.gif)
|
|
 |
April 1, 2005
IN THIS ISSUE
SAW PALMETTO SOURCE IN SHORT SUPPLY: PRICING INCREASE
Lots of hissing from our male members on this one. Sorry – you can’t blame this kat – instead, blame it on the weather.
Remember the infamous 2004 hurricanes that pummeled Florida? Alas, saw palmetto farms were hit hard, with many valuable palm plants being destroyed during the storms.
Because of the short supply, our suppliers increased prices. Unfortunately, at this time, we have to raise our price to $12.84. Go ahead and hiss. We certainly are!
A couple of notes: our Saw Palmetto product is formulated with pumpkin seed oil, pygeum, and uva ursi – for a more complete support of prostate and urinary tract health.
“PAWS UP” FOR THE NEW WEB SITE!
If you were snoozing when the last newsletter hit, you may have missed our “new web site” notice. However, lots of folks moused around on our new site, and, here’s a sampling of what showed up in this kat’s inbox:
-
“Your new site is smashing.” T.B.
-
"Love the quick order. That will make it easier to have the list on one page instead of going back and forth from the product list and the shopping cart for each item I want. Like seeing the latest lab results. Also, I'm very glad that you kept the links on each product for information, reference materials, ingredients, and suggested doses.” N.S.
-
“Guido, you outdid yourself - it's great! So much easier to navigate and I especially like the column on the left for the product categories. Neat!” A.J.K.
-
“I don't recall ever writing to a kat before, but hey...I guess there's a first time for everything. I started buying from the co-op since day one. I can't believe all the changes (improvements) in such a short time. Love the new site! Keep up the good work...and those prices low.” M.H.
Quick Web Site Tip: If you want to go directly to the shopping cart to “check out,” just click the “View Cart” button that is on the top right side of every page. Voila. You’re done.
And, don’t forget to tell all of your friends about our new web site. Tell them “the kat made you” do it. ^..^
WE FORGOT TO MENTION BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK
Last week, while we were celebrating “Save Your Vision Month,” this kat forgot all about Brain Awareness Week (March 14th to 20th)! Good grief, where’s the ginkgo?!?!
The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives pulls together over 1,700 organizations each year for a week to advance public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research.
According to the Dana Alliance, one out of five Americans suffers from a brain-related disease, or disorder, ranging from depression to Alzheimer's disease.
With that in mind (get it?!? ^..^), I thought I would highlight some of the more interesting, recent studies on brain research.
MEDITATION SUPPORTS HEALTHY MINDS & EMOTIONS!
Practitioners of meditation have long used this brain work to achieve different levels of cognition and emotion. Recently, scientists at the University of Wisconsin were able to detect mental changes associated with meditation -- through electrical imaging.
The Dalai Lama – the most well-known meditation practitioner – greatly supported the study by offering eight of his Buddhist monks, with 10,000 to 50,000 hours of lifetime meditation (15-40 years of practice), to undergo tests and brain scanning.
These eight “professional” meditators’ results were compared to an untrained control group of ten volunteers. Even before either group began meditation, scientists noticed that the monks’ brain waves had considerable more activity than the control group – indicating that meditation may have lasting effects on the brain.
As both groups began to meditate on unconditional compassion, the intensity of the monks’ gamma wave activity was the highest that the researchers had ever seen.
Fast Factoid: Gamma waves are high-frequency electrical brain impulses, which knit together disparate brain circuits that are required for high-level brain functions, such as learning and conscious perception.
The monks with the most practice meditating also had an exceptional amount of activity within the left prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with happiness and positive thoughts and emotions!
Finally, the belief that connections among brain nerve cells are fixed early in life and do not change in adulthood, as it turns out, is passé! Today, scientists believe that the brain is actually quite plastic, enabling development to continue over a lifetime.
So, if you’ve been considering a meditation class (or any class that requires focused attention and learning), you will be doing a lot more than the activity itself. You’ll be developing valuable new brain circuits!
Click here to link to the study!
Click here for more information on the research and researchers!
UNHEALTHY HEART LINKED TO DEMENTIA LATER IN LIFE
High cholesterol, elevated blood pressure and diabetes are all good indicators of an unhealthy heart. What researchers have now found is that if you are in your 40’s, with some of these conditions, you have an increased chance of developing dementia decades later.
Researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program of California reviewed close to 9,000 records for patients between the ages of 40 and 44. Researchers looked for cardiovascular risk factors in original case files and evaluated how these factors related to patients with dementia 27 years later.
The results: for each one of the high risk conditions -- high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure -- that appeared in midlife, the risk of developing dementia increased 20 to 40 percent in later life. So, a healthy heart is also key to keeping your wits!
Click here for more on the study!
NAPPING: ANOTHER GOOD IDEA FOR BRAIN HEALTH
Naps -- scientifically-proven brain boosters?! Yep, it’s true.
Weill Cornell Medical College found that napping doesn’t interfere with regular sleep and can improve mental abilities. The study suggests that older adults could benefit from a 30-90 minute nap during the day. The trick is to make sure you get up before 5 p.m.
ALZHEIMER PATIENTS FOUND TO HAVE LOW OMEGA-3 LEVELS
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again (and again). More and more studies continue to show that Omega-3 oils support brain health.
In a recent mouse study, published in Journal of Neuroscience last week, researchers found that diets high in docosahexenoic acid (DHA), the omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil, prevented build-up of amyloid protein found in Alzheimer’s patients.
Fast Factoid: Amyloid protein is a sticky protein that makes up the plaques in the brain that are the hallmark of Alzheimer's.
Even when mice were fed with high DHA omega-3 diet at late stages of Alzheimer’s, they saw a reduction of amyloid protein build-up.
Wow! Pass the Fish Oil please!
BRAIN SUPPLEMENTS FROM THE CO-OP
No excuses. We made it easier to find products that support brain health. Just browse our new product category pages on our website (left menu bar, product catalog). From Acetyl L-Carnitine to Vitamin E, we have a range of supplements supporting mental clarity, memory and mood enhancement.
HEALTH IN THE NEWS
-
Omega-3s from fish oil and walnuts good for depression: http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2005/03.03/28-eathappy.html
-
Bacteria found in probiotics can help lower cancer risk: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050325145217.htm
-
Hearing loss – a precursor to heart disease? http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2005/03.10/01-heart.html
What’s next, you ask? Hmmmmm. I reserve the right to change my mind, so stay tuned. ^..^
Still purringly yours,
Guido
Guido Housemouser (The Enforcer) ^..^
Chief Kat and Community Manager
Our Health Co-op
931 Village Blvd, Suite 905-480
West Palm Beach FL 33409
Making Health Affordable Together