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[Guest guest]

Hello Jeanie,

Good questions. Please see the response from USANA scientists:

1. What are the two strains of USANA probiotic and how they come?

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, LGG®, Bifidobacterium, BB-12®, they are in powder

form with individually sealed little bag for each dose. No refrigeration

required, so you can carry it with you, very convenient.

While many probiotics have known benefits, there are also many factors to

consider using them as a supplement.

First, note that numerous strains are available, many of which have very little

to no clinical data regarding their benefit or physiological activity.

Second, stability is a huge problem with most strains of bacteria. Shelf-life

for most strains is very short and many strains need refrigeration. Even

refrigerated products often have poor viability and very short shelf-lives. In

addition to this, many strains that have good data in culture or in in vitro

studies show no viability when exposed to the digestive process and are

destroyed in the stomach. If a strain does not make it through digestion all

the way to the intestine to colonize, its benefit is questionable.

USANA spent many years researching and combing through data in search of

products that would solve these potential roadblocks. The result is the new

Probiotic Plus product. The two strains used in this product have extensive

clinical and human data to support benefit and viability. Most commonly used

strains do not.

But perhaps the most important factor is that this particular proprietary blend

has proven to be ultimately stable at room temperature. In both in-house and

third party testing we have been able to corroborate the manufacturer's claim of

18 months stability.

The bacterial strains used in the Probiotic Plus product have numerous human

trials to prove viability and benefit in humans. And, with better stability

than other products on the market, the majority of other probiotic products

cannot measure up to the overall quality and effectiveness of Probiotic Plus.

2. Are USANA products natural?

There is a common misconception that " natural " vitamins and minerals are

extracted from plants in their pure form, and as such are superior to

" synthetic " vitamins and minerals which are made in a laboratory. This is often

a misleading distinction.

First, it is not possible to extract pure vitamins from plants without

considerable and significant processing.

Next, the biological activity of a compound has nothing to do with its source

and is more determined by its chemical structure. In other words, it typically

makes little difference whether the chemical originates from a leafy plant or is

synthesized - it is the same compound, regardless. Some vitamin and antioxidant

compounds can be efficiently synthesized in laboratories to produce products

that are identical in chemical form to those found in nature, and that are

extremely pure and equally safe (and often much less expensive than their

" natural " counterparts).

In addition, some synthetic vitamins are preferentially absorbed over compounds

provided by food sources. One good example is folic acid, which is

preferentially absorbed and utilized over natural food folates that must go

through several conversion processes to be utilized as folic acid.

The raw ingredients that go into USANA products come from a variety of sources.

Some are derived from plants (our vitamin E, for example, is derived from soy)

while others are produced synthetically. Natural versus synthetic is just one of

the criteria that USANA uses to select the raw ingredients that go into its

products. Other factors that we take into account are potency, purity, safety,

stability, and reliability of supply. All other factors being equal, we will

select naturally derived materials over synthetically derived ones. But often

times, all other factors are not equal. We use vitamin and mineral compounds in

the chemical form - be it " natural " or " synthetic " - that are proven to be

effectively absorbed and utilized by the body.

That said, some people have a philosophical aversion to synthetically derived

nutrients, and we respect this. We are comfortable with our approach to

ingredient selection and stand by it, understanding that we are not going to

please everybody.

3. What is Poly C?

Poly C is a vitamin C supplement with a unique blend of mineral ascorbates. The

mixture of mineral ascorbates has been shown to provide and maintain higher

levels of vitamin C in the blood than from equal amounts of ascorbic acid alone.

Vitamin C:

• Enhances antioxidant protection

• Maintains a healthy immune system

• Supports the synthesis of collagen

• Promotes cardiovascular health

Feel free to let me know if you have more questions.

Regards,

Yang