Archives for 2013

Farewell to Bean, a Mighty Fine Cat Indeed

December 12, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

When our dear kitty, Bean, was hit by a car in front of our house on Saturday, I thought about the things she had taught me and how grateful I am for the three years she was part of our family.

One of my favorite books is The Game of Life and How to Play It (1925) by Florence Scovel Shin. She refers to an old saying, “No man is your friend; no man is your enemy; all men are your teachers.”

Even though Bean was a cat, she was definitely my teacher.

What did Bean teach me?

Be persistent; don’t give up as in I won’t stop scratching the door until you let me out. Know what you want and go for it.

Don’t be afraid even if you get lost and take five days to find your way home. Life is an adventure with so much to see and to do.

Change is good. You become fat and lazy like your sister if you stay within your comfort zone, in that cozy little box of a world you’ve created for yourself.

Make sure the people you love, know they are loved. From the moment you stirred in the morning she was by your side purring and she always greeted you when you walked in the door. Although she refused to obey the rules such as wearing a collar – we went through more than a dozen, or staying off the counters or leaving you in peace in the bathroom, she never made you mad.

Earlier today I came across a copy of T.S.Eliot’s book of cat poems, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (1939), this inspiration for the musical CATS. (Sidebar: The most famous song from the musical, Memory is not inspired from Eliot’s cat poems but from two others, Preludes and Rhapsody on a Windy Night.)

Which cat was Bean? A little bit Rum Tum Tugger, a little bit Mr. Mistoffelees, a little bit Rumpleteazer.

Curiosity may have killed this cat but she didn’t want to miss a thing.

A vet once told me that an indoor cat may live a long life but an outdoor cat will live a happy life.Our beautiful cross-eyed Bean was a happy cat indeed.

S is for Stress

November 2, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

Some stress is good. Exercise, for instance, is a form of stress but it can help brain cells grow.

It’s the chronic stress, that’s not so good. Stress can come from many different sources. Work, relationship and financial problems and physical trauma are not the only causes.

Perhaps the more insidious causes of stress are the not so obvious, or at least the ones not talked about so much, such as toxicity, pathogens, allergies and nutritional deficiencies as a result of poor quality food, water and air. All can cause imbalances in the body.

When the body becomes ill, the body’s first signal that all is not well is through vibrational or electromagnetic waves. Our body is a network of bio-photons, which acts like an extremely fast super computer. Every thought and action is accompanied by an electrical activity in the nervous system and by bio-photon communication between cells.

Our cells network together to keep our body in balance (remember homeostasis from high school biology?). When any kind of stress enters the body, it produces erratic vibrations which lead to imbalances which leads to disease.

Stress worsens and/or increases the risk of many diseases including diabetes, Alzheimers, depression, GI issues, obesity and heart disease and of course, it accelerates aging.

Don’t assume stress is a way of life, something you have to live with. You can learn to change much of what is happening inside you without drugs or invasive procedures.

Natural Forces within us are the true healers of disease Hippocrates, 4thc BC

What’s the first step? Stillness.

Whether you want to call it meditation, mindfulness, breathe work, prayer or just quiet time without any distractions, that’s the place to start.

Silence is something more than just a pause; it is that enchanted place where space is cleared and time is stayed and the horizon itself expands. Pico Iyer

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for medical counseling. Intentional Health and DIY Health & Wellness does not treat, prevent, cure, or diagnose any disease or ailment.

A is for Asheville & Art

October 30, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

Now, you might be wondering what in the world Asheville, North Carolina and maybe even Art have to do with Health & Wellness. Well, think again.

Western North Carolina is breathtakingly beautiful. The air is clean; the food is spectacular and the art and music communities are bustling.

Asheville is the largest city in western North Carolina. It was founded in 1784 and prospered until the Depression. The city and its amazing Art Deco architecture remained virtually unchanged from 1930-1980.

When most people think of Asheville NC, they think of another era and the Biltmore Estate and it’s opulence and materialism and, yes, beauty built by a single visionary named George Washington Vanderbilt II.

But the Asheville of 2013 is a town full of many creative visionaries.

“A visionary sees what is and sees through what is to what could be”

Eric Weiner in his 2008 The Geography of Bliss wrote, “it is big enough to have a thriving art scene and choice of restaurants, yet not so big it is burdened with big city problems.” Some think it’s the happiest city in the U.S.

It has a Sustainability Master Plan with a focus on a “green” economy and becoming self sufficient food wise. There are dozens of farm markets and “farm to table” restaurants. They even have a “Five Day Weekend Movement” (less stress, more fun) and support the Strive Not to Drive movement. Add 4,000 artisans and craftsmen, many of whom are multigenerational, and the River Arts District along the French Broad River. Add gorgeous natural surroundings and a relatively mild climate (think not too hot, not too cold, just right, as well as little snow though very close to a number of ski resorts).

Someone described it as a city of southern civility & spiritual tolerance; to some that may sound like an oxymoron, but it really is a happy and peaceful place.

The takeaway message here, even if you can’t live in Asheville, NC, is that we can all find ways to soothe our souls, to manage our stress and live a happier life by surrounding ourselves with beauty, good food , creativity and art.

ABC it’s as Easy as 123

August 10, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

A is for Avocado. Avocados are not just for guacamole; they are a super food and delicious. They have the “good” fats, the ones your body needs in order to absorb and use the fat soluable vitamins A, D, E & K. They have protein, fiber, B vitamins, antioxidants and more potassium than a banana. Studies show they are anti-inflammatory and promote heart health. Dr. Susan Blum, MD., author of The Immune System Recovery Plan believes than ¼-½ of an avocado per day will balance your cortisol levels (think stress) and relieve adrenal fatigue.

B is for Basil. Basil is so much more than just a seasoning herb that is native to India and tropical Asia. Basil’s flavonoids protect cell structures. It is a good source of vitamin A and magnesium. It is anti-inflammatory; it’s volatile oils have been shown to inhibit the COX enzyme, the same mechanism as anti-inflammatories NSAIDs such as Aleve and Motrin.

C is for Cantaloupe. All orange flesh melons are excellent sources of vitamins C & A and good sources of potassium, many B vitamins, vitamin K, magnesium and fiber. One study showed lower c-reactive protein (CRP) levels in those who ate more cantaloupe and CRP is the best marker of inflammation levels in your body.

I wish we had an Avocado tree as my daughter does in southern California but no such luck for us east coasters. However, Avocados are readily available wherever you live and the bonus is that the rough skin that gives it the nick name Alligator Pear means you don’t have to buy it organically (it’s not on the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Dirty Dozen List).

You really have no excuse for not growing your own Basil. It will easily grow year round on a window sill.

Its Cantaloupe season in the mid-Atlantic and as I try to eat locally, seasonally and organically as much as possible I’ll eat as many DelMarVa melons as I can this month.

ABC it’s as easy as 123 Smoothie

¼- ½ Avocado 2-5 leaves Basil 1 ½ cups cubed frozen Cantaloupe 1-3 Tbs honey Juice of 1 lime ¼-½ cup coconut water or water ½ cup ice cubes

1. Partially thaw Cantaloupe and add to blender

2. Add remaining ingredients to blender, starting with 2 leaves Basil

3. Add more Basil, ice, water depending on your taste and desired consistency

Refreshing, Thirst Quenching, Nutritious & Delicious – this is what DIY Health & Wellness is all about.

As a Matter of Fat…..Saturated Fat is not a Bad Word

June 30, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

Not too long ago we were told all fats are bad. Now we are being told that saturated fat is bad and unsaturated is good but to decrease our overall fat intake.

Think again. We need fat in our diets.

Fat 101 – there are two types of fat: Saturated Fat (solid at room temperature), think dairy, butter, meat and some oils such as coconut and Unsaturated (liquid at room temperature), think vegetable oils such as olive, canola, safflower, soybean, corn). However, don’t think for one minute that corn and soybean oil and even canola oil are “good” for you.

Saturated fat is actually good for you. The production of all hormones including the sex hormones progesterone and testosterone requires saturated fat. A study from Harvard’s School of Public Health showed that eating a low fat diet contributes to infertility and that eating full fat dairy may increase your chances of getting pregnant.

There are numerous studies supporting the importance of saturated fat. Saturated fat helps balance your body temperature and insulates and protects your organs. If you are usually cold, you may just have too little fat in your diet.

Saturated fat in your diet benefits your liver in several ways. It helps your liver empty its fat. Seems contradictory but in fact, the fat in your liver contributes to your belly fat. Saturated fat is more satisfying and helps with satiety. In addition, saturated fat protects the liver from toxins such as alcohol and medications (think Tylenol toxicity).

Your brain is mostly fat and cholesterol and most of that fat is saturated. You need saturated fat to keep your memory sharp, your energy up.

Saturated fat also keeps your skin and arteries lubricated and your nerves firing on all cylinders.

You need good/quality fat in your diet and in a balanced amount.

Today most “experts” believe 7.5% of your daily calorie intake should be saturated fat and 22.5% should be unsaturated fat for a total of 30%. If you are eating a 2000 calorie per day diet, this means you can have 17 grams (150 calories) of saturated fat each day. What does that mean to you? 1 tablespoon of olive oil is 2 grams, a whole avocado is maybe 2 grams, a cup of plain whole milk yogurt is 5 grams.

But some experts believe we should consume more fats because we are consuming too many grains and sugars. Too little fat is just as bad as too much fat. I don’t worry too much about the ratio I get no fat from processed foods.

The bad guy is trans fat which is in processed food to extend shelf life and to make it feel less greasy! Yuck.

Like a household budget for groceries or clothes, have a fat budget of 30% or even 40% but always pick good quality foods to spend it on. Wild Salmon, Grass Fed Beef, Raw Goat & Sheep Cheeses, Chocolate with 75% Cacoa, Pastured Butter.

As Dr. Andrew Weil put it, be a fat snob.

As a Matter of Fat……

June 28, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

As a matter of fact, not all fats are created equal so you should have no beef with beef.

Grass Fed Beef aka Pastured Beef (as well as pastured butter, dairy and eggs) are terrific sources of B-12, choline and inositol and Omega 3’s.

So what?

B12 – think improved alertness, mood, memory and less fatigue and stress.

Choline & Inositol – think about moving that fat and cholesterol from your liver and regulating neurotransmitters like acetylcholine and serotonin which regulate your muscles and your mood

Pastured foods have the desired ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids, unlike corn or grain fed.

As you know, Omega 3’s are essential for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases, cancers, heart disease, high blood pressure and achy joints. What I didn’t know is that there is also a correlation between the ratio of these two fatty acids and health issues such as asthma, dyslexia, hyperactivity and violence!

Your body can’t make essential fatty acids; you get them from the food you eat.

Omega 3’s calm the fire; too many Omega 6’s fuel the fire.

Snack foods, fried foods and margarine are all loaded with Omega 6’s and some say when they’ve been on a snack/junk food binge their joints hurt worse than usual.

It’s easy to consume too many Omega 6’s (think corn oil and soybean oil which is in everything) and harder to consume enough Omega 3’s these days. It is estimated that our ancestors ate a ratio of 1:1. These days 3:1 would be considered great but those eating the typical Standard American Diet are eating a ratio between 15:1 and 20:1. Grass fed beef is 1.53:1 vs 7.65:1 for grain fed and pastured eggs are 1.5:1 vs 20:1 for those poor caged hens! No wonder some doctors have told heart patients to cut back or eliminate eggs and beef. Too bad they don’t know enough to know the difference between REAL beef and eggs and stuff sold to most Americans. This really is SAD on so many levels.

You are what you eat. You consume what an animal consumes. Pastured animals consume greens vs. sugars. Grass fed has fewer calories and less fat. Another consideration is how the animals are treated. If you were trapped in a feedlot vs roaming the fields, don’t you think you’d produce a few stress hormones which affect both taste and tenderness.

Grass Fed Beef is a Health Food

Food As Medicine

June 27, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

Even though Hippocrates said, Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food, 2500 years ago, “modern” medicine has been slow to acknowledge the relationship between what you eat and what diseases you get.

Talk about ignoring one of the most basic of the universal laws: Cause & Effect.

Every cause has an effect; every effect has a cause.

Finally, after decades of research and study, the “experts” agree bad food and good food grown in bad soil (or with sin-thetic means) affect our health.

People, this is not rocket science; this is common sense.

Put sugar in your gas tank and your motor gunks up and your car doesn’t run.

Author Barry Sears, PhD. wrote, Food is far more important than just something you eat for pleasure or to appease your hunger. Rather it is a potent drug that you’ll take at least three times a day for the rest of your life. When food is broken down in to its basic components (glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids) and sent into the bloodstream, it has a more powerful impact on your body and your health than any drug your doctor could ever prescribe.

I’m not going to tell what you what to eat and what not to eat (well maybe a little bit). Use your common sense, not mine, but consider the 80/20 Rule.

Eat mostly what’s good for you and very little of what’s not.

The Pareto Principle, commonly called the 80/20 rule, was named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who noted in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the people. It is now commonly used in business/time management (80% of work is done by 20% of the people) but it certainly applies to what you eat as well.

Most effects (diseases) have a small number of causes (bad food).

Try, 80% real/20% processed; 80% alkaline/20% acidic, etc.

We may find in the long fun that tinned food is a deadlier weapon than the machine gun. George Orwell (1903-1950)

CHEAP & EASY MEDICINE

June 27, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

No, this is not a cheap way to buy toxic, man-made pharmaceuticals that may help your symptoms, but certainly won’t cure you……

What is Medicine? It’s quite interesting when you start looking at definitions. In fact, it is a synonym for pharmaceutical and the “modern” definitions include “a drug or remedy for use in treating, preventing or alleviating the symptoms of disease”.

I am, however, partial to the older definitions including “the art and science of dealing with the maintenance of health” or “the art or science of restoring or preserving health”.

In fact, the roots of the word medicine are old French from Latin, medicina, the art of healing and mederi, to heal.

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease. Voltaire (French writer, 1694-1778)

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine. Lord Byron (British poet, 1788-1824)

Breathe Right, Sleep Tight, Eat Right & Light, Meditate, Laugh Out Loud, Spend Time Outside………DIY Health & Wellness…..

Lost Your Keys? Find Omega 3’s

June 16, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

Omega 3’s are necessary no matter what your age and are critical to so many functions from mental & brain health to heart health.

These good fats, known as essential fatty acids, keep your brain younger and sharp and reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s. They’re not just good for your brain but also lower your risk for arthritis, heart disease and type II diabetes.

They are called essential fatty acids because your body can not make them. You get them from food (or supplements).

What are Omega 3’s? They are a group of poly unsaturated fats found in flax seed, algae, plants and fish.

Did you know that your brain is about 2/3 fat, most of which is the omega-3, DHA? To maintain that level of fat however, you need to consume the foods that contain them.

Omega-3’s improve that transmission of signals to, from and in the brain – a clear channel – meaning your memory is better, recall is easier.

Good fats = healthy cell membranes in the brain and throughout the body.

Studies from the University of Sheffield in England and others have shown a connection between low Omega 3 levels and depression and low levels of serotonin.

Omega 3 fats have been shown to change neurotransmitters, increasing levels of both serotonin and dopamine.

Omega 3’s are critical to brain health no matter how old you are.

Kids – emotional, visual, cognitive and nervous system development, improved reading ability and increased attention span.

Adults – attention, focus, memory, heart, joints, skin, nails, vision

Seniors – slows age related memory loss, eyes, vision, skin, heart but most importantly prevents brain shrinkage (think Alzheimer’s)

While it is always best to get your nutrition from food, it is not always that easy especially when it comes to Omega 3’s.

Prior to World War II, we ate more vegetables, wild meats and wild fish. In addition, all meats used to be abundant in Omega 3’s because they were grass fed. CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations) beef, which is where almost ALL store bought beef comes from, is all grain fed and devoid of Omega 3’s.

If you ever needed a good reason to buy grass fed beef and pastured butter, this is an incredibly delicious way to get your Omega 3’s.

Please don’t think the farm raised salmon from your neighborhood box store will do the trick. Think wild caught ONLY.

If you are a vegetarian, vegan or don’t have access to pastured beef, you do have options including walnuts, flax seeds and an array of supplements.

More to come on this Miracle Fat.

Baby, You Can (‘t) Drive My Car

June 3, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

The average car has 30,000 parts, requires a certain kind of fuel to run efficiently and preventive maintenance (oil change, tire rotation, engine tune up, etc.) at regular intervals to avoid major breakdowns and to ensure the engine runs well as long as you want it to. Don’t like the car, want a bigger, faster model, trade it in but take good care of it, keep that engine tuned and it will serve you well for a very long time.

You can neglect the outside but take care of the inside and your car will still get you where you want to go but if you only wash, polish and buff and neglect to do the inside work, well, that baby will not see much action.

Your body has 300-350 bones, 640 muscles, 214 nerves (bundles comprised of 100 billion neurons), 78-100 trillion cells.

Think of those cells as little engines, also requiring the right fuel to run efficiently. Our fuel is the food we consume. You wouldn’t consider putting diesel into a car that requires premium; you’d probably kill it. You know putting regular into a car that requires premium will still let it run but it may sputter, smoke and jerk

So why do we treat our cars better than our bodies?

Why do we spend so much time on the body work and not enough, or any for that matter, on the inner work?

Don’t make decisions from fear, make them from knowledge. You need to be part of the process; you need to do the work.

DIY Health & Wellness is the only way to get where you want to go.

Don’t give your car keys to just anyone.

Enough of the car analogies for now…….

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