By E Douglas Kihn, O.M.D., L.Ac.
An estimated 65 million Americans suffer from hypertension, which is defined as a diastolic blood pressure reading of 140 or above, and/or a systolic reading at or above 90. This disease is sometimes referred to as the “silent killer,” because patients may notice few or no symptoms until it already has done serious damage to the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.
The causes of hypertension
Picture in your mind a blood vessel filled with blood. The liquid molecules are always pushing outward against the inside walls of the vessel, keeping the vessel from collapsing and maintaining the vessel’s structural integrity. Excessive pressure is the result of those molecules pressing too hard against the inside walls, and against the pump (the heart) that circulates the blood. This resistance places an abnormal burden on the heart, decreasing circulation to the whole body, and eventually causing dangerous events such as pump failure (heart attack), or a bursting of a vessel in the periphery, like the brain (stroke), the eye (blindness), or an artery (aneurysm). Heart attacks and strokes are respectively the number one and number three causes of mortality in the U.S.
According to the laws of physics and Chinese medicine, there are only three possible causes of an increase in pressure of any kind, in particular, pressure inside the blood vessels. They are 1) too much heat, 2) not enough space, and 3) too much material.
Translated into Chinese terminology, these chronic excesses differentiate into four syndromes:
·Excess internal heat
·Liver qi stagnation
·Spleen damp
·Accumulation of toxins in the blood
Excess internal heat
When you turn up the heat on a kettle of water, the water molecules become excited and expand against the sides of the vessel, eventually causing a venting of steam or even an explosion. Now picture that increased heat, which we will call yang excess, expanding the activity of blood molecules, causing them to press more vigorously against the inside walls of the blood vessel, thus raising blood pressure.
Liver qi stagnation
Picture a blood vessel with a band around it that can be tightened or loosened at will. When the band is tightened, the space inside is reduced. The same quantity of blood molecules is now trying to pass through a smaller space, and as they struggle, they will press more vigorously against the insides of the blood vessel. This situation of decreased space increases the pressure on the vessel and the pump behind it.
Spleen damp
“Spleen” is an old mistranslation of the Chinese word pi, which refers to the digestive process as a whole. A dry spleen is a happy spleen.
Now, take an average blood vessel. Increase the number of molecules within the walls of that vessel. This excess material will press more forcefully outward against the insides of the vessel, thus leading to increased pressure on the vessel walls and the heart. This is hypertension.
Excessive numbers of molecules (excess yin) in the body generally come from only one source – excess nutrition, that is to say, mostly excess calories - entering through the mouth and passing into the digestive system. This excess yin causes a damp spleen, which is to say, a weakened and overburdened digestive system.
Often, excess yin takes the form of cholesterol, which packs the insides of blood vessels, thus decreasing space and raising pressure. Cholesterol – fats in the blood – is really stored nutrition, calories that aren’t being used, also known to Chinese Medicine as food stagnation. We perceive a close relationship between dampness and food stagnation. The two terms are commonly interchangeable. Food stagnation is usually the result of a damp and weakened spleen.
Excess body fat is another indication of a damp spleen. This explains the close relationship between excess body fat and high blood pressure.
Accumulation of toxins in the blood
This condition is also known as “arteriosclerosis,” or “hardening of the arteries.” Fat and chemicals accumulate over time on the sides of the arteries in the form of “plaque.” This greasy substance stiffens the walls of the blood vessels, which increases resistance and pressure. Many older Americans have this condition.
Preventing Hypertension
Chronic excesses such as hyper (too much) tension are commonly caused by inappropriate choices, which in most situations are the result of American cultural imperatives.
Stop hurrying
Activity causes friction. Friction causes heat. Excess activity causes excess heat. The heart, the busiest of the internal organs, the organ that never sleeps, is in a constant state of friction and heat. Thus it is most susceptible to an increase of friction and heat. An abnormal increase of heart heat not only threatens the physical structure of the heart, but also deranges the shen (the spirit), which resides in the heart.
A chronic Increase in the friction and heat of the heart is the result of the slavish worship of speed and busyness that pervades all income levels, cultural subgroups, and civic communities in the U.S. The average full-time worker in the United States worked 1,979 hours in 2001, compared to the notoriously busy Japanese worker who worked 1,842 hours. (The Japanese have more vacation time.) The average French worker spent just 1531.7 hours on the job in that same year. Americans worked 29% more hours in 2001 than their calmer (and leaner) French counterparts.
A RoperASW study published in the May 2003 issue MONEY Magazine found that Americans would rather have more money than more free time – 57 percent to 27 percent. Another RoperASW survey from 2001 found that the top reason for Americans to consider changing jobs was money at 57 percent. More personal time clocked in at just 12 percent. More money translates as more activity – more internal friction.
Excess yang in the heart easily infects the liver, which as we know easily heats up, venting its hot and windy yang excess upwards, with such symptoms as rage, headaches, dizziness, painful eye disorders, and so on.
Don’t talk fast, walk fast, drive fast, work fast, read fast, think fast, or do anything fast unless and until you have to. Reduce friction.
Get as much sleep as you need every night. Do not catch up on weekends. When you wake in the morning, you should feel refreshed and energized.
Reserve 12 hours of the day for non-productive activities, which include sleep, rest, play, eating, and socializing.
Stop worrying
When people worry, they tighten up muscles in the body. These muscles could be anywhere in the body, including muscular organs such as the lungs, heart, stomach, intestines, uterus, genitals, and even the blood vessels themselves. Many Americans live in a constant state of anxiety. This habit is almost certain to raise blood pressure.
The only thing in life that we have full control over is our thoughts. At all times, we can actually choose what to think. We can decide not to obsess about imaginary scenarios or other people and their problems.
Always try to keep the big picture in your mind, especially when you find yourself worrying about the past or the future, which do not really exist. A big part of the big picture is the certain knowledge that problems are necessary for growth, and that without obstacles to overcome, we die.
When you find yourself tightening up in response to worry, stop what you are doing and take ten deep breathes. Shake out your body and relax all tension. Do it as many times as necessary during the day, in order to keep the body and mind relaxed.
Develop a daily exercise routine that includes deep-breathing meditative exercises such as yoga or taichi.
Stop overeating
When you overeat, you will store excess calories as fat, impacted fecal matter, blood cholesterol, and tumors. Your body counts calories and will always tell you when you are overeating. Overeating occurs when you eat past your comfort level and when you eat without hunger.
Many Americans ignore their bodies’ messages and overeat in an attempt to calm down, because they are hurrying and worrying. However, no weight control program will be successful in the long run unless it also improves mental health, which is to say, reduces hurrying and worrying. Sadly, only about 10% of Americans who lose a significant amount of weight through dieting and exercise manage to keep it off a year later.
There are four ways that food delivers calmness for people, consciously and unconsciously.
1.Fat cells secrete the hormone estriol, a form of estrogen. The various forms of estrogen have a very powerful calming effect on the human mind. Hence the more fat people carry, the more sedated they will be 24 hours a day, every day, year after year.
2.Eating is used as a completely justifiable reason to take breaks from work or other heat-and-tightness-producing activities. (Boss, I have to eat to keep up my strength!) The mere act of taking a break from activity, with or without food, is what calms and restores.
3.Food itself is very heavy and sits on top of anxiety, heat, and nausea, pushing them down. This physically sedating effect of food on the body also has a calming and euphoric effect on the mind. It can be felt by everyone and anyone who has just finished a meal.
4.Sweet, salty, and fatty flavors in foods will stimulate the taste buds, relieving peoples’ sense of deprivation and restoring a sense of calmness and satisfaction.
Minimize your ingestion of chemicals
Stop smoking. Instead, find healthy ways of getting calm. Cook most of your own meals from fresh whole food, mostly organic. Minimize the ingestion of edible food-like substances (processed food). Avoid packaged food that has health claims printed on the outside.
High blood pressure is a serious and common medical condition that leads to many other more serious diseases. However, it is entirely preventable – and curable - with some major changes in attitude and lifestyle.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Preventing Breast Cancer
This essay is dedicated to my mother, Helen Marie Kihn, who died of breast cancer in 1963.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently published updated guidelines regarding mammograms and early detection of breast cancer. The biggest change and the one that is sparking controversy is the recommendation that women in their 40s should not get routine mammograms for early detection of breast cancer. They suggest that before having a mammogram, women ages 40 to 49 should talk to their doctors about the risks and benefits of the test, and then decide if they want to be screened. For women ages 50 to 74, they recommend routine mammography screenings every two years. Risks and benefits for women age 75 and above are unknown, the report said. The group's previous recommendation was for routine screenings every year or two for women age 40 and older. They also currently recommend against teaching breast self-examination. Go to http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm to read the actual guidelines.
Whether or not breast examinations are safe or effective will not be addressed here. Early detection of cancer is of supreme importance in fighting cancer. That is beyond doubt. However, early detection is not the same as prevention. Breast exams can initiate early treatment and thereby prevent the spread of the malignancy, but exams and treatment do not prevent the formation of cancerous cells in the first place, nor do they eliminate the risky behavior that is the root cause of breast cancer.
Likewise, successful treatment of cancer is not a true cure unless habits are changed so that cancer will be prevented from returning.
Cancer is very much a chronic disease of the genes. The risky behavior that we will examine below can activate genes that produce cancer cells in the breast, as well as give them a safe home in the breast tissue. Single cancer cells are readily killed and eaten by immune factors called macrophages. However, when the immune system (wei qi) is overwhelmed and /or obstructed, microscopic cancer cells can congregate and multiply in the body over a period of years, and even form their own structures that will defend against the body’s militia.
Chinese medicine sees cancer as toxic blood stagnation. The crucial concept here is stagnation. A tumor is a stagnant collection of cells that is not moving with the body’s natural flow. It is a structure that is stuck in one place. Structures and tissues in the human body that do not have great circulation to begin with, such as the prostate gland in men and the breast in women, are likely candidates for the growth of tumors. When a tumor impedes the flow of blood, sharp pain in one place is the result. When it threatens to spread throughout the body and overwhelm organs and tissues, it is termed toxic.
Red flags
Before cancerous cells are ever formed or before they aggregate to the degree that they can be detected, there are some important warning symptoms that indicate the need for preventative medicine as well as regular screening:
[ The thickening of breast material (fibroids): Breast material should feel smooth and uniform. Any irregularity is an invitation for errant cells to set up camp.
[ Benign lumps: These are usually going to be soft, rounded, not painful, and not attached to the bone or muscle underneath. However, their existence is an indication of stagnation and therefore they cannot be ignored. (A growth that has irregular edges, is fixed to the bone or muscle underneath, is painful to the touch, and possibly shows signs of bleeding could very well be a cancerous tumor.)
[ Breast/chest tenderness: When there is felt pain or sensitivity in the breast material, whether associated with the menstrual cycle or not, stagnation is present. Pain upon palpation of the line running from the top of the armpit, along the bottom of the collar bone, and down along lateral sides of the sternum also indicates stagnation that must be eliminated.
[ Sighing: Frequent sighing, or taking deep breaths, is a compensation for shallow breathing, which keeps the chest restricted and closed in.
[ Lymph swellings: Blocked swollen lymph glands in the upper body are an indication that circulation is poor, which means that unwanted cells pile up in the chest area and that immune factors cannot travel around freely.
Risky behavior
The following habits are all known contributors to the creation and development of breast cancer: Overeating, worrying and hurrying, maintaining poor posture, wearing restrictive clothing, and exposure to radiation or toxic substances.
When a woman eats past her comfort level, she is overeating and consequently putting on extra fat. Excess body fat has been shown in countless studies to be a major causal factor for all types of cancer, including breast cancer. Excessive body fat secretes excessive amounts of estrogen, a known cancer agent. Increased body fat also triggers chronic inflammation, which presents the immune system with a huge distraction. For women, a body fat percentage above 15% is cause for concern, and is associated in Chinese Medicine with a damp spleen, which means that the digestive system is overburdened and consequently weakened.
Worrying and hurrying cause anxiety. Like excess body fat, chronic anxiety speeds the aging process, so that age-related disease genes like those for cancer activate too early. In addition, chronic anxiety causes people to tighten various muscles in the body and hold them rigid for long periods. Eventually, muscles in the chest become habitually rigid, blocking the wei qi in its attempt to find cancer cells in the breast and kill them. Chronic anxiety and muscular tightness are associated in Chinese Medicine with liver qi stagnation.
Slumped posture is a strong contributing factor for the rising incidence of breast cancer in industrialized countries. Hunching forward while sitting, standing, and walking will congest the fluids and block the qi in the chest area, thus allowing cancer cells to congregate in the breast tissue and set up their own protective structures.
The constant wearing of constricting clothing will decrease circulation in the chest area, leading to stagnation of qi in the chest and poor immune function. The most common offender is a bra that is too tight.
Radiation or toxic accumulations in the body can trigger cancer genes. This is especially true for women whose immune systems are compromised, specifically for those who are overweight, overstressed, or have poor circulation in the chest area. Known carcinogens are found in processed foods, industrial pollutants, and medications, which include prescription, over-the-counter, and “recreational” such as tobacco.
Preventative measures
Prevention requires a change of habit. The breaking of old habits and the establishment of new ones takes time and perseverance. This is why it is best to hire the services of a professional who will help you maintain discipline, and will use techniques that will push in the same direction. Well-suited for this purpose are Licensed Acupuncturists.
The starting point is to get a Chinese diagnosis from a Licensed Acupuncturist and together work on changing bad habits into good ones while relieving symptoms of spleen damp, liver qi stagnation, stagnation of qi and fluids in the chest, and toxic accumulations. A Licensed Acupuncturist will make use of safe techniques such as acupuncture, acupressure, Chinese herbology, and preventative counseling to accomplish these goals.
Excess body fat
Excess body fat is first and foremost a mental health problem. Obesity is an eating disorder. There are many schemes for decreasing fat and getting lean, but if they do not include a deliberate program for improving mental health, they are doomed to fail in the end. The reason is that people in rich countries commonly use food as a sedative for uncomfortable feelings. They also unknowingly use the estrogen secreted by enlarged fat cells as a continuous, 24-hour calming agent. When this agent is suddenly removed and the sedative is taken away, people who have lost a significant amount of weight without improving their mental health soon find themselves climbing the walls, dying for a calorie fix. Becoming a calmer person is the only guarantee for getting and staying lean.
For women, a body fat percentage of 15% is sufficient to prevent problems associated with excess weight while still supplying all of the lipid needs of the average woman.
One program that allows you to lose fat while increasing your self-trust and self-esteem I call Hunger Awareness Training. You will probably need to work with a Hunger Awareness Training counselor for a while until the new habits become automatic and weight control becomes an instinctive process. Contact me if you are interested in Hunger Awareness Training.
Another approach that is very effective for some is simple calorie counting. Writing down the calorie content in the foods you eat and making sure that you are eating less calories than you burn every day will mathematically assure the loss of weight. When combined with something like cognitive-behavioral therapy by a licensed MFCC, new and healthy habits can be firmly established. A good reference on calorie counting is The Longevity Diet by Delaney and Wolford.
Chronic anxiety
Learn to stop worrying, whatever it takes. Cognitive-behavioral therapy with a licensed professional will require you to face your demons and make friends with them so that you won’t have to worry about them anymore. A study of philosophies such as Taoism or Zen Buddhism will help you see the big picture, which will always diffuse the irrationally based fears that constitute worry.
Learn to stop hurrying. Those in a constant rush live in a constant state of anxiety. Hurrying everywhere increases internal friction, which creates an unnatural degree of heat and inflammation. A person who is always hurrying maintains a posture that is necessarily hunched forward. Rushing around while operating heavy machinery – motor vehicles – can endanger your life as well as the lives of others.
Practice yin types of exercises such as yoga or taiqi, especially postures that open up and stretch the chest area. Slow movements that emphasize breathing and body awareness will have a profound and positive effect on tightness in the mind and body. Deep rhythmic breathing is a calming technique that can be used anytime in any stressful situation to quiet the mind and body.
Poor posture
Learn to stand tall, walk tall, and sit tall all the time. Don’t be afraid to let people see you. Don’t hide your chest. At first when you practice tall posture, you might feel arrogant. I assure you that tall posture plus a smile is the essence of charisma, not arrogance. If poor eyesight is encouraging you to hunch forward for writing or reading, sit closer to your work. Until the small muscles that balance your frame with gravity are stronger, you will need to take many short breaks to rest them. Sitting back in an easy chair or couch and supporting your spine for a minute will give your body and mind the rest it needs to continue practicing tall posture. However, no matter how strong your core muscles are, we are not genetically designed for long periods of standing or sitting.
Strengthen your core muscles, which include abdominals, transverse obliques, and the intervertebral musculature that keeps you upright. Strengthen the back muscles – latissimus dorsi - that help to keep your chest open. They are best strengthened by performing rows and pull downs in front of the chin. Stretch the opposing tight muscles like chest, upper trapezius, low back, hamstrings, and calves.
You may need the assistance of a personal trainer for a while. You can also benefit from a series of chiropractic adjustments if your vertebrae have been pushed out of column by years of poor posture.
Constricting clothing
Beware of tight bras. If your bra leaves marks on your body after you take it off, consider wearing something looser. Also, avoid carrying heavy bags on one shoulder, as the strap has a tendency to cut off circulation to the upper body.
Radiation and toxic accumulations
Consider carefully before you expose yourself to tests that require radiation. Gravitate toward unprocessed foods that aren’t loaded with industrial additives. But keep in mind that the body’s own defenses are capable of a tremendous amount of self-cleansing if the body/mind is kept in a state of leanness and relaxation.
As your mental and physical health improves, you will be able to wean yourself off of the regular use of medications. This is especially important in the area of self-medication. I am referring to such substances as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other “recreational” drugs.
Breast cancer is entirely preventable for most women. For a fascinating account of how people in various parts of the world avoid diseases like breast cancer simply by living simply and healthily, I urge you to read Healthy at 100 by John Robbins.
This essay is dedicated to my mother, Helen Marie Kihn, who died of breast cancer in 1963.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently published updated guidelines regarding mammograms and early detection of breast cancer. The biggest change and the one that is sparking controversy is the recommendation that women in their 40s should not get routine mammograms for early detection of breast cancer. They suggest that before having a mammogram, women ages 40 to 49 should talk to their doctors about the risks and benefits of the test, and then decide if they want to be screened. For women ages 50 to 74, they recommend routine mammography screenings every two years. Risks and benefits for women age 75 and above are unknown, the report said. The group's previous recommendation was for routine screenings every year or two for women age 40 and older. They also currently recommend against teaching breast self-examination. Go to http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm to read the actual guidelines.
Whether or not breast examinations are safe or effective will not be addressed here. Early detection of cancer is of supreme importance in fighting cancer. That is beyond doubt. However, early detection is not the same as prevention. Breast exams can initiate early treatment and thereby prevent the spread of the malignancy, but exams and treatment do not prevent the formation of cancerous cells in the first place, nor do they eliminate the risky behavior that is the root cause of breast cancer.
Likewise, successful treatment of cancer is not a true cure unless habits are changed so that cancer will be prevented from returning.
Cancer is very much a chronic disease of the genes. The risky behavior that we will examine below can activate genes that produce cancer cells in the breast, as well as give them a safe home in the breast tissue. Single cancer cells are readily killed and eaten by immune factors called macrophages. However, when the immune system (wei qi) is overwhelmed and /or obstructed, microscopic cancer cells can congregate and multiply in the body over a period of years, and even form their own structures that will defend against the body’s militia.
Chinese medicine sees cancer as toxic blood stagnation. The crucial concept here is stagnation. A tumor is a stagnant collection of cells that is not moving with the body’s natural flow. It is a structure that is stuck in one place. Structures and tissues in the human body that do not have great circulation to begin with, such as the prostate gland in men and the breast in women, are likely candidates for the growth of tumors. When a tumor impedes the flow of blood, sharp pain in one place is the result. When it threatens to spread throughout the body and overwhelm organs and tissues, it is termed toxic.
Red flags
Before cancerous cells are ever formed or before they aggregate to the degree that they can be detected, there are some important warning symptoms that indicate the need for preventative medicine as well as regular screening:
[ The thickening of breast material (fibroids): Breast material should feel smooth and uniform. Any irregularity is an invitation for errant cells to set up camp.
[ Benign lumps: These are usually going to be soft, rounded, not painful, and not attached to the bone or muscle underneath. However, their existence is an indication of stagnation and therefore they cannot be ignored. (A growth that has irregular edges, is fixed to the bone or muscle underneath, is painful to the touch, and possibly shows signs of bleeding could very well be a cancerous tumor.)
[ Breast/chest tenderness: When there is felt pain or sensitivity in the breast material, whether associated with the menstrual cycle or not, stagnation is present. Pain upon palpation of the line running from the top of the armpit, along the bottom of the collar bone, and down along lateral sides of the sternum also indicates stagnation that must be eliminated.
[ Sighing: Frequent sighing, or taking deep breaths, is a compensation for shallow breathing, which keeps the chest restricted and closed in.
[ Lymph swellings: Blocked swollen lymph glands in the upper body are an indication that circulation is poor, which means that unwanted cells pile up in the chest area and that immune factors cannot travel around freely.
Risky behavior
The following habits are all known contributors to the creation and development of breast cancer: Overeating, worrying and hurrying, maintaining poor posture, wearing restrictive clothing, and exposure to radiation or toxic substances.
When a woman eats past her comfort level, she is overeating and consequently putting on extra fat. Excess body fat has been shown in countless studies to be a major causal factor for all types of cancer, including breast cancer. Excessive body fat secretes excessive amounts of estrogen, a known cancer agent. Increased body fat also triggers chronic inflammation, which presents the immune system with a huge distraction. For women, a body fat percentage above 15% is cause for concern, and is associated in Chinese Medicine with a damp spleen, which means that the digestive system is overburdened and consequently weakened.
Worrying and hurrying cause anxiety. Like excess body fat, chronic anxiety speeds the aging process, so that age-related disease genes like those for cancer activate too early. In addition, chronic anxiety causes people to tighten various muscles in the body and hold them rigid for long periods. Eventually, muscles in the chest become habitually rigid, blocking the wei qi in its attempt to find cancer cells in the breast and kill them. Chronic anxiety and muscular tightness are associated in Chinese Medicine with liver qi stagnation.
Slumped posture is a strong contributing factor for the rising incidence of breast cancer in industrialized countries. Hunching forward while sitting, standing, and walking will congest the fluids and block the qi in the chest area, thus allowing cancer cells to congregate in the breast tissue and set up their own protective structures.
The constant wearing of constricting clothing will decrease circulation in the chest area, leading to stagnation of qi in the chest and poor immune function. The most common offender is a bra that is too tight.
Radiation or toxic accumulations in the body can trigger cancer genes. This is especially true for women whose immune systems are compromised, specifically for those who are overweight, overstressed, or have poor circulation in the chest area. Known carcinogens are found in processed foods, industrial pollutants, and medications, which include prescription, over-the-counter, and “recreational” such as tobacco.
Preventative measures
Prevention requires a change of habit. The breaking of old habits and the establishment of new ones takes time and perseverance. This is why it is best to hire the services of a professional who will help you maintain discipline, and will use techniques that will push in the same direction. Well-suited for this purpose are Licensed Acupuncturists.
The starting point is to get a Chinese diagnosis from a Licensed Acupuncturist and together work on changing bad habits into good ones while relieving symptoms of spleen damp, liver qi stagnation, stagnation of qi and fluids in the chest, and toxic accumulations. A Licensed Acupuncturist will make use of safe techniques such as acupuncture, acupressure, Chinese herbology, and preventative counseling to accomplish these goals.
Excess body fat
Excess body fat is first and foremost a mental health problem. Obesity is an eating disorder. There are many schemes for decreasing fat and getting lean, but if they do not include a deliberate program for improving mental health, they are doomed to fail in the end. The reason is that people in rich countries commonly use food as a sedative for uncomfortable feelings. They also unknowingly use the estrogen secreted by enlarged fat cells as a continuous, 24-hour calming agent. When this agent is suddenly removed and the sedative is taken away, people who have lost a significant amount of weight without improving their mental health soon find themselves climbing the walls, dying for a calorie fix. Becoming a calmer person is the only guarantee for getting and staying lean.
For women, a body fat percentage of 15% is sufficient to prevent problems associated with excess weight while still supplying all of the lipid needs of the average woman.
One program that allows you to lose fat while increasing your self-trust and self-esteem I call Hunger Awareness Training. You will probably need to work with a Hunger Awareness Training counselor for a while until the new habits become automatic and weight control becomes an instinctive process. Contact me if you are interested in Hunger Awareness Training.
Another approach that is very effective for some is simple calorie counting. Writing down the calorie content in the foods you eat and making sure that you are eating less calories than you burn every day will mathematically assure the loss of weight. When combined with something like cognitive-behavioral therapy by a licensed MFCC, new and healthy habits can be firmly established. A good reference on calorie counting is The Longevity Diet by Delaney and Wolford.
Chronic anxiety
Learn to stop worrying, whatever it takes. Cognitive-behavioral therapy with a licensed professional will require you to face your demons and make friends with them so that you won’t have to worry about them anymore. A study of philosophies such as Taoism or Zen Buddhism will help you see the big picture, which will always diffuse the irrationally based fears that constitute worry.
Learn to stop hurrying. Those in a constant rush live in a constant state of anxiety. Hurrying everywhere increases internal friction, which creates an unnatural degree of heat and inflammation. A person who is always hurrying maintains a posture that is necessarily hunched forward. Rushing around while operating heavy machinery – motor vehicles – can endanger your life as well as the lives of others.
Practice yin types of exercises such as yoga or taiqi, especially postures that open up and stretch the chest area. Slow movements that emphasize breathing and body awareness will have a profound and positive effect on tightness in the mind and body. Deep rhythmic breathing is a calming technique that can be used anytime in any stressful situation to quiet the mind and body.
Poor posture
Learn to stand tall, walk tall, and sit tall all the time. Don’t be afraid to let people see you. Don’t hide your chest. At first when you practice tall posture, you might feel arrogant. I assure you that tall posture plus a smile is the essence of charisma, not arrogance. If poor eyesight is encouraging you to hunch forward for writing or reading, sit closer to your work. Until the small muscles that balance your frame with gravity are stronger, you will need to take many short breaks to rest them. Sitting back in an easy chair or couch and supporting your spine for a minute will give your body and mind the rest it needs to continue practicing tall posture. However, no matter how strong your core muscles are, we are not genetically designed for long periods of standing or sitting.
Strengthen your core muscles, which include abdominals, transverse obliques, and the intervertebral musculature that keeps you upright. Strengthen the back muscles – latissimus dorsi - that help to keep your chest open. They are best strengthened by performing rows and pull downs in front of the chin. Stretch the opposing tight muscles like chest, upper trapezius, low back, hamstrings, and calves.
You may need the assistance of a personal trainer for a while. You can also benefit from a series of chiropractic adjustments if your vertebrae have been pushed out of column by years of poor posture.
Constricting clothing
Beware of tight bras. If your bra leaves marks on your body after you take it off, consider wearing something looser. Also, avoid carrying heavy bags on one shoulder, as the strap has a tendency to cut off circulation to the upper body.
Radiation and toxic accumulations
Consider carefully before you expose yourself to tests that require radiation. Gravitate toward unprocessed foods that aren’t loaded with industrial additives. But keep in mind that the body’s own defenses are capable of a tremendous amount of self-cleansing if the body/mind is kept in a state of leanness and relaxation.
As your mental and physical health improves, you will be able to wean yourself off of the regular use of medications. This is especially important in the area of self-medication. I am referring to such substances as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other “recreational” drugs.
Breast cancer is entirely preventable for most women. For a fascinating account of how people in various parts of the world avoid diseases like breast cancer simply by living simply and healthily, I urge you to read Healthy at 100 by John Robbins.
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