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