July 2009 Archives

I was happy to see that finally it has been brought to the public's attention that tanning booths are very dangerous.  Those in the holistic community have been saying it for years and many of the owners of those booths knew it also and did not use the booths themselves.  It's on a parallel with the tobacco companies who still claim that smoking does not cause cancer.

It was all over the networks today:  International cancer experts have moved tanning beds into the top cancer risk category, deeming them as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas.  The risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30.  The new classification means tanning beds are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus and chimney sweeping, among others.  The research was published online in the medical journal Lancet Oncology on Wednesday July 29, 2009, by experts at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization.

Most lights used in tanning beds give off mainly ultraviolet radiation, which cause skin and eye cancer, according to the International Agency for Cancer Research.  Previous studies found younger people who regularly use tanning beds are eight times more likely to get melanoma than people who have never used them.  In the past, WHO warned people younger than 18 to stay away from tanning beds.

 A study of tanning bed users published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, found evidence that the UV in tanning beds may stimulate the brain to produce endorphins. These "feel-good" hormones are released during exercise, drug use or cigarette smoking. "The relaxing and reinforcing effects of UV exposure contribute to tanning behavior in frequent tanners, and should be explored in greater detail," the study's authors conclude.

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for teens to be banned from indoor tanning due to the dangers, only half of the states in the U.S. regulate tanning bed use by teens.

Several years ago I attended the wake of a lovely young woman in her thirties, with young children, who died of cancer ~ which started with melanoma and spread to her brain and liver. During chemotherapy, surgery and radiation she continued to go to the tanning booths. She was truly addicted.

It wasn't all that long ago that no one wanted a tan, as that meant that you worked outdoors for a living.  My mother grew up on a farm and if there had been a Baby Burka available ~ she would have made me wear it.  As it was I had to wear a hat and long sleeved shirt whenever I was outside.  I was in my teens before I got my first sunburn ~ thank you Mother.  But when people started traveling to Florida or to the Islands in the Winter ~ coming home with a tan became a status.symbol.  It is time to rethink those values.

    
                         ~
 

If you let go a little, you will have a little happiness.

If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of happiness.

If you let go completely, you will be free.
                                                                 ~  Ajahn Chah

Letting go ~ without a doubt the most difficult thing we ask of our patients and of ourselves. The ability to let go of our pain, our hurts, the slights, the rejection and the inevitable disappointments.The ability to let go is the foundation for Health and Happiness. Letting go starts with Forgiveness.

Credit to "Bottom Line" and Dr. Rigel  for this very timely and helpful information:

Melanoma -- it's scary but treatable, if caught before it spreads. The deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma is responsible for 75% of all skin cancer deaths but is 99% curable in the early stages. 

Darrell S. Rigel, MD, clinical professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center, and a colleague examined factors common among 600 people to identify which were most often associated with melanoma.
These are:
1. A history of blistering sunburns as a teenager.
2. Red or blonde hair.
3. Marked (meaning the number totaled more than 100) freckling of the upper back, which indicates excessive sun exposure along with a person's susceptibility to the sun, due to the fact that they are less likely to form a protective tan.
4. A family history of melanoma.
5. A history of Actinic Keratoses (AKs), which are lesions on the skin considered to be precursors to skin cancer.
6. Outdoor summer jobs for three or more years as a teenager (where he/she was likely to have had excessive sun exposure).

 ARE YOU AT RISK?
Each of these factors separately predicts an increased lifetime risk of melanoma, regardless of the others, Dr. Rigel said. While the average American has a 1.5% lifetime risk of developing melanoma, having just one of these six factors increased lifetime risk to 3% to 5%... two or more boosted risk five to tenfold... and a person with three or more factors has a 10 to 20 times increased lifetime risk of developing melanoma. 
 Dr. Rigel urges even more caution and screenings if you "have three to four of these factors, and especially if something looks suspicious on your skin."

In addition to Dr. Rigel's study, there are other risk factors, behaviors and traits that are associated with melanoma.
For instance:
•    For people with a prior history of breast cancer, melanoma risk is two to three times higher.
•    Women with a prior history of thyroid cancer are at double the risk of developing melanoma.
•    A higher incidence of melanoma is linked to higher socioeconomic class.
•    Airline flight personnel have a higher rate of melanoma, due to cosmic radiation and solar flares.
•    Male drivers have a higher incidence of skin cancers on the left side of the body compared with the right side of the body.
•    Taller men were found to have a higher incidence of melanoma than shorter men, with men in the top quartile of height twice as likely to develop melanoma as men in the bottom quartile of height.
•    People with a prior history of dysplastic nevi (non-cancerous moles) and a family history of melanoma have a 50% greater risk of developing melanoma.
•    Use of tanning beds is a major risk factor for melanoma. ***

"Melanoma is a clear-cut case in which early detection is key... if you catch it early, you can cure it," said Dr. Rigel. "Once it's advanced, nothing works."

Please do the math ~ if you have any of these risk factors please modify your behavior ~ use sunscreen more aggressively, wear a hat, sunglasses and protective clothing when in the sun and be very vigilant about seeing the dermatologist for annual skin cancer screening.

                                         Mind your ABC and D's

This Recipe is full of natural sources of magnesium ~ 
                                             ~  from Barb Holland
Ingredients:
•     1 tbsp olive oil
•     2 stalks celery, chopped
•     1 onion, chopped
•     2 cloves garlic, minced
•     1 tsp  dried basil leaves
•     1/2 tsp  each dried oregano and thyme leaves
•     A  pinch of crumbled dried rosemary leaves, a pinch of pepper
•     1 can diced tomatoes, including juice
•     1 can lentils, drained and rinsed
•     Juice of 1/2 lemon
•     3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
•     Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
   
Preparation
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in seasonings, vegetable stock, tomatoes, lentils and lemon juice.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Stir in spinach leaves until wilted, about 30 seconds. Serve with Parmesan, if desired.
Makes 8 cups ~ 4 servings.


Barb's Tomato Tip: If you have canned whole tomatoes rather than diced; an easy way to cut them up is using kitchen shears. Pour tomato liquid into soup (to avoid messy overflow) and cut tomatoes in the can.

Serve this hearty vegetarian soup with crusty whole wheat bread for a complete meal.  Barb suggests the sharp and slightly salty addition of freshly grated good Parmesan cheese, but omit for vegans.

Nutritional information:
Per Serving: 280 cal, 20 g protein, 6 g fat, 42 g carb, 10 g fiber, 1265 mg sodium. Excellent source vit A, vit C, folate, niacin, thiamin, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc. Very high source dietary fiber.
Calories : 280
 

Mg    Magnesium is the second-most abundant element in our cells.  It helps to regulate the activity of more than 325 enzymes and performs a vital role in muscle control and energy production.  Magnesium is nature's muscle relaxant and nature's tranquilizer.  The majority of migraine sufferers are deficient in this mineral.  Magnesium has been known to lower blood pressure and may help control a heart arrhythmia.

The Epsom Salt Industry Council (ESIC) reports that magnesium may:
•    Ease stress and improve sleep
•    Help muscles and nerves function properly
•    Regulate enzymes
•    Help prevent artery hardening and blood clots
•    Helps support insulin
•    Reduce inflammation
•    Improve oxygen use

The National Academy of Sciences reports that most Americans are magnesium deficient.   The Academy estimates the average American male gets only 80% of the magnesium required for good health, while females get only 70% of their recommended levels. The ESIC reports that Americans' magnesium levels have dropped more than 50% in the past century.  This drop is due to a several factors including intensive farming practices that deplete magnesium from the soil and the fact that magnesium is not a standard component in most fertilizers. So a diet that would have supplied enough magnesium a century ago may not supply enough today.  In addition the American diet contains very little magnesium.

Calcium drains magnesium from the body and calcium can only function when there is sufficient magnesium.  The ESIC reports that taking a calcium supplement without making sure that the body also receives enough magnesium can result in a shortage of both nutrients. The ESIC goes on to say that researchers have found most Americans have five times as much calcium as magnesium in their bodies.

Soaking in an Epsom Salt bath can help towards correcting your magnesium deficiency.  Add two cups of Epsom Salts to your bath and soak for at least 15 minutes.

* Preventing or treating osteoporosis is a complicated matter and you may need a protocol designed just for you ~ please consult with your doctor or practitioner.

To Western doctors, insomnia is the inability to sleep soundly. If there is no obvious physical reason, it will usually be seen as an emotional problem such as stress, anxiety, or depression.  For chronic insomnia the usual treatment is sleeping pills.

In Oriental Medicine the term Insomnia covers a number of different problems such as inability to fall asleep easily, waking up during the night, restless sleep, waking up early in the morning and dream-disturbed sleep. 

Oriental medicine relates insomnia to the Heart.  According to Maciocia, a well-known educator and practitioner, the amount and quality of sleep depends on the state of the Mind.  "The Mind is rooted in the Heart; if the Heart is healthy and the Blood abundant, the Mind is properly rooted and sleep will be sound." 

Diagnosing the cause of one's insomnia is very complicated.  There is not just one generic acupuncture point for insomnia that will cure the condition.  Your practitioner of Oriental Medicine should check your tongue, your pulse on both wrists, check your body for scars, moles and broken capillaries whose existence and location are indicative of certain problems.  One of my teachers is a great believer in Gua Sha which is diagnostic as well as a treatment. 

Once a diagnosis has been arrived at it is still a process; I often compare it to the peeling of an onion.  Treating certain organ and channel imbalances must be constantly reevaluated and the treatment adjusted.  Often Herbs are called for.  Make sure that your practitioner has been trained in Oriental Herbs.  I have heard people say that they are taking herbs to harmonize them.  Of course everything one does is to achieve balance and harmony but there is only one category of herbal formulas that harmonizes; this involves complex processes in different levels of the body as well as hot and cold. These formulas rarely relate to insomnia.

The commonest types of insomnia are as follows:

Thursday the Today show was broadcast from Michael Jackson's home Neverland; I almost fell off my chair when I saw the inside of his home. Overhead beams were in every room shown on the tour including the kitchen and the master bedroom.

 Wooden overhead beams look attractive and are very popular, but they are very negative in terms of Feng Shui.  When beams are exposed in a home, they bring a feeling of oppression and can stop the flow of fortune for money and prosperity. When there are exposed beams over your bed or desk they can cause ill health, bad luck and business problems. Sleeping under an exposed beam can cause severe illness.  It is impossible to have balanced energy in any room where there are exposed beams.  If they are structural beams then their effect is even more serious.  In effect, the beams send killing energy downwards from the ceiling.

There are suggested cures for overhead beams but in this case, where they were everywhere, the only solution would be to install new ceilings.  This house was a combination Tudor and French Chalet ~ I don't see the suggestion of a dropped ceiling going over well.

Another thing ~ a bedroom should not be located too close to a staircase and Michael's bedroom was in effect a sleeping loft with a staircase going right up to within a few feet of the bed.  There are other negatives with this house specific to Michael's Kua number ~ but that's another posting.

Michael Jackson bought Neverland in 1988 ~ then his luck began a downward spiral ~ he NEVER should have moved in.

Inside
     Neverland