Starting on Wednesday, February 4, 2009, ACHS will be offering a weekly lecture series from 12-1 pm at our campus in Portland.
This will be a 50-minute brown bag lecture series on a variety of topics. These lectures are free to ACHS students and graduates and only $10 for the public. To reserve your place, please call 503-244-0726.
Our first lecture will be on Iridology with ACHS President and Holistic Health Expert Dorene Petersen:
Did you know that by looking at the texture of your iris you can evaluate your own or your client's health potential. When you study iridology you can analyze the overall constitution. This is a great tool to help you formulate wellness protocols. You can also see inherent weaknesses before they actually manifest as symptoms in the body.
This lecture is an introduction to the history, theory and philosophy of Iridology.
Schedule of upcoming lectures:
February 4: Introduction to Iridology with ACHS President Dorene Petersen
February 11: Introduction to Homeopathy with ACHS Instructor Dr. Matt Zorn, ND
February 18: Cheap & Effective Community Marketing for the Holistic Practitioner by ACHS Director of Marketing Kate Harmon
February 25: Writing Press Releases with ACHS Communications Manager Lauren Shapiro
All lectures will be videod. Highlights of the lecture will be available on the ACHS TV Channel on YouTube with full videos available in selected online classrooms for ACHS students. Be sure to subscribe to the ACHS YouTube Channel online here to receive notification when a new lecture is available.
Also, keep an eye on your email for an invite to join the ACHS Holistic Health Tip of the Week Google group to receive weekly announcements about upcoming lectures and additional tips for personal health and wellness! You can also view the ACHS Events calendar online here.
We look forward to seeing you on-campus!
Friday, January 30, 2009
ACHS Announces Wednesday Brown Bag Lecture Series
Starting on Wednesday, February 4, 2009, ACHS will be offering a weekly lecture series from 12-1 pm at our campus in Portland.
This will be a 50-minute brown bag lecture series on a variety of topics. These lectures are free to ACHS students and graduates and only $10 for the public. To reserve your place, please call 503-244-0726.
Our first lecture will be on Iridology with ACHS President and Holistic Health Expert Dorene Petersen:
Did you know that by looking at the texture of your iris you can evaluate your own or your client's health potential. When you study iridology you can analyze the overall constitution. This is a great tool to help you formulate wellness protocols. You can also see inherent weaknesses before they actually manifest as symptoms in the body.
This lecture is an introduction to the history, theory and philosophy of Iridology.
Schedule of upcoming lectures:
February 4: Introduction to Iridology with ACHS President Dorene Petersen
February 11: Introduction to Homeopathy with ACHS Instructor Dr. Matt Zorn, ND
February 18: Cheap & Effective Community Marketing for the Holistic Practitioner by ACHS Director of Marketing Kate Harmon
February 25: Writing Press Releases with ACHS Communications Manager Lauren Shapiro
All lectures will be videod. Highlights of the lecture will be available on the ACHS TV Channel on YouTube with full videos available in selected online classrooms for ACHS students. Be sure to subscribe to the ACHS YouTube Channel online here to receive notification when a new lecture is available.
Also, keep an eye on your email for an invite to join the ACHS Holistic Health Tip of the Week Google group to receive weekly announcements about upcoming lectures and additional tips for personal health and wellness! You can also view the ACHS Events calendar online here.
We look forward to seeing you on-campus!
This will be a 50-minute brown bag lecture series on a variety of topics. These lectures are free to ACHS students and graduates and only $10 for the public. To reserve your place, please call 503-244-0726.
Our first lecture will be on Iridology with ACHS President and Holistic Health Expert Dorene Petersen:
Did you know that by looking at the texture of your iris you can evaluate your own or your client's health potential. When you study iridology you can analyze the overall constitution. This is a great tool to help you formulate wellness protocols. You can also see inherent weaknesses before they actually manifest as symptoms in the body.
This lecture is an introduction to the history, theory and philosophy of Iridology.
Schedule of upcoming lectures:
February 4: Introduction to Iridology with ACHS President Dorene Petersen
February 11: Introduction to Homeopathy with ACHS Instructor Dr. Matt Zorn, ND
February 18: Cheap & Effective Community Marketing for the Holistic Practitioner by ACHS Director of Marketing Kate Harmon
February 25: Writing Press Releases with ACHS Communications Manager Lauren Shapiro
All lectures will be videod. Highlights of the lecture will be available on the ACHS TV Channel on YouTube with full videos available in selected online classrooms for ACHS students. Be sure to subscribe to the ACHS YouTube Channel online here to receive notification when a new lecture is available.
Also, keep an eye on your email for an invite to join the ACHS Holistic Health Tip of the Week Google group to receive weekly announcements about upcoming lectures and additional tips for personal health and wellness! You can also view the ACHS Events calendar online here.
We look forward to seeing you on-campus!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
How to prevent death 101
I was watching The Biggest Loser last night-I love that show. They had one of the contestants check in with the doctor after 3 weeks of working out and eating right. They showed us (the viewers) the amount of meds this guy was taking SIMPLY BECAUSE HE WAS OBESE!!!
He spent $20,000 a YEAR on medications BECAUSE HE WAS OBESE!! Does ANYONE have $20k burning a hole in their pocket? Eager to spend it on diabetes medications and blood thinners? He had a life span estimate of another 10 years that way. $200,000 spent on the last 10 years of this mans life would have been on pills to "make him normal." I was astounded at how the medical community was so ready to offer medicine to this dying man and not ever address the real cause. Not the SYMPTOMS but the CAUSE of the disease.
If the medical community would join hands with the holistic wellness community, they could prescribe a fitness trainer, a healthier eating plan, and a real CURE for his disease versus medicate to make him more comfortable while he dies. He does not have cancer; he is over fat.
Each day you help yourself by eating the right balance of foods for your body, add in the right amount of activity to prevent fat gain, consider it money in the bank!
Hippocrates, the father of medicine is credited with saying, "Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food." Yet, we often forget that. Seldom do we think to ourselves "I feel sluggish. Have I been eating correctly?"
We who feel that a healthier path is what we follow still reach for herbal remedies when we are still filling our body with too many calories, too little activity, and very little rest.
Again, the father of medicine stated hundreds of years before we had crisco, high fructose corn syrup, and became a fast food world: "If we give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not to much, we have found the SAFEST way to health."
Consider what is too little and what is too much for your own body. If you are gaining weight then you are taking in more calories than you are using during the day. Slow down your caloric intake and find foods in a more whole state to help you feel full as you transition to lower calories. Increase your activities, any activity where your body is exerting energy is fine. Gardening, walking, dancing with the kids--think of any movement you enjoy that you will not grow bored from and increase that activity in your daily life.
Doing these things will give you the safest way to health, to whole health and wellness. Less colds, less fatigue, less emotional stress because your body is being fueled in the best possible way. More enjoyment in the day, more restful sleep, a clearer thought process, less colds, less illness, disease prevention, a longer life span, and a better looking body are the rewards. Let me just reiterate:
"If we give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not to much, we have found the SAFEST way to health."
Find your right amount.
He spent $20,000 a YEAR on medications BECAUSE HE WAS OBESE!! Does ANYONE have $20k burning a hole in their pocket? Eager to spend it on diabetes medications and blood thinners? He had a life span estimate of another 10 years that way. $200,000 spent on the last 10 years of this mans life would have been on pills to "make him normal." I was astounded at how the medical community was so ready to offer medicine to this dying man and not ever address the real cause. Not the SYMPTOMS but the CAUSE of the disease.
If the medical community would join hands with the holistic wellness community, they could prescribe a fitness trainer, a healthier eating plan, and a real CURE for his disease versus medicate to make him more comfortable while he dies. He does not have cancer; he is over fat.
Each day you help yourself by eating the right balance of foods for your body, add in the right amount of activity to prevent fat gain, consider it money in the bank!
Hippocrates, the father of medicine is credited with saying, "Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food." Yet, we often forget that. Seldom do we think to ourselves "I feel sluggish. Have I been eating correctly?"
We who feel that a healthier path is what we follow still reach for herbal remedies when we are still filling our body with too many calories, too little activity, and very little rest.
Again, the father of medicine stated hundreds of years before we had crisco, high fructose corn syrup, and became a fast food world: "If we give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not to much, we have found the SAFEST way to health."
Consider what is too little and what is too much for your own body. If you are gaining weight then you are taking in more calories than you are using during the day. Slow down your caloric intake and find foods in a more whole state to help you feel full as you transition to lower calories. Increase your activities, any activity where your body is exerting energy is fine. Gardening, walking, dancing with the kids--think of any movement you enjoy that you will not grow bored from and increase that activity in your daily life.
Doing these things will give you the safest way to health, to whole health and wellness. Less colds, less fatigue, less emotional stress because your body is being fueled in the best possible way. More enjoyment in the day, more restful sleep, a clearer thought process, less colds, less illness, disease prevention, a longer life span, and a better looking body are the rewards. Let me just reiterate:
"If we give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not to much, we have found the SAFEST way to health."
Find your right amount.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
UK regulates complementary medicine
Maggie Dunn, co-chairman of the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council in the UK, wants to assure complementary health care consumers that the services they are receiving are "up to snuff." The industry, which is used by one in five people, as reported by the BBC, will now be asked to participate in a registry of practitioners, which the Council will oversee.
The registry will not judge clinics on therapeutic effectiveness. But, rather, they will evaluate business operations. Dunn told the BBC News website: "I think most of the profession is operating to good standards, but we know not everyone will be able to register.
"If that means that people who are not up to scratch are driven out of business, I will not cry for them."
Of the 150,000 estimated complementary medicine therapists working in the UK, Dunn said "she suspected between half and two thirds of them would make it on to the register, which would allow them to use the regulator logo on literature and display in shops."
CLICK HERE to read more about the register and regulator's standards.
© BBC News January 19, 2009: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7828593.stm
The registry will not judge clinics on therapeutic effectiveness. But, rather, they will evaluate business operations. Dunn told the BBC News website: "I think most of the profession is operating to good standards, but we know not everyone will be able to register.
"If that means that people who are not up to scratch are driven out of business, I will not cry for them."
Of the 150,000 estimated complementary medicine therapists working in the UK, Dunn said "she suspected between half and two thirds of them would make it on to the register, which would allow them to use the regulator logo on literature and display in shops."
CLICK HERE to read more about the register and regulator's standards.
© BBC News January 19, 2009: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7828593.stm
Monday, January 12, 2009
Now, let's turn to the FDA
In our view, health care reform is a lot like the fable of the 6 blind men with the elephant. Nobody sees the whole picture.
There are different endings to that fable. In one version, the blind men turn their very-real individual experiences into something more complete and useful. In the other version . . . well, it hasn’t ended; they’re still arguing.
In the case of health care, both versions are familiar. The first, more hopeful version has felt for years like it’s just around the corner. But the second version more persistently holds our attention. Reconciling these versions of the story when it comes to health care is no small matter. Health is where many diverse realms meet:
• Where self-responsibility meets government regulation;
• Where personal choice meets the professional healing relationship; and
• Where the subjective experience of wellbeing meets objective, medical science.
We’ve worked together the past few weeks to put natural health front and center in the conversation about the elephant that is health care reform. And we thank you again for your contribution to this effort. Now, we dig a little deeper and in a more specific way. The FDA is obviously part of this elephant. And it’s to the FDA that we now turn our attention.
There are several formal FDA reform efforts going on right now. One that we’ve announced in the past, and continue to support, is the American Association for Health Freedom’s “Reform the FDA” petition. We’ll be addressing this petition more in the coming weeks. For now, learn more about this petition here.
Another interesting site to explore about FDA reform is at FDAreview.org. This is a detailed site that has some interesting and controversial ideas. Even if you don’t agree with everything you find there, at the very least, this site will make you think.
Indeed, while we may not agree with every detail of every approach to FDA reform, we do agree that there is a need right now for new, critical thinking about health care reform generally, and about FDA reform specifically. And lest you think that Non-Governmental Organizations are the only ones making this call, consider this letter to President-elect Obama from Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI).
Also, we acknowledge that with any major change comes both risk and opportunity. Forces that oppose natural health could actually take advantage of FDA reform and make things tougher for us if we are not committed, diligent and persistent. With that in mind, the campaign that we are about to announce has the following goals:
• Build sustainable awareness and activism about our grassroots power as citizens and consumers.
• Establish measurable outcomes for our efforts.
• Expand the collaborative efforts of natural health supporters and associations.
So, here it is. Natural health care isn’t just the promotion of natural products and practices. It’s also protection against harmful products and practices that are being allowed in the name of commerce. In both cases, it’s up to us to hold the FDA accountable.
Many of you are familiar with the situation with Splenda, the trade name of sucralose as used by the self-described “health care” company, Johnson & Johnson. Beginning immediately next week and continuing for a few weeks, we’ll build a series of Action Alerts on the Splenda matter that will be directed to the FDA. For now, please inform yourself by reading this press release from Citizens For Health Chairman James S. Turner about new and urgent findings on sucralose.
The FDA is about to undergo an overhaul, one way or another. Even though this Splenda Action is just an example, it’s a very important example to the “new” FDA and others. Let’s show them by this Action Alert what we can do together.
Keep an eye out for next week’s Splenda Alert. Share this news as much as possible. And as always, thanks for your support.
© January 2009: http://www.citizens.org/elephant-story
There are different endings to that fable. In one version, the blind men turn their very-real individual experiences into something more complete and useful. In the other version . . . well, it hasn’t ended; they’re still arguing.
In the case of health care, both versions are familiar. The first, more hopeful version has felt for years like it’s just around the corner. But the second version more persistently holds our attention. Reconciling these versions of the story when it comes to health care is no small matter. Health is where many diverse realms meet:
• Where self-responsibility meets government regulation;
• Where personal choice meets the professional healing relationship; and
• Where the subjective experience of wellbeing meets objective, medical science.
We’ve worked together the past few weeks to put natural health front and center in the conversation about the elephant that is health care reform. And we thank you again for your contribution to this effort. Now, we dig a little deeper and in a more specific way. The FDA is obviously part of this elephant. And it’s to the FDA that we now turn our attention.
There are several formal FDA reform efforts going on right now. One that we’ve announced in the past, and continue to support, is the American Association for Health Freedom’s “Reform the FDA” petition. We’ll be addressing this petition more in the coming weeks. For now, learn more about this petition here.
Another interesting site to explore about FDA reform is at FDAreview.org. This is a detailed site that has some interesting and controversial ideas. Even if you don’t agree with everything you find there, at the very least, this site will make you think.
Indeed, while we may not agree with every detail of every approach to FDA reform, we do agree that there is a need right now for new, critical thinking about health care reform generally, and about FDA reform specifically. And lest you think that Non-Governmental Organizations are the only ones making this call, consider this letter to President-elect Obama from Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI).
Also, we acknowledge that with any major change comes both risk and opportunity. Forces that oppose natural health could actually take advantage of FDA reform and make things tougher for us if we are not committed, diligent and persistent. With that in mind, the campaign that we are about to announce has the following goals:
• Build sustainable awareness and activism about our grassroots power as citizens and consumers.
• Establish measurable outcomes for our efforts.
• Expand the collaborative efforts of natural health supporters and associations.
So, here it is. Natural health care isn’t just the promotion of natural products and practices. It’s also protection against harmful products and practices that are being allowed in the name of commerce. In both cases, it’s up to us to hold the FDA accountable.
Many of you are familiar with the situation with Splenda, the trade name of sucralose as used by the self-described “health care” company, Johnson & Johnson. Beginning immediately next week and continuing for a few weeks, we’ll build a series of Action Alerts on the Splenda matter that will be directed to the FDA. For now, please inform yourself by reading this press release from Citizens For Health Chairman James S. Turner about new and urgent findings on sucralose.
The FDA is about to undergo an overhaul, one way or another. Even though this Splenda Action is just an example, it’s a very important example to the “new” FDA and others. Let’s show them by this Action Alert what we can do together.
Keep an eye out for next week’s Splenda Alert. Share this news as much as possible. And as always, thanks for your support.
© January 2009: http://www.citizens.org/elephant-story
Discover courses just in time for your New Year's resolutions
These four-week, fully online, dynamic, and interactive courses are a wonderful way to explore holistic health, while you learn practical tools to help you cultivate long-term health and wellness. Led by ACHS President Dorene Petersen, you'll gain the knowledge and inspiration you need to finally stick to your health resolutions! Discover courses are just $199.
These courses provide students with a practical, working knowledge of holistic health and allows them to utilize their education to enhance their personal life in the quest to develop a more holistic lifestyle.
To register, simply contact your Admissions Advisor at (800) 487-8839 or email: admissions@achs.edu.
Courses begin on Monday, February 16, and include:
Discover Aromatherapy
There is so much more to the world of aromatherapy than utilizing our sense of smell. Learn about the history and philosophy of aromatherapy, and how to prepare and use five essential oils for health and happiness.
Discover Holistic Living
Health is a lifestyle, not a trend or fad diet. Learn how to analyze your own health behaviors and attitudes in order to find your balance for health and well-being.
These courses provide students with a practical, working knowledge of holistic health and allows them to utilize their education to enhance their personal life in the quest to develop a more holistic lifestyle.
To register, simply contact your Admissions Advisor at (800) 487-8839 or email: admissions@achs.edu.
Courses begin on Monday, February 16, and include:
Discover Aromatherapy
There is so much more to the world of aromatherapy than utilizing our sense of smell. Learn about the history and philosophy of aromatherapy, and how to prepare and use five essential oils for health and happiness.
Discover Holistic Living
Health is a lifestyle, not a trend or fad diet. Learn how to analyze your own health behaviors and attitudes in order to find your balance for health and well-being.
Class sizes are limited. To hold your place,
register in these exciting new courses today.
Call toll-free at (800) 487-8839 or email: admissions@achs.edu.
register in these exciting new courses today.
Call toll-free at (800) 487-8839 or email: admissions@achs.edu.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Ignore your fast food urges!
Burger King says..who needs friends and family or real connections when you can have 670 calories with 41 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbs and 30 grams of protein slither down your throat and into your arteries? Real love is pressure on the arteries not that warm fuzzy feeling you get when someone comments on your facebook photo! Join burger king and ditch 10 people on your facebook friend list for fat saturated death! Maybe if we ditch 30 they will help us pay for the angioplasty!
Click to read the article.
This seems very aggressive and counter productive in the whole SAVE AMERICAN FROM OBESITY that we need to be on. Not sure how encouraging even sublte disconnection with people and replacing it with food is going to make mankind better but I guess when we have a need for the almighty dollar so high....something has to give. So, what we give up is humanity, right? "Sorry casual acquaintance, I appreciate your supportive comments on my pages. I loved the jokes you shared that made me laugh....but i am going to have to let you go. " While laughter and human companionship has been shown in studies to even increase our life expectancy nothing is more important than saving $1.99....right?
Perhaps if they offered to give a free whopper for adding 10 people of common interest there would be a bit more love for the King from me. However, to me this is an obvious ploy to target sales back to the fast food industry when everyone right now is lining up at the gym hoping to finally stick to their new year resolutions. Hhhmm..I wonder how many will drop entire diet groups in order to get that free 670 calorie burden into their belly.....
As for me, I will keep my facebook friends..maybe I will send them all a note today thanking them for being on my friends list in fact......
Mexican Burgers W/ Onions and Peppers
Servings 7
1 Pound lean ground beef
1 Pound lean ground turkey
5 shakes Worcestershire sauce
5 shakes hot sauce
1 T garlic powder
½ T onion powder
2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
pinch salt
pepper to taste
1 onion sliced thinly
1 red pepper sliced
1 T olive oil
½ t cumin
Mix all ingredients together well in a large bowl. Form 6 patties and season outsides with salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat in a large skillet approximately 15 minutes or until they reach the level of doneness you prefer. Or you can grill the burgers outside. While the burgers are cooking, heat the olive oil in another skillet over med heat and sauté the onion, pepper and the cumin until tender approximately 5 minutes.
Serve the burgers with the veggies piled on top.
Other Good Ideas:
-Smooth on some avocado butter for a really special burger
-Serve with some sweet potato oven fries for an excellent meal
Per Serving
Calories- 289
Fat –17 g
Protein – 30 g
Carbohydrates –3 g
Click to read the article.
This seems very aggressive and counter productive in the whole SAVE AMERICAN FROM OBESITY that we need to be on. Not sure how encouraging even sublte disconnection with people and replacing it with food is going to make mankind better but I guess when we have a need for the almighty dollar so high....something has to give. So, what we give up is humanity, right? "Sorry casual acquaintance, I appreciate your supportive comments on my pages. I loved the jokes you shared that made me laugh....but i am going to have to let you go. " While laughter and human companionship has been shown in studies to even increase our life expectancy nothing is more important than saving $1.99....right?
Perhaps if they offered to give a free whopper for adding 10 people of common interest there would be a bit more love for the King from me. However, to me this is an obvious ploy to target sales back to the fast food industry when everyone right now is lining up at the gym hoping to finally stick to their new year resolutions. Hhhmm..I wonder how many will drop entire diet groups in order to get that free 670 calorie burden into their belly.....
As for me, I will keep my facebook friends..maybe I will send them all a note today thanking them for being on my friends list in fact......
Mexican Burgers W/ Onions and Peppers
Servings 7
1 Pound lean ground beef
1 Pound lean ground turkey
5 shakes Worcestershire sauce
5 shakes hot sauce
1 T garlic powder
½ T onion powder
2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
pinch salt
pepper to taste
1 onion sliced thinly
1 red pepper sliced
1 T olive oil
½ t cumin
Mix all ingredients together well in a large bowl. Form 6 patties and season outsides with salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat in a large skillet approximately 15 minutes or until they reach the level of doneness you prefer. Or you can grill the burgers outside. While the burgers are cooking, heat the olive oil in another skillet over med heat and sauté the onion, pepper and the cumin until tender approximately 5 minutes.
Serve the burgers with the veggies piled on top.
Other Good Ideas:
-Smooth on some avocado butter for a really special burger
-Serve with some sweet potato oven fries for an excellent meal
Per Serving
Calories- 289
Fat –17 g
Protein – 30 g
Carbohydrates –3 g
Monday, January 5, 2009
Cajuput: Oil of the Month
Cajuput, Melaleuca leucadendron, is distilled from the leaves of the cajuput tree, and is known for its highly aromatic aroma. Full of stimulating properties, the aroma is similar to camphor or rosemary; the taste is bitter.
Traces of copper may be found in the oil, if it has a greenish tint. The oil should be stored in a colored bottle out of direct sunlight.
Therapeutic actions of cajuput include: antispasmodic, diaphoretic, stimulant, antiseptic, and anthelmintic. When diluted, according to the Recommended Daily Dose, and taken internally, the oil has a warming sensation, which can increase the pulse and perspiration. When applied externally, the oil is a stimulant and has a mild counter-irritant property. It is suggested that the oil be diluted in olive or similar base oil in a 1-part cajuput to 2-part oil ratio.
Cajuput is January’s featured essential oil for ACHS’s Oil of the Month Club. As member, each month you will receive 5 ml of the featured oil and an informational insert, as well as formulas and tips for healthy living. Oil of the Month is available through the Apothecary Shoppe at: www.apothecary-shoppe.com.
January Health Freedom Update
Monthly Column From Kim Sharples, HHP, 2007 Alumni Happy New Year!
A lot of states will be starting their legislative sessions in January. If you haven’t already, check with the health freedom group in your state, and sign up to be notified of any important developments. Bills to watch for would include Dietitian/Nutrition, Naturopathic Physicians, and Massage Therapy.
If your state is trying to pass a health freedom bill, contact them and see what you can do to help. Groups are always looking for volunteers and need donations. Any amount of time or any donation would be appreciated. Please remember that each state has different laws and regulations regarding what you can and cannot do when it comes to complementary and alternative health care.
Remember that each state has different laws and regulations regarding complementary and alternative health care.
There are currently six states that have health freedom laws. These are: Minnesota, California, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Idaho. If you live in one of these states, you need to know what you legally can and cannot do, and what disclosures you may need to provide to your clients.
There are 15 states and the District of Columbia that license or regulate naturopathic physicians. If your state is one that regulates naturopathic physicians, you need to know what that law says in regard to what you can and cannot do. These states are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Minnesota just passed a registration bill for naturopathic physicians that should take effect July 1, 2009.
There is a yahoogroup that was just set up for those interested in health freedom across the United States. Just send a blank email to: FYHF-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
NATIONAL HEALTH FREEDOM ORGANIZATIONS
- Coalition for Natural Health: www.naturalhealth.org or Boyd Landry at boydlandry@naturalhealth.org
- Health Keepers Alliance: www.healthkeepers.net
- Citizens for Health: www.citizens.org
- Sunshine Health Freedom Foundation: Contact person: Troy Bledsoe at herbalsurvival@cox.net or www.sunshinehealthfreedomfoundation.com.
- National Health Freedom Action/Coalition: www.nationalhealthfreedom.org
HEALTH FREEDOM INFORMATION
CANADA
The Canadian Parliament adjourned for the summer without debating or passing bills C-51 and C-52, bills that could have overturned long standing legal precedent protecting Canadians’ health freedom. For more information, click here.
CALIFORNIA
Prop 65 is proposed regulation that wants to classify all beneficial nutrients with above-RDA potencies as cancer-causing agents under unless proven otherwise.
For more information, please go to this website.
COLORADO
Colorado was successful in stopping a monopolistic naturopathic physician bill. A Health Freedom bill was also introduced, but was not successful. A Massage bill was introduced and passed. This bill contained exemptions for those who do energy work such as Reiki.
Colorado For Health Freedom has a yahoo group you can join by sending a blank email to CO4HFG-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You can also contact Kimberly Sharples at kimberlysharples@msn.com or 719-390-1979.
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut Health Freedom Coalition: Craig Respasz at crepasz@hotmail.com.
IDAHO
Just when we thought Idaho was settled, Senate Bill 1425 was introduced by the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare on February 11, 2008. The bill, as introduced, would have transformed the law from what was an agreeable, accommodating law under which all natural health practitioners benefited, to a restrictive licensing law favoring “naturopathic physicians.” The bill progressed quickly through the Senate and The Coalition jumped into the fray with both feet to protect the language in the bill that allowed for multiple pathways to licensure. With the help of the Idaho Coalition for Natural Health and others, the bill was amended, thus minimizing the effect on the law in Idaho. We will continue to monitor the activities of the Board of Naturopathic Medical Examiners as they work towards promulgation of rules.
For more information, contact Boyd at: boydlandry@naturalhealth.org. You can also visit the website for Idaho CNH at: http://www.naturalhealthidaho.org/.
IOWA
Iowa introduced Health Freedom language in 2008, but was not successful. To learn more about the Iowa Health Freedom Coalition, you can access their website: www.iowahealthfreedom.org.
LOUISIANA
Louisiana’s focus this year was to introduce a total Health Freedom Bill in the 2008 Louisiana Legislative Session. They held a statewide membership meeting in March with 3 excellent speakers: Senator Sharon Weston Broome (Sponsor of the bill), Dr. John Baker, head of LSU Law School (health freedom advocate), and Boyd Landry, Executive Director of CNH.
They also held several statewide meeting to attract new members as well as enlighten the member that reside outside the Baton Rouge area of their intentions to introduce a bill in this year’s 2008 session; as well as meeting with legislators at the Capitol Rotunda several times.
They hired a Lobbyist to work with us to amend Acts 655 and 334, which were bills we passed in the 2006, and 2005 sessions. With lobbyist Kathy Chittom and Senator Broome’s influence, they were able to pass a bill in this year’s 2008 Legislative Session. The Governor signed the bill into law at the end of June (Act No. 524). They now feel as though Louisiana finally has a Total Health Freedom Bill.
Their board meets the last Monday of each month, and they have a conference call number for those who cannot attend in person.
If you live in Louisiana and would like to help, please contact Cynthia Reed, ND, President of the Louisiana Health Freedom Coalition at 225-756-8400 or herbs-etc@cox.net.
MARYLAND
Maryland introduced a health freedom bill in 2008, but it was not successful. Contact Dr. Mishra for more information regarding Health Freedom in Maryland: mishra13505@yahoo.com.
MINNESOTA
A Naturopathic Physician registration bill was passed in Minnesota that will not go into effect until July 1, 2009. During this time a Naturopathy Work Group has been assigned to study the regulation of Naturopathic Doctors. Their recommendations must be turned in no later than December 15, 2008, and the Commissioner of Health will report these findings to Legislators by January 15, 2009. You can read about this bill and work group here.
Another group has formed in Minnesota - Minnesota Advocates for Complementary and Alternative Practices, MNACAP. The President is Katie Murphy, and you can email her at: 4healinginsights@comcast.net.
MONTANA
Montana has a health freedom group that wants to introduce a Health Freedom Bill next legislative session. For more information, you can contact: Debra Kimmet deb@debkimmet.com or 406-251-9704 or visit their website.
NEW JERSEY
A Dietitian/Nutritionist Licensure bill has just been introduced in New Jersey and been referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. This bill could limit nutritional advice to only those dietitian/nutritionists licensed by the state of New Jersey. You can view the bill here. Please contact me for more information: kimberlysharples@msn.com.
NEW YORK
There were three restrictive bills introduced in New York, which could have prohibited traditional naturopaths from practicing. Boyd Landry with CNH worked at killing these bills and they are monitoring legislation for the remainder of 2008 and into 2009. You can contact Boyd for more information: boydlandry@naturalhealth.org.
NORTH CAROLINA
There was restrictive naturopathic medicine bills introduced this year in NC. Fortunately, these bills died in committee. The North Carolina Citizens for Healthcare Freedom has a health freedom bill introduced and they are hoping for it to be heard in the long session, starting in January. At this time they need assistance with signing petitions (on their website), volunteering and donations. For more information, you can go to their website: www.ncchf.org. Their contact person is Claiborne Holtzman: Claiborne@ncchf.org.
OHIO
The Ohio Sunshine Health Freedom Coalition has introduced a health freedom bill, H.B. 580. You can read the bill here. The OSHFC Steering Committee recorded a phone call updating the Ohio situation. If you would like to listen, please call 641-715-3409 and enter PIN 288597#. They are also asking for help in calling, Emailing or faxing members of the committee that the health freedom bill is assigned to. To learn more, please contact Linda Murray: hertouch@juno.com or go to their website: www.ohiosunshinehealthfreedom.info.
TENNESSEE
Two identical restrictive licensing bills were entertained this session. Fortunately, both of these bills died in committee. They expect similar legislation to be introduced in 2009. For more information, please contact Boyd Landry at: boydlandry@naturalhealth.org.
TEXAS
The Texas health freedom bill author, Rep. Frank Corte, has filed HB 40, their 2009 health freedom bill. The bill text can be viewed at the following link: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/.
They also have discovered that the Texas Dietetic Association has hired a lobbyist to attempt to push through their exclusionary licensing agenda for the 2009 legislative session. They will need your help to defeat this legislation that could take away practitioners rights to give out nutritional advice.
There are installments of “WAKE UP AMERICA” on their website, on the right side under “Recent Posts.” Their website has been updated so please visit www.texashealthfreedom.com to see the “WAKE UP AMERICA” video series and other health freedom information.
Texas needs volunteers and donations--If you can help, please visit their website or contact Peter McCarthy at texascam@earthlink.net.
VIRGINIA
The Certified Natural Health Professionals of Virginia Health Freedom Group is collecting signatures to oppose HB 784, the monopolistic naturopathic physician bill. You may hold the original signed letters or send them to the Virginia Chapter of Certified Natural Health Professionals at P.O. Box 316, Chesterfield, VA 23832-0005.
They will use these letters to demonstrate opposition to any naturopath licensure bill that might be introduced in the 2009 session. If you have questions regarding the gathering of signatures on these letters or their strategy please contact Becky Hanks at the Herb Basket at 804-862-HERB (4372) during the daytime on Tuesdays through Saturday. To learn more, please visit their website: www.cnhpva.org.
WASHINGTON
Washington has a health freedom bill introduced, Senate Bill 6886, and was referred to the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee. To read this bill, go to: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/.
Preserve your Freedom of Choice in health care! 2009 Health Freedom Advocacy Day. Our freedom to choose the type of health care and health practitioners that we want is in jeopardy! Come and advocate with legislators. We’ll help you! Monday, Jan. 19, 2009, 10 am-4 pm - Cherberg Bldg, Rooms A/B/C. For more information, go to the Washington Health Freedom website: http://healthfreedomwa.org/, email healthfreedom.wa@gmail.com, or call 360-357-6263.
WISCONSIN
Act Now! The Wisconsin Health Freedom Coalition (WIHFC) is a grass roots lobbying organization dedicated to preserving health care access for natural therapies and access to nutritional information in Wisconsin. These freedoms are under threat by special interest groups lobbing in Madison.
Check out their website http://wihfc.com/about_us.htm to read about the upcoming introduction of our exciting Consumer Health Freedom and Access Act. This proposed legislation would protect the rights of Wisconsin Citizens to access natural, herbal and alternative health care.
Also, please check out the website http://wihfc.com/about_us.htm to read about the WDA (Wisconsin Dietetic Association) proposed legislation that would limit your access to nutritional information. WDA seeks licensure to monopolize nutritional information that is bought and paid for by large corporations, which are interested in profit and not your health. Unfortunately we have to solicit for donations http://wihfc.com/donate.htm.
If you are able to help, please contact Syncha Maniscalco at syncha@gmail.com or go to www.wihfc.com.
Kimberly Sharples, HHP
Health Freedom Activist
kimberlysharples@msn.com
(719) 390-1979
Well, Well, Well: Can’t we all just get along?
We have, along with everything else that is ailing, an ailing health care system, and we have not-at-all-ailing CEOs serving on our health board, and a health minister scoffing at the criticism coming his way, and the former chair of the Capital Health Authority investigating the ethics of appointments to the health board that replaced his.
What we need on that board is, of course, a little more health savvy—people who know their way around medical journals, people who know their way around alternative health science journals, people who know something about nutritional and biological and preventative medicine—so we can save our emergency rooms for grave maladies instead of the kind we can predict with absolute certainty will only continue to increase in volume.
We have epidemics of chronic degenerative disease and drug dependencies and STDs and cancer and heart disease and anxiety and insomnia and despair in young people already too disillusioned to commit to much of anything, and we’re being told not to worry about health care or the banks or our jobs or our futures; we’re being told, literally, just to go for a walk and listen to some music.
We have endless lineups to see doctors and specialists whose help frustrates us endlessly because after waiting forever there’s not much of a cure for what ails us. Last [month] we had AIDS day, and we have more awareness days and weeks and months than we can handle, and we’re tired of hearing about epidemics and depressions because Christmas [has come] and we just want to be happy and feel good and optimistic about the world. We want to know that it’ll all be OK, and that 50 is the new 40 for all of us, not only for the rich and famous who can afford special private and alternative health care.
And I’m tired of the voices championing all things green out of one side of their mouths while remaining silent on the absolute contradiction between pharmaceutically based medicine and saving our Earth. Because drugs are anything but green—just ask those living near drug manufacturing factories like those in India who are shouldering an enormous burden of ecological devastation.
All it takes to know that natural medicines are beautiful for what ails most of us most of the time is a few conversations with ex-pharmacists old enough to remember their training in herbal medicine or pharmacists who, because they were tired of the chemical nightmares they were having, have quit the business and now dispense biological medicines.
I can already hear the usual arguments that surely we shouldn’t be promoting treatments that don’t work. Spare me. We all know it’s infinitely more complex than either working or not working. Chemo therapy and anti-cholesterol drugs and psychiatric meds don’t work well much of the time and too often cause untold harm.
We could—here’s a novel thought—integrate the best of both kinds of medicine, or has working together become a complete dinosaur?
Why should those undergoing the ravages of chemo or antivirals have to pay out-of-pocket for nutritional treatments that offset the side effects? Why should those who opt out of conventional treatments and who claim their cancer or arthritis or bipolar or death sentence has been in remission for a decade or two as a result of their holistic or natural approach be labeled as crazies promoting woo?
Thinking about this can make me want to cry, which new research has again confirmed to be good for us. And for those who have difficulty letting themselves cry, acupuncture—that voodoo needing no more than aptly placed needles to induce tears and relieve pain—offers a vast improvement over picking a fight or getting drunk to get those stress chemicals out of their systems. But though acupuncture and natural medicines do infinitely more than relieve stress, they are still not covered by health care insurance and are available mostly only to the wealthy and those willing to go into debt to access them.
© Vue Weekly, Connie Howard, December 4, 2008: http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=10422
What we need on that board is, of course, a little more health savvy—people who know their way around medical journals, people who know their way around alternative health science journals, people who know something about nutritional and biological and preventative medicine—so we can save our emergency rooms for grave maladies instead of the kind we can predict with absolute certainty will only continue to increase in volume.
We have epidemics of chronic degenerative disease and drug dependencies and STDs and cancer and heart disease and anxiety and insomnia and despair in young people already too disillusioned to commit to much of anything, and we’re being told not to worry about health care or the banks or our jobs or our futures; we’re being told, literally, just to go for a walk and listen to some music.
We have endless lineups to see doctors and specialists whose help frustrates us endlessly because after waiting forever there’s not much of a cure for what ails us. Last [month] we had AIDS day, and we have more awareness days and weeks and months than we can handle, and we’re tired of hearing about epidemics and depressions because Christmas [has come] and we just want to be happy and feel good and optimistic about the world. We want to know that it’ll all be OK, and that 50 is the new 40 for all of us, not only for the rich and famous who can afford special private and alternative health care.
And I’m tired of the voices championing all things green out of one side of their mouths while remaining silent on the absolute contradiction between pharmaceutically based medicine and saving our Earth. Because drugs are anything but green—just ask those living near drug manufacturing factories like those in India who are shouldering an enormous burden of ecological devastation.
All it takes to know that natural medicines are beautiful for what ails most of us most of the time is a few conversations with ex-pharmacists old enough to remember their training in herbal medicine or pharmacists who, because they were tired of the chemical nightmares they were having, have quit the business and now dispense biological medicines.
I can already hear the usual arguments that surely we shouldn’t be promoting treatments that don’t work. Spare me. We all know it’s infinitely more complex than either working or not working. Chemo therapy and anti-cholesterol drugs and psychiatric meds don’t work well much of the time and too often cause untold harm.
We could—here’s a novel thought—integrate the best of both kinds of medicine, or has working together become a complete dinosaur?
Why should those undergoing the ravages of chemo or antivirals have to pay out-of-pocket for nutritional treatments that offset the side effects? Why should those who opt out of conventional treatments and who claim their cancer or arthritis or bipolar or death sentence has been in remission for a decade or two as a result of their holistic or natural approach be labeled as crazies promoting woo?
Thinking about this can make me want to cry, which new research has again confirmed to be good for us. And for those who have difficulty letting themselves cry, acupuncture—that voodoo needing no more than aptly placed needles to induce tears and relieve pain—offers a vast improvement over picking a fight or getting drunk to get those stress chemicals out of their systems. But though acupuncture and natural medicines do infinitely more than relieve stress, they are still not covered by health care insurance and are available mostly only to the wealthy and those willing to go into debt to access them.
© Vue Weekly, Connie Howard, December 4, 2008: http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=10422
About 1 in 9 U.S. kids use alternative medicine
ATLANTA—Just like their parents, kids are taking herbal supplements from fish oil to ginseng, a sign of just how mainstream alternative medicine has become.
More than one in nine children and teens try those remedies and other nontraditional options, the government said Wednesday in its first national study of young people's use of these mostly unproven treatments.
Given that children are generally pretty healthy, the finding that so many use alternative medicine is "pretty amazing," said one of the study's authors, Richard Nahin of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The sweeping study suggests about 2.8 million young people use supplements.
Their parents' practices played a big role. Kids were five times more likely to use alternative therapies if a parent or other relative did. The same study showed that more than a third of adults use alternative treatments, roughly the same as in a 2002 survey.
The researchers used a big umbrella in defining alternative medicine: Acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, traditional healing, yoga, Pilates, deep breathing, massage and even dieting were included.
Vitamin and mineral supplements are not considered alternative medicine, nor are prayer or folk medicine practices.
Herbal remedies were the leading type of alternative therapy for both adults and those under 18. Among kids, such therapies were most often given for head or neck pain, colds and anxiety. Body aches and insomnia were other top reasons children got alternative therapies, the study found.
Fish oil for hyperactivity and echinacea for colds were the most popular supplements, although there's no proof such treatments work for those conditions, nor have they been tested in kids.
Nahin cited the lack of rigorous scientific testing in declining to call such widespread use harmful or beneficial. Unlike federally regulated medicines, herbal remedies don't have to be proven safe or effective to be sold. And studies that have been done on them have focused on adults, not children.
But some doctors are troubled that parents may be giving children alternative therapies in place of proven clinical treatments, said Dr. Wallace Sampson, an emeritus clinical professor of medicine at Stanford University.
"The reality is none of these things work, including some of the more popular ones. They're placebos," said Sampson, who was a founding editor of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine.
The study was done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is based on a 2007 survey of more than 23,000 adults who were speaking about themselves and more than 9,000 who were speaking on behalf of a child in their household.
Women are the most likely to use alternative medicine, as are those with advanced college degrees and people who live in the West. Among non-elderly adults, it is used about equally by those with private insurance and those with no health insurance at all.
For adults, pain was by far the main reason adults tried massage, chiropractic care and other alternative therapies. Many adults say they had trouble getting back pain relief from mainstream medicine. "Some facet of conventional care is not satisfying and they're looking at other options," Nahin said.
It's a bit surprising adult use didn't increase more, given other trends, said Michael Cohen, a lawyer who teaches health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health. Adult use was 36 percent in 2002, compared to 38 percent last year.
In this decade, many academic medical centers and other mainstream health care providers have integrated alternative medicine into their research and patient services. Acupuncturists now work with anesthesiologists, and chiropractors can be found in general hospitals. Insurance coverage and licensing of these therapies also is rising, experts said.
U.S. supplement sales grew about 6 percent from 2006 to 2007, totaling $23.7 billion last year, according to Nutrition Business Journal, a monthly publication that tracks the industry. The new government study showed the most popular among adults were glucosamine, used for joint pain, and fish oil, taken to reduce the risk of heart disease.
The last two years have seen a big increase in supplements targeting children, said Carlotta Mast, editor of the nutrition business publication. She had no sales numbers for that portion of the market.
Medical doctors need to be careful about attacking alternative medicine, because some long-endorsed pharmaceutical products have turned out to be treatment failures, noted Dr. Kathi Kemper, a pediatrician at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
For example, drug makers in October announced they no longer would recommend cough and cold medicines for youngsters under 4, acknowledging there is scant evidence they work in children and that they may even be dangerous in some cases.
"We have a pretty spotty history of being evidence-based ourselves," said Kemper, who chairs an American Academy of Pediatrics committee on complementary and integrative medicine.
The cough medicine debacle is no rationale for embracing alternative medicine, said Dr. Seth Asser, who consults with a nonprofit organization opposed to faith healing and other religious practices used in lieu of conventional medicine.
"Two wrongs don't make a right," he said, adding that he believes there's a "can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality toward alternative medicine among some doctors and hospital administrators.
There were some differences in how the 2002 and 2007 surveys were done. On the topic of herbal remedies, the 2007 study asked people whether they'd used such a product in the previous 30 days, while the 2002 study asked if they'd taken it in the past year.
That change may partly explain why adult use of some herbal remedies shifted significantly from 2002 to 2007. For example, echinacea use declined, but most people don't suffer colds year-round.
But news of the scientific failures of some remedies may also have an effect. A rigorous study in 2005 found that echinacea failed to prevent or treat colds.
Use of St. John's wort, used as an antidepressant, also dropped, perhaps because of research showing it didn't work against major depression, experts said.
Fish oil use was up. Some recent studies have suggested it can reduce heart disease risks, protect the eyes and provide other benefits.
"We think the public is listening to this data," Nahin said.
Associated Press Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
© 2008 Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer, December 10, 2008: http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/10/2198562
More than one in nine children and teens try those remedies and other nontraditional options, the government said Wednesday in its first national study of young people's use of these mostly unproven treatments.
Given that children are generally pretty healthy, the finding that so many use alternative medicine is "pretty amazing," said one of the study's authors, Richard Nahin of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The sweeping study suggests about 2.8 million young people use supplements.
Their parents' practices played a big role. Kids were five times more likely to use alternative therapies if a parent or other relative did. The same study showed that more than a third of adults use alternative treatments, roughly the same as in a 2002 survey.
The researchers used a big umbrella in defining alternative medicine: Acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, traditional healing, yoga, Pilates, deep breathing, massage and even dieting were included.
Vitamin and mineral supplements are not considered alternative medicine, nor are prayer or folk medicine practices.
Herbal remedies were the leading type of alternative therapy for both adults and those under 18. Among kids, such therapies were most often given for head or neck pain, colds and anxiety. Body aches and insomnia were other top reasons children got alternative therapies, the study found.
Fish oil for hyperactivity and echinacea for colds were the most popular supplements, although there's no proof such treatments work for those conditions, nor have they been tested in kids.
Nahin cited the lack of rigorous scientific testing in declining to call such widespread use harmful or beneficial. Unlike federally regulated medicines, herbal remedies don't have to be proven safe or effective to be sold. And studies that have been done on them have focused on adults, not children.
But some doctors are troubled that parents may be giving children alternative therapies in place of proven clinical treatments, said Dr. Wallace Sampson, an emeritus clinical professor of medicine at Stanford University.
"The reality is none of these things work, including some of the more popular ones. They're placebos," said Sampson, who was a founding editor of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine.
The study was done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is based on a 2007 survey of more than 23,000 adults who were speaking about themselves and more than 9,000 who were speaking on behalf of a child in their household.
Women are the most likely to use alternative medicine, as are those with advanced college degrees and people who live in the West. Among non-elderly adults, it is used about equally by those with private insurance and those with no health insurance at all.
For adults, pain was by far the main reason adults tried massage, chiropractic care and other alternative therapies. Many adults say they had trouble getting back pain relief from mainstream medicine. "Some facet of conventional care is not satisfying and they're looking at other options," Nahin said.
It's a bit surprising adult use didn't increase more, given other trends, said Michael Cohen, a lawyer who teaches health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health. Adult use was 36 percent in 2002, compared to 38 percent last year.
In this decade, many academic medical centers and other mainstream health care providers have integrated alternative medicine into their research and patient services. Acupuncturists now work with anesthesiologists, and chiropractors can be found in general hospitals. Insurance coverage and licensing of these therapies also is rising, experts said.
U.S. supplement sales grew about 6 percent from 2006 to 2007, totaling $23.7 billion last year, according to Nutrition Business Journal, a monthly publication that tracks the industry. The new government study showed the most popular among adults were glucosamine, used for joint pain, and fish oil, taken to reduce the risk of heart disease.
The last two years have seen a big increase in supplements targeting children, said Carlotta Mast, editor of the nutrition business publication. She had no sales numbers for that portion of the market.
Medical doctors need to be careful about attacking alternative medicine, because some long-endorsed pharmaceutical products have turned out to be treatment failures, noted Dr. Kathi Kemper, a pediatrician at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
For example, drug makers in October announced they no longer would recommend cough and cold medicines for youngsters under 4, acknowledging there is scant evidence they work in children and that they may even be dangerous in some cases.
"We have a pretty spotty history of being evidence-based ourselves," said Kemper, who chairs an American Academy of Pediatrics committee on complementary and integrative medicine.
The cough medicine debacle is no rationale for embracing alternative medicine, said Dr. Seth Asser, who consults with a nonprofit organization opposed to faith healing and other religious practices used in lieu of conventional medicine.
"Two wrongs don't make a right," he said, adding that he believes there's a "can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality toward alternative medicine among some doctors and hospital administrators.
There were some differences in how the 2002 and 2007 surveys were done. On the topic of herbal remedies, the 2007 study asked people whether they'd used such a product in the previous 30 days, while the 2002 study asked if they'd taken it in the past year.
That change may partly explain why adult use of some herbal remedies shifted significantly from 2002 to 2007. For example, echinacea use declined, but most people don't suffer colds year-round.
But news of the scientific failures of some remedies may also have an effect. A rigorous study in 2005 found that echinacea failed to prevent or treat colds.
Use of St. John's wort, used as an antidepressant, also dropped, perhaps because of research showing it didn't work against major depression, experts said.
Fish oil use was up. Some recent studies have suggested it can reduce heart disease risks, protect the eyes and provide other benefits.
"We think the public is listening to this data," Nahin said.
Associated Press Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
© 2008 Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer, December 10, 2008: http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/10/2198562
More hospitals offering CAM programs
Hospitals across the nation are responding to patient demand and integrating complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) services with the conventional services they normally provide, according to the results of a new survey released [September 15, 2008] by Health Forum, a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association (AHA). The survey shows that more than 37 percent of responding hospitals indicated they offer one or more CAM therapies, up from 26.5 percent in 2005. Additionally, hospitals in the southern Atlantic states led the nation in offering CAM services to the patients they serve, followed by east north central states and those in the middle Atlantic.
CAM is not based solely on traditional western allopathic medical teachings, and can include acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, diet and lifestyle changes, herbal medicine, massage therapy and more. CAM services also reflect hospitals' desire to treat the whole person-body, mind, and spirit.
"Complementary and alternative medicine has shown great promise in supporting and stimulating healing," said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock. "It's one of the many tools hospitals look to as they continue to create optimal healing environments for the patients they serve."
According to the survey, 84 percent of hospitals indicated patient demand as the primary rationale in offering CAM services and 67 percent of survey respondents stated clinical effectiveness as their top reason.
"Today's patients have better access to health information and are demanding more personalized care," said study author Sita Ananth. "The survey results reinforce the fact that patients want the best that both traditional and alternative medicine can offer."
Other survey results include:
* Massage therapy is in the top two services provided in both outpatient and inpatient settings;
* The majority of hospitals that offered CAM were urban hospitals (72 percent) and were medium-sized (100-299 beds); and
* Most CAM services are not reimbursable by insurance and are paid for out-of-pocket by patients.
The third biannual survey was mailed in November 2007 to 6,439 U.S. hospitals. The report is available online at www.healthforumonlinestore.com or by calling (800) 242-2626.
© 2008 American Hospital Association: http://www.aha.org/aha/press-release/2008/080915-pr-cam.html
CAM is not based solely on traditional western allopathic medical teachings, and can include acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, diet and lifestyle changes, herbal medicine, massage therapy and more. CAM services also reflect hospitals' desire to treat the whole person-body, mind, and spirit.
"Complementary and alternative medicine has shown great promise in supporting and stimulating healing," said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock. "It's one of the many tools hospitals look to as they continue to create optimal healing environments for the patients they serve."
According to the survey, 84 percent of hospitals indicated patient demand as the primary rationale in offering CAM services and 67 percent of survey respondents stated clinical effectiveness as their top reason.
"Today's patients have better access to health information and are demanding more personalized care," said study author Sita Ananth. "The survey results reinforce the fact that patients want the best that both traditional and alternative medicine can offer."
Other survey results include:
* Massage therapy is in the top two services provided in both outpatient and inpatient settings;
* The majority of hospitals that offered CAM were urban hospitals (72 percent) and were medium-sized (100-299 beds); and
* Most CAM services are not reimbursable by insurance and are paid for out-of-pocket by patients.
The third biannual survey was mailed in November 2007 to 6,439 U.S. hospitals. The report is available online at www.healthforumonlinestore.com or by calling (800) 242-2626.
© 2008 American Hospital Association: http://www.aha.org/aha/press-release/2008/080915-pr-cam.html
A Mentor's Rhythm Follows Mother Nature's Example
By: R.T. Eady, M.Ed, NCC, Director, QEFIn late November, I got to meet a favorite mentor example. Reinhard Flatischler was conducting a weekend workshop with his wife Cornelia in Bonn, Germany, and I was fortunate enough to connect with them over dinner for a few hours after the program. Reinhard is the developer of Ta Ke Ti Na: a form of "meditation on movement" that is best encapsulated as music, dance, communication, neurological research, and chaos theory fused together to create a non-linear process for learning and transformation.
Basically TaKeTiNa is:
• A profound rhythmic body knowledge, which impacts on the body’s natural rhythms;
• A natural rhythmic orientation that develops rhythmic competence and creativity;
• A mirror for personal processes that enables participants to transform behavior patterns inhibiting ones life and relationships;
• A deep relaxation and vitalization of the nervous system and body rhythms;
• An encounter with primal rhythmic knowledge; and
• A completely new way of learning and understanding rhythm.
Yet from a mentoring standpoint the Flatischlers follow a very functional path: First Break All the Rules.
"TaKeTiNa is a way of using rhythm quite differently than one would typically use rhythm," says Flatischler.
Studying a nascent form in the early 70's in a class sponsored by the German Cultural Institute allowed Flatischler, himself, to put an end to a lifetime of asthma attacks. Since childhood, the young musician, studying the piano early on, had been plagued with acute asthma. Describing himself during our dinner repast as "near death" due to violent and sudden asthma attacks.
He went on to say that one evening, after having heard the world-famous sitar player Ravi Shankar in concert with tabla player, Allah Rakha Kahn, he had decided to go to India to study the lyrical drum. In India, he discovered TaKeTiNa, and as he learned to work with the primal image archetypes, his asthma entirely disappeared.
This example puts a finger on the pulse of holistic wellness and the reality of life-way practices today. It explains why so few people feel energized or flourish in many life and work situations. The homeostasis that literally starts in the womb is corrupted.
Flatischler postulates that it is in the mother's womb, where we begin a very intense relationship with rhythm. "Rhythm is the first information we receive. It is the bridge that guides us from the world before birth into this world when we are born. When you are in the mother's womb, you hear the heart beat and the flow of blood; you feel the mother's movement and you hear her speech filtered in this rhythm. All of that is rhythm," Flatischler points out.
And since a fetus isn't comprehending what is happening, it first begins to impulseconvert this sensation into vibration that catalyses the neural-functional pathways to follow this rhythm entrainment. Flatischler adds, "as you grow, there are millions of brain cells that have to fire in a rhythmic synchronization in order for you to understand what occurs around you. Without the senso-motoric system, you could not move or think or make any sense of the world. That you can see or hear something is all based on rhythm."
If we were to logically extend this rhythm philosophy to what is practiced in the world we might say that mentors work with "rhythm archetypes" much like those revealed in TaKeTiNa. Mentors seek to uniquely underpin developmental movement inherent in the senso-motoric system of every human being and manifest this development in social relationships.
Both Reinhard and Cornelia are remarkable communicators whose message is revolutionary in its redress of simplicity: Let go and allow.
If I were to translate this simple mantra into mentor practice, it suggests to me that many people have lost a feel for these "life rhythm archetypes" laid down by "mother nature" and have supplanted them with patterns laid out for them by others. By simply following the direction and the strengths of someone else, they never thrive nor realize what they’re really supposed to achieve or become. More precisely, in the functional path understanding of mentor technology: They rarely go where they’re really supposed to go.
*This article first appeared in Quest Educational Foundation Winter 2008. Reprinted with permission from R.T. Eady.
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