Balancing your body pH - Circulatory system

This is the first of a series of educational articles regarding balancing your body pH.

1. Circulatory System

2. Digestive System
3. Nervous System
4. Structural System
5. Foods that are acid forming, alkaline forming and other things you can do to balance your body pH...

Poor health begins in one area of the body, and like a virus or disease, spreads to other parts of the body. Much like the domino effect, once you have a collapse in one body system, it is next to impossible to stop the cascading movement that causes a myriad of symptoms that people go to the doctor for.

The problem with going to the doctor is that he or she doesn’t have the time to find the root cause of your symptom much less educate you on reversing the damage and getting your once profound health back. Chances are, your doctor will write a prescription to manage your symptoms. If this goes on long enough, you develop other symptoms (or side effects) from the medication or the ongoing domino effect that is happening, so he writes more prescriptions to manage your new symptoms, and so on the merry go round turns.

There are 32 nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, boron, copper, zinc, molybdenum, etc.) known as trace minerals that are found in nature in our soil, twelve of them considered essential. Without those nutrients, plants cannot grow or resist disease. The soil must have a certain amount of acid and a certain amount of alkalinity to produce health benefitting plants.

Your body pH is like the fertile ground that organic fruits and vegetables grow in, and also requires balance of acid and alkalinity to keep your body systems functioning properly. If you have excess stomach acid which causes acid reflux, acid indigestion, GERD, or even an ulcer, it is possible that you are already having issues in other parts of the body too. Just like the soil, the pH in your internal environment, (your blood and tissues) must be balanced to produce health. If the magnetism of your blood isn’t correct, the cells of the body cannot extract nutrients from the blood, and a host of things begin to go wrong, starting with malnutrition.
The harmful effects of an imbalanced pH can affect the circulatory system, the nervous system, the structural system and the digestive system. This article is going to address the circulatory system.

THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

Bacteria and/or fungi and viruses can attach themselves to the inner walls of your arteries if your body pH is not in balance. This attracts white blood cells, clotting cells and clotting proteins which can cause a plaque to form in the artery. We all know what happens at this point – the arteries narrow and oxygen, nutrients, and blood flow to the tissues are restricted. If this happens in the coronary artery, a heart attack can occur. If excess acidity is present, calcium, which was moved out of the bone to buffer the acid, can deposit in the arterial plaque, thus converting the plaque from soft to hard. The plaque makes the arteries stiff, which can raise blood pressure.

You are now prescribed hypertension, and/or blood thinning, and/or high cholesterol medication. All because you are eating too many foods that cause acid or too few foods that can create alkalinity, or vice versa.

What is a perfect pH? It is 6.4. How do you get your pH to 6.4? Invest in pH strips, and learn which foods form acid in the tissues and blood and which form alkaline in the tissues and blood. There are many other things one can do to balance the body pH, but this is a great start.

FDA Warning for Proton Pump Inhibitors

Stomach acid…….now there’s a sour subject! More than discomfort, over acidity can be a dangerous condition that can weaken other body systems such as the circulatory, nervous and structural systems too. The pH (potential of hydrogen) of your internal environment must be balanced to have normal body function and to resist disease.

How does your internal environment get out of balance? The internal environment getting out of balance stems from the foods we eat, and yet, so many people just go to their doctor and get medication to take care of excess stomach acid instead of looking at the root cause of excess stomach acid.

This isn’t a new concept. In 1933. a New York doctor names William Howard Hay published a book, A New Health Era, in which he talks about autotoxication (self-poisoning) due to acid accumulation in the body by eating acid forming food in too great amount.

Last Thursday, February 9, 2012, the FDA issued a medical watch for proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). The watch went out to gastroenterologists, family practitioners, and consumers. Oh, if you are a consumer and you don’t subscribe to the FDA daily digest, then I guess you have to rely on your physician to fill you in…..

Why would someone use a Proton Pump Inhibitor? PPIs work by reducing the amount of stomach acid and are prescribed to those with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), stomach and small intestine ulcers, and inflammation of the esophagus. Over-the-counter (OTC) PPIs are used to treat frequent heartburn. PPIs can be associated with stomach acid drugs such as:

· AcipHex (rabeprazole sodium)

· Dexilant (dexlansoprazole)

· Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium)

· Prevacid (lansoprazole) and OTC Prevacid 24 Hr

· Prilosec (omeprazole) and OTC

· Protonix (pantoprazole sodium)

· Vimovo (esomeprazole magnesium and naproxen)

· Zegerid (omeprazole and Sodium bicarbonate) and OTC

If you are using one of these medications, you are at increased risk of developing Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD). Symptons include watery stool, abdominal pain, and fever, and the disease can also be spread in hospitals. You can view the entire alert here: http://www.fda.gov/safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm290838.htm

This is just a heads up. The more you know, the better able you can care for yourself. Keep watching my blog as I will begin a series of issues that pH imbalancing cause, and things you can do to correct it, often without medication.

Change is good - the eagle does it in six months

I’ve often wondered what my life would’ve been like if my parents hadn’t divorced when I was 13. I know it would’ve been different, but in what ways? As much as I hated their break-up, I believe it truly was one of the best things that could've happened to me.

With all due respect to my Mother and Father, now both deceased God Bless them, they were not the most mature people when they decided to call it quits, and that hurt. A lot. It was hard for a 13 year old girl to find any solace in a father who verbally abused me by telling me horrible things about my mother, and then tried to shove his new girlfriend in my face before disappearing with his new girlfriend and their new baby to....somewhere in South Florida. Nor was it any comfort to know that when my mother finally found my father, she had him arrested for non-payment of child support. Was that before or after my eight year old brother went through the sliding glass doors, slicing his abdomen open, and we couldn't find Mom because she was off for the weekend with her boyfriend. Well, those events were just the beginning of a long and painful journey through my teens that may have sent many young girls to the "wrong side of town." I may have strayed a bit, may have even knocked on the gates of Hell, but it had to have been Guardian Angels protecting me, because I spent the best part of my teen and young adult years trying to make sense of it all….and it was all because I loved my Mother, and I loved my Father - as much as I loved life itself.

The Lord gives us trials to refine us. It is not the trials that build our character, but how we handle those trials, and I thank HIM for loving me enough to hold my hand and my heart while I sorted through my crazy mixed up emotions during those years. HE sent people into my life that I was able to look up to, talk to, learn from, and feel safe with. They were mentors in every sense, and the security I developed gave me a strong sense of inner peace and integrity that carried me into middle age, and served me most when I really needed it.

This all brings me back to the original question I have asked of myself many times: “What happens when you don't have challenges, trials, and tribulations to develop your character?” Can anyone truly go through their life with a content smile at all times, with no worries, no heart-ache, and no trouble? Is there any such thing? I don't believe so. We all have to face the devil sooner or later, and we all have trials. Some of us may have more trials than others, or so it seems, but we all have them, none-the-less.

When you are faced with a life issue that upsets your world, please do everything in your power to deal with it. Don't ask, "why me?" Don't blame others for your trials, don't self-medicate, or bury yourself in work to escape….. And PLEASE don't let any medical doctor get you hooked on prescription drugs for depression and/or anxiety.

My Mother really was a wonderful person, an inspiration, and beautiful role model for me. I grew to respect her immensely for all of her adversity, and I forgave her many years ago for some indisgressions she had. She's only human. One of the things she taught me was to never stop believing, and always strive for my dreams. I knew she was proud of me and in some unexplainable way, I think she may have been a little envious because I did pursue my dreams, where she only had good intentions. She also taught me to tell the truth, and had an uncanny ability to stop me from lying because I didn't want to upset her if she ever found out I had lied. So, I rarely did anything that I thought she'd disapprove of. And yes, the two times I remember lying to her, she found out.

My father also had good intentions, but didn't have the strength to carry through with them. Somewhere along the line of his early childhood or early adulthood, he had been shattered enough times that he gave up trying to pursue his dreams and just settled for what came along. Sad but true. But Dad is in Heaven now and amongst his loved ones who had passed before, and I know all is well for him. My Father instilled in me a strong work ethic. “When are you going to stop working Dad?” I asked him when he was pushing 75 years of age. “When they close the casket”, was his response. I want to thank Dad for going to adult Bible class with me - a grown woman with a grandson - the year before he went into assisted living, and two years before he died. Dad was in his 80's, the oldest one in our class, and he raised his hand many times to ask questions. He became very popular in that class, and I was SO proud of him. When he asked a question the Pastor couldn't answer, Pastor Arp replied, "George, I just don’t know. You’re going to have to put that question in your JESUS pocket, and when you get to the Pearly Gates, you can pull it out then."

Having been at the gateway of Hell, I can tell you it was really hard to swim up-stream to surface again. I attribute the ability to discern the difference between right and wrong and the strength to do something about it to my life experiences. Here is why I think Change is Good, and why I suggest that you embrace, not curse, your trials. Here is what I’ve learned:

• Take care of your health, both physically and spiritually so you can have the energy and ambition to pursue your dreams;
• Finish what you start so you have the joy of accomplishment;
• Think happy thoughts;
• Give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Don't be suspicious - just cautious and careful;
• Forgive those who have wronged you, let by-gones be by-gones and don't live in the past;
• Be kind and generous;
• Eat well, be happy, don't drink excessively, don't smoke (anything), do cardio and strength training or some kind of exercise, and sleep 7-8 hours every night.

It sounds so simple and it truly is.

Love joins our present with the past and the future.

Think about it. If you have both of your feet planted in mid-air, as I often do, try to ground yourself once in awhile. Link your past with your future while you're in the present, and think about God's Love when you do. The world really is better when looking at it through rose-colored glasses, and if you feel bitter or resentful, you have excess baggage that needs to be cleared. That's your first step, and whether it takes 6 months to change such as the eagle, or six years or longer, make that change. Do it, and you can start right now.

Creating Wellness-A New Way of Life

From Unit 3, I scored well in spiritual and psychological aspects, but I feel like my score has gone up to a 9 in that area now. I feel like the meditation practices we learned in this course have catapulted my sense of well-being.

As for my biological aspects, I had to work on that because I am 30 pounds overweight. I have begun a weight loss program that is not just weight loss, it is being more aware of what I eat and why. When I watch that, and stop the snacking late at night, and when I stop myself from eating when I feel stressed, and instead, meditate, I have cut my calories and carbs way down. Consequently, I have made a gallant effort to get to the gym 5 days a week and go back to yoga and pilates. I have done all of that this week, and am pleased that I have already shed 5 lbs. and my clothes are fitting better.

Creating Wellness and the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing has been a pivotal point in both my personal health and wellness, as well as the professional services I am providing.

I learned how to provide loving-kindness meditation for someone who is suffering whether that person is sitting right next to me, across town, or in another city, state or country. I also learned how to provide that loving-kindness to myself and that has helped my stress levels. I just think about the fact that I am surrounded by white light, that I am grounded, that I love and I am loved, and that I have a special purpose on this earth, and I am able to come out ahead of my previous self, with no self-pity, no worries, and a calm and peace that propels me to the level I want to be at.

In my profession, this ability has already helped me with my clients and colleagues. I use this same meditation on them, and I have become a better listener. When my client understands that I care by virtue of my listening skills, they are more prone to comply with my recommendations for a better quality of life. When I come across a client who is not quite there and needs to work on their spiritual side, I do some kind of loving kindness meditation for them, and hope for the best.

I got married during this term, last Saturday, April 24th. Chuck has been my sweetheart for 23 years, and we have a 20 year old son together. Why did we wait for long to get married? It's a very long story, but I can tell you this, even though we have been together for years, we now feel "together." We feel closer, and I am proud to be his wife and say my new name, "Mrs. Hilbert." If not for the lessons I learned in this class, I don't know if I could've pulled off the wedding with what resources I had as well as I did. My friends and family were pivotal, but I changed. I am more peaceful and have a better outlook. I am no longer afraid of failure, and in my professional career, I am no longer afraid of failure either.

Some say people are afraid of success. I think that was me to a great extent. I'm no longer afraid of success now either, because I'm just plain no longer afraid.

Thank you Dr. Susan Johnson and Kaplan, and thank you classmates.

Cheers!

Paula McClellan-Hilbert

My Plan for Holistic and Integral Health

I Introduction:

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically. Practitioners must evolve because they are the leading edge of change and they cannot lead until they themselves have experienced the transformation. I personally want to develop and improve upon my leadership goals and develop a more biologically profound body. To do this, I will need to increase my exercise and lose some weight.

II Assessment:

To foster greater wellness in my biological life, I intend to eat better (no more sweets and simple carbs) and get at least 30 minutes, preferably 60 minutes of exercise. cardio daily, along with 30-60 minutes of toning and stretching exercises, pilates and yoga. I have begun the meditative practices and along with prayer, begin my day in this way. Whenever I find myself faltering or waning in courage, tenacity, strength, desire or ambition, I go back to my meditative practice and recharge myself. My spiritual score is around a 7, physical score is around a 6, and psychological score is around a 7.

III Goal development:

My goal for my physical area is, as I have mentioned, to increase physical activity and decrease weight. My goal for my psychological and spiritual activity is to incorporate loving-kindness and integral health into my work and personal life.

IV Practices for personal health:

To improve my biological health, I am implementing 30 minutes, preferably 60 minutes of exercise which includes daily cardio, along with 30-60 minutes of toning and stretching exercises, pilates and yoga. I have begun the meditative practices and along with prayer, begin my day in this way. Whenever I find myself faltering or waning in courage, tenacity, strength, desire or ambition, I go back to my meditative practice and recharge myself.

To improve my psychological and spiritual health, I will meditate and pray every morning and every time I feel like I need it. I will practice the loving kindness meditation and listen to the Rainbow Meditation.

V Commitment:

My progress will be easily assessed through how I feel and the success in my work that I am experiencing, which will include my finances. My strategies to maintain long-term practices for health and wellness will continue to remind myself of my goals and my daughter’s upcoming wedding this October. I want to be able to well afford her wedding, as well as look good for it. I have been in "love" with Integral health for as long as I can remember. The only time I feel "alive" while working is when I am able to teach others the wonders of integral health and thus, Human Flourishing is an area I have been searching for. I do not believe there will be any problem with my commitment now that I have landed. My commitment to my biological health, my daughter, my new husband and my family all bridge the area I am most comfortable in.

Integral Health for Humanity

Two practices that have been most beneficial to me have been The Loving-Kindness Meditation and the Subtle Mind. I can implement these practices in my personal life to foster mental fitness because of how the subtle mind will help me find peace and calmness when there is chaos all around me. The Loving-Kindness Meditation can help me help others find peace, health, joy and happiness, as well as myself. All of this can help bring a taste of human flourishing into our world.

"If humanity is to evolve to integral health, it is imperative to create a healthcare system that encourages and supports our efforts. We also need a community of trained professionals and like-minded friends who support our efforts. We cannot do this work alone in an unsympathetic culture.” (Dacher 2006 pp147-148).

Reference: Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health, The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications, Laguna Beach, CA

The Hubble Telescope- "The Eye of God"

Our Subtle Mind

Meeting Aesclepius – Our Subtle Mind

The wise ones tell us that in the beginning stage of contemplative practice, the mind seems like a waterfall. Its noise seems louder as we go inward. Nothing has ever changed, except for our attention to the mind. With practice, the mind becomes like a rushing mountain stream, agitated, but not as noisy as a waterfall. Gradually, it becomes like a lazy river, flowing through the flat plains, easy and quiet. In the final stages, it becomes like a river, reunited with the still, deep, and stable ocean.

In any single practice session, you may go through each of these phases, the untamed mind, the increasing stillness of the witnessing mind, calm-abiding, and/or unity consciousness, or you may only encounter one.

If you can find a skilled teacher to be your guide, you will be quite fortunate. Such a person can look in your eyes, listen to your experience, and help you with any problems. A skillful teacher is one that has practiced and studied for many years within a tradition that aims for inner freedom, rather than mere relaxation.

We will use visualization to access our inner healer that is found at the source of our being. That wise healer who resides within each of us will help guide us through the integral process. The ancient Greeks call this inner healer, Aesclepius. We will call it our subtle mind.

Find a comfortable seat, close your eyes, and visualize an image of a very wise loving man or woman. Choose an individual alive or passed on whom you respect and honor, and whom you feel a sense of connection. If identifying such a person is difficult, then create one. Stabilize this image in front of you and carefully observe this individual.

As a result our consciousness expands and we cultivate a special wisdom. Loving kindness and wisdom are the results of these two practices and are the two essential elements that bring an end to needless suffering and reveal the fruits of human flourishing, an authentic and enduring health, happiness and wholeness.

I have chosen my mother, who has passed on 18 years ago but I still feel a special connection. I see her bright eyes and warm smile and the wrinkles on her face have long gone. Her skin is smooth, clear and beautiful, and so is her hair.

I sit in communion with her and reflect on her qualities and characteristics, her peace, wisdom, compassion, love and joy. As I allow our connection to deepen, I visualize the beam of white light from her crown and visualize it coming into my mind. This light and energy bathes and purifies my thoughts and feelings, and images I have are slowly transforming my mind into the still, pure and wise mind of my mother.

Another beam of light emanates from my mother's throat and bathes and purifies my speech. My speech becomes loving, wise and sensitive.

A beam of light emerges from her heart and it bathes and purifies my heart with kindness, love and compassion, transforming it into a heart of loving-kindness and wisdom.

As I experience my purified mind, speech and heart, I take on the qualities of the wise one and I become her.

I allow her entire image to dissolve into a bright white light and enter my body at my forehead and slowly permeate my entire being so that I fully become this wise person.

What does this feel like? What is it like to experience this wise guidance and healing of my inner healer? I accept and experience myself as a wise and loving healer in mind, speech and heart. Who is this wise and caring person I first imaged outside myself? Where has she been? It is now time to welcome her home. It is now time to know the healing God, Aesclepius is none other than the natural essence of my heart and mind.

This inner essence is a guide, healer, and gift giver. It guides my choices and actions from a deep wisdom. It heals my body, mind and spirit by eradicating the misunderstandings, confusion, and sense of isolation that are the underlying causes of mental distress and stress related illnesses. It gives the gift of profound and enduring health, happiness and wholeness. This essence is my inner guide, healer, and gift giver.

As Integral healers, we must experience this inner essence if we are to lead others there. We must have Mindfulness in our work, which focuses on mindfulness practice to reduce stress, increase work satisfaction, and help others attain this level of calm-abiding. Any healthcare professional must become a healer integrally because it is a critical component of wellness.

Dacher, E (2006). The Path to Human Flourishing, Contemplative Practices: An Audio Companion to Integral Health. Basic Health Publications, Laguna Beach, CA.