What Are Your Fingernails Saying About Your Health?

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD

Your fingernails, along with your tendons, joints, hair, and skin are made from collagen–a group of naturally occurring proteins that strengthen the connective tissues of your body.We know that if your nails are weak or problematic, they represent a communication from inside the body to the outside.

Your nails are a reflection of your nutritional status and the overall quality of your health. This communication can bring to your attention deficiencies in essential nutrients. They can also reflect environmental chemical exposures.

To improve the quality and health of your nails, you first need to understand their constitution and chemistry. The nutrient calcium is an essential component of healthy nails; it is often deficient in dry and brittle nails. Fat-soluble vitamins in addition to a “good fats”, which are part of the metabolism of collagen, may also be missing or deficient.

Another issue may be low thyroid function, especially if the hair and skin are dry. Thyroid function is directly connected to the deposition of protein into our connective tissues and our nail beds.

Iron deficiency can produce pale, thin nails. Vitamin B and C deficiencies can be contributing factors to shredding, weak nails. Often if there is a digestive problem, which includes a lack of hydrochloric acid and pepsinogen or poor eating and absorption, vertical nail ridges can be found. Zinc and mineral deficiencies can create white spotting in the nail beds, along with chronic nail crack patterns and damage.

External factors can include exposure to household chemicals when cleaning without gloves, exposure to garden chemicals, handyman repairs, and cleaning or dying your clothes or rugs and upholstery. Excess use of nail polish remover is another culprit. An interesting fact is that repeated exposure to water is the number one external cause of dry, brittle nails.

When we understand how our fingernails tell the story about our internal nutritional and metabolic status, we can immediately address and correct the problem by choosing higher quality foods that are rich in calcium, minerals, vitamins B and C, and omega-3 fatty acids. Fresh fruits, vegetables, cold-water fish, whole grains and beans are excellent choices to help eliminate nail weakness and splitting.

The best way to healthy, beautiful nails is through a healthy, beautiful diet.

NIWH Whole Health Educators™ Empowering Better Health

Posted on March 25, 2021 by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD

It’s no secret that we Americans have reached an all-time level of being “unhealthy,” thanks to an ever-increasing stress-filled lifestyle. Despite widespread campaigns aimed at helping people stop smoking, eat better and exercise, the vast majority of Americans does not get regular exercise and are not eating enough fruits and vegetables. There is a clear need to empower others to take control of their health and wellness.

There has been an explosion in obesity that is cited as high as 63%, along with climbing rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other diseases associated with lifestyle and behavior choices. As far back as 1996, Harvard Medical School published a 7-year study which confirms up to 70% of all cancer, heart disease, stroke and mature onset diabetes are preventable with lifestyle and behavior changes. And yet, the health of the wealthiest nation in the world continues to decline. These factors underline the importance of a Whole Person based accredited health coaching program.

A Need For Real Health Education

Core factors for this epidemic amongst Americans can be found in a recent government study. The Institute of Medicine published a major study identifying that ninety million Americans are “health illiterate.” This does not mean, in this internet dominant society, that people do not have access to or are not receiving enough health and wellness information. It means that the majority of us do not know how to interpret or use the health information we receive to control or improve our health and wellness or prevent chronic disease. This reveals the need for more Whole Health Educators (TM), Advocates, and Coaches to bridge the gap.

Think of the last time you read the results of a new study in a magazine and realized you did not know how to use that information to support or improve your health. In fact, data presented to the American College of Health Care Executives identifies “lack of information as the number one root cause of death.” Yet, experts like Susan Edgman-Levatin, Executive Director, John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital, acknowledges “It’s no secret that traditional methods of patient education are hopelessly ineffective.”

NIWH Has An Answer

Addressing this problem, as far back as 1977, the National Institute of Whole Health in Boston, Massachusetts, in cooperation with physicians, nurses and online health educators, began research and development on an extraordinary, whole-person focused model of health education. The product of these 30 years of development in Boston area hospitals, the Whole Health Education® accredited health program, has today found its way into the medical mainstream.

These specialized health educators, Whole Health Educators ™, are uniquely trained to maintain a respectful presence and mindful listening skills as well as evidence-based, integrated health sciences to demystify for their clients the five major factors of health that influence how well we are or how sick we become. By providing “the big picture of health”®, an integrated understanding of how these five aspects can cause health or disease, the patient or client can possess the knowledge and tools to make necessary lifestyle changes and behavioral choices that are personally right for them. Identifying the root cause and effect of a chronic condition can free an individual to make changes they may not have previously considered.

You Are The Solution

There’s something that students and alumni of NIWH’s accredited health program have already discovered. If you are looking for work with purpose and integrity and are a health care professional, or entry-level candidate, who desires to serve others by providing evidence-based health information, and a natural, spiritual outlook on healing, this program may be of interest to you. NIWH offers Holistic Nurse Certification and Health Coach Certification. Program are offered through distance learning as well as optional in-person weekend classes, conducted at a Harvard affiliate hospital in the Boston area, which includes nationally recognized health experts and outstanding core facility members. For more information visit www.niwh.org or call 888-354-HEAL (4325)

Join the conversation. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow NIWH on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates filled with accredited health program information for holistic nurses and whole health coaches or advocates.

What Is Stress And Where Does It Come From?

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD

A statement by the well-known mind/body physician, Herb Benson, M.D. says that 60-90% of all visits to the doctor’s office are due to stress. We all hear about stress, experience stress, but what exactly is stress? Most of us think of stress as the emotional conflicts we experience in our daily lives, but our emotions are just one category or one type of “event” explored in health coach certification that can cause us to experience stress.

In order for us to survive in our ever-changing environments, our bodies are designed to adapt and it does so through a series of biochemical reactions. These chemical reactions are natural and necessary, but they are the wear and tear of living that we call stress.

Here’s an example I like to share in our whole health program because it gives a clear vision of this principle. When I was living in New York City, I drove my little stick shift through the stop and go traffic. Imagine the wear and tear (stress) on the clutch.

There are many events that might cause similar stress to our bodies. Some may surprise you.

Weather
Excess Exertion (such as too much exercise or lack of sleep)
Trauma or Injuries
Allergies and Immune Insults
Infections
Reproduction Related Events (monthly cycle, pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, etc.)

While the common nature of these events does not sound encouraging, there is some good news. If we have a stress response that is short term, like when the phone rings and the nurse tells you that your child had been vomiting, our bodies do just fine.

It is the prolonged stress, like anticipating for two whole weeks a root canal or that pesky “annual office evaluation.” That does us in! In our whole health education programs, students learn that this extended stress affects our digestive system, immune system, cardiovascular and even reproductive systems. Couple this with poor eating habits or insufficient sleep, and we are not happy campers.

While excessive or chronic stress is definitely not good for our health, we need stress adaptation for survival, so it is actually a very good thing. How this adaptation takes place is by way of specialized hormones from our adrenal glands, located in our kidneys. They change our heart rate, blood pressure, lung capacity, and a host of other functions, for our survival. However, these hormones, if secreted too much or too often can suppress our immune, digestive and reproductive systems and even damage our cardiovascular system. Chronic stress is one very large reason why some of us have fertility problems.

So how can we make friends with stress? The answer is good old moderation. Remember being told “all things in moderation leads to a healthy body.” It is true. We do not have to learn to do anything exotic to reduce stress, we just need to balance our lives and avoid excess.

Nevertheless, there is the rub, given modern life. We are all excessing more and more and moderating less. This is part of the reason why health coach certification is essential. For a great book on this subject, check out Why Zebras Don’t Have Ulcers by Dr. Robert Sapolsky. It is a very witty and informative book.

Laugher, as we know, is “our best medicine.” It is also a great stress reducer.

Join the conversation. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow NIWH on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates filled with useful health coach certification information for holistic nurses and health advocates.

Fostering Happiness Right Now

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD

If you ask most of our whole health students what they want in their lives and what is most important, they will likely tell you that they “want to be happy.” The desire for happiness is a universal want. It transcends culture, geography, age, and social status. The topic of happiness even finds its way into the academia, an example of its pervasiveness.

The most popular course at Harvard Medical School is a course on happiness. Taught by Harvard psychology professor Tal D. Ben-Shahar, Ph.D., the course is so popular that students wait a year or longer to get in.

A Different Take

Happiness is traditionally defined as a state of well-being and contentment, joy, a pleasurable or satisfying experience; yet many people report that happiness is elusive or too often fleeting at best.

Modern happiness gurus like Ben-Shahar offer an altered take on what happiness is or can be. They invite us to walk around the subject and take a different look at the almost mystical feeling called happiness. They suggest not an “I’ll be happy when…” perspective, but allowing ourselves to see how happiness can be enjoyed anytime we choose to have gratitude and joy about the daily, simple blessings in our life. Like completing accomplishments such as the health coach certification, which brings great pride.

Happy Right Now

The lesson is that there are things we can be happy about right now and continue to be happy about throughout the day, no matter what else has happened or is going on. These things and experiences are already built into our lives, and it is just a matter of focusing on the simple pleasures and joys these opportunities can provide. They also provide an opportunity to improve their patients’ experiences by encouraging them to embrace the little bits of good, even in times of illness, which tend to bring a sense of discontent.

Things That Spark Happiness:

The peace and tranquility of rising early in the morning.
The first taste of food and drink in the morning.
Listening to birds singing.
Watching strangers laugh and smile.
Enjoying natural beauty.
Working cooperatively with others.
Curling up with a good book on a rainy day.
The pleasure of lying down on clean, soft bedding.
Time with your best friend.
Being kissed.
The smell of apple pie baking.
A moment of love shared with family.
A home-cooked meal.
A freshly cleaned bathroom.
A long, hot bath or shower.
Music that moves you.
Sharing stories and memories.
Being hugged.
Breathing deeply.
Completing a task or project.
Time in a garden.

Think of all the things in your day that can bring joy or happiness when you allow yourself to be in the moments of your life, and share your hours and days with others and with yourself. Happiness is all around us. It is often just a matter of allowing ourselves to embrace it. Consider how you can apply this to your experiences throughout the health coach certification.

Join the conversation. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow NIWH on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates filled with useful health coach certification information.

Every Breath You Take:
How Breathing Affects Whole Health

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD

Most of us take our breathing for granted. We generally do not think about how our amazing brain automatically regulates the most urgent and important bodily function we have. If we do not breathe we do not live beyond a few short minutes. The ability to breathe and the quality of our breathing clearly has an important impact on our ability to live, but also expresses a great deal of information about the state of our nervous system and emotional health.

Breathing is such a critical function that in addition to being under the automatic control of our brain stem it is also a physical function we can control at will. We know that our breathing is affected by and directly affects our emotional states, exertion levels, nervous system fluctuations and overall whole health.

The affects of emotion on the respiratory system can readily been seen during an asthma attack, which can be very frightening and further reduces the individual’s ability to “catch their breath”. Many of us do not breathe freely. We are breathing freely when we breathe in and out through the muscles of our bellies. We tend to breathe through the chest muscles because we are tense and “holding our breath,” which starves our cells of energizing oxygen.

Deep breathing or relaxed breathing exercises can make an enormous difference in our health and vitality. By changing our breathing from shallow to deep, we can experience many whole health benefits:

> Breathing deeply rather than shallowly creates detoxification within our cells, bringing oxygen rich blood into our cells and cleansing out carbon dioxide.

> Breathing deeply into our bellies rather than our chest muscles produces a greater sense of calm and relaxation brought about through the increase of oxygen to the nervous system.

> This form of cleansing, nourishing breathing is conducive to whole body health and brings about a sense of inner peace.

> Deep breathing can help you sleep better and also feel more energetic because of the increase of oxygen to the brain

This is a great subject to review in your patient education. If you would like to re-train your breathing so that you derive the most benefit each day from this life-sustaining, automatic body function – start slowing. Take just five minutes twice a day to sit quietly in your chair with eyes closed, body relaxed. Allow yourself to focus on your breath. Rather than tensing your shoulders and back muscles, let your breathing rise and fall from your belly muscles. Slow, relaxed breathing for five minutes each day, twice a day, can re-train your automatic breathing patterns and help you to feel better, sleep better and be healthier and more energetic.

Join the conversation. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow NIWH on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates filled with useful accredited health program information for holistic nurses and health coaches.

A Holistic Approach To Fibromyalgia

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD

Fibromyalgia is a condition that millions of Americans suffer from. Translating from the Latin and Greek roots, it means “pain in the fibrous muscle and connective tissues.” The major identifying symptom is intense, chronic pain in the muscles tissues, which are highly sensitive to pressure. The sensitivity is often located throughout the body and can move and shift without any apparent rhyme or reason. Let’s explore whole health approaches to bring relief.

It has been observed that fibromyalgia is often accompanied with a host of other symptoms such as joint pain and difficulty with movement, fatigue and exhaustion, difficulty sleeping or getting restful sleep, as well as headaches and other symptoms.

What can be frustrating for sufferers is that even after many decades of clinical research on fibromyalgia, medical experts refer to this condition as a “medically unexplained syndrome.” As learned in health coach certification, we know the condition is clinically defined as a history of widespread pain in the connective tissues that persist for over 12 weeks and which affects both sides of the body, including regions both above and below the waist.

The prevailing medical course of treatment offered includes muscle relaxants, anti-depressants, and even anti-seizure medication. The onjective of prescribing these drugs is to affect the nervous system function and thereby reduce pain. Unfortunately, one of the side affects of these medications is that they can also produce lethargy and fatigue, creating a “dog chasing tail scenario” for the sufferer.

Holistic treatment plans have been shown to be very effective in alleviating both the pain and other related fibromyalgia symptoms. The available holistic and alternative medicine approaches from health coach certification incorporate medication, patient education, aerobic exercise, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Here is how connective tissue and muscle fibers function in normal conditions as well as in fibromyalgia state: Energy is produced in each muscle cell, which in turn allows the muscle fiber bundles to move. When energy is produced through the Krebs Cycle inside each cell, crystal-like acids are produced. Lactic and pyruvic acids can build up in the spaces between the muscle fibers if there is a lack of proper blood flow or if the muscles are so tensed that these by-products cannot be removed with normal circulatory function.

The more tense the muscle, the more diminished the circulation, and the greater the tissue build up of these highly irritating acids. Over time, the surrounding tissues become highly inflamed and a chronic, painful syndrome is established.

This means that Fibromyalgia is a stress-fueled condition. As a result, it has been found that any options related to reducing stress and muscle tension, along with increasing circulation and relaxation, can be highly effective.

For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my hit radio show Living Above The Drama.

Do You Want To Empower Others To Take Control Of Their Health And Wellness?

Posted on November 14, 2017 by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD

A Need For Real Health Education

Core factors for this epidemic amongst Americans can be found in a recent government study. The Institute of Medicine published a major study identifying that ninety million Americans are "health illiterate." This does not mean, in this internet dominant society, that people do not have access to or are not receiving enough health and wellness information. It means that the majority of us do not know how to interpret or use the health information we receive to control or improve our health and wellness or prevent chronic disease. This reveal the need for more educated Holistic Nurses and Health Coaches to bridge the gap.

Think of the last time you read the results of a new study in a magazine and realized you did not know how to use that information to support or improve your health. In fact, data presented to the American College of Health Care Executives identifies "lack of information as the number one root cause of death.” Yet, experts like Susan Edgman-Levatin, Executive Director, John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital, acknowledges "It's no secret that traditional methods of patient education are hopelessly ineffective."

NIWH Has An Answer

Addressing this problem, as far back as 1977, the National Institute of Whole Health in Boston, Massachusetts, in cooperation with physicians, nurses and online health educators, began research and development on an extraordinary, whole-person focused model of health education. The product of these 30 years of development in Boston area hospitals, Whole Health Education®, has today found its way into the medical mainstream.

These specialized health educators, Whole Health Educators ™, are uniquely trained in respectful presence and mindful listening skills as well as evidence-based, integrated health sciences to demystify for their clients the five major factors of health that influence how well we are or how sick we become. By providing “the big picture of health”®, an integrated understanding of how these five aspects can cause health or disease, the patient or client can possess the knowledge and tools to make necessary lifestyle changes and behavioral choices that are personally right for them. Identifying the root cause and effect of a chronic condition can free an individual to make changes they may not have previously considered.

Become The Solution

If you are looking for work with purpose and integrity and are a health care professional, or entry level candidate, who desires to serve others by providing evidence-based health information, and a natural, spiritual outlook on healing, this program may be of interest to you. NIWH offers Holistic Nurse Certification and Health Coach Certification. Program are offered through distance learning as well as optional in-person weekend classes, conducted at a Harvard affiliate hospital in the Boston area, which includes nationally recognized health experts and outstanding core facility members. For more information visit www.niwh.org or call 888-354-HEAL (4325)

FREE Whole Health Consultations available.
888-354-4325 Take charge of your health!

Decoding Body Language: The Messages We Send And Receive

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD

What is also understood is that there are “tells,” or neurological expressions of these withheld, nonverbal communications happening inside our brains. Even though we may not consciously or intentionally express verbally or physically how we feel, our brain/body connection does express these thoughts and feelings in nonverbal ways. These nonverbal ways are the “tells” that police and other professionals use to decide if someone is withholding information. This skill usually relies on instinct, but it might be wise to include such a information in today’s health coach certification programs to assist nurses in treating their patient's ailments holistically and effectively.

Relationship Impact

Many studies have been done on the subject of body language and nonverbal communication. Most of these findings agree that it is important for all of us to become aware of how our physical and verbal or nonverbal behavior impacts others, especially those who spend the most time in our environment.

Nonverbal communication can often cause one individual in a relationship to become upset if he feels he is seeing or interpreting nonverbal actions by his partner as rejection or disinterest. Often, before a relationship ends, one partner suspects the relationship is in trouble because of a lack of eye contact or verbal communication or because of hostile body language, such as the crossing of arms or legs in response to communication attempts.

Thoughts, Feelings, and Your Body

There is a science to nonverbal communication interpretation, as well as a science to understanding the best way to express our feelings. The way we do that can result in a positive or negative outcome. The science is directly related to neurological and neurotransmitter connections between thoughts and feelings in the brain and their communication to the muscles and nerves in the rest of our body.

Healthy Applications

Body language communications are both sent and received. We should become more mindful of the cues others are sharing and learn to read them more effectively because the information can be surprisingly vital. In my consulting practice, I see this all the time. A patient’s body language often conveys information they are leaving out, whether due to timidness, embarrassment, or lack of conscious. Nonetheless, nonverbal communication can alert to a need to press further for more clues about the presenting complaint.

Interpreting a patient’s or loved one’s body language can require close observation, something worth practicing whether you are a practicing nurse, an individual pursing a health coach certification, or simply a person hoping to improve your communication skills and your relationships.

In closing, we should all make an effort to monitor the nonverbal communication we are sharing in both our professional and personal lives. These cues can also offer hints to the real struggles lying beneath the surface.

FREE Whole Health Consultations available.
888-354-4325 Take charge of your health!

Relationships, Health and Behavior with Dr. Georgianna Donadio

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