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The Wellness Nurse - Fall Newsletter
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Leading You to Total Health
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October 2008
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Could one conversation change your life?
In June I graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in Manhattan. I am trained and prepared to partner with you as your personal Integrative Health Counselor. Would you like to create a happier, healthier life in a way that is flexible, fun and free of denial and discipline? If so click here
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Quick Links
The products listed here are wellness products that I researched, endose, and use myself. All of the products are derived from non-synthetic whole food sources. They all fit in nicely with an optimal program for health.
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 Welcome to my Premier Edition!
Have you noticed the leaves changing color, the daylight waning earlier, and the briskness in the air? Many of us New Englanders agree that Fall is truly the lovliest time of year. I love Autumn. My birthday is in October, so for me it's a time to reflect back upon the past year of my life. It is also a time to envision where I want to be as my journey continues.
Two years ago, I bought a domain called The Wellness Nurse. I liked the sound of it, because I felt that it described me. Nursing is in my blood, and I loved the idea of promoting the concept of wellness of body, mind and spirit. Not content with my traditional hospital nursing job, I started paying attention to an inner calling that was leading me down a new path. I had no idea at the time what I was going to do, or how I was going to do it. But I honored that calling that spoke, "You need to do what you are passionate about, which is to educate others about wellness. You need to help people get healthy."
I trusted that a power greater than myself would lead me to everything I would need to achieve this goal. As I write this today, I can tell you that I was divinely led to exactly the people places and things that I needed to manifest my vision into reality.
Simply put, my goal is to keep you out of the hospital. My desire is to provide you with enough information so that you can make informed choices that could impact your health for the better. There is a lot of hype and misleading information out there. My philosophy is that while we are here in our physical bodies, we are supposed to be enjoying our experience. And that means feeling energized, happy, grateful, confident, compassionate, and waking up each morning refreshed and ready to greet the new day. Do you feel like that? Would you like to feel like that? Let me help.
The greatest gift you can give yourself is the gift of health. I believe that everyone wants to be healthy, but it sure can be a challenge in this day and age. The greatest obstacles to wellness today are: The inability to adaquately manage stress, the lack of nutrients the body needs for optimal performance, and the onslought of harmful environmental toxins. The Standard American Diet (SAD) truly is sad. Chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease and obesity are on the rise. I believe it is easier than you might think to start the process of cleaning up your diet and learning how to manage your emotions. This is where The Wellness Nurse steps up to the plate! As a Nurse and a Certified Holistic Health Counselor, and EFT practitioner, I am ready to partner with you and get you on the road to health. It is my hope that you will enjoy reading my monthly newsletter, and find information here which you can use to be the best you can be! And please, feel free to forward it to anyone you thing might be interested.
To learn more about my Holistic Health counseling practice, click here
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 Water: Not so Innocuous
Water. We drink it, we bathe in it, swim in it, cook with it, travel upon it. It is estimated that our body is comprised of 80% water. You could live for sometime without food, but not very long without an adquate intake of water. Because we are constantly excreting water by way of respiration, perspiration and elimination, it is essential for health that we provide our bodies with an adaquate supply of clean pure water. Dr. Batmanghelidj, the author of "Your Body's Many Cries for Water", states that "you are not sick, you are thirsty". His website is full of information related to the importance of hydration. Be aware that not all water is alike, although you can't tell the difference solely by appearance.
Consider the following facts: Last year, Americans spent $15 billion dollars on bottled water. We pitch into landfills 38 billion water bottles a year -- in excess of $1 billion dollars worth of plastic. It takes 1.5 million barrels of oil a year to produce all of those bottles. 24% of the bottled water we buy is tap water repackaged by major soft drink manufacturers. And did you know that there are no federal regulations that oversee the bottled water industry?
Many health conscious individuals are diligently drinking their 8+ glasses of water a day, thinking they are doing their body a favor. I was one of them! I do not drink soda or concentrated juice beverages because of the sugar content. I love the taste of water so I have no problem hydrating my body. However, until recently, I did not question the pH of the water I was drinking. What I found out was that the water I was drinking actually tested acidic! It was only slightly less acidic than soda! Why is this important?
Stress, certain foods (meat, eggs, dairy to name a few) along with toxins, tend to throw the body into an acid forming state. Since this is not conducive to life, the body has to work hard to remain in a very narrow pH zone. If we don't assist the body in this process by a daily intake of alkalizing foods, such as green leafy vegetables or green drinks, the body will rob the alkalizing minerals it needs from bones, teeth and other body organs in order to maintain the proper pH (7.38 to 7.42) which is a slightly alkaline state. It is this process that is inadverdently causing such an increase in osteoporosis and degenerative disease. Ideally, the water your body will benefit from most will be free of toxins like chlorine, flouride, lead, arsenic, pharmaceuticals. Additionally, it should be alkaline, not acidic. There is an easy way to filter your own tap water through a system that will not only give you the cleanest water possible, it will also alkalize your water! To learn more about the importance of alkaline water, click here
To watch a trailer about a film called "The Flow" that was just released having to do with the global water crisis, click here
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 How to Be a Sugar Detective
America has a sugar problem, and it is growing larger every day. Did you know that it is estimated that one out of every four people has diabetes or prediabetes? In 1801, historians estimate that each person consumed about 8.4 lbs of sugar a year, translating to about 2.2 teaspoons a day. Current consumption has skyrocketed to about 170 lbs. a year, or about a cup a day! Increase in refined sugar consumption has created a nation of obese and poorly nourished people who eventually have to succumb to insulin in order to facilitate blood glucose into the cells for energy.
Be aware, that there are many faces of sugar. Sugar is not just the sweet white stuff that is sprinkled on your cereal or added to your coffee. All processed carbohydrates are sugar! In addition to the obvious places sugar resides, like cakes, cookies, candy, soda, it is also lurking in bread, bagels, cereal, canned foods, pasta sauce, crackers, yogurt, salad dressings and peanut butter. To be a good sugar detective, learn how to read food labels and to detect the many guises that sugar hides behind. Most people are beginning to understand how high fructose corn syrup is dangerous, in that it is a highly concentrated and highly processed sweetener that is used extensively because it is cheap. Companies get a lot of mileage with just a small amount of HFCS. Beware of products that have HFCS in the ingredients.
Here are some other names to look for when reading the ingredients on a food label:
corn syrup solids, fructose, dextrose, lactose, maltodextrin, ethyl maltol, barley malt, diastase, sorbital, modified corn starches, sucrose, carob syrup. If you are trying to avoid sugar, avoid these as well.
The way you can determine how many teaspoons of sugar is in a product, is to take the number of grams of sugar, and divide it by 4. So if a product has 28 grams of sugar in it, think 7 teaspoons of sugar. Example: A half a cup of Ben and Jerry's Chunky MOnkey contains 28 grams, or 7 teaspoons of sugar. A 16 ounce grande Starbucks Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino with whipped creme, includes 85 grams, or roughly 21 teaspoons of sugar! Big Gulp or Super Sized sodas are the worst offenders, and can have well over 20 teaspoons of sugar!
Artificial sweeteners present their own set of problems and should be avoided at all costs. A nice alternative to sugar is stevia, especially green stevia if you can find it. Not only is this herb very sweet, but it also has health benefits, and won't spike the blood glucose up like real sugar. Agave nectar is also a better substitution. Don't be mislead into thinking that using more natural sugars like honey or raw sugar is a safe bet if you are having problems with blood sugar control. Sugar is still sugar.
For your health, try reducing your overall sugar consumption. At first, it may feel like something is missing as your body may even go through withdrawal, looking for its drug. But start dealing with your sugar craving by adding sweet vegetables like carrots or beets, or eat an apple or other fresh fruit. Although fruit has sugar, there is enough nutrients and fiber in the food to slow down digestion, preventing quick spikes in blood glucose. Eventually, you learn to crowd out the old sugar laden nutrient poor food with better choices. Your body will respond by feeling less irritable and more in balance.
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 The Promise of Energy Psychology
Energy Psychology is an exciting and expanding therapeutic healing practice that taps into the body's own energetic system to achieve healing of both emotional as well as physical imbalances. Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, the genesis of Energy Psychology is over 5,000 years old. Thus, practices such as Acupuncture, EFT, TAT, and other Energy Psychology modalities are not new, only new to Western Medicine. In a sense, it's East meets West.
Western medicine is focused on treating symptoms. Eastern medicine is focused on healing. Western medicine relies on external applications like medicine, surgery and chemotherapy. Eastern medicine looks to the internal wisdom of the body to heal itself. Western medicine is there to "mop up" the damage. Eastern medicine focuses on prevention, to prevent the mess in the first place. It is my belief that when these two philosophies can partner, we will essentially have the best of both worlds.
As an EFT practitoner and a psychiatric nurse, I utilize EFT to speed along the healing process, both for physical pain as well as emotional pain. In a medical system that encourages a dependency or a reliance upon itself, teaching someone a tool like EFT can foster independence, as a person can look to themself and their body's own natural healing ability for relief. I believe that in the not too distant future, the psychiatric field will drastically evolve as heart-centered and gentle modalites such as these begin to be embraced by traditional therapists and practitioners alike.
Gary Craig is the founder of EFT. His website has an 89 page manuel that is a free download. It is also the essential primer for anyone interested in learning more about EFT. click here to view.
To link to my EFT website, tap here
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 Super Fall Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup
As the weather cools down, it's great to warm up with an old time favorite. Here is a great way to add super nutrition by adding butternut squash to your stock.
Ingredients:
One whole chicken, free range organic
2 cups butternut squash, cubed
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
3 stalks fresh celery, sliced
4 carrots, sliced
1 box of organic low sodium chicken broth
handful of fresh parlsey, chopped
a bunch of any fresh green, like kale or
swiss chard, cut into strips
Boil the chicken until cooked, and remove. Strain remaining broth and remove grease. In the meantime, boil the butternut squash until tender in enough water to cover. When done, use a blender to puree. Add the pureed squash to the chicken broth, and add the box of broth. Start adding the chopped vegetables and cook until vegetables are soft. Dice up the cooked chicken and add to the soup. Add additional chicken base if needed. Finish by adding the parsley and the strips of greens. The result is a hearty and colorful fall soup that is rich in color and absolutely delicious. Can be served with noodles, or rice, or alone. Enjoy!
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Upcoming Events
"Emotional Freedom Techniques"
Wednesday October 29
7 - 9 p.m.
Holliston High School
Holliston Ma.
for more information go to Town of Holliston's web page
"Do You Suffer From the Sugar Blues?"
A free presentation for the public
Thursday October 30th
6:30 - 8 p.m.
Tatnuck Bookseller
Lyman Plaza, Westboro
Fibro Aid
An ongoing support group for anyone with chronic pain.
This group meets weekely, and is co-led by myself and Dr. Willliam Savanin, a psychiatrist at MetroWest Medical Center.
Every Wednesday from 5 - 6 p.m.
MetroWest Medical Office Building in Natick Ma.
Our unique approach integrates holistic alternatives with traditional treatment.
Please contact me directly for further information at 508.523.7132
Kangen Water Demonstration
I will be hosting a Kangen water system demo at my house on Tuesday October 7th, and Wednesday October 8th, from 7-9 P.M. Please bring a sample of the water that you normally drink, and have it tested for both pH, as well as ORP (oxidation reduction potential)
Address is at bottom of this email.
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Until next time.....
Remember that true health is not just the absence of symptoms of illness. True wellness is being in balance or alignment with your inner source of healing. Remember that you have all the resources within to heal your body and emotions, and to connect with your spiritual truth. While you are here, remember that you are a spiritual being in a physical body. You are connected to an energetic source that connects each and everyone of us together. Learn to forgive yourself first, learn to love yourself second, and then the rest will be easy. May you enjoy the beautiful fall season, and may it envigorate you completely. And may you live long in good health.....
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Contact Information
Tina Marian
Northboro MA
508.523.7132
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