
Your Life-Your Choice                 ISSN 1488-0253
                                                     March, 2001
                                                     Issue 70

Letter From the Editor

In case you've been too busy to notice, the sun is getting
brighter, the days are getting longer and Spring is
definitely upon us. Although this fresh, new season is
filled with beauty and splendor, it is a constant struggle
for those who suffer from environmental allergies.
All types of allergies are a reflection of an impaired
immune system. There are several issues that can cause
this, which is a discussion deserving of an entire article
in itself. However, to properly heal an allergy, you need
to treat the cause as well as the symptom. Logically, it is
necessary to identify the culprit and (if possible) remove
it from your diet or environment.

Meanwhile it's imperative that you build up your immune
system, and purge your body of toxins. In most cases, a
combination of therapies proves to be the most successful
in treating allergies. Among the therapies that have proven
to be most effective are Diet & Nutrition, Herbal Medicine,
Acupuncture, Ayurvedic Medicine, and Homeopathy.
Often a person suffering from allergies is also the victim
of digestive disorders. These must be corrected before any
significant improvement can occur in the treatment of
allergies.

Remember to always consult your health care practitioner
before changing your diet or health care regime. Some herbs
may cause havoc with other medications you're taking or
health issues you may have.

Echinacea is a tremendous immune enhancing supplement.
Garlic has well documented health effects including
enhancing the immune system through stimulation of natural
killer cell activity. Bee Pollen is helpful for people with
allergies because, aside from containing all the nutrients
the human body needs, it also strengthens the immune
system. Some people, an estimated 0.05% of the population,
may be allergic to bee pollen, so caution should be taken.
It is best to try taking a small amount in the beginning (1
or 2 granules) and gradually build yourself up to about 1
tsp every day. Astragalus Root, Golden Seal Root, and
Brazilian Ginseng are herbs geared to strengthening the
immune system.

Nettle is a well known remedy for hay fever and other
allergies. It helps relieve inflammation caused by allergic
reactions and clears congestion in the nose and chest.
Ephedra has been used for more that 4,000 years to treat
asthma and upper respiratory infections. This is a
decongestant which can relieve stuffy nose, watery eyes,
and other cold and allergy symptoms. It may also relieve
headaches. CAUTION: Do not use this herb if you have high
blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, or thyroid disease
unless under the supervision of your doctor. Do not exceed
recommended dose. If you are pregnant or nursing, check
with your doctor before using any ephedra preparations.
Acupuncture is highly successful in restoring the immune
system. Because of this, Acupuncture and Acupressure both
have much to contribute to a person afflicted with
allergies. Often tremendous success can be seen with only a
few treatments.

Ayurvedic Medicine directs its' focus on the digestive
system and works towards repairing this aspect. The
digestive system is responsible for eliminating toxins from
our bodies. If this is impaired and your body becomes
overwhelmed with toxins, it will react with health issues
like allergies and asthma. Ayurvedic Medicine encourages a
rotation diet in these instances. A combination of diet and
herbs are the treatment of choice with this modality.
Homeopathy works on the principal that exposing the body to
small, diluted doses of the substance that a person is
allergic to will encourage the body to heal itself. This
modality involves a variety of factors and takes into
consideration the entire patient and every aspect of their
health. Homeopathy also shares a high degree of success in
dealing with allergies.

Regardless of which avenue you decide to pursue, make sure
you see a practitioner qualified in that field. Your health
is too important to leave in the hands of anyone else.
Until next time, the best of health to you.

Sources: Alternative Medicine; The Definitive Guide
                Herbal Knowledge - Clive Buchanan
                Earl Mindell's Herb Bible

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

===========================================

ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE:
1. "Healer, Heal Thyself...First"
2. Top Dog - Multi-Minerals for Prevention
3. Tea Tips - Study Shows Green Tea
                 May Reduce Effects of Arthritis
4. Nutrition and Peak Performance
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Section 1         "Healer, Heal Thyself...First"
                         by Laurel Duran, CMT
                         http://www2.amigo.net/bluecord

Recently I searched the Internet for health insurance
plans that cover CAMS (Complementary and Alternative
Medical Services, specifically: massage therapy and
bodywork, nutritional counseling, acupuncture, chiropractic,
homeopathic care, herbal remedies, natural chelation therapy
and biofeedback). In the process, I was surprised to find that
with one exception, insurance company websites do not
provide any space for the visitor to ask her own questions
or make requests for specific health care coverages. Each
company I researched had already decided what questions
their visitors would need to ask and they provided answers
to those. With just one exception, none of these companies
mentioned anything about CAMS. That single exception was
a comprehensive plan offered to us Complementary and
Alternative Medical Service professionals ourselves! While
my overall findings reflect an unfortunate state of affairs for
the general public, as a professional Massage Therapist I am
fascinated to see that we not only provide others with our
holistic CAM services, but we have so much personal
conviction about holistic healing methods that we are
ensuring - or "insuring" - that our own medical plan gives
us CAM coverage.

This trend brings me to important questions about health
care providers: When you are selecting a health care
professional, do you factor THEIR personal health into
your choice? If your health care professional suffers from
chronically "incurable" health problems, would you be less
confident about their ability to help you heal from your
own health problems?

I personally find great truth in the words "Healer, heal
thyself" because health care professionals are only
capable of giving you what they themselves believe in.
Whatever information they pass on to you must first pass
through the filter of agreement with their personal belief
system before it reaches you.

If for example, an allopathic medical doctor suffers from
chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, and migraine
headaches, she might self-prescribe an array of
medications to "control" each of her problems. Each
medication brings several side effects with it, and
because her medical training centers around prescribing
medicines, she self-prescribes additional medications to
counteract those side effects. Her "personal health"
routine revolves around taking a variety of pills
throughout the day which help her cope with physical,
mental and emotional limitations. Because her medical
training in the United States did NOT include nutrition and
definitely did not even suggest there are mental
connections to physical illness, her belief system
provides little hope for any help beyond a complicated
regime of "pain management" and non-curative adaptations
to an uncomfortable life. If she decides to stray from
such a limited health care belief system, she is very
likely to be ridiculed by colleagues and left without
medical insurance coverage for whatever alternative health
care modalities she chooses, paying out of pocket for such
services just as her patients must. When faced with a
desire to truly heal herself, such a physician would, in
my opinion, have plenty of emotional cause for the
exhausting internal battle against Nature that is
resulting in her chronic fatigue, depression and
headaches! In her medical practice, when a female patient
seeks help in dealing with the downward emotional spirals
that wash over her while she passes her days at an
extremely unfulfilling job and in an unfulfilling
marriage, the doctor can only prescribe "antidepressant
medication to stay focused" because that is what she
believes in for herself. She was never trained to consider
that our emotions are a powerful tool serving as a life
compass, letting us know when we've veered off course. In
fact, in medical school she was taught that emotions are
harmful, obstructive and must be controlled by purely
rational science.

This example is taken from a real client's life, and as her
Massage Therapist my best offerings of help during massage
include first and foremost, honoring the negative emotions
contained in her headaches, fatigue and depression that
are desperately trying to surface and heal her. Secondly,
I encourage her to learn about her own nutritional
deficiencies and to supplement them. And like an umbrella
of support over all her self-healing work, I remind her
that when she places healing HERSELF as her number one
priority in life, the positive, self-empowering effects of
this commitment to personal integrity will shed healing
power onto her patients too! It is by walking her talk
that she heals herself, and it can only have a positive
effect on her patients.

As an alternative health care professional who healed
herself of quadriplegia, I cannot overemphasize the
importance of every health care worker putting their own
health FIRST on their list of life priorities. Without the
grounded power of personal conviction, our healing service
to others may become mindless rituals that hold no
enduring value. Just as much for my own good as for my
clients', "Healer, heal thyself...first" continues to be
my number one responsibility in life!
-----
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 - Multi-Minerals for Prevention

Signs of mineral deficiency in your pet. Dry brittle hair,
poor growth, mental confusion, irritability, fatigue,
weight loss, anemia, urinary problems, depression,
allergies, skin disorders, nervousness, muscular weakness,
poor digestion, tooth decay, poor metabolism and heart
irregularities. Wow! lots of reasons to give your pet a
well balanced formula with a blend of absorbable trace
minerals, and vitamins everyday. Our pets bodies run on
minerals and trace minerals. Every pet needs a Maintenance
Dose everyday. Combine Multi-Min with SENIORS TONIC
for the older pets, watch their energy levels pick up.
A liquid formula means no more hiding pills in a piece of
meat or cheese, just mix the drops in your pets food. An
added bonus is that the assimilation factor is so much
greater.
-----
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- Study Shows Green Tea
                     May Reduce Effects of Arthritis

Ongoing studies by a research team at Case Western,
reported in the proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, are suggesting a link between consumption of
green tea and reduced incidence and severity of rheumatoid
arthritis. The researchers, who have been conducting the
study on laboratory mice, have focused their inquiry on the
polyphenols (antioxidants) present in green tea. The study
also provides evidence "that mice fed green tea polyphenols
were significantly less susceptible to the development of
collagen-induced arthritis, and if they developed
arthritis, the disease was late in onset and mild in
comparison to mice not given green tea polyphenols,"
reports the Journal of Chinese Medicine.

Source: Journal of Chinese Medicine, October 1999
              Thousand Cranes Tea
              http://www.life-choices.com/cj/tea.html

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Section 4 Nutrition and Peak Performance
                        Dr. John H. Maher,
                    Editor "Longevity News"

Your FREE Anti-Aging Prescription On-line. RxforWellness.com
The most important "nutrient" for performance is water.
Training athletes should consume .66 oz. of H2O for every
pound of body weight.

A diet that supports healing, repair and growth is 5 small,
balanced, well chewed meals a day. A balanced meal means
approximately 20 to 30% protein, 20 to 30 % fat, and 40 to
60% carbohydrates. Training athletes should consume 1 gm of
protein per kilogram (2.2 lbs.) of body weight. Body
builders might consume 1 gram per pound!
Whey protein is an excellent way to add protein without
adding fat and carbohydrate. Soy protein isolates have many
anti-aging and cancer inhibiting effects.
Lots of low starch fruits and vegetables adds
anti-oxidants. Those who exercise and train need extra
amounts. Adding a top of the line mega
multi-vitamin/mineral , iron free (unless a menstruating
female) as excess iron is a pro-oxidant and therefore
excellerates aging.

Adding creatine, an important amino acid for muscle energy,
improves muscle size, anaerobic endurance, reaction time
and speed. Creatine hydrates muscle so it is very important
to drink lots of water to prevent cramping. Loading with 10
to 20 grams for a week, then cutting to 3 to 10 grams a
day, is the best pattern, being sure to take with lots of
carbohydrates, like fruit juice to maximize muscle uptake.
Body builders and hard training athletes might consider the
additional amino acids glutamine and taurine, the two most
abundant protein building blocks in muscle. Two grams of
glutamine with 200 mg of niacin will increase human growth
hormone by four fold briefly and is great 1/2 hour before
exercise. Before sleep is another excellent time to spike
HGH levels.

L-carnitine, 1 to 4 gm a day is the supplement of choice
for endurance athletes. It supports fat burning and
re-cycles lactic acid.

DHEA and androstenedione are two precursors to the most
powerful anabolic (body-building) steroid, testosterone.
Unfortunately, this can lead to abuse by the young, whose
hormones are usually already out of control! However, those
over 40 will often find their performance, energy, speed,
recovery and lean body mass improve greatly with proper
supplementation. This is because the levels of anabolic
hormones like HGH and testosterone start to decline at
about 30 years old.
-----
Read about Dr. Maher on our Meet the Team page;
http://www.Life-Choices.com/team.html

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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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