Grace Sign Posts

Clergy Members Are at High Risk for Serious Health Problems

2012-02-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

Members of the clergy are at high risk for developing serious health problems including higher rates of depression, obesity and high blood pressure, and many are burning out.

Duke University has surveyed Methodist pastors in North Carolina and found they are more unhealthy than the general population. The Duke study found that pastors' health was worse off across the board than the populations where they serve. Their rates of obesity were about 10 percent higher. The study observed other kinds of chronic diseases were also higher among this group. High blood pressure rates were about four percent higher, asthma rates also about four percent higher. Their diabetes rates are about three percent higher than other state residents.

It is actually not a new problem, but one that has been increasing over the past generation, affecting clergy from all faiths. I am a retired pastor who left my vocation at age 55 in part due to the effects on my health.

While I was in the ministry I gained about twenty pounds. I saw many colleagues who developed serious health issues such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, strokes or heart attacks.

There are several reasons for this, one being having an impossible job description trying to juggle too many balls with the stress of constantly trying to help people with their problems.

Priests, ministers, rabbis and imams are generally driven by a sense of duty to answer calls for help. But research shows that in many cases, they rarely find time for themselves. Many clergy neglect their own self care. Always being on the go, they eat too much unhealthy food and get too little exercise.

Many of the churches carry self-funding health plans, which are very costly due to the high-risk group that they fund. Over the years, the insurance plans tried to encourage more self-care and prevention, but it has not always succeeded in creating change.

After leaving the ministry, my health didn't automatically improve. Actually I had a couple of serious issues that needed to be addressed. But now, my health has improved significantly and I am in better health overall and have more energy than I had for many years. I have learned much about how to be proactive and practice preventive medicine to achieve true health. As a result I am able to help others with their health needs by sharing what I have learned.

2012-02-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

The recent firestorm after the Susan G. Komen Foundation decided to stop grants to Planned Parenthood, has shined a spotlight on the Komen Foundation's fundraising as well as how they spend the money.

The Pink Ribbbon campaign has been enormously successful in raising money for the group, much of which is spent on huge salaries for the executives. Pink Ribbons is a film produced in Canada that explores the issues surrounding the Komen Foundation.

Using Food Pyramids or Healthy Eating Plates as Dietary Guidelines

2011-11-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

The USDA has recently revised their recommendations for a healthy diet. The food pyramid has now been replaced by a food plate.

The new food recommendations call for a much greater amount of vegetables and fruit, with smaller portions of carbohydrates, fats and meat.

Harvard's School of Public Health a slightly different version of the healthy eating plate from USDA's presumably due to the influence of agribusiness and commodity interests on the USDA.

You can see a comparison on their website, along with 5 tips for using the healthy plates and pyramid. The healthy plate-pyramid are handy guidelines for anyone who desires to make positive changes in their diet because diet is a basic factor in health outcomes.

Anti-Cancer A New Way of Life: A Review

2011-11-17T06:26:00.000-08:00

Cancer changes life. I found this book while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. I had a lumpectomy and radiation treatments. I wanted to learn more about cancer and more importantly be a part of my own healing.

Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, a physician and scientist, wrote Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life to share his experiences with cancer, and what he learned as a result of his ordeal. He was at the top of a successful career as a psychiatrist and research scientist when he discovered by chance that he had a malignant brain tumor. After receiving his unwelcome diagnosis and undergoing the treatment for disease, he found that his physicians could not answer many of his questions regarding what he might do to increase his own ability to fight the cancer.

His thesis is simple: All of us have cancer cells in our bodies, but not all of us will develop cancer.
What are the factors that contribute to the formation of this disease, and what if anything can we do to prevent cancer or discourage it if we already have it?

Dr. Servan-Schreiber shares his journey, research, and what he learned about diet, environment, emotions, stress and lifestyle and how these factors can influence the body's immune response.

He concluded that the causes of cancer are similar to the causes of other chronic diseases, including unhealthy diet high in sugar and fat, exposure to toxins and pollution, high stress lifestyle, lack of exercise, and the loneliness of modern life for many people.

I realized that I needed to make significant changes in my life. First, I was living alone in a city far from my family, and was only able to see them a couple of times a year. This wasn't enough, so I moved across the country to be near them.

I was disappointed that Dr. Servan-Schreiber has no religious beliefs though, as I personally believe that faith can be a strong factor in health and well-being. But overall this is a positive, encouraging book.
The anti-cancer diet is primarily plant-based, including 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. It is low glycemic, and also high in omega-3 foods.

Dr. Servan-Schreiber strongly recommends foods that are high in anti-oxidants, but he does not discuss nutritional supplements as a factor in getting enough anti-oxidants.

I found that trying to get enough anti-oxidants and omega-3 fatty acids through my diet alone was complicated. So I also take a comprehensive nutritional supplements including USANA HealthPak, Biomega and Proflavanol C 100.

Adopting the anti-cancer diet and lifestyle along with taking nutritional supplements daily has markedly improved my health, given me more energy and greater immunity to colds and flu. So far all of my follow-up mammograms have been negative as well.

How Healthy Is Your Home?

2011-01-28T07:05:00.000-08:00

Check out this video from youtube about hidden dangers lurking in your home:

Your Healthy Home

Simply Grateful

2010-11-26T04:38:00.003-08:00

When I woke up this morning, Thanksgiving Day I turned on a tap to get some water and discovered the water pressure was much lower than normal. By about an hour later there was no water at all. I was on my way over to my next door neighbor's to see if theirs was off too, when I found them outside with a couple of other neighbors who were all wondering what had happened to the water, and of course how that would affect their plans for the day, to be cooking and having guests in for a meal.
Funny how suddenly losing something that we take for granted disrupts our plans and causes us inconvenience. Water of course is a basic necessity of life, but here in North America it is still relatively abundant and inexpensive, and also easy to obtain even when the normal flow is turned off suddenly.
As it happened, the problem was caused by a broken water main down the street, which took most of the day to repair, and our water utility crew came to deliver bottled water and inform us of the estimate of when the repairs would be complete.
In my case, this disruption of water didn't cause more than a slight change of plans, as our family celebration of Thanksgiving wasn't planned until tomorrow anyway. But it did come as a reminder of how much I have for which I am grateful. This year I am especially grateful, because my daughter and her family have moved back here from Norway. So this was the first Thanksgiving I have spent with her three children.
We went for a drive in the rain, and stopped at a playground so the kids could have a chance to play outside for a while. I spent Thanksgiving Day playing with grand-kids, reflecting that overall life is good.
And later when I returned home the water was back on, with a note from our water company at the front door advising that the water may possibly be contaminated due to the break in the line and that we should boil tap water for drinking or washing for a minute before using it, until they let us know it has tested as safe again.
My hope is that you also enjoyed the blessings of gratefulness on this Thanksgiving Day.

Out and About

2010-08-10T05:10:00.000-07:00

Today looks to be another scorching, steamy day here in North Carolina. Usually I try to walk early in the morning, because the heat lasts into the evening. I walk almost every day if I can, or at the least try not to skip more than a day. I don't have a treadmill, and at this point I don't belong to a gym.

Sometimes I walk and talk with a friend, but usually I go alone. Going on a walk gets my circulation going, clears my head, and relieves stress. Along the way I can admire the roses, listen to the cicadas, or hear the morning bird songs.

When I lived in a noisy apartment building last year, walking was an important respite from barking dogs, loud music, and neighbors talking on the cell phone outside my window. Walking gets me out and away from the computer, telephone, and the tyranny of the urgent tasks of the day.

Buying Local

2010-08-09T14:24:00.001-07:00

I planted a couple of tomato plants this summer, but the critters have attacked them relentlessly. The heat wave that started in June combined with a drought parched and baked the soil. Unable to dig into the ground the squirrels devoured all the tomatoes, starting with those that were almost ripe, then going after the green ones. Possibly some damage was from rabbits, though I have not seen any. Then a deer came in the night and pruned the top of the Beefsteak plant, biting into the one large tomato left, and dropping it on the ground.

I'm giving up on urban farming. Fortunately there is a twice-weekly Farmer's Market close by that has a variety of locally grown and organic produce. I have been going there each week to shop for tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, peaches and more.

Drinking my lunch...

2010-03-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

Today I drank my lunch, and no I wasn't at a bar celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

A shake makes a nutritious lunch, filling yet low in calories while high in protein. My shake today was the Dutch Chocolate flavor Nutrimeal from Usana, which provides 15 grams of protein, 230 calories and 7 grams of fat.

Some people like these for breakfast, but I usually have mine at lunch.

It's easy to take along in my backpack when I go to work, and quick to make up on a busy day.

On a hot summer day a shake makes a perfect meal. You can add fruit and make it in the blender for a refreshing change of pace.

Cheers!

Are Vitamin Supplements a Scam?

2010-03-09T05:57:00.001-08:00

Some food for thought here about the controversy surrounding whether nutritional supplements really make a difference in our health; there is an argument made by some that nutritional supplements are unnecessary if you eat a balanced diet. Now there's the rub, the question is how many of us actually are eating a balanced diet containing all the proper nutrients every day.

I've taken nutritional supplements of one kind or another for most of my adult life, though not a multivitamin. Instead I have taken a smattering of this and that vitamin. I've had an awareness from a young age that certain nutrients were lacking. I was influenced by the work of Linus Pauling on vitamin C, and so I have often taken vitamin C because it is not stored in the body. I was aware of the effects of B vitamins on stress and other problems. I tried to eat whole foods to get lacking nutrients. I've taken either calcium, zinc, with vitamin D and magnesium and or B vitamins, and or vitamin E from time to time.

And occasionally when I told this to my physician I was told these might not be needed and actually could be harmful with the exception of the calcium, which I was told would not be absorbed unless I took a medication to increase the absorption.

This video addresses the arguments regarding whether nutritional supplements are needed:

CROP Walk Coming Up on March 21

2010-03-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

I signed up for this year's CROP Walk in Chapel Hill, NC to raise money for hunger locally and worldwide.

An Ounce of Prevention

2010-01-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

Since last summer I have blogged about health care, the issue and the process of health care reform prospects in the United States both here and on my other blog: http://gracelog.wordpress.com from the perspective of my own situation-- being ineligible for insurance coverage. At this point, the outcome of the health care reform legislation still remains in doubt. In any case, whatever legislation might be passed probably will not go into effect until 2013.

So I've decided that the best thing I can do for myself is to concentrate on my own health and wellness to increase my body's ability to heal and resist disease.

Over the past year I've made various lifestyle changes to aid my own recovery and healing from breast cancer, including many of the recommendations of Dr. Michael Servan-Schreiber in his book, Anti-Cancer. Dr. Servan-Schreiber advocates being proactive regarding diet, exercise and emotional health. I found his diet recommendations particularly helpful, and noticed a change almost immediately in my immune response to colds and flu when I increased my fruits and vegetables to five a day.

This fall I found something else that has been just incredibly beneficial when I began taking nutritional supplements. I've always taken supplements here and there of one kind or another, usually the store brand that I purchased at a drug store. I had never heard of Usana until last fall, and I began taking Usana Health Pak. (I found this inadvertently as a business opportunity on Twitter.)

Disclaimer: I am now a Usana Independent Associate.

Having never heard of this company before, and was a little bit skeptical. But I decided to try the products. Within a couple of weeks I noticed an increase in my general energy level, and a decrease in feelings of stress and anxiety. I have also not had any colds or flu this winter, so my immune defenses are working. I will have to say taking Usana nutritional supplements has made an amazing difference in my overall health and well-being!

While lifestyle and diet are important, it is not always possible to eat well balanced nutritionally complete meals each day. Supplements for me are an important part of being proactive and improving my overall resistance and stamina to maintain my health.

This is your time to help Haiti

2010-01-23T06:51:00.001-08:00

100% of funds raised will go towards relief efforts in Haiti and there are NO backend costs. Additionally, the Entertainment Industry Foundation has waived all administrative fees.

https://hopeforhaitinow.org/

Posted via email from debgorman's posterous

FREE download holistic, healing recipes cookbook

2010-01-20T14:21:00.001-08:00

Get a free copy of the #Sanoviv cookbook: http://bit.ly/Sanoviv

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Colbert Drops the Act for Haiti

2010-01-19T04:47:00.001-08:00

http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/colbert_drops_the_act_for_haiti_20100115/?sms_ss=email

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Food the next great weapon in war on cancer

2010-01-15T17:56:00.001-08:00

This month Stoneyfield Farm is giving away 1,000 signed copies of the book, Anti-Cancer by Dr. Michael Servan-Schreiber. For a video clip of Dr. Servan-Schreiber and details of the offer, check this link: http://www.stonyfield.com/about_us/26_years_of_making_a_difference/we_say_it_on_our_lids/anticancer_book_giveaway/index.jsp

Posted via email from debgorman's posterous

Thinking about losing weight-- check this out!

2010-01-11T14:25:00.001-08:00

http://www.whatsupusana.com/2010/01/welcome-to-reset-week-2010.html --

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I Am a Survivor - Part II

2009-12-30T15:01:00.000-08:00

One year ago this week, I returned home after spending Christmas with my family to start six weeks of radiation treatments as follow-up for my breast cancer lumpectomy at Thanksgiving.

I was somewhat apprehensive, and didn't know just what to expect. I only knew that I was determined to get through it, one day at a time.

Fortunately I did have health insurance. For the past four years I had been self-employed operating two small businesses, and had managed to keep my own health insurance policy with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

But 2008 had been an extremely bumpy year for me financially. My reserves had fallen very low after paying taxes, and my income had plummeted with the recession. In November my last two students discontinued, and I was left with the income from my small online book selling business. The weather was colder than normal, and heating bills for my condo were high. In the fall I had tried to apply for the fuel assistance program, but never received a call back until the end of December when I was granted an appointment. Fortunately I did qualify but the grant would not begin until January, and I still had to pay the gas bill.

In January I had to choose between paying my mortgage payment or the next two months of health insurance. The last of my reserves had dwindled with the market crashes in the fall. I was afraid of not paying the health insurance premium while I still had to go through the rest of the radiation treatments. In any case I had decided to sell my condo and move to the state where my son and his family lived, so that I could be close to them. It was a hard decision to make.

I had tried to sell the condo during the summer, but hadn't sold it, so I had taken it off the market with the economic crash in September.

Meanwhile I managed to get up each day and drive myself to the hospital for the radiation, which really wasn't too bad. Even on the coldest and stormiest days I went for my treatment. I must say all of the staff at the cancer center were wonderful and I felt that I received excellent care.

Once the due date for the mortgage payment passed, I began to receive phone calls from a call center in India. I tried to explain my situation, but wasn't able to speak with any one in the US office of the company. At the end of the month, they callers began demanding that I pay two months payment to bring it current. I paid the health insurance to keep it going for the next two months. The calls continued. When I tried to call the US office, I was referred to the call center people in India. Between them and some other bill collectors, I was now receiving daily calls.

I received a notice in the mail that the mortgage was going in to default. Once I was put through to a counselor in the US who told me to send in various documents regarding my financial situation, and reason for being in default. Though I complied, the calls continued. On one occasion when I tried to explain that I had sent in the documents and asked to speak again to the office, I was told that once a mortgage went into default the homeowners were no longer permitted to speak with anyone besides the call center people.

I tried to call HUD. When I finally reached someone in the city I lived in, I was told to sell my condo on a short sale and get a job at Wal-Mart.

I saw a TV commercial of a person cowering in their home unable to answer the ringing phone, and I called an 800 number for foreclosure counseling. They gave me a contact for a local referral and I went there. None of this did any good. No one could figure out any solution.

Online I found Debtors Anonymous. I got materials from them, and though there was no group meeting in my town, I participated in some online forums. Their advice was very supportive and helpful to me in dealing with the debt collectors and my foreclosure situation. With help from DA I was able to develop my own vision statement of what I wanted to do. My vision was to move to be with my family, to heal and recover from the cancer and resume my life.

What I learned from Debtors Anonymous was that my own needs for healing and sustenance had to be met before the demands of the debt collectors. Eventually I had to find ways to earn more and repay the debts. But meanwhile I was living one day at a time without debting.

Meanwhile, I had put the condo back on the market, and now people were coming to look at it. At first I was quite hopeful, but weeks passed with no offers. My realtor said we were competing with foreclosures, which were the only homes being sold. With each new showing, I would be encouraged, race around getting the house ready, and leave, only to be let down again when nothing happened.

Also in February I enrolled a new student, a Mexican man who wanted to improve his English reading skills. This gave me some additionally income, and working with him was therapeutic for me, because I really enjoy this work. He was one of the most eager and conscientious students I ever had, a really blessing. Additionally I continued with my book business as much as I could. Weather permitting I went out to find books, listed them and shipped them out.

On February 18 I finished radiation, and had another mammogram that again indicated no breast cancer. I was exhausted from the radiation and taking naps every afternoon, as well as having burns, but thankful to be finished.

I needed to de-clutter and clean out my house. I hauled out boxes of books to trade at a local used book dealer for ephemera that I sold on eBay. The books that weren't suitable for either trade or selling online I donated. I began going through my belongings and hauled carloads to donate at the local thrift shops. This too was positive, as the thanks I received from Salvation Army workers really gave me joy.

Through it all I tried to focus on my faith in God. I prayed daily for my needs, health and financial. I had bought a St. Joseph home selling kit, followed instructions and buried a small St. Joseph statue near my deck. I prayed a novena and daily prayers to St. Joseph to bring a buyer for the condo. I began praying for God to bring just the right buyer. I knew that I only needed one.

In March the mortgage company demanded that I send them proof that I had gone for foreclosure counseling, so I had that sent in. But I never received a confirmation that they had received it, and the calls continued. I just wasn't answering the phone.

When the rest of the hospital bill came that wasn't covered by insurance, the hospital gave me an application for the charity fund. I applied for it and was approved, but I still had much unpaid business debt and the miscellaneous doctors bills that hadn't been covered by the insurance.

I looked online for information about filing for bankruptcy. I spoke to an attorney on the phone and another one made an appointment for a consultation in his office. He specialized in bankruptcies. He was such a sad-looking person, and the office just had an air of shabbiness. He just began making a list of my debts, then told me about the bankruptcy filing process. It would cost $1,000 for his fee and about $200 for a court filing fee. Plus I would have to appear in court five weeks after it was filed and undergo counseling. In my mind I weighed the options.

I thought of my vision statement and my desire to move and be with my family. Since I had no assurance of selling the condo, this would take all of my money. Something inside me tugged against it. "No," I said. "It's not in my spending plan. I just have to move. Once I move, I can't come back here for court. It doesn't make sense."

Spring came, and Easter, and the condo showings tapered off. Buyers seemed to be getting scarce. After consulting the realtor, we began lowering the asking price incrementally. In April I received an official letter from the mortgage company stating that I was now in a one month grace period declared by my governor, and again demanding the proof of financial counseling which I had sent previously. I called the counselor I had gone to and they said they would send them an official copy. Meanwhile the lawyer had told me the whole foreclosure process in my state was log-jammed anyway, and the procedure could take so long that I might be in the condo until January. But I didn't want to be there then. I didn't want to be there when the sheriff came knocking on the door to serve the papers. I wanted to be gone.

Near the end of May we lowered again. I asked my realtor to call back the agents of our most recent lookers and tell their realtor our new price. Incredibly, this yielded an offer, albeit below our price. I threw in my washing machine and we countered, then accepted their next offer.

They wanted to close in two weeks.
"I don't think they'll be able to do it," my realtor said. She called the buyer's bank to ask if he was approved.

He did. It was over.

Senate Passes Health Care Reform --A Great Day for the USA

2009-12-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

This morning after an arduous, long and dramatic ordeal, the US Senate approved the Health Care Reform Act. While the struggle to provide health care for all is far from over, this is an historic achievement.

While I was sceptical whether the Democrats could finally achieve this long-awaited perpetual campaign promise, in the end all 60 Senators united to pass this legislation. The bill still must be reconciled with the House bill. Compromised as it was, as it was whittled down, molded and shaped to reach the 60 votes needed to overcome the Republican opposition and filibuster, it is an essential first step to achieve the goal of health care reform that was so desperately needed.

While as a supporter of the public option I was not happy with the compromises made to get to this point, I still support this bill as a giant step forward. I am thankful for the health care heroes who made this possible, including the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, President Barack Obama, Sen. Harry Reid, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, and the many other Senators who contributed to this milestone legislation.

Much work still needs to be done in reconciling the final legislation for President Obama to sign, and hopefully improving it to make it more affordable and possibly include a public option.

Dare to have the audacity of hope. Never give in.

USANA's #1

2009-12-22T17:50:00.001-08:00

Check it out-- very well done video

http://bit.ly/USANA1

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re

2009-12-17T17:06:00.001-08:00

It's better to wear out than to rust out,

Posted via email from debgorman's posterous

Thursday

2009-12-17T17:03:00.001-08:00

With my grandsons tonight.

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I Am A Survivor

2009-12-01T04:33:00.000-08:00

November 26 marked the first anniversary of my undergoing a surgical lumpectomy for breast cancer. On Thanksgiving Day I added to all that I have to give thanks for, most especially my life and family, gratitude that I am a survivor.

I received the bad news of a negative biopsy just after Barack Obama's election as President. My diagnosis seemed so unreal, standing in the hospital parking lot talking on my cell phone with my son. I did not know what to expect, and felt very apprehensive. I was living alone in a city far from family, stressed out by struggling with two small business in an economy that was in free fall. That month I lost the last of my students and income from the one business.

All of the appointments with my doctor and the nurse at the cancer center were a blur, as they discussed the treatments, surgery followed by radiation and possibly chemotherapy. Overwhelmed, I turned to my faith and began praying a novena to St. Anthony for a miracle and healing. My son came out to be there on the day of my surgery; I was praying my rosary when he came in just before I went down to the operating room.

When I awoke I could scarcely believe the surgeon's words as I heard him say he had not had to remove any of my lymph nodes as the tumor had appeared to be limited in the breast, but more tests results would be forthcoming for a definite confirmation of the result.

Two days later, when I awakened my first thought was, "It is good to be alive!"

The next week the nurse at the cancer center shared that the test results following my surgery revealed the cancer to be early stage one and a less aggressive type, so I would only have to go through radiation and not chemo-therapy.

Thoughts swirled through my mind-- how would I manage to get through this? One thing I had decided was to spend Christmas with my family prior to starting the radiation. I was able to be with both of my children and their families and all five grandchildren together for the first time.
The joy I felt being together with them was like a healing balm.

Bohemian Rhapsody . . .

2009-11-27T17:43:00.001-08:00

Just for fun-- Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody on youtube:

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Will Healthcare Reform Be Enacted This Year?

2009-11-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

Or has it all been much ado about nothing?

Even though the healthcare reform legislation now before Congress will not address every issue, passing it would still be a great step forward.

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