To bling or not to bling that is the question…

Although many tasty treats will be tempting me at various parties, I usually follow a pretty basic plan of attack to avoid letting them get the best of me. Gluttoness overeating can ruin the joy of socializing by zapping your energy, and making you fill ill. First and foremost fill your plate mostly with fruits and veggies. Add a couple lean protein choice such as chicken, turkey, white cheese, hard boiled eggs, shrimp or salmon. The protein from these snacks combined with the fiber from the fruits and vegetables should reduce the glycemic load of the meal, thus stabilizing your blood sugar, and ultimately your energy levels.

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Buying pre-made produce trays is an efficient effective way to add more fruits and veggies in to your diet. You can simply pack the celery and carrots up for snacks, steam the cauliflower and broccoli for dinner side dishes, and snack on the fruit as a sweet treat in lieu of desserts!

Sitting at a desk all day long creates a hunched over posture, which typically results in upper back and neck pain. The reason for this is that the muscles on the back side of the neck and upper back become chronically stretched throughout the day. A muscle can only stretch for so long before it will begin to spasm. By stretching out the muscles on the front side of the body such as the neck and pecs you can give the tight muscles on the backside a break.

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Believe it or not you can burn more calories throughout the day just by maintaining perfect posture. Upholding a healthy alignment, while continuously contracting your abdominal muscles inward will keep your back and core happier and healthier over time. Strong abs are the key to a healthy back. If you think of your body as an architectural structure if one side is weak it will then consequently put more stress on the non-affected side.

For instance, many pot bellied men complain of low back pain. Working up to an exercise routine that includes 5 minutes of abdominal work daily is integral to a back pain prevention program.

Most folks have heard of the health benefits of the Omega 3 oils found primarily in Alaskan Wild Salmon and flaxseeds. Although dietary consumption is always preferred it may not be practical for those with high Omega 3 intake requirements such as those with inflammatory conditions. If you have a problem taking the fish oil capsules you can simply keep them in the freezer! The capsule should then stay intact while passing through the stomach and break down in the small intestine instead for absorption.

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Many folks are fatigued simply because they have not had an adequate intake in water for the day. Some experts purport that a 5% reduction in hydration status results in a 25% overall reduction in energy. Personally I always feel this dehydrated fatigue after a long tedious afternoon of running errands without drinking any water. To ensure adequate hydration I recommend for most people to simply divide their body weight in half and that number is roughly the amount of ounces of water a person needs daily. For instance a 150 pound woman would need 75 ounces of water daily. You can also divide your body weight in to thirds and then add 8 ounces for each vice (coffee, tea, alcohol) and then another 8 oz for every 20 minute period of exercise. So again a 150 pound woman would need 50 ounces plus 8 ounces for a cup of coffee and 16 ounces for 40 minutes of exercise totaling 74 ounces. Hydration is not just about water, it is also about electrolytes. Sodium, potassium, and trace minerals are important for preventing dehydration. Emergen C packets can be added for electrolytes, or a pinch of organic sea salt. The simplest way to stay on top of your water consumption is to keep a flat of bottled water with you in your car. You will hopefully stay more energetic while you are on the go.

Most people are constantly busy and on the go, attaching stress management practices to everyday occurrences is not only practical, but serves as a reminder to RELAX throughout the day. You can easily check in with yourself during boring times of your day such as a long work meeting, standing in line at the grocery store, or waiting on hold on the phone.

A simple breathing exercise to start with is called “Square Breathing”. First sit quietly, and remove outside distraction if possible. Gently clasp your hands in your lap. Now breathe in slowly to the count of five, hold your breath to the count of five, exhale slowly to the count of five, and then pause before repeating this sequence to the count of five. Repeat this sequence five times, or as many times as needed until a calmer state is achieved. Oftentimes we do not realize how stressed out we are until we take a few minutes to quietly check in with how we are feeling. The body does not function optimally while under stress, implementing simple relaxation tools should not only improve your attitude, but also help you experience a better state of health.

Wow don’t you feel better now?

Dehydration is a very serious complication of illnesses associated with high fevers, vomiting, and diarrhea. Preventing dehydration when sick is an easy way to prevent a trip to the hospital for an IV of fluids. The first sign of dehydration in most people is typically a headache. I would say that most individuals complaining of a high fever and headache, usually just have a headache because they are dehydrated, although meningitis and other conditions are of course a concern. Simply ensuring that hydration levels are optimal typically resolves a headache in these scenarios rather quickly. I always feel like such a miracle healer when I cure someone’s headache with a glass of water! They say that 80% of headaches are caused by dehydration, and a high fever is simply burning off a person’s fluids at a faster rate than usual.

Aside from headaches, dark colored urine is also an easy indicator of dehydration, you can pinch the backside of your hand, and if the skin does not rapidly flatten you are dehydrated. If you have dizziness from standing you are most likely dehydrated. If you are experiencing the stomach flu be sure to drink plenty of fluids with electrolytes such as Emergen-C, Recharge, chicken broth, or you can even make your own by adding a large pinch of sea salt to a diluted juice of choice. Hydration is not just about water, you have to have sodium, potassium, and trace electrolytes.

Let’s face it, no one likes to have diarrhea. No one likes to even talk about diarrhea. As a doctor how can I even help someone with diarrhea if they won’t even talk to me about it? I have spent weeks if not months combined talking about diarrhea, so please don’t hesitate to bring up this “embarrassing problem” to your doctor.

A simple remedy for diarrhea involves feeding the lining of the digestive track with it’s fuel of choice. The amino acid L-glutamine is the fuel of choice for the “enterocytes” the cells that line the digestive track. Before starting any therapy such as L-glutamine you should check with your health care practitioner. L-glutamine in clinical trials has been shown to be effective in diminishing diarrhea induced from chemotherapy.

No one wants to talk about the embarrassing complaints involving diarrhea, not even at a doctor’s visit.

So let me just tell you everything you need to know about diarrhea right here. First of all please do not hesitate to discuss this with your doctor, because although you may be embarrassed, your doctor talks about peoples poop problems all day long and just wants to help you get better. Diarrhea lasting longer than a week should have a visit to the doctor especially if you have tried home treatments for diarrhea, and they do not seem to be helping. Your doctor should order a stool culture to determine the cause of the diarrhea especially if you have travelled recently to a foreign country.

I quickly learned in my former life as a medical receptionist to never grab a brown paper bag that someone handed me without gloves on. Aside from infections, common causes of chronic diarrhea are Ulcerative colitis, Celiac’s Disease, and Chron’s. Irritable Bowel Sydrome (IBS) is simply a diagnosis made when no other cause can be determined. The following tips are designed for those with IBS, although may in fact be helpful for those with other causes of diarrhea.

First off in good ol’ Naturopathic tradition we must DETERMINE THE CAUSE of the diarrhea! Is it stress? Stress is a serious culprit in many diseases, and when it comes to IBS addressing stress is of fundamental importance because the digestive track simply does not function properly when we are under stress. Stress shuts down what is referred to as the “parasympathetic” portion of our nervous system that is in charge of digestion. Learning to cope better with stress should be a long term goal for those with chronic digestive complaints.

Many people with chronic diarrhea may just suffer from chronic food intolerances or aggravations. Frequent offenders are dairy, wheat, eggs, citrus, soy, nuts, spices, and fatty foods. The gold standard for determining if food is a culprit is to simply try an Allergy Elimination Diet. If you think it is a specific food like dairy for instance you can simply avoid all dairy for two weeks and then re-introduce it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days straight to determine if it is a problem or not. Although food intolerances may not be the initial cause of diarrhea, they often aggravate and confound the problem as a chronically inflamed gut will start to over react to the proteins in many common foods. I hate to be the bad guy, but it is usually a person’s favorite food that is the problem.

Things I like for diarrhea:

The Elemental diet

The Elimination Diet

Breathing exercises, meditation, stress management

L-glutamine powder

Herbs to soothe the gut lining “mucilaginous herbs” such as Slippery elm, Marshmallow, and Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra not the candy!)
Anti-inflammatory herbs Curcumin, Tumeric, Yarrow.

So most people just want me to give them something that will immediately stop the diarrhea. This strategy may or may not be successful. I strongly encourage anyone with chronic diarrhea to work directly with a trained professional to determine the cause of the diarrhea, natural medicines may help to regenerate and soothe the gut lining but are not very helpful when we haven’t figured out what is really going on! Next time you visit your doctor please don’t “forget” to bring up this subject…

There is not much worse than being cursed with the diarrhea and vomiting of the stomach flu. The stomach flu is typically a gastroenteritis caused by a virus or bacteria spread from person to person, or infected water or food. The unfortunate symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea should resolve within 72 hours of onset. If symptoms persist, if they are accompanied by abdominal pain, bleeding, high fever, or extreme symptoms a doctor’s visit would be necessary. Otherwise there is not much your doctor can do for you other than make sure that you are not dehydrated. It is best if you just stay home to prevent infecting the rest of the world with the stomach flu.

Simply stay on clear fluids such as chicken broth, diluted juices or electrolyte solutions such as recharge or Emergen C. If you vomit up even small amounts of fluids try drinking a teaspoon of liquid and then doubling that every 15 minutes until you are up to speed again. They say it is better to vomit up the fluid then to simply not drink it at all. Children can be given Pedialyte popsicles or fluid and Jell-O to ensure their fluid intake is optimal. A high fever causes dehydration so even if vomiting and diarrhea are no longer present be sure to provide adequate amounts of clear liquids.

Once food is able to be reintroduced the BRAT diet is commonly recommended by most doctors. BRAT stands for “Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast” Be sure the rice is white as is the toast. Yes this is the rare occurrence that I am recommending white foods so enjoy! Also helpful for slowing down diarrhea are blueberries, cinnamon, plain yogurt (to replenish the good bacteria) and a tea made from a tablespoon of brown rice in a cup of water. This is a popular diarrhea remedy for those suffering from HIV induced diarrhea, you can then eat the rice after drinking the “tea”.

If you are experiencing diarrhea in this 72 hour period, you are best off not to suppress the diarrhea with some over the counter medicines (unless of course it is your wedding or there is some VERY special event going on). The body is simply trying to flush out the “bad guys”. So as long as you are not getting dehydrated or experiencing any blood in your stools allowing the diarrhea to run it’s course while supporting your body is the fastest way to recover from the stomach flu.

One of my favorite herbs for patients that are struggling from fatigue and excess stress is Ashwaganda, formally known as Withania somnifera.

The root of this plant is best for those feeling very frazzled and in need of a nervous system re-set. Ashwaganda is helpful especially for individuals that are extremely agitated. If you know someone that is difficult to be around you might want to sneak a little of this herb in to them (just kidding instead refer them to this article). For those experiencing stress without fatigue trying an herb such as Schisandra may be more beneficial. Ashwaganda as an added bonus supports the immune system, is anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and also helpful for those with impotence.

According to Naturopathic theory one should notice the effects of this herb within three days, feel a restoration of their well being after three weeks, and should no longer need to take the herb after three months. Hopefully once that three month period is up, better coping mechanisms for stress management have been implemented!

Source: “Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Earth” by Sharon Tilgner, ND

Cornsilk tea is a fabulous soothing treat for an irritated bladder. Whether you are using it for preventing a bladder infection, or calming the irritation of interstitial cystitis a form of irritable bladder. Horsetail and marshmallow root can also be safe and calming to the lining of the bladder. The demulcent properties of these teas are great for preventing bladder infections because the slippery nature of the glycosaminoglycans prevent bacteria from adhering to the bladder wall.

High Fructose Corn Syrup might as well just simply say “High Chance For Diabetes” on all food labels. If there is one major improvement you can make to your health starting today it is to eliminate all high fructose corn syrup from your diet. Diabetes at the current rate is soon to become a national epidemic. Exercising and eating whole unprocessed foods are the best way to protect yourself from becoming another victim of Type II diabetes, a disease typically the result of bad diet and lifestyle habits. Aside from sweets, High Fructose Corn Syrup is cleverly hidden in most processed foods, juices, breads, and frozen meals. Start reading labels now and picking and choosing your battles.

Despite the fact that we spend the most on health care dollars, Americans are only second to Finland as the unhealthiest country in the world. Let’s not take the crown away from Finland anytime soon, so how about we all just avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup whenever possible.

Gardening is an excellent way to enjoy being outside while burning calories. According to Lois Sheldahl, PhD you can easily burn about 100 calories in just 20 minutes of raking leaves and working outside in your yard. For other information on quick calorie burners read the full article here.

Gardening can also be very relaxing and thus a great stress buster.

Growing your own food can not only be rewarding, but also is a cost-effective way to provide your family with fresh organic produce. Eating seasonal produce is a simple way to improve your health by increasing variety in your diet.

Right now squash is the hit superfood of the season. Whether you are growing pumpkins, butternut squash, or acorn squash in your garden you can easily turn them in to a nutritious soup to boost your immune system during the cold and flu months. Because of the beautiful orange and yellow pigments, squash are a rich source of beta carotene and other important carotenoids.

See the recipe section for delicious ideas on how to eat squash.