Threatened – Your Access to Supplements

In general, politics is something that I try not to get into on this site since it’s my belief that health & wellness should be a non-political (ie. not dependent on who has the most money) issue.  Unfortunately, not everyone shares this belief, cough big pharma cough, so I feel compelled to rant a little.  For the record I am not anti-pharmaceuticals – at least not 100% of the time.  I’ve been a nurse for over 10 years and there are amazing life saving medications out there.  HOWEVER, I am also an Oriental Medicine Doctor and I can tell you that there are supplements and herbal formulas (actually time tested for thousands of years) out there that improve quality of life through more gentle and balancing means – in other words effective with no side effects.  As Dr.Dongxin Ma, one of my teachers from the Academy of Oriental Medince at Austin, is fond of saying “You don’t kill a mosquito with a bazooka”.

So herein lies the most pressing problem and is essentially an attack on your access to supplements (which, btw, ARE regulated by DSHEA via the FDA).  According to the Alliance on Natural Health “The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173), recently passed in the House of Representatives, includes language going far beyond finance inserted by Congressman HenryWaxman (D-CA). . . language in the Wall St. “reform” bill that gives the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) important new powers that could be used to circumvent key supplement protections in DSHEA.”  It’s no secret the Rep.Waxman is a big supporter of and is largely supported by the pharmaceutical industry and works toward the end goal of having supplements regulated like pharmaceuticals.  The FTC currently combatscommerical fraud and has full authority to pursue companies making false claims about what their product does or does not do.  However, the language inserted into H.R. 4173 gives the FTC increased regulatory power, which could result in increased requirements for supplement companies that essentially put them out of business.  Congress has already stripped the FTC of these powers in the 1980s because of perceived abuses. . . So, hmmmmm.

To take action or just read more about how this new language might affect your access (or that of  your Oriental Medicine Doctor, Naturopath, Herbalist, etc.) to supplements check out the following:

Congressman Waxman Slips Obscure Anti-Supplement Measure into Wall Street “Reform” Bill Passed by the House; Please Take Action to Prevent Same Thing Happening in the Senate!”

Fossil Ridge/Cowboy Canyon

As I’ve already stated, this is one of my favorite hikes in the Red Rock Canyon/Blue Diamond Hill area – especially in the spring! I may also have a fondness for this particular place because the first time I hiked it with my friend Julie and we zigged when we should have zagged and we spent a couple of hours trying to figure out how the heck to get off of Blue Diamond Hill.  We found a burro trail that led us down some other canyon and back to our cars and to this day our totem animal is the ASS.  Anyway, today I “led” some friends and new comers on this hike in some of the most beautiful weather Las Vegas has seen this year – cool, mostly sunny, with a very light breeze. In other words PERFECT hiking weather!

The beginning of the hike

There are many positives to this hike.  1) For little effort there is a sense of being somewhere remote.

2)  The views of Red Rock Canyon  from inside the canyon and atop Fossil Ridge are wonderful, making for some of the best sunrise (or anytime) pictures in the area.

The views of Red Rock from this hike are fantastic!

Mender in Cowboy Canyon

3)  There’s abundant plant life from cacti, to various grasses and shrubs, to yucca and wildflowers (at least in spring).  We were in luck because the wildflowers were in bloom – yucca, indian paintbrushes, and bunch of others in white, purple, and yellow.  It also looked like it was almost time for the cacti to bloom – which prompted me to start calculating when I could return in the next few weeks.

Indian Paintbrushes!

4) There is also plentiful wildlife on this hike – birds, butterflies, squirrels, bats… yes bats!  I’ve done this hike at dusk and the bats are darting about everywhere.  Very cool!  Additionally, there is a Great Horned Owl that calls Cowboy Canyon home – a little spooky when you hear its call, but also SUPER COOL!

5) Scrambling -  love it.  And I love it even more when the possibility of cracking my skull open is minimal.  There’s a good amount of minimal risk scrambling on this hike, so if you’re into it you’ll really enjoy this hike too.

6) Fossils.

7) Did I mention the views?

Amazing!

In my previous post on this hike I rated the difficulty 2/5…….2/5 based on the-crazy-hiker-man Branch Whitney scale.  And I’ve done this hike with friends in 1 hour and 2o minutes – yes, my friends and I are strong(ish) hikers, but I generally hike at a moderate pace so that I can take in the scenery and keep oxygen flowing to my vital organs.  Today I had to reevaluate this rating because a gentleman with lung problems (previously unknown to me) had quite a bit of shortness of breath during the canyon portion of the trek.  This slowed us down a bit (but really, who cares, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL) and my BFF Kyle (also the aforementioned Julie’s brother) ended up finding a short cut up to Fossil Ridge to start the level/down hill portion of the hike sooner rather than later.  SO, I’m extremely grateful to Kyle and that everyone made it out on their own two feet and not by helicopter.  AND I learned a bit about rating difficulty of future hikes. So this one I would bump up to a 3/5 on the difficulty scale.

Thanks Kyle - you cheeseball!

For directions to the trail head and a general description of this hike see my previous post.

Hike Rescheduled to Friday, April 23

Last night I looked at the weather for the Red Rock Canyon area and it looked to be cold, wet, and windy starting at 4 am.  So, at 9:45 pm I rescheduled the Fossil Ridge/Cowboy Canyon hike to Friday morning.  While it is cool and breezy this morning there is NO RAIN.  Sigh.  I don’t even see a single cloud in the sky. Sigh, again.

Oh well!  See you Friday!

Hike – Wednesday, April 21

I really like getting up in the morning and doing something that moves the ol’ joints and muscles and if it’s outside EVEN BETTER!  Monday mornings I’m leading yoga in the park – a great way to start the week, but a bit daunting for some because, well, it’s MONDAY MORNING at 7:30!  Whoo hoo!  I’ll also be “guiding” (as in follow me, but you are 100% responsible for your own safety) some morning hikes, because honestly, hiking is my very favorite thing to do.  AND it’s spring, so it’s a really good time to enjoy the Red Rock Canyon area before it starts to feel like living in a hair drier set on high.  The first hike is what I call the Fossil Ridge/Cowboy Canyon Loop (if someone knows an official name, I’d love to hear it) and it’s happening this Wednesday, April 21 at 8 am.

Fossil Ridge and Cowboy Canyon Loop -  this is one of my favorite short and easy hikes on Blue Diamond Hill – great views of Red Rock Canyon and a decent amount of plant and animal life along the way. It really seems like you’ve been transported far, far away from Las Vegas (a very nice effect!) with very little effort.

The hike starts at Cowboy Trails heading down the road past the horse pen (on your left) toward the horse stalls and building (on your right) at the start of trail to Cowboy Cave. The trail heads down into the canyon.  Once the trail forks, we will head into the canyon (to the southeast).  The canyon “trail” has a gradual increase in elevation and a couple of areas requiring a MINOR amount of scrambling with very little risk of bodily harm. Once the canyon intersects the bike trails, we will follow the bike trail toward Fossil Ridge, hike along the ridge and head back to the car. This part of the hike is either level or down hill. Please wear long pants due to proximity to desert vegetation.

Again – Wednesday, April 21
Meet me in the Cowboy Trails Parking lot (Charleston Blvd to Rte 159, approximately 1 mile beyond the gate to Red Rock Canyon on the left) – I have a silver RAV4 with a Red Rock license plate.
I will start at 8am and the loop should take approximately 2 hours to complete.

And maybe afterward we’ll go to the Crown Bakery for tea and Korean pastries – Happiness baked for Happy People!

It does look like it might be chilly and overcast this Wednesday – please dress appropriately and bring plenty of water.

Monday Morning Sun Salutations – April 19-May 10

Hello all! While the weather is still beautiful, let’s get outside and do some yoga! For the next four Monday mornings I will be guiding surya namaskara (Sun Salutations) – a dynamic group of yoga poses effective at awakening the vitalizing solar energy of the body and expanding our awareness while stretching, massaging, and toning all the joints, muscles, and organs of the body. A great way to start off the week! After sun salutations there will be a short savasana after which those who need to head on out may do so. I will then guide the group through another set of yoga poses designed to unblock the lower chakras.

All levels are welcome!

Bring a yoga mat (grass is itchy), sun glasses, and come dressed in layers.

When – Monday mornings at 7:30-8:30 am.
Please arrive 10 minutes early so that we can make the (very) short walk to where we will set up our mats.

Where – Duck Creek Park – 8650 Pollock Dr., between Pebble and Wigwam.  Meet me in the (small) parking lot, south side.