Anyone who has ever entered ‘Blue Bull’ country and taken a seat at Pretoria’s famous Loftus Versveld will know it does not take much to get the adrenalin pumping and the blood flowing! The Bulls remain a force to be reckoned with in South African rugby and are internationally respected for being fierce competitors.
But what some people may not know is that the team has a ‘secret’ to their training and preparation. In addition to sheer hard work, a vigorous schedule and dogged determination, these players are consuming Nu Skin® Pharmanex® supplements – and the results have amazed the Blue Bull Union’s doctors and medical staff.
Nu Skin Enterprises is a global, listed multi-level nutrition and wellness marketing company operating across 53 markets in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Pharmanex® is the company’s range of nutritional supplements and wellness solutions.
Management of the franchise confirm that players in the squad are taking: LifePak® Nano, a comprehensive vitamin supplement; g3, a nutrient-rich juice from the gac “superfruit” of Southern Asia; Overdrive, an energy metabolism and post exercise muscle recovery product, and ageLOC® Vitality, a dietary supplement related to anti-aging Gene Expression in the human body, which raises vitality and sustains baseline energy levels.
So, the squad is taking nutritional supplements to boost their health and overall wellbeing… why is that news?
Well, with these supplements, the players can actually measure and scientifically prove the impact on their systems. They are able to have their antioxidant level measured by the patented Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner and get an instant reading of their skin carotenoid antioxidant level.
This is where the science comes in!
Your official skin carotenoid antioxidant score reflects your state of wellness. Antioxidants are our frontline defence against free radicals in your system, those that cause damage to cells and human tissue. Essentially, this is what is behind the unavoidable process of aging.
“A recent independent clinical study shows that skin carotenoids can be indicative of oxidative stress in the body. This is an important advance in antioxidant research, and can potentially be the most important discovery with the Pharmanex® BioPhotonic Scanner. These findings should encourage consumers to know their Skin Carotenoid Scores and increase their consumption of more fruits and vegetables while continuing to supplement,” says Dr. Lester Packer, one of the world’s foremost antioxidant research scientists.
By measuring the level of carotenoid antioxidants in the skin and generating a Skin Carotenoid Score, the user is instantly provided with a reliable biomarker of their overall antioxidant health status.
This ability to prove results of the supplements the company supplies is what differentiates them in a competitive market.
It is something medical experts at the Blue Bulls camp take very seriously.
“These players have consistently taken the products over a three-month period and there are definite results,” says Dr. Org Strauss, Blue Bulls Team Doctor.
“After using the products for 90 days, the top 10 scores have increased between 61 – 105%! The products are amazing and there is no better supplement (in my opinion) on the market. To add to the value of the product, is the measurability because we can monitor if it is working or not,” he adds.
Dr. Strauss explains why it is imperative that players take control of their health and to sustain these levels for as long as possible.
“When a player gets injured or becomes ill, it has a huge cost implication for the Union, and this is the highest factor we look at when choosing the right supplements for the players. We don’t want the risk of players being off sick for long periods because of the financial implications. During the last three months, I can literally count on my one hand the amount of players who were sick (common colds). We had one of our roughest pre-season programmes, and the players commented recently how easy it was generally for them because of the good supplements they used,” he says.
The Blue Bulls Union has been so impressed with the results of the products, measured scientifically via the Pharmanex® Biophotonic Scanner that the acclaimed rugby body has entered into a formal partnership with Nu Skin South Africa.
As a result, Nu Skin South Africa is now the official dietary supplement provider for the team and will provide its top science-based nutritional supplements to 32 players for an initial 12-month period.
“The Blue Bulls and Nu Skin® have a strong common denominator which is to compete and perform at the very highest levels, delivering the best results and this makes this partnership a logical fit. We are therefore extremely pleased to be an official sponsor of the Blue Bulls and look forward to providing these athletes with our products,” says Nick Johnson, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Nu Skin®’s Europe, Middle East and African operations.
