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Sound of body, sound of mind. It’s an old saying that has some merit but skips several steps in the logical process. Does it make sense we should be concerned about the fitness of our kids or is it just part of the evolutionary process?

A new study analysis of millions of children around the world finds they don’t run as fast or as far as their parents did when they were young. I suppose the same is true of previous generations. But do they need to?  I can’t find any studies that say that today’s kids are better at cognitive function at an earlier age. But most families have two year olds playing with smart phones, ours has a seven year old who is able to design complicated architectural structures electronically. Their parents had legos and their parents’ parents had erector sets, but the complexity of today’s thought is truly amazing. So they sit to do it. Their minds much more active in an adult way, but they sit and do it.

Times were different when I was growing up. After breakfast on a non school day, mom would set me up with my baseball glove, basketball or football equipment and send me off to the park. She would say, “just be sure you are back before dark.” I would play and play and get exercise. Does it make sense it was better?  For physical health, yes better than sitting with that device, but better overall? The study concludes that, on average, it takes a child ninety seconds longer to run a mile than their counterparts did 30 years ago. Ninety Seconds!

The human race keeps evolving, our kids and kids’ kids have to keep up with technology, but where it may be that we are falling down is in schools. Many have cut PE classes and certainly today’s youth don’t get the sweaty workouts we did. We had to take a shower. As hard as they worked us, the smell in the next class period would have lifted the roof off. Many if not most of today’s PE classes don’t even break a sweat. They don’t even have working shower facilities.

Does it make sense we work on that?  As parents, does it make sense we make sure our kids are involved in physical as well as mental gymnastics? The American Heart Association says kids six and older should get sixty minutes of moderately vigorous activity accumulated over a day. That’s a place to start. We don’t want our kids to be smarter but live shorter lives, do we?  Make Sense?

 

 

Making the right choices in make-up will save you photography disasters

Plan as we might, unforeseen wedding day crises may pop up, from pesky blemishes to humid hair frizz. Luckily there are beauty professionals out there who can assist you in making your day effortless and help you look your best. I have seen so many ruined pictures of brides on their wedding day, from wearing the wrong color foundation to wearing the wrong shade of eye shadow, like purple for instance. Purple eye shadow does not photograph well and it can make you look tired. It reflects too much red into the eye area and your eyes end up looking red and swollen. It also distracts from the beauty of the bride.

When you go to a make-up professional for your pre-bridal consultation, make sure that the make-up artist is using natural tones and colors that reflect your eye and skin tone. If you are having a pre-bridal consultation with a make-up artist and she is applying blues or pinks and a lot of color, you will know she does not know what she is doing, so start looking for another professional. Remember, you will be taking a lot of pictures on this most special day, so wearing the correct skin tone color and make-up shades is vital.

Beauty and the Bride

The ultimate make-up application for a bride should be polished and formal, without taking away from her own natural beauty. The right make-up creates refinement and to push a look forward with softness, keeping it simple and natural. Using soft colors and warm tones are the key to complimenting the bride’s own style and unique look and those colors photograph beautifully. Make-up professionals should have a keen eye for detail and color balance and they should help you and your wedding party look their best.

When a bride comes in for a consultation for her make-up, I will normally ask the bride: What colors she prefers, how does she look on any “normal” day, and what does she wants to look like on her wedding day? Usually, girls know what they want but they just don’t know how to achieve it. So it should be a collaboration of what she wants and how the make-up artist perceives her request. I prefer to give the bride a nice trendy updated bridal make-up look with the colors of the season. This is a formal event, so a bride needs to look finished, glowing, and more than natural, but still like the same person.

At The Rouge we love doing weddings and have been applying make-up for weddings for over 20 years. Our beauty and brow experts stay current with the latest trends and styles and will give the bride and her bridal party the best and most updated looks that are trendy, formal and polished; from ultra-natural, gorgeous and sleek with lashes, to the latest magazine runway trends. We are available to do pre-bridal consultations Tuesday through Saturday by appointment only.

 

 

In the last three issues I ad dressed the fact that controlling chronic inflammation can not only radically improve your health and slow aging, but literally save your life.We covered some foods and habits that create this condition. Then we covered foods and habits that fight this condition. In December’s issue we looked at how your lifestyle contributes to this problem and suggestions were given to guide you in addressing these problems.

In past decades the importance of good sleep and enough sleep never seemed to be a very significant part of the equation. Now that science has been able to establish how our body chemistry is influenced by our mental health as well as our physical health, those of us who treasure life can no longer think that a perfect diet, super supplementation and physical fitness is all we need.

Our emotional and neurological needs must be under control as well. We all know how stress can affect our sleep. How many of us know how we can personally take part in controlling our emotions.

Dina Colman, a local author, just released her book, Four Quadrant Living. In it Dina has many wonderful suggestions on methods to de-stress and finding inner peace. Simply identifying the cause of an emotional hang up can defuse it. Most importantly she emphasizes the need for balance, not only within us, but within our environment as well.

Having majored in Physiology in college, it has helped me to understand the chemistry controlling all of our body functions, not only how we screw it up, but what can we do to bring it back.

Very simply stated: emotions can cause stress which causes the fight or flight response in our adrenal gland which can strongly affect digestion, hormone balance and sleep. Improper digestion causes malnutrition and discomfort.

There are many factors that can affect sleep, the most common being stress, hormone imbalance and obstructive sleep apnea. The first two can be temporary and may just go away or can be treated.

OSA doesn’t go away and must be treated. To neglect treating OSA will likely lead to chronic inflammation and its horrible results which can include heart disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer. Children are not exempt from this challenge. Everyone needs proper sleep. Snoring in children has recently been determined to be a condition that must not be ignored.

Nasal breathing in ones sleep has been found to be so important that the researchers in this area are taping their mouths shut, yet many of our children are nocturnal mouth breathers. These subtle little things can have a large impact on the physical and mental development of the child. They have been proven to create cognitive problems in adults as well.

In my Dental Sleep Medicine practice there is much more to treating OSA than merely giving the patient an appliance. In children, many that suffer OSA do so because of an underdeveloped lower jaw. The sleep appliance of choice in this case not only helps to correct the obstruction, but stimulates more development of the lower jaw, hopefully to grow the jaw enough to correct that obstruction.

I use an Acoustic Pharyngometer to identify the obstruction and determine if jaw repositioning can lessen or eliminate the obstruction. An Acoustic Rhinometer may be used to identify nasal obstructions. The nasal obstruction is treated by an ENT doctor.

Hopefully ideal nocturnal breathing habits can be established. I do request a follow up sleep study to prove the goal has been achieved. Over the counter or quickly fabricated dental appliances should be avoided.

In the above example of the domino effect experienced by emotional problems resulting in physical problems we can begin to understand the importance understanding the intricate relationships that must be accounted for. Just like a large vehicle can be paralyzed by a small wire becoming disconnected, not dealing with an emotional problem or sleeping problem can have a similar result on one’s body.

Becoming more and more knowledgeable and informed about what makes us “tick” and taking care to make sure it’s “ticking” right is a big part of being rewarded with a great life.

Robert Brown, DDS has a TMJ, orthodontia, and sleep apnea practice in Danville and thoroughly enjoys discussing holistic medicine. You can contact him at 925-837-8048, at info@aodtc.com, or visit his web site at www.aodtc.com.

 

 

 

 

Ask anyone what disease is the most concerning or the scariest and they will probably say heart disease or maybe Alzheimer’s disease. But what causes those two afflictions?  Well… you might be surprised that many times, blood sugar control leading to obesity and inflammation is at the center of those and other serious health conditions. Diabetes (Type II) or the more recent term, Diabesity, is at the top of the list of serious metabolic conditions in the United States. The truth about diabetes is that most cases are  fully preventable and, in large part, reversible. Therefore pharmaceutical approaches should be used sparingly. My goal is to help people naturally before  the condition has progressed, causing damage to your blood vessels (heart attacks), kidneys (high blood pressure), eyesight (retinopathy), nerves of your feet (peripheral neuropathy), and brain (Alzheimer’s disease).

Briefly, diabetes can be described on a continuum or a line from low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) on one end, moving to diabetes on the other. In between, are increasingly higher surges of blood sugar with names like pre-diabetes, Syndrome X or Metabolic Syndrome, and insulin resistance.

One of the biggest problems with dealing with this condition are the “odd” suggestions provided by the American Diabetic Association that contradict the more recent scientific literature. The ADA has essentially written that high blood sugar levels are ok—just not REALLY high levels. Recent scientific literature shows that this is not true. It shows that even if your levels of fasting blood sugar are within normal range (95 to 99) your risk can double. This leads to two issues: What are the “ideal” levels of blood sugar, and what are the best things to do if your levels are not in this range?

There isn’t room here to thoroughly discuss  all of the tests used to measure blood sugar and other related concerns, but I’ll mention a few of the 61 tests we use in my office. According to recent research, the actual ideal levels to prevent the problems caused by high blood sugar are the following;

Fasting blood glucose               less than 86 (mg/dl)

Two hours after a meal less than 120

Hemoglobin A1c (%)                less than 5.3

Fructosamine                            Less than 217

I frequently hear from patients that they have been told that as long as their fasting blood glucose is under 127 they are OK. Unfortunately, they are not OK because with levels between 90 and 127, substantial and permanent damage to organs can occur. Not only that, studies show that fasting blood sugar and A1c levels are not very accurate.

So, what can you do if your blood sugar is too high? If you want to be healthy (and I know that you do), then using natural, targeted, non-pharmaceutical approaches to keep your blood sugar controlled is the first thing. Next, it is very important that you understand that it’s not all about the sugar. Diabetes has many components and each need to be addressed for us to be successful. Those components are: autoimmunity, inflammation, genetics, obesity, leptin resistance, insulin resistance, and pancreas (beta-cell) destruction.

Recent research shows that diabetes begins with a low-grade inflammation that slowly ramps up the immune system causing further damage. This is caused by our own “western” lifestyle. That lifestyle involves deficiencies in Magnesium and Vitamin D, chronic stress, altered gut microbes (from antibiotics) and being sedentary. Knowing this is good because it is possible, with a change of diet, exercise and a few targeted supplements, to move into a more positive direction, steering you away from bad outcomes. But for more complex cases, a comprehensive evaluation and a complete metabolic exam and review are critical. If this makes sense to you, let’s take a look at your total profile to find out what your body can tell us about your health.

Dr. Don Davis, D.C., DACNB is a BOARD CERTIFIED CHIROPRACTIC NEUROLOGIST in Walnut Creek. He has been serving individuals with chronic pain for 30 years. For information about how you can get a free consultation with Dr. Davis, call (925) 279-4325 (HEAL). Visit us walnutcreekthyroidinstitute.com

Autoimmune diseases are characterized by tissue damage and loss of function due to an immune response that is directed against specific organs. This review is focused on celiac disease (CD), an autoimmune enteropathy, and type 1 diabetes (T1D), a hyperglycosaemia caused by a destructive autoimmune process targeting the insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells. Even if environmental factors and genetic susceptibility are clearly involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity, for most autoimmune disorders there is no or little knowledge about the causing agent or genetic makeup underlying the disease. In this respect, CD represents a unique autoimmune disorder because a close genetic association with HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 haplotypes and, more importantly, the environmental trigger (the gliadin fraction of gluten-containing grains wheat, barley, and rye) are known. Conversely, the trigger for autoimmune destruction of pancreatic ß cells in T1D is unclear. Interestingly, recent data suggest that gliadin is also involved in the pathogenesis of T1D. There is growing evidence that increased intestinal permeability plays a pathogenic role in various autoimmune diseases including CD and T1D. Therefore, we hypothesize that besides genetic and environmental factors, loss of intestinal barrier function is necessary to develop autoimmunity. In this review, each of these components will be briefly reviewed.

Keywords: tight junctions, intestinal permeability, zonulin

 

Q. A volunteer apple tree has sprouted up in my compost pile. Is it worth the effort to dig it up and put it in a pot? Does this tree require grafting on to another rootstock for it to be a viable, producing apple tree?

A. Volunteer fruit trees are always a gamble since the genetics of the parents is unknown. The fruit from those trees started from a seed are always unpredictable and there are no guarantees it will produce in the first place. Besides deciduous fruit trees, such as apricots, peaches, pears, plums, etc., this also applies to citrus and avocados. Those trees started from vegetative parts produce fruit that are a mirror image of the originating tree. These trees are not growing on their own root. Instead, they are budded or grafted on to a different plant or rootstock, hence the shoots or suckers they produce will not be clones of the desirable variety. Fruit trees are budded on to different rootstocks too and restrict their growth or to make a variety more tolerant to soil conditions or pests. Trees with multiple varieties on the same trunk have been grafted. So back to your question, is it worth the time and effort? Probably not, if you’re looking for a productive tree but it is a judgment call on your part. More than likely your expectations will not be fulfilled, however, there are exceptions. If you’re curious to see what develops then I would dig it up, transplant it into a pot. Several years from now, you’ll be able to answer the question. The tree can always be budded and grafted at some other point in time. This is an excellent time to purchase fruit trees, as the selection of varieties at your favorite garden center is the best during the winter months. It’s also source of grafting wood. Many garden centers will let you take some cuttings off the different varieties. You just need to ask first.

Q. My daffodil bulbs have started to grow. Does this mean I didn’t plant them deep enough?

A.  It’s about the right time that they should be popping out of the ground. It can vary from year to year by a couple of weeks. So the planting depth can influence the growth of daffodil bulbs. The growth is the function of the soil temperature and when they were planted. Those bulbs planted early in the fall when the soil is still warm sprout earlier while those planted after the soil has cooled off take longer to develop. It’s more of a common occurrence when we have a late November heat spell. Those shallow planted bulbs do sprout earlier because they warm up sooner. It can also indicate a mild winter and that spring is right around the corner. Whatever the reason, there is nothing to be concerned about.

Buzz Bertolero is Executive Vice President of Navlet’s Garden Centers and a California Certified Nursery Professional. His web address is www.dirtgardener.com and you can send questions by email at dirtgarden@aol.com or to 360 Civic Drive Ste. ‘D’, Pleasant Hill, Calif. 94523 and on Facebook at Facebook.com/Buzz.Bertolero