Dear Readers - March 26, 2009

The lovely Kathy Freston has a new book coming out, called, Quantum Wellness Cleanse: The 21-Day Essential Guide to Healing Your Mind, Body and Spirit. I plan to buy it when it comes out in May.

As you know, I spent three months living and working at the Optimum Health Institute last year, and it was a wonderful experience. We lived on a diet of raw food--detox raw food. It was sometimes a challenge, but filled with many moments of rewards. Over the course of my stay I lost a total of 32 pounds, returning home rested, renewed and with a desire to continue the raw food lifestyle.

That, my friends, was much harder then expected. Old patterns began to re-surface and the weight began to return. It has been a lesson. I don't regret a minute of my time spent at OHI and am much wiser because of my three months of service.

Unless one addresses the emotional side to eating--overeating that is--permanent weight loss is less likely. If one feels deprived, craving a sweet, or in my case something salty, at a certain point you just give into the craving. Old habits die hard, and once again I am reminded that balance in all things is really the best for sustaining lifestyle changes that are both permanent and health enhancing.

So, eating some cooked food is back on the menu, lots of lush dark green salads, seeds and nuts and a more realistic long term commitment to my lifestyle needs and adventures. I just must be a "foodie," as I have always found a gathering with friends and family over a beautiful meal one of the finer things in life. And, although I love hot yoga for its rejuvenating, stress relieving qualities, more movement for my body type is needed to reduce and then maintain a more ideal body type.

And off I go... Does this sound familiar to any of you? Making a permanent lifestyle change that addresses both the physical and emotional side of your well-being? If it does, drop me a line, let's work on it together. Having a community of support is paramount for feeling supported and heard. I know this because of the OHI experience. We were all on the same page there to heal and rejuvenate. Weight loss was a side dish, so to speak.

I have just begun reading Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing by Dr. Christiane Northrup. I just finished her book on mothers and daughters, and it is a wonderful read. All of us, on some level have something to heal. Some of us have many things. The important part is not to give up on yourself. Keep pushing through.

The mother/daughter connection is so important because it was the first and truly primary example given us. From that we weave our own existence into adulthood and discover our own healing path--one that ideally sets in motion healing the generational imprints no longer useful, and re-imprinting on a cellular level more profound, conscious ways of living and being into the generation that follows.

May your life be filled with discovery, and until next time... Be Well.

In vibrant health,

Shay Arave
President
Subtle Energy Solutions
ShaysWays.com

B12 Deficit May Boost Risk of Birth Defects

B12 Deficit May Boost Risk of Birth Defects
Women who are vegans and vegetarians most affected, study says

(HealthDay News) -- Women who do not have enough vitamin B12 in their blood before and after conception have a greater chance of having a baby with brain or spinal cord defects, a new study says.

Most at risk may be vegans and vegetarians, since B12 is far more common in meat and animal-based foods, noted an American and Irish research team whose findings were published in the March issue of Pediatrics..

According to the study, women with low levels of B12 had at least 2.5 times the risk of giving birth to a child with these neural tube defects, which can lead to partial paralysis or even death, than women with the highest B12 levels.

"Vitamin B12 is essential for the functioning of the nervous system and for the production of red blood cells," Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said in a news release issued by its parent organization, the U.S. National Institutes of Health. "The results of this study suggest that women with low levels of B12 not only may risk health problems of their own, but also may increase the chance that their children may be born with a serious birth defect."

Researchers analyzed blood collected during the early pregnancy stages of hundreds of women from Ireland, a country with a high rate of neural tube defects. Either the women had previously given birth to a baby with a neural tube defect or were known to be carrying babies with the disorder.

Women with B12 concentrations below 250 ng/L before pregnancy had roughly three times the risk of having a child with a neural tube defect as those with higher B12 blood levels. Those women whose levels were less than 150 ng/L, which is considered B12 deficient, had five times the risk of women with higher levels.

The researchers used statistical techniques to focus solely on B12 levels and factor out the role of folic acid, a nutrient known to help prevent pregnant women from birthing babies with neural tube defects. The study authors noted that B12 and folate are jointly linked to several key biochemical reactions, but that a lack of either B12 or folate increased the risk of a neural tube defect.

While confirmation from other studies is needed, the authors suggested women should have vitamin B12 levels above 300 ng/L before becoming pregnant. Study co-author Dr. James L. Mills, a senior investigator in the NICHD division of epidemiology, statistics and prevention research, went further, recommending all women of childbearing age always consume the daily recommended amount of vitamin B12 and at least 400 micrograms of folic acid.

Inappropriate Drug Use Wasting Millions

Antipsychotic medications are some of the most expensive and side-effect-riddled drugs on the market. And while they’re only approved to treat severe forms of mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, this recent study found that the vast majority of people receiving these powerful drugs did not have either one of those disorders.

In fact, out of the 830 Oregon Medicaid patients given the drugs, most were suffering from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and even insomnia. These are all issues that can be handled using safe, non-drug methods, yet these people were instead given expensive and dangerous antipsychotic drugs.

Imagine visiting your doctor because you have anxiety or insomnia, then being prescribed a drug that can cause potentially even worse conditions, such as:


• Stroke and heart arrhythmias
• Moderate to severe weight gain
• Diabetes


This is exactly what happens far too often with these drugs.


Off-Label Drug Use is Common


Because doctors can legally prescribe any drug to any patient for any condition, drug companies heavily promote "off-label" and frequently inappropriate and non-tested uses of medications to doctors. In this way they can bypass the costly and time-consuming FDA approval process, yet still get their products sold to more and more people.

This happens not only with antipsychotic medications but many other drug classes as well, and to all age groups of patients. One study even found that when a "suitable alternative" did not exist, doctors gave off-label medicine to 90 percent of babies in neonatal intensive care units and 70 percent of children in pediatric intensive care units.

Worse still, children taking these medicines face a higher risk of side effects, with one estimate suggesting they suffer up to three times more side effects as a result.

Children are also often at the receiving end of these dangerous antipsychotic drugs, and they’re not being given to children for life-threatening conditions or to treat acute emergencies … they’re being prescribed for behavioral problems such as attention deficit disorder.

There is also the issue of cost. As the study above pointed out, patients are being given drugs for unapproved uses that cost $25 or more a day, when a similar generic drug that costs just $1 a day could have been prescribed instead.

While in most cases you’re better off skipping the drugs altogether (and instead opting for natural treatment methods, which I’ll get to below), if you DO decide to take a drug, there’s absolutely no point in using an exorbitantly more expensive, more dangerous and unapproved version.

So why does this keep happening?

Most would agree that it appears the drug companies will stop at nothing to sell their products; after all, billions of dollars are at stake. They are out to make a profit so enticing doctors to prescribe their drugs for as many uses as possible, regardless of whether or not they have scientific evidence to back them up, will only allow them to sell more drugs and make more profits.

Unfortunately, their gains are at your expense.


What Can You do Instead of Taking Drugs?


Psychotropic, mind-altering drugs have been a goldmine for drug makers. Through savvy marketing aimed at consumers and physicians, people are now convinced that what previously had been their normal emotions -- feelings like sadness, anger, shyness, and stress -- now fall outside of normalcy and require the use of some expensive and potentially toxic prescription pharmaceutical.

And most drugs are merely just patchwork, meant to make things "okay" temporarily as your underlying structure continues to degrade, and is subjected to side effects.

What can you do instead? A truly healthy diet and emotional wellness management are what’s needed to build and solidify your health so you can avoid all the cracks (the symptoms) that drugs patch over in the first place.

Along those lines, I’ve developed 10 basic tenets of optimal health; truths that have survived the tests of time and will push your body in the direction of healing, with no drugs needed:


1. Eat a healthy diet that’s right for your nutritional type (paying very careful attention to keeping your insulin levels down)
2. Drink plenty of clean water
3. Manage your stress
4. Exercise
5. Get appropriate sun exposure
6. Limit toxin exposure
7. Consume healthy fat, including animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil
8. Eat plenty of raw food
9. Optimize insulin and leptin levels
10. Get plenty of sleep

Scientists Find Gene for Tooth Enamel.

Scientists Find Gene for Tooth Enamel
Discovery might someday lead to new dental techniques

(HealthDay News) -- A gene that plays a role in immune function and the development of skin and the nervous system also controls the production of tooth enamel, Oregon State University researchers have found.

Their discovery about the gene Ctip2 (a transcription factor) could lead to new methods of repairing damaged enamel and preventing cavities, restoring teeth or even producing replacement teeth.

"It's not unusual for a gene to have multiple functions, but before this, we didn't know what regulated the production of tooth enamel," Chrissa Kioussi, an assistant professor in the college of pharmacy at Oregon State, said in a university news release. "This is the first transcription factor ever found to control the formation and maturation of ameloblasts, which are the cells that secrete enamel."

Kioussi and her colleagues studied baby mice in which the Ctip2 gene had been "knocked out" and its protein was missing. The mice had rudimentary teeth ready to erupt, but the teeth lacked the proper enamel coating and would never have been functional.

The findings appear in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Using this new information about Ctip2, it might be possible to use tooth stem cells to stimulate the growth of new teeth, Kioussi said. She noted that some researchers have successfully grown the inner portions of teeth in laboratory animal experiments, but the teeth had no hard coatings because the scientists didn't know which gene controlled enamel growth.

"A lot of work would still be needed to bring this to human applications, but it should work," Kioussi said. "It could be really cool -- a whole new approach to dental health."

Many people have problems with eroded tooth enamel, and most cavities start as a hole in tooth enamel that allows decay to begin

What are enzymes and how do they benefit health?

What are Enzymes and How Do They Benefit Health?

Enzymes are also important to the digestive process. When you consume food, digestive enzymes are immediately released from your salivary glands, stomach and small intestines. They help breakdown proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Enzymes facilitate the absorption of nutrients from the foods you eat. Without enzymes, even the most nutritious foods would not be of use to the body, as the vitamins and minerals they contain would not be properly absorbed. Foods would also move slowly through the digestive tract, resulting in discomforts such as abdominal bloating, gas, constipation and heartburn.

Systemic enzymes make up a special class of enzyme that works within every system of the body, offering complete, or systemic, health.



Enzymes May Offer the Following Health Benefits:
Promote healthy digestion and nutrient assimilation.
Help food move quickly through the digestive tract before bloating, gas, constipation and heartburn can occur.
May contribute to improved waste elimination, promoting colon and intestinal health.

Boost the immune system's effectiveness.

Message from Shay

Dear Friends and Vibrant Readers,

Your best bank account is the one you call health. The economy may be in the tank, so there's no better time than right now to re-commit to taking care of Number One. If you don't, who will?

I am no different from you--I miss a beat, skip my yoga practice, eat too much at dinner, beat myself up and sometimes get on a roll that takes several days to turn around. Such is life. We all have our programming, but the most important thing is to not give up on yourself. You are all you've got when it come to self-care--and, making amends for past infractions and slip ups. Do not give up on yourself. Re-commit, get support, stay in action.

I have been reading Dr. Christiane Northrup's book Mother-Daughter Wisdom; Understanding the Crucial Link Between Mothers, Daughters, and Health. Dr. Northrup is a wonderful writer, and this book can serve as a reference to all women as they move through their life seeking support and knowledge towards living a vibrant, healthy and productive life. It is also terrific for the younger females in your life, for helping them to understand their bodies, emotions and passages toward adulthood.

I had a mother who died young--well, early 60's seems young from where I am now. She didn't take care of herself on ANY level, so all of my programming as a child and adolescent came from a woman whose template was made up of self-defeating, self-destructive behaviors. Because of this, I have had to work my entire adult life creating a better template to live from, and it has not been easy, but it is possible.

This is why I have this heart-felt business; one based around vibrant living, living whole and complete in a responsible manner--not from the example given, but one created from nothing other then a desire to live differently from the example I was shown. The side benefit is that I am blessed with all of you who are seeking the same thing, sometimes missing a beat, but dusting off and re-committing to a rich and productive life--a life where people always come first. We are all related in the deepest and most spiritual way, and from that place there is sweet satisfaction and reward gifted daily.

Stay the course, friends. I plan to, and we can support each other along the way. You are my greatest inspiration.

If you have not checked out our new energy spray, Clean Sweep, do, it is a great addition to our apothecary. And, for those extra Holiday pounds, take the Body Type Evaluation, and support your body with the enzymes it needs to stop food cravings and promote better nutrition assimilation. The Herbal Accelerator is such an excellent product! I continue to offer two bottles for the price of one. Why? Because it works! And I want you to have that success experience I have had.

Until next time, be well, know you are good enough, because you are!!!

In vibrant health,

Shay Arave
President
Subtle Energy Solutions
ShaysWays.com

Coping with Job Loss

Coping With Job Loss

Experts say there are a number of things you can do to ease the stress of unemployment:
Tell your family about the job loss, and reassure children that it will be OK. Don't try to keep the job loss a secret, advises Dr. Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist at the University of California, Los Angeles, Neuropsychiatric Institute.
File for unemployment benefits right away, and find out about continuing your health benefits.
Take a few days of "me" time and pamper yourself to get into a better mindset.
Turn your work day into a day of looking for work.
Take some time for reflection, and use this opportunity to figure out what type of work might really make you happy, says Dr. Jeff Brantley, director of the mindfulness-based stress reduction program at Duke Integrative Medicine in North Carolina.
Don't isolate yourself. Continue to socialize. Look for volunteer opportunities, recommends Michael McKee, a psychologist at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Exercise regularly and eat well to keep yourself healthy and to help stave off depression.
If you find that you just can't shake that anxious feeling, McKee says to practice some sort of relaxation, such as prayer, meditation or yoga. Try to change your thinking by writing down three positive affirmations every day. He said this helps you realize what your best qualities are, and helps to re-channel your thoughts in a more positive way.
If you find that you just can't look for a job anymore, or if people are telling you that you're irritable or angry all the time, or if you're withdrawing from people and activities you once enjoyed, or you're turning to alcohol or other substances to feel better, seek professional help.

The vital role of Zinc

Zinc works primarily through the role of enzymes.The activity of the antioxidant enzyme super oxide dismutase, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory, is dependent on zinc. Sexual development, the health of our reproductive systems, fertility, night vision, and the beautification of our skin also relies on having proper amounts of zinc.

Zinc is a key member of a group of enzymes that help the body maintain its collagen supply. This is essential for skin complexion. In order for enzymes to digest damaged collagen and rebuild new collagen, zinc must be present. In this same manner, it also helps heal burns. Zinc is also helpful in reducing outward signs of aging, the prevention of wrinkles and stretch marks, and even the repair of DNA due to exposure to x-rays and radiation.

Zinc is much more readily absorbed after you have detoxified heavy metals from your system with the regular use of MSM (methyl-sulfonyl methane), chlorella, cliantro, and zeolite compounds.

The best sources of zinc, all of which must be eaten raw, include seaweeds, cacao, ants, poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, cashews, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, coconuts, or in angstrom-sized zinc supplements.

Thanks to David Wolfe

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