IBS: spring has sprung!

Suddenly I have several patients coming to me with Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS

What I have found is that there is a HUGH need for pro and prebiotics, so I thought a little info might help people understand it a bit better.....

The probiotic is the good bacteria or flora for the intestines (we call the "gut") of which we have naturally, but which is destroyed by antibiotics and sometimes fever etc. so you need to reestablish the good bacteria/flora in that case. If you have IBS, generally, your bowel lining can be inflammed and not functioning properly, it does not have the flora it needs to fight off bad bacteria or handle what is going through it.

The probiotic/flora needs to be fed to proliferate or grow and maintain itself in the gut.
You feed your friendly bacteria/flora with prebiotic foods. Without the prebiotic foods, the probiotic flora/friendly/good bacteria loses it's battle to the bad bacteria and you need to start over. You need to feed/cultivate the flora/good bacteria

Optimally, it is better to feed the probiotic flora with prebiotic foods, rather than taking a probiotic forever, because you cannot take enough to have enough to fight. You need to grow good probiotic by eating prebiotic foods, so the probiotic/good bacteria/flora can grow up big and strong and have babies to fight the bad bacteria. :)

So actually you need to reestablish a good stock of probiotic flora (meaning that you need a lot of strains or types of probiotic, because it takes all kinds to fight the bad bacteria) which is why you want to take different types of probiotics available. Then you need to just eat the prebiotic foods fairly regularly, which are fermented foods. Some Asian people eat a tablespoon of Kim Chee every day. It is fermented cabbage (spicy). Some people drink buttermilk, kefir,  on occasion (dairy and not the best) or sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, these are all fermented foods (alternating would be good). Yogurt is easily available and popular, but has only one strain generally of bacteria and also it is a dairy or soy product with hormones etc. If you can, ask your mother if when she was a kid, they ate some type of thing like that or if she remembers what her mother might have eaten that would act like a prebiotic food.

A fairly new product lately I have found in the local grocery is called "Good Belly" and it is fruit based but may be too sweet for some people.

Looking back a few generations we can see that the most recent generations have lost the eating habit link to these foods but every culture I have ever heard about eats or used to eat prebiotic and they are all much healthier than us on the American diet for doing so. 

Also consider that we may not even really know all the strains, the body is complex, who knows, maybe the different strains combine (marry) and create other bonds or types of bacteria (mixed strain babies). Like a little micro world inside your intestines, keeping us healthy.

Chronic IBS is inflammation of the bowel, inflammation causes the cells to be irritated and can lead to many other things, eventually other diseases, like if you rubbed your elbow, over and over, the skin would get sore, then break and bleed, and eventually distorted if you kept rubbing even after it was starting to heal, it would form a scar...scars are a misarrangement of cells that interfere with the natural flow of energy and they are less flexible etc. It is best to address the issue for a healthy immune system down the road rather than just live with it. 

There may be other things involved as well and good nutrition is a must also but without good bacteria, it may be difficult to win the battle. Good intestinal health is the basis to good health and immune. The intestines are our elimination system, without a good elimination system, everything gets backed up, stuck and misplace which can cause havoc to the body, like clogged pipes in a house, you don't want that stuff to overflow or back up!

I am fortunate and personally have not had issues with IBS but a few times a year, I take a round of  Dr. Ohhira's probiotics professional formula (which I discovered some time ago) and have found it to be most effective for probiotic. Then I eat a little Kim Chee now and then when I have the urge. But also, I like to eat organic dark leafy green salads on a pretty regular basis, which is a good way to feed your body and your intestines!

Happy Eating...get healthy and STAY HEALTHY
pahner@healingx.org
www.healingx.org

Learn How to Stop Knee, Ankle, Back Pain

Naturally, without Surgery...just by changing the way you do something that you do every day, you can possibly eliminate your pain.

http://www.healingx.org/howtostopkneeanklebackpain.htm

Quick Hip Trick

Perhaps you are taking my "What’s in my Walk? Unlocking your pain…" (walking course) or have been to my "HowToStopKneeAnkleBackPain" webpage, either way...here is a quick trick to realign your hips and release your pain.

If you are able to ride a bike, you are able to take advantage of this trick. (however please read disclaimer below)

Remember when you were a kid and you would take off on your bike, without sitting on the seat, to get the bike going faster or create momentum to go up hill? Perhaps those with multiple speed bicyclists have never experienced this process but the old style, fat seat bicyclists know what I am talking about.

That is what you need to do, if you are riding a multiple speed bike, set the speed to a higher resistance so as not to hurt yourself by slipping.

Start out on your bike however you normally do, then when you have the chance to lift off the seat and pedal standing up (use caution and see disclaimer), instead of rocking your hips from side to side as some do in this position, keep your hips more stable/level and only use the muscle of your legs, be sure to have your feet pointing forward on the petals with your weight centered on the ball of your foot between your Great Toe/big toe and your 2nd toe (or the one next to the big toe).

This actually realigns the leg muscles. It incorporates a type of contract/relax technique that some massage therapist/physical therapist use to restructure muscle function.

Commonly the hips are out of alignment because of the leg muscles being unbalanced. The outside of the leg is hypertonic/too tight and the inner leg is hypotonic/weak, which can be from walking improperly, injury or other issues. Also if your stomach and back muscles are weak or imbalanced, this could also be a cause of hip misalignment.

Disclaimer: this is mainly for minor hip alignment and not recommended for anyone with injuries, knee, ankle, back issues, also if you have not ridden a bike for some time or are not comfortable, please, use your common sense, this may not be the method for you. At the very least, take your time and ease into it, start with a stationary bike in the gym, or don't stand up, just rely on your leg muscle, keeping your hips more stable or level and feet as described above. And most of all, consult your physician before any exercise. I highly suggest you read and follow the above walking course before you try this bicycle method. Also, if you do not understand the above directions, please do not try this method. (You would definitely need a bike that is correct for your size to avoid any injury)

Take it easy and have fun!
www.healingx.org
pahner@healingx.org

Plantar Fasciitis: What has Ice got to do with it?

I had a patient that was diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis.

Her doctor had her wearing a restrictive device at night and told her to stay off her feet to recover, which of course for her, was impossible but actually, that is exactly what is needed to repair.

First, I will explain a little about Plantar Fasciitis, so you will understand why, and then
I will give you another option to consider that helped my patient recover...

Fasci"itis" is inflammed Fascia:

Fascia is the connective tissue that for illustration purposes, connects the bone to the tendon, to the muscle, to the skin.

Imagine fascia as the matrix of the body. I liken it to a sponge. When the fascia or the matrix "sponge" is dry, it is unflexible, in fact if you try to bend a dry sponge, it will crack and that is what is happening to your fascia, it is cracking or being injured and becoming inflammed, every time you walk. Why? It can be for several reason...

First, the bone in your foot could have had an external injury, or your fascia could be dry or compressed/restricted and deprived of body fluid to nourish it or keep it flexible (perhaps from improper walking or restricted movement) but more commonly your calf muscle could be tight and pulling on the tendon that connects the muscle to the fascial sheath around the bone.

Generally, I have found that people who love to walk, overdid it one day and now they have this issue.

A little background on bone: when bone is "pulled" as by the tendon pulling on the fascial sheath that covers the heel, or when rubbed together as in a 2 bones rubbing in joint, it actually begins to create more bone, usually this bone substance is not beautiful, it is a little disorganized and can be sharp or pointy depending on the pulling.

This pointy bone then irritates the sheath that encapsulates the heel bone and creates tearing which creates inflammation and it becomes a viscious cycle.

Considering that you now have this plantar fasciitis, (whether or not you are to the stage of having the bony build-up) and that most people are like my patient and cannot simply stay off of their feet, I will offer to you, what I offered to my patient, that eventually corrected her fasciitis:

Ice your calf muscle as often as possible.

When I say ice, this is the most beneficial process...
Ice your muscle until it is numb: first it will feel really cold, then it will burn and feel tingly or hurt/ache, after that stage, you will not feel it, that is numb. Now take the ice off, if you do not take the ice off that will create a loop of inflammation again, so pay attention, it may only take 5 or 10 minutes, but don't go by the time, go by the numbness that occurs after the burning/ache/tingly period.

Now allow the area to warm up, you could massage the calf a little to get the blood to flow in the area again, or wait about 15-20 min and do the icing again if you have time. The way I see it, if you can ice it once a day, that is better than nothing but ideally 3 times in a row, allowing it to warm up in-between is a good starter.

Now, what does that do?????? It releases any contraction in your calf muscle and puts less pulling on the tendon, which then puts less pulling on the sheath around the bone, which stops pulling on the bone and so the bone stops growing more pointing bone "spurs".

But what about the bone that is there??? Actually an age old recipe of rubbing a good castor oil on the area of the heel that is sore and keeping the area warm is what I have found to break up bony deposits. Don't ask me why this works but it seems to do the trick. But before you use castor oil, you might want to talk to your physician as it can also interfere with medication absorption on some level.

My patient, however only used the icing method and some nutritional information I gave her.

As for the dry fascia cause, consider rehydrating your body and rubbing the area around the fascia (not on top of any sore spot) to get blood flowing in the area.

When I say rehydrate, I mean getting some electrolytes or good purified water and an organic, food based mineral, but that is a whole other blog :)

Best of Luck!
www.healingx.org
pahner@healingx.org

Get in the Zone!

Do you feel out of whack? Nothing quite going your way? Keep running into the proverbial wall? Are you off your game? 

You are not the only one.

I have been working with patients that are coming in with the same complaint.

I have another blog devoted to these types of things but thought I should tie it into this one since it seems to be a needed thing right now. (http://spiritualhealingblog.blogspot.com)

If you are an athlete, you know when you are "in the zone" and some of you know how to get there, others just never learned. If you are one of those that just can't get in or feel like something has gone horribly wrong lately. You might be kicked off the Universal "Axialtonal Lines".

How do you get connected again?

There are several ways, the easiest is to go to an Acupuncturist and have them do the Axialtonal Alignment treatment. Acupuncture is actually painless, even though they use the word needle, it is nothing like an injection needle that has a hole in the middle which punctures the skin, these needles are about the thickness of a hair and actually go between the skin cells and it is painless. Often patients do not even know if they have already been inserted, and will say "tell me when you start, o.k?" I have to laugh each time - Acupuncture is so misunderstood!

Another way is to have it done intuitively. I have been using this technique since I developed the protocol and have been getting great results and feedback. Needle free!

You can also connect via meditation and visualization, but you need more information to attain the connection.

There is an easy way to do this through imagination, by using different affirmations, which raise your vibration and seem to snap you back in.

Most importantly, once you are back in, how do you stay aligned. Simple. Remove all negativity from your thinking, talking and exposure to negativity. 

Did you ever notice, you are clipping along, feeling great when someone comes at you with their negative attitude directed at you and suddenly, your world is upside down, nothing is right again.

They just kicked you off alignment. 

Here is an emergency CPR for when this happens...say the word in your mind or aloud...

cancel, cancel, cancel or neutral, neutral, neutral until you cannot even remember what happened that caused you to feel bad. Now quickly redirect your thought to something constructive and positive, a project you love or person you like being around. You will be reconnected if you catch it right away. Otherwise, if you wait too long, you will need to redo your connection.

So stay positive and enjoy being "IN THE ZONE"

read about Axialtonal Lines and how they work

www.healingx.org/AxialtonalLines.com

http://spiritualhealingblog.blogspot.com

Why take Drugs when you can eat Chocolate?

Superfood: feed your brain, stimulate your mind, hype up your body, have a Superfood party and watch your grades soar, your energy spring into action, get you back in the game, and your body will be calm, cool and collected...

What the @#?* (bleep) are Superfoods?

First and foremost, they are raw, unprocessed, unfiltered, all natural, hopefully organic or wild.

Their properties sometimes need to be unlocked, so powder form is good or get a few friends together, chip in for a 3 Hp Blender (great gift to hint for) and start making your own powerhouse smoothies.

Here are 11 good Superfoods, that should get you off to a good start, there are more and Superherbs as well...when I first saw some of these, I never even heard of them!

Wolfberries or Goji Berries

Maca

Acai Berry (pronounced like: ah-sigh-yee' berries)

Camu Camu Berries

Coconut Oil

Cacao Beans

Hemp Seed 

Spirulina and Blue-Green Algae

Bee Pollen (organic, raw, wild, unfiltered)

Medicinal Mushrooms (Shitake, Reishi, Maitake, Cordycepts, etc.)

Seaweed / Kelp

Yacon Root

Best Chocolate Smoothie I ever made...

2 cups purified water

16 Cacao Beans (raw, organic, whole)

1 teaspoon Maca Powder

2 dates (pitted)

coconut milk (can imported from thailand)

1 Tablespoon Hemp Oil

1 teaspoon Vanilla (non alcohol - blends smoother)

handful of green pumpkin seeds

handful of sunflower seed

Blend 3 cycles in Blendtec 3 Hp blender, comes out steaming hot like hot cocoa, YUM

sometimes I add big handful of ice before last cycle if I want it cooler, double YUM and double boost (sometimes when things are heated, they lose their SuperPower, better at room temp)

Not sure where to find Superfoods?

Most can be found at your local health food store or

online at places like www.food-healing.com

and other sites, google each one separately if you can't find it.

They will be the best natural drugs you have ever spend money on and when you are 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80+ years old, your mind will be clearer, you will be stronger, you will have done and accomplished more that you can imagine and you won't be taking prescription drugs to the tune of $800-$1000.00 a month, like everyone else around you.

Get hyped up with Superfood - stimulate yourself, get your focus back, reach your full potential, amaze your family and friends.

Too tired to get up for class? why struggle with school, feeling depressed and out of energy with no desire or interest in much of anything...if I knew when I was in College what I know now, about foods, I would have my PhD by now!

Want to learn more about food and food therapy? 

www.healingx.org/FoodTherapy.htm

A Healthy Perspective for a Healthy Mind, Body and Life

Do you think sometimes, why me, why can't I feel good like her/him. Why do I have to be the one driving the crappy car, struggling day to day?

Actually, perspective is everything. There is a saying...

"Change your mind to change your life"

Begin to change your perspective with one verse...

"Everyday, in every way, I am getting better and better."

First, write down how you see your life now, from your current perspective.

But, before you say the verse, try to FEEEEEL it, envision your ideal life. Be sure to include how you make other people feel good about themselves, you could include ideas like: I am healthy, wealthy and wise. My family is healthy and happy. Love is all around us. Imagine people smiling and laughing the belly laugh, they cannot stop because they are so happy and you are there, laughing also. Imagine children playing and giggling. See the world is getting better, everyone is helpful and friendly, the economy is skyrocketing, everyone is making money, etc.

Then say the above verse to yourself 20 times.

On a separate piece of paper, write the verse down and put it next to your bed and read the verse when you go to bed and/or when you wake up.

In a week, write your new perspective of your life, compare it to the one from a week ago. Report back with what has changed!

Stay positive!

pahner@healingx.org