We hope you, as our online community, enjoy these pointers on how to manage your depressive symptoms naturally as much as our Winter Park Orlando community has. Happy reading!
An Acupuncturists’ Holiday Recipe for Hormone Health
How can a good ol' fashioned Thanksgiving have anything in common with Traditional Chinese Medicine? Yams are the answer! The Chinese culture has used food for medicine for centuries in which yams have been the solution for many women's health issues. Both traditionally and today yams successfully support fertility, alleviate hot flashes, and assuage menstrual spasms.
How can yams help such an array of female disorders? There is a current rise of research supporting this age old therapeutic food.
In acupuncture, yams are known to support the yin deficit. Yin comprises the feminine, nurturing essence. Our yin hormones are estrogen and progesterone.
A recent study from the Journal of American College of Nutrition demonstrated the effect yams have on estrogen levels. After frequent, daily consumption of purple yam, there was a 26% increase in estrone and a 27% increase in estradiol in blood serum. Estrone is the form of estrogen we need the most during our menopausal years and estradiol is what we need during our reproductive years. Here’s the link if you’d like to read more of the study:
So the next question is are yams and sweet potatoes the same? They are not. BUT traditional Chinese medicine food regimens recommend both. Herbal therapies as well as medical hormone therapies do favor wild yam, so if you are looking for more than a dietary boost, I would be happy to discuss your options with you either in person if you're in the Winter Park/Orlando area or over the phone if you're not. But for the sake of a delicious Thanksgiving meal, both yams and sweet potatoes are in!
You’ll want to avoid recipes that have processed sugar and marshmallows, but you can use stevia or raw honey to sweeten your dish instead: http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/11/11/honey-cinnamon-roasted-sweet-potatoes/.
If you’re looking for something with fun and flare, you can find a curry blend or Mexican mix. Here's a zesty, chili blend of sweet potato and quinoa:
http://www.wellplated.com/sweet-potato-quinoa-black-bean-salad/.
I make sweet potato chips weekly for snacks, so if you'd like that recipe for an every day treat, I'd be happy to share! I just ask that you help spread the word on natural options for hormonal balance by sharing this article. Then you can reply to this post and I'll email it over to you. My focal desire is to empower women with hormonal and emotional health without all the side-effects, so stay posted for more to come!
Yours in health,
Crystal Nix, DC, CAc
Sugar's Dirty Little Secret
Sugar made headlines a few weeks ago as it was a key point of discussion in a New York Times article regarding the Sugar industry’s involvement in setting nutritional policy for our country. As you may or may not have read, in 1967 the sugar industry essentially hired a group of Harvard nutrition professors to write a review regarding the safety of sugar.
At the time, sugar had been implicated as a leading cause of heart disease, but executives of the sugar industry weren’t thrilled by the idea of their secret being found out, so in order to keep public opinion at bay, they decided to fund their own research. To recognize what went wrong in this research process, you need to understand how research is compiled into reviews that are used to make public health policy. Hang with me, the next paragraph is dense, but really important to understanding part of the reason we’re in the health crisis we have right now.
Sugar industry executives gave the
researchers hand-picked articles that
favored fats as the cause of heart disease
Traditionally when a group of researchers write a review of a certain topic, they will wade through the myriad of articles on a subject and select the best clinical trials that have the most direct evidence. Well, instead of letting the professors independently select the articles they would review, the sugar industry executives decided that they would help in the process and give the Harvard professors hand-picked articles to use in their review that favored fats as the cause of heart disease. This skewed the data and caused sugar to come out with a clean bill. The fact this group of Harvard professors were being paid and given grants toward their future research as payment to write this review leads to further suspicion of the outcome.
And what was their conclusion? Sugar is safe to eat and heart disease is caused by cholesterol. They suggested that instead of curbing our appetite for sugar, that we should instead cut down our fat intake. This review that implicated fats as our source of heart problems not only let sugar off the hook, but also shaped the research conducted on heart disease for the next 50 years.
Americans who get 17-21% of calories
from added sugar had a 38% higher
risk of dying from cardiovascular disease
Only recently has the obesity epidemic caused researchers to look for other culprits causing heart issues. Within the past 2 years, the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine released a report that stated those who got 17 to 21 percent of calories from added sugar had a 38 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who consumed 8 percent of their calories from added sugar.
That’s pretty significant considering that as of 2010 the average American got 14% of their calories from added sugars according to a recent study released by the British Medical Journal. The recommended amount of added sugars we consume should consist of 10% of our daily calories. The 4% difference between what we actually eat and the suggested levels equates to a difference of 85 calories or just over 5 teaspoons of sugar more than we should be eating.
Although this might not sound like a lot, if you eat 5 extra teaspoons of sugar every day for a year, which is what most Americans do, it equates to 24 pounds of extra sugar consumed annually.
The average American eats
24 pounds more sugar
annually than is suggested.
And as you might guess, this excess consumption leads to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. So unfortunately the choices of a few professors from Harvard being swayed by sugar industry executives and shaping the public opinions and health directives of our country has lead us to this inconvenient situation we are currently in.
Luckily, you now have information that makes you empowered to change public opinion. Better yet, you can use this information to change how you eat today. You can decide to go to the grocery store or farmers market and get yourself some delicious fruit instead of picking up a soda or a pastry. Not only will fruit fill you up more because it has more fiber than foods that commonly have processed sugar, but it’s also packed with vitamins and minerals that you’re not getting from your soda.
You get to choose, but as for me, I’d like to not die early of cardiovascular disease. Now that I’ve shared sugar’s dirty secret, feel free to share it with others, or stay posted for more healthful hints for your everyday life.
Until then, stay well-informed and eat well!
Dr. Joel Dayton DC
I Give Because I Have
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I were faced with a situation where someone asked for a couple of dollars from me on the street. In the past, a lot of things have gone through my mind when faced with this situation. Lately I've been trying to focus much more on giving because I have the means. I consider myself very lucky to be in a situation where, although I have student loans and am starting a practice which can take a bit of a balancing with finances, my needs are met. There are so many others in this world who want the opportunity to do the same. In my opinion, it is the responsibility and opportunity of those who have resources available to them to help those who have a need.
Our world needs healing, and although we may not have much to give, it's important that we give to those around us the healing we each have in us. These past 3 months our yoga class has raised funds for victims and the families of the Pulse club shooting in $2 donations at a time. Although our total of $300.67 may not seem to be an exorbitant amount of money, this represents big hearts that want to help heal our community. It is a representation of people who have a longing to give to those who are grieving and struggling for answers in the aftermath of this tragedy. We are grateful to have been a small part of helping to add love to our little part of the world.
It has been an honor to see the goodness of people as we have practiced yoga in our group the past few months. It gives me hope to know there are people who want to help make a change from the divisiveness and pain we so often see. The upcoming 3 months we will be focusing our efforts on an issue that has been ignored for many years, human trafficking. We are grateful to be able to help support Operation Underground Railroad which combats and brings greater awareness to this destructive practice.
Often times before we start yoga, our instructor Ashley invites us to set an intention for our practice. Following her example, we decided to create an "intention to heal" board on which the members of our group are invited to share their intent to help others heal over the next three months. We sincerely hope that more people can set their intention to help heal the world in whatever their small sphere of influence may be.
Dr. Joel Dayton
Chiropractic Physician
Can Candy Fix Your Stomach Ache?
You may remember hearing your mom say something like, “Don’t eat too much candy or you’ll get a stomach ache.” Although that is true for most candies, there may be some that can actually relieve abdominal discomfort.
A friend of mine recently reminded me of this while telling me of how her grandmother would give her a candy cane as a child when she had an upset stomach. Although this may sound counter-intuitive to many people, when considering the main ingredient, it makes a lot of sense. Peppermint is an excellent remedy to help calm down an upset stomach. People may also notice similar effects when eating black licorice when feeling nauseous, as fennel is one the main ingredients in this candy.
Several peer-reviewed studies demonstrate the relieving effects of peppermint in digestion, constipation, and diarrhea. One research study even determined the benefit peppermint oil capsules had on children suffering from irritable bowel syndrome*. In fact, there was a 75% reduction in severity of pain reported after 2 weeks.
Now, if you’d like to avoid the sugar in candy, which is definitely better for you, lucky for you there are many great options to find peppermint and fennel today. Essential oils are a great form that’s easy for your body to digest and use immediately. Not all oils are the same, so you’ll want to make sure it is at least of a certified pure therapeutic grade in quality. Another option is sipping a peppermint or fennel tea. And of course, there is always the option of eating it in its raw plant form as a leafy garnish and adding it to a dish.
If you want more practical ways of decreasing your stomach issues and healing your digestive tract, you’re in luck because we are teaming up with Ricardo Bannatyne, a pharmacist turned alternative pharmacist to teach you how. Ricardo has been a pharmacist for 20 years and utilizes herbs and other natural remedies as alternatives to many common medications. We’ll be hosting an in-office lecture Thursday August 11th @ 6:30pm.
Here are a few topics we’ll be covering:
- What are probiotics and which is the right one for me?
- How are my emotions involved with my digestive discomfort?
- How does my nervous system contribute to the health of my digestive organs?
- And other practical and nutritional insights…
We’re excited to share this empowering information with you so you can have more comfortable digestion and work towards healing your digestive system. Seating is limited, so we do need for you to RSVP by Aug 9. Call us at 407-286-5926 or email us at clearroutehealth@gmail.com.
In the meantime, enjoy some peppermint and happy digesting!
Dr. Crystal Nix
Chiropractic Physician
*Cline, Robert, et al. "Enteric-coated, PH-dependent Peppermint Oil Capsules for the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Children." The Journal of Pediatrics 138.1 (2001): 125-28. Web.
OUCH! How to naturally treat your knee pain.
Many people who come into our office are looking for things they can do in addition to coming in for treatment to more efficiently heal their knee pain. Our office is completely supportive of such individuals because we believe that healthcare really should be in the hands of the patients. After they are equipped with advice on how to best manage their bodies, they are prepared to take charge of their own healthcare. We were pleased to partner with Dr. Ally Cox, Doctor of Physical Therapy, last night in our office summer lecture series. She and I taught on how patients can take an active role to naturally heal their knee pain. Here are some healthful hints of things to do in and out of the office to get you back into the activities you love.
1. Kinesiology Tape
If you've watched any sports over the last few years, chances are you've seen an athlete wearing what may look like some sort of weird tattoo. What you're actually seeing is called Kinesiology Tape. In the past, athletes and non-athletes alike have widely used braces to restrict motion of joints. While this is sometimes called for in helping a recovery process, braces used for too long can cause muscle atrophy. Kinesiology tape not only encourages normal motion, but also helps to retrain the brain on where our joints are supposed to be in space, a process called proprioception therapy. In our office, we show patients how to tape their joints for their specific injury and invite them to maintain this when they experience similar symptoms.
2. Eat Pineapple
What? Why pineapple? Funny you should ask. Pineapple is loaded with an enzyme called bromelain. This enzyme has an inhibitory effect on inflammation in your joints if you have a recent injury or even if you're dealing with osteoarthritis. In fact, a study has found that bromelain was just as effective as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with treatment of pain in osteoarthritis (1). You’ll want to up your intake of pineapple, especially the core of it, when you’re trying to manage your pain naturally. One easy way to do this is by blending the pineapple core and drinking it with other anti-oxidant berries, such as blueberries.
3. Correct movement
Pain in our knees is often caused by repetitively moving it in ways it’s not supposed to move. When this happens we can eat all the pineapple we want, and it still won’t stop the pain and inflammation that occurs. These symptoms do a great job of letting us know there’s a problem in our body, but without helping the joint move back to its original motion, the pain will stay. When restricted motion occurs in our joints, chiropractic adjustments can be very helpful in restoring normal movement and reducing your pain.
4. Exercise
As simple as it sounds, proper exercise will help hold your joints in the correct place and will reduce the amount of wear and tear on the soft tissues inside your joints that lead to early osteoarthritis. Our office gives exercise routines to each of our patients to take home with them. Seeing a physical therapist for specific muscle retraining can also be very important in helping to retrain muscle groups to correct muscle imbalances or inefficiencies you may have.
Well that’s the short list to get you started on how you can heal your knee pain. If you have additional questions about pain you may be experiencing, please feel free to contact us through our office number here on our website.
Here’s to your health,
Dr. Joel Dayton
Chiropractic Physician
(1) Klein G., Kullich W., Schnitker J., Schwann H. Efficacy and tolerance of an oral enzyme combination in painful osteoartritis of the hip. A double-Blind, randomised study comparing oral enzymes with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. 2006;24(1):25–30. [PubMed]