By Dr. Linda Haltinner

“All parts of the body which have a function if used in moderation and exercised in labors in which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy, well developed and age more slowly; but if unused and left idle they become liable to disease, defective in growth and age quickly.”  (Hippocrates, 400 BC)

I have a love-hate relationship with exercise. I spent years trying to convince myself that all of my daily activities added up to enough exercise—I gardened, carried wood and shoveled snow; I walked (occasionally) and parented; I am on my feet all day at work. I was surely more active than the average person.

Then an old knee injury flared, after a slip on the ice. As I adjusted my gait to compensate for that, my hip started to ache. Every time the knee seemed to begin to heal, I would re-injure it with some small activity. I had knee surgery—twice. I began to fear the pain, to feel like my body was at risk whenever I did anything the least bit out of my norm. I felt like I was suddenly older than my years, and any positive benefits of physical therapy, chiropractic and massage were short-term.

I knew, intellectually, that strengthening and stamina were the key to making a lasting change, so although I had never loved aerobics and hated the idea of committing time to exercise, I started exercising!

Now, I am zealous about it. Why is it so important?

1. Exercise helps to control weight by both burning calories and ‘stepping up’ your metabolism.

2. Exercise combats chronic health conditions. Being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol and decreases unhealthy triglycerides. It strengthens your heart muscle, lowers your blood pressure and improves blood flow.

By reducing body fat percentage, exercise can help in noninsulin-dependent diabetes. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002 (involving over 3000 prediabetic men and women) found that 20 minutes a day of aerobic physical activity was more effective than the drug metformin at preventing full-blown diabetes.

3. Weight-bearing exercise is essentially for good bone health. Bones stay strong and increase in mass in response to the positive repeated stresses they are exposed to. Also, by increasing muscle strength and improving flexibility and posture, regular exercise helps to prevent back pain.

4. Exercise boosts energy and decreases fatigue by delivering oxygen and nutrients to your tissues.

4. Exercise reduces stress and improves mood. Levels of “soothing” brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine are released as we exercise. Research (2010) suggests that vigorous exercise, three times a week, can reduce symptoms of depression about as effectively as antidepressants.

5. Exercise helps you sleep better, longer and more soundly. Just don’t exercise too close to bedtime so the ‘high’ keeps you awake!

6. Exercise helps us age more gracefully. Stronger bodies mean better balance and fewer falls. Most types of arthritis are less likely to develop in active joints.

There is even evidence that being more active can extend your life. A study in July, 2012 showed that people who are physically active for 7 hours a week have 40% less risk of early death than those who are active for less than 30 minutes a week.

Cognitive function is enhanced by exercise, too. In a 2006 study of people aged 60 to 79, those who walked briskly for 45 minutes three days a week experienced an increase in brain volume, especially in regions involving memory, planning and multitasking. In October 2012, Neurology, published research that suggested that people who stayed physically active into old age tended to have larger brains with less atrophy than those who did not exercise. Regular exercise also appeared protective from white matter lesions, which are linked to thinking and memory decline.

The Alzheimer’s Research Center recommends exercise as one of the best weapons against Alzheimer’s. Exercise appears to protect the hippocampus, which governs memory and spatial navigation, and is one of the brain regions at risk in Alzheimer’s. In 2000, Dutch researchers found that inactive men who were genetically prone to Alzheimer’s were four times more likely to develop the disease than those who also carried the trait but exercised regularly

Recommendations for physical activity in healthy adults include at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity) a week and strength training exercises at least twice a week

Remember, almost everybody can exercise. You just need a workout adapted for your body. Check with your physician before starting a new exercise program, and work with someone knowledgeable about training when you begin. You won’t be sorry you did!

Linda Haltinner is a Chiropractic Physician at Sojourns Community Health Clinic. For more information please contact Sojourns Community Health Clinic at (802)722-4023, 4923 US Route 5, Westminster, VT, www.sojourns.org. Find us on Facebook!

By Susanne Booth

As we enter into cold and flu season we all become more aware of ways to strengthen our immune system.  One of the easiest and cheapest ways to do this is by paying attention to our sleep.

Sleep is defined as an actively induced, highly organized brain state marked by a reduction in motor activity, lowered response to sensory stimulus, adoption of stereotypic postures (lying down with eyes closed) and easy reversibility.   It takes 90 -110 minutes to go though a sleep cycle.  We all do this 3-5 times per night.  In each 90-110 minute cycle, we go through 4 stages. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep occurs in the first stage of sleep. The deepest sleep is characterized by increased delta brain waves and occurs in stages 3 and 4.  Each cycle is unique; as a person sleeps longer, he or she will spend less time in deeper stage 3 and stage 4 sleep, and longer time in stage two and REM sleep.  Sleep is controlled by a part of the brain called the hypothalamus.  Patients who have a lesion in the anterior hypothalamus suffer from insomnia; those with lesions in the posterior hypothalamus have the issue of excessive sleep. Something else that is regulated by the hypothalamus is a fever.  We all probably know that we sleep more when we have a fever. It is thought that these two may be closely linked.

Did you know that we humans used to sleep a lot more than we do now?  In the first half of the twentieth century most people slept 9 hours per day.  Today, most people average 7.5 hours.  Now that electricity is everywhere and relatively cheap, we are able to stay up much later. Most people have an increased workload.  Family stress and social changes have impacted our time sleeping.

No one really understands why it is we need to sleep. There is research that makes in clear that the lack of sleep impacts our immune system.  Sleep deprivation increases the risk of infections through alterations in immune function. Our sleep changes when we are sick. Rabbits injected with viruses had an increase in non-REM sleep and a decrease in REM sleep.  They spent more time in deeper sleep. These sleep changes were found when animals were injected with bacteria, fungi and parasites.

Mice that were sleep deprived showed signs of immuno-suppression. They had lower antibody titers and were less able to clear their  bodies of viruses.  Chronic sleep loss in rats led to sepsis (a blood infection).  The hormones that were secreted appeared to be the same as those secreted in hypothalamus failure.  A similar pattern was seen in military trainees subjected to sleep loss.  When we are sleep deprived, we have available to us fewer of the proteins necessary to detect infections and tumor cells.  We also have increased levels of proteins that are pro-inflammatory, which can contribute to diseases such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance.  Overall this imbalance can increase morbidity and mortality.

Interestingly, women are better able to tolerate sleep deprivation than men. Women, typically, have better quality of sleep than men.  This may be a genetic variation in order to support women to be up at night breastfeeding and taking care of children.  Healthy women sleep better, can cope with sleep loss better and may have lower cardiovascular risk and greater longevity.

Sleep is an important part of every day.  Now that colds seem to be popping up everywhere, you can help protect yourself by making sure you get enough sleep. If you are sick, get more sleep.  It makes sense to try to sleep more in the winter when there is a shorter day, and save those late nights for the summer when there is more sunlight to energize us.

Susanne Booth is a naturopathic physician, primary care provider, and physical therapist at Sojourns Community Clinic.  For more information, please contact Sojourns at (802)722-4023, 4923 US Route 5, Westminster, VT 05158, www.sojourns.org, find us on facebook, and visit our blog, www.reformer802.com/journey2wellness.

By Dr. Susanne Booth

I was traveling to a conference with a fellow Naturopath, discussing the cost and complexity of health care, when I was reminded of all the benefits of bone broth.  Bone broth is a great source of many vital minerals including calcium, silicon, sulphur, magnesium, phosphorus and trace minerals.  Also by boiling bones and the ligaments that link them, you will extract amino acids that your body can use for the health of your own ligaments and connective tissue. The process of slow cooking over a long period of time makes the nutrients accessible and easy to absorb.

Bone broth has been known to be a great tool in healing the gut.  Those people who have intestinal inflammatory conditions, such as food sensitivities, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohns disease or colitis, are able to easily absorb nutrients from bone broth and replenish deficiencies.  Bone broth contains gelatin which can enhance the production of digestive juices and helps prevent intestinal bugs from attaching themselves to the intestinal wall.

The minerals that are found in bone broth are best extracted from the bones by adding a little vinegar to the broth as it is cooking.  One to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar per quart of water is recommended.

These minerals have many functions in the body besides growing healthy bones. When we are deficient in minerals, we steal them from our own bones; this can lead to osteopenia and osteoporosis.   Minerals (especially calcium) are also helpful for pain and inflammation, cramps, muscle spasms, depression, insomnia, and palpitations.

Two amino acids are extracted from the joints and bones as they cook: glycine and proline.  These are two necessary components of connective tissue, the glue that holds our bodies together.   Connective tissue holds our joints together, keeps our skin in place, and helps keep our organs from all falling to the bottom of our abdomen.  These two amino acids are known for their wound healing ability, and for contributing to fixing all the tiny damages that are done inside our bodies by inflammation.  Glycine is also known to reduce inflammatory activity.  Bone broth is great for supporting the body in healing infections, auto-immune disease, Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth or any organ damage. Proline is helpful in reversing atherosclerotic deposits.  It encourages blood vessel walls to release the built up cholesterol.  This will help decrease the blockages in your heart and reduce your risk of heart attacks.

As you can see, there are many benefits of bone broth. It is fairly easy to make. Start with the bones of any humanely-treated, range-fed animal.  Place them in a large pot with vegetables of any kind.  You can use the tops of carrots or celery, the ribs of kale or any other vegetable parts that are headed to the compost pile. Mushrooms are useful for immune support. Add some herbs if you wish; thyme and basil make a nice addition.  Cover everything with filtered water. Don’t forget to add the apple cider vinegar.  Bring the pot to a boil and skim off any scum that rises to the top.  Allow the broth to simmer for up to twenty-four hours.  You can simmer less time for smaller bones.  The broth might have a gel like consistency once it cools. This is a great sign and means you have lots of gelatin and amino acids.  Don’t worry if it isn’t gel like, it will still be plenty healthful.

I recently have been experimenting by adding all kinds of things to my broth. Recently I added eggshells to increase the calcium levels. I have also added the left over fiber parts from juicing.  The apple added an interesting flavor.  I hope you enjoy experimenting with this healthy tonic.

Susanne Booth is a naturopathic physician, primary care provider, and physical therapist at Sojourns Community Clinic.  For more information, please contact Sojourns at (802)722-4023, 4923 US Route 5, Westminster, VT 05158, www.sojourns.org, find us on facebook, and visit our blog, www.reformer802.com/journey2wellness.

By Stacey London Oshkello

Many people equate health with being thin or losing weight.  Research studies show that healthy aging is correlated not so much with weight as with healthy body composition. A healthy body composition requires an appropriate percentage of fat mass in proportion to your lean body mass. Lean body mass keeps people strong; it includes our muscles, organs, tissues, and water. As we lose weight, we want to make sure that we lose fat mass and not lean body mass. Unhealthy dieting, inadequate exercise, and stress can lead to the breakdown of our lean body mass. This condition is called sarcopenia.  Even people struggling with obesity can suffer from sarcopenia.  Ideally, we want to get the energy that fuels our body from the food we eat or from burning excess fat; not from burning our lean body mass.

How can you find out what your percentage of fat mass to lean body mass is?  How can you find out if you are losing weight healthfully?  There is a low cost, non-invasive test called Body Impedance Analysis (BIA) that measures your body composition. As a dietitian, I find this tool useful in a number of different ways.

Your weight on your bathroom scale is not as important as your overall body composition.  As you change your lifestyle, ideally you want to lose fat and build muscle mass.  There are times when we may build muscle and lose fat at the same rate, such as when we increase our exercise routine and improve our eating habits.  When we build muscle and lose fat at the same rate we will not see any weight loss on the scale, and thus may be discouraged from keeping up our new regime.  BioImpedance Analysis can provide more detail to help us measure fat versus muscle, so in these incidences the BIA can provide us with encouragement.  Seeing that your efforts are improving your overall body composition can help to keep you on the success cycle and make it easier to stick to your lifestyle changes.

As I counsel people on dietary and lifestyle changes, a BIA is also useful to analyze the optimal diet for each person.  The ratio of carbohydrate, protein, and fat that each person needs can vary depending on your body type.  As we refine individual’s diets, we can use the BIA to evaluate the success of the dietary changes we have made.  If one of my patients begins to lose lean body mass, we can make tweaks to their program to move them toward fat burning.  Such tweaks may be dietary but can also include increasing exercise, learning stress management techniques, or supporting the overall health of the adrenal glands.

The BIA is not only a measure of lean body and fat mass; it also measures the amount of water inside (intracellular) and outside (extracellular) of the cell, giving us information on the integrity of our cells and the overall ‘load’ on our system. With optimal health, we have more intracellular than extracellular fluid.  Elevated extracellular fluid suggests potential toxicity and imbalance in the body.  This fluid measure can inform us if a dietary cleanse is necessary, if individuals are drinking adequate amounts of water, and if additional therapies are necessary.

Building lean body mass and losing excess fat mass can help to improve overall health and body composition. When working toward improving your health, the BIA can be a useful tool to help measure your success. A BIA test is inexpensive, and takes less than 15 minutes to perform. Your nutritionist or other health care practitioner can review the results of the BIA with you, and assist you with the lifestyle program that is most suitable for your body type and condition.

Stacey London Oshkello is a Registered Dietician at Sojourns Community Health Clinic. For more information please contact Sojourns Community Health Clinic at (802) 722-4023, 4923 US Route 5, Westminster, VT, www.sojourns.org and find us on facebook and visit our blog www.reformer802.com/journey2wellness.

By Bonnie Bloom

We no longer need to draw a line down the center of the medical decisions road and assign treatment or diagnostic options to one side or the other. If we eat organic food, meditate and take herbs, sometimes it is necessary and beneficial to have an x-ray or take an antibiotic. If we are following a treatment protocol recommended by our allopathic doctor, we can explore using energy based, nutritional, biochemical or bodywork options to support and even potentiate that treatment. We do not need to make a religion out of our healthcare.

Practitioners, in all disciplines, are choosing to develop an understanding of each other’s expertise and are becoming more willing to work together and to know when to refer. This is a wonderful emerging option for patients; and requires of the patient that they communicate clearly about their care choices. The exchange of information can improve outcomes by clarifying what is and isn’t working.

Each kind of practitioner has a unique capacity to support the patient in healing. As consumers, we can educate ourselves about how a modality works and when it is the best option and what its limitations are. We all know that overuse of antibiotics has far reaching impacts and we know that an x-ray or a surgery can be essential. Pulse diagnosis in acupuncture is a great tool for reading the body’s condition but will not diagnose a broken wrist. On the other hand, making dietary changes and using the support of herbs and/or acupuncture can often help avoid gall bladder surgery.

We need to learn how and when to use a specific diagnostic tool or treatment. These are choices that are best made in open dialogue with our providers, with adequate information gathering, some experience and thoughtful intuition.

Herbs can augment the effect of some medications’ or they can change the way they work. This is important information. Nettle leaf can improve the effect and duration of arthritis medications, which can mean that lower doses of the pharmaceutical can be taken. On the other hand, St. Johnswort should never be used if someone is taking an SSRI. All this information is available easily and rather than avoiding herbs completely or using them blindly, we can educate ourselves and engage a skilled team of practitioners.

When is it essential to get a CT scan and when would another tool without a lot of radiation be adequate in the situation? We should ask questions and expect answers. Our providers need also to ask and seek answers and be open to the discussion with us.

I had Lyme disease last year. During the diagnostic process, after a conversation with Dr Chesney, a lyme-literate naturopathic physician at Sojourns, she suggested that some of my symptoms might not be lyme, and I might want to do a blood test for a B12 deficiency. I went to my medical doctor near my home, and he, after listening again to my history, ordered the labs. I learned that I had had a long-term extreme Vitamin B12 deficiency that had gone unnoticed because the symptoms were not clear and it is not tested for in a routine physical. My levels were way below normal but with the ND’s knowledge and my MD’s reflection, and the gift of blood work and subsequent supplementation, I was helped immeasurably.

We need to take responsibility for our own health and we need to access the help that is available to us. We want our providers to be open to each other, so that together we can create the best healthcare plan for the best outcomes.

Bonnie Bloom is a Herbalist & Jin Shin Jyutsu Therapist at Sojourns Community Health Clinic. For more information please contact Sojourns Community Health Clinic at 802-722-4023, 4923 US Route 5, Westminster, VT, www.sojourns.org. Find us on Facebook and check out our blog: http://www.reformer802.com/journey2wellness.

By Linda Haltinner, DC

As the days are getting shorter, our sleeves are getting longer. Less sun exposure means less natural production of Vitamin D in our skin. Vitamin D is needed for healthy bones and teeth. It also functions like a hormone in our bodies helping to regulate bone development, immune function, insulin activity, and calcium balance.

A severe deficiency of Vitamin D results in a skeletal deformity called Rickets. Although there are very few cases of Rickets in developed nations, the other common health issues associated with Vitamin D deficiency are widespread.

Vitamin D plays an important role in preventing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, congestive heart failure, and stroke.  Elderly people with inadequate vitamin D levels show a greater incidence of falling and of fractures, and more muscle weakness. Current research is also linking low levels of vitamin D with senile dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Vitamin D deficiency is implicated in problems with maintaining blood sugar balance, in osteoporosis, asthma, eczema, psoriasis, PMS and inflammatory arthritis.

Depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue and even memory loss can be helped by Vitamin D. Many types of cancer are less frequent in patients who have high normal Vitamin D levels. So is MS.

Vitamin D is essential to healthy immune function. This is good to note as children return to school. In a review article called ‘Epidemic influenza and Vitamin D’, the authors suggest that the cold and flu season occurs in winter months due to low reserves of Vitamin D. (Epidemiol Infect 2006;134:1129-40; also Science News, March 2010). They suggest that children who have adequate Vitamin D are less likely to experience upper respiratory infections. This may be because Vitamin D supports the formation of white blood cells and so facilitates proper immune function.

The majority of Americans are Vitamin D deficient. In Vermont, as far north as we are, the sun is only strong enough from late May until early September to support making Vitamin D—and even then, use of a sunscreen with an SPF factor of 8 reduces production of vitamin D by 95%. A simple blood test can help determine if your body has adequate vitamin D.

In the winter—and in the summer if we use sunscreen—we need to rely on diet and supplementation. Wild-caught, fatty fish (especially salmon and mackerel), sardines, shrimp, free-range eggs and cod are all good sources of Vitamin D, but it’s hard to eat enough of them to have an adequate amount in our diet.

It is important for most people to supplement their diets with Vitamin D. While the RDA for Vitamin D is 400 IU per day, recent perspectives suggest that this is a grossly underestimated. Supplementation of between 1000 and 5000 IU’s per day is safe and usually effective. Not all vitamin D supplements are created equal. Vitamin D3 is the best and most available to our body. Supplementation of between 1000 and 5000 IU’s per day is safe and usually effective. Since absorption can vary with skin type, digestive health, dietary variances, medications and supplementation, please consult your practitioner for a review of your current Vitamin D sources and an individualized assessment to see what dose is appropriate for you.

In closing, you may ask why Vitamin D deficiency is so prevalent. If we need it, shouldn’t we be able to get it without supplementation?? I would suggest that our shift to a predominantly indoor culture, air pollution, suboptimal diet and poor digestive assimilation capabilities are part of the problem. Interestingly, a worldwide assment showed that only residents of Thailand have adequate Vitamin D stores year round. Vacation anyone?

Linda Haltinner is a Chiropractic Physician at Sojourns Community Health Clinic. For more information please contact Sojourns Community Health Clinic at (802)722-4023, 4923 US Route 5, Westminster, VT, www.sojourns.org. Find us on Facebook and check out our blog: http://www.reformer802.com/journey2wellness.

Watching my children at play, I am struck by their boundless energy. They run from one activity to the next. There is no walking. Can you keep up with your kids?

There are some very simple things that we can all do to rev up our metabolisms and boost our energy:

First, eat a good breakfast. For many of us who have to get up and go to work, coming up with something that is both quick and nutritious can be a challenge. It is absolutely imperative that you give your body adequate fuel to run on. Your body has an innate intelligence; it conserves resources when they are scarce. If you don’t feed your body, particularly in the morning, your metabolism will come to a screeching halt. The empty stomach and coffee routine, though apparently effective in the short term, is draining in the long run.

Secondly, stay away from, or at least moderate consumption of, certain foods. Sugar, caffeine, white flour products, and hydrogenated fats are the obvious ones to avoid. (Notice saturated fat is not on my list!) Cereals and grains are also foods that I personally have to watch and not over-do. A good way to figure out your optimal fuel is to pay attention to your body. Your ideal fuel mix will keep you satiated until your next meal. If you have a noticeable energy drop in either the mid-morning or mid-afternoon, you’re not providing the right fuel.

Finally, exercise is critical to boosting metabolism. This is another place where you really have to pay attention. Is the exercise you’re doing actually revving you up? Or is it draining you? I began to notice that my three-mile jog really wasn’t giving me any kind of boost at all. All I felt was achy, sore and tired. I changed my workout routine so that now, I still do my three-mile loop, but I do it in bursts. I don’t jog. I run. I run until I am taxed, and then I walk. I walk until I am fully rested. Then I run again. With this type of workout, I still get that muscle burn I like, and I feel really rejuvenated afterwards.

If you’re experiencing low energy or low libido, or if you’re overweight, your body can be showing signs of a slow metabolism. We can all come up with excuses for why we can’t do this or that, but, to be honest, in order to make health changes, you have to make lifestyle changes. One of my favorite quotes, oft repeated to patients, is Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” So pay attention to your body, and make the lifestyle changes it needs. Your body will thank you with abundant energy.

Dr. Chris Hastings is a former Olympic athlete turned Chiropractor who specializes in Functional Medicine and Exercise Physiology. He practices at Sojourns Community Health Clinic. He is also the happy father of two young children who have no idea the lengths he will go to keep up. Hastings is a Chiropractic Physician at Sojourns Community Health Clinic. For more information please contact Sojourns Community Health Clinic at 802-722-4023, 4923 US Route 5, Westminster, VT, www.sojourns.org. Find us on Facebook and check out our blog: http://www.reformer802.com/journey2wellness.

By Brett Avelin, LAc

A recent client of mine here at the clinic – I will call her ‘Dawn’ — came to me with stage 4 rectal cancer that she had been living with for over a year. She reported that she had been through numerous rounds of chemo and radiation, and had been on a rotation of different medications to deal with pain in her rectum that she described to be ‘Like someone stuck a knife in and then twisted it’. Not pretty and not fun! The medications were barely touching it for her. Dawn was visiting, from afar, her family here in Vermont for a few weeks, and was almost debilitated by the pain. After hearing her story, I admit I did not have high hopes for relief with Acupuncture. I told her so; she chose to proceed with the treatment. After the second treatment, she said that she thought she was sleeping better. After the fifth treatment, she came in and was on the verge of crying as she thanked me for enabling her to enjoy the visit with her family in relative freedom from pain for what might be the last time as her prognosis was not good. This experience opened my eyes and I am grateful to be reminded of the effectiveness of Acupuncture in helping people dealing with pain related to cancer and symptoms related to the side effects of the related cancer therapies.

Many people have heard of the benefits of Acupuncture in treating back pain or other sorts of pain, but it is less widely recognized that Acupuncture is a great supportive therapy in Cancer. Whether one is receiving radiation, undergoing chemotherapy, or has just had a surgical procedure such as a tumor removal or even a biopsy, Acupuncture can help, as a recent (2010) study by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center demonstrated. There is even evidence that suggests that getting Acupuncture previous to surgery or chemotherapy can be beneficial in raising white blood cells counts and generally supportive for the immune system.

Acupuncture is a several thousand year old form of medicine that originated in China and has since spread to every part of the globe. It involves the insertion of very fine, surgical quality, single use, solid filiform needles at various sites throughout the body. Clients are sometimes surprised at the location of the needles as they may or may not coincide with the affected area. For instance needles may be inserted in to the outer side of the palm in order to treat someone’s neck pain.

One of the most common questions people ask about Acupuncture is “Does it hurt?” As with many things, the answer to that question is “It depends”. The stimulation one may experience upon the insertion of an Acupuncture needle varies from no sensation whatsoever to mild pressure to a warm spreading feeling to a mild electric shock to a pinching kind of pain that lasts a few seconds. The sensation can be equated to the experience of eating hot horseradish sauce (wasabi) in Japanese cuisine. At first, there may be a spike in sensation, but it is very short lived (a few seconds) and it diminishes to nothing. Many people report a deep sense of relaxation after receiving Acupuncture. This relaxation is no accident and is a sign that the body is better able to do its job of healing whatever is at hand.

So, if you or someone you know is dealing with a recent Cancer diagnosis or is about to receive treatment, it may behoove you to mention to your doctor that you are considering doing some Acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy. The web address below directs you to the article published by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on Various Cancers and Acupuncture : http://www.mskcc.org/news/announcement/acupuncture-helps-ease-side-effects-and-symptoms-some

In conclusion, Acupuncture can be an effective tool for pain, nausea, and other side effects of cancer treatment. Of course not all people will respond to the extent that ‘Dawn’ did, but the experience firmly established in me the fact that it is certainly worth a try.

Brett Avelin is a licensed acupuncturist at Sojourns Community Health Clinic. For more information please contact Sojourns Community Health Clinic, at (802) 722-4023, 4923 US Route 5, Westminster, VT, www.sojourns.org, find us on facebook, and check out our blog: www.reformer802.com/journey2wellness.

by Stacey London-Oshkello, MS, RD, CD, LD

As parents, we want to give our children optimum nutrition, and yet may be confused by misleading information and frustrated by the balancing act of parenting. Life can be so busy that food preparation gets left behind. When we do prepare food, we may have picky eaters who won’t even try what we have spent precious time preparing. Setting up a healthy feeding relationship with our children is of primary importance when considering what and how to feed them.

Ellyn Satter, MS, RD, LSCW, BCD, has over 30 years of experience and research in helping parents develop a healthy feeding relationship with their children. She has coined the term ‘the division of responsibility’ in order to help avoid conflicts over eating, and encourage children to listen to their intrinsic messages of hunger, satiation, and physical needs. The division of responsibility clearly divides the parent’s and child’s roles in feeding. Things can get confusing and ugly if parent and child start messing with the other’s responsibility. The responsibilities are broken down as follows: the parent is responsible for what is presented to eat and the manner in which it is presented; the child is responsible for how much he/she eats, whether he/she eats, and how his/her body turns out. Please see the table below for the detailed responsibilities of the parent, as presenting food to our children comes with a lot of specific roles. It is very important that we feed our children nourishing food regularly and sit down at the table with them and model healthy eating. I encourage parents to make one meal for the whole family and integrate family meals. Family meals combined with the division of responsibility can help avoid picky eaters, childhood obesity, and control issues around food.

As parents, it is our job to provide food regularly in a nurturing environment, and it is the child’s job to decide how much they will eat at each meal/snack. It takes children 15 times to get familiar with a new food, so keep presenting nourishing foods. Things that increase familiarity are seeing, touching, and tasting the food. Just having the food on your child’s plate will help them to become familiar with that food.

As a Registered Dietitian, I recommend that parents provide meals that include a source of protein, a source of whole carbohydrate, a source of fat, and a vegetable and/or fruit. This allows variety in the meal that the child can choose from, and provides a meal that will help to balance blood sugar, be satisfying, and provide vitamins and minerals to nourish the body. Children become familiar with the foods they eat most often. If they eat macaroni and cheese and hot dogs all the time and are never presented with other foods, then they will not learn to eat new foods. Present healthy foods to your children every 2-3 hours, and let them decide how much of a food they will eat. Do this even if you are concerned about your child’s weight. Offering healthy food every 2-3 hours will help their weight stabilize, if you don’t add other food or caloric beverages in between meals and snacks. Feeding them every 2-3 hours with nutritious snacks/meals can help to make sure they are meeting their nutritional needs. A healthy snack consists of protein combined with fruit, vegetable, or whole grains. Present food in a healthy manner, implement family meals (where everyone eats together without any distractions), and trust that your children will get what they need as long as we are following the division of responsibility.

Resource: How to get your Kid to Eat… But Not Too Much, by Ellyn Satter

Stacey Oshkello is a Registered Dietician at Sojourns Community Health Clinic. For more information please contact Sojourns Community Health Clinic at (802) 722-4023, 4923 US Route 5, Westminster, VT, www.sojourns.org and find us on facebook.

By Chris Hastings, DC

There is a lot of buzz around celiac disease and gluten intolerance these days, enough to spawn a whole industry within the food industry. There is also quite a bit of confusion as to the nature of these syndromes and what exactly to do about them. Many people are coming to the realization that grains are not always good for them, and may even make them feel unwell.

Wheat is a whole grain; a whole grain contains cereal germ, endosperm, and bran. The bran is the tough outside layer of the grain and is comprised of proteins, vitamins, and minerals. The endosperm, or kernel of the grain, is the portion that contains most of the complex carbohydrates. This is where flour comes from. A kernel of rice is another example of the endosperm. The germ is the embryo of the plant. It contains fatty acids and is the portion of the plant from which we derive vegetable oils.

Gluten, a word which literally means “glue” in latin, is a protein found in wheat and related species of grain such as barley, spelt, faro, kamut, and rye. There are two main classes of gluten; prolamines and glutelins. The prolamine, gliadin, is responsible for causing the inflammation that is experienced in ‘gluten intolerance’. This inflammatory response has deleterious effects on the gut lining, particularly the microvilli—small hairs that are a key player in nutrient absorption. Gluten intolerance is really the inability to digest gliadin.

The difference between gluten intolerance and celiac disease is that celiac disease is an autoimmune process that occurs in the gut. It is an immune response to gluten.

Symptoms of celiac disease tend to be centered in the gut; bloating, occasional diarrhea and stomach aches can all be signs pointing towards the diagnosis. Untreated celiac disease significantly increases the risk for certain cancers, osteoporosis, neurological conditions such as depression, and, interestingly, lactose intolerance. Gluten intolerance also may lead to symptoms such as joint pains or autoimmune processes.

Ten years ago, the incidence of celiac disease was estimated to be 1 in 2,500 people. Today it is thought to be 1 in 133. Why such a large increase? Better diagnostic testing and increased awareness can explain some of the change, but a bigger factor is probably the significant increase in the amount of gluten in today’s hybrid grains. According to the Weston Price Foundation, the gluten content of the two predominant stains of genetically modified wheat is five times the gluten content of their non-hybridized ancestors.

The best way to determine if gluten is a problem for you is to try an elimination diet. This involves stopping all gluten for a 3-week period, then re-introducing it, quite heavily, for a three day period. This is not as simple as it sounds; beer has gluten, things that are thickened—sauces, salad dressings and ketchup—contain gluten, plus the aforementioned grains. There are lots of resources on-line which can help you determine where you might encounter gluten. People to whom I recommend giving the diet a try are people with IBS or any gastrointestinal complaints, consistent joint pain that is not alleviated with any type of body work, and some of the autoimmune diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis. If gluten intolerance or celiac is a problem for you, it is likely that you will notice a symptom improvement during the period of elimination, and a symptom exacerbation when gluten is re-introduced.

Chris Hastings is a Chiropractic Physician at Sojourns Community Health Clinic. For more information please contact Sojourns Community Health Clinic at (802)722-4023, 4923 US Route 5, Westminster, VT, www.sojourns.org. Find us on Facebook.