News from the Center for Allergy & Injury Repair

With the seasonal change to Fall having officially occurred on our calendars the temperature changes are lagging behind, as has been the case most of this year. Moving from the dry Summer months into expected wet Fall and Winter I had the gutters around my house cleaned in an effort to protect it. This is the season to have your personal gutters cleaned as well.

Seasonal Clearing.

If you have had Meridian therapy at my office in recent times or years past you will know the importance of keeping the meridian channels clear from blockages. A simple meridian clearing and balancing is important to feeling your best during the upcoming cold and flu season and Holiday’s that include a healthy dosage of STRESS!

Thank You.

Thanks to all the well wishers that knew about my annual chronological marker! I turned 60 this month and will officially only recognize birthdays in decades from here on out. A wonderful surprise I got from my kids was the announcement that my older son and wife are expecting their second child. That will bring our total of grand children to 12 in 2012!

Food Dudes.

Speaking of kids, one of the constant complaints I hear from many of my patients is that they can’t get their kids to eat healthy. Well, I just read in a national news article from the Deseret News that a psychology professor at Bangor University in North Wales, England has created a program for kids to eat and like fruits and vegetables. The program is called Food Dudes and is geared for kids from 6 to 11 years old. It gets kids to try fruits and vegetables and then become a peer group seen eating and liking the food. After about a year into the program the consumption among English kids jumped as high as 90 percent. A pilot program is starting in the U.S. to see if our kids will take to the healthy stuff like their English counterparts.
Of course, you don’t have to wait for the results of programs and tests to see the results of eating healthy. It can be almost immediate. Proverbs says train up a child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it. I saw the beginnings of that with the recent family gathering we had. With all my ten grand children enjoying food and “goodies” customary at a birthday gathering an interesting thing happened. One of my grand son’s has been carefully raised to avoid sugars and hollow carbs from processed food. When he got hungry he went over to our fruit bowl and grabbed a small apple and began to eat it. He is two and a half. When the other older grand kids saw him eating the apple they all wanted one too! It is amazing how much an example can play in how and what we eat.

Dinner Time can Prevent Drug Abuse in teens.

In another article I read about food and its effect on our lives told about a study done at the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. The Chairman of the center Joseph A. Califano, Jr. stated, “Parental engagement fostered around the dinner table is one of the most potent tools to help parents raise healthy, drug-free children.” The research is showing that compared with teens who have frequent dinners with family, defined as five to seven times a week, and those who have dinner with family fewer than three times a week are almost four times more likely to smoke and twice as likely to use alcohol. They are also two and a half times more likely to use marijuana and four times a likely to say they expect to use drugs in the future.
Califano wrote, “When asked about the best part of family dinners, the most frequent answer from teens is the sharing, talking and interacting with family members; the second-most frequent answer is sitting down or being together.” So, if you have kids still at home make sure you spend time with them and an great place is around food, whether it is at breakfast, dinner or what ever fits your schedule, eat healthy food and get talking.

Have a great Fall and get prepared for the Holiday season by doing your part to keep healthy and keep your gutters clean.

Healthfully yours,

Dr. Tim

Great American Smokeout 2009; Quit smoking for your health’s sake

As another “smokeout” campaign begins thousands will attempt or re-attempt to quit smoking. One of the most addicting habits and costly to our health, smoking tobacco in any form has no redeeming health values at all.

According to the US National Center for Health Statistics over two million deaths occur each year with over 62% directly attributed to tobacco use and smoking. According to the American Cancer Society cigarettes kill more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide and illegal drugs combined. In terms of life expectancy smoking decreases a person’s life by nearly 7 years.

So what is the best way to quit? Natural health providers have used hypnosis, herbs and cleansing programs, acupuncture to help people stop smoking. Clinical experience will tell that the success of any behavioral modification program is always dependant on the sincere desire of the individual to want to accomplish a change. One of the most unique programs is described as follows; these steps must be done without exception.

1. It is OK to smoke! That surprises most “quitters however, you must do the following steps exactly.
2. When smoking change the brand to a non-filtered cigarette brand that you are not familiar with.
3. Do not carry the cigarettes on your person. The cigarettes must be stored in the trunk of your car or someplace you are not use to.
4. Smoking is to be done outside only. In California that should be common place. The place must not be covered except for an umbrella in wet weather.
5. When smoking hold the cigarette with both hands.

So what are you waiting for, go ahead and find a way to quit and stick to it your lungs will thank you. If you want additional information about ways to quit smoking go to quitsmokingsupport.com.

Research shows gratitude is not just a nice thing to express but may improve your health too.

Studies show that expressing and practicing gratitude leaves people feeling joyful, strong and with more energy. This virtue which seems to be practiced more as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday is something that may be good for our health all year round.

How to reap the benefits of gratitude if it’s not a usual trait? Count your blessings, says Michael McCullough at University of Miami and Robert Emmons at University of California, Davis. Both psychology professors have collaborated in a study that shows gratitude is not only an inborn train, but also a state, which can be changed and even cultivated.

“Count your blessings” was a 10 week study where participants were asked each week to list things they were thankful for, another group was to list things that were a hassle and a third group was to write down neutral events. The results showed the people who kept gratitude journals not only felt better about their lives as a whole, they also exercised more regularly and had fewer physical symptoms like headaches, stomach upset and muscle stiffness.

In another study by McCullough and Emmons they discovered that an intensity effect could be achieved from the previous study by recording positive and grateful things every day. People who participated in this study where shown to feel significantly more energetic, joyful and strong.

Other researchers have made a life’s work out of quantifying what is taught in most religious institutions as basic ethics to live by. Stephen G. Post Director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics in the School of Medicine, Stony Brook University (SUNY) said, “At a time when there are synthetic compounds that tap into the same brain chemistry that giving does, it may seem that we are perhaps substituting happiness pills for the happiness that flows from pro-social opportunities. The convergence of evidence is striking in support of the hypothesis that benevolent emotions, attitudes and actions centered on the good of others are contributory to happiness, health, and even longevity in the agent of such giving. Benevolence is chiefly about the well-being of recipients, but that said, it can be added that it nourishes the giver as well.”

Saying Thank You is one way to express Gratitude

Research finds herbs can fight disease not just season food

The concept of using herbs not just as seasonings on food, but also to help promote health and prevent disease, has become more popular in recent years. It is even in the national discussion about health care reform in the US which indicates what was a fringe element has now become more mainstream.

Large grocery chains in the Sacramento area like Raley’s and Safeway have significant sections devoted to “natural” or organic foods and supplies. Specialty health food stores in the area like Elliott’s, Sunrise and Sunshine Natural foods have carried a variety of herbs and supplements for years. GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe are chain stores near or in the major mall shopping centers that carry a full array of herbal supplements.

“Customers commonly enter a store looking for an herbal remedy for a given problem,” said Dr. Kyle Christensen a Chiropractor, Master Herbalist and owner of Western Botanicals. “It is important to understand the mindset of this behavior: People are looking for an herbal supplement to function like a pharmaceutical medication,” Christensen said from Utah where his wholesale herbal business moved a few years ago. According to Dr. Christensen this has spawned new words to describe the use as ‘herbal medicine and nutraceuticals.’
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Dr. Christensen commented that we often make a critically wrong assumption when using either pharmaceuticals or herbs that are pitched as drug replacements: It goes something like this: “If I take this drug or herb, it will negate the poor dietary habits that almost certainly caused my health condition in the first place.” No medication or herb can do that, particularly if you don’t change your dietary habits.

According to recent research at several US universities chronic inflammation functions as the fuel that lights the fire to some disease development and progression. These studies show numerous inflammatory signaling molecules play a role in promoting disease activity, one of which is called nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-kB). Many conditions are known to be promoted by NF-kB, including arthritis, allergies, multiple sclerosis, obesity, atherosclerosis, heart attacks, cancer, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

Herbs such as ginger, garlic and turmeric are known to reduce the activity of NF-kB, which suggests they are useful in preventing and treating multiple diseases. Research supports this use of herbs. Ginger, turmeric, boswellia, and garlic are some of the most commonly supplemented herbs, and a strong body of research evidence demonstrates their anti-inflammatory abilities. They can be taken every day in a food source or in supplements.

What the research seems to be saying is the overall goal should be to create a solid anti-inflammatory foundation with proper diet and herbal support. It seems important according to the research to embrace this foundation as the approach to disease prevention and health improvement.

herbs in the natural form are great to enliven food

Local Organic Farms make it easy to eat well

Local Farmers markets provide fresh produce and several organic crops that can be delivered directly to your home.

Most local super markets now offer large sections of “organic” food usually in the fresh produce departments. Even Safeway has found success in its Organic brands of several traditional foods that now can be found in most sections of the food ales.

To be classified “Organic”, foods are grown or raised (meat and dairy) in an environment free from anything artificial including chemical fertilizers, pesticides, weed killers, drugs, antibiotics and hormones. Organic food is produced in a manner that helps retain powerful nutritive value and avoids unnecessary exposure to potential toxins.

One of the easiest ways to purchase organic food is locally from farmer’s markets, family farms and food co-ops, many of which use organic production methods. One of the longest and most successful is held in the Sunrise Mall south parking lot every Saturday morning. If you like the idea of consuming an apple grown down the street, picked at the peak of its ripeness without post-harvest pesticides, and that didn’t travel thousands of miles from another country (which may or may not have appropriate pesticide regulations), then a farmer’s market, farm or co-op is an excellent resource.

Home delivery is another great source of organic foods that has been developed near here in the Capay Valley. Farm Fresh to You farms have a unique program of home delivery through out the Sacramento area. These flexible plans bring fresh fruits and vegetables delivered to your home or business as frequently as you want in prices that meet most household budgets.

There is probably no better way to gain access to the healthy organic foods your body craves most than by growing them yourself. More and more people are getting on the home-gardening bandwagon as food, fuel and energy costs continue to rise. Home gardening, especially organic gardening, can be a great help in avoiding the consumption of manufactured foods and offset some of the cost concerns with organic produce. The City of Citrus Heights has begun a large community co-op gardening program just this year at the corner of Sylvan & Stock Ranch Road.

To learn more about the health benefits of organic foods, visit the Organic Consumers Association Web site.

Emotional aspects of health

Great relationships are an important part to total health

Health is more than the absence of disease; it encompasses all aspects of life that are good and uplifting to you and those around you.  Health philosophies around the world have various aspects that all life is part of and derives vitality from elements in our physical universe.

  In traditional Asian philosophy there are five elements Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood.  In India where all holistic health care is said to have derived, Ayurvedic traditions also has five elements but they are expressed as Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth.  Keeping a balance in all these elements is how we maintain optimal health in the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives.

In Meridian Therapy (a part of the Asian traditions) as I have practiced it for many years, there are two factors in keeping these elements balanced, our environment and our emotions.  Because our bodies are essentially a processing plant, we take in air, water and food that our body digests and assimilates the nutrients then eliminates the waste.  It does the same thing with the electrical energy (chi) that is produced from the air,

The energy in the body (Chi) permeates all tissues and is life to the cells

water and food.  Our body generates Chi that flows along the Meridian pathways as seen on acupuncture charts and then eventually is eliminated down through the legs and feet and back into the ground to recycle back into the environment.  So, as David Caradine learned from his master in the TV series Kung Fu, “you are one with the Universe Grasshopper.”

The two things that throw off these elements have to do with the environment and emotions’, so keeping them in balance is the key.  Environmental elements that you have direct control over deals with what you put into and on your body.  Some of those things were pointed out in another article dealing with Anti-oxidants and aging.  In the remainder of this article let’s take a look at the emotional aspects of balancing these elements and how it can affect our health.

The key emotions that throw the five elements off balance are;

1. Grief & Guilt
2. Worry & Pensiveness
3. Anger
4. Fear

As with the environmental issues each of these emotional aspects has specific symptoms that arise when they are off balance.  That help’s to identify which emotion is the cause for the imbalance you may be experiencing.

Grief & Guilt are associated with the Lung and Large intestine meridian in Traditional Oriental Medicine.  The classic symptoms would be Sinus headache and congestion, constipation or diarrhea, upper extremity pain, symptoms of the lower bowel, skin conditions, and head and neck symptoms.  Any respiratory symptoms e.g. asthma, emphysema, COPD, bronchitis coughs and colds.  Dermatological syndromes e.g. eczema, acne, psoriasis, dry skin.

Worry & Pensiveness are associated with the Spleen meridian dealing with Female and/or male pelvic dysfunction including sexual dysfunction, infertility, hormonal involvement, menopausal/menstrual dysfunction.  Blood formation, anemia, hyper/hypo glycemia, pancreatic dysfunction, immune function, lack of energy, gastro-intestinal syndromes, reflux disorders, heaviness in the legs, edema and lower extremity pain.

Anger is associated with the Liver meridian which has symptoms related to muscle spasms, cramps, ligament/tendon dysfunction throughout the body.  Fibromyalgia syndrome, any eye symptomatology and vision disorders, neurologic syndromes, allergy and histamine responses, immune system disorders and migraine headaches.

 Fear has two meridians associated with it the Kidney and Bladder meridian.  Symptoms associated with this emotion are kidney or bladder dysfunctions, renal diseases, symptoms affecting the osseous system osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, lower back pain or general and severe pain, bed wetting, prostate, uterus, ovary disorders, sciatica.  Conditions affecting the ears, hearing disorders, vertigo and equilibrium problems.  It is associated with coldness in the body and can affect scalp hair.

These lists are not comprehensive but they do give you some idea of the magnitude that our emotions can play on our overall health.  For a more comprehensive list of associated symptoms, call or stop by the office and I can provide it for you.

One way to treat these symptoms if an emotional component is present is through the Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT.

It is based on the meridian system and stimulating various acupoints with a finger tapping along a specific sequence.  I have used it with a few patients and find validity to what this technique proposes.  You can go to the EFT web site and download for free a manual on how it is self administered and even watch some video clips on various conditions that respond to EFT.  Try it and have fun experimenting with balancing your emotions to eliminate related symptoms.

“To sleep, perchance to dream?”

William Shakespeare isn’t the only one to espouse the benefits of adequate sleep. The question remains, however: How much is enough? Certainly, not enough sleep can be detrimental to your health, but can you also suffer health risks from catching too many zzz’s?

Daniel Kripke, co-director of research at the Scripps Clinic Sleep Center in La Jolla, Calif., compared death rates among more than 1 million American adults who, as part of a study on cancer prevention, reported their average nightly sleep totals. He recently discussed the results of his findings in an interview with Time magazine.

According to Kripke, “Studies show people who sleep between 6.5 hr. and 7.5 hours a night, as they report, live the longest. And people who sleep 8 hours or more, or less than 6.5 hours don’t live quite as long. There is just as much risk associated with sleeping too long as with sleeping too short. The big surprise is that long sleep seems to start at 8 hours. Sleeping 8.5 hours might really be a little worse than sleeping 5 hours.”

He added that risks for various illnesses, such as depression, obesity, heart disease and diabetes increase both with not enough and too much sleep. “Morbidity [or sickness] is also u-shaped, in the sense that both very short sleep and very long sleep are associated with many illnesses.”

Finally, getting out of bed when you’re not sleepy and restricting your time in bed actually helps you to sleep more. Kripke noted this helps people get over their fear of the bed. “Spending less time in bed actually makes you sleep better. It is, in fact, a more powerful and effective long-term treatment for insomnia than sleeping pills.”

The motto here at CAIR is “eat right, get plenty of rest & breath deep!”  Seems like good advice when you read the research.

kids, turn off the TV, put down the video game controls and get into health!

Does your child seem to spend the entire day in front of the TV, on the computer or playing video games? Here’s an important reason why you should encourage them to get up and get moving.

An article in the March 2008 issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that turning off the TV and the computer helps young children improve their health. A group of 70 overweight children ages 4 to 7 were placed into one of two groups. One group (the intervention group) used an automatic monitoring device placed on the family TV and computer to keep track of time in use, along with an intervention program to reward children for reducing TV and computer use. The other group (the control group) had no such device or intervention.

Results after 24 months were quite amazing. Children in the intervention group reduced their television viewing by 17.5 hours per week, as compared to only 5.2 hours for the control group. More importantly, the intervention group also reduced its body mass index (BMI), while the control group’s BMI increased. Members of the intervention group also significantly reduced overall food intake compared to the control group. The researchers concluded, “Reducing television viewing and computer use may have an important role in preventing obesity and in lowering BMI in young children.”

So, what does this mean for you and your kids? Fighting the war against obesity is as simple as getting your kids off the couch and away from that computer or TV screen (and the endless array of snacks kids usually keep on hand). Spend more time doing healthy family activities – whether it’s walking the dog, playing Frisbee in the park – and your children will be on their way to a healthier lifestyle. Now that’s something worth watching.

How you deal with stress will determine your overall health

Stress affects nearly everyone, but some people handle it better than others. And the simple truth is the people who are good at dealing with stress live healthier and happier lives compared to people who struggle with stress. The good news is if you are one of the many people who get caught up in life’s sticky web of stress; you can get untangled and stay untangled. Keep these tips in mind the next time you’re feeling the pressure:

* Stay clear of the drama. As Rudyard Kipling writes in his poem “If,” if you can “keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,” you’ll be able to keep your cool under pressure and tackle your challenges much more effectively.

* Lighten up! Many of the things you worry about won’t occur, and worrying cannot help those problems that invariably do take place.

* Say or do the opposite of what you are feeling. When someone or something pushes your hot buttons, you may feel justified to react with anger, but this negative reaction only brings more stress to the situation.

* Override your pride. Think of a time in your life when you insisted that you were right and another person was wrong. Did this really bring you more happiness, or did it just create more stress for both of you?

* Appreciate life’s little detours. Each time you have to pick yourself up to get back on track, you learn important lessons and develop new skills that will help you in life.

Stress in many forms is common in society, and it’s a problem because it can rob you of your health, happiness and potential for greater success. Talk to your doctor about ways to minimize stress and escape the stress web for good.

Old school fitness; kettle bells 101

Flip through the television channels on an average day, especially first thing in the morning or late at night, and you’ll see the latest, “greatest” fitness routines, techniques and tools designed to sculpt your body. Do they work any better than the “old-school” methods people have been using successfully for generations? Here’s a time-tested fitness strategy that’s been around for centuries and remains popular today among exercise enthusiasts looking for simple, effective ways to get in shape: kettlebells.

A kettlebell or girya is a traditional Russian cast iron weight that looks like a cannonball with a handle. Picture a bowling ball with a handle on it. You can do standard weight training exercises with kettlebells: bench presses, military presses, rows and squats. However, the unique value of kettlebells is derived from ballistic (fast exercise) work: snatches, swings, cleans and jerks. Consistent kettlebell exercises can be used to improve physical appearance, enhance cardiovascular health, decrease pain, prevent injury, reduce body fat, and increase lean muscle mass, strength, endurance, flexibility and performance.

Here is a short list of workout equipment the kettlebell can replace: barbells, dumbbells, belts for weighted pull-ups and dips, thick bars, lever bars, medicine balls, grip devices, and cardio equipment. Two or three different-size kettlebells are all you need. When you first start using kettlebells as a primary fitness tool, focus on exercises that provide the most bang for your buck. Break down a full-body workout into five categories: one pressing exercise, one pulling exercise, one exercise for the quads, one exercise for the hamstrings and one core exercise. This ensures that the entire body is getting a workout and prevents you from focusing too much on one area.

Using Kettle bell weights is easy to do and more comfortable to hold verses other free weights

 Remember, always talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise program, particularly if you have a pre-exisiting health condition.

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