Blog Day Celebration

Celebrating Blog day I visited blog day site and these interesting blogs:

1. Mundo Marino
2. The Greenbelt
3. Cuteoverload
4. A Bit of everything at: Pixel and Dixel
5. Kahunka

Technorati tag: http://technorati.com/tag/BlogDay2006

Trust you will enjoy these blogs.

Fascia, collagen and amino acids

Fascia is the web that binds and shapes the body. Fascia is everywhere in the body as it wraps muscle fibers, bones, tendons, joints, organs. So through the fascia everything in the body is interconnected.

Fascia is made up mostly of collagen. Collagen is derived from the Greek word kolla, which means glue. And the term arose from the early process of boiling skin and sinews of horses and animals to make glue. The oldest glue was found to be collagen, carbon dated to about 8,000 years ago.

Skin is made up in large part of collagen. This collagen is connected to the rest of collagen fibers in the body, that is the fascia in tendons, muscles, joints, bones and organs. Bodyworkers can feel inner tensions just by placing their hands on a person’s body. In a sense they are picking up that tension as it travels through the fascia. If you quiet down and lie still after a while you will start registering your inner body tensions as they inform your nervous system that there is something held up or stuck.

So to change the structure of your body you need to change the shape of your fascia. And this is possible because the fascia is made up of collagen. Collagen has be capacity to change from liquid to solid. With chronic tension in the body the collagen will harden and shorten. Bodywork can help you change the form of the fascia to reduce inner tensions and stress.

To remain flexible and supple you need collagen. Collagen is what gives the body its plasticity. Collagen is made up of amino acids (building blocks of protein) and as we age because we loose our ability to assimilate nutrients less amino acids are available to create new collagen. And so we start shrinking. The skin shrinks up, the muscles get smaller, and the joints become less supple.

One way we can reduce that process at least partially is to consume amino acids (proteins) in forms that are easy to assimilate. One of the ways to do that is to consume liquid arginine (an important amino acid in collagen formation). Another way is to do exercise like Tai Chi, Chikung or yoga that stimulates blood circulation around joints. That helps the joints maintain adequate levels of amino acids. Another way is to consume protein that fosters good blood circulation like textured soy protein, that is also easy to digest.

Textured Soy Protein

You can find all about textured soy protein, tempeh, tofu and soy milk at this great site on soya. Soy is cancer prevention food par excellance and at this site you will find facts and recipes that will boost your self-care.

You will find answers to questions like... What is isolated soy protein?, What is textured soy protein?

There is also a great section on smoothies and desserts.

In China soy has been revered as a holy crop and you will be surprised how many things can be done with this little bean.

Healing thoughts, healing words, healing sounds

Healing starts in the mind. Words are a way of expression for the mind. Words carry energy in the form of sound. Therefore we can initiate healing with a thought, which can manifest as a word with positive healing energy.

Water is our first and most important nutrient. We are 70% percent water so the quality of the water we drink is of outmost importance for our health and survival. Water should not only be free of pollutants, it should be alive. It must carry dissolved micronutrients in the form of minerals and salts rich in ions. Scientists call water with these characteristics pi water.

Dr. Masaru Emoto has found a way of linking thoughts, words and sounds and shows it at his site hado.net. He shows how frozen water crystals reflect the energy and intention of thought. His research is very interesting and points the way of the future.

How The Body Heals Itself

A homeopathic physician in the 1850´s stated a very simple law that explains the process of how the body heals itself. This law known as Herring’s Law states that (1) the body heals itself from the head down, (2) from the inside out and (3) in reverse order of symptoms that has been suppressed for any reason.

These three simple principles if applied will help you prevent dis-ease and promote your healing process.

Healing starts with a thought, a desire that fuels you to act to regain your health or sustain it. I often repeat to others and myself that I do not like hospitals and putting myself in the hands of a physician. I really enjoy my health and I want to stay healthy, therefore I take action that helps me to sustain my well-being. The number one thing you can do is to stay healthy is to eat well. Do not only think about it, do research. Look for simple activities that sustain your health. You have heard it: “One apple a day keeps the doctor away”. The power of positive thinking, backed by positive actions.

The body is built as a series of layers of tissues all interconnected through special tissue known as fascia. For your skin to look healthy you have to start from the inside out. In other words if your colon lining is plastered with toxic waste, your skin will reflect that. The best way to apply this principle is to avoid junk food and to favor organic vegetables, fruits, whole grains, clean sources of protein and natural supplements that support healthy tissue growth.

In other words, do not let toxins accumulate in the inner lining of your intestinal tract and you will promote the health of all the layers of tissue in your body. Periodically it is good idea to give yourself a good colon cleanse. It also makes sense to supplement your diet with natural anti-oxidants.

When something bad is inside you, your body will do its best to get it out. If you eat spoiled food, you will get diarrhea. It is a natural protection and it is better not to stop it, unless it continues for too long. When cold symptoms appear most people will start taking medicine that suppresses the coughing and the expulsion of phlegm. These medicines dry up the mucus and keep it inside the body, buried in layers of tissue. If this process is repeated a number of times after a while a serious condition will establish itself, like bronquitis or asthma that is even worse.

When you take herbs and natural nutrients (health foods or supplements) that support the natural healing process we have outlined here, the symptoms that you initially suppressed will start coming out in reverse order. This process is referred to as a healing crisis. To feel better we first have to feel worse.

These three principles if applied judiciously will help you keep the doctor away. If you loose your health, these principles will help you understand what you need to do to regain balance. Be smart. Choose a health practitioner that will help you follow principles to root out dis-ease from your body.

DeTox

We all come into this world without the operation manual for our bodies. If you are lucky you get parents that have figured a few things out. That was not my case. I had to look it up.

One of my first books on natural healing methods came from a Chilean priest named Manuel Lazaeta. It was out of print 35 years ago, so I can understand that Goggle only shows 21 distant references to the guy. He wrote a book that is like a bible (“Medicina natural al alcance de todos” de Manuel Lezaeta Acheran, edit. Kier) on natural healing. Probably very difficult to get a copy.

I do not have a copy of his book, but what I do remember is that he emphasized detoxification as a first step to regain health. His methods were radical, however very effective.

If you are really interested in improving your health this first step is mandatory. Do not invest in vitamins, herbal supplements and the latest nutraceutical product before you do a major clean up. Find out how psyllium husks (a bulking agent) and milk thistle (an herb that supports liver function) can help you and get started on a program.

One of the easiest ways to cleanse from the inside out is with this cocktail: Blend one apple (red or green) with 12 ounces of water. Add two ounces of concentrated aloe vera juice and two tablespoons of quality psyllium husks. Quickly stir the psyllim husks and do not delay. Drink this stuff fast, otherwise you will be in trouble. Believe me you do not want to spoon this stuff down. You want to drink it fast. Let it bulk up in your tummy. Drink a glass of water after you drink the mix.

If you have to get away before you can drink it all, you can always add more water.
Do this at least once a day for fifteen days. Very important, if you cannot do this do not try this formula: You must drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. After a couple of days, add some organic quality yogurt to your diet or get an intestinal flora supplement.

This is not as good as a colonic, but it gets pretty close, especially if you do it twice a day. Be careful, especially if you have a history of abdominal problems. Disclaimer: You do this at your own risk. It is better to consult a naturopath if you have doubts. Psyllium or aloe vera may not be good for certain conditions. Do a little research yourself before you start, that way you will be able to ask questions.

Once you do this clean-up, the best way to maintain your body free of toxins is to include lots of raw veggies into your diet. More on that later. A good general health guide (look under alternative) can be found here.

Junk Food versus Whole Food

As a teenager I had poisoned my body with junk food to the point that my tonsils had swelled so much it was difficult to swallow. When I realized my mistake it was easy to change to wholesome foods because I had a powerful why. It was raw food and whole grains or an operation to extirpate my tonsils. So that settled it. I decided I wanted to keep my tonsils.

And I am glad I did. A year and half ago I meet a young woman that was having problems with chronic low abdominal swelling and constipation. She suffered from nasal allergies, had stopped menstruating and was in constant pain. Her doctor was suggesting an operation to remove some apparently benign tumors growing around her reproductive organs. When she told me that a few years before she had her tonsils removed I realized how she had created her condition.

For this young woman it probably all started with creating a waste dump in her body by eating the wrong way. If the ratio of junk to whole is unbalanced any person will get into trouble and it does not take to long for that to happen. Morgan Spurluck has proved that it only takes a couple of weeks for a healthy individual to loose his health by eating only junk.

What is unbalanced for one person may still be ok for another. So each one of us has to find his junk to whole food ratio. For many reasons it may not be possible to follow a 100% whole food regime. To this day I still indulge in a greasy pizza and white bread every now and then. I still love coffee, so I have it every now and then, not everyday.

Fortunately there are ways of cleaning up and supplementing our system. In this way we can cancel out some of the mistakes we make. A lot of research is going on to develop high absorption nutritional supplements that will balance even the most un-natural lifestyles.