(From top) The facade of the Nutrilite Centre in Orange County, California; seed preservation; ladybirds used in healthy soil-building practices

It was a bright sunny day in the month of July at Buena Park, California. We — a group of journalists and I — had just arrived at the Nutrilite Centre — Institute of Optimal Health. After 30 hours of travel, from Calcutta to Orange County, we were jet-lagged and pooped out. But even in our state of exhaustion, the first thing that struck my eye was a glass DNA double-helix that hung tall in the centre’s lobby. Its twisted shape symbolic of the very spirit of the Nutrilite centre — preservation and optimisation of health.

A series of lectures followed after which we were taken around the centre’s manufacturing unit. There, we saw many hands that worked in concert to give us supplements from Amway’s Nutrilite brand.

The idea behind the Californian trip was not just an overview of how these vitamin or dietary supplements are made but to create awareness about one of the greatest challenges in modern times — attaining and retaining good health. Our diets have inadvertently witnessed the hardest blow of the urbane, busy, pressure-driven lives we lead. We eat what we get and this mindless eating has fed our bodies but sorry to say, not nourished us.

DAY ONE — HEALTH FIRST

During lunch with Sam Rehnborg, the youngest son of Nutrilite-founder Carl Rehnborg, the white-haired CEO explained to us how the seed behind the supplement was germinated. “During his stay in China, my father observed that the Chinese did not drink milk, which resulted in bow-legs in children and weak bones and hunched backs in women. He also believed that there were nutritional elements in plants, which were crucial for health. This led him to research, innovate and produce a nutritional supplement,” said Sam.

In 1934, Carl came up with the concept of including whole plant concentrates such as alfalfa and parsley in his formula and in 1948 the Nutrilite brand sold its first multivitamin/multimineral formula in North America.

A testimony to the efficacy of the product is Sam who, at 75, has run 30 marathons and has been taking this supplement longer than anyone else, for he was his father’s guinea pig!

A second proof of a fit body was our guide, Bob, who barely looked 35. “How old are you?” a team member asked him casually. “I’m 50. I shave my head and beard so my white hair is not visible,” grinned the jovial fellow, leaving us with jaws wide open.

Talking of jaws, we got them working as soon as we sat down to a healthy meal comprising soup, salad, wholegrain burrito and chicken. A closer look and I spotted chocolate mousse, too! That was to say, at Nutrilite, they believe in balance and moderation, and respecting one’s right to choose when it came to eating.

I decided to go for a healthy wholewheat sandwich and after a mental debate, topped it with mousse — only to make it a “balanced” meal, of course!

After a quick stop at the hotel, dinner was at Seasons 52, a restaurant in a small city called Costa Mesa and even here, the food served was all less than 450 calories. What a healthy end to Day One!

DAY TWO — THE SCIENCE OF CREEPY-CRAWLERS

We departed for Lakeview, en route passing the rocky Santa Ana mountains and the orange orchards that give Orange County its name. Once at Nutrilite’s organic farm in Lakeview, supervisor Peter Debus took charge. While explaining the pros of organic farming, to my horror, Peter scooped up a part of the earth filled with earthworms. Before we knew it, he held another bag full of ladybirds. Allergic to insects, I took two steps back as visions of myself choking to death flashed through my mind. I was freaked out!

But taking a deep breath and moving not an inch, I paid heed to the science behind these creepy-crawlers. Carl firmly believed that healthy soil was essential for healthy plants. Conforming to his philosophy, healthy soil-building practices — such as the use of compost, beneficial soil micro-organisms like earthworms, ladybirds and beetles — are applied to grow alfalfa at the farm. The Lakeview farm was fenced in by trees, which Peter explained, was to prevent the potential contamination of pesticides used in the neighbouring lands. Instead of pesticides, animals such as sheep and goats are used to clear weeds.

As an earthworm crawled over my shoe, I peered at it with new-found affection.

DAY THREE — AWESTRUCK

Back in Buena Park, machines blended, compressed, and coated the ingredients to produce 7,000 organic tablets every minute. There, I saw a new category being produced in small quantities — supplements based on Nutrigenomics. This study of how DNA and genetic code affect your need for certain nutrients, has taken the world of nutrition by storm. Imagine a prescription which lists your nutritional supplements depending on your genetic make-up!

Awestruck and enriched, the Nutrilite experience had not only brought me closer to nature but also made me marvel at the wonders of modern science.

A food supplement is recommended if:

• You have nutritional deficiencies
• You do not eat a varied diet
• You do not eat fruits and vegetables daily
• You are eating less than 1,600 calories per day or you are on a low-calorie weight-loss diet
• You are elderly and your food intake is compromised
• You are a strict vegetarian or vegan
• You are pregnant or a woman of child-bearing age
• You have a medical condition that imposes food restrictions.