Fish oil’s stress reduction benefits to be studied

The benefits of taking a fish oil supplement to reduce stress will be the focus of a Southern Cross University study funded by a new National Health and Medical Research Council grant.

Successful grant applicant Professor Stephen Myers said he was delighted the University’s research in the field of natural and complementary medicine was being supported and validated by winning such a highly competitive and prestigious grant.

“We will use the $135,000 grant to undertake a clinical trial looking at the relationship between taking fish oil and occupational stress,” he said.

“An earlier pilot study suggested that adding fish oil to the diet played a protective role in relationship to workplace stress and we will be exploring that relationship further.

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Financial planner uses esoteric principles

Most of us spend a good deal of energy working on our relationships and our finances, separately.

What we don’t do is link them and address our relationship patterns that may be harming our wealth-building, or address our wealth-building habits that may be harmful to our relationship.

Money can be a major impediment to a harmonious life, regardless of a person’s level of wealth, according to holistic financial planner Christoph Schnelle (pictured), of Burringbar.

“Many of my clients want straight financial advice,” he says.

“I advise on superannuation and investments and minimise their tax.

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More people using natural, complementary medicine: ABS

New government findings that people are flocking to natural and complementary medicine practitioners have been welcomed by Hans Wohlmuth, the head of Southern Cross University’s Department of Natural and Complementary Medicine.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures out this week show that the number of people visiting a complementary health professional — most commonly a chiropractor, naturopath or acupuncturist — increased by 51 per cent in the 10 years to 2005.

Almost 750,000 people (3.8 per cent of the population) had visited this type of practitioner in a two-week period in 2005 compared with about 500,000 (2.8 per cent of the population) in 1995.

In another vote of consumer confidence in the natural health sector, the census data also showed the number of people working as complementary health professionals nearly doubled from 4,800 to 8,600 in the ten years to 2006.

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Working mothers miss out on ‘quality time’ with family: Report

Mothers working full-time spend around four hours less per day with their young children than mothers who are not employed, according to Australia’s first longitudinal national study examining the lives of Australian children.

‘Growing up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children’ reveals working mums are sacrificing leisure and sleep to ensure they spend time with their children.

Employed mothers are spending more time with children at the beginning and end of the day than non-working mums at the expense of their own activities.

Mothers in full-time employment spend 3.7 hours less with their infants and 3.9 hours less with their young children than mothers not employed.

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Fitness trainer Natasha loves her job

Natasha Ryan reckons she has the perfect job.

“I’ve always loved exercise and I really enjoy meeting new people – that’s what makes being a fitness instructor so great,” said Ms Ryan.

“Gone are the days of monotonous weightlifting and hours on the rowing machine — now most gyms run spin bike classes, boxercise, boot camps and more.

“My job is flexible, challenging and fun – so much better than being stuck behind a desk all day!

“As a personal trainer and a mother of two young children, I realised that their was a niche in the market to provide affordable and accessible programs for health and fitness. 

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Fix the Pacific Highway Facebook Group

The New South Wales Chamber of Commerce obviously has some forwardthinking people on board who have leveraged the power of the incredibly popular social networking Web site Facebook to create a common interest group targeted at fixing the Pacific Highway.

The description of this Facebook group is as follows:

This group calls on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Premier Morris Iemma to end the blame shifting and buck passing over responsibility for the Pacific Highway.

An NRMA audit of the Pacific Highway in 2007 revealed that the highway’s accident rate has increased in the past five years. There have been almost 10,000 car crashes on the road in the past decade in which 326 people have died and 3778 people were hurt or maimed.

We call on Prime Minister Rudd and Premier Iemma to implement a dedicated strategy to fast track the roll out of a complete and continuous dual carriageway upgrade of the Pacific Highway to save lives and remove the handbrake the Pacific Highway has become on the economies of communities that rely on the road.

Please encourage family, friends and colleagues to join this group.

NSW Business Chamber is NSW’s largest business network representing over 30,000 businesses and is affiliated with over 110 chambers of commerce.

I encourage anybody who is a Facebook member to support what is a piece of infrastructure that is vitally important and in long need of significant government funding by joining up the fix the Pacific Highway Facebook group!

Judy’s surfing life came 40 years too early

Women’s surfing has grown to become among Australia’s most popular female sports, and if you’re good enough, there’s money to be made and exotic locations beckon.

However, the women’s surfing scene today is a world away from the sport’s beginnings in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Judy Gibbon wonders what might have been had she been born 40 years later. Read more

Exhibition marks opening of Heritage Festival

Ballina Shire Council Council will officially launch the local section of the National Trust’s Annual Heritage Festival on Friday April 4 at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery with the opening of the ‘The Hills Look Down to the Sea: A glimpse at the European heritage of the Ballina Shire’ exhibition, at 10.30am. Read more