Self Care, Wellness

Staying Healthy This Halloween

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Cough syrup isolated on white

 

It is a rainy Wednesday here and Autumn is really settling in this week and showing us it’s beautiful colors and chilly temperatures. As the temperature fluctuates and the wind starts to kick up outside you may notice adults and children alike are coming down with more sniffles, coughs and infections. I have some suggestions for you to help you avoid these colds so you can enjoy your Halloween without getting sick.

HERBS:

There are many wonderful herbs out there that can help to fend of viruses, which is great, because those antibiotics you may be prescribed are only going to be effective against bacterial infections. While you may still get a cold while taking these herbs, it will likely be milder or not last as long.

Echinacea and goldenseal:

You can take a combination of these herbs in a tincture form. You’ll want to take a dropperful every few hours while you’re fighting your virus. The echinacea will stimulate your immune system to fight the cold, and the goldenseal will deal with the inflammation and help to soothe the mucus membranes. You can read more about these wonderful herbs here: http://www.christopherhobbs.com/library/articles-on-herbs-and-health/echinacea-and-goldenseal-the-dynamic-duo/

Elderberry syrup:

I know, I know. You’ve probably heard me say this over and over and over, but I am only telling you because it works! Elderberry syrup is effective in stimulating the immune system against colds and flus involving the respiratory system. Elderberry can boost the immune system and is loaded with antioxidants. You can read more here: http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-elderberry.html

FOODS:

At the first sign of a cold, try some miso soup! The spiciness will help open your pores and sweat the cold out. Garlic is also antiviral and can help you fight off a cold as it starts. Dark leafy greens are full of Vitamin C and will help provide the boost you need to fight off germs. Try to stay away from sugar (WHAT?!?!? ON HALLOWEEN?!?!?) as it will weaken the immune system and make you too full to eat immune boosting foods.

ACUPUNCTURE:

When acupuncture is administered at the very first signs of a cold, it can often prevent the cold from happening. If you miss that window, acupuncture can help to shorten the duration of the cold and help improve your symptoms.

LAYER:

There are points along your neck and at the base of your skull called wind points. They are the areas of the body that are vulnerable to wind sweeping pathogens into the body. It is wise to wear a scarf to keep the wind points covered and minimize the wind’s access to your neck.

I am wishing you all a safe, happy and healthy Halloween!

Kids, Self Care, Wellness

Natural Methods for Healing Ear Infections

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Ear Infection
Have you wondered how you can treat your child’s ear infections without antibiotics?

Did you know that most ear infections will clear up on their own without antibiotics?

Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a “wait and see” approach to treating ear infections with antibiotics?

Are your kids taking antibiotics for every ear infection they have?

Why is this dangerous?

We all want to do the best thing we can do for our kids to help them heal when they are feeling sick. If there is a medicine out there that can make them feel better quickly, why not use it, right? Here’s the thing: The antibiotics are not necessarily making the ear infection go away. Most middle ear infections will clear up on their own within a couple of days of the peak of the infection. And the worst day of the infection is usually the day we take our kids to the doctor, so it would appear as though the antibiotic is helping the infection when your child starts to feel better the day after starting the medicine, while the condition is probably just clearing up on its own.

While antibiotics are a very important medicine and we should absolutely use them when they are necessary, we need to be mindful of not overusing them. While clearing away the harmful bacteria in your child’s system, the medicine also wipes out the beneficial bacteria located throughout the digestive system. Damage to the delicate balance of bacteria in the microbiome can cause a host of problems within the digestive system that may negatively affect the body for the long term. We rely on our healthy gut bacteria to maintain health in the immune system, digestive system and urinary system, among other important tasks. When we reduce the beneficial bacteria through multiple rounds of antibiotics without replacing them, we open the body up to various problems.

We also want to use antibiotics sparingly because bacteria have modified themselves to resist many of the antibiotics we use, which can be a very dangerous problem. The more frequently we use antibiotics, the more we open ourselves up to antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.

WHAT CAN YOU DO INSTEAD OF USE ANTIBIOTICS?

When you suspect your child may have an ear infection, or when an ear infection has been confirmed and you’re waiting to see if it clears up on its own without antibiotics, try these remedies to help the healing process along:

Garlic and mullein oil – Garlic has antibacterial properties as well as anesthetic properties, so while helping to fight the invaders, it can also help to quell the pain. Warm the oil and put a few drops in the affected ear (or ears). You can find garlic and mullein oil at your favorite health food store, or even on amazon.com. This should not be used if the child has a perforated ear drum which can be seen through an otoscope (you can ask your doctor when she check’s your child’s ears).

Raise the pillow – The pain of ear infections can be worse when your baby or child lies down, because the blockage of the eustachian tube causes pressure. Changing the angle of the child’s head with a pillow or by elevating the head side of the crib mattress can help the fluid in the eustachian tube drain downward and relieve some of the pressure.

Strengthen the immune system – If your child isn’t already taking probiotics, start! This is especially important for children with chronic ear infections or those who seem to have a constant cold. Beneficial gut bacteria helps to strengthen the immune system. Elderberry syrup can also help. It has both antibacterial and antimicrobial properties and can help kick the ear infection (and the upper respiratory infection that may have led to the ear infection) to the curb.

Diet – Avoid phlegm producing foods like dairy and sugar.

Massage – Using circular strokes, massage behind the ears and then down the neck to encourage drainage of fluid downward out of the eustachian tubes.

Acupuncture – Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can help to reduce pain, healing time and improve immune system function to lessen the likelihood of another infection in the near future.

While most ear infections are not bacterial and don’t require antibiotics, it is still wise to consult with your pediatrician when you suspect an ear infection is present. There are certain symptoms that should inspire you to go directly to the pediatrician. If your child is younger than 4 months old and has a fever, please call your pediatrician. If your child is between 6 months and 2 years old and has a fever of 102 or above, please call your pediatrician. If your child is between 2 and 12 and has a fever that persists for 48 hours, please call your pediatrician. If there is fluid draining from the ear, call your pediatrician,  regardless of your child’s age.

 

Self Care

The Year of the Yin Wood Sheep

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Celebration of Happy New Year Of Sheep.

On February 19th, we enter the year of the Yin Wood Sheep on the Chinese calendar. We are leaving a year of transformation and action and entering a calmer, more introspective time. The theme of Harmony is strong this year, with an emphasis on looking within ourselves to create peace and share that with the environment around us.

This is a year of renewal, balance and growth. It is about self-knowledge, forgiveness of self and self-acceptance. This year we are encouraged to listen to our intuition and connect with our emotional wellbeing while being sensitive to the emotions of other people around us. We are encouraged to use our minds and hearts to make decisions, instead of being forceful and aggressive.

The nature of yin is more reserved and points inward as opposed to the constant movement of its yang counterpart. This means we will be afforded the time to focus, regroup and survey what we have created in our lives. The wood energy is characterized by grounding, or understanding ourselves at a deeper level. The Sheep is characterized by patience, generosity and peace. The sheep is emotional, intuitive, and has the ability to heal, nurture and address issues of suffering. The sheep seeks to live in harmony, surrounded by family and friends.

The year of the sheep is the time to nurture and mend that which has been wounded, left undone or disturbed from the more chaotic movement of the previous years. We are encouraged to nurture our ties with our friends, family, our local economy and our own psyches. We are encouraged to speak with sincerity, kindness, positivity and tolerance.

Above all else, this is a year to practice modesty and not let our egos take over. We should be calmly receptive to allow the energies of the universe to harmonize for the highest good of the whole.

Astrologer Tanaaz from Forever Conscious writes, “The Yin Wood Sheep reminds us that home is where the heart is, and that loving yourself, feeling safe and surrounding yourself with a loving group of friends and family is paramount to your life’s work. It is her desire that we go within, pay attention to the small things and to nurture others and ourselves.”

Fitness, Self Care, Wellness

My “New Year, Best You” Detox and The 4 Changes I Am Making In The Name of Holistic Wellness

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You may recall my mention in my last post about the derailment of my wellness practices in December, of the sugar I would not cut down until all of the holiday pie was gone. Because really, who is going to NOT eat apple pie? Not me. But once the pie was gone, the sugar cravings and sugar consumption didn’t stop. I knew sugar was addictive, but I didn’t realize it would be so hard to quit when you’re consciously trying.

According to Dr Robert Lustig, a leading expert in pediatric hormone disorders and obesity at UCSF Medical School, sugar is a poison, causing not only obesity but also chronic conditions in the body including heart disease and cancer. Refined sugar also does not contain any nutrients at all, making it completely useless to the body, and is actually metabolized differently than foods containing natural sugars, putting greater stress on the liver. If you’d like to read more scary stuff about what sugar is doing to your body, start here or here.

I have known all of this for a long time, but the sugar had me gripped in its sweet sweet grasp and I just wasn’t ready to give it up. It was the inability to cut it down after the holiday sugar rush that made me panic a little bit. I mean, there is nothing wrong with a little treat here and there, but the daily need for sweet things freaked me out.

I decided to join Tara Roscioli of Highway 2 Well for her 6 week detox program called “New Year, Best You”. Throughout the 6 weeks Tara guides her clients through a clean eating program, incorporating a whole foods based diet overhaul (with one week being a specific cleanse program), a weekly evening workout with the other 6 weekers, and weekly meetings to discuss the personal goals created in the first meeting with Tara. One of the great things about Tara’s program is that it is not focused entirely on food or weight loss. She implores you to look at your life as a whole and find areas where you would like to see improvement. It is in those areas that you make goals and create action steps to achieve them. She then holds her clients accountable for taking those steps and supports and applauds them the whole way, even if you accidentally find yourself indulging in a sweet treat every once in a while. I am now in my third week of the program. With the help of Tara’s delicious recipes, I made it through the cleanse week to the other side of my sugar detox and am now finding a balance between the occasional indulgence and the benefits of moderation in my daily life. I am no longer tired after meals, am less irritable and sleep better!

Aside from the whole not eating sugar thing, I am focusing on 4 areas that I need to focus on to feel well, focused and rejuvenated in my day to day life.

SLEEP
Sleep hygiene is a big deal. Do you know all of the health complications that can result from sleep deprivation? According to webmd, sleep deprivation can contribute to heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, stroke and high blood pressure. It can also cause brain fog, depression, weight gain and memory problems. I am shooting for the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night, meaning I am working to shut off my electronic devices and my brain earlier, to help me fall asleep earlier.

HYDRATION
Water is necessary for the normal function of cells and is useful in flushing metabolic wastes from the body. Tara recommends a person drink half of your weight in ounces of water. I will admit that there have been days when I look at the clock, see it is 5pm and realize I haven’t had any water all day. (Shamefully shaking my head.) Water. Now.

STRESS RELIEF
In our first meeting, Tara asked me what stressors trigger me to eat bad foods. I didn’t have an answer other than, “oh I don’t really think that happens to me”. I then started to notice over the days that followed that stressful situations had me look for sugar! By focusing on my stressor and finding actionable solutions, I am not falling for the sugar cravings and avoiding the sugar low that follows.

SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
I am setting and achieving goals, no matter how small they will be. Whether it be my “bring my lunch to work every day” goal or my “turn off the electronics by 10pm” goal I am setting little goals that I can achieve each day. It takes 21 days to create a habit and working to achieve the little goals each day helps to reinforce the creation of new beneficial habits.

How are you keeping yourself healthy this January?

If you would like to talk to Tara Roscioli about joining her next wellness program, you can find her at www.highway2well.net.

Self Care, Uncategorized, Wellness

December: The Month That Derailed ALL of the Work From the Other 11 Months.

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As I reflect on 2014 and decide what habits, feelings, plans, goals and experiences I plan to bring forward into the next year and what I plan to leave behind, I realize that many of the things I might make “resolutions” to do are things I was doing…until December.

Wow. What a busy month. Between holiday parties, work, school functions, school vacations, things that need to be completed by the end of the year and actual holidays, my schedule was just too packed to keep up with many of the healthy self care habits I was able to keep up with throughout the year. It sort of disappointed me when I realized I did keep up with things for most of the year, so I didn’t really need to resolve to START my self care routines, I merely need to remember to RETURN TO my healthy ways. I know. Weird. It just makes it feel like less of an overhaul and more of a gentle reminder of the things I normally do.

These are the things that I lost in order of their disappearance from my normal routine:

Sleep – Seriously. Where did it go? I slept for 8 hours last night and it felt GLORIOUS so this should be an easy one to work back into the routine.

Weekly epsom salt bath – Do you know what epsom salt baths are good for? It is important to not go overboard, but once every week or every two weeks can be really helpful to supplement magnesium, relax muscles, detox, boost the immune system and force you to remain still for 45 minutes. I returned to this healthy habit last night as well and then slept for 8 hours…Hmmmmmm.

Healthy eating – To be totally honest, this may have become a problem sometime around Thanksgiving (or at birth). More sugar started creeping into the house and time pressure stood in the way of focusing on healthy nutritious cooking. Combine those two things and it is a recipe for dietary disaster. I am getting back on the nutritious cooking track…the sugar thing will wait until all that pie is gone. (Sometime in the next week, I promise! Hey, at least I’m being honest.) If you’re having trouble getting back on track with healthy eating, check out Tara Roscioli’s 6 week program “New Year, New You” which starts on January 12th. She’ll even cook for you and deliver your meals if you want! You can find more information at www.highway2well.net.

Meditation – I don’t even know when this happened. I can’t even tell you! But I am guessing it was somewhere around the 15th, also known as the day I finished a to do list and never did any work again because I never sat down to collect my thoughts and create a plan based on what I wanted to accomplish. This is back on track as of today. Meditated to clear my head. Planned. Made a list. Checked off 4 things so far.

Exercise – I made it somewhere into the the 20s of December with exercise. And then, somehow, somewhere, it fell off my schedule. Who knew it takes so little time to feel so weak and inflexible when you return to exercise after a week off? Well, I now know. I think there were audible creaks emitted from my joints during my pilates class this morning.

This is my week to get back on track taking care of myself, so I can, in turn, take care of others. Don’t call it a resolution. We’ll call it a comeback. Who’s coming with me?

 

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Soul Sprout Family Acupuncture’s Holiday Gift Guide

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Soul Sprout Family Acupuncture would like to help you check off your holiday gift list with natural products meant to promote relaxation and restore balance and health within the body.

Enjoy a pre-picked gift bag or choose individual items, which make great stocking stuffers!

Anxiety Relief Gift Bag: Is your sister hosting 25 people for a holiday meal? This gift bag takes a multi-faceted approach to the self-treatment of anxiety. It contains an anxiety specific ear seed pack, a relaxing room spray infused with bergamot and vanilla, and lavender and lemon body butter. She won’t even notice the passive aggressive remarks about her mediocre stuffing! (I’m not talking about you, Shan. Nor you, Meg. This is a fictional sister. I swear.)

Stress relief ear seed gift bag

Stress Relief Gift Bag: Does your office-mate have SO MUCH TO FINISH before the end of the year? This approach to the self-treatment of stress will help her keep calm and check things off her to do list. It contains a stress specific ear seed pack, an uplifting sandalwood and sweet orange room spray and lavender lemon body butter.

Insomnia Relief Gift Bag: Has your husband been tossing and turning for the past few weeks, not sleeping because he can’t think of the perfect gift for you? This insomnia relief gift bag will have you both sleeping like babies in no time! It contains an insomnia specific ear seed pack, relaxing lavender room spray and cocoa vanilla body butter.

Headache Relief Gift Bag: Has all of the holiday “cheer” taken your friend’s migraines to a whole new level of bad? This headache gift bag will soothe and relax and aching head. It contains a headache specific ear seed pack, grapefruit and peppermint room spray and lavender lemon body butter.

image2Favorite Teacher Gift Bag: This gift bag is perfect for your child’s teacher. It contains a stress relief ear seed pack, because let’s face it, kids are kind of nuts at this time of year! It also contains cocoa vanilla body butter and lavender tea tree natural hand sanitizer to keep your teachers healthy through their holiday break!

You can up the healing factor on any gift bag by adding a gift certificate for an acupuncture session. Choose between the 20-minute, 4 point stress relief mini-treatment for an additional $20, or a full consultation and treatment for $125.

Happy holidays from Soul Sprout Family Acupuncture!

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3 Natural Remedies for the Whole Family During Cold and Flu Season

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Has your child already come home from school with a runny nose and a cough? Do you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat after a nightmare about where all of those germs spread after he used his sleeve to wipe his nose…again? Do you feel like, since school started, your daughter has had one cold after another?

I hope this doesn’t set the stage for your nightmare tonight, but here it goes: we’re all exposed to germs all day, every day. The immune system is able to process most of these invaders without incident, but it works very hard every day, and eventually can break down, leaving us sneezing, coughing, watery-eyed and exhausted. Believe it or not, the body is an incredible organism and is completely capable of healing itself from these minor invaders. The immune system just needs a little boost and the body needs a little bit of rest.

There are things you can do to protect your whole family from being taken down by the cold or flu lurking in the snot smeared all over the arm of your son’s sweatshirt. (WHAT? That only happens to my son’s shirts???)

You already know you should wash your hands, get enough sleep and eat more homemade soup and bone broth, so I will skip those suggestions, but know that I do think you should follow them.

  1. Elderberry syrup – At the first exposure to a cold or sign of symptoms, we take elderberry syrup. If the cold or flu takes root, you can take a dose every 2-3 hours (1/2-1 tsp for children, 1/2 to 1 tbsp for adults). It is antiviral, anti-inflammatory  is packed with antioxidants and high in vitamins A and C. You can buy it (here) or use (this) recipe to make your own. I buy my elderberries (here).
  2. Eat probiotic rich foods or take a probiotic supplement – you have probably heard me suggest a probiotic to you one or 7,000 times and there is a good reason for it. When the beneficial bacteria in the gut outnumber pathogenic bacteria, the body’s systems can function normally. Did you know 80% of your immune system is actually located within the digestive system? Well, now you know!
  3. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine – Acupuncture strengthens the immune system to improve the body’s resistance to disease. We may also use cupping or herbal therapy to restore the body’s balance and ward off illness.

A strong, balanced immune system will keep you and your family in good health, so take these very easy preventive steps in the direction of wellness and stay well all season long!

 

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4 Ways to Healthy Your Halloween

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If you have spent any time on Pinterest in the last few weeks, I am sure you’ve seen tons of posts touting HEALTHY halloween treats. What a wonderful idea! The clementine pumpkins, banana ghosts and cauliflower brains are inspiring to see. As Halloween approaches I’d love to remind you WHY you are pinning these recipes: because it is important to encourage kids to embrace snacking on these fun treats instead of the artificially colored and flavored, high fructose corn syrup-sweetened chemical crud.

Have you ever noticed how addictive candy is? There is a candy bowl sitting on the desk in front of me in the doctor’s office where I work. If I can make it to 4pm without taking anything out of the bowl, I’m home free. I will go home without eating candy and I will find my evening meal to be satisfying. If I don’t make it to lunch before I cave, I might end up eating 10 pieces of candy before I leave work for the day, and will eat more at dinner and crave sugar afterwards. These highly processed “treats” are filled with chemicals that make you want more, and they certainly don’t make you feel as well as you feel when you eat a ghoulish banana ghost.

Dr Mark Hyman, a medical doctor and pioneer in the landscape of functional medicine, says that up to 40% of children have suffered from the effects of chemical sweeteners on the body. Sugar actually changes the way our brain works, affects our hormones and is addictive. I know this is scarier to see than a scream-masked child. And you may be wondering why I am trying to ruin your child’s halloween (and by extension, your halloween, because we all steal a little of their loot after they go to bed, don’t we)? It is because I hate fun and because I don’t want our kids to be diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 15.  (See Dr Hyman’s article here: http://drhyman.com/blog/2013/06/27/5-clues-you-are-addicted-to-sugar/#close)

How can you make Halloween a healthy AND fun holiday?

Try one or a few of these tips from Robin Green of www.kidsloveacupuncture.com to make Halloween just a little bit healthier:

  1. Feed your kids a healthier meal before you head out trick or treating. Let your kids pick a healthy dinner they love, and make sure it is packed with healthy fats and fiber so it has staying power. Did somebody say tacos with avocado and beans?
  2. Manage your children’s expectations. Let them know ahead of time that they will be allowed a certain amount of candy that day, and stick to your guns.
  3. Be the change. Set a good example for your kids by giving out a non-food item to the trick-or-treaters who come to your door. Give out stickers, crayons, play doh or temporary tattoos to show that you CAN have fun without food!
  4. Have the Great Pumpkin come to collect their candy and leave a gift in it’s place. The Great Pumpkin is like the tooth fairy, only the prize is bigger and you get to keep your teeth! (Full disclosure: I mentioned this to my son and he said “but I don’t want a toy. I want to keep my treats!” Sooooo it looks like I will have to make it a REALLY good toy…)

Just remember, whatever you do this Halloween, I am not judging you! Healthy eating is a process we all work through every day. Until I can find a way to make that candy bowl fall off the reception desk at the doctor’s office I will give it the evil eye until I finally give it to it’s chemically created deliciousness. And then I will try again the next day.

Have a happy Halloween!

 

 

Fitness, Wellness

Back in the game

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In the year 2000 I ran my first half marathon. I signed up for it maybe 3 or 4 weeks in advance of the race, and did so because I was already running about 12 miles after work some days just for fun. So why not just do a half marathon in NYC in the middle of July? WHAT???

I have run 6 marathons and I don’t even know how many shorter races since that first half marathon. However, when I signed up for the Brooklyn half in January or February, 4 months before race day, I was already sweating and anxious. I honestly didn’t know if I could complete this race! I haven’t even run a race, let alone a long distance one, in maybe 5 years.

Life has gotten in the way. I had a child, moved, and changed workplaces.  My runs turned into “wuns”: Walk, run, walk, run, walk, run.  Those weren’t intentional intervals. I just felt a little fatigued so I walked. The fear of pushing myself further made me stop and take it easy on myself. If my toddler said he didn’t want to go for a run in the stroller, I said “ok, we’ll play something else instead” and skipped the run, er, wun. If I only had 20 minutes to do cardio and had a bunch of emails to respond to, the emails took precedence. And, more times than I would like to admit, naps trumped workouts.

But I committed to the race, and that was enough motivation to push me past my comfort zone.  When I did my first “long” run, a 4 miler on the treadmill at the gym, I had to stop twice because I thought I was going to pass out. Maybe it was the stuffy gym air. Maybe I hadn’t had enough water beforehand. Or maybe I was just out of shape.

A few weeks later, I texted my training partners for virtual cheering as I stepped out into the park for my run and they encouraged me to go for it. I ran and I felt great and was overwhelmed by a sense of accomplishment I didn’t think I would ever feel after a 6 mile run. I completed something I didn’t think I could.

Falling out of a fitness routine happens. Maybe you have a demanding job, have kids, suffered an injury or just don’t feel like doing it anymore. Here is the great news: You can always come back. It will take time and you may feel discouraged and may give into the fear of failure here and there, but if you try and try again, you will find your new level of fitness that will suit where you are today.

Yesterday, as I ran my 10 miler and felt my IT band along the side of my leg tightening up, I looked at my phone and saw my training partners’ messages. They had both run 10 the day before. “10 hurts more than it used to. #old” But you know what? We all did 10 and we’ll all finish our race. You can too.

Acupuncture, herbal medicine and healthy living