Pesticide Use Grows With Grape Industry
The amount of chemicals used to protect the growing and lucrative wine grape industry in Santa Barbara County has topped 1 million pounds annually -- quintupling since 1990 -- a News-Press review of public records and interviews with industry leaders found. The increase, however, would have been even greater without environmentally sensitive growing practices.

New Age Music Therapy Might Be the Ultimate Tune-up
Robert Sewak, Ph.D., has some far-out cures he can't wait to tell you about. So please, have a seat in his music studio. And try to keep an open mind. You see, your organs each emit their own vibrations or sounds, Dr. Bob explains as you ease into an old green recliner. Together, those vibrations form a ``fundamental tone'' or musical note for your body. And keeping your mind and body in harmony by exposing them to music can do wonders for your health, he says.

Eat Spinach Because it is Good for Your Eyes
The age-old parental admonition to eat carrots because they're good for your eyes should have promoted spinach instead. Dark green leaves like spinach, collard greens and kale contain lutein and zeaxanthin, phytochemicals that may protect your eyes as your age, says the current (May) issue of New Choices: Living Even Better After 50. A study found that people 55 and over who ate an average of six milligrams of lutein a day (a cup of kale contains about 40 milligrams) were about half as likely to suffer from macular degeneration, a leading cause of age-related blindness, as those who ate fewer greens.

Ask Annie: Solutions for Less Toxic Living
Many of us dry clean our clothing in shops that use the chemical perchlorethylene because we have no alternatives. Yet this chemical is long-lasting in the environment and dangerously toxic. In this installment of "Ask Annie", best-selling author Annie Berthold-Bond reveals the secrets of ãwet washingä wool, silk and rayon, so that the fabric doesnât shrink. She also offers the recipe for a homemade dust mite neutralizer.

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, Full Chest and Abdominal Breathing, Dr. Jahnke explains a method that activates all of the primary benefits of therapeutic breath practice when done slowly and fully, with intention, concentration and relaxation.

Keeping Fit with Dr. Wayne Westcott
Although all athletic activities carry some risk of injury, spring sports seem to be particularly problematic with respect to injury potential. This is partly due to the abrupt action components of the most popular spring sports, and partly due to insufficient levels of physical conditioning, according to Dr. Wayne Westcott in his new column, "Enjoying The Spring Sports Season."

Medical Cybrarian Service
Need help in researching a difficult health issue? Want to be able to effectively search Medline and other medical databases? Need to have a professional who can do this fast and efficiently? Let an experienced medical librarian do it for you. HealthWorld Online's innovative Medical Cybrarian Service searches the Internet and and other databases, provideing you with information on diseases, treatments (alternative and/or mainstream), drugs, statistics, and patient information that is summarized for your research needs. This "Cybrarian" carefully gathers and selects bibliographic citations, points you to useful Web sites, and annotates or summarizespages or documents that would be useful to you for reasonable fees.

Participate in our Online Community--Join our Discussion Forums
Looking for an answer to a tough health question? Looking for support from others who have faced the same health challenges. HealthWorld Online's forums provide you with the opportunity to participate in discussions and find answers to a wide range of health concerns. Visit our forums on, "Vaccination," "Mind/Body Approaches to Chronic Illness," "Issues in Integrated Health Care," "Legal/Legislative Issues," and Qigong." Interact with our other visitors and forum leaders: Elliot Dacher, MD; William Collinge, PhD, MPH, Emmett Miller, MD; Randall Neustaedter, OMD; Roger Jahnke, OMD; and William Dailey, Esq.

Children's Health Update
In their article, "An Epidemic of ADD or a Matter of Overdiagnosis? Does ADD Really Exist?", Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, N.D., M.S.W., and Robert Ullman, N.D. challenge conventional views which lump children with widely varying symptoms into one syndrome and treating them all with one drug, the highly controversial Ritalin. Excerpted from Ritalin-Free Kids: Safe and Effective Homeopathic Medicine.

Association Network -- Hot Pick
The American Alliance of Aromatherapy is a non-profit organization established to strengthen, inspire and advance the field of aromatherapy. AAOA offers the following publications to keep you updated with aromatherapy developments worldwide: The Alliance NewsQuarterly, The Aromatic Thymes, The International Journal of Aromatherapy, The Aromatherapy Guide - 2nd Edition, and The Aromatherapy Records.

Visit American Alliance of Aromatherapy.

Global Health Calendar -- Hot Picks

SupplySide 99 East. May 5-7. Atlanta, GA. The Natural Product Industry's Premier Executive-Level Trade Show and Conference. Contact: Virgo Publishing, Natural Products Division - 602-990-1101. See HealthWorld Online's NPICenter.com, our business-to-business Interner network for the Natural Products Industry in booth #315.

American College for Advancement in Medicine Spring Conference. Exploring the Functions of the Brain. Solutions for Tomorrow.May 6-9, 1999 Orlando, Florida. Contact: [email protected]

Echinacea Symposium. Sponsored by the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). AHPA presents Echinacea, the Queen of Herbal Medicines, in the first of our 1999 Herb Symposia. June 3-5, 1999. Ritz-Carlton Ý Kansas City, MO. Contact the American Herbal Products Association. (301) 588-1171. Email: [email protected]

Comprehensive Cancer Care II: Integrating Complementary and Alternative Therapies Arlington, VA USA. Contact: Center for Mind-Body Medicine - 202-966-7338