In This Issue:
A HealthBeat / NurseBeat Update:
Happy Holidays – or are they? How you can beat holiday stresses and safeguard your health.
More FDA foolishness!
Hot Flashes: (Late-Breaking News)
Major study confirms the value of Ginkgo Biloba.
Featured Supplements:
Ginkgo Biloba – Scientifically proven yet again!
Maxi-Multi dietary supplements – a health essential.
Dr. Myatt’s MyPacks – great for travel.
L-5-HTP – the natural alternative to S.S.R.I.’s for depression.
St. John’s Wort – a well-proven natural mood enhancer.
Holiday Gifts Made Easy! Gift Cards from The Wellness Club are an elegant way to say “I love you” for the Holidays!
A HealthBeat / NurseBeat Update:
The holiday season is upon us – like it or not. For most of us this is a wonderful time, filled with joy, and love and giving, and we eagerly look forward to being with family and loved ones over the coming days. Still, even though this is a time of happiness, it is also a time of stress – happy stress for the most part, but stress none-the-less. So what’s wrong with that? Well, stress can leave us tired and compromised in many ways, and susceptible to the colds and flu bugs that make the rounds at this time of year. Many of you will have family visiting from away, or will be travelling to visit family – and are certain to be exposed to colds and flu’s that could make your holidays a misery if you are not prepared. So what can you do? First, make sure you are well rested, and that you are eating healthy, regular meals. Get regular exercise – it helps to boost your immune system. Be sure that you are getting your vitamins and supplements – even if you are away from home. Many “one-a-day” type vitamins claim to be “stress formulas”, but beware – read the label! No “one-a-day” vitamin can really measure up – it takes ‘way more than “one-a-day” of any other brand to equal the potency of Dr. Myatt’s Maxi-Multi dietary supplements. If you want convenience when travelling, check out Dr. Myatt’s MyPacks. These convenient supplement packs have been carefully designed by Dr. Myatt to provide you with the best of what you need, while allowing you to travel light and simple. They are fully described on page 107 of your Holistic Health Handbook, but suffice to say for now that they are a superb “deal” for anyone who wants to be sure they are giving their body the resources it needs to resist the sniffles, colds, and flu bugs that the grandkids are sure to have.
What else can you do? Well, I mentioned exercise – many studies have shown that even a small amount of fairly vigorous exercise is even better than the “head-meds” that your conventional doctor will try to prescribe to you. If you really want to make your exercise effective, and more pleasant besides, combine it with some fresh air and sunshine! The fresh air will help to clear away the “cobwebs” and boost your metabolism, and the sunshine is essential to the body – even a few minutes per day of real, genuine sunshine on your exposed skin goes a long way toward bolstering your immune system and it makes you feel wonderful besides! A daily exposure to sunshine will help those of you who are prone to the “winter blues”, also known as “Seasonal Affective Disorder” (S.A.D.). Some folks really have a bad time with this every winter, and end up being put on medications known as S.S.R.I’s or Selective Seratonin Re-uptake Inhibitors by their conventional doctors. Now, seratonin is essential to the functions of the brain, and these S.S.R.I.’s make it seem like there is more of it in the system by preventing the “re-uptake” of it – that is, by blocking the body’s ability to “recycle” it as it normally would. What if there was a better way? Well, how about giving the body the materials it needs to make seratonin? The supplement L-5-HTP is just exactly that – a “precursor” to seratonin, the raw material needed to keep your neurotransmitters doing their thing the way they should. For a very good discussion of this supplement, see page 115 of your Holistic Health Handbook or click on the featured supplement below.
Other proven mood enhancers include:
- B Complex Vitamins – these are included in optimal doses in your Maxi-Multi supplement!
- St. John’s Wort – proven to be as effective, and safer than antidepressant drugs. See page 115 of your Holistic Health Handbook or click on the featured supplement below for more details on this important herbal mood enhancer.
What? You don’t have a copy of the Holistic Health Handbook? Click here to order your copy – every home should have this important reference and information resource! Better yet, join the Wellness Club and you’ll get this and many more benefits included in your membership!
Some more tips for avoiding the holiday blues:
- Enjoy. Be proactive in planning holiday activities, don’t turn down invitations – go, have fun! Remember though, no one and nothing is ever perfect – don’t set unrealistic expectations for yourself or others. Stuff happens – go with the flow.
- Don’t let others demand too much of you. Don’t over-commit yourself. Set limits and remember to take it easy – the holidays are supposed to be fun!
- Simplify – wherever possible. Do the important things and enjoy them, and let someone else do the other stuff. Let “Sara Lee” do some of the baking, let the store do the gift wrapping, trim your gift and card and visit list to include the folks that really matter. Chances are that the person who found themselves on your card list ten years ago for reasons you can’t remember now really won’t notice if there isn’t a card from you this year. Perhaps an e-card would suffice.
- Are you alone over the holidays? Volunteer! Get out and feel good by giving of yourself and meeting others.
- Make your budget, and stick to it – you’ll head off the January Blues that arrive with the big bills.
- Avoid over-indulging – in alcohol, or food, or spending.
- Most importantly, if the blues set in and won’t go away, get help! Dr. Myatt’s Body / Mind videos are a great help, and you can always call and make an appointment to talk with Dr. Myatt herself.
More FDA foolishness!
You will remember that both Dr. Dana and I have mentioned the FDA in our recent dispatches. This seems to us like a bureaucracy that can be a little out-of-control at times, to say the least! Well, this little snippet came across my desk the other day, and it made my Canadian blood boil. It isn’t bad enough that Canadians have their own problems with governmental regulatory bodies that do the bidding of the big pharmaceutical companies. Now the FDA is trying to tell Canada what to do.
A recent article in the Canadian National Post newspaper said that FDA commissioner Mark McClellan made a trip to Canada last month to persuade officials to lift prescription drug price controls and put an end to cross-border sales. His reasoning? The U.S. foots the bill for quite a bit of drug research, which has lead to the development of many of the most popular drugs. This argument might be valid if, in addition to funding research, the U.S. government also manufactured and distributed drugs. But it doesn’t – the Big Drug Companies do. Besides, Canada’s Patent Act already gives patent protection and financial incentives to drug companies to develop new drugs. A telling comment was made by a spokesman for the Canadian International Pharmacy Association who told the National Post “What’s the job of the FDA? The FDA’s responsibility is patient safety. They should not be commenting on profit margins or research costs.” And he added, “They’re heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry and I think they’re stepping outside their bounds.”
Fortunately good sense prevailed on the Canadian side, and Commissioner McClellan was sent home with little more than an invitation to “come back and visit sometime.” Now, if only we could get them to tend to business here as they are supposed to… by protecting consumers instead of drug company profits. Just my two cents worth of opinion, take it or leave it!
Hot Flashes:
Major study confirms the value of Ginkgo Biloba.
A study released last month by UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric institute has again confirmed the value of Ginkgo Biloba in improving symptoms of age-related memory impairment. Here are a few quotes from the article:
“The UCLA study, released at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, held Nov. 812, in New Orleans, LA, used positron-emission tomography (PET) and found that for subjects taking gingko biloba, improved recall correlated with better brain function in key brain memory centers.”
“The research (also) raises questions regarding the significance of supplement quality and treatment duration,” said principal investigator Dr. Gary Small, a UCLA professor on aging and director of the Aging and Memory Research Center at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. “The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate dietary supplements, and the quality of retail supplies varies widely. We used only the highest grade of ginkgo biloba in conducting our research.” (italics and highlighting added)
“Small also noted that the six-month UCLA study is one of the first to measure the effects of gingko biloba over a longer period of time. Most previous studies have measured the effect of the supplement over 12 weeks or less.”
Nurse Mark’s comment: Dr Dana made mention of Ginkgo in the last HealthBeat, and suggested that it should be a part of a longevity protocol for anyone over the age of 50. Well, this just adds credence to that. Take note, however, of the comments of Dr. Small in the second paragraph, above. As I mentioned in my first NurseBeat, the quality and purity of your supplements is incredibly important. You get what you pay for, and those “bargain” supplements from other sources may not be such a bargain after all – some may even contain toxic impurities! Dr. Myatt herself has carefully selected every supplement sold by Dr. Myatt’s Wellness Club, and she will accept nothing but the very highest of quality and purity in her products – so that you know you are getting the very best. Don’t endanger your health by settling for less!
Featured Supplements: Click on any one to get a full description and to order yours today.
Ginkgo Biloba – Scientifically proven yet again!
Maxi-Multi dietary supplements – a health essential.
Dr. Myatt’s MyPacks – great for travel.
L-5-HTP – the natural alternative to S.S.R.I.’s for depression.
