
Your Life-Your Choice      ISSN 1488-0253
                                               February, 2001
                                               Issue 69

Letter From the Editor

Welcome to our first issue for 2001. I want to first
apologize to everyone for the ordeal you all recently had
to endure. Between volumes of email and virus attacks, it
was a frightening and frustrating time for all of us.

In all the mass confusion some e-mails may have been
lost. If you wish to be unsubscribed or if you are receiving
this newsletter in error, please mailto:unsub@life-choices.com
and your request will be honored immediately.

What happened? It suffices to say that Your Life-Your
Choice was the victim of an infiltration. Without my
knowledge or permission, someone remotely gained access to
the e-mail address containing the YLYC subscribers for the
use of spamming. This was the very beginning of the
numerous emails we all received. Each time anyone replied
to an e-mail it was sent to the entire list. One of the
first respondents inadvertently sent out the Snow White
virus which would only have affected you if you opened the
attachment. As soon as we were aware of what was happening,
we removed the entire subscriber list from our server in an
attempt to minimize the damage.

We reacted as soon as we could, however the damage was
still extensive. It has taken us 6 weeks to recover and I
won't even get into the havoc it has caused on our side,
over and above the tremendous inconvenience to all of you.
I assure you that neither Your Life-Your Choice nor
Virtualife.com (who hosts our newsletter) has ever had the
Snow White or any other virus. I haven't laboured over and
published a FREE newsletter for 4 years just to destroy
everything I've worked for.

I would like to thank ALL of you who understood and stuck
by us through this ordeal. Understandably we received
e-mails from some angry subscribers. But we also received a
great number of supportive private e-mails and phone calls.
Those were terrific reminders of WHY I do this every month,
and gave me the incentive to continue.

I'm compiling an e-book that will include a number of
natural health tips for various health conditions.
Ultimately this will be offered to the public from the Your
Life-Your Choice website. I haven't decided yet if I will
charge for it or not. However, to show my appreciation for
your support, I will be offering it to YOU, my faithful
supporters, for FREE in a pre-release. Watch the coming
newsletters! I'll announce it, with a link to download, as
soon as it's ready.

Many thanks to all of you, and to Virtualife.com who
reacted so quickly and thoroughly. By the way,
Virtualife.com has added additional security to our
subscriber list to prevent anything like this from
happening again.

Until next time, the best of health to you.

Brigitte Synesael
Editor of Your Life-Your Choice
Make it your business to be informed!
No one cares more about you than YOU.
http://www.Life-Choices.com

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ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Breast Cancer Survivors:
         Encouraging Stories of Changed Lives
2. Top Dog - Stress-Ex for Prevention
3. Tea Tips - Tea Helps the Heart
4. Making the New Year Nutritious!

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Section 1       Breast Cancer Survivors:
                 Encouraging Stories of Changed Lives

                 by Laurel Duran, CMT
                 http://www2.amigo.net/bluecord

As a Massage Therapist I have been fortunate enough to
hear the personal stories of many clients shared during
hour-long massages. Over the years I have noticed a clear
theme underlying the lives of women with breast cancer.
This theme is the innate subject matter of the breasts and
heart, namely: nurturing oneself; undergoing changes of
heart through privately feeling one's negative emotions;
and feelings about mother and home. Imagine this ideal
scene that encapsulates what the heart and breasts are
about: an infant at home cries out for her mother's
nurturance until her mother picks her up, feeds or
comforts her until she is at peace again. In reality, most
of us can honestly admit that not all of our
mother-nurturance needs were completely satisfied in early
childhood. Also, some women learned from their mothers
that their primary function in life is to nurture others
and to forget self. Both of these scenarios can
unconsciously contribute to an adult woman's difficulty
with breast and heart issues.

I have asked every female massage client with a history of
breast cancer this question: "When you discovered you had
breast cancer, did you use the diagnosis as a turning
point in your life? Did you begin to nurture yourself
more, and place YOURSELF on the top of your priority list?"
Regardless of whether she had utilized traditional
medicine or wholistic healing methods, every woman who
answered "YES" no longer had breast cancer. And every
woman who answered "NO", still had breast cancer. While my
very informal style of information gathering does not live
up to statistical research's stringent standards, I
believe there is a seed of valuable truth in these women’s
stories. Let’s see what your own intuition tells you.

Here is a composite story of 'YES' answering women who no
longer had breast cancer:

"When I found out I had breast cancer I faced my own
mortality. I thought 'If this signals the end of my life on
earth, then how do I really want to spend my final days?'
I started listening to my own heart, to my own feelings,
and I wasn't going to wait for other people's approval or
agreement anymore. I used to feel guilty about having my
own desires, my own needs, my own feelings... many of
which were different from what my
partner/family/children/boss thought I was supposed to
feel.

I started speaking up on behalf of my own feelings
and my own needs. I took it upon myself to meet my own
needs rather than silently and sometimes resentfully
expecting others to meet my needs. At first, it was a shock
to my family/husband/children/boss if I said 'NO' to
something they wanted from me that I did not want to
provide for them. But I realized it wasn’t healthy for me
to only feed others until my own well had run dry, leaving
nothing for me. Even though I had been taught I was only
allowed to give my energy to others, I realized that
behavior was no longer good for me. I speak up for myself
more now. I reserve empty time and space for me to meet my
own needs, regardless of whether or not others approve.
I’ve changed and in fact, my husband/children/family/boss
have changed as a result. They realize that they almost
lost me, and now they leave much more room for me to be
myself than they used to. My family has even started
taking care of many of their own needs now. I feel this
new-found self-sufficiency is actually good for them, as
well as relieving me of the burden of meeting their every
need. Also, before the breast cancer I felt guilty about
receiving such complete nurturance through massage.

Today I can truly enjoy letting myself relax, be pampered and
receive complete nurturance from massage."


Here is a composite story of 'NO' answering women who still
had breast cancer:

"I have so many responsibilities to others that I don't have time
to nurture myself. I have children and family to take care of/a
husband to take care of. I have a very demanding
job/ boss/community service I must do, regardless of how I feel.
My many responsibilities to take care of others leave me with
no time to do anything for myself. There is a history of
breast cancer in my family and my mother and grandmother
taught me that as a woman/wife/mother I am supposed to
take care of others and not be selfish by thinking of
myself.

My doctor has prescribed medication that would
keep my feelings from inconveniently surfacing and getting
in the way of my many responsibilities to others.
Actually, I feel guilty about taking this time out for
massage. I'm only here because I don't want to waste this
gift certificate. I really should be working and not
wasting time on myself."

Can you intuitively see a theme here? It is never too late
to have a change of heart, and to rediscover that you
deserve to nurture yourself!
-----
Read about Laurel Duran on our Meet the Team
page; http://www.Life-Choices.com/team.html

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Section 2       Top Dog - Stress-Ex for Prevention

Pets each have their own personality and temperments. They,
too, can suffer from conditions such as stress. We need to
relax our pets to ensure that they benefit from necessary
sleep and prevent other health issues that can be stress
related. Stress-Ex is a formula that I would give to an
animal the day before going on a trip. For hyperactive
breeds I would put drops in the pets water everyday to slow
them down just a bit. There are seven herbs in the formulas
that support the nervous system. St. John`s Wort also is
effective for some nervous problems. Vitamin E supports the
nervous system and Lecithin helps to strengthen the myelin
sheath thus helping nervous disorders.

Wood Betony relaxes muscles and nerves which is excellent
for all head and face pains. Herbs that will help improveme
sleep quality are Valerian, Lobelia, and Skullcap. Lady's
Slipper is a tonic for the nervous system improving
circulation and supplying valuable nutrients to your pet.
-----
Do you have a specific question about your pet's
health that you would like to have an answer to? Talk to
our TOP DOG. http://www.life-choices.com/cj/pet.html

***************************************

Section 3       Tea Tips- Tea Helps the Heart

In a recent study, a research team at Brigham and Women's
Hospital in Boston has found the heart-attack risk in
people drinking one or more cups of tea per day was about
half that of those who drank no tea.

The team's findings "suggest that tea may be beneficial
because it contains flavonoids which reduce platelet
aggregation and inhibit LDL-cholesterol oxidation,"
according to Peter Wehrwein, in his article "More evidence
that tea is good for the heart," in The Lancet. "All teas
are not equal," Mr. Wehrwein reports. "Last year (Gary
Beecher of the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural
Research Service) reported on catechin (flavan-3-ol)
concentrations in different forms of tea. Although several
brands of black tea had substantial amounts of catechins,
there were reduced amounts in decaffeinated black tea, and
catechins were undetectable in herbal teas."

Source: The Lancet, Jan 30, 1999
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http://www.life-choices.com/cj/tea.html

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Section 4       Making the New Year Nutritious!

                           by June Kaminski, RN MSN
                        http://www.visionsofadonai.com

It's the beginning of a fresh New Year early in a brand
New Millennium. What better time to decide to create a
balanced nutritious lifestyle for yourself and your loved
ones? It's a well-known fact that nutrition is a
cornerstone of health. There's no better place to start if
you're serious about high-quality self maintenance. You can
really help yourself by being aware of the principles of
healthy nutrition. Research shows that people in general
are still eating too much fat, cholesterol, salt, sugar and
empty calories. 2001 will be a much happier and healthier
year if you bone up on your nutrition principles and learn
to meet the demands of daily living running on the fuel of
a well balanced nutritional daily diet.

The first step in adopting a consistently nutritious
lifestyle is to create the right motivation. Looking and
feeling good are great motivation but just as important are
good self-esteem, a sense of self-worth, self-respect and
protection and freedom from illness. It's also important to
examine your beliefs and values about foods. What does food
mean to you? Is it seen as a source of fuel and building
materials to keep your body and mind healthy and strong? Is
it a source of comfort used to substitute for a lack of
support, love or self-respect? Is it something you can't
get enough of with cravings for foods rich in sugars and
fats? Or is food seen as a social event - something to draw
you closer to loved ones and friends or community? Many of
our common food habits stem from one or more of these views
about food and its importance in one's life. The first view
is obviously the most balanced and healthy and can help you
make wise decisions about foods without feeling deprived.

The second step is to assess your current nutritional
status and food habits. Spend a day or so, better yet - a
week keeping track of what you eat each day. Write it all
down without analysis for the seven days, then sit down
with your data and take a peek at your nutritional history.
Do you see any patterns? Are all of the five food groups
adequately represented? Anything in excess? Anything
lacking?

Next, learn the basic recommendations for the various
nutrients. In a nutshell, official guidelines recommend a
daily intake of:
Fats, sweets and oils used sparingly 2 to 3 servings of
milk, cheese or yoghurt foods 3 to 5 servings of
vegetables 2 to 4 servings of fruit 8 to 11 servings of
bread, cereal, rice and pasta foods 2 to 3 servings of
meat, poultry, beans, eggs and nut foods 8 eight ounce
glasses of water.

Some great online resources are available to help you plan
and work towards your nutritional goals. Two of these
include:
Cyberdiet.com at http://www.cyberdiet.com offers
interactive self assessment tools such as the Nutritional
Profile, Risk Assessment, Nutrition Diary, Body Mass Index
and Body Fat Distribution Assessment tests. An online
version of the USDA Food Pyramid Guide booklet can be
viewed at
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/food-pyramid/main.htm

Straight forward guidelines for gaining awareness about
hidden sugars and fats along with directions in eating a
balanced diet are given. Make this Year the beginning of
something truly beautiful. By slowly but surely working
towards the adoption of a balanced vibrant diet, you
empower yourself to enjoy life to the fullest. Your tastes
change - you come to crave whole nutritious foods. If your
diet hasn't been the greatest, this may take time. But
time well-spent!

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Disclaimer All material appearing in this newsletter is
provided for educational purposes only. It is provided
with the understanding that authors and contributors are
not offering medical advice or services. We strongly
encourage you to consult with your own physician regarding
any recommendations with respect to your own medical
condition. Advertisement in the Your Life- Your Choice
newsletter does not indicate endorsement on our part. The
opinions expressed by our sponsors do not necessarily
reflect our own.

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Copyright 1997-2001 by Brigitte Synesael
All rights reserved
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