OPTIMIZE YOUR HEALTH
Change Your Mind, Heal Your Body

From Knowledge to Conviction – My Personal Experience in the Mind-Body Connection
By Jannet Huang, MD, FRCPC, FACE, ABHM

I founded The Center for Optimal Health to bring the synergy of Integrative Holistic Medicine to our patients and our community. Multiple times daily I advise our patients on the importance of taking care of ourselves with a whole-person approach. Yet somehow I fell into the same trap that many of our patients are in – the taking care of everyone and everything before ME! I would like to be able to model a healthy balance rather than just tell all of you what to do! Let me share with you how in the last few months my knowledge has become my personal conviction! Read on to share my energy and peace…

I have decided that in this month’s newsletter, I will let my wonderful nurse practitioner Sue Kim-Saechao write about the scientific understanding of the effects of stress on our hormones and metabolism. Whereas I will write this month’s piece from my heart, sharing pieces of my personal journey with all of you. Some of you have already heard me talk about these experiences during our recent office visits…

In October 2006 I attended two scientific conferences – the North American Menopause Society meeting in Nashville and the American Holistic Medical Association meeting in San Diego. Both meetings were intense - 13-hour days and 5 days in duration. During the Holistic Medicine Conference, we started the day with our choice of 15 minutes of Yoga or Tai Chi. At the completion of each scientific session (usually about an hour long) we were instructed to stand up and stretch, and take 3 deep cleansing breaths. At lunch, we sat outside enjoying the warm sun and had a healthy lunch consisting of whole grains, vegetables and lean protein, and lots of water. At the conclusion of each day, we meditated to music for 5 minutes. Throughout the meeting, we had the opportunity to connect with other colleagues with the same vision of helping our patients achieve optimal health holistically. At the end of the 5 days, my brain was HAPPY. I felt ENERGIZED. It was a wonderful feeling. It wasn’t as if it was a stress-free meeting. I had a board examination to write at the end of the conference! (I have since become certified in Holistic Medicine by the American Board of Holistic Medicine, in addition to my original board certifications in Internal Medicine as well as Endocrinology & Metabolism).

On the other hand, my 5 days in Nashville consisted of sitting in the same chair for hours at a time, never going outside of the hotel, and having food that was not very healthy (afterall it was Nashville, so BBQ and biscuits were the main attractions). Even though I was excited by the tremendous amount of new research I learned about Menopause which I am passionate about, I was physically drained.

These two contrasting experiences served as a powerful reminder for me about the profound effects of seemingly little things in our lifestyle on the way we feel. Things that are deceptively simple – stretching and breathing, as well as other not-so-simple things like exercise, nutrition, sunlight and community can all work together to make a tremendous difference – difference between lethargy and energy. It is not only because of the physiologic benefits of paced deep breathing on enhancing oxygenation, expelling carbon dioxide and reducing sympathetic tone. Even more importantly, it involves a “mind-shift”. It is a shift from the “100-mile-a-minute” lifestyle that drains our resources endlessly, to a lifestyle that incorporates “slowing down”, “being mindful” and “replenishing ourselves”.

Many of us (this is particularly true for women) are programmed to “sacrifice ourselves” in order to first take care of every need of our family and work, and basically everyone else before ourselves. And anytime we take a moment to do something for ourselves, we feel a little tug of guilt. We need to undo this programming, which does not serve us. Loving and respecting ourselves, caring for ourselves are NOT acts of selfishness. We need to truly believe that putting ourselves on our priority list in order to take care of ourselves will result in an abundance of energy and joy that overflows so that we can share with those around us. This is a “mind-shift” that a lot of us need to implement.

Some of you may know that I have hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) as well as insulin resistance / Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. But just this past week I thought to myself, I feel wonderful! I have really never felt better. A couple of other factors have contributed to my sense of wellbeing. About a year ago I decided I would take the vitamins that I recommend my patients to take (hey, I have to do what I preach too!). I have been taking 2 tablets of Super B Threshold Control (a sustained release B complex) in the morning together with my thyroid medication. At lunch I take my Stress 30 daily vitality pak, and after dinner I take my Salmon Oil Plus (3 capsules) and Chelated Cal/Mag with Vitamin D (3 capsules). This basic vitamin regimen has contributed tremendously to my energy levels! (Please see this month's Supplement Cabinet article for more details.)

I have one more thing to share before I conclude this article. A month ago I had a long drive by myself (round trip to San Luis Obispo to give a lecture to other physicians about osteoporosis), and I decided to get an audio book of “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. (It was originally a film, which is available on DVD. I heard about it at the Holistic Medicine conference in October 2006 from another practitioner, but I did not have the chance to watch it yet.) “The Secret” has been playing in my car ever since. Every day I listen to short segments while I am driving. “The Secret” is about the creative power of the human mind - the power of positive thoughts and feelings. It is very uplifting. It is very easy to get drawn into negative thinking, fear and anxiety in our stressful, toxic environment. Having this daily reminder of positive “mind frequencies” has been central to the sense of peaceful energy I now enjoy.

So I now can say that it is my strong personal conviction that our sense of wellbeing and our energy levels are based on both physiological and psychological health. There is no demarcation between our mind and our body – the connection is bi-directional. Our team at the Center is ready to guide you in balancing your mind and body – to attain and maintain Optimal Health.

—March 2007

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