The NingXia Red Advantage: Seven Pillars of Health   "Try this new juice! No! Our drink has a higher ORAC score!" Everywhere you turn today, there's a new antioxidant juice on the market.   One antioxidant drink cobbles together a dizzying mixture of some twenty-two ingredients. A high ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) score is promised on their label: "1 fluid oz. provides the antioxidant protection of more than 10 servings of fruits & vegetables." But unlike nutritious fruits and vegetables, their juice comes with a warning that it is not intended for pregnant or nursing women, or those under the age of eighteen. Also, you can't take aspirin and drink their juice. (And this is a health beverage?)   Young Living wants you to be able to separate truth from exaggerated claims. There really is a superior juice that is naturally healthy with a great taste -- NingXia Red.   One: The Powerful NingXia Wolfberry This mighty Chinese berry was scientifically studied as early as 1949, according to the National Library of Medicine (PubMed). Approximately 150 studies have been done on Lycium barbarum, the botanical name for wolfberry, called goji in Chinese. [A PubMed search was done on wolfberry, Lycium barbarum, lycii fructus, and Gouqizi (goji).]   The wolfberry is revered in China, where its numerous health benefits have been proclaimed for millennia in traditional medical texts. Jam-packed with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, polysaccharides, antioxidants, and more, wolfberries can honestly be described as nature's "magic bullet." What other fruit outperforms oranges and carrots in vitamin power and also contains protein?   Since the introduction of Berry Young Juice in 2001, a lot of drinks containing wolfberry have appeared in the marketplace. But when these other juices are tested for one sure measure of potency, their antioxidant capacity, they fall far below our product. How can that be?   Something goes wrong between the wolfberry fields of China and the delivery of their bottled juice. Sadly, the goodness of wolfberries is compromised. The powerful nutrients found naturally in wolfberries are no longer there.   Because Young Living uses whole-fruit wolfberry puree and not just the juice, NingXia Red comes to you bursting with powerful health benefits. No one else uses this nutrient-dense puree or the procedure that preserves the nutrient content of the wolfberry.   Young Living has access to a patented process in China's Ningxia province that captures and preserves the essence of whole wolfberries in this power-packed puree.     The "Nutrient-Guard preparation captures the natural goodness of wolfberries, including the water-soluble plant pigments that give them their unique reddish- orange color. These plant pigments are flavonoids, carotenoids, polyphenols, and anthocyanidins. Richly antioxidant, the therapeutic benefits of these com- pounds are carefully preserved in this proprietary procedure and are guaranteed to be found in each and every bottle of NingXia Red.     Two: Heart Health   At the heart of health is, well, the heart! Supporting a healthy heart should be a major priority Ancient Chinese texts described wolfberries as fortifying "chi" or the flow of energy and vitality. Without our marvelously efficient heart sending oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, there is no life force! In the new book, Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood, Gary Young, Ronald Lawrence, M.D., PhD.,  and Marc Schreuder list sixty-seven medical studies showing how wolfberries support healthy heart function. One important study shows how oxidized cholesterol is believed to be the culprit behind plaque buildup in arteries. This is one more reason why antioxidants are vital! The antioxidant power of NingXia Red is documented by Brunswick Laboratories' ORAC testing.   Several other studies discuss a correlation between inadequate mineral consumption and poor heart health. An important benefit of the wolfberry is that it is rich in cardio-protective minerals.   Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood notes: "What makes the Ningxia wolfberry so rare among foods is that it is replete in three cardio-protective minerals, not just one or two. This may be due to the Ningxia wolfberry's being grown in soil fed by ion-rich glacial runoff that endows it with an unsurpassed profile of both trace minerals (i.e., chromium) and macro minerals (magnesium and potassium). With 18 trace minerals and the highest known potassium content of any food, the Ningxia's mineral content makes it a powerful medicine for the heart." (1)      Three: Increased Immunity   It was predicted that 2000 would be the start of the decade of increased awareness of the importance of the immune system. And it's now true that consumers are beginning to understand that it is more important to support the immune system now than to pay for illness later, By providing immune system support today, the wise consumer will reap vital health in the years to come.   The immune system is diverse and complex. One important segment of immunity is comprised of the antibodies called immunoglobulins and gammaglobulins. These antibodies are produced by white blood cells, and they bind themselves to toxins, disabling the chemical action of the toxin. Once one of these antibodies binds to the outer portion of a virus or bacteria, it is no longer able to move through cell walls and cause illness or disease. The more immune system antibodies, the better the protection against invading viruses and bacteria.   Here again, wolfberries have been found to be a valued immune system support.   In a 1988 report published by the State Scientific and Technological Commission of China, researchers discovered that after eating 50 grams of wolfberries, human volunteers showed a 700-point increase in white blood cell count and a 75 percent increase in the antibody immunoglobulin A (IgA). In more recent studies, Ningxia wolfberry polysaccharides stimulated production of interleukin-2, another part of immunity that protects against cancer cells and microbial invasion. (2)   Health consultant Dr. Zheng-Xian Liu (with a doctorate in biochemistry and nutrition) commented on the unparalleled ability of Ningxia wolfberries to enhance the immune system, stating, 'Among the various species of Chinese wolfberries, Ningxia wolfberry fruit is the most potent one, and it has the highest levels of immune-stimulating polysaccharides." (3)     Four: Optimal Vision   Of our five senses, eyesight is surely the most precious and life-enriching. Losing the ability to read or just view a sunset would be devastating.   The aging process itself can be damaging to eyesight. Without adequate intake of antioxidants, free radical attacks can cause an ailment called age-related macular degeneration. Another drawback of aging is the slowing of "dark adaptation," meaning how quickly eyes can adjust from light to dark. Chinese scientists found that wolfberries significantly improved dark adaptation in test subjects who consumed 50 grams of wolfberries daily for thirty-four days. (4)   Pick up any commercial multivitamin bottle and you'll see lutein prominently mentioned for eye health. But of the eye preserving caroteinoids (vitamin A components), research has shown that zeaxanthin has far stronger biological activity. A chart in Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood shows that the highest regular food source for zeaxanthin is egg yolk, measuring 1,253 mcg per 100 grams. But there is a source that makes egg yolks a very distant second! One hundred grams of dried Ningxia wolfberries contain 27,800 mcg of zeaxanthin! (5)   NingXia Red is also brimming with eye-supporting polyphenols (like ellagic acid) and minerals like zinc and magnesium. Vitamin C is particularly beneficial for ocular health, along with the amino acid taurine -- also found in NingXia Red.     Five: Liver Support   Your liver is a 24/7, over-achieving, type-A kind of organ! Its many roles include metabolism, detoxification, glycogen storage, plasma protein synthesis, and bile production for proper digestion. It is so vital to your health that if necessary, it is capable of regenerating itself from as little as 25 percent of a remaining liver into a whole new liver again. No other organ has this ability.     Free radicals, naturally occur- ring food toxins, and environmental poisons all tax liver health to an alarming degree. When you see the term, "hepatoprotective," it is describing something that protects the liver. Emerging wolfberry research has shown these little berries are almost like liver armor -- they are incredibly hepatoprotective!   A nifty, newly discovered wolfberry compound called a cerebroside has been found to protect the liver from environmental insults. Cerebrosides are a combination of sugar and fat (glycolipids) that in one study protected liver cells from a toxic dry-cleaning chemical better than the well-known liver protectant milk thistle extract.  (6)   Yet another hepatoprotective compound in wolfberry was discovered as recently as 2002: pyrroles. These unusual molecules have a nitrogen atom in their central ring and actually outperformed wolfberry cerebrosides in protecting the liver. (7) Both cerebrosides and pyrroles were discovered in Lycium chinense, another wolfberry species and close cousin to Lycium barbarum.     Six: Potent and Powerful Antioxidants   Always at the forefront of scientific research, Young Living commissioned the first Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) test done on dried Ningxia wolfberries in November of 2000. The results were simply amazing. Wolfberry had five times the antioxidant power of prunes, ten times the power of oranges, twelve times the power of raisins, and fifty-five times the antioxidant power of cauliflower. Wolfberry had the highest known ORAC score for any whole food.   Today, the ORAC test is much more sophisticated. It has been expanded to cover more free radicals: the hydroxyl (HORAC), peroxynitrite (NORAC), and superoxide (S-ORAC.) The superoxide free radical is the most prevalent in the body and also generates other free radicals. It is also the most damaging of all free radicals. The S-ORAC test measures superoxide scavenging activity Wolfberry again is unparalleled in its ability to scavenge and squelch the superoxide free radical -- much like a "search and destroy" mission.   NingXia Red's astounding S-ORAC score makes all other nutrient drinks  pale in comparison. (See chart.) But why the concern and worry over free radicals? The reason is that the distresses and ailments of aging are hastened by the attack of free radicals on every cell in the body.  Halt free radical damage and enjoy vibrant health for many more years!   We will include just one study for illustration. Gerontologists at Peking University found that a miniscule amount of wolfberry (0.025 percent) in a culture medium allowed an increase in the number of times human lung cells could divide from forty-nine times to sixty-one times. (8) Quoting Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood, "Using wolfberry in the nutrient broth, researchers effectively increased the lifespan of the lung tissue by 22 percent."    In addition, there is also an ingredient synergy at work in NingXia Red as the raspberries, blueberries, and pomegranates in the juice are also potent antioxidants. Even the essential oils of orange and lemon in this powerful juice contain the antioxidant d-limonene.           Seven: Sweet News -- These Sugars Are Great!   In a world awash in high fructose corn syrup, glazed doughnuts, and simple carbohydrates (that seem to turn to sugar before you even swallow), the fact that many people are starved for sugars is hard to believe.   Yet cells cannot "talk" to each other without glycoproteins (sugar and protein combined), also known as polysaccharides. When our bodies are given artificial sweeteners or an overabundance of glucose (table sugar), messages get scrambled and a host of malfunctions and illness may result. (See "The Power's in the Poly!" Young Living Magazine, April-June 2005, page 21.)   In 1994 Chinese scientists first isolated an unusual glycoprotein complex that they called "Lycium barbarum polysaccharide," Researchers began to document that this low-glycemic long-chain molecule was responsible for many of the wolfberry's strong immune-boosting and cardio-protective properties. Research on this intriguing polysaccharide continues throughout the world.   Researchers also discovered that the protein arm of the molecule contained more than 18 amino acids (proteins), while the sugar linkage contained not only the plentiful sugars glucose and galactose, but also the rare and vital sugars arabinose, shamnose, xylose, and mannose.   The essential sugars in wolfberry polysaccharides provide immune system and heart health benefits plus the ingredients for optimal cellular communication and DNA protection. The most amazing thing about these necessary sugars is that they are low glycemic.   The glycemic index measures the rate that carbohydrates break down and release glucose into the bloodstream. High-glycemic foods have a dangerous effect on insulin secretion. As poor food choices push more and more people into diabetes, high-glycemic foods must be avoided. High-glycemic foods also play a role in obesity rates increasing in every state except Oregon last year. (9)   Most fruit juices have a higher glycemic index than the whole fruits they are derived from. NingXia Red has been extensively tested and found to be low glycemic, with the same low score, 11, as agave syrup. You might wonder how that is possible with all the sugars found in wolfberries. The fiber in wolfberries keeps the sugars from "spiking" in the blood, making NingXia Red a healthy choice even for diabetics. You will notice you don't need to shake pear or white grape juice -- that is because they have no balancing fiber (and no essential sugars either). In this case, you can see the goodness of the fruit fibers in NingXia Red!   Health in a Bottle There are certainly more than seven reasons to love NingXia Red! Perhaps the best one we didn't list is the taste. How wonderful it is that something so good for you also has a delectable taste. Drink to your health with NingXia Red!       Notes  1. Gary Young, N.D., Ronald Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D., Marc Schreuder, Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood. Essential Science Publishing, 2005. 105.   2. Deng HB, et al., "Inhibiting effects of Achyranthes bidentata polysaccharide and Lycium barbarum polysaccharide on nonenzyme glycation in D-galactose induced mouse aging model," Biomed Environ Sci. 2003 Sep;l6(3):267-75.   3. Rebecca H. Madley, "Immunity: Examining nutraceuticals that can boost or modulate the body's defenses," Nutraceuticals World. July 1, 2002.   4. Li Xueru, et al., "Clinical Experiment on Lycium," Bullefin on Achievements in Schntific and Technoiogical Research. Serial 84, No. 4, 1988.   5. Young, Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood. 122.   6. Kim SY, et al., "New antihepatotoxic cerebroside from Lycium chinense fruits," J Nat Prod. 1997 Mar;60(3):274-6.   7. Chin YW, et al., "Hepatoprotective pyrrole derivatives of Lycium chinense fruits," Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2003 Jan 6;13(1):79-81.   8. Wu BY, et al., "Effect of wolfberry fruit and epimedium on DNA synthesis of the aging-youth 2BS fusion cells." Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2003 Dec;23(12):926-8.   9. "Obesity rates climbing in nearly all states," August 23, 2005, The Associated Press.         Reprinted with permission of Young Living, Lehi, UT 84043 Young Living Magazine, Oct-Dec 2005.