Wake-Up and Smell the … Tea?

I decided to switch from being a coffee drinker to a tea drinker a few weeks ago, and I LOVE it!  I have been a faithful coffee consumer for years, and every time I heard a bit of information about the benefits of moderate coffee consumption, I would feel affirmed in my daily coffee routine.  Since switching over to being a daily tea guy, let me detail out a few changes I have noticed;

1.  I save money – its cheaper to buy tea than coffee
2.  Better breath – I don’t have ‘coffee breath’ anymore
3.  Whiter teeth – no more coffee stains on my teeth
4.  Less stomach problems – my tummy feels better

Now let me mention another tea fact; Tea contains antioxidants – which can help bolster your immune system.

Your immune system is vitally important to how you experience life.  Have you ever heard the term “you are what you eat”?  Well guess what…. its true!!  Consuming tea on a regular basis and helping maintain or build a normal strong immune system has huge implications for how well you experience health.  But, do yourself a big favor, DO NOT add stuff to your tea (like sugar) the herbs in tea often add a little flavor by themselves, and try to get organic tea if possible.

If you want more information about herbs in general, I recommend consulting with an acupuncturist.  My acupuncturist is Jenny Dull in Arroyo Grande, http://www.jennydullacupuncture.com/

So, maybe tomorrow when you wake-up, instead of smelling coffee brewing, you will be enjoying a cup of tea instead.

The Experience of Suffering

 
I recently ran across an interesting quote that really made me think:
 
“We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full." - Marcel Proust, French novelist
 

We are taught through many avenues of modern medicine and the media that we shouldn’t have to suffer. Consumers complaining of pain or different ailments are encouraged to partake in the quickest symptom- reliever right away.  Not just with physical problems, but emotional and mental suffering as well.  The thing is we are never promised a life without suffering.
 
The actual act of healing is also poorly understood in our society.  We are taught that we need outside intervention (medicine, surgery, procedures, pain relievers…) to accomplish healing.  In actuality, however, our bodies are designed with self- healing capacity.  With the basis of this understanding of the body, many of the holistic health fields focus on aiding the body with its natural healing abilities.
 
We are created in such a way in which suffering can actually be normal and can be beneficial.  What I am not saying is to go seek suffering.  Instead, seek life!  Living a healthy life, you will inevitably experience suffering.

The Doctor of the Future

 
Inventor Thomas Edison said: “The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
 
Wow, was Thomas Edison an idiot or what?  He couldn’t have been more wrong about the present day doctor.  The doctor of today gives out more drugs than ever, with often very little attention paid to the human frame, diet or the cause and prevention of disease.

Or, maybe Thomas Edison was as brilliant as his inventions suggest.  Perhaps we simply have not yet arrived at his prediction of the future doctor.  What are the implications in our current society of Mr. Edison’s vision?
 
From a money stand point, our health care costs would plummet dramatically, and powerful pharmaceutical companies would be done.  The cost of caring for the human frame, diet and cause and prevention of disease would be a fraction of the cost of the current sick care system.
 
Will we ever arrive at this bold prediction?  In 10 years, 50 years, maybe 100 years from now?  I don’t have a clue.  Ultimately, doctors do what people want.  Showing interest in your frame, your diet and in the prevention of disease is a good start towards fulfilling a bold prediction.

Defining Health

I was getting my haircut yesterday at the local Supercuts, and the young lady performing this helpful service spent most of the time telling me about her life.

One thing she said that made me cringe was that she goes to a tanning booth so she can, “have healthy looking skin”.  Now let’s quickly review some information I received from this brief interaction with her.  She is 21 years old, clearly obese, and wanting that “healthy” look for her skin by going to a tanning booth.  She also told me that she babysits, and likes to give the kids lots of sugar, take them to the park to go crazy, so that they will crash afterwards.  What is wrong with this picture???

The World Health Organization has this definition “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” 

A good measure of health in my opinion is the ability of the body to adapt appropriately to a constantly changing internal and external environment.

So, ask yourself, would you rather be healthy in reality, or healthy in perception?  I have to admit I want to be healthy in reality and perception.  Now as far as the young hair stylist, I didn’t say anything to her.  Would you have said something in response to her?

Cleaning Your Body from the Inside

 
I recently decided to stop drinking coffee (at least for a little while) and give my body a break from the wonderful glorious substance that is coffee.  This comes on the heels of three of my friends doing a nearly month long cleanse, a yoga instructor, an acupuncturist, and a chiropractor (sounds like the start to a bad joke).  How important is it to cleanse our bodies of the toxic build up of day to day living?
 
Let’s think of health, and where it originates.  Our health begins with innate intelligence; we are designed and created with purpose and intention from two cells to a fully functioning human being in a matter of months.

Secondly, our health expresses itself from the inside - out, not the outside - in.  When an egg is cracked from the outside you have death, when an egg is cracked from the inside you have life.  When the expression of intelligence through your body is at 100%, your body has the best chance of performing at its optimal level and for natural healing to occur.
 
So, hopefully you are starting to see how important it is to cleanse and keep clean the inside of our bodies! 
 
The take home message is to be careful and aware of the things you are putting into and onto your body!  Am I ever going to drink a cup of sweet beautiful coffee again?  Heck yeah!  But, I am also striving to protect my good health by keeping my inside clean.

A Wise Investment

 
In a down economy, we all want to spend our money wisely.  In fact, smart spending is considered pretty cool these days.  Now, I want you to be in the know on an investment that has the potential to reap benefits of amazing proportions in your life!  I’m talking about benefits flowing into every area of your life, such as: more energy, fewer sick days at work, longer life, less fatigue, better sleep, improved relationships, more productivity, better mental focus, and more money!!!
 
Are you ready?  Want to know what the secret wise investment is?


It's your HEALTH!!  In fact, there is no price you can put on good health.  Your health is PRICELESS!  Nobody knows this better than someone whose health has been compromised.  Health is not merely the absence of disease or symptoms, but complete mental, physical and social well-being.
 
What do you gain with optimal health?  A high quality of life for starters, and even though it takes an investment to achieve optimal health (time, money, effort) the great thing is, the seeds you sow come back to you 10 fold.  If you are not already doing so, go make a wise investment in your health now, and make it a habit.

What’s up with the SUN?

 
Is the sun good for us or not?  The answer (in my opinion) is actually fairly simple, and should make good common sense.
 
Yes.
 
The sun helps with lots of natural processes in our bodies and brains.  Seasonal affective disorder is associated with lack of sun exposure, and you will likely sleep better at night when you get sun exposure during the day.  Your circadian rhythm benefits from proper sun light entering the eye balls (and into your brain) during the day, and then receiving proper lack of sun light at night time.  Do you need more proof?
 
Lots of people have heard “you get vitamin D from the sun” and instead will go for a supplement of vitamin D so they don’t have to spend time in those dangerous sun rays.
 
The vitamin D you get from the ultraviolet radiation from the sun works very well in your body.  The vitamin D you get from supplements does not work very well in your body, and actually bypasses natural mechanisms that would prevent overdoses of vitamin D generated internally from sunlight.  You can also get vitamin D from most vegetables.
 
Here is the big question, how much sun exposure is safe?  This is the real kicker, it’s different for everyone!  If you want a general rule to go by, avoid sun burns.  Sun burns are linked to bad things happening in your body, such as cancerous developments.  An unfortunate sun fact is that our society has been conditioned to believe we must use sun screen if we are spending time outside to avoid developing skin cancers.  The problem is sun screens have chemicals in them that are cancer causing.  Is that ironic or what?!
 
Here is the take home message, sun exposure is okay and healthy, don’t get burned, and if you insist on using sun screen, use a natural (no chemicals) brand.  Check out this article for some different natural sun screen brands; http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/natural-sunscreens-460608#fbIndex1

                                            Catalina Island spring '11 camping/biking trip