Acupuncture and More…

Everyone has heard the expression, “You are what you eat.” This very simple saying means more and more each day as we gain a greater understanding about how foods affect us.

•    The food you put into your body has an effect on your physical appearance, energy levels, bodily processes and how well your brain functions.

Your brain is a system of chemical connections firing off at each other so fast that it’s almost impossible to fathom. Well, the food you eat affects the chemical make up of your brain, altering how it acts and works.

Feelings and emotions also affect your brain. Obviously feelings are born in the brain, and, depending on the emotion, they can alter the brain chemistry. For example, some people with mental health issues do not produce certain chemicals in their brain, which radically changes their behavior patterns.

There are things you can do to regulate this chemical reaction on a daily basis, and it’s simpler than you may think! Eating certain foods can specifically affect different functions of the body, the chemicals in your brain, and your emotions.

Here are some healthy foods you can eat to help optimize both your body and mind:

1.    Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Eating foods high in Omega-3s has a great deal of health benefits, including improving your brain’s development and functions. The Omega-3 fatty acid, DHA, is an important polyunsaturated fat found in the brain.

•    Fish is a great source of Omega-3 Fatty acids, including DHA.

2.    Choline. Choline is a chemical building block of every cell in your body. Choline has also been shown to help with retaining information in your memory. The more choline your lifetime diet includes, the less likely you’ll be to face extreme memory loss as you grow older.

•    Eggs yolks have a high concentration of choline in them.

3.    Antioxidants. We all recognize the health benefits of antioxidants in fighting diseases, but did you know a cup of hot cocoa has a higher concentration of antioxidants in it than either red wine or green tea? It’s true – as long as you use a dark chocolate.

•    Serve a cup of rich dark hot cocoa after dinner, and know you’re actually taking good care of your health!

4.    Green Tea. Have a glass of green tea every day to help keep the cognitive functions of your brain in tiptop shape. Studies have shown 70% of people who drank green tea showed an improvement in the functions of the brain.

5.    Cranberry Juice. This beverage is not only good for your body, specifically, kidney and urinary functions, but it can also help prevent a stroke. Cranberry juice has also been shown to help reduce brain cell damage after a stroke.

6.    Mangosteen Juice. This botanical was shown to reduce certain parameters of inflammation and to improve weight and body fat in an overweight population, this has positive implications in the future prevention of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Eating a well balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, protein, and some fat is the best way to nourish both the body and mind. Our bodies are highly complicated machines requiring many different things to function properly, and what we eat determines how it functions.

By taking simple steps to optimize your nutrition, you’ll also optimize your mind and body. Start making healthy, nutritious food choices today and enjoy looking, feeling, and thinking better.

Study Overview

A double-blind placebo-controlled human clinical to evaluate the ability of XanGo Juice to reduce inflammation levels in overweight persons with inflammation.

Researchers

Jay Udani, MD, CPI is the founder, CEO and Medical Director of Medicus Research. He is a board-certified Internist who served as Chief Resident at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center before completing two fellowships in Health-Services Research and Integrative Medicine at Cedars-Sinai/UCLA. He was one of the first physicians to become a Certified Principal Investigator (CPI) through the APPI/ACRP and as a Key Opinion Leader in the field of Integrative Medicine he has designed and performed over 60 clinical trials, and published over 40 articles and textbook chapters. He is the recipient of many prestigious awards including the 2008 Natural Products Association Clinician of the Year, the AMA National Achievement Award, the Harvard Medical School Pinkney Fellowship in Orthopaedic Research, and was voted Best Physician Specialist and Best Medical Speaker in Los Angeles by the Daily News.

Methods

The study was an 8-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with a 2-week washout period for subjects who were currently taking anti-inflammatory or antioxidant products.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of multiple dosages of XanGo Juice compared with placebo in the improvement of inflammation and antioxidant levels in obese patients with a confirmed history of inflammation.

Results

XanGo Juice was shown to reduce certain parameters of inflammation and to improve weight and body fat in an overweight population. These results may have implications in the future prevention of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but longer studies will be needed to explore the role of inflammation in the reduction of these diseases.

XanGo Juice demonstrated an ability to reduce inflammation (as measured by HS-CRP), at all 3 dosages while the placebo group actually experienced a small increase in the amount of inflammation. HS-CRP decreased in all 3 dosages vs. placebo over the 8 week study with the 9 oz. XanGo Juice group being statistically significant when compared to placebo.

The XanGo Juice product was shown to be safe at all dosages tested. There were no adverse events (clinical, laboratory, or vital sign) attributed to the product during the course of the study.

Pycnogenol; you don’t have to be able to pronounce it to benefit from this powerful antioxidant. Pycnogenol has many actions in the body, but I am going to concentrate in only one in particular, in this article.

Pycongenol has been found to optimize the production of Nitric Oxide within the lining of your arteries.
And you may be asking yourself: So what?

The answer is: Nitric oxide plays a role in many biochemical functions. By increasing blood flow, it improves memory and attention; it improves the performance of the kidneys, lungs and liver; it aids with cardiovascular performance; and it is responsible for the male erection.

As far as heart disease, I am sure you are familiar with the nitroglycerine pills that heart disease patients carry with them at all times in case of an angina attack (chest pains). What these nitro pills do is release nitric oxide, which relaxes the coronary arteries and allows more blood to flow into the heart.

One important fact about Pycongenol is that, it is and optimizer of the production of nitric oxide. Too much nitric oxide can kill cells.

Pycongenol helps regulate the nitric oxide levels in the body. It helps the body produce adequate levels for necessary functions, and it reduces levels if they are too high and could do harm.

Another important function of the nitric oxide that is produce in the inner lining, or endothelium, of the arteries is that; it acts to increase the production of a chemical messenger called “cyclic- GMP” (guanosine monophosphate), which is needed to keep blood pellets slippery and not prone to clumping and aggregation. This last function is very important for people that suffer from heart disease and stroke.

Currently an American has a heart attack every 20 seconds. Most of these victims never had a clue until just seconds before they had their first heart attack. Of those having a heart attack for the first time 42% survive.

According to the statistics, if you make a list of the 10 people closes to you 6 of them are going to become victims of heart disease, and 2 of them are going to die the first time it happens to them.

If you are not taking steps to prevent heart disease you are playing Russian roulette with your life.

The incidence of overweight and diabetes, the two main contributors to hear disease) are at epidemic proportions in the United States, and you cannot afford to not to supplement you diet with an antioxidant like Pycongenol.

Interested on taking Pycongenol?

Pycnogenol is an antioxidant found on the bark of a French maritime pine tree. Unless you wanted to chew on the pine bark, you could only get your Pycongenol from manufacturers that extracted it and added it to dietary supplements in pill form.

I recommend that when ever possible you get your supplements from whole-foods, in my opinion this is your best option. One way of getting your Pycongenol is from a whole food is drink the juice of the mangosteen fruit that also contains the pericarp along with the pulp within the juice.

In Chinese medicine anxiety disorders are related to three organs: heart,
gallbladder, and kidney.

Disharmony between the energies of these organs
can lead to different disorders such as:

• Panic attacks
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Phobias
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

In Chinese Medicine this disorders are treated with a combination of herbal formulas and acupuncture with satisfactory results. But if the person is not able to receive acupuncture treatments, or take herbal supplements like in the case of a pregnant woman. You can still address the underlying problem with food therapy and every day supplements.

Here are some guidelines to follow:

* Include calcium (1,000 mg a day) and magnesium (500 mg a day) supplements to your diet. Try taking half the amount in the morning and
half at night to increase better absorption of calcium. Also, take a B complex (50 to 100 mg a day, best in the morning) to decrease stress effects.

* Avoid stimulating foods and drinks: caffeine, sugar, processed foods and alcohol. Avoid foods that commonly cause food sensitivities (peanuts, soy, dairy, wheat, corn, shell fish). Increase consumption of fresh vegetables and whole grains.

According to Chinese Medicine these are some of the foods that also help with anxiety disorders and should be included on your diet:

Corn silk, cow’s gallbladder, water spinach, abalone, asparagus, dried ginger, cinnamon, chicken egg, banana, bamboo shoot, oyster, royal jelly, and pork.

Always consider and food allergies that you may suffer from, and avoid those foods.

Like I said before Chinese Herbal formulas like Tian Wan Bu Xin Dan or Wen Dan Tang, plus acupuncture are effective, but if you are unable to get these treatments, the above guidelines should provide a measure of relief.

In my practice I have found out that anxiety disorders are often linked to unbalanced hormonal levels.

Some of the symptoms of hormonal imbalance are:

• Night sweats
• Hot flashes
• Weak erections
• No desire
• Weight gain (easy and rapid)
• Mood swings
• Insomnia
• Fatigue
• Palpitations
• Gastric problems aggravated by emotions
• Back pain
• Weakness of the Knees
• …and about a dozen other problems.

If any of those symptoms sound familiar, and you would like to check on natural alternatives to bring balance your endocrine system, check this excerpt from Dr. Lucille Holly’s fantastic book, “Creating and Maintaining Balance.”