Lee's Summit's Community Acupuncture

Pasta with Chickpea Sauce

2010-09-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

This recipe is taken from Ginger Beat. I have made only a couple of small changes. It's really good, and healthy, while tasting great and having decadent "mouth feel".

Yes, it is a lot of garlic. And rosemary. And red pepper flakes. But soooo darn addictive.

The first time I made this, I used my blender to puree the chickpeas. The second time, I just went at them with a potato masher. As might be expected, the sauce made with the blender was smoother -- but I kind of like the chunky mashed chickpea texture, too.

Pasta With Chickpeas, Rosemary, and Garlic

Ingredients
16 ounces campanelle or other small pasta, prepared per package instructions
5 cups drained cooked or canned chickpeas (rinse if using canned)
3 cups water, divided
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 ounce rosemary sprigs, washed, with the leaves removed and minced
1 teaspoon salt (I used 2 teaspoons with unsalted cooked chickpeas)

Place the chickpeas and 1 cup water in a blender and puree until smooth (or, alternatively, place the chickpeas and 1 cup water in a large bowl and mash until the chickpeas are smooth or you are tired).

Heat the olive oil and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the garlic and minced rosemary and cook, stirring frequently, for about a minute, or until the garlic begins to brown.

Stir in the salt.

Carefully add the pureed/mashed chickpeas to the skillet, and stir to combine with the seasoned oil.

Add the remaining two cups of water to the skillet and stir until the chickpea mixture is smooth.

Allow the chickpea mixture to come to a boil, and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the cooked pasta and serve.

NOTE: If you want to add steamed broccoli, it's really good added at the end with the chickpea mixture. Sauteed mushrooms are also a great addition.

If you don't want the heat from the pepper flakes, chopped or julienned red bell pepper is wonderful.

The Corn in Your Cupboard

2010-09-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

I just watched a movie entitled King Corn. It's a documentary made by two guys who, after graduating from college, lease one acre of farmland in Iowa and raise 180 bushels of corn. They find where the crop goes, what it's made into, how it's used and consumed. Why would they do that? Well, they had their hair tested and found that the carbon in their body was made from corn. CORN? Yep. How did that happen? That's the story.

What they learned was that the corn grown on their land, and all the other land around them, was not used to directly feed people. It was used to feed cattle, make high fructose corn syrup, shipped overseas for feed, and other non-consumption purposes, including ethanol. Okay. So it feeds cattle we eat. That's good, right? Not for the cattle.

Cattle that are "grain fed" (which means corn fed) are raised in feedlots, confined spaces where the cattle can't move around. This way, instead of taking years to grow to market-size, the cattle can be slaughtered in less than six months. Which is a good thing for the cattle, since the corn-based diet would kill them from acidosis in slightly more than six months anyway. Evidently cattle were not intended to eat massive amounts of grain and can't properly digest it and use it. So after a few months on this type of diet, they become too acidic and die.

Cattle raised in feedlots don't have high muscle mass, as they don't really even get to walk around, much less "roam the prairies" like we see in movies and commercials. So the fat-to-muscle ratio in their meat is much higher, sometimes up to 65% fat. This is the meat that is sold to our fast food chains and consumed by so many of us. No wonder it tastes good and is so cheap. And, no wonder the US has an obesity epidemic.

So, why do I want you to know this? I believe that people need to be able to make informed decisions about what we eat and the impact our choices may be making on our health. For example, we all know that fast food is not good for us, is full of excessive, empty calories and can make us fat. But did you know that everything in your "value meal" of burger, fries and soda contains corn? The meat was grown by corn products; the bun contains corn syrup as does the soda; the fries were probably fried in corn oil. It's Iowa-in-a-bag.

Look at most of the items in your cupboards or pantry. Read the labels. Corn starch and high fructose corn syrup or just plain corn syrup are in almost everything we buy and eat. Our cupboards house items that weren't even thought of 40 years ago. And the items that were around then have been "improved" so much that they are barely recognizable. And all this is considered progress.

I was wondering just the other day about the significant increase in obesity and diabetes in our society and why these and several other health issues are so much more prevalent than the were in the 1950's and 1960's. Well, I may have found some of the answer to that question by reading food labels.

My challenge to you: Look at the labels and read the ingredients of the food in your pantry and cupboards. Let's don't change any habits right now; simply read the ingredients and become informed.

More to do later.

I’ve Lived Both Sides of the Healthcare System. This Is What I've Learned.

2009-12-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

Now here's an interesting article on healthcare reform. I happen to agree with this man's opinion. And I'm one of the uninsured!

I’ve Lived Both Sides of the Healthcare System. This Is What I've Learned.: "

By Paul Michael

This debate has been furiously argued on both sides for several months, so I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring. I lived with the British National Health Service (NHS) until I was 26 years old, and then I moved to America. For the last 9 years, I have lived with private healthcare.

Obviously this is just one man’s opinion. You have your own opinion, and that’s cool. That’s what’s great about this country. What is also great is that we can talk openly about this in a public forum, and (hopefully) spark some intelligent debate and questions. So, let me first begin with my experiences from both sides of the pond.

Living With The British NHS

You will hear horror stories about British healthcare, and I will be the first to say the system is not perfect. But it is no archaic nightmare filled with medieval torture devices and untrained doctors. On the whole, my treatment was great.

When I wanted to see a doctor, I saw a doctor. No co-pay. It was the doctor of my choosing, and my family has had the same GP since way before I was born. He was always being retrained on new techniques, and he wasn't overzealous with a prescription pad. When I made an appointment, I was seen within 10 minutes. If I came in without an appointment, the wait could be an hour or more. I never waited longer than 90 minutes, and that was only because I was a walk-in. When I saw my GP, I was never rushed in and out of the consultation room.

I had several small operations in Britain and everything went very smoothly. The wait from diagnosis to treatment was a few weeks. This may not be the case for everyone, but it was for me. Every hospital I ever went to was clean, efficient and, well, full. Yes, I will admit that there are too few hospitals, but that never stopped me getting treatment in a timely manner. When my sister had a baby, she was in a beautiful room which she shared with one other lady. It wasn't a private room, but it wasn't like a M*A*S*H ward either! And it's also worth noting that private insurance is available in Britain as an addition to standard coverage. BUPA is one example. So, if you have the money, you can upgrade to private rooms, jump ahead on a waiting lists, that kind of thing.

Doctors and nurses, in my honest opinion, usually seemed quite happy with their work. However, most doctors in Britain earn a far more modest income than in the U.S. As far as I know, it's not a sticking point, but then again I'm not a doctor. I'm sure some salivate when they see the amazing salaries commanded by many U.S. doctors.

Were there major downsides? Well, taxes were higher to help pay for the NHS. But, there were usually no co-pays, and prescriptions were filled at a standard price (around seven pounds last time I checked). There are definitely limits imposed on people in Britain, too. For instance, you may have to reach a certain age to be entitled to a hip replacement. And as I said, hospitals are sometimes few and far between. My own parents usually have to travel to the next town for some treatments because the hospital within their town is small and has limited services. But I never had to stand in line for a day to see a crummy, overworked doctor. It was not some “Glenn Beck Nightmare” with rusty beds, abandoned wards and filthy patients roaming the hallways of darkened hospitals. I was just fine, healthy, and happy.

My Treatment In The U.S.

Great. I can't deny it at all. I've had plenty of co-pays over the years, but I think that equates (kind of) with paying higher taxes for healthcare in Britain. Here, I pay out of pocket; back there I was paying before I saw my money.

Prices for my medicnes, until this week, were fine. I have always been on a $10/$20 plan for generics and name-brand. That did just change, and now I dread the day when I may have to take a name-brand drug, as I am no longer covered for those.

My waiting times here have been great, too. They were the same as in Britain, with no wait for scheduled appointments and up to an hour for a walk-in. The operations I had went fine, were painless, and came with a small $50 outpatient fee. My wife had two babies here, both births went very well, we had our own private room, and each time our total cost was just $200 (I saw the bill that went to the insurance company...$20,000!).

Overall, when I was privileged enough to have good insurance through an employer, I was fine. But now, that's no longer the case, and I'm just hoping none of us ever get really sick or need major drugs, as we'll see ourselves facing huge bills.

In conclusion...

After living with both systems, and seeing very little difference in the actual quality of treatment, I have to say that I am for a public plan. The idea of making a profit healthcare, well it just leaves an incredibly nasty taste in the mouth. Knowing that while some people are being denied coverage for the most puerile reasons, CEOs and shareholders of these companies are earning billions of dollars, it's just plain wrong.

Right now, a friend of our family is facing untold horrors because of the healthcare system. They are millions of dollars in debt because their daughter was diagnosed with cancer and they could not afford the $1200 per month for private family health insurance. They could lose everything, and at the same time still have to support a sick little girl. Is this fair? Not when you know that vast, vast sums of money are wasted in our current system, and that money goes to pad the bank accounts of the wealthy.

It’s an argument I’ve been having with people for years. “What’s wrong with profit, what are you, a socialist?” Not at all. Profit is great and I applaud it. If you want a Ferrari, and you can afford it, by all means go and line the pockets of the Ferrari company. I don’t care. If you want an Omega watch, go get one. I hope Omega makes a fortune. If you buy Starbucks coffee, you are making the Starbucks corporation rich, and I say good for them.

But here’s the thing.

No one needs a Ferrari. No one needs an Omega watch. No one needs a coffee from Starbucks. For that matter, no one needs most things that are available today, from your average family-sized pizza to a luxury home in the Hamptons. They’re all wants.

People NEED healthcare. It's that simple.

They need to live. They need help when they’re sick. They need operations to fix broken legs or arms, or heart transplants, or brain surgery. It’s not like they can say “nah, I’m just not really digging this whole cancer treatment thing, I’ll shop around and see if I can pick up a DIY version at Sam’s Club.”

Now, when you couple a “need” with profit, you get slammed. We all saw it with the massive rise in gas prices not so long ago. How many of you stopped driving completely? It just didn’t happen, because we need gas to get around. So, we paid the price and the oil companies had demolition derbies with Rolls Royces.

Healthcare for profit, that’s even worse in my book. There is all this talk of “death panels” and old people being denied coverage, but these things already exist! There are people employed by health insurance companies to keep costs low and profits high. That’s why this enormous and ever-growing list of pre-existing conditions exists. My doctor once told me he was wary of removing a suspicious mole I had because I may not get future coverage for skin cancer! What kind of madness is this?!

To a health insurance company, it’s a risk and rewards game. They give you coverage, but it’s all conditional. They can deny coverage at will it seems, and they give you lifetime maximums that, because costs keep rising, are now being met, even by children. I recently read a story of a young boy who can no longer receive new prosthetic arms because he’s hit his max. But something tells me the CEOs are still getting big bonuses and rising salaries.

And then there’s the issue of switching jobs. Sometimes, you can’t leave a company even if you want to because you cannot give up the health benefits. It’s called “golden handcuffs” and it can cause real misery.

I had none of the above problems in Britain. Did I have to wait for operations? Yes. But it wasn’t a long wait. In all honesty, my care and service was almost identical to the service I receive here, except it was all paid for out of taxes. I paid more taxes than I do here, but not a lot more. And I can tell you this…no one EVER goes bankrupt in Britain because of medical bills. No one. Not a soul. No one worries about medical bills. It’s not an issue.

You should not fear for your health. You should not be afraid that an illness could lead to bankruptcy. You should not be terrified of the cost of simply staying healthy and alive. And corporations SHOULD NOT profit from healthcare. Because at the end of the day, you and your life will always be less important than the price of their stock.

Now, feel free to mow me down with comments, but consider this. Unlike most people, and most of you, I have lived with both types of healthcare. And I choose the public option. There is nothing to be afraid of. Do the research, forget the hype and fear mongering. In your current healthcare system, over $700 billion is wasted each year in administration costs! You deserve affordable healthcare.

For further reading on the current healthcare debate, check out our sister site, The U.S. Healthcare System: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

The U.S. Vs. The World On Healthcare Quality

Solidarity (At High Costs): The French Healthcare System

Socialized Medicine In Britain: Is It Really That Bad?

End Of Life Care: The Big Bad Wolf Of Healthcare Reform

The Underinsured: The Sleeping Giant In The Healthcare Crisis

Understanding The Healthcare Reform Debate: The Uninsured

Permalink | 29 comments | Paul Michael's blog | Channel: Health and Beauty

Similar entries:

This article is from Wise Bread.

I’ve Lived Both Sides of the Healthcare System. This Is What I've Learned.

2009-12-07T12:29:00.001-08:00

By Paul Michael

Living With The British NHS

My Treatment In The U.S.

In conclusion...

But here’s the thing.

People NEED healthcare. It's that simple.

For further reading on the current healthcare debate, check out our sister site, The U.S. Healthcare System: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

The U.S. Vs. The World On Healthcare Quality

Solidarity (At High Costs): The French Healthcare System

Socialized Medicine In Britain: Is It Really That Bad?

End Of Life Care: The Big Bad Wolf Of Healthcare Reform

The Underinsured: The Sleeping Giant In The Healthcare Crisis

Understanding The Healthcare Reform Debate: The Uninsured

Permalink | 29 comments | Paul Michael's blog | Channel: Health and Beauty

Similar entries:

This article is from Wise Bread.

I’ve Lived Both Sides of the Healthcare System. This Is What I've Learned.

2009-12-07T12:29:00.000-08:00

By Paul Michael

Living With The British NHS

My Treatment In The U.S.

In conclusion...

But here’s the thing.

People NEED healthcare. It's that simple.

For further reading on the current healthcare debate, check out our sister site, The U.S. Healthcare System: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

The U.S. Vs. The World On Healthcare Quality

Solidarity (At High Costs): The French Healthcare System

Socialized Medicine In Britain: Is It Really That Bad?

End Of Life Care: The Big Bad Wolf Of Healthcare Reform

The Underinsured: The Sleeping Giant In The Healthcare Crisis

Understanding The Healthcare Reform Debate: The Uninsured

Permalink | 29 comments | Paul Michael's blog | Channel: Health and Beauty

Similar entries:

This article is from Wise Bread.

AH-AH-AH-CHOO! It's cold season.

2009-11-19T09:57:00.000-08:00

Well, it's really here. Cold and flu season is upon us and, as usual, I've been getting questions about flu vaccines and Chinese herbs for flu.

The vaccination decision is a personal one. Everyone needs to weigh the risks of vaccine side effects against the risk of getting the flu. For the weak, frail or immune deficient there is a stronger argument in favor of vaccination. The healthy and strong could mount a good defense against the flu and might want to skip the vaccine and any side effects.

Chinese medicine can assist and support you in 2 ways:

Chinese herbs and acupuncture can strengthen your immune function and general health, giving you a better chance to ward off infection.
Chinese medicine can treat flu symptoms if you do contract it. Patients are often amazed with the results of acupuncture and herbs in treating colds, flu and other respiratory ailments.

If you contract one of these "bugs", there are herbal formulas available to help you with the symptoms, as well as the infection itself. If you want to work on prevention, one frequently used formula for any cold, flu or respiratory illness, including allergies is called Jade Windscreen. This formula is used to boost immune function and ward off viruses, bacterias and irritants from the external environment. It is often started in August and continued through the winter to help those who frequently contract colds, flus and allergies or sinusitis. Generally the practitioner will add other herbal formulas to suit the constitution of the individual patient being treated.

Regular acupuncture treatments help strengthen the immune system and reduce stress, which has been shown to damage the immune system. If you eat well, get plenty of rest, avoid overworking, exercise regularly and practice stress reduction activities, you will go a long way toward keeping your body healthy and your immune system working well.

If disease or illness does occur, acupuncture and Chinese herbs can effectively treat the symptoms and strengthen your body's ability to fight the attack.

Alternative Sweeteners 101

2009-10-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

The opening paragraph of this article left me speechless. What are we doing to ourselves?

I knew aspartame and saccharin were bad, but I didn't know that the process to make Splenda included chlorine. GAG. None of these products should be consumed.

Let's stick to more natural sweeteners and use fruit instead.

Alternative Sweeteners 101: "

Photo by Vali.

Just take a guess at how much sugar the average American consumed, per day in 2003. Answer: 44 teaspoons. That means that in 2003, the average American consumed 142 pounds of sugar! That’s more than 7 times the recommended maximum intake of sugar (which is 6 teaspoons).

As a way to curb the problem of chronic diseases, like diabetes and obesity, that result from sweetener over-consumption, many people have turned to artificial sweeteners. The following is your guide to the most common alternatives to sugar.

Artificial sweeteners

Aspartame is the active ingredient in NutraSweet® and Equal®). Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar is made by combining two amino acids (aspartic acid + phenylalanine) with the alcohol methanol. Alone, the two amino acids are harmless, but when transformed chemically by the toxic wood alcohol, the resultant artificial sweetener’s safety is questionable. Author and neurologist, Russel L. Blaylock, writes in his book Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, that metabolized Aspartame overexcites the brains neurons leading to neuronal death, seizures, Alzheimer’s, and Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS). Some scientists have even found that Aspartame breaks down into formaldehyde (used to embalm cadavers) and accumulates in the body. NutraSweet® is found in over 5,000 products so read your labels, folks.

Saccharin is found in such sugar alternatives such as Sweet’ N Low®. Saccharin is known by the chemical name benzoic sulfinide and is derived from coal tar. There are no calories or food energy obtained from saccharin because it can’t be metabolized by the body. Its super-sweet (200-700 more sweet than sugar) taste though, can induce insulin release by the pancreas and wreak havoc on one’s blood sugar. Saccharin’s safety came into question the 1970’s when male rats ingested large quantities, formed toxic silicate crystals and developed bladder cancer. Since 2000, the US government has removed saccharin from the list of potential cancer causing substances. Center for Science in the Public Interest immediately posted a press release that calls into question the de-listing and the safety of a substance like saccharin that is linked to cancer.

Sucralose is found in artificial sweeteners such as Splenda®. This alternative to sugar is extremely sweet at an estimated 600 times more sweet than sugar. Sucrolose is manufactured by adding chlorine to sucrose (table sugar). Like aspartame and saccharin, sucralose is not metabolized into energy and thus makers of Splenda label it as a no calorie sweetener, it actually contains 3.31 calories per gram or 96 calories and 32 grams of carbohydrates per cup because of the added bulking agents dextrose or maltodextrin. The concern with sucralose comes from the chlorine that is added to the sucrose. This combination was discovered when trying to formulate a new pesticide. Long-term studies have not been done on the safety of sucralose yet chloride based organic compounds, like DDT, are considered dangerous.

Natural alternative sweeteners

Agave syrup (aka Agave necter) is a naturally heated and concentration of aguamiel in the sap of the Agave plant. This syrup is 1.5 times sweeter then sugar, contains the minerals magnesium, iron, calcium and potassium and can be used to sweeten recipe. Agave has a low glycemic index and glycemic load, but this is because it is composed of 90% fructose and 10% glucose of which, only glucose is measured in the rating system. This can make it tricky for diabetics to use. The only other place fructose is this high is in high-fructose corn syrup. Additionally, most agave is produced in Mexico and before being shipped to the US it can be diluted with corn syrup to increase the volume–make sure you’re buying high quality agave. High fructose consumption is associated with reduced insulin receptor sensitivity, fatty liver disease, liver cirrhosis, and oxidative cellular damage. Be cautious even with this natural sweetener.

Stevia goes by the chemical name of stevioside (rebaudioside A) and is extracted from the stevia plant. It’s very popular in Japan because stevia is about 250 times more sweet than sucrose. Stevia can be used by diabetics, on a low carbohydrate diet as it does not greatly affect blood glucose and also enhances glucose tolerance. This alternative sweetener can also be used to treat obesity and hypertension although keep in mind it’s not completely safe. Like anything in excess, high doses of stevia have been associated with decreased sperm counts in men and interference of proper carbohydrate metabolism.

So what’s the smartest choice? Next time you bake a tray of cookies, try an alternative recipes that uses a natural sweetener. This may seem obvious but in general, it’s most healthful to return to the basics and eat whole foods. Stick to the natural concentrations of sugars found in our fruits and vegetables. When consumed as whole food, sugars are absorbed more slowly due to the high fiber content. If its fruit, don’t juice it or dry it. Eat food whole!

Dr. Gibran Ramos, ND, MSOM completed his six year training and internship in Naturopathic and Chinese Medicine at National College of Natural Medicine. Dr. Ramos helps patients transform their lives and optimize their well-being at Northwest Natural Medicine in Milwaukie, Oregon

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The Anti-Fast Food Diet

2009-10-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

I love Leo's blogs and this post is near and dear to my heart (and stomach). So many of our problems can be eliminated by making better food choices. We (people) would feel better, have more energy, have healthier kids, save money and look better. What more do you want?

The Anti-Fast Food Diet: "

“There is a meditation exercise in which you place a raisin in your mouth. You do not eat the raisin. You meditate and allow it to sit in your mouth unmolested. The raisin plumps up and becomes a juicy fruitness in your mouth, tempting you to bite it. This is a powerful example of how eating is different when you are truly aware of each morsel.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.

When my family and I visited Tokyo earlier this year, it was a bit sad to see the rise of fast food in Japan.

It’s a beautiful country with a rich history of a traditional lifestyle, incredible food, and good health. They’ve perfected the art of food preparation, using the freshest ingredients to create small portions of beautiful dishes.

And while there still aren’t many fat Japanese people, especially compared to the U.S., I’d bet that will change with the insidious growth of fast food restaurants on many a street corner. McDonald’s is prevalent, of course, but so are many other Western food chains and an increasing number of Japanese fast food outlets.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about the Slow Food movement, but I really believe it’s the answer to many of our problems: health and obesity, the hectic and stressful pace of modern life, and the lack of happiness in a complex and often burdensome world.

This is the Anti-Fast Food Diet — a way to not only lose weight and get healthier, but to change your life to one of simplicity, moderation, and joy.

Abandon fast food, and all the values it brings: mass consumption, mass production, the exploitation of workers, the destruction of the environment, the destruction of small local businesses, the corporatization of our culture.

Instead, embrace Slow Food. Here’s how.

Stop rushing to eat. Set aside more time for eating, for shopping and preparation, for enjoying life. Stop rushing to fast food places because it’s convenient — because it’s not so convenient to be hospitalized. Instead, make time, and take things a bit slower.

Prepare your own meals. I know, who has the time? You do. Make the time, and cook simple meals without a lot of ingredients or preparation time. It takes 10 minutes to whip together a healthy and tasty lunch or dinner. And it can be a lot of fun (get the family or your partner involved). Preparing your own meals is healthier, frugal, and you know you’re eating good food.

Eat real food, not processed. Buy fresh ingredients such as fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, beans, and the like. Use ingredients you can recognize, not things filled with chemicals. Don’t use prepared food if you can avoid it — microwaveable or boxed foods are not the best. Avoid processed food at all costs.

Eat slowly and mindfully. Too many people stuff food down their gullets these days. It’s not healthy, and you’ve just consumed food without enjoying it. Instead, take the time to chew your food, to taste it, to be present as you eat.

Enjoy the food. Fully savor each bite. Appreciate the miracle of the food you’re eating, and be grateful you have that bite at all.

Take time to breathe, and smile. Before you begin to eat, smile, and take a deep breath, reminding yourself to be present and enjoy the food. Between bites, instead of rushing to the next bite, breath, relax, enjoy. Savor the moment.

When drinking tea, just drink tea. When eating, just eat. Be fully present. Don’t read a book or surf the net or drive or work or anything else but eat and drink.

Good conversation. OK, the exception to the above rule: eating with friends and family. Fast food has destroyed the good meal and conversation, because we’re rushing as we eat and don’t have time for a good talk. Bring it back.

When you do eat at a restaurant, make it a good one. Avoid the fast food places, but also the chain restaurants (Chilis, TGI Fridays, Lone Star, Olive Garden, etc). Go to locally owned restaurants where they use real ingredients and really make good food. These may be more expensive, but you’re not supporting a corporation and your food will be better, and even if it means eating out less that’s OK — quality is more important than quantity.

“There are some people who eat an orange but don’t really eat it. They eat their sorrow, fear, anger, past, and future.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

“When you eat with awareness, you find that there is more space, more beauty. You begin to watch yourself, to see yourself, and you notice how clumsy you are or how accurate you are. … So when you make an effort to eat mindfully…, you find that life is worth much more than you had expected.” - Chogyam Trungpa

—

If you’re interested in a life of minimalism, check out my new ebook: The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life.

Or find more of my other books and ebooks.

Make Your Own Eco-Friendly, Germ-Annihilating Hand Sanitizer [Health]

2009-09-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

If you want to DIY, here's some help for keeping hands clean. Especially important with flu and cold season!

Make Your Own Eco-Friendly, Germ-Annihilating Hand Sanitizer [Health]: "

With flu season approaching—on top of everyday Oh-God-I-don't-think-he-washed-his-hand-after-using-the-restroom moments—we're all a bit more wary of germs lately. Keep the nasty illness spreaders away with this DIY hand sanitizer.

Photo by bratha

Why would you want to make your own hand sanitizer when you can pick up a bottle in most stores? Many reasons: It could be cheaper to make in bulk, you get to control the ingredients (which is great for those with allergy issues), and you have the peculiar right to brag about yet another thing you made yourself.

You can earn those eco-friendly DIYer brag rights with instructions from Eco-centric blog, EcoSalon:

In a small bowl, mix ¼ cup each of pure aloe vera gel and grain alcohol with 5 drops of tea tree essential oil. To make it smell less pungent, add 5 drops of your favorite fragrance oil. Using a funnel, pour this blend into a bottle small enough to stash in your purse. (Rinse out an empty tube of makeup or lotion to make use of waste.)

Check out EcoSalon for more info on this DIY hand sanitizer as well as a recipe for a DIY surface disinfectant. And after your hands are reasonably clean: tell us about how you're keeping the germs at bay (or about how you prefer to tough it out in the battle with them).

Update: As reader anniekate76 points out, hand sanitizers only work if you've got high enough alcohol concentration—meaning you may need to up your alcohol proportions for this DIY concoction to really help.

DIY Hand Sanitizer and Disinfectant [EcoSalon]

Water Water Everywhere . . .

2009-09-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

But do we drink enough? Interesting fact: A man weighing 180 pounds contains 117 pounds of water. That about 65% of his total weight. Where is all that water? It's everywhere in our bodies. It's in every cell and makes up a good portion of our blood. It helps keep us alert and healthy. Obviously we can't live without it.

When we are properly hydrated and healthy, our bodies balance the amount of water we keep and the amount we eliminate. This balance helps make sure all the cells in our body have the water they need. In other words, we feel and look better.

Here are some interesting facts about our bodies' relationship with water:

75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated (likely applies to half the world population).

In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.

Even mild dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.

One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters, a U-Washington study showed.

Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of suffers.

A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or a printed page.

Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day? As a rule of thumb - drink half your weight in ounces of water a day. If you workout 3+ times a week and live in a humid climate add another 24+ ounces to that number. Additionally, caffeine and alcohol dehydrate the body; drink twice the water as you did coffee or alcohol to replace water loss.

But do you really need to drink water? Aren't coffee, tea and soda made with water? Isn't that just as good? Not really. Coffee, tea and soda likely have caffeine which is a diuretic and dehydrate the body. Soda also contains phosporic acid which leeches calcium from bones, putting us at a higher risk for osteoporosis. And I haven't even talked about the sugar and/or the artificial sweeteners. That's for another post.

So we need to drink actual water, or "free water" as I call it. Do you need to drink 64 to 80 ounces a day? Probably not. Unless you are doing physical work or exercise causing sweating or you live in an extremely dry climate, you can probably drink 40 to 60 ounces and be fine.

So what's the best option for water? I found this great article and recommend it to you. Read, please and drink up.

Are you Drinking the Healthiest Water?: "

When it comes to staying hydrated, you have three options:

Tap/well water

Bottled water

Filtered water

To make a long story short, your tap water is a mess. In a national assessment of tap water quality by the Environmental Working group of 42 states in the U.S., 260 contaminants were found in the tap water including:

Volatile Organic Chemicals (51 pesticides, chemicals, herbicides): VOC’s are found in urban areas due to industrialization and rural areas due to agriculture. Health effects include cancer, nervous system damage, liver and kidney damage, and reproductive system damage.

Disinfection by-Products (Trihalomethanes, Chloropicrin, Haloacetonitriles, Haloketones, Tribromoacetic acid): These are the by-products that are created when chlorine is added to tap water. Health effects include rectal and bladder cancer, liver and kidney damage, and reproductive damage.

Endocrine disruptors (PCBs, Chlordane, Toxaphene): These are industrial chemicals that are dumped into our ecosystem. They are thought to interfere with and damage the hormonal system which can cause a wide range of problems including cancer, birth defects, fertility issues, endometriosis, damage to the immune system and lowered IQ.

Heavy Metals (Lead and Mercury): Health effects includes damage to the kidneys, liver, nervous system, reproductive system, cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal system, and damage to developing fetuses. Lead is highly toxic to infants and pregnant women causing many problems including reduced weight, damage to hearing, hyperactivity, lower IQ, learning disabilities and restlessness.

Bottled Water

Unfortunately, we are under the assumption that because we’re paying for bottled water because it must be cleaner than our tap water. That is not always true. The FDA regulates bottled water and they use almost the same standards set by the USEPA for tap water. This means bottled water is often not much different from tap water. In fact, 25% of the time, bottled water is taken from a municipal source, which means it’s coming from the same place as tap water.

Another pretty annoying thing about bottled water is that all the plastic leaches into the water in the form of a chemicals called phthalates that wreak havoc on your hormonal system, similar to the endocrine disruptors listed above.

Not only is bottled water bad for your body, but all of these plastic bottles are littering the oceans and clogging our landfills. Go to Natural Resource Defense Council to get more info on bottled water:

Filtered water

I think filtering your own tap/well water is the best way to go. It’s better for your health, the planet, and your wallet.

Here’s how to choose a filter:

Solid Carbon Block - The filter that I use and recommend to patients, friends and family is the Multi-pure solid carbon filter. Solid carbon doesn’t remove the beneficial minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium), doesn’t add salt of silver to the water, doesn’t waste water, and doesn’t require electricity. These are fairly easy to install under or above the sink and the cartridge is changed infrequently so it can be quite economical in the long run as you save money on replacement cartridges.
- How does it work? The solid carbon block filter is tightly packed carbon that physically filters as well as electrokinetically absorbing particles so it is able to filter out the widest range of contaminants of all filter technologies.
- What does it reduce?
  - VOC’s
  - Microscopic cycts
  - lead
  - mercury
  - disinfection by-products
  - endocrine disrupters
  - arsenic, asbestos
  - chlorine
  - particulate matter
  - cholamines

Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) - Brita is the most commonly used brand. These filters mostly work to make the water taste and look better. Since the water can form channels around the loose carbon, this technology is fairly limited and is not effective at reducing VOC’s, disinfection byproducts, endocrine disruptors, or heavy metals. They can be cheap initially, but the cartridges usually require frequent replacement, which ends up being more expensive than other technologies in the long run.
- How does it work? These are used in the more popular carafe filters, faucet attachments, refrigerator filters. Water passes through a loose bed of carbon which traps contaminants.
- What does it reduce?
  - particulate matter
  - chlorine

Reverse Osmosis (RO) RO is usually paired with granular activated carbon to remove chlorine. This system is slow and wastes a considerable amount of water. It has multiple cartridges which need to be replaced and does not reduce VOC’s, disinfection by-products and endocrine disrupters.
- How does it work? This technology is a semipermeable membrane that separates impurities from water.
- What does it reduce?
  - Microscopic cysts
  - Heavy metals
  - Arsenic, asbestos
  - Particulate matter
  - Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium (beneficial minerals)

Distillation This is slow and uses a lot of electricity. It does not reduce many chemicals including VOC’s, disinfection by-products, or endocrine disrupters.
- How does it work? This technology basically boils water and then recondenses the steam.
- What does it reduce?
  - Heavy metals
  - Arsenic
  - Particulate matter
  - Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium (beneficial minerals)
  - Distillation is slow and uses a lot of electricity.
  - It does not reduce many chemicals including VOC’s, disinfection by-products, or endocrine disrupters.

Ceramic Filter - Ceramic Filters are unable to filter many chemicals including VOC’s, disinfection byproducts, endocrine disrupters, or heavy metals.
- How does it work? Water is mechanically filtered as it is forced through the pores of a ceramic media.
- What does it reduce?
  - Microscopic cysts
  - Asbestos
  - Particulate matter

Ultraviolet treatment - UV radiation is only able to kill certain bacteria and microorganism and is not effective at reducing any other types of contaminants.
- How does it work? Water passes through a chamber and is exposed to ultraviolet light.
- What does it reduce?
  - Parasites
  - Bacteria

Water Softeners – Water softeners do not filter or purify water.
- How does it work? Via ion exchange, puts sodium in the water to take out calcium and magnesium, hence “softening” hard water.
- What does it reduce?
  - Calcium and Magnesium which forms mineral deposits in plumbing fixtures.

What questions should I ask when shopping for a water filter?

Is the filter certified by NSF? NSF is a not-for-profit third party testing organization that basically makes sure that the filter actually does what the company claims. Without this certification, you cannot be sure that the companies contaminant reduction claims are true.

Is the system certified by NSF to reduce the following contaminants? Ask for the product performance data sheet. This is required to be provided to all customers.
- Chlorine
- Chloramine
- Particulate reduction
- PCB’sVOC’s- 51 chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides
- Disinfection By-products (Trihalomethanes)
- Lead
- MTBE
- Cysts (Cryptosporidium & Giardia)
- Arsenic V (if your water is contaminated with arsenic)

Is there a warranty on the filter housing?

How long has the company been in business?

How often does the replacement cartridge need to be replaced?

What is the cost of replacement cartridges?

Are the cartridges easy to replace?

What is the flow rate? You want to make sure your filter isn’t a slow poke. A good flow rate is 0.75-1.0 gallon per minute.

Well there you have it. I know your head may be spinning by now, so just relax and let your brain slowly digest all of this info, and good luck with your quest for clean water for you and your family.

Dr. Nishant Rao has a traveling medical practice through Six Senses Spas through South East Asia and The Maldives. His passion is in physical medicine treating chronic pain and sports injuries. He is a co-founder of WellWire.com

Photo by: darkpatator

What the real benefit?

2009-07-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

While lower pricing in and of itself is a wonderful thing, the true benefit of community acupuncture is the ability to come for treatment the required number of times to get better.

Getting one treatment may help your body start the healing process, it's usually not enough. But how many of us can afford to pay $65 two or three times a week, even for one week? Not as many as can afford $15-$35 two or three times a week.

But don't just take my word for it. Here's an article talking about just this. http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990723046&source=rss

What the heck is community acupuncture?

2009-07-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

This is my first foray into blogging. Check out my website summitacupunctureservices.com.

So just what is "community acupuncture"?

Summit Acupuncture's mission is to use acupuncture to create social change in health care. We provide, and advocate for others to provide, accessible acupuncture for working class patients; we support acupuncturists in being social entrepreneurs; and we share our business model for natural health care that empowers patients, builds community and breaks down class divisions.

Our sliding scale is $15 - $35 per treatment. You decide what you can afford. We strive to make acupuncture affordable for you to come as often and for as long as needed in order to feel better!

Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used systems of healing in the world. Acupuncture is simple, safe, and sustainable healthcare. As acupuncture has moved more toward the mainstream in America, it has become prohibitively expensive for most people, but this trend does not have to continue.

Acupuncture does not need to be expensive to be effective. Acupuncture can be part of the solution to the soaring cost of healthcare – if it is affordable and accessible to everybody. Summit Acupuncture makes this possible.

There's a great article from Portland OR that describes this very well. Even has a picture.

http://www.portlandtribune.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=116890618799445600

Our fees are low, so that you can come back often enough to get better. That's really important. Why bother getting one treatment when you need five? Now you can afford to have the five.

You will be treated in a common area, resting comfortably in a recliner. No need to undress -- the points used will be on your arms, legs and head.

Most US acupuncturists treat patients on tables in individual cubicles. This is not traditional in Asia, where acupuncture usually occurs in a community setting. In our clinic we use recliners, in a large, quiet, soothing space. Treating patients in a community setting has many benefits: it’s easy for friends and family members to come in for treatment together; many patients find it comforting; and a collective energetic field becomes established which actually makes individual treatments more powerful. In some styles of acupuncture, the needles are removed after only a few minutes or after a half hour at most. The style of acupuncture we practice at Summit Acupuncture allows patients to keep their needles in as long as they want, and the “right” amount of time varies from patient to patient. Most people learn after a few treatments when they feel “done”; this can take from twenty minutes to a couple of hours! Many people fall asleep, and wake feeling refreshed.

Most US acupuncturists also see only one patient per hour and charge $65 to $175 per treatment. They tend to spend a long time talking with each patient, going over medical records, asking many questions. We don’t. The only way that we at Summit Acupuncture can make acupuncture affordable and still make a living ourselves is to streamline our treatments and see multiple patients in an hour, so we have returned to the traditional approach; instead of asking you lots of questions, we rely on pulse diagnosis to decide how to treat you. This is exactly how acupuncture is practiced traditionally in Asia -- many patients per hour and very little talking.

This community approach is popular on the coasts and in the southeast. Summit Acupuncture is the first of this type of clinic in the metro area. The closest other clinic is in St. Louis.

Hope to see you soon.

Sage