The Missing Nutrient for Complete Health: Vitamin L (Love)
The body is a physical structure and usually what we do physically plays an important role in how healthy or unhealthy we are. Food, supplements, proper breathing techniques as well as movement and rest all represent important elements in the never-ending journey of well-being.
Still, the suggestion that all we have to do is leverage these types of somatic strategies to maintain our health is not entirely accurate. While it is obvious and beyond dispute that nutrition, exercise, relaxation and respiration are important components of maintaining our corporal condition — as is stabilizing blood sugar and employing correct digestive strategies — our emotions and thoughts are just as significant! And, the foundation of healthful thoughts and emotions is self-kindness!
The physiological benefits of self-kindness are rooted in the human neurology of the 10th cranial nerve which starts in the brain and travels throughout the body, affecting various structures and organ systems. Known as the Vagus nerve, this neurological pathway can be consciously harnessed via self-talk for numerous physiological benefits including lowering blood pressure, strengthening the heart, supporting digestion, stimulating growth and repair, enhancing creativity, and boosting the immune system. The relationship between seemingly imprecise emotional aspects of wellness, and the functioning of the Vagus nerve is so clear-cut that scientists have learned to measure self-kindness by monitoring vagal activity.
You can always tell if someone is being kind to themselves by how they treat others. Kind and loving internal dialogue will manifest externally as loving relationships and a healthy body, while hostile self-talk will show up in relationships and a physical body that are out of ease. The inner self is innocent and guileless like a small child. Try taking control of your inner dialogue and talking to yourself as you would to a baby or a child. If you like, you can even use baby talk at least for a little bit!
Treating oneself with gentleness and understanding is an indicator of inner strength, as well as a sign and precursor of good physical well-being. On the other hand, lack of compassion and self-compassion are always rooted in insecurity, uncertainty and angst, and subsequently leads to the protective posture that results in the defensive (inflammatory) response that is the ultimate cause of all disease.
The bottom line is physical health results from more than the physical; it’s just as dependent on our thoughts and emotions. Be kind to yourself and others! It will reflect in your body vitality and quality of life.
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Stem Cells From One's Own Body Show Efficacy in Treating Pain
Stem cell therapy is still a relatively new concept that few understand, but it continues to garner a lot of support and promise — especially for medical problems that have traditionally been very difficult to treat. In his fascinating discussion with Open Minds host Regina Meredith, naturopathic doctor Harry Adelson N.D. reveals a new way to address pain by using stem cells as curative agents. This may come as a welcome idea for at least a fifth of the population, who suffer from chronic pain that affects quality of life, the ability to work, sleep patterns, and more.
According to the Mayo Clinic stem cells create other cells with specialized functions, and “[u]nder the right conditions in the body or a laboratory, stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells. These daughter cells either become new stem cells (self-renewal) or become specialized cells (differentiation) with a more specific function, such as blood cells, brain cells, heart muscle cells or bone cells. No other cell in the body has the natural ability to generate new cell types.”
Adelson, says treatment with stem cells can help treat musculoskeletal pain and increase energy using cells from one’s own bone marrow and fat to prompt regeneration. Citing his own use of stem cells on his road to recovery from injury and pain, Adelson says how regenerative therapy using biological tissues found in the human body can restore normalcy to someone living with pain and suffering.
One of the more exciting aspects of stem cell therapy is that each of us can create our own cells to heal ourselves. Emerging evidence suggests that adult stem cells can not only replicate, but also create various other types of cells. For example, bone marrow stem cells may be able to create bone or heart muscle cells.
Adelson is highly experienced when it comes to using stem cells for pain treatment, having performed numerous procedures using bone marrow combined with adipose (bodily fat) stem cells. He’s also injected more than a thousand intervertebral discs with stem cells.
Adelson’s excitement for stem cell therapy began with an accident as a young man, while rock climbing in the early 1990s. He was in naturopathic school at the time, when an injury to his shoulder set him off in a new direction, leading him to pursue an alternative to traditional surgery and injections for pain treatment. After receiving his naturopathic degree, Adelson discovered the potential of stem cell therapy.
