Volume 2- Issue 3 May - June, 2011
GeGetGet
FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK This is a wonderful time of year - spring has sprung! Everyone is feeling it. The local trees and shrubs are blooming and new growth is seen everywhere you turn. It’s easy to feel alive and invigorated each morning just by stepping outside. Get engaged by tapping into some of the great ideas featured in this issue of Thrive Oklahoma magazine. Simple things like shopping for produce at the local farmers’ market can be educational and fun for the whole family. Larry and Jacque Hocking can be found every weekend at the OSU-OKC Farmers’ Market, where Oklahoma-grown products are made available to locals year-round. The Hockings also grace this spring cover. They’ve been married for 43 years, have two grown daughters and hopefully get us all thinking about our own moms and dads. We not only present healthy eating options in this issue, but also celebrate families. This is the time of year we honor our moms and dads. Celebrate family by dining out at a healthy OKC restaurant that incorporates locally grown produce in its menu items or plan a quiet homecooked meal made with all grown-in-Oklahoma ingredients. Thrive’s recipes show you how!
Did you know that Oklahoma ranks low on the list for healthy cities nationwide? One of the criteria for ranking is sidewalk mileage. We take an in depth look at the progress of Oklahoma City’s Project 180 and the strides we’re all taking to be a healthier community. The OKC Health and Wellness Group, Ltd. sponsored Expo in Edmond drew guests out from all over the state for a free “Get Fit and Healthy” event. See what we had to offer on page 24. Thanks to the sponsorship of Brairberry Farms and Calvert’ s Interior Plant designs the Expo was a huge success with our volunteers and beautiful for our guests.
TM
www.okchealthfair.com www.thriveok.com
Health and wellness practices are cropping up all over our fine city and we are so pleased to have several new healers featured in this issue. Find out about alternatives to pain management that go way beyond massage and body work. Relief from trauma and chronic stress are important factors to manage. These factors will ultimately affect your quality of life as you age. Have you ever wondered how the body ages, at the molecular level? Why the cells of our bodies fizzle out? Your telomeres may be shortening – find out more in this issue of Thrive! Be your best...
Publisher, Thrive Magazine Founder of OKC Health and Wellness Group
A special thanks to Bob Calvert of Calvert’s Plant Interiors, Inc. and to David Nordahl, Erica Kelley and Jessica Frazier of Briarberry Farm for their contributions to the spring Get Fit Health Expo.
The OKC Health and Wellness Group, with our healthy green apple logo, is an assembly of dedicated physicians and practitioners that volunteer their time to provide educational opportunities on preventative health care, pain management alternatives, healthy lifestyle choices, and nutrition. The techniques and products are considered natural, chemical free and in many cases certified vegan. While we may have some ideas on wellness improvement, only your doctor knows you and your particular health needs. The quarterly health Expos and this publication bring you valuable information for free, but this should not be a substitute for your doctor’s advice.
STAFF: Publisher / CEO Angela C. Slovak, Ph.D. Editor-In-Chief Paul Fairchild Creative Director Barbara Kardokus Creative Assistant Kristen McEuen Contributing Authors Mary Schrick, N.D., Ph.D. John Kells Harold H. Fain, MD, MPH Royce Bargas, DO Karon Potter, RD, LD Wendy Strgar Linda S. Hines, M.Ed., LPC, LADC, CBT Vicki Latham, PA-C Blake Schrick Deepak Chopra, M.D. Stan Marker Brian Calvin Doug Sloan Dean Tipton Keli Clark Michael Dean A.J. Philipose, D.C. Don Greene, M.A., ACMT Photo Support Jolie Goodson Melissa Willis Travel OK Oklahoma Historical Society Spectracell Laboratories Sun Chlorella Corp. Illustrations Patrick J. Lynch
For advertising information please call us at 405.720.2940 or e-mail thriveokinfo@gmail.com
Support Your Local Farmer’s Markets and Farmers?
Sustainable agriculture encompasses diverse methods of farming and ranching that are more profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities.
AROUND OKLAHOMA CITY OSU-OKC Farmer’s Market • 400 N. Portland Ave. Saturday Market open year round currently open 8a.m. to 1 p.m. or Wednesdays at 63rd and Western Ave. OKC Public Farmer’s Market 311 South Klein Ave. off Reno • Oklahoma City, OK 73108 Saturday Market Only Call for details (405) 232-6506 Festival Market Place 1st St. and W. Broadway in downtown Edmond For information, contact the Edmond Parks and Recreation Department at (405) 359-4630 Lovely Day Fine Art & Plants Farmers’ Market Between Western & Walker, 26th and Shartel - in the Historic Paseo District Tuesday afternoons El Reno Farmers’ Market 100 S. Choctaw • Wednesday and Saturday mornings Noble Farmers’ Market 304 S. Main Hwy 77 • Saturday morning Guthrie Farmers’ Market On 1st Street, between Oklahoma and Harrison avenues • Saturdays Stillwater Farmers’ Market 309 N. Main in Strickland Park • Wednesday and Saturday mornings
AROUND TULSA
Broken Arrow Farmers’ Market 418 S. Main St. • Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings Brookside Farmers’ Market 41st & Peoria, Tulsa • Wednesday mornings Cherry St. Farmers’ Market in Tulsa 15th Street between Quaker and Rockford Ave. Saturday mornings
Copyright © 2011 by Thrive Oklahoma Nurturing Body & Mind and Green Apple Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the expressed written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Thrive Oklahoma Magazine assumes no responsibility for the content of articles or advertisements, in that the views expressed therein may not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or any magazine employee or contributor. This publication and all its contents are copyrighted.
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ON OUR COVER: Larry and Jacque Hocking are the growers o’naturale of Berry Creek Farm, in Blanchard, OK. They are committed to providing you the freshest fruits, vegetables and blue and brown eggs available, while allowing you to support your local community. Larry Hocking points out that since 1900, over 95 percent of crop varieties have become extinct. Many folks want to know from a farming and food standpoint how this trend impacts them and their families. The Hocking’s are growing peaches, strawberries, blackberries and grapes as well as a wide variety of vegetables and herbs. Berry Creek Farm is certified organic and is also Animal Welfare Approved. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a service proudly offered.
Thrive in the Garden
Thrive In the Garden Feature Story
8 Native Roots Market A Brick and Mortar Style Co-op by Michelle Barlow 10 Permaculture! What A Concept by Stan Marker
Feature Stories
Oklahoma Destinations
7 Western Avenue Restaurant Green Lights Green Services by Michelle Barlow 12 Walking -- It’s Our History and Our Heritage by Michael Dean 14 Project 180 Movin’ It Downtown by Paul Fairchild
Oklahoma Destinations 16 Rolling Down the Highway to Health by Keli Clark
Living Well Mother’s Day / Father’s Day
Mind / Body Connection
Living Well
18 What Is the Sodium Fluoride Doing In Your Water? By Dean Tipton 20 How To Get Your Kids To Eat Great & Love It by Vicki Latham, PA-C 21 The Healthy Embrace by Wendy Strgar 22 Monthly Breast Self-Exam Reminders from ACOG 24 Get Fit, Get Healthy Oklahoma Expo 26 Cardiovascular Health for Men and Women by American Heart Association 28 Heart Q and A with Local Heart Doc by Paul Fairchild 30 Fat Burning Through Weight Training by Brian Calvin 31 Prolotherapy: A Natural Choice by A.J. Philipose, DC 33 Too Tired To Lose Weight? by Karon Potter, RD, LD
Mind/Body Connection The Art of Acupuncture by Stan Marker Disaster Relief for Everyday Life: Timothy Trujillo Bio The American Diet and Chronic Disease by Harold H. Fain, MD, MPH Timeless HealingTraditions by Linda Hines Stress Creates Distress by John Kells and Mary Schrick, ND, Ph.D.
Anti-Aging
34 35 36 38 40
Anti-Aging 43 Better Score, Longer Life by Doug Sloan 44 Recipes Locally Inspired for Mother’s Day & Father’s Day Thrive Oklahoma
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by Michelle Barlow Oklahomans searching for contemporary cuisine will love a visit to Deep Fork Grill, with its cozy atmosphere and some of the finest steak and seafood in the Sooner State. While Chef Josh Richardson creates inspired and innovative dishes, DFG co-owner and entrepreneur, Wade Starr, is chasing two things: profits and an eco-friendly operation. He’s part of a growing cadre of business owners that are learning that business and environmentalism are not mutually exclusive. Starr is always open to fresh, new ideas for the 15-year-old restaurant and is enthusiastically embracing a healthier menu – without compromising flavor. Chef Richardson and his team have already created a menu that includes gluten-free and vegan options that DFG’s regulars rave about. For seven years the DFG has proudly supported MIO -- Made in Oklahoma products. They include everything from steaks to rotisserie chickens, to freshly baked breads. And DFG has also teamed up with the Urban Agrarian, a local food distributor of fresh and organic vegetables and fruit. “Buying local is not just a fad for the restaurant, it’s the obvious thing to do.
Even my clothes are from local sources!” admits Starr. Diner Dan Reynolds visited DFG on Valentine’s Day and commented, “Wow! The Deep Fork Grill is easily the best dining experience of my entire life. The atmosphere was excellent, the service was absolutely fantastic and prompt [but] most importantly, the food was incredible.” The DFG’s kitchen is stocked twice a week with organic produce and local meat cuts provided by the local seasonal market. Local food sources widen Starr’s profit margins, allowing Starr to offer the freshest dishes at reasonable prices. According to a 2004 Food Miles Study by the USDA, the average food item travels 1,500 miles to get into your local store, then your home and onto your plate. Fifteen hundred miles means a strong chance your food came from somewhere along California’s coastal Highway 101 to the west, a little north of the Canadian/ Montana border, and to the east around upstate New York -- just shy of the Green Mountains of Vermont. Factor in the average retail amount of gasoline, and add the carbon dioxide emitted along the way -- it adds a substantial cost to Mother Earth in the form of air pollution, and ultimately to the household budget.
Chef Josh Richardson The Deep Fork Grill shifted to “Go Greener” in stages. It started in the kitchen and then moved to the front of the house. One of Deep Fork’s newest shift managers, Taylor McMurry, says, “Once the food strategy was in place, the restaurant traded styrofoam carry out containers for biodegradable corn-based to-go boxes.” The change doesn’t stop with the customers. McMurry says, “Employees are provided with reusable polycarbonate bottles for water and soft drinks for use during their breaks.” All glass bottles from the bar area are recycled. McMurry played a key role in these changes. “Most of our waiters grew up with the concept of recycling at home and they bring that ‘can-do’ attitude to work with them. They’re helping and their hearts are really in it,” she adds.
Starr and McMurry agree the theory behind going green sounded great from the start, but the implementation had more than a few logistical issues. McMurry recalls, “The bar area was a difficult aspect as far as implementation goes. Servers have to be efficient in their service to the customer, yet get all the recyclable items into the right containers for collection.” The recent green light to go greener wasn’t continued on page 14
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Native Roots Market A Brick and Mortar Style Co-op by Michelle Barlow
When a Norman couple Matt Runkle and Sara Kaplan began their grocery store a few years ago, the two had one idea in mind. “In every decision that we make in our business, we try to determine the best option in terms of both environmental and social impact,” Kaplan says.
Native Roots Market husband and wife team, Matt Runkle and Sara Kaplan are expecting their first child this summer! While shopping, check out the Spice Bar. It offers over 80 different spices available in whatever amount you want.
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Oklahoma Sustainability Network. Each shopper can participate in the “Bring Your Own Bag” program, which gives money directly to local charities. Food waste is never sent to the dumpster. When items are nearly expired they get donated to Food and Shelter for Friends. The metro’s four-legged friends aren’t forgotten either; The two drew from their experience at the Oklahoma Food Co-op and started the Native slightly damaged produce goes to the Little River Zoo for care and feeding of their Roots Market. Native Roots Market stocks animals. On an international level, Native over 70 artisan food producers from across Roots Market supports Heifer International, Oklahoma. The local offerings include seaa non-profit organization that provides sonal produce picked fresh from Oklahoma livestock and training to families to help farms; a wide selection of certified-organic end the cycle of hunger and poverty in third meats, locally roasted coffee, honey, mustards, jams and jellies, as well as relishes and world countries. fresh baked bread. In the refrigerated section The company’s charitable efforts have not shoppers can select hormone-free dairy prod- come without challenges. Runkle and Kaucts including kefir and wholesome yogurts. plan created a pilot program called the Garden Club last year. Their goal – to directly Efforts to live their goal of providing naturally grown products and education fuels the impact local farms in the area by creating a support group that purchases its food from couples’ charitable focus as well. Owners one area family farm. “We wanted to see if get involved with many community events and organizations, which include the Pioneer 30 families could support one family farm,” says Kaplan in the company’s blog. The Library System, Meals on Wheels and the
Thrive in the Garden
Garden Club is patterned after other Community-Supported Agriculture programs across the Midwest. Shoppers pay upfront for a season’s worth of food from a local farm, then each week participants pick up a bag full of produce from the farm the group supports. While last year’s efforts had some key successes, the 2011 program has been postponed due to drought conditions. A visit to the store’s blog asks readers to do a “rain dance” on behalf of their program and farmers everywhere. Native Roots hopes to restart the program later this year. The postponement is indicative to what is occurring across Oklahoma. The USDA reported just last week that the last four months have been the fourth driest such period on record and the driest since 1921. Most of Oklahoma is showing some degree of drought. The soil situation draws a sharp comparison the to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s for farmers where the disappearance of topsoil decimated the land. The state’s Department of Agriculture estimates that what crops have been planted have already used what little moisture the soil has to offer. The drought conditions bring home the importance of markets like Native Roots who work hard to help farmers in good times and bad. This unique grocery store provides benefits to farmers that allow them to be more focused on growing food in sometimes difficult situations while store owners help farmers market their product. Runkle and Kaplan say they have had to educate some of the farmers on how to bring produce to market from the field. “From a management aspect, everything has to be inventoried and tracked, not only as it comes into the store but also as it leaves the shelves” states Runkle, who has spent many long hours setting up and implementing a new system that helps them manage all the varieties of produce they see every week.
Fans of the market trumpet the store’s low profile commitment to local farmers, to the community, and to healthy living. One Norman shopper says she likes “the store’s support of local farmers,” and its prices. Despite drought and the perception that sustainable products are consistently more expensive, the staff promises to match or beat the prices of organic fare found at surrounding area stores.
Janine Handler Owner / Proprietor 301 South Division St. Guthrie, Oklahoma guthriewholefoods.com 405-282-2200 Thrive Oklahoma
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“Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something.” - Carl Sagan Care of the Earth... includes all living and non-living things—plants, animals, land, water and air Care of People... promotes self-reliance and community responsibility—access to resources necessary for existence
by Stan Marker
Permaculture is a hybrid term used to describe a design form of ecological / human habitats and food production systems. It is a land use and community building philosophy that strives for harmonious integration of local communities and their climate with annual and perennial plants, local soils and water supply into stable, productive harvesting efforts. The focus is not on the elements themselves, but on the relationships between them and the way we place them together in the landscape. The synergy created is closest to patterns found in nature. A central theme in permaculture is the design of ecological landscapes that produce food. There is emphasis placed on multi-use plants, management practices such as sheet mulching and trellising, and the integration of animals to recycle nutrients, graze weeds and naturally control pests. Permaculture entails much more than just food production. Energyefficient buildings, waste water treatment, recycling, and land stewardship in general are other important components of permaculture.
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Thrive in the Garden
More recently, permaculture design concepts have expanded to be applicable in urban as well as rural settings, and are appropriate for single households as well as for farms and communities. “Integrated farming” and “ecological engineering” are terms sometimes used to describe “permaculture.” But, these terms do not capture the holistic nature of permaculture. Here is an insightful yet basic definition offered by Bill Mollison, “Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments.” Mollison is a researcher, author, scientist, teacher and naturalist. He is considered to be the ‘father of permaculture’, co-developed with David Holmgren, that encompasses not only agriculture, horticulture, architecture and ecology, but also economic systems, land access strategies and legal systems for businesses and communities. Permaculture principles focus on thoughtful designs for smallscale intensive systems which are labor efficient and use biological resources instead of fossil fuels. The core of permaculture is design and the working relationships between all things. Each component in a system performs multiple functions, and each function is supported by many elements. The key to efficient design is observation and replication of natural ecosystems, where designers maximize diversity with “polycultures”. Permaculture can be very practical and is not limited to plant and animal agriculture, but also includes community planning and development and the use of appropriate technologies. Since there is inherent sustainability of perennial cropping systems, permaculture places a heavy emphasis on trees. Since permaculture is not typically a production system, but rather a landuse and community planning strategy, it is not limited to a specific method of production. So permaculture principles may be adapted to farms or villages worldwide. Therefore it is site specific and can be amended to utilize locally adapted techniques of production. For example, standard organic farming and gardening techniques utilizing cover crops, green manures, crop rotation, and mulches are emphasized in permaculture systems. However, there are many other options and technologies available to sustainable farming within this framework like, no-till implements, compost turners and rotational grazing to name a few. Gardening and recycling methods common to permaculture include edible landscaping, keyhole gardening, companion planting, trellising, sheet mulching, solar greenhouses, spiral herb gardens, swales for rain water harvesting, and vermicomposting.
with Matt Runkle and Sara Kaplan, owners of Native Roots Market. While touring the grounds they took notice of nine raised beds, a rock garden and an outdoor classroom with a water feature. The inspiration for this local gardening project came from Alice Water’s book, The Edible Schoolyard. “We decided to plant a fall vegetable garden” and admittedly “didn’t really have much of a plan or really have any idea what we were doing, but we selected a Sunday in late September and invited volunteers to come out and dig in.” The first day involved pulling lots of weeds and turning the soil. “About 15 folks came out on this day to help and we planted a variety of Fall crops,” says Kaplan. We planted everything from broccoli radishes, lettuce, onions, turnips, and kale to kohlrabi and bok choy. Three of the raised beds were planted with cover crops such as winter wheat, Austrian peas and red clover in order to help improve the soil. The Ethics of Permaculture involve unique alternative farming systems that work with a set of ethics that suggest we think and act responsibly in relation to each other and the earth. These ethics provide a sense of place in the larger scheme of things. That translates into living in a way that connects us to the global community and the environment, rather than with individualism and indifference.
As part of the Norman Chamber of Commerce’s Business and Education program the Wilson Elementary Project began last Fall Thrive Oklahoma
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by Michael Dean Oklahoma Historical Society Perhaps walking has become a lost art or skill. There was a time, early in our history as a state, that walking to work or the store or school was not just commonplace, it was nearly the only form of transportation. When we think of the land runs that opened parts of Oklahoma, we think of the Hollywood depiction of those runs. Horses and wagons careening across the prairie with maybe a few people riding bicycles to find the land they wanted to claim. What’s missing from this picture in our minds are the thousands of people who walked across the prairie searching for land to claim. Indeed, photographs taken on the days of the two major land runs show hundreds of people carrying their belongings, walking in the “runs.” Before the April 22, 1889 run, about 10 to 15 people lived in what would become Oklahoma City. By the evening of the day of the run, an estimated 5,500 people had staked claims in what was now Oklahoma City. Less than a year later, the 1890 census put Oklahoma City’s population at 11,742. The next census, in 1900, showed 25,915 people living in Oklahoma City. By 1910, the city had grown to 85,232. The first homes were built next to, and across the street from, businesses in downtown. Sixth Street was a popular address in those early days. There was a very simple reason for this. People walked to work. And the work was located in downtown. You simply couldn’t ride a horse to work, and expect the horse to stand at a hitching post for 8 to 10 to 12 hours while you were at work. Typically, people walked a mile or two each way to get from home to work or school. Thus, the growth of Oklahoma City stagnated shortly after the turn of the century. This changed in 1903 with the introduction of the Metropolitan Railway Company and electric streetcars. The company was founded by Anton Classen and John Shartel. Both were lawyers who had become developers. Classen had begun building houses in additions that reached that two mile limit and needed transportation to get people from the homes he was selling to work and back. He advertised his additions as “having good car service,” meaning the streetcar company had extended lines to his additions. In 1908 an official from the Nelson Morris Company, a Chicago meat packing house, visited Oklahoma City. Attracted by the geographic location and rail connections, he told the Chamber of Commerce his company wanted 12
Thrive Oklahoma
Henry Ford began building the Model T in 1908, but many couldn’t afford the car, and through the early 1920s walking was the way of life of most residents in Oklahoma City. Ford opened an assembly plant in downtown Oklahoma City in 1917 that produced cars until 1931. And by the late 1920s, driving cars and riding the streetcars had begun to replace walking as the main mode of transportation in Oklahoma City. Our forbearers, those who arrived in the land runs and built our city up to what it is today, largely did so by walking. We should remember the past, our history, and when we take our morning or evening walks, we should pause for a moment and remember. That was how many of the early pioneers who built our city got here.
Feature Story
to build a $3 million packing plant here. That plant became the center of what became known as “Packing Town” on Oklahoma City’s southwest side. It became a second center of employment in Oklahoma City. Charles Colcord and other developers added additions in that part of the city, and workers walked from their homes to the stockyards and packing plants to work.
John Shartel
Anton H. Classen
North on Broadway Sept. 1910
Authors note: My grandfather Ed Dean was born in 1880 near Rolla, MO. At age ten, in 1890 he heard there was free land to be had and joined a wagon train bound for the Oklahoma Territory. He owned neither horse nor mule. He walked from near Rolla to the present day town of Norman. Thrive Oklahoma
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Western Avenue Restaurant Green Lights Green Services
continued from page 7
the DFG’s first attempt to move to a more eco-friendly business. McMurry admits that Deep Fork Grill tried to make the move in the past. “Going green means different things to different people. You can be Earth friendly and then there is recycling. This time we carried out the change in phases,” she explains.
Join us for MOTHER’S DAY BRUNCH
The DFG isn’t finished with its conversion yet. The final phase consists of creating a composting area on-site. McMurry says, “By composting the vegetable waste generated from the restaurant we can conserve even more.” The grounds are maintained year round with plants and shrubs. The compost turners will supply us with fresh mulch on a regular basis. The on-site composting should be arranged and operational by early summer. But you won’t see a change in customer service anytime soon. “Our waiter, Austin, was absolutely fantastic. We went with the Baked Brie that Austin recommended for both of our appetizers. For our main entree, I got the filet mignon, and my wife got the salmon. My filet was easily 10 ounces and cooked perfectly. My wife, who is from the east cost and has had plenty of sea food experience, said her salmon was probably the best she has ever had,” says Reynolds. It takes quite a bit of planning, research and the willingness of all employees to get a green movement started and fully functioning, especially in a busy restaurant like the DFG. Are styrofoam containers cheaper to provide? Yes, they are, but the right thing to do is not always the cheapest. But economies of scale can be reached in other areas to make up for higher costs in some areas. Jason Medlin visited the DFG back in March. “My friend and I decided to check out Deep Fork because we heard they had some of the best seafood in town. We started the meal with their ceviche, which I think might be the best in the city. The borsin cheese and balsamic sauce on the tenderloin dish was absolutely delicious. For our entrees, we had the sea bass, which was everything you would expect from a Seattle or New York seafood restaurant,” he says. Cut Styrofoam. Cut bottles. Cut food that’s not locally produced. Cut whatever it takes to go green. Because it won’t cut into your bottom line or force you to cut corners on food and service.
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The city with the most sidewalks probably isn’t in North America. European cities have sidewalks on top of sidewalks. We can be sure it’s not Oklahoma City. Prevention Magazine named it the least walkable city in the nation for 2008. It got OKC’s mayor, Mick Cornett, fired up. It got the City Council fired up. And they intend to do something about it. They answered Prevention Magazine’s volley with Project 180. It’s an ambitious project to remake, redevelop and reinterpret 180 Oklahoma City blocks. It involves the expansion and addition of tons of sidewalks. Bike trails and bike lanes provide another healthy, active way to get around town. “Sidewalks have become a hot topic over the past few years. Residents are asking for them, and now Oklahoma City is delivering,” says Kristi Yager, City of Oklahoma City Spokesperson.
This four-year, $152 million redesign of downtown streets, sidewalks, parks and plazas will make for more pedestrian-friendly streets and an aesthetically engaging atmosphere. In other words, it’ll be more fun and people will be able to easily walk it and bike it. Determined not to leave anybody out, the city will convert eight miles of streets, 15 miles of sidewalks, 57 intersections and 100 blocks to be ADA compliant. Over 2,000 new trees will be planted to provide shade for walkers and bikers alike. “Project 180 is one of the most ambitious downtown transformations in the country,” said project engineer Laura Story. “When it is completed, Downtown will be more visitor friendly and better poised for economic growth.” The effort doesn’t stop with sidewalk improvements. There will be overhauls to the Crystal Bridge, Myriad Botanical Gardens and other Oklahoma City landmarks. Not bad for a city of 621 sq. miles.
The only urban development project hotter than bigger sidewalks and more walking trails is bike lanes. And they’ll be there on just every street from Sheridan to 5th St. and Walker Ave. to E.K. Gaylord Blvd.
Sidewalk renovation in downtown areas has risen in importance over the last few years. These programs make downtown more attractive to new businesses. Projects like this tend to boost the local economy. They also make it easy to walk from the office to lunch and then, say, to Kinko’s. That’s more calories than you’d think.
Mayor Mick Cornett
Getting people to use sidewalks instead of cars, though, means those sidewalks have to be useful. They must lead to places that pedestrians want to go. Oklahoma City’s new sidewalks will follow major traffic arteries and link public destinations such as schools and libraries. The city plans to add some aesthetic, multi-use trails, too. In the not too distant future, trails will connect the Oklahoma River, Lake Overholser, Lake Stanley Draper and Lake Hefner. And just because they’re aesthetic doesn’t mean they’re not athletic.
Walking for fun burns roughly 250 calories per hour. The average person walks about four miles per hour. After pedestrian improvements are completed, it’ll be fairly easy to walk from one side of downtown to the other in under 20 minutes. Park on one side of downtown and walk to the other? Congratulations, you just burned 80 calories. And you’ve got to get back to the car at the end of the day. Bam -- another 80 calories. It’s not an Ironman workout but it’s nothing to sneeze at, either.
The scheduled completion date for Project 180 is 2014. So use the next couple of years getting less attached to your car. If you work downtown, you won’t need it as much. If you live in or near downtown and you’re still using your car to get around the area in three years? Google “bicycle store Oklahoma City.” Maybe they’ll let you trade in your car. Thrive Oklahoma
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Feature Story
by Paul Fairchild
Keli Clark
Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department When planning a travel agenda, there are many options to choose from and differing opinions on the best way reach your destination. For those who favor a quick arrival, flying is the preferred choice. If you’re into a slower pace, riding the rails is a relaxing way to view the scenery of the open countryside. The best part of that alternative-someone else is doing the driving.
But to get the true travel experience, there’s only one way to go. Hit the road and travel in style in a recreational vehicle; your own personal home on wheels. Sure we all enjoy sleeping in our own beds, bathing in our own showers and cooking in our personal space. What’s not to love about that? But, when traveling in your own mother-ship, you have the freedom to pick and choose where to spend the night or perhaps opt to stay longer. Fortunately for the four-wheel travel crowd, there are a variety of Oklahoma State parks to choose from and each has unique appeal. Budget-minded travelers note that our state parks are affordable and offer accommodations to fit anyone from large camping groups to families. Health-minded travelers know the benefits of an active lifestyle include being outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine.
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In the last few years, renovations and updates have been completed at several state park campgrounds including: Turkey Pass campground at Lake Thunderbird State Park near Norman, Seminole Campground at Sequoyah State Park and Grand Cherokee Campground at Grand Lake in northeastern Oklahoma; also, the Acorn and Armadillo Campgrounds at Beavers Bend State Park in southeastern Oklahoma. Upgrades include 50-amp electric pedestals, oversize parking pads, grills, picnic tables and lantern holders. In addition to campground renovations, other park improvements include accessible restroom facilities, fishing docks and courtesy docks at Foss, Fort Cobb and Great Plains in western Oklahoma and McGee Creek state parks in the southeastern region of the state.
Three parks in northwestern Oklahoma each offer varied environments for campers. At Boiling Springs State Park near Woodward there are two public campgrounds tucked away in a quiet, undisturbed setting. Each campground has sites for recreational vehicle camping. The newest and most impressive feature of this park is the updated interpretive station which showcases the natural boiling spring.
Dig your heels in the ground and plan to stay for awhile at Great Salt Plains Almost all state parks have hook-ups for State Park near Jet. The park has recreational vehicles. Most have modern recreational vehicle campsites with utility hook-ups in two campgrounds. sites with electric, sewer and water, as Digging in the muddy salt flats of the well as semi-modern sites with electric nearby Salt Plain National Wildlife and water. The parks also offer select sites which allow accessibility for visitors Refuge to find the elusive hourglasswith physical disabilities. Since the state shaped selenite crystal is a joy for young and old. The one-of-a-kind parks are located throughout Oklahoma, natural gem can only be found in this each one offers varied landscapes with a front door view of the spectacular natural area of the United States. If you’re not afraid to get really dirty, beauty our state offers. head to Little Sahara State Park near Thrive Oklahoma
Waynoka where you can play on the dunes and throw your cares, and sand, to the wind. Little Sahara has several RV campgrounds with amenities and both have entrance points to the dune riding area.
Lake Murray State Park near Ardmore is one of seven original state parks built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s. As the largest state park in the system, the 12,000-plus acre park has eight campgrounds located in the main body of the park and an additional campground with hook-ups in the ATV area.
Oklahoma Destinations
In the past, the caves and hills of Robbers Cave State Park near Wilburton were known as a hideout for outlaws. Today, with the desperados long gone, Robbers Cave offers a great escape for fun and adventure. Set in the Sans Bois Mountains, the views from the higher elevations are awesome during the early morning hours when the sun rises over the range. Campers can choose from two main campgrounds in the park to hook up your RV, or if you bring a along a four-legged friend and a saddle, the park also has an equestrian campground with utilities.
Regardless of the duration of your road trip, whether a weekend or a week long, there’s an Oklahoma State Park nearby where your home on wheels is always welcome. For more information on RV destinations or for trip planning resources, visit www.TravelOK.com.
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What Is the Fluoride Doing In Your Water by Dean Tipton
Some of us are old enough to remember when asbestos lined our pipes, lead was added to gasoline, PCBs filled our transformers and DDT was deemed so “safe and effective” that officials felt no qualms about spraying kids with it. But 1951 was a banner year for publicly promoted chemical agents. It was the year that fluoride was introduced into public water systems.
As time went on, all of the chemicals above – except fluoride – were banned. Fluoridation remains untouched. For over 50 years U.S. government officials have confidently and enthusiastically claimed that fluoridation is safe and effective. And a simple way to promote dental health.
The government regularly ignores arguments against fluoridation. It often points to other countries that fluoridate public water as examples of safety. In reality, 96 percent of the world’s population does not have fluoridated water. The remaining 4 percent of the world’s population that have fluoridated water are in America, England, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Fluoride is still thought of by the mainstream population to be a non-hazardous, helpful substance. After all, it’s a key ingredient in every brand of toothpaste available. For far too long it has been thought that the mass medication of the population by the fluoridation of drinking water is a nifty thing that the government does for its people.
Unfortunately, over 90 percent of the compound used in US fluoridation is not pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride -the compound that nearly all toxicological testing has been performed on. It’s been industrial grade hexafluorosilicic acid, which by law can’t even be dumped into the sea. However, the EPA allows it to be diluted and used in public drinking water. The union representing scientists at the EPA headquarters in Washington, DC has gone on record as opposing what essentially amounts to a bizarre form of hazardous waste management. Sodium fluoride is more toxic than lead, and almost as toxic as arsenic. The maximum contaminant level (MCL) allowed in U.S. drinking water for arsenic was 50 parts per billion (ppb), lead was 15 ppb (as of 12/92) and fluoride was recently changed to 4,000 ppb, which is equal to 4 ppm.1.2 18
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At the recommended level (1ppm), fluoride is flat out dangerous. It thins and brittles the bones and it doubles the number of hip fractures in older men and women in fluoridated communities. Increases in hip fractures are found at even ten percent of the recommended level of fluoride.
The U.S. National Cancer Institute Toxicological Program unequivocally named fluoride a carcinogen. The New Jersey Health Department did further studies and found that cases of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) increased dramatically for men 20 years old or younger in fluoridated communities.
Fluoride and your Teeth
An Oklahoma Department of Health Report recently revealed an “Alarming Prevalence of Tooth Decay among Oklahoma’s Children,” where nearly 70 percent of third graders have cavities although 75 percent drink fluoridated water.
“Sound teeth can be produced through dietary control and oral hygiene without the use of fluoride,” says Dr. J.J. Rae, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Toronto. “Good sound teeth have been and still are being developed without added dietary intake of fluorides,” adds Dr. Paul Phillips of the University of Wisconsin, an expert on both nutrition and fluoride.
Fluorine, a well-known toxin and key ingredient of fluoride, has never been proved to be an indispensable chemical element for the maintenance of a healthy body and healthy teeth. There is no disagreement about the fact that fluorine is a poison. Today the advice of most doctors is to drink lots of water. Adults should drink at least two quarts a day. That is double the amount we were advised to drink when fluoridation first started, so why hasn’t the recommended amount been lowered? Today, those who follow their doctor’s orders would be overdosing on this toxic chemical. Studies show that many children, even in un-fluoridated areas, are already getting far more than “the safe dose” in their food and beverages. Fluoride doesn’t even have nutritional value as a trace element in human nutrition, like zinc and iron. Further, the FDA states that fluoride is a drug, not a mineral nutrient. It is not necessary to get a prescription from your doctor to obtain zinc or iron. continued on page 32
hen asked to purchase from a baby shower gift list this spring chose smart healthy products. These are safer for baby and better for our environment.
1. New mom’s that can’t breast feed can select glass bottles. They’re BPA-free! 2. Powdered formula is safer for baby than premixed liquid formulas in cans
3. Always mix formula with filtered water and warm bottles in a pan of hot water not the microwave!
4. Cloth Diapers are reusable and won’t overload our landfills Healthy Baby Tips:
Pound for pound children become exposed to more contaminants in everyday products than adults do. Their immature metabolism and organ systems are typically less capable of clearing environmental chemicals. Even subtle damage to young bodies can lead to disease later in life. Here are some tips for kids:
1. Use fewer products on sensitive skin and use them less often. Living Well
2. Read the ingredients list! Even botanicals can cause irritation. 3. Buy fragrance-free products.
4. Avoid the use of powders that have talc. 5. Always avoid these ingredients: 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3 Diol BHA Boric acid and sodium borate DMDM Hydantoin Oxybenzone Triclosan
Morgan Harris, Proprietor
Green Bambino
5113 N Shartel Ave Oklahoma City 73118 405-848-2330
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by Vicki Latham, PA-C While I was loading my groceries onto the conveyor belt at the checkout stand – fruits, vegetables, nut butters, whole grain pasta – the clerk asked, “Who’s going to eat all this stuff?” “Me and my kids”, I said casually. “Your kids actually eat this stuff?” she questioned.
“They’ll eat it or they’ll starve,”, I responded emphatically. As the mother of five and grandmother of six, I’ve learned a trick or two about how to get kids to eat healthy! A major key is to start early. Breastfeeding is always best, of course. Don’t start trying to get your baby to eat solid foods until they’re ready. What does a baby need to be ready?
It should be able to sit up and demonstrate hand to mouth coordination. When it can sit up unassisted and start trying to grab the food off the table to put in its mouth, it’s time. I smashed bananas with breast milk, put a pile of it on the high chair table, added a spoon and let them have at it. Spoon, fingers, whatever. They made a mess at first.
Then I did the same thing with rice cereal, but I made my own. Whole grain brown rice cooked and ground up in the food grinder and mixed with a little breast milk. Same pile, same spoon, same mess. They quickly figured it out. Then it was time for the finger foods, starting with veggies. Cooked peas, steamed broccoli trees, whole cooked carrots, etc. These were things babies could pick up and put in their mouth but not get choked on. I rarely ever helped my kids eat. I didn’t spoon-feed them They fed themselves. Within a year, they were eating -- on a plate -- ground up versions of whatever I was serving the rest of us. I didn’t start fruits till after they had developed a taste for most veggies. I also offered a lot of diluted, freshly juiced vegetables. No eggs or dairy till after a year. No sugar till age two, and that was rare. For them, candy was raisins, dried cranberries, apples, pineapple, and mangos and never any soda pop. As they got older, and there were eventually five of them, I had very little time for cooking. So I developed the concept I called “snack lunch.” I made them a healthy breakfast. For lunch, I just put a large platter on the table around 11:45 a.m. that stayed there till 1 p.m. They could just run by grab and eat, or sit down. 20 Thrive Oklahoma
But it was basically all finger foods, made mostly of leftovers. Sometimes I would make happy faces or designs with it, just for fun. It would include raw veggies, nuts, meats cut in to bite size slices, hardboiled eggs and various cheeses. They could just choose whatever they wanted and eat as much as they wanted. I knew nothing they would eat would be a bad choice. In the afternoon, I would set out a fruit plate with mixed fruits or grapes for their afternoon snack.
Then dinner would be a complex carbohydrate, or meat and vegetables, and salads, mostly. We ate a lot of vegetarian type meals: eggplant parmesan, spinach lasagna, and lots of beans and rice. I tried to follow the proper food-combining regimen as often as I could and still provide variety and yumminess to my menu. Dessert was rare and mostly cooked fruits, berries with ice cream, etc. We had a huge apricot tree, and our favorite was apricot pie. I made healthy cookies from whole grains and honey.
I never allowed food to become a power issue. We did have the 3-bite rule. You had to eat 3 bites of everything but the kids could decide the sizes of the bites. We just didn’t have junk food in the house, so they didn’t eat it. From day one, they ate healthy foods and that was all they knew existed. Yes, there was the “grandparents bringing candy to my deprived children” issue, and the “donuts at church” issue, and the “eating at a friend’s house” issue. But they discovered they didn’t feel as well, and they didn’t have a “taste” for it, when it wasn’t their normal diet. Recently, my daughter, Dana, called to say that she was standing in line at the grocery store. “Mom, I just called to tell you something. I’m looking at my cart full of vegetables and fruits, and organic meat, and I’m looking at everyone else in line here with their carts full of white bread, soda pop, and chips, and they look so unhealthy. I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ for teaching me to eat right.” Someday your children will love you for your efforts to feed them well. I promise you. They will. Vicki Latham has been a Physician Assistant for over 18 years, and works in an integrative health practice at the Associates of Medicine Clinic, in Stillwater, Oklahoma Pictured above with children and grandchildren
by Wendy Strgar
“Good sex isn’t about just elevating your heart rate — it’s about elevating your heart.” David Schnarch
The crossroads of our genitals and our neurology turns out to be a super highway. One of the most powerful transformers in the new science of brain rewiring occurs during deep intimate connection. As some of the mystery of sexual intimacy is revealed through the emerging science of neurobiology, we’re starting to understand how we are shaped and re-shaped by the people we love and who love us back. The brain actually rewires itself as we open wide to physical love within a committed relationship.
Enjoying intimate connection in a committed partnership – as opposed to a one-night stand – is an important distinction because the intimacy we share with someone who loves and is committed to us is qualitatively different from casual sexual encounters. I recently heard my 18-year-old son tell his brother, “Don’t bother with hook ups; it is way more chill to have a girlfriend who really cares about you.” I was gratified that he can already sense how committed relationships change your life compared with the easy hook-up.
your selves and then into each other’s arms. This holding period is challenging, given that the average hug lasts 5 seconds. Many of us never really learned to relax in a hug. Learning to relax fully in the arms of someone else, even someone you have been intimate with, requires a new level of trust in yourself. Knowing that you can really open up and not lose yourself in a sustained hug triggers your brain to think differently. It creates what Schnarch refers to as a “somatosensory” moment of meeting, which means that we meet each other deeply with our whole body. Even more daring and profoundly erotic is the exercise of “open eyes sex.” Although historical and spiritual references have long described the practice of looking deeply in to the eyes of the beloved during intimacy, a whopping eighty percent of people do not look at their partners or insist on having sex in the dark. This is an amazingly powerful tool of seeing into someone at a point when you are most deeply connected with them, but also clearly differentiated from each other. I remember the first time I practiced this technique and was stunned not only by witnessing my husband in a way that I had never known him, but more deeply by realizing how far apart I kept myself from him during our most intimate moments. It is a practice that changes everything and, now it turns out, the change remolds your brain wiring.
Living Well
In fact our personal relationships are the most gentle and profound mechanism of growth throughout our adult life. As we mature in our relationships, we move toward the process of differentiation, where each partner develops more of themselves and stops looking to the relationship to validate them. Allowing ourselves to be different from our partners fosters passion and intimacy. By learning to effectively hold onto ourselves in our relationship, we circumvent the classic responses of men sacrificing their relationships to a sense of self and women sacrificing themselves to their relationships. Building a relationship that has room for both people to be themselves is by definition flexible and resilient. It is also fertile soil for transformative intimacy. David Schnarch, best-selling author of Passionate Marriage and most recently, Intimacy and Desire, believes that doing the important work of becoming separate individuals actually allows you to enjoy some of the best sex of your lives. By not needing to agree or get the approval of your partner, you are free to explore and express yourself deeply and authentically, perhaps the biggest turn-on when it comes to tapping the sexual potential of the relationship. A powerful technique that Schnarch teaches to tap this potential is called “Hugging Until Relaxed.” The practice is deceptively simple, yet remarkably transformative. Both partners stand on their own two feet and hold each other for at least ten minutes; more if necessary, until you are both completely relaxed into Thrive Oklahoma
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The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) suggest that women conduct a breast self-exam once a month in order to detect changes that could lead to breast cancer. It is one of the best preventative things you can do for your health. Finding and treating breast cancer early can save your life. When breast cancer is detected in its early stages, your chances for surviving the disease are greatly improved.
Medical organizations don’t all agree on the recommendation for breast self-exams, which is an option starting as early as women in their 20s. Your doctor should discuss the benefits and limitations of breast self-exam with you. By doing a monthly breast selfexam, you will learn how your breasts feel. This helps you detect any changes or signs of a problem much earlier. The breast self-exam is a way that you can check your breasts for changes (such as lumps or thickenings). It includes looking at and feeling your breast. Any unusual changes should be reported to your doctor. If you choose to do self-breast exam, follow the steps described below.
In the mirror:
Stand undressed from the waist up in front of a large mirror in a well-lit room. Look at your breasts. Don’t be alarmed if they do not look equal in size or shape. Most women’s breasts aren’t. With your arms relaxed by your sides, look for any changes in size, shape, or position, or any changes to the skin of the breasts. Look for any skin puckering, dimpling, sores, or discoloration. Inspect your nipples and look for any sores, peeling, or change in the direction of the nipples. Next, place your hands on your hips and press down firmly to tighten the chest muscles beneath your breasts. Turn from side to side so you can inspect the outer part of your breasts. Then bend forward toward the mirror. Roll your shoulders and elbows forward to tighten your chest muscles. Your breasts will fall forward. Look for any changes in the shape or contour of your breasts.
Now, clasp your hands behind your head and press your hands forward. Again, turn from side to side to inspect your breasts’ outer portions. Remember to inspect the border underneath your breasts. You may need to lift your breasts with your hand to see this area. Be sure and check your nipples for discharge (fluid) as well.
In the shower:
It is helpful to have your hands slippery with soap in order to feel for changes in the breast. Check for any lumps or thickening in 22
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your underarm area. Place your left hand on your hip and reach with your right hand to feel in the left armpit. Repeat on the other side. Check both sides for lumps or thickenings above and below your collarbone.
With hands soapy, raise one arm behind your head to spread out the breast tissue. Use the flat part of your fingers from the other hand to press gently into the breast. Follow an up-and-down pattern along the breast, moving from bra line to collarbone. Continue the pattern until you have covered the entire breast. Repeat on the other side.
Lying down:
While lying down, place your right hand behind your head. Place your left hand on the upper portion of your right breast with fingers together and flat. Body lotion may help to make this part of the exam easier. Think of your breast as a face on a clock. Start at
12 o’clock and move toward 1 o’clock in small circular motions. Continue around the entire circle until you reach 12 o’clock again. Keep your fingers flat and in constant contact with your breast. When the circle is complete, move in one inch toward the nipple and complete another circle around the clock. Continue in this pattern until you’ve felt the entire breast. Make sure to feel the upper outer areas that extend into your armpit.
Place your fingers flat and directly on top of your nipple. Feel beneath the nipple for any changes. Gently press your nipple inward. It should move easily. Cancerous tumors are more likely to be found in certain parts of the breast rather than other parts. If you divide the breast into 4 sections, the approximate percentage of breast cancers found in each area are listed below (see diagram). Almost half occur in the upper outer quadrant of the breast, towards the armpit. Some physicians refer to this region as the “tail” of the breast and encourage women to examine it closely. See your health care provider if you discover any new breast changes. • 14% upper, inner quadrant (1) • 5% lower, inner quadrant (2) • 6% lower, outer quadrant (3) Living Well
• 41% upper, outer quadrant including the tail region (4 and 5) • 34% in the area behind the nipple
Conditions that should be checked by a doctor include areas that are distinctly different from any other area on the breast. A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm that persists through the menstrual cycle. • A change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast. • A mass or lump, which may feel as small as a pea. • A marble-like area under the skin. • A change in the feel or appearance of the skin on the breast or nipple (dimpled, puckered, scaly, or inflamed). • Bloody or clear fluid discharge from the nipples. • Redness of the skin on the breast or nipple.
The doctor will examine the breasts once a year, but do your own breast self-exams once a month. All women should do this exam once a month. This includes women who have gone through menopause, are pregnant or breast-feeding or have breast implants. Thrive Oklahoma
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More than 425 Oklahomans from as close as Edmond to as far away as Anadarko received health and wellness tips and screenings at The OKC Health and Wellness Group, Ltd. Health Fair. The non-profit group’s mission is to bring wellness information to the public in a fun and interactive way, offering something for the entire family. For the second time in a row, The City of Edmond’s Downtown Community hosted the event that brought health professionals from across the state together for a little tasting, some free screenings, and the latest in health and wellness research. Expert speakers addressed standing room only crowds discussing Achievable Weight Loss by Stillwater Physician’s Assistant Vicki Latham, Relaxation for Pain Management by Dr. Gene Hawkins, Cardiovascular Vascular Fitness presented by Flourish pharmacy’s Keith Bishop and Nutrition for Health and Fitness given by local expert and radio talk show host Dr. Mary Schrick. The event, produced four times a year focuses on the mind, the body, and the wellness with some of life’s most nagging issues like migraines, sore joints, and memory loss:
EXERCISE Erin Duey may have had one of the most active exhibits at the Expo. The Vibraciser gives people the equivalent of an hour’s workout in just 15 minutes. Duey describes them as “incredible machines.” Regular Vibracising builds and tones muscle, firms up skin, aids in the detoxification process and increases circulation. “People had great questions about Vibracizing and health. So many tried out the Vibracizer and loved it! I always appreciate the opportunity to get out there and talk with the people who are truly interested in their health and who are looking for alternatives to western medicine. The Health Expos provide that in abundance.” The Obvious Group offered many different modalities of integrated exercise, Pilates, lifestyle coaching, nutritional counseling and yoga. Vic24
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tor Holder, founder of this non-profit organization, implements a core philosophy based on the notion that true wellness isn’t just the absence of disease, but the essence of a mindful way of living that involves wholesome choices and healthful practices that enhance the quality life. Stretching is for everyone, whether you are an athlete, a busy corporate person who sits a lot or just feel old and achy. Stretch-U owner and founder Nick Milla tapped into the need to get muscles loose with his new business in Nichols Hills. This type of body work takes less time than a massage and can be done on your lunch break. “Stretch body work will reduce muscle tension, increase your range of motion, helps with coordination and makes you feel good,” says Milla.
NUTRITION One of the most revered whole food sources of nutrition available from the crushed leaves of the Moringa oleifera tree were a key feature. The Full Circle Health Clinic in Edmond brought out doctors Maher and Santos to answer questions about this amazing whole food source that’s relatively new to the Western world. The “Moringa” tree is grown mainly in semi-arid, tropical, and subtropical regions. Every part of this plant offers some nutritional benefit and has a variety of potential uses. This tree has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development, and support sustainable land management in its native regions. Gina Freels consults for Zija, which has also done extensive research and development on the Moringa oleifera plant. Zija drink packs offer significant quantities of vitamins A, B and C, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and protein. Debora Vicente of Advocare, offered up a spark with its energy drink marketed to athletes appropriately called Spark. While Vicki Latham, a physician’s assistant from Stillwater provided samples of Waiora’s Cha’va chocolate. Cha’va is an organic 70% dark chocolate infused with antioxidants and natural zeolite to help detoxify
the body. The ingredients of chocolate are also believed to boost memory. SCREENINGS Deaconess offered free Body Mass Index (BMI) testing to visitors. And Dave Mason, D.Ph., owner of Innovative Pharmacy in Edmond made available the Dexa scan bone density screening station for free to all attendees. Several chiropractic offices provided interactive services during the all day event. Dr. Alvin J. Philipose of Trinity Spine and Neurology Clinic stayed busy all day administering free vitamin B-12 shots to attendees. The shots provided an extra bit of energy for attendees to visit the some 40 booths offering health and wellness advice, samples and information.
Dr. Megan January of January Chiropractic and Acupuncture was available along with Dr. Harmony White of Harmony Chiropractic, both offices are located in Edmond. “I really enjoyed visiting with the other vendors and seeing the wide diversity of services and products that were available,” says January. Living Well
The Oklahoma Sports and Orthopedics Institute (OSOI) had Dr. Scott Waugh and Jane-Ann Stinchcomb on hand to give attendees the skinny on treatments for musculoskeletal injuries often caused by sports. “It was really a great opportunity to let the people of Edmond and surrounding areas know about our services,” said Ms. Stinchcomb.
Doug Sloan of Spectracell Labs taught visitors how a patient’s cellular age could be determined by looking at the length of telomeres, particular parts of genetic material at the ends of chromosomes. “I enjoyed the positive interaction not only with the people that stopped by my table, but also the interaction with other healthcare providers at the show. It was good to see so many people taking the time and energy to look at different ways to improve health,” says Sloan.
The 2011 Expo season concludes with the Women’s Health and Breast Cancer Awareness Fair scheduled for October 1, 2011. “We are so excited about the Fall Fair. Attendees can wear pink and honor those who have been touched by Breast Cancer either directly or indirectly,” says Oklahoma Health and Wellness Group Founder and Thrive Oklahoma magazine’s publisher Angela Collymore-Slovak, PhD. “We look forward to more cutting edge information and displays, plus new expert speakers on health and wellness during pregnancy and through the early childhood years at home and much more.”
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Cardiovascular Health for Men and Women Everybody’s dealt with inflammation at one time or another. It’s the body’s natural response to an injury or chronic infection. It’s a protective attempt by the organism to fight the injury and kick off the healing process. It’s the process by which the body’s white blood cells and chemicals protect us from infection and foreign substances such as bacteria and viruses. Without inflammation, wounds and infections would never heal. It’s necessary. But scientists recently linked inflammation with the build up of fatty deposits in the arteries. In a nutshell, our body’s own healing mechanism may be leading us closer to heart attacks.
Risk factors like cigarette smoking, hypertension, and hyperglycemia stimulate the body to release toxins that in turn cause the activation of cells involved in the inflammatory process. These events are thought to contribute not only to the formation of plaques in the arteries (atherosclerosis) but may also contribute to the formation of blood clots. So, low-grade or chronic inflammation presents the body with substances involved in the early formation of plaques within blood vessel walls (atherogenesis).This process is kicked off by substances involved in the inflammatory response as well as by the cells characteristic to inflammation.
The notion that chronic infection can lead to unsuspected disease isn’t foreign to most doctors. There is evidence that indicates an infection — possibly one caused by a bacteria or a virus — might contribute to or even cause arterial plaque build-up. The infectious bacteria Chlamydia pneumonia, has been shown to have a significant association to atherosclerotic plaque. The same goes for the herpes simplex virus.
Risk Factors and Coronary Heart Disease AHA Scientific Position
Extensive clinical and statistical studies have identified several factors that increase the risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack. Major risk factors are those that research has shown significantly increase the risk of heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease. Other factors are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but their significance and prevalence haven’t yet been precisely determined. They’re called contributing risk factors. The American Heart Association has identified several risk factors. Some of them can be modified, treated or controlled, and some can’t. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing coronary heart disease. Also, the greater the level of each risk factor, the greater the risk. For example, a person with total cholesterol of 300 mg/dL has a greater risk than someone with a total cholesterol of 245 mg/dL, even though everyone with a total cholesterol greater than 240 is considered high-risk. 26
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What are the major risk factors that can’t be changed?
Increasing age — Over 83 percent of people who die of coronary heart disease are 65 or older. At older ages, women who have heart attacks are more likely than men are to die from them within a few weeks. Gender — Men have a greater risk of heart attack than women do, and they have attacks earlier in life. Even after menopause, when women’s death rate from heart disease increases, it’s not as great as men’s.
Heredity (including Race) — Children of parents with heart disease are more likely to develop it themselves. African Americans generally have more severe high blood pressure than Caucasians and a higher risk of heart disease. Heart disease risk is also higher among Mexican Americans, American Indians, native Hawaiians and some Asian Americans. This is partly due to higher rates of obesity and diabetes. Most people with a strong family history of heart disease have one or more other risk factors. Just as you can’t control your age, sex and race, you can’t control your family history. Therefore, it’s even more important to treat and control any other risk factors you have. The good news is that there are major risk factors you can modify, treat or control by changing your lifestyle or taking the proper medication. Some of the major risk factors are described here.
Tobacco Smoke — Smokers’ risk of developing coronary heart disease is 2–4 times that of nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking is a powerful independent risk factor for sudden cardiac death in patients with coronary heart disease; smokers have about twice the risk of nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking also acts with other risk factors to greatly increase the risk for coronary heart disease. People who smoke cigars or pipes seem to have a higher risk of death from coronary heart disease (and possibly stroke) but their risk isn’t as great as cigarette smokers’. Exposure to other people’s smoke increases the risk of heart disease even for nonsmokers.
High Blood Cholesterol — As blood cholesterol rises, so does risk of coronary heart disease. When other risk factors (such as high blood pressure and tobacco smoke) are present, this risk increases even more. A person’s cholesterol level is also affected by age, sex, heredity and diet. High Blood Pressure — High blood pressure increases the heart’s workload, causing the heart to thicken and become stiffer. It also increases your risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure and congestive heart failure. When high blood pressure exists with obesity, smoking, high blood cholesterol levels or diabetes, the risk of heart attack or stroke increases several times.
Physical Inactivity — An inactive lifestyle is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Regular, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity helps prevent heart and blood vessel disease. The more vigorous the activity, the greater the benefits. However, even moderate-intensity activities help if done regularly and long term. Physical activity can help control blood cholesterol, diabetes and obesity, as well as help lower blood pressure in some people. Obesity and Overweight — People who have excess body fat — especially if a lot of it is at the waist — are more likely to develop heart disease and stroke even if they have no other risk factors. Excess weight increases the heart’s work. It also raises blood pressure, blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and lowers HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels. It can also make diabetes more likely to develop. Many obese and overweight people may have difficulty losing weight. But by losing even as few as 10 pounds, you can lower your heart disease risk.
Diabetes Mellitus — Diabetes seriously increases your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Even when glucose (blood sugar) levels are under control, diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, but the risks are even greater if blood sugar is not well controlled. About three-quarters of people with diabetes die of some form of heart or blood vessel disease. If you have diabetes, it’s extremely important to work with your healthcare provider to manage it and control any other risk factors you can.
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An individual’s response to stress may be a contributing factor, as well. Some scientists have made correlations between coronary heart disease risk and stress in a person’s life, their health behaviors and their socioeconomic status. These factors may affect established risk factors. For example, people under stress may overeat, start smoking or smoke more than they otherwise would.
Also, the risk of heart disease in people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol (an average of one drink for women or two drinks for men per day) is lower than in nondrinkers. One drink is defined as 1-1/2 fluid ounces (fl oz) of 80-proof spirits, 1 fl oz of 100-proof spirits, 4 fl oz of wine or 12 fl oz of beer. It’s not recommended that nondrinkers start using alcohol or that drinkers increase the amount they drink.
For more information contact the American Heart Association 7272 Greenville Ave.Dallas, TX 75231 Customer Service • 1-800-AHA-USA-1 Thrive Oklahoma
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Heart Q&A:
by Paul Fairchild
Dr. Royce Bargas, cardiac electrophysiologist, works out of Midwest Regional Medical Center in Midwest City. If it’s electric and has something to with hearts, she probably invented it. Or at least has the owner’s manual memorized. Her area of specialty is the diagnosis and treatment of abnormal heart rhythms. Thrive: Where do you do the things you do?
RB: I work for Midwest Physicians Group, which is based out of Midwest Regional Hospital in Midwest City. Thrive: You’re a cardiologist, yes? RB: Yep. I’m actually a cardiac electrophysiologist, so I’m a specialized cardiologist that deals with abnormal heart rhythms and implantation and management of cardiac devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators. Thrive: “Abnormal heart rhythms” sounds pretty broad. Let’s try this. On any given day, what kind of patient is going to walk into your office? RB: I do some general cardiology and then I also see arrhythmia patients... patients whose heart rates are too slow and need pacemakers. Or people that already have pacemakers implanted by other physicians that need somebody to help them manage their device. And then people who have abnormally fast heart rhythms, whether they’re from the top chamber or the bottom chamber [of the heart]. I do procedures on them where I map the electrical system of the heart, basically by putting catheters through the groin or the neck into the heart. Then I burn areas of the conduction system or abnormal areas of conduction, like within a scar from a prior myocardial infarction. There are lots of things that cause abnormal heart rhythms. People come to me because they need a special device implanted to help them with abnormal heart rhythms. Thrive: Other than key symptoms, it doesn’t sound to me like there’s really a common denominator in your patients. Your patients seem to come from all walks of life. RB: Absolutely. In fact, I see some of the younger patients in cardiology because a lot of younger patients have issues with palpitations. Abnormal heart rhythms that come from the top chamber [of the heart] often manifest early in life. For this crowd, their diagnoses of heart issues actually have nothing to do with coronary artery disease which is the most common cardiac diagnosis and the most common cause of death in men and women. It’s more common for younger people to have abnormal heart rhythms than coronary disease. But I also see the older patients, as well, because they’re the ones who have had heart attacks, suffered with cardiomyopathy and are at risk for abnormal heart rhythms. Typically, the older patients are the people who get defibrillators and resynchronization therapy devices that I use to treat 28
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heart failure. So I have a huge, broad spectrum of patients from very young to very old.
Thrive: Let’s change the topic for a bit. What’s the largest cause of coronary disease in America?
RB: That’s a tough one because there are many risk factors. I would say the biggest risk factor is smoking. It’s a huge risk factor. Other risk factors are family history. Early coronary disease is another - men in their thirties, women in their forties or younger. High cholesterol. High blood pressure. Diabetes. That’s a very big one because some people go through life with undiagnosed diabetes for a period of time. And diabetes can be challenging to adequately control. It’s a huge risk factor for a multitude of organ dysfunctions - eyes, kidney, heart and so on. Stroke is another one. Those are the big risk factors, but by far the biggest preventable risk factor is definitely tobacco use. Thrive: OK. This kills me. It’s 2011. We’ve been drilling it into people’s heads for at least two decades that smoking is bad for health.
RB: Not smoking is the best thing you can do for your heart. For your whole health, really. Smoking leads to strokes, dozens of cancers, heart attacks. They’re all direct factors from smoking. Thrive: You didn’t mention poor diet in your list of risk factors.
RB: Well, it’s not really a risk factor. If you have high cholesterol you need to manage that with diet and medication, because a lot of high cholesterol is genetic and can’t be controlled with diet alone. So diet and lipid-lowering medications help a lot. Long standing high cholesterol going untreated certainly causes coronary disease and heart attacks. In the absence of high cholesterol there aren’t really dietary factors that we know of at this time that play into coronary disease. And then there’s diabetes. Obviously, if you have diabetes, it’s even more important than high cholesterol to manage your diet and manage your blood sugar. So diet can be hugely important if you have a diagnosis of diabetes. But again, in the absence of diabetes, there’s not really dietary restrictions or dietary modifications that we recommend for the prevention of heart disease. But of course we recommend a heart-healthy diet and cardiovascular exercise to everybody. But really there’s no “if you eat this one thing all the time you’re going to get coronary disease.” Thrive: Are you sure? It might be Twinkies. RB: Well, I wouldn’t recommend eating them exclusively.
Thrive: Men’s Health Month is coming up in June. Got any advice for the guys? Is there anything special about what you do that’s gender specific?
RB: From an electrical specialty standpoint, there are just as many women that need me as men. And then, from a cardiovascular disease standpoint, I’m an Ambassador for the Circle of Red with the American Heart Association. I’m a huge proponent of awareness of cardiovascular disease in women. I think that for generations men have gotten all the publicity on the heart health front. Heart disease in women has largely been ignored for a long time even
though it’s the number one killer in women, as well as men. More men smoke than women, but women are rapidly catching up. Thrive: I really wasn’t aware of that statistic.
RB: Yep. Women are smoking more per capita. There are definitely more women smokers now than there were ten years ago, twenty years ago, thirty years ago. The population of women smokers is increasing and the percentage of women who smoke is increasing. But women do have the protective benefits of estrogen, although I have to be careful when I say that because estrogen replacement therapy doesn’t prevent coronary disease. But women have their cardiac incidents later on in life because of the influence that estrogen has on their bodies. So generally, men get coronary disease earlier than women. Thrive: More women smokers now than back in the day?
Living Well
RB: It’s unfortunate because it seems like there are all these antismoking campaigns everywhere. Every city in the country has become non-smoking in public places. But tobacco companies still target young people. Where, a few decades ago it wasn’t really socially acceptable for a woman to smoke, now it’s no worse for a woman to smoke than a man to smoke. So we’re just catching up with the male population of smokers as a percentage of women who smoke in comparison to historical data.
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By Brian Calvin
With all the buzz about the importance of exercise, I think most people understand that they need to exercise to be healthy. But for most people it is still a mystery what exercises they should do. Well, the answer may be simpler than you thought. Like most things in life, we need a balance. Balanced exercise includes both cardiovascular training, where your heart rate is increased to a target training level and strengthens the most important muscle in your body, your heart; and weight/resistance training, where you strengthen all the skeletal muscles in your body.
• Reduce risk of heart disease, still America’s number one killer • Stabilize blood sugar (a key to preventing or controlling Type 2 Diabetes) • Lessen risk of some types of cancer • Lower blood pressure • Reduce cholesterol levels • Increase bone density • Weight loss through metabolically active muscle cells burning fat • More energy • Improved appearance
No doubt you have heard of the benefits of cardio exercises like jogging, walking, swimming, and bike riding; but you may not be as familiar with the benefits of weight resistance exercise. You may even think that lifting weights is just for serious body builders. However, medical research is continually discovering more and more benefits That’s just a partial list of the benefits. The key to achievfrom weight resistance training for everyone. That’s right, everyone; ing these benefits is metabolism. The active metabolic tissue men, women, young, old, large, small, overweight, petite, everyone. in our bodies is in our muscles. Weight resistance exercise involving all the skeletal muscles in the body maximizes the So what are the benefits of weight resistance exercise? Well, there body’s ability to burn fat and produce energy. In fact, weight are many, but among them are the following: resistance exercise does this more effectively than cardio exercise does. Even when resting or sleeping, healthy, toned muscle tissue is very active and requires up to 45 calories per pound per day. Think of that. If you have toned muscles, you will be burning fat, even when you are asleep! On the other hand, when you are not maintaining or increasing muscle tissue, then you are losing it (muscle atrophy). That results in a reduction of your metabolic rate. With less muscle, your body requires lower energy, and food that should be used as energy is stored as fat. You store more fat and burn less, adding to your risks of disease. The reasons for engaging in a balanced program of cardiovascular and weight resistance exercises are compelling. After all, what is more important than your health? In fact, it is too important to leave the outcomes to chance. Before starting any exercise program be sure to talk to your doctor and get a physical if you haven’t had one recently. Then seek the help of a fitness professional, a qualified personal trainer, who will develop a program that is specifically designed for you, your current fitness level and your goals. You will be on your way to realizing the benefits of an active, healthy life.
Park Harvey Athletic Club 200 N. Harvey Ave., Suite 120 Oklahoma City, OK. 73102 info@parkharveyac.com www.parkharveyac.com 30
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A Natural Choice for Regenerative Joint Therapy By Dr. A.J. Philipose
You’ve probably never heard of it. But it’s been used to treat pain and injuries for over sixty years. Studies of pain patients show that up to 85 percent of them receive good to excellent results in pain relief and improved function when they use it. It’s regenerative join therapy, a safe, non-surgical treatment for chronic pain that uses injections to stimulate and boost the body’s natural healing process.
Pain medicines typically only mask symptoms and not all injuries heal completely with rest and medication. The use of pain medications can be greatly reduced or even eliminated following prolotherapy treatment. And because many pain medications can be costly and carry with them potentially serious side effects, it wouldn’t hurt to find out if prolotherapy is an option. Other treatments are often tried. One method often relied upon is flexibility and strengthening programs. A physical therapist can provide therapeutic treatments, teach these exercises to the individual and provide the education needed to allow the patient to continue therapy at home. Manual therapy is yet another type of treatment alternative to pain medicines. This type of program requires the therapist to use their hands to break up or release adhesions, muscle spasms and restricted connective tissue.
• Weak and unstable joints (subluxations) • Athletic injuries (both new and old)
When injuries to the connective tissues, which include ligaments, tendons and muscles, occur, the area may not heal completely due to poor blood flow to these tissues. For this reason ligaments heal very slowly. When untreated, these damaged ligaments become loose, allowing bones at the joint to swing out of alignment, which results in pain, muscle spasms and eventually arthritis. The injection used for regenerative joint therapy, or prolotherapy, is a simple sterile solution of dextrose (sugar), amino acids and a local anesthetic (lidocaine). There is absolutely no use of cortisone, which is a steroid and will act to slow the healing process by suppressing the immune system. continued on page 42
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There is a lot of science sitting behind prolotherapy, but the overall concept is pretty easy to grasp. It’s an alternative therapy for treating musculoskeletal pain by injecting an irritant substance (usually dextrose) into a ligament or tendon to promote the growth of new tissue. In other words, it’s the introduction of a harmless substance into a wound that tricks the body into healing itself more rapidly and thoroughly.
Prolotherapy works on a simple principle that triggers the body’s own healing mechanisms to repair and rebuild injured tissues to become stronger, more supportive and less painful than before treatment. Patients with these types of injuries may benefit from prolotherapy: • Whiplash injury to the neck, shoulders, upper back and low back • Tension and migraine headaches • TMJ Syndrome • Low back pain from lifting • Postural strains to the neck and back • Overuse injuries including tennis elbow, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, shoulder/Achilles tendonitis • Fibromyalgia and Myofascial pain • Sacroiliac joint disorders • Arthritis • Herniated and Degenerative Disc disorders • Pinched nerves and Sciatica
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Flouride in Your Water Continued from page 18
“Fluoride decreases the function of the thyroid gland by 30 to 40 percent and this is one of the most important glands in the body. Research has demonstrated clearly an antagonism between iodine and fluorine. We also showed, in another experiment, that the calcium metabolism is greatly affected by fluorine. Since the bones pick up 30 percent less calcium in the presence of fluorine, the danger of osteoporosis in a growing organism is very great.� states Dr. T. Gordonoff, Professor of Pharmacology, Bern, Switzerland.
In a society where products containing asbestos, lead, beryllium and many other carcinogens have been recalled from the marketplace, it is surprising that fluoride is embraced so thoroughly without question. It seems absurd that we pay the chemical industry to dispose of its toxic waste by adding it to our water supply. 1. R. E. Gosselin et al, Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products. 5th ed., 1984. 2. EPA/NSF Standard 60, U.S. EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels , July 1987.
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Too Tired to Lose Weight? Do you feel tired all the time? Find it difficult to muster the energy to just get through your busy day? Are you often too exhausted to work out?
You are not alone. Fatigue is a common complaint and the fact is when you feel exhausted, it can be difficult to keep your weight loss and overall health goals on track. Sometimes your low energy may be caused by what you eat or don’t eat throughout the day, but it may also be the result of an underlying health issue. Discovering the cause of your fatigue is critical.
Health Issues that Impact Fatigue
Eating for Energy
• Low Testosterone Testosterone levels decline gradually and slowly after about age 40. Low testosterone can affect a man’s health in a number of ways, including fatigue. Men with symptoms of low testosterone will usually benefit from testosterone replacement therapy using a daily skin gel, patches worn on the skin, orally disintegrating tablets or injections.
• Missing Vitamins and Nutrients A deficiency of a key vitamin or mineral, most commonly vitamin D, B-12 or iron, can decrease energy. A simple blood test can determine if you suffer from a deficiency of any of these and whether taking supplements is warranted to correct the problem. Eating a variety of foods, especially fruits, vegetables and sources of protein will also help make sure your body’s daily nutritional needs are met. • Sugar Some turn to sugar or carbohydrates for a quick energy boost, but that quick spike is typically followed by a rapid drop in blood sugar levels and a corresponding dive in energy.
• Hypothyroidism Fatigue is one of the early symptoms of hypothyroid- ism, which occurs when the thyroid fails to produce sufficient thyroid hormone. Fortunately, a simple blood test can help diagnose hypothyroidism. At Draelos, we are proud to offer same-day thyroid testing for rapid evaluation. With appropriate treatment thyroid hormone levels can be restored to a normal range.
• Uncontrolled Blood Sugar Continually elevated blood sugars keep glucose from getting into the cells where energy is produced, • Large Meals or Snacks Digesting food takes energy. So when you eat a large meal which can lead to significant fatigue. That’s why our or snack your body will redirect the energy you may need specialists work with each patient to end the roller coaster of fluctuating blood sugar values, especially for everyday activities to take care of its basic functions like digestion. The best bet is to eat small frequent meals in patients living with diabetes. and snacks made up of moderate portions of high protein If you find yourself often feeling fatigued, a thorough foods and small portions of high fiber, minimally- medical evaluation is essential. It can help isolate those processed carbohydrate food choices. issues that may be impacting your energy, • Excessive Caffeine your weight and your overall health. Caffeine is a stimulant that provides a short-term energy boost, followed by a crash in energy similar to that related to consuming high-sugar foods. It’s also a diuretic, rob- By: Karon Potter, R.D., L.D. bing your body of essential hydration. So if you consume A registered and licensed dietitian at caffeine, do so in moderation and be sure to also consume Draelos Metabolic Center in Edmond plenty of decaffeinated fluids each day. Thrive Oklahoma
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Living Well
What you eat or don’t eat throughout the day can have a significant impact on your energy level and many people hang onto energy draining diet habits. Here are some of the most common:
Persistent fatigue also can be the result of an underlying health issue. At Draelos Metabolic Center, we specialize in evaluating medical conditions that can rob you of your vitality. Here’s a quick look at some more common energy-stealing health issues:
The Art of Acupuncture By Stan Marker
There are many styles of Oriental Medicine. There are also many schools of thought dating back thousands of years, including the Yin Yang School and the Five Element School, Toaist and others. In the late forties, after the communist revolution, Mao sought to distill the essence of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) into broad practice throughout the country. This system is now recognized worldwide as TCM.
The TCM standard practice is to determine the status of the individual based on the balance of vital aspects of the body including qi, blood, fluids, organs and emotions. Illness is seen as an imbalance of the desired state of harmony (yinyang), and the nature of this imbalance, known as a Pattern of Imbalance is sought out. The method used to seek this conclusion is called Pattern Discrimination. Pattern Discrimination is determined through a method known as The Four Examinations
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicinal treatment method that utilizes the placement of tiny needles into specific locations on the body known as points. These points are generally aligned on energy
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pathways known as Meridians. The purpose of Chinese medicinal treatment is to either resolve the blockage of energy or to empower the movement of energy, known as “Chi.” Touch, heat, light, electrical stimulation and suction are also used to help restore systemic balance. Acupuncture and its many varied applications have been used for thousands of years and are now used throughout the world. Scientific research has found the treatment to be effective, although the mechanism by which it achieves its results is not fully understood. The experience of acupuncture is generally painless, though the patient may feel an initial or intermittent discomfort and a sensation of energy moving through the body known as “De Chi” begins to flow. Conditions commonly treated successfully with acupuncture are acute and chronic pain, traumatic injury, weakness and fatigue, digestive complaints, allergy and respiratory weakness, and all genitourinary concerns, particularly leaky urine and infertility. Results are usually achieved in a single treatment, but a series of treatments is often recommended.
Timothy L. Trujillo is on a mission to reduce suffering worldwide by combining ancient healing practices with modern medicine. A master of the healing art of hypnosis, he developed simple but comprehensive treatment strategies for people suffering with HIV/AIDS. He has adapted these methods to help individuals manage all immune system disorders. Highly regarded for his work in the field of hypnotherapy, he teaches his techniques at schools around the world, including Los Angeles’ Hypnosis Motivation Institute Online Education Program.
To fulfill his mission, Timothy founded First Medicines, an international outreach project first established in Los Angeles, but now headquartered in Oklahoma City. First Medicines is the outreach partner of Oklahoma Healing Arts Institute, where Trujillo will soon offer extensive hypnotherapy training.
As a pain management specialist, Timothy is also a popular trainer of childbirth doulas in Los Angeles, helping them to facilitate labor and delivery with Childbirth Hypnosis. He also employs the energy treatment combination of Reiki, Aromatherapy, and live flute music to help provide comfort for those affected by illness, injury, or traumatic distress.
These methods have been used not just in hospitals, but in disaster zones as well. Timothy led First Medicines outreach teams in South India after the Asian tsunami and in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. His work abroad has also taken him to Guatemala for an HIV/AIDS survey and to the United Nations in Geneva, where he conducted needs assessment interviews with indigenous leaders from around the world. He is currently developing an outreach project to Egypt and other Arab states.
From these field experiences, he developed the Five Minute Miracle Treatment, a brief hands-on, guided relaxation intervention. This simple method delivers palpable results for people suffering from many types of stressors: everyday worries, anxiousness and discomfort, illness, trauma, even natural disasters. This “disaster relief for everyday life” treatment helps people resolve distress through release and reassurance, which promotes recovery. First Medicines provides free Five Minute Miracle Treatments at many public venues, such as health fairs and expos where affected individuals may access its benefits. Timothy is providing the same free treatments throughout the month of May at Oklahoma Healing Arts Institute. Learn more about First Medicines and The Five Minute Miracle at firstmedicines.org, where you can benefit from the recording directly and view a video on how to perform the treatment. Learn more about Oklahoma Healing Arts Institute at www.okhealingarts.com or call 405.524.4000. To learn more about Timothy Trujillo visit www.timothytrujillo.com or call 888.392.9663.
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The American Diet and Chronic Disease by Harold H. Fain, MD, MPH
Genetics vs. lifestyle. It’s the oldest argument in the science book. It comes into play for many illnesses, including some of the most dangerous, such as heart disease. However, I want to point out that in most cases it is lifestyle that determines the chronic diseases we avoid or earn. As one saying goes, “Genetics loads the gun but lifestyle pulls the trigger.”
Research by Dr. Dean Ornish of the University of California at San Francisco and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic has unequivocally shown that intensive lifestyle changes can arrest and even reverse heart disease in compliant patients, allowing patients with the most severe heart disease to avoid, reduce or eliminate medications and expensive procedures and surgeries almost entirely. They found that these patients also got rid of their diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, lowered their risk of cancer and much more, not to mention how much better they felt.
But doing so requires much more than just removing the skin off the baked chicken, avoiding fast foods, eating a few more vegetables or adding some exercise. Such moderate efforts, although helpful to some degree, really do not stop, but perhaps merely slow down, the inevitable worsening of chronic disease. For most, especially those with a positive family history of chronic disease, a diagnosis of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, or diabetes, the best way out of this dilemma is not moderate, but rather intensive lifestyle changes. As Dr. Esselstyn is fond of saying, “moderation kills!” The main culprit in letting our genetic weaknesses express themselves is the rich American diet — in other words, it’s the food! It’s really not how much you eat but rather the composition of what you eat. This is quite different from the usual dietary advice of “it’s not the composition of what you eat but how much you eat.” Changing to a low-fat food plan including whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables, eaten to satisfaction, along with a little exercise and clean habits, is more than twice as effective than any medication, procedure or surgery that modern medicine has for arresting and reversing most chronic diseases. And the costs and side effects are minimal, making this true “health reform,” and outperforming anything other medical programs have to offer.
Intensive lifestyle changes treat the cause, not the symptoms, and may ultimately be the best answer to our current chronic disease epidemic, especially in Oklahoma, which regularly ranks high among the states with the worst health. We must start now, especially the young people, to implement a healthy lifestyle if we are to enjoy life with optimal health. Harold H. Fain, MD, MPH “Treating the cause, not the symptoms.”
Board certified in preventive and family medicine, Nutritional and Lifestyle Medicine Programs, call 405.626.6113 or drfain@drfain.net Norman, OK
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Sun Chlorella is a natural whole food supplement derived from Chlorella pyrenoidosa, a nutritionally superior species of freshwater green algae. It’s not a vitamin, a mineral or an herb. It provides vital nutrients such as potassium, all of the B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and iron, plus 18 essential amino acids, beta-carotene and lutein. It’s a remarkable whole food that can revitalize a person’s health in three major ways. “It detoxifies, nourishes, and energizes like no other food, vitamin or supplement,” says Michael E. Rosenbaum, M.D. and graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “Only one brand uses a patented process to thoroughly pulverize the cell wall, making the nutritional properties of Sun Chlorella... so potent as to be twice as digestible, …twice as bio-available to your cells and organs, and… twice as powerful in health-boosting properties.” Pulverization of the Chlorella cell wall allows for maximum digestibility.
Studies document the uncanny ability of Chlorella to help boost energy levels, supercharge a person’s natural defense system, support proper digestion, promote joint and muscle health, protect your heart by helping to maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and also enhance your good health as you age.
Specifically, Chlorella nutrients offer the following: • Six times more beta-carotene than spinach • More dietary fiber than most fruits and vegetables • More complete protein per serving than soy and twice as much as steak • Higher nucleic acid content than sardines to help slow the premature aging process • 50 times the antioxidants and flavonoids as vitamin C or E for fighting free radical damage to cells Chlorella as a supplement also offers 18 power - ful amino acids, including glutamate that sharpens memory, and defense boosting lysine and arginine to enhance immune cells. Over 20 vitamins and minerals collectively help restore the body’s pH. As a single food source, Sun Chlorella contains the following additional unique benefits: • Growth Factors (CGF) are the basic building blocks of protein structures that the body uses in order to repair and regenerate itself. CGF is the key to Chlorella’s remarkable ability to rapidly reproduce during growth, and can help speed up your body’s own revitalization process.
• Chlorophyll, nature’s most powerful purifying agent, helps detoxify the blood. Chlorella contains the highest percentage of natural chlorophyll of any plant source. Five times more than spirulina, wheatgrass, barley grass and ten times more than alfalfa. Chlorophyll makes up seven percent of Chlorella.
• Lutein promotes healthy eyesight. Three servings of Sun Chlorella provide 9mg of lutein, the Recommended Daily Intake.
Detoxification is an important part of any health and wellness plan. Sun Chlorella assists with that process. It also contains more dietary fiber than most fruits and vegetables. This aids in regulating the body’s digestive system. Sun Chlorella contains prebiotics, nutrients required to promote the growth of good bacteria. Probiotics are the healthy digestive bacteria living in the digestive tract that help maintain a balanced digestive system. Over 4,000 scientific studies confirm Chlorella’s health benefits. It’s been the subject of vast research that garnered two Nobel Prizes. The first was awarded to German biologist Dr. Otto Warburg in 1931 in Physiology and Medicine and again in 1961 by chemist Dr. Melvin Calvin. Dr. Dale W. Jenkins of the office of Space Science and Applications says, “Chlorella is so nutritionally complete that astronauts could survive on it alone for long periods of time [during space travel].” Testimony after testimony by numerous doctors, health care professionals and other individuals from all walks of life confirm, “Ounce For Ounce, No Other Green Food Or Whole Food Supplement Nourishes As Completely As SUN CHLORELLA.” Don Greene, MA, CR, ACMT is a physician trained abmp certified therapist emphasizing natural health treatments and nutritional alternatives. For more information, call 405-833-3712, email don@okhealthsolutions.com or visit www.OKHealthSolutions.com Thrive Oklahoma
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Linda S. Hines M.Ed., LPC, LADC, CBT
Holistic approaches to health are controversial, inside and outside the medical community. There are many individuals in Oklahoma that welcome this information on holistic approaches to health and there are others that reject these ideas. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Dr. Deepak Chopra addresses the fundamental causes of health and illness, but there’s nothing new about his philosophy of wellness. My mother frequently said, “I spend money on food so we don’t spend money on doctor bills.” We ate lots of fruits and vegetables and we were rarely sick. Using food as medicine is a basic principles of the Perfect Health Program taught by Dr. Chopra and Dr. David Simon at the Chopra Center in California. Alternative medicine is slowly squeaking its way into the mainstream. But should these alternative methods to health and wellness be taken so seriously? Statistics show that 75 percent of health care costs in America are used for the treatment of heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer and obesity. These diseases are preventable. They’re even reversible with the right diet and lifestyle changes. These changes don’t have to be big. We can begin with simple choices about what we eat, how we respond to stress, how much exercise we get, or work on improving the quality of our relationships. These changes are as powerful as drugs.
The latest scientific studies show that the human body has a remarkable capacity for self-healing. That healing factor kicks in much faster if the lifestyle factors that often cause these chronic diseases have already been addressed. These studies show that integrative – or “holistic” -- medicine makes a powerful difference in our health and well-being, how quickly these changes may occur, and how dynamic these mechanisms can be once they become part of our lifestyle choices. Many people tend to think of breakthroughs in medicine as a new drug, laser or high-tech surgical procedure. They often have a hard time believing that the simple choices that we make in our lifestyle -- what we eat, how we respond to stress, whether or not we smoke cigarettes, how much exercise we get, and the quality of our relationships and social support -- can be as powerful as drugs and surgery. But they often are. And in many instances, they’re even more powerful.
According to the oldest healing science, Ayurveda, there are six stages of illness. Prevention of disease is about knowing the body, and re-establishing balance within it before the later stages of disease take hold. Patients in Chopra’s Perfect Health Program learn how to quickly recognize when the body/mind relationship gets out of balance. 38
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Dr. Simon says, “The best use of a doctor’s knowledge is to teach people to heal themselves.” Patients learn how to use food, spices, meditation, movement (like yoga), sounds, colors, and smells to stay healthy and to heal their minds and bodies. Scientific studies show that human bodies have a remarkable capacity to heal if the lifestyle factors that cause chronic diseases are addressed.
Stress is one of the leading contributors to illness and disease and stress walk hand in hand. Stress causes blood pressure to rise, sugar levels to rise, blood to thicken and numerous other physical and emotional changes. Meditation helps the body to dramatically reduce these stress reactions. Knowing which foods contain natural chemicals that protect against heart disease, inhibit the growth of cancer cells, lower cholesterol, stimulate immunity, prevent stomach ulcers, and decrease gas and bloating anchors health and well-being. The right foods give people access to their own inner pharmacies (no co-pay).
A low-tech example: massages positively influence relationships by raising the level of oxytocin in the body. Oxytocin is found naturally in the body. It’s often referred to as the “cuddle hormone.” High levels of oxytocin help individuals demonstrate less difficulty with setting boundaries, socialize more, and stop trying so hard to please others. When
oxytocin levels are low, people report greater problems with anxiety and depression in relationships. Massages can’t fix every relationship problem, but they can put people on the right path. More information gives people the ability to actively participate in their health and well-being – instead of waiting to get sick, going to the doctor, getting a prescription and waiting for it to kick in. This is not an either/or approach to health. Nobody needs to choose between conventional western medicine and holistic approaches. People don’t have to be passive victims of disease, sitting around and waiting for the worst to happen. Information allows people to make choices. And some of them are pretty painless. The joy of eating a delicious meal, getting a massage, or learning to meditate or practicing yoga can improve the body’s immune system and ultimately generate life. Linda S. Hines M. Ed., LPC, LADC, CBT is an internationally trained Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice in Oklahoma City. A Certified Hypnotherapist and Certified Childbirth Educator using hypnosis. The only certified Chopra instructor in Oklahoma. www.thehealingjourney.com
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Stress Creates Distress for Your Mind and Could By John Kells and Dr. Mary Schrick PhD, ND
Hormones and the Brain
To cope with life’s stresses, the body turns to built-in hormonal mechanisms. Stress hormones send energy where the body needs it during an emergency. They also help regulate less important bodily functions during a crisis. The body’s response to stress can be to turn off certain energy-consuming processes like digestion, reproduction, and even your immunity, in order to respond more fully to the onslaught of physical or psychological stressors. The important ‘do it now’ processes that the body summons during times of stress include increasing energy and strength and improving brain function. During an emergency it helps to hear better, smell sensitively, and gather and process information quickly. Stress hormones have a powerful influence on the brain, playing a very important role in modulating both emotional and cognitive function. They help ensure that the body has all the mental faculties needed to cope with the ups and downs of life.
But there’s a flip side to these hormones. When it comes to stress hormones, more is definitely not better. As necessary as these hormones are, excess amounts have long been known to cause disease. Excessive stress hormone levels can trigger many stress related conditions, including high blood pressure, blood sugar problems, fat accumulation, compromised immune function, exhaustion, bone loss, heart disease and, we now know, memory loss. Everyday stress can bring on minor memory failures and temporarily alter the ease and speed with which the brain retrieves and processes information. Relentless, extreme, or long-term exposure to stress hormones can actually damage and shrink the brain.
The Stress Response
Stress is anything that challenges the homeostatic balance of the body. This homeostatic balance includes ideal body temperature, proper pH of the bloodstream, optimum blood sugar and pressure levels, even a proper ratio of bone building to bone remodeling. Stress can be anything that upsets this balance.
Your stress response helps you “fight the tiger” during stressful situations. By increasing blood sugar levels, heart rate, and even improving cognition, your stress response helps you get up and get going. It’s regulated in part by two hormones, cortisol and DHEA. Under normal conditions cortisol and DHEA work 40 Thrive Oklahoma
together as a kind of stress management partnership. However, under continual stress, adrenal glands are forced to continually pump out these stress hormones. These glands can become exhausted and the natural restorative balance between DHEA and cortisol can be interrupted. With DHEA in short supply, the damaging effects of excess cortisol can go unchecked. DHEA has been shown to improve brain function and cognition, ensuring a better response to new information and an increased capacity of memory recall. Brain tissue has five to six times as much DHEA as other tissue in the body. People with Alzheimer’s disease have DHEA levels that are half that of healthy people of the same age.
Mounting Evidence
With its abundance of cortisol receptors, the hippocampus is the part of the brain most sensitive to this hormone. Cortisol actually improves memory when it circulates briefly through the brain. When it sticks around, though, it degrades memory performance. Patients with chronically high levels of cortisol show accelerated degeneration of the hippocampus, the brain region crucial for proper cognitive function and emotional well being. There is mounting scientific evidence suggesting that stress upsets the normal secretion patterns not only of stress hormone, but other hormones as well. This can have both short and longterm effects on brain function and health. Sleep deprivation, an often overlooked sign of stress, causes more cortisol to be released, leading to excessive fatigue, mood deterioration, and poor concentration. And, in fact, these hormonal imbalances may have a more permanent effect on the physiology of the brain.
Recent studies have also shown an important link between obesity and elevated levels of cortisol. It seems that an increased level of cortisol, likely the result of stress, directly stimulates food consumption in humans. Excess abdominal tissue causes a rise in cortisol that in turn increases the craving for more food, especially the class of foods called “comfort foods.” It’s a chicken or egg type of question: ‘does high cortisol initially contribute to increased belly fat and the rise of cortisol or does stress increase cortisol and enhance the desire to eat?’ Either way, the level of cortisol plays an important role in obesity.
Keeping Tabs on Your Stress
The release of stress hormones into your system is meant to help your body respond to thirty seconds, or maybe even thirty minutes of stress. Your stress response is not designed to manage the long term, unrelenting stressors that many people experience
Shorten Your Lifespan
today. Turning the stress response on indefinitely wreaks havoc with the body and the brain.
For example, cells in our bodies contain chromosomes, an organized structure of DNA and protein that is tipped by something called a telomere. Some have described these telomere tips as acting like the ends of a shoelace to keep the chromosome from unraveling. As cells divide, telomeres shorten, akin to the wick of a firecracker, eventually burning itself out and signaling the end to the life of the cell. The length of telomeres can be influenced by many factors including stress, which has been shown to accelerate the shortening process. Cutting edge studies, now being conducted by a team of scientists, including Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine, who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine for her work in this area, show that controlling or reducing stress can extend telomere length. In other words, saving telomeres lengthens the life of a cell – and the body it sits in.
Ask your medical provider about the importance of measuring cortisol levels as it relates to the array of medical issues described above. Ideally, cortisol is at its highest normal level in the morning and by bedtime the level has declined by about 90 percent, leaving the body calm and ready to sleep. If you or your medical provider suspect an “out of control” cortisol response, the best way to have it measured is at time intervals throughout the day; upon waking, noon, late afternoon and bedtime. It may also be useful to measure DHEA in the morning to see if levels might have been compromised by too much stress in your life.
Through your medical provider and your friends at Full Circle Health in Edmond, Oklahoma, Aeron Laboratory offers a single morning cortisol level test as well as an “Adrenal Function Panel” of four cortisol levels over a 24-hour period. And the good news is no needles – cortisol can be accurately measured in saliva collected at home. The single level, taken upon waking, allows you and your doctor to evaluate your body’s response to typical stress. The more complete adrenal panel, often used for chronic fatigue, osteoporosis and fibromyalgia patients, provides a complete picture of how the body is responding to the stresses of daily life. Also it’s possible to test for other important reproductive hormones such as estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA, which can be measured along with cortisol. Medicare and most insurance companies pay for the cost of testing hormones when ordered by a licensed medical provider for diagnostic purpose. Dr. Mary Schrick, N.D., Ph.D.
Full Circle Health Clinic of Edmond
Tune in to Dr. Mary’s live call in radio show Mon. - Fri. 7-9 am & 12 - 1pm KTLR 890 AM or 94.1 FM Saturdays 6 - 9 AM KOMA 1520 AM
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Prolotherapy
Continued from page 31
When injured tissues are injected with small amounts of regenerative joint therapy solution, the three stage healing process can begins. The injection actually begins this process, which starts with inflammation. Inflammation occurs during the first week and acts to increase blood flow allowing the immune cells to remove damaged tissue. In stage two the body begins the process of repair and healing and is referred to as fibroblastic. The fibroblastic stage begins at day 2-3 and will continue for six weeks. Fibroblastic stage two is where new blood vessels form and new collagen is laid down. Collagen helps to strengthen ligaments by making them thicker. Ligaments are the primary attachment between muscles and bone. Finally in stage three, there is maturation of the newly formed tissues. This process continues for one to three years following treatment. The inflammatory process is not a “bad� thing. It is the normal process of the body trying to heal itself. Without inflammation there can be no healing. So in summary, regenerative joint therapy strengthens ligaments and decreases pain by stimulating the body’s own repair and healing processes. There is no masking of pain as tissues heal naturally and become stronger, without the formation of scar tissue. It is for this reason that regenerative prolotherapy provides long-lasting relief.
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BETTER SCORE, LONGER LIFE By Doug Sloan That score is your telomere count. We eat well and maintain a healthy life style to live better and live longer. How do we know we’re on the path to a longer, better life?
Telomeres are sections of DNA at the end of each chromosome. Their function is to prevent chromosomal “fraying” when a cell replicates. As a cell ages, its telomeres shorten. How much they shorten is governed by genetic and environmental factors. Eventually, telomeres become too short to allow cell replication, the cell stops dividing and ultimately dies. As more of our cells die, we become older and frailer until we simply succumb to disease or old age. The telomere test determines the length of your telomeres relative to our chronological age. The telomere score is calculated based on the telomere length of white blood cells. This is compared to average telomere length of lymphocytes from a sample of the population of the same age. The higher the telomere score, the “younger” the cells and the longer and better that person will live. The test can be repeated yearly and we can work harder and perform other interventions that will enhance our lives. Although we cannot change our genes we can modify their expression with lifestyle. In a study published in Nature this January, scientists found the body activates a gene (P 53) that, under stress, shuts down our cells’ normal division cycles by controlling telomere lengths. Diet plays a large role in this process. Eat correctly for your Apo E type. Go easy on meat, while eating whole nutrient dense foods, as raw as possible, consuming Omega 3s, and stay away from grains and processed foods. So many factors in our lives affect telomere length. Changing those factors to preserve telomere length is also changing our lifestyles to live healthier and happier. For instance, minimizing psychological and physiological stress preserves telomere length. Additionally, antioxidants slow telomere shortening. Exercise, along with antioxidants, also preserves telomere length.
Anti-Aging
Until recently, the telomere test was prohibitively expensive, but now for less than $400, we can get telomere “report cards” that tell us when to change our lifestyles and hopefully enhance and extend our lives. The telomere test is a non-fasting blood test that can be carried out in a doctor’s office. For more information contact Doug Sloan at Spectracell Labs 405-227 2112) or visit www.spectracell.com.
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Dear Lord,
Please help my children not to get into trouble, but if they do, please be sure they get caught
Mitch Park Pavilion and Trail, 1501 W. Covell St. Edmond OK - from 10am – 2pm Registration at 9am for a 1 mile walk or 5K run Williams Syndrome is a genetic condition that is present at birth and can affect anyone. It is characterized by medical problems, including cardiovascular disease, developmental delays, and learning disabilities. These occur side by side with striking verbal abilities, highly social personalities and an affinity for music. WS affects 1 in 10,000 people worldwide. Please help us support the WSA.
Face Painting • Bounce House • Cake Walk Raffles • Cotton Candy • Silent Auction... and more!
For information and to register online go to www.williams-syndrome.org/register-walk-williams For information call Heather Hansen: 405-488-9855 or homemakerhansen@yahoo.com
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immediately. Amen
Green Apple Publishing, Co. LLC is currently accepting resumes / CVs from qualified candidates for positions ranging from journalism, accounts executive to distribution drivers. College internships are opening up soon as summer approaches. Call (405) 720-2940 Register your company or local biz for the Women’s Health Expo October 1, 2011 at www.okchealthfair.com
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