April 23rd, 2009
There is one side-effect which is, in fact, advantageous and well worth mentioning. In almost all cases of the extract being used for the relief of symptoms of arthritis the patients concerned, whether human beings or animals, display a beneficial change in their overall condition. In human beings this is usually described by the person involved as ‘a feeling of well-being’ and a desire to be active. In animals a change in attitude and vigour is easily noticeable. Horses tend to become more vibrant, collected, and more anxious to be out doing something. Dogs and cats become active and fit, even if they are old and generally tired.
During some of the clinical trial work on human subjects being done in a hospital in Europe, the doctor in charge of the trials recorded that one of the most difficult aspects to quantify in regard to the mussel extract treatment was this feeling of well-being induced in the patients. This effect is quite valuable since it tends to help with the general recovery of the person by its psychological influence.
It is also reported that this feeling of vitality also occurs in arthritics who do not respond to the mussel extract treatment.
In all fairness it should be pointed out that this vitality effect may not be limited to the use of the mussel extract. Other preparations from sea organisms may also indicate this feature. The vitality effect of the mussel extract preparation in horses who were being treated for lameness was such that some racing stables and trainers began to use it as a condition booster for racing animals. Results of this type of use were good and some horses of only moderate racing form improved to the extent that they became top-rated animals on the New Zealand circuit. One was sold to owners in the U.S.A. where it recorded excellent speed trials.
Not for one moment is it being suggested that the mussel preparation or any other preparation from the seas, is going to make animals or people capable of doing things which they were not already capable of. However, if a preparation improves the condition of an animal or a human, and makes them feel vibrant and anxious to do things, and then they will make every effort to do their best in whatever sphere of activity they are involved. Thus, the racehorses, having been relieved of pain and stiffness in the legs, would tend to give their best performance quite naturally.
There are similar stories of cats, that after having to drag one or more limbs across the floor for months and showing reluctance to exercise, were once more outside catching birds; and of dogs, reluctant to be taken for a walk because of pain and immobile joints, that, after treatment for only one week, were bouncing about by the door waiting to go out.
There is nothing surprising in these reports if considered in the logical way. Take away pain and stiffness; induce a feeling of vitality, and what else can be expected but action!
*18/48/5*
Categories: Arthritis
Tags: Arthritis
April 23rd, 2009
Dealing with eating disorders would be easy if all we had to do was say, “Eat normal-sized, healthy meals at regular times and you’ll be fine.” While the prescription is basically correct, nothing is that simple.
Remember, anorexics often don’t think they are sick. Instead, their illness is their identity. Thinness makes them special. They are thus poorly motivated to accept treatment. Patients often agree to gain weight just so they can get out of the hospital. Once out, they may starve themselves all over again.
Also, although thinness makes them proud, many anorexics feel that at their core they are rotten, unlovable people. Therapy might mean exposing the horrible “truth” of their rottenness to an unsympathetic stranger. Given this fear, who wouldn’t resist treatment?
Bulimics are often more receptive. As Lisa’s story indicates, a bulimic’s loss of control often impels her to seek help. Many welcome the chance to learn how to restore control over themselves and their eating.
Resistance springs not just from poor mental attitudes but from the physical consequences of the disorder as well. In anorexia, for example, the starvation itself may cause disturbed thinking. And some bulimics are so uncomfortable with any amount of food in their stomachs that even a small meal triggers the urge to vomit. Therapy that requires her to eat can cause physical as well as emotional discomfort. It takes time to get used to eating correctly again.
You need to work through the problem of resistance with your daughter. You both need a lot of support to reduce your fears- fears that are very real for both of you.
*52/35/5*
Categories: Weight Loss
Tags: Weight Loss
April 23rd, 2009
For most people, vacations and plane travel are times to sit back and relax. For 48-year-old Kathleen Rayson of Munich, Germany, they’re a signal to start moving.
Kathleen, her husband, Tom, and their son, T. J., journey to Florida twice a year to spend time at their second home in Sarasota. In the past, Kathleen barely moved on the 9/i-hour flight from Germany to Florida, and she consumed anything that the airline attendants offered her, because there was nothing else to do.
To make matters worse, Kathleen’s activity level didn’t improve much when she touched down. “I didn’t do any formal exercise in Germany, but I was up and down the four floors of my house dozens of times a day, and I always biked to the food shops,” she says. “In Florida, I sat in a ranch house and drove everywhere.”
Kathleen suspects that all the inactivity pushed her weight upward. “Of course, when I was back home in Germany, all that high- fat German food didn’t help much—nor did the German beer,” she says. By January 1998, she reached her top weight of 184 pounds. “I had kind of been accepting my weight gain, but what that scale said was really a shock,” Kathleen recalls.
Trying to slim down in a country that’s known for its sausages and potatoes was, to say the least, a challenge. But Kathleen worked on reducing her fat intake and eating more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. For exercise, she joined a fitness club where one of the personal trainers on staff customized a workout regimen for her that included toning and cardiovascular routines. She also attended aerobics classes. By the time she arrived in the United States that summer, she was down 22 pounds.
She didn’t want to lose ground by being idle in Sarasota. “Instead of sitting around all day, my husband and I walked every morning for an hour, then used free weights and did situps for another half-hour,” she says. “The activity curbed my desire to eat.”
On the flight back to Germany, instead of just sitting, Kathleen got up and exercised six times. She went into the galley and did deep knee bends and ran in place. She also walked laps around the big 747. She repeated the routine about every hour. “I didn’t gain a pound that trip,” she says. “And what a great way to beat the boredom!”
Now 40 pounds lighter, Kathleen takes her walking shorts with her wherever she goes, even if it’s a weekend trip to London to visit relatives. And she always stands up and moves around the plane. It not only prevents boredom and improves her circulation, it stops her from eating.
WINNING ACTION
Traveling? Take your workout with you. I’ve learned that exercise doesn’t have to take a vacation. Pack a pair of comfortable walking shoes and take a brisk walk every day. I’ve found that going for an early-morning walk in a new city is the best way to really get to know it and feel like you’re actually there, even if you’re on a business trip. On long flights, walk around the plane cabin and stretch.
*106\89\8*
Categories: Weight Loss
Tags: Weight Loss
April 21st, 2009
Before you read through the rest of the book and embark on the Immune For Life program, I’d like to leave you with a final thought that may help you, not only with the program but with every other part of your life as well. That, my friend, is enthusiasm. Whatever you do, do it with enthusiasm. There’s nothing like joyous exuberance to raise your endorphins and brighten your outlook. We can all use a generous dose of sparkling joie de vivre.
Here’s a prescription I give my patients: a prescription for enthusiasm. I encourage all of my patients, even those who are happy and healthy, to add this to their lives.
Enthusiasm is the extra bit of magic that makes your affirmations and visualizations even more powerful. It’s well known that thinking enthusiastically can make the most depressed person feel elated, excited and optimistic. I tell my patients to look into the mirror every morning and tell themselves that they are enthusiastic! That they walk, talk and act enthusiastically, and that they feel enthusiastic.
It’s a great prescription, and it really works. For best results, use it over and over again. Enthusiasm is nontoxic and has no harmful side effects.
If you fill this prescription in the pharmacy of your mind, and fill it correctly, you will begin to feel better. Physical problems may require other prescriptions, but we can always benefit from extra enthusiasm. You’ll be rewarded with endorphins and the other good biochemicals that make you feel happy and healthy.
Through the years, having treated thousands of patients suffering from a wide variety of diseases, I have seen what a powerful medicine the positive, determined mind can be. I can tell you that happy thoughts are a tremendous shot in the arm for your “doctor within.” Using the “Dos and Don’ts” and affirmations in this chapter, using them with vigor and enthusiasm, will go a long way toward making you the healthy, happy and successful person you deserve to be.
*154\80\8*
Categories: General health
Tags: General health
April 21st, 2009
Now that we’ve looked at the physical exercises that strengthen your “doctor within,” let’s examine a very different kind of exercise. You do these exercises sitting down, but they’re just as important as all the others I’ve described.
I teach my patients a three-tiered program of Meditative Relaxation, designed to boost their “doctor within” and their immune system. The state of chronic stress so many of us live in depresses the immune system. These antistress techniques are designed to turn off the inappropriate production of those dangerous, high-voltage chemicals that are secreted during chronic stress.
Meditative Relaxation requires only 10 to 15 minutes, twice a day. Go into a room that has no telephone. Turn off the lights and close the curtains or shades. Tell everyone not to bother you.
Push a cozy chair up against a wall, and sit comfortably in that chair. Plant your feet squarely on the floor, just a bit in front of you. If you can feel your belt, tie or other tight clothing, loosen or unbutton the offending article. Put your hands on your knees, and you’re ready to begin.
I suggest you get the feel of the exercise by reading through the entire three-part program several times, out loud. If you desire, read the whole program into a tape recorder, and play it back when you’re ready for your Meditative Relaxation sessions.
*112\80\8*
Categories: General health
Tags: General health
April 21st, 2009
CRUCIFER AND CARROT SLAW SALAD
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup cabbage, shredded
1 cup cauliflower, shredded
1 cup broccoli, shredded 2 apples, diced 1/2 cup cucumbers, sliced 1/4 cup slivered almonds, raw
Toss and serve. If you like, make a dressing by pureeing 1 banana with 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup hoop cheese in a blender. Serves 4 to 6.
POTPOURRI SALAD
1 1/2 cups cabbage, shredded 1 cup carrots, shredded 1 cup celery, thinly sliced 1 cup white turnips, thinly sliced 1 cup cauliflower, thinly sliced 1 cup broccoli stalks, thinly sliced 1/2 cup radishes, thinly sliced 3 or 4 broccoli florets for decoration parsley
Arrange vegetables, except broccoli florets and parsley, in separate mounds on a serving platter. Decorate with broccoli florets and parsley.
Serves 5 to 6.
L.A. SPROUT SALAD
1 cup lentil sprouts
1 cup mung or azuki bean sprouts
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 cup celery, chopped
1 apple, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
Combine ingredients, mix and serve. Serves 4 to 6.
*69\80\8*
Categories: General health
Tags: General health
April 21st, 2009
Barely a day passes that I don’t read of a new study showing the effect of what we eat on our health. Research is proving that the Standard American Diet is dangerous to your “doctor within.” I tell my patients, however, that they can turn to an ancient book for a quick lesson in nutrition and health. In the biblical story of Daniel you will find a report of perhaps the first nutritional study ever made. In this story we learn that, although the king instructed his steward to feed Daniel and his three friends rich foods and wine, Daniel insisted on eating only vegetables, grains and water. At the end of ten days, Daniel looked healthier and better nourished than the men who ate the king’s diet.
Daniel knew that the fatty, sugary foods set on the royal table were unhealthy. Rather than subject his body to that disease-making diet, he ate nutritious vegetables and grains and drank pure, healthy water. Using the men who ate the king’s food as a control group, and himself as the experimental group, he demonstrated the benefits of a nutritious, low-fat diet.
Thousands of years have passed since Daniel’s nutrition study, but most of us are still eating the king’s rich diet. (You no longer need a king’s income to afford a king’s food.) Our Standard
American Diet, like the king’s diet, is loaded with fat, cholesterol and sugar, and it is low in complex carbohydrates. The S.A.D. is actually worse than the king’s diet, because we’ve added all kinds of toxic chemicals, plus large amounts of caffeine and salt, to our food. I tell my patients to learn to eat like Daniel ate. For when you dine at the “king’s table,” you’re asking for trouble.
*25\80\8*
Categories: General health
Tags: General health
April 20th, 2009
One of the most unexpected features of this trial was the extent to which other symptoms cleared up during the diet. These symptoms – such as epileptic fits, hyperactivity and aching limbs – were generally assumed to be unconnected with the migraine. Yet in the majority of children, they disappeared during the initial stages of the diet, and reappeared when incriminated foods were eaten. So too did symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea, flatulence, mouth ulcers and vaginal discharge. The atopic symptoms – rhinitis (runny nose), asthma and eczema – only cleared up in about half the children, suggesting that unidentified airborne allergens were playing a part. The only major symptoms not to clear up in any of the children were those due to permanent nervous-system damage.
One interesting feature of this trial is that four of the five researchers involved were highly sceptical about the importance of food at the outset. The exception was Professor John Soothill, who wished to set up the trial and persuaded the others to assist him. Their report of the. experiment records that they ‘embarked on this study believing that any favourable response, such as that claimed to substantiate the dietary hypothesis, could be explained as a placebo reponse. The positive double-blind controlled trial… provides clear evidence that a placebo response was not the explanation.’
Migraine in adults may not be the same as migraine in children and there is a danger in extrapolating from one to the other. But positive results have been obtained in other trials assessing elimination diets in adults with migraine. In these trials, 60-70 per cent of patients responded to the elimination diet and were later able to identify culprit foods that provoked their migraines.
*113\180\8*
Categories: Allergies
Tags: Allergies
April 9th, 2009
A simple test of fingertip blood vessels may be an accurate and non-invasive way to help identify people who have the earliest stages of atherosclerosis, according to a Mayo Clinic study.
“Atherosclerosis tends to affect all of the blood vessels in the body, and is not just limited to the arteries of the heart,” says study leader Dr. Amir Lerman, a Mayo Clime cardiologist. “We found a strong correlation—the fingertip test was very sensitive in identifying patients with early heart disease.”
Lerman’s study, which included 94 patients who had chest pain, compared the results of a noninvasive fingertip probe (called Reactive Hyperemia Peripheral Arterial Tonometry, or RH-PAT) with invasive catheterization to determine the extent of dysfunction in the cells that line blood vessels.
This layer of cells, called the endothelium, protects blood vessels from injury and also helps them expand and contract in order to maintain proper blood flow and blood pressure. Endothelial dysfunction indicates the early stages of atherosclerosis and heart disease.
“In this group of patients with chest pain, the noninvasive test was very sensitive in identifying those with early heart disease,” notes Lerman.
“The next step is to extend the research to broader populations of patients who may not yet have symptoms,” he says.
“Because this is a simple test that takes only about 20 minutes, we hope it could become another screening tool to help us identify and more effectively treat patients with heart disease,” Lerman says.
*9/47/1*
Categories: General health
Tags: General health
April 9th, 2009
. Some pesticides contain estrogen-like compounds. Eat organic food whenever possible…and peel or wash all fruits and vegetables.
Eat a low-fat diet. There is reason to believe that an extremely low-fat intake (less than 20% of calories from fat) is protective.
Exercise. Women who exercise aerobically for more than three hours a week have a lower risk of developing breast cancer.
What about mammograms? They do not prevent breast cancer, but they reduce the risk of death from breast cancer by helping to find tumors in their early, treatable stages.
Hibiscus flowers may help your heart in the same way as red wine and tea—with antioxidants that help control cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease, according to Chinese researchers.
They found that rats fed a hibiscus flower extract had significantly reduced cholesterol levels in their blood.
“Experiments have shown that compounds extracted from red wine and tea reduce cholesterol and lipid buildup in the arteries of rats,” says lead researcher Chau-Jong Wang, of Chung Shan Medical University in China. “This is the first study to show that hibiscus extract has the same effect.”
Hibiscus is used in folk medicine to treat hypertension and liver disorders. It is also used to make popular soft drinks in various countries around the world, the researchers note.
*8/47/1*
Categories: General health
Tags: General health
