Blog
What is chronic stress?
I’m sure you get a feeling in your body when thinking about chronic stress. You know what it feels like, but what is it exactly? To better understand stress and its effect on the body, first we must understand something about our nervous system.
Why do we get sick?
According to recent news reports, this has been a particularly bad flu season. When we come down with the flu, what is to blame, the virus, our immune systems, or a combination of both?
Avoiding the straw that broke the camel’s back
Stress is part of life. We live in a fast-paced world, we place high demands on ourselves, and we have constant challenges with work, family, finances, politics–you name it! Typically we feel “stressed” when we don’t feel we have the energetic resources to match the obstacle we’re faced with.
Understanding vitamins: synthetic vitamins vs. whole food concentrates
I find myself explaining the difference between synthetic and whole food concentrate supplements almost every day. For this reason, I decided to dig back into the Red Clover Clinic Newsletter archive and republish this article with fresh information. I hope it will clear up any confusion on the subject.
In pursuit of a golden thumb
At the end of May, I traveled to Toronto for an advanced training in German auricular medicine, taught by Dr. Frank Bahr. He has been the principal developer and innovator of the German style of auricular medicine, and I feel grateful that he made the trip across the Atlantic to share his knowledge.
Gardening for health
I woke up early a few Saturdays ago to an episode of the Splendid Table radio show. The show featured an interview with Chef Dan Barber of the Row 7 seed company, which describes itself as “a seed company grounded in the notion that deliciousness might just change the world.” I’m always inspired when flavorful food intersects with high-quality nutrition.
What’s keeping you up at night?
Good, sound sleep can be one of life’s greatest pleasures. However, when you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, the hours spent trying to sleep can be incredibly frustrating.
The magic of minerals – Part 3
In the past two issues of the Red Clover Clinic Newsletter, I presented information about how common mineral dysregulation is and what effect it has on our health. In this installment of the series, I will lay down some basic principles of the Root Cause Protocol, designed by Morley Robbins.
The magic of minerals – Part 2
The last issue of the newsletter was an introduction to the impact of minerals and mineral dysregulation on our health. To summarize, most of us are deficient in magnesium, due to stress, diet, environmental factors and aging, and iron accumulates in the tissues with age and other factors, causing inflammation. This interferes with energy production. Finally, we learned about basic mineral balancing and the importance of keeping magnesium, copper, calcium, and iron in balance.
The magic of minerals – Part 1
Like many health practitioners, I learn a lot through exploring my own health and various treatments. My most recent health-related adventure has been all about minerals. I have always been taught that most of us are deficient in magnesium. I also knew through personal experience that taking too much magnesium can send you running to the bathroom! I also had the experience of a magnesium supplement causing acid reflux. The whole thing has been frustrating, and other than eating certain foods and topical applications, I wasn’t sure how to remedy the situation of deficient magnesium.
Is there a bug in your software?
Do you ever have the feeling that the program in charge of the automatic functions in your body has a bug in it? Does your heart race for no reason? Is your digestion off kilter? Do you have trouble sleeping? It can sometimes be tricky to get to the bottom of these deep-seated issues, but there may be a way to begin debugging your software.
Hidden Toxic Stressors We Don’t Think About, Part 2
In the last issue of Red Clover Clinic Newsletter, we introduced the topic of hidden toxic stressors, including signs your body is struggling with toxicity and if so, how to address toxicity.
Hidden toxic stressors we don’t think about, Part 1
We hear more and more these days about the importance of “clean living,” but what does that mean to you? Are you aware of the many sources of toxins you are exposed to on a daily basis? Do you think something is safe just because it is on a store’s shelf, or because your doctor or dentist recommends or prescribes it?
Slowing down … a different kind of New Year’s resolution
Many of us feel exhausted these days. It’s so common in our world of doing more and constantly being available. I know I feel that way of late, so I have decided to write a more personal article this month, because I think you might find yourself in a similar position: always in doing mode, and rarely in quiet mode. What ought we to do? Try to keep up, or make choices to take care of ourselves since no one else will?
Rediscovering scalp acupuncture
At the end of September, I had the opportunity to travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to attend a scalp acupuncture seminar taught by Suzanne Robidoux. I have occasionally used scalp acupuncture since learning the basics in acupuncture school over 10 years ago, but am now inspired to use it a whole lot more. I was aware of the effectiveness of the method, but needed the more in-depth instruction on how to understand it better and use it to achieve the best results possible. Over the past couple of weeks I have started to employ what I learned, and am pleased with the results so far.
Liver health – give yourself a fighting chance!
Our health depends on our body’s ability to cope with all we encounter: substances taken in through air, mouth, and skin; mental and physical experiences; and the substances produced by every biological process of our bodies. The main detoxifying organ we have is the liver. It does an invaluable service in filtering blood and breaking down and then packaging toxins for safe removal. To give ourselves a fighting chance against the rampant toxicity of modern life, we need to cleanse and nurture this wonderful organ.
Are you moving functionally?
In my last article, Getting to the Root of Pain and Illness, I introduced Neurokinetic Therapy (NKT) as an option for treating musculoskeletal pain. I would like to focus a little more attention to this method, so that my clients can develop a deeper understanding of how their bodies work and how we can use NKT to increase function and decrease pain.
Getting to the root of pain and illness
Over the past several years, I have studied many different treatment methods. I’ve learned quite a few that are effective at stopping a symptom. I have found, however, that symptoms often return if the root cause wasn’t addressed. Suppose you have back pain for a prolonged period of time. You might be using pain killers or resorting to tropicals to alleviate the symptoms. But the pain keeps coming back. In this situation, you need to find what is causing these frequent aches in your back.
Healthy skin is like a healthy garden
Keeping skin healthy is a lot like keeping garden soil healthy. I came to this conclusion as a result of two experiences: working on an organic farm and learning how to heal my own inflammatory skin condition with herbs, nutrition, and acupuncture.
Understanding supplements: synthetic vitamins vs. whole food concentrates
To achieve optimal health, my nutrition practice recommends a good organic diet with supplementation from whole food concentrates, herbs, and homeopathic remedies. I am often asked to muscle-test the various vitamins that people are taking to see if the body likes them. Whether inexpensive vitamins from Target or very expensive ones from the local coop, these vitamins are synthetic. In almost every instance, synthetic vitamins don’t test well. They actually stress the body over time.