Manage Inflammation through Diet

How can we manage two prime contributors to premature aging: inflammation from diet and free radicals? Diet, nutritional supplements and just plain “living wisely” can add substantially to our defenses against these culprits. Step one is to establish and maintain a ph balanced diet of 80% alkaline foods and 20% acidic foods. Maintain this alkaline diet by taking the time to select six servings of fruits and vegetables (wherever possible from organic sources) each day. These six selections will provide us with the alkaline/acid balance that we require. Beware of a diet with higher levels of acidity, which leads to inflammation.

A healthy daily combination of fruits and vegetables in our PH balanced diet will deliver additional benefits. For example, Carrots, pumpkin, peppers, tomatoes, mangos, and papaya are all orange and “red coded” and protect our genes. Asparagus, broccoli, bok choy, onions, and mustard greens are ‘green coded’ and help improve cellular nutrients and detoxify our body. Blackberries, cherries, beets are “purple and blue coded” and reduce inflammation. Barley, mushrooms, tofu, and wild rice are “tan coded” and reduce insulin resistance and balance hormones.

While our PH balanced diet works to lower the inflammation otherwise produced by foods, we work to neutralize free radicals. Herbs and spices such as garlic, tumeric, cinnamon, curry, ginger, and cayenne help to neutralize free radicals while adding attractive flavors to our meals. Generally, meats, grains, nuts, and sugar are acidic and promote unhealthy free radicals. Therefore, by choosing a diet primarily made up of fruits and vegetables we lower acids and substantially reduce the free radicals that we need to neutralize. The few meats that we do include in our diet should be “free range,” and free of hormones and antibiotics. If you have a taste for fish, we recommend a diet of farm raised salmon, tilapia, flounder and sardines. Avoid swordfish, which is widely known to have high levels of mercury.

Summary: control inflammation from diet by emphasizing lean organic protein, and combine vegetable sources, eat selectively, avoid sugary sweets, nitrates, nitrites, smoked meats, and trans-fats, watch portion sizes, do not eat on the run, and chew your food. You should have six servings of fruits and vegetables; preferably green and orange red color selection. Drink plenty of liquids between meals; no soda, eat meals at regular times; do not eat late, and avoid processed foods. Reduce dairy consumption. We are the only species that consumes another species milk!

Body Naturals, Ltd. & Dr. Georgeann Dau specialize in nutritional counseling to promote holistic health. Please contact Body Naturals at (631) 351-6166 to learn more.

Myers Briggs Profile

How can we learn more about our personality and our relationships?  What is my true path to wholeness and holiness?  How can my psychological dynamics connect to my spiritual healing?  What causes my stress and anxiety levels to increase?  These questions and more can be answered through the Myers Briggs Type Indicator Instrument.

Katherine Myers and Isabel Briggs worked with Carl Jung in the development of a personality profile assessment instrument that identifies our psychological makeup.  They developed a 4 letter combination profile from worldly energy levels, ways to take in information, methods on making decisions, and attitudes about the world.  They can be summarized as follows:

1.  extraversion versus introversion

2.  sensing versus intuition

3.  thinking versus feeling

4.  judgement versus perception

Using these pairs of personality instruments, Myers Briggs developed a 4 letter combination that describes our personality and psychological dynamics.

If one's letters are INFJ, the individual is energized in a reflective world (introversion), takes in information by looking at the possibilities (intuition), makes a decision with their heart (feeling), and lives a very planned life-style (judgement).  There are 15 other combinations that form rooms that we can visit, but we need to return to our own room for comfort.

At Body Naturals, our holistic wellness team will help you understand this instrument in a detailed way, explaining this profile and how it may help in your life journey.

WHAT FOODS AFFECT ACNE ROSACEA?

Rosacea is a chronic, lifelong skin condition that affects (most often) the face.  The disease is common; approximately 1 in every 20 Americans has rosacea.  Women are affected more often in the early stages (flushing and erythrosos), but more men progress to the advanced stages and rhinophyma is seen almost exclusively in men over 40 years of age.

Rosacea is characterized by various skin disorders and sufferers must contend discoloration of the skin, permanent enlargement of small blood vessels, small, red raised bumps, or a swollen mose.

The exact cause of rosacea has not been determined, but here are many theories.  Exposure to the sun may be one factor.  Another possible cause is skin mites.  These tiny insects usually live at the base of hair follicles.  They are often found on the faces of people with rosacea, and it has been suggested that they may initiate an inflammatory reaction.  It may also damage the blood vessels, causing them to be permanently dilated.  There may also be genetic defects in the vasculature of the skin that causes them to become easily and permanently dilated.

The signs and symptoms of rosacea are not dangerous, but they can be uncomfortable, unsightly, and disfiguring.  Yet although there is no cure for rosacea, the disease can be managed.  Topical medication, oral medications and laser therapy can all be used to control flushing and to remove some of the skin blemishes, swollen blood vessels and discoloration.  It is well known that there are certain factors - sunlight, stress, heat - that trigger rosacea and food has been identified as a trigger.

What foods have been implicated as causes of rosacea?  the list is long and there is obviously individual variations in susceptibility:  high doses of B6 and B12, chocolate, tomatoes, hot beverages, hot sausage, red pepper, black pepper, vinegar, paprika, white pepper, garlic, wine, hard liquor, beer, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, milk, citrous fruits, eggplants, avocadoes, spinach, raisins, figs, bananas, and marinated meat.

Why do these foods exacerbate rosacea?  No one knows for sure, and given the fact that the exact cause of rosacea hasn't been clearly determined, that's not surprising.  However a look at the pathophysiology of rosacea may provide some clues.

Find out more about rosacea treatments on http://www.bodynaturals.com/