Special to the Sun
The Family Life Center held their second annual Wholeness Health Conference last Saturday, March 7, where approximately 70 people attended to learn how to create a more healthful lifestyle through several speakers covering a wide array of topics relating to health and wellness.
The conference began with a healthy continental breakfast and fellowship with other health-minded community members. The conference was the grand finale of the eight-week circuit training course offered each year by Colleen Moore at the Family Life Center gymnasium, with the help of her husband, Matt Moore, who emceed the conference. “Exercise is supposed to be fun, and Colleen and I feel that along with exercise, education is very important, and today we have brought you information about the latest and greatest in fitness,”said Matt.
 Registered dietitian Tricia Bland, of Bakersfield, spoke to the crowd about reading and understanding nutritional labels on foods at the 2nd annual Health Conference at the Family Life Center in Wofford Heights on Saturday. |
Moore then introduced local surgeon, Dr. Kent Skogerson, as the Kern Valley’s Dr. Phil. Dr. Skogerson gave a PowerPoint presentation on “Healthy Habits that Keep the Doctor Away.” According to Dr. Skogerson, escalating health care costs are having a severe adverse affect on Americans getting necessary treatments. One in four people put off needed health care because of costs; 16% postponed surgery or visits for chronic illness; many skip medications or cut their dose in half; and an astonishing 53% of Americans cut back on their health care coverage last year due to inability to pay rising premiums. He cited weight issues as the #1 biggest health issue not only in the U.S., but worldwide, as it is estimated that over 60% of the world’s population is overweight, and 66% of Americans are classified as obese. Dr. Skogerson said that the reasons behind this obesity epidemic are many, claiming fast food, preservatives, excessive convenience food, and lack of exercise is the enemy to America’s health. “We used to label obesity as a thyroid problem, but this is very rare. Obesity is a disease of the compulsion to overeat, which is treatable,” said Dr. Skogerson, adding, “Our choices are the key to resolving the problem.”
Man Inspires through 250-mile Solo Bicycle Trek
The next speaker was Carter Atkinson, who showed a homemade video of his 250-mile bicycle trek on a leg of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Ride, which stretches 2,500 miles from Barth, Canada to Antelope Mills, NM. The portion that Atkinson rode was through the Bob Marshall Wilderness, which went from Fornie, Canada to Helena, Mont. Atkinson rode solo except for two days when he met up with another group of cyclists doing the ride, and he recalled that the nights were inky-black and very scary. He said the trip changed him, making him a better person for having accomplished it. “I saw the majesty of the trees and the mountains, but what I didn’t expect was the introspection,” said Atkinson, “I appreciated things more, like my friends and family, and it made me want to be a better person when I returned home.”
He plans to do another, 450-mile leg of the ride this summer. To learn more about the Great Divide Mountain Bike Ride, search online for the American Adventure Cycling Assocation.
Understanding Labels and Portions for Proper Nutrition
Registered Dietician Tricia Bland, owner of L.E.A.N. (Lifestyle of Exercise And Nutrition) Consulting gave a moving testimony about her road to a career in helping people become healthy, and then gave a hands-on presentation about label-reading and how to understand serving sizes to give everyone the tools they need to eat properly. Bland, who was born with an enlarged heart, survived five tumors before her 30th birthday, and gave birth to quadruplets at the age of 25, does not believe in making excuses where health is concerned.
Her presentation, titled “Portion Distortion, what the FDA is NOT telling you; What’s behind the labeling,” explained how FDA guidelines work, and how food companies fool consumers into thinking they are eating the right amount when in reality, people are consuming much more than they should. Bland explained that our daily diet should be made up of 5-6 servings of grains, preferably whole grain-based pasta, rice, bread, or cereal; 4-6 ounces of protein, ideally lean proteins such as poultry without skin, lean beef, low-fat cottage cheese, eggs, etc.; 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables; 3 servings of healthy fats, such as olive or canola oils or avocado; and two servings of dairy. “I cannot tell you how important it is to drink milk, it’s a complete food as it is” said Bland, “If you have to miss a meal, drink an 8 oz glass of 1% milk.”
Bland used food boxes from a wide variety of products to show how labeling misleads the public into thinking they are buying healthier foods at a much higher price, while the original, less expensive product is often not much different. One example she used was Jif peanut butter, where the two “healthier” versions of the product, which cost significantly more, had very little difference; the product that boasted to be reduced fat was only, in fact, one gram of fat less than the original. She had placed a variety of products in each seat before the presentation, and walked the audience through a label-truthing exercise to teach them the reality of what a serving constitutes. Many products had over one serving of either carbohydrates or fat in each of the companies’ serving sizes, misleading the public. “Knowledge is the key to eating healthy,” said Bland, “Everything in moderation.”
Acupuncture for Health and Pain Relief
Appropriately, after that speaker the conference attendees were ushered back into the gymnasium where a healthy lunch of green salad, soup, and fresh fruit was served to the guests. During the break, acupuncturist Arlene DeFigarelli gave a demonstration of her healing techniques as she gave Matt Moore a brief treatment. As she worked, DeFigarelli gave a brief history of acupuncture, saying that the first written composition in the healing art was in 500-300 B.C., making the technique itself at least 1,000 years older than that, possibly even originating in the Stone Age. She explained that the Chinese developed their own medicine, and had several theories on how the body maintains itself, such as Chi, which is energy that moves through the body like electricity, fluid, and spirit through channels called meridians. Different points on the body effect different things within it. On Moore, DeFigarelli placed needles in his calves and ankles to activate the urinary bladder meridian, which affects back pain as well as other things, and also next to his elbows, to activate the large intestine meridian. There are more than 1,000 meridian points on the body, and acupuncturists use those that will heal each patient based on their own health issues. “You can have five people standing in front of you with the same affliction and comprise five different treatments for each person,” DeFigarelli explained.
Treatment length varies with age, injury, affliction, and severity, but a typical treatment is 20-25 minutes of relaxation with the needles in place. DiFigarelli said that the treatments are not painful, and that 90% of her patients fall asleep. Moore assured the audience that the needles did not hurt, but cautioned not to move too much when they were in place. The needles themselves come in different colors to indicate the thickness, although DeFigarelli explained that needle isn’t quite what we might imagine it to be. “It’s more a filament than a needle,” she said, “five acupuncture needles could fit inside one syringe needle.”
Creating an Efficient Exercise Program
The next speaker in the sanctuary was Aaron Gillies, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Pair and Marotta Physical Therapy in Bakersfield. Gillies’s presentation was titled “Exercise Program Design: More Work in Less Time.” Gillies began his talk with the benefits of improved fitness, such as decreased absenteeism, better attitude, improved performance, and improved interpersonal relationships. He also reminded parents that they are the role models for their children, and fighting the childhood obesity epidemic begins with what kids learn at home. Gillies gave tips for ensuring that exercise becomes part of our habits by scheduling workouts in one’s calendar, and being prepared for delayed gratification, as it often takes six weeks to notice changes in your body after beginning an exercise program. “We don’t want to be on an exercise diet,” said Gillies, “We want to make fitness and good nutrition part of who we are.”
There should be three aspects to any exercise program; cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and strength or resistance training. “Think of it like your car, when you drive a long distance you get better fuel efficiency than if you do stop and start driving,” explained Gillies, “In this case, fuel is fat, so we don’t want to be fuel efficient, we want to burn as much as possible.”
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