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Research on Lifestyle Shows That Your Choices Matter

February 21, 2012 By Lauren Breau Leave a Comment

Looking for Proof?

If you spend any time online, or regularly peruse a publication that includes a section on “Healthly Living”, then you’re probably just as confused as, well, everyone else. Will my daily supplement shorten my life, or extend it? Should I stop eating eggs? How can I take fish oil regularly when so much is contaminated with mercury? Is a daily glass of wine good for my heart but bad for my breasts? Is my kid hyperactive because she eats sugar, or is it because she eats corn, or is it because she is 7 years old? If I am genetically prone to high cholesterol, does it really matter if I order another Big Mac? Should I use olive oil? Canola oil? Coconut oil? (Insert head exploding)

Some people get to the point were they are so bombarded with advice that they end up throwing in the towel. Why make modifications to your daily routine when the recommendations on healthy living and longevity never seem consistent, and at times, seem outright conflicting? Do lifestyle changes really matter? Or is our mortality pre-programmed in our genes? Is there a chance that no matter what we do, we’re predestined to suffer when the buzzer goes off?

I’ve heard this concern often enough that I’ve decided to blog about it. Instead of making a passionate argument that includes personal experiences, supportive research, and patient testimonials, I’ve decided that it would be more fun to consult some experts on the subject and…watch a movie!

This TEDMED video is just under 30 minutes (the amount of time you spend, once a week, FaceStalking your old college crush – be honest!). You may not have 27 minutes to spare, but what if this 27 minutes could add 7 years to your life? How’s that for carrot-dangling? Incentives: the video includes a gurgling baby with a droopy hat, joke-making, and two doctors sharing more than 20 years of research into this exact question.

So, does it matter how you live your life, from what you eat for breakfast to what you do for fun? Yes, it does. But they say it better in the video below. Check it out!

Dean Ornish and Deepak Chopra Speak About How To Stay Alive

Dean Ornish, M.D., is the founder and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California. He is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ornish received his medical training in internal medicine from the Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts General Hospital. He received a B.A. in Humanities summa cum laude from the University of Texas in Austin, where he gave the baccalaureate address.

Deepak Chopra, M.D.,: Dr. Chopra is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, an adjunct professor of executive programs at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a distinguished scholar at Columbia University, and a senior scientist with the Gallup Organization. Before establishing the Chopra Center, Dr. Chopra served as chief of staff at Boston Regional Medical Center. He received his medical degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and did his internship at Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield, New Jersey. He then completed various residencies and fellowships at university-affiliated medical centers in Boston.

(Dean Ornish bio from the Preventative Medicine Research Institute , Deepak Chopra bio from the Chopra Center)

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture, Food as Medicine, Interviews & Videos, Lifestyle, Medical News & Research, Other Treatment Modalities, Self Healing Tagged With: Dean Ornish, Deepak Chopra, genes, healthy living, lifestyle, longevity, portland maine

Helping Our Soldiers with Acupuncture

February 17, 2012 By Lauren Breau Leave a Comment

American Military Using Acupuncture for Pain Management

Acupuncture has been gaining recognition for its ability to treat pain without any nasty side effects, and it’s appearance in the American military is steadily increasing. Recent studies show that at least 40 percent of veterans entering the VA system are coping with pain.

In August of 2009, the Army Surgeon General, Lieutenant General Eric B. Schoomaker, chartered the Army Pain Management Task Force to make recommendations for a comprehensive pain management strategy that would provide optimal quality of life for soldiers and other patients dealing with pain. The Army Pain Management Task Force includes “unconventional” modalities of pain management, like acupuncture and chiropractic care.

NPR recently did a short piece on the success of acupuncture in the American military. To read the whole story (or listen), click here.

Acupuncture Used to Treat PTSD in Veterans

Veterans of military service often suffer from PTSD (also known as ‘combat fatigue’) and other associated issues that can affect their physical and emotional health. Many cities offer free acupuncture to help veterans deal with these issues; here in Portland, Maine, a group of licensed acupuncturists provide free weekly acupuncture to veterans (and family members) who would like to employ the healing benefits of acupuncture. Check out the PVAC website (Portland Veterans’ Acupuncture Clinic) for more details.

Want to read first hand accounts on how acupuncture has helped veterans? Check out the Acupuncturists Without Borders Clinic Testemonials.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture, Lifestyle, Medical News & Research, Self Healing Tagged With: american military, Army Pain Management Task Force, battlefield acupuncture, combat fatigue, pain management, portland maine, post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, PVAC, soldiers

11 Ways To Treat Colds and Flu

February 8, 2012 By Lauren Breau Leave a Comment

Sick as a Dog?

"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberry."

You’ve been struck down by a nasty viral infection and you’re home, sick as a dog. Ever wonder why the expression exists? Well, it’s because of that disgusting tendency, common to many dogs, to eat indiscriminately… fish heads, tube socks, watermelon rinds, ice scrapers; when you put almost anything in your mouth, well….chances are that you vomit a lot.

So, you probably didn’t eat your co-worker’s tube sock, right? You probably did, however, touch your face and deliver a virus to a vulnerable mucus membrane (mouth, nose, eyes), or perhaps you happened to be lucky enough to be around when the trajectory of germs was blown from your neighbor’s infected orifice. Either way, you’re sick. So now what?

How about starting with some words of hope. Check out what this revolutionary thinker had to say about being sick:

There is one consolation in being sick; and that is the possibility that you may recover to a better state than you were ever in before. – Henry David Thoreau

Thanks for the positive words, Henry David! So, how can we manifest these wise words, and be sure that once we’re back on our feet we’re stronger than before? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture, Food as Medicine, Other Treatment Modalities, Self Healing Tagged With: bacterial, bone broth, chicken soup, cold, dehydration, elderberry, flu, garlic, portland maine, Sambucol, sleep, viral, virus

11 Ways To Prevent Colds and Flu

February 8, 2012 By Lauren Breau 1 Comment

Everyone Is Sick!

Ever have one of those days when you show up to work and everyone around you is coughing or sneezing, blowing their nose and rubbing their temples? Suddenly you are imagining that video you saw of the slo-mo sneeze and how easily germs can travel when riding a gust of vaporized spittle. It’s something like this:

I don’t mean to use fear tactics in regards to spreading viruses, but a virus can travel a long way to find a home. And whether you’re at work or at your house, if you feel the tickle – then prepare for the Dracula Sneeze! Not familiar? The Dracula Sneeze is when you cover your mouth with the crook of your elbow when sneezing or coughing. Just don’t bite into anyone’s carotid after, or you’re sure to spread the darkness.

So, let’s say you’re not sick at this point. But everyone else is. Now what? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture, Food as Medicine, Lifestyle, Self Healing Tagged With: boosting immunity, cold, dracula sneeze, flu, garlic, immunity, mushrooms, prevention

Information on Colds and Flu

February 7, 2012 By Lauren Breau Leave a Comment

‘Tis the Season for Colds and Flu

It’s February, which means that we’re still in the midst of the season of colds and flus, and in the past couple of weeks I’ve seen a rash of recently sick patients who needed some extra acu-love. Yesterday, one of my patients said to me: You better pray that it doesn’t getcha’, I was so sick my dog was whimpering in a corner. I wasn’t overly worried considering the fact that I’ve been an obsessive hand-scrubber since 2009, when I contracted H1N1 two weeks before I finished graduate school (yes, I’ve always been big on hand-washing, but now I am kinda crazy about it). I took one of my medical boards the day after being diagnosed with pneumonia and miraculously passed (insert fist pump). The experience was awesome enough that I never want to get sick again. A 104 fever is only fun when it comes with hallucinations and all the nurses appear to have moustaches and Martha Washington hair. It happened. Trust me, it was the only highlight of my time with the swine.

You know the signs – you wake up one morning and feel a little more tired than usual. At some point in the day, you experience a sudden, shaking chill. Or the opposite happens – a sudden humid hotness spreads through your body leaving you red-cheeked and steaming. Either way, you’re left feeling queasy. The achy neck sets in, the diffuse headache, the sensitivity to light and noise. If you feel like this, and you you haven’t left work yet, go home. You’re not going to get a better seat in the Stadium of Heaven by pushing through the pain and proving your resilience; in fact, you will probably spread the sickness to your co-workers and accumulate bad karma, which is actually worse than a seat in the nose bleed section in the Stadium of Heaven (in my humble opinion).

You’ve Gone Viral, and Not in a Double Rainbow Kind of Way

Both colds and flus are viral infections. If you have the flu, you’ve been paid a visit by the influenza virus. If you’ve got the common cold, you’ve been visited by the adenovirus or the coronavirus (or one of their various inbred cousins). Either way, once you are infected with a virus, it promptly throws a devil-party in which it reproduces itself at an amazing speed. Viral replication includes words like attachment, penetration, and uncoating. Sound like a party that you want to be at? Me neither. Unfortunately, whether you want to be involved or not, it’s happening in your house. So, how can we put a kibosh on this party before it gets too big? See my next post on 11 Ways To Prevent Colds and Flu.

That's hot.

Dripping Schnoz, Phlegmy Cough

As Paris Hilton would say – That’s hot.

Colds usually make their presence known with a host of sexy symptoms – a runny nose, sinus congestion, a sore throat; sometimes there may be a low-grade fever. Catching a cold is a nuisance, but in most cases you’ll feel better in about a week and there is not much to worry about in terms of serious complications. In some cases, a cold can result in a secondary infection, like bronchitis. If your cough persists after you’ve run the course of your cold, or if you are hacking up thick or bloody mucus, or if you are running a high fever, call your PCP.

The flu can be a little more extreme – it can infect the lungs and the joints and cause diarrhea and vomiting (though diarrhea and vomiting is more common in children). If a fever accompanies the flu, it can vary from a low-grade fever to a high fever. The flu is considered more dangerous, especially in the very old, the very young, those with lowered immunity (chronic illness, post-surgery), and pregnant woman. Complications can include pneumonia, dehydration, and worsening of chronic medical conditions, and in some cases, complications can be fatal.

Viral versus Bacterial Infections

Both colds and flus can last, on average, for 7-10 days. If you get sick and do not feel better after a week or so, you may consider a bacterial infection, like Strep or Haemophilus influenzae. Also consider a bacterial infection if you have an unusually high fever, or if your fever gets worse a few days into your illness. A culture should be done to test for bacterial infections BEFORE administering antibiotics. If you have a viral infection, it will not respond to antibiotics.

More Information on Colds and Flus

Worried about Great-Grammy Irma or Baby Ivan? Visit the following links to the website for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for information on the flu, the common cold, and bronchitis.

So, what can you do once you’ve been visited by the harbinger of a viral infection (those initial symptoms referred to at the beginning of this post). And what can you do to avoid it all together? See my next posts on 11 Ways to Prevent Colds and Flu and 11 Ways to Treat Colds and Flu.

Picture of Paris Hilton by: Glenn Francis

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture, Medical News & Research Tagged With: bacterial, chills, cold, fever, flu, headache, influenza, portland maine, sick, viral

10 Quick Ways To Relax During A Busy Day

January 31, 2012 By Lauren Breau 3 Comments

This chicken is freakin'

Living in A Fast-Paced World

I’m sure you and your momma have overused this expression – “Sorry I’m late, I’ve been running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” It’s a common idiom in this culture, and maybe one of the most overused.

Think about it – when is the last time you heard someone show up to work and say “Morning everyone, anyone else feeling like a sea turtle today?” or “My goodness, what will I do with all this free time?!”

Time is a luxury many of us don’t have. But is this a good excuse for never letting yourself relax?

NO.

There are always things you can do to relax, even in the midst of a busy day. If you insist that you don’t have time to relax, well, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you’re telling yourself a big fat lie. That sound harsh? Sorry. Here are 10 suggestions on how to relax, even when you’re crunched for time.

10 Ways to Re-Attach the Head to the Chicken

1. Sigh it out. Take an inhalation that lasts for at least 4 seconds. Now sighhhhhh it out! (and I mean SIGH, like the kind you used to do in high school when one of your parents said “You’re wearing THAT to school?” ). Repeat at least 10 times.

2. Sing. I’m serious. I don’t care where you are. Bust it out. Favorite chorus from your favorite song? Do it. Everyone (“everyone”) is amused by people who sing even when they can’t – the popularity of karaoke bars is cold hard evidence. Break up the monotony and people will love you. At work? Start a round!

3. Do a round of cat/cow. Pretend you’re a cat. Pretend you’re a cow. Inhale/exhale with each move. Try to flow seamlessly between the two.

Top four images: cat/cow

Cat and Cow are two common asanas that are often completed within the first 5 minutes of a yoga class; the Sanskrit name for this is Marjariasana. It’s a great spinal stretch that’s also energizing and… funny looking, but who cares what other people think, right? People love Mick Jagger and Billy Preston – and they do some funny looking things, right?

4. Dance. Fine, I get it. Because people love the antics of Mick Jagger and Billy Preston does not mean they are going to love watching you do cat/cow on the floor at work. If that’s the case, then just get all Billy Preston. Instead of taking a smoke break, do this (I urge you to watch the whole video) :

5. Access your peripheral vision. Stop focusing so hard on what’s in front of you (computer, cell phone, burger). Take a second and relax your eyeballs, soften your focus, check out what is residing at the edges. Feels good, doesn’t it?

6. Access your peripheral audio. Close your eyes and take in the sound around you. Pretend you are big giant ear in the middle of wherever you are – tune in to the subtle and overt noises of everyday life.

7. Do suggestion 5 and suggestion 6 at the same time. Do it for long enough, it starts to feel surreal. And relaxing. Accessing peripheral vision and peripheral hearing can be a powerful, calming combination. It’s like holding out a treat to the oft’ shy parasympathetic nervous system. You’re heart rate will slow. Your breathing will deepen. If someone says “Jimmy, what are you doing?” you can say “Adding more years to my life.”

8. Have sex. The consensual and enjoyable kind, of course. Or make it simple… and have it with yourself. Don’t do this at work.

9. Laugh. Make up a joke. Even bad jokes are funny. By the way, I still need a punchline for this one: “A pianist and a flutist walk into a bar….”

10. Enjoy the food you are eating. Take a couple of deep breaths before you start eating. Take a break between bites. Be thankful for your food. Your stomach will feel like it’s been to a spa vacation, and it will reward you for your kindness.

More Suggestions On How to Relax

While I was writing this a bunch of other stuff came to mind, so here is the quick list: hang out with nice people who listen as well as they share, chop vegetables as if it were a meditation, remember that everybody poops – don’t hold it in, drink clean water out of glass, go to bed when you’re tired, pick one cloud and watch it, let your jaw relax, brush your hair, stop taking yourself so seriously, close your eyes and picture someone or something that makes you happy, bend in half and then slowly roll back up one vertebrae at a time, take a bath, doodle at a work meeting, give yourself a foot massage, make fart noises with your armpit, pretend your boss had no front teeth, balance on one leg while you’re waiting for your latte, clean your closet and donate what’s become excessive, get acupuncture or a massage, remind yourself of the reasons why you are deserving of love

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Self Healing Tagged With: acupuncture, breathe, busy work day, chicken with head cut off, dance, parasympathetic, portland maine, relaxation, sex, sing, stress

The Secret Life of Stress

January 31, 2012 By Lauren Breau Leave a Comment

I think about the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. A lot.

If you don’t know what these words mean – sympathetic and parasympathetic – here is a quick tutorial, and one that you’d benefit to remember. The autonomic nervous system is broken into two subsystems, the sympathetic and parasympathetic. When your sympathetic nervous system is engaged, you are in a mode of “fight or flight.” When your parasympathetic nervous system is engaged, you are in a mode of “rest and digest.” This is all part of your peripheral nervous system, which means, in short, that many of the physiological changes that happen are largely beyond your control. But not fully out of your control. For a list of ways to assert some control over your own nervous system, check out this blog post: 10 Quick Ways To Relax During A Busy Day

Simply put, the two subsystems explain the physiological processes that are happening in your body when you’re stressed (sympathetic) and when you’re relaxed (parasympathetic).

Now, if you had to make a guess as to which of these subsystems we spend much of our time in, which would you pick? But first, let me ask you this – are you texting, eating lunch, paying your credit card, reading this blog, and sprinting on the elliptical trainer all at once? If so, your answer should be a resounding “Sympathetic!” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Self Healing Tagged With: heart disease, immunity, inflammation, nervous system, parasympathetic, portland maine, stress, sympathetic

Getting Poked to Relieve Stress

January 23, 2012 By Lauren Breau Leave a Comment

Acupuncture Shown to Reduce Stress

Thank goodness for overachievers! Ladan Eshkevari, Ph.D, an assistant professor at Georgetown’s School of Nursing and Health Studies (who also happens to be an acupuncturist/specialist in anesthesia) gave placebo-controlled props to the acupuncture world after heading a recent study that shows that acupuncture significantly reduces the levels of a specific protein in rats.

So what, you say? Well that protein is linked to chronic stress. And yes, in case you are wondering – we humans, though not as fuzzy (and not nearly as cute) release the same protein when under stress. So, one might deduce that acupuncture would reduce stress in humans, eh? Yes, I said “deduce” for all of you nit-pickers out there.

Got Stress?

Stress a part of your everyday life? Chronic stress is linked to lots of things you don’t want – inflammation, heart disease, depression, fatigue, pain…pretty much all the crappy things you can name in regards to feeling unwell.

And stress itself is tricky. It doesn’t have to be the kind of stress you might feel in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. It could be as simple as… well, read the following, and see if you can relate:

You pushed snooze twice this morning because you were up at 3am last night devouring Game of Thrones, the first book of the best fantasy series ever. In the shower, already running late, you realized that your partner used the last of the soap and didn’t replace it. You think about getting a new bar, but you ditch the thought because your running late. You grab the shampoo to wash your hair and when you squeeze it, the bottle farts at you. It’s empty. You shut off the water and dry off, annoyed. For no reason, you scowl at yourself in the mirror. Then, in a moment of childishness, you hide your partner’s toothbrush behind the plant in the bathroom. You don’t have time for breakfast. Or coffee. But you make yourself coffee anyway, every sphincter in your body constricting as you watch the second hand on the clock in the kitchen – it’s mocking you. You race out of the house and the screen door slaps into your backside; you feel as if you’ve been karmically spanked for having a tantrum, and this sets you over the edge. You get into the car and slam the door shut, turn the key. A yellow warning light blinks on. Your daughter left the gas tank on empty. You premeditate murder. You speed to work, hoping that you don’t run out of gas. You say cuss words out loud while listening to a series of depressing news stories on NPR. Your heart is racing, your shoulders tighten, your neck starts to hurt. You begin worrying about your mother, what will happen when she can’t live on her own anymore? Suddenly, a rush of images scream through your head – your bank account, your unused gym membership, your heating bill, mortality. You get to work 15 minutes late, out of breath and spun-out. Your boss rolls in 15 minutes later ; she was running late too. If you would have known, you would have used that snooze button 4 more times. The work day sucks. It’s super busy and people are grouchy. You are glad there aren’t donuts because you’d probably eat a dozen. 5 o’clock rolls around and you are relieved that the day is done. It’ s (organic) pizza night at home, and Modern Family! Phew! You could use some good food, and a good laugh.

You run out of gas a block from work. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture, Medical News & Research, Self Healing Tagged With: acupuncture, portland maine, reduce protein linked to stress, research, stress