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Dr. Patricia

How to Breathe Properly for Better Health, Increased Energy, and Less Stress
Peaceful MindVibrant Health

How to Breathe Properly for Better Health, Increased Energy, and Less Stress

by Dr. Patricia

It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how complex a health issue may appear, the keys to resolving it are often innate and very simple.

For example, I am often humbled by how few health-conscious people (and even healthcare professionals) know how to breathe properly.

They eat well, drink plenty of water, exercise, get acupuncture, and meditate, but somewhere along the way, they have forgotten how to breathe right.

And without proper breathing, which oxygenates our cells, awakens our brains, nourishes our blood, reduces stress, and boosts our energy reserves, we can’t ever achieve that ideal level of health we all long for.

The good news is, you already know how to breathe properly, you may have simply forgotten how.

In today’s article, we will explore why the majority of us are breathing incorrectly, and look at the tools you need to re-learn how to breathe properly and reap all its glorious health benefits.

Why We’re Breathing All Wrong

We’ve talked about chronic stress a lot on this site. And one of the roots of chronic stress is being trapped in a consistent state of fight or flight.

When we enter into fight or flight—a natural process designed to help us survive in dangerous circumstances—our body pushes blood to our extremities and ramps up stress hormones production. It also quickens our breath so we can flee more efficiently (think runner’s-breath).

This biological response is a life-saver if you need to escape or fight to save yourself from danger. However, thanks to 24/7 technology and other modern stressors, we all spend way too much time in fight or flight on a daily basis.

This causes a laundry list of health issues, including chronic shallow breathing, or “chest breathing.”

I’ve also observed that babies, toddlers, and children all breathe correctly through their diaphragms. But children mimic adults, and as they grow and observe others they begin to mimic their shallow breathing patterns…which develops the habit of what’s known as chest-breathing.

Plus, many of us (especially women) may have made a choice years ago to suck in our stomachs to appear thinner, which results in shallow, upper body breathing.

Thus, we need to re-learn how to belly breathe properly as adults (and let go of the idea that a flat, motionless stomach means a healthy body).

And not just as part of a yoga practice or daily meditation, but as part of our everyday, every moment lifestyle.

Just like we understand the difference between dieting and making a lifestyle change to eat whole, unprocessed foods, I am passionate about emphasize that we are not talking about a breathing “technique” to incorporate when we are thinking about it or in special classes which incorporate breath awareness. Proper breathing is something to incorporate regularly–in every breath.

A Quick DIY Test Reveals if You’re Breathing Properly

Whenever I lecture, I ask the audience (often composed of doctors, yoga experts, and other integrative healers) to take a deep breath.

Virtually everybody breathes into their chest, which is not what we want. Proper breathing involves breathing into your diaphragm or belly, with a still chest and shoulders.

Are you breathing properly?

To find out, try this quick DIY breath test at home:

Bring your awareness to your breath, breathe in deeply, and as you’re doing this, ask yourself the following questions:

A: Do my shoulders move when I breathe?

B: Do my chest or my belly puff out?

If your shoulders move up when you breathe and/or your chest puffs out more than your belly, then you are not breathing properly.

What is Proper Breathing (and how to do it)?

Proper breathing is also known as diaphragmatic breathing, deep breathing, or belly breathing…and it’s incredibly simple to re-learn.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. When you breathe in, sit up straight (posture counts) concentrate on filling your belly with air. Your belly should stick out…so let it!
  2. Move your shoulders and chest as little as possible (this will get easier as you practice).
  3. Exhale fully, emptying out your lungs.
  4. Repeat over and over.
  5. If you forget and find yourself chest-breathing again, just gently bring yourself back to that awareness and re-adjust your breath.

Helpful Belly Breathing Tips:

  • Some of my patients have found it helpful to set reminders a couple times an hour, to help them pay attention to their breath. Some put these reminders (with a gentle sound such as a chime) on their smartphones.
  • Posture really does count, so pay attention to how you’re sitting or standing throughout the day. If you’re slumped over, it can inhibit your lungs’ ability to expand. So gently pull your shoulders back and tilt forward a bit.
  • Pay special attention to how you breathe when you’re engaged with electronic devices. Often, these devices cause us to shift into fight or flight (think 24-hour news cycles and social media drama) which triggers that shallow, chest-breathing we want to avoid.
  • It may also be helpful to start each day with 5-10 minutes of focused belly breathing, which can be incorporated into your meditation. This will help focus your awareness on the breath for the rest of the day.
  • The most important thing is to be gentle with yourself in this process, as you have likely been breathing incorrectly for years. New habits take time, patience, and effort to take root.
  • If you need a visual, this TedX Talk: “How to breathe” presented by Belisa Vranich, offers an excellent tutorial on proper breathing:

 

The Significance of Breath in Traditional Chinese Medicine

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the breath is seen as a representation of the constant cycle of life. Breathe in the new…breathe out the old.

The lungs are considered a “yin” organ with the large intestine as their balancing partner “yang” organ. The lungs take in the new and the large intestine releases the old.

In TCM, the lungs are also associated with feelings of grief and sadness, and emotional stagnation often manifests in poor breathing patterns and impaired lung function.

As we move from the fall season where the lung/large intestines are dominant, and into the winter, now is a perfect time to really focus on improving your breathing while releasing what no longer serves you.

I am a huge advocate of qigong for this very reason, as it focuses on moving energy and creating balance using movement and breath work.

Proven Health Benefits of Belly Breathing

For those who need a little extra scientific motivation, here are some of the proven health benefits of learning to breathe properly/deep belly breathing:

  • Deep belly breathing encourages better oxygen uptake, which nourishes your entire body and brain1
  • Proper breathing triggers your relaxation response, resulting in improved metabolism, a boost in energy, and decreased inflammation 2
  • Belly breathing can help regulate your heart rate and lower or even regulate your blood pressure (without medication!) 3
  • Deep, yogic-style breathing has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression 4
  • Breathing coupled with mindfulness has been shown to help fight insomnia and improve sleep patterns 5
  • Deep breathing balances your autonomic nervous system and has been shown helpful for children and adults who suffer from ADD6

And this is just a small sampling of the research out there on how proper breathing benefits our entire body, mind, and spirit.

In closing, I’d like to re-emphasize the importance of treating proper, belly breathing as a lifestyle change. While I am entirely in favor of Qi Gong, yoga classes, and specific breathing exercises, it is only through working to permanently change our breathing habits that we can experience a new level of health and awareness.

I wish you every success with your breathing journey, and I envision a time where proper breathing is the norm rather than the exception.

To your abundant health,

-Dr. Patricia

 

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Glyphosate: a hidden factor related to wheat and gluten intolerance?
NutritionVibrant Health

Glyphosate: a hidden factor related to wheat and gluten intolerance?

by Dr. Patricia

Have you been told, or suspect, you may have a gluten sensitivity?

The gluten-free diet, once reserved for those with celiac or the very progressively health-conscious to soothe digestive complaints, has become a wildly popular attempt to lose weight, increase energy, and help heal a variety of chronic diseases.

The reason is: gluten can contribute to inflammation, which leads to gut health issues and opens the door for chronic and autoimmune disease.

However, the idea that everyone should abstain from all gluten is controversial.

After all, there are many nourishing foods, such as barley, oats, and einkorn, that contain gluten.

Plus, humankind has consumed and thrived on glutenous foods since Biblical times: “give us this day our daily bread”…why all the fuss about gluten today?

There are many theories and opinions on why an estimated 5% of the population has become full-blown gluten intolerant, and why millions more suffer from gluten sensitivity.

But, for those without full-blown celiac disease, I always question whether gluten is the real culprit…or could it be wheat?

In today’s post, I will share with you the research on why I sense the majority of people without Celiac disease are actually suffering from a wheat intolerance due to the insidious pesticide (banned in 5 countries and counting): glyphosate.

Plus, we’ll cover exactly which type wheat I recommend everyone avoid to prevent chronic disease (and why) and what types of wheat you can eat instead.

How Glyphosate Has Made Wheat Toxic to Humans

Up until recently, I had been scratching my head trying to figure out why more and more patients could no longer tolerate whole grain bread.

A few years ago, patients without gluten sensitivities could typically switch from eating white flour products to whole wheat and see marked improvements in their health…but this is simply not the case anymore.

Based on feedback from countless patients who had traveled abroad and indulged in breads, pastas, and pastries without the digestive issues they experience here, I knew it couldn’t be a gluten issue. So, what the heck was going on?

Like many of my integrative doctor and nutritionist colleagues, I have suspected big agriculture may have been genetically-modifying wheat crops here in the United States.

But, after reading everything I could get my hands on about GMOs, I found that was (thankfully) not the case…or not exactly the case.

What my research did reveal was the real, little-known reason so many of us are allergic or sensitive to North American wheat: glyphosate pesticides…and lots of it.

The Glyphosate Wheat Harvest

As it turns out, it is standard practice for conventional wheat farmers to routinely desiccate their crops with huge amounts of glyphosate pesticides right before harvest (eeeek!).

The rationale for this practice is the glyphosate helps quickly ripen and dry out the wheat which makes it easier to harvest, increasing profits and reducing labor costs for farmers.

The obvious problem with this practice for consumers is glyphosate pesticides have been officially banned in 5 countries due to their negative health effects. In my own state of California, a judge recently ruled the state could apply a cancer-warning label to glyphosate products.

And thanks to research conducted by Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a senior research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), we now know glyphosate pesticides play a huge role in gluten and wheat intolerance (among other health issues)1.

Which explains why so many people can enjoy wheat overseas in some countries where it is not used, but not here in American where glyphosate is approved for free use on crops.

Let’s take a look at how glyphosate contributes to wheat and gluten sensitivities.

How Glyphosate Pesticides Cause (or exacerbate) Gluten and Wheat Sensitivities

Without getting overly technical, here’s how the glyphosate-wheat-gluten-gut-health-allergy chain works.

According to Dr. Seneff’s research as published in the Interdisciplinary Toxicology journal2:

“Glyphosate, patented as an antimicrobial, has been shown to disrupt gut bacteria in animals, preferentially killing beneficial forms and causing an overgrowth of pathogens.”

That means glyphosates wipe out your beneficial gut bacteria, kind of like antibiotics except they specifically target the good bacteria.

As we’ve discussed in previous posts, a well-diversified gut microbiome is essential to strong immunity, digestion, and your body’s ability to keep inflammation in check.

If that gut bacteria is regularly targeted by things like glyphosates, antibiotics, NSAID drugs, etc., it leaves you vulnerable to conditions like leaky gut syndrome, which can easily progress to food sensitivities and even full-blown autoimmune conditions, if left unchecked.

So eating foods like wheat, which are dowsed with glyphosate pesticides and likely not cleaned very well before being milled into flour, is a surefire way to start degrading your gut health and open the doors to food sensitivities.

But that’s not all.

Dr. Seneff’s team also found glyphosates negatively affect our bodies in two other significant ways:

  1. By chelating out essential minerals like iron and cobalt,
  2. and interfering with cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes.

The implications of mineral deficiencies include digestion issues, among other things, and by inhibiting the cytochrome P450 enzymes, glyphosates essentially interfere with your body’s ability to detoxify3. This means every other toxin you consume or are exposed to becomes that much harder for your body to get rid of.

And what does toxicity lead to in the human body over time? Inflammation, disease, and food intolerance.

As you can see, the amount of antimicrobial glyphosate in wheat products is a big deal when it comes to digestive health and your gut microbiome.

And, in Traditional Chinese Medicine and other disciplines, your digestive health is seen as a reflection of your overall well-being.

I often wonder, based on this convincing research: how many people would have been spared a full-blown gluten-allergy or Celiac diagnosis, had they known to stop eating North American wheat products early on?

Thankfully, unless you have full-blown celiac or need to refrain from gluten per doctor recommendations, there are specific wheat products you can enjoy without exposing yourself to the detriments of glyphosates.

Healthier Glyphosate-Free Wheat Alternatives for Non-Celiac Individuals and Families

First off, you can try eating organic whole wheat and see how you fare, but it’s not my first recommendation.

My concern with organic wheat in this country is it is still a highly-hybridized product with a lot more gluten and starch than it had several hundred years ago.

So, while you won’t get the negative effects of glyphosate by eating organic wheat, there are healthier, more nutritious choices available such as:

  • Einkorn—if you haven’t tried Einkorn flour yet, you’re in for a treat. This is the oldest, unhybridized wheat in the world, and was recently re-discovered in Italy and brought to the United States. It’s much lower in gluten than traditional wheat, super-nutritious, and can even be enjoyed by those with certain autoimmune conditions when prepared as a sourdough (but check with your practitioner). It is considered the “purest” form of ancient wheat.
  • Spelt—spelt has been around for centuries and, though not typically unhybridized, it does have shorter chains of gluten, is rich in nutrients, and easier to digest than conventional wheat. It’s also typically a bit more affordable than Einkorn, and easy to cook and bake with.
  • Kamut—kamut is a lot like spelt, rich in minerals, easier to digest, and easy to bake with.

There are other gluten-containing and non-gluten-containing flours you can try like red wheat, amaranth, millet flour, coconut flour, gluten-free flours, and teff, but the above are my top 3 favorites in terms of flavor, nutrition, and ease of use.

You can find these flours and their products in natural food stores or online.

In closing, I would encourage you to check out Dr. Seneff’s research on glyphosates (which you can read about in this link or Google her as she has some good YouTube footage), as she is one of the most progressive researchers and champions when it comes to exposing the health detriments of these toxic pesticides.

I hope this post has shed some light on the cause behind the rapid rise in gluten and wheat sensitivities in our culture, and given you some food-for-thought when it comes to choosing the best types of wheat products to prevent disease and support good health.

Who knows…perhaps after reading this post and consulting with your practitioner you can once again enjoy a slice of nourishing daily bread (einkorn, spelt, or kamut respectively).

In health,

-Dr. Patricia

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HeartMath: The Ultimate Tool for Building Emotional Resilience
Inner GuidanceLoving Heart

HeartMath: The Ultimate Tool for Building Emotional Resilience

by Dr. Patricia

It’s no secret that stress is a top cause of acute and chronic disease. Many of us have experienced this in the form of a minor stress-induced cold, or possibly a more serious health condition, like heart disease or an emotional breakdown.

There’s plenty of research to prove it and an abundance of “stress management” products, classes, and strategies to help us better cope with this foreign-invader known as stress.

But, is stress something outside of ourselves? Some evil force that sneaks in when we’re not looking and wreaks havoc on our unsuspecting souls?

I would suggest to you, today (as I have to countless patients throughout the years) how important it is to look within, to our own reactions to circumstances we perceive a certain way.

Without looking within to cultivate our resilience, life can seem like a journey of solving one problem after another without feeling more inner peace over time. I’ve often described this reactionary state as a game of whack-a-mole, where we’re constantly reacting to our circumstances with no hope of victory.

So, if stress—or more accurately, our response to stress—comes from within, how can we measure our internal reactions objectively so we can learn to reduce our feelings of stress and increase our awareness of peacefulness within our very being even in the midst of challenging circumstances?

After all, many of us have been conditioned to see stress as something outside ourselves. That perceptions allows many of our reactions to be largely unconscious. We can feel justified in our reactions to circumstances, looking at the outside forces as a reason for our lack of inner peace. The challenge becomes how to find a way to learn how to develop inner peace and resilience if we are feeling overwhelmed by life. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could wave a magic wand and when we have a challenge or problem we could go to that place inside us that has the wisdom to guide us how to handle challenging circumstances? I haven’t found that magic wand yet, but I believe I do know the next best thing.

There is a way, and it’s called: HeartMath or Heart Intelligence.

This widely accepted method and science has been proven to measure and improve your stress response, and consequently your overall health, for over 25 years.

In today’s post, my intention is to share how stress manifests from within, and how to use HeartMath and principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine as natural stress relief to change your baseline reactions and create a healthier, happier and more resilient life (and end the seemingly never-ending game of whack-a-mole).

What is HeartMath? The Ultimate Objective Measure of Your Stress Response

I was introduced to the science of HeartMath as a way to measure and control stress 20 years ago, and it’s been one of my passions and go-to tools ever since.

Founded in 1991, The HeartMath Institute has been dedicated to studying the innate intelligence of the heart, specifically heart rate and rhythm, and its powerful connection to our brain, emotions, stress response, and to other organs and systems.

Thanks to their researchers, we now know, for example, that the heart’s rhythmic beating creates the body’s largest electromagnetic field, which sends important messages to the brain. In fact, the heart sends more messages to the brain than the brain does to the heart.

What does this have to do with overcoming stress?

First off, it is well known that heart rate variability (HRV) is a key factor in our overall health, fitness, and ability to adapt and respond to stressful situations. If we have a steady, congruent heart rate, we will be resilient in the face of stress; whereas if we have an erratic, unpredictable heart rate we are more likely to succumb to disease when stressful times hit. Please note as you read further that we are looking at heart rate variability which is different than simply looking at how many times your heart beats per minute.

Now, here’s the really interesting part: researchers at the HeartMath Institute found one of the most powerful factors affecting our heart rate and rhythm is: our feelings, breath, and emotions.

For example, they found, in general, that negative emotions create an erratic heart rhythm, which disrupts our nervous system and leads to a reduced ability to cope with stress and other ailments.

While positive feelings and emotions produced a smooth, congruent heart rate variability that promotes a calm, balanced nervous system resulting in (you guessed it) emotional resilience, a stronger ability to overcome stress, and better overall health.

This research is ground-breaking for those of us who wish to address our response to stress, and its detrimental health effects, at its root cause: in a word, attitude.

In the years since its inception, HeartMath has created a variety of research-based biofeedback tools, designed to help balance the heart-brain connection and help you overcome stress by using breath work and exercises that enhance positive emotions.

I’ll get into that technology, known as Inner Balance™, coming up. But first, let’s take a look at a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective on what’s now known as HeartMath.

How Traditional Chinese Medicine Views Heart Intelligence

Long before HeartMath researchers came along, Traditional Chinese healers had an advanced beat on the power and true function of the heart.

They viewed the heart as much more than muscle or valve that moved blood around, rather they saw it as the king or ruler of the body.  The “fire” organ, that controls and affects all others, and that all others will bend and sacrifice to support.

They also were keenly aware of the heart’s living consciousness, or “spirit” if you will, which is called “shen.”

Now you’ll know what your acupuncturist means when they talk about the importance of “calming and balancing your shen,” they are essentially working to restore balance your body at its life source: the Heart meridian.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, symptoms of an imbalanced Heart Meridian often show up as stress-related ailments such as insomnia, anxiety, a lack or overabundance of joy, an inability to speak freely, and eventually heart disease.

The heart is also intimately connected to the health of the stomach and liver, which may suffer if the heart meridian is imbalanced, or vice versa.

Remedies for an imbalanced Heart meridian include addressing chronic stress and reconnecting with your Heart center through practices such as Qigong, meditating, or spending more time with loved ones.

As a Doctor of Acupuncture Oriental Medicine who was taught and seeks to teach the importance of honoring Heart Intelligence and balancing “Shen,” the advent of HeartMath and their tools for restoring and resetting that inner stress response have been an immense blessing. I love to have practical tools to pass onto patients to make this journey easier and more enjoyable.

It’s been incredible to have something tangible, beyond explaining TCM theory, that I can recommend to patients to start addressing stress at its root cause.

Let’s look at those “tangibles” right now and how you can use them.

How to Use HeartMath Tools to Address Chronic Stress at its Root Cause and Build Emotional Resilience

Now that you understand how our inner reaction and conditioning to circumstances produces stress, and how that stress affects our central governing organ, the Heart, let’s look at my favorite tool to address this issue at its core.

Yes, there’s an app for that!

It’s called Inner Balance™ by HeartMath, and it’s available as an app to help you track your heart rate so you know when you’re defaulting to those old reactionary stress patterns. And it helps coach you, through breath work and positive imagery, to return to that restorative, peaceful place of balance.

Here’s how it works.

Because breathing patterns modulate the heart’s rhythm, the app tracks your breath and alerts you when you need to slow down and breathe more deeply and rhythmically.

This, along with positive imagery and thoughts, returns your heart rate variability to its optimal, coherent state which promotes health, emotional balance, and clear thinking.

Qigong and meditation provide the same benefits, and are highly recommended in addition to Inner Balance. The great thing about Inner Balance is it provides objective data while facilitating a consistent, conscious awareness of your stress response. Plus, you can use it anywhere, anytime.

This assisted-awareness is so crucial to your success in overcoming old programming, as our society is so conditioned to thrive on the whack-a-mole reactions to stress, that most of us are hardly conscious of it.

And the app makes those reactions impossible to ignore, so we can adjust them…and return to our true state of gratitude, calmness, and health.

There is much more to say about the heart-brain connection, heart intelligence, and its direct affect on the cause of stress and stress-related ailments, but I will leave it here for today.

Your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to try out the Inner Balance app for one week, and see for yourself what an incredible difference it will make to your ability to handle stress, your brain power, and overall emotional resilience and well-being.

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

To learn more about Heart Intelligence and Heart Math science and studies, visit the Heart Math Institute at: www.heartmath.org.

In heart-felt appreciation,

-Dr. Patricia

 

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Modern Antibiotics and Your Health—What Everyone Needs to Know (but doesn’t)
Vibrant Health

Modern Antibiotics and Your Health—What Everyone Needs to Know (but doesn’t)

by Dr. Patricia

When I started my practice over 25 years ago, antibiotics were still largely considered to be a “magic pill,” dolled out for everything from colds and flu to minor ear infections. It seemed like most people weren’t questioning their prescriptions, let alone inquire about their potentially harmful long-term effects.

Many were not aware at the time that antibiotics weren’t helpful for viruses and did, in fact, weaken your immunity and digestive health over time.

Fast forward to 2017 and the world is abuzz with the latest medical health crisis that is antibiotic resistance.

And make no mistake, despite that most people are still regularly prescribed antibiotics (to the tune of a quarter billion courses a year, per the CDC), this is a very serious health crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is considered “one of the world’s most pressing public health problems”1.

But what can one person do amidst a complicated and seemingly insurmountable crisis like this?

Believe it or not, experts agree that antibiotic resistance is a numbers game—the more people use them, the greater resistance becomes.

Which means, every single person counts.

And that’s the point of today’s post: to empower you with the information you need on modern antibiotics, including what they do, how they help, how they harm (beyond just wiping out your gut bacteria), and how to seek advice on natural alternatives. Plus, learn how to fortify your body so you can avoid unnecessary use and stop resistance.

A lot has changed since the 1980s. Read on to learn how to protect yourself and play your part in the numbers game of reducing antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotics 101: What They Are, What They Do

Antibiotics are a class of drugs that cure bacterial infections by killing bacteria in your body or halting its growth2.

Since their discovery in 1928, antibiotics have advanced from a simple penicillin-based drug to a variety of more complex broad-spectrum and ultra-specific antimicrobials.

Each with its own specific benefits and side effects.

In other words, the antibiotics you and your children are taking are vastly different from what your parents and grandparents took.

Is this a good thing or not?

Like the function of antibiotics themselves, this is a win-lose situation.

Yes, modern antibiotics can treat a greater variety of infections in a greater variety of people…and they do save lives.

However, the complex and little-known side effects are taking a massive toll on our health.

The Two Most Dangerous Side Effects of Modern Antibiotics

One BIG misconception about antibiotics is that they only negatively affect your gut bacteria, which you can fix by consuming probiotics.

How many times has your doctor told you to eat yogurt with your antibiotics to prevent stomach upset?

While this advice is somewhat sound (not all yogurt cultures will stand up to antibiotics or provide enough good bugs to balance their effects), it fails to address two of the most dangerous, little-known side effects of modern antibiotics:

  1. Antibiotic resistance, and
  2. Cell and DNA Damage

We’ll look at the issue of antibiotic resistance (and what you can do to protect yourself from it) in just a minute. But first, let’s look at this very real threat of cell and DNA damage.

In this rather recent scientific discovery published in the journal Science Translational Medicine 3, researchers found that commonly used antibiotics are toxic to our mitochondria—the essential powerhouses of our cells that take in nutrients and convert them to energy.

In addition to damaging our mitochondria, exposure to a variety of antibiotics has also been shown to increase the formation of toxic free radicals that further damage our cells, tissues, and DNA.

This is a HUGE problem, especially considering the sheer amount of antibiotics most people take in a lifetime.

Thankfully, researchers in this same study also observed a work-around to this problem in the form of the amino acid supplement: N-acetyl-L-cysteine, (NAC). According to the researchers, this simple nutrient could be key in “improving the safety of antibiotic treatment in people.”

NAC is natural, widely available, safe, and can be taken with antibiotics.

Today’s Antibiotic Resistance—The Medical Crisis of Our Time

It’s no mystery that antibiotic resistance is a serious public health issue.

The mystery lies in why antibiotic prescriptions, use in agriculture, and antimicrobial-containing products are still so prevalent in the midst of such a life-threatening epidemic.

To help drive the severity of this situation home, let me share a few sobering facts:

  • The CDC conservatively estimates 2 million Americans become infected and 23,000 Americans die each year from antibiotic-resistant bacteria5
  • According to a study review published in the American Journal of Infection Control, 1 in 4 nursing home residents harbors antibiotic-resistant bacteria6
  • Despite the fact antibiotic resistance is driven by the amount that’s given to people and animals, the United States is one of the greatest users of antibiotics in livestock production
  • The cost of antibiotic resistance is expected to grow to 10 trillion dollars annually by 2050

And the Main Cause of This Crisis?

In one word: overuse. Both in terms of over-prescribing AND prolonged use. Which brings me to our next point…

Is It Wise to Finish That Course of Antibiotics?

Though we have been conditioned to finish an entire course of antibiotics (lest we regress and require more, which could increase our risk of resistance), it appears this isn’t necessarily true.

While some conditions surely warrant completion of a full course, many don’t. And, science has shown, reducing your course won’t put you at further risk of resistance.

How do you know when to finish your course?

My best advice is to partner with an integrative medical doctor who understands the implications of antibiotic use, and can, therefore, advise you on the best course of action.

In addition to building up your immunity, which will make you less susceptible to infections requiring antibiotics (see previous post: Autumn and Chinese Medicine: Wisdom for Immunity, Vitality, and Emotional Wellness), there are also a number of highly effective natural, herbal antibiotics you can consider, which I’ll get into right now.

Herbal Antibiotics as an Alternative?

Certainly antibiotics save lives. Antibiotics saved my life when I was six months old, so I am very aware that I wouldn’t be alive to write this article if it wasn’t for their powerful qualities.

This article is not at all meant to criticize antibiotics, but to shed light on the effects of overuse. As more and more people are expressing similar concerns, I am often asked about herbal antibiotics.

For those wishing to pursue that route, my suggestion would be to seek the care of a practitioner who has significant herbal training and experience. You need to be evaluated properly and have a treatment plan appropriate for you. Doctors of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) and Naturopathic Doctors (ND) have at least four years of herbal education. Other medical professionals also have engaged in herbal study programs.

Do your homework and find a professional with not only the education and experience, but someone you can communicate well with so you can not only overcome a condition with natural support, but also strengthen your immune system.    Building up your immunity will make you less susceptible to infections requiring antibiotics (see previous post: Autumn and Chinese Medicine: Wisdom for Immunity, Vitality, and Emotional Wellness).  We will explore more tips for immune fortification in upcoming articles.

–Dr. Patriciia

 

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The Healing and Detoxifying Power of a Good Cry
Emotional WellnessJoyful SpiritLoving Heart

The Healing and Detoxifying Power of a Good Cry

by Dr. Patricia

When was the last time you had a good cry?

If you’re like some people you may find yourself resisting, or, like others, you may allow the tears to start flowing but soon after start apologizing.

Fortunately, no matter how hard you resist, eventually the tears will come…and you will most likely feel so much better for “indulging” in a good cry.

While sometimes judged as weak, being vulnerable and allowing a good cry can be quite the opposite. Crying is like a built-in emotional detoxification system—washing away hurt feelings, grief, disappointments, pain, or unexplained feelings of sadness.

In fact, new research has proven tears are extremely beneficial to your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Unfortunately, a significant portion of our culture views crying as cowardly. Especially in boys, men, and women in positions of power.

In light of these new scientific discoveries, I would love to see this cultural view shift.

For it is in our acceptance of crying—with all the discomforts and drama that lead up to it—that we can experience powerful healing of our bodies, minds, and spirits.

Let’s take a big leap in shifting our perspective today, by exploring the science behind the detoxifying power of tears.

How Tears Prevent Chronic Disease

According to researchers, emotional stress is a major contributing factor to six of our nation’s leading causes of death, including: heart disease, cancer, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, respiratory disorders, and suicide1.

Stress is also known to promote inflammation and weaken the immune system—both of which contribute to a slew of chronic and autoimmune conditions.

While it’s not “news” that stress contributes to disease, what is not widely known is that tears are one of your body’s most powerful stress-busters.

When we experience tearfulness resulting from emotional stress, those tears help us destress by releasing specific toxins and stress hormones2 and reducing our manganese levels—which are notably higher when we are stressed out or anxious3.

Some reasons why we feel so much better after a good cry.

The Role of Tears in Liver Detoxification and Heart Health

Westerners don’t often associate tears with liver detoxification, or liver health with heart health.

However, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver is directly connected to the health of the eyes and the heart.

And the liver/heart’s greatest emotional “enemy” is: unprocessed, repressed anger.

Case in point, researchers at the European Society of Cardiology have found outbursts of anger significantly increase your risk of heart attack and stroke4, while crying can reduce these effects by relieving stress.

If you suffer from a short temper or anger outbursts, you would be wise to have a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner assess the health of your liver/heart system.

I have often witnessed patients brought to tears during acupuncture or body work sessions designed to treat stagnant liver Qi. And the healing they report afterwards is often remarkable.

So, before you embark on another liver detox cleanse, be sure to consider the power of tears in cleansing your liver and strengthening your heart.

Tears Connect Us to Each Other and the Divine

It has been said, taught, and proven to some extent, that we are all connected to everything (and everyone) within the Earth.

And though every animal has some sort of tearing mechanism to protect vision and cleanse the eyes, human beings are the only species brought to tears by emotions.

Over millennia, these tearful episodes have helped build community by spurring feelings of empathy, compassion, and kindness towards our fellow man5. The fact we can be moved to tears by witnessing someone else’s sorrow is a clear indication of how deep our inner-connectedness goes.

In religious teachings, the vulnerability and humility experienced through crying was often seen as a path to the divine and unity with all things.

Hence why tears may be one of the most important biological reminders of our infinite connectedness.

Finally, Tears Allow us Greater Vision, Clarity, and Strength

One of the main physical roles of tears, is to cleanse our eyes and maintain our ability to see.

Without tears we would literally lose our vision.

The same principle applies to our mental, emotional, and spiritual vision for our lives and circumstances.

As our minds and hearts are cluttered with worry, stress, frustration, anger, and judgements, we become blind to the opportunities, solutions, and blessings right in front of us.

An honest tearful detoxification, allows you to flush out that clutter so you can get a good sleep and regain that mental and emotional strength you need to find clarity in your circumstances.

Only through a clear and expansive vision can we see our sources of true strength.

The takeaway from all this? Allow yourself the blessing of a good cry. Your immune system, liver, heart, social life, and vision will thank you.

-Dr. Patricia

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How to feel more grounded and centered inside no matter what is going on outside
Emotional WellnessJoyful SpiritPeaceful MindVibrant Health

How to feel more grounded and centered inside no matter what is going on outside

by Dr. Patricia

Do you ever feel the slightest bit ungrounded? Like your life, your thoughts, and your priorities are spinning out of control?

Given the modern world we live in, I’d be surprised if anyone could answer with an honest “no”.

Never before in history have human beings been so disconnected to the earth, whilst fielding an avalanche of 24/7 news cycles and digital communication overload.

It’s enough to make anyone feel a bit ungrounded from time to time (if not most of the time).

I have noticed this in my own personal experience and in practice, as more and more patients present with signs and symptoms of what we characterize in Traditional Chinese Medicine as an Earth-deficiency.

It is becoming epidemic.

And though acupuncture can go a long way in resetting that pattern, an acupuncture-session-a-day isn’t a sustainable solution for most.

Beyond Traditional Chinese Medicine, a variety of scientific studies have revealed the proven health detriments of a lack of groundedness. It’s even been coined:”Vitamin-G deficiency” (“G” standing for “grounding”).

In other words, most of us aren’t getting enough one-on-one time with the natural world, specifically, the ground we walk on.

What happens when we deprive ourselves of Vitamin G via direct contact with the earth?

Sleep patterns suffer, heart disease risk increases, our mental and emotional well-being goes downhill, inflammation heats up causing increased levels of pain, and our relationship to stress can feel overwhelming.

The good news is, the best ways to get grounded and cure “Vitamin G” deficiency are simple, accessible, and free to everyone everywhere.

Read on to learn the best free sources of Vitamin G, plus some of the fascinating science behind the earth-human-health connection.

How the Earth’s Surface Heals the Human Body

Though it may sound a little out-there, the health benefits of earthing—the practice of connecting oneself to the ground or sea by walking around barefoot, swimming, or gardening—are well-documented by science.

We can tend to think of  our bodies as purely biological in nature, when in truth they are also very much electrical.

Our nervous systems, heart beat, and brains all function via electrical impulses. This is evident when we get an EKG, which measures the electrical energy of our hearts.

The human body carries a predominantly positive electric charge, while the earth carries a more negative electrical charge. Therefore, our bodies rely on a balance of these charges to maintain groundedness and good health.

Generations ago, humans had plenty of contact with the earth—we foraged, slept on the ground, and bathed in natural waterways. All these regular activities kept our electrical systems balanced.

These days we spend most of our time indoors and surrounded by electronics which emit a positive charge.

What happens when two positives meet? They repel each other. Hence why we need that balancing negative charge from the earth to soothe and ground our circuits.

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, walking barefoot naturally stimulates a major acupuncture point near the ball of the foot known as kidney 1 (K1); a key entry point for the absorption of grounding Earth Qi.

I’ll explain more of the vast health implications of the K1 point coming up, but suffice it to say earthing has a history of health benefits far beyond what we have discovered in the West.

The Proven Health Benefits of Earthing/Grounding and Vitamin G

As you can imagine and have likely experienced, chronic disconnection from the earth takes a serious toll on your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Likewise, when you take the time to connect to the earth on a daily basis, the health perks add up quickly.

Here are some of the latest scientific findings on the health benefits of getting grounded/earthing:

  • Earthing prevents cardiovascular disease—research has shown earthing can reduce your risk of cardiovascular health issues by reducing blood viscosity—a major factor in heart disease1.
  • Getting grounded can help you sleep better—insomnia creates a cascade of health issues and is a sure sign of Earth-Qi (or Vitamin G) deficiency.

A study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, showed earthing during sleep (through use of an earthing mat) helped improve sleep by balancing night time cortisol levels (your body’s stress hormone) which helps reset your circadian rhythm. In addition, participants experienced reductions in pain and stress. The results were especially prominent in women2.

Though this study focuses on night time grounding, I have seen great improvements in patients’ sleep patterns from daytime earthing too.

  • Earthing can significantly reduce pain and inflammation—with all the controversy and safety concerns surrounding prescription and over-the-counter pain pills, this may be the most significant benefit of all.

In a study published in the Journal of Inflammation Research, scientists found earthing significantly reduced pain and inflammation in study subjects by influencing a variety of biological and chemical processes related to inflammation.

Exercise fiends, take note: results included positive effects on delayed onset muscle soreness or “DOMS”—the type of pain you experience a day or two after strenuous exercise.

  • Earthing can help improve immunity—in the same study cited above, researchers observed the immunomodulating effects of earthing on concentrations of white blood cells, cytokeines, and lymphotcytes (to name a few). It gives new meaning to the term “natural remedy”.
  • Earthing helps improve a variety of organs and systems via the K1 acupuncture point—as mentioned previously, walking barefoot stimulates the K1 kidney acupuncture point to absorb the Earth’s energy.

This major acupuncture point connects with your Urinary Bladder point which influences your heart, lungs, diaphragm, liver, lungs, and brain.

Why Earthing/Grounding is Essential for Promoting Mental and Emotional Well-Being

For those who suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, depression or other mental health issues, daily earthing is one of the most important self-care practices you can adopt.

Besides all the mental and emotional health benefits associated with time spent in nature and greenspace (stay tuned for a future post on this), earthing helps improve your mental and emotional health in four big ways:

  1. It has been shown to improve heart-rate variability which can help those suffering from stress-induced emotional disorders such as panic attacks, depression, and anxiety3.
  2. As mentioned above, it helps regulate cortisol levels which improves sleep and helps you better cope with stress.
  3. It is effective for depression because it reduces whole-body inflammation, which many mental health experts and pioneering researchers believe is a major contributing factor to depression4.
  4. Walking barefoot, gardening, playing in the dirt or sand, or swimming in the ocean all help diversify your gut microbiome which has a positive influence on that all-important gut-brain connection.

Research aside, there is the innate sensibility within that says going outdoors will make you feel better. We would be wise to heed that call, and do it with bare feet.

The photo in this blog with the kids barefoot about to go paddleboarding pulls the message together beautifully. First of all, we see the innocence of children who are still in touch with their center. Secondly, they are barefoot, a key to grounding. Thirdly, the idea of paddleboarding or surfing brings together a beautiful metaphor. To be successful at either (I can speak from experience with both surfing and paddleboarding), one has to develop an inner centeredness, an inner calm if you will. No matter how the waves are rocking and rolling around you, it is awareness from your center that allows you to go with the flow and stay balanced on the board as you ride the waves.

How to “Earth” or “Get Grounded” for Maximium Benefit

The best ways to “earth” include spending 20-40 minutes a day…

  • Walking on the grass, dirt, sand, or even cement barefoot.
  • Swimming in the ocean or walking on the beach (the electrical charge of salt water provides an abundance of negative electronics, in addition to the sand).
  • Gardening, preferably without gloves or shoes.
  • Exercising outdoors barefoot—yoga, QiGong, Tai Chi, walking, running, dancing, or anything you can do comfortably without shoes.
  • Using an earthing or grounding mat, sheet, or pad—these devices ground you to the earth via a copper wire and can be used on your bed, office chair, in the car, whilst doing yoga, etc.
  • Playing in a clean, natural body of water barefoot such as a clean creek, river, or lake.

Since many children suffer the effects of Vitamin G deficiency in the form of attention issues, inflammatory diseases, and mental health challenges, I encourage you to include them in your earthing practice (and it’s great for pets too!).

My personal favorite ways to reconnect with the earth are to walk on the beach, swim, paddleboard, putter around the yard and garden with my dogs and practice Qi Gong barefoot. I often comment how my feet just feel “happy” when I am walking barefoot on the beach.

However you choose to do it, make sure you aim for 20-40 minutes a day for maximum benefit.

When I began this blog, a priority was to provide science-backed information on the more little-known, non-commercial paths to healing.

Earthing is a perfect example of a natural therapy anyone can practice regardless of age, monetary means, or location. Just find a piece of ground, take off your shoes and relax your feet.

In appreciation,

-Dr. Patricia

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5 Reasons Holy Basil (Tulsi) is an Ideal Herb for Travel: Support for Immunity, Stress, Digestion, and More
HerbsVibrant Health

5 Reasons Holy Basil (Tulsi) is an Ideal Herb for Travel: Support for Immunity, Stress, Digestion, and More

by Dr. Patricia

A few years ago while on a business trip, I had an amazing experience with the herb commonly known as Tulsi or Holy Basil.

I had been feeling great all day and was looking forward to a meeting with a Western medicine colleague to review some of his difficult patient cases and (hopefully) provide some insights on how Traditional Chinese Medicine, nutrition, qigong, and meditation could help. My plane had just landed and I was on my way to his office when I felt a shift in my well being.

In a short period of time, I went from feeling great to not so great. You know that feeling when you know you’re coming down with something?

For me it manifested as a scratchy throat, congestion, a headache, and fatigue…and I didn’t have any of my go-to remedies with me.

Determined not to show up at this long-awaited appointment with a runny nose, I found a natural foods store and began looking through their supplement section for some relief.

Since none of my standby favorites were available, I decided to purchase holy basil. I had used it very successfully for stress reduction and sleep support with patients and myself for years. And I was aware of its antiviral properties, but had never used it for that purpose up until that point.

I took the supplement, and was beyond amazed by what seemed to happen almost instantaneously.

Within minutes my head started to clear, my congestion broke up, my sore throat was gone, and I felt a renewed sense of energy. I was able to go to my meeting and have a wonderful time with my colleague and have a creative collaboration to enhance the treatment plans for his patients. And the symptoms never came back.

I’ll never forget that experience with holy basil as it was so visceral. And so unexpected.

I had hoped it might help a little, but had no idea it could shift that “I’m coming down with something” feeling, to feeling like my vibrant self again so quickly.

I realize my experience is anecdotal, and not everyone who uses holy basil will have the same experience. However, I wanted to share my story as it offers an excellent example of how powerful herbs can be when given to the right person at the right time for the right reason.

Here are five reasons why, in my opinion, Holy Basil is a phenomenal herb that will benefit travelers …and beyond:

1. Holy basil has both antiviral and antibacterial properties.

There is no place like a crowded plane to increase your risk of exposure to colds, flu, and other viruses.

In addition to Echinacea which has been proven to reduce airplane sickness1, Holy basil is ideal for air travel because its essential oils have been shown to have antiviral and antibacterial properties2 as well as the whole herb acting as an overall immune booster3.

2. It acts as a digestive aid.

Digestion is usually one of the first things to suffer when you travel, which can weaken your immune system.

Holy basil tea has been used as a digestive tonic for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine (the traditional medicine of India), and has been shown beneficial for digestive ailments4.

It can work even better when paired with probiotic-rich foods that encourage healthy elimination such as yogurt, kimchi, or kombucha.

3. Holy Basil has been studied for its positive effects on mental and emotional well-being.

Travel of any sort, from business trips to vacations, can often contribute to some level of mental and emotional stress—be it worry over getting to the airport on time or those first sleepless nights away from home.

Holy basil can help take the edge off travel stress, as it has been shown beneficial for anxiety, depression, stress, forgetfulness, cognitive impairments, exhaustion, and sleeplessness.

It is so effective for stress, that Dr. Oz has featured it on his show as a natural solution for stress and mood swings5.

4. It is adaptogenic in nature.

Adaptogenic herbs, like Holy Basil, support overall health by helping your body adapt to a variety of stressors.

In the case of Holy Basil, if you’re low on energy it will give you a boost, if you can’t sleep or are stressed out, it will help calm your nerves, it has also been shown to help with noise-induced stress6, which can make a big different on a noisy flight or in a less-than-peaceful hotel room.

5. Last, but not least, Holy Basil has been shown to have protective effects against a variety of environmental toxins including pesticides, heavy metals, and radiation.

Extra protection from pesticides and heavy metals is always a good thing, but radiation is of particular concern for air travelers, as radiation from airport scanners and cosmic rays in the air can cause increased body burden.

Experts estimate a flight from Los Angeles to New York, for example, exposes you to half the amount of radiation you would receive from a chest x-ray…which is not insignificant7.

As someone who loves to travel, I really appreciate learning about nourishing and supportive herbs such as holy basil. This way, I know I can stay healthy and energetic away from home while meeting new people and exploring other cultures in this beautiful world we live in.

-Dr. Patricia

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Science Confirms: Sleep Detoxifies Your Brain — Plus 5 Tips for Better Sleep
Brain WellnessPeaceful MindVibrant Health

Science Confirms: Sleep Detoxifies Your Brain — Plus 5 Tips for Better Sleep

by Dr. Patricia

We know sleep is crucial to our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

But, do you know why we must sleep to survive, and what purpose it serves?

Research has suggested that the purpose of sleep is to allow our bodies time to restore and repair themselves, while our brain sorts and stores new information and prunes out old information.

And this is true…but it’s only part of the story.

Exciting new research has uncovered what scientists are calling the true biological purpose of sleep: a newly discovered detoxification system of the brain known as: the glymphatic system.

Coined by Dr. Maiken Nedergaard based on its dependence upon glial brain cells and similar function to our lymphatic system—a primary detoxification system.

This remarkable system is responsible for cleansing our brains of harmful cellular by-products that, if left to accumulate, could lead to severe cognitive decline as we age.

In other words, it acts like your brain’s midnight cleaning crew.

And the most important part? Its function is highly dependent upon our quality of sleep.

Read on to learn how the glymphatic system works, exactly what type of sleep doubles its effectiveness, and what lifestyle changes you can make today to enhance brain detoxification and prevent cognitive decline.

How Your Glymphatic System Works

The Glymphatic system was discovered by a team of researchers at The University of Rochester Medical Center led by Danish researcher Dr. Maiken Nedergaard.

According to Dr. Nedergaard, your glymphatic system is made up of the interstitial fluid filled space between brain tissue cells and takes up about 20% of your brain. It is most active during natural sleep and is dedicated to detoxifying your brain’s daily cellular waste—much like a filter removes toxins from your water.[i].

What is this daily waste and why should you be concerned about it?

Your brain’s daily waste includes all the cell by-products that build up as the result of thinking, including neuro-degenerative substances such as beta-amyloid, a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

This is a HUGE discovery considering our country’s lack-of-sleep epidemic and sky-rocketing rates of cognitive impairments.

According to Dr. Nedergaard, the glymphatic system is twice as active during sleep. Therefore, the key to optimizing brain detoxification is to get enough sleep.

Easy enough, except for two things:

#1: Approximately 80% of Americans are sleep deprived.

#2: The glymphatic system can only be super-charged by one type of sleep…

Natural Sleep and Your Glymphatic System

Given our nation’s sleep epidemic, considered a national health crisis by the Center’s for Disease Control, many people rely in sleep medications to get them through the night.

Though these may provide some temporary relief, there is no evidence that medication-assisted sleep can trigger glymphatic system function in the same way natural sleep does (to say nothing of their other troublesome side effects)[ii].

This breakthrough discovery of the glymphatic system makes it even more imperative that we find a way to fall asleep (and stay asleep) without medical intervention.

The 5 Best Natural Sleeping Aids to Promote Brain Detox

There are many reasons for difficulties sleeping. Below are some suggestions to help improve the quality of your sleep. If you have sleep challenges that are chronic, please consult with your healthcare practitioner and co-create a plan to help you develop a sleeping pattern that is restorative.

Lifestyle Sleep Enhancer #1: Meditation

Meditation has been shown to improve sleep, reduce stress and anxiety, and provide a host of other stress-busting health benefits.

Though meditation can take many forms—such as journaling before bed, restorative yoga, or prayer—for beginners I recommend the Headspace® app “Sleep Pack”.

These 10-minute, guided meditations offer specific exercises and advice to helping you change your relationship with sleep for the long-term.

Lifestyle Sleep Enhancer #2: Exercise

Exercise is a fantastic overall stress reducer and detoxifier for your whole body.

For maximum sleep benefit, aim for 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days a week, to be practiced in the morning or afternoon.

If you’re suffering from chronic fatigue or recovering from an illness, stick with lighter forms of exercise such as yoga, walking, or Qi Gong.

Lifestyle Sleep Enhancer #3: Earthing/grounding

The practice of earthing—having direct contact with the earth by walking around barefoot, swimming in the ocean, or using a grounding device, has been proven to naturally enhance sleep and reduce stress by regulating cortisol levels (your body’s stress hormone)[iii].

Experts recommend 30-40 minutes a day of “earthing” outdoors for best results.

If outdoor earthing is not an option, you can use an earthing mat—a natural mat connected to the earth via a copper wire—on your bed, your office chair, or while you exercise.

Lifestyle Sleep Enhancer #4: Acupuncture

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, sleep disorders are viewed as a sign of internal disharmony which can affect different organs or systems depending upon the type of sleep disturbance.

Trouble falling asleep, for example, may be viewed as an accumulation of heat or fire pathogens which makes the spirit restless.

Several studies have proven acupuncture’s positive effects on a variety of sleep disorders including insomnia[iv] and sleep apnea[v].

The time it takes to see results depend upon the individual and treatment plan, although many of my patients have reported improved sleep pattern after after just a few treatments.

Lifestyle Sleep Enhancer #5: Rethinking technology

Though this is certainly not an exhaustive list of lifestyle-sleep aids, I felt technology must be addressed.

Due to the sleep-disrupting, stress-inducing effects of constant notifications, social media addiction, blue light from computer and tablet screens, and controversial device radiation, I recommend everyone keep their bedroom technology-free.

This means no cell phones, tablets, gaming devices, iPods, computers, or televisions in the bedroom.

Further, if you have trouble winding down at night, shutting off devices two-hours before bed can be a game-changer.

If you must work on your computer at night, blue-blocker glasses can help keep stimuli to a minimum, in addition to the other lifestyle changes discussed above.

The Big Takeaway: There is no substitute for natural sleep

It’s true.

As much as we may want to believe otherwise, no pill, vitamin, detox cleanse, herbal concoction, or special diet can take the place of 7-9 hours of natural sleep per night.

If you struggle with sleep, my hope is that today’s information on the glymphatic system coupled with the lifestyle-based natural sleep enhancers, will help you make sleep (and your brain health) a top priority.

In health,

-Dr. Patricia

 [i] http://science.sciencemag.org/content/342/6156/373

[ii] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/opinion/sunday/goodnight-sleep-clean.html

[iii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15650465

[iv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3156618/

[v] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4834396/

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Take the “Bite” out of Kale and Other Bitter Greens with These 5 Sweet and Simple Cooking and Prep Tips
NutritionRecipesVibrant Health

Take the “Bite” out of Kale and Other Bitter Greens with These 5 Sweet and Simple Cooking and Prep Tips

by Dr. Patricia

Like most integrative doctors, I’m a big advocate of a whole foods diet that includes plenty of leafy green, antioxidant-rich superfoods, like kale.

Kale, a member of the cancer-protective brassica family1, is naturally rich in vitamins A, C, and hard-to-find vitamin K, a good plant-based source of iron with blood-building chlorophyll2, it contains a nice balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids3, and specific nutrients that support detoxification4.

In other words: kale is not just another “fad food”, it is a nutritional powerhouse that everyone should be eating more of.

Sadly, despite its numerous health benefits, people’s love affair with this leafy green giant is often cut short because of its naturally bitter flavor.

Ironically, bitter foods like kale, dandelion greens, and broccoli rabe, are usually some of the healthiest, and most detoxifying foods…if only we could get past the taste.

The good news is there are simple cooking and prep techniques that will help neutralize kale’s (and any other greens) bitterness, while maintaining—and even enhancing—its nutritional benefits.

In today’s post, we will show you 5 easy tips on how to cook and prepare kale (and other greens) that will help remove the bitter flavor while retaining, and enhancing, those precious nutrients.

Kale Bitter-Busting Tip #1: Add a little something sweet.

Sweetness counteracts bitterness—in life and in food. Try adding any of the following to your next kale sauté:

  • Raisins
  • Dried cherries
  • Splash of apple cider
  • Splash of port
  • Unsweetened coconut
  • A drizzle of raw honey or pure organic maple syrup

Kale Bitter-Busting Tip #2: Try a “secret” ingredient.

The savory, salty, “secret” fifth flavor known as umami really helps upstage that bitter bite. It works even better when combined with something sweet.

Some umami-rich accouterments include:

  • Freshly grated (preferably raw and organic if you can get it) Parmesan cheese
  • OR Pecorino Romano (for those sensitive to cow’s milk)
  • Tamari or fish sauce (look for pure fish sauce with no additives or MSG)
  • Sundried tomatoes
  • Coconut liquid aminos

Kale Bitter-Busting Tip #3: Go raw!

Something magical happens when the combination of sweet and sour dressing hits a bed of finely sliced kale.

The key is to let it to “cook”, ceviche-style, for at least a half hour. The longer you leave it, the more tender the greens become.

Here’s a simple recipe to try at home (as always, choose organic ingredients whenever possible):

Ingredients:

1 bunch Lacinato (aka dinosaur) kale. Stems removed, sliced very thin.

Dressing:

Juice of 1 lemon

2-3 tablespoons organic tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

3 tablespoons walnut, sesame, avocado, or flaxseed oil

1 tablespoon raw honey

¼ cup toasted sesame seeds, raw hemp seeds or chopped walnuts

¼ cup raisins, dried cherries, or cranberries

Procedure:
  • Place ingredients for dressing (minus the seeds or nuts) into a small jar and shake to combine.
  • Pour over kale, toss, and let marinate for at least a half-hour or overnight.
  • Sprinkle with sesame seeds, almonds, or walnuts right before eating…enjoy.

Kale Bitter-Busting Tip #4: Get friendly with ferments

Fermented, cultured, or pickled vegetables offer a wealth of naturally-occurring probiotics, can be easily made at home, AND take the bitter right out of any vegetable.

I like combining kale with red cabbage, carrot, and beet to make mine, but you can use any combination of vegetables you like using this basic procedure:

How to Make Basic Cultured Vegetables with Kale:
  1. Shred or grate (a food processor is handy here) 1 large head of red cabbage, 3 carrots, 1 beet, and 1 bunch of kale. Reserve the outer cabbage leaves as they will be rolled and placed on top of the mixture once bottled.
  2. Take ¼ of the mixture and blend with water and 2 teaspoons sea salt or Himalayan salt using a blender or food processor.
  3. Stir the blended mixture into the vegetables. At this point you can add any seasonings you desire such as dill or fennel seeds.
  4. Place the mixture in clean mason jars, roll up reserved outer cabbage leaves cigar-style and place on top of the mixture. Let sit at room temperature for 3-7 days. After 3 days taste the mixture, if you prefer a stronger “pickled” flavor, leave it for another few days.
  5. Store in the refrigerator and enjoy as a condiment with meals.

Kale Bitter-Busting Tip #5: Blend it up—troubleshooting tips for kale-smoothies-gone-wrong

For most of us, there have been many a kale smoothie that has gone oh so very wrong. The key lies in: not overdoing the amount of kale and blending the heck out of it.

Typically, you want to add only 1-2 leaves of kale with the stem removed and blend thoroughly.

Also, keep in mind the lacinato (dinosaur) kale tends to be on the milder side than a Russian or purple kale.

If the smoothie still tastes too bitter, add some additional sweetness like stevia or dates, and a little lemon or lime juice, and you’ll have yourself a delicious smoothie.

I hope these sweet tips have inspired you to try taking the bitter out of kale before giving up on it.

Your body, and your taste buds, will thank you.

-Dr. Patricia

References:

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How Stress Is Poking Holes in your Gut (and what you can do about it)
Peaceful MindVibrant Health

How Stress Is Poking Holes in your Gut (and what you can do about it)

by Dr. Patricia

When I first began writing and educating patients about Leaky Gut Syndrome and its connection to chronic disease (25+ years ago), it was not a well-known condition. I first wrote about it in The Detox Solution: The Missing Link to Radiant Health, Abundant Energy, Ideal Weight, and Peace of Mind. I had been observing it in patients for years and it made sense from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective. I was compelled to find current research on the subject. Thanks to pioneers such as one of my master teachers, Dr. Jeffrey Bland, the “father” of Functional Medicine, I was able to find information and solutions to help my patients.

In those days, the term “Leaky Gut” sounded like a humorous, made-up condition, the idea of a gut-brain connection was considered “out there”, and research on beneficial bacteria, candida overgrowth, and the microbiome was nearly non-existent. Although Chinese medicine had emphasized the gut-brain connection for thousands of years, these concepts were still emerging in the Western world.

Thankfully times have changed, and the very real condition of Leaky Gut Syndrome and the importance of the gut-brain connection have hit the mainstream.

But, despite all the information and research swirling around, one root cause of Leaky Gut has remained largely unrecognized.

In a word: stress.

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