Margaret Hyde: Spring Cleansing: A Spring Checklist for Cleansing the Body, Mind and Soul

Margaret Hyde: Spring Cleansing: A Spring Checklist for Cleansing the Body, Mind and Soul

Spring is here, and once again so is my desire to clean out all of the clutter and junk that has accumulated throughout the year. Instead of starting with my closets and the miles of old mail and magazines, I thought it would be truly refreshing to try to cleanse myself so that I can start the spring rejuvenated. Spring is a time of rebirth and new growth and I wanted to create a clean slate by cleansing my body, mind and soul.

There are so many fad cleanses out there that I wasn't sure where to start and what I could actually realistically commit to and complete. I love good food -- so I could never do a fast, and I do not think that I could keep up with my four children powered by juice alone. I also don't have time for a tedious and complicated mental and spiritual cleansing. I managed to find some inexpensive, relatively easy ways to cleanse myself from within.

Body Cleanse

"The mind's first step to self-awareness must be through the body." -- George Sheehan

1) Detox With Lemon Water -- Add to a glass of water half a fresh squeezed lemon to your morning routine, BEFORE coffee. The lemon juice helps cleanse the liver and aides its ability to remove toxins and fats from the body.

2) Add Cleansing Foods and Juices -- The following are foods known to help the body's natural cleansing and detoxifying abilities:

• Apples
• 
  
• Avocados
• 
  
• Beets
• 
  
• Blueberries
• 
  
• Cabbage
• 
  
• Celery and Celery Seeds
• 
  
• Cranberries
• 
  
• Flax seeds and flaxseed oil
• 
  
• Garlic
• 
  
• Grapefruit

I try to add one of these foods into meals I already like and regularly eat, but my favorite way to get cleansing vegetables and fruits is to juice.

My favorite juice combination, which is also great for supporting the liver's cleansing and detoxifying, is the following:

• 2 medium-sized beets
• 
  
• 1 cucumber
• 
  
• 1 lemon
• 
  
• 3 medium-sized carrots
• 
  
• 1 apple

You could also add flaxseed oil or any of the detoxifying foods listed above.
Add all ingredients to a juicer.

To read more about foods and juices for detoxifying and cleansing see these links:

3) Try Dry Brush Exfoliation -- Dry brushing is an ancient Ayurvedic health practice that helps promote circulation, detoxing, is very relaxing and feels great. The skin is one of the largest detoxifying organs of the body, although most of us don't ever think of it that way. You always dry brush with a clean brush on bare, dry skin, preferably before showering. Traditionally, you brush away from the heart and press lightly. It is easy to do it yourself at home, but if you want to splurge it is great as a part of an Ayurvedic massage. There are many spas offering this now.

For more information on dry brushing and dry brushing techniques go to the following links:

Mind Cleanse

"Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ear, by the heels or any other way you can manage it." -- Mark Twain

Cleansing the mind by shedding negative thoughts and perceptions can take a weight off your whole being. Dr. Andrew Weil says, "Many health professionals identify depressive rumination as the root cause of unhappiness." There is a whole school of psychology today called positive psychology, pioneered by Dr. Martin Seligmen, whose sole focus is to help people do this kind of mind cleanse. Positive psychology helps get rid of negative thoughts by helping people get rid of the judgments they form about things that are happening in their lives.

There are several positive psychology techniques called "interventions," which may be beneficial.

1. Three Good Things Every Day -- Try writing down three things that are going well and why. Do this every day for a week.
2. Using Signature Strengths -- Try writing down what you believe are your personal strengths (e.g., creativity or loyalty) and then use them in a different way daily.
3. Five-Minute Rant Write Down -- This is a technique that I created for myself based on the core ideas of positive psychology that I have found invaluable for cleansing my mind. Take five minutes every week and write down every negative thought that comes into your mind. Then take that piece of paper and tear it up, bury it or shred it.

For more information of positive psychology you can go to the following links:

Books:

• Spontaneous Happiness by Dr. Andrew Weil
• 
  
• Positive Psychology in Practice by Linley and Joseph

Soul Cleanse

"The Soul, like the body, lives by what it feeds on." -- Holland

Soul cleansing is the cherry on top of the personal cleansing process. It is the part of the process that lightens the spirit and helps leave you feeling clear, purposeful and content.

1) Meditation -- Try meditating every day, even if it is just a minute or two. All you have to do to meditate is sit quietly for a few moments and let the thoughts come and go and breathe deeply. Be sure to turn off your phone, computer or whatever distracts you. Just be still with yourself. Mediation is an ancient practice that has been rigorously studied by modern medicine as well. It has been shown to lower blood pressure and improves overall health. I truly believe that it does all of those things for the body as well as uplifting and cleansing the soul.

For more information and help with meditation check out the following links:

Information of the benefits of meditation:

2) Gratitude -- Each day try waking up asking, "What am I grateful for?" Go to bed asking the same question and throughout the day express your gratitude to those around you.

Try keeping a gratitude journal. Write down 10 things every day that you are grateful for. Once a week, try writing a note or sending an email to a person in youe life expressing your gratitude for them and the things that they have contributed to your life.

Gratitude lifts the spirit and fills the soul with positivity. In terms of measurable health benefits, researchers maintain that gratitude fosters optimism, which has been shown to positively influence the immune system.

For more information on the power of gratitude, check out this website.

3) Service -- Try being of service by giving back to others, whether it is a few hours a week, or a month or a year. Find an organization in your community (or beyond) that speaks to your soul and one that you feel you can really contribute to.

Maya Angelou said that she found that "Among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver."

For information on service and volunteering:

Whether you're cleaning your closet or cleaning out the clutter in your mind, the energy and renewal that comes with cleansing is worth it for your body, mind and soul.

For more by Margaret Hyde, click here.

For more on personal health, click here.

For more on wellness, click here.

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Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Kelly Dorfman: Why 'Brain Support' Should Be on Your 'To Do' List

Kelly Dorfman: Why 'Brain Support' Should Be on Your 'To Do' List

I was writing down my "to do" list yesterday. Here is what I have so far:

1. Pay daughter's college tuition bill
2. Make dentist appointment.
3. Visit Dad before he forgets who I am.

The last one has been on the list for several weeks now. Like so many in the squished-like-a-bug generation, I have a child in college and a father with dementia. In 10 years when the baby boomers hit their 70s, there will be an epidemic of people sliding the downward spiral into cognitive decline. Up to 50 percent of octogenarians have notable brain impairment. My father is 80, but I am one of the lucky ones.

Though I am procrastinating the task of visiting my dad, through aggressive nutrition intervention we have pushed back the dementia timetable by almost 20 years. Around 1995, I spotted the first signs of serious trouble. My father is epileptic so I have long kept a tight eye on his health. Traditionally, that job would have fallen to my mom but my parents separated when I was 7. As a typical oldest child of divorce, I hopped right in to fill the void. (And yes, I have had years of therapy.)

When I noticed my father was having word-finding issues, I bullied him into consulting with a neurologist. Normally, I abhor bullying and believe people should do things in their own time and in their own way but by definition, that does not happen with cognitive issues. Besides, one of my father's favorite things to do was to reduce or stop his anti-seizure medicine because he did not like taking it.

His medicine did need to be adjusted. More significantly, in running extensive tests the neurologist saw what she thought, confidentially and off the record, were early indicators of vascular dementia. She did not volunteer that information, but told me when pressed. That is as good as it gets for early dementia diagnosis. By the time a new doctor officially confirmed cognitive issues just a few months ago, the check-out person at the WaWa could have told you what was wrong. Unless the brain deterioration is so advanced that it can be seen on an MRI (which my father predictably refused to get), there is no formal diagnosis.

In fact, what the new neurologist told my father and his wife is that he was suffering from anxiety. You too, would be anxious if you could not consistently remember who is in your family or how you got that big bruise on your chest. He said the black and blue mark was from gardening, but it was January and snowing so that answer was suspect. Then dad had an enormous temper tantrum because he did not like being treated like he was stupid. An antidepressant was prescribed and he was shuttled out of the office. Suspicions concerning possible dementia were written on his chart and sent to his internist.

Though my father is slipping now, he has done well for almost 20 years despite major health challenges because of targeted nutrition therapy aimed at his brain. The minute there were symptoms, I loaded him up with a super multiple vitamin/mineral, fish oil, a strong choline enhancer and phosphatidyl serine supplement. Then to increase cerebral blood flow, I threw in some vinpocetine, a periwinkle plant derivative that may help age related memory impairment.

How do I know this program helped my father's cognition?

1. Once he started the program and was doing better, dad admitted the word finding issues had become a problem. The improvement after adding the supplements was so significant that he took the expensive regimen religiously.
2. A gap in the program occurred when he remarried and his new wife thought all these supplements were a bit over the top. After three months, she called to have the program reinstituted immediately.
3. An old brain scan found scar tissue and vascular changes, both predictors of serious problems that have been pushed back a precious few decades.

My father's story represents only empirical data, but the scientific evidence for this type of approach is mounting. A January 2012 study published in the journal Neurology compared cognitive performance and brain volume with levels of more than thirty nutrients in older adults. Those with high blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins B, C, D and E did better on cognitive tests and had less brain atrophy than participants with lower levels of these nutrients.

There are other studies looking at how choline heightens performance, or phosphatidyl serine helps cognitive decline in the elderly. The program I used for my dad may not be the right one for you but the time to put your cognitive support program in place, all you baby boomers, is now.

The foundation for a brain boost program is always a good diet with tons of vegetables and fruits, exercise and the maintenance of an ideal weight. Even if I could have gotten my father to do these practical things (and I could not), I still would have added the extra supplement support for insurance against modern living and aging. As a tail-end baby boomer myself, I have been taking supplements to support brain function since I was 40, on top of a healthy lifestyle. If I make it to 80, I want to have as many of my marbles as possible. Between medical problems, medications, stress, pollution and all the rest of what happens to the average person who has been on earth for 50 or more years, living a healthy life is often not enough.

For more by Kelly Dorfman, click here.

For more on aging gracefully, click here.

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Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Plan For Massive Hospital Complex Provokes Even Bigger Controversy

Plan For Massive Hospital Complex Provokes Even Bigger Controversy

One might think that something as pleasant sounding as the construction of a hospital might be relatively uncontroversial in San Francisco.

But, as the picket line in front of California Pacific Medical Center's Davies Campus in the Duboce Triangle demonstrates, the issues surrounding the Sutter Health affiliate's plan to develop a massive, 15-story, 555-bed health center on Cathedral Hill--complete with a three-story underground parking complex--are among the most contentious of any development project in all of San Francisco.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS)

The protesters are striking over a disagreement with management over their pay scale: CMPC's offer is lower than what union members earn at other Bay Area hospitals owned by Sutter and they want to get paid the same as their union siblings on the other side of the Bay.

"They told us they need the money to build their new hospital," union rep Joseph Klein told the San Francisco Bay Guardian. "[CPMC negotiators] don't even question whether they can afford to pay us comparable salaries. They just say they want to spend the money on that project."

The amount of money CMPC plans to spend on a new hospital at the site of the old Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness Avenue is substantial. While the exact number has bounced around a bit, the most recent projection has pegged it at $1.9 billion. That figure is only a portion of the overall $2.5 billion system-wide renovation project that CMPC has planned, which includes a complete rebuild of St. Luke's Hospital in the Mission.

San Francisco's Planning Commission gave CMPC's proposal its preliminary approval on Monday, but the project still faces a whole host of obstacles before getting the final go ahead (despite the full-throttle support of Mayor Ed Lee). Lee largely backs the plan due to CMPC's promise that the project would create 1,500 new jobs (five percent of which are required to go to San Francisco residents) and bring $2.5 billion into the local economy. CMPC is already the second-largest private employer in the city.

The San Francisco Examiner reports:

[CPMC] CEO Dr. Warren Browner said he was "very pleased" with the vote. He called some of the criticisms “fundamental misunderstandings” of the deal, but conceded that other areas may need “additional clarification.”

“This is an incredibly important project for the folks who live and work and visit here, and we want to see it happen,” he said.

To get officially approved, the deal must go before a highly skeptical Board of Supervisors, many of whose constituents have expressed concerns about the drain the giant development, expected to draw 10,000 cars per day to one of the busiest intersections in all of San Francisco, will have on city services.

While City Hall is confident the project will eventually become a reality, a measure approving the hospital's construction has yet to receive the official sponsorship of a single supervisor.

Due to a deal negotiated between Lee and CMPC leadership, the hospital would provide care for 10,000 of the new Medi-Cal beneficiaries projected to be covered under the new federal health care law for a full decade, give $86 million in annual charitable care to low income patients, put $64 million towards affordable housing ($29 million of which will go to CMPC employees), give $20 million to community health clinics and another $31 million toward public transportation and pedestrian safety improvements.

These concessions weren't enough for some activists, who staged a protest on the steps of City Hall on the same day the deal was announced. The coalition of union and community leaders, calling itself San Franciscans for Healthcare, Housing, Jobs and Justice, expressed doubt that these were the most favorable terms the city could have gotten on the deal.

"The proposed development agreement as we understand it is a special deal that is good for Sutter/CPMC, but bad for San Francisco," said coalition spokesperson Leighton Woodhouse in a statement. "[It's] a deal that falls far short of the Mayor’s original 'asks'; that relieves Sutter/CPMC of responsibilities met by other private non-profit hospitals; that does not provide the healthcare and jobs City residents need; that fails to address the affordable housing, traffic, and neighborhood impacts the project will produce; and that leaves City taxpayers to foot the bill for the project’s failures in each and every one of these areas."

Others joined the chorus of criticisms. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

That [10,000 Medi-Cal patients] figure was derived as an average of the CPMC's charitable care over three years, even though the medical group has been criticized for spending proportionately less on care for poor residents than other private nonprofit hospitals in the city.

"They're using as a baseline CPMC's history, which is lousy," said Bob Prentice, a former deputy director at the city's Public Health Department. "They're letting them get away without that past, without some kind of correction."

Others voiced concerns that St. Luke's Hospital, which largely serves lower-income and minority patients, will no longer be able to adequately fill the needs of the surrounding community as its renovation plans call for decreasing the number total of beds at the facility by more than half.

For its part, CMPC asserted to Bay City News that the remodeled facility will offer its patients a higher level of care.

In an editorial in the Examiner, Chamber of Commerce President Steve Falk waived off all these criticisms as just the typical griping that accompanies virtually every development project in the city.

"In this case, CPMC critics claim the agreement does not 'go far enough' in providing benefits to the community. Yet, beyond providing two new hospitals at no cost to taxpayers, the CPMC agreement guarantees $1.1 billion in added investment for San Francisco," wrote Falk. "By any measure, CPMC’s investments are sure to benefit thousands of residents and visitors."

The project returns to the Planning Commission for a final vote on April 26th. If all goes according to plan, CMPC hopes to open its new Cathedral Hill campus in 2016.

Check out this slideshow of pictures showing what the new hospital is going to look like:

CPMC Cathedral Hill

1  of  7

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com