May/June 2008

Healthy Aging: Traditional Chinese Medicine Perspectives
By Jingduan Yang, M.D.
The United States is on the brink of a longevity revolution. By 2030, the number of older Americans will have more than doubled to 70 million, or one in every five Americans. Although the risk of disease and disability clearly increases with advancing age, poor health is not an inevitable consequence of aging. Much of the illness, disability, and death associated with chronic diseases are avoidable through known prevention measures. Key measures include practicing a healthy lifestyle (e.g., regular physical activity, healthy eating, and avoiding tobacco use) and the use of early detection practices (e.g., screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers, diabetes and its complications, and depression).See issue for complete article.

HEALING IN THE SPOTLIGHT – AS THE FUNDS FLOW IN
by Barbara Brennan, PhD
When popular TV dramas feature energy healing, real-life healers tend to run for cover. Or they feel compelled to watch in irritation and frustration at the way their profession has once again been misrepresented or maligned. So the flaws in a recent episode of the hospital drama Grey’s Anatomy, “The Laying on of Hands,” hardly came as a surprise. But it was interesting and somewhat refreshing that the show tried – within its own limited confines – to portray healing without the usual negative nonsense seen so often in the past.
See issue for complete article.

VELASMOOTH- An Alternative Approach to Cellulite Reduction (Advertorial)
by Susan T. Hui
Women and men know what cellulite is, that unsightly puckering of the skin that has a cottage cheese or orange peel look. Over 80% of women over the age of 20 have some form of cellulite. It has been an eternal struggle, it seems, for women and men to lessen or alleviate this cosmetic concern. Neither dieting nor liposuction, neither topical creams nor supplements can deal effectively with reducing and smoothing out cellulite, however. Nothing has seemed to provide relief until now. See issue for complete article.

Natural, Radiant Springtime Beauty
by Christina Pirello
Food choices are the primary way in which we maintain balance in the body and keep our physical condition and appearance in greatest harmony with nature. We can begin to understand the power of food’s affect on us, if we understand how it affects our bodies. In general, meat, poultry, eggs, dairy foods, seafood, fish and other animal foods are considered to have more contracting, constricting or tightening effects on the body. Rich in hemoglobin, sodium and other contracting minerals, saturated fats, and heavy, dense proteins, these foods are very difficult for the body to digest, making it work hard and inefficiently to assimilate the nutrients. This difficulty and work, this added stress on the body, causes it to contract, producing a dry, constricted condition. See issue for complete article.

Heal Thyself
by John Tortu
Body, heal thyself. This is paraphrased from one of the tenets of Osteopathic philosophy, specifically, that the body has an inherent ability to heal itself. This concept is likely echoed in the philosophies of any profession considered under the heading of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Western-trained physicians who do little more than prescribe pharmaceutical methods to address symptoms may have forgotten this basic tenet. We are trained to “First Do No Harm” and yet, when faced with any ailment, the first thing ordered by most Western-trained physicians is a treatment designed to reduce symptoms and carries a risk of any number of side effects, some of which are fatal. This treatment protocol serves to override the aforementioned philosophical tenet. Of course, by not treating the cause, the symptoms will likely return, requiring additional medications, or surgery, elevating the risk of additional side effects..See issue for complete article.

BOOK & cd REVIEW
by Miro Lipinsky
BOOK REVIEW - A Life at Work
THE JOY OF DISCOVERING WHAT YOU WERE BORN TO DO
- Thomas Moore
A LIFE AT WORK is not a book of platitudes and easy fixes, in the sense that all we have to do is read it and be directed toward transformational work and be free of the doubts that hold us back. It’s a book that’s a guide, true, but one that demands that we do some time-consuming work on our own, too. Work in exploring our thoughts and experiences, work in telling stories (so important!) that give us potent clues to our psyche and our needs. Neither can we hope to look inward without some pain. As Thomas Moore writes: “Today people want to minimize their discomfort, but ultimately a little pain is not a bad price for discovering more about the factors that are blocking you.” A LIFE AT WORK is a summons to hear the calling of one’s true path, which will likely evolve and is certainly not stagnant. See issue for complete article.

BOOK REVIEW - Revelations of Christ
PROCLAIMED BY PARAMHANSA YOGANANDA
- Swami Kriyananda
There are books, and then there are books. The first kind are the ones that get the most attention. Their authors appear on Larry King or Oprah (if they are lucky!), they do author tours and publicity campaigns. Massive print runs to be followed in a year’s time with massive remainders, where the same books that cost $25 or more can now be had for less than half the cover price. These books tend to be written in a basic, conversationalist style that immediately connects with the public; the text flows smoothly, if not predictably, along, offering human interest stories followed by methods of achieving worth, understanding or inner peace.

BOOK REVIEW - World Changing
A USER’S GUIDE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
- Alex Steffen, Editor
WORLD CHANGING is an amazing popurri of ideas, suggestions and plans that simplify life and unite peoples of different cultures, while, importantly, respecting the earth and the environment. As with any book that offers up factual information and research, the reader should fact-check with the most recent research. For instance, there is now evidence that those wiry energy saving light bulbs can be more dangerous to the environment with their mercury fillings than traditional bulbs. I am also not that sure that the new “bookcrossing” idea, whereby books are left at locations to be picked up by a new reader, makes too much a game of the pleasure of reading and the gift of giving. Be that as it may, WORLD CHANGING is impressive and big and heavy, and is bound to offer you many valuable unique ideas and solutions toward making Mother Earth a nicer, healthier place in which to live.

Nutritious & Delicious: DIVAN TURKISH KITCHEN
by Dawn Light
Tucked away on 22nd and Carpenter in Philadelphia stands Divan Turkish Kitchen, a true Turkish delight. From the charming décor to the enticing dishes everything was top-notch. We started with the Coban Salatasi (Shepherd Salad) with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, Vidalia onions and parsley with Divan’s own special dressing. It was masterfully fresh and artfully presented. The dill and olive oil in the dressing really enhanced the colors and flavor of the salad, making it a clean, crisp, refreshing start to a wonderful meal. Warm, crisp bread was served with a most delectable and creative seasoned olive oil with pitted olives, pimento and herSee issue for complete article.