Are Plastics Causing Brain Damage?

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

Recently, researchers at Yale University found an alarming result to their preliminary study on how plastics affect the functioning of our Central Nervous System.

Wow! Imagine the possibilities? Wouldn’t it be nice to blame all your forgetfulness on that Tupperware lunch you just microwaved? Maybe you had brain fog this morning because you drank your organic coffee from a plastic traveler’s mug?

Maybe it is plastics, not aluminum, causing Alzheimer’s; maybe it’s all the plastics in our environment breaking down and causing the rates of ADHD, depression, autism, and other diseases of relatively unknown etiology to suddenly rise.

Doesn’t that sound crazy? But—it very well could be reality. All new chemicals are guilty until proven innocent. Why? Because that is the SAFEST option for consumers. However, the FDA does not promote safety, they promote big business in America. Anyone can see that in their inability to properly examine new substances for consumers to ingest.

Did you know that all new food additives can be FDA approved simply by laboratory testing on animals alone? Doesn’t that make you want to think twice before drinking that sucralose sports drink? If you don’t believe me then just think about why tobacco, a known killer has not been banned by the FDA?

You are drinking a man made substance that has NEVER been tested on human beings and approved for safety.

Plastics are no different. Researchers are JUST NOW growing concerned about the degradation of plastics in our environment and starting to really do some preliminary research on the health consequences of plastics.

What would we all do without plastics? We have grown so dependent on plastics.

You might be reading this right now and freaking out! OH MY GOSH! Everything in my house is plastic. My house is made of modified plastics…I drive in plastics…I eat out of plastics…I drink out of plastics! My child is teething on a big piece of plastic.

As a doctor and researcher with a passion for biochemistry, I really think that plastics - just like lead pipes, BPA, Azo yellow dye, asbestos, and all the medications the FDA is constantly approving and then yanking off the shelves - boils down to the same final dilemma that no one in the world is ever willing to accept:

You just can’t cheat the system.

I support people looking for a better way, an easier way. I am always after the same. However, the better way does not involve “cheating the system,” it involves supporting it. When we look for cheap quick fixes for today’s problems without thinking forward to the future generations, we will ALWAYS have a problem with our environment.

Think forward to fifty years from now—think about how much more plastic will be in our environment if we don’t stop now.

So, on one hand we have a very preliminary study done on plastics…and some evidence that plastics may be the problem in certain reproductive cancers…is there enough evidence yet…?

The problem is that the FDA approves something and then that thing is this “golden child” that then must be proven guilty (via expensive research).

Is “innocent until proven guilty” the best solution for potentially toxic products? There are plastics manufacturers everywhere burying the very research we need because they don’t want consumers to stop buying their products.

As a doctor with ten years of post secondary education, I vote for “why bother waiting around to find out”. The damage done by plastics is already more than enough evidence. We know they are bad. We know they break down in to “xenoestrogens,” or molecules that structurally mimic estrogen and are thus able to stimulate estrogen receptors.

We know that we should not even be drinking out of plastic water bottles. We know that smaller organisms in our environment are slowly transforming to a predominantly female gender as a result of the presence of these xenoestrogens in our environment.

This study by Yale University showing that plastics interfere with brain functions is simply the tip of the plastics iceberg. Unfortunately this may just be too big of an iceberg for us to navigate around.

What can you do as a consumer? Stop buying plastics, of course. There are typically superior products available made of stainless steel, glass, wood, and cast iron options that have circulated through generations and proven safe by the best test of all. The test of time is better than any double blind randomized control trial.

Every new thing in science gets a critical eye from me, and the plastics story is no exception. There is enough significant evidence at this point in time to warrant pulling most plastics from the shelves, and yet the FDA is not doing so because the bottom line is always the same thing—money.

Yes, at times these things may cost a little bit more, but just think of it as YOU having the voice to VOTE for what you want our environment to be composed of by choosing NOT to purchase items made of plastic.

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Harvard Docs Score an “F” For Taking Big Bucks From Big Pharma

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

I always love reading Dr. Mercola’s opinions on various new stories because he is fearless, and is quick to point out the pink elephant in the room. He must get a lot of hate mail…poor guy.  But for those of us sitting back going, “AMEN!!!” I would just like to take a moment to say thanks.  Especially when I read up on a topic that has had me concerned for nearly a decade….how drugs are marketed.

Here is Dr. Mercola’s take on this topic: “Harvard Med Students Rebel Against Big Pharma”And here is the original article if you would like more info.

So I don’t really find it big news at all that Harvard Med School recently scored an “F” (yes - the worse score possible) for taking too many kick backs from big pharma….

Not to mention one of the largest drug manufacturers put up shop just right across the street…
Hmmm….coinkydink?

I think NOT!!!

As much as I would love for some drug rep to whisk me away from my life of overworking hell and take me to the Bahamas where I just have to listen to some seminar to make an extra $20,000 grand this year in “grants” or whatever….it just is not going to happen.

The Chief of Staff at the hospital I worked wouldn’t even use a single pen made by a drug rep, and heaven forbid some newbie actually made it past me and into his office!

At the time, I would sit at my desk and organize my free pads of paper, water my free Viagra cactus, eat my free glucophage doughnuts, and drink my free coffee from the Angiotensin II Receptor Blocking Rep (blood pressure med) without being educated enough to understand how deep the bitter ugly irony of my drug rep riddled world was…especially when the phone would ring and I would talk to little old ladies about how they couldn’t afford food because medicare didn’t cover this drug that they desperately needed.

Back before I actually became a doctor, I would observe the doctors I worked for so that I could be as “doctor like” as possible. I watched every move they made. Memorized anything they said.  I watched how most drug reps would manage to schmooze their way in.

I watched how certain doctors refused to read their literature. I watched one doctor hold up a sign she had made with a black sharpie pen that said, “NO THICK GLOSSY LANDFILL” as she signed for that week’s free samples….she was a pharmacologist and an MD, and she knew better than to take advice on how to be a doctor from some “barbie doll with a briefcase.”  Her words, not mine.

Now that 100 people have just unsubscribed from my blog, be sure to drop me some fan mail if you like my occasional angry rants because it sure does help me fight this cause.

Nonetheless….good will prevail over evil….and this article on what should be the BEST of American medical schools demonstrates the fraudulent duplicity in our health care system that results in us being the most unhealthy country second to Finland, while we manage to spend the MOST on health care.

Can I give the entire American health care system an “F” while we are at it? I guess I can’t really fault the students when the teachers….the doctors (from the Latin “docere” meaning “to teach”) are replete with corruption.

You know where the best med school is though?

Bastyr University….my alma mater. The best school for naturopathic physicians in the world. Go there….trust me, there isn’t a drug rep to be found.

If Obama wants to make a difference in health care while in the oval office, he needs to cap how drug companies are allowed to market their product. And for all you capitalists out there…

I know this is America, but we have to draw the ethical line somewhere, and it looks like we need to start on the street dividing Harvard from Big Pharma.

Related Reading:

Drug Company Had Hit List for Doctors Who Criticized Them

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Dr. Nicole’s Pediatric Advice to New Parents

by Dr. Nicole Sundene

The other day I joked on Twitter, “Oh my gosh I got so busy Twittering I forgot a baby on the scale! BRB (be right back)” and my doctor and nurse friends all thought that was pretty funny, because some days in a family practice or pediatrics setting we get so busy we literally feel like this.

Don’t worry… I am on a break from seeing patients while I prepare to move  down to Arizona.

A decade ago, I spent my first week medical assisting in pediatrics for the hospital, I weighed and measured so many babies that I would have nightmares that one would roll off the counter and fall on the floor. I would wake up in a panicked cold sweat from the new responsibility of parents entrusting the care of their precious child in my hands.

Read more

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Does this Snuggie Make me Look Fat?

by Dr. Nicole Sundene

With 1/3 of Americans obese, every month is now “Weight Loss Month” at the kitchen table!

It may be acceptable for me to hide in a Snuggie like I did on Mother’s Day, but I am moving down south to Arizona and need to tone up FAST! Here are some of my favorite weight loss tips and tricks:

• Best Alternative Medicine Plan for Weight Loss
• Know your fat burning zone so your exercise counts.
• Ride the Wave or find a new fun toy to help you burn a few extra calories and stretch out those hips from sitting around the office all day.
• Sleep: Studies show if you don’t get enough sleep that is a cause for weight gain, and during these “Tough Economic Times” we need to use all the freebies we can snatch up!
• Calcium: Are you getting enough calcium? Research supports calcium supplementation for weight loss. Woo hoo!! This is a simple and cheap thing we should be taking anyway. I am not a fan of calcium carbonate as commonly used in many antacids, because we actually need acid to absorb our minerals, therefore I prefer calcium citrate. Non-menopausal adult women should get about 1200mg in daily divided doses to prevent osteoporosis and help control weight.
• Fiber: Best source for fiber is fruits and veggies. I also use these chewable fiber tablets by Enzymatic Therapy, add ground flaxseeds to smoothies, and typically don’t recommend psyllium fiber as it can make some people really gassy….especially if I have to be around them!
• Chomium Picolinate: To help balance cravings try 200mcg of chromium twice daily.
• Multivitamin: If you are restricting your diet be sure to make sure all your bases are covered by taking a high quality multivitamin.
• Make a Zero Zone: Your fridge feng shui is Uber important. Zero calories and guilt free snacks like fruits and veggies should be readily available and accessable. Hide the non-whole food treats for the “out of site out of mind” benefit.
• Make it a Gym Date: Whether catching up with a girlfriend over the stairmaster, or strutting your stuff on an actual date at the gym, suggest healthy alternatives to the typical dates that consist of sitting around and overeating, overdrinking, and over-overing in the Standard American Diet (SAD) fashion.
• Reading: Join our book club just by staying tuned, or subscribed. Bobbie Laing will be writing about many different genres between self help books, engaging novels, and so forth. When we have a quiet night reading, we are nurturing that within us that is stressed and needs to be calm while avoiding television ad brainwashing.

Read More: Weight Loss category

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Water Safe Test Kit

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

Is your home drinking water safe?

I was a little shocked to find out that mine had toxic LEAD in it, after using eVitamins Water Safe Drinking Water Test. I knew the chlorine would be in there because I can taste the difference, but the lead was a bit of an unpleasant surprise.

Although we have done away with lead pipes and lead paint since the 1980’s, many fixtures are still partially made of lead, and this toxic metal that causes anemia, decreased neurological functioning, and immune dysfunction should be filtered out!

I realized that my Aquasana filter was indeed doing me a great deal of good, and that I needed to also start giving my parade of pets safe filtered water too. It is worth the extra few minutes a day it takes to fill up their water bowls. Pets are especially susceptible to environmental toxins.

Sometimes I worry as a Naturopathic Physician that I am over-paranoid about toxins in our environment, so the  Biochemist in me grabbed this test kit over at eVitamins to see if maybe I didn’t need to be so paranoid after all.

Now I know why most patients I’ve tested for heavy metals in Seattle consistently show high lead and mercury levels.  We are drinking poison! I wish mercury was included in this test kit, but most high quality filters also filter mercury out of our water as well as other toxic substances such as pesticides, bacteria, chlorine and so forth.

I like the simple Aquasauna filters that can be added to your kitchen sink. Don’t forget the shower filter too, or you can filter the water straight at it’s source with a whole home water filter (somewhat expensive but highly recommended for those with chronic disease or small children constantly bathing in it.)

Since the ONLY thing we should be drinking is WATER (read my “Obesity Tax on Soda” tirade for more info) you CAN afford a water filter when you give up soda and  juice.  Filtering the toxins out at the kitchen sink is the most economic way to go. Save  your favorite glass  jars and fill them in lieu of plastic bottles. Be cool….be a “jar drinker” like me! You can also use stainless steel containers for small children that should not be trusted with glass, such as my fav brand I can guarantee is aluminum free: Klean Kanteen.

You should especially purchase this Water Safe Test Kit if you have developing children in your home, suffer from chronic disease, or if your water has a funky odor. Water should never have an odor!

Dr. Nicole

Related reading:

Detoxify Your Home

Mold: Getting Rid of it in Your Home

Decreasing Home Pollutants

Chlorine Shower Filter: Anti-Aging

Liver Support Protocol

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Cholesterol Diet

The good news is there are many lifestyle changes that will lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The combination of a low-saturated-fat, total-fat, and low-cholesterol diet, physical activity, and weight control can have many positive effects on overall health.

In addition to lowering the “bad” LDL cholesterol, they can raise the “good” HDL cholesterol.

The body naturally makes cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol is found in foods that contain animal products (butter, milk, cheese, chicken, beef, eggs, etc.). Plant products do NOT contain cholesterol. There are many good things cholesterol does in the body, including:

Read more

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Autism: Eight Questions Dr. Nicole has for Parents

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

I won’t even pretend to be an expert on autism, but since this great group of autism blogging moms found me here at the kitchen table, I have a few questions of my own….

Below is a brief interview I did with one parent of a child diagnosed with autism, and if you would like to copy and paste the questions in to the comments section and share your own answers either anonymously or publicly it would greatly help me while I research the latest biochemistry on autism, vaccines, diets, vitamins, low homocysteine, and so forth.  Also other doctors and health care professional subscribed to my website will benefit.

Please share any other info you think would be helpful beyond my very basic questions, please by all means do so…I sincerely believe that the parents are the experts on this topic and even though April is “Autism Awareness Month,” author Tara McClintick and I decided that autism continues 365 days a year….so we are going to keep talking about this important and ever growing “epidemic” at the kitchen table.

#1 Did you have a difficult time getting pregnant?

Yes. We were childless for 9 years and I had two or three unsuccessful cervical bypass procedures. I also had one ectopic pregnancy prior to the birth of my daughter. I did manage to get pregnant on my own without drugs or other procedures. I was 29 when she was born.

#2 Was the pregnancy complicated or simple?

Very simple. Very little morning sickness, nothing major.

#3 Any problemss at birth?

Not at all. However, I was induced and was in labor for almost 17 hours.

#4 Normal APGARS?

Yes.

#5 Did your child exhibit any signs or symptoms before diagnosis physical or otherwise?

Yes. She was unable to nurse (could not latch on). She had poor eye contact, few words by age 2, echolalia when she did speak, repetitive behavior (such as stacking books), wandering, not pointing, not always responding to her name, sensory sensitivity, tantruming

#6 Was the onset around the time of the MMR vaccine?

I don’t recall when this vaccine was administered, but we definitely knew there was something wrong by about 18 months.

#7 Was your child vaccinated on a full schedule or partial schedule?

Full, at least I think so. She was vaccinnated as the schedule required in 1997-98.

#8 Any other factors going on with the family before or at the time of onset?

No.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen table to share your story.

Related reading:

Autism Awareness Month

Autism: 10 Strategies for Implementing Diet Changes

The Autism Diet Connection

Autism: 10 Tips for Everyone

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Alternative Medicine Help for Seasonal Allergies

Already the impending doom of scratchy throats, runny itchy noses, water eyes and chronic congestion are slowly setting in amongst many of us. Have no fear though, I have put together a basic plan to help avoid if not reduce the use of allergy medicines that tend to leave us feeling drowsy and groggy.

Having an alternative medicine plan in store before allergy season sets in full force will save you time, medication, and misery in the long run.

First I will be discussing how to get your body in optimal conditioning to cope with allergy season, and then I will discuss specific natural medicines that will help support your immune system to reduce the overall severity of seasonal allergies. If you always tend to be “sick” the months of March, April, May and September you more likely have seasonal allergies than a bad cold.

Now is a great time to do a SPRING CLEANING. Having a healthy liver aids the detoxification of histamine, that nasty molecule that gives us the irritating symptoms of allergies. Read more

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How ANYONE Can be a Naturopath in 10 Simple Steps

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

One day a student from UW Med School followed me around on my Bastyr Internship Rounds and said, “is being a Naturopathic Doctor all about fish oil and probiotics?”

To which I responded, “pretty much.”

As much as this is a little tongue in cheek humor for my colleagues, I hope you all will be reminded of the pillars of health.

Plus I don’t have all the time in the world to nag everyone on the planet so here is how you can help Dr. Nicole on her nagging mission:

#1 Tell everyone to investigate and TREAT THE ROOT CAUSE of their health problem. Remember that “Disease is Our Teacher” and symptoms are the only way the body can send messages that something has gone haywire. Read more

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Safeway: Dr. Nicole Grocery Shops From Home

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

I had to “product test” Safeway.com’s option to have groceries delivered and was quite pleased by the experience!

First of all let’s give mad Props to delivery man Jeff that was friendly and walked me through the process, suggesting that in the future I click the option to allow for substitutions because if I don’t want it he’ll just take it back to my local Safeway and refund my account.

Jeff gets a gold star for not taking my tip as well, since I hadn’t ordered groceries online before I wasn’t sure what kind of tip I should give and all my friends that I consulted with weren’t sure either. So I just handed him the tip and asked, “for future reference what do people normally tip you for your service?”

To which he replied, “we don’t accept tips.” Pheew! Okay that disaster was everted and I had also saved another few bucks to boot! It is also nice to know that there are still some honest people out there these days.

BONUSES OF SHOPPING ONLINE:

• No people in my way
• No waiting in lines
• No pointless small talk with strangers
• No impulse shopping
• No screaming children…yes I still scream and cry when I don’t get the candy I want…. *wink*

The nice thing about Safeway grocery delivery is that you can also have groceries sent to sick or elderly friends that are shut in, or low on funds…a “care package” for your broke college kids!

It is also simple to use their site and search for the latest deals as they come up!

I found many of the organic and natural products I frequently use on sale and was given the Buyers Club discount.

Most of the produce I buy are from the Farmers Market near my house so I just need the basic staples. But, I found some good deals online at Safeway too and the search function makes it virtually impossible to mess up!

As I said earlier, I found it much less tempting to impulse shop online, and it was easier to find the deals and check them out, since they pop up as the top choice.

My overall grocery “cybertrip” was only about half of what I normally pay due to lack of impulse shopping.

Online shopping may be a great way for people to lose weight as they distance themselves from the immediacy of food and impulse shopping.

Remember if you have a sick or shut in friend or relative you can always tell them you would be happy to have some groceries delivered. This is thoughtful and easy thanks to Safeway.com! Act like it is no big deal because you get it free from work or something. People are proud, but they are also grateful.

Which is why we all need to adopt the homeless, weak, and elderly in need around us and consider what true poverty, loneliness, sickness, and isolation is.

Of course I had to product test this before I could recommend it, and was certainly happy to because….

Grocery store shoppingis the Trifecta of everything I detest (had to use that because I gave up the Hate for 2008)

In conclusion I was delighted to beta test this whole Safeway delivery thing my friend has been bragging about for five years. We have it set up as an an affiliate program so if you click through any Safeway banners (of just book mark) this page we get a small donation which helps us unleash the inner fabulosity of our free healthy breaking news and nags!

Thanks for your purchases!

Dr. Nicole

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Environmental Working Group

Nothing is more important to us than protecting our children. Which is precisely why we’re huge fans of Environmental Working Group (EWG.org).

Feeding our children should be about choosing first foods, messy bibs, and learning to use a cup - not keeping tabs on scientifc research to avoid harmful chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA).

We want EWG at the table, advocating for our kids - and yours - so their health is no longer compromised by toxic chemicals like BPA, which is dangerous to kids’ growing bodies, implicated in diseases and problems such as diabetes, heart disease, neurological disorders, and cancer. Read more

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Bastyr Herb Fair June 6th!

Mark your calenders! June 6th is the Bastyr Herb Fair!

Our own “Doc Martin” - Eric Martin, Acupuncturist and master herbalist, will be leading herb walks at this year’s 11th Annual Bastyr Herb Fair! I probably won’t be there because I don’t like crowds of people… and already know it all! (Just kidding). Anyway, this is a fun free time for friends and family.

Be sure to try the acupressure foot path! I plan to talk about how to make your own foot path soon. It is pretty simple - anyone who can pour a cement path can do it. You just need to stick some smooth river rocks about halfway in to properly massage the feet.

This is a great opportunity learn a bit more about herbs! Read more

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Anti-Aging Diet

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

“If I could turn back time….”  name that tune!

The fountain of youth is not that difficult to find. Really it is inside of all of us. It simply starts with making the better decisions when at all possible.

Let’s face it, nobody wants to BE old, nobody wants to LOOK old, and most importantly nobody wants to FEEL old. he bad news is that aging is just a reality of living.

The good news is that to some degree we can reverse the aging process, if not drastically slow it down through better diet and lifestyle decisions. After working eight years in patient care, two of which were spent with a dermatologist I have concluded that the best “preserved” older people are those that exercise, eat right, and have positive mental attitudes.

Botox and collagen will only take you so far, and in my opinion there is no substance that will give you that healthy youthful glow that only proper nutrition and exercise provide. Read more

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The Beatles and Bipolarism

“I Want You So Bad” By The Beatles

“Here Comes the Sun”  By The Beatles

In order to view the above videos if viewing from my newsletter, you will have to click the title “Beatles and Bipolarism” in your newsletter to go straight to the article. (Sorry the video doesn’t show up! I’m not that smart yet with my coding skills! “Progress not perfection.”)

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

If there were ever to be a classic musical moment to portray bipolarism it would be done, of course, by none other than the Beatles on the classic “Abbey Road” album.  The sudden and rapid transition of the dark depressing instrumentals of ”I Want You So Bad (She’s So Heavy)” abruptly, and (thankfully I might add) stop and then suddenly, the twinkling of the next delightful song comes on, “Here Comes the Sun.”

Now the beauty of music is that we can cultivate that which is in our souls. We can replicate how we feel through our music, which is why I encourage every child to learn a musical instrument….especially the frustrated, complicated, constantly angry, and sensitive types.

If you have a child like this, I highly recommend you keep trying instruments on them until you find one that sticks. Don’t make it a punishment either. Don’t set a timer. God forbid, don’t buy a metronome. Just let it be the gift that it should be for them.

If you aren’t depressed or bipolar, it is tough to understand and have empathy for people afflicted by these conditions.  Depressed people don’t carry around IV poles, they don’t really look sick, they may actually appear to be some of the happiest most sunshiny and smiley people you know.  Carl Jung would call this “the mask that we wear,” and Jim Carey portrayed that fabulous ability to wear a mask in the movie, “The Mask.”

I’m sure you’ve seen a manic person or two dancing on the street corner.  But there are manic people all around us overeating, overshopping, overdrinking, overdruggging, or just “over-overing” as Mary O’malley describes it.

Depression has very few clear physical signs, but a disease just like any other disease depression is.  It is easy to get a lot of needless sympathy when you are rocking a hot pink cast, but when you have a case of “The Mean Reds” as Audrey Hepburn describes them in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” no one can really gather what is wrong.  Half the time you don’t even know what’s wrong either.

Just like the “I Want You So Bad” dark dreary instrumental on the Beatle’s Abbey Road.  I have been listening to the album a number of times when many friends will just get up and fast forward to the next song. Too bad you can’t just push a button and have “Here Comes the Sun”  instantly playing in the background of your brain to drown out the dreariness.

But that is bipolarism for you in a nutshell.  Obviously I could get out my DSM IV diagnostic manual and rattle off a myriad of signs and symptoms.  But the Abby Road transition is exactly what demonstrates it best in my mind.  Dark and dreary….then back to sunlight….then back again…and who knows when the song will change next?

The beauty of music albums created with intention, such as this great classic, is that if you listen to the whole album from start to finish you realize that there is a point to it all,  “And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.”

Abby Road is not just a random collection of music.  When I listen to this album, I am reminded that life is a masterful collection of moments in itself.  Good, bad, ugly, sad, sweet, bittersweet, regretful, shameful, painful, but hopefully sprinkled with a lot of joy and seasoned heavily with laughter. Even if we are just laughing about how hard these economic times are.

Recently, a few of my friends have been to some dark places, and having visited those places myself, I have been worried about them.  But I would just like to remind you that each mood is part of a collection.  We are not our thoughts.  We are what we are.  Are thoughts are merely clouds existing in our existence.

The clouds are part of our conditioning.  Some days they are heavier than others.  Some days it is blue skies.  According to author Mary O’Malley, 96% of our lives are experienced by the time we are six years old, because children experience time differently.  Likely, whatever is clouding your existence stems back to your childhood, and whatever is coming up right now for you is exactly what is here today to help you heal those old wounds.

The conditioning is what is in front of your face holding you back from seeing the beauty and gifts that life has to offer all around you. The conditioning is what is making you angry, the conditioning is what is making you sad.  The conditioning is what makes you live in the same drama day after day.  The conditioning results in a bipolar version of “Ground Hog Day.”

The irony of the dark dark instrumental spin off of “I Want You So Bad,” is that it sounds like the ultimate in love songs.  Doesn’t it?  Don’t we all want someone to “want us SO bad?”  Who do you “want so bad?”  Why do you want them so bad?  Why do you want to be wanted so bad?

The person you should want the ”baddest” is yourself.

We fall in that dark dark hole of depression because the person that we want so bad is truly ourselves…and only we can be there for ourselves.  Instead we spin off on a dark dreary instrumental tangent for much too long because we can’t have who we want so bad.  And all you ever really need is you.

That is why Dr. Nicole is putting the “YOU” in the, “I want you so bad.”

I like to think of that song “I want you so bad”  when I am in the dark hole.  I like to ask myself… “Nicole what is it you really need to do for yourself that you are hoping someone else will do?”

And then I do it. That is if I can.  If you are very disabled by depression you will need to ask for help. Ask me, ask your friends, family, or depression support team.  Call your doctor.

Oprah said it best on her latest series of why she “fell off the wagon” and gained the weight back,  “It’s not a weight issue, it’s a love issue.”

Likewise, with depression, it is often a self love issue too.  Once we work through that and create some self-FULL time and self-LOVE and self-GRATITUDE we can easily get to the sweet spot….that light lovely tinkering of “Little Darling, the ice is slowly melting….here comes the sun…du in du du…and it’s alright.”

There’s a video at the top of this article in case you have no idea who the Beattles are, and in that case you must watch both videos, doctor’s orders.

Don’t be stopping by my kitchen table without expecting some sort of homework assignment. *wink*

~Dr. Nicole

Related reading:

Depression Tip: Mark Your Calendar

Seasonal Affective Disorder Self-Help

The Fifteen Most Fabulous Herbal Sedatives

Can You Always Think Positive?

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How to Grow Your Hair Super Fast!

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

As I promised in my article, “It’s Hair Growing Season People!” we are all growing our hair out for Wigs for Kids (they only need 8”)! So I am going to talk about the best natural medicines for growing healthy, strong, shiny hair, super fast. After all we want those wigs looking good!

Spring and Summer are the best hair growing seasons, so to optimize the hair growing season let’s talk about the things that make hair grow FAST!

First and foremost Chinese Medicine considers hair the ”glory of the kidneys,” and what that crazy talk means is that your hair is an excess of your total well-being.

“Kidney chi” is our “energetic bank” in Chinese Medicine, and if our energetic bank is all dried up, then there is not much left over for such frivolties as hair! Think about it. The healthiest people naturally look beautiful.Second and most importantly, I would like to just say FLAXSEEDS, FLAXSEEDS, FLAXSEEDS! If you get nothing from this discussion on how to grow your hair faster, then just visit my article, “How to Unleash Your Inner Fabulosity!” and follow the instructions on adding 1-3 tablespoons of freshly ground flaxseeds to your daily routine. You can do up to three tablespoons twice daily if you are a flax seed fanatic like me.

On the advice of my vet, since fish oil gives my dog the runs, I now give my Golden Retriever freshly ground flaxseeds and in just a week his coat became shiny, less itchy, and the bare patches filled in (normally this time of year he pulls his hair out like a mad man.

Thirdly we want to have PROTEIN. Flaxseeds are a great source of omega 3 oils and protein, but I would also drink a protein smoothie a day; you can add your flaxseeds to the smoothie as I recommend in my “Favorite Smoothie Recipe.”

Omega Up! If you are doing the flaxseeds hard core, you are getting enough omega 3’s to ensure shiny strong hair, if not, then try a tablespoon of fish or flax oil daily (no cod liver oil for pregnant women because the vitamin A is a teratogen.)

Multivitamin: B-vitamins are crucial to hair growth as nearly the whole B family plays a role in hair growth.

Multimineral: A mineral rich diet is important for healthy hair growth. I like the Tri-Boron Plus by Twinlab, or visit this page or your local health food store for other high quality recommendations.

Biotin: Your multivitamin may not contain that much biotin so check the label and see if you are getting the RDA.

Skip the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate! A known carcinogen and skin irritant, look for SLS free shampoo’s.

Skip the daily shampooing! You can still rinse your hair every day and condition it, but daily shampooing is stripping your scalp of essential oils. This saves not just your hair, but your water and shampoo bill. See? You can afford that more expensive SLS free shampoo after all now….No excuses, organic isn’t really that much more expensive when you look at it as a whole.

Get a trim! Don’t forget to get a bit trimmed off your hair every couple of months (another great way to save money in these tough economic times.)

Try some handstands! Even if you aren’t a gymnast, you can still hang your head off the edge of the bed to increase blood flow to the scalp periodically throughout the day, or you can do some extra downward dogs if you are a yoga fiend like me.

Rosemary and Mint! The invigorating herbs of the Laminacea family bring more circulation to your scalp as I just talked about in the above handstand blurb. Rosemary has been associated with improving hair growth for quite some time.

You can try some of the shampoos available at eVitamins or your local health food store, or buy rosemary essential oil and add a few drops to your favorite shampoo. Start with 1-2 drops and then work up to about 5-10 drops of the pure essential oil (remember never apply any essential oil straight to the skin unless it is lavender.)

Silica! Horsetails have long been touted as hair growing herbs because of their high silica content; unfortunately as our soil becomes more toxic, I don’t feel comfortable using them unless they are certified organic. The reason for this is that they suck up minerals like silica from the soil along with toxic heavy metals such as cadmium and arsenic. I would instead ensure my multi-mineral formula contains about of silica.

Don’t OD on vitamins and minerals! Remember, we can only absorb so much and selenium toxicity, for instance, is associated with hair loss when we get up to the 1000mcg range.

Have a hair growing tip? Feel free to leave it in the comments section.

Related reading:

Acupuncture, Acupuncture, Acupuncture!

Dying to Look Good

Topical Natural Treaments for Seborrheic Dermatitis, Dandruff, Cradle Cap, and Itchy Scalp

Chlorine Shower Filter

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Designer Protein is Faboo!

Designer Protein Ult. Whey French Vanilla

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

This is my favorite brand of protein powder, as I discussed in my article, “Fourteen Ways to Unleash your Inner Fabulosity.” I am sure there are a ton of other great protein powders from Jarrow, and the other supplement companies that pass independent quality assurance at ConsumerLabs.com, but I just like this tasty vanilla formula in my berry smoothies. Or stir in to your oatmeal, or shake up with milk and poor over your AM cereal so you don’t get the afternoon slumpies.  If you are a chocolate lover, the chocolate designer protein is delicious with milk, frozen bananas, and almond butter!

Anyways I am hooked on this vanilla one, and also love their new weight loss protein powder with added fiber and weight loss nutrients.  This protein powder also comes in a smaller size that I’m linking to at a great SALE price if you are on the “Tough Economic Times Diet.”

The small size normally retails for about $15 bucks.

You can get the larger sized one in order to vigilently make “Dr. Nicole’s Smoothie Recipe” which should be a daily regime for everyone trying to LOSE WEIGHT and for athletes as a protein supplement post exercise. As well as for those that are trying to increase protein to healthfully gain weight.

For more information on how to save money on vitamins check out my article, “Save money with eVitamins.” Feel free to ask questions anytime on the product you are looking for.

p.s. Frankly I don’t like the “natural flavor” I can only be so natural I guess *wink*.

Thanks for your purchases that help support this free news publication and nagging!

Dr. Nicole

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Letting Go: Danny Gokey American Idol

Author: Dr. Nicole Sundene

Last week on American Idol, many of us assumed it would be Danny vs Adam in the final showdown, until he was eliminated in a sudden and heart wrenching moment.

Tonight on American Idol we finally determine the Idol of season eight! Will it be Adam or will it be Kris?

I had been rooting for Danny since his very first audition, there was something undeniabably special about him….but it was a tough season.

Probably the best American Idol has ever had, and the Kindergarten Teacher inside of me wants to announce everyone as a winner!

I wasn’t just voting for youth pastor Danny because of his amazing voice, but because of his perseverance. His wife had died suddenly of congestive heart failure a month before the competition started; “Tragedy turned in to Triumph,” as Danny refers to it.

A friend passed along the information for the foundation created for Danny’s wife, Sophia’sHeart.org, and thought it would make for good kitchen table talk. She recommended reading his blog post telling how he was managing to cope with the severe depression brought on by the sudden death of his wife weeks before one of America’s biggest competitions.

“I felt like I had to put on a face for everybody to cover what was really going on inside. Deep down inside, I felt there was not hope for me and I really wanted to die. If I had not dealt with this, it probably could have somehow or someway took me out. So, I began pray and cry out to God for help and I believe I found the answer.

The answer I found was exactly this; “let go” or “cause yourself to let go”. I admit that answer was not appealing to me because I found no justice in it, and most of all it didn’t instantly remove any pain. But I knew that if I continued down this road it would have a price that I could never afford to pay.

You see, the cost of hanging on to the bitterness and anger was actually much greater than the cost of simply letting go. I was very reluctant to do it. At times it was hard and I literally had to cause myself (force myself) to let go. Letting go doesn’t mean forgetting about Sophia but does mean releasing the toxic emotions tied to the situation.”

I have a lot of admiration for someone who can pick themselves up and go on, anyone going through troubled times should take a few minutes to read the insightful blog post on his battle with depression and “letting go” of his wife’s unexpected death. So many of us hold on to everything….we carry around all this baggage from our past and our childhood.

I talk to patients that have been in counseling for years and they sit down and tell me everything that is wrong with them, they bring all these “labels” with them, they blame it all on their parents, or their molester, or their rapist, or their child hood bully, or their father’s death, or that they didn’t get enough attention as a child, they say, “I’m this way because someone else did ____________ to me,” and so forth.

They refuse to let it all go, instead they cling to their core hurts and core wounds, and as a doctor who believes in the mind/body/spirit of medicine….I know they will never be better until they forgive and let go.

Sometimes we have to forgive our abuser, sometimes we have to forgive our parents…. After all they are just human beings too, not demi-Gods…. I know BREAKING NEWS!!!

Let Danny Gokey be a remarkable example of “Letting Go” and trusting Life/God, however you choose to see it.

Even after his elimination he said, “What affirms me as an artist is… [my fans] because week after week they voted…and that shows me they believe in me and that they see something inside of me,” Danny said. “I want to tell them I love them, and I think that they’re the best out there.” Danny continues, “I was a nobody, and this show turned me into a somebody, and I’ll always be thankful for the roots that I came out of because I do believe that the best is yet to come for me, that this is not the end of the road. I’m just very grateful. I’m so thankful my life has turned around, and I can’t say it enough.” (Source)

Today’s Question: What in your life do you need to let go of? Anger, hatred, bitterness, guilt, shame, depression, anxiety, sadness? Are you tired of carrying around all that baggage? May is weight loss month and it is time for us to lose some weight. Let’s start with our own baggage.

Let’s be reminded by the strength of Danny Gokey that sometimes we just have to “let go.”

For more information on how Danny intends to use his gift for future fundraising endeavors visit: SophiasHeart.org.

If you are holding on to something and need to let go….find a rock and carry it around with you for a while, let the rock become the symbol of the thing that you need to let go of.

Squeeze the heat of your anger from your hands into it, cry your tears on it, let it rest on the place in your heart that hurts for a while, keep it in your pocket everywhere you go, or at least try to.

The attempt will remind you what a burden hanging on to this baggage from the past is.

Sleep with it under your pillow….and eventually realize that this rock is weighing you down….this rock needs to be let go. Then take some time down at a special place and throw that rock far into water.

Let go of the pain, let go of the past. Live in the present, don’t live in the past.

We cannot change the past, but we can change how the past affects us today.

Just don’t throw any suitcases in the ocean, or hit any birds or ducks on your therapeutic mission.

~Dr. Nicole

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Vitamins: How to Save Money 20-70% Off!

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

Someone asked how to get cheap vitamins after reading my article “How To Get Free Prescription Drugs.” Now I can’t get you free vitamins, as I discussed in that article, but I can teach you a simple trick that I use to save money on natural medicines.

Getting high quality stuff for the best price is simply about planning ahead, shopping smart, sticking with the best brands, and reading labels for food coloring and other unnecessary ingredients.

Recently I read a study published at Consumer Reports that concluded that vitamins purchased at “The Dollar Store” were not found to be of quality and may actually be a hazard to our health. First of all why did someone even bother to do such a study?  Is anyone else laughing?

Now I LOVE eVitamins because having spent 12 years in the natural medicine field, I can easily find high quality brands such as Enzymatic Therapy, Twinlab, Jarrow, and so forth to name few.

You can save a ton of money over there because things are listed at 20-70% off, and if you just plan ahead and order $75 of multivitamins, fish oil, health supplements, supplies, lotions, herbs, and so forth you get FREE SHIPPING.

• Yes, I checked the packing peanuts, and they are made from recyclable materials and can be recycled.

• Yes, your purchases help support The Kitchen Table, so if you ever have any questions just leave them in a comment on this article, or message me and I will post the answer for all to benefit from.

It seems like many of my readers have the same questions about supplements, but I cannot sell you the prescription grade products that naturopathic physicians supply.

However, I can at least direct you towards what I like at eVitamins as they ship everywhere, and many of their products are just as high quality and shown to pass independent laboratory evaluations for purity and potency over at ConsumberLabs.com.

If you are confused I’ll help you sort it out.  Leave your questions here and in the mean time stick with the standards for quality like Enzymatic Therapy, Twinlab, and Jarrow when purchasing vitamins or supplements.

Sincere thanks for supporting Kitchen Table Medicine with your purchases!

~Dr. Nicole

Related reading:

Best Vitamin D

Best Chewable Fiber

Best MultiVitamin 2008

21 Free Preventative Medicine Habits!

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Fat Burning Flip Flops?

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

I kept seeing these Fit Flops everywhere, even on my own website, and curiosity finally got the best of me.

So I just ordered a pair of these “Fit Flops” to um…er… “product test” for Weight Loss Month.  Which is now every month, since 1 in 3 Amercians are obese.  I’ll take every fat burning edge I can get, thank you very much!. Plus I like that they have arch support and a bit of a thicker heal.  I love to wear flip flops but know from a medical perspective how bad they can be for those with foot, knee, hip, back, and neck problems….so thought I might give them a whirl.  If anything they likely provide more structure than the average flat flip flop.

Has anyone tried them yet?

What do you think?

I think if anything it’s an interesting concept.

To shop at Shoe Buy just click the silver fit flop to your right.  I’ve included the manufacturer’s description below, but am curious to see what other doctors, chiros, physical therapists, and “product testers” think!

~Dr. Nicole

7 REASONS WHY EVERYBODY IS WEARING FITFLOPS:
1. FitFlop midsoles incorporate patent-pending micro-wobbleboardTM technology, to give you a workout while you walk. Developed by Darren James and Dr David Cook at LSBU, the FitFlop’s unique safely -tapered midsole places varying densities of EVA under your feet each time you step, to challenge the support and balance muscles of the foot and leg.

2. They challenge hard to reach muscles more. FitFlops are engineered with a multi-density midsole that stimulates your muscles more while you’re wearing them. In independent University testing, FitFlops have been shown to trigger increase gluteal muscle response, increased hamstring response, increase rectus femoris (thigh) response and increased calf muscle response .

3. Every step you take in your FitFlops helps tone and trim your legs: Studies at Salford University by Dr. Philip Graham-Smith and Richard Jones have shown that the FitFlop midsole extends the amount of time that the slow twitch* muscles are engaged during each step (by approximately 10-12%). So just by wearing a pair of FitFlops you’ll get more exercise while doing just exactly what you’re normally doing. (*slow twitch muscles produce energy by converting fats into energy aerobically)

4. FitFlops work your bum muscles more. FitFlops have been clinically proven to increase the amount of time that the gluteus maximus muscle is ‘activated’ during every single step.

5. FitFlops have been shown to have a significant effect on the toning muscles of your thighs: The rectus femoris muscle (one of the large muscles in the group of muscles in your thigh) is activated for a longer period of time while walking in FitFlops than while normally shod or barefoot.

6. Walking in FitFlops is like walking barefoot, but a little bit better. According to a study done at the University of Salford in Manchester, UK, the FitFlop wearer’s gait is very similar to that of a barefoot walker, but the added cushion provided by the EVA midsole helps reduce joint strain and absorb shock. In fact, several FitFlop wearers have already reported relief from back pain after a few days of wearing them.

7. FitFlops make it easier to stay in shape. Just throw them on while you’re running errands, walking to work, or working around your house. Most first-time FitFlop wearers report feeling their muscles working more, while ‘fitter’ wearers feedback has been more toward great comfort and cushion. One woman reported feeling like she’d had a ‘bum-blasting’ workout after a half an hour of FitFlop-shod walking.

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Orange Patchouli by Aura Cacia

Personally I’m not a fan of the patchouli smell in general, but thought I would share this reader comment, just so Patchouli has a fair shot in the herbal limelight. ~Dr. Nicole

Hi Kat:

Thanks for recommending some great affordable natural beauty products!

I especially am enjoying the Aura Cacia aromatherapy line.

I absolutely love the ‘orange patchouli’ products by Aura Cacia. Both the body wash and the massage cream. The combination of orange and patchouli is a refreshing earthy mix that wakes me up in the morning and soothes my shoulders at night.

~Stephanie W.

Related reading:

Aura Cacia Essential Oil Diffusers Voted Best!

Aura Cacia Massage Products

Aura Cacia’s Lavender Harvest, Mommy’s Secret Weapon

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