Swing into 2007 with our Specials & new offerings

Every year it feels the same, you get through Xmas, recover from New Year then it's March ALREADY!! And Easter bunnies peer at you from the supermarket shelves.

Take heart, it is the same every 365 days. Our days move on as we go about our daily routines. So if you feel the routines & the mounting tasks have already taken over 2007 catch up with our latest great offerings to help you feel in control of what this year will bring.

• Feel on top of your life not under it with our amazing 8 week life spritzer! Get help, planning & support in all areas of living and weight loss. Walk away with great healthy lifestyle tools individualised to you with our fabulous The Source of Wellness Life Plan overhaul. Combining nutrition, life coaching & exercise this sought-after 8 week life renewal starts conveniently after the Easter binge on Sunday April 29! Sign up for a new & improved YOU!
• Local Nutrition Tours. Learn how to find the healthy food locally & decode what's good and what's not. May 12 & 13. $50 for one afternoon & a morning
• Meditation every Monday night can always help you put the brake on and come back to balance. Mondays 7-8pm. $20 casual or $15 each for four classes. Book a spot here

We wish you all joy and the causes of joy now and always!

The Source of Wellness Team

The Bad Fats the Aust Medical Association wants banned

In New York these fats have been banned in all restaurants & food outlets. At home the, Australian Medical Association has called for them to be removed from all Aussie food products.

What are these evil fats & how to not have them? Trans Fats are created when normal liquid vegetable oils, such as corn oil or soybean oil, are converted to a semi-solid or solid form - the oil is then known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and has a different chemical structure & physical properties to its healthier liquid form.

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil can be up to 50% Trans Fats (that is enormous!).

Once converted the Trans Fats act as saturated fats (bad fat) and raise total cholesterol levels - increasing your LDL or 'bad' cholesterol and lowering your HDL or 'good' cholesterol levels. More recent research has linked Trans Fats to increased risk of cancer, diabetes, obesity & liver dysfunction.

Eating just 5 grams of Trans Fats per day increases your risk of heart disease by up to 25%.

Trans Fats are found in processed foods in the 'treats' & 'quick fix fast foods' such as: pies, sausage rolls, pastries, cakes, biscuits, chips, deep fried food, most fast foods and some margarines.

How to avoid Trans Fats:

• Ask your local bakery whether they use partially hydrogenated vegetable oils
• Stay away from the pies, pastries, chips & so on
• Eat good fat sources such as fish, nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil etc
• Buy lean cuts of meat (the 'trim' cuts)
• Use hommous, ricotta cheese or avocado as a spread instead of margarine

Chat with Kathryn, our nutritionist, for a great healthy diet plan including delicious recipes

Acupuncture better than Anti-Flammatory Drugs

Acupuncture has been shown to be better than anti-inflammatory drugs at reducing chronic pain for people with osteo-arthritis. Research led by Claudia M. Witt of the University Medical Centre in Berlin, Germany, found that by having 15 sessions of acupuncture over a period of 3 months improved people's quality of life by reducing pain without the side-effects of drugs.

'Patients with chronic pain due to OA [osteo-arthritis] of the knee or the hip who were treated with acupuncture in addition to routine care showed significant improvements in symptoms and quality of life compared with patients who received routine care alone,' the authors state.

The acupuncture group were followed up 3 months after their treatment and found still to have continued benefits. This group was contrasted with a control group who had no acupuncture in the first three months and they had more pain & discomfort using drug therapy. The control group was then given the 15 sessions of acupuncture in the latter 3 months and reported similar improvements in their condition as the first group.

The Source of Wellness now has an acupuncturist on board to treat a broad range of ailments. We welcome Lisa Ogden to the Centre. She has 19 years experience as a Natural Health Practitioner & 10 years as an acupuncturist. Lisa has worked with everything from fertility, HIV, muscle aches & pains & more. Book an appointment here.

Sleep - the lack of it & how to get a good night's rest

Lack of sleep / broken sleep / chronic insomnia is the number one complaint people have coming to the Centre.

Not getting a solid block of restful, rejuvenating sleep every night is the major contributor to, if not the cause of, most physical ailments & mental stresses. As recently reported in Medscape Neurology & Neurosurgery, David Neubauer, MD, had this to say: 'Longitudinal epidemiologic studies have shown that persistent insomnia is associated with an increased risk for certain medical disorders (eg, hypertension, diabetes mellitus) and psychiatric illnesses (eg, mood, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders).'

Top five things to do to get a good night's sleep:

Step 1: Have positive self-talk about sleep because remember your brain is listening to you. Tell yourself and others you sleep really well every night for 30 days. Say to yourself you look forward to sleep because it is so restful. Monitor how your sleep improves

Step 2: No physical or mental stimuli before sleeping. No coffee / tea / alcohol / cigarettes at least 2 hours before bed & don't watch action or police shows before sleep (your brain's fight or flight mechanism gets activated even though it's only TV)

Step 3: Use aids to get you back to sleep if you wake during the night. Have a Meditation CD in the player by the bed. If you're awake 10 minutes after the CD then follow step 4

Step 4: Get out of bed. Go into the loungeroom, put only SOFT LIGHTS on and do something manual but not taxing for 30 minutes maximum ie fix a drawer, fold the laundry, tidy a cupboard, sort out your filing (don't watch TV - it overstimulates you!)

Step 5: Persist with steps 1 to 4. They will work when you stick to it for 30 days straight ie you form new sleep-inducing habits.

Remember life is not a race. You will NEVER get everything done on your list, so lighten up on yourself. Here's a great quote to put on your wall:

Set aside half an hour every day
To do all your worrying
Then take a nap during this period
~Source unknown~

We have another lovely team member, Lisa Ogden, Acupuncturist & TCM Practitioner joining us as of 5 March. She will be available to treat aches, pains, fertility issues, digestive disorders, headaches, migraines - the list goes on.

Lisa has 19 years experience & we are pleased she is joining the Centre. Please book to make an appointment.

We have some wonderful workshops in the next few months:

• Life Plan overhaul an amazing 8 week life spritzer. Get help, planning & support in all areas of living and weight loss. Walk away with great healthy lifestyle tools individualised to you using nutrition, life coaching & exercise starting after Easter & the chocaholic binge.
• Inspiration with Ani. Find what's missing, uncover your inspiration, feel connected and move forward with direction. Sunday 15 April.
• Nutrition Tours with Kathryn. Get expert advice combined with real-life local knowledge of what to eat, where to buy it in Gladesville, how to read food labels & more! 12 & 13 May 2007

We have beautifully presented Gift Certificates for your special someone, click here to see an image. Posted at no extra cost in a Special Burnished Gold Birthday Envelope. Order yours today.