1) Shopping Without a List: Preparing a list keeps you focused on buying healthier, makes you less likely to impulse buy, and saves time.

2) Forgetting to Shop the Perimeters: The outside of the supermarket contains the main food groups needed to eat healthier. Shopping along the outside helps guarantee that you stock up on grains, fruits, veggies, dairy products, and proteins.

3) Skimping on Fruits and Vegetables: Fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins, minerals, water and fiber. Water helps make you feel fuller longer which helps with weight control.
Tip: The deeper and more vibrantly colored produce is packed with the most nutrients.

4) Missing Out on Whole Grains: February’s issue of the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter notes that “consuming a diet rich in whole grains has been linked to reduced risks of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity and some cancers.”

5) Ignoring Nutrition Label: Using labels helps us choose more nutritious foods by tracking calories, identifying ingredients and maximizing nutrients.
Tip: Pay attention to the serving size and calories per serving listed. A packed muffin may contain 300 calories on its label, but list its serving as half a muffin. That means that it actually has 600 calories a muffin (and who eats a half of a muffin?)
Extra Tip: Staying away from processed, packaged food is better all together!

Written by: Healing Anthropology

The top health concerns affecting women and how acupuncture can help are:

Cardiovascular Disease

As the number one threat to women’s health, cardiovascular disease is not just a man’s disease. In women, the condition is responsible for about 29% of deaths, reports the CDC. Although more men die of heart disease than women, females tend to be under diagnosed, often to the point that it’s too late to help them once the condition is discovered. By integrating acupuncture and Oriental medicine into your heart healthy lifestyle, you can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by as much as eighty percent.

Steps to prevention include managing high blood pressure and cholesterol, quitting smoking, eating healthy, maintaining a healthy weight, physical activity, reducing stress and improved sleep – all of which can be helped with acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Acupuncture has been found to be particularly helpful in lowering blood pressure. By applying acupuncture needles at specific sites along the wrist, inside the forearm or in the leg, researchers have been able to stimulate the release of opiods, which decreases the heart’s activity and its need for oxygen. This, in turn, lowers blood pressure.

Cancer

There have been many advances in the early detection and treatment of cancer. While the standard medical care for cancer is effective, the treatments are aggressive and cause numerous unwanted side effects as well as a lowered immune system. The three most common cancers among women are breast, lung and colorectal cancer. While breast cancer is the most common cancer in women it is second in the leading cause of cancer death. Early detection screenings and recommended self examinations should be taken seriously.

Acupuncture has received much attention as an adjunctive therapy in cancer treatments for its use in pain relief, reducing side effects, accelerating recovery and improving overall quality of life.

From a preventive approach Oriental medicine works to restore imbalances in the system with a variety of treatment modalities including acupuncture, herbal therapy, tui na, qi gong in addition to food, exercise and lifestyle suggestions. Seasonal acupuncture treatments just four times a year serve to tonify the inner organ systems and correct minor annoyances before they become serious problems.

Osteoporosis

Characterized by a decrease in bone mass and an increased likelihood of fractures osteoporosis is not simply a calcium deficiency. As a complex living tissue, bone is made of many different components and is influenced by many variables including the body’s use of calcium from the bone to balance pH levels in the blood. Osteoporosis threatens 44 million Americans, of which 68% are women, reports the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

“Osteoporosis is largely preventable,” says Mark. “The behaviors that women develop in their childhood, in their adolescence, and in their early adult years really play a significant role in the development of the disease.” That’s because bodies build up most of bone mass until age 30. Then new bone stops forming and the focus switches to the maintenance of old bone.

Acupuncture and Oriental medicine coupled with a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise, have much to offer in improving the quality of life for those who suffer from bone and joint problems.

Depression

Depressive disorders affect 10%-25% of women at some point in their lives. The body’s immune system is compromised and symptoms reduce functioning, impair work performance and social relationships. Common symptoms of depressive disorders include: a decreased interest in most activities, insomnia, fatigue, and feeling empty and worthless. At its worst, hopelessness sets in and suicide becomes a desperate option for approximately 15% of people who suffer from severe depressive disorders.

Oriental medicine does not view people as a collection of segmented parts to be treated independently but rather addresses the link between the body, spirit and mind. The goal of Oriental medicine is to bring all the human systems into a healthy balance, insuring that both the mind and body feel well and when used in conjunction with psychotherapy acupuncture has a positive and holistic effect on depressed patients. If you suffer from depression, consider acupuncture therapy in conjunction with your treatment plan to regain peace of mind, regulate your immune system and stay healthy.

Autoimmune Diseases

Autoimmune diseases are a group of disorders in which the immune system attacks the body and destroys or alters tissues. There are more than 80 serious chronic illnesses in this category, including lupus, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes.

According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), about 75% of autoimmune diseases occur in women. Individually, each disease appears uncommon with the exception of diabetes, thyroid disease, and lupus however as a group, the disorders make up the fourth-largest cause of disability among American women.

Due to the complexity of treating autoimmune disorders, integrative medicine solutions have received much attention as successful therapies in their treatment. Acupuncture and Oriental medicine are specifically noted for use in pain relief, regulating the immune system, managing symptoms and improving overall quality of life.

Menopause and Gynecological Health

Gynecological conditions including Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), fibroids, endometriosis, and infertility along with menopause are some of the most successfully treated problems by acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Oriental medicine has long recognized that health and vitality can be sustained over a woman’s lifetime by restoring balance within the body and supporting the natural production of essential hormones.

Menopause is a transitional period marking the cessation of ovulation in a woman’s body. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and are brought on as our bodies try to adapt to decreasing amounts of estrogen. Symptoms can include hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, fatigue, mood swings, memory loss, dryness, headaches, joint pain, and weight gain. Menopause patients are encouraged to maintain a healthy weight, stabilize blood sugar, and eliminate stress, tension and anxiety or learn new techniques to cope with them to diminish the effects they have.

Oriental medicine does not recognize menopause as one particular syndrome and aims to treat the specific symptoms that are unique to each individual using a variety of techniques such as acupuncture, herbs, bodywork, lifestyle/dietary recommendations and energetic exercises to restore imbalances found in the body. Therefore, if 10 women are treated each will receive a unique, customized treatment with different acupuncture points, different herbs and different lifestyle and diet recommendations.

With support from Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine along with small changes in lifestyle and diet, menopause can be a time of a revival of vital energy and an opportunity for personal growth.

By: Diane Joswick, L.Ac., MSOM

How to read a label

Every personal care product must list its ingredients. Here’s how to navigate the label:

• Start at the end, with preservatives.

Avoid:

* Words ending in “paraben”

* DMDM hydantoin

* Imidazolidinyl urea

* Methylchloroisothiazolinone

* Methylisothiazolinone

* Triclosan

* Triclocarban

* Triethanolamine (or “TEA”)

• Check the beginning of the ingredients lists, where soaps, surfactants, and lubricants show up. Try to avoid ingredients that start with “PEG” or have an “-eth” in the middle (e.g., sodium laureth sulfate).

• Read the ingredients in the middle. Look for these words: “FRAGRANCE,” “FD&C,” or “D&C.”

For grown-ups

Many parents pay more attention to their kids’ environmental health than their own, but adult bodies can be affected by toxic chemicals, too. EWG’s Safer Shopping List has nine common-sense tips to reduce everyone’s exposures. For instance, buy fragrance-free, skip the nail polish and use fewer products.

Just for kids

Extra caution is in order for kids because, pound for pound, they are exposed to more contaminants in everyday products than adults. Their immature metabolism and organ systems are typically less capable of fending off chemical assaults. Even subtle damage to young bodies can lead to disease later in life.

Follow EWG’s top five tips for kids:

1. Use fewer products and use them less often.

2. Don’t trust ad hype. Check ingredients!!

3. Buy fragrance-free products.

4. Avoid the use of baby powder.

5. Always avoid EWG’s top six chemicals of concern for kids:

* 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3 Diol

* BHA

* Boric acid and sodium borate

* DMDM Hydantoin

* Oxybenzone

* Triclosan

For more information please see this link.

Written by Healing Anthropology
Healing Anthropology products are green, clean and natural with our any of the chemicals listed. Full line available at ilumina Healing Sanctuary.

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According to Eastern medicine, good health is maintained by the flow of energy and ill health is the result of energy stagnation. Good health includes a strong body, a quiet mind, balanced emotions and a joyous spirit. One of the keys to understanding our energy systems is to learn about the chakras.

Based on ancient yoga teachings in India, the word chakra means “disk” or “wheel” in the Sanskrit language. The chakras radiate out from the central nerves of the spinal cord and are located in seven areas, from the base of the pelvis to the crown of the head. Psychologically speaking, each chakra relates to an area of our lives:

Chakra One (Root Chakra) – Who we are, our roots and survival, security

Chakra Two (Sex Chakra) – How we feel, sexuality, sensuality

Chakra Three (Solar Plexus Chakra) – What you do, power, action

Chakra Four (Heart Chakra) – How we love, giving and receiving love, acceptance

Chakra Five (Throat Chakra) – What we say, communication, expression

Chakra Six (Brow Chakra) – What you know, imagination, intuition

Chakra Seven (Crown Chakra) – Our connection to Spirit or Higher Power, spirituality

When healthy and open, our chakras are constantly spinning. They register information about the health of the glands and organs connected to them. They correspond to different aspects of the bodyʼs physical, mental, emotional and spiritual state.

For example, you may have felt a lump in your throat when you needed to say something but couldn’t. Or you may have felt a pain in your heart when you felt betrayed. If you’ve ever explored energy work, you may have felt other various physical sensations, including tingling and warmth. These are your amazing chakras at work, registering your experience in your physical and energetic body. They provide a wonderful tool that teaches us about how to live healthy, joyous and creative lives.

If we take it a step further, the chakra system is like a secret code that helps us connect our physical and spiritual worlds. At some time in our lives, we all seek the answers to who we are and what our purpose is here on Earth. We are more than our bodies, our thoughts and our actions. We are all part of something bigger than ourselves, yet we are each our own individual spirit.

If you haven’t explored the chakras, I invite you to do so. There is much more to learn about you and the world around you. The more you live from the inside out, the more freedom you will attain.

Love and Light,

Marion
www.marionlight.com

To book a private session with Marion Light please call ilumina Healing Sanctuary at (602)957-2602.

So what can you do to increase the libido?

• Exercise: 30-60 minutes of cardio daily (cardio machines, running, swimming, biking) with yoga, tai chi or qi gong added in.
• Decrease stress: guided imagery, meditation, hiking, connecting with nature and hanging out with friends are some of the ways you can decrease stress. Be creative.
• For women: Kegal exercises help tone the pelvic floor which aids in better blood flow.
• For couples: spend time communicating and working on your relationship. Unresolved anger, conflicts and tension put a lot of stress and strain on a relationship.

So what does ilumina do to treat low libido?

• Traditional Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture: Individualized treatment plans are constructed utilizing: acupuncture, Chinese herbs, vitamins and supplements and dietary recommendations.
• Polarity/ Emotional Wellness: As individuals and in relationship we can hold onto old emotional patters that can disrupt the libido. Using communication and energy work we can gain freedom from habitual patterns that disrupt the libido.
• Mayan Abdominal Massage: Blood flow plays a significant role in a healthy libido and sexual response. Strategic bodywork on the abdomen, acupuncture meridians and sacral area can help restore the enery and blood flow.
• Relaxation Massage: Stress, stress, stress……it kills the libido.  Massage is an excellent way to melt the tension away.

Our wellness boutique now carries fun products for couples to try:

Love oil sampler pack from Good Clean Love!

The new bottle looks, feels and protects the drink inside exactly the same as its current bottles, said Rocco Papalia, senior vice president of advanced research at PepsiCo. “It’s a beautiful thing to behold,” he said. “It’s indistinguishable.”

PepsiCo says it is the world’s first bottle of a common type of plastic called PET made entirely of plant materials. Coca-Cola Co. currently produces a bottle using 30 percent plant-based materials and recently estimated it would be several years before it has a 100 percent plant bottle that’s commercially viable. “We’ve cracked the code,” Papalia said.

PepsiCo announced the discovery Tuesday and said it plans to test the product in 2012 in a few hundred thousand bottles. Once the company is sure it can successfully produce the bottle at that scale, it will begin converting all its products over. That could mean a switch of billions of bottles sold each year. Of Pepsi’s 19 biggest brands, those that generate more than $1 billion in revenue, 11 are beverage brands that use PET.
Scientists said the technology is important innovation in packaging.

“This is the beginning of the end of petroleum-based plastics,” said Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council and director of its waste management project. “When you have a company of this size making a commitment to a plant-based plastic, the market is going to respond.”

Coca-Cola said it welcomed other advances in packaging, but noted that it has scaled up use of its own plant-based bottle since introducing it in 2009. It also says it has demonstrated a 100 percent plant bottle in the lab and is still working to ensure it is commercially viable. There are other plant-based plastics available or in development, but Herskowitz said these are not environmentally preferred because they typically use plants grown solely for that purpose rather than using the estimated 2 billion tons of agricultural waste produced each year. And these alternative plastics cannot be recycled.

PET plastic is a go-to material for packaging because it’s lightweight and shatter-resistant, its safety is well-researched and it doesn’t affect flavors. It is not biodegradable or compostable but it is recyclable.
A completely plant-based PET could change the industry standard for plastic packaging. PET is used in beverage bottles, food pouches, coatings and other common products.

Traditional PET plastic is made using fossil fuels, including petroleum, a limited resource that’s rising in price. By using plant material instead, companies reduce their environmental impact. Pepsi, based in Purchase, N.Y., said it has had dozens of people working on the process for years. While PepsiCo wouldn’t specify the cost to research and design the new bottle, Papalia said it is in the millions of dollars.

by Healing Anthropology

It’s not the first time we’ve advised men (and women) who want to become parents that they need to stop smoking immediately, and it won’t be the last. Now another new study adds to the already compelling body of damning evidence showing that smoking harms fertility.

In this new study, researchers at the University of Saarland, in Germany, looked at specific proteins in the sperm of men who smoked, and compared them with the same proteins in non-smokers. These proteins, called protamines, are necessary for sperm development. The scientists found that, in smokers, the genetic material of these proteins can be damaged, making the sperm incapable of fertilizing an egg.

Since men are constantly producing new sperm, they can produce sperm without protamine problems several months after they quit. In fact, for couples who are considering IVF (in vitro fertilization), the German scientists recommend that men stop smoking for at least three months before attempting a cycle.

By: Beth @ Concieve