After all the hundreds of dollars Americans invest in vitamin supplements, how do we really know if they're effective? I have a story to share about how I recently stumbled upon a solution to the mystery of how one can scientifically measure vitamin supplement effectiveness in the human body.
I had a unique experience a couple of weeks ago I wanted to share related to health. I've been dealing with health issues the past few years in having extreme fatigue not really knowing what to do about it. I've tried everything I could think of but nothing really worked including using vitamin and mineral supplements from Dr. Joel Wallach's Youngevity products over the past five months. I thought Dr. Wallach and his counterpart Ben Fuchs, a pharmacist, were those I could trust especially since Dr. Wallach, author of Dead Doctors Don't Lie , has been bucking the FDA and medical establishment for years over its lacking preventative strategies in treating patients.
Regardless of my investment in the Youngevity health products over the past 5 months, I've still needed long 1-2 hour naps in the late afternoon and I'm only 51. Whenever I've seen my doctor, blood tests never turn up anything suggesting any kind of deficiency.
One morning I was feeling extreme fatigue as I waited to meet with a client at one of my business's satellite offices in San Francisco. I noticed a small group of people in the Regus business lounge were taking readings from people's hands using a machine and computer. I inquired to learn NuSkin distributors for Pharmanex LifePak Nano anti-aging vitamin products were using a Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner specially licensed for their use to determine people's antioxidant status by measuring carotenoids levels.
"The Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner is the world's first measuring tool that gives you a Skin Carotenoid Score (SCS) -- immediate evidence of carotenoid antioxidant activity in your body. By simply placing your hand in front of a low-energy blue light, you get your score and become empowered to make improvements in your antioxidant health through nutritious eating and supplementation with LifePak products."At the time I met the Pharmanex LifePak Nano NuSkin distributors and the doctor administering the scanner, I was at the end of my rope feeling like something was definitely wrong with my health. To be candid, I felt I might even be dying from a disease questioning if I was having kidney problems of some sort. I'm not a heavy drinker, averaging a few occasional glasses of red wine each week. Sometimes I go weeks without alcohol. I don't eat junk foods and stay away from heavily processed foods. I work out a few days a week at the gym to keep my heart rate and muscles healthy. In other words, I shouldn't be having health problems of such a degree with all my efforts to be healthy. I'm even of average weight.
The technology of the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner is based on an optical method known as resonance Raman Spectroscopy, which has been used for many years in research laboratories." - Pharanex brochure
The Results - Shocking!
My antioxidant status and stress in my body measured at the lowest section of the health spectrum at 17,000! (see line above) I was appalled!
The spectrum was broken down into blocks from 10,000 - 50,000 (as shown above). There were five blocks representing the status of antioxidant status and oxidative stress in the body. In two minutes, the results came in on the computer. The doctor who monitored the results proclaimed "the supplements you've been taking are garbage." What, my reading was only 17,000? I was outraged! I take fairly good care of myself and deserved a better result than that. A lady added "that's a typical reading for a smoker." I don't smoke nor do I spend time around smokers. In fact, I'm always around the fresh air in San Francisco that comes off the ocean, unlike Los Angeles.
Based on the results and how I seemed to have chronic fatigue, I decided to try the LifePak Nano anti-aging vitamin supplements the NuSkin distributor offered. The vitamin supplements weren't cheap but I was becoming desperate at this point. If I have no energy how can I run my business to its fullest potential? This new vitamin supplementation was my final resort prior to investing money in medical tests. NuSkin provides a guarantee that, if at the next free BioPhotonic scanner reading the customer doesn't get better results, they'll refund your money for their vitamin supplements. The only catch is that one has to take the supplements for two months prior to the next scanner reading.
The vitamins arrived a couple days ago and I must say I felt an immediate vibrancy in my health overnight taking two paks a day. For the first time in a long time, I was going strong yesterday busy all day not needing a nap. I rode my eBike all over the city twice to Mission Delores, then to the Marina and downtown twice without any fatigue at all. I woke up this morning after just 7 hours of sleep without a problem, feeling just fine. Usually I'm very tired even after a full night's sleep.
One last thing of note to my story, I also learned I needed to drink more fresh water especially if I'm having signs of kidney problems. I've since spoken with a lot of people who have confirmed their health improved when they began to drink more fresh water. I have no excuse not to drink more water since I have the EcoloBlue 28 I bought a few years ago that makes pure water from humidity in the air (last time I measured, the water was at 6 ppm purity).
After the test period over the next two months I will report on the results of my next BioPhotonic scanner reading. I expect it will be far better based on how I'm already feeling after taking the LifePak Nano supplements in just three days.
**Update 5/7/12*** The last scan I had was in December of 2011 and my score went from 17,000 to 25,000 in two months, then jumped to 37,000 in 5 months. I haven't taken a reading since since I'm way above the national average of 22,000 now. I know how to keep my immune system in check. I have had cold symptoms four times but it doesn't take root when I administer colloidal silver as an anti-oxidant. The symptoms go away within 10 minutes, including any nasal congestion. See this article related to my success with home made colloidal silver as an antibiotic. http://cherylkicksass.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-youngevity-vitamin-supplements.html