Doctor Baar's Health Tips Table Of Contents:

• Six Easy Ways to Stay Healthy During the Cold & Flu Season
• 7 Tips to Naturally Eliminate Constipation
• 8 Tips for Eye Health
• Tops 10 Tips for Better Digestion
• Finding a Moral Compass
• Positive Mental Attitude
• Stress Relief

Six Easy Ways to Stay Healthy During the Cold & Flu Season

1. Eat a balanced diet. Your body will be stronger, healthier and less susceptible to airborne viruses.


2. Avoid excessive alcohol and sweets. This can break down your body's resistance to the cold and flu virus.


3. Wash your hands as needed. Avoid touching your nose and face if you think you have come in contact with contamination.


4. Drink plenty of water each day. Water is needed for your body to function properly, stay hydrated and flush out toxins.


5. Disinfect or clean surfaces. Be extra careful using someone elses computer keyboard or surfaces that may be contaminated.


6. Get plenty of rest and avoid stress and anger. Studies indicate that avoiding stress and anger helps you to avoid getting run down. This in turn can protect you from catching a cold or the flu.

7 Tips to Naturally Eliminate Constipation

If you are reading this article you have probably experienced constipation at some point in your life. Everyone’s body is different so if you have occasional constipation you can try some of the following 7 Natural Tips before using various available laxatives or herbs.

1. Drink Enough Water During the Day: Much of the literature on the subject advises drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day. Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. Keep it replenished; your body is approximately 60% water.


2. Increase the Fiber Content of Your Meals: Fruits and Vegetables are high in fiber. Fruits or high fiber cereals for breakfast is great. A fresh salad for lunch will help. Minimize junk food and refined starches.


3. Chew Your Food Completely: Your saliva has digestive enzymes and this will help you digest your food better.


4. Take tiny sips of Olive Oil during the day: This is a very simple approach and is preferable to the much harsher use of castor oil taken internally.


5. Castor Oil Packs over the abdomen: Use a heated Castor Oil Pack over the abdomen for about 1 hour. Castor oil naturally helps stimulate the colon.


6. After Dinner Take A Walk: Exercise, especially walking is great for stimulating the digestive track and the lymphatic system.


7. Minimize Stress by a method that works best for you: Walking, meditation, deep breathing or reading.

8 Tips for Eye Health

Set Your Sight on Better Vision: Eye Care is a serious concern that is often neglected.

Our vision is a gift most of us take for granted. The only time we even think about eye health is when our own vision begins to fail. Being aware of the importance of protecting your vision can help you to avoid problems in the future. Your eye care is as important as your inner and outer health. Everyday people protect their skin from the aging process and sun damage by using precautions but neglect their eyes. Eye care can take little time to implement and can make a world of difference later in life.

Foods for the Eyes: The British Royal Air Force pilots consumed Bilberry because it was proven to improve their nighttime vision. They also found their eyes could adjust to darkness quicker and their vision was able to correct after the effects of prolonged glare.
Lutein: Lutein has been linked to promoting healthy eyes. Discussion continues about its relationship in reducing the risk of macular degeneration. Foods high in lutein are dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale. My suggestion is to eat a fresh salad every day that includes these dark green leafy vegetables along with other vegetables you like - most likely it is beneficial for lots of things.
Vitamins A, E, C, and some Zinc and also Selenium may help prevent many diseases including those that affect the eyes. VibraTonic™ #3810 is a liquid formula for proper assimilation and herbal nutrients for the eyes.

Alcohol Beverages: Moderation is the key. Excess will cause damage to not only your eyes.

Head and Neck Exercises: This is a very simple exercise and should be done without any strain. While sitting erect or standing and looking forward, tilt your chin to your chest 3 times, then, tilt your head back carefully and slowly 3 times, then to the right 3 times and then to the left 3 times. Next, slowly circle or roll your head counter clockwise 3 times then clockwise 3 times. Do this slowly and carefully without straining your muscles. If you have any difficulty in doing this be sure to see a health care practitioner. This exercise is designed to stimulate the nerve activity to the eyes, increase blood circulation, and strengthen the muscles in your neck. Some people report it helps tighten up the chin and neck muscles.

Eye Exercises: It's easy to lose track of the time you are spending looking at your computer screen, TV screen or reading. Give your eyes a break. One way is to shift your focus away from the screen or book and look at something far away. A common exercise is to stretch your arm in front of you, hold up your hand - focus on your hand then focus on an object far in the distance. Do this about 10 times for each eye. For short term eye improvement try blinking a few times to help you focus or gently crossing your eyes.

Wear Safety Glasses: Wear safety glasses when appropriate. Also, know that your regular glasses provide protection based on the material they are made from.
Polycarbonate lenses resist shattering better than glass or other plastics. Here's the results from testing: High index plastic shattered when hit by a tennis ball moving at 40 miles per hour, glass shattered at 89 miles per hour, but polycarbonate lenses withstood speeds of 130 mph.

Wear Sunglasses: This will help protect your eyes from Ultra Violet Rays of the sun, especially during mid day or if you spend most of your time outdoors.

Take proper care of contact lenses: Be sure they are cleaned properly and you follow the manufacturer's directions. Cutting corners her can cause eye damage.

See your Optician: Have regular eye checkups every 2 years or more frequently if over 60. Your Optician can alert you to early indications of underlying disease states such as cataract, glaucoma, or macular degeneration.

It is often said the eyes are the doorway to your soul. Let's keep the door open.

Top 10 Tips for Better Digestion

Nature makes us hungry so we will have the desire to eat. Our bodies take care of the rest of the process, assuming we choose the proper foods. But, what if the food we eat is not digested properly? What if our bodies do not absorb the proper nutrients and do not deliver them through our bloodstream to where they need to be absorbed to maintain a strong healthy body? The results of that can be upsetting short term and unhealthy long term. You can end up with constipation, indigestion, acid stomach or reflux, nausea and bloating in the short term. Over time it can have a damaging impact on all the organs of your body including the brain, the thyroid, the liver and even the nervous system. Science tells us that improper nutrition can cause a host of problems from our hair and skin to our toenails.

When your body digests the appropriate food and you eat properly, you will find that your body will respond and absorb the needed nutrients and use these nutrients efficiently.

Here are 10 proven tips to improve your digestion:

Chew your food at least 4 to 20 times. Don't bolt your food down. When you chew your food properly your saliva interacts with the foods you are eating and starts the digestion process. There are enzymes in your saliva that start to break down your food. Your saliva will also enhance the proper taste of your food.

Don't eat when you are upset. Wait at least 30 minutes after being angry or emotionally upset, irritated or stressed. Proper digestion occurs best when the body is not spending energy and resources doing something else.

Eat your meals close to the same time every day. This is a tough one for many of us because life gives us busy schedules. We may eat at our desks at work, ignore certain meals or get home late. The body will respond much better if it is conditioned to be ready to eat.

Avoid Deep Fried Foods. Foods that are deep fried taste great but they are significantly changed by the process. The deep fryer produces free radicals in the fats and grease which move through your blood and lymph system. Also, acrylamide is a questionably damaging chemical that is found in fried foods.

Avoid using cream or milk in your coffee. The body has a difficult time digesting this combination. There are indications it interferes with the gastric flow preventing proper digestion.

Avoid taking orange juice and cereal at the same meal. Citric juices like orange juice, grapefruit and lemon juice interfere with the proper digestion of cereals and grains.

Balance your above and below ground vegetables: When eating vegetables gear towards balancing the number of above ground like spinach, celery, lettuce with below ground vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and onions. Optimum would be 3 above ground to each below ground vegetable. This will help balance the nutrients and enzymes in your meal. This will help you feel nourished.

Gelatin with your Salad. Gelatin when combined or taken with vegetables can benefit digestion and the assimilation of the nutrients in the vegetables. This can be accomplished by sprinkling a small amount of gelatin powder on your vegetables or having a little jello as a dessert.

Eat your meals slow. Take your time while you are eating and enjoy the taste, textures and colors. Avoid being rushed to finish your meal. Proper chewing will help, but you want to focus attention to the task at hand. Many societies have special prayers before their meals giving thanks for the sustenance provided. Taking a moment to image the beneficial effects your body and mind will receive from this meal has been shown to have a positive influence.

Limit the size of your meal. Studies show that eating less, that is, not overeating, prolongs life. Huge meals are hard to digest, assimilate and eliminate. If you do happen to occasionally overeat, consider taking a digestive enzyme tablet with your meal to help break down proteins, starches, fiber and fats.

Everyone's body is different and there are foods that your particular system may have difficulty digesting and assimilating. Paying attention to how our body reacts to foods can be very helpful in making sure we get optimal nutrition through healthy digestion. It's a life long process but worth the effort.

When I’m asked what are some of my hobbies I must admit that “digesting” a good meal is near the top of my list.

Finding a Moral Compass

Studies have shown that peace of mind and a good conscience lead to good health. One way to have peace of mind is to find a moral compass. But what are the consequences of not having a moral compass.

When I was young I was like every other child, influenced by my friends and lacking in restraint and discipline.

When I look back upon my life there are certain events that stand out from other events. Many of them I remember because they were painful. One of them is when I was about 7yrs old and I was with a friend of mine and we let the air out of the tire of the parked bicycle of a neighborhood girl. She lived next door to my friend. I don’t remember the act of letting the air out of the tire or which one of us did it, but I do know that my father found out about it.

When I got home I could tell I was in big trouble. There was my father waiting for me. He didn’t look happy. He told me he knew that we let the air out of the neighbor’s bicycle tire and how would I like that if someone did that to me. He went on and on and when he saw I wasn’t getting it, he stopped. He then said I had to get the bicycle pump from our garage, go to the girl’s house, knock on the door and apologize. Then, ask permission from whoever answered the door, if I could pump up her bicycle tire. I was horrified. My world stopped. I could not see myself doing this. I was afraid, ashamed and humiliated at the thought of what he was making me do. What if my friends saw me. I thought I could hide out in the back yard and then just tell him I did it, or sneak over to their house and pump up the tire and leave with out knocking on their door. But my father saw through all that. He said I had to do what he said and he would know if I didn’t. I had no choice, I had to do it.

I mustered up the courage and grabbed the red bicycle pump with the black handle. With tears streaming down my face I went to the neighbor’s house and knocked on the door. The girl’s mother answered and I don’t remember what I said but I remember I could hardly see her because of my tears. She said the bicycle was in the storage room. I went in and pumped it up so it was in perfect condition; I felt a wave of relief and calm come over me and went home. I don’t remember anything else but I know the deep effect this incident had on me at the time, and it has stayed with me my whole life.

My father seized a particular moment in my life and impressed a portion of his character onto it - forever. He had a way of teaching where words could never come close. He could have sat me down and said look son, “Take responsibility for your actions, don’t hide from your problems, have respect for other peoples property, do the right thing, do to others what you would like them to do to you, don’t follow the crowd, think about your actions, bla bla bla” and I would have said OK and been sent to my room. And I would have never remembered a word, the event, or the experience. I would have learned nothing. Instead, it was painful for him and painful for me. But out of that pain and through time, my father showed me what character was. Having a higher authority as your moral compass. Today I aspire to live up to it.

My friend that was with me that day continued to get into trouble for the rest of his very short life.

My father is no longer here for me to thank him. But I know, that he knew at the time, that there was a “future me” that would.

So how do we find a moral compass if we don’t have one forced upon us?
Search and find a higher moral authority. Write down and define our personal code.
Take responsibility for our mistakes and use them to learn from and change.
Listen to our conscience. It’s always there and it’s always communicating to us.
Don’t make excuses. Excuses are a reason not to change.

If we make this a part of our daily living, we will continually grow towards a clear and healthy conscience which in turn will contribute to a happy, healthy and purposeful life.

Positive Mental Attitude

Being negative is easy because it brings things down to the least common denominator - the animal brain. It's easy to find fault in others, criticize others, be cynical and skeptical, and look for the weaknesses in others. It requires no thinking - just reacting. The human part of our brain is the part that grows with effort, and therefore, it's the part that gives long term joy and happiness.

Why should I be positive when everything seems so negative? Science informs us that having a positive attitude will help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, help us to live longer and look younger, bring us health, increase happiness and reduce stress.

OK. That sounds good, but how do I do it? Start simply, by simply starting. If you have control of anything in life, you have control of your mind. Positive thinking and negative thinking are said to be two sides of the same coin. Do a simple experiment. Choose one full day to embrace every event and conversation with joy. Look for an equivalent positive in people and things that may at first seem negative. See the good in things instead of the negative. At the end of your day reflect on your feelings and how your day went. If it goes well, you can repeat it any time; if not, you have lost nothing. You just may enjoy this.

Why is it so difficult at times to have a positive mental attitude? There are as many reasons as our minds can think of; force of habit, culture, a way to relate to people, fear, social manipulation, newspapers, global warming, global cooling. It doesn't matter. What matters is we can do something about it, free and simply - by changing your mind.

With forward thinking positive thoughts we create strong protection against the negative thoughts of others. Life always has its ups and downs. It's how we use the negatives as the talisman to transform our future into its hidden positive potential. When things get a little tough, it's good to remember that beautiful flowers grow from rain.

Stress Relief

We live in a most dynamic world. This world we live in can cause stress. If you want to reduce stress, one of the most precious gifts you can give to yourself is a few minutes of meditation. If you choose to do this your world may change for the better. It’s simple and it’s free.

What are the benefits over time? You will experience less stress, less anxiety, a relaxed physical body, a sense of inner peace and a clear and focused mind. The best part about this is; after your meditation the benefits you've gained stay with you through out your day.

But how do I do this? Start by sitting in a chair in a room with no distractions for 30 minutes. Relax, clear your mind, sit in silence and think of nothing. Just watch your thoughts with no judgment. Don’t think you don’t know how or you can’t do it, just do it.

Why does this work? Science has many studies suggesting meditation and quieting the mind produces benefits such as lowering blood pressure and boosting the immune system. We'll let the scientists figure it out, in the meantime, let’s take 30 minutes and do “nothing” and gain a refreshing and rejuvenated mind and body.

Oh, by the way, the word meditation comes from the Latin word Mederi which means “to heal”.

Bruce Baar, MS, ND