I’m not a morning person. I never have been. But for more than 30 years, I’ve had a trick that gets me from “leave me alone” to functional in about ten minutes: a Shaklee Life Shake. I don’t drink coffee, so this is my coffee. I can genuinely feel it wake me up, and it’s been the first thing I do every single morning for three decades.
I’m Carl LaFlamme, Shaklee Ambassador and 34-year wellness advocate, and I want to walk you through what’s actually worked for me and my wife Suzanne over three-plus decades of using these products daily — not as a sales pitch, but as two people who’ve tested this stuff on ourselves for longer than some of you have been alive.
My Go-To for Immunity: NutriFeron
Before I started a real Shaklee nutrition routine, I was the guy who got bronchitis constantly. I could count on getting knocked flat by the flu a couple of times a year, like clockwork. It wasn’t fun, and it wasn’t sustainable.
Once I got serious about a full nutrition program and added an immune-specific supplement to the mix, that pattern broke. I’ve gone several years at a stretch without getting sick. Not “a mild cold here and there” — genuinely not getting sick.
The product doing a lot of that work for me is NutriFeron. What sold me on it originally, and what still makes me bring it up in conversation, is the story behind it. It was developed by Dr. Yasuhiko Kojima, the immunologist credited with discovering interferon in the first place. Interferon is what your immune cells use to communicate and respond to threats, and NutriFeron is designed to help support your body’s own natural interferon levels rather than just throwing a generic blend of vitamin C and zinc at the problem and hoping for the best.
My Cold and Flu Season Backup: Triple Defense Boost
When it feels like everyone around me is getting sick — an office outbreak, a family gathering where someone’s clearly fighting something, the first cold snap of the season — I mix up a Triple Defense Boost drink. It’s become my seasonal ritual the same way some people stock up on tissues and cough drops. I’d rather load up on something that supports my immune system directly than wait around to see if I catch whatever’s going around.
My Approach to Energy: Steady, Not Spiked
Here’s my honest opinion, and I don’t say this lightly: I cringe when I see people cracking open one of those giant energy drinks or knocking back a tiny energy shot bottle like it’s medicine. Those things are hard on your heart, and they’re built around a crash-and-burn model — big spike, ugly crash, repeat. It’s unnecessary when there are healthy alternatives that give you real, sustained energy without the side effects.
My own energy routine starts with that same morning Life Shake. It’s a full nutritional shake, not just a caffeine delivery system, so the energy it gives me feels different — steadier, without the jitters or the crash an hour later.
On days when I need a boost beyond that morning shake, I reach for one of a few things depending on my mood and what I’ve got going on:
– An Energy Chew, when I want something quick and portable
– Energizing Tea, when I want a warm pick-me-up that feels more like a ritual than a fix
– Sustained Energy Boost, on days when I know I need something that lasts through a longer stretch rather than a quick spike
None of these are trying to jolt me the way an energy drink does. They’re built to support real, usable energy, which is the whole point.
Why This Matters After 34 Years
I’ve been doing this long enough that I’m not guessing, and I’m not repeating marketing copy. Suzanne and I have lived with this nutrition program daily for over three decades, and the before-and-after in my own health — fewer sick days, mornings that don’t feel like a fight, energy that doesn’t come with a crash — is the real case study.
If you want to go deeper on the immune side specifically, I put together a breakdown of the supplements I recommend most for immune support, which you can find here.
The short version of my philosophy after all these years: energy and immunity aren’t things you chase with a quick fix. They’re things you build, day after day, with the right foundation. For me, that foundation has been Shaklee — and honestly, after 34 years and a lot fewer sick days than I used to have, I’m not looking to change it.
