Expectation of life at the dawn of the 21st century is higher than ever because of the reduced incidence of infectious diseases - but it

could be higher still and quality of life could also be better. Unfortunately, in place of the infections to which our ancestors

succumbed, chronic illnesses - including heart disease, diabetes and cancer have now become established as the major killers. Few

people realize that this epidemic of chronic disease is largely preventable through diet and lifestyle changes.

Although good nutrition is the foundation of good health, many people do not reach their recommended target intakes for vitamins

and minerals. This is mainly due to lack of exercise and poor food choice. Year by year, surveys show that food intakes are going

down but average body weight is increasing. The explanation is lack of exercise. People reduce their food consumption to avoid

becoming overweight, but this also reduces the intake of vitamins and minerals, as well as reducing calories. Lack of nutrient-rich

fruit and vegetables and wholegrain cereals in the diet adds to the problem.

Poor health is often associated with low intakes of essential nutrients - the cells of the immune and nervous systems are particularly

susceptible. The body's ability to maintain normal healthy functioning of cells depends on homeostasis, its self healing capacity. An

important element in homeostasis is the supply of nutrients, and each cell requires more than 40 of these, as well as protective

substances, called phytochemicals, from plants.

Another important contributor to homeostasis is the elimination of toxic end-products of metabolism from a cell. Elimination

requires a healthy circulation and good liver and kidney function, all of which rely on adequate intakes of vitamins, minerals and

phytochemicals. Inadequate nutrition or inadequate elimination results in cells becoming stressed, so they begin to function

abnormally. If this situation persists, normal homeostatic control breaks down, and eventually disease results.

Since many chronic illnesses derive from years of poor food choice, health is likely to be restored more quickly if supplements are

taken at the same time as the changeover to a good diet is made. For example, the inflammation associated with asthma, eczema,

psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis is likely to respond much more quickly to supplementation with vitamins C and E and omega-3

EFAs than to dietary improvement alone - even though achieving improvement through diet is the long-term ideal. You may also

find your symptoms disappear more quickly if you take a combination of supplements. This is because all cells require all nutrients at

the same time.

Natural medicines are mild in effect and have greater therapeutic potential when taken in combination - herbs can be taken along

with vitamins and minerals to help speed the healing process. Scientific research backs up the historical use of the herbs described in

this book; they are rich sources of numerous phytochemicals, and, like nutrients, they have healing effects on all the body's cell, as

well as on specific organs.

It is now widely acknowledged that lifestyle changes paying close attention to the diet, exercise and weight, as well as limiting

alcohol intake and stopping smoking have a vital role to pay in the business of staying well. These kinds of changes can not only help

to prevent or relieve common complaints, including backache and constipation, but can also reduce the risk of serious ailments such

as heart disease and cancer. Vitamins, minerals and other nutritional supplements can reinforce and enhance the benefits of these

self-care measures, which are also essential to ensure not just the absence of illness but the capacity to lead a full, vital, productive life.

We have been innovating and producing fine quality nutritional supplements. Our ongoing mission is to provide consumers with

top-quality, innovative, science-based nutritional supplements to enhance their total health and well-being. We are committed to

exclusively distributing our products in the natural products industry where knowledgeable retailers worldwide can guide

consumers through the vast array of choices.

Brought to you by

SKC Lifesciences KBC Harrow Exchange,2 Gayton Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2XU,London, UK.

SKC Lifesciences Gold Standard Nutrition Supplements and Vitamins with Botanical Extracts

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wA vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. The term vitamin was derived from "vitamine," a combination word from vital and amine, because it was suggested that the organic micronutrient food factors which prevented beriberi and perhaps other similar dietary-deficiency diseases, might be chemical amines. This proved incorrect for the micronutrient class, and the word was shortened. Today, a chemical compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on the circumstances and the particular organism. For example, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is a vitamin for humans, but not for most other animals, and biotin and vitamin D are required in the human diet only in certain circumstances. The term vitamin does not include other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids, nor does it encompass the large number of other nutrients that promote health but are otherwise required less often.

wVitamins are classified by their biological and chemical activity, not their structure. Thus, each "vitamin" refers to a number of vitamer compounds that all show the biological activity associated with a particular vitamin. Such a set of chemicals are grouped under an alphabetized vitamin "generic descriptor" title, such as "vitamin A", which includes the compounds retinal, retinol, and four known carotenoids. Vitamers by definition are convertible to the active form of the vitamin in the body, and are sometimes inter-convertible to one another, as well.

wVitamins have diverse biochemical functions. Some have hormone-like functions as regulators of mineral metabolism (e.g. vitamin D), or regulators of cell and tissue growth and differentiation (e.g. some forms of vitamin A). Others function as antioxidants (e.g. vitamin E and sometimes vitamin C). The largest number of vitamins (e.g. B complex vitamins) function as precursors for enzyme cofactors, that help enzymes in their work as catalysts in metabolism. In this role, vitamins may be tightly bound to enzymes as part of prosthetic groups: for example, biotin is part of enzymes involved in making fatty acids. Alternately, vitamins may also be less tightly bound to enzyme catalysts as coenzymes, detachable molecules which function to carry chemical groups or electrons between molecules. For example, folic acid carries various forms of carbon group methyl, formyl and methylene - in the cell. Although these roles in assisting enzyme-substrate reactions are vitamins' best-known function, the other vitamin functions are equally important.

wUntil the 1900s, vitamins were obtained solely through food intake, and changes in diet (which, for example, could occur during a particular growing season) can alter the types and amounts of vitamins ingested. Vitamins have been produced as commodity chemicals and made widely available as inexpensive pills for several decades, allowing supplementation of the dietary intake.

Vitamins

VitaminsSKCLifesciences

ProbioticsProbiotics & PrebioticsThe gut contains billions of bacteria. These play a vital role in the normal functioning of thedigestive system, the lowering of blood cholesterol levels, the promotion of the immune response, protection from colon cancer, and the synthesis of certain vitamins. They also prevent colonisation of the gut by harmful bacteria that may cause food poisoning.

Stress, antibiotics, certain drugs and female hormones can cause a proliferation of disease causingbacteria at the expense of numbers of the bacteria that keep us healthy. However, the balance of microbes in intestines may be improved by taking probiotics probably the most widely available functional foods.

Probiotics come in the form of bioyoghurts, milkbased drinks, fruit juices with added 'friendly' bacteria. The most commonly used , friendly bacteria are the lactobacilli (acidophilus) and bifido-bacteria (bifidus) families. To be effective they may have to be eaten daily, or the improved colonisation of the gut may not be sustained.

Prebiotics - also used to improve intestinal, health - are carbohydrates that pass unchanged through the digestive system and enter the large bowel, where they act as nutrients for `friendly' bacteria, ' including those that may have been taken in probiotics.

The `friendly' bacteria are then able to compete more successfully against the harmful micro-organisms,-resulting in a healthier gut function.

Antioxidants

Although oxidation reactions are crucial for life, they can also be damaging; hence, plants and animals maintain complex systems of multiple types of antioxidants, such as glutathione, vitamin C, and vitamin E as well as enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase and various peroxidases. Low levels of antioxidants, or inhibition of the antioxidant enzymes, cause oxidative stress and may damage or kill cells.

As oxidative stress might be an important part of many human diseases, the use of antioxidants in pharmacology is intensively studied, particularly as treatments for stroke and neurodegenerative diseases. However, it is unknown whether oxidative stress is the cause or the consequence of disease.

Antioxidants are widely used as ingredients in dietary supplements in the hope of maintaining health and preventing diseases such as cancer and coronary heart disease. Although initial studies suggested that antioxidant supplements might promote health, later large clinical trials did not detect any benefit and suggested instead that excess supplementation may be harmful. In addition to these uses of natural antioxidants in medicine, these compounds have many industrial uses, such as preservatives in food and cosmetics and preventing the degradation of rubber and gasoline.

Carotenoids

Antioxidants An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves. As a result, antioxidants are often reducing agents such as thiols, ascorbic acid or polyphenols. SKC

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Minerals

wMinerals are present in the body

in small amounts: in total they

add up to only 4% of body

weight.

wThese inorganic substances are

essential for a wide range of vital

processes, from basic bone

formation to the normal

functioning of the heart and

digestive system.

wA number of minerals have been

linked to the prevention of

cancer, osteoporosis and other

chronic illnesses.

wHumans must replenish their

mineral supplies through food or

with supplements.

wOf more than 60 different

minerals in the body, only 22 are

considered essential.

wOf these, seven - including

calcium, chloride, magnesium,

phosphorus, potassium, sodium

and sulphur - are usually called

macrominerals, or major

minerals.

wThe other 15 minerals are called

trace minerals, or microminerals,

because the amount needed each

day for good health is tiny

(usually measured in

micrograms, or millionths of a

gram).

Minerals

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Amino Acids

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Can You Battle Joint Pain Naturally and Effectively?

If you don't bounce out of bed like you use to or the staircase is not the only thing creaking when you ascend the stairs, you may be quick to dismiss it as part of the aging process. But if those creaking joints are accompanied by sharp and/or radiating pain in your knees, ankles, back, shoulders or any place where two or more bones connect, the condition may require more attention.

While aging is the common reason for joint pain, it is not the only reason. Joint pain is the result of stiff or worn cartilage connecting two or more bones together. The stiffness coupled with inflammation triggers joint pain. Dr. Kristine Clark, a world renown doctor and Fellow at the American Academy of Sports Medicine states, "The deterioration of cartilage in joints may explain the loss of flexibility and increased stiffness that many people experience in their weight-bearing joints, such as knees and hips. Chronic joint symptoms are the leading cause of disability in people 18 and over. And, the over-50 crowd is expected to double by 2020."

What causes joints to become stiff and inflamed?Stiff, inflamed, achy joints are a symptom in several conditions including injury, fibromyalgia, bursitis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, lupus and tendinitis. These conditions are not only painful to live with but cause a significant decrease in one's quality of life and daily activities. You may find it difficult to take part in your favorite activities such as gardening, golf, or simply enjoying a walk in the park. You do have options and there are alternatives for you to consider.

Which treatment option is best for you?There have been many recent studies, such as the GAIT study, which have examined a variety of natural joint care supplements. The clinical findings have shown there are several substances that alleviate inflammation and pain in arthritis sufferers. Glucosamine and Chondroitin, work best when taken together. They have been shown to alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, and stop the progression of arthritis. Other ingredients such as MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) and Boswellia Serrata also have proven benefit in maintaining healthy joints. Rutin, trypsin, and bromelain have been clinically proven to be as effective a pain reliever as the prescription NSAID - diclofenac.

How do you pick a great joint supplement?Joint supplements are becoming a viable option for those suffering from joint pain. There are vast differences between joint support products. It is a scientific fact that not all joint supplements can achieve the same level of results or produce the same level of positive outcome that you are looking for. The quality, efficacy, and potency of products within the industry vary from poor to outstanding. How can one make the most informed decision? The choices on the market are overwhelming, having evaluated over 250 joint supplements we looked at the most current scientific research and established a list of criteria that makes a joint product outstanding. We chose essential ingredients need to decrease joint pain, promote joint, cartilage and tissue regeneration, ability to prevent recurring damage, promote joint mobility and flexibility, and developed our range of Joint Support supplements.

Bone and Joint Health

Bone and Joint HealthSKCLifesciences

Eye Health

Are the eyes “windows to the soul,” as the ancient proverb has it? Maybe. But they're also portals through which one can glimpse signs of health problems -- not only eye disorders like cataracts and glaucoma, but also systemic illnesses like diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Sometimes the signs of these diseases are visible in, on, or around the eyes long before symptoms appear.

The eyes truly are unique real estate; they're the only place in the body where you can see a bare nerve, a bare artery, and a bare vein without doing any cutting. And the disease processes we see occurring in the eye are probably occurring in the rest of the body.

The list of systemic diseases that can have ocular manifestations is a long one; in addition to diabetes and cardiovascular disease, it includes aneurysms, HIV, cancer, and rare hereditary diseases. The list is one reason eye experts recommend periodic eye exams.

Everyone should have a comprehensive eye exam by age 40, people who have a family history of eye problems should be seen earlier, and anyone who is having eye trouble should see a doctor right away. But people shouldn't wait until they experience symptoms to see a doctor, because many eye problems are silent, meaning they cause no symptoms. To keep the eye health under control, proper assistance with food and natural supplements, minerals and vitamins are quite essential.

Immune support

The body must contend with constant attacks by microscopic organisms. In order to defend against this onslaught, it deploys a wide range of defenses that together are called the immune system.

People with diseases that cause immune deficiency, fall victim to infectious microorganisms that a healthy person could ward off easily. However, even healthy people get sick from time to time, victims of infections that manage to sneak by the defenses. And some apparently healthy people get sick quite often.

If you fall into this latter category, you may wish to find treatments that can strengthen your immune system. To explain how to improve resistance to illness, we need to delve a bit deeper into the nature of immunity.

The Immune SystemThe immune system consists primarily of various types of white blood cells and the chemicals that they manufacture (such as antibodies). In certain conditions, such as AIDS, many of these white blood cells are damaged or dead. In such cases, the term immune deficiency is clearly appropriate. The circumstance is analogous to an army that lacks, say, guns.

However, careful examination of most people who get frequent colds (or bladder infections or herpes attacks, for example) fails to turn up any visible deficits in the immune system. They have all the immune cells and antibodies they need in roughly the right amounts and all the various parts appear to work just fine. So why do such people get sick so often? One can hypothesize that in some people the immune system fails to function properly for a relatively subtle, invisible reason, much as a well-equipped army might lose its fighting form due to apathy or disunity. However, keep in mind that even people who develop frequent colds manage to fight off thousands of other infections every day. (If they didn't, they would be dead.)

For this reason, an alternate hypothesis comes to mind: that over-susceptibility to a particular type of infection may be caused by something more specific than general immune weakness. As an example, chronically inflamed mucous membranes might lead to frequent colds, since an inflamed mucous membrane may be more porous to cold viruses. Similarly, a woman's bladder wall might allow particularly easy attachment of bacteria, leading to frequent bladder infections.

The bottom line is, functioning of the immune system, like most systems in the body, is dependent on proper nutrition. It has been long known that severe malnutrition leads to immunodeficiency. Overnutrition is also associated with diseases such as diabetes and obesity, which are known to affect immune function. More moderate malnutrition, as well as certain specific trace mineral and nutrient deficiencies, can also compromise the immune response.

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Energy & Endurance

Weight Management

Cardiovascular Health

The circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients (such as amino acids and electrolytes), gases, hormones, blood cells, etc. to and from cells in the body to help fight diseases and help stabilize body temperature and pH to maintain homeostasis.

This system may be seen strictly as a blood distribution network, but some consider the circulatory system as composed of the cardiovascular system, which distributes blood, and the lymphatic system, which distributes lymph. While humans, as well as other vertebrates, have a closed cardiovascular system (meaning that the blood never leaves the network of arteries, veins and capillaries), some invertebrate groups have an open cardiovascular system.

Two types of fluids move through the circulatory system: blood and lymph. The blood, heart, and blood vessels form the cardiovascular system. The lymph, lymph nodes, and lymph vessels form the lymphatic system. The cardiovascular system and the lymphatic system collectively make up the circulatory system.The main components of the human cardiovascular system are the heart and the blood vessels. It includes: the pulmonary circulation, a "loop" through the lungs where blood is oxygenated; and the systemic circulation, a "loop" through the rest of the body to provide oxygenated blood. An average adult contains five to six quarts (roughly 4.7 to 5.7 liters) of blood, which consists of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Also, the digestive system works with the circulatory system to provide the nutrients the system needs to keep the heart pumping.

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Sleep Support

When many people are faced by a stressful situation at work, they respond with complete commitment, by working intensely hard at resolving it. To do this, they may work all hours, cancel vacations and cut back on sleep, all to make more time to tackle the problem. If this is short-lived, then negative effects will be minimal and success will often be spectacular. However, if this level of hard work is sustained for a long time without relief, people increasingly risk ill-health and burnout.

We rest and sleep because we need to. Rest is what we do to let stress subside. Rest at the end of a day, and at the end of a week, helps us to calm down. On average, people need around eight hours sleep a night (although this can vary between three hours and eleven hours, depending on the person and his or her age).If we are regularly short of sleep, then our concentration and our effectiveness suffer and our energy levels decline. We have all seen and experienced this.

This diminishes our effectiveness in our job, and can therefore increase stress: As our concentration wanders, we start to make mistakes. As our energy declines, we become less proactive in what we do, reducing our control over events. This means that a situation that is already difficult and stressful can become worse, needing even more sacrifice to bring it back under control. Make sure you get enough sleep. If you have become used to being tired all the time, you will be amazed by how sharp and energetic you will feel once you start sleeping normally.

To ensure this we may require some assistance externally by way of herbo-mineral supplements and vitamins. With this the sleep management becomes easier and return of the essential energy levels are restored.

Maternal & Infant health

Maternal & Infant HealthPregnancy and childbirth have an enormous impact on the physical, mental, emotional, and socioeconomic health of women and their families. Research and supports programs to improve women's health before, during, and after pregnancy, and to reduce both short and long-term complications herbo-mineral supplements and vitamins programs are required. Our goal is to help ensure that all women have a safe and healthy pregnancy.

While maternal death is the most extreme pregnancy-related problem, many more women are affected by pregnancy-related complications, such as— depression;— complications of obesity;— severe medical problems requiring blood transfusions and longer hospital stays;— gestational diabetes and other chronic medical conditions; and— preterm birth.

Pregnancy-related health consequences are influenced by women's health conditions as well as other factors such as race, ethnicity, age, and income. CDC collaborates with private and public partners to reduce the high rates of poor outcomes experienced by some racial and ethnic groups and to improve the pregnancy and delivery experience for all women.

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Multiples

A multivitamin is a preparation intended to supplement a human diet with vitamins, dietary minerals and other nutritional elements. Such preparations are available in the form of tablets, capsules, pastilles, powders, liquids and injectable formulations. Other than injectable formulations, which are only available and administered under medical supervision, multivitamins are recognized by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (the United Nations' authority on food standards) as a category of food. Multivitamin supplements are commonly provided in combination with minerals. A multivitamin/mineral supplement is defined in the United States as a supplement containing 3 or more vitamins and minerals that does not include herbs, hormones, or drugs, where each vitamin and mineral is included at a dose below the tolerable upper level, as determined by the Food and Drug Board, and does not present a risk of adverse health effects.

The terms multivitamin and multimineral are often used interchangeably. There is no scientific definition for either. Linguistically, the terms are compounded words of which meaning can be derived in that capacity.

Many multivitamins are formulated and/or labeled to differentiate consumer sectors e.g. prenatal, children, mature or 50+, men's, women's, diabetic, stress or megavitamin. Consumer multivitamin formulas are available as tablets, capsules, bulk powder, or liquid. Once and twice per day multivitamin formulas dominate common usage, although some formulas are designed for consumption 37 times per day or even allow hourly use.

Multiples SKCLifesciences

Proteins• Complete essential amino acid profile• Superior biological protein value• Highly efficient ion-exchanged, micro-

filtered, and hydrolyzed whey concentrates• Low-heat, non-chemical whey extraction

process• With free-form L-Glutamine• Free-form branched chain amino acids

(BCAA’s)• Free of lactose and starch• Low in fat• Easy to mix• Smooth, natural flavor with no artificial

sweeteners or flavors.

Whey is the protein of choice because of its:l Efficient utilization in the body due to its

high biological value (BV)l Natural source of branched chain amino

acidsl Potent source of lactalbuminl Unique source of immunoglobulinsBirla NourishProtein Powder is a highly

efficient, scientifically advanced protein

enhancement product. It is formulated with

a blend of three, uniquely processed whey

protein concentrates. Each process: ion-

exchange, micro-filtration, and

hydrolyzation adds to Protein Powder's

amino acid availability, absorption, and

protein utilization. Available in the

following natural flavors:Chocolate Cocoa Bean, Honey Nut, Mixed

Berry, and Vanilla Bean.

Birla NourishProtein Powder also includes

two beneficial ingredients, free-form L-

Glutamine and free-form Branched Chain

Amino Acids (BCAA's). L-Glutamine plays

a significant role in supporting muscle

mass. BCAA's help promote protein

synthesis which assists in decreasing the

breakdown of muscle under stressful

conditions. Both L-Glutamine and BCAA's

are used by muscle tissue as a source of

energy.

In addition, Birla NourishProtein Powder is

free of starch and lactose and is low in fat.

Plus, its delicious flavor blends easily and

tastes great in water, milk, or your favorite

juice. It can even be added to sauces, soups,

cereals, muffins, pancakes, and other bake

mixes. It is an excellent way to add extra

high-quality protein to your daily caloric

intake.

Plant sterolsA group of plant chemicals with a structure similar to cholesterol is plant sterols. They are not absorbed by the gut, but have been found to reduce the absorption of cholesterol both from foods;, and from the bile that the liver discharges into the intestine.

Plant sterols can lower blood cholesterol levels and thereby reduce the risk of heart disease. For this reason they are added to some margarines and sold as functional foods; a certain amount of the margarine must be eaten each day for the desired effect to be achieved.

Bone HealthCalcium, magnesium and vitamin D are believed to be the most important nutrients for bone health. For decades white flour has been fortified with calcium, and margarines fortified with vitamin D. Functional foods containing nutrients to aid bone health have also now become available. They include fortified orange juice, cereal bars and chocolate drinks.

PhytoestrogensHigh intakes of isoflavones, the most active phytoestrogens in the human diet, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and some cancers, including breast, prostate and bowel cancer. They may also help to reduce menopausal symptoms and the risk of osteoporosis. Functional foods containing soya protein or the pure isoflavones are being developed.

Enhanced foods such as bioyoghurts and cereals with added nutrients are growing in popularity. Some can boost vitamin and mineral levels; others show promise in preventing or treating ailments, but more research is needed to prove their worth. The big advantage of these 'functional' or 'fortified' foods lies in the amounts of 'macronutrients', such as calcium and omega-3 fatty acids, that they contain much more than tablets.

Functional foods are foods meant to offer a specific health benefit over and above the level of nutrients found in their ' conventional counterparts.`

Fortified foods have had extra vitamins and/or minerals added so that one portion of the food will provide a substantial percentage of the recommended daily intake of that nutrient.

Examples of functional foods include bioyoghurts containing' specially selected bacteria, and spreads with cholesterol-lowering agents.

Folic acidA low folic acid intake has been linked to increased blood levels of homocysteine, and possibly to incidence of cancer of the colon and Alzheimer's disease.Homocysteine is a product of protein metabolism found in the

Foods

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