Cataract Awareness Month

June is Cataract Awareness Month.  Did you know that cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss among adults 55 and older?  In fact, more than half the people over age 65 have some degree of cataract development.  A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye, the part of the eye that focuses light and produces clear images.  Inside of the eye, the lens is contained in a sealed bag or capsule. As old cells die they become trapped within the capsule. Over time, more cells die and accumulate causing the lens to cloud, making images look blurred or fuzzy.  (Eye America.org)

Cataracts are caused by the breakdown of proteins within the clear lens of the eye that cause it to become cloudy and difficult to see through, effecting vision. Some of this protein breakdown is associated with oxidative stress.  It is believed that the majority of oxidative stress is generated in the eye via photochemical reactions caused by exposure to sunlight although oxidative stress can be caused by neuronal dysfunction in certain conditions.

Antioxidants fight free radicals and reactive oxygen species by neutralizing them and thus causing them to lose the ability to cause oxidative stress. Antioxidants can be found in many different foods. Some examples are blueberries, raspberries and olive oil. The regular intake of these foods can be beneficial to your health and can combat oxidative stress. However, science is finding that more concentrated doses of antioxidants can be even more beneficial in combating eye disease than diet alone. The use of antioxidant supplementation may protect the eye from oxidative-stress induced damage and disease.

Hydroxytyrosol, a powerful antioxidant derived from olive byproducts, has a chemoprotective effect on retinal cells, the type of cell that is damaged by the progression of macular degeneration and possibly other eye diseases.

Pinnaclife’s Supplement Olivamine Essential, is a blend of Antioxidants, and if used in association with a healthy lifestyle can help to reduce the effects eye disease.  Our supplements are available at most Hy-Vee locations.  Start your journey towards good health today!

Blue-Green Algae “Pond Scum” May Pose Danger if it Comes in Contact With Skin or Ingested

CORALVILLE, Iowa, May 21, 2012 — McCord Research, the parent company of Pinnaclife, warns parents that they should be careful when selecting a swimming location for their children during summer months.  Most farmers are aware of the serious health threats to livestock and heed the blue-green algae warnings issued by state universities and departments of agriculture.

Health alerts are issued by states when they believe that the level of toxins, associated with blue-green algae are potentially unsafe for full-body recreational activities, such as swimming.  Public lakes and beaches are monitored and often closed to swimmers and boaters.

The “scum” actually is not an algae, but photosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria, according to the North Dakota State University Extension Service. On hot summer days, the bacteria “blooms” and can spread quickly. Studies of green blue algae have found that most strains found in brackish lakes and ponds are toxic to humans.(1) Cynobacteria toxin exposure has been known to cause swimmer’s ear, irritation and blistering of the skin and throat, pneumonia, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, liver damage and death. (2)

If you or your children are around area ponds, even if you do not enter the water, Pinnaclife recommends that you apply their specialized Olivamine-containing Skin Repair Cream sold in Hy-Vee stores.  It contains N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) that is a known antidote for cyanobacteria poisoning.(3) Topical NAC protection is vital as the skin is more vulnerable to bacterial attack in the water. While stomach acids do provide some protection internally, without topical NAC protection the skin is defenseless against cyanobacteria toxins.(4) The Skin Repair Cream may offer some protection but caution must be taken.  Also, during the summer months taking Pinnaclife Olivamine supplements, containing N-acetyl-L-cysteine, may give the immune system a boost.  Having a healthy immune system during the summer months when the family is out enjoying water activities is important.  Pinnaclife Olivamine supplements are available at most Hy-Vee stores and at www.pinnaclife.com.

In livestock and pets, blue-green algae toxins can affect the nervous system, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  Symptoms include muscle tremors, decreased movement and difficulty breathing and convulsions and death.  If any of these symptoms occur after contact with blue-green algae, contact the Poison Hotline (800-222-1222) right away or contact your local veterinarian.  Topical symptoms include dermatitis and immediate medical help should be sought.

Not only is there a risk of coming into contact with blue green algae in local ponds and lakes, it is also sold by some companies as a health supplement or it is found in topical products.(5) In a University of California Berkeley Wellness Alert it especially warns of the risks associated with using blue-green algae products that have algae harvested from the Upper Klamath Lake (AFA) region in southern Oregon.  According to the Berkeley Wellness Alert, “blue-green algae is not a medicine or a good source of nutrients.(6)  Blue-green algae, especially AFA harvested from natural lakes, are easily contaminated with toxins such as microcystins and heavy metals.  Health Canada, the equivalent of the US FDA, found that some supplements had high levels of microcystin and warned consumers – especially those thinking of giving AFA to their children.”

Pinnaclife is committed to good science that serves as the foundation for safe and effective topical and nutritional products.

For Further Information:
Darlene McCord, Ph.D.
CEO, CSO, McCord Research
319-358-5536

Blue Green Antiodote

Blue Green WHO

Loyal Customer Travels from CA to Pinnaclife Corporate Office in IA

William Casale of Los Angeles, California, has been a loyal and dedicated user of Pinnaclife supplements for nearly two years now.  In the midst of driving from California to Canada, William decided to make a pit stop in Coralville, Iowa at our corporate office to show his support.  We love receiving visits from our customers and hearing their success stories.  William is a Vietnam War Veteran and was exposed to Agent Orange, leading to many serious health issues including diabetes, hyper tension, and blood pressure problems.  After beginning our supplements nearly two years ago, William has experienced remarkable results and has now inspired many people to use the supplements with his astonishing story.  ”I feel the best I have ever felt, and that is what Pinnaclife does for me.  I take these supplements to save my life.”

To watch William Casale’s testimonial click here.

Pictured above: William Casale at Hy-Vee in Coralville, IA next to the Pinnaclife line of supplements. Our supplements are available in nearly 100 Hy-Vee stores in the midwest, with more being added every week. Click here to see the nearest store in your area!

Unlocking the Secret of Scientific Articles

Unlocking Scientific Literature’s Secrets

For those of you who don’t know yet, the new Pinnaclife website was launched last Thursday. It looks great and we’d really encourage you to stop by and take a look at it when you get a chance.  Not only are the product information, labels and company information easier to use, the new web site has some fun little tricks up its digital sleeve. One such trick is a Shop tab that will take you to a feature that is linked to Google maps. All you need to do is type in your location and the feature will give you the locations of closest the retail stores that sell our products. It also has an easy pull down tab that lets you pick from available online stores.

Another tab that has been updated and improved is the Research Center.  On the left hand side of the Research Center Page you’ll find a menu complete with all the conditions and diseases that ingredients, found in Pinnaclife Supplements, have been effective against in laboratory trials. All you have to do is click on the disease and instantly the screen will be filled with subcategories that will give information on which of our products contain ingredients that evidence suggests helps this particular condition. Also the products have pull down menus that have PDF files of the actual scientific research that led to these conclusions. All of these articles have been taken from Dr. McCord’s personal research library and some of these articles influenced Dr. McCord to put that particular ingredient in our products.  The Research center is a wonderful resource for people when choosing a supplement that will best benefit them.     

Still the Research Center can be a little intimidating at first, because all of the PDFs provided are scientific literature. This doesn’t need to be the case. Scientific Literature isn’t as scary at it looks. With the right strategy and a little effort almost anybody can glean useful information from a scientific article. Knowing the standard set up of an article gets you a long way in understanding the secret.

The Title: The reason that the title of a scientific article is so long is not because the article is so complicated that it needs a sentence to describe it. Instead the title is basically summarizing the results of the article in one sentence. In another words its like a romance novel entitled “The Hero and Heroine Get Married in the End.” In fact, just reading the title often can tell you what you want to know without ever having to read the article.

The Structure: Scientific articles are extremely condensed and contain huge amounts of information.  Articles and adjectives are kept to a bare minimum. Quite frankly if canned cream of mushroom soup became literature it would become a science article. The good news is that if you just want to understand only the article you are reading, you can skip the sections labeled introduction, results, materials and methods, and references. All you have left is the abstract, discussion, and conclusion. If that’s still too much, just read the abstract. In most cases the abstract is the “Spark Notes” version of the entire article.

The last tool you need to tackle a scientific article is the Internet. If you get confused about an abbreviation or word a quick Internet search (yes, Wikipedia counts!) can clear things up and make an article a lot easier to understand.  Finally remember you don’t need to understand everything you read, figure out what you need to know and search for it within the article. With these tips you can finally fully utilize the Research Center on the website

New Year’s Resolutions: How to make them how to keep them

It seems every year my family’s badly executed lines of Auld Lang Syne
cause a temporary lapse of sanity and I come up with an absolutely
impossible New Year’s Resolution. This year would be a perfect example. I
committed to riding my bike three times a week. If I lived in sunny
California that would have been an excellent resolution, however,
unfortunately for my resolution, I live in Iowa and there are currently
three inches of snow outside. Considering that a significant portion of
January newsletters dwell upon this subject I believe that it would be
fairly safe to say I am not unique to reckless resolution making.
Fortunately more rational minds such as Dr. McCord’s can shed light on
this very subject. Some years because of difficult circumstances, small
resolutions such as eating better and taking a good vitamin are all that
we can really manage. Still these seemingly small resolutions can have a
big, positive effect on our health. Dr McCord in her book “Living Well At
One Hundred” gives several examples of how simple getting one’s recommended
servings of fruits and vegetables can be. Also an Olivamine Full Spectrum
vitamin provides the body daily with the things it needs to defend its most
important components. Here at Pinnaclife we are excited about the upcoming
year as we work towards fulfilling our own resolutions. Our marketing team
is still working toward getting our products into more Hy-Vee Food Stores
and other pharmacies in the state. In this way we hope to make your
resolutions just that much easier to fulfill with our products. Here’s to a
healthy New Year!