Oh Sweet, Let's Talk About Sweets

Let me have a sweet talk with you about the sweets in our life. I'm going to cover all sweets – the good, bad and in between, starting with carrots, beets, blueberries, bananas, dates, red wine and dark chocolate. Then we'll get into what some may call "guilty pleasures" such as an assortment of candies and baked goods. Healthy foods that also have sugar in them can supply our body with much needed macro and micro nutrients as well as necessary glucose used for generating cellular energy. But that is only if we have a sufficient sugar metabolism. If not, here comes pre-diabetes or diabetes – the number one metabolic disease of our time.

Reminder on Most Common Types of Sugars:
Regular table sugar, called Sucrose, is made of 50% Fructose and 50% Glucose. Fructose is metabolized in the liver, while Glucose goes directly into the blood stream. Milk contains sugar as well, called Lactose, that consists of Glucose and Galactose. For your reference, here is a chart below of the amounts of sugar in many common fruits. This chart was found on the following website.

50% of adults in the United States have diabetes or pre-diabetes, study finds, as noted on Forbes.com. That is an unbelievable percentage considering how many adults we have in this country.

Yuval Harari in his fascinating new book “Homo Deus, A Brief History of Tomorrow," brings critical numbers to prove this point on page 17.

”In 2012, about 56 million people died throughout the world: 620,000 of them died due to human violence (war killed 120,000, and crime killed another 500,000). In contrast, 800,000 committed suicide, and 1.5 million died of diabetes."

Talk about your fork and spoon being the weapons of mass destruction, indeed! What if we learn to burn fat instead of sugar to fuel our body and minds? In my previous blog post “The 4 Truths” I wrote about the ketogenic way of eating, not to repeat myself again, but here is the link in case you're curious.

As many of you know, I constantly fight with my extra weight. I have poor metabolism, inherited from my mama. Full disclosure here, my mom lives and struggles with Diabetes Type II for the last 30 years and is legally blind from it now. I am greatly predisposed to it, as I learned through the genetic test called “smartDNA." I am affiliated with the lab that performs the test and I offer this test to my clients as well (feel free to ask me about it at your next appointment.)

As I shared with you before, Nicholas and I switched from Raw/Vegan to a low carb/high fat, a.k.a. the Ketogenic way of eating. We made this decision after spending two weeks last summer with a truly gifted health coach, Truth Calkins.

Here came the need to buy high quality fish/seafood/meat. 

I learned about the company “VitalChoice.com” and we started to order their offerings online. We are very happy with the taste of their products and I am glad to offer you an additional 10% off their price through my affiliation with Vital Choice. Click the link here. 

Also we enjoy three meals a week from “Greenchef.com's" Paleo program. All organic ingredients are delivered to our door with easy-to-follow recipes and delicious pre-mixed sauces. I have a limited number of coupons for free meals from them. Please just ask/email me for the link.

Below are the books on my reading desk this month. I invite you to discover Anthony William's books where he reveals the secret behind chronic diseases and his solution to healing them with food and supplements. We will discuss this in next month's newsletter!

Reflexology for Diabetic Patients

The field of Reflexology is getting more integrated into mainstream medicine as a complementary modality that is a safe, cost-effective and efficient one at that. The majority of controlled studies are done overseas, in Europe, China and Korea. Some of the research published can be found here.

Of the results from 13 clinical studies on the effects of reflexology treatment given to diabetic patients, 41.41% were significantly effective and 57.51% were effective in some way. For context, this was out of a total of 158 cases. The results from those studies show that reflexology provided a 100% measurable positive outcome.
(Kunz and Kunz, Medical Application of Reflexology,  copyright RRP Press 1999,  page 30)

From my own practice, I can tell you, that my mom receives Reflexology treatments at least bi-weekly with consistently positive feedback. Even though her blood sugar is elevated and managed by Metformin and Glyburide, she does not need insulin injections. If only she could stay away from cookies and bread on a daily basis!!! Arghh!

Here is another account from one of my clients:

“I have been a Type II Diabetic for more than 26 years, somewhat controlled with pills and over the past five years replaced with dosages of insulin. During this period my readings fluctuated between 165 dmo. and 200 dmo daily. I started with Reflexology at the recommendation of my daughter in November 2012 in order to rebuild my body and overall health and redevelop a sense of well being. Much to my amazement I noticed my need for insulin was becoming less and less. I went from 54 units daily to 20 units!!!My primary doctor cannot find an explanation for such change. I believe, however, this change is due to Irina Breslav’s Reflexology treatments, that stimulate my pancreas and kidney functions. I continue to with my Reflexology sessions , as I strongly believe in the benefits this complementary medicine has given me”

— Melvin Bye

How to find a qualified Reflexology practitioner wherever you go.

If you are reading this, I know you are serious about Reflexology. You know the difference between the foot rub and a real Reflexology session. Very often I am asked how to find a real Reflexologist in other parts of the country for your friends and family. Here is my advice:

1. First you ask around, as word-of-mouth is the best referral. Then you do your homework.

2. Check if the practitioner has a full listing here www.arcb.net - American Reflexology Certification Board,  an independent certification agency with strict adherence to the standards of the Reflexology profession.

3. Check for Continuing Education Units - CEUs, Experience and Membership in Professional Associations. The ARCB requires 12 CEUs every two years and it lists certificants in good standing on its site www.arcb.net

4. Another good resource for serious local reflexologists are national and state association. You will find the listing by State here www.reflexology-usa.org. Association members are concerned with the professionalism and advancement of reflexology, as well as protection of public health and safety.

5. You may see a current  professional liability insurance certificate in the office of a serious practitioner.

 If you are looking for a reflexologist in New Hampshire, North Dakota, Tennessee or Washington, then a person should have a current State License. Our Connecticut State does not have Reflexology State Licensure laws on the books.

Reflexology is a unique therapy that should be administered by a Certified Reflexologist, such person has completed unique Reflexology-specific training (typically 200-300 hours in the USA). According to the standards of most state and national reflexology associations along with the national certification board, this training must include classroom instruction on techniques for the feet, hands and ears, application of different protocols for particular body systems or particular pathologies. as well as learning anatomy, physiology, professional standards and ethics.

It also requires a completion of a minimum 100 documented practical sessions and it teaches how to keep session notes. The National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) defines reflexology as a separate therapy. True reflexology is performed only on the reflex maps of the body located on the feet, hands and outer ears and it is different than massage or acupressure techniques. Also be aware that there’s a recent trend offering online training in reflexology.

Learning to locate reflexes on different individuals and modulation of pressure, etc., cannot be taught online.

From time to time I hear the horror stories of feeling unwell from the so called “Reflexology” performed by an untrained person. Foot rubs at the strip malls/nail salons are not qualified to be called Reflexology, even if they advertised as such.

Expect the fee for your real Reflexology healing session to be higher than the price for a salon foot rub.  It may be between $60 and $150 per session, depending on area of the country and the length of the session. This difference reflects education, experience and proper certification of a qualified Reflexology practitioner.  So, my advice is: do not risk your health and waste your money on false ads and claims.

Be more concerned about your health than your wallet in such case! 

In my 17 plus years of actively practicing professional Reflexology, I have performed over 20,000 sessions. This number does not include countless sessions on friends and family outside of work.  So be bold, ask about the number of client sessions in the practitioner experience - not necessarily the number of years of work. This will insure you’re working with a truly experienced reflexologist.

If all these steps are too much for you, I am happy to do them for you. You know, where to find me. :)

International Council of Reflexologists - ICR Conference 2015

As many of you know, I went to England last September for a fabulous gathering of reflexologists from all over the globe. If you have time, watch the video here to see the faces of so many modern reflexologists.

In 1999, I went to my first ICR in Hawaii where I met my reflexology Master, Father Josef Eugster and later learned the incredibly effective Father Josef Method of Reflexology. The pictures below illustrate the history of our 15-year relationship. Father Josef continues to inspire me and thousands of reflexologists around the world. He was again a keynote speaker as this conference, as he was in Hawaii all those years ago.