Your Life-Your Choice ISSN 1488-0253 October, 2000 Issue 64 Letter From the Editor All through time stress has played a role in our lives. The challenged economic environment that we live in today is a perfect recipe for stress overload in many individuals. When faced with stressful situations, the body produces an increased amount of cortisol and epinephrine. This influx of hormones affects a number of other facets in our body that are geared to maintaining optimum health. It is becoming more evident that if stress is not dealt with properly, it manifests itself into a number of common disorders. Aside from the obvious psychological turmoil, unmanaged stress is believed to be a contributing factor in other health issues such as asthma, migraines, depression, arthritis, diabetes, ulcers, heart disease, and even digestive problems. Recurring attacks of genital herpes may even be the result of stress overload. Relaxation Therapy can offer some effective techniques in learning to manage stress. Simple strategies can be learned through self help books or in a Relaxation Therapy class. They could be as simple as sitting for 15 minutes in a reclining chair with closed eyes while you repeat the word "one" silently each time you exhale. A more active technique consists of focusing on one specific area of the body, tensing all the muscles in that area, then relaxing them. Usually this is started in the head, then you move down to each other body part until and including the feet. Controlled breathing is emphasized in most relaxation techniques. You may decide to opt for a more sophisticated version of progressive relaxation or formalized transcendental meditation. It is important to get proper instruction through a class, a book, or a professional to prevent hyperventilation which may complicate the anxiety or stress. Thirty minutes of vigorous, aerobic exercise completed three or more times per week is helpful in controlling stress. Side benefits of this include maintaining weight control, cardiovascular fitness, and diabetes control. Until next time... the best of health to you, ----- Sources Columbia University - The Fundamentals of Good Health The Canadian Medical Association Home Medical Encyclopedia Brigitte Synesael Editor of Your Life-Your Choice Make it your business to be informed! No one cares more about you than YOU. http://www.Life-Choices.com =========================================== ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE: 1. School, Nutrition and Your Youngster 2. Editor's Pick 3. Ask Garlic 4. Mood and Memory Wellness: How to be Spirited and Sharp for 100 Years! (Part 4) =========================================== Section 1 School, Nutrition and Your Youngster by June Kaminski, RN MSN http://www.visionsofadonai.com It's a well known fact that balanced nutrition is important for normal child development. Making sure that children receive all of the nutrients they need on a consistent basis can be one of the hardest and over time, longest tasks that any parent faces. For what ever reason, a child's foods preferences often are not the most nutritious ones. Once a child reaches school age, it is even more of a challenge to ensure that the bulk of a child's daily food intake is healthy and nutritious. Somehow, children need to learn to value wholesome food. They need to know what their daily food requirements are, and find this important enough to feed themselves in a nutritious way. Parents and teachers together can help this to happen. Health care professionals can help as well. An important part of any learning, especially when it comes to food, is to make it fun and delicious. A variety of choices is also important. Children who develop a taste for wholesome foods will ask for them, and not trade them with other school children for less healthy choices. Breakfast: Start the Day Off Right Recent studies suggest that a nutritious breakfast can make all the difference in your child's school performance and ability to focus and learn in school. It also helps to meet your child's daily nutrition requirements. It's important to allow time in the morning for preparation as well as eating. When time is at a premium, yogurt and fruit or fruit and whole grain cereal with milk can be a quick nutritious solution. Another key is to offer a variety of selections. There are many quick and healthy foods that can start the day off right. Lunch Fortifies for Sustained Energy School lunches can be a challenge for parents and a source of battle with your children. It's not easy to keep their lunches tasty, interesting and healthy. It takes some ingenuity and time, but lunch can be a source of good nutrition and food pleasure. Let your child help you plan the lunch menu for the week ahead. Think of the five food groups and what you can afford. Although sandwiches are the usual standby, your child can get their carbohydrates, protein and vitamins from alternative sources. Crackers, homemade popcorn, bagels and pretzels can all replace bread. Cut up fruits and vegetables with dip often appeal to children. Yogurt, cheese and creamed soups (in a thermos) can add calcium and protein to their midday meal. Let your child help you choose what to pack for lunch. Buy a small chalkboard or erasable writing board and have them list what they like in their lunch. Divide the list into categories, such as "Sandwichs & Such", "Fruits & Veggies", "Drinks" and "Snacks". This not only helps them feel in control, but reduces wastage (no throwing things away and less trading) plus helps them learn to plan a balanced meal. You can do the same for breakfast and supper too! Once your child is in middle and high school, they may well wish to eat cafeteria food for lunch. Depending on the school program, this may or may not be a healthy alternative. Some schools take pains to provide nutritionally sound balanced meals for an affordable price. Many though, serve high-fat, high-sugar, low-fiber meals that cost a lot and meet little of your quickly growing adolescent's needs. You may need to negotiate with your child to bring at least a partial lunch, with some nutritional food purchased at school. It's best not to lecture young folk about nutrition, but foster an interest in it by showing them how delicious high quality, nutritional food can taste. Let their own sense of taste pleasure lure them into the realm of balanced and wholesome foods. It takes diligence and knowledge, but you too can feel good about your child's eating habits and food choices. Helping them to learn to make good choices is half the work. Providing healthy and delicious alternatives is the other half. It can make all the difference in your child's ability to learn, to resist the usual childhood and seasonal illnesses, and grow up knowing how to keep themselves nutritionally healthy. ----- Resources The Food Pyramid for Children from the American Dietetic Association is a visual tool you can use to teach your child about their nutritional needs. Available at: http://www.eatright.org/child/pyramid.html Schoolmenu.com at http://www.schoolmenu.com/ gives kids an online place to have fun while learning about nutrition and how to eat to do well at school. Colorful, interactive and educational. Life Long Healthy Eating from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/nutguide.htm offers parents research-based guidelines on nutrition through the entire lifespan. Creative Lunches for the Back to School Season from the American Diabetes Association offers some interesting and new ideas for tasty lunches at: http://www.diabetes.org/nutrition/article080198.asp Sack Lunches from the Good Karma Cafe gives great ideas for lunches at http://www.goodkarmacafe.com/articles/Mar97/sacklunches.shtml. Wonderful for kids, teens and working Moms and Dads too! The eGG's Back to School Family Handbook offers loads of information on planning quality meals for school aged children at http://secure.foodwine.com/food/egg/egg0997/backschool.html Fast Finicky Foods offers quick, ingenius alternatives for nutritious breakfasts at http://www.wral-tv.com/features/healthteam/finicky-recipes/breakfast/breakfastrecipes.html ----- Read about June Kaminski on our Meet the Team page; http://www.Life-Choices.com/team.html ******************************************* Our sponsors make this newsletter FREE to subscribers. Please take a moment to visit them. ******************************************* GET SMART ABOUT TAKING YOUR VITAMINS FREE Report reveals... "The 7 Sneakiest Secrets Vitamin Companies Hope You Never, Ever Find Out About", and subscribe to our GetSmart HealthTalk newsletter. Also, be sure to check out our selection of high-quality nutritional supplements at TRUE WHOLESALE PRICES. 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Catch it before it catches you! http://www.mindxpansion.com/rebalance/ *************************************** Section 3 Dear Garlic, What with the colder weather and all, I was considering if I should still eat salads, wear sandals and generally try to stay cheerful despite the time of year. Then I remembered it would soon be Christmas shopping, large crowds and an empty wallet! How can I shake off the doldrums now? signed Dolly Defeated ~~~~~ Dear Dolly Defeated, Don't be sad! It's a great idea to eat salads all winter with soups, sandwiches, and for a snack. Sandals can be worn indoors or in the sunroom. Remember how much chocolate you will eat on Valentines Day, and then there's the Easter Bunny buying a new hat. All those boxes of Kleenex you've bought to cry over your tax return looking ahead there's mothers Day, Fathers Day, and a humid summer. The list is endless, so keep smiling, your wallet is going to be empty all year any way. So you might as well go shopping and enjoy it! *************************************** Our sponsors make this newsletter FREE to subscribers. Please take a moment to visit them. *************************************** I WANT YOUR BODY! I lost 30 pounds in 30 days! You can, too! Lose weight like crazy! All natural, Dr. recommended Check out our great "Before & After" photos. http://www.maui.net/~golden13/indexmas1.html *************************************** Your Weekly Message...The Baum Group - a FREE weekly e-newsletter to help you stay focused, on purpose and much more! Subscribe by clicking mailto:DrRae@prodigy.net?subject=subscribe_ezineYLYC *************************************** Section 4 Mood and Memory Wellness: How to be Spirited and Sharp for 100 Years! Part 4 By Dr. John H. Maher http://www.rxforwellness.com Over 50 If you're over age 50, starting with an hgh secretagogue, a mega-multi-vitamin/mineral and gingko biloba may be best, as gingko biloba improves circulation to the aging brain, lifting mood and protecting the memory. Ginkgo extract improves the brain's utilization of oxygen and enhances neurotransmitter activity, the chemicals that enable brain and nervous system functions. Ginkgo improves memory, enhances mental alertness, and also increases mental energy. It is being recommended to treat tinnitis, dizziness, cataracts, macular degeneration, diabetic neuropathy, senility and Alzheimer's disease, as well as depression. Gingko is an antioxidant and a natural anti-stroke blood thinner containing PAF, platelet anti-aggregation factor. Indeed it should not be taken with other blood thinners w/o your prescribing doctor's OK. Also, let your doctor and dentist know before any surgeries! Gingko also increases circulation to the extremities. As such it is used for intermittent claudicating and Raynaud's disease. Ginkgo is a specific for erectile dysfunction if the cause is vascular, as it most commonly is. Interestingly, Gingko appears to be even more sexually stimulating to women than men. Ginkgo extract has been found to be 84 percent effective in treating sexual dysfunction due to depression. Ginkgo also is effective in enhancing all four phases of sexual arousal. Gingko should always be standardized, containing at least 24% glycosides and 6% terpenes. Gingko is usually taken at 60 mg twice a day, though more stubborn or advanced problems call for 120 mg twice a day. Generally, ginkgo is considered safe for long-term use in recommended dosages, but higher doses (above 240 mg a day) can lead to intoxication or disorientation. In rare cases, ginkgo may cause headache, irritability, restlessness, diarrhea, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, or vertigo. These effects are usually mild and transient. After three to five weeks, re-assess your feelings. If you are doing well continue. If not, then try St John's Wort fortified with folic acid and B-12 and/or 5-HTP instead of Gingko Biloba, as explained below. Serotonin Enhancers Much depression is related to dysregulation of the neurotransmitter, serotonin. This major brain messenger provides feelings of competence, calmness, satiation and satisfaction. Many common anti-depressant drugs, such as MOA inhibitors and SSRI's, are designed to increase serotonin. Mono-amine oxide inhibitors inhibit an enzyme that breaks down serotonin. Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors prevent serotonin from being re-absorbed thus again increasing brain levels. Eating carbohydrates can raise serotonin, which explains many a late night raid of the refrigerator and cookie jar! St John's Wort and 5- HTP are two natural products that increase serotonin levels as well, and with much fewer side effects. If gingko was not successful or you are under 50 a good place to start (and the most economical one as well) is by using a mega-multi-vitamin/mineral (iron free) and standardized St John's Wort fortified with extra folic acid and B-12. Extra folic acid and B12, are the precursors (building blocks) to SAMe (S-adenosylmethionine), a new but very expensive natural mood elevator from Europe. They are often deficient, especially in the geriatric population. Take one tablet, containing 450 mg of standardized St John's Wort fortified with B9 and B12, morning and night. Men over 40 and women at or past the 'change-of-life may add a hgh enhancer and sex hormones as explained above. Understand, however, that you have to be patient with St John's Wort because it does take three to five weeks for the maximum effect of this herbal + vitamin formula to be felt. If you need something that takes effect more rapidly, and can handle the extra expense, you can choose 5-HTP. As noted above, 5-HTP is particularly indicated in those with low mood combined with poor quality sleep and carbohydrate and sweet cravings. Start with 50 mg early AM and late PM. For some people, 5-HTP's mild tranquilizing effect is not desirable during the day. A viable alternative is to take St John's Wort in the day and one 5-HTP at night. Some people may need up to 100 mg of 5 HTP three times a day to get the desired effect. After three to five weeks, again re-assess your feelings. If you are still not having success, or your depression is related to large amounts of anxiety causing stress, worry and tension, and especially if marked by failing memory, consider the combination of phosphatidylserine, DHEA and pregnenolone. These products are 'nootropics' (smart nutrients) which improve learning and memory, reduce fatty deposits in aging nerve cells (lipofuscin), and even support nerve and memory regeneration while relieving stress caused depression. An Adrenal Stress Index (ASI) is salivary hormone test that will pin point the supplementation protocol that is best for the stage of stress you are suffering. If still not improving after trying several of the above, consider at such a time talking to your physician or a mental-health counselor about using conventional antidepressants. ----- Read about Dr. John H. Maher on our Meet the Team page; http://www.Life-Choices.com/team.html //////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Disclaimer All material appearing in this newsletter is provided for educational purposes only. It is provided with the understanding that authors and contributors are not offering medical advice or services. We strongly encourage you to consult with your own physician regarding any recommendations with respect to your own medical condition. Advertisement in the Your Life- Your Choice newsletter does not indicate endorsement on our part. 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