by admin | Aug 6, 2021 | health, Newsletter |
I hope you are doing well. It’s a been a little while since I have written to you and I wanted to reach out and connect. This month’s Newsletter is about dealing with heat outside. Coincidentally, I am going to be speaking about “burnout” next week, which is generated from both outside and inside ourselves. Heat Related Illness: Earlier in the summer in places in New York City and around the country, there were heat waves. In August, it can also get very hot outside and I wanted to give you some tips to help you stay cool and healthy in the heat. Heat-Related Illness is a term that encompasses a spectrum of conditions from hyperthermia (overheating of the body) to lower extremity swelling, cramps, to heat exhaustion, and finally heat stroke. (1) According to the Wilderness Medical Society Clinical Practice Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Heat Illness: 2019 Update, Heat Exhaustion is “mild to moderate heat illness” due to exposure to high environmental temperatures or strenuous physical exercise. The signs and symptoms of Heat Exhaustion include “intense thirst, weakness, discomfort, anxiety, dizziness,” and fainting. (1) One’s body temperature might be normal or elevated up to but not including 104 degrees F. With Heat Stroke, the body temperature is greater than 104 degrees F, and the signs and symptoms are more severe and can be deadly. They include “altered mental status, seizures, or coma resulting from passive exposure to heat or strenuous exercise.” (1) Also, flushed skin, rapid breathing, racing heart, and headache can be seen with heat stroke. (4) How can you prevent heat-related illness? First, identify your risk factors. Having any of the following conditions increases...
by admin | Mar 20, 2021 | health |
I hope you are having a fabulous weekend! I am! My birthday was yesterday and I love celebrating my birthday. I feel that birthdays are special and I love to wish people a Happy Birthday! I am writing to to remind you that tomorrow, Sunday, March 21st, is the Women’s Wellth™ Workshop from 8am to 4:30pm. I will be presenting a session entitled, “Don’t Mess with Stress™–A Plan to Thrive in Uncertain Times” from 10:05am to 10:55am. There are several other sessions presented by wonderful, inspiring practitioners. Please join us by registering below. A portion of the Workshop Proceeds will be given to the Breast Cancer Treatment Task Force, which offers free breast cancer screening, diagnostics, and treatment to people without health insurance. I hope you join us tomorrow! To Your Health, Dr....
by admin | Mar 1, 2021 | health |
I hope all is well with you and yours. We continue to live through uncertain times. As I have written about in past Newsletters, it takes resilience and stress hardiness to thrive during these times. This edition of the Newsletter is focused on Part 2 of Gut Health. Please see Part 1 about “How to Heal Your Gut from Election Stress” which focused on Gastroesophageal Reflux (GERD), at www.drjillbaron.com/blog. As the famous Greek Physician Hippocrates said, “All disease begins in the gut.” ¹ This was a prescient statement. Current research is demonstrating that the gut affects all of our systems from the brain and nervous system to the endocrine and the immune system. ² Research is now con firming that a “Gut Feeling” has a biological basis in one’s Gut-Brain communication! ¹ Here are some Key Concepts about the GUT: What is the Gut? The term “gut” refers to the digestive system from the mouth to the anus. The small intestine is where 90% of the nutrients from food are absorbed.³ The remaining “undigested and unabsorbed food” enters the large intestine or colon, where the remaining minerals and water are absorbed. ⁴ The colon is also home to the “microbiome”—the collection of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa that populate the colon. Gut as “The Second Brain: There is another part of the Gut called the “Enteric Nervous System.” This composes “the neurons and supporting cells” that line the “gastrointestinal tract, from the esophagus to the anus.” ⁵ This Enteric Nervous System makes hormones and neurotransmitters like serotonin, which is involved with mood, and GABA, which helps calm the brain....
by admin | Jan 6, 2021 | health |
I hope you are well. We have weathered a lot in the past nine months—from the loss of life to the disappearance of jobs and livelihoods. We have been called upon to use our powers of discipline, acceptance, and fortitude to withstand the restrictions that have been imposed on our lives. And we have adapted and soldiered on. For many people the Pandemic has given them time to reflect about their lives, and to focus on what is really important to them.¹ I believe it has inspired a new reverence for the fragility of life. With the transiency of life as a theme and as the New Year approaches, which is a time of new beginnings, I feel impelled to write about a subject that I feel has more primacy and urgency. I had promised to write about the Gut, Part 2. I will address the Gut in a subsequent Newsletter. The focus of this Newsletter will be about “Ikigai” and how it can affect your health, well-being and ultimately your life. Ikigai (pronounced “Ickee Guy”) is the Japanese term for one’s reason for being, or as they say in French, Raison d’être. Knowing one’s Ikigai can help us embrace life more fully. In their book, Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles state that Ikigai may be one of the factors that contributes to Japanese longevity, especially the Centenarians who live in Okinawa. ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ Research has shown that having meaning and purpose in life can increase psychological well-being. In fact, it “can aid in overcoming stress, depression, anxiety, and...
by admin | Nov 18, 2020 | health |
As I mentioned in my Newsletter yesterday, I just finished my first book, “Don’t Mess with Stress ™–A Simple Guide to Managing Stress, Optimizing Health, and Making the World a Better Place.” It has taken me several years to get it done, with many starts and stops, and I am proud that it is completed! The thesis behind the book is that when people feel good about themselves, mind and body, they are apt to be nicer to others. I believe this fosters a “pay it forward” mentality, which can ultimately make the world a better place. My book, with its recommendations and tools, is designed to help you feel and be your best, especially during these challenging times. If you are so moved, would you please purchase the paperback or e-book on Amazon especially TODAY, as it will count to make it a best seller, and feel free to pass it on to your friends, family, acquaintances, and anyone who you feel might benefit from it, especially during the holidays. The e-book is priced very low just for a few days, to make it more available to people. Here is the link to Amazon. Thank you so much for your help and support! With warm regards, Dr. Jill Click Here to Order My...
by admin | Nov 18, 2020 | health |
I hope all is well with you and yours. As I write this Newsletter, Covid-19 cases are increasing on top of a challenging political landscape. And as I have written about in past Newsletters, it takes resilience and stress hardiness to thrive during these times. To deal best with this stress, I always recommend that you follow the Don’t Mess with Stress ™ core four lifestyle behaviors—Diet, Meditate, Walk (Move, Exercise, Dance), and Sleep and also have social connection when possible. Recently, I have seen in my patients an increase in stress-related gastrointestinal tract conditions. People are having more heartburn, and others are having more lower gastrointestinal symptoms like constipation and/or diarrhea, what Western Medicine often calls Irritable Bowel Syndrome. For this edition of the Newsletter I am going to focus on a condition called Gastroesophageal Reflux or GERD. In the December Newsletter I will focus on the lower GI tract. During this time, I must confess that I have had some symptoms of GERD. GERD happens when the food and acid from the stomach come up through a valve called the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). Normally this sphincter or valve is closed after we eat, so food won’t come back up. One of the causes of GERD is an anatomical issue such as a hiatal hernia, where part of the stomach is pushed up through the diaphragm, the thin piece of muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen. People are either born with a hiatal hernia or they can develop it. Another major cause of GERD is when the LES loosens and the food and acid...
