Volume 12 • Issue 8

July 2009

the ACHS Reporter Welcome to the ACHS Reporter, your resource for holistic health and College news. Our goal is to provide our students with an interactive and engaging “launchpad” for their own complementary alternative medicine studies and practice. Inside these pages, you will find ACHS college news, industry updates, holistic health tips and recipes, career-building event information, continuing education opportunities, and much more.

Inside this issue ... > ACHS raises lavender awareness > Pursue your passion. July 15 registration deadline for fall classes > Growing plants that attract wildlife > July health freedom update from Kim Sharples, HHP > Green Your Life: ACHS Conference & Wellness Retreat > Is DETC accreditation equal to “regional” accreditation?

ACHS raises lavender awareness by sponsoring two educational events The American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS) will host two educational events in July to raise awareness about the benefits of growing lavender and its applications. Lavender Open House and UPick on Friday, July 17, 2009, is an opportunity for the community to explore the ACHS Botanical Teaching Garden and to learn how to make lavender wands, to differentiate varieties of lavender, and how to make natural products with lavender. Participants

also will learn how to harvest fresh lavender from the garden ($6 per lavender bunch or 2 bunches for $10). Lavender Open House runs 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at the ACHS campus in John’s Landing, 5940 SW Hood Ave., Portland. Lavender Distillation on Saturday, July 18, 2009, will take place at Sherwood Lavender Farm, owned by ACHS Senior Vice President Erika Yigzaw. Participants will learn about the benefits of lavender for small agriculture and its many byproducts. Master Distiller Robert Seidel from The Essential Oil Company and ACHS President Dorene Petersen will also lead a class about lavender distillation, including an introduction to essential oil and aromatherapy, the art and science of using volatile plant oils to promote health and relaxation. Lavender Distillation

runs 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Call (503) 2440726 for directions. Lavender Open House and U-Pick on July 17 is free to attend. The Lavender Distillation at Sherwood Lavender Farm on July 18 has a materials fee of $35. Both events require RSVP. Call (503) 244-0726 or email [email protected] to reserve your space. For a complete list of community education events sponsored by ACHS, visit ww.achs.edu and click on Community Wellness Classes. > To watch the June 17 ACHS rosemary distillation on YouTube, click here

Pursue your passion. Registration deadline for fall classes is July 15. ACHS programs are specially designed to provide you with the Flower Essences information and skills you need for a career in holistic medicine Nat 202, Flower Essences, is based on the Bach flower essences and healthcare. developed by Dr. Edward Bach. Simple and natural, flower essences are commonly used for emotional and psychological Your journey begins when you apply. conditions, and are safe and effective for adults, children, baThe deadline to apply for fall classes is July 15. Call us at bies, animals, and plants. (800) 487-8839. Iridology Featured classes starting August 17 include: Homeopathy

Nat 203, Iridology, explores the techniques and theory of iridology, including: analysis of the iris of the eye in relation to the body’s health and the theory of iris analysis.

Nat 204, Homeopathy, is based on the natural law of healing, Contact us today to begin your holistic health training with Similia Similibus Curantur, or “like cures like”. Learn how to stimACHS. Call (800) 487-8839 or go to www.achs.edu ulate the body’s self-healing response with homeopathic rem> For a complete list of fall courses, click here edies for personal and professional use.

ACHS grad Pam Heyen to host “Creating Your Healthy Life” on VoiceAmerica Pamela Heyen, ACHS Holistic Health Practitioner speakers including Dr. Vaugn Cook, Dr. Lyn Hanshgraduate 2007 and Outstanding Graduate Award ew, Master Aromatherapist, Cristina Campbell, and recipient 2009, will host “Creating Your Healthy Life“ Mr. Ted Hilliard. on VoiceAmerica starting August 13. The time slot will be live on Thursdays, 10-11a.m., Featured on the Health & Wellness channel, “Creat- CST, and rebroadcasted at 10-11p.m., CST. ing Your Healthy Life” will cover topics like: nutrition, detoxification, bio feedback, environmental toxins, You can listen live or to the recorded show by going therapeutic essential oils, organic foods, and guest to www.VoiceAmerica.com

How to help children discover the wonders of nature: growing plants that attract wildlife cal energy with plenty of exercise and outdoor play activities. This may be a challenge for some parents (it is no longer practical to let small children “run free” without parent supervision). A teaching garden is an excellent way for both child and parent to bond, and for children to get the essential outdoor time that is needed for optimum health (and it is great for the parents emotional health as well!). The Teaching Garden ACHS Botanical Teaching Garden

Spending time out in nature is essential for optimal health. Some parents may be concerned that their children are showing symptoms of ‘behavior problems, whether it is hyperactivity, attention problems, or general anxiety—one of the first remedies that may be necessary is spending time outdoors and connecting with the natural world! While herbal remedies and dietary changes can be an excellent ally, an often overlooked cause for some of these behavior challenges is Nature Deficit Disorder.

We often think of herbs in terms of their medicinal and culinary uses. While these uses are amazing, plants also give us the opportunity to teach our children about nature. Growing plants to attract wildlife and using this as a teaching opportunity, stimulates the qualities of stewardship, respect, and sensitivity for nature.

behavior. You don’t need a huge living space, wildlife can be drawn to potted plants in your backyard or on your deck. (I remember years ago when my husband and I rented a very small house, I placed a pot of lemon balm on our deck. I was delighted to find that every evening two native species of frogs would reside under the leaves!) The learning opportunities for the plants you choose are endless. You can talk about and observe butterflies and their various stages, you can discuss bees and their role in pollination, you can ID different birds and observe their behavior, you can observe the plants themselves (leaves, stems, flowers, and growth patterns), and you can discuss the plants role as it relates to the ecosystem. Your children can spend hours exploring, problem solving, and playing creatively. With Nature Deficit Disorder on the rise in America, this is a fun and safe way for your children to nurture their holistic health.

Creating a garden to attract wildlife is a fun and simple way to attract butterflies, birds, bugs and other animals to Planting native plants is a great way to atyour backyard, where you and your chil- tract native wildlife while simultaneously Children should be expending the physi- dren can spend hours delighting in their teaching your children the plants that

Continued on the next page

•

Mentha spp. (mint). White Peacock, Painted Lady

•

Petroselinum crispum (parsley). Black Swallowtail; Anise Swallowtail

•

Pimpinella anisum (anise). Black Swallowtail; Anise Swallowtail

•

Salvia spp. (sage). Gray Hairstreak; Painted Lady; West Coast Lady

•

Symphytum officinale (comfrey). Painted Lady

•

Tropaeolum majus (nasturtium). Cabbage white

Larval Plants (butterfly species noted)

Yarrow Achillea millefolium

A teaching garden is not just for the spring and summer months—you and your child can observe the plants and animals go through their cycles and observe the wildlife and their seasonal activities year round. A teaching garden inspires children to respect all life, understand cycles and rhythms of nature, learn patience, stimulate the senses, foster responsibility, inspire connection with all living things, understand the earths ecosystem, stimulates dialogue, and encourages questioning and wonder.

Fennel Foeniculum vulgare

Painted Lady are specific to the area where you live. Discussing how and why native plants are in • Humulus lupulus (hops). Gray Hairstreak; Comma; Question Mark; Red Admiral harmony with your home provides a great • Melissa officinalis (lemon balm). White Peacock teaching opportunity for the child.

Nectar Plants •

Achillea millefolium (yarrow)

•

Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop)

•

Allium schoenoprasum (chives)

•

Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary)

•

Achillea millefolium (yarrow). Painted Lady

•

Angelica spp. (angelica)

•

Salvia spp. (sage)

•

Anethum graveolens (dill). Black Swallowtail; Anise Swallowtail

•

Chamaemelum nobile (chamomile)

•

Tagetes spp. (marigold)

•

Coriandrum sativum (cilantro)

•

Taraxacum officinale (dandelion)

•

Artemesia absinthium (wormwood). Painted Lady

•

Hyssopus officinalis (hyssop)

•

Thymus spp. (thyme)

•

Artemesia dracunculus ‘sativa’ (French tarragon). Oregon Swallowtail

•

Lavandula spp. (lavender)

Reference

•

Borago officinalis (borage). Painted Lady

•

Melissa officinalis (lemon balm)

http://butterflywebsite.com/articles/bgq/herbs.htm

•

Carum carvi (caraway). Black Swallowtail; Anise Swallowtail

•

Mentha pulegium (English pennyroyal)

•

Mentha spp. (mint)

Author

•

Foeniculum vulgare (fennel). Black Swallowtail; Anise Swallowtail

•

Ocimum basilicum (basil)

•

Glycyrrhiza spp. (licorice). Silver Spotted Skipper

•

Origanum laevigatum (oregano)

•

Helichrysum angustifolium (curry plant).

•

Origanum majorana (marjoram)

•

Prunella vulgaris (selfheal)

Angie Goodloe graduated from the American College of Healthcare Sciences with her Diploma in Herbal Studies Master Herbalist and Holistic Nutrition Certificate in 2005. To read more about Angie and her work, check out her blog: http://authenticmama.com/

July health freedom update by Kim Sharples, HHP May health freedom updates from Kim SharWe all have friends, relatives, customers, etc in other states. This is a good way to pass along information to people you know in other states. Make sure you check your state update to see if there is anything new. I also have the yahoo group set up so that you will receive important alerts as they are released. Just send a blank email to: [email protected] Please remember that each state has different laws and regulations regarding what you can and cannot do when it comes to complementary and alternative healthcare. With the new passing of a Health Freedom bill in New Mexico, there are now seven states that have health freedom laws. These are: Minnesota, California, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Idaho and New Mexico. If you live in one of these states, you need to know the laws regarding health freedom, what you can and cannot do, and what disclosures you may need to provide to your clients. There are 15 states and the District of Columbia that license or regulate naturopathic physicians. If your state is one that regulates naturopathic physicians, you need to know what that law says in regards to what you can and cannot do. These states are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Vermont,

Washington and the District of Columbia. Minne- to these outdated medical licensing laws. sota just passed a registration bill for naturopathic physicians that should take effect July 1, 2009. The Health Freedom Act would allow each profession to regulate itself rather than invoking the poFor questions about health freedom in your state, lice power of the state through government licensemail me at [email protected] or call ing. Practitioners would be required to disclose their (719) 390-1979.9. education and refrain from performing controlled acts, such as x-rays and surgery. Once signed into Most Current Health Freedom Update law, the bill will allow practitioners to legally practice and offer the full range of their services. In March of this year, the Consumer Health Freedom Act (HB842) was reintroduced into the North State Health Freedom Organizations Carolina House of Representatives with the support of four representatives and 10 co-sponsors • Colorado For Health Freedom after generating widespread public support. As in • Connecticut Health Freedom Coalition 2003, when the bill was originally introduced, the • Natural Health Idaho North Carolina Medical Society opposed the bill. • Iowa Health Freedom Coalition At current, the Medical Society has been called • Louisiana Health Freedom Coalition upon by the bill’s main sponsor, representative • Health Freedom Massachusetts Earline W. Parmon of Forsyth County, to propose • Michigan Natural Health Coalition specific changes. The bill has been tabled until negotiations can take place. The bill could still be • MNACAP activated and voted on this legislative session. • Montana Health Freedom The bill sponsors, your reps, and the committee • NMCAAMP members still need to hear from you in support • North Carolina Citizens for Healthcare Freedom • Ohio Health Freedom Coalition of this bill. • Ohio Sunshine Health Freedom Coalition The Health Freedom Act is an amendment to North • Health Freedom Action Network Carolina’s broadly defined Medical Practices Act ex- • Oregon Health Freedom empting all alternative health practitioners from the • Texas Health Freedom real threat of being charged with “practicing with- • Virginia Chapter of Certified Natural Health out a license” just for practicing their trade. Many Professionals natural therapies and alternative treatments remain • Washington Health Freedom largely unavailable to North Carolina patients due • Wisconsin Health Freedom Coalition

Green Your Life at Breitenbush Hot Springs from October 4-9, 2009 ACHS at (800) 487-8839 or email: achs@achs. Master Distiller, for a workshop about distilledu. Registration deadline: September 18, 2009. ing. Learn how to sustainably harvest local aromatics for optimal essential oil product and distill them on site. Green Your Life Sessions Include Organic Gardening

Wild Herbs and Weeds Walk with Dorene Petersen and Robert Seidel

Master Gardener Erika Yigzaw will lead you through an organic gardening workshop, high- Iridology with Dorene Petersen lighting easy ways to grow from seeds, propa- For more sessions, call (800) 487-88398 or visit www. achs.edu and click on Community Wellness Classes gate from cuttings, and sustain your garden. Ancient Walking to Primal Rhythms

About Green Your Life It requires care and conscious decision making to maintain optimal health. Too often the health care industry sells itself as the health cure industry. But we, the holistic health community, know that in reality, prevention is the only sustainable cure!

Learn how to become more fit, relaxed, and agile by adopting a self-paced Listening, Learning, Leading, and Guiding process-dialogue with your body. Randy Eady, EdM, NCC, will demonstrate various steps and movements that stimulate key acupressure points and nerve pathways for self-care and healing.

The Betterness® Weight Loss Solution Learn how to create and support wellness while experiencing wellness first-hand at our six-day, Dr. Russ L’HommeDieu, DPT, is the originator of Betterness®, a personal training program that five-night Green Your Life in 2009 retreat. journeys through the stages of Awareness, AccepACHS faculty, staff, graduates, and guest pre- tance, Action, and Adaptation to identify, set, and senters will guide you through a series of presen- accomplish life changes. Participants will learn to: tations, workshops, and nature-based outdoor apply Betterness®, understand the benefits of real sessions addressing issues like: practical tech- food, design and implement a personal plan, and niques for greening your life; green foods and develop a framework for goal setting. herbs that promote prevention; and what does Master Distiller Robert Seidel your sustainable wellness lifestyle look like.

About Breitenbush Hot Springs Breitenbush boasts a forest setting with a pristine river and abundant hot springs. The more than 154 acres of wildlife sanctuary are surrounded by national forest, which provides a peaceful and secluded sanctuary. Guests stay in simple, rustic cabins located a short walk from the lodge.

Conference registration is $325. To register, call Join Robert Seidel, The Guerilla Distiller and To book accommodations, call (503) 854-3320.

Lavender distillation at the ACHS Botanical Teaching Garden on June 29, 2009. Participants harvested about 10 lbs. of lavender and then distilled with ACHS President Dorene Petersen about 29 mls of essential oil and 160 fluid ounces of hydrosol. > Watch the harvest and distillation on ACHStv

Is DETC accreditation equal to “regional” accreditation? In every measurable way, yes! DETC accreditation is just as valid as any regional accreditation, and the Secretary of Education has officially recognized DETC since 1959 and by the Council for Higher Education and its predecessors since 1975. DETC meets precisely the same standards as do the regionals, and would hasten to add DETC has vastly more experience and tougher, more stringent standards for distance learning than any other agency in the U.S.

Benefits of DETC Accreditation

try, corporate, or union-sponsored tuition assistance plans requiring enrollment • An assurance of high standards and edwith an accredited institution. ucational quality through the institution’s adherence to established criteria, poli- • Helps facilitate, but does not guarantee acceptance of credits and degrees by othcies, and standards. • By federal law, it provides eligibility for er academic institutions. certain benefits. For example, only accredited distance education institutions are eligible to participate in the Montgomery G.I. Bill.

* ACHS was first accredited by the DETC in 2003 and is the only DETC accredited, fully online college offering degrees, professional diplomas, and career-training certificates • Allows students to qualify for tuition re- in complementary alternative medicine. imbursement under certain state, indus- > Read more about DETC accreditation

How to green your pets We love our pets, whether they’re fetching a stick, purring in our laps, or stealing that organic T-bone off the table and chowing down the family meal. But our cats and dogs do more than bring joy and bemusement. Today’s pets have real impacts on the planet. What’s a caring owner to do?

adorable and worthy of a 1950s radio hit. But alltoo-many canines at pet stores come from puppy mills—operations run by unscrupulous breeders who profit from producing as many animals as they can, often under terrible conditions.

Let the heeling begin. Dogs that are off-leash What would we do without our fluffballs of joy? or left to roam are likely to harass, hurt, or kill Whether they’re sleeping, drooling, chewing, wildlife—and can get lost, hit by a car, or wind scratching, or knocking down lamps with their up at the pound. tails, our pets are some of the best friends we Felines, meanwhile, are unrivaled bird serial killhave. But like the two-legged members in the ers. The nation’s 100 million cats kill hundreds of family—and we mean humans, not parakeets— millions of birds each year, according to the U.S. dogs and cats can also harm the earth. Fish and Wildlife Service. Avoid these woes and If worrying about Spot and Puff’s greeness isn’t keep dogs in check—and cats indoors. An extra something you have time for, relax: Reducing benefit: Indoor cats live much longer. carbon pawprints is a snap. Green the chow. You won’t see these ingredients Spay today. Some 3,000 kittens and puppies are on the label, but conventional pet foods contain born every hour in the U.S. each year. As many as 8 earth-hurting (and dangerous) additives like pesmillion unwanted dogs and cats wind up at animal ticides, herbicides and hormones. If you see “meat shelters and about 4 million of them are euthanized or poultry byproducts” or “reconstituted animal annually because no one will adopt them. byproducts” on pet food packaging, what you could be getting is waste material from slaughterWhat do the numbers have to do with the enhouses, including hair and blood. Some pet foods vironment? Pet overpopulation is cruel to aneven contain byproducts from “4D” animals: the imals—and bad for the earth, too. Feral and dead, diseased, dying, or disabled. What to do? abandoned pets suffer hunger and disease, foul waterways with their feces, and chase away or Buy natural organic pet foods. They’re prokill wildlife. No bones about it: spaying is the best duced in eco-friendly ways and free of harmful thing you can do to solve what many experts call chemicals, additives, and drugs. a pet overpopulation crisis. Go natural. Your pooch and kitty don’t need acDon’t buy that doggie in the window. Yes, they’re cessories made of vinyl, a major environmental

evil (and instantly shred-able, to boot). Instead, pick up the natural alternatives, made with organic ingredients and produced in sustainable ways. Today’s marketplace is filled with dozens of green organic dog products and cat items, including everything from treats and beds to kitty litter and chews for that gnaw-happy puppy. Try Purrfect Play or one of the many other businesses offering organic pet supplies. No pile left behind. Dog poop is, well, a mess. Left ignored, it winds up on people’s shoes or (eww) bare feet. It spreads germs and runs into storm sewers and local waterways. © Amy Linn, SustainLane Staff > Green your pet with the Apothecary Shoppe, where natural pet products abound > Click here to read the original article

U.S. military uses alternative medicine Yoga is one of the newest ‘secret weapons’ in the US Armed Forces. Major Nisha Money, who currently serves as the Chief of Air Force Fitness for the Surgeon General at USAF Headquarters in Washington DC, gave me the scoop. Soldiers suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. within a specialized care program that incorporates the iRest protocol. Major Money stated that she hopes that it will not be long before there is a movement to integrate body-mind-spirit healing modalities that not only serve as treatment interventions for emotional and physical trauma but also play a role in prevention by attenuating the impact of emotional trauma experienced in the battlefield.

ant zones physically prepared to fight. It would also be helpful to add components within deployment readiness training programs that build mental strength as well.” Major Money MD, MPH, ABHM, trained in Preventive Medicine with an emphasis in clinical epidemiology and international health has an integrative medicine practice on the side. She’s also boarded by the American Board of Holistic Medicine, certified by UCLA’s Physician’s Medical Acupuncture Program, accomplished in “neurorobics”, and trained in mind-body medicine modalities and yoga nidra (Integrative Restoration - iRest) to help alleviate emotional distress secondary to trauma. © Ode posted to SustainLane 6/15/09

As she put it, “Our soldiers are sent into combat- > Click here to review and post a response

The Reporter call for submissions The ACHS Reporter is putting able publishing experience. out a call for submissions. To write for the ACHS ReportWe’re looking to expand, to er, your submission should be provide our readers with more comprehensive, original, and comprehensive holistic health noncommercial. Submissions information and to provide are due by the 15th of each you, our students, with valu- month and can include how-

Advertising Opportunity ACHS now offers low-cost classified listings in both of our monthly newsletters, which combined directly reach more than 20,000 people and are searchable from our main website. This is your target audience. Start making connections today. Classified ads are offered in 6-month increments limited to 25 words at a total cost of $150. Website hyperlink included free of charge. Purchase of classified advertising also includes a one-time featured profile in The Reporter and a high resolution accompanying image. The submission deadline for August is July 24. For information, call Lauren at (503) 244-0726 or email newsletter@ achs.edu.

to articles, research reviews, Students who submit work book reviews, creative writ- that is published will receive a publishing credit on their ing, recipes, and so on. transcript. Email all submisSubmission does not guarantee sions and inquiries to newspublication, and all submissions [email protected] or call Lauren may be subject to editing by the Shapiro at (800) 487-8839 for more information. ACHS Reporter editorial staff.