YourHealthMatters

Die Fat or Get Tough! - book review

One of the most important aspects to successful weight loss and then maintaining your new healthy weight is your mental attitude and beliefs about weight loss. I have asked many patients after they lose weight about their beliefs and thinking about weight loss. Few can easily speak about what changed in their thinking to achieve their goal. It is obvious to me that those who keep weight off for long periods have changed their views  of how they regard food, exercise, and their health.

Now comes a book which records the changes in thinking for its author as he finally achieved a healthy weight. This is a downloadable eBook by Steve Siebold packed with over 200 pages of content. Each change in thinking has 2 pages. The first page compares the author's new thinking to the old thinking while obese. The second page then gives some ideas for helping you adopt this new belief. Steve & his wife offer workshops on Mental Toughness and losing weight and are very experienced in this field.

I highly recommend this eBook to anyone pursuing permanent control of their weight. See how many of these beliefs you still have that have blocked your successful weight control.

Click here to purchase and download online . 

drBob

Mind-Body # 2

I've started this series of messages about a topic that I hope you find useful. In the first message I highlighted a tape by Dr. Emmett Miller that I have used for years with patients and myself.
Today I'd like to write about steps to good practice with tapes like this.

First though a little history. I learned about stress and its effects on the body from many researchers and teachers. Early influences on me included Ken Pelletier, PhD, and his seminal work "Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer". Then there was Hans Selye of course and his book " The Stress of Life". Third was Herbert Benson, from Haravard, who wrote the Relaxation Response which detailed his research into the physical effects of regular meditation. Then there was Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn who founded the Mindfullness Meditation clinic at Harvard and wrote "Full Castrophe Living". I would recommend every one of these books to you for their valuable insights.

A Simple Guide To Meditation or Imagery To Help You Deal With Stress.......

Mind-Body Medicine #1

I have been interested in and studied for years the effects the mind can have on the body and that the body can have on the mind. Hans Selye many years ago was a hero of mine for he demonstrated the physical changes that occur with acute or prolonged stress - higher pulse, faster shallow breathing, faster pulse, general muscle tension, poor sleep, weaker immune system.

For years I have suggested some people use relaxation or stress management tapes regularly. Before my brain surgery in 2008 I used a series of tapes to prepare myself mentally and physically for the surgery. I had suggested these to patients for years but never used them myself. I credit my coming through the surgery so well to having done this mental preparation for weeks before the operation and tothe many supplements I take daily.

Now I am very pleased to present these tapes for you to purchase and use. They were all created by another teacher of mine, Dr. Emmett Miller, MD of California. I started using his tapes in Ontario over 20 years ago when they were only available in cassette form. Now his website has MP3 downloads for a very reasonable price. These tapes combine music, natural sounds and his wonderful voice.

The first tape I want to highlight is his "Ten Minute Stress Manager". This has two tapes included both running about 10 minutes so very suitable for a  quick break from your daily stress. They could be listened to at lunch for example or before a difficult meeting. Use them with headphones and do not drive while listening.

Here is the link to his website  where you can purchase and download his tapes. They are available in both CD format and MP3 download. He also has a number of courses and book worth buying.

On the left hand column then click on Dr. Miller MP3 Downloads and scroll down the page till you see "10 Minute Stress Manager".

I will be recommending more of his tapes in this series. as I have used many with patients and recommend everything he produces.

drBob

Change of Address - Government style

When I moved my office two blocks down the street in Liberal in April I thought it would be easy to update my address with all the necessary groups I deal with. My medical license needed updating and that took a one page fax to the Kansas Board of Healing Arts. The same with my Oklahoma license and my Ontario medical license. Credit cards were also easily updated online. My DEA certificate only needed two pages faxed to St. Louis to update my address.

BUT to change my address with Medicare, the current government-run health care system for seniors, took a 45 PAGE form!. I had to refile my original application to become a Medicare provider just to change my office address. That turned out to be a journey in frustration for days on end as Medicare kept sending the form back for changes before they finally accepted it. My point is to wonder if this is how efficient Obama's government-run health care system is going to be, will it be really cost-effective?? The price tag is 1.5 trillion dollars over ten years. How much of that will be wasted on inefficient administrative matters? Or, if it took 45 pages to register my change of address with Medicare for moving two blocks, how many pages would it take to move a city and register the change of address (tongue in cheek grin) ?

drBob

Most Men deficient in Key Vitamins & Minerals

Recent sudies reveal the extent to which men lack essential viamins and minerals. To read this article click here. Th article details recent findings on a series of important vitamins and minerals for men. It starts with my favorite, Vitamin D. This vitamin has so many newly discovered uses in the body, including cancer protection, improving insulin function and helping prevent diabetes, hormone regulation, and bone density improvement. Your blood level of vitamin D3 should be checked before taking large amounts of this vitamin but current unofficial suggestions are every adult should take a minimum of 2000 unis of Vitamin D3 daily. And don't think you can make enough from sun exposure. I have found only three people with adequate Vitamin D3 levels in three years of extensive testing in the office. The highest level was in a woman who tanned in a tanning bed at least 5 days a weeks. Read and join the website of the best researchers into Vitamin D - www.vitamindcouncil.com for updates on all the uses that are being found for this essential vitamin.

Magnesium has many important uses in the body, especially in muscles. Yet 77% of men lack even a daily minimum intake of this mineral. It has at least 300 uses in the bodily functions. It's hard to get enough from your diet. Try a chelated magnesium or magnesium citrate and take at least 400 mg magnesium this way. DO NOT task magnesium oxide - very poor absorption.

Next mentioned is Vitamin B12 - an essential vitamin for brain function as well many other uses. I give this IM to many older patients because absorption through the gut drops as we get older. Also acid blocker drugs such as Prilosec, Prevaic, and Protonix all reduce the acid in the stomach needed for best absorption orally. Blood levels of B12 do not equal brain levels, which often drop long before than in the blood. Testing the level of B12 in the brain is not practical at present. Nasal forms of B12 do not equal in absorption having regular injections either.

Potassium is next, essential for your cells to use glucose for energy, and used by every muscle for contracting. It is also important for controlling blood pressure. The recommended daily intake of 4700 mg is not achieved by many people unless they eat a lot of avocado, potatoes, and bananas. Potassium is available OTC in the US.

Last but very important is iodine - we do not get enough of this because more and more salt manufacturers are leaving it out. Iodine has a role in cancer protection, thyroid function and the immune system. Eat eggs and yogurt for natural sources but you may want to take an iodine supplement.

drBob

ZICAM pulled from market

The FDA finally pulled ZICAM off the market because of reports of people using it suffering loss of smell. I noticed this problem a few years years ago when the product was first released and warned my patients to stop using it. The product was first sold in 1999 and that makes me ask how long does it take for the FDA to notice problems with drugs.

There are other safer alternatives for treatment of the common cold nasal symptoms. OTC products containg guiafenesin like plain Mucinex, help liquefy and loosen secretions in the lungs and sinuses. Allergy meds like fexofenadine may be helpful. Cough suppressants like DM as in Nyquil or Delsym help night-time coughing. Vitamin C in high doses can shorten the duration of a cold and so can echinacea. Certain mushroom mixtures can strengthen your immune system to respond quicker. And there is always garlic which will help a sore throat and also the other symptoms wen taken in large enough amounts.

Zicam contains zinc which the FDA says may damage nasal nerves for smell. I often recommend people use zinc lozenges for throat pain and to stimulate the immune system in the throat for a sore throat. These products do not seem to cause the same problem.

Read about the FDA announcement here on MSNBC.

drBob

A Capitalist-Socialist Experiment in Health Care

What we are witnessing right now in the US as President Obama addresses health care reform may be the first organized attempt to create a capitalist system alongside a socialist system for provision of health care.
I think it is essential we all recognize this is going on as we read the almost daily news on the developments in Obama's plans. I for one was quite afraid of the initial news I was seeing from the government about what they planned because I thought they were going to wipe out private health insurance (capitalist) as was done in Canada many years ago when the socialist health care system was introduced. Finally some Democratic members of the Congress and Senate have started to openly say we will all have a choice between two systems.

Do You Twitter?

The Web is now full of social networking sites. Facebook was one of the first and is probably still the biggest. A latecomer is Twitter. I have accounts on both but Twitter may be more popular. My blog is linked to my Twitter page so everytime I post on my blog, a message will be added to my Twitter page with a link to the blog post.

My Twitter page can be found at  twitter.com/bobsager .

My Facebook page is at facebook.com/bob.sager . It does not link yet to my blog. Note the slight different is my usernames on Twitter and Facebook (the period on Facebook)

My blog is also linked to my page at Wellsphere.com, a new blog directory of people in the healing arts.Unliike the other two, Wellsphere has not yet created personal links to members' pages so you will have to log in and then search for my name.  My page on Wellsphere keeps a running update of all posts on my blog site.

I invite you to join me at any or all of these sites so we can stay in touch in a different and likely better way than just my blog site.  It is free to setup an account at any of these site,sif you wish to be a member. You do not have to be a member to view my posts however.

drBob

A Smoking President will Sign Anti-Smoking Legislation

Even though President Obama is still smoking and trying to quit, he is willing to sign into effect a bill that changes smoking legislation in the US. MSNBC is reporting the new law here .

Tobacco products would now be under the control of the FDA (maybe a good idea).
Sweetener tastes like grape, strawberry and vanilla will no longer be allowed presumably to reduce the appeal to young people. Advertising will be sharply controlled. Taxes will keep going up on cigarettes.Ontario proved long ago that raising cigarettes taxes does help some people to quit.  Warning labels will have to cover 50% of the front and back of a package. (do you read these warnings?)

These changes are important. Smoking adds billions of dollars to our health care costs and also keeps many doctors in business treating the associated diseases like lung cancer, chronic lung disease and heart diseases.

The latest stop-smoking drug Chantix is the most helpful of all drug treatments for helping you to stop smoking in my experience with many smoking patients over the years. BUT, habits associated with smoking are still a matter of personal willpower.

drBob

Research Fails to Show CAM Benefit

MSNBC is reporting that after spending $2.5 billion on research there has been almost no evidence that alternative medical treatments work for anything. The only exceptions are acupuncture studies showing some benefit for arthritis and ginger for nausea from chemotherapy. Hands up all of you who disagree with this finding from personal experience.
I certainly disagree with this finding and the results don't surprise me. Long ago when I was in Ontario, the Drug Benefit Plan for seniors paid for Vitamin E for a time when one of the premier's had a grandmother taking it. When the government changed it was calculated that the government was spending millions each year on Vitamin E with no proof of effectiveness. So the new government stopped paying for Vitamin E and instead started paying for a much more expensive drug alternative. Guess how many of my many patients on Vitamin E decided to take the expensive drug for free instead of paying $8/mth to stay on vitamin E.

You can read the  MSNBC article here.

This report does not make me want to go back to only offering conventional treatments by the way.

drBob