What Are You Hungry For?

Do you ever get hungry just a couple of hours after eating? Why does this happen? After all, you just ate.

It could be many things. It could be that you are hungry for nutrients that your food is lacking. If you are eating a Standard American Diet (SAD) which is deplete of high-nutrient fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts, and lean protein, it is quite likely that various vitamins, minerals, and/or phytonutrients are missing. Your body can only say, "I'm hungry." It doesn't tell you, "Hey, I need more magnesium and B vitamins," even though that may be the case. Unfortunately, if all you have available is more of the same pathetic variety of chemical-laden, sugar-loaded, processed food, you won't be satiated as long as you continue eating such "foods". The poor quality food is making you hungry!

Sometimes you may actually feel hungry, but you are actually thirsty. Try drinking water -- 8 ounces within 10 minutes or so, and then perhaps, even another glassful a few minutes later. If you drink enough in a short period of time, your body knows that there is plenty, and can send the water around to where it is needed. But if you just sip it, and never have much in your stomach at one time, then your body acts as if there is a water shortage, and uses it only for the critical organs such as the brain.

Beside the nutrient aspect, there could be other contributing factors. Some people are hungry for other things that are missing in their life such as healthy relationships, a satisfying career, and a meaningful spiritual life. Some people eat simply out of boredom: there is not enough satisfaction to keep them going without excessive eating. But the truth of the matter is that eating for reasons other than for enjoyable sustenance just never satisfies, and the hunger continues no matter how much you eat.

So sit down, and think. Try writing (journaling) what is on your mind. Try listening to your soul. Ask yourself what is truly unsatisfying it your life, and when the answers come you will know what to improve in your life. Maybe it is the quality of your food, maybe it will be the activities or relationships in your life. Whatever it is, it is worth fixing, and getting a better solution because the status quo is just not working for you.

Copyright ©2009 Ruth S. Sheets. All rights reserved.

Let's Be Consistent -- Drop the Candy!

This year it was better than last. Last year at a local health fair several of the organizations were giving away candy at their table, presumably to entice people to stop by their table. This year there were far less organizations doing that.

Last year the Alzheimer's Association was guilty of this, and when I pointed out that some think of Alzheimer's as a third type of diabetes, the woman at the table handed me one of their brochures that talked about this idea! This year there was no candy that I could see, so someone from the organization cared enough not to promote sweets. Congratulations, Alzheimer's Association! You figured it out.

However, the American Heart Association, still has room for improvement when it comes to encouraging people to prevent disease. On their table, right next to a handout entitled "What is Diabetes? And How Can I Control It?", there was a tin of hard candy mints. Did they not see the irony?

They wouldn't hand out cigarettes, would they? So why do they give out sweet empty calories that only contribute to the problem of excess sugar in the blood? It just does not make sense. The AHA should realize the hard candy mints do not belong in the diet when one is trying to avoid high blood sugar levels and the diseases that go with it. Don't offer candy at health fairs.

Also with the same misguided thought the Anytime Home Care representatives had lollipops for the taking. Again, lay off giving out candy if you want to be helpful to the health of your fellow Americans. Providing free candy just gives the wrong message, folks!

Food Choices Should Reflect the Mission

Dr. Max Gomez saw the irony. He thanked the Heart Association for the eggs and bacon at the breakfast where he was keynote speaker.

Do you catch the irony? Organizations trying to prevent or help a disease but provide food choices that are counter to their mission.

This happens way too often. One of my first posts to this blog (Jan. 15, 2009) discussed the practice of a medical group providing soda, chips, and candy vending machines in their lobby or waiting room. Will the vendors at health fair that I'm attending this weekend have the same problem of not following their own advice?

People, let's take ourselves seriously. If we are trying to prevent disease, choose food to serve at your events that do not contribute to the problem!

Prevent Heart Disease

I went to hear Dr. Max Gomez from WCBS-TV speak yesterday. He talked about the need for prevention of heart disease and stroke. Where I live in Dutchess County, NY, 140 people die of heart disease every year.

One misconception that people often have is that heart disease happens suddenly. People think that one day you are fine, and the next day you have a heart attack. Gomez emphasized that this is not the case. He mentioned the Bogalusa Heart Study (1972 - 2002) where thousands of children from a biracial community participated. The study showed that heart disease is present in the arteries in youth. Indeed, a more recent report indicated that obese children can have arteries of a 45 year old.

Gomez is concerned about the increase of obesity, physical inactivity, and Type II diabetes. This, combined with the aging baby boomer population, will cause health insurance to be unaffordable. We simply need to prevent the diseases of the vascular system better.

Gomez suggested self-care measures:
1. Get tested. Get a Coronary Calcium Scan, C-reactive protein, and blood pressure tests. It is an important self-care step to get tested regularly because even very physically fit and nutrition conscious people can be the victim of heart disease because of genetic problems, for example.
2. Control your weight. (Let's assume he meant that nutrition is important!)
3. Exercise.
4. Quit smoking.

I would also add another self-care item: work on stress reduction.

These self-care measures are critical because they not only work for heart disease, but will help with all chronic degenerate diseases. The great thing about self-care is that overall it costs less, and makes life better because nutritious food tastes delicious, satisfies you on many levels, and makes you feel good. Not only is exercise is good for your body, but it improves your mood because endorphins, the "feel good" hormones, are released and the "stress" hormones, like cortisol are decreased.

Make self-care a priority. Prevent heart disease and improve your health, in general. You are worth it!

Pilates: A Powerhouse Surprise

I decided that I should try Pilates again. Years ago I bought a couple of Pilates videos, tried them, but decided they were not for me. Some of the exercises were too difficult and some were too boring. I couldn't bring myself to work at doing them. I stopped using these videos, letting them sit on the bookshelf, never touched for years.

With my attempts to transform my body I needed to make a concerted effort to improve my physical fitness in certain areas. I always enjoyed walking, but strength training and working on my abs seemed to get sloughed off.

I noticed that the Pilates instructor at my gym really looked fit and trim. Perhaps it was the Pilates? Maybe I could force myself to try Pilates again, if it would bring the results I wanted. I wasn't ready to try the hour long class at the gym, but I decided to try the videos again at home.

I started with the 20 minute basic workout. Quite unexpectedly, it was actually fun to do. Then I went on to the advanced, one hour version. It is more challenging to be sure. Several exercises including the Teaser, Neck Pull, and Hip Circles will take some time to perform well. However, after using the tapes several times I can already see progress on many of the exercises. And best of all, I like doing this program. I especially like Rolling Like a Ball, the Rollover and the Seal. It sure feels like I at getting a workout, but I'm having fun! I don't need to "force" myself to do this workout.

Sometimes it is good to consider trying something again. You might just change your mind!

Exercise you once weren't keen on may at some point be fun. I guess one's motivation changes and perhaps, one's level of fitness can influence what you like to do. So go ahead, try something "new", or maybe try something "old", even if you decided long ago that you didn't like it. What do you have to lose? You just might find that you love it!

Beware of Care Package Junk

This week I got another mailing from my son's university encouraging me to provide him a Final Exams Care package. This is a common practice to raise money each semester. I suspect most colleges and universities do this. My kids went to very different types of higher education institutions, yet both places offered the same kind of junk food that supposedly helps the students through exam week. What bunk!

For instance, the Support Basket Pack which claims to be stuffed full of tasty and wholesome foods "designed to bring encouragement right to your student". I don't think pop tarts, fruit snacks, lollipops, something called Toad-Ally Hanky Panky and something called Laffy Taffy would test out to be particularly nourishing compared to real food. (I'm surprised that the students who study nutrition don't blow the whistle on this practice!)

I think it is better to send your student the money instead and tell them to treat themselves to things like high quality fruit smoothie, a Stonyfield Farm drinkable yogurt, apples, pears, berries, citrus or other fruit, baby carrots, almonds, trail mix, raisins or other dried fruit, some organic soup, dark chocolate, or go out to for a dinner / study break with a friend which is good for the soul. Even if they end up getting some not-so-nourishing selections, it'll be their choice, and they can enjoy savoring whatever they choose instead of getting 18 - 56 items that they don't really want. The going rate for the care packages are $20 to $55 dollars plus tax (since it isn't real food). With that kind of money they could really get something decent to boost their energy and their spirits.

Yes, the university will not make any profit if you send or transfer the money directly to your student, but I figure if the student doesn't have the brain fog brought on by too much sugar and empty calories, he will do better in his exams. And just maybe, this success in his courses will eventually lead to success in a career, and then he will gladly support the university with his own heartfelt donations for years to come.

Go for the real food. It'll work in your favor.

More Good News...

The good news just keeps rolling in! You can probably guess that I am not talking about the economy. I am talking about what is happening in the emerging field of functional medicine which searches for the underlying cause of illness, a major switch from conventional medicine that too often just treats the symptoms.

I just read a very exciting article in “Life Extension Magazine”, March 2009, a publication associated with Life Extension Foundation about the work of Dr. Mark Hyman. Dr. Hyman treats his patients having various physical diseases through a combination of appropriate dietary changes, nutritional supplements, exercise, meditation, and lifestyle changes. In doing so, he inadvertently discovered that he was simultaneously curing their mental diseases. That’s right, the same natural healing techniques that he used to address chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, digestive problems, also caused brain disorders to go away. Depression, anxiety, memory disorders, attention deficit disorder were eliminated because the body was healed and brought into balance.

“Heal your body and you heal your brain.” -- Dr. Mark Hyman, medical director of UltraWellness Center, Lenox, Massachusetts.

In a recent visit to Washington, Dr. Hyman told the working group on health care reform that we have to stop pharmaceutical advertising on TV and stop junk food marketing to children. Dr. Hyman advocates that doctors be retrained to find the “right” medicine for each person, be it nutrients, diet change, detoxification, a hormone, exercise, or a drug. (He also mentioned exorcism, but I think that was a joke.) The point is to use the appropriate process to bring the patient back in balance, and often that is frequently a natural, holistic approach. I hope the healthcare reformers were listening.

If the healthcare system would move in the direction of using more natural means, it would surely bring motivation for providing more nutritious meals in schools, restaurants, and the American home, more resources for exercise such as bike paths, running paths, soccer fields, swimming pools, and neighborhood parks, and more people developing their spiritual side through meditation and relaxation, all resulting in a healthier American lifestyle. As healthier lifestyles become more prevalent, better mental health will exist in society, causing more people to thrive as human beings. Crime will decrease. Life satisfaction will increase.

Not only that, but I see it saving billions of dollars in healthcare costs. In the long run, this would be great for the economy because we can spend those dollars in other pressing needs such as building infrastructure and keeping the planet healthy.

Healthcare using more holistic, natural measures is the way to go because it works so well and brings genuine health – to the body and the mind. Wouldn’t that be joyful to the American soul?

A Change in This Lifetime

A friend of mine recently wrote in an email that she and her husband had “learned so much about food and nutrition!” They are a well-educated, highly respected couple who are known far and wide for their intelligence, accomplishments and generosity. Health concerns had compelled the husband to learn more about nutrition and the result was life changing.

In August 2007, following his annual physical and its routine tests, it was determined the husband was pre-diabetic. Not wanting to become diabetic he asked the medical doctor what he should do. Of course the doctor said, "Lose weight." The husband replied, "Fine! How much?" When the doctor responded, "We'll start with thirty pounds", the patient’s kneejerk response was, "Not in THIS lifetime!" He just couldn’t imagine how that was going to happen.

Though he was dubious that he could actually lose that much weight, he immediately began work on losing weight by attending the Diabetes Directions classes at Saint Francis Hospital, in Poughkeepsie, NY, a program for pre-diabetics and diabetics that have been referred by a doctor. He was a star pupil and to date has lost thirty-eight pounds in a slow but steady way.

How did he do this? Making better food choices and exercising on a regular basis.

It is critical to learn about nutrition to determine what changes you as an individual need to make. It is a mistake, perhaps a deadly mistake, to assume that your knowledge of nutrition is adequate, and there is nothing you need to learn. It is a mistake to assume that your diet is healthy and you do not need to make any changes. (There are many places that offer nutrition programs: holistic health counselors, nutritionists, continuing education courses, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC, as well as hospitals and health centers.)

You probably learned about nutrition in school when you were a kid, maybe as a Girl or Boy Scout, or maybe from your parents. Well, much has changed. The American diet has been compromised by the food industry that is often more motivated to make a profit, and less driven by concern for your health.

A few generations ago the food was healthier. Here are some reasons:
1. All food was organic because there were no pesticides or herbicides. Now, conventional farming utilizes 2.5 million tons of pesticides yearly. Pesticides are toxic to humans and also cause the plant to produce less potent nutrients.

“Research indicates that organic foods have more nutrients than foods grown conventionally.” – Mark Hyman, M.D., author of UltraMetabolism, 2006.

2. Farm animals grazed on grass, their natural diet. Now, cattle enduring feedlot life are corn-fed. This negatively impacts their health requiring them to be given large doses of antibiotics which end up in the food.

3. Chemical additives were not widely used. Today, more than 14,000 additives have been added to food products.

4. Sugar was a rare commodity. In the early 1700’s it is estimated that the American colonists ate 4 pounds of sugar a year. In 2006, the average American consumed 63 pounds of sugar and 75 pounds of corn-derived sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup. This is too much for the human body to handle and causes numerous health problems.

"By 2006, according to USDA sources, industrial sugar use averaged 63 pounds per person per year. In contrast, 75 pounds of corn-derived sweeteners and 2 pounds of honey and edible syrups were consumed that year for an annual total sweetener consumption per person of 139 pounds (excludes artificial sweeteners)."
- From the Agricultural Marketing and Resource Center, article:  sugarcane profile

Your great grandparents did not have to learn much about nutrition because their food was intrinsically healthy. Sadly, this is no longer the case. You need to learn about nutrition from a source that is not influenced by the food industry (or the USDA whose mission is to promote the food industry). To be healthy, you need to eat real food, including lots of clean vegetables and fruits, greatly reduce your ingestion of chemical substances, sugar, HFCS, etc. There many facets of nutrition – too numerous to list here – that you need to be aware so you can eat the food that is best of you.

What’s the solution? Well, you could wait until you are in a health crisis and take your chances, or you could choose the better way of learning what you need to know about nutrition and following through by making the necessary changes to your diet and lifestyle.

Study nutrition from a reliable source that has a good handle on addressing your individual needs and is knowledgeable in modern day food problems that you need to avoid. You will be amazed what you will learn.

Start making the appropriate food choices and you will notice wonderful improvements in your health. Make it happen, now, in this lifetime, while you still have time!

Connecting Spiritually

I am a holistic health counselor. This means that I believe that health is influenced by many factors including nutrition, physical activity, relationships, vocation, avocation, and last, but not least, spiritual life. Today I want to share an idea for enhancing your spiritual connection to God, whatever your religious belief. (If you are a nonbeliever, you will have to tell me how you connect to your spiritual side. I don’t know much about that.)

Last year I was listening to Dr. Joseph Mercola, an integrative medicine doctor, in one of his many video lectures when he said something in passing that I found incredibly valuable. It was about prayer.

Now, I was raised a protestant, and I have prayed all my life. I can’t imagine trying to go through life without prayer, and it is a rare day that I forget to pray. I need that connection to God.

In all the years I attended Sunday School and church services, in all the sermons, and in even the occasional prayer class, I do not recall the idea that Dr. Mercola offered ever being discussed. This astonishes me, because I find the idea Mercola mentioned incredibly helpful.

So what was the idea? It was that you need to prepare yourself to pray by feeling God’s presence first. For the non-emergency type of prayers, at least, feel God’s love and support first, then ask for what is on your mind.

So I have been trying this out. I think about how great God is, how all-knowing, how generous, how benevolent, and how blessed I am. This brings to me a wonderful feeling of God’s presence right there with me. I enjoy this feeling: I feel loved and supported, and I want to return often to this feeling.

When I feel connected to God, I start going through my prayer list, not before. I pray about all those things that are on my mind: my concerns for myself, my family, friends, community, country, and the world. Because I feel supported and loved by God when I am praying, it helps me trust that God will answer the prayer in the best possible way, maybe not in the way I asked, but in the way that is truly best overall. It’s a great way to pray.

Try this out, and I think you will greatly benefit from the time you spend connecting to God through prayer.

Namaste!