information, so don’t forget to check back whenever you have a question about the convention.

For those who haven’t been to Sydney before, why not follow USANA Vice President of Pacific Region, David Mulham, as he takes you through Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay. Also, keep an eye out for the upcoming blogs, where we will give you a list of things to do and tips on travelling, dining and accommodations.

Click here if you have trouble watching this video

What’s happening in the “word-of-mouth” world?

One of the amazing things about social media is being able to filter the information and meanwhile, have your own voice. Verse visa, you can hear from others as well, especially those who share the same interest with you. Find the latest updates on the AP Convention page of the USANA Australia New Zealand fan page, join the conversation and spread the word to your friends, because this is what social media all about. A tricky way to share this page is to include “@USANA Asia Pacific Convention 2012” in your wall post and the smart Facebook will pick up this link, which will take your friends to the event page.

Apart from Facebook, we have wrapped USANA, word! (blog) and @USANA_ANZ (Twitter) with AP wrapping paper. To read the AP blogs, just type in “USANA Asia Pacific Convention 2012” in the search bar. When share the latest AP news with your followers on Twitter, put the hash tag #USANAAPC12 in your Tweets. As you can tell, we are all geared-up!

Treat the New Year as a new start – and at USANA we will start celebrating the New Year with excitement and energy as we charge towards the AP Convention! We are looking forward to it, and so are the USANA Sydney Associates! Here is what they say about it.

USANA Biz Centre: How to Evaluate Your Goals

2011-12-20T17:30:00.002+13:00

We're all told "you must set goals, or you won't achieve anything". Setting goals is a great idea, whether it's for your health, your business, your finances or your life. But after you've set your goals, what do you do with them? Do you pin them to your wall and look at them every day? Do you put them in a drawer and forget about them? Do you evaluate your progress every few months? If not, it's time to start!

Write your goals down on a piece of paper in front of you. Ask yourself if they are long-term goals, or short-term goals. For example, "lose weight" is a long-term goal, while "finish annual report" is a short-term goal.

Now if you haven’t achieved the goal, you need to ask yourself “why”? For a long-term goal like "losing weight", it's usually because you haven't created a plan for how to achieve it. And how can you plan to achieve it without the specifics?
- How much weight do you want to lose?
- When do you want to lose it by?
Rephrase your goal to include a measurable unit of success. "Lose weight" becomes "lose 20kgs in twelve months." Your goal has instantly gone from wistful thinking to an achievable outcome.

Now you need to create a series of action-steps to get you on track to completing your goal. These action steps need to be easy, quick and immediate. For example, the first action step might be "go for a run tonight" or "spend an hour at the gym". These are things you can complete right now to bring you one step closer to your goal. Every day, look at your goals and assign one action step to complete that day.

Every few months, measure your progress towards your goal, and write it down too. For example, if you lose 10kg in three months, write that down, and give yourself a big congrats for being ahead of schedule.

You also need to ask yourself if you're still interested in pursuing this goal. Sometimes, your situation and lifestyle can change, and a goal you were enthusiastic about six months ago no longer meets your needs. Maybe you decide instead of losing weight, you want to focus on building muscle, or, instead of starting a new business, you want to travel through South America. Learning to evaluate and shape your goals to fit your lifestyle gives you a better chance of success.

So, what goals have you set yourself this year?

Photo Credit: progressplanner.com

Game. Set. Match.

2011-12-14T10:47:00.005+13:00

Did you know that USANA is the Official Health Supplement Supplier for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and USANA Essentials^TM has been the Official Multivitamin of the WTA since 2006?

For any top competitor, optimal health could mean the difference between a Grand Slam Championship and a first-round ext. That's why over 165 WTA players trust their health to USANA.

A new tennis season kicks off in Australia and New Zealand in January and USANA will be there to support our WTA players in both cities!

The ASB Classic starts January 2 in Auckland and features USANA ambassador Zheng Jie and other well known names such as Venus Williams and Jelena Dokic. USANA will be hosting an exhibition booth in the “Fan Zone” area so make sure you come down and check us out!

The Sydney Apia International starts on January 8 at Sydney Olympic Park and features our very own Sam Stosur, ready to back up from her recent US Open Grand Slam win! The Sydney International features a stunning line up of female players with nine of the top 10 scheduled to participate! The Sydney booth will feature a prize wheel where tennis fans have the chance to win some great prizes including instant wins such as USANA products, to entries to the daily major prize draw – a 6 month supply of USANA Essentials^TM – that’s over $4,000 worth of product up for grabs!

So if you’re looking for something fun and exciting during these school holidays, grab the kids and get down to Sydney Olympic Park between 8 – 14 January for some world-class tennis action and don't forget to stop by the USANA booth and say hi!

Here are a few pictures from the USANA booth in 2011!

Our booth in 2011 attracted lots of tennis fans with their chance to win a game on the Nintendo Wii!

WTA player, Alisa Kleybanova (RUSSIA) stopped off at the USANA booth to sign some autographs for keen fans

USANA Athlete Tips: Keeping Fit and Healthy over the Festive Season

2011-12-06T16:43:00.009+13:00

The festive season is a great challenge for everyone, especially for our team of USANA Sponsored Athletes. If anyone knows to survive the season, they definitely do!!! So for all you health and fitness lovers out there, here’s some advice that our athletes have to offer…

"Christmas time is always busy, visiting friends and family and the whole social experience. I travel a lot in the months leading up to the middle of December and so for me I find it to be particularly hectic. I use this time as a bit of a rest period from my normal squash specific training, so I am not working as hard as I normally do, however I still like to do something most days to keep active.

I don’t see a lot of summer time, so I like to make the most of it and be outside. I find that the best thing for me is to get up in the morning and to have a training session straight away. I mix things up, sometimes I will go for a run, workout in the gym, or maybe a casual bike, but I always try to do it first thing in the morning. If I wait until the afternoon, I find too many distractions and then this is when I have a much bigger chance of not doing a training session that particular day. I have found this to work best for me over the summer period and hope it works for you too during the summer holiday season."

- Martin Knight, Professional Squash player

"The best way to stay healthy and fit over the holidays is to set yourself a specific goal. At the moment is the right time to look for something to train for or set a specific goal. It can be something like a little race, for example a 5km running race or a bike race or whatever you like. It could even be something for yourself, for example do your favourite running loop faster or do a higher weight in the gym. But you want to achieve it by January or February. By doing this, you will always have it at the back of your mind, while still allowing yourself to have a nice Christmas dinner. You will try to make up for it the next day, because you want to achieve your goal. Myself, I will have a big race at the end of January. I am very excited about the Christmas holiday period, because I know, I have a few more holidays and time to do more training. I will still have some treats and nice food, but will run it off the next day. Allow yourself to some treats, but make sure you do an extra km the next day :) Have a happy Christmas Holiday! "

- Britta Martin, Triathlete and Triathlon coach

"During my break I am still active, I just change my routine to keep it fresh and interesting; to give the top two inches a break and have fun. I like getting into activities with my family. I took up aqua aerobics with my mum while off the bike for a while. It was solidly entertaining and provided a good excuse to visit the coffee shop for mother-daughter time afterwards. I also went on a few tramps/ rock climbing/ kayak expeditions with my sister and her crazy outdoor friends which was so much fun :)

I am also a fan of Bikram Yoga, it’s a hard workout, but very social and relaxing. Once again it is simply something different to do, that will help maintain fitness. I like it because it is an all over body workout, so helps balance my proportions somewhat (the upper body in most cyclists is non-existent).

I tend to get a bit spontaneous during the indulgent season too, with food and exercise. I find that I am rather relaxed with what I eat, but I am still conscious of not overeating, which is an important factor to maintaining shape without strict training regimes. I jump in the occasional social/indoor sports games, take dance lessons with friends, fall on my face and trip over my poles attempting Nordic walking and generally do things which are new, or that I think I would enjoy. I do still get in the saddle for the odd toodle, and even joined the dark side, going mountain biking a couple of times.

The main thing is keeping it relaxed, fun and interesting."

- Ashleigh Neave, Cyclist

"Maintaining your health and fitness over the Christmas & New Year celebrations is absolutely possible, and believe it or not you can still enjoy the festivites and start the new year feeling fit and fabulous to boot! Like any goal you need to make plans and a commitment to stick to them. You might actually find this is a time you can sneak in a bit of extra exercise, if you have some time away from work.
For me, I always keep the bigger picture in mind- in my case the next big competition and my goal to win a medal at the next Paralympics. Christmas and New Year fall right in the middle of the swimming season in Australia, so I have been training hard for months and over indulging just isn't worth it. For me Christmas is MOST fun when I KNOW I AM STILL ON TRACK WITH MY TRAINING.

If I am heading into a REALLY major competition, not much about my routine changes. I will be training on Christmas eve, sometimes even on Christmas day. If the public pool is closed on the public holidays I substitute by going for a ride of my handcycle in the park or doing a workout at home.

One way we tend to over indulge during the festive season is with all the delicious food at parties and friends’ places. To help with this I often take a healthy dish to a gathering, which other friends can enjoy and can help me keep on track. I prefer to taste a few 'treat' items I will REALLY enjoy rather than try EVERYTHING. Filling up on salads and light options help.

I like to get my training done for the day before heading off to celebrate with friends and family so I am free to enjoy the rest of the day.

Wishing you a Merry, Happy and Healthy Christmas!"

- Marayke Jonkers, Paralympian

"I find Christmas is that part of the year to enjoy myself and spend time with family, but I justify eating all the good stuff by substituting it for exercise, for example during that time I will take the stairs instead of the escalator.

Eating in moderation is also a good way of handling it - eat what you want but in moderation. Seeing as though this time of year there are so many festivities going on, if I have to drive I'll park a good walk away so I get some exercise that way."

- Nathan Charles, Australian Rugby Union player and Super 15 Rugby player

"This is a very easy question for me to answer because at this time of year in New Zealand we are preparing for Surf Life Saving and Kayak Nationals and for Events in Australia. So if you don't stay on track with the training and the complete nutritional regime you can kiss your season goodbye so it is business as usual!! There is time to rest at the end of March but not over Christmas and New Year. For example -The Squad I train with were all out on the Ocean in Surf Skis at 7am last Christmas day. I can remember that it was a stunning morning, warm and still with a glassy ocean and we paddled from the Club to the Coastal Mountains and back, around 25kms, before going home to a Christmas breakfast!! We still have time with friends and family but it makes it so much easier when your friends and "Family" are the people you train with because we help each other keep on track and encourage and support everyone.
I guess it depends on how dedicated you are and what goals you have but if you are part of Teams, whether it be Double Surf Ski or K2 Kayak, then you need to be on the same page with your Team Mate!"

- Alex Fort, Kayaker and Surf Life Saver

Some great advice from our athletes which each one of us can incorporate into our own festive and holiday routine. So get started and make your personal plan to stay healthy and fit this holiday season!

Are You Up To Date With Us #2?

2011-12-01T16:10:00.007+13:00

There are a couple of projects floating around the office and it’s time to give you an update:

Movember, who is the lucky winner?

It’s so nice to see our Movember team with clean-shaved faces today, which we haven’t seen for a full month! And the fund raising result is? More than $5,000! Apart from the online donation, USANA Australia had a series of fund raising activities including a hilarious raffle. The ‘lucky’ winner, our IT Manager, Leanne Lee, was given the special opportunity to reveal a ‘Pre-Movember’ David. The contributed fund goes straight to the research and support of prostate cancer and other health issues that affect men. Thanks to all team members who dedicated to this activity! Visit USANA’s Mo Space to say hello to them.

USANA Asia Pacific Convention 2012

It’s only 97 days to go until USANA’s Asia Pacific Convention 2012! We have decided on a great spectrum of speakers so far. They are: Dr. Myron Wentz, Dave Wentz, Dr. Libby Weaver, Dr. Paige & Daniel Hunter, Dr. Lyle MacWilliam, Jason Shih, Dr. Brian Dixon and Michael McQueen. Visit the AP Convention website for more information of the speakers. If you are a Twitter guru, you can include the hash tag of #USANAAPC12 in your tweets and spread the word to your followers as much as you can.

Super Success with Michael Callejas

Michael Callejas - 1-Star Diamond Director from the US, recently visited Australia to present at a number of Super Success Seminars - he answered all your business questions and more at these inspirational events...he makes the USANA business so easy!

Here are some comments from USANA Associates about his training:

“In a word, ‘sensational’. Michael's training was right on the button making it all look so easy!”

Robin Ellis, Sydney

“The Super Success Seminar with 1 star diamond director Michael Callejas was absolutely breathtaking. The knowledge, inspiration and motivation gained were absolutely priceless. He shared so much with us straight from the heart and I can't wait until AP convention when he'll be back again! Thank you Michael you are truly amazing!”

Raman Chen, Sydney

“We had our breakthrough after talking to Michael. His training is so practical and we can apply to our business easily. From now on I understand we need to be productive rather than busy all the time! Our business will be at a higher level after his training. Thank you Michael!”

Dalin Wang, Melbourne

If you missed this event, go to the new USANA Australia New Zealand Facebook Fan page for more photos and videos.

USANA Health Centre: Skin Care Tips for Summer

2011-11-29T18:16:00.006+13:00

Pimples, insect bites, sunburn, dry skin … the summer sun can create havoc on your skin. We want you to look and feel your best this summer, so here are some tips for looking after your skin:

Limit Sun Exposure: sunburn causes all kinds of skin problems, from peeling redness, to premature aging and skin cancer. Limit your exposure to the sun whenever possible, and always cover up with sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses. Slap on some Daytime Protective Emulsion when your sun exposure is limited, but when you are out on the beach or for extended periods of time, go slip-slap-slop with a good 30+ SPF sunscreen that provides high protection from UVA and UVB exposure.

Take lots of vitamins: a healthy body promotes healthy skin. Taking a regular, daily dose of essential vitamins from the USANA Essentials range will keep your skin fresh and glowing. Antioxidants and vitamins A, C and E are particularly useful in fighting off the effects of sun damage.

Moisturise: the summer heat causes dry, flaking skin, which isn’t any fun. Choose a light, non-greasy moisturiser like USANA’s Sensé Daytime Protective Emulsion you can apply every day. Don’t forget to keep the hydration on your entire body even through the night with Night Renewal and Firming Body Nourisher.

Keep insects at bay: those pesty insects love to bite scented skin, so limit your use of scented hairsprays, perfumes, deodorants and creams during the summer months. If you’re having a barbeque in the backyard, if you use insect repellent, wash it off when you go inside. You don’t want to leave all those harmful chemicals on your skin.

Treat itchy insect bites with a dab of vinegar on some cotton wool. Add a cup of oatmeal (yes, really) to a cool bath to soothe surface-skin itches.

Enjoy Summer Fruits: Summer abounds with fresh citrus fruits and berries, packed with vitamins and antioxidants to fight free radicals and keep your skin glowing. Use them to balance those indulgent festive meals and to add a burst of antioxidant goodness to your flavoursome spread.

Combat acne: we sweat more in summer, and the sweat locks dirt in our pores and produces summer breakouts. Use a soap-free cleanser with jojoba, such as USANA’s Sensé Energizing Shower Gel, to wash away dead skin cells and wipe your face and body with a clean towel after showering.

Don’t forget, a healthy body promotes healthy, glowing skin. Summer is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy sports and other active pursuits. With a healthy dose of daily vitamins, a summer diet rich in fresh fruits and veggies, and a few simple skin-care tips, you’re set for the best summer yet!

Photos from: Healthy Tips News

2011-11-19T01:40:00.005+13:00

Wow what an awesome day at USANA Sydney's Corporate Office!
Firstly our local leaders had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with US 1STAR Diamond Michael Callejas for a Q&A - Michael answered all their business questions and more...he makes the USANA business so easy!

Then tonight we were honoured to have Michael present a Health & Freedom Opportunity meeting.

Over 180 Associates and their guests filled our Wentz Theatre to witness one of the best ever H&F's we have seen...and the best is yet to come!

Tomorrow is the full day Super Success Seminar!~ We cant wait! Michael ROCKS!

On Sydney Harbour with 1STAR Michael Callejas

2011-11-17T19:09:00.005+13:00

USANA's Sydney leaders spent a day on the harbour with visiting 1STAR Diamond Director Michael Callejas!

Michael came straight from a 15 hour flight to enjoy the sights.
No jet lag here though, Michael spent the entire day sharing and everyone left feeling totally pumped.

Tomorrow is the Sydney Leaders Meeting and Health & Freedom Meeting at USANA Corporate Offices, Castle Hill...see you all there!

USANA Expert Advice: Staying Healthy the Natural Way This Christmas

2011-11-17T12:47:00.006+13:00

In our previous blog, we shared some practical tips from USANA Associates about how to find a balance between indulgence and health this summer. This time, we’d like to share some tips from USANA experts, Brenda Rogers, USANA's Training & Development Manager, Qualified Naturopath, and Sheila Zhou, USANA's Health Product Expert & Technical Scientist

The underlying principle of Dr. Myron Wentz’ extraordinary understanding of the cell and how it impacts our health, is: the body cures itself.

But we need to give it the right resources to do this! And this is what cellular nutrition is all about – giving the body the nutrients it needs to do its job, for example the liver needs sulfur, the immune system needs Vitamin C, the blood needs B12, the nerves need calcium. Then, on top of all that for effective absorption sulfur needs the B vitamins, Vitamin C needs calcium and magnesium, vitamin B12 needs good digestive function and calcium needs magnesium and phosphorus. WOW!

So, while we know how vital it is these days to supplement our diet with additional nutrients, we also know that optimal health will not occur without the hand of nature and that a healthier diet is essential.

So this summer, take the opportunity to improve your health. Here are 5 challenges for you for over the summer and Christmas period:

1. Improve your eating habits. It doesn't have to be huge. You could simply swap white rice for brown rice, or replace soft drinks with water (or herbal tea or Rev3, or water with mint leaves or water with lemon juice - just for a few ideas). Or add a soup or salad to your evening meals 2 or 3 times a week. Every little improvement counts.

2. Try adding a freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juice to your diet once a week – carrot and apple with ginger is divine.

3. Experiment with new fruits and vegetables. Have you ever tried Jerusalem artichoke? Do you know how fabulous lychees are? Go on, try something new!

4. Grow something. Grow a herb, grow lettuce, grow anything. Even if you fail and the thing dies on you, you’ll have a greater appreciation of the growth and preparation of food – how much work it is and how precious the food is that we put in our bodies.

5. Exercise a little more. It helps digestion, it gives us energy, it helps circulate the blood. Use the longer days to add in a bike ride after work, or a swim at lunch time or a yoga class over the weekend. We are deluded if we think exercise is optional! It’s not.

In health.

- Brenda Rogers

While summer means fun in the sun, holidays, barbecues, outdoor activities, and much more; it could also mean sunburn, dehydration, and over-indulgence. In addition to eating a healthy balanced diet, staying healthy for the summer season requires 3 simple rules – hydration, sunscreen, and antioxidants.

Drink fluids throughout the day – Water is essential to ensure the proper functioning of your body. Adequate fluid intake is particularly important during summer month to prevent dehydration. Sweating in hot days can cause dehydration, loss of electrolytes, and muscle fatigue. Take bottles of water with you when you go out. Make sure that you replenish electrolytes such as potassium from your diet.

Slip, Slap, Slop – Sunburn is not only unpleasant but also unhealthy. UV radiation is the major cause of skin aging and can induce skin cancer. Use a good broad spectrum SPF30+ sunscreen to protect the skin from the short- and long-term effects of UV radiation, and re-apply it frequently during the day. Always wear protective clothing, a hat and sunglasses when going out in the sun.

Add antioxidant to your diet – Too much fun in the sun can induce extensive generation of free radicals from UV radiation, thus increases oxidative stress in the body. Under these circumstances, many antioxidants undergo depletion and must be replenished continuously.

Free radicals have been implicated in the development of many chronic disease as well as aging. Antioxidants counteract the toxic effects of free radicals in human body through physiological and biochemical mechanisms.

Fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, olive oil and tea are all rich sources of antioxidants. Throughout summer, lots of fruits and vegetables come into season. It is a great time to eat plentiful and variety of fresh seasonal produce, as antioxidants in food have varied biological potency, and have synergistic and interdependent effects on one another. A broad spectrum antioxidant supplement that contains various antioxidants is another great way to effectively boost the antioxidant levels in the body, and to protect your body against the damaging effect of oxidative stress.

- Sheila Zhou

Diabetes, We Can Beat It!

2011-11-14T11:28:00.010+13:00

World Diabetes Day is on today, November 14, 2011

Did you know?

Over 200,000 New Zealanders have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes; and over 1.7 million Australians have diabetes and half don’t know it (they have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes)
An estimated 275 Australians develop diabetes every day
Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in Australia

In order to engage millions of people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness, World Diabetes Day was created by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization and is celebrated annually.

It is easy to think we know all about diabetes, but diabetes is way more complex than what we think. At USANA, we care about the health of our community and so, it’s worth our while to take the time and refresh our knowledge on this massive health threat.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. The classical symptoms of diabetes are polyuria (frequent urination), polydipsia (increased thirst) and polyphagia (increased hunger). However, in some cases there are no visible symptoms, making diabetes difficult to detect.

There are various types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational diabetes but the majority of diabetes falls into Type 2, which can be successfully managed with a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle – and this is how frustrating the situation is - while Diabetes is controllable, it is still a leading cause of death in our community! While knowledge and advice about diabetes is so accessible on the internet these days, people still do not follow the advice. No wonder the theme of this year’s World Diabetes Days is defined as Diabetes Education and Prevention. Following advice and turning it into action is the key to winning the battle!

Having said that, it is important to clarify several myths:

Myth #1: Diabetes has nothing to do with me, because I don’t have a family history and I am young.

The fact is that anyone who has an inactive lifestyle and an imbalanced diet is at risk of diabetes, regardless of age, gender or nationality. Also, recent statistics show there is an increase in Type 2 diabetes in younger people. Therefore, don’t take it for granted that you are always the lucky one!

Myth #2: As long as I avoid consuming excess sugar from food, I am safe from being diabetes.

First, Diabetes isn’t just caused by sugar intake. For example, obesity is known to increase the risk of developing diabetes. Second, talking about sugar, there are lots of hidden sugars, such as sucrose, glucose and honey. They can raise blood sugar levels in a similar way to plain white sugar. Also, packaged products can contain high amounts of concentrated sugar. We’ve got some dietary recommendations for diabetics here:

Eliminate all grains and dairy products
Eat low-glycemic index (GI) meals and snacks to avoid peaks and drops in blood sugar. Products from USANA’s healthy food range are good choices
Eat only low sugar fruits in moderation and low sugar fruits include all berries, under-ripe bananas, tart apples and firm pears
Avoid products containing high fructose corn syrup. Being label savvy plays an important role here. You must educate yourself on ‘hidden sugars’ and look for them when shopping.
Strictly avoid damaged fats (trans fats), deep fried foods, processed oils and even margarine
Drink plenty of pure water daily, approximately 8-10 glasses per day

Myth #3: My parents have diabetes; it is in my genes, so I can do nothing about it.

That sounds a bit pessimistic, doesn’t it? As mentioned above, diabetes Type 2 is preventable, if you have a healthy dietary and lifestyle. Apart from the eating tips from Myth #2, you can try following lifestyle recommendations:

If you do lead an unhealthy lifestyle, it’s worth getting a regular blood glucose test
Engage in regular physical activity. You can begin exercise gently with just a short walk every day and increase the distance daily until your fitness levels rise
Get plenty of good quality sleep (8-9 hours each night), to get a strong immune system and overall good health
Smokers are more likely to develop diabetes than non-smokers, so give up smoking now
Monitor your weight to make sure you maintain a good Body Mass Index (known as BMI). Follow this link to work out your BMI
Reduce toxins in your environment; gasoline, paint, solvents, cleaners, heavy metals, air pollution etc. Refer to Alan Todhunter’s tips on a healthy living environment, or have a read of USANA’s Healthy Home book.

And finally, we should always have faith in ourselves: diabetes, we can beat it!

Stats from www.diabetesvic.org.au and www.diabetes.org.nz/
Photos from www.freedigitalphotos.net and www.idf.org

USANA Health Centre: Five Health and Wellness Tips for Men

2011-11-10T17:44:00.007+13:00

Modern men juggle so many responsibilities – work, family, friends, relationships, hobbies, renovations, finances – it's no wonder many of us don't have time to keep fit and healthy. At USANA, we think it's important all men make their health and wellness a priority, so we've created these five healthy tips for men:

Find Time for Fitness
These days, men are busier than ever. In many families, both parents work full-time and share parenting duties and household chores. It can be hard to find enough hours in the day to sleep, let alone exercise. But it's important to stay active any way you can – playing social sports with friends, taking your kids hiking, or walking, rather than taking the car to work can be fun and easy to fit in while helping you stay fit and healthy.

Get a regular check-up
Just because everything looks great on the outside, doesn't mean you're not heading for an issue with your health. Regular check-ups and screenings with your doctor can help prevent high cholesterol, diabetes, prostate and colon cancer (the most common cancers among men), STIs and other health problems. If you catch these things early, you'll have a better chance at recovery.

Quit Smoking
You could do one thing RIGHT NOW to dramatically improve your health, you should stop smoking. Smoking more than triples your risk of dying from cancer, heart and lung disease. Patches, counseling, medications and even electronic cigarettes can help you quit today – so there are no more excuses!

Manage Stress
When men get stressed, they may get easily annoyed or angry, and may find it difficult to talk about what is stressing them out. When you're stressed you don't sleep well, you feel tired and irritable, and you find it hard to switch off and relax. Manage stress effectively by scheduling plenty of time for relaxing activities – whether that's playing with your kids, going fishing with your mates, reading a book or watching a movie.

Get Your Vitamins
It's difficult for even the healthiest men to get all the vitamins and minerals their bodies need from food alone. You need vitamin A to boost your immune system, vitamin E to help prevent prostate cancer and vitamin D to increase virility (and we all want a little of that!)

If you want to hear more from the health experts about men’s health, the mini USANA pocket magazine, Health Essentials, issue 6 is always a good read.

Did you hear that USANA’s Movember team has 12 members now and has raised $581 so far? Check out their photo below – it was taken after a couple of day’s growth.

Got some more great health and wellness tips for men? Why don't you share them on our USANA Facebook page?

Find A Balance Between Indulgence And Health This Christmas

2011-11-08T16:06:00.005+13:00

When you are looking for a party venue and find out that all the venues are booked out, you know that the festive season is in full swing! It feels just like yesterday and yapp, this year’s Christmas is just around the corner! Needless to say, you will have a lot on your plate for this holiday, but is keeping fit and healthy in your agenda as well? Lots of people will say “No – that’s almost impossible: how can you thoroughly enjoy yourself if you worry too much about your health or body shape?” Well, we have some smart USANA Associates, who find a way to balance the Christmas indulgence and their health. Want to know how? Here you go:

“Everyone’s favourite time of the year Christmas can also be a stumbling block in your overall health - Too much food, too much drink and depending where you live, too much sun… In other words, an overdose of just about everything that you wouldn’t normally do in 50 weeks of the year. Hey I’m not saying don’t enjoy yourself but it’s always a good idea to take a few precautionary measures.

I usually increase my dose of nutritional supplements at that time of the year. Just for that week or so over Christmas and the New Year, as I then know I’m getting my full daily dose of minerals and vitamins during that critical period of not eating healthy foods and drinking far too much.

It’s also a time for the outdoors in the crazy heat of ‘down under’. All of us are out at the beach, BBQing or just out enjoying the summer weather. Do we put sunscreen on every time we go out? Not usually! What I do is to just make sure I put on my USANA Daytime Protective Emulsion before I head out. I also carry one in my pocket as sometime I can get caught out and stay out all day. It’s not quite as good as a 30+ sunscreen but it’s far better than nothing.

So enjoy summer everyone but don’t forget your USANA products to keep you in tip top shape for 2012.”

- Jim Doherty, New Zealand

"With the free time and lovely summer weather, it's a great opportunity to get out into the great outdoors. We find the Rev3 natural energy drink is the perfect way to get that boost of energy; especially on the longer hikes!

With all the time spent out and about in the summer weather, it's great to know we're protecting our skin with the Daytime Protective Emulsion and its built-in sunscreen."

- Fiona Jamieson-Folland, New Zealand

“As everybody has a busy lifestyle these days, Christmas is just a great opportunity for us to catch up with friends! Instead of travelling, we tend to hold lots of parties at home. Indulgence with food and drinks are so unavoidable! But there’s still a way around it. To stay fit, we will choose to cook healthy food, such as salads and steamed meat rather than fried meat; and will always take USANA HepaPlus and Proflavonal C100 before drinking. We’d also like to take the opportunity to share our health tips with friends – this means we pick topics on health during the conversation and try to engage them in the discussion.”

- Kathy Huang & Wu Di, Sydney, Australia

“Christmas is a time when we are tempted by too many tasty treats. So we always try to make sure we keep moving – get plenty of exercise. Go for a walk; find a dog to chase; kick a ball around; go for a swim - as often as possible. We have plenty of USANA Probiotic on hand, just in case we over-indulge!

Christmas in Australia occurs at the hottest time of the year, right in the middle of summer. So why do we insist on the big heavy midday feast? Swap the roast turkey for fish on the barbie and trade the pudding for fruit salad. And don’t forget the USANA HealthPak!”

- Jo & Warren Naseby, Perth, Australia

“I always look forward to the Christmas season as it is the most fun-filled and joyous part of the year. This year the Christmas season will be particularly so for me as my niece plans to get married during that time. I must therefore ensure that my family is suitably armed with USANA Proflavanol C100, CoQuinone and Poly C so that they will be bouncing off the walls with energy and make this the most memorable time of the year for us."

- Kesha Bart, Perth, Australia

Great tips, aren’t they? We want you to have a carefree holiday, not one that will create loads of health problems. Try these tips and tell us if they work or not! Send your experience and tips to facebook@au.usana.com and you may be featured on USANAtoday.com!

Photos from foodtrotter.com

Congratulations To Our Facebook Competition Winners!

2011-11-03T17:27:00.010+13:00

Summer is almost here and with during the ‘hot and sweaty season’ what can be more refreshing and re-energising than a cold glass of USANA Rev3?

During the recent Rev3 competition on our new USANA Australia New Zealand Facebook page, we received some great feedback and comments from Rev3 fans – here are a few:

There is nothing more tantalizing and refreshing than a 4pm REV3, my cocktail of choice to REVerse my fatigue, REVive my day and keep me REViving along – Sue Ross

Rev3 tastes great and provides a sustained increase in energy, especially mental. I find Rev3 fantastic in keeping me awake and active while on a 12 hour night shift - Gerard Ockerse

Early this year, Ayelet Fleming, one of the USANA Associates, held the first Rev3 Social in Nelson, New Zealand and Rev3 obviously got lots of attention from the young fellows: “Rev3 is the perfect product to do this with. For the younger social set it is about having a good time and having enough energy, but also introducing the possibility of how to do this with a healthy alternative. People had a great time; they were impressed with Rev3. Friends spoke to friends and isn’t that just how this business grows?”

Thank you to everyone who participated... But who are the winners?

We are excited to announce the winners of this competition:

Kerry O’Rourke and Selina Chan

Here’s what they had to say about Rev3:

I joined USANA six or seven weeks ago and one of the products I have started using is the Rev3 recommended to me by my immediate up line.

I was getting fatigued easily at work have done so for last two years. I use to take various energy drinks to get me through the day. I have started using Rev3 and did not notice any improvement in first four or five days other than I was not getting hi-po which generally comes when you get a sugar rush from drinking various energy drinks.

After five days I realize I was not getting tired in the afternoons and had slightly more energy. Four weeks into it, I feel natural all the time, no highs and lows, fatigue has gone and best of all, I don’t have cravings for energy drinks. Also my doctor had told me months ago, I had impaired glucose tolerance.

Now, for some reason, my readings are back to normal and it looks like I may not become a diabetic. So by cutting out all the energy drinks and taking Rev3, my life is back to normal.

All I can say is thanks USANA!
Kerry O’Rourke

Rev3 is a fantastic healthier alternative to energy drinks - I had no feeling of "crash and burn" here! I find it convenient in a little pack that's easy to take on the run. Add the powder to water, mix, and voila… just drink and enjoy!
Selina Chan

Congratulations to you both! USANA Healthy Food Packs are on their way, right in time for a healthy and fit summer holiday!

If you aren’t familiar with Rev3 and what it can do for your energy levels, here are some blogs and photos of Rev3.

Our Rev3 Facebook competition has come to an end, but our new Facebook Fan Page has only just begun... keep your eyes peeled for more exclusive competitions coming soon!

Are You Up To Date With Us #1?

2011-11-02T16:36:00.009+13:00

November seems like an extremely busy month for training. If you are based in Sydney, come to the Australia head office in Castle Hill and there will be a wide spectrum of training topics – there is something for everyone!

Catch of the Month

USANA Australia and New Zealand welcomes Penny Chen from the USANA Taiwan office. Penny has over 12 years experience in the nutritional food industry and right now she is in the middle of her Australian and New Zealand trip delivering trainings to Mandarin-speaking Associates. Topics include chronic diseases and related nutrients, circulatory system nutrients and the key of life optimizers. If you think these topics are too technical, don’t worry – Penny is good at turning the technical knowledge into stories, so that everybody can understand. In the rest of her trip, she will stop at Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide and the feedback we have so far is 100% positive.

Michael Callejas from California, U.S. is the other catch of the month. He is a young, successful USANA millionaire and he is going to tell you how he transformed his life from working 70+ hours a week in a job going nowhere, to where he is at today. With the secrets and techniques to build up a solid USANA business on hand, you will be ready to take your business to the next level!

What else is bubbling?

The latest Health Essentials, Issue 7 is out! And this time we are talking about healthy children and teenagers, including what supplements they should be taking, how to encourage your kids to adopt a sensible eating plan and an interesting article on ear health in children.

Who is joining us in Movember?

Don't be surprised if you see a few unshaved upper lips around over the next few weeks – its MOVEMBER! Starting back in 2003, Movember gives men a great excuse to be ‘lazy’ and ‘charitable’ at the same time, by not shaving during November to raise money and awareness of mens health issues specifically prostate cancer and depression. Seven USANA team members have put their hands up already and you are more than welcome to join us as well! Can’t wait to see what they look like at the end of this month!

Who Says Halloween Isn’t An Aussie Or Kiwi Thing?

2011-10-28T17:30:00.010+13:00

The atmosphere is getting eerie on What’s Up, USANA?, and it’s not hard to tell that Halloween is just around the corner. Gory ghosts, creepy creatures and squeaky skeletons… USANA Australia office is not far behind – if you dare to look.

Those who think Halloween isn’t an Aussie or Kiwi thing, think again!

Are any of these faces familiar?

Have you returned a product? Beware of the hand that does the returns…

Since when has the warehouse become a dead end?

When you ring up the USANA Australian and New Zealand Customer Service,
you have no idea who you are talking with... or do you?

Think finance is magic? The only magic here is Associates’ hard work!
Isn’t that right, Vicki?

Sorry, this bathroom is occupied…
who knows what’s going to pop up if you push the door?

USANA Australia and New Zealand would like to
wish you a happy Halloween!

Do you have any spooky plans for Halloween? Send in your creative Halloween photos either by leaving comments below, or by emailing facebook@au.usana.com.

Five Reasons To Attend A USANA Convention

2011-10-27T10:54:00.016+13:00

Meetings, meetings and meetings… As USANA Asia Pacific Convention 2012 is getting closer, the USANA Sydney office is definitely getting busier. Looking at pages and pages of to-dos, all we can say is “Mate, this is going to be a seriously HUGE event!” You have seen the photos we uploaded on Facebook about the site inspection. Here are just some, in case you want to re-fresh your memory. From the photos, it’s not hard to tell that once we fill these empty halls with stages, shops, seminar rooms and display squares, these halls are going to look spectacular! Can you imagine that? Hmmm… I can even smell it right now.

The awesome USANA International Convention 2011 obviously has put lot of pressure on us. Is it impossible for us to do a better job than that? The answer is for you to find out! The tickets are on sale at the moment and they are selling fast! This means very limited seats are left. So if you are looking to join us, you’d better hurry up and secure your seat. Posters are ready to be downloaded from the very first NOTE on the new USANA Australia and New Zealand Facebook Fan Page.

Now, you might think – yeah, yeah, I know the ticket price is fabulous, but what’s in there for me and my team? Well, there are a couple of reasons to attend the convention:

Pump yourself up with motivation and inspiration

Attending convention is always a perfect opportunity when you run out of motivation and inspiration. Just come and feel the atmosphere, hear from those awesome speakers, talk to other USANA folks; you will find a way to break through your current challenges. Keep your eyes and ears wide open and be really sharp, filter and absorb information. That will make a huge difference to what you gain from the convention.

Improve your knowledge

For USANA’s Women In Business 2011, we were named as a Stevie Distinguished Honoree in the International Business Awards category. And this time, we shall try harder to deliver an even better experience for our audience. This means more training sessions, more breakthroughs and more new products. You will definitely be one of the first to know about the new USANA products and business opportunity, and so will the people who you bring along.

Don’t miss the convention only specials!

One of the tangible values you will get straight away from the convention is the bargains in your shopping bag. There will be convention only specials and souvenirs, merchandise which you won’t get anywhere else or any other time!

Networking & enjoying yourself

A better experience also means more entertaining. There will be games, performances and variety of activities in an Aussie way…you will enjoy yourself and have great fun! It is also a good opportunity to make new friends and also get closer with your team, as you will spend days with them. Surrounded by like-minded USANA Associates, it won’t be hard to find the opportunity to hang out with them and have a drink or two!

Line up with an Aussie style

It’s the first time for the convention to be held in Australia since 2007. So, for lots of attendees, it is their first visit to Australia as well. What does this mean? A great excuse to explore this wide Aussie land before or after the convention! We will cover this a bit more in upcoming blogs.

So, come along and join us and surely you will be embraced by Australian greetings!

USANA Health Centre: Weight Management The Healthy Way

2011-10-25T08:50:00.000+13:00

Have you been dieting on and off for years, only to find yourself putting the weight back on … and more? Do you look at the "health" section of the bookstore, only to be put off by the hundreds of books purporting the new miracle cure? High-protein diets, Russian Airforce diet, raw food, cabbage soup diet – all these fad diets seem too good to be true. Are you wondering how this could possibly be healthy?

The answer is no – it's not. Crash dieting is harmful to your body. Depriving yourself of essential foods causes your metabolism to slow down, leaves you tired, irritated, and can cause damage to your internal organs. Sure, you'll lose weight, but you'll put it back on as soon as you stop the diet, and what's a little weight loss when it causes harm to your body?

Instead of looking for a new diet to try, focus on managing your weight with a healthy lifestyle. Changing even a few of your habits will have a significant effect on your weight – and your overall health.

Keep a food diary for a week: note down exactly what you eat, and when you eat it. Look for unhealthy patterns and emotional eating. Do you eat unhealthy food to reward yourself for surviving a horrible day? Do you eat while watching TV, even if you're not hungry?

Eliminate Emotional Eating: Now that you've identified these emotional eating habits, look for non-food alternatives. Instead of turning to chocolate after work, relax with a warm bath, a good book or a cuddle with your husband on the couch.

Pay attention to your food: eat slowly and savour your food. Make mealtimes sacred by turning off the TV and concentrating on enjoying the meal. Often we shovel food in our mouths and don't realise until later that we've overeaten. By being mindful with our food, we make sure to only eat what we need.

Change your diet: No, not "go on a diet", but change your everyday habits. The majority of your food should be fiber, fruits and vegetables in their purest, most natural forms. This means changing your highly processed sugary breakfast cereal for wholegrain toast, your mid-morning chocolate bar for a few raw carrot sticks and your cheesy potato bake for a delicious bean salad. It's these small changes that really add up.

Make Exercise Fun: a great way to take the chore out of exercise is to find a sport you enjoy, or do it together with a friend or family member. This way you have someone to cheer you on and can look forward to training sessions, instead of dreading them.

So, how do you manage weight in a healthy way? Tell us about your tips by leaving comments below.

USANA Biz Centre: Setting up a Facebook Fan Page

2011-10-21T17:57:00.005+13:00

For those who have read our previous blog about the new USANA Australia New Zealand Fan Page, should now have an idea about what Facebook is, the difference between a profile page and a Fan Page, and whether or not you should have your own Facebook Fan page. In this blog, we show you how to set up your very own Facebook page (Like our USANA Australia New Zealand page) for your USANA business.

To set up your Facebook page, go to www.facebook.com/page directly, or go to any fan page on Facebook and scroll down till you find the "create a page" button on the bottom sidebar. Click this and follow the instructions to set up your own page. You'll need to choose an appropriate name for your page. Remember, you can't use USANA or other trademarked names as your page name or URL. Your name or something like "Healthy Living in " would be a great start.

Fill in your profile information and add links to your website and any other social media sites you use. Now, add a few fun photographs and a status update welcoming new fans, and click "share" in the top right corner.

Now you can share your page with your team and customers on Facebook. These are the people in your immediate network, and they're keen to support you and your endeavors. You'll get a few eager "likes", and every time those people comment on or "like" something on your page, you become visible to their networks, and you'll get even more fans.

Once you've got 25 "likes/fans" on your Facebook page, you can claim a "customised URL" – a Facebook URL that contains the name of your page, rather than the long list of letters and numbers that make up most Facebook URLs. To claim your URL, visit http://facebook.com/username.

Now, add your Facebook link to everything! Your email signatures, your USANA website, your Twitter feed, your Skype status, your USANA business cards, your USANA flyers and presentation materials – and encourage everyone to click through and like your page. The more fans you have, the more exposure you'll get.

With your new Facebook page, you can now communicate directly with your team members and your current and potential customers - let people know when a new product comes out, when you have attended a USANA event, ask questions and get valuable feedback, and have heaps of fun!

USANA, Staying On The Cutting Edge

2011-10-19T13:07:00.004+13:00

USANA Health Sciences, as you can read from its name, is a science-based company. This means staying on the Cutting Edge of nutritional science is always a priority to us. And USANA achieves this by teaming up with top universities and research centres to continuously develop or improve our products offering more effective formulations with higher potency and bioavailability. The new and upgraded Procosamine® with Meriva Curcumin is a perfect example. The ingredient Meriva Curcumin can be absorbed 29 times better into our system than standard forms of curcumin and this means you take one less tablet a day, lesser pill fatigue!

As research progressively continues, USANA will have more upgraded products like Procosamine. And we promise that there will be a lot of excitement you can expect. Why? Because USANA never stops moving forward with research and development. The three most recent projects underway at USANA are:

Project #1: Examining the role of supplementation in counteracting the negative health effects of exposure to polluted air, a study with the new partner, Utah State University.

The study will focus on whether a variety of antioxidants found in nutritional supplements can mitigate the inflammatory response in the air passages of those exposed to high levels of PM2.5, small particle pollution. More information of this research is covered in the USANA blog: What’s Up, USANA?.

USANA’s Executive Director of Research and Development, Dr. John Cuomo believes that the results of these studies will help USANA deal with real-world health issues and provide USANA customers with valuable information on enable them take charge of their own health.

Project #2: One of the most fruitful relationships of USANA is with the Linus Pauling Institutes (LPI) at Oregon State University.

LPI has a stated mission of helping people live healthy and productive lives through their research on vitamins, essential minerals, phytochemicals and more – a mission very similar to USANA’s. The namesake, Dr. Linus Pauling – the only man to win two unshared Novel Prizes – co-founded LPI in 1973. In 2007, USANA and LPI announced a 10-year partnership. There are already several studies underway, including everything from the interaction between vitamin C and lipoic acid to an assessment of the micronutrient status of school children. This research helps understand more about how specific nutrients and phytochemicals can lead to optimal health. It also helps USANA find new, effective phytonutrients to add to our formulations.

Project #3: Vitamin D and supplementation in patients with osteoarthritis symptoms, partnered with The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital (TOSH) in Murray, Utah.

TOSH is an international leader in orthopaedics, sports medicine and science. It is also one of only a few facilities worldwide that provide surgical, physical rehabilitation and medicine, and sports and nutritional science under one roof. Since the official partnership started in 2009, USANA has supported a series of studies at TOSH, with even more in the works. USANA products are involved in four human clinical studies dealing with the relationship between the products and joint health, strength recovery and performance in athletes. USANA also provides intellectual contributions to study design, analysis, writing and presentation. And TOSH is well equipped to conduct human clinical studies which can help USANA provide tried-and-tested products.

The list of research partnerships goes on. And all the studies, innovations and advancement that are in progress delivers the one unified message, that USANA supplements are “Nutritionals You Can Trust”.

Are you defined by Age or Activity?

2011-10-14T16:59:00.006+13:00

When you look at your daily life, do you see yourself couched up in front of the tele or brooding over aches and pains, or do you see yourself being up and about enjoying life to the fullest? When you imagine your future, what do you dream of doing? Running down a sandy beach? Cycling down that challenging path? Hiking through the outback? Globe-trotting? Golfing at world-class resorts? Swimming in that pristine pool? Playing with your kids or grand-kids? The options are limitless. Whatever you dream of, chances are hobbling around in pain is not part of the scene.

The unfortunate fact is millions of people’s futures look a little bleaker because they are hindered from being themselves and doing the things they love due to joint pain. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to keep your joints healthy, to put back activity in your lifestyle. In addition to being smart about exercise, wearing the right shoes, and maintaining a healthy weight, taking USANA’s newly upgraded Procosamine every day gives you a little extra insurance that your future won’t see you sitting on the sidelines.

Here’s what the new and improved Procosamine can do for you:

Keep your joints strong and flexible by delivering the building blocks needed to maintain healthy cartilage, connective tissues, and synovial fluid — the main components of your joints. Glucosamine occurs naturally in our bodies to help preserve joint function, but as we age our bodies produce less. Adding it to your diet is a good way to bolster your body’s natural recovery from daily wear and tear. And now that USANA has switched to an equally effective, vegetarian form of glucosamine blended with key joint-supporting minerals, you can get the same results as glucosamine sulfate without the worry about shellfish allergies or farming.

Keep your joints feeling good with an innovative ingredient, Meriva curcumin, that has been clinically shown to positively impact joint comfort. Meriva wraps curcuminoids (curcumin comes from turmeric) in a fatty layer to protect them from stomach acid and help them get through cell walls more easily. Because the ingredient is absorbed 29-times better than standard forms of curcumin, we’ve been able to deliver the same results as our previous Procosamine formulation in only three tablets a day instead of four!

Defend your body’s cells against damaging free radicals through the antioxidant activity of both Meriva curcumin and vitamin C, which your body also needs to make collagen — another important component of joint health.

So don’t let age or inactivity tell a tale on you. Give your joints a boost with USANA’s New & Improved Procosamine!

USANA Has Marked The October’s Calendar In Pink, Have You?

2011-10-10T18:19:00.008+13:00

Did you know that every year in New Zealand over 2700 women (and around 20 men) are diagnosed with breast cancer, that’s seven a day? Did you know around 650 women will die every year from breast cancer? In fact, breast cancer makes up 16% of all female cancers world widely.

Until we find a cure for breast cancer, all women need to be proactive, and make breast awareness part of their life. But how? As suggested by the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation (NZBCF), this can be done by following three steps:

Having a regular screening mammogram every year for women aged between 40 to 49; every two years for women from the age of 50 onwards, to make sure you are ‘clear’
Know your breasts including regular checks on the look and feel, and
See your family doctor without delay if there’s slightest noticeable changes or concern

The NZBCF is taking action this October including street appeal, getting dressed up at workplaces and online fund raising… And so is USANA!

USANA Associate from Auckland Salina Chau, recently shaved her head, not only to raise money, but also in honour of a friend who lost her battle with breast cancer two days after her 39th birthday in 2008. The support from her doesn’t just stop there – Salina has also set up a fundraising website and will do everything she can to spread the word and make a difference for all breast cancer sufferers.

“One person can make a difference and every person should…”

- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

If you are with us, share this information with your friends and family, and together, we can make a big difference!

Stats and picture from http://www.nzbcf.org.nz

Welcome To a ‘Likeable’ USANA Australia New Zealand Facebook World!

2011-10-06T11:24:00.009+13:00

We have got a new Facebook Fan Page! Funky design, easy access, detailed information AND an exclusive competition for fans only. Yes, it will be another communication hub on top of ‘USANA, word!’, Twitter and Youtube, in the USANA social media world.

In the previous blog, we talked about Facebook and how to connect with us, and I bet you can’t wait for a tour of it. Let’s go to http://www.facebook.com/usanaaustralianewzealand and start the tour!

This is the landing page. As you know, today is the first day of the competition. So if you haven’t joined yet, you may want to put your hand up right now by hitting the ‘Like’ button. You may have to log in if you haven’t already. You will be able to view the information of the competition, once you log in.

Apart from the competition pages, there are other four customised pages:

Health Check – leading you to USANA’s Health Assessment and Advisor, where you can find out what USANA products are suitable for your health needs
Products – Information on USANA’s products. “You are what you eat”, so it’s always good to know what’s inside the bottles
Business Opportunity – Let us show you that we are not just good at science-based products, but also provide amazing business opportunities to fit your pace and your needs
Athletes – The world-class athletes trust USANA. Why not trust your health to the nutritional supplements they trust?

You can navigate between pages by hitting the tabs located on the left side of the page (marked in red circle in the above picture). Each page will take you to the right information page you want to visit. However, you will need to select your country to proceed. But the good news is once this is selected, the internet browser will remember your country and you will not need to select it twice.

Tabs like “Wall”, “Info” and “Photos” are exactly the same as before: The “Wall” page is a default page, which allows us to post our updates, the upcoming USANA events and share USANA adventure with our fans. Posts can be text, web links, photos and videos. “Info” is a default page as well, which gives you an idea on who we are and what we do. “Photos” is where we can upload our photos, either with our USANA Associates, or with Dr. Wentz. If you are stuck on how to use Facebook, anytime, Facebook Help Centre is a good resource which will answer all your questions.

What can you do with the new Fan Page?

You can check out the latest news, events, trainings, recognition, product information, especially the localised Australia and New Zealand news, that we will post on the “Wall” page, and also gets displayed on your “News Feed”
You may have a discussion with like-minded USANA fellows from all over the world and share your story with them
You may share the posts with your friends or fans to spread the good word-of-mouth of USANA
You may also take advantage of this communication channel to post your articlesyou’re your USANA events
The last, but not the least, you may suggest your friends or fans to like us

Do you like this new page? Give us a ‘Thumbs Up’ to say you do!

USANA Health Centre: Fitness Tips for Healthy Joints

2011-10-04T16:19:00.000+13:00

As we get older, joint pain can often become part of life. Aching, stiffness and inflammation can keep you from enjoying life. But it doesn't have to be that way. Keeping your joints healthy can be easy and fun.

You can't change the joints you have, but to keep your joints in top shape, you can create strong muscles and healthy bones and cartilage. You can do this simply by eating a healthy diet and keeping fit.

Daily exercise can strengthen the muscles surrounding the joints, making you less prone to injuries and joint diseases. Low impact exercise is best, as this minimises the chances of injury. Try exercises like:

Cycling: an aerobic workout that's gentle on your joints and gives you great all-over muscle tone.
Swimming: one of the best exercises for all fitness levels, swimming is low-impact for joints while quickly building fitness. And, with an indoor pool, you can swim in all weather.
Light Aerobic exercises like yoga and tai chi: these can build core strength and muscle tone with low impact on joints.

As well as exercises, it's important to eat a healthy diet, and get plenty of the right kinds of vitamins and supplements. Fish Oil and Glucosamine are two of the best natural supplements to promote healthy joints. Fish Oil contains heaps of omega 3 fatty acids to combat joint pain and inflammation, not to mention being great for a healthy heart and brain.

Glucosamine is found in our joints and helps our bodies produce cartilage. Taking Glucosamine helps joint healing and recovery, as well as easing pain from arthritis.

Vitamin D is vital to maintaining healthy joints as well. One of the best ways to get vitamin D is to exercise in the sun for at least 20 minutes a day. Exposing your skin to the sun while you exercise helps your body absorb more vitamin D – just be sure not to burn yourself.

However, often we don't have the time or inclination to exercise outside (and the sun isn't exactly shining at the moment, anyway) so taking a natural supplement high in vitamin D can drastically improve your joints health.

There are many other vitamins, minerals and herbs that benefit joint health, such as flax seeds and flax seed oil, fish oil, and turmeric. If you have serious joint problems, we recommend you see a doctor before beginning any new fitness regime.

What Are Your Plans for World Heart Day 2011?

2011-09-29T12:14:00.010+13:00

World Heart Day 2011 is celebrating its 11th anniversary, and it is … today!

Did you know that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading causes of death? 17.1 million lives are claimed each year! (Source: www.world-heart-federation.org)

Scary, isn’t it? This is the reason why World Heart Day was initially introduced in 2000, to bring people’s awareness of it as well as spread the message that at least 80% of deaths from these causes are preventable.

But how to prevent it?

Though there are ‘beyond control’ risk factors such as advancing age and family history of heart disease, there are some factors that can be controlled and modified and smoking comes first, followed by obesity, being physically inactive, overly stressed and depression, eating junk food…etc.

How does USANA’s staff support the healthy Heart Day?

At USANA Australia and New Zealand, we not only strictly follow Australian Legislation regarding smoking to create a non-smoking work environment; we also hold regular health and fitness programs to keep staff physically active:

We have recently finished the first round of the Table Tennis Tournament and most employees had fun with it – at the end of the day, it’s not about winning the game, it’s about getting away from the desk a couple of minutes per day and having some exercise as well as social interaction with colleagues. Meanwhile, with the on-going USANA Fitness Club program, some active ones are trying very hard to earn as many points as possible to win the prizes. There is also a Basket-ball Tournament in the pipeline… Woo hoo!

Something that you might be interested in knowing as well, from a nutrition point of view…

People from the Mediterranean love their olives! Recent research showed that constituents found in olives can help in maintaining a healthy heart. The antioxidant activity of olives helps lower oxidised LDL cholesterol, the so called “bad” cholesterol. This further supports a rapidly growing body of evidence that suggests that it’s not so much the level of your cholesterol that is critical but lowering the amount of cholesterol that oxidised (rancid), that is really important.

With heart disease being one of our biggest killers, it’s worthwhile adding more olives and olive oil to your diet and, we’d suggest you take a quality supplement that contains olive fruit extract.

Apart from olive oil, you could try to:

Include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated (omega-3 and omega-6) fats in your diet, including avocados, tuna, salmon, linseed/flax oil, walnuts
Avoid trans fat
Reduce intake of saturated fat by choosing lean, trimmed meat and reduced or low-fat dairy goods
Supplement your diet with a good quality fish oil (with omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA)

And the good news is that there is a great new USANA Heart Health Autoship Pack available in Australia and New Zealand at the moment, that includes nutritional supplements for maintaining a healthy heart in the long run. They are USANA Essentials, BiOmega III, Proflavanol C100, CoQuinone 100 and E-Prime.

And at the end…

What’s your plan for this special day? Shall we stop for a minute and ask ourselves, “Is my heart healthy?” For a good start, this is an interesting test to help you calculate your heart age. Good luck with it!

USANA Fans, Can We Grab Your Attention Please?

2011-09-26T17:43:00.006+13:00

Me•di•a
noun.

The means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, which reach or influence people widely

We all agree that in the communication world, a ‘two-way street’ is better than a ‘one-way street’, right? Well technology is always making the impossible possible and now with Social Media, we can go for a ride with our audience anytime, anywhere! Facebook is one of the most popular and flexible Social Media channels around, and for those who have heard about it, but haven’t touched it, maybe now is the time to get involved and get connected with USANA Australia and New Zealand!

USANA’s unique Australia and New Zealand Facebook Fan Page is on its way…

From 7 October 2011, USANA Australia and New Zealand is going to launch its unique Facebook Fan Page, available to the general public, with more localised information, flexible communication and access to exclusive competitions.

So, what is Facebook?

If you are already a Facebook guru and want to read about the development of Facebook Wikipedia is always a good place to go. But if you are new to Facebook the following explanation will give you a brief overview of Facebook:

Facebook is a website that allows you to do online social networking with other users from all over the world. Launched in February 2004, Facebook has more than 500 million active users as of July 2010 - this figure is one fourteenth of the world population! (Source: Wikipedia) This is mind blowing, given China doesn’t even have official access to Facebook!

Put simply, this website not only enables you to post comments, images and videos, you can also share other online information, such as news stories, with your friends or create and invite your friends to an event etc. Here is a typical post on Facebook:

How to set up your Facebook account (a profile)?

If you are a Facebook savvy, you may by pass this information, as we will show you right from beginning. Go to http://www.facebook.com and fill in your details in the registration area (showed below), then click the ‘Sign Up’ button. Once you’ve clicked the ‘Sign Up’ button, you can start to create your profile.

Step 1 – this is where you can find your friends by your current email address (so make sure you use a valid email address). You have the choice of skipping this step if you wish.
Step 2 – you can fill out your interests so that you can find like-minded people on Facebook. Again, you may choose to skip this step.
Step 3 – this is where you complete your profile information.
Step 4 – asks you to upload a profile picture for this account. You may pick a photo of you, or any other pictures you like, but a photo of you will help your friends immediately recognise you!
Step 5 – click the ‘save and continue’ and your profile is DONE

You can edit your displayed information anytime by hitting the ‘Edit’ button, or you can add new personal information by hitting the ‘Edit Profile’ button (both shown in the image below)

How to become our fans?

Once the new Fan Page is up running, you will need to follow the steps below to become fans of USANA Australia and New Zealand:

Log on to Facebook.
Go to our Facebook Fan Page. (We will have a follow-up blog giving you a tour of the new Page as well as the web address of it)
Press the ‘LIKE’ button of the page, as showed in the picture below.

And that’s it!

Once you become our fan, we will keep you up-to-date with the latest USANA news, events, trainings, recognition, product information and more. You can also view our exclusive competitions and promotions which are open to USANA fans only. Also you will be able to easily access localised USANA Australian and New Zealand news, which happens right around you.

Should you start your own Facebook Fan Page for your USANA business?

Now you have your Facebook account (profile page) up running, you might think ‘hmmm, USANA Australia and New Zealand has its Fan page now, maybe I should start my own Fan page... but is it necessary?’ This question will be answered if you understand the difference between a Facebook profile and a Fan Page:

A Facebook profile is for individual users and the status updates, videos, pictures and events you post will only be visible by your friends, and obviously, this limits your reach. For a prospective customer to see what you have to say they would need to be added as a friend and go through the confirmation process to become your friend – this is not effective for your USANA business.

However, a Facebook Fan Page is just like your own website, where your information is visible to the public. All prospective customer needs to do is to ‘LIKE’ your page and your posts will display on their Facebook News Feed/home page. The process is just like subscribing to updates or articles from a website.

Facebook Fan Pages are important for your USANA business because they are more visible to search engines, such as Google or Bing – your Fan Page will be higher in the search results, as Facebook is a very popular website. Also the Fan Page allows you to have unlimited ‘fans’, while a profile is usually limited to 5,000 friends. Most importantly, the content is readily accessible to the public so you can include the page link in all your communications.

We will have more upcoming blogs about Facebook including a tour of the new USANA Australia New Zealand Page, how to set up your own Facebook Fan Page and how to build up your fans, etc. Please keep an eye out for them.

Have You Heard About Our New Talent At USANA?

2011-09-23T14:02:00.008+12:00

On the back of the success of Sam Stosur, Liezel Huber and Melanie Oudin recently at the US Open 2011, we have had the privilege of four top athletes joining us at USANA, which we are very excited about!

Alex Fort , Kayaker and Surf Life Saver, Christchurch, New Zealand

Already at the age of 17, he has won 11 medals, 5 National Titles and 3 Oceania Titles at New Zealand National Canoe Racing Championships and is a National Surf Life Saving Gold Medallist.

Alex’s goal is to win an Olympic Gold medal at the Under 23 World Championships in Canada in 2013. We are all
behind you Alex!

Britta Martin, Triathlete, Nelson, New Zealand

Britta has an impressive sporting career, which includes recently coming 4th in Ironman in France, 2nd in Triathlon Toelz, Germany and 1st in the Spring Challenge. Britta’s goal is to place in the top five consistently in International Ironman and long distance triathlon races and win an Ironman within the next five years. We believe you’ll get there Britta!

Martin Knight, Professional Squash Player Wellington, New Zealand

Martin is currently ranked #1 in New Zealand and a Silver medallist in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which is a huge achievement! We can’t wait to see what lies ahead for Martin!

Tennille Jay Falappi, Cyclist Cairns: Queensland

Tennille is a cyclist who, despite only riding since 2009, has already won Gold medals at both State and National level. Tennille is also the second fastest under 17 female in Australia, which is outstanding! Tennille’s future goals are to enter the Australian Institute of Sport as a Track Sprinter and represent Australia as a Track Sprinter at an international level. We know great things are ahead for you Tennille!

We are very excited about what is ahead for all our new Athletes and warmly welcome them aboard! Let us know what you think about our new athletes, leave your comments below.

Who Says Science Is a Boring Subject – Continued

2011-09-20T16:42:00.015+12:00

Now we all know that we had great success with Dr John Cuomo’s Sydney Health & Product Training... and the legend goes on! – Over 230 Associates, preferred customers and guests joined this special event in Auckland where Dr Cuomo was joined by four amazing Health Professionals – Dr. Monica Lewis a Holistic General Practitioner, Dr. Jingyuan Wen a Pharmaceutical Scientist, Dr. Libby Weaver a Holistic Nutrition Specialist and Dr. Gerald Lewis a Cardiologist & General Physician.

From left to right: Dr. Gerald Lewis, Dr. Monica Lewis, Dr. Jingyuan Wen, Dr. John Cuomo & Dr. Libby Weaver

The feedback is phenomenal! Here are just some of them:

“Truly inspiring day! So much knowledge shared and received by Dr John Cuomo, Drs Gerald and Monica Lewis, Dr Libby Weaver and Dr Jingyuan Wen. Showing us again that USANA is truly - the most cutting edge nutritional company on the planet! “
Karen Ovens

“I would like to congratulate you all on a great health day, I thought all the speakers were excellent. Dr Cuomo's speech was especially interesting. My guest particularly enjoyed Dr Libby Weaver' s speech. She has such an uncomplicated method of presenting the facts, it makes it so easy to remember."
Gay Pedersen

“I attended the Health and Product training on Saturday and have to say this was one of the best events I have attended in my seven years with USANA. We were shown the science, the proof, the clinical trials and I have no doubt that USANA is the best supplement company in the world.

The speakers were outstanding and I really appreciate the fact that the information shared was supported by references and clinical studies. So many companies are unable to supply this information.

It is events such as this that really sets our company apart from everyone else and I would love to see a lot more health and product focused seminars in the future, as personally speaking, these are the events that really help my business to grow.

Thanks again for putting together such an awesome, inspiring day.”
Julie Cattin

“Marcus and I, on behalf of our entire team, would like to extend our sincere thanks for a fantastic event with Dr John Cuomo and the other fabulous speakers on Saturday at Elim Centre, Auckland.

We thoroughly enjoyed the event and it was so informative and helpful for our teams. I personally learned a lot of very valuable information about our product manufacturing and research processes which cements in my mind that we are truly the pinnacle of a quality company.

I am sure the other leaders will agree with me when I state that these type of events are so valuable for helping us build rock solid belief in USANA and our products and business throughout our team members.

Thanks for all you do for us and our teams. We appreciate you all very much…”
Romela Quinn-McLelland & Marcus McLelland

Thank you to all our speakers for such wonderful event that helped enhance the message - USANA was founded with a mission to manufacture the highest quality products without compromise, products that people can trust.

We have more photos of the event, check them out here.

Sam Stosur Delivers A Superb Performance

2011-09-16T13:53:00.006+12:00

USANA WTA brand Ambassador Samantha Stosur delivered a tidal wave of superb performances against Serena Williams to clinch the title of US Open Grand Slam champion. The news is all around the USANA Australian office as well as every corner of Australia! Here is just one of the read.

Sam who was ranked ninth seed (Singles) fired her way through the opening set before fending off her opponent’s comeback to claim a 6-2 6-3 victory and made history as Australia's first female grand slam singles champion in 31 years! Stosur is just the second Australian woman, after Margaret Court, to win a major Grand slam title.

Her grit, determination and cool head saw her win again and again throughout the tournament’s qualifying rounds before reaching the finals to face-off against tournament favorite Serena Williams.

Despite having some bad runs in other tournaments leading up to the US Open, Sam has proven that you cannot keep a champion down for long and determination and a game plan will eventually deliver success.

Ever the gracious sportsperson, Sam had this message for her fellow Australians ‘to everyone back at home for supporting me, I don't know what to say.... thank-you," she said when interviewed before being awarded the Champions trophy (Sydney Morning Herald). Yes, we hear you – we still remember what you’ve said to us - ‘It is important that I take products that are safe and of the highest quality. This is what USANA represents’.

Pictures from espn.co.uk

USANA Ambassadors Liezel Huber and her partner also claimed the 2011 US Open Women’s Doubles title, while Melanie Oudin and her partner won the Mixed Doubles title! Read this blog from USANA’s head office for more information.

USANA is proud to be associated with these fantastic athletes! Leave a congratulatory message for them at USANA’s Facebook page.

Who Says Science Is A Boring Subject?

2011-09-15T15:01:00.006+12:00

It is happening! Dr. John Cuomo’s trainings have received amazing feedback so far. The Wentz Theatre in the Australian office last night was packed with 180 Associates and guests! 180! Wow! Next time Dr. Cuomo visits down under we’ll need a bigger venue.

Our Sydney-based Associate Kim Parker is very positive in USANA’s moving forward, “The training reinforced what I have known about the USANA products, and gave me an insight on the Development and Testing team behind the USANA products as well as the QA process. When the process is transparent to us, it enables us to be more confident in the products.”

Dr. Cuomo is very pleased with the number of people that turned up, “I didn’t expect so many attendees and I could feel the interest and the passion they have for USANA products! Science is seen as a ‘boring’ subject, and it is great that people are now actually interested in this subject. I think we should do more training like this in the future and make sure people all over the world share USANA’s difference. I will surely come back!”

It is an excellent opportunity for us all, so we tried to maximise his time and arranged some meetings in smaller scale as well. Dr. Cuomo spent some time with USANA Associates, who are health experts and doctors, having Q&A sessions.

If you missed our previous blog about Dr. John Cuomo and his trainings, here you go! If you are in Australia and missed his previous trainings, you’ve still got one more opportunity to attend tonight in Melbourne at 47 Miller Crescent, Mt Waverley. Just pop in at 7.15pm and tickets are available for you right at the door. If you are in New Zealand, don’t miss the training on Saturday, 17 September. Ring USANA Customer Service on 0800 370 126 to book your tickets.

For more photos, check out on our Facebook page!

Welcome On Board, Geoff!

2011-09-14T13:46:00.008+12:00

Have you heard that USANA Australia now has been injected with fresh blood, Geoff? Haven’t? Here is the Press Release for your read.

Geoff’s presence will boost USANA’s ‘metabolism’ and nourish the very ‘cells’ that reach every corner of a prosperous USANA family!

With his past experience in the industry as Sales and Marketing Director of Avon, Geoff surely has his ‘secret weapons’ for building a successful Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) business:

“I believe in great training, on great motivation, on strong planning, but at the end of the day, nothing replaces action and hard work. Building a team takes time and effort, it’s about having those conversations, it’s about committing to yourself how much time you will spend actually building your business and holding yourself accountable. Nothing truly worthwhile in life is easy, and that’s also true about building a business here at USANA. The great thing about USANA is that dedication, effort and commitment is rewarded, and rewarded richly!”

You might wonder why he chose USANA? Great minds think alike – we asked exactly the same question and Geoff answered without hesitation: “That’s easy! USANA has a perfect combination of the three essential ingredients for success: the highest ethics of the company; the best products which are grounded in the best science and an unrivalled compensation plan.” What a nice comment!

Being a ‘busy bee’, Geoff was notoriously bad at taking his nutritional supplements and like what happens in nearly every family, his wife used to constantly remind him to take them! Having said that, he has just started his great love affair with USANA supplements and is also looking forward to the USANA RESET program - a 12-week weight management program, getting ready for summer!

Pictured above: Geoff with his family

Geoff gave an excellent speech at the weekly Staff Training, where he shared his sense of humour with us. From this video, you will get to know more about him – not just on the career side, but also on his life side:

Let’s welcome Geoff with a round of applause!

What’s More Touching Than Fighting Through Cancer During Pregnancy?

2011-09-09T10:53:00.008+12:00

Cancer Council “Walk to Work Day” is on Friday 16 September 2011. It is an annual event which helps us to build regular walking into our daily routine. It sounds scary – some of us live far away from our office and have busy morning schedules. You don’t have to walk the entire way – you can use public transport and walk the rest of the way to work, and if you are based at home you can still participate by with walking to the shops, using stairs instead of the lift… After all, 15-minute’s walk per day makes a huge difference to your health!

Organised by Cancer Council Australia, this approaching event reminded us about one of our USANA Associates, Lanna Le, who fought through breast cancer without knowing that she was pregnant at that time! And more amazingly, the baby girl, Vivienne, was born healthy and has recently turned one!

The staff at USANA Australia sent a birthday card to gorgeous Vivienne and listened to Lanna’s story with ‘WOWs’ written on their faces:

“I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2010. Over the past year, I have had operations as part of the treatment process and had to have my right breast removed! My Chemo treatment started in February, and three months later, I received the news that I was pregnant and at 20 weeks! It’s hard to describe my feelings at the time – shall I be happy or be worried?!

I put the treatment on hold as the doctors suggested give up on my baby (Vivienne) due to the treatment, medication and operations occurred. They were concerned that the baby would not have a healthy life, but after several scans we were surprised and elated to find that the results were positive! With these results and a strong desire to have a baby, I decided to take the risk and keep my baby. All I could do at that time was pray and hope for the best.

As time progressed, my skeletal structure became weaken with the baby’s natural growth; I started to feel strain on my lower back and legs. It was clear that I could not wait for 40 weeks to deliver the baby, so I had a Caesarean at the 31st week. Amazingly, Vivienne was born health! The moment that I held her in my arms, I burst into tears! Two months later, after two operations on my back and lower right thigh, I came back home with my precious healthy princess. She is such a miracle!”

This story made me think about families and connections. Family members will worry with you, stand by you, and provide ongoing support. They will congratulate you on your achievements, help you through your difficulties and be there for you whatever the circumstances.

Lanna’s USANA team played the role of a family during this tough stage in her life. When Lanna was first diagnosed with breast cancer, she met Annie Tran and Annie’s mother, who helped her understand Buddhism and understand trust and courage. “The mental support that they gave me was just in time and gave me enough courage to fight the cancer, as well as fight to keep my baby.” Lanna says. Lanna was introduced to USANA by Annie Tran and Luyen Pham, and Lanna’s USANA team has been by her side from the beginning! What a big warm family!

Pictured above: Annie Tran with Vivienne in the hospital

Show your support to Lanna by leaving comments below.

USANA Biz Centre: How To Balance Work And Life

2011-09-02T11:17:00.001+12:00

Sometimes it feels as if all we do is work. If you run your own business, you often end up working 12 hours a day, and most weekends too, to make sure it's a success. That's all well and good, but you need balance in your life. You have to make time for keeping fit and healthy, for spending time with family and friends, and for hobbies and relaxing.

Here are some tips for creating work / life balance:

Work smarter: often, we create extra work for ourselves, or we spend too much time performing tasks that don't contribute to our bottom line. We're working, but not being productive. It's time to spring-clean your work habits.

How much time do you spend checking email and social networks during the day? Do this once in the morning, and then shut it off. Do you surf the Internet looking for inspiration or "catching up on industry news?" Set yourself a timer for 20 minutes while you have your morning coffee, and when it goes off, stop surfing and get back to work.

Other ideas to increase productivity include taking regular breaks. Yes, if you take more breaks, you give your mind a chance to rest, and you can come back to your work with fresh eyes. A five-minute break can be all you need to crack a problem that's been plaguing you for hours.

And remember that you don't have to do everything yourself. You're not a failure if you ask for help. There are other people in your team who are better at certain activities than you are. Why not give them some of your difficult work in exchange for some of theirs? You'll both get the work done faster, because you're working on something you're good at.

Instead of multi-tasking and writing endless to-do lists, start the day by prioritising only two important tasks that need to be done. Let everything else fall behind those two important tasks. Focusing on these two tasks will keep you on task and motivated.

Most people find that by using productivity techniques they can cut their work hours down by half, gaining more time to spend on other activities.

Be engaged during family time: all too often when we're eating dinner or watching a movie with our family, our minds are distracted other things. Make an effort to be physically and emotionally present during family time – get the family together for a board game, and engage conversation at dinner. Make the time you do spend together worthwhile.

Negotiate flexible hours: If you work for a company, explain to your boss that you're having trouble maintaining work/life balance, and ask if you can have a flexible work schedule, or if you can work from home a couple of days per week. You never know unless you ask!

Learn to say no: Don't forget, the only person responsible for how you spend your time is you. Learn to notice when you feel worn out and overworked, and don't feel bad about saying "no" to overtime and new projects. You don't need the money as much as you need your health, your sanity and your family.

For those who agree that ‘We don’t live for work, we work to live’, put your hands up!

USANA Wishes All The Dads Out There - Happy Father’s Day

2011-09-01T17:01:00.008+12:00

How do you describe your father? Loving, caring, fun, generous… If it’s too hard to put your feelings into the right words, then think about those moments that you spent with him – the moment that he held you up to his shoulder, when you wanted to watch a clown performing in the crowds; The moment that he took you to a playground and taught you the tricks of playing rugby properly; Even the moment that you asked question like ‘Where do babies come from?’… The American author, Helen Keller said, “The best and most beautiful things in this world can not be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” This is so true.

If you think your father rocks, here is a perfect opportunity for you to say ‘THANK YOU’ , as Father’s Day in Australian and New Zealand is only a few steps away. And of course, what better way to say it than with a nice gift pack? Luckily, USANA’s got you covered with great gift ideas that your dad will enjoy from inside out!

Gift idea #1 – USANA Sensé Basic Pack
Who says men don’t need skin care products?! Men these days all want to maintain a younger looking, healthy face. Make sure they are getting the right skin care products, the natural ones without added paraben, to comfort their sensitive after-shave skin.

Gift idea #2 – USANA RESET
This is a 12-week’s weight management program. It helps your dad stay fit, yet while also providing the essential nutrition that he needs for his day-to-day ‘missions’. Remember, it’s not easy being a father – he needs to carry the burdens for his family - and how can he do that without a healthy body?

Gift idea #3 – USANA Rev3
It’s always nice to give your dad a healthy energy pump whenever he needs it. USANA’s Rev Energy Surge^TM is a perfect choice, for its non-chemicals, non-artificial flavours and sweeteners factors. A nice tip: it tastes more sensational chilled.

Gift idea #4 - the mini USANA Health Essentials magazine, issue 6
In issue 6 of the Health Essentials magazine, we focus on some of the key men’s health problems. Your dad will get excellent tips from health experts, learn how to look after himself to stay healthier and feel younger.

On behalf of the entire USANA family, we would like to say ‘Happy Father’s Day!’ to all the fathers in the world. Fathers rock!

What’s Making News, USANA?

2011-08-30T13:05:00.010+12:00

Who are the ‘Goody Two Shoes’?

Are all the Aussies and Kiwis back from USANA 2011 International Convention yet? Are all the cheers and applause ready for them yet? If not, you’d better hurry up – as they came back with tons of awards and one more USANA title in front of their names, such as Teamwork Award, Million Dollar Club and Fortune 25, not to mention the exciting moment they shined on the stage getting recognised by Dr. Wentz and Dave Wentz. Pictures are ready when you are!

Fortune 25 winners

New Million Dollar Club members

Hear ye , hear ye, USANA trainings are on the way…

Looking at our September’s calendar, wow, we’ve got so much happening in the Business Centre of the Sydney corporate office in Castle Hill! Apart from the Thursday’s Open Day tour (supplied in both English and Chinese, a new and revised version actually), we will have Korean Business Training with our Customer Service extraordinaire, Paul Lee; Compliance Training with Regional Compliance ‘Queen’, Fiona Hawton and Social Media Training with our Marketing guru, Nancy Wang…

What really stands out of the line-up is USANA’s Health & Product Training with Dr. John Cuomo, who is a key person to ‘put dishes on the table for our USANA family’ – who oversees development and testing of USANA’s product range, from the USANA SLC office. He holds over 20 U.S. and European patents and has authored 21 scientific publications! Can you believe it? But this man, doesn’t just spend time in the laboratory - he had his footsteps in one of the most challenging spots in the world - he and his wife Helene, reached the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro early this year! What an amazing achievement!

In this upcoming training, Dr. John will show you why USANA is your #1 choice for nutrition and supplementation as well as giving you an insight into USANA’s many processes, including clinical studies of the USANA products and why these studies are vital. If you still have questions, there will be plenty of time for Q&A with Dr. John!

And the blockbuster is…

USANA is expanding its family into France and Belgium in the first quarter of 2012! Then we will have our family members in 18 countries all over the world! So next time, when you travel to Europe, please say hello to the new USANA fellows and make them feel welcomed!

Ashleigh Neave, Cycling For Life

2011-08-25T11:09:00.007+12:00

Ashleigh Neave is a Road Cycling champion! She is USANA’s youngest sponsored athlete from New Zealand, and she’s been with us since 2009. As a valued member of USANA’s athlete family, Ashleigh’s got lots of amazing achievements in her cycling career and she speaks highly of USANA products.

We got the chance to catch up with her and wanted to share her recent update with you:

“So it is currently August, I have been back in training for 2 months now. After some intense conditioning work, physio and a new addiction to yoga I am back with more strength and stability than ever. I have found that the stability postures at Bikram yoga have really helped me to develop balance in strength about my knee joints, keeping them straight and pain-free. So that is very good news, and looks good for the racing ahead. It goes without saying that I am more fired up for the upcoming season than ever before, in particular thanks to my Outward Bound experience for that. :-)

Training is shifting from the base phase to strength and speed phase. A few weeks ago I threw myself into club racing once more after a solid four months rest and of course still continuing my USANA supplements and foods*. The good news is that I can still hold my own against the big boys in B grade in the time trial. I finished 5th in the latest club time trial. I do however need a few more hard miles in the legs to deal with these blokes on the climbs. The last road race I hung in until the last climb where I lost them 50m from the top, making all the difference on a fast descent. Riding home in the second bunch still proved to be a solid work out. I have also noticed considerable improvements in my descending skills after some time off to refresh the top 2 inches; I’m finding myself hitting speeds much quicker than before. (I would like to attribute faster speeds downhill to better bike handling skills after a heap of core training over the winter, rather than one too many desserts during my time off!)

Soon I will be slamming it out motor pacing behind the scooter over the Taupo-Napier road in preparation for the first race of the 2011/2012 summer season. I have never raced Taupo-Napier before; it should prove to be a tough race, especially since women race with the men. I am eager for a chance to prove that I am stronger than ever before, with an ever deepening hunger to perform well. I’m glad that my USANA products will sustain me over this gruelling period and I believe they give me the added edge to recover faster.

Aside from cycling, life is going well. I had good results from last semester (an A+, A and two B+s.) So I can’t really complain at that. I am living independently now too, spreading my wings away from home and starting to fend for myself a bit more in lieu of leaving my teenage years behind in the looming summer. My Grandma recently passed away, the day of my first exam last semester, so it has been a rough few weeks. We are all settling back into routine slowly. I still struggle to go to Hastings and not burst into tears sometimes though. Time will heal things no doubt, it has definitely added to my passion, I so want to make my Gran proud every time I race.

So all in all, all is well. :-)"

Ashleigh Neave

* Ashleigh takes Essentials, BiOmega III, Procosamine II, Active Calcium Plus, Nutrimeal, Proflavanol C100.

USANA’s Got Talent!

2011-08-23T11:24:00.007+12:00

Tell you what, USANA’s got talent! – In the USANA family, we do not just have doctors, personal trainers, physiotherapists, engineers and teachers… we also have artists, dancers and actors! Wow!

Have you read about Jennifer Lim’s story, who is a dancer and Julia Perri’s story, who is an actress, published in USANA’s pocket magazine, Health Essentials (Issue 5)? Have you heard what Mel B. tweeted on @OfficialMelB about USANA’s shakes, Essentials and BiOmega III? Have you read the stories of USANA WTA Ambassadors on the What’s Up USANA? blog pages, or our newest Athlete Ambassador, Nathan Charles?

Today, we would like to introduce one more talent … She is Sharmila Periakarpan, an awesome musician! Sharmila sits in the 1st flautist chair of the WA Youth Symphonic Band, Australia, and you may find more about her by visiting her page on the StarNow website. From communications with her, we portrait her as a friendly, bubbly, hard working, enthusiastic and helpful youngster!

As well as being a successful flautist, she is a passionate USANA Associate.

David Mulham, our Vice President of the Pacific Region has said about having a why – “In USANA, you will hear a lot of people talking about developing a ‘why’. A ‘why’ is your reason for doing this business and it needs to be big.” And with Sharmila, her why originated from her years of poor health. With the help of USANA’s products, her health condition improved a lot. “I was just so blown away by the results of the USANA products, and my belief in the USANA products was confirmed after taking the Essentials.” She said. Sharmila’s dream is more a vision than anything – that is to inspire people to go for their dreams and to truly believe that anything is possible!

It is her dream to keep breaking through the challenges along the way in both her flautist career and her USANA business. And the interesting thing is that sometimes the challenges connect to each other, even in totally different industries. Sharmila’s biggest challenge as a flautist is being able to continually step outside her comfort zone. The risks could result in her either hitting the big time in the music industry or falling flat on her face. Challenges like that apply for her USANA business too!

She told us that it’s these two quotes that bring her back to her vision – one is by Thomas Edison while he was trying to create a light bulb: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” and the other is: “Life is a journey, not a destination.” The more mistakes she makes, the more she learn and grow as a person, and the closer she is to her vision.

If you want to know more about her and her art, you definitely don’t want to miss out on this cool website!

USANA Biz Centre: What Do You Tweet About?

2011-08-17T13:19:00.005+12:00

140 characters – that's not a lot of space. If you're a USANA Associate thinking of using Twitter to promote your business, you may be wondering just what you can say in 140 characters. Here at USANA, we love to tweet, (follow us on @USANA_ANZ) so we've put our heads together to come up with some great ideas to engage and entertain your followers:

Ask Questions
People love to give their opinion, especially on topics like health and well-being. Instead of posting a link to a product, you could ask your readers what they do to keep fit over winter. Questions encourage discussion and friendly banter, which leads to your followers trusting you.

Comment on trending topics
If you look to the right of your Twitter screen, you'll see a list of trending topics – these are the most popular tweets on Twitter right now – commenting on these topics will get your name in front of the thousands of people talking about them – if you're entertaining, you might get lots of new followers.

Participate in hashtag discussions (conversations)
Many groups hold discussions and chat sessions on Twitter using #hashtags. You could participate in interesting discussions – you might answer some questions about USANA products or help other USANA Associates set up their business. If you help people, they'll remember you as someone genuine and friendly and will want to follow you.

Post Links
People love to find interesting, entertaining and thought-provoking articles and websites. Whenever you post a link to an article or blog post, include the author's @username in your tweet, so they can see you spreading the word about their website – they may want to give you a shout-out in return.

Re-tweet others’ tweets
Another easy way to interact with people is to re-tweet their tweets. You may find out what people are talking about USANA by visiting search.twitter.com and typing in the keyword ‘USANA’. And this applies to other key words as well, such as ‘fish oil’, ‘vitamin D’ and ‘health’. For those valuable tweets, you may re-tweet them by putting “RT” plus the originator’s username at the beginning of the tweet. Here is an example:

If the originator is not your follower, then chances are that he/she will follow you after the re-tweeting.

Tweet Frequently
Tweets appear and disappear so quickly; your followers might never see your tweets in their feed. The more often you tweet, the more likely people will see your tweets, click your links, and re-tweet you to their followers. Timing is also important – try to tweet in the different time of the day rather than posting lots of tweets in one go; the time that most of your followers use the Twitter service, the time that you should post your tweets. Some more tips from the USANA head office in Salt Lake City are:

Put thought into what you tweet to the masses
Share content that offers real value to your followers and others who might be interested in the topics you’re tweeting about
Re-tweet stories from USANA’s Twitter account or from others who share similar health and wellness information

The more you use Twitter, the better you understand what techniques are the most effective for increasing your followers. So don't be shy, come join us at @USANA_ANZ and let's tweet up a storm!