Newsletter Friday, 28 December 2018

Tiny things in our daily life can make huge changes in how we feel. The secret is perseverance. Here are some tips. You can do them all, or you can chose only those you feel comfortable with. The only compromise you have with yourself is to integrate them in your life as part of your routine (as a routine, soon, you will do them automatically without noticing).

Nurture your mind:

Every morning, when you wake up and before you get out of bed, just ask yourself this paramount question: How do I want to feel today? The way we perceive our outer world is based on our experiences, our believes and our mood. Once you become aware that you have the power to decide how you want to feel and you are actually able to step out of the habit of feeling poorly, your day will look like much brighter.

Play your favourite music and dedicate a few minutes to just feel how your body feels like while listening to this music. If you want/can, try how it feels when you start moving according to the rhythm…if your body feels like lifting the right arm, do so! If it feels like shaking your left foot, then do so! Allow the music to go inside your body and let your body flow.

Smile! Even on days you don’t feel like smiling. Neuroscience has shown that when we smile,

endorphins are released into our blood. And this happens even when it’s a “fake” smile! Endorphins do boost our immune

system, so we want as much as possible! In addition, smile is something magic:

smile at someone on the street or on the tube you don’t know and see what hap-pens… Make it a challenge and count how many people smile back at you. Then take it further and try to beat your personal

record! Click here to see the power of laughter!

Once a day, ask (at least) one person: “How are you doing today?” with all your interest (looking people straight into their eyes and patiently awaiting their response). When you open you r hea r t to somebody willing to listen to them, they will share their feelings with you. You will receive gratitude and empathy, which in turn will make you feel good, too. It doesn’t matter whether it is the cashier in the supermarket or the receptionist at the hospital. At first, they may be surprised (because they are not used to receiving empathy from a stranger, either) but you will soon see the effect sympathy has on human beings. If you are not going out, send a message/email to a friend or call somebody of your family you haven’t heard from in a while. The feeling of being part of a community does increase our wellbeing and strengthen our immune system. Try it!

Help others! When we help other people we obtain 2 main things: we make feel the other person better and, we do feel better, too. Being part of something adds value to our lives, it gives us (another) purpose. It can be anything: volunteering somewhere, helping your neighbour with the shopping… anything! Even the smallest gesture of help makes its impact on our lives.

Great purposes for 2019The start of the New Year is an excellent opportunity to make changes in our habits. I want to give you some ideas of very easy habits you can incorporate into your daily life, and all of them will help you feeling better (improving your body’s physiology)!😊

References: 1. Kelly A Turner, PhD “Radical Remissions” ISBN:

978-0-06-226874-7 Chap 6 2. Dr David Servan Schreiber “Healing without Freud

or Prozac” ISBN 978-1-4472-1146-4 3. Myers, D. G, and E. Diener, ’The pursuit of

happiness', Scientfiic American 274 (1996): 70—72; Argyle, M., The Psychology of Happiness, 20th ed. (New York: Routledge, 2001).

4. Durkheim, 13., Le Suicide. Une étude sociologique (Paris: Alcan, 1897).

5. Zuckerman, D. M., S. V. Kasl, et al., 'Psychosocial Predictors of Mortality among the Elderly Poor’, American Journal of Cardiology 119(1984); 410-423.

6. V. N. Salimpoor et al., “Anatomically Distinct Dopamine Release During Anticipation and Experience of Peak EmOtion to Music,” Nature Neuroscience 14, no. 2 (February 2011): 257-62;

7. J. Burngff and J. Panksepp, “The Neurobiology of Pos i t i ve Emo t i ons , ” Neu rosc ience and Biohehavioral Reviews 30, no. 2 (2006): 173-87;

8. E. E. Benarroch, “Oxytocin and Vasopressin: Social Neuropeptides with Complex Neuromodulatory Functions,” Neurology 80, no. 16 (April 16, 2013): 1521-28.

9. L. S. Berk et al., “Modulation of Neuroimmune Parameters During the Eustress of Humor-Associated Mirthful Laughter,” Alternative

Therapies in Health and Medicine 7, no. 2 (March 2001): 62-72, 74-76;

10. M. P. Bennett and C. A. Lengacher, “Humor and Laughter May Influence Health: I. History and Background,” Evidence—Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: eCAM 3, no. 1 (March 2006): 61-63;

11. Wilkins and A. J. Eisenbraun, “Humor Theories and the Physiological Benefits of Laughter,” Advances in Mind-Body Medicine 24, no. 2 (Summer 2009): 8-12; L. S. Berk et al., “Neuroendocrine and Stress Hormone Changes During Mirthful Laughter,” American journal of the Medical Sciences 298, no. 6 (December 1989): 390-96;

12. S. Cohen et al., “Positive Emotional Style Predicts Resistance to Illness After Experimental Exposure to Rhinovirus or Influenza A Virus,” Psychosomatic Medicine 68, no. 6 (November/ December 2006): 809.15.

13. D. K. Sarkar et al., “Regulation of Cancer Progression by Beta- Endorphin Neuron,” Cancer Research 72, no. 4 (February. 15, 2012): 836-40;

14. E. Ames and W. J. Murphy, “Advantages and Clinical Applications of Natural Killer Cells in Cancer Immunotherapy,” Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, published online August 30,2013, doi: 10.1007/500262-013-1469-8;

15. E. Ileana, 8.0 Charmpiat and J.C Soria, “ImmuneCheckpoints: The New AntiCancer Immunotherapies” (article in French), Bulletin du Cancer 100, no.6 (June 2013) 601-410.

16. Y. Sakai et al., “A Trial of Improvement of Immunity in Cancer Patients by Laughter Therapy,” japan-Hospitals: The journal of the japan Hospital Association 32 (July 2013): 53-59.

17. S. M. Lamers et al., “The Impact of Emotional Well-Being on Long- Term Recovery and Survival in Physical Illness: A Meta-Analysis,” Journal of Behavioral Medicine 35, no. 5 (October 2012): 538-47;

18. Y. Chida and A. Steptoe, “Positive Psychological Well-Being and Mortality: A Quantitative Review of P r o s p e c t i v e O b s e r v a t i o n a l S t u d i e s , ” Psychosomatic Medicine 70, no. 7 (September 2008): 74-56.

19. D. K. Sarkar et al., “Regulation of Cancer Progression by Beta- Endorphin Neuron,” Cancer Research 72, no. 4 (February 15, 2012):836-40.

20. D. Ornish et al., “Intensive Lifestyle Changes May Affect the Progression of Prostate Cancer,” journal of Urology 174, no. 3 (September 2005): 1065-69, discussion 1069-70.

21. D. Ornish et al., “Changes in Prostate Gene Expression in Men Undergoing an Intensive Nutrition and Lifestyle Intervention,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105, no. 24 (June 17, 2008): 8369-74.

22. R. C. Kessler et al., “Prevalence, Severity, and Comorbidity of Twelve- Month DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication,” Archives of General Psychiatry 62, no. 6 (June 2005): 617-27.

Before you go to sleep, take a few minutes and list at least 3 things of the day that you liked. Easy things such as the sunlight coming into your room, a flower, a nice song on the radio, somebody’s smile, a moment of relaxation… anything! Value these (3?) things. Think that if you were blind or deaf you wouldn’t be able to perceive them. Be grateful! Then find one “negative thing” of the day and observe it with perspective. Try to find the positive side of it. (Everything does have a positive side, believe it or not. Are you able to find it?)

Nurture your body:

Regularly (maybe once a week, or twice a month?), find a new, healthy recipe to incorporate into your cuisine. Good food will add good properties to your body and you are exploring further options do enrich your life.

Prepare yourself a tasty smoothy or juice made of organic vegetables which will nurture your cells, including your immune system, increase your energy and wellbeing.

Move! Running isn’t the only way to exercise. Make it fun! Dance or get yourself a trampoline, for example. Anything you like and enjoy, and if you do it with

music that really makes you move, much better (and easier). Even if it is only 5-10 minutes per day and even if it is very gentle, I promise, you will feel the difference.

Go into nature. Make a walk into a forest or a park. Breath in the trees’ energy, absorb the sunlight, adore plants, insects, birds, squirrels, dogs… Just take a few deep breaths, being conscious of how the energy enters your body revitalising every cell in your body and how the tension escape from you while you breath out.

Meditate. I cannot recommend meditation enough. If you haven’t watched the videos about meditation or you want to watch them again, please do. We do train our brain, we create new circuits, new neurological pathways every time we meditate. These pathways are then used on a daily basis, helping us to look at “difficulties” with perspective. This leads to a significant reduction of stress and its effect on our immune system.

Share this newsletter with somebody you think may benefit from it.

Eat health

Dr Saskia Kloppenburg Vieth Integrated Medicine - Addressing the Causes

Email: info@integratedmedicine.coWeb: www.integratedmedicine.co

Cacao and its derivatives are the source of high concentrations of procainides, flavonoids, catechins, epicatechins. These substances can help limit the growth of tumour cells and reduce metastasis. 

Cacao is one of the most antioxidant food due to its high content of procainides. One ounce (28,34 gr) of dark chocolate contains more antioxidants then one glass of red wine. Milk prevents the absorption of the polyphenols, so better have chocolate with at least 85% of cacao, in addition, its content of sugar is also lower.

As cacao is very rich in fat, it has to be enjoyed with caution, however, with about 20 gr on a daily basis you don't have to fear weight gain. The best option is defatted pure cacao, as it has more antioxidants than chocolate. You can use it to make delicious brownies, or, even better, fruit skewers bathed in cacao cream! 

Chocolate stimulates the release of endorphin and serotonin. The first neurotransmitter reduces pain and decreases stress, and the second has anti-depressant properties. Another interesting compound found in chocolate is lipid anandamide. Anandamide is unique due to its resemblance to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), a chemical found in marijuana. Both activate the same receptor which stimulates the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter which leads to feelings of well being. Anandamide, found naturally in the brain, breaks down very rapidly. Besides adding to the levels of anandamide, chocolate also contains two other chemicals which work to slow the breakdown of the anandamide, thus extending the feelings of well-being.

Fernández Martínez, Odile; 2013. Mis recetas anticáncer - Alimentación y vida anticancer. ISBAN 978-84-7953-437-0 Keen CL, Chocolate: food as medicine/medicine as food. J Am Coll Nutr. 2001 Oct;20(5 Suppl):436S-439S; discussion 440S-442S. Ramljak D et al, Pentameric procyanidin from Theobroma cacao selectively inhibits growth of human breast cancer cells. Mol Cancer Ther. 2005 Apr;4(4):537-46.

Hammerstone JF et al; Procyanidin content and variation in some commonly consumed foods. J Nutr. 2000 Aug;130(8S Suppl):2086S-92S. Natsume M et al; Analyses of polyphenols in cacao liquor, cocoa, and chocolate by normal-phase and reversed-phase HPLC. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2000 Dec;64(12):2581-7. Carla Zaplana, Zumos verdes, 2015

Ingredients

1 cup of unsweetened oatmeal (or puffed rice or quinoa) 50 g of dark chocolate (>85%) 1 generous handful of peeled raw almonds Grated tangerine (without the white bits)

Preparation

1. Chop the almonds 2. Melt the dark chocolate. Add the almonds and the inflated oats. Stir well. 3. Add the grated tangerine and mix again. 4. With a spoon, make little mountains of this mixture on a silicone sheet or vegetable paper. 5. Keep in the refrigerator about 2 hours, until it hardens. 6. Enjoy!

Smoothy

1 glass of blueberries 1 teaspoon of flax seeds 1/4 Avocado 1.5 glasses of Coco- nut water

Juice 3 glasses of black grapes 4 Kale leaves A piece of ginger 1/2 lemon

Chocolate-flakes Mountains

Happy New Year!