Trotula Health

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Allostatic Load and Resilience Ratio and how they can affect your long term health

The concept of Allostatic Load and Resilience Ratio and how they can relate to your long term health

Allostatic Load =

Resilience Vulnerability to genetic disease

Allostatic load is a well-studied concept first introduced by Dr. Bruce McEwen and colleagues that describes the multisystems processes that result from the cumulative physiologic toll that may be exacted on the body over the course of a lifetime of efforts to adapt to life’s demands. You can think of it as the “wear and tear” of daily stressors on your mind and body.

Measuring allostatic load is complex as there are many things that contribute to it. Many of the physical factors of allostatic load you will be familiar with as we hear about them all the time. They are elevated resting heart rate (over 90), obesity, high blood pressure, and uncontrolled diabetes. There are other aspects that contribute to allostatic load such as sleep quality, exposure to chronic stress or feeling overwhelmed and as having a lack of control in one’s life, negative thinking patterns and anxiety, even poverty. And finally, those all too important lifestyle choices like alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity and diet.

The processes that contribute to allostatic load involve 2 - way signaling between the brain and body. Therefore, high allostatic load can contribute to both physical and mental stress related illness. We all know these diseases as they are the number one killers in our country: Depression, Diabetes, Heart Disease, and even Cancer! You know, all those diseases your parents and grandparents have or maybe already succumbed to.

This is where resilience comes. Resilience is the flip side of the coin to allostatic load and it can offset the effects of chronic stress and improve adaptability in stressful situations. The concept of the allostatic load and resilience ratio and the effects on vulnerability to genetic disease was developed by the Benson Henry Mind Body Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital under the auspice of cardiologist Herbert Benson, MD. Not surprisingly resilience is improved by healthy lifestyle choices, like eating right, exercising and avoiding excessive alcohol or drug use. One of the most effective ways to improve resilience however is through regular meditation, prayer or deep relaxation. You don’t have to be religious or even spiritual to benefit. In fact, Dr. Benson has discovered that our bodies have a Relaxation Response that can be thought of as the opposite of the “Fight or Flight response”.

Other factors that can affect resilience include self-esteem, involvement in supportive communities or groups of people, good quality and enough sleep, having a creative outlet or hobby that you practice, having autonomy and a purpose for living. This list is by no means inclusive, but you can think of it as the positive things you can do to influence your health positively and improve your quality of life.

When allostatic load accumulates overtime and resilience is low, we become vulnerable to our own genetic disease. We may not feel we have the time to do what it takes to offset the stressors we have in meeting our everyday demands, or we may feel powerless to do so. That may feel the most true for the most vulnerable among us. Health change is difficult. And it takes time. But we can learn ways to decrease our allostatic load and increase our resilience. For those of us that do, the payoffs are great.

To read more try: Relaxation Revolution by Herbert Benson, MD

© Regina Zopf and Trotula Health, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Regina Zopf and Trotula Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Trotula of Salerno

For all you history buffs out there, here is a blog entry about the namesake and inspiration of this blog:

Trotula

She was a well respected gynecologist that lived and worked in Salerno Italy in the Medieval Ages. She cared for and taught many women and wrote a textbook on women's health that lasted for 500 years. She was skilled in many fields of medicine including surgery but also herbal remedies and energetics. She did not forego any methods when it came to helping women attain health and even beauty. I practice much in the same way. It has been somewhat difficult to find role models as many tend to either be alternative or conventional medical providers. With my education in Anthropology, medicine, OB/Gyn, herbal medicine, combined with my artistic temperament, and love of nature, I can really relate to her. Why not have a role model who died almost 1000 years ago when she was so amazing and embodied so may of my own views related to women's health. If you too love learning about amazing women, check her out here:

http://www.amazingwomeninhistory.com/trotula-of-salerno-medieval-womens-health-advocate/

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Exercise: A must for mind-body health

We all know those fitness people we encounter in our lives who are happy, healthy and glowing. They definitely have the best career because they are getting paid to do what they love and getting paid to move. They are definitely my happiest patients. (We all know them and secretly love to hate them)! But they’re not dumb for choosing that lifestyle…You do not need to quit your career and become a personal trainer to feel great. You do, however, need to move.

The most important thing to actually exercise is your personal motivation and drive to do it. Making the commitment to yourself on a deep level has to be the starting point. It might help to reframe why you are exercising. The payoffs from exercise are slow to come. It does not give you the same instant gratification that you get from say, eating some chocolate ice cream or having a glass of wine while you snuggle up to your favorite (dramedy, sit com, game show,…) on the couch. Therefore, if you are doing for a specific goal, like fitting into a pair of jeans, or even for losing weight, you might feel dejected and disappointed in your progress. Instead, it might be helpful to focus on a desire to do it for long term health and wellness, ie. Sticking around a bit longer to have time with the ones you love, having more energy to function in your daily life, or feeling well enough to enjoy that retirement you have been working so hard for. Making the choice for something positive you really, really want!

Remember, eventually you will have “feel good” benefits from your daily exercise routine once it is established. But, you have to get your heart rate up for around 10 minutes before the endorphins (hormones that give you a boost) kick in and if you are anything like I was before I started exercising, you may only last for 3-5 minutes before you start getting bored out of your mind or feeling like you are going to die, and are basically red in the face and drooling all over yourself! Remember, you can slow it down and you can breathe. Try timing your breaths to your steps, like 4 steps per breath or even 3. In other words, pace yourself.

I find that my patients who are able to exercise every day have made it a part of their daily routine. If you don’t do it, you won’t do it. Here, self-awareness is key. Observing your daily actions and mindfully deciding where you can actually fit your exercise in, what you actually need to accomplish it, and what some barriers to doing it might be. Then taking the time to make a plan and commit to it. Also, find something you love to do for exercise. If you love it, you are much more likely to do it. If you can’t do it for one day, or even one week, it is okay, don’t let this drag you down into the guilt cycle and into stopping altogether, just ask yourself again what might be getting in your way and make your choices. We all fall off the horse sometimes, and let’s face it, the hardest thing to change is habits. But it CAN be done!

The benefits of exercise are far reaching and the importance to mind body health cannot be overstated. It has to be a part of your life or you will never achieve balance in your mind body health. It does not need to be much. Just 30 minutes out of 24 hours, but the more you can do, the better.

Here is a list of what exercise can do for your mind body health:

Burns the stress hormone “cortisol” putting your hormones into better balance
Decreases blood pressure and improves digestion of glucose (sugar)
It can improve your symptoms around your menstrual cycle, decreasing bleeding and pain
It improves sleep patterns
Trims your waist line reducing your long term risk of diabetes heart disease and all those other chronic diseases that lead to sudden death prematurely
Silver lining? Eventually it gives you that svelt figure you’ve been hoping for, but I strongly precaution against doing exercise for physical appearance and instead focus on accepting yourself just as you are

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Self Awareness is key to health and wellness

I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.
Billie Jean King

“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
― C.G. Jung

Self-Awareness is arguably the most important aspect of gaining health and successfully making changes we wish to make in our lives. Our current state of health is often reflection of our habits of daily living, and in some cases our parents' and grand-parents' habits as well. Self-awareness and mindfulness allow us to identify these habits and to make the reasons for them being present a part of our conscious awareness. For example, one may go out for a smoke a cigarette every day at 10 in the morning. While they may not want to smoke anymore, it has become a part of their daily routine. It gives them much more than just nicotine. They may enjoy the "treat" it gives them during their morning, they may fraternize with coworkers and get filled in on the latest, they may get some air outside while getting a stretch and see how the weather for the day is shaping up. Trying to quit cold turkey might be possible, but then the positive effects are cancelled out as well. Anyone can see that there are positive healthy behaviors that are lost by simply quitting smoking. By observation, the individual can begin to introspect as to possible solutions that will fulfill the deeper drives in a more healthy way. Finally, when they make the change, self-awareness can help them to identify challenges that they might not otherwise have identified and return to planning and strategizing. When speaking with my patients about their desires to change behaviors for health and wellness, I always end the visit with this, "When you leave here today, don't make any change. Just observe." Being self-aware and understanding why you do what you do will help you to identify how to change in a way that will still fulfill your needs and in this way make it more likely for you to be successful at achieving the change you seek.

Thought patterns can be habitual too. It's amazing, but thoughts actually have so much power over our physical health, our mood, even our relationships. Without even realizing it, we can completely affect our health just by the way we are thinking through the hormones or chemicals that are released from the hormonal centers of our brain. These thoughts may be triggered by subtle things, like the seasons changing, or perhaps not feeling productive, a friend not calling back, or a spouse being moody or distracted. Maybe being nervous about a presentation, hence the saying, "my stomach is in a knot". The bowels are tied intricately to the brain. Having self-awareness of thoughts and feelings and the way they manifest in our bodies is crucial. Taking care to notice what you are feeling physically, particularly in emotional states can be a very helpful tool to bring awareness to what you are feeling.

Sometimes we may not be aware of our emotional states while they are affecting us. Bring them to the forefront by journaling or talking to a compassionate friend or loved one about what you are feeling. Chances are, they will have some insight into why you might be feeling that way, or inject some humor into your otherwise brooding mood. Finally, meditation is a way to stop these patterns of habitual thinking as well. It is also a way to observe the emotional and physical states you are experiencing in a detached way, allowing the feelings and emotions to exist fully and also to pass. Clearing the air for new feelings and emotions that may be of a more positive nature. Meditation that is focused on experiencing the part of you that has always been present, in other words, a search for your inner self is especially helpful. Finding that core is what can ultimately give you the strength, again and again, to achieve health and wellness you desire.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Table of health and inflammation as affected by internal and external environments

	Health	Inflammation
Internal Environment	Healthy sleep habits and adequate sleep Meditation Positive thinking and perspective shifting Self-awareness and feeling of connectedness to greater community Breath work Healing imagery Living mindfully Listening to body speak Inspired living Mental acuity Immune system functions optimally	Chronic stress with poor coping skills Poor sleep and fatigue Depression Anger and guilt Anxiety Allergies and autoimmune disease Poor digestion and chronic pain Poor gut flora Negative thinking Cancer Obesity Heart disease …even more inflammatory conditions
External Environment	Well balanced wholefood diet Probiotics in food or supplements Community Healthy relationships Exercise and yoga Certain herbal supplements and vitamins Music, literature and dance Art and beauty in your environment Free of toxins Natural surroundings with diverse animal and plant life Massage and body work Medications and surgery when indicated Journaling, therapy, social support Autonomy and justice	Processed foods and poor diet Social isolation Lack of exercise/Sedentary lifestyle Environmental toxins and pesticides Abusive relationships Certain medications Infections and viruses Smoking, excessive drinking, drug abuse Lack of autonomy and injustice Trauma and violence © Regina Zopf and Trotula Health, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Regina Zopf and Trotula Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

The Problem: Working hard and yet not finding fulfillment or inspiration in the lives we are leading. Living in the modern world can be depleting, leaving us feeling dissatisfied, uninspired, and stressed out. We lose the energy to achieve what deeply drives and motivates us.

Why? Often times we succumb to our emotions and a depleted physical state leaving us feeling empty and stagnant. Perhaps, because we doubt ourselves and our ability to support ourselves as we follow the motivation of our inner selves. Or we are not taking the time for self-care that we so desperately need. Ultimately, this can lead to resentment, anger, confusion, and insecurity all turned inward and often on the ones we love. We find ourselves feeling burnt out, overworked and uninspired.

This may lead us to seek cheap thrills in vices or addictions that have temporary effects, or worse, negatively impact our health, leaving us feeling guilt and emptiness. Eventually, this cycle and the inherent negative thinking patterns that develop, begin to take their toll on our health, first in subtle ways and ultimately as disease. If we don’t slow down to rest, heal, and reflect on what inspires and motivates us, our physical and emotional limitations take control. Physical pain and negative behaviors can be our mind and our body’s way of telling us to reflect and change ourselves, not our surroundings.

So how can we manage to listen, heal, and indeed thrive, when we are working so hard from day to day? We can seek balance in our health and attempt to connect to our true self on a moment-to-moment basis. This is not always easy, and it takes work and reprogramming of daily habits and thinking patterns, but slowly, connecting to our deepest self, the cement that once sealed the bricks in the walls around our hearts and our minds will start to wash away perhaps leaving behind soil and seedlings, until little by little, your life will blossom into the life you truly want to be living.

My Health and Healing Philosophies

When people are inspired they live their spirit and express their unique manifestation of the energy that exists in our universe.
Health and wellness attained through a whole health approach to rejuvenation and relaxation and self-care can open people to inspiration.
The mind and body are not separate entities, and therefore, the health state of one is reflected in the health state of the other. Conversely, healing of one can lead to healing of the other. To attain total health a mind body approach should always be applied.
Pain in the mind or the body can be a guide to healing and therefore seen as an ally. Pain is a signpost on a health disease continuum that is never static. Therefore listening and awareness of one’s physical and emotional states is crucial.
Honesty and the personal desire and motivation for wellness can assist individuals in the process of maintaining health.
Herbal medicine is a reflection of the way that humans and plants have co-evolved and can continue to benefit one another.
Botanics can provide beneficial effects which can assist people in their healing process but can also exert harmful effects on the body, therefore optimizing safety is key with an herbal approach
Science and allopathic medicine are powerful tools for healing when applied with education and autonomy, as well the application of the philosophy “First, do no harm”, and with an awareness of the pitfalls of a reductionist approach.
The health of the environment is reflected in the health of individuals. Promoting diversity both within and outside of the human species by practicing compassion for all living things can improve the health of humanity and the environment we live in. Furthermore, a physical connection to nature can improve our health and well being.
Our sociocultural surroundings can affect our health deeply in positive and negative ways. Equality, freedom, and justice are essential to health. In environments where they are limited or do not exist, personal truth and awareness of self is beneficial.
Compassion and extension of self to other living beings provides a healing power above all others.