Research Proves Emotional Wellbeing is Crucial to Good Physical Health

(NaturalNews – Reuben Chow) Much research over the years has shown that a positive emotional state actually has a very strong and profound impact on one’s physical health.

Endorphins and the immune system

Most people are aware of endorphins, the “feel-good hormones” in the body. Endorphins are a type of natural occurring substance known as peptides or neuropeptides which influence one’s mood, pain and pleasure. When released, they give rise to pleasurable responses not dissimilar to those linked to opiates.

What most people are probably unaware of is that endorphins can also be found in the immune system.

“The astounding revelation is that these endorphins and other chemicals like them are found not just in the brain, but in the immune system, the endocrine system, and throughout the body. When people discovered that there were endorphins in the brain that caused euphoria and pain relief, everyone could handle that. However, when they discovered they were in the immune system as well, it just didn’t fit, so these findings were denied for years. The original scientists had to repeat their studies many times to be believed,” said Candace Pert, PhD, former Chief of the Section on Brain Biochemistry of the Clinical Neuroscience Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health.

In other words, emotions are not just purely psychological, but actually have a direct impact on the functioning of different systems of the body, including the immune system.

According to Dr. Pert, viruses and neuropeptides use the same receptors to get into a cell. If there are more of the latter around, viruses would find it more difficult to penetrate cells.

Positive emotions and immunity

One’s mood and attitude has a great impact on his or her immune function. When optimistic and happy, one’s immunity is much stronger.

Several studies have shown that laughter and other positive emotional states can actually boost immune function. Indeed, laughter, play, love, faith, hope and self-acceptance help to boost and balance the immune system.

Even the use of therapies such as guided imagery, hypnosis and other meditative states has been revealed to improve immune function.

Other ways positive emotions improve health

More specific associations shown in other studies were stated by Jeanne Achterberg, PhD. For example, feeling helpless, hopeless, fearful, anxious or stressed all negatively affected health in one way or another. On the other hand, feeling secure and being able to cope actually countered the harmful effects of negative emotions, while feeling relaxed and joyful improved circulation to injured or painful areas of the body and boosted tissue repair.

A sense of control over a serious illness, attained via taking action, also helped to reduce fear and depression.

In one study, the animals trained to have a sense of control were most likely to fight off injected tumor cells, whereas those conditioned to experience helplessness were more likely to get cancer and die.

Research has also found that positive emotions helped to maintain blood pressure at healthy levels, while being optimistic helped to improve physical health and boost mental functioning. Other than boosting the immune system, laughing could help decrease inflammation.

Further, research suggested that having a sense of control, commitment and connectedness, plus looking at change as a challenge as supposed to a threat, helped to maintain good health even when placed under stress.

In addition, it was shown that meditation helped to produce beneficial changes in both the immune system and the brain.

Conclusion

Moral of the story? Laugh more, be more relaxed, choose to look at life more positively, learn to let go, and use therapies such as meditation and guided imagery to improve health.

Sources for this article include:

Trivieri, Jr., Larry, and Anderson, John W. Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide. 2nd ed. New York, USA: Celestial Arts, 2002. Print.

Murray, Michael, ND, and Pizzorno, Joseph, ND. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 1998. Print.

Mercola, Joseph, Dr., and Pearsall, Kendra, Dr. Take Control of Your Health. Schaumburg, IL: Mercola.com, 2007. Print.

10 Tips for Raising a Healthy Eater

(DrFrankLipman – Courtney Blatt) Parenting comes with lots of joy, but it can also be stressful when trying to balance all the ‘should do’s’ in your life. As a practicing health coach and mom, I know one of my most important responsibilities is to make sure my child is well nourished-both emotionally and physically. I’m often asked how I find time to cook and actually get my toddler to eat my healthy meals.

I started this journey by reading books and speaking to experienced colleagues within my nutrition-based community, but in the end I decided to follow my intuition. Once my son was old enough to eat solids, I asked myself, why can’t he just eat what I eat? I made it my mission to start him on a path of eating real, fresh food, just like I eat real, fresh food.

Now that he’s a toddler it’s gotten a bit more challenging, but with a little creativity and resourcefulness he’s on a great path. His diet is full of whole foods and we’ve managed to skip the typical child’s menu altogether. Whoo hoo!

Here are my top 10 tips to setting your child up for a lifetime of healthy eating habits:

1. Keep your Pregnancy Diet Clean

Research shows that what we eat while pregnant shapes our child’s food preferences later in life. Wow, is this true. I ate a ton of veggies during my pregnancy, and now my son’s favorite foods are plain, cut vegetables.

2. Don’t Cook Twice

As long as you’re eating fresh, whole foods, there’s no reason for a child to eat different foods than you. Luckily toddlers often want to eat what you’re eating. By setting a good example, it will encourage them to eat healthy foods too!

3. Keep a Set Schedule

With a regular sleeping and eating regimen kids are much less likely to ask for food outside meal or snack times.

4. Don’t use Food as a Reward

Giving your child treats for good behavior early in life sets them up for emotional eating habits a an adult.

5. Be Creative

Come up with ways to introduce different foods and flavors. If your little one doesn’t like a certain food the first time he tries it, present it another way. My son despised beans the first time I made them. I tried again with a simple chicken chili recipe and now it’s a staple in our house!

6. Plan Ahead for the Week

It’s easy to fall in the trap of reaching for processed food shortcuts if you don’t know what you’re making for a meal in advance. On Sunday night, I plan meals and shopping times for the week so I don’t get overwhelmed.

7. Utilize a Slow Cooker

It’s a great tool for making food for the entire family. You can also cook a large batch when you have time, and freeze in small containers for easy meals in busy weeks to come.

8. Be Flexible and Give Choices

If a meal isn’t working out, try giving your child another choice. Toddlers love to show their independence, so give them the opportunity to choose between two healthy options.

9. Skip the Kid’s Menu

Almost every option on the kid’s menu is fried, loaded with butter, or smothered in cheese. So what alternatives do you have? Ask them to make a small version of what you’re ordering. If that doesn’t work, request they grill the protein instead of frying it and add a vegetable. Or just order an extra side and share your meal!

10. Don’t Make Food an Issue

The last thing you want is your child feeling deprived. If he’s at a birthday party or event and there are limited options, it’s not the end of the world. Chances are if your child is eating healthy, they’ll develop an inclination for healthy foods. With any luck once they can make their own decision, they won’t even want the junk food!

Bacillus Subtilis and The Nutritional Benefits of Dirt

(NaturalNews – Dr. David Jockers) For most of the history of mankind, we lived in close contact with the Earth. The majority of our diet consisted of foods and water that had dirt clinging to it. This dirt was not an inert substance but was a dynamic mineral rich, probiotic infused source of electrochemical energy. The unique soil based probiotic bacillus subtilis was one of the key components that gave the dirt its powerful nutritional benefits.

Humans are the only species on the planet that does not intentionally consume dirt. Our ancestors always had dirt in their diet through picking produce out of the ground and drinking from lakes, rivers and streams. Many original doctors and medicine men would use dirt in their various healing concoctions. Today, we intentionally look to sterilize our food and avoid the consumption of dirt.

Bacillus subtilis and our immune system:

Bacillus subtilis is an ubiquitous bacterium that is commonly found in water, soil, air and decomposing plant residue. This bacterium is called a human soil organism (HSO) and has an extraordinary ability to survive harsh environments. It produces an endospore that allows it to endure extreme conditions of heat, dryness, humidity and acidity in the environment.

B subtilis is fully resistant to bile salts and can handle the harsh stomach acid environment which allows it to get into the digestive system and colonize. It has beneficial effects in the digestive system (1, 2, 3). Research has revealed that supplemental B subtilis improves symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (4).

B subtilis is able to suppress the growth of harmful pathogens, strengthens the mucosal biofilm and enhance the growth of other good probiotic strains such as lactobacillus species in the gut microflora (5, 6).

Soil based organisms and our innate immunity:

As our ancestors were exposed to trillions of organisms every day through their dirt consumption they were strengthening their microbiome and immune system. They were exposed to many different pathogenic organisms to which their immune system learned how to adapt and destroy.

If the pathogenic load was too strong the individual would get sick and sometimes they would die. This was obviously tragic and was a leading cause of death. However, those who didn’t die often had robust immune systems that were well-adapted to the harsh pathogens around them.

Modern technology and improving immunity:

With modern technology we are not exposed to these natural microbes. The use of our technology can reduce the pathogenic load we are exposed too in order to prevent sickness and infectious fatalities, meanwhile, providing the proper stimulation to our immune system.

One such way to gain these benefits is the inclusion of human soil organisms in our natural diet. This would include growing much of our own food in gardens and consuming it right out of the ground with little cleaning. We could also drink water from clean rivers, lakes, springs and streams.

Finally, one can use naturally fermented foods and supplement with probiotics containing HSO’s such as bacillus subtilis. Most probiotics on the market only contain the lactobacillus and bifido bacterium species. These are fantastic for the health of the small and large intestine but some individuals struggle with a sensitivity to these microorganisms.

It is wise to find a probiotic supplement with HSO’s such as bacillus subtilis which is hyposensitive and easy to tolerate for most individuals.

Sources for this article include:
1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
6) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
7) http://organicfitness.com
8) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Grounding Is a Key Mechanism by Which Your Body Maintains Health

Have you ever noticed how good it feels to walk barefoot on a sandy beach, or in a forest? There is a reason for that—it’s called the grounding effect. The reason for this sense of well-being is due to the fact that you’re receiving a surge of potent healing electrons from the ground.

The earth has a slightly negative charge, so when you stand barefoot on that sand, electrons from the earth flow into your body, giving you a virtual “transfusion” of healing power.

The featured documentary, The Grounded 2, is a sequel to the film The Grounded, released in 2013. The sequel features Step Sinatra, the son of cardiologist Stephen Sinatra MD, astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell, and yours truly, among many others.

Step was a Wall Street trader until his health suddenly began to decline, bringing him to the brink of death. He credits his ultimate recovery to learning about grounding, along with a switch to an all-organic diet.

In 2010, his father, Dr. Stephen Sinatra released a book on the healing power of grounding called Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?, co-authored with Clint Ober, one of the pioneers in this field.

The Ultimate Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory

Grounding or Earthing is defined as placing one’s bare feet on the ground whether it be dirt, grass, sand, or concrete (especially when humid or wet). When you ground to the electron-enriched earth, an improved balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system occurs.

The earth is a natural source of electrons and subtle electrical fields, which are essential for proper functioning of immune systems, circulation, synchronization of biorhythms and other physiological processes and may actually be the most effective, essential, least expensive, and easiest to attain antioxidant.

Modern science has thoroughly documented the connection between inflammation and all of the chronic diseases, including the diseases of aging and the aging process itself. It is important to understand that inflammation is a condition that can be reduced or prevented by grounding your body to the Earth, the way virtually all of your ancestors have done for hundreds if not thousands of generations.

How the Modern Running Shoe May Be Destroying Your Health

Materials such as metals are electrical conductors. They contain free or mobile electrons that can carry electrical energy from place to place.

Your body is somewhat conductive because it contains a large number of charged ions (called electrolytes) dissolved in water. Your blood and other body fluids are therefore good conductors. Free or mobile electrons can also move about within your body

Other materials, called insulators, have very few free or mobile electrons. Plastic and rubber are good insulators and are used to cover electrical wires to keep the conductors from touching each other and from touching your skin, which could otherwise give you a shock.

Traditionally, shoes were made of leather, which actually conducts electrons and therefore maintains a conductive contact between the earth and your feet. However, modern day rubber and plastics are electrical insulators and therefore block the beneficial flow of electrons from the Earth to your body.

Grounding Is a Foundational Aspect for Optimal Health

Free radical stress from exposure to mercury pollution, cigarettes, insecticides, pesticides, trans fats, radiation, and many others, continually deplete your body of electrons.

This is one of the primary reasons why antioxidants are used, which actually donate electrons back into your body, to help ward off free radical damage to your tissues.

You can also get these electrons by going outside, barefoot. Touching the earth helps neutralize the damaging positive charges of free radicals in your body.

According to Clint Ober, this lack of grounding appears to be an underlying thread in most chronic disease—a phenomenon he calls “electron deficiency syndrome.”

For a visual demonstration of this, review my previous article, which features an experiment conducted by Gary Schwartz, PhD, at the University of Arizona. Using sunflowers, he demonstrates the powerful biological effects of grounding.

The Health Effects of Grounding

When your body is exposed to a lot of free radical stress, your blood tends to thicken, and positive charges accumulate in your body. This causes chronic inflammation, which is a hallmark of most chronic and degenerative diseases.

Grounding effectively helps alleviate inflammation in your body. It also helps thin your blood, by providing your red blood cells with a surplus of electrons so they can effectively repel each other and avoid being sticky, which can lead to blood clots that can cause a heart attack or stroke. Research has demonstrated it takes about 80 minutes for the free electrons from the earth to reach your bloodstream and transform your blood cells.

For example, early (and even some current) birth control pills were notorious for causing heart attacks in women. One of the mechanisms responsible for this increased risk is that synthetic estrogens and progesterones increase blood viscosity. Other biochemical alterations caused by grounding include changes in:

Phosphorus
Calcium metabolism
Fibroid metabolism
White blood cells

Grounding also helps calm your sympathetic nervous system, which supports your heart rate variability, which plays an important role in balancing, in your autonomic nervous system. Pain relief, improved sleep, and a generally enhanced sense of well-being are but a few of the health benefits reported by people who try grounding.

Last but not least, when you are grounded to the earth, the negatively charged electrons you receive increase the structure of the water in your cells—just as water increases in structure when a negative charge is introduced by an electrode.

As explained by Gerald Pollack, PhD, author of The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor, living water is negatively charged water. This water can hold energy, much like a battery, and can deliver energy too. In essence, when you ground, you are charging every single cell in your body with energy your body can use for self-healing.

How to Ground, Both Indoors and Outdoors

Walking barefoot is one of the easiest and best ways to get and stay grounded, but you’ll need to do so on the proper surface. Many walking surfaces in today’s modern world will NOT allow for electron transfer between the earth and your body. This includes asphalt, wood, rubber, plastic, vinyl, tar, and tarmac. Surfaces that will allow your body to ground include:

Sand (beach)
Grass (preferably moist)
Bare soil
Concrete and brick (as long as it’s not painted or sealed)
Ceramic tile

Even indoors, and while flying, there are ways to help you stay grounded. As noted in the film, touching the faucet with one hand while shaving with the other helps you ground. And when flying, you can take off your shoes and place your feet (bare or with socks) on the steel struts of the chair in front of you, as this too will help you stay grounded. There are also grounding pads you can use to sleep or sit on, which can be particularly beneficial if you live in a high-rise building.

Grounding May Be Essential for Life and Health

It’s important to understand that grounding is not a “treatment” or a “cure” for any disease or disorder. Rather, it is one of the key mechanisms by which your body maintains equilibrium and health. The human body evolved in constant contact with the earth, and your body needs this continuous interchange of energy in order to function properly.

Exercising barefoot outdoors is one of the most wonderful, inexpensive and powerful ways of incorporating grounding into your daily life. You can also simply take off your shoes as much as you can when you’re outdoors to take advantage of these natural grounding opportunities.

10 Superfoods for Babies and Toddlers

(NaturalNews – Alex Du Toit) Babies and toddlers do not eat much food because their tummies are tiny. That is why it is important to feed them foods that are packed with nutrients. Superfoods are natural foods that are high in nutrients and antioxidants packed with health giving properties. They are easily digestible and keep the body and mind healthy and working great. These 10 superfoods are essential for babies’ and toddlers’ growing bodies:

1. Avocado
Avocados are the best first food for your baby. They are a perfect consistency and they contain an abundance of nutrients including high levels of omega-3s. You can simply slice open an avocado and feed it straight into your little one’s mouth. If you would like a smoother consistency, add a little breast milk or substitute and mash.

2. Beans
Beans are super nutritious. They are very high in antioxidants containing 10 times the amount of antioxidants as oranges. They are high in fiber, which prevents your baby from becoming constipated. They are high in iron, protein and vitamin B. They should be soaked overnight before preparing to decrease cooking time.

3. Blueberries
Blueberries are super nutritious. They are higher in antioxidants than any other fresh fruit and very beneficial to your baby’s brain, urinary and nervous systems as well as their heart and eyes. They are also high in fiber, and vitamins A and C.

4. Coconut
Coconuts contain medium chain fatty acids which have significant health benefits and are similar to the ones found in human breast milk. They help boost the immune system, improve digestion, and balance the blood sugar.

5. Chia seeds
Chia seeds are higher in antioxidants than blueberries and have more calcium than whole milk. They are very high in omega-3s, magnesium, fiber, iron, potassium, and protein.

6. Dark leafy greens
These leafy greens are rich in antioxidants and high in iron and folate. They are a top superfood because they contain large amounts of vitamins C, and K as well as calcium. Vitamin K and calcium are great bone-builders.

7. Eggs (cage-free/organic)
Eggs are full of high quality nutrients for your baby. They contain choline, a B-vitamin that plays an important role in the development and function of the baby’s brain. Eggs are full of protein and omega-3s as well as vitamin D, folate, the antioxidant lutein and many minerals such as zinc, iron, and selenium, a great immune booster.

8. Oats
Oats are a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber and they are also rich in phytochemicals, vitamin E, zinc, iron, magnesium and selenium. Oats are a good source of protein and a great way to start the morning. Use plain oats and add your own toppings such as nuts, seeds or fruit.

9. Quinoa
Quinoa is a complete protein making it perfect for vegetarian babies, it is high in lysine, an amino acid important for tissue growth and repair. Quinoa has a good amount of fiber and is high in nutrients such as manganese, magnesium and has a very high iron content. Quinoa is a gluten-free grain and is an alternative to whole grain rice in many baby food recipes.

10. Sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are among the most nutritious vegetables available. They are rich in phyto-nutrients and high in vitamins A and C. They have a naturally sweet flavor and creamy texture making these vegetables appealing to babies and toddlers.

Sources for this article include:
www.babycenter.com
www.wholesomebabyfood.com
www.parents.com