Carlo St. Juste and Embracing Holistic Health

Carlo St. Juste II is a licensed acupuncturist and holistic medicine specialist located outside of Los Angeles. He provides support to those who are looking at balancing mind – body and require assistance with holistic health.

Our podcast with Carlo dives into the nature of holistic health, exploring the relationship between mind-body as well as what can be done to create better results with your care.

As we continue to change with the current landscape in health, it’s important that everyone begins to look at ways they can proactively work toward prevention and holistic care. Using this in combination with the services provided by BlueSea senior care in Seal Beach, helps create complete support to seniors and their families.

To listen to the full podcast, click here.

Qi (Chi), is at the heart of acupuncture and your body’s needs. It means that you hold a vital, life force. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is used as a measurement to know how much energy is in the body.

For seniors and holistic health, this is a different association with qi. This is because it is not a body part or physical component, but is a process with the system. There are different types of qi depending on your mood as well as the type of energy that goes through your body.

When someone is working with qi in a positive, continuous way, it brings balance. This allows you to maintain a healthy lifestyle and focus on the needs you have for your mind and body.

Carlo extended his understanding with practices of Tai Chi and meditation, both which he states are a way to balance, calm, and revitalize the body. The concept of holistic care is inclusive of finding the methods that are foundational and are now turning the heads of scientists because of their capacity to assist with complete, body balance.

Tai Chi basics allow you to find the balance at the beginning. Carlo starts with a “sinking” feeling where you bring your mind and your thinking to your belly button and 1 inch below the belly button. Breathe into this area and focus on this one area.

After this, relax your shoulders. Go into a state of alertness while letting go of your minds and thoughts unless it is in the one belly area.

With this initial state of awareness and relaxation, you will be able to start balancing your body and your mind.

Carlo begins by highlighting how acupuncture is now becoming mainstream, specifically because it is able to boost immune functions and assist with the production of white blood cells.

Whenever an acupuncture process takes place, it promotes blood flow, circulation, balance, and the restoration of the body. This occurs because there is an anti-inflammatory effect and induces a response from the immune system.

For those that are elderly, inflammation is key. Acupuncture is able to target the mechanisms that cause issues such as inflammation, allowing it to get back into a state of balance (homeostasis).

Carlo highlights the ways you can measure and balance your qi for sleep. This is because it impacts so many Americans with sleeping issues they have, and acupuncture treatments are often required for sleep.

The issue which is prominent among most is that there is a need to reduce stress, induce a state of calmness, and to balance melatonin the body to fall asleep. This creates a rhythm that is biologically balanced.

If you can’t sleep, it’s possible to meditate, receive acupuncture treatments, breathing slower, and creating a state of awareness. When you do this on a continuous basis, it assists with being able to sleep.

Breathing slowly through the nose, holding for a short time, and exhaling through the mouth through conscious awareness is one way to do this, specifically because it releases stress.

Inflammation is the body’s response from injury. When that occurs, there is constriction and dilation. This means that blood cells begin to constrict and open. That causes the body to start healing.

Inflammation is a response to heal and is not a bad thing. However, when it does not stop and start to heal, it causes us to go into pain and leads to hurt.

To release pain, press between your thumb and index finger. You can massage the area lightly and is not a direct point. Pressing on the base of your thumb is also an effective method.

To increase energy, you don’t need to do acupressure. Instead, you can use an effective method of moving specific points that stimulate your body. The only thing you need to do is start moving your large toe back and forth. You don’t need to move any other toes, but allow this one to move up and down. This is a relaxed method that allows you to work with the reflexology and points of this area.

Carlo noted that he worked specifically with cancer patients in an integrative field. His approach was that acupuncture alone isn’t going to “heal” cancer, but is a supplement which alleviates side effects of issues such as chemotherapy treatments while assisting with recovery.

Carlo also stated that there are studies that are now indicating that acupuncture is becoming a recognized treatment for cancer. While research is still inconclusive, it is possible that acupuncture can become a way to restore the body when it is facing more severe diseases, such as cancer.

For seniors and holistic health, there are specific foods you can take that allow you to boost your immunity and other aspects of your body.

Berries of any type are known to boost the immune system. They are also known for improving memory.

Omega 3 and healthy fats are also known to assist with immunity as well as the mind and the skin.

Carlo points out that, if you are looking at nutrition, it’s something you always want to learn about. However, as issues come up, it requires looking differently at your diet and continuing to learn about the nutritional value in the different foods that we eat.

The take away is to focus on nutrients over calories. Focusing on the nutrients with colored foods, varieties, etc, it will negate the bad effects of calories. Those who focus on this approach have fewer preventable diseases.

Probiotics is also an important component when looking at diet for seniors and holistic health, especially to combat bacteria and to promote digestion. What Carlo also noted is that this is continuing to change because of the unknown prevention for long-term outcomes as well as differences in body type and what an individual needs.

Carlo stated that looking at herbal remedies instead, such as ginger, may be an effective approach that doesn’t have the same side-effects based on other needs of the body.

For those that require assistance with their daily nutrition and physical care, BlueSea Care also provides assistance in Southern California, such as Malibu senior home care.

What’s happening with many is that supplements, like Zinc, are being recommended as a supplement. Carlo’s take on this part of nutrition is to dive deeper. While they can assist, there are deeper components that need to be investigated.

Carlo states that Zinc is effective for something like a cold and is often recommended. However, before assuming that this is where you are deficient, getting lab tests and finding what the root of each problem becomes even more important.

The effectiveness of any supplement is based on what your body needs, as opposed to the trending minerals. He states that our body can get the nutrition it needs from a healthy diet. It’s looking at whether you are deficient in any area to identify what you need to take.

Looking at all alternatives and adding this into effective approaches is important. For instance, he has found that oils have the capacity to combat viruses on the surface.

Oils such as peppermint, sage, cinnamon, tea tree oil, or clove may assist with changing the ability to keep an environment healthier and neutralized. His hope is that research for holistic assistance can be effective. Using this as a supplement for seniors and holistic health is a way to continue receiving support for prevention and wellness.

He notes that they have been shown to be effective as cleaning agents as well as to help with issues such as sleep, muscle relaxation, or reducing anxiety and stress.

To learn more about Carlo St. Juste and his work, visit his acupuncture website.