“No Greater Love Than This”... (Service to Others and Your Health)

In 1985 Whitney Houston blasted herself onto the music scene with her “self-titled” debut album. Ironically, one of the biggest hits from that album was called “Greatest love of all”. Ironic because the “self” titled albums best song was all about loving one’s self and how it is the greatest love of all.

In her book “Generation Me” Jean Twenge shares highlights of how the current generation has been taught to love themselves with little to no regard to how they treat others and to have high self-esteem regardless of any accomplishments or perceivable talent (or lack thereof). In fact, you don’t even have to have talent. This condition of self-love above all else is not limited to the current generation. Just look around you and see for yourself just how many people are behaving selfishly and poorly with no conscience. Whether they be family members, friends, celebrities, co-workers, etc. an unfortunate example can often be found.

What all this adds up to is a society filled with people with an inflated sense of self causing harm to others with no regard for their actions or so blindly selfish that they cannot see the plight of others.

Love and Service to Others

I don’t mean to get all biblical on you but I don’t mind going there for just a minute. In John 15:13 Jesus gave the most definitive description of what the greatest love is.  “No greater love has no one than this. That someone would lay down his life for his friends” (ESV) is how the passage goes. Laying down one’s life has everything to do with being of service to others; to live unselfishly for the betterment of those around them.

One of Martin Luther King Jr.’s most prolific speeches is one that doesn’t get much limelight but is still a powerful message. That speech was called “The Drum Major Instinct” and in it Martin Luther King presses home a very important point. He stated that the overriding duty of all people is to be of service to others; to be first in love and kindness. Could you imagine what that world would be like to live in?

How Love and Selflessness Affect Your Health

When it comes to our health there are some definite benefits to being a loving, caring person who lives a selfless life dedicated to helping others. Here are just a few positive benefits to consider:

•   A greater ability to handle stress – If you are of service to others then your chances of having loving, supportive people in your life increases greatly. With that increased love and support from people comes the ability to have others help you through hard times and carry your burdens. Aren’t problems so much easier to handle when you have great friends and family members around? Cultivate loving relationships through selfless acts for others.
• Greater and faster healing – Did you know a loving heart can heal? Researchers at The Ohio State University found that couples who interacted warmly together had wounds that healed twice as fast as couples who were hostile or belligerent. This premise can extend beyond marital or romantic bonds. Loving interpersonal relationships where you share with one another can likely produce a soothing, healing effect on the body.
• Even suffer from fewer colds – Another wonderful benefit of opening one’s self to others is the calmness and love that comes to you. With the calm, peace and love comes a healthier and more robust immune system. Research conducted at Carnegie Mellon University and published in Psychosomatic Medicine found that people who were calm and happy experienced fewer colds and flu than people who were anxious, hostile or depressed

If you want to be happier in life and experience better health try leading the parade when it comes to service to others. The love, warmth and kindness you receive in return will be worth its weight in health gold. Narcissism, which seems to rule the world today, is an unsavory way to live and only brings misery and unhappiness wherever you may find yourself. Do you know any narcissist? Do you like being around them? Do they make you feel good to be in their presence? The answer is most likely a resounding no. Bring light with you wherever you go and watch your health and the health of those around you improve.

Sources:

- The Bible

-  http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=97679

The Story of Cholesterol: Energy, CoQ10 and Statins

We have reached the point where the discussion turns to the practical side of things. Once the thinking is done we must put into practice what we have learned. Right off the top the need for a disclaimer is paramount: Nothing in this article should be construed as advice on dietary or supplemental modalities. You should consult your physician or a trusted health care provider for your specific needs. In the interest of stimulating a great conversation between you and your health care provider the words that follow should be your guide.

The miracle of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

One of the main issues surrounding statin drugs is how it inhibits the production of a key enzyme known as CoQ10. Devastating adverse health effects have been associated with CoQ10 deficiencies and has been recognized by some parts of the medical community in the U.S. and more widely in Europe and the Far East. Many people are familiar with the term “CoQ10” but do not have a firm grasp of what it is and how vital it is to our hearts so let’s discuss it.  

CoQ10 is a powerful vitamin-like substance produced by virtually every cell in the body. It has many functions that prove to be vitally important to the body. One of those functions is converting our food into fuel for our cells to use. When we eat good, wholesome foods and CoQ10 is present in the cells in adequate supplies our energy levels rise. The science of the process in which CoQ10 does its work is actually intriguing but we will skip the detailed lesson and just say without it we would have a hard time getting much of anything done. Because the heart is such a dense muscle that is always active it is one of the top CoQ10 producers in the body and rightfully so. Beating on average 2.5 billion times during a person’s life the heart requires a wealth of energy. Statins interfere with the production of some enzymes including CoQ10 robbing the heart of significant amounts of energy. To add insult to injury as we age we tend to produce less and less of this powerful enzyme naturally setting us up for exponential energy lose and poor cardiovascular production.

Another function of this miracle enzyme is blood pressure modification. It has proven itself to be an awesome way to reduce blood pressure without harmful side effects. A meta-analysis of clinical trials conducted in 2007 by F.L. Rosenfeldt et al (Coenzyme Q10 in the treatment of hypertension…) found overwhelming, across the board evidence that significant reductions in blood pressure took place among test subjects taking the supplement when compared to the control group (who did not take CoQ10 at all). Since 1974 doctors in Japan have prescribed CoQ10 to patients who experience congenital heart failure. Further studies in the U.S. showed a marked increase of heart function and vitality in people suffering from severe (class III and class IV) cardiomyopathy. These were people who were given just a year or two to live because they were that sick until CoQ10 supplementation began.

In addition, CoQ10 is a wonderful antioxidant. Oxidative stress, especially as it relates to LDL cholesterol, is a major cardiovascular concern. Remember that cholesterol in and of itself is not the boogey man but oxidized pattern B LDL cholesterol is. Coenzyme Q10 steps in and helps to prevent oxidation of patter B LDL helping to stop the type of cardiovascular stress that plague so many people. A healthy non-inflammation inducing eating plan along with CoQ10 supplementation can make all the difference in having excellent heart health especially if the person is experiencing poor cardiovascular health at the moment.

Where to find it

Typically CoQ10 tends to be found most prevalently in the organ meat of animals such as the kidneys, liver and heart. This is the most natural way to get it from outside your own body. The problem is enzymes tend to breakdown very readily when exposed to high heat even for short periods of time. The alternative to consuming organ meat (especially if you are vegetarian) has to be in the form of a supplement.

CoQ10 supplements are out there but it is imperative you can trust the source. There is no need to consume anything that is of low quality in the hopes that it will be beneficial. High quality CoQ10 that is readily bioavailable is a must. Seek advice from a knowledgeable source when determining what you might like to use.  

In Conclusion

There is a distinct correlation between CoQ10 deficiency and poor, sometimes fatal, heart function. So much so that the evidence of years of studies should be splattered across the headlines daily warning us about the deficiency and how to overcome it through supplementation. Medically speaking it is a very cheap and efficient way to reduce mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular issues especially in comparison to drugs and surgery that both carry ill side effects while draining personal and institutional coffers worldwide.

Originally this was supposed to be the last article in the series but there are other nutrients that should be discussed that would be of great benefit to cardiovascular health. With that thought in mind one or two additional articles may be necessary for the sake of thoroughness.

Sources: The Great Cholesterol Myth (Bowden and Sinatra)

The Story of Cholesterol: Inflammation is the villain that got away

Let us, for the sake of illustration, imagine a crime scene. At this crime scene is a victim who is alive but unconscious and thus unable to speak. The paramedics are working tirelessly to tend to the fallen soul as a crowd of witnesses and on -lookers gather. When the police finally arrive they begin arresting the paramedics, witnesses and the on-lookers just for being at the scene. In the meantime the true culprit goes unnoticed and is allowed to continue to victimize others. If you are anything like me a sense of injustice swept over you as you pondered this scenario as it should but this is how we treat cholesterol. Cholesterol is often (but not always...we'll get to that) the unwitting witness or even the paramedic that gets blamed for doing something it had no part in while the true villain, inflammation, gets away Scot-free to continue its reign of terror. By the way, in the illustration the silent victim is our cardiovascular system.

Inflammation our friend, Inflammation our foe

Let's be fair about inflammation before we go much further. Inflammation is a natural and necessary bodily function. It serves as a marker so the immune system can know where the bad guys are. Without inflammation pathogens in the body could wonder freely and do massive damage. While acute inflammation is a natural and necessary process chronic inflammation is a killer. What causes chronic inflammation? A whole host of things actually like highly processed foods, simple carbs, too much protein (especially from animal sources), environmental toxins, medications, alcohol, etc., etc. Chronic inflammation is extremely damaging to the cardiovascular system and cholesterol has shouldered most of the blame for the last 40-50 years. And why not? If you were responsible for generating $31 billion a year in sales you would be the fall guy forever! In addition, chronic inflammation is a silent, painless killer much like hypertension and no amount of cholesterol lowering drugs can save you from it (this point will be further illustrated when the true nature of statin drugs are discussed).

Oxidative Stress and Free Radicals

Free radical is probably a term you are now familiar with but just in case you're not a brief description follows. When it comes to free radicals it helps to think of them as a pack of teenage boys at the mall roaming around just waiting to hit on receptive looking female that approaches. The whole while they are generally annoying not only the girls but anyone in the vicinity who may be watching. This pack of boys begin to upset the whole mall experience with anyone they come into contact with. That is a nuts and bolts metaphor for free radicals. They create massive amounts of inflammation and just mess up everything.

In the end chronic inflammation is of much more concern than cholesterol ever was generally. There is one scenario where cholesterol can be a bad actor but that occasion is almost exclusively dependent on free radicals and oxidative stress (imagine that). We will continue to move forward through the true story of cholesterol and cover statin drugs in particular and what they do us!

The Story of Cholesterol: The Beginning

One of my chief goals is to help others achieve radiant health by exposing erroneous, and often times intentionally misleading, information. There are many areas of our lives where these errors adversely impact our health and one of them is cholesterol. I must admit that prior to becoming a certified holistic health practitioner (holistic health coach) I would see the commercials for cholesterol lowering medications and agree wholeheartedly with its use. After all, one of the main ways to prevent heart disease and heart attacks was to ensure cholesterol levels were kept in check by lowering the amount in the bloodstream, right? I was convinced of this "fact" and all it took was a series of 30 second commercials to convince me and millions of others. Now the alarms are being sounded as more and more evidence would suggest that cholesterol is not what we think it is.

The Story of Cholesterol: The Beginning is the first article in what will be a continuing series on the cholesterol story and how it affects each and everyone of us. Whether you are taking a cholesterol lowering medication now or you pay insurance premiums to help cover the cost of those who do we are all paying a hefty price only to decrease what we hope to increase: our health.

The history of cholesterol as the boogie man!

Like most pharmaceutical success stories ours starts in the lab with a guy in a white coat who promises to save your life if you buy what they are selling. Enter Ansel Keys, Ph.D. He was one of the first to begin making the extraordinary and revolutionary claim that cholesterol was at the heart of cardiovascular disease (also known as the lipid hypothesis) and lowering it would reduce heart attacks and other adverse cardiovascular events. And so the myth was born and from that point in the 1950's until this very day many millions continue to believe this unsubstantiated myth (more on this in another article). The commercials haven't stopped and the myth is continuously perpetuated because statins and other cholesterol lowering drugs are a $31 billion a year industry all by itself!

What is cholesterol?

Have you ever wondered what cholesterol is and why we have it. I know personally I never stopped to consider it. The truth about cholesterol and what it does for our bodies is astounding. Here are a few things about cholesterol that you may not know:

• The brain is approximately 60% cholesterol (one of the listed side effects of statin drugs is reduced cognitive function!)
• Cholesterol is so important that it is manufactured in almost every cell in the body
• Cholesterol is an important structural molecule that is the basis of how many other molecules get built
• Cholesterol is the body's natural inflammation fighter
• Cholesterol helps to synthesize Vitamin D
• Without cholesterol we would be unable to produce bile affecting our ability to digest dietary fats
• Without cholesterol sex hormones like testosterone, estrogen and progesterone cannot be made (one of the listed side effects of statin drugs is reduced testicular and ovary size!)
• If we were able to remove all the cholesterol from our bodies we would die very quickly

As you can see cholesterol plays an important part in our health and well being. So the question becomes: How and why has cholesterol been so vilified and who profits from our media/doctor induced manic hatred for such an essential element in our lives? There is more to come shortly. Stay tuned!

Constipation and Your Health: The Beginning of the End Part II

Our modern lifestyles have helped to usher many new and wondrous things into our lives but also some downright devastating ventures. How and what we eat, how we handle stress, and the excessive amounts of drugs, pharmaceutical and otherwise, damages our health through constipation.

Highly processed foods have become a main stay in the average American diet. Highly processed foods (bleached and enriched bread products, junk food, refined sugar, etc.) not only tend to be void of nutrition but also notoriously difficult to eliminate from the system with any kind of efficiency. Highly processed food (if you can call it food) which is not easily eliminated causes a log jam (no pun intended) in the intestines that becomes increasingly worse with each passing day. The lack of soluble and insoluble fiber in our diets only serves to compound the problem.

Stress is known as a silent killer that affects the cardiovascular system but what is often not known is how stress affects our digestion. We know that stress can create ulcers in the stomach but did you know it can lead to other gastrointestinal issues like constipation? In extreme cases stress can cause peristalsis to become extremely weak. Peristalsis describes the involuntary contractions of the colon which helps eliminate waste. Weak peristalsis makes the colon dysfunctional and constipation ensues. Also, highly stressed people tend to be enzyme deficient leading to poor digestion setting them up for constipation.

As previously mentioned Americans spend approximately $700 million annually on laxatives. While occasional use may be fine chronic laxative use can cause more harm than good. Laxatives stimulate contractions in the intestines by affecting the nerves. These stimulations are abnormal and can lead to a slow paralysis of those nerves making constipation a lifelong issue. In addition, common medications like antibiotics tend to disrupt natural intestinal flora (the balance between good bacteria and harmful bacteria). A buildup of toxic material in the intestines is a result causing constipation. Other drug types that cause constipation as a side effect are anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics, antacids, antidepressants, antihypertensive drugs and diuretics.

The treatments for constipation will be discussed in the next post.

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