Mealtime is often teeming with device distraction and I suspect digestion can be affected.

Personal devices have completely consumed the attention of many during mealtime. While dining at a restaurant in the historic district of Rome, I recently witnessed a couple sit across from each other, both firmly grasping their personal devices. They couldn’t have spoken 10 words to each other during the entire meal. Each blindly reached for the table, grabbed a forkful of food, and mechanically fed themselves, while their vision remained focused on their respective screens.

At first, I felt badly for this couple. They were oblivious to the ambiance. Their was no apparent personal connection with each other. I can’t imagine they were able to enjoy the taste and aroma of the delicious food they ordered. While focused on the little screens, their conscious awareness was brought into a reality apart from that which their physical bodies were experiencing.

Our bodies need attention.

Much of what occurs in the human body is run on automatic pilot, through the autonomic nervous system. But, there are some bodily processes that require some degree of conscious thought. Eating is one of them.

Daily, people show up in my radiology department for a swallowing evaluation. Often, these patients are much younger than they should be. Their common complaint is that food gets “stuck” while they are eating. Then, while motioning to their neck,  they say, “around here.” A common fear, is a blockage, a hidden cancer, which is almost never the case.

During my examination, I am able to see that food isn’t sticking, but rather “mishandled” by the esophagus, the muscular tube which delivers food from the mouth to the stomach. The technical term for this is called dysmotility. This tube relies on the coordinated effort between different groups of muscles and nerves in the upper chest, to propel the food properly. If this coordination is awry, some food gets left behind, typically in the upper esophagus. Eventually, gravity will allow the food to fall to the stomach. Drinking liquids can help bring it down a little faster.

As we age, this discoordination becomes common. But, could it be that by not paying attention to our meal while eating, that muscles are losing their coordination in younger people? I think this is quite possible. If you suffer from this type of condition, turn off the TV and put away your devices while you. Relax and pay attention to what you are eating. Visualize the food being pushed to your stomach with ease. Master it, like any other activity at which you excel. It may take a few weeks to normalize, but I suspect your swallowing problems will turn around.

If the sensation of food sticking doesn’t resolve after becoming conscious while you eat, take a trip to to your doctor to investigate this problem further. Particularly, if you currently or have previously experienced reflux symptoms, such as heartburn, in the past. Although less common, there are other causes for food sticking which can be caused by obstruction, which may need to be diagnosed and treated.

Phil saw his shadow this year, so the word in Punxsutawney is that we have 6 more weeks of winter. Weather in Western Pennsylvania, however, has been erratic and anything but usual this year. Today there were snow flurries, but a few weeks ago, we had a long stretch of temperatures reaching into the upper 60s. It was so warm, many deciduous trees looked as if they were going to start budding.

Why do we value a 6 year old groundhog’s observation when we have 50+ year old trees to learn from? With an understanding that the global climate is changing, most of us have information that Phil and most trees don’t know. Trees might think that these blocks of abnormally warm winter days indicate that spring is around the bend. Some are waking up too early.

Trees prepare for wintertime slumber by taking steps to protect them from harsh freezing temperatures, particularly in northern latitudes. Most are familiar with the visual display of impending dormancy by the majestic tree losing its leaves in the fall. Trees, particularly older trees, have been around in a single, uninterrupted lifespan for much longer than many of us people. I take pride in following their lead. Mature trees have lived through many long, dark winters and have usually been able to sense when it’s safe to awaken and sprout their leaves. My understanding is that this process is guided by both a circadian rhythm of light and dark as well as warmer temperatures of springtime.

Why Does it Matter When Spring Starts?

One of the tricks for staying healthy in the wintertime is to not “catch a cold”. I used to think that a cold was some type of bug and that catching a cold meant catching the cold virus. But there are hundreds of different viruses that can cause the “common cold” and they are pretty much everywhere.

A more helpful expression is to not “catch cold”.

It has been shown that if you catch cold and let your immune system off guard, you can inadvertently find that you have been hosting a virus which has suddently found it easier to replicate in your cold nose, throat or lungs. Viruses aren’t really alive and they aren’t really dead. But, they can be considered to have a sort of consciousness in that they can mutate and occasionally wreak havoc if a host immune system is off guard. The aim is not to let a virus take hold of your body and “make you sick”.

One of the ways to keep the body warm in the wintertime is to wear an undershirt each and every day. Even though there are increasingly common warm days in the midst of winter, I keep an undershirt on for I know my body is still used to having an extra layer of insulation.

Yes, I let the trees guide me as to when I should change my wardrobe from winter to spring, and back again. Animals slowly build up their winter coats, a gradual transition which is hard to emulate. Trees however, lose their leaves quickly, providing a clear signal for me to start wearing an undershirt. Spring leaf sprout is my indication that it’s safe to put away my undershirts for the season. I try to make sure my kids wear their undershirts on warmer winter days too for I know from experience that if they don’t, I’ll probably be nursing them back to health the following day.

Given a day of warmth in the midst of winter though, kids think it’s “cool” to wear as little as possible. This past January, I drove by students waiting for the early morning school bus wearing light jackets. I did a double take as I passed one child wearing shorts. It was relatively warm out that day, but chilly enough to “catch cold”.

Groundhog day left us with the proclamation that spring is 6 weeks ahead, but I’d suggest looking at the trees to determine whether Spring has arrived and to determine when it is time to take off your undershirt. Until then, stay warm and, as your mother might have suggested, stay out of drafts. Finally, if you want to do your body’s immune system a real favor this winter, drink plenty of water, and supplement your diet with Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Zinc, daily.

Take care of yourself physically the remainder of this year’s wintertime by staying warm, hydrated and well nourished.

Grace and her husband, JB, are both wonderful friends and accomplished physicians. Their home is reminiscent of a rejuvenation spa with a relaxing, health conscious atmosphere. Attention is paid to every detail. From organic food and air purifiers on each floor to house plants, essential oil bathroom sprays, and organic soaps, I always leave their home with new ideas for my own. During my most recent stay with them, I gained a new appreciation for the Himalayan salt lamp.

My first morning, I awoke before the sunrise. I navigated the dark bedroom carefully and as I opened the door, I became subtly bathed in a warm, inviting reddish glow. On a hall tabletop sat a Himalayan salt lamp. I hadn’t noticed the crystal the day before. At 5 am, though, this lamp created a memorable and favorable impression. It created a tranquil light especially appreciated at this early hour. Bleary eyed, the light filled me with joy.

I purchased a salt lamp many years ago and placed it in my office. During stressful days, I plug in the lamp to help me stay calm amidst the chaos at work. When the lamp is turned on, coworkers will occasionally enter my office and comment on how calm and welcoming the room feels. Whether the effect be a real physical reaction to negative ions or a placebo effect doesn’t concern me. The lamp helps me relax.

Salt lamps are typically carved from a solid block of salt and hollowed out to make room for a light source. Some manufacturers create lamps with a scalloped recess suitable for a tea light while others contain a small bulb and attached electrical cord. The lamps are attractive in their own right, creating an earthy table top sculpture. When illuminated, they emanate a reddish glow. The reddish glow is a perfect color of light for a hallway or bathroom night light because it has much less of an inhibitory effect on melatonin production than would bluish colored light.

Salt lamps have also been attributed to be a source of negative ion production. Although this claim has not yet been verified in scientific literature, the relaxation effect created by the lamp is similar to that serenity experienced with other locales known to be associated with a greater concentration of negative ions.

What are Negative Ions?

Atoms, the building blocks of our world, commonly become charged. The acquisition of a charge turns the atom into an ion. A charge allows ions to form bonds with each other. Negative ions, referred to as anions, are attracted to and form chemical bonds with positively charged ions, also known as cations, forming molecules.

Ions are a ubiquitous component of the natural world. Moving water is a known source of negative ions. Plants undergoing photosynthesis are another common source of negative ions. Most people are familiar with the sense of relaxation associated with a walk through the forest, a trip to the beach, or by sitting next to a running stream or waterfall. In a typical home, the only sources of negative ions are houseplants and running water filling a sink, bath or shower.

Research has shown that negative ions promote relaxation and improve mood. In the 1980s, several papers were generated discussing a reversible phenomenon known as “serotonin irritation syndrome” in which anxiety worsened when people were exposed to positively charge ions. This effect however was reduced with exposure to an increased concentration of negative ions. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter within both the brain and body, is associated with many functions, including mood regulation and is thought to be affected from exposure to charged ions.

Some who suffer with asthma have reported a sense of improved breathing and a decrease in asthmatic exacerbations when exposed to negative ions, perhaps by a possible cleansing effect on the air. This effect, however, has not been proven.

I’ve been a fan of Himalayan salt lamps for years. Regardless of scientific validation, I have found these light sources to induce a sense of calm and relaxation. Although I have been using a salt lamp at stressful times during the work day for years, I have gained a new appreciation for them, now as a hallway night light!

The instant I stepped down awkwardly on to the rock and felt my knee “squish”, I knew there was trouble.
Quickly, the knee swelled and stiffened. Thankfully, it was the last day of vacation.
After a week of self medication with Advil, I gave up and went to an orthopedic surgeon. He expressed concern about the meniscus and prescribed me a 6 week course of a potent anti-inflammatory. The pain improved and the swelling subsided. But, an unnerving twinge continued to plague me with certain movements. Stepping on the clutch in my standard transmission car continued to be particularly bothersome. A few days after finishing the treatment, the pain returned and then worsened.
At my follow up appointment, the surgeon offered me a choice of physical therapy, another round of anti-inflammatory medication, or arthroscopic surgery.
Back at my work desk, I hopelessly weighed my options. That’s when my colleague, a physician in the next work station, cautiously asked if I was “open minded” and if I would consider an “alternative treatment?”
Intriguing… I thought. “Tell me more.”
This rebel of the medical establishment handed me two metallic discs and explained that his wife was a distributor for a Japanese company called Nikken that manufactures magnets. It sounded like a “woowoo” treatment, along the same line as snake oil. But, I had nothing to lose, so I let him tape the two discs onto my hurt knee.
I kept those magnets on for the rest of the day. It wasn’t until I was halfway home that I realized I hadn’t felt any twinges of pain while shifting gears.
“Hmm,” I thought. “That’s interesting?!”
I continued to wear those magnets for two months.
No weakness. No pain. No medication. No surgery.
And, today, 25 years later, no arthritis.
A True Believer
Since that fateful day, I have used magnetic products over and over again on myself, family, and friends. In fact, a whole shelf in my medicine cabinet is dedicated to this technology. I have accumulated an assortment of sizes and strengths of round magnetic discs, wraps, insoles, jewelry, and even spinning varieties that penetrate deeper into the body. My first mode of first aid is usually to tape a magnet onto an injury. From experience, I have learned that this will almost always speed up the recovery time and often without the need for other medication.
The trick is to know when to use a magnet and when to go to the doctor for a more formal evaluation. That, unfortunately, cannot be taught on a blog post. If one hears a noise during an injury, the suspicion should be raised for the need of a professional medical assessment. Tendons snap, ligaments pop, bones crack.
Visible deformity, numbness, and severe weakness should also direct one to seek a medical professional at an emergency room or urgent care center. An inability to fully move a joint due to a sense of “locking” or a feeling of “instability”, will also more than likely require a doctor’s evaluation, but not typically as an emergency.
Most strains, sprains, bruises, and other localized injury, even lower back pain, can often benefit from the application of magnets. I have even observed fractures heal much more quickly than expected following the application of magnets to a cast.
How Do they Work?
Nikken’s magnetic products penetrate and infuse the body with a magnetic grid. Blood flow improves and… the rest is seemingly magic. I imagine that the magnetic framework helps the body to heal itself, similar to scaffolding workmen use to repair a damaged edifice. I have no experience with other brands of magnetic technology and therefore cannot comment on their effectiveness. It is important to understand though that magnets aren’t “medication”. In fact, the FDA forbids magnet manufacturers from claiming that these products heal or cure.
Despite not clearly understanding how they work I can tell you unequivocally, as an orthopedic radiologist, that these strange discs from Nikken help the body heal, and often without any additional medication or treatment.
Sustainable
An anti-inflammatory with no side effects. No needed prescription and no concern for refills. In fact, unless you lose them, they seem to last forever.
Do you have an open mind?

“Oops!”

The woman knelt down to pick up the chocolate covered strawberry from the floor and called out gleefully, “Three second rule!”

Then, she ate it.

I watched the scene from across the room and chuckled, remembering the rule from childhood. The candy covered fruit was delicious. I understood why she didn’t want to waste even one piece.

On one other recent occasion, I witnessed someone claim a “two second rule” before ceremoniously brushing off and eating a fallen morsel. I imagine that this person thought two seconds was a safer window than three for retrieval.

The rule, more commonly called the “Five second rule”, is based on the notion that bugs on the floor, seen and unseen, will not have enough time to crawl onto a piece of dropped food if the edible is picked up within 5 seconds.

I suppose this rule would be somewhat true for tiny insects like ants. But, bacteria don’t scurry, bacteria stick like grains of sand adherent to food dropped at the beach.

Researchers at Rutgers University recently proved that bacteria can stick to food the instant it hits a floor or dirty counter top. Furthermore, they clarified that the wetter the food and the longer the surface contact, the larger the number of bacteria that will become attached to the food’s surface.

Whereas I agree that eating food off the floor in a public place is risky, bacteria living in one’s home could be considered an extension of one’s microbiome and should usually not cause disease. All bets are off though if family members and guests wear outdoor footwear into the kitchen. Consider that unknown bacteria and viruses can be transported to the kitchen floor along with outdoor chemicals including pesticides, petroleum residues etc. by footwear.

In addition, be on alert if cooking with ingredients such as poultry possibly tainted with disease causing bacteria such as salmonella or E. coli. If contaminated chicken, for example, is placed on a countertop before it is cooked, bacteria on the chicken can contaminate the countertop. If bread is then placed on the countertop where the raw chicken had been, the bread can pick up the bacteria left by the chicken. This is called cross contamination. Unlike the chicken, the bread will not be cooked to a proper temperature to kill off the bacteria and may cause disease if eaten. Similarly, one sneeze can deposit a film of bacteria or virus onto a countertop surface and cause food contamination if someone in the home is ill.

If you consider your floors and countertops to be sanitary and clean enough to eat from, evaluate the ingredients within your cleaning agents. Many floor cleansers and countertop sprays not only remove dirt and accumulated grime, but contain harsh chemicals that will kill off nearly all types of bacteria, mold and viruses, creating a nearly sterile surface. Toxic residues from these products may stick to a dropped piece of food and be could damaging to one’s health.

In our home, we do eat an occasional piece of food from the floor. We frequently clean the kitchen floor and counters with edible household ingredients such as vinegar, water, salt, lemon juice and baking soda. In addition, we take our shoes and sneakers off at the front door and ask guests to do the same.

Finally, if you are seated at a festive dining table covered by a freshly dry-cleaned table linen this holiday season, it is best if you don’t eat food that has been placed or dropped onto the cloth. Dry cleaning chemicals are known to be very toxic and can also quickly leach into a piece of food.

A bit of friendly advice to help you stay healthy and enjoy the season that much more.

Happy holidays to all!