Yet on a recent visit to my local toy store, my reminiscing received a disturbing jolt.

Turning a corner, I found myself confronted with colorful representations of various disease microbes like “Cholera,” “Anthrax,”  and “The Pox”!  Each were huggable-looking stuffed toys with big playful eyes.  They were also tagged with a “Fact” description noting the prevalence and frequency of each ailment.

All I could think was, why? Don’t we hear enough of health problems on television commercials?  Now dreaded diseases are being represented as attractive, lovable toys for children to adore!

What would you think if your little one unwrapped a birthday gift only to exclaim, “I’ve got polio!”  A 2007 Newsweek article addressing the toys noted, “This combination of gag gift and educational toy can be an awkward marketing fit. Toy stores steer clear of STDs, and [the manufacturer] aims bugs like HIV at health-care professionals… “

Are these really the type of “educational” toys to give small children?  I can think of so many more important things to teach children than about cholera or the black death.  And the toy store I visited didn’t get the message about steering “clear of STD’s.”  The stuffed “Herpes” toy was front and center.

I asked the women at the register about the colorful stuffed microbes and she told me they were popular with doctors and nurses.  OK, fair enough, but why are they being marketed in a children’s toy store?

For instance, each tag includes a child safety precaution that notes, “Remove plastic hangtags and ribbons before giving to a child under three years of age.” Does this mean there is an educational motive to get children over three years old to read which stuffed disease microbe they are snuggling up with for the night?  Sounds like some scary science fiction novel, doesn’t it?

It reminds me of the Stockholm Syndrome.  Patty Hearst was said to suffer from this malady during her captivity.  She became so mesmerized by her long-time captors that she grew to embrace them. These toys make me wonder, has our society become so saturated with health fears and concerns that we also feel helpless and are now suffering from the same syndrome that would embrace the inevitability of diseases?

Surrounding children with reminders of disease and potential health problems goes against scientific studies that indicate how important thought is to maintaining good health. Nocebo studies and the science of epigenetics are discovering the importance of our mental environment and the thoughts we embrace.

For me, I would rather surround a 3-year-old with stuffed toys that are tagged: loved, cherished, nurtured, healthy and safe.

Even the Bible notes, “whatsoever things are of good report; … think on these things.”

I’m grateful I grew up with a trusted teddy bear and a calm assurance and understanding that good health was normal and should be expected.

This article first appeared on Blogcritics.  

Large writes how he is striving to adapt to changing nutrition recommendations and doing “whatever it takes to stay healthy.” For instance, Large is considering a weekly plan of meatless Mondays, fish Fridays, tofu Tuesdays, and maybe water-only Wednesdays.

Water-only Wednesdays?

I thought, water-only what? He must be joking, but it’s hard to tell. Before anyone considers a diet that includes regular fasting, perhaps they should consider what the Bible says on nutrition and spiritual, health-promotive thoughts – but more on that in a minute.

Reading the online comments to the Large article, I found that I’m not the only one viewing nutritional reports in the media with a grain of salt. Have you noticed how the reports are often contradictory? Experts have noticed this also, including science writer Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories – Bad Calories, who has questioned the validity of many widely accepted ideas regarding carbs, calories, and what is considered healthy eating.

Another critic of nutritional studies is respected meta-researcher Dr. John Ioannidis, of the Stanford School of Medicine. Ioannidis has spent his career uncovering bias and wrong conclusions in medical research. His findings have shown that studies often sharply conflict with one another and are prone to numerous errors. When asked by The Atlantic ”How should we choose among these dueling, high profile nutritional findings?” Ioannidis suggests a simple approach: ignore them all.

That’s right, he suggests we ignore all the nutritional studies.

It leaves me wondering where we should turn when it comes to finding healthful eating guides. It may not be everyone’s first place to look, but I’ve noticed that relevant perspectives regarding today’s discussions on eating and health can be found in the Bible. Here are a few:

1. Questioning nutritional guides is nothing new. A healthy skepticism regarding nutritional recommendations goes back to the biblical time of Daniel. Over 2,500 years ago, Daniel held to his religious beliefs and proved that he and his friends could refrain from the recommended diet and yet be healthier and better nourished.

2. What you eat is not what is most important. Jesus Christ stated that we should not worry about what we eat. He even advised his followers to eat whatever was served to them. And since he devoted so much time to healing others, I don’t think he was uncaring about their health. Some may think this view to be an irresponsible approach today, but not the French. When it comes to what they eat, the French appear to have followed Jesus’ suggestion. A recent article from WebMD.com explores French eating habits that are less concerned about what to eat than having reasonably sized portions.

3.  More important: What thoughts are you consuming? Jesus also emphasized that it wasn’t what went in someone’s mouth that mattered, but what came out of it. I think this means that what we say represents the thoughts we’ve consumed, ruminated on, and then repeated out loud. With all the mental junk food available today, I believe Jesus was cautioning us regarding our mental diet.

4.  Think grateful thoughts. The Bible notes that our mental diet should include grateful thoughts and seeing the good in life. John Kralik’s A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning to Say Thank You Changed My Life highlights the restorative benefits of this way of thinking.

Regardless of what the next nutritional report recommends and before beginning water-only Wednesdays, consider taking a cue from the Bible and focus on spiritual, health-promotive thoughts. These are a form of healthcare we can all afford.

In the April 2012 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, Author Anne Lamott provides an interesting insight into something that she missed as a child – an atmosphere of love. She writes, “The food and life my parents created would have been delicious and nourishing, if it were not for one tiny problem – they were so unhappy together.” Lamott continues,

“I found the spiritual food for which I longed as a child in the families of my two best friends. One was Catholic, and lived up the block. The Catholics said grace before serving up aggressively modest fare–English muffin pizzas, tuna noodle casserole, fish sticks. The parents seemed to enjoy each other’s company: What a concept. Sometimes they yelled at each other and then later hugged and kissed in the kitchen–oh my God. It had never crossed my mind that peace could be found in full expression–in yelling, and weepy embraces.

I also loved to eat–and be–with a Christian Science family, who did not yell but read the Bible and Mrs. Eddy together. We prayed, eyes closed, breathing deeply. In the silence you could feel and hear your own breath in your nostrils, and that could be both relaxing and scary, like having a car wash in your head. Of course, I did not mention this to my parents–they would have been horrified. For me it was heaven, even though we frequently ate snacks for dinner–popcorn, store-bought pie. This food was so delicious because of the love in that house, the love that had at its core a sweet, strong marriage. They did not yell or kiss as much as the Catholics, but I felt enveloped by the friendly confidence of their faith, and I was sad each time I was remanded to the spiritual anorexia over at my house.”
While my own Christian Science family didn’t eat snacks for dinner when I was growing up, I love the sense of warmth and joy Lamott describes in these two accounts. I also appreciate the emphasis they place on a strong marriage to ensure a loving home life. Studies indicate that living in an atmosphere of love is not only a quality of life issue, but also one that impacts health.

For instance, consider a study by British nutritionist Elsie Widdowson published in The Lancet in 1951. Orphans in two different homes were given the same war rations, yet one group gained considerably more weight than the other. Vogelnest, the home with the healthier children, was run by a loving matron. The other home was run by “a cold and erratic matron…who frequently terrorized and humiliated the children.” Halfway through the study, the loving matron left the Vogelnest orphanage and the other home’s matron took over. Despite receiving extra war rations, the weight of the once thriving children fell sharply.

World-renowned physician Dean Ornish, M.D., writes, “I am not aware of any other factor in medicine that has a greater impact on our survival than the healing power of love and intimacy. Not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not stress, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery.”

In an era of constantly changing dietary recommendations, it’s reassuring to know that some basic truths never change. When it comes to children, letting them know they are deeply loved and cherished are some of the most healthful nutriments parents can provide.

“Bugs,” the two year old boy said as he pointed to an irritated patch of skin on his face. Mary Leitao looked closer, and although she found no visible insects, she was startled to find colored fibers sprouting from her son’s skin. It was a summer evening in 2001 that would change the lives of the Leitao family for years to come.

A medical researcher turned stay-at home mom, Leitao had never seen anything like it and neither had her husband, Edward, an internist at South Allegheny Internal Medicine.  Mary Leitao took her son to be examined by numerous doctors, but none provided a satisfactory explanation. Many suggested that it was a form of psychosis called “delusional infestation” or the conviction of being infected with parasites. Believing instead that she had discovered a new disease, Leitao named the condition Morgellons and in 2004 established a non-profit organization called the Morgellons Research Foundation (MRF).

Through the efforts of the MRF, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) conducted a three-year government study to research Morgellons. The results, released last week, indicated that there was no diseased organisms or parasites present in the 115 case-patients. The protruding fibers were found to be mostly skin fragments or clothing fibers stuck to the skin.  According to the report, the physical ailments were manifestations of “delusional infestation.”

What is hygge?  Well, it has nothing to do with Black Friday or Christmas bargain shopping. It’s not even about gifts, except perhaps the gift of sharing someone’s company.

Danish flag

There is no adequate English translation, and most non-Danes, like myself, have trouble even pronouncing the word!  It is most often translated as cozy or coziness, but it is much more than that. Some say the best way to understand hygge is to look at the definition of its opposite, “uhyggeligt”, which is defined as anything from cheerless and uncomfortable to sinister and alarming.

I once had the good fortune to live in Denmark and study at the university, and I have returned to visit many times since. The Danish family I lived with best explained hygge to me by exclaiming in the moment, “Bill, this is hyggelig (hygge-like)!”  The first time this occurred was at a candlelit dinner at their home on a dark autumn evening. The meal was delicious and the conversation between the four of us warm and engaging.  I began to see that hygge was subtle and somewhat individual, but it was social nirvana to Danes.

Hygge is a sense of peaceful well being and contentment expressed in a state of comfort and warmth often (but not always) in the company of loved ones.  A loving and agreeable person can be described as “hyggelig” and a memorable time with friends might be “hyggeligt”.  Experiencing hygge is common at Danish summer or holiday houses in the country or near the sea, but it can happen anywhere.

At its essence, hygge is a state of thought–one that turns us from the fast pace and complexity of modern society to slow down and celebrate the joy and simplicity of life.

According to a recent report on stress, the Danish pursuit of hygge and peaceful contentment may also be a healthy one.

Denmark had not been my first choice as a place to study abroad.  The Danish language is difficult, the landscape unremarkable and the weather is often cold and gray.  My preference had been to study in Italy. Yet, my year studying in Copenhagen was one of the best of my life and it changed me forever.  I found it no surprise that Forbes.com reported the Danish people as the happiest on earth.  The love and pursuit of hygge may be a significant reason.

From my experience, hygge has always had a spiritual quality to it–one that glimpses the divine goodness embracing each of us. To me, it’s somewhat like the biblical passage, ”Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Danes may call it hygge, but we’re all capable of seeing the good in our lives and experiencing the same intimate peace and warmth. This year, enjoy a warm fire or some holiday candles and have a very “hyggelig” holiday season!

This article first appeared on Blogcritics.com

A recent article in the Portland(Maine) Press Herald, “Reflections: You can improve your health by expressing gratitude, study says,”

“‘Gratitude helps people improve their health,’ according to this month’s Harvard Mental Health Letter, published by the Harvard Medical School. The publication cites a landmark study, which showed that those who expressed gratitude had fewer health complaints.”

Physicians at universities throughout the country are uncovering the health benefits of having a grateful outlook on life. Seattlepi.com recently published an insightful blog post titled, “The Key to Wellness? It’s Gratitude, One Doctor Says.”  The article notes, “cultivating a spirit of gratitude is the foundational secret to health.”

In my experience, I’ve also found it’s never too late to be thankful.

Years ago, I had become good friends with an employer but we parted on unfortunate terms.  Ten or more years later, I realized much of the blame was my own and I felt troubled by this admission.  I looked up my past employer and sent him a card expressing my regret and gratitude for the job I had once enjoyed with him. I soon received a response suggesting that we get together. It was a meeting I’ll never forget.  We reminisced and laughed about the good times and parted with our relationship fully restored.

I think one of the most inspiring accounts of giving thanks is John Kralik’s book, “365 Thank Yous.”  At a low point in his life, Kralik began sending a thank you card every day for an entire year.  After he had sent his first cards, his life began to turn around.  As he began to take note of all that he had to be thankful for, more came his way.  His financial situation improved, he lost 40 pounds, gained true friends and a sense of inner peace.

I was reminded of his book by a card I received just a few days ago. On his final day with my office, my assistant handed me a thank you card expressing his gratitude for the four years of working together.  The graciousness of the card was a heartfelt reminder of how giving thanks can raise events to a higher, more meaningful level–a healthful perspective of celebrating the good in life.

This article first appeared on Blogcritics.org

Wim Hof

I’m sure many who have seen him on YouTube ask, how does he do it?  Others may be asking why.

For me, Hof’s ability to break through conventional human limitations brings up a host of questions.  Is the body more than a self-acting, material mechanism?  Is there a way that one’s thoughts can bring about health without physical intervention?  Can anyone do this?

Hof’s feats have been studied at the Feinstein Institute in New York, the Thermo Physiological Institute in Oulu, Finland and Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands.

At the TED conference held last year in Amsterdam, Wim Hof was a featured guest.  Professor Maria Hopman of the Nijmegen Medical Centre explained how she had studied Hof’s abilities and provided three possible explanations:

1. He’s conditioned his body to accept extremely cold conditions.

2. He’s genetically advantaged.

3. His thoughts allow him to control his body.

Recently, Hof agreed to participate in tests that ultimately called into question that his feats may be due only to physical conditioning. Scientists at the University Medical Centre in Nijmegen conducted various tests on Hof for a year, culminating in what they described as the most difficult test on March 31, 2011. That day, they tested Hof’s mental ability to influence his immune system. Professor of experimental intensive care medicine Dr. Peter Pickkers and his team injected Hof with Endotoxin to see if his thoughts would be able to effectively combat the bacteria.  The injection was expected to cause Hof to experience flu-like symptoms.

They were astonished when he failed to get sick.

ScienceDaily.com reported the experiment in its April 22, 2011 article, “Research On ‘Iceman’ Wim Hof Suggests It May Be Possible to Influence Autonomic Nervous System and Immune Response.”

The investigators concluded that Hof was remarkable, but that the experiment could not serve as scientific evidence until the same results could be obtained with larger groups demonstrating the same results.

Jin Songhao and Chen Kecai would likely disagree that Hof’s abilities are unique to him and the result of a genetic advantage.  Earlier this year, both men surpassed Hof’s previous ice bath record of 115 minutes.  Songhao now holds the world record at an even two hours.

Hof doesn’t consider himself to be an anomaly. In fact, he gives workshops teaching others his meditation practice and believes everyone is capable of what he has demonstrated.

At the TED conference previously mentioned, moderator Jon Rosenfeld asked Hof what motivated him. He responded, “My mission is to show that everybody, by their mind, can reach more depth within themselves, and that we all have healing power, an inner doctor. Go back to that inner power and heal yourself.”  Hof also noted that he believed that one’s thoughts can prevent disease.

I don’t know too much about Hof’s method of meditation, but I appreciate what he has accomplished.  I also agree with him that we are all capable of promoting better health through improving our mentality.  In fact, according to an astonishing report last summer, nearly half of all American adults are also concluding that praying about their health is worthwhile.

Becoming the Iceman

In my own experience, I’ve found that keeping my thoughts aligned with what I know about God has brought an end to chronic migraine headaches, physical injuries and other forms of illness.  These positive outcomes didn’t come about through positive thinking or mentally attempting to will a change of health conditions. Instead, they were the result of lifting my consciousness to recognize and express more of my spiritual identity.

Hof’s book titled, Becoming the Iceman is now available online.

Article was first published on Blogcritics.org.

When it comes to maintaining health, how does love compare to hygiene or diet? In “The Cure Within: A History of Mind-Body Medicine,” author Anne Harrington provides some interesting answers.

In her chapter, “Healing Ties,” she highlights the famous 1945 studies of psychiatrist Rene Spitz whose data proved love to be a more health-promoting factor than hygiene in the care of children.

Harrington writes that Spitz conducted a study in two foundling homes. In one of the homes, infants “received excellent physical care in a scrupulously hygienic environment. Good hygiene, it was believed, was the key to good health.” Yet, the little ones were sadly given little individual love or attention. They were even kept isolated from one another by sheets hung over the sides of their cribs to prevent the possible spread of infection. The results of this care were tragic as the children grew to have a host of physical and mental problems. “When the children were between two and four years old, observers assumed they were seeing babies half that age. Finally, in spite of the scrupulous effort to maintain good hygiene, within two years 37 percent of the foundling children had died from infection.”

Spitz studied a second group with opposite conditions. These children grew up in a dirty and chaotic prison nursery. Harrington notes, “However, the mothers of these children (all of whom were prisoners) were permitted to spend a certain amount of time each day with their children, during which they lavished them with affection. The result? In spite of the dirt…not a single one of the second group of children succumbed to infection during the five year period of Spitz’s study. The mothers’ love had proven a better deterrent to infection than the most conscientious of good hygiene practices.”

In another study published in The Lancet, British nutritionist Elsie Widdowson shared her conclusions of a 1951 study on the effects of war rations on the health of children. Orphans in two different homes were given the same war rations, yet one group gained considerably more weight than the other. Vogelnest, the home with the more healthy children, was run by a loving matron and the other home by “a cold and erratic matron…who frequently terrorized and humiliated the children.” Halfway through the study, the loving matron left the Vogelnest orphanage and the other matron took over. Despite receiving extra war rations, the weight of the once thriving children fell sharply.

Harrington also shares that in 1998, “heart health expert Dean Ornish wrote that diet was still important in controlling heart disease, but it couldn’t compare with love: ‘Love and intimacy are among the most powerful factors in health and illness,’ he declared. ‘I am not aware of any other factor in medicine—not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not stress, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery–that has greater impact on our quality of life, incidence of illness, and premature death from all causes.’”

Although the previously mentioned studies related to young children, Harrington’s examples show the health benefits of love for all ages. For instance, she shares the work of University of Maryland psychiatrist James Lynch whose research in the 1970’s showed that “High, erratic heart rates of acutely ill and, sometimes, comatose patients in intensive care can be stabilized by asking a nurse to take the patients hand and speak to him or her in a caring way.”

There are many more interesting stories and studies by respected research scientists to be found in Harrington’s book. I’m particularly grateful for the clarity she brings to the health benefits of being in a loving mental environment.

Quasicrystal pattern

According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, Israel’s Dan Shechtman knows how difficult it can be to think differently from a consensus of scientists.

In 1982, Shechtman discovered the patterned but nonrepeating atomic structures of quasicrystals.  Members of the scientific community ridiculed Schectman, calling his discovery nonsense, a physical impossibility and denouncing him as a “quasi-scientist.”

Yet, last week Shechtman’s discovery won him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry!

The opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal noted,

“Today, Shechtman’s observations have been fully validated and quasicrystals are beginning to have commercial applications. But his story is a reminder that a consensus of scientists is no substitute for, and often a bar to, great science. That’s especially so when the consensus hardens into a dogmatic and self-satisfied enterprise.

Isn’t there another field in which a similar kind of consensus has taken hold, with similarly unpleasant consequences for those who question its core assumptions?”

What about healthcare?

Is it nonsense to question if health and illness are totally physical in nature, and therefore all therapies should be physical ones?  I’ve noticed a growing acceptance of alternative approaches to conventional Western medicine.  U.S. News recently reported some of the surprising findings of the 2007 National Health Interview Survey.  The report noted that three out of four health care workers turn to some form of complementary or alternative healthcare option. Doctors and nurses were even twice as likely to do so than non-clinical health workers.

I believe the beneficial effect of spiritual thinking–seeing ourselves as more than a physical body and keeping our thoughts in tune with an all-loving divinity–can bring about favorable health outcomes.  Many may be skeptical of this approach, but as Shechtman’s experience proved, what’s outside the box today may be tomorrow’s Nobel Prize.

Article first published as “For Those Who Dare to Think Differently” on Blogcritics.org.