Coz Being Ageless Is Priceless

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Back to Basics 2

Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog! I’ve been distracted with the cares of life such that I wasn’t able to persist with my new-found hobby, blogging. Anyway, I thought that it might be a good time to discuss a few of the basics in healthy aging. I’d say let’s start with one of the fundamental factors which influence aging, and that is, our diet. I’ve been working out for a while with satisfactory results but it wasn’t until I changed my diet that things started to really turn around. Not that I had a lot of weight or fat to lose but in my case, I just wasn’t achieving that coveted 6-pack abs. I’m not saying that that should be everyone’s goal. I just want to set certain goals in my life and do my best in achieving them. So, I’ve been training more consistently in the last several months. My diet is much better. I rarely eat out nowadays. I started eating more at home, using organic, in-season produce primarily. I supplement my protein intake with the use of organic whey and other plant-based protein shakes. And then of course, I take natural fat burners such as L-carnitine and more recently added the “Living with Slique” kit from Young Living Essential Oils. It really is a holistic approach since I don’t rely on just one thing to achieve my goals. By the way, it helps to know your hormone levels since sub-optimal numbers could mean an exercise in futility (no pun intended). For the Young Living Slique kit, visit http://www.cleanbodycare.com or just call 847-997-8459 or email jd@infinitewellnessworldwide.com.

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Random Thoughts

Back to Basics 1

Wow! It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog entry. It’s been a busy new year for me. Hopefully, I’ll be writing on a more consistent basis. That, is my new year’s resolution. Hey, it’s better late than never, right?

Anyway, I’m back after spending a few days with a couple of Lyme -literate doctors here in the Bay area. It’s great to see how various practitioners approach the Lyme disease epidemic in different ways (some more “holistic”, while others more “conventional”). I would say that they’re both highly effective, considering how their clients consistently come back for follow up (coz they keep getting better). It’s sad however, how insurance companies sometimes dictate what they’ll cover or not. After all, it’s the doctor who actually treats the patients. Overall, they’re good at collecting your insurance premiums. But when it comes to actually covering for services, they suck (pardon my “French”; no offense to the French, however). Like one of the doctors who I shadowed said, they (insurance companies) are in the business of making and saving money, first and foremost. If they do really want to save money, they should be looking into more preventive health care (or going back to basics). Incorporating nutrition, fitness and stress reduction, could go a long way in solving the health care problems in our country. One good thing though, some of these companies are starting to “see the light” by incorporating stress reduction programs.

More on what I learned during my preceptorship with LLMD’s in the next few days……

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Random Thoughts

New Year’s Resolutions

Here we go again making new year’s resolutions. Among the
most common resolutions include losing weight, stopping unhealthy
habits such as smoking or drinking, and starting an exercise
program. Whatever a person’s new year’s resolution is, it is
important to be patient and give ourselves a break when things
don’t go as planned. Anyway, I’d like to discuss the issue of
addictions, whether it’s smoking, drinking, gambling, you name it.
Oftentimes, these addictions are brought about by nutritional
imbalances. To put it simply, people oftentimes crave certain
things because they lack nutrients such as vitamins, minerals,
amino acids, essential fatty acids, and trace elements.
Fortunately, there are tests available that could tell us exactly
what we’re lacking. These tests could be done through the blood,
hair, and the urine. Of course, these tests are not mainstream yet,
so your conventionally-trained doctor may not be aware of these
tests. However, a simple CBC and serum chemistry can tell us what’s
going on with a person nutritionally, although indirectly. A CBC
for instance, can tell if there’s iron, B12 or folic acid
deficiency. High blood sugar could be due to lack of vitamin B1 or
thiamine. Low creatinine could be due to protein insufficiency or
impaired digestion. Low uric acid could be due to copper or
molybdenum deficiencies. Low CO2 can also be due to a lack of
vitamin B1 or thiamine deficiency. Low albumin could be due to a
need for more vitamin C. Low AST/SGOT and low ALT/SGPT could be due
to vitamin B6 deficiency. Low GGTP could be due to B6 or Magnesium
deficiency. High total/free T-3 could be due to iodine deficiency
while low total /free T-3 could be due to selenium deficiency. Low
total/free T-4 could be due to iodine deficiency. In summary,
“normal” tests don’t really mean anything because it’s mostly based
on statistics. Low normal or high normal mean something, especially
if a person is symptomatic. It goes back to individualizing
treatment or a more personalized medicine.

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Love and Other Drugs

Anne Hathaway at the 81st Academy Awards

Image via Wikipedia

Just saw the movie called “Love and other drugs”. I wasn’t expecting a good story line but it turned out to be a great one. Lots of interesting points in the movie. Among these includes a lesson in what happens to people with Parkinson’s disease or Parkinsonism. Basic info on Parkinson’s disease. It is a progressive neuro-degenerative disorder that affects motor skills, cognition and the autonomic nervous system as well. It is characterized by depletion of a neurotransmitter called dopamine in the substancia nigra part of the brain. Initial symptoms include bradykinesia, rigidity and tremors. The simplistic approach to treatment is to prevent further depletion of dopamine (and diminish motor symptoms) using medications such as Sinemet or MAO inhibitors. What are the possible causes of PD? An obvious cause involves repeated head trauma such as seen in boxers (Muhammad Ali and Manny Pacquiao’s boxing coach). In the medical literature, there’s idiopathic PD, meaning the causes are unknown. Of course, other possible causes are not explored and these include the presence of heavy metal toxicity (mercury, arsenic, lead, aluminum), excitotoxins (chemicals such as pesticides or MSG which excite neurons to death) and oxidative stress. Anyway, I’m surprised that the movie even mentioned chelation therapy, which is the accepted form of treatment for heavy metal toxicity. Chelation therapy involves the administration of chelating agents such as EDTA, which attach to heavy metals and are then excreted through the kidneys primarily.

One other interesting point is when Anne Hathaway went to accompany seniors across the border to Canada to purchase their prescription medications. Sad but true. We’re spending more on the same medications that are sold elsewhere for less. And then another one is when Hank Azaria, who plays the doctor, confides to Jake Gyllenhaal, the erstwhile drug rep, that his job isn’t as fulfilling anymore because of HMO’s, paperwork and worry about medical malpractice lawyers just waiting to prey on him.

Anyway, the most important lesson in the movie I believe is unconditional love. We should love one another just because……

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Treat or Tricked?

Two cousins, the boy dressed in military camou...

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That’s right! It’s treat or tricked, not trick or treat! Now that Halloween is done and over with, let’s discuss the implications of the so-called Halloween treats. The treats that most people give away to kids during this holiday of sorts are not really a treat. Treats are supposed to be beneficial for the recipient. This is usually not the case when it comes to trick or treating though because the treats are harmful for the recipient long term. They’re mostly white sugar or refined carbs. Empty calories, that is. Sugar is addictive, even though it’s legal (or should I say, sugar is legal, even though it’s addictive). We don’t think about it in this terms but sugar in general could cause more problems than all other drugs combined. Consider how diabetes is now one of the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in most ages. What used to be an illness found in adults could now be seen in children. Thanks to the abundance of sugary products. And that’s not all, it’s found in products that are supposed to be sugar free under the guise of different names. It takes a more educated or more informed population to decipher the list of ingredients of most food stuff nowadays. I would say that the further refined a food is, the more harmful it is. The closer it is to nature, the more beneficial it is. Go natural!

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Safe Travels

Taj Spa at Taj Exotica, Goa

Image via Wikipedia

Just got back from NYC for a conference. It’s a short trip compared to the ones I’ve made before. However, it’s still important to take certain precautions to prevent yourself from getting sick during or after air travel. One thing is to make sure that you stay well-hydrated. Drink half your body weight in ounces (per day) ideally. Forget about the crappy airline food they serve. Bring your own food if possible. Feeling sleepy? How about bringing an eye mask and that cushy neck pillow (if you’re flying coach). Don’t forget to take melatonin to prevent jet lag esp. if you travel through “major major” time zones. Try getting up once in a while to get your circulation going. And if there’s an urge to urinate (or any other “urges” for that matter), don’t hold it. Suppression of these natural urges could lead to illness according to Ayurvedic medicine. We already know about breathing recirculated air when flying. Consider getting a personal air ionizer and if that’s not possible, essential oil blends such as Thieves or Purification from YLEO are really helpful. Doing a lot of walking like I did in NYC? Make sure to wear good shoes and take time out for breaks. I think I overdid it. Thank heavens for Brookstone! I got a foot/leg massage for 30 minutes and it helped a lot. Nothing beats a real massage though and I’m so glad that I got one yesterday. More travel tips later….

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Desperate Housecalls….

 

15. Desperate Housewives (PCD Fake) To ISAEL10...

Image by ฿lαcĸouт14* via Flickr

 

Saw Sunday night’s episode of Desperate Housewives. Interesting how one character has been experiencing anxiety and depression since his wife gave birth a few months earlier. He was diagnosed with post-partum depression and even got a brochure from his primary care physician about the condition. Anyway, he saw a doctor who prescribed him some type of medication for his condition. Upon his return home from the doctor’s office, he told his wife about the medication. His wife didn’t agree with this approach and she then advised him to see a holistic MD, especially after a friend of hers got great results for her back pain. So he did, and when he came back from this holistic MD, he was so delighted because he was prescribed some medical marijuana. Now, that’s stretching it a bit. Personally, I don’t think a holistic MD would prescribe marijuana as an initial treatment for depression. Although it’s one of the medical uses of marijuana, there are other nutrients that one should consider before resorting to this. Nutrients such as Magnesium, vitamin D, B complex, essential fatty acids, St. John’s wort, L-tryptophan, L-tyrosine, and 5-HTP could all help relieve a person’s symptoms of depression. Back to the story, the depressed guy’s wife wasn’t so happy with this recommendation from the doctor. So, she happily switched the medicine bottle with marijuana with oregano without her husband’s knowledge. Her husband however, got better and take note, he even experienced getting “high”. Think about the power of placebo effect. Long story short, he eventually found out about the switch. By that time, he was actually better. Lots of lessons to be learned from this episode but the main one that stuck is the role of the mind in the healing process. The mind is really powerful. So, be careful what you think.

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Drink Milk, Not!

Espace Opéra Milk

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Drinking milk has always been thought of as a healthy thing. I remember as a kid, almost being forced into drinking my glass of milk. I was really stubborn then and I’m glad I was. Being of Asian heritage, it doesn’t make sense to drink milk because most of us (and for that matter, people of African descent as well) are lactose-intolerant. Even organic milk won’t work if you’re lactose intolerant. Besides, there’s so much “stuff” in regular milk that you may not want to drink it. Among these include antibiotics, hormones and pesticides. What’s fed to commercially-farmed animals ends up in their body fluids (and that includes their milk). Anyway, one of the reasons they’re promoting it widely is because of it’s benefit of improving bone density because of it’s calcium content. But, there’s more to healthy bones than taking calcium alone. A preferable source of calcium would be green, leafy vegetables. But of course, it’s not “cool” to promote veggies in large media advertising campaigns. See how they use celebrities with milk in their upper lips? How many of them actually drink milk? What about celebrities with green plant material between their teeth suggesting that they’re eating veggies? Won’t that be a funny picture? I heard one of my mentors several years ago talking to his obese client jokingly. Why do you need (cow’s) milk? Is your mother a cow? Don’t you know that milk is probably making you fat? Funny, but it’s true. One of the results of food sensitivities is weight gain but that another topic we have to discuss in the future. One more thing to think about is that we’re the only mammals that drink milk in their adulthood. Is there a reason why other creatures don’t drink milk in their adulthood? Just wondering…..

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Balance Bars……

Fire and Ice

Image by ecstaticist via Flickr

That’s one of my favorite Olympic sports. I remember as a kid trying to balance myself on our “pader”, which is the Tagalog word for wall or a tall fence made of cement basically. It is a delicate balancing act. One wrong step and you’re off to the ground (just like Humpty Dumpy). Anyway, it’s the same balancing act that goes on with our hormones. Factors such as nutritional deficiencies (lack of selenium prevents conversion of T4 to T3), heavy metal toxicity (mercury attacks some hormones), or oxidative stress (excessive free radical formation could affect every cell in the body including our endocrine glands) could influence hormonal balance. Hormones by the way, are chemical messengers (secreted by endocrine glands in our body) that act on different target organs. Our hormonal/endocrine system is intimately connected to the nervous and immune systems (which secrete neurotransmitters and cytokines, respectively). These three systems work together bringing optimal communication among every cell in the body. There is such a strong connection among these systems that it’s difficult to treat one system without messing with the others. That’s the reason why we need to be careful about what we take in (whether it’s food, drugs, supplements, water, and yes, even our thoughts) because it affects everything. We cannot isolate one part of the body from the rest of it. In fact, I’m reminded of one Biblical verse which says that, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” Just thought I’d mention that. Hope everybody’s having a great week!

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The Karate Kid

Medicines in a Chinese pharmacy in Seattle.

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Yes, I saw it on the opening weekend! It was actually better than I expected. Anyway, it’s interesting how the movie incorporated some aspects of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), primarily moxibustion. I don’t do this procedure in my practice but have referred clients to TCM practitioners. This traditional form of medicine has been practiced for over 5,000 years and is being used as primary health care by more than half of the world’s population. Moxibustion involves the burning of an herb called mugwort. It is useful for treating a variety of conditions such as aches and pains, colds and flu, and even poor digestion. Sounds like a Harry Potter movie, huh? Anyway, it does work and I encourage people to try other alternative forms of treatment once in a while.

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