Yoga: Healing the body, quieting the mind
More than 10 million Americans practice yoga, and some doctors are prescribing it to combat medical conditions. At the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, students take classes on yoga. "I hope that this impact will carry through their careers and allow them to have a much more opened mind in other ways of treating patients," said Dr. Richard Usatine of the UCLA School of Medicine.

JAMA Women's Study on Reduced Risk of Heart Disease Shows Increased Benefits of Oatmeal
A June 3 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reinforces the fact that women can reduce the risk of heart disease by eating soluble fiber from cereals such as oatmeal. "The Nurses' Health Study reported in JAMA is very important because it provides women with effective and practical information on how to reduce the risk for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death for women in this country," said Dr. Steve Ink, director of Nutrition Services, The Quaker Oats Company. "The early results from these ongoing studies indicate that certain soluble fiber containing grains -- like oats -- may work to lower risk for heart disease in several important ways."

Latest Research on B Vitamins Summarized: Summary of B Vitamins Studies
The maker of Nature Made(R) nutritional supplements has summarized the latest research on B Vitamins to assist the media in educating consumers about these important nutrients.

Dr. Galland's Integrated Medicine
A large body of research over the past ninety years has demonstrated the preventive value of eating foods fermented with Lactobacilli or their cousins, Bifidobacteria. In this column, " Using Friendly Flora", Dr. Galland explains how eating these friendly bacteria prevents intestinal infection due to viruses or pathogenic bacteria and preserves intestinal permeability in the face of infection or other types of injury, can prevent antibiotic-induced diarrhea and travelers diarrhea and can lowerserum cholesterol levels. Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria also show anti-cancer activity, by two mechanisms: they inhibit the growth or activity of cancer-promoting bacteria and some strains actually produce chemicals which inhibit tumor growth.

Ask Annie: Solutions for Less Toxic Living
Annie Berthold-Bond offers some homemade natural skin care formulas in this month's Ask Annie column, "Some Tips for the Home," from her newest book Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living. Other formulas given include a homemade garden fungicide. She also offers household hints about what to do about odors from jars and garbage disposals, and how to remove perspiration stains. Finally, she discusses the wisdom of using anti-bacterial soaps, given that they also can cause drug resistant bacteria, and provides alternative suggestions.

Chinese Medicine Newsdesk
In this latest edition profiling leaders in the complementary & alternative medicine field who played an important role in opening the doors to new medical concepts and practices in the U.S., we cover the panoramic life of Frederick Kao (1919-1992), a scientist, educator, and leader in the movement to encourage Western medicine to study traditional Chinese medicine. Founder of The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, Dr. Kao continues to influence researchers and clinicians around the world.

His is an extraordinary story of a young Chinese boy with a dream. From rural China, Dr. Kao fostered a vision that took him to medical school in China and graduate school in the US and on to an illustrious research and teaching career that led to recognition by such institutions as the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and The World Health Organization. He is remembered, in addition to his research achievements, for having legitimized Chinese medicine in the West by linking scientific research and alternative medicine, using the academic and scientific rigor of leading medical research institutions.

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", Dr.Jahnke 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
The cover story in a recent leading professional fitness journal was on stretching, the exercise component whose time has come. The article described several types of stretching exercises and presented sample programs for improving joint flexibility. However, the proposed stretching protocols required about an hour to perform. While I do not question the effectiveness of such programs, in my experience few people have time for sixty minutes of stretching exercise, notes Dr. Wayne Westcott in his latest column, "Best of Both Worlds: Stretching and Strengthening. Our latest research has demonstrated the benefits of including stretching in the overall exercise program, but our participants attained excellent results from relatively brief stretching sessions. Consider the following findings from two of our studies on stretching exercise.

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 summarizes pages or documents that would be useful to you for reasonable fees.

HealthWorld Bookstore

I am pleased to introduce our readers to a new book by Annie Berthold-Bond, who contributes the column, "Ask Annie: Solutions for Less Toxic Living", to HealthWorld Online. Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living offers easy and fun ways to transform your familyâs own environment--your homes--into HEALTHEIR places to live, without spending a lot of time or money. Annie, the author of several best-selling books, shares her expertise offering thousands of easy and economical formulas and tips for everything - from non-toxic pest repellents for the pantry and pets, to easy-to-make art materials for childrenâs crafts to cleaning solutions for every part of the house. Drawing from her knowledge of folk remedies, herbs, and modern chemistry, Annie has a healthy solution for every household problem or task. She offers suggestions for creating the environment and lifestyle so many of us desire: one that protects our health and our pocketbooks, and one that reaffirms our deep connection to nature. Highly recommended.

Association Network -- Hot Pick
NAOMA is the national professional membership association representing the diversity of practitioners of acupuncture and Oriental medicine across the United States. As the national clearinghouse for the profession, it provides referrals to consumers, supports state and national legislation, provides accurate information to the media and the public, distributes publications, etc.

Visit The National Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Alliance.

Global Health Calendar -- Hot Picks

Comprehensive Cancer Care II: Integrating Complementary and Alternative Therapies June 9-13, 1999 Arlington, VA USA. Contact: Center for Mind-Body Medicine - 202-966-7338

Body & Soul. Chicago, IL. July 2-4, 1999. Contact: New Age Publishing and Omega Institute - 800-944-1001

Marketplace '99. Las Vegas, NV. July 8-11, 1999. Contact: National Nutritional Foods Association - 949-622-6272

Nutracon '99 (Nutraceuticals Industry Data & Trend Analysis) November 12-14, 1999. Las Vegas, NV. Contact: Global Business Research Ltd. - 800-868-7188

10th Annual American Herbalists Guild Symposium: Back to Our Future: Integrating Herbal Medicine with Modern Clinical Practice August 6-8, 1999. Pocono Manor, PA. Contact: American Herbalists Guild - 435-722-8434

World Expo for Complementary Medicine 1999. August 27-29, 1999. Suntec City, Singapore SINGAPORE. Contact: CPEC and Congrex Singapore - 65-438-3707