21ST CENTURY WELLNESS eLETTER(tm)
Volume 2, Issue 16 - Holiday Issue - November 30 & December 31, 2000
This is your free, monthly email newsletter on healthcare,
focusing on full-spectrum - complementary - healthcare methods.
New eJournal Articles by Holistic MD. Milton Hammerly is one of Denver's few holistic MDs, who has maintained the respect of his conventional medical peers while forging new paths in holistic medicine. Called on by the press to explain holistic healthcare trends several times in the past, he now has a website full of information for both practitioners and the public. We have reprinted four of his articles, the first three have just been launched:
- Holistic is an Adjective - www.CompWellness.com/eJournal/2000/1231.htm
- The Energy Crisis in Western Medicine - www.CompWellness.com/eJournal/2000/1130.htm
- A Conceptual Template for CAM & Integrative Medicine - www.CompWellness.com/eJournal/2000/0831.htm
- Integrative Medicine – Who Gives a CAM? - www.CompWellness.com/eJournal/2000/0215.htm
Simple Archives. Our eLetter archives were duplicating the archives on our eGroups email list and message management system. Rather that spend valuable time on duplication, we direct you to the eGroups archives to see back issues at www.eGroups.com/message/21cWellness. However, most of our content is derived from online material which is linked from the Issues list at www.CompWellness.com/eLetter/#Issues.
Updated Site has New Features. We've updated our site's look a bit more: Links to each modality in the Practitioner List appear on most major pages on the lower part of the left vertical bar, which is now clear instead of blue -- makes reading links easier. Start at www.CompWellness.com.
Updated eGuide Chapters. There are some updated chapters, with more on the way and reformatting happening weekly:
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Dentistry: www.CompWellness.com/eGuide/dentist.htm
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Energy Healing: www.CompWellness.com/eGuide/energy.htm
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Mineral Body Wraps: www.CompWellness.com/eGuide/minbdywp.htm (includes some very important corrections)
During this quarter, we are planning to add a few more headings to the eGuide chapters, so that they will make faster reference material for busy healthcare practitioners of all kinds -- conventional and complementary. Your contributions would be appreciated. These heading will follow a brief introduction :
- Practitioner Qualifications (education, training, clinical work, associations)
- Certification, Registration, Licensure (by state; a great source example is the MANA Midwifery chart at MANA.org/statechart.html)
- Benefits and Limitations
- Research
- Case Histories (mainly success stories, especially those involving more than one type of practitioner)
- Additional Information (such as derivations of the chapter's modality)
Boost Your Brain. USA Weekend's Jean Carper reported earlier in the year that there is a new brain "reality: Our brains are growing, ever-changing organs, and we can dramatically influence their functioning by what we eat, the supplements we take and the physical and mental stimulation we engage in."
See www.usaweekend.com/00_issues/000305/000305eatsmart.html for details on "tips based on [recent] research:
- Take a multivitamin
- Add antioxidant supplements and foods
- Sip a cup of tea
- Get omega-3-type fish oil by eating fish or taking supplements
- Lose the bad fats
- Take brain-boosting supplements [such as Ginkgo Biloba and PS -- phosphatidylserine]
- Watch sugar, including blood sugar"
Brazilian Community Gets Real on Smoking. News 24, Dec 22, reports that a small town mayor in Brazil banned tobacco sales, saying, "I don't want to forbid anyone from smoking. ... Those who court premature death should go ahead and die. ... But [his town] refuses to be an accomplice to suicide."
American Healthcare Cost Solution. In another USA Weekend article, Tedd Mitchell, MD reports that one of the major components of wellness -- fitness -- "could be the solution to the cost crisis plaguing American health care?" The $4,000+ per year the average American spends on healthcare will get be more each year -- perhaps 8% per year! His research in Dallas TX showed that "fit people require fewer visits to their physicians as well as fewer hospital stays, which translates into significantly lower health-care costs. ... The least fit 25% of men spend ... twice as much. .. The men in our study who were in the best shape ... were men from all walks of life who exercised 20-30 minutes a day, four or five days a week."
Popular Cold Medicines are Pulled from Market. New York Times, November 7th: "Phenylpropanolamine, or PPA, [has been] recently linked to a slight risk of stroke in young women. ... [FDA officials are seeking] to remove PPA from both prescription and nonprescription drugs and warned consumers against taking any product containing the chemical ... [in]400 products:
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Certain formulations of Alka-Seltzer, Dimetapp, Robitussin, Contac and Triaminic
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Many generic cold remedies
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Some prescription decongestants
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Some products for children
- Acutrim and Dexatrim, both appetite suppressants ...
See www.nytimes.com/2000/11/07/science/07DRUG.html and www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/default.htm.
Study finds Ephedra poses Health Risk. Washington Post, November 6th, a similar story: "Citing potential danger to public health, [the New England Journal of Medicine]ordered early release of a [scheduled 12/21] study concluding that products containing the energy-boosting and weight-loss supplement ephedra can pose serious medical problems, including permanent disability and death.
Chicken Soup a Proven Rx in Lab Test, Jenny Deam, Denver Post Staff Writer, November 7th: "Well, it's about time. Science has at long last caught up with what your grandmother has known all along: Chicken soup is good for a cold, according to a University of Nebraska researcher. That's especially good news at a time when the Food and Drug Administration has warned people not to use cold-relief medications containing phenylpropanolamine.
"Dr Stephen Rennard, a professor of medicine at NU who spends lots of time in the laboratory studying respiratory diseases, decided to find out once and for all if there was any science to back up his wife's claims [of the] medicinal merits of her grandmother's chicken soup."
See www.DenverPost.com/life/chickensoup1107.htm for the exciting conclusions of his research, as well as the supporting dialog among his peers.
"Dr Stephen Rennard, a professor of medicine at NU who spends lots of time in the laboratory studying respiratory diseases, decided to find out once and for all if there was any science to back up his wife's claims [of the] medicinal merits of her grandmother's chicken soup."
See www.DenverPost.com/life/chickensoup1107.htm for the exciting conclusions of his research, as well as the supporting dialog among his peers.
A 21st Century Health Battle: Antibiotics Resistance. Reuters, December 28th:
"The risk of developing an antibiotic-resistant infection rose by about a third from 1995 to 1998, the latest warning that antibiotics are losing their effectiveness due to overuse, researchers reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. Extensive use in both people and animals is breeding new generations of bugs that withstand antibiotics... The declining effectiveness of antibiotics is a serious concern to the medical community.
"The new study focused on Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most commonly identified cause of meningitis, pneumonia and middle ear infections in the United States. Among those who developed a Streptococcus pneumoniae infection, 14% in 1998 had one resistant to at least three different types of antibiotics, compared to 9% in 1995.
"About [half of the] 160 million antibiotic prescriptions written in the United States each year ... are unnecessary. ... One answer, researchers said, is to take greater care in the use of the drugs, which are so common they are often included in the food of livestock."
See www.nytimes.com/reuters/health/science-health-antibi.html, ignoring the pro-vaccination stance. Avoid antibiotics, especially for children, and stay healthy through a strong wellness program.
"The risk of developing an antibiotic-resistant infection rose by about a third from 1995 to 1998, the latest warning that antibiotics are losing their effectiveness due to overuse, researchers reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. Extensive use in both people and animals is breeding new generations of bugs that withstand antibiotics... The declining effectiveness of antibiotics is a serious concern to the medical community.
"The new study focused on Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most commonly identified cause of meningitis, pneumonia and middle ear infections in the United States. Among those who developed a Streptococcus pneumoniae infection, 14% in 1998 had one resistant to at least three different types of antibiotics, compared to 9% in 1995.
"About [half of the] 160 million antibiotic prescriptions written in the United States each year ... are unnecessary. ... One answer, researchers said, is to take greater care in the use of the drugs, which are so common they are often included in the food of livestock."
See www.nytimes.com/reuters/health/science-health-antibi.html, ignoring the pro-vaccination stance. Avoid antibiotics, especially for children, and stay healthy through a strong wellness program.
US Sets Organic Products Standard: USDA Seal to Debut On Foods in 2001. Washington Post, December 21st: "The federal government yesterday established the country's first official definition of "organic," giving consumers a reliable way to buy fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products produced without the use of pesticides, genetic engineering, growth hormones or irradiation.
"The Department of Agriculture unveiled the standards ... [that]endorses many of the positions promoted by the organic food industry and acknowledges the growing popularity of organic foods, which are promoted as less damaging to the environment and perhaps of higher quality. ...
"The "USDA Organic" seal will begin showing up on products by next summer, replacing the hodgepodge of unofficial and state definitions of "organic." The next administration could challenge or try to modify the new rule, but that is considered unlikely because it has gone through an extensive, public rulemaking process."
See www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33018-2000Dec20.html.
"The Department of Agriculture unveiled the standards ... [that]endorses many of the positions promoted by the organic food industry and acknowledges the growing popularity of organic foods, which are promoted as less damaging to the environment and perhaps of higher quality. ...
"The "USDA Organic" seal will begin showing up on products by next summer, replacing the hodgepodge of unofficial and state definitions of "organic." The next administration could challenge or try to modify the new rule, but that is considered unlikely because it has gone through an extensive, public rulemaking process."
See www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33018-2000Dec20.html.
Medical Care Shortage Looms. Denver Post, December 13th: "An aging population and booming economy that has drawn employees away from health care jobs threatens to leave millions ... across the nation without access to needed medical care, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services' National Center for Workforce Information and Analysis found that ... an exploding population over the next 20 years could create a critical shortage of medical professionals.
"'We could spend millions of dollars to build more clinics or give everyone insurance care, yet it would do no good unless we had an adequate supply of health care professionals to provide the needed care,' said Dr. Claude Fox, administrator of the HRSA, the federal government's healthcare labor arm.
See www.DenverPost.com/business/biz1213a.htm and very extensive state-by-state Health Workforce Profiles at BHPR.HRSA.gov/healthworkforce/profiles/default.htm.
Looks an excellent opportunity in 2001 -- time to capitalize: use your Complementary Healthcare practitioner with the monetary assistance from your employer, insurance providers and legislatures.
NER - It Doesn't Have to Hurt - Demo in Lakewood CO, Jan 23; Lectures in Milwaukee WI, Jan 27-28. Body-Awareness Institute and Wellness Center will have a free lecture on Neuroenergetic Release, Tuesday January 23 , 2001 7-9 PM in Lakewood, CO. Professional Seminars are starting in Milwaukee January 27th . See schedule and link to online registration form at www.Body-Awareness.com/schedule.htm.
Healing the Body, Freeing the Spirit, March 3 & 4, Toronto, Canada. Meridian Psychotherapy Services, with Chok C Hiew, PhD and Sharon Cass Toole, MTC, present this workshop on Cosmic Freedom Qi Gong (CFQ) and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). See www.iprimus.ca/~sharont/workshops.htm.
Complementary Healthcare Practitioners, Stand and be Counted! We are enhancing information and activities to benefit the practice of Complementary Healthcare and Wellness, for both the consumer and the Practitioner. This will involve more attention to the politics and economics of maintaining open access to Practitioners and for Practitioners to stay in business, as well as continuing deeper and wider information.
So Practitioners ... please support your business and your clients by joining/re-joining our group and site at www.CompWellness.com/join.htm. It is still very reasonable with discounts for non-profits, partnerships and multiple practitioners at the same address.
We also provide full-color marketing/communication design and production at a small fraction of commercial costs -- see www.CompWellness.com/Comm/samplemm.htm.
Please forward to Friends and Associates
Friends and Associates: Subscribe at www.eGroups.com/group/21cWellness. Practitioners may join at www.CompWellness.com/join.htm
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