5 Simple Stress Busters Anyone Can Do

Stress kills.  It's that simple.  It kills.  Dead.  Terminally dead.  It can kill you suddenly (or what appears to be suddenly) via a heart attack or stroke, or it can take a long time as your body deteriorates slowly but earlier and faster than it would have otherwise and you become ill with life threatening diseases.  It is said that the lion's share of visits to doctor's offices are in some way related to stress. But here's the kicker:  Stress will happen in our life, but the real issue is not the stress, but how we deal and combat the stress.  Here's a few simple ways to fight it off.

1.  Exercise.  Yep.  I just read yet another article today that most people with anxiety issues that began a good solid exercise plan benefited from exercise as much as they would have from prescription drugs, and the only side effects were better health from the exercise!  Get a good exercise plan in place pronto!

2.  Don't procrastinate.  Putting things off definitely creates more stress in your life. The next time you feel like procrastinating, remember the effect it has when you have to rush to accomplish whatever task it is you put off.

3.  Work on being grateful.  Anytime I have a patient feeling overwhelmed with stress, one of the things I encourage them to do is start a gratefulness journal.  They are to write down 5 things daily that they are grateful for from that day, and why they are grateful for each thing.  It takes your mind off of what's not right in your life, and puts it on what IS right in your life and how blessed you are.

4.  Serve others.  You want to feel better about your own life?  Invest some time in the lives of others.  There is no shortage of needs for volunteers at places like food pantries, women's shelters, tutoring underprivileged  kids etc.  Find a way to give back to the world that benefits others, with no strings attached.

5.  Deep breathing exercises.  Learn to get your body to relax by using techniques that slow your breathing, and allow your body to fully oxygenate with each breath.  It's a proven fact that when under stress we start taking short shallow breaths, and that does nothing but create more stress on our body.  Breathe in deeply through your nose, as deep as you can, and then slowly exhale til every bit of air is back out of your lungs.  Do just 10 breaths like that when under stress, or if your stress is chronic, spend 10 minutes a day doing this.

I promise if you practice these 5 things, the effects of stress will be minimized significantly, to the point where you might even be able to stop certain medications if you've been prescribed some for your stress.  Give it a go, you've got nothing to lose and a lifetime of health and wellness to gain!

Until next time...Be Well!!!

Dr. Bruce

What's It All About?

I get that question sometimes from others, and even myself when I think about tweeting, blogging etc as I do.  Why?  Because when you're talking about using the internet to spread a message about whatever topic interests you, you often don't really know if the message is just going out into cyberspace and not really even being seen.  It's can feel like no man's land, unless you happen to get some responses, comments, questions etc.  Several times recently I've had moments where something has happened that lets me know that all my blogging, tweeting, Facebook posting of wellness articles and information has some positive effect on people.  I have to say it's rather refreshing.

One thing that I've seen recently is several people re-posting some of the articles I link to on different social media sites. That is really encouraging because now I don't feel like a loner lol.  A couple of days ago a new follower on Twitter asked great questions regarding a post I had made there regarding Grape Seed Extract.  Yesterday a patient called me asking about Vitamin D3 that I had mentioned on our clinic page.  Just today, after posting a new recipe and picture of some fresh juice I had made, I had an extended "conversation" on facebook about juicing, juicers and recipes etc.  The "conversation" ended with him saying "thanks for all the inspiration".

In the long haul, that's what it's really about.  It's not about how many articles I can find to post (believe me, there is more than I can link to on any given day).  It's not about how many friends, fans or followers I can get.  It's about putting the word out there, and hopefully people taking it to heart, learning something new, being reminded to keep up their journey, or totally transforming their lives.  That's my vision, dream or whatever you might call it, for my time spent on the net. It's hopefully about helping people create life transformation with their body, and knowing they can do it.  It's about creating awareness so that more and more people spread what I refer to as "The Gospel Of Wellness". 

From the selfish end, it's an never ending reminder to me to keep up with eating well, thinking well, moving well and resting well.  Knowing there are people out there interested, searching and reading some of these posts and articles motivates me to work harder on my own well being, and on finding appropriate, solid information to put out into cyberspace.  I would encourage you to keep reading and researching.  If you do this regularly, it will be a constant reminder to up the ante on a daily basis, and in a few months or years, you will be on a whole different level with regards to your health. 

So, keep it up.  Find good people to follow and learn from.  Never stop learning about how you can do better with your daily decisions in your pursuit of wellness.  Don't stop finding new people out there that provide what you're looking for either, there are plenty of good ones!  If you follow me on twitter (@docbruce65) you can look to see who I read and follow, and you may choose to follow some of the same ones to broaden your sources of wellness information.  And re-send the information, you never know who is going to be really thankful you put it out there.  Go for it, there's nothing to lose and plenty to gain.

Oh yea, I am immensely grateful for you reading this blog, and I wish you well in your journey toward wellness.

Until next time...Be Well!
Dr. Bruce

This Is Not A Diet, It's Your Life!

I saw the title statement as a subtitle in an article I read just recently and it really started my brain to going.  As much as I preach lifestyle changes, as much as I promote living a wellness lifestyle, I continue to see the masses searching out the "one thing" that they can take that will address their health issue.  It's sad, but it's a part of our culture.  Our culture has developed the medical mentality toward health:  "If I have a problem, there's got to be something I can take to make me healthy again".  "For every ill there is a pill".  So when their cholesterol rises, they get put on Lipitor, with it's myriad of side effects.  (See This Link for an article on statin drug side effects)  They make no change in their lifestyle, so the cholesterol numbers are artificially lowered, yet they're still dying inside.  Some studies suggest no change in age of death for those on cholesterol lowering drugs.  Yet people flock to the next "one thing" that can supposedly make them healthy, just like buzzards to road kill.  It's a shame.

So, when someone says they are on a diet, I have mixed emotions.  I am happy they realize something is amiss in their life that has made them less than optimally healthy.  Unfortunately, many of them, if they aren't turning toward some type of pill or surgery to help them, are on an unsustainable program of eating a certain way.  I've heard of all kinds of diets, one of which someone I know was on, included eating a pickle a day for some reason.  Some are fairly reasonable, some are so off the wall I cannot believe someone would even try it.  Here's the thing.  If you are on a diet of some sort that severely restricts eating certain food groups (candy is not a food group by the way), or severely restricts caloric intake, it most likely may help you lose weight, but it's not sustainable.  Thus, when you stop the "diet" and go back to your old ways, the weight returns, often with a vengeance, meaning you put even more back on.  Then, months or years later, a new diet comes along and the same yo-yo track is followed.  Sadly, this up and down cycle has deleterious effects on one's health in the long run too.

I can't state enough that when we think about weight loss, we need to think first about being healthy.  Health should be the goal, good health that is.  To get there we need to look at developing a wellness lifestyle.  A lifestyle is something that is sustainable for the long haul.  Yes you may fall off a bit from time to time (if you're like me anyway that will happen) but overall you live a life that is filled with things that move you toward optimum health.  So yes, one day you might have some bread pudding for dessert.  The holidays come along and there's a lot of treats to partake of.  I get that (I do that).  But the predominance of our lives needs to be eating, moving, thinking and resting in ways that produce wellness in our lives and (here's the kicker for me) in the lives of those we bring along with us (ie kids, friends etc).  Yes, how you choose to live your life affects the generations to come.  I hear people talk about wanting to leave a legacy.  Let me say this.  You ARE leaving a legacy.  You ARE influencing people.  That's not an option.  But, HOW are you influencing them?  THAT is the question.

So in reality, it's not a diet, it's your life, AND it's the lives of those you influence. So, what will you do with your life to influence the generations to come?

Until next time...Be Well!!
Dr. Bruce

The Problem Is Not The Problem

I wish I could take credit for that title.  I will have to give props to my pastor, Phil Herrington, for that though.  If I've heard him say it once, I've heard it a thousand times from him.  At first I thought it was just an interesting statement.  But I cannot tell you how many times over the past 10 years this statement has rung true in varying ways/scenarios that I've seen in my life and in others' lives too.  Today I want to take a look at this statement from a wellness point of view.

This statement came to mind to me last night as I was at a seminar.  There was going to be a presentation on weight loss/fat loss.  Some talk was going on about the use of lasers for fat removal.  This is all interesting in some regards.  I am sure there are benefits to using things to reduce one's flabby belly, hips thighs etc.  There are supplements that people use for fat loss, some are even natural.  In some cases, even many cases there are good results.  I heard a doctor talking last night of how many waist sizes patients are losing using his technique for fat loss.  I am sure they look much better, and there's no doubt that having less fat in one's abdomen is definitely a good thing, I am not disputing that.  But this line of thinking can be dangerous because in reality, the problem is NOT the problem.

For instance, just because someone has less fat (looks better) does that mean they are healthy?  The answer is no.  I have seen it in many lives.  There are plenty of thin people running around with high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc.  There are heavier people running around with GREAT blood pressure and normal lipid profiles (not giving anyone freedom to become overweight/obese here).  So while a person may think "my fat/waist size is the problem", it's not.

This same line of thinking occurs in people in the area of energy.  Some say "I have no energy" so they load up with coffee, energy drinks, energy supplements etc.  This gives them energy in the short term.  So they feel better and can accomplish more.  However, they've only addressed the perceived problem, not the real problem.
The same thing goes for those that are sick often.  Many times they have fallen into a lifestyle that involves living off of antibiotics and antihistamines, ibuprofen and the like.  This gets them feeling better or in some cases at least keeps their symptoms down to a dull roar.  However, once again, the problem (sickness) is not the real problem.

Some people have issues sleeping.  They can't get to sleep til 2 in the morning.  Or, they fall asleep and then wake up.  Some fall asleep, but never get into deep sleep where repair and rest occur.  So they often turn to over the counter medications or even prescriptions.  This may again solve, or better yet, subdue the perceived issue.  But the problem remains.

So goes the life of many people. They can use supplements/procedures/medications to burn off fat, increase our energy temporarily, not run a fever or sleep better and for all appearances, things will appear rather acceptable.  From the outside they may appear great/healthy.  Much of this stems from our Western culture mentality of "for every ill there is a pill".  This line of thinking, pure and simply, kills. 

The problem is NOT the problem.  More specifically, the PERCEIVED problem is not the problem.  Obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleeping issues, energy issues, are many times all just a symptom of our suicidal lifestyles.  We can take all the supplements available, have all the procedures possible done, take medications to artificially change our insides, and still be killing ourselves daily by how we live.  Sometimes certain procedures or medications are necessary to handle critical situations.  But without lifestyle changes, we will still be sick and growing sicker by the day.  That's THE problem, THE thing that needs addressing.  That's what we try to address in our patients so they can become truly healthy.

Remember, the problem is NOT the problem (Thanks Pastor Phil!)

Until next time... Be Well!
Dr. Bruce

Are There Tigers Around Every Corner In Your Life?

I had a conversation with a patient yesterday that was interesting.  I would have loved to talk to him longer but other patients were waiting so I had to stop before I could get all the way through the topic.  It started by him talking about how he's been dealing with sinus symptoms (pressure around the eyes) etc. for a while, and stuffy feeling in his head.  He's had no fever, his MD says maybe he has a viral infection (I don't think so) etc.  He was bummed about why this was going on and the fact that he's not gotten over it yet.  It transitioned into a really good wellness conversation.

First we talked about his present lifestyle.  He is working out twice a week, but he's also getting married/planning a wedding that is happening this spring.  We talked about stress and he admitted that over the past few months he had more stress in his life than usual.  This led into the effects of stress in our body, particularly the fact that it reduces the immune response, and in general makes us more susceptible to illness because when we are under chronic stress, the body is constantly in a "fight or flight" mode.  This response (fight or flight) is important to have when a tiger jumps out at us and we need to fight or flee for our lives.  At that point we need more blood to our muscles and heart, we need higher blood pressure and a faster heart rate.  We don't need to worry about digestion or immunity or blood flow to some of our organs.  We need all hands on deck for immediate survival. So when the timing is appropriate, this is a good response.

The problem comes about when our body senses a tiger around every corner.  Then it tends to stay in a state of heightened alertness.  That is when it's NOT a good thing.  When we are surrounded by deadlines, extra things to do, problems, new challenges etc., our body continually stays in a fight or flight status.  Unfortunately, in our culture, we tend to turn immediately to medications for the anxiety, the higher blood pressure etc.  In this way we artificially change our body's physiology, with damaging side effects.  We never address the causes of this heightened state of alertness, and thus never address the cause of the adaptations that the body is undergoing (ie the blood pressure etc).  It goes back to the "for every ill there is a pill" mentality that we, and many of our allopathic (medical) health care providers have.

He (my patient) talked about how he couldn't take the meds he had been prescribed for his cholesterol issues because of side effects too.  This led to further conversation about what I just described as the body's physiology being changed, but not the root cause of the problem (higher cholesterol).  I hope we can have further conversations about dietary changes, because there was not time then, though we did speak about juicing and whole foods etc.  So many of the recommendations patients get when they have hypercholesterolemia is to avoid fatty foods, fried foods etc.  but there is no mention of processed foods, foods that can sit on your on your pantry shelves for months and years without changing (non-real food) and their effects on one's physiology (PS they cause stress on the body daily).  Our culture needs to get back to eating the basics; protein from good sources, lots of veggies (this is where juicing can be a real benefit), fruit, and avoiding breads, pastas, and all things processed as much as possible.

Yes, I do enjoy a good dessert from time to time (my daughter loves to bake tasty morsels).  But to live this way is the problem with our health in America.  We don't need more medications, more surgeries.  We need to get back to the basics of eating well, moving well, thinking well and resting well.  That would go a long way to solving our "health care crisis".

Until next time...Be Well!

January Is National Diet Month

January is known as National Diet Month.  Hmmm I wonder why?  Just kidding of course.  It is the time of year that many, many people decide to “go on a diet”.  Why?  For a couple of reasons I believe.  One, the beginning of a year offers a chance to start anew and get rid of old habits or add new ones.  Two, most of us spent the time frame between the end of November and January 1^st pigging out, eating more sweets, consuming more alcohol etc. and we feel the added weight on our body.  So, it naturally seems to be a good time to start over in many ways, and our health or diet seems to be one of the most common areas we choose to start with.

But I’d like to put another thought in your head.  Whether you like it or not, you’re on a diet.  Right now, at this moment, you are on a diet.  Whether you decided consciously or not to be on it, you are on it.  Some of you are on diets that are terrible, some on diets that are just ok, some on diets that are great.  Whatever choices you make in regard to what you consume regularly, that is your diet.  So you can’t decide to “go on a diet”, you’re already on one.  You CAN decide to CHANGE your diet, and for most of us, that could be a really good thing depending on how we change it.  

Consider this/these questions:  Are you consuming 6-10 servings a day of raw fruits and vegetables?  Are you consuming high quality protein from range fed animals daily?  Are you drinking enough water daily? I know the answer to those questions for me, and I’d guess for most of you as well: No.  It’s not a question meant to condemn you or discourage you, it’s a question to help you see where are you are as compared to where you should be.  It allows us to evaluate what kinds of changes should be made.

So if you answered no to any or all of the questions, the next question is “How can I get to that point, or at least closer to it?” That’s how we set our plans up.  For instance, if you’re consuming only one piece of fruit a day, how can you get another one in?  Figure that out and put it in the plan.  If you’re consuming 4 servings/day, then you ask the same question.  It’s really a very simple and powerful exercise as it empowers you to move forward and get closer to wellness.  By the way, if you are consuming little to no fruits/veggies every day, then you not only need to start eating some a.s.a.p., you also need to supplement with a whole food supplement like our NanoGreens or NanoReds supplements.  Fruit and vegetable consumption is one of the main ways we boost our immunity with food, decreasing our chances of getting many diseases.  But remember, a supplement is just that, a SUPPLEMENT, not a substitute!  So don’t take the easy way out and go only with supplementation.

So now that you know you are on a diet already, what changes in that diet do you need to make?  How can I help?  Our lifestyle counseling services or wellness consulting services can be the added support you need to make those changes permanent in your life, part of your regular diet and lifestyle.  We’re here to help so feel free to contact me via email, Facebook or phone.  We can be of service to you via any of those mediums.  The important thing is to act now, and get headed in the right direction so that at this time next year, you’ve created a new YOU!

Until next time…Be Well!

Dr. Bruce

Tis The Season

This week before Christmas is harried for pretty much everyone, I doubt you can ask a single person about their life this week without them using the words, busy, rushed, stressed or something to that effect.  My life has not been much different, I have a small part in our Christmas Eve production at our church and that has put me at rehearsals Sunday, Tuesday night, and Thursday night for 2-3 hours each time.  Not complaining, just stating.

Three of our cast members were feeling a bit under the weather at the last practice, all of which have important parts in the production, two are character actors, one is a singer (with an amazing voice I might add).  I was thinking about this that night as we all prayed for those that are feeling poorly.  In reality, it's more than coincidence that several members are having health issues at this time, for 'tis truly the season for colds and more.  But why?

Let's take a simple look at this.  Let's break it down to the basic tenets of my wellness formula.  To review, the wellness formula states that to be well, we must eat well, move well, think well and rest well.  Again, I challenge you to think of any disease or illness that couldn't be eradicated or at least, minimized by following this simple protocol.   So, during this festive, holy season, how does the average person do in regards to this formula?

Eating well?  Well, we may be eating a LOT of very flavorful holiday foods, but I somehow doubt any of us are eating better than we normally do.  I look at my breakfast table this morning, and see several tins and other containers filled with goodies that people have brought us.  May I say that yes, they are tasty, and I say that not just because my family has partaken of the tasty morsels.  The fudge a patient brought is especially hard to stay away from!

Moving well?  I don't know about you, but I know I haven't been to the gym in about a week, and probably won't get back til Tuesday. I wonder what the activity level at the gyms has been this week, I'll be sure to ask when I return next week.  About the only exercise most are getting is walking in stores I'd say from what I saw yesterday morning at the mall (A Santa Line about 100 yards long).

Thinking well?  Hmmm, how do we measure this?  Let me ask a question. Are people more or less stressed this time of year?  There's more to do, financial issues come to a forefront as we try to buy gifts for our loved ones, traffic is tougher to deal with etc.  I'd say most feel more more stress than normal right about now.

Resting well?  Easy to answer that one.  How many of us have been up later than normal?  How many of us have not been on our normal rest pattern?  How many late night glasses of wine or other toddies have been consumed in the past month that are more than normal? 

It's kind of the perfect storm isn't it?  More sugar that lowers our immunity, no exercise to boost our immunity and fight off calories, extra stress and less rest.  Kind of the antithesis to the wellness formula.

So what do we do?  Our best.  Recognize the issue and do one's best to combat it, and enjoy this holiest of seasons.  And recall Philippians 4: 4-7 which says, "⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I wish you peace, health, and a prosperous 2012.

Until next time...Be Well!!
Dr. Bruce