Need More Healthy Energy?

One of the number one reasons people visit their medical doctors is because they are tired or fatigued. When is being tired a risk to your health? When your fatigue makes it too difficult to carry on safely with the daily tasks of living or it causes too much of a strain on your organs or glands so that they are unable to function adequately. So, being tired can have consequences that go beyond falling asleep at your desk.

Fatigue can cause driving and operating machinery to be dangerous. An Australian study showed that going just eighteen hours without sleep caused a similar impairment to alcohol. Shift workers, parents of young children and young males are most at risk. http://drowsydriving.org/about/facts-and-stats/

Relationships can suffer because a tired person is not a patient, understanding person. When a person is sleep deprived, there are mood changes and memory impairment. Anxiety is more likely. These all put a burden on relationships with family and friends, and can even put jobs at risk. http://hr.uiowa.edu/uieap/10-reasons-well-rested

The physical stress puts more of a burden on the organs, especially adrenal glands, which compromises your immune system and may be a factor in the healthy function of your heart. Weight gain and difficulty losing weight is a common issue, and there is a higher cancer risk, as well.

There are many reasons why someone may be tired and unable to get sufficient restful sleep. If you are a high achiever, or in a demanding job situation, you may simply not be spending enough time in bed to get enough sleep. Emotional stress and worry may impact ability to fall sleep and/or stay asleep. Congested organs from toxins and processed foods, or a weakness in the hormonal system, can make it difficult for the body to relax enough to sleep. Eating a high sugar, high carbohydrate diet can play havoc with blood sugar, causing the body to wake up hungry when blood sugar drops too low after a sugar spike. Iron deficiency can cause tiredness and listlessness, because the red blood cells need the mineral iron.

Vitamin deficiencies may be a factor when fatigue becomes debilitating, as in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As a syndrome, and not an actual disease that can be measured or viewed under a microscope, Chronic Fatigue may have different causes or be a combination of factors.

The best course of action is to identify the factors that are involved in any type of fatigue. Often people crave a diagnosis, particularly when they are suffering and having a difficult time with their symptoms. But so many diseases today are lifestyle issues, and they need to be sorted out by someone who can evaluate diet and other factors, rather than simply diagnose a disease, and give it a label. The important factor is to find a way to help the body get well, and that takes more than medication.  Lab work may only offer part of the answer, or none at all.

Don’t ignore fatigue, especially if it lasts for more than a few weeks. You can push yourself, but push when your body is rested, if you do not want to make the problem worse.

B vitamins deficiencies, Adrenal-hypothalamus-pituitary function, liver congestion and blood sugar imbalances can all wreak havoc on sleep, mood and general health. If you know someone who is tired, urge them to get an evaluation and find help. There is no reason to go through life too tired to enjoy the special moments.

With Spring around the corner, it is a perfect time to do a Cleanse/Purification program, or a Blood Sugar Balance program, or a Liver Detox Program. Any of these will help sleep, as well as energy and weight loss. The programs can be tailored for your specific needs. Call us and find out how to Stop Being Tired, no matter the underlying cause. Coffee won’t fix it. Natural and Nutritional Medicine will.

The Skinny on Cooking With Oils

What kind of oils are you cooking with? If you are using Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, you are over-paying for oil that should only be consumed in its raw state. Heating oil changes it, altering and destroying the healthy compounds called phenols. Phenols are beneficial for liver detoxification and immune support.

There is a point where heated oils lose their health benefits. This is called the “smoke point.” The oils not only lose their benefits, they also become harmful to consume. 

There are some oils that can be safely heated to high heat for cooking and their rich flavor will hold up. Avocado, extra-light olive oil and ghee are good choices. Ghee is butter that has been simmered so the milk solids caramelize with the fat.

Medium high heat is used most often for cooking vegetables and browning meat. The best oils for medium heat are virgin (not extra-virgin) olive oil and nut oils, like macadamia, almond or hazelnut oils.

For cooking with medium heat, unrefined coconut and sesame oils work well.

Extra-virgin olive oil and flaxseed oil can be used for salad dressings. Flavorful oils like pistachio, sesame and walnut oils can be used to drizzle over salads and foods for extra flavor and nutrients.

If you have never experimented with nut Oils, like Walnut, Macadamia or Hazelnut,

you are in for a treat. These oils are wonderful for making unique salad dressings.  Try mixing with lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar, and adding a touch of aged or reduced balsamic vinegar, along with herbs you like. You can buy reduced balsamic vinegar at Trader Joe’s. I like to drizzle it on top of a salad for extra flavor.

Generally, it is better to go for unrefined, raw oils. Heat-treated, lose their health benefits. You can use heat treated oils like toasted sesame oil to add rich flavor to salads or Asian dishes, but be sure to eat plenty of unrefined oils for the benefits of the essential fatty acids. EFA’s are vital for heart, brain, skin and general nutrition. Processed oil such as Canola, Soy or Corn Oils should be avoided altogether.

Adding plenty of healthy oils to your diet can help with weight loss, because rich-tasting foods are more satisfying and will keep your blood sugar balanced, curbing appetite and giving you sustained energy.  Don’t settle for chemical bottled dressings-carry your own to work.

Here is a quick guide to cooking with oils:

High heat, 450-650°                         Avocado Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Pecan Oil, Ghee (or clarified        

                                                          butter, Extra-Light Olive Oil (not Extra-Virgin Olive Oil)

Medium-High Heat 375-449°         Virgin Olive Oil, Almond Oil, Hazelnut Oil, Macadamia Nut

                                                         Oil, Refined Coconut Oil

Medium Heat 324-374°                   Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, Lard, Butter, Unrefined Coconut Oil

Medium-Low Heat 250-324°          Unrefined Sesame Seed Oil, Unrefined Walnut Oil

Low Heat 225-249°                          Pistachio Oil

Now you can cook smart and delicious!

How Can You Have More Love in Your Life?

No matter what kind of love you want, you can’t have enough if your body hurts, if your stress is out of control, your libido is low, or you are an emotional wreck due to anxiety or depression.

When your body is causing difficulty, it either rivets your attention, or forces you to push through. But you are never at your best. This affects your entire life, but mostly your relationships with others.

And people around you notice. They notice if you are brimming with health and vibrantly expressing yourself with purpose and joy. They also notice if you are anxious, sad, fearful or lackluster. How much does this affect you? On the job, with friends and family, or in your romantic life, you are missing out, and others are missing the best of you.

How would your life be different if you were symptom-free and healthier? Recently one of our patients changed her lifestyle, lost thirteen pounds in a month, and now enjoys brighter skin and better digestion. She told me that the biggest change is that she is happier. Imagine how this affects her relationships with others around her.

So, if you want more love in your life, get healthier. If you want less stress, more balance, a slimmer figure, better skin tone, deeper sleep, smoother digestion, and a happier mood, improve your health and body function. Start with the most fundamental thing in your life, which is the body you live with every moment. Improve the function, and see the difference it can make. Symptoms are always signs that something needs to be improved. It may be easier than you think.

So, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I offer you the gift of health, which may lead to more happiness and more love in your life.

Give your special Valentine the best gift you can give, by bringing them in for a half-price First Consultation. Many patients have expressed the wish that their partners would take care of themselves and get healthier. We can help. Call Lucas and book the special price consultation for your Valentine through the end of February. And don’t forget this is a Leap Year, which means that the Ladies get to lead in romance!

Warmly;

Anne

Anne Dunev, PhD, C.N. has over twenty years experience helping people feel better and have more love by finding the root cause of what is causing their symptoms. Addressing that with the correct natural and nutritional medicine is her strength. With help restoring balance and function, thousands of people are living happier, healthier lives.

Can Overwork Ruin Your Health?

There is no question that Americans work longer hours, and have less vacation time, than their European counterparts. This makes us industrious and ambitious, right?

Maybe, but there is a downside, also. Just as with athletic and sports performance, the body needs to be able to recover from anything it does. If working long hours means getting too little sleep, and the stress becomes chronic, overwork may contribute to long-term health problems.

These days you can take work with you everywhere you go, and it takes some discipline to shut down. The blue lights from our electronic devices can interrupt sleep patterns, even when we shut them off for the night. The electro-magnetic influences created by all our electronics may be more taxing than we realize. Some studies indicate that the cell phones and computers are having a disturbing effect on cellular function. The electromagnetic field they emit passes through almost anything, including walls, and interferes with the normal waveform patterns of the body. We don’t know all the effects of this, and may not for many years. No one is regulating these energy fields. The best thing you can do is protect yourself, or balance any damage. Interference at a cellular level has serious potential. http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/display.cfm?ID=19990303201129

If work is keeping you up at night, due to stress or putting in long hours, your health is at risk. No matter what many people claim, only a very small percentage can sustain themselves on less than seven hours of sleep. Studies show that sleep deprivation shows up in poor performance on tasks, and slower reaction time when driving. 

Long working hours, with insufficient recovery time may increase your risk of heart disease and Type II Diabetes. According to a Finnish study of people from 14 countries, people who worked longer than a 48-hour week were more likely to abuse alcohol.

People also tend to over-eat, particularly high calorie carbs, when tired and stressed. The body is asking for some relief, and the fastest and handiest is the junk food so readily available.

When both parents are in stressful jobs, family life may suffer, as may the quality of life for our children. Families must use daycare, there is no one preparing nutritious meals, and less time is spent together, possibly disrupting the moral and character development of our children, putting  more stress on families.

It has been said that 80% of the U.S. population has stressed adrenals, and the other 20% are in denial. One of the most important things you can do to help your body weather stress is to support your adrenal glands. They have everything to do with immune health, heart health, sleep, blood sugar balance, weight, muscle strength, and libido.

We now have an adrenal scorecard available. Call or email and we will send it to you and you can evaluate your own adrenal health, or that of a loved one. Then we can help you find the adrenal support that will safeguard your health. Ask for the Stress Assessment when you call. This is a good way to help someone you care about to see how stress may be negatively affecting their life.

Keep track of how you spend your time. Carve out more for walks, family, massages and funny movies. Don’t watch the nightly news, and cut back on caffeine. There are a dozen small things you can do to help your body recover from the demands you place on it. And we are here to help.