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Health Points |
by William Hardman, D.TCM Member of the Acupuncture Association of BC 7907 Suncrest Drive, |
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#85 |
Foot Bath for a Headache |
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Relieve a migraine or headache.
Nature Cure Hydrotherapy, an old European tradition, is a great way to relax our feet. It can soothe anyone, but it has been found particularly helpful for people who suffer with migraines.
Most headaches are a result of throbbing, dilated blood vessels and the resultant nerve inflammation from the pressure created by the former. The warm water and mustard heating qualities of the Chamomile-Mustard footbath listed below will draw blood away from the head to the feet, and usually relieve headache pain in minutes.
Chamomile-Mustard Footbath
• Pour comfortably hot water into a basin.
• Add one teaspoon of freshly ground mustard seed for every gallon of warm water.
• Add three or four drops of chamomile oil for every half-gallon of water.
• Place a few fresh chamomile flowers in the basin and swoosh the water between your fingers to fully blend the mixture.
• Soak your feet in the water — with a thick towel over the basin (to retain the heat) for about 20 minutes.
• Take your feet out of the bowl, and with upward strokes, massage in a mixture of your favorite lotion infused with a few drops of chamomile oil.
If you are feeling tired after a particularly hard day, use a Lemon-Mint footbath to cool and invigorate your feet and relax your body at the same time.
Lemon-Mint Footbath
• Cover the bottom of a basin with flat, smooth stones.
• Fill the basin with lukewarm water.
• Add three or four drops of peppermint oil for every half-gallon of water, and then swirl your hand in the water to distribute the oil evenly.
• Slice one whole lemon and drop the slices into the water.
• Grab two handfuls of fresh peppermint or spearmint leaves, gently rub them together to release their natural oils, and add them to the bath.
• Slide your feet into the basin. Deeply breathe in the lemon-and-mint aroma while massaging your feet over the slippery stones for at least four minutes.
For more information on this or other Nature Cure techniques contact:
William Hardman R.Ac., D.TCM
www.aquila-acupuncture.com
1-800-813-1168
1. Oranges: Great tasting and rich in vitamin C, folic acid, and fibre. Navel variety is highest in Vita-C.
2. Whole-Grain Bread: It’s higher in fibre, regulates blood sugar, lowers blood cholesterol, and contains about a dozen vitamins and minerals more than enriched white bread or wheat bread.
3. Cantaloupe: A quarter of a delicious melon supplies as much vitamin A and C as most people need in an entire day. Melons are best eaten alone.
4. Broccoli: Tests show that it is a versatile cancer fighter, and it contains lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid.
5. Sweet Potatoes: A nutritional All-Star - one of the best vegetables you can eat. They’re loaded with vitamin A, carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium and fibre. Mix in unsweetened applesauce or crushed pineapple for extra moisture and sweetness\
6. Skim or 1% Milk: (but not 2%)
An excellent source of vitamins and protein, with little or no artery-clogging fat and cholesterol. Contrary to popular myth, dairy products are not a reliable source of calcium for humans.
7. Beans: Inexpensive, low in fat, and rich in protein, iron, folic acid, and fibre. Choose garbanzo, pinto, black, navy, kidney, or lentils. Eat them as a side dish or snack, in a tortilla with salsa, or in a soup.
8. Watermelon: Excellent source of vitamin C and carotenoids — and it tastes great! Perfect for a snack, dessert, or picnics.
9. Salmon or other fish: The omega-3 fats in fish, especially fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and rainbow trout, can reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks. A good vegetable source is Flax Seed Oil.
10. Spinach or Kale: Loaded with vitamin C, carotenoids, calcium, and fibre. Kale is 40% protein by volume. Most greens are more digestible if served with fresh lemon juice.
The reason fat men are good-natured is they can neither fight or run.
– Theodore Roosevelt
This article is a continuation in my series on our digestive system. The importance of what we eat is equal to what we avoid, and how we combine our foods can make an incredible difference to how we feel, how much energy we have, and how closely we can relate to the quip of Theodore Roosevelt.
Well fed does not necessarily mean well nourished, and how we eat what we eat is very important to ensure nourishment. If nutrients are unable to be absorbed into our blood stream, they might as well be on Mars as creating wear and tear on our digestive tract.
What is Food Combining? As defined in Harvey and Marilyn Diamond’s Fit For Life, a classic book on the subject, "Food Combining" is based on the discovery that certain combinations of food may be digested with greater ease and efficiency than others." In their book, circa 1985, they outline a complete program that is as effective as it is difficult to follow.
Nutrition: is a developing science that appears to parallel the increased complexities of our modern life style. Food quality was a factor that we took for granted.
Anthropologists have categorized our ancestors as grazers. In the days before taxes, we wandered about and fed upon whatever we found. The geography of our planet forced us to eat in a macrobiotic way, using those foods grown, harvested and stored locally and primarily on a seasonal basis. Although our Nomadic ways shattered this natural model as we wandered to all points of the compass, taking the seeds of our favorite foods with us, it would have been unusual for Homo sapiens to stumble across the nightmarish (pun intended) digestive conglomerate of the average smorgasbord buffet.
Although we are omnivorous by Nature, in that we eat foods of all kinds indiscriminately, we were neither designed for nor intended to develop eating patterns with such a rampant and increasing disregard for health. As Sir Francis Bacon observed, "Nature is to be commanded only by obeying her."
Digestive Physiology: In my article "Are We Really What We Eat?" (Issue #73) I gave a quick overview of how our digestive system works. A major key is in the role of our salivary glands. A protein food will activate acid based digestive enzymes required to break down protein and a carbohydrate will cause an alkaline to be secreted. Acid is neutralized by alkaline and the process of digestion stops. The protein putrefies and the carbohydrate ferments, and the nutrients ingested become toxic and useless to our metabolism. Flatulence, gas and indigestion occur and our body is in shock.
Fermentation: A basic result of fermentation is the production of alcohol in our digestive tract. Regardless of the source, it is up to the liver to process the alcohol, and the potential for liver damage exists without ever having an alcoholic drink.
Autotoxemia: Toxemia is a Natural Hygiene term used to describe metabolic imbalance. Its two basic sources are (i) the natural aspect of our metabolism as our body replaces old cells with new; and (ii) as a by-product of improper food combining and/or food preparation. Since toxins tend to be acidic and our body is supposed to have a more alkaline pH, we develop toxicosis or acidosis, and our health deteriorates due to autotoxemia. Prolonged autotoxemia is the birthplace of autoimmune disorders such as Bright’s disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus and the long list of debilitating degenerative diseases that are so common in our society.
Complex vs. Refined Carbohydrates: Complex Carbohydrates are the good guys and Refined Carbohydrates belong in a landfill without having passed through a human metabolism. Complex carbohydrates are starches and fibers in food like cereals, legumes, seeds, nuts, vegetables and tubers. They exist in these foods just as they are found in nature, having undergone minimal or no processing. These foods are important sources of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients we need for a healthy life.
The Refined carbohydrates have been stripped of most, if not all of their nutrients and by having some synthetic vitamins added can be labeled as "enriched." I really like Dr. Alan Somersal’s advice when he quipped "If it won’t rot, don’t eat it!"
Starches are an integral component of carbohydrates. Starches require prolonged enzymatic action in order to be broken down into simple sugars (glucose) for digestion. Our saliva tends to be alkaline and contains ptyalin, the enzyme required to digest starches. This important enzyme is absent at birth, and may contribute to food allergies if an infant is introduced to starches too young.
Fats: Overindulgence in fats has taken its toll on our health. We do need fats for our body to function properly. Reducing fats in our diet doesn’t mean eliminating them. To be safe, our consumption of calories from fat probably should be limited to 20 percent of our total intake. A quarter of these could be saturated. Expressed another way, if our daily caloric intake is 2,000, we could consume 400 calories of fat and only 100 of those ought to be saturated (animal fats). For example 1 tablespoon of olive oil weighing 13.5 gm is 119 calories of fat. The longer fat is cooked, the more difficult it is for the enzymes in our digestive system to break it down. Liquid fats are easier to digest because they haven’t been processed. If fat is solid, it has become saturated. Avoid hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. It gives them a longer shelf life but does nothing positive for our life expectancy.
Proteins: Protein is the most complex of all food elements, and its assimilation and utilization are also the most complicated. There are far too many variations in the data bank associated with proteins for me to attempt to set them all straight in this article. We have been programmed into the misconception that we don’t get enough protein. The truth is most of us get too much. In Gary Null’s The Complete Guide to Sensible Eating, he states that "Generally speaking, adults require .9 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight." Dr. Jim Whittam, Vice President of Shaklee Technical recommends consumption according to the RDI is 4 grams per 10 pounds of body weight. A 170 gm cup of cooked lima beans will provide 11.6 gm of protein and only .54 gm of fat. Some athletes may require a higher intake in a similar way to how our vehicles burn more fuel travelling uphill vs. down.
Flesh proteins, in addition to using a lot of energy to digest, create uric acid in our body and contributes to a raised pH. This enables toxemia, and is a major contributor to osteoporosis.
Complete Proteins contain the eight essential amino acids, which enable our body to synthesize the other 15 amino acids required for proper functioning of our metabolism. If you follow the table below, eat small portions to avoid overtaxing your digestive system.
Complimentary Proteins (to be used sparingly)
Because a diet loaded with high-fat animal protein increases our risk of heart disease, we have to choose low-fat varieties when we eat these protein sources. Did you know that the percentage of calories from Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates in Kale is 40%, 10% and 49% respectively? Bonus — that 10% fat is zero cholesterol and it is a complete protein.
The rules of food combining are soundly rooted in physiology. For the sincere health-seeker, scientific truth must always take precedence over ingrained personal habit and popular convention.
– Dr. Bruce Berkowsky, Ph.D., M.H.
What’s the problem? Natural combinations occur in virtually all foods, such as the Kale mentioned above. Prepared foods create the problem because they become concentrated. If we eat more than one concentrated food at a time, we create havoc.
Dr. Arthur Cason’s research in the forties clearly demonstrated that eating protein and carbohydrates at the same meal could retard and even prevent digestion. Multiple types of protein and carbohydrates in the same meal exacerbate the problem. Pizza anyone?
We want our food to pass through our digestive system in a minimum amount of time, with the least complication, providing optimum absorption of nutrients and optimum energy in the process.
Let’s consider our digestive system as a juggler for a moment. Most of us can toss a ball in the air and catch it. If we add a second ball, the degree of difficulty increases ad infinitum. Picture each concentrated food ingested at the same meal as an additional ball. If we drop/miss some of the balls it is no big deal — our digestive system takes more drastic action. Consider dropping a ball as a life-threatening situation and it helps us to understand the physiological stress we are placing on our bodies through negligent food combining.
We have to make sensible choices and occasionally avoid our urges for sensory gratification in the interests of long-term good health. If our present way of eating is working so well for us, why is colon cancer so common? A balance of 60% Carbohydrate, 20% protein and 20% fat in our diet will meet the sound dietary recommendations of most nutritionists. If we combine this ratio of ingredients properly, it will be completely digested. Problem resolved.
Is there an easy way?
Yes. Eat mono meals that consist of only one type of food. Now that was a resounding chorus of "Get real!" That is a valid suggestion but life isn’t that simple! Food combining will not deprive us and there is a definite risk in that we will have more energy and be revitalized. We will let go of excess weight and its associated toxicity in the process. We may even be able to avoid the reactive application of "mono" after the damage has been done.
O.K. lets look at some reality based suggestions. (Some sample foods in brackets)
All Proteins (single) (Avocado, beans, blue-green algae, Brewers yeast, dairy products, flesh foods, most nuts, olives, peanuts, peas, seeds and sprouts) can be combined with non-starch and green vegetables but not with fats.
Fats (Butter, coconut, cream, pecans and all vegetable oils) can be combined with starches but not with proteins.
Starch foods (Jerusalem artichokes, beans, beets, carrots, cauliflower, chestnuts, grains, parsnips, peanuts, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, winter squash and yams) combine best with non-starchy and green vegetables.
Non-Starchy & Green Vegetables (Asparagus, bok-choy, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, green beans, leafy greens, leeks, okra, turnip, onion family, parsley, radish, summer squash, sweet pepper and zucchini) can be eaten with either starch or protein foods but fruits and vegetables are not compatible.
Acid Fruits (Grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, pomegranate, sour plum and tomato) combine well with each other only with the exception of either cheese or nuts.
Sub-Acid Fruits (Fresh apples, apricot, berries, cherries, figs, grapes, mango, nectarines, papaya, peaches, pears and sweet plum) are best combined with each other or with sweet fruits but do not combine well with acid fruits.
Sweet Fruits (Banana, persimmon and all dried fruits) combine well with each other and moderately with sub-acid fruits.
Melons (Cantaloupe, Crenshaw melon, honeydew, Persian melon, watermelon, etc.) can be eaten in combination but do not combine melons with any other food.
Legumes (All dried beans and peas, miso, peanuts, tempeh and tofu) can be classified as a protein food and a starch food, which makes them relatively hard for us to digest and are best taken with non-starchy and green vegetables
Be creative and enjoy. We can use this information to enhance our health and with practice, we will be combining foods in a better way. There is no exact formula or recipe that we can all use to meet our requirements because we are all unique. If we listen to our body, it will tell us if our eating pattern is in harmony with our metabolism. If not, be careful in quiet times, we may expel notice that there’s weird things going on within.
Is it just me or does this new century seem determined to break all speed limits? In the near future, you will be able to contact me at www.aquila-acupuncture.com — a new development that I’m really excited about. Good Health, safe travels and may your Supreme Being bless you and yours.
More people have died from eating than ever starved to death! – Ben Franklin
In Part 1, we took a brief tour down the tube and had a simplified refresher of the main sections and components that make up our Gastrointestinal (GI) Tract. When I was younger, I was told that the only jobs that started at the top were digging postholes and outdoor toilets. After studying our anatomy, I think that eating can be added to the list. I know that healthy eating is a full-time occupation.
The Oral Cavity is the entrance. Some intregal parts of this cavity include our Salivary Glands, Teeth, and Tongue. Each of these plays an important role in our digestion.
The Salivary Glands secret saliva, which mixes with our food as we chew, and the digestive process is activated. Saliva pH will be either alkaline or acidic to match the food ingested. This action/mix triggers the proper digestive response in our stomach. If we combine too many varieties of foods in one meal, it isn’t rocket science to figure out that the result is chemical soup in the stomach. Our pH balance stops the digestive process, fermentation results and we start the process of autoimmune disorders in our body. Proper food combining is a whole subject by itself, and I’ll do a future article about it. If you want more information beforehand, a classic book on the subject is Fit for Life by Harvey & Marilyn Diamond.
Our Teeth are much more than just a grinding mechanism. It is basic science to realize that the smaller a particle is, the easier it is for our body to digest and absorb. The first and last phases of our eating pattern is usually marked by "baby food". In the 1950’s, Reinhold Voll, MD discovered that each tooth in the mouth relates to a specific Oriental Medicine meridian.
He noticed that if there were an infection of a particular tooth, there often would be dysfunction in the energetically associated organ. For example the lower molars are associated with the Lung and Large Intestine and our Liver/Gallbladder are connected to our lower canines. Add a couple of poor quality root canals and a mouthful of mercury amalgam restoration material and we have a recipe for disaster. If you have dentures, a look at your dental history may provide insight to your health or dis-ease patterns.
Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJ) can create a myriad of problems from a variety of causes. Symptoms may include pain, clicking, or grating sounds when the mouth opens, and difficulty opening the mouth very wide. It will often respond to treatment by Acupuncture, Chiropractic, and Craniosacral Therapy. A Dr. Price has observed that the increase of jaw developmental abnormalities in the last two hundred years can be linked to the increased intake of processed foods, especially sugar and flour.
Our Tongue is composed of interwoven bundles of skeletal muscles covered with mucous membrane and it forms the floor of our mouth. In Oriental Medicine, the Heart Meridian opens at the tongue and the Bladder, Kidney, Spleen and Triple Burner energy meridians are all involved. Its color, coating and physical landmarks can reveal many conditions to the trained observer, and is an intregal part of TCM diagnosis.
Our primary function of the tongue is recognition of the four specific tastes – sweet, salty, bitter and sour, with each taste being detected best in specific regions of the tongue. Salty and sweet taste receptor cells are located closer to the tip, with sour detected along each side; bitter sensors are located at the root. Our sense of taste and our sense of smell are very closely related and if our sense of smell is blocked by nasal mucosa congestion (common cold), we experience an inability to "taste" food. A lack of zinc in our system can often impair our sense of smell, and interfere with our enjoyment of our food. Eat one ounce of raw pumpkinseeds daily to help prevent a zinc deficiency.
One aspect of our memory is that we associate certain smells with pleasurable tastes. A tip of my hat to mom’s home cooking! The genetic engineers are using this factor in the development of neurotoxins, which, when ingested with our food, alter our DNA to make us crave certain foods when we are again exposed to the aroma wafting on the breeze. Personally, a sensitive sense of smell has always turned me away from "greasy spoons" rather than finding them attractive, so I think my DNA is still relatively intact.
I titled this Down the Hatch, and then ran out of space before we got past the hatch, so I will continue in Part III. The foods we eat are empirical to our state of health, and well fed does not always mean well nourished. It is alleged that Louis Pasteur, on his deathbed, confessed that the germ theory of disease is wrong. Neither bacteria nor a virus will thrive unless it has a fertile environment. A depressed immune system from lack of proper nutrients offers that fertile environment, in which germs can thrive.
Good Health, safe travels, and may your Supreme Being bless you and yours.
Most men hope that their lean years are behind them; women hope that theirs are ahead.
- Someone
I am writing this article in response to numerous phone calls and questions I have received as a result of information presented in past columns. If you already know your anatomy, it will be dry reading and you may want to skip the parts list for something more interesting. It is intended as an introduction to our vital Digestive System, the root of all good health and or dis-ease, depending on the choices we make.
The Gastrointestinal Tract/Alimentary Canal (a.k.a. the tube) is that mystical fuel line that provides us with one of the many essentials of life - a supply of nutrients to nourish our body, giving us the energy to perform. In its simplest form, it is referred to as the gut tube, and yet it is one of the most complex systems of our body. It is the latter aspect that creates the mystery.
The Temple of Our Spirit. All functions of the body, even thinking, require the expenditure of energy, which must be readily available and constantly replaced. Food provides carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins, water and roughage, which through the digestive system, are converted into the fuel needed.
Starting at the mouth, the digestive system forms a continuous tube through which the food is churned and moved. Along the way are the stations where chemicals produced by the body are added to help break the raw materials into basic molecular units. These little chemicals are enzymes and proteins that work on a lock and key principle. Without the key, the lock (nutrient) remains closed and unavailable to our metabolism.
One such station is the pancreas, whose secretions break down proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Another is the liver, which produces bile to aid in the digestion and absorption of fat. The gall bladder, a pear shaped sac, stores bile which emulsifies (dissolves) fats/lipids.
Some of the fuel units which result may be simple like sugar molecules, or complex like proteins. All are small enough to pass through the walls of the capillaries - primarily those lining the small intestine - and then to travel with blood and lymph fluid to the cells of the body. Most of the water is absorbed into the blood stream through the capillaries of the large intestine.
What’s in the Tube? The top opening or orifice is our mouth, containing the salivary glands (chemical station). Our pharynx is a handy little gadget that steers air - from our nose and/or mouth - down the airway or windpipe (trachea) and food deflects into our esophagus, which extends to our stomach. Is there anyone who hasn’t had the unpleasant experience of having something go down the wrong pipe?
Since most of us are lazy chewers and attempt to swallow things in relatively the same state as they entered our mouth, we require a combination of gravity and peristalsis (sequenced muscle contractions) to move food to our stomach. The esophagus passes through our diaphragm at the esophageal hiatus and enters our stomach via an opening called the cardiac orifice - a common trouble spot!
The stomach is an expanded portion of the alimentary canal, where rotting and ripening occur and the food is converted into chyme, a soupy mixture, that exits the stomach at the pyloric orifice, which is guarded by a sphincter, and enters the upper portion of our small intestine, a convolutes portion of the digestive tract that is usually about six metres in length. This exit into the small intestine occurs in a very specific order: carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
The first section of the small intestine, about 25 cm in length, is scientifically known as the duodenum. The common bile duct empties bile from the liver/gall bladder and digestive enzymes from the pancreas. The lower stomach area and the duodenum are common locations for ulcers, known respectively as gastric, peptic and/or duodenal ulcers.
The next 2.5 m or so of the small intestine is the jejunum. It is suspended in our abdominal cavity by a mesentery, which provides support for blood vessels, lymphatics and nerves as well as being a flexible attachment to the abdominal wall. Absorption of nutrients continues here and in there.
The large intestine, which is about 1.5 m long, extends from the ileocecal valve to the anus. It extends upwards, on our right side, from the cecum as the ascending colon and then flexures left as the transverse colon, makes another sharp flexure as the descending colon, turns midship as the Sigmoid colon and then flexes downward as the rectum, terminating as the anus. Although no significant digestion occurs in the large intestine, it is a major site of absorption of sodium, chloride and water. It is the potential location of several more digestive ailments including Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Diverticulosis & Diverticulitis as well as Anal Lesions and Hemorrhoids.
This article is Part One of a two and possibly three part series. I will focus on the natural approach to treatrment of Digestive Ailments in the next issue.
Seasons Greetings and may the new millennium be kind to all of the gentle creatures who inhabit and share our space on this planet. Good Health, safe travels, may your Supreme Being bless you and yours.
"We don’t inherit our land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children"
-Pennsylvania Dutch Saying
Where is science taking us?
It is human nature to resist change and as we rush toward the new millennium, I’m getting a bit nervous about our future. A T-shirt expressed it very well on behalf of the multiple endangered species on this planet by stating Extinction is Forever! Last time I checked, I was one of the species on the endangered list and that is not a comfortable feeling.
Adaptation in Biodiversity a.k.a. the survival of the fittest implies the accommodation of a living organism to its environment or acclimatization of an individual organism to a sudden change in environment. Other than at the movie theatre, have you seen any dinosaurs lately? Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) lived through the dawn of a new century in his time. He is credited as the founder of inductive reasoning and an astute student of nature. He is quoted as stating "The only way to control Nature is by obeying her." I agree whole-heartedly!
A recent news article released the results of a study about the costs of recycling and that it was costing us much more per tonne to recycle than to use a landfill. I’m sure that has many of our tax diligent politicians wondering if they can get away with canceling the Reduce - Reuse - Recycle efforts that have taken environmentally conscious people several decades to establish.
Perhaps the latest medical focus on Genomics is that magic silver bullet we have been dreaming about. Washington Post reporter Abigail Trafford explained the difference between genes and genomics "If genes were words, the genome would be a book" or the big picture. I don’t know about you but I thought the 100,000 genes in my body were a big enough picture to ponder. If geneticists were able to provide a definitive description of the function of each gene, I might be slightly more comfortable. Just because we can doesn’t necessarily mean it’s in the best interest of humanity or the planet.
The fact that Canada is a recognized leader in genetic engineering does not increase my Canadian pride.
Did you know that Australia and New Zealand has ordered the producers and distributors of food to label products containing genetically modified organisms, or GMO’s? The NZ Health Minister stated his government "is committed to ensuring food sold and available in New Zealand is safe for people to eat". A week prior the United States told Japan it would consider mandatory labeling of foods containing GMO’s an unfair barrier to trade ... what about health? Meanwhile botanists in St. Louis announced that their research had developed a GMO rice that was more nutritional than the natural staple. I wonder if they were comparing it to one of the nutrient depleted instant varieties, or organic long grain brown?
What color is an Orange?
Have you ever noticed it doesn’t matter if an orange is grown in Arizona, California or Florida that in the local supermarket they are all the same color? Could it be that a marketing study somewhere determined a certain shade of orange was associated with a healthy orange and then a lab mixed up a dye to match the certain shade, and voila - we have an unlimited source of a certain shade, regardless of where it was grown or what variety it might be? By the way, of the more common varieties, Navel oranges have more available Vitamin C, as do green apples.
Sustainable/Biological/Regenerative Farming by any other name ...
Northern Europe, lead by Austria, accounts for most of organic farming. Although only 0.03% of England’s land is dedicated to organics, Sir Albert Howard, a British agricultural scientist has been very influential in the development of organic farming in the US and England.
Go Organic and . . .
Support a true economy.
It is a case of supply and demand. As consumers, we need to create a demand, and as the demand increases so will the supply. Organic quality may seem more expensive but we have to realize that in conventional food prices we overlook the hidden costs of subsidies absorbed by taxpayers.
Prevent Soil Erosion
In North America topsoil is eroding seven times faster than it is being built up naturally. Soil is the foundation of the food chain in organic farming, and is treated with respect. Let’s give the environment a chance - it is our biosphere (life support system).
Promote Biodiversity.
The word is finally getting out. What mothers knew instinctively is being touted as the new standard of eating. Get your phytochemical nutrients by eating a rainbow diet of fresh fruits and vegetables. One problem with the picture is that those wonderful items are dependent on getting the minerals/nutrients from the soil, and mono-cropping has seriously depleted them. Even a raw novice in organic farming knows that rotational crops are essential to be successful.
Protect Water Quality
The pesticides, some of which are carcinogenic (cancer causing), pollute the primary source of drinking water. Without water we can expect a very short life span.
Avoid chemicals a la carte.
In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 60% of all herbicides, 90% of all fungicides and 30% of all insecticides are carcinogenic. One study demonstrated that it took less than 24 hours from the time potato greens were dusted until toxic levels were found in the tuber. In addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutation. Synergy or the interaction of chemicals is rarely tested.
Save Energy
Modern factory farming is one of the top consumers of fossil fuels, both on the farm, in the manufacturing of synthetic fertilizers, and long-haul transport. Organic produce tends to travel less distance from the producer to the consumer which also saves energy.
Help Small Farmers.
Most organic farms are still small and independently owned. Organic farming may be the only hope of survival for small family farms in the new millennium.
Protect Farm Worker Health
A U.S. study showed that farmers exposed to herbicides had a six times greater risk than non-farmers of developing cancer. In developing countries where pesticides are even less regulated than here, an estimated 1 million people are poisoned annually by pesticides. It is a well known fact that grocery store produce workers have to wear gloves to protect their skin from the residual pesticides on vegetables.
Taste the true flavor.
When is a tomato really a tomato? Juicy, sweet, refreshing and slightly tangy. All Nature consist of polarities and this fruit - vegetable is not exception. Too many may aggravate arthritis (nightshade family) and too few may speed the onset of prostate problems (low antioxidant lycopine). Balance is the answer. I would like those I eat to not have been subjected to GMO, be chemical free, have been protected by Beneficial Insects instead of pesticides, and if it isn’t consumed fairly soon after leaving the vine, it will start to decay in a natural way as our Creator intended.
Protect our children’s children.
If we can give the generations of the new millennium one gift of life, hopefully it will be access to pure unadulterated foods that will at least give them a chance of being healthier than we are now at the close of the twentieth century.
Bon Appetit, blue skies, smooth highways, God Bless and good health. See you at the Organics Stand.
"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle."
- Father James Keller
What is a Gallbladder?
One dictionary describes it thus: anat. A small, pear-shaped muscular pouch situated beneath the liver in man and serving as a reservoir for bile conducted through the gall duct. A Medical Dictionary states it is the pear shaped reservoir for bile beneath the liver.
Hopefully, you are still intact with all the parts your Creator included under standard equipment, and you don’t have a scar marking where it was. It is an essential organ for optimum health - if we didn’t require one, we wouldn’t have one.
What does my Gallbladder do?
The function is partially defined in the above description. Our liver continuously excretes bile a.k.a. gall, and the gallbladder is the storage tank where it is concentrated, which enhances its effectiveness as a digestive aid. Concentrated bile is far more effective than bile secreted direct from the liver.
Allow me to present a brief refresher on our digestive system. Raw, hopefully well chewed foods arrive in our stomach for rotting & ripening, as described in Chinese physiology. A healthy stomach will convert our food into a liquid-like chyme in about 45 minutes, aligning it for exit order of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. A time frame of 1 - 4 hours is
more likely given our common practice of over-taxing the process with a multiple food combinations.
This chyme is pushed into our small intestine by stomach contraction. Then the process of sorting the pure (nutrients) from the impure (waste) is activated by a multitude of enzymes primarily produced by the pancreas and the liver. These enzymes are supplied to the upper portion of our small intestine (the duodenum) via the Common Bile Duct.
The presence of fats in the chyme triggers the production of a Duodenal Hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK). CCK stimulates the gallbladder to contract, releasing stored bile into the duodenum via the Common Bile Duct where it emulsifies the fat in the chyme, preparing it for absorption or elimination. These contractions can also trigger a gallstone attack.
Whew! Glad to see that you’re still with me. Physiology is so much more than a five syllable word and it is difficult to simplify such a complex system in relatively plain language.
What’s the matter with fat?
Fat is an essential nutrient for our good health. We need a layer to insulate our body and preserve body heat, support and protect vital organs, and they act as carriers for the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Vitamin D makes calcium available in our body tissues and they are important for the conversion of carotenes into vitamin A. The problem is when we get too much of a good thing or the wrong type of fat.
We must keep in mind that one gram of fat yields approximately nine calories. Fats digest slowly by slowing down our stomach’s secretion of hydrochloric acid and gives us a prolonged sense of fullness, and any excess consumption will be stored for future use - usually right in the place where we least want it. Our excess body fat becomes a toxic waste dump and for every pound of excess body fat, we develop an extra mile of capillaries to nourish it, creating a strain on our cardiovascular system in general and our heart in particular.
Fats derive their taste from "fatty acids", and the two basic types are saturated and unsaturated.; the latter type consisting of the three "essential" fatty acids: linoleic, arachidonic and linolenic. An excellent source of additional information is Fats That Heal Fats That Kill by Udo Erasmus, circa 1988 (third printing).
How does it affect my health?
To best answer this question, I will combine Western and Eastern concepts. Our Gallbladder and Liver are interdependent and interactive. The basic function of the gallbladder is to receive bile from the liver, utilizing Liver-Qi to secrete it from storage on demand. The bile aids digestion and we are healthy. In dis-ease, when our Liver-Qi is stagnant and the smooth flow of bile is interrupted we can experience many disharmonies.
The resultant digestive upset may be something as simple as nausea and belching, or a myriad of symptoms may occur. The interruption in Qi flow may cause us to become indecisive, experience one-sided temporal or parietal headaches, pain in the Anterior Deltoid (shoulder) and/or the Popliteus (back of knee) muscles peaking at midnight, and we may experience a loss of flexibility in our sinews. Our skin may have a slight jaundiced (yellowish) appearance. Our sleep may be interrupted, waking between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m., with difficulty falling asleep again. The Spiritual Axis in chapter 43 says "When the Gall Bladder is deficient one dreams of fights, trials and suicide."
Bile consists of cholesterol, bile salts, lecithin and other substances. If the cholesterol crystallizes as the result of a fat allergy and combines with bile and inorganic calcium*, a calculus is formed which is commonly known as a gallstone. They can range in size from a large grain of sand to the size of a golf ball. The majority of our population have gallstones in their gallbladder as a byproduct of our lifestyle. As long as they stay put, they are not a problem. When something like a fatty meal triggers a higher than normal flow of bile, and one of these ragged little critters decides to go along for the ride, it can get our attention. If it is able to pass through the common bile duct, we may only experience a sudden sharp pain, and then nothing - at least until the next time we ingest a Rueben sandwich or other fried food!
If you awake about 2:00 a.m. with excruciating pain in upper right quadrant of your abdomen possibly referring into your back, accompanied by fever, nausea and vomiting, you are probably experiencing a gall stone attack(biliary colic) and will require immediate medical attention. A gallstone that becomes lodged in the common bile duct can result in Pancreatitis if the enzymes produced by the Pancreas are blocked from entering the duodenum. Surgical intervention may be necessary. The highest risk group, known in medical circles as the Four F’s, is the Fair, Fat, Forty and Female category. Multiple pregnancies increase the risk factor.
Cholecystitis is an inflammation of the gallbladder or bile duct from the abrasive action of the gallstones rubbing against tissue and represents a serious medical condition. See your doctor immediately. You may have eaten your way into the abyss where remedial action is your only choice. Prevention and/or a gallbladder cleanse are no longer viable options, and you may come home with a microsurgery scar marking the spot where your gallbladder used to be.
How can I cleanse it?
There are several natural methods available to us to regain and maintain a squeaky-clean gallbladder. The first step is to make lifestyle changes which will discourage the formation of stones. To prevent gallstones, eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet that is vegetarian or close to it. Prior to reducing your fats, read about good fats and bad fats and make sure that your low-fat choices will provide you with the essential fatty acids. Fried and fatty foods are the most common cause of biliousness, and can be eliminated. All starch, bread and grain products are high in *inorganic calcium (see action above) and would be a good thing to eliminate or eat in moderation. If you know that you are free from a citrus allergy, the juice of an unsweetened lemon in a glass of hot water, taken several times a day for 3 to 4 weeks has helped dissolve gallstones. Other juices that complement the hot lemon are carrot, beet & cucumber; carrot & spinach; carrot, celery & parsley; and carrot, beet & coconut.
In my last article titled Liver Quiver, I mentioned a list of nutrients under Remedial action and several of them are applicable. In addition, Alfalfa tablets taken as tea can cleanse and nourish the liver and gallbladder. Fresh, organic Apple Juice can soothe an attack and consumed on a regular basis, will usually slowly dis-solve the stones. Barberry Root Bark is helpful but contraindicated with pregnancy. The Coffee Retention Enemas stimulate bile flow and may assist in flushing any deposits out of the liver. Taken in therapeutic doses, Lecithin, a proven fat emulsifier, will help dissolve cholesterol based stones. In Europe, Peppermint Oil capsules are used to cleanse the gallbladder. Turmeric (Curcuma longa), because of its active ingredient curcumin, has been proven to reduce gallstones.
A remedy for the tenacious!
If you want to clear your gallstones by bedtime tomorrow night, buy a pint of purest, cold-pressed Extra Virgin olive oil and eight or nine lemons. Bottled, pure juice will work, but fresh is preferred. About 45 minutes prior to starting the oil & lemon juice, lay on your right side, with a hot water bottle or hot pack placed over your liver area. Start the procedure at about 7:00 p.m., and you must be sure not to eat anything solid after the midday meal on the chosen day, but you can have normal drinks during the interim. Start with four tablespoons of the olive oil and immediately follow them down with one tablespoon of neat, unsweetened lemon juice. After fifteen minutes, repeat this pair of doses in exactly the same way ... and continue at fifteen minute intervals until all of the oil has been taken, then finish off the treatment by drinking any remaining lemon juice.
It is important that all of the oil should be taken at those fixed intervals and all on the same evening. In an occasional case the patient will throw up some of the oil during or after the treatment, and this in spite of the fact that the acid juice "lays" the oil and takes away the possibility of nausea developing during the treatment. Any oil that is thrown up is merely excess quantity which is not required by that particular person’s system for achieving full results - i.e.: the system will either retain and use all the oil, or else it will use all that it requires and reject the balance. Note carefully: Even if you vomit any of the oil during the treatment you must still carry on taking the oil without interfering with the fifteen minute intervals between doses. If you fail to observe this instruction, it is possible that you may leave stones in transit and these could give bilary colic after a few days, when they begin to move without the soothing, softening action of the oil. No such after-affect have ever come to my knowledge when the full pint of oil has been taken.
What do the stones look like? During the twenty-four to forty-eight hours after taking this treatment you should pass all bowel movements into a receptacle and run tap water strongly on the excrement with a view to washing out the stones from it. Most of the stones will sink, some of them may float. When passed per rectum, these stones will be found to be softened to the stage of rubberiness.
They may vary from the size of a golf ball to that of a pea or split pea. In nearly all cases the stones are bilverdin ones - that is to say, they are made of solidified green bile and they are blue-green in appearance. I have only two cases on my files where bilrubin stones were passed. These are stones of solidified red bile pigment, and the patients brought along the stones to me to satisfy my own curiosity. The stones were like strawberries and just as easy to squash between the finger and thumb. Mixed with those red stones were others consisting of both green and red bile, the result being stones the normal color of gall.
The above procedure, basically verbatim, is taken from the Nature Cure book HERBAL CURES OF DUODENAL ULCER AND GALLSTONES by Frank Roberts circa 1975. I have been recommending this program to my patients for many years and it has never failed. Results have been confirmed by ultrasound and several surgeries have been avoided. It has been modified slightly from Mr. Roberts original technique to improve the effectiveness and reduce any risk of discomfort.
I also combine the technique with an acupuncture session, using points which relax our bile duct and encourage the flow of bile. This treatment is usually scheduled within forty-eight hours of using the oil and lemon. I then have patients follow up with pure apple juice and mono (single) food meals to soothe any internal inflammation that may have occurred from the discharge of the stones.
Why is surgery so popular?
We are a society of convenience. Many of us would rather give away the odd part of our temple than be pro active about our health.
Gallbladder surgery is a multi-billion dollar industry and a relatively safe procedure to perform. New techniques are being developed which include the use of ultrasound to pulverize the stones and an experimental oral medication CDCA which is used to dissolve the stones. In some cases a stone lodged in the common bile duct can be removed by the use of an Endoscope inserted into the mouth and threaded down the plumbing tube, through the stomach, into the duodenum and then the bile duct. Doesn’t that sound like a party you would like to miss?
I want to express my gratitude to all of the kind comments I have received from The RV Times readers, and thank you for your continued support. In future issues I plan to continue this series of articles focusing on vital organs. If there is an area you would like to see an article on, let me know either direct, or through Sheila.
Blue skies, smooth highways, good health and God Bless.
The largest glandular organ of vertebrates, secreting bile and active in metabolism. In man situated just under the diaphragm on the right side. n. 1. One who lives in a specified manner. ———
To live is good. To live vividly is better. To live vividly together is best.
- Max Eastman
Why do we need to know anything about our liver?
It is the largest internal organ in all vertebrates (a segmental spinal column qualifies you), and it is also one of the most important. The two main lobes are located just under our diaphragm on our right side, close to the scar which may identify you as a donor to the multi-billion dollar ritual of removing gallbladders, albeit usually unnecessary.
Some of its many functions include synthesis of proteins, immune and clotting factors, and oxygen and fat-carrying substances. It is the major filter in our body and attempts to keep our blood squeaky clean. Our Creator knew we would get hooked on fat so provided us with an organ which would secrete bile, essential for the emulsion and absorption of fat.
The liver also removes excess glucose from circulation and stores it until it is needed - sugar on demand, so-to-speak! It is a singular organ, so the fact that it can lose 75 percent of its tissue to dis-ease or surgery, continue to function and then, given the proper TLC, completely regenerate itself is a very handy feature.
In Chinese Medicine, the liver is considered to store the blood. At any given point in time, there is approximately 1500 ml (6 cups) of blood passing through the liver for cleansing, so this observation is understandable. Simply stated, blood arrives to the liver via two sources. The Hepatic artery supplies oxygenated blood from the aorta, and the Hepatic portal vein provides venous blood from the digestive tract, pancreas and spleen. Dr. Bernard Jensen observed that the blood is only as clean as the bowel from which nutrients are supplied, and this is how our liver gets overworked.
How can we keep our liver healthy?
There are two primary methods: Remedial via cleansing and nutrition; and Preventative by diet and lifestyle.
It is important to realize that it is never too late to make a change and choose the potential for health over degeneration and dis-ease. We all have a vested interest in liver maintenance. Our environment has become polluted to the extent that we are all at risk. If you ever require confirmation that our air quality has suffered, just compare a space photo from the early seventies to those we see today. The Blue Planet is rapidly becoming the Hazy Grey Globe.
Remedial action.
Let’s start with the very safe assumption that we all require some. For those collectors out there, now is the time to refer to RV Times Issue #50 (April/May ’96) and visit my Spring House Cleaning article. My reference library has experienced growth since then and I can offer several other positive suggestions.
B Complex. Take a daily supplement and give your liver a nutrient treat. The eight “B’s” are synergistic so it is important that the source of B-Complex is balanced to match the way they are found in Nature for optimum effectiveness. Also, B-13, which is available in root vegetables is noted as a good liver protector.
Carrot (Daucus carota). Scientists in India have found that liver cell injury from toxins can be reversed with use of carrot extracts. Carrot juice anyone?
Coffee Retention Enemas. They stimulate bile flow and cleanse both the liver and the colon.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). Use the Leaves, Flowers and Roots. Steam them and eat them as a vegetable or in a salad. The flowers are a good source of lecithin, which like bile, is an excellent fat emulsifier and will help dissolve cholesterol based gallstones. If the taste is too bitter (the sign of a good cleanser) or if your back lawn is not an organic source, a good health food store will have teas and capsules. Fresh, organic is best.
Essiac (The Original Formula) is one of the best all round liver cleansers available on the market. A full flush will take at least 6 - 8 weeks.
Eyebright (Euphrasia Officinalis) This is a very nutritious herb, and as the name implies, it has a major effect on our vision. It is also a gentle liver cleanser, cools the blood and improves clarity of thought as well as sight.
Ginger (Zingiber officinale). Research by James A. Duke, Ph.D., and Stephen Beckstrom-Sternberg, Ph.D. ginger contains eight liver-protecting compounds.
Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) has a 2000 year history as a liver tonic. It is one of the best, and one of my daily herbals as DTX. The latter is a Shaklee formulation of milk thistle extract, a unique proprietary blend of, with extracts of schisandra seed, reishi mushroom, tumeric, dandelion and artichoke.
Oat Straw (Avena Sativa) as a tincture is very effective for liver infections. As a tea it will help to give you healthy nails, which are nourished by our liver.
Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis). Look for the dried berries. This is especially good if you are one of the unfortunate people who have inadvertently been exposed to Hepatitis.
Selenium is an excellent nutrient to assist in Liver regeneration, especially Cirrhosis.
A Tea for Your Liver. Mix to taste a combination of licorice, dandelion, chicory, tumeric and ginger. If their flavors suit you, add in anise, caraway, celery seed, dill, clove, fennel, peppermint, rosemary and vanilla bean. Mix up a batch and store it in a airtight, glass jar for regular consumption as an herbal tea.
Many others too numerous to mention. I have selected those I consider to be the best. A key point to remember that washing without rinsing is just rearranging dirt (toxins), so lots of fresh, pure water is essential with any detoxification program we adopt into our lifestyle.
Preventative.
We stop the degeneration as our first priority, and then we must initiate the life long commitment of avoiding a recurrence of liver toxicity. Persistence is the key. A rule of thumb is that a natural course of healing will take one month for every decade of life. At 55, I’m looking at a potential 6 month program. That is a flash compared to the five years of dedication required to cure my Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). An ounce of prevention . . .
Avoid Alcohol. If you enjoy an occasional drink, I suspect the enjoyment will outweigh the adverse effect. If previous excess hasn’t eliminated choice, moderation is the key and just be aware of the potential consequence. “A little bit of what we like will never hurt us.” - Nevil Shute.
Avoid Drugs. Many of the Over The Counter (OTC) goodies we get programmed into sloshing into our temple are very strenuous on our liver. Some pharmaceuticals are deadly. Tylenol has been identified in England as being a major cause of liver disease, but here we feed it to babies - go figure!
Avoid Stress. Meditate, pray and exercise every day. Let go of the stresses in your life.
Diet. Eat low on the food chain, preferably Organic to avoid introducing toxins. Animals are known to accumulate toxins in their flesh, so if you have to eat meat, go for free range.
Exercise. The liver is responsible for the condition of our muscles and sinews. The use it or lose it rule applies here. Participate in regular stretching, swimming, tai chi, yoga, walking or whatever other activity will keep you flexible.
Forgiveness. If we carry resentment toward any other being, we are aggravating our liver. If we are unable to forgive, we are unable to obtain optimum health. Arthritis and cancer are two primary ailments that are looking for a nest lined with internalized anger to lay their eggs, because it is such a fertile environment.
How Does Our Liver Impact Our Life and Vice Versa?
The insight of Chinese Medicine gives an excellent overview of liver function. It is considered to be like an army’s general from whom the strategy is derived and is also said to influence our capacity of planning our life. Indecision is an emotional sign that our liver’s paired organ, our gallbladder, is in trouble and could use a cleansing. Talk to an Acupuncturist or other Complimentary Health professional for the natural way to accomplish this task. In writing this article, I have presented a few ideas that may assist you in the repair and/or preventative maintenance of your liver, a gallbladder cleanse is a future topic.
May you all enjoy another wonderful summer of exploring the highways and byways, and have the good health to make it possible. Blue skies, smooth highways, good health and God Bless.
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
- Someone
What is our heart? How does it work? How can we protect it from damage? How can we schedule our priorities to maintain a healthy heart?
An early lesson in physiology taught me that our heart, in it’s innate wisdom, nourishes itself first with the fresh blood produced by this miraculous little muscle. The adult heart is a cone-shaped organ about the size of your closed fist. It lies obliquely within our chest cavity, protected by a double-walled membrane called the pericardium.
During embryonic development, changes become apparent from the fifth week when the transition from a pulsating tube occurs to the four-chambered organ complete with valves, and a midline partition by the seventh week - the foundation of the magic organ that will last us a lifetime - may it be long and healthy!
These early pulsation’s of the circulatory pump of our body become the “lub-dub” beat of a healthy heart that results in our blood pressure. Arteries carry blood away from our heart, veins bring it back. In taking blood pressure, the high number, or systolic pressure, represents the pressure when our heart is contracted, while the diastolic pressure (low number) is the pressure when the heart is relaxed. An adult reading of 120/80, measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg), is considered normal and pressures above 150/90 mmHg are considered to be dangerously elevated, a.k.a. Hypertension, the silent killer. It is thought that increased peripheral resistance in the blood vessels is the primary suspect. That makes sense. I’m sure most of us have experienced a similar situation in our attempts to blow up a thick-walled party balloon.
In our cardiovascular system, which includes the heart (pump) and the blood vessels, a nutritional imbalance in our basic electrolytes can create many problems. Clinical Research has shown that a deficiency of Sodium (Na) will result in the systolic reading being too high and when there is a deficiency of Potassium (K), the diastolic will also be too high. i.e.) 175/120. Do not confuse Sodium Chloride (NaCl), or common table salt, with organic sodium (Na) - a distinction that seems to evade most doctors who have no nutritional training. This often results in a person receiving very poor advice from the person they trust as tender of their health.
Remember the Law of Cause and Effect? Another aspect of this Law is if we remove or correct the Cause, the Effect will disappear. Expressed another way, your RV may be in perfect mechanical condition but how far will it go with an empty fuel tank? Now ask yourself - why would my body function without proper nutrients?
Normally the left side of our body is governed by Organic Sodium and the right side by Potassium. The Heart is the only organ located in the left (Sodium) side of our body that is governed by Potassium. This creates an electro-impulse reaction between the Potassium and Sodium which generates energy to make the heart function. Another important mineral for the heart is Magnesium (Mg), some natural sources include the herb Black Walnut and Kelp. Amino acids Carnitine and Taurine are also helpful in strengthening the heart. Carnitine, along with the amino acids Methionine and Cysteine are also the antidote to a fat allergy which can cause heart problems. Amino acids are essential to the healthy functioning of our body and are derived from the inclusion of complete proteins in our diet.
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is primarily a meat tenderizer and people wonder why they can experience heart palpitations after ingesting it. Perhaps the heart muscle senses that some foreign chemical is attempting to melt it down, and is fighting for its life? If you want to play, most canned soups are a good source of this legal drug.
Allergies in the blood will cause inflammation and palpitations, and can often contribute to a mis-diagnosis. A simple pulse test will allow you to determine which foods you are allergic to, and then you can correct the nutrient imbalances as required.
The Pulse Test for allergens is performed as follows. Our normal adult at rest pulse rate is about 70 beats per minute (lower is better). Check and note your pulse prior to eating a food, wait ten minutes after ingestion, and then check your pulse. Digestion is a metabolic action that requires energy so it is normal for our pulse rate to increase by ten beats per minute i.e.) 70 to 80 bpm. If we get an increase greater than ten, our body is experiencing an adverse reaction to that food, and we know that we have to take action to correct that sensitivity. Questions? e-mail me at <aquila@uniserve.com>
I suspect that the majority of Cardiovascular Dis-eases are the result of improper nutrition. Some of the other common ailments in our society are Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), Atherosclerosis (fatty deposits), Aneurysms (vessel rupture), Phlebitis (vein inflammation) which can advance to Thrombosis (clots), and Varicose Veins (vein and/or vein valve dysfunction). When a life-long accumulation of nutrient deficiencies take effect, they are often classified as age related cardiovascular dis-ease.
In addition to those mentioned above, some nutrients that have been shown to be very beneficial to good heart health, and relief of existing symptoms, include Vitamins: B-Complex, Beta Carotene, C, E; Minerals: Calcium, Chromium, Iodine, Selenium, Sulfur; Herbs: Alfalfa, Bee Pollen, Blessed Thistle, Burdock, Fibre, Garlic, Hawthorn Berries, and Shepherd’s Purse. Lecithin is an excellent fat emulsifier and breaks up cholesterol. Flush your system with lots of pure water.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the Heart’ most important functions are those of governing Blood and housing the Mind and most of the pathological changes of the heart reflect involvement with the Blood and Mind. It is considered a solid organ, designated Yin by category and associated with the element Fire. Joy is the positive emotion associated with Fire, so Be Happy - it is good for your heart!
Also in TCM, we know that the heart energy channel opens into the tongue, and some landmarks and colours can indicate the presence of energy imbalances. The pulse will often reveal energetic symptoms of disharmony long before any physical symptoms manifest. When this early diagnosis is made, the energy imbalance can be corrected with acupuncture, and the physical symptom may never occur. Our Heart Energy has to be balanced to empower us to reach our full body, mind and spiritual potential.
Lifestyle is a major factor in maintaining a healthy heart. Diet and exercise are at the top of the list, and can be supplemented by meditation, positive thinking, therapeutic breathing and opening your heart to your Creator.
As Albert Einstein observed the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them so elevate thought patterns and ask for enlightenment. It will occur.
I would recommend reading The K Factor by Richard D. Moore, MD, PhD and George D. Webb, PhD as well as A Change of Heart by Claire Sylvia with William Novak. They will assist in elevating your thought patterns.
It was great meeting some of the avid RV Times readers at the recent Tradex show - what a wonderful group. Our world would be a better place if more people had the attitude of the RV folk I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
Blue skies, smooth highways, good health and God Bless.
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