The Preventative Health Journal: Blogs

The Natural Health Conference and Expo brings health professionals together

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:33:51 PDT

More than 1000 healthcare professionals, naturopaths, massage & beauty therapists, pharmacists and health food retailers from around Australia, New Zealand, Japan and India attended Australia’s largest Natural Health event this month - the Natural Health Conference and Expo at the AJC Convention Centre, Randwick, Sydney.

The Preventative Health Journal will had a stand at the expo and we’ll provide news, feature and video stories about the event soon. Stay tuned for interviews and stories from the show.

Read our menopause feature here: New hope for women suffering from menopause.

Read our infertility feature here: Knock the toxins out of your life to avoid infertility.

The Natural Health Conference and Expo, Australia’s foremost trade event for complementary healthcare industry, attracted more than 80 companies.

The expo is Australia’s only trade event which brings together all areas of natural health: natural medicines, supplements, energy medicine, functional foods, massage and yoga supplies, homoeopathic remedies, business and clinic services, magazines and publishers, industry associations and training providers.

“We feel very optimistic that Natural Health Conference and Expo will be a valuable event for both our exhibitors and visitors. We have continued to make subtle changes to the overall feel of the event, from the website to our registration process. It remains our priority to ensure we get the quality and quantity of visitors through the door – and we are well on track to have more than 1500 delegates visit the expo” says Simon Cooper, MD, Interpoint Events, organizers of the event.

New features:

New features for the event in 2009 included a two-day conference with four topics identified by naturopaths as key areas of concern:

Fertility
Allergies/Colds
Cancer
Menopause

Join our forums to talk about these main topics: http://thephj.com/forums/

There were also extensive sessions for business building – including communication, leadership and business health check & risk management.

To download the Natural Health Confernece and Expo program, visit: http://www.intermedia.com.au/newsletterNET/uploads/Interpoint/NH%20Program.pdf

Or visit:

http://www.naturalhealthexpo.com.au

Search for a therapist in our directory - Natural therapy and preventative health practitioners

editors@thephj.com (Stephen Carr) — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:31:32 PDT

We are very proud and excited to announce that we have recently released our new directory. The directory is designed to help you quickly and easily find preventative health practitioners and businesses in your area. You can browse by Australian city, post code or treatment type. You can also use the interactive map to find other businesses and practitioners in the area.

Our listings have all the information you need to make contact with these people, including a detailed map, email addresses, phone numbers and a downloadable business card for those of you who are more tech saavy.

If you have a business that you would like to be listed in our directory, why not get in contact with us and we can discuss our range of tax deductable directory packages.

An Experience of the French Health System

editors@thephj.com (John Carr) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:59:24 PST

I retired to live in France in April 2008 just after my 58th birthday. We had taken over an old house with a large garden and I was physically working much harder than in my previous office job. After about 6 months I began to feel chest pains after an hour or two of exertion. The pain would go away after a short rest but then reappear almost at once if I restarted work. We had already registered with a local GP and I was due to visit her for a tetanus booster. I had been told by my UK doctor that I wouldn't need a tetanus because I had already completed a course 15 or so years ago. The French doctor's view was that tetanus was common in the area and so why take a chance when the injections are so straightforward? I've no idea who is right on this but it perhaps shows a more cautious French approach.

During the appointment for the tetanus injection I mentioned my chest pains. She already new that I was taking medication to reduce my blood pressure and that my cholesterol was a little high. When registering with the doctor she had sent me off for a comprehensive blood test at the local laboratory. She asked about my family history and I told her that both my younger and older brothers had both had hospital treatment for problems with their coronary arteries. She then said that she would make an immediate appointment for an ECG at the local laboratory. However, on telephoning them, she found they were shut for the day. She then telephoned the local hospital and made an appointment in 1 hours time with their cardiology department . On arriving at the hospital they carried out the blood and ECG tests and then advised me that they were going to keep me in for 48 hours observation. I was surprised because I was actually feeling fine and I remained fine through the observation. After that I was sent home with an appointment for a stress test after the weekend. The stress test involved a cycling exercise while hooked up to an ECG machine. Apparently this proved normal but another phone call was made to the regional hospital to book an angiogram the following week.

The angiogram involved an overnight stay in the regional hospital it was done about 3 hours after my admittance. The angiogram revealed one of the ateries was about 90% blocked so as part of the same procedure a stent was inserted and all now seems back to normal.
The whole episode from my complaint to the doctor to the remedial action at the regional hospital had taken a little over a fortnight. Although none of the earlier tests had shown any positive signs of a problem the cautious approach had been to pursue all the testing to a conclusion as soon as possible. I was impressed by the fact that the GP, local and regional hospital were able to agree referrals by telephone and offer the patient an instant appointment within hours or days. The French may have a reputation for bureaucratic delay but when it comes to matters relating to health I've found this to be far from the case.

Malaysian yoga fatwa

editors@thephj.com (Stephen Carr) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:35:51 PST

Many Malaysians like to start their day with yoga which they see as a healthy, stress relieving activity which has little to do with their religion.

However it seems that the Malaysian National Fatwa Council and prominent Muslim clerics do not agree and they have issued a fatwa on yoga because of it's roots with Hinduism. The council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin said that some of the activities like chanting which he sees as being similar to worshipping were inappropriate and could "destroy the faith of a Muslim".

In an article on the BBC it goes on to describe how many Muslim's in Malaysia will follow this fatwa even if it is not legally required to do so. Others, however, will continue to do yoga as they see it as having a great benefit to their lives and in no way compromises their religion.

What do you think? Discuss this in our forums by following the link below.

Stealth Health, no pain - no gain?

editors@thephj.com (Stephen Carr) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:39:38 PST

An approach to all healthy living should, in my opinion, be that it permeates through your whole life, there is no real quick fix. This seems to be the general gist of the book Stealth Health: How to Sneak Age-Defying, Disease-Fighting Habits into Your Life without Really Trying.

"If you let yourself make small changes, they will add up to meaningful changes in the quality of your diet, your physical activity pattern, your capacity to deal with stress, and in your sleep quality -- and those four things comprise an enormously powerful health promotion that can change your life" says David Katz, MD, MPH, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center and of the Yale Preventive Medicine Center. Katz who is also co-author of the book Stealth Health.

I am not in complete agreement with the "without really trying" part of the book title as it seems to be leaning again toward another quick-fix fad that will solve all your problems. On the other hand a book promoting preventative health ideals, regardless of the subtext, has to be a good thing.

The book is available in bookshops and on Amazon: Stealth Health: How to Sneak Age-Defying, Disease-Fighting Habits Into Your Life Without Really Trying

Read a more about the Stealth Health movement here: http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/healthy-diet

The internet is good for your brain

editors@thephj.com (Stephen Carr) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:24:23 PST

New research shows that using the internet might be good for the brain. A University of California Los Angeles team have recently reported that searching the internet activates parts of the brain that are responsible for decision making processes.

While the research does not seem to conclusivly prove that using the internet promotes cognitive wellbeing or reduces the risk of dementia it does present some interesting results.

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said: "These fascinating findings add to previous research suggesting that middle-aged and older people can reduce their risk of dementia by taking part in regular mentally stimulating activities.

Real men wear gowns

editors@thephj.com (Stephen Carr) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:19:04 PDT

From the Ad Council in the USA comes this sort of clever ad targeting men who all to often neglect their health:

Men are 25 percent less likely than women to have visited the doctor within the past year and are 38 percent more likely than women to have neglected their cholesterol tests. Furthermore, men are 1.5 times more likely than women to die from heart disease, cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Ad Council have launched a new PSA campaign to encourage middle-aged men to learn which potentially life-saving medical tests they need to get and when they need to get them. The lighthearted ads incorporate family as a key motivating factor for men to take a more active role in preventive health. They show that being a real man means taking care of themselves (and their health) in order to be there for their families now and in the future.

Obama on the right track?

editors@thephj.com (Stephen Carr) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:03:24 PDT

Reading in the news that Obama has a very proactive approach to healthcare leaving McCain behind.

On top of all of this, Obama plans on offering a national insurance program that’s similar to what our U.S. congressmen get today. This option would be primarily for those who cannot afford insurance.

Research suggests that Obama’s health care plan would cover 34 million uninsured people.

However, this is not the only incentive to support Obama’s plan. If the cost of health care goes down and the incentives for employee insurance programs go up, we will see a rise in the employment rate, as many potential jobs are currently priced out due to required health care costs.

People currently uninsured will be able to take care of illnesses early, and not require the government to pay for higher costs down the line.

Now, let’s contrast this with McCain’s plan.

McCain wants to lend U.S. families a $5,000 health care tax credit or individuals a $2,500 tax credit. The cost is that the previous health care benefits for small businesses will be phased out.

Via