Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Repetitions on a theme


In the past few weeks, I have attended multipe webinars and professional gatherings. By and large, a theme emerged. That theme is LISTEN to each other and show that you CARE.

As part of the community rotation of my dietetic internship, I am currently working at the American Dietetic Association office of Policy Initiatives and Advocacy. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to listen to highlights from The 2009 Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public. It was inspiring.

One woman talked about the importance of having on person on every medical team whose job it is to partner with patients to help make the changes they want to make in their lives. She called this postition an Integrative Health Coach. If only we all worked in Team Care Environment and had an Integrative Health Coach to really support each one of our patients.

Dr. Dean Ornish also spoke at the Summit. My favorite story of his was when he explained a Yale angiogram study where persons were asked "Do you feel loved and supported by your spouse?" It turned out that, the more loved and supported the person felt, the less atherosclerosis and blockages were seen in their arteries.

In my Nutrition Assessment and Therapy II class at Bastyr, my wise professor Debra Boutin expressed the idea that the heart chakra (the center from which feelings of love emenate) might somehow be connected to the health of the actual heart. In America, we tend to function as idividuals, move away from our families, and live on our own. Very few of us have a good sense of community anymore. Is it not surprising that our cardiovascular health is also ailing?

At a talk by Dr. James Gordon this evening, I was struck by how much he emphasized listening and caring. He said, in order to promote healing, people must have a safe place to go and be able to talk without fear, knowing that those who are listening care. The absence of judgement. A hope for the possibility of a better future. For change that is good.

How does this relate to nutrition? Well, emotions are tied to eating behaviors and quality of digestion. How many people eat when they are stressed? sad? happy? tired? I propose that, if more people were happy and felt loved every day, there would be way less stress- and emotion-related eating in this country.

So make someone's day and give them a hug.

*HUGS* to all those reading this blog!