Late for work? Only got a half hour lunch break? It's easy to head for the golden arches or to make a run for the border, but these foods will eventually send you running to your doctor. We as Americans love convenience but at what cost to our health. Have you seen Morgan Spurlocks documentary "Supersize Me"? It's a must see movie about a healthy guy who eats McDonalds meals for a month. Not just the bad stuff, he had to try every item on the menu including salads. His blood was tested and he was weighed before during and after. In 30 days he gained 25 pounds, his cholesterol shot way up and he was told that his liver was being damaged by the high fat foods. Unfortunately for us healthy fast food chains have not really taken off yet. Lets talk about the options available to us. The best option is to bring food with you from home. Home cooked foods give you control of what is going into your body. Take some fruit, granola, or trail mix to snack on. Tupperware is a great way to carry salads or leftovers. This way is also the cheapest. If you must eat out look for the best options. Fresh City for example is a newer chain that makes burritos and healthy wraps as well as fruit smoothies. Find a local organic or vegetarian sandwich shop. Call ahead and pick it up. Try Thai, Japanese or Indian food if you are going for lunch with coworkers. There are many healthy and delicious choices out there. If you do end up at one of the chain restaurants just use your better judgement. Order a salad or a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo. Have a bean burrito instead of a 1/2 lb. beef and potato burrito with sour cream. If you want to know more about healthy options contact the Nutritional counseling team today. By Jared Saunders

Chair yoga is catching on among seniors, people who are injured, and people just starting out with yoga. Chair Yoga at The Center is practiced in small groups allowing greater attention to the individual practitioners. Chair yoga is done using gentle poses at a slow pace using a chair for seated poses with the option of standing or going to the floor. There are many benefits of practicing yoga including increased strength and stamina, improved balance, stress reduction, better flexibility, improved digestion and more. Yoga is a spiritual practice as well, founded in India it has been used with breathing and meditation to reach a higher state of consciousness. If you would like to try chair yoga or any of our yoga classes like Hatha or Kripalu come in from Dec.26th to Dec.31st and try one for no charge. We can even offer travelling classes for businesses. Heidi Levi is our Chair Yoga instructor and she loves what she does, so come in and try it out. Your body will thank you for it.

This time of year is when people usually get sick. The Flu, coughs, colds etc... We can give our body's defense department a boost with many different vitamins and supplements. I'm going to start with Garlic. Yummy but smelly garlic is a great immune system booster that has antibiotic properties and can actually shrink tumors. It is best taken in supplement form like Kyolic or Garlique because if you ate enough raw garlic to get the dosage in a supplement you probably wont have many friends.Whoow! As a side benefit garlic can reduce cholesterol and thin your blood. Echinacea is an herb commonly used for an immunity booster. It is best taken as a capsule or a tincture and works by increasing immune cells. It is best used for a week or two than stopping for a week before resuming. Don't take it if you are allergic to ragweed Zinc Picolinate seems to help bolster immunity and may shorten the duration of a cold. Mushrooms like Maitake and Shitake from Japan contain polysaccharides that stimulate the immune system to unleash its arsenal of infection fighting components. Last but not least Vitamin C which is best taken at the first sign of illness and can be taken in doses from 5,000-10,000 mgs. a day for the duration of the cold. This will help maximize your defenses against sickness. There are many other effective immune system boosters, if you want to know more, make an appointment with a Nutritional Counselor today. By Jared Saunders

Most of our clients love cookies so I figured we would run a little contest. Who can send us the best healthy cookie recipe? We would like to share these with our sweet toothed clients. So I'm looking for cookies made without white flour and without white sugar. Any type of cookie is fine, the more variety the better. The cookies will gladly be judged by our staff. The winner will be based on taste and quality of the ingredients. The winner will receive a free T- Shirt from the center and just for submitting your recipe we will give you one free class of your choice here at the center. So send them in to jareds@thehsccenter.com and I will publish the winners in the next newsletter. Good Luck!

Acupuncture has been used for everything from treating arthritis to providing cold and flu relief. In addition to reducing pregnancy related nausea and vomiting, studies are now also showing that acupuncture can be a safe alternative for inducing labor in expectant mothers. Using acupuncture to induce labor in over due mothers is a less invasive and safer method than taking Pitocin, a drug typically used in hospitals. When this drug is used, it creates a strong reaction and induces labor almost immediately. While the effects of this drug may upon the unborn child have not yet been determined, the side effects for the mother can range from nausea and vomiting to experiencing more serious conditions such as postpartum hemorrhaging and cardiac arrhythmia. Using acupuncture is a safe, gentle and easy method of inducing labor. According to Chinese medicine there are pathways (meridians), that carry qi (also known as bioenergy or vital energy) throughout the body. Through needling points along these meridians, the qi is stimulated, which then in turn helps promote the induction of labor. Acupuncture is a safe method of treatment for expecting mothers, not only for inducing labor, but also to relieve the conditions commonly associated with pregnancy such as nausea, vomiting and back pain. For questions or to schedule an appointment with Acupuncturist Lucinda (Cindy) Fecteau, MAOM, L.Ac., OT/L, call the Center at 603-883-1490. You may also want to check her website, for frequently asked questions and information about research and efficacy of acupuncture.

1. Questions: What is the name of the dance being performed in this photo? (Hint: it was in the movie "Goonies".)
2. Which state was the first to recognize Christmas as an official holiday?
3. Who was the Bounty Hunter in The Empire Strikes Back that takes Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt? Who is the NFL's all time leading receiver? Fact: The first Salvation Army collection kettle was in San Francisco Can you name Santa's reindeer?

The Holistic Self Care Center offers your company onsite classes on health and wellness related topics. These classes can be used to educate employees on preventative health care. Educating employees on natural and alternative medicine can reduce health care costs by keeping employees happy and healthy. We can cater topics to your needs. Classes that we typically offer include Boosting Your Immune System, Heart Health, Digestive Issues, Depression and Anxiety and Stress Reduction. Flex Spending can be used at The Center for services such as acupuncture, Nutritional Counseling and massage therapy. Contact The Center today to find out more.

Have you taken your daily dose of castor oil today? Some of you may recall having to take oral doses of castor oil as a child or seeing your parents do so. In this article, I am introducing the external use of castor oil. I learnt of the healing properties of castor oil from having read many of the books written about Edgar Cayce. Edgar Cayce had the ability to go into a trance state and do life, health and other “readings”, as they came to be called, for people on an individual basis. Many of these health readings recommended the use of castor oil packs for several different ailments or conditions found in the body. I have seen castor oil work on cancer, black and blue bruises, acne, inflammation, poison ivy, bug bites and burn blisters. Even though the Edgar Cayce readings recommends using Castor Oil Packs with a heating pad, I find that just massaging the castor oil onto the area in need about an hour before bedtime works fine. The heat from the massage and body draw the castor oil into the skin and by morning it is all absorbed. The castor oil, upon absorption into the body, dissolves the excess fluid in the area. The lymph system is then able to carry away the waste products for proper elimination by the body. Dr. William McGarey, in his book The Oil That Heals confirms this fact. After studying the Edgar Cayce readings, Dr. McGarey found that “Cayce described at least thirty different physiological functions that were changed for the better through the use of castor oil applied topically, mostly by the use of the packs”. Some of the ways in which castor oil works on the body are: dissolving and removing adhesions and lesions, relieving pain, reducing inflammation and swelling, increasing lymphatic circulation and benefiting the body in many other ways. Dr. McGarey also discovered the use of mini castor oil packs. The mini packs work great on sores, puncture wounds, and acne. Apply castor oil to the sore or on the absorption pad of a band-aid. Apply the band-aid onto the body and leave it on until the area is healed. Do change the band-aid a couple of times a day. For severe acne massage the castor oil right onto the skin over the entire area once every day until cleared up. For individual acne, the band- aid approach works just fine. For more in depth and expanded information on castor oil and its other uses I do recommend Dr. William A. McGarey’s Book, The Oil That Heals. An Internet search for castor oil will also bring up lots of information. By Linda Demaine Licensed Massage Therapist (Here at The Center) Linda often uses castor oil when giving massages, if you are interested in booking an appointment call now and use the coupon on the bottom of the newsletter!

If your looking for an Awesome place to eat lunch that has healthy options, you should try The Seedling Cafe located at 9 Water St. in downtown Nashua. Organic and vegetarian menu items are available as well as traditional fare. Excellent wraps, soups, salads and friendly service are provided by the staff and owners Josh and Danielle Enright. The specials change daily so call ahead or eat in. 603-594-4002 Check the menu via their website at www.theseedlingcafe.com