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Blood: The River of Life

Author: Steven Horne

Blood carries nutrients, water, oxygen, and waste products to and from the body’s cells. It is pumped by the heart through thousands of miles of blood vessels. A young person has about four quarts of blood in his or her body, whereas an adult has about five quarts. Much more than a red liquid, blood is made up of liquids, solids, and small amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide. Red blood cells pick up oxygen in the lungs and transport it to all the cells in the body. After delivering the oxygen to the cells, it gathers up the carbon dioxide (a waste gas produced as our cells work) and transports it back to the lungs where it is removed from the body through exhaling (breathing out). There are about 5,000,000 red blood cells in one drop of blood.

White blood cells help the body fight off germs. As germs enter the body, white blood cells attack and destroy them. When you develop an infection, your body will produce more white blood cells to help fight it.

Platelets are blood cells that help stop bleeding. When we cut ourselves and blood leaks out, platelets in our blood come to the site and plug the opening. As the platelets stick to the opening, they attract more platelets, fibers and other blood cells to help seal the broken blood vessel. When the platelets have finished their job, the wound stops bleeding.

Plasma makes up about half of the body’s blood. There are billions of living blood cells floating in plasma. Plasma carries the blood cells and other components throughout the body. Plasma is 95% water and the other 5% is made up of dissolved substances including salts.

Red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are all made by the bone marrow, whereas plasma is made in the liver. Blood building remedies can be helpful for anemia, monthly blood loss through menstruation or just a lack of good quality blood or blood volume. Here is a list of direct aids that help nourish and support the blood.

Nature’s Sunshine Products Blood Products

Herbal Formulas: Herbal Trace Minerals (Three), I-X, Trigger Immune®, Blood Stimulator, Chinese, Liver Balance, Chinese, Menstrual-Reg
Herbs: Blessed Thistle, Burdock, Chickweed, Dong Quai, Yellow Dock, Alfalfa, White Oak Bark
Nutrients: Iron, Zinc, Vitamin C, Folic Acid Plus, Chlorophyll, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin E
Nutritional Supplements: Vitamin B-Complex, Balanced
Nutraceuticals: Nattozimes Plus, Vari-Gone, Vari-Gone® Cream

“Just because you aren’t sick doesn’t mean you are healthy.”

Let Mother Nature Help Defend You and Your Family This Season

Nature offers us natural ingredients that provide terrific overall support for the immune system. Divisional Manager and 2015 Manager of the Year LaDonna Frantz shared some of her insights and experience in supporting the immune system.  Thanks for sharing LaDonna.

When is the best time to work on supporting and strengthening the immune system?

Keep in mind that what you do now will build your resistance for this winter and the long term. I love this quote from our own Dr. Jay: “May you never know the diseases that you may have prevented.”

Your daily habits and the nutritional level of your diet and supplements create your body’s “protective fort.” The longer you wait to build your fort and the more exceptions you permit, the weaker your fort will be. If something does bypass your immune fort wall, do not delay in responding with several products to give your body the upper edge. Too often people respond with one or two items at maintenance doses rather than fighting doses, thus prolonging the fight.

 Which Nature’s Sunshine products do you recommend for daily/ongoing prevention and why?

  1. Elderberry D3fense is an excellent product with beneficial immune properties. It’s a good daily source of Vitamin D3, which a lot of people may lack.
  2. Probiotic Eleven is a broad-spectrum formula of 11 strains of good bacteria to improve gut microbiome balance and overall immune health.
  3. Immune System Pack. For those with weaker immune systems who need more than Elderberry D3fense, this monthly pack adds VS-C and Immune Stimulator to strengthen the immune response from multiple directions, providing increased support.

I also like to diffuse Essential Shield Oil blend for its powerful penetrating action.

 What are your favorites for fighting back in the moment (under attack) and why?

  1. Silver Shield. This patented form of silver is pure, potent and safe. Silver makes a good gargle and can be more effective when in direct contact with microbial imbalances.
  2. Bacillus Coagulans and/or Eleven Elevated will help replenish the good bacteria and help restore the gut microbiome, thus strengthening the immune system overall.
  3. VS-C TCM. I have seen numerous positive results using this concentrated Chinese herbal blend help others with health concerns.
  4. Echinacea/Golden Seal. This traditional formula still gets results. Echinacea boosts the immune system and supports the lymph glands, while goldenseal seems to give the body more fight.

 In your experience, what are your top two immune products for children?

  1. I recommend Sunshine Heroes Elderberry Immune. These offer excellent immune-supporting properties and they taste great.
  2. I would also add Sunshine Heroes Probiotic Power chewables to help replenish the good bacteria.

 Which foods do you encourage your customers to eat more of in order to help the immune system?

Diet is the foundation in our health journey and the immune system is no exception.

  • Focus on a whole-foods, clean diet with a good variety of vegetables, quality fats and healthful proteins, much like the diet recommended in the IN.FORM program.
  • Focusing on foods high in vitamin C, such as citrus and many vegetables, is an excellent start.
  • Be sure to avoid foods that would work against you like refined sugars, dairy and many processed foods.
  • For extra immune protection, add spices such as Garlic, Turmeric, Ginger, Cinnamon and Cloves.

We have the tools and knowledge to be healthy; let’s build strong forts!

Cochineal Bugs in Our Food and Drink

The Food and Drug Administration has deemed these bugs as “safe” to add to the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries products.

The junk food industry is trying to make more money with less spent on quality. That’s why you may notice that many companies are adding ground up and/or boiled beetle carcasses into their fruit juices, candy, ice creams, and more. These beetle carcasses contribute to the reds, purples, and pinks found in many junk food items.

You won’t find “beetle carcasses” under any of the ingredients lists. However, you may find “carminic acid” or “cochineal extract”. These terms sound scientific, but they actually describe the bugs that the junk food industry is adding to our food. The Food and Drug Administration has deemed these bugs as “safe” to add to the junk food industry’s products.

Unfortunately, when you inform people that their raspberry yogurt, maraschino cherries, Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccino, brands of lipstick, or hundreds of other items are colored with this natural extract, most are revolted instead of intrigued. In fact, outraged vegans have pressured Starbucks to look for another, non-insect-derived product to use in the frappuccino concoction.

What is a cochineal bug?

It is a small, chubby scale insect that feeds on prickly pear cactus. There are many species of scale insect. Most are very small, less than ¼ inch long, sedentary insects that suck plant sap with tiny, piercing mouth parts. They belong to the same order of insect that includes aphids, cicadas, and leaf hoppers.

You might not even recognize some scale species as insects. Adult females have no legs or wings and are basically bags of guts and eggs that seem glued to the stems or leaves of their host plant. Some scales have hard, shell-like coverings, and look like tiny shells. Cochineal bugs are covered with a waxy or powdery white coating, and often cluster on the surface of the prickly pear pads, looking like tiny cotton balls. If you squish these cottony balls, your fingers will be covered with copious amounts of a thick, dark red fluid. This intense color has been used to dye fabric for many centuries, and more recently, has become a colorant in foods and drinks. If you are concerned about eating or using products containing cochineal, you will have to read the fine print on a lot of products.

Here is a short list of items that may contain cochineal-derived colorant:

  • Frozen meat and fish (e.g., artificial crab meat)
  • Soft drinks, fruit drinks, energy drinks, and powdered drink mixes
  • Yogurts, ice cream and dairy-based drinks
  • Candy, syrups, popsicles, fillings and chewing gum
  • Canned fruits including cherries and jams
  • Dehydrated and canned soups
  • Ketchup
  • Some wines and liqueurs (according to Wikipedia, as of 2006 carmine is no longer used to give the Italian aperitif Campari its distinctive deep red color)
  • Lipstick, eyeshadow, blush, nail polish, and other cosmetic items
  • Pills, ointments and syrups used in the pharmaceutical industry