The Healing Power of Thanksgiving

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Contrary to popular belief Thanksgiving Dinner is actually quite healthy.

When we remove all the notorious “white foods,” such as white refined flours, sugars, and other carbohydrates devoid of nutrients we are actually left with a very colorful whole food fare.

Of course you should never try a new recipe while entertaining, but I have given each popular dish a “whole foods makeover” so that you can try a healthier option next time. There should be a next time–in just a few weeks. We should try to eat a turkey dinner more than once a year! Baking a whole turkey is a fantastic healthy and frugal way to optimize your grocery budget, and turkey is the hottest trend this winter. Plus it just makes the house smell good. I freeze carcasses until I have enough to make into a great turkey wild rice soup.

Anti-aging Tip: Eat Dates!

PhotobucketToday’s anti-aging tip is brought to us by the author of AntiAgingHacks.com, Registered Nurse, Rod Newbound.

Although the exact origin of the date palm is lost in antiquity, it is known to have been used in construction of the temple of the moon god near Ur in Southern Iraq (Mesopotamia) as early a 4000 BC.

Dates were considered very important in both the Jewish and Islamic religions, and were believed to be a curative for many ailments.

Ancient Phoenicia was known as “the land of palms” and no doubt dates sustained them as they sailed around the Mediterranean and became the predominate maritime trading culture of the time.

10 Self Coaching Fundamentals

PhotobucketBy Tim Brownson

Author of Don’t Ask Stupid Questions - There Are No Stupid Questions

I was talking to somebody the other day about fluff. I’m not referring to the stuff that finds its way into your belly button, but book fluff or filler. I could easily distill several of the seminal self-development books into a few paragraphs if I was so inclined.

The thing is though, nobody spends $20 on one piece of mass produced paper no matter what words of wisdom are printed on it. So writers have to bulk their books out to deliver perceived value and get people to hand over their hard earned cash.

Why We Should Like Bugs and Worms

PhotobucketDo you like bugs and worms?

Well if you do, you can feel vindicated by today’s topic, and if you don’t you may change your mind after reading today’s guest post. This is also a great teaching topic to share with your children. Won’t you sound so smart next time you are outside with your kids looking at bugs in the garden? Teach them about the microscopic bugs at work in our soil, and the important agricultural role they play.

Remember, even the Hobo Spider deserves his place in the environment, and we just need to respectfully avoid encounters without going on spider killing rampages.

Chocolate Chips Better than Viagra?

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Are chocolate chips better than Viagra? According to Journal of Nutrition’s latest September and October issues, chocolate has some pretty exciting therapeutic potential.

If you want to avoid being on “the little blue pill” you should consider taking a daily dose of the little brown pill.

That’s right—50-200 chocolate chips a day may prevent the cardiovascular damage that is a leading cause of erectile dysfunction. 1

Living With Diabetes: An Interview with Joe

I hope all my readers today have a chance to read this interview.

If you have diabetes you could use the empathy, and if you are currently free of chronic disease you may want to read and feel motivated to take better care of your body NOW to prevent disease.

Do you ever wonder what it is like to live with diabetes? Ever wonder how your friends or family members are secretly doing day to day with this difficult disease?

Today I will be interviewing Joe, otherwise known as “Crotchety” to all the readers of his widely read, popular and hilarious humor blog, “Crotchety Old Man Yells at Cars” about living with diabetes.

How to Filter the Water for Your Entire Home

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“The Importance of Home Water Filters”

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

Have you ever wished you could filter more than just the water you drink?

I mean there are shower water filters out there too but that still doesn’t decrease the amount of pollutants and chlorine your children, pets, and clothing are exposed to. Chlorine free is especially important for anyone with asthma, skin problems, multiple chemical sensitivity or “perfume allergy,” and those with newborn babies and young children.

eBooks for Health

November 14, 2008 by Dr. Nicole Sundene  
Filed under Book Club, eBooks

eBooks are a fantastic environmentally friendly, efficient, and inexpensive way to quickly deliver the information you need.

I also personally enjoy snooping these websites so if you want me to snoop something out for you, just ask the website owner to send me the PDF of their book for review. You can let them know that personally approved ebooks by me are professionally endorsed by a licensed physician and featured in my new ebook club.

The Healing Power of Cauliflower

Today’s delicious healing whole food recipe is provided by Zestycook.com!

Cauliflower is an especially healing autumn food because it is low in calories, high in fiber, and rich in a very special cancer fighting compound called indole-3-carbinol.

This magical component of cauliflower prevents cancer by detoxing the system of the harmful forms of estrogen that result in reproductive cancers and complaints in women.

Are You a Sugar Zombie?

By Dr. Scott Olson

Author of Sugarettes.

If you were a normal zombie, you would rise up out of your grave and stumble off in search of your craving: flesh. Sugar zombies, however, typically rise from their couch and go off in search of their craving: sugar. Sugar zombies yearning for sugar can sometimes only be satisfied with a pure sugary treat, but remember, certain foods act like sugar in the body (such are grains, chips, crackers, French fries and others…) and these “foods that act like sugar” are sometimes what the sugar zombie are searching for.

How are you Voting for your Health?

Call me old fashioned but I refuse to vote by absentee ballot. I just love Election Day, and to me there is something really special about driving to the same elementary school year after year and filling out my ballot alongside everyone else in my community. There is that certain spirit in the air. That friendly neighborhood free cookie and coffee hour that can’t quite be replicated anywhere else. “Does my vote really make a difference?” I always wonder to myself as I look around the crowded room.

It certainly does to me.

6 Steps to Calorie Counting in Your Kitchen

By Bonnie Pfiester, Fitness Trainer

One of the greatest treasures I received after my grandmother died was her recipe box. Recently, I was thumbing through all the recipes and noticed an odd number written on the top of some of the cards.

All the sudden it hit me, the number reflected the calories for that dish.

One recipe, Salmon-Broccoli Bake, had the numbers “1600” noted at the top of the card. Another recipe for Overnight Coffee Cake had “3700 cal” written in my grandfather’s handwriting.

It’s funny how the smallest thing can bring back certain memories.

The Healing Power of Music: An Interview with Jeremy Dion

November 11, 2008 by Dr. Nicole Sundene  
Filed under Counseling, Guest Posts, Kitchen Sink, Music

Hi Kitchen Table Medicine readers! Ever wonder about the healing power of music?

Well, I have invited therapist and musician Jeremy Dion to the kitchen table to discuss the therapeutic benefits of music.

I am delighted to host this interview because it is wonderful to see health care professionals use their creative talents to further help people. Please welcome to the kitchen table therapist and musician Jeremy Dion…

Jeremy, what is your professional background?

How to Transform Fear

By Mary O’malley

Author of The Gift of Our Compulsions: A Revolutionary Approach to Self-Acceptance and Healing and Belonging to Life: The Journey of Awakening

In his first inaugural speech in 1933, Franklin Roosevelt said “…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…”

This was a profound thing to say given the economic climate of that time and was intended to shake people out of their focus on their material losses.

But what if that is not actually true? What if we don’t need to fear fear. In fact, what would our lives look like if the voice of fear inside of us couldn’t catch us in its web?

Terra Tints by Alba Botanica: Product Review

By Kat Lee

There’s nothing that makes me feel prettier than wearing lipstick.

I’m not sure why… it must just be a girl thing. At any rate, I’ve known for quite some time that the ingredients used in lipstick were less than stellar.

However, it was when it was discovered that several mainstream companies had lead in their lipstick products that I decided enough was enough. Then I began my search for quality lipstick that I wouldn’t have to take out a second mortgage to purchase!

Stress is For Suckers: Free Book!

My favorite Life Coach, Tim Brownson has done it again!

His new ebook “Stress is for Suckers” is out– and as a gift to my Kitchen Table readers you are all welcome to access a free copy for the next week! Be sure to get it while it’s hot.

Stress is THE most important lifestyle factor to get a grip on above anything else, and Brownson does a thorough job breaking down and simplifying all the best life coaching tactics for busy people coping with a stressful lifestyle.

An Interview with a Heroin Addict turned Psychologist

November 5, 2008 by Dr. Nicole Sundene  
Filed under Drug Abuse, Guest Posts, Kitchen Sink

Everyone loves a poignant rags to riches tale.

We all want good to triumph over evil.

We all pray for those struggling through life that they eventually find their way. Struggling past insurmountable obstacles towards achievement is the all American dream.

In the case of Dr. Melinda Tyler, former heroin addict and sex worker, she has not only proudly triumphed drug addiction, but has become an award winning psychologist and professor, and is now using her personal experience to help drug addicts everywhere.

Gardasil Vaccine: Just Say NO to Compulsory Vaccination

I’m sorry but as a doctor with a special interest in women’s health issues, I am going to have to call balderdash on the Gardasil vaccine.

The marketing Merck is using for their new vaccine is just garbage.

Gardasil=Garbage

Perhaps we should just refer to it from this point on as Garbagesil.

Why in the world did Merck make a vaccine for an already preventable disease? Cervical cancer is preventable through yearly pap smears, healthy diet, and healthy lifestyle.

Why isn’t Merck focusing their time, resources, and research on diseases that we desperately need vaccines for such as HIV and hepatitis C?

Sauteed Spinach Recipe

Today’s featured healing recipe is provided by ZestyCook.com!

Spinach is an especially healing food as it is rich in folic acid and beta carotene.

The root of folic acid comes from “foilage” and leafy greens are chock full of this nutrient shown to prevent cervical cancer and birth defects.

Folic acid also has been shown in research to make anti-depressants more effective. You will also be happy to know that it is OK to eat a little bit of fat with your vegetables. Fats paired with veggies help us better absorb the fat soluble vitamins they contain. Those on the Mediterranean Diet or Anti-Inflammatory Diet can substitute the low fat cream for olive oil.