Whenever I review the literature supporting a Shaklee product, I am always impressed with how they continue to create them with pure, natural ingredients, which are well-absorbed and always work, to provide us with products that fulfill a genuine health need.

That is what makes Shaklee unique in the world of supplement manufacturers. No fad ingredients. No unsubstantiated claims. No cheap synthetic ingredients.

This issue of HealthQuest will review 4 more brilliant products that just don’t get enough exposure on splash pages. This collection will contribute to your sports endurance, reproductive health and happiness.

Performance® Physique® with Bio-Build

I first heard about this delightful and delicious post-workout drink from Master Coordinator Hans Lagoni. Hans loved participating in 100-mile bike competitions. The only down-side was how exhausted and depleted he would feel for the next day or so. No pain, no gain, right? Really? NO! Read on.

Hans told me he was amazed at how quickly he recovered from his next race after taking Performance® Physique for the first time, immediately after the race concluded. The next day he experienced almost none of the standard aches, pains or exhaustion he used to experience. Shaklee had saved the day!

Shaklee Technica had been doing a lot of research during the late 1980s with Olympic sports athletes, to help determine the perfect proportion of proteins, carbohydrates and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to help speed muscle recovery after demanding sporting events.

Thus was born Shaklee’s proprietary Bio-Build formula. [1] We all owe a great debt of gratitude to research director Jim Whittam for his contributions to developing Bio-Build. When we exercise vigorously, two types of metabolic reactions occur: building new muscle tissue (anabolism) and breaking down old muscle tissue (catabolism). [1]

Bio-Build emphasizes the anabolic growth of new muscle tissue, while minimizing the toxic load (lactic acid and other waste metabolites) that develop when muscles experience the inevitable oxygen depletion that comes with prolonged aggressive exercise (catabolism).

Here’s why both Olympic and weekend athletes LOVE using Shaklee’s Sport products.

The Shaklee Pure Performance Guarantee: [2]

• They contain no banned substances
• No artificial flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives
• It’s Star D Kosher
• It’s Gluten free
• It builds firm lean muscle
• Restores muscle energy stores (glycogen)
• Stimulates muscle repair

So, for less than the cost of a cup of Starbucks coffee, you can push yourself to the limit, without all that suffering.

Menopause Balance Complex

Perimenopause is the transition period in a woman's life when her ovaries slowly stop producing eggs, and her body produces less estrogen and progesterone. This causes less frequent and irregular menstrual cycles. [3] Some women will also experience various symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, increased anxiety or irritability, and the need to urinate more frequently. [4]

Shaklee’s Menopause Balance Complex was specifically designed to create hormonal balance, helping to reduce or eliminate hot flashes, mood swings and sleeplessness.

This product contains Black Cohosh [5] to provide relief of menstrual and menopausal discomfort. Extracts of black cohosh have been shown to be a safe and effective alternative to estrogen therapy for the treatment of menopausal symptoms, particularly for women with intolerance or contraindications to taking traditional hormone replacement therapy (HRT). [6]

MBC also contains two soy isoflavones [7], which exert powerful estrogenic properties, to help reduce symptoms, without the risks associated with HRT. [8] The intake of soy-derived isoflavones are also associated with decreased breast and uterine cancer incidence, and the most dramatic impact was associated with soy intake starting early in childhood. [9] [10]

MBC also contains the patented PhytoFem Blend, a unique combination of Dong Quai [11] [12], Red Clover [13], and Licorice [14] to enhance that symptom relief.

MBC was the first all-natural menopause relief product to combine all five of the most effective natural remedies recommended by the North American Menopause Society. [15]

Because lowered estrogen levels also leads to bone loss in women between their 40s and 60s, supplementing with Shaklee’s OsteoMatrix provides the extra vitamin D3 and the full spectrum of minerals that are required to lay down new bone mass, while helping you to avoid the health risks associated with osteoporosis.

Once menopause symptoms cease, you should shift away from using iron bearing supplements and adopt Shaklee’s Vitalizer Gold, or the new Life-Strip without iron.

As we learned from the “Landmark Study” [16] developing good nutritional behaviors in our younger years will definitely produce better health outcomes. An essential program should include fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the day, combined with a basic supplement program, to fill in for the inevitable (Burger King) moments in your day.

Every year the incidences of diabetes, asthma and heart disease continue to climb ever higher. Isn’t it a relief to know that you can protect your health with Shaklee’s gold standard products?

Saw Palmetto Complex

A fine example of Shaklee ingenuity is how they produce the prostate friendly Saw Palmetto Complex (Serenoa repens).

As we age, most men will develop an enlargement of their prostate gland, a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Because the prostate gland surrounds our urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder), when the prostate gets bigger, it begins to squeeze and partially block the flow of urine.

This happens because the prostate is contained within a fibrous capsule (just like the heart muscle) so when the muscular component of the prostate hypertrophies (or enlarges) it has nowhere else to expand into but into the central region where the urethra resides.

Regular use of Saw Palmetto has been shown to reverse benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) with continued use. [17] [18] [19] Research has also revealed that zinc [Zinc Complex] and vitamin D [Vita-D3] supplementation also positively influence BPH symptoms. What a blessing for men over the age of 40!

Unfortunately, to extract the active agent from the waxy saw palmetto plant, virtually all manufacturers use dangerous and toxic solvents like hexane, toluene, or benzene to extract Serenoa from the plant. [20]

Shaklee chose a safer solvent. They use a technique called supercritical fluid extraction. [21] When carbon dioxide (CO2) is compressed to the supercritical state it becomes an ideal solvent for extracting fatty (or lipophilic) compounds. Furthermore, supercritical CO2 is non-toxic, non-flammable, not particularly expensive, and is very easy to remove at the end of the purification process, so it’s also very eco-friendly!

Hexane is also used by most soy isolate (powder) manufacturers, and recent lab analysis has shown that health food store brands may contain as many as 13 different hydrocarbon residues in them. [22] Hexane is listed as a neurotoxin by the FDA [23] and so I am very grateful that Dr. Shaklee developed a 100% safe and non-toxic water-wash method to capture all the benefits of their soy products, with none of the adverse risks to my health

Stomach Soothing Complex

Stomach Soothing Complex contains a unique formulation including peppermint, ginger, fennel, and anise, and is traditionally used to provide relief for unsettled stomachs.

This product is the safe alternative to upset stomach and heartburn medications like Prilosec, Tums or Maalox (Antacids) and Pepto-Bismol or Kaopectate (Nausea Remedies).

Occasionally, even a healthy gut might experience acid-indigestion, from eating a spicy food or from an emotional upset. For those occasional experiences, Shaklee’s Stomach Soothing Complex provides a combination of ginger and peppermint oil, which is very soothing to the stomach. It’s especially helpful (and safe!) for reducing the nausea associated with motion sickness and/or morning sickness. [24, 25]

Stomach Soothing Complex also contains anise, a member of the parsley family. It has been used in European herbal medicine for centuries because of its carminative effect (gas reducer). Anise is currently being studied as a treatment for gastric ulcers, because of its healing effect on the lining of the stomach. [26]

More research has revealed that anise blocks virus absorption, and may be an effective antiviral treatment for herpes simplex (types 1 and 2) and human cytomegalovirus (a serious threat during pregnancy). [27]

A recently published study by Norwegian scientists reported on the outcomes of 68,522 pregnancies. Although more than a thousand of those women had used ginger to halt their morning sickness during the first trimester, there were NO increases in premature births, stillbirths, low birth weights, or low Apgar scores at birth.

This study clearly signals that ginger use appears to be perfectly safe during early pregnancy. [28]

Shaklee’s Chewable Cal Mag Plus can also provide relief for occasional acid-stomach upset because the calcium carbonate molecule neutralizes stomach acid. It is not advisable to use Cal Mag regularly to neutralize your stomach acid, because acidity is absolutely required to breakdown our food, so that we can absorb our protein, vitamins, and minerals.

That’s why Stomach Soothing Complex should always be your first choice for stomach upset.

All four of the products we just reviewed are important additions to our household Shaklee collection, some for taking every day (like lecithin or zinc) and some for when we feel ill (like Defend & Resist and Stomach Soothing Complex).

I am always impressed with the brilliant insight that Shaklee scientists have applied to every ingredient decision they have made, while designing each and every product. I am equally impressed by their commitment to guaranteeing that every ingredient in every product is 100% pure, safe and effective.

At a time when corporate greed and lack of ethics are running rampant in our Country, it’s a great relief to know that we can ALWAYS trust Shaklee to do the right thing while creating every new product.

Finally, let's close with this statement from Shaklee about The Shaklee Difference.

Shaklee has been committed to science since
our inception.

This is because it is one thing to say products are good, it is another to prove they are effective. At Shaklee, we continue our commitment to understanding human health through scientific studies:

• We have an in-house team of PhDs and other scientists who set the specifications for our ingredients and finished products and a Quality Assurance Department which helps ensure those specifications are followed.

• We screen all new botanical ingredients for more than 350 contaminants –
  well beyond what is required by the United States Pharmacopeia.

• We perform over 100,000 quality tests each year to ensure purity and potency of our products. Much of this testing is performed in our own well-equipped labs, but we also rely on qualified third-party labs.

• Shaklee’s longstanding support for nutritional research involves collaborations with leading academic labs that are free and encouraged to publish their findings. The academics control publication of the results, not Shaklee. Shaklee also has a long history of donating test materials to academic labs in support of their research funded by other agencies.

• Through these collaborations, we have published over 135 scientific papers and presentations, 90 of which are clinical studies published in peer-reviewed publications.

• Our Landmark Study demonstrated the powerful effects of long-term use of multiple Shaklee dietary supplements. People who took Shaklee supplements for 20 years or more had healthier levels of many chronic disease-related biomarkers including HDL cholesterol, homocysteine, and C-reactive protein.

• At Shaklee, we focus on building wellness rather than treating disease – and we do this by understanding what our bodies need to optimally function and by providing the best of natural solutions to meet those needs.

• What has driven the Shaklee Difference since the beginning is a scientific approach to unlocking nature’s secrets. We strive to discover ingredients and create formulas that support health, some of which have been true breakthroughs.

• Our Research & Development scientists create formulas from safe and effective ingredients found in nature. We then scientifically prove their value – not just in the lab – but in people’s lives every day.

Today Shaklee is the #1 natural nutrition company in the United States. I’ve personally recommended their products for over 20 years because of the the 4 P’s. It’s at the heart of what we call the Shaklee Difference.

1. Purity: The word organic has become overrated, over-used, and is used as a sales ploy by most companies to sell their product. Organic simply refers to HOW something was grown. Organic does NOT mean something is Pure. Shaklee’s extensive testing goes way beyond organic to guarantee purity in every raw material ingredient they use — no exceptions. Shaklee nutrition products are guaranteed to be PURE and FREE from any kind of contaminant.

2. Potency: Time and time again, products, when tested, have been found to have nowhere near the amount they claim on their label to be in the product! The NY State Attorney General’s office recently announced that FOUR national retailers were accused of selling fake supplements ! Shaklee guarantees POTENCY. What’s on the Shaklee label is what IS in the bottle.

3. Performance: Shaklee nutrition products have been used in expeditions to the North and South Poles, in Space for one year with astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly, and over 120 Olympic medal winners were powered by Shaklee nutritional products. The U.S. Ski Team used Shaklee as a nutritional advisor for years. That’s because Shaklee products PERFORM. Shaklee guarantees results or your money back.

   Give a listen!

4. Proof: It doesn’t matter what Shaklee, or anyone else claims about their product – what matters is what you can prove. Shaklee is the ONLY nutrition company whose products are supported by 3rd party, published clinical trials that show Shaklee supplement users experience better health biomarkers in 5 key health categories, compared to people who use other brands of supplements and people who don’t take supplements at all. (The Landmark Study I and II) Shaklee’s commitment to clinical and scientific research separates their company from the competition and has resulted in over 100 scientific papers — 90 of them published in peer-reviewed scientific journals that support the effectiveness of Shaklee products.

I hope you enjoyed this newsletter as much as I did.