1. Category: Heart Health Month
A Scientific Approach to Heart Health
Note: The following article originally
appeared on USANAToday.com.
USANA scientists recently conducted a study in conjunction with a research team at the
Boston University School of Medicine. The study showed that grape-seed extract and
vitamin C may be beneficial for people who already have a form of cardiovascular
disease called coronary artery disease (CAD).
Here’s a little bit of background: Oxidative stress may impact the heart’s ability to
effectively pump blood. Over time, this impaired function has been shown to be an
important factor in the progression of CAD.
Grape-seed extract and vitamin C have been shown to significantly protect against
oxidative stress, as well as to have positive effects on blood flow. The USANA/BU team
suspected that the powerful antioxidants could support healthy blood flow through
supplementation of these two key nutrients together.

2. Researchers gave study participants, who were already
diagnosed with CAD, either a placebo or 450 mg of grape-seed extract and 1500 mg of
vitamin C. Blood samples were taken four hours after receiving the first dose, then again
four weeks after taking the same dosage every day.
Those in the treatment group showed improved antioxidant levels. Blood flow response
also showed significant improvement following the 28-day treatment relative to the
placebo group.
These results suggest (PDF) that grape-seed extract and vitamin C, working together,
may help improve vascular function in people with CAD, even in tiny peripheral blood
vessels. The results of this study were so impressive they were shared at an event
sponsored by the American Heart Association.
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USANA Research
Our research has shown that when you eat low glycemic foods, get some moderate
exercise like walking, and get a good quality supplement like the Essentials, you’ll be
well on your way to shedding the pounds and gaining health (Wyatt HR, Ogden LG,
Cassic KS, Hoagland EA, McKinnon T, Eich N, Chernyshev V, Wood T, Cuomo J, Hill
JO. Successful internet-based lifestyle change program on body weight and markers of
metabolic health. 2009.)
But USANA has done much more than just provide a solid low glycemic food option in
our Nutrimeals and Nutrition Bars, and excellent antioxidant protection in our
Essentials and HealthPak. We also offer a line of excellent Optimizers designed with
your heart in mind.
Products such as BiOmega™, Proflavanol® C100, CoQuinone® 30, Vitamin D, and
Fibergy® Plus should be part of every regimen designed to help protect your heart.
So join with me and make every month Heart Health Month. Eat plenty of fruits and
vegetables every day, to get antioxidants, bioflavonoids and fiber, get out and get some
exercise, and take the right supplements so we can all celebrate Heart Health Month next
year and well into the future.

3. Back to Previous Page
For the Love of Heart Health: Are You ‘Smart’ or
‘Dumb’?
Editor’s Note: Relying on drugs to prevent heart disease is “heart dumb.” USANA
marketing manager Camille Fletcher explains how a collaborative USANA study shows
supplementing with certain nutrients makes you “heart smart”!
Hi USANA family!
I consider myself pretty lucky in that I get to work with the awesome group of scientists
here at the Home Office every day. I can tell you from experience that they really are
committed to finding breakthroughs in nutritional science that can impact our world-class
products and, in turn, lives around the world.
But, like many of you, I don’t speak “scientist,” so I’m here to try and translate the results
of a recent USANA study that has great implications for heart health. (Special thanks to
Senior Scientist Brian Dixon, Ph.D., for walking me through it all.)
But first, allow me to rant a little…
Recently there has been some discussion about the validity of studies whose findings
promote using statin drugs as a primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in low-risk
patients with no previous history of the disease. Whether or not the studies are
trustworthy, which is questionable, it seems to me that, basically, they are trying to prove
doctors should give statin drugs to patients before those patients even have heart disease
in the name of “prevention.” Really? Does anyone else think this preventive treatment is
a little nuts?
I mean…of course, listen to your doctor, but popping a pill sure seems like the lazy way
out of taking proactive responsibility for our health. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is
largely preventable simply by incorporating healthy habits into our daily lives. I don’t

4. know about you, but I’d much rather eat some vegetables (admittedly, NOT my favorite),
get a little exercise, and take nutritional supplements—which can offer all sorts of health
benefits—rather than take a synthetic chemical drug (with coenzyme Q10-depleting side
effects) that is designed to manage a disease I don’t even have “just in case”!
Which brings us back to the study…
To further support the idea of using nutritional supplements as part of a heart smart
lifestyle, here’s my take on a study the amazing USANA scientists recently conducted in
conjunction with a research team at the Boston University School of Medicine. The study
showed that some key nutrients in dietary supplements can actually be beneficial for
patients who already have a form of CVD, so imagine what supplementing those
nutrients could mean for those who don’t have the disease.
Study Background
Maintaining healthy vascular endothelial function is important because endothelium line
our arteries and make nitric oxide to tell the muscles in the blood vessels to relax so
blood can flow through more easily. Oxidative stress appears to impact this nitric oxide
signal, impairing endothelial function. Just like an e-mail that bounces back to you
because the recipient’s mailbox is full, when free radicals clamp onto and change nitric
oxide molecules, the message from the endothelium doesn’t get through, so the vessels
stay contracted. This contraction not only makes the heart pump harder to pump blood
through a smaller “tube,” but it can also lead to eventual organ failure due to inhibited
blood flow. We all know, cutting down blood flow is NOT a good thing. Over time, this
impaired function has been shown to be a critical factor in the progression of CVD.
Grape-seed extract and vitamin C have both been widely shown to provide significant
protection against oxidative stress (i.e., to be powerful antioxidants) as well as to have
positive effects on blood pressure. The USANA/BU team suspected that there was
potential to protect nitric oxide function and, therefore, support healthy blood flow
through supplementation of these two key nutrients together.

5. Image from Human Anatomy & Physiology, fifth edition.
What They Did
Researchers gave study participants, who were already diagnosed with CVD, either a
placebo or 450 mg of grape-seed extract and 1,500 mg of vitamin C, divided into two
daily doses of two tablets. Blood samples were taken four hours after receiving the first
dose, what scientists call an “acute” measurement. Subjects then continued taking the
same dosage for four weeks and had samples drawn and measured again, called
“chronic.” The last blood samples were taken on the last day of the four weeks, again
four hours after the nutrients were taken, called “acute on chronic.”

6. The researchers measured plasma levels of vitamin C, epicatechin (bioflavonoids), and
plasma antioxidant reserve (PAR)—a measure of the blood’s resistance to oxidative
stress. They also measured blood flow using fingertip peripheral tonometry (PAT). PAT
is especially useful in measuring changes in blood flow because it focuses on the
peripheral arteries in the fingertip. Making up the majority of the blood vessels in our
bodies, peripheral arteries are those that are farthest from the heart (e.g., hands and feet,
also called “microvasculature”). They are miniscule when compared to the arteries
coming directly from the heart, so any noticeable changes are significant.
Imagine that someone tightens a blood pressure cuff around your arm. It cuts blood
supply off to the peripheral arteries in your hand and fingers. When the cuff is released, a
healthy endothelial response will trigger nitric oxide signaling to relax the vessels to
restore blood flow as quickly as possible. Those with CVD do not have a healthy
response, so blood flow tends to remain low even after the cuff is removed.
What They Found
In the treatment group, vitamin C, epicatechin, and PAR increased to varying degrees at
all three time points measured (acute, chronic, and acute on chronic)—meaning all the
antioxidant levels were improved. And, blood flow response, measured using PAT, also
showed significant improvement—meaning the endothelial function and nitric oxide
response in the peripheral arteries improved following the 28-day treatment relative to the
placebo group.
Pretty cool, huh?! These results suggest that grape-seed extract plus vitamin C work
together to improve vascular function in patients with CVD, even in those tiny peripheral
arteries. The results of this study were so impressive, in fact, that they were presented to
American Heart Association last year. I’d encourage you to share them with your friends
and family as well.

7. Now, don’t you feel heart smart?!
Check out this poster (PDF) for additional details about the collaborative study between
USANA Health Sciences and Boston University, which shows that supplementing with
grape-seed extract and vitamin C can help improve cardiovascular disease.
Back to Previous PageSupplement Spotlight: USANA’s
Proflavanol® C100
Let’s talk heart health! February is, after all, Heart Health Awareness Month, which
ties in very sweetly with Valentine’s Day, if you ask me.
Did you know that your heart is the organ in your body that does the most physical work?
Crazy, right! Well it’s not if you’re aware of everything your heart does for you. Every
day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles, and if you spread that over
a lifetime, that’s equivalent to driving to the moon and back.
Our heart is the most amazing organ with the most important function — pumping blood
to almost the entire body, non-stop, every day. It’s important to take good care of our
heart. We need to pay attention to the way we treat our entire cardiovascular system with
a special focus on the heart.

8. Heart Health, USANA, and You
USANA Health Sciences, which was just named the #1 Rated Direct Sales Merchant
Based on Customer Satisfaction in the 2011 ConsumerLab.com Survey of Vitamin and
Supplement Users, has created an exceptional supplement designed to promote sound
cardiovascular health — Proflavanol® C100.
Using innovative Nutritional Hybrid Technology, USANA created a powerful pill that
visually highlights grape seed extract and Poly C. This bilayered tablet is packed with
high-potency vitamin C and grape-seed extract to support cardiovascular health. I’m sure
we all know how important Vitamin C is as the “master antioxidant,” but many don’t
know how awesome grape seed extract really is!
Did you know that proanthocyanidins, which are present in grape seeds, play a key role
in regulating several cell processes. Working together, the combination of grape-seed
bioflavonoids and vitamin C provide excellent support for healthy circulation, which is
important for heart health.*
The brilliant minds that are behind USANA’s science always deliver. And for those of
you who have been missing out on all that Proflavanol C100 has to offer, you’d better
hurry up and start taking the Go To, Feel Good supplement. That’s what I’m calling it;
feel free to give it whatever charming name you’d like☺
Until next time vitamin lovers…
Proflavanol C100 is available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New
Zealand. Proflavanol is available in Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Malasia, and
Philippines.

9. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not
intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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Category: Heart Health Month
From USANA’s Trainers: Heart Health Month
It’s inspiring to watch the world’s elite athletes —
especially Team USANA — compete in the 2010 Winter Games. Though most of us
aren’t striving for Olympic glory, we can still take a lesson from these athletes and strive
to maintain our health.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a “From USANA’s Trainers” post. Devan Foster,
USANA’s wellness coordinator, has been busily overseeing USANA’s first-rate fitness
facilities and ensuring our employees are getting their training needs met. He’s doing a
fantastic job.
But since February is Heart Health Month, I asked Devan to share some tips and
explain the importance of a maintaining a healthy heart.
Everyone has one, and many consider it the center of human emotion. Most of you
probably know its basic function and how to care for it.
Yet according to the World Health Organization, its ailments are the world’s leading
cause of death. In fact, more than 31% of deaths in the United States each year are due to
some form of cardiovascular disease. Does that scare you? Whether it does or doesn’t,
here are some ways to help you keep your heart healthy.
How do I exercise my heart?
While we all know it’s important to exercise the heart, many wonder how best to go
about doing it. It’s really dependent on the individual, who should take into consideration
fitness level and interests.

10. The intensity of a sedentary person’s exercise may be
much lower than that of his or her highly active friend. Running, biking, swimming, and
even weight lifting are beneficial to the heart. The goal is to raise the heart rate high
enough to cause anatomical and physiological change. According to the American
College of Sports Medicine, the mode of activity may be “any activity using large muscle
groups, which can be maintained continuously, and is rhythmical and aerobic in
nature…”
How often do I exercise my heart?
The ACSM also says that effective cardiovascular exercise, is exercise that raises the
heart rate to 55%+ of an untrained individual’s maximum heart rate (Max Heart Rate =
220 – Age) and between 65%-90% of a trained individual’s maximum heart rate. The
duration of this activity should be at least 30 minutes of continuous activity, a minimum
of 3 days per week.
If you’re someone who has difficulty finding 30 continuous minutes to spare during the
day, several 10 minute bouts of high-intensity activity will suffice in strengthening the
heart.
So why should we put ourselves under such stress and oxygen deprivation? The answer
lies in the heart tissue itself.
What happens when I exercise my heart?
The heart is a muscle, and much like the muscles of your arms or legs, the more we work
it the stronger the muscle fibers get. As we strengthen the heart, its ability to pump blood
with more ease increases.

11. For example, the heart of an untrained individual at rest,
will pump between 50-70 ml/beat, whereas that of an athlete at rest will pump between
90-110 ml/beat. In addition to the increased stroke volume, the blood vessels within the
heart experience a fascinating change.
Exercise causes what is called collateral circulation. Within the heart, are many closed
vessels, called collateral blood vessels. Through exercise, these closed vessels open and
provide “alternative routes” for blood. This is extremely important in situations such as
stroke or blocked vessels of the heart because the collateral circulation may allow a
“detour” around the blockage.
Cardiovascular exercise also helps prevent arterial blockage in the first place.
Cardiovascular exercise is perhaps the most effective method to increase High Density
Lipoproteins (HDLs). HDL cholesterol is “good” cholesterol.
Think of it like a garbage truck, picking up Low Density Lipoproteins (LDLs, or bad
cholesterol) and taking them to the dump (the liver). Lowering LDL levels helps prevent
heart disease. A healthy diet high in both soluble and insoluble fiber will also help
prevent heart disease.
What else can I do?
It’s near the beginning of the year, making it the perfect time to reevaluate your personal
fitness and set goals to become healthier! Let’s find strength in numbers by joining a
running group or fitness club. Let’s find the willpower to eat a little healthier this year.
Let’s fight off heart disease, and at the same time feel better, and be the best person we
each can be!
Heart Smart
Take advantage of special savings on USANA’s popular heart-healthy products. The
Heart Smart Pack (Item #965) includes CoQuinone® 30, BioMega™, and
Proflavanol® 90, and is available through Feb. 19 for a special price (US/CA/UK).
Category: Heart Health Month