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Joint pain, known as arthritis, comes in many forms. The most common type is osteoarthritis, known as “wear and tear arthritis.”

Joint pain can flare up for a number of reasons — some of which may be overlooked by conventional practitioners. Many of my patients ask me if their pain is caused by arthritis. Sadly, it is estimated that one in five Americans has been diagnosed with some form or arthritis. There are over a hundred different arthritic conditions, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis being the most well known.

Rheumatoid arthritis, is an autoimmune disease causing inflammation in the synovial fluid of the joint. Rheumatoid arthritis is most common in the hands and feet and is frequently accompanied by a hot or warm feeling in the joint, stiffness for over 30 minutes in the morning, the same joint affected on both sides of the body, polyarthritis (more than one joint affected at a time), and pain that can last through the night. With this form of arthritis, most of my patients notice the pain eases the more they use the joint.

Osteoarthritis, on the other hand, feels worse the more we exercise and as the day wears on. Also linked to inflammation, this type of arthritis can be traced back to a breakdown in the joint cartilage. It generally affects the hips, knees, spine, hands and feet and develops as more of a wear-and-tear situation, whereas rheumatoid arthritis is closely tied with genetic factors that lead to an autoimmunity problem.

What you need to know if you suffer from arthritis.
All forms of arthritis involve some kind of inflammation — either local or systemic. When injured, a chain of events in your immune system known as the inflammatory cascade is triggered. This is what causes the redness, swelling and pain we often see with an acute injury. When this process, known as local or acute inflammation, turns on and then off in response to injury it’s a sign of a healthy immune system. Yet when the symptoms of inflammation don’t disappear, it tells us that your immune system is unable to turn itself off when it should and therefore leads to a state of chronic inflammation.

How do I begin to heal my arthritis pain?

1. Adopt a healthy diet rich in natural anti-inflammatories. Eat small meals often and choose a diet of richly colored fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and pure omega-3 fatty acids.
2. Class IV Laser Therapy. Ending the pain caused by arthritis requires stopping the cycle of inflammation. Class IV laser therapy is an excellent method for this, because it is presently the only modality that can both reduce inflammation and heal tissue simultaneously. Laser therapy creates an optimal healing environment that reduces inflammation, swelling, muscle spasms, stiffness and pain. As the injured area returns to normal, function is restored and pain is quickly relieved.
3. Rule out infection and allergies. Special testing is available to identify subclinical infections and allergies to foods and toxins.
4. Remove/reduce the toxins in your life. If you cannot understand the ingredients on the label don’t buy the product.
5. Reduce stress. Exercise, meditation, nature walks, yoga, prayer … The beauty of stress reduction is that it’s never a waste of time — it serves you on every possible level.

We have great success helping people solve the causes of their joint pain. If you suffer from arthritis it is worth your while to spend some time figuring out which of any number of factors are contributing to your pain — and which combination of therapies will help heal it. The good news is — you can do it without drugs, and you don’t have to give up any of the activities you love!

Dr. Niele Maimone, DC is the owner and founder of Align Healing Center in Danville, CA. She has been active in our natural health & wellness community since 1999. For more information or to set up a consult call 925.362.8283 or visit www.alignhealingcenter.com.

I love the beach; the fresh air and sitting there enjoying my family and friends, watching the waves and smelling all the tropical coconut lotions and Hawaiian suntan oils. Being out in the beautiful sun enjoying longer and warmer days—that, to me, is summer.

We all like to soak up the sun and sit on the beach, but in reality, the truth hurts – or in this case – burns. Skin does age faster if you overdo it in the sun. We all know this by now and use sunscreens if we are out in the sun for long periods of time. But what does the sun really do to our skin when we are exposed to it for extended periods of time?

One of the questions my clients ask most often is, “Does the skin on the face age faster than the skin on the rest of the body?” It appears to, and the reality is, it is the way we treat our skin – not the aging process, that “ages” facial skin most.

Scientists explain it this way: There are two types of aging, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic (internal) aging is the rate of aging that occurs with the passage of time. Extrinsic (external) aging is intrinsic aging compounded by external causes such as sunlight, air pollution, and inflammation caused by harsh cleansers, rough treatments, hard water, and disease processes. Compounding extrinsic damage is basically the notion that, with age, your body’s ability to repair itself slows considerably. Children’s and teenager’s cells can repair themselves nearly perfectly from damage, but from age 20 to age 50 and beyond, the aging process begins to accelerate, because we no longer have this similar ability for perfect repair.

So when you are soaking up the rays of the sun and your skin gets inflamed or sunburned, it is very hard for the skin to repair itself. We see cellular damage in the form of wrinkles, sunspots and sagging skin. You do not see the aging process right away, but when you reach your forties and fifties, you will see visible signs of aging to the surface of the skin.

ANTIOXIDANTS TO THE RESCUE
Happily, our skin has allies in its constant fight against free-radical damage. With technologies in highly advanced skin care, scientists have discovered certain nutrients like antioxidants (a group that includes Vitamin C, amino acids, DMAE and Co-enzymes) that can stop or even reverse free-radical damage caused by too much sun. They will help heal and repair a good deal of the damage. The best advice I can give you is if you want to look tan, buy a great, natural-looking, gradual self tanner. Sit in the sun in moderation and use a high-grade skin care collection from licensed aestheticians. At The Rouge we carry only the highest clinical grade anti-aging products on the market. We have many creams formulated especially for repairing cellular damage caused by too much sun exposure. Keep some of these products in your beach bag this summer, and your skin will look youthful and gorgeous for years to come.

Theresa Taylor Grutzeck is the owner of the Rouge, Kiss and Make-up Studio, 822 Hartz Way, Danvile, CA 94526. Phone: 925-736-3900 and email: info@therougecosmetics.com

Along with blue skies and all the sweet floral fragrances in the air, May kicks off a season to gather with friends and family—on Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and for all the inevitable bridal showers and graduation parties soon to follow. There’s no better time than now to scope out the farmers’ market for entertaining ideas. Spring greens, tender young veggies, juicy-sweet berries, and early stone fruits abound.

As long as we still experience some chilly evenings, I like to make this French country-style dessert using fresh cherries. Warm and comforting, clafoutis (pronounced claw-foo-TEE) is simply seasonal fruit baked with a puffy, custardy batter on top. It’s also very easy to make, and, if the truth be told, a really fun word to say.

Feel free to substitute other fruits as they become available: figs, apricots, peaches, plums, grapes, and pears all work nicely. In France clafoutisis traditionally made with unpitted cherries, but living in amore litigious society has convinced me that pitting them is a better idea.

I’m a big fan of an inexpensive gadget reminiscent of a hand-held paper punch. It is designed to pit cherries (as well as olives) by pressing a plunger through the center of the fruit. Lacking one of these little gizmos, use a small, sharp knife to cut all around the cherry, beginning and ending at the stem area. Twist to separate the two halves, and use the tip of the knife to flick out the pit. Whichever method you use, it’s always best to work over a bowl to catch all those precious cherry juices, so you can add them to the batter for added flavor. To avoid staining your hands, wear protective gloves throughout the procedure…though many of us have learned to sport those pink stains with pride.

Cherry & Almond Clafoutis
3 cups farm-fresh cherries (about 1 lb.), stemmed and pitted
2 tablespoons kirsch (cherry brandy) or other brandy
1/3 cup sliced California almonds
1/2 tablespoon butter, softened; plus 1 tablespoon cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
Confectioners’ (powdered) sugar and/or crème fraîcheor vanilla ice cream

1. In a bowl, toss the cherries with the kirsch. Set them aside to macerate, tossing periodically, for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Scatter the almonds on a baking sheet and bake, stirring once or twice, until barely golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Grease a 10- to 11-inch pie, quiche, or other shallow round baking dish with the 1/2 tablespoon of butter; then dust the bottom with about 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl, if using a hand mixer), mix together the eggs, the 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the milk, cream, almond extract, and salt until blended. With the machine running on Low, gradually mix in the flour. Increase the speed to Medium and mix for 5 minutes to aerate the batter. Drain the cherries and set aside, then mix the kirsch and accumulated cherry juices into the batter.
4. Pour about 1/2 cup of the batter into the prepared baking dish. Scatter the drained cherries evenly over the bottom of the dish, then carefully pour the remaining batter over the top. Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and about 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Dot the surface with the cold butter pieces. Continue bakinguntil the clafoutis is nicely puffed and golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center shows no evidence of uncooked egg, 30 to 40 minutes.
5. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 20-30 minutes. (The clafoutis will sink slightly as it cools.) Serve warm or at room temperature, spooned onto individual dessert plates. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if you like, or accompany with a dollop of crème fraîche or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serves 6.

The Danville Certified Farmers’ Market, located at Railroad and Prospect, is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For specific crop information call the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association at 1-800-949-FARM or visit their web site at www.pcfma.com.

“For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health,” and so on. With these words over fifty years ago, Barbara and I were joined in matrimony. I prefer to look at this connection more as a rubber band than as a chain. A chain is an inflexible connection, but a rubber band expands and contracts. Sometimes it’s in a relaxed state with little or no tension. But occasionally it gets stressed to its maximum. Over the long span of our marriage never has the tension reached the point of breaking, but it sure came close that April on the northern coast of Borneo.

This story begins several years ago when Barb said, “I would love to go around the world on one of those packages the airlines offer.” Seeing as we were still suffering jet lag from our last trip, I did not take the threat too seriously. However, Barb never jokes about trips. The subject apparently came up quite often, although I was somehow unaware of it until one night she made the pronouncement, “Well, I guess it’s settled then.” I was watching some mindless sitcom on TV, so my defenses were not up to snuff.

“What’s settled?” I asked.

“The around the world trip of course – we’ve discussing it for weeks.” We had? I tried hard to remember those earth-shattering, budget-breaking discussions, but for the life of me I couldn’t.

“I think a stop in Europe like Germany, then on to Asia, say India, next to Australia, and then home would be a great itinerary.”

I knew I had been had. At this stage we were no longer negotiating, we were planning, and I might as well just go along. The countries began to materialize—Germany, India, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Wait a minute! How did Singapore and New Zealand get in there?

“Well, the route takes us to them, so it’s natural just to stop off for a few days.” This normal logic for Barb began to look like overkill to me. I protested but knew it was to no avail.

“We’ll be really tired after the long trip, and the flight from Auckland, New Zealand to the United States stops in the Cook Islands. I got us a cottage on the lagoon for five days to rest up before we get home,” I was informed. Frankly, I had never heard of the Cook Islands, but when Barb described the beach, the waving palm trees, and the relaxing few days, I quickly surrendered.

A week or so later I noticed a great deal of email to Barb from Tunisia. Now I knew she was making reservations for the trip online, but where did Tunisia fit in? I thought I’d best get involved, and quick.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” she said. “The United Airlines Star Alliance package allows us 29,000 miles, and our itinerary has us way short of that. So I added Tunisia and Brunei.”

I was dumbstruck. Not only had we added Tunisia, but now I was going to Brunei. Frankly, I could not have found Brunei on a map in ten years of trying. (By the way, Brunei is on the north coast of Borneo.)

I knew it was time to put my foot down. I already was visualizing a mortgage on our home for this trip. The previously-discussed rubber band had now just about reached its limit. We agreed our itinerary was now fixed, our budget was fixed, and my tolerance was at its maximum. This was it – absolutely – no additions, changes, or corrections. We both took a blood oath, and the details began to fall into place.

“Humph,” she said a month or so later. “Humph,” she repeated. And I knew it would go on until I responded. So I said, “Humph what?”

“I bet you have no idea where Limbang is do you?”

“No, and I really don’t give a darn.”
“If you were on a TV quiz show and they asked you, you’d lose all your money.”

“There are no questions that hard on any quiz show, so I’m safe.”

“OK then, I know something you don’t.”

This wasn’t going to work. I needed to nip it in the bud before it got out of hand. “Our itinerary is fixed, and we’re not going to any place near whatever you said. So forget it.”

“OK, but actually we’ll only be about forty kilometers away.”

“Good, that’s a safe distance,” I replied.

“After our conversation the other day,” she began a few days later. “I’ll bet you looked up Limbang, didn’t you?”

“Not on your life, baby, and you’d better drop it or I’ll renege on Tunisia.”

With that sensitive exchange our planning ended and we began to prepare for the actual trip. At least that’s what I thought.

So off we went on our great adventure. Frankfurt in Germany, Tunis in Tunisia, New Delhi in India, Singapore, and on to Brunei. On the flight to Brunei we mapped out our strategy as we always do, laying out our visit and checking where we needed guided tours and where we planned to go on our own. As always our days were full, and we read the prep notes that we had brought along. Now Barb, being a bit more structured than I am, and always more knowledgeable and better prepared, planned the sequence. She did that again for this visit. I noticed though that she had given us a free afternoon on the second day. Shopping, I mistakenly thought.

We checked into the hotel and started for our room when Barb stopped and said, “I’ll see you up in the room. I just want to check on some little matter.”

She came up to the room a little while later with a very guilty look.

“What?” I said.

“Guess what wonderful news. I found a driver who can take us over to Malaysia tomorrow afternoon. He’ll let us look around and get us back here by early evening with no sweat.”

“What do you want to do that for? Hey, wait a minute. What is the city’s name in Malaysia?”

“Well, the closest one is Limbang.”

I could scarcely hear her words.

“No way,” I said. This had now become a matter of principle.

“Well, I might go alone then.”

“Good, so long.”

The relationship was becoming very, very strained. In Brunei we visited the royal palace, the royal mosque, the royal museum, and all the other royal settings in Bandar Seri Begawan. But there was a cloud between us. The rubber band was about as taut as it ever gets.

“I leave at 1:00 P.M. today,” she informed me.

“Have a great trip,” I replied.

“It’s in an air conditioned car with an English-speaking driver.”

“Good, then you’ll have someone to talk to,” I replied.

But at five minutes to one, the rubber band began to pull us back together. I was worried about her going alone, and she was worried about this complicated adventure. The trip was generally uneventful. We had no problems with visas. We sailed through immigration both in and out of Malaysia. The price of the driver and car was reasonable, and the ride was a delight through banana and coconut groves. We saw huge water buffaloes swimming with white herons on their backs. The city of Limbang was quite prosperous; twenty school children in white shirts and gray slacks came up to us and wanted to practice English. It was wonderful. Once again the tension in the rubber band had pulled us back together.

Harry Hubinger is a retired engineer who operated his own company for twenty years. He first began traveling outside the United States on business, but these visits escalated upon his retirement. He has now traveled to 115 countries and continues to add several new ones each year. In 1998 he began writing his humorous and insightful articles for a supplement to a local newspaper. These stories, based on experiences most travelers could identify with, soon earned him a wide local following. In 2005 he published his first book, Stamps in My Passport—a collection of travel vignettes. Harry has lived in Danville for almost forty years and has volunteered with the Danville Police Department for the past seven. His wife, Barbara, is the detail chronicler of their trips. Her journals provide the background for Harry’s broader view. You can get his book at: www.travelbookspub.com.

“If songs are one of the first things we learn, they might also be some of the last things we remember.” Dr. Kathy Johnson

Music plays a very important role in our lives adding to our sense of well-being, happiness and even our memory. Researchers have scientifically shown that people that have been exposed to music do remarkably better in many aspects of behavior and everyday life.

Alzheimer’s Disease
Many of us have known someone with Alzheimer’s disease or someone who has suffered a stroke. It is a devastating diagnosis that directly or indirectly affects not only the patient but loved ones and friends as well. Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain; slowly, silently erasing knowledge of who they are, turning their loved ones into strangers and their own home into unknown territory. Alzheimer’s disease can go on for a number of years and gets progressively worse. At the present time there is no cure. However, researchers are trying to find a cure that will forever eliminate the threat of this debilitating affliction.

Music Therapy
One way these patients are being helped is through music therapy. It addresses the physical, emotional, cognitive, psychological and social needs of individuals. After assessing the needs and strengths of each client, the therapist provides the indicated treatment including creating music, singing, using simple musical instruments, moving to or dancing and/or listening to music. These activities and others decrease wandering and disruptive behaviors among residents with Alzheimer’s disease at nursing homes.

Music therapy given to victims of stroke also showed improvement. Two groups were studied; one group received traditional therapy, the other group received music therapy. The music therapy group showed greater physical improvement toward walking in a shorter period of time.

“Music therapy can have a dramatic effect on people after a stroke or a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Kathy Johnson, CEO of Home Care Assistance, Inc. “People familiar with language acquisition know this: melodies and songs are easy to learn and aid language learning. We can remember a song we have not heard in 20 years. That is because music memory is processed across many parts of the brain and is thus preserved better than language memory alone”. Music therapy has positive effects on people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and those recovering from a stroke who are relearning language skills. “If songs are one of the first things we learn, they might also be some of the last things we remember,” Johnson explained.

Music therapy is a relatively young field which was developed and established circa 1950. Through music it is designed to relieve stress and improve physical and emotional health. “While music therapy is an emerging field, music itself has many benefits for health and stress management, and can be used in daily life to promote wellness.” said Dr. Johnson. Music has inherent properties of sensory stimulation that induce positive responses in normal and at-risk behavior.

One of the leading proponents and founding fathers of music therapy was Dr. E. Thayer Gaston of the University of Kansas. Gaston helped established The National Association for Music Therapy which recommended the curriculum for colleges and universities. Training for music therapists usually includes a music major plus specialized courses in psychology among others.

The contribution of music therapy helping Alzheimer’s disease patients and stroke victims is well documented. Granted, it is not the “cure” that we all hope for, but it is one treatment that can make life more fulfilling and peaceful for countless people who are afflicted with these dreadful ailments.

Mark your calendar for the Danville Community Band’s annual free Spring Concert, Sunday, June 12th 3:00 at Community Presbyterian Church in Danville

Please submit your questions and comments to banddirector01@comcast.net
Visit our website at www.danvilleband.org for up-to-date information about the Danville
Community Band.

One of the more memorable dialogue exchanges of any movie takes place near the end of the 1992 film, A Few Good Men. If you’ve seen the film you certainly remember the “You can’t handle the truth” answer, so powerfully delivered by Jack Nicholson in his portrayal of Colonel Nathan Jessep, after Lieutenant Kaffee’s (Tom Cruise) demanding “I want the truth!”

The heated, climactic exchange continues with Colonel Jessep delivering a lecture to the young lieutenant that begins, “Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You?” Like all good drama, the scene is powerful because there are elements of reality—of “truth”—in what takes place. The fact is; we do live in a world with walls.

The ‘wall’ that protects the citizens of the United States from those who would harm us consists of several distinct layers, with one of the primary layers being comprised of the various agencies that operate under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Our lead story this month, by Anita Venezia, (pg 16) is about one of the main bricks of that wall—the agency known as the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Due to the volume of information and the complexity of the work being done by this agency to protect us, this will be but the first of a series of articles by Anita.

Following Anita’s article, we bring you an exclusive interview with a recently retired senior ICE agent who explains how ICE is protecting our nation from terrorism, in part by focusing much of their attention on businesses and employers. If you are a business owner with employees, you’d be wise to pay attention to the valuable information revealed in this interview!

Yes, it is a sad and difficult fact that we do, in fact, live in a world with walls. And those walls do, indeed, need to be guarded by men with guns.

I, for one, am very thankful that they are there.