EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Only Four Places Left! Australia Day Weekend Retreat

Leisa — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 01:06:35 +0000

3 Day Raw Food Rainforest Retreat

Uki, NSW; 23rd-26th January, 2010

This retreat is almost sold-out!

Only four places left!

Instead of sitting at home sweltering in the summer heat this Australia Day long weekend, why not join us for a refreshing raw food experience in the lush Uki rainforest of Northern NSW – only 40 minutes from Gold Coast Coolangatta Airport.

We are having an amazing weekend of gourmet raw food, relaxation and pampering at a beautiful rainforest resort – where the most difficult decision you will have to make all weekend is whether to move from the pool to the spa or the sauna!

Arrive after lunch on Saturday and be treated to a refreshing welcome juice as you check in to your private en-suited room. Over the next days, you will enjoy evening meditations, daily morning yoga, a powerful “Healing with Food as Medicine” lecture with myself, a special raw food preparation class with our own Master Chef Jo, and delicious, healthy raw gourmet meals each day.

Spend some time soaking up the sun by the 20m swimming pool with awe-inspiring Mt. Warning views; soothe your muscles in one of two huge above-ground swim spas (which are the ultimate treat at night under a star-lit sky), and indulge as often as you like in either the steam or dry sauna. For those who like a little more luxury on their weekend getaways, there is the option of upgrading to the Pampering Package and adding a massage and a deeply nurturing Day Spa treatment to your time away.

The resort is a purpose built, multi-million dollar, five star retreat facility, carved into the natural rainforest valley at Uki situated at the foot of Mt. Warning. An abundance of natural bushland and birdlife makes this centre one of the most peaceful getaway retreats you will find anywhere in the world. With no mobile access, internet, phones, television, radio or newspapers – you will feel like you are in another world as your stress melts away as soon as you arrive

Because of it’s unique location, this will be a true escape from day to day life, where alongside all the quality features and inclusions of the Embracing Life! Retreat experience, this will be the perfect time to recover from the Christmas and holiday season madness, and rest & rejuvenate as you gain inspiration for the year ahead.

Finishing after lunch on Tuesday afternoon, you are welcome to use the facilities until the leaving time of 2.30pm that afternoon.

In Summary…

There is only one price to pay which includes everything you need for the weekend on the Escape Package, or you may choose to upgrade to the Pampering Package if desired. No add-ons, no surprises. Payment plans are available and there are fantastic discounts for couples sharing a room.

Luxury accommodation for three nights
All food and drinks from Saturday to Tuesday afternoon
Morning Yoga sessions daily
Evening meditation sessions daily
A powerful “Healing with Food as Medicine” lecture
A Gourmet Food Preparation class with our own Master Chef
Unlimited use of resort facilities

(Transport, phone calls, and extra services are at your own expense)

Book NOW!

The retreat is almost full and will sell out fast! Click below and then scroll down to find the order buttons for either package.

Click Here to Book In For This Fantastic Retreat!

Leisa

Only Four Places Left! Australia Day Weekend Retreat is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Formula Versus Breastmilk Study

Leisa — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:52:57 +0000

While on the treadmill at the gym yesterday morning, I saw on the television news program that they were discussing a new study which promoted the fact that formula could improve on breastmilk for babies.

My skeptical mind immediately thought “who paid for that study?”, and nothing could be better for a baby than natural breast milk , ideally from a well nourished and healthy Mum.

This morning on Natural News an article came through which discussed this particular study, and sure enough, it was slanted to support the baby formula industry…

“A recent study lauding the benefits of fortified infant formula has been greeted with skepticism by child development specialists, who suspect that the study is only the first part of an attempt to promote formula over breastmilk.

“It is clear that the food industry fascination with nutraceuticals (strategically fortified food products) is now spreading into infant formula,” said Barbara Moore of Shape Up America! “This is a disturbing new development. We have parents thinking that sticking their tiny infants in front of a Baby Einstein video will improve their child’s mental development when the data suggest that parent-child interactions (and plenty of them) are the most critical factor for such development. Now parents will be encouraged to fore-go breastfeeding — which is optimal for both mothers and babies — in favor of a hyped up infant formula.”

A recent study concluded that children who consumed infant formula fortified with the omega-3 fatty acid DHA had higher cognitive function than children who consumed unfortified formula. Breastmilk was not included in the study, and the formula used in the study was provided for free by a manufacturer.

Miriam Labbok of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill said she was doubtful about the study’s findings.

“It might be reasonable from these industry-funded studies to consider that this would be a good additive to formula if you are forced to stop breastfeeding,” she said. “However, 1) none of these studies compare to continued breastfeeding, 2) you could also get these [nutrients] from other sources if you stop breastfeeding, and 3) there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other components in human milk that cannot be replaced.”

Pediatrician Lori Feldman-Winter of New Jersey noted that many mothers come to her believing that DHA-fortified milk is healthier for their infants than breastmilk.

“The marketing has actually dissuaded mothers from choosing exclusive breastfeeding, which is preferred from all the outcomes that we understand,” she said.

All major health and pediatric associations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first six months of life, if not longer.”

Unfortunately in this industry of “scientific studies for hire”, it is worth asking the question “who stands to gain” when evaluating the merits of a particular study, and “how have the results been manipulated to result in a desired outcome”.

Leisa

Formula Versus Breastmilk Study is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Personal Training & Food Diaries

Leisa — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:19:53 +0000

Like many people, I’ve started off the New Year with a resolve to improve both my health and fitness! Even for those of us who have a very health lifestyle, there’s often another level of vitality that can be achieved and minor bad habits to overcome…

Having had quite severe thyroid problems for many, many years that are now largely resolved, I still have to be quite vigilant about the balance in my life between the food I eat, the exercise I do, the rest I get, and the amount of work I do. If I fall out of balance in these areas, my body tells me very quickly – and then I have to get back on track in whichever area has slipped.

Over the past year the area that has been put to the side more often than not is exercise. Even though I would still walk several days a week and do intermittent training at the gym, the consistency isn’t where I would have liked it to be, and I do know that being very fit helps my overall energy levels and supports my thyroid and adrenals.

So to kick the year off I hired a personal trainer to do three sessions a week with me for the next month. And that has been fantastic!

By having to turn up for an appointment that has been made, it commits you to the workout session, and because you are paying for it – following the trainers instructions for the cardio work on the days in-between to support what you are doing in the training sessions just makes sense.

Part of what I had to do as well, was fill out a food diary for the trainer, which was great. To sit down and write every bite that goes into my mouth over a day was an excellent exercise in food awareness – and I can highly recommend that everyone keep a food diary for a week or two to evaluate your true food intake and where it could be going a bit wrong.

So we tweaked my diet a little, and with training of some kind almost every day over the next month – I know that I will have formed new positive habits that I had let slide a bit over the past year. I also know from previous experience how good it feels to be really fit and strong, and after a month I know that I will have created enough of that feeling in my body, to ensure that it is very easy to continue with the positive practices.

So for anyone who does feel like they have gotten off track a little in the area of exercise, I have found that doing some personal training sessions is a great way to re-form those new commitments. By having a professional put together a personalised program taking into account your health and fitness level, and then supporting you in forming excellent new habits, can serve you for a much longer time than just the initial month of sessions.

Here’s to the new, super-fit me!

Leisa

Personal Training & Food Diaries is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Goji Berry Lemonade!

Leisa — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:00:36 +0000

Summer in Australia means warm weather and a desire for cool drinks which quench the thirst and rehydrate the body. There are some wonderful superfood drinks and smoothies you can make to give an extra boost of great nutrition with a divine flavour!

Try this “Happy Juice” Goji Berry Lemonade on a hot summer’s day while you are lying by the pool – it’s a winner!

Goji Berry Lemonade

2 Lemons, juiced
1 Orange, juiced
1 tablespoon of Goji Berries, soaked
1 cup young Thai coconut water (optional)
1 cup filtered water
1 tablespoon Agave Nectar
½ teaspoon Camu Camu powder
Pinch of salt

Put all ingredients, including the Goji Berry soak water, into a high speed blender, strain, and pour over ice.

Goji Berries

Goji berries are also known as “happy berries” and are celebrated for their ability to increase feelings of well-being and make people smile. They contain some of the highest levels of anti-oxidants of any berry, and are powerhouses of superfood nutrition.

Regarded in Tibet as the “Fruit of Longevity”, the Goji berry is thought to be one of the factors in the long lives of people in certain remote regions of the Himalayas.

High in amino acids, trace minerals, and several B vitamins, Goji berries are a great addition to a healthy diet. They can be soaked and added to drinks as above, added to trail mix, and used in raw dessert recipes.

Leisa

Goji Berry Lemonade! is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Swine Flu Vaccine Enquiry

Leisa — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:50:21 +0000

The Council of Europe member states will launch an inquiry in January 2010 on the influence of the pharmaceutical companies on the global swine flu campaign, focusing especially on extent of the pharma’s industry’s influence on WHO. The Health Committee of the EU Parliament has unanimously passed a resolution calling for the inquiry.

The step is a long-overdue move to public transparency of a “Golden Triangle” of drug corruption between WHO, the pharma industry and academic scientists that has permanently damaged the lives of millions and even caused death. The parliament motion was introduced by Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, former SPD Member of the German Bundestag and now Chairman of the European Parliament Health Committee.

Wodarg is a medical doctor and epidemiologist, a specialist in lung disease and environmental medicine, who considers the current “pandemic” Swine Flu campaign of the WHO to be “one of the greatest medicine scandals of the Century.”[1]

The text of the resolution just passed by a sufficient number in the Council of Europe Parliament says among other things, “In order to promote their patented drugs and vaccines against flu, pharmaceutical companies influenced scientists and official agencies, responsible for public health standards to alarm governments worldwide and make them squander tight health resources for inefficient vaccine strategies and needlessly expose millions of healthy people to the risk of an unknown amount of side-effects of insufficiently tested vaccines.

The “bird-flu”-campaign (2005/06) combined with the “swine-flu”-campaign seem to have caused a great deal of damage not only to some vaccinated patients and to public health-budgets, but to the credibility and accountability of important international health-agencies.”[2]

The Parliamentary inquiry will look into the issue of ,falsified pandemic” that was declared by WHO in June 2009 on the advice of its group of academic experts, SAGE, many of whose members have been documented to have intense financial ties to the same pharmaceutical giants such as GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, Novartis, who benefit from the production of drugs and untested H1N1 vaccines.

They will investigate the influence of the pharma industry in creation of a worldwide campaign against the so-called H5N1 “Avian Flu” and H1N1 Swine Flu. The inquiry will be given “urgent” priority in the general assembly of the parliament. In his official statement to the Committee, Wodarg criticized the influence of the pharma industry on scientists and officials of WHO, stating that it has led to the situation where “unnecessarily millions of healthy people are exposed to the risk of poorly tested vaccines,” and that, for a flu strain that is “vastly less harmful” than all previous flu epidemics.

Wodarg says the role of the WHO and its the pandemic emergency declaration in June needs to be the special focus of the European Parliamentary inquiry. For the first time, the WHO criteria for a pandemic was changed in April 2009 as the first Mexico cases were reported, to make not the actual risk of a disease but the number of cases of the disease basis to declare “Pandemic.” By classifying the swine flu as pandemic, nations were compelled to implement pandemic plans and also the purchase swine flu vaccines.

Because WHO is not subject to any parliamentary control, Wodarg argues it is necessary for governments to insist on accountability. The inquiry will also to look at the role of the two critical agencies in Germany issuing guidelines on the pandemic, the Paul-Ehrlich and the Robert-Koch Institute. Bravo!

F. William Engdahl is author of Full Spectrum Dominance: Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order. He may be contacted through his website: www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.net
Leisa

Swine Flu Vaccine Enquiry is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Dumb and Dumber Awards for 2009

Leisa — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:01:21 +0000

(Natural News) Some of the health-related events that took place in 2009 were so stupid they deserve an award. So as a service to our comedy-minded readers, we’ve put together the “Dumb and Dumber and Dumberer” awards covering the dumbest things we’ve seen in the health industry throughout 2009.

Let’s begin with the American Cancer Society which qualifies for the Dumbest Cancer Fundraiser Award for taking part in a BBQ meat cook-off even to raise money for cancer research. (http://www.naturalnews.com/025794_m…) Why is this so dumb? Because BBQ’d meat causes cancer.

The Dumbest Health Claim of the Yearaward goes to Kellogg’s for shipping boxes of Cocoa Krispies printed with large letters claiming that the sugary processed food cereal helps your child’s “immunity.” (http://www.naturalnews.com/027386_K…) They have since retracted the claim.

The Dumbest Denial of the Year award goes to SIGA Technologies which vehemently denied having anything to do with vaccines even though their own website boasted about their vaccine technologies (http://www.naturalnews.com/027483_S…).

The Dumbest Surgeon of the Year award goes to the doctor who misdiagnosed a patient with cancer and then unnecessarily amputated her leg. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027609_l…)

The Dumbest Medical Technology of the Year award goes to mammograms which, the world learned this year, actually cause the very cancers they are supposed to detect.

The Dumbest Nutritionist of the Year award goes to Eileen T. Kennedy, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, who led the fraudulent “Smart Choices” marketing gimmick that attempted to position sugary junk foods as healthy choices for children. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027077_n…)

The Dumbest Medical Researcher of the Yearaward goes to Dr. Scott Reuben, a Big Pharma clinical trial researcher who was caught fabricating 21 studies. (http://www.naturalnews.com/025852_a…) Second place for this award goes to all the other doctors and science writers who quoted Dr. Reuben’s studies to support their own pill-pushing agendas.

The Dumbest News Service of the Year award goes to The Associated Press which declared war on alternative medicine and commissioned a series of articles with the stated purpose of discrediting natural remedies. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027424_m…)

The Dumbest Legislation of the Year award goes to the Democrats in the U.S. Congress who have passed a health care reform bill that, if signed into law, will bankrupt American families and businesses while doing absolutely nothing to improve the overall health of the nation.

Although this isn’t necessarily health related, the Dumbest Terrorist of the Year award goes to the exploding underwear bomber who thought he could bring down an airplane full of Americans by planting a wedgie bomb between his butt cheeks. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027825_t…)

Not just dumb, but evil

2009 wasn’t just about dumb and dumber and dumberer — it was also a year of evil corporations committing some rather egregious acts of dishonesty. They deserve an award too, don’t you think?

The Most Dishonest Food Company of the Year award goes to Dean Foods for pulling a bait-and-switch on its Silk soy milk product, which was quietly and without any real notification changed to non-organic, even while keeping the same packaging, the same SKUs and the same price. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027450_f…)

The Most Evil Corporation of the Year award goes to Merck, whose employees circulated a hit list of doctors to destroy and discredit if they spoke out against the company’s drug products. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027116_M…) In order to continue pushing the evil a little further, the former head of the CDC now runs Merck’s vaccine division. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027789_D…)

At a close second to Merck, the runner-up award for Most Evil Corporation of the Year goes to Monsanto, the company that’s destroying the natural seeds of the world (and natural farming practices) in an attempt to patent and profit from its genetically modified seeds while driving the world’s farmers into destitution.

The Most Evil Government Regulator of the Year award goes to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration which has now resorted to the criminal kidnapping of its enemies in order to enforce tyranny against the natural health products industry. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027750_G…)

Leisa

Dumb and Dumber Awards for 2009 is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Happy New Year!

Leisa — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:48:27 +0000

Happy New Year everyone!

Here we are, a new year, a new decade, a new start and William and I just got engaged

Last year I wrote this post below, and I wanted to reproduce it here because what I’ve written applies so well again. It has been a great year – the success of the Embracing Life! Retreats has far surpassed my expectations; I have formed new friendships and strengthened old ones; my health has improved another level; and my close relationships are as mutually supportive as ever….

“It is New Years Day, and even though I know a lot of the population are tired and nursing hang-overs from last night’s celebrations, that is far from the picture in our house I must be getting old! but anything past 9.30pm is past my bedtime, and alcohol just makes me feel awful, so we had a very quiet night this year!

I love New Year’s Eve. To me it symbolises a fresh start, a new year with new possibilities and the anticipation of not knowing what the year will bring and how you will look back on what has happened 12 months from now. It is always an exciting time of year for me, and I celebrate it by reflecting on the past year and the lessons learned, and setting goals for the new year, and allowing those dreams and visions for the future awaken my imagination.

But the one thing I felt that was missing this New Year’s Eve, was the feeling of connection and community that was present in so many of my past New Year’s – and Mum and I fondly remembered the parties of Paterson Street where I grew up, and lived from the age of 7 until I left home at 24.

We lived at the very end of a small cul-de-sac street full of families, and over the years about 10 of the neighbouring families developed friendships that saw our street turn into a supportive little community. Every time there was an excuse for a party or celebration, there was one on!

We would rotate which house the party was held at each occasion, and everyone would bring their specialty food dishes to share, a bottle of wine, and lots of cheer. There was never any nasty drunkeness or unpleasantness; and my memories of those times are of a group of people happily sharing, laughing and connecting that made me as a child feel like I belonged, and was in a safe, secure and loving environment.

We all knew each other well, and knew that any one of us would be there to help at the drop of a hat.

There were many excuses to get together. Christmas Day of course, was for family – but Boxing Day was for the street; as was New Year’s Eve and then New Years Recovery the next day; Bonfire night (where we spent weeks building a huge bonfire in one of our paddocks and held the party around it – and that was before firecrackers were banned!); and any public holiday was fair game.

I talk about the fact that there is more to healing that just diet, there are many aspects, and supportive relationships and a sense of friendship and community is also an important part of health. But so often in this culture we miss that. We live in apartments where we don’t know our neighbours, we have workmates and acquaintances rather than friendships, we move a lot, and don’t have time to build the connections that seemed to be so easily built when I was growing up.

So in some ways that is one of my resolutions this year – to build stronger connections with people, and eventually I would love to re-create a group of friends and family around me, with the genuine love and caring that we had in the legendary Paterson Street days.”

Leisa

Happy New Year! is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Bonsoy Soy Milk Recall

Leisa — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:22:51 +0000

There is just something a tad funny about this recall… I would love to be able to find out a bit more information about it – so I’m doing some digging and will let you know.

The official story is that there is a soy milk product on the market Bonsoy which contains Kombu, a type of seaweed. This particular brand was said in news articles to contain unacceptably high levels of iodine which has led to 10 people suffering from thyroid complaints. Hmmmm.

Here is the official story:

“Authorities are warning against drinking Bonsoy soy milk after 10 people, including a newborn baby, fell ill with thyroid problems in NSW.

The product was found to contain unusually high levels of iodine, which may affect the thyroid and cause people to feel unwell, Food Standards Australia (FSA) said.

The milk is being recalled nationally, and should not be used by coffee shops, retail and other food outlets, FSA said.

A healthy daily iodine intake is about 80-150 micrograms for adults.

Testing found drinking just one-eighth of a cup of Bonsoy, which is imported from Japan and contains seaweed, would exceed the daily safety limit of 1,100 micrograms, FSA spokeswoman Lydia Buchtmann said.

“These are extremely high levels,” she told AAP.

The authority was alerted after the nine people, aged between 29 and 47, and child, reported using the brand.

“They are all okay. Once you stop consuming it, your (iodine) levels go down,” Ms Buchtmann said.

She said there were no obvious symptoms from excessive iodine intake, but people may feel generally unwell or lethargic.

Anyone drinking the product over a prolonged period who thinks they may be affected is urged to consult their doctor.”

Now there are two things that I find particularly interesting about this story. One is the levels of iodine found in the milk (which occurs naturally as a part of the seaweed component). They claim 1100mcg which is the upper limit of “safety” in Australia was found in just 30ml of soy milk.

In Japan they consume up to 45mg of iodine in their normal daily diet – which is more than 40 times the Australian recommendation of the upper limit of safety. So something is very off between our acceptable level of iodine in the diet and the Japanese levels…

In Australia, we are notoriously low in iodine – a study recently performed at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, found that 70% of pregnant women were deficient in iodine – and to make that worse, the iodine was measured using the extremely low recommendations which Australia finds acceptable.

In the past, Lugol’s Iodine Solution was used widely as a remedy for many, many illnesses. One drop of Lugol’s Solution contains 6500mcg of iodine – six times the “upper limit of safety”. And this was frequently used in doses of 10 drops per day. Personally I have taken Lugol’s Iodine at a level of 8 drops a day for several months without adverse effects; so that does lead me to question what else may be contributing to the thyroid problems found due to drinking this particular brand of soy milk.

Soy milk, as many of you know is not a product that I recommend anyone drink anyway. It is a highly processed product, soy is indigestible in nature unless it is fermented, and it contains endocrine disruptive phytochemicals which can INHIBIT thyroid function.

So it is possible that the people drinking the soy milk had some form of compromise in thyroid function from the soy to start with. Soy is also one of the top five allergy foods which in itself can disrupt the immune system which may contribute to the auto-immune problems of Graves Disease. Then putting high dose iodine on top of this may have had some type of negative effect on the thyroid gland, bringing on the very distressing hyperthyroid states these people were suffering from. Although I would need a lot more information before coming to any firm conclusion.

However, I think this needs to be looked into at a deeper level, as the amounts of iodine in the soy are largely considered normal in a Japanese diet. My money would be betting that the soy itself is a part of the problem, not just the overload of iodine itself.

Leisa

Bonsoy Soy Milk Recall is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Christmas Poem

Leisa — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 23:08:56 +0000

This poem came through from a friend and I thought it was just lovely

“We have a list of folks we know
All written in a book,
And every year at Christmas time
We go and have a look,
And that is when we realize
These names are really part,
Not of the book they’re written in
But of our very heart.

Each name stands for someone
Whose life path has touched ours,
And each has left fond memories,
Of time spent, of precious hours.
These memories are so special,
We want to touch their lives again.
As our lives really are composed
Of each remembered name.

So never think of Christmas wishes
As just a mere routine,
Of names upon a Christmas list
that are forgotten in-between
So when I send this greeting
That is addressed to you,
It is because you are on that list
Of folk I’m indebted to.

And every year when Christmas comes
We realise anew,
The biggest gift that life can give
“is knowing people like you”
So may the Spirit of Christmas
That forever endures
Leave all of its richest blessings
In the hearts of You and Yours

Leisa

Christmas Poem is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

The Spirituality of Christmas

Leisa — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:21:00 +0000

I love Christmas.

In my family it was always such a special time of sharing and being together, of giving and recieving and reflecting on everything that is important and that we hold dear. It was always a magical time, containing uplifiting energy and excitement.

Even though I don’t subscribe to any form of organised religion, and Christmas of course is based on a particular religious faith – I think that it can come to mean whatever you choose it to mean, and can become a family tradition without becoming steeped in dogma.

I’ve come to realise how important it can be to have these times of tradition and ritual to remind us of that which is sacred; and we can easily bypass the materialism and the superficiality of the season and return to the joy and spirit that is inherent in this time of celebration.

With Christmas being the lead in to the New Year, I find this season always gives me cause to reflect on the year, to set firm intentions for the new one coming and bask in that magical space of possibility.

Enjoy the Season – Merry Christmas!

Leisa

The Spirituality of Christmas is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views