STRESS BUSTERS: HOLISTIC FOOD, MOOD, & BODY SUPPORT

1. STRESS SUPPORT:
Whole Body, Whole Food, Whole Mind

If
inflammation
is the star to aim for in today’s top Natural and Integrative Practitioners
treatment plans, then stress plays the leading supporting role. With the effects
of Irene tapering off, and rain continuing to taper in, we are in the midst
of experiencing a not so subtle reminder that some factors in life just can’t
be controlled, explained, or ignored. Therefore, our power in this external
world lies in our ability to accept what can’t be changed and to respond,
rather than react, to life’s crisis and stressors!

In
my holiday blog
last year, I discussed how different
people are genetically and prenatally programmed to react and respond to stress
differently. This means that Uncle Mickey could be a crazy,
over-reactive mess in response to a dirty dish left in the sink; whereas, his
sister Mini, could be a calm pack rat. Mickey
may have been the unfortunate recipient of mom’s prenatal high-hitting-catecholamine
chemicals. This would create a down regulation of Mickey’s gastrointestinal
function, up regulation of his nervous system’s responsiveness, and a variety
of genetic detoxifying deficiencies. This would wire him to a
reactive, rather than a responsive temperament in life. (Poor Mickey!)

In
my
previous articles, I
discussed the biochemistry of a leaky gut leading to a reactive brain.
Specifically, the biochemistry looks like this, according to Aristo Vojdani, Ph.D., M.Sc., M.T, famous
immunology researcher:

Read the rest of my latest blog
here

a NEWS:

1. Calm your Mind with Essential oils

Listen to this 30 minute audio discussing the
use of emotional oil blends to calm the mind and ease the spirit. The sense of
smell is the only sense organ directly linked to the emotional center of the
brain, the deep limbic system.

Inhaling calming scents is one technique I use
in my clinic to help balance the brain chemistry to aid anxious people to respond
vs. react. (I also use neurotransmitter and lifestyle support for affecting the
other 4 other major regions of the brain).

3. 2. Follow
my latest answers and blogs as a featured expert on: Dr. Oz’s Sharecare

·This week’s post on social
support and heart health

4 3. NEXT HEALTH FORUM:
OCTOBER 6th at 6:15pm

Join
me and a community of like-minded individuals in an interactive and engaging
discussion about the latest topics and issues in integrative, alternative,
conventional, and natural medicine. Find out more here.

5. 4. More Updated Resources on
my
homepage:

BMJ
commentary on Flu Vaccination Stats just added

6. 5. Supplemental
Differences

Why
see a doctor or practitioner for supplements?

In her article from the Natural
Medicine Journal article, The Truth About Medical Foods, Lise Alschuler, ND,
FABNO, explains the difference of functional, medical, and therapeutic
management of supplements:

In other words, a medical food
must be labeled for a specific medical disease or condition that has
distinctive nutritional requirements. Inherent in this definition is the fact
that medical foods are not meant for use by a healthy person and their use is
intended to be under medical supervision. In addition to these requirements,
all medical food ingredients must be considered Generally Recognized as Safe
(GRAS), which provides a standard of safety through qualified expert
evaluation, published research, and corroboration from other data sources.
Medical foods therefore have undergone toxicology studies and multiple human clinical
trials in order to prove efficacy and safety.

Although functional foods can
be beneficial and easy for people to obtain and sustain, they do not require
the same rigor in efficacy-based research and safety studies as do medical
foods.

As integrative practitioners, we all
recommend the use of food in its natural state to support specific conditions,
and so you may be wondering, “What’s the big deal about a medical food?” A
medical food is specifically formulated for ill patients who require the food
as a major part of their treatment. In certain circumstances it may be best to
recommend a food in its natural state, for example when offering lifestyle
preventative counseling. Although constructing a therapeutic diet for patients
is a vital part of most treatment protocols, this alone may not be enough for
some people with a serious illnesses. Whenever a patient’s condition requires
nutritional nourishment that extends beyond the capacity of their diet, the
addition of a medical food with its additional macro and micronutrients,
vitamins, and minerals may be indicated.

Another term commonly mentioned in the healthcare industry is “functional
foods.” This is an industry term, as there is not a defined set of regulations
specific to functional foods. So-called functional foods are regulated as a
food.

7.6. WE WANT TRADER JOE’S IN THE
CAPITAL DISTRICT www.wwtj.org

Bruce Roter, President, writes:

Our TRADER JOE’S PICNIC will be a week from this Sunday at The
Crossings at Colonie (580 Albany Shaker Rd., just 6/10ths of a mile east of
Wolf Rd., near the playground area) from 2-5. Feel free to bring any
Trader Joe’s snacks you’d like to share and invite friends to join us.
I just picked up jars of Trader Joe’s Pineapple Salsa and Trader Joe’s
Spicy, Smoky Peach Salsa. If that doesn’t say “party!” I don’t
know what does! You will also have a chance to meet our newest
member–“TJ” our 4 month old puggle. Hope to see you all
there! If you like, drop me an email to let me know you are coming.