The Health Plus Letter
March, 20 Vol. 6, No. 4
By Larry Trivieri, Jr. – founder & publisher
http://www.1healthyworld.com
You can read all back issues of The Health Plus Letter at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine.
Table Of Contents
New This Issue
Quote of the Day
Fast Fact
Holistic Self-Care Tips for Insomnia
Understanding Emotions From the Wisdom Level by Valerie Hunt, Ph.D.
Recommendations
Medical Freedom
Contact Information
New This Issue
Welcome to another (belated) issue of The Health Plus Letter. This week I’m sharing a variety of self-care tips you can use to help avoid and eliminate one of today’s most common health complaints – insomnia. You’ll also find an article by Dr. Valerie Hunt about the true meaning of your emotions and what that can mean for your health.
As always, please continue to send me your comments and suggestions. And please spread the word about The Health Plus Letter by passing it along to your friends and inviting them to subscribe.
Quotes Of The Day
“Not being known doesn’t stop the truth from being true”
- Richard Bach
Fast Fact
Less than 10 percent of the more than 100,000 synthetic chemicals to which Americans are exposed on a daily basis have ever been tested for safety.
Holistic Self-Care Tips for Insomnia
It's estimated that as many as 60 million Americans suffer from insomnia at some point in their life, accounting for the fortune spent each year in this country on sleeping pills and other sleep-related medication. Clearly, we are becoming a nation incapable of getting a good night's rest.
Fortunately, many cases of insomnia can be controlled and even eliminated by a variety of safe, inexpensive and noninvasive procedures you can begin implementing from the comfort of your own home. The following are some of the effective measures commonly prescribed by holistic physicians to treat insomnia.
Dietary Intervention
Most of us are familiar with the old adage that eating too late in the evening can keep us awake at night, and physicians commonly advise that the last meal of the day be taken no later than 2-3 hours before retiring. But a growing body of evidence reveals that many other dietary factors can determine how well we sleep at night. Among the factors to consider in this regard are: Are you consuming too much caffeine, sugar, salt and/or alcohol? All of these substances, along with cigarettes and exposure to second-hand smoke, can interfere with a good night's sleep. (If you are a smoker, get help in breaking your habit.)
An additional dietary factor to consider is whether or not you suffer from sensitivities or allergies to the foods you enjoy eating. Common foods with a high incidence of allergic reactions are milk, dairy products, wheat, and corn, but nearly any food can cause an allergic reaction, particularly if it is a regular staple in your diet. Often, simply eliminating the offending food is all that is required to promote deeper, more restful sleep.
Another possible cause of insomnia is the presence of too much protein in the evening meal. Even if the meal is eaten well before one retires, if it is high in protein the result will often be restless sleep. That’s because, in order to digest protein, the body must produce an acidic state, which can interfere with the secretion of serotonin levels. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is very important to the sleep process. Typically, insomniacs have reduced serotonin levels. Carbohydrates are used by the body to produce serotonin. So getting in the habit of eating carbohydrate meals at night will replenish your serotonin stores over time. Excessive carbohydrate consumption can lead to insulin resistance, however.
Nutritional Supplementation
A variety of nutrients can also promote restful sleep, due to the sedative effects they have on the body. These include: calcium, magnesium, B complex vitamins (particularly vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and vitamin B5), and chromium.
Another sleep-enhancing nutrient is the amino acid phosphatidylserine, which plays an important role in regulating cortisone levels in the bodies. An excess of cortisone production by the adrenal glands can result in chronic stress. Phosphatidylserine, which is naturally produced by the body but diminishes as we age, can reduce cortisone levels, thereby promoting a more relaxed state. In addition, recent research also suggests it may play an important role as a "brain food" nutrient for its ability to stimulate mental functioning.
Also effective as a nutritional aid for sleep is the amino acid L-tryptophan. L-tryptophan was banned for sale in the U.S. earlier in the decade due to a contaminated shipment from a Japanese manufacturer that was linked to serious illness in several people. Recently, however, the Food and Drug Administration allowed the amino acid to be reintroduced for sale, but only when prescribed by a physician. Similar benefits can be obtained by using 5-HTP, a type of tryptophan that is available over-the-counter at health food stores.
Herbal Remedies
Herbs for sleep have existed throughout recorded history. Among the most common herbs used to induce restfulness are: valerian, which research has shown to be particularly effective for enhancing sleep, chamomile, lime blossom, linden flowers, hops, and passion flower. A cup of tea made from one or more of these herbs, taken about an hour or less before bedtime, can often prove extremely beneficial for sufferers of insomnia. Adding the herbs to a hotbath just before retiring can also do much to promote sleep.
If imbalanced adrenal function plays a role in poor sleep, herbs known as adaptogens, such as Siberian ginseng and licorice, can be useful for restoring proper functioning.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone primarily secreted by the pineal gland. Recent research suggests that, like DHEA, it plays an important role in a wide range of physiological functions, and that the body's natural supply of melatonin diminishes with age. Although indiscriminate supplementation of melatonin is not advisable, when used wisely, the hormone cay pay big dividends for people with sleeping problems.
A growing number of physicians are reporting excellent success using melatonin with their insomniac patients due to its ability to reset their biological clocks. One of its advantages as a sleeping aid is the fact that it is safe to use and usually is only required for a short period of time, typically one to two weeks. It's recommended that patients consult with their physicians if they are considering using melatonin for longer periods of time, however. Start with a dosage range of between 0.5 to 1 mg, taken 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime. If you find that you require more than this amount, you can increase the dose one milligram at a time until the quality of sleep you desire is achieved. Rarely will anyone need to exceed 3 mg, and typically results will be noticed within a week of use. Once your sleep has been restored, continue to use melatonin for a few more days. After that, use only as needed, for circumstances that can adversely affect your biological clock, such as jet lag, overwork, travel, or other lifestyle factors.
Exercise
Many insomniacs also lead sedentary lifestyles that, according to sleep researchers, can significantly increase their problem. For many people, adopting a light to moderate exercise routine is all that is required to improve their sleep. All of us, whether we suffer from sleeping problems or not, should make exercise a routine part of our lives. Exercising in the evening, however, can be counter-productive, particularly if the exercise is vigorous. Such evening workouts can be overstimulating and interfere with your ability to fall asleep. One exercise that is particularly recommended by many health experts is a daily walk of one to two miles at a pace that is brisk but not overly exerting.
Stress Reduction Techniques
A key factor in most cases of insomnia is an inability to let go of the daily stresses that affect us all. At times, the stress can become chronic and take root in our bodies, so that our own physiology prevents us from fully relaxing. In such cases, a variety of professional alternative approaches can provide substantial improvement in the quality of our sleep. They include: massage and bodywork, acupuncture, chiropractic, craniosacral therapy, yoga and Tai Chi. There are a variety of stress-relieving techniques that you can also practice at home. Among them are the following:
Meditation - Meditating before bedtime for ten to twenty minutes can be very useful for reducing stress and promoting sounder sleep. For those unfamiliar with meditation techniques, one of the easiest methods is to sit up straight in a relaxed position. With your eyes closed, place your attention on your breath. It's normal for your attention to wander. Each time you catch yourself becoming preoccupied with your thoughts, bring your attention back to your breathing. Continue for at least ten minutes or until you feel drowsy. Continued practice over time can make meditating a very relaxing daily routine.
Breathing Exercises - The following exercises make use of the breath and can enhance the ability to fall asleep due to their calming effects. Each of them only require a few minutes time to perform and, as with meditation, over time they can become easy, effective triggers of the sleep response.
In the first exercise (you will only need to choose one of them to work with), lie on your back with your eyes closed and the lights out. Begin gently but deeply inhaling, taking in as much air into your lungs as is comfortable. Exhale fully, drawing in your abdomen. At the end of each third exhalation, hold your breath for as long as you can. Then repeat the process two or three more times, or until you feel sleepy.
A variation of the above exercise is to breathe in for a count of 4, then hold your breath for another count of 4. Exhale fully, again hold your breath for a count of 4, then repeat the entire process. Usually three or four times is all it will take before you feel ready to fall asleep.
Muscle Relaxation - One of the easiest muscle relaxation exercises is already very well known and can make restful sleep much easier to come by. Beginning either at your head or your toes, clench and then relax the muscles in each region of your body. For example, if you choose to start with your head, tense all of the muscles in your head and face, including your jaw. Hold for a count of 1 or 2, then let the muscles relax. Then do the same with your neck muscles, followed in order by the muscles in your shoulders, arms, chest, abdomen, hips, thighs, calves, ankles and feet. There is no need to overly strain as you perform this exercise. Simply clenching and then releasing each muscle group in order is all that is required.
Creating An Optimal Sleep Environment In Your Bedroom
An often overlooked factor that can greatly contribute to insomnia is the environment you sleep in. Be sure your bedroom is kept clean and rid of dust, and that it receives enough fresh air. Also make sure that your mattress is not uncomfortable.
You may also be sensitive to the materials that make up your pillow, blankets and sheets. As a general rule, cotton or wool sheets and blankets are better than synthetic fabrics, as are feather pillows in comparison to those made from foam.
Also, make sure that your bedroom's room temperature is kept at a comfortable level, as rooms that are too cold or too hot can dramatically interfere with sleep.
Finally, if you have an electric clock, be sure that it sits at least 8 feet away from your bed. You should also avoid sleeping near cellphones, stereo, television or computer equipment unless they are unplugged, and beneath electric blankets. The reason for this has to do with the increasing amounts of electromagnetic pollution that is becoming more and more common in our homes.
While the above information has proved to be beneficial to many people with sleeping problems, it is not intended as a solution for all cases. For a wealth of other proven holistic measures for resolving insomnia and other sleep disorders, I recommend the eBook Burton Goldberg’s Definitive Guide to Sleep Disorders, which you can sample or purchase by going to http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Sleep-Book-Info.cfm.
Note: If you suffer from severe insomnia that has endured for sometime, consult with your physician. If psychological symptoms such as lingering anxiety, grief or depression, make up part of your problem, you might also consider seeing someone trained in their treatment, such as a psychologist or a physician competent in the use of Mind/Body Medicine.
Unabashed Plug
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Understanding Emotions From the Wisdom Level by Valerie Hunt, Ph.D.
Each of you reading my thoughts about emotions will filter these through what you “know’ about them. In a sense, you are your own expert. You have experienced emotions in utero, throughout this life and in other lifehooods. Your beliefs about emotions were formulated from these experiences, and strengthened by what you gained from experts.
Do you know that there is more printed material about the psychology of emotions than about any other subject ever written? Yet your experiences and the written words overwhelmingly focus upon one level of emotions: on the material, rational level of I, my and me, the physical and personal selves. Even Freud’s formulation of the super and sub conscious saw emotions as connected to every day operation in the world, not to the soul.
Despite what we accept, as the world’s consciousness expands, we seek deeper levels of understanding about everything and especially emotional happenings. We intuitively know that the human “soul”, the highest level of human existence, is somehow deeply involved. But remember that the soul is not a higher self. It is the highest self.
For over 40 years I have been a counselor assisting people to advance in spiritual knowing. This is how I learned that the soul level is the source of all emotional strengths and weaknesses in human life.
My Beliefs About Emotions
Emotion is the metronome of life. It is organized energy that is patterned to keep us alive and make our lives richer and more satisfying. Emotion is energy directed to action, to behave. Simultaneously emotion is a feeling state, which may accompany action or precede it. The direction of action and feelings comes from the emotional programming of our patterns laid down by experiences of living in this and other lifehoods. In other words, we “softwire” programs ourselves. We spiritual counselors learned that all profound emotions , even those triggered by present body-ego-self threats, have their source in the deep programming of soul experiences.
The Function Of Emotions
To remove life threats.
The most difficult emotions come from physical life threats. These may be so intense that we fear our conscious “will” cannot control them. All behavior and feelings, sometimes even simple reflexes, are emotionally charged and directed. The quantity of energy dictates the available strength of action and feelings. Emotional patterns were established throughout lifehoods in order to handle in the best way possible personally strong emotional energies, and are programmed on various levels. Where and how this emotional energy is manifested ultimately comes from the Master Program to protect and embellish the soul.
With imagined or potential threats to life electromagnetic energy is directed to eliminate that threat with God ordained feelings of anger. Whenever we are in a situation where we feel emotionally or physically threatened, our response is anger, giving us energy to solve the problem or run away from it. If a situation is so overwhelmingly threatening our response may be acute fear, which does not activate energy but freezes it. Sometimes inconspicuousness protects us.
When the above solutions are unavailable or can’t be constructively used , the anger may turn against people or ourselves, with bodily disturbances. With no solution, the active anger may be drained off in depression or, if it remains, we may choose a psychotic altered state escape. To solve feelings of despair we inevitably seek the ultimate help: God’s help. Our requests are dependent pleading or angry demanding. If we feel we are not getting any help from the divine source we turn away from spiritual thoughts and remain angry with God. This level of emotional processing is totally oblivious to most people. However we must be able to experience this ultimate anger in order to receive the divine guidance. Then there is blessing, understanding and peace.
We generally interpret aggressive emotion as bad and unpleasant because if intense it can be irrational and unacceptable to the consciousness. Whenever emotional energy is activated there are feeling states not always directly related. Often the feelings stem from how we try to cope with the raw destructive energy –how we have learned to handle these. Ideally the feeling states should be directly geared to the direction and power of the energy action. All of the above anger reactions are similar whether the threat is body-self destruction or soul annihilation but the difference is in the intensity of the emotion. Soul destruction is exponentially stronger and less controllable.
To embellish life
Emotions directed toward enjoyment are equally important and far more pleasant. They enable us:
To feel the sensual pleasure of the body and that we are loved and protected.
To experience awe at the glorious wonders of nature as these unfold in living things.
To behold the beauty of sunrise and sunset, the rainbow, the sparkle of mist and the twinkle of stars.
To accept praise bestowed upon us because of accomplishment.
To experience the profoundness of great art, music and the written and spoken word.
All of these pleasures come from emotional energy and feelings stimulated by the senses on a self, ego and personal level. However if the emotional energy is strong enough it can move our consciousness to the divine, highest self, to the soul level where we recognize the profound greatness of our soul, where we are in direct contact with the divine, the source of our experience. At this soul level these emotions are profound, overwhelming and beyond explanation.
Why Understand Both Levels Of Emotions
If we are on the path to expand our consciousness and gain wisdom and peace, our only barriers are our emotional energy patterns. If our goal is to have command over emotional energies to improve our life and health, to find our profound capabilities and happiness we must choose experiences that help us understand the emotional energy patterns, the drives, inhibitions and the elegance at the soul level. Our goal must be emotional maturity where energies are free to be felt, to be understood, and directed by our higher “will” with a full range of consciousness. Emotional energies must be available, dynamic and enjoyed.
Emotional change is a process like meditation where we grow in understanding of our patterns, where they came from, their limitations and how they served us even if not well. But it is more than intellectual understanding; it requires a strong emotional commitment, a dedication and a willingness to give up the old patterns, so we are in command of our emotions rather than they in command of us. Such change is difficult. Intellectual decisions do not eliminate the unacceptable emotional patterns so firmly grooved into our recorded subconscious plan. These records must be emotionally re-confronted over and over again. With time these can change. Some impatience is good; too much blocks the process.
How Do I Go About It?
We all want a technique to shorten and clarify our path to enlightenment. First we must rearrange our lives to provide time, quiet, and learn to meditate. Meditation techniques from Zen, Tao, religious and shamanic philosophies based upon belief systems are effective for some people to live a more spiritually peaceful life. These techniques are weak in assisting us to successfully redirect deep emotional patterns so we can operate with strength and wisdom in all levels of our human lives. So often we get caught up in the process of meditation, believing it is enlightenment rather than the path that we have chosen. Too easily we accept some meditative philosophies that outline these stages of enlightenment as expansion and elevation. They easily allow us to get lost in powerful experiences so grand to remember but that have little impact upon the wisdom of our living.
Regardless of what techniques you follow you must confront and change your emotional patterning. I think it is comforting but incorrect to believe that if you hit conscious peaks all limitation will fall away. You can substitute or transcend temporarily but that does not bring spiritual and material wisdom.
I hope you can learn that you are your best teacher, because you and you alone know the source and all the correct answers to your emotional patterning. Quietly ask your higher self for directions. Put a damper on your brain figuring out the answer. Listen to your mind divulge the answers. These answers can intuitively hit a bingo, jackpot. If they don’t, contemplate the information and put it on the shelf. If it is correct, it will return. If not, you should and will forget it. Remember that the mind is extremely creative in coping with emotions. Don’t get led down a “primrose path”. Such an approach will redirect the goals of your meditation.
My eBook Mind Mastery Meditations has helped many people use meditation to realign emotional energies toward wisdom.
Unabashed Plug
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http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Mind-Mastery-Book-Info.cfm.
Unabashed Plug
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Recommendations
Books
Politically Incorrect Nutrition by Michael Barbee. This is an excellent book that makes clear that much of what we think we know about good nutrition is in fact false and dangerous to our health. Extensively documented and very well written. I learned a lot by reading it and highly recommend it.
Reconnective Therapy: A New Healing Paradigm by Herwig Schoen. Schoen is a German healer who developed Reconnective Therapy, or RCT, after years of practicing as a classical homeopath, cranial sacral therapy, and other healing modalities. I am not familiar with RCT, yet found Schoen’s insights into healing and disease to be very informative and beyond most of what is currently found in the fields of both conventional and alternative medicine.
Websites
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/8949.html - Think a Democrat in the White House will diminish Big Pharma’s influence? Think again. This article explains why.
http://rawstory.com/rawreplay/index.php?p=774 - This link will take you to a video of Congressman Ron Paul speaking before the House and eloquently explaining why our nation is in the mess it’s in and what can be done about it, were Congress as a whole as honest and intelligent as he is.
http://climatedebatedaily.com - An excellent website that provides objective coverage of both sides of the global warming issue. (I stand with those who dismiss the alarmists’ side as hype and bad science at the expense of far more serious man-made environmental issues, most notably the increasing proliferation of toxins in our planet’s air, land and water.)
http://www.counterpunch.org/cummins03172008.html - An informative article about our nation’s health care crisis and how to solve it, written by Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumers Alliance. (I don’t agree with his seeming call for an increased tax on the wealthy, but think he’s on target otherwise.)
Medical Freedom
Please contact and support the following organizations dedicated to protecting our health freedoms.
Citizens for Health - http://www.citizens.org
Alliance for Natural Health – http://www.alliance-natural-health.org (The leading organization fighting to preserve health f/r/e/edom in England and the EU.)
Institute for Health Freedom – http://www.ForHealthF/r/e/edom.org
International Advocates for Health Freedom (IAHF) – http://www.iahf.com
And to learn how corrupt and extensive Big Pharma’s monopoly is, visit http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/online/research/index.html the website for the Campaign Against Fraudulent Medical Research. In particular, read their in-depth report The Pharmaceutical Drug Racket that you will find there.
That’s all for this week.
Health and Blessings!
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
Contact Information: Due to the inordinate amount of spam this email account receives, I no longer use it to receive emails. To contact me, visit www.1healthyworld.com/contactus
Disclaimer: The Health Plus Letter is a weekly eZine published by Larry Trivieri, Jr. and Library of Health, LLC (dba www.1healthyworld.com) 3 Greenwood Court, Utica, NY 13501. It is made available without charge for information purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical care. If you are experiencing a health problem, seek prompt medical attention.
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Legal Notice: The information in this eZine may be freely and widely disseminated so long as full attribution is made as follows: The Health Plus Letter, March 20, 2008, Vol. 6, No. 4. Copyright © 2008 by Larry Trivieri, Jr. All rights reserved.
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