Owner: The healthy holistic living blog URL:http://blog.healthyholisticliving.net/news Join Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 02:38:40 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The Healthy Holistic living Blog is a comprehensive and international resource
on how to achieve a better, healthier and happier life for the whole family.
A new holistic approach to healing yourself, written by both traditional
and alternative medica Site statistics:Click here
Holistic Medicine-what is it really? 2007-04-09 06:18:26 Description
Holistic
medicine focuses on how the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual elements of the body are interconnected to maintain wellness (holistic health). When one part of the body or mind is not working properly, it is believed to affect the whole person. Holistic approaches focus on the whole person rather than just on the illness or part of the body that is not healthy.
Overview :
Available scientific evidence does not support claims that holistic medicine, when used without mainstream or conventional medicine, is effective in treating cancer or any other disease. However, many health professionals promote healthy lifestyle habits such as exercising, eating a nutritious diet, not smoking, and managing stress as important in maintaining good health. Holistic methods are becoming more common in mainstream care, and may be used as complementary therapy or preventive care.In mainstream medicine, a holistic approach generally means a more inclusive approach to a per Read more:Medicine
Optimal Health 2007-04-08 03:45:43 Day in and day out, we all face oxidative stress. What is oxidative stress you may ask? Oxidative stress is what our bodies are faced with daily, production of free radicals that are caused either by our environment such as pollution, stressful lifestyles, and over medicated society are some examples. We can avoid some of the oxidative stress by not doing harmful things to our bodies such as smoking. Most human bodies are unable to counteract the free radical damage that happens daily to our cellular function. In order to keep our bodies in sync, we need balance and enough antioxidants available to our cells to neutralize the free radicals produced and to keep our cellular function at an optimal level.
Research has shown that oxidative stress has been found to be the main cause of over 70 chronic degenerative diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritiis, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, lupus, MS, and many more. Oxidative stress being a concern, res Read more:Health
Taking Nature’s Cue For Cheaper Solar Power 2007-04-07 07:34:48 Solar cell technology developed by Massey University’s Nanomaterials Research Centre will enable New Zealanders to generate electricity from sunlight at a 10th of the cost of current silicon-based photo-electric solar cells.
Dr Wayne Campbell and researchers in the centre have developed a range of coloured dyes for use in dye-sensitised solar cells.
The synthetic dyes are made from simple organic compounds closely related to those found in nature. The green dye Dr Campbell (pictured) is synthetic chlorophyll derived from the light-harvesting pigment plants use for photosynthesis.
Other dyes being tested in the cells are based on haemoglobin, the compound that give blood its colour.
Dr Campbell says that unlike the silicon-based solar cells currently on the market, the 10×10cm green demonstration cells generate enough electricity to run a small fan in low-light conditions – making them ideal for cloudy climates. The dyes can also be incorporated into tinted windows that trap Read more:Solar
, Taking
Natural Remedies for Insomnia 2007-04-06 10:01:08 What is Insomnia
?
Although it’s common to have the occasional sleepless night, insomnia is the lack of sleep on a regular basis.
Before starting any natural remedies, consult your doctor. Chronic insomnia can itself be a symptom of another condition, such as depression, heart disease, sleep apnea, lung disease, hot flashes, or diabetes, so it’s important to see a doctor if you are having trouble sleeping.
NaturalRemedies
for Insomnia
Here are fourteen natural remedies that are used to treat insomnia.
1) Valerian
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is a herb that has been long used as a remedy for insomnia. Today, it is an accepted over-the-counter insomnia remedy in Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy.
Exactly how valerian works in the body is still not well understood.
Some studies suggest that like conventional sleeping pills, valerian may affect levels of the calming neurotransmitter GABA.
Unlike many other sleep medications, valerian is not believed to be a
What is Holistic Health? 2007-04-04 16:07:31 Holistic health is a term used by alternative medicine advocates to describe medical care that views physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of life as closely interconnected and balanced. Advocates of the holistic health philosophy typically seek or use a wide variety of alternative practices, the most common of which include acupuncture, ayurveda, Siddha, chiropractic, naturopathy, yoga, aromatherapy, homeopathy, massage, Tai Chi, Chinese herbology, medicinal herbs.
The first National Conference on Holistic Health
was held with the University of California San Diego California School of Medicine in June 1975. Each year thereafter for ten years about 3,000 health professionals participated each year in a conference and forty to fifty different workshops about holistic health promotion in contrast to our traditional Allopathic Medical Model philosophy that is focused on treating symptoms, by prescribing drugs to elevate the symptoms and providing surgery and drugs for corrective actio Read more:Holistic
Easy Bedroom Decorating Ideas-for health 2007-04-03 03:03:02 Decorating your bedroom can be a great way to give your self a tranquil retreat, yet so many people neglect this room. Often times people focus on the public rooms of the home – the kitchen, living room and guest bathroom but the bedroom is your own private sanctuary and you owe yourself to decorate it!
If decorating your bedroom seems like an overwhelming task, you might want to take it easy and make small changes over a period of time instead of one huge change. On way to ease yourself into decorating the bedroom is to start with the walls. Artwork can make a huge difference in the look of your bedroom and is one decorating idea that you can easily reverse if the look doesn’t work.
What is the first thing you notice when you walk into someone’s home? The walls, right? Walls enclose the home, giving a thematic impression. So, if your walls are empty you’ve got to get to work to populate them. Wall hangings can be expensive, but that’s only if you purchase som Read more:Bedroom
, Decorating
Reconnect With Your Kids - Take The Family Camping 2007-04-03 02:53:21 For those of us camping enthusiasts that have the opportunity to experience all four seasons, spring is an especially wonderful time of the year. After the cold and sometimes dreary days of winter, many families look forward to the warm fresh spring air, and the beauty that accompanies the warming temperatures. Children are itching to get outside to play in the warmth of the spring sun almost as much as adults are ready to be over winter’s last round of cabin fever. What better way is there to reconnect with your kids than to spend some quality time with them camping? After spending the winter months glued to the television, or becoming zombies from playing video games, a fun-filled family camping trip is the perfect way to experience nature and create lasting family memories.
Your number one priority of course, is the safety of your family, so to ensure that your family camping trip is a success, you must be prepared! Take time to plan your trip according to your family’s interest Read more:Camping
, Family
The latest from EarthTrends: Global Biofuel Trends 2007-04-11 07:18:25
While fossil fuels still account for more than 95 percent of the global transportation fuel market, biofuel production is growing roughly 15 percent per year, a rate over ten times that of oil. Under mounting pressure to improve domestic energy security and combat global climate change, countries are now turning to ethanol and biodiesel to meet rising transportation fuel demands. In 2005, the U.S. pledged to nearly double ethanol production by 2012, and the European Community recently announced that biofuels will meet 10 percent of their transportation fuel needs by 2020.However, not everyone is enthusiastic about the biofuel “boom.” Critics are highlighting the potential environmental and social costs of biofuels, including the consequences of increased food prices on the global poor. The development of cellulosic ethanol could dispel some of these concerns, but additional research and investment are needed to make this technology commercially viable and environmental Read more:Global
, Trends
Tai Chi Boosts Immunity To Shingles Virus In Older Adults, NIH-sponsored Study Reports 2007-04-10 13:48:45 Tai Chi, a traditional Chinese form of exercise, may help older adults avoid getting shingles by increasing immunity to varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and boosting the immune response to varicella vaccine in older adults, according to a new study publishsed in print this week in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. This National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study is the first rigorous clinical trial to suggest that a behavioral intervention, alone or in combination with a vaccine, can help protect older adults from VZV, which causes both chickenpox and shingles.
The research was supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), both components of NIH. The study’s print publication follows its online release in March. The research was conducted by Michael R. Irwin, M.D., and Richard Olmstead, Ph.D., of the University of California at Los Angeles, and Michael N. Oxman, M.D., of the University Read more:Adults
, Immunity
, sponsored
, Study
Arsenic In Chicken Feed May Pose Health Risks To Humans 2007-04-13 07:21:27 Pets may not be the only organisms endangered by some food additives. An arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed may pose health risks to humans who eat meat from chickens that are raised on the feed, according to an article in the April 9 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.
Roxarsone, the most common arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed, is used to promote growth, kill parasites and improve pigmentation of chicken meat. In its original form, roxarsone is relatively benign. But under certain anaerobic conditions, within live chickens and on farm land, the compound is converted into more toxic forms of inorganic arsenic. Arsenic has been linked to bladder, lung, skin, kidney and colon cancer, while low-level exposures can lead to partial paralysis and diabetes, the article notes.
Use of roxarsone has become a topic of increasing controversy. A growing number of food suppliers have stopped using the compound, inc Read more:Chicken
, Health
, Health Risks
, Risks
Obesity in the Genes? 2007-04-13 05:48:42 Researchers today announced the discovery of the first common gene link to obesity.They reviewed genetic data on more than 38,000 children and adults in the U.K. and Europe. A certain variation in the FTO gene was associated extra body fat, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
Other studies show there are genetic links to obesity. But “the key thing about this finding is that this is a common variant, which is present in over half the population” studied, Andrew Hattersley, DM, FRCP, told reporters in a news conference.
Hattersley is a professor of molecular medicine at Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, England.
Lifestyle Still Counts
The finding sheds new light on the genetics of obesity. But diet and exercise still count, notes researcher Timothy Frayling, PhD, tells WebMD.
“Certainly diet and exercise are very important factors in influencing obesity risk and regardless of your genetic makeup it remains important to try to eat sensibly and exercise,” says Frayling Read more:Genes
Stimulating Effect of Japanese Herbal (Kampo) Medicine, Hochuekkito on Upper Respiratory Mucosal Immune System 2007-04-13 05:41:40 H. Kiyohara1,2, T. Nagai1,2, K. Munakata1,2, K. Nonaka1, T. Hanawa2, S. J. Kim2 and H. Yamada1,2 1 The Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences and Graduate School of Infection Control Sciences, Kitasato University Tokyo, Japan, and 2 Oriental Medicine
Research Center, The Kitasato Institute Tokyo, Japan
Japanese
herbal (Kampo) medicine, Hochuekkito (Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang in Chinese, TJ-41) and Juzentaihoto (Shi-Quan-Da-Bu-Tang in Chinese, TJ-48) are well-known Kampo formulas used as tonic. Although these medicines have separately been applied to the patients clinically depending on their symptoms, the differences of the pharmacological activities for these medicines have not been fully understood. TJ-48 and TJ-41 were compared for their effects on antibody response in upper respiratory mucosal immune system in vivo. Oral administration of TJ-41 (100 mg kg–1 per day) to early aged BALB/c mice, which were nasally sensitized with influenza hemagglutinin vaccine, significantly enhanced influe Read more:Herbal
, Immune
, System
, Upper
Healing by Gentle Touch Ameliorates Stress and Other Symptoms in People Suffering with Mental Health Disorders or Psychological Stress 2007-04-13 05:31:52 Clare Weze1, Helen L. Leathard2, John Grange3, Peter Tiplady4 and Gretchen Stevens1 1The Centre for Complementary Care, Muncaster Chase Ravenglass, Cumbria, CA18 1RD, 2Faculty of Health
and Social Care, St Martin’s College Lancaster, Lancashire LA1 3JD, 3Centre for Infectious Diseases and International Health, Royal Free and University College Medical School 46 Cleveland Street, London W1P 6DB and 4Meadow Croft, Wetheral Carlisle, Cumbria CA4 8JG, UK
Previous studies on healing by gentle touch in clients with various illnesses indicated substantial improvements in psychological well-being, suggesting that this form of treatment might be helpful for people with impaired quality of mental health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of healing by gentle touch in subjects with self-reported impairments in their psychological well-being or mental health. One hundred and forty-seven clients who identified themselves as having psychological problems re Read more:Healing
, Suffering
Does the Consumption of Green Tea Reduce the Risk of Lung Cancer Among Smokers? 2007-04-13 05:22:21 Experimental and epidemiological studies were reviewed to assess whether the consumption of green tea could reduce the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Articles published since 1990 were located by searching electronic databases PubMed, Ovid and Science Direct, using keywords ‘lung cancer’, ‘tea’ and ‘smoking’ without any restriction on language. After relevant articles had been located, further papers were obtained from their reference lists. Evidence from experimental studies (in vitro animal and human trials) suggested that regular intake of green tea may be protective against tobacco carcinogens. However, the mechanism behind the protective effect is only partly understood. In most of the epidemiological studies reviewed, the green tea exposure was within 5 years of the interview or follow-up, which would coincide with the induction period and latent period of lung cancer. Longer term studies are thus needed to further quantify the cancer risk. There is some evidence sug Read more:Cancer
, Consumption
, Green
, Green Tea
, Lung Cancer
, Smokers
Global Momentum For Smoke-free Indoor Environments At Tipping Point 2007-04-12 06:37:05 In a Perspective in the April 12, 2007 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Association of European Cancer Leagues describe the growing momentum for indoor smoking bans in countries across the globe. They identify Ireland’s pioneering 2004 comprehensive indoor smoking ban as a likely tipping point for fundamental change in social norms and public health worldwide.
Since 2004, in only a few years, more than a dozen other countries have also adopted national indoor smoke-free policies that are being implemented or will be implemented in the near future.
Lead author Dr. Howard Koh, Professor and Associate Dean of Public Health Practice at HSPH said: “The 21st century is witnessing a paradigm shift, once considered impossible, whereby entire countries are declaring themselves smoke-free in indoor public places. Such mounting progress across the globe is making smoking history worldwide.”
T Read more:Global
, Smoke
Arsenic In Chicken Feed May Pose Health Risks To Humans 2007-04-14 22:46:12 Pets may not be the only organisms endangered by some food additives. An arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed may pose health risks to humans who eat meat from chickens that are raised on the feed, according to an article in the April 9 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.
Roxarsone, the most common arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed, is used to promote growth, kill parasites and improve pigmentation of chicken meat. In its original form, roxarsone is relatively benign. But under certain anaerobic conditions, within live chickens and on farm land, the compound is converted into more toxic forms of inorganic arsenic. Arsenic has been linked to bladder, lung, skin, kidney and colon cancer, while low-level exposures can lead to partial paralysis and diabetes, the article notes.
Use of roxarsone has become a topic of increasing controversy. A growing number of food suppliers have stopped using the compound, inc Read more:Chicken
, Health
, Health Risks
, Risks
Eat Your Fruits And Vegetables: One Extra Serving Per Day May Lower Your Risk Of Head And Neck Cancer 2007-04-16 06:30:07 A new study among AARP members shows that just one additional serving of fruit and vegetables per day may lower your risk of head and neck cancer, but the data suggest that you may not want to stop at just one, according to researchers from the National Cancer
Institute.
A large prospective study of 500,000 men and women aged 50 and older has found that those who ate more fruit and vegetables had a reduced risk of head and neck cancer. Head and neck cancer is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, resulting in more than 350,000 deaths annually.
“Identifying protective factors for head and neck cancer is particularly important as it has a high mortality rate,” said Neal Freedman, Ph.D., cancer prevention fellow at the National Cancer Institute.
At the beginning of the study, participants reported their typical dietary habits on a food frequency questionnaire. Freedman and his colleagues followed participants for five years and recorded all Read more:Extra
, Fruits
, Lower
, Serving
, Vegetables
Bipolar depression medication 2007-04-21 11:14:18 The brain neurotransmitters can cause an individual to feel elated or gloomy. Previously called manic depression
, bipolar disorder is a type of depression that involves sporadic episodes of depression and mania.
A manic episode is marked with hyperactive behavior. The depressive episode typically involves periods of lethargy, pessimism and loss of interest in everything. A depressive episode requires a mood elevator or an antidepressant. The manic phase requires tranquilizers and drugs that soothe.
And therefore, the condition can get critical if the mood elevator drugs are continued once the manic phase sets in. This becomes extremely critical if the two phases occur and reoccur rapidly without any indication of their onset. Treating depression therefore necessitates closer supervision than any other cases of major depression.
Treating bipolar disorder only with antidepressants can increase the frequency of a shift in phase from manic to depressive and back. Misguided t Read more:Bipolar
WorldTaiChiDay.org Announces A Global Healing Event 2007-04-22 03:57:23 WorldTaiChiDay.org Announces A GlobalHealing
Event - World Tai Chi & Qigong Day Saturday April 28 At 10:00 A.m. Local Time Worldwide
On Saturday, April 28th, at 10 a.m. local time (worldwide) a massive, spectacularly visual global health and healing event will be held in hundreds of cities in sixty nations. Free and open to the public these events welcome anyone interested in personal and global health and healing.
“World Tai Chi & Qigong Day with thousands of participants … aims to send a positive wave of energy around the world and draw attention to the benefits of (Tai Chi & Qigong) … We should have World Tai Chi & Qigong Day every week.”
– International Herald Tribune
Announced by the US Dept. of Health & Human Services’ National Health Observances Calendar and the American Public Health Association’s Calendar … proclaimed officially by governors, senates, and mayors of many US states and nations … World
Exercise May Help Prevent Parkinson’s 2007-04-24 04:06:20 Vigorous Exercise
Linked to Lower Risk of Parkinson
’s Disease
People who exercise regularly may be less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease — but leisurely strolls may not be enough.That news comes from a study of more than 143,300 U.S. men and women who were followed from 1992-2001.
When the study started, participants were 63 years old, on average. They reported their weekly hours of light exercise (walking or dancing) and moderate to vigorous exercise (jogging, running, swimming, bicycling, playing tennis or racquetball, or doing aerobics or calisthenics).
A total of 413 participants were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease by the end of the study.
The most active participants were the least likely to develop Parkinson’s disease in the next decade, according to the researchers, who included Evan Thacker, SM, of Harvard School of Public Health.
Exercise and Parkinson’s
“The most important thing we learned from this study was that high leve
Seniors With Herniated Discs: How To Take Control Of Your Life Again & Eliminate Your Back Pain 2007-04-29 06:30:08 Boomers, who account for a quarter of the U.S. population, tend to have more active lifestyles than previous generations. They are as active now as they were when they were younger. But now Boomers are living with chronic low back pain, herniated discs or osteoarthritis. Back pain is a common complaint among middle-aged Americans as they deal with hectic daily schedules, increasingly demanding jobs, and caring for children, grandchildren and aging parents.
Low back pain will affect four out of five adults during their lifetime. Here’s How:
The most common symptom of a herniated disc is “sciatica”. Sciatica is best described as a sharp, often shooting pain that begins in the buttocks and goes down the back of one leg. This is most often caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve that exits the spinal cord. Other symptoms include:
- Weakness in one leg or both legs
- Numbness and tingling in one leg (pins & needles)
- A burning pain centered in the low back
- Loss of Read more:Again
, Control
, Seniors
What is Kabbalah? 2007-04-28 10:15:23 What is Kabbalah
?
by Michael Laitman
Although its origins are rooted in deep antiquity, from the time of ancient Babylon, the science of Kabbalah has remained virtually hidden from humanity since it appeared more than four thousand years ago. This very concealment has sustained Kabbalah’s undying allure. Renowned scientists and philosophers of many countries, such as Newton, Leibniz, and Pico della Mirandola, have investigated and tried to understand the science of Kabbalah. However, to this very day only a few know what Kabbalah really is.The science of Kabbalah does not speak about our world, and therefore its essence escapes people. It is impossible to comprehend the invisible, the imperceptible, and that which has not been experienced. For thousands of years, humanity was offered a wide variety of things under the name “Kabbalah”: spells, curses, and even miracles, all except for the science of Kabbalah itself. For over four thousand years, common understanding
Chronically Ill People Used Qigong To Cope With Anxiety And Discrimination During The SARS Outbreak 2007-04-27 02:50:00 Oriental therapies can help chronically ill people stay strong and reduce stress levels during epidemics, according to research in the April issue of the UK-based Journal of Clinical Nursing.
Researchers have shown that people who practiced the Oriental art of Qigong which combines gentle exercise with breathing techniques, meditation and visualisation reaped considerable benefits during the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong.
It also helped them to cope with the stigmatisation and discrimination that developed against chronically ill people during the crisis, as they were seen as a high risk group with a much greater chance of being infected by, and dying from, the disease.
“We were already studying the health benefits of this very popular therapy when SARS severe acute respiratory syndrome hit Hong Kong” explains lead author Judy Yuen-man Siu, who carried out the research in the Department of Anthropology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“Chronically ill people, like Read more:Discrimination
Extraordinary Antarctic Ice Core Will Help Scientists Study Global Warming 2007-04-26 02:26:56 As the national repository for geological material from the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic
Marine Geology Research Facility at Florida State University houses the premier collection of Antarctic sediment cores — and a hot new acquisition will offer an international team of scientists meeting there May 1-4 its best look yet at the impact of global warming on oceans worldwide.
The remarkable new core was extracted during the recent Antarctic summer from record-setting drilling depths 4,214 feet below the sea floor beneath Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf, the Earth’s largest floating ice body. Laced with sediment dating from the present day to about 10 million years ago, the core provides a geologic record of the ice shelf’s history in unprecedented detail.
Greenish rock layered throughout the “time capsule” indicates periods of open-water conditions, suggesting that the Ross ice shelf retreated and advanced perhaps as many as 50 times over the last 5 millio Read more:Extraordinary
, Global
, Global Warming
, Study
Recommend Site To A Friend
