Holiday Greetings, and welcome to the December 2011 newsletter! As we say
goodbye to another year, here’s wishing you lots of holiday cheer. Often the
best part of the holidays is catching up with all those who give your life
special meaning. Enjoy yourself!


This issue has another recent report on massage benefits—this study was done
on the other side of the world in Korea. Wherever you go today, more people are
discovering the many ways massage can help them lead healthier lives.


Toward the end, you’ll find a couple of interesting health reports that show
we are constantly learning about how our bodies work. And the more we learn, the
more tools we have to pursue a healthier future for ourselves and our loved
ones. Good health is created in part by making healthy choices, so hopefully
these newsletters help inspire you to take better care of yourself.


If you’re still trying to decide what to give some of the folks on your
shopping list this holiday season, remember that massage gift certificates are a
wonderful solution—and just a phone call away! Until we meet again, enjoy the
rest of your holidays!


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Doing some last-minute holiday shopping?
How about a massage gift certificate?


Nothing offers a greater reward than the gift of health and well-being.


Holiday shopping made easy — Call today!


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Stay Healthy This Holiday Season


This time of year can remind us of how life is in a constant state of change.
When families and old friends gather together, we observe the kids getting older
and life moving forward for us all. It’s a good reminder that we have a hand in
choosing the future conditions we’ll have for our families and ourselves.


The first element that sets the stage for a happy life is being as healthy as
possible. This incorporates all aspects of life—the emotional, mental, and
spiritual as well as the physical—each being vital to attaining optimum health.
The more you contribute to improving all of these elements in your life, the
more rewarding your life should be.


Getting regular massages in Jefferson GA can help you and your loved ones improve the odds
for being healthy in the days to come. Here’s one example of how regular massage
can benefit you:


By design, our bodies function better when they get lots of physical use.
Since most people today lead fairly sedentary lives, their bodies may be more
prone to poor health. Massage can help you experience some of the health
benefits you may be missing from inactivity.  The various massage strokes
can help to stimulate many body functions as if you were being physically
active. And if you are physically active, it can help to relax those sore
muscles!


So schedule your next massage—be sure to make your well-being a high
priority, so you can really enjoy your life feeling your best!


Research Shows Massage Therapy Relaxes the Autonomic Nervous System


Any massage client will attest to the relaxing power of massage therapy. And
new research indicates massage therapy combined with heat relaxes the autonomic
nervous system [the system that controls involuntary reactions, such as
digestion & breathing].


One hundred thirty-nine subjects volunteered and completed this study,
according to an abstract published on www.pubmed.gov. Heat and massage were daily
applied for 40 minutes, five days a week for two weeks.


Among the results was a significant decrease in levels of both serum
cortisol, commonly referred to as the stress hormone, and plasma norepinephrine,
which causes vasoconstriction and increased heart rate.


"The results of this study suggest that heat and massage applications provide
relaxation to the autonomic nervous system without serious adverse events," the
investigators noted in the abstract.


"The effects of heat and massage application on autonomic nervous system" was
conducted by investigators at Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine in
Korea and was published in Yonsei Medical Journal. (2011 Nov 1;52(6):982-9.)


Source: massagemag.com


Slowing the aging process — Could there be a cure for getting old? Scientists
have discovered that if they remove a special kind of cell that promotes aging,
mice are freed of many age-related conditions. As cells age and lose the ability
to divide, they become what scientists call senescent cells. These cells, which
build up in aging tissue, pump out inflammatory toxins. They “act like demon
seed and kill everything around them,” James Kirkland, a physiologist at the
Mayo Clinic, tells Science News. When researchers used drugs to eliminate
senescent cells in genetically engineered mice, the mice stayed far more
youthful: They didn’t develop cataracts, their skin didn’t wrinkle, and they
maintained high levels of energy. This breakthrough “suggests therapies that
might work in real patients, ” says No rman E. Sharpless, an aging expert at the
University of North Carolina. Previously, scientists weren’t sure if killing off
senescent cells would have negative side effects, but the mice in the study were
healthier without them. If the same holds true in people, purging these cells
could ward off a host of age-related diseases, from cancer to dementia, and keep
us healthier longer.


– The Week Vol 11 Iss 541


Why diets usually fail — Hormones, not lack of willpower, may explain why
four out of five people who lose weight gain it all back within a few years. A
new study has found that even a year after dieters lose weight, their bodies are
still sending them strong and often irresistible hormonal signals to eat more.
Australian researchers put a group of 50 overweight adults on a strict, 10-week
diet that caused them to lose an average of 14 percent of their body weight.
When they tested the subjects a year later, they found that levels of hormones
like leptin, which keeps appetite in check, and ghrelin, a hunger stimulant, had
changed dramatically, slowing their metabolism and intensifying feelings of
hunger. Their bodies had been programmed to keep weight at a higher “set point,”
and were fighting to gain back the lost pounds. As a result , the volunteers
gained back an average of half the weight they had lost, despite sticking to
careful meal plans designed to keep it off. “What is impressive is that these
[hormonal] changes, don’t go away,” Rudolph Leibel, an obesity researcher at
Columbia University, tells The New York Times. By dieting, he says, “you are
putting your body into a circumstance it will resist.”


– The Week Vol 11 Iss 541


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Peace is when time doesn't matter as it passes by.
— Maria Schell

The  content of this letter is not intended to
replace professional medical advice.
                                        
                If you’re ill, please consult a physician.
© 2011 Massage
Marketing. Used with permission; all rights reserved.