I wrote this as a Topic of the Week several years ago, and just realized I never posted it online. So here it is, a little late:

On June 22, 2010, I saw an article in the Plain Dealer that helped explain why computers and TV late at night keeps people up.  For years I’ve known that the light will decrease melatonin production which in turn causes difficulty sleeping. Since lack of sleep is one of the major stressors that causes us to lose our alignment, I’ve recommended avoiding computers, TV, and bright lights before bed. Interestingly, this article claims that it is only the blue spectrum of the light that depresses melatonin.

Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland the darker it gets outside. It chemically tells our bodies to wind down and go to sleep. The more (blue) light we are exposed to will keep melatonin from being produced and will make it more difficult for us to wind down.  This has become a systemic problem with the advent of electronics and bright lights.

The article talks about a local company called Photonic Developments with an innovative solution to this problem.  They have eye glasses that will block out the blue light spectrum. In addition, they sell bulbs (which look like bug lights) that also don’t produce the blue light. (On the GE website, they state that the reason that bug bulbs work, is that flying insects can only see the blue and ultraviolet lights.)

Using the glasses two hours before bedtime, allows the body to produce the melatonin it needs to wind down and go to sleep. While I think that avoiding TV and computers would be the ideal, sometimes it’s hard to do so. This may be another alternative.

Here is the original article, here is Photonic Developments website.  And speaking of staying and watching TV, here is something that I saw many years ago. I wonder if these would work?

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An anonymous donor is giving free trials to Kiva. Select a small business across the world  to loan to and see how Kiva works. I’ve been doing this for several years now and just  posted my 163rd loan.

Kiva – You’re invited to Join Kiva

www.kiva.org

Make a loan to an entrepreneur across the globe for as little as $25. Kiva is the world’s first online lending platform connecting online lenders to entrepreneurs across the globe.

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Just had a session with a client that I’ve been seeing for a while. She hadn’t been able to make my back care class yet where I talk about how bad msg is.  It turns out that she regularly uses Accent (which is pure msg crystals) when she cooks.

If any of you read this and are regularly cooking with msg or accent. Please stop and let me know.

MSG Exposed

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Every first and third Tuesday of every month I do a back care class. I go over things that cause us to go out of alignment, things that will help us stay in alignment, plus I go over sitting, sleeping, food, lifting and more. The classes are designed to help patients get the most out of their care here and to get better quicker. There is no charge for them and you can bring a guest.

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This week’s topic of the week.

“There should be three solutions to every problem.”

One of my teachers in massage school would say this. Katrin is a practitioner of the work developed by Moshe Feldenkrais. I always attributed the quote to him, and it has always sparked my imagination. Katrin said it in the context of movement as body workers, so that we would always be thinking of different ways to perform our techniques so that we wouldn’t injure ourselves. If we have (at least) three choices at all times, we would never be locked into being able to do something only one way.

I keep coming back to that quote in my more than twenty years in the healing arts, and recently I’ve come to realize that it is a core belief of my philosophy. I am constantly trying to find several ways to address a particular problem with people, be it disc herniations, muscle problems,  headaches, nutrition or adjusting the spine.

At first it was a way to address similar problems with different clients. (I need to use light and gentle techniques with my 93 year old grandmother. With an athlete I may need to use a firmer pressure). Now I am looking on three ways to address a problem with each patient. It’s liberating not to be stuck one mode of thinking. To be truthful, I don’t yet have have three elegant answers for every problem, and sometimes I’m lucky to have just one. As I grow and mature as a holistic practitioner, it’s nice to have more than when I started in practice. (There is a reason that we call this practice.)

As I kept coming back to the original concept, I started to add “elegant” to the phrase, because that is what I want: elegant solutions, not clumsy or band-aid solutions. I’m not there yet, but I am creating the possibility. My next step is apply this idea to other aspects of my life.

Yours in health,

Dr. Michael

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CoQ10 is an essential nutrient and antioxidant needed for the electron transport chain. The electron transport chain and Kreb’s cycle is our bodies biochemical process to make energy (in the form of the molecule ATP). CoQ10 increases energy production (gives us more energy) and allows our cells to function better.

It is needed for proper heart function,  and low levels are linked to type 2 diabetes, and liver diseases.

Cholesterol medications block Co-Q-10 function.

Ubiquinol is the converted form of C0-enzyme Q-10. One 50 mg capsule of Ubiquinol per day is 5x more potent than the two 30mg capsules of CoQ10 (Co10 by Thorne) that I used to recommend.

Thorne has since come out with Q-Best, a form of Co-Q-10 that is absorbed 10x as much as the powder form.

Because of it’s role in so many metabolic pathways, CoQ10 has been one of the top 5 products that I have sold.

For the month of February, COQ10 supplements are 20% off.

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A tradition that I’ve had is to eat sauerkraut on New Year’s day. I have no clue how it became a tradition for my Italian family,  but I’ve been doing it my entire life. Here is the recipe that I used this year (I added caraway seeds). To read more on sauerkraut and lactofermentation check out the Weston A. Price website.

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We will be open Monday January 2nd.

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