Reminder: Holiday Schedule

Herbal Spotlight

‘Tis the season of tissues and sniffles and sneezes, but we have some herbal solutions for your beleaguered sinuses. It is important to know that Chinese herbs treat the causes of health problems, rather than merely attacking the symptoms that are pointing to the cause. So, using your symptoms as guideposts, select the herbal formula that fits your underlying health patterns:

Nasal/sinus congestion, itchy eyes—have you lost hope of ever breathing through your nose again? If you feel that the box of tissues is taunting you, you will want to solve the deeper issues causing your nasal blockage. Wind, heat, and dampness in the energy channels of your system can cause itchy eyes and sinus congestion that ranges from a mildly stuffy nose to severe congestion. HB clears obstructions in your energy system, leading to clear nasal passages and sinuses.

Runny nose, watery eyes—is your nose red from constant blowing, and sore from a steady drip? If you feel like the kid who tried to plug the hole in the dyke, you need to resolve the source of your sniffles. Wind and cold in the energy channels of your system can cause what the Chinese call wind cold bi: runny nose, sinus headache, and watery eyes. CB dispels those intruders from your energy system and strengthens your protective energy to improve immune function and allow your sinuses to resume healthy function.

Sinus pressure—you may not have a stuffy nose or a runny nose, but maybe you do have a feeling of pain or pressure in the bony areas above or under your eyes? If the upper part of your face is aching, throbbing, or perhaps feeling like an over-inflated balloon, you need to take a sure step on the path back to full health. Wind, heat, and dampness in the Lung and Stomach channels of energy can lead to frontal and sinus congestion and headaches. QT clears the blockages in your energy flow, ultimately resulting in relief from your sinus pressure.

If you’re not sure which herbal formula you need, give us a call and we’ll set up an appointment for Dr. Olson to pin-point the root of your sinus problems and get you on the road to healing! 

"O" Zone

This month I want to offer three simple steps to improve your health. If you want to improve your digestion, absorption, elimination and stress levels, all in only one minute a day, keep reading.

Are you ready?

First Step To Better Health

First thing in the morning as soon as your feet hit the floor, drink one large glass of hot water. Then don't eat or drink anything for the next 15 minutes.

That's it. That's all. Just one large glass of hot water. 

What does it do? It warms your stomach, it begins the digestive process and, as a result, the eliminative process. It gives the body the needed clean water, with no job attached; the body doesn't need to process or digest anything. Some people like their coffee or tea. The problem is that those need to be metabolized and digested. It takes work, and they both give the body a job to do. But the pure water cleanses, purges, gets things flowing and will help you develop a great daily elimination pattern.

Do it, and you will find it to be very helpful in your health-enhancing efforts.

Second Step To Better Health

Here is another item that will be helpful: Stop using ice in your beverages. Ice in your water (or other beverages) partially paralyzes your digestive process. All enzyme reactions in nature are temperature dependent. Just like water has to reach a temperature to boil, or freeze, and wax has to reach a temperature to melt, digestive enzymes need to be at a specific temperature to break down the vital life- and health-giving nutrients in the food you eat. Drinking ice water inhibits that process significantly. Stop putting ice in your beverage, which I hope is water, and you will take another big step ahead in your health.

Third Step To Better Health

Have a sincere sense of gratitude for the life you have. It is rare for better to come, until you find the beauty in what you have in the present. Give thanks in all things and you will have what you want at all times.

The Path To Health Doesn't Have To Be Complicated

Some of the most important things you can do for your health are incredibly simple. Take these three basic steps toward greater health, and watch your quality of life improve!

Have a blessed month,

Dr. Olson

Short and Sweet

Coffee Worsens Hot Flashes: A new Mayo Clinic study suggests that drinking caffeine may worsen the hot flashes and night sweats that affect roughly two-thirds of women as they go through menopause.
http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/caffeine-hot-flashes-menopause/2014/07/24/id/584754#ixzz38RKLAYcG 

Here’s A Shocking Statistic: “The death toll from healthcare screw-ups adds up to at least 500,000 Americans annually,” says renowned pharmacy professor and medical author Joe Graedon.  “When it comes to medical care, you need to realize that you need to take charge…. Don’t suffer in silence and don’t be afraid to ask questions and speak your mind.” http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Headline/medical-errors-malpractice-doctors/2014/08/26/id/590884/#ixzz3BYgsHXGc 

'Food Fraud,' Cheap imitations are filling up grocery store shelves: "One of the ways that happens is by substituting one ingredient for another. It's hard for consumers," said Dr. Mark Stoeckle, a Senior Research Associate in the Program for the Human Environment at The Rockefeller University. High cost ingredients are especially susceptible to fraud, says Stoeckle. More expensive products are being replaced with cheaper imposters. http://www.khou.com/news/health/Food-fraud-a-growing-problem-in-grocery-stores-236733491.html

Antibiotics in Livestock Means Antibiotics in Humans: Several health and consumer organizations want the FDA to withdraw approval of using penicillin and tetracycline in animal feed to make cattle and other livestock grow faster. They say the practice has been linked to an increase to human resistance to antibiotics, while industry groups argue the issue needs more study. http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/antibiotics-livestock-resistance/2014/07/24/id/584762#ixzz38RJxVd7y 

Want to Avoid Low Back Surgery?: See a Chiropractor for your back pain, first, and your chances of having back surgery are dramatically lower than if you see an M.D. first. A recent study found that Washington state workers with an occupational back injury who visited a surgeon (orthopedic, neuro or general) first were significantly more likely to receive spine surgery within three years (42.7 percent of workers) than workers whose first visit was to a DC (1.5 percent of workers). This association held true even when controlling for injury severity and other measures. http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=56359

Research Shows Hookah Session Can Equal 10-40 Cigarettes: A study funded by the National Institutes of Health reports a single hookah session delivers 1.7 times the nicotine, 6.5 times the carbon monoxide and 46.4 times the tar of a single cigarette. http://www.lung.org/associations/states/florida/news/top-story-in-the-news/smoking-hookah-may-be-worse.html

Firms ordered to pay $9 billion for hiding diabetes medicine cancer risk: Jurors found Takeda and Lilly “failed to adequately warn” about Actos’ bladder-cancer risks and that the drug caused the plaintiff’s disease, according to court filings. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-07/takeda-actos-jury-awards-6-billion-in-punitive-damages.html

The gut-brain connection: Have you ever had a “gut-wrenching” experience? Do certain situations make you “feel nauseous”? Have you ever felt “butterflies” in your stomach? We use these expressions for a reason. Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation — all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-gut-brain-connection

Megan’s Fabulous Foods

Among the long list of perfectly wonderful things to love about fall, for me, apples reign supreme. Apple cider, apple pie, apple fritters, and best and most perfectly of all, just a plain, crisp, fall-time apple!

Red Apple Stock Photo By m_bartosch | http///www.freedigitalphotos.net

Apples, when not being doused in gobs of sugar, and of course bought organically (unfortunately, time and time again, non-organic apples are on the top-ten list of most heavily chemically-sprayed produce, and thus should be avoided) are an amazing disease-fighting antioxidant and offer a wealth of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Such a simple food provides you with vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, riboflavin, potassium, copper, manganese and magnesium.1 No wonder we have the old adage, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

You may know that there are 7,500 varieties of this delicious fruit, but sticking with a basic red delicious has recently been proven to pack the highest antioxidant levels, mostly coming from the skin of the apple.2

While the apple may be one of the most basic and simple fruits, it has no shortage of health benefits. As does any well-rounded, healing wholefood, it aids in cancer prevention, and lowers risk of heart disease and Alzheimer’s. An advantage that even surprised me was their ability to act as an anti-inflammatory which is hugely beneficial to asthma suffers. In fact, apples have stood out among other natural treatments for respiratory issues. These delicious treats are also hugely beneficial in helping to manage diabetes as they have been linked to reducing the fluctuation of blood sugar levels that occur in the bloodstream, but the apple polyphenol also “speeds up the removal of sugar from our bloodstream and gets it to our cells, which need it for the metabolism and proper organ function.”  One of my favorite discoveries was learning the science behind why my mouth feels so clean after eating an apple. The fiber from apples actually cleanses the teeth, while the antibacterial properties of the fruit keep bacteria and viruses from infecting the body.1

There is no doubt that we can all benefit from an apple a day.

1. https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/health-benefits-of-apple.html

2. http://www.organicgardening.com/living/apple-day-keeps-free-radicals-away

Short and Sweet

Rashes From Wipes, Liquid Soaps On The Rise: “In the last two or three years, we've suddenly seen a big increase in people with this type of allergy," said Dr. Matthew Zirwas. The chemical preservative, methylisothiazolinone, can cause an itchy, painful rash that can include blisters and resembles a reaction to poison ivy. It is found in many water-based products, including pre-moistened wipes, cosmetics, liquid soaps, hair products, sunscreen, and laundry and cleaning products. 

Dr. Olson: A good, healthy hand soap is so much better than these chemical-laden hand wipes. I think we are wiser to worry about the chemical toxins in our products (which we have no natural way of dealing with), than natural bugs that we have built-in protections against. Ask Diane about the wonderful Arbonne cleansers or Doterra soaps that are rich in essential oils that are so healthy in so many ways. 

Minnesota Becomes First State to Ban Antibacterial Chemical ‘Triclosan’: It's widely used nationwide as a germ-killing ingredient in soaps, deodorants and even toothpaste, but critics including the FDA say there's no evidence that triclosan soaps are any more effective than washing with plain soap and water for preventing the spread of diseases. A study found increasing levels of triclosan in the sediments of several lakes, and that the chemical can break down in those waters into potentially harmful dioxins. Studies have raised concerns that it can disrupt hormones critical for reproduction and development, at least in lab animals, and contribute to the development of resistant bacteria.
Dr. Olson: Killing bugs is not nearly as important as keeping your immune system active and effective. Over-sterilizing your environment is not healthy. We need to have bacteria on our hands. The more good bacteria we have (and almost all of them are good), the less likely it is that we will get an overgrowth of virulent bacteria. A good non-bacteriacidal soap is a good thing to use. Arbonne sells good hand and face soaps. Doterra also has some excellent soaps that are gentle on the skin, are good cleansers, and yet don't devastate the first line of immunity on our body: the hosts of healthy microorganisms that protect us. Ask Diane about these healthy products that will give you a fighting edge against disease-causing organisms that are so common in our society.

Dogs Sniff Out Prostate Cancer: Dogs can be trained to sniff out organic compounds tied to prostate cancer, according to a new study that finds they're 98 percent accurate. While it’s not a test that is ready for prime time, the findings suggest quick and accurate new ways to screen for the disease, which kills 29,000 U.S. men every year. And the report joins a growing list of studies showing that dogs can smell the byproducts of various types of cancer.

Cancer-killing Chamomile: Based on the findings of a Japanese research team, German chamomile extracts seem to induce apoptosis in cancerous cells. The anticancer effects of bisabolol oxide (BSBO), one of its main components, were analyzed when used on rat thymocytes. It turns out that cancerous cells started shrinking and dying within the first 24 hours of incubation.

Dr. Olson: Nature is full of herbs and foods that have natural benefits in every type of condition. Take advantage of healthy herbal teas, great foods, a diet rich in organic vegetables, or take advantage of our Vitamineral Green, a very healthy product that delivers the equivalent nutrient of 8-12 servings of fruits and vegetables with each serving.  

The United States Has A Really High Infant Mortality Rate: The infant mortality rate in the United States is more than twice that of countries like Japan and Sweden. It hasn’t always been like this. In the 1960s, the United States actually had a lower infant mortality rate than the average among its peer countries. The country began to lag in the 1980s.
Dr. Olson: Too much intervention, not enough good nutrition, and not as much natural health care as we should have. Too many drugs at a young age is one of the worst things we can do to our kids. Only intervene with medical proceedures when absolutely necessary. Kids get colds and flu's. Let them fight through it naturally and they will never loose their immunity. You may not know this, but this year's flu vaccine is the same exact vaccine as last year's. They are still encouraging people to get vaccinated again, even though they had that same vaccine a year ago. There is no other vaccine on the market that does not claim to last at least 3-5 years. Why would they want to sell you another vaccine that you don't need? I'll give you one gue$$. 

Top CDC expert declares that “We've reached the end of antibiotics”: “Miracle drugs” that have saved millions are no match against “superbugs” because people have overmedicated themselves. “We are literally in a position of having a patient in a bed who has an infection, something that five years ago even we could have treated, but now we can’t.”
Dr. Olson: I find the language in the article fascinating, "people have overmedicated themselves." Can patients write their own prescriptions for antibiotics? Who gives the prescriptions? Then why blame the patient for a problem created by the medical establishment? We need to understand it is our fault, not the medical establishment's, who prescribed the meds in the first place. 
There are so many natural alternatives that bugs will never become immune to. If you want an appropriate alternative, we can recommend a good one based on your body's specific needs. And guess what? No side effects.  

Have a blessed month!  

Short and Sweet

Certain Foods Linked With Depression: Many of the foods we eat because we are rushed and may not make time for healthier meals are linked with depression. These include fast food, refined grains, and soft drinks.

http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/foods-linked-depression/2013/12/06/id/540505#ixzz2mjYcVMdZ 

Casual Sex Linked To Depression And Suicidal Thoughts: Dr Sara Sandberg-Thoma said: "This study provides evidence that poor mental health can lead to casual sex, but also that casual sex leads to additional declines in mental health."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/10463976/Casual-sex-linked-to-depression-and-suicidal-thoughts.html

Less Sleep Brings More Rapid Brain Aging: Sleep troubles are more common with age, and shrinkage of certain brain structures is normal. But for the over-55 study participants, those changes could be seen accelerating slightly with each hour less of sleep each night.

http://bit.ly/1k2bF9o

Light Drinking Is Less Healthy Than Researchers Thought: Reducing even light consumption of alcohol will not only improve your chances against coronary heart disease, but also help you lose weight and ease high blood pressure, it said.

http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/alcohol-health-drink-heart/2014/07/11/id/582040#ixzz37ACVyeAN 

The Biggest Bucks In The Business Of Healthcare: Though the recent release of Medicare’s physician payments cast a spotlight on the millions of dollars paid to some specialists, there is a startling secret behind America’s health care hierarchy: The base pay of insurance executives, hospital executives and even hospital administrators often far outstrips doctors’ salaries.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/sunday-review/doctors-salaries-are-not-the-big-cost.html?action=click&contentCollection=U.S.&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&region=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article

Are Pain Relievers Wrecking Your Health?: What many people don’t realize as they reach for a bottle of ibuprofen, aspirin, or naproxen is that these medications can cause a surprisingly common condition called leaky gut syndrome, which is “a breakdown of the barrier of the intestinal lining,” says Leo Galland, M.D. Leaky gut can cause fatigue, joint pain, allergies, digestive troubles, mood swings, and other symptoms.

http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Headline/pain-relievers-NSAIDs-leaky-gut/2014/07/08/id/581303#ixzz36uzpSaPF 

"O" Zone - The Race of Your Life

So what race are you running? We run through our lives, judging ourselves by the way others are running, what pace they keep, how hard they are breathing, and if they look more tired than us or not.  

But we usually don’t ask ourselves, "What race are they running?" Some run a sprint. A short burst to get to a short-term goal, without the long term in mind. They can crush our self-image, if we judge ourselves by the way they look in the midst of their race. We will always feel inadequate. 

Or maybe they are running a marathon, or middle distance, or even a half-mile. Each requires different ingredients from the runner. 

Most dangerous is if we are not sure what our race is, but we try to pace ourselves by those around us. We will be exhausted by the sprinters, or bored by the long distance runners.

Object number one is to figure out your own race. What is it? What is the distance you are running, for what reason, and how do you need to run your race according to your gifts and current ability? All these things need to be figured out before we will find comfort or peace in our race. 

I have a friend who shared this personal story with me: 

“I was a bad runner. I saw myself as a bad, SLOW runner, not competitive, and heavier than most runners. For the first year and a half of races that I ran in, I cried. I cried because I was embarrassed by my obvious weaknesses. I was so slow compared to others. 

“When I was out running one day, I started wondering why I've continued to run although I still carry the same weaknesses, and at what point did I stop crying? After about a year and a half of running it had started to get a little easier for me. I didn't wear out quite as fast and, because I didn't have a competitive nature, I never worked to be faster. 

“In one race, I was running by a girl who was having a harder time than I was. I encouraged her along, building up, and complimenting wherever I could. We finished and went our own ways. The next week, our cross country coach got a letter from her parents. They said that whatever I had said had made a huge difference in their daughter’s life, and to please thank me.  

“When you're in the back, you're around people who are usually really struggling, who are in a lot of pain and want to give up. As I continued running, I kept helping all those people I was around. I would talk to them and motivate them and tell them to stick with me because I had a very slow pace and I could help them finish the race. In the beginning a lot of my teammates told me that if I had the energy to talk I had the energy to run faster but I didn’t really because I really am just slow. (Don't get me wrong: I'm sure if I worked super ultra hard I could do it, but that's not the point.) My coaches kept getting letters from other coaches thanking them for me and the help that I offered people on their team. I was often able to stop for people who were hurt or felt sick and either get them through the race or get them to help if they needed it. Even parents from other teams were writing my coaches. It wasn't before long that my entire team started to emulate my actions.

“Seven years later, I still considered myself a bad runner. But one day, I realized that I'm not a bad runner. I am a great runner…I had only considered myself a bad runner. But what I realized in that moment was that I am a slow GREAT RUNNER. And it must be said in that order: I’m not a great slow runner because that emphasizes SLOW. By saying slow GREAT, I am acknowledging that I am indeed slow but what I really am is a great RUNNER because I was slow.”

This friend’s race was more about helping others than helping self. Her greatest wish was to nurture another fellow traveler in life, rather than to acquire accolades. As a result, she healed herself in the process of helping to heal others. Her race was to serve. 

What is your race about? Once you know, the stress is mostly gone. The tears dry, and we rarely look around to see how others are running their race and compare; either them to you, or you to them. 

Decide, what race you are running, then get going and have fun at it! Enjoy the journey!  

Have a blessed month,

Dr. Olson

From our food expert, Megan!

Sweet delicate blueberries, rich juicy strawberries, and ripe watermelon, just to name a few, can be found in plenty right now. Do not miss the opportunity this time of year, when these fruits are at their peak of concentrated flavor. Not only will they make your mouth happy, your body will thank you. 

Fruits are an incredible source of powerful antioxidants! While your body creates a certain number of antioxidants on its own, fruits and veggies in plenty add additional antioxidants to help your body fully neutralize potentially dangerous molecules in the body. Empowering your body with the tools it needs to fight against the constant presence of pesticides, plastics, chlorine byproducts and other toxins present in today’s world, opens up a wide range of potential health benefits. 

Harvard University recently completed a study showing “that men who ate the most tomato based foods (rich in antioxidants) had a 35% lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who ate the least amount of tomato based foods.”1

“A Harvard School of Public Health study published in the January 2013 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, finds that three or more servings of blueberries and strawberries per week may slash a woman’s risk of heart attack by as much as 33%. Researchers attributed benefits to the berries’ high anthocyanin content, which may help dilate arteries, counter the buildup of plaque and provide other cardiovascular benefits.”2

The benefits of antioxidants is honestly innumerable. Warding off all types of cancers, lowering cholesterol, blood pressure, keeping your heart healthy, preventing Alzheimer’s, reducing signs of aging, producing more energy for your cells, supporting your immune system and nervous system.3 The list goes on and on. The main thing to remember is to go out this summer and enjoy the delicious, ripe produce that is growing in plenty during this time of year, and your body will thank you! 

-Megan

Sources
1. http://www.naturalnews.com/024710_antioxidants_fruits_antioxidant.html

2. http://www.wildblueberries.com/health/research.php

3. http://articles.mercola.com/antioxidants.aspx

Fresh Strawberry Photo By Chaiwat, freedigitalphotos.net

Blueberries Stock Photo By Rosemary Ratcliff, freedigitalphotos.net

Short and Sweet

Facebook Under Fire for 'Creepy' Secret Study: For one week in 2012, Facebook tampered with the algorithm used to place posts into users' news feeds to study how this affected their mood, all without their explicit consent or knowledge. Still want to expose yourself to the world through this portal?

http://www.newsmax.com/SciTech/Internet-media-Facebook-ethics/2014/06/29/id/579899#ixzz365gMr4Ba 

Higher-Dose Statins Linked to Diabetes: People with heart problems who were started on cholesterol-lowering statins were more likely to develop diabetes if they were prescribed stronger versions of the drugs, a new study finds. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/09/us-statins-diabetes-idUSKBN0EK1M920140609

Costs of Autism $2.4 Million Per Person: The cost of supporting people with autism spectrum disorders throughout their lives could be as high as $2.4 million per person, according to a new estimate. An ounce of prevention is worth 2.4 Million in treatment. We should increase our awareness of the triggers of this devastating condition. 

http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/autism-costs-million/2014/06/09/id/576026#ixzz34CLcvTBP 

Lover’s Hearts Beat At The Same Pace: Emilio Ferrer, a UC Davis psychology professor who has conducted a series of studies on couples in romantic relationships, found that couples connected to monitors measuring heart rates and respiration get their heart rate in sync, and they breathe in and out at the same intervals.

http://scienceblog.com/59694/lovers-hearts-beat-in-sync-uc-davis-study-says/#bdt6YYq26DIUuzTX.99

A Half Million U.S. Surgeries On Knee Cartilage May Be Unnecessary: Finnish researchers found repairing meniscal cartilage in the knee is no more effective than a placebo and about 500,000 U.S. surgeries may be unnecessary. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/12/30/A-half-million-US-surgeries-on-knee-cartilage-may-be-unnecessary/UPI-92401388386599/

The Medicaid Time Bomb: The Oregon Health Insurance Exchange study, the first randomized controlled study of Medicaid outcomes, recently concluded that, while Medicaid increased medical spending increased from $3,300 to $4,400 per person, “Medicaid coverage generated no significant improvements in measured physical-health outcomes.”

http://nypost.com/2013/12/07/the-medicaid-time-bomb/

Meditation May Help With Anxiety, Depression And Pain: Mindfulness meditation may be useful in battles against anxiety, depression and pain, according to a fresh look at past research. "Many people have the idea that meditation means just sitting quietly and doing nothing," wrote Dr. Madhav Goyal in an email to Reuters Health. "That is not true. It is an active training of the mind to increase awareness, and different meditation programs approach this in different ways."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/06/us-meditation-anxiety-depression-idUSBREA0511320140106

"O" Zone

OUR STRESS ALLOWANCE SYSTEM

"Paddy Field And The Mountain" by Detanan, freedigitalphotos.net

• An allowance is a predetermined amount of something we are willing to tolerate.

• How much stress will you tolerate?

• What happens when you hit your allowance of stress? You change and grow, or you get sick and eventually die if the stress is severe enough.

How do we defeat stress?

• The only way to defeat stress is to outgrow it. 

• How do you outgrow stress? By realizing it doesn’t exist: Stress is a by-product of not getting what you want. If you change your mind about what you want, stress can go away. All of us have been in stressful situations. Most of us could see no clear way out of or around that stressful situation. Yet, we have all navigated it successfully, and would admit that we are a better person for having gone through it.   

• How so? Stress is always a lie, a misperception. When we see things the way they really are, stress goes away. We are counseled in the Bible to "give thanks to God in all things," and that "all things work together for good." If this is true, and I know that it is, then every situation in life is for our best good. Our challenge is to see it clearly, and as it really is. If we can do that, our stress is relieved and we come to understand that there is no stress in reality, only in our misjudgments and misperceptions. 

• Stress can’t tolerate the full light of truth. When we see "things as they really are and as they really will be," we are freed from stress. Christ taught that, "... ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."

The Grand Key to Defeat Stress

• Develop your spiritual reality to a higher level. Regular, determined spiritual practices like prayer, meditation, pondering, reading holy writ, and going outside of your comfort zone to serve another will refine your spiritual perspective. It will take some time, but it will have steady and consistent impact.  

• Find your purpose in life. Continually challenge it. Make it better and better, until it is perfect. In a perfect life, meaning a perfectly faithful life, “the Master prefers what occurs.” There then is no stress. 

• Stress in life is a curse and a gift. It is a curse because it makes health disintegrate. It is a blessing because it is a Geiger counter for an inner lack of congruence. If we will listen carefully to what the cause of our stress is, allow it to lead back to ourselves, and seek the inner changes we need to make to vanquish the stress, we will step up to a new, higher level of health and well-being than we have ever enjoyed before. Learn from your stress. 

Have a blessed month,

Dr. O.

It's Official: Organic Milk Is Better For You

[better than non-organic milk, that is]

By Leah Zerbe from Rodalenews.com

If you've been on the fence as to whether or not organic milk is worth the extra cost, this should help you decide: Organic milk has more beneficial omega-3 fatty acids than the nonorganic milk, according to the findings of a new study published in PLoS One that looked at the nutritional makeup of nearly 400 organic and nonorganic milk samples collected over an 18-month period from across the United States. 
But that's not the entire story. Not only did the nonorganic milk contain lower levels of the good fat, but it also harbored higher levels of inflammation- and disease-promoting omega-6 fats; the healthy omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was not as favorable as in the organic milk. While we do need some omega-6s in our diets, Americans tend to drastically overeat this type of fat. (It's the fat found in many junk foods and fried foods.)
Eating too many omega-6s and not balancing them with omega-3s creates the unhealthy consequence that they then interfere with proper blood clotting, deregulate blood pressure, disrupt reproductive functions, and cause widespread inflammation. The imbalance also interferes with the body's already limited ability to convert alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) to the more potent DHA and EPA polyunsaturated fatty acids that our brains need. Too many omega-6s can even interfere with our cells' ability to function normally.
The good news for organic milk lovers? Averaged over a 12-month period, organic milk contained 62% more beneficial omega-3 fatty acids compared to nonorganic milk. Organic milk also contained 25% fewer omega-6s. (That's a good thing.) In fact, the major omega-3 ALA in milk, specifically organic milk, is so favorable that switching to whole, organic milk products could do wonders in balancing out-of-whack fatty acid levels in the body, the researchers note. (Organic milk had 14 times more ALA than fish does. However, fish does have important unique omegas like DHA and EPA, so that's not a reason to totally ditch it.)
The difference in quality isn't rocket science, either. Cows that eat a poorer diet produce milk with less-favorable fat profiles than those eating a more natural grass-and-legume-based diet. In organic systems, cows are required to eat 30% of their diet from pasture grasses and legumes at least 120 days of the year. There's no rule like that in conventional dairy farming, which often has cows living on mixed grains. "Over the last 20 years or so, conventional dairies have increasingly cut down on the amount of pasture feeding that dairy cows get, and have increased the amount of diet that comes from high-energy concentrates which consist of corn and soybeans," Dr. Davis explains. "These are very unnatural sources of food for cows." 
One caveat? If you want to enjoy the health benefits of milk that can help get your omega-6 to omega-3 ratios in order, you'll need to choose whole milk. "If you get organic skim milk, you might not be getting the advantages we're talking about in terms of fatty acids," Dr. Davis notes. 
There are other benefits to choosing organic milk. The cows are not injected with genetically engineered growth hormones, and their feed isn't laced with antibiotics, GMOs, or chemical pesticides. 

Follow these tips to get the healthiest milk:

Find a better brand. To find an organic dairy brand, search the Cornucopia Institute's organic dairy scorecard. The organization promotes family-scale sustainable farms and continually updates its scorecard, ranking organic brands on the market: http://www.cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/index.html.

Beware of milk replacers. Don't like milk? Be careful with milk replacement products, too. Some soy and coconut milk products contain carrageenan, a thickening agent that is linked to digestive tract damage in some studies.  

This article is condensed. Read the full article at http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/non-organic-milk-contains-more-inflammatory-fats

Short and Sweet

It wouldn't be this way if more people used chiropractors: Back Pain Biggest Source of Global Disability:  Nearly a tenth -- 9.4 percent -- of the world's population has lower back pain, with the prevalence highest in Western Europe, followed by North Africa and the Middle East, and the lowest in the Caribbean and Latin America, a study found. The figure includes children. http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/lower-back-pain-chronic-pain-work-related-handicaps-disability/2014/03/25/id/561600#ixzz2x0FVGnpX  

‘Cutting yourself some slack’ could help people live longer: Researchers say that being able to forgive yourself for mistakes is the key to staying healthy, and that constant stress over small things like traffic should be a warning sign.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2600004/Could-chilling-save-life-Researchers-say-cutting-slack-help-people-live-longer.html

Infants 'unable to use toy building blocks' due to iPad addiction: The Association of Teachers and Lecturers warn that rising numbers of children are unable to perform simple tasks such as using building blocks because of overexposure to iPads. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10767878/Infants-unable-to-use-toy-building-blocks-due-to-iPad-addiction.html

Scientists say sugar at levels considered safe is harmful: The study shows "that added sugar consumed at concentrations currently considered safe exerts dramatic impacts on mammalian health," the researchers said in the study, published in the journal Nature Communications. "Many researchers have already made calls for reevaluation of these safe levels of consumption." http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sn-sugar-20130813,0,982020.story

How the craze for running ever longer distances can damage the heart: 
Elderly athletes with a lifelong history of endurance training and competing are prone to heart rhythm disturbances, known as arrhythmias. 
This is due to molecular changes in the heart's pacemaker from the exercise training, according to scientists from the University of Manchester. 
But Professor Boyett stressed that although endurance exercise training can have harmful effects on the heart, 'it is more than outweighed by the beneficial effects'. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2627279/How-craze-running-longer-distances-DAMAGE-heart.html#ixzz31erDpLmX 


How gaining weight makes us hungrier and hungrier: For most of the last century, our understanding of the cause of obesity has been based on immutable physical law. Specifically, it’s the first law of thermodynamics, which dictates that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. When it comes to body weight, this means that calorie intake minus calorie expenditure equals calories stored. Surrounded by tempting foods, we overeat, consuming more calories than we can burn off, and the excess is deposited as fat. The more calories we lock away in fat tissue, the fewer there are circulating in the bloodstream to satisfy the body’s requirements. If we look at it this way, it’s a distribution problem: We have an abundance of calories, but they’re in the wrong place. As a result, the body needs to increase its intake. We get hungrier because we’re getting fatter. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/always-hungry-heres-why.html?_r=0

The "O" Zone

The Eight Taxes On Your Health

I don’t want to make this too political, but I have learned something about health from our government’s policies. Every so often—about monthly, it seems nowadays—the government comes down with a new rule. These rules are supposed to be good for us. But, invariably these rules require additional time, effort, staff and cost to comply with. A few years ago we got the OSHA guidelines that require us to have MSDS sheets (a list of the chemicals in the workplace and the steps to take in case of poisoning, etc.) readily available on every chemical in our office. Now, that’s not a bad idea, but it does require monitoring and maintaining; I figure to the tune of about $200 a year. This additional cost of doing business is the by-product of the government’s reach into our lives. 

In actuality it is not a cost of doing business, but it is a cost of government intervention. I like to call it another “tax.” It drains the supply of available equity to use in life. It really isn’t a tax, but it is no different when it is all said and done, other than the fact that it is far more efficient than a tax. I could number many, many more such “taxes,” that are actually costs of being governed. Who pays for that? Ultimately, you do as the consumer. I can swallow a few of these taxes, and most are far more expensive than that particular OSHA regulation but, ultimately, I have to raise my fees to be able to stay in business, and you end up paying for these government “taxes.”

Now, I got thinking, how do we TAX our health? What do you take into your body—I will refer to those things as "taxes"—that reduces the equity you have to operate in life? If you are feeling fatigue, pain, stress, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, weight gain, or lack of enthusiasm about your life, you are being over-taxed. Consider where those taxes come from and how you can reduce the unneeded taxes on your health. We take in foods that sometimes are a big tax to our health, and sometimes we take in non-foods, like soda, that are very taxing to our health.

Here are the eight highest-cost taxes I see in people’s lives in today’s world:

Soda, Candy, Ice cream: Sugar, Corn Syrup and artificial sweeteners cause serious taxation in our bodies. They deliver little if any nutrient, but require massive resources to react to, process and cleanse them out of our systems. 

Alcohol, Cigarettes: These tax our livers, lungs and probably almost every other system in the body. While small amounts of alcohol can have some benefits, the net effect in society is massively negative. Modern tobacco products have no redeeming benefits as we use them. 

Air Pollution: Remedies are difficult, but the harm is hard to argue with. 

Pasteurized Dairy: This is difficult to digest, and causes so many problems in the body. Let’s get our calcium from the same sources as do the cows: green leafy vegetables. 

Refined whole grain products: White flour, etc. These cause massive inflammation in our bodies, and are very stressful to our digestive system. No fiber and a very high glycemic index, which stresses our sugar handling system, causing an increased release of insulin, which causes weight gain, inflammation and an increase in hunger and appetite. If you want to pay that tax, munch away. If you think the price is too high, reconsider.

Modern animal proteins: Too many chemicals, hormones and drugs get passed into our system for them to safely process. Even if the meat is healthy, we should keep it to a very modest level of consumption.

Stress: We are going to talk about stress, but what I mean by stress is unhealthy stress, or Dis-stress. Stress is a choice. If we don’t like the feel of the stress, all we have to do is to change our attitude about our circumstances. There are many approaches to that process, but the key is that it always works. Stress is a killer, plain and simple. It doesn’t matter what you know, it is what you don’t know that will help you out of stress: stress demands that you ask better questions, that you change your view of yourself and of others. It demands change. When you change in a healthy way, stress melts away like the frost of late spring in the morning sun. 

Structural misalignments: These are energy drainers. It is just like if your car had a bad misalignment. It would still run, but the operating costs just got a lot higher. Tires, tie rods, fuel, steering mechanisms, etc., will all wear out and be used up more quickly. Keep your spine in alignment! It removes one more burdensome tax on your health and thus on your quality of life. 

If you are TAXING your health, stop it. Rethink. Is it worth the cost to the rest of my life? What are you not able to do because of the taxes you are paying on your health and wellbeing? Is your health tax too high? You are the only person who can change it. Get started today. Make a decision to choose more wisely and to act more intelligently.