Body Image

Most people are aware of the use of photoshop to "improve" the appearance of advertising models. This photoshop failure of Ralph Lauren Model Filippa Hamilton (her real figure here for comparison) led to a new wave of criticism for its extensive use. Unfortunately, not all photoshop edits are as quickly recognized as completely unrealistic. Many advertisements feature photo-edited models at a completely unrealistic level of perfection. The advanced technology we have within our grasp today unfortunately has enabled the media to create monstrous creations of unattainable perfection, or in this case, just monstrous creations.
You may be wondering, what is the connection between Alternative Health and Photoshop? The answer is Body Image. Negative body image is unhealthy mentally. Holistically speaking, a negative mindset is unhealthy for you not only mentally, but spiritually and physically.
The message sent by these advertisements has had a catastrophic effect upon female self-image. "Female undergraduates who viewed advertisements displaying ultra-thin women exhibited increases in body dissatisfaction, negative mood, levels of depression and lowered self-esteem." According to Rick Nauert, Ph.D., Senior News Editor of Psych Central, an online mental health network. This lack of a healthy mentality can lead to unhealthy choices. Females with poor self image are prone to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and other unnatural relationships with food (this can include dieting and skipping meals!). According to the Anne Collins Website, approximately 10% of female college students suffer from a clinical or sub-clinical (borderline) eating disorder, of which over half suffer from bulimia. Unfortunately, an example of the advertising I am denouncing right now, in this case, diet advertisements, are present on this webpage, courtesy of Google. Be certain to ignore them. However, this webpage also contains useful information and statistics.
Although eating disorders are less commonly reported and/or noticed among males, poor self-image is still a common occurence. Men and women alike are objectified and unrealistically portrayed in the media. "Every bit as unattainable as Barbie-doll proportions and the heroin-chic look are the broad shouldered, narrow-waisted, fat-free, and muscle-sheathed male physiques littering today's media." Says Seed Magazine article The Media Assault on Male Body Image. Eating disorders can occur in males suffering from poor body image, but even more likely to occur is Muscle Dysmorphia. According to the article The Man Behind the Mask: Male Body Image Dissatisfaction, those with this disorder "want to increase their size with muscle mass. Even if a person has above average muscle mass, a patient with muscle dysmorphia can believe they are chronically underdeveloped to the point of being frail." Males are far less likely to seek help when struggling with any sort of eating disorder or negative self-image.
Harmful media messages are impossible to avoid; they appear in television commercials, in magazines and on the covers, and in internet advertisements which are absolutely everywhere. It is very important not to allow these advertisements and media messages to influence how you see yourself. These advertisements promote the desire to be perfect, which is not within our power. We can only work to attain good health, and enjoy the benefits thereof, but we can not expect ourselves to look anything like these people and be healthy at the same time.

Holistic Therapy

I've been reading this book on acupuncture, and it really does an amazing job of describing what is meant by Holistic Therapy, its purpose, and how it works. The book is called "Is Acupuncture Right for You? What It Is, Why It Works, and How It Can Help You" and is written by Ruth Lever Kidson.
The underlying principle of much of alternative health care is Holism - "the treatment of the patient as a whole".
Examples of nonholistic treatments include surgery and the use of drugs. Surgery is "based on the principle that if a part of the patient is diseased, that part is removed." This flies in the face of Holistic Therapy. The same is true of prescription drugs. They are meant to target one or two specific ailments, without taking into account the rest of the patient. This is one reason why drugs so often have side effects - because they disrupt parts of the patient that were not taken into account by the doctor, and also because the drugs were not designed to be beneficial to the entire body. Antibiotics are not holistic in nature. While they may kill harmful bacteria, they also kill the friendly flora present in the digestive tract which is crucial to digestion.
Holism is really why homeopathic remedies are so different from over-the-counter drugs. Homeopathic medicines are meant to take into account all aspects of a patient - their temperament, their eating habits, etc., rather than just the symptoms they are experiencing. By looking at all these aspects, a homeopathic can be prescribed that will resolve the underlying cause of the symptoms.
Western Medicine makes a diagnosis which describes "the end result of the disease process" rather than looking at causes. It is very specific to the part of the body which is showing disease, but leaves out the rest. We can look at the names of certain diagnoses and see evidence of this approach - "heart attack, gallbladder disease, kidney stones, varicose veins, slipped disk" etc.
Acupuncture is a holistic therapy - it doesn't just focus on the manifestation of a disease. (example - "heart disease does not mean there is a problem heart in an otherwise healthy body") They look at the disease manifestation and, taking into account many other aspects of the patient, trace the cause from that.

Organic Connections Magazine

Here's a great site I found over twitter: http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/
Organic Connections is a magazine that focuses on food, health, agriculture, and business as they relate to organics. The publisher has a blog page at http://organicconnectmag.cin/wp/publishers-blog
When I visited, I was really interested in this article about Marc Koska, a man who invented something revolutionary to help fight against the HIV epidemic in third world countries.
http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/2010/03/marc-koska-the-man-who-saved-9-million-lives/
Nell Newman, who created the line Newman's Own Organics talks about the definition of "natural" on food labels, about genetically modified foods, and the growing interest in organic foods here: http://organicconnectmag.com/wp/2010/03/nell-newman-defining-natural-and-organic/
(also, if you want to visit her site, it's http://www.newmansownorganics.com/)
And when you visit, don't forget to give your input on this poll!
Poll: What is the biggest problem with America's school lunch program?

Tell me, if you have a favorite Newman's Own Organic product, what is it?
I personally LOVE their Newman-O's, a much healthier version of Oreo's (what's more - they taste much better!).
How about you?