Here is the dark side of positive thinking and self affirmation:
According to studies by Becca Levy of Yale School of Public Health, those who had a poor regard for the elderly were much more likely to have heart-related problems long before those volunteers who viewed old age positively and also had shorter lifespans.
Not only are you what you eat... you may just fulfill you own stereotypes as well.
Another recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that fits of anger can lead to heart attacks, not really news but true enough.
Scientists Prove Taoist Philosophers Were Right
Ok, so not quite proved, there is a little more work to do; but here goes:
That is a direct quote from a news feed describing a January 15th article by Marcus Chown in New Scientist Magazine. The idea of a holographic universe is a fundamental concept to the Taoist thinkers from ancient times and through today.
There are many philosophers and theorists that have proposed that the universe is holographic. Probably the most noted is Michael Talbot for his work The Holographic Universe. This is one of the fundamental foundations of holistic medicine, and indeed one of the roots of the word itself.
To understand the parts we must embrace the whole, at all levels of understanding. In a nutshell, to fully grasp a thing we must know everything about it including the context and surroundings of that thing, which lead us recursively to needing to see the whole universe in this context.
Do not despair, the ancient Taoist thinkers knew of our dilemma and gave us the roadway out of this quandry.
Like a hologram, the universe can be understood because we are a part of it and to know oneself is to know the universe. This is fundamental of Taoist thinking and, if the discoveries of the Fermilab particle physics lab in Illinois are correct, it is one step closer to being proven.
This is pretty cool stuff and, in itself, another piece of evidence for the ultimate correctness of Taoist thinking.
I will leave you with a few of my favorite quotes from the Tao Te Ching:
Craig Hogan, a physicist at Fermilab Center for Particle Astrophysics in Illinois is convinced that he has found proof in the data of the gravitational wave detector GEO600 of a holographic universe.
That is a direct quote from a news feed describing a January 15th article by Marcus Chown in New Scientist Magazine. The idea of a holographic universe is a fundamental concept to the Taoist thinkers from ancient times and through today.
The journey of a thousand miles begins at one's feet... - Lao Tsu
There are many philosophers and theorists that have proposed that the universe is holographic. Probably the most noted is Michael Talbot for his work The Holographic Universe. This is one of the fundamental foundations of holistic medicine, and indeed one of the roots of the word itself.
To understand the parts we must embrace the whole, at all levels of understanding. In a nutshell, to fully grasp a thing we must know everything about it including the context and surroundings of that thing, which lead us recursively to needing to see the whole universe in this context.
Do not despair, the ancient Taoist thinkers knew of our dilemma and gave us the roadway out of this quandry.
That saying of the ancients that 'the partial becomes complete' was
not vainly spoken: all real completion is comprehended under it. - Lao Tsu
Like a hologram, the universe can be understood because we are a part of it and to know oneself is to know the universe. This is fundamental of Taoist thinking and, if the discoveries of the Fermilab particle physics lab in Illinois are correct, it is one step closer to being proven.
This is pretty cool stuff and, in itself, another piece of evidence for the ultimate correctness of Taoist thinking.
I will leave you with a few of my favorite quotes from the Tao Te Ching:
Without going outside his door, one understands all under heaven;
without looking out from his window, one sees the Tao of Heaven.
The farther that one goes out , the less he knows.
To know and yet know we do not know is the highest
To not to know and yet know we do know is a disease.
The highest excellence is that of water.
The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things,
in its occupying the low place without striving...
Hence it is near to the Tao.
Who can make the muddy water clear?
Let it be still and it will settle, gradually becoming clear.
Healing from injuries
Prevent the chronic complications of trauma... special techniques for reducing chronic diseases.
Reading the recent article from Science Daily on Healing Arthritis Caused by Traumatic Injury, I wanted to share some insights from years of Tui Na practice and training in natural and Chinese medicine. Inflammation is the normal response to injury and assault on our bodies, in the sort term it helps to bring the nutrients, stem cells, and healing factors to areas of our bodies that need the attention. Unfortunately, inflammation easily becomes excessive or chronic, causing more damage then help.
There are several reasons the normal inflammatory response can become problematic:
Reading the recent article from Science Daily on Healing Arthritis Caused by Traumatic Injury, I wanted to share some insights from years of Tui Na practice and training in natural and Chinese medicine. Inflammation is the normal response to injury and assault on our bodies, in the sort term it helps to bring the nutrients, stem cells, and healing factors to areas of our bodies that need the attention. Unfortunately, inflammation easily becomes excessive or chronic, causing more damage then help.
There are several reasons the normal inflammatory response can become problematic:
- Not spending the time to rest and allow the body to clear damage from the injury. The body needs to rest and repair injuries and often the social and personal pressures of performance overwhelm the natural need to rest after an injury.
- Poor diet and other sources of chronic inflammation can cause the body to become overwhelmed with inflammatory signals. Even with rest, when the body is flooded with inflammatory signals it is nearly impossible to completely resolve inflammation around a given injury.
- Certain parts of the body are prone to chronic inflammation such as joints, hands, and the digestive tract. Some areas have poor vascular supply (joints), are constantly exposed to foreign substances (guts), or are under constant use (hands and fingers). In these sorts of places it is much harder for the body to properly respond to trauma and consequently, chronic inflammation is more likely to occur.
- The first response to trauma should be to remove whatever is causing the trauma. Stop running, remove the splinter, stop eating the food, get away from the stressful situation. All too often we forget this simple and fundamental first response by continuing to injure ourselves or ingnoring the pain, the inflamation cannot stop unless we stop the trauma.
- We should rest to allow our bodies to respond and resolve the inflammation. This means not going right back in the game or getting back on our feet too soon, it is extremely important to spend the time needed to heal before resuming our normal activities.
- Address chronic insults to our bodies: these include food allergies or intolerances, chronically stressful situations, chemical exposures, poor posture or ergonomics, repetitive stresses, and others. This is the area that takes the most attention and expertise in today's world, and often is difficult to manage with the pressures of living. I invite you to contact Golden Leaf Clinic for consultation on how to best approach this for yourself and family.
- For sports and joint injuries physical therapy including Tui Na, lymphatic massage, manipulation and gentle, low impact exercise is important to preserve function and avoid chronic complications. A well trained therapist should be able to assist in the healing of joint and sports injuries.
- There are several herbal, dietary and supplemental methods to directly assist in the healing process and specifically reduce chronic consequences of inflammation. Unfortunately there is no one-size fits all guide for use of these methods and a specialist should be consulted. Again, contact Golden Leaf Clinic for consultation and referral.
- Finally, there are many specific techniques such as meditation, Qi Gong, prayer, therapeutic massage, Tui Na and others that can directly reduce inflammation both generally and in specific injuries. The choice of method that best suits a given person or injury depends on many factors including preference, mechanism of injury, philosophical or spiritual belief and personal lifestyle. The choice should fit with your beliefs and lifestyle, make sense to you and be something you are willing to do regularly. In today's world of stress and environmental exposures this is something I suggest for anyone interested in living a long and healthy life.
Life is a process of degeneration and regeneration, pain and growth, loss and fulfillment, loneliness and love. It requires full attention and diligence, it promises nothing but often gives more than we can hope for; relish in its beauty, tragedy, color and shadow. Embrace it and it will embrace you. -Drew Scott
Health Risks Associated With Stressed Food
You are what you eat!
New evidence is emerging that by stressing our food we are endangering our own health. Science is catching up with the age old wisdom that health is affected by not just the nutritional value of the foods we eat, but also the health of those foods. Amyloid fibrils have been associated with several degenerative diseases and now it appears that by stressing our food supply, we are exposing ourselves to these very compounds.
Remember the mad cow scare? It looks as though we are on the brink of understanding that, by stressing the animals we depend on for food, we are seeding the increasing degeneration of our own culture. Amyloid fibrils apparently are capable of initiating the degenerative process of Alzheimer, arthritis and other degenerative diseases.
It is important to remember that, despite the prevailing trends reduce the world to its components and ignore the connectedness of life and nature, we are what we eat in more profound ways than chemical nutritionally. Wholesome does not mean fortified. Caged and feedlot animals, genetically manipulated crops, chemically enhanced growth, medicines produced from factories... these are not the way to health.
Participate in your food, know where it came from and how it was treated. Eat well to live well; even science is beginning to show that the connections between us, our food, our families and our world are the true fundamental sources of our wealth and well-being.
Let those who will not listen super-size and degrade themselves, try to do better for yourself - please don't join them.
New evidence is emerging that by stressing our food we are endangering our own health. Science is catching up with the age old wisdom that health is affected by not just the nutritional value of the foods we eat, but also the health of those foods. Amyloid fibrils have been associated with several degenerative diseases and now it appears that by stressing our food supply, we are exposing ourselves to these very compounds.
Remember the mad cow scare? It looks as though we are on the brink of understanding that, by stressing the animals we depend on for food, we are seeding the increasing degeneration of our own culture. Amyloid fibrils apparently are capable of initiating the degenerative process of Alzheimer, arthritis and other degenerative diseases.
"a biochemical mechanism akin to the replication of similar protein fragments in the brain diseases Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), scrapie, and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, might occur when amyloid fibrils enter brain tissue or the pancreas" - Inderscience Publishers (2009, February 19). Potential Health Risks Associated With Stressed Foodstuffs Such As Foie Gras
"Prion protein, notorious for causing the brain-wasting mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases, may also be a coconspirator in Alzheimer’s disease" - Science News Web edition
It is important to remember that, despite the prevailing trends reduce the world to its components and ignore the connectedness of life and nature, we are what we eat in more profound ways than chemical nutritionally. Wholesome does not mean fortified. Caged and feedlot animals, genetically manipulated crops, chemically enhanced growth, medicines produced from factories... these are not the way to health.
Participate in your food, know where it came from and how it was treated. Eat well to live well; even science is beginning to show that the connections between us, our food, our families and our world are the true fundamental sources of our wealth and well-being.
Let those who will not listen super-size and degrade themselves, try to do better for yourself - please don't join them.
Children's Toys
I am listening to the NPR program on the banning of phthalates in childrens' toys just after the story on the courts deciding that thiomersal in vaccines are not causing developmental problems (specifically autism) in children. Now I feel compelled to vent.
Children are, without a doubt, the future of our society. Instead of not using proven toxins in products for children, lets only use known safe materials to make products for children. We are facing some pretty serious problems in our near future, it is a good idea to explicitly protect our children, they will be the ones who solve the problems we are creating today, if anyone will.
It seems that the agencies that are supposed to protect us from commercial interests have been maneuvered into the position where they are actually protecting the industries they are supposed to regulate. Through a history of legal actions and court decisions, most governmental agencies have been restricted to only being able to control materials and chemicals that are known to harm.
Now that I have that off my chest, I suggest a simple answer: Buy toys and products made of natural things for children. There are many toxins in nature, however, not many of them are new and most are well characterized. I cannot think of one natural material used in manufacturing that isn't either relatively safe or already regulated.
We don't know what plastics and other new materials do to our health (yes, we should be very weary of emerging nanomatreials) and it looks more and more like there are some serious developmental consequences with many of them. If you don't know what it is, don't eat it or give it to your kids.
Children are, without a doubt, the future of our society. Instead of not using proven toxins in products for children, lets only use known safe materials to make products for children. We are facing some pretty serious problems in our near future, it is a good idea to explicitly protect our children, they will be the ones who solve the problems we are creating today, if anyone will.
It seems that the agencies that are supposed to protect us from commercial interests have been maneuvered into the position where they are actually protecting the industries they are supposed to regulate. Through a history of legal actions and court decisions, most governmental agencies have been restricted to only being able to control materials and chemicals that are known to harm.
Now that I have that off my chest, I suggest a simple answer: Buy toys and products made of natural things for children. There are many toxins in nature, however, not many of them are new and most are well characterized. I cannot think of one natural material used in manufacturing that isn't either relatively safe or already regulated.
We don't know what plastics and other new materials do to our health (yes, we should be very weary of emerging nanomatreials) and it looks more and more like there are some serious developmental consequences with many of them. If you don't know what it is, don't eat it or give it to your kids.
Eating Well
I have been asked a few times to help people understand how to eat well. Here are some general rules for healthy eating:
The best thing to know is that variety is best. This allows our body to get the variety it needs to thrive and gives it a chance to send us clear messages about what works best for it.
Eat as close to nature as you can (that means avoid processed food from factories, things with lots of artificial ingredients, things imported from far away, or lots of chemicals and preservatives), most of the poisons in our diet are man-made or things our ancestors never ate.
Growing children need the best food because what they eat determines who they will become, at least physically, and a lot more mentally than we realize.
A general rule is: if it grows in the current time of year it is energetically better for your body (like eating more roots and squash in the winter, more leaves and fruits in the summer), than imported foods.
Organic is better but much more important for some foods: leaves, flowers and things you eat the skin on are the most important, meat and fatty foods tend to accumulate chemicals. If you can choose, choose organic; if you can't, try to minimize the amount of chemicals you do eat by washing, peeling or paring, cutting off the fat and not eating organ meats.
Eat things with lots of color, that is what antioxidants look like, colorful. (when you take vitamins your urine turns colorful... vitamins are very bright)
Don't eat too much meat, our ancestors had to work very hard to hunt and we are lazy... if you are very active then more meat is ok but if you aren't then less is better. Eat meat that is raised locally if you can and has freedom. Caged animals are stressed out and will stress your body with toxins.
Fish is the best meat but still not too much. Tuna and other top predators, are a problem because they tends to have higher levels of mercury and other toxins. Cold water fish that are lower on the food chain are the best (my favorite is herring or sardines: small fish with lots of good fats and not so much mercury, and not too expensive). This is especially important for kids, both avoiding the mercury and eating a lot of fish... for kids fish is one of the best foods there is, it helps their brains and bodies develop.
Nuts and seeds are, much like fish, a good source of essential fatty acids. Essential means we need them so they are an essential part of our diet. Choose the source carefully because fats tend to concentrate toxins, organic is important for fatty foods.
Don't eat too much sugar or starchy foods, lots of calories without much nutrients, but like the first point: variety is good.
Cook things more in the winter and less in the summer, use warming spices in the winter and less spices in the summer. Simple is better, our body digests things differently and a lot of variety isn't so good in the same meal. Eat more in the fall and winter and fast or eat lighter in the spring and summer. You are part of nature and a reflection of her rhythms, work with those rhythms, not against them.
Listen to your body, it is wise. If you crave salty or sour or beets or meat, it is probably telling you something. If you crave alcohol or sugar or foods that you eat a lot of, that may be a different story: sometimes cravings can indicate a bad relationship to a particular food (back to the "variety is good").
These are good general rules but, of course, everyone is unique and can greatly benefit from a more detailed and in-depth look at what they eat.
See also: Modern Mis-fortune by Dr. Hart
The best thing to know is that variety is best. This allows our body to get the variety it needs to thrive and gives it a chance to send us clear messages about what works best for it.
Eat as close to nature as you can (that means avoid processed food from factories, things with lots of artificial ingredients, things imported from far away, or lots of chemicals and preservatives), most of the poisons in our diet are man-made or things our ancestors never ate.
Growing children need the best food because what they eat determines who they will become, at least physically, and a lot more mentally than we realize.
A general rule is: if it grows in the current time of year it is energetically better for your body (like eating more roots and squash in the winter, more leaves and fruits in the summer), than imported foods.
Organic is better but much more important for some foods: leaves, flowers and things you eat the skin on are the most important, meat and fatty foods tend to accumulate chemicals. If you can choose, choose organic; if you can't, try to minimize the amount of chemicals you do eat by washing, peeling or paring, cutting off the fat and not eating organ meats.
Eat things with lots of color, that is what antioxidants look like, colorful. (when you take vitamins your urine turns colorful... vitamins are very bright)
Don't eat too much meat, our ancestors had to work very hard to hunt and we are lazy... if you are very active then more meat is ok but if you aren't then less is better. Eat meat that is raised locally if you can and has freedom. Caged animals are stressed out and will stress your body with toxins.
Fish is the best meat but still not too much. Tuna and other top predators, are a problem because they tends to have higher levels of mercury and other toxins. Cold water fish that are lower on the food chain are the best (my favorite is herring or sardines: small fish with lots of good fats and not so much mercury, and not too expensive). This is especially important for kids, both avoiding the mercury and eating a lot of fish... for kids fish is one of the best foods there is, it helps their brains and bodies develop.
Nuts and seeds are, much like fish, a good source of essential fatty acids. Essential means we need them so they are an essential part of our diet. Choose the source carefully because fats tend to concentrate toxins, organic is important for fatty foods.
Don't eat too much sugar or starchy foods, lots of calories without much nutrients, but like the first point: variety is good.
Cook things more in the winter and less in the summer, use warming spices in the winter and less spices in the summer. Simple is better, our body digests things differently and a lot of variety isn't so good in the same meal. Eat more in the fall and winter and fast or eat lighter in the spring and summer. You are part of nature and a reflection of her rhythms, work with those rhythms, not against them.
Listen to your body, it is wise. If you crave salty or sour or beets or meat, it is probably telling you something. If you crave alcohol or sugar or foods that you eat a lot of, that may be a different story: sometimes cravings can indicate a bad relationship to a particular food (back to the "variety is good").
These are good general rules but, of course, everyone is unique and can greatly benefit from a more detailed and in-depth look at what they eat.
See also: Modern Mis-fortune by Dr. Hart
Vitamin Use Is Highest In Kids Who Don't Need Them
Interesting... health is a choice and some kids are getting it.
I suggest regular assessment of diet and lifestyle to determine the need for supplements. Of course if supplements aren't needed there is no reason to take them but I do recommend that anyone eating less than an optimal diet (like any junk foods) should consider taking a supplement to ensure adequate intake of micronutrients and antioxidants.
I suggest regular assessment of diet and lifestyle to determine the need for supplements. Of course if supplements aren't needed there is no reason to take them but I do recommend that anyone eating less than an optimal diet (like any junk foods) should consider taking a supplement to ensure adequate intake of micronutrients and antioxidants.
Neutralizing Acidosis And Bone Loss Among Mature Adults
It is no surprise that alkalizing diets are healthy and now we know that they can help reduce osteoporosis as well. Funny thing is that the research didn't provide healthy foods to the subjects but instead gave them antacids to simulate healthy food. I am glad that mainstream medicine is looking into health as something nature can provide but am appalled that they do it through pills that simulate healthy living.
Will we ever learn?
Check out: holistic solutions for Jupiter Science Water Ionizers that provide conditioned water that is balanced to neutralize acidosis
Will we ever learn?
Check out: holistic solutions for Jupiter Science Water Ionizers that provide conditioned water that is balanced to neutralize acidosis
Vaccines And Autism: Many Hypotheses, But No Correlation Found
It is nice that researchers are willing to look into the potential nosocomial causes of autism and spectrum disorders. I am not so surprised that there isn't a clear link between vaccines and autism but the case is far from over. I suspect that the ultimate causes of these disorders are multifactorial, include environmental and dietary causes and may ultimately be added to by vaccines using thimerisol and other mucury containing compounds.
Other links of interest:
California's Autism Increase Not Due To Better Counting, Diagnosis
NIMH Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders)
Other links of interest:
California's Autism Increase Not Due To Better Counting, Diagnosis
NIMH Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders)
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