Thursday, February 20, 2014

Most Common Problems I See with Clients



Okay, so I see some of the same things here in my practice over and over again. The common things I see among most are:
DEHYDRATION! I do a thorough intake with all my clients. One form gives me an idea as to what each person is eating, drinking and their lifestyle choices. I see it all the time. 2-3 cups of coffee, 12-16 oz. on average sodas daily, black tea when out to eat, alcohol weekly, but maybe 6-8 oz. of what our bodies are actually made of, WATER!!  



Yes, your body is about 74.5% water! I have posted on water before. Your blood is made of over 90% water! Your brain needs it, your body will rid of toxins better when you drink it, your skin will benefit, your hair will look healthier, your organs will be happier, cleaner and you will have more energy. So what's the deal? You need 1/2 your weight in oz. of water every single day. Without this, your body will be toxic, your blood will be thick, you will not be able to concentrate, but you will blame it on your brain or your age, your skin will be very dry, your hair, brittle, you will suffer from headaches, constipation, you will hold onto fluid (*yep, you will retain fluid, your body will hold onto it to rescue you from any more dehydrated disease tendencies)!!  I hear, "I will be in the bathroom all day if I drink my water", or, "I already have swollen ankles and hands, won't this give me more fluid to hold there"?  "I hate the taste of water".....It is necessary for life! It's not a mistake that we are made of water, it is the way we are made!!! Drinking coffee dehydrates you! Drinking soda dehydrates you, drinking black tea dehydrates you, drinking alcohol, dehydrates you. You drink it, then you rush into the bathroom and urinate, your body cannot hydrate tissues with any of those. Your blood cannot clean itself with soda, that would be like cleaning your windows with soda, they will be dirty when you finish. 
Okay, that's enough for now about water. The second thing I hear a lot here in my practice is gut problems. Gas, bloating, heart-burn, indigestion, constipation or diarrhea, cramping....
THE GUT:  A couple interesting things right off the top. You have more nerve endings going into your gut than you do your brain and spine!! Your happy chemical, Serotonin lives in the gut, about 95% of what you have, lives in the gut! So, no wonder when you are constipated you are miserable, cranky, not well from head to toe. There are a lot of things that can disturb the gut, from antibiotics to parasites, a hiatal hernia, ulcers, gallbladder dysfunction, poor diet choices, living with unchecked stress, (day to day stress without giving back to yourself and having a stress outlet), and so on..... I am going to talk here about the first step to gut health. Digestion! You need to liquefy food before it reaches the latter part of the small intestines so you can absorb the nutrition from your food. I see a very common issue with simply not breaking down food well. Digestion is key! Enzymes are key to digestion. If you don't have enough you will have undigested food pass into the area you use for absorption whole, it will be in a dark, warm, moist environment for about 6-8 hours by the time it gets there, it will rot and ferment and put off quite a bit of gas. So, I suggest enzymes, a blend of digestive enzymes prior to every meal! Liquefy the food, absorb the nutrients from your food and benefit from the nutrition in your diet!  Your diet choices for a healthy gut will need to be a different blog, it is it's own thing! One thing I will say is small meals, often, don't drink at meals or you will dilute all the gastric secretions you do have or dilute the enzymes you just took and render them useless! Drink 30 min. prior and wait 1 hour after. 

STRESS:  Everyone has it (for the most part, there are a few that don't). It is toxic, just like poor diet choices. It will adversely affect your blood sugar, your hormones, your nervous system, your thyroid, your gut, of course and more!  It's not like you can decide not to be stressed, it doesn't work like that. You need tools. Tools meaning, show yourself some love, give back when you are taking away day to day. I love the book The 5 Languages of love. It is a great reminder of what is the best way to give back to yourself. My husband and I read it together so we knew each others language. It's not necessary, but a great part of the process of finding what you need. How to give back to yourself in the most effective way. http://www.polyu.edu.hk/sao/publications/emagazine/issue133/love%20language2.pdf Here is a quiz that I found online to see what your language is! 
Stress outlets can be whatever gives to you the most. Massage, yoga, meditation, prayer, going for a run, bubble baths, reike....whatever makes you feel like you can get up and once again conquer the world. Utilize these several times a week!  You may also feed the nervous system with nutrition. I love Holy Basil, phosphatidyl serine, Valerian, 5-HTP, inositol, gaba......I have most of these and will use whatever feels right from day to day. Last night I did Valerian Root and an herbal tea with Chamomile in it before bed. But lately, taking a theanine, B vitamin blend for anxiety has been very helpful. I can help you to determine the best route for you to take, just get in here, it's part of what I do for a living!
As far as what to avoid: hanging around with toxic, negative people, realizing that toxic, bad thoughts aren't hurting anyone but you and you only, limiting caffeine, get enough sleep and love yourself, faults and all. 


The five love languages 


Words of Affirmation 
 One of your deepest needs is the need to feel appreciated. Verbal compliments, words of appreciation, 
encouragement, kind and humble words are all ways to show love to you. 

Quality Time 
 You enjoy doing things TOGETHER! We aren’t talking about just sitting in front of the T.V. together but 
really giving each other undivided attention. This means looking at each other, talking to each other, 
sharing your life with your partner. 

Receiving Gifts 
 You are happy to receive things from your loved ones. They don’t have to be expensive. The gift is a 
symbol of “s/he cares about me” and “s/he thinks of me”. 

Acts of Service 
 For you, actions speak louder than words! You prefer your partner to do things for you such as cooking a 
meal, giving a massage, cleaning the room… You like your partner to initiate the acts of service and put 
efforts into doing them to show that s/he cares. 

Physical Touch 
 You love to receive a hug, a kiss, squeezes on the shoulder, a pat on the back, a touch of the face, and an 
arm around the waist... Touches can be 10 times as powerful and comforting as any words! 

I have run out of time today, A client is rolling in the door in ten minutes and I want to do some stretching and breathing before the rest of my day takes over. Treat yourself with respect and take care!


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