One of my mentors says that the best way to have a great practice is to try and put yourself out of business. (Y'know - by getting people REALLY WELL. Not by being a lousy business person!) SO, today, I'm going to give you the biggest cheapest secret to vastly improving your health. Get off the sugar, and increase the water. The End.
Seriously. What's so bad about sugar? Most people think that the worst thing about it is that it will make you a little soft around the middle. And anyway, "We need sugar. The brain runs on sugar!" Yeah... technically... but you're doing your brain no favors by ingesting vast quantities of refined or fake sugars. And honestly, getting a little chubby is the LEAST of the problems that sugar will create for you. For one thing, it messes with your blood sugar, with can ultimately lead to diabetes (which can ultimately lead to neuropathy, blindness, leg ulcers -- leg AMPUTATION). Screwy blood sugar can and absolutely will mess with your moods. It is ALWAYS a factor in depression. In these times, can anyone really afford to be MORE depressed??? Sugar wreaks havoc on the immune system, and it aggravates inflammation. I could on and on and on and on, but I'll spare you for now. Just quit it. I actually have lost some business (in a "good" way) by speaking up about this. Last year, I spoke to a class at City College on this topic, and many of the students made appointments to come to the office. One woman, who had made her appointment about 2 weeks out from the talk, came in for her examination and reported that she had already lost 15 pounds since my talk and that most the symptoms that had been worrying her in the first place had disappeared! In a similar case, a patient who came in for their exam and realized that most of the indicators coming up were really sugar issues immediately went off of sugar on that day, and by the time she returned for her report of findings visit - only a few days later - she already felt MUCH BETTER - without any treatment. Getting off of the sugar will save you money not only because you will no longer be paying lots of money on zero-nutrient garbage, but really healthy foods are, in fact, cheaper (for us Californians anyway). Just yesterday, I went to the Farmers Market (at Civic Center) and I got a bunch of Chinese broccoli for 75 cents! A bundle of bok choy was only $1. I could have easily dropped almost 5 times as much on a totally worthless cafe snack and sugary drink. But my liver, pancreas AND bank account thank me for choosing the farmers market. Oh, and sorry folks, but white bread, white pasta, and yes, white rice, also fall into the "sugar" family.
Next : increase the water. We have good clean water in San Francisco. There's no excuse not to drink more of it. What's the point? Water helps your body to remove toxicity and to stay hydrated. You need between 2-4 quarts a day, depending on your body weight. Most adults should shoot for around 3. It's going to be hard in the beginning, but once you start doing it, you'll notice that suddenly those rock-hard shoulders and achy muscles of yours are starting to loosen up. You may be sleeping better and thinking more clearly. If you are easily constipated, you may notice that your bowels are starting to move again. Just from water? Yes, just from water.
So if your wallet is tight and your health is a disaster (or even if you just want to feel a bit better), just get off the sugar and increase the water. You'll be grouchy and maybe headachy for a couple of days, but you'll feel better later. And for the very few of you who STILL feel like crap even without the sugar and with increased water, well, I guess those are the people who still need to actually come to visit a professional. Maybe I won't be out of business after all. :)
-DK