Recent News
Click a link below for details on Cambridge Wellness Center recent news:
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Nasal Irrigation
- The Vernal Equinox ~ The Right Of Spring
- Rose Institute is Now the Cambridge Wellness Center
- Ayn Rose to be a Guest on Victor Venckus' Radio Show
As an alternative health care practitioner I often recommend apple cider vinegar (ACV) to my massage/bodywork clients. ACV should not be distilled because distillation takes out much of the vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It is not necessary to distill vinegar. it is done for aesthetics and that sediment that forms at the bottom of the bottle is where the minerals lie. Because ACV is rich in minerals it can be a remedy for many common ailments. The following is taken from WebMD:
“Scientific Evidence of Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits
There are some medical uses of vinegar that do have promise, at least according to a few studies. Here's a rundown of some more recent ones.
- Diabetes. The effect of vinegar on blood glucose levels is perhaps the best-researched and the most promising of apple cider vinegar's possible health benefits. Several studies have found that vinegar may help lower glu cose levels. For instance, one 2007 study of 11 people with type 2 diabetes found that taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered glucose levels in the morning by 4%-6%.
- High cholesterol. A 2006 study showed evidence that vinegar could lower cholesterol. However, the study was done in rats, so it's too early to know how it might work in people.
- Blood pressure and heart health. Another study in rats found that vinegar could lower high blood pressure. A large epidemiological study also found that people who ate oil and vinegar dressing on salads five to six times a we ek had lower rates of heart disease than people who didn't. However, it's far from clear that the vinegar was the reason.
- Cancer. A few laboratory studies have found that vinegar may be able to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. Epidemiological studies of people have been confusing. One found that eating vinegar was associated with a decreased risk of esophageal cancer. Another associated it with an increased risk of bladder cancer.
- Weight Loss. For thousands of years, vinegar has been used for weight loss. White vinegar (and perhaps other types) might help people feel full. A 2005 study of 12 people found that those who ate a piece of bread along with small amounts of white vinegar felt fuller and more satisfied than those who just ate the bread.
While the results of these studies are promising, they are all preliminary. Many were done on animals or on cells in a lab. The human studies have been small. Before we will truly know whether vinegar has any health benefits, much larger studies are needed.
How Should Apple Cider Vinegar Be Used?
Since apple cider vinegar is an unproven treatment, there are no official recommendations on how to use it. Some people take two teaspoons a day (mixed in a cup of water or juice.) A tablet of 285 milligrams is another common dosage.
Apple cider vinegar is also sometimes applied to the skin or used in enemas. The safety of these treatments is unknown.”
ACV has many minerals but is especially high in potassium. For this reason it is good for you heart. It unclogs your arteries.
You can consume ACV is several ways:
1. You can have 2 teaspoons in a glass of water with honey to taste.
2. Put it on you food, such as, salads and vegetables.
3. Cook with it.
It is also beneficial to eat apples. Remember the old adage, “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away?”
Cautions: tooth enamel and iodine
Taking ACV can destroy tooth enamel. It is recommended that you brush with baking soda after consuming ACV or rinse you mouth with baking soda and water.
ACV is said to deplete iodine. So it is recommended that you take iodine each day in the form of kelp capsules. Kelp is a seaweed,(botanically an algae) and is especially high in iodine, which must be present for proper glandular function and metabolism.
If you're thinking about trying apple cider vinegar, talk to your doctor first. It's always worth getting an expert's advice. Your doctor can also make sure that the apple cider vinegar won't affect other health conditions or the effectiveness of the medicines you take. Trying to control a serious medical condition on your own with an unproven treatment is both unwise and dangerous.
You can buy ACV with that has not been distilled and kelp capsules in the Wild Harvest section of Shaw’s/Star Market, Cambridge Naturals, Whole Food Markets or any health food store in your neighborhood.
Nasal Irrigation
If you have any questions or wish to share your experiences with nasal irrigation, please email me.
As an alternative healthcare practitioner and educator, I often prescribe nasal cleansing for my clients and students. Along with my bodywork therapy and postural and yoga therapy classes, I often suggest nutritonal changes, the use of supplements nasal cleansing to alleviate sinus congestion and headaches.
Jala neti
Nasal irrigation is an ancient Ayurvedic technique known as Jala neti, which literally means nasal cleansing in Sanskrit, where the practitioner uses a neti pot to perform the irrigation. Because allopathic medicine has long supported the use of nasal irrigation to clear sinuses and prevent sinus and nasal conditions, allopathic physicians accept its practice as simply one type of nasal irrigation, which can be performed using a neti pot or syringe.
Jala neti, though relatively less known in Westernculture, is a common practice in parts of India and other areas in South East Asia, performed as routinely as brushing one's teeth using a toothbrush. It is performed daily, usually as the first thing in the morning with other cleansing practices. It may also be performed at the end of the day if one works or lives in a dusty or polluted environment. When dealing with problems of congestion it can be performed up to four times a day.
A typical method utilizes an isotonic saline solution. Recent research has indicated that a hypertonic saline solution may be more effective at treating specific symptoms of nasal inflammation.
There are many tools for cleansing your sinuses:
Potential benefits and uses
The saline solution irrigation and nasal flush promotes good nasal health. It can be used by patients with chronic sinusitis including symptoms of facial pain, headache, halitosis, cough, anterior rhinorrhea (watery discharge), and one study has even reported that nasal irrigation was "just as effective at treating these symptoms as the drug therapies."In other studies, "daily hypertonic saline nasal irrigation improves sinus-related quality of life, decreases symptoms, and decreases medication use in patients with frequent sinusitis," and irrigation is recommended as an "effective adjunctive treatment of chronic sinonasal symptoms."
Nasal irrigation is reputed to help prevent colds and otherwise promote good nasal health by cleaning out the nasal passages and helps alleviate stuffiness, dryness and the symptoms of allergies.
For those who suffer from chronic sinusitis, nasal irrigation is a quick and inexpensive way to promote cillary function and mucus turnover, decrease edema, and improve drainage through the sinus ostia.
To summarize, nasal irrigation can purportedly:
- Clear out sticky, persistent mucus and help reduce nasal congestion
- Cleanse and rid the sinus cavities of allergens, irritants, and contaminants
- Treat chronic sinusitis
- Treat acute bacterial rhinosinusitis
- Treat allergic rhinitis
- Prevent common colds and flu
- Relieve nasal dryness
- Promote healthy nasal passages
- Treat empty nose syndrome (a crippled nose caused by over-aggressive turbinate resection)
- Improve breathing
- Reduce coughing and other symptoms of post-nasal drip
- Temporarily reduce symptoms of phantosmia
- Generally improve sinus health.
Yogic breathing practices known as pranayama are greatly enhanced by the practice of jala neti since many of them involve deep breathing through the nostrils.
Other benefits practitioners may notice:
- Vision is clearer. Jala neti will clean the tear ducts, enabling better cleaning and moistening of the eyes.
- Improved sense of smell
- Improved sense of taste
- Deeper, more relaxed breathing
Nasal irrigation for the alleviation of sinonasal symptoms
Abstract
Objective: To determine the effect of nasal irrigation on sinonasal symptoms.
Study design and setting: A total of 150 adult subjects with chronic sinusitis symptoms were recruited from the community and assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: nasal irrigation with bulb syringe, nasal irrigation with nasal irrigation pot, or control treatment with reflexology massage. Groups 1 and 2 performed daily hypertonic saline irrigation with 1 device for 2 weeks and then with the other device for 2 weeks. Group 3 performed reflexology massage daily for 2 weeks. Prospective data collected included pretreatment Medical Outcomes Study Short Form, pretreatment and posttreatment Rhinosinusitis Outcomes Measure, daily medication use, subjective treatment efficacy, and preference of irrigation method.
Results: There was a significant and equivalent improvement in Rhinosinusitis Outcomes Measure 31 score after 2 weeks of intervention in each treatment group; 35% of subjects reported decreased use of sinus medication.
Conclusion: Daily nasal irrigation using either a bulb syringe, nasal irrigation pot, and daily reflexology massage were equally efficacious and resulted in improvement in the symptoms of chronic sinusitis in over 70% of subjects. Medication usage was decreased in approximately one third of participants regardless of intervention.
Far from being an arbitrary indicator of the changing seasons, March 20 (March 21 in some years) is significant for astronomical reasons. On March 20, 2008, at precisely 1:48 A.M. EDT (March 20, 05:48 Universal Time), the Sun will cross directly over
the Earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, this is the moment of the autumnal equinox.
Translated literally, equinoxmeans "equal night." Because the sun is positioned above the equator, day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the equinoxes. A second equinox occurs each year on September 22 or 23; in 2008, it will be on September 22 at 11:44 A.M. EDT (15:44 UT). This date will mark the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern (vernal denotes "spring")
Reasons for the Seasons
These brief but monumental moments owe their significance to the 23.4 degree tilt of the Earth's axis. Because of the tilt, we receive the Sun's rays most directly in the summer. In the winter, when we are tilted away from the Sun, the rays pass through the atmosphere at a greater slant, bringing lower temperatures. If the Earth rotated on an axis perpendicular to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun, there would be no variation in day lengths or temperatures throughout the year, and we would not have seasons.
Rituals and Traditions
Modern astronomy aside, people have recognized the vernal equinox for thousands of years. There is no shortage of rituals and traditions surrounding the coming of spring. Many early peoples celebrated for the basic reason that their food supplies would soon be restored. The date is significant inChristianity because Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. It is also probably no coincidence that early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox.
Rose Institute is Now the Cambridge Wellness Center
Name Change Reflects Alternative Health Care Provider's Planned Service Offerings & eNews Launch
October 16, 2007, Cambridge, MA
Today, Director Ayn Rose of the former Cambridge-based Rose Institute, announced the alternative health care provider's name has changed to the Cambridge Wellness Center.
Ms. Rose said that the organization is maintaining its convenient Porter Square location and will still offer a full range of therapeutic healing services, including private and group Yoga classes, Massage/Bodywork therapy, as well as Life Coaching and Nutrition Services.
Ms. Rose said that after doing business as Rose Institute for over twenty years, the new name reflects her fresh approach to promoting alternative health care services. Her fresh approach includes rolling out new services in 2008 and launching an email newsletter (Feel Better eNews) to promote alternative health care concepts to her clients and students, as well as to subscribers outside the Cambridge area.
Ms. Rose stated, "The inspiration behind my present and future service offerings is to restore flow and balance to individuals to achieve total wellness. Therefore, the Cambridge Wellness Center name is more descriptive from both a service-offering and location perspective."
Ms. Rose continued that while she does offer Life Coaching and Nutritions services by phone consultation enabling her to serve distant clients, she is hoping that her new email newsletter will extend her reach further — and perhaps globally —
to potential Feel Better eNews subscribers around the world. Ms. Rose said that Feel Better eNews will be published monthly, offering special subscriber-only promotions, and covering wellness concepts as a way to educate subscribers about alternative health care. Ms. Rose continued that the first Feel Better eNews is scheduled for a November launch and that individuals wishing to subscribe should visit the Cambridge Wellness Center website at www.CambridgeWellnessCenter.com to signup.
Ayn Rose to be a Guest on Victor Venckus' Radio Show