The Body Doesn't Lie (36 page)

    
• Lavender or chamomile (three to four drops applied to the chest at night)

    
• Wait 2 days before weighing yourself (travel can add 2 to 3 pounds of water retention)

Dietary Suggestions:

    
• Light meals, especially for the first few days, to help your body adjust (no sugar, wheat, or dairy)

    
• Emphasis on soups, salads, steamed spinach or other vegetables, fruit, fresh fish

    
• Big salad starter; no breads or desserts

    
• Breakfasts that support long days: gluten-free muesli with almond milk (or goat’s milk or yogurt); cooked rolled oats with berries/ walnuts or warm apple and cinnamon; egg-white scrambled or poached eggs (with roast tomatoes, spinach, or sliced avocado instead of bread)

    
• Fruits that remedy traveler’s digestive issues: kiwi, prunes, and figs (supply vitamin C, are good for bowels); pineapple and papaya (are anti-inflammatory, help with digestion and bowel function)

    
• Snacks keep energy up for long days: protein powder (two scoops with almond milk or water); goat’s-milk yogurt with acidophilus, blueberries

APPENDIX A

The Positive Feedback Questionnaire

Because I don’t have the honor of treating you directly, I’m going to provide you with a list of questions you can ask yourself about your own health. Take your time as you go through this list. Perhaps start a new journal, with the answers to these questions taking up the first ten or so pages. By the end of this questionnaire, you’ll have a comprehensive collection of important factors impacting your health. Many people find that seeing these issues in black and white—taking them out of the darkness, out of denial—helps spur them to seek treatment. I hope that will be the case for you, too.

When I first meet with a client in my practice, I ask a series of questions that help me classify his or her pain by determining the following:

1. Whether it’s acute or chronic pain
   
2. The specific area of the body involved
   
3. The system whose dysfunction may be causing the pain (e.g., nervous system, gastrointestinal system, dental structure)
   
4. The
   presumed
   reason for the pain
   
5. Whether the pattern has caused or was caused by abnormal function (e.g., decreased range of movement, headache, fibromyalgia, inflammation)
   

As you may recall from chapter 1, I’ve found that most people who come to me for help suffer from one of two types of back pain: lower back pain or upper back pain. Despite any additional health concerns—and most patients have some—one’s back pain type is a potent diagnostic tool. As noted earlier, that body type suggests a constellation not only of physical symptoms, but of emotional and spiritual issues as well.

So what is
your
back pain type? The answers you give to the questions in table 18 will give you that answer. Set aside at least twenty minutes to take stock, quietly and reflectively, of the current state of your body. The questionnaire is quite lengthy by design: I want you to see just how many of your health concerns might be related to your back pain.

You’ll see that the questions are presented in two columns. On the left are symptoms typically associated with upper back pain; on the right, lower back pain. Put a checkmark next to all those questions, regardless of column, to which you answer yes. When you get to the end, tally up your totals. The column with the highest number likely corresponds to your type.

While this is clearly not a medical diagnosis, it can be reassuring to know that you are not alone in your particular constellation of ailments—that many others share your same struggles. And best of all—
there is a way out of your pain.

Please note, though: This questionnaire can only help guide you to understand your body’s pain. For a full look at your current condition, you
must
consult with your medical practitioner, so he or she can rule out any serious concerns. Specifically, any tingling, numbness, or lack of sensation can be associated with a serious medical condition or disease. Even without such symptoms, when your pain is chronic or particularly intense, seek medical advice.

Table 18.
What’s Your Back Pain Type?

APPENDIX B

The Positive Feedback Resources

With a bit of creative sleuthing, you’ll soon realize you are blessed with abundant resources, both online and in stores, to support you as you adopt the Positive Feedback program. I’ve listed some of my favorite sources of foods and products below. If you look around, you’ll also find great local suppliers specific to your town or region.

Grocery co-ops are a great place to start, whether you’re looking for organic foods or organic products. If you have a co-op in your area, I heartily recommend joining it. My local co-op, called Co-opportunity, is amazing—low prices and very fresh produce, with many healthy organic brands: http://www.coopportunity.com/.

To find a co-op near you, check out this no-frills co-op directory service: http://www.coopdirectory.org/. Alternatively, check out the National Cooperative Grocers Association website: https://www.ncga.coop/.

If you don’t have a co-op near you, how about starting one? Plenty of people have. If you’re working toward your radiant goal and you care deeply about sustainable healthy food and workers’ rights, learn more at the Cooperative Grocer website: http://www.cgin.coop/home.

Now for some specific foods and products:

Whole Foods

By far the best national retailer for organic, free-range poultry is Whole Foods. My family and I love their yummy, fresh (not frozen) chicken.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/department/article/chicken

At Whole Foods, the meat department has a clock on the display that tells you when the meat was ground. Their beef is high in quality, low in fat content, grass-fed, and raised without antibiotics.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/department/article/beef

Whole Foods also has a great fish calendar (indicating which fish are freshest), as well as a calendar for fresh produce. The staff is honest when you ask for help. I always ask things like, “Can you tell me what’s the best meat for two-year-olds? Can you suggest something wild, organic, and with no antibiotics or preservatives?” They do carry some farmed seafood, but I learned their farmed salmon aren’t given chemical feed to enhance their color—instead, their feed includes shrimp shells to get their pink color (just like flamingos!).

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/department/seafood

Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch

The good people at the Monterey Bay Aquarium have a number of tools that consumers can use to make educated choices for their seafood. They have tons of information about ethical fishing practices, environmental concerns, and heavy metal toxicity, among other issues. Download their app or read more information at their website. They even have a guide to restaurants and stores (including Whole Foods!) that follow their guidelines for seafood.

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_consumers.aspx