Oi-Lin Skin Care Set Video Demo

The Oi-Lin® Skin Care Set introduces you to youthful, radiant skin in four easy steps. As part of our signature line, it is designed for all skin types, but is especially beneficial for dry or sensitive skins. It is very affordable and covers all of your basic skin care needs. We hope you enjoy our video and that it excites you to start your journey toward calming, beautiful, healthy skin!

Parading Around: SR Creates Connections at Local Parade and Festival

Sunrider International continued its mission to increase local presence and exposure on Saturday, February 20, as it attended another local event—the Golden Dragon Parade and Festival. Held in downtown Los Angeles’ Chinatown neighborhood, the 111th Annual Golden Dragon Parade is one of the foremost Chinese New Year celebrations in all of Southern California. According to the event’s website, the parade’s theme “emphasizes ethnic diversity, Chinese Culture and exposure to Chinese-American businesses. The parade continues to be a rich and diverse experience for Angelenos of all ages and ethnicities.”

Each year, over 100,000 people line the parade route and thousands watch on T.V. to see the colorful and creative floats, marching bands, government officials, dignitaries, entertainers, local business leaders, and cultural groups who all participate in this much-loved parade. As a major sponsor of the event, Sunrider participated in the Parade, with local IBOs riding in an antique, horse-drawn trolley with Sunrider banners on the side.

Sunrider also had a booth at the event which featured demonstrations of SunSmile® Fruit & Vegetable Rinse, Sunbreeze® Oil & Balm, and Kandesn® Protective Foundation SPF 15, as well as samples of SunBar® and Fortune Delight®. Because the other tents at the festival were white, our red Sunrider tent generated a lot of interest! At one point, there was a line stretching some 30 people back waiting to try the SunBars and Fortune Delight®!

For our IBOs, this event was a great chance to tell people about Sunrider and create more recognition throughout the community. Because people naturally visit vendor and sponsor tents at festivals such as these, IBOs were able to practice their approach in a comfortable setting, and get a lot of new contacts in the process.

There are many reasons to attend local events. Sure, they’re fun and exciting, but you also get to build your approach experience, network, create confidence in your techniques, and learn! Local events are like dress rehearsals—they provide the opportunity to hone approach skills while selling products. Events in your area are happening all the time. Do some research and see what’s out there. Your Sunrider business will thank you!

Thumbs-Up to our January Employee of the Month

Congratulations to Greg Palmer, our January Employee of the Month. Greg, a Senior Graphic Designer in Regional Operations, has been with Sunrider nine years and is responsible for designing new marketing and promotional tools, customizing universal tools to the US market, and more.

Last November, Greg completely redesigned the SR Newsletter (now in full color!), which was very well received by US IBOs. He regularly designs original, vibrant, and effective one-page promotional flyers to promote products, teleconferences, meetings, and other programs and events. Greg also works on product catalogs, product cards, and other marketing tools, which he creates in three languages—English, Chinese, and Spanish. This requires him to handle multiple projects at the same time, and with changing priorities. Greg does this fluidly and with a great attitude. He is reliable, dependable, and meets deadlines on a regular basis.

January was a very busy month for Greg, as he worked on the Seasonal Product Catalog in English and Chinese, newsletters in three languages, PowerPoint presentations, and multiple event flyers. These are just a few of the reasons why Greg was chosen as our Employee of the Month—but there are many more (we didn’t have room to list them all)!:)

Congratulations, Greg, and thanks for your great service to Sunrider.

Below, Greg tells us a bit more about his career at Sunrider (and other fun tidbits).

Q1: What is the best thing about being a SR employee?

I think the best thing about being an SR employee is the sense of camaraderie. We all pull together to get the job done...kind of like a family.

Q2: What’s your best memory of SR?

My best memory of SR is a Christmas party a few years ago. We were doing a Christmas skit with a “beach party” theme, and I helped carry Rick Ricardo into the room on a surf board, dressed as a mermaid. Believe me, I’ll smile about that for the rest of my life!

Q3: What do you like most about your job?

What I enjoy best about my job, is the creative freedom I’m allowed. There are so many new, exciting projects...it keeps my creativity flowing constantly!

Q4: What’s your favorite color?

I don’t really have a favorite color. As a designer, I have to love them all the same (except, I am partial to blue...don’t tell the other colors though!).

Q5: Do you have any pets?

I have two red-eared slider turtles. Their names are Sid and Nancy. I’ve had them for almost three years. They are extremely entertaining!

Thanks for sharing, Greg!

More search engine optimization for Sunriders

Note: This is part 2 of an article written by Owen Smigelski, Senior Counsel with Sunrider. Part 1 was posted last week.

Advanced SEO techniques

Alt text for images
As indicated earlier, spiders ignore the content of images. They do, however, index text, and thus it is possible to use text to tell the spider the content of the image (which is usually associated with the content near the image). If you show an image of Fortune Delight®, a common method of showing the image in HTML code is:

img src=”/images/pictfdbox.jpg”

Renaming the image to a different name (that contains a keyword or two) can help:

mg src=”/images/fortune_delight.jpg”

Additionally, the alt attribute can be added to the image tag. A spider will view this alt text instead of the image, and use this as a factor when ranking a page:

img src=”/images/fortune_delight.jpg” alt=”fortune delight”

Note: the HTML code in the example above is incomplete so that it can display properly. You will need to add <> to use this code.

Titles for links
A further method to reinforce keywords in content is through the title attribute in HTML links. As always, make sure not to spam the keyword, but additional words can help reinforce the Fortune Delight keyword:

Info about < a href="fortune_delight.html" title="Fortune Delight”>Fortune Delight/a>.

Note: the HTML code in the example above is incomplete so that it can display properly. You will need to modify this code.

Keywords in filenames
Another underutilized location where you can add keywords is in the saved filename of each webpage. While visitors to your website likely will not see the filename of a page, spiders do consider these words for search engine rankings. If you are writing a page about Beauty Pearl®, rather than call the page product54.html, you can save it as beauty_pearl.html. Different words can be separated by punctuation like “_” or “–” rather than having the words as run-ons (e.g. beauty-pearl.html is better than beautypearl.html). Be sure not to include too many keywords in the filename—more than 3 or 4 words might be considered spam.

XML Sitemap
If your site has no sitemap, or a manually created sitemap, consider creating an XML Sitemap. This is a standard format for sitemaps that was created by Google and is now supported by other major search engines such as Yahoo, Bing, and Ask. Some XML Sitemap utilities/generators will also notify search engines when changes are made to the sitemap, and this can lead to spiders accessing and indexing the new content quicker.

Adding an RSS feed
Adding an RSS feed to your site can increase the content on your page and allow you to add new (and related) content to your site automatically. Did you know that Sunrider provides an RSS feed? Learn how to view Sunrider’s RSS feed. You can use the link to Sunrider’s RSS feed to show content automatically on your website. How to integrate an RSS feed will vary by web host, so you will need to follow up with your hosting provider or your web designer.

Keyword synonyms
When writing content, one way to increase the use of a keyword without continually repeating the keyword is to use synonyms, similar words, and plurals. Search engines are now sophisticated enough to know that drink, beverage, tea, and drinks are all very closely related. When writing the content, be sure the content reads normally—if it looks odd to you, it might look odd (e.g. spam) to a search engine.

Emphasize important words
When writing content to focus on particular keywords, there are many ways to highlight the keywords. Prominent use in the title tag is important, as is repetition of the keyword throughout the content. Other methods of emphasis, such as bold, italics, underline, or headings, will alert spiders that the highlighted words are important. Just be sure that the emphasis looks normal to the eye and is not done in a way that looks like spam (e.g. too much emphasis).

Web analytics
An important component of a successful SEO program is determining increased website access. Obviously if you receive more inquiries and leads through a website, then your site is performing better in search engine results. However, only through web analytics (review of the site’s access statistics) can you determine why and how your site is performing better. Many web hosting companies provide web access statistics with hosting packages, and monthly review of these statistics can reveal important information such as:

• Number of visitors
• Which search engines direct traffic to your site
• Which keywords direct traffic to your site
• Which pages are the most popular on your site
• How many people visit multiple pages on your site
• Where your visitors are located

If your web host does not provide free access statistics, other web analytics programs exist (some paid and some free such as Google Analytics). I have found the review of web access statistics can be very entertaining—sometimes you receive traffic through unexpected sources, for unexpected keywords, and from very exotic locations. Understanding what is working (and what is not working) will allow you to tweak your site slightly to improve performance.

Promoting your site
Once you have a well polished website, active promotion is required to increase the visibility of the site. There are many ways to link to your site from elsewhere: videos on YouTube, articles on other websites, and through social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc). All of these forums allow you to link to your site, and in addition to linking to your main page, you should link to other specific pages. Make sure to link your website to your Replicator site (which will automatically calculate SV for purchases by visitors). The goal in promoting your site elsewhere is not to post as many links as possible, but to post good content/links on reputable sites. Links from spam sites can actually hurt your website’s online presence.

Testing new content
If you have an established website and use web analytics, you should try out new content on new pages. Sometimes it is OK to duplicate content in new formats, but make some changes: rearrange the position of words, emphasize different keywords, include different images, save as a different filename, etc. Put a link to the new test page (perhaps through your sitemap) and then track the progress of the page through web analytics. After a month or two, you should be able to see if the changes make the page perform better or worse than your original page.

Conclusion

The tips above are not an exhaustive list of SEO techniques. They are ones that I have tested in the past on a number of websites (business and personal) and found that they increase website traffic. Your results may vary, based upon which tips you try and how you use them. If you have more questions about SEO, or would like more information, a good place to start is the Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization, Google’s SEO Starter Guide (in 40 languages!), and some more advanced techniques at SEO Guide.

Good luck!

Owen Smigelski
Senior Counsel

Search engine optimization for Sunriders (Part 1)

Note: This is article was written by Owen Smigelski, Senior Counsel with Sunrider. Part 2 will be posted on Monday.

Search engine optimization for Sunriders (Part 1)

Introduction

Although the dot-com bubble burst a decade ago, the importance of the Internet continues to grow. Since 2000, the number of Internet users in the United States has almost doubled- to over 70% of the population. Annual online retail sales in the US are now over $200 billion, and growth is expected to rise with the increased use of smart phones, netbooks, and other Internet accessible devices. More than ever, an important aspect of supporting your Sunrider business is to have a presence on the Internet. If you do not have a website, it is easy and relatively inexpensive to set up a website, blog, or other online presence. Many people think that setting up a website is the hardest part—but actually the most difficult part is to drive traffic to the site and increase the site’s online visibility.

There are a number of paid options to help boost a site’s presence, including pay-per-click advertising (such as Yahoo! Search Marketing) and promotion services (which use various methods to drive traffic). Drawbacks to these paid services are high price (pay-per-click costs can add up quickly and often not generate leads) and questionable practices (promotion services and their client sites are routinely banned from search engine databases for spamming techniques). Recently, some businesses claim to generate leads and referrals to your website through a “free” report, but often this a tool to recruit individuals to resell a more detailed (and pricey) report—without creating leads for the original business.

The best, and most reliable, method of increasing a website’s presence is through search engine optimization (SEO). SEO programs can require time—time to implement, time to affect search results, and ongoing time commitment to monitor and update. However, successful SEO pays big rewards with ever increasing website traffic (and resulting leads and prospects). Although there are paid SEO services, there are a few tips the experts use that can be easily implemented on your website.

According to Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s Webspam team, there are 2 important factors for sites to perform well in an Internet search: 1) making great content that will attract links to the website, and 2) choosing a site design that makes your site usable/crawlable for humans and search engines alike. Internet search engines’ indexes are created by programs called “spiders.” Because of the massive amount of data on the Web, spiders essentially only consider text on a website, mostly ignoring things like images, frames, JavaScript, and Flash. These elements need to be present on a website to appeal to the human eye, but your focus should be on the text content of the site.

The tips below come from monitoring Sunrider on the Internet (part of my responsibilities as an in-house attorney at Sunrider) as well as my experience and background in SEO. The first section includes some basic tips that should be quick and easy to implement, and the second section focuses on some more technically advanced techniques. Search engines consider hundreds of factors for ranking a webpage in search results, but the tips below are some very important factors. Because search engines also keep their ranking programs confidential, SEO is not an exact science but one that requires testing and tinkering. The methods below are not an exhaustive list of SEO tips (many others can be found online or in SEO guides), but should help your website perform better in search engine results.

Basic SEO techniques

Good and accurate content
The most important, but sometimes overlooked, aspect of a website is the text content. Your site should be well written and free of grammar and spelling errors. The content should read easily and quickly provide the expected information. A satisfied visitor will likely look at other pages on your site and return in the future. Keep in mind that all content on your website needs to conform to the current Business Guide and Sunrider marketing guidelines. All IBOs are allowed (and encouraged) to use text and images that appear on Sunrider’s websites, because this content has been professionally designed and written and does not make any improper medical or income claims. Also, remember that all websites and new content need to be submitted through Sunrider’s Internet Compliance Form for compliance review.

Targeted content
A common mistake is to include too much content on one page. Each page should focus on one topic or subject, rather than covering many (and likely unrelated) topics on the same page. A website with 20 individual pages will rank better than a site with the same content on 5 pages. I have seen IBO websites that include a description of every Sunrider® product on one page. Not only is the page incredibly long, it is difficult for viewers (or search engines) to locate the pertinent content. A better solution would be to do a list of all products, and then link each name to another page that focuses on that specific product. Another possibility would be to do a page that only focuses on herbal beverages, another for foods, etc.

Title
Search engines treat the title of a web page as one of the most important factors in analyzing a page’s content (this is the title tag in HTML). The most important parts of the title are the first several words, so the focus of your page should be in the first few words. If writing a page about Fortune Delight®, the title “Fortune Delight information from Joe IBO” will be considered much more relevant than “Joe IBO’s information about the herbal beverage Fortune Delight.” Keep your titles short and concise. Do not pad your text with keywords or subjects that do not appear on your page. Also, it is OK to not put the ® symbol in the title tag to not confuse search engines.

Link name
It is essential to provide many links on your website (to other pages on your site, and outgoing links to other useful sites). Search engines analyze the text that provides the link, and then associates the linked page to the linking text. If you use the words “click here” rather than a word that describes the page you are linking to, search engines will assume the destination has something to do with “click here” (a Google search for “click here” shows the most popular links for these words). If you are linking to Sunrider’s site to purchase Calli®, the top link below is much better than the bottom two:

Visit Sunrider Shop Online to buy Calli
Visit Sunrider Shop Online to buy Calli
Visit Sunrider Shop Online to buy Calli

Outgoing links
It might seem counterintuitive, but it is important to have outgoing links to other third party sites. Search engines rank sites higher that provide links to other related (and useful) websites. Be sure not to do spam links, or links to bad websites; instead, provide links to Sunrider websites, IBO websites, or other related websites (such as nutrition sites or Wikipedia articles). You should also link to your Replicator site, and you can link to Sunrider’s blog, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube sites as well. Keep in mind to make links as specific as possible. If linking to buy Calli®, instead of a link to http://shop.sunrider.com, you should link directly to http://shop.sunrider.com/Shop/Product_51.asp?dept_id=7&pf_id=1061. Finally, there is no “magic” number of outbound links that each site or page should have (a couple is usually good), however, it is easy to have too many or too few.

Links between pages
Another important link strategy is to link between the various pages on your site. This can be done through menus and tables of contents, but it is also important to provide text links to the content of your pages. Spiders often cannot use (or ignore) links through graphics, so a page that has a list of links to all pages on your site (called a sitemap) should be posted at the bottom of each page for easy navigation by search engines. You can also link to your other pages in the main content as well.

New content
An important, and ongoing, component of SEO is to periodically add new and updated material to your website. A website that does not change is considered stale by search engines, and will eventually drop in the rankings. Adding more content several times each month will help boost the rank of the entire website.

Ignore meta tags
Many search engines now ignore meta tags (such as meta name="keywords" content="Sunrider”> and meta name="description" content="Sunrider Product Information”>), which can be easily manipulated. Some search engines will occasionally use the “description” meta tag in search results, but this is limited. Rather than focus on creating meta tags for your site, work on improving the site’s content and focusing on keywords in that content.

Sunrider Sets Healthy Pace with Employee Fitness Center

Sunrider’s belief in the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle permeates its corporate culture, and is well evidenced within its own World Headquarters. Many Sunriders may not know it, but the company’s 350,000 sq. ft. facilities feature not only a library, a botanical garden, an art gallery, and a cafeteria, but also an ultramodern fitness center!

The fitness center is located on the first floor of the building and can be used by employees during certain hours. Not surprisingly, many employees regularly take advantage of this first-class gym and really appreciate how convenient it is to get a workout in.

 
The fitness center is fully equipped for both cardio and weight-training workouts. Cardio machines include two treadmills, a cross-trainer/elliptical machine, two stationary bikes, and a stair-climber. Weight-training equipment includes a universal machine, a “pec fly” machine, a leg extension machine, a bench press machine, an ab/torso machine, plus a full array of hand-weights ranging from 2 lbs to 50 lbs. Mirrors line a wall, enabling users to check their form while working out. Oh yeah, there are also two incline boards for using the weights and performing sit-ups!


 
And that’s not all. For those wanting to mix up their routine, there’s an adjacent room designed for aerobics, stretching, yoga, jump roping, etc. A typical day might find an employee blasting cardio-kicks, with Billy Blanks barking out reps on a video monitor…or a Tai-Chi practitioner gracefully practicing movements, next to someone grunting through ab crunches.

And no modern fitness center would be complete without a widescreen TV, which the main room houses in full flat-screen and surround sound glory.  The TV is loaded with cable channels (in fact some find it a workout just scrolling through them all) for gym users to watch as they incinerate calories and work on waistlines. For pre- and post-workout, the fitness center has well-appointed men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers, lockers, and dressing areas.

Employees who use the fitness center report not only physical benefits, but mental benefits as well, burning off stress and mental fatigue along with the calories. One employee credits the gym’s treadmill with helping her get back into shape after her pregnancy. She now competes in 10K and marathon events. Another gym regular loves how a workout allows him to return to his desk refreshed, refocused, and reenergized—and most importantly, ready to provide Sunriders with the best service he can.

With all this said, to the “Career Opportunities” section of the Sunrider website, the following part in parenthesis should probably be added: “Opportunity, challenge, and a great working (work out) environment—Sunrider has it all!”

Olympic Torch Welcomed by Sunrider Canada

On Thursday, February 11, as the Olympic torch passed through Port Coquitlam, home of Sunrider Canada, local Sunrider IBOs (among the crowd of thousands) dressed in red and white as they waved Canadian flags and welcomed the Olympic flame to their community. The sight of the torch brought on overwhelming feelings of joy, pride, excitement, and the reality that the Olympic Games were starting in Vancouver, BC, in just two days. The torch relay traveled 28,000 miles and visited more than 1,000 communities while being carried by 12,000 torch bearers.

Sheryl Fitzharris of Vancouver, BC, said, “Today was amazing! We set our intention that Sunriders were going to have a photo with the Olympic torch and we did it! When the torch bearer appeared with the flame, I was reminded that life is about dreams, vision, and commitment, and these athletes worked hard and realized their dream to be here competing on the world stage. We just need to use the same formula in our SR Business and we too can realize our dreams!”

Sunriders Ushi and Dionne Olczak of White Rock, BC, said, “What an experience, here in White Rock, waiting for the flame with our hot Calli® tea, down at the beach. The crowd was so excited and so were we—it really made us proud of our community spirit and all the Olympic athletes!”

They’ve Got Questions, You’ve Got Answers: Answering Frequently Asked Questions with Confidence & Poise

Treat your new recruits like the treasures they are! In the beginning, they’ll have many questions about Sunrider® products, the compensation plan, operations, and more. While it’s impossible to have all the answers, you need to be prepared to answer FAQs.

Join North American Sales Manager, John Teng, and Group Business Leader, Andrea Langer, on Wednesday, February 17, at 5 pm PST, for a conference call and webinar to learn more about accurately and professionally answering FAQs.

Please note: If you are a new Sunrider teleconference call member, please contact the Business Service Department at info@sunrider.com for assistance prior to webinar.

Sharing Nutrition, Health, and Wealth

Sunrider Attends South Bay GirlTalk Expo


Grabbing a bag at the door for their goodies, some 2,500 women of all ages poured into the Torrance Marriot on Saturday, February 6, for a day of beauty, pampering, free health screenings, food, and fun at the South Bay GirlTalk Expo.


At the Expo, 64 vendors of the South Bay area gathered to introduce local women to their products and services, including Sunrider who was on-hand to share all facets of the company. There were SunBar® (Chocolate and Fruit) and Fortune Delight® (Peach and Lemon) samples, product brochures, SR Newsletters, information about The Chen Art Gallery, and more! Kandesn® Marketing Manager Julie McLewee was also on hand to give makeovers and skin care consultations. The Expo was packed with women interested in learning more about the company, and it showed—so many stopped by our booth to inquire about the products, receive samples, and ask questions, we could hardly keep up!

Isabel Mylnek was compelled by our presence at the Expo to sign up with Sunrider. Isabel said, “I really like natural products, so when I saw what the company offered, I was interested. I decided to sign up so I could receive more information about the products and the company and to learn more. If I believe in the products once I learn more, I’ll go right out and start selling.”


Sunrider IBOs and corporate staff members stood by to answer questions, introduce the company to passersby, and offer information about our many great products. 

VIP Customer Shemori Guinn (who was attending her second event as a Sunrider) said, “I learned so much from the Expo! It was so wonderful to meet and work with some of the Sunrider family…Everyone was so open and willing to share their approach in promoting Sunrider® products. I received at least one useful tip from everyone there…The highlight of the event was when I made my first sale! I sold an Oi-Lin® Skin Care Set to a nice woman who was eager to switch to a non-toxic skincare line…I made quite a few contacts at the Expo that I would have never made if I hadn’t gone. It was great to meet a ton of people interested in Sunrider without even having to leave the booth. How wonderful it is to have so many knowledgeable corporate associates working by your side for the same purpose! [I am] planning to attend all the events [I] can.”


Learning from other IBOs, gaining “approach” experience, closing sales, and making contacts are just some of the useful tactics and knowledge to be obtained at local events. The South Bay GirlTalk Expo was a hit for both Sunrider and our helpful IBOs who came to lend their support and grow their businesses.  

A Happy & Healthy Valentine’s Day

Don’t plan another hum-drum outing on the most romantic day of the year. Forget the dinner and movie combo, the fattening sweets, and the store bought cards. This Valentine’s, treat your special someone to a date that will create long-lasting memories and boost your well-being, too.

Cook as a Couple

Making dinner as a team is much more original (and easier on the waistline) than hitting your favorite date-night spot. Stroll the supermarket and choose scrumptious good-for-you foods to cook a delicious meal at home. Think salmon and asparagus, or grilled chicken and sautéed vegetables, and use Dr. Chen® Secret Sauce to create a delicious and nutritious marinade. Use your imagination and bon appétit!

Hike ‘til Your Heart’s Content

If you and your sweetie are outdoor types, taking a hike together is a great activity idea. There’s nothing more romantic than a stroll through beautiful, secluded trails. Pack a picnic lunch and you can dine outside (if it’s cold out, bundle up!). If you’re sore when you get home, break out the SunBreeze® Balm & Oil for a relaxing massage.

Be a Tourist

Plan a tour of your city with your beloved. Many people get comfortable and don’t explore their own city, so now’s the time to act like a tourist and get better acquainted! Walk the streets and visit museums, art galleries, or other spots you don’t usually visit. This way you can create beautiful memories together all while walking-off calories.

Raise Your Heart Rate

Be active this Valentine’s and plan a fun sporting session! Go ice-skating, river-rafting, parasailing, surfing, skiing, sledding, horseback riding, or any other exciting activity that’s available in your area. Pack your Sunrise® to help keep your energy level up for all the fun you’ll be having! Trying different things together are great for bonding, and you’ll get a workout, too!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooke/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Ignite Sunrider Interest Today!

Have you registered for today’s conference call and webinar? If not, make sure you do!

Hosted by North American Sales Manager, John Teng, with special speakers Jonathan Sugai, Group Business Leader, and Diane Haryett, Golden Group Business Leader, today’s call (Ignite Sunrider Interest) will delve into Opportunity Meetings and how you can use them to teach, inform, and inspire. Successful business builders hold them often—some even weekly!

Make sure all your new people are tuned in today at 5 pm PST, so they can learn step-by-step how to told a successful Opportunity Meeting and hear testimonials from seasoned leaders.

Please note, if you are not already a teleconference call subscriber or need more information, please contact info@sunrider.com PRIOR to today’s call.

Thanks, and hope you all can join us!

Valentine’s Sweets

Cupid is getting ready for the big day, are you? Valentine’s is a special occasion to show your loved ones how much you care, so why not make a delicious dessert that’s nutritious too!

Creamy Dreamy Brownies
Submitted by: Joel Gibson & Chrissy Gala, Sedona, Arizona

Ingredients for the Brownie Base
1 1/2 C walnuts or pecans, ground
1 1/2 C dates, pitted
1 Packet Cocoa VitaShake®
1/4 C chocolate or carob powder
1 Tsp. vanilla extract

1. Grind nuts in a food processor.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients and process until mixture is soft and crumbly. If mixture is too dry, add a little honey or water to create consistency you want.
3. Press into a small square or round pan 1/2 inch thick.
4. Top with frosting and chill until set. Serve with hot Calli® tea.

For the Frosting
1 C coconut butter, melted
1/2 C honey or agave
1 Vial Liqui-Five®
1/4 C chocolate powder
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
1 Packet Fortune Delight® Cinnamon

1. Melt coconut butter until soft.
2. Add agave or honey, Liqui-Five®, vanilla extract, and mix by hand.
3. Add chocolate powder and mix until smooth.

If you'd like, add SunnyDew® to taste.

Vitalite® Success Story

My name is Sigal Itzhak, and I’ve been with Sunrider for 10 years.

After five or six years of working in Sunrider and consuming its wonderful products, I decided I wanted to take care of a weight problem that I’d always suffered from. And Sunrider helped me do this! Over the years, Sunrider had taught me to establish a goal, stick to it, and find the best way to achieve it. I then used this knowledge when I decided that weight loss was my goal.

During my life, I had tried many diets and weight-loss systems, and the hardest part for me was always the fight against myself to change my poor eating habits. Sunrider was able to address this problem: Regular use of Sunrider® products, such as Fortune Delight® (to help cleanse my system), SunBar® (as a healthy and nourishing snack), and SunTrim® Caps and Action Caps® have made the process easier for me—I no longer have to fight myself. I added Sunrider® products to my regular diet and found that my body started signaling different needs. I actually "felt like" eating more healthy. My awareness of what my body wants and needs developed along the way.

Subsequently, I decided the right way for me to continue was to undergo a gastric partitioning surgery, which I’d done a few years ago. This surgery significantly reduces the amount of food a person can consume. In spite of the reduction from the surgery, Sunrider® products have been helping me to provide my body with all the nutrients it needs for optimal health. Therefore, I’ve been able to avoid a problem many people who undergo this surgery suffer from—malnourishment—which can stem from people satisfying their hunger with easily digested sugar-filled foods, like ice cream. In addition to malnourishment, eating these types of foods can also thwart weight-loss efforts.

With Sunrider® products, I’ve managed to achieve a nourishing and balanced diet, and create new and healthier eating habits more easily. I’m providing my body with the right "fuel" to help it function. I lost 55 kilograms slowly, steadily, and safely, while listening to my body's needs, and I feel great!

Too Many Vitamins Can Overload & Unbalance the Body

A recent Los Angeles Times article reported how problems can result from ingesting too many vitamins and supplements. The article, entitled “Foods fortified with extra vitamins could prove costly,” describes how many so-called energy bars, fortified juices, and other supplement products are loaded with mega-doses of vitamins—in amounts that greatly exceed recommended daily values. The article provides examples of how vitamin over-consumption—in addition to being a waste of money—has little benefit, and how over-consumption of certain vitamins can actually harm the body.

The information in the article dovetails with Dr. Chen’s Philosophy of Regeneration™—the blueprint behind all Sunrider® products. This philosophy advocates nourishing and cleansing the body to keep it in balance and performing at its best. Sunrider has a complete, holistic approach to achieving and maintaining good health. We should eat a variety of wholesome, fresh foods. When we eat properly, vitamin pills become unnecessary.

Dr. Chen admits that he could easily make synthetic protein powders, juices, and vitamin pills, but he doesn’t, because “at their best, they don’t benefit your health, and at worst, they cause damage.”

Sunrider is not about trying to treat illnesses or jumping on the latest “me-too” fad formula. As Dr. Chen says, “Developed societies currently have excess in their diets—too much protein, sugar, and fat, even too many vitamins. The last thing our body needs are traditional supplements with MORE protein, sugar, and vitamins. It creates a heavy load for your body to handle.”

We don’t put overly high doses of any one nutrient in any of our products. You can’t “fix” a health problem by taking a pill or taking a “super supplement.” Too much of any one ingredient can overload and unbalance the body. Our products are designed to nourish and cleanse the entire body, bringing it into balance. For example, the products in the SunPack® provide a foundation for optimal health: NuPlus® fills in nutritional gaps with micronutrients; Calli® contains antioxidants that assist the body’s natural cleansing process; and Quinary® balances the body’s five systems.*

In summary, our body is designed to digest foods, not chemicals. We need to eat a variety of foods with proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, etc., to thrive. When you isolate a protein or vitamin, it’s no longer a food, but a chemical that our body has a hard time digesting. Sunrider’s trade secret process preserves nutrients in their food form for easier digestion and better absorption.

To read the Los Angeles Times article: “Foods fortified with extra vitamins could prove costly,” click here.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

To learn more about the image used above, follow this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cleanwalmart/ / CC BY 2.0

And the Employee of the Year Award Goes To…Mel Arancon!

Congratulations to Mel Arancon, Sunrider’s 2009 Employee of the Year! Mrs. Chen presented Mel with the award on December 12 at the Sunrider Holiday Party, and he was truly surprised!

Mel has been a Sunrider employee for nearly five years, and is a facility technician in our General Services department. His maintenance skills are top-notch, and he’s especially talented with electrical issues. Mel maintains our security and fire alarms, air conditioning units, and completes any electrical project he’s given, saving Sunrider from costly outside contractors. His assignments can be very complex and intricate, yet he always seems to solve and complete projects on his own. Mel is so talented, it would be rare to find a piece of machinery he doesn’t understand! His vast knowledge and strong work ethic helps Sunrider save tens of thousands of dollars each year.

Most recently, Mel was asked to help with Sunrider projects overseas, and without hesitation he agreed! Once again, he was an enormous help, working long hours to make sure his work was perfect.

Congratulations, Mel, on this well-deserved honor, and thank you for all you contribute to Sunrider!

Build a Better Business: How Sunrider® Tools Can Help You Approach

Purchasing is a personal decision, so you want your approach to instill good feelings. You need to instantly let them know how you can help improve their lives or help solve their problems. A powerful approach can do all these things, and Sunrider® Marketing Tools can help leave a positive, lasting impression.

Join North American Sales Manager, John Teng, Silver Master Business Leader, Aaron Shuster, and Business Leader, Amy Oberstein, on Wednesday, February 3, at 5 pm PST, for a conference call and webinar to learn more about using our Marketing Tools to build a better business.

Please note: If you are a new Sunrider teleconference call member, please contact the Business Service Department at info@sunrider.com for assistance prior to webinar.