For Your Well Being
Barbara Christenson, Publisher
The Speak Well Being Group

Published every other Thursday
April 19, 2007, Vol. V Issue 8

In this Issue:
Lighten Up and Look Out

Dear Friends,

I’ve been so busy writing about events I’ve been attending that National Nutrition Month (March) flew right past me. It’s always a good time to talk about nutrition as far as I’m concerned so I’m especially pleased to feature a program called, “Lighten Up Iowa,” in this issue. Zonya Foco, RD, was in Dubuque in March to stir up participants who were mid-way through their four-month commitment to losing weight and exercising. Her lifestyle habit ideas were just the ticket to re-ignite enthusiasm.

And, in a turn of events, my husband invited ME to a speaker program. John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry were in Portland with their new book, This Moment on Earth – Today’s New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future. After hearing them and reading the book, I have a whole new awareness of the nexus of women’s health and environmental issues, particularly as they relate to toxins and women’s health. And I’m especially impressed with the leadership Teresa has been providing. Because of her long-standing interest in women’s health and the environment, her foundation began holding an annual national conference in Boston in 1996 on the topic. This year it’s in Pittsburgh – starting tomorrow — and if I lived anywhere near there, I’d definitely be attending it. If any of you get to go, I’d love to receive a report from you and share it with our readers!

Lighten Up Iowa

The news has been consistently letting us know there’s an obesity problem in America and how it’s growing. I’m happy to share that there actually is some good news in the heartland of America – Iowa – where the obesity problem is shrinking. Since the introduction of “Lighten Up Iowa,” in 2002, over 74,000 individuals have participated and lost over 153 tons of weight. Isn’t that impressive?

“Lighten Up Iowa” provides a network of support and education that teaches participants how to incorporate healthy behavior into their daily choices. Participants form teams of 2-10 adults – friends, family, co-workers or neighbors — to motivate and support each other. They choose one person, who has regular computer and internet access to be their team captain. Teams could participate in the Minutes of Activity Division or the Weight Loss Division – or both. Through the website, team captains register the team and team members report their progress monthly. This site also provides a daily journal and message center to help keep team members connected and involved in making healthy changes toward reaching their fitness goals.

“This was our second year of participation and we changed from a five-month program to four months,” Barb Horsfall, of the City of Dubuque steering committee, told me. “There was strong consensus that a motivational event midway would re-ignite commitment in our community,” Barb said. “People start out all fired up in January. About midway, as the weather starts getting nicer, they start to lose their focus.” Almost 500 people turned out on a Tuesday evening to hear Zonya Foco, RD. “Zonya’s message is a lifestyle message — not a diet mentality — and she makes it fun and engaging,” Barb said. “Her message, congratulating them on how far they’d come, reinforcing the changes into their lifestyle and giving them new ideas, was a perfect fit.”

Zonya Foco, R.D.

“I loved sharing my newest topic, ‘8 Habits that Will Change Your Life,’ based on my newest book Water with Lemon,” Zonya said. “I’m excited to finally be able to help people have peace of mind when they crawl into bed at night, knowing they’ve eaten the amount of calories that was healthy for them — an amount that will normalize their weight or allow them to lose weight if they need to. And it’s not just about calories, it’s about foods that will help them prevent and manage arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.”

It’s all based on the simple habits that are revealed in Water with Lemon, which is actually a story – a health novel. Unlike preachy diet books filled with structured plans, this book models the emotional challenge of turning knowing into doing. It’s the story of diet-free, guilt-free weight loss.

“And what people really appreciate is that they never feel deprived, they’re never on a diet,” Zonya said. “What it boils down to is eight habits to learn – they’re simple. You start out with one or two and add as you go. When you do all eight in concert, magical things happen in your body. Some people call it ditching the diet mentality and I saw a lot of eyeballs in the audience get it that night in Dubuque. The beauty of it is that it works for everyone. The same habits apply for someone who wants to lose weight as for a seven-year old child who is simply learning good habits that will serve him for a lifetime, so he never has to lose weight. I call that obesity-proofing your child!"

“Lighten Up Iowa” has evolved into ”Lighten Up America” using this model to spread health across the country and create a supportive network of individuals and businesses who are motivated to change their lifestyles one step at a time. To find out how you can participate, click here.

Learn more about Zonya’s Eight Habits.
Learn more about Zonya Foco and her programs.

Look Out: Women’s Health & The Environment

After hearing John and Teresa Heinz Kerry speak during their book tour for This Moment on Earth, I have a heightened awareness and sensitivity to the relationship between women’s health and the environment. At the talk we attended, John Kerry was very clear that Chapter 2, “This Body of Evidence” regarding toxins, was Teresa’s baby. She has been an advocate for women and at the forefront of women’s issues for more than 30 years. Her goal has been to have an impact on educating women about the important nexus between the environment and women’s health by focusing on the impact of global climate change and how toxins are impacting our lives, our children’s lives and the lives of future generations.

The Women’s Health and the Environment Conference series explores the impact of the physical, psychological, and economic environment on the health and well-being of women. A project of the Heinz Family Philanthropies, the conference series began in 1996, bringing together environmental and women’s health leaders.

In a message on their website, Teresa shares some history: “When I convened the first Conference on Women’s Health & the Environment in Boston a decade ago, I wanted to arm women with information about the relationship between the environment and their health. Useful information was hard to come by then. There was a shocking lack of scientific research and policy discussion on the potential environmental causes of rising rates of various types of illness. It was almost as though no one wanted to consider the possibility that we might be poisoning ourselves through our environment.

“But the 1,000 women who attended that first conference got the idea immediately. They were moms, sisters, daughters and caregivers, and no one needed to tell them what the stakes were. Everyone there had lost a friend or loved one to breast cancer or some other disease, or had seen a child suffer from asthma or autism. And everyone there had at least wondered at some time whether the environment might be connected somehow. At the very least, they wanted to know more. And they wanted scientists and policymakers to have the courage to ask the question with them: How is our health being affected by the environment, and what can we do about it?”

Under the theme, “New Science, New Solutions,” this year’s featured speakers, in addition to Teresa Heinz, are Sandra Steingraber, author of  Living Downstream and Having Faith; Tyrone Hayes, author of Silent Spring to Silent Night: Hermaphroditic Frogs, Breast Cancer and Pesticides; and Fran Drescher, TV actress and author of Cancer Schmancer. In addition to educating women, the series encourages women to take an active and responsible role in decision-making about their health, lifestyle choices and economic futures. We’ll post further information after the conference.

Personally (and I look at this outside of politics), I’m very grateful we have a champion for women’s health of the caliber, credibility and commitment of Teresa Heinz Kerry.  And please note that all of John and Teresa’s proceeds from the book will be donated to environmental causes.

 A Personal Challenge

One of the most challenging aspects of environmental issues is that they can feel overwhelming, and it’s easy to feel frustrated and helpless about doing something – anything – to contribute to change. No more excuses! When it comes to toxic products, there are grass roots ideas and resources in the Kerrys’ book, This Moment on Earth. “How many of the products we use each day, even before ever leaving the house, have ingredients we cannot name (let alone pronounce) with chemical properties we do not understand,” they ask in the book?

Pioneering work on the “body burden”(chemicals we come into contact with that are seeping into our bodies) has been done by the Environmental Working Group, which spearheads the Human Toxome Project, the largest non-governmental biomonitoring program in the country. EWG’s testing programs have uncovered nearly 500 chemicals in children, teens, and adults, including nearly 300 industrial chemicals and pollutants in umbilical cord blood collected from a sample of 10 babies at the moment of birth. In every person tested EWG has found complex mixtures of industrial chemicals never tested for safety.

We’re talking about chemicals from products we’re exposed to every day, like vinyl shower curtains, shampoos, lotions, disinfectants, stain-proof carpeting, wrinkle-free clothing and “ocean”-scented detergents – even babies’ pacifiers that contain phthalates. And what are we putting INTO our bodies? Milk that originated at a factory farm where the animals were pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones, fruits sprayed with pesticides, and genetically modified corn syrup in our soft drinks?

To guard against this onslaught of chemicals, you need to educate yourself about the products you use and buy everyday -– from personal care to household cleaning products. The Environmental Working Group website has analysis of lots of specific products –- what you need to know and why. You can look up your shampoo and household cleanser, and hundreds of other products. By educating yourself, (and spreading the word to your friends and family) you become an informed consumer and then you can protect yourself and your family from harmful chemicals while voting with your shopping dollar. This is a very easy thing you can do for yourself that contributes to the Big Picture at the same time.

Until next time, I urge you to get involved and take a stand for your good health and the ones you love.

Yours truly in good health,
Barbara

April 5, 2007, Vol. V Issue 7

Dear Friends,

You know you have success on your hands, when you walk out of the event, and the first words out of the meeting planner’s mouth are, “That was awesome!” That’s what I heard last week in Tacoma, Washington, about Dr. Deborah Kern at Franciscan Health System’s “Healthy You” event. I’ve known Deb for almost ten years, so it was fun to spend a little time together and get to experience one of her programs again. You’ll read why in this issue.

Also, I have quite a few newsmaker highlights to share in this issue. No one likes the unfortunate news we heard last week about the return of Elizabeth Edwards’ breast cancer in her bones. It is what physicians call stage 4 cancer, meaning that it is not curable, but it is treatable. That is exactly what we emphasized in our article about Fern Carness in our last issue – that people are living longer with cancer, and living well. It was obvious from some of the TV interviews that the broadcasters did not have this framework to relate to. That’s another good reason education about these things is so important – so we can continue to spread understanding. Relating this kind of information is something that speakers like Fern Carness and Deb Kern do so well. It is my honor to represent them and share their expertise.

Dr. Deborah Kern: Body Wise

The buzz in the hallway after Deb Kern’s talk was all about the fun they had moving their bodies. It wasn’t “Dancing with the Stars.” It was dancing in their places – a couple of minutes of simple moves to Jana Stanfield’s song, “I Believe,” toward the end of the program. “Now I know why my kids are out dancing,” I overheard one woman say. “I haven’t moved like that in years. It felt so good, I want to do it again.”

It was all in the name of getting their spines moving. As Deb pointed out to us, “We don’t move the core of our bodies in our daily lives, yet that’s where the energy centers are.” One of the things Deb does so masterfully (and there are many), is that she enrolls her audience in the experience so they not only hear what she’s saying, they feel it in their bodies. That brings the message home.

“Our bodies are no different than our ancestors’ bodies,” she told us. “But the world in which we live is dramatically different. In one day, we process more information than our ancestors did in a year. The biggest health risk factor women have going on in their lives is the “Busy, busy, busy” syndrome.”

The Surgeon General states that 75-85% of all disease in this country is directly related to lifestyle. For years we have thought that lifestyle meant diet and exercise. But Deb has a broader view. She says that diet and exercise habits and practices (or perhaps more correctly, non-habits and non-practices) are symptoms of our lifestyles. Does the style in which we live allow us time to exercise and prepare healthy meals, or is it so full of busy-ness that we have no time to eat well and exercise? Does the style in which we live leave us feeling a peaceful sense of purpose at the end of our day, or does it leave us feeling anxious, worried or frustrated – which leads us to self-medicate with sugar, television programs or web-surfing?

Self-medicate with sugar? A few quick questions, and it was obvious that most of the women in the room could relate. Deb shared these sobering statistics: In the 1850’s sugar came in a cone, and an aristocrat could only afford 4 ounces of sugar per year. In the 1900’s, the average American consumed 4 ounces of sugar per year. In the 1950’s, it was 5 pounds per year. When Deb revealed the amount for 2000, there was an audible gasp in the room — 172 pounds per year!

These statistics led to Deb’s discussion of sugar sensitivity, which is biochemical and sets up sugar addiction, alcoholism, depression, obesity and other addictions. With humor and compassion, she explained the chemical relationships as well as the symptoms and solutions. Deb is a health scientist (please see our website for her credentials) and because she gets how daunting the science of our health is for most of us, she translates it into ideas and examples that readily communicate. Things like brain chemistry,  neurotransmitters and receptor sites come alive. And then she gets us all dancing, and WE come alive!

Deb relates woman to woman, as a wife, mom, step-mom, working woman  – a woman dealing with the same frustrations you have and she’s got a handle on some things that just may help you deal with it all a little more peacefully. Please visit our website to learn more about Deb Kern’s fascinating background and her most current topics.

Updates – Speakers in the News

Since my iBook gave out this last week, I’ve spent quite a few hours at the Genius Bar at my local Apple store, archiving, downloading, uploading, you name it – all of that involves a lot of patience – sitting and waiting. At least I had my wits about me enough to pack my briefcase with reading material. I was hunkered down with the April issue of “O” magazine, while my computer was having a heart transplant, so to speak, when I came across a story about courage written by, Cara Birnbaum. Turns out, she’s trekking in Peru with one or our speakers, Miriam Nelson, PhD.

Also, Dr. Nelson was recently interviewed by Matt Lauer on the Today Show, regarding new research regarding a link between renewing brain cells and exercise. “We have known for several years that physically active individuals have a reduced risk of cognitive impairment as they age. This study shows us that neurogenesis – the production of new brain cells with exercise – may be responsible for some of these improvements,” she said. She also had some encouraging news from a new study on exercise and breast cancer – women who exercised the most had the greatest reduction – 31% – in breast cancer occurrence. Click here to watch the entire interview.

Another one of our speakers, Dr. Marie Savard was on the Oprah Show last week, as the expert about two important women’s health issues – the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer and the pros and cons of prophylactic mastectomy to prevent breast cancer. Click here to read all about it on Oprah’s website.

And, speaking of newsmakers, I just heard this morning that at a campaign appearance in Iowa yesterday, Elizabeth Edwards was advocating for women to get their regular mammograms. She said that she didn’t and by the time she discovered her lump in 2004, the cancer had spread elsewhere.

“It had the chance to migrate because I sat home doing whatever I thought was important and didn’t get mammograms,” she said. “It wasn’t that I didn’t know. There are women in this audience who know perfectly well whether or not they’re doing what they need to do and get mammograms. If you are one of the people who knew but aren’t doing it, obviously you need a new strategy.”

Her comments were in response to an audience member who asked her to spread the word about the importance of mammograms. “Women put themselves at the bottom (of the) list of things to do. When I put my health at the bottom of the list, I was putting him (her husband John) at the bottom of the list, my children at the bottom of the list, the country at the bottom of the list.” Elizabeth Edwards has just become a powerful advocate for women’s health.

WomenSpeak 2007

In the Feb. 22 issue of For Your Well Being, I promised you a follow-up to WomenSpeak 2007, the conference, Paula D’Arcy was inspired to organize. “WomenSpeak 2007 exceeded all expectations –” Paula told me, “those of the attendees, the speakers, the entertainers, and the founders. From its beginning on Friday evening, March 9th, this international gathering of women had a certain power and excitement that filled the San Antonio Convention Center.”

The women were from all races, creeds and economic levels. They came from India, Africa, Israel, Taiwan – from women’s shelters, middle class homes and some, formerly from prisons. Most interestingly, there were no grants or endowments supporting Red Bird Foundation, the sponsoring organization. It was 100% made possible by women who wanted to reach out and help others and then learn how to use their lives to help the world. Visit www.womenspeak2007.com to see photos of the conference. The faces will give you a flavor.

In her opening remarks, Paula quoted Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do the thing you think you cannot do.” This was a challenge Paula accepted. She’d never organized a women’s conference yet when the vision presented itself, she moved into the unknown. The power of gathering, the power of one person making a difference, the power of volunteers, the power of intention, the power of women, this is incredible power demonstrated by this event and its far-reaching dynamics. “Now that the women who attended have returned to their homes and communities,” Paula said, “the pebble thrown into the pond begins to ripple…and the real power of WOMENSPEAK is clearly just beginning.”

Visit our website to learn more about Paula D’Arcy and her speaking topics.

Meeting Others with Soft Eyes

I brought home a practice from Deb Kern’s presentation in Tacoma that I want to share with you. Deb has a wonderful way of helping women see their lives in the context of the culture we live in, while bringing us ideas and practices from other cultures that we can apply to improve the way we live. About a year and a half ago she traveled to India to facilitate a fertility retreat, and one of the treasures she brought back was a practice she calls “soft eyes.”

It’s a practice that can help you ground and be present in the face of the on-the-fly question, “Hi, how are you?” when there’s seldom the courtesy of truly stopping, listening and even answering. You’re left feeling lost, vacant, disconnected. Yet it’s typical of our hurry-up culture; we accept it, shrug it off, and go on. Yet, I think it’s disempowering, not honoring the other people in our lives, and not letting them honor us.

Deb urges us to slow down as they do in India, and honor the people we encounter on our daily paths. “Consciously stop,” she suggests. “Look the person in the eye, and focus your attention on the left eye as you greet them — softly gaze into their left eye while still being able to see all around them and behind them. This will establish connection without them feeling like you’re staring at them. Giving your attention to another human being, even for a very short time, honors them.”

This is an excellent tool for staying in the present and I’ve been making a conscious effort to practice it ever since Deb’s program. I don’t get it right every time, but at least I’m catching myself. It’s helping me slow down and turn an otherwise empty moment into a connection and sometimes, even a conversation.

Until next time, stop and enjoy the moment, honor those around you — for your good health and those you love.

Yours truly in good health,
Barbara