Category Archives: Personal Growth

Comfort Food – How Carbohydrates Soothe

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Thanks to the work of M.I.T. professor Judith Wurtman, PhD, and others we now understand the significant role that a neurotransmitter or “chemical messenger” called serotonin plays in producing our cravings for complex carbohydrates and sugars, two of the largest contributors to unhealthy weight gain.

Serotonin and other neurotransmitters are produced by our bodies as “feel good” hormones. Under stress, we do not have enough of these hormones and we become motivated to “self-sooth” by behaviors that lead to the increase in serotonin. Overeating carbohydrates and fatty rich foods or “comfort foods” such as cookies, ice cream, and other “treats” significantly increases these hormones. Many addictions such as smoking, drinking alcohol and abusing drugs are also attempts to self soothe and increase serotonin, but no other addictive or unhealthy behavior is as socially accepted and as easily available as overeating. We can do it anywhere, anytime, along or with company. It is not wonder we have such a love affair with eating.

In addition, our bodies need for certain nutrients, specifically protein, Vitamins A, C and E, unsaturated fatty acids, cholesterol and minerals sky rocket when we are “adapting” under stress. Often, if we do not stop the stress cycle or appropriately supplement these vital nutrients, we can turn to overeating to satisfy the body’s demand for the fuel it needs to keep dealing with the stress we are experiencing.

For a period of time, foods that comfort, sooth or supplement can make us feel calmer until our level of serotonin drops again or until we become more exhausted and need to feed ourselves once more. Then we start the cycle all over and consume more carbohydrates and fatty rich food to stabilize our blood sugar level and brain function until we feel better again.

This is the cycle of self medication or self-soothing practices in homes, offices, restaurants, automobiles and yes, even in bathrooms across America. The long term effect of such behaviors, apart from obesity and escalating chronic diseases, is that our nervous systems are being hyper-stimulated. Anxiety, exhaustion, depression, over eating and insomnia are just a few of the symptoms we experience when our nervous systems are working on overload.

As a result, it is no wonder that within the last few years, low carbohydrate diets have proven effective for so many people. Approximately 20% of Americans or 20 million people are currently on low carbohydrate diets. For many of us, our stress level is a major factor in the over-consumption of carbohydrates; therefore reducing or eating normal amounts of carbohydrates is spawning weight loss. The real issue however is: How long can we reduce our carbohydrate loading without reducing our stress levels and the behaviors that create elevated stress in the first place?

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

Organic Foods versus Non-Organic Foods

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Several years ago scientists at Rutgers University set-out to specifically disprove any claim that organic produce was more nutritious than non-organic produce. The study used produce from supermarkets and health food stores. The main focus was to analyze the mineral content of the various vegetables and compare them for nutrition value, in particular, mineral content.

The term used today to identify non-organic produce is “commercial” which is grown using a variety of chemicals that either destroys plant pests or chemicals that can enhance plant growth. Many of these chemical are known carcinogens as well as being toxic to the soil and environment.

There has actually been very little “hard data” to prove that organic produce is in any way superior to organic produce, as most folks who purchase “organic” simply believe innately that naturally grown vegetables and fruits, without chemicals and pesticides are intuitively better and healthier.

While the researchers were willing to accept an outcome that might show a very slightly higher content in the organic produce than the commercial, due to the chemicals used to grow the commercial plants, the outcomes of the study shocked the researchers! When they saw that the amount of iron found in the commercial spinach was 97% higher than in the organic spinach and that manganese was 99% higher in the organic over the commercial, they were truly amazed. In the commercially grown vegetables many trace elements were completely absent compared to the organic produce where they were abundant.

Here are some comparisons:

Snap Beans organic =
10.45 phosphorus compared to 4.04 in commercial
.36 magnesium compared to .22 in commercial
227 boron compared to 10 in commercial
69 iron compared to 3 in commercial

Cabbage organic =
10.38 phosphorus compared to 6.12 in commercial
.38 magnesium compared to .18 in commercial
94 boron compared to 20 in commercial
48 iron compared to .04 in commercial

Lettuce organic =
24.48 phosphorus compared to 7.01 in commercial
.43 magnesium compared to .22 in commercial
516 boron compared to 9 in commercial
60 iron compared to 3 in commercialTomatoes organic =
14.2 phosphorus compared to 7.01 in commercial
.35 magnesium compared to .16 in commercial
1938 boron compared to 1 commercial
53 iron compared to 0 in commercial

Spinach organic =
28.56 phosphorus compared to 12.38 in commercial
.52 magnesium compared to .27 in commercial
1584 compared to 49 in commercial
32 iron compared to .3 in commercial

Here’s a disturbing outcome of this study – in all 5 of the tested vegetables: snap beans, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes and spinach the organic vegetables all contained healthy levels of cobalt, an essential trace mineral compared to the commercial vegetables which contain none!

So, the next time someone tries to argue that there is no difference between organic and commercial vegetables you can share this information with them and then happily buy your organic produce!

With all good wishes,
G

© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

Should Doctors Take Back Control of Health Care?

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For those us of old enough to remember Marcus Welby, MD and Dr. Kildare, the beloved TV docs we grew up with, we also remember a time when the physicians ran health care. They set policy, budgets, insurance coverage guidelines and pretty much, back then, “everything health care”.

The insurance carriers, growing tired of paying for questionable procedures and surgery, warned physician groups running the show that if they did not clean up the medical abuses taking place, the insurance industry would take away their decision making by enforced second opinions and limited pay outs for procedures that were being unnecessarily performed. Back in the 1970’s, there were millions of hysterectomies, 66% of all those performed were after the fact deemed “unnecessary” by what has become today’s Medical Review Boards.

Now in the U.K., to quote an article in latest English.news.cn “The new British coalition government revealed on Friday that it planned to put doctors in charge of funding for front line services in England’s National Health Service (NHS), in a change hailed as the biggest in 60 years.”

This is big! If this were to be enacted in the U.S., we could see a return of physician driven health care that is provided, determined and distributed by the same type of physician groups that were unable to police themselves just 30 years after the establishment of the American Medical Association and the mainstreaming of the pharmaceutical industry.

Granted, we currently have in place excellent peer review boards and medical review requirements, but this works because of the lack of conflict of interest with the way these structures function.

The health care reform bill has yet to flex its muscles and most of us feel pretty much in the dark about what we can expect. No surprise since an overwhelming majority of politicos who voted on the bill had little to no idea what the bill contained!

The issues we see with today’s health care delivery simply reinforce the Whole Health vision of taking control of our bodies, preventing disease with common sense health hygiene and limiting the use of acute care medicine that we as Americans are blessed to have available to us when a health crisis occurs.

Every day the news contains articles identifying the long term use of even over the counter medications and cautions us to realize we cannot repeatedly put these chemicals into our bodies (and there are many other chemicals in our environment, food and air) and not experience consequences.

Chronic disease, which is the bulk of what is treated in health care today, is preventable and cost effective. Let’s create our own health care reform with self-directed health-care. This means taking care of our whole health, living well and living long.

With all good wishes,
G

© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

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

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

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Ten years ago, Newsweek ran an article by Howard Brody, MD, PhD, author of
“The Placebo Response: How You can Release Your Body’s Inner Pharmacy for Better Health.”

He begins the article by telling a story of a patient who experiences “a medical miracle”. She was
undergoing experimental brain surgery for her Parkinson’s disease. She was so stiff before she had
the surgery that she could barely take a step. When several months later a TV new magazine filmed
the woman, she was striding easily across the room.

Now here is the exciting part of the story – the surgery she had was a fake. She was part of a
fetal-cell transplant research study. The procedure consisted of drilling holes into the skull and
placing
fetal cells into specific targeted areas of the brain.

The woman was placed under anesthesia and holes were drilled into her head. But,she did not
have any fetal cells implanted into her brain. This meant that her miraculous recovery was
entirely what is called the “nuisance factor” by researchers, or better known as
– the placebo effect.

In the conclusion of the study, it was stated that the patients who received the sham operation
realized almost the same effects as the ones who received the fetal cell implants. This is a
powerfully important piece of information with regard to understanding that we can “tell ourselves”
or implant messages into our conscious and unconscious mind about what we want to realize about
our health or our lives and can manifest those very messages into reality.

Beliefs are powerful things and what we tell ourselves and others tell us can make us better or worse.
We all have “our story” and we tell it over and over again both to ourselves and to others. We believe
it, we expect it and we project it. When we change our beliefs and our story, we change the outcomes.

One of the better known studies which demonstrates how changing our stories can change our
outcomes (and our lives) is the 1980’s breast cancer support group study that was written up in
the journal Advances. All of the women had breast cancer that had metastasize before the study
began. Their prognosis was poor but they became a group who listened to each others stories,
supported each other, cared about one another and helped each other manage their symptoms
and disease. They also helped each other change their story.

It is not surprising that the women in this support group lived on average 18 months longer
than breast cancer patients with the same degree of metastasis.

Tomorrow: Part Two – Understanding HOW THIS WORKS

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

Sweet Mystery of Life ~ the Hormones

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In 2005, an article appeared in the science journal Natureabout scientists in both Switzerland and in the United States who similarly found that exposing people to the human hormone Oxytocin through intranasal administration, made them more trusting and more willing to bond with others. Oxytocin is a hormone released by both males and females during sexual intimacy.

“Oxytocin specifically affects an individual’s willingness to accept social risks arising through interpersonal interactions,” the scientists wrote in the Nature article.

This is not surprising given that Oxytocin has also been referred to as “the cuddle” hormone as it is stimulated with physical affection. It has also been shown to decrease with the memory of a negative emotion and increase again with touch.

In females, Oxytocin is stimulated during romance and intimacy and creates an emotional environment of trust which assists in creating a desire for conception. Apparently, nature has created an amazing process of bio-chemical brain response which sets the stage for and encourages procreation.

May-be falling in love is a series of biochemical reactions that create desire and trust? May-be love is just an illusion of a hormonal kind? Ah, sweet mystery of life ~

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

Food and Mood

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Just finished an interview for a national magazine on “Food and Mood”. It reminded me about how intimately our mood and our food are connected.

The article was about “what foods help our moods”, but may-be the larger question is “what do our moods have to do with what we eat”.

It’s interesting that the emphasis is usually on how things from the OUTSIDE of us affect our insides and in reality so much of what is going on INSIDE of us affects our outsides.

This is really evident in terms of weight loss and weight gain. The way we feel about ourselves, work, life, if we are fulfilled or dissatisfied has more to do with what or how much we choose to eat than how eating a food has to do with how it “makes us feel”.

One of the reasons diets don’t work is because the “work” is being done on the outside of the problem instead of the inside. I have been a nutritionist for over 30 years and have seen tens of thousands of patients who want to change the way they look or the way they eat.

When we start to “work” on the goal, within a relatively short period of time, they become aware that there are underlying feelings and emotions associated with not eating foods that help them to “medicate” or mask their feelings.

They often become discouraged because the feelings are uncomfortable and sometimes painful. It is our human nature to AVOID pain and move towards pleasure. It takes courage to truly tackle and confront the underlying issues of “food and mood”, rather than focusing on the outside of the problem, to focus on the inside instead.

Here is an exercise you may find to be of value. If you are dealing with mood or food issues, keep a journal for 10 days, writing down everything you eat and how you feel when you DON’T eat what you want and how you feel when you DO eat what you want.

Just becoming more aware of what you are putting in your mouth and how it translates to how you feel after you eat a particular food, can be the start of a healthier and happier relationship with food and your mood.

All the best,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved

Behavior and Self-Esteem

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The other day, my 17 year old daughter was watching a reality television show about high school students who were treating each other quite badly. The lack of respect that many of them showed towards other students was stunning. What was even more disconcerting was their lack of awareness that the people they were taunting and verbally abusing had the same range of feeling they did; wanted to be accepted and valued as they did and wanted to belong within their peer groups, just like they did.

The main theme of the program was having a facilitator come into the school and teach the verbally abusive students the basics of how to have appropriate relationships. It was portrayed that these young people had never seen respect or compassion modeled for them at home. They were not “aware” that other students, young people like themselves, had essentially the same need to belong and the same feelings and desires that they did.

My daughter commented that it was obvious that these insensitive high school students were suffering from low self-esteem to be treating other people that way. This started a conversation about “where do we develop health self-esteem from” and why do some people develop it easily and others not at all.

Self-esteem is intimately connected to our health and how we treat ourselves, which is also expressed through how we treat others. The role of a parent is to instruct a child in “how to be in the world” and to provide the training, if you will, to have the skills, tools and awareness to develop a strong sense of self and self esteem.

“Roots and wings” was the expression many years ago, which refers to the stability, discipline and security that allows us to go out into the world and have the confidence in ourselves to “spread our wings” and fly.

As parents we have the profound responsibility of modeling to our children what they need to learn to be both healthy and happy. Children learn with their eyes, their ears and their hearts. It really does not matter what we say to our children, or what we say to others, it is what we do that counts. When we take the easy way out as parents and do not provide our children with a strong example and foundation of learning responsibility, integrity and how to respect others, we fail them and we hurt them.

To teach our children to be healthy and happy we must teach them the number one rule of liking themselves, which leads to liking others:

When our behavior is congruent with our values, with what we know intellectually and intuitively is right and good, we like ourselves. When our behavior goes against our values and what we know is the right way to behave, we have low self-esteem. We don’t like ourselves when we behave in a way that directly or indirectly hurts ourselves or others.

I remember talking one time with one of my children who was complaining that “I don’t like myself”. I asked them an appreciative inquiry question:

“Do you think that feeling might come from something you know about yourself that the rest of us don’t”?

Several days later he shared with me “that was one of the best questions anyone had ever asked him” and that it helped him to stop doing something that he felt really bad about doing.

This is a question to ask ourselves and to model to our children, who learn more from our non-verbal communication than anything we might “tell” them about how to live a happy, healthy life.

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

Unhealthy Work Environments

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When most of us think of an unhealthy work environment we think “sick building syndrome”, difficult co-workers or the classic “boss from hell”.

Recently, after attending a conference which was populated by a number of staffing agency directors, I received an insight into the latest unhealthy work issue that is getting the attention of a lot of organizations. OFBTM – Obsessive Face Book and Text Messaging while on the clock.

It is becoming such a concern to some employees, that more and more companies are having their computer networks re-tooled to block Facebook from being accessible from the office computers.

How much of a problem is it that a significant number of those raised on electronic communication and networking cannot stop checking their Facebook and Text Messaging while they are being paid to do the job tasks required of them.

That employees are noticing and concerned about this trend affecting their productivity and even their bottom line, says something important about immediate communication impulse and what is being called “the narcissistic tendency” we are developing as a culture.

The focus and integrity to attend to the job we are expected to perform as well as the ability or willingness not to pay attention to ourselves when we are getting paid to be working, seems to be lacking today more than ever before.

Cell phones, e-mails, text messages, social networking, Facebook and other electronic forms of communication have begun to hold our attention prisoner, even when we are on the job. Not only is this unfair to the individual or organization paying our salary, but it also sends up a red flag about how we are growing more and more self absorbed as a culture.

Can someone be healthy when they are overly concerned about the moment to moment activities of their lives? There are (most commonly in humor columns) reported Facebook posts by individuals who literally record every minor thought and event of their day, posting them publicly for all their friends and fans to read.

Is it true that we are becoming a narcissistic society, unable to pull ourselves away from the details of our lives and that we no longer put in “an honest day’s work”?

Health is made up of many things. Being productive, making a contribution, working hard and enjoying what you do is all part of a healthy lifestyle. If social networking and electronic communication is pulling you further away from a balanced and healthy work life, it may be time to unplug and unlink.

Finding fulfillment and feeling commitment about what we do in our work, as well as how we do the work, is an important part of being a productive, contributory, healthy, happy individual.

Excessive electronic communication can not only be self-centering but can also distract us from other essential aspects that are part of a balance life. Something to consider ~

With all good wishes,
G

Copyright 2010 National Institute of Whole Health

Genes and Gender

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This summer my apple trees, with their sweet droppings all about the orchard, were producing an enormous population of fruit flies. Apart from being occasionally annoying and making a bit of noise, they would not seem to be a subject to capture one’s attention. At least I never thought so, until I read a fascinating study about fruit flies that indicated our gender may be largely connected to our genes.

Geneticist Barry Dickson and graduate student Ebru Demir, of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, Austria made a small biochemical change to see what might happen. That is – genetically altering a gene that they then engineered into female fruit flies. This very specific gene alteration would always make male fruit fly protein.

These genetically altered female fruit flies behaved like amorous male flies – perusing other female fruit flies and wooing them with the species elaborate courtship display. This gene altering and its subsequent behavioral results were reported in the scientific professional journal Cell. The engineered females rejected males that tried to mate with them and began to imitate the multi-step male courting dance which is truly fascinating but a bit too racy to describe in this blog. (I am not kidding!) The two scientists hypothesize that the altered gene sets into motion a cascade of genetic changes to re-program the female fruit flies sexual behavior.

One of the most spell binding books I have ever read about behavior and gender is Melvin Konner’s BRILLIANT, stunning book, “The Tangled Wing”. His book is about humans and not fruit flies. So, if you are fascinated by how our amazing hormones and genetics create and effect our thoughts, behaviors and even sexual preferences, this book is a MUST read.

You know when someone asks the question “if you had to be marooned on a desert island for 2 years with someone, who would it be?” – I’d definitely choose Melvin Konner and pick his brain about all his research and amazing findings. Strongly recommended reading, fascinating subject.

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