Try natural healing methods next time you reach for pill
Stress for Success
August 19, 20008


Americans are notorious for getting physicians to prescribe medications for virtually anything that ails them. Our pill-popping culture looks for the quick fix rather than natural healing.

I’ve consulted with nutritionist Dr. Ava Fluty, ND, Med., CNHP and Yoga therapist and RN Debbie Padnuk for advice on some natural approaches to common physical problems.

Dr. Fluty believes that digestion plays a major role in disease. When yours doesn’t function well you may want pills for indigestion, acid reflux or constipation. But by improving your digestion these disorders can resolve themselves.

The most important key to digestion is enzymes, which are extremely sensitive to heat. Cooking food at above 188 degrees destroys most of them. To get the benefits of food enzymes you must eat more raw foods. Avocados, papayas, pineapples, bananas, and mangos are all high in enzymes. Brussel sprouts are the richest source. Based on this, I’ve switched from my oat bran and blueberry muffins to a fruit smoothie for breakfast.
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Someone with digestive problems may also experience constipation (low fiber and low water) and usually high cholesterol. Dr. Fluty recommends drinking more water, eating more fiber, and getting more exercise. If you consume fiber pills instead of eating vegetables she suggests that you consider the expense. You need 20 to 35 grams of fiber daily and fiber pills don’t contain much so you end up taking several, which is costly. Instead eat more:
§ Broccoli (one medium spear equals 5 grams of fiber)
§ Spinach (three cups equals 10 grams of fiber)
§ Asparagus, beans, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, garlic, kale, okra, and whole grains
§ Foods high in pectin like apples, carrots, beets, bananas, cabbage and citrus fruits

Even though recent studies have downplayed drinking eight glasses of water daily, if you’re regularly constipated you almost certainly need more water. Instead of taking a stool softener, drink a couple of glasses of water around the time you normally have a bowel movement for a better and natural way to “get you moving.”

Now let’s consider advice from Debbie Padnuk about headaches, shoulder and neck pain, and constipation.

If you have headaches or neck and shoulder pain, focus on how you breathe. Soft belly breathing, slow and unforced breathing focusing on extending your belly as you inhale and contracting it as you exhale, helps use the muscles intended for breathing more efficiently and avoids overusing the neck and shoulder muscles that increase tension. Soft belly breathing is also useful for digestive health by increasing blood flow and energy to abdominal organs.

To relieve constipation try the yoga “wind-relieving pose!” Lie on the floor with one leg extended, and the other knee in toward your chest. Hold and take four to five slow, deep breaths. Repeat on the other side. This is also great for relief of tightness in the lower back.

Effective natural healing methods are less expensive and have no side effects. Also importantly, they increase personal control, which automatically lowers general stress; something that pill-popping simply can’t do.

Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S., of InterAction Associates, is a trainer and a Stress Coach. E-mail her at www.jackieferguson.com with your questions or for information about her workshops on this and other topics and to invite her to speak to your organization.