For Your Well Being 
Barbara Christenson, Publisher
The Speak Well Being Group
mailto:barbara@speakwellbeing.com

Published every other Thursday
March 16, 2006, Vol. IV Issue 6 

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      In this Issue: Speaking of Creative Programs
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Dear Friends,

Yippee, spring officially arrives Monday. I don't know 
about you but I'm ready for more sunshine and outdoor 
activities. I hesitate to report this to those of you 
still staring at snowbanks, but I have daffodils blooming
in my flowerboxes and there are pink tree branches gracing
the neighborhood. Granted, warm (shorts) weather is a long
way off, but these are promising signs to be celebrated.
So be encouraged, it's coming your way, too!

It's also the season for spring women's events around the
country. Last time I wrote about Jana Stanfield's return
to Carnegie Hall for an encore performance in New York 
City. Just so you know that appearing in a big time venue
hasn't gone to her head, this past weekend she performed
for a small hospital in Pennsylvania. She enjoyed it 
immensely and reported back to me with ideas we thought
would be fun to share.

And, just to keep things lively, a few comments on the
media writing about their own conundrum: Health Headline
hype, the cover story on the March 13 issue of Newsweek.
Is it SCIENCE, or is it MEDIA, or is it HEALTH? You decide.

Yours truly,
Barbara

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        Women's Day Out Brims with Creative Ideas 
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Are you a "Queen Bee," "Stressed Out" or a "Workaholic?" 
How about a "Diva", a "Goddess" or a "Party Animal?" Or 
possibly, today your attitude is "It's All About Me," 
"Whatever" or "Yada,Yada,Yada." Well, each woman attending
Evangelical Community Hospital's Women's Day Out 2006, 
got to express her feelings for the day by picking her 
own ribbon label to add to her name badge, 

"These were a lot of fun, real conversation-starters."
according to Niki Hockenbrock, Community Health Education
Coordinator for Evangelical in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. 

"I noticed that the ribbons created a lot of camaraderie
among the women right away," Jana added. "They were laugh-
ing and joking at their common foibles. And then they 
started sharing ideas to help each other. I just thought
it was a great idea."

Their name badges were also practical. On the back side
was printed each attendee's pre-registered morning and
afternoon breakout sessions, along with her meal choice
for lunch.  

The day started at 8 a.m with a continental breakfast 
and vendors to visit. At 9 a.m., Jana took the stage 
with her opening keynote, "I'm Not Lost, I'm Exploring."

"When the evaluations came back, just about every one 
said their favorite part of the day was the keynote 
speaker, Jana Stanfield," Niki said. "She had the ladies
laughing and crying and participating. She was high 
energy, fun and entertaining. And, she was so easy to
work with. She gave me ideas both for the event and 
for promoting it." 

After the keynote, there were five morning breakout 
sessions to choose from, including belly dancing, 
scrapbooking, wine and food pairing, creating balance
in life and ghost hunting. During the lunch hour, the
women got to enjoy chair massages, as well as time to
visit with friends and shop at the vendor booths.

There were more breakout sessions in the afternoon and
Jana closed the day with her program, "What Would I Do
Today If I Were Brave?" "This was really awesome," Niki
told me. "Jana had all of the ladies blow up balloons 
and then write on them a message they wanted other women
to remember. They said things like, 'Acceptance for who
they are,' 'Keep the Spirit alive,' 'Take care of your-
self.' The whole room was full of that positive energy
as the women shared them, bouncing them around the room.
It was a very upbeat and emotional way to end the day."

"We also tried something new tying in with Jana's launch
of her 'Women Helping Women' theme," Niki told me. "We 
collected gently used or new tops and bottoms for our 
sexual assault program that is run through our ER. 
Victims' clothes are sometimes collected as evidence,
so clothing is needed for them to wear home."

"Women love to do good in the world," Jana said, "and
bringing this element to a women's event gives them 
a way and reason to help other women." 

"I believe," Jana said, "that each woman has at least
five people who trust her for health and medical advice.
Husbands, sisters, children, mothers, girlfriends, all
look to the strong woman in their lives for advice and
direction. That's why I'm so thrilled to be a part of 
these women's health programs sponsored by hospitals."

To learn more about Jana's availability and Keynote 
Concerts, call me at 503-699-5031 or 
mailto:barbara@speakwellbeing.com

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                     FOOD NEWS BLUES
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I wasn't even looking for magazines, when Newsweek's March
13th issue screamed at me from the rack in the supermarket.
The cover headline, DIET HYPE, was accompanied by a graphic
of a sandwich that was made of two slices of bread with a 
filling of a huge pile of newspapers and magazines and 
next to it, a woman's quizzical expression. The subhead 
read "Confused? From Fat to Calcium, How the Media 
Collides with Science."

Now, I find that very interesting. The media commenting 
On itself. I had to know what they had to say, so I bought
it. Inside, I found the article under the SCIENCE heading. 
I would have expected it to be under MEDIA or maybe even 
HEALTH with the inside headline "Food News Blues." 

As we mentioned a couple of issues ago, recent health head-
lines have been plentiful and contradictory. For example, 
recent Women's Health Initiative (WHI) findings were com-
pressed into headlines like "Study Finds No Major Benefit
to a Low-Fat Diet" and "Eating Lean Doesn't Cut Risk." 
That gave to any slightly unstable dieter all the permission
she needed to head for a cheeseburger with fries, much to
the chagrin of all of us who promote healthy lifestyles.  

The problem, as the article points out, is things aren't 
that simple. You must read beyond the headlines and between
the lines. Interestingly enough, the Newsweek story does
devote a lot of ink to the WHI study; so it's well worth 
reading, even though some of its points, in my opinion, 
are weak. It blames the problem of mixed messages (eggs 
are bad, eggs are okay; nuts are bad, nuts are good; 
coffee, margarine, red wine, chocolate, you name it) on
three words: too much information. 

"Not so long ago, patients got all their medical knowledge
from their doctors," the article said. Really? Medical, 
maybe, but not nutritional. A doctor recently told me 
that four hours of nutrition education is all they get
in medical school. It went on to credit the explosion 
of media, websites, cable TV, newspaper and magazine
stories, for the overload.

As the article pointed out, the answers that come from
research (this is the science part) are not always 
straightforward: "Science works in small steps, and 
failure and mistakes are an integral part of the process.
Experiments flame out; hypotheses crash and burn." 

They also noted: "Published studies on the same topic can
vary enormously in terms of sample size (small, medium,
big), demographics (age, gender), data (self-reported 
versus objectively measured information) and length 
(weeks, months, years). Then there's the design of the
study, a critical factor." When we read about them in 
the media, they come across equalized. Money, of course,
is also a factor. Following the funding is the path to
truth in most cases. 

The article also noted that the flip-flopping (this is 
good, no it's bad), is actually part of an evolutionary
process. As new scientific information is acquired, public
health recommendations need to be modified. The final 
analysis was that there is blame all around as journalists
opt for juicy headlines and the public cries for a quick 
fix. "For all their differences, scientists and journalists
are on the same path. They should keep asking questions, 
not be discouraged by dead ends and be open-minded to 
surprising truths."

The article goes into some depth about the WHI study (both
its design and results), explaining the nuances and 
implications of the study in regard to low fat diets, 
as well as the other health issues it explores. It is 
worthwhile to read the detailed explanations. Go to:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11726028/site/newsweek/

And, my footnote to this is: If you really want to 
get good, reliable information and interpretation 
of nutrition studies, get it from an expert who knows
how to read the studies and doesn't have to rely on
hype-ey headlines for attention. I subscribe to 
Elizabeth Somer's newsletter, Nutrition Alert. 
This is a printed newsletter that comes in the 
mail six times a year for a mere $15. To subscribe, 
go to: http://www.elizabethsomer.com

Elizabeth is also the author of numerous books, and
I am learning a lot from her most recent book, "10 Habits
That Mess Up A Woman's Diet." She'll be presenting that
topic in April at Oregon Health Sciences University's 
Day for Women and I'll report on it then. Meantime, 
scan the headlines and dig deeper. 


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                   Change is in the Air
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I know I've talked about this before but I am now seriously
moving toward dressing this e-news up and getting it into 
a format where we will have pictures and graphics. Exciting
and scary. Your thoughts and ideas are most welcome. I'm 
also going to be changing publishers as I've been having
too many problems with being blocked to subscribers who 
want to receive it. This changeover may entail an extra 
email or two as we ask you to confirm your interest so 
please bear with us. Thank you for your support. It tickles
me every time I hear from one of you. 

Until next time, be good to yourself, for your good health
and those you love.

Yours truly, 
Barbara

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                    ABOUT OUR SERVICES 
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The Speak Well Being Group specializes in providing 
exceptional speakers for health, wellness and women's 
events. Because we've worked with so many hospitals and
healthcare groups around the country, we speak your 
language. Our hand-picked speakers are attuned to your
needs and adept at addressing the issues while delivering
information in an entertaining way, or simply providing 
a good time with a light message when that's the ticket. 
When you work with us, you'll come back for more "How are
we going to top that?" speakers.

You'll find many of our speakers on our website. 
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Or please call anytime and let us assist you: 503-699-5031
The Speak Well Being Group, 4261 Collins Way, Lake Oswego, 
Oregon 97035
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