Grace’s Blog

 Walnut Canyon is a National Monument near Flagstaff, AZ.  It is the site of ancient cliff dwellings where inhabitants lived long ago. 

Walnut canyon is a short 10 minute drive from my home.  For several years I would walk the canyon for my exercise.  Some people use it to train for the BIGGER canyon, the Grand Canyon, which is about a ninety minute drive away.

I got out of the habit of walking when the trail was closed for repairs.  Then a huge bolder fell on the trail and closed it for months.  The trail starts out at 7000 feet elevation and descends 185 feet into the canyon and is a mile long.  There are 240 stair steps along the way.

In past years I have seen deer and elk along the rim trail, which runs above the canyon.

Last week, (Aug. 17, 2009) I decide to start walking the canyon again.  The recent reports about needing more Vitamin D motivated me to get more sunlight along with eating my wonderful Shaklee Supplements.  (See my Aug. 20, 2009 blog post)

I knew what I was in for since I hadn’t done it for a while.  I started on Monday, by Tuesday afternoon I could barely walk.  Wednesday morning I was determined to go.  It was a little difficult because my legs were still very sore.  By Friday, the soreness was gone.

Take a “walk” with me in the canyon through these pictures I took along the way.  Some of the best pictures were too big to insert.  The first shows the repair where the big boulder was.

There are lots of lizards along the trail. Can you see one in this picture?

Climbing out….185 steps up.

After one of my walks, as I was entering the Visitor’s Center, a hummingbird was trying to fly through the glass window.  I tried to guide him out the door, but he flew into the observation room, hit the glass and knocked himself out.  I thought he was dead.  I gently scooped him up and took him outside.  He flew off.  I’m sure he had a headache.  These are the windows:

If you are ever in Northern Arizona, be sure to visit Walnut Canyon.

Shaklee Distributor

Grace General AZ, Flagstaff, National Monument, Vitamin D, Walnut Canyon

A clinical study has been published that holds significance to all who are concerned about staying healthy.

The Vitamin D Landmark # 2 Study: For some background, The Landmark Study # 1 was conducted by Dr. Gladys Block, Ph.D., an internationally renowned researcher and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health Nutrition at U.C. Berkeley School of Public Health in California.

It was a first ever study on a rare population of long-term dietary supplement users.  It was a peer-reviewed study showing that people who took Shaklee Supplements had markedly better health than both other multivitamin and non-supplement users.

These finding were reported in Nutrition Journal, an on-line medical journal.

Study #2, was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Lipdology, July 21, 2009.

Its purpose was to compare Vitamin D in Shaklee users and its impact on cardiovascular disease.  The results found that Vitamin D lowers the risk for metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.  It also showed that blood levels of Vitamin D, are directly related to waist circumference.

No one has ever done research to determine how much Vitamin D is needed until Shaklee did it.  Shaklee scientists presented this research at the National Lipid Association where it was well received.  The manuscript was accepted for publication with no changes.  This is very unusual after peer-review.

Vitamin D research indicates that it may improve heart health, bone health, immune health and cognitive function and depression.  That may be why sunshine helps relieve depression.

Vitamin D receptors are found throughout the body in every cell.

Other benefits of Vitamin D:  Research indicates that having optimal levels may help with breast health, the health of ovaries, the uterus, the prostate, the esophagus, the stomach, the colon, the bladder, the kidneys, the pancreas and lung cells.

Researchers are recommending between 1000 and 2000 IU’s of Vitamin D each day.

 Shaklee Independent Distributor

Grace Health Landmark Study, Shaklee, Vitamin D

Genetic regulator Nrf2, pronounced Nerf 2, is a key genetic regulator of longevity.

Results of a randomized, placebo controlled clinical study by scientists at State University of New York at Buffalo using Shaklee’s Vivix will soon be published.

This was an independent study.  Shaklee did not do it.

When we are young and eat a high fat, high carbohydrate, low protein meal, it triggers an increase in Nrf2. This in turn increases production of our body’s own antioxidant defense mechanisms.

What does Nrf2 do?

Besides increasing the production of antioxidant defense mechanisms, it triggers our detoxification mechanisms and gets rid of all the artificial food additives and preservatives.

It triggers our immune balance mechanisms and anti-stress mechanisms. High fat meals depress the immune system and can cause inflammatory and autoimmune responses.

These mechanisms slow down cellular aging and reduce the risk of degenerative diseases.

As we get older, Nrf2 responses are no longer triggered by all the high fat bad foods we eat and we lose our natural protective mechanisms.

When that happens, we are more at risk for heart disease and stroke because our arteries are clogged from all those high fat meals.

Enter Shaklee’s Vivix.  The clinical study took a group of volunteers who consumed a 910 calorie breakfast at a well known fast food restaurant.  Half took Vivix immediately after breakfast and the other group took a placebo.

In those that took the Vivix, the Nrf2 increased dramatically within the first 3 hours after the meal.

The other group who took the placebo had their Nrf2 levels actually decline.

What does this mean?  A dose of Vivix containing resveratrol and ellagic acid has beneficial polyphenols that get into the bloodstream and have their intended anti-aging benefits.

Vivix will be even more effective when used with a good diet.  Vivix turns on Nrf2 whether you eat a bad diet or not.  Keep your system working at tip top shape with Vivix and make better choices in the foods you eat.

Click HERE to learn more about Vivix, a remarkable anti-aging tonic.  There is nothing like it anywhere.  It is backed by multiple patents and a soon to be published peer-reviewed clinical study.  Increasing Nrf2 is only one of the benefits.  When published, we will know more of all the benefits of using Vivix.

 Shaklee Independent Distributor

Grace Anti-aging, Health Anti-aging, Antioxidant, Cellular Aging, Clinical Study, Detoxification, Food Additives, Genetic Regulators, Heart Disease, immune system, Longevity, Nrf2, Polyphenols, resveratrol, Stroke, Vivix