Month: September 2008

Body, Energy Healing, Mind, Overall Wellness, Reiki, Science, Spirit

Boning Up on Energy Healing

YourStellarSelf

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Back in April, during NIH Yoga Week, I had the opportunity to speak with a program officer from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) about the types of studies that they are currently funding. I was interested in hearing their perspective on the study of energy healing methods as this is an area that has been difficult to quantify in a way that is satisfactory to people operating under the medical model. The program officer said that they tend to fund very few energy healing studies, since they feel that it is very difficult to do so under a controlled experimental design — it is hard to separate out the placebo effect from the “true effect” of the energy healing. In order to tease these apart, he said that they would like to see more studies with animals or cells since the whole issue of expectations and anticipation would be eliminated from the equation.

So, I was thrilled to see that a truly groundbreaking study on energy healing had been published in two peer-reviewed journals (even though the research was published a few months ago, it just recently came to my attention). Gloria Gronowicz, a researcher at the University of Connecticut, under a NCCAM grant, undertook a 3-year study designed to investigate the effects of Therapeutic Touch on bone cells, tendon cells and fibroblasts.

In the study, cell cultures were divided into three experimental groups. One group of cells was treated twice weekly, for two weeks, by a trained Therapeutic Touch practitioners who held their hands over the petri dishes containing the cells for 10 minutes. A second group of cells was treated by untrained students (the sham treatment) who were instructed to hold their hands over a petri dish for 10 minutes twice a week. The third group of cells received no treatment.

The cells treated by the trained Therapeutic Touch practitioners grew faster and stronger than those in the other two experimental groups, in one case at double the rate. In addition, the cell cultures treated with Therapeutic Touch also absorbed more calcium. Interestingly, bone cancer cells did not appear to be stimulated by the energy therapy, only healthy cells.

This study holds promise for future research. While it doesn’t explain how energy healing works, it quite clearly shows that it does work.

References: Gronowicz GA, Jhaveri A, Clarke LW, Aronow MS, Smith TH. (2008). Therapeutic touch stimulates the proliferation of human cells in culture. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

Jhaveri A, Walsh SJ, Wang Y, McCarthy M, Gronowicz G. (2008) Therapeutic touch affects DNA synthesis and mineralization of human osteoblasts in culture. Journal of Orthopaedic Research [Epub ahead of print]

Body

A Step in a New Direction

YourStellarSelf

Smallstep_adult_teen_logoLast year, I wrote a post about SmallStep.gov, a website hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) dedicated to educate people about simple nutrition and lifestyle choices they can make that can add up to big changes in their health. In my post, I referred to a public service announcement (PSA) put out by the Ad Council about Small Step, which I had seen a few years back whose imagery had really stuck with me. And I like the message they are conveying — that small steps can toward a goal can really make a difference. The site, which appears to have undergone a redesign since last year, is full of healthful tips and resources.

I recently learned about three new PSAs created through a collaboration of the Ad Council, US Olypmic Committee, Qubo, and DHHS, which are aimed at younger people. They feature Olympic athletes and virtual television personalities from popular kids’ shows. The idea is that the earlier people adopt healthy habits, the better. The new PSAs can be viewed on YouTube.

In addition to the main website, there is now SmallStepKids, which is designed for school-aged children. Last Friday, SmallSteps, in collaboration with the NBA, the HHS, and the BGCA, launched a video contest encouraging young people to share the small steps they are taking to get in shape and stay fit, from exercise to good eating habits through a short video, 3 minutes or less. The winner will receive $2,500 in cash and NBA Store Prizes and runner ups will receive $500 in cash and NBA Store Prizes. The contest can be found here.

Body, Environment, Overall Wellness

10 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Petroleum Dependence

YourStellarSelf

BiobagWe all know that driving less, buying fuel-efficient cars, and keeping our tires inflated can all lead to less petroleum consumption, but did you know that you can help to reduce this country’s dependence on oil through your day-to-day consumer habits? Following are 10 easy things you can do to reduce your dependence on petroleum.

1. Replace your personal care products containing petrolatum, methyl paraben, propylparaben and butylparaben, with those containing natural oils, beeswax, and no artificial preservatives.

2. Buy clothing made from natural fabrics like wool, cotton or bamboo rather than synthetics like nylon, polyester and acrylic.

3. Instead of buying plastic toys, opt for those made of wood and cloth.

4. Rather than throwing away old magazines or papers, shred them and use them as substitutes for foam packing peanuts or plastic bubble wrap.

5. Avoid foods that contain artificial food coloring (Yellow No. 2, Red No. 5, or Blue Lake No. 40,etc.), which are made from coal tar and petrochemicals.

6. Use natural cleaning products (including dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent and floor cleaner) by brands such as Seventh Generation (available at major grocery stores and Target) instead of brands containing detergents and other petroleum distillates.

7. Replace your plastic garbage bags with biodegradable cornstarch-based bags, like those made by BioBag Garden. They are available at Whole Foods, or you can order them online from stores like Gaiam.

8. Ditch your toothpaste containing sodium lauryl sulfate and propylene glycol, for natural brands without these petroleum-based chemicals.

9. Your garden will be happier if you use natural fertilizers like Plant-tone, rather than chemical brands.

10. Store your food in glass containers, like those made by Anchor, rather than plastic storage containers.

Besides keeping us dependent on foreign oil, products that we eat or put on our bodies have many harmful known effects.

There are many more ways that you can reduce the amount of petroleum you use. Here is a partial list of consumer items made from petroleum found on Ranken-energy.com (it contains 144 items, and they state that are over 6000). Use this as a guideline for brainstorming additional ways that you can cut down on your petroleum habit.

Resources:
*Aveda has a full line of body and products, including hair coloring made from plant-based dyes. You can find Aveda salons across the country
*Gaiam offers earth-friendly clothing, household products, home decorating, and more.
*The Container Store has some glass food storage containers
*The Guide to Less Toxic Products offers suggestions for replacing your chemical-based household products with safer ones.
*Wooden Toys has a huge selection of, obviously, wooden toys.

Environment, Games, Happiness

If You Build It Green, They Will Come

YourStellarSelf

 

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This summer, I had the chance to attend a couple of Nationals games at their new ball park (it opened last March). I really enjoy watching live baseball, and attend games whenever I can while traveling. There’s something about the game, the fans and environment at baseball games that makes me feel happy to be there, in the moment.

This made it especially cool when I found out that Nationals Park is the first Green ballpark. It is the first major league baseball stadium to be LEED Silver Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

They took many measures to meet the criteria for being Green. For example, they built it so that it is convenient to the train and bus systems in order to encourage people to take mass transportation. The stadium features water conserving plumbing fixtures and energy efficient light fixtures, and they used building materials that were recycled and sourced locally. There are several other features and steps they took in the process of creating this environmentally sustainable park, which you can read about on their website.

In addition, I was pleased to see several healthier food choices (something not the norm at many stadiums across the country), including veggie chilli and a selection of Honest Tea beverages. Of course, even though I do my best to eat healthy, I always have to buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks 🙂