SLS & Personal Care Products

Some recent research from Bath University brings into question the use of products containing sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS). This detergent is used in a range of personal care products (face creams, toothpaste, bodywash, hair conditioner, shampoos, shaving cream, etc.) and also medicinal cream such as Aqueous Cream BP (commonly used to treat eczema). The research using aqueous cream BP showed that the thickness of healthy skin is reduced within 4 weeks.

Richard Guy, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, says: “Our study has found that rubbing aqueous cream containing SLS into the skin thins [the] protective barrier, making the skin more susceptible to irritation by chemicals.

Check the ingredients list of all your personal care products and any medicinal creams - you're looking for sodium lauryl sulphate/sulfate - why thin your skin when there are good products that don't contain this harsh detergent?

If you're buying Christmas presents for other people, do them a favour ad check out what you plan to buy before you buy it.

Read more about this research>>

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes

Vegetarians like to celebrate as much as anyone else. Here's a veggie menu from the Cancer Project.
here's some other ideas too for a cruelty-free thanksgiving.

Thinking ahead to Christmas, these menus would work for then too.

Improve Your Memory

Gary Small, a psychiatrist at the University of California, Los Angeles, says that stress hormones have been shown to reduce short-term memory.

If you find you are forgetting things more than you want to, consider whether it could be down to too much stress in your life and ask yourself what you can do about it.

Read our article on how to improve your memory with tricks and tips and supplements.

Arthritis & Rheumatism

Many people's arthritis or rheumatism gets worse at the change of season, so I thought it's time to highlight products and advice on our web site:

Long gone are the days when health care providers told people with arthritis to “rest their joints.” In fact, physical activity can reduce pain and improve function, mobility, mood, and quality of life for most adults with many types of arthritis including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and lupus. (US Government Centers For Disease Control & Prevention)

So what sort of exercise should you do and for how long? What if it hurts? Read our detailed article on arthritis and exercise.

We also offer natural arthritis supplements for the pain and discomfort of arthritis.,

Runo: A mixture of herbs specifically chosen for their anti-rheumatism properties, includng poke root, sarsparilla and prickly ash.

Devils' Claw: A traditional herbl remedy for arthritis, rheumatism, gout, lumbago, fibrositis and myalgia. It also works as an appetite stimulant and has a positive effect on digestion. Many older people find this herbal supplement particularly beneficial.

Glucosamine: Plays an essential role in the repair of cartilage in the joints, but there are no major food sources of glucosamine. This becomes a problem if the body does not produce enough itself. Glucosamine is not a pain killer; it works to repair the joints in a natural way.

Turmeric Tablets: It has been shown to be particularly useful if you suffer from shoulder, knee and elbow pain and stiffness. Irritable bowel syndrome and some digestive problems respond well to these turmeric tablets too.

MSM Joint Pain Cream: A soothing cream to apply to skin around the joints. Contains essential oil of limes, sulphur rich methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM), wheat germ oil, organic coconut oil and gently fermented soya protein.

Check out these and more in our online healthy living shop>>

Special Offer On Multivitamins & Minerals for Women

we are currently offering 15% off RRP on our Women’s Multivit – this promotion ends on September 30th - buy now and save money on a supplement specifically designed for menstruating women.)

Not Losing Weight

Nothing is more frustrating to a dieter than not losing weight when you expect to. Just when you’ve started to get the hang of a new lifestyle your body stops responding to the hard work that you are doing. This is generally referred to as a weight loss plateau.

What’s most frustrating about these signs is the fact that it might seem like you’re doing everything right. You’re eating what you’re supposed to be eating, working out when you plan to, and even cutting back further than you have to on your chosen diet plan.

Lynn VanDyke suggest 4 things to do if this happens to you:
• Increase your calorie intake slightly
• Increase the intensity of your exercise plan
• Try adding more protein to your diet
• Drink more water

Read more of her advice in her Weight Loss Plateau article.

Botulinum Injections For Smooth Skin

Botulimum injections are popular but there are big costs to animals. The substance used is a toxin produced by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. The toxin is one of the most powerful poisons known, but, because it has a natural source, it is impossible to know how strong it is without tests. Batches are tested by injecting them into mice until the animals are paralysed, and most of them die of suffocation. Every batch of the poison used for these treatments has to be tested on animals to establish its strength. Each year, thousands of mice die a slow and painful death, just so that humans can have smooth faces.

Is Smoking An Addiction?

A study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology in 2010 suggest that people who smoke do so for short-term benefits like oral gratification, sensory pleasure and social camaraderie. Once the habit is established, people continue to smoke in response to cues and in situations that become associated with smoking. The researcher Dr Dar of Tel Aviv University believes that the belief that nicotine is physiologically addictive is over-rated and that it has much more to do with habit than addiction. Read more of this research.


If you want to give up smoking, think about the triggers and habits that keep you smoking. Hypnotherapy has a good track record in helping people stop smoking. This research suggests why that is the case.

Don't smoke, but know someone who does and wants to give up? Please take a moment and forward this email to them.

The best natural acne remedies I know

Acne is a common skin and can lead to a huge loss of confidence for the sufferer.

Here are some natural acne remedies:

* Blue Flag Compound - A traditional herbal remedy for acne, containing 4 herbs known for centuries as being effective in skin problems.
* Tea Tree Cream - deservedly becoming more and more popular as an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal cream. Apply to spots and stop inflammation and infection spreading.
* Zinc is vitally important for the skin and is particularly beneficial for teenage boys. If you are not sure if you're short of zinc, take the home zinc test and find out.
* If your spots are worse around your periods, agnus castus may be helpful.
* Flower remedies can help you maintain your self esteem and self-confidence while you sort out your spotty skin.
* Vitamin E taken internally may help reduce scarring.

There's more detailed information about these great acne products here.

Happiness From Money?

Money doesn’t buy you happiness, at least not once you’ve met your basic needs and have a bit more for emergencies, fun, personal development and maybe to support your children or give to your favourite charity. But though most people know that money doesn’t buy happiness, most of us act as though it does.

There’s always the thought that if we had a little bit more (we’re not being greedy) we’d be OK. It’s a seductive idea but it keeps you enthralled and never quite satisfied with what you already have.

I know people who have a lot more money than me, but are they happy? Do they moan and complain less? I don’t think so. But, of course, if we had more money, we wouldn’t be like this, would we? We’d be grateful and happy … but would we?

Read more about my thoughts on happiness and money.

School Anxiety - Help From Homeopathy

Many children get anxious starting a new term but he,lp is at hand. Genie Rowson has written an excellent article on using homeopathy to counter school anxiety.

Another possibility is to use Indigo remedies - these remedies are specifically designed for children and are safe and effective - there are several that might apply for the school jitters - Confidence, Happy, No Fear - read more about the Indigo essences and make your choice.

Ovarian Cancer Survival

Ovarian cancer has a relatively low survival rate, but research (March 2010 Journal of the American Dietetic Association) suggests women with this problem can increase their chances of surviving by adopting a more healthy diet:

*** High in fruit and vegetables
*** Low in meat
*** Healthy whole grains rather than white bread etc.

This is the diet we should all be following anyway. If you're not, focus on one of these three and make some healthy changes.

Check out our healthy vegetarian recipes here.

Natural Sun Cream Products

With so many of us preparing for holidays we thought it important for you to know why a natural sunscreen is best for you and your family.
Conventional sun protection products use artificial sun filters and oil derived from petrochemicals, as well as parabens, synthetic fragrance, and other additives.

Many of these ingredients have been shown to have negative implications for health and a lot of people with sensitive skin find that sunscreen is one of the major culprits likely to cause a reaction.

So Organic offer a range of natural sun protection products using pure minerals such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide to protect skin from the sun and never using paraben preservatives or synthetic fragrance, preferring instead to rely upon the natural properties of plant extracts and pure essential oils.

Cataract Prevention

Women who eat foods rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals may have a lower risk of developing the most common type of cataract that occurs in the United States, according to a report in the June 2010 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

Cataracts, which increase in prevalence with age, are the most important cause of blindness in the world; in the United States, cataract is the most prevalent cause of visual impairment due to eye disease according to background in the article. "There are limited studies published to date in which nutritional risk factors are evaluated concurrently with a comprehensive set of other lifestyle, ocular health and physical risk factors."

Julie A. Mares, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, and colleagues studied 1,808 women who participated in the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease study, residing in Iowa, Wisconsin and Oregon. The estimates of daily food and nutrition intake were made from previous responses to a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire used at the time as part of the Women's Health Initiative study. Additionally, "adherence to the 1990 dietary guidelines for Americans and the 1992 food guide pyramid, reflecting dietary recommendations at the time women entered the Women's Health Initiative, was estimated by the 1995 Healthy Eating Index scores adapted to this questionnaire."

According to the study, nuclear cataract was common in the sample with 29 percent (454 women) reporting the eye disease with a lens in at least one eye. Additionally, 282 women (16 percent) had reported cataract extractions in either eye. Overall, 736 women (41 percent) had either nuclear cataracts evident from lens photographs or reported having a cataract extracted. "Results from this study indicate that healthy diets, which reflect adherence to the U.S. dietary guidelines at the time of entry in the Women's Health Initiative study, are more strongly related to the lower occurrence of nuclear cataracts than any other modifiable risk factor or protective factor studied in this sample of women," the study states.

"In conclusion, this study adds to the body of literature suggesting that healthy diets are associated with lower risk for cataract," the authors write. "Lifestyle improvements that include healthy diets, smoking cessation, and avoiding obesity may substantively lower the need for and economic burden of cataract surgery in aging American women."

Choose Blue And Red For Better Sun protection

Economy-minded consumers who want protection from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays — but rather not pay premium prices for sun-protective clothing — should think blue and red, rather than yellow. Scientists in Spain have reported that the same cotton fabric dyed deep blue or red provide greater UV protection than shades of yellow. Their study could lead to fabrics with better sun protection.

Continue reading about this research >>

Child Soldiers

Today is International Day of the African Child - a day to commemorate the lives of the young boys and girls who were shot down whilst marching for their rights in Soweto in 1976, and a day to draw attention to the lives of African children today. Over the coming weeks local peacebuilder Henri Ladyi will launch a campaign on the rights of children - including the right to be children, not soldiers - in villages across eastern Congo. Just last month Henri negotiated the release of 30 child soldiers. 12-year-old Benjamin was one of them - he was nine when he first joined the militia.

Read Benjamin's story>>

Legionnaire's Disease

A study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology (June 2010) suggests that using water for your windscreen wipers may not be a good idea, as it may encourage the bacteria responsible for Legionnaire's disease.

"Not adding screenwash to windscreen wiper fluid is a previously unidentified risk factor and appears to be strongly associated with community acquired sporadic cases of Legionnaires’ disease. We estimated that around 20% of community acquired sporadic cases could be attributed to this exposure. A simple recommendation to use screenwash may mitigate transmission of Legionella bacteria to drivers and passengers. "

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The Dangers Of A Sun Tan

There has been a lot of publicity about the danger of getting too much sun, but many people are hazy about what they need to do. Find out what the research is saying about the dangers of sun tanning and tanning beds.

Antacids And Bone Fractures

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that there is a possible increased risk of fractures of the hip, wrist, and spine if you take certain drugs for heartburn, acid reflux, or ulcers.

Read more about their advice here.

If you know someone who is taking antacids regularly, please pass this information on to them. Thanks.


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Older Vegetarians

Many people think the typical vegetarian is a teenager or someone in their twenties, but the charity Vegetarian for Life has found that 22% of care homes in the UK have one or more vegetarian residents. they have lots of support and suggestions for catering for older vegetarians on their web site.

There are also tips on getting older positively, applicable whether or not you're vegetarian.

But do remember there are lots of health benefits in being vegetarian, and many of these become more and more evident as people age.

Special Offer On Ginger Tablets

Ginger can help release gas from the digestive system, increasing general comfort and well-being.
A traditional herbal remedy long known for its effectiveness. Herbalists often use ginger to help colic and dyspepsia and maintain healthy joints. Recent research also suggests it may help headache sufferers (although unexplained headaches should always be investigated by a doctor).

We are currently offering a 20% discount on the RRP for this traditional, safe, effective product - give it a try.

The Dangers Of Sodas

Here's another reason to kick the soda habit. New research published online in the FASEB Journal shows that high levels of phosphates may add more "pop" to sodas and processed foods than once thought. That's because researchers found that the high levels of phosphates accelerate signs of aging. High phosphate levels may also increase the prevalence and severity of age-related complications, such as chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular calcification, and can also induce severe muscle and skin atrophy.

Fat Genes

You may have a family history of obesity, but it's not inevitable that you or your children will be obese:

Performance of an hour or more of physical activity per day by adolescents is associated with control of body weight even among those who are genetically predisposed to obesity, according to a report in the April 2010 issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

No Wonder people Are Getting Fatter

An increase in childhood obesity reflects increased intake of oils, meat, cheese, and frozen desserts, according to a new PCRM study that will be published next month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Neal Barnard, M.D., looked at food availability data maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1909 to 2007. Oil intake increased from 35 pounds to more than 86 pounds per person per year. Meat intake rose from 123 pounds to more than 200 pounds per person per year (with a greater than six fold increase in chicken and turkey intake alone). In 2007, Americans also ate nine times more cheese and 16 times more frozen desserts than they did in 1909. Since 1970 (no prior data available), sweetener consumption doubled, mostly from carbonated beverages. Other long-term trends include decreased grain consumption, decreased fluid milk consumption, and increased fruit (mostly juices) and vegetable intake.

Beware Of Cooking Fumes

If you’re worried about cooking fumes – and research suggests you perhaps should be – an electric stove may be a better choice, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have found.

The research in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, showed that frying beefsteak on a gas stovetop instead of an electric stovetop resulted in increased exposure to chemicals such as napthalene and mutagenic aldehydes, which may be a risk factor in lung cancer.

Frying also increases exposure to ultrafine particles, which are more readily absorbed by the lungs. While exposure to these substances was “considerably higher” when cooking with gas compared to electricity, the researchers, Ann Kristin Sjaastad, Rikke Bramming Jørgensen and Kristin Svendsen, suggest that all “exposure to cooking fumes should be reduced as much as possible.”

Comfort When You're Grieving

Receiving soothing massages for eight weeks after the death of a loved one can provide much-needed consolation during an intense, stressful period of grieving, according to a study in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

Read more about the research>>

Learn more about foot massage>>

Why say no to botulinum treatments?

Here's some information from FRAME

FRAME is deeply concerned about the use of botulinum toxin (like botox) for cosmetic purposes, and the apparent indifference by its users to the intense animal suffering its production causes. There is no excuse for animals being subjected to painful and distressing procedures for the sake of human vanity.

The toxin is produced by bacteria, but, since it its strength varies, each new batch has to be tested separately, to determine its potency and its toxicity. It is tested on mice, which are dosed until they are paralysed and half of them die. There is currently no accepted non-animal, test to protect the safety of people receiving the treatment although there is a more humane one that ends when the mouse’s body goes limp, rather than full paralysis.

There are important medical reasons for the use of botulinum toxin such as treating squints and some forms of cerebral palsy, so some needs to be produced for those
reasons. UK law prevents animal tests on cosmetic products but botulinum procedures are invasive and performed by a doctor, so they are classed as surgery and the toxin is tested as a medicine.

FRAME believes batches of botulinum toxin should be tested according to the purpose for which they will be used so that those intended for cosmetic use cannot be tested
on animals. All trivial, non-medical uses of botulinum toxin should be stopped until it can be tested by humane methods.

Plastic Water Bottles

Mineral water in plastic bottles is very convenient, but it does have possible health implications?

A study by Martin Wagner and Jörg Oehlmann1in in Environmental Science and Pollution Research (Volume 16, Number 3 / May, 2009) found "a widespread contamination of mineral water with xenoestrogens that partly originates from compounds leaching from the plastic packaging material." This is of real concern because xenoestrogens mimic estrogen, a major female hormone.It has been suggested that xenostrogens can cause fertility problems (particularly a reduction in the number and motility of sperm), increased breast cancer growth, endometriosis and adenomyosis (ectopic glandular tissue in muscle).

Many people re-use plastic water bottles and this should definitely be avoided.

Buy Cheap Vitamin B Complex

The vitamin B complex is vital to health and many people are deficient in these powerful water-soluble vitamins. We can't store them in our bodies and so need a regular intake.

If you're deficient in the vitamin B complex you may suffer from asthma, eczema, irritability, headaches, mood swings, PMS and much more.

We're currently offering a 25% discount on our B complex supplement - get it while you can. It's high quality made in the UK where high qulaity control stanards apply.

50 mg of each of the main B vitamins - enough to be of real beenfit. many B vitamin supplements are a waste of money because they have so little of the vitamins in them.

Buy cheap but buy good:
http://www.healthandgoodness.com/catalog/product/vitamin-b-complex.html

Doctors Link With Pharmaceutical Companies

Yet more evidence from the illustrious British Medical Journal about how the activities of pharmaceutical companies needs to be clearly monitored.

Read some other information I have gathered on our need to police the medical and pharmaceutical industries more carefully.

Finding Love

Sitting around waiting for others to love you first so that you can love yourself is faulty thinking. It needs to be the other way around. How can you possibly expect someone else to love you if there is no love for the self. Ask yourself how much time you spend searching for love outside yourself and how much time you put into loving yourself first.

Read more of this article>>

Preventing Breast Cancer

Consumption of soya, fruits, and vegetables helps reduce the risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Postmenopausal women who consumed plenty of soy, fruits, and vegetables had a 30 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer, compared with those who consumed relatively little of these foods. The research was based on 34,028 women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. The longer the women had consumed these healthful foods, the less chance they had of developing breast cancer.
(Butler LM, Wu AH, Wang R, Koh WP, Yuan JM, Yu MC. A vegetable-fruit-soy dietary pattern protects against breast cancer among postmenopausal Singapore Chinese women. Am J Clin Nutr. Published ahead of print February 24, 2010. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28572.)

For information about nutrition and health, please visit www.pcrm.org/.

Exercise And HIV

Aerobic exercise is a safe and effective method of treating symptoms commonly associated with taking HIV medications, such as fatigue, shortness of the breathe, weight gain and changes in body composition, according to a recent study led by Barbara Smith, Ph.D., professor of nursing at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Details of the study, conducted at Ohio State University in Columbus, appeared in a recent issue of the journal AIDS.

“We found that aerobic exercise, which has been proven effective in helping manage other chronic illnesses, is also effective in managing certain symptoms associated with HIV infection,” says Smith. “And, we found that someone with HIV can safely participate in an exercise program without compromising an already fragile immune system.”

The study, funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, enrolled 60 HIV-positive individuals over a course of three years. Half of the individuals were immediately assigned to an exercise program and exercised three times a week for 12 weeks, with each exercise session lasting at least 30 minutes. The other half of individuals did not exercise for the first 12 weeks, then participated in the same exercise program for the next 12-week period.

In particular, the study reports that participants showed significant increases in physical endurance. “This is important because increased endurance greatly reduces the difficulty of performing daily activities,” says Smith. “The less effort an individual expends to carry out an activity, the less likely they are to be fatigued.”

The study also reports significant reductions in body weight and changes in body composition. “Many of the participants were above their ideal body weight when they enrolled in the study,” says Smith. “Exercise effectively reduced not only their body weight, but their percentage of body fat, without participants making significant changes in their diets.”

Other researchers who collaborated are on the study are Robert Fass and Michael Para with the department of internal medicine at Ohio State University in Columbus; Judith Neidig with the departments of internal medicine, and adult health and illness at Ohio State University; Gladys Mitchell with the division of epidemiology and biostatistics at Ohio State University; and Jennie Nickel with the Ohio Department of Human Services in Columbus.

Overweight Dangers For Small Childen

A study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers found that obese children as young as 3 years old have elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that in adults is considered an early warning sign for possible future heart disease.

“These findings were a surprise to us,” said lead author Asheley Cockrell Skinner, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics in the UNC School of Medicine. “We’re seeing a relationship between weight status and elevated inflammatory markers much earlier than we expected.”

“Most adults understand that being overweight or obese isn’t good for them,” Skinner said. “But not as many people realize that it may be unhealthy for young children to be overweight.”

It can be very difficult for parents to tell when their child is overweight, Skinner said. “Especially with younger children and smaller children, because they’re so short it only takes seven or eight pounds to change them from being a healthy weight to being overweight,” she said.

The study was published online March 1 2010 by the journal Pediatrics. Skinner and fellow Department of Pediatrics researchers Eliana Perrin, M.D., M.P.H., Michael Steiner, M.D. and Frederick Henderson, M.D. arrived at these findings after analyzing data collected as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2006.

It is important to make sure our children are active and eat healthily so that long-term health problems can be prevented.

Muscle Strength

Even if you don't want to be a weight lifter, it is important to have good muscle strength for all those every day activities like walking upstairs, carrying shopping, gardening, playing sport, etc.

A lack of vitamin D has been firmly linked to reduced muscle strength. This is what the respected Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism has to say "Vitamin D insufficiency has now reached epidemic proportions and has been linked to increased body fat and decreased muscle strength." ( February 2010)

Vitamin D has all sorts of other benefits - studies have shown that supplementation can reduce the death rate by a whopping 7%.

Many respected medical and government agencies recommend vitamin D supplementation.

Read more about the wonderful benefits of vitamin D >>

Ovarian Cancer Survival

Ovarian cancer has a relatively low survival rate, but research (March 2010 Journal of the American Dietetic Association) suggests women with this problem can increase their chances of surviving by adopting a more healthy diet:

• High in fruit and vegetables
• Low in meat
• Healthy whole grains rather than white bread etc.

This is the diet we should all be following anyway. If you're not, focus on one of these three and make some healthy changes.

Check out our healthy vegetarian recipes here>>

Life Coaching – A modern therapy for modern times

Modern life is hectic. People are expected to juggle a family, career, social life and lead a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes this all just gets to much, and life seems to be stuck in fast forward.

Life coaching is a modern therapy to help deal with the stresses and strains of modern day life. Life Coaching is different from most therapies as it can help with a wide variety of issues and problems you may be suffering from. It can help with things such as relationships, confidence to money management and spirituality.

Just by talking to you as an individual a Life Coach can help you overcome many issues that may be effecting you. The coach can support and encourage you to fulfil your potential so you can make the most of your life, by empowering you to take control of your life. Life Coaching works by exploring your beliefs, attitudes and values, the Life Coach then helps you work out what you want from life and helps you make a plan to get there.

Because Life Coaching is still a relatively new therapy in the UK it is hard to find a professional Life Coach. This is why Life Coach Directory was made. The site is a network of UK based fully insured and qualified Life Coaches. You can find one near you by searching by postcode town or county.

Pain Relief And Hearing Loss

In a study published in the March 2010 issue of The American Journal of Medicine, researchers determined that regular use of aspirin, acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increases the risk of hearing loss in men, particularly in younger men, below age 60.

Read more about this>>

Check out our natural pain relief remedies>>

Free health and happiness tip delivered to your email inbox

Get a different health and happiness tip delivered to your email inbox every day - easy to subscribe and each email comes with a link to unsubscribe (in case you change your mind). Information, reminders about things you already know, inspiring quotes. Find out more>>

Recent tips include:

Exercise While Cleaning Your Teeth
Stand on one leg while you clean your teeth in the morning. Stand on the other leg in the evening. This will strengthen your hamstring muscles and is good for balance.

Child’s Safety Seats
A child safety seat for children up to the age of 6 reduces the risk of death in a car accident by 28%. Archives of Paediatric & Adolescent Medicine 2006; 160: 617-21

Tea, Coffee And Minerals
Drinking tea and coffee interferes with the body's ability to absorb a whole range of minerals.Calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, selenium, chromium and iodine are just some of the minerals that are affected. These are all minerals that are vital to health, and studies show that many people have marginal intake of some of these, such as iron and zinc. So, if you're concerned about your mineral levels, cut back on tea and coffee, or at least drink it away from meals. And remember, if you're taking supplements containing minerals, don't wash them down with a cup of tea or coffee!

Money
“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.” 
Will Rogers

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Crohn's Disease And Vitamin D

A new study has found that Vitamin D, readily available in supplements, can counter the effects of Crohn’s disease. John White, an endocrinologist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, led a team of scientists from McGill University and the Université de Montréal who present their findings about the inflammatory bowel disease in the latest Journal of Biological Chemistry.

“Our data suggests, for the first time, that Vitamin D deficiency can contribute to Crohn’s disease,” says Dr. White, a professor in McGill’s Department of Physiology, noting that people from northern countries, which receive less sunlight that is necessary for the fabrication of Vitamin D by the human body, are particularly vulnerable to Crohn’s disease.

Buy a high quality Vitamin D suppldement>>

Hypnosis And Cancer Care

Professor Lisa D. Butler of the University at Buffalo School of Social Work has said: "although hypnosis is not at present standard practice for treating a wide range of symptoms that trouble cancer patients, it is worth examining that potential," .... "Together, these findings (a study on hypnosis and breast cancer) suggest that there may be a number of benefits to the use of hypnosis in cancer care including, but not necessarily limited to, its more traditional application for pain control."

Read more about the research here>>

Read more about hypnotherapy and hypnosis here>>

Carbonated Drinks And Cancer

Consuming two or more soft drinks (carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages) per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Although relatively rare, pancreatic cancer remains one of the most deadly, and only 5 percent of people who are diagnosed are alive five years later.

Lose Weight Before Pregnancy

An article published in the journal Nursing for Women's Health finds that obesity in pregnant women is associated with pregnancy complications, birth defects, as well as a greater risk of childhood and adult obesity in infants born to obese mothers.

Read more about this research>>

Try our weight loss rmedies>>

Post- menopausal women and strokes

Post-menopausal women who reported consuming the most daily dietary fat had a 40 percent higher incidence of clot-caused strokes compared to women who ate the least amount, according to research from the University of North Carolina presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2010.

The incidence of ischemic stroke also increased by 30 percent in the quartile of women consuming the highest daily amount of trans fat (average intake 7 grams per day) compared to those who consumed the least (average 1 gram/day). Two common sources of trans fat are processed foods and fried foods.

Ischemic strokes are caused by blockages in blood vessels in or leading to the brain.

Read more about this report >>

Learn more about the different types of fats >>

Happiness And Heart Disease

A report of a really interesting 10 year study on the relationship between positive emotions and a reduction in heart disease.

People who are usually happy, enthusiastic and content are less likely to develop heart disease than those who tend not to be happy
 Read more >>

If you find it difficult to be happy, try the Indigo Essence Happy - even though the essences are aimed at children, many adults find them beneficial too.

Women In Business

If, like me, you are a woman who owns her own business, take this interesting business quiz - it will make you think.

Smoking Outdoors Away From The Family

Smoking outside (and away from other family members) is better than smoking indoors but nicotine residues will stick to a smoker's skin and clothing. Those residues follow a smoker back inside and get spread everywhere. The biggest risk is to young children. Dermal uptake of the nicotine through a child's skin is likely to occur when the smoker returns and if nitrous acid is in the air, which it usually is, then TSNAs (carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines) will be formed.
Learn more >>

Animal Experiments - Are They Really Necessary?

Far too many animals are still being used in pointless experiments based on entrenched and old fashioned approaches. That is the view of FRAME, the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments.

In spite of developments in many areas of research that could lead to the use of fewer animals, the numbers published by the Home Office continue to rise each year.

FRAME chairman, Prof. Michael Balls, says: “It is shameful that the number of procedures conducted in the UK in 2008 was higher than that in 1987, when the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 came into force.”

In the latest edition of the charity’s scientific journal ATLA (Alternatives to Laboratory Animals), he reviews articles from the charity’s 40th anniversary year in 2009 and cites authors who discussed concepts that would help reduce animal use, such as “changing the mindset”, “a clinical trial in a test tube”, “avoiding drug development mistakes early”, and “the best model for humans is human”.

He warns that continued resistance to change and insistence on using traditional animal models is preventing more-relevant, more-humane tests from gaining acceptance.

“The failure of the scientific community in general to improve the quality of the science through better experimental design and statistical analysis, whilst at the same time contributing to a steady and continuing fall in the numbers of procedures on laboratory animals, continues to be very disappointing.“

The full article can be read here: http://bit.ly/agTHZu

Bad gum health has been linked to heart disease. Diabetics who are insulin dependent often improve if they get their gingivitis under control. Bleeding gums can be sore and painful, and can damage your long term health.

Eating grapefruit can help fight gum disease. In a study 58 people with gum disease ate 2 grapefruit a day for a fortnight and showed significantly less bleeding.

Try our powerful herbal mouthwash - it was recommended for treating gingivitis(gum disease  by Dr Kellner-Read (dentist and author of Toxic Bite)in the May 2009 issue of Natural Health & Wellbeing. (It's on special offer at the moment with a 15% saving.)

Probiotics For IBS, Crohn's Disease And More

We have now added a 80 capsule size of our diarrhoea probiotics - great for people who need to take them long term. The recommended dose is:

    * For diarrhoea, take 1 or 2 capsules depending on severity of symptoms, and up to 4 capsules per day, or as professionally directed.
    * For Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), take 1 capsule twice a day.
    * For Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) eg. Ulcerative Colitis, Diverticulitis, Crohn's Disease, take 3 capsules a day.
    * For recurrent Clostridium difficile infection, take 2 capsules twice a day.
    * For Candida Overgrowth, take 3 capsules twice a day.

Why Give Up Smoking?

Beating the addiction to smoking will bring you a multitude of benefits. Not only will you lower your risk of getting various cancers, including lung cancer, you’ll also reduce your chances of suffering from heart disease,
stroke, emphysema, and other serious diseases. Also, stopping will help prevent heart disease and lung cancer in people who are subjected to your second-hand smoke.

Although there are benefits to quitting at any age, it is important to quit as early in life as possible to avoid getting one of these serious illnesses caused by smoking. Keep in mind that

• smoking kills 1,200 people every day in the United States.
• if you do not quit smoking, you have a one out of two chance of dying of a smoking-related disease.

Some people who smoke say things like “You have to die of something” or “When you’re time is up, your time is up” in order to justify continuing to think. They convince themselves that one day they are happy and well, then suddenly they are dead, but dying from a smoking-related disease is rarely like this – it is much more likely to be a slow and painful process – distressing for the smokers and for those who love him/her.

Nutrition And The Immune System

A realy interesting article about how the body compensates when food is short -

Prof. Michael Hoch from the LIMES Institute who carried out the study explain: "What is fascinating about this is that a function of the immune system directly depends on how much and what we eat." In situations of hunger which mean stress for the body cells, the body releases antimicrobial peptides as a precaution in order to protect itself. The professor said: "The barrier between body and outside world is apparently fortified in a potentially dangerous situation in which we have too little energy."

Our bodies are so clever and work for us .. it's easy to see your body as the enemy when you are ill or tired, but in reality it is doing its best in often difficult circumstances.

Let's Give Parents More Information

Most parents want to make the right chocies for their children's health and wee-being. In a new study from the Seattle Children's the amount of calories selected by parents for their child’s hypothetical meal at McDonald’s restaurants were reduced by an average of over 100 calories when the menus clearly showed the calories for each item.

At a pediatric practice in Seattle, 99 parents of 3- to 6-year-olds who sometimes eat in fast food restaurants with their children were surveyed about their fast food dining habits. They were presented with sample McDonald’s restaurant menus which included current prices and pictures of items, and asked what they would select for themselves and also for their children as a typical meal. Half of the parents were given menus that also clearly showed calorie information for each item. Choices included most of the items sold at McDonald’s, including a variety of burgers, sandwiches, salads, dressings, side items, beverages, desserts and children’s “Happy Meals.” Parents who were given the calorie information chose 102 fewer calories on average for their children, compared with the group who did not have access to calorie information on their menus. This reflects a calorie reduction of approximately 20%.

Sadly knowing calorie content didn't influence parents' chocies for their own meals.

How To Resist That Cake Or Cookie

Many people's best intentions come undone in the face of cake or chocolate or Pringles or a cookie. Research suggests that one way of dealing with this is to exaggerate the threat.

According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research Authors Ying Zhang, Szu-Chi Huang and Susan M. Broniarczyk (all University of Texas at Austin), your ability to resist that tempting cookie depends on how a big a threat you perceive it to be. “Four experiments show that when consumers encounter temptations that conflict with their long-term goals, one self-control mechanism is to exaggerate the negativity of the temptation as a way to resist, a process we call counteractive construal,” the researchers write.

If you wnat to resist temptation repeatedly exaggerate the powerof that food to your health and well-being. For example, exaggerate in your mind the amount of calries in it or the amount of transfats or salt or the effect it will have on your hips or your skin. Doing this could just help you resist temptation next time and the next time.

Mid Life Crisis

Four tips to avoid a mid-life crisis from Professor Carlo Strenger of Tel Aviv University's Department of Psychology

"First, and most important," Prof. Strenger suggests, "invest some sincere thought in the fact that you have more high-quality adult years ahead of you than behind you. Realize what that means in planning for the future."

Second, he says, think about what you've learned about yourself so far. Consider what you've found to be your strongest abilities and about the things that most please you, not what your parents or society expected of you when you were young.

Read the rest here >>

I really like these new year resolutions from the Keefe Clinic newsletter:

TAKE MORE WALKS. If you haven't taken a walk for awhile, go for a 15-minute stroll during a work break or after dinner; we bet you'll immediately feel more refreshed and less stressed about the world. The simple act of walking - away from the relative confines of your office or home - allows you to enjoy nature and exercise all at once. 

WATCH LESS TV. We're not suggesting you eliminate TV altogether, particularly if it's news- or education-based, but a few less hours a week of reality TV and late-night B movies wouldn't hurt. Substantial evidence links TV viewing to negative health outcomes, not the least of which is obesity. So turn off the boob tube now and then.

TRY NEW FOODS. Most adults are fairly locked in to their food preferences, which can be dangerous on several levels: If your preferences aren't healthy ones, you're in trouble; and if you don't mix things up occasionally, you risk getting bored. The solution? Try at least one new food a week, preferably the healthy variety.

MAKE TIME TO PLAY. Games, that is; games with your kids, your significant other or yourself that keep your mind sharp and take you away from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind. Whether it's a board game, a crossword puzzle or even a sport that keeps you on your toes (literally and figuratively), make more time to play. 

SPOIL YOURSELF. Your last New Year's resolution is perhaps the most important one, because you can't be healthy, at least not over the long haul, if you don't spoil yourself occasionally. Schedule a vacation, plan a date night, or just commit to taking an hour or so at least once a week and relaxing all by yourself. You're worth it.

Supplements For The Over 50's

Many people in their 50's and olders take normal supplements that everyone esle takes. We don't encourage that and on our site have a special Multivit for the over 50's.

Recent research suggests that if you're over 50 and want to take a multivit, you need one tailored to your age:

With scientific evidence linking high levels of copper and iron to Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and other age-related disorders, a new report in ACS’ Chemical Research in Toxicology: “Risks of Copper and Iron Toxicity during Aging in Humans” suggests specific steps that older consumers can take to avoid build up of unhealthy amounts of these metals in their bodies. “This story of copper and iron toxicity, which I think is reaching the level of public health significance, is virtually unknown to the general medical community, to say nothing of complete unawareness of the public,” George J. Brewer states in the report.

The article points out that copper and iron are essential nutrients for life, with high levels actually beneficial to the reproductive health of younger people. After age 50, however, high levels of these metals can damage cells in ways that may contribute to a range of age-related diseases.

“It seems clear that large segments of the population are at risk for toxicities from free copper and free iron, and to me, it seems clear that preventive steps should begin now.” The article details those steps for people over age 50, including avoiding vitamin and mineral pills that contain cooper and iron; lowering meat intake: avoiding drinking water from copper pipes; donating blood regularly to reduce iron levels; and taking zinc supplements to lower copper levels.

Diabetes And Glucose Levels

Diabetics may soon be able to wear contact lenses that continuously alert them to variations in their glucose levels by changing colours – replacing the need to routinely draw blood throughout the day.

The non-invasive technology, developed by Chemical and Biochemical Engineering professor Jin Zhang at The University of Western Ontario, uses extremely small nanoparticles embedded into the hydrogel lenses.  These engineered nanoparticles react with glucose molecules found in tears, causing a chemical reaction that changes their colour.

Zhang received $216,342 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) this morning to further develop technologies using multifunctional nanocomposites.

These technologies have vast potential applications beyond biomedical devices, including for food packaging. For example, nanocomposite films can prevent food spoilage by preventing oxygen, carbon dioxide and moisture from reaching fresh meats and other foods, or by measuring pathogenic contamination; others can make packaging increasingly biodegradable.

Overall, Western was awarded $2,659,595 for 12 projects from the CFI’s Leaders Opportunity Fund today.

More information >>

Another Reason To eat Your Veggies

Increased intakes of antioxidant-rich vegetables may reduce the risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma by about 30 per cent, says a new study.

Increased dietary intakes of specific antioxidant nutrients, like vitamin C, alpha-carotene, and proanthocyanidins were also individually associated with significant reductions in risks for the cancer, according to results published from the Iowa Women's Health Study in the International Journal of Cancer. Read more >>

If you can't bear to eat your veggies, taking a good quality antioxidant supplement may help. If you wnat some more ideas for veggie recipes check out our free vegetarian and vegan recipes.

A Healthy Vegetarian Diet

The UK Vegetarian Society has put together a week's healthy eating plan with detailed recipes. You can do the whole week or just try what you fancy. Read more >>

Vaccination Results Are Not All Beneficial

 The discussion on the benefits or otherwise of vaccination can get heated, so this study from the UC Davis researchers is particuarly interesting:

 A comprehensive US national study  has found that the introduction of an early childhood vaccine for bacterial pneumonia nearly a decade ago has decreased the incidence of pneumonia, but the drop was accompanied by a dramatic increase in the incidence of a serious and sometimes life-threatening complication.

The researchers conjecture that the doubling of the incidence of the complication, which causes pockets of purulence, or pus, around the lungs, may partly be the result of the vaccine eliminating certain types of pneumococcus, creating the opportunity for other bacteria to take its place.

Despite a 50 percent drop in hospitalizations from pneumonia due to pneumococcus since the introduction of the vaccine in 2000, and an overall decrease in all bacterial pneumonias, the empyema rate jumped 70 percent.

Homeopathy And The Placebo Effect

There's a lot of negative publicity around for homeopathy at the moment, which I find really sad. I know from my own experience and from bringing up 2 boys just how effective homeopathy can be.

There's a web site called Homeopathy Heals which has been established to put forward  positive information on homeopathy. I particularly like this article about  a afremer and his experiencing of using homeopathy for his herd of cows. Difficult to see how this is down to the placebo effect.

Buy Clothes And Donate Money To Charity

Many of us like to buy new clothes but we also care about the world and other people. Oxfam's second hand store is a great place to buy new clothes while supporting a very worth while cause. They've got vintage stuff, quirky stuff, very cheap clothes and they've also got lots of new clothes.

You can search by condition. For new clothes there are several options:

New
BNWOT – brand new without tags
BNWT – brand new with tags
Factory seconds

Under "condition" you have to keep expanding it to see all the options.

This is particularly true for women’s clothes but also for men’s. I bought one of my grown-up sons a sleep bundle (new and donated by Marks and Spencers):

One pair crisp checked cotton short with drawstring waistband and side slit pockets
Two pairs stretchy cotton shorts with drawstring waist, one dark blue, one grey,
One white t shirt top with three button front
One multi stripe t shirt
One plain white t shirt.

Great value for £19.99, particularly for M&S quality.

I also bought myself a Nike top - not brand new but excellent condition - great for my spinning class at the gym - a beautiful lime (my favourite colour) blouse, two really nice skirts. I had a really great shopping spree.

You can also search by brand and by size.

You’d need to keep a regular eye on it to see good things but a nice way to donate to Oxfam!

They don't charge postage, although they encourage you to make a donation. You can also return things you don't like. Do have a look and see if there is anything you want to buy.

Exercise Goals For A Fitter You

Is your goal to be fitter and healthier this year? Then use these tips to help you on your way:

Make a goal with a friend to achieve the new Physical Activity Guidelines! Visit CDC's Physical Activity for Everyone for details.

Regular physical helps with weight control, reduces the risk for many diseases, and strengthens muscles, bones and joints. 

Sign up for a 5K walk or run to keep your mind focused on physical activity goals.

Find fun, creative ways your friends and family can spend time being active instead of eating.

No Matter How Old You Are - Give Up Smoking

Just in time for New Year's resolutions, a UCLA study finds that even after age 80, smoking continues to increase one's risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in Americans over 65.

The American Journal of Ophthalmology publishes the findings in its January edition.

"The take-home message is that it's never too late to quit smoking," said lead author Dr. Anne Coleman, professor of ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA. "We found that even older people's eyes will benefit from kicking the habit."

Read more>>