Dear Friend,
I want to thank you ALL for your wonderful feedback on the two previous coffee pieces ....by giving you ONE MORE CUP!
I'm happy to report that I believe I have helped facilitate the release of TONS of built-up, unconscious internal negative associations many people have held onto in regards to their coffee drinking.
Many of you wrote about your coffee consumption in a statement something like this: "Dr Lou, even though I know it's bad for me, I still love my morning coffee and can't imagine my life without it."
Let's look at the wording of this statement.
"Even though I KNOW THAT IT'S BAD for me..." That "I KNOW" is very important because it sets up a certain "TRUTH" (It's bad for me) that..as we just found out ..is not a truth at all! But the effects of that PERCEIVED truth will set in motion a whole host of reactions that can create problems that could manifest as symptoms.
When we DO SOMETHING, in this instance eat or drink something that we believe is "BAD" for us, we set up an internal discrepancy that our bodymind cannot resolve. Our subconscious mind, informed by that incongruous thinking, will not know how to act. It will literally be in a state on confusion wavering between 'yes" and "no."
Without resolution, that inner disharmony sets up an out-of-phase frequency, similar to what happens when a two plucked guitar strings are slightly out of tune; you will hear what is called a "Beat Frequency" or “Offset Frequency” or “Binaural Beat” or "Modulated Offset Harmonic" (MOH) Frequencies ...a sort of "wha-wha-wha" sound that will become closer and slower as the strings reach the same tension or tone. This is called a Heterodyne Effect.
You can go here and click on the links to hear an example (not a great one, though):
http://www.maatismarket.com/category.aspx?categoryID=138
At the very least least in the example above you can hear how bad it sounds when there is DIS-harmony. Internally, when we have incongruent thoughts or emotions, and since we ourselves are vibrations slowed down and precipitated into matter, the frequency of this awful sound is what distorts and damages our tissues. We repair or replace a billion cells per second, so if there is a heterodyne frequency inside us, it will effect the development of those cells. This is how a dis-ease can manifest for decades, even thought he tissues themselves are replaced every few months, the NEW ones are built on a faulty template.
If we are in a job or circumstance we "hate" or drinking a certain beverage we hold a negative attitude about ..we are doing damage to our tissues. I just read that 64% of Americans "hate" their job. I've been there ..my career before I was a Chiro-Dude, I was managing a shipping business back in Connecticut. As a manager, I had to be in the position of dealing with the costumers and their unrealistic expectations, the owner of the company and his unrealistic expectations, all the while trying to run the show with a menagerie of underpaid criminals, thugs, thieves, low-lifes, no-life, and always high-lifes "working" for me. What a blast.
I was in a constant state of stress, inside and out. A single dad of 2 chirping birds in the nest, I was nearly 190lbs (I'm 155lbs now), was hiding behind a full beard and long hair, drank 8-10 cups of horrible Fanny Farmer rot-gut, battery acid coffee chock full of powdered non-dairy creamer made in a Mr Coffee machine I NEVER cleaned, ate meals off one of those stinky buzzard wagons that prowl industrial parks, and drank a "few" scotches at night to get to sleep. I was running the operation from my anger with threats and menaces. Things were not good, and I was not listening to my inner voice that knew the jig was up. I was all of 28.
Needless to say, the buried inner healer in me was being severely damaged by the discrepancy of the outer life I was living. Which is why cosmic events conspired to drop a 400 lb desk on my neck, opening me up to the possibility of chiropractic, and a brand new direction in my life. No matter what we THINK we "do," everything ends up the way it's supposed to, vibrationally speaking.
Even though it somehow worked out for me, I don't recommend the path of not listening.!!!!! We all know what we need to do ...it's just that the cacophony of life shrouds the voice. Getting adjusted WILL clear your body of unnecessary tension that is blocking your true voice.
Back to COFFEE!
OK ..I have to mention a few things about what some of you have admitted putting INTO your HEART-FRIENDLY coffee.
First off...BUY ONLY ORGANIC COFFEE ...PERIOD.
SPLENDA : Splenda is NOT splendid and is NOT from sugar! It's a artificial, man-made chlorinated sucralose molecule originally developed and manufactured by the insecticide industry to lure cockroaches towards the poison. DO YOU REALLY NEED TO HEAR MORE?
That goes for ALL "ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS!" NO PINK, BLUE, or YELLOW!! They are artificial chemicals designed to fool your tongue ...oh...and since they will accumulate in your liver because they cannot be metabolized, they WILL ruin your liver much faster than alcohol. see: http://www.lifetimewellnesschiro.com/wellness/rulesfood.html
CREAMORA: This includes ALL the "Non-Dairy Creamers" including Hazelnut Fat-Free CoffeeMate ...which I hear is like mouth-crack. Excuse me ...but ...WTF!!!!!! A diabolically sick concoction of High Fructose Corn Oil, Hydrogenated Corn/Soybean Oil, horrible chemical additives, poisonous chemical flavorings and colorings ..that you ingest because it tastes so good??!!
I had a PM a few years ago who finally admitted ...after trying for 3 months to lose weight on my Food Rules but wasn't getting anywhere ...that she had 8 - 10 cups of coffee a day ...and 2/3rds of it was CREAMORA!!!! Let me put it this way ..if you are still putting that HORRIFIC CRAP in you, it will just rot your innards and put YOU in the ground, so why would you waste your time and money coming to see a healer like me?
I use RICE MILK ...most of them have some not-so-good oils in them, but I buy one that has them down the list. If you didn't know, all food labels are written with the most prevalent ingredient FIRST, then the next one second...all the way to the least one last. I also will use ORGANIC WHOLE MILK or Half-n-Half (NEVER "fat-free" or "reduced fat" because of the processing involved) ..and RAW CREAM if I can get, and afford it. NEVER use FLAVORED ones. If you want to, buy some good organic vanilla extract and put a few drops in.
NEVER use SOY milk ...it's just a ton of toxic SOY OIL, most of it GMO soy even if the label says it's not. Google "MONSANTO" (or what I call "THE DEVIL INCARNATE") ..or see the DVD "The Future of Food"
I you MUST sweeten you coffee, please use HONEY, PURE MAPLE SYRUP, AGAVE, STEVIA, UNPROCESSED CANE SUGAR (a/k/a SUCANAT) ..or..if you must ..a small amount of THE WHITE STUFF..which is always much better than any chemicals.
So please ...enjoy a HEALTH, ROBUST cup of coffee to your HEARTS content ...literally.
Your Chock Full of Nuts and Bolts Java Jivin' Mocha Chip for Health,
Dr. Lou
Saturday, December 27, 2008
BREW...WHO KNEW?
Dear Friend,
I had some GREAT response (and RELIEF!) from so many of you on the coffee piece. Thank-you for sharing your own stories on how you popped you coffee cherries.
YES! COFFEE GOOD!!! ENJOY!!!!
Also had a few questions ...so here's a little more info about this wondrous beverage....
First off, contrary to what many think, even though it is usually a "darker, richer" taste, espresso drinks have far less caffeine that drip or percolated coffee.
Because caffeine is a water-soluble molecule, its rate of dissolution is proportionate to its time in contact with water. In other words, the longer the bean is in the water, the more caffeinated the brewski.
So the absolute highest amount of caffeine is in percolated coffee where the grind is bathed over and over and over again by the re-circulated water in the pot. Percolated coffee has THREE TIMES the caffeine of espresso, and tastes like battery acid soaked in a rusty can, if you ask me. At least my Aunt Rose's did.
Espresso drinks are so named because the water is steam-forced or "expressed" past the fine grind and so has very little contact time between the water and the bean.
It was difficult to find reliable numbers, but most sources report that the caffeine content of a 8 oz cup of brewed coffee averages about 85-192 mg, (ave: 135 mg) but varies widely according to cup size, the method of preparation, and the amount of coffee used.
Percolated coffee can reach upwards of 200-275mg of caffeine.
Espresso drinks contain 40-80mg of caffeine.
Decaffeinated coffee is not totally caffeine free, containing about 3mg of caffeine.
Because caffeine is a drug, it can kill you. But to put this in perspective, the fatal oral dose of caffeine is in excess of 5,000 mg - the equivalent of over 40 strong cups of coffee taken in within a few minutes ...simply not possible.
Caffeine stimulates the brain and behavior. Use of 75-150 mg of caffeine elevates neural activity in many parts of the brain, postpones fatigue, and enhances performance at simple intellectual tasks and at physical work that involves endurance but not fine motor coordination. Caffeine-caused tremor can reduce hand steadiness ...so make sure your brain surgeon isn't whacking down a Cup O Joe before he goes in, or you may end up mistaking your best friend for a hat.
Now one very important thing to remember: ORGANIC COFFEE ONLY!
From the "Urth Caffee" website some important facts and classifications to consider when buying coffee:
CERTIFIED ORGANIC: Certified organically grown means coffee that is 100% chemical free. Inspectors test soil, leaf, and beans for chemical residue; as well regularly inspecting roasting facilities. Coffee is the heaviest chemically treated food commodity in the world. The most common chemical used in coffee production is synthetic petroleum based fertilizers which slowly destroy the soil's fertility and seep into local water supplies.
SHADE GROWN: Farms that practice sustainable agriculture and only plant natural, non-sun resistant coffee trees grown deep in the dense shade of the rainforest canopy. Coffee trees do not naturally grow in direct sunlight, but under the shade of dense rainforest. To increase productivity, the coffee industry has developed sun-resistant coffee tree hybrids that have come to comprise approximately 70% of the world's coffee production. As a result rainforest is being cleared at alarming rates to make room for new, sun resistant coffee trees.
FAIR TRADE: Fair Trade coffees are bought at a guaranteed premium, usually three times more than the highest market price for conventional coffee, resulting in fair wages and better living conditions for the farmers.
Now ...some FUN COFFEE FACTS:
The word "cappuccino" comes from the 16th century Capuchin order of friars, whose hoods were called "cappuccinos." A cappuccino is a coffee topped with steamed milk.
The word "tip" is also related to coffee. It comes from old London coffeehouses where the waiters' brass boxes were etched with the inscription, "To Insure Promptness." In fact, it was in one such coffeehouses which belonged to a Mr Lloyd that a few cargo insurers got together to start the Lloyd's insurance company.
Know anybody who would like to enter the wonderful world of "Hey ..my Chiropractor e-mails me all this nutso stuff all the time..." Send them here:
http://4pains.com/Fabale/newsletter.htm
Enjoy that cup ...
Dr Lou
I had some GREAT response (and RELIEF!) from so many of you on the coffee piece. Thank-you for sharing your own stories on how you popped you coffee cherries.
YES! COFFEE GOOD!!! ENJOY!!!!
Also had a few questions ...so here's a little more info about this wondrous beverage....
First off, contrary to what many think, even though it is usually a "darker, richer" taste, espresso drinks have far less caffeine that drip or percolated coffee.
Because caffeine is a water-soluble molecule, its rate of dissolution is proportionate to its time in contact with water. In other words, the longer the bean is in the water, the more caffeinated the brewski.
So the absolute highest amount of caffeine is in percolated coffee where the grind is bathed over and over and over again by the re-circulated water in the pot. Percolated coffee has THREE TIMES the caffeine of espresso, and tastes like battery acid soaked in a rusty can, if you ask me. At least my Aunt Rose's did.
Espresso drinks are so named because the water is steam-forced or "expressed" past the fine grind and so has very little contact time between the water and the bean.
It was difficult to find reliable numbers, but most sources report that the caffeine content of a 8 oz cup of brewed coffee averages about 85-192 mg, (ave: 135 mg) but varies widely according to cup size, the method of preparation, and the amount of coffee used.
Percolated coffee can reach upwards of 200-275mg of caffeine.
Espresso drinks contain 40-80mg of caffeine.
Decaffeinated coffee is not totally caffeine free, containing about 3mg of caffeine.
Because caffeine is a drug, it can kill you. But to put this in perspective, the fatal oral dose of caffeine is in excess of 5,000 mg - the equivalent of over 40 strong cups of coffee taken in within a few minutes ...simply not possible.
Caffeine stimulates the brain and behavior. Use of 75-150 mg of caffeine elevates neural activity in many parts of the brain, postpones fatigue, and enhances performance at simple intellectual tasks and at physical work that involves endurance but not fine motor coordination. Caffeine-caused tremor can reduce hand steadiness ...so make sure your brain surgeon isn't whacking down a Cup O Joe before he goes in, or you may end up mistaking your best friend for a hat.
Now one very important thing to remember: ORGANIC COFFEE ONLY!
From the "Urth Caffee" website some important facts and classifications to consider when buying coffee:
CERTIFIED ORGANIC: Certified organically grown means coffee that is 100% chemical free. Inspectors test soil, leaf, and beans for chemical residue; as well regularly inspecting roasting facilities. Coffee is the heaviest chemically treated food commodity in the world. The most common chemical used in coffee production is synthetic petroleum based fertilizers which slowly destroy the soil's fertility and seep into local water supplies.
SHADE GROWN: Farms that practice sustainable agriculture and only plant natural, non-sun resistant coffee trees grown deep in the dense shade of the rainforest canopy. Coffee trees do not naturally grow in direct sunlight, but under the shade of dense rainforest. To increase productivity, the coffee industry has developed sun-resistant coffee tree hybrids that have come to comprise approximately 70% of the world's coffee production. As a result rainforest is being cleared at alarming rates to make room for new, sun resistant coffee trees.
FAIR TRADE: Fair Trade coffees are bought at a guaranteed premium, usually three times more than the highest market price for conventional coffee, resulting in fair wages and better living conditions for the farmers.
Now ...some FUN COFFEE FACTS:
The word "cappuccino" comes from the 16th century Capuchin order of friars, whose hoods were called "cappuccinos." A cappuccino is a coffee topped with steamed milk.
The word "tip" is also related to coffee. It comes from old London coffeehouses where the waiters' brass boxes were etched with the inscription, "To Insure Promptness." In fact, it was in one such coffeehouses which belonged to a Mr Lloyd that a few cargo insurers got together to start the Lloyd's insurance company.
Know anybody who would like to enter the wonderful world of "Hey ..my Chiropractor e-mails me all this nutso stuff all the time..." Send them here:
http://4pains.com/Fabale/newsletter.htm
Enjoy that cup ...
Dr Lou
BREW HA HA!
Dear Friend,
Ok ...I gotta tell ya ..and I've been saying it for YEARS ...COFFEE IS GOOD FOR YOU!
Oh, there's always those people (you know..."those") who will tell you it's BAD...and will worry about it's acidity, or worry that it will eat through your intestines, or worry that the caffeine will make your head explode... Of course, worriers will worry about everything because that is the particular dis-ease pattern they are stuck in. So EVERYTHING becomes a source of worry ...even sunlight.
So who says that it's good for you? Big-shot researchers at HARVARD, that's who!
A study in this month's Annals of Internal Medicine, published out of the Harvard School of Public Health, examines the relationship between coffee and mortality. It is based on the coffee drinking habits of 41,736 men and 86,216 women with no history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer. The men were followed for 18 years, the women for 24 years.
Just so you know, it is the largest and most long-term study of its kind ever done.
The study shows that drinking up to six cups of coffee a day may lower the overall odds of dying prematurely, mainly because it cuts the risk of dying from heart disease.
And I quote: "Our results suggest that long-term, regular coffee consumption has several beneficial health effects," says Esther Lopez-Garcia, lead author of the Harvard School of Public Health report. In fact the report states that women who drank two to three cups of coffee a day had a 25% lower risk of dying from heart disease than non-drinkers. Statistically, that is a HUGE difference!!!
Other studies throughout the years have also shown that there are beneficial effects of regular coffee consumption. For instance, in 2000, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that coffee intake was linked with decreased rates of Parkinson's disease. In 2004, Harvard researchers reported that it significantly reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And a 2005 study found that coffee could help prevent the most common type of liver cancer, according to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Some of the research I've read has suggested that the key to coffee's health benefits is its powerful antioxidants. And I remember that Deepak Chopra even mentions in his book "Quantum Healing" that coffee drinkers live longer than non-coffee drinkers.
Here's one of the most interesting findings in the new study: Even participants who drank decaf had lower death rates than non-drinkers ...same as those who drank caffeinated coffee. Clearly, these findings suggest that a component other than caffeine is responsible the relationship between coffee and a lower risk of death. (www.annals.org/)
What could that special "something" be? You know what? I really don't want to know. I know I can trust my instincts on this....
I remember my very first coffee. Sure I'd had sips of it from time to time, but it never impressed me. Until ...camping with my Dad, my Uncle John, my brother and my cousin Jack. It was a fishing trip in the wilds of a Connecticut campground, and I was about 12 years old. We were in a tent, an old-school job that smelled of musty waxed canvas that allowed all the morning dew to settle onto you so you woke up a little bit damper than you would want.
What I remember most is the coffee AROMA ...it literally went up my nose and touched a part of my brain that had evidently been designed for just this smell. It drew me out of the tent into the just breaking morning light. There, over a crackling fire, my Uncle John was brewing coffee in one of those dinged-up, rustic, grayish-blue speckled tin and porcelain pots that I imagined cowboys use.
Huddled in an old army-blanket that smelled like beach-sand, he handed me a cup that matched the pot ...simple, low, and round, with a small loop handle. It was hot and steaming and it felt wonderful in my cold hands. I could not inhale it's magic deeply enough.
Then I sipped it...what an experience! This caramel-colored mix of coffee, hot milk and sugar (I was only 12) just intoxicated me beyond what I could have imagined. "So THIS is what it's all about!" I remember thinking as I held the steaming cup under my nose and, looking through the stream, took in the chirping birds and the emerging sunlight turning the beautiful, damp morning dew into a million jewels.
Like I said...I don't need to know. Everything about this magic beverage is in that moment. Or in a bustling cafe, pungent with the aroma of fresh coffee beans meeting their maker in the whir of a grinder ..the baristas scurrying behind the counter ...the satisfaction of that first sip of the hot brew, people in groups talking, reading alone, staring at a laptop screen, or standing in line waiting for their order to go...the wonderful oh-so-human culture of the coffee shop tells it all, if we just listen...
....and it’s good for the HEART!!!!!!!
As always I welcome your comments, feedback, and a Medium Dolce-Bean Rice-Milk Latte from Urth Caffee, 88 steps north from LWC :)
Your Mildly Caffeinated, Heart-Friendly Bean for Your Health,
Dr Lou
Lifetime Wellness Chiropractic
333 S Beverly Dr suite 216, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310-282-7100 www.drlou.org drfabale@gmail.com
Ok ...I gotta tell ya ..and I've been saying it for YEARS ...COFFEE IS GOOD FOR YOU!
Oh, there's always those people (you know..."those") who will tell you it's BAD...and will worry about it's acidity, or worry that it will eat through your intestines, or worry that the caffeine will make your head explode... Of course, worriers will worry about everything because that is the particular dis-ease pattern they are stuck in. So EVERYTHING becomes a source of worry ...even sunlight.
So who says that it's good for you? Big-shot researchers at HARVARD, that's who!
A study in this month's Annals of Internal Medicine, published out of the Harvard School of Public Health, examines the relationship between coffee and mortality. It is based on the coffee drinking habits of 41,736 men and 86,216 women with no history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer. The men were followed for 18 years, the women for 24 years.
Just so you know, it is the largest and most long-term study of its kind ever done.
The study shows that drinking up to six cups of coffee a day may lower the overall odds of dying prematurely, mainly because it cuts the risk of dying from heart disease.
And I quote: "Our results suggest that long-term, regular coffee consumption has several beneficial health effects," says Esther Lopez-Garcia, lead author of the Harvard School of Public Health report. In fact the report states that women who drank two to three cups of coffee a day had a 25% lower risk of dying from heart disease than non-drinkers. Statistically, that is a HUGE difference!!!
Other studies throughout the years have also shown that there are beneficial effects of regular coffee consumption. For instance, in 2000, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that coffee intake was linked with decreased rates of Parkinson's disease. In 2004, Harvard researchers reported that it significantly reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And a 2005 study found that coffee could help prevent the most common type of liver cancer, according to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Some of the research I've read has suggested that the key to coffee's health benefits is its powerful antioxidants. And I remember that Deepak Chopra even mentions in his book "Quantum Healing" that coffee drinkers live longer than non-coffee drinkers.
Here's one of the most interesting findings in the new study: Even participants who drank decaf had lower death rates than non-drinkers ...same as those who drank caffeinated coffee. Clearly, these findings suggest that a component other than caffeine is responsible the relationship between coffee and a lower risk of death. (www.annals.org/)
What could that special "something" be? You know what? I really don't want to know. I know I can trust my instincts on this....
I remember my very first coffee. Sure I'd had sips of it from time to time, but it never impressed me. Until ...camping with my Dad, my Uncle John, my brother and my cousin Jack. It was a fishing trip in the wilds of a Connecticut campground, and I was about 12 years old. We were in a tent, an old-school job that smelled of musty waxed canvas that allowed all the morning dew to settle onto you so you woke up a little bit damper than you would want.
What I remember most is the coffee AROMA ...it literally went up my nose and touched a part of my brain that had evidently been designed for just this smell. It drew me out of the tent into the just breaking morning light. There, over a crackling fire, my Uncle John was brewing coffee in one of those dinged-up, rustic, grayish-blue speckled tin and porcelain pots that I imagined cowboys use.
Huddled in an old army-blanket that smelled like beach-sand, he handed me a cup that matched the pot ...simple, low, and round, with a small loop handle. It was hot and steaming and it felt wonderful in my cold hands. I could not inhale it's magic deeply enough.
Then I sipped it...what an experience! This caramel-colored mix of coffee, hot milk and sugar (I was only 12) just intoxicated me beyond what I could have imagined. "So THIS is what it's all about!" I remember thinking as I held the steaming cup under my nose and, looking through the stream, took in the chirping birds and the emerging sunlight turning the beautiful, damp morning dew into a million jewels.
Like I said...I don't need to know. Everything about this magic beverage is in that moment. Or in a bustling cafe, pungent with the aroma of fresh coffee beans meeting their maker in the whir of a grinder ..the baristas scurrying behind the counter ...the satisfaction of that first sip of the hot brew, people in groups talking, reading alone, staring at a laptop screen, or standing in line waiting for their order to go...the wonderful oh-so-human culture of the coffee shop tells it all, if we just listen...
....and it’s good for the HEART!!!!!!!
As always I welcome your comments, feedback, and a Medium Dolce-Bean Rice-Milk Latte from Urth Caffee, 88 steps north from LWC :)
Your Mildly Caffeinated, Heart-Friendly Bean for Your Health,
Dr Lou
Lifetime Wellness Chiropractic
333 S Beverly Dr suite 216, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310-282-7100 www.drlou.org drfabale@gmail.com
UNPLUG THYSELF!!
WHAT the...??!! Watching tons of TV and Internet is BAD for your kids health? Who knew?
The Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health just published a study that looked at nearly 30 years of research on how television, music, movies and other media affect the lives of children and adolescents.
Can you guess the results?
They found an "array of negative health effects linked to greater use." Specifically, it found strong connections between the amount of media exposure and problems of childhood obesity, tobacco use, early sexual behavior, increased drug and alcohol use, low academic achievement and my personal favorite, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).
In all, 173 research studies were injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected, and selected (for all you old-timers, guess that homage and win a prize) and brought together in what is the first comprehensive view of the subject. 'Bout time, eh?
According to the report, the average American sprung-from-the-loins darling spends a whopping 45-plus hours a week ...that's nearly 7 hours a DAY:
1) Watching TV: mostly 'reality' and MTV ...uh where's the MUSIC vid?
2) On The Internet: porn and useless garbage like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
3) Playing Video Games: like "Car Theft & Rape Bitches IV", "Soul-Death Gurgle 9", and Weii -fake activity)
4) On Their Cellphones: like, who wants to talk when there's unlimited texts, duh!
5) Listening to Music: gotta have that 24/7 to drown out any 'thoughts' whatever they are ...whatEVER!
6) At The Movies: good ones, like "Disturbia" and "Staple My Own Penis to My Leg III"
7) Scanning Magazines: last on the list of course ...'cause they require ...READING!.
By comparison, children spend 30 hours a week in school, and just 17 hours a week with their parents, which may be a good thing considering some of the parents out there.
"We need to factor that in as we consider our social policies and as parents think about how they raise their kids," said lead researcher Ezekiel J. Emanuel, referring to the results of the study. YA THINK!!?? "We tend not to think of this as a health issue, and it is a health issue."
YES, IT IS. A growing young body and developing mind requires PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. Guess what you get when you combine endless hours of MINDLESS, FASCINATED attention, no MOVEMENT, all washed down with a 32oz Big Gulp of HIGH OCTANE-CAFFEINE BOOSTED HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP?
How about a DULL mind that can't concentrate, a FAT body that can't move, and enough pent-up, spastic ENERGY to burn down a large metropolis. Of course, you can come up with an easy-to-dispense name for it, "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" so that you can easily dispense RITALIN or some other mind-numbing drug. My remedy? Have Johnny dig a ditch, fill it in, read Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance" dig the ditch and fill it in again, read, repeat. I'm not kidding.
These kids needs to EXPEND energy to the point of EXHAUSTION so that they can learn how much more they can push themselves in every way. Plus, only then does the body/mind RELAX enough to be present in life. True for us adults, too.
"It's as important (knowing what media your kid is watching) as going to their parent-teacher conferences or going over their report cards," says James P. Steyer, chief executive of Common Sense Media, publisher of the study. I say it might even be as important as equating this media-garbage with your kid hanging out with "Moondoggy Rico" at the corner who says' he's, "just a friend."
Steyer continues, "You have to know what Facebook is, and YouTube and MySpace and Twitter are, even though you grew up with 'Gilligan's Island' and 'All in the Family.' "
I didn't watch too much 'Gilligan' (I'm a "Maryanne" guy, "Ginger" was too HM ..probably tells a lot about me) but did love Lear's 'Family' ..at least WAY more than parent-teacher night. For the first 6-8 years of their lives, I didn't allow my girls ANY TV at all. And luckily didn't have to worry about The Internet and it's iSpawn, back then, either. They read ...a LOT. They're pretty smart young adults now. I call them to fix my compu-problems.
But it's not only visual media. The idea of running around plugged into non-stop acoustical wallpaper NEVER made sense to me; why run outdoors if you can't HEAR the outdoors, even in an urban environment? I just love it when some putz jogger with an ear-full of "Eye of the Tiger" steps off the curb without looking and I have to risk a head-on with oncoming traffic because he DIDN'T HEAR ME!
Plus, these mini ear-speakers cranked up to '11' and only millimeters from the ear-drum are doing permanent damage to these kids ears. It may be problematic of a lack of communication between parent and child: the kid is tuning out by turning on the iPod. A concerned parent may want to find out why.
Media just didn't figure that much until phones went tonal, turned into faxes, then beepers, then mobile phones the size of a WWII walkie -talkies, then Al Gore invented the Internet so that we moved quickly from cumbersome desktops to laptops ...and now the line between cell and computer is blurred as Crackberrys and iPhones rule the world. I must admit, I teared up when my 'personal' text from the President-Elect on election night thanked ME for supporting him seconds after Ohio went Blue ...signed simply, 'Barak.'
But it's not just the TIME spent on this stuff; researchers found it notable how much CONTENT mattered. "Our kids are sponges, and we really need to remember they learn from their environment," said coauthor Cary P. Gross, professor at Yale School of Medicine. Children "pick up character traits and behaviors" from those they watch or hear," he said. In probing childhood obesity, for example, researchers found 73 studies over the past three decades, with 86 percent showing a negative association with media exposure. Kudos to those those "Hot Pocket" and "Crystal Light" marketing geniuses.
Unfortunately, for many people of limited means, media is the cheapest babysitter available. But even for them, it's no excuse for not parenting ...this is about the kids HEALTH. This lack of media supervision is really a type of child-abuse, and the data proves it.
As in ALL health-related issues, regardless of age, one's consciousness plays a vital role in sickness. What you don't know, can KILL you. Educating your kids and YOURSELF and putting WELLNESS STRATEGIES TO DE-STRESS in place in your lives will make the difference, because all ILLNESS comes from DIS-EASE.
Your Unplugged, Media-Balanced, Creating a Nuisance Health Nut,Dr Lou
Lifetime Wellness Chiropractic 333 S Beverly Dr Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310-282-7100 www.drLou.org drfabale@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)