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cultivating gratitude

4 Ways to Practice Gratitude During the Holidays

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Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday tradition that’s been celebrated in the US and Canada since the mid-1800s. At the heart of the Thanksgiving celebration is the universal message of gratitude.

Gratitude is the expression of being thankful. It’s about having an attitude of appreciation, allowing yourself to feel awe, not taking things for granted, and seeing the potential upside of life’s challenges. But did you know that practicing gratitude can have profound benefits to our mental, emotional and physical well-being?

Let’s take a closer look at how practicing gratitude can contribute to our overall well-being and some effective ways to incorporate this practice into our daily lives.

The Link Between Gratitude and Well-Being

Practicing gratitude can benefit the mind, body, and spirit in a number of ways. It can lower stress levels, improve sleep, strengthen relationships with friends and family, and even increase our emotional resilience. Medical research has confirmed this direct correlation between gratitude and well-being:

  • A 2022 study published in Frontiers of Psychology found that women with elevated depressive symptoms who routinely practiced gratitude were more accepting of their condition than those who did not. Similarly, a 2012 study published in Personality and Individual Differences found that people who regularly expressed gratitude reported feeling healthier than their counterparts; a correlation that was mediated by psychological health and an attitude to seek help for health concerns.
  • A 2018 abstract, printed in the journal Psychology, Health & Medicine, found that dispositional gratitude (i.e. the character trait of noticing and appreciating the positive in life and being thankful for those positive aspects of life) correlated with lower levels of stress and loneliness.
  • Practicing gratitude can improve sleep quality by promoting more positive emotions and lessening the effects of anxiety and rumination.
  • In a 2013 study, Dr. Robert Emmons, a leading authority on gratitude, noted that: “Gratitude is a key, underappreciated quality in the clinical practice of psychology, its relevance deriving from its strong, unique, and causal relationship with well-being, as well as its dynamic healing influence on the therapist-patient relationship.”
  • Acts of kindness (public expressions of gratitude) can be linked to an increase in life satisfaction, according to a study published in The Journal of Social Psychology.
  • Researchers who looked at the role of gratitude in asymptomatic heart failure patients found that “patients expressing more gratitude also had lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers,” as well as better sleep and mood, and less fatigue.

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How to Cultivate Gratitude

Practicing gratitude is a conscious choice we make to affect positive change in our lives. There are a number of ways to practice gratitude, such as:

Appreciate nature 

Beauty is everywhere. Taking a moment to stop and experience the beauty in nature can provide you with a greater sense of well-being that can stay with you throughout the day. As you walk or observe, mentally list the things that bring you joy, peace, or fulfillment.

Keep a gratitude diary 

Write down 5 or 6 things daily for which you are grateful. Recognizing what you are grateful for will help keep you focused on what you have rather than what you have not and creates a record of appreciation to look back on when you need a mood boost.

Meditate

A daily meditation practice, for even just a few minutes a day, helps reset your body’s autonomic stress response, which can help to improve sleep, reduce pain, enhance mood, and foster a better sense of well-being.

Say “Thank you.”

Taking the time to thank others, whether through a note, a text message, or a face-to-face conversation, not only uplifts their spirits but also helps reinforce your own sense of appreciation. This practice nurtures social bonds and fosters a greater sense of connection and well-being.

As we prepare for another Thanksgiving holiday in the US, it’s my wish that gratitude and all its benefits be present in your life and the lives of those you care about. And I wish you and yours a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

– Dr. Gary

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

Updated: November 2024

References

Tomczyk J, Nezlek JB, Krejtz I. Gratitude Can Help Women At-Risk for Depression Accept Their Depressive Symptoms, Which Leads to Improved Mental Health. Front Psychol. 2022 Apr 7;13:878819. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.878819. PMID: 35465539; PMCID: PMC9022718.

Hill PL, Allemand M, Roberts BW. Examining the Pathways between Gratitude and Self-Rated Physical Health across Adulthood. Pers Individ Dif. 2013 Jan;54(1):92-96. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2012.08.011. PMID: 23139438; PMCID: PMC3489271.

O’Connell BH, Killeen-Byrt M. Psychosocial health mediates the gratitude-physical health link. Psychol Health Med. 2018 Oct;23(9):1145-1150. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2018.1469782. Epub 2018 Apr 29. PMID: 29707980.

Emmons RA, Stern R. Gratitude as a psychotherapeutic intervention. J Clin Psychol. 2013 Aug;69(8):846-55. doi: 10.1002/jclp.22020. Epub 2013 Jun 17. PMID: 23775470.

Jia Wei Zhang, Ryan T. Howell, Ravi Iyer, Engagement with natural beauty moderates the positive relation between connectedness with nature and psychological well-being, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Volume 38, 2014, Pages 55-63, ISSN 0272-4944, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.12.013.

Rowland L, Curry OS. A range of kindness activities boost happiness. J Soc Psychol. 2019;159(3):340-343. doi: 10.1080/00224545.2018.1469461. Epub 2018 May 15. PMID: 29702043.

Mills PJ, Redwine L, Wilson K, Pung MA, Chinh K, Greenberg BH, Lunde O, Maisel A, Raisinghani A, Wood A, Chopra D. The Role of Gratitude in Spiritual Well-being in Asymptomatic Heart Failure Patients. Spiritual Clin Pract (Wash D C ). 2015 Mar;2(1):5-17. doi: 10.1037/scp0000050. PMID: 26203459; PMCID: PMC4507265.

meditation for stress

Why Meditation Is One of The Most Important Things You Can Do for Heart Health: A Doctor Explains

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Despite medical advances, heart disease remains the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States. This is a startling reality, especially given how preventable it is for those of us that are not genetically predisposed. Stress, along with smoking, sedentary habits, and a poor diet are some of the main lifestyle-related risk factors that increase your chance of developing the condition.

This article looks specifically at stress as a risk factor for heart disease, and meditation as a natural and proven method to mitigate its effects.

How The Stress-Response System Works

Whether it’s related to work, health, money, relationships, or some other life event or situation, stress eventually finds its way into your life. Thankfully, your body is well equipped to handle stressful situations thanks to the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is dedicated to regulating processes such as increased heart rate and shallow breathing, which kick in when you begin to experience stress or anxiety.

The stress-reaction process is truly an amazing and efficient one: when your body is under stress the amygdala in the brain fires up and sends an alert that there is a stressor, then the sympathetic nervous system is activated and prepares your body to “fight or take flight.” Your adrenals then go to work, supplying your body with cortisol and adrenaline, completing the trifecta of the stress-response process.

Typically the stress-response system is self-limiting, and when the stressor is gone, cortisol and adrenaline levels subside, and allostasis or stability is restored to your body. However, when the stress-reaction process is repeated multiple times over a relatively short period, stress becomes chronic, and the system breaks down. This is called “allostatic load,” which often results in an increase in physiological issues that compromise your immune system, inducing illness, and even accelerating disease processes such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

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Why Meditation Can Help Your Heart

The practice of meditation for stress relief has become more widely accepted as a complementary treatment to conventional medicine. As research affirms its positive psychological and physiological effects on the body, the attitude of “it can’t hurt” has shifted to “it can help.” According to an NIH survey done in 2017, next to yoga, meditation is the second most used mind-body therapy in the U.S.

How Lowering Stress Promotes Heart Health

A regular meditation practice can play a role in reducing cardiovascular disease by:

  1. Lowering blood pressure. When left untreated high blood pressure can lead to stroke and heart disease. In 2021, a systematic review and meta-analysis that looked at six studies concluded that Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) contributed to a reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in hypertensive and prehypertensive participants.
  2. Releasing feelings of stress and tension. Meditating quietly even for just a few minutes a day can restore feelings of calm and peacefulness. In a 2021 study on nursing students, researchers reported a significant reduction of anxiety and stress after engaging in mind-body techniques such as meditation over a period of time.
  3. Improving sleep. Evidence shows that mindfulness meditation can be successfully used for the treatment of insomnia.
  4. Improving the response to emotional stimuli. After an 8-week period, the researchers in this 2016 study reported “…MBSR led to changes in the amygdala consistent with improved emotion regulation.”
  5. Boosting the immune system. After an 8-week period, the researchers in this study in Psychosomatic Medicine reported “demonstrable effects on brain and immune function.”
  6. Reducing inflammation. Inflammation plays a major role in heart disease. Chronic inflammation is involved in all stages of atherosclerosis, the process that leads to cholesterol-clogged arteries. Practicing a mind-body therapy such as meditation, in adjunct with dietary and exercise programs, can help reduce underlying inflammatory processes.

The bottom line: Meditation is a practice that you can do anywhere at any time, alone in the privacy of your own home, or in the company of others. As with many things in life, getting started is the hardest step. Private consultations with a trained practitioner can be a wonderful way for you to take that first step or to enhance an existing practice.

Below you’ll find some additional studies that demonstrate the positive effects of meditation, as well as yoga (which incorporates many of the wonderful elements of meditation), on cardiovascular health.

In the battle against stress and even heart disease, there is a lot you can do! By being proactive now, you can bring about changes that can make a significant difference in how you feel, both physically and emotionally, in the very near future.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

This article first appeared in Dr. Kaplan’s column on MindBodyGreen.com. Reviewed and updated April, 2024.

yoga_for_back_pain

Research Confirms This Ancient Practice Helps With Low Back Pain

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We are at a crossroads in the applications of yoga for modern medicine. Traditionally, yoga was designed to promote harmony within the body and with the natural world. Modern medicine is now acknowledging that this ancient approach of breath practices, movement, and meditation is proving beneficial for an issue that plagues many Americans: back pain.

If your smoke alarm sounded, imagine cutting the wires to the alarm instead of putting out the fire. This is what many of us are doing when it comes to our health.

Back pain remains a primary reason many Americans find themselves on over-the-counter NSAIDS and even prescription narcotics. As common as it is for us to want to cover up symptoms rather than address the root of the problem, it gets us nowhere, fast. We end up addicted to medications to help us get through the day (or night), experiencing side effects like heartburn and worse, all the while allowing the underlying problem to fester.

Research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine put yoga side by side with physical therapy (PT), one of the most widely prescribed treatments for low back pain, and found that yoga had “almost the same amount of improvement in pain and activity limitation over time” as PT.

However, patients are strongly encouraged to consult a physician before engaging in a yoga routine to establish limitations and avoid further injury. The research also gives hope that insurance companies will more widely offer yoga as a covered treatment.

Yoga eases back pain first by increasing awareness.

When our bodies are in pain, we tend to “check out” – we don’t want to feel it. However, the body is full of wisdom when we stop to listen to it. Inherent in any imbalance is the mechanics of its healing. As you tune into your body, you gain a natural understanding of what needs strengthening, what needs to stretch, and what needs to relax.

We start by deepening the breath and learning to direct the breath into the back and hips. Beginning with gentle movements, we increase the flow of energy into areas of the body weakened by pain and lack of use. Health is flow. Imagine what a stagnant pond looks like; all sorts of microbes and bacteria can fester there. Now imagine a clear flowing stream; illness and pain can’t take hold as easily when energy is flowing. It is important to focus both on strengthening and stretching – many people over-stretch when in pain. However, the key for back pain is increasing stability; this means engaging your core, back, and hip muscles while also allowing them to lengthen.

Lastly, meditation is key.

They call back pain the “new ulcer” — a societally acceptable physical manifestation of stress, the way ulcers used to be. As with any stress-related illness, the key is learning to calm and soothe the nervous system and to increase your love and appreciation of yourself and of life. Meditation helps to press the pause button. It offers a choice as to where you place your attention — I can choose to focus on the pleasant feeling of breath in my body right now, rather than running a mental movie in my head about something that is going (or not going) to happen tomorrow. As our present-moment awareness grows, the tension in our bodies dissolves.

Yoga is a systematic approach to health and happiness that has an infinite variety of applications. May you discover the power of yoga to support you on your journey toward health.
—
It’s
All
Grace.
Laura Elizabeth Dorsett, MTS, RYT 500

* Before starting any new exercise routine, patients should discuss potential limitations with a physician.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

This article was originally published in June 2017. It was reviewed and updated in September 2023.

Healing therapies for PTSD

Moving Beyond Trauma: Healing Therapies for PTSD

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According to the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, it is estimated that approximately 6% of the population will experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at some point in their lives. By some estimates, that percentage more than doubles for people who have been exposed to a traumatic event.

To be diagnosed with PTSD one must meet a specific set of criteria which includes:

  • exposure to a traumatic stressor;
  • a re-experiencing of symptoms (physical and/or emotional);
  • avoidance behavior and emotional numbness;
  • hyperarousal;
  • symptom duration of at least one month; and
  • significant distress or impairment of functioning.

How does one move beyond this emotional pain, or provide support to the most vulnerable population, our children? The following 3 therapies have shown to be effective in treating PTSD in clinical settings for both adults and children.

Family or Couples Therapy

PTSD is a family illness. Family members often experience feelings of guilt, sadness, and isolation when a loved one is suffering. A safe setting where emotions, fears, and concerns can be communicated under the guidance of a therapist can help strengthen relationships and promote group healing during difficult times.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

MBSR is a program that uses meditation, breathing techniques, and movement, such as yoga, to bring awareness to the present moment, without judgment. There is a growing body of medical research that shows that a mindfulness-based meditation practice can help people bounce back after highly stressful situations.

  • A 2015 study reported that veterans suffering from PTSD who participated in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for a period of 8 weeks, reported a decrease in symptom severity.
  • A 2018 review confirmed that mindfulness-bases therapies are “effective in reducing PTSD symptomatology” and indicated that additional studies should be done to investigate its role as a first line treatment.
  • Children can also benefit from the practice. This 2017 review of research concluded that “high-quality, structured mindfulness interventions improve mental, behavioral, and physical outcomes in youth.”

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy

EMDR is an integrative psychotherapy that has proven highly effective for the treatment of trauma. Traumatic memories are memories that tend to be “frozen in time” and each time they are triggered a person may re-experience the same disturbing sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and sensations suffered during the original event. Traumatic memories have a long-lasting impact because they change core beliefs that we hold about ourselves and the world around us.

EMDR helps the brain adaptively process traumatic information by replicating what naturally happens during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. During EMDR therapy, a person is asked to bring a difficult thought or memory to mind, holding it in awareness, while also following the therapist’s hand movements across the field of vision, mimicking the biological process of REM sleep. Over time, though an event may remain as a bad memory, it eventually ceases to be a physiological stressor, because the person has learned to experience disturbing events or memories in a new and less distressing way.

Left unresolved, PTSD can be devastating, but with appropriate support, there are ways to move beyond the pain. If you or a loved one may be affected, please seek help – no one needs to suffer alone.

Additional Resources:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline –24-hour hotline for anyone in emotional distress: 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) – Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)
TRE® – Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercise methods by Dr. David Berceli
Veterans Crisis Line –  For veterans and their families and friends: 1-800-273-8255

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

This article was published in May 2017. It was reviewed and updated in June 2023.

 

One minute yoga meditation

One Minute Yoga Practice To Do Anywhere/Anytime

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At this moment, do you notice accumulated stress in your body? That slight clenching in your jaw, a furrow in your brow, the tension in your shoulders, and tightness in your belly?

The tools of Yoga Therapy are so powerful because they are accessible and meet us right where we are. The following exercise can help to release tension in 1-2 minutes. This breath technique effortlessly extends the length of your exhale, stimulating your parasympathetic nervous system to release a cascade of stress-reducing hormones that calm and restore your system.

One-minute yoga

– Sit comfortably, hands palms down on your lap, close your eyes, and feel your feet on the floor.

– Honor the intention of taking 1-2 minutes to relax your body and mind.

– Inhale through the nose, shrugging your shoulders up toward your ears.

– Exhale through the mouth with a sigh (if a sigh feels conspicuous, you can just exhale through the mouth), dropping your shoulders, imagining any buildup of stress falling off your shoulders. Repeat 3 times.

– Next, inhale through the nose, filling your belly.

– Exhale through your mouth as if you are exhaling out through a straw (lips pursed together creating a little opening between them as if you were holding a straw in your mouth). Repeat 3-5 times.

– Close by repeating the affirmation silently 3 times: “I am relaxed and at ease.” If you have a spiritual life/practice, take a moment to honor its presence in your life.

Laura Elizabeth Dorsett, MTS, RYT-500, has her master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School in partnership with Harvard Medical School, focusing on the intersection of spirituality and healing through Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation. At The Kaplan Center, Laura leads a free meditation class every Wednesday on Zoom from 7:30 – 8:30 pm.

woman practicing yoga / mind body therapy

Managing Chronic Pain and Illness with Mind-Body Therapies

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With everything we know about mind-body therapies, if you have chronic pain or are living with a chronic illness, a regular yoga or mindfulness practice should be a part of your daily routine.

Mind-body techniques such as meditation and yoga have proven to be highly beneficial in: calming the inflammatory process caused by physical or emotional trauma (traumas can include acute injury, chronic pain, illness, stress, infection, and emotional distress), strengthening the immune system, and improving central nervous system (CNS) function.

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Meditation can help improve immune function without activating inflammatory markers.

A 2021 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that a regular meditation practice strengthens the immune system without initiating an inflammatory response. Blood specimens from 106 participants of an intense meditation retreat were collected and examined before and after the retreat. The authors identified 220 genes associated with immune response that were up regulated but with no significant increase in inflammatory markers. The results of the study suggests that meditation may be an effective adjunct treatment for chronic illnesses such as Long Covid, Multiple Sclerosis, and other illnesses that are characterized by persistent or excessive inflammation.

Mind-body therapies can change the way we experience physical pain.

The results of a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience showed that “meditation-related pain relief was directly related to brain regions associated with the cognitive modulation of pain” and provided further insight into the manner by which meditation alters the subjective experience of pain. Patients experienced a reduction in “pain intensity” of about 40 percent and a reduction in “pain unpleasantness” of 57 percent. According to the lead author of the study, Fadel Zeidan, “Meditation produced a greater reduction in pain than even morphine or other pain-relieving drugs, which typically reduce pain ratings by about 25 percent”.

A 2022 study published in PAIN found that mindfulness meditation “significantly reduced behavioral and neural pain responses when compared to controls”.

A 2014 study published in Cerebral Cortex found “that regular and long-term yoga practice improves pain tolerance in typical North Americans by teaching different ways to deal with sensory inputs and the potential emotional reactions attached to those inputs leading to a change in insular brain anatomy and connectivity”.

Meditation and yoga have both shown to improve symptoms of disturbed sleep.

Sleep disturbance can highly influence recovery from illness or injury and impairs the body’s immune system, physical reflexes, emotional stability, and cognitive functions.

In 2018, a systemic review of research looked at 18 randomized controlled trials, including 1654 participants in total, and found that “there was moderate strength of evidence that mindfulness meditation interventions significantly improved sleep quality compared with nonspecific active controls”.

Like meditation, yoga has also proven to have benefits when it comes to sleep. Studies show that yoga can improve insomnia and other sleep problems. However, as there are many different types of yoga, make sure to avoid a high activity yoga form and chose a form with gentle body poses and breathing techniques.

There is a growing body of medical research proving that mind-body therapies can reverse the loss of gray matter.

Chronic pain causes inflammation in the brain and can lead to a loss of gray matter. When prolonged pain is present, the areas of the brain that control self-awareness, emotions, memory, and learning can all suffer.

A 2010 study conducted by Massachusetts General Hospital found that mindfulness meditation, over the short period of only 8 weeks, increased the amount of gray matter in the regions of the brain involved in learning and memory, regulation of emotion, and self-awareness.

A more recent study confirmed that brief mindfulness medication “can induce gray matter plasticity” and “may have important implications for protecting against mood-related disorders and aging-related cognitive declines”.

Medical research has demonstrated that many difficult to treat chronic pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, celiac disease, and irritable bowel syndrome, are mediated by central nervous system sensitization. It is only logical that meditation, which improves nervous system functioning, would help to alleviate chronic pain and improve quality of life.

The studies above confirm what we have seen clinically in our own patients for many years, and. meditation and yoga therapy continue to be an integral part of our treatment plans here at the Kaplan Center.

The bottom line? While meditation and yoga therapy may not be the entire solution, there is enough evidence to show that these therapies, when part of an individual’s comprehensive treatment plan, will help to alleviate pain, improve sleep, lessen anxiety and depression, and leave one with a greater sense of well-being.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

woman talking to physician about prediabetes

Pre-diabetes: Are You at Risk?

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Approximately 37 million people in the United States have diabetes. Over the last decade, statistics show that the diabetes incidence rate (new cases diagnosed) has trended downward. In 2009, approximately nine out of 1,000 adults were diagnosed; in 2019 that rate declined to just under six. Statistics also show that there are more adults living with diabetes (diabetes prevalence) than a decade ago. This may be due to better detection and management of the condition.

These statistics are encouraging, but as the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, we must continue to be vigilant in identifying the risk factors.

Pre-diabetes is a condition where blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. It affects over 96 million adults in the U.S. – that’s 38% of the U.S. adult population! Caused by a condition known as insulin resistance, an abnormal response to glucose regulation, pre-diabetes increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as other conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

While the incidence rate of pre-diabetes has remained relatively steady since 2005, there has been a significant increase in the percentage of adults aware that they had the condition. This is good news in that in many cases pre-diabetes CAN be prevented or even reversed, and knowing you have it is key. Dietary modifications and lifestyle changes are the most effective ways to return blood glucose levels to a normal range.

What are some of the contributing factors?

Sugar:

The average American consumes 152 pounds of sugar and 146 pounds of flour per year. Could this have a correlation with diabetes? Yes! Waistlines are increasing because the sugars and refined grains that we consume increase insulin levels causing belly fat (or visceral fat) to accumulate around the organs. Insulin resistance then causes the elevation of blood sugar which increases that person’s risk of developing other serious health conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetic eye disease, neuropathy, and kidney disease.

There are several ways to diagnose obesity and determine if one has visceral fat accumulation. A person’s BMI, or body mass index, is one measurement to take into consideration. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight, and while it does not consider lean muscle mass, the measurement is still useful, with a recommended BMI of 25 or less. Waist circumference is another important indicator. Men should aim to keep their waistline circumference under 40 inches, and women should aim for 35 inches or less, with a waist-to-hip ratio (waist circumference divided by hip circumference) of less than 0.8. This reading in particular can be helpful in detecting those we call “skinny fat” – these people look thin but have a potbelly. All of these measurements taken together are good indicators of insulin resistance. The ultimate testing however includes glucose tolerance testing (fasting blood sugar and insulin levels) and/or hemoglobin A1C, which is a blood test that provides information about a person’s average levels of blood glucose over the past 3 months.

Something else to keep in mind is that all calories are not the same. A soda which has approximately 45 grams of sugar and 150 calories, causes a spike in insulin, whereas an apple and handful of almonds with the same amount of calories, does not. A 2007 study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrated that certain types of carbohydrates, such as wheat and potatoes, up-regulated the genes for diabetes and inflammation in the abdominal subcutaneous fat, as compared to other carbohydrates like rye and corn, even though the caloric value was the same.

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Sleep:

Sleep deprivation also increases insulin resistance. One study showed that adolescents who slept less than 8 hours per night had an increase in central fat and insulin resistance. Another study recently reported that for every 30 minutes of weekday sleep “debt” the risk of obesity and insulin resistance increased by 18% and 41 % respectively over a year.

Exercise:

Besides lowering the consumption of sugar and flour and improving sleep, what else can we do to improve glucose control? Research is strongly supporting all types of exercise like walking, running, biking, and swimming for the regulation of blood sugar. Weight-training in particular increases lean muscle mass and metabolism long-term and increases a specific type of muscle (white muscle) that has been shown to lower blood sugar.

Digestive health:

Newer studies show that there is a link between the microorganisms living in your digestive system, central obesity, visceral fat, and insulin resistance. Taking a prebiotic (dietary fiber that feeds the good bacteria) and consuming foods like kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, and supplements with probiotics, may help reduce insulin resistance.

Here is a summary of some of my recommendations:

  1. Reduce sugars and processed foods, and lower or eliminate wheat products. Avoid at all costs high-fructose corn syrup which has a strong link to insulin resistance. Eat more of a plant-based diet, grass-fed meats, and fish that are high in Omega 3’s, like wild-caught salmon. Be aware if you have a food sensitivity to gluten or dairy as these are highly inflammatory and can add to visceral fat.
  2. Get an activity monitor and aim for 10,000 steps per day. This is a goal, but any amount of extra steps that you can take each day towards this goal can make a difference. Consider getting a personal trainer to help you with a weight-training program, or take a yoga class at least once to twice a week or practice at home.
  3. Create a comfortable sleep routine and climate, and make good sleep a priority. If sleep is poor, then ask your doctor for a sleep study to rule out sleep apnea.
  4. Take a daily probiotic and switch them around every few months. Consider a prebiotic as well, but know that a good plant-based diet feeds your good bacteria too.
  5. Take a few moments to practice deep breathing and meditation. Start a gratitude journal and write down something every day. This lowers stress hormones like cortisol, and thus lowers insulin resistance.
  6. Get your vitamin-D checked and supplement as needed. Take 2 grams of Omega 3’s per day if you don’t consume fish regularly. Other supplements that help reduce insulin resistance include chromium and alpha-lipoic acid and magnesium.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

What I Know About Healing Chronic Pain From 37 Years Of Treating Patients

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There are over 50 million adults in the United States living with some form of chronic pain. The impact of chronic pain on people’s lives is enormous; unfortunately, despite modern medical advances we’re still not that great at treating it.

We may be unsuccessful in treating chronic pain because the way we’ve thought about where it comes from is all wrong. Research demonstrates that chronic pain is frequently a symptom of inflammation in the brain. Finding a cure requires that we identify and treat all the things that are causing the brain to remain in an inflamed state.

Here are seven things you need to do to effectively to deal with your chronic pain:

  1. Get a real diagnosis.

Chronic pain, in and of itself, is not a diagnosis. It’s a symptom of injury or illness, and even more specifically, it’s a symptom of inflammation. For example, over the course of 37 years of practicing family medicine and treating patients suffering from chronic pain, the worst case of acute shoulder pain I have ever seen was in a man who was having a heart attack.

I also have seen patients complain of chronic lower back pain, when their underlying problem was actually Crohn’s disease (an autoimmune disease that causes digestive problems).

Similarly, chronic migraine headaches may be a symptom of a food allergy. When this is the case, eliminating the offending foods can be a straightforward solution.

Today, we are seeing more and more people experiencing pain symptoms as a result of a previous COVID-19 infection. Long-COVID Syndrome symptoms often mimic the pain symptoms of fibromyalgia, ME/CFS and POTS.

Getting the right diagnosis requires a comprehensive history by a physician who can connect the dots. Frequently, what you think is the beginning of your pain problem is not its actually cause.

Bottom line: you must know what to treat if you have any hope of finding a cure.

  1. Get tested for sleep disorders and get enough rest.

If you’re getting seven or more hours of sleep per night, but you still feel exhausted all the time, you may have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition that means that while you’re sleeping you periodically stop breathing. During these intervals, your brain is deprived of oxygen, which causes inflammation of the neural tissue in the brain. Sleep apnea affects approximately 5% of Americans and it has been estimated that as many as 85% of people with this condition have not been diagnosed.

The inflammation caused by sleep apnea can cause or contribute to joint pain, migraine headaches, abdominal pain, and other chronic pain conditions. Ask your doctor about getting tested for sleep apnea or other sleep disorders. Sleep well and you’ll find you have more energy and less pain.

  1. Eat an anti-inflammatory diet.

To eliminate the dietary causes of chronic pain, I usually recommend that patients limit their food intake to rice, fish, chicken, and fresh fruits and vegetables for a period of six weeks. While this food plan doesn’t eliminate every possible allergen, it does eliminate the major offenders, such as gluten, milk and milk products, refined sugar, processed foods, nuts and eggs.

When you eat, notice if certain foods cause you to experience an adverse reaction such as a stuffy nose, fatigue, headache, bloating, or gas. By eliminating the foods that create inflammation in your brain and body, you’ll find that your pain decreases and your physical energy and mental clarity increase.

  1. Meditate.

Studies show that regular meditation improves brain function and can help the brain recover from inflammatory damage. Regular meditation also has been shown to improve our ability to tolerate and recover from stress. Meditate for 20 to 30 minutes a day and see if you notice a difference.

  1. Make time for manual therapy.

Hands-on therapies such as Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM), physical therapy, massage, and chiropractic therapy can help relieve, and in some cases, completely resolve chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Whatever the pain’s origin — whether its disease, traumatic injury or overuse, or emotional stress — bodywork can help stimulate healthy blood flow into damaged muscles, tendons, and connective tissue, thereby relieving musculoskeletal pain and tension and stimulating the body’s own ability to heal itself.

In fact, manual therapy is so effective in unlocking the emotional stress and trauma stored in our bodies that I often also recommend working with a psychotherapist who can help you process these issues.

  1. Take nutritional supplements that are right for you.

There are supplements on the market that can help address generalized inflammation and joint pain. Supplements are also a great way to strengthen your immune system and help keep you healthy. However, before you start taking any new product, make sure you are buying from a trusted supplier; the U.S. Food & Drug Administration does not regulate the manufacture and marketing of supplements as they do with prescription medication.

Talk with your doctor about the medications and other supplements you are already taking before starting a new supplement because some products can cause drug interactions. 

  1. Practice gratitude.

Although this is sometimes a lot to ask of people whose lives have been devastated by chronic pain, the cultivation of gratitude for family and friends and the other gifts in our lives helps make us more trusting, altruistic, resilient, and just plain happier. It also allows us to live each day more fully.

I recommend keeping a gratitude diary and listing five things for which you are grateful each day. Other gratitude exercises include visualizing and writing about your future, best possible self; putting your gratitude into action by writing a thank-you note or visiting a person to whom you owe a debt of gratitude. Spending time each day contemplating the things for which you are grateful is likely to help reduce not only your stress level but also your experience of physical pain.

Good luck on your healing journey!

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

Healthy behaviors sleep

Everyday Behaviors That Can Impact a Healthy Immune System

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The key to longevity and optimal health is a healthy immune system. If our immune system is not in the optimal shape we are at risk for infections, autoimmune diseases, and even cancers. There are simple steps to take every day to keep your immune system healthy so that it can keep aggressors at bay. Read on to find out more.

1 – Sleep

Everyone knows that you need 7-8 hours of good quality sleep at night, but why? Your brain is the most metabolically active organ in the body. All that activity generates a lot of cellular waste products that need to be removed to keep our brains in optimal health. The glymphatic system is the brain’s specialized waste disposal system and it is most active during slow wave sleep at night. A healthy brain is essential for a healthy immune system.

Three quick hacks:

  • Keep a regular bedtime and waking time. Varying your bedtime impairs the normal restorative cycle of the brain and actually increases inflammation.
  • 1-3 mg of melatonin at night can improve sleep and help reduce brain inflammation.
  • Eat a lighter meal at dinner time and do not eat anything for 3 hours before bedtime, this allows the brain to optimally regenerate itself.

2 – Intermittent Fasting

Chronic or intermittent food restriction has a profound life-enhancing effect on the health of your brain and immune system. Unless there are medical reasons for not doing intermittent fasting doing a 1 or two day water-only fast a week or compressing your eating time to 6-8 hours a day while of course eating a healthy diet can help protect you from a number of neuroinflammatory diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

3 – Keep Your Mitochondria Happy and Healthy

The mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell and are also essential for a healthy immune system. Exercise, proper sleep and nutrition are again essential. A nutritional hack is NAD. NAD is essential for optimal energy and metabolism. There are several NAD supplements on the market but NAD is also available as an IV supplement in some centers. As we age or burn the candle at both ends we deplete NAD and keeping our NAD tank full is essential to healthy aging and optimal health.

More on NAD IV treatment.

4 – Emotional Traumas and Stress

Emotional traumas and stress injure the immune system. Unaddressed childhood emotional traumas, PTSD weakens the immune system and make you more susceptible to autoimmune diseases, chronic pain, cardiovascular disease and a host of other life diminishing and life-shortening diseases. Don’t just live with it, get help. Seeing a therapist who specializes in the treatment of trauma is important. Techniques such as EMDR and medications such as ketamine can help.

5 – A Defensive Lifestyle

Our environment is literally killing us. Air and water pollution. Lead in our water systems Mercury in our fish. Pesticides and herbicides in our food. Water damage to buildings results in mold growth in the walls that produce toxins that can cause brain and immune damage when breathed. Removing yourself from a toxic building is the first step. Regular detox with saunas, taking activated charcoal and chlorella periodically can help but you need to be careful because these can also interfere with the absorption of medications and other supplements. Testing the indoor air for mold toxins with an ERMI kit that can be ordered online and of course eating clean is a great start. There are tests available to help you understand your toxic burden. Some can be ordered online but working with a physician who specializes in functional medicine can also get you on the right path.

6 – Last Word From Doctor

If our immune systems are weak then when infections occur they can literally break the immune system and cause chronic disease. Post-acute COVID Syndrome (Long COVID), Chronic fatigue syndrome, Chronic Lyme disease, Chronic anxiety and Depression, Fibromyalgia, PANS/PANDAS, and more. These are diseases of a broken immune system. We now understand so much more about how we get sick. Why do we stay sick, and most importantly how we can recover and maintain optimal health for life.

 

Written by Dr. Gary Kaplan for Eat This, Not That, May 13, 2022

 

improving_brain_fog

3 Steps to Improve Brain Fog

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Doctors across the globe are seeing a noticeable uptick of patients concerned with memory problems, forgetfulness, and brain fog since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. If you are experiencing more frequent slips in memory, if you are more easily distracted, making more frequent mistakes at work, or feel like you are walking around with your head in a cloud, you’re certainly not alone.

For many people experiencing brain fog for the first time right now, the overload of pandemic-related stress and trauma from a very difficult year is more than likely to blame. Chronic stress and chronically disturbed sleep alone can cause inflammation in the brain which, over time, can damage neurons and affect cognitive functioning and memory.

But there is good news! Our brains are resilient, and when given the opportunity, the degenerative effects of chronic inflammation can be reduced – or even reversed – with certain lifestyle changes. There is light at the end of the tunnel, so, while we emerge from this pandemic let’s consider just a few basic strategies that will help improve your symptoms today.

3 ways to improve symptoms:

1) Get regular aerobic exercise:

Simply put, aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which helps your brain create new neurons and improve neural connections. A study by the University of Maryland School of Public Health, published in July 2013, showed that people who increased their heart rate with daily moderate exercise “improved their memory performance and showed enhanced neural efficiency while engaged in memory retrieval tasks.”

Regular exercise also down-regulates microglia in the brain. Try to incorporate just 30 minutes a day of moderate physical exercise – such as walking – for a significant impact on your brain health.

2) Eat smarter:

Not surprisingly, nutrition also plays an important role in brain health and there is an impressive amount of research confirming that essential fatty acids, like Omega-3’s, are very beneficial. If DHA levels are low (DHA is a form of Omega-3) the brain is more susceptible to degeneration. Omega-3 fatty acids also help scavenge free radicals (atoms, molecules, or ions with unpaired electrons) that attach inappropriately to tissue and damage it.

Since our bodies are unable to produce these fatty acids on their own, foods rich in Omega-3’s like salmon, shrimp, sardines, eggs, walnuts, and almonds, should make a regular appearance on our plates.

Fruits and vegetables, high in a type of antioxidant called flavonoid, also play a major role in brain health. Foods rich in flavonoids offer a number of neuroprotective properties, and can decrease rates of cognitive decline and potentially slow the progression of many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. Foods rich in flavonoids include tea (black, green, oolong), bananas, blueberries, and other colorful berries, onions, apples, citrus, Ginkgo biloba, parsley, red wine, and chocolate!

3) Don’t take your sleep for granted

Sleep deprivation, sleeping less than the amount of time your body needs for growth and repair, is the most common sleep disorder. Adults should have between seven and eight hours a night of restful sleep, yet CDC statistics show that as many as 35% of American adults are not sleeping enough, and this figure is likely to have increased since then.

During sleep, the body repairs itself by calming inflammation and maintaining hormone production. When these two processes – both important elements in brain health – are compromised it can negatively impact your memory, decision-making, the capacity to focus one’s attention, and the ability to complete complex creative activities, among other things.

Breathing techniques, meditation, and establishing a bedtime routine are 3 great ways to help you settle down and improve the length and quality of your sleep.

Events

Drop-In Meditation Zoom

Free Virtual Drop In Mindfulness Meditation Class

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Join Laura’s growing Wednesday evening sangha. Sangha is an ancient word for a community of the spirit, of the Heart. Never has it been more vital to feel our connectedness and shared belonging.

Our Wednesday evening meditation class meets via live stream at 7:30 pm EST. All levels are welcome.

How you can participate:

Zoom room opens at 7:15pm.  Join HERE.
Meeting ID: 810 3979 4301
Passcode: 108108

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Śraddhā Laura Dorsett is a mindfulness meditation instructor and founder of The Embodied Self. She received her Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) professional training in 2004 through Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Stress Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Click here to read more about Laura.

Drop-In Meditation Zoom

Free Virtual Drop In Mindfulness Meditation Class

/in /by

Join Laura’s growing Wednesday evening sangha. Sangha is an ancient word for a community of the spirit, of the Heart. Never has it been more vital to feel our connectedness and shared belonging.

Our Wednesday evening meditation class meets via live stream at 7:30 pm EST. All levels are welcome.

How you can participate:

Zoom room opens at 7:15pm.  Join HERE.
Meeting ID: 810 3979 4301
Passcode: 108108

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Śraddhā Laura Dorsett is a mindfulness meditation instructor and founder of The Embodied Self. She received her Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) professional training in 2004 through Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Stress Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Click here to read more about Laura.

Drop-In Meditation Zoom

Free Virtual Drop In Mindfulness Meditation Class

/in /by

Join Laura’s growing Wednesday evening sangha. Sangha is an ancient word for a community of the spirit, of the Heart. Never has it been more vital to feel our connectedness and shared belonging.

Our Wednesday evening meditation class meets via live stream at 7:30 pm EST. All levels are welcome.

How you can participate:

Zoom room opens at 7:15pm.  Join HERE.
Meeting ID: 810 3979 4301
Passcode: 108108

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Śraddhā Laura Dorsett is a mindfulness meditation instructor and founder of The Embodied Self. She received her Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) professional training in 2004 through Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Stress Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Click here to read more about Laura.

Drop-In Meditation Zoom

Free Virtual Drop In Mindfulness Meditation Class

/in /by

Join Laura’s growing Wednesday evening sangha. Sangha is an ancient word for a community of the spirit, of the Heart. Never has it been more vital to feel our connectedness and shared belonging.

Our Wednesday evening meditation class meets via live stream at 7:30 pm EST. All levels are welcome.

How you can participate:

Zoom room opens at 7:15pm.  Join HERE.
Meeting ID: 810 3979 4301
Passcode: 108108

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Śraddhā Laura Dorsett is a mindfulness meditation instructor and founder of The Embodied Self. She received her Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) professional training in 2004 through Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Stress Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Click here to read more about Laura.