Do you enjoy reading this free on-line newsletter? Do you appreciate the fact that there are no sponsoring commercial ads cluttering the pages of the newsletter and website? Then please consider making a contribution to help sustain them. I have always wanted Betty's house to be commercial free, and that is still my intention. Nevertheless everything connected with the website and newsletter costs money, and over time I learned that I could not do it alone. I cannot say strongly enough how appreciative I am for those of you who help make the newsletter and Betty's House possible. Thank you just doesn't seem adequate to express how grateful I am.

A few months ago when I learned to make a short motivation videos for my personal use I showed them to friends and everyone wanted one. Out of that came the idea of offering them as a premium when someone makes a donation of $25.00 to this newsletter and the work of Betty's House . . . Life After MS. I then spent many, many hours over several months developing several of the videos.

I call them LifeDesign Videos, and since I introduced them the response has been very gratifying. Each video is from 4 to 5 minutes in length and incorporates affirmations and appropriate images, backed up with motivational music. Two are currently offered: Spirituality and Health and Weight Loss.

If you received one of the videos before I was able to make them available
for download directly from my website, and you are still accessing them only from
YouTube, please send me a note and tell me which video(s) you have and I'll send
you download instructions so you can place an icon on your computer desktop for ease of playing.

You may mail your contribution to Iams House, 139 Inner Circle, Davis, CA 95618, or use credit card or Pay Pal at my on-line shopping cart here. When making your contribution through the shopping cart, please indicate under "shipping instructions" which video you would like to receive. The on-line shopping cart makes it very easy, You will receive instructions, normally the same day, for downloading directly from my website. If you send a contribution by mail, please be sure to include your e-mail address and video selection. Your contributions make the website and this newsletter possible.

Be sure to rinse quinoa thoroughly before steaming in a covered saucepan for about 30 minutes.

Make the dressing by combining the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl and whisking together until smooth. Add the water a few drops at a time to help thin the dressing a bit. Cover and set aside.

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet and lightly brown the garlic. Add the broccoli and cook quickly only until the broccoli becomes bright and tender.

Combine the quinoa and broccoli in a large bowl and mix together gently. Add a couple tablespoons of dressing and mix until completely combined. Drizzle with some extra dressing on each serving, garnish with sliced almonds and scallions, and enjoy!

NOTE FROM BETTY: This salad works equally well with brown rice instead of the quinoa.

HEAT oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add onions and red peppers; cook and stir 3 min. Stir in corn and zucchini; cook and stir 5 min. or until all vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from heat.

This is doubly delicious! It contains both fresh guacamole and fire roasted salsa (You may substitute any favorite well-drained salsa.)

2. In another medium bowl, place avocados; coarsely mash. Stir in remaining guacamole ingredients.

3. Spoon guacamole into shallow serving bowl; top with salsa. Serve with tortilla chips as desired.

NOTE: If you like summer burger cookouts, try this incredibly delicious dip with your favorite healthy baked chips. I bake my own from corn tortillas.

FOOD TIP OF THE MONTH: Sunlight doesn't ripen tomatoes - warmth does. Store your tomatoes with stems pointed down at room temperature and they will stay fresh longer, and the flavor will be enhanced. Refrigerating tomatoes is not recommended. (Who knew!)

I was thinking recently about what I had to do to get my body back to functioning at 100% after a recent six-weeks-long bout with bronchitis.

No. 1: Attention to a natural, unprocessed diet. That seems so basic for me, and in a way that is true. But being a single lady I have all-to-often fallen back on prepared foods that are so readily available in our supermarkets. Back to basics.

No. 2: I am back to my daily meditation practice, which I find I cannot do when I am ill. When one has an acute cough and congestion, getting into that alpha state is just not possible. And when once we have gotten off our schedule for a few days/weeks, it is difficult to get back to our daily routine. Back to basics.

No. 3: I am also back to my daily practice of Qi Gong. That, incidentally, was the first thing I resumed, even when I was still quite ill, because I could feel an immediate positive response from my body. Back to basics.

All this is to remind all of us that the rules never change. I frequently tell readers that they do not need to know any more than they do today; we just need to diligently put into practice what we already know. It is easy to tell ourselves that we just haven't found the right program yet. Please do not allow yourself to be duped into accepting that old, tired lie . . . er excuse.

Remember that the right program for you is residing inside you right now. You just need to learn to go inside and find your own answers. And when your body and your inner self talks to you, I suggest that you do not argue. Just get busy and do what you already know to do! Back to basics.

This YouTube link takes you to an awesome video by British humorist and author Dr. David Hamilton. I am often asked how it is that the thoughts we think create reality in our lives. Dr. Hamilton's very humorous video does a great job of explaining this phenomenon. You'll also love his endearing Scottish accent.

And while you are checking out cool YouTube videos, don't miss this really cute one:

I was minutes away from posting this newsletter to my website when the following report from Dr. Dake popped into my e-mail box, so I'm including it here.

CCSVI: What We Need to Know Now and in the Future

Multidisciplinary collaboration is a necessary step toward answering the many questions about the relationship between MS and extracranial venous obstruction.

By Michael D. Dake, MD

Over the last 2 years, most interventionists have become familiar with the term CCSVI (chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency). They share in common a passing exposure to the postulated concept of an association between venous obstruction to drainage of the brain and spinal cord and multiple sclerosis (MS), but most lack firsthand experience evaluating or treating CCSVI. Many are aware of the frequently contentious and inflamed public discussions among groups of interested parties, including neurologists, MS patients and their families, interventionists, federal officials, etc., and thus have decided to observe the drama rather than join the heated fray.

In discussions around the world in cath labs, angio suites, operating rooms, neurology departments, and MS clinics on patient social networks; in feature pages of prominent newspapers and magazines and programming of mainstream media outlets; and at local, national, and international medical meetings, the proposed relationship between MS and extracranial venous obstruction is examined, questioned, but always debated. Everyone wants to learn more.

Everyone wants to understand: What do we know and what don’t we know about CCSVI?

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW

As all involved focus on these two unknowns, it may prove pragmatically more relevant at this early stage of our fundamental knowledge to consider: What do we need to know? Or posed in another way: What is necessary to establish before it is reasonable to embark on large-scale controlled, multi-institution, randomized trials of CCSVI treatment capable of demonstrating or disproving a link between MS and venous obstruction?

When considering the inability over the last 150 years to definitively grasp the underlying cause of MS, the conceptual difficulties that persistently challenge our understanding of the interplay between anatomical and physiological factors that contribute to symptomatic venous obstruction of other vascular territories, and the difficult-to-comprehend roles of a variety of conditions that apparently portend a predisposition to developing MS, it is unlikely that the CCSVI theory will lend itself to easy pathophysiological examination. Paradoxically, it may prove easier to move forward with CCSVI treatment studies that incorporate established objective endpoints accepted by MS neurologists rather than pursue unproven evaluations of specific but possibly irrelevant physiological consequences of venous flow disturbances.

SKEPTICISM AND CRITICISM

It is understandable that the vast majority of neurologists who deal with MS patients are highly skeptical of CCSVI. Most neurologists have lived through a series of unproven and even dangerous pseudotherapies that prey on the vulnerability and hope-seeking nature of patients with an incurable, progressively disabling disease. From snake venom, to bee stings, and hyperbaric oxygen, etc., neurologists are especially sensitive to potential scams that have plagued the MS landscape, while at the same time consciously aware that many patients are marginally satisfied by their response to the “effective” approved pharmacological therapies.

Despite the current criticism of CCSVI and the recognition that most conversations on the subject between neurologists and interventionists don’t always go well, there is experience that is providing data and evidence to support future randomized controlled treatment trials. Undoubtedly, one of the foremost issues to be addressed is the risk to patients of any CCSVI treatment procedure. Fortunately, the safety of currently practiced endovascular therapy—predominantly percutaneous balloon angioplasty (PTA), is the one area where a substantial fund of data is available from the estimated 13,000 to 15,000 patients treated to date worldwide.

Multiple large patient series published in the medical literature document that any serious complications from PTA of jugular and azygous veins are exceedingly rare.^1-5 Untoward effects that are encountered are not dissimilar from adverse events known to accompany balloon dilation of lesions in other venous territories. Establishment of a safety profile for endovascular treatment of CCSVI that is consistent in these reports is a very important step forward and the demonstration of only mild side effects in a minority of patients is critical to advancing further study.

THE FUTURE OF CCSVI

So, as we are poised at this snapshot in time, ready to advance to the next chapter of the CCSVI story—one that will hopefully include genuinely collaborative, multidisciplinary controlled treatment trials with randomized designs and meaningful objective efficacy endpoints—it is important to think about the future and what we would like to know. From this perspective, we can focus on the long list of questions that we hope future trials will bring us closer to answering. In terms of CCSVI diagnosis, treatment, and follow- up, some of the interesting unresolved issues are noted in the Questions Concerning Diagnosis and Treatment and Questions Concerning Posttreatment and Follow-Up sidebars.

In addition to this abridged list of questions are three of the most fundamental issues yet to be understood: What is the endovascular treatment of venous obstruction really affecting—is it flow or something else? Is there any evidence that the trajectory of disease progression is altered after CCSVI treatment? Finally, how can interventionists engage MS neurologists in a nonthreatening, meaningful collaboration to study a concept they regard as total lunacy?

Addressing these and other concerns will sternly test the resolve, patience, and willingness of all concerned individuals to engage in multidisciplinary collaborations to better understand the nature of CCSVI and potentially benefit the lives of MS patients.

Michael D. Dake, MD, is Thelma and Henry Doelger Professor (III), Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine and Falk Cardiovascular Research Center in Stanford, California. He has disclosed that he holds no financial interest related to this article. Dr. Dake may be reached at mddake@stanford.edu.

Your newsletter is so beautiful and so full of positivity and hope! Thank you so much for sharing what you have learned in healing yourself of MS and leading a full and ‘normal’ life. I was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2005 – thankfully I continue to be ambulatory. I love all the advice you give, the recipes, book reviews / recommendations. I am truly grateful, Its a newsletter I shall continue to look forward to reading. Many Blessings and Thanks, /s/ Susan

Sorry to be so familiar, but I feel like I know you after reading your newsletter for years.

You introduced me to qi gong and mediation – two things which have brought a measure of calm and peace to my life. Thank you.

I do still, however, have MS. And for a good year, like many of us with this infernal disease, I got caught up in the is-CCSVI-the-answer? vortex. As I am a writer here in Canada, I wrote about my personal quest. I’ve noted the link in case you might want to give it a read. If you think its useful, of course do pass on the link. /s/ Ingeborg Boyens

Thanks so much for sharing your CCSVI story. Many people who had the corrective procedure done have had the same experience you did. A lot of them have written to me, giving the details of how the placement of permanent stents has seemed to be the answer for them. I do believe that in time better and standardized testing and procedures will increase significantly the percentages of people who have success with the procedure.

It is certainly apparent that even if the procedure is successful, the person still has whatever caused their MS diagnosis. The doctor in New York, I believe his name is Siskin, seems to have done the most procedures and documented his successes (and failures) very well. I communicate with a number of people in that part of the U.S. who have been to his clinic, and if they re-stenosed he always follows with a second procedure. Most of them are doing very well.

My best to you for ultimate success in defeating your “uninvited guest.” Remember it took me about 10 years to defeat mine. I do believe that keeping our body functioning at an optimum healthy level allows that self-healing to work.

Thanks so much for the Spirituality video. It is such a powerful way to internalize affirmations. We have been subscribing to your newsletter for a lot of years, and find everything you recommend works. And I love your recipes. We look forward to the newsletter each month. /s/ John and Caroline R.

Thanks guys for your note. The videos work - if we diligently use them. Many, many people are reporting positive changes that they credit to their regular viewing of a video.

We human beings are made up of three separate parts, all very important to the whole.

BODY: Our body is the "house" we live in, and just as we must maintain our physical home, we must maintain our body. That is one of the reasons why exercise is so very important. Think of it as body maintenance. We cannot maintain a healthy body with a consistent exercise program. Even if it is just walking or sitting and moving our arms and legs. We absolutely MUST exercise. If we aren't doing that, on a regular basis, we are kidding ourselves that we are trying to be healthy.

Maintaining our body, as well as attaining a higher level of health, must, of course, include good nutrition. We all know what it takes to eat healthily. So why don't we do it? Good question. Probably the answers are as varied as are those who do not practice good nutrition.

MIND: Throughout the eons of recorded history our mind has developed as the guiding force. We are blessed with the ability to make out own decisions that determine how our life turns out. Think of the mind as the "steering" wheel that drives our physical body. This is key to healing as well as achievement.

Napoleon Hill is often credited with the quote, "Whatever the mind of man can see and believe, it can achieve." Every achiever in whatever area credits this belief as a source of their motivation. It certainly has been a contributing factor to my own success in both the business world and overcoming my MS.

Once you accept that you can overcoming old limiting beliefs, and accept that you can retrain your mind to achieve, using such tools as affirmations and meditation, you are well on your way. The key? Simply believing in yourself.

SPIRIT: Our spirit is our eternal connection to Our Source, The Universe, The Creator, God, or whatever one chooses to call that power. Our spirit - our power source - is like the fuel that drives everything connected to our body from the moment of birth until the moment of death. The physical evidence of the spirit is our breath. This is the aspect of our being that religionists call the soul, and it is why breath exercises are important.

This amazing life force energy not only permeates our body, but it surrounds us and connects us to everything and everybody. The reason hugs feel so good is because in that process we share (give and receive) energy with the other person.

I remember when I first became aware of the power of breath control. I had always believed that breathing was a totally automatic function of our bodies. Well, in a way that is true. And probably early man did not need nor recognize breath control. The difference between then and now is that as our lifestyle has become more complicated and stressful, we restrict our breath, thus creating an environment that encourages dis-ease in our body.

While breathing, which IS an autonomic nervous system function, will sustain life, it today's world it will not sustain the body in a healthy state.

Many people make the mistake of thinking spirit is about religion. Not true! I am absolutely not a religious person, but I am a deeply spiritual person. The discovery of this distinction was an important piece of my own physical recovery from MS.

Most of you know that I was a piano and organ teacher for many years. The first time I had any inkling that breath control could have a positive effect on my body was when as a young student I was preparing for an important recital. The "stage fright" was overwhelming and I didn't think I could perform in front of lots of people. Then my teacher taught me to sit quietly and take several very deep breaths followed by very slow and long exhales. It worked! That calming effect I achieved was my first experience with controlling my body through controlling my breath.

It was only after I began my search for self-healing that I made the connection between breath control and healing. And that realization came through studying Qi Gong and Yoga. Once I learned to really listen to my body, I could really see and experience the healing power of the breath.

It often occurs to me how truly simple self-healing is. Why do we make it difficult? One of the reasons is that we live in an "instant gratification" society. Allopathic medicine has contributed greatly to that expectation. We grew up expecting doctors to write prescriptions that would make us well. And even though today we know that much of the time that does not work, and has even contributed to our physical challenges in many cases, at some level in our psyche we cling to that old erroneous belief in medicine. Unfortunately many physicians also still cling to that belief. Please do not misunderstand me. Allopathic medicine has done a lot of good, but we must learn its limitations and take responsibility for our own health.

I really believe that self-healing is easy to achieve. The challenging part is to accept the power of these important body, mind, and spirit connections and how they drive our health.

I am truly committed to helping each and every one of you discover how truly magnificent you are, and what tremendous capabilities you possess.

I firmly believed that I create my world, so with that as a foundation I set out to prove that I could reverse my MS; and I proved I could accomplish that. The message, then, is that we must begin from where we are. How we get from here to there depends mostly on where we start from. I think of the journey as being like traveling from one point to another. The place from which we begin determines the route we must travel to get there. And remember that you may make stops and/or detours along the way. I made many course corrections along the way of my own journey.

Just remember that there is no time like the present to begin. Realize what you are truly capable of and take the first step toward your destination of greater health. It's your body, your life and your health. You're in charge and no one can tell you otherwise. No doctor nor family member has the right to make health decisions for you. Within this truth lies the key to improving your relationship with your body, which will open doors to the whole new level of greater health that you desire.

I continue to be excited about my awesome motivation videos, which are much like mini-movies. I absolutely know that they work! Why? Your mind is like very fertile soil. And just as we can and should improve garden soil, we should and can improve our mind. Just because we may have always accepted that we can not change the events in our life, we do not have to continue to have that crippling belief. One of he ways we change our mental conditioning is through daily programming our mind with affirmations of what we want to be true.

Science has proven with modern brain scans, which indicate how our brain responds to various stimuli, that our mind does not know the difference between a visualization and an actual happening. That opens a whole world of possibilities for programming our mind. You and I actually think in pictures . . . that is what visualization really is. And we are actually thinking in pictures all the time. Why not direct those pictures into creating a healthier, better life for ourselves. The possibilities are endless!

I encourage you to add viewing a short 4-5 minute video to your routine every day to help yourself manifest whatever you want to achieve in your life.

My mission is and shall continue to be keeping Journey to Wellness and its archives totally free 24/7. I am grateful for all of you, and your much-appreciated support. I shall continue to make the premium affirmation videos available to anyone who makes a $25 contribution to this newsletter and the work of Betty's House. You may read more about the videos here, and make a selection in my on-line shopping cart, here.

In recent weeks I have done private consultations with newly diagnosed visitors to my website, as well as receiving a number of e-mails from readers of this newsletter, who are trying to stick with the raw food diet touted on the Internet. The reason they have contacted me is because their body does not seem to be accepting this drastic change, and they are looking for help/advise on what to do.

For me, talking with them is like déjà vu. For those of you who have read my book, From MS to Wellness, I related how early on in my own MS journey how I had tried just about everything I had ever heard of or read about that might help me. One of them was the raw food diet.

Please hear me - everyone. Just because something may have worked for someone else does not mean it will work for you. When I tried the raw food plan, it just about turned me inside out. I stuck with it for 2-3 weeks before realizing that it was getting worse instead of better, and I discontinued the plan.

What I have learned is this . . . If you want to try something that is drastic, then do it gradually. That way you have an opportunity to see at what level you begin to experience digestive challenges, like diarrhea, etc. If you keep careful track of how you react to certain foods, that will also be helpful.

Do I recommend the raw food plan? I neither recommend it, nor do I not recommend it. But I have never seen any evidence that it necessarily has a positive effect on MS.

Please remember, what improves one's MS is bringing your body back to a state of bio-chemical balance, and ANYTHING that adds to that goal is what you are looking for. Stress reduction, a very few supplements like Vitamin D and Omega 3 oils, a positive can-do attitude and determination to succeed - all the things I write about each month in this newsletter. These are the "tools" with which you have the ability to initiate self-healing of whatever dis-ease you may have.