by Cynthia Perkins



Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can be the culprit of many physical and psychological symptoms. It’s a very common occurrence in our society and often goes undiagnosed. It can mimic most every medical condition and is often misdiagnosed or labeled as hypochondriasis.



Hypoglycemia is when your blood glucose levels drop too low and your body and brain can’t function properly. The brain is very sensitive to the levels of blood sugar and needs glucose to function adequately. It is fuel for the brain. The brain doesn’t have the ability to store glucose so it needs a continuous supply from the blood. It extracts it from the blood as it does oxygen. If the brain does not have enough oxygen or glucose it can go into a coma.



Hypoglycemia occurs when the body does not metabolize blood glucose properly. Abnormal metabolism can be caused by a variety of factors such as:

~Excess refined sugar and white flour in your diet,

~Pancreatic or adrenal underactivity or overactivity

~Excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, and coffee or other products with caffeine

~Overeating of refined carbohydrates

~Allergies

~Severe emotional stress that doesn’t go away



Probably the biggest contributor to hypoglycemia is the consumption of excess refined sugar, white flour and other refined carbohydrates. Our bodies were not designed genetically or physiologically equipped to metabolize the mass amount of refined food, which is stripped of any nutritional value, found in the typical diet of this day and age. This creates a continuous strain and abuse on your bodies’ organs, such as the pancreas, the liver, the adrenals and other endocrine glands. The continuous ingestion of empty refined foods leads to malfunctioning of the glandular and metabolic systems.



Symptoms of Hypoglycemia can be mild, moderate or severe and may consist of any of the following:

· Sweating

· Shaking between meals

· Crankiness

· Weakness

· Anxiety

· Irritability

· Confusion

· Inability to concentrate

· Nervousness

· Tingling

· Pounding/racing heart

· Speech difficulties

· Fuzzy head

· Mood swings

· Feeling faint

· Nausea

· Fatigue

· Melancholy

· Depression

· Obsessive/compulsive behavior

· Slurred speech

· Poor coordination

· Glassy eyes

· Headaches

· Migraines



Severe symptoms, which require immediate medical attention would include

· Unresponsiveness

· Highly agitated

· Unconsciousness

· Convulsions



What happens when we eat sugar and other refined foods? They are absorbed into the bloodstream very quickly and raise the blood glucose level to abnormally high levels at a very fast pace, which gives us that boost we often feel when eating sweets. This causes the pancreas to overreact with an emergency response and releases an excessive amount of insulin into the bloodstream to try and bring the blood sugar back to normal. The excessive amount of insulin brings the blood sugar down, but it brings it down too low and it brings it down too fast. This is when hypoglycemia symptoms occur.



To treat hypoglycemia it’s necessary to avoid eating sugar or any food that easily converts to sugar. Your diet should consist of foods that take a while to digest so there won’t be a rapid rise in blood sugar and then the plummet that causes hypoglycemia symptoms.



Foods that digest slowly consist of meat, eggs, cheese, yogurt, beans, nuts and seeds and complex carbohydrates, which are (whole grains, fresh vegetables, fresh whole fruits (not juice).



Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco and caffeine and reduce emotional stress as much as possible. For stress that can’t be eliminated find ways to cope effectively with the use of exercise, meditation, massage, counseling, etc.



There are a number of illnesses that produce similar symptoms as listed above, so it is necessary to consult with a health care professional that is knowledgeable in this area. Perhaps a sound nutritionist or alternative health doctor capable of diagnosing and treating hypoglycemia. The key word here is “knowledgeable” because the average mainstream medical professional has a very limited education and understanding of the complex issues surrounding hypoglycemia.



Cynthia Perkins, M.Ed. is an author and holistic health counselor providing alternative solutions and life management and support for individuals living with chronic illness or chronic pain. She is also author of the inspirational E-Book “Finding Life Fulfillment when Living with Chronic Illness-A Spiritual Journey”. Subscribe to her FREE monthly Newsletter for inspiration, advice and support. http://www.holistichelp.net/ or send any email to this address to subscribe to the FREE Newsletter mailto:Holistichelp-subscribe@topica.com

by Cynthia Perkins



When living with chronic illness or chronic pain it is very easy to become completely focused on avoiding symptoms, consumed with symptoms or consumed with the daily challenges of survival and thus forget to focus on “Living.” It is also very easy to allow your symptoms or fear of symptoms to control your life completely.



This is very understandable. Illness and pain can be all consuming and very frightening, but continuing to live is exactly what you need to do. Finding a healthy balance between your limits and living is essential for your mental, physical and spiritual well-being.



You don’t want to let your illness/pain become your complete identity and control your life completely. This is very important so that you don’t lose other important parts of who you are that enhance your life and so you don’t drown in the negativity of illness. Yes, being ill is an important aspect of your identity and worthy of respect and recognition, but it is not all of who you are. It is a piece of who you are and your other pieces need to be respected and recognized as well. You are still a parent, a partner, an individual, a friend, etc.



Yes, in many cases illness/pain does often dictate our lives to sometimes an extreme degree, but there are areas where you can take control for a period of time. You can choose to participate in life and enjoy life in spite of your illness/pain. Do not cut yourself off from all life affirming activities or your life will be lacking in meaning, purpose and enjoyment. Find alternatives to your limits.



This does not mean you want to throw caution to the wind and be wreckless with your health care, but rather you want to find some balance. You of course don’t’ want to do anything that will cause severe distress or exacerbate symptoms too much, but you can pick some activities that are life affirming that will have a minimal impact on your symptoms.



For example if eating out at a restaurant gives you a migraine or breathing difficulties, then having a nice dinner at home with loved ones or a picnic outside is a great alternative. If riding an exercise bike is too strenuous and causes symptoms then a nice stroll around the block or the park will be just as beneficial. If being in public places is problematic for you then maintaining relationships by phone or computer will sustain you.



Although we want to be respectful of our limits and learn to live within them, there may be times when we want to push ourselves beyond our limits just a little.



If I never did anything because I was in pain or having fear, then basically I would have no life at all. Much of my living takes place during great pain and suffering and fears. I don’t let it stop it me. Yes, there are days when I say, “I need to lay down and rest today,” or “the price to pay for this benefit is too high” but there are also days when I push forward even though I don’t feel like it and function within the discomfort.



For instance, a few weeks ago I had the makings of a minor migraine and for some reason, my writing “muse” came alive during the midst of this. All I wanted to do was lay down, but instead I took a hot shower, massaged my trigger points and then let my “muse’s” thoughts flow out on the paper and thus I now have a new article for my site to edit and upload. Sometimes I can do some of my best work in the midst of great pain.



Once when visiting Arizona I was planning a trip to visit friends in California I hadn’t seen in years, but I was experiencing a lot of symptoms. I debated whether to go and decided this was just not something I could pass on regardless of how I felt. I developed half a migraine on the trip and the trip was very hard on me, but in the midst of this I visited my friends, ate Rice Dream ice cream and took a walk. The next day the headache was gone and I went to the ocean for the first time in my life and had a spectacular time. I had another wonderful day visiting my friends the following day and then went back to Arizona.



I was very happy I had pushed myself beyond my limits. If I had allowed my pain to control me I would have missed this incredible opportunity to spend time with friends, have a wonderful visit to California and enjoy the magic of the ocean.



Before going to Arizona I was full of fear of making this trip. I worried about what would I do if my car broke down on the way and I ended up in the middle of nowhere with no car and no safe place to live. I worried about all the millions of symptoms I would have on my way there. A friend said to me “Cyn, no matter what happens, you will survive.” I was not so sure that they were right, but I held on to that and pushed myself beyond my fears and went anyway. Yes, I had a million symptoms on my way there and endured a great deal of suffering, but I survived and when I arrived I had improvement in my health once I hit the dry air, made several wonderful new friends, enjoyed the most beautiful landscape and wildlife I have ever seen and found a lovely community I might like to live in some day. If I had allowed my fears to control me I would have never had this experience.



Sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised to find that the endorphins released when you become absorbed in a fulfilling experience can temporarily relieve your pain. If you can become completely absorbed in the happiness of the moment you can transcend your symptoms for a period of time. Sometimes the benefit you will gain after the symptoms makes the price worthwhile. But then there are other times when the best thing you can do for yourself is to rest and pamper. The key here is balance so that you can continue to have a happy, enjoyable and fulfilling life.



Of course we want to be reasonable and not push ourselves too much, too frequently. We certainly would not want to push ourselves to attend a function in a building that has recently been pesticided or newly remodeled, but we can possibly attend an outdoor function where we may have some slight itching or a mild headache. It can be very tricky to find a healthy balance. Weigh out the benefits versus the suffering and participate in those activities that have the most benefit and the least amount of suffering and the least amount of negative impact on your health.



My point here is that life is short. Don’t let your fear of your symptoms prevent you from living. Don’t let your pain control your life completely. Remember what’s most important in life (love, family, friends and spiritual fulfillment). Make love when you have a headache, read a book with your child when you are in great pain. Write that book even though you can barely stand up. Take a walk or go to the ocean even though you are aching tremendously. Take risks and allow yourself to live in spite of your limits while at the same time honoring your limits.



Being healthy does not mean being free of illness. It means being as complete as possible and living life as fully as possible within the limits that you are faced with.



Cynthia Perkins, M.Ed. is an author and holistic health counselor providing alternative solutions and life management and support for individuals living with chronic illness or chronic pain. She is also author of the inspirational E-Book “Finding Life Fulfillment when Living with Chronic Illness-A Spiritual Journey”. Subscribe to her FREE monthly Newsletter for inspiration, advice and support. http://www.holistichelp.net/ or send any email to this address to subscribe to the FREE Newsletter mailto:Holistichelp-subscribe@topica.com

by P. Mehta





You gain weight when your calorie intake is more than your calorie expenditure. But if this calorie equation is reversed, then it results in "negative calorie" balance in your body. In this negative calorie case, you expand more calories than you take in, resulting in a decrease in the stored calories in the form of body fat, and you experience a weight loss. About 10% of daily caloric intake is used to process foods in the body. You can expand more by doing physical activities.



There are certain foods that show negative calorie effect because the body has to expand more energy to extract calories from these foods. The negative calorie foods need more calories to break down the foods and digest than the calories the foods actually contain. The extra calories are taken up from the stored fat in the body. Thus the negative calorie foods (may also be called as minus calorie foods or fat burning foods) are ideal for reducing the body fat and for losing weight.



Let us take an example. A piece of dessert consisting of 300 calories may require only 150 calories to be digested by our body, resulting in a net gain of 150 calories which is added to our body fat! So if you eat 100 calories of a food that requires 150 calories to digest, then you have burnt an additional 50 calories simply by eating that food. These 50 calories are used up from the stored fat in your body!



These foods are widely available in nature. Some of the foods from the list of negative calorie foods (about 100 in number) are: asparagus, broccoli, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, carrot, garlic, papaya, spinach, turnip, zucchini, apples, oranges, lettuce, grapefruit, pineapples, strawberries, and raspberries.



It is a great idea to eat these negative calorie food items to your full satisfaction without counting calories. Include these foods in your daily diet and plan your diet according to food pyramid. You will be amazed to see the fast weight loss results. You can follow a negative calorie diet plan for safe and permanent weight loss.



This article has been written by http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/. For more information on negative calorie foods visit the web site http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/negative-calorie-foods.html

------------------------------------



Copyright 2004 P. Mehta http://www.fatfreekitchen.com

by Jesse Cannone



Being a Personal Fitness Professional, I hear from many people who are suffering from various aches and pains, and unfortunately are misinformed. One thing I am constantly hearing from people is "I've got a bad back," or "just my old tennis elbow acting up". This frustrates me because these people are misled and are often suffering unnecessarilyp.



My frustration is not with the person experiencing the problem, but with the Health and Medical Industry as a whole! Frequently, these people are diagnosed with conditions they don't have such as Arthritis, Osteoporosis, and many others. Nearly all of the aches, pains, and Injuries people experience are caused by muscle imbalances!



The human body functions as a whole. The main reason people experience these problems are because certain muscles are pulling their body out of proper alignment. First, you must understand some basic human anatomy. Most importantly, how does a muscle function? Muscles are connected to bones in two places, the insertion and the origin. In order for movement to occur the muscles must contract or shorten, which pulls on one end or attachment.



Two things can cause a muscle to pull too much when it is not being asked to contract. The most common cause is poor posture or positioning. An example of this would be how the hip flexor muscles (the muscles in the top front of your thigh that bring your leg forward) shorten while sitting.



The more time you spend sitting the more the hip flexor muscles will tighten due to poor positioning. What's worse is most of us spend a lot of time sitting! Whether it's while driving, while at work, at home watching television, or at home on the computer! This sets you up for a big problem!



The other cause is a corresponding weakness, or lack of use in the opposing muscle groups. For example, the hamstring and gluteus muscles don't get worked nearly as often as the hip flexors and quadriceps, unless of course one walked backwards. The pull of these muscles directly affects the positioning of the pelvis.



Think of a muscle imbalance as a tug of war. If one side is stronger it will over power the other muscle group. The tightening of the hip flexors pulls the front of the pelvis downward causing the lower back to arch excessively. Serious problem I This puts unnecessary pressure on the discs and also the muscles of the lower back! This is the number one cause of low back pain and injury!



Not only do muscle imbalances affect every joint of your body; they also affect your internal organs! For example, what do you think happens to the space between your internal organs when your low back muscles are pulling you to right? Your overall health is affected by muscle imbalances!



I've worked with hundreds of people who have been diagnosed with so called conditions and are pain free with in just a few weeks! In most cases, all I had them do was stretch the muscles that were pulling too much and strengthen the ones that weren't pulling enough!



Have you ever been to a Chiropractor, Physical Therapist, or Orthopedic Surgeon? Did they explain what the cause of the problem was? Did they explain to you, which muscles were pulling too much? Did their treatment plan correct your condition, or did they just treat the symptom? The major problem is that most medical professionals don't look at the body as a whole. They zoom in on your problem area (symptom), in our example the low back. Well, the cause of the problem is almost always the tightness of the hip flexors and quadriceps muscles, which are in the front of your body! Before you accept any diagnosis be sure that you have looked at all the possibilities.



Figuring out what is causing the problem (or will cause one in the future) is relatively easy. An extensive physical evaluation can be performed, which includes testing of muscular strength, flexibility, and function. Gait (walking) and biomechanics should also be assessed to note any deviations that are the result of current muscle imbalances and ones that may cause future problems. Once you know which muscles are too tight and which are too weak you can then begin correcting those Imbalances. All it takes is some stretching and strengthening in the right places, which can take just a few minutes a day!



=============================================



Article courtesy of http://www.losethebackpain.com Find out which back pain exercises you need to be doing and which ones you must avoid like the plague!

By Cynthia Perkins, M.Ed.



Just like eating healthy and exercise, adequate sleep is an essential component for a health conscious life style. We are a sleep-deprived society and this is wrecking havoc on individual’s mental and physical health. Lack of sleep can be as dangerous to your health as smoking. Studies have shown that people who slept 7 to 8 hours a night lived significantly longer than those who didn’t.



Lack of sleep affects all areas of your life including:



~Emotional- you may be more frustrated, irritable, cranky and moody



~Social-you may be difficult to get along with, lack of desire to socialize



~Cognitive-impaired ability to learn, poor memory, decreased problem solving abilities



~Physical- productivity is impaired, fatigue, a compromised immune system which leaves you vulnerable to disease, infection, and colds etc.



~Safety-judgment may be impaired, your less aware and alert which can lead to accidents, hand eye coordination is impaired



Sleep also restores our physical and mental energy. The body repairs itself while we sleep. It detoxes and heals. Thus, for us individuals living with chronic illness or chronic pain, obtaining adequate sleep is vitally important. We need adequate sleep to help us cope with stress, to relieve pain and fatigue and keep symptoms to a minimum. Lack of sleep in the chronically ill often increases pain and fatigue and exacerbates whatever symptoms they may experience.



Experts used to recommend seven to eight hours of sleep, but it is now believed the average adult needs an average of nine hours sleep. Some need less and some need more. For those living with chronic illness more may be required, or frequent naps will be necessary. Your body will tell you how much sleep you need if you pay attention. Feeling refreshed and well is often not possible for those with chronic illness or pain, but find the amount you need to function as optimally as possible for your situation.



Tips To Improve Your Sleep



~No alcohol or caffeine



~Try and maintain a routine of getting up and going to bed around the same time



~Exercise at least 30 minutes daily



~Take a warm bath or shower just prior to bedtime



~Read or watch TV if these are relaxing for you, if they are stimulating then you would want to avoid



~Avoid conversations on the phone right before bedtime



~If your having difficulty getting to sleep or wake up in the middle of the night, having an orgasm can help you. After having an orgasm, endorphins are released that make you relaxed and sleepy. You must be lying down at the time of the orgasm and then immediately close your eyes and attempt to sleep, before the endorphins wear off.



~Keep your sleeping environment clean and free from toxic chemicals such as perfumes, cleaning supplies, pesticides etc. In addition to toxicity, chemicals can stimulate the brain and keep you awake.



~Use sheets and blankets that are made of natural fibers. Synthetic fibers are a chemical and can stimulate the brain and prevent you from sleeping. Don’t wash your bedding with bleach or scented laundry products for the same reason.



~See a holistic physician for possible nutritional deficiencies or thyroid abnormalities. Both of these can cause sleep difficulties.



*Do not use drugs (prescription or otherwise, to assist you in sleeping) Drugs interfere in stage IV sleep, which only aggravates symptoms and robs you of the benefits you should derive from sleeping. Drug induced sleep is not healthy sleep. If you need assistance, seek a holistic physician that can advice you which supplements and herbs such as melatonin, serotonin, valerian, chamomile etc. can be used to improve your sleep.





Cynthia Perkins, M.Ed. is an author and holistic health counselor providing alternative solutions and life management and support for individuals living with chronic illness or chronic pain. She is also author of the inspirational E-Book “Finding Life Fulfillment when Living with Chronic Illness-A Spiritual Journey”. Subscribe to her FREE monthly Newsletter for inspiration, advice and support. http://www.holistichelp.net/ or send any email to this address to subscribe to the FREE Newsletter mailto:Holistichelp-subscribe@topica.com