Check Out My Interview on Todd's Health Zone radio show

Todd Cheek, personal trainer and host of Todd's Health Zone internet radio recently interviewed me on the "What and How's" of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Listen to the show on archive at the link below:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/todds-health-zone/2012/12/18/bishara-wilson-new-york-sports-acupunture

Enjoy!

Bishara Wilson, L.Ac.
www.NewYorkSportsAcupuncture.com

Five Easy Ways to Have A Healthy Mindset

By Bishara Wilson, L.Ac., MSTOM

www.NewYorkSportsAcupuncture.com

You cannot be healthy thinking like a sick person.  In modern times that are ruled by the almighty dollar, we are inundated with companies looking to sell us their various products.  Unfortunately, most companies are looking to maximize their profits by giving the lowest possible quality that they can and still make a sale.  As a consumer, both physically and financially, we have to navigate through the mountains of empty calorie, poor quality, nutritionally deficient junk posing as food.  Having the mind to do this is vital for health, strength and vitality.

Here are the Top Five Ways to Have A Healthy Mindset by picking the healthiest food possible.

1)      Read Labels

When you look at the ingredients of a food product, those ingredients should look like something that you would actually eat!  The list of ingredients should close to what it would look like if you made it yourself.

For example, fresh homemade bread at home has flour, salt, yeast, and water.  Fresh homemade bread also lasts about a day before it gets dry and stale.  Store bought bread has lines of ingredients, most of which you cannot even pronounce.  These chemicals in bread are used as dough conditioners and preservatives that prevent the dough from hardening and increases the shelf life.  They are not digestible by your body and are stored in the body’s fat.  Accumulation of chemicals in the fat is slowly released into your bloodstream and is a cause of premature aging, diseases like cancer and heart disease, fatigue, weakening of the immune system and allergies.

2)      Make Your Food from Scratch

Instead of eating out at restaurants all of the time, or cooking commercially prepared foods from the box, try cooking from scratch.  Yes, this means actually putting on the apron and doing it all yourself. 

If you are a novice, there are tons of great cookbooks and free recipes online that suit every palate.  Recipes are easy to follow and you will find your way around the kitchen in a snap.

Cooking from scratch is great because you know exactly what goes into each meal.  You can control how much salt and oil is used.  This is a added benefit if you are on a special low sodium or low fat lifestyle change.  I say lifestyle change because “dieting” is usually a temporary change in the way you eat, while lifestyle change is a more permanent goal.

If you have known food allergies, you will obviously not have any worries with food that you prepared yourself.

Best of all, you save money.  For the price of dinner at a restaurant, you can get three or four full meals when you buy and make food from scratch.

3)      Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup

When you read labels, high fructose corn syrup seems to be in everything.  It is in sodas and juice drinks, bread and crackers, soup and breakfast cereal, cookies, candy and chips.

About three decades ago, food manufacturers began using high fructose corn syrup to sweeten foods because it is a cheap alternative to sugar.  White sugar was already bad for your health and has been linked to diabetes, obesity, rotten teeth and other health issues, but high fructose corn syrup is even worse.

On a societal level, the increased rate of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and fatty liver has been linked to the over consumption of high fructose syrup.  New York City has even banned the sale of beverages of soft drinks larger than 16 fl.oz at restaurants, street carts and movie theaters to combat obesity and diseases linked to soft drink consumption.

My suggestion is to avoid high fructose syrup like the plague.  You have to be diligent because it is in a lot of mass produced products on the shelves that you may be used to eating.  Expect a complete overhaul on the brands you buy.

Your best bet is to just go to the health food store.  For snacks, I will usually try what is on sale for the week to save money at the health food store. 

4)      Avoid GMO Foods

GMO’s are genetically-modified-organisms.  Also known as Frankenfoods!  They are foods that would normally grow in nature, but have been manipulated in a laboratory to have certain effects. 

Some have been manipulated to resist plant diseases and insects, to grow faster or even to produce nutrients.  Sounds good at face value, but we do not know the long term effects of how genetically modified foods may genetically modify people who consume these foods.

Foods that are predominantly produced in GMO form on the market are corn, soybeans, canola, and cottonseed.  These GMO vegetables are usually sold to food corporations and appear in food stores as vegetable oil, corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil. If you look at most chips on the market, the ingredients will say that it contains one or more of those specific oils.  Other  GMO vegetable products on the shelves includes high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, and the flour used to make corn syrup, breakfast cereal and other products.

Research is still being done on the effects of gmo foods on the body, but it is best to avoid these foods if possible.

5)      Eat Organic

As stated earlier in this article, food corporations are looking to produce as much crop or livestock that they can to maximize profit.  This can often be at the cost of the health of the consumer.  In fact, many money saving processes for the corporations has a negative effect on your body.  These processes include herbicides and pesticides on crops, and antibiotics and growth hormones in animals. 

Residue from chemical fertilizers and herbicide in food have been linked to ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and lower IQ in children.  Other dangers include increased risk of cancer.  Herbicides also contaminates the soil and eventually ends up in the ground water that we drink.  Organic foods are grown without chemical fertilizer, whose harmful nitrates can end up in conventionally grown foods. 

Organic foods tend to have a higher Vitamin C and mineral content than conventionally grown foods. But, recent studies have shown that this is not a hard rule that all organic foods are always more nutritionally dense than conventionally grown foods.

I eat organic or locally grown as much as possible to avoid chemical residue from pesticides and herbicides in my food, and also to support and promote a chemical free environment.  In my opinion, many organic foods look richer and tastes better than their conventional counterpart too.

These are just a few tips to get you on the health track.  I hope it sparked some thoughts and you do some further research to cultivate a health conscious mindset.

References

Effects on uric acid, body mass index and blood pressure in adolescents of consuming beverages sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup.Lin WT, Huang HL, Huang MC, Chan TF, Ciou SY, Lee CY, Chiu YW, Duh TH, Lin PL, Wang TN, Liu TY, Lee CH. Int J Obes (Lond). 2012 Aug 14

Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity.Bray GA, Nielsen SJ, Popkin BM. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Apr;79(4):537-43.

Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize.

Séralini GE, Clair E, Mesnage R, Gress S, Defarge N, Malatesta M, Hennequin D, de Vendômois JS.  Food Chem Toxicol. 2012 Nov;50(11):4221-31

Ethical acceptability, health policy and foods biotechnology based foods: is there a third way between the precaution principle and an overly enthusiastic dissemination of GMO?

Meningaud JP, Moutel G, Hervé C.  Med Law. 2001;20(1):133-41.

Organic food: buying more safety or just peace of mind? A critical review of the literature.

Magkos F, Arvaniti F, Zampelas A.  Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2006;46(1):23-56.

Organic food: nutritious food or food for thought? A review of the evidence.

Magkos F, Arvaniti F, Zampelas A.  Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2003 Sep;54(5):357-71

Pesticide exposure and child neurodevelopment: summary and implications.

Liu J, Schelar E.  Workplace Health Saf. 2012 May;60(5):235-42

The influence of organic and conventional cultivation systems on the nutritional value and content of bioactive compounds in selected tomato types.  Hallmann E.  J Sci Food Agric. 2012 Nov;92(14):2840-8.

Top Five Ways to Stay Healthy in the Autumn Season

1)      Drink Ginger Tea

Ginger is a very warming to the lungs and regulates the digestive system.  The unexpected cold wind invades the body the head and neck causing headaches, chills, cough, runny nose and leading to the common cold.

A hot cup of ginger tea causes the body to heat up and sweat the wind and cold out through the skin.  This supplements the immune system for common cold and flu protection.

2)      Drink Miso Soup

Miso soup is delicious traditional Chinese food remedy that is loved in this country.  It is made of fermented soybeans (miso), scallions and a little tofu.  Similar to the effects of ginger, miso also warms body and skin, releasing wind and cold invasion of the body.

Miso paste can be purchased from most supermarkets and you can add this tasty soup as a daily part of your diet.

3)      Wear a Hat and Scarf

Since you were a child, you heard that 30% of your body heat escapes through your head.  You may hate to admit it, but your mother knew what she was talking about.  Wearing a hat and a light scarf this time of the year will save you from the sniffles and needless suffering of being sick. 

4)      Eat plenty of Pears and Apples 

There is a time and season for everything.  In the Autumn, pears and apples are beneficial to the care of the Lungs.  They stop cough, get rid of phlegm and build the immune system.

5)      Dress Consistently

One day it is 62 degrees and sunny, the next day is 45 degrees and overcast.  This rollercoaster on the thermometer and barometer can wreak havoc on your health.  Dress consistently daily to avoid being prepared for dramatic shifts in the climate. 

Take advantage of these simple tips to stay healthy and in step with nature. 

Bishara Wilson, L.Ac., MSTOM

www.NewYorkSportsAcupuncture.com

Part 9 - The Urge Towards Self Preservation

There is a saying that, “you have to have before you can give back.”  If this adage is not followed, then you will end up depleting your resources faster than you accumulate them.  

This leads to resentment and disenchantment, taking you out of your personality of being a helper, to not wanting to help because you are not being taken care of yourself.  So, you have to take care of yourself and preserve yourself.  This means financially, emotionally, physically, spiritually, etc.  

It means giving yourself time to rejuvenate  your energy and your life.  

This is taking a day off or whatever amount of time necessary to do the things that you enjoy doing.

Physically, this means getting enough rest, knowing what to eat to promote life and longevity instead of death and disease, knowing your body and treating it in a way where it responds the best to you, getting enough exercise and doing activities that makes you feel fantastic. 

It also means being able to protect yourself and the things that you love and care about, being able to be in the present moment to effectively analyze every situation and act accordingly.

If you are not well rested, tired or sick because of poor dietary habits, weak because of the lack of exercise, and unsatisfied with life mentally, you will not be in any state of mind or physical shape to fully enjoy the sweetness of life, generate as much income as possible, be able to concentrate at the task at hand or be at the top of your field.  

Take care of yourself and your self will take care of you...

Bishara Wilson, L.Ac., MSTOM

www.NewYorkSportsAcupuncture.com

Part 8 - The Urge to Love

Who does not love to love or love to be loved?  

Have you ever had someone that you can let yourself go with and let see your true self?  

Have you had someone that you can reveal your Self to without the mask that is usually on in order to cope with society?  

It is a blessing to have someone that you pass time with and you don't know where that time went.  This feeling of love is a natural feeling.  

This feeling is food for the soul.  You can crumble up and die if you are not loved and are are not able to love.  

Love is children running to the door to greet their parents when they come home from work.  

Love is irresistible.  Love is  not regrettable.  You can do love and be in love all day.  If you were able to get paid for loving the one you love, you would work tirelessly and your bank account would be endless.  

For love is a well that can be dipped into and the pails of love could never run out.  The urge to love is magnetic and unstoppable.  The pull towards your loved one is innate.  

It is a characteristic of all creatures in nature.  You see it in how  lions cling to their cubs, in how flowers grow towards the sun and even in how dogs howl at the moon.  

Love is how a bride looks at her groom.  It is the hug that a mother gives her son who just returned from war.  It is the tears at a funeral.  It is the expression of a father seeing his newborn child.  

Love is hopeful.  Love leads to forgiveness.  Love helps you to make choices in life based on the highest good for yourself and those you love.  Love stimulates personal growth and achievement.  

Love is an awesome power that is a gift from the Creator.  

Bishara Wilson, L.Ac., MSTOM

www.NewYorkSportsAcupuncture.com

Part 7 - Urge for Life After Death

One mystery that has confounded man for ages is the wonder of what happens after we leave this physical form. 

As your body is placed in the ground and rots until it is part of the earth that it came from, the question that is asked is, “Is this it?. I work and have trials and tribulations, joy and happiness to come down to this?”  

From ancient times, people have understood that we live on spiritually after we die.  There is a finer and more subtle aspect of ourselves that can be dominated by the prevalent physical part that we see.  

The ancient Egyptian, Chinese, Tibetans and other societies have manuals or so-called Books of the Dead that show how to navigate the underworld in order to get to heaven.  Many people worship God and try to be on their best behavior in order to go to heaven and not have their soul tortured by wicked demons in hell for eternity.  

Others say that earth is in space or in the heavens already and make their heaven here on earth.  They may accomplish so much and effect so many people in a positive (or negative) way that they live on after they die.  They exist in the minds of people, books are written about their exploits, monuments are carved in their effigy, streets are named after them and buildings are erected in their honor.  

Ancient Egyptians said that as long as people spoke your name, remember you deeds and continue your legacy, you are still alive.  

How will you make your mark? 

How many lives have you effected?  

What works have you started that will be continued after you are gone so that you may have life after death?

Bishara Wilson, L.Ac., MSTOM

www.NewYorkSportsAcupuncture.com

Part 6 - Desire to Possess Power (Fame)

You love being in the bright lights.  Being in front of the crowd, on stage front and center, ready to perform.  The people come to see you, doing what you do.  They are ready to be entertained , to learn, to be encompassed in your world, in your mind, in the reality that you have created.  

At this moment, you are their focus, a demigod in their eyes, half-man, half-amazing.  When you are about to go out on the “stage”, you love the nervous feeling as adrenaline and endorphins are released into  your  bloodstream.  You take a deep breath, make a short prayer and begin your performance.

Fame and power are the result of work completed and received by others on a large level.  It is an externalization of your will power.  People admire this because it is a part of them that is weak, lacking or unable to be grown because of their inability to act.  

They see you as something that they would like to be.  People also respect authority and someone that commands respect.  

True power cannot be taken away because it comes from within.  Fame can wane and can also be fleeting.  Because true power comes from within, it can be reproduced.  It becomes a natural process like birds flying and fish swimming.  

Fame is a way of knowing you have life after death, while you are still alive.  Fame and power in your sphere of influence inspires others to become experts, to excel and to perform at a higher level in their respective fields.  

As it is said, “Game recognizes game.”  Fame and power is not always liked but the ability to have fame and power is nearly always respected.  

Bishara Wilson, L.Ac., MSTOM

www.NewYorkSportsAcupuncture.com