Envision a world where you need to go to your Dr in order to ask PERMISSION to get a PRESCRIPTION to obtain a vitamin C supplement for you to take...
Sound far fetched?? FAR FROM IT -
Right now, under your nose our government is working to put an initiative through to make purchase of vitamins and supplements by consumers illegal, in fact they're trying to push it through by Dec 2009, at which time purchase of any supplements or vitamins from anyone other than an MD would be against the law, and MD's would entirely control your access and choices to what products you can use to support your quality of health.
If you wanted to get any vitamins you would need to schedule an appointment with your primary care physician & request them, and the Dr would control whether you were allowed them, as well as how much you're allowed to take. Just another way for the FDA & the pharmaceutical companies to control profit in this country - as if they aren't making enough money already trying to keep every US citizen sick & drugged up on maintenance prescriptions as a 'lifetsyle'.
Once again they prove they're not interested in your health, or protecting long term health & avoidance of disease & illness in our country through preventative, but doing what it takes to ensure people will continue to struggle with their health & purchase drugs over more natural methods of care for their health.
IT
GETS WORSE -- right now this law, known as Codex, has already taken
effect in some European countries, and it's a global government
initiative.
Please visit http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/ to sign the petition & find ways you can help to retain our freedom to access products to support good health naturally.
STOP MD's & GOVERNMENT NOW from eliminating our choice to select vitamins over pharmaceuticals to support our bodies & health needs!! If there is any non-profit that needs your support it's this one, and it's worth your time for the sake of your own health & your families health.
In health,
Heather Dubé - Health & Wellness Coach
ACSM LWC, NASM CPT, NANP, BA Psych, NE Trainee
Here's a story about how the commerical dairy industry has you DUP'ed through wonderfully convincing food advertising & brainwashed Dr's, and is feeding you antibiotics, GMO corn, & growth hormone through the milk you and your kids are drinking - sound yummy? Not really - Sound dangerous & unhealthy? it is - read this link:
http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/rbgh.htm
Alternatives for strong bones you ask?
1. Got organic milk? Yes, organic milk is affordable at Trader Joe's, and it's free of antibiotics, growth hormones, GMO corn - it's all natural from grass fed cows that are completely drug free.
2. How about get your calcium from BROCCOLI instead, and other veggies - now there's an idea! Many vegs are LOADED with calcium, much moreso than dairy, and also have the added immune health benefit of nutrients, antioxidants & phytochemicals. Of course the dairy industry doesn't want you to know this with their silly got milk ads b/c it's all about making money, not about your quality of health.
Pass the veggies please & poor the milk down the drain where it belongs!
In health,
Heather Dubé - Health & Wellness Coach
ACSM LWC, NASM CPT, NANP, BA Psych, NE Trainee
Bypass the big box stores!!
Here's a great resource to locate healthy, safe, quality organics & farm fresh vegetables & fruit for you & your family no matter where you are in the US!
www.localharvest.org
In health,
---------------
Heather Dubé - Health & Wellness Coach
ACSM LWC, NASM CPT, NANP, BA Psych, NE Trainee
You & Improved Coaching - Revitalizing Wellness in Health & Home
Today I'm thinking about the lost art of self-care. I have a saying & I use it in my health coaching business when supporting clients on their personal goals, because they often need to hear it - it's "Self-care is not Selfish." It's a holistic health truth & it's a mantra when times get tough, which they often do, and you feel your health is falling through the cracks as a result - be it work constraints, life constraints, parenting constraints.
Why do I love this mantra? Because it not only acts as a personal boundary, but it gives you personal permission to make time to care for yourself out of self-love everyday in some form or another, and in doing so it also passes on a wonderful example to your friends, loves ones, and even your children around you that they too can learn and benefit from in their own personal lives.
Somewhere along the line in our society self-care to some extent has become understood to be selfish. It's not ok to say no to others, as parents it's not ok to take time for yourself from your children to tend to your needs or your own health, it's not ok to say no to your boss when he asks you to work through the weekend for the tenth time in six months, it's not ok to put aside tasks for others or your household to tend to your self or your health first - yes, I'm guilty of this one too. ;) But when you consistently let people eat away at your boundaries, who pays the price?
Sadly so often I find many of clients need a breakthrough in this area, and it all comes down to is realizing that you are the one that is telling yourself ultimately 'it's not ok' and you are the one ultimately that has to click in your mind & give yourself permission finally to put yourself first at times, knowing that is not selfish, it's self-loving & it's self-actualizing. It makes for a "better you", a better experience of you for those you come in contact with, and overall a better world if we handle our lives in this way. No one else is telling you you have to wash the car before you take a 20 min walk, YOU ARE - And what are the consequences if you don't wash the car? What are the consequences if you don't take that walk day after day?
You might think, well so what? So what if I choose to wash my floors before I make some nutritious meals for my family and myself, and then we never make it there so we get takeout instead? So what if I want to work 18 hour days and have little balance in my life for other important areas? But sadly what we have as a result is lost human potential in numerous ways & a world of dieing spirits who are numb from the revolving door of endless life responsibilities and chores, with no self-connection whatsoever anymore to their inner spirit.
A world of ever-increasing toxic people - adults who no longer fellowship with their neighbors "just because", who are constantly frustrated and rushed, marriages that fail without connection to one another, children elevated to violence in schools as families disconnect from one another, from reality, while kids connect to violent video games daily, and on and on.
People have become so numb & yet are so unaware of it that, in lieu of lack of self-care, they have to find another outlet to ease their pain. So they are medicating themselves to tamper down their unconscious pain they live with due to being so disconnected from their inner self, their inner soul, their larger meaning or purpose in life. Tampering it with the numbing drug of refined sugars so sadly abundant in our foods today hidden under numerous disguises; the numbing drug of tv & technology that saps our mind and best energy & leaves nothing left for ourselves or our loved ones; the numbing drugs of alcohol or recreational drugs; or many sadly are on maintenance pharmaceutical drugs simply because they can't manage life's pressures anymore - anti-depressants are now one of the #1 drugs of middle age adults as they zoom through life only half living...
I'd like to suggest a thought - If we cannot be our inner personal best for this world, how then can we be available as our personal best for others? How can we be ready to love & care for one another well, if we don't love & care for
Let go of the numbing agents today & tune into your inner pain, discomfort, or imbalance. Listen to your inner voice - it has a message for you, what is it saying? Listen, listen hard, and listen until you understand, & then answer well - and get ready to experience the full joy of living & life being your true authentic self.
Hopefully by now I've convinced you of the evident benefits of self-care, as there are many, and you're ready to explore a few. So let's discuss then ways we practice self-care in our daily lives. It's very simple - this is not rocket science, but I promise you if you make regular deposits in your bank of self-care, you only need to make a very small investment time and again, but the return on your investment will greatly exceed your deposit. These days, it's about the best investment you can make.
So let's get going & start "getting back to self"! And the best part is, none of these suggestions have to cost you a dime...
Some of the Many Ways We Can Practice Self-Care:
- have boundaries of yourself & your time - it's ok to say no sometimes in order to say yes to yourself
- in all life 'treats', practice prudence & moderation; this includes food but other indulgences as well
- qualm the negative nagging voice we all have in our minds; talk positively to yourself
- set the bar high, but be gentle on yourself
- be playful, even as an adult
- remove yourself from toxic relationships in life - family, friendships & work relationships - if it drains your energy there is nothing positive in it for you
- work at your passion or purpose in life, whether through your job, volunteer work, or a hobby
- honor your body with healthful nutrients through what you eat
- exercise your body, heart, & muscles often - get that blood pumping!
- don't take shortcuts on your rest - 7-8 hours per day is absolutely needed, and research also shows that having regular sleep patterns i.e going to sleep & waking at the same times is the way our bodies are meant to be cared for and is therefore the most healthful approach
- stick to eating healthfully as your choice despite peer pressure in social situations to 'just have 1 cookie, you know you want one!'; if you become sick, ill, or overweight your friends won't be the ones dealing with the consequences
- rest times in the day vs. go, go, go - research shows that our bodies and minds function optimally when we work in periods of 90 minutes & then take a quick 5-10 min break before we re-engage again; this counts for both personal and work tasks - we are not meant to go constantly hours on end in front of a computer, etc.
- power nap
- practice laughing & smiling - these physical acts result in positive physiological reactions within the body - so they come with added benefits!
- use lo-cal healthy snacks to refuel, made of healthy whole foods fat, carb & protein sources
- when you are sick, listen to your body & rest
- drink plenty of purified water
- eat 5 small meals at 2.5-3 hour intervals throughout the day; eating 1-2 big meals per day and going hours in between without food is not practicing self-care for your body & mind; blood glucose powers your think tank & your physical energy throughout the day - so fuel up wisely & regularly so you don't run out of gas or worse yet get ravenous and choose the wrong types of fuel that are high in refined sugars
- present yourself well - give yourself a facial, manicure, or pedicure - care for yourself!
- create space in your life - let go of clutter by purging junk often & open up room to receive new blessings from the universe
- clean your environment; keep a tidy home
- breathe fresh air daily - we are first and foremost mammals & we do need things like fresh air my friends
- along these lines, get some natural vitamin D daily through the sun, even just 5 minutes will do
- socialize - we are not meant to go this journey alone, it's about the relationships & connections we make
- develop a relationship with your body & listen to it, become in tune with it
- tune into what your relationship is with food; how is it that you nourish your body daily? what do you think about food? get to know where your food comes from
- take time to connect with family & friends
- read a book
- drink a cup of tea in a quiet moment
- pray or take a private moment of reflection
- treat your physical body & earthly possessions with self-respect
- treat your non-earthly possessions with self-respect; your spirit, emotions, mentality
- connect to yourself spiritually; who are you, what drives you, what are your passions, what unique gift do you have to offer this world - do you know?
- flex your heart muscle - love one another
- flex your mind muscle - learn new things
So now take a moment, grab a pen and paper & write down 3-5 ways you practiced self-care in the past week.
If you can come up with more, terrific. You're on the right track!
If you can't come up with that many, then you definitely have some work to do.
And if you can't come up with any at all, I'd suggest you turn off your computer & get started right now - because there is no time like the present to get reacquainted with the person you should know best - yourself - & exercise some self-care in your life.
It will do your health, you & those around you a wealth of good.
In health,
Heather Dubé - Health & Wellness Coach
NANP, NASM CPT, LWC & NE Trainee, BA Psych
Please take a few seconds to sign this petition, the Declaration of Healthy Food & Agriculture, demanding the government change their ways of unsafe, unhealthy food production & importation processes -- then pass it on!
Our public health depends on it...your family, your children, and you benefit from it...make the government accountable for creating a safe food supply in our country as the other countries do.
http://fooddeclaration.org/en/endorsements/
If you would like to read the full petition click here: http://fooddeclaration.org/downloads/food_declaration_04.pdf
In health,
Wellcoaches Personal & Group LWC Trainee, Nutrition Educator Student, NASM CPT, BA Psychology
So this author spoke on 20/20 recently on tv about his book and his concept - a new book about the newest eating disorder which apparently is healthy eating: http://www.orthorexia.com/index.php?page=essay
The author is a former holistic Dr who now believes that eating healthy is an obsessive negative eating disorder, and he is terming it orthorexia nervosa and trying to get it qualified as an actual disease in the DSM.
He specifically sites using diet to treat health issues and food sensitivities as well as utilizing whole foods as your core diet as negative; that this generates eating disorders in people where they become non-functional in their lives as a result. So I guess that means thousands of years ago all the caveman eating paleolythic diets, when eating whole
I don't know about you, but I think given our current public health profile we're getting just a little bit ahead of ourselves to worry about people having this 'disorder' of healthy eating.
The amount of people who eat this way truly all the time is maybe 5% of our population, and if you take a look around at the 30-40% adult obesity rate as well as the 30% child obesity rate both of which are still growing, I'm a little more worried about helping these people to develop a healthier relationship with food & their bodies, then telling the 5% of people that are showing a good example to others by eating healthy that they have a problem! Yikes...
Someone please ask this author if he's living in the same world we all are, as I'm not seeing what he's apparently seeing in our population as a problem. I think we need to get more people to eat healthy before we STOP telling them to!
In health,
Wellcoaches LWC Trainee, Group Wellness Coach, NASM CPT, BA Psychology
***Please note: Since I posted
this story I've since spoken to the CEO of the Institute of Integrated
Nutrition who mentioned this story was somewhat blown out of proportion
by the media which is quite typical in order to get ratings, but that
this author does speak about his position at their school which is a
well-respected industry holistic/healing nutrition school both
nationally & internationally, so I felt this important to mention.
***Note from Book Author Dr. Steven Bratman: After
I was notified of this show on 20/20 featuring this book I contacted
the author, and he replied to my inquiry and actually had some
interesting things to say about how the media misinterpreted his book
and theory to make ratings (shocking) so I'd like to share with you
here what he had to say. Please scroll to the bottom of the post where
I include Dr. Bratman's personal clarification both on this concept and
his book. Enjoy!
***Blog Author article clarification: I'd like to now note following speaking to the book author after my blog commentary below, that really
the point the author has made with his book is how critical our
relationship with food is, and that is one I will get behind him on
100%. That there are those that seek out support from nutrition
counselors that don't have a healthy relationship with food and can
then turn that onto their efforts to seek help, in turn just using
healthy eating as a manner of once again controling their lives and
their bodies. I 100% agree this is not healthy either. Now only if the
media would stop misconstruing information that is put out there to the
public that is meant to be helpful!
Note from Book Author in regards to his book & this theory:
" The fact is, I entirely agree that obesity is a zillion times worse as public health problem than orthorexia. I invented the word to tease a few of my patients out of being so damn overzealous. But that was an alternative medicine practice,
where everyone was health conscious. I got tired of people saying to
me, "So what else should I cut out of my diet, Dr. Bratman." I wanted
to say, "Stop thinking about food already! Your diet is better than
99% of the people on the planet. How about loosening up a little?"
That was the genesis of the word. It was meant as a gentle tease to
people who were overzealous. My book is written in a lighthearted
vein, and is mosly just amusing. I published it in 2000, and it
promptly went out of print. The media wanted me to tell them this was
a serious health problem, and I refused, and so they weren't
interested.
I later discovered that a few, rare people die from some kind of obsession with health food, and a slightly larger (but still minuscule) group overdo it considerably, but manage not to die. In fairness, I want to say that such people still deserve help. Even if most people _should_ lose weight, that doesn't make anorexia a non-existent problem. Still, orthorexia is just not a serious public health concern!
Good luck!
Steve "
Amidst Michael Phelp's Olympic achievements this past week there has been much publicity and attention centered on his diet. Here is an article that lays out point by point what he eats at every meal & some commentary to his strange eating plan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7562840.stm .
As people hear more and more of his high fat high calorie plan, we'd like to make sure no one misinterprets this info as a "free pass" to think that everyone who eats like Michael can be in the health of an Olympic athlete, as this is certainly not the case.
In fact, what it should make people think is: imagine just how much more this man could achieve if he fueled his body with good, quality, nutrient-dense food sources?
THAT is what the media should be talking about, instead of sending out the wrong message about the example Phelp's is not setting for people in the area of nutrition. It upsets me to no end that the media constantly needs to create drama, and in doing so they consistently choose to publicize negative topics to stir the pot.
If he eats that way, then NBC and other media sources should think about the number of people they have as a captured audience in this format & how they can HELP them to eat well through the message their sending, not patronize & confuse their viewers the way they are talking endlessly about Michael's junk food eating program. Have they never heard the phrase, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all."?
This is the exact stuff that confuses people and is a detriment to the state of our public health both in adults and children. We may possibly now see a resurgence in the awful Atkins diet, which is basically filling your arteries with fat & unhealthy oils, based on the specifics they're putting out on tv about Michael's diet.
Keep in mind the frequency, length & intensity of
someone's training of Michael's athletic caliber can counter some of the junk
he is taking into his body for food. So what may APPEAR to not effect
him negatively is partially due to the counter effect of his exercise
schedule - but remember, you don't see his insides, and outward
physical appearance is not always indicative of inner health both short
& long-term.
That is how professional athletes sometime die shockingly from cancer or a heart attack unexpectedly every once in
awhile to everyone's surprise. People too often wrongly associate outward
appearance as synonomous with inward health quality. If he continued to
eat like this over time, regardless of his training, it would no doubt
take a negative toll on his health.
I'm rather surprised that an athlete of his level is not working with a nutritional consultant on a regular basis to support his training both in term of nutrient choices, meal composition, and nutrient timing to support his pre, during, and post workout periods properly with what he eats. The majority of athletes that compete at that level either are supporting their body with health nutrition through the consultation of a sports nutritionist, or through their own knowledge of being in and around the sport for many years.
I'd also like to mention his diagnosis of ADHA, which is important to note along with the correlation that he's openly admitted he's been eating this way for 20+ years. Why people don't connect what he's putting in his mouth in terms of loads of sugars, processed chemicals and foods, junk food, soda/caffeine, and high fats, along in direct relation to this exacerbated temperament as a child growing up to today leaves me speechless.
How we choose to support or not support our bodies nutritionally to do the work of their natural processes has everything to do with our resulting mood, ability to concentrate, ability to focus, to think, to have energy or not, to function, etc. For anyone who is diagnosed with ADHD or ADD, the absolute FIRST thing any Dr should do is assess the client's diet and rework it to put them on a whole foods paleolythic diet, by removing all processed sugars, all caffeine, all packaged foods, leaving only lean meats, decaf coffee or tea, loads of water and vegetables, and minimal fruit. Once that transition sets into their body over 4-6 weeks, then and only then should the client be reassessed for what type of possible additional medicinal support may or may not be needed at that point. Unfortunately, most Dr's do not even address the current diet and exercise program of the patient both in diagnosis and treatment.
In the article on Phelps, Barbara Lewin, a nutritionist who has advised international athletes on their dietary health for almost two decades, states "Health-wise, if he were eating like this long-term, he'd probably be having to see a cardiologist regularly," Mrs Lewin told the BBC.
It's too bad he has set such a stellar example on areas of physical health & achievement in sport for adults, childrens, athletes throughout the world, yet fails to set a similar good example of nutrition in this world at a time when it's SO needed by someone of his reach. Just like Mary Lou Retton was a unstoppable force and the athlete-to-inspire of my generation, Phelps is just this for figure for generation Y, which needs a lot more positive role models on the exercise & nutrition front today then we needed back then.
I'm hoping as his accomplishments set in that the realization the amount of kids along with that that look up to him will to, and he'll begin to see the tremendous amount of responsibility that comes along with that & therefore how he can use this platform to help others in these areas of health.
And yet someone who is using high performance nutrition to reach her Olympic goals at the age of 41, Dara Torres, & would prove a wonderful example for people throughout the world on how she approaches her training to get where she has both physically and nutritionally, gets called out by the media in her interview asking if she's using steroids.
Can someone please just release the media from their duties? They are the cause of so many problems in our society today with the drama they try to create. So the media immediately skews and ruins a potentially great example for people by asking Dara if she's taking drugs, automatically assuming she is. Of course she has to be, right? No, not right.
How about asking her how she does it...how she achieves such physical goals at her age? THAT again is what would HELP people watching the Olympics via encouragement, vs. the over-asked steroid question. Just because you don't understand how someone achieves something, doesn't automatically mean it's not possible to achieve or they cheated to get there; it just means she has had some experiences in controlling and developing her health in a manner through her life that you haven't in your own, and we'd benefit to learn from her.
But of course the drama will always be more important to the media than doing what's right to help better people's health in their lives. I do hope people do see through the drama being made over Michael Phelp's diet to realize that it's basically much to-do about nothing & not worth the air time it's getting, as most things the media harps on.
Let's just enjoy his wins for the amazing feat they are & hope that, should he return to future Olympic competition, he adds in a great nutritional program to support his future athletic goals so we can see him at his true best ... & how incredible that would be.
In health,
Heather Dubé - Health & Wellness Coach
Wellcoaches LWC Trainee, Group Wellness Coach, NASM CPT, BA Psychology
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