TRACK AND IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH & WELLBEING

To bring about change in your life, it is important to understand yourself as a whole person - in body, mind, and spirit. The Wellness Inventory, created by wellness pioneer, John W. Travis, MD, MPH, is an online, holistic assessment program designed to determine your current state of balance in 12 key areas of your life.

The program identifies your areas of strength, the specific areas in which you are most motivated to change, and guides you in creating a wellness action plan. Finally, the Wellness Inventory provides resources, services, and tools to help you reach your wellness goals and bring more balance into your life.

Quick Tour: "www.MyWellnessTest.com/tour

Take the Wellness Inventory: "WellPeople.com

Oxygen Therapy May Improve Vision Worsened by Diabetes
Oxygen delivered through the nose may improve poor vision caused by diabetic macular edema, fluid buildup in the part of the eye responsible for central vision. Breathing supplemental oxygen for three months reduced fluid buildup and swelling in the macula and, in some cases, improved visual acuity. Researchers think the therapy could be used in conjunction with laser treatments that also improve oxygenation in the retina to provide long-term stability in these patients.

Global Diet Strategy Adopted as Movement to Fight Obesity Mounts
The governing body of the World Health Organization formally adopted a global strategy to combat bad diet and exercise habits as part of a larger wave of determination to fight flab and fat around the world. This non-binding voluntary strategy, is a blueprint for countries trying to develop policies that make it easier for people to eat more healthfully and exercise more. The idea is to head off a looming worldwide explosion in diseases linked to poor diet and lack of exercise, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Such diseases cause more than half of all deaths worldwide and are becoming an increasing problem in poor countries.

Diseases of Aging Tied to Amino Acid
Eating a healthy, balanced diet supplemented by a multivitamin may help ward off many ailments of old age, according to an accumulating body of research on homocysteine, an amino acid produced by the body. Scientists have linked high levels of homocysteine to increased risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia and to fractures due to osteoporosis. For once, there appears to be a quick fix. Eating more foods containing folic acid, and vitamins B-6 and B-12 -- such as a diet rich in animal protein, whole grains, fruits and leafy vegetables -- reduces homocysteine accumulation.

MORE HEALTH NEWS...
To keep up-to-date with news in the world of health and medicine, visit our Healthy News and our Healthy News Archive.

OLA LOA - A NUTRITIONAL BREAKTHROUGH

Ola Loa Energy is an effervescent, great tasting multi-vitamin vitamin powder that provides quick recovery from stress, sports and the rigors of daily life, with all the natural energy boosters and a doctor's selection of strategic nutrients providing greater absorption. Designed by renowned nutrition pioneer, Richard A. Kunin, M.D., Ola Loa is so gentle on the body it can be taken anytime. Just place Ola Loa Tropical Power Powder into an empty glass, add a few ounces of water or juice, and watch it stir itself. Enjoy the Ola Loa feeling!

FREE SHIPPING on orders of 3 or more boxes.

CONTINUING OUR 12-STAGE JOURNEY TO WELLNESS
This week our journey focuses on the power of THINKING, the 7th of 12 keys to wellness drawn from the Wellness Inventory whole person assessment program. This stage of the journey relates thinking to physical and mental health, and offers some creative options for using thinking to improve your wellbeing.

Simply Well
Many languages use the same word for both breath and spirit, or life force. In "Breathe for Life" John W. Travis, M.D., M.P.H., encourages you to start paying attention to your breathing as a form of relaxation, stress reduction, and healing. Breathing consciously not only will relieve tension and help quiet any fear, it can also relieve pain. So before you reach for the aspirins, the antacid tablets, or the telephone to call your doctor, do some breathing.

Healthy Computing
Even with the best intentions it's natural to forget to take movement breaks when working at the computer. In "Integration Breaks" Erik Peper, Ph.D. and Katherine Hughes Gibney offer specific micro and macro-break options. These allow blood to flow in and out, bringing oxygen and nourishment to the tissue and removing waste products.

Healthy Bookstore - Lasting Love

In "Lasting Love: The 5 Secrets of Growing a Vital, Conscious Relationship" Gay Hendricks, Ph.D. and Kathlyn Hendricks, Ph.D. take on two of the most pressing problems that sap vitality and energy from our committed relationships: how to forge a closer relationship that still allows each partner full creative autonomy, and how to generate the passion and preserve the harmony essential to keeping long-term partnerships alive and blooming.

All HWOL Books 10% off!

CUSTOM-MADE VITAMINS & FREE HEALTH ASSESSMENT
One Person Health delivers TRUE Custom-Made Vitamin Supplements.

NOT custom packaged from off-the-shelf vitamins. OPH manufactures your personalized vitamin order right from your personal ingredient formulation that fills your vegi-gelcaps to your name on the label. A health and lifestyle questionnaire that you take on the OPH website is required to determine your formulation and you receive back a FREE 34 page in-depth report and health assessment along with your recommended formulation. Then it's a simple matter to have your order delivered right to your door. The cost is just $89 per month.

From Fatigued to Fantastic
In "Q and A on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia with Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D. - #15" Dr. Teitelbaum discusses additional nutrients that, although not critical, can be very helpful in the initial treatment of CFS and fibromyalgia. Most of these only need to be taken for 3-9 months, after which time taking the powder and digestive enzymes by themselves should be adequate for most people.

Healthy Alternatives
Developing allergies and food sensitivities isn't necessarily a product of geography, the season of the year, or even of aging. In "Allergies, Is Yeast a Missing link?" Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. and Carol Beck, M.S. discuss how while allergies may have many causes, it is important to consider the possibility that systemic yeast overgrowth may be an underlying factor. They present the case that whether your allergies are food- or environmentally triggered, natural anti-fungal medications may provide relief.

Healthy Man Update
It smells bad. It's itchy. It's persistent. It's contagious. And it attacks the skin between the toes. What is it? Fungus of the foot. In "Athlete's Foot" the American Institute of Preventive Medicine describes how this condition is usually picked up and provides self-care tips for treatment.

Find an Alternative Healthcare Professional
The Professional Referral Network contains searchable directories for 20 leading professional associations in complementary and integrative health care, with over 17,000 professionals. Looking for a healthcare professional specializing in homeopathy? The Homeopathy section includes the Council for Homeopathic Certification and Homeopathic Academy of Naturopathic Physicians member databases.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise - Departs from Miami
November 14-21, 2004

This interactive series of motivational seminars and workshops is designed for diabetes patients of all ages and families/friends. Learn how to live life to the fullest with diabetes. Designed and facilitated by Susan Sloane, B.S., Rph.,C.D.E., Nutritionist, CPT. May qualify for insurance reimbursement. Ask about early bird savings. Produced by mindbodytravel and JM Educational Consulting. Please call 1-800-874-1996.

Healthy Tips for High-Level Wellness
Low-carb diets such as Atkins and South Beach are currently the hottest weight loss programs on the market. But for many people the low-carb diet could work faster and more effectively with the addition of one ingredient -- coconut oil. In "The Low-Carb Coconut Weight-Loss Phenomenon" Cherie Calbom, M.S. explains the unique ability of coconut oil to facilitate weight loss and how you too may be among the thousands of people that not only lose weight, but also experience numerous improvements in health.

Vegetarian Recipe
Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine offers you a vegetarian recipe for "Moussaka."

MUSIC FOR YOUR YOGA PRACTICE - SAVE 33% !

The Inner Peace Yoga Collection includes three classic CDs from Steven Halpern, the leading pioneer in music for relaxation and wellness:

* Music for Yoga (Helps quiet the mind & deepen the breath)
* Chakra Suite (Balances the 7 vital energy centers)
* Music for Savasana (For deep relaxation at end of yoga class)

"Steven Halpern's music makes your yoga practice a meditation in motion"
-Baron Baptiste - Founder, Baptiste Power Yoga Training Center

Echoes of Silence
There are hierarchies of creatures and vast civilizations within inches of your face. You can't see them, but they are there. They are built with consciousness, and that consciousness is who you are. You may have heard this. You may even believe it. You may even teach it. But have you yet dropped the pretense and falsehood of the lesser self? Have you abandoned all other identities? Do you live with the courage and strength and knowing inherent in the consciousness that cannot be known, destroyed, or corrupted? In "You Are God" Robert Rabbin states "Give everything else away and sink into this unfathomable abyss of being that you are."

Music and Wellness
Sometimes it is just a smile that seems to break down the boundaries of despair. In "Healing: To the Beat of an Inner Drummer" Barry Bittman, M.D. relates a moving experience with a cancer support group. One young man led the group in drumming that went beyond limits, beyond fatigue, beyond limitations -- and taught everyone in the group about life, courage and the power of music.

PROTECT YOUR CHILD DURING FLU SEASON
with ChildLife's "Immune Support Kit"

ChildLife Essentials offers doctor-developed nutritional formulas you can trust. Our "Immune Support Kit" provides your child with the nutritional support of First Defense & Echinacea to stimulate natural immune responses and defend the body and Vitamin C for immune support. The Immune Support Kit includes:

* First Defense - (4 fluid oz)
* Echinacea 4 Kids - (1 fluid oz - Orange Flavor)
* Liquid Vitamin C - (4 fl oz)

WELLNESS INVENTORY - BRING BALANCE TO YOUR CLIENTS' LIVES
Are you looking for a tool to determine your client's readiness to change various lifestyle behaviors and to bring more balance to their lives? The Wellness Inventory not only assesses your client in 12 key areas of wellness, but also determines their motivation to change in these areas, guides them in creating a wellness plan and provides resources to meet their goals. For more information, visit: wellnessinventory.net

Botanical Medicine Sourcebooks & Textbooks

Medicines from the Earth Herb Symposium
Twelfth Annual Conference on Botanical Medicine
Black Mountain, NC USA
June 5-7, 2004
Contact: Herbal Educational Services - 800-252-0688

BioSet and Energy and Wellness including Colds & Flu
June 11-13, 2004
Washington, DC USA
Contact: BioSet Institute - 877-927-0741

First Annual Conference on the Challenges & Benefits of Integrative Medicine
August 14-18, 2004
Wailea, HI USA
Contact: HealthQuest Travel - 800-874-1996

The Power of Positive Energy and Intuition to Heal
With Judith Orloff, M.D.
August 20-22, 2004
Big Sur, CA USA
Contact: Esalen Institute - 831-667-3000

For more leading health events visit www.healthcalendar.com