A recent University of Oxford study followed 85,000 people wearing health trackable devices for six years. Here are some results:

• Walking 5,000 steps/day reduced the risk of cancer by 11%.
• Walking 7,000 steps/day reduced the risk of cancer by 16%.
• After 9,000 steps, the risk reduction plateaued.
• The pace of the walking did not affect these results.

The American Cancer Society says physical activity can help regulate some hormones that contribute to the development of cancer and help keep the immune system healthy. Regular exercise is associated with a lower risk of breast, prostate, colon, endometrium, and possibly pancreatic cancer.

The University of Oxford study looked at oesophageal, liver, lung, kidney, gastric, endometrial, myeloid leukemia, myeloma, colon, head and neck, rectal, bladder, and breast cancers. After six years, approximately 3 percent of participants developed one of those cancers.

I have talked about this topic before, but let me reiterate: there is nothing special about walking in itself. Here is why step-counting is so popular:

• Walking is movement, and movement is highly beneficial.
• Steps are easily measurable. What can be measured can be tracked. What is tracked can be improved.

If you don’t like steps, find another way to move. But just remember: a big key to better health is just to move regularly and move more.

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Many of our customers add supplements to their regimen over time; if not careful, those regimens get bulky and inefficient. If you think of a “hoarder” relative, but that is not a bad analogy that applies: some regimens start to resemble the house of a hoarder, full of too much unnecessary stuff, almost to the point of being dangerous.

I have noticed that some customers start to feel trapped by their regimen. They are taking a lot of stuff that has accumulated over time, and often don’t even know why they are taking some things. On the other hand, their health is working, so they are afraid to stop taking anything.

Some of you are nodding your heads at this point; I know that this hits close to home for many of our customers, and I want to help. Even if you end up buying less from Caring Sunshine, I want you to have a more efficient and cost-effective regimen.

Here are some steps to move in that direction:

• Make a list of every supplement you are taking.
• Go through that list one by one and ask yourself if you know why you are taking that supplement. What health condition or body system is it for? How do you know it helps that body system or health condition? Who told you it did, and how credible is that person?
• Look for duplication. Very often, you will find you have multiple products providing the same ingredients. While this duplication is typically not harmful, it is quite possibly not helpful either.
• Look for interactions. It is possible that you could have two products that work against each other. If you are on drugs as well, there is a risk of interaction there as well. We can help you with this analysis, by the way. Send an email to Dr. Shannyn.
• Start a log about your physical health, especially any markers/symptoms related to the supplements you take.
• If you have identified supplements that you 1) don’t know why you take, 2) are duplicating other supplements, or 3) may be interacting with other supplements/drugs, take a break from them one at a time.
• Monitor your markers/symptoms and see if anything changes. Give it time. If your health stays stable, remove that supplement from your regimen completely.

I wish I could say this is easy, but unfortunately, it’s not. It is a trial-and-error process that is time-consuming and often imprecise. However, it is also necessary if you want to maximize the effectiveness (and cost efficiency) of what you buy.

You are not alone in this.

Please let us help you. If we can help you trim down the supplements you purchase from us, that is more than OK. Take advantage of our free consultations with Dr. Shannyn Fowl.

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I have been in this business (selling nutritional supplements) for over 25 years.

Over the years, I have talked to thousands of our customers. I get the frustrations of buying supplements: the conflicting information from biased sources, the overwhelming number of options, the rising prices…

Then, when you factor in the complexity of health, with all its variables, making good decisions about what to use becomes almost unbearably hard. I know that.

What we hear from customers is tough sometimes. There are legitimate complaints about a lack of hard data and too many options (even within the Nature’s Sunshine line).

We sometimes hear from customers who are taking products, but don’t know why, and are scared to stop. We often notice customers who are overlapping products (which may waste money) or even taking products that may conflict with each other to an extent.

That is why our biggest initiative at Caring Sunshine for 2025 is helping you make better decisions about the supplements you buy. We want you to get optimal benefits at the best price.

To combat this complexity, here are some tools we have either already launched or will be launching within months:

• Our free ND consult program.
• Nutritional Supplement Audit. This is a new, expanded ND-related offering we will be launching soon. In a special consultation (which will cost a minimal amount of money), we will audit your supplement regimen for you to identify duplication/overlaps and deficiencies. Again, we want the supplements you take to work best and at the lowest price.
• Expanded product information. If you have not checked out our product pages lately, we encourage you to. Our search capabilities have been significantly updated as well. Want to find the least expensive vegetarian product at Caring Sunshine that contains at least 500 mg of calcium per serving? That is now easy to do.
• Ingredient database. We are in the final stages of building a database containing information about the hundreds of raw ingredients in nutritional supplements. We will tell you how they are used and how substantial the data is to support their use. The same database will have information about your body’s systems and how to support them (including natural remedies you can use).
• Laboratory testing. We are within weeks of launching a laboratory testing option for customers who want clinical data about what is going on in their bodies. You will have the option to take tests from the convenience of your home, and when you get the results, our ND, Dr. Shannyn Fowl, will go over them with you.

We want to be way more than a business that sells supplements; you can find those businesses everywhere. We want to be a business that makes our customers healthier, and we want the dollars they spend on supplements to go further. Education is a big key to that.

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We are dealing with a few dementia situations in our family. It is brutal and incredibly sad and feels hopeless.

I know that many/most of you have dealt with dementia situations with aging family members as well. And let’s face it: Due to the seemingly high number of dementia cases all around us, a lot of us fear that may be our fate too.

So, are you going to get dementia? I have good and bad news.

The good news is that while the number of dementia cases is indeed rising in the US, that is because people are living longer and the population of elderly people is increasing. The per-capita rate is actually in decline, and your chance of being diagnosed with dementia is actually declining substantially.

The bad news is that dementia is still a big deal and is diagnosed in close to 10% of the population. Even worse, the impact is much higher because many people with dementia never get officially diagnosed.

Who are the people most at risk for dementia? Those who are obese and/or have diabetes. There is a big correlation with poverty, but that is probably due to the higher rates of obesity/diabetes in that population (because they cannot afford quality health care).

Here are some other factors that can increase the risk: family history of dementia, uncorrected vision/hearing, high blood pressure, poor diet, lack of exercise, sleep issues, depression, and social isolation.

As you can imagine, the very best way to protect yourself from dementia is to live a healthy lifestyle. Surprisingly, recent studies show that the way you live in middle age (40-65) is especially important if you want to lower your risk.

I heard a speaker say recently that the top two fears about aging (other than dying) are vision loss and dementia. I have no doubt that is true, but please, don’t live in fear.

Just live a healthy life, live a good life, and live a hopeful life. Make the most of today. That is the only day you can be sure of.

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I live just a few blocks from an Orange Theory gym, so I have been working out there for the past few months. Since a lot of you probably live near those studios and may have considered trying them out, here is my review.

After you join an OT gym, you sign up for roughly 1-hour managed classes, which rotate through sessions with floor weights, rowers, and treadmills.

There is a big emphasis on heart rate. Many participants wear heart rate monitors and their statistics are shown on big screens in the gym. If you are shy and don’t want everyone knowing your heart rate, you don’t have to wear one, or you can just use something like an Apple watch (or just ignore your heart rate altogether).

The Orange Theory workouts are considered HIIT, meaning High-Intensity Interval Training. They are designed to push you for short periods of time and then give you brief rest periods.

OT is not for the faint of heart. It is the most challenging workout I have ever done, and I have done a lot of things. In a typical workout, you might burn 500-800 calories and end up drenched in sweat.

So, should you do something like Orange Theory? Honestly, I am not sure that most people should, because I would argue it is just a bit extreme and unnecessary. Here are some things to consider.

• It is pricey (around $150/month). There are way, way cheaper options, such as an annual subscription to Beach Body for $150/year.
• If you are not already in reasonable shape, don’t attempt it. That is especially true for older people. Plenty of older people do OT, but the majority of the studio will be young.
• If you do HIIT programs like OT, you certainly do not need to do it every day. I go 3-4 times/week and take it relatively easy on other days.
• OT gamifies things in ways that are designed to make you push yourself. That is fine to an extent, but you should never forget that real harm and injuries can come from pushing yourself too hard. If you are susceptible to pushing yourself too hard, be careful with this kind of program.
• If you have heart disease risks, avoid OT.

Above all, remember this: Just because something is hard does not mean it is best or even good. I understand the feeling of wanting to take a radical step to improve your life. However, good health does not usually require you to be radical. In fact, most of us simply need to make incremental improvements. We don’t need to run marathons; we just need to get out and walk more.

I want to reinforce that people with certain personality traits are likely to do themselves damage on these kinds of programs. I have to watch myself carefully. If I push myself too hard to hit various goals (such as a 2,000-meter row), I can end up with injuries that keep me out of the gym for weeks. In fact, pushing yourself too hard could even endanger your life.

Here is one more reminder: even if you do something extreme like OT, that should not be used as an excuse to eat badly. You cannot out-exercise a bad diet.

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Nature’s Sunshine has around 500 products, which creates a lot of overlap and confusion for many customers.

They are well aware of the confusion, and over the next few years, you will see a lot of pruning in the Nature’s Sunshine lineup. But, in the meantime, I want to give you a few thoughts about one big point of confusion: Chinese herbs and the TCM line.

There are about twenty herbal formulas based on traditional Chinese medicine that come in two varieties: a regular version and a TCM version.

Here is an example: Kidney Activator and Kidney Activator TCM.

Now, here is why this gets confusing. TCM stands for “Traditional Chinese Medicine.” However, both versions of the product are based on traditional Chinese medicine, and this phrase appears on both of those labels. In fact, the labels look almost exactly the same at first glance.

There are differences though:

• The stock number is different.
• The number of capsules is different. TCM formulas contain 30 capsules while original formulas usually have 100 capsules.
• The TCM formulas are made with concentrated herbal extracts. This means that the capsules do not just contain powdered herbs; they actually contain extracts of herbs that are standardized to a certain level o the active constituent in the herb. In other words, they are far more powerful.

The recommended dosage for TCM formulas is always one per day (while you may take anywhere from 1-6 capsules of the original formulas).

Here is what you need to know: When you see one of these products named with a TCM at the end, it does not imply that that version is based on traditional Chinese medicine while the other version is not. Both versions are based on traditional Chinese medicine. Rather, TCM means that the product is more potent because it is made with extracts.

Confusing? You bet. But that is where we are…

So which option should you take? In my opinion, the choice is clear: TCM formulas are always a better choice. They are higher quality, stronger, and generally a better value.

They are a better value because while they often cost more, a bottle usually lasts longer. As an example, if you use an original formula that requires you to take six capsules/day, a bottle with 100 capsules will only last you about 16 days. The TCM equivalent may cost 30% more but lasts 100% longer.

Again, Nature’s Sunshine is going to be trimming products to eliminate overlap over the coming years, and my guess is that all the original formulas will be eliminated eventually. However, in the meantime, choosing the TCM formula is a slam-dunk. If faced with a choice, just buy the TCM option. You won’t regret it.

Note: On Caring Sunshine, we make it very obvious which products are TCM versions. The product name will always end with TCM..

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As you probably know, fasting is an archaic but still used term that refers to going without food for a period of time.

Intermittent fasting is a strategy of limiting food intake to a fairly narrow period of the day and fasting the rest of the day. The end goal is usually weight loss.

The thinking behind intermittent fasting is sound. If you have the discipline to not eat calories during a large part of the day, you will likely eat fewer calories over the course of the full day.

While intermittent fasting seems like a reasonable way to approach weight loss, studies have shown mixed results. This is more complicated than it appears. For example, limiting all food to a narrow range of the day could overly spike blood sugar during that period of the day, leading to the production of more fat.

However, new studies have produced strong evidence that intermittent fasting is not only effective in weight management but beneficial in other ways as well.

Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Mark Mattson documents these benefits:

• Improved thinking and memory
• Improved heart health
• Improved physical performance
• Lower risk of diabetes
• Lower risk of obesity
• Improved tissue health

How does intermittent fasting compare to traditional calorie counting as a weight management technique? Here is a study that suggests it may be superior.

To be very honest, I am still not completely convinced, and more research is probably warranted. But in the meantime, if intermittent fasting feels natural for you and is a weight management strategy that helps you limit food intake, current science is in your corner.

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The top fear about aging is declining mental capacity. My guess is many of you have fears about cognitive decline. I do too, especially when observing the devastating effects of dementia and similar diseases on family members.

Be positive: Cognitive decline is on the increase in the United States and worldwide, but the increase is primarily driven by the reality that the population is getting older and people are living longer. There is a lot of evidence that preventative strategies are actually reducing the risk of cognitive disease.

Case in point: I want to highlight a new study about folic acid and DHA.

Folic acid is a B vitamin that helps your body grow new, healthy cells. DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) has a similar function in the body but is especially important for brain tissue.

A recent study suggests that folic acid and DHA together not only stop cognitive decline but slightly reverse it.

In the study, one group took just folic acid, one group took just DHA, one group took both, and a control group took neither. While the groups taking only folic acid and only DHA saw some improvement, the group taking both DHA and folic acid saw the most improvement by far.

Here is a warning: After the trial, the subjects were retested, and the positive impact of folic acid and DHA diminished extremely fast after the participants stopped their regimen. Keep the nutrition flowing.

The primary diet sources of DHA are seafood, eggs, and some plant sources such as flaxseed. You can get folic acid primarily from green vegetables. And, of course, you can get both nutrients from high-quality supplements.

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Our immune systems are under attack this time of year, but there are ways to reduce your chances of getting sick.

One of the things you can do? Move more.

Obviously, physical activity has many benefits including a positive effect on our metabolism, heart health, brain function, and even mood.

But, while few know this, modern science tells us that physical activity also supports immune health. PubMed has an amazing collection of studies on this topic: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6523821/#bib0021

One particular study found here suggests that regular 30-to-45-minute moderate-to-vigorous exercise is beneficial to immune function.

In the study, a group of healthy and active elderly women were divided into two groups: walkers and non-walkers. The walkers were told to walk three times a week with an elevated heart rate.

After 10 weeks, the participants were tested for cellular immune function, and the walking group had far better immune function than the non-walkers.

Make sure and keep moving through this sick season.

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