10 Things Anyone Can Do to Be Healthier

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Everyone loves “tips”, especially when it comes to their health. Here is a short but powerful list of ten things we can all do to be healthier, thinner and more energetic. The best part is they are easy to do and aren’t expensive:

> Drink more water – sometimes we over eat because we are actually in need of more body fluid, so drink more water, especially when you are hungry

> Move more. The simple act of physically moving is a great way to get more exercise, improve circulation and reduce calories.

> Eat less starch. Complex carbohydrates are the main culprit in producing excess insulin, which is a major player in diabetes, heart disease, stroke and obesity.

> Enjoy a hobby that relaxes you. People with hobbies have lower blood pressure and are less stressed from being able to redirect their energies and attention into something they love to do.

> Keep plants or have a pet. Statistics show that people who keep pets or take care of plants are less depressed and more social. In nursing homes, residents are given plants to take care of to reduce depression.

> Eat out less. Americans are eating 75% of our meals outside the home. The amount of salt, MSG and chemicals in the foods eaten outside the home is unhealthy and preparing food at home is not only healthier but also less expensive.

> Have regular personal quite time. Meditation, prayer, chanting, contemplation are all ways to slow down the nervous system and help improve sleep and digestion.

> Pay down your debt. The amount of debt a person maintains exerts a major influence to the amount of stress they have in their lives. Owe less, live longer.

> Be sure to get 8 hours sleep. You might be able to function on less but for your body to rest and rejuvenate 8 hours is the ideal.

> Eat breakfast. People who eat breakfast live 7 years longer than those who don’t because the body functions more efficiently when eating is on an appropriate schedule.

With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

Health Caution: Travel at Your Own Risk

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The upcoming Thanksgiving and holiday season is one of the most heavily vacation trafficked periods of the year, when millions of people “take to the skies and roads” , visiting friends and relatives.  Unfortunately, for 3-5% (yes, that is 3-5%) of the people who get off of airplanes, buses, trains or auto transport will develop blood clots, often not detected until many weeks after their trip.

As American health care consumers, we know in today’s environment we must be pro-active and take control of our health through health information and prevention. Staying healthy while traveling is one very important preventative situation that we can all be more aware of to circumvent an unwanted health crisis.

Three years ago, the World Health Organization published the WRIGHT report (WHO Research Into Global Hazards of Travel) which identified the extent of the problem and who was at risk. The report identified the population most at risk are females, over 40 years of age, with a prior history of deep vein thrombosis.

Others at risk include older travelers, obese travelers, pregnant women, anyone with varicose veins or a prior history of venous thrombosis, women taking birth control pills or estrogen, travelers with a history of a major operation, cancer, heart failure, highly trained athletes, and those with recent surgery or injury.

In spite of the evidence, however, there are still airlines in denial over the problem as many fear increased litigation. One major US airline has a published statement on its websites as a response to concerned travels that reads: “There is no epidemiological evidence that air travel causes blood clots.”

However, published experts would re-word that statement to read: “It would be more accurate to say, “Every credible scientific study of the subject has found that air travel [and other forms of confined travel] cause blood clots, including all of the most recent large sophisticated studies.”

What can you do to prevent blood clots?

1) Do not be immobile for more than 1 hour when traveling by air or in confined transportation

2) Dress in loose-fitting clothes and shoes. No socks or garments should have banded constriction.

3) Stay well hydrated, but avoid alcohol.

4) Exercise your legs and feet every chance you can (e.g. every 20 minutes).

5) Consider fitted, compression stockings – compression of 20 mm. Hg or more is best.

6) It is not a guarantee that taking aspirin to avoid thrombosis will work but as it prevents platelet clumping which causes clots, if you are at risk, it seems reasonable to take aspirin daily, starting a day before departure and continuing for a day after the flight terminates.

7) Sit in an aisle seat – you will have more room and it is easier to stand up and move around the plane, bus or train.

Hope this helps. For more information search for “blood clots and travel”. There is an enormous amount of information on the subject and if you are getting ready for that big trip, having this information should be part of your “packing”.

Have a wonderful and safe vacation!
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

The Role Integrity Plays in Your Health

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Driven by personal history and ambition, successful people offer perfect examples of serotonin driven self-soothing which invites us to ask and answer questions about self-esteem and self-care. When we understand the relationship between our unconscious mind, our self-esteem and the stress of looking for love “out there”, it becomes quite clear that what is at the core of our “super sizing” or over-eating is not solved by the diet of the month or the next how to best seller. Rather, what is called for is an examination of:

 our ego state
 our personal world view
 our treatment in regards to nature and others
 what we value
 what we believe in
 how much we consume
 how much we accumulate.

When these aspects of self are aligned with choices that lead to moderation rather than ambition; that produce balance rather than extreme; that debunk the thinking that “more is better”, we then select the foods we innately know are healthy, even when we must choose from a fast food menu.

In a culture comprised of 5% of the world population, using 75% of the world’s resources we have come to accept access as a way of life. The 1980’s Robin Leaches’ TV show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, tainted our appetites for over consumption that has brought us to where we are today, obese and chronically diseased.

Take a Tip from the Gurus

World wide, healthy cultural traditions offer us an opportunity to re-think our approach to the way we live. Folk wisdom invites us to ponder

> how much do I really need to do
> to have
> to eat
> to own
> to control

in order to be content with my life; and what role does gratitude in my life is?” Having a calm, well functioning nervous system can be a main objective for all of us instead of trying to trick the body into doing what is not natural with the latest diet craze or supplement pills available.

Change the Question

It may be time to not only change the question we ask ourselves but the questions we are asked as consumers. Maybe, if when making fast food purchasing the questions are “supersize or downsize”, the choice we might make could result in significant weight loss rather than weight gain; the road to health instead of heart diseases and diabetes which more and more research shows comes from stress and poor food choices.

A million dollar statement to wrap up this 5 part article:

Self esteem = when our behaviors are congruent with our personal values. With healthy self-esteem we have a healthy body through healthy lifestyle choices.

With all good wishes,
G

© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

Leaky Gut Syndrome

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We don’t often see analogies between our organ function and building maintenance but “Leaky Gut Syndrome” is one familiar exception.

A “leaking gut” is similar to a leaking pipe in our home. It means our gut or intestines have a leak in the wall of the tube that takes our foods, nutrients and wastes from our upper digestive system and moves it along to it’s natural conclusion. This is very similar to having a pipe in our home that is leaking waste materials from inside the plumbing system.

We intuitively know this can’t be a good thing if the intestinal lining or inner tubing is leaking materials into the blood stream that don’t belong there. Incompletely digested fats, proteins and starches that pass through these “leaks” in the lining are recognized by the body as foreign substances. All foreign substances in the body trigger immune responses that can effect organs, tissues, the nervous and any all areas of the body.

In the case of Leaky Gut Syndrome symptoms such as ongoing diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, fever, rash, exhaustion insomnia, irritability and more can be, and often are, non-diagnosed or a wrongly diagnosed conditions that can progress to disabling stages of illness.

How does it occur that the walls of our insides can “spring a leak”, potentially poison our blood streams or creating potentially life threatening scenarios? The physiology of this is fascinating and also liberating as once we understand the cause of such a malfunction, we are able to correct for it and prevent it.

Here’s the how and why of Leaky Gut Syndrome –

Imagine a series of cells lined up one next to the other that have tiny, flexible rubber bands connecting one cell to the other at the top middle and bottom. These little “rubber bands” are called desmosomes and their job is too bind the cells together tightly so there are no spaces or leaks where materials inside the “tubing” of the intestines can pass through and make their way into the blood stream.

In Leaky Gut Syndrome, irritation by various materials which include alcohol, antibiotics, aspirin, drugs, lack of fiber, food allergies, processed foods, tobacco, extreme stress and other influences can significantly weaken these strong “rubber bands”. They can become lax and allow for spaces to be created between cells, which in turn allow food particles and debris to cross into the blood stream, creating a toxic effect in the body.

By understanding the specifics of this condition and how an individual can take charge of their body can make an enormous difference in recovering from and controlling Leaky Gut Syndrome.

Improving our diet by removing processed foods; adding more fiber; eating more living food adding probiotics; eliminating or reducing the use of over the counter drugs and replacing them with homeopathics or herbs; increasing exercise and activities; reducing stress and supplementing with whole food supplements are all ways to heal and, over time, eliminate this condition by allowing the desmosomes to heal and strengthen and be able to protect and support the intestinal wall cells once again.

With all good wishes,
G

© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

Heart of the Matter

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There are two books, “Heart and Soul”by Bruno Cortis, MD, and “The Heart’s Code”, by Paul Pearsall, PhD, which were among the first popular books to explore the subject of the function of the human heart from a perspective other than the heart being simply a pump which moves blood from one part of the body to another. While there is no question that the human heart is a muscular pump of sorts that moves our nutrient rich blood throughout our bodies, this function is just the physical aspect of the heart’s function.

Paul Pearsall’s book discusses the emotional function of the heart and its “L” energy. Dr. Pearsall beautifully describes and scientifically explains the impact and affect loving has on the heart which loves, as well as the affect that this love has on the recipient of heart’s “L” energy. The human heart has its own independent electrical system (the Bundle of His – also known as the AV bundle or atrioventricular bundle) which appears to give the heart muscle an emotional life of its own.

The latest research on heart disease shows that the single greatest factor to whether or not an individual is likely to have a heart attack or die of heart disease is not the factors we might suspect or guess. Not high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high fat and sodium diets, Type A personality, anger or rage – all of which most of us would say is the perfect storm for heart disease and a heart attack.

Statically documented, the single most predictive factor of death by heart malfunction is –

HOPELESSNESS

Broken-heartedness is when the “heart’s desire” has been thwarted or eliminated and the heart is left without hope of fulfilling its desire. “Where there is life there is hope” – and without hope our dreams perish and our heart “breaks”.

To understand that while exercise, a healthy diet, an ideal body weight and having a purpose in life are all part of being heart healthy – it now appears that the number one most important factor is to keep our hopes alive and not give up our dreams, for without them we lose our purpose and the joy for living.

A healthy heart is a HOPEFUL heart ~ When you smile, you cannot be sad or hopeless. Try it – think a horrible thought, the really smile and see if you can think that same thought wile you are smiling. When we smile we tell our heart and our brain that life is good and very worth living. As the saying goes, “be happy be healthy”.

With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

Stress and Obesity – Part II

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Causes of Stress

Prior to the early 1970’s, the majority of family units were structured as a one wage earner household where the male worked and the female stayed at home taking care of the house and family. Driven largely by social and socio-economic factors, all of that has changed. Now, the overwhelming majority of families include both parents working and we find ourselves on a treadmill of more work, more responsibilities, more demands and non-stop scheduling that has many of us in a state of physical and, at times, emotional exhaustion.

Added to the mix is our competitive culture, which often lends to isolation or “them against us”, thinking. Isolation of this nature causes additional “hidden” stress. The perennial truth is that the whole world is one family. It is said that there is only one disease, the disease of separateness; separating oneself from the awareness that as a member of the human family, we are one living collective organism. The drama created by a “one up” or “one down” dynamic, which we find in competitive societies, can lend to the exhaustion and the psycho-social behavioral issues that contribute to overeating.

Understanding Exhaustion
and it’s Effect on Obesity

The tipping point at which our bodies can no longer compensate for or adapt to the stress they are under is based in large part on the threshold of nutritional competency and the state of integrity of our nervous systems. When our central nervous system, which governs every cell in our body and makes life possible, is not working efficiently, we have a decrease in bodily function and a decrease in the ability to adapt to the world we live in.

Chronic fatigue syndrome, CFS, is rampant in our culture today and growing at an alarming rate because of the over stimulation and increased demands placed on our nervous systems. Add to this inadequate nutrition and a decreased ability of our bodies to digest and absorb properly because of the stress, and we see the building blocks of the epidemic of chronic diseases being currently reported.

What is so shocking for us as American’s, is that while we live in one of the most affluent societies ever to exist on earth and have one of the most technologically advanced medical systems; we are ranked at approximately 26th in the “World Health Olympics”.

This is not the failure of our medical system but, in fact, our collective societal failure to live in our bodies mindfully and respectfully, taking time for rest, proper nutrition, reflection, intimacy with self and others and serving the common good of all. It is this imbalance that leads us to chronic stress, which leads to physical and, if you will, spiritual exhaustion that is producing the levels of chronic disease and rampant obesity we see today.

Next Installment – Self Esteem and Health

With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

Stress and Obesity

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This topic is complex, important and requires much discussion. This will be the first of several installments on the topic. This material is in part excerpted from an article I wrote several years ago for Well Being Journal on the subject of Morgan Spurlock’s movie Super Size Me.

A Precursor to Obesity

A groundbreaking study, reported in 2003 by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found that between 1977 and 1996, portion sizes for key food groups grew markedly in the United States. This was not only found at fast food restaurants but also in homes and at conventional restaurants. In particular, portion sizes for salty and sugary foods, essentially “comfort foods”, experienced the most dramatic portion size increases. For example, the USDA’s recommended serving size for a cookie is half and ounce, while the average cook sold in restaurants was found to be 700% larger.

The by-products of our affluent American society, envied by many around the world, have a definite dark side – our obesity rates for starters. In a culture here more is better and disposable income is abundant, when it comes to eating we have developed a “more food, more conveniently and more often” attitude.

Certainly, no one forces us to eat more than our body needs, so what is driving this “hunger” for more? Over the last two decades, almost proportionally to the dramatic increase in food consumption and chronic disease diagnoses, the amount of stress in our society and on each of us individually has increased significantly. Stress the term medical researcher Hans Selye, MD, PhD, gave to the experience our bodies go through when we have to adjust or adapt to various changes in our environment, either externally or internally.

While many of us limit our thinking about stress to emotional states, many other factors can exert an equally detrimental effect on our bodies. When we do not get enough sleep or rest, work or exercise too much, neglect our nutritional needs, have an infection, have allergies, injuries or trauma, undergo dental or surgical procedures, have emotional upsets or deal with any aspect of reproductive function, our bodies must chemically and neurologically adapt in order to survive. Part of this adaption process relies heavily on the nutrition that is available for the kidney’s adrenal glands to produce adaptive hormones. It is often this aspect of stress that can lead to overeating, and what’s more, over eating the types of foods that cause unhealthy weight gain.

How it Works – the next installment.

With all good wishes,
G
© By NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

Relationships and Health

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Recently, I attended a grief support group for adults who have experienced a significant loss over the past year. All the attendees were at various stages of grief and loss, from a wide range of life altering experiences.

What was so important to me about having the privilege of hearing their stories is that each and every person talked about how being in relationship and or belonging to their family or loved ones was, in the end, the most important aspects of their life and the their loss was devastating, no matter how much success in other parts of their lives they had experienced.

Many of the attendees had excellent incomes, owned high end homes and lived what would be called abundant, successful lives. But what each of them discovered through the sudden loss of a spouse or family member, or through an unexpected divorce, is that Freud hit the nail on the head when he coined “we are never so hopelessly unhappy as when we lose love.”

When it comes to our health, we often do not connect how imperative the experience of loving, being loved and belonging are to our overall well being and immune function. Leaving the support meeting, it felt important that from time to time we remind ourselves about what really matters in our lives, as our health and our relationships are intimately intertwined.

Many of the attendees also suffer from chronic headaches, fibromyalgia, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome or ulcers. All of these conditions can be traced back to the stress they experience from the loss and subsequent grief that comes from the loss of relationship.

Do something good for your self today, and for those you are in relationship with. Take a moment of gratitude for the gift of family, friends, spouse, partner, peers who enrich your life and keep you healthy.

Without the gift of sharing love, our lives and our health suffer.

With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease – GERD

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GERD, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, is one of the top 5 most prevalent gastrointestinal conditions in adults. Considering that digestive complaints comprise the number one emergency room complaint, that is a lot of tummy aches! GERD is typified by heartburn, nausea and regurgitation and is most common when a GERD sufferer lies down at night.

The cause of GERD is the failure of the lower esophageal sphincter or LES mechanism, meaning it does not close properly to keep stomach acid from regurgitating into the upper esophageal region. When acid finds its way there (we’ve all burped up stomach acid and it hurts!) burning, sometimes nausea and even vomiting can occur. Unfortunately, if it becomes chronic a wide number of conditions can occur, including esophageal ulcer and cancer.

Why do people get this? From a medical perspective it’s a condition caused by a mechanical failure of the LES and the diaphragm (there can be a hiatal hernia involved) to keep the pressure on the esophageal sphincter; or there is “slow stomach emptying” that can be the cause. Using antacids, Prilosec, anti-histamines, eliminating foods that can provoke the GERD (chocolate, mint, alcohol and coffee) or reducing the amount the patient eats and the times they eat are all treatments for GERD. In severe cases, surgery is often recommended.

From a Whole Person Health perspective how would a practitioner support a client with GERD? Let’s look at the mechanisms involved to give us clues to the cause and effect of this condition:

> esophageal sphincter is not working properly
> diaphragm is not working properly
> acid is escaping into the upper esophageal area
> obese or significantly overweight individuals have a higher occurrence of GERD

These symptoms suggest that the enervation’s of nerve stimulation of the esophagus and diaphragm may be under functioning due to either structural/neurological causes or that stress, which constricts the diaphragm and decrease internal muscle function.

In the medical literature, GERD appears to be more related to structure and function than to pathology. Unfortunately, the traditional treatment for GERD is Prilosec, which by suppressing the stomach acid also reducing the body’s immune function as stomach acid is a front line immune defense against bacteria and viruses entering the body. This medication comes with a caution for many unpleasant side effects, including cancer, which is a result of the decreased immune function of the stomach acid which kills micro-organisms that can make us sick or even kill us.

How would a Whole Health Practitioner facilitate their client’s recovery from GERD?

> educate the patient about HOW GERD occurs and invite them to identify what could be the causes for their dysfunctional digestive system. If you ask most individuals what they think is wrong; 9 times out of 10 they have the answer.

If they understand the role their stress plays in this condition they can do something about it and take greater control over their health.

> provide information about how to relax the diaphragm both manually and through breathing exercises to assist is reducing the GERD symptoms

> assist the person in identifying how various known foods and over eating of these foods can contribute to the problem

> providing information about calcium as a natural anti-acid

> identify how yoga postures can make a marked difference in GERD symptoms

> offer information about acupuncture, chiropractic and osteopathic as options to treating the neurological component of GERD rather than only relying on drugs

> explain how losing weight can greatly enhance recovery

> share exercise information that can help strengthen their diaphragm

> most importantly, let them know they are in charge of their body and they can take control over their symptoms

Even if a person is taking medication, there are many things they can do to improve and even eliminate GERD. I have seen this happen almost miraculously once a person is fully engaged with clear, demystified health information and is empowered to take control, feel better, be healthier and happier.

With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

The Science of How What We Believe Becomes Our Reality – Part Two

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Given the way the health sciences have been taught in nursing and medical schools, it is perfectly understandable for physicians and nurses trained more than 25 years ago to think the placebo effect didn’t make sense and was instead a popular explanation for a sudden healing – a “spontaneous remission”. It is a leap for many to accept that a person could think or believe something and that simple act of belief could heal them?

Up until the last twenty or so years, research scientists did not have a grasp on how the brain and our emotions worked to create our reality. The subject of emotions has been and still is very much “uncharted waters” in behavioral science. However, what is well documented today is how the various brain waves function and what part of the brain each of the various brain waves control and stimulate and most importantly what emotions actually are. (This will be discussed in another segment.)

The “beta waves” which are the brain waves that allows us to focus on the words on this blog and comprehend, in the moment, what is intellectually being communicated. These waves are produced in the frontal lobe which is the seat of intellectual functioning. Thinking, analyzing, reasoning and so forth occur in this part of the brain.

The “alpha waves” which are the slower brain waves which originate in the mid-brain are the brain waves that allow us access to our unconscious thinking or what some refer to as the soul. All thought processes, be it from the beta wave or alpha wave region of the brain are actually chemical reactions that produce specific proteins which communicate with our immune cell membranes and other cell membranes of our body.

The specific thoughts we think and the region of the brain they originate in have an identifiable chemistry that has been shown to create dramatic changes in our physical bodies. In Dr Paul Pearsall’s ground breaking book “The Hearts Code” he tell many amazing mind/body stories but one in particular, that is a striking example of how powerful thoughts and images are, is the story he tells about a schizophrenic patient who demonstrated completely different disease states depending on the personality she was exhibiting. Ultra sounds, cat-scans, lab tests all confirmed that one of her personalities had a massive cancerous tumor and yet when she went into a different personality state all of her previous pathology disappeared as well.

Our brains are the ultimate manifestors of matter. The chair you are sitting on was a thought before if became that chair. Thought ARE “things” – that it thoughts in action are what manifest reality. For the woman in the study in Part I of this blog topic, who was cured of her stiffness after the sham surgery, her mind manifested a different set of thoughts through her hope and expectations for the outcome of the surgery. Her brain waves and proteins created positive chemistry which communicated with her immune system through its cell membranes. The results – she became healthier and could “stride across the room”

The idea of mind over matter is a powerful one. This science, and our understanding of its amazing chemistry, is in its infancy stage. In the future we will take the possibility of healing ourselves with thought and imagery for granted just as we now do about people having an organ transplant – which was thought unheard of not that long ago.

In the meantime, we can all improve our health, success and happiness but learning to improve our “self-speak” and reinforce our bodies and minds with positive words, thoughts and images.

With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved