Published October 2002

Nikken advocates physical, financial health

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

Increasing interest in physical wellness has made Americans more receptive to considering alternative forms of medicine, including products and programs that create and preserve good health to prevent illness.

Paul Pilzer, an economic adviser to two presidential administrations and author of “The Next Trillion,” predicts the “wellness” industry will be the next trillion-dollar industry because people are putting more money and energy into staying healthy.

One of the major leaders in the new wellness industry, but one of the least known because the company doesn’t focus on large marketing and promotion programs, is Nikken, founded in Japan in 1975 and now headquartered in Irvine, Calif.

But Mary and Jim Dean of Everett know about it. The company, its products and its business opportunities have changed their health and their lifestyle.

More than five years ago, a friend shared news about Nikken’s products, technology and wellness philosophy with Mary, who at the time suffered from being unable to sleep through a night, waking each morning feeling tired.

A registered nurse for 26 years, she soon left the traditional medical field to become a network distributor for Nikken products — a business she and her husband now run together — “to help people take ownership for their health” before they get sick, she said.

“The quality of my life wasn’t very good; my health was miserable. By using Nikken’s special sleep system — the mattress, pillow, neck support and comforter — I was finally able to sleep well. That’s when I joined the company and began to help people develop their own individual wellness plans,” she said.

At the time, the Deans had two daughters and also had opened their home to foster children, but their lives were stressed by her nursing career and Jim’s role as an educator and principal.

“By using Nikken’s products and programs, our whole family’s health improved so much that we have been able to share our home with 14 foster children over the past several years, and we’ve adopted two boys,” Mary Dean said.

After discovering Nikken’s products — from magnetic footwear and sleep aids to skin creams and new developments such as far-infrared technologies and Bio-Directed Nutri-Technology — she also took advantage of the company’s total wellness approach to living.

Nikken advocates attention to five key areas of life — dubbed “The 5 Pillars of Health” by the company — that include body, mind, family, society and finances.

Dean said the company offers opportunities to create not only physical and mental well-being but also financial health.

Today, Nikken is a global enterprise with more than $2 billion in annual sales through its marketing network of hundreds of thousands of distributors who have more than 30 million customers.

Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar has merged his own company, the Zig Ziglar Network, into Nikken; the company’s magnetic technology products are worn by such notables as baseball catcher Johnny Bench; and Nikken’s “sleep system” is used by Denver Broncos player Ed McCaffney.

For more information, contact Mary Dean at 425-252-0979, send e-mail to mburkedean@aol.com or visit on the Web at www.5pillars.com/deansinbalance.

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