What Are Your Plans for World Heart Day 2011?

World Heart Day 2011 is celebrating its 11th anniversary, and it is … today!

Did you know that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading causes of death? 17.1 million lives are claimed each year! (Source: www.world-heart-federation.org)

Scary, isn’t it? This is the reason why World Heart Day was initially introduced in 2000, to bring people’s awareness of it as well as spread the message that at least 80% of deaths from these causes are preventable.

But how to prevent it?

Though there are ‘beyond control’ risk factors such as advancing age and family history of heart disease, there are some factors that can be controlled and modified and smoking comes first, followed by obesity, being physically inactive, overly stressed and depression, eating junk food…etc.

How does USANA’s staff support the healthy Heart Day?

At USANA Australia and New Zealand, we not only strictly follow Australian Legislation regarding smoking to create a non-smoking work environment; we also hold regular health and fitness programs to keep staff physically active:

We have recently finished the first round of the Table Tennis Tournament and most employees had fun with it – at the end of the day, it’s not about winning the game, it’s about getting away from the desk a couple of minutes per day and having some exercise as well as social interaction with colleagues. Meanwhile, with the on-going USANA Fitness Club program, some active ones are trying very hard to earn as many points as possible to win the prizes. There is also a Basket-ball Tournament in the pipeline… Woo hoo!

Something that you might be interested in knowing as well, from a nutrition point of view…

People from the Mediterranean love their olives! Recent research showed that constituents found in olives can help in maintaining a healthy heart. The antioxidant activity of olives helps lower oxidised LDL cholesterol, the so called “bad” cholesterol. This further supports a rapidly growing body of evidence that suggests that it’s not so much the level of your cholesterol that is critical but lowering the amount of cholesterol that oxidised (rancid), that is really important.

With heart disease being one of our biggest killers, it’s worthwhile adding more olives and olive oil to your diet and, we’d suggest you take a quality supplement that contains olive fruit extract.

Apart from olive oil, you could try to:

• Include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated (omega-3 and omega-6) fats in your diet, including avocados, tuna, salmon, linseed/flax oil, walnuts
• Avoid trans fat
• Reduce intake of saturated fat by choosing lean, trimmed meat and reduced or low-fat dairy goods
• Supplement your diet with a good quality fish oil (with omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA)

And the good news is that there is a great new USANA Heart Health Autoship Pack available in Australia and New Zealand at the moment, that includes nutritional supplements for maintaining a healthy heart in the long run. They are USANA Essentials, BiOmega III, Proflavanol C100, CoQuinone 100 and E-Prime.

And at the end…

What’s your plan for this special day? Shall we stop for a minute and ask ourselves, “Is my heart healthy?” For a good start, this is an interesting test to help you calculate your heart age. Good luck with it!

USANA Fans, Can We Grab Your Attention Please?

Me•di•a
noun.

The means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, which reach or influence people widely

We all agree that in the communication world, a ‘two-way street’ is better than a ‘one-way street’, right? Well technology is always making the impossible possible and now with Social Media, we can go for a ride with our audience anytime, anywhere! Facebook is one of the most popular and flexible Social Media channels around, and for those who have heard about it, but haven’t touched it, maybe now is the time to get involved and get connected with USANA Australia and New Zealand!

USANA’s unique Australia and New Zealand Facebook Fan Page is on its way…

From 7 October 2011, USANA Australia and New Zealand is going to launch its unique Facebook Fan Page, available to the general public, with more localised information, flexible communication and access to exclusive competitions.

So, what is Facebook?

If you are already a Facebook guru and want to read about the development of Facebook Wikipedia is always a good place to go. But if you are new to Facebook the following explanation will give you a brief overview of Facebook:

Facebook is a website that allows you to do online social networking with other users from all over the world. Launched in February 2004, Facebook has more than 500 million active users as of July 2010 - this figure is one fourteenth of the world population! (Source: Wikipedia) This is mind blowing, given China doesn’t even have official access to Facebook!

Put simply, this website not only enables you to post comments, images and videos, you can also share other online information, such as news stories, with your friends or create and invite your friends to an event etc. Here is a typical post on Facebook:


How to set up your Facebook account (a profile)?

If you are a Facebook savvy, you may by pass this information, as we will show you right from beginning. Go to http://www.facebook.com and fill in your details in the registration area (showed below), then click the ‘Sign Up’ button. Once you’ve clicked the ‘Sign Up’ button, you can start to create your profile.

• Step 1 – this is where you can find your friends by your current email address (so make sure you use a valid email address). You have the choice of skipping this step if you wish.
• Step 2 – you can fill out your interests so that you can find like-minded people on Facebook. Again, you may choose to skip this step.
• Step 3 – this is where you complete your profile information.
• Step 4 – asks you to upload a profile picture for this account. You may pick a photo of you, or any other pictures you like, but a photo of you will help your friends immediately recognise you!
• Step 5 – click the ‘save and continue’ and your profile is DONE

You can edit your displayed information anytime by hitting the ‘Edit’ button, or you can add new personal information by hitting the ‘Edit Profile’ button (both shown in the image below)


How to become our fans?

Once the new Fan Page is up running, you will need to follow the steps below to become fans of USANA Australia and New Zealand:

• Log on to Facebook.
• Go to our Facebook Fan Page. (We will have a follow-up blog giving you a tour of the new Page as well as the web address of it)
• Press the ‘LIKE’ button of the page, as showed in the picture below.

And that’s it!


Once you become our fan, we will keep you up-to-date with the latest USANA news, events, trainings, recognition, product information and more. You can also view our exclusive competitions and promotions which are open to USANA fans only. Also you will be able to easily access localised USANA Australian and New Zealand news, which happens right around you.

Should you start your own Facebook Fan Page for your USANA business?

Now you have your Facebook account (profile page) up running, you might think ‘hmmm, USANA Australia and New Zealand has its Fan page now, maybe I should start my own Fan page... but is it necessary?’ This question will be answered if you understand the difference between a Facebook profile and a Fan Page:

A Facebook profile is for individual users and the status updates, videos, pictures and events you post will only be visible by your friends, and obviously, this limits your reach. For a prospective customer to see what you have to say they would need to be added as a friend and go through the confirmation process to become your friend – this is not effective for your USANA business.

However, a Facebook Fan Page is just like your own website, where your information is visible to the public. All prospective customer needs to do is to ‘LIKE’ your page and your posts will display on their Facebook News Feed/home page. The process is just like subscribing to updates or articles from a website.

Facebook Fan Pages are important for your USANA business because they are more visible to search engines, such as Google or Bing – your Fan Page will be higher in the search results, as Facebook is a very popular website. Also the Fan Page allows you to have unlimited ‘fans’, while a profile is usually limited to 5,000 friends. Most importantly, the content is readily accessible to the public so you can include the page link in all your communications.

We will have more upcoming blogs about Facebook including a tour of the new USANA Australia New Zealand Page, how to set up your own Facebook Fan Page and how to build up your fans, etc. Please keep an eye out for them.

Have You Heard About Our New Talent At USANA?

On the back of the success of Sam Stosur, Liezel Huber and Melanie Oudin recently at the US Open 2011, we have had the privilege of four top athletes joining us at USANA, which we are very excited about!

Alex Fort , Kayaker and Surf Life Saver, Christchurch, New Zealand

Already at the age of 17, he has won 11 medals, 5 National Titles and 3 Oceania Titles at New Zealand National Canoe Racing Championships and is a National Surf Life Saving Gold Medallist.

Alex’s goal is to win an Olympic Gold medal at the Under 23 World Championships in Canada in 2013. We are all
behind you Alex!

Britta Martin, Triathlete, Nelson, New Zealand

Britta has an impressive sporting career, which includes recently coming 4th in Ironman in France, 2nd in Triathlon Toelz, Germany and 1st in the Spring Challenge. Britta’s goal is to place in the top five consistently in International Ironman and long distance triathlon races and win an Ironman within the next five years. We believe you’ll get there Britta!


Martin Knight, Professional Squash Player Wellington, New Zealand

Martin is currently ranked #1 in New Zealand and a Silver medallist in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which is a huge achievement! We can’t wait to see what lies ahead for Martin!

Tennille Jay Falappi, Cyclist Cairns: Queensland

Tennille is a cyclist who, despite only riding since 2009, has already won Gold medals at both State and National level. Tennille is also the second fastest under 17 female in Australia, which is outstanding! Tennille’s future goals are to enter the Australian Institute of Sport as a Track Sprinter and represent Australia as a Track Sprinter at an international level. We know great things are ahead for you Tennille!

We are very excited about what is ahead for all our new Athletes and warmly welcome them aboard! Let us know what you think about our new athletes, leave your comments below.

Who Says Science Is a Boring Subject – Continued

Now we all know that we had great success with Dr John Cuomo’s Sydney Health & Product Training... and the legend goes on! – Over 230 Associates, preferred customers and guests joined this special event in Auckland where Dr Cuomo was joined by four amazing Health Professionals – Dr. Monica Lewis a Holistic General Practitioner, Dr. Jingyuan Wen a Pharmaceutical Scientist, Dr. Libby Weaver a Holistic Nutrition Specialist and Dr. Gerald Lewis a Cardiologist & General Physician.

From left to right: Dr. Gerald Lewis, Dr. Monica Lewis, Dr. Jingyuan Wen, Dr. John Cuomo & Dr. Libby Weaver

The feedback is phenomenal! Here are just some of them:

“Truly inspiring day! So much knowledge shared and received by Dr John Cuomo, Drs Gerald and Monica Lewis, Dr Libby Weaver and Dr Jingyuan Wen. Showing us again that USANA is truly - the most cutting edge nutritional company on the planet! “
Karen Ovens

“I would like to congratulate you all on a great health day, I thought all the speakers were excellent. Dr Cuomo's speech was especially interesting. My guest particularly enjoyed Dr Libby Weaver' s speech. She has such an uncomplicated method of presenting the facts, it makes it so easy to remember."
Gay Pedersen

“I attended the Health and Product training on Saturday and have to say this was one of the best events I have attended in my seven years with USANA. We were shown the science, the proof, the clinical trials and I have no doubt that USANA is the best supplement company in the world.

The speakers were outstanding and I really appreciate the fact that the information shared was supported by references and clinical studies. So many companies are unable to supply this information.

It is events such as this that really sets our company apart from everyone else and I would love to see a lot more health and product focused seminars in the future, as personally speaking, these are the events that really help my business to grow.

Thanks again for putting together such an awesome, inspiring day.”
Julie Cattin

“Marcus and I, on behalf of our entire team, would like to extend our sincere thanks for a fantastic event with Dr John Cuomo and the other fabulous speakers on Saturday at Elim Centre, Auckland.

We thoroughly enjoyed the event and it was so informative and helpful for our teams. I personally learned a lot of very valuable information about our product manufacturing and research processes which cements in my mind that we are truly the pinnacle of a quality company.

I am sure the other leaders will agree with me when I state that these type of events are so valuable for helping us build rock solid belief in USANA and our products and business throughout our team members.

Thanks for all you do for us and our teams. We appreciate you all very much…”
Romela Quinn-McLelland & Marcus McLelland

Thank you to all our speakers for such wonderful event that helped enhance the message - USANA was founded with a mission to manufacture the highest quality products without compromise, products that people can trust.

We have more photos of the event, check them out here.

Sam Stosur Delivers A Superb Performance

USANA WTA brand Ambassador Samantha Stosur delivered a tidal wave of superb performances against Serena Williams to clinch the title of US Open Grand Slam champion. The news is all around the USANA Australian office as well as every corner of Australia! Here is just one of the read.

Sam who was ranked ninth seed (Singles) fired her way through the opening set before fending off her opponent’s comeback to claim a 6-2 6-3 victory and made history as Australia's first female grand slam singles champion in 31 years! Stosur is just the second Australian woman, after Margaret Court, to win a major Grand slam title.

Her grit, determination and cool head saw her win again and again throughout the tournament’s qualifying rounds before reaching the finals to face-off against tournament favorite Serena Williams.

Despite having some bad runs in other tournaments leading up to the US Open, Sam has proven that you cannot keep a champion down for long and determination and a game plan will eventually deliver success.

Ever the gracious sportsperson, Sam had this message for her fellow Australians ‘to everyone back at home for supporting me, I don't know what to say.... thank-you," she said when interviewed before being awarded the Champions trophy (Sydney Morning Herald). Yes, we hear you – we still remember what you’ve said to us - ‘It is important that I take products that are safe and of the highest quality. This is what USANA represents’.

Pictures from espn.co.uk

USANA Ambassadors Liezel Huber and her partner also claimed the 2011 US Open Women’s Doubles title, while Melanie Oudin and her partner won the Mixed Doubles title! Read this blog from USANA’s head office for more information.

USANA is proud to be associated with these fantastic athletes! Leave a congratulatory message for them at USANA’s Facebook page.

Who Says Science Is A Boring Subject?

It is happening! Dr. John Cuomo’s trainings have received amazing feedback so far. The Wentz Theatre in the Australian office last night was packed with 180 Associates and guests! 180! Wow! Next time Dr. Cuomo visits down under we’ll need a bigger venue.


Our Sydney-based Associate Kim Parker is very positive in USANA’s moving forward, “The training reinforced what I have known about the USANA products, and gave me an insight on the Development and Testing team behind the USANA products as well as the QA process. When the process is transparent to us, it enables us to be more confident in the products.”

Dr. Cuomo is very pleased with the number of people that turned up, “I didn’t expect so many attendees and I could feel the interest and the passion they have for USANA products! Science is seen as a ‘boring’ subject, and it is great that people are now actually interested in this subject. I think we should do more training like this in the future and make sure people all over the world share USANA’s difference. I will surely come back!”


It is an excellent opportunity for us all, so we tried to maximise his time and arranged some meetings in smaller scale as well. Dr. Cuomo spent some time with USANA Associates, who are health experts and doctors, having Q&A sessions.


If you missed our previous blog about Dr. John Cuomo and his trainings, here you go! If you are in Australia and missed his previous trainings, you’ve still got one more opportunity to attend tonight in Melbourne at 47 Miller Crescent, Mt Waverley. Just pop in at 7.15pm and tickets are available for you right at the door. If you are in New Zealand, don’t miss the training on Saturday, 17 September. Ring USANA Customer Service on 0800 370 126 to book your tickets.

For more photos, check out on our Facebook page!

Welcome On Board, Geoff!

Have you heard that USANA Australia now has been injected with fresh blood, Geoff? Haven’t? Here is the Press Release for your read.

Geoff’s presence will boost USANA’s ‘metabolism’ and nourish the very ‘cells’ that reach every corner of a prosperous USANA family!


With his past experience in the industry as Sales and Marketing Director of Avon, Geoff surely has his ‘secret weapons’ for building a successful Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) business:

“I believe in great training, on great motivation, on strong planning, but at the end of the day, nothing replaces action and hard work. Building a team takes time and effort, it’s about having those conversations, it’s about committing to yourself how much time you will spend actually building your business and holding yourself accountable. Nothing truly worthwhile in life is easy, and that’s also true about building a business here at USANA. The great thing about USANA is that dedication, effort and commitment is rewarded, and rewarded richly!”

You might wonder why he chose USANA? Great minds think alike – we asked exactly the same question and Geoff answered without hesitation: “That’s easy! USANA has a perfect combination of the three essential ingredients for success: the highest ethics of the company; the best products which are grounded in the best science and an unrivalled compensation plan.” What a nice comment!

Being a ‘busy bee’, Geoff was notoriously bad at taking his nutritional supplements and like what happens in nearly every family, his wife used to constantly remind him to take them! Having said that, he has just started his great love affair with USANA supplements and is also looking forward to the USANA RESET program - a 12-week weight management program, getting ready for summer!

Pictured above: Geoff with his family

Geoff gave an excellent speech at the weekly Staff Training, where he shared his sense of humour with us. From this video, you will get to know more about him – not just on the career side, but also on his life side:

Let’s welcome Geoff with a round of applause!

What’s More Touching Than Fighting Through Cancer During Pregnancy?

Cancer Council “Walk to Work Day” is on Friday 16 September 2011. It is an annual event which helps us to build regular walking into our daily routine. It sounds scary – some of us live far away from our office and have busy morning schedules. You don’t have to walk the entire way – you can use public transport and walk the rest of the way to work, and if you are based at home you can still participate by with walking to the shops, using stairs instead of the lift… After all, 15-minute’s walk per day makes a huge difference to your health!

Organised by Cancer Council Australia, this approaching event reminded us about one of our USANA Associates, Lanna Le, who fought through breast cancer without knowing that she was pregnant at that time! And more amazingly, the baby girl, Vivienne, was born healthy and has recently turned one!

The staff at USANA Australia sent a birthday card to gorgeous Vivienne and listened to Lanna’s story with ‘WOWs’ written on their faces:

“I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2010. Over the past year, I have had operations as part of the treatment process and had to have my right breast removed! My Chemo treatment started in February, and three months later, I received the news that I was pregnant and at 20 weeks! It’s hard to describe my feelings at the time – shall I be happy or be worried?!

I put the treatment on hold as the doctors suggested give up on my baby (Vivienne) due to the treatment, medication and operations occurred. They were concerned that the baby would not have a healthy life, but after several scans we were surprised and elated to find that the results were positive! With these results and a strong desire to have a baby, I decided to take the risk and keep my baby. All I could do at that time was pray and hope for the best.

As time progressed, my skeletal structure became weaken with the baby’s natural growth; I started to feel strain on my lower back and legs. It was clear that I could not wait for 40 weeks to deliver the baby, so I had a Caesarean at the 31st week. Amazingly, Vivienne was born health! The moment that I held her in my arms, I burst into tears! Two months later, after two operations on my back and lower right thigh, I came back home with my precious healthy princess. She is such a miracle!”

This story made me think about families and connections. Family members will worry with you, stand by you, and provide ongoing support. They will congratulate you on your achievements, help you through your difficulties and be there for you whatever the circumstances.

Lanna’s USANA team played the role of a family during this tough stage in her life. When Lanna was first diagnosed with breast cancer, she met Annie Tran and Annie’s mother, who helped her understand Buddhism and understand trust and courage. “The mental support that they gave me was just in time and gave me enough courage to fight the cancer, as well as fight to keep my baby.” Lanna says. Lanna was introduced to USANA by Annie Tran and Luyen Pham, and Lanna’s USANA team has been by her side from the beginning! What a big warm family!

Pictured above: Annie Tran with Vivienne in the hospital

Show your support to Lanna by leaving comments below.

USANA Biz Centre: How To Balance Work And Life

Sometimes it feels as if all we do is work. If you run your own business, you often end up working 12 hours a day, and most weekends too, to make sure it's a success. That's all well and good, but you need balance in your life. You have to make time for keeping fit and healthy, for spending time with family and friends, and for hobbies and relaxing.

Here are some tips for creating work / life balance:

Work smarter: often, we create extra work for ourselves, or we spend too much time performing tasks that don't contribute to our bottom line. We're working, but not being productive. It's time to spring-clean your work habits.

How much time do you spend checking email and social networks during the day? Do this once in the morning, and then shut it off. Do you surf the Internet looking for inspiration or "catching up on industry news?" Set yourself a timer for 20 minutes while you have your morning coffee, and when it goes off, stop surfing and get back to work.

Other ideas to increase productivity include taking regular breaks. Yes, if you take more breaks, you give your mind a chance to rest, and you can come back to your work with fresh eyes. A five-minute break can be all you need to crack a problem that's been plaguing you for hours.

And remember that you don't have to do everything yourself. You're not a failure if you ask for help. There are other people in your team who are better at certain activities than you are. Why not give them some of your difficult work in exchange for some of theirs? You'll both get the work done faster, because you're working on something you're good at.

Instead of multi-tasking and writing endless to-do lists, start the day by prioritising only two important tasks that need to be done. Let everything else fall behind those two important tasks. Focusing on these two tasks will keep you on task and motivated.

Most people find that by using productivity techniques they can cut their work hours down by half, gaining more time to spend on other activities.

Be engaged during family time: all too often when we're eating dinner or watching a movie with our family, our minds are distracted other things. Make an effort to be physically and emotionally present during family time – get the family together for a board game, and engage conversation at dinner. Make the time you do spend together worthwhile.

Negotiate flexible hours: If you work for a company, explain to your boss that you're having trouble maintaining work/life balance, and ask if you can have a flexible work schedule, or if you can work from home a couple of days per week. You never know unless you ask!

Learn to say no: Don't forget, the only person responsible for how you spend your time is you. Learn to notice when you feel worn out and overworked, and don't feel bad about saying "no" to overtime and new projects. You don't need the money as much as you need your health, your sanity and your family.

For those who agree that ‘We don’t live for work, we work to live’, put your hands up!

USANA Wishes All The Dads Out There - Happy Father’s Day

How do you describe your father? Loving, caring, fun, generous… If it’s too hard to put your feelings into the right words, then think about those moments that you spent with him – the moment that he held you up to his shoulder, when you wanted to watch a clown performing in the crowds; The moment that he took you to a playground and taught you the tricks of playing rugby properly; Even the moment that you asked question like ‘Where do babies come from?’… The American author, Helen Keller said, “The best and most beautiful things in this world can not be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” This is so true.

If you think your father rocks, here is a perfect opportunity for you to say ‘THANK YOU’ , as Father’s Day in Australian and New Zealand is only a few steps away. And of course, what better way to say it than with a nice gift pack? Luckily, USANA’s got you covered with great gift ideas that your dad will enjoy from inside out!

Gift idea #1 – USANA Sensé Basic Pack
Who says men don’t need skin care products?! Men these days all want to maintain a younger looking, healthy face. Make sure they are getting the right skin care products, the natural ones without added paraben, to comfort their sensitive after-shave skin.


Gift idea #2 – USANA RESET
This is a 12-week’s weight management program. It helps your dad stay fit, yet while also providing the essential nutrition that he needs for his day-to-day ‘missions’. Remember, it’s not easy being a father – he needs to carry the burdens for his family - and how can he do that without a healthy body?

Gift idea #3 – USANA Rev3
It’s always nice to give your dad a healthy energy pump whenever he needs it. USANA’s Rev Energy Surge^TM is a perfect choice, for its non-chemicals, non-artificial flavours and sweeteners factors. A nice tip: it tastes more sensational chilled.

Gift idea #4 - the mini USANA Health Essentials magazine, issue 6
In issue 6 of the Health Essentials magazine, we focus on some of the key men’s health problems. Your dad will get excellent tips from health experts, learn how to look after himself to stay healthier and feel younger.

On behalf of the entire USANA family, we would like to say ‘Happy Father’s Day!’ to all the fathers in the world. Fathers rock!