Help With Fear Of Flying

A visitor to my web site sent me this email:

I read your article on Fear of Flying. I have had a fear of flying since 5 years. I enjoyed flying and had no issue with it for the first 22 years of my life but since the past 4 years I am terrified of it. I get very anxious, scared, and very aware when there is even the slightest turbulence and cannot get my self to book flights. I have tried psychiatry and hypno therapy they did work when I went one way but on the flight back I was a wreck again.

I am keen to get over this phobia as it is hindering by life in more ways than one. I have been advised to try kinesiology and was wondering whether you had any suggestions or advise for me.

This was my reply:

I think kinesiology may well be able to help you. My other thought would be to try this self-help technique from kinesiology which really helps if you're stressed.

By the way we now have a travel health products section in our online shop.

Help The Planet By Eating More Veggie Meals

Here's some interesting information from the UK Vegetarian Society:

• According to the United Nations 18% of world global greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock production, whereas 13.5% comes from transport.
• A typical diet requires up to 2.5 times the amount of land compared to a veggie diet and 5 times that of a vegan diet. 
• Estimates of the water required to produce a kilo of beef vary, from 13,000 litres right up to 100,000 litres. The water required to produce a kilo of wheat is somewhere between 1,000-2,000 litres.
• By feeding grain and vegetables directly to people (rather than livestock) we can increase the amount of food available to everyone.
• It has been estimated that eating a kilogram of beef represents roughly the same greenhouse emissions, per passenger, as flying 100 kilometers of a flight.

UK Banks And Cluster Bombs

A report released by Cluster Munition Coalition members IKV Pax Christi (Netherlands) and Netwerk Vlaanderen (Belgium) has found that 138 financial institutions worldwide still provide over $20 billion to the producers of cluster bombs.

The report’s findings show that in the UK, 15 banks and financial institutions are investing in cluster bomb producers. Barclays, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland, between them provide loans and investments to the tune of some £800 million. This means that some of the UK’s most prominent high street banks are providing some form of financial support to these shamefull and indiscriminate weapons.

So if you bank with Barcalys, HSBC or Royal Bank of Scotland email the chairman and ask them to change their policy. Better still bank with the Co-op Bank or its online sister Smile like we do, and tell the chairman why you've changed banks. You do have options to help change the world.

Can thinking of a loved one reduce your pain?

Can the mere thought of your loved one reduce your pain? Yes, according to a study by University Of Claifornia psychologists that underscores the importance of social relationships and staying socially connected.

The study, which asked whether simply looking at a photograph of your significant other can reduce pain, involved 25 women, mostly UCLA students, who had boyfriends with whom they had been in a good relationship for more than six months.

The women received moderately painful heat stimuli to their forearms while they went through a number of different conditions. In one set of conditions, they viewed photographs of their boyfriend, a stranger and a chair.

"When the women were just looking at pictures of their partner, they actually reported less pain to the heat stimuli than when they were looking at pictures of an object or pictures of a stranger," said study co-author Naomi Eisenberger, assistant professor of psychology and director of UCLA's Social and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory. "Thus, the mere reminder of one's partner through a simple photograph was capable of reducing pain."

"This changes our notion of how social support influences people," she added. "Typically, we think that in order for social support to make us feel good, it has to be the kind of support that is very responsive to our emotional needs. Here, however, we are seeing that just a photo of one's significant other can have the same effect."

In another set of conditions, each woman held the hand of her boyfriend, the hand of a male stranger and a squeeze ball. The study found that when women were holding their boyfriends' hands, they reported less physical pain than when they were holding a stranger's hand or a ball while receiving the same amount of heat stimulation.

"This study demonstrates how much of an impact our social ties can have on our experience and fits with other work emphasizing the importance of social support for physical and mental health," Eisenberger said.

One practical piece of advice the authors give is that the next time you are going through a stressful or painful experience, if you cannot bring a loved one with you, a photo may do.

The study appears in the November 2009 issue of the journal Psychological Science.

Controlling What You Eat

If you feel like you’re in a losing battle with a triple-chocolate cake, a “mental budget” can help, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

“There are some behaviors that consumers try to limit but have trouble doing so,” write authors Parthasarathy Krishnamurthy (University of Houston) and Sonja Prokopec (ESSEC Business School, France). “Even as one aims to curtail consumption of sugars and fat, one ends up consuming the tiramisu or the triplechocolate
cake. Such discrepancies between one’s goals and actual behaviors represent instances of self-control failure.”

About 70 million Americans are attempting to control their food intake. So, how do consumers rein in overeating? In weight-loss systems like Weight Watchers ®, each food is assigned a point value and members are encouraged to limit their total daily consumption to a pre-specified amount of points. The authors conducted several studies where they encouraged some participants to set mental budgets and compared them to people who did not set budgets. They examined their consumption of sweet treats.
They discovered several patterns.

First, having a mental budget alone was not sufficient. Participants also needed to have an active goal of not wanting to consume sweets. Second, the information about the products needed to match the units of the mental budgets. Third, mental budgets succeeded when consumers followed specific numerical recommendations, like the Weight Watchers® points.

“For those who wish to cut out those desserts, our research suggests some simple tips,” the authors write. “First, it is important to have a mental budget. At the very least, it allows you to keep track of how you are doing with respect to your goal. Second, make sure the budget works as a limit rather than a license for the consumption behavior. To do this, it is important to have an active goal of controlling the consumption.”

Parthasarathy Krishnamurthy and Sonja Prokopec. “Resisting That Triple-Chocolate Cake: Mental Budgets and Self-Control.” Journal of ConsumerResearch: June 2010. A preprint of this article (to be officially published onlinesoon) can be found at http://journals.uchicago.edu/jcr).

Can Magnesium Help Tinnitus?

I recently received an email asking me this question. Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is an extremely annoying complaint. Although there doesn't seem to be any scientific studies showing that a magnesium supplement is beneficial for this problem, there is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence, so it may well be worth giving it a try.

It definitely won't be a quick cure, so you will need to take it for about 3 months to be certain whether or not it is helping. The magnesium supplement we sell is of a suitable strength and in a form that is well absorbed.

Supplements for urinary tract infection

I rceently received this enquiry:

Can you tell me if you sell any supplements for urinary tract infections please.

 This is my answer:

Yes, we do. Cranberry extract can be very good.This suplement has been shown to stop harmful bacteria  attaching to the ballder wall, so helping the body get rid of them.

and

I’d also think about taking a probiotics formula designed to support your immune system. This particular product contains the strains thta have been shown to be beneficial for the immune system and also antioxidants that help strenthen the immune system. A great product!

Got a problem? Find a natural remedy solution

We often put up with things, thinking nothing can be done about them, but often there are natural remedies - nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, flower remedies, soothing creams, etc. - that can help us feel a lot, lot better.  The problem is how to find them. We've simplified the process with our natural remedy finder - there are now 59 different problems listed with details of the natural remedies that can help:

•    Acne
•    Ageing Support
•    Alcoholism Help
•    Angina Remedies
•    Anxiety Remedies
•    Arthritis Remedies
•    Asthma Remedies
•    Bloating Remedies
•    Blood Sugar Problems
•    Cancer Prevention
•    Catarrh Remedies
•    Cholesterol Problems
•    Cold Remedies
•    Colitis Help
•    Constant Tiredness
•    Constipation Remedies 
•    Cough Remedies
•    Cravings Help
•    Cystitis Remedies
•    Depression Remedies
•    Dermatitis Remedies
•    Diarrhoea Remedies
•    Eczema Remedies
•    Exam Stress Help 
•    Eye Problems
•    Flatulence Remedies
•    Gum Disease 
•    Hair Loss In Women
•    Hay Fever Remedies
•    Headache Remedies
•    Heart Health
•    Indigestion Remedies
•    Insomnia Remedies
•    Irritable Bowel Syndrome Remedies
•    Memory Problems
•    Menopause Remedies
•    Migraine Remedies
•    Mood Swings
•    Mouth Ulcers
•    Oily Skin Remedies
•    Pain Remedies
•    Pregnancy Health
•    Premenstrual Syndrome Treatment
•    Psoriasis Remedies
•    Raynaud's Disease Remedies
•    Rheumatism Relief
•    Rheumatoid Arthritis Remedies
•    Scar Tissue
•    Shingles Remedies
•    Sinusitis Remedies
•    Smoking Help
•    Sore Throat Remedies
•    Stress Incontinence Remedies
•    Stress Remedies
•    Syndrome X
•    Urticaria Remedies
•    Varicose Veins Remedies
•    Water Retention Remedies
•    Weight Loss Help

Do take a look and find the right health remedies for you.

Can Christmas be sustainable?

Can Christmas be sustainable? Tricky one. The average family will produce around one tonne of CO2 over the 12 days of Xmas. All that wrapping paper, twinkling lights, piles of food…
Difficult to make it wholly sustainable and still keep all the relatives happy.

But very possible to make it Greener – through smaller actions which really make a difference. Recycled wrapping paper, solar lights, food with low carbon footprints, and presents that promote sustainable lifestyles.

And then there are all the retrofit energy saving appliances that will lower your bills and reduce CO2 emissions.

Check out products to help at Nigel's Ecostore

International Therapist Listing Relaunched

We have revamped and relaunched our international therapist listing. We have over 4000 therapists listed - practitioners of kinesiology, homeopathy, chiropractic, reiki, Bowen, herbalism and many more practicing in the UK, USA, Germany, France, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and lots of other countries.

You can search our therapy listing or, if you're a therapist you can sign up

We do not sell, exchange or give away your details. This is therapist listing exists because I know complementary and alternative therapies work and can make a big difference to people's lives.

Please pass this on to any therapists that you know - thanks

Eat Fast, Eat More, Gain Weight

According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), eating a meal quickly, as compared to slowly, curtails the release of hormones in the gut that induce feelings of being full.  The decreased release of these hormones, can often lead to overeating.

“Most of us have heard that eating fast can lead to food overconsumption and obesity, and in fact some observational studies have supported this notion,” said Alexander Kokkinos, MD, PhD, of Laiko General Hospital in Athens Greece and lead author of the study. “Our study provides a possible explanation for the relationship between speed eating and overeating by showing that the rate at which someone eats may impact the release of gut hormones that signal the brain to stop eating.”

In the last few years, research regarding gut hormones, such as peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1), has shown that their release after a meal acts on the brain and induces satiety and meal termination. Until now, concentrations of appetite-regulating hormones have not been examined in the context of different rates of eating.

In this study, subjects consumed the same test meal, 300ml of ice-cream, at different rates. Researchers took blood samples for the measurement of glucose, insulin, plasma lipids and gut hormones before the meal and at 30 minute intervals after the beginning of eating, until the end of the session, 210 minutes later. Researchers found that subjects who took the full 30 minutes to finish the ice cream had higher concentrations of PYY and GLP-1 and also tended to have a higher fullness rating.

“Our findings give some insight into an aspect of modern-day food overconsumption, namely the fact that many people, pressed by demanding working and living conditions, eat faster and in greater amounts than in the past,” said Kokkinos. “The warning we were given as children that ‘wolfing down your food will make you fat,’ may in fact have a physiological explanation.”

Other researchers working on the study include Kleopatra Alexiadou, Nicholas Tentolouris, Despoina Kyriaki, Despoina Perrea and Nicholas Katsilambros of Athens University Medical School in Greece; and Carel le Roux, Royce Vincent, Mohammad Ghatei and Stephen Bloom of Imperial College in London, United Kingdom.

help For Internal Scarring

I received this email query today:

I wonder if you can offer me any advice.  My dad has recently finished chemotherapy and radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer.  Fortunately it was caught early for this sort of cancer and he is doing extremely well.  However, he has internal pains when he turns - especially in bed and after a large meal.  He has been told that is normal and is the result of scar tissue around the internal area blasted with radiotherapy as scar tissue is less stretchy/ flexible etc than normal tissue.

So, is there anything you could recommend to ease this?  I wonder if there's any product that he could take to improve the stretch or condition of internal scar tissue?

This was my reply:

Sorry to hear about your dad. I’d recommend zinc  and vitamin E. It’s not a quick cure though and he might not see nay improvement for a month, but well worth doing. People are often short of zinc anyway and it helps fight infections etc. etc.

Children And Vitamin D

In this month's Pediatrics researchers suggest that all children in the USA take vitam in D supplements, because of the generally low levels that they found and the potential health benefits of boosting vitamin D to normal levels. Vitamin D improves bone health and prevents rickets in children, and recent studies suggest that it also may prevent a host of common childhood illnesses, including respiratory infections, childhood wheezing, and winter-related eczema.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease And Skin Cancer

A new study has shown that people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), especially those receiving the thiopurine class of medications to treat IBD, may be at risk of developing non‐melanoma skin cancer (NMSC).

Read more about this >>

Look at the alternative too. We offer Turmeric supplement which has been shown to be very beneficial for IBS.

Avoiding Office Cakes, Biscuits and Candies

Here's a great idea if you work in an office:

"When I worked in a busy office, most of my co-workers kept jars of candy on their desks to enjoy and share with others. Constantly battling the "bulge," I hated these temptations, but neverthless often gave in to them. I decided to put out a jar of my own "feel good" stuff, with no calories. I bought a beautiful jar with a lid and spent one whole weekend at home cutting up colorful strips of paper and writing down inspiring quotes. I filled the jar and put it on my desk. It took a while to catch on, but soon, everyone was stopping by my "food for thought" jar daily to fill up on something much better than empty calories. They would take one out, read it, smile knowingly, and then fold it up and replace it for the next co-worker. It's something that never needed to be replenished unless, I saw a new quote I wanted to add. If you work in an office environment, try this out and see how much everyone loves it."

Source

H1N1 Flu - Can Antioxidnats Help?

In a press release (november 1st 2009) entitled "Scientists discover influenza's Achilles heel: Antioxidants" from the Federation of American Societies For Experimental Biology the scientists say: our research shows that antioxidants may prove beneficial in the treatment of flu. Read more >>

Check out our antioxidant supplement here.