Should I Get a Flu Shot?

Strengthening your immune system can help you during flu season no matter what you decide

Each year as the weather cools and “flu season” nears, the great American flu shot campaign begins. Prevailing medical wisdom presents us with a multiple-choice question that sounds something like this:

Should I get a flu shot?
a) Get a shot and be safe
b) Do nothing and be sorry

Like most things in life, whether or not to get a flu shot is not a black-and-white issue. For some people, the aftermath of a flu shot – an achy, feverish, flu-like syndrome – is as bad as the flu itself. Further, the efficacy of flu shots in reducing mortality is not clear. For example, even though the vaccination rate of people over 65 has increased from 15% in 1989 to more than 65% as of 2009, the rate of flu season mortality in this age group has increased during the same time period. Here’s a superb article considering the evidence: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/11/does-the-vaccine-matter/7723/

When someone asks me whether they should get a flu shot, I respond with a different multiple-choice question, one with more options:

Should I get a flu shot?
a) Get a shot that may or may not protect you and may cause side effects
b) Do nothing and worry
c) Get a shot, but greatly improve your odds of staying healthy by proactively supporting your immune health
d) Don’t get a shot, but greatly improve your odds of staying healthy by proactively supporting your immune health

I suggest these choices with confidence because natural medicine offers a wide array of methods for prevention of flu and other winter ailments. A natural immune system “tune-up” can not only improve your ability to fight off the flu and other viruses - it can improve your general health and energy as well. Call me today and we’ll start with these “common sense” measures that go a long way in preventing illness:

• Get enough rest: a tired body is a stressed body, and stressed bodies are more susceptible to illness. If you have trouble sleeping, let me help!
• Wash hands often with soap and water: simple, frequent hand washing is remarkably effective at reducing the chances of flu and colds, even after exposure.
• Fight bugs with bugs: probiotic supplementation is always a good idea, even more so during cold and flu season. Probiotic bacteria in our systems reinforce our immune barriers, keeping bad “bugs” from establishing a foothold. Probiotic supplements vary widely in quality and it’s important to choose one that’s effective. Beware of “probiotics-added” products that are also loaded with sugar! Refined sugars weaken the immune system and override the benefit of the probiotics. I am happy to provide you with high quality probiotics that truly make a difference.
• Optimize your vitamin D level: There is increasing evidence linking low vitamin D levels to flu susceptibility. Vitamin D is naturally produced in the body when the skin is exposed to the sun’s rays, but in the often sun-deprived northwest, low vitamin D levels are common. Let’s test your vitamin D level and determine the appropriate supplemental dose for you.

If you’ve found yourself catching every bug that comes along, you’ll need additional natural preventive measures to keep you perky right through the winter. Don’t lose workdays or be stuck in bed when you could be skiing or mingling around the fireplace – come in for your immune tune-up today!

copyright 2010

Weight Management and Cancer

There is steadily-accumulating evidence that being overweight contributes to cancer occurrence, recurrence and mortality. Recent data suggest that obesity may cause as many as 20% of cancers. (footnote 1) Medscape reported a recent Danish study involving 19,000 women which concluded that having a Body Mass Index over 25, the limit for healthy weight, was associated with more advanced stage at cancer diagnosis and up to a 42% greater incidence of distant recurrence (metastasis).

Weight management for people with a recent or past diagnosis of cancer should be undertaken in full view of potential effects on cancer-promoting mechanisms in the body. While the desire to manage weight is admirable, many of the weight management programs available are, to put it bluntly, the last thing a person who has had cancer needs. Programs offering prepackaged food containing refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated oils or preservatives contribute to inflammation, which in turn may promote the development of cancer and other chronic diseases. Quality of food is key for healthy weight management in the setting of a cancer history. The closer food is to its original state, the more nutrient value it retains. When your health goals include preventing a recurrence of cancer, every bite counts. Sugars, unhealthy fats and preservatives take up space better filled with nature’s bounty of cancer-fighting (and delicious!) nutrients. Indeed, this is important for all of us as in the U.S., one-third of women and one-half of men can expect a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.(footnote 2)

When devising a nutritional plan for someone who’s had cancer, I like to recommend what CAN be eaten as well as anything that can’t. There is a rainbow of foods available to support healthy weight, fight disease and infuse health! Even shopping for these foods is more fun than tossing plastic-wrapped packages into our shopping baskets. When we orient our nutrition to including the nutritional “good guys”, weight management happens naturally and brings wellness in its wake.

I’ll be writing more specifically on foods that fight cancer while supporting weight management in future articles. In the meantime, here’s an easy-to-read book that does a wonderful job of presenting foods that are your best friends if you’ve had cancer:
http://www.amazon.com/Anticancer-New-Way-Life/dp/0670021644/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0


1 Wolin, Kathleen et al, Obesity and Cancer, The Oncologist, Vol. 15, No. 6, 556-565, June 2010
2 American Cancer Society data; see the slide show at http://www.cancer.org/Research/CancerFactsFigures/cancer-facts-figures-2009

Love Your Fat Away!

“The opposite of obesity isn’t starvation – it’s compassion.” --Dr. Martha Beck

Here I was in early spring, wanting to let go of a fifteen-pound postsurgical weight gain and dreading what that meant in terms of interrupting my routine and restricting my eating patterns. Then I read the brilliant quote above from Martha Beck, O Magazine’s contributing life coach, and in a split-second I realized that I had it all wrong. The prospect of a weight loss journey wasn’t something to be dreaded at all. Because unlike stereotypical programs which invoke lack, hunger and sacrifice, my weight loss journey was going to be an exercise in total self-nourishment. I was going to love my fat away.

You can read my observations on the weight-loss aspect of the journey in my recent blog posts below. While the program I chose to follow resulted in a satisfying twenty-pound right-sizing in record time, the best part of the experience was what occurred alongside the weight loss. A number of years ago I realized that in order for me to have the resources to support other people, I had to nourish my own inner resources. My cup needed to be so full that it overflowed with blessings for others. In our hectic lives, finding space for healthful eating, exercise, adequate sleep, recharge time and all the other things that result in radiant health is no easy thing. How many of us have let go of excess weight on a short sprint toward a weight goal, only to have it reappear within weeks as we return to the hurly-burly of our routines?

The secret, then, was to follow Dr. Beck’s lead and shift the goal from weight-loss to compassion, in the form of total self-care. Rather than resist the task as an interruption to routine, I scheduled time to shop and cook as needed for my chosen nutritional plan and reveled in the colors of spring vegetables in the market and the taste of each delectable bite on my plate. Rather than resist bedtime as an interruption to accomplishing my to-do list, I made sure to be in bed at a time that allowed me to sleep my optimal number of hours, and even managed a number of baths as a relaxing wind-down. Rather than resist exercise as something to be squeezed in among more urgent tasks, exercise became a respite from the routine and a creative endeavor in its own right. Each time I dedicated time to an aspect of self-care, I reinforced to myself the message that I am important and worthy of attention. No wonder then that as the weeks passed, my energy climbed steadily and my outlook improved even as the pounds steadily fell away.

So now I offer you not only a way to let go of pounds, but to love yourself into great shape and improved health. Are you ready to begin? Just give me a call at 866.678.8577!

Smooth Landing

I terminated the HCG portion of the program after 33 days, in anticipation of some travel scheduled for the following week. (Unless you bring all food with you or have a host willing to prepare food to your exact specifications, it's likely a fool's mission to expect to comply with phase I of the program while on the road.) I'll admit to dreading the discontinuance of the HCG, when the program requires that the very low calorie plan be continued for 72 additional hours. I imagined that the hunger would be so bad I'd be eating the furniture.

Not so. I've always had a very healthy appetite, one of the barriers to easy weight loss in the past. Believe it or not, the appetite-resetting effect of the HCG lasted through those 72 hours so that I was no hungrier than I'd been during the days taking HCG. Even better, my weight continued to drift downward such that by the end of those 72 hours I crossed the 20-lb weight loss line. 20 pounds easily in just over a month, eating real, healthy food. My energy is excellent. Amazing.

Now it's on to phase II, where we up the calories while consuming the same food types as in phase I.

This is fun - are you ready to start yet?

Sliding Board

Good news: the upward blips I talked about in the last post have become fewer and farther between, and I'm getting clear on what might cause my weight loss to stall. In 21 days I've let go of 14 pounds. Now I feel like I'm on a sliding board rather than in a game of Chutes and Ladders.

There's no question that this plan requires total adherence. So for example, last week when we received a lovely invitation to lunch with friends, I had to advise my hostess of my requirements rather than partake - even in small portions - of the delectable fare that the rest of the company enjoyed. My hostess was very kind and prepared my little meal for me. I reminded myself many times that afternoon that this is only for another few days. I can do anything for another few days.

My husband and I are dancers, and last night we attended a blast of a contradance. What a joy to feel my body lighter and to dance with greater ease.

Now that 21 days have elapsed, it is my choice as to how long I want to continue, up to a maximum of 40 days. Although at times I have to bite my lip with determination, the reality is that this plan is not difficult to implement, and I'm doing very well. Not only do my clothes fit better, I'm sleeping better and my energy is high.

I'm going to continue. Want to come with me?

copyright 2010

Over a Wall

Six days into my weight loss journey, I'd lost 8 pounds. Very gratifying! And then...I plateaued for four days. As far as I knew, I was following the nutritional instructions to the letter. Why the sudden halt in progress?

After a bit of reflection, I realized that my diet was probably not the reason for the plateau. This program is both a diet and a detoxification program. If a body is unable to excrete all of its toxins, one of the places that it stores them is in fat deposits. The HCG program's claim to fame is that it is able to mobilize and flush out some of the most "remote" fat deposits, producing a beautiful reshaping. However in mobilizing this fat, toxins stored in the fat are mobilized as well. Therefore the program has a detoxification aspect, which needs to work well for the weight loss to proceed.

To support elimination of toxins during the program, I am supposed to take regular Epsom salt baths and to dry-brush my skin nightly. Wouldn't you know, when I got busy last weekend and forgot these practices for a couple of days, my weight loss plateaued. Fortunately, as I restarted these aspects of the self-care, the progress returned as well. I'm now down 10.5 pounds, and loving how I feel both inside and out.

More to come...

copyright 2010

I'm on a Journey...

...a weight-loss journey. After my knee surgery last July, I wasn't able to continue my walking regimen for more months than anticipated. And in the family I come from, if you don't exercise you gain weight. So I found myself this spring with 15 extra pounds and a body mass index (BMI) of 25.5, just over the top end of "normal", which is 25. Not the end of the world, but certainly not where I wanted to be.

Fortunately a recent change of supplementation has my knee in much better shape. So I'm starting to walk again - a great blessing during this unexpectedly long sunny patch we've had this spring. That's enough to keep my weight stable, but what about those extra 15 pounds?

My naturopathic physician, Dr. Bob, recently lost 40 pounds within a relatively short time on an HCG-based diet/detox program. HCG is short for human chorionic gonadotrophin, a human hormone. If you research weight loss with HCG on the internet, you'll find lots of talk of HCG injections. I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to endure injections or play with the balance of my hormonal system for the sake of weight loss. Dr. Bob, however, achieved his detox and weight loss using a homeopathic version of HCG, and the results were equal to the injection version of the program.

I use homeopathic remedies in practice daily, and know that they are quite safe to use in the hands of a trained practitioner. There are plenty of people who can't wrap their mind around how homeopathy works, and the truth is we don't know why it works, just that - per several centuries of documented case evidence - it does. This is a topic for another day, but bottom line is that a homeopathic preparation, even of a hormone, won't potentially upset the balance of the hormonal system as injection of hormone would; it will only further balance it.

So I began the homeopathic version of this plan last Friday afternoon. The fun thing about this program is that before starting the managed part of the diet, you get to eat extra fat and carbs for a couple of days. So I satisfied my urge for ice cream, almond Amazake and a few other things that are otherwise very rare treats for me before settling down into the regimen. Even with those couple of days of yummy treats, I've now lost five pounds in six days - here's the best part - without feeling hungry. So far so good!

If I'm as successful as Dr. Bob, I'll be offering this program to you. I'll keep you posted.