Archive for March, 2009

Bowel Cancer increase amongst under 30s

March 31, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

The number of young people with bowel cancer has more than doubled in ten years. In 1997, a survey showed that 63 people under the age of 30 were diagnosed with bowel cancer but 9 years later this figure had risen by 120 per cent to 137. This figure is likely to increase further.

Lifestyle is a crucial factor: the incresae of junk food, fatty diets and foods high in calories, combine with a lack of exercise – all contributing to a decline in health.

Over half those diagnosed with bowel cancer will die. Around 16,000 lives a year are lost to this disease. That’s 50 lives every day!

Awarenss needs to be raised that it is not just a disease of the elderly and that people in their 20s are dying.

If you get any symptoms such as abdominal pain, blood in your stools, diarrhoea, changes in bowel habits then you should see your GP. Doctors are very used to examaining patients so please don’t be embarassed.

Diet is very important in helping prevent this disease. The World Cancer Research Fund warns eating processed meat – including bacon, ham, pastrami, salami and hot dogs – significantly raises the chances of developing bowel cancer. Red meat also raises the risk slightly.

Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, fish and wholegrains can cut the risk. Taking regular exercise and giving up smoking are also thought to reduce the chances of getting bowel cancer.

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Earth Hour

March 30, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

Hands up who turned their lights off on Saturday 28th March between 8.00pm and 9.00pm?

To bring awareness to the global issue of carbon emissions, many cities across the world were turning off lights in buildings, usually left on even when no-one is in the building. From global corporations to the little house on the hill, millions of people got involved, in fact 3,943 cities and towns in more than 88 countries around the world.

Unfortunately the pub I happened to be visiting in the Lake District didn’t take part. But what I did notice on the walk back to our lodging, was the amazing sky full of stars, so many more than I have ever ever seen (except in the middle of Australia!). Being in the middle of the Lakes meant very little in the way of light pollution to hide the sky. It was such a glorious sight that I never see in London and made me realise just how much light pollution is out there – if we can’t see the stars due to lights, then that’s a lot of lights being left all contributing to a huge amount of carbon emissions.

Perhaps if you missed Saturday’s official Earth Hour, then why not have your own Earth Hour now – do you need all those lights on in the house right now? I’m switching off, right now.

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Too much meat leads to serious ill health

March 24, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized

A new study from the US says that eating red meat and processed meat is bad for your health. Cancer rates and heart disease are highest in those eating red meat on a regular basis, whereas those eating little meat or white meat had a lower risk.

Meat is high in saturated fats which have been linked to breast and colorectal cancer, while cooking meat at high temperatures stimlates the cancer causing compounds found in the meat.

This study from the US National Cancer Institute comes just after a week after another study, led by Professor Tim Key from the University of Oxford, saying that vegetarians had a significantly lower incidence of cancer. However, the study did find a high rate of colorectal cancer amongst vegetarians which is usually associated with red meat eaters as mentioned above.

I think the answer, as ever, is to have a balanced diet. Whilst I’m not a nutritionist, I do know that it’s important to get your five a day of fruit and veg, to eat white meat and fish and to eat red meat, processed meat and other fats in moderation. We must also ensure an adequate intake of fibre, seeds, beans and pulses.

I do know of several red meat eaters who feel a meal is not complete without meat. They are the ones who need to read this US study and somehow be taught that ‘vegetarian’ meals are not the devils own or mere rabbit food. There are hundreds and hundreds of brilliant recipes made with butter beans, chick peas, tuna, salmon, chicken, eggs, quinoa, rice, cheese, kidney beans, baked beans, etc etc with not a slice of red meat in sight, and possibly more nutritious.

Now, I’m not adverse to bacon and eggs, but I probably wouldn’t then have red meat for several days after that. In fact, I was vegetarian once, having given up meat from a suggestion made by a homeopath who was helping me get over fatigue following glandular fever. He suggested cutting out red meat, so I went the whole way and cut out all meat. My health dramatically improved, I no longer felt fatigued half way through the day, my energy came back. And for the following six or seven years I remained vegetarian. Had I not done, I don’t think I would have discovered the delights of butter beans, chick peas, couscous and aubergines – being a non-meat eater made me more creative with my cooking. I loved it. But then, for various reasons, I went back to eating meat. I like it, I’ll be honest, but I do only have it once or twice a week because I also love other foods too and I love variety.

And, when I do buy meat, I try to make sure it’s organic. It actually tastes better.

See, now I’m hungry, after writing about food and it’s nearly bed time.

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Hayfever Vaccine and an alternative

March 20, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged ,

Hayfever sufferers will be very interested to read today of a vaccine that will be available within two years. The prescription-only vaccine requires a jab four times over the course of three weeks. In tests of 1000 people, apparently symptoms were eased by 13 and 27 per cent. It works by triggering a good immune system response to the allergens that cause hayfever.

However, for those that don’t fancy a vaccine and prefer a more natural approach, there are two very good options for you: the first is to start eating a spoonful of your local honey every day from now and the second is Bowen Technique.

Eating local honey gets your body used to the same pollens that are causing your hayfever, yet in honey form do not bring out the same symptoms.

Bowen Technique, a holistic therapy using rolling moves of the thumbs and fingers over soft tissue, helps the body to find it’s own natural state of balance. The whole body is worked on to help alleviate symptoms but , in particular, a treatment may focus on certain points around the face, the temporomandibular joint and drainage of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (the one that you can feel from back of your ears down to the base of your throat). Ideally, sufferers should start their treatments a couple of months before the time they are most affected by hayfever, although starting during the hayfever season will also produce positive results. Case studies have shown people feel relief after just one treatment.

For more information on Bowen Technique, check out www.sarahpluves.com

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Recycling for Dummies

March 19, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , ,

First, what a beatiful day it’s been.  I had lunch whilst sitting outside in the glorious sunshine.  Might even go for a run later!

So, back on the subject of recycling, which is a more complicated than I thought.

It’s not just a case of putting plastics into one recycling bin, paper into another, glass in another:  oh no, only certain types of plastics can be recycled (which ones is even more confusing); some recycling centres takes paper and cardboard, some don’t.   You have to wash everything out, don’t just chuck dirty cans or milk cartons away and one piece of the wrong type of material can negate a whole bin of recyling.

Have you seen these little symbols on the back of packs – American Society of Plastics Industry marking code.  

  domestic_recycling_symbols1

 

 

 

Quite helpful to an extent as long as you know what PP or HDPE or PP stands for!  So I emailed the local council about what can and can’t be recycle and got this (fairly) helpful reply:-

“With regards to the plastic bottles recycling skip at Summers Lane, in common with the house hold collection, we simply say anything bottle shaped this can be plastic milk bottles, drinks or detergent bottles providing they are clean.
 
We also have a hard plastics recycling skip at Summers Lane. It is best to check with staff what can go in here when you get there as it is quite complicated and the rules keep changing due to the requirements of our re-processor. However the below is a rough rule of thumb.
 
We can take grades 2 (not grocery bags), 3 (not cling film), 5 and some 6 (Solid Polystyrene products only). However we can not accept any plastic that has contained food (meat and fish trays, yogurt pots, margarine containers etc). Once we take these out of the equation along with bottles which as I mentioned above have their own skip this leaves mainly grade 3 and 6. I have listed some examples of what we can take below (plastic tools can also go in although don’t know their number): 
 
2 (HDPE): Plastic jug
3 (PVC): Pipes, fittings, window and door frames, automotive parts.
5 (PP): Bottle caps, Stationary (remove ink from pens), pill bottles
6 (PS): Kids toys, CD and video cases, disposable kitchen utensils (clean), plastic egg cartons.
 
I am unaware of anywhere in Barnet that can take mixed plastics for recycling but it may well be the case that one or more of the supermarkets do. As I expect you are away most supermarkets collect carrier bags for recycling”
Ok, but I’ve still got a bag full of stuff that I’m not sure can be recycled or not.  More research needed methinks.
One good thing though that will help us all more in the future is the news that many of our supermarkets are going to adopt or have already adopted the British Retail Consortium recycling label which will standardise the recycling information on our packaging. 
brc-logo
I reckon this is a great step, much clearer and will hopefully encourage many more people to recycle.
Read the full article about the BRC initiative here.

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It’s official – I’m a Bowen Technique Practitioner

March 16, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Hurrah!!!   I passed my Bowen Technique exams and got the results this weekend with a fabulous 93%.  I’m so relieved as I wasn’t entirely confident about the written exam.

For those of you who don’t know about Bowen, it’s a fabulous soft remedial tissue therapy, named after it’s originator, Tom Bowen from Australia, and has quick and long-lasting results.  Unlike other bodywork therapies, there is no manipulation, hard adjustment or massage; the moves are rolling moves using thumbs and fingers over muscles, ligaments and tendons.  The therapy is very gentle and subtle and suitable for all ages, from babies to the elderly.

It’s a holistic therapy, i.e. it treats the person not the symptoms, but saying that, many conditions respond very well including back pain, frozen shoulder, tinnitus, asthma, IBS, knee problems, tight hamstrings, carpel tunnel syndrome, Bells Palsy, neck pain, headaches, hayfever, hip pain and much, much more.  Sports injuries and prevention of injuries are a big player for Bowen, with many sportsmen and women beginning to find out about this wonderful therapy.

The feature of Bowen that sets it apart from other therapies is the 2-5 minute breaks we put in between moves.  These breaks allow the brain to note that something has just happened in the body and that action needs to take place.  The point in the body that is out of balance is flagged to the brain and the brain acts accordingly to rebalance the body. 

My experience of Bowen started two years ago.  I had suffered from lower back ache from almost 20 years, which increased when I started running due to a misaligned pelvis.  I regularly went to a chiroprator and whilst chiropractic undoubtedly helped, it just was a temporary relief and I would revist  6 weeks later.    Then I tried Bowen.  It was unlike anything I had had before and I fell asleep at every session.  After each treatment I could immediately feel that my posture was improving, although the back ache remained after 3 treatments.  But then, all of sudden, one day, about two weeks after my third treatment, I suddenly realised I could do certain moves without even thinking about the pain in my back.  Previously these moves would have had me moving around like a little old women.  It was a revelation – there and then I realised that I free of pain – and it’s remained that way ever since.

I highly recommend it.  I’m almost evangelical about it!  I love it and it’s fast becoming one of my favourite therapies. 

Here’s a video put together by the Bowen Therapists European Register which will give you some more information about the therapy.  It’s not me in the video by the way.

 

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A rant

March 14, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , ,

Hope that’s ok! I need to get this off my chest. 

I’ve just been to the hospital to see a consultant. As a complementary therapist, I don’t diagnose so I always recomend my clients see their GP to get a diagnosis if they have concern about a medical condition. If they come back to see me then I know what I am working with.

Anyway, the only way ahead for me apparently is to continue with medication. I asked the consultant if something like nutrition could help (I didn’t mention I am a therapist) and he rolled his eyes and said absolutely not. I felt like I’d asked if I could help myself waving pink feathers over me whilst drinking nectar under the sunrise. Know what I mean?

Now, I know from experience that reflexology and nutrition can help as one of my clients is much better. Other therapies have also had excellent results. Needless to say now that I know what exactly is going on with me, I shall see one of my reflexologist friends and continue to give myself reiki. I suppose it just annoys me that many (not all, I know) of the medical profession are so closed to other forms of therapy that don’t include pills (and their many side effects) or surgey. Why? Surely if something makes someone better or at least considerably alleviates their condition, why not embrace it? Aaarggh!!

I feel better now for that.

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Volunteering in Stag Beetle Country

March 11, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , ,

I spent today with an enthusiastic team volunteering in Burgess Park, South London.  We were there working with Volunteer Centre Southwark, the local volunteer development agency based in the London Borough of Southwark.  linking people who want to volunteer, with organisations needing volunteer help, as well as offering a number of different services to both volunteers, organisations and businesses. 

Working with the Eco Officer from the local Council, we set about rebuilding a boggy marsh in a small wild area of the large Park.   This area is known for stag beetles and we weren’t disappointed either.  Whilst digging out the old pond, we unearthed a couple of larvae, both of which were rehoused in their new loggeries later in the day. Stag beetles are actually pretty rare now in Britain so I think we all felt quite honoured to actually see some larva which live for 3-5 years eating rotting wood before spend their final few months as fully fledged beetles.

Stag Beetle Larva

Stag Beetle Larva

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also cleared the area of litter and cleared a small area which we later planted with small plugs of plants.  I can’t wait to see the area in a few months time once the boggy marsh and plants have really come to life.   It was a beautiful Spring day in south London and the relative peace and quiet, the birdsong and the wildlife around us belied the fact that just around the corner was the Old Kent Road and one of the most notorious housing estates in the UK.

Volunteering is a great way to get involved with the community.  You don’t have to make a long term committment if you don’t want to – perhaps just get a group together and spend a day like we did.  Check with your local development agency, local authority or with Time Bank to see what volunteering opportunities are available.  It’s a cliche but it really is worthwhile; putting something back into the community, doing something you would never usually do, getting out in the fresh air, helping to make someone’s life just that little bit brighter.

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Recyling Revisited

March 8, 2009 · Filed under recycling · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

I’m actually not a newbie to recyling.  I remember when I was little, we used to take back the empty glass bottles to the newsagent or off-licence and get 5p for each bottle.  I also used to accompany my Dad and brother who, on behalf of the Scouts, collected old newspapers from the local community.  I loved doing that because one of the houses we went to was where a lovely retired Army Major lived.  He used to invite us in and give us a lovely cup of tea served in fine bone china.  

Back then, during my baby days, anappies weren’t the norm and my Mum would wash my towelling nappies each day for re-use the next.   When I was a bit older, I would help Mum out in the kitchen and she’d often give me the scraps to put on the compost heap for use on Dad’s allotment (organic of course, simply because there weren’t pesticides and other nasties to put on veg back then).  Actually, when I come to think of it, we were fairly green back then in the 70s.

So, thirty-something years on, I’m revisting the family tradition and recyling once again. 

It’s not easy though. Particularly when you live in a flat.  At the moment, I have a vast array of cardboard, plastic, tins and bottles strewn over the kitchen top and windowsill, waiting to be taken down to Sainsburys where my nearest recycling centre is located.  Us flat dwellers aren’t given individual recyling boxes to leave out on various days of the week and, even if we were, I’d have no room for them in flat.  Instead, we have four small recycling bins for glass, tins and newspapers/magazines but not cardboard or plastic.  These are placed opposite the main bin store which has five very large bins in to cater for the flat – the sort that fix to the back of refuse lorry and they tip up to empty them.  It amazes me that people walk past the recyling bins to put their rubbish containing glass, tins, paper etc in the large bins.

Anyway, much as I’m happy to use the Sainsburys recyling centre, I thought it about time the flats had the opportunity to recycle plastic and cardboard too, for those that clearly cannot be bothered to walk 10 mins (or even drive two mins!) round the corner.  I emailed the local council and was pleasantly surprised at receiving an early reply.  The nice man is going to put in a request for the new recycling bins, although has to liaise with the Management Company who probably need to get some sort of crazy plannnig permission or something.  Let’s hope they don’t take too long to sort this out.

I also asked about green bins for food scraps as I do feel very guilty each time I scrape my food waste into the bin.  This wasn’t such an easy request.  I was told one could be arranged but I would need to take responsibility for it, make sure other residents put only food waste in it and that I had to wheel it down to the main road for collection.  Too be honest, I’m not going to take responsibilty for other people’s recycling I’m afraid.  So I’ll just have to wait until we move to a nice house with a garden where I can set up my compost heap.

Finally, I also asked the nice council man if perhaps a small leaflet drop could be done to the local flats to remind them about recyling.  Once again, no problem!  Although I feel a bit guilty now because that will cost money and I could actually spend an afternoon being creative myself.  What’s the betting that a lot of residents won’t put the leaflet in the recycling!

It’s also quite hard work knowing what can and can’t be recyled.  Some plastics can, some can’t, containers must be washed and squashed apparently, envelopes need their windows cut out and now I’ve discovered these little symbols on the back of packs to tell you if it can be recycled. But I won’t confuse you with these now as I have a kitchen to clean before local residents confuse it with the local refuse site.

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Reiki Master Teacher

March 6, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , ,

Wow!  What an fabulous two days I’ve just had.  I’ve been a Reiki Practitioner for 5 years now but have only recently felt the desire to become a  Reiki Master Teacher.  I was a little apprehensive at first and very nervous about learning the attunements, but my Reiki Master is a wonderful teacher and made me very at ease.  My confidence grew and I thoroughly enjoyed learning the next level.  

I actually didn’t get much sleep last night as I going through all the attuments in my head but am confident that I’ve got them sussed.  The stuffed toy I was practising on must be the most spiritual stuffed toy in Bucks now!

Next step is to spend several days practising the attunements, revising my syllabus, finding a couple of people to practice on and then stepping out into the big wide world of being a Reiki Master.  

Of course, it’s not just about teaching and sharing this wonderful gift with other peope;  I’m also now on a new journey myself (no, I’m not on a reality tv show!).  I’ve lots more things to learn and I know that new experiences are coming my way which I shall joyfully embrace.   I love change; it’s always for the best as far as I’m concerned and I can’t wait to take my Reiki to a new level and for Reiki to take me to a new level.

 

 

Sarah Pluves’ Holistic Therapies

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