Reviews

Understanding Your Pain

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pain

 

I just finished reading this book, Explain Pain by David Butler M.App.SC and Dr Lorimer Moseley PhD, which I borrowed from my Physical Therapist. Although some of the concepts were complicated, I thought everything was explained in a way that a person with no medical background (myself) would be able to understand.

The best part of the book is how they scientifically explained the connection between the mind and body and how it directly influences your pain. I also liked how they didn’t commit to a recovery method, or preach a way to get better. Instead, they advocate to learn as much about pain and your condition to help you make informed decisions on your healing journey and to lessen your fear about pain that you can’t explain or understand. On a less positive note, I thought they could have addressed better some of the unlikely causes of pain, such as nutritional deficiency, bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, and other environmental toxins. They do mention that everyone’s pain is unique to them, which I found to be particularly helpful since most medical professionals will just diagnose what is familiar to them, and not necessarily see a patients unique situation & body.

Here are some quotes that I found to be particularly helpful:

“Because tissues are no longer the main issue, it is often not helpful to seek an understanding of the diagnostic label. It is better to seek an understanding of the particular symptoms which are a feature of your unique presentation”

‘For many people in persistent pain, this is a critical issue to understand and well worth repeating. In this sensitised state, the brain is being fed information that no longer reflects the true health and abilities of the tissues at the end of the neurones. Put another way, the brain is being told that there is more danger at the tissues than there actually is.”

“It is important to emphasise here that, when the brain is sensitised, it is not just the experience of pain that is persistently produced. It also leads to persistent changes in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, endocrine, immune and motor systems”

“All sorts of fears can lead you into a cycle of pain and disability from which it can be difficult to break free. Some of the information that you receive from health professionals, friends, family and the media may contribute to fear…To face these fears, you need to be informed and understand as much as possible about your body. And you will need to be brave – this is the vehicle for the road to recovery”

At the end of book there is a Further Reading Section that recommends the following titles, which I plan on looking into for future reading.

1. Wall, P.D., Pain, the Science of Suffering. 1999,
London: Weidenfield & Nicholson

2. Melzack, R. and P.D. Wall, The Challenge of Pain.
2nd ed. 1996, London: Penguin

3. Nicholas, M., et al., Manage your Pain. 2000, Sydney: ABC Books

4. Martin, P., The Sickening Mind. 1997, London: Harper-Collins.

5. Sapolsky, R.M., Why zebras don’t get ulcers: an updated guide to stress, stress-related diseases, and coping. 1998, New York: W.H. Freeman and Co.

6. Shone, N., Coping Successfully with Pain. 1995, London: Sheldon Press.

Health & Wellness

How To Add More Greens To Your Diet

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Throughout my life I have experimented with quite a variety of healing diets.  Weather I was eating  a high protein diet, raw vegan diet, macrobiotic diet, low sugar diet, or any other type of whole foods diet, one thing that I have directly noticed improving my overall health and well being is making sure I get an adequate amount of greens into my body every day.  Leafy green vegetables are loaded with many health benefits. They are an excellent vegan, and allergy free source of minerals such as iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and a wonderful way to get vitamins K, C, E, and quite a few B vitamins.
Although I love salads, eating the same salad every day can become boring, and often times hard to digest if your intestinal health is compromised.  There are so many amazing (and tasty!) green vegetables, herbs and salad greens available today, especially if you are fortunate enough to live here on the west side with all of the farmers markets, health food stores, and alternative restaurants.  Sometimes when we are really hungry or in a hurry it can be too easy to forget our nourishing greens and to get tempted to just go for something sweet, or whatever may be in front of us.  Luckily, there are many quick ways to get more greens into your daily meals and snacks, and once you get used to sneaking greens into your meals it can definitely become second nature. Below are some of my favorite ways to feed my body sufficient greens. I hops you enjoy!
Green Juices- are probably the quickest way to get in your recommended servings of vegetables. One of my favorite combinations are green apple, lemon, ginger, kale, parsley, and spinach. If you are avoiding fruit sugar then try parsley, spinach, cucumber, celery, and lemon.
Green Smoothies- great for when I’m pressed for time and want something green and nourishing on the go. Add a 3-4 de-stemmed large kale leaves or two or three large handfuls of spinach to any fruit smoothie and continue blending as usual. I love frozen blueberries, spinach, hemp seeds, unsweetened acai, banana, and almond milk together.  Spirulina, chlorella, or a good green powder are also healthy smoothie additions.
 
Scrambled eggs or omelette- quick, warm and savory, what more could I want? Add  cilantro or parsley to eggs while cooking and add in a couple hearty handfuls of spinach as well. Season with your favorite healing herbs and spices, like turmeric, or cayenne and garlic powder for extra warmth.
Kale chips – there are many amazing kale chip recipes online, can be made in a dehydrator or in an oven if you don’t have a dehydrator. Probably the most addicting ways to eat your greens.
Minty Desserts– if you are making a dessert with peppermint extract or any other recipe that might benefit from a green food coloring you can add a few drops of liquid or powdered chlorella without altering the taste of your recipe
Lettuce wraps– simply fill crispy fresh lettuce leaves with any nut pate, or a little avocado, tomato, cilantro and lemon. Roll and eat!
Garlicky chard and Kale (or any other greens)- Mince a couple cloves of garlic, chop 1/4 onion, and saute in coconut oil, after a couple minutes add greens of choice and saute until tender. add sea salt, cayenne or other seasonings to taste.
Nori Rolls- fill raw nori sheets with chopped avocado, baby greens, simple homemade dressing or dip of choice, and seal.
Health & Wellness

Infrared Sauna for Detoxing and Relieving Pain

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Last week, Tazmin and I tried out the infrared sauna at Tao Healing Arts Center. For $20 you get a 45 minute session in the sauna and 15 minutes to use the shower. You can also purchase package deals for a cheaper session. The sauna’s were in an area that was technically outside so you got a breeze, but were still under a roof. The facilities were clean, and the place was much more minimally decorated than an upscale spa, which I liked. It’s located in Santa Monica and parking is metered which is a downside, but the meters took credit cards so you don’t have to scramble for change.  Plus, we weren’t rushed out when we decided to stay in ten minutes longer and skip our shower – we showered when we got home.

I went into the sauna in a lot of pain, and when I came out I definitely felt better. By the time the session ended, I was dripping sweat. The infrared sauna isn’t as hot as a traditional sauna, and the heat is able to penetrate deeper. I’ve been to a regular sauna and I could barely stand to sit in it, so I was really surprised at how comfortable this was.

This is also another great way to detox, which can only help me in the long run. Plus, if I’m experiencing detox symptoms again I might come back and see if it deceases them. Overall, I think this is a repeat experience. I was looking for a way to bring this to my apartment, and I found a Infrared Heat Lamp on amazon, that seemed promising. My acupuncturist used a heat lamp on me, and it really helped me feel better as well.

Furthermore, I’ve recently read the book Pain Free in Six Weeks by Sherry A. Rogers, M.D. and detoxing away pain from chemicals and heavy metals is something she goes into depth on, and her preferred method of detoxification is the infrared sauna.

Health & Wellness

The Difference between Good and Bad Carbohydrates?

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pasta

You may all know that I’m not a fan of the carbs, but that wasn’t always the case. My mom used to call me her carbohydrate queen. I grew up in northern New Jersey with a 100% Italian mother, who happens to be an amazing cook. I’m a complete food snob when it comes to pasta, and always preferred to eat it al dente. The first thing I cooked myself was cous cous. Pasta was a college staple for me, and then when I moved out to California I figured out how easy it was to use a rice cooker. I’ve never been a big fan of eating a lot of meat, and although I did enjoy fish every so often, like the majority of us carbs made up a big portion of my diet.

I’ve since learned that carbohydrates can be very controversial and confusing. Are all carbs bad? Then, why are some carbs considered a superfood? What about beans and starchy vegetables? Are they considered carbohydrates, or is it just seeds? Why do I need to go gluten-free? The reason this information is so confusing is because the carbohydrates found in processed food are subsidized. For food companies this is important, because if the ingredients are cheap and then they sell you that product, then their profit margin is high. That means there is lots of propaganda out there and misinformation about this food.

What is a carbohydrate? Most people don’t know this word really means. Here’s wikapedia’s definition:

“A carbohydrate is an organic compound that consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen…The term is most common in biochemistry, where it is a synonym of saccharide. The carbohydrates (saccharides) are divided into four chemical groupings: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. In general, the monosaccharides and disaccharides, which are smaller (lower molecular weight) carbohydrates, are commonly referred to as sugars.”

“While the scientific nomenclature of carbohydrates is complex, the names of the monosaccharides and disaccharides very often end in the suffix -ose. For example, blood sugar is the monosaccharide glucose, table sugar is the disaccharide sucrose, and milk sugar is the disaccharide lactose.”

Basically, this means the majority of my diet has been sugar.

So what do I eat?

Many foods contain sugar, so just be conscious of how much sugar is in what. If you are looking for whole grain food at the grocery store, the label needs to say 100% whole grain. Otherwise, they can just had a little whole grain to the mix but the majority is still processed grain. When you are shopping for processed food (anything in a bag or box), always double check the ingredients. Sugar is often added to whole grain products, even bread. For an ingredient, look for something like 100% Quinoa flour, bulk bins are great for this stuff. Whole grains are just seeds so if it’s a whole seed, it’s a whole grain. Example: Flaxseeds, Quinoa, buckwheat groats. Also check for gluten free labels, many people have different levels of gluten intolerance, which can negatively affect your health. I try my best to stay away from sugar in general, it just spikes your blood sugar, turns into fat in your body, and feeds dangerous bacteria and yeast. Check out my post on my Favorite YouTube Lectures for more information on sugar.

Source:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate

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Natural Living

You Know You’re a Health Nut When …

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You know you’re a health nut when

… you don’t get sick, you get detox symptoms.

… the bacteria in your fridge is for probiotics.

… you go out to dinner at Whole Foods.

…. you’ve eaten a salad for breakfast.

… enemas & colonics become acceptable mealtime conversation. 

… you can’t easily find healthy food in your local health food store.

… you’ve carried produce in your purse.

… you don’t just order the healthiest item on the menu, you adjust it too.

… you don’t do diets, you do cleanses.

… even your poop goes green and you think it’s beautiful.

…. your DVR is filled with Dr. Oz.

 

A Health and Wellness Blog