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

Because It's Good For You

The other day, I was talking to someone who knows that I practice Acupuncture and BodyTalk. She said, “ A friend of mine told me that I should take Apple Cider Vinegar because it’s really good for you.”

This is not the first time someone has said something like this to me. And so I gave her my standard answer: “Sure! As long as you’re not allergic to it.”

We live in a society in which our opinions are profoundly affected by the media and advertising, and we must remember that the sole purpose of every natural supplement company and health food store is not to provide us with excellent health care, but rather, to sell their products! Therefore, we must all exercise caution in accepting their claims without discrimination.

It’s kind of like shoe sizes. The “average” woman in the United States wears size 7. But that doesn’t mean that we ALL should TRY to wear size 7 because it’s good for us.

Now, please know that I am not saying supplements are bad. I take supplements on a daily basis myself. And if the supplements have been given to you by a doctor or a health care practitioner, then by all means, take them! My only word of caution would be this: If, after taking a certain supplement for a period of time, you notice that you are feeling bad (or worse than you were when you started), consult the prescribing physician and discontinue it.

Several years ago, I decided to do a certain detox program. I ordered a kit online because the website contained hundreds of testimonials filled with miraculous stories of weight loss, resolution of chronic illness, and before-and-after photos. After a week and a half on the cleanse, I had what felt like a urinary tract infection and pain in my kidneys. When I went to my health care practitioner, she tested me for each specific herb in the cleanse, and lo and behold, found that I was sensitive to Urva Ursi, which happened to be one of the ingredients. “But isn’t that supposed to be good for kidney and urinary health?” I asked in astonishment. “Yes,” my practitioner responded, “but it’s toxic to you!”

Who knew? The point is that your body will send you very clear signals that something isn’t working for you. In my case, it was kidney pain that finally got my attention (note to self: pay more attention next time!).

Each one of us is absolutely unique. No one else has our specific body chemistry. We all react and respond to different things in different ways. Because of this fact, we must take responsibility for our own health and notice when something isn’t working for us, whether it’s a supplement, a food, a relationship, or a career. Therefore, what’s good for “everyone” may work for us…or not…because we’re not all size 7.

The Heart, The Emperor

Recently I treated a patient who had just endured a terrible shock. She had just found out that her business partner was embezzling all her money, and had fled the country.

After a few links, which seemed to go very smoothly, heart and all other organs came up as a priority to be linked. After tapping for some time on her head, I realized that I hadn't been aware of the normal "shift" signifying that the link had been formed. I usually feel this shift after tapping on the head and chest. I thought, well, I must have missed the shift, for surely it must have happened by now. But when I checked, the response was "more tapping." After tapping for another period of time, I checked again, and finally had to tap directly on the heart in order to tap in that particular link.

The interesting thing about this link is that it quite aptly describes the traditional Chinese diagnosis of Heart Shock, in which the patient has endured a profound shock to the system. Consequently, all the organs are in disarray.

What makes this happen? In Chinese Medicine, the Heart is the emperor of the body, and is protected by the Pericardium, the covering over the heart which is actually seen as an organ in Chinese Medicine, and is the emperor's bodyguard. When the emperor sustains a blow that the bodyguard cannot catch, the emperor himself takes the hit. This profoundly affects all the other organs.

When Heart Shock happens, the ensuing pattern is Blood Stasis. Therefore, the most important treatment principle in Heart Shock is move the blood.

In traditional acupuncture, we move the blood with herbal formulas (for instance, Gui Zhi Tang/Cinnamon Twig Decoction), but also with specific points: Spleen 10 is always a good choice, as is Liver 3. Some practitioners use a specific point prescription for shock (for instance, Kidney 3-16-27).

In BodyTalk, since we are following the body's lead and addressing what the body has determined to be a priority, the focus is slightly different. Therefore, the specific priority will vary depending on the needs of the individual. The important thing, from the practitioner's view, is to be aware and alert as to the particular client's needs, rather than having one's own agenda. And from the client's perspective, it's helpful to recognize and acknowledge that one's own body has an innate wisdom that will release traumas and heal itself on its own time.

www.quantumlinkwellness.com

Switching and the Adrenal Glands

Did you ever feel completely overwhelmed with your life?

I've noticed that many of my patients, in their intake forms, complain of panic attacks and anxiety. Consequently their adrenal glands are either overtaxed or malfunctioning. Excess stress can cause the adrenal glands to change the amount of the hormone cortisol they secrete, often causing weight gain, afternoon fatigue, blood sugar fluctuations, and inflammation, among other things.

Recently, I had a patient whose chief complaint was shortness of breath which comes and goes but is worse in the morning. In addition, she showed all the cardinal signs of adrenal burnout. But when I checked her adrenals, they were fine! Although her cortisol levels were clearly out of balance, the problem wasn't in the adrenal glands. When we did BodyTalk, the only thing that came up as a priority was Switching. I performed the technique, and she called me several hours later to tell me that she felt amazingly better. Her shortness of breath was improved but also, she said that her stress was greatly reduced.

I was amazed. How could this one simple technique have such a great effect on her? Later, I realized that the whole purpose of Switching is to raise the stress threshold of the body. As we cope with stress, we all have a threshold, over which our brain shuts down, and we go into overwhelm. We can't usually change the amount of stress we're under...but we can certainly change our response to that stress. That's what switching does: it raises the bar, so that we can actually have a steady mind in the face of our stress--without it stressing us out--for a longer period of time.

This is the power of the Switching Technique, one of the five techniques taught in the one-day BodyTalk Access course. Access is a great course to learn more about BodyTalk and the power of preventive healthcare. As a complimentary health care modality, BodyTalk is non-invasive, safe, and so beneficial to everyone.

www.quantumlinkwellness.com

Summer Heat

It's summer, and although it's cooler in Los Angeles than it is in other places in the United States--in Texas, it's been over 100 degrees for six weeks!--it's still much warmer in LA than usual. Although some people find the warm weather invigorating, summer's heat often challenges people who are intolerant to heat, making their life very uncomfortable.

Believe it or not, Summer Heat is actually a diagnosis in Chinese Medicine. It involves typical heat symptoms: sweating, red face, excessive thirst, dry lips, scanty yellow urine, and headache. In western terms, we would probably call it heat exhaustion.

Why are some people more susceptible to heat than others? The answer to this question lies in their description: they are heat intolerant. People can be intolerant to climactic factors in the same way that they can be intolerant to foods, like when someone experiences nausea or vomiting every time they eat shellfish. It's not a hypersensitivity reaction--they don't break out in hives or anything--but it does make them ill, and so they avoid it...which is not so easy to do with heat.

What causes people to be intolerant of heat? Sometimes it's inherited from their parents. Hormonal imbalances can also cause heat sensitivity. Sometimes certain foods cause heat reactions, and when eaten in a warm climate, can make them be more sensitive to heat. Typical foods that cause excess heat are bread, sugar, tomatoes, and mangoes. Coffee, alcoholic beverages, and certain spices also contribute to heat issues in those who are sensitive to them.

So, in addition to avoiding foods that someone might be sensitive to that cause excess heat in the body, what can be done to reduce heat sensitivity? Here's a short list:

1. Eat lightly and drink plenty of fluids. The best thing to do in the summer is to stay well hydrated.
2. Pay close attention to your physical state, and do things in the summer to keep you feeling cool (swimming, staying out of the sun during the hottest part of the day)
3. Tap out your cortices (http://www.bodytalksystem.com/videos/). Getting the left and right brain to communicate optimally with each other can reduce many sensitivity issues.
4. Breathe deeply. When you take long, slow breaths, it allows your brain to pay attention to every part of your body, and recognize and repair malfunctions.

When heat sensitivity becomes a serious problem, there are treatments for it. Acupuncture, NAET, and BodyTalk all address heat sensitivity and heat intolerance quite well, regardless of the underlying cause.

www.quantumlinkwellness.com

Coming To A Theater Near You!

I've always been wary of herbicides, mostly because I could never figure out how they worked. Pesticides could be made to kill all kinds of insects; that was clear enough, and no one would argue that pesticides are bad for plants as well as the environment. Herbicides, on the other hand, had to be pretty complex in order to kill only weeds but not grass, I always thought. But how do they work? And are they safe?
I read an article years ago in which a mother recounted the story of how each time the gardener at her apartment complex came every four months to treat the grass for weeds, her daughter would lose all bowel control for a week. That's pretty scary, wouldn't you say?
Here's a preview to a movie that sounds really interesting. It's the story of a small town that actually drove the lawn chemical companies out of town...
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18542.cfm

Sugar Addiction and Cravings: It's All About Your Brain...But It's Not Just In Your Head!

A patient came to my office recently, in tears. “I can't stop eating sugar!” she wailed. “I try and try but I just can't stop!”
I can't tell you how many times I've had this conversation with people in my office. There are several variations on the theme--”I crave sugar at night”/”I have sugar cravings after spicy meals”/”I'm craving sugar in the afternoon”--but the underlying message is the same: “I have a sugar addiction and I don't know how to stop.”
Sugar is in everything. It's all over. Even if you put a slice of lemon in your water, and test the water, the water will test positive for glucose. Glucose is the chemical building block of many foods—breads, dairy products, and fruits, for instance. Managing a sugar addiction isn't like quitting smoking; you can't just go cold turkey because sugar is in a lot of foods that are necessary for a well-balanced diet.
More importantly, sugar cravings are an indication that there's an imbalance, and the reason it's such a strong craving is because the imbalance is in your brain. Sugar is one of the three things your brain needs. The other two are water and amino acids (amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.) But your brain is just like you—when it's hungry, it wants food NOW. Sugar gets into the blood stream immediately. Therefore, your brain will never tell you, “I need some water,” or “I need some amino acids.” It will only ever tell you, “I need some sugar!” Therefore, staying hydrated by drinking water (not soda, not coffee, not tea) and eating sufficient protein at mealtimes will keep you from craving sugar.
“But I DO eat protein! And I drink TONS of water!” you may say. “My problem is that I am craving sugar after meals!” If you become obsessed with sugar after a meal, it may be an issue of what you're eating. Michael Macaluso, a nutritionist from New York, says that sugar balances strong flavors like peppers, and that eating a meal that includes strong pepper flavors (like Indian or Southwestern Mexican foods) can bring on a sugar craving because your body is trying to balance itself. By the same token, eating a meal with fatty meats, heavy sauces, or high salt content creates a need to balance those heavy foods with something lighter, like sugar. He also suggests eating a dark green leafy vegetables instead of something sweet because the dark green leafy vegetable will balance the heaviness in the same way that sugar will.
If, on the other hand, your sugar addiction doesn't fall into one of the above categories, there may be a deeper issue. Many healthcare professionals have noted sugar cravings when seratonin levels are too low. Seratonin is a neurotransmitter in the brain responsible for mood stability and appetite control. Although many people have attempted to control their seratonin levels with the latest class of antidepressants, the best way to moderate mood fluctuations is by balancing seratonin through allergy elimination. The root of the craving may be in your body's relationship with seratonin; however, more frequently, the real problem is in one of the seratonin precursors, such as 5HTP or Tryptophan.
So the next time you start craving sugar, take a moment, take a deep breath. Ask yourself, when was the last time I had a glass of water? Did I have enough protein at my last meal? Did I just eat something spicy or heavy or salty? Or is this an emotional pattern? Understanding the cause is the first step in controlling the symptoms, especially when it comes to cravings and sugar addiction.

http://www.quantumlinkwellness.com

Staying Young

I never imagined that I would ever get old. It never occurred to me. I watched my parents age, I watched my friends get old and fat, but never thought it would ever happen to me.

Upon entering the fifth decade myself, I began to notice alarming signs that I was no longer as young as I used to be. It began with my eyesight—which was fine one day, but then suddenly my arms just weren't long enough—and ended with my waistline suddenly swelling like the top of a banana walnut muffin.

To understand how to stay young, you must first know what makes you old. Signs of agedness—grey hair, creaky swollen joints, loss of waistline (when the six pack degenerates into a keg), farsightedness, dry skin and bat wings—have a lot to do with what Chinese Medicine calls Jing Cycles, which are sets of years in which we grow, mature, age, and die. Here's a quote from the Su Wen (Simple Questions), written sometime around the Second Century BCE:

In a man, at the age of 8 the boy's kidney energy is abundant, his hair and teeth grow. At the age of 16 his kidney energy is even more abundant...and he can produce a child. At the age of 24, the kidney energy peaks, ...the wisdom teeth appear, and growth is at its peak. At the age of 32, tendons and bones are at their strongest, and the muscles are full and strong. At the age of 40, the kidney is weakened, the hair begins to fall out and the teeth become loose. At the age of 48, Yang Qi is exhausted, the face becomes darker, and the hair turns grey. At the age of 56, the liver energy is weakened, the tendons cannot move...and the body begins to grow old. At the age of 64, hair and teeth are gone.

In Chinese Medicine, we talk a lot about the Kidneys. The Kidneys store your Essence, also known as Jing. Jing controls your growth and development, as well as your sexual energy and fertility. As such, it is seen as a very important and precious substance.

Basically, in a nutshell, longevity is based on two main things: your pre-natal Jing (which you inherited from your parents) and your post-natal Jing (which is entirely up to you). There are two things that determine the state of your Jing:

1. The food you eat
2. The balance in your life

This is why we talk so much about balance in Chinese Medicine. Aging really can be controlled, but it takes a considerable amount of discipline. The more stressed out you become, the more you work overtime, the more alcohol you drink, the less you exercise, and the more double-ended burning you do on your candle, the faster you will age.

Luckily, the aging process is reversible, and it's relatively easy to do. Besides exercising regularly and eating healthily (which only you can do), regular acupuncture or BodyTalk treatments will bring your body back into balance. And you can eliminate your food, hormone, and enzyme sensitivities, which will repair broken energetic pathways and allow your body to function optimally, like it did when you were twenty. Honestly, it's the best preventive medicine available anywhere.

http://www.quantumlinkwellness.com/

Tapping: The Reset Button

Recently I ran into one of my former patients in a grocery store parking lot. When she asked me what I was doing these days, I told her that I'd incorporated BodyTalk into my practice. After a short description of BodyTalk, in which I mentioned that the Cortices technique in BodyTalk might help her son's asthma, she remarked with amazement that she recalled tapping on her own head as a child to stop her wheezing.
You might have noticed that some of the newer treatment modalities involve tapping: there's EFT, which works on emotions, there's NAET, best known for allergy elimination, and BodyTalk. Aside from the tapping, all three modalities seem very different.
Why do they all use tapping? Well, for starters, tapping has been around in indigenous cultures for centuries. Tapping wakes up the body and the brain and helps bring about healing.
Think about your spine. Inside your spine—and surrounding your brain--is cerebrospinal fluid which, according to osteopaths and craniosacral therapists, moves in its own rhythm. In NAET and BodyTalk, we are gently interrupting this rhythm to change our relationship with a substance or to call the brain's attention to something. The interruption of this rhythm is communicated to the brain and other places in the body via the cerebrospinal fluid and spinal nerves, which travel up and down the interior of the spine and emerge out of each vertebra.
We've all had a similar experience when we've contracted a case of the hiccups, which miraculously disappears when someone comes up behind us and startles us...and the hiccups miraculously disappear. We've just been reset, and our diaphragm no longer spasms with each inhalation.
It's like having a conversation with a friend, and just as you're in the middle of relating how your boss gave you so much work to do, someone runs up and interrupts you very loudly by shouting something in your face. Your mind goes blank. You can't remember what you were saying.
The same thing happens with tapping. As you tap on your head (or as your practitioner taps on you), causing a gentle interruption of the natural rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid, your brain is surprised enough to be able to change its relationship with that substance, as in NAET. Or as in BodyTalk, your brain notices a lack of communication between your lungs and your spleen that has been causing coughing and phlegm for the past two weeks, and re-establishes the connection.

www.quantumlinkwellness.com

Can't Stop? Gotta Have It?

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you eat something (chocolate, for instance, or potato chips), and it just tastes soooo good, you just want that taste running over your tongue forever, and you keep eating and keep eating? Sometimes do you notice that you just can't stop? And then later, do you find that your stomach hurts, or you're just really bloated, or you get diarrhea after one of these episodes?
Or do you ever eat one thing and then really crave something else? Whenever I eat Indian food, for instance, I really REALLY want something sweet afterward.
What is this phenomenon? Why does this happen? Is it really that we have absolutely no control over our palates?
Actually, it's not you.
It's allergies.
You see, sometimes allergies look and behave a lot like addictions. If you know anything about Alcoholics Anonymous, you'll know that the first step is admitting that you're powerless over your addiction, and secondly you acknowledge the disease concept of alcoholism that your body is allergic to alcohol, and that's why you can't stop drinking. They even describe alcoholism as an “allergy.” And the truth is, they're absolutely right.
The reason you can't stop eating certain foods, or drinking, is because you happen to be allergic to that specific thing. The allergy creates a biochemical reaction in your body that makes you want more.
This also explains why some people are addicted to sugar and others aren't—it's the same reason why some people are alcoholics and others aren't...because everyone's biochemical makeup is unique.
This is why allergy elimination is so powerful. After preparing the body by normalizing the immune system with a certain number of treatments, we can treat you for the thing you're addicted to. Suddenly, it doesn't have the same pull it used to.
I remember when I was treated for my sugar addiction. I happen to be the adult child of a carb and sugar addict. For those of you familiar with addiction, you know that dual addictions are often more difficult to treat. And as a patient of mine once said, “I never met a piece of bread I didn't like.” I couldn't go to a party without standing next to a bowl of pretzels or popcorn and eating it all. I couldn't pass up a plate of doughnuts without having at least one and usually two. Yet after treating sugar, I suddenly didn't need to do that. I could pass up the doughnut because truthfully, I didn't want it anymore. I still appreciated the taste, but I could stop, and I could say no.
Don't misunderstand me. I'm not simply using the language of addiction to make a point; rather, I'm using the language of addiction to demonstrate how powerful allergies can be, and to assure you that it's not in your head. It's not because your character is weak. It's not because you're not good enough. It's because there is a biochemical process that is causing you to lose control. And now, with allergy elimination, there's hope. You can have control over your addiction.

http://www.quantumlinkwellness.com/

Cold and Ancient China

For thousands of years, Chinese Medicine has said that cold enters the body via the acupuncture points on the back of the head and upper back when the protective energy surrounding the body is weakened. An entire system of acupuncture, known as the Shang Han Lun, was developed some 1700-1800 years ago, that traced the invasion of “cold” into the body. As cold penetrated deeper and deeper, an individual got sicker and sicker until they eventually died. Herbal formulas and acupuncture point prescriptions were developed for each stage of illness, beginning with the simple cold, continuing to high fevers, to abdominal pains and exhaustion, to urinary tract infections, and to complete depletion and death. This is how doctors in ancient China kept people alive. Oh, and by the way, the doctors of ancient China only got paid when people were well. So there was a great incentive to keeping people from being sick.
If we were to engage our universal translator, we'd look at the last paragraph and say, “Oh, back then they had viruses, just like we do, except they didn't have antibiotics. And this is what it looks like when you have a virus that you don't treat—it weakens the immune system until the white blood cells can't fight anymore, and then you die.”
Of course, back then they didn't have antibiotics. People tended to stay home and rest when they got sick, rather than going to work because they didn't have sick days or because they had to finish a project. When a major contagious disease swept through a village, people were quarantined, and they complied voluntarily to try to contain the disease as much as possible. Their very existence—and the existence of their towns and villages—depended on it.
Life in ancient China was different in other ways, too. People had a pretty ascetic diet. There was no fast food, hardly any sugar, and not a lot of alcohol. Life was hard, and people didn't party like we do.
What in the world does this have to do with you or me in 2009?
I would argue that it has a LOT to do with us!
If we focused on preventive health, instead of palliative or curative medicine, health care in the US would look completely different than it does today. But even if the rest of the world doesn't change, we can focus on preventive health for ourselves and the people we care about. Here's a brief list of things we can do, taken from simple wisdom of Ancient China:
1. Pay attention to how you feel. Notice when you start to feel tired or run down. Respond by RESTING, not pushing through it.
2. Cut down or eliminate sugar, fast foods, and too much partying.
3. When you get sick, take a day off. Chances are you will nip it in the bud rather than spreading it around your whole office.
Best wishes to all of you for a prosperous and healthy 2009!

www.quantumlinkwellness.com

When A Cold Is Not A Cold, part 2

Continuing on this controversial subject, I would like to posit another relatively outlandish notion, and that is that some people may be sensitive to cold, as an environmental factor, in the same way that some people are sensitive to wheat or lactose intolerant.
Now, before you dismiss me entirely, humor me for one moment and suspend your belief in Western Medicine and Germ Theory. You can come back to it later.
I must remind you of three basic theorems of Allergy Elimination. They are:
1. An Allergy, according to Allergy Elimination, is anything you are not in harmony with, and includes sensitivities, intolerances, and hypersensitivity reactions.
2. You can be sensitive to, intolerant of, or allergic to pretty much anything on the planet.
3. Allergy elimination helps your immune system.
Environmental factors are things like heat, cold, dampness, dryness, wind, and barometric pressure. Environmental factors can either cause sensitivity in and of themselves, or they can combine with other things you might be sensitive to and cause a stronger reaction.
So for the purposes of this article, let's focus on COLD as an environmental factor. Some people do better in cold weather. Some do better in warmer weather. If you are sensitive to cold, here are some symptoms you might experience:
runny nose
aching muscles
constipation
fatigue
nasal congestion
headache
joint stiffness
Now, the funny thing about these symptoms is that they look a lot like a cold! How do you tell the difference?
Think about the DURATION of the symptoms and what happened directly preceding the onset of the symptoms. Did your “cold” start when the weather changed? Do you get a cold that lasts all winter and disappears when it gets warm again? If so, chances are, it's not a cold! You might just be sensitive to cold.
From the vantage point of allergy elimination, cold can affect specific organs in your body. If it affects your colon, you might get constipated. If it affects your stomach, you might have stomach pains, or you might experience a loss of appetite. If you are sensitive to cold, it usually affects the lungs, because as the air temperature drops, your lungs are directly exposed to the drop in temperature. Hence, you might have a cough, or runny nose, or sore throat.
Treating your sensitivities with allergy elimination will boost your immune system in many ways. For one thing, it will prevent those symptoms from occurring. An allergic or sensitivity reaction is hard on your body. Eliminating the sensitivity will basically cut down on the number of things your body has to deal with on a daily basis. And you'll feel better, too.

http://www.quantumlinkwellness.com/

When A Cold Is Not A Cold

Recently a friend of mine told me that her daughter had been sick with a cold for two months.
“That's not a cold,” I told her. “It's an allergy.”
“Ridiculous!” my friend responded. “She doesn't have allergies.”
“If it was a cold,” I went on, “it would have been over and done with in a week, max.”
“Is that why she's not responding to the antibiotics?” my friend asked.

Here's two important facts you need to know about colds:
If it's a cold, it is caused by a virus, not a bacteria. Therefore, antibiotics will be useless.
Colds only last about a week. If it lasts longer, it's not a cold.
So how do you tell if it's a cold or an allergy?
First of all, if you have nasal stuffiness, sneezing, or runny nose for longer than a week, start to look at patterns. Do you notice it at a certain time of day? Do you notice that you get a runny nose after eating a particular thing? Is it possible that this happened the last time you ate it?
I had a friend several years ago whose daughter's nose would run every morning after breakfast. She called it “The Breakfast Cold.” Basically, the child was reacting to the food she ate every morning.
Secondly, does your runny nose or sneezing happen at a certain time of year? Do you have what seems to be a month-long cold every March? If so, chances are it's allergies and not a cold. Environmental allergies often mimic colds in their symptoms. The only difference is the duration.
Third, do not underestimate the effect of emotions. If you find yourself in the midst of a month-long cold after the death of a loved one, it's probably your body trying to work out the grief you still feel.
And emotions can be tricky, too! I was treating a patient once for his mold allergies. “My mold allergy is always the strongest in the fall,” he told me. Interesting, I thought; in California, the fall is the dryest time of year, and mold is usually at an all-time low in the fall. I tested him, and found that he wasn't allergic to mold at all. So when I tested again to find out what it was that was triggering his allergy each fall, it turned out to be an emotion...and, long story short, it was in the fall that his father had died several years earlier. After clearing the emotion, his autumn allergy disappeared.

www.quantumlinkwellness.com

Winter: The Season of the Dreaded Cough

I'll never forget the feeling...being awakened at 11:30 pm, soon after falling asleep, by the sound of my son's cough in his room next to ours...that feeling of dread and fear because my son can't breathe.
Every mother of an asthmatic child knows exactly what I'm talking about. There's a certain sound that every child makes when they cough, when you know they're in trouble. For my son, it was when the cough (which had begun 36 hours previously) had pretty much exhausted his lungs. His voice shrank to a whisper. He began to wheeze. And the cough shook his small frame, sending spasms throughout his entire body, sometimes causing him to gag at the end. I knew there was no medicine that would get us through the night, no matter what the doctor said, and that it would be a long, scary night indeed.
Fortunately for us, I learned from our nutritionist that my son had food allergies that were creating copious amounts of phlegm in his small system. When we eat food that is undigestible—either because we're allergic to that food and it creates inflammation in our gut or because we're sensitive to that food and can't absorb it—the residue of the undigested food produces excess mucus. When we reach a certain critical mass, so to speak, of mucus that our body can't store any longer, the mucus is released as phlegm, usually through the nose, in a form that looks, for all intents and purposes, like a cold. This is what our nutritionist explained to us. Hmm, I thought, that sounds suspiciously like Chinese Medicine, which I myself had studied before having children. And, come to think of it, my son seemed like he was getting an awful lot of colds—sometimes he got a cold every two or three weeks! But, I realized, no one else in the family was getting these “colds,” which made me wonder. Maybe the nutritionist was right.
So we followed the nutritionist's advice: No eggs. No wheat. No cow's milk dairy of any sort, including butter. No soy. And much less sugar. It was a miracle—my son got dramatically better in a very short period of time. I was amazed.
Now, for those of you who have never attempted an egg-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, soy-free diet, let me share with you how incredibly difficult this is to do, especially with children, and especially with someone who is a very picky eater to begin with, like my son is. Basically, you can't go out to eat. Every kid's meal known to mankind is replete with wheat and dairy, not to mention things no parent really wants to know about. Basically, on an egg-free, wheat-free, dairy-free diet, you eat meat, chicken, or fish, and vegetables, which if you're interested in losing weight is a really great diet to follow but unfortunately my son, aged 5 at the time, was already too skinny. And basically, we spent a lot of time at the kitchen table amidst plates of (you guessed it) protein and vegetables, while my son cried and said, “Mom, when can I get off this boring diet?” Breaks a mom's heart.
What kind of a life is this, I ask you? Doomed, at age 5, to eat only meat and vegetables! Ask any parent whose child has had to follow this diet, and they will tell you it is very difficult, but better than pulmicort and albuterol, the asthma medicine du jour. And I seconded that every time we fell off the wagon after a bithday-party soaked weekend, or a visit to the grandparents, or when I gave in because I just couldn't listen to the whining anymore, and the dreaded cough came back. Yes, I sighed, life is a sick joke.
But then we discovered NAET, the greatest allergy elimination therapy known to man, the holy grail of alternative medicine. NAET is a combination of Chinese medicine, applied kinesiology (muscle testing), and chiropractic spinal massage. It actually change your relationship with any substance you might be reacting to. I treated my son for eggs, and the cough went away. Really—I'm not kidding. It resurfaced twice in two years—once after he ate salmon, and once after he ate rice pasta—but after treating him for those two things, he basically doesn't cough anymore. The dreaded cough is gone!!

www.quantumlinkwellness.com