Category: Healthy Options

Local program on resources and options for whole health. Happens on the first Wednesday of every month from 10 – 11 AM.

Healthy Options 3/7/18

Producer/Host: Rhonda Feiman
Production Assistance: Petra Hall

Interview with Florence Williams, author of the book, BREASTS: A Natural and Unnatural History

Key Discussion Points:
What are the cultural attitudes toward women’s breasts?
How do these attitudes translate into how women perceive of themselves and their bodies?
What environmental pollutants, toxins and chemicals affect breasts?
What chemicals are found in breast milk?
Why have we seen a change in the onset of puberty in young girls and boys?
How do hormone disruptors in the environment affect the health of children and adults in relation to reproduction and breast development?
What studies are being done and have been done to show how breast tissue has changed with environmental changes?
What can we do to prevent further unwanted changes in breast milk and breast tissue?

Guest:
FLORENCE WILLIAMS, author of the book, BREASTS: A Natural and Unnatural History which received the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in science and technology, and the 2013 Audie in general nonfiction. It also earned recognition by the New York Times for being named a notable book of 2012.

Websites of interest:
http://www.florencewilliams.com/
BREASTS: A Natural and Unnatural History website:
www.florencewilliams.com/breasts-a-natural-and-unnatural-history/
“Breasts Unbound” Podcast:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/breasts-unbound/id1314135350?mt=2
Note:
In Nov. 2017, Rhonda also interviewed Florence Williams about her book, “The Nature Fix- Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative”

Healthy Options 11/1/17

Healthy Options 2/7/18

Producer/Host: Rhonda Feiman
Production Assistance: Petra Hall
Studio Engineer: John Greenman

Maine Family Planning

-Reproductive health
-Family planning
-Women’s health access

Guests:
Julie A. Jenkins, CNP, Maine Family Planning
Cait Vaughan, Community Organizer, Maine Family Planning

FMI: mainefamilyplanning.org

Healthy Options 1/3/18

Producer/Host: Rhonda Feiman
Production Assistance: Petra Hall
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne

Today’s Healthy Options (Healing ourselves through nature: The Nature Fix- Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative) was a rebroadcast of an earlier program. You can find the archives here: archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2017/11/healthy-options-11117/

Healthy Options 12/6/17

Producer/Host: Rhonda Feiman
Production Assistance: Petra Hall
Studio Engineer: John Greenman

Radon and other Indoor Air Quality Dangers

Guest: Kurt Johnson, past president and current board member of the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council https://maineindoorair.org, and a Certified Residential Mechanical Ventilation Designer and Installer https://www.freshairventilation.com

Key Discussion Points:
a) What is radon, how is it dangerous to us, and how does it cause lung cancer?
b) What have we learned about exposure to radon- small or large- over the years?
c) Should we be unconcerned if we don’t spend time in our basements? If my neighbors’ house has a very low radon count, wouldn’t mine be the same? What are other myths about radon?
d) How can we get our homes tested for radon?
e) What are some ways we might correct a radon problem? What is mitigation?
f) Should only people in Maine be concerned about radon? Are there some areas of Maine and the USA that are worse than others?
g) What are some other important and dangerous indoor air issues we should watch out for, and take actions to prevent or correct?

Related websites of interest:
https://maineindoorair.org (click on “IAQ Info” for specifics on radon and other issues)
https://www.epa.gov/radon/national-radon-action-month-consumer-information
http://www.radonawareness.org/radon-facts.php

Dispels the inaccuracies and myths:
http://www.radonawareness.org/radon-myths.php

Northeast Laboratory Services in Maine, for indoor air quality and more:
http://www.nelabservices.com
Northeast Laboratory radon overview & testing:
http://www.nelabservices.com/services/homeowners/radon-overview.aspx

Also of interest, although from the UK(!)::

Introduction & General Information

Radon in Basements

Healthy Options 11/1/17

Producer/Host: Rhonda Feiman
Production Assistance: Petra Hall
Engineer: Amy Browne

Healing ourselves through nature: The Nature Fix- Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative

Key Discussion Points:
Why do you say that “being in nature makes us more human”?
What have we discovered about being in nature that helps the immune system?
How does noise pollution affect our health and well-being?
How are we harmed by the unnatural toxins which we may encounter in daily life?
How can being in nature help with managing PTSD?
What is the difference in how our nervous system reacts, when we are on an outdoor excursion, whether it is an urban stroll, a day hike or an extended backpacking trip?

Guest: Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix- Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative florencewilliams.com

Healthy Options 10/4/17

Producer/Host: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall
Engineer: Joel Mann

Building Resiliency to Trauma: The Trauma and Community Resiliency Models

a) What is the Trauma Resource Institute?
b) What is the Trauma Resiliency Model?
c) What is the Community Resiliency Model?
d) How does trauma or stress affect the nervous system?
e) Is there a way to regulate the nervous system even when there is trauma?
f) What is the difference between the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system and why is it important to know this?
g) How can we be more resilient in our response to life events?

Guest: Elaine Miller-Karas, Executive Director and co-founder of the Trauma Resource Institute, and author of the book, “Building Resiliency to Trauma, the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models.®”
www.traumaresourceinstitute.com
www.thetraumatherapistproject.com/podcast/elaine-miller-karas-lcsw/

Healthy Options 9/6/17

Producer/Host: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall
Engineer: Amy Browne

Techniques to protect your brain and body from the effects of STRESS

1) How does stress affect us?
2) What is the role of melatonin in helping us cope with stress?
3) Why is it important not to “relax” after a stressful experience?
4) What is the relationship between our eyes and stress?
5) Why is diet so important in healing, and in preventing the negative effects of stress?
6) What foods are helpful in protecting us from the effects of stress?

Guest:
Mithu Storoni, MD, PhD.
Author of “Stress Proof: The Scientific Solution To Protect Your Brain and Body- and Be More Resilient Every Day”

Healthy Options 8/2/17

Producer/Host: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall

Rhonda Feiman speaks with Marcy Cottrell Houle, MS., co-author of “The Gift of Caring: Saving Our Parents from the Perils of Modern Healthcare,” about how the current health care delivery model is ill-equipped to provide comprehensive, person-centered care to seniors, and how many treatable conditions and symptoms are dismissed as “just old age.” The discussion highlights specific tools that we can use to help prevent these mistakes and what we need to know to achieve healthy aging.

(This is an encore presentation from October 2016, and is as relevant now as it was then.)

FMI: www.thegiftofcaring.net