HEALTH CONCEPTS INC. / TONI LUND 1257 E Lizzie Lane
St. George, UT 84790 (435) 673-3855
TERESA SCHUMACHER (435) 673-8848
August 2012
“Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”
Franz Kafka 1883-1924, Writer
As we experience the cold winters we can hardly wait for the warmth of summer days. Now that those summer days are upon us, how we look forward to some cooler weather. In the Southwest desert we are burning up while the East coast gets more rain than they can use. Are we ever happy? Is anything ever fair? Seems though it is all a part of life. I am thankful that I realized last year we had a very mild winter and an extremely unusual summer.
Hardly more than a handful of days over a 100 degrees and then not much over a hundred. Well we must take what we get and make the best of it. We live in a wonderful country and although it is not perfect I would rather be here than anywhere else in the world.
I was having a conversation with my daughter about the difference between what we do nutritionally and doctors. If you go to the doctor and he writes a prescription for you, you get it filled and you take it religiously. You do it usually out of fear of what can happen if you don’t take it. When it comes to taking nutritional products, you won’t die if you don’t take something for a few days, but how much better you can feel if you get into the habit of doing good things for your body everyday. Not for fear that if you don’t you will get worse, but because if you do, your health will be so much better. I can tell the difference when I forget to take my BarleyLife or Herbal Fiberblend. How about you?
We still would like to have you write us a testimonial or tell us how you take your AIM products. When you share your experiences, you can help another person start down the road to better health. To make it easy to share Herbal Fiberblend you can share our book Cleansing the Body and the Colon. Anyone who takes the time to read it will understand why they need Herbal Fiberblend. Many of you are Herbal Fiberblend users because of that book. I have a few copies of Teresa Schumacher’s autobiography left. We are probably not going to print more than the few copies we took to convention. If you want to know a little about Herbal Fiberblend’s formulator’s life, I am sure you
will enjoy her book. It is $25 plus the postage.
If you remember after the AIM convention I mentioned that AIM is offering THE AIM ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND SUCCESS. There is no charge for it which I thought was wonderful because I can tell you it has cost me a pretty penny to get some advanced education in the nutrition field. A couple of weeks ago, as I had the time, I started the program. Every time I sat down at my computer I made it a point to do one of the lessons.
Although the course does not into the depth of things I learned with my courses, I found them to cover the basics and help you learn more about the body and how it functions. Of course if you have been with AIM for very long you know that everything revolves around the Healthy Cell Concept. In addition of covering the Healthy Cell Concept, they go into the body systems and what is necessary to keep us healthy. Then they cover some of the AIM products and how they play a part in keeping us healthy. I did learn some things I didn’t know, but it certainly was a good review for me.
The Success part covers the compensation plan and how to share the AIM products as well as goal setting and time management. Interestingly enough we had a lesson on missionary work in church several weeks ago. The teacher brought in a pitcher of orange juice and started drinking it in front of the class. Someone asked her to share it with everyone. With missionary work, if we have something wonderful wouldn’t we want everyone to have what we have? So it is with the AIM products. If BarleyLife or Herbal Fiberblend has changed your life for the better wouldn’t you want everyone to experience what you have?
The lessons are easy and you are quizzed on each short section. Then the final has questions you answered on the quizzes. If you miss one, you can go back and correct it. There are no failing grades, because you can do it till you get it right. So if you want to know more, take the time to sign up and increase your knowledge. It was fun.
Below I am copying the lesson the Digestive System. I hope you find it informative and this is a sample of the Nutrition course. Check it out on AIM’s website.
The Digestive System
The digestive system is made up of a lot of separate parts, each working in conjunction, and so complex is the
physical and chemical workings of its parts—starting in the mouth and ending in the colon—that often the
digestive system is explained by way of analogy. The digestive system, as one analogy goes, is like an internal
combustion engine because, like an engine, it requires an intake point (the carburetor), fuel (food), and an
exhaust system (the colon).
If any of these parts aren’t working, the engine won’t run smoothly. If the exhaust becomes clogged, it creates back
pressure on the cylinders, preventing the fuel from being completely burned. This, in turn, forces new fuel to be
mixed with waste from the last combustion cycle, reducing the efficiency of the entire system. The result is reduced
power and damage to the engine itself.
Or another analogy would be a septic tank. If the septic tank and drain-field is working properly then the waste from
your house is disposed of. However, if the septic system starts backing up, then it could back up into your house and
create an awful mess.
Problems with Digestion
Many people in the world suffer from intermittent digestive problems, ranging from constipation to cancer, resulting
in billions of dollars in lost work wages and medical expenses. Several hundred thousand people in the U.S. miss work
each day because of digestive problems. Statistics show that more patients arrive at hospitals for digestive problems
than for any other reason.
Our poor digestion has spawned a whole new industry. The sales of over-the-counter and prescription treatments
have skyrocketed and have steadily grown year after year. For many people, it is usually late at night, when an
evening of dietary indiscretion wakes us up with heartburn, that we even recall that we even have a digestive system.
Nevertheless, there are some serious problems linked with the digestive tract. The next time you’re in a room, look
around. The chances are pretty good that one out of three people has a functional bowel disorder, and if the group
is made up largely of senior citizens, that number jumps to one or two out of three. Here are a few digestive disorders
that you should know about:
Constipation
This is one of the most common causes of gastrointestinal distress. The digestive tract is essentially one large tube
that takes in food, absorbs the nutrients, and then expels the waste. To do this the food must be moved through the
system by a series of muscular contractions, called peristaltic waves. These intestinal contractions, as it turns out,
can be adversely effected by a number of factors, including stress, illness, lack of exercise, inadequate fluid intake,
and poor diet.
Often, people turn to chemical laxatives as a solution to constipation. These, however, simply relieve the symptoms
rather than the causes. The continued use of such treatments, in fact, can eventually cause the digestive system to lose
the ability to move foodstuff through the system without the aid of some sort of chemical stimulation. The long-term
solution, of course, is to resolve the problem through improved diet.
Diverticular Disease
Many people have diverticulum, small protrusions along the intestinal lining that extend into the intestinal wall,
without even knowing it. But for about 20 percent of such people, these small pouches trap waste that results in
inflammation (diverticulitis) that can cause sharp pain, nausea, vomiting, chills, and fever. Frequently, when the
condition has progressed to this stage, the only recourse is surgery. This problem, which may partially be caused by
constant constipation, is also believed to be avoidable through the same means, namely by making dietary changes.
Hiatal Hernia
This refers to an abnormal protrusion of the top of the stomach through the diaphragm and into the chest cavity. The
result is that acidic juices in the stomach flow into the esophagus, resulting in severe heartburn. Again this ailment
seems to be related to constipation, as researchers believe that the abdominal straining caused by constipation pushes
the stomach upwards, causing the protrusion.
Colon Cancer
This deadly disease appears to be caused by cancerous agents that are produced by bacteria in the intestine, and
certain foods, such as fat, seem to increase the production of these substances. It’s believed that excessive fat in the
diet results in increased injections of bile acids into the digestive system. The suspicion is that the bacteria that are
naturally present in the intestine act on this bile acid and in turn create carcinogenic byproducts.
In any case, the implications created by improper diet (with which this disease has a strong causal link) are drastic:
this year, about 150,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with colon cancer, and about 60,000 will die of the
disease. It is the second most prevalent form of cancer in the U.S., with about 1 in 10 people developing the disease
and 5 to 10 million Americans who are alive today dying of the disease.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
This is one of the most common of all digestive problems. Also known as irritable colon and spastic colon, its
symptoms can include abdominal pain and distension, constipation and diarrhea (often alternating), nausea, and
heartburn. Current studies have shown that this debilitating condition can be overcome by changes in diet.
Proper Digestive Function
If these are some of the problems associated with a poorly working digestive system, what should a healthy digestive
tract look like? How does it work?
Essentially, the system can be broken down into parts, and the first division is between the upper digestive tract,
made up of the mouth, esophagus, and stomach, and the lower digestive tract, which includes the small intestine, the
colon or large intestine, and the rectum.
Digestion begins when you take your first bite of food. The teeth and tongue play key roles in starting the digestive
process. The teeth, of course, act to break down food into smaller, more digestible pieces, and the tongue provides
the muscular action needed to move the food out of the mouth and into the esophagus, and then downward into the
stomach. Along with the physical action of the teeth and tongue, the enzymatic breakdown of food begins in the
mouth. Ptyalin, an enzyme in saliva, mixes with the food as it is chewed and plays an important role in the digestion
Digestion, throughout the length of the digestive tract, continues to be a combination of both physical, or muscular,
and chemical processes. Once the food reaches the stomach, it is further broken down by the action of a strong acid,
hydrochloric acid. This process is also aided by the action of another enzyme, pepsin, that works to digest protein
components of the food.
The stomach turns the food into a substance known as chime, which is then passed into the duodenum, the first 10
inches of the small intestine, where digestion continues. It is in the small intestine that the macronu-
trients—carbohydrates, protein, and fats—are broken down into their constituent parts. Bile from the liver and
enzymes secreted by the pancreas break the carbohydrates into simple sugars, protein into amino acids, and fats into
fatty acids.
It’s in the small intestine that these micronutrients are absorbed. Millions and millions of minute “fingers” called
Villi, collect the nutrients. So elaborate is this absorption system that it requires 20,000 villi per square inch,
more that 350 yards of surface area, for all the nutrients to be absorbed in the small intestine.
From the small intestine, the food is passed by muscular contractions into the large intestine, or colon. Composed
of four parts—ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colon—the colon serves a number of vital functions.
The first of these is absorption of fluids remaining in the food matter. This prevents dehydration from excessive loss
of water during the digestive process. In addition, the process of nutrient absorption is completed. In particular, the
colon plays an important role in the retention of minerals.
For great efficiency, this entire digestive process must proceed in a relatively short amount of time, in about 35 hours
or less, with a time of less than 24 hours being most desirable.
A short digestive or “transit time” is beneficial for a number of reasons. If the food remains in the digestive tract for
longer periods of time, there is an increased risk of the food fermenting or putrefying, which as a byproduct may
create carcinogenic toxins. The longer the transit time, the greater the exposure to these substances the healthy
digestive tract must endure.