The medical field uses vital signs as one way to measure health – blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature and of late, the BMI (Body Mass Index). If you fall within a normal range you are healthier than if you fall outside of the range.

A European study published in the Archive of Internal Medicine last summer  showed that 4 lifestyle factors can have a strong impact on the prevention of chronic diseases*:  no smoking, keeping your BMI  under 30, exercising or physical activity for 3.5 hours a week and eating a healthy diet (defined as high intake of fruits, vegetables, whole-grain bread and low meat consumption).

A healthy diet provides the proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fats your body uses to build, maintain and repair cells, organs, hormone systems, hair, teeth and even your fingernails.

If vital signs can quantify your internal biochemistry, is there a metric for measuring if your diet is giving you the nutrients you need?  You can order a blood test, hair analysis or muscle testing to figure out your nutrient levels.  These tests require professional help and the results are valid for a only a certain period of time.  They can also be costly.

For over 25 years we have been using supplement smell & taste testing as a means to assess nutrient needs.  All you need is a working nose or taste buds and a nutrient to smell or taste.  SenseAble Supplements offers 30 smell or taste testable supplements.  A nutrient profile based upon smell or taste is a low cost self assessment that can be used as often as you like to monitor your changing nutrient demands.

Wired magazine reported last summer that online programs that let you record and monitor health statistics (personal metrics)  is one of the fastest growing, popular trends today.  While most can track your weight, exercise and vital signs, our online Nutrient Report Card is the only program that gives you the ability to input your nutrient smell & taste scores to see if you’re meeting your nutrient needs.

Use the Report to guide your supplement and food choices and then re-score the nutrients to watch your progress.  Vital sign and symptom tracking are also available so you can track all your health numbers in one convenient program.

Karen

*(type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer)

Charting your personal burn rate with sites like Nike (see June 2009 Wired Magazine) gives you a clear picture of how your output game is tuning you up. What’s missing is an equally important tracking system that goes beyond the calorie and nutrient label we all love to read.  A tracking system that looks directly into your body to track your personal nutrient profile.

Your personal  Nutrient Report Card can play a significant role in your body re-build and re-model program by creating a personal nutrient profile with a simple smell or taste test.  You can Preference Test up to 30 specific nutrients in the comfort of your home to learn what your body really wants.  Find foods and supplements that match your needs.  Imagine remodeling a kitchen – and putting all the same old appliances back into those new cabinets.  If you are going to do the hard work – enjoy the full benefits of a master re-model driven by information stored in your body.

Preference Tests with smell & taste give you an evolutionary advantage in the quest for health.  No matter what you do for a workout, growing health is an inside job.  Listen to your body talk – take a Preference Test. Your body wants to be healthy. Your body loves being healthy.  Follow that desire.  Burn it – then re-build from the inside out.  Give yourself the fuel your body desires. Where do you want to grow today?

Tim

You may be wondering how ChemBalance fits with SenseAble Supplements.  ChemBalance Assessments are still available as usual along with my personal consultations. As always, I am here to answer your questions and concerns.

SenseAble Supplements offers a self-assessment option through the online Nutrient Report Card.  You can input your scores from supplement smell and taste testing and get a personalized list of supplements and foods. Use your Report Card to guide your supplement and food choices, re-score your supplements and see what changes. Add vital signs and symptoms to monitor your progress.  A Nutrient Report Card Membership is just $19.95 a year and allows you to track up to six members of your family.

A Nutrient Report Card Membership also entitles you to discounted prices on all smell and taste kits, as well as vitamin and mineral refills.  Members have access to forums and special features about topics related to our products and services.

You’ll now order through the SenseAble Supplements store on the website (you can still call me, too!).  We have researched the supplement market and found the best smell and taste testable supplements available.  You may see some new manufacturers and labels – be assured each have passed our standards for quality and purity.  With new Member discounts, you’ll pay  less for electrolytes and kit refills.

I would love to get your comments and questions – call or email me!

Karen Nielsen

In 1975 the internet was just a kid and smell and taste research was all about marketing stuff. Remember the Pepsi Challenge? This supermarket campaign was my first experience with taste testing.  It was fun and back then I actually preferred Pepsi. The results of that simple sip test have been challenged for accuracy and effectiveness – but as I was to discover later, preference tests have more to offer when nourishment, not taste entertainment is the goal.

I experienced my first smell and taste test using supplements in 1979. I was not interested in taking supplements even though I ate like a college kid. My smell and taste scores were all over the place – some high and some low. I came back for more smell tests.  What the heck I thought, maybe I’ll learn something useful. The very idea that my senses could help me stay healthy was a very interesting concept.  The more I directed my supplement and food choices  guided by smell and taste the more curious I became.

Why would I prefer Vitamin A Tuesday and Vitamin D on Friday? Why would my preferences change from day to day? My friends and family all had smell and taste scores different from mine and they changed from day to day as well.  When I added foods that matched my preferences, my perception of smells and tastes changed accordingly.  Over time my preference scores became more regular and centered in the middle. I felt stronger and more confident about my own senses and my ability to nourish myself.  I kept track of my vital signs as well and watched them go through their cycles too.  Party too much – my scores would take a dive. Overdrive a term paper weekend – crash and burn – my scores changed then too! Slowly and surely my experiences gave me enough personal proof that I became enamored of a simple premise.

Smell and taste responses changed according to my body’s needs.

In other words – the more I needed a specific nutrient – the better it smelled or tasted when compared to a lesser needed nutrient or supplement.  Good thing I wasn’t alone! I learned this in the company of several friends and family members who for the past thirty years have shared and experienced the same benefits from tracking their smell and taste preferences.

The good news is you can check this premise out for yourself with our online Nutrient Report Card. Let your curiosity roam and your senses be your guides.  Get a smell or taste kit – put your senses to work for you – upload your scores – change your diet – get some exercise! Watch what happens.

It’s a sense-able approach to the vexing question of how best to meet your daily needs.

We won’t try to tell you what supplements or foods you need – we’ll leave that to your natural intelligence. We think that’s a tastefull path to good nutrition. Good hunting and Bon Appétit!

Tim