Tag Archives: Holistic Living

Infertility and Stress

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When a couple desires to have a child together and they are unable to conceive, it can be a time of great stress and upset for both partners. The inability to conceive, and the resulting longing that accompanies it, can be one of the most painful and difficult things a couple can experience together.

A number of years ago, in the New England Journal of Medicine, an article appeared that caught my eye because at that time there were a significant number or couples in my practice who were experiencing infertility. The article stated that often, regardless of the advances in medical technology and the various in-vitro methods available, a woman will ony become pregnant when her body is ready to carry a conception to term.

This wisely suggests that there are a number of reasons a woman may not conceive when she wishes to; and that the body’s innate intelligence knows when the best time and condition for a successful conception and birth of her baby is. The article also went on to say that stress is the number one reason women do not conceive when they wish to.

This is well demonstrated with women who adopt a baby when they cannot conceive, settle into motherhood, only to find that they are pregnant – something they or their doctors did not think would happen. The discussion of why women, in other cultures, become pregnant more easily that women in the US always leads back to our lifestyle and the abundance of stressful living we have in the US.

How does stress actually cause infertility? Here are the facts –

1. When we become stressed for periods of time, our body must make more cortisol, an adrenal hormone that deals with stress adaptation.

2. To provide this additional cortisol, the body diverts the production of sex hormones into the production of cortisol. This reduces fertility. Under stress, sex and reproduction is the first thing the body ignores.

3. Excess levels of cortisol interfere with oxytocin, the hormone required for fertile egg implantation in a woman’s uterus lining.

4. Excess stress over time suppresses the immune function as well as interferes with healthy digestive function that can lead to malnutrition.

If you or someone you know wants to conceive and is having a difficult time, they may greatly benefit from becoming familiar with this information and finding ways to decrease their anxiety about becoming pregnant, or reduce their lifestyle that may be causing high levels of physical stress.

With all good wishes,
Georgianna

Copyright 2011 G. Donadio

How Your Relationships Impact Your Health

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NIWH is about to publish its first book on transforming relationships using our Behavioral Engagement model of behavior change. The book discusses all the interwoven components of how and why people change their behaviors and the number one overriding factor in why we behave as we do.

At the top of the list is our needs as human beings, right next to food, water and shelter, is the need to be in relationship with others. The Belongingness Theory is held by many psychologists to be rooted in evolution and how humans have been able to survive and thrive in extremely difficult and often dangerous environments. According to the theory, our bodies release neurotransmitter chemicals when we socialize and these neurochemicals have a positive affect on our nevous systems and sense of security and being part of a larger and safer group of others.

We all form what is referred to as “para-relationships” as well. In these realtionships we assoiate ourselves with others like TV characters in sit-coms or with groups of people, like a football team. These attachments allows us to expand our sense of “tribe” and belongingness as well as provide a “reflective” sense of accomplishment or achievement when the groups we associate with win a championship or an Emmy award.

Our realtionships and a sense of belonging are a top priority to all of us. We often lose sight of this until a relationship has ended or someone has passed away. Freud accuratedly said “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. It feels important that from time to time that we remind ourselves about what really matters in our lives as our health and our relationships are intimately intertwined.

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 2011 all rights reserved

Fish and Heart Health – a Surprising Study

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The Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI-OS), which involved 84,493 females aged 50-79 years old, analyzed data over a 10 year period on the effects of various forms of fish consumption and heart failure. At the start of this study none of the participants had heart disease.

Fish is well known as a food which enhances both physical as well as mental health. Fish oil is also reported to be a mental and physical nutrient which reduces disease development and mental deterioration. In evaluating fish and fish oil it would be natural to expect that positive outcomes would be observed and reported.

The study divided the consumption of baked or broiled fish into frequency catagories of less than 1 time per month; 1-3 times per month; 1-2 times per week; 3-4 times per week and greater than 5 times per week.

The study also observed the consumption of fried fish at the frequencies of less than one serving per month; 1-3 times per month and greater than 1 time per week.

The findings, however, were startling. The weekly consumption of 5 or more serving of baked or broiled dark fish, primarily salmon, mackerel and bluefish, was found to lower the risk of heart failure by an impressive 30%. While the consumption of fried fish, just 1 time or more per week, was associated to be related to a 48% increase in heart failure!

Another surprise within this study is that the assumption that taking omega-3 supplements will be as beneficial as eating fish. The study could not identify any significant change in cardiac failure rates that was associated with taking omega-3 supplements.

While the study came to no hard and fast conclusion of why the fried fish was so lethal, the thinking is that there must be some property to the oil when deep fried that creates the negative health affects. Another conclusion was that it appears better to eat fresh fish that is baked or broiled that to reply on fish oil supplements for heart health.

While this is a blow to those of us who love fish and chips, enjoying fish that is well cooked and healthy of our hearts is not a hard thing to get used to.

With all good wishes,
Georgianna

Copyright 2011 G. Donadio

The Healing Power of Pets

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While it is generally difficult for large numbers of American to agree on the same issue, it seems when it comes to pets and the value we place on them, there is little disagreement. The 2011 American Pet Products Association (APPA) survey reported that an astounding 62% of all American households have a pet living with them. 

An identified 46.3 million households have dogs for a total of 78.2 million. Cat households total 38.9 million, however, cats out number dogs with a 86.4 million total, which represents that cat pets are generally in multiple numbers in their respective households. Fresh water fish, birds, reptiles and horses, along with small animals such as rabbit, hamsters, and others make up another 25.3 million pets. 

Americans, it appears, have also come to view and treat their pets in human terms. No longer satisfied with relegating the family pet to its own pet identified domain, today’s pet lovers are demanding the highest quality products and services for those they love and are also embracing their pets into all areas of the home.

The majority of pets today share beds and sleeping quarters in their households.  This trend is not confined to the US however. The Jakarta Post, Asia News Network reported that “Having a pet allows a person to learn to take care of something and elevates the sense of caring, which positively supports the development of well-being,” said Monty P. Satiadarma, a psychologist at the Tarumanagara University in Jakarta. Pets are a hit around the world.

In terms of dollars and cents – expenditure on pets for 2010-2011 is in excess of 50 billion dollars.  That is correct 50 billion. It is easy to imagine that this number must be a mistake as this represents more money being spent on pets in the United State than the gross national product for all but 64 countries around the world.

This 50 billion dollar figure also represents almost double the approximately $30 billion dollars Americans spend on popular activities such as going to movies, video games, or for listening to recorded music. Of the 50 billion spent on pets, 25 billion was spent on pet medical care and over the counter, as well as prescription medication, all without the benefit of health insurance to cover the cost.

The 38% of non-pet households are for the most part made up of individuals with allergies, who live in apartments or living environments that do not welcome pets and those who have no time left in their over scheduled lives to care for a pet. It seems people of all ages, ranging from infants to very elderly enjoy and welcome the company of pets.

The presence of pets is so popular today that nursing facilities host therapy pets on a regular basis. The one down side to this practice is that sometimes the residents start arguing and competing over who gets to keep the cat, dog or bird with them for the day.

What fuels our passion for pets? It is really quite simple. Our pets love us unconditionally. They listen to us, don’t complain or express disappointment in who we are. They provide companionship without the politics or agenda of most human relationships.  They accept our love and affection the way we to give it and best of all – they happily return it.

Our pets are the ultimate loving family member and we are now treating them as such. Can anyone blame us? Social networking has become the way we communicate and “do” relationships. These days it is often over e-mail and text messages that we are starting relationships or ending them, sharing major life events – even proposing marriage. The intimate contact with other human beings even 10 years ago, before the dominance of the internet and cell phones, is being replaced by our pets.

The American Pet Product Manufacturers Association (APPMA) estimates that this year millions of pet owners will purchase a Valentine’s gift for their pet, spending an average of $17 for the gift. Consumers will also spend an average of $6.30 on friends, $4.97 on classmates and teachers, and $3.41 on co-workers. What does this tell us?

Pets are not only beloved companions, but are also healers. Dogs have long been known for their service as seeing-eye dogs, but the use of dogs and other pets in numerous areas of healing and health monitoring are becoming widely utilized. Dogs who alert their companions for seizures or “sniff out” cancer, or pigs and horses that assist with helping draw out autistic children are easily found on the news or the internet. Therapy cats lower blood pressure, slow down heart rate and reduce depression and stress while providing companionship and affection.

A study by researcher Dr. Karen Allen, at the State University of New York, at Buffalo, identified that individuals suffering from hypertension after adopting a dog or cat had lower blood pressure reading during stressful situations than their counter parts who did not have a pet companion.

The National Institute of Technology Assessment Workshop, Health Benefits of Pets, identified that pets provide greater psychological stability which protects not only from heart disease and other stress related conditions but also reduces depression.  In the same study pets have been shown to lower the cost of health care as individuals with pets make fewer doctor visits, especially “for non-serious medical conditions”.

A Perdue University study demonstrated that when seniors face traumas or other adversity, the affection received from their pets and the bond between them, helps prevent depression and loneliness. Animals provide emotional support, which is an essential component for health and healing.

Pets enhance our psychological and physical well being. They love us, heal us and help us live longer and often provide more honest, non-judgmental and loving relationships than our human companions. Perhaps the health care reformists should modify Harry Truman’s “chicken in every pot” to “a pet in every home” to improve the health of Americans and reducing healthcare  costs.

All the best,
G
Copyright 2011 G. Donadio

Men, Women and Apologies

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For most of us it does not come as a surprise that men and women really do think, behave and are in many fundamental ways different from one another. We also know that hormones play a large role in these differences.

Now science is beginning to unravel the specifics on how males and female brains function in large part because of male and female hormones which craft our brain development and orient our behaviors.

Two new studies look at the brain function of men and women and offer some interesting observations regarding the subject. One study is from the University of California in collaboration with the University of New Mexico, led by researcher Richard Haier, a psychology professor at the University of California.

The findings of their study shows that generally men have 6.5 times the amount of gray matter relating to general intelligence compared with women. Women on the other hand have nearly 10 times the amount of white matter related to intelligence compared to men.

“These findings suggest that human evolution has created two different types of brains designed for equally intelligent behavior,” said Haier. But apparently these types of intelligent behaviors manifest differently.

Women apologize more often than men do, according to a new study led by researcher Karina Schumann, a doctoral student in social psychology at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It’ appears it not that men are reluctant to admit wrongdoing, they simply have a different perception regarding what they feel rises to the level of requiring an apology.

The research team saw no difference in the number of times men and women acted in ways that elicited apologies, but there was a distinct difference in the male and female perception of what constituted a situation that requires an apology.

“Men aren’t actively resisting apologizing because they think it will make them appear weak or because they don’t want to take responsibility for their actions,” says Schumann. “It seems to be that when they think they’ve done something wrong they [men] do apologize just as frequently as when women think they’ve done something wrong. It’s just that they think they’ve done fewer things wrong.”

“Ladies” – did we really need research to confirm this?

With all good wishes,
G

Copyright 2011 G. Donadio

Alternative for Dealing with Seasonal Allergies

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One of the most important aspects of being able to address a health issue you may have is to understand the cause and effect of how and why you are experiencing your symptoms and what they represent.

Seasonal allergies are for many the down side to the beauty of spring and summer. Itchy, runny eyes and nose, sneezing, coughing, and even wheezing can dictate an individual’s activity choices, where they can go and even what they can eat. None of this is desirable and much of it has been shown to be preventable.

To understand how you can take control of your seasonal allergies, let’s explore where they come from. When foreign proteins found in many airborne substances, such as pollen, dust mites and rag weed.

When mucous membranes that come in contact with these foreign proteins are not immunologically competent enough to break down these proteins, the membrane secrete mucous, fluids and histamine. This causes the itching, swelling, irritation and watery excretions that make seasonal allergies so challenging.

To improve allergy symptoms, steroid or steroid like medications, are often prescribed. These are anti-inflammatory chemicals that reduce the allergic immune reaction to the foreign proteins. By building up our immune and adrenal system we can enable our bodies to be better able to handle these allergens, which cause the allergy reactions.

Our adrenals are located either on top of or within the kidneys and produce cortico-steroids and other natural anti-inflammatory as part of our “national guard” system. Hans Selye, MD, PhD, who spent over 50 years researching the adrenals and immune system, discovered the important nutrition and lifestyle components to keeping this important body system working well: 

  • a diet or supplementation rich in B, C, E,  and A vitamins; unsaturated fatty acids, such as fish oils, adequate protein intake and minerals to aid in the production of natural allergy fighting anti-inflammatory.
  • adequate sleep and rest
  • elimination of infections
  • reduction of emotional stress
  • moderate exercise – avoid over exertion
  • avoidance of traumas, dental and medical surgery
  • elimination of extreme temperatures indoors and out

Seyle’s research demonstrated that by taking good care of our adrenal and immune system, allergies may be greatly reduced, and in some cases eliminated.

Healing Foods – the Power of Color

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The living world around us is filled with color. Blue sky, green grass, aqua oceans and an unlimited array of tress, flowers and plants bursting with intense, vibrant color.

Health is associated with color as well. When we are healthy we have pink cheeks, bright eyes and a healthy flush to our skin. Quite interestingly, aging is the slow loss of color – a fading or color- that marks the slowing or ebbing of life vibrancy.

It is not wonder than that colorful foods are the healthiest foods we can nourish our bodies with have nutritional benefit in the form of phytonutrients, which means plant nutrients. The vivid colors of the fruits and vegetables that contain the higest amount of these important plant nutrients act as a table of contents for the phytochemicals found inside the plant. Listed below is a color guidefor choosing the fruits and vegetables which provide these powerful healing plant nutrients:

 > Orange = beta-carotene an antioxidant = supports immune function
 > Yellow-Orange = vitamin C = detoxifies and inhibits tumor cell growth
 > Red = lycopen an antioxidant = reduces cancer risk
 > Green = folate and iron = builds healthy cells and genetic material
 > Green-light = indoles, lutein = eliminates excess estrogen & carcinogens
 > Green-white = allyl sulfides = destroys cancer cells, supports immune system
 > Blue (fruits) = anthocyanins = destroy free radicals
 > Red-purple (fruits) = reservatrol = plaque reducer, mineral chelator
 > Brown (legumes, whole grains) = fiber = carcinogen remover

By being sure to fill your diet with many colorful, fresh fruits and vegetables is a way to insure your body is getting all the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients your body needs to stay healthy, happy and vibrant. Think RAINBOW the next time you prepare your plate.

With all good wishes,
G

© by NIWH 2011 all rights reserved

Women and Depression

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It comes as no surprise to women that there is a relationship between their hormone fluctuation and the potential for experiencing depression. Studies of this kind have not been pursued until fairly recently.

The prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently looked at this subject and explored the potential relationship to hormonal dysfunction and depression in women.

The recently published report was a review on how the female reproductive system interacts with the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. This is a major regulatory mechanism of the body’s stress response.

With the important data that women are twice as likely as men to experience depression, it is this mechanism which sets up a biochemical environment for depression, that the NIWH investigators looked closely at.

Stress in women impacts the reproductive hormones which can upset patterns of ovulation, hormone secretion and implantation. Mediated through the HP-axis, tThis upset can contribute to the lost of menses and to infertility.

If the stress becomes chronic and exert an ongoing imbalance on the female reproductive hormones, behavior and mood disorders and depression can significantly increase.

When the powerful reproductive – love hormone, oxytocin is suppressed due to excessive stress hormones, fertilized eggs cannot implant into the uterus. This significant result of chronic stress is believed to be a primary cause of infertility in American women.

A key to preventing or correcting the problem is to create a more balanced, less stressful lifestyle. When our body’s stress adaptation system becomes overwhelmed, many disorders and conditions can develop, depression being just one of them.

The NIH investigators reported that regarding postpartum depression, ongoing hyper-secretion of the stress hormone cortisol during  pregnancy creates a temporary drop in adrenal function following delivery. This hormonal change coupled with the plummeting levels of estrogen after giving birth may be an important factor in post-partum depression and possibly in immune dysfunctions, such as postpartum thyroid conditions.

With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2011 All rights reserved

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