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Organic farming is a method of farming where no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or chemical fertilizers are sprayed on the soil or plants. The farms that are "certified organic", have been recognized by an organic certification body as having been chemical free for at least three years.  Organic farmers work hard to create the soil environment that will provide the pH etc. necessary for the health of the particular crop through the organic matter and humus used.  Humus, which is not only vital to holding water in the soil, is also the preferred food for the millions microorganisms, fungi and earthworms found in organic soil that break down the organic matter into a nutritious form usable to the plants.  Mother Nature’s closed organic cycle of dead plants, animals and animal manure becoming organic matter that feeds the microorganisms, fungi and bacteria that then feed the growing plants, results in vibrantly healthy plants that are disease and pest resistant, and having many more vitamins, minerals, and enzymes in them, and sans the toxins from the pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers. Therefore organic farming is nonpolluting and environmentally sustainable.  Even though organic food is not toxic, it should be washed thoroughly to remove any dirt and manure before being consumed.

Conventional farming is a method by which industrial pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are sprayed on the plants and the soil, killing not only the pests, but also those vital fungi and microorganisms in the soil that are critical to plant nutrition and therefore our nutrition. Chemical fertilizers are also sprayed in order to try and feed the plants, but synthetic fertilizers put on dead soil do not duplicate the delicate balance necessary to create a healthy plant, as the valuable humus, fungi and microorganisms are missing in the soil.  As the plants are less healthy, they attract more pests, which results in more pesticide use.  The lack of humus in the soil results in more soil erosion and a greater need for watering, which in turn, contaminates groundwater with pesticide run-off damaging not only drinking water and but also fisheries.  These chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are poisons that not only coat the plant, but also are absorbed through the roots of the plant and become a part of the plant tissue.  So when we eat conventional vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds, we are making a choice that  has fewer nutrients, and instead packs a small dose of poison.  Even though our liver is very good at detoxifying us, it can get rather overwhelmed when it is asked to do this with every meal.  And when the nutrition in the food isn’t adequate to replace vitally healthy liver cells, over time things may break down.

I am hoping that it is becoming obvious that using less nutritious, toxic food to replace our cells each day is not a recipe for health and wellness. To be healthy and vital, we need the best quality raw materials we can find, so shop organic and watch your body detoxify! To learn more about how our food production impacts our health and the health of the planet, listen to the You Are What You Eat CD Series.

Back to basics, this week. I’ve been constantly suggesting that we should be eating unprocessed, organic food, but I have never fully explained why this is important to our health.

We replace about 2 million blood cells each second, as well as a large number of muscle cells, bone cells, nerve cells daily. So, what are the cells made from that our body replaces daily? The food that we eat.

If the food, the raw material from which our cells are made, is without much nutrition and filled with toxins, how can our cells build themselves sufficiently to function optimally? If the cells are unhealthy, the systems become unhealthy, and over time, disease results.

You would not build a house of rotten wood and rusted steel and expect it to last. The quality of the materials determines the quality of the house.

It seems evident in the house example, but most of us don’t give much thought to the consequences of eating a poor diet, probably because the consequences like diabetes, cancer, heart disease don’t show up for a long time.

You literally are what you eat, so choose the raw material from which you are made wisely. Choose unprocessed, organic food.

If you are interested in food issues and your health, Paul Chek’s  You Are What You Eat CD Series is a must. Once you have listened to these CDs you will know more about food and food issues than many dietitians, and truly understand the impact of the food you eat on your health. The CDs are fantastic and are geared to the lay person.

If you would like to get clarity on how to eat healthy, take my online nutrition course.

Related Posts:

Eat – Processed food is taking over our supermarkets

Eat – Food Guide Fallacy

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Pain may be a pain, but it does serve a valuable purpose. If we didn’t have pain, we may not realize that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. That said, it is important to understand that it is our brain that decides whether or not to give us pain.

In situations where it would be counterproductive to be in pain, like on a battlefield for example, pain often is not felt until soldiers have made it to safety.

The brain’s job is to analyze all the information that it receives from all our senses and determine whether or not it is in our best interest to be in pain.

So if you are in pain, your brain has somehow concluded that creating pain will serve you – a certain tissue in your body is under threat, and your brain wants you to do something about it. So, if you are in pain, the key is finding out why your brain has made that decision.

The amount of pain one has is unrelated to the severity of the injury. Paper cuts often hurt more than much more serious injuries do. And a paper cut on the tip of the finger would be far more painful to a professional guitar player than to a professional singer, as the guitar player’s job would be directly affected.

So the pain an individual feels depends on context, whether it be gender, culture, age, someone else nearby, fear of what might happen, beliefs about the cause of the pain, what happened last time etc.

It is also interesting to note that frequently amputees feel pain in the limb that isn’t there. Pain therefore, is not about the tissue in question, but rather about the brain’s decision regarding the tissue, and sometimes that decision doesn’t make sense.

Think of pain like a complicated alarm system that is set to protect you. You accidentally touch a stovetop, and the alarm goes off, you instantly feel pain, so you take your hand away before too much damage is done.

Initially physical pain is caused by tissue damage. But if there has been sufficient healing time, and you are still in pain, there may have been a change in the sensitivity of the alarm system (the central nervous system and brain), and it takes less stimulus to set the alarm off, so activities that didn’t hurt before, now do.

Something like those super sensitive car alarms that go off when you walk by on the other side of the street. You are too far away to actually steal the car, yet the alarm went off. 

Chronic pain usually isn’t about the tissue anymore. Instead, the brain is receiving a faulty message that there is more danger to the tissue than there actually is, and is therefore creating pain. 

The alarm goes off way before there is any chance of tissue damage.  So, dealing with chronic pain is frequently about resetting the alarm system to function normally again.

Coping with chronic pain is undeniably difficult. Taking full responsibility for your own pain and treatment is often helpful. Be certain you completely understand your problem and the treatments being suggested.

Be active rather than passive in your coping strategy, and acknowledge your fears without catastrophizing your situation. Be aware that once pain is chronic, pain does not equal tissue damage, and if you always stop the activity once pain starts, over time your life may shrink as your alarm system becomes more and more sensitive.

Movement is necessary to nourish all tissues and systems of the body, so find your baseline in the activity that you want to do, where you know you for sure that you will not flare up, even if all you can handle is 2 to 3 minutes.

Very gradually add time to your baseline over the course of the next days and weeks. Pain flare-ups may happen. Take them into stride and be persistent with your gradual increase in activity.  Over time your alarm system will begin to re-adjust.

This information is from the fantastic book Explain Pain by David Butler M.App.Sc (The Sensitive Nervous System) and Lorimer Moseley PhD, a clinical and research physiotherapist and pain researcher at the University of Queensland.

If you are in chronic pain, get this book, as it will help you understand the physiology of pain, which in itself can often do a lot to relieve it, and it will give you ways to manage and recover from your pain.

It is written for the lay person, and the illustrations by Sunyata are delightful.  If you are a healthcare practitioner dealing with people in chronic pain, reading this book will bring you up to date on the neuroscience behind pain and help you be more effective with your patients.

Related tips:
FEAR = False Evidence that Appears Real
How hormones, neurotransmitters and steroids work
Mind and Body, Psyche and Soma

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Do you have back pain? Either up between the shoulder blades, in your mid back or even in your low back and pelvis? Do you have degenerative disk disease? Do you have neck pain? Do you have an inguinal hernia or did you have one repaired? Do you suffer from incontinence issues, or are you always aware of where the nearest bathroom is just in case? Are you thinking about bladder suspension surgery? Do you have a prolapsed uterus?

These diverse health issues may be due to or partially due to "chest gripping", a term coined by physiotherapists, Diane Lee and Linda-Joy Lee, referring to the common faulty stabilization strategy of tightening the upper abdominals (external oblique and rectus abdominis) by drawing the navel in towards the spine when stabilizing one’s trunk against the forces put through it while standing, walking, lifting and carrying, or sitting and lying down.

This poor stabilization strategy may develop as a result of a trauma, poor habitual posture, or even psychological factors, such as trying to hold in one’s gut in order to appear thinner, or constantly tightening the upper abdominals in order to show off that six-pack.

"Chest gripping" results in a restriction of diaphragmatic breathing. The abdominal muscles act like a belt squeezed tightly around the lower ribs, making it next to impossible for the diaphragm to descend properly to get a proper breath of air. Instead, the chest expands and the shoulders are pulled upward by the small neck muscles with each breath, which can lead to neck strain, and possibly a need for a faster breathing rate, which can cause a blowing off of C02.

Furthermore, constant chest gripping tends to stiffen and compress the spinal column resulting in compressive forces through the vertebral joints and intervertebral disks causing disks to degenerate, and a loss of the segmental mobility that is needed for fluid, pain-free motion.

And ribcage gripping frequently results in an overly-rounded upper back, and the long erector spinae muscles becoming longer and often weaker than they should be. Frequently it is long, weak muscles that become sore, rather than strong, tight ones.

And an overly-rounded upper back almost always results in the head being too far forward. For every inch that the cheekbone is forward of the top of the sternum (manubrium), the upper-back muscles must counteract the weight of the head.

So, if the cheekbone is two inches forward of the manubrium, assuming the head weighs between 10 and 15lbs depending on the person, there is between 20 and 30 lbs of force going through those poor upper back muscles.

Simply by letting go of the upper abdominals that are gripping the ribcage and bringing the head back over the body, there would be less stress on those upper back muscles.

Chest gripping also squeezes the internal organs forcing them down, requiring a functional pelvic floor with good tone to counteract the constant pressure. When the pelvic floor isn’t functioning well in women, incontinence may result. That "bearing-down" pressure can also lead to inguinal and umbilical hernias and prolapsed uteruses.

To notice whether or not you are a chest gripper, place one hand on your upper chest and the other on your lower ribs, and observe your breathing pattern. Your rib hand should move more than your chest hand. If you are lying on the floor, as the air comes out of your lungs, notice if your upper abdomen gets soft and gushy, or if it becomes more firm. Gushy is good. You should be able to dig your fingers under your ribcage, and keep them there as you breathe. If you are gripping your ribs you won’t be able to get your fingers in there.

When you are standing, do you notice that you have your upper abdominals constantly contracted? If you look in the mirror, do you see big divots just below your ribs on both sides of your abdomen? Try letting go of those muscles and soften the look of your abdomen. A healthy abdomen is not contracted all the time.

Breathing a normal amount of air into your lower ribcage can be a good way to let go of those ab muscles. The trick is to change your habit so that you stop ribcage gripping all together, so every time you walk through a doorway, tune into your body and let go of your ribs if you catch yourself gripping.

If you find your pain increases when you let go of your ribs, seek the help of a physiotherapist that can help you connect to your transversus abdominis, pelvic floor and multifidus, the deep local muscles that are meant to stabilize your spine and pelvis.

Related tips:
Breathe your way to a more mobile back
Reduce neck strain
Hyperventilation increases your body’s pH

www.wellnesstips.ca