Of Grace and Gravity

This is preview for a documentary about Rolfing called Of Grace and Gravity. Rolfing is a form of deep body work developed by Dr. Ida Rolf that works on the connective tissue called Fascia.

I was Rolfed in Portland, OR in the summer and fall of 2001 by Ron McComb, who is featured in this video about half way through. Ron is the man, and Rolfing is incredible. I highly recommend it to everyone. It's usually 10 session over 10 weeks, once a week. I ended up having something like 17 sessions, but that was because I was working on a specific problem that took extra work. At the time, my sessions were $100 each; prices have probably gone up a bit, but it's a lifelong investment worth every penny. You only need to do the 10 session series once, then you can go in for upkeep as needed on a session by session basis, if you like.

It will transform your body and your perspective at the same time. Look into it! Release your Self! You will become Free!

Playing Ketchup

I highly recommend this ketchup. I've been looking for a good sugar-free solution because I absolutely love ketchup and in large quantities, but unfortunately it's generally made with sugar. Why, I have no idea, because once you try this, you'll realize it's completely unnecessary. This actually tastes the way I remember ketchup tasting as a child. No idea what that means, maybe my mom bought us sugar-free ketchup, or maybe it didn't used to be made with sugar. Either way, this stuff is delicious. I bought mine at Whole Foods. Give it a try, you won't be sorry.

Acupuncture In The NFL

Here's a great article from the New York Times that's right up my alley, about a woman who treats 40 NFL players for pain with acupuncture. This is basically my dream job, minus all the travel. I was surprised to learn acupuncture isn't more common in the NFL and other sports. The article points out that not all football teams even have massage therapists or nutritionists on staff. Seems like there's a lot of room for improvement. I'm thinking that bodes well for my foray into sports medicine.

[Thanks to Hello Yummy]

This Is Not A Drill

Believe it or not the world of dentistry is in fact making attempts to progress its science and technology. Although I've long believed dentists make their money from filling phantom cavities, they may soon be making their money in a less painful way.

Researchers are testing a new tooth regeneration gel that contains a peptide known as MSH, or melanocyte-stimulating hormone. It would be applied to a cavity and in about a month the tooth will have healed by regenerating itself. This has already been proven to work in mice and human trials are set to begin. If all goes well, it could be available in a few years. It seems, however, it would not work on all cavities, and "most" would still need to be drilled and filled.

Baby steps, I suppose.

Click here to read the full article.

B-12 Shot

Sweet, sweet B-12 shot. How I love thee. My acupuncturist gave us a to-go B-12 shot last night that Junna will be injecting me with this evening. This should be interesting...

[Thanks to Hello Yummy]

The Drunkard's Progress

I found out just now that I'm a "teetotaler" or one who abstains completely from alcohol. I also found this nifty image to remind me about the perils of imbibing the booze. Pretty much a spot on play-by-play of what happens when you drink alcohol. The steps are a bit hard to read, so I transcribed them below.

step 1

a glass with a friend
step 2
a glass to keep the cold out
step 3
a glass too much
step 4
drunk and riotus
step 5
the summit attained
jolly companions
a confirmed drunkard
step 6
poverty and disease
step 7
forsaken by friends
step 8
desperation and crime
step 9
death by suicide

The $2,250 Mouthguard

I was watching Monday Night Football last season and one of the announcers, Jon Gruden, was talking about how the New Orleans Saints were all wearing these special kind of mouthguards that increased their balance and flexibility. It sounded kind of ridiculous at the time, but I was also a bit intrigued.

Now considering they ended up winning the Superbowl for the first time in franchise history, perhaps there was something to those little pieces of plastic. It's been something that I wondered about from time to time, and just last night at the gym I got into a discussion about it with my trainer Taz and another fellow. So I decided to finally look into it.

The basic idea centers around neuromuscular dentistry, which explores the relationship between jaw alignment and the body. The theory is that you can find an ideal jaw position that will unlock the rest of the body and create health benefits that include increased flexibility and strength.

Every Pure Power Mouthguard must be specially fitted by an authorized dentist to the individual's mouth. The process begins with a 45 minute muscle and nerve stimulation, which de-programs the nerve patterns that are causing any misalignment in your jaw. Next, a computer tracks your jaw movement to its ideal position to within 0.7 millimeters. Finally, the exact space between your bite is found and a custom mold is created. After a series of exercises ensure your ideal bite has been found, you're set.

Personally, it sounds pretty cool to me. I definitely believe that the proper alignment of bones, muscles, and meridians will increase your energy flow, and thus make your body function at a higher level. I'd love to try this out myself and see how it works, but this science is not cheap. The basic model is $595 while the top-of-the-line signature series model will cost you a mind-boggling $2,250. For a mouthguard. Then again, that's like the tip on the dinner bill for most pro athletes, so I'm sure Makkar–the company that makes these–is profiting greatly from the sports world.

Click here to go to Makkar's website and learn more about their Pure Power Mouthguards.

18 Rabbits

Just tried this granola bar handmade in San Francisco by a company named 18 Rabbits. It's gluten-free and sugar-free and completely delicious. This is the "Haute Diggity Date" flavor, but they have several others. Click here to check out their website.

The 76 Dangers Of Sugar

My friend Erika sent me this article on sugar and its evils. Not that I needed any more evidence, but it's always good to learn more about something that impacts your health in such a harmful way. It's pretty exstensive and maybe even a little overwhelming to realize not only the negative effects sugar has on your body, but how hard it is to avoid eating it in today's society. I highly recommend reading it, and if you still want more check out the book Sugar Blues. It's an oldie but a goody. Here are some of the 76 dangers of sugar that stood out to me:

• Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.
• Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.
• Sugar can cause premature aging. In fact, the single most important factor that accelerates aging is insulin, which is triggered by sugar.
• Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.
• Sugar causes food allergies.
• Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA.
• Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
• Sugar can cause depression.
• Sugar can cause gum disease.
• Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.
• Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
• Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in normal, healthy individuals, thereby promoting chronic degenerative diseases.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Last Friday I turned on my television for the first time in weeks, nay months, to put on a DVD, and the channel just happened to be on a show that was beginning called Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. I had never heard of him or the show (I've since found out he is the chef behind the deceptively named show The Naked Chef), but was immediately drawn in when I learned the premise involved him going to Huntington, West Virginia–a town that had been statistically determined to be the unhealthiest place in America–to work with the school lunch program and one family in an effort to plant the seed of healthy eating.

Two hours later I found myself captivated by the show and in love with Mr. Oliver. In talking with my friend Scott, I've also learned that he single-handedly transformed the school lunch program in his native England with a show he did called Jamie's School Dinners, and the government there has since allotted nearly half a billion dollars to reform what their school kids are eating.

The fact that Michelle Obama has made it her mission as First Lady to improve the health and diet of America's children makes me feel that it's the perfect time for a show like this. I have to say, I'm actually shocked it got picked up by a major network, so kudos to ABC for airing it. It's actually a very important topic that probably goes against most American's lifestyles. That is only reaffirmed by everyone in Huntington that Mr. Oliver interacts with. For the most part, he meets opposition at every turn from people who fear change, think everything is fine the way it is, and that he's coming in to town to make these people look stupid.

I could go on and on about this topic, but instead I'll just recommend you tune in this Friday to see for yourself. I can only hope Mr. Oliver has similar results in this country as he had in England. Health Care reform is absolutely great, but if we can get people to take better care of themselves and avoid needing to rely on doctors and insurance, we'll be even stronger.

Click here to go to ABC's website for clips and information about the show, and click here to go to Jamie Oliver's own website.

Food Rules

This book contains 64 "rules" suggested by the author, Michael Pollan, that one should consider when choosing what food they put in their body. I've only heard a few, but I like the general philosophy behind them, very common sense and simple, and I wouldn't say I agree 100% with everything he has to say, but I think it might be a good starting point for a lot of people to become more aware of the foods they choose to consume. Here are a few I liked:

#11 Avoid foods you see advertised on television

#19 If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't

#36 Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk

#47 Eat when you're hungry, not when you're bored

#12 It's not food if it's called by the same name in every language

#37 It's not food if it's served through the window of your car

He's also said things like "don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food" and "don't eat anything with more than five ingredients, or things with words you can't pronounce" and "don't eat anything that won't eventually rot". It's easy to sit back and say, yeah, I agree with all of those things, but to fully implement them completely and permanently is another task altogether. To me it seems like the most important decision you make in a day, so hopefully these simple lists will help to add filters to people's choices as they decide what foods to eat.

The Truth About Gluten

My mom sent me this excellent article on gluten and its effect on your health. Having cut out gluten a year and half ago, I found it refreshing to see an article that cited science and statistics addressing the impact–known and unknown–gluten has on people's well-being. You should definitely read it.

This Is Why You're Fat

Just in case you weren't sure, here is a blog of pictures reminding you why you're fat.

Fatty.

Fail Of The Day

Doubts Grow Over Flu Vaccine in Elderly

The influenza vaccine, which has been strongly recommended for people over 65 for more than four decades, is losing its reputation as an effective way to ward off the virus in the elderly. A growing number of immunologists and epidemiologists say the vaccine probably does not work very well for people over 70, the group that accounts for three-fourths of all flu deaths.

Researchers Report Advances in Cell Conversion Technique

Biologists at Harvard have converted cells from a mouse’s pancreas into the insulin-producing cells that are destroyed in diabetes, suggesting that the natural barriers between the body’s cell types may not be as immutable as supposed.

This and other recent experiments raise the possibility that a patient’s healthy cells might be transformed into the type lost to a disease far more simply and cheaply than in the cumbersome proposals involving stem cells.

Holograms could detect E. coli or salmonella, making food safer

The translucent membranes, dubbed “edible optics” by their creators at Massachusetts’ Tufts University, have been studded with tiny grooves and crests to create the kind of light-diffracting holograms more often associated with credit cards and passports. Unlike your Visa or MasterCard, however, you can eat silk with no ill effects, suggesting a future in which pure fibers fashioned into films or membranes are embedded with biological sensors and incorporated into produce bags to warn of E. coli or salmonella contaminants.

Confusing food allergy warnings may get clearer

Health officials in the U.S. and Canada are debating setting standards, amid increasing concern that consumers are so confused they're starting to ignore the warnings.

Burning incense may spark respiratory cancers

In a study of more than 61,000 ethnic Chinese living in Singapore who were followed for up to 12 years, the investigators found a link between heavy incense use and various respiratory cancers.

To Vaccinate Or Not To Vaccinate...

While the vast majority of American parents vaccinate their children, more appear to be opting against immunization.