Alternative Strategies for Optimal Health

Flu or Food Poisoning?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:49:00 +0000

Two weeks ago Friday I attended my brother-in-law's Friday night dinner party. We had a great time as usual...lots of fun and laughter. Towards the end of the evening, I started feeling nauseous.

By the time we got home whatever was ailing me took over and I spent the night praying to the bathroom gods. The good news is that by Monday I had lost 7 pounds (and I've kept them off)! The bad news is my body ached and I was fatigued. The fatigue and body aches lasted the rest of the following week, and by the weekend I was back to my normal energy level...or so I thought.

Was this food poisoning (that last piece of sushi I ate)? Or was it a mild case of the H1N1 flu. Both my brother-in-law and his wife had just recovered from the flu. Her daughter who was visiting from Canada was sick with a "cold". I'm beginning to think it was the flu. After looking at the CDC website at the symptoms of the flu, I think that's what I have......still.

Starting about Wednesday last week, I started getting body aches. My skin hurts! And my energy level is not what it should be. My husband and I facilitated a 5-hour strategic planning session on Saturday, and I was in physical pain afterwards. Wrong shoes. I was on my feet nearly the whole time. My lower back hurt. I've had a headache off and on, congested sinuses, and yesterday my body vascilated between chills, where I couldn't get warm enough, to being over-heated.

Today, after stretching, I took the dog for a 30-minute walk. In our neighborhood, you can't walk without going up and down hills. I was exhausted when I got back, and my body hurts, even after stretching. A warm shower has helped, but I'm going to see my health practitioner, Dr. Padilla, to see if he can help get me back to optimal health. I need an adjustment, and possibly more.

Sinus Congestion - Gone in 4 Days!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:59:00 +0000

Last week I came down with a really bad case of sinusitis. It started on Monday and by Friday, my sinuses were so inflamed and congested I couldn't breath except through my mouth. I saw my chiropractor, Dr. Padilla on Wednesday, who gave me an adjustment and applied pressure to my sinuses and my entire head.

That helped for awhile, but instead of resting, I continued working at my frenetic pace. I had two facilitation sessions on Friday with two different clients, and I had prep work to do for both on Wednesday and Thursday. And you know the saying, it always gets worse before it gets better? That's exactly what happened. By Friday, the congestion and sinus headache were in full force.

At Dr. Padilla's suggestion, I had started taking Vitamin D twice a day. He informed me that if the congestion was viral, Vitamin D would help to knock it out. I also took two tablets every two hours of Sinusalia by Boiron, a sublingual homeopathic medicine for sinus pain and congestion.

I also invoked the mental affirmations related to sinus congestion and "itis", according to Louise Hays' book, Heal Your Body. I find those affirmations really work for me and help me understand the root cause of dis-ease within my body. Often it's brought about by not paying attention to my negative mental thought patterns, which I tend to push away instead of dealing with them at the moment they occur.

Thanks to the remedies I was taking, by Sunday I was hugely improved, and by Monday, it's almost gone. Here's what worked for me:

Friday when I got home from my client work I sprayed my nostrils with Ocean sea salt mist several times. I also sprayed my nostrils several times on Friday and Saturday with 2.5 pH acid water, which works as an antiseptic. My friend and coach Timi Gleason, suggested this might help to reduce the inflammation. And as a last resort, I sprayed my nostrils with a Safeway brand nasal decongestant.
In about two hours, the congestion and inflammation was reducing so I could breathe a little through my nose. I also started taking Benadryl every 6 hours according to package directions.
On Saturday I continued the nasal washes periodically during the day with Ocean Spray and 2.5 pH acid water, as well as the Sinusalia tablets, Vitamin D twice daily, and Benadryl every 6 hours.
On Sunday, I backed off on the Sinusalia tablets, taking them about 2-3 times during the day. I also used the Ocean nasal spray only once, and took Benadryl only twice.
Today, Monday, I am about 98% cured. I'm still taking the Vitamin D twice daily, the Sinusalia periodically, and drinking lots of fluids - herbal teas and water. I've been ingesting more than 120 ounces of water and about 96 ounces of mostly green tea daily to flush the toxins from my body.

I will continue with my affirmations, Vitamin D, periodic nasal flushes with Ocean spray, and heavy ingestion of liquids for the next few days to be sure the congestion is gone. For the first time, I did not have to get a prescription to fight this sinus congestion, and I knocked it out in about 4 days. For me, that's amazing!

Simple Steps to Avoid Spreading H1N1 Flu

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:55:00 +0000

A good friend shared these simple steps for preventing the proliferation of H1N1 flu. While we've heard about some of these in the media, taking all these precautions may ensure you and your loved ones avoid contracting and/or spreading the disease.

These tips came from Dr.Vinay Goyal, an MBBS, DRM, DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist), with over 20 years of clinical experience, who heads the Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W), Mumbai, India . He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , and Tata Memorial.

In a lecture this past August while visiting Molokai, HI, Dr. Goyal made the following observations:

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much a problem as it is proliferation.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

"Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

*Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

*Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

*Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Food for Thought - Link Between Food and Body Health

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:20:00 +0000

Here's an interesting article a friend sent me which was originally posted on LiveJournal.com by Raven in 2008. I hadn't thought about how some foods resemble different parts of the body before. It's interesting to note that the health benefits they provide tie directly to those parts of the body they resemble.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, avocadoes and pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female—they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers.

And how profound is this? It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods; modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them.

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the Glycemic
index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, oranges, and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Today’s research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

All Glutamates Are Not Created Equal, Heather von Stackelberg

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:32:00 +0000

All Glutamates Are Not Created Equal, Heather von Stackelberg

Shared via AddThis

MSG is Killing Us and We Don't Know It!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:57:00 +0000

There had to be wheat in the vinaigrette dressing. Two bites of salad, dipping my fork into the dressing, and my throat started to tighten up. It was painful and difficult to swallow anything, even water. And the dressing had a strange flavor to it. It could have been an herb that I don't care for, or the wheat culprit itself. I asked the waitress for vinegar and oil, and used that for the rest of the salad. Still, it put a damper on my experience and gives me a warning flag about the restaurant.

We were having lunch at a waterside restaurant on San Diego Bay with my husband's cousins who were only in town for the day. They live in New York and were here for a weekend wedding in Beverly Hills, driving down to San Diego to spend a few hours with us. It was great to see them after 15 years. My how time flies!

Having a gluten allergy certainly changes your life! Wheat is in everything. Many restaurants make dressings from scratch, and quite a few add innocuous thickeners to make the dressings taste and look better. But who would put wheat in a dressing?

I did a little research and found an article about the history of salad dressings and specifically the raw materials. As it turns out, many U.S. manufacturers use MSG (Monosodium Glutamate), made from the gluten of cereals, as a thickening agent, instead of MSG made from seaweed. That may be what was in the dressing. And, one of the symptoms of MSG reaction is throat swelling.

The symptoms began to build and I had a difficult night and day that followed, developing heart burn and burping, which also created a pain between my shoulder blades. I took some chewable antacids and weathered through it. Dinner that night for me was kale, celery and leek sauteed in olive oil and served over brown rice. The next day's diet consisted of a nectarine for breakfast, salad for lunch, and brown rice pasta with zucchini and chicken sausage for dinner, with pear, apple and a little goat Gouda for dessert. By evening the next day, I was feeling much better, so I tried a glass of wine with dinner, but couldn't finish it.

Today, I'm almost back to normal; had a good night's sleep and feel rested and energized. Thank goodness it was just a short bout!

Watch this video from a CBN 4-part news broadcast on the dangers of MSG. It's lurking in all processed and fast foods under disguised names like aspartame, glutamate, hydrolyzed or autolyzed yeast and protein, broth, caseinate or casein. These fillers make food taste better, but they're hidden killers, making us obese and causing disease such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol, and more. Glutamate gets into the blood levels and stays there, so as we eat more of it throughout the day with each meal, we're poisoning our bodies.

According to the research, MSG creates excitotoxins in the brain. Excitotoxins are any substance that over stimulates cells to the point of damage, acting as a toxin. They can cause the brain to mess up in any number of ways, causing problems related to behavior, hormones and intelligence. The signs of mental damage may not show up until later in life. Dr. Blaylock, a medical researcher quoted in the video, has written a book titled Health and Nutrition Secrets about the importance of staying away from MSG.

Here's a scary fact from Part 3 of the broadcast: "most cardiologists don't know about the link between MSG and heart disease". So they won't even diagnose that as the cause should someone have a heart attack! According to the research quoted in this video, many cancers have glutamate receptors throughout the body, which make the cancers grow rapidly. These include several brain cancers, colon cancer, breast cancer and others....all "fertilized" by heavy doses of MSG!

Another search revealed a list of the other names that masquerade for MSG, Hidden Names for MSG from the book, Battling the MSG Myth. I've also copied the list below, along with the links to the 4-part video series on The Dangers of MSG from CBN.

Check your kitchen cabinet. I'm going to do the same.
____________________________________________________________

Click this link for CBN's 4-part series on The Dangers of MSG.

Hidden Names for MSG

The following substances contain the highest percentage of factory created free glutamate, with MSG containing 78%:

MSG	Gelatin	Calcium Caseinate
Monosodium glutamate	Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)	Textured Protein
Monopotassium glutamate	Hydrolyzed Plant Protein (HPP)	Yeast Extract
Glutamate	Autolyzed Plant Protein	Yeast food or nutrient
Glutamic Acid	Sodium Caseinate	Autolyzed Yeast
Vegetable Protein Extract	Senomyx (wheat extract labeled as artificial flavor)

The following substances contain some factory created free glutamate in varying amounts. Please note that some food labels list several of these items, which can add up to a considerable and dangerous amount in one product:

Malted Barley (flavor)	Natural Flavors, Flavors, Flavoring	Modified food starch
Barley malt	Reaction Flavors	Rice syrup or brown rice syrup
Malt Extract or Flavoring	Natural Chicken, Beef, or Pork, Flavoring "Seasonings" (Most assume this means salt, pepper, or spices and herbs, which sometimes it is.)	Lipolyzed butter fat
Maltodextrin, dextrose, dextrates	Soy Sauce or Extract	"Low" or "No Fat" items
Caramel Flavoring (coloring)	Soy Protein	Corn syrup and corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrup
Stock	Soy Protein Isolate or Concentrate	Citric Acid (when processed from corn)
Broth	Cornstarch fructose (made from corn)	Milk Powder
Bouillon	Flowing Agents	Dry Milk Solids
Carrageenan	Wheat, rice, corn, or oat protein	Protein Fortified Milk
Whey Protein or Whey	Anything enriched or vitamin enriched	Annatto
Whey Protein Isolate or Concentrate	Protein fortified "anything"	Spice
Pectin	Enzyme modified proteins	Gums (guar and vegetable)
Protease	Ultra-pasteurized dairy products	Dough Conditioners
Protease enzymes	Fermented proteins	Yeast Nutrients
Lecithin	Gluten and gluten flour	Protein powders: whey, soy, oat, rice (as in protein bars shakes and body building drinks)
Amino acids (as in Bragg's liquid amino acids and chelated to vitamins)	Algae, phytoplankton, sea vegetable, wheat/ barley grass powders

European numbers for glutamate containing additives:

620	625
621	627
622	631
623	635
624

Ice Cream and Wheat Intolerance Are Not a Match

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:46:00 +0000

The weather has been really hot lately and it's only early August! We try to conserve electricity by running fans instead of the central air conditioner, but by late afternoon, the office and house have warmed up to the point that it's necessary to cool ourselves down.

Another way I've been cooling down is by indulging in lowfat ice cream....and now I'm paying for it. I forget it's got whey in it, and after two-to-three days of that treat, my body said no more. Because of my intolerance to wheat and gluten, I also don't handle whey well. The result is a lot of gas discomfort and burping. I also had a little throat tightening yesterday evening, even while drinking water, another sign that my body was rebelling against the whey and/or some other ingredient in the ice cream.

I also noticed that in the last two days, I've felt a bit woozy, almost dizzy. Not sure why, and it comes and goes. Today, it's gone, so perhaps it was something I ate that didn't agree with me.

I find coffee and black tea (both decaf and caffeinated) also aggravate my system, so I have to be cautious about how often I indulge in those. Food is getting a bit boring now, but maybe that's a good thing. If I'm not interested in food, I won't eat, and consequently, I'll lose weight. You think?

Thanks to regular exercise, I'm keeping my initial pounds off, but I've hit a plateau now, and need to increase the exercise and decrease the food intake to keep it going. My diet consists of mainly green leafy vegetables, crudites like broccoli, carrots and celery, brown rice, chicken, turkey, or fish, some goat and feta cheese (mostly in salads), and apples, peaches, nectarines, and melon. I rarely eat beef or pork, and they're consider foods to avoid, according to Dr. Peter D'Adamo's Eat Right 4 Your Type die t. I find I am able to drink wine again, and usually save that for weekends when we take more time for evening meals (See my Chicken Piccata with Artichokes recipe in the side panel).

My protocol with Dr. Padilla is now in the final phase. I'm tracking my body's reaction to certain foods over the next 2-3 months to see how I'm adjusting, then we'll probably do another final test to see if I've eradicated all the bad bacteria build-up or if we need to do more.

Now that I know the main culprit is wheat intolerance, it's pretty easy for me to manage my diet and maintain good health. For the most part, I'm feeling good, have energy, and am exercising at a level I hadn't been able to for quite a while. And I've accomplished this without drugs, thanks to Dr. Padilla's Functional Medicine treatment program.

Ten Commandments for Those Over 50

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:56:00 +0000

A good friend and colleague sent this list. Regardless of your spiritual or religious leanings, these are good objectives to keep in mind.

Focus on enjoying people, not on indulging in or accumulating material things.
Plan to spend whatever you have saved. You deserve to enjoy it and the few healthy years you have left. Travel if you can afford it. Don't leave anything for your children or loved ones to quarrel about. By leaving anything, you may even cause more trouble when you are gone.
Live in the here and now, not in the yesterdays and tomorrows. It is only today that you can handle. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow may not even happen.
Enjoy your grandchildren (if blessed with any) but don't be their full time baby sitter. You have no moral obligation to take care of them. Don't have any guilt about refusing to baby sit anyone's kids, including your own grandkids. Your parental obligation is to your children. After you have raised them into responsible adults, your duties of child-rearing babysitting are finished. Let your children raise their own off-springs.
Accept physical weakness, sickness and other physical pains. It is a part of the aging process. Enjoy whatever your health can allow.
Enjoy what you are and what you have right now. Stop working hard for what you do not have. If you don't have them, it's probably too late.
Enjoy your life with your spouse, children, grandchildren and friends. People, who truly love you, love you for yourself, not for what you have!. Anyone who loves you for what you have will just give you misery.
Forgive and accept forgiveness. Forgive yourself and others.. Enjoy peace of mind and peace of soul.
Befriend death. It's a natural part of the life cycle. Don't be afraid of it. Death is the beginning of a new and better life. So, prepare yourself not for death but for a new life with the Almighty.
Be at peace with your Creator. For ... He is all you have after you leave this life.

Mind-Body Connection Key to Pain

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:14:00 +0000

I had an interesting experience a week ago. After a 1-hour bike ride with my husband and a friend, I felt my lower back and buttocks area tightening up. "Oh oh," I thought. "This sensation is all too familiar." If I didn't take care of it right then, I could be on the floor, immobilized and in severe pain from tight muscles compressing on my nerves. So I did some intense stretching exercises, got out the ice packs to ice the areas for the next several hours, and said some positive affirmations. I rested the rest of the day.

Monday I was better but still in pain, and wondering what had caused this issue. On a walk with my husband the following day, I had a revelation. It was my body sending me a message that I was once again going down the wrong path in my work. Saturday, we had had a conversation with a partner about the areas in which I intended to focus my work efforts, and the partner encouraged me to re-think my strategy.

In agreeing to do so and stick with the current strategies rather than chart the new path, I sabotaged myself. This is something I've done all my life, and I have learned late in life that when my conscious mind won't pay attention, my subconscious mind takes over and sends me a clear message via body pain. If I choose to ignore it, the pain just intensifies until it becomes critical and I'm forced to pay attention and take action.

Fortunately, this time I read the warning signs and have since gotten back on course with my new direction, focusing on strategic marketing and social media networking. I also visited my Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Specialist Dr. Padilla during the week for an adjustment, which helped immensely.

This is just another example of the power of the mind-body connection. With everything that I've experienced over the past several months, I have become intensely aware of how my thoughts and feelings affect my body, as well as the food I put in it. My past experiences are proof that what and how you think affects your body, as well as the results you achieve in work and life.

While waiting to see Dr. Padilla, I watched a slide show and wrote down some key messages from that video which are reminders to me of how powerful the mind is:

Our body is comprised of 73 trillion cells, all of which are controlled by the brain and the nervous system. The spinal chord is the primary pathway for messages from the brain, and the nerves carry the brain's messages through mental impulses - the energy of life.
The brain controls everything we do, so when the pathways along which the messages travel are blocked through mis-alignments (known as subluxation), we experience pain and other symptoms.
Chiropractic adjustments help to keep the spine in alignment and prevent subluxations. Positive thinking and awareness of the mind-body connection also helps to keep the body free of pain and in optimal health.

Sore Throat Cured with Water!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:11:00 +0000

I had a sore throat a few weeks ago and instead of popping a cough drop or taking a pill, I decided to try something new. I had recently participated in a webinar about the uses of alkaline vs. acidic water produced through water ionizers. One of the webinar leaders suggested using 2.5 pH acidic water for sore throats. Apparently, it's very effective as an anti-bacterial agent. This website provides videos and information about the many uses of alkaline and acidic water.

So I tried it. I put some highly acidic water in a small spray bottle and sprayed the back of my throat a few times, repeating the process as needed over the course of a few hours. By the next day it was completely gone! Now any time I feel my throat is a little scratchy and sense a sore throat developing, I head it off with a spritz of 2.5 water and, presto! It's gone.

Amazing. It works on dry, itchy areas, too!

Finish Line In Sight on my Path to Health

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:35:00 +0000

I'm on the downwind stretch and can see the finish line now. Every day my health improves, thanks to the functional medicine regimen Dr. Padilla has me following. Yesterday I did 20 minutes on the eliptical machine at 120+ strides a minute and then 20 minutes on the treadmill at a pace of 3.2. I haven't been able to walk at that pace for years!

Today I took the dog for a brisk 40-minute walk that started with a hill climb of about 15 percent up into Black Mountain Preserve behind our house, and then down through the neighborhood. And I climbed the hill at an aggressive pace, probably close to 3 mph! I was out of breath by the time I reached the trail head, but my body didn't hurt. Amazing!

Sunday I had a bad bout of heartburn, which I'm attributing to either the little bit of ice cream I had Wednesday and Thursday, and/or the soy milk I've reintroduced into my diet. I may have to forego soy milk, and definitely ice cream, since it turns out ice cream has whey made from wheat in it.

But it's worth the changes in my diet to get my health back. I'm exercising at a level I thought I would never see again. The fibromyalgia inflammation is practically gone. I had such pain it was difficult to even walk, let alone keep up the pace I'm doing now. And I've strengthened the muscles around my knees enabling me to bicycle and walk aggressively again.

I'm still taking the probiotics that Dr. Padilla prescribed, and will probably complete that regimen by the middle to the end of June. I've learned to cut back on the plain yogurt I was eating because that coupled with the probiotics were giving me a double dose of good bacteria and driving my system crazy. I still have some mild burping on good days even though I'm avoiding wheat, so now the challenge is to see if, indeed, it's the soy milk. I'll try almond milk for my cereal to see if that makes a difference.

In the meantime, I've developed a very satisfying, high fiber meal that helps with the digestion and cleaning out my system when I have a lot of gas. I cook up fresh garlic, fresh kale and celery, and then mix in some cooked brown rice for a delicious, healthy, Blood Type A meal. (As blood type A, I do my best to follow Dr. Peter D'Adamo's Eat Right 4 Your Type diet, which is mainly vegetarian with chicken, fish and turkey as the main proteins.)

Here's my Kale, Celery and Rice recipe:
2 med to large cloves of garlic, pressed
Freshly washed, chopped kale (about 3-4 cups, chopped)
Three to four stalks of celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 - 2 Tsps olive oil (I use my homemade garlic olive oil)
2 TBS of low sodium chicken broth or water
Cooked brown rice (about 1/2 cup)
Salt to taste (or Bragg's Amino Acids or Konriko salt free Greek Seasoning)

Heat a skillet with olive oil on medium. Press or mince garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Add the chopped celery and cook about 2 minutes until somewhat translucent. Add the kale and chicken broth, and mix well. Turn heat down to med-low, cover and let cook for about 5 minutes. Check to see the kale is dark green and somewhat limp. Add brown rice, mix thoroughly and heat through...about 1 minute. Add more salt if necessary. Serve in a bowl and enjoy!

Homemade Garlic Olive Oil
Take a small, clean glass cruet with a pour spout and add 2-3 large cloves of fresh garlic. If you want you can roast the garlic ahead of time, but I don't do this. You may need to cut them in half or quarters to fit through the cruet top. Add two dried red Mexican chile de arbol or a sprig or two of fresh rosemary from your garden. Fill with cold pressed, extra virgen olive oil. It looks beautiful and lasts a long time. You can just keep filling the cruet as you use the olive oil until the garlic or rosemary looks like it needs to be replaced. I use this oil for everything...cooking, salads, on brown rice. It's delicious!

Here's a great site that describes the different chiles: The Cook's Thesaurus.

Mother's Day Brunch Recipes - 4 Your Type

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:22:00 +0000

Just in time for Mother's Day, here are some healthy recipes from Dr. D'Adamo's Eat Right 4 Your Type website. As Blood Type A, my diet centers around fish, turkey, brown rice and vegetables, so these recipes are perfect! Plus, I have a wheat allergy, so making a rice pie crust is my alternative to a wheat pie crust for a vegetable quiche, or other type of pie.

To learn more about Eating Right 4 Your Type, click this link.

Enjoy!

From the www.dadamo.com Recipe Center

Happy Mother's Day!

It’s easy to put together a healthy and delicious Mother’s Day brunch! A fresh, crisp green salad, light but filling quiche, and tangy breakfast bread are the perfect way to show Mom just how special she is. Bon Appétit!

Getting Healthy with a High Fiber Regimen

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Seventeen (17) pounds and counting....that's how much I've lost since my high about eight months ago. The last 10 have been lost since I changed my eating habits, cut out wheat and gluten products, and started down this functional medicine path with Dr. Padilla, my chiropractor, about four months ago.

We went through the process of cleaning out my gut. That took about three months. Now Dr. Padilla's got me on a regimen of high fiber and good bacteria to replace the bad stuff that was in my gut. One issue I've found is that the fiber drink I'm taking gives me a lot of gas. I'm still taking the Flora-Elite (friendly strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) before my morning meal, but now I also take Fortefy in the morning before breakfast (which also has friendly strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) and Eco-Flora during my mid-day meal (which is a comprehensive Pre-Biotic with colonic microflora nutrients). All three are part of the Rejuvi-Flora system from InterPlexus, Inc.

The Eco-Flora is giving me gas. I started taking 2 scoops in 8-10 ozs. of water as indicated on the container, then reduced that to 1 rounded scoop. I'm trying slightly less than one rounded scoop to see if that works better.

I've also kicked up my exercise. My right knee has improved, although I still need to use an Ace bandage wrap when I exercise, but the ligaments around the knee are strengthening. I'm using the eliptical trainer and light weights at 24 Hour Fitness about 3 times a week, taking hour-long walks at a brisk pace with my husband and dog, about 3 times a week, and going for a weekly 1-hour plus bike ride on Sundays.

Yesterday, we climbed the hill behind our house up to the community park. It's a fairly steep trail with about a 25% grade up to the park. We did a loop around the park, and then took the long way home, resulting in an hour and a half walk. I haven't been able to climb that hill for eight years! It was a real break-through for me!

Today, my husband and I went for a bike ride in the community where we live, which is all hills. The loop we did included a bike trail section along the freeway. That section is all up and down with one long, two-mile up-hill stretch. Boy, were my legs tired when we got home! But it was a great ride, and I wasn't exhausted.....another sign that my strength and health are improving.

The picture at right is of me coming down the hill into Ensenada on the spring Rosarito to Ensenada bike ride many years ago....50 miles of hills and open country, down a beautiful coastline and then inland.

I would love to do that ride again!

Functional Medicine is Working - I FEEL GOOD!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:45:00 +0000

Something is different today. I woke up this morning and noticed that I feel lighter and more limber. My body is moving more effortlessly. I was still a bit sleepy at 6:30 am, and the thought of a fairly hard work-out at the fitness center wasn't appealing.

So I asked my husband to join me on a walk with the dog. We set off, and I quickly noticed a difference - I was able to move at a faster pace than before, and it was effortless! It's as though all my muscles were moving more rhythmically together. I picked up the pace....no problem. On our leg towards home we climbed a fairly steep hill, and I was able to do it at a faster pace than normal and was less out of breath.

Then on the last leg which takes us behind our house on a street that is slightly uphill with a steep upturn at the corner, I kicked it up a bit and powered up the street. Wow! I haven't been able to do that for more than 15 years! Like the song says, "I FEEL GOOD!"

Back home I decided to weigh myself even though it's mid-week, and I'm down 2.5 pounds! I haven't been following any particular diet, just continuing with the routine Dr. Padilla has me on, drinking high pH water, and following the Type A blood type diet. I did increase my workouts a bit, adding the elliptical machine, a one to 1.5 hour bike ride on the weekends, and longer walks throughout the week.

I have two people to thank for my results: Dr. Padilla, my chiropractor and functional medicine specialist, and Coach Timi, a friend and fellow strategy coach who got me started drinking high pH alkaline water from her Kangen water machine. Her Rx-FreeZone website is all about getting off presecription drugs by drinking the right water, drinking mangosteen juice, and following Dr. Peter D'Adamo's blood type diet. She's done it herself and remains prescription-free! These two have definitely helped to make a difference in my health!

Today was a turning point in my journey to optimal health. When I started about 3 months ago, I had chronic inflammation throughout my body that was diagnosed as fibromyalgia. It was painful to exercise at any significant level. Plus I developed a problem with my right knee that made it hurt when I got up after sitting or just walking. Sometimes it felt like it either popped out of joint or locked, and boy did that hurt. Consequently, I put on weight which only added to the pain in my body.

Online, I found ProHealth.com and a wealth of information about fibromyalgia, plus specific vitamins and herbs designed to ease the pain and inflammation. I was taking 6 pills a day plus a multivitamin, and it was just keeping the pain tolerable. Just a simple pat on my hips or derriere was painful.

Additionally, I had chronic sinus congestion and periodic sinus headaches which flared up when the weather changed, and lasted for 12-18 hours. Nothing I took eased the pain or congestion. I just had to suffer through it.

Both the chronic inflammation and the sinus congestion are practically gone. My body doesn't ache like it used to. It's not stiff and painful to walk and move around. I still get a little congested, but that's dissipating, too.

Chiropractic treatments from Dr. Padilla helped, but it wasn't until we started on the regimen to clean out my intestinal tract that the real healing started. I started this because last October I developed severe heartburn and acid reflux, which I had never experienced before. I visited my family doctor who put be through a battery of tests, and $1000+ later, we still had no answer. I mentioned my problem to Dr. Padilla who said, "I think I know what the problem is - it's in you're gut."

He suggested this regimen to first clean it out, and now put back in the good bacteria with probiotics, and he was right! We also discovered a wheat intolerance I ever knew I had, so avoiding all wheat and gluten has been a big change in my diet, too. What a difference this has made in my life.

I'm getting my health back. I'm seeing positive results. And I'm losing weight without really trying. I FEEL GOOD!

I Feel Good....Like I Know That I Should

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 22:20:00 +0000

Did you catch last week's ER show where the ER doctors and staff volunteered for a day at Camp Del Corazon? Drs. Morris and Gates rocked out to James Brown's "I Feel Good". They were terrific! Makes you want to get up and dance.

In case you missed it, here's a link so you can enjoy it, too.

My body is on the Mend

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:48:00 +0000

I had wine last night with dinner...almost a full glass. I haven't been able to drink wine without it causing uncomfortable heartburn for months! I limited it to just the one glass, and it tasted really good for a change. It was a French Pinot Noir, about medium body, with a rich berry nose. I know my body's improving if wine doesn't cause problems. It's just another sign that I'm on the mend.

What bliss!

I've completed a three-month regimen of the following herbal remedies:

De-glycyrrhizinated Licorice Root Extract to soothe my GI tract
Flora-Elite – friendly lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium to replace the bad bacteria
ProEntz Plus – a plant extract with Rosemary, Oregano and Scutellaria (Skullcap) to reduce inflammation
Red Yeast Rice - a proprietary blend of Dr. Padilla's to help lower my cholesterol

I'm still taking the Flora-Elite and Red Yeast Rice, and will start next week on some probiotics to replace the bad bacteria with good bacteria in my gut. For the moment the only probiotics I've ingested have been in the Mountain High yogurt I eat daily. I love the plain, low fat variety with a little honey or brown sugar for sweetening. It makes a wonderful dessert. Or I'll add it to a small bowl of berries or cooked apples with cinnamon for breakfast.

I find the yogurt helps to settle my innards if I'm having a little bout of gas or indigestion. Drinking coffee two days in a row can do this. Even though I've been using a very low acid, smooth and mellow, decaf coffee I found at Trader Joe's, it still upsets my system. So I drink green tea and chamomile tea instead. The combination helps to settle my innards as well, and I enjoy the flavor.

Sinus Problems are Nearly Gone!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:09:00 +0000

I've been getting a metallic taste in my mouth from time to time.You know that nasty taste when you have a sinus infection and it drains down the back of your throat....kind of like metal but worse? That's the taste.

Wondering if it was a natural by-product of my body cleansing itself, I called Dr. Padilla to ask. He agreed it was part of the process. As my intestinal track is getting cleaned out, other areas of my body are also clearing up. The sinuses are one area.

I've had chronic sinus problems for years. They get especially stuffy when the weather changes from sunny to dark, rain-filled clouds. Sometimes I would get a splitting sinus headache that could last 12 hours or more. But since I've been on the program with Dr. Padilla, I've had only one headache, and within two hours of having an adjustment, it was gone!

Dr. Padilla uses a machine called the Pro Adjuster. It's like the activator tool that many chiropractors use, but this in connected to a computer which shows how misaligned the particular area he's treating is prior to the adjustment, and the re-alignment once the tool has finished its tapping. I especially like it when he uses that on the back of my head across the base of my scalp and up the center area. That's part of the sinus treatment. You would think the tapping on my skull would be painful or annoying, but it feels wonderful to me! That treatment, combined with gentle tapping on the sinus areas around my eyes and nose, does wonders to open up the sinus passages and relieve pressure.

Another thing I'm noticing about my body is that my hair seems to be growing faster than it was before. One of the pleasant side effects of making it past 50 was that the hair on my legs and underarms stopped growing so fast. All of a sudden I realized I only had to shave once a week! Now, it seems to be growing more quickly again to the point where I need to shave 2-3 times a week. Interesting!

The body is an amazing organism. With the assistance of natural herbs and eating a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, I'm helping my body heal itself. While I'm following this regimen under Dr. Padilla's guidance, I'm also following the Eat Right 4 Your Type diet by Dr. D'Adamo. In an earlier blog I mentioned I was Type B. Wrong! I re-tested and found I am, indeed, blood Type A.

One of the interesting things about Type A's is that their bodies naturally produce a high level of the stress hormone, Cortisol. When we're exposed to stress, our bodies produce even more, which can lead to sleeplessness, daytime brain fog, and muscle loss and fat gain! to help balance Cortisol levels, Type As should limit their ingestion of sugar, caffeine and alcohol.

I've certainly limited my ingestion of alcohol and caffeine, but I probably am eating too much sugar by adding honey and/or brown sugar to the plain yogurt. I've also had chocolate lately more often than usual, and that has both caffeine and sugar in it. So it's time to break that habit!

Exercise is a great way to reduce stress levels, but Type As need to pursue calming exercises rather than stimulating ones. Walking, Hatha Yoga, Tai Chi, meditation and deep breathing exercises are all recommended by Dr. D'Adamo and Dr. Padilla.

I do some yoga in the morning when I stretch before going for a walk or to the gym. But I think I should incorporate meditation, yoga or deep breathing into my night time regime before going to bed. That will also help to lower my cortisol levels before bedtime, since mine have been spiking at night instead of decreasing.

According to Dr. D'Adamo, the following factors are known to increase cortisol levels and increase mental exhaustion for Type As:

Crowds of people
Loud noise
Negative emotions
Smoking
Strong smells or perfumes
Too much sugar and starch
Overwork
Violent TV and movies
Lack of sleep
Extreme weather conditions (hot or cold)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Recently, my functional medicine specialist, Dr. James Padilla, had me take another test to determine my cortisol levels. Cortisol is an important hormone that is released by the adrenal glands. This hormone helps the body manage and use sugar and fat for energy, and manage stress.

Normally, cortisol levels rise during the early morning hours and drop very low at night. while they vary for each person, at 8 am, normal levels should be between 5.0 - 23.0. Around 4 pm, they usually drop to between 3.0 - 15. 0 and when we sleep, they go even lower. Physical or emotional stress, exercise, diet, and infection or injury all affect cortisol levels. Dr. Padilla had a sneaking suspicion my cortisol levels might be off, so he had me do a saliva test. Over the course of one day, I transferred saliva into four different vials, from early morning to midnight, to evaluate my cortisol levels throughout the day.

The results came back that my cortisol levels are spiking at night, when they should be at their lowest. I usually exercise in the morning, and I try not to eat anything three hours before I go to bed so my body has time to digest the food. This also helps prevent acid reflux and gas.

According to an article I found about stress management on About.com, "higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream (like those associated with chronic stress) have been shown to have negative effects, such as:

Impaired cognitive performance
Suppressed thyroid function
Blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia
Decreased bone density
Decrease in muscle tissue
Higher blood pressure
Lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, slowed wound healing, and other health consequences
Increased abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body. Some of the health problems associated with increased stomach fat are heart attacks, strokes, the development of , higher levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of “good” cholesterol (HDL), which can lead to other health problems!"

My blood pressure is normal and my resting heartrate is around 60, but my cholesterol is slightly elevated. Dr. Padilla is concerned that if we don't get my cortisol levels under control, it could lead to hyperglycemia and eventually diabetes. Prolonged high levels of cortisol in the blood and tissues, may also lead to Cushing's Syndrome. While relatively, rare, it affects between 10 and 15 million people annually, and I don't want to be one of them.

We think the cortisol elevation is due primarily to stress. Go figure! As if there isn't enough of that going around! While I try to keep a positive daily outlook, I have to admit that there are times when my mood turns the other way, especially after hearing or seeing negative news from the media or my financial advisor. Generally, I try to avoid the negative news because I know how infectious it can be.

Some positive ways to relieve stress include exercise, yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, listening to musics, and believe it or not.....sex. Right now I'm trying to incorporate meditation and breathing exercises into my daily life.

Dr. Padilla wants be to change up my exercise plan, too, incorporating the elliptical machine, exercise bands, and walking as part of my program. The body re-sets itself every 21 days, so it's important to change your exercise regimen frequently to trick the body and keep your metabolism working properly. This explains why we see people at the gym or fitness center every day who continually work out but never lose weight. Their bodies have adjusted to the routine and re-set their metabolic rate according to their exercise level, making it hard to lose those excess pounds.

To get my cortisol levels back down at night, I've started taking one Phosphorylated Serine capsule an hour before bedtime. The Phosphorylated Serine helps support the adrenal glands and should help to lower my cortisol levels at night. In another two weeks, we'll add Biotin to help with maintaining steady blood sugar levels, and a high dose of Vitamin E to help with digestion and prevent cell damage from free radicals. Swiss chard is a good source of biotin, but not my favorite food, so I'll stick with the pill form. Sunflower seeds, almonds, olives, and spinach are good sources of Vitamin E, and I try to incorporate these into my daily diet.

A Quick Adjustment and the Headache's Gone!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:46:00 +0000

I had a splitting headache today, probably due to the changes in the weather. It's been raining off and on, and with the rain came a sinus headache that continued building throughout the morning.

In the past, my solution was to take first 800 mg of Ibuprofen (generic for Motrin), because I knew it was related to tight muscles in my neck and that usually relaxes them. If that didn't work after 4-6 hours, I then took 3 200 mg Aspirin tablets. Sometimes, a bowl of homemade chicken soup also helped. But basically, I just tolerated the pain and waited it out for 12 - 20 hours.

This time, I went instead to see my chiropractor, Dr. James Padilla, at the San Diego Spine and Wellness Center in Carmel Mountain Ranch, in North San Diego. Within 30 minutes after the adjustment, the headache had dissipated. It's now four hours later, and I just realized it's gone entirely and has been for several hours!

No pain medications. No special treatments. Just a quick adjustment on the ProAdjuster, a computer-based machine that puts the spine back into alignment with gentle thumps, like the old-fashioned activator tool, only better. It feels especially good when Dr. Padilla uses it on my neck, at the base of my skull and on my sinuses. What relief! If you haven't tried this for headaches, I highly recommend it.

Rain Water Isn't As Pure As You Think

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:40:00 +0000

There's a break in the rain today and the sun is out. Nice for a change, although we need the rain. I decided to test the pH of rain water to see where it tested on the scale of 4 to 9. Where do you think? It came in at 5.0. For our bodies to be in balance, we need to maintain blood pH levels at 7.0 - 7.5. That means drinking water that is at least 7.0 pH. So rain water, while we might think it would be clean and alkaline, obviously is not.

I tested bottled water the other day, too. I won't say what brand, but it comes with a sport top and is sold at Trader Joe's, one of my favorite health food stores. It tested at a pH of 5.0 also. Again, we think we're doing our bodies good by drinking bottled water, and we find it's really no better than rain water!

You know you need to drink 8 to 10 8-oz. glasses of water every day just to keep your body hydrated. That's if you aren't already dehydrated. Many of us are dehydrated and don't even realize it. Read the blog by Timi Gleason, Exploring the RX-Free Zone, for details on this. She's cured her major ailments and has gotten off of prescription drugs like Lipitor, just by hydrating her body with high pH water and mangosteen juice. It's amazing! I've been drinking lot's of water for years, but didn't realize until I started working hard to get my health back, how important the right kind of water is.

I realize now that my body is dehydrated. As I'm consciously drinking more alkaline water, with at least a pH of 7.0, plus cleaning out my intestinal track with the help of Dr. Padilla, the aches and pains I've been suffering from for years are disappearing! I used to take special vitamins I bought from ProHealth.com for fibromyalgia. Before starting down this path to optimal health, I hurt everywhere. Just touching me in certain places was painful. It hurt when my husband gave me a light pat on the derriere. Sometimes, just getting up from a chair after sitting for as little as 15 minutes, was painful. Then it would ease as my joints started working again.

Now, I have much less pain. I haven't taken the vitamins for more than four months. I stopped because I was having difficulty swallowing from the Acid Reflux / GERD. But I realize now that as my body is cleansing itself and I'm giving it a higher quality water, my overall health is improving. It's working!

You Are What You Eat

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:01:00 +0000

Until I encountered this health issue with acid reflux I never thought much about the type of diet I should follow. I've dieted to lose weight all my life and tend to follow a healthy diet anyway.

Two years ago, however, I learned about the Blood Type diet by Dr. Peter D'Adamo, author of Eat Right for Your Type.What a difference that's making! You can learn more about it here. I told my sister about it, and she immediately started following the Type A diet (her blood type), and has dropped more than 50 pounds! She didn't count calories or worry about how much she ate. She just ate the foods that are highly beneficial or neutral for Type A, and avoided those that are harmful. It's taken about a year, but she continues to keep the weight off and looks great!

I followed the diet as well, but mis-read my blood analysis, thinking I was a Type A. I'm Type B. There's quite a bit of difference between what's right for one and not the other. That, coupled with the over-growth of bacteria in my gut, has hindered my weight loss efforts.

It's easy to identify your blood type. You can purchase blood type kits at many natural foods stores, or order one here. Once you know your blood type, and you start following your blood type diet, you should begin to see some changes in how you feel inside and out.

So I'm now following the Type B diet and avoiding wheat and anything with gluten in it. I'm also trying to avoid sugar and limiting my intake of dairy products, eating only goat cheese and plain yogurt. It's amazing how gluten and sugar permeate all the foods we eat. Even at restaurants when I order grilled fish, I have to ask if the fish was marinated in anything that contains wheat. Most marinades do! And so does tartar sauce!

This is a real learning experience for me, but I'm determined to see it through. Visit my store for great information about diet, juicing and nutrition.

A Teaspoon of Honey Makes the Medicine Go Down

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:57:00 +0000

My Chiropractor and Functional Medicine specialist Dr. Padilla and I have started the plan for eradicating the acid reflux and cleaning out my gut. Besides wheat intolerance, I have bacterial growth in my gut which is inhibiting digestion and the passage of waste in a timely fashion. I also have slightly elevated cholesterol levels which we want to bring down. So in addition to following a gluten-free diet, I’m now taking supplements recommended by Dr. Padilla:

De-glycyrrhizinated Licorice Root Extract to soothe my GI tract
Flora-Elite – friendly lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium to replace the bad bacteria
ProEntz Plus – a plant extract with Rosemary, Oregano and Scutellaria (Skullcap) to reduce inflamation
Red Yeast Rice - a proprietary blend of Dr. Padilla's to help lower my cholesterol

These supplements will help to clean out the bad bacterial growth, replace it with good bacteria, and return my intestines to a healthy state. It’s going to take a month or so to accomplish this and it will be interesting to see what effects I feel as I follow this regimen. By early afternoon I've already noticed some positive movement in my lower GI tract and a lessening of the GERD I've been experiencing since going off my diet a bit the last two days.

I was naughty….had a few bites of bread and some chocolate covered walnuts. And boy have I been feeling the effects today! Indigestion, burping, and discomfort in my gut. It will take a day or two to work through my system, so I’m back to a stricter diet now. While this is uncomfortable to deal with, at least I now know what the culprits are, and what my consequences will be when I eat the wrong foods.

In the meantime, another thing I’ve noticed since modifying my diet to manage the GERD, is that my body isn’t as achy as it was. I used to take special fibromyalgia supplements two-to-three times daily to manage the achy joints and pain throughout my body, as well as deal with a bit of fatigue. I stopped taking any supplements at all three months ago because the pills were too difficult to swallow.

Changing my diet has reduced the amount of pain in my body. I now eat mostly fresh, high fiber fruits and vegetables (blueberries, applies, pears, prunes, cranberries, green beans, and dark leafy greens like spinach, romaine and red leaf lettuce), brown rice and fish or turkey. The only dairy foods I eat are plain yogurt and goat cheese, and I’m trying to cut back on those during this period. Plus I drink between 84 and 130 ounces of 7.0 - 8.5 pH water every day, as well as mostly herbal teas, although sometimes I break over and have a couple mugs of caffeinated black tea like Earl Grey with a teaspoon of cream and honey. I love British tea! When I’m feeling really good, I’ll break down and have a mug or two of decaf coffee, but that’s only once every week or two.

I’ve also gotten back into a regular exercise regimen. I had been alternating between long walks with my husband and our dog and 30 to 45 minutes on the lifecycle at the fitness center. Now I’ve added two days of upper body weights…only 15 minutes to start and fairly low weights, followed by 35 – 45 minutes on the lifecycle to get an aerobic workout. It feels good to work my muscles again. I hadn’t been able to because of the pain in my body. I have a bad right knee and until I build up the muscles in my thighs, I’m not using weights to strengthen my legs. It will slow down the process, but I’d rather take it slow than injure myself. I’m trying to avoid knee surgery.

I plan to update my blog once a week while I’m on this regimen to share the changes I’m seeing and feeling in my body. Hopefully, this will be useful to others who are also suffering from GERD and fibromyalgia. I can’t say enough what a difference Dr. Padilla has made in my life….getting my mobility back with chiropractic treatments, and now guiding me down a path to optimum health.

You're Not Hungry, You're Thirsty

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:11:00 +0000

Those gnawing rumbles in your stomach remind you that it's time to feed your body. But instead of food, it may be your body's way of telling you, "I'm thirsty! I need water." Headaches, body aches, a feeling of lethargy, or short temper, may all be signs of dehydration. Left unattended, they can lead to severe disease.

So how do you know if it's hunger or thirst? Drink a glass of water and wait 30 minutes. How do you feel? Still light-headed or ill tempered? Or are you feeling a little better? Are the gnawing pangs still there or have they gone away? Perhaps another glass of water is needed.

Water truly is a vital part of our diet. Nutritionists and diet experts tell us to drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses a day, but for many of us who aren't accustomed to drinking even two or three, that may not be enough. Your body may be suffering from dehydration and you don't even know it.

Timi Gleason is a strategic planner who writes about how she eliminated the need for prescription medication through diet and proper hydration on her website the RX-Free Zone. She offers a wealth of information about the importance of proper hydration, and the symptoms and diseases that stem from the body's need for water with the proper alkaline balance.

The book, Water for health: You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty is a must read on this subject. This book talks about the healing powers of water. Asthma, allergies, arthritis, hypertension, depression, headaches, diabetes, fibromyalgia, obesity, and MS are a few of the conditions and diseases that are caused by persistent dehydration. But there is a miracle solution that is readily available, all natural, and free: water.

Gluten is the Culprit!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:09:00 +0000

The first step in my path to well being was to do a stool and saliva test. We got the results from the stool sample and are still waiting on the saliva test. In the interim, what I've learned is that I've developed an intolerance to wheat, and gluten in particular. In addition, I have an overgrowth of bad bacteria in my intestines, which slows down digestion and elimination. Hence, the gas, and when I haven't been paying attention to my diet, the acid reflux.

I've spent more nights sitting up in a recliner in the last four months, than I have lying down in bed. I find that when I do lie down, I need to sleep on my left side, otherwise, I get discomfort in my abdomen and a feeling that I need to burp. Sitting up relieves the pressure and keeps the indigestion down.

So now I've started a wheat-free, corn-free diet, while also following the Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type diet by Dr. James L. D'Adamo. As a blood type A+, my diet is mostly vegetarian with some chicken, turkey and fish. No red meat! For a while I thought I was Blood Type B, which is supposed to avoid chicken. That was a surprise. I had been eating a lot of chicken and fish, and love homemade chicken soup. I re-tested myself to be sure and discovered I'm Type A, not B. Chicken is not a food to be avoided for Type A, thank goodness.

Dr. Padilla, my chiropractor and alternative medicine specialist, gave me a list of foods to avoid. Fortunately I don't eat many of those. The difficulty, however, is that wheat, malted barley and sugar are in almost everything that's processed. Even things you would never consider to have gluten, like chocolate candy and liverwurst! He also suggested I do a cleanse by drinking a juice made from spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, celery and half an apple. I've tried that as a breakfast drink, and sometimes lunch, adding water and a little cranapple juice. It's tasty, filling, and seems to be helping. Eventually, I'll get a juicer, but now I'm blending it in the blender and eating the pulp, too.

Fortunately, Henry's and Jimbo's, two local health food stores, carry gluten-free flour, bread, and cookies. I haven't purchase much because they also tend to be expensive, so I may try my hand at baking gluten-free bread. In following the blood type diet, I had already changed from wheat pasta to brown rice pasta, and personally, I can't taste the difference. I also love brown rice and spelt, and those are grains I can have. Spelt is one of the oldest grains, and totally natural. Brown rice has more fiber and nutrients than white rice, and a nuttier flavor. And it cooks beautifully in my electric rice cooker when I use two cups of liquid to one cup of rice. Visit my store for more products to help you get on the path to optimal health.

Foods To Be Avoided On A Wheat/Gluten-Free Diet

Beverages:
Beer
Cocomalt
Gin (any drink containing grain neutral spirits)
Malted milk
Ovaltine
Postum
Whiskeys

Flours:
Buckwheat flour*
Corn flour*
Gluten flour
Graham flour
Flour
Lima bean flour*
Paten flour
Rice flour*
Rye flour/White flour
Whole-wheat flour(One should not overlook mixtures with flour in them)

Breads:
Biscuits
Cornbread
Crackers
Gluten bread
Graham bread
Muffins
Popovers
Pretzels
Pumpernickel bread
Rolls
Rye bread
Soy bread
Triscuits
White bread

Miscellaneous:
Bologna
Bouillon cubes
Chocolate candy
Chocolate, except bitter chocolate and bitter cocoa
Cooked mixed meat dishes
Fats used for frying foods rolled in flour
Wieners
Fish rolled in flour
Fowl rolled in flour
Gravies and sauces
Hamburger, etc.
Griddle cakes Hotcakes
Ice cream cones
Liverwurst
Lunch ham
Malt products or foods containing malt
Matzos
Mayonnaise*
Meat rolled in flour (do not overlook meat fried in fats, which has been used to fry meats rolled in flour, particularly in restaurants)
Pancake mixtures
Some yeasts
Synthetic pepper
Thickening in ice creams

Cereals:
Bran flakes
Cornflakes
Crackels
Cream of wheat
Farina
Grapenuts
Krumbles
Muffets
Pettijohn's
Puffed wheat
Ralston's wheat cereal
Pep
Rice Krispies
Shredded wheat
Wheatena and many other malted cereals

Pastries and Desserts:
Cakes
Candy bars
Chocolate candy
Frozen pies
Cookies*
Doughnuts
Waffles
Wheat cakes
Zweiback

Wheat Products:
Bread and cracker crumbs
Couscous
Dumplings
Durum Semolina
Farina
Hamburger mix
Macaroni and Noodles
Rusk
Spaghetti
Vermicelli
Wheat germ
Wheat starch
Modified food starch
Wheat bran

*Can be homemade without wheat

My Path to Optimal Health Through Functional Medicine

noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Denniston) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:47:00 +0000

My body isn’t functioning properly. I know it must be related to the foods I eat because it comes and goes. The pressure in my lungs and chest area has sometimes been so acute, I’ve wondered if it’s angina. But it happens intermittently and I don’t have other symptoms of fatigue or inability to exercise. So I don’t think it’s my heart. Plus, my blood pressure is excellent (120/80), my resting heart rate is 66. My cholesterol and C-Reactive protein levels are also within the healthy range:

Cholesterol 212 ( 200 is desireable)
Triglycerides 64 (normal is under 150)
HDL cholesterol 74 (High is >59) which is desirable
LDL cholesterol 125 (optimal is under 100; above optimal is 100-129)
C-Reactive Protein 0.2 (0.0 – 0.9 is the range, the lower the better)

So far, traditional doctors haven’t been able to figure out what’s wrong. I’ve been to an ear, nose and throat doctor who stuck a tube down my nose into the esophagus to see if there was any blockage, and there isn’t. I’ve inhaled albuterol because my regular practitioner thought it might be nighttime asthma. I’ve taken a spirometry breathing test to see if my lung capacity is hampered by asthma, and that showed that with and without albuterol, I’m still using 88% – 90% lung capacity when breathing hard.

For the past two to three months I’ve been experiencing heartburn for the first time in my life, and what appears to be GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) where mucous from the stomach backs up into the throat. Symptoms are constant burping, difficulty swallowing, and the feeling of having a lump in the throat. In severe situations it’s accompanied by a burning sensation from just under the breastbone down to my navel.

I’ve had chronic sinus congestion for years, which frequently gets worse when the weather changes to rain. Then I usually get a horrendous headache to boot. But that was manageable. I’ve also been diagnosed with fibromyalgia (inflamation of the muscles) which at times has been so debilitating I could hardly walk without extreme pain. I have since learned that stress, certain foods, and not drinking enough water can exacerbate the problem. I found a vitamin solution atProHealth.com which was making the pain tolerable. But with this recent onset of heartburn and GERD, I haven’t been able to take any vitamins. They feel like they get stuck in my throat, and my esophagus begins to burn. Plus the difficulty swallowing has made it almost impossible to swallow even water, let alone the smallest pill. So I’ve been off all vitamins for more than a month.

Because of this heartburn I have changed my diet. I referred to my bible, The Prescription for Nutritional Healing, and looked up heartburn, GERD, and Candida. While it recommends certain vitamins and herbal teas, it also lists foods to avoid. The good news is that I’ve lost 10-12 pounds. The bad news is that I have to eat mostly raw vegetables, no wheat, no caffeine, no sugar, no processed foods, no chocolate, no alcohol, no meat (but fish is ok), and no dairy. I’ve found that if I have a cup of decaf coffee, I must drink it on an empty stomach, then wait a few minutes before eating. The same is true if I have glass of wine. Red wine affects me more than white, so I stick to white wine occasionally, and no more than one glass, before I eat anything. Otherwise, I suffer the consequences. Sometimes it’s severe, other times it’s mild…excessive burping and mild heartburn and cramping in my intestinal area.

Needless to say, I’m interested in finding the cause of this. With my recent training in systems thinking, I know the cause lies much deeper than treating the symptoms. I turned to my chiropractor, Dr. James Padilla, to see what he might have to say. Chiropractors are systemic in their approach to treating patients. Every system in the body is related to every other system, so when something isn’t functioning properly, it throws off other symptoms. If it’s musculoskeletal, it can be tied back to subluxations of the spine. But if it’s in the gut, which is what we suspect, then something else needs to be done. Chiropractic adjustments alone are not the solution.

I learned that Dr. Padilla is one of a few doctors in San Diego County who specialize in Functional Medicine. What is this? Functional Medicine is a personalized approach that deals with primary prevention and getting to the root cause of serious chronic disease instead of treating symptoms. Through testing, it is possible to determine the causative factors that produce allergies, headaches, sinus congestion, and other more serious diseases. It is a holistic approach to health care emphasizing the uniqueness of the individual. This approach recognizes the influences of the physical, mental/emotional and spiritual well being as components of the whole health of the patient. Rather than treating the symptoms of a disease, Functional Medicine examines the underlying processes leading to dis-ease.¹According to the Institute for Functional Medicine where Dr. Padilla received his training, functional medicine "is a science-based field of health care that is anchored by an examination of the core clinical imbalances that underlie various disease conditions. Those imbalances arise as environmental inputs such as diet, nutrients (including air and water), exercise, and trauma, and are processed by one’s body, mind, and spirit through a unique set of genetic redispositions, attitudes, and beliefs. The fundamental physiological processes include communication, both outside and inside the cell; bioenergetics, or the transformation of food into energy; replication, repair, and maintenance of structural integrity, from the cellular to the whole
body level; elimination of waste; protection and defense; and transport and circulation. "

"Imbalances in any of these areas are the precursors to the signs and symptoms by which we detect and label (diagnose) organ system disease. Improving balance in the patient’s environmental inputs and in the body’s fundamental physiological processes – is the precursor to restoring health and it involves much more than treating the symptoms. Functional medicine is dedicated to improving the management of complex, chronic disease by intervening at multiple levels to address these core clinical imbalances and to restore each patient’s functionality and health. Functional medicine is not a unique and separate body of knowledge. It is grounded in scientific principles and information widely available in medicine today, combining research from various disciplines into highly detailed yet clinically relevant models of disease pathogenesis and effective clinical management.”²So I am embarking on a journey with Dr. Padilla to get at the root cause of my symptoms. And I will share my progress with you as we proceed down this path. Perhaps my experience will help others to finally get at the root cause of their own symptoms and health challenges. Dr. Padilla tells me it will take about three to four months to determine what’s causing the problems and identify a health plan to get me on the road to better health. I’m ready to make whatever changes I need to in order to get my body back into optimum health. It’s debilitating, painful and discouraging when I don’t know what’s causing the symptoms and my self-diagnosed solutions don’t work 100 percent of the time.

I hope you’ll join me in my journey, and that my experience sheds light on options for you as well.

Sources: 1) Integrative Functional Medicne, www.integrativefunctionalmedicine.com/; 2)Institute for Functional Medicine, http://www.functionalmedicine.org/about/whatis.asp

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