Lessons Learned

This week was filled with many lessons - yes even a doctor has to learn the hard way on some things.

Thursday was my second ionic foot bath

2nd Ionic Footbath 01/24/2013

As you can see from the photo, I had a lot more particulate in my water and there was a slight green tint to the water.  A light green tint can indicate a flushing of the immune system, which is great considering all the cold & flu floating around my area.  As you can see from the picture compared from my previous post on foot baths, the more often a patient does the Ionic footbath, the more likely to pull more toxins and feel better.  After this foot bath, my feet felt so soft and as if I was walking on a soft cloud all day.

Now for the BIG lesson of the week.  Sometimes cheat days are not fun!!

Saturday was a cheat day for me and my family and I did not take my own advice which turned out to big mistake.  My advice to my patient is to make a list through the week of whatever food they are craving, as the craving leaves - remove the food from their list.  This helps to narrow down a cheat day to only a few food items you are truly craving so you don't go overboard.......yep that's my advice....now here is what happens when you do not head my advice.

Breakfast:

A doughnut from QT with milk.

Lunch:

McDonalds meal.....not a happy meal...a full meal with regular soda.

Snack:

Small Dairy Queen Blizzard

Dinner:

Olive Garden dinner including bread stick (yes I only ate one - because it tasted too salty), salad, pasta and a small glass of wine.

A few weeks ago, this day would not be a big deal, in fact I was probably still hungry after eating all of the above.  BUT, since I have been eating healthy and having a lot of fresh fruits & veggies in my diet, I was feeling very ill by the time I woke up Sunday morning.  Besides the salad - and if you are one of the few who count french fries as a veggie, which I don't - there was not a fruit or veggie for most of the day.  It took me until last night (Monday) to truly have an appetite back for anything other than some veggies.  Because of my Saturday - ahem blowout - I am up 1.5lbs for the week.  Back to 184.6 this week.  Oh well - live and learn.

If you would have told me that in a matter of 3 weeks my body would have such change in reaction from a diet that was common place - I would never have believed you.  If I can do it you can to.  Come and see me for an initial nutritional evaluation.

8.8 is Enough....For Now

Health benefits of losing fat

I weighed myself this week and I am currently at 183.1 pounds which is a total loss of 8.8 pounds since I started this journey 3 weeks ago.  Since I began, I am sleeping better, and I do not have as many stomach/digestive pain, I seem to have more energy, my breathing problems have almost gone away completely, and my clothes are even starting to feel a little looser in some areas.  Yay!!

On Monday, I had my second acupuncture treatment, and this time some of the points hurt a little bit but nothing more than a slight ache.  Ironically, the only point that ached last time was on my left side and this time the only points that ached were on my right.  Oh well...whatever the cause it seems to be helping since those points relate to the stomach, which I am having less and less of a problem.

I'm still getting on the treadmill about every other day for about 15-20 minutes each time.  My pace is still slow but as long as I am doing some form of movement, the exercise will at least help keep my metabolism moving.  My overall goal is to be able to stand and walk for hours on vacation with my family without having to spend my time resting and not able to enjoy doing other activities with them.  When the weather is MUCH more warmer than the 12 degrees it is today, I am hoping to do some of my walking at the Kansas City zoo because I am dying to see their new polar bear Berlin.

Losing 8.8 pounds is a great accomplishment but even if it had only been 1 or 2 pounds I would still be excited, because overall I feel I have started taking steps to improve my overall health.  In the next few months, I am looking forward to having even more energy and kissing my asthma & stomach issues goodbye.

Seeing the Red

Every morning, as part of my healthy living, I take 1 oz of a product called NingXia Red.  It is a drink produced by Young Living and it's base is wolfberry puree.  I knew woflberry (Lycium barbarum) is very high on the antioxidant scale and therefore would be helpful with free radicals and oxidative stress within my body as a result of years of wear & tear and unhealthy habits.

But today, I was in the office and reviewing some of the latest articles on health and I came across a very interesting article, published September 2012 in a Chinese ophthalmology journal, about the use of Lycium barbarum (wolfberry) and the retinal cells.  Retinal cells make up tissue of the eye and work with affecting the light source into the eye.  Some of you may have heard of retinal diseases such as: Macular degeneration, Cone-Rod dystrophy (CORD), retinoblastoma (cancer of the retina), hypertensive retinopathy (problems from high blood pressure) or diabetic retinopathy (problems from diabetes).  Many of us know someone who has one of these diseases or at least has factors such as high blood pressure or diabetes that can lead to a retinal disease.  The article I found today came out of Medical University in Beijing, China specifically their ocular (eye) program.  The study used human retinal tissue and exposed it to Lycium barbarum, then measure the response at 24 and 72 hours.  Compared to a control group which was not exposed to any further substance, the Lycium barbarum group saw a very positive difference in proper re-growth and cell stability.  Which means by exposing our cells to wolfberry, we are allowing our eyes grow better nerve cells allowing use to see clearer.

While I knew NingXia Red had healing qualities already with the high antioxidants and natural vitamin content, this study gives me even more of a reason to recommend it to my patients suffering from eye diseases as well as my hypertensive and diabetic patients.

I guess I just wanted to share my excitement about finding an article to back-up an action I was already taking.  If you have any questions or would like to know more about the other ingredients in NingXia Red, contact me.

Soak the feet...Lose the Toxins

The water at the beginning of the Ionic Foot Bath

Today I had my first Ionic Foot bath.  It is a very relaxing, consisting of sitting with my feet in warm water and letting science do all the work!

A little about ionic foot baths and how they work - the facts:
The bottom of the feet have some of the largest pores on the human body.
Gravity is constantly pushing toxins (as well as everything else) towards the ground - feet.
Higher temperatures increase circulation and metabolism of cells - so the feet are emerged in warm water.
Salt in water causes ionization.
An ionizer keeps the water churned causing the chemical reactions (ionization) to continue while energy is applied.

All of the above facts work together to pull toxins from the body. While the patient sits and feels nothing more than a warm bath for their feet.

This is after about 30 minutes

After 30 minutes of leaving my feet sitting in the bath - with nothing but sea salt being added to the water - the above picture is how my water looked.  Everyone's water will appear slightly different based on the type of toxins pulled during the process.  My water is mostly brown suggesting some digestion and liver cleanse.  Digestion and liver cleanse is exactly the areas I am working on at the moment so it made perfect sense.

Ionic Foot Baths Detox are offered at my clinic for $30.  To see what color your water will be Set up an appointment!

Shouldn't I be LOSING weight?!

This morning I stepped on the scales before I had consumed anything or did any activity - well it was 185.6. Which is a weight gain of about 0.5 lb!!!  What the heck?!

I think most people have been on a diet or healthy lifestyle change and had a week(s) were there was no weight loss.  So what the heck happened??

Well - many contributing factors can happen but here are a few:
1) Most important - weight loss should happen about 1-2 lbs per week.  If you are following my blogs, you may know, I lost over 6 lbs in the first week.  By losing so much weight in the first week, I was actually setting myself up for failure because the next week I was likely to gain some weight back or have no weight loss recorded.  Because the body is not able to adapt very quickly to weight loss, a loss of more than 1-2 lbs per week is easily gained back.

2) Calorie count. If your weight is not changing in the way you feel it should, start writing down everything you consume.  This applies to food as well as beverage.  Then use the internet to calculate the amount of calories consumed each day.  The number of calories you should consume each day can differ based on gender, age, activity rate and other medical conditions.  Here is a good reference.

3) Physiological condition.  There can always be a true physiological reason for weight loss and weight gain.  Everything from the endocrine system (hormones & enzymes) to serious illnesses such as cancer.  If you have any questions about unexplained weight loss or weight gain please contact a physician.  Going over a nutritional consult including a thorough history can help explain a weight shift and can even save a life.  If you have experienced a weight shift of over 5 lbs in one week without much of a change in your lifestyle, please seek a physician's advice. 

Acupuncture can help you relax?

I think I was asleep in this one.  Check out the needles on my arms!

Today I treated myself to an acupuncture treatment.  For those who are not aware, acupuncture comes from Chinese medicine and involves using very thin needles inserted at specific points to treat a variety of complaints and adjust the body's energy flow.

Some of you may think to yourself "needles do not help me relax!".  Well the needles used in acupuncture are about the size and width of a human hair.  Usually only a lite tap is felt when the needle is inserted and any discomfort associated with the initial insertion is gone in an instant. So, the treatment is usually not painful at all.

Sage, the acupuncturist at my clinic, treats many illnesses and other complaints so I had no idea what to expect out of a treatment today.  She told me today's treatment is one best used on a first treatment because it involves points relating back to all the major organ systems in the body.  Luckily, this treatment and most of her other treatments are accomplished with points located from the neck up, the elbow down and the knee down so the treatment takes place in the comfort of a recliner. Plus, having some relaxing music and low lighting....I was in HEAVEN!!  With this treatment being done in a recliner and without the need to remove clothing, I was able to bring someone with me and the two of us received a treatment at the same time!

As a doctor and a patient, whenever a treatment can also be a treat, I highly recommend its utilization.  If you are thinking about getting help with anything from addictions, allergies, infertility, pain relief or just realigning your overall energy - give acupuncture a chance. Sage's Website.  If you have any questions or concerns contact us - then give acupuncture a try.

My feet getting acupuncture treatment.  Wow, I need some sun!

Relax It's Only Health

Better health does not always have to be a "no pain, no gain" attitude.  Thinking about building better health does not have to be just "rabbit food" and workouts.  Getting healthy can actually be done by pampering yourself.

Need some relaxation that can actually be healthy - I got you covered.

1) Try a nice relaxing warm bath with some essential oils.  A warm bath can increase blood flow as well as relaxing muscles and easing tension.  Essential oils can aid in many, many areas of health concerns.  If you have questions about which oil is best for your health, come and see me.

2) Get some ear de-stress acupuncture.  At my clinic this is done by our acupuncturist while the patient stretches out in a recliner.  It consists of needling a few points in each ear, with a needle that is about the width of a human hair.  By getting the acupuncture and having time to sit and relax the body's meridians are able to open and allow energy to flow properly throughout the body and allowing the patient time to relax during a stressful time.

3) Get a massage.  A massage can be a simple as a hand massage or chair massage all the way up to a full-body-deep-tissue massage.  Massage helps muscles relax as well as stimulate blood flow.  By stimulating blood flow this can create movement of toxins which can be old ingested toxins and even some of those pesky flu-bug symptoms that keep hanging on.

4) Sweat it out in the sauna.  Take a good book or bring along a friend and sit in the heat.  Sweating helps remove toxins through the skin and requires hardly any physical effort on your behalf.  Plus, a sauna sound really great when the HIGH temp today was below freezing.

5) Plan a new menu.  Get some new recipes and try out some new cuisines.  Invite some friends or family and see if they can even guess they are eating healthy.  Luckily, the internet has given us the ability to search millions of healthy recipes online, find a few and try them out.