women – East Coast Life Solutions

International Women’s Day has been celebrated on March 8 since around 1914, but its origins date back to as early as 1909. It is a day when we recognize women for their achievements without regard to any cultural, linguistic, or economic divisions. The history of International Women’s Day is rich with innovative thinkers and passionate women spearheading social change and dedication for equality. Across the Americas, Europe, and beyond, women’s unique impact on history and passion to have their voices heard has empowered world changers for hundreds of years.

In honor of International Women’s Day, here are some ways to celebrate and support the women in your life.

Women Helping Women

It’s important that we come together, taking the time to help other women achieve their goals. There are plenty of women in my own life I admire who have taken the time to provide encouragement and advice when I needed it most. Some that come to mind are my mother, my dance studio owner growing up, and my manager here at USANA’s Home Office. Sometimes, no one quite understands the struggles you’re having like a great girlfriend does. Supporting someone and becoming a mentor definitely isn’t confined to just women helping women. I also learning new perspectives from the men in my life.

Self-Care, Sister

International Women’s Day is all about celebrating your strength, passion, intellect, and beauty. Use this day to pamper yourself and focus on self-care.

Do something you really love:

Go on a walk through your favorite park.
Treat yourself at that little café you love for a girl’s lunch.
Hosting a gal’s day with pampering Celavive® facials.
Plan a weekend getaway to go out and explore some new hiking trails
Hit up a farmer’s market or antique show you’ve been curious about.
Try some self-reflection to tap into your unique insights by writing in a gratitude journal.

Buy some fresh flowers, dance in your kitchen, or curl up with your favorite book; whatever brings you joy.

Girl Power Empowers Others

Your voice may be shadowed by insecurities or fear at times, but honey, you have an important story to tell. Your insight is worth being heard so keep contributing to the discussion. As women, we often apologize for letting our opinions be heard, but we provide a unique perspective. Tell your story, girl. Let’s hear your roar.

Fierce and Fabulous

Femininity does not mean fragile. Sometimes, it takes some physical exercise for me to remember my own strength. I’m a dancer and I love losing myself in the music and using my body to tap into my femininity, whether it’s graceful or powerful movement. That same power can definitely come out at the gym too. I’m always surprised at what my body can do when I switch things up and try a new workout. If you’re looking to embrace your feminine power while sweating it out, try a new Tabata, tai chi, yoga, or barre workout.

A Face for the Ages: Iconic Women

I’m always inspired when I hear stories of trailblazers, icons, and revolutionaries making a difference in the world. Use International Women’s Day as an excuse to read a new article or check out a documentary on Netflix. Discover some inspiring stories about iconic women like: Misty Copeland, the first African American principal ballerina with American Ballet Theatre.

There’s Maya Angelou, who penned:

Others include the selfless efforts of Florence Nightingale or heroic Malala Yousafzai who campaigned for education opportunities for Pakistani girls. And we can’t forget about our Team USANA Atheltes who just returned from the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. Brittany Bowe was a bronze in speed skating after overcoming some serious consussion issues.

Stronger Together

USANA wouldn’t be the company it is without phenomenal women who are hardworking, strive for healthy lifestyles, research new scientific advances, and encourage others to live their best life. Women who share their stories, inspire us with their entrepreneurial dreams, and who are determined to leave today better than yesterday. Here’s to the women who inspire us to keep reaching for our goals.

If you #LiveUSANA, celebrate the women who make your life a little brighter today.

East Coast Life Solutions would like to wish all the women a Happy International Women’s Day 2018 …….STILL I’LL RISE

Healthy Cove

8 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays Without the Weight Gain

19 December 2017 tdslsupport

The holiday season is here and with it comes time spent with family and friends eating delicious food. Mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, pie, cookies, and cocktails are staples at every celebration and party. Indulging in these seasonal treats is fun, but this time of merriment can quickly add up on the bathroom scale.

Your physical fitness doesn’t need to suffer this year, though. There are several reliable ways to avoid packing on extra pounds this holiday season. And none of them require depriving yourself of the splendid holiday treats you enjoy so much.

Proper Portions

It’s easy to get caught up in the spirit of the season and lose track of what, and how much, you’ve eaten throughout the day. Overeating during the holidays can lead to weight gain in even the healthiest individuals. Overweight or obese persons are even more likely to gain weight during this time of year. And while you should celebrate and enjoy yourself, there are ways to do it safely.

Dishing up proper serving sizes at a holiday meal makes overeating harder to do. Choosing a half-cup of stuffing—instead of half-a-plate—allows you to enjoy the taste of comfort food while leaving room for more nutritious dishes. And when in doubt, choose vegetables, fruits, and protein over starchy, refined grains, and sugar.

Aim for Quality

Next time you’re in line at the dinner buffet, pick up nutrient-dense foods first. At holiday parties, these take the shape of green salads, roasted vegetables, and turkey. Choosing vegetables and protein first will fill your stomach with quality food and leave less room for tempting filler foods (potatoes, stuffing, dinner rolls, etc.).

Another great way to balance your holiday meal is by adding whole fruit to your plate. Apples, oranges, and pomegranates are in season this time of year. These fruits are full of fiber and vitamins that support healthy digestion and immunity. And they’re naturally sweet and delicious.

Watch Out for High Calorie Filler Foods

Starchy foods—like potatoes and dinner rolls—sugary cocktails, and cookies let you eat a lot and not feel full. That’s because these foods are low in fiber and high in sugar. Your body digests them quickly and the resulting blood sugar highs and lows make it difficult to listen to what your body needs.

Conversely, high fiber side dishes with lots of fruits and vegetables sustain you longer and make your more aware of when your stomach is actually full. There are easy ways to substitute nutrient poor dishes for more wholesome options. Whole-grain dinner rolls and sweet potatoes are healthier alternatives to mashed potatoes and white bread. A conservative glass of red wine has valuable antioxidants not found in other beverages. Fruit salad instead of cookies provides the sweetness you and your guests crave without the calories.

Eat Well Throughout the Day

One of the easiest ways to sabotage your diet is to skip meals in anticipation of eating large ones later. So don’t fast all day in preparation for a special family dinner. Instead, eat a balanced breakfast and choose a lunch that will keep you full and sustained until the evening.

Fiber-rich foods and snacks with fruits, veggies, and protein increase satiety and help keep cravings at bay. Fruits and vegetables provide the fiber to fill your stomach. Protein slows digestion and helps keep you full for longer.

Build your pre-party meal with these facts in mind. A salad for lunch (size: approximately three cups) can help reduce the calorie intake at your next meal by nearly 12 percent. Fueling your body well before a holiday get-together will help you make better eating choices and quiet the urge to overeat.

Make It Yourself

Holidays Without the Weight Gain: Drinks

Worried about what you should eat at a party? Provide a calorie conscious dish at the next potluck. Preparing refreshments yourself allows you to control sugar and fat content. And it ensures there will be something available for you to eat. Odds are you won’t be the only party-goer looking for a healthier option.

Another way to promote healthy holiday eating is hosting a party of your own. Serving nutritious snacks and beverages and enjoying the company of friends and family will sustain the holiday spirit and provide a healthy evening.

Socialize

Good conversation with loved ones is calorie-free and a terrific way to spread holiday cheer. Focus on the people at the party, rather than the food. If you need extra motivation to stick to healthy-eating goals, aim to talk to three different people before partaking in the holiday spread. Meet two new people before going back for seconds.

Reward Good Behavior

Making healthy choices this holiday season doesn’t require self-deprivation. You’ll feel confident after a day of proper portions and nutritious meals. Reward yourself with a slice of pie or cake. These treats shouldn’t come after every meal, but they’re well deserved after you have provided your body with proper nutrition.

Withholding tempting foods can backfire and lead to binges that will set you back on your journey to holiday health. So treat yourself appropriately and remember to eat all things in moderation.

Make Exercise a Group Activity

Regular exercise is one of the hardest habits to maintain during holiday celebrations. But exercise is necessary to combat weight gain during this time of year. The average holiday meal amounts to more than 2,000 calories consumed in a single sitting. That’s a staggering number, but there are plenty of ways to knock off those excess calories with friends and family.

Plan activities together that take advantage of the season. A long walk after dinner can help aid in digestion. Snowshoeing, skiing, playing football, and charity races are excellent ways to spend time together and burn those holiday calories. Maintaining your physical fitness this holiday season doesn’t have to be a solo effort. This year, you and your loved ones can grow closer and stronger by making physical activity a fun way to spend time together.

Don’t Wait for January to Make a Change

For most people, the holidays are followed by the reckoning—a month of diets, commitments, and resolutions. But if you want to make a change in your health, now is the best time. With the tips you just read, you can enjoy your holiday season and get a jump on your 2018 goals.

Good Health is a Lifestyle! Follow East Coast Life Solutions to keep up to date with trending topics.

Healthy Cove

Healthy Immunity – Happy Life

12 December 2017 tdslsupport

This morning, I and millions more were bumper-to-bumper on the highway, worried that we would be late to that early meeting. We carry our smartphones everywhere we go, allowing our work and worries to follow. There are so many things competing for our attention every minute of every day. We live in exciting, promising times, but also stressful times.

Worst of all, daily stress is unhealthy. And it’s particularly hard on your immune system.

PROGLUCAMUNE watch video

To help counter the effects of occasional stress, USANA has combined modern immune-support technology with ancient wisdom to create Proglucamuneextracts, zinc, and a strain of baker’s yeast, Proglucamune taps into centuries of medicinal traditions and literally puts it into the palm of your hand.

Prime Your Immune System with InCelligence

The unique ingredients of Proglucamune are what really give it the right to stand above the heaps of other nutritional supplements. Baker’s yeast and mushroom extracts combine to create the InCelligence Beta-Glucan Complex—a support for healthy immunity during mild, occasional stress.*

The bioactive components of both mushrooms and baker’s yeast—known as beta-glucans—bind to the receptors on the outside of immune cells and trigger cell-signaling pathways. This essentially “wakes up” your immune cells and keeps them ready to effectively defend your body from external threats—a mechanism known as priming.
[link to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17895634]

The Miracle of Mushrooms

For centuries mushrooms have been treasured by culinary artists and grill masters alike. But they have also been valued over the ages for their medicinal and even spiritual properties.

Reishi and shiitake mushrooms in particular have long been used in ancient cultures to support the immune system, help facilitate calmness, and strengthen qi—our so-called circulating life force that is the basis of Eastern philosophy and medicine.

USANA uses reishi and shiitake mushrooms because research shows there is some profound truth to these ancient philosophies.

Bringing Ancient Ingredients to the Present

USANA’s Proglucamune goes one step further by using reishi and shiitake mushrooms grown on deeply pigmented purple corn kernels.

Why is this important? This purple corn contains high levels of anthocyanins. Mushrooms thrive solely by extracting all necessary nutrients from their host—unlike plants, which obtain some of their nutrients through photosynthesis. By growing the reishi and shiitake mushrooms on an antioxidant-rich host, these potent antioxidants are transferred to the mushrooms before being harvested.

These beta-glucan-infused mushroom extracts are just half of the unique blend that is Proglucamune.

Baker’s Yeast—Rising to the Occasion

Proglucamune is also made with a clinically studied strain of baker’s yeast. Like the mushroom extracts, baker’s yeast is a source of powerful beta-glucans.

Beta-glucans are naturally occurring polysaccharides typically found in the cell wall of certain bacteria and fungi. These beta-glucans bind to the receptors of immune cells and bring them into a “heightened state.” In this heightened state, immune cells are more prepared and can perform their natural task of defending the body more quickly.

Beta-glucans help prime your natural immune function. Clinical studies show that baker’s yeast provides exceptional support for immunity and daily wellness. It also supports your body’s natural ability to adapt and respond to stress.*

Stressful Times Call for Amazing Ingredients

We live in stressful times. A recent survey by the American Psychological Association found that four of five adults report that they constantly check their email, texts, and social media. This survey also concluded that these same people have higher levels of stress.

Now more than ever, we need to de-stress our lives and give our immune system all the help we can provide.

Baker’s yeast hasn’t been clinically proven to solve life’s problems, but it can help keep your immune system ready and prepared to go to work.

How Will You De-Stress Your Life?

We all have busy and sometimes stressful lives. It may seem impossible to find a time to slow down, but that kind of thinking is ancient history.

We can turn off our smartphones and go for a walk in the park instead of surfing social media. Maybe you could pick up a new hobby like fishing or rock-climbing or biking. Why not spend the evening with family or visiting old friends? Or maybe all you need is some quiet alone time where you don’t think about anything at all.

With Proglucamune, you can live in these crazy, exciting times with the confidence that your body will be able to keep up with the unique tempo of your life.

Just something to think about the next time you’re stuck in traffic.

Check out the other great products USANA has that support immune function.

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

Coast Lifestyle

Healthy Lifestyle: Start Living Healthy Today

9 November 2017 tdslsupport

There’s a new hashtag to connect you to the healthy lifestyle in the USANA community on social platforms: #LiveUSANA. Social media has developed into an everyday part of most of our lives now. Who checks it while waiting for their morning coffee to brew? We share memories or interesting articles with friends. We express ourselves and document highlights of our healthy lifestyle through it.

Because USANA is all about changing lives, this new hashtag focuses on how you live every day.

Here are some tips to highlight, encourage, and promote a healthy lifestyle with the new hashtag. Just follow #LiveUSANA’s key pillars.

Nutrition

Eating right is such a vital part of maintaining a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Sometimes, it feels like more of a chore than anything. But, keeping your meals fun, full of vibrant fruits and veggies, and plenty of lean protein can make for a colorful masterpiece on a plate. Think about infusing your next nutritious meal with a bit of art to keep things interesting. Snap a few glamour shots and use #LiveUSANA to encourage your followers to do likewise. Check out more benefits of eating a rainbow of foods for some added inspiration.

living a healthy lifestyle

Fitness

We all want to live our lives to the fullest, taking plenty of time to create lasting memories, right? Finding ways to keep active throughout the day can give us energy make each moment count. The benefits of staying fit are endless no matter your age. So, the next time you get together to play a game of basketball, take the dog for its daily run, or relax doing yoga, shoot some action shots.

Supplementation

You know how energized you feel thanks to the USANA® Supplements you take and sometimes you can’t keep good news quiet. If your friends and family follow your Instagram account, you know they’ll double tap a photo sharing your good vibes from enriching your body with USANA® Cellsentials™, Proglucamune®, or CoQuinone® 30. They might even ask you how they can improve their health deficiencies through supplementation.

SHOP CellSentials Here

Healthy Lifestyle Motivation

It’s always a bit easier to stick to a new healthy routine when you know you’re not alone. Motivating yourself to stay on track with a new healthy lifestyle choice, whether it’s about nutrition, fitness, supplementation, or finding balance in your life, is easier when you’re open about your journey with others. This article from entrepreneur.com has some awesome tips on how to stay motivated so it pays off. When your followers, friends, and family see how you #LiveUSANA, maybe it will be the key to motivating them to take a new step towards a healthy lifestyle.

Please feel free to contract East Coast Life Solutions anytime, we are interested and answering any of your questions one on one.

Healthy Cove

Vitamin D Deficiency: The Truth Revealed

7 November 2017 tdslsupport

Let’s get down to business—vitamin D business.

What is it?

Vitamin D is a micronutrient that our bodies depend on for a variety of functions. Besides being important to keeping bones strong and healthy, vitamin D supports your healthy muscles, heart, lungs, and brain function. Oh, and it helps your immune system, too. Pretty cool, right?*

The problem with this stuff is that we don’t produce it naturally. Yep, it’s kind of a bummer, I know. But vitamin D comes from only three sources: through exposure to the sun, certain foods, and supplements.

What’s the Best Way to Get it?

Turns out, relying solely on your diet is not a good idea when it comes to maintaining proper vitamin D levels. There just aren’t enough foods with high enough levels to get what your body needs. And that leaves us with the sun and supplementation as our go-to resources for avoiding vitamin D deficiency.

Now before you go off to bask in the beautiful sunshine, let’s talk about how it can impact your health.

Every time we expose our bare skin to direct sunlight, we use ultraviolet B (UVB) rays to produce vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Sunlight can be a tricky thing, though, because too much can be a bad thing. You need to monitor how much sun exposure is needed for healthy vitamin D levels. Otherwise, you might face some scary skin issues later in life.

Oh, and the amount of vitamin D you actually absorb from sunlight differs depending on the time of day and year, where you live, and the color of your skin. So those winter rays don’t necessarily produce the same amount of vitamin D that summer rays do.

See what I mean about tricky?

How Do you Know You’re Running Low? (signs of vitamin D deficiency)

Okay, the truth is that the only surefire way to know if you’re dealing with vitamin D deficiency is to have your blood tested by a physician. But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep an eye out for symptoms associated with vitamin D deficiency. Below are the symptoms and signs I was able to dig up (you’re lucky to read it here, but since USANA is a trusted partner and sponsor of The Dr. Oz Show, our own Brian Dixon, Ph.D., explained a lot of this on television as well).

Feeling Down and Out

Turns out, when you run low on vitamin D, it takes a pretty serious toll on your mood. This is because our brains produce serotonin—a hormone that affects our moods—at a higher rate when we’re exposed to sunshine or bright light. And as I mentioned, more exposure to sunlight means more vitamin D.

Skin Color

Those with darker skin are at a higher risk for vitamin D deficiency, because skin pigment has a direct correlation with how much vitamin D is absorbed. Some research suggests that those with darker skin may need up to 10 times more sun exposure than those with lighter skin to produce a comparable amount of vitamin D.

Age

Besides the fact that older people usually spend more time indoors (okay, maybe that’s just my grandparents?), aging correlates to vitamin D deficiency in a couple of ways. First, the skin loses its ability to absorb as much vitamin D as we get older. And second, our kidneys slowly become less effective at converting vitamin D into the form used by our bodies.

Sweat

Excessive sweating (specifically, on your forehead) is a very common symptom of those facing vitamin D deficiency. So if you’re constantly wiping the sweat off your brow (outside of the gym), you might want to look into that blood test I mentioned earlier.

Achy Bones

Many people who are unknowingly deficient in vitamin D will complain of bones and joints that are achy or painful. This is because vitamin D is very important for maintaining strong bones.

Calcium and phosphorus are essential for developing a healthy structure and strength of your bones, and you need vitamin D to absorb these minerals. There’s no “bones” about it. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist a bad pun.)* For more on that, take a look at this handy bone health infographic.

Excessive Weight

The thing about vitamin D is that it’s fat-soluble—meaning that the fat in our bodies is how we collect and store it. So if you’re overweight, the excessive amount of fat in your body needs a comparable amount of vitamin D to absorb. So you’ll need a lot more vitamin D than someone with a low percentage of body fat.

Gut Problems

Like I just mentioned, vitamin D is fat-soluble vitamin. So certain gut conditions that cause a lower absorption of fat can also lower your absorption of vitamin D. Sorry, I need to get my mind out of the “gutter.” (You can’t stop me.)

What Happens When You Don’t Get Enough?

Okay, so now you know all about vitamin D and why it’s important. But do you know what it means if you happen to be someone struggling with vitamin D deficiency? It’s not good, people.

As doctors continue to discover the benefits of healthy vitamin D levels, more and more research indicates that a lack of vitamin D may lead to other health issues other than the ones I mention above. Some people even believe that because vitamin D deficiency often goes undiagnosed, doctors attribute a person’s vitamin D deficiency symptoms to other health conditions that they don’t actually have.

So, if you’re not picking up what I’m putting down, vitamin D deficiency is not something you want to deal with…like ever. Visit the vitamin D council’s website to see what their research has uncovered. I used a good chunk of their research to write this post.

So How Much Do You Need?

Okay, are you ready for me to stop talking at you and tell you just how much vitamin D you need? Well, let me explain…

As far as how much you need, that depends on who you’re asking. Every person has different needs, but many researchers believe that further research will eventually prove that the U.S. government recommendations aren’t high enough. Your safest bet is to talk to your doctor and have your vitamin D levels tested every three months.

Check out the fancy chart I snagged from the Vitamin D Council below to see the different vitamin D recommendations, and be sure to share this important information with your friends and family.

Oh, and don’t forget that supplementation is a super reliable way to get your vitamin D. Just one of USANA’s Vitamin D tablets provides 2,000 IU of vitamin D3, which is the same type of vitamin D your body produces when exposed to sunlight. And guess what else? For most people, vitamin D is easily absorbable and always important to maintain. So you could probably reap some of the benefits of taking a vitamin D supplement on a daily basis.

If you interested in purchasing high quality Vitamin D .

Healthy Cove

THE SCIENCE OF SKINCARE

12 September 2017 tdslsupport

skincare

The science of your skin and its proper care can be best understood through a comprehensive view of its anatomy and physiology. Learn about the structure and function of your skin and its important proteins so you can make better, more informed decisions on how to care for your skin.

Layers of the Skin

Your skin is a composite of three layers of connective tissue. The epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis join at cellular junctions to create the largest organ of your body.

Each layer of your skin has a unique role in maintaining homeostasis—your body’s state of equilibrium. The skin regulates internal body temperature, protects delicate internal organs, and defends against pathogens and microbes.

For more information on the individual layers of your skin, their structure and function, see

Layer by Layer: Understanding Your Skin’s Structure.

Moisture

Water retention is essential for healthy, vibrant skin. Dry skin can lead to a rough and bumpy appearance, and can cause injury when your skin cracks and breaks. A recent study published in the International Wound Journal highlights the importance of moisturizing skin daily. Moisturizing skin twice daily was shown to reduce the incidence of skin tears by nearly 50 percent in elderly patients living in an assisted living facility.

Moisturizers are most effective on dry skin when their ingredients reflect the natural oils produced by your skin. This similarity makes for a seamless integration of the moisturizer and your skin. These kinds of moisturizers trap water in your skin and promote healthy hydration. Plant-derived oils are particularly effective at moisturizing dry skin.

Collagen and Elastin

Your skin is made of a complex network of fibers and proteins that strengthen and reinforce its structure. Collagen and elastin are two of these integral proteins.

Collagen gives your skin incredible strength. Collagen production in the skin decreases as you age. This decrease can lead to the visible signs of aging—flat and dull skin, wrinkles, and fine lines. Several types of collagen proteins reside in your skin, and each performs a unique function.

At the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ), collagen creates a structural framework for other skin cells. Collagen also plays a role in maintaining structural stability at the DEJ. Wrinkled skin contains much less collagen at the DEJ and the lack of stability of the area can lead to more wrinkles.

Elastin is another important protein in the skin matrix. It gives skin its bounce and resilience. Decrease in elastin production over time causes sagging skin.

While elastin naturally decreases with age, photo damage to this protein is the best understood cause of sagging skin. UV exposure causes elastin proteins to stiffen and coil, inhibiting their ability to bounce back into shape. Photo damage over long periods of time causes elastin proteins to lose their elasticity, keeping them from supporting the structure of your skin.

Skin creams and treatments that help minimize the appearance of aging usually contain ingredients designed to stimulate collagen and/or elastin synthesis. These products work to minimize damage done by age and the sun to reverse visible signs of aging like wrinkles and fine lines. To effectively minimize the look of wrinkles and fine lines, combine a regimen of these skin creams and sunscreen.

Skin and Aging

Inevitably, your skin will change as you age. Many of the visible signs of aging can be minimized by proper skincare. There are two well-established causes of visible skin aging—intrinsic and extrinsic aging. Effective skincare regimens target the signs of both types of aging.

Intrinsic factors governing skin aging include variations in an individual’s genetic background. Extrinsic aging refers generally to factors that originate outside your body. These include smoking, sun exposure, and poor nutrition. Sunburn is thought to account for nearly 80 percent of premature facial aging. The extrinsic factors that cause premature skin aging are largely preventable.

One of the most effective methods of minimizing the appearance of aging skin is including antioxidants in your diet. Berries, tea-tree oil, green tea, and grape-seed extract are some notable antioxidants that can be found in your diet and skincare products. Antioxidants fight off the damage caused to skin cells from the sun, and promote healthy cell function. Antioxidants are not only important for your skin, but they help maintain a healthy brain and body, too.

Summary

Understanding what goes on behind the scenes can help you make smart decisions about your skincare. Choosing a good moisturizer and trying to reduce damage done to the collagen and elastin in your skin can improve the health of your skin and minimize visible signs of aging. In addition, eliminating extrinsic aging factors from your daily life can be the extra boost your skin needs to look and feel healthy and strong.