Vitamin D

A Ray Of Sunshine In The Fight Against Cancer: Vitamin D May Help

The “new aspirin” that shows healhful benefits could be Vitamin D. Just as we discovered that aspirin can guard against heart disease, Vitamin D could become a useful weapon in the fight against MS, osteoporosis, mild depression and cancer.

“As time has gone by, Vitamin D has raised its head as a sort of ambrosia for cancers,” says Dr. Louise Parker. “One of the most important sources of Vitamin D is from the sun and through your skin,” she says. But sun screen is also highly recommended to prevent skin cancer. So the Canadian Cancer Society recommends that Canadians take at least 1,000 units a day of Vitamin D. It is a bit of a rare vitamin, appearing only in fatty fish, cod liver oil and egg yolks. Even if you were to sunbathe in southern climates, you would not take in 1,000 units.

She notes Vitamin D deficiency turns up in people with lung and colon cancer. And in a study examining whether women who took Vitamin D had a lower risk of osteoporosis, it was found the women taking Vitamin D had stronger bones than those who did not take the vitamin. Years later, researchers went back to that study and found that the women who took Vitamin D also had fewer cancers.

But before Vitamin D becomes the “new aspirin,” more research needs to be carried out. As with many things, lifestyle also has to be part of the equation.

Check out the full article at Science Daily. Also look at The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vitamins and Minerals which covers all the latest research and developments in vitamins and more.

The Number 23

We just saw the Jim Carrey Movie The Number 23 which delves into the connections with numbers. As the site says:

The psychological thriller "The Number 23" stars Jim Carrey as a man whose life unravels after he comes into contact with an obscure book titled The Number 23. As he reads the book, he becomes increasingly convinced that it is based on his own life. His obsession with the number 23 starts to consume him, and he begins to realize the book forecasts far graver consequences for his life than he could have ever imagined.

Apparantly the obsession with numbers is a world phenomena. Nazis have been obsessed with them, consipracy theorists etc. The number 23 seems to be particularly potent for this line of thinking. Maybe its our 23 chromosomes or the fact that Sept 11, 2001 adds up to 23. However, I don't let coincidences with numbers intrude on my life ... until now.

To be honest, I didn't think The Number 23 was a particularly good movie and the thought that numbers add and re-add to the same number seemed a bit obsessive. But then I went shopping the next day and first went to the bakery - the bill was $22.13. Then I went to the butchers and the bill was $22.13 again. Then I went to the grocery store and the bill was $20.13! What the heck is up with that?

Any thoughts?

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Today we march, have a bit of fun and maybe even wonder who Saint Patrick was. Well, check out my previous post on St.Patrick for the history and importance of this merry holiday.

Get ready for the celebration by reading The Wearing of the Green: History of St. Patrick's Day. Or watch this DVD, Celtic Woman - A New Journey: Live at Slane Castle, Ireland,  showcasing the Irish showbiz phenomenon, the PBS sensation, the buxom quartet of charming female singers.

Spritz Away Your Panic

Bach Rescue Remedy Spray helps you cope in balancing life's ups and downs. 

The Bach flower remedies were discovered by Dr Edward Bach in the 1930s. Still today, the first vital stage of preparing the remedies is carried out at his home in Oxfordshire. England. Bach Rescue Remedy, the most famous and widely used of the Bach Flower Remedies, is a combination of five of the Bach Flower Remedies: Impatiens, Star of Bethlehem, Cherry Plum, Rock Rose, and Clematis. This unique combination acts synergistically to calm stress and fear. Pink slips being handed out at work, meeting your future mother-in-law for the first time, your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere... The directions on the bottle advise: apply 2 sprays on your tongue. The Rescue Remedy Spray is available at drugstore.com where you can also read some favorable customer reviews.

Since I also carry mace in my bag, I just have to be careful to spray the appropriate bottle.

Sound Therapy: Tranquility Without Medication

Neuroacoustic studies at The Center for Neuroacoustic Research show that listening to sounds based on different brainwave frequencies can significantly increase one's ability to achieve a desired state of mind. So it's nice to know that an enterprising company has collected all these sounds (based on Delta, Alpha, or Theta brainwave frequencies) into the Tranquil Moments(R) Sound Therapy System . This system boasts that it can "naturally" coax your brain to "match" these frequencies and possibly enter healthier states of sleep, relaxation or renewal.

So say that you want to relax; try listening to sounds that activate your Alpha brainwave patterns like  Thunderstorm ("the sound of distant thunder as gentle rain falls upon a remote lake.") You'll be off into zzzz-land before you know it. (Unless you are afraid of thunder and then you should probably choose another sound.) This system is available for $99 from brookstone.com where customers have given it a 4 star rating (out of five stars). Brookstone says that they worked in close partnership with sound therapy expert Dr. Jeffrey Thompson.

And while you are at it, why not combine with other activities? Drink a cup of Organic Bedtime tea by Yogi Tea while listening to Summer Night (chorus of crickets and NASA-recorded sounds from Jupiter) for a restful night's sleep. (But don't fall asleep holding the cup of tea....) Or, try listening to Meditate (enlightening tones of Tibetan singing bowls) while doing Yoga. Let me know if you have a combination that you really enjoy.
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For more ideas for sound therapy check these offerings from amazon.