Debbie Mandel’s
Turn On Your Inner Light
Weekly Wellness Newsletter
March 13, 2005
www.TurnOnYourInnerLight.com


Affirmation of the Week
 People often complain
that motivation doesn’t last.
Well, you bathe everyday, don’t you?
Weekly Wellness Radio Show

The Turn On your Inner Light Radio Show airs Tuesday evenings 7:00 to 7:30pm, on WGBB 1240AM in Long Island. Listeners outside the Long Island area can listen to the show live by going to WGBB Live. The shows are archived for your listening pleasure.

Guest of the Week - Stephen Levine

On March 15, 2005 - Stephen Levine, renowned grief counselor and author of Unattended Sorrow. Learn how to recover from loss and treat yourself with kindness.

Health Tips of the Week

  • The next time you select a movie keep in mind: Funny movies increase healthy blood flow. Disturbing ones constrict blood vessels.
  • When a woman with type 2 diabetes wants to lose the fat around the middle, exercise is the best recourse. Even if she diets by eating all the right foods in ideal amounts, her waistline might not change unless she works out. Exercise is required to lose excess fat deep in the abdomen.
  • Since the 1990s, there has been a dramatic increase in autism among school-age children. Research claims that the rise in autism could be due to changes in diagnosis. Some children who might have been identified as mentally retarded or speech impaired before the 1990s are now being labeled autistic.
  • For people who hate needles and avoid lab tests, a new skin test may provide needed information about cholesterol levels. The test can identify people at risk for stroke and heart attacks, but who have no symptoms. More specific testing will be needed for a follow-up- there’s always a catch.
  • Children who drink more milk do not necessarily develop healthier bones according to the latest research. What works is exercise along with eating calcium-rich foods. Other ways to absorb calcium as found in a cup of milk include a cup of fortified orange juice, a cup of cooked kale or turnip greens, two packages of instant oats, two-thirds cup of tofu, or 1 2/3 cups of broccoli. However, other nutritionists disagree claiming that the easiest way to get calcium is from low-fat dairy products, which also contain valuable nutrients such as vitamin D, generally not available from other dietary sources.
  • Middle-age women can cut their risk of strokes - but not heart attacks - by regularly taking low doses of aspirin. However, aspirin does help prevent both problems in women 65 and older. The results are opposite to how aspirin works in men, where its benefit for stroke is limited and its ability to prevent heart problems is excellent. Since women proportionately suffer more strokes and men more heart attacks, this is generally good news. Researchers also found that taking vitamin E did no good for women of any age, confirming a study last fall that concluded supplements of this nutrient could even be harmful.

Article of the Week - Are You Addicted to Stress?

A little stress in your life is actually good for you. It wakes up your creativity, fuels your vitality and keeps your immune system vigilant. The qualifying word is little. When you find yourself rushing from activity to activity and no personal time for yourself, it’s not the external world that is landing on your doorstep; rather it’s your need to constantly open the door! Most likely you are addicted to stress – the adrenalin rush. If life were calmer and filled with free time, you probably would not know what to do with yourself.

The problem with any addiction is that the high is transitory and one always needs a bigger high to experience the rush. Addiction gives a person a false sense of control. Deep down the addict has lost personal power. A stress-addict is looking to feel numb through distraction to avoid dealing with the source of unhappiness and loss of control. It is easier to be incredibly busy than to face the painful layers of grief accumulated during the course of a lifetime. There are no new hurts; only old ones with a different cast of characters, conflicts and dramas.

Stress-addiction is equivalent to “identity theft.” This means you do not know who you are and where you are really going. Your basic fear lies at the root of your personality – you are not good enough! Taking care of everyone and everything and keeping your mind occupied with your to-do list, you can avoid turning the focus inward and answering the ultimate question: Who am I really at the core of my being and where am I going with all this?

Here are some strategies to break the pattern of stress-addiction: More

Frank Mikulka's Fitness Tip Of The Week
I have just added barbell-squats to my program and am having a problem getting low enough to really get the most out of them. So a gym friend put down a 10lb plate on the floor to elevate my heels to help me get low enough. Was this a good idea and does it work? (Anthony, Levittown) Answer

Send your fitness question to: fitness@turnonyourinnerlight.com

Debbie Mandel, MA is the author of Turn On Your Inner Light: Fitness for Body, Mind and Soul, a stress-reduction specialist, motivational speaker, a personal trainer and mind/body lecturer. She is the host of the weekly Turn On Your Inner Light Show on WGBB 1240 AM in Long Island and has been featured on radio/ TV and print media.

To learn more: www.turnonyourinnerlight.com