You hear me mumble a lot about Natural Medicine. How does it differ from other kinds of medicine – allopathy, naturopathy, homeopathy? (Allopathy is another name for conventional medicine – the kind that is commonly practiced in the West)?
It is simple to explain: All those systems - except for Natural Medicine - believe in pills: Allopathy in pharmaceutical drugs; naturopathy in vitamins, minerals, hormones – small molecules that are supposedly lacking in your body; homeopathy believes in little sugar pills that don’t do anything at all, but at least keep the patient away from stronger, more detrimental drugs.
Don’t get me wrong: There is nothing inherently wrong with pills. In certain situations, we need them. Only that they are vastly overrated and over-prescribed and can, at times, do more harm than good. Mainly, however: They never address the root cause of the problem.
Let’s look at a patient who walks in with a blood pressure of 200 over 120. Would I want to deny him a pill? Of course, I would start him immediately on some pressure-lowering medications. I might even observe him in the hospital for a day or two if he looks brittle. But then I would work with the patient on his lifestyle – nutrition, water intake, movement, enough sleep, work stress, martial problems, financial debts: anything that might add to his high blood pressure. Not to make him an eternal patient, but to give him a chance at health. I would also make sure that he is not one of the five percent who have a physical reason for high blood pressure, like kidney disease or pheochromocytoma.
But my main goal would be to make the pills unnecessary.
The problem is: It is so much easier for the doctor to take out her prescription pad – and so much easier for the patient to take some pills for the rest of his life than facing the hard task to turn his life around and make it healthier. We are a culture of pill poppers; we want problems to go away – and fast. We have more important things to do than work on a lifestyle of health and happiness.
And because of that, we are sick.
Granted, there are hereditary diseases, and accidents, and sheer bad luck. But truly: Many health problems are in our own hands. Take diabetes – and the Avandia scandal: Do we really think a little pill can make up for thirty years of bad food choices and no exercise?
I, for one, don’t. Therefore, I opt for Natural Medicine. Read More
Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.
Allopathy, Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Natural Medicine – and Avandia
July 14, 2010
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High Blood Pressure - the Disease of Lost Balance
May 9, 2010
If you have high blood pressure, ask yourself if you have balance in your life. If you feel you are off-kilter - here is what you can do:
1.Balance physical and mental exertion: Walk 10 minutes every day. No excuses: rain or shine, snow or ice. Bundle up for the weather and just go. Best times are after work, to release stress, and at noon to catch some rays of sun. — Shut off TV and computer - move more. Take up activities you like. Avoid weight lifting and isometrics, rough contact sports, races and competitions — your blood pressure is already high enough.
2.Balance inhaling and exhaling: Quit smoking and learn breathing exercises. Here is a simple one: Take three deep breaths every hour on the hour while awake. Always start with a deep exhalation.
3.Balance your electrolytes: Cut down on salt and salty foods like deli and canned goods. Food in restaurants and ready-made foods are loaded with hidden salt. Drink tons of water to flush out excess salt.
4.Balance warm and cold: End every hot shower with a cold shower: Turn the handle on very cold, start at your feet, then your hands and face. Finally the whole body. The whole thing takes just a few seconds. - Contraindications: uncontrolled high blood pressure, severe hardening of the arteries, Raynaud’s.
5.Balance your weight toward ideal. Even one pound less means that you have stopped the steady weight gain that people think comes normally with age. It does not. Five pounds totally changes your metabolism toward healthy.
6.Balance sleep and activity: Go to bed early, between nine and ten o’clock. Read yourself sleepy. Get up before seven o’clock. Follow your natural rhythm of sleep and wake. It is possible to go shopping at three AM, but it does a number on your system ... a HIGH number.!
7.Balance the seasons: Follow Nature's yearly circle. Eat in season: lighter in the summer, heartier in the winter. Open your window at night, avoid overheated or overly air-conditioned rooms. Engage in seasonal activities.
8.Balance the colors in your meals: The more colorful, the better. Try a new vegetable each month. Use olive oil for cold dishes, coconut oil for hot ones. Garlic and onions are good for your heart. Fish oil counterbalances the myriad of inflammatory agents in our diet.
9.Balance work and relaxation: Take time for your family and friends, music, arts, and hobbies. Learn something like yoga, meditation, tai chi or another relaxation technique.
10.Balance with herbs: Herbs are not first-line drugs for high blood pressure, but hawthorn flowers and berries might help reduce it. Always discuss herbs with your physician. Avoid unnecessary medication — especially over-the-counter (for instance, pain meds can increase blood pressure).
11.Balance your mood with natural herbs or pleasant activities instead of alcohol or drugs. After weight, alcohol is the most common cause for high blood pressure.
12.Balance your attitude: Avoid negative emotions like hate, envy, regret, jealousy, greed, contempt. Nourish your heart chacra: Anxiety and stress elevate your blood pressure; happiness lowers it. Look at your relationship with your significant other, with God and Mother Earth. Or with your pet. Bring meaning into your life by connecting with people — family, friends and people less fortunate than you.
13.Balance your week: Plan an outing/ excursion/ event each weekend. Do not stay at home to catch up on work.
14.Balance your minerals and other small molecules: Eat nuts - unless you have an allergy - because they provide all the important minerals for keeping your vessels elastic.
15.Balance stress with alternatives: acupuncture and acupressure, Ayurvedic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, massage, cupping, aromatherapy, visualization, music therapy, art therapy, journal writing, biofeedback machines — anything that makes you feel good.
Measure your blood pressure at home and write it down for yourself and your doctor. Read More
Sleepless - And Unrepaired?
April 20, 2010
Can’t fall asleep? Toss and turn? Wake up at three and never be able to get some more winks?
Research about circadian rhythms has borne out what our grandmother’s told us: Sleep before midnight matters. The major repair work in the body happens from around eleven pm to one am. Repair means: Mending muscles, replacing worn-out cells, rewiring brain connections, restoring broken DNA before cancer can develop.
That repair will not happen if you are not in bed, not asleep.
Try basic sleep hygiene:
• Go to bed latest at ten. It helps to read some books – uplifting books rather than thrillers. But whatever works for you.
• Do not eat after dinner – preferably not after six pm. Because, if your body has to digest your stomach contents, it has less time for repair.
• No stimulants after noon (coffee, tea, coke, chocolate, etc.).
• Sleep with window open (if your neighborhood is not too noisy). Indoor pollution is usually worse than outdoor pollution, and you don’t want to re-breathe you own spent air all night.
Second thought: If we don't get enough sleep, we are stressed out the next day. Fact is that the quality of every day of your life is decided the evening before: Did you get to bed in time? Stress elevates cortisol in our body, and high cortisol makes us ravenously hungry. The stress hormone cortisol links poor sleep and obesity.
Last thought: When we were still living in caves, in the darkness, without electricity, we would be confined to our communal sleeping on and under bear skins for about twelve hours a night. Obviously, nobody can sleep that long. So, we woke up after four hours and had a little sex (took about five minutes). Then we would lie awake a while. Toward morning, we would sleep another four hours.
Question: What did we do during those unused three hours fifty-five minutes? We would think. Think a bout the meaning of the lingering dream that the Gods had sent. What did they want us to learn from this dream?
Nowadays we want to sleep effectively: eight hours per night, without waste of time. But something got lost along the line: The reflecting.
Next time, you can’t sleep, think about what is good in your life, and how you can do better. Remember what you wanted your life to be when you were a kid. Dare to dream! Read More
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