If you are feeling overworked, fatigued, or depleted and have muscle strain/tightness, hot flashes, and or slow healing of injuries it is time to take a hard look at your caffeine consumption. Besides being a diuretic (which depletes water soluble vitamins and minerals leading to fatigue), caffeine blocks a receptor (adenosine) which prevents adenosine from relaxing muscles leading to muscle tightness/injuries. Finally, consider that the frequent urination from the diuretic effect of caffeine can lead to kidney weakness according to Traditional Chinese Medicine which can weaken the back and knees. If you are having low back and knee problems, it is worth taking a break from caffeine and observing how any of these problems respond. It’s not just coffee and tea that are contributing to your caffeine consumption–be sure to check ingredient lists on any energy product you consume. Want some help? Schedule a nutrition consult today!
GF Chicken Noodle Soup
An old favorite, great for when you are feeling under the weather and simple to make, chicken noodle soup is best when homemade with your own flavorful chicken stock. I use rice noodles in this recipe–buy the organic ones available both brown rice and white rice. Field Day brand has fettuccini organic brown rice noodles that are available in health food stores and natural food co-ops. Vary the amount of noodles you put in the soup based on how much carbohydrate you want in the meal–with a salad this soup makes a great winter lunch or dinner. Make enough for leftovers!
Serves 2-4
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 cup of chopped carrot
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp ghee
1 tsp. turmeric powder (optional)
1 cup water
3 cups of chicken broth
2 cups chicken meat, chopped
1-2 cups cooked rice noodles
Miso Master chickpea miso, 1 Tbsp (optional)
salt to taste
In a soup pot, melt the ghee and sauté the onions over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the carrot and celery and stir well while continuing to sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the crushed garlic and turmeric and then add water. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat and cover with the lid cracked to keep the mixture simmering. Simmer until the carrots are tender (taste one to be sure). Add the chicken broth and chopped chicken meat. Once the mixture comes to a simmer over medium heat, add the cooked noodles. Stir well. If adding miso, dissolve the miso in a 1/4 cup of water and add to the soup. Salt to taste.
Bye-bye Pregnancy Pain
Please explain why you came to our office.
“I came here because of neck, back, and pregnancy pain. I heard amazing reviews about this place so I wanted to give it a try!”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“I have never felt as good as I do now! The treatment has helped extremely with all my pain and especially my carpal tunnel! He is an amazing man and great at what he does!”
~24 year-old female
Help For My Baby
Please explain why you came to our office.
“My son was born with no connection between his stomach and intestine. He had surgery at a week old. After a long NICU stay, we came home with severe reflux. We tried everything–from breast milk, many different formulas, sitting up for long periods of time–nothing worked! My son was constantly uncomfortable and spitting up. I was desperate to help him and sought out chiropractic care!”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“Chiropractic care from Dr Burgoon made a world of difference for my son! Within 2 visits he was a different baby. He spit up less, was more relaxed and was a happier baby!”
~Mom of a 3 1/2 month old baby boy
You Can Look Forward to No Pain
Please explain why you came to our office.
“Knee pain, trouble going up and down stairs, squats, lunges”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“Started with adjustments the first few weeks, then added acupuncture twice a week. After the second treatment of acupuncture I noticed less pain. By the 4th treatment I haven’t had any pain. I look forward to my appointments with Dr. B weekly.”
`37 year-old female
Better after Every Treatment
Please explain why you came to our office.
“I have long-term back pain from an injury.”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“I feel less pain and more strength after every treatment.”
~40 year-old male
Do you have a Fatty Liver?
Thirty percent of Americans have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and don’t know it. It is asymptomatic until it has progressed to hepatitis (NASH) and mostly doctors are not looking for it. Before 1990, liver disease was rare and confined primarily to alcoholics or drug abusers. The recent upsurge coincides with the increase in obesity and metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, high fasting blood sugar, low LDL, high triglycerides, and belly fat). Even children are being diagnosed with NAFLD. The good news is that it is reversible because the liver can regenerate.
If you are overweight, tired, have low HDL and high triglycerides and high VLDL, with elevated liver enzymes you may have NAFLD. The cause for concern is that it can lead to NASH with the eventual need for a liver transplant. The sad part is that most people would make the necessary diet and lifestyle changes to reverse the NAFLD if they knew they had it–and there is the added benefit of dropping weight!
Simple, routine blood work (metabolic panel and a cholesterol panel) are very useful for assessing the risk of NAFLD. Bring your blood results to us for a nutrition consult and we will help you with dietary and lifestyle recommendations for getting your liver back into good working condition.
Willow Bark Tea and Homemade Lemonade
If you are on blood thinners or pregnant or nursing this recipe is not for you because of the possible blood-thinning result. The reason I post it is to give an alternative to pills (with their colors and fillers) while getting the metabolic benefits of aspirin. White willow bark contains salicylic acid, similar to the active ingredient in aspirin, and can be taken as a tea. In fact, willow bark has a long history since Hippocrates’ time when people chewed the bark to treat fever and inflammation. We all know about aspirin’s pain relieving/anti-inflammatory effect which is valuable in itself, but I am also interested in its metabolic effect–increasing oxidation (clean burning) of carbs that avoids increasing triglycerides. I have been following the reports on the scientific literature that Georgi Dinkov posts concerning metabolic dysregulation and they are very interesting!
The effect of the tea is said to be longer lasting but not as strong as aspirin. I like to make a quart of the tea as described below and then add 1/2 cup of this concentrate to the lemonade drink that we sip at work over the course of the day. This quart of tea will last a few days in the refrigerator.
4 Tbsp. dried, cut willow bark (I order a pound from Frontier Co-op)
1 quart water
In a sauce pan bring the water to a boil. Add the willow bark, cover with a lid, and remove from heat. Let steep for 30 minutes. You will notice the bark pieces drop down to the bottom of the pan and the tea will have a reddish color. Strain the tea through a strainer into a glass quart jar. Cap and store in the refrigerator. To make the lemonade follow the directions below.
In a glass quart jar, add :
1/2 cup of willow bark tea
3 cups of water
juice of 1 organic lemon or lime
40 drops of Concentrace trace minerals (optional)
1 Tbsp. honey or more to taste
Cap and shake well. Do not heat honey–it will dissolve in the water after some minutes but shaking will expedite this. Sip over the course of the day to stay hydrated and avoid low blood sugar.
Good for the Golf Game
Please explain why you came to our office.
“My back has been tight for a while. My Mom’s best friend recommended this place so I came and it made a huge difference.”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“It helped a lot, but my back still gets tight. I think that’s just my lifestyle. I will continue coming here though because it 100% helps.”
~18 year-old male golfer
September Salad
The heat of August usually leaves my garden by September with lots of tomatoes and no lettuce or leafy greens. But a good salad can be had with a few items in the refrigerator to go with the tomatoes. It’s a good idea to keep some fermented veggies around for just such an occasion. Also, the dressing is quick to make–follow the link for the recipe but I used balsamic vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar for this batch. If your fermented veggies have a good mix you may not need the crispness of the cucumber slices that I list as optional. I made a batch of sauerkraut back in June with Chinese cabbage, carrot, and daikon radish so that is the mix I had and the radish provides a crisp texture.
Serves two:
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup fermented veggies (any home-made or store bought mix)
2 Tbsp. roasted sunflower seeds (I used soaked and dried “crispy” sunflower seeds)
cucumber slices optional
Mix the tomatoes with the fermented vegetables and divide into two salad bowls. Top with sunflower seeds and 1-2 Tbsp. dressing per bowl. Garnish with cucumber slices if desired. Serve immediately.
