At a conference I attended last week, I was fascinated with this diagram. . . the sun shining into the pupil, starting the cascade of hormone activity inside the brain. The sunlight stimulates the master clock in the brain via the “SCN,” the suprachiasmatic nucleus.

The presenter, Dr. Bent Formly, has three PhDs and is clearly distinguished as an expert in chemical biochemistry and biophysics. He is the author of Sex, Lies, and Menopause and Lights Out.

Dr. Formly’s presentation made me think back to the work of Dr. Doreen Virtue who teaches the importance of periodically looking into the sun and moon with the naked eye, unfiltered by auto or window glass and eye glasses.

Then today, on www.mercola.com, the following fascinating article appeared: The Power of Biological Light in Healing.

The article references the research of Dr. Fritz-Albert Popp. “Light emissions of healthy people follow a set biological rhythm for day and night and also by week and month, as though they are connected to biorhythms of the earth.”

The article reads, “However, in his studies, the light emissions from cancer patients had no such rhythms and appeared scrambled, which suggests their cells were no longer communicating properly. Likewise, according to his research, Dr. Popp found that in multiple sclerosis patients were taking in too much light, leading to a similar confusion on a cellular level. Even stress influenced people’s biophoton emissions, causing them to increase in response to the stress.”

Dr. Mercola commented on his long standing recommendation to consume a diet consisting of  mostly raw food to stay optimally healthy. “This is because living raw foods contain the biophoton light energy your body needs. The more light a food is able to store, the more nutritious it is. Naturally grown fresh raw vegetables, for example, and sun-ripened fresh fruits, are rich in light energy. The capacity to store biophotons is therefore a measure of the quality of your food.”

One additional recommended source of light for the body is the 10 -15 minutes of sunlight exposure on the skin daily, which produces Vitamin D.

Well, maybe we are finally seeing the light, pun intended. :  ) Seriously, the research is pointing to light’s capacity to make more energy available for healing and maintenance of optimal health.

As stated by Dr. Mercola, “I firmly believe it’s only a matter of time before the importance of light energy in your health and well-being becomes more widely recognized and applied in the field of medicine. Until then, remember that your body is not only made up of tissue, blood vessels and organs. It’s also composed of light.”

“Ouch!” to this comment. . .”The death certificate never says ‘Hormone Imbalance due to Menopause.’ It says a degenerative disease. It can take years (for sex hormone imbalance) to become evident, often not noticed till it’s too late.”

Thus are the words of Dr. Diana Schwarzbein, MD, in her three part webinar series titled “Menopause Power.” See http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com/pgs/home.html.

Per Dr. Schwarzbein: “You can live without them (the sex hormones), but their absence takes its toll over time. However, if you already have damage or compromise to a major hormone system, or have a degenerative disease of aging, losing the sex hormone system can cause immediate harmful consequences.”

When do you begin to manage menopause? Throughout your lifetime by managing your nutrition and lifestyle habits.

Inadequate lifestyle habits lead to metabolic imbalance. Proper nutrition, avoidance/management of stress, avoidance of environmental/ personal care product toxins, and proper exercise all contribute to healthy metabolism.

In my book, Stop the Needless Suffering, you will find tips and suggestions for each of these categories.

What can you do, starting today, to protect yourself from needless degenerative disease and suffering?

Just pick one or two things, and stick with them for 30 days till they become habit. Your metabolism, body organs, and body cells will be so thankful you did.

Hormones are chemicals that tell your cells what to do. According to Dr. Diana Schwarzbein’s program, hormones tell your cells to “rebuild” or to “use.”

The tricky part is you cannot build or use without hormones. Therefore, metabolism is regulated by hormones. An example of “using” hormones are adrenalin and cortisol, the very hormones that are secreted when you are stressed.

According to Dr. Schwarzbein, “As long as all hormone systems are intact, it is your day to day habits that determine which hormones you secrete and when you secrete them.”

Habits that regulate your hormones include:

1)      Nutrition

2)      Stress and sleep

3)      Ingestion and toxins

4)      Exercise

Therefore, your metabolism is determined by your daily habits. As Dr. Schwarzbein teaches, “You determine your own fate.”

The Schwarzbein Principle states:

Degenerative diseases of aging are not genetic; they are acquired due to metabolic imbalances.

Daily lifestyle habits, not genetics, determine metabolic balance and, therefore, you have a high degree of control over your risks for the degenerative diseases of aging.

The exception is when a hormone system is missing. Examples where the hormone is missing include:

Insulin in Type I Diabetes

Thyroid Hormone in Hypothyroidism

Adrenal Gland Hormones in Addison’s Disease

Sex Hormones in Menopause

The Schwarzbein Principle Program includes the following steps:

Step One: Healthy Nutrition

Step Two: Stress Management Emphasizing Sleep

Step Three: Reduce or Completely Avoid Toxins

Step Four: Appropriate Amounts & Types of Exercise

Step Five: Restore Hormone Balance

When you look at steps 1 – 4, it creates convincing evidence that you do control your own fate.

For more information, please go to http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com/pgs/home.html.

“Knowing your body gives you the power to change it, maintain it, decorate it and strengthen it.”

—  Dr. Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen

There are many enlightened physicians who are out there helping to educate women on how to maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit before and after menopause, and Diana Schwarzbein M.D. is one of them.

Dr. Schwarzbein talks about the transfer of power in her three part webinar series “Menopause Power.” Her goal is to enable you to be a more active participant in making decisions about your health so that you can choose the path that is right for you. See http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com/pgs/home.html

Why do you need the power? Dr. Schwarzbein emphasizes:

1)      Menopause is the most widely mismanaged health problem in America.

2)      Menopause increases your risk for the degenerative diseases of aging.

What are the degenerative diseases of aging?

Heart disease

Cancer

Type 2 Diabetes

Metabolic Syndrome

Alzheimer’s Dementia

Osteoporosis

Stroke

Hypertension

The “Schwarzbein Principle” is this: “Degenerative Diseases of aging are not genetic; they are acquired due to metabolic unbalances.”

Schwarzbein, who says that metabolism is “the great balancing act,” explaines metabolism as follows:

Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in living organisms to maintain life – so the organism can grow, reproduce, maintain its cellular structures, and respond to its environment.

In simplest terms, these chemical reactions are of two types – building and using.

Metabolic balance means the body is building at the same rate as it is using.

Metabolic imbalance exists when the building and the using are not balanced. Metabolic imbalance is caused by:

Aging

The loss of any hormone system

Genetic Factors

Lifestyle: stress, being busy, lack of sleep, diet, sugar, exercise, etc.

How does metabolic imbalance relate to menopause? Menopause causes metabolic imbalance. Per Dr. Schwarzbein, the loss of any hormone system causes metabolic imbalance. Metabolic imbalance causes degenerative diseases of aging. Menopause is the permanent loss of your sex hormone system. Therefore, menopause causes degenerative diseases of aging – unless the sex hormone system is restored.

Exogenous factors also cause metabolic imbalance:

Poor nutrition

Stress, including being busy and inefficient sleep

Toxins – alcohol, nicotine, sugar, excessive caffeine, and exposure to environmental chemicals

Improper exercise – too much or too little

How does genetics play a part? Dr. Schwarzbein explains:

Each of us has genetic predispositions for degenerative diseases of aging.

Genetic predisposition is really which of your systems is going to fail first due to metabolic imbalance caused by aging, hormone loss, and poor lifestyle habits.

Knowledge is power. . . please refer to last week’s articles where I explain what Dr. Schwarzbein has to say about the above exogenous factors.

One of the best presentations I have heard in a very long time was given by Dan Coughlin on my monthly Arbonne  “Learn and Burn” CD. Check out the following information, and see if you agree?

Accelerator Actions

1. Embrace simplicity. There should be no more than 2 – 7 steps to your business. Two to seven steps will be much easier to use, and you will be able to teach others faster – much more powerful. Look at every single part of your business and ask, “How can I simplify? What am I doing? How can I narrow down to 2 – 7 steps I can use over and over again?”

2. Schedule thinking time. Schedule one hour of thinking time per week – where you are alone, no phones, and no interruptions. Take a blank sheet of paper. At the top write one business outcome you really want to achieve, or one business issue you really want to resolve, in the next 90 days. Take that outcome and turn it into an open-ended question. Answer that question from a variety of perspectives: yours, those new in your business, the seasoned employees, the customer, competitors, prospects. Get as much perspective and ideas as you can for 35 minutes.

Then take 10 minutes. Look at all the ideas you have written, combine the ideas to make an even better idea, and at the end of 10 minutes, take the very best idea you have come up with and then take the last 15 minutes to develop an action plan on how you are going to use that idea to move results forward.

One quality hour will have a tremendous effect on the quality and output of all the other hours in that work week.

3. Schedule non-thinking time. Your brain needs a rest. No matter the economy, stop the 24/7 work.

Every morning, no matter how busy you are, take a walk for 10 minutes. Leave your phone on the counter.

Every week have three consecutive hours where you don’t do any work at all. No emails, no phone calls.

Every month take one full day where you don’t touch work/you don’t touch email.

Every quarter take at least two consecutive days and get away from your work.

Doing the above will give your mind a rest, and you will come up with much better ideas. Force yourself to get away from your work. You will increase the quality of your work.

In review, 1) One hour a week, really focus your thinking effort on one topic. 2) On a regular basis, intentionally get away from your work. Give yourself a break, and your mind will come up with even better ideas.

4. Review past successes; preview future successes. Self confidence is so important. Two ways to strengthen self confidence: 1) Review a past success story, and 2) Preview a future success story.

Review past successes where you overcame the odds. Re-live that story. Ask yourself five questions: 1) What was your goal you were trying to achieve? 2) What were the obstacles that stood in the way? 3) How did you persevere? 4) What did it feel like for you when you finally achieved that goal? What were the emotions you experienced? 5) What lessons did you learn from that experience that you can use right now, today, to improve your business momentum?

Preview future successes: 1) What is one high priority business outcome that you want to achieve in the next six months? Write it down as clearly as you can. 2) Why do you want to achieve it? What are all the benefits you can think of – to you as an individual, to other people in your successline, to your organization, family, suppliers, the community? Write down every single benefit. When you’ve got them all down, challenge yourself to do it for one more minute. If you have four or five goals and you do it for all, you will soon realize that some are more meaningful. 3) Why do you fully expect to achieve that outcome? What are all the reasons you can think of why you are going to achieve that outcome? What do you bring to the party? What do others in your successline bring to the party?  What is it about the company that is going to increase your chances for success? What is it about your customers? What is every reason why you fully expect you will achieve that outcome? After you have written every single thing you can think of, challenge yourself for one minute to come up with more reasons.

Invest 15 minutes on these two exercises, and your confidence will go up significantly. Step off the train of activity and really think.

5. Sacrifice to accelerate. Let go of really good activities to have the time and energy to do a few really important activities that will matter the most in moving your business forward.

Three questions to consider, the “1-3-6 Exercise”

1)      What’s the one most important business outcome you want to achieve or improve significantly in the next six months? Write down as clearly as you can so you know exactly what it is you are going after.

2)      What are three things you can do that would have the greatest positive impact on achieving that outcome? If you could do only three things, what would they be?

3)      (The hardest) What six things do you need to stop doing or spend a lot less time doing so you have the time and energy to do the three things that you know would have the greatest positive impact on improving that outcome? Everything you do is important, but something is more important than something else in achieving that desired business outcome.

Focus on one of the five Accelerator Actions. Use it for the next 30 days, then move on to one of the other Accelerator Actions.

Dan’s web site is www.businessacceleration.com. Check out his free resource center.

“Menopause is the most widely mismanaged health problem in America.”

I couldn’t agree more with Dr. Diana Schwarzbein’s statement in her Menopause Power Webinar Series. It is ridiculous how women (and men) are suffering needlessly.

Dr. Schwarzbein disagrees with the current misguided standard of care, and she is on a mission to educate women. . .who can then help educate their health care providers.

Here are some points from her series that you might want to take note of:

Menopause is the permanent loss of the sex hormone system.

Improperly treating or ignoring menopause increases a woman’s risk for diseases such as heart attacks, osteoporosis, cancer, and diabetes.

Treat the cause of menopause, not just treat the symptoms.

Restore the missing hormone(s) using bioidentical hormones in a bioequivalent delivery system.

Insulin is restored in type I diabetes. Thyroid hormone is restored in hypothyroidism. Estradiol and progesterone, the sex hormones lost in menopause, need to be restored when treating menopause.

The current misguided standard of care is this: Use hormone drugs in the lowest dosages for the shortest amount of time to treat the symptoms.

The current standard of care fails to:

Acknowledge that menopause is a lifelong condition.

Recognize that menopause increases the risk for degenerative diseases of aging.

Treat both the cause and the symptoms and restore hormone balance.

The principles of Hormone Balancing Therapy (HBTx ^TM) include:

Restore hormone balance with bioidentical hormones.

Give in a bioequivalent manner.

Combine with appropriate lifestyle changes.

Key terms of HBTx:

Bioidentical Hormones – have the same chemical structure as the hormone being restored; they are different than hormone drugs because these drugs do not share the same chemical structure as the hormones they replace.

Bioequivalent Manner – mimics the way the body formerly produced and delivered the missing hormones.

Subsequent articles will cover more information HBTx and the meaning of bioidentical and bioequivalent. To obtain more information on Dr. Schwarzbein’s webinar series, go to http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com/pgs/home.html.

Today’s article will focus on Dr. Diana Schwarzbein’s “Step Three” in The Schwarzbein Principle Program: Reduce or Completely Avoid Toxins.

Today’s article is the fourth in a series this week designed to review key concepts discussed by Dr. Schwarzbein in her wonderful “Menopause Power Webinar Series.” The following are notes that I took from her seminar:

All toxic chemicals break you down. (Recall from the previous articles that the goal is to build/rebuild your body, not break it down.)

The following are listed as toxic chemicals: alcohol, tobacco smoke, sugar, artificial sugars, caffeine, and medications.

If you have damaged metabolism, you are likely to use alcohol to self medicate.

Beer contains gluten, a protein found in wheat grain that is hard to digest.

Artificial sugars are more harmful than sugar. The body doesn’t know what to do with artificial sugar – it therefore causes an anti-inflammatory reaction.

Artificial sugars increase the risk for diabetes and obesity.

If you are in adrenal burnout, you actually need caffeine. If you can’t stop caffeine for a day, you have adrenal burnout. When a patient says this to me, that makes the diagnosis right there.

Nobody needs to be on a statin drug for elevated cholesterol, especially a menopausal woman.

Thiazide diuretics increase the triglycerides and blood sugar levels, exacerbating diabetes.

Medications are toxins.

Dr. Schwarzbein repeatedly emphasizes that the cause of menopause must be treated – you cannot just treat the symptoms.

In tomorrow’s article, I will review Dr. Schwarzbein’s theory on hormone balancing therapy, which she has coined HBTx.

“Step One: Healthy Nutrition” is Dr. Diana Schwarzbein’s #1 objective in her Schwarzbein Principle Program. When you listen to her explanation, you understand why.

Recall that her overriding goal is to build/rebuild your body, not break it down. Nutrition is no exception. The goal is eating to build, not break down. “Help yourself to rebuild.”

I took LOTS of notes in this section of her three-part Menopause Power Webinar Series:

Consuming smaller meals more frequently allows your hormones, transmitters, and enzymes to rebuild. Food is what you use to build with. Smaller meals more frequently allows you to process the food well.

We age because we lose the ability to rebuild.

Consume at every meal and every snack: 2:1 complex carbohydrate to protein ratio – 15 grams of carbohydrates to each ounce of protein.

A woman between 5’6” and 5’8” and between 125 – 160 pounds should consume 2 – 3 ounces of protein at meals and 1 – 2 ounces of protein at each snack. The ratio would be 2 ounces of protein and 30 grams of carbohydrates or 3 ounces of protein and 45 grams of carbohydrates.

Consume at every meal: plenty of non-starchy vegetables.

Add a “splash of healthy fats” at every meal.

Usually in a high quality protein, the fat is already there. You can add a little more nuts, seeds, avocado, sour cream, butter, or olive oil.

Complex carbohydrates include whole grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables.

Fruit is a simple carbohydrate, not complex. Fruit is a sugar.

Lower glycemic fruits (better for you) include: berries, grapefruit, and melon.

The following vegetables contain very little sugar, help to slow digestion, contain minerals, antioxidants, and fiber: sprouts, lettuce, cauliflower, spinach, green beans, and broccoli.

Avoid or decrease eating protein that is hard to digest like gluten, casein, and unfermented soy.

As you age, you lose the ability to make enzymes and HCL. As you age, protein foods are hard to digest. You want to avoid inflammation.

Undigested food creates an immune reaction/response when it hits your small intestine, causing inflammation. Undigested protein reaching the small intestine causes inflammation, and cortisol is released.

Gluten is protein found in wheat grains. Cut back on gluten; it releases cortisol.

Processed casein as in cow dairy is hard to digest. Drink milk raw.

The body can’t digest soy protein, soy isolates, soy milk, or even tofu. Use fermented soy as in tempeh and miso.

Meal hygiene: chew food thoroughly before swallowing. Sit down and take time to eat in a relaxed setting.

Chew, chew, chew: that’s the cheapest thing you can do for yourself to keep you healthier and decrease inflammation in the body. By chewing the food, your body releases digestive enzymes.

Hot flashes are caused by changes in adrenalin and cortisol levels, not by low estrogen levels. Foods/chemicals that increase hot flashes (increase adrenalin) include: red meat, dairy, alcohol, sugar, tobacco, artificial sugars & chemical preservatives, and caffeine.

Stay tuned tomorrow to hear what Dr. Schwarzbein has to say about toxic chemicals.

Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., gave me a lot to think about with her discussion about exercise in her “Menopause Power Webinar Series.”

About a year ago I heard a similar discussion but discredited it because the thinking was so foreign from the “norm.” Now hearing it again, in such elaborate detail, the theory is making much more sense.

As discussed in yesterday’s article, http://rosiebrownrn.com/menopause-power-and-stress/, I listed the five steps in Dr. Schwarzbein’s program. Step Four is “Appropriate Amounts and Types of Exercise.”

See what you think about the notes I took from the webinar:

Exercise does not give you energy and does not make you healthy. You have to have energy and be healthy to get the benefits of exercise.

The goal is to build the body, not break it down.

Cardiovascular exercise creates more stress in the body and breaks your body down. You never need to stimulate with exercise.

When you “over-exercise,” as in cardiovascular exercises, you are breaking yourself down and over-aging. You increase your adrenalin, cortisol, and blood pressure, all of which break you down.

Before age 35, exercise is ok, but not necessary. After age 35, you are just breaking yourself down, over-aging – especially if you are not getting enough sleep or good nutrition.

“Calming” exercise, such as yoga, chi gong, and tai chi, bring stress hormones down. You can do these types of calming exercises every day, if you want to.

“Adaptive” exercise such as pilates and weight training are good. When exercising with a set of weights, your heart rate goes up a couple of minutes and then comes down a couple of minutes. It is not a continuous stress.

Interval training is OK also. You have a burst of energy, such as in a wind sprint – you start and then you stop. There is high intensity for a short period. Interval training can be done 3 – 4 x a week.

The entire webinar focused on the importance of building the body up, not breaking it down. This information on exercise flies in the face of what we have always been taught about the importance of cardiovascular exercise, thought to be critical for good health.

Hmm, so, what do you think?

“The Menopause Power Webinar Series” by Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., is a true testimony of her stated mission to educate women. Listen to her series, and your life will change for the better.

Schwarzbein is the author of The Schwarzbein Principle and The Schwarzbein Principle II – The Transition.

Schwarzbein’s endocrinology perspective is a follows:

1. Menopause is the permanent loss of the sex hormone system.
2. Improperly treating or ignoring menopause increases a woman’s risk for diseases such as heart attacks, osteoporosis, cancer, and diabetes.
3. Treat the cause of menopause, not just treat the symptoms.
4. Menopause can be effectively and safely treated with Hormone Balancing Therapy^TM (HBTx).

The Schwarzbein Principle Program consists of:

Step One: Healthy Nutrition

Step Two: Stress Management Emphasizing Sleep

Step Three: Reduce or Completely Avoid Toxins

Step Four: Appropriate Amounts and Types of Exercise

Step Five: Restore Hormone Balance – HBTx

Last week’s articles discussed stress, which is demonstrated by both high and low cortisol. See http://rosiebrownrn.com/low-cortisol-also-indicates-stress/ and http://rosiebrownrn.com/this-anti-stress-formula-works/.

Schwarzbein’s Stress Management Program emphasizes:

1. Sleep—goal is 8 to 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep (not even to get up once to go to the bathroom).
2. Slow down your busy life.
3. Learn how to handle stresses better.

Notes that I took during this section of her webinar included:

• Emphasize sleep! Sleep is the time that your body rebuilds itself. Aging is all about allowing the body to rebuild.
• Sleep allows your body to lower adrenalin and cortisol.
• Melatonin is a hormone. Don’t take melatonin. The levels in the melatonin purchased over the counter are too high and has to be processed through the liver.
• Melatonin will down-regulate your body’s own production of serotonin. It can cause depression if you take it too long.
• Get your body to produce melatonin. If you must supplement with something, try tryptophan or 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), which is a precursor to serotonin, which then converts to melatonin.
• The number one reason for insomnia in menopausal women is estradiol/progesterone balance.
• Just being busy is a stress and will break you down.
• Honor aging—slow down. Slow down the “using” process.

In the next upcoming articles, I will continue to share Dr. Schwarzbein’s gems of wisdom from her webinar series. We will all have a more wonderful life if we tune into the information she is teaching us.