Healthy Update is a bi-monthly electronic newsletter from HealthWorld Online providing you the latest information, news and resources from the world of natural health. All summaries in Healthy Update link to full articles or expanded resources and services in HealthWorld Online: http://www.healthy.net

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HealthWorld Online to Host Internet Pavilion at Comprehensive Cancer Care Conference in Washington, D.C.
HealthWorld Online will host an Internet pavilion at the Comprehensive Cancer Care Conference June 12-14, 1998, in Washington, D.C. The conference, focusing on the theme of "Integrating Complementary and Alternative Therapies" in cancer treatment, will feature over 100 cancer experts from around the world, and is jointly sponsored by: Center for Mind-Body Medicine, National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), and the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center Medical School of Nursing, the theme of the conference. James S. Gordon, MD, Director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, serves on HealthWorld Online's board of advisors.

What This Country Needs is a Day of Rest
FedEx boasts in a new commercial that our lives don't stop on Sundays, so neither will their deliveries -- more proof that just about the only thing Americans can't do on Sunday is complain there's nothing to do. Americans are so overstressed and overscheduled that Sundays have become just like every other day. Our day of rest is quickly becoming a day of duties, as outdated as the dewy images of family life depicted in Norman Rockwell paintings. And while many yearn for a revival of those saved-for-Sunday pleasures, research shows our Sundays may never be the same. And that we're part of the problem.

Heart-Disease Researcher Ornish Turns Attention to Cancer
Dr. Dean Ornish is well known for his views that heart disease can be reversed through simple lifestyle changes. Can he do it again? Ornish, director of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif., demonstrated in 1990 that heart disease could be conquered by a regimen of meditation, yoga, a very low-fat vegetarian diet, and group therapy. His finding, once controversial, has gained a solid foothold in modern cardiology. This time his target is far more complex: cancer. "We're at the same stage that we were with heart disease 20 years ago," Ornish, 44, says. "There is evidence that suggests that cancer progression might be affected by diet and lifestyle."

Alternative Medicine Becoming Big Business
After years of snubs from conventional medicine, alternative therapies -- chiropractic, acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, massage, and more -- are gaining attention from Wall Street, private investors, and mainstream health providers as a market worth $20 billion a year, and growing. Don't think of this transformation as just a new place to go to the doctor. Think of it instead as a fashionable spa, a Caribbean cruise, or a posh resort hotel, where trained staff wants only to make you feel comfortable and brand names promise consistency and quality. "Think for a minute what Nordstrom did to the department store business, or Disney to the old county carnival," says Marc Pacala, chief executive of American WholeHealth Inc., which has a $22 million venture capital bankroll behind its plan to build a nationwide chain of "integrated" health centers that combine holistic practices and traditional medicine.

HealthWorld Online is proud to announce the addition of the new "Chinese Medicine Newsdesk: Practical News and Views for Consumers" Column from Laurel Skurko Kao, consumer health expert and Managing Director of Linc International. The column is drawn from the American Journal of Chinese Medicine. Ms. Kao will adapt key journal articles on Chinese medicine into lay language for the consumer. Look for more columns in the future in HealthWorld Online.

Chinese Medicine Newsdesk
In the west, when we think of "herbal tea," what usually comes to mind is simple peppermint or chamomile tea, the ol' western stand-by's. Consumers usually drink herbal tea because they are looking for something caffeine-free, or they crave a snazzy new flavor temptation, like those created by Celestial Seasonings and other herbal tea manufacturers who have Vintroduced us to fun flavor combinations like Wild Black Cherry or Lemon Zinger. In Asia, herbal teas take on quite another meaning, according to Laurel Skurko Kao in her first column, " All the áHerbaláTea in China". Flavor and lack of caffeine are probably the LAST things that come to mind. In Asian communities, herbal teas are often serious medicine, prescribed by medical practitioners, or used as part of an intensive home-remedy program for the prevention and treatment of everything from colds and headaches to indigestion and arthritis.

Ask Annie: Solutions for Less Toxic Living
In this column, "Some Tips for the Home" environmentally friendly expert Annie-Berthold Bond shares tips for essential oils to help repel ticks, a non-petroleum based all purpose "squeaky wheel" lubricant, as well as a homemade soft scrubs for those allergic to the perfumes used in many commercial products, and homemade moisturizers for those wanting to avoid oily, syntethically fraganced commerical moisturizers.

The Healer Within
The presence of special breathing practices in the ancient cultures has always been a mystery to people in the Western world. In this column, Extending the Inhalation, Extending the Exhalation," explains that even with deep breathing there is still some lung capacity left following the exhalation. In this method the fullest extent of filling and emptying of the lungs is enacted. Breathe in until you think the lungs are filled. Then take in 3 more short breaths, to full lung capacity. Following the emptying of the lungs on the exhalation, expel three additional breaths. At both extremes, inhalation and exhalation, the benefit may be multiplied by briefly holding the breath.

Keeping Fit with Dr. Wayne Westcott
Due to shorter days, less physical activity, and abundant holiday meals, winter is a time when most adults experience increasing bodyweight and decreasing fitness. In this column, "Exercise For Better Health And Sports Performance," Dr. Westcott explains how the usual reduction in aerobic exercise results in lower functional capacity of the cardiovascular system, and the typical reduction in strength exercise results in both muscle and bone loss. In addition to accelerating the aging process, lack of exercise leads to less desirable body composition (more fat and less muscle), increased risk of injury, and decreased athletic performance. On the other hand, brightening the winter days with some sensible exercise can reverse many degenerative conditions, reduce your injury potential, improve your physical appearance, and enhance your sports participation.

Children's Health Update
Lyme disease is a potentially serious long-term illness caused by a spirochete (a slender, spiral-shaped type of bacterium) called Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease is spread by infected deer ticks, which are minute ticks that commonly feed on deer and mice. A person becomes infected by being bitten by a tick that carries the bacteria. Because deer ticks are so tiny, however, it is quite possible to overlook their presence on the body, and the tick bites themselves are usually painless. The symptoms experienced vary from person to person, and they often mimic those of other ailments. As a result, a diagnosis of Lyme disease can easily be missed in the early stages.

In her article "Influenza," excerpted from her book, Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child, Dr. Janet Zand outlines a comprehensive program for helping to deal with Lyme's Disease in children, including guidelines for prevention, conventional treatment as well as dietary guidelines, recommended nutritional supplements, and herbs.

Bookstore
Coventional western medicine, working from an allopathic basis, attempts to cure disease by opposing and suppressing its most obvious symptoms. Homeopathic medicine, however, treats the whole patient rather than isolated symptoms. Minute doses of medicines are used to combat disease by stimulating the patient‰s own life force.

Samuel Hahnemann, the visionary 19th century physician who founded this system of treatment, distilled his philosophy and practice into the Organon of the Medical Art. Long recognized as one of the most important books ever written on the subject of health, disease, and medical care, the Organon has for many years been required reading for all serious students of homeopathy.

The wisdom of this seminal work is now available to contemporary readers as never before, in an English version edited and annotated by Wenda Brewster O‰Reilly, based on a definitive new translation by Steven Decker.

Association Network -- Hot Pick
The American Herbalists Guild is a peer-review organization for professional herbalists specializing in the medicinal use of plants. AHG promotes excellence in herbalism, serves as an information referral center for the herbal community, and serves as a liaison that interfaces with professional associations and regulatory agencies.

Visit American Herbalist Guild.

Global Health Calendar -- Hot Picks

Comprehensive Cancer Care: Integrating Complementary and Alternative Therapies. June 12-14, 1998, Arlington, VA -- Jointly sponsored by: Center for Mind-Body Medicine, James S. Gordon, MD, Director, National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), and the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center Medical School of Nursing - 800-805-3976. For more information visit Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Eighth Annual ISSSEEM Conference: The Future of Energy Medicine: Integrating Science & Spirit. June 18-24, 1998, Boulder, CO -- presented by International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies & Energy Medicine - 303-425-4625

Pacific N.W. Herbal Symposium: Deep Healing with Herbs. May 23-26, 1998, Wilsonville, OR -- presented by Wise Woman Herbals (541) 895-5174

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Editor, Healthy Update: James Strohecker

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