Can a vegetarian and a carnivore agree in the kitchen? Add a little respect
and garnish with understanding, and eating in harmony may not
be as challenging as it seems.

By Susan Weiner, Energy Times

When you met him, Cupid’s arrow struck. Handsome, intelligent and well-traveled, he shared your fundamental understanding of life. More importantly, he laughed at your jokes. It was a heavenly match sealed over red wine in a lakeside restaurant on a warm summer night. There was just one caveat: As a lifelong vegetarian you were gazing longingly into the eyes of an avid meat eater.

This scenario is becoming increasingly common. Whether for health, principle or simply the desire to save money, many people are cutting down on—or eliminating—their meat intake. In what is still an overwhelmingly omnivorous country, however, that trend can lead to kitchen conflicts in families (or families to be).

It’s hard to argue with the health benefits of a produce-powered diet. In one study comparing low-carb diets based on either animal products or vegetables, the veggie lovers had lower rates of hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes and LDL cholesterol along with decreased risks of colon and breast cancer, and lower overall death rates (Annals of Internal Medicine 9/10).

Sustainable Choices

Sara Moulton, a chef who showcases both meats and vegetables in her recipes, is frustrated by a lack of vegetable-based fare at many eateries. “Let’s face it. Eating meat is easier,” says the sustainability-minded Moulton, a cookbook author and Food Network veteran (www.saramoulton.com). In her latest book, Sara Moulton’s Everyday Family Dinners (Simon & Schuster), she includes suggestions on how to make any recipe vegetarian. “I was trying to get away from the slab of meat, the piles of starch and the vegetable. I tried to use meat more as a flavoring,” she explains.

Moulton was a vegetarian in college because she could only afford vegetables and grains. Now, as family cook for her husband and two children, “I eat some meat every so often and poultry,” she says. “I am a huge fan of fish and eat that as often as I can. At home, I am trying to cut down on the meat portions for the whole family, and I will often use it as a flavoring, not as the center of the plate. We probably eat vegetarian once a week.” At home, Moulton doesn’t believe in preparing special meals for picky eaters. She made a point of exposing her kids to foreign cuisine when they traveled. “Everybody’s palate has to grow up,” she says.

Still, each member of the Moulton family has food preferences that Moulton manages to accommodate by “bulking up the vegetables. My son likes meat and starch, my daughter likes some meat and lots of vegetables, and my husband will eat anything, so I just make sure there are lots of choices, especially in the vegetable category,” Moulton says. “At home, I always make sure we have plenty of options around. I don’t believe in forcing anyone to eat what they don’t want.” That same easygoing attitude towards menu-planning can help defuse tensions in a family where not everyone eats meat.

The Reeder family has pondered the significance of food choices ever since five-year-old Olivia introduced her vegan friend as a “meat orphan.” “And thus began the meat versus non-meat discussions in our home,” recalls Diane Reeder, chef and executive director of The Queens Galley Food Insecurity Resource Center in Kingston, New York, an educational center and soup kitchen serving over 9,000 chef-prepared meals each month (www.queensgalley.org).

“The balance we strike is not a choice between having meat or not, but rather making a determined effort to buy meat that is raised humanely with as little impact on the environment as possible. I buy meat when I know the name of the farmer that raised it,” Reeder says. “It does cost significantly more, so we purchase smaller amounts. When meat is raised with care and respect for the animal, that transfers to our plates.”

Tricia Barry agrees. As communications director at Farm Sanctuary, a group working to change the way society treats animals (www.farmsanctuary.org), Barry went from meat eater to vegan when she learned about how commercial livestock are raised.

“Animals raised on today’s industrialized farms are crowded in factory farm warehouses and confined so tightly that they cannot walk, turn around or lie down comfortably,” notes Barry. According to a 2006 United Nations report, animal agriculture contaminates soil, damages crops, pollutes lakes and rivers with waste runoff and pathogens, and releases greenhouse gases.

Talking About Eating

Troubled by the poor quality of mass-produced food, Reeder teaches a class in which she takes students shopping. “It’s literally an aisle-by-aisle walk through the various departments, pointing out the pitfalls, myths and mysteries in the supermarket,” explains Reeder. “The bonus points come when you start to look at the things in your cart and decide not to buy chicken that is neon yellow and ‘enhanced’ by a seasoned broth.” If you are the vegetarian in your family, taking such a tour can spark a discussion that will allow other family members to make informed choices about their eating habits.

While Barry’s husband, Ian, is a flexitarian—someone who consumes fish or meat on occasion—the family maintains a vegan kitchen. “Within our household, we agree to eat vegan and I only cook vegan,” says Barry. “Our child has been raised a vegan thus far. However, I know that as he grows, he will come to his own decisions and I will respect that.”

With compassion and understanding, Barry believes meat-eaters and vegans can dine in harmony. “It’s a bit unrealistic to assume that whichever person one plans to be in a relationship with will share all of your ethics, beliefs and habits,” says Barry. “I think for the sake of a healthy relationship, though, it helps to find someone who values one’s choice to be vegan. My husband has always respected my decision to be vegan. He sees it as a more compassionate way to live.”

As far as Heidi Skolnik is concerned, vegetarians and meat eaters living harmoniously under the same roof is a no-brainer. “Where is the conflict?” asks Skolnik, MS, a certified dietician nutritionist and president of Nutrition Conditioning, a nutrition consulting practice serving the greater New York metropolitan area (www.nutritionconditioning.net). “As long as the vegetarian allows the meat eater to eat meat, and the meat eater is willing to eat vegetarian options, what’s the big deal?”

With so many aspects to a meal—salad, soup, vegetable, starch, appetizer—protein compromise is easy, says Skolnik. “The meat eater can have chicken or beef for an entrée, the vegetarian can eat tofu or beans. Instead of having a chicken noodle soup for a starter, you can have a lentil soup,” suggests Skolnik, who has provided nutrition counseling to the New York Mets and the Juilliard School of Music. When children opt to go vegetarian or vegan, says Skolnik, shop for books or take a cooking class together. “You need to help ensure they’re nutritionally balanced and support them in their choices.”

Your new husband hasn’t given up his carnivorous ways. However, he does eat the vegetarian meals you prepare. What’s more, he has begun experimenting in the kitchen with vegetables, grains, meat substitutes and spices, and has switched to reduced portions of mostly organic, free-range meat. You haven’t imposed your food preferences on him—but life in the kitchen is peaceful for both of you.

by Susan Weiner, Energy Times

The French have a saying that translates as “the heart is forever making the head its fool.” For those who endure migraines, the opposite may be true: Migraine sufferers are slightly more prone to heart attacks and other cardiovascular ills than others.

According to the National Headache Foundation (NHF, www.headaches.org), 70% of the more than 29 million Americans with migraine are women; fluctuating estrogen levels may be the reason. While the precise cause of migraines is not fully understood, swelling of blood vessels in the brain can trigger throbbing pain in the eye, jaw or face, sensitivity to light and sound, and nausea and vomiting. Stress, lack of food or sleep, anxiety, weather changes and certain foods can set off an attack.

Visual disturbances known as aura—such as partial blindness or seeing flashing lights—that may accompany migraine appear to be especially problematic. Among women 45 and older who experience aura, the risk of dying from heart attack, stroke and heart disease is twice that of women without migraine (BMJ 8/24/10 online).

People with migraine were found to be twice as likely to experience heart attack, diabetes or a heart abnormality; aura pushed risk to the highest levels (Neurology 2/23/10).

However, the threat posed by migraines is not as great as that of other risk factors. “Being twice as likely to have a heart attack translates into 4.1% of people with migraine compared with 1.9% of those without, which is not that much of an increase in real numbers,” explains Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, author of The Magnesium Miracle (Ballantine; www.drcarolyndean.com).

Most migraine sufferers would tell you that reducing the risk of an attack is a worthy goal of its own. In one NHF survey, nine out of 10 reported not being able to function normally when a migraine strikes.

Life-Altering Headaches

Jodie Pulkinen knows how migraines can disrupt one’s existence. To relieve the pain she has hidden in dark rooms, driven to the emergency room for shots of Demerol and ingested enough ibuprofen to cause liver damage. She’s also struggled with a heart condition marked by chest pain, fatigue, rapid heart rate and palpitations.

In 2004, Pulkinen’s resting heart rate stayed at the very high 220 beats per minute for several hours. Soon after she underwent a mitral valve catheter ablation, a procedure that fixed her heart and unexpectedly lessened her migraines. “I never thought the migraines and the heart condition were connected,” says Pulkinen, 43, a project coordinator for the American Lung Association in Burdett, New York. “After the surgery, I had fewer headaches. If I’d known, I could have done something about my heart a long time ago.”

After the surgery Pulkinen made dietary changes. “I cut out all caffeine,” she says. “No coffee, no soda, no chocolate. I’ve reduced my sugar intake as well.” Migraine sufferers should also avoid an amino acid byproduct called tyramine, found in a number of foods and food additives including MSG, aged cheese, sauerkraut, alcohol and preserved meats. Eating cold foods can trigger migraines, as can skipping meals and becoming dehydrated. In addition, extra body fat has been found to both provoke migraines and increase heart risk.

Taking a magnesium supplement and eating magnesium-rich foods such as green vegetables and whole grains can not only fend off migraines but also help maintain a steady heart rhythm and lower blood pressure. This mineral, which prevents blood vessel spasms and regulates pain receptors, has been shown to help ease migraine (Magnesium Research 6/08). “A deficiency in magnesium will cause migraines and heart disease. Treating with magnesium can treat both,” says Dean.

Relaxing for Relief

Migraines and heart disease run in the family of Andrew Levy, PhD. In addition to taking blood pressure medication that eases migraines, Levy, an English professor at Butler University in Indianapolis and author of A Brain Wider Than The Sky: A Migraine Diary (Simon & Schuster), eats less, exercises more and practices stress reduction. “The fact that doctors have told me about these potential links between heart disease and migraine has actually not been a source of stress for me,” says Levy. “It has helped me to understand my own body better from a holistic standpoint.”

As Levy has discovered, learning how to relax is a key to reducing migraines. In one study, a combination of gentle yoga postures and breathing exercises lessened migraine frequency and pain, and improved mood (Headache 5/07).

Migraine sufferers can also benefit from the herb feverfew, which slows the production of inflammatory compounds and helps maintain proper vessel tone. A combination of folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 may reduce migraine frequency and lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid linked to coronary disease and migraines (Pharmacogenetics and Genomics 6/09). CoQ10, a supplement best known for its cardiac benefits, may help reduce migraine frequency.

If your migraines persist, see a practitioner and don’t assume the worst. As Aristotle once wrote, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

When It Isn’t a Migraine

It’s hard to find an adult who hasn’t had a headache at least occasionally. But for some people headaches are, if not a daily occurrence, frequent enough to interfere with their quality of life. Besides migraine, the National Headache Foundation classifies chronic headache into the following categories:

• Cluster: Described as even more severe than migraines, these headaches occur in groups and with little warning for weeks or months before disappearing for months or years. They tend to strike late at night or in the morning. Most sufferers are men, and both smoking and alcohol use are precipitating factors.
• Hormone: These headaches can occur as part of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or accompany the menstrual period itself; some women may experience hormonal headaches as they pass through menopause. Pregnancy usually brings relief from migraines because hormones don’t fluctuate the way they usually do during a woman’s menstrual cycle. Migraines that do occur during pregnancy tend to strike in the first trimester.
• Rebound: Headaches triggered by the over-use of medications, particularly those that contain caffeine.
• Sinus: Headaches triggered by infection, inflammation or other problems with the sinuses. Symptoms include a dull ache in the forehead or behind the cheekbones and a sense of sinus fullness.
• Tension: Most headaches that occur every once in a while fall into this category, but some people experience tension headaches on a chronic basis. More annoying than throbbing, these headaches are often centered in the forehead, temples or back of the head and the neck; some people feel as though a band is being tightened around the head. Chronic tension headache can stem from physical causes—poor posture or lighting, eyestrain, misalignments of the jaws or teeth, spinal problems involving the neck—or emotional ones such as anxiety or depression.

A sudden, severe headache can signal the occurrence of a stroke; such headaches are medical emergencies, especially if accompanied by a sudden lack of balance, difficulty speaking and/or weakness on one side of the body. A relatively small number of headaches can stem from other organic causes such a brain tumors or infections, or other serious—but fortunately rare—conditions.

If you suffer from frequent headaches, try keeping a pain diary: when the pain starts, the nature of the pain (throbbing, dull, piercing) and where it occurs, any other symptoms and what you took for relief. If you can see a pattern, trying also keeping a food diary as well—sometimes a simple change in diet can do the trick. Some people find relief through acupuncture, massage and other kinds of bodywork. If your headaches are stress-related, make your you get adequate supplies of vitamin B and both calcium andmagnesium, which are available in combination supplement form; the herb white willow bark may also help.

by Susan Weiner, Energy Times

Sometimes your strongest cravings for food take place when you’re feeling the weakest emotionally. A stressful day at the office may steer you to the nearest fast-food eatery for a double cheeseburger, while an night spent arguing at home might end with a bowl of ice cream.

Food does more than simply fill the stomach when used to feed mounting emotions in situations such as these. At that point it can sabotage good diet intentions and lead to a never-ending cycle of bingeing and self-blame.

While few of us take pleasure in facing tumultuous feelings of depression, anger, sadness and resentment, stuffing these emotions inside can eat away at self-esteem, triggering anxiety and an irresistible urge to indulge. An unhealthy binge commonly leads to feelings of guilt and a cascade of self-blame that tends to repeat itself.

When you take a harsh view of yourself as weak, overweight and unable to lose weight, those negative thoughts only perpetuate weight gain. In fact, when participants in one study engaged in self-criticism and self-blame, their brains showed activity in brain regions correlated with depression, eating disorders and anxiety (NeuroImage 1/15/10).

“When we feel really bad, either from an uncomfortable emotion or when we add insult to injury through criticizing ourselves, we may try to avoid or ward off the feeling by eating. That’s emotional eating, and it’s a defense against feeling bad,” explains Christopher K. Germer, PhD, clinical psychologist and author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion (The Guilford Press, (www.mindfulselfcompassion.org). “We do it to bypass the pain and to feel better. It’s an excellent short-term solution, but the long-term consequences can be devastating.”

The remedy to emotional overeating, suggests Germer, is mindfulness—being aware of your emotions and how they affect you—and self-compassion. These practices give you the strength to evaluate what’s really bothering you and to respond with self-kindness rather than criticism. “That gives us a little more mental space to make healthy choices,” says Germer. “Self-compassion is a new habit that anyone can learn. Deep within all beings is the wish to be happy and free from suffering.”

Baby Steps

After gaining more than 40 pounds, Lauren Tobin learned how to practice self-compassion, which ultimately allowed her to drop the excess weight. “I think back emotionally to what was going on in my life at the time and there was a lot,” recalls Tobin, 40, mother of two young girls and controller for a packaging company in Oaks, Pennsylvania. “You don’t feel well, you eat and then you don’t feel well because you ate. At the end of the day, I don’t think eating a bag of pretzels and dip will change the outcome of how you feel about your life.”

Feeling lethargic and low on energy, Tobin divided her weight-loss strategy into manageable steps that included incorporating healthier foods into her diet, exercising, maintaining a food diary and evaluating the emotional triggers that spurred her to overeat.

“I had to find a different way, when I was feeling down or depressed, to not automatically turn to food. One day I just made a decision,” notes Tobin. “I broke it up into small goals so it wasn’t such a daunting task.”

A simple mental exercise to help you achieve your weight-loss goals is substituting “self-compassion breaks” in lieu of food breaks. Germer suggests that you find a quiet place, put your hand on your heart, take three deep breaths and tell yourself you are in a moment of suffering (mindfulness), that suffering is a part of everyone’s life (common humanity) and that you want to be kind to yourself (self-kindness).

This type of self-compassion, explains Germer, is a self-soothing alternative to food. “These practices can interrupt the automatic connection between stress and eating,” he says.

Releasing Weight

As the handsome star of the popular soap opera “One Life to Live,” Freeman Michaels based his success on how the world perceived him. After leaving acting behind in the mid-1990s, a thriving real estate development company provided Michaels with that same sense of security. “I thought if I was famous, I’d be happy. I thought if I was rich, I’d be happy,” says Michaels. But when his business failed during the real estate crash, his weight ballooned to nearly 280 pounds.

A self-described “latchkey kid,” Michaels admits that he has turned to food for comfort during much of his life. “I ate my way through my troubles. All these attempts in my life to make it from the outside in were never sustainable,” he says. “At no point was I ever really okay, not with myself and not with my eating.”

A speaker, workshop trainer and author of Weight Release: A Liberating Journey (Morgan James), Michaels received a masters degree in spiritual psychology and founded the Service to Self Process (www.servicetoself.com), a life coaching program that helps clients examine food-related behaviors, explore “self-honoring” alternatives and create healthy practices that ultimately become habits.

“A lot of us are feeding something inside. It can be an expression of rebelling, of deflecting unwanted attention, of abuse,” says Michaels. “What we do today is the process of applying compassion to the part of us that hurts. The minute we apply compassion, it lifts.” Instead of reacting from the painful past, Michaels suggests creating healthy rituals such as walking and meditating, generating intention between bites by focusing on healthy food choices, and writing down a list of wholesome foods along with their health benefits for extra motivation.

Learning to break free from mindless, emotionally driven eating—and the self-blame it creates—may feel a little awkward at first if you have always reached for cookies in times of crisis. But Tobin and Michaels say they are living proof that the results are well worth the effort. “When you do something repeatedly, over time it becomes easier to do,” says Michaels. “Compassion allows us to see clearly. It’s a healing journey.”

by Susan Weiner, Energy Times

It’s no coincidence that most fast-food restaurants are decorated with vivid reds and oranges. Market researchers know that these bright colors encourage diners to eat quickly and leave.

Using color to influence people is not new. Thousands of years before the rise of modern marketing, Egyptians, Greeks and Chinese routinely used colors to treat various emotional and physical maladies. In India, color therapy remains an integral part of Ayurvedic medicine, which describes the body as having seven main chakras or spiritual centers. Each chakra is associated with a color; imbalances result in ailments that can be corrected using different hues.

In the US, interest in therapeutic color developed during the 19th and 20th centuries, when professionals began publishing papers on the subject. Today, color therapy—also referred
to as chromotherapy, cromatherapy or colorology—is used by trained practitioners to promote health

A testament to the influence of color may be that the mere mention of army green, robin egg blue, baby pink, tomato red and school bus yellow can elicit distinct imagery, memories and sensations. Colors have been found to enhance cognitive function and spark creativity. When 600 volunteers at the University of British Columbia performed tasks with words or images displayed against red, blue or neutral backgrounds, red was found to help people recall words and details, while blue sparked imagination and creativity (Science 2/27/09).

In public settings, color lighting can be used to manipulate behavior. In one study, researchers created lounges decorated in blue, red or yellow. While more people were drawn to the yellow and red rooms, guests lingered longer in the blue room. Red and yellow guests were more social, and although yellow guests consumed twice as much food, red guests reported feeling hungrier and thirstier than the others (Contract 12/1/07).

Color’s powerful effects come from the vibrations associated with different segments of the color spectrum. Seen naturally in rainbows or in light refracted through a prism, colors represent different wavelengths of light from red on one end through orange, yellow, green and blue to violet on the other end. Each color vibrates at a specific frequency; chromotherapists believe that the body’s tissues also vibrate at specific frequencies. They contend that color is like a vitamin: Just as a vitamin deficiency requires a nutritional boost, an increase in color can be used to treat symptoms of conditions such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, sleep deprivation, stomach problems, addictions and allergies.

Color therapy is not currently regulated by one central credentialing agency. However, the International Association of Colour (IAC) in Cambridge, England (www.iac-colour.co.uk), a professional association for chromotherapy healers, is affiliated with various complementary health associations. “As far as I can tell, each school has its own requirements,” says Arlene Arnold, a certified color therapist in Vancouver, Washington. Her color therapy course incorporates in-person or online training, a two-day practicum, 15 documented free sessions, a final exam and three monitored sessions (www.ThePowerofColor.com). “Once I believe they really understand the program, then I’ll certify them,” she says.

Therapeutic color encompasses a number of techniques. “Some of the modalities include shining colored lights on a person, being in a room painted a particular color, wearing certain colored clothing, imaging colors shining upon you while sitting still, eating fruits and vegetables of certain colors and wearing color therapy glasses,” says Donna Reis, CNHP, Certified Chromatologist and founder of Color Vibration in Fort Worth, Texas (www.colorvibration.com).

An advisor to a school for autistic children, Reis counsels family members on the use of color. “With autism, it is very important to avoid the color orange, as it is very upsetting emotionally,” notes Reis. “Autistic individuals respond very well to the color blue, however. You can dress them in blue and paint their bedrooms blue, and blue sheets are helpful for good rest. Be sure to use a pale blue, not a deep, dark blue.” Reis suggests that caretakers of those with Alzheimer’s disease draw on the color yellow, saying, “If you paint the doors yellow, they won’t try to leave.”

There is more to the phrase “feeling blue” than meets the eye, since the color blue may exacerbate depression’s sadness. “Orange is a wonderful color to introduce; however, depression can stem from a traumatic issue, so those folks can’t handle the energy of orange,” Reis says. Instead, practitioners would diffuse medical-grade orange aromatherapy oil into the environment or apply yellow color therapy light to the lung area. “Our lungs are our grief center and yellow is the color of elimination,” Reis explains.

In addition to color healing therapies, different hues can be used architecturally in terms of “color ergonomics—the psycho-therapeutic effects of color in the environment,” says Frank Mahnke, president of the International Association of Color Consultants/Designers (www.iaccna.org). “The basic design consideration is to promote human welfare in the workplace, offices, industrial environments, educational facilities, healthcare environments, psychiatric facilities and residential design.”

When working with color, environmental designers consider four areas: psychological effects (mood reactions to different colors), neuropsychological aspects (how the brain processes and reacts to color), visual ergonomics (visual efficiency and comfort), and emotional effects (emotional reactions to color). “Therapy through color affects people every day, whether at work, regarding their health, learning or at home,” says Mahnke. “Although they are not designers, individuals can interpret for themselves the psychological affects or visual language of color and pay attention to the visual ergonomics.” On a practical level, this means taking such steps as painting your kitchen blue (or putting a blue light in your refrigerator) to curb your appetite or using orange in your home décor to lift your spirits.

Using the right colors just might make your life, well, more colorful—and contribute to your emotional and physical well-being.

by Susan Weiner, Energy Times

Roughly 40,170 times a year, or nearly once every 13 minutes, an American woman dies of breast cancer. It is the most common malignancy among women except those affecting the skin. But while most skin cancers are non-lethal, breast cancer is the second leading cause of female cancer deaths.

The chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some time in a woman’s life is a little less than one in eight, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Last year, 62,280 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS, the non-invasive, earliest form) and 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in American women. What many people don’t realize is that men aren’t spared. The ACS says that 1,910 new cases of invasive male breast cancer were diagnosed in 2009, with 440 deaths.

Ductal cancer, which affects cells lining the ducts that carry milk to the nipple, is the mostwidespread form. The other primary type, lobular cancer, develops in the milk-producing areas of the breast. These mutated cells can break away and move around the body to form secondary breast cancer.

The likelihood of disease development increases with age, since exposure to risk factors accumulates over time.

The good news is that breast cancer rates decreased by 2% a year between 1999 and 2006 (the last year for which comparative data is available). The ACS attributes this decrease to a drop in the use of synthetic hormone replacement during menopause.

Cancer Triggers

Genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors are all believed to play a role in cancer development. “Alcohol is definitely a key risk for breast cancer, particularly because it increases the levels of estrogen,” says Natalie Ledesma, MS, RD, CSO, oncology dietician with the Cancer Resource Center at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in San Francisco (www.cancer.ucsf.edu). “What you eat and drink modulates the way your genes are expressed and that can influence the tendency to develop cancer.” The link between alcohol and breast cancer has been extensively documented. The Million Women Study, a seven-year British investigation, concluded that as many as 11% of breast cancers can be attributed to alcohol consumption (Journal of the National Cancer Institute 3/4/09).

Common chemicals in the home, garden and workplace act like estrogen in the body, a hormone linked directly to breast cancer. Your body probably contains a chemical called bisphenol A, or BPA, a synthetic estrogen used in everything from plastics to epoxies to the interior coating in many cans. More than 200 studies show links between low doses of BPA and cancer, according to the Breast Cancer Fund (www.breastcancerfund.org), a nonprofit environmental watchdog group.

Overweight women are more susceptible to breast cancer. Risk increases depending on how late in life weight gain occurs, with triple the probability of breast cancer if body mass index is at its maximum after age 50, according to a study in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology (9/09). The research also found that smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for nine years increased breast cancer odds by 59%.

While having a mother or sister with breast cancer raises risk, only an estimated 5% to 10% of all breast cancers are hereditary. Particular genetic mutations are more common among certain geographic or ethnic groups, including people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage and individuals of Dutch, Norwegian or Icelandic ancestry. “Most breast cancers are not due to strong hereditary factors,” explains medical geneticist Patricia Kelly, PhD, who has a cancer risk assessment practice in Berkeley, California. Breast cancer development is complex even if genetics isn’t involved; Kelly says that it takes about 15 different changes inside one cell to bring about a non-hereditary malignancy.

“If a woman has a relative diagnosed with breast cancer before age 50, or several relatives on one side of the family with breast, ovarian or other cancers, she may benefit from a visit to a genetic counselor who specializes in cancer risk assessment,” says Kelly, author of Assess Your True Risk of Breast Cancer (Holt). “Testing is available to detect some of the strongly inherited breast cancers.” The genes most commonly linked with cancer are BRCA-1 and BRCA-2; other genes that may play a role in disease development include ATM, P53 and P65.

Some researchers believe that up to one-third of all breast cancer case could be avoided through dietary and other lifestyle changes (Seventh European Breast Cancer Conference, Barcelona, 3/10). But it’s important to remember that while a healthy lifestyle can help reduce one’s risk of cancer, this disorder can affect anyone. Bob Riter first noticed the lump under his left nipple while reading in bed, absent-mindedly scratching his chest. The growth, about the size of a pencil eraser, didn’t alarm him; he simply filed a mental note to discuss the matter with his healthcare provider and fell asleep. Three weeks later, while driving home from work, Riter felt wetness on his chest, looked down and saw blood on his white shirt. His nipple was bleeding.

A biopsy confirmed that Riter had breast cancer. He was 40 years old, in good health, an avid exerciser and had no history of breast cancer in his family. “I knew in theory that men got breast cancer,” says Riter, associate director of the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes in Ithaca, New York (www.crcfl.net), a nonprofit that helps people deal with the ramifications of cancer diagnosis and treatment. “It was like knowing in theory that you could get hit by an asteroid.”

Detection Toolbox

For a woman, a breast cancer diagnosis can be emotionally devastating. “There are a lot of psychosocial issues around breasts. The disease, in so many ways, is so related to being a woman,” says Eliot Edwards, ND, at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion, Illinois (www.cancercenter.com/midwestern-hospital.cfm). “It’s potentially a deadly disease and the treatments are invasive.” Finding cancer early can help improve a woman’s chance of saving the affected breast.

Small breast cancers, the most treatable kind, typically produce no symptoms. That makes detection difficult without the proper diagnostic tools. ACS guidelines for early detection include mammography and the clinical breast exam (CBE), in which the practitioner carefully palpitates (feels) the breast. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in which a magnetic field is used to create images of body structures, is also suggested for women at increased breast cancer risk.

During a mammogram, X-rays are used to provide a picture of the breast’s internal structure; its proponents say that mammography can show abnormal tissue changes before they can be found by any other method. In November 2009, the US Preventive Services Task Force released new recommendations suggesting that women begin routine mammogram screenings at age 50, as opposed to age 40, a long-recommended guideline. Additionally, the group advised mammograms every two years, as opposed to annually, and discouraged women from conducting self-breast exams.

While the new recommendations were intended to limit radiation exposure, they instead created debate and uproar in the medical community. To date the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute, along with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, still recommend yearly mammograms beginning at age 40, in addition to self-breast exams.

“Any exposure to radiation has a potential risk, but mammograms have been an effective tool in identifying cancers,” says Edwards. “Patient risk factors, such as family history, smoking or if they’ve been diagnosed with other cancers, increases the necessity of mammograms. I’m still in the camp that, until we have better methods of detection, that is the method that we have right now.” Research continues into mammography’s usefulness. For example, one Danish study suggests that it may not improve overall cancer survival rates (British Medical Journal 3/24/10 online).

Some practitioners recommend thermography (also known as digital infrared imaging, or DII) as an alternative. This method measures differences in temperature within the breast; it is based on the idea that cancer cells are more metabolically active and require increased blood flow, which makes malignant areas warmer than the surrounding tissue.

Lifestyle Support

To ward off the chances of developing breast cancer, Edwards stresses lifestyle changes that incorporate nutritional support and exercise. “Clearly, anything we do that causes oxidative damage to the body—drinking, smoking, eating trans fats, not exercising—are factors,” he says. “Exercise is the best way to detoxify your body. It will lower body fat and lower estrogen production.”

Women who consume more fiber and less fat have lower levels of estrogen in their bodies. Ledesma advocates a vegetarian-based diet of beans, legumes, whole grains and plant-based foods. “Use animal protein as a condiment as opposed to up to 50% or more of a meal,” she says. “Load up with cancer-fighting phytonutrients to help inactivate carcinogens and nourish and detoxify the body. There’s no real room for processed and fast foods in a healthy, cancer-fighting diet.”

“From a naturopathic perspective, it’s about how well our bodies are metabolizing those estrogens,” explains Edwards. “One of the main things to prevent cancers in general is to support the body in its ability to detoxify.” Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage contain diindolmethane, or DIM, a plant compound (available in supplement form) that helps the body effectively eliminate hormones. Freshly ground flax seed, high in cancer-fighting omega-3 fatty acids, can also aid in estrogen metabolism.

“The two big anti-cancer herbs that we use are green tea extract and curcumin, the principal curcuminoid of the Indian spice turmeric,” says Edwards. Studies show that curcumin can block estrogen-mimicking chemicals from getting into cells, while regular consumption of green tea may reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer by about 12% (Journal of Nutrition 2/09).

With death rates from breast cancer on the decline, it seems that increased awareness, earlier detection, effective screenings and lifestyle changes are paying off. So eat a healthy, balanced diet rich in vegetables, take long walks, use natural cleaners and get screened. Your breasts will thank you.

Excerpt from page 35, by Susan Weiner

Maintaining Balance in Dementia
How to build strength and prevent falls

Cognitive impairment affects more than memory and thinking. It can interfere with a person’s motor and balance control, resulting in difficulties walking, slowness of  movement, a shuffling gait, and general unsteadiness. Balance problems are often an initial sign of dementia due to Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, stroke,  or normal-pressure hydrocephalus (an abnormal increase of cerebrospinal fluid). Losing balance and falling down is common among those cognitively impaired and often occurs during routine activities such as getting out of bed, standing up, climbing stairs, and using the bathroom. Loved ones may break bones or suffer other serious injuries  that threaten their health and longevity. Nearly two million adults older than age 65 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to accidental falls in 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Individuals with cognitive decline have a three times higher risk of injuries from falls than cognitively unimpaired  elders.

Exercise Can Help
Inactivity and lack of exercise often accompany Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and further weaken muscles and decrease flexibility, affecting the way individuals
walk and increasing the likelihood of falling. An exercise plan can counteract this increased risk by improving balance and mobility. It can also help your loved one maintain independence, promote a normal routine, and enhance mood. Ongoing strength and balance training may even eliminate or forestall the need for walking assistance, negating some safety issues. Whether exercise and balance routines are incorporated at home or professionally, it’s never too late to enhance coordination. Researchers have found  that elderly people with dementia in nursing homes who participated in an exercise program were able to improve balance after just six months. Caregivers may be able to aid in the process. Research from 2008 showed that when caregivers motivated and taught participants with dementia a tailored set of exercises, they fell significantly less than  those in the group that did not exercise. After 12 months, the exercise group improved their balance, while steadiness deteriorated in those who didn’t exercise.

Getting Started
A health professional should be consulted before beginning any exercise program, and types of physical activity should be individualizedto the person’s abilities.  For those with limited mobility, repetitive everyday routines like folding laundry or washing dishes can be used to improve coordination and increase activity. Routines can also decrease anxiety, because they don’t require as much thought and concentration.    People in the early stages of cognitive decline may find walking, dancing, stationary bicycling, yoga, and tai chi to be helpful in building balance, stamina, and strength. Swimming and water aerobics also are good options and require less balance and are easier on your joints. Most important, choose an activity that the person is likely to enjoy and stick with. Doing activities with someone else offers added incentive and pleasure to continue with  any activity program.

• Start out with 10-minute exercise sessions and work your way up.
• Avoid slippery floors and throw rugs.
  
• Make sure the area is well lit and uncluttered.
  
• If maintaining balance is difficult, exercise within reach of a rail or grab bar.
  
• If standing is a challenge, exercise on a bed or secure floor mat.
  
• If the person begins to feel hurt or sick, make sure to stop the activity immediately.
  
• A physical therapist can also design a special balance exercise plan depending on skill level. See the box above for an example of an exercise for beginners. Your doctor can  provide a referral to a therapist or may even have diagrams of exercises to try at home, if it is safe to do so.
  

by Susan Weiner, Energy Times

It isn’t often that you come across a hospital where CEO stands for “Customer Expectation Officer,” the director of patient care refers to herself as “Executive Healer,” and essential oils, guided imagery, healing touch and acupuncture are everyday treatments. “These modalities are within the course of patient care. Our whole hospital is built on these holistic fundamentals,” says Cindy Bultena, RN, MS, patient care executive at Woodwinds Hospital, an acute care facility in Woodbury, Minnesota (www.healtheast.org/woodwinds).

Woodwinds, like a number of newer hospitals, tries to avoid an austere institutional environment through the carefully coordinated use of color, lighting, artwork and music. But what really sets it apart from traditional healthcare facilities is an integrative healing philosophy and a staff of holistic nurses, a form of nursing recognized as its own specialty.

Holistic nursing embraces the whole patient and frequently includes the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Holistic practice also stresses the importance of self-care for the practitioners themselves, believing that fewer nurses would burn out—a common occurrence—if self-care took precedence. “One must have a healing relationship with oneself to serve others,” explains Bultena, who helped design Woodwinds. “You can’t give and give to others unless you pay attention to yourself, and that is really the key to holism. You have to care for the caregivers.” As a result, holistic nurses are likely to seek out alternative treatments themselves.

Putting Patients First

Betty Strafaccia of Woodbury has twice experienced holistic nursing firsthand. The 68-year-old retiree became one of Woodwinds’ 400 volunteers after her husband, David, spent his final days there in 2006 with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). The night he died surrounded by family, “nurses brought up a cart with coffee and refreshments,” Strafaccia says. “It was so unusual.”

She contrasts that experience with her mother’s visit that same year to a traditional hospital in St. Paul. “I was not happy right from the emergency room on,” Strafaccia recalls. “There were four patients per room, the hallways were cluttered, the treatment was not the same.”

In February, Strafaccia became a patient at Woodwinds when she needed to have her gallbladder removed. “I took advantage of everything I know they have: I had acupuncture for a headache, a wristband for stress, lavender essential oils for nausea and I listened to healing music,” she says.

“It’s patient-oriented and the employees are clearly happy. And they really work to keep the patients happy.”

It isn’t just places like Woodwinds where holistic nurses—and the philosophy that motivates them—have found a home. The American Holistic Nurse’s Certification Corporation endorses holistic nursing education programs at 13 schools, and 36 US teaching hospitals are pushing to blend CAM with traditional care. Facilities such as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Duke University Heath Systems in North Carolina, Children’s Memorial in Chicago and New York-Presbyterian/Columbia routinely offer alternative therapies such as massage therapy, yoga, hypnosis, reflexology and guided imagery alongside Western medicine.

Hand-in-Hand

Jeanne Crawford, executive director of the American Holistic Nurses Association (www.ahna.org, 800-278-2462), doesn’t consider the use of alternative medicine contrary to standard allopathic medicine. “The traditional nurse is a holistic nurse,” explains Crawford. “It’s only in the last 40 years that nursing has moved away from traditional nursing and become more technological. The public is really crying out for more caring practice.”

Frustrated by the pressures of tending to multiple patients in hectic settings, many nurses welcome a return to holistic care—a concept attributed to Florence Nightingale, who fought to give both patients and nurses a voice. “Nurses are really looking to serve the entire patient,” notes Crawford. “They don’t want to just run into the room, give pills and run out.”

Still, Crawford admits that holistic nursing in today’s hurried medical setting is a challenge. “Nurses are overworked, underpaid and undervalued,” she says. Certified holistic nurses face challenges emanating from the current system, including a sense of disjuncture between conventional and alternative approaches to medicine and a need for successful ways to help them make the transition into holistic nursing (Journal of Holistic Nursing 6/06).

In the last five years, AHNA membership has increased from 1,600 to 4,500. Certification in holistic nursing is obtained through the American Holistic Nurses’ Certification Corporation (AHNCC, www.ahncc.org), a national credentialing organization. In addition to a bachelors or masters degree, nurses must work 2,000 hours in holistic nursing practice, among other criteria, to become accredited as a holistic nurse.

Trained to serve as a bridge between conventional healing and alternative healing practices, holistic nurses are qualified in both complementary and Western healthcare models; some may specialize in one modality or more, including chiropractic care, acupuncture, music therapy, massage and clinical aromatherapy. Additional holistic specialties endorsed by AHNA include integrative reflexology, craniosacral therapy, healing touch and integrative healing arts.

Discovering the causes of sickness can be trying on patients and loved ones. A holistic nurse is trained to help the patient connect the dots between illness and its environmental, social, emotional and mental triggers. When battling ill health, a holistic nurse may help patients overcome challenges sooner and prevent regression, the result of what AHNCC calls “an advanced set of nursing skills.”

Holistic nurses can be found in hospitals, universities and private practices across the US, according to AHNA. “If a person is looking for a holistic nurse, call us for referrals,” says Bultena. “We have network leaders in every state.”

Holistic nursing trusts that one-on-one connections, in conjunction with a complementary blend of both Western and Eastern medicine, is the best way for nurses to connect with their patients. For many, that may be just the type of treatment that the doctor—or nurse—ordered.

By Susan Weiner, Energy Times

Can the calming rhythms of yoga help your heart the same way as an energetic 30-minute walk? The answer for many with cardiac disease is a resounding “yes.”

“I would call it a lifesaver,” says John Periolat, 76, of Charlottesville, Virginia, who attended Cardiac Yoga classes at the University of Virginia following a massive heart attack 14 years ago. “But I don’t think it’s widespread enough.”

A modified form of yoga focusing on cardiac patients, yoga for heart disease reduces heart rate and blood pressure in addition to calming the nervous system. It also increases exercise capacity and lowers inflammation levels, as shown by an ever-growing number of research studies. Patients use mats, pillows and chairs to ensure comfort while they perform yoga’s gentle exercises; although it may sound like barely enough motion to break a sweat, the positive effects of cardiovascular yoga are measurable.

Eight weeks of yoga helped to safely improve overall quality of life in 19 heart failure patients, even reducing markers of inflammation associated with heart failure, according to a November 2007 study by researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Meanwhile adults with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that significantly raises cardiovascular risk, were able to reduce their waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides after practicing yoga for just three months (Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice 12/07).

“Cardiac Yoga changed my life,” says the now-retired Periolat, a self-described former type A personality who lives at a more relaxed pace and spends his time volunteering—a far cry from his days as a Navy captain flying F-4 Phantom fighters. Periolat studied with Mala Cunningham, PhD, counseling psychologist and founding director of the Cardiac Yoga Program in Charlottesville. “I was in a hole so deep, I couldn’t see any light,” Periolat says. “Dr. Cunningham’s Cardiac Yoga classes yanked me out of it and put me on my feet again.”

Heart-Friendly Hospitals
The clinical documentation behind yoga’s considerable medical benefits is recognized at hospitals throughout the country, from New York Presbyterian in New York City to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, where Cunningham’s Cardiac Yoga and other yoga programs are available to heart patients. “Cardiac Medical Yoga is a gentle program designed for individuals who have limited mobility,” says Cunningham, author of Medical Yoga (www.cardiacyoga.com). “It’s been completely modified and looked over by a cardiologist and an exercise physiologist to address the needs of cardiac patients.” Cunningham, who certifies other Cardiac Yoga instructors, uses the acronym BREAD to define what Cardiac Yoga is all about: Breathing (known in yoga as pranayama), Relaxation, Exercise/Yoga (through poses known as asanas), Attitude and Diet.

Yoga’s relaxing, meditative component may help stabilize the lining of the blood vessels and lower stress hormones, triggering a chain of events that minimize the risk of heart attack or stroke. In a 2004 Yale University School of Medicine study, people who meditated and did yoga three times a week experienced a dramatically reduced risk of cardiovascular problems.

Yoga helps to ease anxiety, which has been linked with increased heart attack risk in older men (Journal of the American College of Cardiology 1/15/08). In addition, “it helps to activate the parasympathetic response, which helps the body relax,” explains Cunningham. She adds that this makes yoga helpful for not only heart patients but for anyone who wants to avoid cardiac problems in the first place.

A Larger Heart
Some yoga teachers believe this ancient practice can also bring healing on a larger scale. Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, known simply as Swamiji, says that yoga’s benefits extend beyond better heart health; he thinks it is a pathway to individual balance that can lead to improved relationships and, ultimately, a stable society. Swamiji travels the globe teaching Yoga in Daily Life (www.yogaindailylife.org), which is taught in a step-by-step method, making it accessible to intellectualized Western thinking. Yoga in Daily Life can be practiced by people of all ages and in all states of health, but can be especially helpful for those with heart disease or high blood pressure.

“Stress is considered to be a major contributing factor to heart disease,” says Swamiji. “Yoga emphasizes relaxation through breathing, asanas and meditation, which makes it an extremely effective method for reducing stress and the associated health problems, as well as a great way to improve circulation.” His recommendations for a healthier heart include eating organic foods, reducing dietary fats and sugars, drinking plenty of pure water and taking 30-minute walks, in addition to practicing yoga postures at home and attending a yoga class at least once a week. And Swamiji reminds us that there’s more to having a healthy heart than perfecting postures, breathing and meditation: “Laugh every day because it will make your heart light.”

Whether you’re looking to improve an existing cardiac condition or simply keep your heart healthy, yoga provides a gentle, yet powerful, approach to well-being.

By Susan Weiner, Energy Times

When the slender needle pierces the furrowed brow between my eyes, the pinprick quickly gives way to a calming, almost euphoric sense. Waves of pleasure surge from my forehead into my brain before traveling down my shoulders and along my spine. I feel completely and oddly at peace.

“That point is called Yintang and it is a point to calm and balance the shen, or spirit,” explains Neil Weinberg, LAc, DiplOM. He is the acupuncturist I’ve visited to learn about facial rejuvenation acupuncture, a practice reputed to reduce puffiness, wrinkles, fine lines and dark spots. “What you were feeling is called the ‘qi response,’ which is sometimes experienced as a profound sense of balance, relaxation or harmony,” he adds.

The idea that a virtually painless acupuncture procedure could induce such a joyous state while visibly reducing wrinkles seemed too good to be true. Considering that nearly 11.5 million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures were performed in the US in 2006—a 446% increase since 1997—laugh lines are clearly no laughing matter. Maturing women and men are increasingly willing to endure the dangerous risks associated with surgery, chemical injections and harsh peels. In fact, the most frequently performed procedure, reports the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), is injection with Botox, or purified botulinum toxin. Botox can reduce wrinkling by paralyzing facial muscles, but it requires repeated injections and can cause such side effects as headaches, difficulty swallowing and upper respiratory infections.

Promoted as an alternative to such risky and expensive procedures, facial rejuvenation acupuncture, also known as cosmetic acupuncture, has been practiced as far back as 960 AD, when the royalty of China’s Sung Dynasty used it to engender beauty and good health. Practitioners claim it helps the whole body look and feel younger by addressing the physical, mental and emotional patterns that contribute to aging. Moreover, facial rejuvenation acupuncture is reported to improve muscle tone, increase collagen production, tighten pores and boost circulation and moisture in the skin. These kind of results have attracted high-profile attention; ardent fans of this procedure are said to include Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cher.

“They call it facial rejuvenation, but the whole body undergoes some rejuvenation and revitalization every time you get acupuncture,” says Weinberg, who treats numerous clients with facial acupuncture at the Integrative Medicine Center in Ithaca, New York, and at Complementary Medicine and Healing Arts in nearby Vestal. “The treatment is to basically reduce aging and maximize health. Different people are going to get different points in the body and the face.”

Weinberg asks detailed questions, palpates pulses, examines the tongue and determines the skin quality, facial traits and body type of a client before beginning treatment. He offers them a choice: facial needles only a quarter-inch long or a needle-free, micro-current option called an Acutron. Chinese herbs are an important part of the facial rejuvenation protocol, with formulas customized to balance the individual’s constitution while helping to continue the effects of the acupuncture between treatments.

More Than Skin Deep?

The theory behind facial acupuncture contends that thin needles inserted into wrinkles and frown lines stimulate energy and relax the muscles as blood rushes to the surface. The muscles then tighten, which decreases sagging of the facial skin. The needles also stimulate the cells to create new collagen fibers, filling in fine lines and wrinkles.

Though there is nothing new or trendy about facial rejuvenation—the Chinese have practiced the healing art for more than 5,000 years—little formal research has been conducted. One large-scale study, published in the International Journal of Clinical Acupuncture in 1996, revealed that of 300 individuals receiving facial acupuncture, 90% saw marked results after their first course of treatment. A treatment typically runs 10 to 15 sessions with periodic follow-up sessions.

In a society that clamors for immediate gratification, facial rejuvenation acupuncture offers less risk, expense and recovery time than medical alternatives, since the only real side effect of facial acupuncture may be bruising. But can the treatment offer the same results as more invasive—and far riskier—procedures? Quite possibly, according to Ronit Gesundheit, MS, LAc, at the Healing Arts of Marin in Novato, California.

“Facial rejuvenation is a non-toxic alternative to surgery and other chemical procedures,” says Gesundheit. “A reduction in wrinkles as well as improvement with droopy eyelids, sagginess and age spots are all among the results that can be expected from a series of treatments. But the benefits go beyond the surface.”

The face can be looked at as a microcosm of the whole body, so wrinkles, lines and age spots are clues that tell the acupuncturist what needs to be balanced internally, says Gesundheit. “In this way, facial acupuncture treatments help to fade both the wrinkles and other symptoms, commonly issues relating to stress, sleep, hormones and digestion. Treatments are relaxing and have the added benefit of a radiant glow that comes from a balanced system, inside and out.”

Facial rejuvenation acupuncture just may be an aging girl’s (or guy’s) new best friend. While the treatment can’t reshape a nose or a chin, it may take years off a face, safely and naturally. “It’s not going to be as pronounced as a facelift,” says Weinberg. “On the other hand, you’re not going to look like a Stepford wife.”

By Susan Weiner, Energy Times

Cyndy Roseman-Puccio didn’t know what a migraine was until she turned 50. Preparing for a cross-country trip to the east coast from her home in Half Moon Bay, California, Roseman-Puccio awoke one morning with a disquieting headache. Thinking it would quickly subside, she and her husband headed to a local restaurant for breakfast, where Roseman-Puccio spent the entire meal throwing up in the restroom. “It was horrible and I was so nauseous,” she recalls. “It felt like a vise was clamped to the sides of my head and someone was tightening it.” From that point on, migraines became a routine part of her life.

Roseman-Puccio later learned that her migraines were brought on by menopause and foods that had abruptly become triggers for the intense head pain. “All of a sudden, chocolate and red wine became my worst enemies,” she says before admitting she still indulges in the occasional fudgey treat. “Hey, I’m not going to stop living because of migraines.”

For more than 29.5 million Americans—mostly women—migraine headaches range from painful to downright debilitating. Talk to anyone who suffers from migraines and they describe dealing with the pounding in their heads with words like “excruciating,” “incapacitating” and “unbearable.” Many spend long days in bed and are forced to miss work; the World Health Organization cites migraines as among the most debilitating of ills, costing employers nearly $13 billion a year in lost productivity and another $1 billion in medical care. Many migraine sufferers are also forced to forgo activities and lose time with family and friends. Others are trapped into devouring a never-ending succession of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, which may mask the pain but never get to the root of the cause.

Migraine Madness

If you’ve never experienced a migraine, consider yourself very lucky. The word “migraine” comes from the Greek hemikranion, or pain affecting one side of the head. That definition is mild compared to the reality. Imagine a fierce throbbing in your head that may last up to 72 hours, accompanied by nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound. Any sort of exertion—even climbing stairs—aggravates the pain. Additional symptoms can include blurred vision, irritability, depression, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and the inability to concentrate. Some people will complain that their hair “hurts” and the pain may become so intense that even wearing glasses or jewelry becomes unbearable.

Migraines can afflict anyone at any age. But women, due to fluctuations in estrogen levels, are three times more likely to suffer from them than men. Adding insult to malady, the National Migraine Association reports that nearly 60% of women with migraines have never been properly diagnosed.

Where do migraines come from? Current theory suggests that they are triggered from within the brain itself, the pain arising from an interaction between the trigeminal nerve, the one that controls sensation in the face, and blood vessels in the coverings of the brain. While there is currently no definitive test to confirm the diagnosis of migraine, establishing a record of symptoms, other headache characteristics and family history helps to determine if the headaches are, indeed, migraines.

Every sufferer, particularly those uninterested in or unresponsive to powerful prescription medications, poses the same question: Is there a way to head off migraines? Since the symptoms occur as a result of changes in the diameter of blood vessels in the brain, natural remedies are geared toward avoiding common triggers, including certain foods, fragrances and nicotine. Additional migraine catalysts—such as excessive stress, insomnia, nutritional deficiencies and misalignments of the spine and neck—can be effectively treated through alternative techniques. One of the most common reasons people seek remedies such as chiropractic, acupuncture and supplemental therapies is to escape the agony of chronic head pain. These treatments are known to significantly reduce the frequency, duration and severity of migraine symptoms.

Manipulating Migraines

When a patient who is plagued by migraines consults with Michael Vorozilchak, DC, a chiropractor in Montour Falls, New York, he offers them a headache diary, a booklet where patients maintain a record of events (noting foods, moods and activities) and actions preceding each migraine. Later, when the diary is reviewed, common triggers are often revealed.

“There are so many different variables that can lead to a migraine that to think you can take a pill to address the problem makes no sense,” says Vorozilchak. “As with any ailment, the key to correcting migraines is correcting the underlying cause.” In addition to environmental triggers, a common cause may be postural stresses, so every patient receives X-rays and a thorough exam, in addition to a detailed investigation into triggers.

Chiropractic treatment, says Vorozilchak, has been healing all kinds of headaches for years, and he believes that chiropractic manipulation should be considered a logical starting point for anyone looking to escape the pain of migraines. “The basis of all chiropractic intervention is to remove the cause,” he says. “Evidence suggests that postural stress and loss of the natural curve in the neck are among the strongest correlates to all headaches, including migraines.”

Some studies confirm that chiropractic care can manage migraine ills. The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported that a study of 177 volunteers experiencing migraines for an average of 18 years were relieved of both migraine and neck pain. And, in just 13 weeks, chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (CSMT) on migraine sufferers led to a marked improvement in symptoms, according to the Australasia Chiro and Osteo Journal. Nine additional studies concluded that spinal manipulation is comparable to medications in preventing both migraine and tension headaches.

Soothing Supplements

A simple approach to healing migraine misery may come from essential minerals, vitamins and herbs readily found on health food store shelves. Liz Spree, Wellness Department Assistant at GreenStar Cooperative Market in Ithaca, New York, has studied herbs at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, and she finds that herbal tinctures such as feverfew, skullcap, valerian, hops and passionflower taken at the first sign of a migraine can work wonders: “I feel that the body utilizes herbal tinctures more quickly and effectively.”

Spree says that the majority of GreenStar’s customers with migraines are older women and she understands their reticence at taking prescription drugs. “Many have become disenchanted with conventional medicine because of the adverse side effects,” she says. “Who can blame them? What’s the point of taking a pill that makes your headache go away but makes you dizzy and nauseous?”

Magnesium, vital to vigorous vascular health, may be just as effective as prescription drugs at treating migraines—minus the side effects. Since evidence suggests that up to 50% of migraine sufferers have lowered levels of ionized magnesium, logic dictates that this essential mineral should ward off migraines. In myriad studies, an infusion of magnesium results in a rapid and sustained relief of symptoms, reports Clinical Neuroscience. Plagued by severe migraine headaches for years until encountering magnesium, Jay S. Cohen, MD, author of The Magnesium Solution for Migraine Headaches (Square One), says the key is finding a magnesium supplement that agrees with your stomach. If yours is sensitive, go with liquid magnesium with added amino acids that can be better absorbed into the body.

Coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant made by the body and used by cells to make energy, can also help reduce the frequency of attacks. CoQ10 may boost brain cell energy, thus reducing the incidence of migraines. Further studies show that vitamin B2 and herbs like feverfew and butterbur may also prevent migraines or reduce their severity. Additional supplements, including 5-HTP, SAMe and glucosamine, may also help to reduce the frequency of migraine headaches and research is ongoing into their effectiveness.

Needle Relief

Many folks find acupuncture something of a mystery, yet its premise is actually quite simple: Ailments such as migraines are caused by an imbalance in the body’s flow of energy. By stimulating acupuncture points with very thin, disposable needles, the body prompts the nervous system to release endorphins and other natural chemicals that relieve pain. When it comes to migraines, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) maintains that acupuncture can unblock these meridians to relieve symptoms.

“In the treatment of migraine, not only can acupuncture substantially reduce the acute attack, but it can also improve overall health and well-being, including relief of such complaints as frustration, anxiety, fatigue, irritability and insomnia,” says Dr. Lin Zhou, doctor of TCM, licensed acupuncturist and women’s health specialist at Acupuncture and Alternative Medicine of Dallas in Richardson, Texas. “Acupuncture needles stimulate the autonomic nervous system to increase the production of beta-endorphin and natural steroids.”

Acupuncture has been studied as a treatment for migraines for over 20 years, and the National Institutes of Health currently recommends it as a headache treatment. In a study published in the British Medical Journal, those receiving traditional acupuncture saw their headache rates drop by almost half. Among her migraine patients, most of them women, Zhou has witnessed a dramatic decrease or elimination in both migraine frequency and use of medication. In addition to targeting migraine pain, her goal is to treat the person as a whole, encompassing lifestyle and dietary changes: “In my practice, most migraine sufferers are women. Stress, tension, lack of sleep, physical and emotional exhaustion, red wine, caffeine and hormonal imbalance are the most common triggers of migraines.”

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all panacea that conquers migraines. But it is likely that treatments such as dietary supplements, acupuncture and chiropractic can help take the edge off of the ache. The key is to keep trying until you find the right combination that works for you. Don’t let migraine pain rule your life.