Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
The 7 Habits of Highly Health-Conscious People
We spoke with a quintet of physicians, nutritionists, and other folks experienced in holistic health
by Teri Tsang Barrett
Practicing good health is easier said than done, with the degree of difficulty varying with our genes and personal circumstances.
But it is possible to “bend the curve” of life in a healthier, happier direction.
We spoke with five people who possess long experience in holistic health, and asked them how they start each day on the right foot and keep things as healthful and peaceful as possible.
To learn more about them see “About our experts”, at the end.
1) Begin each day with a centering practice.
Devoting a small block of time to yourself each morning can help set the tone for the day. Meditating upon waking relaxes Dr. Frank Lipman, founder and director of the Eleven-Eleven Wellness Center in NYC, and helps him feel less agitated. “I get clarity from equanimity,” he says. “I’m much more focused with my patients.”
Alternate nostril breathing gives Dr. Annemarie Colbin, author of Food and Healing, an energizing mental boost. “It brings oxygen to my brain,” she says.
Practicing gratitude each morning helps Chrissa Pullicino, public relations manager at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, keep perspective when it comes to stress: “Focusing my attention and energy on the blessings in life makes me more content.”
2) Take breaks to refocus between tasks.
When Dr. Colbin founded the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in 1977, classes were taught out of her home in the evening. “I was starting a whole new day when everyone else was done,” she says. It was essential to reset her mind, which Colbin achieved by practicing Transcendental Meditation.
Nowadays Colbin also indulges in computer card games, as they help “wash out” her brain.
Dr. Lipman shuts his office door in between patients to practice restorative yoga poses, which are classic yoga poses completed with the aid of props. “There’s nothing like it when it comes to rejuvenation,” he says. “And all I do is lie there for ten minutes.”
3) Pare back your schedule when needed.
Being realistic about daily goals helps with efficiency and maintaining a sense of balance.
“When I first started my practice, I would pack it all in on certain days and spend the rest of the week recovering,” says Adele Reising, a NYC-based acupuncturist. “Now I pace myself to avoid being tired all the time. If you’re always zoning out, it’s time to reassess your schedule.”
Reising also looks for signals to herself that she’s on her way to being stressed: “If I’m too tired to get out of bed or skip one of my daily rituals, I’ll move things around in my schedule so I have more time to take care of myself. I maintain good habits when I’m not stressed.”
4) Take mealtime seriously.
Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or a late afternoon snack, taking the time to be present when eating is as nourishing for the mind as the body. “No matter how busy I am, I carve out about 45 minutes to have lunch,” says Dr. Tom Francescott, founder and director of the Rhinebeck Cooperative Health Center. “I’ve made the choice to create the time for myself.”
Reising will often schedule lunch dates to pull her away from the office: “If you work while you eat, that can be hard on digestion—blood is going to your brain and not your stomach.”
5) Get there early.
Part of any winning strategy against stress is to learn how to avoid it altogether. “I always get to work or wherever I need to be early,” says Dr. Francescott. “When I’m late, I end up trying to catch up all day. It’s less stressful to ease into your day.”
Reising agrees, saying, “The days where I fly in without time to unpack my bag—those are not good days. When I get to the office early with time to put things away so I’m waiting at my desk for my first patient, that day is going to go smoothly.”
6) Spend time outdoors.
Engaging the senses by communing with nature helps maintain a sense of well-being. “So many of us don’t spend enough time in nature, which is part of the bigger constellation of issues we face today as we spend more time indoors and tuned in online,” says Dr. Francescott. “I take walks where I’m mindful of each step, the trees and smells. It’s good for anxiety as it calms you down.”
The changing of the seasons can also have a profound calming effect. “Looking at the leaves in the fall stimulates the eyes and affects you on a visceral level,” says Reising.
[Editor’s note: Learn about research on this topic in “Get Out! Nature Boosts Brains and Spirits”, from a recent issue of Vital Choices.]
7) Set aside time to disengage from work.
Give your mind a chance to shift from working gears to leisure mode. “After work I sit in silence and run through the day, breathing in and out in a meditative posture,” says Dr. Francescott. “It gives me closure and I can leave the office at the office.”
Dr. Lipman winds down at home before dinner by laying in a restorative yoga pose or listening to world music: “I like the rhythm of African music in particular. It feeds my soul.”
Flipping through catalogs before bed helps Dr. Colbin halt a racing mind. “They’re so content-free that they put me right to sleep,” she says.
[Editor’s note: The same can’t really be said of the Vital Choice catalog, which features tidbits about food and health, salted throughout … but it’s nothing heavy, just a light seasoning!]
About our experts
Frank Lipman, M.D., is a pioneer and internationally recognized expert in the fields of Integrative and Functional Medicine. His personal brand of healing has helped thousands of people reclaim their vitality and recover their zest of life.
Adele Reising earned a Master's degree in Chinese medicine from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, where she served as department chair of herbal medicine for four years. For two and half years she studied in Beijing, and reads classical Chinese, the language used in medical texts.
Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D., is a best-selling author and award-winning leader in the field of natural health, and a highly sought-after lecturer and wellness consultant. She is Founder and CEO of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in New York City, the oldest natural foods cooking school in the U.S.
Tom Francescott, N.D., is a naturopathic doctor, teacher, lecturer, and workshop leader who seeks to inspire and transform people and their lives with authentic and personalized natural health care. He is founder and director of Rhinebeck Cooperative Health Center, in Rhinebeck, NY, where he has an integrative naturopathic practice, specializing in science-based detoxification.
Chrissa Pullicino, RYT, is public relations manager at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, where she also teaches yoga classes to participants and staff. She has practiced hatha yoga and meditation since 1998.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Chinese Halibut Recipe
Chinese Halibut
I modified this recipe a bit; I cut it in half for one halibut filet, added some more of my own ingredients, and baked it in a toaster oven for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. First, I misread rice wine, so I ended up using rice vinegar. I added about 1/4 teaspoon of wasabi paste and garlic paste, but should definitely add more wasabi. I also added about a 1/2 teaspoon of teriyaki sauce and a couple of leaves of fresh basil. I semi-purée'd it using a hand blended mixer, but overall it was super simple to make and tasted awesome. I skipped the coriander.
Ingredients
• 4 lg halibut steaks, 1/2 lb each
• 3 tb finely chopped fresh ginger
• 6 tb finely chopped scallions
• 2 tb light soy sauce
• 1 tb dark soy sauce
• 2 tb chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tb Chinese sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tb minced fresh coriander
Lay the halibut steaks on a platter. Puree the marinade ingredients in a blender and spread it evenly over the halibut steaks. Allow to marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator or 1 hour at room temperature. Approximately 40 minutes before you are ready to cook, make a charcoal fire and, when the coals are ash white, grill the halibut steaks for 5 to 8 minutes on each side, depending on their thickness. Garnish with the chopped coriander and serve immediately.
This recipe has been generously contributed by www.fishingworks.com.
I modified this recipe a bit; I cut it in half for one halibut filet, added some more of my own ingredients, and baked it in a toaster oven for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. First, I misread rice wine, so I ended up using rice vinegar. I added about 1/4 teaspoon of wasabi paste and garlic paste, but should definitely add more wasabi. I also added about a 1/2 teaspoon of teriyaki sauce and a couple of leaves of fresh basil. I semi-purée'd it using a hand blended mixer, but overall it was super simple to make and tasted awesome. I skipped the coriander.
Ingredients
• 4 lg halibut steaks, 1/2 lb each
• 3 tb finely chopped fresh ginger
• 6 tb finely chopped scallions
• 2 tb light soy sauce
• 1 tb dark soy sauce
• 2 tb chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tb Chinese sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tb minced fresh coriander
Lay the halibut steaks on a platter. Puree the marinade ingredients in a blender and spread it evenly over the halibut steaks. Allow to marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator or 1 hour at room temperature. Approximately 40 minutes before you are ready to cook, make a charcoal fire and, when the coals are ash white, grill the halibut steaks for 5 to 8 minutes on each side, depending on their thickness. Garnish with the chopped coriander and serve immediately.
This recipe has been generously contributed by www.fishingworks.com.
Monday, July 25, 2011
The Five Things that Kill Us
By: Catherine Ebeling, RN, BSN
Most all chronic diseases including: acne, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, ADD, allergies, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, strokes, most cancers, weight gain, premature aging, cataracts, macular degeneration, infertility and IBS stem from five basic causes. For more information on diseases caused by inflammation go here.
Eliminate the causes and you can eliminate your chances of getting any of those diseases—and more. If you already have a serious health issue, you can still improve and even cure yourself of those diseases by making some simple changes in diet and lifestyle.
Our bodies are amazing—they are constantly in a state of rebuilding, regenerating and renewing cells.
So you don’t have to believe that you are merely a victim of your genetic makeup, and that you have to succumb to disease because your inheritance carries that possibility.
What are these five contributing factors?
Inflammation
Inflammation can be both good and bad. Acute inflammation is our body’s response to infection, illnesses, and injuries. Inflammation fights infection, heals wounds, repairs our bodies, and helps to get us back to a state of health. It is a part of a complex biological cascade of reactions to harmful stimuli in a protective attempt to get rid of the injury and to initiate healing.
However, there is another form of inflammation, and that is chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can result from an ongoing injury to a particular area of body system.
Prolonged inflammation, known as chronic inflammation, leads to a progressive shift in the type of cells present at the site of inflammation and is characterized by simultaneous destruction and healing of the tissue from the inflammatory process.
But chronic inflammation is different. Unlike the redness and pain that tells us loud and clear that our body is in repair mode, chronic inflammation is a silent internal process that slips “under the radar”. This quiet killer is the cornerstone of degenerative disease and physical aging. However, the good news is that the primary causes of chronic inflammation are completely within your control.
Some of the primary causes of chronic inflammation include high blood sugar, eating excessive amounts of the wrong types of fats, and excess body fat. In addition, cortisol, a stress hormone can also contribute to inflammation.
Glycation
We all have heard sugar is bad for our health, but do you really know what it does in your body?
Quite simply, glycation is the process where sugars attach to proteins in the body. It may not sound like much, but like inflammation, it can cause a slow deterioration of your health.
When sugar and protein molecules combine, they form a tangled mess of tissue. Glycation causes wrinkling not only of the skin, but also of connective tissue and internal organs. Glycated tissue is tough and inflexible, leading to problems in the functions of our organ systems.
Tissue that has become glycated then produces Aged Glycation End-products (AGE’s), which further compound the problem by producing large numbers of damaging free radicals.
Tissue glycation is a serious, deadly process which degrades important body tissues. It must be dramatically reduced if aging is to be minimized.
The tough, inelastic connective tissue is especially damaging to organs where flexibility is vital, especially for organs like the heart, kidneys, digestive system, brain, eyes and pancreas. The lack of flexibility in the important organs leads to reduced functionality and early death. This is the reason diabetics suffer from diseases like heart disease and blindness earlier than most people.
So what causes glycation? Chronically high blood sugar levels, and to a lesser extent eating a diet of foods cooked at high temperatures. Eating foods high in sugar, including starchy foods and grains, results in an increase in blood sugar. The sugar binds to your red blood cells, as well as other proteins and fats and creates AGE’s.
The sticky AGE’s bind to blood vessels and other body tissue. These glycated masses create havoc on your cells and cause oxidation and inflammation.
Oxidation
Oxidation, like inflammation is essential for our bodies to function properly. Oxidation is important to energy production. But oxidation has a bad side too. Oxidation is the removal of an electron from an atom or a molecule. Since they are missing an electron, they spend their time robbing electrons from healthy cells. The result is a cascade of cellular damage. Sometimes this can damage the molecule itself which causes damage to proteins, lipids and DNA in our cells.
Free radicals can cause cholesterol to be more likely to stick to your blood vessels, increasing your risk for heart attacks and stroke. They can damage DNA and cause mutations including cancer. Free radicals can attack and destroy the delicate nerve cells in the brain and eyes, causing cataracts, blindness and Alzheimer’s disease as well. And free radicals damage and weaken the skin structures and connective tissue.
What causes oxidation? Pollution, smoking, medications, alcohol, and eating processed foods with few nutrients will all increase oxidation. In addition, aging and exercise also cause oxidation as well.
But we can fight back by avoiding those things that cause free radicals, reducing inflammation, and by getting plenty of antioxidants, primarily in the foods we eat. These include vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, beta carotene and many other important phytonutrients in vegetables and fruit.
Toxification
Our exposure to harmful toxins is increasing every day. We are exposed to toxins in our food supply, toxins in our environment, and toxins in our everyday personal items such as shampoo and soaps, as well as household items. Beyond that, there are toxins in our water, toxins in medications, and toxins virtually in almost everything that we come into contact with, in some degree. It’s very difficult to escape toxins, unless we live a primitive life far, far away from civilization.
However, our bodies have an amazing capability to detoxify themselves, but if overloaded and left unguarded without the fortification the body needs to fight and filter toxins, it soon becomes overwhelmed and diseased. The liver is our primary source of internal detoxification and when our liver is overloaded, our health pays the price.
Toxins damage our cells’ DNA, and affect hormonal balances, causing weight gain, thyroid dysfunction, cancer, and more.
While most of us cannot retreat to the country and live a primitive life far away from the ills of civilization, we can avoid many toxins by eliminating chemicals in our personal care products, avoiding household cleaning chemicals, and most of all, eliminating or greatly reducing the chemicals and toxins in the food supply that come from conventionally raised meats, pesticide laden vegetables and fruits and processed foods with preservatives and artificial ingredients.
Deficiencies and Depletion
The last thing in this interwoven list is deficiencies and depletion. It’s a sad fact that the vegetables and fruit that we buy in the grocery store are far lower in minerals (including selenium, magnesium, iron, zinc and calcium) than the ones from 50 years ago.
Conventional farming methods and widespread use of chemicals in farming have depleted the soil and the nutrients that we receive from these foods. And livestock raised on an unnatural diet of grain, antibiotics and hormones are also sickly and low in the essential nutrients we need in our diets to thrive.
Many of us who may be following a reasonably healthy diet, are missing important nutritional elements in the foods eaten. And, even worse, are those people eating a diet virtually devoid of natural nutrients, phytochemicals and anti-oxidants. (SAD) And that comes at a huge cost to health.
Even Dr. Linus Pauling, winner of two Nobel prizes said, “You can trace every sickness, disease, or ailment in the human body back to a trace element deficiency.”
Most of us are deficient in at least one or two vitamins and minerals. And deficiencies in dietary nutrients feed into the rest of the contributing factors that cause diseases.
Beyond our dietary deficiencies, many of us can be suffering from an unhealthy digestive system that doesn’t absorb nutrients well.
What can we do to avoid disease as best we can and achieve optimal health?
- Eat real food—Avoid artificial, processed, packaged, nutritionally devoid, chemically laden foods. Eat high quality, organically raised, local foods, and naturally raised meats.
- Avoid chemicals in your foods—Eat organic as much as possible, eat locally, eat naturally-raised grass fed meats, poultry, eggs, and dairy; and eat only wild caught fish.
- Avoid chemicals in your environment—Eliminate dangerous household chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides and personal care items. These add a heavy load of toxins.
- Optimize your fats—Eating naturally raised meats and fish will give you a better omega 3:6 ratio, but also avoid transfats, and added processed fats and vegetable oils.
- Avoid sugar—as much as possible. That means not only avoiding sugary drinks like soda and avoiding candy, but also avoiding foods made from grains like whole grain breads, pastas, and baked goods. Sugar also lurks in fruit drinks and starchy foods like potatoes as well.
Each of these killer causes is interwoven with the others but amazingly the same things we do to prevent one of the above causes also prevents the others. Simply being aware and making changes in your diet and lifestyle can help to minimize these five things, and contribute to your optimal, vibrant health and long life.
Sources:
Kelly Herring, “Do you know the 5 main causes of disease?”, Healing Gourmet, July 20, 2011.
Living to be 150, Aging and Longevity, http://livingto150.com/aging-and-longevity-glycation
Most all chronic diseases including: acne, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, ADD, allergies, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, strokes, most cancers, weight gain, premature aging, cataracts, macular degeneration, infertility and IBS stem from five basic causes. For more information on diseases caused by inflammation go here.
Eliminate the causes and you can eliminate your chances of getting any of those diseases—and more. If you already have a serious health issue, you can still improve and even cure yourself of those diseases by making some simple changes in diet and lifestyle.
Our bodies are amazing—they are constantly in a state of rebuilding, regenerating and renewing cells.
So you don’t have to believe that you are merely a victim of your genetic makeup, and that you have to succumb to disease because your inheritance carries that possibility.
What are these five contributing factors?
Inflammation
Inflammation can be both good and bad. Acute inflammation is our body’s response to infection, illnesses, and injuries. Inflammation fights infection, heals wounds, repairs our bodies, and helps to get us back to a state of health. It is a part of a complex biological cascade of reactions to harmful stimuli in a protective attempt to get rid of the injury and to initiate healing.
However, there is another form of inflammation, and that is chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can result from an ongoing injury to a particular area of body system.
Prolonged inflammation, known as chronic inflammation, leads to a progressive shift in the type of cells present at the site of inflammation and is characterized by simultaneous destruction and healing of the tissue from the inflammatory process.
But chronic inflammation is different. Unlike the redness and pain that tells us loud and clear that our body is in repair mode, chronic inflammation is a silent internal process that slips “under the radar”. This quiet killer is the cornerstone of degenerative disease and physical aging. However, the good news is that the primary causes of chronic inflammation are completely within your control.
Some of the primary causes of chronic inflammation include high blood sugar, eating excessive amounts of the wrong types of fats, and excess body fat. In addition, cortisol, a stress hormone can also contribute to inflammation.
Glycation
We all have heard sugar is bad for our health, but do you really know what it does in your body?
Quite simply, glycation is the process where sugars attach to proteins in the body. It may not sound like much, but like inflammation, it can cause a slow deterioration of your health.
When sugar and protein molecules combine, they form a tangled mess of tissue. Glycation causes wrinkling not only of the skin, but also of connective tissue and internal organs. Glycated tissue is tough and inflexible, leading to problems in the functions of our organ systems.
Tissue that has become glycated then produces Aged Glycation End-products (AGE’s), which further compound the problem by producing large numbers of damaging free radicals.
Tissue glycation is a serious, deadly process which degrades important body tissues. It must be dramatically reduced if aging is to be minimized.
The tough, inelastic connective tissue is especially damaging to organs where flexibility is vital, especially for organs like the heart, kidneys, digestive system, brain, eyes and pancreas. The lack of flexibility in the important organs leads to reduced functionality and early death. This is the reason diabetics suffer from diseases like heart disease and blindness earlier than most people.
So what causes glycation? Chronically high blood sugar levels, and to a lesser extent eating a diet of foods cooked at high temperatures. Eating foods high in sugar, including starchy foods and grains, results in an increase in blood sugar. The sugar binds to your red blood cells, as well as other proteins and fats and creates AGE’s.
The sticky AGE’s bind to blood vessels and other body tissue. These glycated masses create havoc on your cells and cause oxidation and inflammation.
Oxidation
Oxidation, like inflammation is essential for our bodies to function properly. Oxidation is important to energy production. But oxidation has a bad side too. Oxidation is the removal of an electron from an atom or a molecule. Since they are missing an electron, they spend their time robbing electrons from healthy cells. The result is a cascade of cellular damage. Sometimes this can damage the molecule itself which causes damage to proteins, lipids and DNA in our cells.
Free radicals can cause cholesterol to be more likely to stick to your blood vessels, increasing your risk for heart attacks and stroke. They can damage DNA and cause mutations including cancer. Free radicals can attack and destroy the delicate nerve cells in the brain and eyes, causing cataracts, blindness and Alzheimer’s disease as well. And free radicals damage and weaken the skin structures and connective tissue.
What causes oxidation? Pollution, smoking, medications, alcohol, and eating processed foods with few nutrients will all increase oxidation. In addition, aging and exercise also cause oxidation as well.
But we can fight back by avoiding those things that cause free radicals, reducing inflammation, and by getting plenty of antioxidants, primarily in the foods we eat. These include vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, beta carotene and many other important phytonutrients in vegetables and fruit.
Toxification
Our exposure to harmful toxins is increasing every day. We are exposed to toxins in our food supply, toxins in our environment, and toxins in our everyday personal items such as shampoo and soaps, as well as household items. Beyond that, there are toxins in our water, toxins in medications, and toxins virtually in almost everything that we come into contact with, in some degree. It’s very difficult to escape toxins, unless we live a primitive life far, far away from civilization.
However, our bodies have an amazing capability to detoxify themselves, but if overloaded and left unguarded without the fortification the body needs to fight and filter toxins, it soon becomes overwhelmed and diseased. The liver is our primary source of internal detoxification and when our liver is overloaded, our health pays the price.
Toxins damage our cells’ DNA, and affect hormonal balances, causing weight gain, thyroid dysfunction, cancer, and more.
While most of us cannot retreat to the country and live a primitive life far away from the ills of civilization, we can avoid many toxins by eliminating chemicals in our personal care products, avoiding household cleaning chemicals, and most of all, eliminating or greatly reducing the chemicals and toxins in the food supply that come from conventionally raised meats, pesticide laden vegetables and fruits and processed foods with preservatives and artificial ingredients.
Deficiencies and Depletion
The last thing in this interwoven list is deficiencies and depletion. It’s a sad fact that the vegetables and fruit that we buy in the grocery store are far lower in minerals (including selenium, magnesium, iron, zinc and calcium) than the ones from 50 years ago.
Conventional farming methods and widespread use of chemicals in farming have depleted the soil and the nutrients that we receive from these foods. And livestock raised on an unnatural diet of grain, antibiotics and hormones are also sickly and low in the essential nutrients we need in our diets to thrive.
Many of us who may be following a reasonably healthy diet, are missing important nutritional elements in the foods eaten. And, even worse, are those people eating a diet virtually devoid of natural nutrients, phytochemicals and anti-oxidants. (SAD) And that comes at a huge cost to health.
Even Dr. Linus Pauling, winner of two Nobel prizes said, “You can trace every sickness, disease, or ailment in the human body back to a trace element deficiency.”
Most of us are deficient in at least one or two vitamins and minerals. And deficiencies in dietary nutrients feed into the rest of the contributing factors that cause diseases.
Beyond our dietary deficiencies, many of us can be suffering from an unhealthy digestive system that doesn’t absorb nutrients well.
What can we do to avoid disease as best we can and achieve optimal health?
- Eat real food—Avoid artificial, processed, packaged, nutritionally devoid, chemically laden foods. Eat high quality, organically raised, local foods, and naturally raised meats.
- Avoid chemicals in your foods—Eat organic as much as possible, eat locally, eat naturally-raised grass fed meats, poultry, eggs, and dairy; and eat only wild caught fish.
- Avoid chemicals in your environment—Eliminate dangerous household chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides and personal care items. These add a heavy load of toxins.
- Optimize your fats—Eating naturally raised meats and fish will give you a better omega 3:6 ratio, but also avoid transfats, and added processed fats and vegetable oils.
- Avoid sugar—as much as possible. That means not only avoiding sugary drinks like soda and avoiding candy, but also avoiding foods made from grains like whole grain breads, pastas, and baked goods. Sugar also lurks in fruit drinks and starchy foods like potatoes as well.
Each of these killer causes is interwoven with the others but amazingly the same things we do to prevent one of the above causes also prevents the others. Simply being aware and making changes in your diet and lifestyle can help to minimize these five things, and contribute to your optimal, vibrant health and long life.
Sources:
Kelly Herring, “Do you know the 5 main causes of disease?”, Healing Gourmet, July 20, 2011.
Living to be 150, Aging and Longevity, http://livingto150.com/aging-and-longevity-glycation
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)