Find Glowing reviews about Glow Acupuncture & Wellness Center on page 48 of this week's Georgia Straight!

Glow Acupuncture & Wellness Center is pleased to announce that we have again made the Reader's Choice Awards for "Best Acupuncturist" in Vancouver. In Mind, Body, and Spirit, Thank you!

"Mind The Gap!"

Having just visited the most recent exhibit of Body Worlds at the Science Centre we thought it might be timely to share a little bit about the brain!

Brain Factors For Health

Water

Water is the first part of a healthy brain, and of healthy brain foods. You need to be able to have the right allowance of water in your blood in order to have a healthy brain. Your brain must be fully hydrated so that it can provide you with the right thinking skills. Be sure that you are drinking plenty of water. Some signs of dehydration are headache pain, fatigue, and not being able to focus. So, keep yourself, and your brain, in plenty of water!


Brain Foods

Brain foods are also important to understand because they can help you be more alert, smarter, and even more creative. The best things that you can do for your brain include eating the right foods. If you are able to eat well for your brain, your brain will be able to take care of you for as long as you are alive. Keep careful track of the food that you eat, and try not to skimp miss meals!

Neurotransmitters

The neurotransmitters in your brain are what are responsible for all of the functions that you hold so dear. There are neurotransmitters that are in charge of the way that you move, the way that you think, and the way that you feel. Each of them needs to be treated well – and fed well – so that they can provide you with the best work possible. There are three key neurotransmitters, and eating the right foods will help each of them succeed.

Acetylcholine

Acetylcholine is the first one. It is responsible for the voluntary movements that your body makes. It is also responsible for drinking, memory, and behavioral inhibitions. People who have Alzheimer's and memory loss might actually have less Acetylcholine, or the transmitters might be blocked. In order to keep your brain healthy and to keep your mind and memory sharp, you need to be sure that you are providing your brain with high Acetylcholine levels. To do this, eat lots of egg yolks, peanuts, wheat germ, meat, fish, milk, vegetables and cheese. They contain plenty of Acetylcholine.

Dopamine

The next important neurotransmitter is dopamine. It is in charge of your voluntary movement and emotional arousal. Schizophrenia might be associated with having too much dopamine, and having too little might be something that causes Parkinson's disease. The drug L-Dopa is given to increase the levels of dopamine in the brain. Therefore, it is important that you do all you can to keep the levels of dopamine correct in your brain. In order to have high levels of dopamine, eat meat and milk products, as well as fish and beans, nuts and soy products. In fact, eating 3 or 4 ounces of protein will actually help you to be more energized, and will make you more alert and even more assertive.

Serotonin

Serotonin is involved with arousal, sleep, mood, appetite, and sensitivity. It is also something that is excitatory, and is part of how the brain produces feelings of pleasure. Depression might be caused by having too little serotonin that is active in the brain. In order to keep your levels right and to keep them active, eat lots of pasta, starchy vegetables, potatoes and cereals, as well as breads.

Eat For Life

Aside from taking care of the neurotransmitters in your brain, there are also other things that food can do for you. There are some important tips that you can follow in order to be overall more smart and to eat for intelligence. First of all, balance your glucose levels. This means that the levels of sugars in your body must be level so that your brain can work well. Secondly, eat the fats that are essential to your diet. Third, include plenty of protein, and fourth, include plenty of vitamins. Along with this, there are some important areas to be sure that you include.

Protein

Protein is important in balancing your brain health. It provides the building blocks for your body, and for your mind. Protein is also used in order to make the neurotransmitters in the first place. It is found in meat, fish, milk and cheese. It actually provides the building blocks for the way that your body will grow and change, so it is important to all of your body systems. It helps the body's tissues, internal organs, nerves, and brain and heart thrive. Eating protein will help you have improved mental performance.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are also important to a healthy brain. They enhance the absorption of tryptophan. This is converted to serotonin, and is used in the brain. If you eat a carbohydrate meal, you will feel calm and relaxed for several hours. The key carbohydrates that you can eat are grains, fruits, and vegetables. Also, digestion causes the breakdown of carbohydrates in to the glucoses or sugars that your body needs. This is also the primary source of energy for your brain in general. If you don't keep your glucose levels even, which means your carbohydrates are out of whack, you might feel confused, dizzy, and you might also have convulsions or lack of consciousness.

Fat

Fats are also an important part of your brain health. This is because the brain itself is more than 60% fat. The reason that the brain contains so much fat is that the brain cells themselves are covered by something called the myelin sheath, which is actually made up of 75% fat. Fat is an important messenger in your brain, and is responsible for regulating your immune system, the way that your blood circulates, and memory and move. Omega 3 fatty acids are essential to the way that your brain performs. You can find Omega 3 fatty acids in oily fish like salmon, sardines, and tuna. You can also find it in Flax seed and in vitamin supplements. If you don't have enough omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, you might feel depressed, have poor memory or even learning disabilities, and you might have a low IQ, or conditions such as dyslexia, ADD, or other mental disorders.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are also important for a healthy brain. They are essential for the way that your brain grows and develops. If you truly want to have a healthy brain, you need to be able to get plenty of B vitamins. These are the vitamins that are responsible for making your brain healthy and producing energy for your entire body. A, C, and E vitamins are antioxidants, and are very important for preserving memory in the elderly, as well as in people at any age.

Important minerals that you need to promote good brain healthy include magnesium and manganese. These are important for brain energy. Also, Sodium, potassium and calcium are important as well in order to strengthen the thinking process. All of these minerals also make sure that the transmission processes that your brain does on a daily basis go off without a hitch and continue to work just as well as they can.

When your brain is healthy, so are you! Remember that the correct balance of foods is important. There isn't one main food that is a brain food, or that will promote the best brain healthy. A combination of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins and minerals is essential for good brain health. It is also important to eat the correct foods so that your neurotransmitters can function as well as possible. We really are what we eat and what we take in from the world around us!

KARMA MASSAGE! Receive a Massage, Give to Charity!

Book a massage for $50 between September 7th and 11th with Susan Polano of Oceana Massage through Glow Acupuncture & Wellness Center and a portion will go to charity! We invite clients to choose from any one of the following charities listed below! Call today to book your appointment! 778.786.2517

Eat Fresh

The optimal combination is to be eating fresh local organic produce. Farmers markets are now in full swing around the city and provide us urbanites with the opportunity to eat from the farm. For locations around the city and beyond check out: http://www.eatlocal.org/index.html

You may even want to start growing your own food! Imagine…eating food that YOU GREW! Wake up your “inner farmer” and celebrate mother earth by creating your own patch of eden. Even if your space is limited you might surprise yourself at how much you can get out of a small space. Look for helpful tips online or pick up a copy of Garden Anywhere by Alys Fowler.

Another option is to apply with a CSA, community-shared agriculture program. These programs share the bounty and the risk of a harvest between farmer and consumer. Most CSAs put together a box of fresh local produce every week, depending on the harvest, and either have a pick up site or a delivery system. The cost of CSAs varies from farm to farm; a deposit or full payment is taken in the spring once the share is purchased.

Life Without Sugar

Excess sugar eventually affects every organ in the body. Initially, it is stored in the liver in the form of glucose (glycogen). Since the liver’s capacity is limited, a daily intake of refined sugar (above the required amount of natural sugar) soon makes the liver expand like a balloon. When the liver is filled to its maximum capacity, the excess glycogen is returned to the blood in the form of fatty acids. These are taken to every part of the body and stored in the most inactive areas: the belly, the buttocks, the breasts and the thighs.

As it is metabolized, sugar bypasses many parts of the digestive process, and is absorbed directly into the bloodstream, raising the blood sugar level. It also produces a sharp rise in insulin, which is used by cells to absorb the sugar. Raised blood insulin levels depress the immune system. If your immune system is depressed, then your ability to fight disease in weakened. Not only this, but sugar also causes the brain to release the chemical serotonin, boosting a person’s mood, and causing a mild feeling of happiness. This feeling is temporary, and soon after you’re left feeling tired and irritable.

Refined sugar contains no vitamins or minerals, so in order for sugar to be metabolized it must draw on the body’s reserve of vitamins and minerals.

In addition to throwing off the body’s homeostasis, sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences.

· Sugar causes tooth decay

· Sugar can upset the body’s mineral balance

· Sugar can suppress the immune system

· Sugar contributes to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties and crankiness

· Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol

· Sugar can cause hypoglycemia

· Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium

· Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair

· Sugar contributes to weight gain and obesity

· Sugar can contribute to diabetes

· Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis

· Sugar causes food allergies

· Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream

· Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon

· Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance