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Quotes about Body Image from the world's top natural health / natural living authors

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"Jackson's story appeals to me partly because he got into exercise for his body image but stuck with it for the therapeutic effect. At first, all the running didn't make a dent in his physique (thanks to pizza and beer), but he stuck with it because it helped him focus. In his first semester at the junior college, he earned a 3.9 GPA, and after a year he was accepted as a transfer student at the college he had originally wanted to attend. It's a small, competitive New England institution, where he earned a 3.5 GPA as a sophomore. His major? Psychology." - John J. Ratey, MD, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (Get the book.)

"The rest of the problem, we feel, has to do with body image perception, the way that these patients see their own bodies. They feel too fat, too slim. They have different perspectives than the rest of us." Dr. Yaryura-Tobias says that cognitive therapy is needed to educate patients about their problems and the way they think about themselves. We need "to discuss with them how many false beliefs they have about who they are, why they think this way, why their body looks the way it does, and so forth. So false-belief modification is an important part of treatment." - Gary Null and Amy McDonald, The Food-Mood Connection: Nutrition-based and Environmental Approaches to Mental Health and Physical Wellbeing (Get the book.)

"Note the rivers, canals, and depots, so similar to those of China's countryside. The body image is surrounded by drawings hinting at Daoist practices of internal alchemy (directed at achieving hyper-longevity). 8. 'Woman smoking a pipe', nineteenth-century Japanese poster. This image vividly depicts the idea of the human body as a microcosm of the world as it flourished in an Asian context: bodily processes are illustrated by pictures of daily village life: people work at litde machines, till and harvest in fields, and appear to speak and pray." - Roberta Bivins, Alternative Medicine?: A History (Get the book.)

"Symptoms of anorexia include refusal to maintain a normal weight for age and height, intense fear of gaining weight or becoming "fat," body image misperceptions, and loss of menstrual periods. Bulimia is characterized by binge eating and compensation for binges using measures such as self-induced vomiting, laxatives, and excessive exercise. While the most visible 79 Eating Disorders sufferers of these diseases have been young women, recent research—in magazines, books, television, and school programs—indicates that men, too, struggle with them." - Gary Null and Amy McDonald, The Food-Mood Connection: Nutrition-based and Environmental Approaches to Mental Health and Physical Wellbeing (Get the book.)

"Finally, because the potential for emergence of eating disorders is high in children and adolescents, dietary modifications must occur in the context of the promotion of realistic body weight goals, positive self-esteem, and body image satisfaction. Specific dietary and physical activity strategies are listed in Table 4. It has been stated that our current environment facilitates underactivity through increased opportunity for sedentary activities [138]. This statement is just as true for children as it is for adults with sedentary activities (e.g." - Ann M. Coulston and Carol J. Boushey, Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease (Get the book.)

"Not only is this related to the sudden change in hormone status, but the severity of depression that may develop can often be correlated to body image, sexual identity, cultural background, and family issues.7 The natural transition from the reproductive years to the postmenopausal years is not necessarily a smooth one, even though it is a normal process of aging. Though not a disease, there can be health problems associated with menopause. For many women, symptoms of these hormonal changes occur intermittently for a number of years. Dr. Susan Love calls this period "puberty in reverse." - Tori Hudson, N.D., Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness (Get the book.)

"Yet, I definitely had a body image when experiencing this state—it just wasn't a physical one. For this reason, I came to prefer the term "projection of consciousness," as suggested by metaphysical explorer and author Jane Roberts. As you can see, while the OBE experience itself may be somewhat commonplace, interpreting the experience is a challenge. If one's awareness seems apart from the physical body, then does one experience a physical realm or an imagined realm, possibly a mental model of the physical realm?" - Robert Waggoner, Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self (Get the book.)

"Fractures of the thoracic spine can also restrict lung function, cause digestive problems, 15 lower self-esteem and body image, and result in depression.16 Vertebral fractures are twice as common as either hip fractures or distal radius (wrist) fractures. The incidence of wrist fractures starts to rise immediately after menopause, with an incidence of about 15 percent by age 80, but a peak incidence about 20 to 25 years sooner. Each year, 172,000 wrist fractures occur that are the result of moderate trauma and rapid postmenopausal bone loss. The female to male ratio is 5:1." - Tori Hudson, N.D., Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness (Get the book.)

"For someone with a negative body image, shifting the focus from the body to the brain can provide a powerful new sense of motivation. A lot of people assume that an addict's real problem is just a lack of motivation. On one level, this is true, but what very few people recognize is that motivation is a function of brain signals, and that those signals depend on reliable messengers and intact nerve pathways. When we look at addiction as a neurological malfunction rather than as a moral failure, it suddenly takes on the form of something that can be fixed." - John J. Ratey, MD, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (Get the book.)

"Libido, sex drive: • always strong • very high right now • not great now but never good in the morning • neutral or indifferent • very low • comatose 5. Body image: • feel good about my body size and shape • feel positive about some weight loss and change in body shape • feel just okay • feel frustrated B. Check the symptoms of hormone imbalance that you are experiencing today. 1. Women: þ Weight gain ? Mood swings Q Hot flashes þ Night sweats ? Fatigue ? Headaches þ Depression ? Anxiety ? Nervousness þ Irritability ? Teariness ? Memory lapse þ Premature aging ?" - C. W. Randolph, M.D., From Belly Fat to Belly FLAT: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life (Get the book.)

"According to modern obesity experts, those techniques are unsuccessful because they reinforce a negative body image. The best incentive to lose weight? Imagine yourself in the best shape you can be—physically fit and emotionally well. These positive visualizations (along with other techniques) will help the body produce what you see in your mind's eye. • Mmmm...Chavanprash? Yo, .ou'd kill for sugar—cookies, candy, anything. Well, don't despair. There is, finally, a healthful, sweet snack with which to indulge that sweet tooth: Chavanprash. What is it, you ask?" - Bottom Line Books, Uncommon Cures For Everyday Ailments (Get the book.)

"Adolescents with CF may intentionally skip pancreatic enzymes in order to achieve a certain body image. An in-depth assessment of eating behavior, feeding patterns, and family interactions at mealtimes should be performed in CF patients at risk or experiencing malnutrition. If negative behaviors are present, behavioral intervention should be used in conjunction with dietary intervention to improve intake. For example, one behavioral strategy is to gradually increase calories by working on one meal at a time." - Ann M. Coulston and Carol J. Boushey, Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease (Get the book.) "Teenagers may be more receptive to efforts to improve muscular strength and body image as a justification for better nutrition than emphasis on weight gain and improved disease status. d. Adulthood CF patients reaching adulthood are usually responsible for the entire management of their disease, as well as for the financial burden of a chronic illness. While in college or working, adults with CF are constantly adapting to new schedules and stresses. The goal of nutrition management is to maintain optimal BMI and to prevent unintentional weight loss (Table 3)." - Ann M. Coulston and Carol J. Boushey, Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease (Get the book.) "Some of the key channels include food availability within the home setting (including food purchasing, food preparation, and food accessibility), family meal patterns, infant and child feeding practices, role modeling of eating behaviors and body image attitudes, and verbal encouragement of specific eating practices." - Ann M. Coulston and Carol J. Boushey, Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease (Get the book.)

"Strength training can boost your self-confidence, improve your body image and reduce the risk of depression. Get a better night's sleep. People who strength train regularly are less likely to struggle with insomnia. Reduce the signs and symptoms of a variety of diseases and health conditions including arthritis, back pain, heart disease, depression, diabetes, osteoporosis, and obesity. How to Get Started Space limitations prevent me from presenting a full strength-training program for you here." - Wendy Bazilian, DRPH, MA, RD, Steven Pratt, MD, Kathy Matthews, Superfoods Rx Diet: Lose Weight with the Power of SuperNutrients (Get the book.)

"Alongside a preoccupation with fashion goes a preoccupation with body image. Beset on all sides by images of physical perfection (which, in contemporary terms, means stick-thin with improbable Barbie breasts), girls trying to fit into the mould of'cool' are subject to horrendous pressure. A report from the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford found female dissatisfaction with their appearance begins early: 'Human infants begin to recognise themselves in mirrors at about two years old and female humans begin to dislike what they see only a few years later." - Sue Palmer, Toxic Childhood: How the Modern World is Damaging Our Children and What We Can Do About it (Get the book.)

"Her choice may be influenced by emotional considerations, finances, access to care, body image, and personal beliefs. Depending on the type of surgery that is done, there is the option of having breast reconstruction later. Q A form of reconstructive surgery may be an option for women who have had a mastectomy. The procedure involves growing their own tissue from a sample of fat and blood vessel cells taken from the thigh or buttocks. Growth hormones are then added, actually causing the tissue to grow." - Phyllis A. Balch, CNC, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements (Get the book.)

"Those with a positive body image are less likely to pollute their body with harmful substances, such as drugs or alcohol. Advertisements are one way women get the idea that their bodies are "faulty." Techniques for healing "faulty" body image include cognitive and behavioral approaches. Guided imagery and visualization can help. "Body Image Work Leads to Addiction Recovery," Addiction Letter9, no. 4 (April 1993): 1S. A study of 40 white and black elderly women showed that the African-American women had more positive attitudes about their bodies than did the white women." - Dr. Gary Null, The Woman's Encyclopedia of Natural Healing (Get the book.)

"The researchers also found an association between weight cycling and depression (page 145) or poor body image. The most successful weight-loss programs (in which weight stays off, mood stays even, and no binge eating occurs) appear to use a combination of moderate caloric restriction, moderate exercise, and behavior modification, including examination and adjustment of eating habits. Nutritional supplements that may be helpful Multiple vitamin minerals (page 559) Diets that are low in total calories may not contain adequate amounts of various vitamins and minerals." - Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D., The Natural Pharmacy: Complete A-Z Reference to Natural Treatments for Common Health Conditions (Get the book.)

"The medicines business deploys enormous ingenuity and spends vast sums developing products like this, while remaining essentially incurious about the psychology of overeating in a culture where anxiety about body image is rampant. The ingenious thing from a drug developer's point of view is to find out how to increase the body's sensitivity to this hormone, not to work out why it no longer responds to its signals." - Jacky Law, Big Pharma: Exposing the Global Healthcare Agenda (Get the book.)

"While body image can be a problem throughout a man's life, worries about it usually level off as a man reaches his fifties. "As men get older, they're more concerned about having healthy bodies than looking good," Dr. Kearney-Cooke says. The best reward for improving your body image at any age is that you'll feel more comfortable with yourself, and as a result, more people will want to be around you. "Then a good body image can definitely make you feel younger," says Debbie Then, Ph.D., a social psychologist in Stanford, California. "The more positive you are, the more outgoing you'll be." - Doug Dollemore, Mark Giuliucci and the Editors of Men's Health Magazine, Age Erasers for Men: Hundreds of Fast and Easy Ways to Beat the Years (Get the book.)

"And the natural remedies in this chapter, used with your doctor's approval, may help improve body image, according to some health professionals. See Your Medical Doctor When ... • You experience an unintended weight loss or gain of over 25 pounds in a six-month period. • You routinely go on eating binges. • You vomit or use laxatives specifically to lose weight. • Your concerns about your body image and weight dominate your thoughts or interfere with other aspects of your life. ¦¦¦I Flower Remedy/Essence Therapy "Many people have grown up with low self-esteem and poor body image." - Bill Gottlieb, New Choices in Natural Healing: Over 1,800 of the Best Self-Help Remedies from the World of Alternative Medicine (Get the book.)

"Ann Geiger, PhD The women answered questions about their quality of life, body image, sexual satisfaction, concern about breast cancer recurrence, depression and perception of their own health. Of those who chose preventive mastectomy, 86.5% said they were satisfied with their decision, and 76.3% reported "high contentment" with their quality of life. Of the 61 women who did not have a preventive mastectomy, a similar number (75.4%) reported high contentment with their quality of life." - Bottom Line Health, Bottom Line's Health Breakthroughs 2007 (Get the book.)

"It may take up to a year or more for a person recovering from anorexia to improve his or her body image, to establish normal eating patterns, and to reverse the effects of starvation on mood and behavior. Q Some researchers believe that neurotransmitters—such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and the endogenous opioids—play a role in anorexia. Q Researchers have found that zinc supplementation not only decreases depression and anxiety, but that anorexic women taking zinc gain twice as much weight, on average, as anorexic women who do not take the supplement." - Phyllis A. Balch, CNC, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements (Get the book.)

"People with eating disorders may have a preoccupation with weight and food, anxiety about their body image, and/or a feeling that they lose control over how much they eat. They may also exercise compulsively and, in women, experience missed menstrual periods. They may also frequently use laxatives, diet pills, and medicines designed to induce vomiting or reduce fluid retention." - Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D., The Natural Pharmacy: Complete A-Z Reference to Natural Treatments for Common Health Conditions (Get the book.)

"Having suffered the binging and purging of trying to have the perfect body during her college years—and seeing her friends struggle with their own forms of weight gain and loss—Mary is positive about het body image. She doesn't worry if she gains a few pounds as long as she is within a reasonable range of what feels comfortable for her. Mary exercises moderately three times a week, riding her bike or taking long walks on a nature trail. She feels vibrant and alive, ready for life's moments. So many of her friends complain of getting heavier, of feeling run down, of losing their energy." - David H. Rippe, Jared Rosen, The Flip: Turn Your World Around (Get the book.)

"Practitioners use their own energy to locate the highest frequency of pain since it is what distorts our body image and allows disease to occur. Energetic corrections are made by the practitioner directing healing energy into the proper level and location producing instantaneous results. The explanation for this effect is that the healing takes place at the quantum level of pure energy where everything is connected to everything else and time is not a barrier. By aligning all levels of consciousness, pain is simply eliminated. Dr." - Alan E. Smith, UnBreak Your Health: The Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Therapies (Get the book.)

"As Mary matured into a young woman, her bad habirs began ro conflicr with her desired body image. Eating the same foods her idols did—and wanting desperately to look like them—Mary binged and purged. In college, every other girlfriend was on a diet trying to secure an idealized weight. Friends and relatives tried to intervene, but their care and concern were no match for the images society had drowned Mary in. She lost weight, then gained it back, and lost it. She was on a roller coaster of emotional distress. Her nerves were a wreck." - David H. Rippe, Jared Rosen, The Flip: Turn Your World Around (Get the book.)

"Those with a positive body image are less likely to pollute their body with harmful substances, such as drugs or alcohol. Advertisements are one way women get the idea that their bodies are "faulty." Techniques for healing "faulty" body image include cognitive and behavioral approaches. Guided imagery and visualization can help. "Body Image Work Leads to Addiction Recovery," Addiction Letter 9, no. 4 (April 1993): 1S. A study of 40 white and black elderly women showed that the African-American women had more positive attitudes about their bodies than did the white women." - Dr. Gary Null, The Woman's Encyclopedia of Natural Healing (Get the book.)

"Having experienced the sperm race and the fusion of the two germinal cells during conception, he relived the cellular divisions of the fertilized egg and the entire embryonal development to a mature fetus: "My consciousness became less and less differentiated and my body image underwent a radical change. It seemed that I became some primitive organism, like an amoeba. I started experiencing strange excitement that was unlike anything I had ever felt in my life." - Stanislav Grof, When the Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-Ordinary Reality (Get the book.)

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