At this time of year, many of us make new goals and resolutions. We check in to see how we are living and if the path we are on is taking us in the direction we wish to go.
This is a very valuable time for introspection and assessment. One of my favorite teachers for personal development, health and well-being is Dr. John DeMartini. Check out the text of his email today to see action steps for ways you may evaluate, plan, and refine your life.
Always a valuable exercise. Happy New Year!
Check out this article to learn why you would be wise to use glass leftover containers rather than plastic.
There are 9 botanical families of vegetables. Are you including each family in your diet to obtain optimal nutrition?
1. Cabbage / Mustard
2. Lettuce / Sunflower
3. Carrot / Parsley
4. Beet / Spinach
5. Cucumber / Squash
6. Mint / Basil
7. Tomato / Pepper
8. Bean /Pea
9. Onion / Garlic
I am in favor of obtaining nutrients through real food sources as
much as possible. Yet, Vitamin D is tricky. Our bodies only produce
Vitamin D through 30 minutes of direct sun exposure in the warm
months of the year. From October to April, most people in this part
of the world lack adequate sun exposure for optimal Vitamin D levels.
In fact, studies show that most people are deficient in Vitamin D.
Consequences of Vitamin D deficiency include: Increased colds and
flu Allergies Heart disease Cancer, and Musculoskeletal pain syndromes.
Studies have shown that Vitamin D supplementation can: Increase
immunity to bacterial and viral infections Reduce risk of pneumonia,
TB, flu, bronchitis, and periodontal disease, reduce risk of
automimmmune diseases like MS and type 1 diabetes, and reduce risk of hip and non-vertebral fractures.
Vitamin D drops
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ThriveChiropracticCe/b1db23f864/TEST/bf42d660b1 are available in the office for $20/bottle. Each bottle contains 300,000 IU of Vitamin D3. While US RDA guidelines recommend only 400 IU/day, this is not for optimal health…it is based on bare minimum requirements to avoid death! Most adults can benefit from about 3,000-5,000 IU/day according to http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ThriveChiropracticCe/b1db23f864/TEST/91cc28a35b
A blood test will show your exact level of 25 OH D in the blood,
Mercola suggests 60 ng/mL is ideal. Too low or too high levels create problems for the body.
Salt (sodium chloride) is essential for good health:
• Maintains Acid-Base Level
• Nerve Conduction
• Nutrient Transport Into Cells
• Maintaining Blood Pressure
• Muscular Activity
• Digesting Proteins
• Killing Parasites and Pathogens
Many people are afraid to use salt for fear of high blood pressure. It turns out a minority of people experience blood pressure issues directly due to salt consumption.
I am certainly not recommending eating processed foods with high salt content, but I do recommend using salt on your meats, fish and vegetables to assist your body with digestion, nutrient transport, and body function.
I recommend Sea Salt. It is not chemically treated & it contains many valuable trace minerals. Real Salt brand is widely available in groceries. Most table salt also contains dextrose (sugar) as a flavor additive after the valuable minerals are stripped away.
This article details the process most table salt goes through and explains the superior value of sea salt.
Too little salt can result in cramping, insatiable thirst, apathy, and decreased mental performance.
Is there a better food to highlight than the egg? Probably not. As Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions Nourishing Traditions, puts it:
“Shunned for several decades by orthodox practitioners as a high-cholesterol food wrongly believed to cause coronary heart disease, the egg is making the comeback it deserves….Properly produced eggs are rich in just about every nutrient we have yet discovered.”
Some of the benefits of eggs include:
- High in fat soluble vitamins A and D
- High in proteins, especially for the maintenance of cell membranes in our bodies
- Excellent source of fatty acids EPA and DHA, which is vital for brain and nervous system function.
- Egg yolk is the absolute best source of choline, a B vitamin which keeps cholesterol moving throughout the bloodstream as intended, instead of creating plaque on vessel walls.
- Great source of properly balanced (near 1:1 ratio) of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats
The way the chickens are raised absolutely effects the quality of the nutrients in the eggs. One of the most frequent questions I hear about eggs is the difficulty in knowing which type to buy at the store. There are “natural”, “cage free”, “organic”, “free-range”, “omega-3 fed”, ….etc. The labeling laws make it very difficult to determine exactly how the eggs are raised. This is why I recommend buying eggs directly from farmers or farmers markets. (See the next headline below for sources of local farmer’s markets). You want to eat the eggs of chickens that are able to roam around in the grass and eat bugs and worms. If you have to buy from the grocery, do the following experiment…
There is a simple test you can do on your own to test the nutrition of your eggs. Look at the yolk. It should be a dark golden yellow and it should ‘stand up’ in a hemisphere. The egg white should have two distinct parts, a thick part surrounding the yolk and a thin part around the perimeter. Less nutritious eggs will have runny whites and light pale, flat yolks.
Another question I am sometimes asked is, “What about eating raw eggs?” As it turns out, raw fresh egg yolks are safe to consume as much as we want, and we absorb some nutrients better raw than cooked. Egg whites are OK to be consumed raw sometimes, but there are some substances called avidin and trypsin in egg whites that interfere with some vitamin absorption and protein digestion unless the egg white is cooked. So light cooking is recommended.
Unfortunately, the major concern some people have about eggs is cholesterol content. Check out this information with “myths and truths” about cholesterol to understand just how healthy and beneficial eggs are…and to ease any fears you may have about cholesterol.
My kitchen is stocked with olive oil, coconut oil, and butter from pastured, grass fed cows. If you asked most Americans if they thought my fat and oil selections were healthy, they would probably only agree with the olive oil.
Slick food industry marketing has convinced most people that fats and cholesterol are harmful, artery clogging criminals…to be avoided at all costs. They suggest we use margarine and concoctions of vegetable oils instead.
As it turns out, maragarine, butter-imitations, and vegetable oils are damaging our bodies. Check out Dr. Mercola’s breakdown of how and why here.
Also, this website for a great book, Eat Fat, Lose Fat; has some revealing research.
Including healthy fats in your diet is essential for optimal health. Know your fats!
Genetics play an important role in creating who we are, yet there is more to the story than most realize. The field of epigenetics (‘above the gene’ or ‘on the gene’) is revealing that genes can be essentially switched on or off based on many environmental factors….including our own thoughts!
Check out Bruce Lipton’s book “Biology of Belief” for more details or read an interview here.
Remember, your choices and actions DO make a difference in your health. Be good to yourself!
Great article by Larry Dossey M.D. What practices and interventions have proven to be effective? You may be surprised….
Join us March 3rd at 7:05 pm at Revolution Fitness for this workshop. Bring a family member or friend who could also be helped!
Workshop Details…
Call the office or email to RSVP or ask questions.
