What's In Your Beef

Beef has gotten a bad rap. Too much red meat can contribute to a variety of health problems, though it's not the meat that's necessarily the problem; it's the way the animal is raised (and how much of it you're eating!). Cattle used to be raised on pasture year round, from birth to slaughter, where they fed off the natural grasses and hay that grew on the land. Cows are ruminants and are by nature vegetarians.

In recent years, though, cattle production has become more centralized and most animals are now “finished” on feedlots. Finishing is the process of preparing animals for slaughter – the length of time an animal is finished depends on the practices of the farmer. The longer the finishing time, the higher the chance the animal is being raised on a factory farm.

Factory farm feedlots are usually large, confined areas where cattle are finished before slaughter. Massive amounts of feces and urine are accumulated in this confined area after the cattle are fed large amounts of grain and byproducts such as outdated human food, dairy products, chicken litter (which contains manure, feathers, bedding materials, and possibly scraps from dead animals), as well as other byproducts that are cheap and readily available. These types of feed additives are not healthy for the animal.

The practice of feeding cow parts back to cattle spreads mad cow disease, a highly infectious disease that kills a cow by destroying the animal's brain. The practice was banned in 1997, but several loopholes in the regulations leave open the possibility that cow remains could be fed back to cattle. (Cows are by nature vegetarian and should not be fed any type of animal product.) Over a hundred cases of the human form of mad cow disease have been documented and have been attributed to eating meat from infected animals.

All animals that are given feed additives should be avoided – in cattle, the most common additives are hormones that are implanted in the animals to make them grow faster and non-therapeutic antibiotics, which are fed to the animals in low doses to help ward off disease. There are a variety of health issues associated with these practices.

Another problem with today's meat supply is the meat inspection system and slaughterhouses. To increase profits, line speeds have been increased dramatically, to the point where workers in processing facilities are said to have one of the most dangerous jobs of all. Injuries are very common. The facilities are also unsanitary, making the meat more susceptible to such pathogens and bacteria like e.coli and salmonella. To make matters worse, the meat inspection system is now more focused on paperwork, instead of visually inspecting meat.

Instead of trying to solve the problems plaguing the meat industry, food irradiation is being touted as the solution. Food irradiation is a process where high levels of radiation are shot through the meat to kill off bacteria. It is a controversial process that destroys the nutrient content of the food and creates new compounds that have not been tested for safety.

Farmers that practice sustainable methods of agriculture raise their cattle on pasture and either feed them grasses only, or supplement the grasses with controlled amounts of grain. By controlling the amount of grain fed to the animal, the meat will still have the marbled texture and flavor that most consumers are used to (meaning the meat will have the fat in it that gives it the taste we are used to), but the animal will not get sick from eating too much grain. A general guideline to remember is that the more grain fed to the animal, the more fat in the meat; and the more fat in the meat, the less healthy it is for you.

For more great information on how you and your family can make healthy food choices, go to the Sustainable Table

Healthy Breathing

Breathing can be trained for both positive and negative influences on health. Chronic stress can lead to a restriction of the connective and muscular tissue in the chest resulting in a decrease range of motion of the chest wall. Due to rapid more shallow breathing, the chest does not expand as much as it would with slower deeper breaths and much of the air exchange occurs at the top of the lung tissue towards the head. This results in "chest" breathing. You can see if you are a chest breather by placing your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your abdomen. As you breathe, see which hand rises more. If your right hand rises more, you are a chest breather. If your left hand rises more, you are an abdomen breather.

Chest breathing is inefficient because the greatest amount of blood flow occurs in the lower lobes of the lungs, areas that have limited air expansion in chest breathers. Rapid, shallow, chest breathing results in less oxygen transfer to the blood and subsequent poor delivery of nutrients to the tissues. The good news is that similar to learning to play an instrument or riding a bike, you can train the body to improve its breathing technique. With regular practice you will breathe from the abdomen most of the time, even while asleep.

Breathing exercises such as this one should be done twice a day or whenever you find your mind dwelling on upsetting thoughts or when you are experiencing pain.

* Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. When you take a deep breath in, the hand on the abdomen should rise higher than the one on the chest. This insures that the diaphragm is pulling air into the bases of the lungs.
* After exhaling through the mouth, take a slow deep breath in through your nose imagining that you are sucking in all the air in the room and hold it for a count of 7 (or as long as you are able, not exceeding 7)
* Slowly exhale through your mouth for a count of 8. As all the air is released with relaxation, gently contract your abdominal muscles to completely evacuate the remaining air from the lungs. It is important to remember that we deepen respirations not by inhaling more air but through completely exhaling it.
* Repeat the cycle four more times for a total of 5 deep breaths and try to breathe at a rate of one breath every 10 seconds (or 6 breaths per minute). At this rate our heart rate variability increases which has a positive effect on cardiac health.

Learning these techniques will relieve stress and improve your overall well being.

Medical Tourism

Thousands of patients are exploring a new option in today's complex and costly arena of health care. With the costs of medical procedures skyrocketing, here in the U.S., companies are popping up that help patients find quality care in overseas hospitals. One of the oldest companies to offer these services is PlanetHospital. Here is a description of what they do, as taken from their web site:

"PlanetHospital facilitates quality, affordable, and immediate medical care with some of the best surgeons from around the world. We also source innovative and promising medical care being done around the world and make it easy for our clients to access them. Our clients include individuals who are paying for their own medical care, self insured corporations, and insurers. PlanetHospital has representatives in each destination we offer. Real doctors and nurses are available to answer questions. We do not mark up surgery costs. Only Planet Hospital has a follow up care network. We even help our clients get reimbursed for their procedure through their health insurance."

All types of procedures are available; ortho, dental,obesity, heart, cancer, cosmetic, elective, medicine of tomorrow, fertility, etc. To give you an idea on savings, consider the cost of heart bypass surgery. The cash price for this procedure, in the U.S., can range from $122,000 - $176,000....if you have insurance, it might range $54,000 - $79,000. For this same procedure, overseas in a first rate hospital with high caliber surgeons, it would range $10- 20,000. A considerable difference!

With so many people without health insurance, medical tourism is now becoming very popular with people who simply cannot afford the costs that U.S. hospitals and surgeons are charging. For those with serious illnesses and limited funds, there are now viable options for excellent health care and in the example of PlanetHospital, they can take care of all the arrangements.

Healing Music

Our body has the ability to heal itself. It is when our bodies fall out of balance that we become ill. Fabien Maman, a French composer, acupuncturist, and bio-energeticist, believes that each individual has one particular frequency that is unique to each person. This frequency, which he calls the "fundamental sound" has been verified at the cellular level under a microscope. Just as each person has their fundamental sound, he also believes that certain types of music have different affects on the mind and body depending on the time of day or the season in which it is played. We must pay close attention to how we feel in relationship to different sounds or music that we hear as they all can have a different affect on us.

As described by Amrita Cottrell in this amazing article"It has been proven that music affects us physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. We know that our responses to music are far more complex, subtle and far-reaching than can be proven scientifically. However, science has measured observable physical effects, such as changes in blood flow through the fingertips or the speed of muscle reactions to sound. New areas of understanding in the field of blood chemistry, show the connection between the body's release of endorphins and neuro-peptides and changes in emotion." She goes on to tell about the research, of Fabien Maman, that has been done on cancer cells, using music. It showed that cancer cells were not able to support a progressive accumulation of vibratory frequencies. With the use of music, cancer cells could not hold their cellular structure and collapsed....drastically shrinking breast cancer tumors. This is a fascinating article that I would encourage everyone to read.

A few years ago, Linda and I came across a CD of healing tones, put out by Dr. Andrew Weil, and we put it on to play some nights while we are falling asleep. It has a calming affect and my thought is that even if we fall asleep, that on a cellular level, the music is being "heard". I do not have to be awake for the good affects to be felt. It is very calming and restorative. In this hectic world that we all live in, we need someplace to go where we can meditate or relax and rejuvenate ourselves. I encourage you to discover what your "fundamental sound" is and incorporate it into your daily lives to achieve balance and harmony.

Life Vest

Was watching one of those medical shows last week and they told about an item that has the potential to save a lot of lives. It's called LifeVest and it's the first wearable defibrillator. Here is the description from the manufacturer's website:

The LifeVest (Life Vest) wearable defibrillator is the first and only wearable defibrillator for patients at high risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). The non-invasive device, approved by the FDA in 2002, provides emergency defibrillation and has been worn by over 9,000 patients, and has a 98 percent first shock success rate for treating patients for SCA without requiring bystander intervention.

LifeVest (Life Vest) Wearable Defibrillator

Timely emergency defibrillation is the single most important factor in saving a SCA victim's life. If it detects a life threatening rhythm, the LifeVest alerts the patient to allow a conscious patient to prevent a shock. If the patient is unconscious, the device delivers emergency defibrillation in the form of an electrical shock to restore normal rhythm. The entire event, from detecting a life-threatening arrhythmia to automatically delivering an emergency defibrillation shock, usually occurs in less than a minute.
Life Vest Emergency Defibrillation

The LifeVest wearable defibrillator is worn outside the body rather than implanted in the chest. The LifeVest system consists of two main components: (1) an electrode belt and garment that surrounds the patient's chest, and (2) a monitor that the patient wears around the waist or from a shoulder strap. The LifeVest electrodes are dry and non-adhesive to provide patient comfort. The monitor weighs about 1.8 pounds, making it the lightest external emergency defibrillator available.

All of this can be done without any bystander intervention. How great is that for high risk patients to have the peace of mind that they can lead a normal life knowing that this device is watching over them. Another great medical innovation !

Painless Cavity Filling

For those of you who dread having a cavity filled, there is good news. A new procedure, using a laser, makes getting a filling a quick and painless procedure.The Waterlase cavity-filling system chips away decay and plaque in the tooth with shots of water and a laser, then the cavity is filled with a liquid composite and sealed with a curing light, resulting in a painless, five-minute procedure that allows the patient to work, eat and drink immediately after. How cool is that ? No numb lip, with the sensation that you're drooling all over the place or have a droopy smile on your face. No shots to dread or the pain of drilling to get the cavity. It's a new day for our kids....no childhood trauma of going to the dentist to get a filling !

Germs - Part 2

So here's the scoop on the remaining five areas where germs lurk that you may not have thought of.....

Your car’s dashboard
In tests of 100 vehicles from across the United States, the dashboard was found to be the second-most-common spot for bacteria and mold. (Food spills were number one.) The researchers' rationale: When air — which carries mold spores and bacteria — gets sucked in through the vents, it's often drawn to the dashboard, where it can deposit the spores and germs. Because the dashboard receives the most sun and tends to stay warm, it's prime for growth.

Keep it clean: Regularly swipe the inside of your car with disinfecting wipes. Be more vigilant during allergy season — about 20 million Americans are affected by asthma, which is caused in part by an allergic reaction to mold.

Soap dispensers
Soap that harbors bacteria may sound ironic, but one recent study found that about 25 percent of liquid soap dispensers in public restrooms were contaminated by fecal bacteria. "Most of these containers are never cleaned, so bacteria grows as the soap scum builds up," says Gerba. "And the bottoms are touched by dirty hands, so there's a continuous culture going on feeding millions of bacteria."

Keep it clean: Be sure to scrub hands thoroughly for 15 to 20 seconds with plenty of hot water — and if you have an alcohol gel disinfectant, use that, too.

Restaurant ketchup bottle
It's the rare eatery that regularly bleaches down condiment containers. And the reality is that many people don't wash their hands before eating, says Reynolds. So while you may be diligent, the guy who poured the ketchup before you may not have been, which means his germs are now on your fries.

Keep it clean: Squirt hand sanitizer on the outside of the bottle or use a disinfectant wipe before you grab it. Holding the bottle with a napkin won't help — they're porous, so microorganisms can walk right through, says Reynolds.

The refrigerator seal
A University of Arizona survey of 160 homes in three U.S. cities found that the seal around the fridge tested positive 83 percent of the time for common molds. The mold can spread every time the refrigerator door opens — exposing anyone who's susceptible to allergies and potentially contaminating the food.

Keep it clean: Wipe fridge seals at least once a week with a diluted bleach solution or disinfectant.

Your cell phone
You probably put it down any place that's convenient, but consider this: Several studies on cell phones and PDAs found that they carry tons of bacteria, including staph (which can cause skin infections), pseudomonas (eye infections), and salmonella (stomach ailments). Many electronic devices are sheathed in leather or vinyl cases, which provide plenty of creases and crevices for germs to hide.

Keep it clean: Use a disinfecting wipe a few times a week, and be conscious of where you rest personal items.

Germ Hot Spots..

Found this great article, by Alyssa Shaffer from Prevention magazine about "hidden" germ areas within our households that you might not have thought of.Due to the size of the article, this will be a two part posting.

You may think you know the obvious places that germs propagate — the doctor's office, the soles of your shoes — but many more germ-friendly locales are completely unexpected yet no less dangerous.

The kitchen faucet
That metal aeration screen at the end of your kitchen faucet reduces water flow, which is good for the environment, but not so much for your health: Running water keeps the screen moist, an ideal condition for bacteria growth. Because tap water is far from sterile, if you accidentally touch the screen with dirty fingers or food, bacteria can grow on the faucet, explains microbiologist Kelly Reynolds, PhD, an associate professor of community environment and policy at the University of Arizona College of Public Health. Over time, bacteria build up and form a wall of pathogens called biofilm that sticks to the screen. "Eventually, that biofilm may even be big enough to break off and get onto your food or dishes," she notes.

Keep it clean: Once a week, remove the screen and soak it in a diluted bleach solution — follow the directions on the label. Replace the screen, and let the water run a few minutes before using.

The garbage disposal
That raw chicken or spinach you're rinsing for dinner is often loaded with harmful bacteria, which can make the young, the elderly, or anyone with a compromised immune system seriously ill. In fact, there are often more than 500,000 bacteria in the kitchen sink — about 1,000 times more than the average toilet has. Although the metal part of the disposal produces ions that can help kill germs, they still love to grow on the crevices in and around the slimy rubber stopper. That means your disposal can become party central for bacteria, contaminating whatever touches it — dishes, utensils, even your hands.

Keep it clean: At least once a week, clean the disposal's rubber stopper with a diluted bleach solution — soap and water aren't enough.

The welcome mat
It serves to greet not only your guests but also all the bugs on the bottoms of their shoes. One study found that nearly 96 percent of shoe soles had traces of coliform, which includes fecal bacteria. "The area near your front door is one of the dirtiest in the house," says Reynolds. Once bacteria plant their stakes in your mat, anytime you walk on it, you give them a free ride into your home.

Keep it clean: Spray the doormat once a week with a fabric-safe disinfectant (such as Lysol Disinfectant Spray). Leave shoes at the door, and avoid resting bags and groceries on the mat, too.

Your vacuum cleaner
"Vacuums — including the brushes and bags — are like meals-on-wheels for bacteria," says Charles Gerba, PhD, professor of environmental biology at the University of Arizona. "You suck in all this bacteria and food, creating an atmosphere for growth." A recent study by Gerba and his team found that 13 percent of all vacuum cleaner brushes tested positive for E. coli, which means you could spread it around the house each time you use the appliance.

Keep it clean: Change your vacuum bag frequently, and do so outdoors to avoid the cloud of bacteria that filters into the air. (Vacuum bags that feature antibacterial linings are best, and are available for many major brands.) Clean the cavity of a bagless vacuum with diluted bleach and let it air-dry.

A dish towel
You know a sponge can harbor nasty germs, but a recent study of hundreds of homes across the United States found that about 7 percent of kitchen towels were contaminated with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), the difficult-to-treat staph bacteria that can cause life-threatening skin infections. Dish towels also rated tops for dangerous strains of E. coli and other bacteria. We often use towels to wipe up spills, says Reynolds, then reuse before washing them, which spreads germs.

Keep it clean: Stick to paper towels to clean countertops, and save the dishrag to dry just-washed pots and plates. Change towels or launder at least twice a week in hot water and bleach.

Stay tuned for the second half of this informative piece.....

What's all the fuss about acai ?

I'm sure you've seen weight loss or antioxidant ads on TV touting the great weight loss and anti-aging properties of acai. Well, not knowing much about it or actually what it is I decided to do some research.

The acai berry is an inch-long reddish, purple fruit. It comes from the acai palm tree which is native to Central and South America. It is a relative of the blueberry, cranberry, and other dark purple fruits. Acai contains several substances called anthocyanins and flavonoids. Anthocyanins are responsible for the red, purple, and blue hues in many fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Foods that are richest in anthocyanins -- such as blueberries, red grapes, red wine, and acai -- are very strongly colored, ranging from deep purple to black.

Anthocyanins and flavonoids are powerful antioxidants that help defend the body against life's stressors. They also play a role in the body's cell protection system. Free radicals are harmful byproducts produced by the body. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants may interfere with aging and the disease process by neutralizing free radicals. Some studies show that acai fruit pulp has a very high antioxidant capacity with even more antioxidant content than cranberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, or blueberry. Studies are ongoing, though, and the jury is still out.

People eat acai berries to address various health conditions. But so far, acai berries have no known health benefit that’s any different than that of other similar fruits.As far as the weight loss claim, although acai is touted in some weight loss products, few studies have tested the benefit of acai in promoting weight loss. The jury’s still out on whether there is something special about acai’s ability to shed excess pounds.

Source: WebMD

My Experience with Reiki

One of the topics featured on this site is on reiki. I first learned of reiki many years ago when I took my kids to an Open House that was being held at the college where I used to work. We went to the Health Sciences building and were looking around at the various exhibits. They were starting a workshop in one of the rooms on reiki.....something I knew nothing about.

Mind you that on this day, I was having a horrible case of bursitis in my shoulder. I couldn't lift my arm up away from body without a great deal of pain in my shoulder. I had suffered from this, off and on, during my ten years in the baking profession.....from kneading and pounding on dough but I don't remember what caused the flare up on this particular day.

We sat down in the room and listened to what the woman was saying about reiki.....none of which I remember. She asked for someone to demonstrate on and I volunteered. I laid down on a table but didn't tell her anything about my shoulder being incredibly sore. She placed her hands above my shoulder area and left them there for a short while. When she finished, I sat up and got off the table. When I tried to move my sore arm I did so as if there had never been anything wrong with it at all. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't felt anything miraculously different while she had her hands there....no tingling...no warmth....no nothing. But when I moved it around; something I hadn't been able to do at all that day, it moved freely and effortlessly. I became a believer and decided I needed to learn more.

Since then I've taken a reiki class myself and ironically enough the instructor was the same woman who had held the workshop many years earlier. Strange, huh ? I've used reiki on myself and on Linda for a variety of ailments. I'm not a reiki master....that takes multiple levels of training but reiki is something that is very interesting to learn about and can have a profound impact on healing.

Welcome....

I created this site due to my interest in a variety of healing systems. We tend to be raised with certain beliefs on what forms of "medicine" we should use but only by opening our minds to new or sometimes ancient practices, will we find new things that can help us in our daily lives. Many of the charts here are interactive. Roll your mouse over the chart to see how various parts of the body are impacted. I encourage you to explore the sites here....there is a lot of great information that can help you in your search for.....The Total Being.