Vol. 28 No.3
spring print edition 2012
The inspiration you seek is already within you. Be silent and listen. Rumi
Cancer Support Association
wellness, support & healing for all West Australians with cancer
Cancer Support Line (08) 9384 3544 www.cancersupportwa.org.au
wellness news
Wellness News is published by Cancer Support Association and distributed free to members. Wellness News is dedicated entirely to publishing informative, inspiring and helpful articles related to wellness and healing. The magazine is for people with cancer and other serious health issues; for people who want to maintain their good health naturally; and for integrative and natural health professionals who are looking for a deeper understanding of wellness.
CSA have quietly created a wellness revolution in Perth. For 28 years CSA has inspired and helped empower thousands of West Australians to discover their innate inner healing potential to regain their health, reconnect with their joy and heal on every level of being...through meditation, yoga, reiki, wellness programs, education, community. We are here to help you on your journey to wellness.
editorial & production... Editor & Designer Mandy BeckerKnox mandy@cancersupportassociation.org.au Marketing & Promotion Ester Gomez ester@cancersupportassociation.org.au Printing Artproof Print
Dear members and friends,
Distribution To our dedicated volunteers – thankyou, your efforts are appreciated!
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contact...
e info@cancersupportassociation.org.au ph (08) 9384 3544 f 9384 6196 a 80 Railway St Cottesloe WA, p PO Box 325 Cottesloe WA 6911
online at...
www.cancersupportwa.org.au
Follow CSA on Facebook: Cancer Support Association
The contents of this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the CSA and should be not be construed as medical advice. CSA encourages readers to be discerning with information presented and make treatment, dietary and lifestyle choices in consultation with a team of health-care professionals. © Copyright of all articles and images remains with individual contributors.
month is CSA’s Annual General Meeting which presents us with an opportunity to report to our members on our work over the past year and share our strategy and vision for the year ahead. It is my sincere hope that many of our members will attend to support the work of our Board and our wellness team who will be in attendance. Since last year’s AGM, the new Board and management team have revitalised CSA through the introduction of new staff, services, programs and community events, and invested considerable effort in new raffle and fundraising activities and procedures and grant applications to build our income base. This has seen an increase in funding which in turn has seen an increase in our capacity to extend our services to Armadale. These are certainly exciting times for CSA. Planning for the new Cancer Wellness Centre is well underway with siteworks having started. The coming together of small cancer charities on one site will mean a more integrated and meaningful network of support services for individuals and families with cancer, and a more vibrant CSA for our existing members. In 2013, CSA will launch its inaugural “fundraising event” – a photographic exhibition and gala evening featuring the portraits and stories of 100 West Australians touched by cancer. We are seeking expressions of interest from our members to participate in this project. Full details are on page 32. While change can be a challenge, the changes taking place at CSA are positive and exciting. CSA now has a completely committed and dedicated team of staff, executive management and volunteers working diligently for our members and all West Australians with cancer. We hope to see you at the AGM on the 19th October! F Mandy BeckerKnox CSA General Manager
INTRODUCTION
about Wellness News Welcome to the Spring 2012 Print Edition of Wellness News. This season’s magazine is inspired by the healing power of nature and includes some great content to help you achieve optimum wellness and healing. Wellness News is unique in that it is an extremely positive, uplifting, intelligent and beautiful publication focusing on wellness, healing and the environment. Wellness News is designed to offer hope, life-enhancing wellness strategies for people who may be seriously ill and a broad spectrum of information for people interested in maintaining good health. Wellness News articles are commissioned or sourced from highly regarded international journals, publications and websites and are divided into seven key areas for complete cancer wellness and healing: mind-body healing; integrative therapies; nutrition and recipes; inspiring personal stories; lifestyle and environment; current news & information; inspirations. Topics covered are spirituality, healing modalities, complementary therapies, integrative medicine – balanced with inspirational stories, recipes and the latest nutrition and wellness trends, and also information on how the environment can impact on health and wellbeing. We place great value on personal cancer stories for their insight into how people manage in challenging circumstances. Also important to our balance of content is poetry and art for the healing potential of words and images. Visually, our magazine is designed to inspire the healing spirit. Please enjoy this edition!
CSA’s Annual General Meeting Join the CSA Executive Committee and Wellness Team at this year’s AGM which will be held at CSA on Thursday 18th October at 5.30pm. Come along to meet the team, hear about progress over the past year and help us shape CSA’s future direction and strategy. As a member-based organisation we value the opinions and feedback of our members and welcome you to attend and be part of our community.
The historic Wanslea “Cancer Wellness Centre”, Cottesloe Western Australia
about CSA CSA is the only cancer wellness organisation in WA which supports people through every stage of every type of cancer. Since 1984 Cancer Support Association has helped and supported thousands of West Australians with cancer to achieve wellness and healing. CSA is a pioneer of the “wellness approach” to cancer which integrates lifestyle therapies such as nutrition, exercise and meditation with treatment. CSA’s mission is to help people with cancer, their carers and families become informed, empowered and supported through an integrative approach which includes therapeutic, lifestyle and ancillary services and an educational program. This year CSA has extended its program to Armadale to help more people in WA achieve wellness and healing.
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contents spring 2012 news & information The Moss Reports at CSA’s Wellness Library Dr Ralph Moss is a highly regarded medical science writer and creator of cancerdecisions. com and the producer and distributor of the MOSS REPORTS. For over 30 years Ralph Moss has provided up to date information on cancer treatments, drawing upon the latest science gleaned from peer review journals, conferences, colleagues and patients alike. The Moss Reports offer a comprehensive review and explanation of your cancer diagnosis, conveniently referenced in separate volumes. The reports are an analysis of standard medical treatments, as well as an extensive review of information on verifiable complementary and alternate medicines in use. The combination of this vast information resource, brought together in a highly readable format, enables the reader to partake in a comprehensive discussion on the most successful approaches to cancer treatments. We are fortunate to have a licensing agreement with cancerdecisions.com that enables CSA to have both hardcopies and PDF copies in our close reserve section of the library. You may browse the volume dedicated to your cancer diagnosis, and then scan the relevant information to print if you so wish. If you require any assistance with the Moss Reports please speak to CSA reception or to Mike Sowerby.
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A great resource and worth a browse. Happy hunting. Cancer Support Association
www.cancersupportwa.org.au
What’s on at CSA in 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 CSA Weekly Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 About CSA’s 5 Week Courses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Cancer survival rates force treatment rethink . . . .10 Chemotherapy can boost cancer, says study. . .. 10 Public Health Warnings about Skin Cancer lead to vitamin D deficiencies. . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Turmeric Naturally Blocks Cancer Growth. . . . . . . . 11 Breast cancer risk linked to breast density. . . . . . . . 12 How fast does cancer grow? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
mind-body healing Gratitude & Humility: the healing work of the Cancer Support Association. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 14 Uplift Your Thinking with 5 Reiki Principles . . . . . . .19 From Broken to Beautiful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Transformational Nourishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
personal stories Putting a Positive Spin on Cancer by Suleika Jaouad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 CSA’s You Are Beautiful ambassador Lisa Taylor shares her story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Is it OK to be Afraid? by Mike Sowerby. . .. . .. . .. 34
surrender
“Surrender is faith that the power of Love can accomplish anything even when you cannot forsee the outcome.” – Deepak Chopra
CONTENTS
nutrition & food What to eat when you have cancer . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .38 Nature’s Healing Harvest. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 40 Your Daily Juice . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .41 Sprouts for Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Superfood = Super health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 The raw food pyramid. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 44 The healing benefits of Raw Cacao . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
inspirations Surrender to love. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 5 The green in every tree is you. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 21 Oh soul, you worry too much. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 30 Self-compassion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Consider your own life...how many times a day does some situation pop up that leads to moments of frustration and
lifestyle & environment Basic Tenets of Optimal Health. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .18 The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Cancer: how a Preventable Disease Is Creating a Revolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
recipes Bliss balls raw food treats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 CSA Wellness Team juices and smoothies. . . . . . . . 50 Make your own nut milk . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 52
anxiety? Surrendering your head to your heart in those moments will lead you to balance and fulfilment. As you listen to your spirit, peace follows. So follow your spirit. Build your foundation in your heart. Love must be your innermost and spontaneous response towards every person you encounter. Say to yourself inside, “I just love.” Use these words as a key to start the engine running in your heart and watch life brighten with new love and understanding. Surrender to your new awareness and let love unfold the purpose of creation to you. - Sara Paddison Spring 2012
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what’s on at CSA
be part of the csa community by joining the groups, courses and wellness activities at our wellness & healing centre
Meeting the Challenge
1 Day Cancer Wellness Seminar Life Changing Information for people with cancer and their carers. Led by Cathy Brown, this seminar provides wellness information, wellness strategies, new resources (such as nutrition, treatment options, meditation) and sharing with others on a healing journey. There is also a focus on accessing cancer information online. Held monthly at CSA on the first Friday of every month from 9.30am-4.30pm. Free for new CSA members, bookings are required.
cancer support groups
with Angela Ebert & Mike Sowerby Support groups enable people to discover new ways of coping; share the experience with others going through something similar; exchange information and resources; develop a holistic approach to healing; be inspired by others on the journey to regaining wellness. CSA offers an open cancer support group for people with cancer and their carers on Tuesday mornings 10am-12pm. This weekly group is facilitated by Angela Ebert and Mike Sowerby. We also offer a weekly Carers’ Support Group (when required) and a monthly Grief and Loss Support Group.
5 week cancer wellness courses (details on following page)
If you have cancer or any other chronic illness there are things you can do in your everyday life to help you restore health, find peace and be happy. CSA offers courses for people with illnesses which cover the key areas of Lifestyle Medicine. Enrol online for: (1) Cancer Wellness, (2) Eating for Cancer Recovery, (3) Absolute Beginners Yoga for Healing, (4) Introduction to Meditation. CSA’s 5 Week Courses are designed to be of maximum benefit to people with cancer. Courses start regularly throughout the year.
reflexology
with Udo Kannapin Reflexology is the application of pressure, stretching and movement to the feet and hands to trigger corresponding parts of the body. It complements standard medical care by relaxing the body and reducing stress. 1 hour sessions are deeply relaxing and healing.
sound healing
with Julian and Silke Once a month, Julian Silburn and Silke take participants on an exquisite, transformative sound journey. Experience the deep relaxation of healing instruments including the didgeridoo, crystal bowls, bells and more. Followed by afternoon tea featuring homemade Chai tea and Delicious bliss balls.
counselling
Individual, Family & Group
Ongoing counselling sessions with a caring, compassionate professional could help you deal more effectively with the many issues, fears and emotions which arise on the cancer journey; gain clarity to make treatment decisions; give you the insight to grow from your experiences; and the peace of mind and heart needed to heal. Sessions can be booked with our qualified counsellor Mike Sowerby, and are also available at home or hospital for those unable to make it in to our Cottesloe centre.
reiki clinic
every Tuesday CSA offers a weekly reiki clinic staffed by qualified volunteers. Gold coin donation. Reiki is a Japanese energybased therapy that promotes healing and overall wellness. A trained reiki practitioner uses his or her hands to transmit energy to the recipient. Reiki has been proven to help with pain management, relaxation, and side effects of cancer treatment.
qi gong
with Alan Donelly Qigong is a traditional Chinese mind-body practice that uses meditation, breathing control, and movement to balance the flow of energy (qi) through the body to help healing to occur. CSA offers qigong to complement cancer therapies and help with the symptoms of cancer. In this setting, qigong is not used as a treatment for cancer per se, but as a method of easing cancer symptoms such as fatigue.
meditation made easy with Bavali Hill
Meditation is a safe and simple way to balance a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states. Meditation for healing is not new. Meditative techniques are the product of diverse cultures and peoples around the world. The value of Meditation to alleviate suffering and promote healing has been known and practiced for thousands of years. In these weekly lessons at CSA, Bavali guides participants through various healing meditation techniques and gives notes and handouts to support home practice.
CSA weekly program
please check our website before attending as session times may change.
Monday
Meditation Made Easy: Ongoing Lessons ................................9.30 – 11.00am
TUESDAY
Cancer Wellness Walking Group....................................................8.00 – 9.00am Meet at Blue Duck Cafe, North Cottesloe. Open Cancer Support Group.....................................................10.00 – 12.00pm
gentle healing yoga with Madeline Clare
Yoga for Healing classes bring the joy of yoga to people with cancer and those who may need a nurturing space to practice. CSA yoga teacher, Madeline Clare, takes inspiration from both Iyengar and Vinyasa approaches to yoga with an emphasis on relaxation, breath awareness, gentle movement and meditation. A balanced yoga practice has the capacity to heal, shift energy blockages and bring the body into physical, emotional, mental and spiritual alignment.
arts for healing with Glenys Gibbs
Art therapy sessions which include creative arts and guided meditation to unlock the healing potential of your creativity. The sessions are gentle, nonconfrontational and can lead you to greater self awareness and self-acceptance.
Reiki Healing Sessions..................................................................... 12.15 – 1.30pm Counselling Sessions (by appointment) .....................................1.00 – 4.00pm 5 Week Cancer Wellness Course (bookings required)............1.30 – 3.30pm Dates: 6th November Sound Healing (monthly: check website for dates).....................4.00-5.30pm
TUESDAY EVENING
5 Week Absolute Beginners Yoga Course...............check website for times Dates: 16 October, 20 November 5 Week Introduction to Meditation...........................check website for times Dates: 16 October, 20 November Guest Speaker Program.....................................................................6.00 – 8.00pm 1st Tuesday of each month (see website for guest speakers)
WEDNESDAY
Chinese Medical Healthcare Qigong....................................1.00pm – 2.30pm Counselling Sessions (by appointment)......................................9.00 – 4.00pm
THURSDAY
Arts for Healing (Art Therapy) with Glenys Gibbs ..............10.00 – 12.00 pm ($15/members $25/non-members) Bookings required. Yoga for Healing (Gentle yoga and relaxation).....................11.00 – 12.15pm Grief Support Group (last Thursday of each month)........1.00pm – 3.00pm
cancer wellness walking group North Cottesloe Beach
Join CSA staff and volunteers in a weekly wellness walking group along North Cottesloe beach beginning and ending at the Blue Duck Cafe, North Cottesloe. Come along to gain informal support, make new connections and enjoy the fresh sea air and exercise. 8am-9am Tuesday mornings.
5 Week Eating for Cancer Recovery Course.................................1.30-3.30pm Dates: 18 October, 22 November Counselling Sessions (by appointment) .....................................9.00 – 4.00pm
FRIDAY
1 Day Cancer Wellness Workshop with Cathy Brown.............9.30 – 4.30pm 1st Friday of each month. Free for new members. Reflexology Sessions (by appointment).............................10.00am – 2.00pm
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guest speaker program
with inspirational speakers & healers Once a month, CSA host special guests to entertain, educate and inspire members and friends. Our guest speakers are often visiting Perth for conferences and events and donate their time and services to CSA. Please make sure you are on our email list to ensure you receive information about upcoming guest speakers. Sign up at www.cancersupportwa.org.au. In 2012 we have had some amazing speakers including:
1 Day Cancer Wellness Workshop
Dr Ian Gawler, Author, Founder Gawler Foundation
First Friday of every month 9.30am-4.30pm at CSA, Cottesloe. 4 times a year at Armadale. Essential life-saving information for people with cancer which the doctors don’t tell you: • how to deal with a cancer diagnosis and transform fear • lifestyle, exercise and dietary changes to help improve your outcome & prevent recurrence
Maya Tiwari (Mother Maya), Author, Founder Wise Earth Ayurveda, USA
• how to meditate and relax • food & nutrition which may help you recover • introduction to complementary therapies The workshop is presented by Cathy Brown, CSA's wellness facilitator and herself a longterm survivor of secondary melanoma. Cathy knows what it takes to beat cancer! The workshop includes a guided meditation session and a talk with a Nutritional Naturopath who will present a session on complementary therapies and answer your questions about what may be of benefit to you. While this workshop is primarily for people with cancer and their partners/carers it is equally beneficial to people who may have another chronic disease (such as MS, diabetes or heart disease) as the same wellness principles apply. It is also of benefit to anyone at risk of these diseases who would like to remain well for longer.
NEW CSA members can attend free!
To book ph CSA 8384 3544 or online: www.cancersupportwa.org.au 8 Cancer Support Association www.cancersupportwa.org.au
Dr Price, German New Medicine
Helen Frost Nutrition Eductor
Dr Niu, Fuda Cancer Hospital, China
5 Week Wellness Courses
If you have cancer or another chronic illness there are things you can do in your everyday life to help you restore health, find peace and be happy. CSA offers regular short courses suitable for people facing health challenges which cover the key areas of Lifestyle Medicine.
Journey to Wellness Tuesdays 1.30pm-3.30pm, $100 CSA members, $150 public This course introduces participants to the key areas of the wellness approach to cancer including: how to cope with cancer; lifestyle medicine; diet and nutrition; developing personal and practical resources; meditation and exercise; integrating natural medicine and complementary therapies. Informative, practical sessions and demonstrations with notes and home practices. *All other CSA activities are FREE
Eating for Cancer Recovery Thursdays 1.30pm-3.30pm, $150 members, $200 public An introduction to eating for cancer recovery. Course includes information on healing foods which prevent cancer and assist recovery, and practical sessions on how to prepare them. Sessions include: juicing, sprouting, raw food preparation, organic gardening. Includes juices, sprouts and great food!
Introduction to Meditation Tuesday evenings, $50 members, $60 public A structured course where participants learn and are guided in simple meditation techniques to help concentrate better, meditate deeply, replenish energy levels, relax deeply, counter stress, cultivate inner peace and promote self-healing.
Absolute Beginners Healing Yoga Tuesday evenings, $50 CSA members, $60 public Our gentle yoga course is designed for absolute beginners and people with cancer or other medical conditions. There is an emphasis on safely stretching, strengthening and relaxing; gaining a thorough understanding of yoga; and accessing the self-healing and relaxation potential of this healing art.
CSA’s courses are held regularly in Cottesloe and also in Armadale. Check the website for starting dates and locations. Bookings essential. Spring 2012
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In the News...
Cancer survival rates force treatment rethink
Cancer-busting chemotherapy can cause damage to healthy cells that triggers them to secrete a protein that sustains tumour growth and resistance to further treatment, a study says.
More than 300 people are diagnosed with some form of cancer in Australia each day. Cancer is the single largest cause of death in Australia, but early detection and advances in treatment mean death rates are falling.
Researchers in the United States made the “completely unexpected” finding while seeking to explain why cancer cells are so resilient inside the human body when they are easy to kill in the lab.
Almost two-thirds of those with the disease will live for at least five years after diagnosis, so a growing number of Australians are having to learn to live with cancer.
They tested the effects of a type of chemotherapy on tissue collected from men with prostate cancer, and found “evidence of DNA damage” in healthy cells after treatment, the scientists wrote in Nature Medicine.
As cancer survivorship grows, patients are by necessity having more treatment over a longer period of time, and are less tolerant of outdated systems of treatment that are based around stand-alone specialists. Bogda Koczwara, an oncologist, says specialists need to rethink how cancer is treated. “Cancer care needs to be integrated and consolidated in one location, so that we will not deliver one good care just by one provider in one area and then send the person down the corridor to the next treatment. We really want to do much better than that,” she said. “Even though we will celebrate completion of treatment, the process of finishing your treatment and leaving a very intensive period of therapy and monitoring and scans ... that can be quite frightening and quite stressful. “Suddenly you are left to your own devices.” Dr Koczwara has been practising for 20 years, and says the accepted mantra in the beginning was: “Kill the cancer at any cost”. Now advances, particularly in medicine, mean more than 60 per cent of her patients live past the five-year mark. With that development comes a greater emphasis on long-term management. “There might be fatigue, there might be some bone loss as a result of cancer treatment and we need to recognise that we might eradicate the cancer,” she said. “But the patient might be left with osteoporosis, for example. So we as oncologists need to learn how to manage osteoporosis and recognise that that’s a risk and factor.” F From: www.abc.net.au/news
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Chemotherapy can boost cancer, says study
Cancer Support Association
Chemotherapy works by inhibiting reproduction of fast-dividing cells such as those found in tumours. The scientists found that healthy cells damaged by chemotherapy secreted more of a protein called WNT16B, which boosts cancer cell survival. “The increase in WNT16B was completely unexpected,” study co-author Peter Nelson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle said. The protein was taken up by tumour cells neighbouring the damaged cells. “WNT16B, when secreted, would interact with nearby tumour cells and cause them to grow, invade, and importantly, resist subsequent therapy,” said Nelson. In cancer treatment, tumours often respond well initially, followed by rapid regrowth and then resistance to further chemotherapy. Rates of tumour cell reproduction have been shown to accelerate between treatments. “Our results indicate that damage responses in benign cells... may directly contribute to enhanced tumour growth kinetics,” wrote the team. The researchers said they confirmed their findings with breast and ovarian cancer tumours. The result paves the way for research into new, improved treatment, said Nelson. “For example, an antibody to WNT16B, given with chemotherapy, may improve responses (kill more tumour cells),” he said. “Alternatively, it may be possible to use smaller, less-toxic doses of therapy.” F From The West Australian, 6th August 2012: au.news.yahoo.com/thewest
www.cancersupportwa.org.au
CURRENT CANCER NEWS
Public Health Warnings about Skin Cancer lead to vitamin D deficiencies Public health warnings about the skin cancer risks associated with sun exposure have led people to avoid sunlight to such an extent that vitamin D deficiencies have now become widespread, according to a study conducted by researchers from King’s College London. The body produces vitamin D upon exposure to the ultraviolet radiation from sunlight. It takes only 15 minutes of sun on the face and hands each day for a fair-skinned person to produce enough vitamin D for their body, although it takes longer for darkerskinned people and those living far from the equator, particularly in the winter. Nevertheless, vitamin D deficiency appears widespread. One recent study from University College London estimated that 12 percent of men and 20 percent of women are clinically deficient in the vitamin, while 57 percent of men and nearly 67 percent of women have insufficient levels. Vitamin D plays a critical role in bone development and health, and is now also believed to help protect against high blood pressure, cancer, autoimmune diseases and asthma. “There has been so much effort put into telling people about the damaging effects of ultraviolet light from sunshine, many now take extreme measures to ensure they don’t get exposure by wearing moisturizers with factor 15 all year round,” said lead researcher Veronique Bataille, calling for new guidelines on sun exposure. “We don’t want to say that sunbathing is healthy as there is clearly a risk, but people do need a bit of sunshine to stay healthy.” Bataille and colleagues measured blood vitamin D levels of 1,414 white women in the United Kingdom and collected information on their skin type, use of tanning beds, and history of foreign holidays and sunburns. They found that contrary to expectation, the women with the lightest skin actually had the lowest levels of vitamin D. The researchers concluded that this was likely due to lighter-skinned women avoiding the sun over fear of skin cancer. F By David Gutierrez. www.naturalnews.com
Turmeric, Curcumin Naturally Block Cancer Growth Turmeric and curcumin have been highlighted as powerful anticancer substances in the past, but research has now shed even more light on the amazing ability of both turmeric and curcumin to actually block cancer growth. This is due to the unique ability of a main component in turmeric that is actually able to block an enzyme that promotes the spread of head and neck cancer. Researchers at UCLA found that curcumin – the primary component in turmeric also responsible for its colour – exhibited these cancerblocking properties during a study involving 21 participants suffering from head and neck cancers. The subjects were given two chewable curcumin tablets containing 1,000 milligrams of the substance each. After administering the chewable curcumin tablets, an independent lab in Maryland was in charge of evaluating the results. What the lab found was that the enzymes in the patients’ mouths responsible for promoting cancer spread and growth were inhibited by the curcumin supplementation. As a result, the curcumin intake halted the spread of the malignant cells. Curcumin has previously been found to reduce tumours by 81% in similarly shocking research, which also gives credence to the natural anti-cancer benefits of turmeric and curcumin intake. While the benefits of turmeric have not been widely publicized in western countries, turmeric is known for its widespread use in many South Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Utilised as a spice in traditional dishes, many cultures have already fully recognised the powerful health-promoting aspects of turmeric. As more health professionals begin to realise the attributes of turmeric and curcumin, it is very possible that it could become as popular and widespread – if not more so– than super-nutrient vitamin D. F naturalsociety.com
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Breast cancer risk linked to breast density Among breast cancer patients who have an early, noninvasive form of the disease – called ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS – those whose breast tissue is the densest have the highest risk of facing a recurrence of their disease, a new study shows. Women who’d previously had DCIS in one breast had three times the risk of developing cancer in the opposite breast, if their breast tissue had the greatest density among women in the study, compared with women in the study whose breast tissue was the least dense. Women with densest breast tissue also had about one-and-ahalf times the risk of developing cancer in the same breast, and two times the risk of developing invasive cancer in either breast, than women with the least dense breast tissue. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in California based their findings on a group of 935 women whose previous DCIS had been treated with breast-conserving surgery (not a mastectomy) between 1991 and 1997. The density of breast tissue was assessed from mammograms. The results were in line with those of a 2007 study, which found similar increases in risk levels among women with DCIS whose breast tissue had the greatest density, according to the researchers. “This study found real-world data, which is helpful,” in showing there’s a strong risk associated with denser breast tissue, said Dr. Jeffrey Tice, professor of medicine and breast cancer researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved with the study. The study supports prior findings, he said, and looked at more precise measurements of breast density than previous work.
The findings are important, he said, because women diagnosed with DCIS have several options for their treatment. “Some women want aggressive treatments,” and opt for a mastectomy, he said, while others choose breast-conserving surgery. But most cases of DCIS will never become invasive, and if scientists could better predict which patients were a higher risk of later developing invasive cancers, they could help patients make better-informed decisions about their treatment, Tice said. Increasingly, studies are finding higher breast density to be a risk factor for developing many types and stages of the disease, he said, and scientists are trying to figure out why. Something about denser breast tissue reflects a higher potential for cancer to develop, but exactly what that is remains unknown, he said. A woman’s risk for breast cancer is most strongly associated with her age; the older she is, the more likely she is to develop the disease. But aside from age, the factor that has the greatest effect on risk is breast density. A woman’s breast density is about 60 percent to 70 percent determined by genetics, he said, citing a previous study by Canadian researchers. Researchers are also looking for ways to improve the precision of measurements of breast density, Tice said. Mammograms, which create a two-dimensional image of the breast, are currently used to make density measurements, but scientists are investigating new techniques involving magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and three-dimensional imaging techniques. F
From NBC News: www.msnbc.msn.com
Open Cancer Wellness Support Groups You are not alone on your journey with cancer. CSA is here to support all West Australians with cancer...you are welcome to attend our weekly support groups for people with cancer, their families and carers. Just come along, bookings not required.
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Open Cancer Support Group: Tuesday 10am-12pm. Separate Carers’ Support Group: Tuesday 10am-12pm Grief & Loss Group: last Thursday of each month 1pm-3pm Cancer Support Association
www.cancersupportwa.org.au
CURRENT CANCER NEWS
What Does "Breast Density" Mean to You? Until November 2011, I thought breast cancer was the thing that happened to other women in other families – women who did not show up for their mammograms, women without a family history. Such naïveté...Cancer always happens to women just like me. I had fallen for the myth that women with breast cancer are those with a family history of the disease. Lulled into a false sense of security by early detection and awareness campaigns, many of us have dismissed it as even a distant possibility. In the end – or at the beginning – I found the lump, one Sunday afternoon, after a shower. It was an ultrasound – not any of my 3 mammograms – that detected the tumours, and so launched my family and me into cancer territory and a chain of events that have left us forever changed. What I knew then...I had no family history of cancer. The shock of my diagnosis was numbed initially by a flurry of form-filling, necessitating a foray into the family medical history. This made for lengthy longdistance phone calls to my mother in Ireland, requiring at least one of us demonstrate both the tact of a private-investigator and the determination of a geneaologist. My mammograms were all clear – all 3 of them. Like an untold number of women, we believed that everything we needed to know about our breast health was all wrapped up in the “negative” that had been ascribed to mammograms. But I did show up to my mammograms. Faithfully. I had a baseline mammogram at 35, one at 40, another at 45. Each was unremarkable. Why wasn’t my breast cancer detected? Because each time, information about my breast density was withheld from me, thus denying me access to early detection. Each time, I had been sent on my way, blithely unaware of the sneaky cancer growing in my right breast. It is possible – and according to my doctor and the National Breast Cancer Coalition – highly probable, that the cancer may have been in my body for as many as ten years. What I know now...Knowing my breast density could have changed my destiny. Dense tissue can appear white on a mammogram just like cancer. I like to think that if I knew this, I would have asked if my tissue was dense, possibly camouflaging a cancerous tumour. As an informed patient, a participant in my own healthcare, I would have asked for additional imaging, perhaps an ultrasound that would detect what the mammogram may have missed. But I didn’t know to ask, and no one thought to tell me. Why wouldn’t someone have shared such critical information? As a tax-payer living in 21st century, I expect full disclosure about the details of my own physiology. I should expect a radiologist to tell me if I have dense tissue. Now I am paying attention. I am definitely aware. According to The National Breast Cancer Coalition, “more than 75% of women with breast cancer have no family history of the disease and less than 10% have a known gene mutation that increases risk.” It’s definitely sinking in: a risk factor doesn’t cause cancer; a risk factor only affects our chances of getting cancer. The Arizona Cancer Registry reported just last year that “one third of all breast tumour cases would be diagnosed after the cancer had spread beyond the breast.” After . So what can you do? Take some control of your destiny – learn about your breast density. F
By getting an ultrasound for women with dense breast tissue, the rate of detection of breast cancer can go up by 43%. The problem is that women are given all clear after a mammogram is performed even though a further examination by ultrasound could actually reveal the existence of a tumour that went undetected in a mammogram. According to the website Are you Dense, when there is a lesser proportion of fatty tissue in the breast, the dense connective tissue shows up white on the mammogram, which can obscure tumours and prevent them from being detected. When women undergo a mammogram, they should be offered ultrasound breast cancer screening as a matter of course, recommended by experts, since this could help prevent thousands of cases of breast cancer. Women with abnormally dense breast tissue should be routinely referred for a secondary ultrasound check, since they are thought to be more at risk of developing breast cancer. This factor of breast density is a key to predicting a woman’s cancer risk. Breast density is determined by the percentage of fatty tissue versus the glandular or connecting tissue of the breast. Higher density means higher breast cancer risk.
www.ihadcancer.com. Yvonne Watterson writes a regular blog on the website the “I Had Cancer”. To learn more about Yvonne, please see her full profile on I Had Cancer. Spring 2012
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Gratitude &
Humility
the healing work of the CSA By Mandy BeckerKnox CSA General Manager A transcript of a talk given to the Reiki Healers Assocation
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.� Melody Beattie, best selling author and journalist 14
Cancer Support Association
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MIND-BODY HEALING
There are many people who come to the Cancer Support Association for healing who
become inspired to become healers themselves. This is a natural progression of the healing journey. Once we have learnt to be well and to transform personal suffering, there is often a deep desire to ‘give back’ and contribute meaningfully to the world. At CSA we know there are two qualities required in a healer. Only two. There are many other qualities human beings can cultivate, but for healing work, the two most essential qualities to nurture and develop are those of gratitude and humility. Living in a society where there is such abundance, it is a tragedy that there are so many of us who are miserable, who are suffering. Of course, life isn’t always perfect. Life is certainly not perfect for many of our clients who are facing cancer. If it was perfect, they may not have come to CSA, because people generally come to CSA for healing, for learning, for reclaiming something which they have lost. These two qualities of gratitude and humility…why are they so important? To be a healer we need to understand the nature of suffering and we need to understand what it takes to transcend it. And then we need to step aside from the process. This is where gratitude and humility come into play. If we have suffered, if we have transcended suffering, we most likely feel gratitude that we moved through that and that we are still here. We have most likely cultivated the quality of gratitude. Suffering takes many forms – we live, we love, we lose. We might lose someone we love, we might lose an aspect of our life that we love. If we become ill then we have lost our health, and have lost that expectation that we will have a normal lifespan, that life will go on forever. When we are very ill, suddenly we are faced with our mortality. We may reflect back over the events, the people which have given our life meaning and purpose. We can become very depressed, very fearful of what lies beyond the loss. We cling to these fears, these feelings – the feelings which arise from the memories, our thoughts. All of these fears come from within our own minds. Healing is moving beyond the mind. Accepting the loss, accepting the change, but not being caught in the cycle of mind which perpetuates suffering, to somehow move beyond that. Once we have moved beyond that, we develop a humility. We come to understand that we are not about the ego or our intelligent or beautiful thoughts, we come to the conclusion that none of that means anything in the scheme of things, spiritually. We do the best we can while we are here on planet earth. And then we step aside from all of the ambition, all of the outcomes, not controlling anything, just allowing a process, creating a space…and that is humility.
Reiki is a healing tradition where practitioners create a space within themselves so the healing lifeforce can move through them and into the space they have helped create within the person who has come to them for healing. This is also the beauty of the Cancer Support Association. We have created a space, a sanctuary, where people in the midst of trauma or suffering can come for healing.
The healing process we nurture at CSA is all about creating this space. All of our courses, programs, services have a deeper meaning, they provide a platform to help create that space – the inner space within the person who has come to us for healing. When it comes to healing others, we are not actively doing anything other than this. We think we are, as we are always busy! But that is simply our egos, our minds. We are simply a conduit, a channel. This is the beauty of the healing arts, particularly Reiki, which is a healing tradition where the practitioners create a space within themselves for the healing lifeforce to move through them and into the space that they have helped create within the person who has come to them for healing. This is also the beauty of CSA. We have created a space, a sanctuary, where people in the midst, the depths of suffering are able to come for healing. The space we have created facilitates their process of creating a healing space within.
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CSA is a sanctuary for people with cancer, their carers and their community. It is also an education facility where people come to learn about wellness, about their lives, but primarily about themselves. We have all of the books, the resources, the programs, seminars, facilitators to help on the journey of self discovery. Many people who come to CSA don’t initially consider cancer having occurred in their lives for a deeper reason. Discovering what this reason may be is part of the healing journey. CSA has created the space and the resources for people to discover those aspects of themselves which may have contributed to the diagnosis of cancer and WILL contribute to their healing. All of us have the same potential for healing. Every single one of us has the capacity to heal regardless of what it is we have been though in life. As healers, as a healing organisation, it is our joband our duty to aid that process by creating a safe space for individuals to discover and tap into their own healing potential.
“Healing is moving beyond the mind. Accepting the loss, accepting the change, but not being caught in the cycle of thinking and reacting which perpetuates suffering.”
Reiki has always been a part of what we offer at CSA. This is because reiki is the healing modality which best helps to facilitate the creation of the healing space within. People may initially attend a reiki session at CSA for relaxation as they are often highly stressed, sometimes even traumatised by their cancer experience. After a few sessions something starts to happen, something starts to shift. As those shifts begin to occur, people are freer to talk about themselves and their experiences with cancer a little differently, with more clarity, wisdom and kindness. These differences occur because they are moving out of the mind space of thoughts and resultant emotions and into the deeper healing space – even if this space is only touched on momentarily it makes a difference, it awakens something within...a connection with the healing spirit. There are many opportunities for practitioners to participate in the reiki and healing programs at CSA. Moving into the future there will be many more opportunities as the Reiki Healers Association extends their program at CSA with a Tuesday evening clinic. Recently CSA has been in a contraction phase and then a rebuilding phase. We have had a change of board and management and together have revisioned who we are, what we are about, with a return to the source, to a deep connection with the collective healing spirit. There are amazing individuals who make up CSA, all healers in our own ways contributing to the mission of the organisation. We have all gone beyond individual suffering in various forms and come together to rebuild this organisation. We invite others with the same intent to help us with our mission CSA is expanding to become part of the Cancer Wellness Centre which is an integrated wellness facility bringing together cancer charities onto one site to provide a better experience for people with cancer. This centre is being developed at our current address which is owned by the National Trust. Close to 10 million dollars has been invested in the project with funding coming from Lotterywest and The Brady Cancer Support Association alongside corporate funding. This investment in a wellness and healing facility says a lot about society, about our values. As a society our values are shifting from the material, from the world of money, of capitalism, to something a little deeper. To something more fundamental. Currently one in two men and one in three women in Australia will be faced with having cancer themselves. It is fundamental to society that there is a shift towards healing, towards understanding human nature, towards understanding the environment, our impact on it, and its impact upon us. There is a shift towards moving beyond the outer world, from what we have constructed in the world, to something more subtle and spiritual. This shift is reflected in popular culture. If you watch television you will have noticed a shift towards reality television – shows about human beings, exploring their journeys, baring their souls. While these shows are very crude, they are a reflection of a greater cultural shift towards exploring and understanding the notion of Self.
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This shift is fundamental in a cancer journey. Australia has the highest rate of cancer in the world. This statistic is frightening. Cancer can be a devastating illness. While we might romanticise cancer and talk about the healing opportunities it presents us with, the reality is the suffering of the body, the suffering of the family, this can be devastating and shouldn’t be understated. It has a huge impact on families, a huge impact on communities and a huge impact on society. On a financial level the cost of cancer is absolutely huge to the health system, government, individuals, insurers, and that cost is growing. Yes, there is strong government interest in funding research. But even with the emphasis and the billions of dollars invested in research, cancer rates are growing and we are no closer to finding a medical cure for cancer. The best thing to come out of this over-investment in medical cancer research is the documented, quantitative evidence that lifestyle factors contribute to cancer and contribute to recovery. This knowledge is actually empowering to the person with cancer if they choose to act upon it. For instance, recent research shows that more than 30% of all cases of cancer could have been prevented through diet and exercise alone. This is not taking into account the cases of cancer caused by smoking, drinking, exposure to chemicals in the home and food and other lifestyle factors. In many cases, cancer can be avoided if we live a little differently, more connected to the earth, to nature, eat better food and generally take better care of our wellbeing. Given the escalating cancer rates and the volume of people currently dealing with cancer, the funding priority needs to shift from this endless pursuit of a medical cure to wellness and education programs and support services to stem an imminent public health crisis. CSA is ready to extend our services to help more people in WA experience true and lasting healing. While CSA has been providing great support services from our beautiful leafy sanctuary in Cottesloe, the need for cancer support services lies way beyond the centre we have created here. It is our current objective to take our services deeper into the community. Our vision for the future involves extending our program to outer metropolitan areas and regional WA to create wellness and healing sanctuaries for people with cancer in their own communities. This year, we have started a support program in Armadale in partnership with the Kookaburra Creek Yoga Centre which is also a dedicated healing sanctuary set in a peaceful bushland setting conjucive to our wellness and healing programs. There are huge shifts which need to be made towards extending support services to these areas and CSA’s strategic direction is to expand outwards from Cottesloe to meet that demand. We are going there with a dedicated and amazing team of healers, support staff and management team.
Returning to the theme of this talk...Gratitude and Humility. The cultivation of these two qualities is so important in healers because it is gratitude and humility which leads to Joy. Joy leads to freedom. When you are free, healing has occurred. The kind of joy I am talking about is joy which has no basis in what is happening in your life. It is from within freedom that you make the transition from being healed to becoming a healer. Recently a remarkable spiritual teacher came to CSA. Maya Tiwari (Mother Maya), an Ayurvedic healer from the US, founder of Wise Earth School of Ayurveda and Mother Om Mission, did a public program at CSA and spent two days working with female staff and facilitators. Maya is a great example of what I am talking about. She has walked the path of suffering and emerged as a healer. At 18 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and after the whole suite of medical treatment including chemo, radiation, surgery and a complete hysterectomy was told there was nothing more that could be done medically, her time was up and to make the most of her remaining 6 months here on earth. Maya’s approach to dealing with her imminent death was to go to the woods, to stay in a cabin alone and to reconcile the definite fact that her life on earth was over. She spent 6 months weeping, mourning her loss, she cried her eyes out, her heart, her soul. At the end of 6 months she left her cabin in the woods, unexpectedly alive. This was her transition to becoming a healer. She had transcended the deepest suffering imaginable for a young woman. She had her womb taken out, felt abandoned by the world, by society, by the medical establishment who told her, she would soon be dead. The point of her story is that she transcended great suffering. She came out of the woods alive and deeply, deeply grateful to God, to life, to Mother Earth. During her time in the woods she created an inner sanctuary and within that space deep and true healing occurred. She was deeply grateful to be alive. That gratefulness has defined her life since then. That gratefulness has made her life amazing, incredible and she is an inspiration others. That gratitude has lead to a deep and pure joy. Maya is joy personified. One of those rare, enlightened souls who walk amongst us sharing and inspiring through their joy. She is completely free, what you think of her, what I think of her has no bearing on who she is as a person and how she goes about her life. Maya is joyful and touches the hearts of millons of people around the world. Maya’s humility came through feeling that she was nothing, that her life was over, that she was just a small thing at the mercy of life, at the mercy of God. From that feeling of being nothing she became something. It is from within this space of gratitude and humility that we become great. This is where human potential lies and this is what it means to be a healer. F
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Basic Tenets of Optimal Health
Leading a common-sense, healthy lifestyle is your best bet to achieve a healthy body and mind. And while conventional medical science may flip-flop back and forth in its recommendations, there are certain basic tenets of optimal health that do not change.
Better Food Choices
Focus your diet on whole, ideally organic, unprocessed foods. For the best nutrition and health benefits, you will want to eat a good portion of your food raw. Avoid sugar, and fructose in particular. All forms of sugar have toxic effects when consumed in excess, and drive multiple disease processes in your body, not the least of which is insulin resistance, a major cause of chronic disease and accelerated aging.
Regular exercise
Exercise every day for optimal health. Include high-intensity activities. High-intensity training boosts human growth hormone (HGH) production, which is essential for optimal health, strength and vigour. HGH also helps boost weight loss. Along with core-strengthening exercises, strength training, and stretching, include exercise which raises your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold for 20 to 30 seconds, followed by a 90-second recovery period.
Stress Reduction
You cannot be optimally healthy if you avoid addressing the emotional component of your health and longevity, as your emotional state plays a role in nearly every physical disease – from heart disease and depression, to arthritis and cancer. Meditation, prayer, social support and exercise are all viable options that can help you maintain emotional and mental equilibrium. I also strongly believe in using simple tools such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to address deeper, oftentimes hidden, emotional problems.
Drink plenty of clean water Maintain a healthy gut
About 80 percent of your immune system resides in your gut, and research is stacking up showing that probiotics – beneficial bacteria – affect your health in a myriad of ways. A healthy diet is the ideal way to maintain a healthy gut, and regularly consuming traditionally fermented foods is the easiest, most cost effective way to ensure optimal gut flora.
Optimise your vitamin D levels
Research has shown that increasing your vitamin D levels can reduce your risk of death from ALL causes.
Avoid as many chemicals, toxins, and pollutants as possible
This includes tossing out your toxic household cleaners, soaps, personal hygiene products, air fresheners, bug sprays, lawn pesticides, and insecticides, just to name a few, and replacing them with non-toxic alternatives.
Get plenty of high quality sleep
Regularly catching only a few hours of sleep can hinder metabolism and hormone production in a way that is similar to the effects of aging and the early stages of diabetes. Chronic sleep loss may speed the onset or increase the severity of age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and memory loss.
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MIND-BODY HEALING
Uplift Your Thinking with the 5 Reiki Principles By Carole Fogarty
Sometimes all we need are a few little sentences that encourage us first thing in the morning to set a more positive tone for our day ahead. Meaningful words that when read or written down can adjust our thinking, or shift our focus (if needed). Five simple sentences that can help lift stress, dissolve anger, worry or negative thinking. Five refreshing sentences that when read or meditated on, can bring us closer to a more connected and inspiring way of life.
1. Just for today, I will not be angry
Dr. Mikao Usui ( 1865 – 1926 ) is the founder of Reiki and creator of the principles. Whilst there are a few variations of these ancient principles, I personally don’t think it matters which you use. The important thing is to feel, and know in your heart, which set of 5 principles you feel most connected to.
2. Just for today, I will not worry
Below are the 5 reiki principles by Dr. Mikao Usui which I have chosen to share with you today. Read them gently and slowly. Enjoy.
Just for today, I will not be angry Anger at others or oneself or at the whole world, creates serious blockages in one’s energy. It is the most complex inner enemy. Reiki is an excellent tool to remove anger blockages which have accumulated in the body. Letting go of anger brings peace into the mind.
Just for today, I will not worry Endless worries may fill one’s head, and each one bores a small hole in one’s body and soul. Letting go of worry, brings healing to the body.
Just for today, I will be grateful Be grateful from your heart. Inner intention is the important element of this principle. Simple things as thanks, forgiveness, smile, good words, gratitude can improve others life and make them happy. Being thankful brings joy into the spirit.
3. Just for today, I will be grateful 4. Just for today, I will do my work honestly 5. Just for today, I will be kind to every living being.
Just for today, I will do my work honestly Support yourself and your family respectably, without harming others.
Just for today, I will be kind to every living being Honour your parents, honour your teachers, honour your elders. Being kind brings love into the the world.
Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is the Reiki symbol of unity, origin, connection. Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen allows to break through the illusion of separation between all things, through both space and time. Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen allows to give Reiki treatments over distances in space and time. Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen means: “the Human Being and the Spirit are One”.
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The Nature Principle
Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age By Richard Louv
The mind-body connection is a familiar concept, but research and common sense suggest a new container: the mind-body-nature connection.
Instead of “take two aspirin and call me in the morning,” Richard Louv, who coined the term “nature deficit disorder,” advocates a simpler prescription for wellbeing: make meaningful contact with the natural world.
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Today, the long-held belief that nature has a direct positive impact on human health is making the transition from theory to evidence and from evidence to action. Certain findings have become so convincing that some mainstream health care providers and organisations have begun to promote nature therapy for an array of illnesses and for disease prevention. And many of us, without having a name for it, are using the nature tonic. We are, in essence, self-medicating with an inexpensive and unusually convenient drug substitute. Let’s call it vitamin N – for Nature.1 New research supports the contention that nature therapy helps control pain and negative stress, and for people with heart disease, dementia, and other health issues, the nature prescription has benefits that may go beyond the predictable results of outdoor exercise.2 The restorative power of the natural world can help us heal, even at a relative distance. On the surgical floors of a suburban, two-hundred-bed Pennsylvania hospital, some rooms face a stand of deciduous trees, while others face a brown brick wall. Researchers found that compared to patients with brick views, patients in rooms with tree views had shorter hospitalizations (on average, by almost one full day), less need for pain medications, and fewer negative comments in the nurses’ notes.3 In another study, patients undergoing bronchoscopy (a procedure that involves inserting a fibre-optic tube into the lungs) were randomly assigned to receive either sedation or sedation plus nature contact – in this case, a mural of a mountain stream in a spring meadow and a continuous tape of complementary nature sounds (e.g., water in a stream or birds chirping). The patients with nature contact had substantially better pain control.4 www.cancersupportwa.org.au
A study of 260 people in twenty-four sites across Japan found that among people who gazed on forest scenery for twenty minutes, the average concentration of salivary cortisol, a stress hormone, was 13.4 percent lower than that of people in urban settings.6 “Humans . . . lived in nature for 5 million years. We were made to fit a natural environment. . . . When we are exposed to nature, our bodies go back to how they should be,” explained Yoshifumi Miyazaki, who conducted the study that reported the salivary cortisol connection. Miyazaki is director of the Center for Environment Health and Field Sciences at Chiba University and Japan’s leading scholar on “forest medicine,” an accepted health care concept in Japan, where it is sometimes called “forest bathing.” In other research, Li Qing, a senior assistant professor of forest medicine at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, found green exercise – physical movement in a natural setting – can increase the activity of natural killer (NK) cells. This effect can be maintained for as long as thirty days.7 “When NK activity increases, immune strength is enhanced, which boosts resistance against stress,” according to Li, who attributes the increase in NK activity partly to inhaling air containing phytoncides, antimicrobial essential wood oils given off by plants. Studies of this sort deserve closer scrutiny. For example, in the study of natural killer cells, there was no control group, so it is hard to say if the change was due to time off work, exercise, nature contact, or some combination of influences.
LIFESTYLE & ENVIRONMENT
Nearby nature can be an antidote to obesity. A 2008 study published in American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that the greener the neighbourhood, the lower the body mass index of children. “Our new study of over 3,800 inner-city children revealed that living in areas with green space has a long-term positive impact on children’s weight and thus health,” according to senior author Gilbert C. Liu, MD. While the investigation didn’t prove a direct cause and effect, it did control for many variables, including the neighborhood’s population density. The results support those who believe that changing the built environment for inner-city kids is just as important as attempts to change family behaviour.5
The green in every tree is you. The beauty of every garden is you. My wealth, my work, my master is you. Solitude, purity is you. There is no reality but you. Rumi
Ghosts of Nature Past From the backyard to the backcountry, nature comes in many forms. The negative impacts of the risks that do occur in wilderness (from large predators, for example) should be balanced by the positive psychological benefits of that risk (humility, for one). And, yes, most research on nature and human health has focused on pathology and natural disasters, but this preference by researchers has something to do with where the research funding comes from. Researchers looking at the health benefits of nature are, in fact, addressing a knowledge imbalance. A few years ago, I worked with a council of neuroscientists, experts on the childhood development of brain architecture. When asked how the natural world itself affects brain development, they would usually draw a blank. “How do you define nature?” they asked, rhetorically. However, these same scientists simulate “natural conditions” in their labs for control groups. A friend of mine likes to say that nature is anything molecular, “including a guy drinking beer in a trailer park and a debutante drinking highballs in Manhattan.” Technically, he’s right. For the most part, we’ve left the definition of nature up to philosophers and poets. Gary Snyder, one of our finest contemporary poets, has written that we attach two meanings to the word, which comes from the Latin roots natura and nasci, both of which suggest birth. Here’s my definition of nature: human beings exist in nature anywhere they experience meaningful kinship with other species. By this description, a natural environment may be found in the wilderness or in a city; while not required to be pristine, this nature is influenced at least as much by a modicum of wildness and weather as by developers, scientists, beer drinkers, or debutantes. We know this nature when we see it.
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And centuries of human experience do suggest that the tonic is more than a placebo. How then, when it comes to health, does the nature prescription work? The answers may be hidden in our mitochondria. As hypothesized by Harvard’s E. O. Wilson, biophilia is our “innately emotional affiliation to . . . other living organisms.”8 His interpreters extended that definition to include natural landscape. Several decades of research inspired by Wilson’s theory suggests that at a level we do not fully understand, the human organism needs direct experience with nature.
Most research on nature and human health has focused on pathology and natural disasters, but this preference by researchers has something to do with where the research funding comes from. Researchers looking at the health benefits of nature are, in fact, addressing a knowledge imbalance.
Gordon H. Orians, a renowned ornithologist, behavioural ecologist, and professor emeritus in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington, maintains that our attraction to the natural environment exists at the level of our DNA, and, in its many genetic forms, haunts us. He points out that between the first appearance of agriculture and this morning’s breakfast, only about ten thousand years have elapsed. “The biological world, like the mental world of Ebenezer Scrooge, is replete with ghosts,” he says. “There are ghosts of habitats, predators, parasites, competitors, mutualists, and conspecifics past, as well as ghosts of meteors, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and droughts past.”9 These ghosts may reside in our genetic attic, but sometimes they speak to us, whispering the past is prologue. This view, based on behavioural ecology or sociobiology, has its critics, who are suspicious that such thinking evokes genetic predeterminism. In recent years, though, the proponents of biophilia and its doubters appear to have come to something approaching agreement: longterm genetics may lay down a likely pathway for brain development, but the outcome is also determined by the more current environment – by attachment to nurturing human beings, for example. Orians argues that all adaptations are to past environments. “They tell us about the past, not the present or the future. . . As Ebenezer Scrooge discovered, ghosts, no matter how inconvenient they may seem to be, can yield positive benefits.” He adds: “People have clearly intuitively understood the restorative value of interactions with nature for a long time.” Witness the gardens of ancient Egypt, the walled gardens of Mesopotamia, the gardens of merchants in medieval Chinese cities, the American parks of Frederick Law Olmsted, or even the choices we make when picking sites for our homes and our visual responsiveness to certain landscapes. Orians and Judith Heerwagen, a Seattle-based environmental psychologist, spent years surveying people around the world, testing their preference for different images. The researchers found that regardless of culture, people gravitate to images of nature, especially the savanna, with its clusters of trees, horizontal canopies, distant views, flowers, water, and changing elevations. Another explorer of human biophilic tendencies, Roger S. Ulrich, professor of landscape architecture and urban planning at Texas A&M University, proposed his psychophysiological stress recovery theory in 1983, suggesting that our responses to stress are located in the limbic system, which generates survival reflexes. Citing Ulrich, physician William Bird, an honorary professor at Oxford University and chief health adviser for Natural England, the British government’s environmental arm, explains: “The fight-or-flight reflex is a normal response to stress caused by the release of catecholamines (including adrenaline) and results in muscle tension, raised blood pressure, faster pulse, diversion of blood away from the skin to muscle, and sweating. All of these factors help the body to cope with a dangerous situation. However, without rapid recovery, this stress response would cause damage and exhaustion with limited response to a repeat dangerous situation.”10 Evolution favored our distant ancestors who could recover from the stress of natural threats by using the restorative powers of nature. One of the best explanations I have heard for this process came from the late Elaine Brooks, a California educator who worked for years as a biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In Last Child in the Woods, I described how Brooks would often climb to the highest knoll in the last natural open space of La Jolla. She told me how, particularly in times of personal stress, she would imagine herself as her own distant ancestor, high in a tree, recovering from the threat of some predator. At those times, she would look out over the rooftops – which she would imagine to be the open plains of a savanna – to the sea. She would feel her breath slow and her heart ease. “Once our ancestors climbed high in that tree, there was something about looking out over the land – something that healed us quickly. Resting in those high branches may
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have provided a rapid comedown from the adrenaline rush of being potential prey,” she told me one day, as we walked that land. “We are still programmed to fight or flee large animals. Genetically, we are essentially the same creatures as we were at the beginning. Our ancestors couldn’t outrun a lion, but we did have wits. We knew how to kill, yes, but we also knew how to run and climb – and how to use the environment to recover our wits.”
5. J. F. Bell, J. S. Wilson, and G. C. Liu, “Neighborhood Greenness and Two-Year Changes in Children’s Body Mass Index,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 35, no. 6 (2008): 547–53.
She went on to describe modern life: how today we find ourselves continually on the alert, chased, as she put it, by an unending stampede of two-thousand-pound automobiles and four-thousand-pound SUVs. Inside our workplaces and homes, the assault continues: threatening images charge through the television cable into our bedrooms. Probably, at the cellular level, we have inherited the efficient antidote to all of this: sitting on that knoll, as Brooks did. F
7. Q. Li, K. Morimoto, A. Nakadai, et al., “Forest Bathing Enhances Human Natural Killer Activity and Expression of Anti-Cancer Proteins,” International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology 20 (2007): 3–8.
Notes 1. In the United States, Glamour magazine offers a blog called Vitamin G, for Green. European public health officials also refer to vitamin G. For researchers in the Netherlands, the G stands for green, specifically the effect of green space on health and learning and feelings of social safety. The current, and still champion, definition of vitamin G is riboflavin (also known as B2). Vitamin N may be a bit problematic, as in some street parlance the N refers to nicotine. Others have referred to vitamin N, as in nature, including Linda Buzzell – Saltzman, founder of the International Association for Ecotherapy, in a 2010 blog for Huffington Post, as has Valerie Reiss in Holistic Living in 2009. 2.. M. Wichrowski, J. Whiteson, F. Haas, A. Mola, and M. J. Rey, “Effects of Horticultural Therapy on Mood and Heart Rate in Patients Participating in an Inpatient Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Program,” Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation 25, no. 5 (2005): 270–74. Also see C. M. Gigliotti, S. E. Jarrott, and J. Yorgason, “Harvesting Health: Effects of Three Types of Horticultural Therapy Activities for Persons with Dementia,” Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice 3, no. 2 (2004): 161–80. Finally, see Gene Rothert, “Using Plants for Human Health and Well – Being,” Palestra, Winter 2007, findarticles.com/p/articles/ mi_hb6643/is_1_23/ai_n29335131/. 3. See R. S. Ulrich and R. F. Simons, “Recovery from Stress During Exposure to Everyday Outdoor Environments,” in Proceedings of the Seventeenth Annual Meetings of the Environmental Design Research Association (Washington, DC: EDRA, 1986): 115–22; J. A. Wise and E. Rosenberg, “The Effects of Interior Treatments on Performance Stress in Three Types of Mental Tasks,” CIFR Technical Report No. 002–02 (1988), Ground Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI; R. S. Ulrich, “View through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery,” Science 224 (1984): 420–21. 4. G. Diette, M. Jenckes, N. Lechtzin, et al., “Predictors of Pain Control in Patients Undergoing Flexible Bronchoscopy,” American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 162, no. 2 (2000): 440–45, ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/162/2/440; Gregory B. Diette, Noah Lechtzin, Edward Haponik, Aline Devrotes, and Haya R. Rubin, “Distraction Therapy with Nature Sights and Sounds Reduces Pain During Flexible Bronchosopy,” Chest 123, no. 3 (2003): 941–48, chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/123/3/941.full.
6. B. J. Park, Y. Tsunetsugu, T. Kasetani, T. Kagawa, and Y. Miyazaki, “The Physiological Effects of Shinrin-yoku (Taking in the Forest Atmosphere or Forest Bathing): Evidence from Field Experiments in Twenty-four Forests across Japan,” Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine 15, no. 1 (2010): 18–26.
8. In Peter H. Kahn’s book Technological Nature: Adaptation and the Future of Human Life (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2011), Kahn offers a brief history of the term biophilia: “This term was used as early as the 1960s by [Erich] Fromm . . . in his theory of psychopathology to describe a healthy, normal functioning individual, one who was attracted to life (human and nonhuman) as opposed to death. In the 1980s, [E. O.] Wilson . . . published a book titled Biophilia. I have never seen Wilson cite Fromm’s use of the term, so it is unclear whether Wilson was aware of this earlier usage. Either way, Wilson shaped the term from the perspective of an evolutionary biologist. He defined biophilia as an innate human tendency to affiliate with life and lifelike processes. Biophilia, according to Wilson, emerges in our cognition, emotions, art, and ethics, and unfolds ‘in the predictable fantasies and responses of individuals from early childhood onward. It cascades into repetitive patterns of culture across most of all societies.’ ” See Edward O. Wilson, Biophilia: The Human Bond with Other Species (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984), 85. Also see Stephen Kellert and Edward O. Wilson, eds., The Biophilia Hypothesis (Washington, DC: Island Press, 1993), 31. 9. Gordon H. Orians, “Metaphors, Models, and Modularity,” Politics and Culture, April 29, 2010, www.politicsandculture.org/2010/04/29/ metaphors – models – and – modularity/. 10. William Bird, “Natural Thinking – Investigating the Links between the Natural Environment, Biodiversity, and Mental Health,” A Report for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (June 2007): 40; www. rspb.org.uk/Images/naturalthinking_tcm9-161856.pdf.
From: The Nature Principle, by Richard Louv. Published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. Louv is a journalist and author of eight books about the connections between family, nature and community. His newest book is The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder (Algonquin), which offers a new vision of the future, in which our lives are as immersed in nature as they are in technology. Louv is also the founding chairman of the Children & Nature Network at www.childrenandnature.org, an organization helping build the movement to connect today’s children and future generations to the natural world. Louv coined the term Nature-Deficit Disorder™ which has become the defining phrase of this important issue. For more information, visit www. RichardLouv.com.
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By Deepak Chopra
Ever since a “war on cancer” was declared 40 years ago, massive research has made progress, although the battle is far from won. Very little of this research has been directed at prevention. Advanced medicine, like the person on the street, has tended to think of cancer as something we have no control over: It happens to us or it doesn’t.
The reason for thinking this way can be seen under a microscope, which reveals that
malignant cells are misshapen compared to normal cells. Disastrous mutations at the genetic level lead to abnormal cell division, causing cancer cells to become rogues in the body, multiplying without check, crowding out normal cells, and in general wreaking havoc by losing communication with the body’s fine-tuned intelligence. Yet we may be seeing a revolution in our whole approach to cancer. Some highly-placed researchers now believe that 90-95 percent of cancers are preventable with drastic lifestyle changes. This represents a total reversal from what used to be taught in medical school, which held that only 5 percent of cancers could be traced to environmental factors like diet or chemical toxins. If the new view is correct, then for the first time we may have found an open road to ridding society of its most dreaded scourge. To begin with, the genetic trail hasn’t led to a cure, only to greater and greater complications. A disease like breast cancer, when examined at the genetic level, isn’t one disease but hundreds. Yet at the opposite extreme, genetic mutations may be playing a much smaller part than anyone ever thought. Craig Venter, who led a private effort to successfully map the human genome, neatly summarises the situation: “Human biology is actually far more complicated than we imagine. Everybody talks about the genes that they received from their mother and father, for this trait or the other. But in reality, those genes have very little impact on life outcomes. Our biology is far too complicated for that and deals with hundreds of thousands of independent factors. Genes are absolutely not our fate.” In some cancers, inheritance certainly plays a major factor. For example, childhood cancer, of which the most common is a form of leukemia, has a simpler genetic profile than adult cancers. By targeting specific mutations, doctors who treat childhood cancer have raised their success rate from 20 percent to 80 percent in the past 40 years. Children with cancer
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LIFESTYLE & ENVIRONMENT
must undergo severe regimens of chemotherapy and radiation, but it’s no longer a case, as it once was, of killing the tumour before the treatment killed the patient. For a vast majority of oncologists, targeting a malignant cell with chemo and radiation, along with surgery to remove the tumour, remains the mainstream approach. The track of prevention is all but unknown to them. There is no doubt that a cell has to mutate in order to become cancerous. Yet an inherited mutation isn’t the same as an acquired mutation, one that develops during the lifetime of the patient. Let’s simplify the case and divide acquired mutations into two types: those that result from accident and errors on the part of a person’s DNA, and those that are linked to lifestyle. The revolution that is looming in cancer is based on believing that the lifestyle link is so strong that it accounts for 90 percent or more of cancer occurrences. Let’s pursue this line of reasoning with the expectation that doing everything you can to prevent cancer is clearly the best choice. What medicine refers to as environmental and lifestyle factors include some familiar culprits: overweight, lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking, overuse of alcohol and overexposure to UV and other forms of radiation. Of all cancer-related deaths, it’s thought that 25-30 percent are due to tobacco; 30-35 percent are linked to diet; and about 15-20 percent are due to infections, many of them preventable.
What is cancer? Cells in adults normally have tightly-controlled patterns of growth. They divide in a regulated manner and have definite lifespans. Because of this, the number of cells in a healthy body remains roughly the same over time. Cancer cells, however, display uncontrolled growth. The rate of division is faster in some cancers than in others, but in all cancers, the cells never stop dividing. In effect, they have infinite lifespans. Malignant tumours invade neighboring tissues and may metastasize, spreading to distant parts of the body. Cancerous tumours have the ability to produce activator molecules, such as vascular endothelial growth factor. Activator molecules induce the formation of new blood vessels to supply the tumour, allowing for cell reproduction and tumour growth. Cancer is not one but hundreds of different diseases. Breast cancers, for instance, have individual characteristics and display different patterns of growth than lung cancers. That’s why a cancer that originates in the breast and metastasizes to the lungs is referred to as metastatic breast cancer, not lung cancer.
How does cancer begin?
The likelihood that cancer is not enmeshed with lifestyle is diminishing year by year. Yes, cancer is immensely complicated, but everything you can do to support your body’s innate intelligence is a positive step in allowing that intelligence to block the cellular changes that create malignancy. A decade from now, I expect that we will tune in and find that this ray of hope has become even brighter.
Cancer begins when a cell undergoes a mutation: one or more of its genes are damaged or lost. A number of different mutations have to happen before the cell becomes a cancer cell. If a cell carries a mutation, it usually either destroys itself or is recognised as being abnormal by the immune system and killed. This is why cancer usually occurs in older people: There has been more time for mutations to occur and for exposure to cancer-causing agents. Genes may be damaged by: • Free radicals produced in the normal process of metabolism • Carcinogens, such as radiation, chemicals, tobacco, and infectious agents • Random errors in DNA replication • Inherited mutated genes Almost from the time they first arise, cancerous tumours shed cells into the bloodstream. In fact, it’s estimated that a 1-cm tumour sheds more than a million cells into the circulatory system in just 24 hours. Most of these cells are killed by cells of the immune system or die due to injury, but some may survive. Traveling cancer cells may become
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stuck in a capillary and adhere to its lining. From there they penetrate into surrounding tissues or organs, where they may generate secondary tumours. Cancer cells may also penetrate into the lymphatic vessel and travel in the circulating lymph fluid until it becomes lodged in the small channels inside a lymph node.
Cancer prevention That the vast majority of cancers are not caused by genetic defects means that in most cases we have the power to modify or eliminate most of the factors that lead to it.
“Human biology is actually far more complicated than we imagine. Everybody talks about the genes that they received from their mother and father, for this trait or the other. But in reality, those genes have very little impact on life outcomes. Our biology is far too complicated for that and deals with hundreds of thousands of independent factors. Genes are absolutely not our fate.”
Most of the known risk factors for cancer have one thing in common: they create chronic (longterm) inflammation in the body. Inflammation is a normal part of your body’s immune system response to injury. Problems arise when that inflammation becomes chronic. When that happens, levels of many potent inflammatory chemicals go up. These substances include cytokines (including TNF, IL-1, and IL-6), enzymes (such as COX-2 and 5-LOX), and adhesion molecules. All of these various chemicals have been linked to the development of cancerous tumours, and chronic inflammation precedes tumour growth in most types of cancer.
Solutions Obesity, smoking, alcohol, infectious agents and carcinogens in food and in the environment have been shown to cause chronic inflammation in the body. The longer the inflammation continues, the greater the risk of cancer.
Maintain a healthy weight There’s a clear link between obesity and cancer. It’s thought that, in the U.S., excess weight or obesity cause 14 percent of cancer deaths in men and 20 percent of cancer deaths in women. Obesity is linked to many cancers, including cancers of the colon, breast, endometrium (uterine lining), esophagus, and kidneys.
Exercise to protect yourself against cancer Numerous studies have shown that being physically active exerts a protective effect against cancer. Regular exercise lowers levels of IGF-1, a cytokine implicated in tumour growth, and other cytokines in the bloodstream. Interestingly, it does this even if the person who exercises is overweight and remains overweight. The lower levels of these cancer promoters are one possible explanation for the protective effect of regular exercise. Exercising regularly reduces a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer, possibly because doing so lowers blood levels of insulin and estrogen. Risk of colon cancer, too, is greatly reduced when you exercise, probably because being active decreases the amount of time it takes food to pass through the intestines. That means the colon is in contact with potential carcinogens for a shorter period of time.
Eat anti-cancer foods It’s estimated that diet causes about one-third of all cancer cases, almost as many as tobacco. Because cancer is so strongly associated with chronic inflammation, eating foods that fight inflammation can have a chemoprotective effect. Chief among cancer-protective foods are fruits and vegetables. They contain numerous cancerpreventing, anti-inflammatory chemicals, including: Carotenoids, especially lycopene, found in watermelon, guava, grapefruit, and tomatoes Resveratrol, found in grapes, peanuts, and berries Quercitin, found in red grapes, citrus fruits, tomatoes, broccoli, and leafy green vegetables as well as tea and wine
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Sulforane, found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli Cancer-fighting chemicals are found in teas and many spices, including: Green tea, Turmeric, Garlic, Chilies, Ginger, Fenugreek, Fennel, Clove, Cinnamon, Rosemary. Whole grains contain potent antioxidants and are rich in fibre, which speeds the transit of food through the colon. Eating whole grains has been found to reduce the risk of colourectal cancer.
Don’t use tobacco in any form That smoking causes lung cancer is well known; it’s less known that tobacco use increases the risk for at least 14 different types of cancer. Smoking combined with drinking increases the risk of cancer synergistically. Smokeless tobacco, touted as a “safer” alternative, is responsible for 400,000 cases of oral cancer worldwide – 4 percent of all cancers.
Drink alcohol only in moderation If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation, if at all (two drinks a day for men, one a day for women). Chronic alcohol consumption is a risk factor for cancers of the upper respiratory and digestive tracts, including cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus, as well as for cancers of the liver, lung, and breast. Risk goes up with increasing consumption. You aren’t called on to become a cancer expert. But weighing all the evidence, it’s clear which way the wind is blowing. The likelihood that cancer is not enmeshed with lifestyle is diminishing year by year. Yes, cancer is immensely complicated, but everything you can do to support your body’s innate intelligence is a positive step in allowing that intelligence to block the cellular changes that create malignancy. A decade from now, I expect that we will tune in and find that this ray of hope has become even brighter. F
From Deepak Chopra’s Blog: www.deepakchopra.com, August 2012. Deepak Chopra is the author of Spiritual Solutions and more than sixty books translated into over thirty-five languages, including other numerous New York Times bestsellers in both the fiction and nonfiction categories. He is founder of The Chopra Foundation. Time magazine heralds Deepak Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century and credits him as “the poet-prophet of alternative medicine.”
How fast does cancer grow? By Dr. Ben Kim Over the years, I’ve found that many people don’t seem to realise that the vast majority of malignancies aren’t palpable and don’t create symptoms for several years, and sometimes decades. This is a critical point to understand, as our choices today are unmistakeably what determine our risk for cancer and most chronic diseases in the years ahead – even thirty, forty, fifty years ahead. When looking to understand the pace at which cancer grows and spreads, the main concept to consider is doubling time, which is the amount of time it takes for one cell to divide or for a group of cells (like a benign or malignant tumour) to double in size. Doubling time is different for various tumours, but if you know the size of a tumour at two different points in its lifespan, you can calculate doubling time with the following online resource: Doubling Time. To put this idea into numbers that are easily visualized, let’s say that a 1 millimetre mass is detected within lung tissue on a CT scan. If this same mass is measured to be 15 millimeters two years later, doubling time for this mass is 105 days. Here’s the take-home point: a 1 millimetre cluster of cancerous cells typically contains somewhere in the ball park of a million cells, and on average, takes about six years to get to this size. Generally, a tumour can’t be detected until it reaches the 1 millimetre mark. So to develop a mass that is likely to be problematic (say, about 5 centimetres to put a number to this example), make no mistake in understanding that this is a journey of many years. To put it another way, a person doesn’t go from being relatively healthy to having cancer suddenly appear and spread throughout his body within a few months or even a year. To have a growth that is visible to the eye or cancer that has metastasized, generally, it’s scientifically sound to state that the cancerous mass began developing many years ago. I like to share this information with clients because I find that it tends to heighten awareness of how important today’s food and lifestyle choices are in determining our risk for disease in the future. It’s simple: what we do today determines our risk for disease tomorrow. I think it’s worth noting that the concept of cancer growth happening at a predictable pace applies to all major types of chronic disease. Risk of a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) is determined by how healthy our blood vessels and blood pressure are over decades, not by a sudden transient spike in pressure. Risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is determined by all of the substances that our lungs have been exposed to since day one. And so on and so forth.
From: www.drbenkim.com. Dr. Ben Kim is a chiropractor and acupuncturist who specialises in natural medicine. He writes on many topics related to natural health on his website. Spring 2012
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By Suleika Jaouad
Positive thinking is not about pretending everything is okay, when it clearly isn’t. Positivity is about facing life’s challenges
When the topic is a life-threatening disease, the instinct – for both the patient and nonpatient – is often to freeze, and try to come up with a positive spin.
with honesty and clarity and
“I’m trying to think positive!” I’ll tell a friend, after listing the symptoms I’m having.
having the courage to say this
“I’m staying strong!” I’ll write in a text message.
is really tough and I’m really
“It’s tough, but I can do this,” I’ll say when I’m having an especially hard day.
scared and need help, but
No one coached me to say these phrases. So where did they come from? In the middle of chemotherapy, when I’m feeling my worst, why do I feel the need to inject these little nuggets of positivity into conversation?
do you know what, whatever happens I’ll be okay.
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As a cancer patient, I think a lot about how we talk about illness – or more often, how we talk around it. Even the word “cancer” is ugly, scary, burdensome – a roadblock for a conversation before it even starts. Who wants to go there? Much of the time, I’d rather not bring it up if I don’t have to – and I’m the one with the disease!
Cancer Support Association
Our culture is steeped in positive thinking – from the self-help mega-industry to college courses in positive psychology to the enduring pull of the American dream. There is no “dislike” button on Facebook. Nobody wants to be a downer.
www.cancersupportwa.org.au
The second reason, I’ve come to realise, is to protect ourselves. There’s no denying that cancer is a gloomy subject. We repeat positive phrases to ourselves as a sort of mantra. And while positive thinking alone can’t cure cancer, attitude is critical to getting through the process and growing as a person. We voice positivity as a show of strength in the face of the unknown. It’s a daily note to self: I’m going to beat this. But while I have learned a lot since my diagnosis – and I am trying to be hopeful for the future – living with cancer is also just really, really hard. We don’t always talk about those times. We self-censor many parts of the journey. And when we do speak about it, we often find ourselves framing any negative thoughts in a more positive way. Barbara Ehrenreich explores the limits of positive thinking in her book “Bright-Sided.” “We need to brace ourselves for a struggle against terrifying obstacles,” she writes, “both of our own making and imposed by the natural world. And the first step is to recover from the mass delusion that is positive thinking.” Ms. Ehrenreich isn’t against lightness or laughter, but instead, she urges us to consider how positivity and denial can go hand in hand. At what point is positivity a form of denial? Does positivity at all costs have a cost? I’m not a negative person, and I’m certainly not trying to set up a school for negative thinking, but today I’m giving myself permission to step out of the spin zone of positivity – to stare down fear, anxiety and dread without the guilt that I might be giving up or not fighting hard enough. Just four months after a successful bone marrow transplant in April, I began a new course of chemotherapy that I will not complete until after my 25th birthday, next July. The good – clean bone marrow results in my latest biopsy – lives right next to the bad – the dread of more chemotherapy, which is meant to pre-emptively attack a disease with a high relapse rate. There are moments of incredible brightness and gratitude. Too many to count, like the fact that I survived the risky transplant procedure or that my brother was a perfect 10-out-of-10 match on the donor scale. Or friendships of a higher level, like my friend Sarah, who has written me a newsy, thoughtful e-mail every day for more than a year. Or that I’m going home to upstate New York this weekend, not because I’m sick but because I’m well enough to choose to take a weekend vacation. But there’s also the reality of weekly hospital visits and the next biopsy on the horizon. This reality isn’t positive or negative. It’s just another day in my journey as a cancer patient. F
From: The Well, New York Times Health Blogs: well.blogs.nytimes.com Suleika Jaouad is a 24-year-old writer from New York. Her column, “Life, Interrupted,” chronicling her experiences as a young adult with cancer, appears weekly on Well.
INSPIRING PERSONAL STORIES
But I don’t think it’s all cultural. When it comes to disease, I think the “positivity spin zone” is a force of nature. First, we want to protect the people we love. Cancer makes people think about mortality. It scares your friends and family. And many cancer patients, consciously or otherwise, try to buffer bad news with a dose of positivity. Putting a positive twist on how things are going is a way to convey hope. We want to be strong, to put on a brave face for our loved ones. Positivity is a signal that everything is going to be all right, even if no one knows that for sure.
Journey to Wellness
5 week Cancer Wellness Course held in Cottesloe and Armadale If you have cancer or any other chronic illness, the skills and strategies taught in this course could save your life. Facilitated by the inspirational Cathy Brown, a cancer survivor herself, the classes provide guidance and mentoring on the healing journey, as well as informative, practical sessions and demonstrations with notes and home practices. The course provides: • Introduction to the wellness approach to healing illness including; healthy lifestyle, diet and nutrition, meditation, managing emotions, and healing. • Guidance & mentoring on the journey to wellness • Informative, practical sessions This course is an opportunity to understand and explore the emotional component of illness and how emotions impact on healing and recovery. Insights and experience gained on this course could lead you to a deeper level of understanding and awareness.
Ph CSA 8384 3544 or online: www.cancersupportwa.org.au Spring 2012
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By Tambre Leighn Art by LindyLonghurst
Like a glass that breaks into pieces when it hits the ground, a cancer diagnosis can shatter lives. But what is it that has many survivors feeling like they’re broken after treatment? It’s time to move toward feeling whole again...
You are not broken There are many people in your world who would be happy to tell you, you are not broken. However, each person, on their own, must pick up the pieces and embrace their inner beauty, scars and all, whether they are physical or emotional, visible or unseen. Others can show compassion as you heal from your pain but you must do the self-work.
Four Stages to Embracing Your Beauty It’s all about the hard/easy, a concept I often explore with my clients. Four stages sounds pretty easy. But let’s get real. They may be straightforward concepts, simple words and you most likely have explored them in other life experiences. However, applying them in what may be the biggest arena ever can be hard. It requires effort and practice along with some patience and self-compassion as you redefine your inner relationship with you.
1. Letting Go When things change and people face the unknown there may be fear, self-doubt or rabid “trying to figure it out” that occurs. As a cancer coach, I see many parts of peoples’ lives impacted by the experience. Even at the point of diagnosis, the earliest part of the cancer continuum, there is often significant concern over what might be lost. This kind of thinking is fertile ground for grief. Some things simply will never be the same. This may include your: • physical body • relationships • finances • education • work or career • goals and dreams • anything else you feel you’ve lost The first step toward reconnecting with your inner beauty is to allow yourself to grieve and let go of what you feel you’ve lost. It is impossible to move forward into a future of possibility when you’re hanging onto despair. Each person must design their own process. Make a list of everything you feel the need to let go of and then, one by one or all at once, create a ritual, process or experience that will leave you feeling lighter and more open to a future filled with more “I now am __________” versus “I used to be ___________”.
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MIND-BODY HEALING
2. Accepting the Now There is incredible truth in the statement ‘what we resist, persists’. When we can’t change the situation or circumstance, there are two options: 1. Hold onto the pain of the past 2. Accept that this is what is, and decide how you will make the most of it.
3. Redefining Yourself You’ve walked through the fire of treatment and on into long-term survivorship. Subjecting metal to the hottest flame, then shaping it into the sharpest blade able to withstand incredible blows makes the strongest sword. When you choose acceptance you have the opportunity to redefine who you want to be. So, who do you want to be?
Oh soul,
4. Rediscovering Strength Acknowledge the strengths you’ve built as a result of your experience. Write them down. Because of cancer, I am _____________. These strengths are a big part of who you are now. Most survivors find they tapped into one or more parts of themselves to survive, such as: • strength • courage • relationships • the ability to fight • making intelligent choices • learning to ask for help • prioritising • taking things one day at a time
you worry too much. You have seen your own strength. You have seen your own beauty. You have seen your golden wings. Of anything less, why do you worry?
How can someone who has done this not be beautiful? Beauty is not about what you look like…it is about who you are. And cancer survivors are simply BEAUTIFUL! F
From the brilliant I Had Cancer blog; www.ihadcancer.com. I Had Cancer is a cancer support network for cancer survivors, fighters, and their supporters/ caregivers providing help via online cancer support groups. Sharing inspirational stories about cancer treatment, survivorship and hope. Very inspiring. We recommend it!
You are in truth the soul, of the soul, of the soul. Jalal Al-Din Rumi
Tambre Leighn, MA, CPC, ELI-MP is a certified professional coach helping cancer survivors and caregivers find the energy to go from surviving to thriving and beyond. Her personal experience caregiving for her late husband inspired Tambre to become a coach, a trained facilitator for the American Cancer Society’s “I Can Cope” program and to found the Cancer Survivorship Coaching Coalition. Find her on I Had Cancer under the username tambre! Spring 2012
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CSA’s You Are Beautiful ambassador Lisa Taylor Lisa Taylor is a beautiful young woman with wisdom and life experience beyond her years. Lisa has experienced the fear, pain and loss that is part of the cancer journey for so many. Lisa is a shining light offering hope and inspiration to other young people facing the uncertainty of caring for a loved one with cancer. You are Beautiful is a unique, fundraising event organised by CSA, in partnership with Robbie Merritt, Ruth Tarvydas, Donelly Auctions, corporate sponsors and the Perth City Council. You are Beautiful is a photographic project which involves an exhibition of large scale photographic portraits of people in WA with cancer which will be exhibited in city venues and also feature in a book alongside their personal stories. You are Beautiful will be launched mid-2013 and is a celebration of inner beauty and life itself! The project will also bring greater awareness to the work CSA has been doing in WA for the past 28 years. Through this fundraising event, CSA wishes to show and celebrate the beauty, resilience, strength and inner peace within people in their journey with cancer, those who have survived the illness or those who have shared and supported loved ones during their journey. The portraits will be taken by renowned Perth photographer Robbie Merritt who has worked on photographic book projects as well as many commercial and fashion photography projects. We are currently seeking people who have been touched by cancer, either directly, or through caring for a loved one, to participate in this project. Participants will have their portraits taken by Robbie Merritt at his East Perth studio with a stylist on hand to make sure you look your best! Contact CSA for more details. Ph 9384 3544, email info@cancersupportassociation.org. au for more details on how to participate.
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Little girls love their dads.... Lisa Taylor was no different, except that at the age of nine she was told by her parents that Dad had cancer. The prognosis was not good. Very hard to comprehend and Lisa grew up with the fear that her beloved dad might die. What Lisa could not have known, was that with the help of CSA, her Dad would actually survive cancer, and that her experience of living the “cancer journey” would prepare her for a far more demanding challenge later in her young life. In 2001 at the age of 16 Lisa met her soul-mate, Nicholas Ford. They were inseparable. Then 4 years later Nick was diagnosed with two large tumours in his brain. Nick’s prognosis was poor and doctors told him he would need constant care until his death, which would probably occur within one or two years. At the age of 20, Lisa had a life-changing decision to make. Move on or stay with Nick as his full-time carer which would mean giving up her career, her friends, and any social life. The decision was “easy” and they became engaged in 2007. Nick lived well with cancer for 6 years, and all this time Lisa was beside him choosing to care for him at home with the help of Silverchain and other cancer support groups. Despite Nick’s death, and the pain of such a loss, Lisa grew as a person and, along with her parents, mentored other people who were carers for those living with cancer. Today Lisa has found a new love in a man named Eric and together they love and care for their new puppy, Sox. They live simply and happily in Leederville whilst Lisa studies at TAFE. Lisa continues to help others with cancer, and feels that in one respect cancer gave her the gift of empathy, values, and of living life to the fullest. F Lisa is CSA’s You Are Beautiful ambassador and will represent CSA during the promotion of the You Are Beautiful campaign.
www.cancersupportwa.org.au
When we begin to
Healthy foods alone won’t enlighten you. In fact, they, too, can become an obsession. The key to transformational nourishment is awareness.
properly nourish our
Transformational nourishment isn’t a quick-fix food program; it’s a set of tools for living an aware life. There are myriad paths for learning self-awareness, from religious traditions and faiths to yoga, meditation, and other spiritual disciplines. In general, however, the connection between food and spiritual development has not been widely explored. Most food models available today tend to focus only on the physical or emotional levels, such as dieting and eating disorders. Transformational nourishment’s unique approach turns food and eating into a daily practice for becoming physically, emotionally, and spiritually aware. The natural human inclination is to continually grow, change, and create. Even as you read this sentence, great biochemical changes are occurring within your body. Millions of cells are being created and dying, and we aren’t close to being aware of it. Growth is a constant for all levels of life, from the cellular to the cosmic. So, too, as humans, our natural state is one of growth and change. But sometimes we get stuck. In our culture, we particularly run into problems because we are living more sedentary lives, and we eat the sweet, sticky, salty, highly refined foodstuffs that perpetuate a sedentary existence. These foods also tend to trap us in places where we feel safe, secure, and resistant to change. When we are clear about our intention of how we want to develop, the foods that propel us forward usually are the ones that we don’t crave. I’ve been a nourishment consultant for over twenty-five years and I’ve never seen a client who has addictive patterns with vegetables or lean proteins, such as tofu, fish, and organic meat. It may seem simple, but just by shifting your food consumption to more vital essence foods (vegetables, fruit, grains, lean proteins), you will feel more empowered and in touch with a deeper part of yourself. While transformational nourishment is a subtle, nonlinear process, it’s helpful to break it down into its multiple parts so you can see how the physical, emotional, and spiritual interconnect. As you start to eat clean food, the body responds by eliminating what isn’t necessary. Depending on the individual, many types of physical changes can manifest over time – from greater energy and clarity of mind to improved digestion, weight loss, disappearance of allergies, and a strengthened immune system. At the same time, a similar process has been triggered on the emotional and spiritual levels. Negative emotional and behavioural patterns may also reveal themselves as “toxic.” Maybe your self-perceptions, relationships, or how you’ve been living your life no longer support the person you are today, or the person you genuinely wish to become. When the body and emotions are unbalanced, we can’t hear the voice that is our spirit, the deeper conscious- ness that we know to be true. With the body and emotions in a balanced, receptive state, the spiritual part of ourselves is more accessible.
bodies, an amazing transformation takes place: We begin to discover ways for nourishing all parts of ourselves. This is transformational nourishment, the process of transforming habitual, constricting patterns and behaviours into nourishing practices that encourage growth and development.
To make lasting changes, you need both awareness and action. just as something is dying, something new is being born. To make room for your new self, you have to prune the old patterns. Letting go is risky business because the old patterns, the old shell, seem so secure. The choice is yours. You can exert a lot of energy trying to resist your growth, or you can respond to the messages from your spirit. F
Excerpt from If the Buddha Came to Dinner: How to Nourish Your Body to Awaken Your Spirit, by Halé Sofia Schatz with Shira Shaiman. Halé Sofia Schatz is an author, nourishment educator, consultant, her pioneering work with food and healing offers a joyous and supportive approach to how we feed ourselves. Spring 2012
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MIND-BODY HEALING
Is it really possible that food can help us live fuller, more aware lives? The answer is yes!
Is it OK to be Afraid? By Mike Sowerby
CSA’s Counsellor and Support Group Facilitator Mike Sowerby was diagnosed with cancer as a teenager. Cancer forced him on a journey of healing and acceptance of his ‘ragged’ past. Along the way, he regained his health, but more importantly he found love – love of his multi-faceted self, and a deep-seated need to share that love with others.
I want to share with you a story about a young man named Rick. He was thought of by many to be a lost cause, and considered the source of great trouble and distress to those around him. In response to his behaviour people around him reacted in an environment of fear, fear of what he might do to them, fear for their own safety. And on the balance of his past history you might well think and act the same. Tragically this environment of fear, reproduced the very environment he had grown up in, fear of what others might do to him….., so he struck out first in the vain hope that it might help save him. So this is a story about human fears, and most importantly what happens when we immerse our fears in the openness of empathy, of acceptance ,of being included, not excluded. Rick, lived in a centre for difficult and unwanted teenagers. He had the reputation of being the most difficult ,most resistant among his peers, classically the type of young man who without genuine help would spend most of his life behind bars, ‘for the good, and safety of all’. There was at this time a very switched on co-ordinator of therapeutic services, a woman who had experience in the healing value of introducing troubled adolescents , young adults to the environment of secure, loving mothers and their young babies. On this day, Rick’s first time with the young mums, he heard a young mum say how her baby although loved and cared for was a difficult baby, and that it was a great source of pain for her that her baby would not comfortably and willingly be placed facing her in his baby ‘pouch’. He would wiggle and cry and would only settle if he faced outward. For her this felt a bit like rejection of her love and intimacy. She went on to talk about other aspects of his behaviour that left her feeling loving yet, somehow separate from her little boy. After a time with the young people in her group, she asked ‘would anyone like to hold young William?’.
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This moment, Rick’s compassionate risk taking, is the empathy that lives in all of us, no matter how damaged we may be, at work, healing in all directions when given opportunity. I grew up in an environment very much like Rick had. Sadly in my younger years, I didn’t have the wisdom of such a group, a baby William to help me face my fears of being close, of feeling different to others, my fear of terror, of being terrifying. I grew up feeling scared most of the time, ashamed of the wounds inflicted upon me, ashamed of who I thought I was and afraid that love was something I was not worthy of, something I would make a mess of in my life. I had known this type of fear since I was eight .I saw it in my father’s face, I felt it is the viciousness of his treatment of me, my younger brother, I felt it in my rage and anger, my helplessness. And I was scared of feeling my fear, scared of what it might do to me or others. My story too has a happy ending, I was not a violent father to my sons, yet it took many years to trust myself to be genuinely close to them, to others, I had to work on the damage done, and to accept myself as I was, in order to become the man I wanted to be. I want to be trusting, trustworthy. My dad was a man damaged by the inhumanity and suffering of war, he never attended to his fears, he didn’t receive help, his wounds festered, he terrorised us, and in those moments he was inhumane toward us. Sadly the war for him was still raging twenty years on. It took twenty years for his terror to surface, for the most a hardworking man who hid his grief and pain behind work and others ‘good’ opinion of him. But one wintery night in 1965 while on night shift as an RAA patrolman, he hit a cyclist riding a bike with no lights . This old Italian man himself coming home from a hard day’s work died there in the gutter and rain of that wintery night. That was the year my dad went from being an emotionally distant, hardworking provider and protector to a terrifying and unpredictable sadist, reliving the nightmare of his war ,on us, in his ‘shed’. And for many years I and my younger brother were reliving that war inside that shed and beyond the shed to our lives as boys and adolescents, as adults. I too was a prisoner of my own fears, most of the time you would not have known, not unless you looked at my fingernails or looked under my clothing at the harm he had done or I was doing to myself. No abuse of others is acceptable, and I understand and appreciate how abuse if not tended to with love and compassion keeps
living and tormenting the others in their lives. I understand how we can turn abuse on ourselves. I did so in the vain hope it would blunt the other pain. It wasn’t until I sought help, started to attend to my deeper fears, my fear of being close to those I love, not knowing which way it might turn. I was on guard that those close moments could turn to, being tied up, humiliated, bashed and suffocated. I was hurting and had no idea how to come back to trust and openness with myself. I feel sad when I talk of these terrible times. It still hurts, the memories hurt, but I can say and see that it in the past, and I am the one who is loving and caring for the damage in me in the here and now. Rick’s story, my story, my younger brothers story, my father’s story are extreme cases, yet I think they highlight the importance of recognising the imperfect situations we can find ourselves in, that we can be afraid of hurting, being hurt, and we might, instead of showing compassion for our vulnerabilities, disregard the wisdom of our fear and get on with it, get busy, achieve, create all sorts of don’t go there attitudes. The love and patience of caring therapy helped me begin to heal my ‘don’t go there’ attitude to myself. Thomas Moore in his book Soul Mates writes; ‘People too healthy, too determined leave no door for the soul to enter, the soul enters through the hole of defeat’ When we are diagnosed with cancer and we take some responsibility for our wellbeing and health outcomes,we eat the right stuff, make life changes, we are determined to beat this cancer, full steam ahead, and this is not wrong, it’s good to have direction, optimism and hope. Yet along the way there are many important moments, moments of great vulnerability, and moments of fear or uncertainty. If we are too driven, we overwhelm our fear, we don’t stop and listen to our vulnerable self, we don’t shed our skin as it were, we just keep marching on doing the right thing, not necessarily the living thing. Yet before I gained understanding from my own healing experience, I think it was the cancer that stopped me in my ‘determined’ tracks. I think it kept me from turning to grog or other self medication, and I know it sounds like a ridiculous statement but it rescued me from my self-harm. As I got help to heal my physical illness, I slowed down, I wasn’t running anymore from my past. I loved running as a kid, running set me free, I overcame my injuries that way, it helped some of my fears by running long distances at night. But I couldn’t run forever, and I couldn’t run fast enough to get away from the nightmares. I succeeded of sorts, became a marathon runner, went on to vet school, got away from my family, thought this was the way to freedom, still running, smack bang into cancer.
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INSPIRING PERSONAL STORIES
To everyone’s surprise, Rick said ‘yes’, and could he put on the baby pouch and hold little William that way .With a little apprehension, mum said yes. Rick immediately faced the little one toward his chest and moved to the corner of the room and began a soft soothing ‘talk’, and quite quickly William went off to sleep. Everyone was gob smacked. William and Rick were content. Rick looked at the young mum and asked; “If you have not been loved, do you think you can still be a good dad?”
Kidney cancer; kidneys and adrenals already overworked by years of fear and uncertainty, they had finally said “Barleys’. I was as good as dead then if I didn’t stop. That’s what cancer made me face my fear of stopping, being still. The irony is the cancer like those ropes my dad tied around my wrists, ankles, throat, had me trapped. I had only known stillness as helplessness, terror and powerlessness. I hadn’t grown up in a loving caring home, I grew up in a war zone in suburban Adelaide and nobody knew, or admitted they knew. Cancer had trapped me into facing the reality of my life now. My cancer was in my kidney, spine, lymph system, my adrenal glands were shot, I was so ill I couldn’t move, couldn’t care for myself, I was vulnerable, no escape, like before as a boy, only I could see he wasn’t there it was me tying myself up in anxiety, beating the life out of me. I was now the perpetrator of shame and unforgiveness. This is when I realised I was scared of being scared. I wasn’t going to heal my cancer if I wasn’t willing to heal my fear of being close, fear of being hurt, of hurting others. Because in the overwhelming confusion of cancer diagnosis everything is close, close to death, close to losing a sense of who I am, close to losing my freedom to do the everyday things of life any more. There is a saying in trauma work, ‘The body never lies”.
It should be and is OK to be overwhelmed, It is OK to be frightened, It is OK to not know, because none of those are going to kill us. It’s isolation, loneliness, a feeling of being separate from our fellow human beings that is the problem.
It’s true, the body doesn’t lie, if we take account of the suffering in us, it tells us the truth, a truth we often don’t want to hear. We can lie about it, we often do with the idea it will save us, not true. It’s the acceptance of our truth in the present that sets us free. Our vulnerability, in an environment of care, acceptance, safety no matter how frightened we might be, no matter how much we are afraid of showing others our fragile self, the love the self-care become the path to repair and self healing. This is the transformation from surviving to thriving. We are blessed if I may use that word, to be in each other’s company, without judgement, shame or humiliation. Here in this support group we come together; to be with each other, for each other. Our joy, our tears, triumph and pain can all be met with equal measure of care and attention. It should be and is OK to be overwhelmed, It is OK to be frightened, It is OK to not know, because none of those are going to kill us. It’s isolation, loneliness, a feeling of being separate from our fellow human beings that is the killer. Over time I can cope with a lousy prognosis, overtime I can heal a ragged past, but I won’t survive being cut off from my humanity and the humanity of my fellow man. I want to thrive and to thrive I need to partake in love, being and feeling loved. We are born for it, and what a joy, what a source of peace and contentment to live on this earth and to leave this earth a loved and free spirit. Thank you. F
Counselling at CSA with Mike Sowerby (M.A. Counselling)
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Cancer is a journey you may initially feel you don’t wish to be on. CSA’s counselling program focusses on helping individuals and families with cancer navigate the path and find their way. Sessions are available by appointment Tuesday-Thursday. Home and hospital visits also available upon request. Phone 9384 3544 to book. Cancer Support Association
www.cancersupportwa.org.au
Having compassion for oneself is really no different than having compassion for others. Think about what the experience of compassion feels like. First, to have compassion for others you must notice that they are suffering. If you ignore that homeless person on the street, you can’t feel compassion for how difficult his or her experience is. Second, compassion involves feeling moved by others’ suffering so that your heart responds to their pain (the word compassion literally means to “suffer with”). When this occurs, you feel warmth, caring, and the desire to help the suffering person in some way. Having compassion also means that you offer understanding and kindness to others when they fail or make mistakes, rather than judging them harshly. Finally, when you feel compassion for another (rather than mere pity), it means that you realise that suffering, failure, and imperfection is part of the shared human experience. Self-compassion involves acting the same way towards yourself when you are having a difficult time, fail, or notice something you don’t like about yourself. Instead of just ignoring your pain with a “stiff upper lip” mentality, you stop to tell yourself “this is really difficult right now,” how can I comfort and care for myself in this moment? Instead of mercilessly judging and criticising yourself for various inadequacies or shortcomings, self-compassion means you are kind and understanding when confronted with personal failings – after all, who ever said you were supposed to be perfect? You may try to change in ways that allow you to be more healthy and happy, but this is done because you care about yourself, not because you are worthless or unacceptable as you are. Perhaps most importantly, having compassion for yourself means that you honour and accept your humanness. Things will not always go the way you want them to. You will encounter frustrations, losses will occur, you will make mistakes, bump up against your limitations, fall short of your ideals. This is the human condition, a reality shared by all of us. The more you open your heart to this reality instead of constantly fighting against it, the more you will be able to feel compassion for yourself and all your fellow humans in the experience of life.
Self-compassion entails being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, rather than ignoring our pain or flagellating ourselves with self-criticism. Self-compassionate people recognise that being imperfect, failing, and experiencing life difficulties is inevitable, so they tend to be gentle with themselves when confronted with painful experiences rather than getting angry when life falls short of
set ideals. People cannot always be or get exactly what they want. When this reality is denied or fought against suffering increases in the form of stress, frustration and self-criticism. When this reality is accepted with sympathy and kindness, greater emotional equanimity is experienced.
Frustration at not having things exactly as we want is often accompanied by an irrational but pervasive sense of isolation – as if “I” were the only person suffering or making mistakes. All humans suffer, however. The very definition of being “human” means that one is mortal, vulnerable and imperfect. Therefore, self-compassion involves recognising that suffering and personal inadequacy is part of the shared human experience – something that we all go through rather than being something that happens to “me” alone. It also means recognising that personal thoughts, feelings and actions are impacted by “external” factors such as parenting history, culture, genetic and environmental conditions, as well as the behaviour and expectations of others. Thich Nhat Hahn calls the intricate web of reciprocal cause and effect in which we are all imbedded “interbeing.” Recognising our essential interbeing allows us to be less judgmental about our personal failings. After all, if we had full control over our behaviour, how many people would consciously choose to have anger issues, addiction issues, debilitating social anxiety, eating disorders, and so on? Many aspects of ourselves and the circumstances of our lives are not of our choosing, but instead stem from innumerable factors (genetic and/or environmental) that we have little control over. By recognising our essential interdependence, therefore, failings and life difficulties do not have to be taken so personally, but can be acknowledged with non-judgmental compassion and understanding.
Self-compassion also requires taking a balanced approach to our negative emotions so that feelings are neither suppressed nor exaggerated. This equilibrated stance stems from the process of relating personal experiences to those of others who are also suffering, thus putting our own situation into a larger perspective. It also stems from the willingness to observe our negative thoughts and emotions with openness and clarity, so that they are held in mindful awareness. Mindfulness is a non-judgmental, receptive mind state in which one observes thoughts and feelings as they are, without trying to suppress or deny them. We cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion for it at the same time. At the same time, mindfulness requires that we not be “over-identified” with thoughts and feelings, so that we are caught up and swept away by negative reactivity. F
From: www.self-compassion.org Spring 2012
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By Patricia Peat
The nutrition in foods affects cancer both directly and indirectly. Some foods kill cancer cells and others promote cancer cell growth. Learning differences between what to eat and what not to eat is essential.
Our hospitals are yet to catch up with emerging research supporting the importance of good nutrition when you have been diagnosed with cancer. Cancer will thrive in a body supported by sugar and saturated fats. Food has a very powerful effect in your body. Diet and nutrition alter your internal terrain and influence genes. The nutrition in foods affects cancer both directly and indirectly. Some foods kill cancer cells and others promote cancer cell growth. Learning differences between what to eat and what not to eat is essential. Nutrition and cancer is one of the most important areas in an integrative cancer care plan. Educate yourself about foods and cancer as a priority. Eating cancer fighting foods can strongly influence your health and healing. Follow these guidelines for optimum health: 1. Dietary and nutritional changes can be very challenging and are well worth the effort. Due to the amount of time people spend eating, as well as their emotional connections with food, adhering to ongoing dietary guidelines might be perceived as difficult. Ride the tide. Make changes step by step. We are creatures of habit but two months of any dietary change will have your palate and body treating it as the norm and any old bad habits will soon recede into the background. 2. There is not a one size fits all cancer diet. A lot of people say a lot of things about the relationship between diet and cancer with cancer fighting foods. The reality is that each person is unique and therefore variability exists between optimal diets. Different cancers have different effects on the body’s metabolism and advice that is food for breast cancer is not good for pancreatic cancer. Get good advice from someone who knows cancer as well as nutrition. 3. Do not expect your conventional cancer care team to educate you about foods and cancer. Conventional cancer care providers may have some knowledge in this area and understand the powerful relationship between foods and cancer. Or they might refer you to a nutrition expert. However, mainstream medical training provides very little education if any about the relationship between foods and health and certainly foods and cancer. Most likely, you need to seek information about diet and cancer from other sources. 4. Consult with an expert. Consider consulting with a, naturopath, nutritionist, herbalist or other trained health care professional with expertise in the relationship between foods and cancer. An expert can guide you about specific cancer fighting foods, general nutritional information, and quantities depending upon your condition. Some cancer patients need help in adding or losing weight due to situations such as cancer cachexia, being overweight, or obese. Many cancer patients need help in strictly avoiding certain foods that contribute to cancer progression while emphasizing the addition of healthy foods and nutrients. An expert can help inform your individualized cancer diet.
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Every tree, every growing thing as it grows, says this truth, you harvest what you sow. Rumi 5. Read books about diet, foods, nutrition and cancer. You can learn a lot through reading. Also know that you will inevitably encounter some contradictory recommendations about diets, including cancer fighting foods. 6. Foods impact your entire body and not just one part. Louis Pasteur said on his deathbed, “The germ is nothing, the terrain is everything.” The terrain refers to the internal environment influencing health. His statement represents a significant change in thinking for the father of the theory that germs (small organisms in the body) cause disease. Foods greatly impact your terrain in your entire body. Food is medicine when you know what to eat and what not to eat. 7. Eat foods that promote wellness and anti-cancer activity. Many studies indicate that cancer fighting foods support survival and quality of life. Many contain natural compounds which can target cancer cells, balance hormones and rid the body of toxins. Since most people eat at least three times daily, food choices have a strong and constant impact on the body. Proper nutrition can also increase the efficacy and diminish the toxicity of conventional treatments. 8. Avoid specific foods and ingredients associated with cancer. Many foods and ingredients are harmful to health and contribute to cancer risk, cancer development, and cancer growth. Learn about top foods and ingredients to avoid in support of your health.
A 5 week course at CSA • what to eat & what NOT to eat
9. Eat organic as much as possible. Many foods today are burdened with pesticides and other chemicals. Some of these chemicals have been associated with cancer. Pay now or pay more lately. Choosing organic foods is a worthwhile investment in your life and especially for the top foods with pesticides.
• how to prepare superfoods, wholefoods and raw foods
10. Learn about pH and the acid-alkaline balance. Acid-alkaline balance refers to the internal chemistry of your body’s tissues and fluids as measured through pH. Health requires acid-alkaline balance. Research shows that the majority of people with health challenges are overly acidic. Diet is a primary factor creating acidity and the right diet can strongly support an alkaline environment. F
• how to grow your own organic herbs and vegies!
From: www.canceroptions.co.uk Patricia Peat, RGN Dip Pall C Dip UTR, is the founder of Cancer Options and an Integrative Health Specialist in the UK. Cancer Options is a service which help people with cancer and their families find the treatment options and services they need. Patricia is a respected public speaker on the subject of integrative medicine and empowering people to make their own decisions. She is a medical advisor to the Yes To Life Charity and the Integrated Healthcare Trust
• how to juice and sprout
CSA’s next Eating for Cancer Recovery Courses start 18th October and the 22nd November. Details on page 9. Phone 9384 3544 to register or book securely online
www.cancersupportwa.org.au Spring 2012
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Nature’s Healing Harvest “LET YOUR FOOD BE YOUR MEDICINE. LET YOUR MEDICINE BE YOUR FOOD.” HIPPOCRATES – 370 BC Food is medicine and organic fruits and vegetables take centre stage in achieving pristine health and longevity. What is on the end of your fork clearly defines your approach to compassion, environmentally and your health and well being. The following foods are valuable in sustaining your health, embracing life and promoting longevity.
Antioxidants in our food can save us from virtually everything. Most of our health misfortunes are due to the perversity of oxygen. Our cells are perpetually besieged by toxic forms of oxygen which have been proved to have fierce destructive powers. So far scientists have linked destructive oxygen reactions to at least sixty different chronic diseases, as well as to aging itself. Oxygen free radicals can attack DNA, the genetic material of cells, causing them to mutate, which is a step on the path to cancer. The dye that is released from the blueberries' skin may well be the most valuable nutrient the fruit has to offer. The pigments in blueberries and also in red crops such as cherries, plums, and red cabbage are powerful antioxidants. They have been determined to be a much-heralded chemical warrior against heart disease and also cancer. Blueberries actually have the highest antioxidant capacity because of their large anthocyanin concentration.
Red cabbage is a good source of phytonutrients that help to detoxify pollutants and other
carginogens that most people are exposed to on a daily basis. Like other cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, it's high in glucosinolates, compounds which are metabolized by the body to form powerful cancer fighting chemicals known as isothiocyanates. Isothiocyanates activate the liver enzymes that break down carcinogens, allowing them to be safely eliminated from the body. People who consume high quantities of cruciferous vegetables have been shown to have a lower risk of certain types of cancer. Red cabbage is also a good source of indoles, compounds that may reduce the risk of breast cancer by altering estrogen metabolism.
Red Beet is unique for its high levels of anti-carcinogens and its very high carotenoid content. Red
beets are high in carbohydrates and low in fat and it is an excellent source of folic acid. It is loaded with antioxidant that helps the body against heart disease, certain cancer especially colon cancer and even birth defects. Betacyanin is the pigment that gives beets their red colour; this pigment is absorbed into the blood corpuscles and can increase the oxygen-carrying ability of the blood by up to 400 per cent. Don't throw away the green leafy tops as they can be cooked like spinach and are also rich in beta-carotene, folic acid, chlorophyll, potassium, vitamin C, and iron.
Beet root is a traditional treatment used for leukemia. Beet root contain an amino acid betaine
which has an anti cancer properties. Red beet therapy, consisting of consumption of approximately two pounds of raw, mashed beets daily, has been favorably reported for cases of leukemia. Research also shows that beet juice can help inhibit the development of colon and stomach cancer. It is believed that red beets when used eaten regularly may help against certain oxidative stress-related disorders.The fibrein red beets help reduced serum cholesterol by 30 to 40%.Beets can help in normalizing blood pressure.Beets helps to keep the elasticity of arteries, when consumed regularly it can help prevent varicose veins.The iron content of red beets, though not high but is of the finest quality that makes it a powerful cleanser and builder of blood. This is the reason why beets is very effective in treating many ailments caused by toxic environment and surrounding.Beet root is recommended for pregnant women because it contains folic acid that can help lower the risk of spina bifida and other neural
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Cruciferous Vegetables
contain fibre and many vitamins and minerals (including antioxidants) that promote optimal health, they also contain sulforaphane and indole-3carbinol. These phytonutrients have been shown to stimulate enzymes in the body that help the liver remove carcinogens (and other toxic chemicals) and deactivate a powerful estrogen metabolite that promotes tumour growth. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, various components in calciferous vegetables have been shown to stop tumour growth in the breast, uterine lining, cervix, colon, lung, and liver and according to studies monitoring diets, eating calciferous vegetables can lower ones risk of getting prostate cancer. Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, mustard greens, radishes and mustard greens.
Kale is absolutely rich and abundant in calcium, lutein, iron, and Vitamins A, C, and K. Kale has seven times the betacarotene of broccoli and ten times more lutein. Kale is rich in Vitamin C not to mention the much needed fibreso lacking in the daily diet of processed food eating Americans. The "Icing on the Kale" are the natural occurring all important phytochemicals sulforaphane and indoles which research suggests may protect against cancer. Let's not forget the all important antioxidant Vitamin E. Rest assured kale spares nothing in providing one with much needed nutrients and associated health benefits. The naturally rich sulfur content of kale deserves a bit more discussion. Science has discovered that sulforaphane, helps boost the body's detoxification enzymes, possibly by altering gene expression. This is turn is purported to help clear carcinogenic substances in a timely manner. Sulforaphane is formed when cruciferous vegetables like kale are chopped or chewed. This somehow triggers the liver to produce enzymes that detoxify cancer causing chemicals, of which we all are exposed on daily basis. A recently new study in the Journal of Nutrition (2004) demonstrates that sulforaphane helps stop breast cancer cell proliferation.
Beans are an often-overlooked source of incredible health
benefits. – They have a lot of carbs, leading people to believe they should be avoided and seen as a weight gain risk only. Nothing could be farther from the truth though, as research has shown that the carbohydrates found in most beans are of the complex variety. Complex carbohydrates are not contributors to any sort of weight gain, instead providing the brain and muscles with a lot of good, stable energy supplies. Beans actually contain a wider variety of healthy nutrients than most foods. These include calcium, potassium, vitamin
B6, magnesium, folate, and alpha-linolenic acid. These nutrients work together on several key areas of the body promoting total health. Beans also happen to be good sources of complete proteins, which is rare in plants. Plants, while having many different nutrients, often lack complete proteins of any kind. This is unfortunate, as protein is a vital ingredient to the healthy and normal functioning of the human body, and the most readily available sources of protein have negative effects on the heart. Beans, however, are plentiful in protein. Most of the commotion that beans are generating in the scientific community has to do with the fact that they are showing to provide protection from many of the most feared and lethal diseases plaguing us today. Studies have shown that eating beans on a regular basis reduces a person’s risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and obesity. Sometimes the reduction in risk is substantial. The risk for heart disease, for example, may be reduced by as much as 22%. Beans help to curb hunger, and offer the body valuable sources of ready energy that it can burn quickly and effectively. Because of this, beans boost energy levels, and as a result, promote weight loss. Beans are powerful little foods that have been ignored for far too long. Associated with Carbohydrates and gas, current studies have done a wonderful job of increasing our understanding of this plentiful food and revealed it to be packed with important nutrition. The benefits that can be attained from eating beans are as varied as all of the nutrients they contain, but what is important is that many of these benefits help to protect people from some of the most feared illnesses of our times.
Whole grains offer vitamins and minerals, plus high levels of antioxidants and other healthy plant-based nutrients. Whole grains contain protective antioxidants in amounts near or exceeding those in fruits and vegetables. They also provide some unique antioxidants not found in other foods. Studies have shown that eating more whole grains may help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. New studies show that whole grains may lower triglycerides, improve insulin control, help in weight management, and slow the build-up of arterial plaque. Optimal whole grains are hulled barley, wheat berries, buckwheat, rye, spelt, qunoia, black rice and brown rice. I could go on and on and add several other foods like parsley, radishes, papaya, all berries, onions, garlic, tomatoes, walnuts, flaxseed, wheat germ oil, hemp seed oil and so many more beautiful and colourful organic foods that are from the earth and soak up all the minerals, enzymes and vitamins our planet has to offer. This is why it is so important not to choke our environment with pollution from animal agriculture, pesticides, chemicals and genetically modified foods. If we treat our planet with respect and integrity, it will give back to us a multitude of live foods, air, water and soil essentially vital to our mere existence to live. F
From: veganism.com Spring 2012
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FOOD & NUTRITION
tube defects in newborn infants. Beet juice helps stimulate the function of liver cells and protect the liver and bile ducts. Beet juice is highly alkaline which makes it effective in the treatment of acidosis. Drinking beets regularly can help relieve constipation.Beet juice and carrot juice when combined is excellent in the healing gout, kidney and gall bladder problem.
Juicing is an amazing way to encourage healing and cleanse the body while supplying a compelling increase in vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Cancer cells, toxins, built-up chemicals, excess body fat, transformed fatty acids, impacted mucus in the bowel, sickness and disease are all dramatically impacted.
my vegan day... “The preparation of foods is a vital factor in optimum health. Preparation for the most part is raw and sprouting. I eat most of my vegetables raw and I juice more than a litre of fresh organic vegetables everyday of my life. Breakfast I make a beautiful salad of many organic vegetables and sprouted grains and beans every morning. Lunch I eat more raw vegetables during the day and drink a fruit smoothie of blueberries and papaya mid day. Dinner I will typically have sweet potato with tomatoes, healthy whole grains like hulled barley and wheat berries and tomatoes and broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts.”
The living enzymes abundant in fruit and vegetable juices radiate with healing properties. Antioxidants attach themselves to toxins, effectively removing them from the body. Vegetable juice is living fuel that takes no digestive energies, allowing the body’s entire focus to be on healing and rejuvenation. Packed with vitamins, minerals, living enzymes, antioxidants, phytochemicals, yet low enough in calories to force the body to cannibalize on its filthy waste, propelling you to vigorous physical health and clarity of mind. There will be periods of toxic crisis, but once you learn not to fear them they can bring an exciting anticipation that your body is going through a deep cleansing, not for a few days but 365 days a year if you juice everyday. . I hear people all the time say that they are going to detox their body for ten days or even 21 days. I interpret that like only taking a shower for 210 days out of the entire year. What good is cleansing your body for just a few days? All the essential nutrients in fruit and vegetables are locked within their fibres. A juice extractor frees these essential nutrients so they can be absorbed and used directly, requiring a minimum amount of digestive effort. Therefore the metabolic energy can be used 100% for cleansing mucoid matter from the lymph and toxins from the cellular tissue. Fruit and vegetable juices are the cleansers, energisers, builders, and regenerates the human system. A combination of either fresh raw fruit or vegetable juices will supply all the enzymes, vitamins, minerals, protein, and fats critical to increased vitality! Adding live juices to your diet as a daily routine, many have experienced a rejuvenating effect and help with the healing of various illnesses such as cancer, leukemia, arthritis, high blood pressure, kidney disorders, skin infections, liver disorders, alcoholism, and smoking. Supplying the body with easily absorbed nutrients, while the body is cleansing itself. For most health conditions juicing is a great method of transformation. Through juicing, thousands of individuals have been freed from serious diseases such as cancer, leukemia, arthritis, high blood pressure, kidney disorders, skin infections, liver disorders, alcoholism and even smoking. I typically juice carrots, parsley, beets, beet tops, red cabbage, kale, apples, chard, spinach and cucumbers. I also blend fruits like papaya, blueberries, cantaloupe, watermelon and tomatoes. When I juice I feel amazing and can’t stop telling people, those of you that routinely juice know what I mean. You develop an uncanny vibrancy, clarity and energy. I juice red cabbage, kale, parsley, spinach, beets, carrots and mustard greens....Not the most delicious drink in the world but the concentration of nutrients is miraculous....No one will ask you for a sip either, trust me on that. By juicing everyday you are cleansing your body from the inside out. You take a shower every day, you brush your teen everyday, you put on clean clothes everyday, right? Then it is only appropriate to cleanse your body from the inside everyday too. F
From: veganism.com
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FOOD & NUTRITION
Sprouts are one of the most complete and nutritional of all foods tested. Sprouts are real 'Life Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Enzymes. Their nutritional value was discovered by the Chinese thousands of years ago. Numerous scientific studies suggest the importance of sprouts in a healthy diet. As an example, a sprouted Mung Bean has the vitamin A of a lemon, thiamin of an avocado, riboflavin of a dry apple, niacin of a banana, and ascorbic acid of a loganberry. Because sprouts are predigested food, they have a higher biological efficiency value then whole seeds, raw or cooked. Less food is required, yet more nutrients reach the blood and cells. The sprouting process under the action of light, creates chlorophyll. Chlorophyll has been shown to be effective in overcoming protein deficiency anemia. Sprouts also have a regenerating effect on the human body because of their high concentration of RNA, DNA, protein and essential nutrients which can be found only in living cells. (Synthetic supplements are not life food.) The chemical changes that occur in the sprouting seed activate a powerful enzyme factory, never to be surpassed in later stage growth. The rich enzyma concentration can lead heightened enzyme activity in your metabolism, leading to regeneration of the bloodstream. Some vitamins increase during sprouting by 500%! In wheat, vitamin B-12 quadruples, other B vitamins increase 3 to 12 times, vitamin E content triples. Fibre content increases three to four times that of whole wheat bread. To begin with, sprouts are the most reliable year-round source of vitamin C, carotenoid A, and many B vitamins (such as folacin), all of which are usually in short supply in our diet. Sprouting seeds, grains, and legumes greatly increases their content of those vitamins. For example, the vitamin A content (per calorie) of sprouted Mung beans is two-and-a-half times higher than the dry bean, and some beans have more than eight times more vitamin A after being sprouted. Dry seeds, grains, and legumes, while rich in protein and complex carbohydrates, contain no vitamin C. But after sprouting, they contain around 20 milligrams per 3.5 ounces, a tremendous increase. Also, if grown in decent soil or taken from your own garden, seeds, grains, and legumes will be high in organic minerals – so your sprouts will be an excellent source of minerals as well as vitamins.
Sprouts are probably the most beneficial anti-aging regime you can do for yourself. Forget about the expensive vitamins, supplements, health resorts, plastic surgery and health guru books, just take matters into your own hands and sprout organic beans and grains, eat lots of raw deep coloured organic vegetables and fruits, exercise and surround yourself with positive people and circumstances. Life is short and to get from point birth to death, it can be wonderful, rewarding and rejuvenating. Remember, your biggest investment in life is your health.
The great advantage in getting vitamins from sprouts you grow yourself is that you get a consistently high vitamin content without losses. In the dead of winter, when you can’t grow anything or get fresh produce anywhere, sprouts will provide a consistently reliable source of fresh, high-nutrient vegetables rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, and B vitamins. This will keep your immune system strong and your health in top condition when almost everyone else is getting sick. Have you ever heard of a vegetable that continues to gain vitamins after you harvest it? Sprouts do! Sprouts are living foods. Even after you harvest your sprouts and refrigerate them, they will continue to grow slowly, and their vitamin content will actually increase. Contrast that with store-bought fruits and vegetables, which start losing their vitamins as soon as they’re picked and often have to be shipped a thousand miles or more in the winter. You can sprout mung, garbanzo and adzuki beans year around. Also wheat berries and hulled barley. Sprouting takes less than three days and is as easy as placing them in a jar and rinsing then twice a day until they sprout. It doesn't take rocket science and you can do it in your kitchen with a $5 sprouting jar and a few beans and grains. For literally pennies and a few minutes of your time each day, you can prevent a multitude of diseases in your life and your health will benefit immensely. F Spring 2012
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Superfoods Cacao (Raw Chocolate)
David Wolfe, author of on nutrition and raw food.
The seed of a fruit of an Amazonian tree, cacao is the highest antioxidant food on the planet, the #1 source of magnesium, iron, chromium and is also extremely high in PEA, theobromine (cardiovascular support), and anandamide (“bliss chemical”). Raw Chocolate balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, is a natural aphrodisiac, elevates your mood and energy.
He describes superfoods
Goji Berries (Wolfberries)
as an ancient collection of
Used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 5,000 years, goji berries are regarded as a longevity, strength-building, and potency food of the highest order. This superfood contains 18 kinds of amino acids, all 8 essential amino acids, up to 21 trace minerals, high amounts of antioxidants, iron, polysaccharides, B & E vitamins, and many other nutrients.
Superfoods is an authority
edible, incredibly nutritious plants, each containing
Maca
a dozen or more unique properties that are unable to be entirely classified
A staple in the Peruvian Andes for thousands of years, this adaptogenic superfood increases energy, endurance, strength, and libido. Dried maca powder contains more than 10% protein, nearly 20 amino acids, and 7 essential amino acids. As a root crop, maca contains five times more protein than a potato and four times more fibre.
Hemp Products eaten their RAW form
as a food or a medicine. Superfoods are far more
Packed with 33 % pure digestible protein, rich in iron, amino acids, and vitamin E as well as omega-3′s and GLA. A perfect food.
potent and nutrient dense
Spirulina and Blue-Green Algae
than the usual foods
The world’s highest source of complete protein (65%), spirulina provides a vast array of minerals, trace elements, phytonutrients and enzymes. Blue-green algae is a wild-grown superfood with a 60% protein percentage, but is equally or exceedingly higher in other components. Both are vital superfoods.
we eat, making them a great way to deliciously
Bee Products (honey, pollen, and propolis)
supplement our daily diets. David shares his top Superfoods.
Bee pollen is the most complete food found in nature containing vitamin B-9 and all 21 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Honey, in its organic/wild, raw, unfiltered states is rich in minerals, antioxidants, probiotics, enzymes, and one of the highest vibration foods on the planet.
Camu Berry Highest Vitamin C source on planet. Great for rebuilding tissue, purifying blood, and enhancing immunity, and energy.
Sea Vegetables (seaweeds including: kelp, dulse, nori, hijiki, bladderwrack, chlorella, etc) Rich in life-giving nutrients drawn in from the ocean and sun, sea vegetables help remove heavy metals, detoxify the body, provide numerous trace minerals, regulate cholesterol, and decrease the risk of cancer. Seaweeds benefit the entire body, and are especially excellent for the thyroid (high iodine), immune system, adrenals, and hormone function. F
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FOOD & NUTRITION
1. Living Superfood Sprouts are live, alkalizing superfoods exploding with energy and nutrients that literally make your meals come alive.
2. Pure and Un-Processed Food Always make sure your sprouting seeds are organic! With all the environmental toxins and chemicals our bodies are exposed to on a daily basis, sprouts offer a rare toxin-free food choice easily assimilated and utilised by your cells.
3. Economically Responsible Anywhere Anytime Home sprouting provides fresh food year round for pennies on the dollar. Wheatgrass is commonly sold at juice bars for more than four dollars a shot, while homegrown wheatgrass costs 33 cents a shot.
4. Great for Weight Loss/ Ideal Weight Management Sprouts are a low calorie food with a super high nutrient value. By including sprouts in our diet, we provide the body with the energy and nutrients it needs to cleanse, detoxify, and rebuild itself.
5. The Rewards of Home Gardening It is rewarding to be a home gardener and to eat your own fresh produce. Gardening is a green thing! It’s easier to sprout indoors where you can control the growing environment than it is to grow food in an outdoor garden where you are up against insects, animals, extreme temperatures, and long growing periods. Your sprouts will be ready from a few days to a few weeks depending on what type of seed you’re growing. For instance, lentil sprouts will be ready in two to three days, whereas greens like wheatgrass need to grow for two weeks. Remember, sprouts are a time tested superfood that has been eaten for 5,000 years. When will you start your indoor garden? F
Suzanne Thomas is a health coach, sprouting advocate, and the author of Sproutology: The Ultimate Home Sprouting Guide. To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website www.bewellwithsue.com and sign up for her newsletter. Spring 2012
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The healing benefits of
Raw Cacao (now validated by modern science) By Carolanne Wright
Legendary cacao has a The native people of the Americas extolled the merits of cacao with oral histories, pottery, stonework, and coloured documents that chronicled its use in rituals as well as in everyday life. long history of medicinal The Mayan and Mexica religions believed cacao had divine origins. According to Mayan legend, after humans were created by the goddess Xmucane, the God Sovereign Plumed Serpent gave use throughout cacao to the Maya. Mesoamerica and When Europeans began exploring the New World, Columbus and his crew were the first to South America. This encounter cacao when they seized a canoe at Guanaja that was filled with strange ‘almonds’. Eventually it was discovered the ‘almonds’ were actually cacao beans used as a source of currency magical bean offers in Mesoamerica. great benefits when the Cacao is not only a food, but also a medicine. Preparations are well documented by the explorers who came in contact with cacao during their travels. Cacao medicinal properties were noted to cacao is high-quality, alleviate fever, anemia, poor appetite, metal fatigue and poor breast milk production, as well as tuberculosis, gout, kidney stones and low virility. This delicious bean was famous for healing the raw and organic. Today, nervous system and improving digestion and elimination. science confirms cacao Jump to the modern day and numerous studies celebrate the many virtues of chocolate. Research has many favourable confirms that chocolate helps to relieve emotional stress. Stress hormones and stress-related biochemical agents were reduced when volunteers, who rated themselves as highly stressed, qualities that support consumed 1.4 ounces of dark chocolate per day for a period of two weeks. health and psychological Another study found that cacao flavanols (CF) improve cognitive function. In a randomised, double-blind trial, 30 healthy adults consumed either 520 mg or 994 mg of a CF infused well-being. beverage. Both groups showed significant improvement in mental acuity, while a reduction in ‘mental fatigue’ was only found with the lower consumption of 520 mg. The researchers suspect the results may be related to the effects of CF on blood flow.
Cacao mass also contains potassium, phosphorus, copper, iron, zinc, and magnesium which contribute to cardiovascular health. Chocolate has the ability to trigger the release of dopamine and the endorphin phenylethylamine, both of which soothe the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and depression. Due to its high valeric acid content, cacao has stress relieving properties despite the presence of the stimulants theobromine and caffeine. Yet not all chocolate is created equal. Organic, raw cacao reigns supreme with maximum nutrient content compared to other forms. Since raw chocolate is processed at low temperatures, it retains much more of its famed nutritional value than if it were roasted. As seen in David Wolfe’s, “Naked Chocolate: The Astounding Truth About the World’s Greatest Food”, raw chocolate has many high-quality nutrients such as manganese, vitamin C, and omega 6 fatty acids.
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Raw cacao also contains powerful antioxidants along with a significant amount of chromium, which balances blood sugar levels. Additional benefits are found in neurotransmitter modulating agents that act as natural antidepressants. “They allow our neurotransmitters like serotonin to remain in our bloodstream longer that usual. This makes us younger,” explains Wolfe. He believes that raw cacao is an excellent way to enhance health while calming the heart, amplifying sensuality and enriching one’s love life. Live your bliss and savour the wisdom of the ancients. Invigorate modern vitality with the many extraordinary traits of raw cacao. F
Sources for this article: Teresa L. Dillinger, Patricia Barriga, Sylvia Escarcega, Martha Jimenez, Diana Salazar Lowe, Louis E. Grivetti, “Food of the Gods: Cure for Humanity? A Cultural History of the Medicinal and Ritual Use of Chocolate”, The Journal of Nutrition. Retrived on November 28, 2010, from http://jn.nutrition.org/content/130/8/2057S.full. pdf Francois-Pierre J. Martin, Serge Ressi, Emma Per-Trepat, Beate Kamlage, Sebastiano Collino, Edgar Leibold, Jurgen Kastler, Dietrich Rein, Laurent B. Fay, Sunil Kochhar, “Metabolic Effects of Dark Chocolate Consumption on Energy, Gut Microbiota, and Stress-Related Metabolism in Free-Living Subjects”, Journal of Proteome Research, October 7, 2009, 8 (12), pp 5568-5579 Andrew B Scholey, Stephen J French, Penelope J Morris, David O Kennedy, Athea L Milne, Crystal F Haskell, “Consumption of coca flavanols results in acute improvements in mood and cognitive performance during sustained mental effort”. Journal of Psychopharmacology, October 2010, 24 (10)pp 1505-1514 Pamela Moyers Scott, MPAS, PA-C, “Is chocolate really good for me?” JAAPA, January 2007, 20 (1) pp 55-56 Marisa Belger, “The raw, tasty truth about natural chocolate. Skip the average bar and reach for nutrient-packed cacao treats instead”. Today GreenDAY, August 2009. Retrieved on November 30, 2010, from http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32271092/ns/ today-green/ Kevin Gianni, “Nutritional Authority David Wolfe Discusses Metabolism and Chocolate”, Natural News, August 22, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2010, from http://www.naturalnews. com/023939_food_chocolate_cacao.html
From: naturalnews.com. Carolanne Wright enthusiastically believes if we want to see change in the world, we need to be the change. As a nutritionist, natural foods chef, and wellness coach, Carolanne has encouraged others to embrace a healthy lifestyle of organic living, gratefulness, and joyful orientation for over 13 years. Through her website www.Thrive-Living.com she looks forward to connecting with other like-minded people from around the world who share a similar vision.
why i love cacao I love to use cacao powder in raw recipes, as it has so much more goodness than cocoa. It’s a bit like the difference between Rapadura and refined sugar, or extra virgin olive oil and refined oils. Regular cocoa is usually heat extracted (up to 150 degrees celcius!) with solvents. Standard mainstream chocolate, like Cadbury, contains copious amounts of processed sugar, preservatives, sweeteners and more chemicals. Supermarket chocolate has been processed so much that the flavoniods have been destroyed in the manufacturing process, losing all health benefits, so you are just consuming chemicals and calories. It is also packed with refined sugar. Organic cocoas are better, as they are sun-dried, chemical free and fair trade – but cacao powder is the best (and is generally fair-trade also)! Cacao is cold pressed without solvents, and the nutrients are preserved much better than in cocoa – in fact, organic cacao has over 360% more anti-oxidants than regular cocoa! It has 21 times more anti-oxidants than green tea, and 7 times more than dark chocolate! Cacao does not raise blood cholesterol, it contains a fair amount of protein, and all three types of energy: fat, carbohydrates and sugar. It also contains high levels of catechin, fibre, carbohydrates, B vitamins and antioxidant-like substances. Calcium, Phosphates, Vitamins A, C and D occur in smaller quantities. Since Cacao contains fat, sugars, carbohydrates and protein, it has historically been used as energy food – it’s energy content is high, 18500 kj/kg (2000 kcal/lb). There is no caffeine in cacao (or chocolate, contrary to popular opinion), but it does contain small amounts of theobromine, which is similar to caffeine in that it stimulates the mind, muscles, kidneys and heart – but it has less effect on the central nervous system than caffeine does. Theobromine is not addictive, and is a much gentler stimulant than caffeine, but it’s still best not to overdo it. F Spring 2012
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bliss balls
raw food treats One of the easiest to make and healthiest raw food desserts to make are Bliss Balls. They are great little snacks which can provide a high powered dose of superfoods and protein. An indulgent treat which is also good for you! We share some of our favourite bliss ball recipes.
Cacao & Chilli Balls Ingredients 1 cup almonds 1 cup oats 1 tbsp linseeds 2 tbsp flaked coconut 1 tbsp raw cacao powder or carob powder 1/2 birds eye chili (or to taste) 2 tbsp coconut oil 2 tbsp raw honey (or to taste) 2 tbsp goji berries Directions In a food processor, blitz all the dry ingredients (incl. chili) on high until you get it as fine as possible. Add in coconut oil and honey and combine on medium speed for 10 seconds. Add in goji berries at the end to keep them whole. You want the mixture to be pliable enough to roll into balls. If they need to stick more, add more coconut oil or honey. You might need to put it in the fridge for a while so the coconut oil sets a little. Try rolling them in sesame seeds or coconut flakes.
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Carrot Cake Bliss Balls Ingredients 1 cup almonds 1/4 cup walnuts 1/4 cup pecans 6 Medjool dates, pitted 1/4 cup raisins 1 tsp coconut oil 1/4 cup coconut, shredded and unsweetened 2 large carrots, chopped or shredded 1 tbsp flaxseed, ground 1 tsp cinnamon pinch of nutmeg Directions 1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until combined. Mixture can still be chunky. Careful not to over-process nuts as these release too much of the oil. 2. Shape into balls and roll in coconut or cinnamon. 3. Refrigerate for 1 hour before eating. You can try adding pineapple (fresh or dried) and grated ginger for an extra kick. If your mixture is too moist, add additional ground flaxseed. Note: Keep your bliss balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator as they contain living raw foods. You can also freeze them to enjoy at a later date. If freezing, layer between baking paper to prevent them from sticking together.
RECIPES
Apricot & Nut Balls 1 cup puffed millet or rice ½ cup dessicated coconut ½ cup sesame seeds ½ cup sunflower seeds ½ cup rice malt syrup or honey ½ cup tahini 1 cup almond meal or ground LSA mix (linseeds, flax and almonds) 1 cup chopped nuts (almonds, cashews, hazelnuts etc) 1 cup chopped dried apricots Directions 1. Place all the dry ingredients in a processor and mix together. Gradually add the tahini and the rice malt until well combined. 2. Roll into small balls and coat with sesame seeds or coconut.
Cacao Nibs & Spirulina Balls 1 cup Dates 2 cups Almonds 1 cup Sunflower Seeds 1 cup Pumpkin Seeds 1 cup Coconut 1/4 cup Sesame Seeds
2 Tbsp Poppy Seeds 1/2 cup Raw Cacao Nibs 1-2 tsp Spirulina 1/4 tsp Sea Salt 1/2 cup+ Orange Juice *Extra Coconut to roll the balls in.
Directions Remove any pits then soak the dates in 2 cups very hot water. In a food processor process the almonds to a fine meal. Remove and pour into a medium bowl. Process the sunflower and pumpkin seeds and add to almonds. Add the coconut, sesame and poppy seeds, cacao nibs, spirulina and sea salt to the bowl, stir to combine. Strain the dates and puree with the orange juice to a smooth paste. Add to the dry ingredients and use your hands to mix well, you may need more orange juice if too dry or coconut if too wet. You want the dough to be moist but not wet, it needs to stick together well. Pour the extra coconut into a shallow bowl. With a 1 oz scoop or 2 spoons make balls about 1.5 inches diameter or the size of your choice. Moisten your hands and roll to form a good circle, roll in the coconut and set on a tray.
Vanilla, Cashew & Cacao Balls 2 cups cashews 12 pitted dates 1/3 cup hot water 1/3 cup raw coconut oil 1/3 cup raw cacao powder dash pure vanilla dash cinnamon dash sea salt * Optional add-ins: Maca Powder, Hemp Seeds, Goji Berries Directions 1. Soak the dates in hot water for 10 minutes, blend in a food processor to make a paste, scrape into a large bowl. 2. Process the cashews to a fine meal, add the coconut oil and process again. Transfer to the date mixture. 4. Add the cacao powder, vanilla, cinnamon and sea salt and stir to combine, use your hands if necessary. 5. Scoop into balls and roll with moistened hands. Roll balls in raw cacao powder.
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CSA’s Wellness Team share their favourite juice & smoothie recipes At CSA we love to experiment! Smoothies and juices are the best way to try new fruits and vegetables that you’ve never even heard of before. You can load up your blender with produce, hit the blend button, and cross your fingers. Chances are it will turn out tasting great!
Quick Berry Ice Cream/Smoothie
Jungle Juice
Juice together: carrot, celery, zucchini, pear, lemon, parsley, lemongrass stalks, coconut water and ice. Delicious, even the kids love this one! Mandy, General Manager
Summer Refresher
I just love ginger, so one of my favourite juices is lots of celery, big piece of ginger, carrot and apple. In summer this is nice icy cold, substitute tomato for the carrot, (looks like a bloody mary) pour into a Martini glass with ice & top with an olive. Jill, Client Services
Chocolote smoothie 3-5 tbsp raw cacao powder 3 pears Agave syrup to taste almond milk water
Blend together until smooth. Leave out the water if you want a dessert the consistency of chocolate mousse! Mandy, General Manager
Liver Cleanser
Juice together beetroot, carrot, orange, lemon and ginger. Great to cleanse the liver. Ester, Marketing
Broccoli Sprout Juice
Blend together 1 carrot, 1 celery stick, 1 apple, 100gms broccoli sprouts. Research has indicated positive effects on cancer sufferers who consume 100gms of 3 day old broccoli sprouts daily. Any difficulty in consuming 100gms of broccoli sprouts daily is easily overcome by juicing. Paul, Eating for Cancer Recovery Facilitator
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In a blender add frozen organic berry mix & a good organic yogurt. Blend slightly depending on the consistency you like. If having for desert put in small bowls, top with extra berries & place in freezer until just firm (for a sweeter taste add a small amount of stevia). For a smoothie you may blend a little longer, adding cold organic almond milk, for a more drinkable consistency. Jill, Client Services The next two smoothie recipes are alkalising, low-fat, dairy-free, fast and delicious. Simply blend them together until smooth...
Sweet Spearmint Smoothie 6 – 8 frozen bananas 3 medjool dates 750ml cold spring water or fresh young coconut water 1 cup of ice 1 cup baby spinach 1/2 cup fresh mint 2-3 drops raw peppermint extract (optional) 1 tspn extreme superfood powder * Sprinkle on top – caramelised buckwheat & garnish with fresh mint
Banana Caramel Smoothie 6-8 frozen bananas 4-6 medjool dates 750ml spring water or fresh young coconut water 1 cup of ice 1 tspn maca powder (optional) 2-3 drops raw vanilla extract (optional) * Sprinkle on top – caramelised buckwheat or goji berries The above two smoothie recipes are from CSA’s Eating for Cancer Recovery Course. Scott and Jazz, Eating for Cancer Recovery Facilitators.
1 beet 1 carrot 1 celery stick 1/2 potato 1 radish
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RECIPES
Dr Rudolf Breuss’s Cancer Juice
Did You Know… dfsa
This juice is based on Dr Rudolf Breuss’s Cancer Juice. A tea composed of nettle, St. John’s wart, marigold, artemisi and monarda was also given. Its composition is: 55% beet root, 20% celery root, 20% carrot, 3% potato, 2% radish.
Beet and Spinach
Beets (beetroot) are a live stimulant and a blood improver, and they help to cleanse the digestive system, as well as being rich in vitamins and minerals. Spinach contains carotenoids and vitamin C, both antioxidants that help to eliminate free radicals from the body.
Beet and Broccoli Juice
This earth-flavoured drink packs a wallop of nutrients and has cancerpreventing properties. Make this whenever you feel you need a strong nutritional boost. 1 beet (beetroot), trimmed, unpeeled and chopped 1 cup chopped broccoli 1 large tomato
Radish, Parsley and Carrot Juice
This peppery drink has diuretic properties. The radishes contain cancer-preventing compounds, as well as magnesium for muscle and nervous system function. The antioxidants in the carrots help to eliminate damaging free radicals.
Tomato and Watercress Juice
Tomatoes are rich in the carotenoid lycopene, which may help to prevent prostate cancer. Use perfectly ripe, deep red tomatoes, because as well as having the best flavour, they will have a higher level of lycopene. Watercress is a member of the crucifer family of vegetables (that includes broccoli and cabbage) and has cancerpreventing benefits, particularly for the colon and bladder. It is rich in vitamin C, beta-carotene, and contains some vitamin E. 1/2 lemon, peeled adds zing. The above five juice recipes are from CSA’s 5 Week Wellness Course. Cathy Brown, Wellness Course Facilitator.
Superfood Smoothie
One of my favourite ways to start the day is with a superfood smoothie. It is quick and easy… perfect for those of us on the go! This smoothie will nourish you on a deep level and provide you with all of the energy necessary to begin your day. This smoothie will offer you protein, vitamins, minerals and a sustainable source of energy. It will keep you from those mid-day crashes; it will speed up your metabolism, yet keep those hunger pangs away! This superfood smoothie will literally offer you feelings of bliss as raw cacao stimulates the production of anandamide (“the bliss chemical”). In addition you will be able to stay focused because cacao stimulates our neurotransmitters (needed to keep us alert). The best part is that it tastes great! 3 cups coconut water, hemp milk, almond milk or oat milk 1/4 cup raw cacao beans (or nibs) 3 tbsp maca root powder 1 handful of goji berries 1 tbsp coconut oil 1 pinch of Celtic sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt Real Raw Clear Agave Nectar (sweeten to taste) Blend on high until creamy. Serve and enjoy!
www.raw-food-living.com
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Almond Milk Nut milk is a super nutritious alternative to dairy and soy milk products. It tastes great on its own or you can use nut milk as a base for your favourite smoothie recipes.
Quick and Easy Nut Milk
This recipe is for when you either don’t have the nuts or just don’t have the time. You can use any raw nut butter you have on hand. Ingredients: 2 Tbsp any raw nut butter 2 cups purified water Dash of sea salt 2 Tbsp agave nectar 1/2 tsp vanilla extract OR 1/2 vanilla pod 1 Tbsp coconut butter (optional) Blend all ingredients until smooth. Enjoy!
Pecan Milk
Pecans are a good source of fibre and contain iron, calcium, vitamins A, B, and C, potassium, and phosphorous. Ingredients: 1 cup raw pecans, soaked for 2 hours or more 4 cups purified water 1/2 cup agave nectar OR raw honey 2 Tbsp coconut butter (optional) 2 tsp vanilla extract OR 1 vanilla pod 1/8 tsp sea salt 1 tsp cinnamon (optional) Place pecans and water in a blender and blend on high speed. Add remaining ingredients and blend.
From: rawfoodliving.com
Almonds are a good source of vitamin E and are about 20 percent protein, so they are also very filling. Edgar Cayce stated that eating 4 to 5 almonds a day can prevent cancer! Ingredients: 2 cup almonds, soaked for 4 hours or more 6 cups purified water 2-3 Medjool date OR 2-3 Tbsp agave nectar A few drops of natural almond extract (optional) Place almonds and water in a blender and blend on high speed. Strain mixture through a nut milk bag or a couple of layers of cheese cloth into a bowl. Rinse blender, add back in the strained liquid with date or nectar and blend.
Brazil Nut Milk
Brazil nuts are a great source of selenium. They have about 2500 times the amount of selenium than other nuts. Selenium is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect against disease, slow down aging and boost the immune system! Ingredients: 1 cup raw Brazil nuts, soaked for 2 hours or more 4 cups purified water 1/4 cup agave nectar OR raw honey 2 Tbsp coconut butter 1 Tbsp vanilla extract OR 2 vanilla pods 2 packets of stevia 1/8 tsp sea salt Place nuts and water in a blender and blend on high speed Strain mixture into a bowl. Rinse blender, add back in strained liquid. Blend remaining ingredients.
Macadamia Milk
Macadamia nuts are high in fibre, taste great, and have no cholesteral. Ingredients: 1 cup raw macadamia nuts, soaked for 1 hour or more 3 cups purified water 1/8 cup agave nectar OR raw honey 2 Tbsp coconut butter 2 tsp vanilla extract OR 1 vanilla pod 1/8 tsp sea salt Place nuts and water in a blender and blend on high speed. Add remaining ingredients and blend.
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2012 Venue: Claremont Showgrounds. Opening timesSpring 10am towellness 6pm NEWS
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thankyou... This edition of Wellness News was generously sponsored by our major donor Paul Bodycoat CARDNO BEC Other generous sponsors include the following companies who have donated or discounted services to assist with production of Wellness News and our recent fundraising campaigns. We highly recommend these professional and ethical West Australian businesses: Artproof Printing Phone Peter 9430 4034 Conscious Living magazine consciouslivingacademy.com Quickmail www.quickmail.com.au Honda North www.hondanorth.com.au
our volunteers... To our volunteers, sponsors and supporters – thankyou! Together we are providing wellness and healing opportunities and support for people in WA with cancer. CSA is priveleged to have a team of dedicated volunteers who assist with many activities in the organisation including reception, client services and programs, marketing and fundraising. Volunteers’ duties depend on their interests, expertise and the organisation’s needs. We have a variety of programs and campaigns and are always welcoming new volunteers to our wellness community. If you would like to join CSA’s volunteer program contact CSA on 9384 3544 info@cancersupportassociation.org.au to see how you can be of service.
In loving memory of those who have shared part of their life journey with us... Stewart Graham Prue Dufty Maria Fairman Peter Twine
Margaret Duff Rhondalee Hornsby John Laver
Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain... 54I amCancer Support Association www.cancersupportwa.org.au
We need your help to support CSA’s healing work... SPONSORS & DONORS
The CSA Spring Appeal
Donate to CSA’s Spring Appeal and grow this adorable mini pop-up postcarden... With 1 in 2 West Australians expected to experience cancer in their lifetime, almost every family in WA will be touched by cancer. With so many charities asking for your donation, we appreciate you choosing to support CSA through your membership and our fundraising activities. Your donation to this appeal provides essential support services and life-changing wellness programs. It is through your generous support that CSA can grow and help even more people in WA with cancer. Right now, we’re raising money so that everyone diagnosed with cancer in WA this coming year can receive a Care Pack to make life a little better on the difficult road to wellness and recovery. The Care Pack Program is only possible with your assistance. Your donation to this Appeal goes to the people who need your help the most.
We really appreciate your help. To thank our supporters, CSA will send everyone who donates $40 or more to the Spring Appeal one or more FREE POP-UP POSTCARDENS. Combining gift and greeting card, Postcarden is a wildly brilliant pop-up card that transforms into a mini living garden. It’s available in three charming designs which are now available to CSA supporters – City, Atrium and Allotment. Donate to the CSA Spring Appeal to collect all three!
City
Allotment
Atrium
Place your postcarden somewhere sunny and within days watch your mini garden grow! Your watercress garden lasts for weeks and is fully edible. These postcardens also make ideal gifts which you can easily mail to loved ones in time for Christmas!
please donate by returning the enclosed order form or go to our website: www.cancersupportwa.org.au 55 Spring 2012
wellness NEWS
Cancer Support Association
wellness, support & healing for all West Australians with cancer
Cancer Support Line (08) 9384 3544
www.cancersupportwa.org.au
Cancer Support Association of Western Australia Inc. 80 Railway St, Cottesloe WA. PO Box 325 Cottesloe WA 6911
CSA has been supporting and helping WA families with cancer for 28 years
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Cancer Support Association
Since 1984, the Cancer Support Association has helped and supported many thousands of West Australian families and individuals with cancer to achieve wellness and healing. CSA continues to provide wellness courses, seminars, publications, a comprehensive website, library, counselling and self-help activities to assist and inspire people on their journey with cancer.
www.cancersupportwa.org.au