You are what you eat! by Dr. Vanda Huang
I found this photo gallery on what the world eats in a week so interesting:Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. I had no idea people ate narwhals, or polar bear for that matter! It was interesting to see the proportion of processed food to fresh produce from country to country as well.And somewhat related to that is an article in the Atlantic about how "Serving Convenience Foods for Dinner Doesn't Save Time." It makes the excellent point that home cooked meals from scratch organically bring the family together for meals since with convenience foods you can easily eat whatever, whenever, which means you most likely won't be sitting down with the family when you eat. Eating in front of the television, in the car, or on the go, tends to encourage mindless eating. Eating in a slower, relaxed setting while socializing and interacting with your family or friends actually helps your body absorb more nutrients from your meal- we tend to chew more and take our time which leads to better digestion. And of course, beyond the nutritional benefits, bonding with your family during mealtime makes home-cooked (vs convenience) meals even more worthwhile.
The "Bear" of Overcoming Stress to Increase GI Health, by Dr. Erin Westaway
Healthy digestion is one of the foundations of our wellbeing and one of the areas of our health that is most directly affected by stress. There’s a reason we talk about not being able to “stomach” bad news – in times of stress, we literally shut down the signals to the stomach to digest.
Pillars of Digestive Health
Dangerous Pesticides levels in Celestial Seasonings Tea products
Per the Examiner.com article dated 3/22/13 by Roger ZieglerOriginal Article: http://www.examiner.com/article/dangerously-high-pesticide-levels-found-celestial-seasonings-teasEmerald City Clinic has removed Celestial Teas from our shelves, and we encourage you to do the same. Recent tests conducted by EuroFins (www.eurofins.com/en.aspx), an independent analysis company, have found that 91% of the Celestial Seasonings teas contained pesticide levels higher than the US Federal Limits.These tests were initiated by Glaucus Research Group out of California, who do have a great influence on short-sale stocks. They do provide a full disclaimer that they will, in fact, benefit greatly if Hain Celestial (the mother company) stock plummets (which it has after this research). In addition to Celestial Teas, Glaucus Research exposed numerous other products of Hain Celestial as being falsely marketed. Read the full report here: https://glaucusresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/02/GlaucusResearch-The_Hain_Celestial_Group_Inc-NasdaqHAIN-Strong_Sell_Febuary_21_2013.pdf.Although it is hard to sift through all of the research that is out there, when evidence such as this comes across our desks it is impossible to ignore. We do believe that we all need to do our part as consumers to push the market toward organic, pesticide free produce for an overall healthier world.What tea do we suggest? It seems that similar tests were run on Twinings Teas, and they were given an A in sustainability.The Emerald City Team
2013 FLU TIPS from Dr. Molly Niedermeyer!
My brother emailed me asking if I had gotten my flu shot and I quickly responded that I would not get one and do not advise it. Cancer clients are suppose to strengthen their immune systems because our white blood cells are often compromised and we cannot "afford" to get the flu. This is an on-going discussion with my oncologist and I tell him getting the flu vaccine is "not negotiable with me." I was listening to an interview with the CDC on the radio yesterday, and they say this is the "worst flu season in a decade." When asked, "Why?" the CDC representatvie's response was:
1. the flu virus seems to mutate and get stronger
AND
2. we really do not know.
I DO!!!!! First, we keep creating super bugs with vaccines. Those bugs want to survive and mutate getting smarter and smarter about tricking our immune systems. Secondly, when you get the flu vaccine you commit a portion of your immune system to only recognize the "blue hatted flu bug" which the CDC guessed would be the flu bug arriving this winter last spring. So, you now have less flexibility in your immune system since 80% of your fighting cells are sleeping on the job when the flu virus arrives with a "red hat." I would rather have 100% of your immune system capable of responding to whatever comes. Thirdly, our immune systems are weaker and weaker from toxic exposure, poor diets, lack of sleep, stress, etc. Better prevention would be Molly's 5 Point health plan.... sleep, eat well, drink water, exercise (increases white blood cells) and commit to a basic supplement regime.
Having said all that, I want you to know this has been one of the worst flus I have seen. What we have found to work right now:
1. Stay hydrated!
2. Warming sock treatment (you can find this on our website: http://www.emeraldcityclinic.com/educational/pdfs/sock.pdf)
3. Homeopathic Bryonia or Eupatorium
4. High dose chinese mushrooms like astragelus.
5. High dose lysine (2000 mg/day).
If you are sick please contact your Emerald City Clinic Naturopathic physician immediately as it really makes a difference to have an ally through this process. This flu seems to have 3-4 days of high fever that weakens your immune system and turns into whatever illness has historically been your weakness: bronchitis, sinus infection, strep throat. Do not be mistaken it is a virus and will not respond to antibiotics.
Give the Gift of Health
Emerald City Clinic can be one of your shopping stops! We are selling homeopathic first aid kits for your family for $40.00, and Organic Skin Care sets for $48.50. The skin care set includes eco-friendly and clean shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and lip balm. Highly recommended!
Meet Janelle and Passionate Nutrition!
Hello Dear Clients,
We are honored to announce two new members of the healing community surrounding Emerald City Clinic. Janelle Leonard, Licensed Massage Practitioner, and Jennifer Adler, Certified Nutritionist, and her Passionate Nutrition team, are thrilled to be serving our client base with their expertise in massage therapy and nutritional therapy. Feel free to contact either of these wonderful women with any questions you may have about their practices!
Welcome, ladies!
The ECN Team
|
Passionate Nutrition offers a whole food and whole person approach to your health and wellness. Whether you’re struggling with extra weight, low energy or just want to feel your absolute best, our team is trained to help you every step of the way — from cooking to nutrition counseling. We help our clients reach their goals everyday.
At Passionate Nutrition we promote a delicious and whole person approach to health, and provide individual and family nutrition counseling. We work with a diverse group of clients and specialize in the following:
• Weight loss & Maintenance
• Food Sensitivity & Allergies
• Pre Natal/Post Natal Nutrition
• Anxiety & Depression
• Hormone Balancing
• Eating disorders
• Arthritis
• Hypothyroidism
We accept most health insurance plans.
Our team sees clients at our newlocation at 1403 NW 85th St, Seattle, adjacent to Emerald City Naturopathic Clinic on Mon., Wed., Fri. & Sun. beginning December 2012. Visit us at passionatenutrition.com to learn more.
We look forward to working with you soon!
~The Passionate Nutrition Team
|
Please sign this petition
Insurance Open Enrollment: How to shop for insurance
Insurance 101: Educate yourself!
Food Matters: Hungry for Change
An interesting and thoughtful take on how society drives not only what we eat, but the psychology behind why we eat what we do. Check it out!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MvAM97VDE8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Immunizations: Adult and Pediatric
Recently a client of mine asked to have me address immunizations in my blog. I am happy to address any health issues that you would like me to. Just email the office at frontdesk@emeraldcityclinic.com and we will our best to address your concerns publicly. So here is a controversial topic of immunizations. Public Health would not like my opinion about immunizations and therefore most Naturopathic physicians shy away from a stance because it goes beyond health into the political arena. Given this environment I have never been one to shy away from an opinion.
First immunizations MUST be an individual decision between a client and the best medical advice that your physician can give you individually NOT societally. It is a societal decision to immunize everyone and now it is societal health problem that everyone is allergic to eggs. So I will attempt to discuss some of the "Fall immunizations". First all flu vaccines are decide in the Spring as to what MIGHT show up and there is a great deal of money involved. Flu vaccines generally do NOT improve your immune system and has some potentially life threatening side effects. There are more health provoking ways to prevent the flu. Washing your hands, eating a good diet, sleeping, taking care of your immune system. Once you have been exposed we have powerful herbal and nutritional medicines to prevent the horrible systems of the flu. So generally speaking I do NOT recommend these annual flu vaccines.
Pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough, is now being recommended for all adults to prevent spreading it to pediatric population. The fear based advertising out there really irritates me. If you are around infants under 2 routinely I might seriously consider getting immunized but it is NOT a given. Pertussis vaccine does NOT give life time immunity and the disease does. This is a "hot button topic" worthy of a John Stewart episode but I am not going to go there right now, I would just recommend that you talk to one of your Emerald City Clinic physician before accepting any immunizaitons.
Pneumonia immunizaiton: Do not do it. No reason. Build your immune system. Sleep.
Shingles: Boy this is really an exercise in restraint for me. A good case of chicken pox as a child will give you life time immunity. Chicken pox vaccine given to pediatric clients instead of getting a case of chicken pox is resulting in higher levels of shingles. If you never got a "good case of chicken pox" and you are exposed to chicken pox as an adult AND you are stressed out and nutritionally deficient you can get shingles. But shingles is easily treatable with Naturopathic care and a sign that your immune system needs some attention.
The bottomline is NONE of these immunization are getting to the cause of someone's compromised immune system. For hours outside in fresh air and green spaces increase your natural killer cells which is a better protection for any virus then an immunization. An immunization commits a portion of your immune semi permanently to only responding to that virus removing flexiblity from your immune system to respond to other insults. For example if you have 100 white blood cells and 80% are committed to only recognizing a mumps virus in a blue hat, then when the mumps virus with the green hat arrives you only have 20% available to defend you. Seems like an overcommitment of your resources.
Hum you can see I have returned to Emerald City feeling exuberant to get back to helping all of you optimize your health. Once again I want to reiterate that immunization decision are individual and should be addressed with your concerns with your doctor at Emerald City Clinic.
Living Social Deal for Emerald City Clinic!
Time of day makes a difference in thyroid testing
Time of day makes a difference in thyroid testing
Jacob Schor ND August 14, 2012
www.DenverNaturopathic.com
The level of the hormone, TSH that is often used to evaluate thyroid function, varies with the time of day the samples are collected. Collecting afternoon samples can lead to under diagnosis of hypothyroidism.
Doctors test thyroid stimulating hormone, also known as TSH, to screen for and diagnose hypothyroidism, a condition of inadequate thyroid hormone. TSH is made in the brain and as its name implies, stimulates the thyroid gland to produce more thyroid hormone. Thus if TSH levels increase, it the brain is telling the body to make more thyroid hormone. When TSH levels stay high it suggests that the body cannot make enough thyroid hormone. Most laboratories define ‘normal’ TSH as between 0.5 and 5.0 uM/L. TSH levels above 5.0 are considered hypothyroidism and those below 0.5, hyperthyroidism.
A new study published in the August 2012 issue of Endocrine Research reveals that our current approach to diagnosing hypothyroidism has been too simplistic and needs change. Production of TSH follows a circadian rhythm that is it follows a 24-hour cycle with regular fluctuations. TSH production peaks at its highest level between 2:00 and 4:00 am each morning and then drops reaching its low point between 4 and 8 pm in the evening. Though this phenomenon is well known the actual extent of these fluctuations was much greater than was previously thought.
In this current study, researchers from the Federal Endocrinological Research Centre in Moscow, tested 20 women with subclinical hypothyroidism. Morning and afternoon TSH levels were measured and compared. The median morning TSH value for women with subclinical hypothyroidism was 5.83 mU/L. Their afternoon median TSH dropped down to 3.79 mU/L. Following the current guidelines for diagnosis hypothyroidism would have been diagnosed in only half of these cases when tested in the afternoon.
These new data explain why many people who appear to have symptoms of hypothyroidism have been told their test results were normal, that they are fine, when in truth they hypothyroid. TSH levels measured in blood samples drawn in the afternoon should be viewed with caution, as they may be falsely low and appear normal. Samples for all thyroid tests should be collected first thing in the morning.
It gets more complicated than this. Many practitioners consider the current normal range for TSH values to be too broad. Rather than judging TSH levels above 5 as hypothryoidism, some consider the upper limit of normal to be as low as 3.0, while researchers looking at what is called sub-clinical hypothyroidism define the condition by a TSH greater than 2.5. Apparently that is the level at which risk for cardiovascular disease increases significantly.
Combining these two bits of news, the circadian variability of TSH and the benefits of treating even slight increases in TSH, leads me to think that we should be relooking at a fair number of patients who have previously been told that their thyroids were fine. They might not be…..
Reference:
Sviridonova MA, Fadeyev VV, Sych YP, Melnichenko GA. Clinical Significance of TSH Circadian Variability in Patients with Hypothyroidism. Endocr Res. 2012 Aug 2.
Duntas LH, Biondi B. New insights into subclinical hypothyroidism and cardiovascular risk. Semin Thromb Hemost. 2011 Feb;37(1):27-34. Epub 2011 Jan 19.
_____________________________________
Cost is $30, which will include handouts.
_____________________________________
Simple Home Remedies: How to Make Your Own Herbal Medicine
Sign up for one class, or take the series of five for only $110!
_____________________________________
Green Blessings,
Crystal
May your herbal medicine support you in health and well being!
Dirty Dozen vs Clean Fifteen
With summer time comes inspiration to dive into the fruit and vegetable aisle at your grocery store a few more times a week than usual. We HIGHLY encourage this increase in these essential and nutrient-packed foods.... but be sure to purchase knowledgeably! We all know that buying organic is at the top of our list, however that list can sure get expensive! If you need to pick and choose, do so wisely. This link provides the list of those fruits and veggies that should always be purchased organically, and those that you may not need to spend the extra change on. Happy Shopping!
http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/
Summer Pharmacy Sale
Urinary Incontinence: Great herbal approach called Flow-less $12.60, especially for nocturia both for mature men and menopausal women
Musculoskeletal issues: Thorne research Glucosamine for $14.50
Digestion: RF Plus (Robert's Formula for irritable bowel) $9
Immune support: Phytocort (adrenal support with chinese mushrooms) $20, Beta glucan (support of the white blood cells/general immune) $15, Cat's Claw (powerful south american herb for inflammation and immune) $13.25 All these things can be taken long term to support immune system.
Detox products: Thorne's Basic Detox Vitamins (amazing nutritional support) $33.75, Metagenics Advaclear (support phase 2 detox of the liver) $37.50 these are the 50% off prices of amazing supplements. These products are a two month supply.
Digestive Support Sale
I have not written on this blog for awhile but in my absence we are not selling as much product so things are outdating. So I cleared off the digestive support and there are some pretty great stuff at 25% off. They include:
Metagenics Hydrochloric Acid $11
Allergy Research Gluten Gest $15 (when you need that support with gluten)
Allergy Research Phloe $19.50 (delicious, chewable treatment for constipation)
Chewable Super Papaya Enzymes $5.50 (great for children or adults who can not swallow pills)
Standard Process Hi Pep $18.75 (great for occasional heartburn)
Already on the sale shelf are a plethora of multiples with and without iron, children's chewables, zinc chewables. You can call the office and have them mail them to you for this price.
I just have to come to the office sometimes. :) Love Molly Niedermeyer (aka Linton) for those of you who did not know I changed my name.
Big Changes at Emerald City Clinic
Dear Clients,
As part of Dr. Molly's transformation, she has made the decision to return to her maiden name of Niedermeyer. This has been changed in many e-visible areas (website, blogs, CaringBridge, etc), however we are still in the process of changing our signage at the clinic. Be on the look out for these changes-- and please look forward to working with Dr. Molly Niedermeyer!
We are also taking on the giant project of painting the inside of the clinic in the coming month. You'll notice that its looking quite bare at the moment with everything taken down off our walls. Please bear with us during this time-- as the saying goes, "Chaos before order!"
We look forward to you joining us as 2012 progresses!
In health,
Amanda Zuluaga
Clinic Manager, Emerald City Clinic