April 2010 [Volume 9, Issue 4]

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In this issue of To Your Health:

• Endangered Plants: A Matter of Ethics and the Buyer Beware
• The 20-Minute Workout Without the Gym
• Massage Reduces Stress in Breast Cancer Patients

Endangered Plants: A Matter of Ethics and the Buyer Beware

Aromatherapist Shellie Enteen exposes the dangerous business of buying and selling endangered plants and their essential oils.

Two of the favorite essential oils for both the aromatherapy and the perfume industry are endangered. They are frankincense (Boswellia carterii) and sandalwood (Santalum album). For an aromatherapist, this amounts to a tragedy. It is their very popularity, their incomparable and irreplaceable properties on all levels and their historic application to the spiritual area that has caused overharvesting and exploitation to the point of extinction.

What this means to the massage therapist is that the likelihood of finding unadulterated essential oils for any of these wonderful aromatic compounds is slim to none. The price will be high. The ethics of supporting unsustainable harvesting methods and even, in the case of agarwood/aloewood (Aqullaria malaccensis), an illegal trade that resembles drug or gun running (complete with cutthroat gangs and prostitutes) is something we must each address as individuals. Suppliers may tell the well-intended wholesale commercial buyer that the oils are being sustainably grown, but without a visit to the actual place of harvest and distillation, these claims are hard to prove.

Read the full article.

The 20-Minute Workout Without the Gym

The modern gym is the ideal place to develop strength and lose fat. The only problem with going to the gym is finding time to go to the gym! So, what do you do when you don't have the time for (or access to) a gym and are limited to your home - complete with screaming kids, countless daily responsibilities and other distractions - for workouts? Believe it or not, you can lose fat and build muscle safely in just 20 minutes. The following article is an at-home 10-week conditioning and fat-loss program by rehabilitation specialist Dr. Jeffrey Tucker.

Read the full article.

Massage Reduces Stress in Breast Cancer Patients

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. As a result of this devastating disease, many women are susceptible to stress disorders. The National Cancer Institute states that as many as one in five women with breast cancer (22 percent) may have posttraumatic stress disorder over the course of their lifetime. Now, a group of German researchers recently published an article in the Archives of Women's Mental Health that shows that massage is effective in reducing stress in breast cancer patients.

Read the full article.

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