Archives for May 17th, 2008 | Continuum Wellness News

Breast Feeding Associated with a Lower Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis

by: continuum wellness - May 17th, 2008 Filed under: breastfeeding, Uncategorized, women's health 1 Comment

This information is much more helpful to younger women just starting out with having children. It shows an additional long term benefit to the mom from breastfeeding her children. It seems that long term breastfeeding offers more benefits. This bit of research shows that women who breastfed their children had a much lower incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Breast feeding and not the use of oral contraceptives showed this protective benefit.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether breast-feeding or the use of oral contraceptives (OC) could affect the future risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a community-based prospective cohort.
Methods: A community based health survey (18 326 women) was linked to regional and national registers, and incident cases of RA were identified. All females with RA diagnosis after inclusion in the health survey (n = 136) and four female controls for every case, who were alive and free from RA when the index person was diagnosed with RA, were included in a case-control study. Data on life style factors at baseline were derived from a self-administered questionnaire. Potential predictors were examined in logistic regression models.

Results: One hundred and thirty-six women with incident RA were compared to 544 age matched controls. Longer history of breast-feeding was associated with a reduced risk of RA (OR: 0.46; 95% CI 0.24-0.91 for women with 13 months of breast-feeding, and OR 0.74; 95 % CI 0.45-1.20 for those with 1-12 months, compared to those who never breast-fed). The protective effect of longer breast-feeding remained significant when adjusting for smoking and level of education in multivariate models, and point estimates were protective also when restricting the analyses to parous women.
Parity or OC use did not have any significant effect on the risk of RA.

Conclusion: In this study, long-term breast-feeding, but not the use of OC, was associated with a significant reduction of the risk of RA.

Tags: benefits of breastfeeding, mother and child, mother's health

Detox with Castor Oil Packs

by: continuum wellness - May 17th, 2008 Filed under: healing, Health, healthy body, spring cleanse, Uncategorized, wellness 10 Comments

by Catherine Carter

How to use castor oil packs as part of your detox and health maintenance plan

The use of castor oil in healing has been around for a long time. Its use can be traced in the ancient world. I first heard of castor oil used for healing purposes through the work of Edgar Cayce. For those interested here is a link for anecdotal stories of the oils use. Castor oil has been used medicinally since before the time of the pioneers heading west. Castor oil continues to be highly regarded as part of a detox regimen.

What is Castor Oil?
Castor oil comes from the plant Ricinus communis (palma christi). Palma christi means “Palm of Christ.” It is a cathartic stimulant. The oil is extracted from the seeds.
Benefits
Cleansing the colon is the first organ to target in your detox regimen, next is the liver, and then the bloodstream. Castor oil packs can relieve difficult menstruation, breast pain and reduce growths.

Instructions for a Castor Oil Pack
Plastic sheeting
Cotton or wool flannel
Castor oil
Hot water bottle or electric heating pad

Suggested use for the castor oil pack is 5 days at a time. It can be repeated weekly. It is helpful to use the regimen along with a liver cleansing program. Place the pack over the liver for at least an hour or overnight. The liver is located on the right side of the body underneath the rib cage. They can also be used on other parts of the body.

Keep the pack warm with a hot water bottle or a heating pad.
• Soak a minimum one-foot square piece of flannel with the castor oil.
• Use enough cloth to cover the area generously.
• Cover the pack with the plastic and place the heating pad on top. Do not have the heat so high as to cause injury.
• Place plastic over the bed or area where you sit or lay. You can also use it to cover the pack while on.
• Leave on for 45 – 90 minutes. An hour is good.
• Store the pack in plastic. It can be re-used until it is stained.
• Store your pack in a cool, dry, dark location.
• Re-add oil when reusing your pack.
• Do not use while pregnant.
• Do not use while menstruating.
• Discontinue use should any skin irritation develop.
This can also be done 3 days a week, once a month.

Be Well,
Catherine

Picture Credit: Cambridge 2000 Gallery

Tags: castor oil, castor oil pack, cleansing, detox, Edgar Cayce, how to detox