Can Overwork Ruin Your Health?

There is no question that Americans work longer hours, and have less vacation time, than their European counterparts. This makes us industrious and ambitious, right?

Maybe, but there is a downside, also. Just as with athletic and sports performance, the body needs to be able to recover from anything it does. If working long hours means getting too little sleep, and the stress becomes chronic, overwork may contribute to long-term health problems.

These days you can take work with you everywhere you go, and it takes some discipline to shut down. The blue lights from our electronic devices can interrupt sleep patterns, even when we shut them off for the night. The electro-magnetic influences created by all our electronics may be more taxing than we realize. Some studies indicate that the cell phones and computers are having a disturbing effect on cellular function. The electromagnetic field they emit passes through almost anything, including walls, and interferes with the normal waveform patterns of the body. We don’t know all the effects of this, and may not for many years. No one is regulating these energy fields. The best thing you can do is protect yourself, or balance any damage. Interference at a cellular level has serious potential. http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/display.cfm?ID=19990303201129

If work is keeping you up at night, due to stress or putting in long hours, your health is at risk. No matter what many people claim, only a very small percentage can sustain themselves on less than seven hours of sleep. Studies show that sleep deprivation shows up in poor performance on tasks, and slower reaction time when driving. 

Long working hours, with insufficient recovery time may increase your risk of heart disease and Type II Diabetes. According to a Finnish study of people from 14 countries, people who worked longer than a 48-hour week were more likely to abuse alcohol.

People also tend to over-eat, particularly high calorie carbs, when tired and stressed. The body is asking for some relief, and the fastest and handiest is the junk food so readily available.

When both parents are in stressful jobs, family life may suffer, as may the quality of life for our children. Families must use daycare, there is no one preparing nutritious meals, and less time is spent together, possibly disrupting the moral and character development of our children, putting  more stress on families.

It has been said that 80% of the U.S. population has stressed adrenals, and the other 20% are in denial. One of the most important things you can do to help your body weather stress is to support your adrenal glands. They have everything to do with immune health, heart health, sleep, blood sugar balance, weight, muscle strength, and libido.

We now have an adrenal scorecard available. Call or email and we will send it to you and you can evaluate your own adrenal health, or that of a loved one. Then we can help you find the adrenal support that will safeguard your health. Ask for the Stress Assessment when you call. This is a good way to help someone you care about to see how stress may be negatively affecting their life.

Keep track of how you spend your time. Carve out more for walks, family, massages and funny movies. Don’t watch the nightly news, and cut back on caffeine. There are a dozen small things you can do to help your body recover from the demands you place on it. And we are here to help.

Stop a Runny Nose!

It is not just colds and flu that can make a nose run. Cold weather, sugary/fatty foods, congested liver/gall bladders, or allergies can also cause you to reach for a tissue. Just when you want to look your best for the Holidays, and not compete for the Rudolph contest, a runny nose can spoil your fun. Fight back with these healthy strategies.

Here are some tips to dry up quickly.

1)   Massage the points on the sides of your nose where the curve of your nostrils meets your cheek. Tap under your eyes, in the hollow, and down towards your cheeks and sides of the nose. Alternate these points, massage and then tapping.

2)   Find the point halfway between the bottom of your ribs on the right side, and your belly button. Massage the area firmly to release the gall bladder.

3)   Take “Cold Calm” from Boiron Homeopathics. This safe, natural medicine can stop a runny nose for a few hours, and can be used for children.

4)   Take Zypan and Multizyme for digestive aids. Sip some apple cider vinegardiluted in water. Sufficient stomach acid helps the liver/gall bladder work better. And extra digestive help may help you to sleep after feasting.

5)   Get plenty of sleep. If you feel stressed, or traveling, take extra adrenal support. Fatigued adrenal glands can produce symptoms that mimic a cold or allergy. If you suffer from any type of allergies, your adrenal glands are weak and need support!

6)   Lay off sugar. Sugar stresses the body in every way, from depleting minerals to lowering stomach acid, to weakening the immune system. Use Stevia and Xylitol for sweet treats that don’t compromise your health.

7)   Don’t overdo coffee, which also stresses your adrenals and dehydrates your body. Try Teecino herbal coffee, sip herbal tea, and drink extra water. Not a water fan? Try a naturally sparkling water like Pellegrino and flavor it with cucumber or fruit slices or flavored liquid Stevia.

8)   Come in for some soft tissue work on your liver. The sinuses are very affected by the ability of the liver and kidneys to detoxify. There are acupuncture reflexes and acupressure points that can offer relief, and even help a real cold or flu to move through quickly.

9)   Consider food intolerance testing if the runny nose is chronic. Keep a food journal, but know that it may take 48 hours before a food issue shows up in your nose.

10)   Avoid toxic people. Today someone asked me if I thought her body was allergic to the guy she is seeing. When she described his behavior to me I told her that it is probably not her body that is allergic, but SHE may be allergic to how he treats her!

Once you find out how well natural medicine can work for you, a runny nose won’t slow you down. It is just a symptom of a need to move something through your body more quickly.

May all the running in your life involve kids, dogs, and running around with people you love, and not your nose. And keep in mind that these tips work on people of all ages.

Food Allergies-Hiding in Plain Sight?

How do you know if you have a Food allergy? The classic symptoms of hives, or your throat closing, up are pretty rare. But food sensitivities and intolerances may be making your life miserable and ruining your health, even when you are trying to eat healthy.

Symptoms of food sensitivities and intolerances include difficulty losing weight, brain fog, bloating and digestive issues, depression, anxiety, irritability and mood swings, skin rashes, acne and dark circles under eyes, frequent colds and congestion, rheumatoid arthritis and joint pain. See what Dr. Oz has to say http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/could-have-hidden-food-allergy

Traditional food allergy testing often suggested a laundry list of 25-30 food issues, or none at all, and did not seem like a workable solution. The new lab test we are using reveals only 2-4 true long-term foods to avoid. As I wrote in my last blog, I found out that I have a sensitivity to egg yolk, something I never suspected. I was eating eggs all the time, while eliminating dairy and wheat. I am not planning to add wheat back into my diet, since these days most wheat is compromised and I do well on a low-carb diet. But at least I know that I am not allergic to it.

Since eliminating egg yolk I do see a difference. It seemed to be causing some inflammation and digestive issues that were subtle but there. Despite appearances I gained weight pretty easily, and that seems to be shifting, too.

Wouldn’t you like to know, once and for all, what foods might be causing some of your symptoms?  Call now and book a free 15 minute consultation to come in and talk about the new lab test. The test takes only a minute to complete and we send the lab work to Europe for the most advanced food sensitivity testing available.

This test could change your life and your health. 818-562-1400.

Is Herbal Medicine Just a Witch’s Brew?

We have made so many breakthroughs in health technology in the past 100+ years, that it may be difficult to imagine that a simple plant could be as effective as brightly colored pills that come in a child-proof bottle with an official looking printed label.

Many people immediately think “Doctor” at the first sign of an illness. And by that we mean a cold or flu or lump or pain, rash or discomfort. But we are often very unschooled about the warning signals that indicate a body is struggling, signals that may appear long before a problem sends us to the doctor.

Sadly, your MD won’t know anything about the warning signals, either, because a medical education in today’s world means managing and treating disease. It does not involve teaching patients how to manage their optimum health to prevent disease.

Heroism often involves bold actions. Performing surgery and prescribing caustic and potentially dangerous drugs is bold. Working with the body’s own rhythms, processes and innate wisdom may not seem so bold. No blood is shed, there may be no dramatic bedside vigil, no hair falling out, or brave suffering from the after-effects of the treatment.

With plant medicine there is a realignment of the natural order of the body. The internal processes are an intricate dance and it is only when a partner or step is missing that the seeds of illness are sowed.

Whenever any aspect of life goes off the rails, a change must take place. The attitudes, behaviors and negligence which started one on a destructive path must be recognized and set right again. Old habits must be shed and new, smarter actions must be implemented.

It is the same with health and the body. Plant medicine is how the body is formed, from the nutrients received in the womb. Plant medicine is how the body repairs. Surgery can cut out a damaged part, and is sometimes vitally necessary. But surgery does not repair-the body repairs. And drugs only block, suppress or kill functions or organisms. The body does not need drugs to repair or make new cells and chemical drugs also damage, giving the body even more of a repair job to do.

Herbs and plants contain the exact bio-chemical nutrients that are required for real healing to occur. A simple carrot contains over 200 plant-nutrients, and each one has a role to play in the life and wellbeing of our trillions of cells.

We only know some of the reasons that botanical medicine works, because research money is not spent on identifying all the parts. These days when money is spent on plants it is more often to discover how to isolate, create a synthetic copy, and patent the discovery so that the drug can cost $100 a pill instead of the $1.50 the original plant would cost. At least 30% of pharmaceutical drugs are knock-offs of plant medicines. https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/treatment/herbal-medicine

What we do have is thousands of years of plant medicines being used to help people get well. And since we have billions of people on the Planet, it must have been working fairly well.

So, herbals and botanicals are cheaper, safer, less damaging, and often times more effective than pharmaceutical drugs.

Since much of the information about botanical medicine is not available in the mainstream, it takes a bit of digging and some self-education, as well as the guidance of a professional. You may need your own book of remedies, but you don’t need any witchcraft or mysterious practices. Fortunately plants seemed to have been created to do their job for us. We have an incredible treasure house of real medicines in every farmer’s market, health food store, or supermarket.

It starts with what you eat every day. And there are specific botanicals have known medicinal properties you can tap into. When plants are made into supplements, how they are harvested and how they are prepared determines how effective they are.

Your body should be comfortable for you, and life in your body should be challenging but fun. If your body seems to be holding you back, don’t ignore the warning signs until a small problem becomes a big one. A small goblin is a lot easier to handle than a raging monster.

When Hippocrates said “Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food”, he meant eat your way to wellness.  Those words are more relevant now than they were in 400 BC.  There is enough stress and strife and such an abundance of toxins around us that not eating well is like walking a tightrope with no end in sight. It is not a question of falling off the rope, just a question of how soon.

You can dress up a drug in a fancy costume, but it is still a phony when it comes to repairing the body. Opt for genuine original parts.

Happy Halloween!  

Anne Dunev, PhD, C.N. has over twenty years experience helping people feel better by finding the root cause of what is causing their symptoms. Addressing that with the correct natural and nutritional medicine is her strength. With help restoring balance and function, thousands of people are living happier, healthier lives.