Calculate your estrogen levels with a saliva test for $100

This is a link that tells you how to order this test and how to calculate whether or not your estrogen levels are problematic and how to improve them if so.
Estrogen Dominance Test

Definition of healthcare workforce was amended so that it now officially includes, “licensed complementary & alternative medicine providers...

The health care reform bill has passed and many people will be celebrating that, finally, the United States will work to assure every citizen health insurance that cannot be canceled because you change your job, because you get sick, or for any other reason.

Those of us who believe in preventive health care, integrated health care, functional medicine, and complementary and alternative medicine have special reasons to celebrate. This bill has provisions that explicitly support these approaches to health care. One of these is the creation of a National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council, which I testified about before the Senate last February.

The Integrated Healthcare Policy Consortium (IHPC) was created in 2002 and has been quietly working on Capitol Hill to bring about the kinds of changes in health care that we all want. Last month, I was in New York presenting at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium and I was on a panel with IHPC’s executive director, Dr. Janet Kahn. When I heard her describe what IHPC has been doing about health care reform and the things that are lying quietly in this bill, I got very excited about their work and what is to come in 2010.

Dr. Kahn explained 3 major aspects of this bill that IHPC helped shape.

1. Due to Kahn’s work with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the definition of the healthcare workforce was amended so that it now officially includes, “licensed complementary and alternative medicine providers and integrative healthcare practitioners.”

2. IHPC was a collaborator on the creation of the Wellness Initiative for the Nation (WIN), a document that prompted the inclusion of the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council that I mentioned above. Truly remarkable.

3. And third, IHPC worked hard to have the Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research in the bill. This will allow functional medicine approaches to be evaluated toe to toe with conventional medicine.

And there will be more. As Kahn so clearly told the audience in New York, this health care reform bill is just the beginning. It contains toeholds from which we climb toward what we really want – a nation that really understands how to help people live healthy lives and that supports the availability of many different pathways to healing.

I often say that I practice functional medicine because it tackles and fixes the underlying causes of health problems and doesn’t paper over the symptoms as so much of conventional medicine does. That is exactly IHPC’s approach to health care reform. IHPC is about reforming the very architecture of American health care.

Mark Hyman, M.D.

join our Online Action Network
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By joining IHPC’s Online Action Network you will receive regular updates from IHPC, and will be provided opportunities to take action on important healthcare policy when it matters most.

What do you FEEL when you watch this?

Here is a video by MoveOn.org and R.E.M.

http://pol.moveon.org/healthcare_cantwait/?id=17196-7739238-zb8OP1x&t=2

Deepak Chopra on How to Convert to A Peace Economy

You have been elected by the first anti-war constituency since 1952, when Eisenhower was elected after promising to end the Korean War. But ending a war isn't the same as bringing peace. America has been on a war footing since the day after Pearl Harbor, sixty-seven years ago. We spend more on our military than the next sixteen countries combined. If you have a vision of change that goes to the heart of this country's deep problems, ending our dependence on war is far more important than ending our dependency on foreign oil.

The most immediate changes are economic. Unless it can make as much money as war, peace doesn't stand a chance. Since aerospace and military technologies remain the United States' most destructive export, fostering wars around the world, what steps can we take to reverse that trend and build a peace-based economy?

1. Scale out arms dealing and make it illegal by the year 2020.

2. Write into every defense contract a requirement for a peacetime project.

3. Subsidize conversion of military companies to peaceful uses with tax incentives and direct funding.

4. Convert military bases to housing for the poor.

5. Phase out all foreign military bases.

6. Require military personnel to devote part of their time to rebuilding infrastructure.

7. Call a moratorium on future weapons technologies.

8. Reduce armaments like destroyers and submarines that have no use against terrorism and were intended to defend against a superpower enemy that no longer exists.

9. Fully fund social services and take the balance out of the defense and homeland security budgets.

These are just the beginning. We don't lack creativity in coping with change. Without a conversion of our present war economy to a peace economy, the high profits of the military-industrial complex ensures that it will never end.

Do these nine steps seem unrealistic or fanciful? In various ways other countries have adopted similar measures. The former Soviet army is occupied with farming and other peaceful work, for example. But comparisons are rather pointless, since only the United States is burdened with such a massive reliance on defense spending. Ultimately, empire follows the dollar. As a society we want peace, and we want to be seen as a nation that promotes peace. For either ideal to come true, you as president must back up your vision of change with economic reality. So far, that hasn't happened under any of your predecessors. All hopes are pinned on you.

Deepak Chopra is acknowledged as one of the world's greatest leaders in the field of mind-body medicine. He is the author of over 50 books, including Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment and Ageless Body, Timeless Mind.

Swine Flu Kit

Due to the overwhelming media exposure and calls about the Swine Flu here is a list of products that recommended for those who are looking for a “Swine Flu Kit”.

New Chapter, Immunity Take Care Lozenges: Immunity Take Care, with the exclusive extract, ViraBloc, is the first all-herbal, natural therapeutic that acts to block viruses from entering human cells therefore preventing them from replicating.

14 lozenges = $14.00 30 lozenges = $27.60

New Chapter Host Defense has been shown to increase human Natural Killer (NK) Cell activity by up to 300%. The immune-enhancing power of Host Defense comes from two sources: the unsurpassed quality of the New Chapter Activated Organic Mushrooms and the proprietary combination of species. Each of the New Chapter Activated Organic Mushrooms species has, on its own, an ability to support human immune functioning, but the combination of these 17 mushroom sources creates synergies, waves of reinforcement, that bathe us in immune support.

60 soft gels = $28.00

Boiron:
Oscillococcinum: As soon as you start feeling run-down or have other flu-like symptoms, take Oscillococcinum. Oscillo® is regulated as a drug by the FDA and is supported by published clinical studies as well as more than 65 years of use throughout the world.
* Clinical studies show that Oscillo reduces the severity and duration of flu symptoms
* Great taste and convenient to take
* No side effects or interactions with other medications
* Good for everyone 2 years of age and older

12 dose Bonus Pack = $19.00

From Washington Homeopathics:
Influenzinum 08-09 9c: Influenzinum is the only homeopathic remedy that is made fresh every year - In fact, the manufacturer is required to make it fresh each year. The manufacturer buys the current vaccine for this year and makes that into Influenzinum. Then what doesn’t sell gets discarded. Influenzinum cannot be advertised as a preventative, but when the flu season hits you should start taking it if there are cases in your neighborhood. If you have a Repertory and a Materia Medica you can look up your exact symptoms and take that remedy - often in addition to the Influenzinum.

2 dram vial = $5.69*

4 dram vial = $7.29*

Swine Flu Prevention with Chinese Herbs, Tamiflu Warning

Regarding the new epidemic of the swine flu virus, we recommend prophylactic (preventative) doses of one of the following:

Gan Mao Ling is a Chinese Herbal formula well-known for its anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties; there are some wonderful anti-viral herbs in Chinese medicine and this formula is the best. Many people take this 4 to 5 times per week through the winter just to prevent those "flu bugs" from taking hold. In addition, I always take it when I'm going to fly and I've never come home "sick". Ten drops daily in a little water is a good prophylactic dose. If you get any symptoms, up the dose to 20-30 drops 2-3 times/day. For children under 3 years, 2 drops daily; 4-12 years old, 5-6 drops daily.

Zhong Gan Ling is a Chinese Herbal formula recommended if you get symptoms with a fever. Alleviates severe cold and flu symptoms like sore throat, stuffiness, and achiness with a fever.

If you would rather do homeopathics, these are both favorites:

Influenza Multi-Strain Flu Formula - contains 16 proven official homeopathic remedies shown effective for everything from the common flu to the largest of epidemics and pandemics of the past 100 years. This is a water-based formula.

Flumax Pro - another homeopathic with the best of official flu "nosodes" that counteract all strains of influenza. This is an alcohol-based formula.


And, of course, these natural defenses against the flu should be considered:

* Optimize your vitamin D levels: Some researchers believe that therapeutic dose could be as high as 1000 units per pound of body weight for three days
* Avoid Sugar and Processed Foods: Sugar decreases the function of your immune system almost immediately
* Get Enough Rest: Just like it becomes harder for you to get your daily tasks done if you're tired, if your body is overly fatigued it will be harder for it to fight the flu
* Have Effective Tools to Address Stress: Make an appointment for acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, or Reiki
* Exercise: Exercise increases circulation and blood flow. Components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of finding an illness before it spreads
* Take a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.
* Wash Your Hands: Washing your hands will decrease your likelihood of spreading a virus to your nose, mouth or other people. Be sure you don't use antibacterial soap for this -- antibacterial soaps are completely unnecessary, and they cause far more harm than good
* Eat Garlic Regularly: Garlic works like a broad-spectrum antibiotic against bacteria, virus, and protozoa in the body. Unlike with antibiotics, no resistance can be built up.
* Avoid Hospitals, unless having an emergency. Hospitals are prime breeding grounds for infections of all kinds.
*
*

If you are considering Tamiflu please note:

According to Alice Bello, editor of Healing Pathways reports:

In the case of Tamiflu, a flu medication an approved for treatment of uncomplicated influenza A and B in children 1 year of age or older and for prevention of influenza in people 13 years or older, thousands of cases of abnormal behavior, neuropsychiatric problems like convulsions, delirium or delusions, and brain infections, have been reported.

Tamiflu went through some rough times in 2007, as the dangers of this drug came to light when the FDA investigated 1,800 adverse event reports related to the drug. Common side effects of Tamiflu include:

* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Diarrhea
* Headache
* Dizziness
* Fatigue
* Cough

The Dream of the Earth

"Tell me the story of the river and the valley and the streams and woodlands and wetlands, of the shellfish and finfish. Tell me a story. A story of where we are and how we got here and the characters and roles that we play. Tell me a story, a story that will be my story as well as the story of everyone and everything about me, the story that brings us together in a valley community, a story that brings together the human community with every living being in the valley, a story that brings us together under the arc of the great blue sky in the day and the starry heavens at night, a story that will drench us with rain and dry us in the wind, a story told by humans to one another that will also be the story that wood thrush sings in the thicket, the story that the river recites in its downward journey..."

-Thomas Berry