Archive for October, 2009

Are Toxins to Blame for Alzheimer’s and other Dementias?

Friday, October 30th, 2009

While emerging research has taught us much about the effects of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias on the brain, what causes Alzheimer’s is an altogether different story. In a nutshell, the brain cells aren’t getting enough oxygen. But why is this happening?

Alzheimer’s and dementia are often used interchangeably but Alzheimer’s disease is actually a progressive disease who’s effects lead to dementia.

Dementia is a syndrome whose symptoms include, memory problems, difficulty speaking, orientation disturbances and problems with judgment.

While Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia, dementia can also be caused by Parkinson’s disease, head trauma, and strokes. Most of the time, like Alzheimer’s, dementia is permanent.

While an exact cause isn’t known for Alzheimer’s, emerging evidence suggests that there are triggers for the disease. One of these triggers is toxins in food and in the environment.

Lead toxicity has been linked to both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. This is not just in lead based paint in older homes but can also be found in some household’s drinking water.

Pesticides are also known to be linked to Parkinson’s. In one study, those whose job required them to use pesticides had a 50% higher chance of developing Alzheimer’s.

Air pollution is bad for more than just the lungs. Studies have shown that those who live in highly polluted cities versus cleaner cities have a higher rate of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Diet is also a factor. Diets high in saturated fat increase one’s chances for developing dementia.

While we can’t control everything about the environment, there are ways to help reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer’s. For starters, a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids , nuts, vegetables, legumes, fruits and whole grains has shown to reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s. Foods to avoid are the aforementioned high saturated fats, sugar and alcohol.

Avoiding harsh chemicals and pesticides is also key. Look for cleaning products that are marked “green.”

In addition to diet, exercise has shown great promise in delaying or preventing Alzheimer’s and other dementia’s. In fact, studies have shown that exercising regularly while approaching midlife can decrease Alzheimer’s onset by 50%.

Last but not least, “Use it or lose it.” Performing memory exercises such as crosswords keeps the brain active and helps to ward off Alzheimer’s.

I am also very excited about my new Alzheimer’s program (coming soon!). It’s an all natural way to deliver necessary oxygen to the brain to keep it healthy and high functioning!

EL331002

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Migraine Headache and Epidurals – Is There a Connection?

Monday, October 26th, 2009

I have received more than one communication from clients who have claimed that they received relief for their migraine headache by using my Migraine and Headache Relief program, where no other medication or remedy was able to help.

This is of course, always great feedback. Along with this feedback I noticed a pattern of women writing to me telling me they experienced migraine headache after receiving an epidural during childbirth.

This struck me as interesting and after much research, most evidence points to there being no link between migraine headaches and receiving an epidural.

Great, but if there’s no link why do so many women suffer from migraines after an epidural? Up to one percent of women report this problem. Many of these same women report having never had migraine headaches before.

It is extremely rare to develop migraine headaches as an adult. Most experience symptoms during late childhood or early adolescence.

What I did find in my research though is the condition known as a spinal headache. This occurs when the protective layer of the brain, called the dura and spinal cord (which contains cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF) is punctured by a tiny needle in order to deliver spinal anesthesia.

In one percent of cases, this tiny hole can allow CSF to drain enough for the brain to perceive it as pain. This headache actually has a technical term - post-dural puncture headache, or PDPH.

The symptoms of PDPH can include double vision, sensitivity to light, hearing problems, nausea and pain or stiffness in the neck. Do any of these symptoms seem amazingly similar to another condition?

That’s right! The headache, while not technically a migraine headache, still feels just like a headache.

This can also occur in one percent of epidural cases. While the incidence shouldn’t occur at all – there is no intentional puncture to the dura in epidurals, it can happen accidentally.

While there’s no evidence of women with a history of migraines having a higher chance of a spinal headache, it can be especially hard to determine whether or not the headache is a migraine or a spinal headache.

The average time to heal from a spinal headache is two to four days although many women have reported symptoms lasting for months. Again, for those who have a history of migraines, this could be an actual migraine triggered by lack of sleep and stress over a new baby.

Regardless of your reason for migraine headache, I highly recommend my Migraine and Headache Relief program. It’s all natural, safe and the results are amazing!

El331002

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Climate and High Blood Pressure – Is there a Link?

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

00A client recently wrote to me asking if there was a link to hot climates and an increase in blood pressure. My first thought was, “no,” as an increase in blood pressure among different countries is typically always related to diet and exercise level.

A couple of recent studies, however, determined that blood pressure in elderly patients already suffering from high blood pressure (hypertension) was actually significantly lowered when exposed to hotter climates than normal but only during daytime hours.

In the evenings, however, the systolic number (top number) actually increased significantly. I assumed that this is because the subjects were in air conditioned environments at night. This was not the case so temperature did not seem to play a role.

Patients who did not suffer from high blood pressure were not affected either way by the daytime increase in temperature.

Another study showed a slight increase in blood pressure when subjected to colder temperatures however, the subjects were able to acclimate relatively easily and blood pressure returned to original levels.

Additionally, rates of strokes and heart attacks do not decrease during summer months. This could be for two reasons. First, experts have found that people tend to decrease their blood pressure medication during the summer months.

Second, overwhelming evidence indicates that over time, people adapt to their surroundings and blood pressure is not an exception.

Several of my clients, however, commented that they used an ambulatory blood pressure cuff (these can be purchased at any pharmacy) and recorded the time of day and outside temperature. During summer months the daytime readings did in fact go down.

Upon closer scrutiny, though, I found that most of my clients doing this were also much more active during the summer daylight hours. I won’t name names but many of these same clients also told me they simply stopped taking their blood pressure medicine when their numbers started to go down.

You all know that I do not believe in taking medicine to control a health issue when a natural cure can be found. That said, I DO NOT believe in simply stopping any prescription medicine without first discussing it with one’s doctor.

These medicines are powerful and have serious side effects when taken as prescribed. Taking too much or stopping all at once can have devastating effects. If you truly want to get off the medicine, discuss weaning yourself off the medicine with your doctor first.

Don’t be surprised if your doctor is highly skeptical of doing this. Remember, there was a reason your doctor prescribed the medication in the first place. Left untreated, high blood pressure can damage all of the major organs, eyes and other tissues, which can in turn lead to stroke, heart attack, blindness and other ill health effects.

If you are looking for a natural solution to your hypertension, I highly recommend my High Blood Pressure program. It’s all natural and easy to do. Once your high blood pressure lowers, you can bring this evidence to your doctor and he/she will have to acknowledge that a natural solution works!

EL331002

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Fibromyalgia – What is the Emotional Toll This Disorder Takes?

Monday, October 19th, 2009

It’s no surprise to most of you by now that I take great interest in feedback from my clients and also potential clients. I have received overwhelming feedback from many who have either tried my products, expecting little to no relief (due to the failure of so many other products they’ve tried before mine).

I really take to heart the feedback telling me that not only where my products easy to use with no nasty side effects, but that they also did the one thing so many other products promise but fail to deliver – they brought relief and improved my clients’ health.

Additionally, I have received questions from people curious, but jaded, almost desperately asking why my products can help.

While my products have helped many with high blood pressure, weight loss and headaches to name a few, the overwhelming despair has been with certain conditions which have so afflicted people that over time, that the physical drain has evolved into a major depression.

Fibromyalgia is one such condition. Fibromyalgia is an elusive disease because each of its symptoms alone can be attributed to other conditions. Symptoms include pain in muscles, joints and other soft tissues (including the nerves and face), extreme fatigue, sensitivity to touch, bowel disturbances, chest pain, vision problems, dizziness and difficulty concentrating.

The difference between Fibromyalgia and many of the conditions whose symptoms it can share is that Fibromyalgia officially has no known cause. This is why so many doctors are quick to dismiss the condition as something else and when that eventually fails, they will attribute it to “all in your head.”

Would it surprise you to learn that it takes an average of five years to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia? FIVE YEARS!!! I have difficulty imagining five hours of the chronic symptoms listed above, let alone years.

This is why the emotional toll is so great. Imagine not wanting to leave your house to work or do any other type of social interaction due to the fact that your pain response is so heightened that even shaking hands or the casual pat on the back is unbearable.

We are social animals so that alone can bring about depression. Even if you were to “manage” they symptoms enough to be around others – how long before you’ve alienated yourself from others because they either don’t understand your condition or as so often happens, your misery is contagious and people feel like they need a break from you?

Hopefully, all of you have an excellent support system of people in place but even with that, pain is a negative feeling and quite naturally brings about negative feelings such as frustration, sadness, anger and hopelessness.

Keep in mind this doesn’t happen overnight. Just as fibromyalgia is a chronic condition which oftentimes worsens over time, depression can build and build and before you know it, your depression and your fibromyalgia are so intertwined that you can’t separate the two.

I take you back now to my first comments about feedback from my clients. My programs have helped so many, I am completely confident in recommending them to you. If fibromyalgia is taking both a physical and emotional toll on your health, please give my Fibromyalgia Program a chance to make a change!

EL331002

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Acne – What’s Truly to Blame?

Friday, October 16th, 2009

I don’t think one can go an entire day without hearing or seeing advertisements about clearing up acne. While these ads are typically aimed at teenagers, whose hormones are still establishing themselves, acne is for many, a lifetime issue.

What’s the culprit? If there were one catch all reason, we would have found a cure. While the technical cause is a bacterial infection in the pore, the bigger question is how did this occur?

There are many who claim that diet is the culprit. Some claim that when they started to eat a healthy diet, free from refined sugars and fried foods, their acne cleared up. There are, however, just as many who claim that their acne did not improve. Alternately, there are many who do not get acne and whose diets are definitely lacking in nutrition.

This is where one’s complete lifestyle comes into play. What is usually going on when someone alters his or her diet towards a healthy approach? Not many would say they just craved better foods. Most do this because a physical condition has forced them to try to get healthy.

This includes people who are overweight, who have high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. This is definitely evident in feedback from people who’ve tried my Weight Loss Breeze program. They started the program to lose weight but there were several who noticed their problem acne cleared up as they lost weight.

When we exercise, blood travels more efficiently to the different parts of our body, delivering oxygen, vital to maintaining healthy organs and tissues. When the organs like the liver and kidneys and lymphatic system are healthy, they are better able to free the body of toxins from food, medications and other environmental toxins.

Additionally, when we exercise, perspiration leaves the pores and with it, dirt, toxin buildup and excess sebum – all things which provide a nice breeding ground for acne.

Additionally, stress is released when we exercise. Stress is a known trigger for acne.

We also start drinking the required amount of water each day (eight glasses plus a glass for each pound you lose when you exercise). Most people are dehydrated. You can test this by pressing a tongue depressor on your tongue. If it sticks, you need to drink more water.

This is why in dealing with acne; one has to take a comprehensive approach. One’s overall health must be addressed – family history, hormone levels (e.g., menstruation, pregnancy, age) stress level, and diet are all important factors.

If you are looking for a natural program whose breathing and relaxation exercises are simple but effective, I highly encourage you to try my Weight Loss Breeze program!

EL331002

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Circulatory Disorders – What are the Health Consequences?

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Many of you have written to me telling me that you’ve been diagnosed with a certain circulatory disorder and you are wondering if my programs can help. Oftentimes, your diagnosis is ambiguous and treatment options are vague. Many of you don’t know why circulation is so important to the body.

The short answer is oxygen. The organs and tissues of the body need oxygen not only to survive but to perform optimally. Blood is the delivery system for oxygen. If that delivery system is blocked or slowed, the effects can be potentially life threatening - both initially and over time.

When referring to circulatory disorders, there are actually two different groups in which they fall: heart disorders (disorders consisting of the heart and/or its valves and arteries) and blood disorders (disorders affecting red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, enzymes and/or plasma).

The list of heart disorders is vast. Some of the more common types of heart disorders are: Heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, heart failure, congenital (from birth) defects, and heart muscle disease.

Symptoms of heart disorders can include: chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, poor circulation, hypertension (high blood pressure), hypotension (low blood pressure), tachycardia (pulse over 100 beats per minute) and bradycardia (pulse under 60 beats per minute), nausea, dizziness, numbness in limbs, fainting and perspiration.

Risk factors include: high blood pressure (although mentioned as a symptom above, chronic high blood pressure can, over time damage the heart and other major organs), high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, smoking, lack of physical activity, heredity, stress and excessive alcohol and/or drug use.

Just as there are many types of heart disorders, the same can be said for blood disorders. Some of the more common blood disorders include: reduced numbers of white blood cells (leucopenia and its associated diseases), a reduced number of red blood cells (various anemias), reduced platelets (thrombocytopenia and its associated diseases), too many red blood cells (polycythemia) or too many white blood cells.

Additionally, some blood disorders are due to insufficient or abnormal blood clotting.

Symptoms of blood disorders include: fatigue, shortness of breath, weight loss, fever, bruising, chest pain, irritability, numbness and/or coldness in hands and feet, headache, pale skin and excessive bleeding .

Causes of blood disorders include: vitamin deficiency, blood loss, certain chronic illnesses, genetic disorders, side effects of certain drugs, and cancers of the cells.

Because the list of symptoms for each type of circulatory disorder is so vast and they oftentimes overlap, it is important to see your doctor to verify your condition. For some of the circulatory disorders (especially the blood disorders), medication may have to be an option. This can be scary to many (including me) because all medications have side effects, many of them dangerous.

For other conditions, medication may be only one method of treatment and there are oftentimes, more natural methods of treatment, such as exercise, diet and/or getting your required amount of vitamins and minerals. The key is to insist that your doctor explain the benefits and potential complications of all therapies.

If weight loss is your issue and is contributing to other illnesses or disorders, I highly encourage you to try my all natural Weight Loss Breeze program. It’s also very effective to increase the oxygen level in the body. Additionally, if high or low blood pressure is your problem, please try my High Blood pressure program. The breathing and relaxation exercises are simple to do and best of all, effective!

EL331002

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Depression and Health Risks – Weight Gain or Loss

Friday, October 9th, 2009

I have a few clients who tell me they hate to go clothes shopping – it simply gets them depressed. While they are mostly women, some men complain of this as well.

Upon deeper examination, one learns that it’s hard to tell where the depression starts. Am I depressed because I’ve gained weight and my clothes don’t fit or have I gained weight and my clothes don’t fit because I’m depressed.

As you probably already guessed, it’s a cycle involving both. One can’t just label depression as “one size fits all.” There are many components to depression and different severity levels. Just as diverse are the triggers which can set it off.

For example, there are those who feel “down” all the time, there seems to be no hope of anything better and to make things worse, there is no actual reason they can pinpoint. This is a chemical imbalance in the brain for which one needs to seek the advice of a professional.

For most, though, depression can be associated with actual events such as death of a loved one, stress at work, or the end of a relationship. The symptoms can still be quite serious and a bit of a paradox when describing them – insomnia, extreme tiredness, hopelessness, weight gain, weight loss, lack of an emotional response to stimuli and mood swings.

What’s the toll of prolonged depression? The toll on one’s health can be extreme. For today’s article, let’s focus on weight issues.

Oftentimes, when depressed, we have difficulty sleeping. In order for the body to replenish lost energy and oxygen from sleep, it will rely on whatever it can find. The body will tell the mind that it’s hungry to replace the energy somehow.

Additionally, continual stress can summon the release of cortisol in the brain which, in turn, increases one’s appetite.

Also compounding depression and keeping a healthy lifestyle is the fatigue oftentimes associated. One simply doesn’t have the energy to get out and exercise like he/she used to do.

Hence, weight gain, sometimes rapidly. This is not good for the heart and other major organs. Upon seeing the effect of weight gain on our body image, we can become even more depressed and so the cycle begins. Over time, conditions such as high blood pressure and/or diabetes can occur.

That’s when many will turn to extreme dieting to shed extra pounds. This will often involve some sort of fasting which is in essence starvation dieting. Taken to extremes one can develop certain life-threatening food disorders such as anorexia nervosa (deliberately starving the body) or bulimia (bingin on food then vomiting afterwards).

Even if these extreme disorders don’t occur, the body is not meant to gain and lose weight rapidly. Just as it’s not good to gain weight too quickly, rapid weight loss makes the body think it’s in essence, starving and it takes steps to slow down metabolism to compensate for the shortage in food.

Key ingredients to living a healthier lifestyle when subjected to depression triggers are to try to get plenty of rest, try to continue to eat healthy, get regular exercise and avoid stress when possible. When not possible, breathing and relaxation exercises can show amazing results in achieving a stress/depression-free life.

This is why my all natural programs have seen such amazing results. If weight loss is your concern, I highly encourage you to try my Weight Loss Breeze program. As mentioned before, the results are incredible!

EL331002

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Anxiety Disorder and Its Effects on Health

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Would it surprise any of you to know that the number one fear among adults is public speaking? It’s true! To know just how great a fear this is, consider that people rank this fear above fear of maiming or even death.

The above is one example of anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder is actually a blanket term to describe many types of anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder (example above), obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias, post traumatic stress disorder, separation anxiety and panic disorder.

With anxiety disorder, the sufferer experiences anxiety – the negative emotional state related to a perceived threat or uncontrollable situation and fear – the physiological and/or emotional response said threat.

One in ten people suffer from anxiety disorder with phobias – irrational fears or real or perceived threats being the most common.

For many, this condition is present in childhood, however for some, it is triggered in adulthood. The cause can be congenital (from birth) or environmental (emotional or physical trauma). This disorder is often worse during times of stress.

Symptoms include heart palpitations, sweating, difficulty breathing, nausea, diarrhea, trembling, persistent worry, headache, muscle tension, nervousness, restlessness, fatigue, exhaustion and over time, hypertension (high blood pressure). Many of these symptoms incorporate panic attacks which many think are heart attacks because of the similarity to heart attack symptoms.

Additionally, over sixty percent of anxiety disorder sufferers also suffer from depression. This is generally a combo effect. Persistent fear and anxiety can lead to a depressed state.

Many find their sleep patterns interrupted by anxiety – trouble sleeping due to constant worry or fear or more often, waking in the wee hours and being unable to return to sleep due to anxiety.

For many, the fear can be debilitating, interrupting day to day living. Many become shut-ins, trying desperately to control some aspect of his/her life.

Many often make it worse by not seeking help because they fear being labeled “crazy,” when in fact, these symptoms – no matter how unhealthy – are a way for the body/mind to attempt to deal with the anxiety and fear.

Many fear medications which are overwhelmingly prescribed by doctors as a quick fix. While these medications do work for some, they have side effects – many of them dangerous.

Over time, anxiety disorder is more than just troublesome to one’s mental state – it can also lead to health issues like high blood pressure, which can in turn, lead to heart disease, stroke and other health disorder.

Additionally, erectile dysfunction or ED is highly reported by men as a side effect of anxiety disorder for a couple of reasons. Some fear having a panic attack during sex. For others, the fear of achieving and/or maintaining an erection can cause panic.

These are only a couple of examples of conditions caused by anxiety. I would go so far as to say pretty much all diseases I’ve dealt with are partly caused by anxiety and part of the solution is to relax and gain inner peace.

If anxiety is affecting your blood pressure or causing ED, I highly recommend both my High Blood Pressure program and my Erectile Dysfunction program, respectively. They consist of easy to do breathing and relaxation exercises which have shown amazing results!

EL331002

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Motivation – What Makes Us Want to be Healthy?

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

I’ve been planning on writing this article for some time but I just keep losing interest. OK, just kidding. But how many of you want to achieve something big or small and just don’t seem to be able to get started?

I am a naturally high-energy person who, once an idea hits me, has trouble letting go of the idea until some sort of creation comes to fruition. Whether that be researching and writing an article, creating a new health program or taking a vacation.

I realize that I am on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to motivation. Many of my friends, family and clients, however, often experience a lack of motivation when it comes to achieving a dream no matter how big or small.

How many of you have wanted to complete that novel that’s been popping into your head for years? How many of you want to train for and complete a marathon? How many of you simply want to clean your house?

Have you ever sat down and tried to list the reasons why your motivation is so lacking? Let’s face it. Procrastination is easy and doesn’t need help in the excuse department.

Often times, we won’t do something positive just because it’s the right thing to do. We wait until we fear a negative impact of not doing the right thing. Let’s take something seemingly as easy as cleaning the house.

Isn’t it interesting how one’s house “suddenly” becomes dirty when we find out we’re having company? Or, even if we realize the house is in need of cleaning, motivation doesn’t strike until we learn of impending guests. Then, motivation comes on in a fury!

This can be applied to a healthy lifestyle. There are some of us who eat well, exercise regularly, get the proper amount of sleep and don’t drink to excess or do drugs, simply because we want to be healthy.

For many though, just like finishing that novel or taking out the trash, motivation to improve our health only comes when it becomes a necessity.

For example, it’s often not until one is diagnosed with high blood pressure and prescribed medication with awful side effects that one takes the initiative to exercise and eat better.

This can also be said of lifestyle induced health issues like type II diabetes, obesity, smoking related health issues and alcohol and drug related issues.

No matter how much we hear over the years that we are affecting our health by our negative choices, it’s not until we have been diagnosed with an actual problem that we seek to better our lives.

The best course of action is to make a plan for change, set a date and TELL someone. Having someone take an interest and ask you about your progress is highly motivating to stay on the path to good health.

I also encourage you to try one of my all natural programs such as my High Blood Pressure program or my Weight Loss Breeze program. The results are amazing! Make a plan and order today!

EL331002

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