Category Archives: Personal Growth

Integrative Nutrition

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What exactly is “integrative nutrition”? The word integrative when added to nutrition describes an approach taken to understanding nutrition from a whole person perspective.

The human being is made of of many aspects that come together to determine who they are, how they live and what their quality of life is. The way we think, behave, treat others, lives work and even eat are all inter-connected and are integrative to one another.

For many people they way they eat is compartmentalized from their big picture understanding of themselves. By exploring the various motivational triggers in our lives for both constructive and not so constructive behavior, we can experience an authentic control and understanding of “what makes us tick”.

I am personally a very health conscious individual, exercising 75 minutes a day with the vast majority of my meals consisting of living plant foods. The other afternoon a very close friend announced devastating new that sent me out of my office reeling with distress and I immediately knew I wanted a carbohydrate fix.

Not the kind of carbohydrate that by-passes insulin and is high in fiber, phytonutrients and rich in minerals and vitamin A and C, but the processed kind that had lots of sugar and calories in it that would result in significantly high levels of serotonin being secreted into my blood stream so my brain could take a step back, chill out and process the information I just received.

The idea of “integrative” nutrition or integrative exercise, meditation, yoga, working, lifetyle or any other aspect of our lives is to have a whole picture understanding of how the food or behavior is integrated into our whole self and into the larger perspective of what motivates and directs our behavior choices.

Yes, indeed, I  felt quite sick after pouring the sweet, crunchy snacks into my stomach, but I also was able to give myself some self-medication with the food that lowered my anxiety level and allowed me to emotionally process the news I received in a way that was less distressing and more constructive than if I would have NOT eaten the serotonin provoking foods. 

The most important thing about the choices we make is whether or not we make them consciously. Integrative nutrition is not always pure, living, green and healthy nutrition – but it is about the whole experience of how, why and what we eat.

With all good wishes,
Georgianna
Copyright 2011 G. Donadio

The Good, Bad and Ugly of Gossip

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Gossip is one of the most unconscious addictions many of us suffer from. If you want to do a little experiment, count how many times a day you talk about other people; those you know and even those you don't know like celebrities and politicians.

Not that all gossip is bad. There are basic social functions that gossip serves. The first function is that it creates an informal exchange of information. Very much like the referral services like "Angie's List" that provides feedback from folks who utilize professional services. The "grape vine" gossip can be informative and can serve as a reference service when we are looking to find out if someone is trustworthy or if a doctor or dentist is a good practitioner.

Another purpose gossip serves is to control inappropriate behavior by creating fear and concern of such behavior being broadcast through gossip and reveal information about an individual they would prefer to keep under wraps. Treating others badly, cheating on a spouse or being thought of as a liar are typical behaviors that people will try and curb to avoid being gossiped about.

Gossip can also be part of story telling and an attempt to understand human nature and why people behave as they do. We are often like curious detectives talking about what a person did or said to attempt to understand their motives and how they might be feeling about us. This is one way we try to resolve our realtionship conflicts by talking about the person with friends, family and even therapists.

When gossip is bad or ulgy, we step over the line and maliciously critize and "bad mouth" someone for the purpose of either putting them down or building ourself up. We may critize others in an attempt to deflect our own fears of inadequacy and insecurity.

Gossip can range from insightful story telling, social therapy to destructive behavior that diminshes others and ourselves. An important thing to remember about gossip is well stated in the Spanish proverb: "He who gossips with you will also gossip about you".

With all good wishes,
Georgianna

Copyright 2011 G.Donadio

Holistic Approach to Diabetes – Part VI

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Spiritual/World View

It is said that there is only one disease: the disease which comes from separating oneself from the awareness that we are one tribe, one family. When we lose our connectedness to one another, competition becomes commonplace.

Competition creates isolation, and isolation leads to dis-ease. The spiritual challenge presented by hypoglycemia and diabetes appears to involve our need to belong to the tribe, and how we choose to behave towards ourselves and others.

The drama that is creating the one-up or one-down dynamics of our highly competitive, materialistic society can lead to the self-soothing and behavioral issues which contribute to the development of mature onset diabetes.

The renowned anthropologist and writer, Joseph Campbell, stated that, “all human beings have three essential questions they seek answers to: Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? Where do I go when I die?” Our attempts to answer these questions form our worldview, our spirituality or faith in the unknown.

Faith requires trust in the unseen and provides us with a tool that puts order in our universe and allows us to  formulate purpose and meaning for our lives. How do we learn to trust in this mysterious order of the universe? Various ancient spiritual teachings suggest we can achieve this state through trusting the order of our inner universe.

We do this by setting boundaries — codes of conduct regarding how we are going to behave, eat, work, exercise and live. If we do not violate our own boundaries, we are less likely to violate others’ boundaries or to let anyone else violate ours.

Krishna’s ancient dictum — “The best way to help mankind is through the perfection of yourself” — gives us affirmation that when we heal ourselves we heal the world.

With all good wishes,
Georgianna

Copyright 2010 G. Donadio

A Holistic Approach to Diabetes – Part V

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Environmental: Internal & External

The environments that we work in, live in or pass through daily have a significant impact on the way we feel about ourselves and in our bodies. Dr. Maslow brilliantly pointed out that human beings are herd animals — interdependent beings who seek the safety and comfort of the tribe.

Belonging, being a part of a family or faith community are important needs of all human beings. When we are living or working in environments that do not value us, do not reflect back to us our contributions or embrace us as
belonging to the group, we suffer from alienation and a sense of loss which can in turn lead to self-soothing behaviors such as starchy carbohydrate over consumption, smoking,drugs or alcohol abuse.

Likewise, we must be able to slow down and listen to what our body’s internal environment is telling us, such as when we have eaten too much or too little of certain foods, when we need to rest, relax and take time for self-care. When we choose to ask questions about what might be the unconscious cause of our behaviors — either emotional or physical — we can process this information to liberate unwanted unconscious conditioning.

One of my patients recently had a transformational experience using this listening exercise. A devoted environmentalist, Linda would become angry and upset whenever she saw someone throwing away bottles or cans instead of placing them in available recycle bins. She would pick up the discarded container and boldly put it in the recycle bin, glaring at the offending stranger as she did this.

Unfortunately, her anger and frustration would leave her with an emotional and physical “hangover” — upset stomach,aching head and a strong desire for chocolates and anything starchy.

In facilitating Linda’s process of understanding her pattern, she was invited to explore the question, “What does it feel like when I see someone ignore recycling efforts?” The answer surprised Linda because what she felt was that she, personally, was not being valued or respected. She was able to trace the feelings back to having her “Earth Mother” values mocked in high school, not only by her peers but by her siblings as well.

She was then able to understand why she reached for chocolate, which contains phenylalanine, an amino acid our brains produce when we are feeling loved and satisfied. This is the reason chocolate has long been associated with Valentine’s Day, because of its biochemical mimicking of the “love protein.”

Next Installment: Part VI- Spiritual World View

With all good wishes,
Georgianna
Copyright 2010 G. Donadio

A Holistic Approach to Diabetes – Part IV

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The pancreas is one of the hardest working organs in our body. It is the
“end organ” of digestion, providing numerous enzymes and hormones that allow us to assimilate or “take in” the outside world on a very cellular level.

The pancreas is also a metaphor for our relationship with others and the world around us, as it literally allows us to take in, integrate and nourish ourselves from the macro to the micro level.

In this regard, problems related to the pancreas, or the third chakra, relate to our relationships with self and others and our sense of belonging — the real sweetness of life. The pancreas also correlates with psychologist Abraham Maslow’s third hierarchy, which is the need to belong that connects us with each other, our family and our community or tribal bonds.

Often when we build our diet around starchy, complex carbohydrates or find ourselves craving them, this can be a way of “self-medicating” our emotional needs by eating foods that lead to increased serotonin levels as compensation for the lack of loving relationships or connections in our lives.

Regardless of the emotional motivation, over time excess consumption of starchy complex carbohydrates and overeating can result in the pancreas not working as efficiently as it was designed to.

This can lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or hyperglycemia (high blood sugar.) Paradoxically, if we are feeling the ups and downs of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia, this may produce feelings of anxiety or apprehension that further undermines our emotional sense of well being, security and self-esteem.

The chronic anxiety that stems from these emotions often leads to more self soothing behaviors of overeating and elevated starchy carbohydrate consumption which eventually results in mature onset diabetes.

When our feelings of poor self-esteem, a fear of not belonging, or a need for approval and acceptance are dealt with by “medicating” with serotonin producing foods, we are simply treating the symptoms. This masks the underlying emotional cause of diabetes and allows the feeling/feeding cycle to continue.

Next Installment – Part V – Chemical and Nutritional
With all good wishes,
Georgianna

Copyright 2010 G. Donadio

A Holistic Approach to Type II Diabetes – Part II

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Part II – The Need for De-Mystified Health Information

In a world exploding with health information, especially on the Internet, we are caught in the dilemma of having abundant amounts of information without a context through which we can understand and utilize it in a way that is appropriate for our own unique personal health needs. There is an urgent need for quality health education.

Whole Health Education, developed over the past 28 years in cooperation with Boston physicians, nurses and educators, is an approach to health education that can transform our experience of the way we care for ourselves and others. Evaluated in a pilot cardiac rehabilitation hospital trial study in 2002 by Dr. Harvey Zarren at Union Hospital, North

Shore Medical Center in Lynn, MA, Whole Health Education integrates evidence-based medical information with the wisdom of various spiritual teachings and a whole person overview of behavioral options. By providing individualized health information thatexplains the physical, emotional, nutritional, environmental and spiritual aspects of any health concern, Whole Health Education helps patients discern what information they are lacking about their health, what choices they can make to eliminate or control their health problems, as well as the best care options for their individual needs.

It is a common sense approach to becoming our own best friend and personal healer by understanding the cause and effect our behaviors and choices have on our state of health. In this model, we become the center of our health and healing process, rather than the doctors or practitioners we go to for guidance and treatment.

Let’s take a look at Mature Onset Diabetes, a.k.a., Type II Diabetes from the five (5) element perspective and see how this approach can assist us in understanding and importantly, demystifying this all too common chronic health condition.

Part III – The Five Aspects of Mature Onset Diabetes

With all good wishes,
Georgianna

Copyright 2010 G. Donadio

A Holistic Approach to Type II Diabetes

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A couple of years ago, I wrote an article about taking a holistic approach to understanding and addressing Mature Onset Diabetes. This particular article found it way into over 3,000 citations around the globe. Our PR firm is still scratching its head as to how this happened but suspects social networking magic is how the article was so abundantly shared – ah, the magic of back-linking! The article has been and still is very popular. I will be sharing it with you in installments over the next few days.

Here is Part I:

Holistic health and Whole Health Education promote new thinking and a plan of action for taking control of your health and wellbeing. Do you ever wonder why, in spite of all your good intentions, you just cannot seem to take control over your health and wellness the way you really want to?

The answer to that question can be found in the words of Albert Einstein, who reminded us “you cannot correct a problem with the same thinking that created it.” In other words, you cannot change old behaviors without new information.

The Institute of Medicine published a study that indicates ninety million Americans are “health illiterate,” which means we do not know how to interpret or use health information to control or improve our health, or prevent chronic disease. “Lack of information” was cited as the number one root cause of death.

Understanding that there exists a cause and effect relationship between what we know and how we behave, we need a model of integrating this important information to change the behaviors that lead to chronic disease.

According to a seven-year Harvard Medical School study published in 1996, approximately 70% of all cancers and chronic conditions can be prevented through lifestyle changes. Furthermore, our diseases and conditions are primarily a result of stress, food, environment, attitude, emotions or beliefs that keep us perpetuating behaviors that lead to illness. Are we consciously choosing to be unhealthy, or do we just not understand sufficiently the relationship between what we think, how we behave, what we put into our bodies and how we keep ourselves well or make ourselves sick?

Part II The Need for De-Mystified Health Information

With all good wishes,
Georgianna

Copyright 2010 G. Donadio

Whole Person Health Care – Part III

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Part III – Comparison of Whole Person Health Care and Conventional Analysis and Treatment

By looking at different client care situations we can see how traditional and whole person health care differs in their approach. Patient A is a 35-year old male who is married with two children and works in a high stress job. He considers himself healthy however, despite working out fairly regularly and eating healthy, he is constantly tired and has trouble sleeping at night.

On the opposite end of the spectrum Patient B is a 50-year old single stay-at-home mom who is raising a young son. She has high cholesterol, is borderline diabetic and is generally not in good health.

Patient A: Conventional Analysis & Treatment Recommendation: This patient would most likely be given a blood test to check for anemia or pathology and then prescribed a sleeping pill to deal with the insomnia. If nothing showed up on the blood test, the practitioner would probably recommend addressing the stress with a pill to calm down to seeing a therapist to deal with his stress.

Patient A: Whole Person Health Care Analysis & Treatment Recommendation: This practitioner would also probably order a blood test to check for anemia or pathology. After assessing that possibility, if the blood test came back “negative” (ironically, that’s positive!), the practitioner would then explore and discuss with the individual what they felt is contributing to their problem. Based on the patients’ self-awareness and the practitioners mindful listening and assessment of the patient, the practitioner might recommend a homeopathic remedy, a change in sleep venue or a new bed, meditation before retiring, an decrease in stimulating food such as caffeine and alcohol, and an increase in fruits and vegetables in t he diet. The multiple aspects of the individual’s life and their own innate awareness of their health would be considered.

Patient B: Conventional Analysis & Treatment Recommendation:This patient would be given a blood work-up to determine her levels of cholesterol and glucose or blood sugar. Depending upon the values found on the tests, the doctor would prescribe medications appropriate for lowering the levels of cholesterol and/or blood sugar. The doctor may also suggest the patient make an appointment with a dietician to go over dietary changes.

Patient B: Whole Person Health Care Analysis & Treatment Recommendation: This practitioner would also do a blood work-up to assess the patient’s various blood values. However, rather than prescribing a drug to lower or later levels, this practitioner may invite the individual into a discussion about what she felt she could do to bring these levels down to avoid the need for a medication.

The discussion would outline and recommend options for lowering cholesterol which would include natural supplements, dietary changes or adding more vegetables and whole sprouted grains instead of high fat foods, an exercise program that she would be able to follow, drinking more water, using homeopathic remedies to improve her overall health, discuss her social life and recreation. This practitioner would focus on changing the causes of her chronic condition rather than just medicate it.

The options we are offered today through Whole Person Health Care invites us to become more pro-active and better informed as well as become better health care consumers. This empowers us to take greater control over our health outcomes and longevity. That’s a prescription for good health we can all live with.

With all good wishes ~
Georgianna

Copyright 2010 G. Donadio

The Facts About Fiber

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Plant fiber is an essential component to a healthy diet. It is the non-digestible portion of the cell walls of the plant that provides excellent benefits for humans and provides highly nourishing food for rudiments. Rudiments are double-bellied animals such as goats and cows who have the digestive enzyme capacity to break down the plants fibrous cell walls.

Fiber helps keep our intestines and bowels healthy by removing debris, reduces weight gain by taking longer to digest, creating fullnes and bulk to the diet, thereby lowering appetite and capacity. In addition, because fiber slows down absorption, it also aids in regulating blood sugar.

There are two types of fiber. There is the water soluble type that mixes with water and forms a gel like substance. The benefits are that this form lowers cholesterol and modifies blood sugar levels by slowing down absorption. It also produces antioxidants, anti-aging and anti-carcinogenic compounds during the fermentation process in the large intestines.

Insoluble Fiber does not dissolve in water and as such passes through the digestive system pretty close to the same form it was in when we put it in our mouths. This form reduces the risk of colo-rectal cancer, hemorrhoids and constipation by softening the stool.

Foods that are rich in fiber are fruits, vegetables, brown rice and nuts. How much fiber to have per day? While there is not Reccommended Daily Allowance for fiber, the ADA recommends approximately 25% of our diet should be made up of fiber. This can ensure we are getting plenty of plant base foods and all the benefit of its fiber.

How to Increase your Fiber?

> Instead of having a glass or orange juice – eat an orange. Replace any fruit juice with the actual fruit.

> Replace ALL white flour with whole grain flour or use sprouted grains instead.

> Ue only whole grain versions of pasta, cereal and bread

> Be sure to include 5-8 vegetables in your diet daily. Having a hearty vegetable soup is an easy way to do that.

> Choose brown rice over white

> Replace meat dishes with bean, lentil or legume dishes.

The best way to not even have to think about whether you are getting your fiber or not, is to follow a diet that is high in vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans and whole grains. Not only is it good for your health – its also delicious!

The Importance of Good Digestion – Worth Repeating

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The single most reported complaints in all hospital emergency rooms are digestive relative complaints. The most “stress affected” system of the human body is the digestive system. According to the October, 2008, Drug Topics News Magazine for Pharmacists, in 2008, American’s spent 5 billion dollars on over the counter digestive or “stomach” remedies, with an expected 40% increase by 2010.

Wouldn’t it be helpful to understand and educate others on how and why they are suffering from digestive ailments?

We all know people who eat organic, natural food and are meticulous about the quality and quantity of what they put in their body and are sick, tired, plagued with health issues. Then there are others who eat anything and everything, the good, the bad and the ugly and have energy to burn, not a pimple on their entire body and feel great.

Often, what this is the result of the function and efficiency of their individual nervous systems. Those who have an active “sympathetic” nervous system, with the tenth cranial nerve reeking havoc with their digestive system (alimentary canal), they are the folks that no mater what they eat and how, pure, clean and organic it is – they just don’t do well and feel ill and unwell much of the time.

For the individual with a well-tuned central nervous system and balanced “para-sympathetic” cranial nerves, the digestive system can be a culinary playground that accepts all types of nutrients and food stuffs and produces ample nutrition without up set or illness.

What makes one nervous system different from another, one person’s experience different from another? It has more to do with the limbic system (unconscious mind) of an individual than any other single factor, with the exception of the rare congenital or pathological occurrence.

With all good wishes,
G
Copyright – 2010 G.Donadio