XTEND-YOUR-LIFE Newsletter
11 February 2004
I'm embarrassed to tell you this... but...
This is a story that I think you will enjoy, and receive some benefit from... at my expense!
Although I don't consider myself to be a workaholic (because I love doing what I do) I still generally work a 15 hour day. Like many people I normally start work at around 7.30am. By about 3 - 4pm I often find I need a little bit of a 'boost' to give me the extra energy to carry on for the 7 - 8 hours. I can normally get this boost by having 20 minutes quiet meditation. This is not a problem if I am working from home, but, if I am at the office it's not so easy because of all the activity.
This need for a mid afternoon energy boost is not uncommon, which is evidenced by the number of people that have their 'fix' in the form of a mid afternoon coffee, often laced with sugar. I don't drink coffee. In fact, the only hot drink I have ever had is weak tea... usually green... no milk or sugar. Most of the time my energy level is very high which is attributable primarily to my daily intake of Total Balance... but I have the odd afternoon when a little 'boost' is welcome.
Anyway, about three months ago one of my sons's came into my office about 4pm and gave me a bottle of one of these new 'energy' drinks which he was having. It was a hot day, the drink was chilled and it didn't taste half bad! It seemed to give me a bit of a lift. My son warned me that it contained caffeine, to which I replied "no problem, I don't drink coffee so a bit of caffeine won't do me any harm".
An energy fix?
The next day I actually bought a bottle of this energy drink myself and had it mid afternoon, and then again the next day. In fact, I was getting addicted to it but didn't mind as I liked it. Some days I would even have two bottles. What was most unusual was that, here was I, a person who preaches how important it is to read the labels never bothered to do so!
Over the next couple of months I became conscious of three things:
I realized that I was spending about $100 per month on this drink. ($3.00 a bottle and sometimes I would have two a day)
I had gained about 5 pounds in weight which I couldn't account for. I am always very conscious of my body weight and more importantly my body fat component. I figured something odd was happening in this department.
I was starting to develop aches and pains that I had never experienced before. I even had my first headache which is something I have never had in my life, other than after being hit on the head with a bit of 2 x 4, or in my younger days due to a night of over indulgence. In addition I was also becoming thirsty in the evenings and no amount of water seemed to take away the thirst. Even worse my energy levels were becoming lower.
Was my age catching up with me?
These observations particularly #3 got me thinking that maybe my age was catching up with me and I am not invincible as I thought I was! At that stage I didn't link the sports drink that I was having each day with these symptoms.
After almost three months from starting this daily ritual of drinking a bottle of this sports drink I flew up to Auckland to spend a day with my friend Dr Munem who also directs our research team. As usual he picks me up from the airport and also as usual asks me how I have been. My answer is always the same... I am feeling great! But, this time I told him that I had put on a little weight and that although I have been feeling OK I just felt I wasn't feeling as good as normal.
I told him I couldn't figure it out. There has been no change in my food intake, no change in any of my lifestyle habits and yet I felt there was something wrong.
Early that afternoon we had a light lunch and I got a bottle of the 'energy' drink. Dr Munem then asked me how often I have this drink. I told him "every day... it's good!" He then laughed and said "that's your problem". He asked me if I had ever read the label, which I hadn't. He said if I read the label I will find that each bottle is equivalent to a small meal, but even worse, it contains about 70 grams of sugar per bottle. Wow, that's 23 TEASPOONS of sugar per bottle! I thought Munem was joking, but when I actually read the label I saw that he was correct.
It's not the first time in my life that I have felt stupid, but I felt more so because I am a crusader against sugar and here I was having 23 teaspoons of it a day!
Needless to say I stopped drinking it immediately.
Two positive outcomes...
There are two positive sides to this story, both of which you can benefit from. I'll explain. After I stopped drinking this 'energy' drink, my energy started to improve, the strange aches and pains started to disappear and I began to feel like I used too. This was distinctly noticeable after just a few days and two weeks later I was back to normal.
This gave me cause to reflect on what I had experienced. Although I have always been aware of the damage sugar can cause to one's body I had never actually experienced the effect so dramatically. I discussed what I experienced with a number of people and I am convinced that although I was feeling 'sub standard' I was probably feeling the same as those people who have a regular intake of sugar and who think that they actually feel good. Although they feel OK they are unaware that they are actually living at a 'sub level' of energy and well being.
My suggestion is that if you ingest either food or drinks with a high level of sugar, try cutting them out for two weeks and see what impact it has on your energy levels and sense of wellbeing. You may be pleasantly surprised.
That's the first positive. I had experienced first hand what sugar can do for you and I will now be an even bigger advocate in warning people about the dangers of it. I can only wonder what damage it was doing to my body given the symptoms that it was generating in just a couple of months. I shudder to think the effects if it was maintained for years!
The second positive is this.
As a result of my experience I asked Dr Munem how I could sustain high levels of energy throughout the day. Was there some way that the mid afternoon 'slowdown' could be counteracted without having an energy drink? Bottom line... after he did a few weeks work on the problem the answer came back as yes! We could achieve this objective if we enhanced the Bee Pollen formulation that Dr Munem and our research team had just finished developing. (This is another story which you can get on the website, but briefly the objective was to improve the bioavailability of the active ingredients in Bee Pollen even more than our current Bee Pollen Extract)
We withheld the release of the new Bee Pollen formulation whilst Dr Munem continued to work on the enhanced formula which is now complete and which we are calling Natural Energy with New Zealand Bee Pollen. We prepared the formulas and did some experimental encapsulation and I tested the formula out thoroughly on myself, my family and staff and have been delighted with the results. I take three capsules mid afternoon. (And sometimes sneak an extra three in the morning) The effect is cumulative and it certainly does help 'smooth' out those occasional 'tired' periods.
I now have more energy than I have had for years. Our new 'Natural Energy' has been designed to be taken with Total Balance for the ultimate effect, but it can be taken as a stand alone supplement. May I suggest that you go to the website and find out more about how you can improve your energy levels! Natural Energy is not only good for your body but also your brain... and it costs less than an energy drink and will enhance not damage your long term health! For more info click here.
Until next issue...
Info about the editor.
P.S. Please pass this newsletter on to a friend. Thank you.
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Important notice: All material provided within the newsletter XTEND-YOUR-LIFE is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken solely on the contents of this publication. Consult your physician or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing or on any opinions expressed within this newsletter. The information provided in this newsletter is believed to be accurate based on the best judgment of the editor but the reader is responsible for consulting with their own health professional on any matters raised within.
