In This Issue

• New Addition! — JJ Virgin, PHD
• JJ Virgin, PHD — Slow Down to Slim Down!
• Your Child's Health — One-third of Asthmatic Children in Canadian Province Use Non-Medical Care

New Addition! — JJ Virgin, PHD

Starting with this month's edition of our cyber newsletter we will have contributing editor JJ Virgin PHD. JJ Virgin PHD is the celebrity expert at the forefront of wellness. She is the nutrition and fitness expert on the Dr. Phil SHOW, for Gene Simmons of Kiss and his reality show. Suzanne Summers, The recent Superman movie, ABC's Extreme makeover, NBC'S I-Village, TV Show "E", Popular Magazines and more!… Have fun with this, right now, go to Google, and Google her name: JJ Virgin.

Each week JJ will be giving us tips for healthy living, weight loss, and looking great! This is an exciting edition and upgrade to our letter. It is our goal, to bring you as our valued patient, the very latest in health information so you and your family can stay informed, happy and healthy!

Enjoy!

Slow Down to Slim Down!
JJ Virgin, PhD, CNS / Celebrity Wellness Expert

A recent article in the Washington Post shared 7 secrets of highly obese people. What they revealed is that obese people start eating sooner, consume greater amounts of food and eat faster than their slim counterparts (oh yeah, and they skip breakfast too!). In our world of supersizing this is not good news.

When we consume our meals too quickly, the feeling of fullness and satiety are delayed, causing us to overeat. Inhaling food makes it tough for our digestive systems to function properly, resulting in heartburn and indigestion. Frenzied feeding causes the gut to contract, sends us running to the bathroom and prevents necessary nutrients from being absorbed by your body. Consequently, weak digestion leads to a weak immune system… leaving you susceptible to illness. The interplay of proper nutrient ingestion, digestion and absorption to your overall health is quite spectacular!

How do you know when you are eating too fast? Well, if you don't fully swallow each bite before taking the next one, that's a red flag! Believe it or not, the whole digestion process starts in your mouth in the chewing phase. Chewing well grinds food into small bits, allowing it to be more easily swallowed. Well-chewed bits of food are more easily coated with digestive juices once in the stomach. Chewing well also allows the molecules of nutrients from the chewed food to be more quickly released and assimilated. Keeping a food in the mouth longer allows the food's flavors to be recognized by the tongue. When the tongue recognizes the flavor it sends a message to the brain, which in turn sends messages to the digestive system resulting in the release of the digestive juices needed for that food.

Bottom line: We should be chewing at least 20-25 times per forkful! Follow these 9 strategies to shift gears from chowing down to slowing down during mealtimes:

• Never "dashboard" dine. Like laws to prevent folks from using cell phones while driving, the nation should enact new regulations to prevent us from eating in our cars!
• Eat meals at a regularly appointed time at your designated eating area-i.e., the dining room or kitchen table. Last time I checked, beds and sofas were developed for other purposes.
• Focus on your food — be mindful not mindless, and tasteful vs. being tasteless!
• Use chopsticks — I dare you to eat quickly with these suckers.
• Shrink your plate to shrink your belly — Remember that the average person's stomach holds about 1 quart of food. Look at your plate, and make sure the food quantity matches up.
• Load up on non-starchy veggies for volume — Your body and your health will thank you for getting in 5-10 servings a day!
• Put your fork (or chopsticks) DOWN between bites — perhaps spend those seconds chewing per the above guidelines?
• Shrink your bites and increase your chewing.
• Remove the food triggers — do you have a candy dish on your coffee table? Get rid of it! Don't leave candy or sweets in view, in fact get all the enemies out of the house!

JJ's Favorite Shake Mix

The basic elements of your shake should be protein powder (plain or flavored), water, healthy fat, fiber, organic fruit and ice. Make sure that your protein mix doesn't contain sugar or artificial sweeteners. Look for mixes that are sweetened with sugar alcohols, preferably xylitol or the herbal extract stevia, and avoid fructose-sweetened powders. I prefer whey, rice, pea and/or hemp based protein powders. Ideally use a blend of several of these or switch them around so that your body doesn't build up sensitivity to one of them. Avoid soy-based protein powders!

I usually use organic frozen berries rather than fresh ones as they make the shakes thicker. Add in extra fiber by adding freshly ground flaxseed meal and/or a fiber blend supplement. You can also add in healthy fats by replacing 1/4 cup of water with light coconut milk, adding a tbsp of nut butter, Salba, flaxseed meal or an essential fatty acid oil blend.

Power Shake Recipe

• 1-2 Scoops of protein powder (25 - 30 g of protein)
• 1-2 Tbsp Fiber (flaxseed meal, Salba, Fiber blend product)
• 1 cup of fresh or frozen organic berries
• 1-2 Tbsp of healthy fat (e.g., organic almond butter, Udo's oil or 1/4 cup of light coconut milk)
• 1 cup of water

Blend, add ice and blend again to desired consistency.

Your Child's Health — One-third of Asthmatic Children in Canadian Province Use Non-Medical Care

In an article from Reuters Health Information, printed in the Journal of the AMA is a report of a survey that showed many children with asthma were seeking what the article termed, "complementary medicine" for their problem. Dr. Sheldon Spier, of Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, surveyed the parents of 117 pediatric asthma patients. Thirty percent reported using complementary medicine to help manage their children's asthma symptoms, most commonly herbal medications, chiropractic, homeopathy, and vitamin C supplementation. One of the common reasons given for the usage was, the non-medical practitioners were perceived as "treating the whole patient."

The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association lists several studies on their web site discussing the benefits of chiropractic for children with asthma. The following are some of those excerpts: "76.5% of patients with bronchial asthma said they benefited from chiropractic treatment. Peak flow rate and vital capacity increased after the third treatment. Significantly lower quality of life impairment rating scores were reported for 90.1% of children after 60 days of chiropractic care. During this same time period the average number of asthma attacks decreased an average of 44.9%, and asthma medication usage was decreased an average of 66.5%. Among parents of asthmatic children who had received chiropractic treatment, 92% considered this treatment beneficial."

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