Neurofeedback is the child of the biofeedback movement that was all the rage in the 1970s. And though neurofeedback did spring from that 70's rage, it actually takes an opposite approach than that of biofeedback.
Essentially, biofeedback sought to have the mind influence and relax the body. Neurofeedback has the body, it's motions and activities influence the brain's waves. No, it is not mind control and it is not sci-fi. It is really powerful and has had remarkable results with addressing ADHD without the use of drugs. Now, since there has not yet been sufficient research to satisfy the medical (and drug) community, physicians are reluctant to recommend neurofeedback by itself. But if you do your own internet research and go to the scientific journals you will find a lot of compelling information that supports the successful use of neurofeedback with ADHD, depression and to a lesser degree ptsd and fibromyalgia.
ADHD patients that have gone through a complete neurofeedback regiment report long term results that are symptom free without the use of drugs.
There is one catch though. Neurofeedback can cost as much as $100 per session and ADHD patients may need as many as 40 sessions (1x per week). Insurance may or may not cover it. All things considered though - it is a small price to pay to be able to get results and not be on drugs.
Here is link to find a provider near you:
http://directory.eeginfo.com
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Building Self Esteem - a key building block in mind/body universe
This article was originally published 4 years ago. The material is timeless and worth revisiting.
Read about how a few simple changes in can lead to developing great self esteem in children and help avoid some of the physical woes that can result later on in life due to unresolved emotions.
What does a good person look like?
A magazine cover might suggest a thin model with glossy hair and bright white teeth. A TV commercial might suggest a muscular businessman in a sparkling SUV.
But, for our children, must success and character be defined by possessions rather than personal power, by glamour rather than gold-heartedness?
Parents have to wonder sometimes if they can convince their children that what's inside is what matters, when kids are bombarded with so many superficial, outside factors. Yet hope may be found in strategies such as those in "Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity, and Other Essential Virtues." Parents and teachers can use advice from the book, by developmental psychologist Thomas Lickona, and pointers from area experts to bolster a child's self-concept and value system.
Lickona believes that the key to success in life is a solid sense of character -- an attribute that appears to be waning, according to the 2002 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth issued by the Josephson Institute for Ethics in California.
The national survey of thousands of high school students showed that, in the past year, three out of four students admitted to cheating on an exam, about four in 10 said they had stolen something from a store, and about four in 10 said they would lie to get a job.
To combat these behaviors, experts suggest parents adopt a zero-tolerance policy for disrespectful speech and behavior. But do so in a proactive way, cautions Lickona, who also serves as a professor at the State University of New York at Cortland. Teach by example, he says; explain to children why it is wrong to lie and cheat.
Todd Snyder, a licensed mental health counselor with a private practice in Sarasota and a father of two boys, has been working with abused and neglected children for 15 years. Snyder said that now more than ever he notices that children are overwhelmed with pressure, both from the media and from their parents, to be "perfect."
The capitalist, commercially driven culture in which American children grow teaches them to seek external fulfillment, Snyder said. Children consequently end up striving for a superficial identity that is defined by appearances and the accumulation of materials, rather than by inner joy.
To lessen this pressure to be "the best," Snyder suggests parents avoid using such words around their children as "have to," "must" and "should" -- words that create an environment of absolutes and lofty expectations.
Children need to feel they have the ability to shape their reality, and parents do their children a disservice when they undermine their child's personal power.
Pam Parmenter, quality assurance director for Project Childcare in Bradenton, said it is crucial for parents to be present, especially between the ages of 6 and 9 when children have not yet moved from the pre-operational stage of cognitive development into the concrete operational stage. These children still think in pictures, therefore, and cannot fully distinguish between fantasy and reality.
And the violence, sexual content and sarcasm they view on TV screens do not register as fictional, or even as good or bad; it's at this point that parents must step in and make evaluations with a child, turning the dialogue into a character-building lesson.
This can be done in a variety of ways. Children can learn to opt to take the steps instead of the elevator, to ride their bikes instead of hitching rides in their parent's car. A healthier child will feel more energetic and willing to take successful risks, as opposed to a couch potato who will learn the habit of taking the easy way out in life, Parmenter said.
And when a child does a good job, parents should avoid offering a mere pat on the back. An explanation is due, too.
"Empty praise," as Parmenter calls it, does not help a child to understand why he or she did something right or wrong.
Specific positive reinforcement is a tool Dorothy Aldor has employed in her 40-year career working with children. An instructor at Little People's Place, a Sarasota nursery school, Aldor has watched children's attitudes change throughout the past four decades. When children are given the privilege of being the teacher's helper, or the one who passes out the arts and crafts supplies, they feel a positive sense of authority, Aldor said. It gives them hope that they can excel.
"There is always something you can do to make them feel big and important," she said.
For Rick Smith, this "something" is offering a child a hands-on approach to learning, particularly about the sciences. The teacher at Harllee Middle School in Bradenton believes that children are most empowered when they feel that they are in control of their destiny.
When teachers and parents demonstrate faith in a child's ability to problem-solve, the child learns to trust him or herself, and to formulate opinions. Smith has worked in education for 16 years, and his students have received national-level awards for their environmentally conscious beach clean-up and Reef Ball projects.
"We've got to give kids a vision," Smith said. "We have to give them a chance to say, 'This is what I think.'I make sure they know I'll be here to support them," he said.
Lem Andrews III, a basketball coach at Booker High School in Sarasota and a father of three, said participation in athletics can be an effective way to nurture a child's inner and outer strength.
What children act out on the court often mirrors the rest of their life -- they win some, they lose some, and they have to learn how to handle both end results. Andrews pushes his team to its full potential and avoids harsh criticism of mistakes, always trying to celebrate players' strengths without overlooking their weaknesses.
"You address losses like you do failures in life -- that's what makes you successful and stronger," Andrews said. "If we win the championship and we didn't learn how to be unselfish players, we just won an award."
Cora Taylor, a mother of three and a licensed mental health counselor for adults and children at Crossway Counseling and Learning in Port Charlotte, said self-esteem is like a three-legged stool. The first leg is belonging, the second is feeling worthwhile and the third is feeling capable.
Parents can tackle all aspects by engaging in age-appropriate activities with their children. For children younger than 6, parents can create a corner of the house where it is acceptable to make a mess during creative exercises. Let them finger-paint and do papier mâché without worrying about spilling glue on the furniture.
For children older than 6, parents should make an effort to spend time with their child's friends, to head to museums or beaches, and to sit in the bleachers during Little League games. All of these pro-social behaviors instill a sense of importance in a child.
If a child complains that he or she does not want to go to school on a given day, an incorrect response would be to assert, "Too bad; you're going anyway," Taylor said.
Instead, the parent should ask the child why he or she is hesitating to go, and react to what a child is feeling rather than what he or she says.
Teenagers, in particular, need attention from their parents, even though the youths often claim to want little to do with their parents. This is the time when adolescents are beginning to question everything around them, and endeavoring to find an identity.
"Teenagers, when they are coming into their own, will start challenging all the values Mom and Dad have taught them," Taylor said. "They need to know it's safe to do that."
Last modified: March 18. 2004 7:34AM
taken from the Herald Tribune Archives Southwest Florida
http://www.artificialreefs.org/Articles/Reefballesteem.htm
Read about how a few simple changes in can lead to developing great self esteem in children and help avoid some of the physical woes that can result later on in life due to unresolved emotions.
What does a good person look like?
A magazine cover might suggest a thin model with glossy hair and bright white teeth. A TV commercial might suggest a muscular businessman in a sparkling SUV.
But, for our children, must success and character be defined by possessions rather than personal power, by glamour rather than gold-heartedness?
Parents have to wonder sometimes if they can convince their children that what's inside is what matters, when kids are bombarded with so many superficial, outside factors. Yet hope may be found in strategies such as those in "Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity, and Other Essential Virtues." Parents and teachers can use advice from the book, by developmental psychologist Thomas Lickona, and pointers from area experts to bolster a child's self-concept and value system.
Lickona believes that the key to success in life is a solid sense of character -- an attribute that appears to be waning, according to the 2002 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth issued by the Josephson Institute for Ethics in California.
The national survey of thousands of high school students showed that, in the past year, three out of four students admitted to cheating on an exam, about four in 10 said they had stolen something from a store, and about four in 10 said they would lie to get a job.
To combat these behaviors, experts suggest parents adopt a zero-tolerance policy for disrespectful speech and behavior. But do so in a proactive way, cautions Lickona, who also serves as a professor at the State University of New York at Cortland. Teach by example, he says; explain to children why it is wrong to lie and cheat.
Todd Snyder, a licensed mental health counselor with a private practice in Sarasota and a father of two boys, has been working with abused and neglected children for 15 years. Snyder said that now more than ever he notices that children are overwhelmed with pressure, both from the media and from their parents, to be "perfect."
The capitalist, commercially driven culture in which American children grow teaches them to seek external fulfillment, Snyder said. Children consequently end up striving for a superficial identity that is defined by appearances and the accumulation of materials, rather than by inner joy.
To lessen this pressure to be "the best," Snyder suggests parents avoid using such words around their children as "have to," "must" and "should" -- words that create an environment of absolutes and lofty expectations.
Children need to feel they have the ability to shape their reality, and parents do their children a disservice when they undermine their child's personal power.
Pam Parmenter, quality assurance director for Project Childcare in Bradenton, said it is crucial for parents to be present, especially between the ages of 6 and 9 when children have not yet moved from the pre-operational stage of cognitive development into the concrete operational stage. These children still think in pictures, therefore, and cannot fully distinguish between fantasy and reality.
And the violence, sexual content and sarcasm they view on TV screens do not register as fictional, or even as good or bad; it's at this point that parents must step in and make evaluations with a child, turning the dialogue into a character-building lesson.
This can be done in a variety of ways. Children can learn to opt to take the steps instead of the elevator, to ride their bikes instead of hitching rides in their parent's car. A healthier child will feel more energetic and willing to take successful risks, as opposed to a couch potato who will learn the habit of taking the easy way out in life, Parmenter said.
And when a child does a good job, parents should avoid offering a mere pat on the back. An explanation is due, too.
"Empty praise," as Parmenter calls it, does not help a child to understand why he or she did something right or wrong.
Specific positive reinforcement is a tool Dorothy Aldor has employed in her 40-year career working with children. An instructor at Little People's Place, a Sarasota nursery school, Aldor has watched children's attitudes change throughout the past four decades. When children are given the privilege of being the teacher's helper, or the one who passes out the arts and crafts supplies, they feel a positive sense of authority, Aldor said. It gives them hope that they can excel.
"There is always something you can do to make them feel big and important," she said.
For Rick Smith, this "something" is offering a child a hands-on approach to learning, particularly about the sciences. The teacher at Harllee Middle School in Bradenton believes that children are most empowered when they feel that they are in control of their destiny.
When teachers and parents demonstrate faith in a child's ability to problem-solve, the child learns to trust him or herself, and to formulate opinions. Smith has worked in education for 16 years, and his students have received national-level awards for their environmentally conscious beach clean-up and Reef Ball projects.
"We've got to give kids a vision," Smith said. "We have to give them a chance to say, 'This is what I think.'I make sure they know I'll be here to support them," he said.
Lem Andrews III, a basketball coach at Booker High School in Sarasota and a father of three, said participation in athletics can be an effective way to nurture a child's inner and outer strength.
What children act out on the court often mirrors the rest of their life -- they win some, they lose some, and they have to learn how to handle both end results. Andrews pushes his team to its full potential and avoids harsh criticism of mistakes, always trying to celebrate players' strengths without overlooking their weaknesses.
"You address losses like you do failures in life -- that's what makes you successful and stronger," Andrews said. "If we win the championship and we didn't learn how to be unselfish players, we just won an award."
Cora Taylor, a mother of three and a licensed mental health counselor for adults and children at Crossway Counseling and Learning in Port Charlotte, said self-esteem is like a three-legged stool. The first leg is belonging, the second is feeling worthwhile and the third is feeling capable.
Parents can tackle all aspects by engaging in age-appropriate activities with their children. For children younger than 6, parents can create a corner of the house where it is acceptable to make a mess during creative exercises. Let them finger-paint and do papier mâché without worrying about spilling glue on the furniture.
For children older than 6, parents should make an effort to spend time with their child's friends, to head to museums or beaches, and to sit in the bleachers during Little League games. All of these pro-social behaviors instill a sense of importance in a child.
If a child complains that he or she does not want to go to school on a given day, an incorrect response would be to assert, "Too bad; you're going anyway," Taylor said.
Instead, the parent should ask the child why he or she is hesitating to go, and react to what a child is feeling rather than what he or she says.
Teenagers, in particular, need attention from their parents, even though the youths often claim to want little to do with their parents. This is the time when adolescents are beginning to question everything around them, and endeavoring to find an identity.
"Teenagers, when they are coming into their own, will start challenging all the values Mom and Dad have taught them," Taylor said. "They need to know it's safe to do that."
Last modified: March 18. 2004 7:34AM
taken from the Herald Tribune Archives Southwest Florida
http://www.artificialreefs.org/Articles/Reefballesteem.htm
Monday, June 16, 2008
Coffee and Stress
Coffee Beans May Be Newest Stress-Buster By Ed Edelson, HealthDay Reporter - Fri Jun 13, 8:47 PM PDT
Provided by: HealthDay
96% of users found this article helpful.
- FRIDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Just sniffing that first hot cup of coffee in the morning may help ease some stresses you might be feeling, a South Korean trial indicates.
When rats inhaled the aroma of roasted coffee beans, a number of genes were activated, including some that produce proteins with healthful antioxidant activity, the researchers reported.
"The meaning of it is not totally clear yet," said Dr. Peter R. Martin, director of the Institute of Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt University. "What it does show is that coffee smells do change the brain to some degree, and it behooves us to understand why that is happening."
The findings, from a team led by Han-Seok Seo at Seoul National University in South Korea, were expected to be published in the June 25 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The experiment was done with laboratory rats, some of whom were stressed by being deprived of sleep. The researchers did detailed genetic studies that showed the activity of 11 genes was increased and the activity of two genes was decreased in the rats that smelled the coffee, compared to those who did not. In effect, the aroma of the coffee beans helped ease the stress of the sleep-deprived rodents.
The experiment provides "for the first time, clues to the potential antioxidant or stress-relaxation activities of the coffee bean aroma," the researchers wrote.
And they added, "These results indirectly explain why so many people use coffee for staying up all night, although the volatile compounds of coffee beans are not fully consistent with those of the coffee extracts. In other words, the stress caused by sleep loss via caffeine may be alleviated through smelling the coffee aroma."
"They used the latest in technology to see how brain expression of RNA changed," Martin said. RNA is the molecule that carries out the instructions encoded in genes. "This is just the beginning of a very interesting line of investigation," he added.
The aromatic compounds responsible for coffee's odor may be antioxidants, "but they are not the same as the major antioxidants that are in the drink," said Joe A. Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.
Chemically, the antioxidants in liquid coffee are polyphenols, Vinson said. Those in the aroma are heterocycle compounds containing sulfur or nitrogen atoms.
"There are two ways to get things into your system, and the quickest way is to smell them," Vinson said. "Caffeine gets into the brain via the blood stream. Here, aromatic molecules get into the brain through the olfactory system. The levels in the air are parts per million, so obviously these are minor components in the air. But they are doing something."
Previous studies have shown that coffee consumption can reduce depression and suicide risk, as well as relieve stress, effects generally attributed to the caffeine in coffee, the researchers noted. But while some 900 compounds that float away from the bean have been identified, this is the first study to assay their possible effects, they added.
It's too early to recommend that people feeling stress sniff coffee to ease their way, Martin said. But, he added, "people who don't even drink coffee are fascinated by the odor of it. Ever since my little boy was two years old, he has loved the odor of coffee. I have always thought that coffee has some mystic quality, and there is some deep historical basis for it."
More information
The latest on coffee health research is available from the Coffee Science Information Centre.
Provided by: HealthDay
96% of users found this article helpful.
- FRIDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Just sniffing that first hot cup of coffee in the morning may help ease some stresses you might be feeling, a South Korean trial indicates.
When rats inhaled the aroma of roasted coffee beans, a number of genes were activated, including some that produce proteins with healthful antioxidant activity, the researchers reported.
"The meaning of it is not totally clear yet," said Dr. Peter R. Martin, director of the Institute of Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt University. "What it does show is that coffee smells do change the brain to some degree, and it behooves us to understand why that is happening."
The findings, from a team led by Han-Seok Seo at Seoul National University in South Korea, were expected to be published in the June 25 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The experiment was done with laboratory rats, some of whom were stressed by being deprived of sleep. The researchers did detailed genetic studies that showed the activity of 11 genes was increased and the activity of two genes was decreased in the rats that smelled the coffee, compared to those who did not. In effect, the aroma of the coffee beans helped ease the stress of the sleep-deprived rodents.
The experiment provides "for the first time, clues to the potential antioxidant or stress-relaxation activities of the coffee bean aroma," the researchers wrote.
And they added, "These results indirectly explain why so many people use coffee for staying up all night, although the volatile compounds of coffee beans are not fully consistent with those of the coffee extracts. In other words, the stress caused by sleep loss via caffeine may be alleviated through smelling the coffee aroma."
"They used the latest in technology to see how brain expression of RNA changed," Martin said. RNA is the molecule that carries out the instructions encoded in genes. "This is just the beginning of a very interesting line of investigation," he added.
The aromatic compounds responsible for coffee's odor may be antioxidants, "but they are not the same as the major antioxidants that are in the drink," said Joe A. Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.
Chemically, the antioxidants in liquid coffee are polyphenols, Vinson said. Those in the aroma are heterocycle compounds containing sulfur or nitrogen atoms.
"There are two ways to get things into your system, and the quickest way is to smell them," Vinson said. "Caffeine gets into the brain via the blood stream. Here, aromatic molecules get into the brain through the olfactory system. The levels in the air are parts per million, so obviously these are minor components in the air. But they are doing something."
Previous studies have shown that coffee consumption can reduce depression and suicide risk, as well as relieve stress, effects generally attributed to the caffeine in coffee, the researchers noted. But while some 900 compounds that float away from the bean have been identified, this is the first study to assay their possible effects, they added.
It's too early to recommend that people feeling stress sniff coffee to ease their way, Martin said. But, he added, "people who don't even drink coffee are fascinated by the odor of it. Ever since my little boy was two years old, he has loved the odor of coffee. I have always thought that coffee has some mystic quality, and there is some deep historical basis for it."
More information
The latest on coffee health research is available from the Coffee Science Information Centre.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Sleep Does Wonders for Your Body
Sleep: A Necessity, Not a Luxury By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay Reporter - Sun Jun 8, 8:49 PM PDT
Provided by: HealthDay
95% of users found this article helpful.
- SUNDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- The pace of life gets faster and faster, and people try to cram more and more into every minute of the day.
As things get more hectic, sleep tends to get short shrift. It's seen as wasted time, lost forever.
"For healthy people, there's a big temptation to voluntarily restrict sleep, to stay up an hour or two or get up an hour or two earlier," said Dr. Greg Belenky, director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University Spokane.
"But you're really reducing your productivity and exposing yourself to risk," Belenky added.
That's a message doctors are trying to spread to Americans, including the estimated 40 million people who struggle with some type of sleep disorder each year.
Before Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1880, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. These days, Americans average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours a night on weekends, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
"The group of people getting optimal sleep is getting smaller and smaller," said Dr. Chris Drake, senior scientist at the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit. "When a person's sleep drops to six hours or less, that's when a lot of things become very problematic."
While experts recommend seven to eight hours of sleep each night, the amount needed for an individual can vary.
But lack of sleep affects a person in one of two ways, Belenky said. First, sleeplessness influences the day-to-day performance of tasks.
"The performance effects are seen immediately," he said. "You short-change yourself of sleep, and you see the effects immediately. You can make a bad decision. You can miss something. Have a moment's inattention, and you're off the road."
The longer-term effects of sleep deprivation involve a person's health. Doctors have linked lack of sleep to weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, depression and substance abuse.
"Hormones that process appetite begin to get disorganized," said Drake, who's also an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. There's a decrease in the amount of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone, when a person gets too little sleep. At the same time, ghrelin -- a hormone that stimulates appetite -- increases with a lack of sleep.
Too little sleep also interferes with the body's ability to regulate glucose and can cause inflammation leading to heart problems and a rise in blood pressure. "There's a stress response to being in a sleep loss," Belenky said.
The types of people not getting enough sleep also break down into two groups. First, there are those who make the conscious choice to go without enough sleep.
"It's sort of part of the culture," Belenky said. "People pride themselves on getting little sleep. You'll hear people bragging, 'I only need six hours a night.' So there's a macho element here."
On the other hand, there are people who are suffering from sleep disorders. These disorders include:
* Insomnia, an inability to go to sleep or stay asleep.
* Sleep apnea, or breathing interruptions during sleep that cause people to wake up repeatedly.
* Restless legs syndrome, a tingling or prickly sensation in the legs that causes a person to need to move them, interrupting sleep.
Someone suffering from any of these problems should visit their doctor or see a sleep specialist, Belenky said.
Sleep apnea, the most prevalent sleep disorder, can have particularly serious long-term effects if left untreated. "You're waking up out of sleep to breathe. You can't sleep and breathe at the same time," Drake said. "It's a risk factor for developing major cardiovascular health effects."
Some people who have trouble sleeping will resort to mild sedatives like Ambien and Lunesta.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently asked the makers of these sedative-hypnotic drugs to strengthen their warning labels. This action followed reports of dangerous allergic reactions, as well as a host of bizarre behavioral side effects that include sleep-driving, making phone calls, and preparing and eating food or having sex while asleep.
Drake and Belenky both consider sleeping pills to be fine for the short term if taken properly.
"Sleeping pills are a temporary solution," Belenky said. "If you're upset about something or have situational insomnia, or you're trying to sleep at the wrong time of day because you've traveled across time zones, they are effective."
But, both doctors noted the pills will do nothing to help a chronic sleep problem. "They don't address the pathology of their sleeplessness," Drake said.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health offers these tips for getting a good night's sleep:
* Stick to a regular sleep schedule.
* Avoid exercising closer than five or six hours before bedtime.
* Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol before bed.
* Avoid large meals and beverages late at night.
* Don't take naps after 3 p.m.
* Relax before bed, taking time to unwind with a hot bath, a good book or soothing music.
* If you're still awake after more than 20 minutes in bed, get up and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy. Anxiety over not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
More information
To learn more, visit the National Sleep Foundation.
http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/sleepanecessitynotaluxury.html
Provided by: HealthDay
95% of users found this article helpful.
- SUNDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- The pace of life gets faster and faster, and people try to cram more and more into every minute of the day.
As things get more hectic, sleep tends to get short shrift. It's seen as wasted time, lost forever.
"For healthy people, there's a big temptation to voluntarily restrict sleep, to stay up an hour or two or get up an hour or two earlier," said Dr. Greg Belenky, director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University Spokane.
"But you're really reducing your productivity and exposing yourself to risk," Belenky added.
That's a message doctors are trying to spread to Americans, including the estimated 40 million people who struggle with some type of sleep disorder each year.
Before Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1880, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. These days, Americans average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours a night on weekends, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
"The group of people getting optimal sleep is getting smaller and smaller," said Dr. Chris Drake, senior scientist at the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit. "When a person's sleep drops to six hours or less, that's when a lot of things become very problematic."
While experts recommend seven to eight hours of sleep each night, the amount needed for an individual can vary.
But lack of sleep affects a person in one of two ways, Belenky said. First, sleeplessness influences the day-to-day performance of tasks.
"The performance effects are seen immediately," he said. "You short-change yourself of sleep, and you see the effects immediately. You can make a bad decision. You can miss something. Have a moment's inattention, and you're off the road."
The longer-term effects of sleep deprivation involve a person's health. Doctors have linked lack of sleep to weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, depression and substance abuse.
"Hormones that process appetite begin to get disorganized," said Drake, who's also an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. There's a decrease in the amount of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone, when a person gets too little sleep. At the same time, ghrelin -- a hormone that stimulates appetite -- increases with a lack of sleep.
Too little sleep also interferes with the body's ability to regulate glucose and can cause inflammation leading to heart problems and a rise in blood pressure. "There's a stress response to being in a sleep loss," Belenky said.
The types of people not getting enough sleep also break down into two groups. First, there are those who make the conscious choice to go without enough sleep.
"It's sort of part of the culture," Belenky said. "People pride themselves on getting little sleep. You'll hear people bragging, 'I only need six hours a night.' So there's a macho element here."
On the other hand, there are people who are suffering from sleep disorders. These disorders include:
* Insomnia, an inability to go to sleep or stay asleep.
* Sleep apnea, or breathing interruptions during sleep that cause people to wake up repeatedly.
* Restless legs syndrome, a tingling or prickly sensation in the legs that causes a person to need to move them, interrupting sleep.
Someone suffering from any of these problems should visit their doctor or see a sleep specialist, Belenky said.
Sleep apnea, the most prevalent sleep disorder, can have particularly serious long-term effects if left untreated. "You're waking up out of sleep to breathe. You can't sleep and breathe at the same time," Drake said. "It's a risk factor for developing major cardiovascular health effects."
Some people who have trouble sleeping will resort to mild sedatives like Ambien and Lunesta.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently asked the makers of these sedative-hypnotic drugs to strengthen their warning labels. This action followed reports of dangerous allergic reactions, as well as a host of bizarre behavioral side effects that include sleep-driving, making phone calls, and preparing and eating food or having sex while asleep.
Drake and Belenky both consider sleeping pills to be fine for the short term if taken properly.
"Sleeping pills are a temporary solution," Belenky said. "If you're upset about something or have situational insomnia, or you're trying to sleep at the wrong time of day because you've traveled across time zones, they are effective."
But, both doctors noted the pills will do nothing to help a chronic sleep problem. "They don't address the pathology of their sleeplessness," Drake said.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health offers these tips for getting a good night's sleep:
* Stick to a regular sleep schedule.
* Avoid exercising closer than five or six hours before bedtime.
* Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol before bed.
* Avoid large meals and beverages late at night.
* Don't take naps after 3 p.m.
* Relax before bed, taking time to unwind with a hot bath, a good book or soothing music.
* If you're still awake after more than 20 minutes in bed, get up and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy. Anxiety over not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
More information
To learn more, visit the National Sleep Foundation.
http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/sleepanecessitynotaluxury.html
Monday, May 26, 2008
An Easy Tool to Help You Keep Informed
Here is a great way to get the quick health tips you need. Simply click on the banner below and download the free health tip tool bar.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Convenient Way to Get Powerful Mind Boost at Home
In earlier posts (including video) I mentioned the importance of getting your subconscious mind to be your ally. Now it is super easy to get the help you need from a group that has had tremendous success helping people with all sorts of problems. You can get help right in the privacy and comfort of your own home.
What kinds of issues can be addressed?
You can achieve permanent weight loss for example. That's right - PERMANENT. No more expensive and ongoing plans that just end up failing (you know what I mean - you get the weight off after a lot of struggle only to put it back on and more!) You will change the way that you think about food. It will no longer be a source of comfort. It will be the same way that naturally slim people think of food. You will no longer feel deprived and you will not need willpower because you will not always be thinking about food.
Chronic pain can be helped and in many cases completely eliminated. Chronic pain is life stealing. Of course, exercising and keeping your body in shape is nearly impossible when you are suffering daily. Renaissance Alternative Health has had wonderful success helping people who suffer with CFS and fibromyalgia greatly reduce and in many cases completely eliminate their pain. This is not a temporary fix either.
Other issues include: depression, anxiety, phobias, smoking cessation, sports fitness. All of these can seriously impact your health. So do not delay.
Call: 941.627.3100
What kinds of issues can be addressed?
You can achieve permanent weight loss for example. That's right - PERMANENT. No more expensive and ongoing plans that just end up failing (you know what I mean - you get the weight off after a lot of struggle only to put it back on and more!) You will change the way that you think about food. It will no longer be a source of comfort. It will be the same way that naturally slim people think of food. You will no longer feel deprived and you will not need willpower because you will not always be thinking about food.
Chronic pain can be helped and in many cases completely eliminated. Chronic pain is life stealing. Of course, exercising and keeping your body in shape is nearly impossible when you are suffering daily. Renaissance Alternative Health has had wonderful success helping people who suffer with CFS and fibromyalgia greatly reduce and in many cases completely eliminate their pain. This is not a temporary fix either.
Other issues include: depression, anxiety, phobias, smoking cessation, sports fitness. All of these can seriously impact your health. So do not delay.
Call: 941.627.3100
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Consider Chaga Mushroom for Skin Care and More
Yes, yes there always appears to be some new miracle cure. So let's take out all the sensational expectations and start out by saying that all your wrinkles and signs of aging will not go completely away. I, personally have tried many of the products heavily advertised out there (hydroderm, nuskin, strivectin) and I saw improvements but not what I was hoping. Now I have been trying both the chaga skin cream and daily supplement for the last 2 weeks. I have noticed that the fine lines and dark circle under my eyes are definitely diminishing (and it has been 2 weeks only!). I am optimistic and will give more details about the products that I am using after I am more convinced.
Let's discuss the chaga mushroom itself. This mushroom, largely found in Siberia (Inonotus obliquus), is believed to have all types of benefits (anti-bacterial, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities). The health benefits are being heavily touted (as are acai berries, goji, mangosteen and gac). Are any of these claims real?
I decided to check out chaga further. One scientific study (Biofactors; 2004, Vol. 21 Issue 1-4, p109-112, 4p, 2 graphs), demonstrated that cells treated with chaga mushroom have 40% less DNA damage from external sources. Another study (Biofactors; 2006, Vol. 27 Issue 1-4, p147-155, 9p, 4 graphs) showed that chaga mushroom may indeed have anti-cancer properties by inhibiting something called "gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC)".
I am a firm believer in the power of the new super fruits (new to the western world at least - they have been long known in other parts of the world).I drink an acai, goji, gac supplement everyday. As for chaga, it is really intriguing and I will continue to test it. More to come on it later.
Let's discuss the chaga mushroom itself. This mushroom, largely found in Siberia (Inonotus obliquus), is believed to have all types of benefits (anti-bacterial, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities). The health benefits are being heavily touted (as are acai berries, goji, mangosteen and gac). Are any of these claims real?
I decided to check out chaga further. One scientific study (Biofactors; 2004, Vol. 21 Issue 1-4, p109-112, 4p, 2 graphs), demonstrated that cells treated with chaga mushroom have 40% less DNA damage from external sources. Another study (Biofactors; 2006, Vol. 27 Issue 1-4, p147-155, 9p, 4 graphs) showed that chaga mushroom may indeed have anti-cancer properties by inhibiting something called "gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC)".
I am a firm believer in the power of the new super fruits (new to the western world at least - they have been long known in other parts of the world).I drink an acai, goji, gac supplement everyday. As for chaga, it is really intriguing and I will continue to test it. More to come on it later.
Monday, April 7, 2008
New Study Suggests a Body/Mind Connection for Dementia
This study is fascinating. It provides one more compelling reason to keep fit and eat right.
Larger Belly In Mid-life Increases Risk Of Dementia, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2008) — People with larger stomachs in their 40s are more likely to have dementia when they reach their 70s, according to a new study.
The study involved 6,583 people age 40 to 45 in northern California who had their abdominal fat measured. An average of 36 years later, 16 percent of the participants had been diagnosed with dementia. The study found that those with the highest amount of abdominal fat were nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than those with the lowest amount of abdominal fat.
"Considering that 50 percent of adults in this country have an unhealthy amount of abdominal fat, this is a disturbing finding," said study author Rachel A. Whitmer, PhD, a Research Scientist of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, CA, and member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Research needs to be done to determine what the mechanisms are that link abdominal obesity and dementia."
Having a large abdomen increased the risk of dementia regardless of whether the participants were of normal weight overall, overweight, or obese, and regardless of existing health conditions, including diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease.
Those who were overweight and had a large belly were 2.3 times more likely to develop dementia than people with a normal weight and belly size. People who were both obese and had a large belly were 3.6 times more likely to develop dementia than those of normal weight and belly size. Those who were overweight or obese but did not have a large abdomen had an 80-percent increased risk of dementia.
A large belly in mid-life has also been shown to increase the risk of diabetes, stroke, and coronary heart disease, but this is the first time researchers have demonstrated that it also increases risk of dementia.
In the study, women were more likely than men to have abdominal obesity, along with non-whites, smokers, people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, and those with less than a high school level of education.
As with all observational studies, it is possible that the association of the abdominal obesity and dementia is not driven by the abdominal obesity, but rather by a complex set of health-related behaviors, for which abdominal obesity is but one part.
"Autopsies have shown that changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease may start in young to middle adulthood, and another study showed that high abdominal fat in elderly adults was tied to greater brain atrophy," Whitmer said. "These findings imply that the dangerous effects of abdominal obesity on the brain may start long before the signs of dementia appear."
This research was published in the March 26, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Adapted from materials provided by American Academy of Neurology.
American Academy of Neurology (2008, March 27). Larger Belly In Mid-life Increases Risk Of Dementia, Study Suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 7, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/03/080326161721.htm
Larger Belly In Mid-life Increases Risk Of Dementia, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2008) — People with larger stomachs in their 40s are more likely to have dementia when they reach their 70s, according to a new study.
The study involved 6,583 people age 40 to 45 in northern California who had their abdominal fat measured. An average of 36 years later, 16 percent of the participants had been diagnosed with dementia. The study found that those with the highest amount of abdominal fat were nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than those with the lowest amount of abdominal fat.
"Considering that 50 percent of adults in this country have an unhealthy amount of abdominal fat, this is a disturbing finding," said study author Rachel A. Whitmer, PhD, a Research Scientist of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, CA, and member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Research needs to be done to determine what the mechanisms are that link abdominal obesity and dementia."
Having a large abdomen increased the risk of dementia regardless of whether the participants were of normal weight overall, overweight, or obese, and regardless of existing health conditions, including diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease.
Those who were overweight and had a large belly were 2.3 times more likely to develop dementia than people with a normal weight and belly size. People who were both obese and had a large belly were 3.6 times more likely to develop dementia than those of normal weight and belly size. Those who were overweight or obese but did not have a large abdomen had an 80-percent increased risk of dementia.
A large belly in mid-life has also been shown to increase the risk of diabetes, stroke, and coronary heart disease, but this is the first time researchers have demonstrated that it also increases risk of dementia.
In the study, women were more likely than men to have abdominal obesity, along with non-whites, smokers, people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, and those with less than a high school level of education.
As with all observational studies, it is possible that the association of the abdominal obesity and dementia is not driven by the abdominal obesity, but rather by a complex set of health-related behaviors, for which abdominal obesity is but one part.
"Autopsies have shown that changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease may start in young to middle adulthood, and another study showed that high abdominal fat in elderly adults was tied to greater brain atrophy," Whitmer said. "These findings imply that the dangerous effects of abdominal obesity on the brain may start long before the signs of dementia appear."
This research was published in the March 26, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Adapted from materials provided by American Academy of Neurology.
American Academy of Neurology (2008, March 27). Larger Belly In Mid-life Increases Risk Of Dementia, Study Suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 7, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/03/080326161721.htm
Saturday, April 5, 2008
The Only Natural Way to Lose Weight and Keep It Off Without Needing Will Power
Hypnosis is indeed a powerful tool. It is also a very misunderstood one. Misconceptions about it abound. First of all, you are not asleep. You are completely aware. No one can control your mind. Anything that is said that is outside of your belief system would be immediately rejected by you.
Here is an extremely informative presentation that addresses the concepts of hypnotherapy and then specifics about creating a custom weight loss plan that involves no drugs, no ongoing costs and weight loss that will stay permanently off - all without using will power. It will just be the way you naturally think and feel about food.
You can view this presentation by clicking the link below. If you are interested in trying this program but do not live in southwest Florida, Tim Bartley most likely can set you up to speak with one of the affiliates he has around the U.S. that will follow his program You can reach him at: Renaissance Alternative Health 941.627.3100
Free Informational movie link
Here is an extremely informative presentation that addresses the concepts of hypnotherapy and then specifics about creating a custom weight loss plan that involves no drugs, no ongoing costs and weight loss that will stay permanently off - all without using will power. It will just be the way you naturally think and feel about food.
You can view this presentation by clicking the link below. If you are interested in trying this program but do not live in southwest Florida, Tim Bartley most likely can set you up to speak with one of the affiliates he has around the U.S. that will follow his program You can reach him at: Renaissance Alternative Health 941.627.3100
Free Informational movie link
Friday, April 4, 2008
Natural Remedies Coupon
Natural Remedies is a company that makes natural products for a wide range of ailments. They even have products for your pets. I particularly recommend their Jointease product if you are suffering from fibromyalgia or other bodily aches. It has a combination of three powerful substances including devil's claw, botswellia and glucosamine.
This month they offer a coupon that can save you a whole lot. Check them out.
This month they offer a coupon that can save you a whole lot. Check them out.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
6 Weight Training Techniques for Results
Source: http://www.medicinenet.com
Secrets of Successful Weight-Lifting Workouts
6 weight-training techniques that will help you get results.
By Colette Bouchez
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic - Feature
Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
It seems so simple: Pick up and toss around the equivalent of a couple of soup cans a few times a week, and change your body, maybe your life. This very simplicity is at the heart of weight training, which is fast becoming one of the most popular forms of exercise today.
The sport that was once confined to bulky bodybuilders is now being embraced by the average guy looking to drop a few pounds and beef up his physique, as well as the average gal looking to tone up and strengthen bones and muscles as she heads into middle age, experts say.
"Weight lifting not only helps you to look better, but it can play an enormous role in your quality of life as you age -- particularly for women -- since it definitely helps increase bone density, which diminishes with age," says Cedric Bryant, vice president of scientific affairs for the American Council on Exercise (ACE).
And unlike other forms of exercise that burn calories only while you're working out, weight lifting keeps on incinerating calories for hours after you stop, experts say.
"It increases your metabolic activity for the entire day -- not only when you are challenging your muscles, but also during the repair process that occurs when you stop working out," says Alex Schroeder, an exercise physiologist and trainer at Form and Fitness, a Milwaukee, Wis., gym and rehabilitation center.
Of course, a successful weight lifting workout does involve a bit more than just moving those soup cans from the kitchen counter to the cabinet a few times a week. To help put you on the path to success, WebMD asked Bryant, Schroeder, and Mike Ryan, a weight expert from the Gold's Gym Fitness Institute for some tips on how to start a weight lifting workout and stick with it until you meet your goals.
Weight Lifting Workout Rule No. 1: Define Your Goals
For any exercise program, it's important to start with a realistic goal in mind. But for weight training, experts say, it's essential. Why?
"Setting a goal that's attainable is important to not only give you a sense that you are accomplishing something, but, in the case of weight lifting, to insure that you don't overdo it when you first begin," says Schroeder.
Because successful weight training involves small steps, having short-term goals will keep you from giving up too soon, he says.
Ryan agrees with this strategy. "It's extremely important to set realistic, achievable goals so that you don't get discouraged, and so that you don't try to do too much too soon and increase your risk of injury," he says.
What's more, he cautions that this advice is as important for seasoned athletes as well as fitness newbies.
"No matter how much you've accomplished in another sport, if you haven't done weight lifting, you're still a beginner, so don't expect too much too soon," says Ryan.
Weight Lifting Workout Rule No. 2: Choose the Right Equipment
One of the best things about weight training is that your muscles don't know the difference between a $2,500 machine and $25 resistance band. So you don't have to spend a lot to get a lot of results. All you have to do is to challenge your muscles.
"The really nice part about that is if you are on a tight budget, you don't have to feel you are getting a compromised weight training workout because you can accomplish your goals without spending a lot of money," says Bryant.
Whether you're using hand weights, barbells, or resistance bands, Ryan says, look for whatever size allows you to do 12-16 repetitions. If you can't, they're too heavy.
But if you can do more than 15 with good form, then the weight load is probably not quite challenging enough, Bryant says. "So look for something a bit heavier or add on more resistance," he says.
Weight Lifting Workout Rule No. 3: Don't Go It Alone
When it comes to weight lifting, how you do the exercises can be as important as which ones you do. That's why having even one session with a personal trainer can definitely get your weight training program going in the right direction, experts say.
"This is particularly true if you are working with dumbbells," says Schroeder. "It's important to have someone overseeing you at least the first few times, so you can achieve the correct form and function."
If that's not possible, the next best thing is using strength-training machines. These work well for beginners, Schroeder says, because they force your body into the correct position.
"It's still a good idea to have someone looking over you the first few times, to make sure the machine is adjusted correctly for your weight and size, but generally, the machines do help keep your body in line," says Schroeder.
If your time or money budget is extra-tight, Bryant says, pick up a weight training DVD from a well-known trainer, or visit web sites like that of the American Council on Exercise (acefitness.com) to get technique tips.
"You can find pictures that show the starting and ending positions for weight lifting and tips for keeping your body properly aligned during the activity," Bryant says. "It's definitely worth your while to spend your first weight-training session learning the proper technique and form."
Weight Training Workout Rule No. 4: Learn the Power of Slow!
When it comes to weight lifting, experts say, the tortoise beats the hare every time. The reason?
"The key to success in weight training is known as A-B-C – which stands for always be in control," says Bryant. The best way to do that, he says, is with slow, deliberate movements.
"I don't want to give the impression that you are working in slo-mo, but you do want to make certain that your muscles are what are responsible for controlling movement in both direction, lifting and lowering," says Bryant.
Ryan agrees. "A lot of sports rely on high, fast motion, but when you're doing weight training, it's slow, deliberate motions with controlled breathing," he says. "Don't hold your breath and do the reps, and don't move too quickly."
Further, Schroeder says, beginners will benefit more from doing more repetitions with a lighter weight than trying to use heavy weights they can lift only a few times.
"In the beginning you have such a huge adaptation phase -- you're using muscles you never used before, and you're shocking your system, even with a light weight -- so you are much better off, and much safer to start much lighter with more repetitions," he tells WebMD
Starting with lighter weights mean you're less likely to end up with the kind of muscle pain that could end your weight training workout program on the spot.
"It's a discouraging scenario when you hurt all over, and starting slow means you are less likely to feel the kind of pain that causes you to get discouraged and quit after one or two tries," says Bryant.
Weight Training Workout Rule No. 5: Rest and Recover
Although it has little to do with form or function, experts say the real key to successful weight training is to understand the importance of rest and recover. At the core of weight training is a tearing-down and building-up process that ultimately makes muscles strong.
Schroeder explains: "In order for muscles to build, muscle fiber has to be torn, which is what happens when you stress the muscle with weights."
While that tearing-down process is vital for the muscle building activity to begin, it's really the respite that follows in the next 48 to 72 hours that ultimately results in muscle strength.
"Think of it like paper being torn," says Schroeder. "You've got to tape it back together before you can rip it again, and that's what a rest and recovery period allows you do -- it allows the torn muscle fibers to come together so you can tear it again." Each time you do, he says, the muscle gets stronger.
If you try working out every day, you'll not only increase your risk of injury, but also work against getting the results you want. Ryan says that one of the key reasons some people don't see results after 8-10 weeks of weight training is because they are simply not giving their bodies adequate time to recover.
"If you don't see any change in your body after a few months, don't think you need to do more. You probably need to do less," he says. "If you overtrain, all you get are breakdown and no buildup."
So how do you know when you're ready to hit the weights again? Ryan says to use muscle soreness and fatigue as a guide. "If you feel significant soreness, if your muscles feel fatigued, then it's too soon," he says.
Bryant says that as long as there is no injury, for most folks, the recovery process occurs within 48 to 72 hours after a workout. If you want to work out more often than that, he says, simply switch to a different area of the body for each workout.
Weight Training Rule No. 6: Chow Down to Build Up!
While good nutrition is vital to getting the most out of any exercise program, it's especially important for weight training. And if you're thinking fruits and vegetables, you're only partly right. Experts say muscles also require protein.
"You need protein for your muscle to recover," says Bryant, who advises everyone doing weight training to have a snack containing both protein and carbohydrates after every workout.
Ryan says that adding some extra protein to your diet, while cutting down on refined carbohydrates, sugars, and "bad" fats like saturated and trans fats, can help you see results sooner.
Published March 10, 2008.
SOURCES: Cedric Bryant, PhD, vice president of scientific affairs, American Council on Exercise. Alex Schroeder, CPT, Form and Function, Milwaukee, Wis. Mike Ryan, CPT, weight training expert, Gold's Gym Fitness Institute, Gold's Gym, Venice Beach, Calif.
©2008 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Secrets of Successful Weight-Lifting Workouts
6 weight-training techniques that will help you get results.
By Colette Bouchez
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic - Feature
Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
It seems so simple: Pick up and toss around the equivalent of a couple of soup cans a few times a week, and change your body, maybe your life. This very simplicity is at the heart of weight training, which is fast becoming one of the most popular forms of exercise today.
The sport that was once confined to bulky bodybuilders is now being embraced by the average guy looking to drop a few pounds and beef up his physique, as well as the average gal looking to tone up and strengthen bones and muscles as she heads into middle age, experts say.
"Weight lifting not only helps you to look better, but it can play an enormous role in your quality of life as you age -- particularly for women -- since it definitely helps increase bone density, which diminishes with age," says Cedric Bryant, vice president of scientific affairs for the American Council on Exercise (ACE).
And unlike other forms of exercise that burn calories only while you're working out, weight lifting keeps on incinerating calories for hours after you stop, experts say.
"It increases your metabolic activity for the entire day -- not only when you are challenging your muscles, but also during the repair process that occurs when you stop working out," says Alex Schroeder, an exercise physiologist and trainer at Form and Fitness, a Milwaukee, Wis., gym and rehabilitation center.
Of course, a successful weight lifting workout does involve a bit more than just moving those soup cans from the kitchen counter to the cabinet a few times a week. To help put you on the path to success, WebMD asked Bryant, Schroeder, and Mike Ryan, a weight expert from the Gold's Gym Fitness Institute for some tips on how to start a weight lifting workout and stick with it until you meet your goals.
Weight Lifting Workout Rule No. 1: Define Your Goals
For any exercise program, it's important to start with a realistic goal in mind. But for weight training, experts say, it's essential. Why?
"Setting a goal that's attainable is important to not only give you a sense that you are accomplishing something, but, in the case of weight lifting, to insure that you don't overdo it when you first begin," says Schroeder.
Because successful weight training involves small steps, having short-term goals will keep you from giving up too soon, he says.
Ryan agrees with this strategy. "It's extremely important to set realistic, achievable goals so that you don't get discouraged, and so that you don't try to do too much too soon and increase your risk of injury," he says.
What's more, he cautions that this advice is as important for seasoned athletes as well as fitness newbies.
"No matter how much you've accomplished in another sport, if you haven't done weight lifting, you're still a beginner, so don't expect too much too soon," says Ryan.
Weight Lifting Workout Rule No. 2: Choose the Right Equipment
One of the best things about weight training is that your muscles don't know the difference between a $2,500 machine and $25 resistance band. So you don't have to spend a lot to get a lot of results. All you have to do is to challenge your muscles.
"The really nice part about that is if you are on a tight budget, you don't have to feel you are getting a compromised weight training workout because you can accomplish your goals without spending a lot of money," says Bryant.
Whether you're using hand weights, barbells, or resistance bands, Ryan says, look for whatever size allows you to do 12-16 repetitions. If you can't, they're too heavy.
But if you can do more than 15 with good form, then the weight load is probably not quite challenging enough, Bryant says. "So look for something a bit heavier or add on more resistance," he says.
Weight Lifting Workout Rule No. 3: Don't Go It Alone
When it comes to weight lifting, how you do the exercises can be as important as which ones you do. That's why having even one session with a personal trainer can definitely get your weight training program going in the right direction, experts say.
"This is particularly true if you are working with dumbbells," says Schroeder. "It's important to have someone overseeing you at least the first few times, so you can achieve the correct form and function."
If that's not possible, the next best thing is using strength-training machines. These work well for beginners, Schroeder says, because they force your body into the correct position.
"It's still a good idea to have someone looking over you the first few times, to make sure the machine is adjusted correctly for your weight and size, but generally, the machines do help keep your body in line," says Schroeder.
If your time or money budget is extra-tight, Bryant says, pick up a weight training DVD from a well-known trainer, or visit web sites like that of the American Council on Exercise (acefitness.com) to get technique tips.
"You can find pictures that show the starting and ending positions for weight lifting and tips for keeping your body properly aligned during the activity," Bryant says. "It's definitely worth your while to spend your first weight-training session learning the proper technique and form."
Weight Training Workout Rule No. 4: Learn the Power of Slow!
When it comes to weight lifting, experts say, the tortoise beats the hare every time. The reason?
"The key to success in weight training is known as A-B-C – which stands for always be in control," says Bryant. The best way to do that, he says, is with slow, deliberate movements.
"I don't want to give the impression that you are working in slo-mo, but you do want to make certain that your muscles are what are responsible for controlling movement in both direction, lifting and lowering," says Bryant.
Ryan agrees. "A lot of sports rely on high, fast motion, but when you're doing weight training, it's slow, deliberate motions with controlled breathing," he says. "Don't hold your breath and do the reps, and don't move too quickly."
Further, Schroeder says, beginners will benefit more from doing more repetitions with a lighter weight than trying to use heavy weights they can lift only a few times.
"In the beginning you have such a huge adaptation phase -- you're using muscles you never used before, and you're shocking your system, even with a light weight -- so you are much better off, and much safer to start much lighter with more repetitions," he tells WebMD
Starting with lighter weights mean you're less likely to end up with the kind of muscle pain that could end your weight training workout program on the spot.
"It's a discouraging scenario when you hurt all over, and starting slow means you are less likely to feel the kind of pain that causes you to get discouraged and quit after one or two tries," says Bryant.
Weight Training Workout Rule No. 5: Rest and Recover
Although it has little to do with form or function, experts say the real key to successful weight training is to understand the importance of rest and recover. At the core of weight training is a tearing-down and building-up process that ultimately makes muscles strong.
Schroeder explains: "In order for muscles to build, muscle fiber has to be torn, which is what happens when you stress the muscle with weights."
While that tearing-down process is vital for the muscle building activity to begin, it's really the respite that follows in the next 48 to 72 hours that ultimately results in muscle strength.
"Think of it like paper being torn," says Schroeder. "You've got to tape it back together before you can rip it again, and that's what a rest and recovery period allows you do -- it allows the torn muscle fibers to come together so you can tear it again." Each time you do, he says, the muscle gets stronger.
If you try working out every day, you'll not only increase your risk of injury, but also work against getting the results you want. Ryan says that one of the key reasons some people don't see results after 8-10 weeks of weight training is because they are simply not giving their bodies adequate time to recover.
"If you don't see any change in your body after a few months, don't think you need to do more. You probably need to do less," he says. "If you overtrain, all you get are breakdown and no buildup."
So how do you know when you're ready to hit the weights again? Ryan says to use muscle soreness and fatigue as a guide. "If you feel significant soreness, if your muscles feel fatigued, then it's too soon," he says.
Bryant says that as long as there is no injury, for most folks, the recovery process occurs within 48 to 72 hours after a workout. If you want to work out more often than that, he says, simply switch to a different area of the body for each workout.
Weight Training Rule No. 6: Chow Down to Build Up!
While good nutrition is vital to getting the most out of any exercise program, it's especially important for weight training. And if you're thinking fruits and vegetables, you're only partly right. Experts say muscles also require protein.
"You need protein for your muscle to recover," says Bryant, who advises everyone doing weight training to have a snack containing both protein and carbohydrates after every workout.
Ryan says that adding some extra protein to your diet, while cutting down on refined carbohydrates, sugars, and "bad" fats like saturated and trans fats, can help you see results sooner.
Published March 10, 2008.
SOURCES: Cedric Bryant, PhD, vice president of scientific affairs, American Council on Exercise. Alex Schroeder, CPT, Form and Function, Milwaukee, Wis. Mike Ryan, CPT, weight training expert, Gold's Gym Fitness Institute, Gold's Gym, Venice Beach, Calif.
©2008 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
Monday, March 17, 2008
Achieving a Balance in Life
Please visit: Carole Fogarty's Healthy Living Blog for more entries similar to this.
http://www.thehealthylivinglounge.com
The Seven Deadly Sins of Work Life Balance:
Carole’s Note: This is a guest post by Jennifer Jefferies, professional speaker and author of Seven Steps to Sanity.
The Healthy Living Lounge and Jennifer will be giving away three 7 week on-line mentoring programs (valued at $99.00) later this month, so stay tuned.
balance-rocks.jpg
Hickorees
In the thirteenth century, Dante listed the Seven Deadly Sins on the pathway to Paradise: Gluttony, lust, greed, envy, pride, anger and sloth. Now, almost eight hundred years later, people are still committing these seven sins in Work Life Balance. So let me share with you the Seven Deadly Sins of Work Life Balance … and how to avoid them.
1. Gluttony: Trying to be all things to all people:
Don’t try to be all things to all people. If you try to please everybody, you will end up satisfying nobody.
The secret to being successful at balancing life is to allow yourself to be human and release guilt from your life. Everyone gets wound up at times, when you notice it happening simply acknowledge where you are and move back to doing something more balanced. Don’t give yourself a hard time or anything-just keep moving forward.
Success with a balanced life is just like success anywhere else: You choose your market, find a problem, and provide a superior solution. If you try to be all things to all people, you’re not just a glutton – you’re a glutton for punishment.
2: Lust: Falling in love with “gimmicks”
Focus your time, money and energy on the things that matter, not just those that catch your eye right now. This doesn’t mean an endless quest for Mr. Right, but it does mean that you don’t have to settle for Mr. Right Now.
When it comes to balancing your life, this means stop buying a new thing every time you feel stressed or unhappy. Shopping has become the latest way that people try to make themselves happy. You keep buying stuff that brings happiness for a very short period of time and when this wears off you’re back at the shops again.
Next time you have this urge, speak to a close friend or colleague and share how you are feeling, if you just stop for a minute and acknowledge where you are at it passes. Go for things that really make you happy like time with good friends compared to short lived shopping trips for more dust collecting stuff.
3. Greed: Looking for too much too fast:
When you first get started living a balanced life, there’s a temptation to do everything at once. But if you chase two horses, you’ll catch neither of them. The best way to get started is to choose one activity that is likely to give you high value, do that well, and then move on to the next.
That’s not to say that you should only be doing one thing at a time. But just be sure that everything you do is done well. Go for quality not quantity.
4. Envy: Copying tactics that don’t fit your strategy:
A Russian soldier stationed in West Berlin after the Second World War wandered into an empty house and saw an electric light bulb for the first time. Fascinated by this magic light-generating globe, he cut it off with his bayonet and put it in his knapsack so he could carry around the light with him wherever he went.
The same is true with living a balanced life. Don’t just do what somebody else tells you to do, unless you know why they do it. If they are successful, what they are doing is just one part of their strategy. You can’t just pick up that one thing, put it in your knapsack, take it somewhere else and use it to light up your world.
For example, perhaps you know a person you see as living a balanced life you get all excited and choose to do the same things he or she is doing. The only problem is that you have no system to what you do, you shadow them and copy the superficial parts of their life and get exhausted doing it. Why, because they are doing the pieces behind the scenes elements as well, not just the apparent ones.
By all means, look around to see what others are doing, but don’t just copy their tactics without understanding how and where they fit your life. Get the whole picture and then implement it as a system.
5. Pride: Holding on to things that aren’t working:
If what you’re doing isn’t working, do something else! I know that that sounds obvious, but it never ceases to amaze me how often people keep repeating unsuccessful patterns.
If you’re running tired all of the time, or don’t even have time to run tired, look at what you are doing. Your lifestyle is obviously not working for you if it is sucking the life out of you constantly. Find a system you can use to get what you want out of life and implement it one step at a time like you would with any new system in the workplace.
It usually doesn’t take much effort to solve these problems. But the first step is to recognise them, and commit to doing something about them one step at a time.
6. Anger: Blaming other people for your lack of success:
If you’re not getting the success you desire, look to yourself first. Even if it is somebody else’s “fault”, you could be waiting a long time for them to fix things for you. It is far better to take responsibility yourself to find a solution.
For example, if you have lost your spark for life and your health is suffering, you need to look at what you have been doing to get to that state. You are responsible for what you put in your mouth each day, for how you treat yourself and for what you get out of life.
If you are treating your physical and emotional body like a second-class citizen then that is what you will get back in return. You will get a body that won’t give you the energy for anything. Accept the responsibility and be healthy now.
7. Sloth: Dragging your feet:
Above all, do it now! None of the other advice in this article will do you any good at all unless you take action.
It’s too easy to say “I’ll go to the gym next week”, or “I’ll start eating healthy tomorrow”, or “I’ll fix my office environment after I finish this next project.”
It’s often easy to take action, but it’s almost always easy to not take action. Successful people do the things that unsuccessful people don’t do.
Your success is in your hands – it’s up to you!
Digg this:
Please visit The Healthy Living Lounge’s Wellbeing Toolbox which has been created just for you or join Carole in Bali for her annual Womens Rejuvenation Retreat
http://www.thehealthylivinglounge.com
The Seven Deadly Sins of Work Life Balance:
Carole’s Note: This is a guest post by Jennifer Jefferies, professional speaker and author of Seven Steps to Sanity.
The Healthy Living Lounge and Jennifer will be giving away three 7 week on-line mentoring programs (valued at $99.00) later this month, so stay tuned.
balance-rocks.jpg
Hickorees
In the thirteenth century, Dante listed the Seven Deadly Sins on the pathway to Paradise: Gluttony, lust, greed, envy, pride, anger and sloth. Now, almost eight hundred years later, people are still committing these seven sins in Work Life Balance. So let me share with you the Seven Deadly Sins of Work Life Balance … and how to avoid them.
1. Gluttony: Trying to be all things to all people:
Don’t try to be all things to all people. If you try to please everybody, you will end up satisfying nobody.
The secret to being successful at balancing life is to allow yourself to be human and release guilt from your life. Everyone gets wound up at times, when you notice it happening simply acknowledge where you are and move back to doing something more balanced. Don’t give yourself a hard time or anything-just keep moving forward.
Success with a balanced life is just like success anywhere else: You choose your market, find a problem, and provide a superior solution. If you try to be all things to all people, you’re not just a glutton – you’re a glutton for punishment.
2: Lust: Falling in love with “gimmicks”
Focus your time, money and energy on the things that matter, not just those that catch your eye right now. This doesn’t mean an endless quest for Mr. Right, but it does mean that you don’t have to settle for Mr. Right Now.
When it comes to balancing your life, this means stop buying a new thing every time you feel stressed or unhappy. Shopping has become the latest way that people try to make themselves happy. You keep buying stuff that brings happiness for a very short period of time and when this wears off you’re back at the shops again.
Next time you have this urge, speak to a close friend or colleague and share how you are feeling, if you just stop for a minute and acknowledge where you are at it passes. Go for things that really make you happy like time with good friends compared to short lived shopping trips for more dust collecting stuff.
3. Greed: Looking for too much too fast:
When you first get started living a balanced life, there’s a temptation to do everything at once. But if you chase two horses, you’ll catch neither of them. The best way to get started is to choose one activity that is likely to give you high value, do that well, and then move on to the next.
That’s not to say that you should only be doing one thing at a time. But just be sure that everything you do is done well. Go for quality not quantity.
4. Envy: Copying tactics that don’t fit your strategy:
A Russian soldier stationed in West Berlin after the Second World War wandered into an empty house and saw an electric light bulb for the first time. Fascinated by this magic light-generating globe, he cut it off with his bayonet and put it in his knapsack so he could carry around the light with him wherever he went.
The same is true with living a balanced life. Don’t just do what somebody else tells you to do, unless you know why they do it. If they are successful, what they are doing is just one part of their strategy. You can’t just pick up that one thing, put it in your knapsack, take it somewhere else and use it to light up your world.
For example, perhaps you know a person you see as living a balanced life you get all excited and choose to do the same things he or she is doing. The only problem is that you have no system to what you do, you shadow them and copy the superficial parts of their life and get exhausted doing it. Why, because they are doing the pieces behind the scenes elements as well, not just the apparent ones.
By all means, look around to see what others are doing, but don’t just copy their tactics without understanding how and where they fit your life. Get the whole picture and then implement it as a system.
5. Pride: Holding on to things that aren’t working:
If what you’re doing isn’t working, do something else! I know that that sounds obvious, but it never ceases to amaze me how often people keep repeating unsuccessful patterns.
If you’re running tired all of the time, or don’t even have time to run tired, look at what you are doing. Your lifestyle is obviously not working for you if it is sucking the life out of you constantly. Find a system you can use to get what you want out of life and implement it one step at a time like you would with any new system in the workplace.
It usually doesn’t take much effort to solve these problems. But the first step is to recognise them, and commit to doing something about them one step at a time.
6. Anger: Blaming other people for your lack of success:
If you’re not getting the success you desire, look to yourself first. Even if it is somebody else’s “fault”, you could be waiting a long time for them to fix things for you. It is far better to take responsibility yourself to find a solution.
For example, if you have lost your spark for life and your health is suffering, you need to look at what you have been doing to get to that state. You are responsible for what you put in your mouth each day, for how you treat yourself and for what you get out of life.
If you are treating your physical and emotional body like a second-class citizen then that is what you will get back in return. You will get a body that won’t give you the energy for anything. Accept the responsibility and be healthy now.
7. Sloth: Dragging your feet:
Above all, do it now! None of the other advice in this article will do you any good at all unless you take action.
It’s too easy to say “I’ll go to the gym next week”, or “I’ll start eating healthy tomorrow”, or “I’ll fix my office environment after I finish this next project.”
It’s often easy to take action, but it’s almost always easy to not take action. Successful people do the things that unsuccessful people don’t do.
Your success is in your hands – it’s up to you!
Digg this:
Please visit The Healthy Living Lounge’s Wellbeing Toolbox which has been created just for you or join Carole in Bali for her annual Womens Rejuvenation Retreat
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Emotions Even Effect the Way We Shop
The Association for Psychological Science recently released a study that demonstrates the power of suppressed emotions. Just one more example of how powerful the mind is and why it really does make sense that the mind is the first place to address your health and fitness needs. Here is a copy of the report's highlights:
Misery is not Miserly: New Study Finds Why Even Momentary Sadness Increases Spending
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- How you are feeling has an impact on your routine economic transactions, whether you’re aware of this effect or not.
In a new study that links contemporary science with the classic philosophy of William James, a research team finds that people feeling sad and self-focused spend more money to acquire the same commodities than those in a neutral emotional state. The team’s paper, “Misery is not Miserly: Sad and Self-Focused Individuals Spend More,” will be published in the June 2008 edition of Psychological Science and will be presented at the Society for Social and Personality Psychology’s Annual Meeting on Feb. 9.
The new study follows up on earlier research that established a connection between sadness and buying. Researchers Cynthia Cryder (Carnegie Mellon University), Jennifer Lerner (Harvard University), James J. Gross (Stanford University), and Ronald E. Dahl (University of Pittsburgh) have now discovered that heightened self-focus drives the connection -- a finding that expands understanding of consumer behavior and, more broadly, the impact of emotions on decision-making.
In the experiment, participants viewed either a sad video clip or one devoid of human emotion. Afterward, participants could purchase an ordinary commodity, such as a water bottle, at various prices. Participants randomly assigned to the sad condition offered almost 300% more money to buy the product than “neutral” participants. Notably, participants in the sadness condition typically insist, incorrectly, that the emotional content of the film clip did not carry over to affect their spending.
Self-focus helps to explain the spending differences between the two groups. Among participants “primed” to feel sad, those who were highly self-focused paid more than those low in self-focus. Notably, sadness tends to increase self-focus, making the increased spending prompted by sadness difficult to avoid.
Why might a combination of sadness and self-focus lead people to spend more money? First, sadness and self-focus cause one to devalue both one’s sense of self and one’s current possessions. Second, this devaluation increases a person’s willingness to pay more for new material goods, presumably to enhance sense of self.
Notably, the “misery is not miserly” effect may be even more dramatic in real life, as the low-intensity sadness evoked in the experiment likely underestimates the power of intense sadness on spending behavior. The effect could extend to domains beyond purchasing decisions, causing people to engage in increased stock trading, for example, or even to seek new relationships-- without conscious awareness that they are being driven by their emotions.
The study is an early step toward uncovering the hidden impact of different, fluctuating, and what would otherwise seem irrelevant emotions on our day-to-day decisions.
The paper is co-authored by a multi-disciplinary team of scientists. Cynthia E. Cryder, a doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon University, studies behavioral decision research. Jennifer S. Lerner, a professor at Harvard Kennedy School, specializes in the study of emotion and decision making. James J. Gross, an associate professor at Stanford University, studies emotion and personality. Ronald E. Dahl, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, specializes in brain maturation and emotional functioning.
The article is available at several websites:
Carnegie Mellon: http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~ccryder/miseryisnotmiserly.pdf
Lerner Lab: http://content.ksg.harvard.edu/lernerlab/papers.php
###
Misery is not Miserly: New Study Finds Why Even Momentary Sadness Increases Spending
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- How you are feeling has an impact on your routine economic transactions, whether you’re aware of this effect or not.
In a new study that links contemporary science with the classic philosophy of William James, a research team finds that people feeling sad and self-focused spend more money to acquire the same commodities than those in a neutral emotional state. The team’s paper, “Misery is not Miserly: Sad and Self-Focused Individuals Spend More,” will be published in the June 2008 edition of Psychological Science and will be presented at the Society for Social and Personality Psychology’s Annual Meeting on Feb. 9.
The new study follows up on earlier research that established a connection between sadness and buying. Researchers Cynthia Cryder (Carnegie Mellon University), Jennifer Lerner (Harvard University), James J. Gross (Stanford University), and Ronald E. Dahl (University of Pittsburgh) have now discovered that heightened self-focus drives the connection -- a finding that expands understanding of consumer behavior and, more broadly, the impact of emotions on decision-making.
In the experiment, participants viewed either a sad video clip or one devoid of human emotion. Afterward, participants could purchase an ordinary commodity, such as a water bottle, at various prices. Participants randomly assigned to the sad condition offered almost 300% more money to buy the product than “neutral” participants. Notably, participants in the sadness condition typically insist, incorrectly, that the emotional content of the film clip did not carry over to affect their spending.
Self-focus helps to explain the spending differences between the two groups. Among participants “primed” to feel sad, those who were highly self-focused paid more than those low in self-focus. Notably, sadness tends to increase self-focus, making the increased spending prompted by sadness difficult to avoid.
Why might a combination of sadness and self-focus lead people to spend more money? First, sadness and self-focus cause one to devalue both one’s sense of self and one’s current possessions. Second, this devaluation increases a person’s willingness to pay more for new material goods, presumably to enhance sense of self.
Notably, the “misery is not miserly” effect may be even more dramatic in real life, as the low-intensity sadness evoked in the experiment likely underestimates the power of intense sadness on spending behavior. The effect could extend to domains beyond purchasing decisions, causing people to engage in increased stock trading, for example, or even to seek new relationships-- without conscious awareness that they are being driven by their emotions.
The study is an early step toward uncovering the hidden impact of different, fluctuating, and what would otherwise seem irrelevant emotions on our day-to-day decisions.
The paper is co-authored by a multi-disciplinary team of scientists. Cynthia E. Cryder, a doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon University, studies behavioral decision research. Jennifer S. Lerner, a professor at Harvard Kennedy School, specializes in the study of emotion and decision making. James J. Gross, an associate professor at Stanford University, studies emotion and personality. Ronald E. Dahl, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, specializes in brain maturation and emotional functioning.
The article is available at several websites:
Carnegie Mellon: http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~ccryder/miseryisnotmiserly.pdf
Lerner Lab: http://content.ksg.harvard.edu/lernerlab/papers.php
###
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Discover Your Body's Natural Abilities to Maintain and Heal Itself
Book Review
Dr. Andrew Weil is a popular authority on achieving and maintaining wellness naturally.
His books are extremely informative and enjoyable. See what one person has to say about his book "Spontaneous Healing".
65 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource. Enjoyable reading., February 23, 2001
By Lisa Dolan "externalaffairs" (Sevilla Spain) - See all my reviews
Dr. Andrew Weil is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and was for 15 years a research Associate in Ethnopharmacology at the Harvard Botanical Museum. He is founder and Director of the Program of Integrative Medicine at the U. of Arizona. His educational background, medical formation and years of professional experience are formidable and, I feel, give him the authority sufficient to write a book of this caliber.
For the last 7 months I have been receiving his monthly newsletter which discusses natural remedies to health problems and maintenance. They are wonderful. Over the Christmas holidays I purchased three of his books. By the time I finished reading Spontaneous Healing I had already sent a copy of the book to my mother, an LPN under treatment for Leukemia, and a friend of mine with Rheumatoid Arthritis. With another friend, who suffers from chronic eczema, I've shared my copy.
In this book Dr. Weil covers a number of case studies and explains how traditionally non-conventional medicine (herbal treatments, Traditional Chinese Medicine, hypnotherapy, creative imagery, etc.) has alleviated or cured sicknesses or health problems for which conventional medicine offered little to no relief. However, that is not to say he is an opponent of conventional medicine. He names instances in which he feels it is best to turn to it.
One of the case studies which made me reflect deeply on "alternative" medicine was of a 70 yr. old woman who had suffered her entire adult life with Rheumatoid Arthritis. After a series of dietary changes he recommended to her, her symptoms (i.e. her pain) decreased significantly. His recommendations included adding to her diet omega-3 fatty acids, organically grown produce and flax seed; eliminating from her diet all polyunsaturated and partially hydrogenated fats, dairy products, and most meat; taking a number of herbal remedies and practicing breath relaxation. Simple (and affordable)recommendations, but with very powerful benefits.
I have found Dr. Weil's suggestions for health maintenance more than reasonable. He makes sense. This book is well written, enjoyable to read, easy to understand and with suggestions that can make a difference between feeling well or ill. I highly recommend it to all and any interested in improving one's health.
Dr. Andrew Weil is a popular authority on achieving and maintaining wellness naturally.
His books are extremely informative and enjoyable. See what one person has to say about his book "Spontaneous Healing".
65 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource. Enjoyable reading., February 23, 2001
By Lisa Dolan "externalaffairs" (Sevilla Spain) - See all my reviews
Dr. Andrew Weil is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and was for 15 years a research Associate in Ethnopharmacology at the Harvard Botanical Museum. He is founder and Director of the Program of Integrative Medicine at the U. of Arizona. His educational background, medical formation and years of professional experience are formidable and, I feel, give him the authority sufficient to write a book of this caliber.
For the last 7 months I have been receiving his monthly newsletter which discusses natural remedies to health problems and maintenance. They are wonderful. Over the Christmas holidays I purchased three of his books. By the time I finished reading Spontaneous Healing I had already sent a copy of the book to my mother, an LPN under treatment for Leukemia, and a friend of mine with Rheumatoid Arthritis. With another friend, who suffers from chronic eczema, I've shared my copy.
In this book Dr. Weil covers a number of case studies and explains how traditionally non-conventional medicine (herbal treatments, Traditional Chinese Medicine, hypnotherapy, creative imagery, etc.) has alleviated or cured sicknesses or health problems for which conventional medicine offered little to no relief. However, that is not to say he is an opponent of conventional medicine. He names instances in which he feels it is best to turn to it.
One of the case studies which made me reflect deeply on "alternative" medicine was of a 70 yr. old woman who had suffered her entire adult life with Rheumatoid Arthritis. After a series of dietary changes he recommended to her, her symptoms (i.e. her pain) decreased significantly. His recommendations included adding to her diet omega-3 fatty acids, organically grown produce and flax seed; eliminating from her diet all polyunsaturated and partially hydrogenated fats, dairy products, and most meat; taking a number of herbal remedies and practicing breath relaxation. Simple (and affordable)recommendations, but with very powerful benefits.
I have found Dr. Weil's suggestions for health maintenance more than reasonable. He makes sense. This book is well written, enjoyable to read, easy to understand and with suggestions that can make a difference between feeling well or ill. I highly recommend it to all and any interested in improving one's health.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
5 Foods that Help Fight Disease
Eat these foods and you not only will ward off health problems but you will take a great stab at fighting certain existing health problems.
1. Prunes - do not wrinkle your nose at this one.
Studies show that eating up to 12 prunes per day can actually fight osteoporosis by increasing bone density up to 3% in one year (better than medicines can do). A recent study conducted by Oklahoma State University showed that there were increases in serum markers of bone formation in post menopausal women after eating the prunes for just 3 months.
Prunes also have high amounts of vitamin A and both soluble and insoluble fiber. These also contribute significantly your well being.
2. Not one but 2 apples per day will do the trick (or 75 grams of dried apples). The pectin in these will help increase your good cholesterol levels.
3. Watermelon is loaded with lutein. Two large slices of watermelon daily will help improve your body's circulatory system.
4. Flax oil will reduce the amount of sticky build up leading to arteriosclerosis. Two teaspoons of the seeds daily will also give you another source of fiber.
5. One ounce of soy per day will improve osteoarthritis. I have found that a tasty way to meet this soy requirement is to drink vanilla soy milk by Silk. One cup contains 6.25 grams of soy protein, 30 percent of your daily calcium requirement, 50% of your vitamin B12 requirement, 30% of vitamin D, and 30% of the riboflavin you need. Not bad for only 100 calories.
1. Prunes - do not wrinkle your nose at this one.
Studies show that eating up to 12 prunes per day can actually fight osteoporosis by increasing bone density up to 3% in one year (better than medicines can do). A recent study conducted by Oklahoma State University showed that there were increases in serum markers of bone formation in post menopausal women after eating the prunes for just 3 months.
Prunes also have high amounts of vitamin A and both soluble and insoluble fiber. These also contribute significantly your well being.
2. Not one but 2 apples per day will do the trick (or 75 grams of dried apples). The pectin in these will help increase your good cholesterol levels.
3. Watermelon is loaded with lutein. Two large slices of watermelon daily will help improve your body's circulatory system.
4. Flax oil will reduce the amount of sticky build up leading to arteriosclerosis. Two teaspoons of the seeds daily will also give you another source of fiber.
5. One ounce of soy per day will improve osteoarthritis. I have found that a tasty way to meet this soy requirement is to drink vanilla soy milk by Silk. One cup contains 6.25 grams of soy protein, 30 percent of your daily calcium requirement, 50% of your vitamin B12 requirement, 30% of vitamin D, and 30% of the riboflavin you need. Not bad for only 100 calories.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
You Mindset Really Matters
Here is some good advice from Debbie Rocker who wrote Training for Life and also developed the weighted life vest.
Are you sticking to your fitness plan – or should I ask?
If you are – bravo; if not, let’s do something about it.
You need some glue, something that will make you feel committed, convinced, stuck on the idea that whatever you have chosen to accomplish in 2008 will make you not only look good, but feel better inside as well.
Here are some adhesive suggestions:
1. Write a list of pros and cons. Is the intended result really worth the work or sacrifice?
2. Edit or keep your goal/resolution.
3. Make changes in your methodology. Maybe you gave yourself a goal date that’s unreasonable, or your expectations for what you could actually do to achieve that goal were too high. Amend your plan. Make it so reasonable that it seems like it’ll be a cakewalk – then, doing more is icing on the cake.
4. Enlist a friend to do it with you – optional, but very effective.
5. Just focus on the task at hand for the day at hand. Don’t think about next week, next month, what will happen if work gets busier or the kids get sick, just stay in your plan for today.
Projection is the surest way to sabotage. Stay in the moment, stay in the day, do just what is right in front of you and everything will get done.
Hope 2008 starts to feel great, if it doesn’t already.
Peace and Happy Trails -
Debbie Rocker
2007 walkvest.com . All Rights Reserved.
Also see: http://www.debbierocker.com
Are you sticking to your fitness plan – or should I ask?
If you are – bravo; if not, let’s do something about it.
You need some glue, something that will make you feel committed, convinced, stuck on the idea that whatever you have chosen to accomplish in 2008 will make you not only look good, but feel better inside as well.
Here are some adhesive suggestions:
1. Write a list of pros and cons. Is the intended result really worth the work or sacrifice?
2. Edit or keep your goal/resolution.
3. Make changes in your methodology. Maybe you gave yourself a goal date that’s unreasonable, or your expectations for what you could actually do to achieve that goal were too high. Amend your plan. Make it so reasonable that it seems like it’ll be a cakewalk – then, doing more is icing on the cake.
4. Enlist a friend to do it with you – optional, but very effective.
5. Just focus on the task at hand for the day at hand. Don’t think about next week, next month, what will happen if work gets busier or the kids get sick, just stay in your plan for today.
Projection is the surest way to sabotage. Stay in the moment, stay in the day, do just what is right in front of you and everything will get done.
Hope 2008 starts to feel great, if it doesn’t already.
Peace and Happy Trails -
Debbie Rocker
2007 walkvest.com . All Rights Reserved.
Also see: http://www.debbierocker.com
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The Health Benefits of Tea
Drinking tea has so many health benefits and is so tasty, it makes you wonder why so many people in the US are consuming so much diet sodas and excessive amounts of coffee.
For dieters, tea has no calories and lots of flavor. If you want more flavor or sweetness, just add a stick of cinnamon (a helpful health wonder itself) or a natural sweetening agent such as stevia (with virtually no calories).
Check out this article by Dr.Maoshing Ni about the wonders of drinking tea:
Tea: The Elixir of Life Posted Thu, Feb 14, 2008, 12:47 pm PST
94% of users found this article helpful.
Post a Comment View All 279 Comments
Delicious, low-calorie, and brimming with antioxidants, tea is quickly becoming the most commonly consumed beverage worldwide, after water. Even in the U.S., its popularity is rapidly growing. And why not? With the health benefits you stand to gain, you, too, will want to drink up.
Soak Up the Health Benefits
It is no wonder that tea is the beverage most commonly enjoyed by centenarians around the world. Tea is full of powerful antioxidants that improve concentration, gently boost energy, and make people happier. The free radical-inhibiting property of tea is more potent than that of vitamin E, and tea is a proven preventive and treatment for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The polyphenols in tea, especially the catechins, are powerful antioxidants that help ward off diabetes and cancer.
To get the most health from your tea, brew it fresh from tea bags or loose leaves and herbs, as instant and bottled teas contain less active compounds. Let the tea steep for three to five minutes to extract the most beneficial compounds. Drink to your health!
Cut the Morning Coffee
For many people, the first thing they reach for in the morning is coffee. Although it may initially give you a jolt, coffee actually depletes your vital essence, "borrowing" energy that you didn't have in the first place.
Caffeine acts as a central nervous system stimulant. It causes you to experience stress, anxiety, a racing mind, and even insomnia, working against your attempts to relax the body and calm the mind. A healthier alternative to coffee is herbal tea. On average, a cup of black tea contains about one third of the caffeine you would get from the same cup of coffee. Green tea contains about one sixth of that amount.
Of course, caffeine content will vary depending on the particular tea and the brewing time. One way to naturally decaffeinate your tea is to steep for 45 seconds, pour out the liquid but keep the tea leaves, then add fresh boiling water and let it steep for 3-5 minutes or longer to allow the beneficial polyphenols to be extracted from the tea.
Slim Down with Tea
As a weight loss tool, tea is a wonderfully cleansing way to flush the system, replace fluids - and pump the body full of powerful antioxidants at the same time. Aside from the health benefits, tea is a zero-calorie beverage, making it your best choice for weight loss. Pass on the diet soda, loaded with sugar and bone-weakening bubbles, and go for tea.
It is best to drink tea unsweetened and without milk, which can minimize some of the health benefits. To sweeten the tea without the extra calories, forgo the sugar and try instead honey, stevia products, or a stick of cinnamon.
The Healthy Varieties of Herbal Teas
Aromatic and chock full of amazing health benefits, herbal teas are made from various leaves, roots, bark, or flowers. Here are just a few:
* Ginger: Soothes the digestive system and keeps your energy fired up
* Chamomile: Settles the stomach and is calming and soothing for the nervous system
* Peppermint: Increases healthy gastric secretions, relaxes the intestines, and settles the stomach
* Dandelion: Detoxifies and supports healthy liver functions
* Valerian: A natural herbal substitute for sleeping pills
You can combine these herbs in any combination according to your taste and health preferences. Among my patients, an incredibly popular herbal tea is Internal Cleanse Tea, which is specially combined to detoxify, calm nerves, clear the mind, balance emotions, and ease digestion. This tea formula is available online at askdrmao.com.
I hope you reap the powerful health benefits of tea! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.
May you stay healthy, live long, and live happy!
-Dr. Mao
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To learn more about Dr. Mao and other natural health tips, go to askdrmao.com.
For dieters, tea has no calories and lots of flavor. If you want more flavor or sweetness, just add a stick of cinnamon (a helpful health wonder itself) or a natural sweetening agent such as stevia (with virtually no calories).
Check out this article by Dr.Maoshing Ni about the wonders of drinking tea:
Tea: The Elixir of Life Posted Thu, Feb 14, 2008, 12:47 pm PST
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Delicious, low-calorie, and brimming with antioxidants, tea is quickly becoming the most commonly consumed beverage worldwide, after water. Even in the U.S., its popularity is rapidly growing. And why not? With the health benefits you stand to gain, you, too, will want to drink up.
Soak Up the Health Benefits
It is no wonder that tea is the beverage most commonly enjoyed by centenarians around the world. Tea is full of powerful antioxidants that improve concentration, gently boost energy, and make people happier. The free radical-inhibiting property of tea is more potent than that of vitamin E, and tea is a proven preventive and treatment for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The polyphenols in tea, especially the catechins, are powerful antioxidants that help ward off diabetes and cancer.
To get the most health from your tea, brew it fresh from tea bags or loose leaves and herbs, as instant and bottled teas contain less active compounds. Let the tea steep for three to five minutes to extract the most beneficial compounds. Drink to your health!
Cut the Morning Coffee
For many people, the first thing they reach for in the morning is coffee. Although it may initially give you a jolt, coffee actually depletes your vital essence, "borrowing" energy that you didn't have in the first place.
Caffeine acts as a central nervous system stimulant. It causes you to experience stress, anxiety, a racing mind, and even insomnia, working against your attempts to relax the body and calm the mind. A healthier alternative to coffee is herbal tea. On average, a cup of black tea contains about one third of the caffeine you would get from the same cup of coffee. Green tea contains about one sixth of that amount.
Of course, caffeine content will vary depending on the particular tea and the brewing time. One way to naturally decaffeinate your tea is to steep for 45 seconds, pour out the liquid but keep the tea leaves, then add fresh boiling water and let it steep for 3-5 minutes or longer to allow the beneficial polyphenols to be extracted from the tea.
Slim Down with Tea
As a weight loss tool, tea is a wonderfully cleansing way to flush the system, replace fluids - and pump the body full of powerful antioxidants at the same time. Aside from the health benefits, tea is a zero-calorie beverage, making it your best choice for weight loss. Pass on the diet soda, loaded with sugar and bone-weakening bubbles, and go for tea.
It is best to drink tea unsweetened and without milk, which can minimize some of the health benefits. To sweeten the tea without the extra calories, forgo the sugar and try instead honey, stevia products, or a stick of cinnamon.
The Healthy Varieties of Herbal Teas
Aromatic and chock full of amazing health benefits, herbal teas are made from various leaves, roots, bark, or flowers. Here are just a few:
* Ginger: Soothes the digestive system and keeps your energy fired up
* Chamomile: Settles the stomach and is calming and soothing for the nervous system
* Peppermint: Increases healthy gastric secretions, relaxes the intestines, and settles the stomach
* Dandelion: Detoxifies and supports healthy liver functions
* Valerian: A natural herbal substitute for sleeping pills
You can combine these herbs in any combination according to your taste and health preferences. Among my patients, an incredibly popular herbal tea is Internal Cleanse Tea, which is specially combined to detoxify, calm nerves, clear the mind, balance emotions, and ease digestion. This tea formula is available online at askdrmao.com.
I hope you reap the powerful health benefits of tea! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.
May you stay healthy, live long, and live happy!
-Dr. Mao
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To learn more about Dr. Mao and other natural health tips, go to askdrmao.com.
Friday, February 1, 2008
The Mind/Body Connection
The Mind/Body Connection
Easing pain through meditation illustrates mind's role in healing
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
By Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For the full story go to:
http://no-drugs-fibro-treatment.com/
Easing pain through meditation illustrates mind's role in healing
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
By Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For the full story go to:
http://no-drugs-fibro-treatment.com/
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Patients Prefer Integrative Medical Care and Drugs as a Last Resort
Understanding Patient Preference for Integrative Medical Care: Results from Patient Focus Groups
Journal Journal of General Internal Medicine
Publisher Springer New York
ISSN 0884-8734 (Print) 1525-1497 (Online)
Issue Volume 22, Number 11 / November, 2007
Category Original Article
DOI 10.1007/s11606-007-0302-5
Pages 1500-1505
Subject Collection Medicine
SpringerLink Date Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Anne M. McCaffrey1, 2 , Guy F. Pugh1 and Bonnie B. O’Connor2, 3
(1) Marino Center for Progressive Health, 2500 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140, USA
(2) Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School Osher Institute, Boston, MA, USA
(3) Department of Pediatrics, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, USA
Received: 14 January 2007 Revised: 20 June 2007 Accepted: 3 July 2007 Published online: 11 September 2007
Abstract
Background Integrative medicine (IM), a combination of conventional and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), has become a popular source of medical care, yet little is known about its use.
Objective To identify the motivations of people who choose IM for their primary care needs.
Design Qualitative study from focus group data of regular users of IM.
Participants Six focus groups that include a total of 37 regular users of IM who consented to participate in a study of IM use.
Approach Focus group meetings were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative analysis using grounded theory was used to derive the motivations for use of IM.
Results Participants beliefs include the following: the combination of CAM and conventional medicine is better than either alone; health is a combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual well being; nutrition and lifestyle play a role in wellness; and pharmaceuticals should be avoided except as a last resort. Participants suffer from health problems that are not well treated by conventional medicine. Participants want to discuss CAM with physicians and obtain guidance on its use. Participants want time with their providers, to feel listened to and to have the opportunity for shared decision-making.
Conclusion Much of what patients are seeking in integrative medical care is likely universally shared: a strong therapeutic relationship with providers who listen and provide time and knowledgeable advice. Users believe a combined approach of CAM and conventional medicine is better than either alone and want to be able to discuss CAM use with their providers.
KEY WORDS CAM - integrative medicine - patient satisfaction - therapeutic encounter
________________________________________
Anne M. McCaffrey
Email: amccaffrey@marinocenter.org
Journal Journal of General Internal Medicine
Publisher Springer New York
ISSN 0884-8734 (Print) 1525-1497 (Online)
Issue Volume 22, Number 11 / November, 2007
Category Original Article
DOI 10.1007/s11606-007-0302-5
Pages 1500-1505
Subject Collection Medicine
SpringerLink Date Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Anne M. McCaffrey1, 2 , Guy F. Pugh1 and Bonnie B. O’Connor2, 3
(1) Marino Center for Progressive Health, 2500 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140, USA
(2) Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School Osher Institute, Boston, MA, USA
(3) Department of Pediatrics, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, USA
Received: 14 January 2007 Revised: 20 June 2007 Accepted: 3 July 2007 Published online: 11 September 2007
Abstract
Background Integrative medicine (IM), a combination of conventional and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), has become a popular source of medical care, yet little is known about its use.
Objective To identify the motivations of people who choose IM for their primary care needs.
Design Qualitative study from focus group data of regular users of IM.
Participants Six focus groups that include a total of 37 regular users of IM who consented to participate in a study of IM use.
Approach Focus group meetings were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative analysis using grounded theory was used to derive the motivations for use of IM.
Results Participants beliefs include the following: the combination of CAM and conventional medicine is better than either alone; health is a combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual well being; nutrition and lifestyle play a role in wellness; and pharmaceuticals should be avoided except as a last resort. Participants suffer from health problems that are not well treated by conventional medicine. Participants want to discuss CAM with physicians and obtain guidance on its use. Participants want time with their providers, to feel listened to and to have the opportunity for shared decision-making.
Conclusion Much of what patients are seeking in integrative medical care is likely universally shared: a strong therapeutic relationship with providers who listen and provide time and knowledgeable advice. Users believe a combined approach of CAM and conventional medicine is better than either alone and want to be able to discuss CAM use with their providers.
KEY WORDS CAM - integrative medicine - patient satisfaction - therapeutic encounter
________________________________________
Anne M. McCaffrey
Email: amccaffrey@marinocenter.org
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Philosophy for Getting on the Path to Natural Fitness for the Long Haul
A healthy mind will lead to a healthy body.
Real and lasting fitness is as much about the state of mind as it is about the state of the body. As a matter of fact, creating a strong and healthy state of mind (includes attitude and emotions), is probably the most important ingredient you will need in the recipe for creating fitness.
Your mind and its emotional states will either encourage or sabotage your efforts. And it is not just a matter of will power. Since will power is a product of the conscious mind it cannot be sustained for long periods of time because of sleep and distractions. Will power by nature is designed to for shorter time frames - to build habits and sound behaviors. Most people who start a new fitness regiment are "pushing the boulder uphill" so to speak if they are relying on will power alone. It is critical to enlist the support of the subconscious mind to achieve long term and completely natural fitness.
What do I mean by natural? Simply this: no diet drugs, no fad diets, no steroids, no gastric by pass surgery. It means finding your true and natural self and achieving the right balance for keeping it that way. It means embracing your particular body type instead of striving to be something that you are not. But while it means accepting yourself - it does not mean that you have to settle for anything. The challenge is to be the best you can be within the scope of what is natural and right for you.
Why is enlisting the subconscious mind so important? Rather - why is enlisting the subconscious mind so CRITICAL - because this is from where ALL the self sabotage originates. If you are struggling and can't figure out why - it is only your conscious mind that does not know why. Your subconscious knows perfectly well.
Tapping into your Subconscious Mind to Diffuse the Source of Sabotage
Hypnosis is the perfect tool for diving in and getting at the root of your struggles. Hypnosis? you are saying - oh yeah right! You are probably thinking of stage antics and "mind control".
Let's clear up misconceptions first.
Hypnosis is a natural state of your everyday mind. You regularly go in and out of it everyday.
No one can actually hypnotize you. You must be willing to let someone help you get into this natural state and help you maintain it. Stage hypnosis always requires willing participants since you can never, ever be made to do something or say something (or divulge something) that is against your will under hypnosis.
You are NOT asleep. Your mind is extremely alert. When you are hypnotized, it is the subconscious mind that dominates rather than the conscious mind (the conscious mind is still there just put off to the side - it is only completely absent when you are actually asleep).
Since hypnosis is completely natural, there are no side effects what so ever. Extremely deep states of hypnosis (called the coma state - not the same in hypnosis as in the medical state), have been known to stimulate and bring healing in the physical body of the person who was in that deep hypnotic state. There is so much that is still being discovered about hypnosis. While all of its uses are not completely know, it is starting to be viewed as a "buried treasure chest" of healing for both the physical and emotional realms.
Now before you go out and make an appointment with your local hypnotist or expect miraculous results from self -hypnosis books and CDs, there is one other point that you must realize.
Most hypnotists practice "direct suggestion". This works for awhile, but eventually wears off. this is why you will hear of people who start smoking again after having stopped for awhile.
The best way to go is to a hypnotherapist who will regress to the emotional cause of the problem.
See my next posts for videos (taken by me) of a hypnotherapist partner and friend of mine who has had tremendous success at ridding people of their fibromyalgia symptoms, phobias, smoking habits, achieving weight loss - all through the power of hypnotic regression (and once these problems are gone, they are gone FOR GOOD!)
Real and lasting fitness is as much about the state of mind as it is about the state of the body. As a matter of fact, creating a strong and healthy state of mind (includes attitude and emotions), is probably the most important ingredient you will need in the recipe for creating fitness.
Your mind and its emotional states will either encourage or sabotage your efforts. And it is not just a matter of will power. Since will power is a product of the conscious mind it cannot be sustained for long periods of time because of sleep and distractions. Will power by nature is designed to for shorter time frames - to build habits and sound behaviors. Most people who start a new fitness regiment are "pushing the boulder uphill" so to speak if they are relying on will power alone. It is critical to enlist the support of the subconscious mind to achieve long term and completely natural fitness.
What do I mean by natural? Simply this: no diet drugs, no fad diets, no steroids, no gastric by pass surgery. It means finding your true and natural self and achieving the right balance for keeping it that way. It means embracing your particular body type instead of striving to be something that you are not. But while it means accepting yourself - it does not mean that you have to settle for anything. The challenge is to be the best you can be within the scope of what is natural and right for you.
Why is enlisting the subconscious mind so important? Rather - why is enlisting the subconscious mind so CRITICAL - because this is from where ALL the self sabotage originates. If you are struggling and can't figure out why - it is only your conscious mind that does not know why. Your subconscious knows perfectly well.
Tapping into your Subconscious Mind to Diffuse the Source of Sabotage
Hypnosis is the perfect tool for diving in and getting at the root of your struggles. Hypnosis? you are saying - oh yeah right! You are probably thinking of stage antics and "mind control".
Let's clear up misconceptions first.
Hypnosis is a natural state of your everyday mind. You regularly go in and out of it everyday.
No one can actually hypnotize you. You must be willing to let someone help you get into this natural state and help you maintain it. Stage hypnosis always requires willing participants since you can never, ever be made to do something or say something (or divulge something) that is against your will under hypnosis.
You are NOT asleep. Your mind is extremely alert. When you are hypnotized, it is the subconscious mind that dominates rather than the conscious mind (the conscious mind is still there just put off to the side - it is only completely absent when you are actually asleep).
Since hypnosis is completely natural, there are no side effects what so ever. Extremely deep states of hypnosis (called the coma state - not the same in hypnosis as in the medical state), have been known to stimulate and bring healing in the physical body of the person who was in that deep hypnotic state. There is so much that is still being discovered about hypnosis. While all of its uses are not completely know, it is starting to be viewed as a "buried treasure chest" of healing for both the physical and emotional realms.
Now before you go out and make an appointment with your local hypnotist or expect miraculous results from self -hypnosis books and CDs, there is one other point that you must realize.
Most hypnotists practice "direct suggestion". This works for awhile, but eventually wears off. this is why you will hear of people who start smoking again after having stopped for awhile.
The best way to go is to a hypnotherapist who will regress to the emotional cause of the problem.
See my next posts for videos (taken by me) of a hypnotherapist partner and friend of mine who has had tremendous success at ridding people of their fibromyalgia symptoms, phobias, smoking habits, achieving weight loss - all through the power of hypnotic regression (and once these problems are gone, they are gone FOR GOOD!)
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