Monthly Archives: November 2008

One Man’s Struggle With Panic Attacks And Medication

The above video gives a very honest assessment from a gentleman who has struggled with panic attacks and has used some of the commonly-prescribed medications.  As he says, the medication may help with the panic attacks and anxiety, but they don’t result in a normal emotional state.   In the long run, the medications can create even worse problems than the ones that they solve.

Because of the drawbacks of medication in general, I am always on the lookout for effective natural approaches to health.  While there are various natural approaches to treating panic attacks, anxiety, and phobias, until recently there has been a lack of effective methods that can be used quickly and inconspicuously at the moment a panic attack starts. 

Various visualization techniques, Neurolinguistic Programming, deep breathing, the acupressure tapping of Emotional Freedom Technique, and self-hypnosis are all wonderful techniques that can help people with panic attacks, anxiety, and phobias, but they all have the limitation that most people cannot employ them in an emergency situation – that is, it is difficult to use them at that moment when a panic attack arises.

Thankfully for those like the gentleman in the video who have had to make a choice between the side-effects of psychoactive medications, and limiting their lives and activities trying to avoid situations which might lead to panic attacks, there is a new method for ending panic attacks quickly, easily, and without being noticed by outside observers.

This method is called the “One-Move” technique and is part of an overall program called Panic Away to end panic attacks once and for all. 

I was recently introduced to the Panic Away program and after purchasing the program myself in the hopes that it would be of benefit to some of my patients, I can see that it has tremendous value for just about anyone who suffers from any kind of panic attacks, panic disorder, generalized anxiety, phobias, and related conditions. 

The biggest advantage of the Panic Away program is that the basic “one move” technique can be easily implemented at a moment’s notice by just about anyone in just about any setting.  It does not require the ability to visualize (a problem that some of my patients have that greatly limits the use of techniques like those of NLP).  It does not require any particular physical movements or actions such as deep breathing or tapping acupressure points (as with Emotional Freedom Technique).  It doesn’t even require any complicated changes in thought process, so it could even be used, for instance, while giving a speech or presentation.

The Panic Away Program comes as a downloadable PDF e-book that’s filled with considerable information on ending panic attacks both short-term and long-term.  It also includes a couple of downloadable mp3 audios to personally lead you through the “one move” and other techniques for taking back control over your mind and no longer being at the mercy of panic attacks.  It even comes with an 8 week 100% money-back guarantee that’s processed by ClickBank (a well-established payment processor, which means you WILL get your money back promptly if you request a refund). 

For more information about ending panic attacks, generalized anxiety, and conditions like agoraphobia once and for all without having to deal with the side-effects of medication, click here to visit the Panic Away website.

It should be pointed out that the following method for dealing with family conflict during the holidays is really only stress-relieving when practiced in one’s mind.  Utilizing this method in the real world is likely to result in incarceration and increased stress.

Home For The Holidays

The following video provides a simple, but very effective tip for helping you to manage the stress of the holiday season.  Not only is getting out in nature a good break from the hectic holiday season, a walk or hike in nature is great exercise too.  Enjoy!

Beat Holiday Stress and Get Outside!

Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for other stress management tips. 

For my regular blog readers, my apologies for the lack of posts on here the last few days, but I was bit under the weather.  Fortunately, my stomach virus appears to have abated just in time for me to be able to assault my digestive system with the traditional Thanksgiving uber-meal.

If you’re like most people in the United States, you won’t be able to completely escape someone trying to force-feed you mass quantities of food, and some traditions it’s simpler to just go along with it and do the best you can not to totally destroy whatever good diet habits you usually have.  So, my advice is try to relax and not let your family puh your buttons, choose your food and your battles carefully, and have a great Thanksgiving no matter what. 

If you can’t find anything to be thankful for, maybe the following video will give you at least one thing…

Turkey Day

Much has been made by those in the natural health arena about the importance of balancing the pH of the body through diet and sometimes through the use of various products.  Unfortunately, much of the information in this area is extremely confusing and misleading.  Although the dietary recommendations made on the basis of balancing pH or reducing the acidity of the body are generally good, in my opinion the benefits of these dietary recommendations don’t really have that much to do with the pH of the foods/products being acidic or alkaline.

Before I go into that though, I think a few points of clarification are in order.  First, the relative acidity or alkalinity of a substance is measured as its pH (which stands for “potential of hydrogen” – a chemical term that refers to the fact that acids typically interact with other substances through their hydrogen atoms).  The pH scale ranges from 0 (extremely acidic) to 14 (extremely alkaline).  A substance with a pH of 7 is completely neutral. 

While most people know that strong acids can produce damage, they may not be as familiar with the damage that can be caused by strongly alkaline substances.  One example of a strongly alkaline substance is drain cleaner, which a lot of people think is an acid.  So, the acidity or alkalinity of a substance does not make it good or bad, it’s just an indicator of its chemical nature.

The next point of clarification that is needed is that when nutritionists or people in the natural health field talk about acidic or alkaline diets, they are referring to the effect of a given food or diet on the body’s pH – most commonly measured through the urine (and sometimes saliva and/or blood).  The acidity or alkalinity of the food itself has NOTHING to do with whether or not it causes the body to become more acidic or alkaline.  So, foods that are themselves acidic, in the process of being digested and absorbed by the body, may cause the body (urine) to become more alkaline, and vice-versa. This is a common source of confusion.

Now that we have those issues out of the way, the next thing to discuss is the body’s buffer systems.  The body has several mechanisms it can use to vary the pH of the blood.  One reason why blood pH is important is because if it gets too acidic, the blood cells begin to clump together and become much less efficient at carrying oxygen, and much more likely to get stuck in blood vessels and result in circulation problems.  So the body has systems to monitor and buffer the acidity of the blood.  The details of how each of these systems works would fill an entire physiology textbook, so I’m not going to discuss the mechanisms here, but the major buffering systems include the respiratory system, the skeletal system, and the urinary system.

Of those buffering systems, I do want to briefly discuss the urinary system.  Earlier I said that body pH is often measured through the urine.  When the blood becomes too acidic, the kidneys transfer part of the excess acid from the blood to the urine.  So, excessively acidic urine is an indicator that the blood is too acidic – or at least was temporarily. 

With the exception of the buffering that the body does through respiration, the buffer systems use various minerals to alter the relative acidity or alkalinity of the body.  Herein lies my primary issue with the acid versus alkaline diet concept. 

It so happens that foods that fall under the highly-touted “alkaline diet” tend to be high in nutrients that the body uses to buffer acidity, as well as have numerous other beneficial effects.  As stated earlier, this has NOTHING to do with the pH of the foods themselves.  In fact, some of the most acidic foods you can eat (apples, citrus fruits, etc.) are some of the best at producing a more alkaline environment in the blood.  Basically, the “alkaline diet” consists primarily of vegetables and fruits.  Foods that promote acidity in the blood are primarily the protein foods (beef, eggs, poultry, pork, and fish) and grains.  But once more, this has nothing to do with the relative acidity or alkalinity of the foods themselves, only their nutrient content. 

As I said, the contribution of buffering nutrients from the alkaline diet foods is only part of their health benefits.  Those same foods are a great source of anti-oxidants like vitamin C.  Many are good sources of minerals like potassium and magnesium necessary for normal heart and muscle function.  Most are good sources of fiber and enzymes that are important for normal digestive function.  So these foods are beneficial in numerous ways and I think to get hung up on the acidity/alkalinity aspect is a mistake.

 Why do I think this is a mistake?  Because of the confusion in labeling a food as “acidic” or “alkaline”.  If an acidic food is considered alkaline and a more alkaline food (very few foods are actually alkaline themselves – almost all foods have a pH of less than 7, which by definition makes them acidic) is considered acidic, how is the average person supposed to make sense of that?  All that the alkaline diet promoters are doing is making something very simple extremely complicated.

Most people these days know that a diet high in fresh vegetables and fruit is healthier than a diet high in junk food.  Wouldn’t it suffice to just advise people to eat a diet high in fresh vegetables and fruit and to minimize their intake of processed foods, animal proteins, and grains?  Is calling that an “alkaline diet” going to make anyone more or less likely to follow it?

So if the “alkaline diet” is simply an over-complication of basic, healthy diet recommendations,  how did this concept get so popular?  My theory is that it developed as a marketing scheme for various products that are sold to “alkalinize the body”.  After all, the average person knows that acid is dangerous,  so they took the concept that people already had that acid was dangerous and used it to sell health products. 

The other aspect of it is that because the acid/alkaline balance issue is so confusing and complicated that most people need a health care provider to advise them on it.  I mean, if you pay good money to see a health care provider and he or she just told you to “eat your vegetables”, you might be a bit disappointed since your mom has probably been telling you that since you were a kid!  So the health care provider needs to look smart, and one way to do that is to make something really simple and common-sense seem very complex.

So, is the alkaline diet bad? No, in fact it is a very healthy way of eating.  My objection to it is the name.  A healthy diet has nothing to do with whether the foods you eat are acidic or alkaline.  A healthy diet has to do with getting the necessary nutrients so that your body can propely manage all of its functions, including maintaining normal pH. 

The following video is an introduction to Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT for short.  EFT is an acupressure-based method of clearing negative emotions, eliminating bad habits, and alleviating pain.  I know the tapping they show in the video looks pretty silly and there actually is a specific procedure and specific points that you tap on – it’s not just random tapping like it looks on the video. 

I have used EFT on myself and on many of my patients for a wide variety of conditions.  As I said before, it is useful for dealing with negative emotions, habit control, and reducing pain.  Although it looks pretty strange, it can be remarkably effective and can often be a big key to solving certain health problems.

I suggest you give EFT a try.  You can download a free manual on how to do the technique at the Emotional Freedom Technique website.  While there are opportunities for advanced EFT training, in my experience the basic technique works extremely well in most cases, so the free basic manual is all most people need to get great results. 

Emotional Freedom Technique Documentary Film -Try It On Everything

Depression: Alternative Treatment Methods, 2/3

The above video discusses the lack of science behind using medication to treat depression.  It is widely advertised and accepted by the medical profession that most cases of depression are due to chemical imbalances in the brain and that these imbalances can be corrected with medication.  But there is a problem.  Not only has it never been proven that depression is due to a deficiency of seratonin in the brain and that the SSRI (Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitor) medications help depression by increasing seratonin levels, it is well-known that depression can be related to a number of other issues such as hypoglycemia, drug side-effects, and stress. 

So even if we assume seratonin is an issue in some cases of depression, how do doctors know who has depression because of seratonin deficiency and who has depression from other causes?  They don’t.  After all, they certainly aren’t testing seratonin levels in their patient’s brains before prescribing anti-depressants.  Given that exercise, counseling, omega 3 fatty acids, meditation, and other non-drug treatments for depression provide equivalent or better results without the sometimes serious side-effects of the medication, it makes sense to me to reserve medication as a last resort in treating depression rather than using it as the first option as it so often is today in the United States.

The following video explains the most common causes for back injuries – most of which occur from repeated poor body mechanics.  By understanding what positions and movements cause low back problems, you can take steps to avoid them and avoid injury. 

Workplace Health Training Program: Back & Neck Injury

As Dr. Bunch explains, although people may think that they hurt themselves bending over to tie their shoes, or after sneezing or experiencing some minor physical trauma, these are not the real cause of the injury.  In fact, most back and neck problems develop gradually over time until the bodycan no longer compensate and some minor incident (or maybe nothing in particular) sets off symptoms and then the problem becomes noticeable.

For more information, see my prior posts on back pain.

It’s important to stay fit.  In these tough economic times, a gym membership may just not be in your budget.  The following video presents a creative solution to the problem.

The Walmart Fitness Center

I recently received a comment on one of my YouTube videos about weight loss from an individual who was concerned about the health implications of not eating grains.  This person was worried that my recommendations to eat primarily vegetables and high quality animal proteins and to avoid grain-based foods might lead to unspecified health problems.  In particular, the commenter noted that most food guides (such as the “Food Pyramid”, “4 Basic Food Groups”, etc.) list grains as the foundation of a healthy diet.  Based on these guides, the commented inquired, “Aren’t grains healthy?”.

From a nutrient standpoint, whole grains in limited quantities are certainly fine to eat and can be considered healthy.  The problem is not the grains, per se, but the FORM and QUANTITY in which most people consume grains. 

Let’s begin with form.  If you were to snack on a handful of unrefined bulgar wheat, rolled oats, etc., the nutrients and fiber in those products would be quite healthy.  But is that how most people eat grains?  With the exception of corn that is often consumed in a minimally processed form, most grains are processed in some way before they are consumed.  Most people are aware that highly processed grain products like white bread and pasta are largely devoid of the original nutrient and fiber content of the grains they are made from.  Even nutrient enrichment (such as adding thiamin back into wheat flour) does not restore the original nutrient content, and the key ingredient that minimizes the unhealthy impact of grains, fiber, is usually left out altogether. 

But even “whole grain” products are often problematic.  True whole grain foods largely retain the original vitamins, minerals, and fiber of the original grain, but most contain other ingredients that diminish the “healthiness” of the food.  For example, whole wheat bread is usually loaded with sugar to make it taste better.  The same is true of whole grain cereals and many other whole grain products.  General Mills should be ashamed of themselves for running those television ads promoting all of their cereals as being whole grain and thereby implying that they are healthy (does anyone really believe that Lucky Charms cereal is a health food even if it is “magically delicious”?). 

Regardless of whether the food is made of refined grains or of whole grains with added sugar, most grain-based products have a high glycemic index.  Basically, the glycemic index refers to the tendency of a food to rapidly raise blood sugar and trigger the release of insulin.  When high glycemic index foods are eaten, under normal circumstances, the pancreas releases a large amount of insulin to stimulate the cells of the body to take up the excess blood sugar and store it as glycogen and fat (and the amount of fat storage in the body is MUCH larger than the amount of glycogen storage). 

A large insulin release once in a while is not a big deal, but when somone eats high glycemic index foods on a frequent basis, and the large insulin release happens frequently, some major problems develop. 

For anyone who is overweight, the first problem is that insulin stimulates the body to store fat and blocks the ability of the body to burn fat.  So, eating grains, particularly in a refined form, or when there is added sugar, tends to cause weight gain.

The second problem is even more serious.  Over time, repeated release of large amounts of insulin creates a situation in which the body becomes desensitized to insulin, so blood sugar cannot be properly controlled.  This results in Type II diabetes, and all of its associated health problems. 

This brings me to the topic of the quantity of grain-based foods that people eat.  With refined grains (white flour, white bread, pasta, and cereal) or sugar-added whole grain products, even small quantities can be problematic.  A single slice of white bread can stimulate enough of an insulin release to block the ability of the body to burn fat for 24-48 hours.  Whole grains have a much lower glycemic index, because the fiber slows the absorption of the carohydrates into the bloodstream as blood sugar, but if there is added sugar, the effect of the fiber is largely negated.  So, even whole wheat and other whole grain foods can be problematic in relatively small quantities. 

As a general rule, I recommend people limit their carbohydrate intake as much as possible.  This means minimizing the intake of grains and sugary foods.  If you eat your grains completely unprocessed, such as snacking on handfuls of bulgar wheat, you’re probably OK, but otherwise you are usually best to just avoid the grains as much as possible.

It has been my observation that a majority of Americans consume quantities of refined grain products and other high-glycemic index foods (sugar-containing products like soda, candy, and other sweets) sufficient to not only virtually guarantee that they will be overweight, but also put them at a very high risk of developing diabetes.  So, the statistics regarding the epidemic of obesity and diabetes in this country should come as no surprise at all. 

So what about the food guides?  Are those government-proposed guidelines wrong? In a word, yes.  The various food guidelines such as the food pyramid are based on the outdated concept that fat intake is the primary dietary threat to good health.  Considerable research now clearly shows that while a rather large intake of fat can be problematic, even a relatively small intake of refined grains and sugar is far more detrimental to health. 

Check out my previous posts on weight loss and diabetes for more information.