May/June 2003
Feature Articles
Holistic Health Q & A
by Julie Gatza, D.C.
To restore and maintain good health,
clean out your body's toxins first.
What is... Neurotransmitter Imbalance?
by John B. DeCosmo, D.O.
Depression, anxiety, fatigue and sleeplessness
aren't just in your mind. An imbalance of molecules in your brain could
be the cause.
UnCommon Sense!
by David Findlay
Winning the Pease.
Articles on the theme "Environmental Consciousness"
Cancel That Thought
by Dr. Audrey Craft Davis
You can stop contributing to planetary
pollution by changing your negative thoughts into positive ones.
An Inside Job
by Martin Montes
Recycling laws protect our outer environment;
good habits protect the inner.
Inside & Out
by Charles Larsen
If you're swimming behind a shark,
you'd better know where the rest of his family is.
Your Consciousness is Showing
by Nancy Buchanan
Manifesting the thoughts and things
that improve our personal and global environment.
Learning - Naturally
by Barbara Bedingfield
Helping children appreciate the environment
around them at the different stages of their lives.
Awareness of All Life
by Matt Guest
Our physical environment is a reflection
of our inner self awareness.
A Lost World?
by AnneMarie Dyer
The state of our environment is a reflection
of our overall spiritual condition.
Natural Wonders
by Suzanne Persons, Ph.D.
Connecting with nature is easy, and
often dramatic, when you live on Florida's Suncoast.
Holistic Health Q & A
by Julie Gatza, D.C.
What is leaky gut syndrome?
Leaky gut syndrome is a disease of the intestine where the intestine is so beaten up and torn apart that it is unable to do its jobs correctly. One of its jobs is to keep undigested food particles from getting into the bloodstream. When it becomes diseased it starts to "leak" or let in these undigested foods. What follows is immune system stress, allergies, severe inflammatory reactions, and most importantly, extreme vitamin and mineral deficiency and imbalance. In my opinion, this is the most devastating cause of disease in our culture today. Leaky gut is found in people who have used antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medication, have poor nutritional habits (bad diet) and vitamin deficiency. Most people who have leaky gut have a tremendous number of vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
What does detox do and is it necessary?
What detoxification does is get rid of all the junk in the body that is not supposed to be there -- like a spring-cleaning. If it is done correctly, it not only cleans you up, but also replenishes the body with all the nutrients needed to have normal liver function and metabolism function. Then your body will produce plenty of the energy it needs for everyday life. What I have found is that if the body is toxic, that has to be handled first before most therapies work. Once the detox is complete, then your body will respond to nutritional therapy and the supplements you take will actually work.
Are colonics good?
There is nothing wrong with getting a series of colonics. However, it is vital that you find out what the right foods and supplements are for you so when you are finished with your colonic program you don't just toxify the bowel (intestine and colon) again. Colonics without a correct program to follow are much less effective and you just end up back where you started in a very short time.
Is coffee a problem? What about decaf? Half a cup OK?
Why is one gram of cocaine a problem? The fact is that if something is good for you, it's good for you. If something is bad for you, it's bad for you. Obviously coffee is not as bad for you as cocaine but still it is not very healthy for your body. For example, coffee causes mineral deficiency. Most females are working very hard to build up their calcium and magnesium so coffee is not a good option for them. There are many other examples of how coffee contributes to poor health. Everyone knows that the caffeine is bad for you. However, you will become mineral deficient whether you drink regular or decaf.
Do I really need to take vitamins? Can't I get all the nutrients I need from the food that I eat?
Although in a perfect world it is true that you would be able to get all the nutrients you need from the food you eat, it does not have much to do with the reality that we live in now. What's helpful to know is that, first of all, most people don't eat the right food anyway. Secondly, unless their digestive system is working perfectly -- and most people's are not -- then they will not get all the good stuff from the food even if the food has the good stuff in it. Thirdly, because most people have a decreased ability to absorb their nutrients, they are limited there as well. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, because of the lack of attention put on our food supplies, the soils do not breed nutrient-rich food. The meat is often full of steroids, antibiotics and horrible preservatives, and much of our food is heated to such a degree (as in pasteurization and homogenizing) that the actual food value is diminished almost to nothing. Therefore, being correctly tested for and then taking the right supplements is vital to the health of people's bodies.
Why do I need so many chiropractic adjustments?
You only need as many as you need to correct your problem. Once you have corrected your problem to an optimal level you need adjustments only to handle the strain of everyday life. That can be as many as one every week or as few as one every three months. It totally depends on how severe your problem is and also how much physical and emotional stress you have in your life.
What causes headaches?
There are four main body reasons for headaches. (1) Low blood sugar. This affects the amount of energy that is produced and the amount of oxygen getting to the brain. When these two things are low you will experience pain. (2) High or low blood pressure. These cause circulation problems and affect the amounts of blood moving to and from the brain. Not enough blood getting to the brain deprives it of oxygen, which then causes pain. Too much pressure causes stagnation and toxins build up and this causes pain. (3) Toxicity. This is the most common one. Toxicity in the blood affects the metabolism. Thus energy production is lowered and waste builds up. This leads to inflammation, which causes the worst types of headaches. (4) Nerve interference. The nerves control the blood flow to the brain. If tight muscles or misalignment of the vertebrae (bones of the spine) interfere with the nerves in the neck, then the blood flow is affected and terrible headaches will follow. This type of headache is commonly accompanied by neck pain or stiffness.
Dr. Julie Gatza is a chiropractor who specializes in handling
chronic problems with diet, nutrition, chiropractic and exercise. She can
be reached at Gatza Chiropractic Arts in Clearwater, Florida. 727-449-2008
Copyright (c) 2003 Altnewtimes,
Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this web site my be reproduced without written permission of Altnewtimes, Inc.
E-mail info@altnewtimes.com