Living Healthy, Survey Says....

Dr. Dana King and his team of researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina have just completed a very inspirational study. Dr. King and his team set out to find if middle-aged adults could reap the rewards of habits like eating vegetables and walking 30 minutes a day.

The researchers reported in June 2007 that middle-aged adults age 45 to 64 who began eating five or more fruits and vegetables every day, exercising for at least 2 1/2 hours a week, keeping weight down and not smoking decreased their risk of heart disease by 35 percent and risk of death by 40 percent in the four years after they started.

"The adopters of a healthy lifestyle basically caught up. Within four years, their mortality rate and rate of heart attacks matched the people who had been doing these behaviors all along," said Dr. Dana King at the Medical University of South Carolina, who led the research. Dr. King added "even if you have not had a healthy lifestyle previously, it's not too late to adopt those healthy lifestyle habits and gain almost immediate benefits."

The four key habits are eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day, exercising for 2 ½ hours per week, not smoking and maintaining a healthy weight. The study participants who adopted all four healthy habits enjoyed a sharp decline in heart disease risk and in death from any cause.

It took all four -- having just three of the healthy habits yielded no heart benefits and a more modest decrease in overall risk of death. Still, said Dr. Nichola Davis at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, "These benefits are on a continuum. The more of the healthy habits that you can adapt, the better. ...These are modest changes that they're talking about."

I WANT SUAGAR! What are the Effects? Dare to find out

“No prescription is more valuable than knowledge” Dr. Linda Page, ND

How true those words are! I still get so excited every time I read that quote because it embodies everything that The Fountain of Health is wanting for all of you; knowledge. It is also what being a Naturopathic Doctor is about; imparting knowledge for their patients on prevention, as well as encouraging you to discover the knowledge for yourself.

I just love learning something new! So I have been taking world history this semester and wouldn’t you know; I learned something new about health along the way! Did you know that sugar was originally considered a spice!?! It originated in Asia and was used very moderately before the rest of the world got a hold of it. Sugar actually has a very troublesome past, including being a contributing and driving force in the slave trade. But as you well know, it wasn’t the sugar’s fault, but ours! As the world trade market expanded more and more, more and more people were exposed to sugar, and more and more of us became addicted.

The originations of our addiction taking place in the late 17th century and through the 18th century, and then carried on through today. In my history class, we have a text book that has documents copied from the past, mostly from letters, that shows first hand accounts of events that took place in that time. One letter I found interesting was written by a man trying to oppose an argument from a doctor, previously written, of the effects of sugar. The doctor was trying to inform the public of the side effects that were beginning to arise from the increased consumption of sugar. For example; royalty in Western Europe were some of the first privileged to sugar and it was evident in the Queen’s massive tooth decay from her well known “sweet tooth” consumption. This is the time of putting sugar in your tea; where and when it originated.

This was also a time of massive disease outbreaks in Western Europe as well as throughout the world. Now there were definite other contributors to the disease spread, such as lack of exposure in the west, but there is no doubt, in my mind, that the becoming large consumption of sugar was massively inhibiting their immune systems, making them more susceptible to disease. Another interesting point is that the beer that was made and consumed before sugar as a common beverage among the people was MORE NUTRITOUS, than the sweet teas and other drinks that were consumed after the introduction of sugar.

I believe this is what that doctor was trying to address to public of that time. What did the opposer have to say? He tried to compare sugar to that of “mother’s milk” and that every mother should give sugar to their children from infancy. This was just one of his arguments for the use of sugar. What is the hidden message? They were out for profit!!!! The author even used the wellbeing of “the sailor” that made his living from the transportation of sugar as an example of those that would suffer if sugar were taxed more or consumed less. From the very beginning of sugar’s role in global society, people’s addiction to sugar has gone hand in hand with the desire to make money from it! A side note; Money is also why sugar played a major part in the slave trade. I just never new the history of sugar in that light! Now making money is not a bad thing by any means, in fact sugar played a major role in the development of societies throughout our history and provided the means that led to the industrial revolution. But I think it’s important to note that this economical advance came at the expense of our health.

Sugar has been apart of our societies ever since and is still the MOST consumed product in the world. I could probably go on and on, but think that would make for a very, very long article. It goes back to that adage, “knowledge is power”. Discover for yourself more about sugar, or for that matter, more about the history of anything you consume on a regular basis. Where did it come from? What is it derived from? How is it made? How is it grown? In disease prevention, in disease treatment, in healthy living, “No prescription is more valuable than knowledge”.

Who Loves You Baby?

Remember that old country western song, Look’n for love in all the wrong places.
You guessed it, I want to talk to you about looking for love in all the right places.

The very act of looking for something means you are doing something outside of yourself. The dictionary definition of look is to spend time trying to find. To direct one’s gaze towards. You would have to agree that by this very definition looking for love literally means looking outside of ones self for someone to fill the love void…Yes?

Teaching people how to love themselves is one of my favorite subjects to teach. You have to love yourself. We hear it all the time and no one teaches you exactly how to do it. I had to learn the hard way. I was always trying to get others to love and fill me up. What a burden to place on others. Guess what, it doesn’t work! At least not for long, they get tired of trying to make you feel loved. Tired of trying to reassure you that you are lovable. Let’s face it; do you ever really believe them? Really? Truly? Of course not. You never really feel at peace in another persons love. Why? Because it is an impossibility. Love has to come from the inside out. The flow has to start from somewhere deep inside and flow up and out all over everyone else. Love can never get in from the outside and fill the cup up. I’ll show you what I mean and through the showing, I will teach you how to love yourself. Sound good?

I need your indulgence for a moment while I walk you through two scenarios so you will understand a couple of feelings.

Scenario #1
Imagine yourself as a parent, grandparent, or aunt, as a loving overseer for this example. A child, age 8-10 brings home either artwork or homework. This beautiful child is PROUD. You are likewise VERY VERY PROUD. You exclaim, “Oh my GOSH, what beautiful Work!” “You must be so proud of yourself.” “Are you proud of yourself?” The child beams and answers with a resounding, “YES!” Both of you smile and hug enthusiastically.

Scenario #2
You are at work, school, or home and you just completed a very big project and your co-workers tell you, “What a good Job.” You turn your face away, put up your hand and say, “Oh it was nothing, thank you.”

Let’s talk about scenario #1. The child has worked very hard and they both recognize it. The child is already beaming with pride of a job well done and the parent only confirms the child’s view of herself. It is essentially icing on the cake. The child has no problem letting a compliment in. Why? She recognizes the good in herself.






Now let’s discuss scenario #2. The woman worked very hard and she is unable to accept the compliments paid to her by her co-workers. She turns her face away from the kind words and puts up her hand to literally STOP the compliments. She says, “Thank you” because it is the socially required thing to do. She feels empty after the exchange is over. She wants to be loved; she wants to be filled up.

The Question begs to be asked….Can anyone ever fill you up? Why does the woman feel emptier inside than ever?

The answers are simple and maybe a little odd. We are the only people we believe. Let’s go back to the woman in scenario #2. She knows exactly how much time, effort, hard work or lack there of she put in to her project. Did she cheat? Use someone else’s idea? We know what we do, how we do it and what our true motivation is. Only us and no one else. This is the reason we are the only person to believe when the compliments come around and for this reason and this reason alone we MUST tell ourselves when we have done a good job. Just like that little child, we have to know that we are proud of ourselves. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying shout it from the roof tops, “Look at me I’m GREAT.” Far from it. That would border on narcissistic. What I am saying is, review your day. What did you do well? What did you do great? How were you a good person? What can you do to improve? Do you need to make amends to anyone? Were you kind, loving, generous?

Let’s go back to the child scenario. Trade places with yourself and the child. For those of us who had abusive upbringings this makes it much easier to see clearly. Your ethics, morals and values around another person become crystal clear, where they are muddy when the spotlight is on us. So trade places become the proud mom and witness the child. Let the child tell you all of the things they did today and as the mom, feel the pride well up inside. This is the TRUTH. Get used to it. Feel it. Let that pride in yourself start to flow through you. Believe it or not this is the Magic Key to loving you. This is what builds self confidence. This is how love starts to flow from somewhere deep inside and starts to flow out all over everybody. It becomes unstoppable.

There you have it. I know it’s simple. Love flows out by recognizing the beautiful light or the truth from within. By finding your goodness, you find your truth, you find your love. Simple.