| I have talked about the importance of microbes in a past Musings. The importance of microbes in every day life cannot be over-stated. Microbes live in every part of our bodies, in every crevice, and on every surface. There are more bacterial cells on our bodily surfaces-collectively amounting to 100 trillion cells-than there are human cells in the entire body.
We are born 90% human, 10% microbes. As we develop and grow, our microbes develop and grow with us. They grow much faster than we grow. By the time most of us die, we will have reversed the proportion of human to microbes, and we will have become 90% microbial. At the time of our death, then, it could be said that we are, indeed, more microbial than human.
In 2008, a branch of the National Institutes of Health, launched a 5 year, $153 million, federally funded research project called the “Microbiome Project.” It is looking at all the microbes; most are bacteria, but there are also viruses, parasites, protozoa (one-cell organisms with animal-like behavior), bacteriophages (a virus that replicates within bacteria), and yeast – and what scientists are finding is changing the face of medicine. Take a closer look at these developments:
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* Babies get a substance from breast milk that they cannot digest. This substance is oligosaccharides and babies do not have the required enzymes to digest this substance. The purpose of oligosaccharides is to deliver materials to the microbes that reside in the baby’s gut! It is our infants’ first prebiotic!
* Couples who live together share more microbes with each other if they have a dog, compared with couples that do not have a dog. The largest bacteria group that dogs and humans share is Betaproteobacteria.
* Animals who are fed antibiotics gain more weight than those not fed antibiotics. The research shows that antibiotics alter the bacteria that play an important role in regulating weight.
*Stress during childhood could have long-term effects on the gut microbiome. When rats and monkeys are separated from their mothers, a type of stress is created that alters the microbiota of the gut.
* Kissing involves exchanging human microbiota. Variety is key to health, and the exchange of each others’ micbrobes has the advantage of boosting immunity. In addition, there are a wealth of other benefits to kissing. It relieves stress and releases epinephrine into the blood, resulting in increased pumping of blood, which can reduce LDL cholesterol. Kissing stimulates the production of saliva in the mouth, which helps to fight cavities. And it also stimulates a cascade of “happy” hormones, such as serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. These “happy” hormones aren’t only important for good feelings; they also help to strengthen relationships. It has been found that those who cannot commit to a love relationship are low in oxytocin.
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Tuesdays at La Casa
La Casa is pleased to announce the resumption of its evening seminars, which are free of charge, and held in our beautiful, spacious (newly re-designed) reception space. Come breathe in the best air quality you will find in NYC, as we cleanse our environment every day with health-sustaining activated oxygen (O3), and with a multitude of live plants (including the newest addition to our family of plants – our Living Wall). Feed yourself with both emotional and intellectual food, as well as owner Dr. Jane Goldberg’s (world-renowned/much adored) raw Rosemary Crackers with truly raw and organic almonds (a tough commodity to find, see Jane’s recent Musings from 20th Street, writing about the toxicity of most almonds on the market, including almonds that are labeled as raw and organic: Raw Or Rocket Fuel?
All seminars begin at 7:30 at La Casa
41 E. 20th St, 2nd floor. 212-673-2272
March 18: Polina Liss, M.D.: Polina is a holistic physician who is now affiliated with La Casa. She is going to speak on “Everyone has Hormones.” Whether you’re a man or a woman, hormones are affecting you as they are chemical messengers that tell our cells what to do, from energy levels and reproductive functions to metabolism and mood. Polina is especially fond of the thyroid gland, as it has critical importance in anti-aging.
March 25: Michael Pizhadze is a psychophysicist, trained at the Russian Institute for Practical Psychophysics in Omsk, Russia,. Michael has been affiliated with La Casa for many years. He has introduced cutting-edge Russian technology healing devices into this country, several of which are amongst La Casa’smost effective healing therapies (the Metatron and Cem Tech). He is going to speak on “Energy Activation, ” the body’s invisible yet profoundly important system of energies, and methods for energizing and activating them.
April 1: Ilora Rafque, M.D. is a holistic physician, formerly head of Internal Medicine at Montefiore Hospital. Recently, she has established a holistic clinic in the Bronx, the Nirvana Integrative Medicine. She is going to speak on “My Personal Journey with Cancer,” referring to her relationship to her mother’s cancer, and her subsequent and intensely personal journey with her own breast cancer.
April 8: Veselin Shumantov, DDS is a holistic dentist who is now affiliated with La Casa. Speaking with him will be Luz Zelaya, and they are going to talk on “Connect the Dots between the Mouth, Chronic Disease and Overall Health.”
April 15: Stephen and Howie Halpern are, respectively, a nutritionist and an herbalist who are affiliated with La Casa. They are going to speak on “The Life-Saving Value of Supplementation,” and are going to introduce the newest, latest discoveries. For instance, they have been using MitoQ, which scientific research shows to be 800 times more effective in anti-oxidant power than any other CoQ10 Enzyme on the market. Howie is going to talk about his recovery, through the use of supplements, from three years of lying in bed, essentially comatose and amnesiac after having open-heart surgery.
April 22: Patricia Bowden-Luccardi, LMT, CNMT, CTT is going to speak on “Thermographic Imaging” as a safe, radiation-free method of screening for breast health, thyroid abnormalities, lymphatic congestion, nervous system disorders, abdominal inflammation, vascular system analysis, and neuromuscular disorders. With the recent mainstream medical opinion finally talking about the adverse health consequences of mammography, this non-invasive method of detecting cancer and other pathogenic conditions is more important than ever. A recent medical study found 97% accuracy (correlated with biopsies) with thermographic interpretations of breast cancer.
April 29: Cher Carden has been a certified colon therapist at La Casa since our beginning 20 years ago. (We are proud to be the oldest day spa in NYC.) She is going to speak on “Whole Body Tissue Cleansing Through Bowel Management.” La Casa has developed 8 different kinds of colonics, each unique and powerful in creating different kinds of cleansings. We know that there can be no health without a healthy bowel.
