A Healthy Start to a Healthy YearWritten by Vicki Rackner MD
Can your mind help your body keep your New Year’s resolutions? Mounting evidence says, *Yes.*The evolving field of psycho-neuroimmunology, or study of mind-body connection - often considered fringe beliefs - could help you keep your resolutions. This intriguing subject of scientific inquiry is still shrouded in mystery. Just as an experiment, put aside your skepticism, pretend that these ideas could be explained by science, and consider how you could harness their power to promote your health. Placebo Effect When new medications are tested, one group gets new medication and another group gets *sugar pill* or placebo. Why do this? Study after study shows that if you think you’re taking real medicine, your body will respond as if it actually did get active ingredient, even if it’s a sugar pill. Somehow belief in power of medicine creates desired outcome of lowered blood pressure or heart rate or weight loss in about a third of people. Is this science? Yes. Is this mind-body medicine? Yes. Let your beliefs help your body achieve your desired goals. If regular exercise is your goal, tell yourself, *I’m invigorated by my daily 20 minute walk.* The placebo effect suggests that your belief that you have more energy with regular exercise makes it so. Nocebo Effect In November 1998, a teacher noticed a *gasoline-like* smell in her classroom, and soon thereafter she had a headache, nausea and dizziness. Given concern about a toxic environmental substance, school was evacuated and closed for 5 days. Almost 200 students and teachers were seen in ER for similar symptoms. But no environmental cause was ever identified. One explanation is that belief that a toxic exposure occurred led to symptoms, or nocebo effect. This is flip side of placebo effect. I reflected on this study as I was waiting with my son for his turn in dental chair. He repeated, *It’s going to hurt; it’s going to hurt.* I suggested to him that he might be better served by saying, *It’s going to be fine; it’s going to be fine.* Has nocebo effect undermined your New Year’s resolutions in past? Barry saw this in action last March as he told himself,*I hate to exercise.* He made a commitment to daily walks in January and talked himself out of them before winter snow melted. Harness power of placebo effect and minimize nocebo effect this year, even if your resolution is something challenging like smoking cessation. In years past you might have told yourself, *This never works. I’ll never be a non-smoker.* Consider replacing that thought with, *In past it didn’t work. Now I keep my promises.*
| | Menopause ReliefWritten by Cathy Taylor
Menopause relief is possible through self care. Western doctors treat women in menopause like they have a disease. In truth, menopause is a transitional imbalance, a change that can be comforted with some study and experimentation. Peri-menopausal woman report experiencing symptoms including hot flashes, anger, urinary tract infections, irritability, hyperacidity, skin breakouts (acne), rashes, low sex drive, mood swings, and more. If sole cause of menopause is a loss of hormones, as is commonly believed in west, then why do some women experience no symptoms at all during menopause while others can no relief from menopause? In Ayurvedic tradition (medical practice of India), doctors report that if a woman reaching this stage already has an imbalance often caused by a diet of fast food, or eating foods with chemicals and preservatives causing an accumulation of digestive impurities, or if stress is a daily experience, she is likely to report more symptoms at this stage in life. What are some of things a woman can do to treat her most prevalent and disturbing symptoms? Diet is a good place to start. If you have hot flashes and mood swings, avoid spicy foods such as chili, cayenne and black mustard seed, vinegar, salty and sour foods. Instead, go for bitter, astringent and sweet foods including vegetables, rice, milk, wheat and pasta, fruit (especially pears and plums), and spices such as cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, fennel and cumin seed. If you are experiencing symptoms such as memory loss or vaginal dryness, eat cooked, warm foods that are low in fat. Include sweet, sour and salty with a breakfast of cooked apples, prunes and figs to cleanse digestive system. Under all circumstances, avoid packaged, processed, frozen, and canned foods including leftovers.
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