Healthy Holiday Eating

The holidays are a time when we all feel tempted by the overflow of goodies set before us. Those who are trying to lose weight can become extremely frustrated at this time of year because it is so hard to stay on that weight loss regimen. My biggest piece of advice for those struggling with diet issues at this time of the year is to do your best and give yourself a break. If you wait all year for that coveted piece of cheesecake New Years Eve allow yourself to splurge, just do it in moderation.

It is often helpful to eat ahead of time if you know you will be going to a party with lots of tempting food you know will destroy your goals. This way you will be less tempted to load up on fattening foods and sweets and more likely to feel satisfied with the veggies and dip or the nuts and fruit. You will still likely want to indulge some in those forbidden favorites, but you will be much less likely to overdo it.

If you are the one responsible for the party keep your goals in mind and reinvent an old recipe to be a little more diet friendly or try new ideas all together. It is also often helpful to take time away from the table to enjoy your family’s togetherness. Suggest playing a game instead of sitting around the table snacking or get outside together to walk off some of that Christmas dinner and enjoy the fresh outdoors. Whatever you do remember the Holidays are always a difficult time for a diet so give yourself a break, you’ll return with vigor in January!

Migraine Headaches

Many people suffer with migraine headaches. Migraines typically affect more women than men, and more often in the 20’s and 30’s. They are generally one sided and have a pounding sensation. Some people report visual disturbances, but this is not universal. Often there is an aversion to light and sound as well as nausea and occasionally vomiting. Migraine headaches can be extremely disabling to those who suffer and there is no single known cause. They come on due to excessive dilation of blood vessels feeding the brain. Typical treatments consist of barbiturates for pain management, medication to modulate neurotransmitters known to be a problem in migraine headaches, or anti-nausea medications. Some people even resort to blood pressure medications, anti-depressants, and anti-seizure medications for relief of their symptoms. Despite all of these available treatments many people still suffer and can’t find the relief they so crave.

There are many points to consider when thinking about treatment for your migraine headaches. Many women find that their headaches are worse before menstruation when hormone levels are fluctuating the most. Changes in hormone levels can be a big factor because when the levels of steroid hormones like estrogen and progesterone drop there is an increase in levels of inflammation that can lead to a headache for many women. It is often helpful to keep track of what time of the month your headaches are the worst so that your doctor can better correlate it with a possible change in your hormone levels. An increase in stress levels can also trigger headaches as well as low blood sugar or lack of sleep. So it is important to get plenty of rest, eat a proper diet with adequate protein, drink plenty of water and manage your stress level in order to manage your headaches.

Alternative medicine has a lot to offer headache sufferers, especially those with migraines. Some common nutrient deficiencies that lead to migraines headaches are magnesium and B-vitamins. Consider some magnesium therapy, Vitamin D, B Vitamins, and anti-inflammatory treatments. Feverfew is an herb that is often helpful in the treatment of migraine headaches when it is used in an adequate dosage for a long enough period of time. Acupuncture is a useful tool to help with any type of pain condition including migraine headaches. If you suffer and would like help please give us a call today at 860-601-1318.

National Vaccine Awareness Week

This week is National Vaccine Awareness Week. If you are considering vaccination for you or your child please educate yourself on the risks and benefits of vaccination. Know your local laws, they vary by state.

Resources:

National Vaccine Information Center

www.nvic.org

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

www.cdc.gov/vaccines

Think Twice Global Vaccine Institute

www.thinktwice.com

The Vaccine Guide: Risks and Benefits for Children and Adults

by Randall Neustaedter

The truth about fevers

Parents always worry when their child is sick. It's human nature to worry when someone you love isn't feeling well. Unfortunately, it's inevitable that you or your child will be sick at some point in time and have a fever. Especially for children, it's how they build an immune system. They are exposed to viruses, the body mounts an attack, and a fever results. This is actually the body's way of fighting an infection. Bacteria and viruses have a more difficult time existing and multiplying in the higher temperature when the body produces a fever. So parents are left with the question of what do we do? Your child is sick, miserable actually. Should you give acetominophen or ibuprophen or simply wait it out?

There are things to consider here and you should always consult with your health care professional to determine what's best for your child. Understanding what a fever is can help you make educated choices about what you do for your child.
A fever serves several purposes within the body.
1. To create an inhospitable environment for microbes to survive and multiply.
2. Stimulate the body to fire up the immune system.
3. Stimulates the production of more targeted antibodies that will help you fight off this illness.
4. Increase the production of white blood cells to fight this infection.

A fever of around 102 is the optimal temperature for fighting off an infection. Helping your child through a fever without suppressing it using medications will help get through the illness more quickly. To do this you should
1. Avoid hard to digest foods. Concentrate on offering broths and soups for nourishment. If your child is not hungry, don't push a lot of food on them. This is the body's way of directing all it's attention to getting over this bug.
2. Rest, and lots of it. Working, going to school, and active play all divert the body's attention away from healing. Fevers take a lot of energy and they will therefore most likely turn your little energizer bunny into a couch potato. This the best thing for them, so just keep things quiet for the day until the fever breaks and they are feeling better.

There are times when a fever can be problematic and immediate care should be sought.
1. Fever over 104 in anyone.
2. Fever over 100.4 in a baby less than 1-2 months old.
3. Fever over 102 in a child less than 3 years old.

Lyme Disease

Living in the Northwest corner of Connecticut most people here either know someone who has had Lyme disease or had it themselves. This area has the highest incidence of Lyme disease in the world. It is a disease caused by the bacteria Borrellia burgdorferi and transmitted by ticks.

The sign people look for with Lyme disease is the bulls eye rash. Unfortunately this only occurs in 37% of cases of Lyme disease. Many people are infected with the bacteria and never see the rash. Symptoms of Lyme disease can range from typical joint pain, Bell's palsy, and numbness in various parts of the body, to severe fatigue and headaches to name just a few.

When it comes to treatment Doxycycline is the drug of choice for Lyme disease. When caught early Doxycycline has a good record of eradicating the bacteria. Sometimes though this is not enough and people experience a recurrence of their symptoms after stopping the drug. This happens because the Doxycycline can push the bacteria into its cystic form where antibiotics are unable to kill it.

Herbal therapies for Lyme disease have shown promising results when used both in combination with antibiotics and in isolation. These herbal therapies including Cat's claw, Andrographis, Sarsasparilla, and Teasle have been shown to kill Borrellia even in it's cystic form. It is often necessary also to treat gut problems that have been caused by the long treatment with Doxycycline. In these cases it is often necessary to extend the treatment to the gut for repair. Probiotics are always a good choice in this circumstance.

If you are someone battling Lyme disease, acute or chronic, Naturopathic medicine may just be your solution!

Organic food on a budget

Everyone talks about the importance of eating organically, but for many it's simply out of the budget, and for many they don't know why it's so important. It doesn't have to cost a fortune. Organic food is typically more expensive, but there are ways to cut down the cost if you just know how.

Why eat organic? Commercially prepared and processed foods are typically loaded with antibiotics, pesticides and herbicides all aimed at destroying a different kind of bug and help the crop survive.

Antibiotics are given to livestock to prevent infection and fatten them up quicker. The overuse of antibiotics has unfortunately created strains of bacteria that are resistant to all antibiotic treatments, MRSA. These antibiotics make it into the animal meat we eat and therefore into our bodies creating problems in more people with those same antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Pesticides are generally aimed at interfering with a bugs ability to reproduce or damage their nervous system causing death. These bugs are becoming increasingly resistant to these toxic chemicals and stronger ones are being used. It's been said that these substances are not harmful to humans because of our larger size and the relatively low dose found in food. While this is true it doesn't take into consideration our longer life span and our tendency to accumulate these kind of toxins in our systems.

Herbicides are another toxin that builds up in a similar manner to pesticides. It also decreases the quality of the food. When foods are grown in conditions that are harder for them to survive they produce the most healing components like antioxidants. Herbicides protect a farmers crop and make it look nicer to the buyer, but they decrease the amount of healing properties found in the food. Plants produce these healing chemicals in order to protect themselves and without the need to protect the nutrient quality goes down.

So, how do you go organic on a budget?

1. Prioritize -
There are some organic foods that are more important to focus on than others. Not all organic food is good as the next. When eating organic it is most important first to focus on dairy products, meats and poultry. The best quality meat is grass fed. This will most likely be organic and also be the most nutritious.

When looking at vegetables focus first on the "dirty dozen". These are the fruits and vegetables that are known to contain the most pesticides and herbicides.
www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214
Download the wallet version and take with you to the grocery store.

2. Organic foods are more expensive, no question. So how do you save money while still eating organic?
Shopping locally is a good start. Local farmers may not be certified as organic, but most of the methods they use will be organic in nature. The prices at your local farmers market are typically close to the sale prices of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables in the supermarket. You might also join a CSA, community supported agriculture, where you get a share in a local farm and wonderful food at great prices.
Adding vegetarian meals into your diet a few times a week will save money as well because pound for pound fruits and vegetables are cheaper than meats. Using dried beans, lentils, and legumes will also help to save money on your food budget. Even when dried legumes are organic the price tag is typically significantly less than meat.

These tips can also be used to decrease the cost of an allergy elimination diet like gluten free living.

Toxic sweeteners

Many people chose to consume artificial sweeteners in an effort to avoid sugar and high fructose corn syrup. On the surface this seems like a good idea...sugars increase calories and weight gain, right? It's not quite so simple. Many artificial sweeteners are extremely toxic.

Aspartame is probably the biggest artificial sweetener available. It goes by the brand names Equal and NutraSweet. These are used by many people for weight loss and blood sugar control, but are they worth the risks? You decide....


Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar. When taken into the body it is broken down into methanol and then formaldehyde. Yes folks the nasty smelling liquid used to pickle that frog you dissected in Biology class. In laboratory studies it has been shown to cause irreversible brain damage in animals and cause changes in the endocrine system leading to obesity. It will also increase cravings for those calorie laden carbohydrates we're trying to avoid leading to more calorie intake and weight gain. A study by the American Cancer society found that "among women who gained weight, artificial sweetener users gained more than those who didn't use the products." Just one diet soda contains an amount of aspartame that will create methanol in the body several times the EPA limit for consumption. Those people consuming more than one diet product a day will increase that production of methanol and formaldehyde even further.


Aspartame products can cause a variety of side effects including anxiety and depression, headaches, dizziness, memory loss, vision loss, confusion and seizures. It has also been reported to cause nerve damage similar to that seen in Alzheimer's disease and cause short term memory damage. Another concern for those diet products is the amount of essential minerals it displaces from your body.

Stopping Aspartame use is always a good idea. It can however cause symptoms of withdrawal like cravings for the foods that contain the artificial sweetener. Within a few weeks these symptoms should dissipate and symptoms improve.