In Your Own Backyard – June 11, 2009

June 11, 2009 · Filed Under Features · Comment 

Forest tent caterpillar outbreak heavy this year

Michigan is experiencing a heavy outbreak of forest tent caterpillars (FTC) this year, particularly in areas around Gaylord, Cadillac, Traverse City and Petoskey in the northern Lower Peninsula, according to the Department of Natural Resources, (DNR).

Widespread outbreaks of FTC occur at intervals of 10 to 15 years. These outbreaks last for two to five years, with most running their course in two to three years.  FTC epidemics commonly begin over large areas simultaneously.  This is caused by favorable weather conditions preceding an outbreak.  Population buildups often follow periods of unusually warm, dry springs. Fortunately, FTC outbreaks eventually subside as caterpillars succumb to parasites and other insect natural enemies.

Defoliation begins in early May in the northern Lower Peninsula and late May in the Upper Peninsula.  Defoliation can be dramatic and becomes noticeable by early to mid-June.  However, cool weather slows development and feeding, extending the duration of outbreaks.

“Defoliation from FTC normally does little damage to the tree,” said Roger Mech, forest health specialist with the DNR. “FTC infestation will reduce the vigor of the tree, but the tree usually recovers within a few years, after FTC infestation dies down.”

Mech noted that most trees will develop a second set of smaller leaves around mid-summer, after the initial loss of leaves from FTC. He added that trees rarely die from FTC infestation alone.

Native flies play an important role in natural control of FTC, but fly populations tend to increase as a result, and can create another nuisance for the public. The DNR can provide technical advice to landowners and landowner groups experiencing FTC infestation. Landowners interested in technical advice should contact their nearest DNR office.

Aerial applications of pesticides may help reduce caterpillar nuisance during an FTC outbreak.  Applications must be made at the appropriate time and by licensed experienced applicators.  Once caterpillars are full grown and defoliation is nearly complete, pesticides are not effective.  The DNR can help homeowners determine whether aerial spraying will be effective.

When spraying is warranted, the DNR recommends the use of a biological insecticide called Bacillus thuringiensis (also known as Bt). The DNR recommends the use of Bt because of its environmental safety.  Bt is a naturally occurring bacterium that is effective only against caterpillars and is registered as an insecticide by several companies.

Only caterpillars feeding on leaves sprayed with Bt are affected. Spraying Bt on caterpillars will not harm them.  It has no effect on other insects, birds, people, and other animals.

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.

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Add years to your life, life to your years

May 14, 2009 · Filed Under Features · Comment 

by SANDY STANTON

ChiroHealth Rockford

Everyone is talking about the mind-body link and the mind-body connection. Recent scientific discoveries have placed this phenomenon at the core of the wellness movement. Educating yourself on the mind-body connection can make a big difference in your family’s health.

The Mind-The home of the mind is the brain. According to the February 1997 issue of Life Magazine, “This three-pound organ stores 100 trillion bits of information over the course of 70 years. That is equal to 500,000 sets of the Encyclopedia Britannica, which stacked, would reach 442 miles high. A fully formed brain contains 100 billion neurons, or nerve cells.” Wow!

While these numbers are staggering, what’s even more impressive is how these neurons function to originate thought and supply information to the body. This is what chiropractors and other holistic health professionals refer to as “innate intelligence.”

Your innate intelligence, within you, is the life energy that keeps you alive, heals you when you are sick, and enables your body to perform the extraordinary amount of work, effortlessly, that keeps you functioning at your full potential. It is important to keep your mind clear and sharp for it to be effective in the mind-body connection.

The Body-The performance of your body is extraordinary. “Breathing one pint of air 17 times a minute, we take in 78 million gallons in an average life span, enough to fill the Hindenburg airship one-and-a-half times. The average person takes one billion steps in his life and walks about 77,000 miles, landing on each foot with a force triple his body weight. Eight million new red blood cells are produced in the bone marrow every second.” Amazing!

What do you think will happen if you only take care of your body when it is broken? Unfortunately, there are many people who grew up with the mindset, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” These people ignored pain and did not participate in wellness activities. They are paying heavy prices today.

Just look at their posture. If people look bent over and crooked on the outside, how do you think their bodies are on the inside? Rather than commit to a wellness lifestyle, they cover up their problems with drugs and keep on going, functioning at much less than their full potential. Wellness is a much better choice, don’t you think?

The Connection-This connection has been written about since Hippocrates wrote, “Look well to the spine for the cause of disease.” Thomas Edison said, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

The spine, spinal cord and nerve system is the vital link in the mind-body connection. Chiropractors have always understood the importance of this connection in relation to the well-being of the whole person.

When healthy, impulses travel over this system at up to 325 miles per hour. Research shows, however, that when the spine is injured from the birth process, or any other mental, chemical or physical stress, “neurons die in a domino effect.” This causes interference that affects every aspect of your well-being, lessening the expression of your innate potential.

What do you think would be the effect on a child if the link going to their ears was damaged? What if your stomach, kidneys or heart were compromised? How do you think interference in the link would affect your energy? If you wait until you “feel it,” the damage may already be occurring.

By removing interference to this critical link, chiropractors ensure the integrity of the mind-body connection. Babies should be examined immediately after being born. Children at every stage of growth and development should be checked.

Adults, with the stress of life and daily activities causing pressure on their spines, must keep their nerve systems functioning without interference, at all times, to have any chance of approaching the human potential.

When you consider the wonders of the mind and the capacity of the body, along with the power of the intelligence within, it’s no wonder the mind-body connection has become the most important health issue of our time. You must take care of your spine and nerve system, your connection, for you to stay healthy and reach your full potential.

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Yoga in times of crisis

May 14, 2009 · Filed Under Features · Comment 

by DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, Ph.D.

Doctor in health & physical education

Personal trainer/owner

Many people are unrolling their yoga mats and polishing their poses to find flexibility and sanity amid the financial chaos. Last month I read an article from  New York news that said fitness experts say gym memberships are holding steady or rising and yoga classes are thriving.  What I really think is that a yoga practice becomes a refuge from the negativity of an economic recession, and the studio kind of becomes the sanctuary.

Yoga uses movement and postures to strengthen the body and breathing techniques and meditation to quiet the mind.

People who take yoga class, “take a break” from whatever else may be going on in their lives. And at the very most, a practice can become a transformational experience that reenergizes and rejuvenates you. These days, especially when faced with any crisis, devotees are eager to cite the tranquility they have found by regularly participating in yoga.
Often, people get hurt because they assume that yoga is simple and that anybody can pretzel himself or herself on demand. At the same time, others see yoga as a practice originally conceived to help people achieve inner peace and tranquility, as a way to get a vigorous workout. More than five times as many people take yoga classes at health clubs today as did a decade ago, and enthusiasts have devised all kinds of variations found appalling to purists: hip-hop yoga, disco yoga, power yoga, not to mention other different controversial yoga branches.

When some people think of yoga, they imagine having to stretch like a gymnast. That makes them worry that they’re too old, unfit, or “tight” to do yoga. The truth is it’s never too late to improve flexibility.

The series of yoga poses called asanas work by safely stretching your muscles. Yoga increases the range of motion in joints. It may also increase lubrication in the joints. The outcome is a sense of ease and fluidity throughout your body.

Yoga stretches not only your muscles but all of the soft tissues of your body. That includes ligaments, tendons, and the fascia sheath that surrounds your muscles. And no matter your level of yoga, you most likely will see benefits in a very short period of time.

Some styles of yoga are more vigorous than others. Practicing one of these styles will help you improve muscle tone. But even less vigorous styles of yoga, which focus on less movement and a more precise alignment in poses, can provide strength and endurance benefits. Many of the poses build upper-body strength. This becomes crucial as people age. The standing poses build strength in your hamstrings, quadriceps, and abdominal muscles. There are also poses that strengthen the lower back. When practiced correctly, nearly all poses build core strength in the deep abdominal muscles.

With increased flexibility and strength comes better posture. Most standing and sitting poses develop core strength. That’s because you’re counting on your deep abdominals to support and maintain each pose. With a stronger core, you’re more likely to sit and stand “tall.” Another benefit of yoga is the increased body awareness. This heightened awareness tells you more quickly when you’re slouching or slumping so you can adjust your posture.

In essence, the bottom line is that the human energy system is a profoundly subtle and nuance system. When we experience anxiety or intense stress, our system is signaling to us that it is time to review and adjust the way we are managing our energy. The yoga system is comprised of poses well-known for their ability to restore, replenish and strengthen the nervous and digestive systems, leaving you feeling more focused, a greater sense of calm, and an evenness of the mind and emotions. As yoga combines several techniques used for stress reduction, it can be said to provide the combined benefits of breathing exercises, flexibility, meditation practice and guided imagery in one technique. However, for those with great physical limitations, simple breathing exercises, meditation or guided imagery might be a preferable option and provide similar benefits. Yoga also requires more effort and commitment than taking herbs for stress reduction.

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What are symptoms, treatment for influenza?

May 14, 2009 · Filed Under Features · Comment 

by ALANNA WIARDA, M.D.

Advantage Health Physician Network

Northeast Office

 

Influenza, commonly called the flu, is a contagious respiratory viral illness which is most commonly seen in the winter months. The flu virus is spread person-to-person via respiratory droplets produced by coughing, sneezing or talking. There are many different strains of the influenza virus, each designated with an H and N number (example strain H2N3 was common several years ago).

The most recently recognized strain of influenza, the swine flu (H1N1), was first seen in Mexico in March 2009. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 29 countries have officially reported a total of 4,379 cases of this flu strain. As of May 10, 2009, in the United States, there have been 2,532 confirmed cases in 44 states, including 114 in Michigan. As of May 7, there has been one confirmed and 38 probable cases in Kent County. Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of the swine flu are similar to other flu strains.

Symptoms of influenza infection include: fever, chills, headache, body aches, cough, sore throat and fatigue. Fever may last two to five days with flu, compared to 24-48 hours with other common upper respiratory infections. The illness typically lasts three to five days, but weakness and fatigue can persist for several weeks. A person is considered to be contagious from one day before symptoms begin until about one week later.

The most common complication of the flu is pneumonia, which can be very serious in the elderly, young children and those with chronic medical problems. You should seek medical care quickly if serious symptoms develop such as shortness of breath, chest pains, uncontrolled vomiting, dehydration, confusion or convulsions.

Influenza is diagnosed based on the typical symptoms occurring during an outbreak in the community or during the usual flu season. A nasal swab can be obtained to confirm this diagnosis, but is not always necessary.

Treatment of flu symptoms can help to make you feel better, but will not shorten the illness. Recommendations include rest, drinking plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, and use of over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin) to relieve fever, headaches and muscle aches. Use of aspirin is not recommended, especially in children under 18, as this is associated with a serious complication called Reye syndrome. There are several antiviral drugs which can be used to treat or prevent influenza after exposure. These medications do not cure the flu, but do reduce the severity and length of time of symptoms and work best if started within 48 hours of symptoms. These medications include oseltamivir (Tamiflu), zanamivir (Relenza), rimantadine (Flumadine) and amantadine (Symmetrel). Antibiotics are not effective against the flu virus.

One of the most effective ways of preventing the flu is the influenza vaccine, which is given once a year during the fall and early winter. Each year, this vaccine is formulated to provide protection against the most common strains of the flu. Simple infection control procedures-including frequent hand-washing with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and covering mouth and nose while sneezing or coughing-can help prevent the spread of influenza. People with influenza symptoms should limit contact with others until feeling well and may be asked to wear a mask while out in public or in the doctor’s office.

If you have any flu symptoms, or have any questions about the flu, it is best to contact your primary care physician. More information and updates about influenza and the swine flu can be found online at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/.

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Secrets of a Sunken Cannon Revisited

April 15, 2009 · Filed Under Features · 1 Comment 

Rich Geldhof

Rich Geldhof

by RICH GELDHOF

The older we get the more powerful our minds become and when we don’t use what the brain has stored we “lose it.” Our short-term memory capacity is normally from five-nine number digits.  This explains why phone numbers and checking accounts are kept to seven numbers and a social security number doesn’t exceed nine numbers, because we have great difficulty remembering them the older we get, like a driver’s license of 12 numbers. Bob found that when you reach 55 you don’t always remember what you’ve heard correctly. That’s why it’s so important to write things down and store hard copy.    

Can you remember your credit cards 16 numbers in proper sequence?  Probably not, but we are walking computers of information and our living brain is more active when sleeping than watching mindless video games and TV.  We awaken fresh as daisies, that’s some of us, not all of us. Like computers we must discard the trash and junk, but retain important information.

When children come home from school we’ve all heard them say,  just as you said when your parents asked you, “how was school today or did you learn something new?” 

The answer was, “fine, I hate school or I’ll be glad when I’m done with high school.” Chances are you’ve heard and felt the grumbling and experienced the frightening years as a wild teenager, who viewed teachers as dispensing mindless dribble. If you dismiss them without finding out what interesting thing they taught in class each day you’ve helped de-program their thinking ability. It takes the first 18 years or more to increase the knowledge and memory retention.  Teenagers can’t swallow wisdom pills at age 16 and can’t tell parents they are smarter. They should have committed three new things (adults six) each day to memory. In doing this you are sharpening their minds and teaching them the art of storing memory by concentration.  Teachers are challenging them to see, think and retain useful information. Teachers use their skill to energize and program their minds for the future. Mindless video games for hours after school de-programs them and renders anything they might have learned as useless fodder.  Learning will help prepare them for success.

Dowsers need to see, think and visualize what they seek in their mind’s eye. Dowsing isn’t a bunch of hooey.  It takes mind focus and silent concentration and many hours of practicing and not giving up when the going gets tough or listening to skeptical friends. Only in a dowsers mind test can you sense the frustrations one can experience with mind and body to find lost treasures as a dowser, whether inside or outside.

Only through experience using dowsing rods can you appreciate success or failures as Bob experienced.  The cost of this project is two of your wife’s best metal coat hangers; even brass coated ones.  Ask her at your own risk or just make them disappear as if by magic.  Just make sure you hide them from her when finished. Either way she’ll twist your ear.

Many spectators doubted Bob’s use of dowsing or angle rods, but today dowsers are in great demand and monetarily rewarded. Not just for dowsing water, but missing underground storage tanks and cemetery lot purchasing and selling. Lots of cemeteries have lost burial records and dowsers are more accurate than half-million dollar Ground Penetrating Radar units. 

Seek and ye shall find how much electromagnetic power is stored in your boxed brain. The key to unlocking your power is determined whether you have a positive mind – no negative feelings or thoughts about how dowsing works. You must be a positive thinker. Impossible doubting you’ve set the stage for failure so why waste time?

I know I’ll be the irritation of your wife’s good nature, when she finds you searching the closet for two brass type coated metal coat hangers, then snatching two and cutting them apart. You will need an assistant or assistants in crime, a son, daughter or grandchild.  If caught with coat hangers explain it away as a chance to scientifically play with the kids, but all minds must be positive thinking.  No negatives about dowsing failures. The test is an exploration of your mind.

Watch for upcoming editions of The Squire for more Secrets of a Sunken Cannon.

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