Prevention

PREVENTION, is a fundamental principle of Naturopathic Medicine.
Is it enough to inform patients?

There are many handouts I make available for patients at initial visits specific to their conditions and concerns. But I’ve found on follw up visits that some feel overwhelmed and do not even read the materials. What to do? These patients know how to read, they know it is specifically for them and their situation and yet they are shy to learn more.

I’ve found this is especially the case with people who’ve had longstanding problems and that it is mainly for them a combination of two reasons: disbelief that a simple practical change in their life like diet changes will magically help them, that they will not know how to do it right and it won’t work and they’ll have wasted their time at the least embarassed themselves in failing.

What is the underlying theme here? Fear.

Both of these reactions are fear based, one is fear of success and the other fear of failure—how can they be the same? They are really fear of change. It’s hard to admit, I know from my own experiences, that something that is a big problem has also shaped daily life and to change it creates a kind of vacuum in the conscious mind, perhaps you’ve also experienced thoughts something similar to this—“What will replace this? If I do this my life might change in drastic ways, and I’m not sure how I will cope with the changes—after all I’ve been coping well enough with the current situation because I’ve made it this far.”

If that’s so, please try this simple exercise:

Take a moment now and close your eyes, relax and think about how it is truly impossible to be afraid of the unknown, and that all this time your fear of change is that it will be one of many known and unwanted results. Perhaps you can list 15 of the most crazy unwanted results you can come up with, be as far out there as you can get. Really, go for it, if you can get more than 15 write them down. The point is to take it so far that you know you are creating worst case scenarios that keep you from moving out of your current patterns. That’s right, it needs more balance so now think of 15 positive results that are not so far out there at all- in fact they’re the intended goals of practical suggestions!

For example, quit smoking possibilities:

WCS: I’ll never be relaxed again. I’ll never get outdoors enough. I’ll probably die healthy. I’ll bite nails to the quick. I’ll chew so much gum I’ll be up at night with the aching jaws. I’ll get so fat, I won’t be able to get in my car. I’ll be fidgeting so much that people will think I’m on drugs. I’ll get sugar diabetes from putting so much sugar in my coffee, because I can’t match it with tobacco. My family will have to find other things to nag me about, like my personality. I’ll have so much extra money from not buying cigarettes that I’ll become addicted to the lottery. I’ll have no good excuse for buying new clothes, cause they won’t have yellow stains and burnholes. I’ll start biting my toenails. I’ll start biting other peoples toenails. I’ll have bad breath. I won’t have any thing to cover up the smell when I have gas. Etc, etc….

Positives:I’ll be able to relax around others without having to go outside like I’m an unwanted guest. I’ll have a lot more money to spend on nice clothes, that will stay unyellowed. My family and friends will stop nagging me about my health. I can enjoy fresh air and the great outdoors without gasping for air. I will lose weight now that I can move and breathe well. My dental bills will go down. I’ll be able to take airplanes without panicking about my next nicotine fix. I will contribute to the good health of my family as well as myself. I won’t have to be a slave of an addiction. I’ll chose for myself what I want to do with my time, energy and money instead of being a slave to nicotine.

As you can see prevention depends on your view, if you only see the difficulty then there is little that can be done in the way of prevention- for what you keep anticipating will certainly come your way.

However if you’re able to notice those moments when your body tightens up with resistance and recognize the source of this you can glide through to taking the next step. Humor is a great way to help get perspective, really it is the best way to put the farce of fear in it’s place and let us move on with the work of creating a better tomorrow. For in the end, the ability to choose is always with us but the choices we have are not up to us—take heart that your choices now are great chances to widen your future choices instead of ending up in a helpless situation.

Prevention is the best we can do to increase our options for the future, so don’t miss out!

Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a misnomer?

The great catch all diagnosis when your doctor can’t find out what is going on in your gut. Some docs refer to it as the new “female hysteria” condition, seeing that the sex ratio is 2:1 in (dis)favor of women.

That said, it happens to be one of my favorite conditions to help patients with- mainly because after all the many doctors, tests and years of suffering without a reasonable grasp of the causes or treatments I can help patients investigate their situation in a methodical and purposeful way. Often, this leads to a new level of self awareness, much less a handle on what is at the bottom of their endless bottom problems, so to speak ; )

Irritable bowel syndrome can manifest in unruly ways that would leave anyone irritated- like getting ready for a party or a meeting or an exam, only to be running to the toilet every few minutes unable to leave the house on time, or at all. When you spend the day in bed worrying about the grumbling in your tummy or the next time you go to the bathroom if will there be any end, it can really degrade one’s confidence and set up a vicious cycle of opting out as a preventive measure.

And, let me tell you, life is a terrible thing to opt out of day after day. Staying home waiting for it to pass, may be a good way to prevent embarassment in public, with the bloating, flatulence and the grimace you wear from the painful spasms in your gut; perhaps you’ve noticed, though, it’s part of the problem. As Neil Young would say, don’t let it get you down. Because, I remind you in a hushed tone: the nervous system is listening. The more you stress about that abominable abdominal stress the more it continues to feed itself.

Still, I laugh to think of the 2+ years I took a prescription drug for IBS, that caused a few very undesirable side effects like fainting at work, dry mouth and dizziness. No stress there. My initial diagnosis of IBS was made in less than a 4 minute office visit with my then PCP. He prescribed me bentyl immediately. I asked him how he knew that was appropriate as he hadn’t done any testing; he said there were really no tests besides a colonoscopy which was highly uncomfortable. I insisted that I be tested as I didn’t believe in taking a prescription drug for something that lacked a clear diagnosis. Yes, I got to experience the charm and grace of a colonoscopy, and because there was no other finding other than pain the specialist said that IBS was indeed the diagnosis. Doctor’s aren’t always right, they do the best they can and they sometimes are just there to help us feel more ignorant, (though they may very well match us in that department at the time). And, anyway ignorance is bliss, right? Not!

So back to IBS, I think irritable bowel syndrome is a misnomer; it really stands for Irritating Bowel Symptoms. I know most everypart of my body has the ability to be irritated, but most everypart has been doing it’s job with no complaints. It’s like by some blind curse we’ve stirred up trouble in the bowel and we have got to step lightly around the volcano of our tummies-cause my goodness it’s active. And, many docs may prescribe you antidepressants or an antispasmodic narcotic to hush the volcano- they can help with those irritating symptoms, but they don’t treat the cause.

So, now, we see in the research that the gut contains nearly as many autonomic nervous cells as the central nervous system (that means your brain and spinal cord)—and that melatonin, the biorhythm hormone, is found in much higher concentrations in the gut than in the pineal gland. Interesting, huh? (As an aside, did you know that the pineal gland is just about where your third eye is? Nothing like unruly bowel habits to cloud your insight).

Traditional medical systems focus on the gut as the primary predictor and protector of health; basically, if the tummy no good, then the rest will go to pot. And, isn’t that so? IBS is now entwined with other diagnoses like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, where they see them as the IBS of the musculoskeletal and sympathetic nervous systems, respectively.
According to an article the Role of intestinal bacteria in nutrient metabolism, each of these diagnoses could be strongly related to a dysbiosis in the gut. Dysbiosis is the art of harmful bacterial anarchy in the gut; where the balance of good to bad bacteria is not happening (if only there were a Batman in our the Gotham city of our bowels, sigh). Yet, there is—lots of them, 2-8 billion cultures to be exact of bifidobacterium could set things aright again. Which leads me to the spiritual scientific part of this article; why are you bloated after you eat.


Why am I bloated all the time?


Though you may be feeling the effects of the bloating in your large intestine (the colon that leads to the area where you may feel the end result of all that bloating ; ), the origination may be due to what’s found in the small intestine—an overgrowth of bacteria that like to make sulphide. These bacteria are usually confined to the large intestine, and a few studies suggest that the type of food these bacteria need is not getting all the way down to where they were in the large intestine so the bacteria end up moving up to where they can get it in the small intestine. Yep, that’s right the kind of food you eat makes a difference. Simple white rice is already digested in the small bowel and doesn’t make it to the large intestine (thus bacteria will have to move up to get it); whereas legumes take a longer distance in the colon to get digested and thus the bacteria can stay put in the large bowel and still get their pickings. (By the way this is the spiritual part, in case it isn’t clear).

The starch in these foods is what the bacteria like to eat. And when you can get your starch in a more dense, complex fibrous form like artichokes it is more likely to go the distance, so to speak. It will also satisfy your hunger sooner; along with keeping the bacteria in your large intestine well-fed which enables them to rid your body of more byproducts that you no longer need-do you see the correlation with losing some weight and some irritable bowel symptoms, too?

Additionally, you could set out to supply your large intestine with all the delicacies it desires—propitiating the bowel, hmmm the newest religious rite. Foods like artichoke, garlic, onions, leeks and chicory are their faves because they have oligosaccharides. But, wait you say, “arent’ garlic and onions full of sulphur?” Why, yes they are and I’m glad to see you have been paying attention. My suggestion then is this, if you have a ton of bloating because of all that bacterial displacement why not eat lots of artichokes, chicory and foods with inulin and/or supplement with FOS (fructooligosaccharides) that when encapsulated are termed “prebiotics” until you’ve replaced the small bowel population with a new homestead in the large intestine.

Oh, and to ensure that those displaced small bowel bacteria don’t stay too attached to their current place, add in some, well lots, of probiotics-bifidobacterium and lactobaccillus to carry the torrent back into the large intestine? After some weeks, you can begin to add garlic and onions back in to your diet. Of course, if you’re like me and can’t be parted from garlic at least, don’t worry you can still take the pre/probiotics and it will be ok. Listen to your body, your whole body not just that joker in your mind that keeps pointing out the snowball donuts are on sale, and your bowels will be chiming in good time. Remember propitiate the bowel, and until, next time here’s a link for some lite reading. Stay in good health and good humor!



Reference: Role of intestinal bacteria in nutrient metabolism
JPEN: Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, Nov/Dec 1997 by Cummings, J H, MacFarlane, G T

Benefit of the doubt

Though there is a rash of instructional and self-help books out there for idiots, it’s plain to see that we can think of ourselves in an attempt to be humble perhaps, as less than capable for the tasks ahead.

Yet, this may instead of lowering the bar to create a “comfortable welcome” for those who are unsure, or just aggressively humble, play into and perpetuate the dumbing down of anything from pregnancy (how is this possible? Oh indeed it is) to complex software applications. People subscribing to this low self esteem as a postive trait, probably think it is virtuous and are convinced it is best not to speak up even when you see something is askew—what are you some kind of idiot for asking such a question? Or should I say, people might be thinking what you didn’t read the idiots guide to this class before you signed up…?

Which brings me to the main topic of this chapter- the benefit of the doubt. What a simple and yet wonderfully elegant and powerful way to wise up about your self worth – not just what you know, or can do or be, but truly who you are. The benefit of the doubt can become as simple a practice as making it into a mantra (I offer myself the benefit of the doubt, I offer others the benefit of the doubt).It is just one way to create your own process around this concept.

For if anything is truly part of reality it is that we are unable to see it fully in a whole way from our limited perspective and therefore those areas that are shady or not even on the map are in someway our benefactors- for this is exactly why and how we must benefit fully from this doubt which is based on knowing that we most probably don’t! Yes, it’s true we most likely don’t have the corner on the complete clarity perspective, in fact we may just have a clue despite our ego’s self-assured sense that it is all grasped, judged and decided. So are you ready to give your self and others the benefit of the doubt?

Are you ready to know you don’t know, and thus willing to have faith in your ability to adapt? You can try this in baby steps. Sometimes by just listening and turning to silence or nodding agreement when something is unclear we can allow time to give us the next sign of how to respond. These murky gaps can be just what the doctor ordered when it comes to stepping towards clarity, no matter how small those steps may be. And, yes this does rely on that sometimes elusive and ever marvelous virtue of patience, which we now know can be steadied by a passionate dedication to evolve, however slowly.

And now for some practices to help you begin taking strides towards confidently tackling the future no matter how murky or thick!

Did you know you can experience the ground best in the water? That’s right it’s time for the practice of detoxifying through dirt. Peat is a clay that draws out the impurities in the body through the skin, and with the instructions below it can help you also redraw your path with more focus and clarity.

First, ensure you’ll have a few solid hours of alone time, and nothing scheduled.To prepare, make up a bowl of fresh fruits, some rice and steamed vegetables and lots of water. I order the peat from http://www.healthegoods.com/, it’s excellent quality. Make a hot mud bath, with peat preferably, don’t over do the temperature and be sure to have lots of water to drink while you’re soaking.

As you get into the bath allow yourself to really sink into it with the intention of losing all of those chemicals, emotions, thoughts, etc that are no longer serving you. Those things that are byproducts that are accumulating you and creating a sluggishness that holds you down. Let the mud soak up all the fears, obstacles (usually more fear, yours or that of others), and nervous energy about your performing or being or having those items or situations you’ve been polishing with the mitten of shame and defeat. Allow your skin to merge with the dark waters. Make it sacred, grounding, and safe. Norah Jones music, a notebook you’ll never write in, whatever you need-except those substances like alcohol which may help you feel relaxed (out of habit or in reality is not certain) so it is not the best choice seeing that you want to sink into grounding.

Grounding can be contrasted to relaxation in the metaphor of a glow that you get from a memory or interaction that lit up your entire being compared to the glow you get after a facial scrub, if that makes sense. So, back to the dirt, put some on your face for a lovely tightening mask, which is a metaphor in itself in how restricting the act of wallowing in the mud of self-defeating behavior can be. 15-25 minutes should do, and then you can shower, ending in as cold of water as you can stand to for a full minute (I often take this as the time to rinse out conditioner and formally soap and rinse my body).

As you dry off you’ll notice within 15 minutes how wonderfully cleaned and replenished you feel. Lots of water, rest fruits and steamed vegetables are a great follow up. Without a doubt, the best way to get clean is to get really dirty- the contrast is a great reminder of the purity that is within you just waiting to shine forth. Good change.

The downfall of MDeities

Perhaps it happened in the 80's when the drug companies started rolling out antibiotics as if they were the next best thing to sliced bread, and, by intimidation perhaps, doctors bought into the hype.

Remember when undercover cameras were the hottest thing in tv journalism? There was a 20/20 story, I still recall, where a reporter went into 3 different doctor's offices as a new"patient" with a sore throat. All 3 doctors gave the "patient" antibiotics; no lab tests were run, no fever was present, no throat scrapings, etc.. When asked why, a female doctor replied "It's about customer satisfaction, I want my patient to come back." At the time I was blown away, patients are customers in the eyes of doctors? Holy Hippocrates since when? I had always seen doctors as highly intelligent people gifted with the humility to help others, or even intermediaries of the Gods from an ancient Greek perspective, and here this female doc was talking customer service.

A new day dawning indeed...it wasn't until 10 years later when I was eating a ribeye steak at the most expensive hotel in town listening to a doctor "expert" talk about the virtues of Prozac, and how patients will feel the doctor is really making cure happen. The enormous bill graciously paid for by Eli Lilly. In retrospect, I think the antibiotic drug reps must have been convincing in their sales terms: keep your patients coming back, give them this. Convincing, indeed, drug pushers, in fact, for the pharmaceutical industry has a phenomenal profit margin. As for M.D.'s, in a way, who can blame them? Especially female doctors at that time- it was the new wave, just think of the pressure to perform.

Medicine is surely an art, for sometimes our best thought out plans don't always work and seeing a patient's condition stagnate, or worse decline, under our care would instigate doubt in anyone. Put that together with a patient's lawyer's willingness to sue your doctor and you have a winning combination for mediocre if not dismally uninspired care. Where there's no inspiration how can there be curiousity and creativity?

Though, N.D.'s have been trained in the modern medical methods of diagnosis, our treatment approaches have mostly remained holistic and rooted in antecdotal methods. Modern medicine and science refer to any treatments or trials as antecdotal if they've not been studied in a randomly controlled double blind study. Which I must add, here, is designed for the express purpose of comparing a placebo pill with an active ingredient pill; it's hard to use this template for any other type of clinical investigation, and near impossible when dealing with psychological or emotional treatments that are not encapsulated.

Thus, N.D.'s see a lot of "hopeless" cases, it is our credo that we can do something no matter how small to help patients, and we usually help them quite a bit. It's not that we are curing them, per se, but that we are relying on their body's inherent ability to effect cure. With this in mind, how can one test for an individual's ability to move itself into balance? Does this mean that the ancient observation of the body's power to get healthy is a figment of imagination? I'd love to hear any and all proposals for a double blind randomly controlled study of this dynamic healing power inherent in the human body. Because at this point if it can't be bottled and/or tested it aint gonna work, much less be covered by insurance. 'Til next time, keep it simple, fresh and full of grace.

The job of the physician is to humor the patient while their body does the healing...

How could it be that a French philosopher, a Greek physician and a witty New Englander can all agree that health depends on the patient (and their patience) instead of an injection, pill or surgical procedure?

Though modern medicine is dismissing more and more anything but "evidence based medicine," it is becoming more and more obvious that this is a cop-out. Now, research is an excellent thing, and thanks to Francis Bacon, methodologies have become quite uniform--but is that really so great for the dynamic ailments and solutions of the human body?

Let me put it this way: testing whether an onion makes a person well or ill clearly depends on how much, when and with what it is given, and who it was given to. If you give someone an onion after they finished desert, or for breakfast or if they're a 5 year old all of the outcomes will be different, of course. But, somehow modern medical research thinks that, by analogy, giving the same amount of onion the same number of times a day will create evidence of the onion's effects. Would you agree?

Much of the money that is in the pharmaceutical industry floats around looking for more research to support that allows this same industry to capitalize on the authority this gives these drugs as cures. If anyone's taken a pain killer like vicadin, you're sure to remember the side effects (unless you're Rush Limbaugh of course, which in that case you'd somehow forget that you required them to get through the day). Everyone seems willing to put up with the sometimes dangerous side effects and expenses of pharmaceuticals for if not only for the fact that the doctor has authority to prescribe them in the first place, the scientific research shows they really work by acting on such and such receptors, etc.. Most of the time that is, there are a number of drugs which we have no known mechanism for why they work only clinical trials where enough people experienced few deaths in comparison to those that felt statistically significant results, not necessarily positive.

It was only a few years ago that a study showed that calcium channel blockers, a drug used commonly for congestive heart disease, arrythmias, etc, created a greater risk of dying from a heart attack than not taking any drugs for their heart symptoms.

Now, let me be clear, I'm not suggesting that modern medication is all bad. It is life saving for many. What I am saying is that the ease with which doctors AND patients turn to pharmaceuticals for cure when most of the medicines are treating symptoms and thus ensuring longtime maintenance doses is money and time that could be better spent on treating the cause. And, though we have lots of fancy imaging tests and lab tests for myriad conditions, modern medicine has still neglected to look deeply into the greatest source of information-the patient history. Or should I say, the patient's story. If we can spend some time carefully listening to the patient unfold the process of how they got to where they are, we could make certain headway in discovering how to help them bring the process full circle.

In an acute condition we say there are only two resolutions: death or relief. Modern medicine does great with this 50-50 situation. Now, the chronic conditions are the most complex, no wonder they are the most money consuming- but really, do they have to be? Because, if you think about it, a chronic condition starts somewhere and when we don't correct the cause from the start we have to contend with the body's complex reaction, first to the cause and then to the treatments for the symptoms layered on top of that. Take for example, type II diabetes. A disease caused by dysregulation of blood sugar due to diet and lifestyle factors that could be easily modified. Well, easily modified if doctors had the guts to insist on no more doughnuts and patients had any reason to not question their authority.

Stay tuned for more discussion about M.Deities and their fall from grace : )

Cheap, easy & profoundly effective steps to feeling and looking younger

Perhaps you’ve heard the new buzzword: Anti-oxidants. Which essentially means “against oxidizing,” for our purposes lets think of oxidation as what you see when you burn something, the blackened burning tissue is a good visual. So, of course, getting something to protect your skin from oxidation sounds like a great idea…and it really is. However, it’s not that simple. We can put all the sunblocks, and polyglycols on our skin but we won’t see the results we want unless we look at it from a holistic perspective.

Let’s start from the start, when you were an embryo and gaining form, there were 3 layers of tissue, an outside (ectoderm), a middle (mesoderm) and an inside layer (endoderm). One of the first things to form was your spinal cord and brain, this starts out as a bunching up of ectoderm, and coincidentally enough, this same layer of tissue forms your skin, and mucus membranes. Mesoderm forms bones and muscles, and endoderm the organs.

This means that your skin and your gut, like your brain and peripheral nervous system are giant receptors taking in your external environment in a way that protects, and reflects upon, your delicate internal environment (tissues and organs and blood). In short, what you eat and think is key to healthy skin, mind and emotions-their beauty shines from within.

Sugar is easy to oxidize, it is energy ready to burn, literally. The more sugar you take in your diet the more complicated it becomes for your body to maintain balance, much less, optimal health and emotional harmony. Perhaps you’ve noticed that you get pimples or acne from eating a lot of sugar?

Skin isn't the only place it takes it’s toll, lots of sugar also affects those organs that produce adrenaline, the adrenal glands, which stabilize our moods. Adrenaline is so vital to survival, as it is a buffer for stress, ensuring that the brain functions as well as it can under stressful conditions, that without it we wouldn’t last a single day! Yep, you can die quickly if you don’t have the adrenaline to respond to the effects of stress on your body. That’s why people who are taking very strong medications like prednisone, a synthetic form of cortisol (the precursor of adrenaline), can not just stop taking it—after taking it for more than a few days the feedback mechanism in your brain recognizes there’s enough in your system so it turns off or sharply turns down your body’s own production of cortisol. And, if you were to abruptly stop taking prednisone, your body would be completely thrown off. It takes some time to dust off the machinery and get the endogenous levels up to par. So please consult with your doctor before discontinuing any medications (especially steroids)!

In short, sugar is the basic material for energy but too much of it leads to lots of oxidation.

Another key element to add is fat; yep, fat is actually good for you if it is the Omega-3 type chains. You see, fats are long chains of carbon molecules, and there are 3 main types of chains: Omega-6 (most prominent), Omega-3 (most anti-inflammatory), Omega-9 (found in olive oil). The standard american diet is flooded with Omega-6, (i.e. big macs, fries, etc) and this leads to inflammation—inflammation goes hand in hand with oxidation, in that it can damage tissues, lead to aging and added stress on your blood vessels, organs, and skin. Perhaps you’ve stubbed your toe sometime, the pain, redness, swelling are all signs of inflammation. Now every time you’re about to eat a juicy steak or fries, think of that stubbed toe…your blood vessels may not ache now, but it will certainly add up over time. Which, brings me to the most important act for great skin and overall balance: Moderation!

A steak, fries, alcohol, etc., are fine in moderation because we are blessed with an excellent response mechanism that is natural to the body—that is to find balance in the face of temporary setbacks. Moderation will work with your body’s natural abilities to find balance; overdo it and you override a most important and brilliant mechanism meant for your basic protection and innate ability to thrive.

I know, moderation is a challenge sometimes. With all the wonderful delicacies and experiences the world offers it can be easy to slip into habitual indulgence, but your more than a slave to your habits, right? I have had days where a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of wine with a steak seem the perfect solution to my mood stagnation. So, let me pass on 2 gems that help me move through it with fluidity and that let me keep my ability to choose to indulge if I would still like to.

The 2 items that help me keep my balance and my ability to indulge are: water and fiber. Yep, that’s it! If I decide I want to indulge, I first pledge to my good natured body that I will first indulge in what will help it cleanse itself of any damage I might do later; I am not talking about binging and purging (I guess this order would be purging than binging, anyway both are extreme and therefore harmfully counterproductive). So, I make a deal with my Self that I will have some number of glasses of water (usually three 8 oz glasses) before I drink any "indulgent" liquids (this could be soda pop, wine, etc). And if its a food, I commit to eating 2 fiber-full fruits or vegetables. I usually match flavor categories, sweets with fruits/savory with vegetables. For example, if I want to eat a piece of chocolate cake I ensure that I eat 2-3 full apples or pears first. If I want to indulge in a juicy hamburger, I first eat 2 cups of salad greens, a full carrot and celery stalk. If I’m in a hurry or about to go on a dinner date, I drink a full 16 oz of fiber drink (16-20 g of fiber).

This is a great game if you want to maintain or lose weight. And, sometimes that mood that has us reaching for items from the outside to dump into the inside is really just asking for some play time, so engage your Self in a playful way. This is a practical and satisfying food/drink game, that you can extend to other areas. If you want to procrastinate on finishing that project and indulge in a movie instead, you might first take out a musical instrument or a book of poetry and use your voice, your body to create sounds and rhythm—you may find that the block in your desire to get on with your action list just needed to have some freedom to flow. Dancing is also highly recommended, and with children it's positively rejuvenating. Until next time, keep your heart in tune with time’s delightful glide in gratitude.

A recap
1. Decrease amount of sugar and simple carbohydrates in your body

2. Increase amount of good fats in your diet, Omega-3, found in wild fish, flaxseed, etc.. Replace inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids with good ones like borage oil, or evening primrose oil.

3. Moderation, help your body be at its best by creating manageable conditions for balance. Don’t overdo it or it will be hard for your body to keep up with, much less repair, the damage.

4. Satisfy your cravings all you want, but first indulge in those two items that will help your body prepare for and eliminate any toxins; water and fiber.

5. Play! Create games that allow you to get what you want while offering a healthy challenge so that you can feel deservedly good about your choices