Benefits of a CBD Massage

 Massage has been used as a wellness and healing practice for years, and with the infusion of pure  CBD oil, it makes for a potent remedy that enhances the benefits of massage so you can relax deeper getting more out of your massage.  

When applied topically, CBD oil is absorbed into the skin and targets certain receptors found in the skin’s mast cells and nerve fibers called cannabinoid receptors. This gives a calming, anti-inflammatory effect with localized benefits all over the skin and muscles. CBD does not get into your bloodstream, but permeates the skin when liberally applied and left to absorb.

A CBD massage has deeper health benefits than a regular massage because CBD is a cannabinoid that acts on our endocannabinoid system.  The endocannabinoid system is a system in the body responsible for regulating and balancing many processes including immune response, communication between cells, appetite and metabolism, memory, and more. It is through this system of receptors and metabolic enzymes that cannabinoids interact with the human body and trigger beneficial effects. Despite the huge role the endocannabinoid system has in human body function, it was discovered relatively recently and much of its importance is only just becoming understood.

The main function of the endocannabinoid system is to maintain homeostasis within our various body systems. In other words, it exists to return us to biological harmony when we have gotten out of balance. Research shows that endocannabinoid receptors are present all over the body: in the brain and nerves, skin, immune system, bone, fat tissue, liver, pancreas, muscles, heart, blood vessels, kidneys, reproductive organs and intestinal tract. In each of these areas, the endocannabinoid system works to return the body to homeostasis and optimum functioning.

CBD, by stimulating our own endocannabinoid system, has been found to have an effect on a wide variety of biological functions, such as pain, memory, mood, appetite, stress, sleep, metabolism, immune function, and reproductive function. A CBD massage is a great way to do this and is something you should consider making a regular occurrence.

Below are some of the benefits of incorporating CBD oil in your massage.

1. Reduce Tension

One of the main reasons to get a massage is to relieve tension from your body. Both in body and mind, the cannabinoids in CBD massage oil helps to do this. CBD helps to ease and relax your muscles as the cannabinoids enter our endocannabinoid system via the skin. Since it doesn’t contain THC, the active ingredient of marijuana, you won’t get high from it. That means you can go about the rest of your day without feeling high and still enjoy the relaxing afterglow of the massage.

2. Helps Relieve Chronic Pain

CBD massages are perfect for those who suffer from chronic pain. This is because CBD is proven to be an excellent way to deal with pain management. The cannabinoids in CBD massage oil help to reduce inflammation and soothes muscles. This makes it very effective at providing relief from painful joints and muscles.  People who suffer from chronic pain, arthritis, back pain, and so much more can reap the many benefits of a CBD oil massage. You might start to feel the effects within minutes and it can last for days afterward.

3. Alleviates Anxiety and Stress

If you suffer from anxiety or feel stressed often, you could also enjoy the benefits of a CBD massage. CBD oil is hailed for its ability to reduce the symptoms of anxiety, and a massage could be the most effective use of it because CBD oil induces a soothing and calming effect but doesn’t get you high. A massage without CBD oil will help you to de-stress, and paired with CBD oil it’s a match made in heaven!  The effects of a CBD massage is the perfect way to calm down and ease your mental state.

4. Improves Skin Conditions

You might not know that CBD is, in fact, a fantastic moisturizer. CBD massage oil contains hemp which conditions the skin making it supple and soft. Not only does this help you feel better and more relaxed after the massage, but it can also help with skin conditions. People who suffer from skin conditions such as eczema, acne, psoriasis or even just dry skin, can benefit from it.

This is also because of the anti-inflammatory properties of CBD that will soothe the skin and reduce the pain of some skin conditions as well. There are minimal side effects and if you’ve tried other remedies that haven’t worked, it’s definitely something you should consider.

5. Boosts Your Mood

If you’ve ever had a massage before, you’ll know that during and after, you feel great because of it. It relaxes the body and mind and helps you to forget about your worries and live in the moment.

Combined with CBD oil, this elevates the experience and makes it much more enjoyable. You’ll leave the massage with smoother skin, relaxed muscles, and feel less anxious or stressed in general.

All of these factors combined provide a massive boost to your mood.

6. Stimulates the Senses

Getting a CBD oil massage is a great way to connect to your body and it stimulates the senses in a unique way. Since your skin, muscles, and mind are all being stimulated during the massage, it provides a great feeling. You’ll feel more connected with your body and can help you feel refreshed and alert. Living in such a fast-paced world means that we don’t often spend enough time connecting with ourselves and living in the moment.

Getting a CBD massage is an amazing experience and could help ease anxiety, pain, skin issues, and even just relax you. It is becoming an increasingly popular form of massage in recent years. The only way to understand how good it can be is by getting one for yourself.

Healing Arts NYC uses only the finest CBD products available for massage therapy sessions.  

60 minutes for $165.

Good Gut Flora = Good Brain Health

At Healing Arts we do a lot of work with patients of reestablishing their gut environment.  This type of healing usually starts with giving patients supplements to kill bad gut flora and remove toxins from the gut.  Once that phase is over, we then give supplements to put good gut flora back in and other supplements that may be needed to rebuild the gut.  This process of getting rid of toxins, bad microbes, heavy metals or chemicals, and inflammatory foods by using food supplements from an organic farm is how we give people back their health.  We see all the time how helping detox from the gut in particular helps with brain chemistry.  The majority of your neurotransmitters for your brain are made in the large intestine by bacteria.  Yes, the bacteria actually produce serotonin, dopamine and GABA all of which play a key role in mood.   So if the large intestinal environment is not healthy one could feel anxious, moody or depressed.

Functional medicine calls this the gut-brain axis and we need to make sure that it is healthy.  One example of the relationship between the brain and the gut is IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) which has the common symptom of getting worse with stress.  So not only does the gut make the neurotransmitters for the brain but it's a two way street and the mental stress in the brain can affect the function of the bowels. 

                                

Sleep can also be affected by the health of the gut for melatonin which was thought to only be produced in the brain by the pineal gland is also produced in the gut.  By getting rid of toxins and reestablishing a healthier gut flora with good bacteria we help people get off their sleeping aids and antidepressants.  We have been doing this for over 13 years at Healing Arts and are so glad science is catching up to our results in the office for about 11 months ago scientists actually started identifying which bacteria were linked to depression in this study in Nature Microbiology.

Health Benefits of a Himalayan Salt Lamp

I have blogged about the benefits of eating Himalayan salt.  Due to its high mineral content I think it's the best salt to eat! It is also full of negative ions that helps reduce indoor air pollution, allergens, improves mood & sleep, and reduces stress.  How can negative ions do all that?  Well, back to Science 101, “An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving the atom a net positive or negative electrical charge.”  Our bodies are full of positive ions from all the chemical reactions that occur.  Positive ions also come from electronic devices like computers, TVs, microwaves, and even vacuum cleaners and can often exacerbate problems like allergies, stress and sleep trouble. Negative ions can neutralize positive ions (they bond together) and help cleanse the air.

Negative ions occur more often in nature and they are often created by things like lightening storms, sunlight, waterfalls, and ocean waves. This is one of the reasons people often report feeling renewed or refreshed after a storm or at the beach. Earthing mats also help the body by producing negative ions.  If you are having trouble sleeping they are good to use in bed.  or to put your feet on under the desk while you are at the computer.

Having the negative ions in the air that you breathe cleans the air but also as you breath it in the positive ions in your body and the negative ions you just inhaled come together to create an atom without a charge which puts less stress on the  body.  Otherwise, an ion having a charge is known as a free radical and causes oxidative stress in the body.  That's why eating and drinking antioxidants is healthy for your body.  Foods highest in antioxidants are cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries in the fruit category. Beans, artichokes, and Russet potatoes were tops among the vegetables. Pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts ranked highest in the nut category.

So for  better health purchase a salt lamp. eat your blueberries and if you really are having trouble with sleep or inflammation use an Earthing mat.

For the Love of Chocolate

Over the past dozen of years or so, a steady stream of science has emerged, showing that cocoa possess extraordinary life-imbuing and disease-fighting properties. Most notably, cocoa demonstrates significant benefits for the cardiovascular system, helping to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, reduce the risk of high blood pressure, and even reduce the risk of cancer.

Cocoa contains over 700 known compounds. And for all we know, there may be many more that remain undiscovered. Of particular interest to scientists are the antioxidant compounds in cocoa. Antioxidants are compounds that plants manufacture to prevent their own cells from premature destruction due to exposure to heat, light, air, moisture and time. In the human body, many of these compounds prevent reactive oxygen species (ROS) from destroying cells and causing premature aging and disease. Cocoa is especially rich in polyphenols, a group of protective antioxidant compounds found in many plant foods such as red wine and tea. Yet, of all foods, cocoa has the highest antioxidant polyphenol content, and provides the greatest cardio-protection.

Cardiovascular disease is the primary killer of adults. The polyphenols in cocoa are cardio-protective in two ways. They help to reduce the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), or so-called ‘bad cholesterol.” Oxidation of LDL is considered a major factor in the promotion of coronary disease, most notably heart attack and stroke. Additionally, polyphenols inhibit blood platelets from clumping together. This clumping process, called aggregation, leads to atherosclerosis, hardening of the arteries. By inhibiting aggregation, polyphenols reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.

Another dimension of the benefits of cocoa and chocolate consumption concerns mood. Cocoa is rich in agents that enhance the production of various feel-good chemicals in the brain, notably serotonin and dopamine. This means that cocoa possesses anti-depressant, mood-elevating properties. This is no surprise to the any millions of people who self medicate with chocolate every day.

Of the mood-modifying compounds in cocoa, one is PEA, or phenethylamine. This chemical, which occurs in chocolate in small quantities, stimulates the nervous system and triggers the release of pleasurable opium-like compounds known as endorphins. It also potentiates the activity of dopamine, a neurochemical directly associated with sexual arousal and pleasure. Phenethylamine increases in the brain when we fall in love, and during orgasm. The giddy, restless feelings that occur when we are in love are at least partly due to PEA. This adds a rather remarkable dimension to cocoa, and may account for why it is so highly prized. For while there are a great many agents in nature which boost libido and enhance sexual function, (High Libido Diet) chocolate alone actually promotes the brain chemistry of being in love. Chocolate is the gift of lovers for this very reason.

Cocoa additionally boosts a sense of well being by increasing brain levels of serotonin, the so-called feel-good brain chemical. For this reason cocoa provides a highly desirable mood boost to women during PMS and menstruation, when serotonin levels are often down. In fact, women are consistently more sensitive to cocoa than men. Women typically experience stronger cocoa cravings than men. And for many, cocoa is the perfect PMS prescription. A little cocoa can restore a feeling of well being.

The one thing that hinders chocolate from being a great super food is all the sugar we put with it. It is best to make your own using raw, organic honey. But if the craving hits and you need something convenient and cocoa nibs are not a choice go for Green and Black's 85% organic dark chocolate that is made with organic cane sugar or Hu and Evolved chocolate which are both sweetened with coconut sugar.  

How to Eat to Manage Stress and the Adrenal Glands

Chronic stress is a major culprit in the lives of New Yorkers, contributing to ongoing cycles of fatigue, poor nutrition, waves of exhaustion, mood swings, and hormonal imbalance. When I ask my patients what they think is the reason for their symptoms, their answers have one common thread: too much responsibility that is impossible to manage. Trying to help themselves through each day, many people find themselves overloading on caffeine, sugary or salty snacks, alcohol, and even sleep aids to manage stress, all of which can disrupt our body’s normal rhythms.

Research shows that when we experience chronic stress, our adrenal glands, or the tiny glands that moderate the stress response as well as regulate other hormones, will suffer. The adrenals, which are the size of walnuts, have an enormous job. They produce many hormones that regulate our body’s functioning, including cortisol, a hormone activated when our stress levels rise, signaling our body to enter a heightened state of emergency. But high cortisol levels are intended to be short term, not remain elevated.

When our cortisol levels stay elevated, people feel like they are stuck in the 'fight or flight' response and it interferes with many functions in our body, including immune function, digestion, sleep, and even the ability to produce other essential hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid hormones. This can lead to high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess abdominal fat, and inflammation. In the meantime, our health is compromised, along with our moods, and even our sex drive.

When the adrenal glands continue to be compromised long term, they have a decreased ability to produce cortisol, and instead produce extra adrenaline, causing us to feel irritable, shaky, lightheaded, and anxious. Adrenal fatigue is a syndrome that can, over time, cause low blood pressure, allergies, and pure exhaustion.

These issues, although very concerning, can also be relieved when adrenal dysfunction is healed. And the good news is, it can be healed. Along with decreasing chronic stress, adjusting our emotional responses to stressors, and changing what, when and how we eat, we can reverse adrenal fatigue. Let’s take a look at some of the dietary approaches we can utilize to not only support our adrenals, but also improve our energy and promote better sleep.

First: Time Your Meals and Snacks

When we go for long periods without food, our adrenal glands work hard to release more cortisol and adrenaline, to try to maintain the body’s normal functioning. When our blood sugar dips for extended periods, this creates a stress reaction, taxing the adrenals. It’s important to know that our body always needs energy, even when we are sleeping. Cortisol works to moderate blood sugar in between meals and at night, so regulating our cortisol levels by eating timely, healthy meals and snacks is key.

Cortisol levels begins to rise around 6 am, peaks around 8 am, and then throughout the day naturally rises and falls as needed. It tapers off at night, and reaches its lowest levels while we are sleeping.

Timing our meals, and how much we eat, can help regulate cortisol and its natural cycle. Eating larger meals earlier in the day naturally helps support cortisol levels, while eating smaller, lighter meals at the end of the day helps maintain hormonal balance.

Exercise will also increase cortisol levels, so enjoying lighter activities while trying to heal adrenal fatigue is important. To keep cortisol levels as smooth as possible, heavier exercise is recommended in the morning or early afternoon when cortisol is higher, and lighter exercise, such as walking or gentle stretching such as restorative yoga, is better in the evening.

The old adage about breakfast being the most important meal is actually true. Eating a nutritious breakfast that includes protein within an hour of rising will help balance your metabolism and cortisol throughout the entire day. But it’s hard to eat when we don’t feel hungry, even if we know it’s important.

Here are reasons we may not feel hungry in the morning:

1) Corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) levels can dull the appetite when it enters the bloodstream at a fast rate first thing in the morning.

2) Decreased liver function can accompany adrenal fatigue, which also can quell morning hunger.

Here are some tips to help support your natural cortisol cycle:

-Eat breakfast within an hour of getting up, or by 8 am to restore blood sugar levels that were depleted during the night.
-Eat a healthy snack around 9 am.
-Try to eat lunch between 11 am and noon to prevent a large dip in cortisol levels.
-Eat a healthy snack between 2 and 3 pm to help off-set the natural cortisol dip that occurs around 3 or 4 pm. Many people notice this dip every day and reach for extra caffeine or carbohydrate-loaded snacks, which will actually impede hormonal balance.
-Try to eat dinner between 5 and 6 pm and although it may be difficult at first, try to eat a light meal. Eventually your body will enjoy digesting less food in the evening.
-Eat a nutritious, light snack around 9PM.

Stress and exhaustion, when combined with hunger, can impede our ability to make healthy choices. When we aren’t aware of the effects that too much caffeine and refined carbohydrates have on our bodies, we may not realize we are affecting our hormones and how they function, as well as our sleep patterns by consuming them.

In addition to cortisol levels, our serotonin may also be off balance, signaling our body to rest. That doesn’t always mean sleep — sometimes deep breathing or a 10-minute walk outdoors can help boost serotonin and ward off fatigue.

My patients are always surprised when I tell them to give in to their cravings of salt during periods of adrenal fatigue. Salt cravings in adrenal insufficiency are related to low levels of a steroid hormone called aldosterone. This hormone helps the body maintain salt and water as a way to help regulate blood pressure. When cortisol goes up, aldosterone goes down. Like cortisol, aldosterone fluctuates throughout the day, and is also influenced by stress. Chronically low levels of aldosterone can impact electrolyte balance, and sodium intake is one way to help correct this imbalance.

If you experience lightheadedness when you get out of bed in the morning, you may have low blood pressure. This is a common side effect of adrenal insufficiency, so adding good quality-salt, such as a pinch of Himilayan salt to your drinking water, could be helpful to manage those symptoms.

Vitamins and minerals are essential to restoring adrenal health, and supporting the entire endocrine system. Not only can they help the healing process, but they can provide extra nutrition to our cells, and support proper adrenal functioning every day. Here are some important ones.


Drenamin supports adrenal function and helps maintain emotional balance and energy production
Vitamins C, E and all the B vitamins help regulate stress hormones.
Magnesium provides energy to the adrenal glands.
Calcium and trace minerals including zinc, manganese, selenium, and iodine provide calming effects in the body.

Herbal support is also a consideration when treating adrenal fatigue. Adaptogens are herbs that actually adapt to the individual needs of your body, providing the additional essential support your adrenals need. Begin with the first two herbs listed below, along with B vitamins. If you do not notice improvement within a few weeks, be sure to consult with a naturopathic or functional medicine provider for evaluation and a program that evaluates your specific needs.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
Eleuthero / Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus)
Astragalus root (Astragalus membranaceus)
Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis)
Rhodiola rosea
Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

It’s amazing to think that the adrenal glands have so much power over our functioning. When they are working properly they offer balance – providing us with energy when we require it, and helping us feel relaxed when it’s time to rest. The burden is great on our adrenals, and they can become impaired under the heels of long term stress. But we can make small choices that can dramatically impact their functioning for the better. With proper nutrition, exercise, relaxation, and sleep, our body’s natural rhythms will be supported. By reducing stress levels, our adrenal glands will work in harmony with us, and our energy and vitality will be renewed.