Book Excerpt

This book is, essentially, a nutrition course designed for the massage therapist. Through reading and studying this book, you can expect to gain the following three benefits:

• Better health through good nutrition.
• Enrichment of your massage practice.
• Deeper knowledge of the “Physiology” part of the Anatomy and Physiology course you took in massage school.

Part I of this book includes information that is likely to appear in any basic nutrition book. This part of the book describes nutrients, food groups, organically grown food and a survey of the major dietary systems. This book does not endorse any specific diet, but rather provides you with the tools to evaluate each system, so you can select the one that is most appropriate for you.

Part II of this book is designed to enhance your skills as a health educator. You will be able to offer guidance to your clients who are seeking to optimize their well-being. You will also be able to provide useful information for your clients who are suffering from specific health issues that you are likely to encounter in your massage practice, such as fibromyalgia or arthritis. You will be able to clearly explain to your clients how their diet might be contributing to their chronic muscle tension, painful joints and unrestful sleep. You will be able to give them simple guidelines that will improve their health, while increasing the effectiveness of your work.

To further support you as a health educator, the appendix of this book contains a series of articles on various nutritional topics that are likely to be of interest to your clients. Feel free to give these articles to your clients.

One of the features of this book is that it provides a review of certain parts of the anatomy and physiology course that you probably took in massage school. For example, this book offers a review of nutritional biochemistry, the circulatory system, digestive system and the organs of excretion. This basic information is then specifically applied as strategies for promoting the cleansing and healing of the body. Perhaps you had an interest in these subjects while you were in massage school, but were not able to give them as much attention as you would have liked. If so, this book will provide you with an opportunity to fill in these gaps and fine-tune your grasp of human physiology, with a focus on promoting optimum health through good nutrition. In fact, since this book has more anatomy and physiology than the typical nutrition book written for the general public, it can offer a deeper level of understanding of the major nutritional issues faced by modern humans, and therefore allows the reader to more effectively navigate through the confusion and contradictions we tend to encounter in the study of nutrition.

Body and Mind
As part of your training as a massage therapist, you have probably cultivated some appreciation for the relationship between body and mind. That relationship is an integral part of this book, precisely because it is an integral part of massage, and has been from its inception in ancient China. That relationship was not lost, but rather developed “legs” when it was adapted into a Western system based on our understanding of anatomy and physiology. However, there is another reason to include the body/mind relationship in this book. As described later, the ability to properly select one’s food depends on a healthy mind/body relationship. Indeed, a quick and ready way to gauge the level of integration between your body and mind is to consider your own emotional relationship to food.

Emotional comfort and eating habits are very much connected. In the world of the infant, emotional comfort and nourishment are very much connected. They are the first forms of comfort we experienced outside the womb, and are usually given at the same time, throughout infancy.
The primordial association of food and loving touch is maintained throughout childhood and into adulthood. It might explain why we tend to use food as a replacement for loving touch and emotional closeness. Likewise, that connection might explain why healing through bodywork and nutrition go so well together and actually complement each other, as explained later in this book. In particular, it might explain why many diets “don’t work.” Sometimes we, perhaps unconsciously, expect food to do something it was not designed to do, which is what often happens when the body/mind relationship is torn asunder.

The key word in restoring the harmony between the body and mind, whether we are working with therapeutic touch, nutrition or both, is respect. More specifically, respect for your body and that of your client. As you might guess, the level of respect you have for your client is a direct reflection of the respect you have for yourself.

The attitude of respect, when it is genuine, radiates silently from you. It tends to create a feeling of ease and safety for your clients, who might be searching for nutritional guidance but are leery of being judged harshly for their food choices, or of being pushed to do something that does not feel right to them. Instead, you will provide them with the breathing room to discover their own truth, including the truth of what they need nutritionally.

The most respectful attitude toward your client is the one rooted in the recognition that the innate wisdom within them knows exactly what it is doing. It is with this attitude, that I offer you this book, as a tool for enhancing your own health and enriching your practice as a massage therapist.

Nutrition & the Massage Practice
The domain of massage therapy includes three broad areas:

• Pain relief
• Healing and rehabilitation from injury
• Stress reduction

A skillful massage therapist, even one who chooses to specialize, should have some knowledge of all three areas. In addition, regardless of your area of specialty, your clients can benefit from nutritional support that complements your treatment. Quite often, your therapeutic effect is marginal if you do not enroll the client in making nutritional adjustments. Even if you already get good results, your work is likely to get even better results with the right kind of nutritional support. Below are some specific conditions that often motivate individuals to seek massage therapy:

• Muscle and joint pain
• Muscle spasms
• Insomnia
• Fibromyalgia
• Arthritis
• Depression
• Constipation
• PMS

These conditions tend to respond favorably to nutritional support or massage. Combining the two is likely to produce even better results.

Dietary Stressors and Sore Muscles

• Caffeine – Stimulant
• Alcohol – Creates acidity in the body, irritates nervous system, depletes the body of vitamins, mineral and enzymes.
• Sodium – Contributes to hypertonicity, irritability and insomnia.
• Acid Forming Food – increase muscle soreness and hypertonicity
• Colas – Contain caffeine, phosphoric acid, sodium and sugar. All of these contribute to hypertonic muscles and irritability.
• Grains – In large amounts, grains can contribute to muscle and joint pain.
• Protein – In large amounts, protein can contribute to muscle and joint pain.
• MSG – Excites the nervous system, contributing to chronically sore muscles.

Relaxing Minerals
Potassium (K) works with sodium for the proper conduction of nerve impulses. Both are regulated by carrier molecules in the cell membrane, known as sodium/potassium pumps. Potassium tends to have a relaxing effect on muscles and nerves. Since sodium and potassium are physiologically connected, excess sodium causes the body to excrete potassium. Likewise, one way to support the body in flushing out excess sodium is to take extra potassium.

Magnesium (Mg) has a wide variety of functions such as tissue regeneration. For the massage therapist, it is important to note that magnesium is essential for proper relaxation of muscles.
Calcium (Ca), among its many functions, has a general relaxing and calming effect. An excellent source of calcium is dark green, leafy vegetables and oranges. If it is taken as a supplement, we should keep in mind that calcium and magnesium are physiologically connected, just like sodium and potassium. We need magnesium for the proper metabolism of calcium.

Better Results Through Better Nutrition
The best way to promote your practice is to get great results. One of the best ways to create great results with your clients is to encourage them to mineralize.

The typical diet is rich in sodium and deficient in potassium, magnesium, and perhaps calcium. Most clients who suffer from chronic pain and tension can greatly benefit from increasing potassium, calcium and magnesium, and decreasing sodium. Most fruits and vegetables, especially the latter, are good sources of potassium, calcium and magnesium. These minerals can also be taken as supplements, but minerals are better absorbed (and cheaper) when received in whole foods.

Your Client on Fruits and Vegetables
In addition to providing alkalizing minerals that promote detoxification, muscle relaxation and emotional calmness, fruits and vegetables are also rich in flavonoids, some of which promote mental clarity, emotional serenity, cheerfulness and muscular relaxation, mostly by promoting higher levels of certain neurotransmitters (such as serotonin) and hormones (such as melatonin).
Flavonoids are especially abundant in fruits high in vitamin C such as citrus, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, papaya and mangos. Brain benefitting flavonoids are also available in a number of herbs and teas such as ginkgo biloba, chamomile, St. John’s wart and passion flower. These herbs, which are readily available in health food stores, have been traditionally used to promote positive mental and emotion states.