The Health Plus Letter
May 20, 2009 Vol. 7, No. 14
By Larry Trivieri, Jr. – founder & publisher
Table Of Contents
New This Issue
Quote of the Day
Fast Fact
Your Weekly Health Tip: A Plant That Boost Mental Clarity
Peripheral Artery Disease: The Silent Killer
Energy Psychology – An Interview With Fred Gallo, Ph.D. (Part 1)
A Health Plus Treat: Vegetable Biryani
Recommendations
Medical Freedom
Contact Information
New This Issue
Welcome to another issue of the Health Plus Letter. This week you’ll find an article I wrote about an increasingly common and serious health problem-peripheralartery disease. I’m also sharing part one of an interview I conducted with Dr. Fred Gallo a few years ago that was included in my book Health on the Edge. Fred coined the term “energy psychology,” to describe various energy-based therapies that are proving highly effective for resolving longstanding emotional traumas, unhealthy beliefs and behaviors, and other health-related issues. I found his explanation of how and why such therapies can be so effective fascinating and I think you will too.
You’ll also find an easy-to-prepare delicious recipe for vegetable biryani, plus my latest recommendations and this week’s health tip.
As always, if you like what you read, please feel free to share this issue with others and invite them to join you as a subscriber to the Health Plus Letter. Thanks for reading!
Quote Of The Day
“What is impossible today is necessary tomorrow.”
-- Victor Hugo.
Fast Fact
The human nervous system is composed of approximately one trillion cells.
Your Weekly Health Tip: A Plant That Boosts Mental Clarity
To boost your mental clarity, try adding rosemary plants to your home and workplace. That's because research shows that the aromatic scent given off by rosemary can help enhance mental alertness and also improve long-term memory.
Unabashed Plug
Protect Yourself From Energy Pollution With the BioElectric ShieldTM. Energy pollution is all around us in the form of harmful electromagnetic frequencies and radiation (EMFs and EMR) emitted by power lines, cells phones, computers, and many other so-called modern conveniences. By wearing the BioElectric Shield pendant, you can protect yourself from the harmful effects of EMFs and EMR. To obtain a BioElectricShield, visit http://www.mcssl.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=408491. To learn more about how and why the BioElectric Shield works, see my article about it at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine/vol4no9.cfm.
Peripheral Artery Disease: The Silent Killer
When most people think of warning signs for heart disease and stroke, they usually don't think of their legs. However, the legs and pelvic area of your body can house a ticking time bomb when it comers to your health. The time bomb is known as peripheral artery disease, or PAD, and it can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke by as much as 200 percent.
What Is PAD?
Peripheral artery disease, which is often referred to as poor circulation in the legs, is the most common form peripheral vascular disease. This group of conditions involve disease that affect the blood vessels located outside of the heart and brain. PAD, itself, is very similar to coronary artery disease and carotid artery disease. Like those conditions, PAD develops as a result of fatty deposits build up in the inner linings of the artery walls. In this case, the arteries run along the legs and pelvic reason, but sometimes also in the arms, kidneys, and stomach. These blockages restrict blood circulation in these areas of the body.
In its early stages a common symptom of PAD is cramping or fatigue in the legs, hips, and/or buttocks while walking or climbing stairs. during or immediately after physical activity. Such cramping usually subsides shortly after such activities cease, but returns again as soon as activity is resumed. The medical term for this type of cramping is "intermittent claudication." Other symptoms of PAD, which usually don't occur until after PAD progresses and becomes more serious, include leg pain that doesn't go away even after physical activity stops, foot or toe wounds that don't heal or take a longer than normal time to do so, and a noticeable decrease in the temperature of the lower leg and foot compared to the temperature of the rest of the body.
People with PAD also often have fatty buildup in the arteries of the heart and brain, which is why most people with PAD have a higher risk of death from heart attack and stroke. Left untreated, PAD can also lead to gangrene and in some cases amputation of one or both legs.
Risk Factors for PAD
Despite its seriousness, many people are unaware of PAD. Even if they are aware of it, they often mistake the symptoms of PAD for something else. For example, they may dismiss leg pain as a normal sign of aging, or mistake it for arthritis or sciatica or simply the stiffness associated with growing older. People with diabetes can also confuse PAD pain with a neuropathy, a common diabetic symptom characterized by a burning or painful discomfort of the feet or thighs. Being able to recognize the risk factors for PAD is therefore an important step in minimizing the potential health problems PAD can cause.
The most common risk factor is aging, since the incidence of PAD starts to significantly increase at age 50 and above. If you fall into this age group, consider making PAD screening a part of your regular physical examination with your doctor. Other risk factors include physical inactivity, diabetes, being overweight or obese, having high cholesterol and/or high blood pressure, and cigarette smoking.
Getting Tested For PAD
If you have any of the risk factors discussed above, you should be tested for PAD as soon as possible. PAD testing is easy for your doctor to perform and usually begins with a physical examination in which your doctor will look for weak pulses in your legs. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) test is also usually performed. This is a painless and inexpensive exam that compares the blood pressure in your feet to the blood pressure in your arms, allowing your doctor to determine how well your blood is flowing. Normally, the ankle pressure is at least 90 percent of the arm pressure, but with severe narrowing it may be less than 50 percent. If an ABI reveals an abnormal ratio between the blood pressure of the ankle and arm, you may need more testing. These can include:
Doppler and Ultrasound (Duplex) Imaging: a non-invasive method that visualizes the artery with sound waves and measures the blood flow in an artery to indicate the presence of a blockage.
Computed Tomographic Angiography: a non-invasive test that can show the arteries in your abdomen, pelvis and legs. This test is particularly useful in patients with pacemakers or stents.
Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA): a non-invasive test that gives information similar to that of a CT without using X-rays.
Angiography can also be used, but it's usually reserved for use in conjunction with treatment. During this test a contrast agent is injected into the artery and X-rays are taken that show arteries in the legs and reveal any blockages that may be present.
Preventing and Treating PAD
In most cases, PAD can be prevented by a combination of a healthy diet and regular physical exercise. A healthy diet is one that is rich in a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, poultry, and lean meats, as well as whole grains and other complex carbohydrates (eaten sparingly), and low on unhealthy fats, sugars, artificial sweeteners and other food additives and preservatives, and soft drinks, alcoholic and caffeine beverages.
Even more than healthy eating, regular exercise is essential for both preventing and helping to reverse PAD. If you are diagnosed with PAD, your doctor may recommend a program of supervised exercise training for you. You may have to begin slowly, but simple walking regimens, leg exercises and treadmill exercise programs three times a week usually can usually produce significant health benefits in as little as four to eight weeks. Note, however, that an exercise program for PAD needs to take into account the fact that walking causes pain. Such a program should alternate exercise and rest in intervals to build up the amount of time you can walk before the pain sets in. Ideally, this type of exercise program should be undertaken in a rehabilitation center on a treadmill and monitored. If it isn't possible to go to a rehabilitation center, ask your healthcare professional to help you plan a program that's best suited to your individual needs.
If you smoke, it is absolutely essential that you stop. If need be, seek professional assistance to help you quit. Otherwise you are simply asking for trouble.
Certain nutritional supplements can also help to prevent and reverse PAD, especially those that act as natural anti-inflammatory agents, since inflammation is one of the primary causes of the arterial damage associated with PAD. Useful nutrients include vitamin C, vitamin E, B-complex vitamins, magnesium, and fish oil capsules, which are rich in essential fatty acids that help to prevent and neutralize inflammation in the body.
Depending on the severity of PAD conditions, medications may also be needed, such as anti-cholesterol drugs and drugs that act as anti-platelets, meaning that they help protect against unhealthy blood clots. Other drugs may also be prescribed to improve your ability to exercise for longer periods without pain.
In some cases, PAD can cause blockages in the arteries that are so severe that they may require angioplasty or surgery. Your doctor can inform you about these procedures should they be necessary.
Now that you understand the dangers of PAD, take action to keep it at bay and work with your doctor to monitor your process. Doing so might literally save your life.
Unabashed Plug
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Energy Psychology:An Interview With Fred P. Gallo, Ph.D. (Part 1)
[One of the most exciting developments in the field of psychotherapy is "energy
psychology," a term coined by Fred P. Gallo, Ph.D., one of the leading proponents of this breakthrough therapeutic approach, and the developer of a specific form of
energy psychology known as Energy Diagnostic and Treatment Methods, or EDxTM.
A licensed clinical psychologist since 1977, Dr. Gallo is a member of the
American Psychological Association and Pennsylvania Psychological Association, has worked in the fields of corrections, mental retardation, child welfare, vocational rehabilitation, and chemical dependency, and has studied a wide range of therapeutic approaches, including Gestalt, client-centered, cognitive-behavioral, contextual, Ericksonian hypnosis, neurolinquistic programming (NLP), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and thought field therapy (TFT).
Since 1993, Dr. Gallo has personally trained thousands of health professionals in the techniques of energy psychology, which makes use of the body's energy system to rapidly and effectively eliminate anxiety, depression, painful memories, trauma, cravings, and other emotional issues. In 1997, he developed EDxTM, and since that time he has been certifying practitioners in its practice and has emerged as a leading and prolific author of books and articles on the entire energy psychology field.]
What is energy psychology how does it differ from traditional talk therapy?
I would say that energy psychology is a distinct force in psychology. Traditionally, when we talk about therapeutic approaches in psychology, we're talking specifically about psychotherapy. There is a lot more to psychology than that, of course, but within the context of psychotherapy three forces have been identified: psychoanalytic, behavioral, and humanistic; and within humanistic we would include cognitive and phenomenological. The humanistic focuses on human values, and I would include the transpersonal approaches as being in line with the humanistic third force.
Energy psychology assumes the existence of a fourth force which holds that psychological problems are fundamentally energetic disruptions that cause the chain of events that result in emotions and external behavior. That's not to say that emotions aren't also physical -- of course they are. There are chemical aspects to emotions, neurological aspects, hormonal aspects, environmental aspects, and so on, but at a fundamental level human behavior is significantly influenced by the body's bioenergetic systems, which include the electrical activity of the nervous system, the acupuncture meridians, chakras, and the human biofield, or aura.
When a person tunes into an emotional issue or finds himself in a certain situation that elicits an emotional response, there are specific thoughts that occur. I don't mean thought that is limit to just words, but a certain level of awareness and representations that we are calling thought. And a thought is an energetic field in the same way that there are other fields that have been identified in physics, such as gravitational and electromagnetic fields. Within this energetic thought field, whenever the field causes negative emotions, there are energetic markers, and these markers trigger a disruption in the bioenergy system as a whole, which in turn causes a disruption in your chemistry, your neurology, your cognition, your behavior, and so forth.
What energy psychology does, which is different that other approaches, is specifically target these energetic markers through the acupuncture meridian system in order to collapse them. We do this by diagnosing the markers, using manual muscle testing to identify the meridians that are out of balance due to the way the energetic field is organized. Once the meridians that are out of balance are identified, we then use various techniques, such as holding, rubbing, or tapping specific acupuncture meridian points, to rebalance the meridians. This, in turn, collapses the markers, or subsumes them, taking them out of the thought field so that the circumstance or situation of which the person has an awareness, or the recollection of a past trauma, no longer causes the negative emotion. The person is much more in the present moment, and can view the circumstance or recollection from a state of what Buddhists have called mindfulness.
In other words, the charge of the imprint that was in the field has been resolved.
Right, the charge of the imprint has been resolved. And generally the techniques that comprise the field of energy psychology tend to achieve observable and measurable results rapidly and usually without causing undue emotional distress. Again, this has to do with the thought field. Obviously thoughts are not disembodied; they have cognitive and chemical aspects to them, and during the thought process various areas of the brain are being activated energetically in the form of electricity and electromagnetism. Because of this fact, there is a very delicate balance that holds the thought in place. There can't be too much or too little energy. What the techniques of energy psychology do, by balancing the meridians, is change the form and structure of the thought, thereby also changing its meaning. This is extremely valuable when dealing with trauma, phobia, and other psychological problems. By directing and injecting energy into the meridian points that correspond to such problems, we can change the emotional meaning they have. What is so interesting about this is that, after the treatment is completed, the person retains a clear memory of the event that caused the problem, yet the bothersome emotions that were associated with it are gone. In the past, one of the mistakes that we made was to conclude that memory was equivalent to trauma when in actuality they are different. The trauma, based on my experience, is more related to the emotion and the energy that produces that emotion, which is what energy psychology addresses.
How did energy psychology originate?
The development and use of energy work goes back at least five thousands years, when the Chinese discovered the existence of the meridian system and found that it communicates energetic information throughout the body. The Chinese call this energy Qi ("chee"), and in India it is known as Prana, while in Japan it is called Ki. All three terms mean "life force" or "life energy."
The roots energy psychology itself began in the early 1960s, with the development of applied kinesiology, or AK, by chiropractor George Goodheart, D.C. AK is a unique method of evaluating physiological functions by means of manual muscle testing. Eventually Dr. Goodheart and other AK practitioners discovered that when people placed their attention on an issue in their lives that was troubling them, their muscles would momentarily weaken. In the 1970s, John Diamond, M.D., influenced by Dr. Goodheart, found an interrelationship between specific meridians and emotions, and that this could be evaluated by muscle testing. He also found that meridian imbalance could be corrected by having the patient make specific statements or affirmations or by tapping at the center of the chest over the thymus gland. He called that procedure the thymus thump.
By 1979, Roger J. Callahan, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, found that when clients tapped on specific acupoints, it helped eliminate negative emotions, such as anxieties, phobias, and painful memories. It was Dr. Callahan who provided the majority of the initial clinical work about this tapping technique. In the 1990s, a number of other practitioners, including myself, developed additional methods of accessing the acupuncture meridian system to effectively treat psychological problems. I coined the phrase "energy psychology," and today there are a variety of approaches in this field, such as Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Callahan Techniques Thought Field Therapy (CT_TFT), Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT), and my own approach, known as Energy Diagnostic and Treatment Methods, or EDxTM.
And all of these approaches access the meridian system to diagnose and treat psychological issues?
Correct, and the use of specific affirmations, body postures, and breathing exercises might also be used.
In your books, you describe the energy tapping sequences as algorithms. What do you mean by that?
The algorithm is the specific sequence that you employ in order to achieve the desired outcome. A formula or recipe would be another way of describing it.
Do specific formulas correspond to specific types of issues?
Yes, although not in all cases. For example, we have found that among a very high percentage of people who have phobias, the meridians that tend to be out of balance include the stomach meridian, the spleen meridian, and the kidney meridian, and so the algorithm that we would use to treat such cases would most likely involve energy points along those meridians. The process involves first identifying the problem and having the person think about it and rate it in terms of its distress, zero to ten, for example, and then using the appropriate algorithm to treat the problem. After that, we do follow-up by rechecking the distress rating, and work on any further issues that may come up until resolution is achieved.
What types of issues is energy psychology effective in treating?
There are two categories of problems for which energy psychology is particularly effective. The first category is comprised of life events caused by energy imbalances or disruptions, and the second category has to do with what are called psychological reversals.
Problems or issues in the first category often occur when specific meridian points are impacted by traumatic life events. This results in energy imbalances which lead to the creation of painful memories or feelings of inadequacy, shame, and so forth. At the onset of such traumas, some of the energy flowing through the meridian can become depleted, creating an imbalance in the system that leaves you unable to resolve the problem and vulnerable to similar problems in the future.
Every situation we encounter in life becomes embedded in our nervous system, and although we may forget particular events, our body remembers them. For example, if a person is mugged, his or her natural and appropriate reaction at the time might be fearfulness. In some cases, these feelings of fear will pass once the traumatic event is over, but for most people the trauma will create an energy imbalance that can perpetuate feelings of fearfulness indefinitely and inappropriately, eventually to the point of phobia or perhaps a personality disorder. When this occurs, even though you are no longer in a threatening situation, you may find yourself placing limits on your lifestyle and being overly cautious in your interactions with other people because of the energetic imprint that was created in your field at the time the mugging occurred.
Divorce or the loss of a loved one are other life events that can create such imprints, as are the changing dynamics of families and communities, which can leave us feeling socially disconnected or that no one cares about us. Some evidence suggests that energy imbalances can even be passed on from one generation to another, with the energy field of the new generation carrying the imprints of traumatic life events experienced by its parents or other ancestors.
The other category of problems involves psychological reversals, meaning that a person's energy is literally reversed. Such psychological reversals can result in negative, limiting, or false beliefs leading to self-sabotaging behavior. People dealing with issues in this category will often persist in behavior or actions that they know are bad for them, yet they can't stop themselves because their behavior or action seems like the right thing to do or at least they are compelled. The result is that they create situations that are the exact opposite of what they truly desire, hence, the term "reversal."
For the most part, psychological reversals are situation-specific, meaning that they only affect certain areas of your life, such as your ability to attain a particular goal, overcome a particular phobia, or get along with a particular person. All of us at one time or another experience situations created by psychological reversals. Some of the most common have to do with strong feelings of shame or guilt, or they can be related to a lack of self-acceptance. For example, if there is a part of ourselves that we don't accept, then we may unconsciously sabotage our ability to achieve a goal we consciously desire. It's my belief that psychological reversals and the sabotaging beliefs they engender are a primary reason why many of us experience difficulties in certain areas of our lives, even though we have the skill and ability to achieve our goals in those areas. When psychological reversals are present, they must be addressed before balance in the meridians can be restored fully.
Based on what you're saying, is it accurate to say that an energy imbalance can also perpetuate a negative or false belief by affecting one's thinking?
Very much so. It's well known among scientists that each time a person has a thought, a chemical presence or reaction occurs and neuropeptides, the biochemical correlates of thought and emotion, become detectable, not only in the brain, but throughout the body. What this means is that our thoughts have a real embodied, physical presence. Moreover, an electromagnetic-like field can also be detected whenever a person thinks. Dr. Callahan named this energetic manifestation of a thought a "thought field."
When there is a disturbance in the thought field caused by either physical or emotional trauma, negative emotions are created. According to the theory of energy psychology, this disturbance affects one or more specific acupuncture meridian points, which in turn triggers the physiological, neurological, chemical, hormonal, and cognitive events that result in our experiencing negative emotions. Such disturbances cause energy imbalances that we experience as depressions, fears, addictive behaviors, and so forth.
What is important to emphasize is that whenever a disturbance occurs within a thought field, it always corresponds to a specific energy point on the body, which is why energy psychologists have been able to correlate meridian points with specific problems and develop the protocols to effectively treat them.
(Continued next issue.)
Unabashed Plug
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A Health Plus Treat:Vegetable Biryani
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked basmati rice (brown)*
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, steamed and drained
1/2 cup whole cashews (other nuts of your choice can be substituted)
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 tsp saffron threads plus 2 tbsp. soaking water
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
4 tbsp chopped green onion
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, add cilantro and green onion to oil; sauté for five minutes. Add saffron threads (that have been soaked for 10-15 minutes) to rice and mix well. Next, stir in the rice, mixed vegetables, raisins, and cashews along with the sautéed cilantro and onions. Cook for an additional ten minutes over medium heat, stirring until mixture is heated through.
*To cook rice: 1-1/2 cups basmati rice with 3 cups water and 1/2 tsp sea salt.
This recipe comes from the eBook Burton Goldberg's Definitive Guide to Arthritis, available at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks.
Recommendations
Websites
www.holisticbeefs.com - The new, easier-to-remember- website for my blog. Visit it and sign up to be kept informed of articles and discussions I regularly post there.
http://www.medicationsense.com - founded by Dr. Jay Cohen, author of Over Dose: The Case Against the Drug Companies, this site is an excellent way to keep yourself informed about the inherent dangers of pharmaceutical drugs. While there, sign up for Dr. Cohen’s newsletter.
http://www.hungersite.com - an easy way to daily help combat hunger worldwide. All it takes is a click of your mouse to provide over one cup of staple food to a person in need.
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 freedom in England and the EU.)
Institute for Health Freedom – http://www.ForHealthFreedom.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 my email account receives, I no longer use it to receive emails. To contact me, please 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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