Archives for 2011

I try to have 3 books going at once. Some take take just days to finish, others weeks even months. I like to learn something new every day, something that stirs my imagination or makes me have an “ah ha” moment.

I have two amazing sisters in law. One is my source for my morning books, my books for personal and spiritual development. Ones that help you expand your world, your appreciation, your awe, that affirm or rock your belief systems that make you grateful that you are in the here and now. The other is my source for my evening books which are often fiction but always for relaxation, entertainment, escape, that take you across the world, across time, that explore human nature. The mid day reading (books/journals/articles/studies) are for personal and professional development in my field (and sometimes not) because there is always more to learn and better ways to communicate and share.

Is this a luxury or a necessity that I do this? In my book, it’s definitely the latter.

No Time? Not an excuse in my book. One less TV show is all you need, especially the news, because it’s usually always bad news. If there is something you really need to know, believe me, someone will tell you.

Reading is about taking flight in your imagination, observing, discovering, exploring your world both inside and out.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. Henry Ford

I think of reading as part of my anti-aging regimen and definitely as a component of keeping my mental body healthy.

What I’m reading this week:                                                                                                     Inner Work by Robert A. Johnson                                                                                       The Perfect Gene Diet by Pamela McDonald                                                                         The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is not intended to substitute for medical counseling. Intentional Health does not treat, prevent, cure, or diagnose any disease or ailment.

Personally if my doctor insisted I take a “statin” drug, I’d run but that’s me.

More importantly, if your doctor wants you to take a statin drug (or you already are) but doesn’t insist you take coenzymeQ10 (hereafter known as CoQ10) please do more research and consider taking this vital nutrient.

In a nutshell, the synthesis of CoQ10 uses the same pathway as the enzyme that produces cholesterol. If you lower the production of cholesterol, you lower the production of CoQ10.

So why do you care? CoQ10 is found in virtually all cell membranes and protects cells and helps them regenerate. CoQ10 counteracts environmental pollutants and stressors. Levels naturally drop after age 30 and you are less able to repair cells i.e. lower levels contribute to aging.

CoQ10 is an essential component of the mitochondria (the “power-house” of the cell), playing a critical role in the formation of ATP, the body’s fundamental energy unit. Are you tired, think CoQ10.

It is standard operating procedure for doctors in Europe to recommend CoQ10 when prescribing statin drugs. Why? They understand nutrition and nutrient depletion; they’ve read the studies. They know that CoQ10 depletion can cause Alzheimer like dementia, cognitive disturbances, fatigue, muscle weakness, conjunctive heart failure and the list goes on. They also know that patients with cardiovascular disease, fibromyalgia, parkinsons and even cancer may benefit from CoQ10.

See more under Articles above to learn more.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is not intended to substitute for medical counseling. Intentional Health does not treat, prevent, cure, or diagnose any disease or ailment.

Most of us were raised hearing this children’s rhyme from our parents, “Sticks and Stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” To toughen us up for life? To numb us from our feelings? We all know how painful words are. Sometimes, words can leave lasting scars and can be as crippling as physical blows. Phooey to the psychologists who say, “emotionally healthy adults are comfortable with hatred and anger, their own and others.” What planet were they raised on?

Words do count. Kind words lift you up; mean words bring you down.

I’m writing this for two reasons: 1) I have gotten so many kind and wonderful comments from readers I don’t know, who did not have to take their precious time to say kind, encouraging words but they did. I don’t need research studies to “know” that kind words make you feel better and less than kind words can make you feel sad or hurt or angry or defensive. 2) the White House is having meetings today about cyber-bullying among students.

I have only gotten one (1) negative, rather mean, comment and it bothered me. Does this mean I’m not emotionally healthy or just that I’m human? I was hurt for a second then angry and with a knee jerk reaction wanted to write back some thing scathing. I didn’t but I also stopped writing for a couple days, temporarily doubting myself all because of one guy whom I don’t even know. Imagine how how these kids must feel who are under constant attack?

As a favor to yourself, if you don’t like what someone says or how someone writes, pause for a minute, take that deep calming breath. My dad had to remind me constantly, Think before you Speak.

If your words can hurt people you don’t know, think what they can do to the people you do know and care about but also what those words can do to you.

Back to The Golden Rule, the Brahman translation is, This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you. From Mahabharata 5:1517.

Have you ever wondered who, why and when someone started calling modern medicine “traditional” medicine? There’s nothing traditional about modern medicine at all. It’s relatively new, around a hundred years old, and is based on using artificial i.e. chemical means to try to cure, but rarely does, a disease. The real “traditional” medicine is based on ancient wisdoms that tell us our bodies were inherently designed to be healthy and that use natural substances to prevent and cure illness.

I also believe we all need an M.D. because the system is the system like it or not. More specifically, what we all need and want is a holistic and integrative internist because you may just need that M.D. to navigate the system with you and for you one day.

I am blessed with the greatest doctor and here are my criteria for you to find one of your own.

Integrative: uses modern medicine when necessary and uses traditional methods and remedies or at least knows who to refer you to (naturopath, acupuncture, homeopathy, etc.).

Holistic: looks at your overall physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health, can treat the symptom but looks for the underlying cause, attempts to prevent illness, understands basic nutrition and nutrient depletion, understands stress and how it can manifest, takes the time to know you.

Interestingly enough, this is what your family doctor was until the beginning of the 20^th century. He was holistic and integrative and didn’t need a label to identify him as such.

Testing: Thorough and detailed blood work. You need it as a baseline if you’re perfectly healthy and you need it to rule out things like food allergies or nutrient depletion. Even if your insurance doesn’t cover all the costs, these tests are vital for accurate diagnosis and treatments. In addition, you meet face to face after the labs have been studied by him/her AND you are always given a copy of your labs for your records. These are your tests and you have paid for them. If you aren’t automatically given your labs or must wait for copies or even charged a fee per page, then it’s time to find another doctor!

Don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.                                                                   They paved over paradise and put up a parking lot.

As I bopped along to the Counting Crows 2002 version of Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell- 1970) this morning in rush hour traffic (much to the horror of my teenagers), I thought this song is about much more than about a lost love or urban sprawl.  Is paradise somewhere outside in the world, a place that we just haven’t traveled to yet or something else? On the physical level could it be about regretting lost health? Most definitely and that’s another story for another post. But on a deeper level, is paradise somewhere inside of us and it’s just been paved over and over and over again so that we just don’t see, hear or feel it anymore.

The definitions for paradise are varied from biblical to sensual. The origins are Greek meaning an enclosed park. I personally like a place that is positive, harmonious, timeless, a state of delight and peace. This is a place I’d definitely like to go, to be in, to stay in.

You don’t have to have had some awful stuff happen to you to pave over your paradise, just the everyday normal stresses/worries and hassles will do it. It is so easy to lose/forget who you really are and what’s important. This is why I think a daily meditation practice of sitting, walking or writing is so important. If you can’t find 30 minutes , what about 15?. The purpose of meditation is to bring you to the present moment without the chatter and distractions from outside or inside the mind. This stillness is when you find clarity or peace or contentment or yes, your paradise.

Hippocrates, the 4^th century BC Greek physician, said in his Regimen in Health, “A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings.” Hippocrates, known to the world as the Father of Medicine was a pretty smart guy. He believed the body must be treated as a whole and not just a series of parts. He believed in the natural healing process of rest, a good diet, fresh air, cleanliness and good water. In his Airs, Waters, and Places, he discussed environmental causes of diseases, in particular, a town’s drinking water. Hippocrates was a prolific writer and a single theme carries throughout his works “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food”. How did we get so off track?

“Your food shall be your remedy” To maintain health and prevent illness we need a balanced combination of amino acids (proteins), lipids (fats), complex carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, enzymes and water and that nourishment must come from whole foods and whole food supplements.

Rather than the Father of Medicine, I’d say Hippocrates was really the “Father of Prevention.”

For some reason this tune from Oliver Twist, the musical, popped in to my head on my morning walk and it made me think about how much I love good, real, glorious food. According to some friends I spend too much money on food but it’s worth every penny. You are what you eat is my mantra. If you put regular gas in a car that requires premium, how well is your car going to perform?

I love $4/doz eggs from cage free/soy free eggs. Yes, I know I could buy 18 at a box store for half the amount but who knows what those chickens were fed or how long ago the eggs were laid. Don’t judge me until you’ve had a farm fresh local egg then you’ll know why I do it. I love “pastured” butter i.e. from cows that eat grass and live outside which is what cloven footed animals are supposed to do. I love red wild salmon (farm raised salmon would be gray if dye wasn’t added to their corn and soy feed, not exactly what I’d call a natural diet). I love the unshiny/uncoated apples from the orchards in Winchester. I love the grass fed meat and cheeses from my Amish friends in PA. I love the ancient grains like quinoa, amaranth and millet that I’ve soaked overnight. I love my farmers markets for whatever they have each season.

If this real/whole food thing has you confused, start with one of my favorite little books, Food Rules by Michael Pollan and enjoy every little bite you put in your mouth.

Although much of what Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now and A New Earth) writes is beyond my grasp and although I often get sleepy reading him which tells me I’m not ready for some of his stuff, yet, the following quote really spoke to me.

Stillness is your essential nature. When you lose touch with inner stillness you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with your self you lose yourself in the world.

Not only is this something I need to remind myself of every day but why I write so much about meditation, stillness, and paying attention. It is just too easy to get caught up in the busyness, the details, the stuff, the things. It is just so easy to make excuses. It is just so easy for the conscious mind to stay so busy that it stops paying attention so that the subconscious mind takes over repeating patterns, replaying programs that don’t serve me. Enough.

Stop, Look, Listen – even if just for a minute.