Please explain why you came to our office.
“Was having on going neck pain with flashes of pain into head.”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“Has been gradual but definitely improving, particularly this past week.”
60 year-old male
Is Your “Healthy” Diet Making You Sick?
Anti-nutrients get lost in the hype of superfood promotion. Anti-nutrients, you say? What are those?
Most people don’t know, and if they are eating the standard American diet it is likely not an issue for them because these anti-nutrients are not in animal foods and are much lower in most highly refined foods such as white flour, sugar and oils. But what if you are food conscious and working towards improving your health by “cleaning up” your diet? Perhaps you are making it more “plant-based” with almond or cashew milk, green smoothies, sweet potatoes and chia seeds. Before you dive into the world of “superfoods”, you need to know about anti-nutrients.
Anti-nutrients are natural compounds in plants that the plant makes to protect and promote growth in itself or its seeds. They are present in seeds, leaves and roots/tubers of various plants–some plants/plant parts having very high amounts of various anti-nutrients, especially seeds. The reason we need to be aware of them is that they can make us sick and deficient in various nutrients. If you think about it, this makes sense as a protective mechanism for the plant. The plant wants not to be eaten by an animal and wants to give its seeds stores of nutrients so they will grow later on. Anti-nutrients such as phytates, enzyme inhibitors, oxalates are examples of how plants guarantee survival when good conditions for growth occur in its environment. They have been known about and researched extensively for many decades and animal studies give us really clear examples of their possible negative impact on human health.
So the nutrient facts on the label of a food product may list so many milligrams of calcium in a serving but you may not absorb all or any of that calcium if anti-nutrients are also present in the meal. Wow! That means you think you are getting all this wonderful nutrition plus the phyto wonder compounds that are touted as miracle ingredients in the product infomercials, and you could be losing nutrients!
One anti-nutrient, oxalic acid, is the topic of a recent book, “Toxic Superfoods” by Sally Norton. If you have had kidney stones, you definitely want to read this book to know what foods to avoid to reduce the formation of stones. Some of the foods with the highest amounts of oxalic acid are spinach, swiss chard, beet greens, sweet potatoes, quinoa, buckwheat, dark chocolate, almonds and chia seeds! And it is possible that other health problems superfood eaters–especially vegans or vegetarians-suffer from are related to an accumulation of oxalic acid in their organs, glands, muscles, eyes, etc.
In summary, in my experience studying nutrition over the years, animal foods are an important part of the human diet. Plants are very valuable too–please don’t misunderstand– but consumers need to be educated in finding the right balance. If you are unsure about your diet and its anti-nutrient content and the effect they could be having on your health, make an appointment for a nutritional consult. We’re here to help.
Breastfeeding Much Better!
Please explain why you came to our office.
“My baby had a frenectomy and we were having issues with tension and breastfeeding.”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“Our baby is doing much better! She no longer favors looking to one side. Her mouth is nice and relaxed and breastfeeding is doing much better!”
~Mom for her 2 month-old baby
GF Pumpkin Bread
Well, it’s actually butternut squash bread but it’s as good as pumpkin bread and people know what that is! I have found butternut squash to be a perfect and practical substitute for pumpkin. It is easy to bake whole in a 350 degree oven for an hour; let it cool, cut in half lengthwise, and remove/discard the skin and seeds. The flesh that is left can be used directly or kept in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for later use. I use it for pumpkin pie, soup, sauteed vegetables (see previously posted recipes by searching butternut squash). This bread recipe is quick once you have the cooked squash. I use a food processor but hand mixing works fine.
Makes 4-6 serving
1 cup of cooked butternut squash
1 cup shredded dry coconut
1/2 cup tapioca flour or arrowroot flour or equal parts of each
1/2 cup tigernut flour (if you don’t have it, use rice flour)
1/4 cup brown flax seed ground in a blender or food processor
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup raisins, optional
1/2 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds, optional
Place all dry ingredients except raisins and seeds in a food processor or bowl and mix well. Add squash and mix well again. Add eggs (beat separately in a bowl first if you are mixing by hand). Mix very well. Stir in raisins and seeds if you desire. Transfer the mix into a muffin tin or baking dish (greased with a little ghee first). Bake at 350 degrees F until a knife in the center comes out clean. Let it cool before cutting or removing from pan. Better the next day, just like pumpkin pie.
Watch Out For Belly Fat
This is one study that confirms what nutritionists have been warning about for years now. You may appear thin and be normal weight for your height but how does your middle look? Fat around the middle is a metabolic problem that predicts diabetes. There’s even a name for this presentation: MONW or metabolically obese normal weight.
The very significant results of magnetic resonance measures of the visceral/abdominal fat and liver fat of middle-aged Asians is what caught my eye about this study. Visceral fat was two-times higher and liver fat four-times higher in the metabolically abnormal (insulin resistant) subjects compared to matched controls. Wow!
Increasing belly fat with age is a very common occurrence among Americans. And we are seeing it show up in younger and younger people, just as type II diabetes is showing up in younger and younger people . It is best in my estimation that we adapt our diet and lifestyle to our life stage–and we can gauge how well we are doing by taking a good look at our waists! Making diet changes is not always easy as we are creatures of habit and habits are not easily broken. If you need help assessing and addressing your diet and lifestyle habits, make an appointment with Monica. The body has an amazing healing capacity if you will just work with it!
Which Eggs to Buy?
Eggs are good for you when they come from healthy chickens that have free access to grass pasture, are fed an organic feed, and are properly taken care of. When the yolks are golden yellow–almost orange–and the shells hard, these are good signs. Very often even organic brands have pale yolks and thin shells. When we don’t know about the farm where our eggs are produced, it is difficult to know which brand to buy. If you don’t know your farmer and his/her practices, visit Cornucopia Institute’s organic egg scorecard. Their list and the ratings will help you make a good choice at your local, natural foods grocery. Once you find a brand that you have available locally, go to the scorecard and click on the name to open the criteria list with individual ratings. The long list of criteria which determines the rating is very educational! Check it out!
April’s Natural Face Moisturizer
What you put on your skin is as important as what you eat! Go natural with wholesome ingredients like the ones in this face moisturizer. Some ingredients are easiest to find online at iherb.com, vitacost.com, or PipingRock.com. Look for small glass jars to store your moisturizer.
Thank you, April!
Makes Two 2-ounce jars
1/4 cup shea butter
2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil
1 tsp. vitamin E oil
1 tsp. Argan oil
1 Tbsp. cocoa butter
2 tsp. beeswax
1/2 tsp. hyaluronic acid powder
Optional for anti-inflammatory effects and pleasant scent
1/2 tsp. lavender essential oil
10 drops frankincense essential oil
10 drops sandalwood essential oil
10 drops geranium essential oil
Optional for SPF addition
1 Tbsp. zinc oxide
Melt the shea butter, coconut oil, cocoa butter and beeswax over very low heat or in a double boiler. Remove from heat and add liquid oils, vitamin E, hyaluronic acid powder, and zinc oxide if desired. Mix well and add the essential oils if desired. Stir well again. Pour while still warm and liquid into 2-ounce wide-mouthed jars. Cool until hardened. Rub fingers over moisturizer to lightly moisturize around eyes, face, and neck. Long-term storage best in refrigerator.
Baking Soda in Your Medicine Cabinet
Baking soda belongs in everyone’s “medicine cabinet” as part of their health protection plan. It’s a true blessing that it is inexpensive but still very powerful! People tend to forget about it–don’t let that happen to you!
In my opinion, everyone should brush their teeth with baking soda. Besides really cleaning/whitening the teeth and killing bacteria that cause tooth decay, it will reduce the risk of colds and infections when used daily. It can be used straight by dipping a wet toothbrush into about a 1/2 tsp. of baking soda. If you prefer using toothpaste, put some toothpaste on your toothbrush and then dip it into the baking soda.
Also, when mixed with a little water to make a paste it can be used on the skin and nails as an anti-fungal and also for itchy skin and poison ivy. After it dries rinse it off with warm water.
Baking soda can be taken internally also at a dilution of 1/4 tsp. per cup of water and preferably on an empty stomach two times a day. This provides a source of bicarbonate which buffers acids in the body. This can be helpful for the kidneys and the bladder in the case of bladder infections and interstitial cystitis; the baking soda alkalizes the urine which assists an acid-irritated bladder. There are many other benefits but these are the most important to keep in mind.
If you are trying to reduce sodium intake, use potassium bicarbonate instead. You can purchase online potassium bicarbonate.
Simple Celery Soup
Not too many ingredients in this one but good just the same when you just want something warm, light, and nourishing without too much work! If you have any broth on hand, use it instead of water. The soup is still flavorful without the broth. Also, if you eat dairy, cream would be good instead of the coconut milk.
2 servings
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup ghee
4 cups chopped celery
1 cup classic coconut milk, or cream if you wish to use dairy
1 cup water
1 tsp. dried sweet basil
2 Tbsp. chickpea miso
salt to taste
Melt the ghee in a soup pot on medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add celery and saute another 5 minutes. Add the water, coconut milk and basil. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to keep it at a simmer. Cover but crack the lid. Simmer for 1 hour. Remove from heat and add the miso. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender. Add salt to taste. Serve hot.
Chicken Shiitake Soup
If you haven’t tried cooking shiitake mushrooms, this is an easy introductory recipe. Not too many ingredients and it is quick too. We had this for dinner with some baked butternut squash and a salad. A good roasted whole chicken and chicken broth recipe is posted here. If you want to add some starch for a more substantial meal, simply add 1 cup cooked rice when you add the chicken meat.
Serves 2
2 cups homemade chicken broth
1/2 cup of finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
1/2 to 1 cup chopped cooked chicken meat (optional)
2 tsp. mellow white miso (MisoMaster brand is good)
salt to taste
black pepper (optional) to taste
Heat broth in soup pot on medium heat until simmering. Add celery and simmer for 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and simmer another 10 minutes. Add the chicken and heat for a few more minutes. Take off heat. Mix miso in a bowl with a few tablespoons of the hot broth from the soup until it dissolves and then add this mixture to the soup. Stir well. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Best served immediately.
