The Preventative Health Journal: Features

Harvard study highlights obesity health risk to women

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:52:39 PST

A new study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) researchers has found that, among a large study population of women who lived until at least age 70, being overweight in mid-life was associated with having more health problems later in life, including multiple chronic diseases, and impaired cognitive function, physical function and mental health.

Women who were lean at age 18 and maintained a healthy weight through mid-life had the best odds of achieving optimal health later in life.

It is the first study to show the role adiposity may play in the overall health of women who survive to older ages.

The study will appear soon in a print edition of the British Medical Journal.

The research addresses two of the major trends in the US that will have a major impact on public health.

First, Americans are getting older: From 1900 to 2000, the US population aged 75 and older increased 26.4% and by 2040, for the first time in human history, there will be more people aged 65 and older than children less than age 5 in the world.

The second challenge is that Americans are getting bigger: Almost two thirds of the US population are overweight and one third are obese. The trends in the US mirror those in other industrialised countries, such as Australia and the UK.

“Since body weight is a modifiable factor, the good news is that healthy aging is not purely the consequence of good genes or other factors that one cannot change. If women maintain a healthy weight as adults, they may increase their odds of enjoying a healthy life in their later years,” said Qi Sun, a researcher in the HSPH Department of Nutrition.

The researchers, led by Sun and senior author Francine Grodstein, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH and in the Department of Medicine at BWH, analysed data from the BWH-based Nurses’ Health Study, which began in 1976.

The study population included 17,065 female participants who had survived until at least age 70. Body mass index (weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters), or BMI, and weight gain were measured over time, beginning at mid-life (age 50).

Factors such as socioeconomic status, lifestyle, smoking and diet were controlled for in the study.

The results showed that 1,686 women (9.9%) who lived until at least age 70 reported being free of major chronic diseases, had good cognitive and physical functions and had good mental health.

These women were defined as “healthy survivors.” The remaining 15,379 women who lived until at least age 70 (90.1%) were defined as “usual survivors.”

Among these women, 3.3% had chronic diseases but no other health limitations; 59.5% had cognitive, physical or mental health limitations but no diagnosed major diseases; and 37.1% suffered from both chronic diseases and cognitive, physical and mental health limitations.

Women who had increased BMI in 1976, at the beginning of the study (the women’s mean age at that time was 50 years), had reduced odds of healthy survival. Obese women (BMI greater than or equal to 30) had 79% lower odds of healthy survival compared with lean women (BMI = 18.5-22.9).

The researchers also found that women who were overweight (BMI greater than or equal to 25) at age 18 and gained more than 22 pounds between age 18 and 50 had the worst odds of healthy survival and, for all three BMI categories at age 18, those who gained weight had lower odds of healthy survival compared with women who maintained a stable weight.

There were limitations in the study, including that the study population was primarily white, so the results may not be generalized to all populations.

The study provides new evidence that adiposity at mid-life may lower the odds of women having good overall health as they age and that maintaining a healthy weight throughout adulthood is important to optimal health as well.

“An important aspect of this study is the broad focus on many aspects of health, and not just on whether people get a single disease. Our finding that being overweight at mid-life affects so many aspects of health simultaneously really emphasises the harms of being overweight,” said Grodstein.

Support for the study was provided by the National Institutes of Health and the Pilot and Feasibility program sponsored by the Boston Obesity Nutrition Research Center.

Prevention Bill stalled in Senate

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:19:11 PST

Preventative health has been dealt a blow with the Bill to establish Australia’s first ever Preventative Health Agency stalled in the Senate.

The Honourable Nicola Roxon, the Minister for Health & Ageing, says: “We know that the Liberal and National parties have turned their back on prevention through statements made recently.

“It now seems this malaise has spread to other Senators who have put off the legislation and flagged they may walk away from it.

“I urge the Senate to reconsider this legislation and put the health of the nation ahead of any endeavour to claim individual credit for the passage of this legislation.”

The establishment of the Agency by 1 January 2010 is a key weapon in the Government’s fight against obesity, chronic disease and alcohol and tobacco addiction, is vital.

“We already know that we could prevent the early deaths of more than 300,000 Australians by cutting smoking rates,” adds Roxon.

“We have come to expect such inconsistency and poor policy making from the Coalition, but had hoped for more from the minor parties that have, until days ago, supported this measure.

“Unless the minor parties can work together rather than in three different directions, this Agency will not be established.”

This new Agency is to lead the fight against the many preventative health problems and was scheduled to start work on January 1 2010.

Each year our failures in preventative health cost many lives, much suffering and billions of dollars in areas such health system costs, crime and lost productivity.

“I urge the minor parties to stop delaying and to support this important legislation promptly,” adds Roxon.

Inspiration vs motivation

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:41:50 PDT

“Inspiration comes forth from within. It’s what the light burning within you is about, as opposed to motivation, which is about thinking if you don’t do it, there will be negative repercussions. Motivation is about making myself do something that I don’t really want to do. Inspiration is having the clear picture of what I am wanting and letting universal forces come into play to get the outcome.” - Esther Hicks

This article was provided by Alistair Horscroft

Procrastination seems to be one of the biggest problems that people experience. There is an entire industry (namely the personal development industry) focused almost entirely on attempting to address this problem, helping people get clear on their goals and then motivating them via all manner of coercion to achieve them.

Guilt, irritation, shame, self sabotage, stress, the fear of not reaching ones potential, anger at self, beating oneself up, right path/wrong path thinking, etc, all accompany the so called unmotivated individual.  

The problem is that most attempts, both calculated (as in sales) and well meaning (coaching/pep talk) to help motivate others will most likely cause more problems than solutions.

Why? This is because unless the ‘helper’ is doing nothing else than helping the other listen only to their own inner voice/knowing, they will be teaching them (yet again) that some external force knows better and what is right for their own self (which of course it never can be).

In doing so, the individual attempts to motivate themselves by comparison to something external, which is normally rooted in self worth issues and a lack of connection to the self, which only leads the individual further and further from their own personal inspiration that is a direct and personal relationship with life.

Any ‘middle man’, as it where, will just confuse the signal.  One of two things can happen when you find yourself procrastinating, or seeking to motivate yourself. You will motivate yourself with head talk and force yourself to do something that most likely does not feel particularly good.

Alternatively, you can end up waiting (aka procrastinating) until you feel inspired from within to do it.  The first (motivation) will take a substantial effort and it will end up in a fleeting, addictive type high, followed by a down, which will feel like a pat on the back and will leave you wanting.   

The second (inspiration) takes courage and will leave you feeling genuinely good, uplifting, absorbing, purposeful and of course inspired!   Personally it’s been a journey of many years for me to learn how to live from inspiration.

My experience of working on TV in the UK sticks out in my mind. I was rising fast as the new personal development star in the UK, with book deals on the table, new TV shows in the pipeline and major media coverage pretty much every day.   

However, it didn’t inspire me. I felt inspired to live in Australia instead. There was fear that I ‘should’ stay in the UK, as it was what ‘everybody wanted’ - fame, fortune and credibility, so I tried to motivate myself to stay with relentless head talk and ‘shoulds’.

But it just felt better when I thought about Australia, so I took a deep breath and left the ‘personality’ lifestyle, much to the amazement of all, and in just eight weeks I was once again an unknown town, living in Byron Bay, driving a VW combi and making furniture for a living!!   But the relief of leaving the personality circus and the delight of being in Australia was of course the inspired choice.

After a period of clarifying my true passions within the personal development industry, I began teaching full time and created The Mind Institute.   This time around, with no ‘shoulds’ but because I wanted to do it.

Again, I find myself (as will you) moving into new areas with new inspirations, perhaps bashing your head against what you ‘should do’. Outdated ideas and projects that are motivated by living up to some ideal set by someone else, or perhaps doing what you feel you should or ought to be doing in the hope of fantasy rewards at the end of the ‘hard slog’.  It takes courage to live free and in the flow of your own calling - but the reward is extraordinary.

I believe that the word inspiration originally means to be filled with life/God/spirit. What better way to live?

Understanding the experience of motivation. 

1. Is there a feeling of urgency and fear that if I don’t take action I’ll lose out on the reward?

2. Are you focused on the outcome of your performance?  

3. Do you find yourself comparing your performance to others?

4. Are you concerned about what other people might think of you if you don’t meet the stated goal?  

5. Do you experience jerky energy… times when you are bursting forward and other times when you stall out?

6. Do you “should on yourself?” Do you ever say, “I know I should be working on that project, but ...”  

7. Do you waste a lot of time feeling guilty?

8. Do you achieve goals and then wonder what the point of it was?  

9. Do you sometimes feel like you have to wear a mask or recite a script to be what others think you should be?  10. Does fear keep you from taking risks or speaking the truth?

Understanding the experience of inspiration

1. Do you feel a strong sense of purpose and clarity?  

2. Do you start the day with intent, finding yourself eager and excited to face the challenges that lie ahead?

3. Do you believe in your potential and the value of your contribution?  

4. Do you know that you have something unique to offer the world and are open to discover new ways to continue contributing wherever you show up?  

5. Do you avoid comparing yourself with others and know that your path is unique to you?

6. Do you revel in the process, not getting caught up in outcomes or payoffs, seeing them more as just the icing on the cake?

7. Do you love doing things for the joy of doing them?  

8. Do you take the time to be reflective about your life path and who you are becoming?

9. Do you check in with yourself to ensure that you actually feel good?  

10. Do people know what you stand for?  

11. Do you have simple and nourishing principles by which you live?  

12. Are you filled with appreciation for the endless opportunities and gifts of life?

13. Are you fully alive?

Probiotic Feature: It’s a gut feeling

editors@thephj.com (Progurt) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:13:18 PDT

By Rodney Appleyard

I like to think of myself as a pretty chilled out guy who manages to enjoy life and take everything at a steady pace. But the reality is, I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to trying to fit too much into my life, which is definitely detrimental to my health.

I often find myself working late into the evening and having to deal with a hungry child, whilst trying to squeeze in my dinner at some point. My wife is the same.

We wake up early (because we have to) rush breakfast, work non-stop all day and then we graft at home until we drop.

By the time we are ready to relax, take our foot off the gas and watch a DVD, we usually fall asleep on the sofa.

But this is pretty much the norm for many people in Western life. So many of us seem to be guilty of putting our health and a responsible diet to the back of the queue.

Many experts say that as a result, we end up causing serious damage to our bodies over time, which makes us susceptible diseases later in life.

But academics also say it does not have to be too late to reverse the impact and start mending our bodies. One of the ways we can start doing this is by including probiotics into our lives.

Scientists from around the world have carried out trials which have proved that implanting bacteria (contained in probiotics) into the gut that originates from the gastro intestinal tract helps to improve its overall function.

Robert Beson, the founder of Australian based probiotic manufacturing company Progurt (a clever blend of probiotic and yogurt), says that probiotics can be consumed as a powerful food to regulate the gut, which is often the root problem of many health issues.

But using probiotics by itself will not help to improve health. Instead, it has to be taken with a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle to really make a difference. If taken correctly, he believes the impact can be huge, such as providing you with more energy to complete all your daily tasks with a peaceful mind.

“We’ve all heard of the famous phrase: “Breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dine like a pauper”, but how many of us actually do this? Instead, it’s usually the other way round. In fact, a huge number of us dine like Kings and eat breakfast like paupers. And then we wonder why we have such a big problem with obesity in the Western world.”

He says that we need to go to bed early, wake up early, do more exercise and stop ploughing so many toxins into our bodies.

“You need to take the probiotics with fruit and vegetables because it requires sugars found in unprocessed organic material to do its work properly.”

Probiotics are made up of micro organisms, such as lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria, yeast or bacilli, which are all healthy for humans.

Their purpose is to improve the intestinal microbial balance and inhibit toxin bacterias from being produced.

Many investigations are currently underway to ascertain how probiotics manage to alleviate chronic intestinal inflammatory diseases, such as diarrhoea. They do this by modifying the gut flora to replace harmful microbes with useful ones.

“If you introduce the right bacteria into your life, you will end up craving fresh food more than processed food, because the bacteria need these substances to prevent them from dying out,” adds Beson. “People can’t live without bacteria, so they are probably our best friends. Did you know that there are seven trillion cells that make up the human body and there are 20 bits of bacteria for every cell.”  

“So there are about 140 trillion bits of bacteria lining in our gastro intest tracts. The bacteria found in probiotics, like Progurt are either missing, have been minimised or have been suppressed because of our modern way of life.”

Beson says that if you have good bacteria in your body they will replicate themselves over and over again. And a healthy diet helps them to replicate faster.  

“But you will only need to take probiotics for about nine to thirteen months until the gut is balanced again – and then you don’t need it anymore after that. In fact, if we ate the way Indigenous people traditionally ate, we would find that our gut flora is a lot more vibrant and healthy. But people are so stressed these days with going to work and getting the kids to school on time, for example, that they compromise all of their morning time, which is the most important time of the day.”

Stress alone though does not cause all the health problems that probiotics can reverse, according to Beson.

“You would need to have constant attacks on dietary choices, such as consuming excessive alcohol, smoking too much tobacco and eating the wrong foods that contain preservatives, to really damage your systems. These foods and consumable habits don’t contain the good sugars that probiotics try to replicate.

“80% of the health problems we are facing today are down to diet and lifestyle decisions. People have to be willing to buy unprocessed food that is fresh, smells nice and tastes good, and they need to eat them especially in the morning before work begins.”

“All of us are working harder than ever because we want more money. For many people, the children end up having to look after themselves. But imagine how much better life would be if we spent more time preparing food at home and we ate proper breakfasts?”

When he was asked to provide a metaphor for what probiotics actually do to the body, he chose to use the comparison of driving a car responsibly.

“It doesn’t matter how much oil you have in the car, how fantastic the tyres are, how amazing your brakes are, how fabulous your suspension is or how good the steering is, if you want to drive at 160km an hour in a 60km an hour zone in the middle of Sydney, you can expect to hurt yourself, especially if it’s foggy and rainy.

“But if you drive responsibly, you can avoid all of these problems. That’s what probiotics add to your lifestyle. So long as you lead a healthy lifestyle and eat the right foods, then probiotics will steer you towards better health as a whole.

“If wealth could buy health then Kerry Packer would have lived past his 60s. But instead he didn’t listen to the advice we hear all the time from our media about preventative health and that’s why he and many other people, quite frankly, end up dying younger than they should do.

“How long can people keep ignoring the message that they need to respect diet and how they look after their bodies and minds in order to stay healthy? If you ignore the advice, then you’ve got to say, you have nobody else to blame but yourself. It’s about time we starting pushing the message harder.”

In the past, probiotics have been known to improve digestion, enhance your immune system, reduce your body fat, increase your energy, rehydrate your skin and also improve your mood.

It is useful for a number of conditions, such as allergies, bowel conditions, diabetes and multiple sclerosis, amongst others.   Beson says there are even some studies that are currently being undertaken into how probiotics can provide an alternative, safe and effective treatment for preventing asthma.

To find out more about Progurt, click here: http://thephj.com/directory/article/progurt/

Walking 10 miles per week could reduce diabetes

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:53:46 PDT

Moderate intensity exercise improves pancreatic function more than vigorous exercise, potentially reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

They found that the equivalent of walking 10 miles per week significantly improved how the pancreas functions more than doing the same amount of exercise at a vigorous intensity.

Walking 10 miles per week was also better than exercising vigorously for the equivalent of 17 miles per week.

“While these findings may seem counterintuitive, we know that moderate exercise mobilises the body to burn more fat, which may be the mechanism that helps the pancreas work more efficiently,” said Cris Slentz, Ph.D., the study’s lead author and a research scientist at Duke University Medical Center.

“Vigorous exercise requires the body to burn more carbohydrates and not as much fat.”

Diabetes results from the body being unable to process insulin, a hormone created by the pancreas to control blood sugar levels. While research has shown that exercise improves the body’s ability to use insulin, little has been known about how exercise affects the beta cells in the pancreas that release the insulin.

“Diabetes originates from insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction,” Slentz said. “We know that exercise improves insulin sensitivity (how well insulin works in the body), but the effect of exercise intensity on insulin secretion (pancreas function) is the other piece of this puzzle that needed to be explored.”

Inactive, overweight and obese people are generally insulin resistant, but their bodies attempt to maintain a normal blood sugar level by having the pancreas produce more insulin.

To better understand why many people in this group go on to develop type 2 diabetes, the research team examined how the beta cells respond to varying intensities of exercise.

“Diabetes is an exercise deficiency disease but little research has been conducted to learn what level of exertion is optimal for regulating glucose levels,” Slentz said. “Our findings indicate that moderate intensity exercise appears to be better at improving pancreatic function and as a result, may be better at preventing the progression to diabetes.”

The new analysis is published in the October issue of Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association.

The study included more than 230 sedentary, overweight people 40-65 years old who were randomised to a control group or one of three 8-month exercise programs: a low exercise amount at moderate intensity; low exercise amount at high intensity (equal to 10 miles per week) or a high amount of exercise at high intensity (equal to 17 miles per week).

Exercises were conducted on treadmills and elliptical trainers. All study participants were monitored to achieve a target heart rate and level of oxygen consumption when active.

While all three exercise programs showed improvements in insulin sensitivity, the moderate-intensity group showed the largest improvement in pancreas function. At the same time, the control group that did not exercise had a significant increase in blood sugar levels, putting them at greater risk for developing diabetes.

The researchers caution that the findings need to be further analyzed through additional research conducted over longer periods of time.

The new findings are an analysis from the multi-year, federally funded study called STRRIDE (Studies of a Targeted Risk Reduction Intervention through Defined Exercise) that examined the effects of varying amounts and intensity of exercise on middle-aged, overweight men and women.

The study found that even a modest amount of brisk walking weekly is enough to trim waistlines and cut the risk of metabolic syndrome, an increasingly frequent condition linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.

The study is supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Other members of the research team include the principal investigator, William Kraus, Lori Bateman, Michael Durheim and Kim Huffman of Duke and Charles Tanner and Joseph Houmard of East Carolina University.

Men need to get tough about their health

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:49:19 PST

Health professionals, researchers and educators gathered in Newcastle recently as part of the National Men’s Health Gathering 2009 to raise awareness about failings in men’s health and how they need to be addressed, urgently.  

Speaking at the event, the Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health, and Regional Services Delivery, Warren Snowdon said it is time for the issues of men’s health to be front and centre in the health debate, and he is pleased to see so many people working together to achieve change in male health.

“Last month I marched down the main street of Katherine with Indigenous men who are determined to tackle the hard issues confronting Aboriginal communities and to take action to improve their lives, their families’ lives and their community.  

“Last year I met with Indigenous men at Ross River for the Inteyerrkwe Aboriginal Male Health Summit, when they reclaimed their role and responsibility in developing strategies for their health and the healing of their communities.  

“And by the end of the year, the Rudd Government will deliver Australia’s first National Men’s Health Policy to address the continued health challenges faced by Indigenous men, rural men, men in prison, fathers, and all our Australian men who simply feel they can’t find the time for a doctor’s appointment.”   

Member for Newcastle, Sharon Grierson said the National Men’s Health Policy will focus on delivering more male-friendly health services, and will raise awareness about the preventable health problems that disproportionately affect the male population.  

“Less than two per cent of Australia’s health expenditure is being dedicated to preventative activities, and yet according to Australian Bureau of Statistics more than one in five Australian men smoke; a staggering 95% of men do not meet the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables; well over half of men don’t get enough exercise; and nearly 68 per cent of adult men are overweight or obese.

“The Rudd Government is already making an $872 million investment in health promotion through COAG, alongside a further Indigenous Health commitment of $116 million to target smoking, poor nutrition and alcohol in Indigenous communities, but it is only by working with those gathered here today that effective, sustainable change can occur,” said Grierson.  For more information on the development of the National Men’s Health Policy, see the below website:

www.health.gov.au/menshealthpolicy

Under the spell: Hypnotherapy changes lives for good

editors@thephj.com (The Mind Institute Sydney) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:00:50 PST

By Rodney Appleyard

Many people still have no idea about the amazing life benefits of hypnosis are, says Alistair Horscroft, an expert in the industry.

“At best, people think it’s about relaxing to whale music as they are guided down some stairs into a magic garden, or some such nonsense,” says Horscroft.

“But hypnosis is actually the world’s oldest healing approach and modern hypnosis, including NLP (neuro-linguistic programming, which teaches people how to adopt new positive behaviours), provides some of the most insightful and practical approaches you can use for changing people’s lives.”

When it comes to prevention, he adds that hypnotherapy is one of the most researched approaches in the world.

“The results are extraordinary, from cancer to smoking, weight loss and irritable bowel syndrome. Hypnosis has been proven again and again to be remarkably useful in clinical trials.”

When asked about the misuses of hypnotherapy, Horscroft says there are very few. “It’s far easier to manipulate someone to do something they don’t really want to do with a gun or money - the old tried and tested approaches!”

“Using hypnosis to get people to do things they don’t want to do is nearly impossible. This is because the deep values of the individual act as a monitoring system over what is suggested whilst in hypnosis. However, getting people to do things they really want to do, but can’t put into action, is much easier because their deep values support this kind of change.”

Misuse of hypnotherapy

However, he cannot blame doctors and other medical practitioners for not wanting to be involved in what some natural health/complementary practitioners do because it can be a lottery for them sometimes.

“For example, you can go to a practitioner for clinical hypnotherapy and they will start a psychic reading on you, or some other new age mumbo jumbo. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with what people get up to but there needs to be clear boundaries about what you practice, or rather what you advertise you practice and what you deliver.

“If I go to a clinical hypnotherapist, I want high level clinical hypnotherapy. If I want NLP, then I should get NLP. If I want a quality coach, I should get a quality coach! I don’t think psychic pet readings are an appropriate title to have on a professional clinical therapist’s business card or website, for example.”

Horscroft says he works hard to make sure The Mind Institute is truthful and honest. “We are Australia’s most professional training company for courses, regarding positive change approaches, such as Clinical Hypnotherapy, NLP, Health Coaching, Mind Training and Practical Psychology, amongst others.   Just as there are naturopaths who train in multiple natural health disciplines, we do the same with the mind - training people in all the very best approaches of practical change based psychology.”

Horscroft’s personal journey

As for Horscroft himself, he left school at 16, just as he was about to go into an officer’s career in the army. In the end, he decided to travel the world instead.

Eventually, he started a four year apprenticeship with Dr. Gamal Saleem in London, where he studied natural medicine, martial arts and metaphysics.

He then became a personal trainer before heading back to university to take an honours degree in philosophy. After that, he studied hypnosis, then NLP and started to focus on personal and professional development.

“When I started in the industry, I didn’t have a genuine affinity for natural medicine or personal training. It all seemed a little bit ‘stage 2’ - as if you couldn’t get to the mind behind what you were doing then not a lot happened.”

But he had always been into the so called ‘spiritual stuff’, having meditated since the age of four years old. He also went to a unique school from the age of 9-15, where he was taught verdic (Indian) philosophy, sanskrit and meditation, as well as renaissance philosophy and ideals.

“When I returned to university, it was a toss up between sports science, psychology and philosophy. I had intended to do post graduate work in psychology, but by that time hypnosis and NLP had entered my life and I was more convinced by them as useful change methods because they had personally helped me far more than the psychologists I had visited.

“Therein lied the start. My own personal problems and looking for ways of dealing with them, which involved literally trying 100s of different approaches, led me to follow NLP and hypnosis because they delivered.”

Horscroft found it hard to start with because he had come off the back of some heavy life experiences. He was in a pretty bad way mentally, emotionally and to a certain degree physically too.

He personally suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for 15 years and got depressed from time to time.

“After a severe head injury, I became severely depressed and incredibly distressed emotionally as well as mentally for a number of years. This is why I chose to enter this field - to help others reclaim their lives and to live the life they want to lead.

“I did it and I know everyone else can too. So, I was dealing with all this alongside my movement towards my own personal goals. That being said, the intensity with which I pursued my goals allowed me to achieve everything I wanted within a few short years.”

He ended up running a hypnosis/NLP clinic for years in Regents Park, London. He was also involved with a few personal development business start ups, including one with the famous Bob Proctor, a main contributor to The Secret.

With his Australian girlfriend (now wife) he set up the first complementary health clinics inside UK health farms and spas. They led the way for the rest of the country to follow.

Starring role on TV

“They were very successful,” he adds, “but for me, a TV series was on my goal list.”

Although Paul McKenna is very famous in the UK for being a personal development hypnotist, Horscroft was actually the first person in the world to have his own TV series using NLP, personal development and clinical hypnotherapy to help others to change their lives.

“15 episodes were ran solidly for three years in the UK and are still shown in Europe now. The programme was called: The Life Guru and was shown on the Discovery Channel. I also did a year of live television twice a week on a show called: Loose Lips with Melinda Messenger, as well as numerous slots on pretty much all the UK TV channels.”

At one point, for a couple of shows he was used as a coach on the UK’s Pop Idol. However, throughout all of this, his desire to be in Australia was gradually becoming stronger than his need to remain on TV in the UK.

“To be honest, I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I thought I would. So at the height of it all, with some big offers coming my way, I turned it all down and moved to Australia with my wife in 2004. I always wanted to live in Australia since I was five years old. I had a beautiful Australian wife, so I thought: ‘Why not?’”

When he first came to Australia, he did some pilots for TV shows, including a pilot with Don Burke’s company, but he did not have a big urge to pursue the opportunities.

“My real passion involved starting a training company that aimed to deliver the highest quality courses to people, so that’s what I did. I also set up a phobia program at Taronga Zoo, which has been a total success for three years. I have also consulted for some big name Australian companies, such as News Digital Media.

“On top of that, I created a program for the long term unemployed to get them back to work with Waverley Council in Sydney, which has helped them to achieve their best results ever so far.”

Beating depression, stress and anxiety

He is now writing books, creating now products and is ready to take what he does mainstream again. That is why he is running a 2 day seminar in Sydney, from November 28th-29th, about beating anxiety, stress and depression.

“I know that at the Mind Institute, we have the tools and approaches that can genuinely help people and I want this information in the hands of practitioners and people who are suffering from it. It’s that simple. Prevention is the key, but that requires major shifts in cultural attitudes towards life.

“People are affected by their environments, be that our families, the media or social influences and this is where most of these problems start. You then have to go through the journey of taking back your personal control and sense of self in such a way that these environmental concerns no longer become detrimental affects. At the end of the day, it’s between you and you.”

He is proud to say that his seminars are not usually gung-ho or happy clappy, fist in the air type affairs - as in, they are not like the American guru style shows.

“Our courses are very down to earth, engaging and inspiring. Within a few minutes, you know that you are listening to people with real life experiences and real life approaches.

“We explain things and provide material that simply goes deeper, more quickly, in a more common sense and life applicable way than other approaches. The courses also have people laughing from start to finish. What people learn on our courses makes a significant difference to the quality of their lives.”

Horscroft also has plenty of ordinary advice to give people who are suffering from depression, stress or anxiety.

“Make the decision that you will be free from it and seek the help you need. To fully deal with these things you need good information, a true understanding of what is actually going on within yourself and the appropriate techniques to support your recovery.

“The biggest obstacle for people who suffer from depression and anxiety is that they have tried to get themselves over it but have failed. They might have seen a couple of people and it has not worked. As a result they start with: ‘What’s the point?’ thinking.

“People need a system that covers all the possible avenues of thinking that a depressed or anxious mind can come up with, and believe me, there are a lot of avenues they can go down.   “For example, an anxious person normally starts to engage in ‘what if’ type thinking, such as: ‘what if this happens?’; ‘what happens if I panic here?’; ‘what happens if I can’t handle this?’; ‘what if they see me like this?’”

He says the problem with ‘what if?’ style thinking is that there are infinite possibilities. So we have to deal with the root problem of this, otherwise the mind just comes up with another one like: ‘what if this doesn’t work?’.

“When done right, hypnotherapy is one of the fastest ways to re-train the brain. But there is a lot of misunderstanding about the therapy. Attitudes will change and are changing, but this is one of the main reasons why I created The Mind Institute – so that people can train in modern hypnosis and other powerful change approaches.

“But the Institute is not just about hypnosis. We also teach people about cutting edge mind techniques and methods that include: NLP, coaching, personal development and many others.”

As well as the 2 day seminar planned in November, Horscroft’s Institute trains people to have careers as therapists, coaches and personal development consultants. The courses are recognised both in Australia and worldwide.

“We have doctors, psychologists, natural therapists, as well as people with no training whatsoever, who are just wanting to create a part or full time career in this field. Our diploma of Mind Therapies provides a huge amount of the highest quality material in this area with recognised qualifications upon completion.”

Wayne’s world

His partner is Wayne Wigham, the Balmain Tigers an ex-rugby league veteran. Wigham played 167 1st team games and was first introduced to hypnotherapy and the power of the mind during his NRL career in the late 70s and early 80s.

“From personal experience, he knows the benefits of getting the mind on side when you want to succeed at anything, including sports, health, success and relationships,” adds Horscroft.

Wigham also struggled with depression throughout his life and says that he has found the insights gained from his dealings with Alistair to be a turning point in his life.

He now works as the general manager for The Mind Institute, which involves making sure the courses are delivered to a guaranteed standard for the students.

“I attended the Diploma of Mind Therapies course and found the content very impressive because I was looking for a life changing breakthrough and a way to help others,” says Wigham. “I then approached Alistair about developing sports specific programmes and our relationship has developed from there.”

Wigham also founded a physical injury rehab and prevention company that led his way into this field. Before then, he was a professional fire fighter. He also has a Degree in teaching and a Diploma of Social Welfare.

“I could see that mental stresses are even more costly to the community than physical injuries and I saw that Alistair was leading the way in this direction of dealing with the problem and self limiting beliefs. So that’s why I wanted to join him.”

To find out more about the courses, check out the website here for full details. They are run in Sydney, NSW and Noosa, QLD.To sign up to his 2 day seminar in Sydney, click here.

New side effects found in statins

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:23:35 PDT

They have been hailed as wonder drugs — lowering cholesterol and helping heart patients recover their health — but side effects of some statin therapies may be loss of muscle mass and premature fatigue, especially in older people, the largest patient group taking them.

In older people there is a clear relationship between the maintenance of muscle mass and quality of life and longevity. Healthy muscles improve mobility and physical fitness, protecting against the falls, which can often lead to the onset of more serious illness and disabilities.

Now researchers at The University of Nottingham, are asking older members of the public to help them with a new two-year research project to discover the underlying causes of an effect that they have already found impairs muscle maintenance in animals.

“There’s no doubt statins have a very positive outcome in reducing incidences of cardiac events and stroke attributable to high blood cholesterol levels,” said Primary Investigator Paul Greenhaff, Professor of Muscle Metabolism at The University of Nottingham.

“However, we have found one, simvastatin — the main one given to many elderly patients, can cause impairment of pathways regulating muscle mass and metabolism,” he said.

Professor Greenhaff and his colleagues Dr Tim Constantin and Professor Michael Rennie have been awarded just over £238,000 by the Dunhill Medical Trust, a charitable institution interested in the UK’s aging population, to conduct research into these side effects.

“We are especially grateful to the Dunhill Medical Trust for supporting this project,” said Professor Greenhaff. “Due to the well documented benefits of statins for cardiovascular health and mortality, it would have been difficult to secure funding without the Trust.”

This grant allows the team to take on a clinician, a postdoctoral researcher and other staff to conduct detailed experiments to learn how and why certain statins appear to blunt muscle protein synthesis and the slowing effect that insulin has on muscle breakdown.

It will also enable them to recruit healthy elderly people for their study as well as those who have experienced muscle soreness and other symptoms associated with the side effects of simvastatin. “We’re very keen to recruit healthy older volunteers for this vital study to determine the incidences of muscle impairment and the mechanisms that cause it,” said Professor Greenhaff.

“In the medical literature, we see that in the general population the incidence of adverse effects associated with taking statins is low,” he added. “However, in the elderly, the group to whom simvastatin is most often prescribed, the incidence of muscle impairment increases by as much as 10 per cent.”

The team aims to understand the underlying causes of muscle mass loss, metabolic impairment and premature fatigue in patients affected by these side effects. Normally a GP will simply prescribe another type of statin to see if that works better, but it is important to understand the physiological reasons why this occurs.

“It appears from the research we recently carried out in partnership with AstraZeneca pharmaceuticals that some statins cause insulin resistance in muscles and activation of pathways that cause muscle protein loss.”

Nottingham has an international reputation for human metabolic physiology — the effect of diet on health and disease. Professor Greenhaff and colleagues have already determined that when older people eat, they cannot make muscle as fast as the young. Nottingham research colleagues recently revealed why the suppression of muscle breakdown, which also happens during feeding, is blunted with age.

Professor Greenhaff and Research Fellow Joanne Mallinson in the School of Biomedical Sciences are currently recruiting healthy men 65 years and over who are taking the drug simvastatin or zocor and are experiencing muscle aches and pains. They are also recruiting healthy men 65 years and over who do not take statins.

Men need to change lifestyle to live longer over 50

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:51:31 PDT

Middle aged men who smoke, have high blood pressure and raised cholesterol levels can expect a 10–15 year shorter life expectancy from age 50 compared with men without these risk factors.

The Oxford University study published in the BMJ reports data from the Whitehall study, in which the health of 19,000 male civil servants has been followed for almost 40 years since 1970, when they were aged 40–69.

‘We’ve shown that men at age 50 who smoke, have high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels can expect to survive to 74 years of age, while those who have none of these risk factors can expect to live until 83,’ says Dr Robert Clarke of the Clinical Trial Service Unit at the University of Oxford, who led the research team.

‘We’ve been able to refine this further by computing a risk score for each study participant that also includes body mass index and diabetes as well as these three risk factors. Looking at those at the extremes, we find that the 5% with the highest risk scores have a 15 year reduced life expectancy compared to the 5% with the lowest scores.

Death rates from heart disease, and to a lesser extent from other diseases, have steadily declined in the UK since the early 1970s, resulting in substantial improvements in life expectancy. The longer life spans are believed to result from stopping smoking, changes in diet and lifestyle, and better treatment for people with vascular disease.

But previous studies have not been able to investigate the extent to which the differences in life expectancy can be explained by differences in cardiovascular risk factors.

If you stop smoking or take measures to deal with high blood pressure or body weight, it will translate into increased life expectancy.

Dr Robert Clarke says: ‘The Whitehall study was set up in 1970 at the peak of a heart disease epidemic in the UK to look at the effects of smoking, blood pressure and cholesterol levels,’ explains Dr Clarke. Since that time, researchers have followed what’s happened to the 19,000 civil servants through middle age and old age over a period of 38 years.

‘It is precisely this kind of very prolonged follow-up study that is necessary to get these results – that modest differences in heart risk factors can accurately predict significant differences in life expectancy,’ he adds.

Participants completed a questionnaire at entry in 1970 about previous medical history, smoking habits, employment grade and marital status. The initial examination recorded height, weight, blood pressure, lung function and blood cholesterol and glucose levels.

With funding from the British Heart Foundation, the records of 18,863 men were traced and 7,044 surviving participants were re-examined in 1997 (about 28 years after their initial examination).

Dr Clarke says: ‘The results give people another way of looking at heart disease risk factors that can be understood more readily. If you stop smoking or take measures to deal with high blood pressure or body weight, it will translate into increased life expectancy.

‘It also provides support for existing public health policies. Bans on smoking in public places, efforts to lower saturated fats and salt, combined with medications for those at high risk of cardiovascular disease, when taken together will result in substantial improvements in life expectancy across the population.’

Biggest ever review into preventing breast cancer

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:55:17 PDT

The biggest ever review of research into lifestyle and breast cancer has confirmed that women can reduce their risk by maintaining a healthy weight, drinking less alcohol, being physically active and breastfeeding their children.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) study, which has been carried out by scientists at Imperial College London, has looked at the evidence on the links between breast cancer and diet, body weight and physical activity.

The study, to be published later this year, is an update to the breast cancer section of the cancer prevention report WCRF published in 2007. The findings on breast cancer in the 2007 report were based on the results of 873 studies, while the updated research has added 81 studies that have been carried out since then.

Professor Martin Wiseman, Medical and Scientific Adviser for WCRF, said: “This study represents the clearest picture we have ever had on how lifestyle affects a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

“This means we are now more sure than ever before that by limiting the amount of alcohol they drink, maintaining a healthy weight and being physically active, women can make a significant difference to their risk.

“We estimate over 40 per cent of breast cancer cases in the UK could be prevented just by making these relatively straightforward changes. About 45,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK, so it is clear these changes could make a big difference.

“As well as this, there is also convincing evidence that mothers who breastfeed reduce their risk and breastfeeding probably also reduces babies’ chances of gaining excess weight as they grow.”

Because of the link between body fat and cancer, WCRF recommends people aim to be as lean as possible without becoming underweight. The charity also recommends that people are physically active for at least 30 minutes every day and that, if they drink at all, they should limit consumption to two drinks a day for a man and one for a woman. Also, mothers should breastfeed exclusively for up to six months and then add other liquids and foods.

The report on breast cancer is part of the Continuous Update Project, which is a unique project being run by WCRF. The long-term goal is to continuously update the findings of WCRF’s 2007 report so that cancer prevention advice is always based on the latest research.

Breast cancer is the first type of cancer the researchers have looked at as part of this update, and they have now started to review the evidence for bowel cancer and prostate cancer, both of which are expected to finish early in 2010. The long-term aim is that the evidence for every type of cancer will be being updated.

Marilyn Gentry, Chief Executive of WCRF, said: “As a charity we believe it is important that people have access to advice that is based on the latest scientific research and this is why we are proud to be funding the Continuous Update Project.

“When people read about new research it is impossible for them to take the findings and weigh them up against all the other research that has been done but the idea of this project is to do that job for them.

“These are still quite early stages in the project but once it is fully up and running it will mean that people all over the world will always have access to up-to-date advice about how they can make lifestyle changes that can reduce their risk of cancer. We believe this can play an important role in the fight against cancer.”

Natural therapies create a buzz at Health Conference

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:06:48 PDT

Many new insights into improving health through natural therapies were shared at this year’s Natural Health Conference and Expo, which focused on cancer, allergies, fertility and menopause.

View our video interview here, filmed at the expo with a company called Shakti Life. Kram Magnus, the company director, told us about his product – the Shakti mat, which can release tension and emotional blocks.

Based on the Indian ‘Bed of Nails’, the mat can be used all over the body to increase the circulation and blood oxygenation and is suitable for people with low levels of energy, high levels of stress, insomnia and depression, amongst other things.

By releasing this ‘inner tension’, it releases a lot of problems, from depression to tense neck/shoulders to poor digestion. The mat features 6000 points.

Shakit Life was one of many interesting natural health companies that exhibited at the expo and provided a number of interesting demonstrations.

There were also iridologists, massage therapists, naturopaths, organic food companies, probiotic businesses (such as Progurt) and aromatherapy practitioners at the exhibition, who all mixed well and inspired each other.

Generally, there was a very good buzz in the air from both exhibitors and visitors. It felt like a coming together of like minded individuals and fellow peers, all sharing their common passion.

As for the conference talks themselves, there was plenty of interesting information available based on some very serious topics.

Shazar Robinson, the head of the Avatar EAV Health Testing System at Best Health, talked about how her system can help to provide an effective assessment and treatment for patients who suffer from allergic reactions.

“You know the scenario,” she says. “Your patient comes in puffy eyed, with uncomfortable gut reactions, headaches, rashes, eczema, a runny nose, sneezing, with aching joints and difficult bowel symptoms. They are also not sleeping properly and are short on breath and energy.

“Often they will come in and say: ‘My problem is my hayfever,’ or, ‘I have allergies.’ and their perception is that the allergy is what is causing their whole problem. The skilled practitioner knows better, but where do you start?”

She says that that healing the gut is probably the first and foremost area to deal with. If not, she says you will end up struggling against the associated problems of a leaky gut.

Shazar says that a patient’s body is like a house of cards. “If you carefully take a card from the top of the house, the stack of symptoms will not fall down, however, if you pull the card that is strategically holding the whole thing in place, the stack will fall with just a small adjustment. So if you find the priority to work with, you will have amazing results.”

But how do you do that? What makes it clear what that small adjustment needs to be? This is where, she says, the bio-feedback technology systems (often known as EAV – electro – acupuncture) really shines.

The technology has a long history in the medical field. There are estimated to be over 2000 medical doctors who use it in Germany alone.

EAV has been in use since the late 1940s after research conducted by Dr. Reinhard Voll showed the way to do reproducible testing related to the skin resistance at the acupuncture points on the body.

It works by sending a weak electrical signal through the body via a circuit, using a probe on the acupuncture points. The skin resistance at these points is shown to be much lower than the surrounding skin resistance and alters in relation to any underlying inflammation or degeneration of the body.

“For example, when testing the liver meridian, an acupuncture point on the big toe is used,” adds Shazar. “If the liver is in a state of stress, or has an inflammatory response, the skin resistance lowers and the reading obtained is higher. Once you have determined where the stresses lie, be it with the liver or another organ or system, an extensive computerised database of items can be used to test and assess the toxic load, allergens or deficiencies.”

Specific questions can be asked of the body. For example, she can ask: “What is the origin of imbalance in this body?”, or the causative factor that is causing the stress and allowing the immune system to be reactive.

“The priority stressor is like a trigger. It’s the straw that broke the camel’s back. Just one more straw and the immune system breaks down. So was it the straw that caused the breakdown? Of course not, it was the load. We have to look at the total load, but being able to prioritise gives us an advantage because we can address the most important aspects and therefore gain superior results.”

She says that often we see heavy metals as the major stressor. Heavy metals lower our immune system and therefore allow the body to be more susceptible to the overgrowth of fungal organisms.

“Sometimes the body also develops a defence mechanism as it struggles to cope with mercury and other heavy metals to prevent it from entering the blood stream. It is like a sponge soaking up the mercury. So as long as there is mercury or other heavy metals in the body, then yeast will proliferate.”

With the EAV testing, you can get on the spot indications for sensitivity to a wide range of substances. This includes heavy metals, a diverse range of foods, reactions to the so-called pseudo-allergens (chemicals in food) and the intolerances caused by the inability of the body to break down the substance, such as the case of a lactose intolerance – a simple result of lactase not being present in great enough quantities to breakdown the lactose in cow milk.

The testing has also allowed people with consistently stubborn allergies to move into amore balanced state, therefore meaning they can live a more normal life.

“A patient I had some years back had a severe allergy to MSG and was often hospitalised due to reactions to hidden MSG in foods. She averaged 3-4 trips to the hospital a year. After a ‘desensitisation’ program was carried out with her (I most certainly did not advise her that she could then eat MSG) the treatment was so successful that for one year following, there were no hospital events for her.”

Case Study

A 42 year old office worker visited Shazar with regular reflux, neck pain, frequent urination, 1-2 headaches a week, lethargy, a dust allergy, hayfever, a dog allergy and he also suffered from poor sleep and a lack of motivation.

He was eating a lot of wheat at the time. After testing with EAV, the most stressed meridians were found to be: the pancreas and stomach nervous system. Robinson prescribed Vitamin E Glycogenics, Meta Zinc and an imprinted remedy into Spleenogen. She also showed him which foods he was sensitive to.

When he returned later, he felt ‘detoxed’ and ended up feeling really good. His reflux had stopped and he was no longer urinating frequently. He also experienced less headaches, had more energy, had lost a bit of weight and was sleeping better and deeper. However, his sinus was still playing up when he drank red wine.

After a following visit, he had no allergy reactions and his sinus was better. Robinson says that he had a considerable toxic load at first.

“This was mobilised with the imprinted remedies and a combination of homeopathic remedies, which were shown to be beneficial on the bio-feedback EAV Avatar testing. Once this load began to shift, the allergy symptoms, along with other symptoms, began to rapidly dissipate.

We will have more information from the show available soon.

Knock the toxins out of your life to avoid infertility

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:30:04 PDT

Fertility problems are very common in Australia, with one in six couples suffering from some kind of birth related difficulty, such as infertility, prematurity and the delivery of underweight babies.

Zac Bobrov, the technical and research director for InterClinical Laboratories, says that many of these problems are down to nutritional mineral deficiencies and excessive levels of toxic metals in the body.

He talked at the Natural Health Conference this month about how people can rid themselves of these toxins to provide them with more chance of producing healthier babies.

“We have toxicity problems from everywhere,” says Bobrov. “Some of the metals in water cause problems because they have copper in them. It is an essential mineral, but when there is too much copper in the body, it becomes almost as toxic as mercury, or other heavy metals.

“Water in the city usually has copper contamination because it flows through copper pipes, plus a lot of plumbing material is still made from copper.”

He adds that in the countryside, people mainly rely on rain water, which is toxic too because it is totally demineralised.

“It has very low pH, making it acidic. When it falls on the roof made out of metal, plastic or concrete, it strips some of the metals from the surfaces and can end up contaminated. Over the last 14 years we have found proof that rain water can be harmful to consume.

“We should drink water that has calcium, magnesium and alkaline minerals. Rain water is good for washing your hair, not drinking.”

On top of that, environmental pollution can also be damaging, such as emissions from cars. “In order to make our lives more comfortable, we keep digging up metals and minerals from the ground to make things, but really they should be left alone.

“The latest threat is Uranium. Australia has 30-40% of all the world’s minable uranium, which will be dug up soon. The nuclear power stations that will go up will also require this uranium. So we also have to put that into the mix.”

Hair Analysis

Bobrov does his best to try to help people discover the level of toxicity in their body through hair tissue and mineral analysis.

“We do testing for up to 37 different minerals through the analysis of people’s hair. We check if there is a depletion of minerals in the body. Some families, especially children, find severe toxicity in their body when do the hair analysis tests.

“Unfortunately, it’s going to get worse in Australian because of the drought and with the water situation deteriorating every year, especially in rural areas, where more people are being encouraged to use rain water.”

He recommends that people should drink filtered water, but some are not that effective, even though he believes it is better than drinking pure tap water.

“The other alternative is underground water – Boar or Well water. But a lot of the time this water can also be contaminated. Even natural water can become toxic if it runs into the vicinity of lead deposits. At least tap water in the city is regularly tested by Local Governments and water boards because they are afraid of being sued.

“But other than that, it is dangerous to drink water that is not tested. I personally drink bottled water. I think people should drink water from a reputable company, which means knowing there are no heavy metals in there and it’s not demineralised excessively.”

Dietary advice

Some women are very malnourished before they try to conceive, so Bobrov tries to help them in respect of dietary suggestions.

“There is a whole range of minerals, vitamins and other therapeutic products that can be used to help restore balance in the body. This could be through hormonal nutrition.

“When women are pregnant, they suffer the danger of losing calcium and phosphorous excessively from their bones, simply due to the fact that the developing foetus in the womb takes those minerals very actively.”

He adds that the baby in the womb picks up most of the heavy metals and toxins from the mother’s body.

“So we find examples of transplacental toxicity, where the baby is contaminated with heavy metals even before it is born. Sometimes it can be up to 10 times higher than the mother’s toxicity because the small body of the baby concentrates on them.

“It’s therefore very important that the expecting mother should be tested before trying to conceive. The baby should also be tested after it is successfully born, to make sure the toxicity is not too high.”

As well as providing the test, Bobrov’s team can recommend what the mother can take, or not take in terms of minerals and vitamins.

“But she has to be very careful during pregnancy, especially through the first three months, until the foetus stabilises. After the baby is born and as soon as it can eat, you can add minerals and vitamins to its formula bottles to gently detoxify the body.

“We recommend products to the patient’s practitioner or doctor, and then we leave it up to them to decide how to administer the products to each individual.

Bobrov believes strongly that infertility is the scourge of the 21^st century and we need to do our best to prevent this problem from increasing in the future.

New hope for women suffering from menopause

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:09:49 PDT

Jan Roberts talked at the Natural Health Conference & Expo this month about natural ways to relieve the many symptoms of menopause, which includes using a new nutraceutical that provides an alternative to HRT.

Roberts says that a woman’s brain rewires itself at menopause, which is something that is poorly recognised by many people.

“Once a woman’s menstrual cycle ceases, her hormones no longer set her up every month to nurture - her whole mothering tendency flattens out. All of a sudden, instead of naturally wanting to look after her family, children, partner and more, she thinks to herself: ‘Ahh, now it’s my turn!’ This is a very real shift and not an imagined one. Many studies show that the brain does actually change.

“It can be quite confronting if a woman is not aware of this fact and where preventative medicine and complementary practitioners are able to provide valuable advice. They have the time to sit down with a woman and say : ‘Look, you’re not going mad.’”

Roberts believes that many woman do seriously think they are losing their mind at this stage of life because all of a sudden, the things that used to matter suddenly no longer seem important.

“Women need to acknowledge that their brain is changing, and when they do, their experience of menopause can be more positive than negative.

Roberts herself knows about those 35+ symptoms of menopause. These include hot flushes, night sweats, loss of libido, vaginal dryness, loss of skin and hair texture, sleeplessness, depression and loss of memory.

In the 60s, when she began her career as a pharmacist, she remembers that almost every woman of 45 and over was on HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy), but these days it is recommended that woman should take it for no longer than two years.

“A lot of women nowadays don’t want to resort to HRT because of its increased risk of breast cancer and stroke. However, you can’t expect a drug or natural product to relieve all of the symptoms of menopause. Women do need to make an effort to address their lifestyle and dietary issues.

“There’s no doubt that there are lots of positive health-promotion measures, but those self-help steps need to be enhanced by products like our new one – Femmenessence, which can have a very powerful, supportive effect.”

Healing qualities of Femmenessence

Femmenessence is a patented combination of phenotypes of a natural product that grows in Peru. Five years of double-blind, placebo-controlled trials confirm the many benefits of this combination.

“A lot of practitioners will be familiar with Maca, which is a root vegetable that grows fairly widely in South America,” adds Roberts. “But Natural Health International has identified two quite distinct species of Maca. The one growing only above 4,000m actually has 13 different phenotypes, and combining several of these in different ratios gives distinct physiological effects that provide us with separate products for both men and women.”

“The one for women, that I will be discussing at the Expo, is our patented product known as Maca-GO, although Femmenessence is its trade name. Five years of clinical trials have shown that this is the only natural product to have a statistically significant effect on hormone levels. So for pre, post and currently menopausal woman (as well as practitioners looking for a serious alternative to HRT) we have something that has real credentials.”

She adds that Natural Health International has invested heavily in credible research but also in controlling and ensuring optimal conditions from the seed to the shelf.

“NHI’s approach is at the cutting edge for a natural products company - bridging the gap between supplements and pharmaceuticals. I believe that’s what practitioners are increasingly looking for. Natural products have a long history of use, but are now being called to account. People are saying: ‘OK, show us that these really work.’”

Femmenessence was launched more than 2 years ago in the United States and is expected to be launched in Australia during the early part of 2010, after it has received approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration. There will be both a retail and a professional range.

The retail range is already being sold through all Whole Foods outlets in the US and the practitioner version, which includes a larger pack size, is available through two of the largest distributors to health professionals in the US.

The product comes in a capsule form, and contains the herb and nothing but the herb. “It’s totally organically processed,” adds Roberts. “cultivated and grown exclusively in the central Peruvian Andes at high altitudes, under harsh environmental conditions, and exposed to the full spectrum of solar radiation, low humidity and extreme temperature changes - all factors that appear to have a positive affect on potency. A patented pre-gelatinization treatment ensures the full spectrum of actives that are also highly bio-available.”

Australian company Ramsay Healthcare is the major investor in the product, which has had to undergo additional toxicity studies in Australia, even though they have already been completed in Europe and demonstrate no toxicity even at a dose exceeding 15g/kg body weight!

Successful trials

When the product was taken by hundreds of women in the clinical trials, Roberts says it had very positive results. “80% of woman had a significant reduction of symptoms within six to eight weeks. In fact, many of them experienced relief in as few as three days. With an adjustment of dosage, almost 100% of woman received relief of their symptoms.

“But more importantly, Femmenessence has a statistically significant effect on hormone levels in both pre and post-menopausal women. Remember that it is the decline in hormone levels that contributes to a woman’s increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and cognitive decline.This product can and should be be taken long term. I’ve been taking it myself for 3 ½ years and I wouldn’t be without it.”

Roberts will be speaking about this subject at 4.15 pm, Thursday, September 3rd, at the Natural Health and Conference Expo being held at the AJC Centre, Randwick, Sydney. She says that her talk is a great example of how useful the new format at the Expo will be.

“This show has always given people a lot of insight into new products coming onto the market. The main difference this year is the format of a more conventional conference. Whereas in the past, the exhibits have been the most important part of the show, this year, the speaking events will take centre stage.”

She adds that there will be more high calibre speakers at this particular Expo than ever before. “Visitors will be exposed to new information that will help them in their practice. In regards to my product, menopause is an area that hasn’t been well serviced in the past. But there is a huge opportunity for natural therapists to support women through this natural, but sometimes difficult phase of life.

“Prescriptions of HRT halved between 2001 and 2005 and I’m sure that natural therapists are being bombarded with woman looking for help. So for practitioners to have a new product that is supported by credible, clinical trials, I’m sure this is something they want to hear about.”

Roberts adds that women must be mindful of the connection between their body and mind. She says that when they ignore the changes that they are undergoing emotionally, they will be more likely to suffer some kind of physical ill effect.

In her talk, she will focus on the various areas requiring attention - diet, lifestyle, environment, exercise and finally the emotional change and how it must be heeded.

Having specialised in promoting the health of couples prior to conception for a large part of her working life, Roberts now feels passionate about supporting women through this transformative phase of menopause and ensuring that they maximise the potential of the next decades!

Parents urged to take ham off menu

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:46:00 PDT

A cancer charity has urged parents whose children have packed lunches not to put ham and other types of processed meat in their sandwiches.

Ahead of the new school year, World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has warned that including sandwich fillers such as ham and salami could mean children get into habits that increase their risk of developing cancer later in life.

There is convincing scientific evidence that eating processed meat increases bowel cancer risk and this is why WCRF recommends people avoid eating processed meat. In the UK, scientists estimate about 3,700 bowel cancer cases could be prevented if everyone ate less than 70g of processed meat a week, which is roughly the equivalent of three rashers of bacon.

The research has not specifically looked at the effect of eating processed meat in childhood, but because the evidence in adults is convincing, and it makes sense for children to begin to adopt a healthy adult eating pattern from the age of five. WCRF advises it is best for children to avoid it as well as many of the habits we develop as children last into adulthood.

Instead of putting processed meat in children’s sandwiches, the charity is advising that parents instead switch to fillings such as poultry or fish, low-fat cheese, houmous, or small amounts of lean meat.

Marni Craze, Children’s Education Manager for WCRF, said: “If children have processed meat in their lunch every day then over the course of a school year they will be eating quite a lot of it. It is better if children learn to view processed meat as an occasional treat if it is eaten at all.

“We also need to do more to raise awareness of the issue, as a recent survey has shown that two thirds of people in Britain do not know that eating processed meat increases risk of cancer. This is despite the scientific evidence about a link being convincing.”

As well as avoiding processed meat, WCRF is urging parents to avoid lunch box fillers that are high in fat and calories and regularly including sugary drinks. This is because eating frequent or large portions of food that is high in calories can lead to a child becoming overweight and the more overweight a child is, the more likely they are to be overweight as an adult. Scientists now say that, after not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight is the most important thing we can do for cancer prevention.

But some high-energy products are specifically marketed as ideas for children’s lunchboxes. For example, Sainsbury’s lists Peperami in the “kid’s lunchbox” section of its website, even though it is 44 per cent fat. As well as being processed meat, just one 25g Peperami stick contains 126 calories and 11g of fat.

Craze added: “With the large number of overweight and obese children in the UK, it is important that parents check the nutritional information on food to see if it is high in calories. If children are regularly eating high-calorie foods or sugary drinks then they are more likely to become overweight.

“Putting ham or high calorie snacks in your child’s sandwich might seem like a convenient option, particularly for parents who do not have a lot of time to prepare their child’s lunchbox.

“But packed lunches are a part of a child’s diet that is relatively easy to control and it does not have to take too much time or effort to prepare a healthy lunch.

“For example, putting some salad into a sandwich will count towards the five portions of fruits and vegetables children should be eating every day. And a small fruit juice instead of a fizzy drink will also give a portion. Also, chicken that has not been processed, fish, houmous or low fat cheese are easy and quick alternatives.”

WCRF runs the Great Grub Club website (http://www.greatgrubclub.com), which encourages children to adopt healthy habits. This includes a section for parents with information about how WCRF’s Recommendations for Cancer Prevention relate to children.

Global effort to end childhood malnutrition

editors@thephj.com (Rodney Appleyard) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:11:36 PDT

The Global Harvest Alliance (GHA) has been formed with the vision of eradicating malnutrition throughout the developing world, by creating low-cost, nutritionally complete foods that prevent and treat all forms of under-nutrition.

These foods will incorporate crops that are protein and micronutrient rich, disease-and pest-resistant, and that can be disseminated through smallholder farmers.

Heading the GHA team is Mark Manary, M.D., a Washington University pediatrician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and the Helene B. Roberson Professor of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine and a member of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Manary has a successful track record with such innovation; his peanut butter-based ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for the treatment of severe malnutrition has consistently resulted in 90% recovery rates in research and operational projects. The World Health Organization officially declared Manary’s RUTF the most effective method by which malnourished children should be restored to health.

Manary’s work extends beyond RUTF. He explores the basic mechanisms by which malnutrition compromises human health, gaining new scientific insights to improve and refine his approach to combating malnutrition. Rather than merely treating malnutrition, Manary began to collaborate with colleagues at the Danforth Plant Science Center in 2004 to create a formidable preventive strategy. The intent is to enhance crops so that they can thrive where malnutrition is rampant and provide a complete package of nutrients needed for health. With his RUTF efforts complemented by the Danforth Center’s cassava team, the full vision for the Global Harvest Alliance began to take shape.

“Effective solutions to the crisis of childhood malnutrition must involve interventions spanning a diverse spectrum of disciplines including health care, agriculture and home economics. People in the developing world derive most of their nutrients from plants; plants constitute 90% of the diet of many Africans. Therefore effective prevention strategies must include food crops that provide more complete nutrition,” said Manary.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a GHA partner, has been a leader in biofortification of food crops for more than a decade. The Center is a recipient of funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct research as part of BioCassava Plus, an international research initiative that strives to make cassava a more nutritionally rich and balanced staple plant crop.

The project has demonstrated unprecedented success in enhancing cassava to contain more protein, vitamins and minerals, more robust plant virus resistance, delayed post-harvest deterioration and reduced cyanide content.

Farmer-preferred varieties are being collected, analysed, and genetically enhanced to improve their nutrient composition; concurrently, Dr. Manary is building a network of in-country nutritionists to add to the team of Danforth Center scientists already in place.

With support from the Gates Foundation’s Global Challenges Program, the Center’s cassava bio-fortification research team have met or exceeded targets of the project:

The levels of beta-carotene have been increased 30X.
The levels of protein have been increased 10X.
The levels of iron have been increased 4X.

Led by GHA and other Danforth Center scientists, teams will field-test improved cassava varieties in Kenya and Nigeria during the next five years. Through the efforts of the Danforth Center and its collaborators, it is anticipated that the improved varieties will be widely available in Africa within 10 years, improving survival-rates and quality of life for millions of children and families that would otherwise suffer malnutrition.

The GHA will also explore improvements in additional staple crops, including sorghum and a protein-rich legume such as cowpea or peanuts.

“Recent advances in biotechnology now make it possible to fortify the timeless staple crops of the subsistence farmer with substantially more macronutrients, such as protein, vitamins and minerals. Creating crops that contain all the necessary nutrients for human health in appropriate amounts could very well become the ultimate solution to malnutrition,” said Roger N. Beachy, president, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.

“Mark Manary is an internationally recognised leader in child nutrition research. He has pioneered several approaches to enhancing the nutrition of the world’s most severely malnourished children. The new Global Harvest Alliance promises to accelerate the advances which Dr. Manary champions via the combined commitments of Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center,” said Alan L. Schwartz, M.D., Ph.D., the Harriet B. Spoehrer Professor and chairman of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine.

“St. Louis Children’s Hospital has a vibrant outreach mission supported by our many donors to expand our vision of ‘better health and better health care’ to the children of our community. This alliance gives new and important meaning to our capacity to extend ourselves beyond the region to a global community,” said Lee Fetter, president, St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

The Global Harvest Alliance has developed several goals that will shape its work.

Short Term Goals: 3-5 years:

Develop an effective supplemental feeding regimen for moderate malnutrition.
Develop a more cost-effective therapeutic feeding regimen for home-based therapy for severe childhood malnutrition.
Develop effective strategies to treat severe malnutrition in young children with AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
Become a premier education and resource site for students and trainees at all levels in international pediatric nutrition and use of plant science to enhance human health.
Raise awareness in public and scientific circles about the consequences of childhood malnutrition and how to alleviate it.

Medium Term Goals: 5-10 years:

Develop a more effective management protocol for in-patient treatment of severe malnutrition.
Deploy an effective supplemental feeding regimen for moderate malnutrition and a more cost-effective therapeutic feeding regimen for home-based therapy for severe childhood malnutrition.
Deploy home-based therapy with RUTF for severe childhood malnutrition throughout the world.
Identify and improve two staple crops that will enhance human health in Africa, demonstrating the improvement in the greenhouse and during in-country studies.
Test and validate improved cassava varieties in Nigeria and Kenya in limited, controlled trials.

Long Term Goals: beyond 10 years:

Deploy effective strategies to treat severe malnutrition in young children with AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
Disseminate improved cassava in Africa on a broad scale.
Introduce two additional improved crops in limited, controlled trials.