This month I will be talking about the benefits to be gained by 'Climbing Stairs', I will be shining a little light on the dangers of 'Synthetic Vitamins' and some interesting news about some 'Australian Native Fruits'.

But, first up some 'eBay Magic'.

I've just spent three days at an eye-opening 'eBay Magic' Workshop with Matt and Amanda Clarkson who live at the Gold Coast (in a fabulous apartment in the World's Tallest Residential Tower, Q1). They have an amazing story to tell about their journey with EBay.

Within 8 months, from scratch, they created a full time business turning over $50,000 per month.

Who wouldn't like to do that??

Here are just a few statistics about eBay - it may surprise you, as it did me.

• eBay has over 242 Million members globally
• they turn over nearly US$1 Billion every week
• there are 70,000 New Members Every Day
• eBay have made it possible for literally anyone to make money online....Instantly!
• unstoppable Traffic and hungry buyers

and some interesting facts and figures

• over 3000 Australians make their full time income on eBay
• 12,500 stay at home parents supplement their income
• 32.400 regional Australians make a part time income
• 5,500 retirees sell on Ebay for extra income
• there are 6.4 million new listings added daily
• a mobile phone sells every minute on eBay UK
• a piece of jewellery sells every 6 minutes on eBay India
• a CD sells every 11 seconds and a DVD every 34 seconds
• a piece of women's clothing sells every 20 seconds

What amazed me (aside from the marvellous opportunity eBay presents for anyone interested in making money) was the number of people who are wanting to improve their lifestyle. What we learnt was that eBay is not just a place to go to get a bargain or to sell your unwanted gear - its a very real big business opportunity. But, like anything else, there is a lot to learn to 'do it right'.

You could start practising by listing a few unwanted items from your wardrobe or from around the house!! It's quite a fun experience.

Did you ever stop to think about how good 'stair-climbing' is for you?

It is one of the best aerobic exercises that you can do. Counting steps instead of miles can boost your walking workout and save you time. Apparently researchers in England and Northern Ireland asked 12 sedentary women to climb a 200-step staircase, progressing from once a day to six times a day (they were allowed to take the elevator down). Each ascent took about 2 minutes, so by the end of the study, the women were exercising only 12 minutes a day.

In less than 2 months, they saw a boost in their fitness level, along with improvements in their cholesterol level, that was enough to cut their risk of cardiovascular disease by 33%.

So ... no more escalators or elevators for me if I can use the stairs!!!

You probably have often heard people say that it's no use taking vitamins - they just pass right through so that all you're doing is creating expensive urine!

And that's quite true if you take synthetic vitamin and mineral supplements.

A synthetic vitamin or mineral is a laboratory simulation of a simple version of the real thing. In the plant, the vitamin/mineral lives with many other vitamins, minerals and nutrients - the "cofactors" the body needs to absorb and use it.

If the cofactors are missing, as they are in synthetic vitamins, the body steals them from its organs, bones, muscles and other tissue. That's why taking synthetic vitamins/minerals over time can be harmful to your health. They deplete the body of other nutrients. For example, taking synthetic calcium regularly depletes the body of magnesium.

Multivitamins - blends of synthetic vitamins and minerals - don't remedy this problem. The concentrations of the vitamins and minerals in the formulas are rarely those found naturally in the plant. And many of their cofactors are missing. Some haven't even been discovered yet!

Synthetic vitamins are super-processed. They are usually manufactured at high temperatures and contain artificial or toxic ingredients, such as dyes, preservatives, coal tars, sugars, starch, and other additives. Kind of like paint or plastics.

Why would a manufacturer of health products do this? Aren't they in business to help us improve our health? Well, marketing concerns often overtake nutritional goals. Extending shelf life, making products look or taste better, meeting machine requirements, and lowering manufacturing costs, usually take precedence over nutritional value. The resulting supplements become pretty useless to us. Some experts say that they might even be dangerous over time.

Here are a few case Studies:

1. Study using synthetic beta carotene and Vitamin E halted. (reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, 1994) 29,000 male smokers were given synthetic beta carotene and synthetic Vitamin E. The study was stopped when rates of lung cancer, heart attacks and death increased.
2. Birth defects increased for women on synthetic supplements (reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, 1995) 22,000 pregnant women were given synthetic Vitamin A. The study was halted because birth defects increased 400%.
3. Men get thickened arteries on synthetic supplements. (reported in Reuters Health, March, 2000) Men who took 500 mg of synthetic Vitamin C daily over 18 months showed signs of thickening of the arteries.

Dr. Zoltan P. Rona, M.D., says that while a healthy person will not drop dead immediately after ingesting synthetic supplements, "the long-term consequences of continuous, daily intakes are potentially dangerous." Reactions include fatigue, memory loss, depression, insomnia and potential liver disorders.

Read more about Synthetic Vitamins.

An interesting article appeared recently in the publication "Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies" stating that Australian fruits may be the next "superfruits". It cites research being done on some native Australian fruits that are showing great antioxidant properties.

I found it particularly interesting because I am taking, and strongly recommend, a great antioxidant product that incorporates the Australian Bush Plum in its ingredients. You can read more about the Australian Bush Plum here. Contact me to learn more about AO, the product I recommend.

"One-quarter of what you eat keeps you alive. The other three-quarters keeps your doctor alive."

(Hieroglyph found in an ancient Egyptian tomb.)

I'll leave you with this: THE OPTIMIST CREED by Christian D Larsen with thanks to Martin Avis.

• Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
• Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
• Make all your friends feel there is something in them.
• Look at the sunny side of everything.
• Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
• Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
• Give everyone a smile.
• Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others.
• Be too big for worry and too noble for anger.

(Martin Avis writes a great little motivational newsletter called KickStart Today.)

Your Support is Appreciated! Tell everyone to sign up for this FREE newsletter at http://www.wellness-decisions.com and don't forget to download a free copy of "The Science of Getting Rich". It's quite an amazing and topical book especially considering it was written originally in 1910. (It's not just about 'Getting Rich'.)

More FREE books coming soon.

I welcome your questions, comments or requests so please contact me if you have anything you'd like to say.

Until then keep well and remember 'healthy cells = healthy bodies'.

Cheers

Jane