It’s definitely a word no one likes to utter when talking about themselves. Acupuncture has become a quite crusader helping women conceive and bring life into the world. It starts with the fear of growing old alone. Sure, your spouse will be there with you if all things go well but you want to have a family with people around you when you get older. This is called the isolation of infertility syndrome and many couples suffer over how to get pregnant. Acupuncture for infertility is gentle, safe, and recommended by most infertility specialists.
Explore with us one woman’s journey and the success she had with acupuncture. Here is what she has to say about hope and not giving up. She is the first speaker in the video and to hear all her story and others from pain to fertility please watch the entire video.
It’s about leaving a legacy for the future. Children are part of that and without them; your life feels like one big hole void of people for the holidays. Besides, you want to hold that small bundle in your arms, cry when they go off to school for the first time, and cheer when they score a goal in soccer like the one you did. Infertility can stop all this from happening and that’s why so many couples are turning to acupuncture to aid in their treatments with their conception specialist.
Acupuncture For Infertility
Acupuncture and herbal medicine has been used for thousands of years before problems getting pregnant became well known. New research is showing higher ovulation and pregnancy rates for women receiving acupuncture combined with the typical infertility drug clomiphene (clomifert, clomid) compared with women receiving clomiphene only.
It’s not just about helping a woman ovulate, another study of 5,807 women, demonstrated that acupuncture improves birth rates for women receiving IVF (in vitro fertilization).
No one knows the cause but problems with conceiving are up 16% since 1992 according to a study done in Canada. Some think it could be the isolation and sense of loss couples feel when they cannot get pregnant. Today more couples are not hiding from the problem and are seeking to increase their odds of growing a family at the first sign of trouble by doing acupuncture for infertility.
Headaches are terrible, but migraines can mean you cannot work, enjoy family, or do regular things. I remember when I had migraines, it meant carrying around prescription injections and missing many memories, as I lay in bed sick.
I’ve been migraine free for ten years this month. I changed many things in my life starting with reducing my migraine triggers.
It is easy to avoid most triggers. Health coaching can give you your life back empowering you and help you develop the best lifestyle possible. Acupuncture helps eliminate headaches, but it is important you know the triggers. This article reveals the top migraine triggers.
Certain foods, things in the environment, even weather changes activate migraines. Emotional upset or stress spark off headaches. So does neck tension from long hours at a desk for instance.
Preventing exposure to these factors could help migraine patients manage their conditions and reduce the frequency of headaches.
The Most Common Migraine Trigger – Stress
The most common trigger is stress. It creeps into our life through work, family, or worry about the past. Most migraine suffers are attuned emotionally to their world. This can lead to anxiety, and sadness both release particular brain chemicals that cause headaches. Learning meditation, mindfulness, and gentle physical activity can prevent migraines. All three help me. I meditate daily, use a mindfulness app on my smart phone to take breaks through my day, and do Yoga.
Your Environment
Perfume, scented candles and body lotion fill the world around you. Public places like church or movie theaters make it difficult to avoid ‘highly-scented’ people thinking everyone wants to smell their favorite fragrance. I once told a lady who sat down next to me that her perfume was too strong. I still had migraines and when she sat everyone within a few rows turned to see where the heavy wafting smell was coming from – it was her. Letting her know took courage and honesty as I said, “I’m a migraine suffer and your perfume is so strong. I am getting nauseated and may vomit.” She got up and moved.
As she and her husband moved away I heard him and their daughter both say, “we’ve told you it’s too much maybe now you’ll listen to us.” Usually you’re not the first person to ‘share this information’ perhaps you’ll be the one that helps them rethink how they use beauty products.
For Women – The Period
I see women weekly suffering from hormonal migraines. They happen at ovulation and during menses. Many patients come in telling me they spend 3-5 days twice monthly in bed with abdomen and head pain.
This was me in my teens. Many a date with that special boy came and went without me. It helped me realize which boys really liked me enough to put up with the inconvenience and which we’re mature enough at the young age of 17 to be around girls with migraines. Over 89% of all migraine agonizers are women.
The Mystery Trigger
Every headache experience is a mystery. Was it the pasta you ate or the chocolate? Could it be the automatic air freshener in the restaurant bathroom? Perhaps it was the combination of all of these. Each person is unique you have your own bio-individuality. Causes of your migraines are different from the next person. Seasonal changes produce a new set of migraine triggers making mystery of why in spring gluten bothers you but it does not in winter.
Keeping a diary can help you navigate along with health coaching. I want to touch on chronic pain and autoimmune disease.
These both can make you more susceptible to head pain.
My Favorite – The Food Trigger
Headaches happen when we eat food that doesn’t agree with our body. Some things in food are never okay for anyone and the leading cause of inflammation, stomach problems, and migraines.
This article is not about the pathway of pain, and the large part inflammation plays in headaches. It is my hope you will crowd-out the triggers or chose to explore health coaching to rid you of migraines altogether.
Some foods to consider crowding out are ripened cheeses, chocolate, marinated foods as pickles, foods with nitrates such as bacon. For some reason, many people have problems with sour cream, and nuts.
Interestingly, caffeine can ease migraines or create them including alcohol especially red wine and beer.
Some healers believe sweet or citrus fruits are problems. My suggestion remember you are unique and go with your ‘gut’ literally! If your digestion does not like what you eat, neither will your head.
Tracking Down Your Triggers
Acupuncture will help you lessen the frequency of migraines even the level of pain. Along with lifestyle changes, a life free of head pain is yours. Working with a health mentor to track down your triggers adds to your success.
I love food, do you? Many of the foods I like contain cholesterol. This is the last article in a series I wrote on the topic. It continues on with research around ending the war on fat. If you haven’t read the other articles may I suggest you start there or you may wonder what all the talk is about!
Foods that lower cholesterol, are green vegetables. You can eat as much as you want. In this final article in our series: Ending the War on Fat, we talk about health and lifestyle.
Stay With The Big Guys – LDL Cholesterol Comes In Two Sizes
Medical scientists now know there are also two types of LDL, small and large particles. The studies show the large particles are mostly harmless. Most saturated fat contains these large particles. You find these large fluffy particle fats in meats, eggs, and some dairy.
So how are you getting small, sticky, dense particles? The answer is one word, refined-carbohydrates. Foods like corn, rice, pasta, breads, grains, cereals, packaged food, and instant foods, or white potatoes to name a few.These food do not promote health, it is that simple.
Dr. Ronald Krauss, a cardiologist and researcher who is a pioneer in the area of LDL has this to say. “There’s a risk that people have been steered in the wrong direction by using LDL cholesterol rather than LDL particles as the real risk factor.”
It’s important we begin to talk about what changes you can make to end the war on fat , I caution you not to wolf-down a triple-decker cheeseburger or pile cubes of butter on bread. It is going to take time to change health nationwide. Fast food, and convenient foods like boxed or canned are hard to give up for many. Start slow to add the foods below to your kitchen and new lifestyle. It is not about eating fatty foods, it’s about eating organic or clean foods.
Adding small amounts of beef, butter, or eggs appear to have little effect on your weight or heart still other forms of fat are more beneficial changes to your diet. At the top of the list is Omega-3’s found in flaxseed or salmon. Both have interesting studies showing they protect you against heart disease. The New England Journal of Medicine 2013 study found a diet rich in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats significantly decreased your risk of heart attacks.
Finding Omega 3 – Essential Fats For Health
Not a fan of Salmon [I am not], you can purchase flax seed capsules or add it to a smoothie.
Another study suggests, that the right type of dairy fat is okay. Whole milk, plain yogurt, and some butter may be a nice additive to your diet.
Coconut oil can help you lose weight. It’s a large LDL particle making it a great saturated fat. [Recently [2017 edit] some news outlets are reporting this isn’t true. The research is based solely on the fact that Coconut oil is saturated. As a consumer of food you have to research the reach. Food is confusing don’t be mislead.
So let’s get to the meat or rather the heart, of eating changes you may want to consider. Add some red meat to your weekly plan; buffalo contains tons of iron so adjust your vitamins if you are of East European descent. You may absorb more iron than other cultures. I didn’t know this until it happened to me.
Add in eggs for breakfast replacing grains. Cage-free eggs with added Omega 3 are good. Best are pasture-raised eggs. The chickens live outside and eat their natural diet of bugs and seeds. Chicken that is pasture-raised is important. You can find out more here.
If you want to lower LDL, limit your intake of small particle LDL foods. These are breads, flours, grains, rice, pasta, corn, white potatoes, peas, and carrots.
If you eat one of these at every meal, start by treating yourself to one meal daily where you don’t have these foods. Replace it with protein from eggs, chicken, beef, fish, yogurt, or tofu. As of this edit [2018] new research shows that protein from beans and legumes is harmful due to the high lectins. Ah – a topic for another article.
Add to your meal things like spinach, onions, lettuce ‘no iceberg lettuce’, and avocado, or 1-2 oz. of goat cheese.
Speaking of cheese, if it comes in a single plastic wrap, it’s not real. Buy block cheese made with organic non-GMO milk. Goat and sheep cheese is best. Try to stay away from all cows’ milk cheese.
Do these new meal plans, for a month then consider making changes to another mealtime.
Where Do I Begin To Change My Eating Lifestyle?
For many doing lifestyle screening with a Functional Medicine practitioner can help. You enhance the best habits in your life and build new ones to replace foods or fitness that are not serving your wellness and longevity. Mindset is a must too. I see people fail because they don’t have their mind-body connection. It is so important that it is part of every program in my office.
One of the best meals to start with is your breakfast; it is the most important meal of your day.
Lunch can be tricky if you use bread or eat salads with commercial dressings, or pick up lunch out. If this is you, plan your dinners to be ‘Small LDL particle’ free.
Many business professionals meet for lunch, making this a tough meal adjustment. Pick restaurants that support local, organic, or natural foods. You’ll less likely get packaged foods this way.
In either case, you can eat chicken or turkey salad [tofu or fish if you’re vegetarian]. Pack it with celery, onions, spices, red/yellow pepper slivers, along with a few ounces of shredded sharp cheese. If you’re making your meal, you can pick up non-sweetened gluten free mustard or mayo at a health food store or online.
It’s best to limit or end your love affair with sugar. Most research is pointing to it as being an important factor in the increase of Alzheimer’s or other brain diseases. Carbohydrates turn into sugar in your body, so consider limiting these for brain health too.
Some research is saying one piece of fructose or fruit daily, is enough and to eat more vegetables. Other studies indicate unfiltered honey or pure organic maple may be too close to corn sugars when it comes to the sensitive brain tissues.
Time Management Isn’t Just For Your Business It’s For Your Life Too
Planning is essential for busy business professionals. We plan our business and time to be successful in our career. It’s time to put your talents to work for your health too. Get things ready the night before if pressed for time.
Stay with these 2 meals being gluten-free, sugar-free, and free of small-particle LDL foods. Learn to read labels. Ask your grocer questions if they don’t know, shop somewhere else. If you live in a small town, read and be your own grocery expert. Stay out of the middle aisles of the stores, even in natural or health grocers.
Many nutrition experts say, smaller meals 5-6 times daily are better than 3 big meals. To accomplish this, start with your breakfast meal. Create a great egg or tofu dish full of green, healthy vegetables.
Have plain yogurt with a piece of fruit mid-morning. If it’s not sweet enough, begin with a teaspoon of apple juice added. For some, they will need to make it honey for a few days. The goal is not to mix fructose [fruit sugar] and glucose [other sugars] together. Your body can’t break it down very well. The sticky stuff builds up in your brain and arteries.
Next, is lunch you can chose to eat 1/2 of your meal at the lunch hour, and then the other 1/2 a few hours later. This tells your brain-body food is plentiful, and you will increase your metabolism.
Make your evening meal, the smallest if possible. We only eat 2 entries at our home. One is a protein and the other is vegetables, often a super salad with only vinegar infused with natural flavors like garlic, lemon, or even mango! Evvo or oil gourmet stores sell tasty infused olive oils and vinegar.
Decrease the size of your portions too. In the beginning, you will feel hungry and it’s your addiction to food most often, not that you really are hungry. I recommend cutting your portions down to 100 -170 grams of cooked protein, with many green vegetables. This depends on your size.
When it comes to eggs, 1 to 3 depending on your size and activity level is a good idea. Be sure you are exercising 3-4 times a week. This can be a 30-60 minute brisk walk each time.
Rules of thumb use the palm of your hand to measure portions. If you must have a small particle LDL food like pasta, make it 1/2 a cup cooked, not dry.
But I Don’t Want to Be Paleo!
Many people wonder what the difference is when we compare Paleo Diet vs. Atkins, and there are minor differences. We eat moderated Paleo, and purchase for our home what I call straight Paleo foods. There are levels of everything. There are vegan and vegetarian. In my book, there’s Moderated Paleo, Paleo, and Straight Paleo.
What’s the difference? Moderated means you will eat a non-Paleo meal 1-2 times weekly, usually with guests or out to dinner. Straight means you don’t do gluten, sugar, dairy, or other flours. For an understanding of straight Paleo read books, Brain Grain Wheat Belly, or The Wahls Protocol: How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine.
Cool! It’s About Eating Better – Not Eating Junk
Consider going organic or natural, free-range and cage-free.
What is the other option? To keep doing what you’re currently doing, or to adjust two meals daily to a healthier eating plan. The later will give you less inflammation, more energy, better sleep, and lower anxiety. Think about how much better ending the war on fat can be in your life, if you investigate a more Paleo Diet menu plan or Tofu Paleo program where all protein comes from fish or Tofu.
How Can I Learn More about Ending The War On Fat In My Diet?
There are many resources on this topic. Working with a Functional Health Coach can help you. This is an exciting clip from 60 minutes on Fructose and Fat. Time Magazine the article is full of resources for research. Bryan Walsh, the Time Senior Editor, has an informative video on the web page. Once you start looking you’ll find many books written by various medical professionals, The choice is yours if you chose to end the war on fat in your life.
All images are courtesy of: Fotolia, Dreamtime, or Google Images [free to use, share, or modify, even commercially].
Some Resources that can be meaningful:
Suggests medical professions expand the scope of treating Cardiovascular disease to include prevention. http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1817256
Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury, MD is but one medical professional on the March 2013 report on the Meta study: http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1846638&resultClick=3
In the 1977, America began a battle on the way we ate. It started because of one report, “Dietary Goals for the United States,” put forth by the Senate committee led by George McGovern. Today nearly 40 years later, Americans are ending the war on fat, reclaiming their health and eating habits. The Paleo Diet suits many people including myself.
I remember when the report came out; you might too. Many people swore it would stop heart attacks. My mother was not to quick to jump on the bandwagon. She did not believe in canned foods; something that gained popularity in the 1950’s. Now she said anything in a box, a wrapper, or not fresh couldn’t be good for you. Those were her words, “good for you.”
We ignored the new food pyramid and continued to raise and prepare our meats. Our food sources included a garden, and my sister had a farm. Food tasted amazing at my house. Most of our diet tended to be a Paleo diet – by accident.
The Cholesterol Balance
In part 3 of this series, war on fat, we talk about what you can do to regain your health, and balance out your LDL cholesterol. It’s simple eat real food, but it’s more complicated that for many people. Many readers including acupuncture patients have reached out wondering, if it’s too late to benefit from changing their diet or lifestyle. The answer to this question is a resounding no. If you change how and what you eat, you’ll most likely feel better and have more energy.
I remember how much energy I had back in the late 1970’s. It was more than being a young adult it was eating a fresh diet. We did not have a fast food restaurant near our home, so it was a treat even then to eat high carbohydrate foods. Once I moved for college, I discovered frozen meals, fast food, and packaged quick meals. After all what else does a college kid eat. My health went downhill. At thirty, this kind of eating pattern was ingrained in my lifestyle.
Make A Healthy Choice
My choice was to make a change or be on a handful of pills, so I changed how I was eating. It was not popular. I was strange or ‘picky’ others would say. I got well. I did not care what they said about me.
Is this article about obesity or war on fat people? No, the article series is about the building evidence that eating low-fat or non-fat isn’t necessary and it may not be healthy.
Many clients come to me for health coaching because they wonder if their low-fat, high-carb diet is good for them. They want to know if a Paleo Diet or Vegetarian plan would be better. The simple answer is lifestyle is not a one size fits all. How you eat, and what you eat is personal to your needs.
LDL Cholesterol and Meta-Studies
A 2010 meta-analysis or a study of other studies, proved that saturated fat doesn’t increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Other such reports published in, Annals of Internal Medicine, March of this year, pulled in data from 80 other studies. More than half a million people were studied in this research. One team led by Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury, found there is no evidence to support eating the common low fat-diet.
While more research is being done let’s look at our diets since 1970. We get fewer calories from foods like whole milk, cane sugar, eggs, butter, vegetables, and beef. One question I field daily at my acupuncture practice, is butter healthy? The answer is in moderation it’s far more better than margarine. Try Olive oil or avocado oil they’re best.
We are getting a large increase of calories from foods like pop that contains high-fructose corn syrup, corn products, skim milk, chicken, turkey, and added fats and oils. Cardiovascular disease is the same.
Both chicken and beef have saturated fat. Would it surprise you to discover that they both increase LDL? LDL is commonly called, ‘bad cholesterol.
It gets even more complicated. If we lower LDL, we lower HDL. When we rise both HDL and LDL it’s a cardio-wash in the nutrition world. This means you can’t lower one without lowering the other.
LDL Cholesterol Has It’s Good Side
Our final chapter of the War on Fat we get into foods that lower cholesterol, and how to move to a healthier lifestyle without sacrificing living.
All images are courtesy of: Fotolia, Dreamtime, or Google Images [free to use, share, or modify, even commercially].
Some Resources that can be meaningful:
Suggests medical professions expand the scope of treating Cardiovascular disease to include prevention. http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1817256
Dr Rajiv Chowdhury, MD is but one medical professional on the March 2013 report on the Meta study: http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1846638&resultClick=3
Time Magazine Article – Video – http://time.com/2863227/ending-the-war-on-fat/ war on fat – article.
We are in network with most insurance providers, but because of Covid-19, not all plans cover benefits, even if you have insurance. The VA and Tri-West are covering acupuncture and light therapy.
For many doing lifestyle screening with a Functional Medicine practitioner can help. You enhance the best habits in your life and build new ones to replace foods or fitness that are not serving your wellness and longevity. Mindset is a must too. I see people fail because they don’t have their mind-body connection. It is so important that it is part of every program in my office.
![Ending The War On Fat – Paleo Diet [part 3]](https://accentonhealthwellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/butter.jpg)
