Are you a victim of the genetic lottery? Fight back!
Many of us have been led to believe that we are born with disease, or tendencies to disease and physical maladies. In many cases it is possible to truly reverse the aches, pains, and suffering that we experience on a daily basis through something as simple as our lifestyle choices. I am speaking of the food we eat, and the foods that we voluntarily choose to remove from our diet.
As fans of excellent massage, we know how important it is to engage in a regular regimen of proper care for the exterior of our bodies — for the fascia and the underlying muscles — but how much importance do we give to receiving a proper balance of fats, proteins and carbohydrates?
Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food, by Catherine Shanahan [MD] and Luke Shanahan. Reviewed by Norm Brekke, NTP, CMT
Is your genetic constitution the result of a genetic lottery? In other words, is your genetic makeup predetermined, and you are stuck with the results – good or bad? Many have been led to believe that a predisposition to alcoholism, diabetes, heart condition, and a variety of maladies is the direct result of genes passed along by our parents. In a sense this is true, but the field of epigenetics is opening our eyes to a startling array of possibilities – including the potential of our genes to reprogram themselves in ways never before imagined.
Catherine Shanahan, an MD and a molecular biologist, is the rare exception in the field of modern medicine. Her journey into nutrition began as the result of her own unhealthy genes, the physical problems she was encountering, and modern medicine’s inability to provide answers to her problems. In medical school, Catherine saw that doctors weren’t taught to address the root of the problem, but to treat the problem. Medicine, she discovered, is a business, and its ultimate goal is the development of saleable product. Through her continued nutritional studies, Dr. Shanahan discovered a path to reclaiming her health, and principles to guide others as well.
Dr. Shanahan believes that each one of us can reclaim our health through following the principles outlined in Deep Nutrition. Further, building upon the work of Weston A. Price, Francis M. Pottenger, and a number her contemporaries, Dr. Shanahan builds a convincing argument that beauty, brains, and health are all the direct result of the things we eat. The foundation of her thesis is “The Four Pillars of World Cuisine.”
In the chapter on ‘dynamic symmetry,’ we are introduced to the work of Dr. Stephen Marquardt, a maxillofacial surgeon at UCLA. He is described as the man who found the perfect face. As he examined great works of art and studied “the rules of beauty in architecture, art, music and more,” a constant theme occurred that had a common link in mathematics – specifically the Fibonacci sequence described In the Da Vinci Code. Marquardt’s belief is that ‘beautiful people exist not because of luck, but because all DNA is naturally driven to create dynamically symmetric geometry as its generating tissue growth.” Nutritional deprivation hinders development of the symmetry that we so often see in people described as beautiful.
The search for and discovery of beauty is not limited to the 21st century. Weston A. Price was driven with a passion to discover the origins of perfect, cavity-free teeth. In the process he discovered something equally amazing: beauty. “The beautifully aligned teeth he’d been looking for belonged – with rare, if any, exception – to beautiful people. Beautiful faces with beauiful cheekbones, eyes, noses, lips, and everything else – the total package, the physical representation of physiological harmony.”
Why is this emphasis on beauty important, other than our society’s fixation on physical attraction? Simply put, it is a matter of form and function – physical beauty and health are related. Dr. Shanahan says that it is also a survival function, because, thought it may seem unfair, less attractive people have more health problems. The work of Dr Price bears this out.
Of great interest to prospective mothers is the chapter on “A Mother’s Wisdom: Letting Your Body Create a Perfect Baby.” Mothers-to-be need a great deal more information than is typically offered by modern medicine. While told to give up smoking and alcohol, they are not warned concerning the “consequences of not getting enough nutrients and the introduction of toxins [which] are primarily brought to bear through changes in the infant’s epigenome.” Dr Shanahan adds sugar and vegetable oils to the classic list of items to be avoided.
Returning to the topic of beauty, Dr Shanahan discusses how birth order affects our looks, and the importance of “giving mom’s body at least three, preferable four, years to refortify her tissues with a generous supply of nutrients” between the birth of each child. She makes a correlation between refortifying a mother’s body between births, and the need for the same with soil between crop cycles.
For an entertaining and thought-provoking discussion of why we need to ‘rethink our food,’ the chapter on “the great nutrition migration” provides much food for thought. Shanahan takes us from the “culinary Garden of Eden to Outer Space,” and along the way stops in the “dog food aisle!”
Take a look at the back of a bag of dog or cat food, and here are the ingredients you’ll see: corn meal, soy meal, (occasionally) wheat, partially hydrogenated soy or corn or other vegetable oil, meat and protein meal, and a few synthetic vitamins. But guess what? The animal pushing the shopping cart is buying foods with the same list of ingredients for himself. The main differences between donuts, breads, and Cheerios are the quantities of hydrogenated oil and sugar.
For reasons such as these, and more, we need to return to the diets of our ancestors – that which is found in traditional cookbooks – to find and appreciate the nutrition and nourishment found in properly prepared, nutrient dense whole foods.
After this rich introduction, the discussion turns to “the Four Pillars of World Cuisine – ‘the nutritional foundation of the species Homo sapiens – [which] can be said to have made us who we are.’” Following is a list, along with a brief exposition of each.
Pillar Number 1: Meat on the Bone. The art of making meat taste great is simple – leave it on the bone. Making sure that everything stays together – fat, bone, marrow, skin, and other connective tissue – makes it better for you. Shanahan includes four cooking rules.
- First, in order to preserve nutrients, don’t overcook it.
- Next, use moisture, time, and parts. It takes time to develop complex, good flavor. The additional parts [skin, ligaments, etc.] create additional nutrition, through releasing of glycosaminoglycans, which are instrumental in joint health.
- Third, use the fat. As NTP’s we all know the benefits of healthy fats, including absorption of vitamins A, D, E, and K.
- Finally, make bone stock. This is critical to joint health which relies on health of the collagen in our ligaments, tendons, and on the ends of the bones. Shanahan reminds us that “glucosamine-rich broth is a kind of youth serum, capable of rejuvenating your body, no matter what your age.”
Pillar Number 2 – and one difficult for me to ‘stomach:’ ‘Organ Meat, Offal-y Good for You.’ A quick look at nutrition tables for liver and other ‘variety cuts’ reveals a wealth of benefits from these meats. Because of the ‘excess of protein, sugar, vitamins, and any mineral except calcium and phosphorus,’ liver is ‘nutritionally the most outstanding meat which can be purchased.’ Other organs are rich sources of lutein, omega-3, Vitamin A, and, again, glycosaminoglycans.
Pillar Number 3: ‘Better than Fresh, Fermentation and Sprouting.’ “Truly living food is more dynamic than salad leaves . . . it’s food that has been awakened by the process of fermentation, sprouting, or both.” In this section, Shanahan tells us the truth about soy, and why we should avoid it. She discusses some benefits of fermentation – including boosting our immune system with probiotics – and tells why sprouted grain bread is better than whole wheat. If you don’t have the time or desire to sprout seeds and make bread yourself, you can buy breads make with sprouted grain in health food stores.
Pillar Number 4: Fresh, the Benefits of Raw. Shanahan’s first point addresses all the buzz and hype about the latest antioxidant miracles. Her advice is: “if you want antioxidants, skip the latest fad products and use that money to buy fresh food.” Her point, and the truth that she says runs contrary to the nutraceutical industry is, “all fresh fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, flavinoids, and other categories of chemicals used as selling points on nutraceutical packages.” There is, as we know, a tremendous difference between fresh and processed. To get the quality your body needs and craves, eat fresh.
The four pillars, Shanahan says, will make you healthy. Just follow two simple steps: first, get the best ingredients, grown on the optimal soil; second, make sure your body can use these nutrients efficiently by preparing them according to principles in the Four Pillars of World Cuisine
The sections on “Good Fats and Bad” and “Sickly Sweet” address what Shanahan calls the toxic qualities of vegetable oil and sugar, which she has placed at the top of her “don’t eat” list. Her hope is that, after reading this book, we will be convinced that there is “little reason to fear cholesterol.” These two chapters are an excellent review for the NTP, and would be good reference material for our clients.
“Beyond Calories” focuses on the problem of weight, discusses the importance of fat in our diet, and tackles the critical issue of exercise – not just any old exercise, but rigorous anaerobic big exercise – and why intensity matters. Read it and get a whole new perspective on your daily exercise regimen.
The appendices provide excellent documentation concerning sources, and also provide a simple blueprint for including the Four Pillars in your diet, along with some sample recipes and menu selections – including a recipe for homemade chicken broth/stock.
One final thought: “By denying our bodies the foods of our ancestors and severing ourselves from our culinary traditions, we are changing our genes for the worse. Just as corporations have rewritten the genetic codes of fruits and vegetables to better suit their needs, they are now in effect doing the same things to us. But there’s one thing they’ve overlooked. Fruits and vegetables can’t fight back. We can”
Start the battle by grabbing a copy of this very informative, thought-provoking, and in many cases quite humorous, fun to read book!
“Massage” the inner you with good food!
Is it true that “you are what you eat?” The answer is a resounding YES! The field of epigenetics is an exciting discipline, receiving a great deal of press and interest through a number of excellent books and studies on the relationship of food [and nutrition] to our genes. Not only are YOU what you eat, but what you eat can and does have a significant impact upon the health of your children, and your children’s children.
Catherine Shanahan, MD, in her book “Deep Nutrition,” discusses the relationship of good food to health, beauty, and even healthy childbirth. She says that “no matter what genes you were born with, I know that eating right can help reprogram them, immunizing you against cancer, premature aging and dementia, enabling you to control your metabolism, your moods, your weight – and much, much more.”
With all of the options out there, and the great diversity of conflicting information, what should you do about healthy eating choices? Low-fat or no fat are touted as healthy, but tasteless alternatives. Watch your carbs, too! How about the Adkins diet, Weight Watchers, the Mediterranean diet? Are any of them right? Or can you pick and choose from all of them, smorgasbord style?
Into the fray is a great new book by a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner [NTP], Margaret Floyd. In her book,” Eat Naked: Unprocessed, Unpolluted, and Undressed Eating for a Healthier, Sexier You,” Margaret provides a common sense approach to the issue and gives very basic guidelines for the journey to reclaiming the genes responsible for good health, and for minimizing trips to the physician for one pill after another.
Following is a review of this great book, written by Norm Brekke for publication in the “Nutrition Therapist” journal. Norm is also an NTP, and owner of Keep in Touch Uptown.
Eat Naked: Unprocessed, Unpolluted, and Undressed Eating for a Healthier, Sexier You. Margaret Floyd, NTP; Reviewed by Norm Brekke, NTP, CMT
Reading through my emails several weeks ago, I must confess that this book’s title is the first thing that captivated my attention. Not wanting to wait days until my local bookseller would have a hard copy; I jumped online and downloaded a copy of “Eat Naked” to my Nook.
As a newly minted NTP, with a passion for nutrition and the desire to communicate it in a compelling, concise and clear manner, I search for books that transmit our message effectively to the mass market. Margaret has taken foundational material from the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner course and distilled it into easily digestible tidbits of information.
Margaret is quick to state that “Eat Naked” is not a comprehensive and in-depth study of the ‘ins and outs” of a whole-foods diet. For further study she recommends Nina Planck’s “Read Food” and Sally Fallon’s excellent “Nourishing Traditions.”
Eat Naked is divided into two major sections. The first part, “The basics of eating naked” simply addresses the principles of eating naked and how we can apply those to our daily intake of the basic food groups. In the second part, “how to get naked,” Margaret provides a blueprint and a step-by-step process for transitioning to a naked diet. The goal is to make changes that will last a lifetime, rather than sputter and fail after a jackrabbit start.
Who is this book for? The audience is anyone “who loves food, wants to eat well, wants to feel well, and doesn’t want to spend loads of time trying to accomplish these things.” In short, her target is all of us, and all of our clients.
As you can imagine, eating naked has little to do with the clothes you are wearing, though Margaret says that you may be more likely to truly “eat naked” after faithfully following Eat Naked’s guidelines. So, what is eating naked? Simply put, it means eating:
- Food that’s whole, unrefined, and often comes unpackaged.
- Food that’s grown naturally.
- Food that’s fresh, in season, and ideally hasn’t been preserved.
- Food that’s locally grown.
- Food that’s minimally prepared.
Eating naked fuels and satisfies our body’s innate desire to obtain the nutrition it so desperately needs and craves. Our body tells us what it needs. Feeding it foods that are over-processed, lack nutritional value, and are chock full of worthless and harmful additives is unsatisfying and leads to a state of nutritional depletion and unhealthy dissatisfaction.
Eating naked isn’t a fad diet. Every week I encounter clients that have gone from one diet to another, experiencing momentary success and then falling off the wagon – in many cases regaining all of the weight previously lost. It is a process for a lifetime and a return to the way we ate before the slavish dependence on processed foods. Margaret goes on to outline how eating naked is not only good for me and my body, but for the world [being environmentally responsible and supporting our local economy].
One of the many highlights of Eat Naked is the elementary information in each of the chapters that explains in layman’s terms the basics of:
Naked Produce; Naked Meat; Naked Dairy and Eggs; Naked Fish; Naked Grains, Beans, Nuts, and Seeds; and Naked Beverages, Sweeteners, and Condiments.
While many of my fellow NTP’s came to this profession with a long history of knowledge, information, and personal experience, mine has been a year-long, quick-starting and transformative journey. For me, and my clients, this book is a worthy introduction and a fun starting point for this incredible journey.
Part Two takes the reader from the theory to the practice of ‘transforming to a naked diet – and it truly is a transformative process. One danger that we face with our clients is “piling too much on their plate” at one time. A lifetime of bad habits cannot be overcome in a single day. We are encouraging a process that builds over time. I can tell you from personal experience that a look of great relief emanates from the faces of clients that recognize this fact – realizing that they don’t have to empty the cupboards and refrigerators [at least not immediately].
While the client can do a full sweep of the kitchen immediately and stock up with good, naked food, we can also encourage them to make adjustments one meal at a time. Eat Naked has an excellent selection of recipes in the book. Encourage clients to try one new recipe a week – take that recipe and make it their own [personalize it, modify it, add to and subtract from it]. Margaret suggests that you might want to host a “naked dinner party” for a great communal experience. Make sure that they guests know what the party is about to prevent embarrassment!
Not only are we to cook naked, we should shop naked. Become acquainted with your local Farmer’s Market, Community Supported Agriculture, Organic Delivery Services, and grocers with a commitment to naked foods. Go shopping with your list in hand and determine to buy naked.
Margaret ends Eat Naked with a very important principle: when not to eat naked. It is very unlikely that we all eat naked all of the time, and we should give our clients the freedom and flexibility to do the same without guilt. Her 80:20 rule recognizes that 80 percent of the time, our food should be naked – whole, fresh, organic, homemade – and don’t worry about the rest. The important subset of this rule [the remaining 20% of the time] is: when you indulge — and you will — you should truly, fully, and completely enjoy it – with no guilt. Eat that guilty pleasure food in a parasympathetic state and digest it fully while relaxing and savoring it.
Eat Naked not only occupies a prominent place on my reference shelf [yes, I also purchased a hard copy], but I am also encouraging each nutrition client to purchase a personal copy. This book is a simple, easy to understand book, written with the nutrition neophyte in mind, but it is also a good refresher for the NTP.
We encourage you to not only eat local, but to buy local. Purchase a copy from one of the Twin Cities’ fine local bookstores.
How well does your massage fit you?
How well does it fit?
Is it true that there is no such thing as “one size fits all?” For those that have struggled for years finding just the right pair of shoes — with or without orthotic inserts — the answer is a resounding “YES!” While size and fit are the main factors, we also take into consideration the aesthetics, durability, and amount of care required to maintain the shoes for optimal use.
What about your massage? What should you look for in a good massage? There are several factors to consider.
First and foremost, always ask about the qualifications of your therapist. While some cities and municipalities require licensing, that is not always a reliable judge of quality. Your therapist should have completed a minimum of 500 hours accredited training, and be recognized by a reputable national agency [such as the ABMP or AMTA]. Feel free to ask them also about any special training they may have. You may discover something new!
Next, your therapist should communicate clearly with you concerning the purpose of the massage. While many of us appreciate the benefits of a relaxation massage, your therapist should be capable of performing an exceptional therapeutic massage as well — releasing stress and addressing your body’s reaction to the stress. Not only does massage represent a significant financial investment, but your time is a precious commodity. Make sure you get the most out of it.
What is your comfort level with the massage therapist, and with the process? Make sure your therapist explains the routine that he or she will follow, and that you know the standards for dress and draping. You should know what kind of pressure the therapist will use, and feel free to adjust that pressure at any time. If at any time you are uncomfortable, the therapist will give you the option to make appropriate adjustments, or to end the massage immediately.
How many of us go to a store and are fortunate to walk out with [or in] the first pair of shoes we tried on? It may be the same with massage. If you don’t “click” with a particular therapist for any reason, you always have the liberty to “try on” several others. Ideally you will find several massage therapists that “fit” you — increasing your flexibility in scheduling those last minute appointments. The optimal massage establishment will provide you with a wide variety of massage modalities and therapists.
Taking care of our bodies includes so many diverse elements — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Keeping in touch with your body through frequent, high quality massage is a good first step in ensuring the balance that is so essential for optimal health. Talk to your favorite massage therapist today about establishing a solid plan for ongoing massages.
When only skilled hands will do . . . .
Riding the Metro transit bus on a recent morning, I noticed that the digital display for the date showed 10:15:51. Apparently we had gone back in time to a point several years before my birth. Technology is great . . . when it works. The transit driver proceeded to give a litany of technological glitches that plague some of our city buses. Don’t get me wrong, I love riding the bus — but it reminded me of recent conversations with clients as to why technology will never replace a great massage therapist.
A recent massage therapist interviewee asked me what “tools” we permitted as part of our massages. A glance through massage supply catalogs reveals a cornucopia of tools: back rollers, foam tubes, wedges of various composition, foot and leg massagers, inversion tables, tuning forks, crystals, aromatherapy oils, portable massages for the back that plug into your car cigarette lighter, and mechanical chairs that can cost upwards of $1500.00. While some massage therapists may derive benefit from use of these items, my personal feeling is that no tool can replace the intuitive, trained hands of a massage therapist with a passion for his or her bodywork craft.
The differences between mechanical means and a personal hands-on touch are significant — let’s look at a few examples!
A professional massage provides variable application of pressure with precision to specific areas of your body. The tool has not been developed that can duplicate skillful application of trigger point therapy to the sternocleidomastoid muscle [SCM]. When you are plagued with issues such as limited range of motion, headaches that will not go away, and tension in the neck, back, and shoulders, only a skilled therapist will do.
A professional massage therapist is intuitive in their touch. Often I have areas of tension of which I am totally unaware. My challenge to each of our amazing massage specialists is to “seek and destroy” whatever areas of tension they can find — and they do it well! Each of us — due to the many physical, mental and emotional challenges of daily life — carry tension that we don’t even consciously know about. There are no mechanical tools that can find and relieve that tension quite like an excellent massage therapist.
A professional massage therapist takes you to a place of relaxation that no machine can duplicate. While there may be some benefit from a mechanical/electrical/vibrating chair that sends pulses of energy to various parts of your body, only a skilled therapist can apply exactly the right amount of pressure and the right types of techniques to put you in that desired stage of massage-induced euphoria.
So the next time you are in an airport, or embarking on a long trip by car, feel free to plug in, turn on, and get some temporary relief from one of those commercial devices. But what your body, mind and spirit desires right now is the attention of a professional massage therapist. We are waiting for you!
Consistency and Quality . . . more than a tagline
If you were to ask Phyllis Schwartz, the founder of Keep in Touch, to describe the most basic philosophy of the franchise, she would tell you that it is “consistency and quality.” Our daily goal is to make sure that we — as individual massage therapists, and as a franchise — model and exemplify these principles.
What do these words mean? And more importantly, how closely do we embrace the basic meaning of these words, and the passion that lies at their foundation?
Consistency is harmony of conduct, or a practice in keeping with what we profess. For the massage therapist, our desire is to always live, serve, and practice our profession in a manner that promotes health, healing, nurturing, and positive change. It means adhering to a strong code of ethics and morality. As a client, you place a great deal of confidence and trust in our professionalism [both in spirit and ability to perform the type of work expected]. Harmony of conduct means that we will always model behaviors and attitudes that are of the highest caliber. Practice in keeping what we profess means that we take time to become acquainted with you, to determine your needs and preferences, and to always strive to address the issues you present at the intake and during the massage session.
To ensure consistency, our franchise has a rigorous selection process and training program. We want to be certain that each time you visit Keep in Touch, your therapist will provide the type of experience that you are accustomed to. Careful selection of the best therapists and meticulous training are not guarantees, but we do our best to ensure a great outcome!
Consistency without quality could mean no more than an unending sequence of mediocre, or less than satisfying experiences. The first step in driving quality is starting with graduates of respected schools. That is not enough, though. The person that graduates at the bottom of the class in medical school is still called “doctor.” We are looking for more than graduates that calls themselves a massage therapist. Our hiring process includes a “hands on” interview. And even after the hire, we solicit and welcome feedback from some of our strongest critics — you the client. If the quality of your massage is ever sub-par, we welcome your constructive feedback!
We recognize that there are many options available today for massage, and desire to separate ourselves from the rest by the consistency and quality of our services. For 26 years Keep in Touch has been the leader in providing professional and therapeutic massage. We thank you for your confidence in us!
Balance – so underappreciated
Balanced at Centennial Lakes
Balance in your life — how do you achieve it? More important – how do you sustain it?
On a recent crisp Sunday afternoon I took a slight detour from my usual route when I caught sight of this object, which I later discovered was called the “Holy Edina Bird.” I will leave it to you to sort out the rationale behind the name.
What motivated me to take that detour was the realization that I have allowed the “busyness” of life to get in my way, and I “saw” something that I have previously been too distracted to notice. I have missed the unexpected pleasure of previously unseen things of beauty all around me. Yes, all of the activities in my life are important, but I was allowing myself to get so caught up in them, that I missed reveling in the other good things around me.
The pillars of our “healthy touch” program are [1] massage, [2] nutrition and [3] balance. When these three foundational elements are in balance, your life and your quality of life will be immeasurably improved.
In future weeks we will further your knowledge of massage and its benefits. Join us as we uncover the various modalities of massage, as well as more reasons to get frequent massage.
Something new for Keep in Touch Wellness Center Uptown is our Healthy Touch Nutritional Therapy Program. There are benefits here for everyone, no matter how good, or poor, your present state of health. Each week you will find something new on our FaceBook page to help you along the path to nutritional wellness.
Finally, we will explore all aspects of balance: physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. Numerous new studies show that one key to living a long and healthy life is attaining balance in all areas.
As you gradually succeed in the quest for balance, take a trip to Centennial Lakes and help me figure out the meaning of the bird’s name!
wishing you wellness and a “healthy touch”
Welcome to Keep In Touch Massage
Welcome to our NEW site!
We love the new look, and trust you will, too. Spend a few relaxing moments navigating our site. We welcome you to get to know your owners on the “About Us” page. Discover all of the amazing services that we have offered for over 26 years, and become familiar with the details of your session. Rediscover why Keep in Touch Massage leads the way in professional relaxation and therapeutic massage. Continue reading