What is Holistic Medicine?

Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.  The practice of holistic medicine integrates conventional and alternative therapies to prevent and treat disease, and most importantly, to promote optimal health.  This condition of holistic health is defined as the unlimited and unimpeded free flow of life force energy through body, mind, and spirit.

Holistic medicine encompasses all safe and appropriate modalities of diagnosis and treatment. It includes analysis of physical, nutritional, environmental, emotional, spiritual and lifestyle elements.  Holistic medicine focuses upon patient education and participation in the healing process.

The Principles of Holistic Medical Practice

Holistic physicians embrace a variety of safe, effective options in the diagnosis and treatment, including:

1. Education for lifestyle changes and self-care.
2. Complementary alternatives; and
3. Conventional drugs and surgery.

• Searching for the underlying causes of disease is preferable to treating symptoms alone.

• Holistic physicians expend as much effort in establishing what kind of patient has a disease as they do in establishing what kind of disease a patient has.

• Prevention is preferable to treatment and is usually more cost-effective. The most cost-effective approach evokes the patient’s own innate healing capabilities.

• Illness is viewed as a manifestation of a dysfunction of the whole person, not as an isolated event.

• A major determinant of healing outcomes is the quality of the relationship established between physician and patient, in which patient autonomy is encouraged.

• The ideal physician-patient relationship considers the needs, desires, awareness and insight of the patient as well as those of the physician.

• Physicians significantly influence patients by their example.

• Illness, pain, and the dying process can be learning opportunities for patients and physicians.

• Holistic physicians encourage patients to evoke the healing power of love, hope, humor and enthusiasm, and to release the toxic consequences of hostility, shame, greed, depression, and prolonged fear, anger, and grief.

• Unconditional love is life’s most powerful medicine. Physicians strive to adopt an attitude of unconditional love for patients, themselves, and other practitioners.

• Optimal health is much more than the absence of sickness. It is the conscious pursuit of the highest qualities of the physical, environmental, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social aspects of the human experience.

This is from the American Holistic Health Association (AHHA).

Scientists have developed a drink called Souvenaid that is a “medical food”, meaning it’s taken under the guidance of a physician to manage a specific condition. The drink has three components — uridine, choline, and the omega-3 fatty acid DHA — that, working together, help restore synapses, said Dr. Richard Wurtman, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of the study. Uridine is a molecule used in the genetic coding for RNA, choline is in the vitamin B family, and DHA is found in certain fish and fish oils.

You can read more about this article from CNN here (link). But what we wanted to point out is this statement in in the article: “These nutrients are already found in the human body and have been shown to be safe, he said. But taking a supplement of any one of them will not have the same beneficial effect, he said. Together in the right proportions, the cocktail increases the production of fatty constituents and proteins needed for synapses…..“

These nutrients are abundant in fish oils, whole foods like tomatoes, seaweeds, phytoplankton and our Liquid Power Multi-V™ and Ultra Omega 3-6-9™.

Compounds in Pomegranate may fight breast cancer!

Enzyme-blocking chemicals in pomegranates (phytochemicals) may reduce the risk of estrogen-fueled breast cancers, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

An acid found in pomegranates appears to block aromatase, an enzyme that converts androgen to estrogen, a hormone that plays a role in the development of breast cancer, the researchers wrote in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

“We identified some of these chemicals in pomegranates that actually have properties that can suppress aromatase,” researcher Shiuan Chen, of the City of Hope cancer research and treatment center in Duarte, California, said in a telephone interview.

Many women who have had breast cancer take medicines called aromatase inhibitors — such as Pfizer’s Aromasin, Novartis’ Femara and AstraZeneca Plc’s Arimidex — to keep estrogen from feeding tumors.

Chen and colleagues studied whether compounds, or phytochemicals, in pomegranates can suppress aromatase and ultimately block cancer growth. They found that 10 natural compounds in the fruit may potentially prevent estrogen-related breast cancer.

Chen said the compounds would not be a replacement for aromatase inhibitors.

“We do not recommend people start taking this as a replacement for the AI’s,” Chen said. “They (pomegranate compounds) are not as potent as the real drugs so we think that the interest probably is more on the prevention end rather than in a therapeutic purpose.”

Other researchers not associated with the study told the journal that the results are promising, and suggested more studies involving animals and humans were needed to confirm the findings.

“It’s not clear that these levels could be achieved in animals or in humans because the (compounds) are not well absorbed into blood when provided in the diet,” said Gary Stoner of Ohio State University.

Dr. Powel Brown, an oncologist at the University of Texas, said in a statement that future studies should focus on testing pomegranate juice for its effect on estrogen levels, menopausal symptoms, breast density or even as a cancer preventive agent.

More than 400,000 women die from breast cancer globally every year. About 75 percent of breast cancers are estrogen-receptor positive, meaning they are fed by estrogen.

Previous research has shown that pomegranate juice is rich in antioxidants — vitamins and other substances — that may help prevent diseases such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Pomegranate Products

Absolute Pomegranate Concentrate™ – Absolute Pomegranate Powder™

Acai-Max® – Mangosteen Elixir® – Maqui-Max™

Happy Holidays!

From

California Academy of Health

Save 20%

Well, as we head into our 11th year and we would like to wish all of you a special happy holiday time! As we have done every year, we would like to give you a 20% off coupon to stock up for the new year! Thank you for all your support this year – we sincerely appreciate it. Please keep in mind that between Wednesday December 23rd through January 1st we will be on limited staffing for the holidays so be patient with us on shipping and customer service!

Get 20% off for a limited time only!

Get 20% off with coupon code*: holidays2009

This offer expires Monday – January 4, 2010 at midnight.

*Important: This promotion cannot be combined with other coupon discounts or free shipping. This offer is valid with retail orders only – it is not valid with any wholesale pricing. Only one coupon discount is valid per order. This offer expires January 4, 2010 at midnight.

What is Maqui Berry?

Maqui Berry is a purple variety of berry found in the South American Region (Patagonia Region) of Chile and Argentina.  The berry has been found to contain high levels of antioxidant properties.  In fact it tops all others!

Antioxidants are substances found in the fruits and vegetables we eat everyday.  They in fact vary in every fruit and vegetable so that an ORAC scale was established to measure the quantity of antioxidant each fruit has.

The enormous quantity of antioxidants found in the Maqui Berry is so significant that eating the fruit on a regular basis could be quite beneficial:

• Antioxidants present in Maqui Berries aid in body detoxification.
• Maqui Berries can enhance the body’s immune system
• Increases the energy levels of the individual
• Aid in the bodies anti-aging properties.

The Maqui Berry does not differ from many of the other super fruit stories, but the Maqui Berry is gaining popularity.

Probiotics harm germs, aid immune system!

By Dr. Richard Beliveau

Probiotics are friendly bacteria that play an essential part in maintaining good health. A recent study suggests their positive role could be the result of the bacteria’s ability to physically interact with the intestine’s mucous membranes.

It’s become so common to associate microbes with illness that a lot of people are horrified when they find out our bodies contain 10 times more bacteria than human cells.

The bacteria that live in the lower section of our intestine, the colon, likely are the best example of the central role these microorganisms play in our health. The intestine is the part of the body most exposed to foreign pathogens. As a result, it contains the majority, about 75%, of the body’s immune cells.

The large number of intestinal bacteria (up to 10,000 billion per gram of content) plays a crucial role in the development and repair of the immune system.

In order to do its job well, the intestinal flora must be made up mostly of beneficial bacteria that take up the most space possible to stop the harmful effects of pathogens, or germs.

Among the “friendly” bacteria, probiotic bacteria are considered to have the most positive effect on the composition of intestinal flora.

In an environment without oxygen such as the colon, these bacteria are able to use lactic acid to break down food fibre, thereby acidifying the intestine and slowing the spread of several pathogens, which prefer to multiply in less harsh conditions.

So how does a probiotic bacterium decide to make the intestine its home? A multidisciplinary research team in Europe found that probiotic bacteria had genes that helped produce pili, the hair-like appendages that are essential to probiotic bacteria’s ability to attach themselves to the intestinal wall, and the reason they choose the intestine.

The discovery of pili specific to probiotic bacteria is all the more interesting since previous studies showed these appendages stimulate the immune system.

This research shows the positive effects from probiotics aren’t a random occurrence, but are directly tied to the intrinsic ability of these microorganisms to work with our bodies and influence our immune systems.

We have two really good products that offer the benefits discussed above:

At first glance, it appeared that daily supplements of multivitamins did not have any effect on allergic disease in eight year old children, says a new study from Sweden. Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, scientists from the world famous Karolinska Institute report that multivitamin supplements had no effect on the incidence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, or atopic sensitization in 2,423 eight-year olds. However, when the scientists limited their analysis to children who started supplementation before the age of four, there was a 39 per cent decrease in the risk of sensitization to food allergens. “Our results show no association between current use of multivitamins and risk of allergic disease but suggest that supplementation with multivitamins during the first years of life may reduce the risk of allergic disease at school age,” they concluded.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Published online ahead of print, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.27963 “Use of multivitamin supplements in relation to allergic disease in 8-y-old children” Authors: K. Marmsjo, H. Rosenlund, I. Kull, N. Hakansson, M. Wickman, G. Pershagen, A. Bergstrom. Abstract Available Here.

Liquid Power Multi-V™ is a powerful addition to your family’s daily nutritional needs.  It makes other products look like plain old water!  Click here for details!

Our Beginning – Noni!

Noni juice was the very first product we ever offered, over 10 years ago now.  We were one of the first to import the juice from the island of Tahiti, getting it bottled here in the US.  Since that time noni juice has been sold all over the world and we ourselves have sold literally tens of thousands of bottles.

Over the last couple of years our other Superfruits have stolen some of the limelight from this tried-and-true fruit, to our regret.  We have so many customers that call to tell us that Noni has helped their sports injuries, digestion, and other difficulties.  We wanted to make sure that Noni was still something that all of you were thinking about! 

Our Noni Juice is as good as it can get.  Still imported from Tahiti (the best source), certified organic and kosher, and with a wonderful fruit puree blend in our Almost Nude Noni to cut that "interesting" taste.  (We still have the Nude 100% Noni for any purists out there!)

The bottom line is that noni is an incredible little fruit, it may not taste very good, but wow the benefits!  We have written and gathered great information about this special fruit – yes even before wikidpedia existed!

Take a look at the following articles:

Morinda Citrifolia (Noni Fruit) Noni Juice History and Use!

Noni (Morinda Citrifolia)

Noni – Educational Information!

Neil Solomon, M.D., Ph.D

Noni a fruit worth knowing!

Love,

CAOH

We can help find the Answer!

California Academy of Health® prides itself on providing you and your family the highest quality products to satisfy all of your wellness goals.

As you probably know, we have many wonderful products, some of which I’m sure you’ve tried.  However, it can be confusing (and expensive!) to try to figure out what will really contribute to your overall wellness.  We often hear “Which is the best Superfruit Juice to take?”   “Which products will help with weight loss?”, etc.  

Please take advantage of the expertise available to you from Dr. Marcus Ettinger, our Research and Development Director.  He’s been answering questions like this for over two decades, with thousands of satisfied clients.  He can help you design a personalized wellness program that will address your specific needs or goals.  Be assured, the intention here is not just to sell more of our products, he will happily recommend any products (from whomever) and lifestyle changes that will help you.  (Important Note: Please be as detailed in your request as possible and provide him any data that may help with his recommendation.)

Things are a little more stressful out there!  Let’s take care of ourselves.  Email Dr. Ettinger at askthedoctor@caoh.com.  He’ll get back to you right away.  In addition, don’t forget to go to our website at www.caoh.org for detailed product information, and use our blog (link) for the answers to many of your questions.