Lifepak® nano Receives Product Merit Award

February 9, 2006 — Lifepak® nano received a Product Merit Award from the Nutrition Business Journal in its annual Business Achievements Awards Issue. Pharmanex® was the only multilevel marketing company to receive a Product Merit Award. Nutrition Business Journal is the premier trade publication in the nutrition industry. This award, known as a "Best in Industry," once again shows that Pharmanex is an industry leader in innovation.

Pharmanex® lifepak® nano won the award for its innovative use of nanotechnology to increase bioavailability.* Last year, Pharmanex® received the Gold Award for Growth in the Large Companies category and the Product Merit Award for the Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner.

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Lifepak® nano
Lifepak® nano is a nutritional anti-aging program formulated to nourish and protect cells, tissues, and organs in the body with the specific purpose to guard against the ravages of aging. Lifepak® nano offers the highest bioavailability with a first-ever nanotechnology process and advanced levels of key anti-aging nutrients in a comprehensive formula available exclusively through Pharmanex. Lifepak® nano helps protect your health today and throughout your lifespan with superior benefits as an anti-aging program. This proprietary formula protects DNA and cells, helps maintain mental performance, bolsters the immune system, supports cardiovascular health, supports normal blood sugar metabolism, helps maintain healthy eyesight, offers complete bone nutrition, promotes joint function and mobility, helps protect against the effects of sun radiation, and helps maintain healthy skin tone and elasticity.*

Lifepak® nano provides an advanced nutritional foundation essential for vigor and vitality that protects your health today and throughout your lifespan, and that can correct nutritional deficiencies and protect your body against the symptoms of aging. Convenient packaging of two CR-6 LipoNutrient™ softgels and five gelatin capsules in one sachet make it easy for adults to take lifepak® nano every day with their morning and evening meals.*

Tegreen 97® Cell Protection*

Antioxidant Defense System Support*

Tegreen 97® is a proprietary, highly concentrated extract of the antioxidant catechins found naturally in green tea that promote longterm cellular health.*

Primary Benefits

• Provides potent antioxidants to defend against free radicals at the cellular level*
• Supports healthy cell function and helps protect cell structures, including DNA*
• Thermogenic effect increases the body's metabolic rate*

What Makes This Product Unique?

• A proprietary green tea extract containing 97% polyphenols of which 65% are catechins
• Has the antioxidant power of seven cups of tea per capsule and is 99.5% caffeine free
• The 6S Quality Process ensures the quality and potency of each Tegreen 97® capsule
• Standardized for consistent and powerful benefits
• In a comparative study, Tegreen 97® was shown to have better bioavailability and antioxidant capacity than drinking green or black tea*

Who Should Use This Product?
Any adult concerned about long-term cell health and their antioxidant status should take Tegreen 97.® Individuals with a hectic, busy, or stressful lifestyle, or those frequently exposed to pollution might also find benefits from Tegreen 97® supplementation.

mzurkhi@yahoo.com

Green tea may protect the aging brain

New York - People who regularly drink green tea may have a lesser risk of mental decline as they grow older, researchers have found.

Their study, of more than 1,000 Japanese adults in their 70s and beyond, found that the more green tea men and women drank, the lower their odds of having cognitive impairment.

The findings build on evidence from lab experiments showing that certain compounds in green tea may protect brain cells from the damaging processes that mark conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

But while those studies were carried out in animals and test tubes, the new research appears to be the first to find a lower risk of mental decline among green-tea drinkers, according to the study authors.

They speculate that the possible protective effects of green tea may help explain Japan's lower rate of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease, compared with Europe and North America.

Dr. Shinichi Kuriyama and colleagues at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine report the findings in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study included 1,003 adults age 70 and older who completed detailed questionnaires on their diets over the previous month, as well as their overall physical health and lifestyle habits. They also completed a standard test of cognitive functions such as memory, attention and language use.

The researchers found that older adults who drank two or more cups of green tea per day were about half as likely to show cognitive impairment as those who drank three cups or less each week. Men and women who averaged one cup per day fell somewhere in between.

The connection between green tea and mental function persisted when the researchers accounted for overall diet and factors such as smoking and exercise habits.

However, the findings cannot demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship.

The study was observational, not a controlled experiment, and there may be something about green-tea drinkers that explains the link between the beverage and sharper mental function, Kuriyama told Reuters Health.

For example, healthier, more active individuals may simply drink more green tea -- which, in Japan, is often consumed in social settings.

"We think that the potential protective effects of green tea should be confirmed in further studies," Kuriyama said.

Given the high prevalence and heavy burden of dementia, the researchers conclude, any benefit of drinking green tea could have a "considerable" public health impact. -- Reuters

How to choose a network marketing company to work with?

It's very important that you realise that in network marketing, you own your own business and the network marketing company that you choose to work with is the most critical factor to your success!

There are 4 'P's to choosing a network marketing company to work with...

1) Principal
The principal refers to your company's mission, management team, financial stability, credibility, track records, and culture.

The questions you should ask here are:
a) Can you identify with your company's mission statement?
This is very important, as some companies don't even have a clear mission statement. That shows that the company is just out to make money, without having any desire to bring real value to the world, its distributors and its customers.

A good example is the company we have chosen to work with, Nuskin Enterprises.

Their mission statement is...
"Our mission is to be a force for good throughout the world by empowering people to improve lives with rewarding business opportunities, innovative products, and an enriching, uplifting culture."

b) Does the management team have a proven success track record?
This is also crucial as a company is nothing without its leaders to lead the way. The management team must have proven track records of success in bringing the company through good times and bad.

Take a look at Nuskin Enterprises Management Team here.

c) Does the company have a solid financial track record that is 100% transparent for all distributors to see?
This is the MOST important aspect of a network marketing company. You definitely will want to work with a company that is public listed, 100% transparent when it comes to declaring their revenues, profit sharing and annual reports. Like they always say, the boss always keeps 2 balance sheets, but if the company is public listed, they can't keep the balance sheets a secret to the distributors!

Take a look at Nuskin Enterprises New York Stock Exchange NYSE (Symbol is 'NUS') annual financial reports here.

d) Does the company have a rich company, distributor and customer culture?
Only companies with a rich culture instilled in the value system of their management team, their staff, the distributors and the customers can survive the long run and keep growing in the future.

Take a look at Nuskin Enterprises FORCE FOR GOOD organization here.

Take a look at Nuskin Enterprises NOURISH THE CHILDREN initiative that helps feed hungry children worldwide here.

2) Products
If the company does not have high quality products which are unique in the global market and accepted as a brand name worldwide in every country it goes to, you are going to have a hard time convincing people that the products work.

Questions you should ask:
a) Are the products unique and proprietary?
The products must be unique, meaning no one else in the world has these products. Proprietary means no one else can copy these products exactly.

Take a look at Nuskin Enterprises unique products and services:
- Nuskin Skincare
- Pharmanex Nutrition
- BigPlanet Technology and Internet

b) Are the products recognised and the brand name already well accepted and established worldwide or in the markets the company has entered?
If you want to represent this company and its products and share about the benefits of these products, it will be so much easier if they are already well accepted and recognised by the public in other countries.

Take a look at Media reports about Nuskin products

Take a look at Media reports about Pharmanex products

Take a look at Nuskin Olympic Endorsement as Official Olympic Sponsors of year 2000, 2002, 2004 Olympic teams here.

Take a look at Pharmanex Olympic Endorsement as Official Olympic Sponsors of year 2000, 2002, 2004 Olympic teams here.

c) Does the company use cutting edge proprietary technology and science to prove that their products work?
Many companies use stories, testimonials and sometimes even hype to convince customers, however science is still the best proof.

Take a look at the BioPhotonic Scanner, the science that proves Pharmanex products work

3) Positioning
The positioning of the company in the global market expansion and the future prospects of growth in the company is vital to speedy success in your network marketing career. As the saying goes "Ride the wave to success"

Take a look at Nuskin Enterprises expansion from only its 35th market into China, Brunei, Indonesia, Israel, Russia, India, Vietnam and many more new markets to come

4) Plan
The plan refers to how the company compensates you in profits sharing. This is also very important as companies have all sorts of different ways for you to make money as a distributor.

Questions you should ask:
a) Is the plan proven and time tested to really let distributors make a good income?
Anyone can come up with a compensation plan that pays you millions of dollars, but is the plan time tested and proven to work? That's the key point, because too many new network marketing companies are formed every day, with pay plans that look really lucrative but these companies cease to exist within a year or 2...

Antioxidants

The term "antioxidant" refers to the activity possessed by numerous vitamins, minerals and other phytochemicals to serve as protection against the damaging effects of highly reactive molecules known as free radicals. Free radicals have the ability to chemically react with, and damage, many structures in the body. Particularly susceptible to oxidative damage are the cell membranes of virtually all cells and the very source of our genetic material – DNA. Free radical reactions and oxidative damage have been linked to many of the diseases of aging such as heart disease and cancer.

Claims

• Cellular protection

• Anti-aging

• Cancer prevention

• Heart disease prevention

• Anti-wrinkle (topical and oral)

• Promotes vision and eyesight

• Enhanced immune function

Theory

The free radical theory of aging (and disease promotion) holds that through a gradual accumulation of microscopic damage to our cell membranes, DNA, tissue structures and enzyme systems, we begin to lose function and are predisposed to disease. In the case of athletes or other avid exercisers, oxidative damage may be elevated due to increased production of free radicals during intense activity. Although the body increases its production of endogenous antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase), it may be theorized that supplemental levels of exogenous or dietary antioxidants may be warranted to prevent excessive oxidative damage to muscles, mitochondria and other tissues. In theory, a suppression of damage during exercise may translate into an enhanced ability to recover from exhaustive exercise and a subsequent increase in athletic performance.

Scientific Support

Thousands of studie have clearly documented the beneficial effects of dozens of antioxidant nutrients

There is certainly no shortage of nutrients and phytochemicals that possess significant antioxidant activity in the test tube. Increased dietary intake of antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamins C and E, minerals such as selenium and various phytonutrients such as extracts from grape seed, pine bark and green tea have all been linked to reduced rates of oxidative damage as well as reduced incidence of chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Safety

At the typically recommended levels, the majority of antioxidants appear to be quite safe. For example, vitamin E, one of the most powerful membrane bound antioxidants also has one of the best safety profiles. Doses of 100-400 IU have been linked to significant cardiovascular benefits with no side effects. Vitamin C, another powerful antioxidant, can help to protect and restore the antioxidant activity of vitamin E, and is considered safe up to doses of 500-1,000 mg. Higher doses of vitamin C are not recommended because of concerns that such levels may cause an "unbalancing" of the oxidative systems and actually promote oxidative damage instead of preventing it. Another popular antioxidant, beta-carotene, is somewhat controversial as a dietary supplement. Although diets high in fruits and vegetables might deliver approximately 5-6 mg of carotenes daily, these would be a mixture of beta-carotene and other naturally occurring carotenoids. Concern was raised several years ago by studies in which high dose beta-carotene supplements appeared to promote lung cancer in heavy smokers. Those studies provided beta-carotene supplements of 20-60 mg – about 5-10 times the levels that could reasonably be expected in the diet.

Value

The 4 key nutritional antioxidants, vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and selenium, are widely available as dietary supplements, well studied and relatively inexpensive. As mentioned above, there are a multitude of fruit and vegetable phytonutrient extracts available that also possess significant antioxidant activity. In most cases, phytonutrient extracts tend to be quite expensive, although their potent antioxidant activity may allow dosages to be extremely small. Some of the more popular antioxidant nutrients found in commercial dietary supplements also include Zinc, Copper, Ginkgo biloba, Grape seed extract , Pine bark extract, Lycopene, Lutein, Quercetin, and Alpha lipoic acid as well as dozens of others.

Dosage

1. Vitamin E – 100 to 400 IU per day

2. Vitamin C – 250 to 500 mg per day

3. Beta-carotene – 5 to 6 mg per day

4. Selenium – 70 to 200 mcg per day

Air pollution damages babies in womb

Babies' DNA can be damaged even before they are born if their mothers breathe polluted air, according to a study published on Tuesday.

"This is the first study to show that environmental exposures to specific combustion pollutants during pregnancy can result in chromosomal abnormalities in fetal tissues," said Kenneth Olden, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which funded the study.

"These findings may lead to new approaches for the prevention of certain cancers."

The team at the Columbia University Center for Children's Environmental Health in New York studied 60 newborns for the report, published in the February issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.

As part of a larger study, they monitored the babies' exposure to polycyclicaromatic hydrocarbons, which are compounds produced by burning.

"Although the study was conducted in Manhattan neighborhoods, exhaust pollutants are prevalent in all urban areas, and therefore the study results are relevant to populations in other urban areas," said Dr. Frederica Perera, who led the study.

To determine exposure to pollution, the mothers filled out questionnaires and wore portable air monitors during the last three months of their pregnancies.

Women were rated as having high, moderate or low exposure based on average pollution levels for the group.

Then they tested the umbilical cord blood of the newborns, looking specifically at the chromosomes, which carry the DNA. Damage to chromosomes can cause cancer.

"We observed 4.7 chromosome abnormalities per thousand white blood cells in newborns from mothers in the low exposure group, and 7.2 abnormalities per thousand white blood cells in newborns from the high exposure mothers," Perera said in a statement.

The kind of damage to the chromosomes that they say was the type that tends to linger, making people more susceptible to cancer.

Other studies have linked exposure to pollution with leukemia and other cancers.

"While we can't estimate the precise increase in cancer risk, these findings underscore the need for policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels to take appropriate steps to protect children from these avoidable exposures," Perera said.

Low Cholesterol May Mean Poorer Mental Powers

We hear plenty about the dangers of high cholesterol levels, but low levels apparently confer their own risks. Naturally low cholesterol levels are associated with poorer performance on a variety of cognitive measures, according to a new study.

"It is not entirely surprising that lower cholesterol levels were associated with moderately lower levels of cognitive function, given (that) cholesterol is important in brain function," Dr. Penelope K. Elias from Boston University told Reuters Health.

Previous reports have related both high and low total cholesterol levels to deficits in cognitive performance, Elias and her colleagues explain in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

The team used data from 789 men and 1105 women participating in the original cohort of the Framingham Heart Study to examine the relationship between total cholesterol and cognitive performance.

Individuals in the lowest total cholesterol group (less than 200 units) performed more poorly than patients with higher cholesterol levels on tests of similarities, word fluency, attention/concentration, and overall, the investigators report.

Participants in the lowest total cholesterol group were 49 percent more likely than were participants in the highest total cholesterol group (240-380) to perform poorly, and 80 percent more likely to perform very poorly, the results indicate.

Do the findings raise questions about treating high cholesterol? "It is important to note that we did not examine the association between cognition (and) cholesterol-lowering via medications," Elias explained.

"In fact, a unique aspect of the study was that few of our participants were being treated with anti-cholesterol drugs; in other words, we looked at 'naturally low and high levels of cholesterol'," she pointed out.

"Naturally low levels of cholesterol and lowered levels of cholesterol may have very different ramifications for cognitive function," Elias said. "Thus, our study does not have implications for the guidelines for treatment of high cholesterol."

SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, January/February 2005.

Heredity Plays a Role in Heart Artery Blockages

-- Some people inherit a tendency for fatty deposits to form in dangerous regions of their heart arteries, a new study shows.

Looking at angiograms -- images of heart arteries -- in 882 members of 401 families in whom heart disease was common, researchers found those deposits, called plaques, were most common at the points where a blockage shuts off blood flow to large regions of heart muscle.

Those points are the places where smaller blood vessels branch off from the main coronary artery, and the upper parts of the left and right coronary arteries, the researchers found.

"This is the first time anyone has looked at a larger number of angiograms in families with a history of heart disease," said study leader Dr. Ulrich Broeckel, an assistant professor of medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. "As far as we can determine, we are the first to do a large study of the genetic contribution to the location and pattern of coronary lesions."

The new findings, if confirmed, could affect heart disease screening strategies for close relatives of coronary heart patients, the researchers said.

By studying the angiograms, "we get a very powerful picture of coronary disease," said Broeckel.

The study results appear in the Feb. 15 issue of Circulation.

Cardiologists always include family history when they assess a person's risk of heart disease, Broeckel said. The new study adds significantly to the knowledge of the role played by genetics in heart disease and, thus, to steps that can be taken to prevent it, he said.

"It can be family-based prevention, showing what families require more aggressive treatment," he said. "There is a still a way to go, but that is the direction in which you want to go."

People were chosen for the study if at least one close relative had a heart attack before age 60, and if a brother or sister had a heart attack at any age or had required a procedure to reopen a blocked artery. The researchers took into account well-known factors that affect the risk of coronary disease, such as age, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Besides the tendency for plaque to form at dangerous sites, the study also found an inherited tendency for ectasia, abnormal widening of arteries associated with heart disease, and a tendency for plaque to become calcified, which increases the risk of artery blockage.

No genetic influence was found in a number of other coronary disease factors, such as whether a person had disease in one, two or three arteries.

The study was not designed to identify the genes that influence the development of coronary artery disease. "That will be our next step," Broeckel said. "It will keep us busy for the next few years."

Air pollution 'increases stroke risk'

High pollution levels may make people more susceptible to stroke, research suggests.

Scientists at Kaoshiung Medical University, Taiwan, found higher hospital admission rates in the city when pollution was high.

Two common pollutants - particulates and nitrogen dioxide - seemed to be particularly important.

Writing in the journal Stroke, the researchers said the problem was worse when temperatures topped 20C.

The researchers collected data on 23,179 hospital admissions from 1997 to 2000 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second city, and an area of heavy industry.

They compared air pollution levels on the dates of admissions with air pollution levels one week before and one week after admissions.

A rise in levels of both pollutants was linked to a significant increase in the number of people admitted to hospital with either of the most common type of stroke - one caused by a burst blood vessel in the brain, the other by a clot blocking blood flow to the brain.

The higher the pollutant level, the greater the risk of both types.

For every particulate (PM10) change of 66.33 micrograms per cubic metre the risk of being admitted to hospital with a stroke caused by a burst blood vessel in the brain rose 54%.

A similar risk increase was produced by every extra 7.08 parts per billion of nitrogen dioxide.

Previous research has shown a link between air pollution and death rates from respiratory and heart disease. However, the link with stroke has been far from clear.

Sticky blood

Lead researcher Professor Chun-Yuh Yang said: "This study provides new evidence that higher levels of ambient pollutants increase the risk of hospital admissions for stroke, especially on warm days.

"In hot weather, we recommend that people avoid pollution, stay inside and use an air conditioner if needed."

On cool days, researchers noted a link between carbon dioxide levels and ischemic (clot) stroke admissions, but believe this may have been a finding by chance.

Many experts suspect that air pollution makes the blood more sticky, making it tougher for the heart to pump it round the body, and increasing both the risk that it may clot, and that the blood vessels will be damaged.

Professor John Reid, head of the Cardiovascular Research School at Glasgow University, warned against making general conclusions on research based on pollution in a very hot sub-tropical climate.

He said: "I would also have some concerns about the fairly glib superficial statement that people should keep out of rush hour traffic jams and stay inside with the air conditioner.

"This is not really a very practical approach to stroke prevention. If factors associated with air pollution are really involved in the causation of stroke, then what it is doing is activating inflammatory or other mechanisms which precipitate stroke rather than being a direct cause."

A spokesperson for the Stroke Association said: "There have been a number of studies in the past looking at environmental factors in relation to stroke though none have been particularly conclusive.

"This is an interesting area and we welcome any research that helps increase knowledge of possible risk factors."

The main sources of nitrogen dioxide air pollution are emissions from vehicles and from power plants and other fossil fuel-burning industries.

Particulate air pollution is a term used to describe mixtures of solid and liquid particles that are suspended in the air. These particles vary considerably in size, composition and origin.

Air pollution 'can thicken blood'

pollution thickens the blood and increases the likelihood of inflammation, according to research.

The study may help explain why poor air is linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke, as well as worsening respiratory problems.

University of Edinburgh researchers focused on ultra-fine pollutants known as particulate matter, which they say may be able to alter cell function.

Details are carried in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal.

The researchers tested the inflammatory and blood clotting responses of human immune cells called macrophages, lung cells and cells taken from the umbilical cord.

Each was tested six and 24 hours after exposure to particulate matter.

The results showed that levels of clotting factors, which thicken the blood, were raised in almost all the cell types.

The rate of death in immune cells also significantly increased, and exposure to the pollutants boosted inflammatory activity.

The researchers say their findings strongly suggest that particulate matter has the ability to alter cell function.

Deep penetration

They believe that factors which trigger clotting may also trigger inflammation, and vice versa, so that if one begins to take hold, it is highly likely that the other will follow.

Recent research has shown that particulate matter is so tiny that, when inhaled, it can pass through the lungs directly into the bloodstream.

This may mean that its effect on macrophages could be deadly in people who are at risk of heart disease.

Macrophages are a major component of the plaque deposits which can build up on the walls of the arteries.

These plaques can obstruct blood flow, and it they rupture may lead to the formation of a clot which can trigger a heart attack, or stroke.

Lead researcher Professor William MacNee told the BBC News website that particulate matter produced high levels of charged particles called free radicals, which can damage the body's tissue.

"Our research points to the fact that they stimulate a change in the blood which make clots more likely to form," he said.

Judy O'Sullivan, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This research adds to the debate that air pollution may contribute to heart and circulatory disease, the UK's biggest killer."

She said there was no direct evidence to suggest that there is a direct causal link between air pollutants and coronary heart disease.

However, research funded by the BHF is examining the issue further.

In a statement, the Stroke Association called for "more attention to be given to the issue of reducing air pollution in an effort to reduce the risk of stroke and to create a safer environment for people to live in".

Lung reaction

Dr Richard Russell, of the British Lung Foundation, said it was well established that particulate matter increased inflammation in the lung tissues.

However, while it was clear that this made existing respiratory disease worse, there was, as with heart disease, still no direct evidence that it triggered the onset of disease.

Dr Russell said it was probable that free radicals caused damage to the lung tissue, thus triggering inflammation.

It was also possible that inflammation was triggered by the lungs reacting to the carbon deposits which were also a major component of particulates.

suraya8411@yahoo.com

Why we get angry

Disagreements and tension are bound to arise when we live with someone. The key to a successful relationship is learning to express our feelings and resolve such conflicts, and most of us develop our own ways of coping with these minor frustrations.

Sometimes, however, overwhelming feelings of anger can consume us. These may be caused by a single major event, such as the discovery of an affair, or can be the result of something that leaves us feeling let down on a regular basis, such as lack of attention.

Causes of anger

Some situations are more likely to leave us struggling with strong feelings of anger than others.

When it's a shock - when a partner does something unexpected it can take a long time for feelings of anger to recede. You may also feel confused and betrayed.

When it's deliberate - it's much easier to let go of anger when the person who caused it never meant it to happen in the first place. If it was done deliberately or maliciously it's much harder to forgive.

When it's happened before - if someone repeatedly hurts or frustrates us, anger often builds up. You may also feel powerless and exhausted.

When we're vulnerable - at certain times in our lives, during pregnancy or illness for example, we expect more of our partners and can feel particularly let down by them.

When it brings back memories - if we've been hurt in the past, we're more likely to react badly to a similar event later in life. Often the old hurt is reignited, doubling the amount of anger.

When they're not sorry - if a partner refuses to accept they were responsible for the hurt or that you've even got a right to feel aggrieved, it can be difficult to let go of such feelings.

The impact on a relationship

Ongoing anger causes serious damage to relationships. For some couples it can mean almost daily arguments; others are better at suppressing the anger, but this nearly always means other feelings are suppressed too. If discussing the problem seems too difficult, but talking about something else seems too trivial, conversation can cease completely.

Unresolved anger often leads to physical distance and sexual problems. For some couples, the event that caused the anger might become less important, but the rift it caused may be impossible to bridge.

The impact on our health

When we get angry, our bodies automatically go into 'flight or fight' mode and are flooded with chemicals that put us on high alert. The heart rate and breathing quickens, muscles become tense and senses become heightened.

This state of high alert is perfectly natural - but only for short periods. Living with permanent feelings of anger means the body is forced to stay in this acute state, which in time can lead to high blood pressure, headaches, stomach problems and a lowered immune system.

The impact on our emotions

When we're angry about someone's actions, we can become trapped in the past, replaying the event or events over and over again in our minds.

They may also imagine or even seek out opportunities for revenge. This can help to increase feelings of power and control in a relationship, but offers only temporary relief.

Anger can damage self-esteem too. Many of us are taught that anger is wrong, so you may feel bad about your feelings, even if they're justified. Or you may try to excuse the other person's actions and decide that you in some way deserved what happened. When anger is turned inwards in this way it often leads to depression.

Learning to let go

Choosing to let go of anger is something only you can do for yourself, not for your partner. It's never a guarantee that the relationship will improve, but it's a guarantee that - in time - you'll start feeling better.

It's important to remind yourself that you're not necessarily letting your partner off the hook or forgetting what happened. You're letting go of the anger for your benefit, no one else's.

Once the process has started, you may feel clearer about what you want to do about your relationship. You may have renewed energy to work at it, or you might decide that too much has happened and it's time to call it a day.

No one's pretending that letting go of anger is quick or easy, but as you gradually feel the resentment slipping away you'll find it easier to enjoy other aspects of your life and begin to see the future in a new light.

mzurkhi@yahoo.com

LIFEPAK® CERTIFIED BY BSCG™

Pharmanex has obtained independent certification of LifePak® through the Banned Substances Control Group (BSCG™). With BSCG™ certification, Pharmanex Distributors get the continued assurance that LifePak® is free of anabolic agents and stimulants banned by major athletic organizations. This testing assures athletes and sports associations that they can experience the multiple benefits of our comprehensive supplement with confidence.

This is the third organization that has certified LifePak® on its conformance to stringent production procedures. The others were NSF® and ConsumerLab.com®.

Pharmanex® is The Measurable Difference

Pharmanex measures every aspect of its science. We measure the health benefits of our products through clinical trials. We measure the levels of active ingredients through standardization. We measure safety by determining levels of toxic contaminants. We measure the consistency of our manufacturing process. And we have the exclusive ability to measure carotenoid antioxidants in the body using the Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner. All these activities are captured in the Pharmanex® 6S Quality Process, which is the standard for the industry.

Pharmanex is a global leader in nutritional supplementation. With more than 125 staff scientists and extensive global scientific resources and relationships, Pharmanex has created a worldwide network of knowledge and intelligence unprecedented in the industry.

6S® Quality Process

Pharmanex uses proprietary technology in its manufacturing processes to maintain tight quality controls through all stages of product development. The key to consistent quality is the Pharmanex® 6S® Quality Process, the basis of the company's pharmaceutical approach to product development.

Selection
To locate the botanicals with the most effective health-promoting properties, Pharmanex employs teams of experts from the United States and Asia. These teams conduct exhaustive research—compiling, reviewing, and summarizing historical use and current intelligence about a botanical's properties and health benefits. Pharmanex also conducts original research to identify new botanicals, coordinating with noted professionals at Purdue University, Kansas University, Columbia University, Scripps Research Institute, and Beijing University, among others. Only botanicals that pass extensive Pharmanex tests for authenticity, usefulness, and safety are considered.

Sourcing
Once Pharmanex decides to proceed with a particular botanical, a team investigates potential sources of the botanical and conducts exhaustive analyses on samples from each source. Sources may be domestic or international and may include Pharmanex cultivation areas in China and Chile. Pharmanex chooses a supplier based on the quality and concentration level of the active ingredient(s) present in samples from that source.

Structure
Using state-of-the-art analytical techniques and working in collaboration with respected universities and laboratories in both China and the United States, Pharmanex conducts structural analyses of the natural compounds present in the selected botanical. These analyses isolate and purify specific chemical structures in standardized extracts, a critical step in ensuring a safe and effective botanical.

Standardization
Wide variations in active ingredients are characteristic of any botanical. For example, when Pharmanex analyzes potential Ginkgo biloba leaves, studies reveal the concentrations of active components will vary by as much as 300 percent depending on season, climate, soil, method of harvest, storage conditions, and processing. Pharmanex optimizes the active ingredients of a product through strict, proprietary standardization processes (to at least one relevant marker molecule). Each capsule of a Pharmanex® product contains the same amount of each active ingredient.

Safety
Pharmanex is leading the way in establishing strict standards to ensure the safety of its products. Scientists research and document the history of a product's use and safety. Pharmaceutical-grade tests for the presence of microbes, toxins, and heavy metals are carried out for all products. The active ingredient amount used is based on dosages found effective through clinical trials and is backed by published data on file at Pharmanex. Each product label contains directions for use and contains appropriate warning information.

Substantiation
Pharmanex only makes product claims that have been substantiated through documented preclinical and clinical studies. Existing clinical data are reviewed, and when necessary, Pharmanex sponsors studies of its products. Data from some of these studies are subsequently submitted to major international journals for review. This adherence to scientific standards for substantiation helps make Pharmanex a leader in the natural healthcare product industry.

The attention to detail, strict scientific testing, and commitment to quality ensures that every Pharmanex® product is absolutely safe and effective. The 6S® Quality Process has enabled Pharmanex to become an industry leader in quality and efficacy.

Stroke risk remains higher in ex-smokers

While quitting smoking is always a good idea, a new study suggests it's how much people smoke, not how long ago they quit, that really determines their long-term risk of stroke.

The study also challenges the conventional wisdom that an ex-smoker's long-term cardiovascular risk declines throughout the years, until it equals that of nonsmokers.

Earlier studies suggested that five to 15 years after quitting, an ex-smoker's risk of stroke falls to the same level as if they had never smoked. But those studies failed to consider how many packs of cigarettes a person smoked per day, the researchers explained.

"Even after years of smoking cessation, levels of atherosclerosis [hardening of the arteries] are significantly higher in former smokers compared with never-smokers," noted lead researcher Dr. Sachin Agarwal, a post-doctoral fellow in cardiovascular medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

"We found that the number of packs of cigarettes smoked were almost twice as important in predicting the levels of atherosclerosis, compared with the years of cessation," he added.

The findings were presented Friday at the American Stroke Association's annual stroke conference in Kissimmee, Fla.

In their study, Agarwal and his colleagues collected data on 42 men and women, averaging 73 years of age. Twenty-seven of the participants were former smokers, and 15 had never smoked.

The ex-smokers had stopped smoking an average of 30 years prior to the study. They had smoked for an average of 20 "pack-years," a measurement that includes both the number of years the person smoked and the number of packs of cigarettes he or she smoked daily. The ex-smokers were broken into four groups, depending on how much they had smoked daily.

The researchers also took detailed MRI images of the wall of each person's aorta --- the major artery leading from the heart.

The imaging showed that the wall of the aorta of former smokers was significantly thicker than that of never-smokers, despite decades having elapsed since the ex-smokers' last cigarette. The more a former smoker had smoked, the greater the difference in the thickness of the aorta wall, the researchers found.

The finding shouldn't change the standard advice on smoking, Agarwal said. "The first thing is to quit," he said. "It's the best thing you can do for yourself."

The findings also suggest that current smokers should at least try to smoke less, since how much you smoke may be as or more damaging than the number of years spent smoking. "The amount of smoking you do now is going to affect your vessels and atherosclerosis much more than you think," he said.

One expert thinks that the study is too small to be definitive, however.

"The epidemiological evidence that your [stroke] risk stops was shown on a much larger study," noted Dr. Thomas M. Hemmen, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of California, San Diego. And he said it's already "a well-known fact that smoking causes atherosclerosis."

Another expert said he wasn't surprised by the findings.

"This is yet another study which demonstrates the deleterious effects of smoking," said Dr. Roger E. Kelley, a professor of neurology at Louisiana State University. "It is also not surprising that there is a dose effect, with the greater the exposure to smoking, the greater the arterial wall thickness."

"I am not particularly surprised that discontinuation of smoking did not have a reversible effect on the arterial wall thickness," Kelley said. "This would require that the vessel wall reparative process in some way reverses the atherosclerosis once the contribution from smoking is removed. This either doesn't happen, or it takes longer than the duration of this study factored in." -- Health Day