EDmedblog. Health News and Information

Don’t stop now!

One thing you must have noticed is the number of people, both fit and not so fit, who are out there walking, jogging, drinking pure juice at juice bars, choosing salads, ordering water, etc. You 1 might not have noticed so much before because you were probably less health conscious, but as you look around you quickly become aware that heaps of people want to enjoy a healthier life: old, young, fit, unfit. You really are not alone!

Some who read this book will be physically big people and some of these will find it daunting to strip down to a t-shirt and pair of lycra tights and exercise on a treadmill with lots of people around.

Others will be sporty types who are confident in fitness centres. What they may find daunting is lessening their intake of fatty food, sugar and alcohol.

Some will devise an energetic house cleaning program, so they rebuild exercise into their daily lives. Others will start walking, stop smoking and start yoga. And a lot of people will read the chapter about herbal capsules and at a cost of approximately $50 every 20 days; they will enjoy the benefits of the cellulite-loss tablets, with or without an accompanying exercise program.

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Golf

More and more women are playing golf. Golf is not a particularly active sport. It involves a lot of skill, concentration and walking through the bushes to find your ball. Your eyesight gets a good workout.

A game of golf takes three to four hours during which time there are lots of stops and starts.

When you’re pushing your buggy up a hilly fairway, your heart-rate is raised. But when you get to the ball, you stop. It might take another five minutes before you’re pushing again and getting your heart-rate up. That is not a control environment. But it does have its benefits.

Cellulite impact: Passive impact. The continual walking is good for you, plus you relax because you’re in a lovely environment – with fresh air. It’s quiet and peaceful (unless you’re not hitting the ball too well).

Golf exercises your:

• Leg muscles

• Arms, back, shoulders and stomach

• Mind

Tennis

You need to be strong to play tennis – you have to pivot on your feet. If your knees or ankles aren’t strong or you’ve pivoted incorrectly and you’re overweigh^ you can injure yourself.

Tennis is really good for hand-eye coordination. This helps build your sense of alertness. Tennis requires you to move quite vigorously. Make sure you keep hydrated, as it can get hot out there while you are actively keeping your opponent at bay!

Cellulite impact: If you have a pretty good opponent you definitely get to exercise your upper and lower muscle groups.

Tennis exercises your:

• Leg and backside muscles •’Arms, shoulders and chest

• Breathing (heart and lungs)

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Eat more fruit and vegetables.

Fruit and vegies have got up to 9000 nutrients in them. Science has only isolated 1500 nutrients, therefore the benefits of fruit and vegies are not only those known, but also unknown. We know they are extremely good for us, but we’re only discovering why as we go along.

When you take vitamins and minerals out of fruits and vegetables and put them in a capsule they don’t work nearly as well as eating the real fruit or vegetable. Why? Scientifically, they may be the same. In fact, the capsule or powder is often fortified with a greater percentage or a higher dosage, so you would think the ingredients would be more active.

It’s the ingredients in fruits and vegetables working all together in balance that makes them more effective and produces the full benefit.

What I am saying is that even if we create the near perfect capsule, it will never, ever, heat cellulite as convincingly as real food.

That’s a very important point. No processed product, no synthetic, no pharmaceutical product can replace a banana, an apple, a potato, a bean.

Fruit and vegies! You should be having six to eight pieces a day! They are a first class source of energy.

Fruit and vegetables are a sensible choice because they are good for us, but these foods just happen to be delicious, too.

MUST WE EAT FRUIT?

Not everyone will eat fruit. Is it enough to eat vegetables? Or must we all eat fruit as well?

There are differences between the fruit and vegetables, and you should eat from both. But if someone were to say to me, “Which are the more important?”, I would quietly say ‘vegetables’ because generally speaking vegetables provide greater all round benefits than fruit.

Remember: vegies shouldn’t be cooked too much. Cook vegies just enough to be delicious and palatable. Try not to overcook them. You’ll miss out on the nutrients and the full flavour.

And find a fruit and vegetable outlet that sells the best on the market. The range of organically grown produce or produce fresh from the growers will always taste better than stale or chemically pumped up produce. Try to grow the odd spinach or lettuce or tomato plant yourself, even in a window box. The flavour will delight you.

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You have real needs before you start a program. Some of these are psychological, others material. You need:

• Support

Figure out what sort of support is necessary for you to pursue this goal.

Expenditure? Child minding? New walking shoes? Travelling to and from a fitness centre? Cooking arrangements? Time allocation?

• Confirmation

I notice that people who have an over or under-weight problem do everything else except what’s necessary from within. They’ll get their hair done, get waxes, shave their legs regularly, have their nails done, make sure they have their make-up on – and really present themselves elegantly externally. But they don’t look after themselves from inside-out. They might look great in designer-wear, but that’s only when they’re dressed.

That’s why I say, ‘Strip everything off and take a look at your naked body’. Self-assessment of your real body will confirm whether (and how) you need to take action.

• Confidence (that this won’t all be a waste of time)

It’s not a waste of time if you achieve your goal.

Some people would rather read than exercise. They feel exercise is a waste of time. You can read when you’re on an exercise bike! But I prefer to listen to music. In doing so, I feel great – and I know it’s not a waste of time if it’s keeping me healthy while I’m having fun.

• Eat Right

People who worry about weight think: not to eat. That’s not the answer. The answer is not to starve yourself. The answer is to eat right.

When you starve yourself this is what happens: suppose you decide not to eat all day, and then you have one piece of cake -you might as well have eaten right all day and had the piece of cake, because the cake is unimportant. It’s nutritionally empty energy food. It’s not going to do anything. It’ll just give you a bit of a sugar rush and you’ll enjoy the taste. So you might as well learn to eat right, so you can fuel your metabolism efficiently.

You need:

• Support

• Confirmation

• And confidence it’s not all a waste of time

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HOW MUCH TIME?

Don’t rush into exercise. One hour per day five days a week is not a baby step. That’s a giant step. But quality 10-15 minutes per day would be very good baby steps. With a sensible approach to exercise you can make wonderful progress. Then as you gain experience and ability do more per day, within three to four weeks you will start to be in pretty good shape.

Think in 10-15 minute time frames at the initial planning stage, gradually building up your exercise program.

AN AMAZING REVELATION!

The only way to know your state of health is to keep a log of everything you eat, drink, when you sleep and when you exercise.

It is necessary to do this chore because you probably need an amazing revelation to boost your determination to change certain habits. That log will be your mirror! “The task of self-examination is difficult, but the time log is a useful tool to accomplish this objective,” says Dr Alec Mackenzie in his ground breaking time management book, The Time Trap (1972).

I agree with him. Keep a complete time log for seven days. Write down everything you do and everything you put into your body.

If you have toast, write down whether or not you also have butter and a slice of ham. Everything you do and consume for seven days will identify areas that need modification when you assess it later.

Also record your exercise and rest.

This will reveal to you a pretty good pattern as to your lifestyle – because we are all creatures of habit

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This quite often follows pain, especially if relief is slow. Depression can be biological, psychological or environmental. In other words, severe depression can be in the family genetically, and medication is necessary. Erratic hormone levels can be the cause of depression in the case of young mothers and menopausal women.

Natural therapies of homoeopathy and acupuncture are necessary in the treatment of depression. Finally nutritional requirements may be inadequate and atmospheric toxins in air and water and food may be to blame. Heavy metals may be found in the bloodstream so elimination techniques are needed.

Gentian and mustard are the correct Bach Flower remedies for depression. Also in my experience vitamin B3 (niacinamide or niacin) can be just the necessary vitamin to pull you out of it. This should be taken under direction as there is an interesting side effect (hot itchy skin) if the dose is too high or is taken at the wrong time with a hot drink. Don’t self dose.

Lack of direct sunlight can also cause depression but it isn’t noticeable till about three months later. So if you miss your ten minutes of sunshine a day in the winter, you may become depressed in the spring. The cure in Europe is to take vitamin D tablets with calcium, but in a sunny country like Australia, the answer is to have your lunch sitting in the wintery sun. (Don’t sit in the sun in summer if you value your skin!)

With acupuncture, we balance the earth pulses to cure depression along with worry and tension. Many a case of nervous breakdown has been cured in. a week with needles. There are no drugs involved here.

A new mother came for help. She was suffering post-natal depression and didn’t want to have medical treatment if it involved medication while she was breastfeeding. She found looking after the baby tiring and she felt she couldn’t cope.

She was asked specifically about her menstruation before the pregnancy, and she had always had painful and long periods. Her diet was discussed and it was apparent that she suffered cravings for sugar which left her very tired in the afternoons. It was obvious that she desperately needed to correct her diet, especially to include protein at breakfast, and she was happy to have acupuncture to balance the erratic hormone levels. A multi-mineral and multi-vitamin tablet to correct her nutritional status was advised. A specific homoeopathic tablet was given to her and a month later a happy mother came to see me. It was recommended that she have monthly check-ups for the next six months to circumvent a possible relapse.

Post-natal depression is a serious condition if allowed to develop. The tragedy of babies being mishandled is a sad reality. Natural therapies have much to offer. Prevention here is so much better than cure. Depression is often deeply submerged anger.

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There should be no illness associated with this time in a woman’s life when her natural cycle of fertility is coming to an end. There are many factors to take into account, however, and every woman is different.

My experience of thirty years in a predominantly female practice has helped me to prepare the woman for the change (commonly called the climacteric). Those likely to have pain, bleeding, hot flushes, a dry vagina and emotional disturbance are those who have usually had trouble with their menstrual cycle.

Don’t wait for the mid-forties to early fifties to seek help. As soon as a hormonal problem manifests itself after puberty take action immediately.

Your systems need balancing in some way. Maybe your spine needs adjusting; or the chi energies of acupuncture are topsy-turvy; you may need nutritional counselling or your body requires homoeopathic remedies.

From the very first period, if there is menstrual pain, find out why. Taking ‘the pill’ to relieve dysmenorrhoea or acne is just not on. This suppression of symptoms causes complications to a woman’s health later on in her life.

The correction of any structural pelvic problem by a chiropractor is the first consideration. This is not traumatic. It is an easy and uncomplicated adjustment when the injury first occurs. The treatment can be a little more complex with time and age. Falls and sports injuries contribute to these pelvic and spinal strains.

Balancing the chi energies with acupuncture is stunningly effective and it can be done with needles or the laser machine. Combining these two therapies, I find, halves the number of treatments needed and makes it easier for both patient and practitioner.

Correct nutrition is an important adjunct to therapy. If you suffer constant tiredness start with a protein breakfast which usually eliminates the headaches and emotional turmoil that often accompany hormonal cycles. Mineral and vitamin supplements are needed if eating patterns are not good.

Calcium is needed early in life to prevent osteoporosis later on; it also stops heavy bleeding, and magnesium phosphate tablets ease cramps. Many women seem to require mineral supplementation. This is easily determined by a hair analysis. As vitamin C doesn’t store in humans, we need it daily to help prevent broken capillaries as well as for many other conditions. Stress unfortunately depletes our supply of vitamin B found in whole grains.

A mixture of hops, centaury, agrimony, wormwood and bog beans are herbals suggested as a tissane (tea simmered slowly and used as a tonic). Another mix is raspberry, lime blossom and Pulsatilla. My choice for women’s health problems is red clover tea.

Women who decide to take control of their lives and have started to do yoga, tai chi or such in their fifties, have shown dramatic improvement in their health – from alleviating painful intercourse to the equally painful suppression of emotional distress.

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Do this after any strenuous work session and before going to bed. If you do hurt your back again, attempt this exercise immediately. It could save you much trouble. It often releases the muscle spasm before you even get to the clinic.

• On hands and knees, place your hands a bit forward of your knees.

• Keep arms fully extended for this exercise.

• Lower hips to heels, arms at full extension. Then bring the body weight forward against the extended arms. Lower the pelvis to the floor as you hyper-extend the lower back. Let the stomach sag.

• Hold this last position for 5-10 seconds, relaxing the back muscles and letting the pelvis hang.

• Repeat 5-7 times.

The bridge

• Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms extended at the side.

• Elevate your pelvis as high off the floor as possible without undue strain.

• Hold at this height for a slow count of 2 or 3, extend this later up to a count

of 6.

• Relax for a similar count and repeat 5 times.

Feel like a stretch?

• Stand under a doorway, or under an overhead beam. Reach above with both

hands, holding onto door frame or beam.

• Lean trunk weight forward and kick extended leg backwards, mainly on the side

of any leg pain.

• Repeat several times, exaggerating the stretching and hyperextension of the

lower back.

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Women who have had breast operations where one breast has been removed can experience pain in the ribs afterwards. It is a constant source of work for osteopaths to free all the muscle drag that occurs from the weight imbalance.

My recommendation after years of experience with postoperative care for mastectomy cases is that you should have therapy once a month till it settles down. The muscles are freed around the ribs and the dorsal spine may need to be manipulated gently.

Sandra’s story-Sandra suffered acute rib pain, spreading around to her back. She fell on her side at work two years previously. After some conventional therapy of massage and heat treatments, the trouble settled down.

As time passed, pain radiated to her ribs. The X-rays indicated there was no problem, except for a slight scoliosis!

If the X-ray had been taken with her standing, it would have emphasised the rotation in her upper lumbar spine and made the diagnosis clearer. The curves had to be reversed. It took time, patience, effort and understanding.

Rib pain can also be related to referred pain. Ulcers in the stomach will shoot pain into the back, as can heart trouble, hiatus hernia, cancers and a lot of other problems.

Our work looks at the whole person first. A correct diagnosis is always important in any profession. But it’s no good guessing and putting a person on anti-inflammatory drugs because arthritis might be a possibility. Keep on with these drugs and you may soon get a real ulcer with referred back pain. Then it can be said, ‘I told you so.’ It doesn’t take much time to have the spine and ribs assessed professionally once and know there is no structural fault.

One interview won’t delay important investigation. It may not be as bad as you think. We X-ray too to prove the point. Referrals are very quickly given if there is any suspicion of a serious condition. Rib fractures are easily picked up with compression tests and palpation.

Margaret’s story-It happened when I got out of my car to open the gate. My dog jumped in and knocked the hand brake off. The car rolled and pinned me against the fence breaking my leg. But that’s not what gave me the greatest pain. After the leg was out of plaster, I was still having trouble. When I breathed in, I could feel a sharp pain in my right ribs. I went to the doctor again and he told me I just had a posture problem. That didn’t help the pain though.

I then went to see my chiropractor, and after a physical examination, I was told that I had badly sprained a rib. It was fixed there and then and I felt great after one adjustment.

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For all the happiness that mankind can gain Is not in pleasure, but in rest from pain. John Dryden (1631—1700)

There are twelve vertebrae in the middle section of the spine (called the dorsal spine) and twelve corresponding pairs of nerves. When we talk of the thoracic section of the spine, we mean the rib cage as well, which also involves the front of the chest.

The nerve supply from the middle spine radiates out to the organs of the lungs, breasts, heart, stomach, gall bladder, liver and around the ribs into the chest, greatly influencing their function. The lower dorsal spine supplies the nerves to the kidneys — another important organ. Pain in this region makes you feel very vulnerable.

Alternative therapists work to free any interference to normal nerve, blood and lymphatic supply. We believe that all joints must perform freely or good health is affected. This is our philosophy based on clinical experience.

The systems affected by the dorsal spine are mainly respiratory, alimentary and cardiac, i.e. our breathing, digestion, heart functions and – for women – lactation. Spinal trouble in this area can adversely affect these systems.

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