Grain Integrative Health Blog
Reclaim Your Vibrancy!
Posted by admin in Doctor's Corner on 01. Nov, 2010 | No Comments
Reclaim Your Vibrancy!
Restoring Female Hormone Balance
At your annual checkup, after a quick examination, your doctor confirms that you are healthy. Despite the excellent diagnosis, you are still feeling tired all the time, and having trouble sleeping. Life is becoming a daily struggle. Stop feeling like you are going against the current – it’s not all in your head! These could be symptoms of a hormonal imbalance, which can impact your health in many ways, including:
• Trouble getting out of bed
• Weight gain
• Anxiety/Depression
• Insomnia
• Sugar cravings
• Brain fog
• Early aging (such as hair loss or skin wrinkles)
• Low libido
• Irregular menstrual cycles
Hormones play a crucial role in how we feel and how healthy we are at every age. An imbalance can wreak havoc on your emotions, lower your productivity, and keep you from your full potential. Estrogen and progesterone may already be familiar terms to some women, but it takes more than these two hormones to keep your body in balance. Thyroid hormones, the power switch to your metabolism, and adrenal stress hormones such as cortisol also play an important role. All of these systems must be in sync for you to feel your best.
So what can you do to fix an imbalance and get back to the top of your game? With a few lifestyle changes, most of these symptoms can be treated in a healthy, natural way. Try some of the following steps:
Routine: First, establish a daily routine. Try to eat, exercise, and sleep at the same time every day – your body loves balance! Our modern lifestyles often make it hard for most women to stick to a routine, so strive for simple ways to maintain balance. Consider trying 10 minutes of yoga or meditation each morning to help reduce daily stress, or join a group fitness class at your gym to get into the habit of exercising at the same time each week. And getting to bed at the same time every night, no later than 11 pm, will help to balance your hormones.
Diet: Make sure you are eating the right foods so your body has the building blocks to make healthy amounts of hormones. Enjoy a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, good fats, healthy carbohydrates, and protein. Adding foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as ground flax seeds, olives, and nuts will help maintain balance in your body. Try switching to organic dairy products made from cows not treated with artificial hormones. And finally, avoid junk food and sugar, which aggravate hormone problems.
Get checked: Talk to your Naturopathic Physician about getting your hormone levels checked. Remember the problem can run deeper than a simple estrogen imbalance or a thyroid problem, so it’s important to take all of your endocrine glands (thyroid, adrenal, and the sex hormones) into consideration. Your Naturopathic Physician can help you establish a program specific for your needs.
If you would like to learn more about hormonal health and how it can impact your life, please feel free to contact Dr. Alisun Bonville at Grain Integrative Health for a free 15 minute consultation. Dr. Bonville will be giving a live webinar on this topic on November 16th. Stay tuned for more details and to learn more!
Follow Dr. Bonville on Twitter for health tips and inspiring suggestions: http://twitter.com/DrBonville
Our Present Food Epidemic: High Glycemic Foods
Posted by admin in Doctor's Corner on 12. Oct, 2010 | No Comments
Our Present Food Epidemic: High Glycemic Foods
By Jeff Grimm, NP
We now know that foods high in sugar age us faster. Our diet has many times the amount of sugar as compared to 2oo years ago. In 1800, the average american consumed 18 pounds of sugar a year. The figure in 2009 was 180 pounds of sugar! We are literally consuming 10x the amount of sugar in our diets as compared to 200 years ago. Since 1975, the rates of obesity in the US have doubled. In 1980 1 out of every 10 children were overweight, now the figure is 1 in 4! The sequellae of this type of diet include diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis and reduced lifespan.
The problem is that food sold in stores and served in restaurants is very high in sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup (an ingredient which may be single handedly responsible for the obesity and diabetes epidemics). Food that is the worst for our health is often the cheapest, most advertised, and most widely available. Good food tends to be expensive and harder to find.
Our health suffers from foods with low nutritional value. Most health and medical organizations now recommend 6-10 servings per day of fresh fruit and vegetables to prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. We know that most Americans struggle to get even a couple of servings of these healthful foods into their diet.
Sugary foods rob the body of vital nutrients while putting stress on the internal organs, especially the pancreas. As insulin levels rise in response to sugar in the diet, inflammatory cascades are set in motion and sugar is stored as fat. Chronic systemic inflammation is one of the key causes of heart disease and cancer.
When consuming high glycemic foods, cholesterol goes up, inflammatory markers go up, and the body becomes less sensitized to the effect of insulin. Weight is gained, hormones become imbalanced, and protein and sugars cross-link becoming glycated (damage by glycation results in stiffening of the collagen in the blood vessel walls, leading to high blood pressure). Glycations also cause weakening of the collagen in the blood vessel walls, which may lead to micro- or macro-aneurisms; this may cause strokes if in the brain.
The Glycemic Index: See this link for a complete list of foods with their corresponding Glycemic Index. In general, try to eat foods with a Glycemic Index of less than 50.
http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
Jeff Grimm MS NP-C
Neck Tension: Prevent with this Easy Stretch
Posted by admin in Bodywork on 19. Sep, 2010 | No Comments
Neck Tension: Prevent with this Easy Stretch
By Natalie Weintraub, LMT
A lot of people come to me with problems in their neck and shoulders; anything varying from intense pain to general stiffness. Any number of things can cause this, including sitting at a desk all day or holding your head in a tilted position when reading or chopping vegetables.
Stretching out your neck and shoulders is super important to keep the muscles happy. This scalene stretch is one of my favorites:
- This stretch can be done sitting or lying down.
- If you’re lying down [as shown], place your left hand underneath you. In a sitting position, simply sit on your left hand. This will prevent your left shoulder from rising during the stretch.
- Rotate your head towards your right elbow. Take your right hand and bring it over your head to your left ear. Using this hand, gently push your head towards the right side. You should feel a stretch on the left. WIth your head rotated in this manner, you are stretching your anterior scalenes.
- Doing this same stretch while facing forward will stretch your middle scalenes.
- Doing this same stretch while rotated away from your elbow will stretch your posterior scalenes
- Hold each stretch for about 10 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
From Our Table at Grain: Foods of Summer
Posted by admin in From Our Table at Grain on 14. Jul, 2010 | No Comments
From Our Table at Grain – By Dixie Young, LAc
While raw food seems to be the buzz word in the health conscious Portlander’s diet, is it really for everyone? What are some ways to make it work for you? Grain Integrative Health’s Dixie Young, LAc shares her knowledge of Chinese Medicine and her adventures with raw food.
Lately, what has been appealing to me most are salads full of fresh leafy-green-vegetables! Now, you may not think that is very impressive, but to many the potent nutritional value of this class of veggie make them indispensable. Yes, these salads have been great! Over the two weeks during which they were my staple, not only did I not grow tired of them but found myself craving them! I filled them chock full of whole bunches of fresh cilantro and parsley, red and orange bell peppers, celery, spring onions, raw fermented sauerkraut, black sesame seeds, roasted pumpkin seeds, fresh rosemary, tiny tomatoes, cottage cheese or yogurt and a little bit of white vinegar. To make it happen with a very busy schedule, I prepared large batches of this salad at once to last for several days at a time. Like many of us, I am on the go a lot, and I find this as the only real way for me to be sure I can still have a healthy meal when I’m on the go.
Now, from an East Asian Medicine perspective, too much raw food over an extended period can damage the digestive system. It is difficult for your digestive organs to constantly warm up and break down cold, raw foods. Over time, this can damage what Chinese Medicine practitioners refer to as the vitality of your Spleen and Stomach Yang and lead to poor nutrition. In Chinese Medicine, warm soups, steamed vegetables and hot teas are much preferred to anything cold or raw.
As the weather changes from one season to another, it is healthy to give the body signals that it is time to adjust to the transformations occurring outside by investing energy in a simple cleansing diet. One trick to helping ease digestive difficulties with raw vegetable is to use vinegar, naturally fermented food products or citrus to help break down the food prior to ingestion. Tossing in one of these options to a salad even just 20 minutes before consuming it can help with this. Having a cup or two of fresh ginger tea throughout the day or before meals also aids in warming the stomach and countering the cold nature of raw foods.
Lightly steaming food can do wonders for bringing out the aromas and flavors without robbing them of either their full nutritional value or their textural and aesthetic appeal. I’ve been making similar “batches” of steamed brown rice, red cabbage and kale to bring along to work and play, and ensure that I have healthy food choices when I’m on the go. I add a bit of vinegar to spice up the cabbage, and some quality sour cream, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper. The seasonings I choose work for my fairly simple palate, and still allow the flavors of the food to come through. I have found my digestion has been quite good through this short session and my energy level has improved as well.
To make your own ginger root tea: slice the fresh root into 3 or 4 slices that together equal about the width of your thumb. This should be enough for 2-3 cups. Bring water to a boil, add ginger and reduce to a low simmer for about 10 minutes. Drink warm for most benefit. Season with honey, stevia or other sweetener if you like.
Never before heard about cultured vegetables? They are made though a natural fermentation process that fills them full of probiotic power to help promote healthy digestive flora. Fermented foods are also already partially broken down, which makes the nutrients they hold easier for your body to access. Making them at home can be quite fun, so long as you have a quality food processor and a few large pots. There are lots of recipes and methods online about making your own raw fermented vegetables to choose from, so take your pick. Raw fermented food products are also sold in stores – check this local company’s website for more helpful information: http://www.itsalivefood.com/why.htm
Other little tidbits:
Black Sesame Seeds aka Hei Zhi Ma are a Chinese herb used to prevent early graying of the hair and tonify Yin, among other things. Pumpkin Seeds are also a Chinese herb use to treat parasites. Cilantro is excellent for maintaining healthy liver function. And, almost all of those lovely leafy greens we can choose from, kale, red leaf lettuce, chard, leafy herbal selections, etc., are loaded in vitamins and minerals including Vitamins A, C, K, folate, calcium, iron, and a great deal of dietary fiber. With fat-soluble vitamins like A, K, and D, it is important to combine them with a bit of fat, like cheese, quality oils or nuts.
Essential Fatty Acids: The Wonder Supplement?
Posted by admin in Doctor's Corner on 14. Jul, 2010 | No Comments
Essential Fatty Acids – The Wonder Supplement? Part 1
By Dr. Alisun Bonville
No doubt you have heard that omega 3 fatty acids are good for your body. Fish oil, a good source of fatty acids, has been a hot topic in the news lately, advertized to cure everything from arthritis to heart disease. But why are omega 3 fatty acids so good for your body and how do they work?
Omega 3 fatty acids are part of a group of fats that are called essential fatty acids (EFAs). While your body is able to produce some fats, these fats are essential nutrients and must be obtained from your diet. Crucial to many of the physiologic processes in the body, omega fatty acids are the building blocks to our hormones, neurotransmitters, and inflammation mediators. They feed the nervous system and keep the skin and joint lubricated. Cultures that have a high intake of EFAs have lower rates of heart disease, healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and lower blood pressure.
There are two nutritionally important omega 3 fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Each fatty acid is used in the body in different ways and can be use therapeutically as shown below:
EPA:
· Strong anti-inflammatory
· Protective for the heart and circulatory system
· Improves joint flexibility
· Best for the brain and nervous system in people over the age of five
· Promotes healthy mood and emotional wellness
DHA:
· Protective for the eyes and vision
· Encourages development of fetal brain structure and development until age 5
· Treats memory and nervous system conditions
Our modern diet is not rich in EFAs. Processed foods, poor quality meat and poultry, and saturated fats from dairy products do not supply omega-3 fatty acids. A deficiency in EFAs can cause dry skin, joint problems, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, memory problems, and low libido. Supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids can balance mood, slow the aging process, improve memory, and decrease allergies.
Talk to your physician about taking essential fatty acids!
Ecopalooza- Grain Integrative Health Takes Care
Posted by admin in Events on 14. Jul, 2010 | No Comments
Title: Ecopalooza- Grain Integrative Health Takes Care
Location: Ecopalooza- Fern Hill Park
Link out: Click here
Description: Grain Integrative Health, LLC will be offering acute care and mini-consultations.
Start Time: 11:00
Date: 2010-08-07
End Time: 18:30
Grain in the News
Posted by admin in Events on 14. Jul, 2010 | No Comments
Check out Ecopalooza at http://econw.org/
Naturopathic doctors Sara Kates-Chinoy and Lindsay Baum of Grain Integrative Health
You know there will be music, a solar-powered stage, resources to help you learn more about sustainability and plenty of beer. Now you know that if you need any help at Ecopalooza, we got you covered there too. Doctors Lindsay Baum and Sara Kates-Chinoy are co-owners of Grain Integrative Health in Southeast Portland. They’ve been busy beyond even their own expectations since seeing their first patients in February. But on August 7th they’ll be on hand at Fernhill Park to provide care for anyone who needs it.
“We’re really interested in supporting an event like Ecopalooza because it supports the environment and so much of what we do as integrative health providers, and naturopathic doctors especially, is focus on how we can reduce harm to individuals and also the environment,” says Dr. Baum.
It’s not just Lindsay and Sara who will be lending a hand. They’ll bring along a taste of the versatility you’ll find at their clinic on SE Belmont Street.
“We’re planning on having a mental health therapist there, an acupuncturist, and a massage therapist for people who have heat stroke or minor injuries.”
Grain Integrative Health is brand new on the Portland health scene. Dr. Baum and Dr. Sara Kates-Chinoy are sharing a vision that combines health with sustainability. It also creates a sense of community by allowing already practicing physicians and specialists to take part and see patients at the new clinic. You’re as likely to get a physical at Grain Integrative Health as you are to talk to a psychologist or get an acupuncture treatment.
“We’ve got incredible resources here for these new business owners so it’s a pretty stellar group,” says Dr. Baum. ”We’ve got a really nice group of people here. We were able to sort of handpick because everyone wants what we’re offering. Including our patients.”
It’s a long road to do what Grain Integrative Health is doing. Both Lindsay and Sara endured 9 years of schooling. They’ve also done work in traditional hospital settings before following their dream in Portland. Sara was working at a clinic in Seattle just last year. When she’s not seeing patients at Grain Integrative Health, she’s also teaching local medical students. Lindsay doubles as the head of clinical research in rheumatology at Providence Hospital.
Despite the traditional backgrounds, Sara and Lindsay have a vision for making naturopathic remedies more accessible not just here, but eventually around the country. The goal of their practice is to help people get healthy without becoming reliant on drugs.
“The goal is to reduce harm and not just palliate. Chemical drugs tend to be palliative. Any drugs can be palliative… What we try to do is optimize the function of the body, so that the body can do what it needs to do. We’re not focused on giving things. We’re focused on helping people make the changes they need in their lives to optimize their health.”
Grain Integrative Health is part of Ecopalooza because both share similar values. Dr. Baum hopes the event is a huge success.
“I hope that Rahmiel and all of the people who got this started are hugely successful and that they’re applauded for their effort. I know from our experience it takes a lot of effort to do something that no one’s done before and it takes a lot of effort to do something that’s ethically based that no one’s done before.”
Fiddleheads
Posted by admin in From Our Table at Grain on 20. May, 2010 | No Comments
For the Love of Fiddleheads
By Lauren Breau, Licensed Acupuncturist
One of the best things about living in Portland is springtime. Yes, it still rains, and yes, sometimes it’s still grayish-blue outside, but with this comes long breaks of sun and the first blooms of the season. One day you walk outside and you find yourself pleasantly bombarded with tulips, crocuses, flowering plum trees, and daffodils. And, lest we forget, Portland has some of the best rainbows in the country; in fact, after living here for 8 years, I’ve begun to refer to early May as “rainbow season.”
From a Chinese medicine perspective, spring is the time for new beginnings. It’s the time to clean out the old and bring in the new. Many people start dietary “cleanses” during the spring. Also, many of us will clean our living space from top to bottom and refer to it as “spring cleaning.” Though it’s a total pain sometimes, who doesn’t feel better when the clutter is removed and the windows are free of mud splatter?
Another thing I love about spring is that people leave their houses more often! And, even better, when they do leave their house, they’re often wearing less clothing. Yippee! The Portlanders I see in the spring are more likely to flirt, to dance, and to laugh! People fall in love! How many times have you run into a newly twitterpated couple, lounging in the (slightly damp) green grass of one of our many parks, feeding each other…fiddleheads?
Okay, so maybe not fiddleheads. But on the topic of fiddleheads…
Fiddleheads evoke springtime. For several weeks in late April or early May, these young spiraled ferns pop up from the ground, mostly in forests that border waterways or places prone to spring flooding. Unless you have someone who knows how to correctly identify fiddleheads, I wouldn’t recommend harvesting them yourself. There are other ferns that resemble fiddleheads, and if you harvest and ingest the wrong species, you could end up with a terrible stomachache. Not to worry, though – you can get fiddleheads at your local farmer’s market!
Fiddleheads are delicious! Their flavor falls somewhere between fresh spinach and asparagus. From a Chinese nutritional standpoint, fiddleheads are a perfect spring vegetable. They can help your liver “decongest” from a long winter of eating rich, heavy foods. They are also high in calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and vitamins A, B, and C. You just can’t go wrong with the fiddlehead!
Fiddleheads should never be eaten raw. They should always be well cooked. Here is one of my favorite ways to prepare them:
Ingredients:
1 pound of fiddleheads
1 bunch of red swiss chard (remove toughest 1/3 of stalks, then chop, rinse, and pat dry)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sweet onion, chopped
pinch of sea salt
pinch of fresh pepper
olive oil
red pepper to taste
Soak fiddleheads in cold water (with a pinch of salt) for about 5 minutes. Removes the brown leaves by scrubbing gently with fingers, then rinse again. Drain fiddleheads and pat dry.
Saute onions and garlic in olive oil (use sauté pan over medium heat). Add fiddleheads and sauté for about 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons of water and cover for one minute. Add red swiss chard. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking for five minutes, or until tender to your liking.
Season with red pepper. Serve! Enjoy!
Children’s Open House
Posted by admin in Events on 19. Apr, 2010 | No Comments
Title: Children’s Open House
Location: Grain Integrative Health
Link out: Click here
Description: Sunday, May 02, 2010
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Grain Integrative Health, LLC
4246 SE Belmont St, Ste 5 (Behind Slappy Cakes)
Portland, Oregon 97215
Description: Come meet Grain Integrative Health providers-
Naturopathic Doctors, Acupuncturists, a Psychologist and Massage
Therapists who focus on alternative healthcare for children!
The following activities will be taking place for the children:
1) Paint a mural in our garden to donate to local pediatric hospital
2) Storybook reading
3) Yummy, healthy treats
The following activities for parents:
1) Meet the providers, free 10 minute consultations with the providers
2) Free recipe book for healthy after school snacks
3) Information on alternative vaccine schedules
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2010-05-02
End Time: 14:00
Blueberry, And Other Antioxidant Foods
Posted by admin in Doctor's Corner on 09. Feb, 2010 | No Comments
The human eye is attracted foods that are colorful. Our eyes pick up on the smallest blemishes and color variations when we pick our vegetables in the store. The bright colors are actually antioxidants, molecules that slow the oxidation of our cells. The oxidation of human tissues is known to cause many diseases. In biochemistry we talk about antioxidants as important factors in the electron transport chain, which is critical to the creation of cell energy.
Whole foods with the highest levels of antioxidants:
Wild blueberries Grapes Cherries Rasberries Purple corn Eggplant (the skin) Blood oranges Marionberries Pomegranite Purple tomatoes
Most whole foods with deep red, purple or blue colors are high in antioxidants. Most recently, concentrated Acai has become very popular. Interestingly, Acai does not have the most antioxidants. Wild blueberries and red grapes far exceed Acai in antioxidant concentration. Red wine is also notably high in antioxidants, although wine should always be used in moderation.
The anthocyanin component of these colorful whole foods is important. Anthocyanins have been proven in clinical research to have anti-inflammatory effects, improve memory and particularly short-term memory, improve motor skills, improve glucose control in diabetics, and prevent and limit cancer growth.
Clinical research is a very detailed process. There is much to be learned from current and future research projects focused on food and its healing properties. Recent research found that when elderly patients with decreased memory and motor skills drank 2 cups of blueberry juice per day, as compared to patients who drank none, their memory and brain functioning improved.
As a practice, I discourage the use of highly concentrated juice or fruit beverages. Nutrition is a person-specific process. While some patients may respond well to high doses of fruit or fruit juices, other patients may not.
Take home message:
1) Humans require the benefits of a whole food diet to remain healthy.
2) As a physician, I am regularly prescribing a rainbow salad, a salad that includes one to two of each color in the rainbow once a day.
3) For every patient, I also recommend whole foods, as opposed to concentrated juices which contain high amounts of sugars and preservatives.
4) I understand that patients value convenience when looking at food options, but the time you don’t spend choosing and preparing healthy foods often leads to disease.
5) When patients have a known disease it might make sense to use a concentrated dose of an antioxidant such as blueberry juice to reduce the harm of slow liver functioning, reduced cognitive function or free radical production.
6) More clinical research needs to be done on the effects of a whole food diet and on the effects of concentrated food products such as blueberry juice. A naturopathic physician is specifically trained to help patients make good dietary choices to prevent disease.
7) Grain Integrative Health providers commonly use a prescription-only product of concentrated blueberry extract. The source of these substances can matter significantly. Many quality nutritional supplements are only available through a licensed provider, such as a Naturopathic Doctor.
References:
1. Krikorian et al. Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2010; 100104141245097 DOI: 10.1021/jf9029332
2. “Regulation of Adipocyte Function by Anthocyanins; Possibility of Preventing the Metabolic Syndrome” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Voume 56, Number 3, Pages 642-646, doi: 10.1021/jf073113b
3. Potential Mechanisms of Cancer Chemoprevention by Anthucyanins. Current Molecular Medicine. 2003. Mar; 3 (2): 149-59.
4. Mary Ann Lila. Anthocyanins and Human Health: An In vitro Investigative Approach. J Biomed Biotechnol. 2004 December 1; 2004(5): 306–313.
doi: 10.1155/S111072430440401X.
5. Paul Pitchford. Healing With Whole Foods. North Atlantic Books. 2002.
Written by Lindsay M. Baum, ND