In this extract from our Spring 2019 magazine, we heard from a number of CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine) students, who told us how their decision to enrol in CNM’s Naturopathic Nutrition course changed their lives and their careers.
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February Vibes: Uplifting Events, Products and Services, Just For You!
Fabulous February: Hello, Positive Lifers! As spring begins to dawn on the horizon, it’s that time of the month again: time to sit back and enjoy this collection of inspirational events, products and holistic news we have put together for you.
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November Vibes: Events and Products to Warm the Heart as Winter Begins
November‘s News: It’s official. Winter is here, and it’s time for the gloves and scarves to come out. Our summer heatwave is a distant memory … but there are many things to look forward to about this time of year. What could be better, for instance, than sitting beside a roaring fire, dressed in cosy pyjamas and enjoying some delicious hot chocolate, while the cold rages on outside? We have picked out a number of treats for you to check out this month, ranging from our very own Positive Nights events (look out for our extra-special speed dating event or Heartsongs with John Bowker) to an in-depth look at the gorgeous Calm Rooms of Monkstown, Co. Dublin.
Positive Nights: Some of Our Best Picks to Enjoy!
Following our successful speed dating events last November and April, we are ready to bring it to another level and help singles to connect once again. From your hosts with the most, Orla Bass and Paul Congdon, we present to you an evening of Speed Dating From the Heart on Thursday the 22nd of November, from 7.15 to 10.00 p.m. in Bewley’s Café, 78/79 Grafton Street, Dublin 2. Doors open at 6.45 p.m. Click here to learn more and get your tickets.
Also make sure you keep an eye out for our Heartsongs with John Bowker on December 6th, and our event with Andrea Hayes on December 13th. Details will be announced soon – watch this space!
The Organic Trust: Excellence Assured
The Organic Trust is the organic certification body of choice for professional organic producers in Ireland. The Trust describes their mission as, quite simply, “upholding the integrity of organic food.” The organic food sector in Ireland is in a continuous state of development, and the Organic Trust are proud to certify a huge range of organic products on retail shelves in Ireland (with the bulk of Irish-produced organic food being marketed under the Organic Trust logo). If you are an organic producer who wants to learn more, make sure you check out their website!
The Calm Rooms of Monkstown: An Oasis of Wellness
The Calm Rooms is a brand-new wellness hub in Monkstown Village, specialising in therapeutic treatments, meditation, yoga and pilates. This new business is hoping to establish themselves as a premium centre for wellness and relaxation in the city. We can’t wait until they announce their full range of treatments! Check out their website or Facebook page to learn more. You can also watch our recent Facebook live video that we did with them to get a sense of what they’re all about.
Our Exciting New Visualisation Track With Judith McAdam
We are pleased to introduce a meditation track we have always wanted to do for you: a 20-minute visualisation in which you get to actively enhance your resonance with health, love, abundance and your personal purpose. This track was co-created by the Positive Life team and Judith McAdam. Judith is a renowned theologian, kinesiologist, holistic life coach and author of the beautiful book The Source, and we are thrilled to have launched this new collaboration with her. To learn more and download the track, just click here.
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Health Boosting Nutrients: Revolutionary Study Gives Hope for Heart Health
In this extract from our Autumn 2018 issue, we spoke to Sinead Mitchell of the renowned nutritional supplement and research company Pharma Nord. She had some exciting news to share about heart health, based on a revolutionary Swedish study! If you haven’t had a chance to pick up our Autumn 2018 issue yet, click here to find your local stockist, or here to subscribe to the magazine.
Health Boosting Nutrients
Revolutionary study gives hope for heart health
by Aisling Cronin
Pharma Nord is a Nutritional Supplement Brand renowned for its revolutionary approach to nutritional support. Its high grade supplements are backed by rigorous scientific research, which documents their products’ safety and superior bio-availability (which, in laymen’s terms, refers to how easily absorbed they are). Pharma Nord’s research database contains over 9,000 scientific studies which serve to inform their impressive product development program. To date, more than 300 scientific studies involving Pharma Nord products have been published, one of the most striking being the KiSel-10 study, carried out in Sweden.
I spoke to Sinead Mitchell, Product Trainer for Healthcare Professionals at Pharma Nord to learn more.
‘The KiSel-10 study was a five-year, placebo-controlled, randomised double-blind study,’ Sinéad explained. ‘Two Pharma Nord products were used in the study: Q10 and Selenium. While there has been a lot of research done about the benefits of selenium for heart health, and the benefits of Q10 for heart health – when taken separately – there wasn’t a lot of research out there investigating the relationship between them, or the potential impact of their combination, which was the primary focus of the KiSel-10 research. The KiSel-10 trial was carried out in a small town in Sweden, with Swedish citizens who were aged 70 to 88. 443 participants took part, making it a very rigorous trial.’
The aim of the study was to observe how Selenium and Q10, when taken together, would affect participants’ heart health. Participants were divided into two groups. One group were administered 200 milligrams of BioActive Q10 Gold every morning, combined with 200 micrograms of BioActive Selenium, while another placebo group did not receive either supplement. Once the five-year study was complete, the results amazed researchers: those receiving the Q10 and Selenium combination were shown to have a 54% reduced risk of mortality through cardiovascular disease.
‘In addition to the reduced risk of mortality measured by the KiSel-10 study over the five years, positive effects could also be seen in all of the inflammatory markers, which are used to measure heart health,’ Sinéad revealed. ‘In fact, in many cases, the supplementation eased the inflammatory markers to a point lower than would be considered ‘normal’ for the participants’ age group, which is fantastically encouraging.’
The KiSel-10 study is now referenced extensively in a number of leading health and scientific journals, including the European Journal For Clinical Nutrition. An additional fourteen further studies have since been pulled from the original KiSel-10 data, as health professionals seek to gather even more insight into the heart-protecting effects of long-term Selenium and Q10 supplementation.
It has been known for decades that Q10 – particularly when consumed in the high grade form, ubiquinol – is a very powerful nutrient, so the KiSel-10 study results, demonstrating the immense impact of both Q10 and Selenium on heart health, are not all that surprising.
Coenzyme Q10 (as it is formally known) is a natural, vitamin-like compound that all cells require in order to produce energy. Levels of this nutrient peak in our twenties and decline from that point onward. However, the discovery of coenzyme Q10 by American scientists in 1957, and the array of scientific studies done in the interim, has empowered us with a tool to potentially prevent this ‘energy drop’ from taking place. Selenium, too, has long been known for its incredible immune-boosting qualities. However it appears that these two nutrients have an even more powerful potential when used in combination.
Based on the promising results of the KiSel-10 study, it seems that long-term consumption of these vital nutrients could have the power to unlock new potential for longevity and improved health.
An innovative company called Optimal Brain has developed a unique brain training and assessment system called NeurOptimal® Neurofeedback. They are devoted to enhancing brain health and performance.
The circumstances of modern life can demand a great deal of mental and emotional energy, requiring our brains to be in their best possible condition. Optimal Brain is dedicated to understanding and supporting brain health, and to this end, they have developed a unique training and assessment system called NeurOptimal® Neurofeedback.
The NeurOptimal® Neurofeedback system is a safe, effective, drug-free training software that will enable your brain’s central nervous system to make the best use of your brain’s natural resources.
Optimal Brain’s certified Neurofeedback team have great experience in the field of brain training, offering customers all of the support they need to enhance their overall wellness, reduce stress and improve their sleep cycles. The company is proud of their 100% safe, non-invasive natural approach to supporting brain health.
Neurofeedback training for the brain is similar to physical training for the body. A great deal of our suffering originates in the pervasive, recurring thoughts and feelings we experience, which can cause our minds to become cognitively ‘stuck.’ Neurofeedback, however, prompts the brain to draw from its existing resources and pull itself out of these mental ‘ruts’. The result is a more open and positive mindset in which obstacles are more manageable and problems more resolvable.
Much like a mirror that promotes self-correction, NeurOptimal®’s proprietary
Neurofeedback programme monitors your brain waves and then provides ‘feedback’ to your
central nervous system about what it has just done. When the software detects a tremor in
your brain wave pattern, it sends an audible signal that encourages the brain to ‘reset’
and self-correct.
Some benefits of the Neurofeedback system include:
- Wellness enhancement
- Stress reduction
- Increased academic and job performance
- Boosted athletic and sports training
- Optimisation of intelligence with improved brain function
- Improved focus, attention, retention of information, and reduction of anxiety – all of which can be of enormous benefit when preparing for a test or exam!
If you would like to learn more, visit Optimal Brain’s website, Facebook page or Twitter page. You can also contact them directly to begin your Neurofeedback journey.
Nature’s Answer
Chlorella’s age-defying magic
by Kumiko Kumagai
However hard we try, we’ll never be able to turn back the clock and get back the looks and figure we had when we were younger. However, nature may have the ability to slow things down as we move forward in life, though this help might come in a rather unusual form…
Chlorella is a type of green algae that grows in fresh water. This can be harvested and dried to create a superfood. Those in the know have been taking chlorella for a number of years for its reputed health benefits. Recent scientific research has helped to back up these claims. It appears nature really has provided us with a means to help us look and feel at least a little bit younger.
Scientists have found that chlorella may have an ability to prevent the breakdown of a substance in skin called elastin. As its name suggests, ‘elastin’ is what gives our skin its elasticity. As we get older we begin to lose elastin, which is what causes wrinkles to form. By helping to prevent the breakdown of elastin, it is believed that chlorella may have the ability to keep wrinkles at bay.
Research has also shown that chlorella could have a role to play in helping to reduce weight gain. A protein found in the algae appears able to reduce the increase in size of the body’s fat cells, which is normally seen when eating a diet high in fat.
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POSTPONED: Positive Nights Presents: Everyday Self-Care With Alison Canavan
PLEASE NOTE: due to unforeseen circumstances, this event, which had been scheduled to take place on Thursday August 23rd, has to be postponed. We will arrange a new date as soon as possible and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. People who have booked tickets for this event can request a refund, earn free entry to any other Positive Nights event, or be granted free entry to the new date for Alison’s event, once this has been organised. Please email positivenights@gmail.com if you have any concerns.
If you are a regular reader of our print magazine, you may recognise Alison as the author of our Positively Metaphysical column: offering her sage advice, issue after issue, on subjects such as mindful exercising, the importance of spending time in nature, or learning how to care for ourselves.
She is also the organiser behind the highly successful Full 360 health and wellbeing shows that take place on a regular basis around the country. Alison says: “People are more stressed and busier than ever and we all put enormous pressure on ourselves to be everything to everyone, often treating ourselves quite harshly and negatively. It’s time to practice self-care to cope with the demands of our busy world.”
Alison believes in living life according to five basic principles, which she calls the 5 A’s:
AWARENESS: Being aware and present for yourself and keeping an open and curious mind towards the world around you.
ACCEPTANCE: Accepting with grace where you are in this moment, which is the only place you can truly start from.
ACCESSIBILITY: Accessible practices that you can use every day like gratitude, mindfulness, movement and good food to help you on your personal journey towards freedom and joy.
ATTITUDE: Your attitude to life is everything and having a good one makes all the difference.
ALIGNMENT: Aligning with yourself, others and the world around you is important. It starts with your daily practice of going within.
You can learn more about Alison’s work by going to her website, alisoncanavan.com.
During our time with Alison, she will tell us more about how we can learn to care for ourselves, every day, in this hectic world. This fascinating event will take the form of a one-hour interview, followed by a short break and then a Q & A session.
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July Vibes: The Best Products, Events and Holistic Happenings for the Month Ahead
Summer is in full swing, and what better way to celebrate than by getting out and about to enjoy some exciting events or sample some of the best holistic products on the market? Read on to learn more about the highlights we’ve picked out for you for this month. If you haven’t picked up our Summer 2018 issue yet, make sure you call into one of our stockists throughout the country soon. You can also subscribe here to get a copy delivered right to your door.
Veginity Opens New Plant-Based Restaurant
Veginity has long been a go-to spot for vegan foodies … and if you are a fan of this innovative food truck business, you’ll be glad to hear that they have found a new, permanent venue at 101 Upper Dorset Street, Dublin 1. Whilst adjusting to the joy of being in their new home, Veginity is continuing to supply the scrumptious plant-based fare that has won them legions of fans over the past few years, ever since Australian chef Mark Senn originally founded the business as a food truck. We love their imaginative approach to food preparation … not to mention their mouth watering desserts. Make sure you check them out!
Positive Nights Presents: Peaceful Parenting with Genevieve Simperingham – 12th July
We have two exciting events on the Positive Nights calendar this month! Tonight – Thursday July 12th – we will be playing host to parenting expert and educator, Genevieve Simperingham. Genevieve will be discussing the peaceful parenting philosophy she teaches, which equips parents with the tools to transition to a non-punitive, connection-based parenting approach. This will take place from 7.00 to 9.00 p.m. in the Bewley’s Café Theatre, 78/79 Grafton Street, Dublin 2. For further information and booking, just click here.
Positive Nights Presents: Creating a Positive Reality with Judith McAdam – 19th July
Judith McAdam is a theologian, holistic life coach and the bestselling author of The Source. Throughout her career, she has been inspiring women and men to tap into their unique creative intelligence and step into their true potential, realising their personal and higher purpose in this life. Judith weaves together the ancient and the new drawing on mystical theological traditions and connecting this information to contemporary psychology and science in an accessible and impactful way. We are thrilled to welcome her to Positive Nights on Thursday July 19th, from 7.00 to 9.00 p.m. at the Bewley’s Café Theatre, 78/79 Grafton Street, Dublin 2. Click here for further information and booking details.
Marianne Williamson to Visit Dublin in October
Marianne Williamson is one of the world’s most respected spiritual teachers. She is an internationally acclaimed spiritual author and lecturer. Seven of her twelve published books have been New York Times Best Sellers. A paragraph from her mega best seller A Return to Love, beginning “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” is considered an anthem for a contemporary generation of seekers. Marianne is visiting Dublin on Wednesday October 10th 2018, from 7.30 to 9.30 p.m. in the Royal Marine Hotel, Marine Road, Dublin. Drawing on her insights from A Course in Miracles, Marianne will speak about how we may transform our own lives and what we can do to change the world. Click here to view the event page, buy tickets, and learn more.
The Holistic Therapist With a Passion for Mental Health
Linda Culleton is a holistic therapist with a great passion for assisting people who suffer from adverse mental health conditions. “While working as an accountant, I pushed my body and mind to the limit, and due to this, I began to suffer with severe anxiety,” she explains. “I later developed a condition called Obsessive Compulsive disorder, of which the OCD symptoms were intrusive thoughts of harming myself and others.These OCD symptoms were devastating to live with.” She explored many different avenues that could assist with her healing process, including Kundalini yoga and meditation classes. During this time, she discovered a specific breath exercise called the OCD Breath in Kundalini Yoga Meditation. She credits this technique with transforming her life. She now offers one-to-one consultations, group programs, yoga and meditation classes, and Skype consultations. She is passionate about helping people to cope with mental health challenges.
Amazing Health Show Comes to the RDS This September
On September the 8th and 9th, 2018, Dublin’s RDS will play host to the amazing Vitality Expo 2018, brought to you by Health Stores Ireland. The Expo will be dedicated to all things health-related, with a diverse array of wellness, lifestyle, fitness and nutrition talks being delivered by Irish and international speakers and natural health brands. Confirmed exhibitors include Abundance and Health, Altrient C, Hifas Da Terra, Dr. Mahers skincare, Genovese Pestos, Macánta, NaturaLife, Optimal Brain and Sun Chlorella. The Expo will will also feature a Food and Cookery Stage, and Outdoor Entertainment Area (offering live music, yoga and pilates sessions, as well as a kids’ area) and The Village, where you can sample tasty delights from over 100 artisan and local health food producers in the Irish marketplace. We recently interviewed Patrick Holford – who will be present at the show – for our Summer 2018 magazine. You can read the interview here.
In this article – featured in our recently released Summer 2018 issue – Patrick Holford shared his thoughts on the upcoming Vitality Expo, set to take place in the RDS, Dublin, on the 8th and 9th of September.
Finding Vitality
Patrick Holford discusses upcoming health show
by Aisling Cronin
This September, Dublin’s RDS will play host to the amazing Vitality Expo 2018, brought to you by Health Stores Ireland. The Expo will be dedicated to all things health-related, with a diverse array of wellness, lifestyle, fitness and nutrition talks being delivered by Irish and international speakers and natural health brands.
The passionate organisers behind the Expo are proud of the fact that this event is Ireland’s only consumer and trade natural health exhibition. Here, you can learn about exciting new products and remedies, meet natural health suppliers, discover the latest natural health trends, and obtain expert advice from the many well-known figures who will be in attendance. Ahead of the Expo, I met with the nutrition expert Patrick Holford, who will be delivering two talks as part of the event. I was struck by his great passion for improving people’s quality of life. He told me that one of the greatest privileges of his career is being approached by people who are eager to share their stories of how his nutritional tips improved their health.
Patrick Holford’s career began in the 1970s, when he trained as a psychotherapist. As his career progressed, he developed a special interest in the areas of boosting intelligence and treating schizophrenia. After learning about the promising results nutritional trials had yielded in this area, he went on to study nutrition in greater depth, and founded the Institute of Optimum Nutrition in 1983. His bestselling nutrition and health titles have included The Optimum Nutrition Bible and How to Quit Without Feeling Sh*t.
The latter title touches upon a subject that has become increasingly important to Patrick in recent years: helping people to tackle their addictions. He believes that we can be addicted to many things: not just substances that commonly come to mind when addiction is mentioned – such as narcotics, prescription medication, or alcohol – but also things like coffee, sugar, and our phones. Technology addiction is increasingly prevalent in modern society. Whatever our addictions are, Patrick believes that appropriate nutritional therapy can hold the key to solving the problem.
“To give you an extreme example,” he explained to me, “two colleagues and I went to an addiction treatment centre and asked them to refer some patients to us – not to change anything the centre were doing, but to add some nutritional therapy to the centre’s methods. We ran blood tests on twenty-three patients and we found out which neurotransmitters were depleted. We then gave them an intravenous drip every day, for six days, containing the exact nutrients that their brains would need to make those neurotransmitters. We followed that up with supplements for about a month, and then asked the treatment centre to follow up with these patients after one year. The normal success rate for the centre was about five percent: that is, one year on, just five percent of patients were still clean, sadly. However, twenty-one out of the twenty-three people we had treated were clean and sober, which is absolutely extraordinary. So at the health show, I’m going to be talking about how to end addiction, whether this is to caffeine, sugar, or even Facebook.”
Another issue he will be speaking about at the Expo is how people can reduce their risk of cancer through the foods that they eat. He said, “Appropriate nutrition can strengthen the immune system. As an example of this, one recent study found that soya actually dampens down the notorious BRCA gene that is responsible for a large proportion of breast cancer diagnoses. What we are really beginning to understand is that the environment of the cell can turn genes up or down. So rather than being unable to do anything about your inherited genes, you are able to empower yourself. This is a whole new field of study called ‘epignetics’ – effectively, the study of the environment of genes.”
Patrick is determined to empower people to take control of their own health. He does this by presenting clear evidence – backed up by rigorous scientific studies – to show that appropraite nutritional intervention can make an enormous difference to our energy, mood, and overall wellbeing.
To learn more about Patrick’s work, go to patrickholford.com. He will be discussing the effective treatment of addiction, cancer and other health issues in greater depth at the Vitality Expo 2018, set to take place on September 8th and 9th in the RDS, Dublin.
The Vitality Expo will feature an exciting array of expert speakers from around the globe. In addition to Patrick Holford, the Expo’s Vitality Stage will play host to Alison Canavan, Vivienne Campbell, Rachel and Hannah Dare, Dr. Robert Verkerk Ph.D, Phil Beard, Dr. Sarah Murphy, Jessica Hatchett and Fiann Ó Nualláin (a bestselling author, horticultural therapist and community gardening advocate). All of the talks will be hosted by nutritional therapist Jemma Kehoe.
Some of the confirmed exhibitors include Abundance and Health, Altrient C, Hifas Da Terra, Creacon Wellness Centre, Dr. Mahers skincare, Emma’s So Naturals soya candles, Genovese Pestos, IINH, Macánta, NaturaLife, Optimal Brain, Pharma Nord, PPC and Sun Chlorella. Many other companies will be present at the Expo too, offering a wide range of products to help boost your wellbeing. Be sure to check out the Vitality Expo’s website or Facebook page to stay up-to-date with all exhibitors, as they are confirmed.
The Expo will will also feature a Food and Cookery Stage. Here, you can experience the best of wholefood cooking with chefs like Marie Power, Henrietta Norton (founder of the amazing natural supplement brand Wild Nutrition), Oliver McCabe and Susan Jane White, to name a few. The Outdoor Entertainment Area is another major highlight, offering live music, yoga and pilates sessions, as well as a kids’ area where they can practice some moves too! At The Village, you can sample tasty delights from over 100 artisan and local health food producers in the Irish marketplace.
vitalityexpo.ie
This article appeared in our Summer 2018 issue, available now through our stockists or via subscription.
Healing, Courage and Honesty
How cancer set me free
by Keith Cullen
When I started chemotherapy at the start of this year, it took me a while to sort through my feelings: the layers of fear and disbelief, the desire to ignore reality (I am well known for this). I finally had to admit to myself – and I am able to say it out loud now – that I have stage 3 bladder cancer.
All the signs were there, telling me my health was unraveling, but it took a medical emergency before I was ready to listen. This I don’t recommend and this is why I want to share my experience will anyone who will listen. Last year was the best year I’ve ever had. I experienced some big personal awakenings, my career was on the rise, my love life was finally worth talking about, the schedule was full, and the lessons I was learning along the way were inspiring me in all the right directions. I was even prepping to attend the Grammys, for a big showcase and for my album.
During that hectic time, I started to notice blood in my urine. I thought I had some sort of infection. Eager to stay on schedule and keep up with the recording, I did the whole “mind over matter” bit, took advice from health experts and finally saw my local doctor.
By December, my symptoms worsened, and while I was on a trip in Sydney, I sought medical help again. Jessica, an Australian doctor I visited for more antibiotics, required me to have an ultrasound instead. That led to another specialist, which led to a CT scan, which led to my laying on the operating table in Sydney. December 8th will be a date I won’t forget, as they removed a large tumour from by bladder, not really knowing the full extent or nature of how the cancer had spread.
I’ve experienced every different type of emotion possible this year, from ‘WHY ME,’ to ‘I got this,’ to ‘I’m okay,’ to ‘This sucks balls.’ I’ve learned to be okay with not being okay.
I’ve been learning the difference between reality and fantasy, and how to be positive within my reality, rather than ignoring it in order to stay positive. I can be happy and have cancer. I can be whole and also sad about my circumstances. I can be afraid and still courageous about what is happening.
‘It takes a lot of strength to share yourself with someone else’ – a lyric of one of my songs written five years ago is back to remind me why it was written!
Being new to cancer and to chemotherapy, I hadn’t imagined it would force me to be so brutally honest and reflective as I currently am. Each decision I make now has meaning and the value attached to survival, and being a source of good has never been stronger at the forefront of my mind.
I’ve been gracefully broken and now am focused on rebuilding a stronger, more knowledgable, kinder Keith who surrenders to my new path and will continue to keep my arms wide open to life’s opportunities, whilst doing some good along the way.
Everyone is different regarding their journey. Please feel free to share yours with me. Just reach out at any point: Keithcullengm@yahoo.ie
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