Happy Hearts

Traditional Chinese Medicine's focus on heart health occurs in the summer because summer is a Fire month and the Heart is considered a Fire organ. One of the most important health issues right now is that of cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not something that you only have to think about when you are older. Consider these facts:

• CVD is the third leading cause of death in those under the age of 75.
• Due to changes in lifestyle and diet, even children are suffering increasing rates of CVD as they are eating more junk food and are exercising less.
• The thing that becomes especially tricky about CVD is that you likely do not know if you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure unless you have been tested.

The news is not all bad though! You can reduce your risks for CVD by eating healthy, exercising, not smoking, and drinking only in moderation or not at all.

You've probably read, been told, or heard through various sources that a major key to a healthy heart is limiting fat consumption. Saturated fats have been shown to increase blood cholesterol levels and thus increase the risk of heart disease. Fats also contain more calories per gram than either protein or carbohydrates and can lead to obesity. However, fats are an essential part of our diets. In TCM eating fat supports the Yin energy of the body by building tissues, enhancing fluid metabolism, and directing nutrients to the nervous system so they can then create a sense of security. Research has shown that the right fats do in fact help produce beautiful skin, hair, and nails; keep bones strong; speed healing and recovery from injury; support healthy child development; ease PMS; and enhance brain function to improve mood, intelligence, and behaviour. These "right fats" are essential fatty acids (EFAs)-omega 3, 6, and 9.

EFAs have been shown to lower abnormally high blood pressure, reduce blood cholesterol levels, and help to prevent excess clot formation. They even help with weight loss as they improve mood, boost energy, suppress appetite, and increase metabolism. Other dietary improvements that can be incorporated are:

• Eat a significant quantity of brightly coloured vegetables and fruits like carrots, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, and blueberries
• Consume enough soluble fibre from foods like apples, barley, oats, and dried beans
• Choose foods rich in folate (also known as folic acid) like asparagus, lentils, bok choy, and chick peas.

It is said that according to TCM each person has two hearts. This is because we count both the physical heart that pumps the blood and the emotional heart that is the house of emotions. In the West, we have similar ideas about emotions and the heart. If we love someone we draw a symbol for the heart. We feel broken-hearted when our love is not returned and research has even shown that this emotional pain triggers the same areas of the brain as physical pain.

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common emotional disorders. Anxiety affects about 12% of the population in Canada and about 25% of Canadians suffer depression severely enough to require treatment at some time in his or her life. An interesting fact is that many of the same things that can improve cardiovascular health can also improve mental health. Exercise has been shown to help elevate and regulate mood. Proper diet feeds the brain the right nutrients to keep it functioning properly. Two separate studies in 2000 showed that smoking increases the risk of depression in teenagers and anxiety in teens and young adults. It is not yet clear the reason why, but it is thought to be due to the strong influence that nicotine has on the brain. Finally, as alcohol is a depressant, excessive drinking should be avoided.

So while you are taking care of your physical heart, don't forget about the emotional heart. Take time to express yourself, do something you enjoy, and take time for yourself and you will truly have a happy heart!
 

Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH)
Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), or non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland is the most common prostate problem. After age sixty, more than 70% of men have are afflicted with BPH and that number is about 40% for men in their fifties.

BPH symptoms can vary, but the most common signs are trouble urinating, frequent need to urinate, unable to void completely, decreased force of stream, dribbling urine, and needing to urinate more than twice a night.

Prostate Cancer
It is important for men over the age of forty to get regular checkups as prostate cancer is a potential concern even with no or minor symptoms.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men and second leading cause of death in men, but it is also very treatable. In fact, the 5 year survival rate for prostate cancer is nearly 100% when discovered early.

Treatment
There are many treatment options for both BPH and prostate cancers. Surgery is one option, as is the use of prescription drugs, but there are many other natural options as well.

Effective natural remedies include saw palmetto, pygeum, stinging nettles, zinc, lycopene, vitamin E, selenium, boron, essential fatty acids, and milk thistle. TCM offers its own complement of Chinese herbals and, as always, the focus is on determining the imbalance in the body and formulating an herbal prescription based on the diagnosis.

As always there are many changes that can be made via diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices.

Diet
An interesting finding is that Japanese men native to their country have the lowest rates of prostate cancer in the world. However, when they begin to eat like the average North American, the cancer numbers rise to equal those of their western counterparts.

One major difference in the Asian versus Western diet is the limited consumption of red meat and the greater consumption of soy products like tofu, miso, and tempeh. Soy contains two substances that have been found to be anticancerous: the isoflavones genistein and daidzein. There are many ways that soy can be eaten (check out this soy recipe website: soyfoods.com/recipes/), but if you're still adverse to soy foods, you can also take standardized soy extracts in capsulated form.

Essential fatty acids (EFAs for short) have also been shown to be involved in healthy prostate function. EFAs are unsaturated fats that are necessary components in every membrane in the body. We need to get EFAs in our diets as our bodies cannot produce them, and they can be found in flax seed oil, borage oil, sunflower seed oil, primrose oil, and fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel) oil, to name a few.

Other important nutrients for prostate health include lycopene (the nutrient that colours tomatoes bright red), zinc (immune system booster found in pumpkin seeds, barley, and chicken), vitamin E (a powerful antioxidant found in avocados, broccoli, and almonds), and garlic (which has anti-tumour properties). For more recipe ideas, see wholehealthmd.com
 

Weekend Warriors
You know who you are!

Yay! The weather is beautiful; perfect for hopping on your new mountain bike, pulling the rollerblades out of the back of your closet, joining your buddies for a "friendly" game of soccer, or challenging yourself on the Grouse Grind. Great! Exercise is good for you. Right? Well, yes…and no. Exercise is wonderful and essential, but some of you out there don't move enough during the workweek and then push yourselves too hard when the weekend finally arrives. What happens next? Injuries. Then you're sidelined for awhile, unable to do the activities you would like to do. You may even push yourself back to the activities before your body is sufficiently healed and the cycle begins.

Bad as injuries may be, acoording to the American Heart Association, those who exercise sporadically actually have an increased risk of exercise-related heart attacks or cardiac arrest over those who exercise regularly.

Prevention:

• Start off a new exercise program slowly.
• Start each activity with a 5-10 minutes brisk walk or some other aerobic activity.
• Stretch your muscles once you have warmed up, holding each stretch for at least 30 seconds and making sure to remember to breathe during each stretch.
• Stretch again after your activity.
• Continue with some activity during the workweek, e.g. every other day.
• Give yourself some time for rest. Don't workout every day.
• Cross-train. Studies have shown that you will be less likely to injure yourself if you don't always do the same exercise, so mix up your activities.
• Pay attention to your form. If you are starting a new exercise, consider talking to a certified trainer.
• Pay attention to your body. If you're too tired, rest. You're more likely to lose your form and injure yourself when you're tired.
• It is normal to have sore muscles when you start exercising again, but if the soreness lasts more then 36 hours or if it gets worse, get treatment.
• Stay hydrated.

Treatment
At the first sign of an injury, remember the RICE method: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. If your pain does not subside, seek treatment.

Acupuncture can work wonderfully to treat pain, decrease inflammation, and speed up healing time. It can even help strengthen areas of weakness so that injuries will be less likely to recur.

A safe and effective alternative to pharmaceutical antiinflammatories is a natural product called Serrapeptidase. This is an enzyme that was initially isolated from silkworms which used the enzymes to break down their hard cocoon walls. It is now produced through a fermentation process. Serrapeptidase in not only antiinflammatory (reduces swelling), but also anti-edemic (lessens fluid retention) and fibrinolytic (breaks down protein buildups such as those in scar tissue). While not a TCM supplement, I have found it to be a great supplement for my patients with pain, inflammation, and sinusitis. For more information see: ohana-health.com/Serra-Home.html

For more information see ActiveTCM.com
 

And finally, let me know your birthday
so I can email you a birthday card and gift at the right time!