"So Easy A Caveman Can Do It?"

By, Bhimbetka on flickr.com

The theme of the week seems to be cholesterol; good fats and bad fats; eating a healthy diet and living a healthy life-style.  But what does that mean?  It could mean a number of things to different people.  According to the American Heart Association we should decrease the amount of Saturated Fats in our diet, eat whole grains and maintain a low-fat regimen.  Then, there’s the other perspective… decrease grains all together, increase your fat intake (good fats – no trans, hydrogenated etc.) and maintain a moderate protein intake complete with wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef and wild-game. 

So which is the “right” one… well, I’ll let you choose for yourself, but hopefully I will get you thinking and give you a little information to do the right thing. 

It’s simple, if you didn’t have the daily conveniences of grocery stores, pre-packaged meals, microwaves & refrigerators, what would you eat?  Yes, our world would look a whole lot different than it does today.  Just think how much you rely on the grocery store to supply you with what you assume to be humanely harvested, healthy food choices… yes, ignorance is bliss… but is it?  I’m guessing that if we didn’t have somebody packaging our food up in pretty boxes, claiming “natural”, “heart healthy”, & “fresh”, half of us would starve and the other half would go, well crazy!  If we didn’t have these pretty boxes and shopping carts, we would have to supply for ourselves… just like the hunter, gatherer’s that are our ancestors.  Farming, hunting and seed, fruit and nut gathering were a daily routine to sustain a healthy diet.  There were no trans-fats, hydrogenated oils, highly processed, or super sugary foods in our diets… so whatever happened to these real, whole foods?  Well, it seems to me, we got sugar happy and lazy and with it; we got heart disease and obesity!

I just went to a little seminar with Nora Gedgaudas, author of Primal Body – Primal Mind (Empower Your Total Health the Way Evolution Intended & Didn’t).  She gave a nice presentation on good fats and bad fats in the diet and what nature intended for us and what it didn’t.  She made a good analogy with the following experiment:  “Put a block of butter outside in the yard, next to a tub of margarine and see which gets eaten first”.  She then went on to say how a client of hers went ahead and tried this, and you know what happened, the butter was gone in under an hour and the margarine, remained untouched for somewhere near a month!  Interesting isn’t it, that even scavenging animals that pick at the trash won’t even touch something so overly processed and preserved, yet we lather it on our food everyday by the bucket-load.  Another good point she made was that the rise of Heart Disease almost exactly correlates to the addition and increase of vegetable oils into the diet.  These along with all the hydrogenation, processing and sugar-coating could just be the deadly killers we’ve been trying to ignore all along. 

Anyway, the big point being here, is that our bodies rely on good fats from the diet.  Cholesterol is a necessary part of our bodies and is essential in neurological processes and all basic cellular function.  The cells in our body are essentially made up of fats, that’s what keeps them together.  In addition a high amount of blood cholesterol, should only be used as an indicator that there is something else going on in the body.  Western drugs are good at removing the cholesterol, but what does that mean?  Basically, in doing so, you take away the fire-fighters and let the fire run rampant… but the fire in this case is silent and will subsequently keep burning until it hits the pilot light and the whole place blows up.  Enter Chinese herbs, Acupuncture, Qi-Gong or some form of Meditation, diet and lifestyle!  All together, these modalities can work wonders and support the natural fats in the body, lower blood pressure, decrease inflammation, decrease body weight and therefore; body mass index. 

So, just to add the convenience of this topic, I went on the computer this evening to order myself some more Krill Oil from Dr. Mercola.com and the first article on his home page read:  Saturated Fat is NOT the Cause of Heart Disease, coincidence?  I think not! 

I could keep going on and on about the benefits of good fats in the body and why they should be a major part of our diet, but you have to remember that everything in moderation is a key component as well as the way in which foods are harvested and processed (hopefully not).   Make sure you read the labels, eat as many whole foods as you can; meaning vegetables, fruits and healthy proteins.  No matter what diet you decide to eat, make sure you always buy “wild” salmon & ”grass-fed” beef.  Try to eat local and organic, sustainable foods; farmer’s markets are a great source and alternate to store-packaged goods.  For more information on the “Primal Living”, check out Nora’s website and her awesome book:

• Primal Body – Primal Mind
• Also, check out the Primal Radio Station, there is a sound bite about me!  Nora just interviewed Michael Skogg; owner of Elite Kettlebell Gym in Tigard, OR; Spinach Gym in downtown Portland, OR & is the face of Weider Powerbells & X-Factor Home Gym

Since I mentioned it, this brings me to a good point!  I am currently also a trainer/coach at Elite Kettle-Bell Gym in Tigard OR, as well as Spinach in Portland, OR and it has been one of the best things I could have brought into my life.  As you may know I used to be a competitive Freestyle skier back in the day, and love athletic ventures of all kinds.  Kettlebells have definitely made it to the top of my list as far as awesome workouts that get great results without a lot of time and if you are in the Portland/Tigard, OR area, I highly recommend you check it out!  It’s great for all people of ALL athletic abilities, it’s fun and there is always a great group of people with smiling faces around!  The new gym in downtown is amazing, they just opened it up and classes are running Monday through Saturday pretty much all day.  You can check out the schedule on Elite Kettlebell Gym’s website (the link is above) for more information.   Plus it is a great addition to ”Primal Living” and any kind of exercise regimen in that case!

Another good source of information on “eating primal” as well as “living primal” is Mark Sisson’s Webpage and Blog:

• Mark’s Daily Apple - He’s got easy to access information on diet, nutrition exercise and all sorts of primal living details!  Check it out!

Well, that’s enough out of me, I hope you read, listen and link to these sites! 

Happy living and be well,

Erin

Sources:  

Gedgaudas, N. (2009). Primal body-primal mind: empower your total health the way evolution intended (…and didn. Portland OR: Primal Body – Primal Mind Publishing.

Mercola, . (2010, February 25). Saturated fat is not the cause of heart disease. Retrieved from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/02/25/saturated-fat-is-not-the-cause-of-heart-disease.aspx

[Via http://essentialhealing.wordpress.com]

Spasmodic Dysphonia Has been Improved By Acupuncture. By Dr. Arthur Yin Fan

02/24/2010

Dr.Fan recently is busy at treating patients with different of dystonia from States, China and India.

One of patients is from North Carolina (NC), who drove 7.5 hour and lives in a hotel near our office. Patient S.P., 72 years old, she has dystonia 13 years, initially one cervical dystonia (Spasmodic torticollis), 3.5 years ago,it improved, but becomes Spasmodic Dysphonia (abductor type). Her voice is strained, strangled, choked like, sound hoarse, breathless, anxious or groaning. Also, she has difficult in chowing, but no problem at swallowing.

She had Botox injection 2 years (each may help about 3 months in some extent). Currently under some medications. But still very hard to speak. Most of words could not be understanded. So, her sister has to help her as an interpreter.

She had 3 sessions acupuncture in our office (until today). Both her sister and she feel improved much, although still has spasmodic voice, basically her words are understandable. We took video again and showed her the difference between initial visit and today. She is very happy with the result.

She will continue two days treatments. And she plans to come back in near future(after one week).

[Via http://arthuryinfan.wordpress.com]

Review of labour-inducing techniques

So how do you entice a baby into the world who seems happy enough to stay where they are thank you very much?

We are 41 weeks and 1 day so we’re getting desperate and will try most things. Here is a summary of tried and tested techniques although as you may have assumed, none of them have worked yet:

Pineapple – I’ve force-fed my wife several pineapples over the last few weeks. Apparently certain properties in a pineapple can cause ‘movements’ however you want to interpret that. My wife’s Thai aunty never touched the stuff believing pineapple to interfere with ‘monthly’ cycles and many women swear that it can bring on labour. I can vouch that fresh pineapple is certainly very tasty although plays havoc with the acid reflux which really didn’t need to be made any worse.

Curries – Referring back to the acid reflux problem, curries have been off the list. My wife tried a particularly hot Thai green curry the other day but without causing her to begin contractions. Again, a tasty treat but no baby.

A Sweep – This involves a midwife using a digit or two to ’sweep’ the cervix to try to prompt labour and encourage the necessary hormones to kick in.  It is a rather painful and unpleasant experience but not much about labour seems to be that pain-free. At one point the midwife exclaimed that she could feel fingers….both my wife and I both looked at each other thinking she was joking but she was indeed shaking hands with our daughter who had a hand up by her head. If ever impending fatherhood felt real it did then although I couldn’t help feel envy that it was neither my wife or I that was able to touch our daughter.

Acupuncture – To be fair the acupuncturist has only just left after our first session so probably too early to tell how effective it is. Certainly there must be something in manipulating pressure points around the body because the Chinese and many other cultures have been using it for centuries. My wife is now fast asleep so it has had an immediate effect and she could feel the baby move when the needles in her little toes were tweaked so our fingers are crossed that this will do it.

Hopefully the next post will be as a father.

[Via http://dadsanddogs.wordpress.com]

Acupuncture 'improves mood, kills pain'

from http://www.sidewaysnews.com/your-life/acupuncture-improves-mood-kills-pain

Acupuncture could be used as an effective treatment for alleviating depression and reducing pain, according to two new studies.

In a paper published in the journal Brain Research, scientists say acupuncture works by making the brain, rather than the body, stop experiencing pain.

The researchers found that the parts of the brain which are responsible for processing pain were deactivated when the Chinese therapy was given.

A further study presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s annual meeting revealed that acupuncture could be an effective treatment for pregnant women who are suffering from depression.

Dealing with depression during pregnancy is difficult as some anti-depressants can cause developmental issues in the foetus. But according to the study, women who received acupuncture experienced a significantly greater decrease in depression severity, without the need for medication.

According to Dr Mike Cummings, medical director at the British Medical Acupuncture Society, brain imaging over the past few years has shown similar results to the two new studies.

He noted: “Acupuncture tends to result in decreased activity in some of the primitive parts of the brain associated with pain, suffering and mood.”

“Acupuncture also has effects on sensory nerves in the spinal cord and in nerve endings around the area stimulated.”

“Because of these mechanisms, acupuncture appears to be particularly effective at treating pain and the suffering related to pain, but it may also have some effects on mood disorders, such as depression, through its general effects on the brain,” he added.

[Via http://pokesrq.com]

Ask Christine: Dream Easy

Photo by Don Fulano

You Asked:

“Whether or not I get five or eight hours I tend to have trouble falling asleep each night. I guess I’m looking for a way to shut my brain down at night and be free of stress. How can I convince my brain it’s time to go to sleep? It would be great to avoid medications so I’m considering trying acupuncture, do you think that would help?” ~Chelle

I Answered:

Acupuncture can be so effective at inducing sleep that one patient left my office only to fall asleep at the wheel under a stop light! As an acupuncturist and patient, I’ve enjoyed more restful nights as a result of the subtle, yet powerful affects of a good needling treatment. A new message must be sent to your brain allowing it to turn the light switch off. Because stress creates inflammation and contraction within the vessels, acupuncture is a perfect fix to free up peripheral nerves thus improving physiological function.

As the hair thin needles are inserted into the skin a message transfers to your nervous system signaling the release of neuro-endocrine chemicals . Acupuncture is great because it exerts an almost instant influential affect which balances brain waves.

Night time is an opportunity for yang energy to gently unfold into yin. Remember to create a cozy space for slumber. Keep it simple in the bedroom. Draw the curtains to keep the light from shining in until morning.

Sweet dreams!

[Via http://integrativeapproachtohealing.wordpress.com]