Royal Hospital at Risk as Homeopathy Backlash Gathers Pace

Britain's leading homeopathic hospital, supported by the Queen and the Prince of Wales, is facing crisis because the medical establishment is turning against the remedies used by tens of thousands of people every year.

Dr Ian Fisher, personal homeopath to the Queen and clinical director of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, of which the monarch is patron, has written an open letter asking for help to save it. He blames 'an orchestrated campaign' against alternative medicine by some of Britain's most distinguished doctors.The Queen, an advocate of homeopathy, alongside Catherine Zeta Jones and Sir Paul McCartney, always has 60 vials of alternative remedies in a leather carrier when she travels abroad in case she falls ill. Homeopathic remedies - which use minute and diluted doses of natural substances - have been attacked by scientists as unproven.

'The basic problem is that several Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), the local bodies which pay for NHS care, have stopped, or drastically reduced, their funding of treatment at the RLHH,' said Fisher in the letter. 'If too many PCTs stop funding, the hospital may be forced to close. We are already having to cut our services. PCTs have generally justified their decisions by claiming that scientific evidence of effectiveness for homeopathy and other complementary therapies is lacking.' Twenty-five hospitals from London and southern and eastern England have already either stopped sending any patients to the RLHH or agreed to fund only a handful, Fisher warns.

The Prince of Wales, who has clashed with the medical estabishment several times over his staunch support for alternative therapies, publicly praised the 157-year-old RLHH when he performed the re-opening ceremony there in 2005 after a £20m refurbishment. 'Prince Charles is sympathetic, supportive and concerned. But he doesn't feel it's appropriate to intervene in any way because there's been some adverse publicity before about him ‘meddling’ ', said Fisher.

According to Fisher, cutbacks across the NHS are mostly just an excuse for PCTs to stop paying the hospital to treat patients suffering with conditions as diverse as eczema, food intolerance, extreme pain, digestive disorders and cancer. Many have 'effectiveness gap conditions', where conventional medicine has not helped, such as osteo-arthritis of the knee, which the RLHH treats with a course of acupuncture.

Fisher says that the real reason many PCTs have ended their contracts is because they felt pressurised to do so after receiving a letter last year from 13 of Britain's leading doctors urging them not to waste funding on what they described as unproven, ineffective complementary treatments. The signatories included Sir James Black, a past winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine, and cancer specialist Michael Baum, who despaired of the NHS paying for 'utterly bogus' alternative therapies such as homeopathy at the same time as it was saying it could not afford to help women across the country by paying for the breast cancer drug Herceptin.

Baum, Emeritus Professor of Surgery at University College London, returned to the attack last night. 'If the Royal London were to close because of PCT deficits we would scarcely miss it,' he said. 'Homeopathy is no better than witchcraft. It's no better than a placebo effect. It's patronising and insulting for adults.'

Baum believes the RLHH, an ornate building in Bloomsbury, in central London, should cease to be a hospital dedicated to homeopathy, a role it has performed since 1849. It currently treats about 9,000 patients a year and costs about £5.5m to run - a tiny sum by NHS standards. 'Instead you could have a centre for palliative and supportive care, which would be of greater benefit and involve half the cost. Rather than losing something, we would gain something,' Baum said.

But Carol Boyce, a homeopath involved in the campaign to save the hospital, said that losing it would deny patients the choice of treatment the government was keen to promote.

Robert Naylor, chief executive of the University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, to which the RLHH belongs, last night pledged: 'The trust has no plans to close the RLHH. It is the most important hospital in western Europe in alternative and complementary medicine, and an international centre for these types of treatment.

'There's no danger that the hospital will close. But if there's a national decision by PCTs in unison not to fund homeopathic treatments, we would have to discontinue provision of homeopathic treatment.'

A Department of Health spokeswoman said PCTs were free to decide what forms of treatment they felt willing to pay for and that the ministry could do nothing to prevent the possible closure of such a flagship hospital.

FDA Attempting to Regulate Supplements, Herbs and Juices as ‘Drugs’

When it comes to health freedom, this is the FDA's end game. A new FDA ‘guidance’ document, published on the FDA's website, reveals plans to reclassify virtually all vitamins, supplements, herbs and even vegetable juices as FDA-regulated drugs, reports Mike Adams of NewsTarget.com.

Massage oils and massage rocks will be classified as ‘medical devices’ and require FDA approval. The document is called Docket No. 2006D-0480. Draft Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA is accepting public comments on the docket until April 30th. They tried to sneak this under the radar, but word got out and now the natural health community is up in arms over this rule. If you wish to protect your access to nutritional supplements, herbs, essential oils, homeopathic medicine or any other 'complementary' or 'alternative' modality, it is crucial that you take action to post your comments with the FDA right now and write to your representatives in Washington to put a stop to this outrageous effort to destroy natural medicine.

This move by the FDA is designed to once and for all destroy the 1994 DSHEA law that has made supplements ‘legal’ while eliminating nutritional supplements and natural medicine from the United States, ensuring monopoly profits and control by drug companies and the FDA. It is the latest action item by the FDA / Big Pharma conspiracy that will not stop until health freedom has been abolished, drug companies rule the nation, and every citizen is diagnosied with a fictitious disease and drugged up on monopoly-priced pharmaceuticals.

FDA ‘experts’ will decide what's a drug or medical device.
Under these proposed guidelines, FDA 'experts' will decide whether herbs, supplements, vitamins or simple devices like massage stones are to be regulated as drugs and medical devices. If the FDA experts, in their infinite wisdom, decide that these things are to be reclassified, they will essentially be outlawed, stripped from the shelves, and regulated out of existence.

With this CAM Products Regulation effort, the FDA is about to deal a final, fatal blow to the alternative medicine industry, outlawing nutritional supplements, functional foods, homeopathy and natural therapies all at once.It is clear that the FDA is intending to regulate and ultimately destroy the entire CAM industry (Complementary and Alternative Medicine). Based on the explanations in the FDA's own document, the following things are likely to occur:

* All vitamins, nutritional supplements and functional foods will be stripped of their structure & function claims, reducing them to empty labels where virtually nothing at all is allowed to be stated.
* Vegetable juice will be regulated as a drug. Raw juice retreats will be raided or shut down.
* Growing and selling common garden herbs will get you arrested as a drug dealer.
* Massage oils and handheld massagers will be regulated as ‘medical devices.’
* Yoga props, pilates machines and weight machines will be regulated as ‘medical devices’ and require FDA approval before being sold or used.
* Raw sprouts and other anti-cancer foods will be regulated as drugs.
* Bottled water that ‘treats’ dehydration will be regulated as a drug.
* Massage therapists who use hot rocks as part of their therapy will have the ROCKS regulated as medical devices! (It's true. The FDA will actually look at a pile of rocks and declare, ‘Those are medical devices!’)
* Functional foods, supplements, vitamins and homeopathic remedies will disappear from store shelves, pending FDA ‘review.’ (The only things remaining will be processed junk foods and pharmaceuticals, which is exactly what Big Business wants.)
* Therapeutic tea products, such as green tea, will be outlawed and confiscated.
* Vitamin store owners will be arrested and prosecuted for ‘practicing medicine without a license.’
* Citizens owning personal inventories of ‘unapproved drugs’ (vitamins and herbs) may have their homes raided at gunpoint and their inventories confiscated by armed law enforcement agents.
* The importation of herbs and functional foods from all countries may be banned.

Here's an actual FDA statement from the CAM Guidance report:
‘For example, naturopathic cranberry tablets might be labelled for use to maintain the health of the urinary tract. In this example, the cranberry tablets generally would be regulated as ‘dietary supplements’ ...if they were labelled for use to ‘maintain the health of the urinary tract’ rather than ‘prevent urinary tract infections’. The cranberry tablets would be regulated as ‘drugs’ ...if they were labelled for use to ‘treat urinary tract infections’ even if they were labelled as dietary supplements.

A copy of the FDA's draft proposal can be downloaded as a PDF here

Alternative Medicine 'Not Science'

A leading pharmacologist has criticised degrees in complementary medicine for claiming to offer scientific teaching.

David Colquhoun, a pharmacologist at University College London, said many complementary medicines were not based on scientific evidence and should not be studied as part of a BSc degree.

In a report in the journal Nature, he said: ‘Most complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is not science because the vast majority of it is not based on empirical evidence.’

He said acupuncture used words ‘borrowed’ from science but they were used in a way that had ‘no discernible scientific meaning whatsoever’.

Mr Colquhoun added: ‘Yet this sort of gobbledegook is being taught in some UK universities as though it were science.’

His report said that in December, the UK Universities and Colleges Admissions Service advertised 61 courses for complementary medicine, of which 45 are BSc honours degrees from 16 universities.

He said - of aromatherapy, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, reflexology, osteopathy, therapeutic bodywork, naturopathy, Ayurveda, shiatsu and qigong - that: ‘None of these is, by any stretch of the imagination, science, yet they form part of BSc degrees.’

He has called on regulators like the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, and university vice-chancellors, to prevent BSc degrees in what he dubbed ‘anti-science’.

Brian Isbell, head of the University of Westminster's department of complementary therapies defended the BSc description.

He said at the university, which offers 14 BSc CAM courses, students have to study disease, carry out research and produce critiques of literature.

Benzylpiperazine (PEP) Pills are Dangerous and Illegal

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned on 20th March that selling BZP pills, containing benzypiperazine, is illegal and vendors may face prosecution.

Producers and sellers frequently claim that BZP is a 'natural' product, describing it as a 'pepper extract' or 'legal or herbal high'. However, the drug is entirely synthetic, not occurring naturally in any plants. The active ingredient in the products is Piperazine which is used as an anti-worming agent and is also found in human and veterinary products.

BZP can result in agitation, vomiting, abdominal pain, seizures, abnormal heart rhythms, colic, diarrhoea, allergic reactions and fever. In rare cases, users may suffer from serotonin syndrome, which can result in death.

Experimental studies demonstrate that the abuse, dependence potential, pharmacology, and toxicology of BZP are similar to those of amphetamine.

Danny Lee-Frost, Head of Operations at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said: 'Producers and sellers must now stop marketing all products containing BENZYLPIPERAZINE and PIPERAZINE BLEND in the UK with immediate effect and must cancel all advertising and promotion including internet promotion and sales. People should not take these pills as there are considerable health risks.'

For human indications, piperazine based products are classified as a medicinal product that must be sold in pharmacies. Any other pills containing piperazine or its salts, e.g. BZP or PEP pills would be classified as unlicensed as there are no safeguards in relation to the safety, quality or efficacy of the pills.

The Difference is Supreme!

Supreme Healing is a dedicated online retailer of portable therapy equipment and steam rooms. The company stocks Affinity, the UK market leading brand of portable therapy equipment. Its large range of portable lifting back tables, traditional flat tables, onsite massage equipment and complete range of accessories ensures that Supreme Healing can offer a high quality piece of equipment for every eventuality and therapy.

New to the company’s product range is Soothing Touch, a premium US range of Massage Oils, Creams and lotions. Renowned for their high quality and perfect formulations, Supreme healing is buoyant about their introduction ‘We feel that the UK market has been crying out for a precision, blended range of products. Having tested the products ourselves we feel that Soothing Touch can make the difference between a good and great treatment.’

‘All prices are competitive, but Supreme Healing prides itself on service, the company’s 0800 085 42 43 number is manned for far more hours than most suppliers and not only will you always speak to a human being, but their knowledge and advice is considered second to none.’

Web: http://www.therapyessentials.co.uk

Celebrity Doc's Healthy Homecoming

It was at Dr Mosaraf Ali's chambers that Rod Stewart decided to divorce Rachel Hunter. Stewart was in his chamber to treat a sore back. Based in London, Dr Ali is a pioneer in the field of integrated medicine, physician to royal families, celebrities and tycoons. His return to Kolkata was an ‘emotional homecoming’.

‘If you cannot measure, it's not science. How can you measure depression, headache and gas problems? Can science offer solutions to all chronic problems? Heart ailments are common. But prevention in the form of better diet control, exercise and stress management is always at hand,’ he said addressing a conference organised by Ladies Study Group.

Unlike China, which has been promoting acupuncture for a long time, Dr Ali feels India has failed to do the same with yoga. ‘Now yoga is promoted as a blend of aerobics and other such exercises. We talk about power yoga. What is it? Only Kerala has succeeded in promoting health tourism.’

After obtaining an MD in medicine in New Delhi and Moscow, Dr Ali studied acupuncture, fasting therapy, iridology and hypnosis. His diagnosis techniques are traditional - pulse reading, iridology (eye diagnosis) and so on.

The author of six best-selling books continued: ‘I have successfully employed my techniques in treating strokes. At Hammersmith Hospital I worked with patients (11 of them) whose average age was 80.3 and with complications such as dementia. At the end of five months five of them could walk... There are thousands of individuals who have suffered a stroke. They can be treated differently.’

Dr Ali, who was born in Kolkata and studied at St Vincent's School in Asansol, moved to London in 1991. He is physician to a number of royal families and his patients include Ian Botham, Boris Becker, Shah Rukh Khan, Michael Douglas, Jerry Hall, George Hamilton and Claudia Schiffer.

‘I started off as a doctor and was a convert. And as you know, converts are fanatics. I strongly believe chronic illnesses can be treated with integrated medicine.’

Computer says ‘Yes’ to More Accessible Therapy

Computer-based therapy for milder, but more common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety should be made available to any patients in England who could benefit from it from April, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said on 28th March.

Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (cCBT) delivers cognitive behavioural therapy - proven to be clinically effective - through a computer. Providing this therapy as a first-line treatment for people with anxiety and depression heralds a significant shift towards providing new services closer to people at home and in the community.

Over 2007/08, the establishment of cCBT in every PCT in England will be an important building block in the delivery of comprehensive psychological therapy services.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has approved two computer-based programmes for use by the NHS - Fear Fighter for treating people who have phobias or suffer from panic attacks, and Beating the Blues for treating people with mild to moderate depression. Such programmes will enable therapy to be provided in a greater number of locations and settings, such as at home or in the library. People who receive these services will also benefit from the support of a mental health professional.

Launching cCBT Implementation Guidance that will help the NHS to deliver these innovative therapies to patients, ahead of her speech at the MIND annual conference in Bournemouth, Patricia Hewitt said:

‘Mental health services have clearly improved substantially, but we want to offer patients even greater choice over how, when and where they are treated. Being able to access the right kind of therapy, instead of just being prescribed medication, is central to this vision for patients.

‘On April 1st, we reached the first milestone in our drive to provide choice - namely quicker access to computer based self-help services to stop mild mental health problems becoming worse.

‘Clinical evidence confirms that counselling and therapy are just as effective as medication in helping to treat most cases of depression. The guidance being published today will give the NHS the information they need to provide these services.

‘In addition to continuing to improve services for people with severe mental health problems, we are working to improve the mental wellbeing of society as a whole, and providing a real, twenty-first century service for people with common mental health needs such as anxiety and depression.’

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of MIND said:

‘Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an important addition to the range of treatment options available for people who suffer from mild depression or anxiety. It will bring therapy to the doorstep of users making it convenient and easy to access especially for people who live in remote locations. Its immediacy will benefit people who have been waiting months or even years to see a therapist.

‘However, this method of delivery will not suit everyone. It is important that there is a choice of options.’

Dr Peter Crouch, a GP and Forensic Medical Examiner at the Taw Hill Medical Practice in Swindon said:

‘We have been using computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for over three years and the feedback by our patients is extremely positive.

‘Our patients have found that using ‘The Relief Series’ and ‘Beating the Blues’ has significantly helped them to better cope with anxiety, insomnia and stress. Using the system has amplified the ability of our award winning local psychology service in Wiltshire to provide tangible and practical help and psychological support to those who need it.

‘Very few services are able to be delivered within a few minutes of a consultation and in the patient's own home. We have patients who have logged in from work, home and anywhere they can access the internet. As we have many patients who travel, some have logged in from halfway around the world to continue the programme of support.’

Last year, the Government announced the establishment of two improving access to psychological therapy (IAPT) demonstration sites in Doncaster and Newham. The programme's core purpose is to develop: evidence of the benefits of psychological therapies; service models on how evidence based services should be implemented nationwide; and incentives to enable the local NHS to deliver the new services.

Buddhist Reincarnation for Historic Baths Means They are no Longer at Risk

The Historic Manor Place Baths in Southwark, South London have been saved for the local community by the Kagyu Samye Dzong Tibetan Buddhist group, which opened a new complementary health centre for Southwark residents in the building on Saturday, 17th March.

A much-loved landmark on the Walworth Road since 1895, this grade II listed washhouse has been on English Heritage's Buildings At Risk Register for the last three years. Now Southwark Council has recommended that the building be taken off the register, after the successful renovation by volunteers from the Kagyu Samye Dzong group.

Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, Abbot and Director of Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre, opened the building by presenting Simon Hughes MP and other dignitaries with white scarves - the traditional Tibetan symbol of peace. There were exhibitions and displays of Manor Place's past and present, along with children's activities and refreshments. Tibetan music was on offer as were free treatments of Tai Chi, Yoga, Acupuncture, Shiatsu, Meditation, Reflexology and Korean Hand Massage.

The baths, walls, piers and railings were built in 1895 and the complex was originally used for public swimming, washing and laundry. It survived heavy bombing by the Germans in the Second World War and was later used to stage boxing tournaments. There are many colourful tales of locals seeing fighters staggering off down Walworth propped up by friends on the lively fight nights. However, the building began to fall out of use by 1978 and by 1995 it was in a dangerously poor condition with no viable use.

Samye Dzong is a Tibetan Buddhist group based in a building next to St Thomas's Hospital. While looking for new premises they discovered Manor Place Baths. The exterior was well preserved but parts of the interior had been left in a derelict state.

Since 2006 local volunteers have lovingly restored the rotten windows, floors, painted the walls and addressed severe damp and water damage. Volunteer builders, plumbers, electricians from all over the UK have helped turn the building around, and the centre now offers rooms for community events alongside the resident Buddhist community. The latest reincarnation of the Manor Place Baths building has seen it transformed into a place of spirituality, alternative therapies and local history.

Malcolm Woods, English Heritage's Historic Buildings Area Advisor, said: ‘We are very pleased that this important Southwark building has been repaired and brought back into use by the Kagyu Samye Dzong Buddhist Community and can be used once again for community events. The building can now come off the Buildings at Risk Register because it has a secure future. We would like to congratulate the Buddhist community and hard-working volunteers who have made this possible - it truly is an exemplary way to bring a Building at Risk back to life.’

Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, Abbot and Director of Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre, said: ‘I am so happy that Manor Place Samye Dzong is opening to the public. It is so wonderful that a building that was so cherished by local people in a previous life is being reborn as a centre for health, wellbeing, community and spiritual practice. Manor Place Samye Dzong is truly a place for everyone.’

Food, Mood and the Brain - Marketing Brain and Mood Enhancement Food and Drink

Leatherhead Food International invites you to a one-day conference on 24th April 2007 Chaired by Barbara Stewart-Knox, University of Ulster

Although it seems a long way before we can find food and drink selling happiness and intelligence in a bag, it may not be that far off.

From East to West, groundbreaking science has reached the same conclusion. Top experts, researchers and household names such as Unilever, Nestlé, Yakult and Glico, have established that not only can certain foods improve mental health and general mood, but also how the links between nutrition, mood and brain work.

Hardly two decades after the beginning of functional foods, we are about to witness the development of a new market and this is a key trend set to be one of 2007's biggest.

It's altogether a new category in the functional food and drink arena that is emerging. Products offering mental boost and mood enhancement benefits such as stress-free and improved mind and body functions, are gradually appearing on supermarket shelves around the world and are becoming increasingly popular with consumers. Although it is already a vibrant and active market in Japan, looking at past experience, the success of such products in the West ought to be considered in a different way. In the early 90s, when functional foods were first introduced from Japan, the Western markets suffered a number of product failures. These were mainly due to marketing difficulties like high price, ingredients and claims too complex for the consumer to understand as well as poor sensory quality. The industry has overcome most of these challenges and the timing is perfect to initiate the development and success of the Mood Food market.

Covering the markets and trends for energy, mental boost and mood enhancement products, the Food, Mood and the Brain conference held on 24th April 2007 at Leatherhead Food International, will offer a unique opportunity to explore this relatively young market, the rewards and the challenges of launching such products, understanding consumers needs and branding and communication issues.

Some of the Event Objectives:
* Give a global market update on products promoting mental health as in mood and brain well being. This will outline market size, growth, key players and new products
* Learn about ingredients linked to mood enhancing products
* Identify new NPD and marketing opportunities to meet consumer needs and perception
* Offer communication, branding and on-pack claim advice
* Showcase the best practice examples in this growing product category.

Who Should Attend?
The conference has been put together for all those in the ingredient, manufacturing, food service or retail sectors involved in:

Marketing
Branding
Innovation
Consumer Insight
Market Research
Business Development
New Product Development
Nutrition
R&D

Don't miss this opportunity to catch up with the latest information and to question the experts.

Leatherhead Food International is offering opportunities to sponsor this event. For further details on sponsorship or the conference programme, please contact Catherine Laughton tel: 01372 822304 or on e-mail Catherine at claughton@leatherheadfood.com

Visit Leatherhead Food International at http://www.leatherheadfood.com.

Overseas Sales Bring Healthy Growth for Darlington Firm

A North East firm is enjoying healthy growth after signing up a string of new overseas clients with the help of UK Trade & Investment's ‘Passport to Export’ initiative.

Rumana Health Ltd, of Darlington, offers advice and support to individuals and businesses seeking to create great health, using natural medicine where possible.

Launched by naturopath Rumana Zahn seven years ago, the company offers a range of integrated treatments and expert advice and was keen to broaden its client base, so enlisted the help of UK Trade & Investment to target several overseas markets.

Rumana Zahn, Director of Rumana Health Ltd, explained:

‘We signed up to Passport at the beginning of last year and one of the first things we did was revamp our website. The business has grown steadily over the past few years and we needed a dynamic website that could get all the comprehensive information about our services across in an easy to understand way.

‘Having contacts in Spain already, it seemed to be the ideal starting point to run our week-long holiday retreats.

‘Taking your first steps into international trade can be a daunting prospect but as I had those existing links in Spain it helped give me the confidence to go for it and the support from UK Trade & Investment really helped.

‘Through the website we've already gained several new customers who have signed up to join our retreats in Spain and we're now working to expand those. We're also now looking to offer more retreats in other countries, including India.’

Simon Crosby, UK Trade & Investment's International Trade Adviser, said:
‘Rumana Health Ltd has been steadily building up its business since its launch and realised the time was right to look overseas. Its existing links with Spain proved the ideal starting point and helped make the transition into international trade a little less daunting.

‘Passport is an ideal way for companies to access the support and help they may need to break into a new market as it offers a tailor-made package that can meet an individual company's needs.

‘Rumana Health Ltd is a small company but has proved you don't have to be big to export - and UK Trade & Investment is here to help whatever the size or type of business you're in.’

For more information about the range of support services available through UK Trade & Investment to help your company succeed overseas call the North East International Trade Hotline on 0845 05 05 054 or email: enquiries@ukti.rito.co.uk.

Web: http://www.rumanahealth.com

K9 Pamper Day & U2

Durham K9 Hydro is holding a K9 Pamper Day & U2 on Saturday and Sunday 21st and 22nd of April 2007 to mark National Pet Month.

Farmers Jan and Ian Oliver, of South Brandon Farm, near Crook, launched Durham K9 Hydro last year with the support of Defra's Rural Enterprise Scheme, which aimed to help farmers adapt to changing markets and develop new businesses. It formed part of the England Rural Development Programme that ran from 2001 until 2006.

The K9 Pamper Day & U2 event which runs from 10.00am until 4.00pm, offers a chance for dogs and their owners to enjoy some pampering with K9 massages and K9 shampoos, U2 (human) massage tasters - head/neck, hand, foot/leg at a special charity rate of £10 for each session. Please phone to book your sessions on 0191 378 9570.

There will also be tea, coffee, cakes, tombola, treats and a selection of K9 stalls. Proceeds are going to StrayAid a local dog rescue charity with a donation to National Pet Month.

National Pet Month (NPM) is supported by Iams and Eukanuba. It seeks to promote responsible pet ownership by encouraging people to hold events just like K9 Pamper Day & U2 to promote responsible pet ownership and raise valuable funds for animal charities across the UK. The celebrations run from 7th April until 7th May 2007 and to mark its 18th year, National Pet Month's 2007 theme is 'Love is...'.

Phil Sketchley, chairman of NPM said:

‘We're delighted that Durham K9 Hydro, Diane at Pawz, K9 Groomer and Laura Wilkie, Human Complementary Health Practitioner have come on board and are holding such a great event to celebrate our love for our pets and help promote how to look after them responsibly, while raising funds for StrayAid. We hope everybody involved has a great time in the process.’

Others looking to get involved with National Pet Month or register an event of their own should visit http://www.nationalpetmonth.org.uk, email info@nationalpetmonth.org.uk or call 0208 370 3688.

Web: http://www.durhamk9hydro.co.uk

Merseyside Firm takes Top North West Export Award

A Merseyside cosmetic company, which produces a range of hypoallergenic products, has been crowned with a regional export award.

Natrelle, based in Heswall, has won the North West Passport to Export Award 2007 in recognition of the effect of exports on its business following participation in the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) programme.

Joining Passport to Export gave Natrelle - which markets Natural Tan and ProSun a hypoallergenic self-tanning product range - the confidence to develop an international business plan and focus properly on its existing export customers while tackling other new overseas markets.

As well as producing cosmetics Natrelle is UK distributor for Nicogel, a cigarette replacement gel, which the company also exports to Europe and Australia.

Passport to Export is UK Trade & Investment's flagship programme for new and inexperienced exporters. It provides the training, planning and ongoing support a company needs to begin a successful export operation.

Since Natrelle joined Passport in April 2005, it has increased its overall sales to £1.4M and gained a 80% increase from its international business. During that time the company has begun exporting to Australia, France, Denmark, Iceland, Singapore, the Faroes, Italy, Portugal and Estonia. It has capitalised on the recent concerns over skin cancer to market the Natural Tan range in what would otherwise be extremely difficult markets.

Clive Drinkwater, UKTI's North West Regional Director, says:

‘Passport is an excellent and varied scheme that can be developed in a huge variety of ways and my congratulations go to Natrelle for the progress it has made with UKTI's assistance.’

Lyn Armitage and Paul Tunstall, Directors of Natrelle, said,

‘We were very grateful to UK Trade & Investment and the Passport to Export scheme for all the help and advice - especially that given by our adviser Julie Greensword. There are only two of us in the company and we work extremely hard so it is lovely to be given a pat on the back from someone else and we are delighted to win this award.’

The Passport to Export programme combines new and existing UKTI services, according to a company's particular business needs. Participating companies receive a business health check, mentoring from one of UKTI's local export professionals, an individual export plan and a range of developmental training options before putting those skills to practical use by visiting an agreed market.

To qualify for its regional award Natrelle was crowned as Merseyside's sub regional winner. The selection criteria for the county award were:

* Evidence of the impact of international trade on the overall success of the business
* How successful the company has been in penetrating overseas markets since joining the Passport to Export programme
* Evidence of how an international trade strategy has translated into results
* Demonstration of the use of innovative solutions.
* A clear indication of future plans & commitment to consolidate and/or increase international sales.

Web: http://www.natrelle.net

Organic Consumers Launches ‘Nutri-Con’ Campaign to Expose Rampant Labelling Fraud in the $20 Billion Vitamin and Supplements Industry

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is launching a new public health and truth-in-labelling campaign called Nutri-Con: The Truth About Vitamins & Supplements. Through public education, marketplace pressure, and litigation, OCA's Nutri-Con campaign will expose the hazards and limited effectiveness of synthetic vitamins and supplements, and strive to create mass consumer awareness and marketplace demand for truly organic, ‘naturally occurring’ vitamins, botanicals, and supplements.

‘Nutri-Con will alert the public to the fact that 90% or more of the vitamins and supplements now on the market labelled as 'natural,' 'food based' or 'organic' actually contain relatively ineffective and sometimes even harmful synthetic chemicals, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and nanoparticles,’ according to nutrition expert Dr. Scott Treadway, a co-founder of the campaign.

‘Part of this campaign will be the implementation of a new Naturally Occurring Standard (NOS), certification procedures, and labels, designating products and brands that are truly organic and natural.’

Major news publications recently reported on a peer-reviewed study from the Journal of the American Medical Association which found that a number of synthetic vitamins appear to be damaging the health of consumers.

According to Ronnie Cummins, National Director of the OCA, ‘In terms of wellness promotion, there is no doubt that an organic whole foods-based diet and a healthy lifestyle are the 'best medicine' for those of us trying to survive and keep our families healthy. But as millions of health-minded consumers complement our organic whole foods-based diet with nutritional supplements, we have a right to know whether these vitamins and supplements are truthfully labelled, and derived from 100% naturally occurring plant and mineral sources, rather than laced with problematic synthetic chemicals that are biologically ineffective, or even damaging to our health.’

‘Nutri-Con is the opening salvo in a campaign that will revolutionise the $20 billion vitamin and supplements industry. We must stop rampant labelling fraud and move toward promoting organic and naturally occurring products that truly benefit human health and agricultural sustainability,’ concluded Cummins.

Web: http://www.organicconsumers.org

Simeon Niel-Asher Wins CAM Award for Outstanding Practice

Osteopath Simeon Niel-Asher of Back into Shape the Osteopathic Clinic has won the 2006 CAM Award for Outstanding Practice.

The Award, which was presented at a Gala Dinner at the Natural Trade Show in Brighton on Sunday 11th March, is one of the most sought after awards in the complementary and alternative healthcare industry.

Announcing the CAM Award winners in its January issue, the magazine said of Simeon: ‘He not only pioneered a new treatment for frozen shoulder, but ran a clinical audit showing nine out of ten patients improved and then took it a stage further with a successful randomised, placebo-controlled trial involving Addenbrookes Hospital.

‘On top of that, he has broadened the scope of his successful osteopathic practice by integrating other practitioners providing on-site exercise and rehab, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.’

Simeon, who is about to launch a new on-line training course for his frozen shoulder treatment was delighted to be selected as the winner of this year's Award: ‘It's so exciting when you discover something new, especially when it can be so instrumental in transforming the lives of your patients,’ he comments.
‘To be recognised for all the hard work is fantastic and I feel really honoured to have won this Award. I look forward to passing the knowledge onto other practitioners so that more and more people can benefit from the technique.’

For more information on Back into Shape, please visit http://www.backintoshape.com or call 020 8347 6160. For more information on Simeon Niel-Asher's frozen shoulder treatment or training programme, please visit http://www.defrosttraining.com.

Mushroom Chemical Improves Cancer Survival Rates

Adding PSK mushrooms to cancer treatments in clinical trials has been shown to be an effective complementary therapy, new research suggests.

The results from trials using PSK on top of other treatments has been published in the peer-reviewed Australian Journal of Complementary Medicine.

The study indicates that PSK, which is derived from the mushroom Coriolus versicolor, has proven to be effective as a complementary therapy in patients with cancers of the colon, rectum, stomach, oesophagus, lung and breast.

‘Significant increases in survival and disease-free survival rates have been reported in cancer patients given PSK with no significant side effects reported,’ the report said.

DEFRA Pesticide Residues Committee - Third Quarter Report 2006

The latest Pesticide Residues Committee's (PRC) quarterly report found that 555 out of 757 samples of 14 different foods tested had no detectable residues, and 198 contained levels below the maximum residues level (MRL) - the legally permitted level. Four of the samples contained residues above the maximum permitted levels. None of these residues were likely to cause concern for people's health.

No residues were detected in any of the samples of milk and shellfish. Dr Ian Brown, chairman of the Committee, said:

'The majority of food sampled does not contain detectable residues or any residues found are in accordance with the guidelines. The PRC have looked carefully at all of the exceedances of the MRL and published a full risk assessment. We are satisfied that all the results give us no concern for consumer health.

'The results show 4 samples contained residues in excess of the maximum permitted levels. We have looked carefully at each of these exceedances and in every case the presence of these was unlikely to have resulted in any adverse health effects for consumers. All these are exceedances of MRLs set at the lowest level which can be routinely tested for because producers have not supplied information to set a higher level.

'Nevertheless, we have some concerns that produce continues to be imported into this country which breaches established European MRLs, so we have asked the suppliers for an explanation of our findings.

'The results should reassure consumers that the food they eat continues to be safe. It is important to stress that the positive effects of eating fresh fruit and vegetables as part of a balanced healthy diet far outweigh any concern about pesticide residues.'

The PRC is an independent body which advises Government, the Food Standards Agency and the Pesticides Safety Directorate. These results are part of a £2.2 million food and drink monitoring programme which takes place each year, and cover testing from June to September 2006. The MRL, or maximum residue level, is the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue - expressed as milligrams per kilogram, or parts per million - legally permitted in or on our food and animal feeds. The levels are not safety limits, but are set at levels which protect the consumer. They are primarily a check that good agricultural practice is being followed, and an MRL exceedance does not automatically imply a hazard to health.

The full report is available online: http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/uploadedfiles/Web_Assets/PRC/Report.pdf

Natural Health Pioneer Launches Consumer Wellness Centre Nonprofit Organisation

A top author and consumer advocate in the natural health movement has created a non-profit organisation to better empower consumers with lifesaving knowledge about nutrition, disease prevention and natural health modalities for personal and planetary wellness.

Author and natural health guru Mike Adams is co-founder and executive director of the Consumer Wellness Centre (http://www.ConsumerWellness.org), a 501(c)3 nonprofit focused on educating consumers about safe, natural and healthful solutions for living healthier, happier and more abundant lives. To accomplishing this, the Consumer Wellness Centre produces educational materials in the form of articles, guides, reports, interviews, audio files and video files, most of which are available free of charge to consumers.

The Consumer Wellness Centre sells no vitamins, supplements, foods or medical devices, and does not earn any commissions from the sale of such products. It does, however, frequently review and recommend products, supplements, websites and other services that can help improve the lives of women, men, infants, children and families everywhere.

‘You'll find articles, reports and studies about the healing potential of natural medicine: phytonutrients, supplements, herbs and natural sunlight, to name just a few,’ says executive director Adams of the nonprofit's website. ‘We're creating informative materials on the latest natural health solutions, with special emphasis on education, prenatal nutrition and ending censorship of nutritional supplements,’ Adams says.

Adams is a volunteer executive director and earns no pay for his position at the non-profit.

More information about the Consumer Wellness Centre, including its End Censorship of Nutritional Supplements and Nutrition for Expectant Mothers initiatives, can be found at http://www.ConsumerWellness.org

Individuals and businesses can support the Consumer Wellness Centre and its initiatives through tax-deductible donations. Currently, only cheques are accepted, but the CWC will be launching a web-based donation form. For more information about supporting or sponsoring the Consumer Wellness Centre, call (520) 232-9300 or visit http://www.consumerwellness.org/Sponsorship.html

About the Consumer Wellness Centre
The Consumer Wellness Centre (http://www.ConsumerWellness.org) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit focused on educational initiatives that empower consumers with knowledge and wisdom on disease prevention, nutrition, peak mental and physical health and natural health modalities. The centre sells no vitamins, supplements, foods or medical products, and earns no commissions from the sale of such products.

Salmonella Infects One in Four Chickens for Meat

Salmonella infects one in four chickens in flocks reared for meat, according to European survey findings published on 3rd April.

While Swedish poultry was found to be clear of the pathogen, the highest contamination rate was in Hungary at 68.2 per cent, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Tests found that the two most common forms of salmonella responsible for illness, enteritidis and typhimurium, were detected in about 11 per cent of flocks.

The survey aims to provide the Commission with a basis to set reduction targets, which are due to by July 2007.

The results also provide processors with information on the ‘widely’ varied infection rates between member states, which may prove influential in attempts to remove salmonella from the supply chain of poultry meat used in products.

The survey was conducted on commercial holdings with more than 5,000 broilers between 1st October 2005 and 30th September 2006. Statistics for Estonia and Latvia relate to smaller flocks of below 5,000.

A total of 7,440 flocks on 6,325 holdings were included in the results of the survey. Faeces taken from the flocks within three weeks before slaughter was due were tested for the salmonella.

While results from Luxembourg and Malta were excluded in the published findings, Norway was included following voluntarily participation in the study.

A flock was considered positive if salmonella or the specific serovar was detected in at least one of the five samples taken, while a holding was defined to be positive when at least one flock was affected.

As well as Hungary, a high prevalence of salmonella was found in Poland at 58.2 per cent, Portugal at 43.5 per cent and Spain at 41.2 per cent.

In France, Europe's largest broiler producer, 6.2 per cent of samples tested positive for salmonella, while the second largest, the UK, had a rate of 8.2 per cent.

Infection rates in Finland and Norway were low at 0.1 per cent, while Europe's smallest producer in the survey, Estonia, had a two per cent rate.

EFSA found the average salmonella infection rate was 23.7 per cent in broiling chicken across Europe.

The report follows an EFSA study, published in June 2006, which found about one in five of the EU's large scale commercial egg producers have laying hens infected with the Salmonella spp. pathogen.

A study on zoonoses by EFSA in 2005 reported that up to 18 per cent of raw fresh chicken meat samples were contaminated with salmonella.

By far the most frequently reported zoonotic diseases in humans are salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis, with the most deadly being listerious, according to a European Commission study published last year.

The study found there were 192,703 reported cases of salmonellosis and 183,961 of campylobacteriosis cases reported during 2004 in the EU's 25 member states.

The cases are out of a total of 400, 000 human cases of zoonoses reported. Most of the cases were foodborne and associated with mild to severe intestinal problems.

The EU's new zoonoses directive 2003/99/EC became effective 12th June 2004.
Reporting according to the new rules started with data collected during 2005.

Zoonoses are diseases, which are transmissible from animals to humans. The infection can be acquired directly from animals, or through ingestion of contaminated foodstuffs. The seriousness of these diseases in humans can vary from mild symptoms to life threatening conditions.

Within the EU there are 714 million broilers in 282,221 flocks across 24,630 commercial holdings with over 5,000 birds, including those surveyed in Latvia and Estonia, according to EFSA for 2005. On the same basis, Norway adds about nine million broilers to the study figures.

Tai Chi May Help Prevent Shingles

Tai Chi, a popular style of Chinese Kung Fu or martial art, may help protect against shingles, a condition commonly experienced by older people in the United States, according to a new study published in print this week in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The study by Michael R. Irwin, M.D. of the University of California at Los Angeles, and colleagues did not prove that Tai Chi can prevent shingles or reduce the severity of the condition, which affects millions of Americans. Instead it found that the exercise improves immunity in older adults against the virus that causes shingles.

The study was not meant to explain why Tai Chi has such a preventative effect against the virus that causes shingles, so the researchers do not know how Tai Chi increases the immunity in older people.

Shang Gao, a Chinese Kung Fu 6th Duan master who is the 2006 USA National Champion winning four Gold medals and one Silver medal, told foodconsumer.org that among other things Tai Chi helps the flow of vital energy called Qi, which is believed to be responsible for health benefits. Mr. Gao used Qi to effectively treat patients with colds, stomachache, headache, high blood pressure and other illnesses in China. Gao now runs a martial art school in St. Louis teaching a variety of Chinese Kung Fu styles including Tai Chi and Qi Gong.

Tai Chi is known to improve muscle strength, balance, energy and agility. Scientific studies have already proved that this exercise reduces anxiety, depression, bone loss, high blood pressure and chronic pain. It also improves cardiovascular fitness, physical functioning, and sleep quality. Tai Chi is recognized by the U.S. government as a behavioral intervention that people may use to improve their health.

Shingles caused by the same varicella-zoster virus that also causes chickenpox is commonly experienced by older people whose immunity declines to a degree that the dormant virus gets activated, causing unbearable nerve pain.

‘One in five people who have had chickenpox will get shingles later in life, usually after age 50, and the risk increases as people get older,’ says National Institute on Aging Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D. ‘More research is needed, but this study suggests that the Tai Chi intervention tested, in combination with immunisation, may enhance protection of older adults from this painful condition.’

‘Dr. Irwin's research team has demonstrated that a centuries-old behavioural intervention, Tai Chi, resulted in a level of immune response similar to that of a modern biological intervention, the varicella vaccine, and that Tai Chi boosted the positive effects of the vaccine,’ says Andrew Monjan, Ph.D., chief of the NIA's Neurobiology of Aging Branch.

Dr, Irwin and colleagues conducted the randomised, controlled clinical trial in 112 healthy adults ages 59 to 86 (average age of 70), which lasted 16 weeks. One group exercised Tai Chi while the other received 120 minutes of health education weekly. All of the participants had had chickenpox earlier in life and so were already immune to that disease. The health education intervention involved classes about a variety of health-related topics.

After the 16-week Tai Chi exercise or health education, people in both groups received a single injection of VARIVAX, the chickenpox vaccine that was approved for use in the United States in 1995. Then nine weeks later, the investigators assessed immunity and compared it to the baseline immunity, which was similar in both groups before the study intervention.

The researchers found that Tai Chi combined with aerobic activity, relaxation and meditation boosted the immune response to varicella vaccine against the chickenpox virus in older adults.

They found that Tai Chi alone increased participants' immunity to varicella as much as the vaccine typically produces in 30- to 40-year-old adults, and then Tai Chi combined with the vaccine produced a significantly increased level of immunity, about a 40 percent increase, over that produced by the vaccine alone.

The study further showed that the Tai Chi group's rate of increase in immunity over the course of the 25-week study was double that of the health education (control) group.

In addition to the increased immunity against shingles, the Tai Chi group reported significant improvements in physical functioning, bodily pain, vitality and mental health.

One thing shared by both groups is that the severity of depressive symptoms declined.

It remains unclear whether Tai Chi can increase the immunity in the general population as the participants were from families with high income and better social status. It is also unknown if Tai Chi would benefit people with medical conditions as the study involved only healthy individuals.

The research was supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), both components of NIH.

Web link: http://www.shang-wu.com

Campaign Continues to Drive Down Salt Consumption and Improve Public Health

FSA research has revealed that people in Great Britain are consuming less salt than they were five years ago. Urinary sodium tests tests show a small but significant decrease in the average salt intake of the population since last measured in 2001.

The new data shows that average daily salt consumption has fallen from 9.5g to 9g - with male intake reducing from 11g a day to 10.2g a day and female intake falling from 8.1g day to 7.6g day.

Although the decrease is small, it indicates that things are moving in the right direction and that good progress is being made by both the food industry and consumers. It highlights that there is still work to be done to meet the Government's national target of no more than 6g a day by 2010.

The publication of this urinary data coincides with the launch of the next stage of the Agency's salt campaign 'Full of it!', fronted by straight-talking comedienne Jenny Éclair. The hard hitting ads hammer home the message that most of the salt we eat (75%) is already in the food we buy.

The advertisements feature four categories of everyday food (sandwiches, ready meals, pasta sauce, and pizza) highlighting that salt levels can vary considerably and that there is always a lower salt option. The message simply is to check the label and pick the product with the lowest amount of salt.

FSA Chair, Dame Deirdre Hutton, says:

‘Since 2004 the FSA has been working in partnership with the UK food industry and health organisations to encourage product reformulation and to raise consumer awareness of the health risks associated with eating too much salt.

‘Today's urinary sodium results illustrate the progress that is being made in reducing the nation's daily salt intake. However there is still some way to go before we reach the 6g target and we all now need to build on this to ensure that the downward trend continues.

‘To help achieve this, the FSA will continue its work in encouraging industry to offer consumers healthier choices and to encourage consumers to drive demand for those healthier choices. And this is exactly what the 'Full of It' campaign is all about.’

Public Health Minister, Caroline Flint, comments:

‘Everybody has a role to play if we are to reach the Government's 6g per day salt target by 2010. Increasing consumer awareness is an integral part of driving the market towards lower salt options, and complements our partnership work with the food industry to deliver across the board salt reductions.’

Additional research with consumers
In a recent FSA tracking survey 40% of respondents claim to be making a special effort to cut down on salt in their diet - an increase of 18% since the campaign began in 2004.

However, 90% of these people say that they are cutting down by not adding salt to their food - with only 15% saying they check labels and 12% saying they are eating less processed food in order to reduce their intakes.

These statistics highlight the need to reinforce messages that the majority of our salt intake is already in the food we buy - and the importance of checking labels and choosing lower salt options, if we are to reduce our intakes.

Other highlights from the Agency's tracking research are:
• 40% of those asked claim to check the label for salt content when buying food. This is an increase of 37% since the salt campaign began in 2004.

• There was a lot of confusion among respondents as to the relationship between salt and sodium. Just 14% of those asked correctly said that a pack of food with 1g of sodium contains more salt than one with 1g of salt. More than half of the respondents (59%) mistakenly believed that both packs contain the same amount of salt

• When respondents were asked what foods they ate which they thought to be high in salt, crisps came out on top, with 40% of those asked identifying them as being high in salt. Ready meals were mentioned by a quarter, pizza by just 9% and breakfast cereal by 3%.

More Study Needed on Green Tea HIV Link

Drinking green tea may help to prevent the spread of the HIV virus, a study suggests, but the authors have warned more research is needed.

Scientists working jointly in the US and UK found a healthy compound in green tea called epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, could protect the body's immune system from the HIV virus.

Their work echoes similar findings from Japan a couple of years ago and offers some hope that consumers could one day use green tea, or extracts from it, alongside conventional medicines to combat HIV.

Nearly 40m people live with HIV worldwide and there were 4.3m new infections during 2006, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation.

The UK-US research team studied the effects of EGCG in laboratory test tubes. They found that EGCG stopped the HIV virus from binding to the body's immune cells by getting there first.

‘Our research shows that drinking green tea could reduce the risk of becoming infected by HIV, and could also slow down the spread of HIV,’ said professor Mike Williamson, one of the researchers and from the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Sheffield.

But, he warned against relying on green tea for protection.

‘It is not a cure, and nor is it a safe way to avoid infection, however, we suggest that it should be used in combination with conventional medicines to improve quality of life for those infected.’

He told BeverageDaily.com more research was needed, and that he hoped this would eventually lead to clinical trials.

‘We tried to use the same concentrations [of EGCG] in experiments as you would get from drinking green tea. We are confident in the results were are seeing, but it is still not the same as putting it into humans.’

The team are now looking at how much green tea someone might have to drink for the EGCG to have an effect against HIV infection.

Early indications suggested one or two cups per day may be enough to reduce risk by a factor of 10, Williamson said.

Previous studies have already linked green tea to lower risk of a range of diseases, including cancer, and even with increased life expectancy.

Research appears to have increasingly focused on EGCG, and this compound formed the foundation for the recent launch by Coca-Cola and Nestle of a sparkling green tea drink they claim can burn off calories.

Web: http://www.NutraIngredients.com

Pomegranate Leaf Extract May be Novel Appetite Suppressant

An extract from pomegranate leaves may offer promise for weight control after an animal study showed the extract suppressed appetite and reduced food intake for high-fat diets.

'Pomegranate leaf extract may be a novel appetite suppressant that only affects obesity owing to a high-fat diet,' wrote lead author Li Jun Du from Tsinghua University in Beijing.

The health-benefits of pomegranate have focussed almost exclusively on the fruit, most notably in fruit form although extracts are also gaining increasing attention. The antioxidant-rich fruit have been linked to improved heart health, and claims that it may offer protection against prostate cancer, Alzheimer's, and may slow cartilage loss in arthritis.

The new study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, suggests that the leaves of the pomegranate may also offer significant health benefits, particularly for weight management supplements market. Euromonitor International estimates the market to be worth US$0.93bn in Europe in 2005 and $3.93bn in the US.

Du and co-workers looked the effects of pomegranate leaf extract (PLE) in mice eating a high-fat diet that induce obesity and hyperlipidemia (high fat levels in the blood).

In the first of the experiments, the researchers fed mice a high-fat diet to induce obesity, and when body weight was 20 per cent higher than the normal diet control group the high-fat diet was supplemented with PLE (400 or 800 mg/kg/day) for five weeks.

Supplementation with PLE was found to significantly decrease body weight and energy intake after five weeks. Blood levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride and the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol, reported to be the most specific lipid risk factor for CVD, were also improved after PLE supplementation.

In the second experiment to measure fat absorption, the researchers fed both normal and obese mice a simultaneous dose of 0.5 ml lipid emulsion and PLE (800 mg/kg) and blood levels were measured every hour for six hours after feeding.

In this instance, Du and co-workers report that intestinal fat absorption was inhibited by the leaf extract, while no rise in blood triglyceride levels was observed.

'PLE showed a significant difference in decreasing the appetite of obese mice fed a high-fat diet, but showed no effect in mice fed a normal diet,' wrote the researchers.

The mechanism behind the effects, they added, appears to be due to inhibition of pancreatic lipase activity, an enzyme secreted in the pancreas that breaks down fat prior to absorption in the intestine. There was also a suggestion of appetite suppression, they added.

'PLE can inhibit the development of obesity and hyperlipidemia in high-fat diet induced obese mice,' concluded the researchers.

Over 300m adults are obese worldwide, according to latest statistics from the WHO and the International Obesity Task Force. About one-quarter of the US adult population is said to be obese, with rates in Western Europe on the rise although not yet at similar levels.

Source: International Journal of Obesity
Advance on-line publication, doi: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0803502
'Evidence of anti-obesity effects of the pomegranate leaf extract in high-fat diet induced obese mice'
Authors: F Lei, X.N. Zhang, W. Wang, D.M. Xing, W.D. Xie, H. Su and L.J. Du

Web: http://www.NutraIngredients.com

Ayurvedic Eye Care

In spite of their importance most people only pay attention to their eyes if they have a problem. Here are some simple things you can do to support the health of your eyes and help maintain your vision throughout life.

Healthy Eye Habits
Watch TV from at least ten feet away - not too near and not too far. Staring at the TV from close up is one of the main causes of myopia (near-sightedness).

Avoid reading or working in either dim light or in bright sunlight. Staring fixedly in the distance or close-up is especially harmful in bright light. Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes in bright sunlight.

Proper sleep, especially before midnight, is important. Go to bed by 10pm. If you tend to wake up in the night and not fall back asleep, try our Blissful Sleep - Pitta (MA1684) food supplement, which is especially helpful for balancing Pitta.

Morning Eye Routine
1. Each morning upon waking, fill your mouth with water and hold for a few seconds with your eyes closed. Spit it out and repeat 2-3 times.
2. Splash your eyes and face with cool or slightly warm water 10-15 times. Repeat again in the evening when you return from work or school. Do not use icy or hot water on the eyes.

Yoga for Your Eyes
Regularly practice of most yoga asanas has a good effect on the eyes especially Bhujangasana (snake pose) and Shavasana (rest pose). Surya Namaskara (sun salutes) is also helpful.

Yogic eye exercises, if done daily, are a gentle and effective way to prevent vision problems from developing.

1. Sit in the Sukhasana (easy pose) with your legs comfortably crossed and your spine, neck and head in a straight line. Look directly to the front at eye-level and breathe normally. This is the position of readiness.
2. Move your eyes upward to the ceiling and stay for two seconds. Look downwards and stay for two seconds. Close your eyes for two seconds.
3. Look toward the right side, as far as your eye will see, for two seconds. Look to the left side for two seconds. Look to the front again.
4. Close your eyes for 6-8 seconds.
5. This completes one round. Start with 2-3 rounds and increase up to four rounds.

Palming (for releasing stress from the eyes)
1. Rub both palms together quickly for 8-10 seconds. This friction creates a mild heat.
2. Close the eyes and gently place the left palm over the left eye and the right palm over the right eye for one minute. Do not press the eyeballs with the palms, just let them gently rest there. Breathe in and out slowly to release stress.
3. Repeat 2-3 times.

Stop Computer Fatigue
Every thirty minutes, look away from the computer and palm your eyes (see above). After work dampen two wads of cotton wool with pure Rose Water (or rose water with cold milk). Place the pads over your closed eyes and relax for 10 minutes.

Choose Eye-Healthy Foods and Drinks
Add stewed apple, sprouted chickpeas (two days), and raw carrot to your diet. Vegetable soups, green leafy vegetables, cucumber and wheat bread are nourishing for the eyes.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Constipation and internal dryness, has an adverse effect on the eyes. It is better to reduce caffeinated drinks, which tend to disrupt natural detoxification and dehydrate the body. Replace them with Raja's Cup, which supports the mind and detoxification, is a powerful antioxidant, and balances stress and the craving for caffeine.

Almond Energy is an ideal drink for the eyes, containing Winter Cherry (Ashwagandha) to support eye function, and Brahmi to soothe mental stress. Take 1-2 teaspoon a day with warm milk or sweet orange juice.

Amla Berry (MA1) and Triphala with Rose (MA505) both have broad health benefits and are especially supportive to eye function. Taking these tablets with honey increases the benefits.

Taken in small quantities, like a food supplement, good quality honey balances all three doshas. Maharishi Honey is especially recommended and Tastes 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 36, 37 & 38 all have specific benefits for eye function.

Eye Support ghee (MA3550) is made from herbs treated in clarified butter. It supports all the tissues of the eye function and balances Alochaka Pitta.

Support liver function with Liver Care tablets (MA579) to help keep the skin below the eyes free from baggyness and dark marks.

Diet & Lifestyle Tips
* Try to avoid stress and get extra rest, especially during menstrual discomfort.
* Add coconuts, raisins, papaya and sweet juicy fruits to your diet for Pitta balance.
* Only take a moderate amount of sugar.
* Avoid red meat and heavy fried foods.
* Avoid drinking fluids before bed.
* Favour only natural beauty products
* Do not smoke, and avoid second hand smoke.
* Make sure you are laughing every day it gives exercise to facial muscles.

A longer version of this advice is available at http://www.maharishi.co.uk/ayurvedic.eye.care.htm

91684 Blissful Sleep- Pitta 60g £15.75
31001 Rajas Cup 20 teabags £4.65
31005 Raja's Cup 250g £5.65
32003 Organic Almond Energy 200g £4.99
90505 Triphala with Rose 60g £7.95
90001 Amla Berry 60g £ 15.95
93550 Eye Support Ghee 200g £22.50
90579 Liver Care tablets 30g £14.60
Maharishi Honey 50g £8.95
Maharishi Honey 250g £27.95-35.95

Appointments to the Advisory Committee on Organic Standards (ACOS)

Defra has appointed seven new members to the Advisory Committee on Organic Standards (ACOS).

The new members are:

Dr Andrew Butterworth, Mr Ronald Eunson, Mr Richard Jacobs, Mrs Marilyn James, Dr Margi Lennartsson, Dr Susanne Padel and Mr George Starrett.

Jeff Rooker, Minister of State (Lords) said:

‘I am delighted to welcome these new members to ACOS. They bring a diverse wealth of experience and knowledge to the Committee.

‘I would also like to thank departing members who have provided outstanding contributions to the work of the Committee’

Black Soy may Offer Weight Management Potential

Researchers from Korea have reported that peptides from black soy bean could have a role as a nutraceutical to combat obesity, after a study on rats in which they curbed weight gain.

Soy proteins and soy peptides have received attention for their hypolipidaemic and hypocholesterolaemic properties, as well as their ability to lower blood pressure, improve arterial compliance and endothelial function, insulin resistance and weight loss in obesity.

However most of the studies have been conducted using yellow soy, which is a fixture of Western diets. Black soy is a component of oriental medicine for diabetes and a variety of other indications, but the researchers propose that it could play a greater role in efforts to curb the obesity crisis in the West.

The scientists from the Department of Food and Nutrition at Hanyang Universityled by Hyeon Gyu Lee, set out to assess the effect of black soy peptide supplementation on weight gain and lipid composition in rats that were fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet for 28 days.

The 32 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups. Three groups received black soy peptide (BSP) making up two, six or ten per cent of energy respectively, and the control group received casein making up 20 per cent of energy.

At the end of the 28 days, weight gains in body, liver and epidermal adipose tissue of the the BSP rats was seen to be significantly attenuated compared to the casein rats, and the effect was seen to be connected to BSP concentration.
The BSP rats also had lower total cholesterol, lower LDL/HDL serum concentrations, lower levels of hepatic triglycerides and increased fecal excretion.

'Our results suggest that BSP may be a bioactive source of anti-obesity through modulation of lipid composition which might contribute to the amelioration of obesity-related metabolic diseases such as atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease and diabetes,' wrote the researchers.

However they said there is a need for additional studies on the long-term effects of BSP consumption and competitive confirmatory studies with yellow soy beans – in particular since their study looked only at weight gain and lipid composition.

Over 300m adults are obese worldwide, according to latest statistics from the WHO and the International Obesity Task Force. About one-quarter of the US adult population is said to be obese, with rates in Western Europe on the rise although not yet at similar levels.

The retail market for weight management products was estimated by Euromonitor International to be worth US$0.93bn in Europe in 2005 and $3.93bn in the US, indicating that call to slim down or face the health consequences is being heeded by a slice of the overweight population at least.
However, not everyone is convinced that black soy could join the ranks of commercialised anti-obesity ingredients.

Professor David Bender from the Royal Free and University College Medical College in London told Chemistry & Industry magazine that he was skeptical: 'If food intake is greater than energy expenditure then the excess will have to be stored somehow, and that will be storage as fat – even if the black soya is inhibiting fatty acid synthesis to some extent.'

Source: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
Published on-line, doi:10.1002/jsfa.2808
'Dietetic and hypocholesterolaemic action of black soy peptide in dietary obese rats'
Authors: S.J. Rho, S. Park, C-W. Ahn, J-K. Shin, H.G. Lee
Chemistry & Industry
February 26 2007, Page 6
'Magic beans fight diabetes'
Author: Lisa Richards

Web: http://www.NutraIngredients.com

Aura of Positivity: Amdavadis say Hello to Halo

Pranic healing, a Filipino therapeutic art, by which the body can relieve pain without being touched is becoming popular in India, where psychic therapy is the latest craze.

Five Ahmedabad city-based healers are training students and elders alike in the technique of pranic healing, with healers flocking from as far away as Philippines to impart a more advanced treatment in the process said to be practised in ancient China and Egypt.

Being promoted worldwide by a pranic healing foundation based in Philippines, the technique works on the concept that a body has an innate ability to relieve pain without even touching it.

Healers say that even NRGs who visit Ahmedabad during holidays, meet them for a rundown on the process that claims to heal ailments ranging from common cold to cancer.

With the therapy already riding the popularity wave, a few experienced trainers from Philippines are said to be visiting Ahmedabad during summer holidays to guide students. While Ahmedabad, currently has some four pranic healers practising the art, a more advanced pranic healing is conducted by these experts which claims to cure diseases as complicated as cancer.

'Your body is surrounded by energy centre (aura), both positive and negative. Any trouble, physical or emotional, creates the negative energy around a person's body, which once detected and felt, can actually be done away with, relieving the person of physical, mental and emotional troubles,' says Jajvalya Shukla, a senior pranic healer based in Ahmedabad, also a musician by profession.

After recently conducting a workshop in pranic healing at the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information Technology (DAIICT), Shukla will conduct a similar workshop at CEPT University in April for university students. 'Students are getting attracted to this alternative healing process and we receive a number of calls enquiring about the process. But the workshop is available only for students above 14 years of age,' Shukla adds.

With Pranic psychotherapy, emotional and psychological problems can be healed. 'We teach people how to do away with their negative thoughts and create positive energy. Tension, grief, irritability and addiction can also be healed through this process,' he says.

There are also more complicated processes like Crystal Healing and Psychic Self-defense, all part of the Pranic Healing process.

Pranic healers in the city are authorised by the All India Pranic Healing Foundation, which has a nodal body for training.

'Students approach more out of curiosity and a desire to try alternative. We also conduct workshops in schools and colleges,' says another healer Dhaivat Shukla, who runs the Pranic Healing class from his home.

Minu Ramchandran, a student who will join a workshop in pranic healing with her friends said the idea was to explore the alternative.

'Everyone has their own energy level which can be explored to relieve it from ailments. And we want to explore what it is,' she says.

Natural Products Association Says Medical Journal Study on Vitamins and Mortality is Flawed

The Natural Products Association recently disputed the conclusions of a new meta-analysis appearing in the February 28th edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggesting that the use of antioxidants might increase mortality risk, saying that the study was scientifically misleading and that most clinical research continues to show that antioxidants are safe and beneficial.

'Despite the authors’ contention, this analysis is assessing mortality of at-risk and diseased populations – versus a healthy population – in prevention trials. The risk of mortality must be attributed to the appropriate population studied, those with an existing health condition, which it isn't in this case. Instead, those findings are generalised to a healthy general population, which is wrong on many levels,' said Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., vice president of scientific affairs for the Natural Products Association. 'But what’s most troubling is that people who are safely and beneficially taking vitamins might stop, which may actually put their health at greater risk.'

Fabricant also expressed concern that most consumers, who are daily confronted with seemingly contradictory research findings, may understandably become confused and skeptical about such information.

'Just yesterday, for instance, a group of Swedish researchers concluded that vitamin A may help reduce some risks of stomach cancer,' said Fabricant. 'And ironically, this same medical journal has released a stream of studies suggesting the health benefits of antioxidants; from reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and macular degeneration, to helping improve immune functioning in patients with HIV spectrum disease.'

Other points to be considered in the context of this analysis follow:
* If a true mortality risk was to have become apparent in any of these clinical studies using antioxidants, the study would have been halted. None were. Using these same studies to now draw different conclusions is an indictment of those researchers who conducted the original study and never observed the same outcome or halted the trial.

* Nearly 160 million people in North America and Europe use the attributed supplements. If antioxidants were a significant public health risk, as the authors speculate, it would have become clearly apparent by now. This is obviously not the case: the negative effect they refer to has not been seen in the population.

* The initial hurdle for performing a clinically meaningful meta-analysis is the criteria for how similar the studies must be in order to be included in the meta-analysis. The more similar the studies, the more valid the meta-analysis. In this instance the studies are very divergent and the conclusion of the meta-analysis is not consistent with the findings of the actual clinical studies. In addition, large controlled clinical studies on antioxidants exist and the data from those studies will be much more meaningful and relevant than a piecemeal meta-analysis like this.

Web: http://healthy.net

Free Trees to Help Revive the Great British Garden

Start the day with a yogurt this spring, or pour milk into your morning coffee and you could be playing a part in helping to boost the UK's sparse tree cover - which currently makes us one of the least wooded countries in Europe.

Today just 12% of the country is covered by woodland, compared to the European average of 44%. Britain's No 1 organic dairy company, Yeo Valley is joining forces with the UK's leading woodland conservation charity, the Woodland Trust to try and reverse the picture. In a bid to stimulate a revival of the great British garden it's going to make available thousands of free trees which it hopes will become the centrepiece of gardens throughout the country. At the same time it's aiming to support the Woodland Trust in its own conservation and tree planting work.

The dairy company's 'plant a tree' drive will run for two months from mid April and will give people a free tree, complete with support cane and guard in return for five labels collected from its organic milk and organic natural yogurts. For eight labels it will provide two trees.

As an alternative, people can turn their tokens into a donation to the Woodland Trust, with £2.50 being given by Yeo Valley for five labels and £5 for eight labels.

The Yeo Valley offer will include a choice from five native British trees; Hawthorn, Wild Cherry, Rowan, Silver Birch and Hazel. Each has been chosen for its versatility, robustness and appropriateness for the average sized UK garden.

The dairy company recently won a Queen's Award partly because of environmental work it has carried out on its own Somerset farmland, including the planting of more than 20,000 trees to restore old woods create new ones.

'We've seen what a difference this work has made, improving the character of the landscape around us and providing a much better habitat for wildlife,' says the company. 'Now we are aiming to help anyone else interested in the environment to do the same thing.'

Its 'plant a tree' drive has already won the backing of Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner and television and radio gardener Chris Beardshaw, who is a champion of traditional garden styles. He commented: 'Trees are crucial to life on our planet. They generate oxygen, store carbon, stabilise the soil and form a stunning part of our landscape. At the same time they are vital to the development of a diverse wildlife population.

'Many people don't realise that they are also so versatile. Most can be clipped and pruned to create formal gardens, so they are not just something only appropriate to people with large spaces and informal layouts.

'A trend to plant more exotic species and hard landscaping, like decking, means we've not been catering for wildlife as best we could. We all need to be doing whatever we can to reverse this trend.

'There are so many things to be said for the planting of trees that anything to stimulate more of it is to be encouraged and with this scheme, even people without a garden can participate by donating their labels to support the work of the Woodland Trust.'

So by eating delicious organic yogurt or drinking organic milk you will not only be doing yourself some good but helping the environment at the same time.

Review Supports Olive Oil as Natures Super Food for the Heart

The benefits of olive oil for heart health go way beyond just reducing levels of LDL ('bad') cholesterol, says a new review that looks set to further bolster the healthy image of the oil.

Numerous studies have reported that olive oil - the main fat in the Mediterranean diet - to improved cardiovascular health and protection from certain types of cancer, and this science has filtered down to the consumer.

Indeed, Mintel's Edible Oils report said that the UK olive oil market has been on fire since 2000, growing by 39 per cent to date in order to break through the £100m mark.

‘The wide range of antiatherogenic effects associated with olive oil consumption could contribute to explain the low rate of cardiovascular mortality found in Southern European Mediterranean countries, in comparison with other western countries, despite a high prevalence of CVD factors,’ wrote reviewer Maria-Isabel Covas.

The new review, published on-line in the journal Pharmacological Research, is a timely ‘pulling together’ of the biological and clinical effects of olive oil-rich diets on lipoprotein metabolism, blood pressure, thrombosis, and markers of oxidative damage, inflammation, and dysfunction of the cells that line the blood vessels (endothelium) that occurs early in atherosclerosis development).

Looking at studies published in peer-reviewed literature, Covas, from the Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica (IMIM - Hospital del Mar) in Madrid, states: ‘The benefits of olive oil consumption are beyond a mere reduction of the LDL cholesterol.’

Indeed, significant evidence exists that oxidative damage from reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be reduced in a dose-dependent manner with olive oil's polyphenol content, indicating that higher concentrations of the antioxidant polyphenols in the oil have a bigger positive effect.

‘The consistency of the anti-inflammatory effects of olive oil in humans results is promising, and further studies are now required to obtain sustained evidence of the anti-inflammatory activity of olive oil and its minor olive oil components per se in humans,’ said Covas.

However, the subject is not ‘cut and dried’ and Covas called for more research into the health benefits of the oil: ‘The mechanisms by which olive oil exerts its beneficial effects merit further investigation, and further studies are required to obtain evidence of the benefits of olive oil consumption on primary end points for cardiovascular disease.’

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and is reported to cost the EU economy about €169bn ($202bn) per year.

Source: Pharmacological Research (Elsevier)
Published on-line ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2007.01.010
'Olive oil and the cardiovascular system'
Author: M.-I. Covas

Web: http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com

Garlic Plus Vitamin C May Reduce Blood Pressure

A combination of garlic supplements and vitamin C reduced blood pressure back to normal levels in people with mildly elevated levels, says a pilot study.

‘Combinations of garlic and vitamin C are an effective alternative in the control of marginally high blood pressure,’ wrote authors Adam Mousa and Shaker Mousa in the journal Nutrition Research (Elsevier).

‘Garlic ingredients or garlic extract alone increased endothelial cell NO production, an effect that was shown to be enhanced by the combination with antioxidant vitamins,’ they said.

The study adds to a large body of science indicating cardiovascular benefits for garlic, with consumer awareness of potential health benefits already high. This has benefited the supplements industry, particularly since consumers seek the benefits of garlic without the odours that accompany the fresh bulb.

Garlic supplements are worth more than $100m in the US and are also one of the biggest sellers in the UK market. According to a 1998 survey by Hartman and New Hope, garlic supplements are used twice as much as other herbal supplements.

Mousa and Mousa recruited six subjects with marginally elevated blood pressure (140/90 mmHg) and assigned them to take placebo for 10 days; followed by one-week washout, then vitamin C (2000 mg) for 10 days, a further week of wash-out period, then garlic tablets (650 mg of bulb powder) for 10 days. Finally, after the last washout, garlic and vitamin C were given together for 10 days.

They report that the daily vitamin C alone did not have any effect on blood pressure, while garlic alone resulted in a significant decrease in systolic but not diastolic blood pressure. When the supplements were given together mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures reduced to reference values of 110-120 and 75-80 mmHg, respectively. Blood pressure increased when the combined supplement was stopped.

The mechanism behind the apparent effects was proposed to be due to effects of garlic on the production of nitric oxide (NO) in endothelium cells (cells that line the walls of blood vessels). NO is a molecule used by the endothelium to signal surrounding muscle to relax, thereby dilating the blood vessels and increasing blood flow.

Indeed, measurements of NO levels after garlic administration showed a two-fold increase, relative to placebo, while administration of both garlic and vitamin C resulted in a three-fold increase, relative to the control.

‘The effects of garlic and its combination with antioxidants on blood pressure might be explained on the basis of the cellular effects on NO production,’ wrote the researchers.

Further studies are needed to confirm these results, with larger study populations and longer intervention periods necessary.

A recent trial, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, reported that garlic, both raw and from supplements, had no effect on the cholesterol levels of 192 adults with slightly elevated cholesterol levels (hypercholesterolaemia).

Source: Nutrition Research
Volume 27, Issue 2, Pages 119-123
‘Cellular effects of garlic supplements and antioxidant vitamins in lowering marginally high blood pressure in humans: pilot study’
Authors: A.S. Mousa and S.A. Mousa

Web: http://www.NutraIngredients.com

Traveller’s Rest at Park Attwood Clinic

Rachel Lynne was diagnosed with breast cancer at just 27. For the past two years Rachel has had to put aside her backpack and rest her traveller’s feet; she is now focused on her journey back to health. Natural therapy with mistletoe has helped to set her on the road to recovery.

‘I’d just graduated from the University of East Anglia in 2004 with a degree in International Development, and was enjoying working in my favourite café bar whilst applying for jobs when life dealt me a card I wasn’t expecting. I discovered a small lump on the side of my left breast whilst on holiday in Italy with friends; we were celebrating the end of our finals. The position of the lump made it easy to feel. I count my lucky stars, because if it had been more central in the breast I might not have discovered it. I had not been advised to check my breasts regularly and at my age mammography was not standard! Everyone reassured me that it would be nothing.

Back in the UK I went to my GP who reassured me that it was most likely benign. My age and the absence of any family history of breast cancer made me an unlikely candidate. I was referred for further tests and in October went for a needle biopsy and waited for my results. I wasn’t worried and carried on as normal. I was busy moving house and had just celebrated my 27th birthday.
Two weeks later I’d heard nothing, and hoped no news was good news. I contacted the hospital to find out if they’d got my results and they told me I was booked in to see the consultant in a couple of hours’ time! The letter confirming my appointment had accidentally been sent to my old address.
So I cycled over to the hospital, totally unprepared. When three consultants greeted me, I knew something must be up and I remember feeling a surge in my stomach. What were they going to tell me?

Breast cancer! It was such a shock. So much to take in. My world stood still and I felt a numbed nothingness. I tried calling my mother but she was at work. I was in a total fog for several hours. I decided to go straight to my boyfriend Dan’s house. Quite how I got myself there I do not know. I remember I fell through his door and he caught me. It was then that it hit me and I just cried and cried as he held me tight. I cried for days.

When I told my mother she reassured me and mentioned Park Attwood straight away. She said she’d help me sort things out, and she came and collected me. A week later having given up my job and student life in Norwich I found myself back at my mother’s in Gloucestershire and in hospital. I had a lumpectomy and a sample of lymph node taken, and went home to recover, with the prospect of six months of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and five years of Tamoxifen treatment.

My mother had previously been a patient at Park Attwood and had had a positive experience there, and joined their Patient Plan to cover the cost of any future care for her and her family. The Clinic also helped me apply for a couple of bursaries from charitable Trusts, because I had large student debts, and I was able to obtain funding for my stay.

When my mother had stayed at Park Attwood, she’d met some patients who had tried mistletoe, so thanks to her recommendation I went along to find out more. Because I was only in my twenties and had not yet had children, I was very concerned about the potential effects on my fertility of the various cancer treatments.

My whole world had fallen apart, and my previously carefree student lifestyle had been turned into chaos. My career plans were now unrealistic: travel was out of the question. I had slipped into a black hole, stumbling from one hospital appointment to another, with all sorts of well-meant but often confusing advice. For the first time in my life I was confronting my own mortality, and it was scary.

As soon as I arrived at Park Attwood it felt the right place for me. I was immediately struck by the beautiful surrounding countryside. When I walked through the door on a blustery November day I was greeted by a lovely dog and a crackling fire. It was homely and felt safe. I was able to relax a little at last. For the first three days I just slept. The trauma of diagnosis and surgery had really taken their toll.

I then had my first lot of mistletoe injections and felt that I was doing something positive to rebuild my immune system. I also found art therapy beneficial: the veil painting was very soothing and comforting. In the sculpture therapy sessions I did an abstract exercise modelling shapes in clay to represent different feelings or emotions. They were quite symbolic. I remember working on each one individually and thinking through how I was feeling, and coming to terms with my situation as I considered each one. When I put all the shapes together I realised that this little assembly was actually quite beautiful.
It softened my feelings and was quite reassuring. I remember taking a photograph of the group and feeling I had achieved something significant.

From the age of 19 I’d travelled extensively in India and south east Asia, followed by a year in Australia. During my travels I picked up a series of tummy bugs, and had suffered both diarrhoea and Giardia which made it difficult for me to absorb crucial nutrients from my food. I’d been prescribed strong courses of antibiotics, and my immune system was severely compromised. Years of food allergies and sensitivities followed and it is only now that I feel my digestive system is back on track.

The food at Park Attwood was mostly organic and vegetarian. It was a relief to find that they could cater well for my individual dietary needs and preferences. They even gave me my freshly squeezed carrot juice three times a day! A lot of attention to detail goes into the menu and the smell of baking and home-cooking wafts through the house – it’s so nice to find a clinic that isn’t clinical!

I responded well to the mistletoe, and felt that it was reviving my immune system. The first few fevers put me into an almost delirious state which was a little disconcerting but I was closely monitored. Look