What is GLYCEMIC INDEX?

By now, most people have heard of the glycemic index, but I’ll take a moment to explain it.

• The way the glycemic index works is that a scientist will measure the blood sugar of a volunteer and then feed that volunteer a single food. After two or three hours, the volunteer’s blood sugar is measured again. What scientists have discovered through this kind of testing is that certain foods increase blood sugar a little, others increase blood sugar moderately, and still other foods increase blood sugar dramatically.

  While there are complicated glycemic index charts that show hundreds of foods, here is a typical one:

  

  What you want to notice about this list is that sugars (left-hand column) are mostly in the high top part of the chart. Sucrose (table sugar) and glucose are always found near the top, but, here is the kicker: so are white rice, pancakes, bread, corn flakes, crackers, parsnips, potatoes and many other foods. These are the Foods That Act Like Sugar in your body.

  A Sugar is a Sugar

  The take home message from the studies done on glycemic index is that a sugar is a sugar, no matter what the source. To your body, it doesn’t matter if you pick up a table spoon of sugar and put it in your mouth, or if you pick up a baguette and start munching on it: the results are the same. Up up up goes your blood sugar every time you eat these foods.

  If you want to maintain good blood sugar control, I always recommend eating low or below the glycemic index.

  Below the Glycemic Index

• 
  

  You may have heard of high and low glycemic index foods and that you should eat as many low glycemic foods as you can if you want to keep your blood sugar low or if you are diabetic, but you may not have heard of the concept of Eating Below the Glycemic Index.

  A typical glycemic index chart looks something like this:What you should notice about this chart, or any glycemic index chart, is that there are a number of foods that are missing. The reason why these missing foods are not on the chart is that they don’t have any effect on your blood sugar at all. But just because these foods are not on the glycemic index doesn’t mean they are not important, in fact the opposite is true.

  Below the Glycemic Index Foods:

  Here are the foods that are below the glycemic index. You can safely eat as much as you want of them and they will have no impact on your blood sugar:

  • Onions and garlic
  • Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, chard, kale, and cabbage
  • Lettuce of all kinds: red leaf, green leaf, iceberg…
  • Mixed greens: spinach, arugula, endive, dandelion greens, escarole, radicchio, red mustard and various lettuces: red leaf, green leaf, romaine
  • Avocados
  • Meats: fish, chicken, beef, pork, wild game
  • Eggs
  • Mushrooms: Shitake, Maitake, Reishi and others

  What is amazing about all these foods is that they are not only low on the glycemic index, but many of them are what I call Disease Busing Power Foodsbecause they pack that additional nutritional punch that makes them not only good for you, but can actually prevent (and maybe even treat) many common diseases (such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and others).

  By choosing foods from below the glycemic index, you are picking the very best nutrition you can find. You are not only keeping your blood sugar low, but you are also giving your body that extra boost it needs to navigate our stressed-out over-processed and sometimes toxic world.

  Cannot Live on “Below” Alone?

  You may look at the Below the Glycemic Index foods and think that you cannot live on those foods alone. Fair enough. The next best place to choose your foods from is the low glycemic index foods, the best of these include:

  • Nuts: peanuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts…
  • Fruits: apples, kiwi, cherries, berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries…)
  • Beans: pinto, chickpea, butter beans, lima bean, black beans, lentils…
  • Grains: while I’m not a big fan of grains, if you want to include them in your diet try to prepare them as most people make rice: boil and eat them. The whole grain with the lowest glycemic index is barley. You should also choose the whole-grain versions and not the “white” versions. If you simply must have your grains ground and processed, choose pasta as it generally is very low on the glycemic index.

  Below or Low

  As you can see, the best way to eat is to choose foods low or below the glycemic index. While it can be difficult at times, these foods are what your body need to thrive.

Hydrotherapy: The Water Cure

History

After the use of Herbal Medicines, the use of water to stimulate healing may be the next-oldest form of medical treatment. We know that hydrotherapy is among the treatements used in ancient Egypt and India, and is mentioned in the oldest writings known to still exist, the Vedas.

The modern system of Naturopathic Hydrotherapy has its roots primarily in the European Alps. Vincent Priessnitz (1799-1852), an unschooled farm boy who learned how to treat animals with cold water, later healed himself from broken ribs and eventually treated patients for a wide range of conditions. Despite his lack of formal medical training he was formally acknowledged by the Austrian government.

Father Sebastian Kneipp, a German priest (1821-1897), cured himself of tuber-culosis and went on to be considered the Father of Modern Hydrotherapy. A great many of the early Naturopathic physicians trained under him.

Hydrotherapy was hugely popular during the 1800's, both in Europe and the United States, and Spas and Sanatoriums flourished. Eventually, with the onset of modern medicine and a greater reliance on drug therapy, the use of hydrotherapy to stimulate our own internal healing mechanisms has waned. Here in the 21st century, it is the practitioners of Naturopathic and Ayurvedic medicine that are keeping this valuable treatment method alive.

Therapeutic Effects of Water 

Specific Physiological Effects of Hydrotherapy Enhanced Circulation of Blood & Lymph Increased Oxygen to Tissues Better Digestion of Food Increased Nutrients to Cells General Boost to the Immune System Balances the Nervous System: - Calms the Sympathetic - Nourishes the Parasympathetic Assist the Body's Detoxification Efforts

Hydrotherapy usually consists of using hot or cold water, and sometimes alternating between the two. Water can be applied to the body in packs, in sprays, or through soaking in tubs or lakes. The water may simply be pure water, or in some instances natural mineral springs were used which were observed to have healing effects. Even in modern times, there are more research citations in Pub Med, a large government medical database, on the use of water than there are for the use of aspirin.

Hot water is known to expand tissues and increase circulation. Cold water contracts tissues and decreases circulation. When these two are alternated, a pumping effect on tissues is achieved, which accelerates the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients into, and accelerates the removal of wastes and toxins from the affected area. When these alterations are carefully choreographed, the body's parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for healing, can be stimulated.

When using mineral baths, minerals are absorbed through the skin into the blood, having direct physiological effects. Minerals and bath salts can be used in home tubs if you are not able to travel to natural mineral hot springs. Another type of home baths is peat moss baths. Peat is rich in a cocktail of plant derived minerals, and soaking in peat baths is much like soaking in a peat moss tea. Peat baths are also excellent for detoxification

Constitutional Hydrotherapy 

is a traditional Naturopathic treatment developed in the early 20th Century by Dr. O.G. Carroll, and later passed on to Dr. Harold Dick. It consists of alternating hot and cold applications to the chest, abdomen and back, in conjunction with sine wave electrotherapy to the liver and adrenal glands.

Constitutional Hydrotherapy

The primary treatment goal is to enhance the function of your body's parasympathetic nervous system, that portion of your autonomic functions which regulate digestion and absorption of nutrients, immune function, and is the body's natural antidote to stress.

By stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, the body's overall healing ability is enhanced. Stress is a vital part of our makeup that protects us from danger. Too often, however, the "effects of modern living" leave us in a stressful "fight or flight" mode for too long, which prevents the body from absorbing nutrients, healing, or recovering from injuries. Constitutional Hydrotherapy is a way of jump-starting the parasympathetic nervous system and defusing the effects of stress.

Conditions Treated by Hydrotherapy 

Based on its therapeutic effects, Hydrotherapy can be used for a wide variety of illnesses The following list of conditions are some for which the Constitutional Hydrotherapy treatments in particular, have been effective for many patients.

Conditions Successfully Treated by Hydrotherapy Crohn's Disease Colitis IBS GERD Hemorrhoids Chronic Asthma Bronchitis Allergies Colds Flu Pleurisy Systemic Infections AIDS Chronic Fatigue PMS Dysmenorrhea Infertility Reynaud's hypertension Arthritis Diabetes Hypothyroidism Obesity Cancer varicose veins Psoriasis Depression