There is a field of study recognized by traditional medicine called psychoneuroimmunology, which is the "study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body."

Basically, science has proven that each emotion, thought and expression of belief, has an affect on the nervous system, which in turn has an affect on the body's defense mechanisms. You become what you think, feel and project, so it is just as integral a part of healing to adjust your way of thinking as it is to take medication or modify your diet.

Experts in this field of mind-body healing include Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra and Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, to name a few. In one Ohio State University study Kiecolt-Glaser was part of, they noted a spectrum of diseases "whose onset and course may be influenced by proinflammatory cytokines, from cardiovascular disease to frailty and functional decline; proinflammatory cytokine production can be directly stimulated by negative emotions and stressful experiences and indirectly stimulated by chronic or recurring infections."

Louise Hay is the author of You Can Heal Your Life, an international best seller. After learning firsthand how to heal herself from cancer, she realized that "If we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed."

As a Holistic Health Practitioner, I offer workshops on mind-body healing which has helped hundreds of people reach an even greater sense of wellness beyond supplemental or dietary therapy. By recognizing that each ailment or injury your body presents reflects subconscious aspects hidden within yourself, you are able to put an end to needless suffering that 'everything else hasn't helped' thus far.

For example, Krista kept stubbing her left big-toe on the bed-frame at least several times per week. While this seems like small suffering in the big picture, she wanted to understand why this keeps happening. After a brief discussion on the women in her life, we concluded that she had a feminine influence in her environment that inhibited her from progress. After regaining her personal power and readjusting her perception on this situation, the toe injuries stopped.

Another client went through treatment of breast cancer and while she came to be for nutritional guidance to create an inhospitable environment for cancer to grow, we also worked with her emotions on motherhood (not being a mother but controlling other people).

One of the most famous characters who perfectly demonstrates healing from the inside out is Dr. Adams. "Patch" Adams is the founder of the Gesundheit! Institute, plus he's an M.D., clown and author. He was made famous by the movie called Patch Adams starring Robin Williams. "The Gesundheit! Institute is a project in holistic medical care based on the belief that one cannot separate the health of the individual from the health of the family, the community, the world, and the health care system itself." He healed people through laughter and by changing the minds of ailing clients to a more positive and healthy outlook rather than sick and diseased.

Homework:
Write the word "Smile" on a piece of paper and below it, draw a happy, smiling face. Tape this paper to your ceiling or wall beside your bed so that it is the first thing you see when you wake up. BELIEVE yourself happy, healthy and prosperous and you will create this from the inside out. Science says so!

In joy,
Stephanie Austin, HHP
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach
Wellness by Mother Nature

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Stephanie Austin, H.H.P. now writes a Wellness Column for the Atascadero News so feel free to write in with your questions and she will address them in the blog and/or weekly column. Forward all questions to stephanie@wellnessbymothernature.com or post comments on the blog!

Dr. Masaru Emoto is an internationally renowned researcher and author on water, consciousness  and intent. He has written several books on The Power of Water and The  Hidden Messages In Water, which demonstrate the power intent has over  the molecular structure of water. Seeing as our bodies are between  65-70% water (male-female), we can control the structure of much our  body with the power of thoughts, intentions and words. Dr. Emoto also  shows the structural changes that occur from rural to urban water  supplies as well as the damaging effects of microwaving. These books are part of the recommended reading section of Resources at www.StephanieAustin.com

This  image was posted by Chemlin Production stating "a Science fair project presented by a girl in a secondary  school in Sussex . In it she took filtered water and divided it into two  parts. The first part she heated to boiling in a pan on the stove, and  the second part she heated to boiling in a microwave. Then after cooling  she used the water to water two identical plants to see if there would  be any difference in the growth between the normal boiled water and the  water boiled in a microwave. She was thinking that the structure or  energy of the water may be compromised by microwave. As it turned out,  even she was amazed at the difference, after the experiment which was  repeated by her class mates a number of times and had the same result.
 
It has been known for some years that the problem with microwaved  anything is not the radiation people used to worry about, it's how it  corrupts the DNA in the food so the body can not recognize it.
   
Microwaves don't work different ways on different substances. Whatever  you put into the microwave suffers the same destructive process.  Microwaves agitate the molecules to move faster and faster. This  movement causes friction which denatures the original make-up of the  substance. It results in destroyed vitamins, minerals, proteins and  generates the new stuff called radiolytic compounds, things that are not  found in nature.

So the body wraps it in fat cells to protect  itself from the dead food or it eliminates it fast.  Think of all the  Mothers heating up milk in these 'Safe' appliances. What about  the nurse  in Canada that warmed up blood for a transfusion patient and  accidentally killed him when the blood went in dead. But the makers say  it's safe. But proof is in the pictures of living plants dying!!!"

Come by the Kitchen for an info sheet on the Damage of Microwaves.

In joy,
Stephanie Austin
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach
Director of Education and Marketing
The Wellness Kitchen

I've recently received inquiries about whether or not we 'should' eat meat as humans and my answer isn't very cut and dry. I am vegan and my reasons are numerous, including spiritual, nutritional, science based and personal, but the question is more about whether or not humans need animal food.

Do we require animal food? No. I choose not to debate whether we are frugivore or omnivore, if our intestines are too long for meat or we are physiologically meant to be vegan or not. That aside, we do not require any animal food to thrive and survive.

Since there is another way, I prefer to live that way. Aside from personal preference, a society with less dependence on animal foods also saves water wasted from watering crops for animals for slaughter, reduces gases that the unnaturally large number of animals release, eliminates or reduces the poor treatment of them, and then there's the subject of health and  nutrition.
 
Some people find themselves in a health crisis where a vegan diet can save their life but nearly never have I seen a case where an animal food diet would offer the same life saving changes in one's body. Not even in treatment for cancer when blood building might be needed; I have helped raise a clients' blood count in two weeks using a vegan method over the animal alternative of blood-rich beef liver and meat. That life-giving quality in living foods paints a big picture as to the value of plant-based, whole foods. 

Now, there is no 'across the board' rule for everyone and there are sometimes cases where meat or animal food may be better than none, such as: instances of malnutrition, lack of other caloric intake, wild caught occasional consumption, seasonal lack of nutrients, etc. However, for people with access to a variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes, beans and grains, there is no 'need' for maintaining the extremely disproportionate dependence on animal-based food.

For those who do eat animal food, there are always better choices amongst the types, treatments and cooking methods. Wild caught, free range, anti-biotic free, hormone-free, non-gmo fed, non-grain fed, organic choices are best when selecting meat, eggs or dairy. Raw dairy is more digestible if available and bison is a better choice than beef. Of all the animal foods available, the ones with the most nutritional benefits include cold water fish such as salmon and halibut, eggs and wild turkey.

For more information on how to eat vegetarian, attend my 'Vegetarian Nutrition for Beginners' class. Check calendar for dates and details.

I receive a variety of excellent questions in all of the classes I teach but what questions do I get asked the most? They all have something in common: that ONE thing that does the trick. So, I've decided to answer some of those ONE things here:

Q: If there were only ONE book you'd recommend people read to gain control of their nutrition, what would it be?
A: The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II

Q: What is the ONE food you recommend people not eat for the sake of their health and longevity?
A: Dairy products.

Q: What is the ONE practice you suggest people have to become healthier?
A: Drink half your weight in ounces of water with added fresh lemon juice daily.

Q: What is the ONE food people should add to their diet?
A: Chia seeds.

Fruits and Veggies May Help Patients Quit Smoking
From: www.medscape.com
By: Journalist Fran Lowry - a freelance writer for Medscape

June 19, 2012 — Cigarette smokers who eat more fruits and vegetables are more likely to quit smoking and stay off cigarettes over   the long term, new research shows.

Investigators from the University of Buffalo in New York found that smokers who ate fruits and vegetables an average of 4 or more times per   day were 3 times more likely to be abstinent from all tobacco products, including cigarettes, at 14-month follow-up.

According to lead author Jeffrey P. Haibach, MPH, the study is the first to longitudinally evaluate the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and cigarette smoking cessation.

The study was published online May 21 in Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

According to Haibach, research on the diets of current smokers, former smokers, and persons who have never smoked (never-smokers) indicates that dietary practices of current smokers are the least optimal and that the diets of former smokers begin to resemble those of   never-smokers with increasing duration of abstinence.

Intrigued, lead author Gary A. Giovino, PhD, began to wonder about the direction of the relationship and added questions on fruit and vegetable intake to the questionnaire of a national cohort study he was conducting on adult smokers.

"As I examined the scientific literature, I was surprised by the lack of longitudinal research on the topic, given such an expanse of   cross-sectional research findings," Haibach said. "I became aware of multiple ways in which diet might influence smoking and quitting."

The researchers randomly surveyed 1000 cigarette smokers aged 25 years and older from around the United States, using random-digit dialing telephone interviews. They then contacted the participants again 14 months later, asking whether they had abstained from smoking and other tobacco use for at least the previous month.

More Health Conscious? 
They found that the cigarette smokers who ate fruits and vegetables an average of 4 or more times per day were 3 times more likely to be abstinent from all tobacco products, including cigarettes, 14 months later, compared with those who ate fruits and vegetables fewer than 2 times   per day (P <
.01).

This held true even after controlling for age, sex, race and ethnicity, education, household income, and behavioral indicators of general health orientation.

Those who ate more fruits and vegetables also exhibited fewer measures of dependence. They were less likely to smoke 20 or more cigarettes per day (P < .001), to smoke within 30 minutes of waking (P < .05),  or to have a Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale (NDSS) score of at least 9 (P < .01) at baseline than those who consumed the least amount of fruits and vegetables.

"People who eat more fruits and vegetables may be more health conscious to begin with and therefore be more amenable to smoking cessation," Haibach said.

"Multiple surveys indicate that people who smoke cigarettes are more likely to binge drink, use illicit drugs, and exercise less, and we controlled for this using exercise, heavy drinking, and street drug use as markers of general health orientation," he added.

However, residual confounding may still exist, and the researchers recommend further research, including studies that incorporate all dietary factors and experimental studies.

For now, doctors should continue to ask all of their patients about tobacco use.

"For their patients who use tobacco, they should ask about tobacco use at each visit, advise of consequences of tobacco use, assess willingness to quit, assist the patient with a cessation plan, and arrange follow-up, including behavioral and pharmaceutical strategies they feel   are appropriate for the patient," he said.

Doctors can also suggest that patients who are experiencing a cigarette craving eat a piece of fruit, a vegetable, or drink a glass of water "to help them avoid giving in to the urge to smoke," he added.

Noteworthy Study
Scott McIntosh, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine at the University of Rochester, in New  York, said the study was "noteworthy" for finding an important relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and a smoker's current level of addiction, as well as their future success with being abstinent from smoking.

"This tells us that future research might not only confirm these relationships but will lead to interventions with smokers to incorporate changes in their diet to increase their chances of being successful with their quit attempts," Dr. McIntosh told Medscape Medical News.

"This study and related future studies can give us improved evidence-based strategies for patient education of proper diet, not only during a quit attempt but as a long-term strategy to successfully remain smoke-free for good," he said.

The authors and Dr. McIntosh have disclosed no relevant financial relationships. 
Nicotine Tob Res. Published online May 21, 2012. Abstract. Medscape Medical News © 2012 WebMD, LLC. Send comments and news tips to news@medscape.net.