ACCESS the Power Within

NEARLY 20 YEARS HAVE PASSED since Dr. Larry Wang created Access. Since then, the Access Bars and Shakes have helped thousands of athletes achieve their personal bests, including marathon swimmer Tammy van Wisse, triathlete Debbie Hornsby and national champion runner Nick Symmonds, to name a few.

But many who use the Access Bar aren’t aiming for the top step of the podium; they simply want to achieve a slimmer figure, lose weight, enjoy their workouts more and create a healthier lifestyle. In this piece, Dr. Wang shares how to use Access to reach those goals and much more.

A Research Background

During the 35 years I was teaching animal and human physiology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton (emphasizing in fat and energy metabolism), I became fascinated by hibernation in mammals. I wanted to know how some animals, like the ground squirrel in Alberta, survived those cold, harsh Canadian winters for six to eight months while hibernating in underground burrows.

The squirrel is a curious animal. In a period of about six weeks in the late summer, it doubles its body weight, exhibiting all of the classic symptoms of obesity. But those changes don’t seem to hurt it. When it hibernates, its body temperature will drop from 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees in the fall and then to nearly 35 degrees in the coldest part of the winter to conserve energy.

Unlike snakes and insects, a squirrel will have 12 to 16 hibernation episodes throughout the six- to eight-month winter season. With each episode, the squirrel rewarms from the cold back to 98.6 degrees, stays warm for 12 to 24 hours and then returns to hibernation again. During each rewarm, the squirrel shivers violently to generate the needed heat. Essentially, this is similar to aerobic exercise and requires energy, which the squirrel draws from its fat stores, for two to six hours of shivering.

So after observing this, I found myself asking, “Why can’t humans burn fat on command like squirrels?”

Adenosine & Access

This question of why we can’t burn fat on command took a long time to answer—18 years of clinical research. But finally, we found the reason: it’s a natural metabolic product in humans called adenosine.

When we eat too much or have calories to spare, we turn that energy into fat for the rainy days. Adenosine serves as a fat guard, and it is so powerful a mechanism that even when we are facing life-or-death situations, we cannot easily access the fat on our bodies because of that natural fat guard. I sometimes read about people who’ve died after being stranded in the wilderness. When their bodies are found, there’s plenty of fat on them; their bodies couldn’t use that energy to survive.

These days, we have so much fat onboard, we don’t need to hoard it. Even if you’re extremely fit, probably 10 percent of your weight is still fat. It might even be 15, 20 or 30 percent of your body weight. We have fast-food restaurants on nearly every street corner, and we have more than enough energy. So I was curious, “Why can’t you use your fat to generate heat through muscle contractions like a squirrel?” It’s because your natural fat guard, adenosine, inhibits that process.

The technology I invented, the food ingredient blend in the Access Bar, was formulated to disarm that fat guard. Those ingredients temporarily minimize or neutralize the effects of adenosine. Consequently, fat can be released and used to fuel your muscles. (If you’d like to know more, you can find an in-depth explanation in Melaleuca: A Legacy of Wellness.)

The remarkable thing about Access is that the result is functionally predictable, meaning that it can work for you every time you use it. You could achieve your personal best the very first time you use an Access Bar or Shake, and you’ll do it with less soreness and less fatigue. You’ll feel more energetic, and you’ll also recover faster. And when exercise feels better, you can exercise more often and more vigorously, and that’s another reason Access will help you burn more fat.

A Fat-Burning Revolution

Melaleuca has sold more than 100 million Access Bars and Shakes since they were introduced 18 years ago. They’re a strong part of Melaleuca’s product line, and they’ve helped a lot of people live healthier, more active lives.

In 2011, I teamed up with Melaleuca’s research scientists and we asked, “What can we do to improve Access?” After a comprehensive search of natural fat-burning ingredients that would complement and improve the fat-burning benefits of Access, we selected a patented and clinically proven form of CLA—conjugated linoleic acid. What’s so impressive about our CLA? Melaleuca uses a patented form of CLA taken from safflower oil, and it’s backed by 18 clinical studies in 75 publications. It’s been shown to minimize regained fat and prevent lean muscle protein loss, which can sometimes be a problem for those who lose large amounts of weight.

So Access ingredient technologies can help you achieve a net gain when it comes to lean muscle mass and increase your capacity to burn fat. And CLA’s advantage does not stop after exercise. It continues to work around the clock, even while you rest and sleep. So the Access technology not only improves your net fat loss, it also helps to shape and sculpt your body.