Winter stew will exceed your daily requirements of fiber, beta carotene, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, and vitamin B complex. Plus, Winter Stew gets a triple E for Easy, Easy, Easy. Easy to make, easy on the wallet, easy on the love handles.

Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp. Olive oil

4 cups of vegetable broth (can substitute water)

4-5 cloves of garlic

1 medium onion

1 bell pepper

1/2 head red cabbage

5 carrots

2 sweet potatoes or yams

1 bunch chard or kale

1 cup lentils

Directions:

Sautee the onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent.

Add broth

Add lentils, yams and carrots

Cover pot and let simmer for about 20 – 30 minutes until yams and carrots can easily be poked with a fork

Add bell pepper and cabbage

Let simmer 10 minutes, adding water if necessary

When lentils, carrots and yams are soft stew is about done. Add diced chard or kale and let simmer another 5-10 minutes (until the greens are cooked down).

Check out these whole food snacks that are nutrient dense, without being high in calories. You can introduce any of these balanced snacks into your daily routine to help manage hunger in a way that will help you maintain your health at any time of year.

1. Sliced avocado with sliced tomato, olive oil and basil:

Rich in minerals and nutrients to keep your energy up,  this snack won’t slow you down because it’s easy to digest and light on your digestive system. It’s rich in healthy fats, vitamin C, potassium and carotenes – good for skin, appetite control, electrolyte balance, and hormone regulation.

2. Plain yogurt with strawberries and blueberries and granola:

Lean protein, fiber and  vitamin C, this snack supports the immune system and supports healthy digestion. It is a great substitute for cupcakes when you have a sweet craving, and some people even find it helps them fight off the ice cream cravings after dinner.

3. Carrot sticks, olives, hummus:

Beta-carotene for cancer prevention, fiber, lean protein and healthy fats to control appetite and stabilize blood sugar and energy reserves. Olives give the extra benefit of satisfying a salty craving without reaching for the potato chips.

4. 1/4 cup of almonds, a banana and a pear:

High potassium,  folic acid, healthy fat, vitamin E, calcium and pectin, which all help manage appetite, increase energy, prevent osteoporosis, control cholesterol and gives your brain power.

5. Almond butter with sliced apples and rice cake:

A low sodium snack that satisfies the need for crunching and stabilizes blood sugar. Apples in particular can help lower cholesterol and promote weight loss.

6. 1/2 Grapefruit with 1 teaspoon of honey with blueberries and walnuts:

Walnuts are a powerhouse food rich in magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, healthy fats and vitamin A – supportive for healthy skin, hormone regulation, appetite control and strong bones. Add blueberries and grapefruit to the snack for immune support, anti-oxidants for cancer prevention, fiber for blood sugar and appetite regulation, folic acid for energy and vitamin C for immune system support.

7. Goat Cheese with figs on whole grain or sunflower bread:

Rich in protein, calcium and complex carbohydrates with the benefits of the essential minerals found in figs. It’s savory and sweet while being low in fat, high in nutrients. The perfect PMS food that satisfies appetite in small servings, regulates blood sugar, and helps support digestive health. If you’re not watching your triglycerides or saturated fat intake, try it with melted brie.

8. Sliced banana and strawberries in milk or yogurt:

High in vitamin C, calcium, protein, magnesium, potassium and fiber, this snack helps prevent bone loss, it supports your immune system, and it regulates appetite and enhances energy levels. To go dairy free try soy or a nut milk.

One of the best ways to help break dietary sabotage patterns is to prevent situations where you are so hungry you are bound to make unhealthy choices. Understanding the body’s hunger mechanisms is very important to managing your eating habits, whether your goal is weight loss, managing an ailment, or just wanting to integrate more healthy choices into your lifestyle. For example, before you’re even hungry, your entire endocrine system, your brain and your stomach have already been communicating to each other about what nutrients are needed when, where and how much. By the time you are “starving” these systems have all gone into deficit mode, and the urgency to obtain food dense with fat, protein and carbohydrates immediately and efficiently becomes an alarm system that overrides all logic and takes you straight to the cheese burger and French fries. You’re so hungry by this point the very thought of a carrot stick sounds absurd, and to the panic stricken endocrine system a salad sounds like rabbit food.

The physiology of hunger is designed to keep us alive, and the core chemistry of the system cannot discern between a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, or a sudden famine in the desert. When your body perceives the threat of starvation, real or imagined, will power has little to do with your ability to stick to your diet goals. This is especially true in the early stages of dietary change when you are teaching your body to make adjustments to new types of foods. For example, if you are used to a high calorie and high fat diet, it will take your body some time to acclimate to healthier fats, and know it won’t starve with fewer calories. For this reason, the nutrient density of your food choices is critical because the brain detects ample amounts of nutrients present in the body, the feeling of satiation is triggered.

This is one of my very favorite websites. I use it to background check the safety, health and ecological impact of check the products I am buying. The man behind the website is a Professor at UC Berkeley and also a concerned father who questioned ingredients in his daughters sunscreen and found one of the ingredients to be toxic. The result is this wonderful website. It gives a general health rating telling you short and long term health benefits and even tells you about products which might affect the reproductive system. It also rates how much toxic waste a company emits and how much water its uses. It even tells you if it tests on animals and which charities it contributes to. Click here to check it out!

Few of us have made it this far without at least one sprain of some kind. Maybe it was your ankle when you tripped on a well-disguised hole in the grass or your knee when you fell skiing. Whether or not you remember the cause, chances are you remember the discomfort of the sprain and might appreciate learning ways to expedite your healing should it happen again.

Ligaments connect bone to bone and function to stabilize joints. A sprain occurs when ligaments are over-stretched, slightly torn or ruptured. The symptoms and healing time of a sprain is directly correlated with its severity.

Grade I sprain: This mild sprain results in a stretched or slightly
torn ligament, but only slight pain or swelling. You can put weight on
the joint and move it with no discomfort. Those with grade I
sprains are usually able to return to their normal activities within
1 – 2 weeks of the injury.

Grade II sprain: This moderate sprain causes partial tearing of the
ligament, resulting in moderate pain and swelling and perhaps some
bruising. You will have some difficulty putting weight on or moving
the joint. Those with grade II sprains are usually able to return to their normal activities within 2 – 4 weeks.

Grade III sprain: This severe sprain causes a complete rupture of the
ligament. Pain, swelling, and bruising is severe. You can’t put weight
on or move the joint. Grade III sprains require a much longer healing
time, usually 12 -16 weeks. Grade III sprains should be evaluated by a qualified medical provider.

In my clinical experience, the following recommendations can reduce the standard healing times above by as much as half.

• RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation)

Much of the local damage of a sprain is a result of the inflammation and swelling, not the injury itself. If you can limit these two factors immediately after the injury, your healing time will be shortened. Ice should be applied in a progression of 15-30 minutes on and 2 hours off during at least the first 48 hours. A compression bandage should not be so tight it limits circulation into the joint.

• Anti-Inflammatory Diet

A whole foods diet focusing on cold-water fish, vegetables and nuts/seeds should be implemented as soon as possible after the injury to minimize inflammation. Pro-inflammatory foods such as red meat and dairy should be limited for at least the first 48 hours after the onset of the injury.

• Proteolytic Enzymes (Bromelain, Trypsin, Chymotrypsin)

These enzymes can help to decrease pain, inflammation and speed healing. Bromelain is found in pineapples and Trypsin and Chymotrpsin are naturally occurring in the body. Consuming several servings of fresh pineapple per day for up week after the injury can give you a good dose of bromelain. A quality bromelain supplement will be even more effective due to its potency and absorbability. Trypsin and Chymotrpsin are best taken in supplement form as only trace amounts are found in animal foods.

• Arnica Montana

Arnica Montana is a flower based homeopathic remedy that can reduce bruising and speed healing. Best results can be achieved from taking it both internally and applying arnica gel/cream to the sprain directly.

• Citrus Bioflavonoids

Rutin and other citrus bioflavonoids can help to reduce swelling and bruising. Citrus bioflavonoids are found in the pith (white part) of citrus fruits, but the quantities needed are best obtained from supplementation.

• Acupuncture & Chinese Herbs

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs can help to decrease pain and swelling, reduce bruising, balance the response of the immune system and speed overall healing. Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs should be implemented as soon as possible after the injury.

• Thera-Band Exercises

Once swelling has decreased, exercises using Thera-Bands can help to return strength and stability. Thera-Bands are available from a variety of practitioners including physical therapists, acupuncturists and chiropractors.

Most sprains heal without complications, but failing to properly rehabilitate the sprain can leave you susceptible to reinjury. Some experts estimate that as many as 80% of those with a sprain will repeat the injury during their lifetime. Implementing effective natural treatments will help you to beat the odds.

Feeling stressed? Emergency scenarios like the Jesusita Fire activate your sympathetic nervous system’s “fight or flight” response. This physiological reaction produced the wide eyed adrenaline pumping push that helped you to quickly get out of harms way. Now that the primary threat is gone we should be able to return to our normal state. Unfortunately, due to the quantative nature of the Gap Fire, Tea Fire, Jesusita Fire and the stresses of everyday life, some of you may be finding it especially difficult to step off the roller coaster and get back to your sense of balance.

Signs that your body may be holding the “fight or flight” pattern include:

• Anxiety
• Poor Sleep
  
• Digestive Disturbances
• Elevated Heart Rate
• Heart Palpitations
• Shallow and/or Rapid Breathing
  
• Immune Imbalances (colds, flus, allergies)
• Difficulty Urinating

None of these symptoms are not going to kill you, but they are enough to keep you from feeling your best. So how do you change the pattern?

The best way to deactivate your sympathetic nervous system is by activating the opposing side – your parasympathetic nervous system. Your parasympathetic nervous system has the power to quickly relax your stress and ease your tension. So how do you stimulate it?

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is well known for its parasympathetic nervous system promoting and serotonin releasing effects. This is the reason most of you fall asleep during your sessions

Deep Abdominal Breathing

This simple technique sends feedback to the brain to slow down the sympathetic response and upregulate the relaxing parasympathetic response.

Yoga / Qi Gong / Meditation

Stretching, deep abdominal breathing and slowing the mind. Ever wonder why the yogis and monks are so peaceful?

Extra Sleep

Your parasympathetic nervous system is especially active during sleep. Give yourself permission to soak up a few more hours than normal over this week.

Fish Oil Supplementation

The British Journal of Nutrition recently discovered that DHA- rich fish oil helped to balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Add it to the laundry list of beneficial effects of this powerful substance. Extra strength enteric-coated fish oil capsules(no fishy burps!) are always available at the clinic.

The Jesusita Fire is almost under control, but many of you are still battling through the negative impacts of the fire on your health. So far this week we have seen increased rates of asthma, allergies, sore throats, fatigue, headaches, pain, stress, insomnia, anxiety and depression. Early treatment is always best and thankfully we have been successful in helping many of you to return to your balance. For those of you who are still suffering, give us a call and we will get you in ASAP. We are here for you!

Our hearts go out to all those who lost their homes in the Jesusita Fire. We are offering free acupuncture support through the end of June to the victims of the fire. This offer applies to current and new patients alike. Please spread the word to anyone you may know who has lost their home.

We will also be donating 5% of proceeds from the rest of May to United Way’s Jesusita Fire Long Term Recovery Fund. 100% of this fund goes directly to the victims of the fire. w also be donating 5% of proceeds from the rest of May to United Way’s  Fire Long Term Recovery Fund. 100% of this fund goes directly to the victims of the fire

Osteoporosis is a silent disease that many people do not take seriously enough. Often you will have no advanced warning of its onset until you have a bone fracture. It is an ailment that moves from bone breakage, to artificial replacements, to a wheel chair. It limits your mobility and exercise, which can open the door for other diseases like diabetes or stroke. Paying attention to the causes of osteoporosis and doing your best to prevent are two very important steps for lasting bone health.

Osteoporosis affects more women than men, due to the fact that men naturally have higher bone density than women. Heredity plays a key role in determining if one inherits osteoporosis, but in men both heavy drinking and use of steroid medication bring about this disease. In both sexes, rheumatism, MS, hepatitis, diabetes, lupus, and depression all help to usher in osteoporosis as well. For women, the average person reaching the age of 85 already has some spinal compression.

Let’s consider our bones as a big storage warehouse for phosphorous, magnesium and calcium (inorganic materials), all of which it needs to remain strong. When we are young, our bones are growing and building up these storerooms filled with essential nutrients. As we get older, however, the rest of our body taps into this storage supply to support its function, thus destroying cells and depleting the nutrients needed for proper bone health. Common causes of this are lack of nutrition, anxiety, emotional stress, steroid medications and depression.Another cause of osteoporosis is being underweight. Women who strive to be skinny, especially those who are not naturally on the thinner side, will most likely see an earlier development of osteoporosis due to their lack of proper nutrition weakening their bones earlier in life.

The good news is that osteoporosis is easy to avoid. If you build your bone cells, the inorganic will return to the big storage warehouse and keep your bones strong and lasting. Supplements to build bone health are effective, but it is most important to exercise and eat according to your constitutional type. Be sure you are getting the nutrition your body needs. If you are already on the road to osteoporosis, acupuncture and herbs can help by building the kidney and liver chi to make strong bones. In your journey to health and vitality, remember not to forget your bones. They are the frame that supports the beautiful picture of your healthy body.

(Author: Hyun Ku Lee, Ph.D., L.Ac. Courtesy of the Santa Ynez Valley News- Originally published June 18, 2008)

Craig Rigsby L.Ac. Dipl. Ac. is now teaching Qi Gong and Meditation

When: Every Wednesday starting February 4th from 12-1 at the Northeast corner of Alice Keck Park(near the pond).

Cost: Suggested donation $10.

This will be a non-sequential class meaning that you can drop in on any Wednesday without wondering if you have missed the boat.

Qi Gong consists of gentle yet powerful, restorative exercises that:

-relieve stress, calm the mind

-build core strength

-build vitality and boost energy

-heal the body

All ages and fitness levels are welcome.

If you have any questions, please call (805)708-1441.

Check out this article on Yahoo about the Air Force using acupuncture for wounded soldiers.