SWAP - A New Guide-Blog Feature

In the spirit of reuse and recycle, The Alternative Health Guides is launching a new feature called SWAP. Once a month The Alternative Health Guides Blog will post items for sale. The SWAP listings are free to practitioners listed in the Guide. For all others, SWAP listings cost $5 for each month items are listed.

If you have items you want listed, please email them to info@thealternativehealthguides.com by Friday May 15th.

SWAP

The following is a list of Like-New, Used, Bodywork & Health Books from the Alternatives Health Guides collection. Prices are lower than the lowest-used price for the book on Amazon. Please E-mail the Guide: info@thealternativehealthguides.com to purchase any of the titles.

Anatomy of Hatha Yoga: A Manual for Students, Teachers, and Practitioners, Coulter. Hardcover 1st ed. - $20

Craniosacral Therapy, Upledger. Hardcover (New $59.95) - $32

Craniosacral Therapy II: Beyond the Dura, Upledger. Hardcover (New $49.95) - $22

An Introduction to Craniosacral Therapy, Cohen (New 19.95) - $ 9

SomatoEmotional Release, Upledger. Hardcover (New $35) - $20

Clinical Pathology for the Professional Bodyworker, Newton, DC, Spiral
(limited copies – on Amazon for $45) - $15

Pathology A-Z: Handbook for Massage Therapists,
2nd edition, Spiral, Premkumar w/CD - $25

New Bach Flower Body Maps, Kramer - $15

The Massage Connection: Anatomy, Physiology & Pathology,
1st ed. Spiral, Premkumar - $ 9

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Reflexology, Inge Dougans - $ 9

Reflexology: An Illustrated Guide, Crane - $ 2

The Reflexology Manual, Wills - $ 3

The Endless Web: Fascial Anatomy & Physical Reality, Schultz - $ 9

Spinal Manipulation Made Simple, Maitland - $ 8

Beard’s Massage, 4th edition, Domenico - $ 5

Rapid Review Anatomy Reference Guide, Anatomical Chart Company, Spiral - $ 4

AMMA Therapy: A Complete Textbook of Oriental Bodywork & Medical Principles, Sohn, Hardback (New $45) - $20

Understanding Nutrition Textbook, 7th edition, Whitney & Rolfes, Hardback - $15

Strength Training Anatomy: Your Illustrated Guide to Muscles at Work,
Delavier - $10

Clinical Neuroanatomy Made Ridiculously Simple, Goldberg, MD - $ 5

The Herb Book, Boxer & Back (oversized paperback) - $ 6

Hot Tubs: How to Build, Maintain & Enjoy Your Own Winter & Summer, All Year Round
(Cult book sells for $39-60 on Amazon) - $10

Individual Reference File of Extracts from the Edgar Cayce Readings,
Cayce. Hardback - $10

The Wharton's Stretch Book: Active-Isolated Stretching, Wharton - $4

Sport Stretch: 311 Stretches for 41 Sports, 2nd ed., Alter - $3.50

Acupuncture Without Needles, Cerney, DC - $ 3

Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine, Dossey - $3

The Royal Treatment: How You Can Take Home the Pleasures
of the Great Luxury Spas, Capellini - $ 1

Business Mastery 3: A Guide for Creating a Fulfilling, Thriving Business &
Keeping It Successful, 3rd ed., Sohnen-Moe - $10

Books for .50¢:
Shiatsu: Japanese Massage for Health & Fitness, Liechti

Healing Massage Techniques: A Study of Eastern & Western Methods, Tappan

Optimal Muscle Recovery, Burke

Spa-Finders Guide to Spa Vacations, Joseph

Traveler’s Guide to Healing Centers & Retreats, Rudee

Sanctuaries: The Northeast, Kelly

The Pilates Powerhouse, Winsor

Creating Health, Chopra

Talking Back to Prozac, Breggin, MD

Guest Blogger - The Wonders of Ginger

Guest blogger, Sylvia Newberry, returns with her insights into the wonders of Ginger.

This information suggests ways to promote and maintain health.
It is not intended to take the place of personalized medical counseling,
diagnosis, and treatment from a trained health professional

I make it a practice to use primarily herbs and medicinal plants that I can either grow in my garden or find growing in the fields and woodlands that are close by. I don’t always wild harvest the herbs that I use. I recognize that some of them have been harvested to the point they are in danger of extinction. American Ginseng and Goldenseal are two such plants. Other plants are in abundant supply, but require a lot of time and work to harvest and process with a high quality end product. I have found suppliers of high quality herbs and I often purchase what I need from them. I believe that I am helping to support those individuals who make a living by devoting their time and energies to growing and processing these plants. I do watch the plants, like dandelion, burdock, nettle, and yellow dock emerge in the spring and grow through the summer and fall, and I believe that I learn a lot about the plant and its properties and how it is most effectively used by making these observations.

But there is one tropical herb that has become a mainstay for winter health in my family and also in the advice that I give to others who come seeking ways to stay healthy. And that herb is ginger (Zingiber officinalis). It is a plant that will never survive in my Vermont garden. I make frequent trips during the fall and winter, seeking out juicy pieces of ginger root in the produce section of the local grocery stores. Sometimes there are large clusters of root that resemble a hand. Sometimes the pieces of root are smaller and have fewer branches. The most important features to look for are a smooth healthy skin that suggests freshness and lots of juice in the flesh of the root.

Once home, I break the root into pieces that are relative straight and easy to peel. I have found a carrot scraper works well for peeling. I have also used a small paring knife. And I have seen folks use the tip of a teaspoon to scrap away the outer layer. It isn’t a difficult task, whatever the tool you choose. The skin is thin and papery and one good thing about ginger is that it does not make you cry like onions do when you peel them.

Once peeled, I bring out my cutting board and slice the root into thin rounds. The flesh is very fiberous, but if you are using a knife that is sharp, the fibers will cut easily. I have tried slicing the ginger root in my food processor, but the blade did not cut through the fibers and I was left with a pile of ginger mush. This is not always bad, depending on what you are aiming for. It was bad for me because I wanted thin slices.

I pile the sliced ginger into a medium sized sauce pan and pour in about an equal amount of honey. If you spend any time at all with me, you will learn that my formulation of herbal remedies is often more of an art than an exact science. You want enough honey to coat the ginger slices when you stir them around, but you do not need much more than that. But if you pour in more than you need, you will still end up with a usable product. Place the sauce pan over medium heat and find something to do in the immediate vicinity so that you can keep an eye on the honey and ginger. Stir the mixture every once in awhile. And don’t stray beyond the point you can see the mixture. As the ginger and honey heat and simmer, the honey pulls the juices out of the ginger slices, increasing the volume of liquid in the pot. You want to bring it to a simmer and allow it to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. But I can tell you from repeated experience, the brew will move from barely breaking bubbles on the surface to full foam, spreading with lightening speed all over your stove top. My stove has never been cleaned as many times as it has since I began to make ginger honey syrup.

After 15 to 20 minutes – remember art, not science – remove the pan from the heat. At this point you can decide to strain out the slices of ginger if you wish. I have seen directions to spread the slices on a sheet of waxed or parchment paper that has been sprinkled with granulated sugar, turning to coat both sides. And then, either leaving them on the paper or putting them on a rack like you use to cool baked goods so the air can circulate. The dried slices are great to suck on or to chew to help relieve nausea, and are even safe to use as a remedy for morning sickness and for motion sickness. They will also aid in digestion after a heavy meal. Just a word of caution – you will find these slices contain more “heat” than the commercially available candied ginger.

I leave the ginger slices and the honey syrup together and pour the mixture into small glass canning jars. If I have made more than enough for immediate use, I will water bath the jars to seal them, although I have not had unsealed jars spoil. I leave one pint sized jar out on the kitchen counter. At this time of year it rarely stays full for long. We have come to depend upon the syrup as a remedy that aids with both the prevention and the treatment of colds and flu. We spoon out a couple of generous teaspoonfuls, slices included, and fill the cup with hot water. Stir, sip, and enjoy. If I am going out to shovel snow from the deck and want to increase the circulation to my fingertips while out in the cold, I will add a splash of cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens) or tabasco sauce to the tea. If we notice symptoms of a cold developing, we will add a splash of lemon juice and some elderberry syrup to the blend. Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) is a well respected European cold and flu remedy that is a good complement to the ginger. Some will vouch for the fact that ginger seems to relieve the joint pain associated with some forms of arthritis and made worse by the cold. And as mentioned previously, the syrup/tea can also be used to soothe digestive upsets.

The ingredients are safe and simple. There are some concerns about giving honey to infants less than a year old because of the risk of botulism and their under developed immune systems. You are wise to follow the advice you have been given regarding this concern.

The next time you are shopping, look for the fresh ginger root. Even if you are not inclined to make or use the syrup, you may find other ways to include this tropical herb into your winter diet. I think it is fun to remember some of the ways that people do use this tropical herb to support their health.

Sylvia Newberry worked as a registered nurse for more than 30 years. She currently has a healing practice where she offers energy work, guided imagery, and medicinal herbs. A Reiki master, she offers all levels of attunement to both groups and individuals. She teaches classes about the common, safe healing plants, identifying, growing, and how they can be effectively used. Her website is www.rnhealer.byregion.com and you can leave her a message at The Healing Arts Clinic in Windsor, VT 802-674-7037.

Guest Blogger, Under the Winter Snows

I am happy to introduce a guest blogger from the Upper Valley health practitioner community, Sylvia Newberry. Here are her insights into the bounty that awaits us under the snow.

Under The Winter Snows

This information suggests ways to promote and maintain health.
It is not intended to take the place of personalized medical counseling,
diagnosis, and treatment from a trained health professional

I know that we are in the depths of a New England winter. And I can tell, not by how high the snow is piled or how low the thermometer is reading, but by the number of seed catalogs that have arrived in my mailbox. I savored my cup of coffee this morning while thumbing through the pages filled with brightly colored flowers, fruits and vegetables, and everything and anything it might take to grow them. The sun shining through the window was not exactly spring-like, but at least it provided some warmth.

The catalogs bring the hope of warm weather, but I remind myself during this time of cold and white, that there are an abundance of green friends that are not dead, but dormant. Merely sleeping out of sight. There is a spot not far from the steps I use to enter and exit my house that holds a patch of chickweed (Stellaria media). In the midst of the mid winter thaw, usually in February, the banks of snow will recede ever so slightly, and there will be a vibrant green plant, ready to burst into bloom. It is so different from what most of us expect, that if we don’t stop and look, we miss it. Plants are not “supposed” to grow under the snow during a Vermont winter.

For those of you even remotely familiar with “beneficial weeds”, the name chickweed probably rings a bell. The plant, in most places, grows close to the ground, forming a mat of tiny verdant leaves offsetting equally tiny white star shaped flowers. It grows best in weather that is cool and moist, but will hang on in a less vibrant form throughout the summer and give one last burst of fresh green as autumn closes in on winter. The plant itself has many healing properties which it is willing to share with those of us who stoop to notice and are willing to set aside our “certainties” about what will and will not contribute to our health and healing. The whole plant can be eaten, either added raw to early spring salads, or lightly steamed or quickly sautéed in a bit of olive oil and garlic. In this way, it becomes one of the earliest spring tonics, filled with an abundance of vitamins and minerals, packaged in an edible form that makes the nutrients readily available to the human body.

The fragile plant structure does not lend itself well to drying. You will find dried chickweed for sale where dried herbs are sold, but even stored under ideal conditions, it gives up it beneficial properties rather quickly. To preserve the healing properties for use “out of season”, it is probably best to harvest, clean, allow to the plant material to wilt over night and then chop it up and cover it in alcohol, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, vegetable glycerin, or a vegetable oil such as olive or sweet almond oil depending on your intended use. I leave my jars of green-floating-in-liquid sitting on the kitchen counter where I can pick them up several times a day and give them a gentle shake. I let them sit for a couple of weeks, watching the liquid, or menstrum, picking up the coloring from the plant material. I know from study and from personal experience that the vital elements contained in the plant are also being transferred to the liquid. And when the time has passed and I have a day with a bit of free time, I pour the liquid through either an unbleached coffee filter or several layers of cheesecloth into a strainer and eventually into a colored glass bottle, carefully applying a label and giving it a place among other similar looking bottles on the shelf.

What do I use the chickweed tinctures and oils for? Herbal medicine teaches that chickweed is a tonic and a “mover” and “cleanser” of lymph fluids throughout the body. It is gentle and yet powerful in helping to create balance where it has been disturbed by illness or just oversight or neglect. Chickweed infused oil is a wonderful addition to healing salves. I often combine several herbs in the all purpose salves that I make. Chickweed is the soothing ingredient that provides moisture and brings the vitamins and minerals needed for cell repair right to the place where they are needed. I was skeptical when I first began to use herbs in this way. But I have had enough experience with healing wounds, either fresh or long term non-healing ones, to have set that skepticism aside. Call it what you will, the medicine in plants is both gentle and tremendously strong and effective.

So, when you step out your door into the cold, Vermont winter air, look down at the ground all around you and just imagine what green plants are sleeping there, waiting for the snow to begin receding ever so slightly. Look closely when that time comes and see what you can discover.

Sylvia Newberry worked as a registered nurse for more than 30 years. She currently has a healing practice where she offers energy work, guided imagery, and medicinal herbs. A Reiki master, she offers all levels of attunement to both groups and individuals. She teaches classes about the common, safe healing plants, identifying, growing, and how they can be effectively used. Her website is www.rnhealer.byregion.com and you can leave her a message at The Healing Arts Clinic in Windsor, VT 802-674-7037.

Decrease in oxygen and increase of sugar encourages cancer….Tell me more Otto..

After writing the last post about Otto Warburg’s theories about cancer growth, I was pondering the current predicament of the prevalence of cancer and the way we live in the United States. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that 40.35% or 1 out of every 2 people will develop some type of cancer in their lifetime. Wow! Those are devastating statistics. Think about it – if you are sitting in a roomful of people – at a café, office, movie theater – almost half of the people you see will develop some form of cancer at some time.

If there is truth to Otto Warburg’s theories about what encourages cancers, then it is no small wonder that the NCI U.S. cancer statistics are so high. As a country we suffer from an epidemic of a decrease of oxygen coupled with a gross intake of sugar.

Between plain old sugar and high fructose corn syrup (have you watched the film King Corn yet?) the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that each person in America consumes 92 lbs!! of sugar-substances (sugar, corn syrup, honey) annually. That is almost my weight in sweeteners a year!

And barring the recent spike in the price of gasoline, which made people less eager to hop in their cars, Americans tend not to walk or bike, but rather drive, drive, drive. Our whole shopping culture is built around the automobile, intrinsically less healthy for our bodies, our communities and our planet.

So unlike our counterparts in other cultures that tend to walk and bicycle for their daily transport, we decrease our oxygen intake by driving, while increasing our sugar intake. Sounds like Otto’s cancer recipe to me.

I consider myself to be health conscious, and am a health practitioner educated about nutrition and health issues, yet I spend inordinate amounts of time in my car, not only generating greenhouse gases, but drastically limiting my personal O2 intake by being IN the car and not physically moving! While I clock between 25,000 to 30,000 miles a year on my car living in “healthy” Vermont, my friends in Germany commute via bike to work riding a comparable 33,000 miles a year each on their bicycles and putting only 750 miles! annually on their shared car. If I translate my driving miles into hours I come to somewhere in the vicinity of 750 HOURS a year - that's like driving 7.5 hours a day for 100 days. No wonder I get cranky.

So even if we don’t consider all the other factors that contribute to cancer and other disease – toxins, smoking, heavy metals, to name a few – if we could increase our oxygen and decrease our sugar intake significantly we would be somewhat ahead of the game as it were. Hmmm….sounds to me like an argument for bike and foot paths.