Big dreaming needs baby steps

You all have heard of the bucket list? The stuff you want to do before you kick it, right?

There’s even a site to help you make it.  The list, that is.

But when I talk about the good life, I mean establishing a life that you love. Something that is durable and principles and a heritage you can pass on. 

What is truly important to you? 

Family? Friends? Travel? Financial security?

Take a notebook and pen and write it down.  It may take more than one session. This is the first of many baby steps. Write down what is truly important to you.  Go. 

A Closer Look at Eye Health

March 03, 2014

by Anna McNulty

beta-carotene, macular degeneration, no email, Omega 3 essential fatty acids, Pycnogenol, vitamin A, zinc

3 Comments

Every day starts the same. You wake up, open your eyes, look at your bedroom ceiling and start your day. Your morning routine might be repetitious, but the gift of eyesight should not be taken for granted. Your eyes cannot properly function if denied the proper nutrients. Understanding how your eyes work and remain healthy is crucial in maintaining both eye health and overall wellness.

Your eyes are susceptible to many health problems throughout a lifetime, particularly that of macular degeneration as we age. Whether eye issues have  yet to become a problem for you, the fact is is that your eyes demand good care over time in order to function properly.

Stay active by exercising regularlyExercise is a key part of any healthy routine, and is especially important for eye health. In fact, regular exercise has been shown to help reduce the risk of eye conditions such as cataracts and macular degeneration. Physical activity increases heart rate, making heart muscles work more efficiently  for better blood circulation to the entire body. This includes reduced pressure to nerves including the ocular nerve within the eye. Excess ocular nerve pressure can lead to vision disorders, and in extreme cases, irreversible blindness.

In a study conducted by Tufts University, a direct link was found between healthy weight maintenance and healthy eyes. Researchers found a strong correlation between living healthy and overall eye health. Diet and exercise naturally fight the trend of obesity, which is a natural cause of type II diabetes. If left untreated, diabetes deteriorates vision in adults and can eventually lead to blindness. Committing to exercise and staying active on a daily basis is one of the best and easiest things you can do to support long-term eye health.

Maintain a diet high in nutrientsIt may seem obvious, but a diet high in nutrients naturally helps your eyes remain healthy. Leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli, for example, contain important nutrients known to combat the risk of cataracts.

Beta-carotene and Vitamin ABeta-carotene can be found in in carrots and other fruits and vegetables. It is converted into Vitamin A once inside the body and offers natural protection to the cornea, which is essential for good vision. A study performed in 2011 at Columbia University found that an altered form of Vitamin A might be able to slow the progression of Stargardt’s disease, an inherited eye disease that causes severe vision loss in young people.

Found in: Reliv Now®, Reliv Classic®,  Reliv Now® for Kids,,  Fibrestore®, Innergize!®, andSlimplicity®.

Omega-3 fatty acidsOmega-3 fatty acids are vital to eye health in early development. Found in breast milk and also added to infant formula, omega-3 fatty acids support normal and healthy vision in newborn babies. In a Harvard University study, healthy pre-term infants fed omega 3-supplemented formula showed significantly better visual acuity at 2 and 4 months compared to those who were fed formula without omega-3 fatty acids. The presence of omega-3 fatty acids in pregnant women is central to healthy vision development for their infants.

Found in: Reliv Now® for Kids, 24K ™, GlucAffect®, and ReversAge®.

ZincZinc is known as a “helper molecule” for the body. It transfers Vitamin A from the liver to the retina to produce an important chemical called melanin, a protective pigment in the eye. Found in both the retina and choroid, or the vascular tissue lying under the retina, zinc is heavily concentrated within the eye. Zinc is also associated with helping the eye see better at night.

Found in: Reliv Classic®, Reliv Now®, Reliv Now® for Kids, Slimplicity® and Innergize!®.

A Note from Dr. Carl: Achieving Eye Health Throughout Your Life

When we’re young and our eyes are healthy, it’s easy to forget about the vital function our eyes play. Many of us only realize the effect time has on our eyes later in life after much of the damage is already done. That doesn’t have to be the case.

Although some eye conditions remain genetic, the chance of developing many eye diseases can be reduced with proper care. With 22 million Americans over the age of 40 and more than half the population at age 80 having cataracts, it’s time to be aware of the nutritional needs of one of the most important organs in your body right now. Reliv can support those needs.

It’s a fact of life that our bodies wear down over time. However, just because your body is aging doesn’t mean it stops working, and that includes your eyes. ReversAge® offers youth-promoting ingredients, such as Omega-3 fatty acids, that promote eye health.

Reliv can help support healthy eyes at any age. Reliv Now® is loaded with the essential nutrition your body and eyes need, including pycnogenol and Vitamin A to remain sharp and focused throughout your day. Reliv Now® for Kids includes Omega-3 fatty acids as an extra boost for optimal eye development in children.

When it comes to eye health, let Reliv help you keep things in focus.

To your health,

Dr. Carl Hastings

Reliv Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer

This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. Reliv products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Be a positive influence today and you will see an unusual outcome.

This was an email message I got from one of my favorite people, Doug Addison on July 4. I thought to myself, ‘how can being a positive influence give me an unusual outcome?’ Let’s say we encounter 5 people each on any given morning. I get up and see my husband, greet him with a smile and a kiss. His reaction is to be warm towards the children, smile… you get the picture. I have affected positively my husband who in turn has been warm and caring to 3 children. Now I answer the phone with a smile and a hello. I make sure at the end of the conversation that I allow the other person to hang up first. No one likes to hear that cold click. (Thanks to Bob Burg for this positivity hint.) In turn, my phone caller has a lighter heart and her job is made a little less stressful. She goes to her next task less stressed. I am at the grocery store. I see an older lady reaching for a box of cereal that is too high. A helping hand lets her know she is not alone. She in turn is more pleasant to the cashier and her grand children when they come to visit. The cashier is pleasantly surprised to be called by her name, which I see on her name tag. Her co worker comes to get the cashbox key to do a refund and she shares a laugh with him. On the way home, a tourist looks bewildered on the subway and in broken English ask directions. I take 3 minutes to explain the correspondance he is looking for and his blood pressure goes down enough notches so he doesn’t yell at his 10 year old who asks for the fourth time,"Are we there yet?” The neighbour who graciously handed me the package I received when away is thanked by my daughter who made a cute card. He is careful to not let his dog mess up his other neighbour’s plants when he was walking simply because he felt good about his kind deed and the card. Today was of course an imaginary day. But these are scenarios that can happen to us on a daily basis. What is the unusual outcome? Maybe Doug didn’t mean this outcome when he posted this message and it came to my inbox. But… Count up the number of people affected by small kindnesses. The 5 orignal people plus the people they spoke with after my short kind intervention. I have counted at least 15 depending upon how many grandchildren the elderly woman in the grocery store has. What if we lived like this all day long? What if we did this every day. What would your corner of the world look like?