Hello, Autumn

You can feel it in the air, even in Southern California:  a cool breeze that deepens in the late afternoon…cooler mornings, highlighted by a new brightness to the sunshine…dusk falling abruptly, earlier, surprising the evening commuters…the maple trees turning colors…the angle of the sun has changed, and autumn is here.

Autumn brings with it so many other changes that we can feel if we pay attention.  And if we follow the seasons, with our minds and our bodies, we can stay healthy.

The ancient sages who shaped Chinese Medicine knew a lot about autumn.  Autumn is the season belonging to the metal element.  Metal is all about the Lung and the Large Intestine, and as such, embodies the consciousness of inspiration, letting go, surrender, and acceptance.

In Autumn, we feel the transition from warm to cool, as reflected in the weather.  So the best thing to do is to pause, take stock, figure out what we need to keep and what we should let go of.  This goes for possessions, emotions, memories, and habits.  Holding on to too much will overburden our systems in the winter. 

A friend of mine told me a story a few years ago:  he spent the autumn months going through his storage after feeling an inner pull to get rid of old stuff that he didn’t need anymore.  That winter, he said, he was the healthiest he’d ever been, and many new opportunities presented themselves to him.  Since he wasn’t weighed down with a lot of unnecessary possessions, he could accept the opportunities he was offered.

It’s a good contemplation:  what can I let go of?  What feeling does the idea of “letting go” bring up for me?  Is it enthusiasm or fear and resistance?  The answer is critical, because if we resist letting go, we get stuck.  And this stuckness is where we get sick.  On the physical level, resistance can create constipation and lower digestive problems and sore throats.  When we resist, we tend to breathe shallowly, restricting movement in our diaphragm, which shuts down the whole digestive process and creates stagnation in the liver.  Yuck.

On the other hand, if we can let go of things we do not need, especially in this shift between warm and cool, if we can transition gracefully, we will continue to find inspiration in our lives.  And this inspiration is critical to staying connected with ourselves, our work, and the people we love.

It’s also a good time to let go of some dietary habits you may have picked up in the summer.  Like ice cream, which creates phlegm (which will be stored in the lungs), or too much cheese, or too many salads.  Instead, you may want to begin incorporating more warming foods:  soups, steamed vegetables, roasted vegetables, stews.  These will speed digestion time because your body doesn’t have to warm them up first before digesting them.

The emotion associated with Metal is grief. 

Have you let go of grief?  Or is there some grief you are holding on to?  Stuck grief, quite obviously, creates stagnation and disease in the lungs.  As Americans, we often don’t give ourselves the time and space to grieve completely, if at all.  Instead, we wad it up into a little ball and shove it in our lungs, where it festers, creating stagnation and disease. 

Here’s an exercise to do in Autumn to release emotions and memories that are stuck in the body:

On a cool crisp windy Autumn day, climb to the top of a hill.  Take a deep breath, and close your eyes.  Bring a memory to mind that you might not have processed completely, especially one that has a deep emotional component of grief, loss, disappointment, sadness, or sorrow.  Take a deep breath, and focus on the feeling of the wind blowing against your body.  Imagine the wind actually blowing THROUGH you, picking up this memory and emotions and pulling them out of your body, especially out of your lungs and large intestine.  Instead of resisting, relax every muscle in your body.  Think of the word “surrender.”  Take another deep breath, and consciously let go.  You can think about each individual thing and say to yourself, “I surrender this memory.  I surrender my grief.  I surrender my sadness/rage/resentment/sorrow.  I surrender my pain…”

Letting go is huge.  When we do it consciously, we allow our whole body to move on.  Getting stuck in the past is a death sentence; it’s what ages us.  Our past stressful traumatic memories act as filters that color our perception of reality, taking us out of the present moment and limiting our choices.  That’s why we need to let go.  Letting go of the past and accepting “what is” will allow us to enter the present moment.  Then we can take a deep breath, feel inspired in our life, and connect with ourselves and our world.

Demaaaaaand Airbags!

My best friend in Acupuncture school used to do impressions.  One of his very best was of his Driver’s Ed teacher back in high school, who used to urge his students, “Demaaaaaand Airbags!” 

Remember cars before airbags?  Me neither.  I thought about this recently when I was pondering the issue of gluten in restaurants. 

When I returned from India to the west in 1995, I was a vegetarian.  Whenever I went to a restaurant, I wouldn’t even look at the menu.  When the waiter arrived to take my order, I’d simply say, “I’ll have the vegetable plate.”  And when the waiter looked at me quizzically, I’d explain (more or less patiently) that I was a vegetarian; I wouldn’t be eating any meat; and if they didn’t have a menu item specifically called “The Vegetable Plate,” then maybe the chef could put something together with whatever vegetables they had going on in the kitchen, and that would be okay with me. 

Well, I’m no longer a vegetarian, but I am gluten-free.  I rarely eat at restaurants because gluten-free is often more trouble than it’s worth in my opinion.  However, there are a few restaurants I’ve found where I can order something gluten-free, and I usually stick to those solitary items.  What can I say?  It’s challenging.

Recently, though, I took my son to an Italian restaurant.  We used to frequent this restaurant, he and I, back in the day before either of us had our respective run-ins with gluten.  As we were being seated, I wondered what in the world I would order, but was pleasantly surprised to find that this restaurant had recently added gluten-free pasta to the menu!  Wow, I thought. 

But then it dawned on me:  restaurants can offer gluten-free ANYTHING, and it’s not that hard.  If I can find it in every grocery store, then they can jolly well order it from Sysco, or wherever they order their food.  All I have to do is ask for it.  Supply and demand, right?

And then I flashed back to my friend and his impression of his Driver’s Ed teacher.  All we have to do is what I did when I was a vegetarian, and just asked for the vegetable plate!

And we should ALL do this.  Think about it:  What if we collectively and individually went to lunch tomorrow and each one of us marched into ANY restaurant and order the turkey sub on gluten-free bread, or the gyro on gluten-free pita, or a slice of pepperoni and mushroom on gluten-free crust?  And when the person taking our order looked at us blankly, we returned the blank stare with a hit of incredulity, and said, “What, you don’t have gluten-free options?” (like they had just told us they didn’t have a bathroom or napkins or oxygen or something).  And when they said no, we harrumphed and said, “Well, (whatever their competitor is) has it!” and walked out.  And if ALL of us did this at every restaurant, things would start changing.  And we would start a movement:  the gluten-free movement.  Except of course that has already started, but it definitely would get things moving forward a lot faster!

Environmental Allergies and Relocating: How to Make Your New Home Easier to Breathe In

Recently I’ve had a few patients who expressed concern about moving.  Moving can be anxiety-provoking for those who have environmental or multiple chemical sensitivities, because landlords (bless their hearts!) try to make apartments and homes look fresh and updated for their new residents, but (damn their eyes!) they use the cheapest, smelliest paints, flooring, and carpets known to mankind!  

The last time I moved, my landlord very generously put in a new (faux) wood floor, painted the whole place, and put in new fixtures in the kitchen and bathroom.  Yay!  Right?  No!  BOO!  A couple of weeks after I moved, the floor started off-gassing the most atrocious chemicals, and I was sick for weeks.  

So what’s a sensitive person to do??  

Well, the good news is that there are some relatively easy solutions.  Regardless of what could be off-gassing in your new place—flooring, carpeting, whatever—you can quickly and inexpensively do a couple of things that can help a lot.

Let’s start with paint.  Regular paint is super-smelly, and tends to off-gas for much longer than people realize.  Furthermore, the stuff it off-gasses, called VOC (which stands for volatile organic compounds) is unbelievably toxic—not as toxic as having a running automobile in your living room, granted, but not that far behind.  Luckily, there is a type of paint you can buy called Low VOC.  Low VOC paint (available in stores like Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore) will not only release far fewer toxins in the air, but it will also help absorb odors from other sources in your home.  So if you had new carpet, painting the walls would actually absorb some of the toxic off-gassing from the carpet too.  Low VOC paint is a little more expensive than regular paint, but not that much more.  And if you’re on a really tight budget, one alternative would be to just paint one wall instead of all four.

If you would like more information on Low VOC paint, here’s a link that I found to be very informative:

http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/construction/materials/low-voc-paint.htm

The other thing that will help tremendously is an air purifier.  Especially when you can’t open the windows (because it’s too cold or hot outside), having a good air purifier can make breathing a lot easier.  The one thing I found was to beware of air purifiers that said they released ozone (like that was a good thing—because it’s not!)—ozone is one of the things released by paint that you’re trying to remove, and it’s why you are getting the air purifier in the first place.

Here’s a link to an informative web page about air purifiers:

http://www.achooallergy.com/air-purifier-buying-guide.asp

Upsy-Down-osis

Hormones, Part 1

When my kids were little, I watched my fair amount of kid TV shows.  The Wiggles didn’t bother me too much.  JJ the Jet Plane was okay, but I couldn’t stand more than one episode at a time.  Bob the Builder was okay; I liked their approach toward animals.  Dora the Explorer, on the other hand, nearly drove me to drink.

One of the episodes that stuck with me was a JJ the Jet Plane episode in which one of the airplanes couldn’t fly straight.  She would fly up, lose her balance, get dizzy, and fly all over the place.  She had “upsy-down-osis.”

I thought about upsy-down-osis again when I had a fluttering of PMS-related hormones.  I was happy, then I was sad, then I was angry, then I was happy again.  Oh my gosh, I thought to myself, I have upsy-down-osis!

Because that’s how I feel when my hormones are all over the place:  I feel like an airplane that can’t stabilize its altitude.  I am in distress, my altimeter is broken, oxygen masks are starting to drop from the overhead compartments, and I can’t stabilize emotionally (and sometimes physically). 

My patients report similar symptoms:  crying at Hallmark commercials.  Wanting to leave their partners, each month, like clockwork, starting on day 21.  Feelings of self-hatred, worthlessness, like you are not good enough.  Uncontrollable sugar cravings that come on like a lightbulb.  Insomnia.  And fatigue that gets worse and worse until the day before your period when you are sure that you’re dying of some disease…and then you start your period and go, “Oh.  Yeah.  That’s what it was.”

But I don’t have to explain this to you.  You know exactly what I’m talking about.  Yes, you say, it’s hormonal imbalances.  It’s PMS. 

So what can we do?

Well the long answer is take care of yourself, minimize stress, avoid sugar, exercise, and meditate to balance your hormones.  But I know what you’re going to say.  “Yeah, sure.  That’s not an answer; that’s a lecture.”  Because the truth is that although we can all make improvements—myself included—we all need a little help!

So here’s the short answer. 

Recently Dr. Sara Gottfried wrote a book called The Hormone Cure.  It’s a brilliant opus about each one of us and exactly what is wrong with our hormones.  Some parts of it are so insightful that my head almost exploded when I read it.  Some parts of it are very scientific (she is, after all, an MD who went to Harvard AND MIT!), and she actually invites you to skip those parts if you want to (I’m a science nerd, so I inhaled those parts).  I think every woman should read this book and use it as a resource because Dr. Sara is brilliant and the information is really helpful.

Here’s a link to buy the book:

https://pi127.infusionsoft.com/go/book/jelmstrom/

AND Dr. Sara has an answer for all of us!  She has actually teamed up with supplement companies and created her own special hormone balancing shake.

Now, honestly, I really don’t ever promote other practitioners (especially western MDs).  However, I tried Dr. Sara’s shake, and I have to say that this stuff is amazing.  It tastes okay.  And it made a huge difference in my mood, the state of my nervous system, and my whole body.  And that’s why I’m actually endorsing it and telling everyone about it:  because I think it’s pretty phenomenal.

So here’s the link to Dr. Sara’s website, if you’re interested in her hormone balancing shakes:

http://drgottfriedstore.com

The Skinny on Fat

How awesome is fat? 

Fat is so great.  Your whole body needs fat.  Your brain needs fat, your nervous system needs fat, your skin needs fat, and your hair needs fat.

How do we get fat into our body?  From our digestive system.  When we eat any food that happens to have fat in it, sensors in our mouth send a signal to the brain saying, “Here comes some fat!  You’d better inform the Gall Bladder.”  The brain quickly text messages the Gall Bladder, the organ that holds Bile, the magic soap for fat.  Once the Gall Bladder gets the text, it mobilizes all its resources and squirts bile into the digestive system.  As the partly-digested food passes from the Stomach down to the Small Intestine, the Gall Bladder’s bile begins the process of breaking down the fats into digestible, absorbable pieces.

Now here’s where things can get interesting.  If the body has a good relationship with fats, and the Gall Bladder is producing the right amount of bile, the food is further broken down in the Small Intestine and absorbed into the body.  Then the fats can break down vitamins (like Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, and Vitamin E), moisturize the skin, protect the nervous system, and feed the brain.  On the other hand, if the body has a less-than-optimal relationship with fats, then the Small Intestine goes, “Ugh!  What am I going to do with this mess?  Get rid of it!”  And it sends the fats that it cannot metabolize to the colon (and your poop floats in the toilet), and to the blood (who may choose to wallpaper with the particularly sticky bits of fat, thereby building up what we refer to as hardening of the arteries).  Then your doctor informs you that you have high cholesterol…which ironically means that your body is starved for fats that it cannot absorb.

While we’re on the subject, let’s talk about cholesterol.  Cholesterol is actually a very important nutrient in the body.  Cholesterol is the mother of all steroid hormones, from which sex hormones and Cortisol are made.  So this means that if you can’t metabolize fats, you couldn’t make a hormone if someone paid you.  So if you suddenly adopt a non-fat diet, don’t expect good sleep or a healthy sex drive.

How do you know if you have problems metabolizing fat?  All you have to do is look at the parts of the body that are dependent on fats. 

Let’s start with your skin.  Is your skin dry, no matter how much lotion you slather on yourself?  Your skin needs plenty of water, and the body’s ability to hydrate, but without fats, no matter how much water you drink, your skin will be dry, rough, and flaky.  When someone’s hormones are unstable because they’re in transition, like in menopause or puberty, you may see more acne because of the sex hormone’s effects on the skin.  An inability to metabolize fats just makes this condition worse because the sebaceous glands can’t regulate the oils properly.

The nervous system is another important aspect of the body affected by our relationship to fats.  If we have a good relationship with fats, our body will insulate and protect the nervous system with fats.  Then we will be mostly calm, cool, and collected…rather than jumpy, hyperactive, and overstimulated.  Our good relationship with fats will provide us with deep restful sleep because our fight-or-flight nervous system will allow our rest-heal-digest nervous system to be in control during our sleep time.

If we have a good relationship with fats, our brain will work smoothly and successfully.  There will be an effortless orchestration of our hormones and neurotransmitters.  We won’t walk into a room and say, “What was I going to do?”,  or lose our train of thought, or forget what we were going to say.  Our senses will be sharp; our thinking will be clear.

Developmentally, our relationship with fats is crucial during early childhood, when we are growing exponentially; during puberty, when our hormones kick in; and later in life, when our endocrine system is challenged by changing hormone levels—not just menopause, and not just for women, but for all people—because scientists are beginning to take note of other hormonal changes like thyropause and andropause. 

Other signs that you have problems with fat: meats and fatty foods feel “heavy” to you.  Because proteins and fats are inextricably linked in our food supply, our bodies need them to provide both protein and fats.  You may gravitate toward a vegetarian diet because you feel “lighter” when you do not eat meat, or when you eat only chicken or fish.  Although some people can eat a low-fat diet for a while, be wary of the telltale signs that your body isn’t getting the nutrition it needs.  If a vegetarian or vegan diet isn’t working for you, your lips and tongue become pale, and your hair becomes dry and thin.

And you may crave sugar!  Here’s the reason. Your brain can use three things:  water, amino acids and fats, and sugar in the form of blood glucose.  Glucose is the easiest, quickest source of energy; like water, glucose is absorbed instantly when it hits the stomach.  So when the brain sends us a signal that it needs energy, it’s just an impulse.  We won’t necessarily slow it down and think about it.  The brain says, “I need energy!”  And we NEVER interpret this to mean, “I need water!” or “I need some amino acids!” Rather, what we hear is, “I need chocolate!” or “I need some sugar!”

The problem with sugar cravings, of course, is that they tend to make us eat more sugar.  Which will put a strain on our pancreas and liver, and make our blood sugar do loop-de-loops all day long.  Eating sugar makes our blood sugar soar…and then drop like a rock…and then we crave sugar again.  All day long.  But that’s another story.

So take a good look at your diet.  Are you giving your body the nutrients it needs?  One of the easiest ways to balance out a lack of fat in your diet is to supplement with fish oil.  Consider DHA or Omega 3 fatty acids, readily available at your local health food store.  These supplements are safe and easy to take, even for children.  Nordic Naturals makes a great DHA Jr. formula, delivered in a strawberry-flavored caplet that even my picky kids will take.  Another great one is Omega 3-6-9 Emulsion by Biogenesis.  That one tastes like lemon custard!  Sometimes easing into dietary changes by supplementing with botanicals and nutraceuticals first can help you make the changes you need to deliver the right nutrients to your body. 

Most people can successfully supplement with Omega 3 or fish oil. If you supplement with Omegas or fish oil and you have problems, digestive or otherwise, consider consulting a health professional who can assist you with your absorption. 

Urticaria: Causes and Treatment

Urticaria, also known as hives, are one of the most stubborn allergic reactions to treat in Western Medicine. Although many cases of urticaria are caused by allergies or sensitivities, there are some cases in which the cause is not known. Called idiopathic urticaria, these cases are difficult to control and treat and are usually managed through steroids and other pharmaceuticals.

Although Western sciences debate whether all forms of urticaria are allergy-related, for the intents and purposes of BodyTalk, inflammation and redness appearing in various parts of the body are usually treated as allergies through the Body Chemistry technique. There are many cases of urticaria, the most common being environmental factors, such as cold, heat, dampness, and humidity. Once the specific sensitivities are identified, the individual is balanced to each sensitivity. This may take several treatments because each balancing runs like a formula or a computer program through the meridian system. The individual’s body-mind complex must incorporate the changes and then is ready to move onto the next balancing.

The most exciting results in working with urticaria have been seen with chronic idiopathic urticaria, in which individuals are treated for specific environmental factors, as mentioned above, depending on their sensitivity. Once treated completely, individuals usually report a complete cessation of hives and a subsequent recovery without the continued use of pharmaceuticals. This is significant because of the difficulty of avoidance with regard to environmental factors. Success in few treatments with chronic cases makes BodyTalk an important modality worth attention.

www.quantumlinkwellness.com

Mental and Emotional Blockages to Healing

Just about everyone is aware that emotions play a part in the disease process. I bet if you thought about it, you could think of a time when you got really angry, upset, or stressed out about something, and then the next day you came down with a cold or the flu. A good friend of mine once told me that she can always tell when her husband is about to get sick, because he will inevitably get completely bent out of shape—yelling and screaming about something that at any other time might only elicit a grumpy response—about something, only to become completely bedridden with some respiratory or digestive “bug” the next day!

In Chinese Medicine, each emotion—anger, sadness, depression, grief, and fear—is associated with a particular organ of the body. This becomes interesting when you think about what organ might be out of balance enough to bring about illness.

The most obvious example is anger, and its associated emotions of rage, frustration, and feeling “stressed out.” All these emotions correspond to the Liver, a “Yin” organ, and its corresponding “Yang” organ, the Gall Bladder. The Liver is associated with the “smooth flow of Qi,” or energy, through the body. When the Liver gets out of whack, energy gets stagnated, stuck, or deficient.

One thing I’ve noticed about people in general is that when it comes to health and wellness, sometimes our health patterns reflect emotional issues. It’s almost like we take a certain issue we’re grappling with—like problems with a co-worker, feeling disconnected from our spouse or lover, or dissatisfaction with our career—and we wrap it in a little ball and stick it somewhere in our body! There it creates “illness.”

In BodyTalk, we talk about emotions being stored in the Diaphragm. As the Diaphragm gets “full,” it sends these unprocessed emotions to the Liver. The Liver, in turn, sends the emotions to an organ, endocrine, or body part, where they manifest as disease.

I recently read a newsletter from Marga Laube, a Vedic Astrologer, who wrote an article called “The Power to Heal.” In this article, she talks about the upcoming full moon on September 4, 2009, which she describes as a particularly good time to reflect on our own disease process and release emotional and mental blockages to healing. She writes: “The full moon in this lunar sign is asking us to let go of the mental and emotional blockages that can be a breeding ground for disease.” She then gives some examples of how to do this. (Click here to read the full article)

This is a great contemplation for all of us who know in our hearts that we have the answers to our health issues inside, if we’re willing to ask the question and listen to our inner voice as it answers us.

www.quantumlinkwellness.com