Tag: #hope

Home-based Business Benefits

by dchesne, posted in europe, france, health, lifevantage, mlm, netherlands, networkmarketing, philippines, planB, protandim, Uncategorized, unitedkingdom, workfromhome

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Home-based businesses are quickly becoming the fastest growing form of business start-ups. Growing your company out of your home allows for flexibility that is difficult when renting or buying office and warehouse space. Although working at home requires self-discipline, the benefits can be substantial.

Americans spend an average of almost 50 minutes a day commuting to and from their offices. One of the best benefits of working in a home office is that commuting involves no more than a few steps to the spare room or the basement. I can work from my phone or tablet which allows me to be able to work from the ski slopes, while I taxi my children, or even while I am shopping! This allows me more time for revenue-producing activities.

The tax benefits of operating a home office can be lucrative. If your situation qualifies, you can deduct a portion of your home’s expenses, such as mortgage interest, property taxes, utilities and repairs and maintenance, against your business income. To qualify, your home office must be your principal place of business and you can only deduct the proportionate amounts of the total expense which are directly related to your business. Although you cannot create a loss with your home office expenses, you can carry them forward to future tax years if you do not have enough business income to use them up in the current year.

Being able to work at night or first thing in the morning is a great boon for those entrepreneurs who are juggling children or other obligations. Again, mobile phones and email allow you to interact with your customers at any time of the day or night. You can more easily accommodate customers in different time zones and kids’ school schedules.

Starting a business from your home allows you many freedoms and flexibilities to grow your business at your own pace. It also saves money on many fronts. All of this while allowing you more freedom to be with your family and more financial freedom.

Network marketing has provided me and my family incredible opportunities of financial growth and, even though my children are maturing quickly, we are able to have more family time. In fact, we are celebrating New Year’s Eve today by skiing together on a gorgeous, sunny day in Park City, Utah.

Wishing all of you a healthy and prosperous New Year! See you in 2016!

Our Best Friends and Aging

by dchesne, posted in beyourownboss, health, lifevantage, planB, protandim, workfromhome

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Oxidative stress in dogs is a major cause of degenerative diseases such as arthritis and other ailments that plague aging animals. By definition, it is the destruction to cells caused by free radical molecules. Oxidation is a normal process that occurs everywhere in nature. It happens within the body every day, and it has an accumulative effect over the years. This is why so many diseases in humans and animals have their onset in middle and old age.

What Are The Effects Of Oxidative Stress In Dogs?

As a dog’s body ages, it is going through metabolic changes. Normal cell activity produces by-products that build up in the body like toxins. Destructive enzymes attack healthy cells. An excess of fat due to poor diet weakens the immune system. Free radicals disrupt the cell’s functions, preventing them from building vital tissues such as cartilage. As this is happening, there are also external stresses to a dog’s system. Pollution, chemicals and cigarette smoke all hasten the oxidative process.

The effects of oxidative stress in dogs’ bodies are significant. When the cells that build tissue are in a weakened state because of attack from free radicals, enzymes and other by-products of metabolism, they cannot perform their functions properly. They can no longer build the cartilage that cushions bones and keeps joints flexible. Arthritis sets in, and with it comes the pain and swelling that makes even ordinary activities difficult.

As oxidative stress increases with the years, a dog’s body starts to exhibit the signs of aging that we all recognize. The entire aging process, in fact, is due in large part to the effects of oxidation. Protecting your dog with antioxidant supplements is one of the measures that can be taken to safeguard him against the ravages of the oxidative process. Or you can have your beloved companion make his own antioxidants, something his body does since he was a puppy! While it is not possible to prevent aging, it is possible to lessen the painful effects of it.

 

Reducing oxidative stress in dogs may reduce many of the disorders associated with aging in canines – all common problems that profoundly affect their quality of life. These symptoms include disorientation, decreased social interaction, loss of prior house-training, sleep disturbances and decreased mobility.

If we want to keep our dogs happy and healthy, we must consider the benefits of antioxidants on oxidative stress which can be so detrimental to the health of our furry friends.

#nrf2, #oxidativestress, #bestfriends, #lovingcompanion, #healthandwellness

Benefits of a Sunflower – Milk Thistle

by dchesne, posted in beauty, europe, health, lifevantage, philippines, planB, protandim, workfromhome

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Milk thistle benefits are numerous, and it has been used to treat a variety of health conditions.  Most important is its role in strengthening and detoxifying the liver.

A member of the sunflower flower, its black seeds are harvested for medicinal use.  The active ingredient within these seeds is called silymarin, which is where the therapeutic benefits lie.

One of the main benefits is its antioxidant ability, which is more potent than most vitamins. Antioxidants are able to remove toxic chemicals called free radicals from the body.  These free radicals cause cell damage or oxidative stress which is the root of disease and premature aging.

Perhaps the most important milk thistle benefits are its effects on the liver.  The liver is one of the most important organs in the body, breaking down nutrients and cleaning the body out.  Milk thistle detoxifies the liver as well as protects it against damage from toxins, alcohol and other negative effects.

It also benefits the liver by promoting regeneration and repair of liver cells, reversing liver damage and is very helpful in the treatment of hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Some milk thistle clinical trials show that benefits may include reducing inflammation, decreasing excessive skin cell growth and helping treat endometriosis. Milk thistle benefits may be able to improve your health.  Be sure to find a quality product and consult a physician before you start supplementation.

Polyphenol-Rich Juices May Help Lower Blood Pressure

by dchesne, posted in beauty, europe, health, lifevantage, philippines, planB, protandim, workfromhome

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Did you know that intake of fruits and berries may lower blood pressure (BP), most likely due to the high content of polyphenols? In a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition researchers tested whether consumption of two polyphenol-rich juices could lower BP.

In a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of 12 weeks, 134 healthy individuals, aged 50-70 years, with high-normal range BP or stage 1-2 hypertension were included. They consumed 500ml/d of one of either (1) a commercially available polyphenol-rich juice based on red grapes, cherries, chokeberries and bilberries; (2) a juice similar to (1) but enriched with polyphenol-rich extracts or (3) a placebo juice. Resting BP was measured three times-baseline, mid-study, and then after 12 weeks of intervention.

Compared to the placebo group, systolic BP significantly reduced over time in the participants who had polyphenol-rich juice. Researchers concluded findings suggest that polyphenol-rich berry juice may have a BP lowering effect, especially in patients with hypertension versus patients with normal BP.

How to take advantage of dietary polyphenols’ benefits for lowering blood pressure

Berries freeze well and can be enjoyed all year long in smoothies, in yogurt, and in salads. The internet is a great resource for hot or iced hibiscus tea recipes. And don’t forget to indulge in polyphenol-rich exotic spices, pomegranate juice, and dark chocolate for your heart health.

But to really make a significant ding in your BP, you need to adopt some sturdier pressure-easing habits in addition to  enjoying the juice benefits:

  • Ease up on the salt.
  • Think thin. If you are overweight or obese, your blood pressure is likely to creep up.
  • Keep it friendly. Nurturing friendships can do wonders for your blood pressure.
  • Walk it out. A foot-minded lifestyle is great for your heart and your arteries.

An Athlete’s Point of View

by dchesne, posted in beauty, europe, health, lifevantage, philippines, planB, protandim, workfromhome

Screen Shot 2015-09-03 at 12.33.50 PMThis is my friend, Elite Athlete, Nick Baumgartner.

Snow: US Olympic Snowboarder, X Games Gold & Silver Medalist

Dirt: Pro Motor Sports Athlete, Stadium SUPER Trucks Series, TORC Series Pro-Light Driver, Baja 1000

Per Nick – “I want to introduce you all to a product I started taking this winter that allows my body to perform and recover like it did when I was a younger athlete. I also want to let you know that this company doesn’t sponsor me or pay me to say or validate anything. First I did the research, and then started taking the product and I believe that everyone will benefit by adding this to his or her daily regiment. It’s an all-natural, daily supplement that of course is Certified Athlete Safe, which was huge for me – and it will allow me to continue to train harder and harder so I can keep up with the young guns in my sport for years to come. What sidelines most athletes and forces them to retire is they need to train harder and harder to keep up and unfortunately the aging body can’t recover fast enough. Until Now! This product is proven to reduce the cause of this aging by an average of 40% in a month! Don’t just take my word for it – ABC News explains this in an ABC Primetime show. I truly believe Protandim will make it possible for my body to recover from all the damage caused by the intense training as well as everyday life. You watch, I expect to be 40 and still competing at the elite level, but don’t wait till then to take my advice and give this a try. Get on it now, and stop the damage your doing to your body everyday. Go to www.aBetterLifeStartsnow.com and watch ABC explain this.

This product isn’t just for athletes and ABC News starts to explain the diseases this technology helps including Autoimmune Diseases, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Parkinson’s, Depression, Effects of Radiation…the list goes on and on and LifeVantage has the science to prove that it works, and the patents to protect us from competition. And the timing – everyone wants a natural way to be healthy and a way to stay young.

I am excited to share this with you all and now that I know it really works, I’m super excited to build a business by helping people get healthier and compete stronger longer. Snowboarding has not made me enough money, I’ve had to work in the summers and further destroy my body trading hours for a paycheck. LifeVantage Opportunity is helping change my life so that I can focus on my son and my training!”

If you have questions regarding this opportunity or product line, please feel free to contact me at denisemariechesne@gmail.com

Nrf2 Activation and Bolstering Antioxidant Defenses in Diabetes

by dchesne, posted in beauty, europe, health, lifevantage, philippines, planB, protandim, workfromhome

Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disorder with severe complications and the population suffering from this disease has been increasing.  It has been noted that oxidative stress conditions in the body are correlated with impairment of blood glucose regulation.

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In particular, findings suggest to us that oxidative stress in pancreatic islets plays an important role in the cause and/or progression of diabetes mellitus. Indeed, hyperglycemia-mediated oxidative stress appears to be involved in various diabetic complications and is actually increased in diabetes patients. Thus, the roles played by Nrf2  in the pathogenesis (cause) of diabetes mellitus and in the development of its complications have emerged as important research topics.

http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/60/11/2683.full

Activating Nrf2

by dchesne, posted in beauty, europe, health, lifevantage, philippines, planB, protandim, workfromhome

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Nrf2 is a powerful protein that is latent within each cell in the body, unable to move or operate until it is released by an Nrf2 activator. Once released it migrates into the cell nucleus and bonds to the DNA at the location of the Antioxidant Response Element (ARE) which is the master regulator of the total antioxidant system that is available in ALL human cells.

It turns out that a variety of phytonutrients are powerful activators of the Nrf2 pathway. While not necessarily rich in antioxidants, they directly and dramatically amplify our innate ability to produce vast antioxidant protection by signaling our DNA. In this way, specific molecules from Nrf2 activating plant-derived bioactives can trigger the production of thousands of antioxidant molecules, providing far better protection against the cell-damaging effects of free radicals compared to standard antioxidant supplement.

Other NRF2 resources:
Pubmed.gov http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=nrf2
Google scholarly NRF2 Articles: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=NRF2

Nrf2 Endurance

by dchesne, posted in beauty, europe, health, lifevantage, philippines, planB, protandim, workfromhome

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Are you born to run?  It does not matter if you are a professional athlete or just a weekend warrior, we all want to improve our performance. A research study conducted by Physiological Genomics shows the role of NRF2 in high endurance athletic activity.

 The study discovered that elite endurance athletes such as marathon runners and high endurance athletes were more likely to have higher levels of  NRF2  than elite sprinters. Even those that would not be considered elite endurance athletes showed higher NRF2 genetic variations when compared to sprinters, although the difference was not as stark.

 Future studies will need to be undertaken to establish a cause-effect relationship. Does the existence of higher NRF2 activation improve athletic performance or vice versa?

 The researchers of this particular study investigated  NRF2 because they followed previous studies which have shown that NRF2 may play a role in endurance performance for the following reasons:

  • Nrf2 helps produce new mitochondria. Mitochondria are key cellular structures that produces energy within the cells.

  • Nrf2 is a powerful reducer of the harmful side effects of oxidation and inflammation, which increases during exercise. What was interesting in this study is that it seems to indicate that NRF2 protects the body more from the higher strain and damage caused by the increased oxidative stress and inflammatory response that occurs with acute exercise.

The Study:
This study closely examined 155 elite track and field athletes. These athletes had competed in either national or international track and field competitions. The group was divided into either an endurance group (10,000 meters and marathon runners) or a sprint group (100- and 200-meter and long jump). The control group consisted of 240 non-athletic healthy individuals.

The study discovered that in particular, two variations in  NRF2 occurred more often in endurance athletes than in sprinters.

“So,” concludes Eynon (the researcher in this study), “some of us are truly born to run.”

For more information on the NRF2 Endurance Study: http://jap.physiology.org/content/107/1/76.full

Chronic Inflammation

by dchesne, posted in beauty, beyourownboss, europe, france, health, lifevantage, mlm, netherlands, networkmarketing, philippines, planB, protandim, unitedkingdom, workfromhome

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Of the ten leading causes of mortality in the United States, chronic, low-level inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of at least seven. These include heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and nephritis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2011)

Inflammation has classically been viewed as an acute (short term) response to tissue injury that produces characteristic symptoms and usually resolves spontaneously. More contemporary revelations show chronic inflammation to be a major factor in the development of degenerative disease and loss of youthful functions.

Chronic inflammation can be triggered by cellular stress and dysfunction, such as that caused by excessive calorie consumption, elevated blood sugar levels, and oxidative stress. The danger of chronic, low-level inflammation is that its silent nature belies its destructive power.

Chronic low-level inflammation may be threatening your health at this very moment. There are several risk factors which increase the likelihood of establishing and maintaining a low-level inflammatory response. These include:
Age. In contrast to younger individuals, older adults can have consistently elevated levels of several inflammatory molecules. These elevations are observed even in healthy older individuals. While the reasoning for this age-associated increase in inflammatory markers is not thoroughly understood, it may reflect cumulative mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage, or may be the result of other risk factors associated with age.Obesity. Fat tissue is an endocrine organ, storing and secreting multiple hormones and cytokines into circulation and affecting metabolism throughout the body. General dietary over-consumption is a major contributor to inflammation and other detrimental age-related processes in the modern world.Diet. A diet high in saturated fat is associated with higher pro-inflammatory markers, particularly in diabetic or overweight individuals.Low sex hormones. Amongst their many roles in biology, sex hormones also modulate the immune/inflammatory response. The preservation of sex hormone levels is associated with reductions in the risk of several inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis, asthma in women, and rheumatoid arthritis in men.

Smoking. Cigarette smoke contains several inducers of inflammation, particularly reactive oxygen species.

While the incidence of inflammation and inflammatory disease is rising in all developed countries, it’s important to remember that each of us has an individual response to the stressors in our life. Some of that unique response is determined by genetics. But much of it is within our control — if we understand how our choices affect our health.

MAKE, NOT TAKE-How your body can protect itself from cellular stress.

by dchesne, posted in beauty, beyourownboss, europe, france, health, lifevantage, mlm, netherlands, networkmarketing, philippines, planB, protandim, unitedkingdom, workfromhome

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At the very center of our cellular protective pathway is a protein called “Nrf2” that serves as a “master regulator” of the body’s antioxidant response. You might think of Nrf2 as a “thermostat” within our cells that senses the level of oxidative stress and other stressors and turns on internal protective mechanisms.

Soon after Nrf2 was identified, a flurry of scientific discoveries began to show how Nrf2 also regulated genes involved in the production of a wide range of antioxidant enzymes (including SOD, glutathione, and catalase), and detoxification or ‘‘stress-response’’ genes. These protective pathways are involved in seemingly unrelated areas of health from immune function to tissue optimization to cognitive function – but they all share in common the Nrf2 “switch” that enables cells to protect themselves from both internal and external environmental challenges. In effect, Nrf2 activation enables our cells to make their own antioxidants to help us survive – and thrive – in stressful situations.

How does Nrf2 work?

When activated, Nrf2 turns on the production of specific antioxidants the body needs to fight cellular stress effectively. Certain phytochemicals (turmeric, ashwagandha, bacopa, green tea, and milk thistle) synergistically activate Nrf2. Turning on Nrf2 creates a cascading effect that results in the production of several very powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants do a much better job at combating cellular stress than dietary, vitamin or phytochemical source individually. Several antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione, and catalase are activated through the Nrf2 pathway. Many scientists believe that Nrf2 activation is the “future” of cellular protection and health promotion, this foundation of naturally activating Nrf2 to “solve” the problem of cellular stress is a fundamentally different way of restoring balance in the body.