Welcome to Naturopathic Sports Medicine

I am finally committing my practice to offer sports medicine from a Naturopathic perspective. Living an active life is one of the key components to living a healthy life. I truly believe this and have realized this is one of the sole reasons I am in practice as a Naturopathic physician. Every move I have made in my life has included the stress relieving, energy producing, mental clarity and catharsis of exercise. I was a dancer through my elementary and high school years, I became a runner and cycle instructor when I was out of college and now I am pedaling my own set of wheels every chance I get. I look back and realize where we spend most of our time and energy in our lives is what our hearts ascertain to be our destiny. With this same view, if you are spending your time longing to do something year after year...instead of longing for it…DO IT. 

Through my work as a Naturopath, I am always looking at how to integrate the mental and physical plane. As a cycle instructor I am also looking at how to integrate the mental and physical plane…huh. One of the founding truths of exercise is that most of it is mental and if we do not work on that aspect we will never perform to our full capacity…never. Meditation is the same as exercise but it is with movement and cardiovascular effort. Optimal health is the same as meditation as it requires us to ‘listen’ to our bodies to truly heal, it requires us to let go in order to release. No matter the medicine, chronic disease will not shift unless YOU shift. I am whittling my way into this truth through exercise. This is a pathway to healing and totally free if you choose. I have often read, ‘the best health insurance is a gym membership’ which represents the fact that no matter if it is a gym or activity outside the gym, you are investing in your health. 

So here it is, if you work at physical activity then you will want to develop all the tools you can to perform better. Even if you never run a marathon or any kind of race, you are still allowed to seek these tools. The thing is, like any other issue in our lives, we are flooded with obstacles and most of them link with health. If you are not digesting properly and can’t finish your run, you are stunted, if you are distracted by a relationship that ended and can’t push yourself to get out there, you are stunted, if you are aging and finding it frustrating that you can’t keep weight off, you are stunted. But you do not have to be, and if you ask for help, it will float down onto your lap in an envelope from the sky. Change really is this accessible. 

Dutch Oven Chicken

One of the best items I have been gifted is a Dutch Oven. This is essentially a cast iron pot. Like normal cast iron cookware it is a staple in the kitchen because if seasoned right it is non stick, it can withstand high temperatures, and it has great thermoregulation and conductivity. The pot is like a cauldron when you cook in it. The lid has little bumps on the under side that just continue circulating moisture and heat so the dish gurgles and bubbles and basically cooks itself. This cookware has been around for literally centuries and indispensable in the kitchen.

As I got thinking about recipes to try out in this, I wondered if I could cook a whole chicken in a pot? Turns out you can and it makes the best chicken I have ever had. You start by searing the chicken on the stove top on both sides and then stick it in the oven at low temperature (250 degrees) for about 1.5 hours depending on the size of the chicken. You do not put a drop of liquid into the pan and after 1.5 hours the chicken is soaking in its own juices. Its amazing. The chicken is tender, moist and super flavorful. This recipe is soooo easy too. You can braise some veggies in the pot if you like while it cooks but they get pretty soft so I elect to just throw in garlic, onions and spices and make a separate side dish of veggies.

From a health standpoint, chicken is a little tricky. Much like other livestock, chickens can be raised in poor quality living environments which is compounded by the massive amount of chicken needed for the food industry. The USDA released in August 2017 that the average American consumed approximately 91 lbs of chicken per capita (that's is insane!), compared to 58 lbs of beef and 50 lbs of pork per capita.

When shopping for chicken, it is helpful to understand the labeling. One misconception to clear up is that while hormones are approved for use in cattle, they are not allowed in poultry so if you see a label stating it is 'hormone free', know that it is purely marketing. However, they do allow the use of antibiotics in chickens for prevention of infection, growth and if they get sick. There are many claims that this is causing our antibiotic resistance by creating superbugs in the meat. They say 80% of antibiotics sold in the US are used in meat and poultry production. Yikes.

Here are some common claims you might see on packaging when shopping for a chicken and what they actually mean:
1) Free Range
This unfortunately is not very clearly defined. The term makes you think the chicken roam for miles and are free and happy but really it means they have access to outdoors for a portion of the day and maybe only 5 minutes. If the chickens are allowed to truly freely roam, this is great for the health of the chicken and improves living conditions greatly.
2) Cage Free
Cage free means even less unfortunately and generally applies to only egg laying hens so it is likely marketing if you see it on some chicken meat. All poultry producers are employing this one.
3) Natural
This means there are no artificial ingredients used, no coloring ingredients and no preservatives. Not designated as free range, no guarantee on use of antibiotics.
4) No antibiotics ever
This states the chicken has never received antibiotics from birth to when they are harvested. They may have been around sick chickens but they themselves did not need any antibiotics. Not designated as free range.
5) Naturally raised
This means the chickens are given vegetarian feed and never given any antibiotics. Not organic feed and not free range necessarily.
6) Organic
This is an actual certification that assures you 2 days after the chicken is hatched it is fed organic feed, free range, and never given any antibiotics. The most superior designation ensuring the proper health and living environment of the chicken in every way.

Keep in mind that not everyone chooses to get an "Organic" certification and so many good producers are employing the same principles. Being informed about where the chicken is coming from may be the best standard you can find.

Now that we can read the labels well...how do you buy the best tasting chicken? First start with quality and then choose based on how you are preparing the chicken:

Poussin: this is a very young chicken approx 3-4 weeks old at time of harvest, mild in flavor and best cooked whole.

Cornish Game Hen: 4-5 weeks old at time of harvest, they are small, mild in flavor, similar size to a Poussin and again best cooked whole.

Broiler or fryer: Between 5-10 weeks old at time of harvest, the most common whole chicken you will find.

Roaster: a much larger bird, it is allowed to reach full maturity so it is harvested at about 8-12 weeks. Their bones have had a chance to fully harden which makes them great for making chicken broth and soups.

Stewing hens or fowl: These are female birds that are post egg laying and approximately 10 months old at harvest. They have tougher meat but more flavor. They are good for slow cooking.

Capon: A neutered male chicken that is harvested at 3-4 months old. These are suppose to be the most tender and flavorful birds.

Here is the recipe I used for the Dutch Oven Chicken;
https://thebarefootcook.com/french-chicken-in-a-pot-adapted-from-americas-test-kitchen/

My final touch is to take some lovely drippings packed full of onion and garlic and spices and throw it in the blender to make into a quick jus. Soooo good.

Here is my plated product and picture of my sous chef:)

In Health! Bon Appetit!

K Raylinsky ND

Green Eggplant?

I went to an asian market a week ago and came across some Thai eggplant. They were a variegated green in color, small, round and fresh looking so I grabbed a bag (not knowing what I was going to do with them).

Turns out there are many different kinds of eggplant, and for the most part they have a similar taste and behavior with cooking but the shape and size give them different textures in different types of dishes. Eggplant is a staple in mediterranean dishes and popular in Indian, Italian, Asian and American dishes too. There are many varieties such as white eggplant (they look like large eggs), stripped purple eggplants,  Chinese eggplants (long, skinny, light purple), American eggplant (large, pear shaped, dark purple), Japanese eggplants (long skinny, dark purple) and Thai eggplants (small, round and light green).

Eggplant is considered a night shade vegetable and part of the same family that tomatoes, potatoes and peppers are in; the Solanaceae family. From a nutritional perspective, night shade vegetables are known to be linked with inflammation as they contain alkaloids. The type of alkaloid found in the Solanaceae family are steroid alkaloids which are associated with inflammation in joints and muscles and can cause gastric irritation. The steroid alkaloids are found in about 250 different species of plants. Alkaloids are produced by exposure to light, potatoes contain them in highest concentrations when sprouted or if turning green (which can be avoided by storing them in dark area). With tomatoes, you have less contact with the alkaloid part as the highest concentrations are in the vine and leaves themselves but do avoid eating green tomatoes because of this. In peppers, the alkaloid content is highest in the capsaicin (contained in the white rib of the pepper). In eggplant, the alkaloids are in the seeds which causes the bitter taste, in thai eggplant they recommend you remove the seeds to reduce this. The skin has no real reflection of alkaloid content when we look at the different varietals. The anthocyanins are the reason for the skin color and are responsible for the fantastic anti-oxidant properties of the vegetable.

The great things about eggplant aside from antioxidants are the fiber, b vitamins (including folate), manganese and potassium. They are great to cook with because of their texture and body. They can provide a nice accent to all sorts of dishes and vegetarian diets. The hard thing about cooking eggplant is that it will absorb oil very easily. So it is recommended to salt the eggplant about 1-1.5 hours before cooking (rinsing before cooking) to draw out some of the moisture and preventing it from too getting mushy.

So what did I do with my thai eggplant? The cool thing about it for me was it's shape. They are small eggplants so they have more firmness and texture. I really wanted to see how they tasted on their own before using them in a recipe so I cut them up into quarters after removing the vine tops and washing them thoroughly. I heated up a cast iron skillet with some olive oil and threw them in. I salted and peppered them well and turned them over frequently careful not to brown them too much. Once the flesh started to get a little soft (about 10 minutes) I threw some fresh garlic and thai basil into the pan. I sautéed them a little longer (another 8-10 minutes) and then garnished with some more fresh basil and drizzle of olive oil. I served them as they are along side some yummy meatloaf I made however in the future I think they would be a great addition to a green thai curry dish.

In Health! Bon Appetit!

-K Raylinsky ND

Banana Chia Quinoa Chocolate Chip Muffins

Looking for something to do with your bananas? I made this recipe into muffins and I changed it overall a little bit. I added 1/2 cup chia seeds instead of that last 1/2 cup flour, I used oat flour instead of whole wheat and I added quinoa instead of millet purely because I had no millet at the house. Oh and I added some chocolate chips:) Enjoy!

Here is my version of the recipe but check out the original Smitten Kitchen recipe link below:

3 large ripe-to-over-ripe bananas
1 large egg
1/3 cup (80 ml) virgin coconut oil, warmed until it liquefies, or olive oil
1/3 cup (65 grams) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup (180 grams) oat flour 
1/2 cup ground chia seeds plus 2 tablespoons coconut oil ( to soak up extra fiber )
1/4 cup (50 grams) uncooked quinoa

https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/09/crackly-banana-bread/

Naturopathic Treatments for Anxiety and Depression

The Treatment of Anxiety and Depression via Dr. Kelly Raylinsky

 

HEALING starts with FEELING

 

 

When it comes to evaluating anxiety and depression, I find all people live on a spectrum. Sometimes anxiety and depression present in response to stressful situations like traumas, injuries, divorces, arguments, breakups or job changes. Other times anxiety and depression can stick around because there is constant stress or because for some reason someone feels ‘wired’ to run that way. The first step toward healing is ALLOWING YOURSELF TO FEEL. The world we live in today suggests that feelings like anxiety and depression are always abnormal but that is not always true! When people allow themselves to genuinely FEEL more of the time- people will have an easier time healing. With this mindset, people then dispel excess frustration related to their displacement at the moment and instead find acceptance, support and ability to live more balance.

TREATMENT TO START HEALING

Nutritional Analysis: Food allergies, nutrient deficiencies, and blood sugar imbalances can all be REASONs for anxiety and depression and once identified and treated can completely eliminate mental health imbalances. Proteins are the building blocks of neurotransmitters, nutrients are co-factors in the synthesis of neurotransmitters, and glucose is the only food source for the brain. A thorough look into nutrition can help your body make what it should and possibly unlock the reason of why it hasn’t been doing it all along.  

Digestion/Toxic Overload: Assimilation of nutrients is imperative if we ever hope to use what we take in. If we have low stomach acid we cannot break down proteins well, if we are having diarrhea or constipation, it may be that we have absorption issues that need to be addressed to help use the nutrients we take in. Toxins from pollution, chemicals, metal toxicity, and poor diet can all contribute to a toxic burden in our livers (the organ that processes toxins). If we are not detoxing properly we FEEL toxic. Symptoms of depression, fatigue, anxiety, nausea, anger, irritability can all be signs we need to detox .

Endocrine System: There are many systems to consider when we approach mental health. Thyroid problems as a result of genetics, autoimmunity, toxic overload, or age can cause depression, weight gain, and fatigue. Adrenal dysfunction can occur as a result of constant, unrelenting stress which can cause us to live in a state of ‘fight or flight’ causing anxiety, PTSD, digestive disturbances, allergies, increased inflammation, weight gain, fatigue, or insomnia. 

Genetics: The Naturopathic approach is all about treating the cause of the problem. Now we can take a look at different genetic problems like MTHFR (a defect in folate metabolism), deficiencies and other related defects  in our biochemistry that if treated, can help spin those cycles back into balance. This can account for things like myalgias, neuropathic pain, depression, fatigue, psychosis, insomnia, panic disorders and mood imbalances to name a few!

Medication: Medications are always a consideration. They can be the key to mental health balance for those who have not had success with other methods, other times it can provide a bridge until things get easier and until a support network is established. But no matter what, a medication does not have to mean life-long. The best plan when we use a medication is to work on treatment while medications are being used, develop tools and new resources, replenish the system with what it really needs. I find a lot of people are scared to let go of their security blanket but when we build a strong foundation, we no longer need it.

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Holiday Survival Guide 2014

Pre-traumatic Stress Disorder

Lately conversations with patients, friends, co-workers, store clerks, family, (aka everyone) all make mention of increased stress this time of year. The holidays have a knack for upping the anti on what stress already exists in our day to day lives because there are many things to do this time of year! There are lots of questions running through people's minds like: When are the holiday decorations going to go up? What type of stamp to choose for holiday cards ('versatile' winter or 'in your face holiday' Rudolph stamps?) When will there be time to put the holiday lights on outside the house? When is the tree going up? (Did I water the tree!?) Are there low hanging ornaments on the tree that children could choke on? How am I going to afford all of this? Only 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year? Shopping! Shopping!? Family! In Laws! Shopping! And the list goes on....

It may be useful to consider taking the month of December off from work or asking Obama to shorten the calender to only 11 months so that December is left purely for getting everything get done for once. But since these things are not happening, it may be more reasonable to consider strategies to help manage the holidays this year. Lets think through the concept of stress for a second. Stress is defined as a situation in which we are under mental or emotional strain or tension as a result of an adverse or demanding circumstance. I think we can qualify the holidays to be a 'demanding circumstance'. Today, I called my mother to wish her a happy birthday and when I got off the phone with her I was remembering her concerns about her long list of tasks to get through in the next couple of weeks and one thing she said resonated with me: "The reason I get so stressed is because I think of everything at once and it becomes overwhelming ." How brilliant. She summed up stress right there in one statement. This is not only holiday stress but anytime stress that shares this same sentiment. There is never just one thing on its own with no other interfering factors causing us stress, and never a time in our lives where there is only one thing happening at a time. As you read the next paragraphs, I want you to loosen the grip on your computer, stop searching for the perfect solutions,  start to feel your shoulders relax, and remember that it will all work out as it should. (oh and chuckle a little)


Holiday Survival Guide 2014-(in spirit of a famous holiday song):

1. Make a List.
Recommendation after recommendation I read about holiday stress management involves this first important step. Start with a list. Write out all the holiday details combined with the day to day things you have to do over the next few weeks. Include things like: 'make dinner for the family' and 'pack lunches' if you have to.) Get it all out on paper, nothing is too small or big to go on the list.

2. Take a deep breath. Have a glass of wine or a cup of tea, watch a holiday movie, etc.

3. Check Your List Twice.
Run through your list again (no planning yet, just brainstorming here!). Make sure you have it all down, I am sure you will forget something but that is okay! You can keep adding to the list if necessary.

4. Decide who is naughty and nice.
Delegate some of these tasks out to family members, friends, etc. Let go of the feeling you have to control and be in charge of everything. Choose things that mean the most to you and delegate things that mean the most to others. Simplify what needs to be done, cut some tasks if necessary, chances are there is way more on your list than humanly possible.

5. Schedule Santa's visit to town.
Here is where you find a calender and start to plan it out. Take one thing at a time and figure out when it can realistically happen. If there is too much, cut some more off the plate.

6. Take a deep breath and go with it.
We can never have enough reminders to stop and smell the roses (in this case pine trees and cinnamon sticks). The holidays are about different things to all of us. It is often when you create the memories and traditions for your families and friends for years to come. But as may be apparent and difficult at the same time: no two holidays are the same. Therefore, enjoy the process while it happens, embrace the glitches and laugh when things get too serious. Have perspective that gifts are not what make the holiday season, 'perfect' is not what makes the holiday season, 'expectations being met' is not what makes the holiday season but it is spending time with those you love that makes it. Appreciate everyday you have with those people who drive you nuts at times. Take it all with a grain of salt and try not to think about it all at once or you will get overwhelmed and this will lead to stress- as so eloquently put by Mom Raylinsky.

Love Actually

 The Chemistry of Love

The main focus in my practice is mental health, my viewpoint on healing comes from trying to link the physical body with what the mind is doing. The reality is- there is no chicken before the egg but an existing relationship when understood, can open the doorway for many things.

The brain is a natural place to start when thinking about emotion. Many of us think it a logical/intentional decision to be attracted or drawn to another human being, but really it is a fundamental signal from the body much like hunger and thirst.

One of the most important influences on love, hate, compassion and pleasure is Dopamine. Dopamine is produced in the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) and is part of the motivation/reward system in our brains...it activates desire.

Dopamine, aka reward and pleasure can fire in response to something as simple as eating foods we like, it can fire in response to winning a road race, or getting that promotion at work. However pleasures and rewards are not always limited to positive things, they can come from doing illicit drugs, they can be reasons why people overeat, why people struggle with addiction, why people work too much, etc. This is a what I call our impulsive neurotransmitter. It makes you feel pleasure but does not discriminate on what the catalyst is. An impressive but scary role.

Another important player in brain chemistry is Serotonin. This makes us feel important. We have increased Serotonin when we get that 'ego boost', it fires when someone compliments us or when we feel important. This can be responsible for that need to seek out blind acceptance and play an important role in our self esteem.

Next we have Oxytocin which makes us trust, this is the bonding neurotransmitter. This is the one that completes the loop in our relationships, it is what makes our efforts requited. This is when we love someone and they love us back, it is when an unspoken decision is made to trust the other person and strengthen a bond.

In the topic of relationships these neurotransmitters pose some questions and can put things into perspective as to why we lean toward one relationship over another, why we are happy with some people and not others, why we choose the friends we choose, and even why we choose the profession we do. This also explains how we might synthesize our attachments based on what our experiences were at a young age and into who we become as we grow older.
 

Vitamin B12…How it works, helps, and what may be preventing you from getting enough

B12 and Digestion

Absorption of B12 in the body:

As you can see below-- When you take an oral dose of Vitamin B12, The first location for absorption by the body is in the stomach where something called Intrinsic Factor (IF) is secreted to carry B12 to the small intestine. Once B12 arrives in the terminal Ileum (end of small intestine), it is transported by a protein called transcobalamin and then ready and available for cell uptake.

Improper B12 absorption may result if digestion is compromised for one reason or another such as:

1) Frequent use of Anti-Acids (Tums), Proton Pump Inhibitors (Prilosec, Prevacid, Tagament, Pesid AC, Zantac, and certain medications like Metformin.

2) Malabsorption: Leaky enterocytes in small intestine.

3) Celiac Disease

4) Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s and Colitis)

5) Pernicious Anemia

6) Pancreatic Insufficiency

7) Alcoholism

B12 and the Diet

Our dietary preferences can affect our intake of certain necessary vitamins and minerals. The ONLY sources of B12 are found from animal sources.  There are no vegetables with a high B12 content. Vegetarians and Vegans-be mindful of this!!

Table 2: Selected Food Sources of Vitamin B12 [13]

Food	Micrograms (mcg) per serving	Percent DV*
Clams, cooked, 3 ounces	84.1	1,402
Liver, beef, cooked, 3 ounces	70.7	1,178
Breakfast cereals, fortified with 100% of the DV for vitamin B12, 1 serving	6.0	100
Trout, rainbow, wild, cooked, 3 ounces	5.4	90
Salmon, sockeye, cooked, 3 ounces	4.8	80
Trout, rainbow, farmed, cooked, 3 ounces	3.5	58
Tuna fish, light, canned in water, 3 ounces	2.5	42
Cheeseburger, double patty and bun, 1 sandwich	2.1	35
Haddock, cooked, 3 ounces	1.8	30
Breakfast cereals, fortified with 25% of the DV for vitamin B12, 1 serving	1.5	25
Beef, top sirloin, broiled, 3 ounces	1.4	23
Milk, low-fat, 1 cup	1.2	18
Yogurt, fruit, low-fat, 8 ounces	1.1	18
Cheese, Swiss, 1 ounce	0.9	15
Beef taco, 1 soft taco	0.9	15
Ham, cured, roasted, 3 ounces	0.6	10
Egg, whole, hard boiled, 1 large	0.6	10
Chicken, breast meat, roasted, 3 ounces	0.3	5

*DV = Daily Value. DVs were developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help consumers determine the level of various nutrients in a standard serving of food in relation to their approximate requirement for it. The DV for vitamin B12 is 6.0 mcg. However, the FDA does not require food labels to list vitamin B12 content unless a food has been fortified with this nutrient. Foods providing 20% or more of the DV are considered to be high sources of a nutrient, but foods providing lower percentages of the DV also contribute to a healthful diet. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Database Web site [13]) lists the nutrient content of many foods and provides acomprehensive list of foods containing vitamin B12.

B12 and Depression

Inadequate intake, digestion, or assimilation of B12 can affect our mental/emotional health. In an Observational study, it was found that 30% of hospitalized, depressive patients were found to have a B12 deficiency. B12 plays a role in the production of SAMe which is responsible for the bioavailability of neurotransmitters causative of depression. Those struggling with depression should be screened for B12 levels as a standard measure.

Signs and Symptoms of B12 deficiency:

·      Fatigue

·      Megaloblastic Anemia

·      Constipation

·      Loss of appetite

·      Weight Loss

·      Neurological Changes (numbness and tingling in hands and feet)

·      Difficulty maintaining balance

·      Confusion

·      Poor memory

·      Depression

·      Soreness of mouth or tongue

·      Swelling of tongue

And there is much more that B12 does, and many more conditions that it will benefit. Stay tuned for more....

The Magic Weight Loss Pill

 My father has struggled for many years to keep his weight within ‘acceptable’ limits for his primary care physician. For a short time, he exercised to keep the weight off. He ran road races, half marathons, marathons, went to the gym daily, etc. As long as he was active, he could enjoy eating plenty of food as he may have come close to balancing the amount of calories coming in with the amount of calories burning off. But like many, as time passed by he was unable to keep the vigorous running up do to injury, a busy work schedule, lack of motivation, and is since stable with inactivity, and as a result back to taking more food in than calories burned… As of now, he has been on a cholesterol medication for many years to keep his cholesterol within healthy limits, and by god- the rest of him has stayed healthy! His blood pressure is good, his carotid arteries are clear, no signs of heart disease, organ failure, diabetes, etc. As a result, he continues his lifestyle of choice because he doesn’t have anything wrong with him. The doctors stand with their mouths dropped, in awe of a man that is continuing to break medical convention. So as you can expect, the question becomes- Why should he lose weight? Why should he change if there is nothing wrong with him? His genes are tough, his mother and father lived a long enough life!???

I guess we can cross our fingers and hope that plan works out- I know I do everyday. However, I also worry he may not be so lucky one day, as I am sure we can all relate to. The problem with having learned a bit about medicine is I understand the process of disease does not happen over night. Symptoms are not the disease; they are the building blocks of it. High blood pressure is a measurement of force, an indicator the heart is working harder than it should. Lower than normal amounts of HDL (good) cholesterol allows LDL (bad) cholesterol to elevate and is unable to keep the arteries clean and free of debris. Blood sugar can elevate after eating a sugar rich meal but when it stays elevated, insulin builds a tolerance to an adjusted glucose level and creates insulin resistance- much the same as building alcohol tolerance through long term drinking. The illusion is there are no problems as long as the body adapts, and the body WILL adapt, (some longer than others) but the ‘stressor’ is evident.  Think of it this way: would it be reasonable to drive fast on a highway with a tire you know is thin and worn? It is easy to see the tire is living on borrowed time and it is a more reasonable action to change the tire to prevent an accident rather than continuing to drive with it. I suggest we weigh this decision making with our own health. Much like a weak tire, symptoms are red flags and indicators it is time to make change. 

The truth is, a lifetime sets the stage for chronic disease or even acute disease processes. The leading causes of death in America are preventable. Without a magic pill or vampire venom to ravage through our systems and rescue us from disaster, we are better off taking care of ourselves, if only at the very least: foundational principals such as good sleep, laughter, exercise, healthy diets (regular meals, vegetables, fiber, adequate protein), plenty of water and good digestion. 

Fluoride in Water

The Importance of Water.

Water seems to be a topic of interest these days. I always discuss the importance of water with my patients, as having an adequate amount of it is seriously important to our health.

Water is important for many things such as:
1) Hydration
2) Every biochemical reaction in the body
3) Metabolism
4) Kidney and bladder health
5) Detoxification-the removal of toxins
6) Assimilation of nutrients from diet and supplements.
7) Digestive Function

And the list goes on...

Fluoridation of Water?
Despite water being such an important nutrient in our lives, the quality of water running from our taps is in question. It is regular practice to include chemicals into the water supply for sanitation and other purposes. Lets take fluoride for example. Apparently, every major US city has fluoridated their water supply except Portland, OR where it is currently under consideration via the public vote. This absence of fluoride in the water has long been suspected the reason for excess tooth decay and poor dental health. Interestingly enough, there is a lot of research suggesting there is no good reason to add fluoride to our water supply. Drinking fluorinated water allows fluoride to be absorbed systemically when fluoride's benefits are topical in nature.

A couple points of consideration I offer in regards to fluorinated water are: 1) The choice is not up to the individual. Those of us who do not consent with the fluoridation of water are 'pigeon holed' as it is difficult/expensive to avoid exposure to fluoride in the water once it is in there. 2) There are systemic risks of having exposure to fluoride as it is a toxic free radical.

What You Need to Know About Fluoride.
Chemically speaking, flouride is a ion. The manner in which it benefits tooth decay is by creating a stonger environment so the acids from bacteria cannot survive as readily.  Note this is a topical influence and except for the initial contact/swooshing of water in one's mouth, there is no other benefit for fluoride in water as it travels through our body. It does not serve as a treatment to the tooth or gums themselves and it does not benefit oral health when absorbed systemically. Fluoride, when taken systemically is toxic to the body, it is stored in the bones and processed through the kidneys.  Water supplies allow 0.7 mg/L which is decreased from the previous 0.7-1.2 mg/L range. There are many health claims and conditions that are suspected to be related to fluoridation such as thyroid problems, kidney disease, cancer, etc. Fluoride has an affinity for calcium and therefore makes it insoluble and unusable to the body. (We need calcium!!) Fluoride was once used to decrease the function of the thyroid gland in a HYPERthyroid state and it is interesting to consider that chronic exposure of it may little by little decrease the function of the thyroid gland by this same mechanism. There are studies that also indicate the improvement in dental health over years and years to be unclearly correlated with the addition of fluoride in water and may more likely have improved regardless because of the increase in hygeine and regular cleanings. It is my contention that fluoride may be beneficial topically but to be put into our water supply seems a LOT unnecessary.

Can you Filter Fluoride Out?

The three successful ways to get fluoride OUT of water is by either: Reverse Osmosis, Distillation, or by using an Activated Alumina Defluoridation filter. These are usually quite expensive investments and there are some uncertainties behind drinking distilled water all the time. Your typical water filter (ie Brita or Pur) are ineffective at removing fluoride and likewise no matter how you treat the water be it baking, boiling, freezing, or sautéing-- be sure it will not do a thing to the fluoride content.

Natural Alternatives?
Other suggestions for dental health that are on the more natural front is that of Xylitol. This is a natural sugar that has no glycemic index, (not appropriate for sweetening coffee and baked goods) but is a sugar that creates an uninhabitable environment for bacteria that contribute to dental caries along side reducing overall plaque build up and helps with bone remineralization! This is available in gums, mints, and toothpaste and the research is looking good in terms of overall benefit. However we need to be cognizant of how this is derived and manufactured, and yet again we can't go throwing it in our water supply as a sentiment to better dental health. Just because it is natural, does not mean it is always the safest thing for us. Use in moderation, use in small doses and by gosh if you really want good teeth-- eat a healthy diet for your mouth and body's sake! ie. clean water, low sugar, lots of vitamins and minerals.

Alkaline Water

Alkaline water is all the buzz these days. Is is healthy or harmful to ingest? What are the best sources or best methods of producing alkaline water?

Let's start with the science:

Regular water has a pH of 7 (neutral). The pH scale ranges from 0-14. Anything below 7 is considered acidic and anything above 7 is considered basic. Too much acid or too much base can be hazardous at a certain point-- for instance, we would not drink battery acid or bleach.)

Alkaline Beverages
There are plenty of beverages we drink that are considered acidic: Orange juice, lemon juice, tomato juice to name a few. However despite their initial pH, because these fruits naturally contain minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium, and selenium- they actually have an alkalizing affect on the body. This applies to most FRESH squeezed juices. The alkalizing effects change when cane sugar is added to the juice, (sugar increases acidity) or when chemicals are added. Now coffee is another weird one; Coffee is by definition acidic, however the better quality the coffee, the less acidity. The more pesticides and chemicals added to the coffee, the higher the acidity, and it applies again here that adding sugar to the coffee increases acidity. The best way to drink coffee is black, and made from good quality organic beans. Dairy products are alkaline or at least have a highly alkaline component to them (calcium) and an acidic component (protein). Different dairy products have different pH values. For instance: ice cream has lots of sugar or artificial sweeteners added to it. But good goat milk and whole milk, are both alkaline.

The key to understanding alkaline benefits of beverages and foods is to know how our body metabolizes something in order for us to understand whether it will have a acidic or alkaline influence on the body.

Alkaline Water
First of all, do we need water to be alkaline? The normal pH of water is actually neutral. But of course we are talking distilled water here. The addition of minerals like magnesium, calcium, sodium increase the pH of water. Water that is naturally running over rocks and through streams is in a naturally alkalized state due to picking up all sorts of minerals that naturally occur. Now, tap water is generally acidified in order to put it in a more sanitary form by adding things like chlorine and fluorine to the water to allow it to be drinkable for a general population and be free of any harmful bacteria. So the typical glass of fresh tap water is around a 6 in pH....still not horribly acidic, but ingesting chlorine and fluorine might be a problem.

There are many water alkalizing devices out there and most of which use platinum and titanium rods to 'ionize' the water. Ionizing the water will move electrons around, therefore casting off the acidic water by exchanging the left over hydrogen to create a more alkaline pH. These ionizers increase alkalinity still by sometimes adding minerals to the water after the water is alkalized, creating a water with as high as 9.5 pH.

The cost of these ionizers can be thousands of dollars to install into a home system and usually only effect one source of water like the tap you drink from or cook from, leaving out the shower, and other faucets you may use in the house. Now, while alkalizing water could be good for us, the quality of the water is in question if the source is coming from a tap. For example: Chlorinated/fluorinated water that has been alkalized. We then just change the pH with a ionizer and still leave in all the crud. The better option to consider is to first filter the water and THEN ionize it. But still, what would be best for our health would be to have minerals in filtered water that increased pH naturally. So maybe all we are left with by drinking ionized water is a changed pH, and when filtering water THEN alkalizing it, we are left with VERY expensive water that could be replicated by adding some sodium bicarbonate to filtered water.

Lastly, determining the nutritional benefit of alkaline water is a hard one. There are many claims made on it suggesting it has anti-cancer properties and helps to alkalize our blood as acidic drinks and foods are thought of as harmful to our health and linked with cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. Alkaline substances are beneficial to our health but as far as water goes, I wonder if it is better to just filter our water VERY WELL and look to food for the rest. ??

What do Naturopathic Doctors Treat?

The answer is we treat all types of conditions from Allergies, common colds, sleep problems, to mental health, cardiovascular disease, thyroid problems, autoimmunity, and diabetes.

Naturopathic Doctors are skilled primary care physicians. We are trained in prevention. Our job is to find out why you have a certain ailment or disease and use therapies that support your body to heal on it's own. Let's take cardiovascular disease for instance. The reason for high blood pressure is not a deficiency in Lisionpril or Metoprolol but it means your heart is doing more work than it should be to pump blood to the rest of your body. A reason for this may be that is does not have the right nutrients available to contact and relax properly like calcium and magnesium. It may be that you are stressed all the time, and stress makes your blood pressure raise up, meaning we need to correct the stress!  Other influences are excess weight putting pressure on the heart and other organs to do their job. Correcting the weight will help improve blood pressure. While some of our therapies will require you to do some work and participate in your health, we are garunteeing that by participating and taking care of yourself-your quality of life will improve and you will live longer.

How do Naturopathic Doctors Treat Disease?

Let me explain Naturopathy. Let's start with the suffix -pathy or -pathic. This refers to a system of treating disease. The prefix Naturo refers to the idea of treating disease Naturally or Holistically. As I have previously discussed, Naturopathic Doctors have rigorous training in the basics of medicine but are further trained in subjects that help us to understand the body's innate healing process or function. Here are the main modalities:

Nutrition: Nutrition is a complicated subject and requires a deep understanding of the biochemical processes in the body. Telling someone to 'eat their vegetables' or 'take a multivitamin' can be good advice for us all however, some of us may need more of certain nutrients than others depending on our pathological state or imbalance. Nutrients can help treat a variety of conditions. Often times we have less of an imbalance of Lisinopril or Lipitor but actually have a calcium/magnesium, or fatty acid deficiency. While an even more compelling thought is: our diets effect our health! The state of our diets currently is that of concern. Due to elements outside our control, our diets are much less nutrient rich because our soils have less nutrients, food is shipped all around the world to get to us, and processing depletes nutrients. Cooking and frying will even further decrease the nutritional value. Ill speak more of this in time, but the skinny is- our diets are not what they used to be, it is something we need more training and awareness about AND nutrients are powerful treatment tools when initiated by a skilled physician.

Botanical Medicine: Botanical medicine encompasses the healing properties of plants. Before the pharmaceutical boom, we relied on botanicals to treat all sorts of ailments. Actually, pharmaceuticals were developed from isolating toxic components of plants. For instance Aspirin or salicylic acid is derived from willow bark. Willow is rich in salicylates that can be isolated and turned into our common aspirin.  As with most botanicals, when leaving them in the whole plant form we are treating medicine like food for our bodies. We are not extracting a specific component from the plant but using a particular form such as: whole plant, leaf, root, etc. to use in a synergistic sense to obtain all sorts of nutritional benefits.

Physical Medicine: Physical Medicine includes the study and function of basic anatomy and physiology. To understand a person in a wholistic sense we have to consider muscles, nerves, bones and their anatomical placement or behavior in the body. Our training in this area includes a spectrum of modalities to include manipulation (moving a bone back into place with simple, gentle adjustments), stretching and exercising muscles (fatiguing muscles that are holding bones and nerves in the wrong places), and using other treatments like micro-current and ultrasound to heal soft tissue.

Homeopathic Medicine:  This branch of medicine has been around for a very long time dating back to the 1700's. It is based on the law of similars which means it uses small dilutions of substances that have a similar behavior to the offending organism, whether it be a joint problem, sprain, common cold, allergy, or even cardiovascular disease; there is something to remedy the patient. Determining the appropriate remedy require a very in-depth evaluation of the patients symptoms.

All other therapies are considered around a few main principles:

1.  Identify and Treat the Cause of Illness
2.  The Healing Power of Nature
3.  Do No Harm
4.  Doctor as a Teacher
5.  Treat the Whole Person
6.  Prevention

The use of other modalities such as pharmaceutical drugs are used if needed and indicated. Overall, if something is outside the scope of Naturopathic Treatments, it is common to refer to a more appropriate alternative.