“Like the Sun, you can only share the energy you have!”
This quote was taken from a conversation between a physician and a gentleman consulting for “feeling poorly,” in which the patient stated that he has no time for himself, rather is busy providing for his family, working at home and the office. His doctor introduced him to the concept of taking care of himself for the sake of being generous to his family. It was a paradigm shift for him. He saw his duties as sacrificing himself for the good of his family…but what happened was that he was sacrificing his good to everyone, particularly his family.
How is your energy? Do you know what “energetic” feels like? Energy is abundant in this universe…can not be created or destroyed, only moves from one place to another. Are you receiving your fair share of this abundant resource? Do you expect to feel lousy as you get older, just because many people do?
Let’s look at some energy “thieves,” and the symptoms that often accompany each. Each category results in low or suboptimal energy, plus the symptoms listed. Obviously you won’t have every symptom in each category, but these are “common” symptoms.
Remember, we must always follow the “scientific method” when attempting to fix, balance or correct something. There is no “one pill wonder.” If we want to change something: 1.Do something differently 2.Observe your results 3. Change when necessary and 4. Keep trying
Sugar Metabolism:
>Tired after lunch
>Crave sweets or carbs
>Feel jittery or irritable if you miss a meal
>Gain weight on the belly
Sugar metabolism problems resolve with 5 steps:
1. Lower your carbohydrate and sugar intake, while increasing your energy expenditure (exercise)
2. Maximize nutrient intake with vegetables and fruit, and a quality multivitamin. Antioxidants, B Vitamins, Magnesium, Calcium, Chromium, Vanadium, and Zinc are the key players
3. Eat long chain, fluid fats, such as fish or flax oil, and olive oil.
4. Exercise aerobically, using 180 – your age as a starting point for heart rate.
5. De-Stress: Along with rest and relaxation, you can try 2 B vitamins to slow down your nervous system (B5/Pantothenic Acid, and the B vitamin Choline)
Feel the energy surge!!
Thyroid:
>Morning energy is low
>Often accompanied by morning headaches
>Gain weight all over, thick ankles and arms, even on low cal diet
>Hair loss
>Skin cracks
>Constipation
>Muscle cramps
>Feel cold
>Cry for no reason
Thyroid hormones are rather easy to make naturally: Protein + iodine + selenium = thyroid hormones. So add a natural sea salt or kelp to your diet, eat plenty of protein, and supplement selenium. The X factor again is stress. The stress hormone cortisol impairs the thyroid to make thyroxine. Try the de-stress nutrients described above.
Oxygen:
>Heart palpitations
>Shortness of breath (can’t catch your breath while exercising)
>Fingernails ridge or crack
>Lightheadedness
>Food cravings
>Numbness and tingling
Oxygen is carried on red blood cells using iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12. It also uses B6, C, and copper to get the iron into the cell. I have treated a few patients who were taking iron without B6, and energy did not appear until the B6 was added.
Toxicity:
>Poor memory
>Brain fog
>Skin conditions
>Headaches
>Gain weight on the hips, butt and legs
>Arthritis
>Premature aging
>Heart disease
Toxicity is not a “quack” or alternative issue. We all detoxify, or break down the chemicals we make and ingest. The liver does most of the work, so this is really a liver issue. The liver uses protein and antioxidants, plus a few B vitamins and minerals to break down these chemicals. A detoxification program may consist of eating organic, drinking lots of water, and perhaps a product like Metagenics UltraClear Plus. It contains all the nutrients and proteins that are used by the liver for its clean up duties. I tend to stay away from fasting cleanses, because why? NO PROTEIN. That means your body may begin to clean up, but there is insufficient protein to bind the chemicals for removal. So they are mobilized and can’t get out. That means you feel more toxic than ever.
Adrenal Fatigue:
>Dizzy when you stand up quickly
>Eyes sensitive to bright light or sunlight (need sunglasses)
>Knee and ankle problems
>Immune problems: Asthma and allergies
>Gain weight on the upper body, with thin legs
>Tendency toward ulcers
Adrenal fatigue means you are stressed out. Sometimes, the only thing we feel we have control of is our diet (versus job, spouse, kids, money). You can do an awful lot to de-stress with just biochemistry. The chemical stressors include: artificial colors and flavors (including sugars), stimulants such as caffeine, trans- or hydrogenated fats, and sugar or refined flour products. Clean it up and you will de-stress. Other techniques chemically are B5 and Choline (mentioned earlier) that help to make a chemical called acetylcholine. That chemical is very relaxing to the nervous system. Another chemical method is alkalizing. Eating green foods and veggies that are rich in potassium, magnesium and calcium. These alkaline foods also relax the nervous system. Or for a quick fix, use the product Greens First, which is a green food drink that actually tastes good…really it does.
Inflammation:
>Pain
>Headaches
>Tender and sore muscles/joints
>Poor attention/focus
>Allergies
>Swelling
>Heart disease
Inflammation messes up everything. Imagine the same chemicals that produce heat, swelling and pain when you twist an ankle actually circulating through your blood stream, affecting every cell and tissue in your body. That is what is measured by the lab test CRP. If you don’t know your lab score, you could be at risk for stroke, heart attack or dementia, and not even know it.
The basics for treating systemic inflammation include high dose fish oils. That means finding a clean source (mercury issues) and taking 4 to 10 gel caps per day. Again, use a quality multivitamin, because certain B vitamins and minerals are used to process these oils, and turn them into anti-inflammatory chemicals. Also drink ginger tea, and use turmeric spice, and other spices like rosemary. Garlic also can be helpful. Eat plenty of deep colored fruit, like blueberry and raspberry, or pomegranate juice.
Digestion:
>Heartburn
>Bloating
>Gas
>Abdominal pain
>Constipation
>Diarrhea
>Passing undigested food
Digestion is a four step process:
1. Remove infective organisms
Often a stool analysis is needed to know if this step is necessary
Antibiotics only kill bacteria. You can get farther using goldenseal, garlic, oil of oregano, or other natural antimicrobials.
2. Replace digestive enzymes and acids (we need these acids to digest)
You may have to try several digestive aids to get “the right one,” but it will be worthwhile when you hit it right.
3. Repair the gut lining
The gut is repaired with protein, particularly the amino acid glutamine, which can be taken as a supplement, or drink a whey protein shake every day.
4. Re-Innoculate with healthy bacteria
Probiotics such as acidophilus, and bifidobacterium, and many others.
If you suspect or know your energy levels are suboptimal, and fit into one or more of the categories, you now have a couple strategies you can try. Apply the scientific method always. Try something, a change, for 4 weeks and pay attention to the results. That’s it…that is the scientific method. For my patients, I use exam findings and labs as well as how they feel to determine our methods and results, but if you are just a bit tired in the afternoon, you may not want to spend money on a full lab or exam. So try something new and notice the change (or lack of change). The wonderful thing about nutrition is there is no major downside…you won’t die or end up in the hospital trying a new vitamin.
Since energy is abundant, and can not be created or destroyed…where does it go??
As I mentioned, these categories are “energy thieves.” Because of poor or imbalanced function of a particular organ or system, energy is being redirected toward that imbalance. Much like the attention seeking child in a classroom, energy is stolen from the whole class in order to attend to that child.
Or…the problem can stem from the transfer of energy. We transfer energy from plants and animals (our food) into usable energy for us. If we don’t eat energy transferring foods, and opt for energy sapping foods (sugar), again the whole body suffers.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Skip the beer, grab a mat
YOGA = GABA = PEACEFUL RELAXATION
Harvard Medical released a study showing that the practice of yoga increased brain concentrations of GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter best know for its effects with use of the GABA drug Valium. Yoga = Valium high?
The study was a small investigational study, but resulted in significant findings regarding the ability to change your own brain chemistry through yoga. In the study, they compared yoga to reading, which I would guess would increase dopamine levels rather than GABA levels. They found no change in GABA levels in the reading group, but a 27% increase in GABA release in the yoga group.
This might not be shocking or revealing to those who practice yoga, but for the rest of us, it might provide the needed motivation to start a yoga practice.
GABA is a brain chemical that provides a feeling of peaceful relaxation. In the brain, there are chemicals that speed up the brain and others that slow it down. GABA is balancing to the chemical Glutamate. You may have heard of glutamate from monosodium glutamate, which is a manufactured source of glutamate that does affect the brain negatively. Glutamate is naturally occurring in less concentrated doses, which excites the brain. Too much of this chemical causes over excitation of the brain resulting in anxiety and digestive problems. Some studies have shown that “normal” intake of processed glutamate from sodas causes neuronal death in lab animals (Brain cells die). GABA is the natural balance to excitation, allowing our brains to relax. Low GABA is associated with anxiety, digestive upset, and muscle stiffness similar to an excess of glutamate.
While I occasionally see clients that need to be “excited,” a more common presentation in today’s world is stressed and over excited. For those people, this study is a medical prescription.
My interest in this study is the effects that body movement or lack of movement has on the chemistry of the brain and body. From a chemistry background, I might treat a GABA deficiency with precursors of GABA… what makes GABA chemically? GABA is made from a protein, several B vitamins and calcium. I might try to enhance production using one or several of these raw materials. I would also counsel on avoiding glutamate additives.
A medical doctor might “skip to the chase,” and give a GABA drug. Just knock the person out! Which may be advisable to “interrupt a pattern” chemically for someone who can’t function neurologically.
A “self medicater” might reach for a glass of wine or a beer. Alcohol is a GABA drug as well. And for those who have used alcohol, you probably would describe the effects as relaxing.
I find it fascinating, although not surprising, that slow stretching your body while deeply breathing has the same or similar effect as a drug. It also increases your choices for dealing with stress. Now you can add yoga to your list of solutions to “having one of those days.” And, a healthier alternative at that!
On a deeper level it makes me consider the concept of the holographic universe. This theory suggests that there are no separate pieces or elements of life and existence, but rather everything is a part of the whole thing. If you choose to look at a piece and separate it from the whole, you are vastly distorting the whole. You may see a part or perspective that brings you fear or sadness, but it also contains love and peacefulness.
David Bohm, who died in 1992, taught the principles of the holographic universe. He ascribed that this belief in separateness was the main cause of world wide fear, conflict, and confusion.
While I am not a physicist, and can hardly do his theory justice in description, I think this study is an example of how everything is part of the whole thing. When you move your body or have a thought, your chemistry is changed. When you change your chemistry, you change how you move and think.
My focus, not as a physicist, but as a clinician, is to help others find a sequence of moving, thinking or eating that will have the greatest impact on the whole. I have found that living in fear will circumvent the best diet and supplements. I have found that lack of motion will circumvent the best thoughts and attitudes. I have found that “seeing” the whole picture can help your body to detoxify, repair and restore health, and, as this study shows, that moving your body can change your brain and mind.
If you have low levels of GABA, you will see and experience the world differently than if you have optimal levels of GABA. With low levels, you might think someone is talking about you, and with high levels you might think the same person is bragging on you.
Where I am currently in my studies, I believe that belief is the most difficult part of you to change. I hope that changes over time, and I can help people see their way of thinking and change towards healthful thinking as easily as I can adjust a low back.
That is not to say that anyone should see things my way or any certain way, but in a way that produces health and adaptability versus disease and inflexibility. And that is not hard to determine…if it feels bad the way you think, it is bad for your health…and if it feels good the way that you think, it is good for your health.
Through muscle testing, I can increase ones awareness of how they feel about a particular person, experience, or even themselves. If a thought creates a short circuit neurologically, meaning a muscle weakens, then it is more than likely bad and bad for you.
A person may not even realize they have such a negative feeling toward money because they really want money, or “money isn’t important to them.” Yet their body says that they have a “bad” feeling about money, which ultimately is resistance to money, and more importantly, bad for their health.
So the holographic model says movement will allow you to see, and seeing will allow you to move, and that is profoundness found in a study of stretching.
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
May 2007, Vol. 13, No. 4 : 419 -426
Harvard Medical released a study showing that the practice of yoga increased brain concentrations of GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter best know for its effects with use of the GABA drug Valium. Yoga = Valium high?
The study was a small investigational study, but resulted in significant findings regarding the ability to change your own brain chemistry through yoga. In the study, they compared yoga to reading, which I would guess would increase dopamine levels rather than GABA levels. They found no change in GABA levels in the reading group, but a 27% increase in GABA release in the yoga group.
This might not be shocking or revealing to those who practice yoga, but for the rest of us, it might provide the needed motivation to start a yoga practice.
GABA is a brain chemical that provides a feeling of peaceful relaxation. In the brain, there are chemicals that speed up the brain and others that slow it down. GABA is balancing to the chemical Glutamate. You may have heard of glutamate from monosodium glutamate, which is a manufactured source of glutamate that does affect the brain negatively. Glutamate is naturally occurring in less concentrated doses, which excites the brain. Too much of this chemical causes over excitation of the brain resulting in anxiety and digestive problems. Some studies have shown that “normal” intake of processed glutamate from sodas causes neuronal death in lab animals (Brain cells die). GABA is the natural balance to excitation, allowing our brains to relax. Low GABA is associated with anxiety, digestive upset, and muscle stiffness similar to an excess of glutamate.
While I occasionally see clients that need to be “excited,” a more common presentation in today’s world is stressed and over excited. For those people, this study is a medical prescription.
My interest in this study is the effects that body movement or lack of movement has on the chemistry of the brain and body. From a chemistry background, I might treat a GABA deficiency with precursors of GABA… what makes GABA chemically? GABA is made from a protein, several B vitamins and calcium. I might try to enhance production using one or several of these raw materials. I would also counsel on avoiding glutamate additives.
A medical doctor might “skip to the chase,” and give a GABA drug. Just knock the person out! Which may be advisable to “interrupt a pattern” chemically for someone who can’t function neurologically.
A “self medicater” might reach for a glass of wine or a beer. Alcohol is a GABA drug as well. And for those who have used alcohol, you probably would describe the effects as relaxing.
I find it fascinating, although not surprising, that slow stretching your body while deeply breathing has the same or similar effect as a drug. It also increases your choices for dealing with stress. Now you can add yoga to your list of solutions to “having one of those days.” And, a healthier alternative at that!
On a deeper level it makes me consider the concept of the holographic universe. This theory suggests that there are no separate pieces or elements of life and existence, but rather everything is a part of the whole thing. If you choose to look at a piece and separate it from the whole, you are vastly distorting the whole. You may see a part or perspective that brings you fear or sadness, but it also contains love and peacefulness.
David Bohm, who died in 1992, taught the principles of the holographic universe. He ascribed that this belief in separateness was the main cause of world wide fear, conflict, and confusion.
While I am not a physicist, and can hardly do his theory justice in description, I think this study is an example of how everything is part of the whole thing. When you move your body or have a thought, your chemistry is changed. When you change your chemistry, you change how you move and think.
My focus, not as a physicist, but as a clinician, is to help others find a sequence of moving, thinking or eating that will have the greatest impact on the whole. I have found that living in fear will circumvent the best diet and supplements. I have found that lack of motion will circumvent the best thoughts and attitudes. I have found that “seeing” the whole picture can help your body to detoxify, repair and restore health, and, as this study shows, that moving your body can change your brain and mind.
If you have low levels of GABA, you will see and experience the world differently than if you have optimal levels of GABA. With low levels, you might think someone is talking about you, and with high levels you might think the same person is bragging on you.
Where I am currently in my studies, I believe that belief is the most difficult part of you to change. I hope that changes over time, and I can help people see their way of thinking and change towards healthful thinking as easily as I can adjust a low back.
That is not to say that anyone should see things my way or any certain way, but in a way that produces health and adaptability versus disease and inflexibility. And that is not hard to determine…if it feels bad the way you think, it is bad for your health…and if it feels good the way that you think, it is good for your health.
Through muscle testing, I can increase ones awareness of how they feel about a particular person, experience, or even themselves. If a thought creates a short circuit neurologically, meaning a muscle weakens, then it is more than likely bad and bad for you.
A person may not even realize they have such a negative feeling toward money because they really want money, or “money isn’t important to them.” Yet their body says that they have a “bad” feeling about money, which ultimately is resistance to money, and more importantly, bad for their health.
So the holographic model says movement will allow you to see, and seeing will allow you to move, and that is profoundness found in a study of stretching.
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
May 2007, Vol. 13, No. 4 : 419 -426
Monday, July 13, 2009
Reverse the Aging Process
I have found the actual fountain of youth. This is not a hopeful, good idea, rather a protocol proven via clinical trial to reverse the aging process.
If you could delay or reverse the age related declines in memory, balance, and coordination, what would you do for that effect? Would you choose to be mentally sharper and more agile?
The method of testing these functions included: balancing on a thin rod and measuring the time to fall, which is an objective measurement of balance and coordination. For memory, they measured the time it took to complete a maze. The tests were performed on “senior citizen” rats that showed age related declines compared to their offspring.
There was a control group, that no alterations to diet or environment were offered. The study groups were fed spinach smoothies and blueberry smoothies.
The rats were fed the supplemented diets for 8 weeks before the challenge tests were performed.
The blueberry group dramatically improved their rod walking time versus their first trial and versus the average old rats. By eating the blueberry smoothie, they doubled this objective measure of balance and coordination, and effectively reversed the aging process in the brain.
The spinach group found their way in the maze twice as fast as the control group on the second trial. The second trial, of course, being the test for memory, or recalling your way through the maze. By eating the spinach smoothie, they doubled their speed and accuracy of memory.
This study was done in 1999. For years I have used the spinach, blueberry smoothie formula to fortify my diet with brain enhancing and anti-aging nutrients.
The formula I use:
1 scoop Whey Protein
1 scoop Greens First http://www.greensfirst.com/1280/content_doc.asp
½ cup frozen blueberries
1 handful of fresh spinach
Filtered water or whole raw milk
Blend
I mix it up using frozen cherries, raspberries, cranberries, and have used kale, broccoli sprouts, and other sprouts. The spinach has a mild taste that works well, while the kale and sprouts “takes over” the taste of the smoothie. If I had cancer or something like that, I would choke down the sprouts however.
By the way, another trial was done using young rats, fed very similarly, and the results showed that typical age related declines were delayed with the supplemented group.
Also, Dr. Barry Sears reported that he used this formula along with high dose fish oil with late stage alzheimers, and described these changes. “Prior to the supplements the patient would not acknowledge her family or talk, and stared at the floor in front of her. Following the supplemented diet, the woman began to talk and interact with her family, even calling them by name.”
We need to eat our spinach and berries anyway…why not give it a try for 6 weeks and see how you feel and function?
If you could delay or reverse the age related declines in memory, balance, and coordination, what would you do for that effect? Would you choose to be mentally sharper and more agile?
The method of testing these functions included: balancing on a thin rod and measuring the time to fall, which is an objective measurement of balance and coordination. For memory, they measured the time it took to complete a maze. The tests were performed on “senior citizen” rats that showed age related declines compared to their offspring.
There was a control group, that no alterations to diet or environment were offered. The study groups were fed spinach smoothies and blueberry smoothies.
The rats were fed the supplemented diets for 8 weeks before the challenge tests were performed.
The blueberry group dramatically improved their rod walking time versus their first trial and versus the average old rats. By eating the blueberry smoothie, they doubled this objective measure of balance and coordination, and effectively reversed the aging process in the brain.
The spinach group found their way in the maze twice as fast as the control group on the second trial. The second trial, of course, being the test for memory, or recalling your way through the maze. By eating the spinach smoothie, they doubled their speed and accuracy of memory.
This study was done in 1999. For years I have used the spinach, blueberry smoothie formula to fortify my diet with brain enhancing and anti-aging nutrients.
The formula I use:
1 scoop Whey Protein
1 scoop Greens First http://www.greensfirst.com/1280/content_doc.asp
½ cup frozen blueberries
1 handful of fresh spinach
Filtered water or whole raw milk
Blend
I mix it up using frozen cherries, raspberries, cranberries, and have used kale, broccoli sprouts, and other sprouts. The spinach has a mild taste that works well, while the kale and sprouts “takes over” the taste of the smoothie. If I had cancer or something like that, I would choke down the sprouts however.
By the way, another trial was done using young rats, fed very similarly, and the results showed that typical age related declines were delayed with the supplemented group.
Also, Dr. Barry Sears reported that he used this formula along with high dose fish oil with late stage alzheimers, and described these changes. “Prior to the supplements the patient would not acknowledge her family or talk, and stared at the floor in front of her. Following the supplemented diet, the woman began to talk and interact with her family, even calling them by name.”
We need to eat our spinach and berries anyway…why not give it a try for 6 weeks and see how you feel and function?
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