
Your Life-Your Choice           ISSN 
1488-0253                                  December, 
2000                          Issue 67

Letter From the Editor

Those who suffer from Psoriasis often also experience frustration,
and often embarrasement. This condition is typically not a pretty sight.

During normal skin production, skin cells begin at the bottom
layer of skin. As they mature, they rise up from the  bottom
layer to the top layer (called the epidermis). In a  healthy
body this process should take about 28 days.

About 2% of the population in both the United States  and Europe
battle with a skin disease called Psoriasis. It  occurs when the
skin cells do not produce normally.   Typically psoriasis is
recognized by large patches of red,  inflamed skin having a
silvery, scaly surface. Although this  condition is not
contagious, heredity is a significant factor.

This is a heartbreaking disease for two reasons; it can  cause a
great deal of constant physical discomfort, and with   the
affected areas being so apparent it is often socially
embarrassing as well.

There are three main types of psoriasis:

Discoid or "Plaque" Psoriasis - This is the most common  form.
Patches appear on the trunk and limbs, particularly the  elbows
and knees, and on the scalp. Usually the nails also  become
pitted or thickened. Nails may even separate from the nail bed.

Guttate Psoriasis - This type occurs most frequently in children.
Numerous small patches develop rapidly covering a wide
area of skin. Often this will occur after a soar throat.

Pustular Psoriasis - Small pistules form in this type and can
appear anywhere on the body or be confined to specific areas,
like the palms or soles of the feet.

The exact cause of psoriasis in not known. However  there are
a number of deficiencies that are believed to be at  the source
of the condition. Frequently, emotional stress may  be a
contributing factor. Skin trauma, surgery and physical  illness
may encourage a psoriasis attack. Deficiencies in the  liver and
the digestive system can also be at the root of the  problem.

Mild cases of psoriasis can be helped by  phototherapy, exposure
to ultraviolet lamps. Typically  doctors will prescribe
emollient creams. More serious attacks  are often treated with
ointments containing coal tar or  dithranol. Other medical
treatments include Methotrexate and corticosteroid drugs.
Extreme caution should be used when  interacting with
Methotrexate or Rheumatrex. This is a  highly toxic drug and
should only be prescribed by a  physician familiar with its
properties. It can have devastating  side effects if not used
properly.

For a more natural approach, people suffering from  psoriasis
are encouraged to avoid alcohol, fats from meat and  dairy
products, white sugar, white flour, and citrus fruits. A
stronger diet of raw foods,  sesame seeds and fish (tuna,
salmon, and sardines) and increasing fiber in the diet will
help keep this condition under control.

 From a vitamin perspective you'll find that increasing the
following vitamins will help your struggle with psoriasis.
Vitamins A, B Complex, and Zinc are necessary for healthy
skin, hair and nails. Vitamin D helps to heal the skin.  Lecithin
emulsifies fats and protects cells. Switching to  Sunflower oil
which contains lecithin may be helpful.

Herbs can be tremendously helpful in addressing this  condition
and typically don't carry the side effects that often  accompany
traditional treatments. There are several herbs  that can be
helpful.  Availability may determine your  selection. Dandelion
strengthens the liver which is often  damaged in skin diseases
like this.  Poultices can be made  from Chaparral, Dandelion and
Yellow Dock. Lavender  fights inflammation and can soothe and
help heal irritated  skin. It can be mixed with Olive Oil and
applied externally.   Add 2 teaspoons of Ginger to bath water.
Milk Thistle  protects the liver which is necessary to keep the
blood clean.  It been recommended to take 300 milligrams 3
times daily.  Red Clover is an excellent blood cleanser and can
be very  instrumental in resolving this condition. Golden Seal
is another herb that can be of benefit when dealing with
psoriasis.

It is important to note that you should ALWAYS  consult a
qualified health care professional when dealing with a serious
health condition. This can be your Herbalist,  Naturopath,
Nutritionist, Homeopath, family doctor, or any  other certified
practitioner you trust. They can advise you  about appropriate
quantities for your specific condition, or  counsel you about
possible conflicts with other medication  you may be on.

Until next time, the best of health to you.

----
References:
The Complete Home Health Advisor - Rita Elkins &
Lendon H Smith M.D.
Prescription For Nutritional Healing - James F. Balch M.D. &
Phyllis A. Balch C.N.C.
The Canadian Medical Association Reference -
Peter Morgan M.D.

Brigitte Synesael
Editor of Your Life-Your Choice
Make it your business to be informed!
No one cares more about you than YOU.
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ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Unblocking Individual Willpower with Therapeutic Massage
2. Top Dog - Parasitic Problems (Worms)
3. Tea Tips - Tea Promotes Good Health, Symposium Says
4. Are You Sleeping Enough To Loose Weight?
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Section 1       Unblocking Individual Willpower
                       With Therapeutic 
Massage 
by Laurel Duran, CMT
                 http://www2.amigo.net/bluecord

During the therapeutic massage I administer, I contact and open
the  energy flow of the three "fire" chakras in the client's
body. The fire  chakras relate to personal drive and willpower,
and they are the head, the  solar plexus and the hips/thighs.

The head chakra relates to the individual's ability to initiate
plans, to  be goal directed and to take charge of formulating
her own decisions  through combining rational thought (left
brain) with intuition (right  brain). The hips/thighs chakra
relates to the individual's ability to  optimistically see
herself moving toward her expanded and improved future. The
solar plexus chakra relates to using personal strength to follow
  through with plans contained in one's own will. In this article
I will  address the importance of healing the solar plexus, and
how receiving  bodywork can contribute to that goal. The solar
plexus chakra contains most of our emotional filter organs: the
liver filters anger; the gall bladder filters resentment (which
is  condensed, old anger); the spleen filters worry; the stomach
filters fear  of acting on personal willpower; and also located
in the solar plexus are  the openings into the lungs which
filter grief. What this means is that  when an individual has an
experience in life that causes them to feel  angry, resentful,
worried, afraid or sad, the organ that corresponds to the
specific emotion becomes involved. The job of the organ is to
"speak" to  the person, usually with a "gut feeling" that the
situation is not quite  right. If the person ignores the gut
feeling - whether because someone  else told her the gut feeling
was wrong, or because she herself judged and  suppressed the
gut feeling - then the organ will hold onto the emotional energy
until later. If the person continually represses the true
emotions  trying to arise from her solar plexus every time a
similar situation  arises, the energy can accumulate and
actually become an illness. But  there is always hope of healing
this because by tapping into the  accumulated emotion and safely
feeling it, the formerly pent-up energy in  the organ begins to
empty out of the organ. This heals the organ.  Let me give you
an example from my own massage practice. An extremely
overweight recovering alcoholic woman came to me for a series
of massage  therapy sessions, and during my initial medical
history interview with her  I learned she had chronic stomach pain
and had gall stones removed. From  this information alone I
understood a great deal about her spiritual  challenges in life
as well as some of the corresponding pockets of energy I  might
find in her body. I could see that her solar plexus was a focal
point. I intuitively sensed that she may have been physically
abused early  in life, and that her extra weight served as a
protective cushion that kept  others at a safe distance from her
body. She watched my face intently  while I massaged her supine
(face up), which suggested to me that her  physical trust had
been violated in the past. Even though her torso was  draped
over with a cotton blanket, when I would gently touch her solar
plexus she began to talk nervously about the weather. I could
see that she  had left her body and was no longer experiencing
the massage from the  inside. When I asked her what she was
feeling, a well of pent-up emotion  began to pour forth with her
story. As a child she had been physically  abused by alcoholic
parents and her attempts to assert her own will by  saying "NO"
to their harmful advances upon her body had driven her OUT of
her body during the abuse. (She instinctively used dissociation
as a  protective coping device during the abuse.) The normal
human anger that  she had felt about having her own personal
willpower overridden by her  parents was never acknowledged.

The internal anger grew and accumulated  over the years until she
found alcohol as a temporarily numbing  suppressant. Because the
liver sustains the greatest damage from alcohol  abuse and its
underlying cause of suppressed anger, the cycle of illness  can
destroy life itself.   My client's decision to face her alcoholism
was her first courageous step  in self-healing. While she attended
12-step meetings, someone had  suggested that receiving bodywork
might help her feel better about herself.

Because the physical body carries not only our medical histories
but our  life histories, when she allowed herself to risk being
touched again  through massage, the angry, sad, fear-filled
memories of past abuse against  her will finally began to
surface for healing. I suggested that a  compassionate
psychotherapist could greatly help her emotional and  physical
healing process, and that she would probably need time for
gradual  healing. I can report that while she continues to work
on the  emotional/psychological issues, her physical health is
improving, she is  still sober today, and she spends more time
inside her own body during her  massages. Sometimes abuse
memories arise during the massage, but she has my unconditional
support to help her go through and come out the other side
feeling more peaceful and safe. Because my client's will to
decide for herself had been injured, it is  essential that she
follow her own gut feelings about what healing direction  to
take, if any at all. I have found that saying "No" - even to
offers of  help - can be healing for someone whose will was
abused. The simple act of  taking charge of one's own freedom of
choice can set the soul on a clear  course of self-healing. "I
am master of my fate and captain of my soul"  rings true for
every one of us, regardless of our health issues.  I believe
that besides myself, the Creator is the only One who knows what
my will is, and what destiny will unfold for me. The same is
true for  every individual. You have the Creator's love and
strength backing you up  as you use your willpower to heal
yourself. May you trust your gut  feelings to guide you toward
your destiny!

-----
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 - Parasitic Problems (Worms)

Round worms come from the mother before or after birth. Tape
worms come from fleas or from eating wild creatures. Run down
animals that are in a toxic state end up with round worms, hook
worms, whipworms, or tapeworms. Bitches should be treated the
week before and after whelping. Puppies can be treated after
three weeks and repeated every four weeks, remember puppies can
easily be re-infected.

Paws for thought From the point that you have the worm problem
under control treat your animal twice a year, spring and fall
perhaps, for prevention. Worm-ex contains three herbs that are
known to expel parasites. I also put three more herbs, fennel,
papaya, and sage that help to clean out the gut. For serious
elimination problems consider using LAX-EX during the parasite
cleanse.

Dosage Your pet should be de-wormed regularly. More of the
Worm-ex per dose is not the way to go. Just de-worm on a regular
basis. Twice a year unless your pet is outdoors most of the
time.  Check our dosage chart before applying.

-----
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

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Section 3   Tea Tips- Tea Promotes Good Health, Symposium Says

According to studies presented at the Second International
Scientific Symposium on Tea & Human Health (September 1998 in
Washington, DC), the evidence that tea can play a real role in
promoting health is getting stronger.

Among the findings:

Pre-cancerous oral lesions treated with a mixture of green and
black tea components (consumed orally and applied topically)
significantly improved the clinical signs and inhibited the
proliferation of pre-cancerous cells. "The results indicate that
tea treatment may delay the progression of pre-cancerous lesions
into oral cancer," said Dr. Junshi Chen, of the Chinese Academy
of Preventive Medicine in Beijing, who conducted the study.

Two studies-one in animals by the American Health Foundation
and another in humans by the Indiana School of Medicine-
demonstrated that both black and green tea intake could be
correlated to slowed growth of lung cancer.

A study headed by Ron Prior of the United States Department of
Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University, found that tea was found exerted more potent antioxidant
activity than 22 fruits and vegetables. Dr. Prior also reported that
85% of the total antioxidant activity of tea was solubilized within
the first five minutes of brewing.

Researchers at King's College in London found that the catechins
and flavonols in tea had a greater ability to counter oxidative
damage than did antioxidants from many fruits and vegetables.

Unilever Research in the Netherlands showed that consumption
of a single dose of tea increases total antioxidant activity in the
blood.

Source:
Tea time for nutraceuticals: new black, green tea products brew
up a bevy of health benefits. Food Processing, March 1999.
---
Source:  Thousand Cranes Tea
http://www.life-choices.com/cj/tea.html

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Section 4       Are You Sleeping Enough To Loose Weight?
                 By Jacqueline Swensen           http://www.SleepSoundly.com

To lose weight, three simple rules need to be followed: eat a
well-balanced, low-fat diet; exercise regularly; and get proper
rest. While the first two rules are obvious to everyone, few
people pay attention to the third-sleep. Recent research has
shed light on why it's important to get enough sleep if one
wants  to lose weight.

A sleep researcher, Dr. Eve Van Cauter, of the University of
Chicago, published an article in the October 23rd, 1999, issue
of the British medical journal Lancet. Dr. Van Cauter's team
studied the effects of varied amounts of sleep in 11 healthy
men,  ages 18 to 27. The men spent eight hours in bed during the
first  three nights, four hours per night for the next six
nights, and  twelve hours per night for the remaining seven
nights. Just one  week of sleep deprivation revealed that the
production of the  growth hormone that helps control the body's
proportion of muscle  to fat was reduced. This hormone is
secreted mostly during the  first round of deep, slow-wave sleep
(to a greater extent in men  than in women). This hormone is
extremely important in controlling  body weight. When the body
produces less of this hormone, there  is a tendency for the body
to store fat. Depriving ourselves of  proper sleep limits the
production of this hormone. Also, as we  age, the time we spend
in deep sleep lessens, making it even more  imperative for us to
get the sleep we need.

Another hormone that is effected by the amount and quality of
sleep we get is leptin. This hormone plays a large part in our
ability to control how much we eat. Leptin is the hormone that
gives our body the signal that we've eaten enough; it's what
tells  us that we feel "full." Dr. Van Cauter's study revealed
that sleep  deprivation causes leptin levels to be reduced. This
causes our  bodies to crave carbohydrates even though we've
consumed enough  calories. Unless we can burn these excess
carbohydates, they will  be converted to body fat.

As a result of sleep deprivation, we make the task of
controlling  our weight even more difficult-we begin our day
fatigued. In his  book The Promise of Sleep, Dr. William C.
Dement writes that when  people are sleep deprived, we lack
energy during the day. This lack  of energy means that not only
do we accomplish less, we also don't  burn many calories. The
body reacts to this by hoarding calories as  fat, making weight
loss very difficult.

So how do you get a full night's sleep so you can have the
hormone  levels that can help with weight loss? Here are some
general sleep  tips to get you started.

o Avoid napping during the day.

o Limit or omit the use of alcohol and caffeine and avoid
smoking,  especially in the late afternoon and evening hours.

o Exercise regularly, but not within three hours of bedtime.

o Avoid mental stimulation just before going to sleep.  o Avoid
using your bed for reading or watching TV.

o Try not to go to bed hungry, or within three hours of eating a
  full meal. Eating foods high in protein close to bedtime can
keep  you awake because your body thinks it should get active.

o Eat a healthy diet (consulting a book on nutrition or speaking
to  a nutritionist might be necessary to establish a better
diet) and  supplement your diet with a good multi-vitamin.
Remember these two simple, natural methods that can help
increase deep sleep:

1. Make sure you exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes three or
four times a week.

2. Take a warm bath just before going to bed to raise your body
temperature.

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