Mount Sinai Studies

Aromatica’s Jeffrey Cottam was a regular commuter to Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital last year while completing 2 different advanced courses of study in Chinese Medicine: Obstetric Acupuncture and Anti-Aging Therapy, also known as Facial Rejuvenation using a combination of Acupuncture, Gui Sha, Tuina Massage and Chinese Herbal Remedies.

Debra Betts ran the Acupuncture training for Pregnancy (Obstetrics). She is the recognized world authority in this field. In her native New Zealand, acupuncture is offered in specialized prenatal and antenatal clinics and maternity hospitals by acupuncturists and specially trained midwives. It is a trend that is becoming increasingly popular in many other countries including Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Norway and Sweden.

Jeffrey now offers these services on the Bruce Peninsula. Services promote preventative care and strengthen the mother and baby, assist with back pain, sciatica, rib pain and sympysis pubis pain which are common in pregnancy. Mothers of breech babies are treated with moxibustion and medical studies show that their babies turn by themselves successfully 70% of the time after this type of treatment – even for babies not in optimal position such as those in posterior position. Treatment to prepare the pelvis and cervix can be commenced 3 or 4 weeks prior to due date. Also, acupuncture may be used to provide a gentle, natural induction if the baby is overdue - an effective alternate to medical induction. Nausea during the pregnancy is also relieved by acupuncture and postnatal care may be continued to promote recovery.

Anti-Aging Treatment Sessions and Body Re-sculpting Treatments using Acupuncture, Gui Sha, Tui Na Massage and Chinese Herbal Remedies are increasingly popular alternatives to surgery in New York and Los Angeles and Jeffrey now offers the same treatments in his private practice on the Bruce Peninsula. A 30 day customized program uses anti-wrinkle herbs, skin-brightening herbs, acupressure, acupuncture, Gui Sha and Tui Na massage to erase wrinkles. Hand-crafted, all-natural, facial masks and creams provide for a smoother, brighter complexion also. Rejuvenating the face without surgery, shots, peeling or pain is definitely an attractive alternative for many women and much less expensive this natural way!

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Alternative Medicine Research launched in U.K...

The British Parliament recently announced and ambitious $1.3 million- pound research grant to study the health benefits of treatments such as acupuncture and homeopathy.

Public Health Minister Hazel Blears said it's important to "develop a solid evidence base for complementary and alternative medicine" because more and more people are turning to these kinds of treatments. The grant followed recommendations of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology.

In other research news, the National Institute of Health in the US recently awarded a five-year, $6 million grant to researchers at Iowa State University to establish a research centre to study Echinacea and St. John's wort. The team hopes to identify the active components and study the genetic, growth and environmental factors that influence bioactivity.

The centre will conduct epidemiological research to identify the types of people who are most likely to benefit from botanicals and those who may be adversely affected.

The centre is the sixth biological research centre developed in the United States for this kind of study.

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Buddhists Happier?

The pursuit of happiness could lie in a monkish life.

The brains of experienced Buddhists showed increased activity in the happy centre: the left prefrontal lobes, according to new research. The findings support meditation as a therapy to help calm people by taming the amygdala, the hub of fear memory in the brain.

In the studies, Buddhists were less likely to be shocked, flustered, surprised or as angry as the other participants. The studies were published in New Scientist magazine in May.

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Red Wine Helps Protect Your Heart...

One of the most well-documented benefits of red wine is a heart protective effect. One to 2 drinks per day of red wine have been shown to increase HDL cholesterol by about 11-17%. This extra HDL cholesterol can then serve to remove some of LDL cholesterol from the circulation and lessen the amount of material available for fatty plaque formation.

Plaque formation may be further hindered by the polyphenols in red wine that possess antioxidant properties. Some researchers believe that resveratrol might be the key ingredient in red wine that helps prevent damage to blood vessels, reduces "bad" cholesterol and prevents blood clots. The resveratrol in red wine comes from the skin of grapes used to make wine. Because red wine is fermented with grape skins longer than is white wine, red wine contains more resveratrol.

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have identified another group of chemicals in red wine that is linked to the ability to lower cholesterol. Called saponins, these glucose-based plant compounds are being found in an increasing number of foods. Saponins seem to lessen the risk of cardiovascular disease by preventing the absorption of cholesterol in the body. Interestingly, some of the same wines that show the lowest levels of flavonoids, like red zinfandel, contain high levels of saponins. The average red wine contains three to 10 times as much saponin as white wine and, in general, a higher alcohol content translates to higher saponin concentrations.

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Probiotics Prevent Baby Allergies...

Pregnant women who take probiotic supplements reduce the risk of eczema by 40 percent in their children for the first four years of life, according to a study published in May 2003.

The study was comprised of 132 at-risk children whose mothers were given either lactobacillus or a placebo for four weeks before giving birth. After birth, mothers who breastfed continued taking supplements for six months.

The research also suggests the supplements prevent or reduce the risk of asthma, though no firm conclusion was reached because the ailment doesn't normally develop for several years.

Of 53 children exposed to lactobacillus, only 14 developed eczema after four years, compared with nearly half of those who did not get the supplement. Concentrations of exhaled nitric oxide, a marker for asthmatic lung inflammation, were significantly higher in children who did not receive lactobacillus in the womb.

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Tea Fights Infections...

Researchers have discovered that regular tea-drinking can prime cells to secret disease-fighting chemicals. Tea contains alkylamine antigens, which are also present in some bacteria, tumour cells, parasites and fungi. Exposing the body to these antigens enables a defence response. Gamma-delta T cells, which are the first line of defence against infection, will multiply by up to 10 times to fight off infection.

Within two weeks of the study, participants who drank tea the increased immune response, while coffee drinkers showed no increase.

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Eat Dark Chocolate and get Healthier?

Eat dark chocolate and get healthier? Yes, a study shows that a daily treat of dark chocolate can actually improve overall heart health and reduce the risk of heart disease! Dark chocolate is also known as "bittersweet" or "semisweet" chocolate. It contains a high percentage (70% or more) of cocoa solids, and little or no added sugar. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries) and appears to retain the highest level of polyphenols, such as catechins and procyanidins. Polyphenol-rich dark chocolate and cocoa powder has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol, increase HDL cholesterol and protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation. The researchers report that eating 100 g of dark chocolate for two weeks reduced blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels, improved flow-mediated dilation, and ameliorated insulin resistance in patients with hypertension.

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Laughter Yoga for Emotional Therapy...

The old adage that laughter is the best medicine has inspired Dr. Madan Kataria of India to devise Laughter Yoga as an anti-stress therapy that also reportedly stimulates creativity.

The practice is a blend of yogic deep breathing, stretching, stimulated laughter exercises and cultivated child-like playfulness. It is advocated as internal jogging, which provides a good massage to all internal organs. The benefits include natural pain relief, improved breathing and strengthened immune system.

The trend is now growing to include Laughter Parties and Weekends. And don't fear. Proponents say you benefit even if you don't feel like laughing. Faking it still prompts the body to produce happiness chemicals, and soon enough the mind follows.

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Cranberry Juice Reduces Heart Disease Risk...

The newest nectar of the gods may be cranberry juice. In addition to its known combative effect on urinary tract infections, researchers from the University of Scranton, PA have discovered that one to three glasses of the juice daily increases the HDL, or "good cholesterol" by ten percent. That increase corresponds to a reduction in heart disease risk of 40 percent.In terms of antioxidants, two to three glasses a day boosted free radical scavengers by 121 percent!

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Reflexology Improves Fertility?

We all know playing footsies can be sexy, but can reflexology improve fertility? One U.K. woman swears it is so. The 40-year-old was told her hormone rating was above 25, which indicated that her ovaries had stopped producing the reproductive regulator, estrogen. To conceive, a woman's hormone rating needs to be 10 or below. After three months of reflexology, her hormone rating dropped to 8 and she conceived. In another study, 108 couples who hadn't conceived over a period of seven years received reflexology treatments. Within six months, 19 conceived.

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Royal Free Hospital in London, England

Aromatica’s class of 2000 will instantly recognize Keith Hunt in this photograph with Britain’s Prince Andrew! That’s because Keith came to Canada in 2000 at Aromatica’s invitation to teach our students his unique ‘Massage for Cancer Patients in the Hospital Setting’ workshop. In January this year, Sara Rankin and Jeff Cottam were ecstatic to hear that their friend received a prestigious award in the UK, being recognized as an ‘Inspirational Figure’ by the country’s National Health Service (NHS). Mr. Hunt received his National Champions Award for his work at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London where he is the Complementary Therapies Co-ordinator, being nominated by the hospital for his ‘inspirational’ contribution. He is shown giving Prince Andrew a tour of the hospital, one of Europe’s premier teaching hospitals.

Twenty years ago Keith Hunt created a complementary therapy service at the Royal Free which today gives over 17,000 massage treatments each year to patients in the hospital. He sees patients in all wards - palliative care, intensive care, undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment, children undergoing painful and difficult treatment such as a stoma and most recently mothers during and after childbirth. He is at the vanguard of complementary therapies in the NHS in England and his model has been replicated in hospitals nationwide. Keith likes to work with patients that need his services the most. “For 15-20 minutes they just have to relax and enjoy it,” says Keith “It’s a treat, not a treatment. It’s not going to take their cancer away, but it can make people a bit less tense. It works wonders in calming patients before they go into the operating theatre, even in the intensive care unit.”

When Keith was in Canada in 2000 he toured the South West Regional Cancer Centre at Windsor’s Metropolitan Hospital with Aromatica’s Jeffrey Cottam at the invitation of the Chief Oncologist. Mr. Hunt told doctors and nursing staff about the work he did in London’s Royal Free Hospital. Hunt and Cottam were then invited to demonstrate and provide massage for 23 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy that day. They did so, which was a ‘first’ for cancer patients in a Canadian hospital! The form of gentle massage these patients received on their hands, legs and feet was so light it could not possibly stimulate the lymphatic system yet still provided therapeutic benefit to the body. The Oncologist’s fear was that cancer could metastiasize through the lymph but this is not the case with this specialized form of massage, explained Mr. Hunt. He told of the work he sometimes does in the Intensive Care Unit at his London hospital advising that this type of massage can be quantitified because of the monitors attached to the body.

“It is amazing” he enthused “to see the monitors in ICU all showing rates of respiration, blood and body temperature normalising as stress is released - even in times of such stress!” He admitted the doctors joke with him sometimes, saying “Go on - get in there and do your Voodoo!” Then added seriously “but the doctors wouldn’t request my services in ICU if they didn’t think it would help”. Massage is not incorporated into the health care of Canadians during hospital stays in this country and Mr. Hunt asked “Why not? Its cost effective. It works. It puts a smile back on the face of a worried patient and less pain medication is required.” He did not obtain any satisfactory answers however and left the hospital puzzled.

England has a long history of acceptance of complementary therapies in their health care system and it is widely known that members of Britain’s Royal Family approve of alternative medicine - which always helps. On a Canadian visit in 2001, Prince Charles implored the Canadian government to incorporate complementary medicine into the Canadian health care system in a speech to the Manitoba legislature but it fell on deaf ears. So, is there the political will for this type of change in Canada? It would only be a small step to take (to include massage for hospital stays) that’s true but it would signal a fundamental shift in policy to include complementary medicine in the Canadian health care system. Nurses 40 years ago in Canada used to give back rubs to all patients who wanted one before going to sleep. That was removed from their duties long ago but a massage professional could restore this much needed practice and expand on the service. The problem (we believe) lies with the powerful pharmaceutical lobby, entrenched so comfortably on Parliament Hill, who influence all decision-making processes there.

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