July 30, 2014

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



July 14, 2014

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?

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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.”

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."

July 7, 2014

"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.