Is your depression and anxiety caused by blood sugar imbalances?

I just had a client come to me with depression and anxiety. After looking over her blood work results that she brought in from a recent doctor's visit, in combination with what I observed and her symptoms, my conclusion was that she has a blood sugar issue (in addition to the obvious mental and emotional elements involved in depression that would need to be addressed). Specifically, I suspect she has hypoglycemia. When her blood sugar plummets, due to diet and hormone issues, her adrenals are required to "step it up" and offer some support for her flagging energy, by causing surges of adrenaline. So not only does she get the lack of energy and low mood of depression, but the adrenaline causes anxiety, angry outbursts and a spinning mind (you know, the "wired but tired" feeling you get sometimes when you are trying to go to sleep?).

She is also getting dizzy spells and chest pains, as well as cold extremities and poor circulation (a result of being in the "fight or flight" state, where blood is directed away from the extremities into the large muscles of the upper legs and the heart). Waking up after about 3 hours of sleep is also an indicator of blood sugar imbalance.

So what do you do if this sounds all to familiar?

1) You need to eliminate or greatly restrict simple sugars from your diet, from obvious sources like baking, sweets and pop, as well a "non-obvious" sources of simple sugar, like fruit juice.  You will also need to limit carbohydrates or starchy foods that reduce to a sugar easily in the body, like grains and root vegetables. You can find lists of where foods are on the Glycemic Index (the rate which a food turns to sugar in your system) here, or a search engine to tell you the glycemic index of any food here (low is 55 or less; high is 70 and above).

2) You may find supplementing with chromium helpful. This trace mineral is often low in people with blood sugar balance issues.

3) Reflexology and acupuncture are both modalities that help balance hormones naturally, as well as help to bring blood sugar back into balance. They will also help to heal the adrenal glands so you can relax and stop worrying. Plus, they just feel good!

If you have depression and/or anxiety, there is many possible causes - blood sugar imbalance is just one possiblity (though a common one). Talk to your doctor and have him do blood tests to check, and ask for advice from a trained health practitioner if you suspect this might be your issue.

Awesome, Amazing Acupuncture & What It Can Do For You!

Over the past 3 weeks, one of my dear friends and favorite acupuncture practitioners (besides the beloved Adam Salzman) has been facilitating acupuncture/reiki combo sessions for me. At our first session, I expressed that I wanted to cleanse and strengthen my liver. I'd been having intuitive feelings that my liver was in need of support, as well as physical symptoms to indicate that it was congested. I'd become incredibly sensitive to alcohol, feeling hung-over after even one drink and experiencing a great deal of heat - sweating and hot flashes in the aftermath of having a social drink. I was also having difficulty sleeping, experiencing a lot of anger, frustration and outbursts (anger, as an emotion, is associated with the liver) and suffering from intense right shoulder blade pain, also associated with liver problems. At our second meeting, I was highly emotional and confidently let my friend pick the focus of the session - later I would find out that she placed some focus upon the liver in that session as well. Yesterday, at our third session, when my friend asked me what I'd like to focus upon, I automatically started to respond "liver", only to evaluate if that was really necessary. Upon reviewing what's been happening since we started this trio of sessions and what kind of results I've experienced, I realized that all of my liver-associated symptoms had disappeared! I had recently been able to enjoy a few social drinks without any adverse repurcussions, I was sleeping like a baby, not even waking in the night to use the bathroom as I frequently had in the past, I wasn't angry anymore and the right shoulder blade pain was gone!

I have two points to make in connection to this story.

1) Acupuncture is awesome! An ancient method rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture seeks to clear energetic meridians - paths through which life-energy, also called "qi" (pronounced "chi") is said to flow. When qi gets congested, organs, systems and glands that lie along the congested meridians can start to function less optimally. Insertion of acupuncture needles into specific points that lie along meridians helps to release congested energy, allowing it to flow freely, thereby nourishing organs, systems and glands.

2) Consistency and follow-up is incredibly important! When I do health coaching or ongoing cleanse counseling with clients, it almost always happens that the client is not entirely aware of the positive benefits they've gleaned from their healing journey under my guidance until we review together - touching on their original goals and the status of what was originally ailing them. My recent experience with acupuncture is a perfect illustration of how I overlooked the healing that had occurred for me through the application of acupuncture, while exemplifying the value of follow-up. Yesterday, when I realized that all my symptoms had disappeared, I ignorantly started to say "Wow - I haven't even really done anything specific to cleanse my liver...wait a minute...that's precisely what we've been doing here!" I had been so content to just chalk the sessions up to an opportunity to relax and take care of myself, that I lost sight of what it was actually doing for me. Pursuing consistent sessions and following up with your therapist clarifies progress, letting you know that what you're doing is worthwhile and effective.

Adam is our acupuncturist here at Prana Holistic. He's an amazingly skilled and sensitive therapist. Working largely from a place of intuition and with an immense amount of knowledge, Adam easily makes each person he sees feel comfortable and valued. If you feel like your body is not working quite as well as it could be, give us a call to set up an acupuncture appointment. Especially with my most recent acupuncture experience under my belt, I am not the least bit hesitant when I say that I know it will do you good and free up the energy needed to make you feel tip top!

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic

Shh… We don’t want the men to hear! Or do we?

Women’s issues have sat in the limelight for ages.  Specialists and General Practitioners alike have developed thriving businesses focused solely on research and treatment of the female system.  Somehow, this has allowed for men to take a backseat in their well being and transfer the focus to the opposite gender.  With this has developed the taboo around the male anatomy and the all-too-common disorders from which men can also suffer.

With the dawning of the “Little Blue Pill”, Viagra has shined a much needed spotlight back on men and the issues that they too can experience.  Viagra was to bring forth revolution in the caring for prostate disorders, erectile disorders and men’s health in general.  There was one thing that the medical field forgot about though: a man’s stubborn ability to avoid discussion.  Without the initial discussion with a doctor, the issue will still go untreated.  Men will suffer the embarrassment and discomfort of erectile difficulty simply to avoid facing the issue.  What is with us?

No one is a fan of discussing their personal problems in a public format, unless you allow your disorder to define you, and that’s a whole other set of issues!  This taboo has muzzled men and somehow this has become ok.  Our stigma around male virility and the supposed “drive” every man has to hump anything in sight has lead us to stereotype and suppress men into sexual silence.

Is male sexual silence a socially imposed issue, or is it self-imposed?

The younger generation, or “Generation Next”, has started to mature into adulthood, but are we really any better than our forefathers, the “Baby Boomers”?  Research has shown that 1 in 9 or 10 to 15 million American men live with impotence.  1 IN 9!  That’s an insane rate of prevalence and one that we hear very little about.  “Why is that?”, you might ask.  Well, out of that 1 in 9 ratio, only 10% of those men will acknowledge the issue and seek treatment.  It’s common for men to psych themselves out of an erection, and the vast majority of men will lose an erection 20% of the time. Those suffering with erectile dysfunction can experience a loss of erection prior to ejaculation or inability to become erect 50% of the time.  80% of the time, the issues regarding impotence are pre-existing physiological conditions, while the remaining 20% are due to psychological causes.

Men need to start allocating a neuron or two to their own well being.  Silence has benefitted no one, and in more severe cases such as testicular cancer or prostate cancer, silence can be severe and devastating.  Diabetes, kidney disease, chronic alcoholism, multiple sclerosis, atherosclerosis, vascular diseases and psychological interferences can all be dangerous root causes for impotence and, without medical diagnosis, may go unnoticed until too late.

Whether it’s socially or individually propagated, the strong, silent warrior that men seem to be striving for is helping no one.  Whether it’s talking to a loved one, a family doctor or a trusted health care practitioner, men need to step up and take responsibility for their own health.  Encouraging those close to you to get regular check-ups, being aware of the signs of sexual withdrawal or creating a safe haven to discuss touchy or taboo topics are ways to break down this sexual barrier.

Alternative healthcare practitioners can encourage and support those suffering with impotence.  Whether it’s supporting essence through acupuncture, encouraging whole body blood flow and mental relaxation through visceral massage, tonifying natural reflex arcs with reflexology, clearing psychological issues with counseling or even strengthening organ systems with the help of a nutritionist or herbalist; your everyday practitioners can be a pillar of strength.  Men may wish to clam up and avoid giving true and exact details surrounding their sexual health when honesty and frankness is the only solution.

Specifically, the goal of an acupuncture treatment would be to balance and regulate physiological responses.  By choosing a series of points, we can support a man’s kidney yin, yang and essence.  Essence by definition is the crucial source from which we draw the vast majority of our energy and strength.  It is important to realize that if one part of our physical self is out of balance, we will have adverse physical effects as a result of our body compensating.  Supporting all of our organs will encourage an overall healthy state. Heart, liver, spleen and gall bladder can have specific effects on sexual performance.  Tonifying these organs will minimize the effects of impotence and treat possible underlying causes.  Using acupuncture with the purpose of relaxation will have a soothing effect on the psyche helping those with root causes in depression, fear, stress, fatigue or even the ever troublesome “performance anxiety.”

Intercourse is not supposed to be scary and uncomfortable. My suggestion to men is, since you can’t seem to stop bragging about it, grow a pair and do something!  Instead of gloating about the size of it, maybe talk about how healthy you are; after all, your sex-life should be anything but silent.

Adam Salzman is a gentle and intuitive acupuncturist at Prana Holistic. Working with the breath of each client, Adam makes acupuncture both healing and relaxing.