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My Kind of Life: Not Just
Another Healthy Drink
by Carlos A. Perez
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Sometimes the wheel is reinvented and it rolls better. There
is a nutritional drink on the market that has redefined the
very essence of its nature. Redefined because it is made for
the HIV impacted community and others living with chronic diseases
like cancer. Unique because it has ingredients way above and
beyond your basic A through zinc vitamins. Special because it
is specially formulated to help you add body mass and maintain
it. Different from others because it fights oxidative stress
by helping you eliminate it from your system. Your body gets
stressed when free radicals roam around within your cells. HIV
medications, smoking, alcohol, food digestion and the omnipresent
air pollution can cause these radicals to float around your
blood stream where you don’t need them. And did I mention
that it tastes really good?
Millenium Biotechnologies, Inc., has created two formulas Resurgex
and Resurgex Plus, which contain a patented ingredient called
SOD (Superoxide Dismutase), which helps your body process and
eliminate those free radicals. The product also contains an
impressive array of essential and non-essential amino acids,
vitamins and minerals to help maintain weight, increase energy
and strengthen the immune system. This product is superior to
other nutritional drinks  because
it does not start out with any high fructose corn syrup and
all that other stuff that, for all we know, may also cause free
radicals. It is packaged in neat single serving packages and
you get to choose what liquid to shake it up with. I used soy
milk with mine and it made the flavor richer and smoother. I
could tell you about the impressive profile of all the ingredients
but you may find out for yourself by looking it up on the Internet
or calling them. Toll free: (888) 412-9179 or go to www.milbiotech.com.
SOD (Superoxide Dismutase) is a metal-containing antioxidant
enzyme that reduces potentially harmful free radicals of oxygen
formed during normal metabolic cell processes to oxygen and
hydrogen peroxide. As mammalians we need oxygen to breathe and
survive and as your body lives each day it naturally creates
free radicals. Normally, people create SOD on their own which
helps the body deal with free radicals by canceling them and
returning your cells’ balance to normal. As a natural part
of aging the body produces less SOD. Free radicals have been
studied and implicated as the main cause of chronic degenerative
diseases from HIV/AIDS to cancer to cardiovascular disease and
more. HIV-positive individuals taking HAART are at risk of free
radical overload as these medications themselves cause free
radicals. HIV causes free radicals, now if you also happen to
smoke and eat rich foods you are racking up with an overabundance
of free radicals.
SOD used to be effective only by injection but Millennium Biotechnologies
Inc., has the exclusive rights in the medical markets to use
the first orally effective form of SOD—a patented method
to cover the SOD with Gliadin, which serves to protect it in
the GI tract and help get the SOD into the body. Better yet,
the SOD is derived from melon and the Gliadin is derived from
wheat, completely vegetarian! Also, there is mitochodrial toxicity
that HIV and its medications can induce. Mitochondrial damage
has been linked to lipodystrophy, peripheral neuropathy, kidney
damage, muscle weakness and liver damage. The mitochondria are
the cells power source. HIV-positive people taking nukes for
a long time may have poor functioning mitochondria. Along with
SOD, Resurgex and Resurgex Plus contain nutrients such as D-Ribose,
L-Carnitine and Coenzyme Q10 that have direct and indirect roles
in supporting and protecting the mitochondria.
I have been on a Structured Treatment Interruption since October
of 2002 and the only thing that I have added to my body in the
interim is Resurgex. I prefer the Resurgex because I want to
maintain my current body mass. When I first tried it I did not
expect much but within minutes I felt more energy. And I have
never really felt energy after taking supplemental drinks except
for the ones loaded with ephedrine or caffeine. So I could actually
feel something immediately. I also felt full and I mean extra
large, biggie size value meal full. And I felt this way for
about three to four hours.
When I returned to my doctor for blood work my viral load was
58,000 and on my next visit my viral load was down to 29,000
and three months after this visit the load was still hovering
at 29,000. I expected my viral load to be at least near 100,000,
since the last time I went on an STI after only three months
my viral load spiked up to 59,000 and within one more month
nearly 90,000. So I was ready for a bad report and the inevitable
conversation over what meds to start and what side effects to
watch out for. I believe the drink boosted and detoxified my
immune system. I have been on some type of anti-retroviral medications
since approximately 1991 and that does not take into account
any antibiotics and other medications to treat specific infections
or problems that have occurred. Going back to 1991 I can also
add smoking cigarettes daily and a few party favors at least
every weekend to my systems’ fair share of free radicals.
Naturally, we are all different and everything we ingest works
differently on us but these are my results. I have been applying
AndroGel for years and I also took a cycle of Deca-Durabolin
while I was drinking this product but my weight never went anywhere
over 199 pounds. However, during the ingestion of Resurgex,
my BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) shows that I gained
more muscle than ever before to the tune of 205 to 207 pounds.
That’s about 6 to 7 pounds of extra muscle that I had never
achieved to gain myself.
Representatives from the company were at the United States Conference
on AIDS in Atlanta a few years back and a co-worker brought
some samples into TPAN and that’s how I was introduced
to the product. It is not cheap but we are what we eat and drink
aren’t we?
A couple of my buddies said it was too sweet for them, I have
a sweet tooth and I like it just fine the way it is. It’s
good to know that the sweetness is not from a bunch of processed
chemicals or sugars. If it’s too sweet your taste, you
can add a bit more of your favorite liquid to lessen the sweetness.
You may qualify to have this drink covered under your insurance
plan depending on which state you reside in and what insurance
plan you have and what kind of rings of fire you can jump through.
There are many people impacted by HIV and AIDS that cannot keep
any food in them or cannot maintain any weight gains. Then there
are people living with cancer and other chronic conditions that
require the best nutrition possible. These formulas can be ingested
orally or through a feeding tube.
I researched the ingredients found in two of the most popular
standbys of the nutritional drink arena. It’s incredible
that some of these nutritional drinks are covered by most health
insurance plans while being loaded with processed ingredients!
These are given to the elderly, those with cancer and HIV and
anyone in a hospital setting on a liquid diet. Here’s the
list of the first three or four ingredients from one can of
brand X: water, corn syrup, sugar and sucrose. Further down
the list we find canola oil, corn oil, artificial flavors and
pyridoxine hydrochloride! While this is only a form of vitamin
B6, it is also listed as an eye irritant! I think I’ll
stick to something new and truly different that I believe is
healthier to ingest. And when it comes to all the sugars and
oils, I would rather have these as a treat in the form of pecan
pie but not in my nutritional drink. |
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