Attitude is everything, when it comes to relationships, health and success.  Various research has demonstrated the links between positive thinking and better health, faster healing from illness and even curing terminal disease.  Sonnenberg lists several ways in which people can adopt a more positive attitude.

• Surround yourself with positive people.
• Be positive yourself by controlling negative thinking.  Anticipate the best outcomes, avoid viewing situations from extremes and allow for mistakes.
• Be nice to yourself.
• Set realistic and achievable goals.
• Count your blessings

Here’s one way in which you can count your blessings.  Darren Hardy, author of the book The Compound Effect has a simple gratitude assessment in which you review the following aspects of your life:

1. List three amazing people in your life.
2. List three great things about your physical body.
3. List three great things about your home and where you live.
4. List three great things about where you work and what you do for a living.
5. List three great gifts or unique talents you have.
6. List three great gifts of knowledge or experience you have.
7. List three ways in which you have experienced “luck”.
8. List three ways in which your life is wealthy, abundant and prosperous.

The best way to adopt a positive attitude is with gratitude, and expressing how grateful you are for what you do have.  An unknown author once wrote:  “The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.”

- Paul Kulpinski

I noticed that after running 26.2 miles and an ice bath, my muscles felt better then when I did a shorter training run of only 16 or 18 miles without an ice bath. Without the ice, I felt more ache and stiffness in my muscles causing me to hobble around later in the day. After the ice bath, my muscles felt more revived and resilient (albeit still a bit achy) even though I ran about 10 miles farther! Was it just my imagination? The fact is there is some science to support my experience.

By now most people know to treat a muscle injury with ice.   But the ache and irritation post workout isn’t really an injury, so common sense would say there is no need for ice.  This is true for the average type of workout.  But if you are in a prolonged training regimen, like training for a marathon run, ice is indicated for post workout recovery.  Here’s why.

Prolonged and continuous muscle use like in distance running and cycling that lasts longer than two hours, generates so much heat that increased blood flow to the muscles is needed to bring additional oxygen to the tissue, as well as provide cooling during the workout.  The increase in blood flow causes the surrounding tissues to stretch which creates additional irritation and is the cause of much of the post workout muscle ache.  When ice is applied within 30 minutes of the workout, the swelling of the muscles related to the increased blood flow is reduced thereby minimizing the secondary tissue irritation.

Additionally, studies have shown that ice is effective in reducing the sensation of muscle pain.  This is likely the reason why I felt so much better after running the marathon followed by an ice bath.  The effects of the ice on the muscle inflammation was what enabled me to feel relatively normal the next day, rather than hobbling around.

There is a problem with ice however.  It’s when ice is used during a workout or competition to treat muscle pain with the hope or expectation of returning quickly to physical activity.   A new study shows that using ice during an event (like in football, or baseball), where there is a break in the action (like half time or between innings), using ice to mitigate muscle pain can reduce physical performance and possibly increase the risk of muscle injury upon returning to the action.

Studies have found that athletes experienced reduced muscle strength as demonstrated by not being able to jump as high, spring as fast, or throw a ball as far up to 20 minutes after icing.  The theory is that the ice slows the speed of the electrical impulses running through nerve cells and thereby reducing the effectiveness of the muscle.

The study used an icing period of 20 minutes and the researchers concluded that if ice is used during physical activity, it should be followed by a period of slow warming for at least 15 minutes before resuming the activity.  The researchers caution that relying on ice to reduce muscle soreness to get an athlete back into a game is inadvisable.   They recommend sitting out the rest of the game so you can be ready for the next game.

But if it’s the end of the event, feel free to jump into the ice bath and enjoy it.  Just don’t plan on moving too quickly for a while after.

- Paul Kulpinski

So, let’s skip to the part where you wake up and have the strange feeling that someone put tiny little socks on each of your teeth, your head is pounding, and the room is still spinning.  Well, there isn’t much you can do from a prevention aspect, but there is still hope.  Since you are likely still “under the influence”, I suggest you call a cab or take a bus to All Ways Health for their New Year’s Day Hangover Clinic.  Dr. Rich Petke provides a therapeutic injection of select B vitamins, in combination with other natural remedies to resolve your ailment.

So what’s really happening in your body to give you the hungover blues.  Actually, hangovers are not well researched by the medical community.  Anecdotal accounts seem to indicate that drinking water helps ease the symptoms of hangover, but there is no research to back this up.   What is more understood is the chemistry behind the metabolism of alcohol.   Very simply, enzymes in the liver break down the ethanol from your consumption and convert it into acetaldehyde, which is up to 30 times more toxic to the body than the original ethanol.  Ultimately, because of this stress the liver is unable to keep up its production of glucose which is the primary fuel for the brain.  This glucose starvation of the brain is what is thought to contribute to the symptoms of hangover.

This is where Vitamin B can help.  Generally, the group of B Vitamins (there are nine of them) help to speed up the reactions of energy conversion, digestion and nerve function.  In fact, some studies have found that large doses of Vitamin B-6 can help reduce hangovers, primarily by assisting alcohol metabolization  and dilating blood vessels.  Ideally, this remedy needs to be taken before you go to bed, so the vitamin can do it’s work.  In the morning, the pill may be too late, and that’s why Dr. Petke uses an injection in his Hangover Clinic.

There are also several homeopathic remedies that may reduce your hangover symptoms.  The most frequently touted remedy is Nux Vomica, which just it’s name seems to tell you what it’s all about.

Ultimately, the best remedy for the hangover is prevention.  The only guaranteed way to avoid a hangover is to avoid consuming alcohol in the first place.  But if you do imbibe, the best advice is to pre-hydrate with water and intersperse adequate water during your evening.  Pace yourself, so your liver can process the alcohol in your bloodstream which is roughly about 1 ounce of alcohol per hour.  If you drink faster than that, you risk having too little blood in your alcohol stream.  You might also consider supplementing with a B-Complex vitamin before bedtime for the reasons mentioned above.

Above all, have a fun and safe celebration this New Year’s Eve so that 2012 can hold all of the promise that you may resolve to experience.

- Paul Kulpinski, LMT

For millennia, astronomical events like the winter’s solstice have held great significance to many cultures as evidenced through monuments like Stonehenge in Brittan and Newgrange in Ireland.   As early as 46 BCE, Julius Caesar established December 25th as the date of the winter solstice.   Since then, many cultures and religions adopted observances related to the winter solstice, including Christmas, Hanukkah, and Yule.

In nearly all traditions, the winter solstice observance revolves around the theme of rebirth and new beginnings, since the day marks the shortest day of the year and the return of more daylight.  Yet, it is the time of greatest darkness that may hold the greatest opportunity for emotional and spiritual enlightenment.

Metaphorically, the subconscious as well as our creative and feminine aspects are linked to the night and the moon.  In western culture, these aspects of ourselves are often repressed and subsequently feared, since that which is unfamiliar is ripe for misunderstanding and anxiety.  Yet, for those who are brave of heart, I invite you to take this year’s solstice as an opportunity to begin to explore a deeper connection to your emotional and spiritual bodies, which exist as sure as your physical body does.

The  process is simple.  There is really nothing to “do”.  You only need to “be”.  It starts by sitting quietly, in the “still of the night” if you will, as you listen to the soft whisper of your inner voice guiding you with a wisdom beyond your own.  Yet, for many this by itself is a daunting task in an age of electricity that literally turns night to day and further represses our creative subconscious.  To be still and gaze into the darkness is so unsettling that many choose to avoid it, reinforced by society’s mantra of “just do it”.   For those willing to try, change that mantra today to “just be it” and see what can happen.

It’s likely that you’ll discover a feeling of relief as if the weight of a great burden has been lifted from your shoulders.  Your body will physically relax and your blood pressure and heart rate will likely lower in response to this new relationship to your being, rather than doing.  It will feel like a more natural state of existence.  After all, we call ourselves “human beings” right?  When was the last time you were called a “human doing”?

In this simple exploration, you can experience directly the connection between your physical body, your mind and what ever you envision as your spirit or greater consciousness.  In my experience of working with a variety of clients over the years, increasing one’s awareness of this relationship is directly proportional to the increased level of wellness one experiences in their daily life.

So take what ever time you can spare on this day of rebirth and renewal to shine your own light into the dark recess of your awareness and discover new connections to yourself.  Embracing the darkness today, can help you become healthier and feel more vital in the daylight of the months to come.

Happy Solstice!

Paul Kulpinski, LMT

First, remember that the body works on a simple formula: energy in minus energy out equals energy stored. Or put another way: food eaten – activity = fat stored. Now, fat can either be stored or lost depending on the balance of the other side of the equation. If activity exceeds food eaten, there will be a negative result in the fat stored, or a net fat loss. Let’s look at some real numbers, but first let’s better understand what the activity part of the equation really means.

By “activity”, I’m referring to the body’s Total Metabolic Rate (TMR).  The TMR is the sum of the Basil Metabolic Rate (BMR), plus exercise and all physical activity, plus the energy used in digesting food, plus the energy used to adjust to external temperature.   For most people the TMR for women is around 2000 calories per day and for men is about 2500 calories per day.  (Calculate your personal TMR here)  So basically, if you consume more food calories than your TMR in a day, you’ll start storing fat.  If you consume fewer food calories than your TMR in a day, you’ll start losing fat.

Remember, that a pound of fat is about 3500 calories.  That’s way more than most people’s daily TMR and part of the reason that fat loss takes time.  However,  just 100 extra calories a day is enough to add a pound of fat by the end of a month!  Now, granted body metabolism is a bit more complicated than I’m illustrating here, but I hope you get the idea, especially when faced with the variety of holiday food choice ahead of you over the next month.

My suggestion:  instead of focusing only on one meal, like Thanksgiving, look at your total caloric intake and total metabolic rate over the course of a week.  This gives you much more flexibility to make adjustments on either side of the minus sign.  That way you can increase your weekly physical activity to compensate for a big Thanksgiving meal.

Just for fun, here’s a neat little holiday calorie counter to help illustrate the balance between calories in and calories out.  Enjoy it, and enjoy your holiday season with lots of festivities and lots of fun physical activity to balance your equation.

- Paul Kulpinski, LMT

Dermatologists have suspected that tanning was addictive and this suspicion was what led to the new research.  The researchers say that dermatologists would remove skin cancers like a basil cell carcinoma only to observe the patient go right back to their tanning habit.  Many patients report symptoms consistent with addictive behavior like not being able to stop tanning.

This latest research comes from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.  The study used frequent tanners who used sunbeds at least twice a week.   Each of the tanners used the same tanning bed twice during the study.  Once where they received the full dose of UV radiation and the other time with the UV radiation filtered with out the tanners knowledge.  In both sessions, researchers monitored brain activity and found that with full UV radiation, the areas of the brain associated with addiction were activated.  The same was not true when the UV radiation was filtered.

Additionally, when the tanners were interviewed after each session, they reported a lowered desire to tan after the sessions with full VU radiation, indicating that they felt satiated by their session.  After the session with the UV radiation filtered out, they reported the same level of desire for tanning as when they arrived.

This latest research builds on a study in 2004 at Wake Forest University.  In that study, researchers found that when skin cell cultures were exposed to UV radiation, they produced melanocyte stimulating hormone, which contains endorphins which acts as a narcotic on the nervous system.

This helps to explain the effectiveness of UV light therapy for people suffering from Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD).  However, in those treatments, only the head and face are exposed to the UV light.  In a tanning bed, the entire body is exposed and often for twice the recommended length of time.  30 million people tan indoors annually and 71% of them are women between the ages of 16-29.  While all skin cancer diagnosis are on the rise, melanoma, the most deadly, is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in 25-29 year olds.

While dermatologists agree that frequent tanners should reduce their exposure to UV radiation, most would like to see more research before recommending traditional therapies designed to treat addictions.

- Paul Kulpinski, LMT

Additional Sources:

New York Times
ABC News

A vaccine is a biological preparation that contains an agent that is similar to a disease causing microorganism that is introduced into the body so the immune system can create anti-bodies in order to prevent a future infection of that organism.

The idea of vaccination was first crudely demonstrated in the 1770′s in England.  Later Louis Pasteur refined the technique in developing the first vaccine for rabies.  But it wasn’t until the 20th century that widespread success against measles, mumps, rubella, and diphtheria by vaccination helped convince most to it’s effectiveness.  Additionally, the development of the polio vaccine in the 1950′s and the eradication of smallpox by vaccination in the 60′s and 70′s helped to secure the efficacy of vaccination in the minds of most baby-boomers.

Today, we have vaccinations for those microorganisms as well as seasonal influenza and the Center’s for Disease Control and Prevention has a recommended schedule of vaccinations for all ages of people.  Specifically, the CDC recommends vaccination against 16 preventable disease for children.

With the onset of October and the autumn season, not to mention the recent start of school, thoughts on whether to vaccinate or not abound.  This year, the CDC is touting the benefits of this year’s influenza vaccine as being less painful and more aligned with the current strains of influenza that have been circulating.

But many people are still skeptical.  A study conducted in 2010 and published this month in the on-line edition of Pediatrics indicates that 20% of parents who follow the CDC approved vaccination schedule have doubts about it and 13% follow a differently schedule entirely, with more than half of those parents refusing specific vaccines all together.

Although there has been opposition to vaccinations for some time, the increase in the number of young parents who are rejecting vaccinations for their children is related to the success of wide spread vaccinations of the last century.  Experts agree that the lack of incidence of polio, whooping cough, mumps and measles in the United States has created a false sense of security and reduced the perceived need for vaccination.  For those of us who remember the middle of the last century, it was not uncommon to know someone who had contracted polio, making the need for vaccination very personal.

So to me it is ironic that the very success of the vaccination campaigns of the past has created the perception of the lack of need for any type of vaccination.  While, I agree that the decision to get an annual flu shot is a personal one, the decision not to vaccinate against diseases like polio, measles, mumps or rubella can impact more than just one individual, it can allow for the opportunity for these diseases to gain a foothold back into the population which is what researchers are just now beginning to see.

- Paul Kulpinski, LMT

The word recumbent comes from the Latin word recubere which refers to the state of lying down.   With a recumbent bicycle, the seat positions the rider in a reclining position usually situated between the two wheels, with the feet activating pedals that are at the same height as the knees.  One of the most often cited reasons that riders mention when switching to a recumbent bicycle is comfort.  The reclined position eliminates body weight on the hands, arms and shoulders and allows for a more comfortable neck position because the head is in a more natural position for better forward visibility.  Additionally, there is reduced pressure on the base of the pelvis (or sits bones), because more of the body weight is absorbed along the lower back.

This is verified in the 2006 study, conducted in Aberdeen, Scotland.  That study compared three different sitting positions:  upright 90 degree position, slouched forward position, and a 135 degree reclining position, similar to the alignment on a recumbent bicycle.  Measurements were taken with a positional MRI that measured spinal angles, vertebral disk height and disk movement related to each position.

The research found that the position where there was a 135 degree angle between the thighs and the body produced the least amount of disk movement indicating that there was less strain placed on the disks and corresponding muscles and ligaments.  Additionally, the reclined seated position produced the least amount of compression of the vertebral disks.

To tie this in with the split seat post mentioned earlier, having less pressure on the floor of the pelvis will also relieve the incidents of reproductive issues associated with a standard saddle on an upright bicycle.

So while there are differences in riding characteristics between an upright and a recumbent bicycle, the clear winner with regards to comfort and lower risk of injury to the spine and genitals is the recumbent bike.

- Paul Kulpinski, LMT

I knew they were bee stings (as opposed to wasp or yellow jacket) because in both locations, I found the stinger with the attached venom sac and quickly removed them. I don’t believe that the colony was Africanized, since they were not excessively aggressive, nor did they pursue me much beyond about 20 yards from their hive. Typically, Africanized bees are much more aggressive in their defense and will chase invaders up to about 150 yards. Otherwise, there would be no telling the difference, as the symptoms of the sting is the same between Western Honey Bees, and Africanized Honey Bees.

Good thing I’m not allergic either. For most people, bee stings are simply an annoyance. For about 2% of people stung by bees, anaphylactic shock, a hyper-allergic reaction is possible.  Bee venom (apitoxin) is a mixture of proteins, but the primary ingredient is melittin, an amino acid, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory and is touted as the primary reason for the effectiveness of bee venom therapy on arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis and multiple sclerosis.  These results have not yet been duplicated in research.  Studies by Allegheney University of the Health Sciences in Philadelphia, Georgetown University Medical Center, and University Medical Center in Groningen, Netherlands found no effectiveness of bee venom therapy on MS.

While bee venom might contain anti-inflammatory proteins, my immediate reaction was a burning sensation, swelling and pain, which was only made worse in the hike back home.   After several hours, the general pain lingered with occasional sharp pains, followed by redness and itching.  My symptoms are pretty standard and the soreness and itching can last up to several days following the sting.

The immediate first-aid for a bee sting, if you are not allergic is the following:

1. Remove the sting and connected venom sac as quickly as possible.  It doesn’t matter how your remove it, it’s more important to remove it quickly to reduce the amount of venom that is injected.  The muscles attached to the venom sac will continue to pump venom even after it is detached from the bee itself.
2. Wash the area of the sting with soap and water.
3. Applications of cold compress and/or ice packs will help to reduce the irritation and swelling.
4. Complications include: an allergic reaction within about 1 hour from the sting, which might lead to anaphylactic shock, a life threatening condition for which medical attention must be sought immediately; secondary bacterial infection from the wound itself – in fact if you are past 10 years since your last tetanus immunization, the common advise is to get a booster within a few days of the sting.
5. Otherwise, time of up to a week is needed for the reaction to the venom to subside.

Fortunately for me, I’ll only be suffering with some itching for another day or two.  The pain is gone and the swelling has nearly disappeared.  The lasting side-effect for me is an increased awareness of where the next bee colony might be hiding and pay more attention to my surroundings.  That way the honey bees will stay happy, and maybe I’ll get to successfully complete my hike.

- Paul Kulpinski

Local fairs, with all of the opportunity for microbial growth, give the human immune system an opportunity to demonstrate how effective a system it is.  Stomach acid is strong enough to kill many of the microbes that you might ingest if you happen to stick a dirty finger in your mouth or eat a hot dog from a hand that was just before petting one of the chickens.  But according to health officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), proper hand washing is always the best way to prevent the spread of bacteria and virus.

Our hands are a key way in which we express ourselves, and as such they often make their way around our eyes, nose and mouth allowing any microbes hitchhiking along to enter into our bodies.   Would you ever consider licking the back of a hog?  Of course you wouldn’t, but in effect that’s just what you do when you handle all of the animals in the petting section and then gobble up handfuls of kettle corn without washing your hands in between.  It’s common sense, but it’s easy to overlook this minor detail in the excitement of all of the fair activities.

That’s why it’s always a good rule to wash your hands before eating, whether you are at the fair or not.  But also, keeping your hands clean is helpful to the livestock too by preventing the spread of microbes between animals at the fair.

Using plain water to wash your hands is not enough.  The reason hand washing works, is that the process of washing removes the oils and proteins that the bacteria and virus are riding on.  Water and oil do not mix, so that’s where soap comes in and serves as a surfactant which enables the oils and proteins to be dissolved and washed away by water thereby removing the microbes they contain.  This usually takes at least 20 seconds of rubbing your soapy hands together, before rinsing with warm water.

Hand sanitizers can be helpful at the fair, where access to warm water and soap may be difficult.  The trick with hand sanitizers is all in the rubbing of your hands during the application of the sanitizer.  Follow the product’s directions, which will usually instruct you to continually rub the sanitizer onto all parts of your skin until your skin is no longer wet from the product.  The other thing to be aware of is that most hand sanitizers are more effective against bacteria, and less effective against virus.

The most critical times to wash your hands include:

1. Before and after eating
2. Before caring for young children
3. After touching a public surface
4. Before and after preparing food, especially raw meat, poultry and seafood
5. After using the restroom
6. When your hands are visibly dirty
7. After touching animals
8. When you or someone around you is ill

So wash your hands early and often and have a great time at the fair.  Oh, and if you happen to drop that corn dog while you’re trying to eat it, please don’t use the 5 second rule.  Go and get another one.

- Paul Kulpinski, LMT