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More Articles from Healing Highlights
What to Do if You Get the Flu
I must confess, with all of my knowledge, I was quite smug about my ability to resist infection…until this past week. After several long nights and busy days in New York, sleeping too little while doing too much, sure enough I got sick. I was miserable, my body was achy, I was coughing, my joints hurt, head ached, my throat was sore and I was exhausted.
The good news is that I recovered in less than 48 hours. Read on to see what I did and how it may be helpful to you if you get sick.
I knew that in order to get well I had to take care of three things:
1) My body had to be structurally aligned so that I would feel better.
2) I had to do something that would actually kill the virus.
3) I need to boost my immune system so that my body could fend off the infection and recover.
The first thing I did was get a therapeutic massage that helped drain my lymphatic system and align my body. My body was so uncomfortable that getting it to release the tension was imperative. Luckily for me my daughter, Shaina Brody, is an excellent massage therapist (and my best student)! She did a fantastic job getting my lymphatics draining and relieving strain so that I could relax and sleep better.
The lymphatic system pulls the toxins out of your body and then filters it through the lymph nodes. That’s why when people get sick they get swollen lymph glands. Adequate drainage of the lymphatic system through various therapeutic massage techniques such as myofascial release and cranio-sacral therapy enable your body to heal rapidly. (Even if you’re not sick you’ll feel better!)
Once the aches and pains were gone and my body’s drainage systems were working better I was able to get adequate rest. I knew it was important that I not push my body if I was going to get well, so I took a day off and slept.
Before I went to sleep I did these 5 things:
1) To kill off any viruses I took Colloidal Silver. It is the most potent way to directly attack a virus. The 2 brands that I like most are Argentyn and Sovereign Silver. They are manufactured in such a way that you need a lower potency (30 – 50 ppm) and you can take it as often as you feel you need to, up to 7 times a day. Adults take a teaspoon (5 ml) 3 – 7 times a day until you are well. Children under 60 pounds take ½ a tsp. 3-7 times a day. It has only a hint of a metallic taste and you can mix it in water or diluted juice (BTW never give a child undiluted juice, the sugar content is very high and can have a negative effect on the child’s immune system and cause the teeth to decay.)
To boost my immune system:
2) I then took an extra 5,000 units of Vit D. It is a great way to help your body fend off any viral infections. It is best taken with food but it can be taken on an empty stomach. I continued to take 5000 units twice a day until I felt better.
3) I also took 2000 mg of Vitamin C. It helps to ease the inflammation and boost the immune system to defeat infections. This I took 3 or 4 times a day until I felt better.
4) I then looked into my Family Guide to Homeopathy for a remedy. For symptom relief and to hasten recovery, there is nothing like homeopathy. Fortunately there are a number of excellent books that explain what homeopathy is and how to use it. The remedies are inexpensive, extremely safe and can have amazing benefits in very short periods of time.
5) I was tired, cold and generally feeling lousy so before collapsing in bed I took a long hot shower. While taking that shower the remedy kicked in, my body relaxed and then I went to sleep.
After sleeping for 12 hours I woke up feeling 60% better, I repeated the vitamin regimen and this time added Oregano extract. One of the most potent boosters of the immune system, it is great as a preventative and a therapeutic approach. I took 10 drops in water, had a light breakfast and went back for more sleep.
I repeated this procedure several times, and 36 hours later, 25 of which were spent sleeping, I was 95% better and ready to go!
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There is one more thing I forgot to tell you about: Chicken soup. There is nothing like a bowl of steaming hot homemade chicken soup to make you feel better. Here is my wife’s recipe for the World’s Best Chicken Soup (try it, you’ll like it!):
1 large pot (at least 8 quarts)
1 whole quartered kosher chicken (Don’t try to fudge on this, it has to be kosher, it makes a difference. You don’t need to skin it, just take off any feathers.)
8 whole carrots, peel but do not cut
1 whole parsnip, peel but do not cut
1 whole onion, peel but do not cut
3 whole stalks of celery—do not cut
1 entire bulb of fresh garlic, diced
2 bay leaves
1 bunch of fresh dill
4 teaspoons of salt (or to taste)
2 dashes white pepper
Put the chicken pieces in the pot. Cover with cold water (best to use filtered water) and bring to a boil. Skim off the “sham”, the grayish foam that comes up when it comes to a boil. Note: do not skip this step—it is crucial. Do not add any vegetables or spices until you skim the sham! After the sham has been skimmed, put in the vegetables and the spices. Cook covered on a low boil for 1 – 1 ½ hours. Enjoy!
Now I am feeling as good as ever!
One last note: Had I not done all of these things, I probably would have gotten much worse and if it had gotten to my lungs, as most flu’s do, I would have taken elderberry. Sambucol is an elderberry extract that has been shown to be effective in treating the flu. In addition, it tastes good. This is best used if you develop a deep cough, i.e. it is coming from your lungs.
Improve Your Brain...with Exercise?
Physical exercise is one of the most important things you can do to improve your brain function.
Although the brain is only 2-3% of your body weight, it receives 20-30% of your blood. The more your heart pumps blood, the more blood gets to your brain. When you exercise, blood is being pumped around the body faster, so a greater volume of blood is being pumped through your heart. When you have an increased flow of blood from your heart you will automatically get more blood to your brain. Fresh blood from your heart carries with it the oxygen and nutrients your brain needs to function. This is similar to a farmer irrigating and fertilizing his fields to produce better crops. Additional blood flow fortifies the brain, feeds it and fuels it.
Exactly how important is exercise in enhancing brain function and memory? At the 2008 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Dementia in Chicago, at least 50 presenters concluded that in those individuals that exercised regularly, cognition and memory were enhanced and the incidence of Alzheimer’s Dementia was decreased significantly. It didn’t matter if they were walking or running or dancing or weight lifting; all that mattered was that they exercised.
There are many reasons why exercise helps brain function: increased circulation, lowering of Cortisol, decrease of stress, increase of the body’s natural anabolic (reparative and strengthening) hormones, lowering of insulin, stabilizing blood sugar, change of pace, increased endorphins or just the joy of doing it (or finishing it!) Another benefit is that when you exercise you will also sleep better and when you are well rested your mind works better.
If you are having a hectic day or perhaps you are trying to study or do work that requires mental exertion and you reach an impasse, try an exercise break. It doesn’t need to be long; just 15-20 minutes will refresh your brain and invigorate you (If you are jumping rope, all you need is 5-10 minutes.) Whenever you are on a long road trip, take an exercise break every couple of hours; even for just a few minutes; it will help you stay alert.
The kind of exercise you choose to do doesn’t really matter: You can walk briskly 20 minutes a day. In that time the average man should be able to walk a 1 ½ - 2 miles and the average woman, 1- 1 ½ miles. As you continue your walking, you will be amazed at how easily you can meet and exceed these expectations. You may prefer aerobics, weight lifting, martial arts, tennis, basketball, soccer, swimming, or cycling. Whatever it is you do, do it regularly and follow these 4 guidelines:
1. Safety. Competition can be fun but it can also be dangerous. Remember, it is only a game. The goal is to get exercise and have fun. Take time to warm up, stay hydrated and take your vitamins.
2. Intensity. You need to be sweating a bit and get short of breath. Push yourself a little bit, just enough to get winded and a little sweaty. Keep it up for 15-20 minutes a day and you’re done! You will be amazed at how quickly you will begin to feel better and think better.
3. Stay hydrated. Water hydrates you, soft drinks of any sort do not. Juices are so packed with sugar (albeit natural sugar) that their ability to hydrate is minimal. Water is not only a natural lubricant to the body but it enhances brain function and alertness.
4. Rest. Fatigue and dehydration are the 2 most common causes of all injuries. When you are tired you become less coordinated and less balanced. Exercise without rest can be dangerous. You need enough sleep to awaken refreshed. Good quality sleep helps your body repair and get stronger after you have exercised.
Personally, besides the walking and bicycling I do, I like a morning “jolt.” In the morning I run in place for a few minutes, lift some weights and stretch out a little afterward. The whole thing only takes 10 minutes, but I get my blood flowing a little faster and I feel invigorated and alert for the whole day.
So, improve your body and keep your mind sharp with exercise!
What do you do if you hurt too much to exercise? Perhaps you are too uncomfortable to move or perhaps when you do exercise you hurt worse. If you have any of these or similar issues, please give me a call at 717.235.3485. The consultation is free.
What Do Tooth Decay and Athlete's Foot Have in Common?
They are both due to infection. Tooth decay happens when the bacteria in your mouth get out of control and eat away at the protective covering of your teeth called the enamel. Athlete’s foot happens when you get a fungal infection on your feet. It not only makes your feet itch and burn but it eats away at the skin of your feet and to make matters worse it makes your feet stink!
Both tooth decay and athlete’s foot tend to recur unless you do something proactive to prevent it. To protect your teeth, most people know that they have to brush their teeth to remove the bacteria. Did you know that the same thing applies to your feet? To prevent athlete’s foot all you have to do is scrub your feet every day with soap and water using some kind of washcloth. All of the creams and powders and ointments for athlete’s foot will be of little help if you don’t scrub your feet. And if you do scrub your feet, you most likely won’t need those creams and powders and ointments.
Just like with your teeth, if they get infected (i.e. tooth decay) you need to get it treated properly, so too with your feet. If you get a fungal infection (athlete’s foot) you may need to use antifungal creams for a little while until the infection goes away, all the while making sure you scrub your feet twice a day. Once the infection is gone, just keep on scrubbing at least once a day.
BTW after scrubbing your feet, be sure to dry them thoroughly before putting on socks and shoes.
Stress and Your Body
It comes as no surprise that life can be stressful. Stress however, is not always about “bad” things, it can also be due to “good” things.
In the early 1970’s a simple garage mechanic did a favor for some guy passing through town. This was no ordinary town, it was a little isolated town somewhere in New Mexico. The guy driving through had an engine malfunction of some sort. The mechanic checked it out and found that it was no big deal, so he did the job and, despite the fact that the car was an expensive car and it seemed that the guy could easily have afforded a big price tag, the mechanic demonstrated integrity and just charged the guy a few bucks and sent him on his way. The guy was grateful and never forgot the mechanic’s integrity.
When the guy passed away a few years later, he remembered the mechanic in his will. The guy was Howard Hughes, and he left the mechanic 20 million dollars. That was in 1976. The mechanic, a simple honest working man who enjoyed his job and had a lifestyle to which he had become accustomed, died of a heart attack because of the stress of having that kind of fortune cast upon him. As the old saying goes...“Too much of a good thing.”
Stress of any sort occurs when we are challenged with either a change or more of something than we can handle. When we become stressed, somatic (physical) changes occur and these changes can adversely affect our bodies.
The first change that usually occurs is that we alter our breathing -either we breath too rapidly and hyperventilate or we breathe so shallowly that our breath is almost imperceptible. When our breathing is altered so is our mind; it either races or it slows down. This alteration of our mind leads to irrational thinking, poor decision making or mental paralysis (can’t make any decision at all.)
Another area affected adversely by stress is our muscles. Muscles spasm, causing pain that can be felt in the neck, jaws, shoulders, lower back and upper back. The pain that occurs as a result of stress is unique in that it just won’t go away. No matter what you do or how you move, the pain doesn’t let up. A common scenario is that people will get treated for their pain only to find that it returns within a few days. To make matters worse, the pain may disturb your sleep, leaving you more tired. When you’re tired, everything hurts more which makes it harder to sleep. And so the vicious cycle continues.
The best way to get relief is to get your body “unwound”. I have found throughout almost 30 years of working on thousands of people that nothing works better to alleviate the pain due to stress than soft tissue techniques such as myofascial release, cranio-sacral and Myophlage. These are all very gentle yet powerful techniques that relieve pain, help the body cope with stress, normalize breathing patterns and improve sleep.
If you or someone you know is suffering from pain due to stress, call or email me. No one should have to suffer from this kind of pain; it can alter a person’s life and lead to a variety of illnesses. There is no charge for phone consultations and I respond to all emails. Please be patient as it may take a few days to get back to you, but I will return all inquires.
To learn more about these techniques or to attend one of my training seminars, please email me.
It’s All About Balance
If you can’t fall asleep the best thing to take is Melatonin. It is the brain’s natural sleep inducing hormone. It is extremely safe; the only known side effect is that it will make you sleepy and if you do not need it, it can give you nightmares. It is an excellent anti-oxidant for the brain and helps travelers get over jetlag. You only need a little bit, 1.5 mg just before you lay down in bed. Open up a 3 mg. capsule, pour ½ under your tongue (close it up and save the rest for the next night), take a sip of water, swish it around in your mouth and swallow. Then lay down in a dark quiet room. You will be asleep in minutes. WARNING: If you do anything after taking the melatonin such as read, watch TV or even converse, it will keep you up for hours.
If you can fall asleep but can’t stay asleep, try taking 5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan) at bedtime. It is the precursor to serotonin which is the brain’s natural hormone to ease tension and relax the mind. It is extremely safe. The starting dose is 50 mg at bedtime and you can take up to 300 mg. safely. Some people find that if they take it an hour or so before bedtime they sleep better, others take it right at bedtime. Try different regimens to see what works best for you.
If you have stressful days and you find that you can’t wind down or that your sleep is fitful, then taking Pregnenolone may be helpful for you. It is a natural brain hormone that eases the nervous system to allow you to rest more peacefully. The dose is 30-100 mg an hour before bedtime is best but it can be taken right at bedtime. At this dose there are no known side effects.
To order any of the above supplements, visit our NEW "Products" page at http://centersforhealing.com/products.html. There will be more supplements coming soon!
If you would like some guidance you can schedule a phone consultation. For a brief (5-minute) consultation there is no charge. If your situation is more complex you will need to schedule a regular visit.
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