When we're anxious, it can be hard to breathe. When the weather's hot, it can be hard to breathe. Thinking about how we're breathing can create further anxiety for anxious people, making it even harder to breathe. It can be a maddening circle.
Controlling how we breathe, however, can become the most direct route to cultivating low arousal, or, as I like to call it, fooling your brainstem into thinking the world is safe.

Start with half a head of cauliflower, sliced into quarter-inch thick slices.

Here are three points that may help you reduce reflux.

The parietal cells of the stomach produce hydrochloric acid (HCl) which should be strong enough to aid the digestion and absorption of protein and minerals. HCl is also needed for absorption of vitamin B12, folic acid, and for the stimulation of gut hormones that trigger the pancreas and gall bladder to release their secretions. The acid should also kill excessive bacteria, preventing bacterial overgrowth.
Adverse health effects can occur when the stomach either over or under produces acid….

Much excitement was generated several years ago when a study purporting to show there is a “sweet spot” when it comes to alcohol consumption and health. According to the study, people who entirely abstained from drinking alcohol were more likely to have problems than those who drank a little alcohol each day. This was graphically represented by what is called a J curve, although the “J” looks a little tipsy…

Have you ever noticed that smelling your favorite food, or even just thinking about it, can make you salivate? Even before starting to eat, simply thinking about or smelling food can trigger salivation. When hungry, reading a menu or smelling food cooking triggers the onset of stomach acid and the enzyme pepsin is secreted. This is the cephalic, meaning “head”, phase of digestion. Research shows that if you eat your meals consistently at the same time each day, insulin will be secreted minutes prior to meals in anticipation of the carbohydrates that will soon enter the GI tract….

Aspirin is one of the most common medicines worldwide. Initially synthesized from a natural compound in willow bark, it is now a highly purified and modified synthetic drug. Devoid of the health giving flavonoids and polyphenols found in willow bark, this synthetic form derives all of its action from acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), which reduces fever, pain and the clotting of blood. A mechanism behind these effects is the inhibition of an enzyme called…

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is: what foods do I need to stop eating if I have mold sickness or mycotoxin illness? When you are feeling sick all the time, or it is unpredictable how you will feel from one day to the next, it can be helpful to learn to listen to your body’s communication system (the symptoms you experience) by reducing...

“I am sorry!?”

We have all uttered this phrase at some point in life (after two years old). Maybe we used this phrase in our youth to get out of trouble with a parent or teacher, or to accept responsibility for something we should not have done. Maybe we uttered this to a partner simply to…

We live with Lev and Igor, two cats who are probably brothers. Not much was known about their origin when I adopted them from the Humane Society in December of 2019. Feral, they had been rescued and shipped from California. They were estimated to be about 12 weeks old and apparently past the window for bonding with anyone other than each other. At first they hid whenever I walked into a room, but now they…

Reflux from the stomach into the esophagus can occur at any age. Reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is a normal phenomenon as long as it does not cause distress, pain or damage to the esophagus, throat or other upper airway tissues. When these types of effects result from reflux they are referred to as…

As we step into January 2022, we wish all of our readers and clients an invigorating start to the new year.

We hope you will continue to join us here on our blog, where we share our thoughts on how to create and maintain a positive, healthy lifestyle. If there are relevant topics that you would be interested in reading

We evolved to move on foot, scanning the horizon to note movements of friends and foes. The primary curve of our cervical spine evolved to hold our heads in a “neutral” position, balanced over our shoulders. While the neck can bend forward, back & side to side, its resting position should be aligned with the midline of the body.

Unfortunately, we have added “screen time” to our sedentary ways. Our laptops and smartphones are…

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome has multiple effects on digestive anatomy and physiology, occurring in approximately 1-2% of the US population. These people will often be more prone to sprains, strains, dislocations, excessive stretch marks (striae) and scarring (keloid formation). The screening exam for hEDS begins with the Beighton score – an easy 3 minute…

We have all done it: While working on a project in one room, we realize we need something from a different room, arriving in the other room seconds later, wondering what the heck we are there for. Why?

The brain’s desire for efficiency seems to hold the explanation. In a study done several years ago, subjects were given information and asked to walk across an open expanse. At the other end, subjects were able to retrieve most of the information, but when the researchers introduced doorways for the subjects to pass through, the information was much less likely to be retrieved at the end of the same distance.

As we continue to reel from the trauma and stress of living through a pandemic, through the grieving of lives lost and lives forever changed, many of our bodies are not going to respond to the same exercise program in the same way they did three to five years ago. Our metabolism is impacted by stress, which is rooted in our endocrine response to our surroundings. Under such vastly different circumstances than many of us have previously experienced, our endocrine response will likely reflect that vast difference. Of course, just as the pandemic impacts each of us differently, so will our individual endocrine systems have a different mirror, causing variations in hormonal changes from person to person.

Prior to the availability of tests to measure sugar in the urine of diabetics, doctors would taste the patient’s urine to check for a sweet taste, and aid in the diagnosis of diabetes. The breath odor of acetone is still part of the information that can be used in the diagnosis of ketoacidosis in poorly controlled diabetes. It turns out that in similar fashion stool and gas odors can also be informative about digestive health.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the overarching term for a constellation of symptoms caused by the upward flow (reflux) of stomach contents into the esophagus and/or throat leading to symptoms of heartburn and regurgitation. In some cases, there is no typical heartburn, but instead there is some…

Nutritious food does not mean giving up that food item that you have loved since childhood and have strong emotional ties to. It means evaluating what you really love about that food item and finding a way to have it in your life in a manner that promotes long term health. Food is emotional support. Nutritious food includes food that nourishes your emotional body. Acknowledging this can help you sustain your healthier food plan by…

What happens when the sympathetic nervous system is stuck “ON”? The short answer is stress-related disorders which is an umbrella term for a wide array of problems. Hypertension, type 2 diabetes, chronic pain including headaches, and disordered sleep are just a few examples of the chronic issues that can…