From Mitchell

We live in astonishing times. More than ever, we can feel that we are part of life evolving. Undeniably, we have been issued an invitation to reflect on who we've become as individuals and as a collective.

Will we exercise the choice between returning to what we have been or inhabiting that space where each breath holds the possibility of reinventing ourselves and our world? Will we draw meaning from the rich soil of challenging times to expand ourselves as part of something much larger?

Change thrusts us into brand new territory. It is a profound opportunity that asks us to listen for what wants to emerge and moves us away from our obsolete ways of seeing things. Opening to that which we do not yet know and to a deeper inherent wisdom (beyond that which meets the eye or mind) breaks our habit of telling Life what to do and places us in the midst of all that is possible — far exceeding the limitations of our current capacity to imagine.

In light of this, I listen for what wants to emerge at The Synergy Company™. How can we expand on our premise (and promise) that good faith, integrity, and environmental responsibility are eminently compatible with good business? Can we do more?

Yes, we can! Our newest offering — Pure Radiance C™ — is one such way. As you will learn in this newsletter, Pure Radiance C deeply supports our bodies while offering rainforest communities the opportunity to create a wholesome and sustainable economy instead of destructively logging their rainforest home.

We at The Synergy Company can also support and encourage a more wholistic and embracing relationship with self and community (see From Eliza). And, finally, we can help enhance your lives by introducing you to people and resources with whom we feel an affinity. In this issue, you will meet Barbara McNally, publisher of the newsletter A Real Life, a life-affirming publication that helps reconnect us to the richness of life.

Please enjoy! — MM

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From Eliza

Simple kindness is an extraordinarily potent healer and one of the most precious things we offer one another. Sadly, though, while we often practice kindness in our interactions with others, even strangers, we frequently don’t extend it to ourselves. In the hurry of our modern lives, many of us believe that self-kindness and self-care are synonymous with selfishness and self-indulgence. We treat ourselves in ways we would never consider treating another person. There is nothing selfish or self-indulgent about gentle self-care. It is actually one of the most important, life-affirming actions we can choose, providing healing benefits that reverberate far beyond our individual lives.

We know there is much about modern life that compromises our health — we hear about it every day. External events often seem to spiral beyond our control, and our everyday lives whirl by in an incessant stream of demands and stressful interactions. Aggravating this, the basic, life-sustaining acts of breathing, eating, and drinking often seem threatening as well because our air, water, and food supplies are contaminated or lacking in nourishment. In the face of this, it is all too easy to feel helpless or complacent. Yet, every great leader and teacher has reminded us that when individuals make healing choices in their own lives, the resulting healing energy drifts out like a delicious scent and washes over everyone and everything in its vicinity.

The power of healing choices is especially evident when we focus on our physical health. When we lovingly care for ourselves, we flourish and feel well. But when we neglect or ignore our needs, our sense of well-being withers. This is because radiant health is not defined simply by an absence of symptoms — nor is it a final destination at which we arrive. Rather, it is a life-long journey defined by the self-care choices we make in every moment. Like a beautiful flower garden, our well-being must be cultivated with devoted attention and consistent commitment. We can begin with whatever exists now and create a masterpiece that uniquely reflects the environment and the gardener. This is the eternal promise: the opportunity to embrace a healing choice and begin anew exists in every moment! Just like gardens, our bodies possess an almost miraculous ability to adapt to the stresses of the modern world when they receive genuine nourishment and support.

Our grandparents and great-grandparents knew that the most life-giving foods were those picked from a plant, dug from the ground, gathered in the hen house, or harvested from the nearby ocean or stream. They had only to taste the plump juiciness of the fruits and berries, or see the glowing greens, reds, and oranges of vegetables to know the vital life energy they contained: those living by oceans and lakes knew they could survive on nothing more than algae and seaweed. Moreover, our grandparents knew the regenerative value of the herbs and other wild plants that grew around their homes, from which they made spring tonics, strengthening tonics, female tonics, and male tonics. They innately understood that the more they consumed of these vibrant foods and herbs, the healthier and stronger they would be.

However, we live in a world very different from that inhabited by our great-grandparents. The demands upon our bodies are far greater than ever before, and our food is more nutritionally deficient than at any other time in history. Nonorganic farming practices and commercial processing have robbed our foods of the vital nutrients, particularly phytonutrients and trace minerals, needed to support vibrant health. Unfortunately, we can no longer obtain optimal nutrition from our food alone. This does not mean we can’t practice loving self-care and receive genuine nourishment; it simply means that we must make a conscious effort to do so.

If we want to be radiantly healthy, energetic, and mentally alert throughout our lives, we must deeply nourish our bodies by consuming nutrient- and phytonutrient-rich herbs and other foods every day. While no known drug or surgery will compensate for poor habits, we can reduce our biological age and diminish the effects of previous poor choices by genuinely nourishing ourselves well now! All that is required is a new choice. Embracing wellness and living consciously are that simple — we can begin at any time with the knowledge that every health-affirming choice we consistently practice will meaningfully enhance our future well-being.

From our life-affirming choices, healing occurs in our lives, in the lives of others, and elsewhere on the planet. The delicious healing scent wafts out and exponentially influences our world in ways that are magical to witness. For example, the choice to nourish ourselves with true whole-food products and herbs often leads to more thoughtful purchasing habits. We may begin to select organically grown foods and supplements and environmentally friendly household items. These purchasing choices help improve air and water quality and benefit threatened species of animals, bees, and butterflies and our forests. These choices also have a very positive effect on the quality of life and the health of farmers, farmworkers, and indigenous peoples (see Healing: A Global Perspective) as well as on the economic survival of family farms and agricultural communities. These are but a few examples of the far-reaching effects of individual choices. There are many other ways in which our purchasing habits directly support our communities and surrounding natural environment. Now, multiply those effects by hundreds of thousands of people, and you begin to have a sense of the potent global healing benefits that result from the simple, but powerful, choice to practice self-care.

In this new year, I invite you to expand your definitions of wellness and healing to embrace your local and global community while, most importantly, embracing yourself — I invite you to begin anew! Drink in the nourishment of self-care, and let it envelop those you care for. — ES

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I take vitamin C for colds . . . I prefer to get mine from camu camu, the amazing Amazonian fruit that has the world’s highest vitamin C content.
— Dr. James Duke, USDA scientist and author of The Green Pharmacy.

Pure Radiance C™ ~ The Truly Natural Vitamin C

Many people have innocently believed the implied advertising claims that vitamin C supplements come from citrus fruits or some other so-called natural source. Unfortunately, research shows nothing could be further from the truth. For years, this widely accepted misinformation has troubled me because vitamin C is such an incredibly important nutrient and antioxidant. Did you know that almost every “vitamin C” supplement on the market today is not a natural and safe whole-food vitamin C complex but is made from isolated, synthetic ascorbic acid molecules manufactured in a test tube from genetically modified corn glucose (sugar)?

So here are the facts: Back in the 1930s, Dr. Szent-Gyorgi won the Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering vitamin C. He was trying to find ways to help people with a serious disease called scurvy. He concentrated whole foods high in vitamin C, like lemons, limes, and red peppers, and used these natural concentrates to successfully treat people with scurvy as well as people who had subclinical signs of this disease, such as bleeding gums. These natural forms of vitamin C worked extremely well, but because they were difficult to preserve, Szent-Gyorgi tried isolating the one compound he thought might be responsible for these beneficial results. This is how he discovered the ascorbic acid molecule. He then gave people with scurvy just isolated ascorbic acid and found it didn’t work. As a result, he didn’t advocate using ascorbic acid, even though he discovered it! As a medical doctor, he asserted over and over that the most effective and safe form of vitamin C was the 100% natural, whole-food form and that isolated ascorbic acid should be considered a drug. Despite this, people came to believe that ascorbic acid was synonymous with vitamin C.

All the goodness we associate with vitamin C is actually created by the many different naturally occurring phytonutrient compounds found only in 100% natural, whole-food vitamin C — such as bioflavonoids (including quercetin, rutin, and hesperidin), anthocyanins, proanthocyanins, catechins, tyrosinase, and many more — which all work together synergistically. Study after study shows that natural vitamin C complex found in whole foods supports the immune system, offers potent antioxidant activity, promotes healing, and strengthens capillary walls. Sadly, most of these benefits do not occur when isolated ascorbic acid is used. In fact, recent studies have indicated that isolated ascorbic acid can actually become a damaging pro-oxidant (free-radical generator) and can even suppress the immune system. Additionally, researchers have consistently found that there is no benefit to consuming megadoses of vitamin C because, in reality, our bodies can absorb only about 250 to 500 milligrams of vitamin C at one time — anything more is just flushed out.

I was so deeply troubled about the misleading use of ascorbic acid that I began creating a truly natural, whole-food vitamin C supplement that offers all the proven health-promoting benefits of true vitamin C. During my research, I learned about a remarkable berry, known as camu camu, that grows only in the Brazilian rainforest and that is the world’s richest source of naturally occurring vitamin C. Camu camu berries actually have up to 60 times more vitamin C than oranges! But these berries grow only in the most remote areas of the rainforest. As it turns out, the indigenous peoples have been canoeing into these remote parts of the rainforest for hundreds of years specifically to harvest these precious berries for their own use. After more than two years of research and development, we discovered a way to sustainably harvest enough of these precious berries to bring you an extraordinary product while fairly and respectfully compensating the native peoples. The result — Pure Radiance C — is the first truly 100% natural, whole-food vitamin C.

The camu camu berries in Pure Radiance C are carefully hand gathered at their peak of nutritional potency. They are then canoed downriver to a specially designed facility, where they are gently concentrated by using our special low-temperature process, which perfectly preserves all their natural vitamin C and all of the other fragile and beneficial phytonutrients. We then incorporate our camu camu into a matrix of manioc (tapioca) root — a proprietary process that protects the berries. By designing this new process, we have been able to avoid the common practice of using genetically modified maltodextrin or cornstarch as processing aids!

Next, we blend our exclusive, wildcrafted camu camu berries with wildcrafted amla berry concentrate, several other luscious organic berries and fruits (blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, rosehips, and lemons), and organic buckwheat berry sprouts — all bursting with highly beneficial bioflavonoids and dozens of other crucial co-factors. The result is a truly safe, whole-food vitamin C and bioflavonoid supplement that provides you with essential support rooted in timeless nutritional wisdom. Just one vegetarian capsule of Pure Radiance C provides you with 200% of the RDI for vitamin C — the perfect amount according to the latest research.

We are pleased to be able to offer you our Pure Radiance C because it embodies everything we value and pursue as a company. Creating a partnership with the rainforest peoples allows us to help preserve their ancient lifestyle and protect a priceless ecosystem while providing a truly remarkable product. It is a genuine “synergy” in which everyone and everything benefit — the Amazonians, the rainforest, the planet, and you. — MM

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Pure Synergy™: The Story Continues

We’ve just finished printing an informative new booklet for our Pure Synergy friends — Pure Synergy: An Introduction. This comprehensive booklet offers helpful tips for using Pure Synergy, answers dozens of the most commonly asked questions about Pure Synergy, and contains numerous scrumptious smoothie recipes. If you’d like to receive a free copy, please ask us to include it when you place your next order.

Your Questions Ask our Certified Nutritionist

Q: I keep hearing about the importance of phytonutrients. I know they aren’t vitamins or minerals. What are they, and why are they important?
Gwen Runyan, Eagle, ID

A: You’re right, Gwen, phytonutrients are not vitamins or minerals. Phytonutrients are naturally occurring, highly beneficial compounds found in plants. There are hundreds of phytonutrients. The ones most familiar to us are those responsible for the vibrant colors of greens and other vegetables, berries, and algae. Examples are carotenes, lutein, chlorophyll, anthocyanins, and proanthocyanins. Though colorless, bioflavonoids and the active constituents in healing herbs are also very important phytonutrients.

Our knowledge about phytonutrients has grown considerably over the last decade. Healthcare practitioners have always urged people to eat an abundance of greens and fruits because studies have consistently shown that people eating diets rich in these foods have far less risk of heart disease, cancer, macular degeneration, and diabetes. However, many people (including some modern scientists) made the mistaken assumption that vitamins and minerals alone were responsible for the benefits associated with these phytonutrient-rich foods. As a result, companies began producing isolated, synthetic vitamins and minerals, and consumers began using them, expecting that the results would be the same as eating whole, phytonutrient-rich greens, fruits, and algae.

Unfortunately, the results were not the same, which caused scientists to examine these special foods more closely. In doing so, they discovered a myriad of potent, health-protective compounds that function as plants’ immune systems. We now know that phytonutrients and their synergistic interaction with vitamins and minerals create many of the highly beneficial effects, including antioxidant protection, we associate with these vital foods. Grandma did know best when she told you to eat your vegetables! In short, one of the most potent ways to nurture your health is to consume an abundance of fruits, vegetables, algae, nutritive herbs, and whole-food supplements rich in naturally occurring phytonutrients.
— ES

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A Closer Look: An Interview with Janina, Our Sales Supervisor

Q: Everyone at Synergy seems to really reflect the goals and philosophy of the company. What is the synergy between you and The Synergy Company?
A: I grew up in the woods of Montana and was enraptured by the magic of the natural world around me. Later, I studied botany at college, became an avid gardener, and grew to profoundly trust the wisdom and healing properties found in plants and herbs. Then, the opportunity to be present at the birth of a friend’s baby opened an unexpected door for me — I knew that midwifery was my next step. Being a midwife and working at The Synergy Company has allowed me to embrace a truly wholistic vision of life and health.

Q: Balancing midwifery with your responsibilities at The Synergy Company sounds pretty challenging.
A: For many years, I worked part-time here. After attending hundreds of births, I recently gave up my practice to accept the full-time position of Sales Supervisor and spend more time with my awesome husband. I do miss those beautiful round bellies and sweet new beings, but I am content with my new life. I sincerely believe that at The Synergy Company, we are contributing to the health of the planet and all its inhabitants, and I love meeting our customers and hearing their fascinating stories.

Q: What’s your favorite part of working for The Synergy Company?
A: Working every day with truly amazing people and feeling blessed to be part of this family. We have all grown so much together!

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How to begin telling you about A Real Life newsletter and its creator, Barbara McNally? Maybe I could ask when was the last time you cut out an article and carried it in your wallet for years so you could read it over and over again?

Like a mentor who is listening to the whisperings of Soul, Barbara offers an understanding that transforms my moments of uncertainty — when I'm not enough or when I'm convinced that I'm ruining my kids. A Real Life inspires and heals me as it softly coaxes me to be better and better. In short, A Real Life offers regular reminders about the power of individual choice in this big world, plus a discerning directory of the best of all kinds of businesses and products. It is a trustworthy connection with others who engage in meaningful work.

With the kids tucked away, I curl up in the silence with a cup of ginger tea and the shades drawn — it's just A Real Life and me — a rare, relaxing moment in a busy life, a reminder of how good it can be . . .
— Jayne Dillon, Director of Marketing, The Synergy Company

P.S. Because we so appreciate Barbara’s work, we want to share A Real Life with our Synergy family. We have arranged for you to receive the gift of one edition that we particularly savored. Don't worry — we do not give away or sell our mailing list to anyone! Your free issue will be arriving soon. Until then, enjoy these snippets from past editions of A Real Life:

Nourish:
We are hungry. Not for calories — there are more than enough of those — it goes much deeper than that. The hunger is for nourishment — for the aesthetic value of real food, the satisfaction of eating together, the assurance that what we’re putting in our mouths is life sustaining and safe . . . The truth is we know how to eat to be nourished, vital and alive, just as we’ve known for thousands of years. Eat Whole. But technological success has made us cocky. We think we can fix everything — turn to science for an overhaul. Our bodies are remarkable — the very finest technology — ready to fight back, to protect, to heal. If — and it’s a crucial if — they get what they need to do the job. We can’t eat food that is not whole, and expect our bodies to be whole. We deserve whole food. Have we forgotten that we have a choice?

Nurture:
The night before his birthday, I make (my son) Zach a card . . . How rarely I pause like this and hold Zach so fully in my consciousness, putting aside the filter of parental responsibility and just feel who he is right now. I close my eyes. I see how he has changed. This is a big moment for me, crucial to my ability to support and love him. Before I can fully celebrate the birth of a new year for him, I need to mark the passing of who he was. If I hold on, I won’t be open to the person he’s becoming, won’t welcome his independence. And only if I make the shift can I sense what he needs from me . . . No matter how primitively I represent a sport he loves, a line from a song he’s written, or a goal he’s striving toward, the deeper message of the card comes through — You are unique. I’m happy to know you, I’m so glad you’re a child of mine.

Comfort:
I want to hold Zach in my arms. I want to rock him gently back and forth, soothe his pain, and tell him softly that the confusion and insecurity of adolescence won’t last forever. As he lays his head on my heart, I want him to feel its steady beat and know that the confusion and insecurity in the world will pass. Here, I want to say, take my courage, my faith. But I can’t. He’s a young man now. So I go into his room after he’s deep in sleep, sit on the edge of his bed, and hold him in my heart. I rock him gently back and forth, and tell him that everything will be all right. Silently, I give him my strength. For those minutes, I cross the gulf between us, and pray that he’ll soak it in, and be comforted.

Empower:
"Get Thin. Look Young. Drink Coke." I used to give away my power. I fell for messages like these that blare at us every day — acting as if some authority was handling things; someone else was the big judge. The more I listened, the more my life felt life-less. Gradually, it dawned on me that if I wanted things to be different, then I needed to take charge — of my own life — and my part in creating our culture.

To subscribe to A Real Life, call 802-893-7040.

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Recipes

Cold and flu season is the ideal time to enjoy Healing Honey™. Luscious Lemon is one of our favorite warm, soothing beverages.

Luscious Lemon
In a saucepan, combine and simmer for 20 minutes:
3 cups water
½ TBS freshly grated ginger
½ tsp dried licorice root
After the mixture simmers, add the following and serve:
1 TBS Healing Honey
1 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice

For overall nourishment, enjoy a cup of Luscious Lemon while you treat your complexion to an exfoliating, antioxidant mask. Honey Berry Facial Mask leaves your skin delightfully smooth and supple.

Honey Berry Facial Mask
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp Healing Honey
1 tsp plain yogurt
Contents of 1 capsule Pure Radiance C
½ tsp oat flour
Combine all ingredients and let stand for 15 minutes. Gently apply to face. After 30 minutes, rinse with lukewarm water and moisturize as usual. Store unused portion in the refrigerator. Makes 3 to 5 applications.

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Healing: A Global Perspective

According to ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin, Ph.D., author of Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice, “a forest stand of camu camu is worth twice the amount to be gained from cutting down the forest and replacing it with cattle.” Imagine the power of this truth! The Amazon Rainforest is one of our most precious endangered habitats, and Dr. Plotkin’s comment reveals a simple way we can help preserve this remarkable ecosystem. Selling camu camu berries allows the Amazonian peoples to preserve their innately sustainable lifestyle and protect the rainforest. At The Synergy Company, we are deeply gratified by the mutually supportive relationships we’ve created in the Amazon to bring you Pure Radiance C. It is remarkably empowering to know that the seemingly simple choices we make with our dollars every day do matter! The trickle-down effect can be substantial. — ES

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About Our Newsletter Image

So many of you have asked about our location that we thought you might like to see the breathtaking views we appreciate every day! The Synergy Company offices and production facility are located in remote Moab, Utah. Nestled between stunning redrock cliffs and the La Sal Mountains, our award-winning, FDA-registered production facility reflects the pristine and radiant environment that surrounds it.

It is no accident that we are located in such a magnificent place. The unspoiled and pollutant-free environment enhances the purity of our products. The pulse of this majestic landscape is always with us — in meetings, during product production, and while speaking to you on the phone. It is an intrinsic part of The Synergy Company and all our products.

To learn more about our production facility, which is certified to manufacture organic and kosher products, please visit our production laboratories website at www.synergyproduction.com.

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