Stumbling Toward Enlightenment

posted by Michelle Schoffro Cook, Care2
‘Tis the season for sunshine, barbecues, and mosquitoes.

Before you grab that DEET-based mosquito repellent in an effort to keep the mosquitoes at bay, consider that research at Duke University links diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) use to brain damage —no wonder the mosquitoes leave at the first scent of it. Perhaps we’d be wise to follow their lead and stay clear of the stuff. Check out my article tomorrow on the dangers of DEET mosquitorepellents.

Here are six natural options that mosquitoes hate and you’ll soon love. You don’t have to worry about DEET-induced brain cell damage or scratching yourself to death. And, if you still think that natural means less effective, keep reading. Some of these mosquito repellents are MORE EFFECTIVE THAN DEET!

1. Citronella
   The old standby. Be sure you’re using pure essential oil, not fragrance oil, which is ineffective and potentially dangerous. Most mosquito repellent products “containing citronella” are made with fragrance oil and should be avoided. If you’re applying citronella to your skin, dilute it in a carrier oil or natural moisturizer. A few drops per tablespoon of oil or cream is all that is needed.

   Disclaimer: Care2.com does not warrant and shall have no liability for information provided in this newsletter or on Care2.com. Each individual person, fabric, or material may react differently to a particular suggested use. It is recommended that before you begin to use any formula, you read the directions carefully and test it first. Should you have any health care-related questions or concerns, please call or see your physician or other health care provider.

2. Catnip
   Research at Iowa State University found that catnip essential oil 10 is times more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes. Mosquitoes will hate you and cats will love you. Like citronella be sure to use it diluted in a carrier oil or natural moisturizer.
3. Lavender essential oil
   Smells great and is a commonly used and effective mosquito repellent.
4. Soy oil
   Better yet, choose organic soy oil as the carrier oil for catnip, lavender, and citronella essential oils. According to research published in The New England Journal of Medicine soybean oil-based mosquito repellents are as effective as DEET-containing repellents.
5. NEEM seed oil
   “Neem oil” is extracted from a plant that grows in India. An ingredient in Neem seed oil has also been found to be more effective than DEET by researchers at the Malaria Institute in India. Both the US National Research Council and the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association have confirmed this finding.
6. Garlic
   Eat lots of fresh garlic—mosquitoes will steer clear of you since they hate the stuff. As an added bonus, so will vampires.

Michelle Schoffro Cook, MSc, RNCP, ROHP, DNM, PhD is an international best-selling and eleven-time book author and doctor of traditional natural medicine, whose works include: The Vitality Diet, Allergy-Proof, Arthritis-Proof, Total Body Detox, The Life Force Diet, The Ultimate pH Solution, The 4-Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan, and The Phytozyme Cure. Check out her natural health resources and free e-newsletter at www.WorldsHealthiestDiet.com.

posted by Terri Hall, Care2

Weary, sore eyes after a couple of hours, not to mention a workday on the computer, are a common reality for many. Add to that the leisure hours spent online, engaging social media, or looking at a smart phone screen, and it’s no mystery why this is a growing condition, according to the American Optometric Association. This condition even has a medical name: Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). In addition to eye strain, people who suffer from CVS often also suffer from headaches, dry and irritated eyes, and fatigue.

With so many professions being computer dependent, it’s nearly impossible for most folks to decrease the time they spend staring at a screen. So, what can you do to protect your vision?

1. Proper lighting: Whether reading a book or an illuminated digital screen, a desk lamp aimed at your workspace helps minimize eye strain.
2. Proper positioning: Setting your computer in a position so that you are looking downward several inches tends to be the most comfortable for the eyes. Also, try to minimize the amount of glare and reflections from lights or windows picked up by your screen.
3. Blink: It’s easy to get so caught up in what’s on our monitors that we stare excessively and forget to blink normally. Yet, the tears that wash over our eyes when blinking help prevent irritation and drying. So, try to be aware of whether or not you’re blinking and blink frequently.
4. Take regular breaks: If possible take a break from the screen every 20-30 minutes, looking at something more distant for half a minute or so. This shift in focus engages other eye muscles and gives the ones focusing on your monitor some time to relax.
5. Eye exercises: There are a number of exercises you can do to strengthen your eye muscles, including making figure eights with your eyes while keeping your head straight. Another exercise that requires you to alternate the focus of your eyes (thus engaging different muscles) is a little trickier: Point your index fingers toward each other, about an inch apart. Hold them about eight inches away from your eyes at eye level. Look over your fingers at a distant object while still visually being aware of your fingers. If you’re doing it right, you will see a little “hot dog” floating between your two fingers (can take a few tries to get it.) Refocus your eyes on your fingers. Repeat several times.

What is Homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a system of natural medicine developed by Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician in the early 1800s. He discovered that the same substance that could cause a reaction in a healthy person could also be a remedy for someone suffering from similar symptoms.

That is the basic premise of homeopathy: “like cures like.” It may seem hard to believe, yet the approach to vaccination used in Western medicine is a similar one, albeit one that is fraught with potential side effects, unlike homeopathy which is completely safe. Homeopathy is a natural, holistic, approach to healing a person, using minute doses of specific remedies, rather than simply eliminating a particular symptom using a Band-Aid approach. Unlike many health models, the model for homeopathy is one of individualization. No two people are alike, so just because two people suffer from headaches, the homeopathic remedies provided for them may be completely different.

Next: The Benefits of Homeopathic Medicine
There are many benefits of homeopathic medicine, including:

A colleague of mine, Adjoa Stack, has been running a homeopathic project to combat malaria, which is chronic in some parts of the world, for a few years now.

The Senya/Tamale Homeopathy Project began during the summer of 2006. Adjoa Margaret Stack traveled to Ghana, in West Africa, to help combat the effects of malaria through homeopathic care. Over five years, with the generous support of an extended network of family, friends, colleagues and many others, she has continued to operate two small clinics in the coastal town of Senya and the northern capital Tamale. Last year, Adjoa delivered two presentations on the project’s findings and future at the first International Conference on Homeopathy for Developing Countries.

By Veronica Peterson, Editor, Healthy & Green Living

What would Valentine’s Day be without an opportunity to mention the three-letter word that gets everyone so riled up? Yes, you guessed it–I’m talking about at a little S-E-X. So, let’s chat, shall we? Beyond being just one-heck-of-good-time, medical studies report that an active sex life contributes to a longer and more fulfilling life. So come on, everybody’s doing it (or at least the lucky ones), and here are five reasons for you to join in:

1. Sex boosts your immune system. “Honey, I have a headache,” may now be the best reason to have sex! A startling number of physicians are now recognizing how sexual and emotional health affect our entire well being. In other words, how our brain directly impacts our immune system. “We know that people who enjoy a regular, satisfying sex life (i.e. regular orgasms) are less stressed, less depressed and generally more well physically, mentally and emotionally,” says Wendy Strgar, loveologist and CEO of Good Clean Love. In a recent article, Dr. Paul Pearsall, director of Behavioral Medicine at Detroit’s Beaumont Hospital, concludes that many of his patients had experienced sexual dissatisfaction prior to a heart attack. He also claims that sexual contentment leads to less severe headaches and reduced discomfort from arthritis in both genders.

2. Sex burns calories. Oh yeah, forget those fad diets and get busy gettin’ busy. A mere 30-minutes of sex burns 90 calories and while that may not sound impressive, at an average of three times a week, you’re burning 5 pounds in a year! Or, according to Forbes magazine, having sex just twice a week for a year will burn off the equivalent of seven huge spaghetti dinners. Seconds, anyone?

3. Sex relieves pain. Orgasm is one serious narcotic! Oxytocin, a naturally occurring chemical in the body surges during and after climax while working in conjunction with a few other endorphins to make sure you feel no pain. In his book, How to Treat Arthritis, rheumatologist Carter V. Multz asserts that sex can reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation associated with arthritis, headaches and menstrual cramps.

4. Sex decreases aging. “Use it or lose it” has never been more applicable. Regular sex releases a plethora of “happy” chemicals into your bloodstream, including testosterone. As we age, our testosterone levels decrease. Sex is a wonderful way to build your reserves back up, helping build new bones and muscles while putting a youthful glow on your face. According to a study by Dr. David Weeks, a clinical neuropsychologist at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Scotland and co-author of Superyoung, men and women who reported having sex an average of four times per week looked approximately 10 years younger than they really were.

5. Sex is great for depression. “The release from orgasm does much to calm people. It helps with sleep, and that is whether we talk about solo sex or sex with a partner,” says Jennifer Bass, the head of information services at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction in Bloomington, Ind., in a recent MSNBC article. Researchers believe that sex helps the brain produce serotonin which, in turn, prompts new neurons to grow. Most chemical, antidepressant medications, like Zoloft, work to increase serotonin levels. These drugs take three to four weeks to begin working–about the same amount of time required for new neurons to form. One reason these drugs could be an effective treatment is because they increase cell growth–just as sex does.