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Wondering what integrative guided imagery (IGI)
is?
IGI is a very cool way to tap into your inner
resources to promote health and well being. Here are
some examples:
Working With An Image: this involves exploring a symptom, conflict, an image of wellness, a problem or solution etc. By exploring an image of a symptom for example, you can learn about how to deal with it, understand it, gain insight into it. Inner Wisdom: This is based on the belief that there is a part of us that already knows the answers to many of our questions. This is an opportunity to get in touch with this inner wisdom and discuss an issue or concern that you might have. Accessing Inner Strengths: this technique involves choosing a quality or feeling you wish to possess in a particularly challenging situation. This is based on the assumption that you already possess all the inner resources that you need to manage life's challenges. This is helpful for dealing with fear/anxiety, loss, performance anxiety, recovery, coping with an illness, etc. The sessions usually take about 30-45 minutes. It involves a brief assessment/explanation, the actual imagery experience and then a few minutes to debrief about what happened. I am in the process of getting certified in this extraordinary technique so I am offering the first session in IGI for free. Come check it out! |
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Does your New Year?s resolution include taking
better care of yourself? One of the most
important (and easy) things you can do to take
better care of yourself is to take a multivitamin every
day. Yes, I know that the US Preventive
Services Task Force decided there was not enough
evidence to recommend daily multivitamin
supplementation but let me ask you this, how many
servings of fruits and vegetables did you have
yesterday? Did you have the 5-9 servings
recommended by the USDA? If you did, do you eat
that many servings every day? Ahhh, gotcha! Here
are my recommendations:
Take a multivitamin that contains at least 100% of the DRI of most vitamins every day. It should contain at least 400 mcg of folic acid. It is best to have natural vitamin E (d-alpha tocopheryl) and natural beta carotene instead of vitamin A. Take 500mg of calcium with 250 mg of magnesium twice a day with food. Calcium and magnesium should be taken in a 2:1 ratio. And do not take more than 500 mg of calcium at one time; your body can?t absorb it all. To keep your bones healthy, you also need to get enough vitamin D. The latest research shows that few of us get enough vitamin D and that the current recommendations of 400 IU per day are not enough. Most of us get our vitamin D from fortified foods (like milk) or from exposure to the sun but if you live far from the equator like in Northern California, you do not get enough exposure to the sun especially during the winter months. We should try to get from 800-1000 IU of vitamin D daily. Not only does it help us have healthier bones but it may also prevent colon cancer and multiple sclerosis. Some other tips:
Read the label on your supplements carefully. Look at the "serving size", you may need to take anywhere from 1 to 8 tablets each day. Are you really going to take that many? Also, the directions may say to take your vitamins 3 times a day. Can you do that? If you are going to buy them be sure you can take them as directed. Buyers beware. There are many vitamins on the shelf that contain ?herbs for women?. Most of these herbs are added to the vitamin in inadequate doses (if the doses are given) therefore they have no therapeutic value. So don?t waste your money on them! Quality is an issue. The supplement industry is not regulated so look for labels that have ?GMP?, ?USP?, or ?NF? on the label. These companies have agreed to good manufacturing practices and are tested for quality. Did you know that Costco?s Kirkland brand is USP? If you are worried about quality you can also go to ConsumerLabs.com. They test supplements and publish the results. You can access the site for a small annual fee. There is so much more to tell you about vitamins, if you want to learn more, make an appointment to see me or come to my upcoming class at Elephant Pharmacy. |
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Please feel free to forward the WHH eNewsletter to anyone you know who might be interested in receiving it. Note that WHH has a strict privacy policy. We do not share your personal information or our subscriber list with anyone outside of WHH. I hope that your new year is filled with many blessings, good health, and much happiness.
Sincerely,
 Priscilla Abercrombie, RN, NP, PhD
Women's Health & Healing
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