Keeping Balance In Busy Xmas Period

The warmer weather is beautiful - it lends itself to feeling more alive and excited when leaving work with the sun still shining brightly. We are socialising more and (hopefully) feeling more active. Remember to balance increased activity with more frequent periods of quiet or reflection.

Take time on the bus to breathe and relax or while waiting in a bank queue, choose to breathe rather than time how slow the staff are! Or pop in for a Meditation One2One with us.

We have been busy at The Source of Wellness (as always) and we have:

• Great Specials for you before Christmas, check out What's New in this newsletter - especially our Hangover Kit (a must have during December!) & $20 off PMS consults all December too!
• New Summer Recipes
• Great new services and people for you to meet, including Life & Business Coaches, Wholistic Chiropractor, Flower Essence consults, Meditation One2One, NLP and more
• Plus in this newsletter read latest 4-year research project on the benefits of organic food, Shiatsu Summer tips, and sleepiness & behavioural problems in children who suffer headaches

We wish you all a very harmonious Christmas and New Year. And as always we wish you all joy & the causes of joy, now and always

The Source of Wellness Team

Organic Gives You Better Health: 4-Year Study (Research)

'It's official: organic really is better for you,' says Kathryn Elliott, our resident nutritionist. Kathryn found results from a $28 million European Union funded project have proved organic food is more nutritious than ordinary produce. 

The 4-year QualityLowInputFood project led by Professor Carlo Leifert of the University of Newcastle in the UK, is the largest study ever conducted on organics in the area of dairy, pigs, poultry, arable, vegetable and glasshouse production. 

• Organic vegetables contained as much as 40 per cent more antioxidants, which lower your risk of heart disease
• Organic produce also had more iron and zinc, two minerals we're commonly deficient in, plus more vitamin C, copper and secondary metabolites which are thought to help combat cancer & heart disease
• Organic milk had about 80 per cent more antioxidants than conventional milk
• Results showed a higher vitamin & CLA (desirable fatty acid) content in organic milk & dairy products and a higher level of omega-3 fats (desirable essential fatty acids) in organic milk compared to conventional milk
• Organic fruit & vegetables had a higher content of phenolics and flavonoids (antioxidants)
• Organic fruit & vegetables had lower levels of lead, aluminium and mercury, linked to many modern diseases such as Alzheimer's, adverse immunisation reactions, suppressed immune system etc
• Cattle who were fed organic feed (ie grass) reduced the risk of E.coli contamination to humans, while grain-based 'conventional' fed cattle increased our risk
• Results showed that men eating organic food had significantly higher sperm counts than those eating conventional food
• Linkages between exposure to pesticides & the risk of cancer or low immune status

Professor Carlo Leifert said: 'We have shown there are more of certain nutritionally desirable compounds and less of the baddies in organic foods, or improved amounts of the fatty acids you want and less of those you don't want.'

Researchers grew fruit, vegetables and reared cows on adjacent organic and non-organic sites, involving 33 centres across Europe. This meant they were able to discount variations in local conditions when comparing the conventional & organic produce.

Antioxidants are important for our health. Antioxidants have been linked to a reduced risk of many cancers, along with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, macular degeneration (leading cause of blindness in Australia) & dementia.

You can reduce the cost of shopping organic by going to markets, like the Orange Grove in nearby Lilyfield & Frenchs Forest organic markets. Alternatively Soul Passion in Gladesville stocks a small range of organic, farm fresh vegetables. Coles & Woolworths also have organic food sections.

If you can't afford to go fully organic, then buy some of your fruit & veg but especially your milk from organic sources. You'll be getting more of the important health-protecting affects.

Kid's Sleep & Headaches A Looking Glass Into Adult Health (Research)

Children's sleep & headaches represent up to 50% of total health concerns parents seek advice about. A recent study conducted by Cendrine Bursztein MA, Tamar Steinberg MD, and Avi Sadeh DSc assessed sleep & behaviour problems in children with recurrent headaches compared to children who don't get headaches.

Most children in both groups were from middle- to upper-class families and living with their two biologic parents. The findings are interesting in their own right and also for their relevance to adult sleep, headaches & general health. The study found:

• Kids with headaches spent less time in quiet, motionless sleep & wake significantly earlier in the morning. On days with a headache these kids wake even earlier than usual
• Feeling sleepy during the day is significantly higher in kids who have recurrent headaches 
• Children who get headaches have a high rate of sleep difficulties such as; insufficient sleep, cosleeping with parents, difficulties falling asleep, sleep-related anxiety, restless sleep, night waking, nightmares & daytime fatigue 
• Sleep problems in the first 6 years of life, predicts headaches at school entry age
• Gender plays a major role in sleep patterns. In comparison to boys with no headaches, boys with headaches slept significantly more, whereas the opposite is true of girls
• On nights with a headache, boys slept significantly more than on their nights with no headaches, whereas the opposite is seen in girls

Researchers believe this is due to how girls & boys [Ed. women & men] differ in their coping strategies with stress in general and with headaches in particular. During times of increased stress people who use an emotion-focused coping style sleep less, whereas people who disengage from stressors sleep longer during these periods as a form of escape.

It appears that boys with headaches sleep longer than boys without, as a mechanism for coping with the headache or the emotional stressors that led to or resulted from the headaches.

Emotion-focused coping is a less efficient coping strategy with pain in children [Ed. and adults] & could partially account for the more negative outcomes seen in girls suffering from headaches than boys.

Children with headaches had significantly more problems in the areas of:

• Attention (concentration)
• Withdrawal
• Body aches & pains (not related to headaches)
• Anxiety & Depression
• Internalising behaviour (ie not expressing how they feel & directing emotions inward) for girls, and
• Externalising behaviour (ie conduct) in boys

The researchers found it imperative that children with recurrent headaches are given medical help but also psychologic help to address the emotional aspect to their method of coping with stressors. And there is a bit of the 'chicken or egg' to the headache / sleep pattern problem - do children get headaches due to poor sleep? or is poor sleep a result of getting headaches? - this remains to be investigated.

As a parent of child who suffers headaches be aware of their possible increased sleep needs as the study found that these kids report increased daytime sleepiness although they do not sleep significantly less than kids without headaches (although they do have a more disturbed sleeping style).

If your child or you are having recurring sleep disturbances or headaches; please come see us. We offer Craniosacral Therapy, Chiropractic Treatment, Acupuncture, Remedial Massage (reduce neck & muscle tension), Shiatsu Therapy, Life Coaching, Meditation, Naturopathic Medicine & Nutrition advice - any or all of these treatments will get you back into a regular deep, restful sleep pattern.

Shiatsu Summer: Tips To Staying Healthy & Hydrated In The Heat

Greg Derwin, our resident Shiatsu & Remedial Massage Therapist has tips for the coming Summer season to stay healthy, hydrated and in high spirits!

Greg says: 'Seasonal changes affect us with the external climate also affecting how our internal body environment behaves.' Shiatsu Therapy diagnoses what ails and prevails in your body using different forms of diagnosis such as: palpation, tongue analysis, pulse (in an Oriental Medicine sense), & your medical history to find areas of excess (Jitsu) or deficiency (Kyo).

For the upcoming Summer months, the Fire element in Shiatsu predominates with:

• Chinese Meridians most affected are for the Small Intestine, Heart and Heart Protector & Triple Heater
• Body parts most affected are our blood vessels
• Hot, dry weather has a drying, hardening affect on body parts & organs expressing as dehydration, thirst, dry skin, brittle nails, headaches, constipation etc
• Hot, humid weather increases swelling of joints, hands & feet and can increase joint inflammation for arthritic sufferers

Shiatsu Therapy rebalances your health according to the season & your condition. Greg recommends in Summer you:

• Increase your water intake regardless of whether we are experiencing hot, dry or humid conditions
• Eat seasonally, leaning towards cooling / mild foods such as; watermelons, apples, pears, bananas, celery, camembert cheese, cottage cheese, lemons, tomatoes, and drink chinese tea
• Reduce or stay away from: ginger, coffee, lamb and heavy cheeses
• Stretches which target the 'Fire' meridians stretching your inside arm & forearms (place your arm along a wall then turn away to stretch inside arm), or place your legs up the wall to reduce swelling and place arms outstretched on the floor

When the affect of summer is too severe on our system it can create an imbalance and be reflected in things like our:

• Complexion (heat rash, boils, eczema, pimples)
• Blood Vessels (circulation problems, overheating, high or low blood pressure)
• Fluids (swelling or oedema, thirst, dry eyes, dry skin, nose irritation)
• Taste (bitter)
• Spirit & Emotional Disturbance ('Season of Joy' - the joy can turn manic ie doing too much, being over-the-top)
• Speech (communication extremes - overtalking, or quiet and melancholy)

The time of day to be most nurturing to these imbalances is between 11am-3pm. Have a Shiatsu treatment, rest, or meditate for most benefit during this time! Book your appointment today!

We have some fabulous new services and great people providing them coming into Summer. So make sure you book a time to see them! And remember we have gift certificates available to make Xmas gift buying real simple.

• Wholistic Chiropractor, Johanna Payne, has joined the Centre. Johanna provides gentle chiropractic care from newborns to elderly. She does optimal fetal positioning for pregnant women, treats children for colic / reflux / learning difficulties plus much more!
• Meditation & Qi Gong Teacher, Peter Bliss, is now providing One2One sessions at great prices (especially handy during the busy silly season). Peter is also a highly sought after Life & Business Coach having more than 30 years experience leading blue-chip companies
• Life & Executive Coach using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is Yvonne McIntosh. Yvonne has been teaching people for several years how to achieve their goals in both life and work. She used to coach top executives in financial services before making the switch to her own practice

New specials for this Summer, please get in quick as these are our best yet!

• Hangover Kits for Xmas / New Year - you'll need this one, gives you a month's supply & we guarantee it will make you feel so much better $80
• PMS Special for December 2007 - $20 off initial & 1 hour consults so as existing client you pay only $55 or as a new client it is only $70 - bargain!
• Diet | Detox Special - all nutrition consults now through December 2007 receive a huge 17% discount, so you pay only $100 for a 1.5 hour consult with our acclaimed Nutrititionist, Kathryn Elliott
• Xmas Stress Buster No. 1 - receive 1.5 hours of stress relief with supplements to get you through the silly season with 30 minute Naturopathic consult and choice of 2 x 30 minute treatments of either: Acupuncture, Remedial Massage, Shiatsu Treatment, Meditation One2One for only $135 (normally $197)
• Xmas Stress Buster No. 2 - receive 1.5 hours of stress relief with supplements to get you through the silly season with 30 minute Naturopathic consult and choice of 1 x 1 hour treatment of either: Acupuncture, Remedial Massage, Shiatsu Treatment, Meditation One2One for only $125 (normally $182)
• Meditation One2One Package - get 4 x 1 hour sessions at a massive 25% discount, pay only $195 (normally $260)
• Business Health Check Package - do you run your own business? Get top rate advice from a guru with more than 30 years experience running blue chip companies. Pay only $590 for 4 sessions
• Accelerated Personal Evolution Program and Clearing Blocks To The Future Program - turn your life or career around with these life-changing programs. Each comes with a Money Back Guarantee. Book today!