Recently I found out that my blood pressure was high.  After considering and trying medication for a short period, I opted to try integrative medicine therapies which were successful!

What is high blood pressure?  A blood pressure reading of greater than 140/90 is considered abnormal although even lower levels (130-139/85-89)can be associated with higher risk for cardiovascular disease.  Hypertension (high blood pressure) affects one in four Americans and is called the “silent killer,” because you can have an high blood pressure without having any symptoms. (more…)

The recent crisis in the Gulf brought to mind, as I’m sure it has for many, how we take care of our home.  The earth, our terrestrial home is under siege and it is heartbreaking to watch the damage she is suffering.  We can use this macro lesson in caring for our home to bring to our awareness how important it is to take care of another home – our bodies.  When we abuse the earth or don’t take proper care of the earth – there are consequences – some greater than others.  when we abuse our bodies, the same applies.

Most of us don’t think of our bodies as our home but in fact they are.  We get one body at birth. We live in that body-home until we die.  The food we eat, whether or not we are active, how we nourish our bodies in general will have consequences.  If we smoke, we damage our hearts and lungs.  When we eat foods that are highly processed, we send out inflammatory cells to all parts of the body which over time cause wear and tear on the body organs.

As we look at the disaster being played out on our TVs in the news, I wonder what headline news it would take to get all of us to take our body health as seriously.  While the media is churning out more and more studies about how “bad” obesity is, we forget that scare tactics never work.  We must all refocus what has been called the war on obesity into a partnership to put health first, then weight. If we saw ourselves in the same light that we see the poor creatures of the sea; if our hearts would open to our own need for caring, then perhaps changing how we treat ourselves, our bodies would make sense. Because, to me, it doesn’t make the most sense that we try to get everyone to “just be thin.”  There are many thin people who are unhealthy.  So thin is definitely NOT the answer.

But anyone who takes care of themselves, who views their bodies as their friend, not adversary, who is a good steward of this home will be as healthy as humanly possible.  Perhaps BP’s oil spill and the crisis in the gulf can serve as a wake up call for us all to take care of all the homes under our guardianship – from our bodies to the earth itself.

How did we end up as a nation where over half of our citizens are losing the battle of the bulge?  I’ve talked about genetics already.  But our genes haven’t changed in the last 50 years while the percentage of us who are overweight or obese has skyrocketed.  Currently there is no state in our nations with less than 20% of its people who are not obese.

Well a lot of other things have changed in the past 50 years.  When I was a kid, we had only one Mc Donald’s in our hometown.  We also had a Dairy Queen.  Going out for fast food was a rare treat, usually reserved for long car trips when we couldn’t find a restaurant such as Stuckey’s to have a sit down meal.   (more…)

Fact #6 – Obesity is associated with a number of health risks.  When you got to most doctors, they will tell you that if you don’t reach your “ideal weight” you will get heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.  Your risk for heart attacks and certain cancers go up.  That’s not all there is to know about this topic.  (more…)

If you read the previous blog, you will know that the predisposition to obesity is overwhelmingly genetic.  What does this mean to you?  Well, if you come from a family of overweight individuals, it will undoubtedly be more difficult for you to lose weight and keep it off.  That’s Fact #1

FAct #2:   The recommendations for physical activity to reduce risks for the health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes for the average individual is 30 minutes per day on most days of the week.  That adds up to about 200 minutes per week of moderate physical activity.  If you are overweight or obese, to lose weight you need to exercise between 200 and 300 minutes per day or about 45 minutes every day as a minimum.

Knowing that you have the genetic risk for obesity, also know that exercise is key to not just losing weight but maintaining your weight loss, which is the more important of the two and the subject of the next message.