Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 2 Issue 67 i The Art of Healing

FRONT COVER IMAGE BY: DEBRA BERNIER Baby Snail www.shapingspirit.etsy.com Debra Bernier lives with her family on Vancouver Island, Canada, immersed in the wild and gentle inspiration of nature. Her pieces are all created on driftwood and as she says, are already a work of art, created through the hands of Mother Nature. “The earth, the ocean, even the moon and its effects on the tides, play a part in the unique shaping of driftwood.” Debra considers herself a co-creator and story teller, revealing the hidden past and spirit of the wood. Her art speaks of the unity of humans and nature. She hopes that ‘Shaping Spirit Sculptures’ will inspire others to wonder about the big stories hidden in the little things. Thank you to all the writers, organisations, and…

The Well Woman Check tests bone health, cholesterol, inflammation, kidney and liver function, female hormone panel, blood glucose, full blood count and iron levels. When you get your results, you receive a summary for each test from a doctor about where you sit in the range from low-high, what that could potentially mean, and what they suggest you do about it. For example, for bone health it tests for calcium and vitamin D. For me, the doctor said: “Your vitamin D levels are borderline – we typically like to see vitamin D levels up above 75 nmol/L.” And then under Recommendations I was able to read about the risks and how to optimise my vitamin D levels. He said for me: “You may benefit from vitamin D supplementation and increasing…

There’s no doubt that diabetes is steadily growing to be an epidemic, particularly among Americans. According to data from the American Diabetes Association, at least half of all adults in the U.S. are either in a state of pre-diabetes or already have diabetes. Researchers also noted that it is actually “an under-reported cause of death on death certificates” and should be considered the third leading cause of mortality in America, right after cancer and heart disease. Unfortunately, there is a growing amount of misinformation surrounding this common health condition, and in some cases, it is the physicians themselves who are perpetuating this misinformation. So what exactly is diabetes? Why does it manifest, and more importantly, how can you protect yourself from falling victim to this growing epidemic? Diabetes: An Illness…

How did you first get into yoga Rachel? The first time I tried yoga was in high school in a gym class, and I just loved it. Although I was already into dancing, I remember particularly liking the feeling of my body really opening up – the stretching out. Along with my friends encouraging me to go, my Chiropractor also suggested I try yoga to help alleviate my anxiousness and stress. I was 19 or 20 at the time. But while I loved it, I also recall not really ‘getting’ savasana (corpse pose). I didn’t really understand what I was doing. Regardless, my friend’s kept encouraging me to keep going. So I did. After about 20 classes I finally understood that yoga wasn’t just about stretching and opening up. Without…

16:8 Intermittent Fasting by Jaime Rose Chambers Jaime Rose Chambers is a practising dietitian and nutritionist. She has a Bachelor of Nutrition & Dietetics from the University of Newcastle and is completing a Masters of Clinical Medicine for complementary therapies. She sees patients with a wide range of health conditions, including diabetes, obesity, food allergies and intolerances, polycystic ovarian syndrome and cancer. She prescribes intermittent fasting as a matter of course, as it’s by far the easiest and most effective tool for healthy weight control that she’s seen. In this indispensable handbook you will read about the latest science on 16:8 and 5:2, and advice on how to set up a personalised fasting program to suit your individual health needs. The Fast 800 by Michael Mosley Six years ago, Dr…

I am writing this on 1 April – and you will be reading this sometime after June 2019. But today is the first day that the following natural therapies will no longer be covered under private health general treatment policies: Alexander Technique, Aromatherapy, Bowen therapy, Buteyko, Feldenkrais, Western herbalism, Homeopathy, Iridology, Kinesiology, Naturopathy, Pilates, Reflexology, Rolfing, Shiatsu, Tai Chi, and Yoga. Whilst this is not necessarily good news, one thing I have seen (a little of) on social media, is a more evidence of a collective rallying cry from the ‘natural healthcare’ industry. Is there any chance that this issue could actually get more practitioners to pull together – across Associations? I hope so. Latest breaking news to hand just before we go to print, is that the current Health…

Centre co-director Professor Brandon Wainwright, from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), said brain cancer survival rates had barely changed in the past 30 years. “Brain cancer treatments are not as effective as those we have for many other cancers, and must be administered on the brain while it is developing, so even those children who survive often experience neurological issues such as learning difficulties,” he said. “We need a co-ordinated approach to examine all aspects of the disease, from better therapies to the services that children and their families need to improve quality of life during treatment and into the future.” Professor Wainwright, Associate Professor Irina Vetter (IMB) and Associate Professor Tim Hassall (UQ and Queensland Children’s Hospital) will lead a project to prevent the development of severe nerve…

Researchers from the Flinders University College of Medicine and Public Health have found that aged-care residents with dementia were nine times more likely to be prescribed the anti-psychotic drug Risperidone. The Rehabilitation, Aged and Extended Care research group found that dementia patients in nursing homes across South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia are being heavily prescribed the dangerous drug. Dr Craig Whitehead, Clinical Director of the Department of Rehabilitation, Aged and Palliative Care at Flinders Medical Centre, said the study found a trend towards unusual and abnormal prescribing patterns. “If you’re a GP and you’ve got someone with a behavioural problem, you only have limited options,” he said. I think it does raise the question about how we educate and skill our nursing and medical workforce to become…

Perhaps it has to do with our entire philosophy of nutrition called reductionism, where everything is broken down into its constituent parts; food is reduced to a collection of single compounds with supposed single effects. “The reductionist approach has traditionally been, and continues today, as the dominant approach in nutrition research.” For example, did you know that mechanistically, there’s a chemical in ginger root that down-regulates phorbol myristate acetate-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and JNK MAP kinases? That’s actually pretty cool, but not while millions of people continue to die of diet-related disease. We already know that three quarters of chronic disease risk - diabetes, heart attacks, stroke, and cancer - can be eliminated if everyone followed four simple practices: not smoking, not being obese, getting a half hour of exercise a day, and eating a…

Discipline is a concept everyone is aware of, but few truly understand. The most successful people in life exert discipline on a daily basis. It is vital to every living being and without it, the world around us would be chaos. There are two types of discipline: internal and external. Internal discipline is your self-restraint and your ability to differentiate right from wrong. External discipline is according to societal norms, such as following the law. Discipline brings stability and structure into a person’s life. It teaches a person to be responsible and respectful. The ability for an individual to have self-restraint allows them to behave in a consistently stringent and controlled manner. The observance of well-defined rules is the basis of society. Discipline promotes good human behaviour to better society…

Over the next four issues, we will be reviewing some of the tests available through this site, primarily to gain an understanding of the process. Our Editor/Publisher, Cate Mercer, will undergo the tests, and as of writing, has completed the Well Woman Check. Opposite are her comments about this, but firstly we looked at what we found on the i-screen website that described their services. Taking control of your health. This is the essence of what is being offered at i-screen – giving individuals a vehicle to take more of the decision-making into their own hands regarding their health. Those who visit i-screen have made a decision to pro-actively seek out answers about their health for themselves. They are prepared to have tests done themselves, to see the results first-hand,…

Flexibility is one of the foundational pillars to your exercise routine. Whether you're a professional athlete or someone just seeking to improve your fitness level, stretching and mobility work is an important component. Improving your flexibility allows greater joint mobility and helps reduce your day-to-day pain. With age, muscles naturally lose strength and size, becoming less supple. This loss of flexibility and elasticity may increase joint tightness and your risk of injury. Whether you're an avid exerciser or not, making stretching a part of your weekly routine will help prevent injuries and improve your ability to perform daily tasks. Spending all day at a desk may lead to neck and shoulder problems and tight hip muscles which contributes to pain and discomfort. Benefits to Being Flexible In the U.S., 31…

Arthritis came to me as an 11 year old. I had had some issues with growing in my knees, from when I was about 8, because I was growing very quickly. It was very painful. Then I had a fall in primary school and I lost blood supply because my hip slipped out of my pelvis. Unfortunately little could be done because my bones had grown out of shape in my hip area. This was the beginning of a 7-year journey where I couldn’t really use my body at all. I was in terrible pain. I spent 6-7 years in hospital. Then I had a nurse at home (in between lengthy hospital stays and so I could spend some time with my family) and I used a wheelchair and crutches…

Crispy Skinned Snapper with Braised Fennel SERVES: 4 Snapper is one of my all-time favourite fish to cook. It’s so versatile, quick to cook, is a fish that is mostly wild-caught, and you can get it pretty much anywhere. The secret to the crispy skin is to dry the fish with a paper towel and then liberally season with salt. Here I pair it with braised fennel for a delicious keto meal. INGREDIENTS: 70 ml melted coconut oil or good-quality animal fat 2 fennel bulbs, cut into 1 cm thick slices, along with fronds 150 ml Fish or Chicken Bone Broth plus extra water if needed sea salt and freshly ground black.pepper 4 x 160 g snapper fillets, skin on, pin-boned 1 tablespoon finely snipped chives TO SERVE: extra-virgin olive…