Posts Tagged ‘Health’

John Soriano (one of my EFT for ADD buddies) already told me about it, the Zpoint technique, and I was reluctant: yet another EFT-inspired healing technique… This morning however, I checked the site out, and I decided to just give it a try. Not necessarily related to any symptoms of ADD, but definitely useful for us parents coping with our ADD children. It’s a very simple process, and there is a free MP3 meditation in which Grant Connolly leads you through the process. I literally just finished, and I am feeling in a blissful relaxed state of mind.

—- When you’re ready to go, just click here to download the MP3 file —-

So I’m not going to say much about it, I just suggest you find 15 minutes and just do it, whatever you are feeling at this moment. It is a great way to start your day, or to finish your day at night I am sure – I am going to put the meditation on my MP3 player and trying how that feels that tonight. (I’m pretty sure it will work wonders for my feeling of peace before I go to sleep!)

And now I really feel ready for a focussed and happy day – Thanks John, for sharing this!

PS: Did I say it is a process you can do anywhere, anytime, even with people around you? The effect is immediate and I do admit, Grant does not make any empty promises. Click here to download the Zpoint meditation (and if you wish, you can listen to it online too, on the same page.) Go ahead, and tell me what your experience is!

PPS: Not only for you, but for your kids too. I want to see if Grant is in for making a special version for children – I would love to hear your ideas about that: For which age group do you prefer it to be, how long should the recording be, should it be general or specific for certain ADD/ADHD problems, and if yes, which ones? Please comment below, so that we can make something which will be more than useful for you – my loyal readers!

Dr. Mercola talks about multi-vitamins. For parents with children suffering from symptoms of ADD and ADHD, this is double important. Pay attention, and evaluate the vitamins you are using. One thing he mentions, and which you might overhear, is the decreased amount of vitamins and minerals that your vegetables and fruits contain, as compared to 50 years ago. Thanks to chemical fertilizers, greenhouses, herbicides, fungicides etc, our food is just a diluted version of what it was in the time of our grandparents… Isn’t that sad.

Which brings me to the thought that IF we would live like our grandparents did, we would probably not have so many children with symptoms of ADD and ADHD. Life was so much different back then! But, I am also pleased to have discovered, that it is still possibe to live life much more similar to our grandparents than I thought would be possible – only the good aspects of course!

Buy organic fruit and vegetables, read the labels of EVERYTHING you buy, be aware and praise yourself that you have this knowledge! Share it with others: your neighbours, family, friends, parents at school. It is shocking how many people are still stumbling in the dark when they try to give their children the best they can…

And now: Dr. Mercola.

In today’s world we eat much more high-carb foods than ever before. Refined (white) carbohydrates turn quickly into sugar in our body, and sugar gives a boost of energy. For children with symptoms of ADD and ADHD not exactly what they need…

Sugar causes hyperactivity and irritability in many normal healthy adults – if you are on the low carb / no sugar diet now, you will feel the effect when you take a sugary treat of any kind. It makes me restless, I have a kind of unpleasant tingly feeling all over my body, and my concentration definitely goes way down. These are often the symptoms that children with ADHD describe when you ask them! If sugar does that to me, just imagine what it’s effect will be on a child – with a much smaller body and less control over it. Apart from leaving the sugar out (with the exception of 1 day per week) it helps a lot to have a critical look at the pastas, bread and other carbohydrates you serve. Wholegrain bread, crackers, pasta.. they all help to stabilize the blood sugar levels – instead of creating a peak. Have a critical look at breakfast cereals too, most of them are not suitable for any children if you are honest, let alone for children that are as sensitive as ours for symptoms of ADD and ADHD…

I more and more discover the devastating effect of food colorings, preservatives and other additives. We ourselves have opted for a food pattern without any of those, and the whole family feels much more energized and with a more stable mood. So, additives are a big no-no if you ask me! This, by the way, includes artificial sweeteners!

Protein should be an important part of your child’s diet. Fish generally has a good influence on the symptoms of ADD and ADHD – due to it’s content of essential Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids and other vital ingredients. Eat fish once per week – not more often, because the oceans are so polluted that we would get a too high mercury intake.. Which in itself is sad enough.

In addition to the diet, you might try some of the following herbal supplements: St. John’s Wort, Passion Flower, Ginkgo Biloba, Green Tea Extract, Chamomile, Lemon Balm, or American Ginseng. Obviously, you try them out one by one, and see how your child reacts. Some of them might work, while other’s won’t in your specific case. Be careful about the other ingredients of the pills or capsules, read the list of ingredients carefully, and if you have any doubt, don’t do it. I discovered that in the Centrum vitamines for children, which I used to give to my daughter, E-124 is part of the formula – which is exactly the food coloring where most ADHD children are extremely sensitive for. Unbelievable but true. They assured me they were about to take it out, but still… And then they did not talk about the sweeteners in the pills, which are almost as suspected… Even in scientific literature.

Do not forget to include the daily routine of EFT tapping into your day. Alongside the diet this is the powerful bit which makes your child not only behave normally without medication, but which will make him or her thrive – and your family as well!

There is a lot of polemic about children with symptoms of ADD and ADHD and candies. Whilst I normally do not recommend any sugar for children with hyperactivity, they do normally get one day per week when they can eat some sweet stuff. It is important that it’s just sugar, and no chemical additives, as these tend to upset the system for a couple of days at least – Sugar only gives effects for 24 hours.

Dr. Mercola writes about healthy choices in chocolate:

Few snack foods evoke as much passion and desire as chocolate.

And if you have children, Halloween provides you with a wide assortment of sugary chocolate temptations — all part of this family fun event.

Regardless of whether or not it’s Halloween… if you’re a chocolate lover, the idea of giving it up even for health reasons is often not an option you consider.

As far as your kids go… well, most kids love chocolate. Asking them not to eat any from their Halloween trick-or-treat stashes is pretty much wishful thinking.

Believe it or not, this is one instance when you can have your chocolate and eat it too… more and more studies confirm some types of chocolate are actually very good for you.

Since I realize many people simply refuse to give up their chocolate, and there are actually healthy versions of chocolate, I put my team to task to create guidelines to help you select and eat chocolate at a healthy level.

Especially at Halloween time, this could help give you some direction for the healthiest chocolate for you and your kids.

I do feel it’s important to remind you about wholesome foods like organic vegetables and fruits that provide you with healthy nutrients — without the sugar content of most chocolates.

With Halloween just around the corner, the potential for you and your family to consume even more chocolate is simply a reality that you will have to contend with. However, if you follow the guidelines my staff and I created for you, you can now enjoy one of your passions, and boost your health at the same time.

If you’re a chocolate lover, or even occasionally indulge, I strongly recommend you follow these guidelines… which will allow you to enjoy your chocolate and help you protect your health at the same time.

• Find chocolate made from the least destructive processing techniques — Organic is always best as over-processing reduces your healthy nutrients and can introduce lead contamination.
• Restrict your intake to dark, organic chocolate — Consuming chocolate as close to its original raw state (unprocessed cacao) provides you the best health benefits.
• Avoid chocolate made from milk or milk byproducts — Adding milk to the chocolate process can diminish your antioxidant benefits.
• Select chocolate with low sugar content — Sugar can seriously impact your immune system
• Consume chocolate in moderation — When you eat too much chocolate, you potentially diminish and defeat any health benefits due to the sugar.
• Avoid chocolate if you’re struggling with a health challenge — Sugar can suppress your immune system.
• Choose a chocolate made to the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility — Fair Trade certification should be part of your selection process.

I’ll get into more details on each of these selection and consumption criteria in just a minute…

But first do this — very thoroughly…

In addition to the above guidelines, there are certain “spooky” ingredients you should stay far away from when choosing your chocolate.

If you have kids, you might want to take a closer look at the chocolate they bring home from Halloween trick-or-treating. Not an easy task, I realize… but these ingredients are just plain bad for you.

Even many so-called “natural” chocolates may contain some of these unhealthy ingredients — avoid them at all costs…

• Trans fat — An artery-clogging type of fat that forms when vegetable oils are hardened into margarine or shortening.
• High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) — Contains no enzymes, vitamins or minerals, and leeches micronutrients from your body. Raises your blood sugar levels beyond acceptability, and leads to insulin resistance and weight gain. It really is a metabolic poison and, in many ways, acts identical to alcohol with chronic exposure when eaten in high amounts.
• Artificial sweeteners — Never allow anything “artificial” in your chocolate.
• Soy proteins — Unfermented soy can cause digestive distress and a weakened immune system.
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) — An excitotoxin, which over-excites your cells to the point of damage or total destruction. Can potentially cause brain damage and other disabilities to varying degrees.
• Preservatives and stabilizers — Avoid anything artificial and look for only organic ingredients.
• Milk or milk byproducts — Could impact how well you absorb the healthy antioxidants in the chocolate.

The bottom line — you need to carefully read the label on chocolate packages. By ‘reading’ the label, I mean, ‘thoroughly scrutinize the nutrition facts and ingredients’. Not just a cursory glance.

To enjoy the healthiest chocolate possible, always look for selections with wholesome, organic ingredients — artificial ingredients are just too risky. (…)

Source: http://products.mercola.com/organic-dark-chocolate/

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It seems that the coordination of the left brain and the rigth brain is a crucial factor in the occurrence of the symptoms of ADD, ADHD and of dyslexia.

An Israelian mother discovered a way to help her 17 year old dyslexic son, and found out the underlying technique to help other children too. Neurological pathways in the brain seems to play an important role, whereby the coordination between left and right brain is developed by certain exercises.

Let’s first have a look at what Nili, the mother says about what she discovered and how she uses it; Mother and son in the meantime have trained over 1,000 practitioners in Israel and the UK, and their method is now taught at Bar Ilan University. A pilot study was undertaken in Newport, England with excellent results and in November, a new course for practitioners opens in Irvine California.

Some of the exercises we can use to stimulate the coordination between the right and left brain hemisphere are listed here:

1 Cook’s Hook Up
2 The Cross Crawl
3 The Cortices Technique

1 Cook’s Hook Up

To do the Cook’s Hook-Up, sit comfortably in a chair. Place your feet flat on the floor. Put your left foot onto the top of your right knee. Place your right hand on your left ankle, and place your left hand on the ball of your left foot near your toes. Close your eyes, place your tongue on the roof of your mouth one quarter of an inch behind your teeth. Breathe normally, and hold this position for 30 seconds to a minute.

Keeping the eyes closed, the tongue up, place both feet flat on the floor and bring just your fingertips together like a teepee in front of you. Hold this position for 30 seconds to a minute, breathing naturally.

When you are finished, open your eyes.

 

 

 

 

(Courtesy of Dr. Jerry V. Teplitz, www.teplitz.com)

2 The Cross Crawl

Imagine an exaggerated march step, done on the spot with exaggerated arm swing and vigorous step. Touch hand or elbow to the opposite knee to emphasise the rhythmic crossover. Left arm to right knee and vice versa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch a video demonstration here:

 

3 The Cortices Technique

This is an explanation of the technique:

And watch this to see a great example of how to apply these and other brain coordination techniques:

Every morning starts like this at Sunrise School in Bali. The Star of the Day’s first ‘job’ is to lead the class in tapping cortices. We all know about the benefits of BodyTalk at Sunrise…pun intended.

Barbara has seen significant changes in the children’s ability to concentrate, work more harmoniously together and stay happy and content. If they have a problem, or an injury, they know how to balance their own cortices, or their friend will do it for them, and they immediately feel better. This is a technique that will serve them their whole of their lives. They know that they have a tool that they can use on themselves, and their friends and family that will automatically bring the body back to a state of increased ease and balance.

Balancing the cortices resets the nervous system back to growth and healing, and out of flight or flight. Most people get stuck in fight or flight…. and we then ‘cope’ with the stress, which internalizes the energy we would have been using to ‘run or fight’, and send it into the body, which is highly detrimental to our health.

When you balance your cortices, you are balancing the right-left sides of the brain (the right brain= big picture, intuition, imagination, creativity with the left brain= logic, linear, reasoning, details). We need both parts to work together similtaneously so that we are able to use our ‘whole brain’, and therefor be many times more balanced, and effective in all we do. Often in life we get stuck in the details and the logic and loose sight of the big picture.

(Source: Laura Hanes, http://www.bodytalkspace.com)