Houses of Healing

Health Eating for Winter Nutrition

Because winter is cold, your diet will need to produce more warmth and heat. Winter foods are cooked longer and at lower temperatures than foods during other seasons. In the winter it is good to switch to hearty soups, stews, and casseroles, cooked with lots of water, for a long time over a low heat. Very nourishing and easy to digest and strengthen your kidney/adrenal pathway.

Here is a favorite recipe from my childhood by way of my Hungarian ancestry.

Beef Barley Soup

Brown in a small amount of oil 1 pound of grass fed organic beef- cut in small pieces (great if you include some beef bones also). Use a deep pot.

To the beef add 1/2 cup of barley (1 cup if you like a lot of barley) and 10 cups of water (or enough water to make as much soup as you want).

Add 4- 8 cups of the following vegetables (depending on how much soup you are making):
• Onions
• Tomatoes
• Green peppers
• Celery
• Carrots
• Mushrooms
• Green beans

Cover and simmer all for about 2 hours or until the meat is very tender. This makes a very digestible one-pot meal. If you like your vegetables less cooked you can add the vegetables to the beef and barley in the last 1/2 hour of cooking.

Don't risk burnout - schedule your next vacation now

Did you know:

Europeans typically take a full month off in the summer and the French take all of August off. This has not destroyed their economy.

People who can't seem to relax and renew on weekends have a higher long-term risk of dying from heart disease, a research study in Finland suggests. Men and women who said they "seldom" recovered from work fatigue and stress were about three times more likely to die of heart disease or stroke as workers who "almost always" recovered.

Other studies show that the increased stress and fatigue from working long hours and not taking time off can lead to weight gain, cardiovascular problems, chronic fatigue, depression and addiction to alcohol and depressants.

In the US, more than one-third of workers will take the office with them on vacation, according to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey. Sixteen percent of workers say their supervisors expect them to stay in touch while on vacation and 19 percent plan to check in voluntarily. Of these workers, 61 percent will be checking voicemail or email on a daily basis.

The United States is the only industrialized country that does not have guaranteed four weeks paid vacation. Australia and Italy are the leaders in mandatory vacation with 6 weeks of paid vacation regardless of how long they have been employed.

Workers are expected to give back 574 million vacation days this year. (Expedia.com's annual vacation deprivation survey)

Besides dramatically cutting the risk of heart disease, vacations have a number of other health benefits. Vacations have been shown to cure burnout, the last stage of chronic stress. The time away from stressors helps re-gather crushed emotional resources, such as a sense of mastery and optimism. But it takes two weeks for this process to occur, so you need to have real time off to get the recuperative benefits. Studies have also shown that time off increases positive mood, a sense of initiative, competence, and that the more leisure activities you're involved in the higher your life satisfaction. --Joe Robinson - www.worktolive.com

Only 39% of American families take even a weeklong vacation a year.

It’s not too late! Schedule next year's vacation now!

Herbs and Anxiety

If you have ever had a panic attack, you don’t look forward to getting another one. The “fight-or flight” response in your body is involuntarily turned on and your nervous system signals your adrenal glands to start pumping out stress hormones to get you ready to either run away or turn and fight.

Your muscles tense, your heartbeat speeds up, and your breathing becomes more rapid. You might feel like you are smothering, get claustrophobic or experience an urgency to get away. On top of that, you may get hot flashes, sweating, and/or chills and trembling, plus numbness, tingling sensations, dizziness, and nausea.

You become overwhelmed by an extreme sense of fear and impending disaster and you lose your ability to think calmly and clearly while experiencing a distorted sense of time and a feeling of unreality.

In the face of a physical threat, accident, or natural disaster, this type of response is normal and can be life-saving. But panic attacks that occur unexpectedly in the presence of normal events can be debilitating. They may happen with no forewarning, at any time of the day or night, and last several seconds or more than half an hour.

The triggers for panic attacks are unpredictable. Most panic attacks are set off by some minor or major stressor. But panic attacks can also be triggered by changes in emotions, or as a response to certain drugs, foods, allergies (including hidden food allergies), hypoglycemia, and illnesses.

A panic attack is an example of an acute anxiety disorder and can affect teens to middle-agers and beyond. Women are reported to experience panic attacks twice as often as men but some believe that is only because men are more reticent to report panic attacks.

Recent studies point to a complex set of causes and panic attacks are regarded as a treatable psychobiological condition (i.e. having both psychological and biological causes). Successful resolution of panic attacks requires an integrated, multi-modality approach.

Even though panic attacks are not a simple condition and there are no simple answers for their successful resolution, herbal therapy can be useful as part of an integrated, multi-modality approach.

When you experience anxiety, your body releases a set of neurotransmitters called catecholamines, which stimulate your central nervous system and activate your sympathetic nervous system. Sometimes your sympathetic nervous system (the high alert part of your nervous system) can get stuck in the “on” mode leaving you in an ongoing state of anxiety - a fertile ground for panic attacks.

A class of herbs called nervines helps to turn off the sympathetic nervous system by gently facilitating the functioning of the parasympathetic nervous system – the part of the nervous system that prompts relaxation - helping us to wind down and come off “high alert”.

It is a good idea to experiment with different anti-anxiety herbs before you are in a crisis or panic situation. Try out several herbs in varying doses. Start with a low dose and increase if needed so that you will know how the herb affects you and how to use it when you need it.

Some effective herbal nervines to consider using:

Oatstraw (Avena sativa) – the green milky tops of oatstraw provide a wonderful soothing, nourishing and gentle herb for frayed and stressed nervous systems. Oatstraw has a restorative effect on an exhausted nervous system reliably strengthening the whole nervous system after prolong stress. Oatstraw has both an immediate effect (useful when experiencing extreme nervousness and anxiety) and a more long-term restorative effect. Oatstraw is well tolerated by even highly sensitive people and is used for nervous debility, stress, weak nerve and energy force, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and general fatigue.

German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla/ Matricaria recutita) – an all time favorite –because it works. Chamomile tones the nervous system, relaxes your muscles and calms nervous digestion. It has mild sedating properties and is not as strong an herbal sedative as valerian or passionflower. However, chamomile is a great option for anxiety in children or teens and for anxiety associated with mild sleep problems. If you are allergic to ragweed, asters, or chrysanthemums you are better off choosing another anti-anxiety herb.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) –has mild sedative properties and is useful in conditions of nervous agitation with sleep problems and digestive complaints. Lemon balm is especially useful for over-anxiety that causes digestive problems such as nausea, bloating, and colic like pains. Traditionally lemon balm was used to lift the spirits and encourage longevity. Lemon balm is a relaxing tonic for anxiety, restlessness, irritability, and mild depression and its actions will quiet the racing heart that often accompanies anxiety. It has mild anti-thyroid effects and is best avoided by people with hypothyroid problems.

Skullcap (Scutellaria laterifolia) –tonifies and relaxes the nervous system and is useful for anxiety of all types especially anxiety and irritability that is hormonally based such as premenstrual syndrome. It is a sedative nervine and has mild anti-spasmodic and anti-hypertensive effects. Skullcap is a great herb to use when your anxiety is accompanied by a runaway mind that is stuck on worry. It is tolerated well by most people and has few side effects.

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) – one of the most well known anti-anxiety herbs, valerian is a potent herb whose active ingredients, valepotriates, bind to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain (similarly to the drug Valium). The use of valerian does not, however, result in dependence or the development of tolerance but instead tones the nervous system.

Valerian can be used to improve the quality of sleep, and relax both the skeletal and smooth muscles. Valerian should not be used for those with chronic exhaustion, adrenal fatigue, thyroid disorders, and depression as it may increase anxiety, worsen present symptoms, and/or result in excessive restlessness in these conditions.

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) – a strong calming, anti-spasmodic herb that is useful for severe daytime anxiety. Passionflower is also the herb of choice for middle of the night waking terrors, nightmares, and the onset of sudden anxiety feelings. It acts as a central nervous system depressant giving a calming, relaxing and anti-anxiety effect and is specific for anxiety related to insomnia, muscle tension, restlessness, and nervousness due to worry, overwork, hysteria, or excessive excitement. If you are taking an MAO inhibitor, you should avoid taking passionflower except under supervision.

Stress Relief Tea

Here is a simple herbal tea mixture that I have found effective in my private practice working with women having mood and energy problems.

Mix together equal parts of the following dry herbs:

Oatstraw

Lemon Balm

Skullcap

Nettles

Orange

Chamomile

Use 1-2 teaspoons of the mixture and steep covered in 8 oz. of boiling water for 5-10 minutes.

(Call 434-263-4996 or email me to order some from Evenstar Herbs.)

The use of herbal nervines as part of an integrative program can help restore a sense of calm and well being, soothe distress, stabilize a confused and overwhelmed energy system, and foster clear thinking.

If you are taking anti-anxiety and/or anti-depressant medications or other medications, have a diagnosed condition or illness, are pregnant, breastfeeding, elderly or very young it is important to consult a knowledgeable health care practitioner before using herbs. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any medical conditions.

Favorite Lunch Recipes

Shrimp Salad

This is amazingly quick and easy to prepare. I tend not to eat grains for lunch as I find I like the energy I get from eating veggies and protein in the middle of the day.

• Big beautiful tomato- cut in bit size pieces
• Crispy cucumber – sliced thin
• Wild caught pink shrimp from Whole Foods Market – either the small or the medium size variety both come peeled and deveined - a handful to taste

Combine all three. Add a bit of Spanish, Greek or Italian olive oil (a great selection at Whole Foods Market) and about 4 capfuls of apple cider vinegar.

Cut some of that fresh basil you have potted in the kitchen window and cut up finely in the salad. If you like, add a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Savor the fresh taste sitting down and thinking happy thoughts about how beautiful Greece must be this time of year.

Safe and Sensible Detoxification

I recently received this question about liver cleansing:

My friends are doing a community liver cleanse and I was wondering how you felt about a liver cleanse/detox?

There is something appealing about the idea of GETTING RID OF whatever isn't working in a particular organ. I have always avoided them; however, because I was (and remain a bit) nervous about what type of healing reaction (as I have heard it called) I would get. I've heard people having quite amazing results, even seeing stuff like stones and weird color things in their stool.

I shudder when I hear about detoxing and liver cleanses. I have treated many complications from these liver cleanses and it can take a lot of effort to repair the side effects. Liver cleanses are a popular practice - an appealing quick short cut to washing away all sorts of imbalance in the body.

In a really healthy person or a really sick person, the right kind of detoxing and cleansing could be beneficial. However, for most people, cleanses arouse the system abruptly and make you feel a false increase in energy.

People tell stories of passing stones and odd things while on a liver flush, etc. However, what may look like stones is usually a soft, saponified complex of minerals, olive oil and lemon juice produced within the GI tract in response to the cleanse. These flushes actually can have the effect of contracting the gallbladder and increasing the chance of trapping any gallstones - leading to all sorts of problems.

While a seasonal fast/cleanse in a healthy person can have benefits, in someone who is stressed they can lead to increased toxicity. The detox capacities are set in phases. Phase one detoxifies many toxins by turning them into even more toxic toxins so that Phase Two can remove them from the body.

During fasting certain detoxification enzymes are relatively resistant to depletion by fasting and can be significantly induced by the products of fasting such as ketones and xenobiotics released from stored fat. On the other hand the conjugating enzymes that break down Phase 1 toxins are heavily dependent on certain substrates that come from protein, vitamins and minerals and these conjugating enzymes are consumed rapidly under the states of high xenobiotic load or oxidative stress produced by fasting. The end result is that the substrates needed for Phase Two detoxification are not provided for and there is a marked rise in highly toxic bioactive intermediates and free radicals with a concomitant decrease in Phase 2 detoxification activity.

All that means is - fasting and cleanses can result in an unbalanced detoxification system leading to marked oxidative stress and that may be particularly deleterious to those who are chronically ill and whose antioxidant reserves are already exhausted or significantly weakened.

Liver health and healthy detoxification is not about embarking on some rigorous, purging “liver cleanse.” Healthy liver detoxification does not depend upon fasts, enemas, and intensive bowel cleansing. It is more beneficial to implement moderate but effective daily liver health and friendly detox routines.

You can get the effect you are looking for without any disruptive side effects.

Your body naturally and automatically detoxifies itself. All you have to do is to ensure that those natural detoxification processes can do their job. The natural detoxification systems of your body depend upon the right supply of enzymes. These enzymes depend upon getting the right combination of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other healthy nutrients.

Five tips for sensible Detoxification

1. Pesticides, herbicides, and poisonous agricultural chemicals in food and water are a primary source of toxins. The organs of detoxification have difficulty breaking them down and eliminating them. These toxins then get stored in the body where they damage cells, create premature aging, and contribute to degenerative diseases. Therefore, eat organic foods as often as possible.

2. Eat a variety of health supporting foods because every day your dietary needs vary depending on physical activity, stress, climate, season, weather, emotional, mental and physical demands.

3. Eat an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits. These contain a variety of vitamins and minerals and other protective substances that prevent cell wall damage. They are also the most purifying foods for the body. Eat 7-13 servings of vegetables and 2- 4 servings of fruits a day. Fresh, organic vegetables and fruits are the primary components of a cleansing diet. Fruits and vegetables provide phytonutrients that help prevent cancer, heart disease, glaucoma, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases.

4. Drink enough water – 1/2 oz per pound of bodyweight. As you liberate stored toxins, you will need plenty of water to flush them quickly out or your system. Evenly spread your water intake throughout the day. Drink only clean, pure water.

5. Fiber rich foods are important for cleansing the colon and lungs. Sufficient fiber in the diet can reduce the incidence of some cancers by 60% or more. All fiber improves the functioning of the intestines. Fiber encourages healthy bacterial growth in the colon, assists in nutrient assimilation, and aids the formation of anti-cancer short-chained fatty acids. The most balanced approach to including more fiber in your diet is to eat a variety of the different types of fiber in whole foods.

Do You Have Adequate Detoxification?

If you want to find out about how to embark on a safe and sensible detox program that is designed with your history and concerns in mind, please email me.

Creamy Sauce Substitute

If you are off dairy you might miss an occasional creamy kind of flavor in your meals. Whole Foods carries a very tasty “creamy” kind of sauce made without dairy. Not necessarily for everyday use but a good flavor taste to liven up your meals now and then.

Avvio Black Pepper Sauce
• Water
• Canola oil
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• Brown sugar
• Xanhan gum
• Citric acid
• Spices

Once again let me say that I have no affiliation with Whole Foods – other than that 3 of my children work there. It’s a great place to shop and I don’t own stock.

Trace Minerals and Heavy Toxic Metals

Did You Know?

Trace Minerals are essential in countless metabolic functions in all phases of the life process.

While your body can produce many vitamins, it cannot manufacture necessary trace minerals.

Zinc is involved in the production, storage and secretion of insulin and is necessary for growth hormones.

Magnesium is required for normal muscular function, especially the heart. Deficiency is associated with heart attacks, anxiety and nervousness.

Potassium is critical for normal nutrient transport into your cells. Deficiency can result in muscular weakness, depression and lethargy.

Excess sodium is associated with hypertension, but adequate amounts are required for normal health.

Excessive mineral intake can negate the beneficial effects of vitamins. For Example: Zinc can reduce the beneficial effect of vitamin D.

Calcium can reduce the beneficial effect of vitamin A.

Excessive vitamin intake can negate the beneficial effects of minerals. For example: Vitamin C can reduce the beneficial effect of copper.

Vitamin D can cause a deficiency of magnesium.

Taking too much iron can contribute to such symptoms as arthritis, high blood pressure and tension headaches with dizziness.

Frontal headaches (behind the eyes) are associated with too much copper.

Taking too much calcium alone can contribute to osteoporosis, weight gain and fatigue.

Accute exposure to lead may be undetectable by a blood test after 30 days because the body deposits the metal into such tissues as the liver, bones, teeth and hair.

Toxic metals can contribute to learning disabilities and ADHD in children.

You can test your levels of vital trace minerals and dangerous heavy metals with a simple Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis.

Favorite Dinner Recipes II

Flavored Polenta with Shrimp and Vegetables

I am astrologically compatible with the Tuscany area in Italy and tend to gravitate toward a Mediterranean flavor in my cooking. I have not been to Tuscany - yet - so I don’t really know what kind of meals are common to that region. I can imagine though - and this meal brings forth images of eating in a little restaurant on cobblestone streets in Tuscany.

Polenta

I just use plain organic cornmeal to make polenta and I love the taste of it. Here is my favorite way to make polenta:

• Boil 6 ½ cups of water in a big pot
• When the water is boiling slowly add 1 ½ cups of corn meal. Whisk while you are adding the corn meal.
• Turn down to simmer.
• If you got lumps when adding the corn meal spend some extra time whisking the mixture until the lumps are gone.
• Cook on simmer for about 30 minutes and whisk every now and then. When the corn meal mixture gets thicker and starts to come away from the sides I call it done.
• Pour into a slightly oiled baking pan.
• Let sit.

You can make plain polenta or add any number of seasonings such as:
• Fresh cut up basil
• Salt
• Coarse ground black pepper
• Hot red pepper flakes
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Parmesan cheese
• Dried pepper flakes
• Onions
• Mushrooms

Shrimp and Veggies

Sautee the following quickly over a high heat with a little bit of olive oil:
• Spinach
• Mushrooms- sliced
• Green pepper- sliced
• Yellow pepper - sliced
• Orange pepper - sliced
• Red pepper – sliced
• Olives – sliced. I like a mixture of green and black olives some stuffed and some not
• Green beans – cut up in small pieces
• Whole Foods wild caught pink shrimp – I just pour these frozen shrimp right in the pot to defrost and cook as they are already peeled and deveined. As they defrost they impart a nice shrimpy flavor to the meal.

When shrimp are almost defrosted add:
• Some organic chicken broth and boil down to intensify the flavor – this should only take a few minutes. Be careful to not over cook the shrimp.

Serve in bowls. Spoon in the creamy polenta and then add the shrimp and veggie mixture over the polenta.

Dream about groves of fruity olive trees and beautiful Tuscany sunsets.