The party's still going strong!

Written by Ravinder Lilly

It's Friday 9 March 2012 and the second day of the Asia Pacific Convention. Having liberally applied the Rice Bran Polish, rinsed carefully and latered up liberally with moisturiser, I was set to see how my skin was shaping up at the skin analysing unit at the Convention. Unfortunately, a number of ladies and gentlemen had beaten me to it and were already there having their skin analysed...

Undeterred, I wandered back to the front entrance to sign up for the USANA True Health Foundation in order to pledge my monthly donation to this very worthy cause. It was introduced last night by Dave Wentz and it seeks to provide help for underprivileged people and children wherever in the world they are. The tables at the booth were full of people signing up to for the same great cause. Some of the people said they had chosen to give regularly to this because it was a great way of giving something back to people in need and just a few dollars per month could make a world of difference.

Dave Wentz turned up the True Health Foundation booth and I swooped for a quick interview. Asked how he felt that the new initiative to help underprivileged people all around the world was going he said, 'As you can see, it is already going wonderfully well - we have had a fantastic response to the launch of The True Health Foundation and feel privileged that our USANA family have the compassion and care to reach out to all of humanity that needs help.' He added, 'Australia has been the stage for the worldwide launch of the Foundation, truly a wonderful cause that is set to better the lives of many around the globe.'


A glance at my diary revealed there were so many speakers and so many sessions to get involved in today that it was going to be a little tricky fitting it all in.

I caught a little of Tyson Ng talking about the importance of digestion. As well as the basics - he spoke about the need to chew foods well so that the body's digestive enzymes have the opportunity to do their job well - he also spoke about how ageing reduces the body's ability to produce digestive enzyme. Even more important to eat a really healthy, balanced diet. On the plus side, Tyson advocated the use of probiotics to boost immune health and would also help cleanse the gut and remove wastes - a bit like a sweeping your insides clean of the nasties!

Tyson then focused on the body's second biggest organ - the liver. Talking about the many ways in which the liver cleanses and detoxifies the body, he urged all of us to love our liver by taking the unique liver protective formulation of HepaPlus and most importantly cutting down on sugars and saturated fats and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables including leafy greens. By the way, did you know that HepaPlus contains broccoli extract?

Then was a talk I was especially looking forward to. Being mum to not one but two teenage daughters, it was very important for me to race across and hear Michael McQueen talk about how to speak Gen Y. In his very interesting presentation, Michael revealed the stark truth. They really do speak another language and have a whole host of different qualities... For example, if you want to get through to Gen Ys as future Associates and buyers of our fab products, remember that to them, the truth is relative. Unlike us older generations, truth comes in shades of grey and not black and white and Michael urged us to understand this. Respect must be earned too - Gen Ys don't want a lock in plan - they want to be flexible. As Michael put in, 'Don't ask your Gen Ys what they want to do in five years - they may not know what they're doing in five days!' And not just career wise but also socially and in relationships.

And talking about relationships, young people are more likely to be loyal to you than to the business - until a later stage anyway. So, set the best example, don't try to be perfect - when you make mistakes, young people like it because like anyone else can, they can relate to it and to your humanity!

Next came a fascinating talk by holistic nutritionist Dr Libby Weaver. She outlined nine factors that can make it difficult to lose weight. From stress that triggers stress hormones which in turn encourage your body to store fat rather than burn it to an overworked liver which then finds it difficult to remove toxins which then build up. (Mental note - stock up on HepaPlus before it all runs out!).


Libby then went over diet and explain just why low GI foods are best: 'Nature really does know best so go for foods that are in their most natural and unprocessed way as possible.' Libby also spoke about the virtues of green vegetables which help to make the blood slightly alkaline, the pH that the body functions best at. 'Kale, cabbage and broccoli are great foods as are all green leafy vegetables.' Note to self - don't forget to pick up some HepaPlus which contains broccoli extract to go with my stir-fry tonight.

It's nearly 5pm and time to share some info from the last session of the day I went along to see. The intriguingly entitled Vitamin D - the vitamin that could change the world was presented by experienced cardiologist Dr Gerald Lewis.

He introduced his session by speaking briefly about an article in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine which showed that eating walnuts could decrease blood cholesterol by a whopping 16 per cent. Unfortunately, the way that laws stand, he said, walnut producers could not make this claim or mention the study as the research had a therapeutic effect and could thus walnuts could be deemed a drug (with cholesterol-lowering abilities akin to some trade marked medicines). Walnuts could thus bee deemed a drug - and an illegal one at that...

Dr Lewis went on to say that as an independent cardiologist, he wanted to share some of the research that has been conducted on the many health benefits of vitamin D. Having optimal levels of vitamin D has many health benefits he said. Virtually all body cells have vitamin D receptors and this vitamin is just one of many nutrients needed for the correct functioning of the cell and for the working of the genetic material DNA. DNA tells the cells when to produce hormones and other substances, when to grow and when it's time for them to be replaced. Many diseases have been linked with low levels of D including multiple sclerosis, heart disease and cancers.

We get most of our vitamin D from the sun but it seems that even in sun-drenched Australasia, many people have low levels. The only way to boost levels and get the health benefits of optimal vitamin D levels said Dr Lewis is a healthy diet, safe sun and supplements. USANA's vitamin D provides 1000 IU of vitamin D and the levels of vitamin D in BodyRox and Usanimals have also been raised in line with current research. By the way, if you don't want to take supplements, you could sunbathe in full sun for 30 minutes or drink 30 glasses of milk - each provide the same amount of vitamin D. Or, take one USANA vitamin D supplements daily.

Other highlights of the day are:

Dr Wentz and Dave Wentz at the Book Signing Session

We've got a long queue of people at the Social Media booth, who wanted to have their say about the Convention and got rewarded with USANA Social Media cushions.

These two Associates were really excited about winning the cushions!

OK that's all from me. I am off to get some more Sense Rice Bran Polisher, more brightening treatments, HepaPlus, Fibergy, Probiotic and Vitamin D. Better go before the shop shuts!

See you tomorrow!