March 2008
Complementing Your Health
World Water Day, Water Bottles, Why Drink Water & Issues With Our Water
 Complementary Health Logo
In This Issue
Your Natural Pharmacy
Eco-Friendly Water Bottles
Fresh Clean Water For Children
Safety Of Our Water
WICHA Meetup Group
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Your Natural Pharmacy
   As a Reflexologist and Reiki practitioner I am not allowed to prescribe anything to my clients. I break that rule on a regular basis when it comes to telling my clients to drink more water. Our bodies require on average a litre of water for every 1000 calories consumed. For most people that is around 2 L per day. To execute their functions body organs, systems and glands need water.
     Clients with stiff joints or arthritis, digestive issues, constipation, dry skin, dry lips, headaches, fatigue and believe it or not water retention and pms can all improve their conditions by increasing their water consumption.
    Water is the elixir of life, and I can not overstate it's benefits. We expel 2 - 4 cups of water a day in our breath alone, add to that we perspire, salivate, and urinate. We must put in what needs to come out. 
   Your body is an amazing piece of equipment, and if you are depriving it of enough water to do it's jobs, it will take the water from non essential systems. For example your heart and lungs need blood comprised of water to help you to breathe and circulate your oxygen, if there is not enough water, if will quite happily deprive your joints of their lubricative fluids and send the water to the more essential systems. Headache? Before reaching for a pain killer try taking in a bit more water, a headache is a very often a sign of a lack of hydration. Plugged up?, nothing quite like a little fluid to ease the movement of of the intestinal system. The list is endless. So grab a glass, call me for your very own Klean Kanteen, and bottoms up....
 

Facts on Plastics    

As an addendum to this subject, I am including some informational links to articles about the issues surrounding plastic water bottles for your information.

Greetings!   
    You may have already figured out that the theme for this months newsletter is WATER. We could not possibly survive on this planet without it. Almost 75% of our bodies are made of it and it is the main ingredient in our fresh fruits and vegetables, and yet, there are people on this wonderful earth that do not have access to a fresh clean supply of it. Why we need to drink water, how we can help people who don't have water get some, some issues concerning our own water supplies, and a great eco-friendly way to carry your own daily water supply. So cheers, here is to your health, and may we all have plenty clean water to drink forever...
Klean Kanteens Now Available
An eco-friendly plastic water bottle substitute.
Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Water Bottles 
     I am guilty of being a menace to society. In the 10 years since I moved away from the Canadian Rockies, I have contributed greatly to the amount of plastic bottles consumed in Canada. 
     Not only do the bottles  generate more than a copious amounts of waste, but they affect our health in fertility. Our environment as well is negatively affected since plastic bottles are made from petroleum based products that are a non-renewable resource. They pollute and the energy required to recycle the very small 10% of them that make it to the recycling bin is enormous.
     I have known about these issues for a long time, but I am human, and remained in my plastic bottle addiction because of the convenience and my necessity to carry water around with me easily all the time. Yes I recycled, ALWAYS but I relied heavily bottled water. I felt guilty every time I gave a client a bottle of water during their treatment for two reasons, one - I was adding to the pollution problems and two - because I knew that plastic contained endocrine disrupters that negatively affect our already challenged endocrine systems. About 4 months ago I asked, actually begged my husband to find me a Klean Kanteen as a Christmas gift. I wanted a specific one and by the time he ordered it and had it shipped, my precious water bottle arrived and my husband was $ 50.00 lighter.
     In January I made a decision, no more water bottles in our home. I was going to use the flats of bottles I had purchased that were in the garage, and I would buy no more. At the same time, I would try and find a supplier of the Klean Kanteens so I could help others get weaned from their plastic bottle habits too. Well I am thrilled to announce that they arrived last week, I have 4 sizes and 3 different cap styles ranging in price from $ 17 - $ 32 dollars. The sizes are 12oz, 18oz, 27oz and 40oz. They are lightweight, non-leaching, dishwasher safe, non-tasting, non-toxic, and stainless steel. I love them and I am retailing them now through my clinic, please do not hesitate to contact me for yours at 514-998-3863. Shortly they will be available for purchase through my website, I will make that link available shortly.
World Water Day - UNICEF
Helping those who need fresh water.
 
Unicef LogoIs an organization that works hard all year trying to improve the lives of people particularly children all over the world. Saturday March 22, is World Water Day and a fabulous program is in place in the US and most of Canada to try and bring clean, healthy drinking water to children in need. Nearly 6000 children die everyday due to dehydration or water related illnesses. The Tap Project offers people the opportunity to get water to thirsty children. For only $ 1 dollar, (only one dollar), you can supply 40 children with clean water for an entire day. In Quebec, restaurants are not participating in this world wide fundraiser, but you can take this opportunity and make an on-line donation to the cause. This year's theme surrounding World Water Day is Sanitation, if you follow the link below of the glass of water, it will lead you to the donation site for the Tap Project. (A minimum donation of $ 10) can be made on-line.
 
Unicef Tap Project Logo
To make a difference in the lives of children, or to learn more about the clean water crisis in the word, please click on this logo of UNICEF's Tap Project.
Water, Water, Everywhere...  
But Is it safe to drink?
 Waves crashing on San Francisco beach
Canadian environmental leader David Suzuki in the following article; Buying bottled water is wrong, says Suzuki  says the best thing we can do for our planet as Canadians is to stop buying bottle water. He states very adamantly that our tap water here in Canada is perfectly fine, and if it is not we should be making a big stink about it. That being said, I personally don't like the tap water nor do I like many of the things that are added to our tap water like chlorine and fluoride. The debate as I am sure you have heard is being fought on many grounds. Is bottled water any better than tap water? Is our own tap water safe? Are the plastic bottles that the water is being imported in any better than the tap water? The list goes on and on.  I have spent some time researching these issues and some of the topics of this debate. Below I have included a couple links that you may find interesting to follow so that you can make your own decisions. What I did notice in my searches however was that the majority of the sites that I found were municipal, provincial or federally funded government sites.
 
Pharmaceuticals in our water supply Drugs in our water
Is our own tap water safe? red flag over fluoride in tap water
Government site on water purity water purity in Canada
Water quality in Canada Health Canada water quality
Great Meetings Planned
March 25th Evening, April 9 AM & April 29 PM

WICHA Meetup Logo 
For details on our upcoming meetings, please link to our site, on-line membership is free, drop in fees or membership fees apply for entrepreneurs, practitioners and businesses to attend the actual meetings. Lay members of the community can attend meetings for FREE including doctors and nurses.
 
     I make this monthly newsletter available for my clients, my colleagues, and contacts both inside and outside of the health care industry. I feel as if it is an important communication tool. I am grateful for your feedback on my newsletters, and please feel free to suggest topics that you would like to see in upcoming editions. Here is wishing you and yours, good health, happiness and the time to enjoy them. Namaste!
  
Sincerely,
my signature
Joyce Shanks
Complementary Health
$ 25 discount certificate for initial treatment