I called my parents in Deerfield, and suggested they stop what they were doing that very moment and go outside to see it.  Which they did.  We were able to share something spectacular without having to do any of the work to make it happen.  Wow, just wow!

I am also going to start a liver cleanse next week.  I have done it many times before and find it to be a good way to get everything moving in my body.  Three weeks of clean food, lots of nutritional supplements which help to clean out the liver and digestive tract give me a great boost of energy and as a side effect, it helps decrease the incidence of migraine headaches. 

Happy and Prosperous  New Year to all!

Exercise, oddly enough, also has an effect on digestion.  Using the muscles in the abdomen helps to increase blood flow to abdominal organs and creates a massaging effect on the digestive organs, which encourages proper movement of food through the system.

Okay, I know we all have a lot of pressure to be good and do good.  As I move through the holiday season preparations, it serves me well to be reminded that the stress associated with the increased activity can be transformed into results that can change a life.  Choosing kindness instead of short-tempered responses, choosing gentleness and presence of mind instead of  just going through the motions can make a huge difference in our own experience as well as those with which we are interacting or even those who witness our presence. 

I am committing to having just such an experience as often as possible, in an ongoing attempt to ‘be what a good wo/man should be’.  Happy, kind and gentle holiday wishes to everyone.

I recently heard of a program for teaching kids about nutrition.  It categorized foods in green, yellow and red light groups.  The kids then can monitor their own red light foods, decreasing the number per week gradually.  It seems to work better than the parents always being the food police.  PS, it works for grown-ups too.

“The assumption that human technology could improve on the wisdom of Nature has become a primary cause of disease  in the modern world.  We dissect food, take out the most glaringly obvious parts, attempt to recreate them in a laboratory, and label them as ‘active ingredients.’  In fact, it is the symphony of nutrients working synergistically that provides the quantum healing power of whole foods.”

I think this is an important concept.  I prefer to take in nutrients that are as close to their original form as possible.  They present with all the necessary cofactors to be digested more easily, absorb more readily, and utilized more completely.  Hard to improve on that.

Also, another fact about Vitamin B:  most B vitamins sold in US are derived from coal tar…really, from India or China.  One place in US makes it;  Reilly Tar and Chemical, in Indiana, I think.  The vitamins are left after tar and creosote are extracted.  Makes you want to look for more whole food sources of nutrients, doesn’t it?

Wow, how loaded is that statement?!  I recently read an interview where they discussed this proverb in relation to living your life with integrity and to the fullest extent of who you are meant to be.  I love these kinds of challenges and I am reminded to spend some time every day considering the ways in which I can improve on matching my actions to my beliefs of what life can be,  not only for myself,  but those around me.  I hope to keep expanding the resources I can offer my patients and others with whom I come in contact.

As we move into the December activities, I am going to renew my pledge to keep the sweets low, since it uses large quantities of vitamin B to process, it leaves the nervous system at a distinct disadvantage.  The B vitamins help to nourish and calm the nervous system and who doesn’t need that?!