Dr Garde’s Essentials for Optimal Life: Light
Number 1 Sunlight. Well, this is a strange No. 1. We hear so much about the dangers of sunlight and wrinkled skin and it’s blamed for causing skin cancer. We spend millions of dollars slathering on lotions with higher and higher SPF numbers to block the sun’s rays. Yet there is a large percentage of the population that will spend more millions of dollars to lie on a tanning bed.
We grew up as a species in the outdoors and the exposure to sunlight is critical to our health. Sunlight is our primary source of energy and life. If you follow the chain back long enough everything we have comes from sunlight. Your breakfast this morning, the car you drove in, the paper you have on your desk – it all started from sunlight. Coffee? Coffee beans come from coffee plants that require the sun to grow and mature. Orange juice? Same thing for the orange fruit trees. Bacon and eggs or oatmeal wouldn’t be there without the sun. All the metals in your car originally came from the sun. And that paper you have in front of you; tree fiber. The desk? Same thing. Everything in your environment can be traced back to the benefit of sunlight. It is all organized energy from the sun.
When sunlight hits our skin there are bio-chemical changes and reactions that occur at the cellular level to provide us with nutrients, like vitamin D which are so important for our immune function and cancer fighting ability. As populations of humans migrated further away from the equatorial area where we first appeared (I think it is not by chance occurrence that we evolved in equatorial Africa) skin content of melanin went down. Melanin is a natural sun blocker and was a hindrance in getting appropriate sunlight in more northern and southern regions and lower elevations of the planet.
To be clear, too much sunlight isn’t good for you. But that is a human problem of overindulgence. “If some is good then more is better” is a false assumption when we are speaking of balance and ranges and appropriate levels of well, anything.
We have heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) where in the months with less natural light people who have normal mental and emotional responses are more lethargic, depressed and anxious. Some of you may know people or are yourself affected with this disorder. Treatment for this condition is to add artificial full spectrum light (an approximation of sunlight) (some people take drugs…??). So sunlight can affect mental function and mood as well as our nutritional health and our wellbeing. Winter times and an indoor lifestyle can severely limit exposure to sunlight, the first essential nutrient that has such a powerful effect on the body.
Science tells us that twenty minutes of sunlight a day will give us the exposure to make a sufficient amount of vitamin D. There is evidence that sunlight is good for eyesight (But do not stare at the sun!) The sun is a powerful supplier of health, vitality and life. But too much power is – too much! The harsh effects of sunlight come from the suns rays’ capacity to alter the DNA and cause cellular mutation. Fortunately, if we have proper internal nutritional support we build an internal ‘sunscreen’ of anti-oxidants that naturally combat the production of free radicals that is a by-product of rays of sunlight penetrating the skin.
As we age we lose the ability to naturally provide our internal sunscreen so sunlight can be considered unhealthy to the extent that we cannot provide anti-oxidant supplies sufficient to neutralize free radical formation.
If we stay outdoors an appropriate time period to give us the benefits of sunlight without overdosing; if we have an internal environment that provides an abundance of anti-oxidants to help with occasional overexposure, we’ve take a major first step in building natural health. The sun is the first vital nutrient from which all health and life flows. We must honor that as well as respect its power and place in our lives. Sunlight should be in first place in your ‘medicine cabinet’. And it is free!
June 23, 2009
Dr Garde’s Essentials for Optimal Life: Light
June 15, 2009
Pride and Posture
I came upon a fine piece of insightful writing in an article called “Pride and Posture” written by Sarah Auda Jaggard.
I think you should take a moment and read it and then finish with my response to Sarah included below. I’d love to hear any comments you’d care to make regarding this topic.
I’d like to address my comments to the author of this piece. Sarah, thank you. You don’t know me, but I have the privilege of knowing you through your words. You are a person of depth and understanding with great capacity for wisdom and teaching. It was a pleasure to meet you through your article.
As a health care provider for over 35 years I studied and taught my patients about the importance of posture. Not just for the removal of pain and loss but as a way to enhance their own sense of vibrant expression of who they are. “Posture” and the concept of posture penetrates every level of perception of us as beings, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
There is a resonance with the spirit in how we carry ourselves. We are the chalice that holds the Spirit and as we embody that essence we stand naturally uplifted.
For me, I have difficulty when I see deeper into how things are interrelated in this world. With the knowledge of insight into the inner workings of things that people don’t usually see – Posture for one – there is the danger of feeling superior in the knowing. “Look what I know” Such a prideful position leads me to the precipice. It has been something that I have been mindful of since I was a student. I am so thankful that I read a quote from Oliver Cromwell that I repeat to myself over the years, “I beseech you, brethren, in the bowels of Christ, to think that you may be wrong”.
With knowledge comes certainty, a definite double sided sword. Knowledge can bring power but it is destructive to the spirit if the mind thinks it comes from itself. Pride. Arrogance. Intolerance. Focus on knowledge as an end in itself, not how it can help people. You say humility; I call it uncertainty. Either way when I posture my self not at the center of the pride of knowing but in looking at the majesty all around and being in awe of the Master Architect’s hand that keeps me away from brinksmanship.
At the same time there is the juxtaposition of being in service to our community and the burden of leading – by example, by knowledge, by the power of persuasion that can be a source of prideful behavior. A humble spirit keeps one on the path of righteous behavior.
I appreciate your words and take them to heart. A pleasure to meet your kindred spirit.
June 8, 2009
Dr Garde’s 10 Essentials for Optimal Life: Posture
Dr Garde’s 10 Essentials for Optimal Life: Posture
Number 7 Posture = Humans go viral by being vertical
Now this is a really strange one; although not on a blog site that is dedicated to the vital relationship of your posture to gravity. But seriously, how can your posture be thought of as a nutrient? Aren’t nutrients chemical in nature? Well strictly yes, but I’m talking about what effects and affects our body’s ability to manage those biochemical processes. Back to our #1 nutrient, oxygenation, you can’t breathe properly if you don’t sit or stand properly, reducing the mechanical stress on the breathing mechanism.
If you look back at the list from 1 through 5 Air, Water, Sleep, Eat, Attitude - they are pretty essential to life and health - wouldn’t you agree? The really interesting thing is that they are all tied together in and at your posture. Your body is an oxygen pump. Proper posture allows for the uptake of O2 and the exhalation of waste gases CO2 easily. Your body is also a hydraulic system pumping and distributing H2O. Better posture better pumping. Good posture allows for better rest, by reducing stiffness and soreness. Digestion is better when your body weight is not resting on your abdominal organs. Attitude, how can you miss? Good posture is a sign of an energetic, can do person, open to welcome the world and all it adventures. Aren’t you attracted to people who display that posture?
Poor posture causes pain, inflammation, wear and tear on all the tissues of the body which increases the demand for nutrients that could be used as resources in other areas to keep the body vital. Poor body mechanics of sitting standing and moving are a major cause of poor nutrient allocation, distribution and management. Because gravity never wavers, is always oriented vertically. We need to be conscious of our relation to the vertical when it is not required by the life task with which we currently are involved. Even with the acknowledgement that we cannot (and should not) be always ‘straight’ vertical, we must always be aware of gravity’s pull. Gravity rules and vertical is king. Suffice to say that the smaller the exposure to gravity you have the healthier you will be. So, I say that posture is an ‘essential’ nutrient for your wellbeing.
Posture is also exercise. When we go to the gym, we are lifting weights, or using machines that offer ‘resistance’ to our muscles. The response to resistance in the muscles is to increase their size and strength. The function of exercise is to ‘damage’ or ‘stress’ the muscle fibers and the inner intelligence of the body responds by enlarging the muscle fibers. So it is not the gym that makes you stronger or look better; it is the wisdom of the body that actually strengthens or re-shapes you.
Still the biggest ‘resistance’ activity you will ever experience is the resistance of gravity. Every second of your life you have to solve gravity. If you do it correctly gravity can be beneficial ‘exercise’. If not; then no exercise or pain killer will remedy the situation. Remember, the strongest animals in the world were dinosaurs and they are oil now. Gravity wins. Efficiency to gravity is the principle to strive towards. Thus your relation to gravity – your posture is vital to optimal health and your secret ally in maximizing the top five essentials for exuberant health. Posture is your keystone to spectacular health.
June 7, 2009
Dr Garde’s 10 Essentials for Optimal life: Gratitude
Dr Garde’s 10 Essentials for Optimal life: Gratitude
Number 6 Thankfulness / Gratitude = Stress Reduction
We are all under an almost intolerable stress load. The state of the global economy, the global climate change, what they are doing in Washington, London or – well you pick it – gives a macro background to the more immediate in-your-face stressors in our daily everyday life; economic pressures, relationship challenges, what’s going on at work, job cuts, downsizing, housing, concern for the kids or the parents. The perception of stress causes bio-chemical changes in our body. It creates mental tension. It reduces physical strength and flexibility and causes pain.
There is so much stress that its perception alters our health and wellbeing. There is not a pill, powder, potion or lotion that will get rid of stress. Although people try for relief of stress in unhealthy ways (Alcohol, drugs, self-destructive behavior) it’s all an attempt to feel better by reducing the effects of stress.
Stress just is. It is a fact of life. There are always going to be situations that we perceive as stressful. The fascinating thing is that we can all experience different levels of stress during the same or similar events. When there is physical danger responses are much the same. Our bodies evolved to handle immediate stress challenges to our safety. Stress can be a good thing. We have to be alert and move quickly when there was immediate danger.
Stress gets murky and unhealthy when the stressor is not direct immediate physical damager. An event that might paralyze one person may be the joy-filled life dream of another – speaking in public for example. Stress that continues to affect us over weeks months or years is detrimental and harms more than it helps.
Stress comes from an internal perceived notion that sees specific situations, actions or events past or present and judges them to be good or bad now. Actually, the event just is (or was) and how we feel about it is an internal judgment. It could be a wedding or a funeral; the body experiences the stress and the mind judges it to be good or bad. The mind gets into trouble when it has a difficult time letting go of past stresses, collects them and relives them over and over - a very damaging hobby - take up stamp collecting, it is not so self-destructive.
There are many ways to relieve stress. We can reduce the bio-chemical changes in our bodies with drugs; a better way is with nutrition. Exercise – action – also is a fantastic stress reliever. Take a walk. Sing. Dance. There are numerous imagery and perception techniques available to reduce mental stress.
So there are many ways that are effective in modulating or relieving stress. The most impressive is not a technique at all. It is a way of living. It is finding in your heart the attitude of gratitude.
All spiritual paths practice and observe the connectedness of a good spirit with wholeness (holiness). There are many sources of insightful and inspirational literature and links that speak to this central concept of the power of attitude and perception. It comes from within and it is an essential ingredient to a person’s experience. Without it we can get most other things ‘right’ but we will not be whole.
Prayer, meditation, introspective thought – whatever you want to call it resets the nervous system from Fight or Flight to Restorative mode. (catabolic to anabolic for you physiologists) from tear-down alert vigilance to build-up relaxed repair mode. There is definite physiologic reason to say ‘Grace’ before meals. It resets your digestive system to receive food and absorb it. (Sympathetic nervous system inhibition and para-sympathetic nervous system activation for you physiology geeks.) When you are in an agitated state digestion is shut down and whatever food nutritive value can be garnered from what you gulped down is halved – at best.
Blessing food or whatever is in your life is not an empty gesture, but an aligning process to focus awareness on attracting more of the same energy into your experience. Most people do it unconsciously with unconscious results. It is better to understand and practice this essential element to optimal health.
Several years ago Bret Treadwell taught me a simple yet elegant way to express this attitude (it came from the Huna tradition) I start every day with this thought.
“I am grateful for what I have and I am given what I bless.”
June 6, 2009
Eat the Food Chain - No Fad Diets
Number 5 Eat the Food Chain – No fad diets
Less than 100,000 years ago humankind left a small corner of eastern Africa and took over the planet. Our species was raised and flourished on a diet that consisted of eating fruits and vegetables and lean protein. There wasn’t a Starbucks, McDonalds or Pizza Hut in sight. There wasn’t a South Beach, Atkins, Beverly Hills diet there either.
The diet that man evolved on, the diet that is coded in our genes is a simple concept. Eat the food chain. Eat things that eat the food chain. For thousands and thousands of years the human species thrived with that food plan. It is so simple: Eat for your body and not what advertizing tells you to eat.
Let’s not be silly and think I’m saying to graze in your backyard on the lawn and shrubs. Nor am I suggesting we all don loin cloths carry spears and hunt the local fauna. There are ways to seek out the local producers of natural healthy plants and animal products. Do not eat plants that are GMO (genetically modified). Do not eat animal products raised on feed lots and fed artificially formulated diets designed for fattening wallets of the producers and the customers’ waistlines. Nutritive value of our foods is decreasing. Nutrients are supposed to be concentrated in the food we eat; but now what is concentrated in our food are chemicals and toxins. You choose what you want to put into your mouth. They say we vote with our feet, suppliers of consumer products have to pay attention to the buying wants and desires of the public. An educated public will demand more natural nutrition in their food with fewer chemicals. We vote with our feet – but we also vote with our mouth.
There is a lot more to this concept and if you are interested you can research more at these links -
The Paleo Diet
Introduction to the Paleolithic Diet
Nutrition and Evolution
Metabolic Syndrome X
The Paleolithic Prescription
June 5, 2009
Dr Garde’s 10 Essentials for Optimal Life: Sleep
Dr Garde’s 10 Essentials for Optimal Life: Sleep
Number 4: Sleep
Nearly one third of Americans are sleep deprived. At least 40 million Americans suffer each year from chronic, long-term sleep disorders, and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleeping problems. Research shows that getting less than 7 hours of sleep each night takes a more extreme toll on the body than most people realize.
These disorders and the resulting sleep deprivation interfere with work, driving, and social activities. They also account for an estimated $16 billion in medical costs each year, while the indirect costs due to lost productivity and other factors are probably much greater.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, sleep and sleep-related problems play a role in a large number of human disorders and affect almost every field of medicine. For example, problems like strokes and asthma attacks tend to occur more frequently during the night and early morning, perhaps due to changes in sleep.
Studies show that not getting enough sleep or getting poor quality sleep on a regular basis increases the risk of having high blood pressure, heart disease, and other medical conditions.
Inadequate amounts of sleep affects memory, according to a recent study conducted at Harvard University. Without enough sleep, newly-acquired skills and information are not properly coded in the brain, making it difficult to remember.
Sleep also affects mood. Insufficient sleep can make you irritable and is linked to poor behavior and trouble with relationships, especially among children and teens. People who chronically lack sleep are also more likely to become depressed.
More recent research has shown that lack of sleep can also lead to potentially serious health problems, such as developing Type 2 Diabetes. Cortisol, a stress hormone that regulates the blood sugar glucose, is the problem. Prolonged sleeplessness causes the body to continuously release cortisol into the bloodstream. This, in turn, causes a rise in blood glucose that prompts the body to release more and more insulin in an attempt to lower the glucose level. Over time, the increased production of insulin leads to insulin resistance, a condition in which the cells no longer respond to the effects of insulin. Insulin resistance can lead to Type 2 Diabetes. An excess of insulin in the blood also encourages the body to store fat, boosting the risk of obesity.
The chronic release of stress hormones caused by sleep deprivation affects your immune system, making you more susceptible to colds and infections. Sleep deprivation decreases the ability of the immune system to fight off illness and disease. Reports show that just losing three hours of sleep causes a 30% decrease in immune system response. Also, because your immune system helps your body fight cancer; reduced immune system function from insufficient sleep can put you at increased risk of developing cancer. This lack of response suppresses melatonin, which contributes to breast cancer; growth hormone produced during sleep is impaired, which contributes to osteoporosis and other age-related problems; also insulin resistance and impaired glucose processing, mentioned above, can lead to diabetes, and excess insulin and stored fat, leads to obesity.
Chronic lack of sleep can also accelerate the aging process. When you don’t get enough sleep, your brain doesn’t make the normal amounts of hormones, producing hormone levels similar to those of a much older person. However, subsequently getting a full night’s sleep reverses this aging effect, returning hormone levels to normal.
While some people choose to give up some of the necessary hours of sleep, others are simply unable to sleep.
Factors that contribute to insomnia are lack of exercise, poor diet, excessive alcohol or caffeine; medical conditions, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression, hypothyroidism, and over active bladders, medications, such as anti-depressants, pain killers, allergy drugs and various hormones; natural conditions, such as PMS and menopause; and various health disorders.
The National Center on Sleep Disorders Research states:
“By any measuring stick, the deaths, illness, and damage due to sleep deprivation and sleep disorders represent a substantial problem for American society.”
Source: National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, February 1994, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/sleep/sleep.txt
National Institutes of Health National Heart; Lung, and Blood Institute NIH Publication No. 06–5800 April 2006.
How Much Sleep Do You Need?
The amount of sleep a person needs depends on the individual. The need for sleep depends on various factors, one of which is age. Infants usually require about 16-18 hours of sleep per day, while teenagers need about 9 hours per day on average. Most adults need about 7-8 hours of sleep per day. The amount of sleep a person needs also increases if he or she has been deprived of sleep. People do not seem to adapt to getting less sleep than they need.
Dr Garde’s 10 Essentials for Optimal Life: Water
Dr Garde’s 10 Essentials for Optimal Life: Water
Number 3 Water
Again another commonly overlooked nutrient. For any chemical reaction to take place we need the two or more chemical agents (the solutes) and the medium in which they will interact (the solvent). We can throw all the superfoods on anyone’s list together but without adequate water there will be no reaction – no metabolism. Water is vital to life, health and wellbeing. (The Aqua Vitae). Water suspends food components in solution, brings them together, aids in their reactions and carries away both nutrients and waste products to the proper areas. Without sufficient water, the cells themselves cannot function properly.
Adding to the problem is that, not only do we not drink enough water, but our lifestyle also supports ingesting beverages that are diuretic in nature that further deplete our vital water reserves. (The odds are good that you have a soda or a coffee sitting next to you as you read this). The healthy human body contains 60 to 65% water. A 150 lb male has about 42 quarts of total body water. The average daily water loss is 3 quarts though natural body processes depending upon exertion, climate, humidity and diet. The rule of thumb that calls for 8 eight ounce glasses of water daily is really the bare minimum. So people should drink half their body weight in ounces a day. If you weigh 150 pounds your water intake should be 75 ounces! – much more than is commonly practiced. For every cup of coffee or can of soda drunk add another glass of water to that minimum.
A great way to make your nutritional program more effective is to increase your water content. Any vitamin or mineral pill will be more powerful given adequate water. Spending some good money on supplements? They will be so much more effective if you just add water!
June 4, 2009
Dr Garde’s 10 Essentials for Optimal life: Air
Dr Garde’s 10 Essentials for Optimal life: Air
Number 2 Air
This is a strange #2 on the list, because air is ubiquitous, we hardly give it a thought. Yes, we pay lip service to the pollution of it but we never consider it as a vital nutrient. We can live without food for a week or two, without water for days, but minutes without air (oxygen) and we perish. It should come as no surprise – yet it usually does, even to most physicians – that improper breathing habits can cause cardiac symptoms, angina, respiratory symptoms, gastrointestinal distress, anxiety, panic, depression, headache, dizziness, seizures, increased susceptibility to infection and other immune dysfunction, sleep disturbances, and even hallucinations.
(It is a little known but true fact that your daily oxygen intake is equal in weight to the weight of your daily food intake, which is usually 1 to 1.5 pounds! That is a lot of breathing!)
You can put the best, most efficient and expensive fuel in the furnace but without air it will not burn. With limited oxygen it will burn poorly and will leave residues of incomplete burning that foul the furnace. Oxygen is important for the same reason to our metabolism. You are probably slouched down over a computer screen reading this and other blog posts as well as many emails. A tedious job at best and tediousness encourages wilting posture. That slouched posture compresses the rib cage and flattens the diaphragm. Observe your next breath. It is most likely that you lifted your ribs, instead of contracted the diaphragm (the belly should move slightly outward). To test proper breathing, put one hand on your sternum and the other hand just above your navel. The top hand should not move much if at all, while the lower hand should move on inspiration.How to Sit Without Damaging Your Future
Diaphragmatic breathing not rib breathing.
The lungs are expanded by only 30% in rib breathing. Very inefficient. Most of the oxygen exchange happens in the lower part of the lungs (many more blood vessels are located there) then in the top of the lungs. Rib breathing does not bring fresh air to the bottom of the lungs only the top. Rib breathers are starving for oxygen.
Think of a car engine. Pistons move up and down drawning in oxygen and fuel on the downstroke and compressing it on the upstroke. That is diaphragmatic breathing where the diaphragm muscle functions exactly like the piston (the motions are identical). Rib breathing is like holding the piston still and lifting the engine up and down! Can you picture how inefficient and harmful that would be? The energy expenditure to lift the engine would be far greater than the energy gained. It is no wonder that people get fatigued, are worn out and require stimulants to keep going.
Other problems include the nervous system (affects clear thinking and attitude) body systems (poor digestion, constant low back effort to lift ribs means chronic low back pain) and alters emotional states (constant state of stress and anxiety, fight or flight behavior) with predominate rib breathing but lack of oxygen is the primary detrimental effect.
May 29, 2009
International Chiropractors Association Supports WHO World No Tobacco Day
International Chiropractors Association Supports WHO World No Tobacco Day
As a retired Chiropractor, I think that this message still needs to reach as many people as possible. Thanks for reading and passing it along!
World No Tobacco Day, held each year on May 31st, offers a special opportunity to participate in a global effort to promote healthy lifestyle choices through encouraging a tobacco-free lifestyle, provide supportive information and resources for quitting, and preventing new tobacco use. The International Chiropractors Association (ICA) supports the global effort developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to inform people about the destructive health consequences of smoking, to prevent new smokers and to encourage a tobacco-free lifestyle.
The WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) observes that most people are unaware of the extent of the harm that tobacco causes, even if they have some idea that it is a health risk and the 2009 theme for World No Tobacco Day is based on the important role that tobacco health warnings plays to alert and educate the public on the deadly effects of tobacco. As the leading preventable cause of death — more deaths each year are from the effects of tobacco than from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined — warning people about the true risks of this highly addictive substance is vitally important.
ICA encourages individual doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic organizations around the globe to include information and support services in their patient education efforts, in relation to World No Tobacco Day, and every day. Such information can and will help reduce the morbidity and mortality of this major health threat and to encourage healthy lifestyle practices, said Dr. Gary Walsemann, ICA President. Doctors of chiropractic can play a constructive role in this health initiative as they educate their patients and local communities on lifestyle choices and tobacco use and its dangers. Asking patients about their tobacco use and exposure during an office visit, working with patients on lifestyle change strategies, and networking with community services and agencies for smoking cessation and health risk education programs all support the steps for reducing tobacco exposure worldwide.
Chiropractors can have a positive impact every day in the communities we serve and with the patients we care for, notes Dr. Walsemann, not only on special seasonal observances like the WHOs World No Tobacco Day but on an ongoing basis as we work together to build healthy lifestyle choices. ICA has long supported tobacco education efforts and has presented papers and reports on the role the chiropractic profession can and should play in educating the public at WHO and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) conferences and forums.
Additional informational sources for patient and community education on tobacco include the WHOs World No Tobacco Day resources, regional efforts like Tobacco-Free Europe with international and national resource sites and the Guide for Clinicians from the US Department of Health and Human Services, and other organizational resources such as the WFC Chiropractors Against Tobacco (CAT) materials.