The Roots of "Alternative"/"Complementary" Medicine
I often get asked: "What's the main difference between natural health care and standard medical care?"
In a nutshell, Natural/Wellness care aims to turn on the body's natural healing ability. It may achieve this by incorporating essential nutrients, stimulating the body's own healing systems (ie. via acupuncture), or by removing interference and/or chemicals which are causing harm. It has a holistic approach to see the person as a whole.
By contrast, in the medical (allopathic) model of health, one seeks to treat a symptom by adding something from the outside - a medication, a surgery or procedure and uses more of a 'reductionist' perspective.
Symptom vs. Cause
For example, if a patient has high blood pressure, a standard medical approach would be to administer a drug that lowers blood pressure. While this may serve its purpose, it may not tackle the underlying cause and runs the risk of side effects. Whether it is, for example, a nutritional issue and/or a physiological manifestation of stress, only the symptom is being managed (high blood pressure). Thus, although the medication could very well decrease blood pressure, the cause may continue to go unaddressed.
On the other hand, "wellness" is a state of optimal conditions for normal function - physically, mentally and emotionally. The wellness approach looks for the underlying causes of any disturbance or disruption (which may or may not be causing symptoms at the time) and make the necessary lifestyle interventions and adjustments to optimize the conditions for normal function. Such an environment encourages natural healing and minimizes the need for invasive treatment, which should be administered only when absolutely necessary.
When the body is working at its best, it tends to heal effectively. When the body heals and maintains itself well, we enter another level of health that goes beyond "asymptomatic" or "pain-free". It becomes an opportunity for vitality, vibrant health, and an enhanced experience of life. That's how I see it.














effects. Although Vitamin D is deficient in many people, finding and using the right form and amount of Vitamin D is essential.
The best source of vitamin D is sunlight. Unfortunately, many of us are not outside (especially in the winter) and if we are, we're covered in sunscreen. Fifteen minutes of sunlight a day without sunscreen can provide us with a sufficient amount of vitamin D. This is why so many people feel better in the summertime and often suffer from fatigue in the winter.
likely fate! Although hypertension (high BP) continues to be one of the main health concerns for people as they age, there are many things we can do to PREVENT and LOWER high blood pressure. Many of us know about the four main recommendations that are usually given to patients: 1. Stop Smoking 2. Restrict Alcohol consumption 3. Reduce Sodium intake and 4. Start exercising! (Lose weight!)
Specifically - aim to get 4,000mg of Potassium a day - foods such as bananas, avacodos, beans, tofu and potatoes are just a few that are a good source of potassium. If you are thinking of Potassium supplements, speak to your doctor first to rule out any kidney related issues. 

Ah...spring is in the air! With more than a quarter of 2008 already gone, many people who had made their new years resolution to lose weight are probably at the point of falling off the goal wagon (if not already!).
efore you eat anything? That way you are consistent in your weighing which will help you stay on track vs. weighing yourself everyday (not a good strategy since our weight can fluctuate up to 5lbs. from water rentetion, hormonal changes and undigested food).
better, have gratitude and stop obsessing about the number on the scale - you'll be at your health/weightloss goal in no time and you'll be ready to hit the beach with your new body and mindset!
The association can be due to the fact that increased abdominal weight gain is often associated with
I, like many other seekers of wisdom and expansion, am reading Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth and watching the 10-week live webcast with Eckhart and Oprah. (And let me say, I'm loving every minute of it!) Interestingly, while I was watching the podcast for Chapter 3's lesson today, one woman who Skyped in from Germany had a very interesting question for Eckhart. 
cause of our stressful lives!) can result in high blood pressure, abdominal obesity and compromised immune function (ie. you get sick easily when you're stressed!) - to name a few. This was seen to be the case, even when factors such as age, weight, smoking and income were taken into account.
If you haven't heard yet... the newest movement in yoga, coming out of India is: Laughter Yoga! Groups are popping up all over India and has now hit North America as well.
So now that we understand why trans-fats are no good (and kudos to the government for finally passing the law to let consumers know about this danger in our food), we still need to be savvy when reading labels. Right now, the law states that any food that has 0.5g of trans-fat or less in a serving, is considered 'trans-fat free'. So what the smart folks at some of the packaged food companies have done is decrease their serving/portion size so that the amount of trans-fat becomes less than 0.5g!!! Therefore, they have free reign to advertise their product(s) as 'trans-fat free!'. When I heard of this recently, I thought, 'those rascals...!' (or perhaps some other choice words!)

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