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Sleep and Activity Lifestyle Practices for the Cold and Flu Season

10/16/2018

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There are good reasons that you should not leave it to chance that doing nothing or taking a flu shot will protect you from colds and flu. Last year’s flu shot was not very effective. Strengthening your immune system is the first line of defense to protect you from winter ills.

Modern thinking tends to look at your immune system as a separate entity. In the holistic thinking of oriental medicines, the strength of your immune system reflects the strength of your body. In order to boost your immune system, it is important to keep your body systems in balance and with good vitality.

After diet, the next most important factor for keeping your energy and vitality strong is your lifestyle. Embedded in lifestyle is that a good mental attitude and a healthy body posture are also critical to balanced functioning of the human body and mind.

We take in energy from the food we eat and digest. Good digestion is intricately connected to our choice of foods.  In addition, we take in energy from the air; in that oxygen is the catalyst for many body functions. In traditional Chinese oriental medicine the function of the lungs is intimately connected to the immune system.

The metabolism controls the function of the whole body including healthy immunity. There is an energy equation that affects the metabolism. The energy we receive from the air and the food we eat has to match the energy output in our mental and physical activity.

If there is a mismatch, that is not enough energy coming in or too much energy being put out, the body goes into a state of stress.  Focusing on easy to digest foods and a diet centered around cooked vegetables and grains with moderate amounts of other natural foods is essential for having adequate energy coming into the fuel the body.

In a state of long term stress, the body makes decisions about how to use energy. Functions that are needed for immediate survival get first choice. The circulatory system and nervous system are high on the list.
Under prolonged stress, functions that are not needed for immediate survival receive less of an allocation of energy. This causes the function of these organs to be lower. If an imbalanced energy equation goes on too long, the body starts to slow the whole metabolism down. The immune system at this point starts to function at a much lower level. Unfortunately, because of modern eating and lifestyle habits, this is a common occurrence among almost everyone. It even can start at a younger age.

What we do in our lifestyle balances the energy equation to keep our immunity strong. The balance between activity and rest is important for maintaining the energy and vitality of the body. It is important that we stay moderately active for both mental and physical health. This includes doing a job or mental activities that are pleasurable and/or satisfying and doing the correct amount and kind of exercise.

Physical exercise gives us energy. Many people experience the difference in their lives with doing daily moderate exercise. If the exercise is too much for the body, the body gets exhausted. If too little exercise is done, the muscles, bones, and circulation get weaker hampering the function of the entire body. Many people feel that doing the most exercise we can is beneficial. Aerobic exercises and weight training are focused on. Although all forms of exercise are beneficial, moderation is the key. I explain in more detail about this in a recent blog post.

Rest is the balance for good activity. Rest includes getting 7-8 hours of deep sleep every night, taking breaks, resting, recreational activities and vacations from work. Disturbed sleep is a sign that the body is operating in a stress mode. It is important to find out the cause and correct this because without sleep the body will stay in a stress mode. Emotional states are disturbed and focus and concentration are reduced when under stress.

One of the aspects of stress is that it distorts over time the body posture. This results in excessive muscle contractions throughout the body. These distortions sap energy when we are walking, sitting and even being still. Some of the postural distortions hamper the function of the digestive tract and lungs. Muscle contractions can hamper the function of all the organs.  The result of these postural distortions is that we don’t get energy from our food or the breath.  Circulation is hampered. Remember, when the overall vitality of the body is lessened, immunity goes down making us susceptible to viruses and infections.

It is important to release these contracted muscles that distort the body’s posture. Certain types of exercises correct these postural distortions and release overly contracted muscles. High quality Qi Gong, known as Nei Gong exercises and Hanna Somatics can help to correct these imbalances when practiced regularly. The result of releasing these distortions is increased vitality. I teach combinations of these practices to help my clients with their individual conditions. They are very effective with great results when done regularly.

Another activity that can save or use up energy is speech. In Chinese and oriental medicines, economy of speech was considered an important practice for longevity because talking uses up energy.

Regularity in one’s lifestyle creates a harmonious patterning that counters and prevents stress. The most important regularity is in your sleep, eating and work pattern. Work is best in the day and not at night. Irregularity in eating puts the body in a stress mode. Going to bed at an earlier time harmonizes with the cycle of the day. On a physical level, body and mind rebuilds when one’s sleeps when it is dark. Sleeping in the dark activates the parasympathetic nervous system. When active, this system rebuilds the body and engages your immune system.
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Pollution creates stress for the body. Dealing with pollution in our environment creates stress and wastes our energy. To create enough vitality to fuel our immune systems, it is beneficial to decrease our exposure to pollutants as much as possible.  Use natural body care and house hold products, low VOC paints in your home. Learn how to protect yourself from electromagnetic pollution from electronic devices such as cell phones and other devices. Do some research to learn how to avoid the most polluting elements in your home and work place.

The main components to create health, good vitality and a resultant strong natural immune system in one’s daily life are diet, exercise, adequate rest, relaxation and a good mental attitude. Your mental attitude and understanding plays a crucial role in creating health.

To understand about the role of the mind, we can look to some of the traditional teachings of oriental medicine. In these traditional teachings, the purpose of life is to grow our consciousness. In order to do this, we experience the seven emotions: joy, anger, grief, worry, fear, and melancholy.
 
It is said in Chinese medical teachings, that when these emotions are appropriate to their stimuli, these are natural subjective experiences which is the purpose of life. Emotions use up energy in order to develop our consciousness.  If they become excessive, these are called the 7 thieves. They steal the life force from your body.
Although all the emotions are appropriate in different circumstances, it is important to cultivate mental tranquility. There are several ways to do this.

Meditation and breathing techniques help people to develop an experience that the spirit within us is inviolable, essentially unharmable and indestructible, whether experiences are good or bad. Since our mental states can sap energy, this is an important deep understanding to understand and experience.

A modern version of this traditional wisdom that permeated not only oriental medicines but numerous oriental philosophies was created by an uneducated Scottish welder, named Sydney Banks. Banks had an enlightenment experience about the nature of the mind and consciousness. He went on to share his understanding from his experience around the world.  In essence, he discovered that all of us are connected to something greater than ourselves, but the nature of thought is to act in a manner that forgets this fact.

He developed a teaching that helps people to understand what in oriental medicine was called a good mental attitude by understanding that our life experience is a creation of our mind moment to moment. Traditional books from the mystics of the great religions essentially say something similar. These great books can give also give insights into developing mental tranquility.

In both the qigong/nei gong tradition, hatha yoga and modern body work traditions, the condition of the physical body can disturb our mental and emotional responses to life. Correcting body imbalances through diet and the correct therapeutic exercises or massage techniques can help to foster a more tranquil mind.

In our often-modern isolated way of thinking, except for obvious destructive practices such as drug or alcohol abuse, it is not common to be aware of the crucial balancing factors in our lifestyle that boost immunity.

Balancing your energy equation of what you are taking in with healthy food and what goes out with activity and other factors mentioned above is an essential approach to strengthening your immune system to prepare for the coming cold and flu season. In addition, harmonious lifestyle practices can aid in preventing many serious disorders that are linked to weakened immunity.

References:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2017-2018.htm
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/2/1/16960758/flu-vaccine-effectiveness
https://www.macrobiotic.com/blog/body-movements-for-health
The Inside-Outside Revolution by Michael Neill (based on the teachings of Sydney Banks)
Somatics: Reawakening the Mind's Control of Movement, Flexibility, And Health by Thomas Hanna
Tao and Longevity by Hua-Chin Nan

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Immune Boosting Foods for the Cold and Flu Season

10/14/2018

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​In no time at all as the weather indicates, the cold and flu season will be upon us. Many people believe that a flu shot will protect them. Flu shots have been found to be highly ineffective in preventing everyone from catching the flu.

Holistic doctors and practitioners will tell you to boost certain supplements such as vitamin C. Vitamin C in the form of an isolated ascorbic acid is essentially a drug like substance that can be used over short periods of time for healing. In the long run, isolated ascorbic acid will not act the same as the vitamin C complex of nutrients in food. Although this approach is superior to relying on your flu shot or taking antibiotics when you get an infection, it still is missing the big picture.
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Chinese and similar oriental medicines have a different view of the body that can give us deeper insights into how to strengthen the immune system to prevent or pass through colds and flu more gently. I incorporate this knowledge into my Full Spectrum Macrobiotic Approach.

From an energetic view of these oriental medicines, the immune system is seen as being the most aggressive and active energetic aspect of the body. In order for the immune system to function well, the overall vitality of the body has to be highly functioning.

We derive energy from what we eat and digest, and from our breathing. We preserve this energy by putting out the right amount of physical and mental activity, and getting adequate time for resting and recuperation.
Energy or vitality in the body arises then from our diet and eating habits, our lifestyle which includes balanced rest and activity, the appropriate type and amount of exercise, body posture and movement, and a correct mental attitude.

To boost our immune system, we need an abundance of energy that comes from each of these areas. In this article, I will outline the most important elements in food to strengthen one’s immune system.

Diet: What we eat is the foundation of our energy or vitality. Longevity culture studies around the world show what was primarily eaten is what in Chinese medicine they call a clear light diet. For most people this is a diet centered around mostly cooked organic vegetables and whole grains, with small and moderate amounts of natural high-quality animal foods. A mild use of spices is known to aid digestion in the form of ginger, black pepper and other pungent or hot spices.

Humans are omnivorous by nature. Most people do better eat small amounts of a variety of naturally raised animal food 1-2 times per day in 2-4 oz portions depending on one’s size. These include wild fish, naturalyl raised beef, poultry, eggs and grass-fed dairy products.

For those who are vegan, I recommend the article on my website, How to be Safe on a Vegan Diet. For vegetarians, it is important to include dairy products from grass fed animals especially raw cheese and pasture raised eggs.

Small and moderate amounts of natural fats, wheat products such as noodles and sourdough bread, cooked fruit, prepared nuts and seeds, natural fats, natural seasonings, teas and other natural foods round out what I call a Full Spectrum Macrobiotic Approach to diet as eaten by most people in temperate areas around the globe.

If not enough animal proteins are eaten, the body does not produce adequate white blood cells for proper immune functioning or produce digestive enzymes to aid in digestion. Yet, if too many animal products are eaten, it hampers and weakens digestion so that the body can’t derive enough energy from foods. The animal products that are hardest to digest when overeaten are pork and beef.

Small amounts of natural sugars from natural sweeteners and cooked or dried fruit can be helpful for health in moderation. If sugar is over consumed, it puts a strain on digestion and creates inflammation that hampers digestion and vitality.

Human beings are designed to eat primarily cooked vegetables. Animals that eat raw vegetables have a rumen, a stomach that has bacteria in it that breaks down the fiber in raw vegetables. In this way, these animals can digest and absorb all the nutrients from raw vegetables. When raw vegetables are overeaten by humans, inflammation in the digestive tract occurs. This hampers digestion.

In traditional Chinese medicines, they understood that if certain foods were overeaten, it creates what they called dampness. In my Full Spectrum Macrobiotic Approach, I believe that dampness is in modern terms, inflammation and swelling of the digestive tract.

Certain foods if overeaten will create dampness. Natural foods in this category are super abundant in nutrition. In moderation, they are important for health. They include beef, pork, wheat products, added fats, dairy products, tomato sauce, nuts and seeds.

Modern food concoctions that are especially dampening causing inflammation in the digest tract include juices, ice cream and pizza.  100 years ago, these foods did not exist in the food chain. Only because of modern transportation, refrigeration and  baking methods are they so easily accessible.

This understanding can help us to avoid taking too much of a good thing. All the above foods and drinks when taken in excess weaken the digestive system. When combined with overeating, the stomach overheats (gets inflamed) creating more digestive weakness.

Strengthening digestion is a key factor in boosting your immune system.  The modern diet is a modern invention created after World War II based on technology first invented for the war. Traditional eating in all the temperate zones of the world was very modest, but now an abundance of foods is present.

To boost your digestive power, it is important to avoid highly processed foods. These foods stimulate the brain to overeat which creates inflammation known as dampness in the digestive system and heat/ inflammation in the stomach. In oriental medicine, excessive heat in the stomach over stimulates the appetite.

The modern habit of eating cold foods and drinks will hamper digestion. Energetically, the digestive system is like a fire, working more efficiently at body temperature.

When the digestive system is weakened, the overall vitality including the most active energy of the immune function is lowered making us more susceptible to get colds and flu.

Besides focusing on what traditionally was called a clear light diet or what I call a Full Spectrum Macrobiotic Approach to diet, there are foods, food concentrates and herbs that boost the immune system.  Vitamin A rich supplements and foods strengthen the immune system. Fermented cod oil, pastured eggs and liver from naturally raised animals are high in vitamin A.

Zinc rich foods such as natural red meat, wild shellfish and roasted pumpkin seeds are important for the immune functioning.

Vitamin C is important for immune function. Vitamin C is high in lightly cooked vegetables, fruits, and cabbage pickles/sauerkraut. The Indian herb, Amla, is a natural whole vitamin C complex. Be careful of vitamins that say they are from whole foods. Most of them in the market place include isolated vitamins.

The Chinese herb astragalus strengthens the immune system. This can be prepared as a tea or taken in pills or an extract powder.  It is best to buy high or medium grade astragalus to get the best effect.

Around the colon is a great number of immune cells. The health of the colon makes sure that these immune cells are neutralizing viruses and bacteria. If the condition of the colon is poor with the wrong type of bacteria, your immune system is busy fighting these bacteria.  It can’t then ward off the cold and flu viruses.

Fiber rich grains and vegetables aid the function of the colon along with fermented foods such as miso and pickles that are made without vinegar, sugar or preservatives. Pickles also include raw fermented sauerkraut. These kinds of pickles are available in the refrigerator at natural foods stores.

It is easy to see that many people eating a modern diet and even eating natural diets are comprising their digestion with the result of weakening their immunity. It is not only the modern diet that is a new invention. Many people are eating natural diets that are only possible because of modern technology and that no people around the globe traditionally ate. The result is that people even eating many natural foods are also more susceptible to getting winter illnesses.

By working on your eating in the ways I mentioned, you can help your body to have enough energy for a healthy functioning immune system.

https://www.macrobiotic.com/how-to-be-safe-on-a-vegan-diet-not-vagen.html

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/2/1/16960758/flu-vaccine-effectiveness

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human
by Richard Wrangham
 
Netflix Series “Cooked” by Michael Pollen
 


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    Author: 
    John Kozinski

    Health Educator, Counselor, Pioneer and practitioner of macrobiotics for almost 40 years, John Kozinski has devoted his career to helping people achieve and maintain optimal health.

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