As most of our readers know by now, Dr. Connie and I have been studying the tongues and fingernails of many of our patients.  Our focus has been to develop tools that may predict future problems in body systems and express our findings in Western Medical terminology.  We have taken much of the material from 5000 years of Traditional Chinese Medicine and done countless hours of on-line research to this end.

One of the things we've discovered is how much your fingernails reveal about your cardiovascular system function.  As it turns out, there are a number of nail changes that can indicate cardiovascular diseases.

Splinter hemorrhages, which are thin red or reddish brown lines under the nails, can be a sign of heart valve infection or vasculitis (source: Medline). Other conditions that may reflect in splinter hemorrhages include subacute bacterial endocarditis, SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, antiphospholipid syndrome, peptic ulcer disease, malignancies, oral contraceptive use, pregnancy and psoriasis. While they may look like splinters, they're actually lines of blood.

Congenital heart abnormalities can lead to clubbing of the nails (source: Medline). In clubbing, nails soften and appear to float above the nail bed, which has usually become wider and rounder than normal. Club nails are also seen when hemoglobin is deficient, as in iron deficiency anemia and hemochromatosis.

Additional nail signs that can indicate cardiovascular problems are spoon nails (nails that look scooped away from the finger) and pale or blue-tinged nails [source: Mayo Clinic). Extreme curving or clubbing of the nails may also accompany lung disease in which oxygen exchange is compromised.

If you have any of these conditions, or other suspicious fingernail signs, it may indicate a present or future cardiovascular system condition. Your best bet is to make an appointment to come in for an evaluation and suggestions on how to reverse the condition.

To make an appointment for tongue and fingernail analysis, please phone Pacific Naturopathic at 650-917-1121.  The appointment is only 20 minutes long.

Receive a written analysis, photos and recommendations

With Thanksgiving and the holidays rapidly approaching, gratitude and counting my blessings has been in the forefront of my thoughts.

The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context). Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives and allows people to consciously focus on and acknowledge the goodness in their lives. 

Studies have shown that in cultivating an "attitude of gratitude," people have higher long-term satisfaction with life, kinder behavior toward others including romantic partners, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, and less health problems. 

Researchers at the University of Connecticut found that gratitude can have a protective effect against heart attacks. Patients who had already experienced one heart attack and saw benefits/gains from their heart attack (such as becoming more appreciative of life) experienced a lower risk of having another heart attack. In a study conducted by Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami on gratitude journals, further benefits were seen from people recognizing and expressing their gratitude on paper.  In their study, people were instructed to keep a journal listing five things for which they felt grateful, like a friend's generosity, something they'd learned, or a sunset they'd enjoyed. This was done only once a week, but after two months, significant effects were reported. 

Compared with a control group that listed five things that affected them (no emphasis on positive or negative), the people keeping the gratitude journal were more optimistic, felt happier, and spent more time working out. Further benefits were seen in a study of polio survivors and other people with neuromuscular problems. The ones who kept a gratitude journal also reported feeling happier and more optimistic than those in a control group, and their spouses noted a difference as well. These grateful people also fell asleep more quickly at night, slept longer and woke up feeling more refreshed.

In the process of practicing gratitude, people also usually recognize that the source of the goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, gratitude helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals - whether to other people, nature, or a higher power - and can expand people's thoughts to a larger sphere as a whole. This can help people move past their limiting or narrowed ways of thinking by shifting their focus on self to a focus on others or community.  It can help to broaden their awareness as well as their feeling of interconnectedness and meaning in life.

Thus, Emmons says that those who practice grateful thinking "reap emotional, physical and interpersonal benefits," and that gratitude is a choice.  Regardless of our inherent or current level of gratitude, it is a quality we can continue to cultivate further that can help us feel better about our lives overall and keep us more optimistic about the future.

How do we keep a gratitude journal?

This is probably the most effective strategy for increasing your level of gratitude. Set aside time daily in the morning or at the end of the day to record several things that you are grateful for. (Typically, people list three to five.) Pick a time that you can stay consistent with. The important thing is to establish the daily practice of paying attention to gratitude-inspiring events and to write them down. In Emmons' words, the act of writing "allows you to see the meaning of events going on around you and create meaning in your own life." 

Start a gratitude journal today! 

Find out more about Dr. Corrine's 

detox and craniosacral packages 

Find out more about Dr. Corrine's work 

1 large Japanese pumpkin (kabocha)

2 eggs

2/3 can coconut milk

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

2 tablespoons coconut cream

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Cut kabocha pumpkin into chunks. Boil until soft. Let cool and remove skin.  Combine all ingredients. Mix and mash until smooth and lump free.  Divide mixture into two par-baked pie shells.

Bake at 375 degrees for one hour.  Easy as pie!

 

 

At Pacific Naturopathic, we offer two types of thermography, both of which address physiologic change in the body. Readers may be more familiar with Breast Thermography (see below), which helps us determine differences in vasculature and temperature between the breasts.

 

The other type of thermography offered at Pacific Naturopathic is called Contact Regulation Thermography (CRT). 

 

CRT: Safe and highly informative

Contact Regulation Thermography screens the body from head to pelvic floor, measuring the temperature at 119 points. The first measurements are taken with the body at rest. After a 10 minute cold challenge, temperatures are taken again to assess the body's response to stress.

 

Evaluation of temperatures can help determine points of inflammation in the meridian and musculoskeletal system, can pinpoint areas of lymphatic congestion, can detect hidden imbalance, and can track referred pain.

 

Your temperature measurements are evaluated in the context of a data bank of thousands of scans. You are provided with a comprehensive written report of findings, and given the opportunity to discuss the implication of those findings with Ardell, who has extensive training in CRT. Should the scan indicate a need to address an underlying imbalance, Ardell will recommend that you see your health care practitioner, or make an appointment with one of the doctors at Pacific Naturopathic.

 

 

 

The cost of a CRT is $275.  To schedule an appointment, please phone 650-917-1121.

 

       

Reducing inflammation is a key to treating almost every condition, from Alzheimers to arthritis to cancer to cardiovascular disease. LaStone Therapy reduces inflammation through therapeutic placement of cool stones over areas of the body that are inflamed. The entire body is supported as the temperature differential enhances the flow of blood and lymph.

A LaStone therapy session begins with warming the entire body to soften chronically tight muscles.  Warming the muscle relaxes both the muscle and adjoining tissues and calms the nervous system.  Using the cool stones, where needed, stops the pain-spasm-pain cycle and brings in fresh oxygenated blood.

The use of warm and cool stones together helps the body remember how to regulate itself and stop patterns of inflammation.

LaStone therapist Ardell Hill approaches  LaStone Therapy sessions with a wide range of experience which she tailors to meet your individual needs. She draws from modalities including Swedish massage, Cranio-Sacral, Deep Tissue, Reflexology, Jin Shin Jyutsu and Reiki, all of which are enhanced with the use of warm and cool stones. 

To book a LaStone session with Ardell, please phone Pacific Naturopathic at 650-917-1121.