Healing Space with Todd Pesek, MD

Welcome Autumn!

From your cosmic starlit displays (anybody see the Seven Sisters star cluster chasing Jupiter across our autumnal equinox sky last night?), to your earthy smells of field, forest and harvest bounty, I love you! Among the most splendid and appreciated of your treasures, naturally, are your variegated foliage (soon to be crunching underfoot and swirling around with your cool, crisp gusts) and the cacophony of flavors brought in fall harvest soup (all local, organic, fall Superfoods of course)! Yum! I missed you!

Superfoods: Power for Health!

Recently, I was asked by a patient, "Doc, I want to lose weight. How do I eat less?" Such a simple question, yet it is pondered by so many and it has such widespread, profound ramifications in health.

Here is what I told her (and many others along the way): "You need to eat more. More Superfoods that is!"

You see, for the first time in the history of humanity, people are eating plenty, but starving. This simple fact is due to the preponderance of empty food. There is no food in the food that is consumed by so many. The modern day brings a precarious reliance upon cereal grains, refined sugars, and unhealthful fats which leaves many consuming diets loaded with calorie rich, nutrient sparse foods.  This is the opposite of what one must do for optimal health. We must shift to a diet rich in Superfoods which are plant based, calorie sparse, nutrient dense, health empowering foods. 

Our bodes crave nutrients, when eating empty food our bodies will crave more and more to satiate our innate need for nutrients. If there are little nutrients then one must consume lots of food. If there are lots of nutrients the body will become satiated more quickly with less food.

This is why people can easily eat lots of pizza or pasta or the like. For example, a large cheese pizza weighs on average 2-3 lbs. Try eating 2-3 lbs broccoli, greens, or salad! It simply won't happen, the body gets what it needs with much less when eating real food!

Eat Local, Go Heinen's!

G'morning Northeastern Ohio and all!

I love the first glint of grandfather sunshine through fields and forest. How invigorating, meditative, and, this time of year, yummy! Check out this cosmic array on the northeastern aspect of our still dew-drenched greens patch!

Its been a good year for greens, do get out and get some from your garden, local farmers and farmers markets. Get your hands in the dirt, they belong there, and grow your own if you can! Otherwise, shop local and organic!

As far as fine foods grocers, no one does fresh local fruits and veggies quite like Heinen's, be sure to utilize their awesome seasonal schedule, Heinen's Seasonal Schedule. I will be going to my local Heinen's this week to get some homegrown peaches. Yum! They are coming in at peak and I am told they are all that one could expect and then some! I do have a peach tree, but there is only one dinky little peach on it this year. So the greens take the cake on my homestead, for the peaches, I will opt for local! Go Heinen's!

Also, check this out: Know your farmers!

Green Ohio Healer

Yay!

Do check out this story that Ohio News Networks (ONN) did!

Great job Harrison! You wouldn't have guessed that it would have come out so good given the challenges of filming microbites "or useable news snippets" amidst the traffic in the green leafy veggy isle at the Mustard Seed Market, Solon.

I love the Mustard Seed, they have an amazing array of green leafy veggies and then some! Check em out. Also, for those of you that didn't know this, for the most part, your ancestors ate 6-7lbs of green leaves a day, its no wonder you need more greens! They are, pound for pound and calorie for calorie the most nutritive superfood there is! The more greens the merrier!

Love the quotes:   

"Eating the proper foods was a common theme in living healthier and longer," according to Pesek.

"You want to prevent and, if existing, reverse disease processes in your body and you can do that through food," he said.

"Pesek advises people to avoid the inner aisles at the grocery store and focus on the natural foods."

"Eat like the rainbow. You want the reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, and purples," Pesek said. "All those different veggies have beneficial plant pigments of a different nature."

Check the full story out here, be sure to watch the video and do check out the Mustard Seed!

Ohio News Network Story

Secrets of Long Life!

In searching for different patterns of practice, lifestyle, and environment supportive of optimal health, we look to our elders and traditional healers around the world, who in the wisdom that has sustained them, we learn from with careful attention.

Thirty-seven elders ranging from 65-106 who live by their traditions participated in the present study.  Of these, 14 were verified centenarians. This study kept my colleagues and I busy globe trotting the past 5 years, and now we bring these exciting data to you all! The elders and healers assisted in the refinement of the methodology and collections and preparation of these data.

These participants are well-respected, representative elders and traditional healers of their regions. These data, from study sites of the Eastern Afromontane and Albertine Rift region of Ethiopia, Africa; the Maya Mountains region of Belize, Central America; the Western Ghats region of India; and the Appalachian Mountains region of the United States, were grouped into three major categories: (1) philosophy, attitudes, and outlook, (2) lifestyle practices, and (3) dietary and nutritional practices.

These elders demonstrate a relatively comprehensive but simple set of practices that can enhance our vitality and promote longevity sustainably. In essence, these practices, or practice wisdom, of our longest living elders, promote propagation of healthful lifestyles by following traditional ways and taking care of body, mind, spirit and our environment.  These data begin illustration of practice wisdom for implementation and serve to engage our universities, our hospitals, our industries, and our students, who we must position toward social change.

Be very well!

Dr. Todd

P.S. Do check out my Secrets of Long Life preso on YouTube:

Secrets of Long Life 1 of 4

Secrets of Long Life 2 of 4

Secrets of Long Life 3 of 4

Secrets of Long Life 4 of 4

Here is the complete published study:

Download Pesek et al 2010 SLL

The Climbing Vine

Cats Claw or Una de Gato, Uncaria tomentosa is named for the cats claw like spines located on the underside of the leaves of this liana, or woody vine. It is these very spines which enable it to climb tall rainforest trees to the canopy high above as it vies for sunlight in sustaining its growth. 
            It is native to Amazonia and much of the tropical rainforest of the Americas, where it is has been used widely as a sacred medicinal plant for centuries by cultures therein. These peoples use it to treat the gamut of inflammatory conditions including the likes of asthma, ulcers, viral infections, menstrual disorders, cancer, and diabetes. These therapeutic effects have been, in part, researched and attributed to phytochemical constituents including unique alkaloids found in significant concentrations in Cats Claw.

Cats Claw has been shown to be immunomodulatory in nature. Basically, it is an inhibitor of certain immune system components which stimulate TNF alpha, an inflammatory mediator in our bodies, and which is responsible for inflammation in the above conditions. TNF alpha is also involved with autoimmune conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, and certain types of arthritis. Based on this, it could very well be that Cats Claw may be effective in relief from these and other conditions resulting from TNF alpha activity.

 Indeed, clinical studies do validate these general therapeutic effects. Cats Claw has also shown antioxidant activities in scientific evaluation.  The antioxidant action is possibly related to the presence of proanthocyanadins which also underlie the anti-inflammatory activity of Cats Claw. Antioxidant activity helps to reduce cell damage due to inflammation and aging.

Researchers are currently evaluating the many previously determined positive effects in treating different types of cancer with Cats Claw, and, additionally, this liana is being researched for effectively reducing viral loads in AIDS patients. There have been interesting results demonstrating that Cats Claw normalizes levels of white blood cells and thus promotes an overall more optimally functioning immune system. And, one study has shown a significant increase in bodily DNA repair. Since decreased DNA damage and increased DNA repair are often accompanied by more quickly recovering and enhanced immune function it seems plausible that Cats Claw might well have some therapeutic benefit across a wide variety of ailments.

The immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, white blood cell normalizing effects of Cats Claw illustrate wide possibilities in the relief of specific conditions, but also it demonstrates wide utility and potential usefulness for restoration of balance and keeping your immune system working at peak performance. Perhaps Cats Claw brings the body back into the balance that we know is essential—or, as the Ashaninka people of Amazonia say when they are healthy and in balance, “nocaratanaje” or “I carry harmony.” They promote this harmony through the use of sacred plants, in particular, Cats Claw. Let us learn from traditions in health as we usher in a new era in true healing and harmony!

 

Roots of Healing

Yay! My new column "Roots of Healing" debuts in the Summer 2008 issue (pg 57) of Organic Spa Magazine. Organic Spa is awesome! Dubbed one of the most notable launches of 2007, the founders Bev Maloney-Fischback, Publisher, and Mary Bemis, Editor in Chief, are infusing ancient spa wisdoms with modern green living! The Roots of Healing column explores rich and varied traditional health and wellness applications as supported by traditional practices the world over. We apply these wisdoms in health to the modern day for the health of people and planet!   

Check us out!

Visions of Healing in India

Yay! At long last, our documentary Visions of Healing in India is now online, have a look (after clicking on the link, place your cursor over the media window and then click play)!

Many thanks to all of you who have been waiting patiently for this moment, we all worked really hard on the filming and compilation of this work, here we are in the editing studio in Thiruvanthapuram, Kerela, India. This photo was taken after two days straight in the editing studio! We are all in a daze!

Thiruvanthapuram is also known locally as “the spice capital of the world" and "gods own country” for its rich history, culture and natural beauty. The area has rich healing traditions with oral lineage components of greater than thousands of years. For millennia people would flock to the region for its culinary and medicinal plants, natural splendor and biodiversity, and its deep healing traditions. Traditional healers of the area focus location and practice in several main traditional regions: the Western Ghats “spice mountains”, Kanyakumari “where the three oceans meet”, and the Back Waters “Venice of Asia”. The main healing traditions in practice in the region are: Ayurveda which is still taught in its original poetic Sanskrit form and via oral lineage; Naturopathic healing which focuses the power of the sun, moon, stars and elements of nature—earth and mud, water etc.; Herbalists who use natures pharmacopoeia to heal in harmony with the earth; Siddha; and a ritual healing practice involving sound, harmony, and rhythmic oscillations therapeutically and in a fashion unique to south Indians.

The documentary work gives a glimpse of healing traditions in each of these areas, but focuses on tribal healing traditions in three distinct ecological regions in the Western Ghats,  India. We explore the higher elevation montane evergreen forests, the lower elevation moist deciduous forests and the lowland backwaters and coastal areas, in particular. 

We learn about healing systems; adaptations of the respective populations to their environments; afflictions, modes of treatment, and community roles of healers. We also assess the need for and feasibility of programming focused on the conservation of biodiversity and culture via traditional healing. 

Our findings demonstrate intact traditional healing practices with unifying themes to include the premise that in sustaining health there must be healthful surroundings. And that “true healing is all around”. We also uncover strong willingness and need for the development of such initiatives in support of local and global health as well as in support of regional conservation programming.

Check it out, as most certainly there is much that we as a global people could learn from these traditions in our quest for true healing and sustainability for both people and planet!

Healing Across Cultures: Learning From Traditions

Our optimal health and wellness is absolutely dependent upon the healthful states of mind, body, and spirit which are inextricably intertwined with the energies of our environment and nature. Oddly, Western culture often seems to disregard this holism, especially our essential connection to nature, in its considerations of health and wellness as described by modern medicine.
            This disregard for the sanctity of nature and nature’s nurturance of our health is unlike that of many of the traditional cultures in the world. These cultures focus more on balance in the context of environmental respect and harmony. Varied cultures share remarkable similarities in their healing modalities, especially considering relative isolation from one to another—evidence that there is much truth to the healing knowledge they possess. We as a global people are not disconnected from the natural world in terms of health, but dependent and interconnected within ourselves and to everything around us. Social change is essential to assure that the mainstream practice of modern medicine evolves to incorporate this integral aspect of health and wellness, and this can be done through partnerships with cultural leaders, elders, and traditional healers.
            There is a growing demand for wellness and earthly responsibility. It is time to appropriately learn from age-old societies and their healing traditions for they do have answers we are seeking in sustainability and harmony, environmental stewardship and planetary respect, and holistic health. For thousands of years our ancestors have known the secrets of long life—this knowledge needs to be preserved through the apprenticeship of future generations. We must continue to work in collaborative form to develop mutually beneficial learning partnerships combining components of modern medical knowledge with the wisdom of traditional healers around the world.
            By developing the knowledge of traditional healers in a mutually beneficial exchange of wisdom and practice, all global communities can reap rewards through not only the development of holistic collaboration and innovation in healing, but also the generation of economically viable outlets for cultural self-empowerment and ecological integrity.
            This approach to global health and wellness will provide not only ways of healing ourselves as nature had intended, but also a reawakening to the benefits and health-giving resources of nature’s bounty. Along with this newfound awareness will emerge an inevitable respect for maintaining the environment that nurtures the world—people, animals, and plants. The growing realization of the intricate connections among mind, body, and spirit in the context of our natural world is long overdue within modern society. Our understanding of Healing Across Cultures sets us on a path that can lead only to a better sense of self within the context of the universe—a more and more appropriate idea as we increasingly discover ourselves as a global community.

Yuk! Fossil Fuels.

I have said it again and again and will continue to do so…….there is no human health without environmental health! 

How could we possibly expect to be healthful if we keep trashing the planet?

Our flowering friend here under a snowfall speaks volumes!

Seriously…… 

A concerted, monumental transition from coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power plants to ecologically friendly solar power is absolutely necessary. 

This switch could supply 69 percent of the U.S.’s electricity and 35 percent of its total energy by 2050 (or more depending on innovations). Check out this well written Scientific American article, A Solar Grand Plan: By 2050 solar power could end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and slash greenhouse gas emissions. 

They point out that the potential of solar energy is absolutely astonishing! The energy of sunlight striking the earth for a mere 40 minutes is equivalent to annual global energy consumption. An entire year!

In the U.S. we are endowed with a quarter million square miles in the southwest which receives greater than 4,500 quadrillion British Thermal Units (BTU’s) of solar radiation annually. Converting 2.5% of this energy would match the energy consumption of the U.S. in 2006.

The federal government would have to invest differently than it does now, but the return is much more substantive.  What a boost to our economy! Just what we need!!!

Well, what are we waiting for? 

High prices for gasoline and home heating oil are absolutely here to stay. Globally, we have reached peak oil and our patterns for accessing fossil fuels are becoming more and more costly and more and more destructive. The U.S.is at war in the Middle East, at least in part, for the protection of foreign oil interests. China, India and other rapidly developing nations continue to consume fossil fuels at exponential rates. This trend is sure to add complexities, disagreements, and continued environmental atrocities to the table.

In the meanwhile, companies and power plants operative on coal, oil and natural gas, as well as personal vehicles the world over, continue to ravage our environment as they pour millions of tons of pollutants and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere annually. 

I mean seriously, they are blowing the tops off of mountains throughout my homelands of Appalachia. As if this is not bad enough, these companies then dump their toxic waste into local streams. My people and forests suffer! Horrible, absolutely horrible! Check out this article on Mountain Top Removal in the Boston Globe.

We need to act fact in influencing each other and in turn our policy makers and business!

Change emanates from within and starts at home!