Food Cravings & Emotional Eating

Food cravings often indicate an imbalance or sensitivity in the body.  Knowing what a specific food craving means, may be helpful in correcting the imbalance or sensitivity that is the cause of the craving.  Once the craving is gone, it is much easier to be successful at eating a healthy diet with moderate portions.  Here are some specific, prevalent food cravings and the latest scientific findings about what they mean.

Chocolate -  Researchers studying PMS have discovered that a deficiency of Vitamin B6 and magnesium contribute to many PMS symptoms including craving chocolate.  Of all foods, chocolate is the highest in magnesium.  Further studies have shown that increasing magnesium and vitamin B6 intake reduces or eliminates the craving for chocolate.  Although most women need 500-600 mg of both calcium and magnesium, some women may need more.

Sweets & Starches  -  Overgrowth of candida or a blood sugar imbalance are often the cause for carbohydrate cravings.  Candida is form of yeast that basically lives on sugar.  Eating sweets and refined starches literally fuels the overgrowth and craving cycle.  Candida can be treated with antifungals and probiotics.  Blood sugar imbalances can also cause cravings for sweets and starches.  Although all foods eventually turn into sugar when digested, refined carbohydrates are the quickest to turn into sugar.  If you aren't eating enough protein daily, the body may crave sweets and starches for the quick burst of energy they provide as they lift your blood sugar.  But with sweets and starches, blood sugar rises quickly and falls quickly, creating another craving.  Eating protein at every meal and eating every 4 to 5 hours usually eliminates this craving.

Fatty Foods  -  High fat foods make us feel full and satisfied, and the body needs a balance of fats.  EFA's (essential fatty acids) are fats that the body needs but cannot make on its own.  Most people get more animal fats and vegetable fats than their body needs and not enough EFA's.  The foods containing the highest levels of EFA's are fish, flax oil, and walnuts.  Taking a variety of EFA's - flax oil, fish oil, borage oil - will give you the balance your body needs and help to eliminate cravings.

Salt  -  The body, especially the adrenals, needs sodium to function properly.  High blood pressure and water retention can occur when sodium levels are too high.  The adrenal's job is to handle stress.  Reducing stress by relaxing more, exercising, getting more sleep, and having more fun, can often help reduce adrenal stress and salt cravings.  It is also essential to drink water throughout the day and not become dehydrated.

Emotional Eating - The part of the brain that manages our emotional reactions plays a major part in food addictions as well as mood and anxiety disorders, all of which affect our appetite.  This part of the brain is strongly effected by foods, our sense of safety or fearfulness, intimacy, comfort, and trust.  The brain chemistry of this part of the brain is controlled by neurotransmitter such as dopamine, serotonin, GABA, and endorphins.  Imbalances strongly affect these neurotransmitters and cause malfunction in this part of the brain.  Natural therapies can help restore balance.  Reducing stress with energy therapy, massage, meditation, and regular exercise help to balance dopamine levels and endorphins.  Vitamin B6 and magnesium, help make serotonin; valarian root enhances GABA production.

Striving for balance and well being is a holistic process.  It includes healthy food intake, plenty of fluids to flush the system, time outside in natural light to nourish the central nervous system, healthy breathing patterns, regular exercise, adequate rest, and regular meditation and prayer.  All of these, practiced consistently, help us achieve and maintain health, stability, and well-being.

Help with Stress & Anxiety Reduction

We now offer individual meditation sessions to help you learn how to calm your emotions and quiet your mind.  Individual meditation sessions sooth and relax the body/mind and allow you to reconnect with the peaceful tranquility of your healing spirit.  Meditation expands awareness, lowers anxiety, and activates the body's natural healing capabilities.  
Individual sessions include sitting and laying postures, simple movement exercises and stretches, as well as breathing and concentration exercises.  You can also use these sessions as a guide, helping you to practice meditation at home, developing your relaxation skills in healthy living and self care.  These session leave you feeling revitalized and rejuvenated.

Meditation is the gateway to Sufi healing and the ancient wisdom of middle eastern medicine, which teaches us to reduce stress and experience the natural power without our being. 

Sessions are 50 minutes; cost is $60.

GUIDED VISUALIZATION SESSIONS
In these sessions you relax deeply, breathing fully and comfortably while you are guided through specific mental landscapes designed to evoke your natural relaxation response and sense of well being.  Individual guided visualization sessions are tailored to meet your specific needs, gently transforming how you think and feel about yourself.  Later you'll be able to remember your session and evoke your relaxation response whenever you need. 

Sessions are 50 minutes; cost is $60.

"What matters is what you think about yourself.  You must find the part
in life that fits you and then give up acting; your profession is being." 
Quentin Crisp

Fiber - The Good Stuff
Fiber lowers cholesterol, reduces constipation, helps prevent colon cancer, and helps us stay trim and fit.  Doctors recommend 20 grams of fiber per day in a healthy diet.  People often think that they don't like high fiber foods, so this list may surprise you:

5 Ways to Strengthen Your Bones

Color Therapy

Colored Light is a centuries old form of medicine that has long been used to heal and protect the body.  Light energy has different wavelengths according to its color.  Violet has a shorter wave length, and red has a long one.  The longer the wave, the slower it vibrates.  Each of us is made up of electromagnetic waves and particles.  When light and color touch and penetrate our body, they influence our vibration and the ways our body functions.
Scientists who have studied color have found that hormones are color sensitive; their molecular structure is actually changed by different colors.  This effects our brain, our endocrine system, and our entire biology.  Green soothes the nervous system and calms the mind.  Blue and white lights both stimulate the lymphatic system.  Red light effects blood pressure and reduces fatigue.

Free Radicals & Inflammation

Free radicals are damaging oxygen molecules that are found in contaminants in the food we eat and the air we breathe.  When we eat fried, barbecued, or charbroiled foods our own body makes free radicals from the substances found in these foods.  Alcohol and coffee increase production of free radicals. Pesticides, herbicides, and solvents contain free radicals.  Other molecules in our body are damaged or oxidized by free radicals and this can lead to inflammation.  Antioxidants help to counteract the formation of oxidants so that we limit our exposure to their dangerous effects.

Chronic inflammation caused by oxidants leads to Vitamin C deficiency.  Meat and dairy products contain arachadonic acid, a pro-inflammatory fat.  When it interacts with certain enzymes in the body, it produces inflammation.

To protect yourself from free radical oxidation, take at least 500 mg of vitamin C daily as well as EFA's, especially fish oil.  Herbal remedies that help are turmeric, basil, oregano, green tea, and rosemary.  We offer a simple inexpensive test to evaluate your levels of oxidation.  

Iridology

Iridology studies the delicate structures of fibers in the iris of the eye.  It shows where there is inflammation in the body and at what stage the inflammation may be.  The iris of the eye represents a communication system capable of handling an amazing amount of information about the body's inherent constitution and weaknesses, as well as transitional information relating to illness and life style changes.  

Throughout the ages the eyes have been known as the window of the soul. Iridology proclaims them to be the mirror of the body.  The iris is made up of hundreds of thousands of nerve endings, microscopic blood vessels, muscle and other tissue.  In a sense, it is an extension of the brain, which meets the outside world.  Like a miniature television screen, the iris shows remote portions of the body through nerve reflex responses.

Iridology determines where there are inherent weaknesses, as well as current, chronic and degenerative weaknesses, and what is needed nutritionally to strengthen these weaknesses.  When organs and tissues are given the correct minerals, vitamins, nerve strength, and rest, healing gradually occurs.  Iridology shows us nutritional and chemical needs, the location and accumulation of environmental toxins, how the body is healing itself, and overall level of health.

Enjoy the Colors of Summer

Summertime offers us an abundance of sunlight, the bright colors of flowers and grasses, and the bountiful fruits and vegetables of the season.  Here is a short list of the fruits and vegetables available in summer and how they effect our body and well being.

Cantaloupe - this lovely melon clears heat from the body, quenches thirst, and eases urination.  It is a great source of potassium, which helps to regulate blood pressure, in fact half a cantaloupe contains 825 mg of potassium, way more than a banana.  This melon is also a rich source of 2 potent antioxidants, vitamin C and beta carotene.

Apricots - helps to protect the eyes, and prevent heart disease.  Apricots regulate body fluids, clear heat from the body and quench thirst.  Apricots contain beta carotene and lycopene which are both powerful antioxidants.

Pears - contain lignin, an insoluble fiber that helps flush cholesterol out of the body.  Pears also contain pectin, a fiber which binds with cholesterol and helps with elimination.  2 pears provide about one third of the daily value of fiber thought to help maintain health.  The mineral boron also appears in pears; it is known to be essential in bone and brain health.

Basil - a medicinal and culinary herb, basil is recommended to treat intestinal problems, respiratory illnesses, and to reduce itching and inflammation.  Basil contains essential minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium.

Corn - contains dietary fiber, called soluble fiber, which binds with cholesterol laden digestive bile produced by the liver.  Since this soluble fiber is not readily absorbed by the body, it is passed through normal elimination taking the cholesterol with it.  Corn provides a lot of energy for a small amount of calories.  One ear of corn is about 83 calories.  Corn is an excellent source of Thiamin, a B vitamin; one ear of corn provides more thiamin than 3 ounces of roast beef.  Corn clears heat from the body and detoxifies, promoting urination, lowering blood pressure, and cleansing the gallbladder.

Cucumber - helps to clear heat from the body, quenches thirst, promotes irritability, and reduces irritability.  It is used to reduce swelling, diarrhea, and sore throat.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fatty substance (lipid) that is found in the body cells, especially the brain, kidneys, and liver.  The body uses cholesterol to form hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, maintain the structure of the cells, make the active form of vitamin D, and make bile acids which are necessary for fat digestion.  The body can make enough cholesterol for its needs from compounds produced by the breakdown of protein, carbohydrates, and fats.  The liver is responsible for about 10% of cholesterol synthesis, and its functioning has a significant impact on blood cholesterol levels.  Some people lack the ability to control the amount of cholesterol they make and thus are prone to high levels of cholesterol in the blood.  The single most important component of blood cholesterol regulation is dietary modification.  Aggressive restriction of both cholesterol and saturated fat intake has an enormous impact on lowering LDL (low density lipoprotein), which is believed to contribute to plaque formation in the blood vessels.

We offer a cholesterol test that gives fast reliable results.  Using just 1 drop of blood, we can obtain your total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglyceride level with in 5 minutes.  We also offer dietary guidelines and enzymes supplements to help you lower your cholesterol, and maintain healthy levels.