Tension headaches are the most common headaches, and generally cause infrequent mild to moderate pain, but in a considerable number of patients, tension headaches are so frequent that they require treatment. Migraine headaches, on the other hand, can be disabling and severe. Accompanying symptoms can include nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light.

Treatment for tension-type and migraine headaches typically consists of over-the-counter or prescription medications, respectively. The aim of the systematic reviews was to determine whether acupuncture is also an effective treatment option for these conditions.

The reviews appear in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in all aspects of health care. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a topic.

Acupuncture involves penetrating the skin with thin, metallic needles at specific points. It is one of the main medical treatments in traditional Chinese medicine, where it came into being more than 2,000 years ago.

Lead reviewer Klaus Linde of the Center for Complementary Medicine Research at the Technical University of Munich said the therapy is popular in his country.

“In Germany, acupuncture is frequently used for headache,” he said. “Most private health insurances, in fact, reimburse for acupuncture, although they cover only about 10 percent of the population.”

The practice has also gained popularity in the United States. A 2002 National Health Interview Survey of complementary and alternative medicine use found that about 8.2 million U.S. adults had ever used acupuncture in their lives, and an estimated 2.1 million had used acupuncture the previous year.

Brian Berman, M.D., director of the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine in Baltimore, confirmed that acupuncture is definitely becoming a more popular treatment option for Americans.

“There is more evidence coming out showing acupuncture is safe and often effective and should be considered as part of a multidisciplinary approach for chronic pain,” he said.

The first Cochrane review by Linde and his colleagues focused on acupuncture for tension headaches. The researchers evaluated 11 studies that investigated 2,317 participants. The studies compared participants who had undergone acupuncture therapy with those who had no treatment except painkillers for acute headaches, or had a sham therapy, which mimicked “true” acupuncture. Researchers followed the patients for at least eight weeks.

Two large studies that investigated whether adding acupuncture to treatment with painkillers found that those patients who received acupuncture had fewer headaches. Forty-seven percent of patients who received acupuncture reported a decrease in the number of headache days by at least half, compared with 16 percent of patients in the control groups.

Six studies compared true acupuncture to “fake’ acupuncture in which needles were either inserted at incorrect points or did not penetrate the skin. Overall, these studies found slightly better effects in the patients receiving the true acupuncture intervention.

“The response to acupuncture in general seems to be large and clinically relevant,” Linde said.

Berman agreed with the review findings and said patients at his clinic seek acupuncture for the relief from tension headaches and some experience good outcomes.

“I have seen some patients do very well, but not everyone,” he said. “Often, the intensity of the headaches and number of headaches are reduced.”

In a second review, Linde and colleagues examined acupuncture for migraine treatment and reviewed 22 trials with 4,419 total participants who had received a migraine pain diagnosis with or without aura.

Six studies compared acupuncture to no treatment or routine care (with painkillers) only. After three to four months, patients who received acupuncture had fewer headaches.

“The effect over no prophylactic [preventive] treatment and also compared to prophylactic drug treatment proven to be superior to placebo is clearly clinically important,” said Linde.

The Cochrane reviewers concluded that there is consistent evidence that acupuncture provides additional benefit to treatment of acute migraine attacks only or to routine care. They also concluded that for migraine patients, placing the needles in the correct points did not seem as relevant, which is contrary to what most acupuncturists believe.

“On average, the studies do not show an effect of acupuncture at correct points over acupuncture at incorrect points,” Linde said. There appeared to be some benefit of pain relief regardless of the insertion points.

The reviews disclose that Linde has received travel reimbursement and twice received fees from acupuncture societies for speaking about research at conferences. Other review authors reported a variety of honoraria and reimbursements related to acupuncture lectures and speaking engagements.

The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit, independent organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. Visit http://www.cochrane.org for more information.

Linde K, et al. Acupuncture for tension-type headaches. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 1.

Linde K, et al. Acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 1.

From www.medicalnewstoday.com

(Health.com) — Scientists have finally confirmed what the rest of us have suspected for years: Bacon, cheesecake, and other delicious yet fattening foods may be addictive.

A new study in rats suggests that high-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin. When rats consume these foods in great enough quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction, the study found.

Doing drugs such as cocaine and eating too much junk food both gradually overload the so-called pleasure centers in the brain, according to Paul J. Kenny, Ph.D., an associate professor of molecular therapeutics at the Scripps Research Institute, in Jupiter, Florida. Eventually the pleasure centers “crash,” and achieving the same pleasure–or even just feeling normal–requires increasing amounts of the drug or food, says Kenny, the lead author of the study.

“People know intuitively that there’s more to [overeating] than just willpower,” he says. “There’s a system in the brain that’s been turned on or over-activated, and that’s driving [overeating] at some subconscious level.”

In the study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, Kenny and his co-author studied three groups of lab rats for 40 days. One of the groups was fed regular rat food. A second was fed bacon, sausage, cheesecake, frosting, and other fattening, high-calorie foods–but only for one hour each day. The third group was allowed to pig out on the unhealthy foods for up to 23 hours a day.

Not surprisingly, the rats that gorged themselves on the human food quickly became obese. But their brains also changed. By monitoring implanted brain electrodes, the researchers found that the rats in the third group gradually developed a tolerance to the pleasure the food gave them and had to eat more to experience a high.They began to eat compulsively, to the point where they continued to do so in the face of pain. When the researchers applied an electric shock to the rats’ feet in the presence of the food, the rats in the first two groups were frightened away from eating. But the obese rats were not. “Their attention was solely focused on consuming food,” says Kenny.

In previous studies, rats have exhibited similar brain changes when given unlimited access to cocaine or heroin. And rats have similarly ignored punishment to continue consuming cocaine, the researchers note.

The fact that junk food could provoke this response isn’t entirely surprising, says Dr.Gene-Jack Wang, M.D., the chair of the medical department at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Upton, New York.

“We make our food very similar to cocaine now,” he says.

Coca leaves have been used since ancient times, he points out, but people learned to purify or alter cocaine to deliver it more efficiently to their brains (by injecting or smoking it, for instance). This made the drug more addictive.

According to Wang, food has evolved in a similar way. “We purify our food,” he says. “Our ancestors ate whole grains, but we’re eating white bread. American Indians ate corn; we eat corn syrup.”

The ingredients in purified modern food cause people to “eat unconsciously and unnecessarily,” and will also prompt an animal to “eat like a drug abuser [uses drugs],” says Wang.

The neurotransmitter dopamine appears to be responsible for the behavior of the overeating rats, according to the study. Dopamine is involved in the brain’s pleasure (or reward) centers, and it also plays a role in reinforcing behavior. “It tells the brain something has happened and you should learn from what just happened,” says Kenny.

Overeating caused the levels of a certain dopamine receptor in the brains of the obese rats to drop, the study found. In humans, low levels of the same receptors have been associated with drug addiction and obesity, and may be genetic, Kenny says.

However, that doesn’t mean that everyone born with lower dopamine receptor levels is destined to become an addict or to overeat. As Wang points out, environmental factors, and not just genes, are involved in both behaviors.

Wang also cautions that applying the results of animal studies to humans can be tricky. For instance, he says, in studies of weight-loss drugs, rats have lost as much as 30 percent of their weight, but humans on the same drug have lost less than 5 percent of their weight. “You can’t mimic completely human behavior, but [animal studies] can give you a clue about what can happen in humans,” Wang says.

Although he acknowledges that his research may not directly translate to humans, Kenny says the findings shed light on the brain mechanisms that drive overeating and could even lead to new treatments for obesity.

“If we could develop therapeutics for drug addiction, those same drugs may be good for obesity as well,” he says.

When you go for a medical check-up, the doctor listens to your heart with a stethoscope.  Emotional health and physical health go hand in hand. (In Chinese medicine, the heart is known as “shen,” which rules mental and creative functions.)

 We sometimes try to ignore emotional pain and distress.  Pain can be a teacher to tell us what part of our life is out of balance and needs attention.  In other words, “We cannot heal what we do not feel,” or, “What we resist persists.”  Emotions are signals and guides that can lead us to healing and change when we listen.

 My hope in these paragraphs is to increase your emotional awareness, provide new ways of thinking about emotions, introduce strategies for emotional health, and provide guidelines for seeking help. 

 Emotions are chemical signals in the body that alert us to what is happening.  The signals travel to the brain in the area called the limbic system.  People at times are unaware of what they are feeling.  Some people describe being “numb,” lacking joy or energy.  Others describe being overwhelmed with emotional reaction such as anger, panic, and depression.  In grief, we may experience “normal feelings,” such as shock, sadness, or anger, yet also be overwhelmed. 

 Identifying our feelings is important as it helps us be more effective in our self-understanding.  It improves our ability to cope and make decisions and communicate in a non-reactive stance.

 Babies and children accept feelings without judgment.  Babies coo and cry.  They do not evaluate emotions as good or bad, positive or negative.  We begin learning in our families of origin which feelings are allowed or taboo, which feelings are safe or unsafe.  We need to evaluate how these messages impact us as adults in the here and now.

 Both dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness practice teach the concepts of non-judgment and radical acceptance.  Each of these concepts is worthy of its own discussion.  Often, we seek to control our emotions or block them.  Radical acceptance is recognizing what we do and do not have control over, tolerating something without trying to judge or change it.  Acceptance is saying “it is what it is.”  Acceptance does not mean we like what is.  It is not resignation or giving up on a situation that happens to us.

 Learning new coping thought can be beneficial.  Our thoughts influence our feelings.  Judgmental and critical feelings about our selves and others can trigger overwhelming emotions.  If we are in distress and think “I can’t stand this, I may as well give up,” we will likely feel helpless.  An alternative coping thought might be, “My anxiety/fear/sadness is uncomfortable and I can still deal with the situation.”  We can also choose not to deal with the situation or take a break as needed to calm ourselves.

 One of the things I like about practicing psychotherapy at Whole Health Center is that the other practices and techniques I recommend to clients for maintaining good emotional health are available in the same setting, i.e., acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, and movement therapies.  Seeking help can be beneficial when we experience an ongoing pattern of overwhelming emotions, or a lack of joy or emotions.  Additionally, if our emotions are impacting our work, health, relations, or life goals, we may need some help.  We may benefit from support while facing life changes, grief, or relationship problems.  Cognitive behavioral therapy has long been recognized as an effective treatment for mood disorders.  Dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness strategies are newer successful evidence-based treatments, as well.

 Healthy emotions, like water, can replenish and nourish as they flow.  Overwhelming emotions can flood us, and blocked emotions can leave us feeling frozen. A therapist can provide an assessment of these situations and make recommendations for treatment and paths to change.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, peeled and seeded, then diced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
4 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or broth
1 1/4 pounds red snapper or sea bass fillets cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 cup thinly sliced white mushrooms
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon or grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro (fresh coriander)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute until soft but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and tomatoes and saute until the tomatoes are tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cumin and paprika and simmer for 1 minute.

Carefully pour in the stock, raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the fish and mushrooms. When the mixture returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the fish is opaque throughout, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the tahini, preserved lemon, parsley, cilantro and salt. Ladle into warmed individual bowls and serve immediately.  Can also serve with rice or bulgur. 

from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/

WASHINGTON Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:35pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The use of acupuncture before and during surgery reduces patients’ post-operative pain as well as the need for pain-killing medication, researchers said on Tuesday.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina analyzed the results of 15 clinical trials on the effectiveness of acupuncture — a practice that originated in China of inserting thin needles into specific body points. They concluded that it is valuable for pain control in surgery patients. The 15 trials showed that patients getting acupuncture before or during various types of operations had significantly less pain afterward than patients who did not get acupuncture. These patients also required less morphine or other opioid pain medication after surgery, which reduced the side effects like nausea and vomiting from these types of drugs, the researchers said. In terms of pain-drug side effects, the acupuncture patients experienced 1.5 times lower rates of nausea, 1.6 times fewer reports of dizziness and 3.5 times fewer cases of urinary retention compared to the other patients, the study found. These findings augment a growing body of evidence on the value of acupuncture in improving the surgical experience for patients, the researchers said. For instance, the National Institutes of Health says that acupuncture has also been shown to reduce nausea after chemotherapy and surgery. “The use of acupuncture is still very under-appreciated,” Dr. Tong-Joo Gan, vice chairman of Duke’s anesthesiology department, said in a telephone interview. “Western doctors are typically not trained (in acupuncture) and they really are not familiar with how it works,” Gan said. “I think practitioners such as surgeons and anesthesiologists need to have an open mind.” He said numerous studies have looked at acupuncture to reduce post-operative pain, but many of them were not very well done. Gan said his team identified a group of well-controlled studies to judge how well acupuncture worked. “I do it all the time,” Gan said. “You give patients the acupuncture about half an hour before surgery and continue during surgery. It can reduce post-operative pain.” According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, scientists do not fully understand how acupuncture works, believing it might help the activity of the body’s pain-killing chemicals or affect the regulation of blood pressure and flow. “I think it is generally applicable to a number of different procedures,” Gan said. “In the studies, we looked at abdominal procedures, orthopedic procedures, gynecological procedures.” The research was presented at a conference of the American Society for Anesthesiology in San Francisco.

A child’s functioning is the product of many contributing factors.  At any given time, a child’s experience and behavior is affected by family composition and functioning, adjustment to life changes, genetics, physiology, and past experiences.  Many times, it is the parents’ perspective and belief system that is the most influential force on the child’s behavior.  Every child has a phenomenal ability to adapt and overcome adversity and stress.  A parent can unknowingly impede their child’s psychological development and growth.  Taking an objective look at the ways we affect our children is not always easy or comfortable.  Our concern and love for our children make it uncomfortable to consider how we could be supporting our children better. 

Managing a child’s behavior can be overwhelming and emotionally draining. This experience can lead to decisions that are drastic.  Medication is an important way to address behavior and emotions, but they are never the only option.  When an emotional or behavioral difficulty is addressed through changes in individual or family functioning, the result is positive development and adaptation.  This is an approach that targets the problem by encouraging emotional growth, rather than by addressing symptoms.  Medication need to be considered as a piece of the larger treatment picture.

Many times, the best way to address such a problem is not clear.  There are many options to consider, including individual therapy for the child or parent, family therapy, and parental consultation.  Talking about new perspectives and solutions is a great way to empower yourself as a parent.  Sam Dwyer offers a brief consultation free of charge.  Call (303) 470 1995 to schedule your consultation.

It’s an issue that has been increasingly attracting attention from many quarters. One very important sector that has begun to vocalize their concerns is the medical community.

While many physicians may have only recently jumped on the sustainable-food bandwagon, Dr. Preston Maring, Associate Physician-in-Chief for the Kaiser Permanente East Bay Medical Center in Oakland, California, has been patiently working throughout the last seven years to help bring a healthy diet to society at large.

Dr. Maring fully understands the impact of non-nutritious food on the cost of healthcare. “I think if you look at the healthcare of the nation, it is sort of a pyramid,” Dr. Maring told Organic Connections. “At the base of the pyramid you have primary care, and at the top of the pyramid you’ve got the complicated care. Our healthcare system struggles to find enough money to pay for all of the care throughout that pyramid, but there doesn’t seem to be enough money to cover it all. I believe that if good food were solidly under the base of the pyramid as a foundation, and if our people were able to eat healthier food throughout their lives, there would be enough money to pay for healthcare, because we would reduce the disease burden of those at the base of the pyramid who otherwise wouldn’t get as sick and require as much complicated care at the top.”

For food quality to be attracting attention from the medical community, something must be very wrong-and it is. As the quality of our diets has deteriorated over the last 50 years, certain diseases have become rampant. “Directly related to food, you hear a lot of talk about obesity-related problems in terms of diabetes, coronary artery disease and high blood pressure, and those happen in both men and women,” Dr. Maring said. “Those are the general categories of ailments; there are also many specific diet-related disorders.”

“Conventional” Food

The health risks of our food system are not simply the result of lower nutritional values. We also have many chemical compounds used in food production today that have become part of our bodily environment.

Dr. David Wallinga, Food and Health Program Director of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, sat down recently with Organic Connections to discuss this.

“Given that we’ve created a society with around 80,000 industrial chemicals, there’s  a lot to talk about with regard to food-borne pollutants,” Wallinga said. “Many of those chemicals end up in the food chain one way or another, through drinking water or because they are intentionally put into food packaging or because they are pollutants that accumulate up the food chain. Being at the top of the food chain, we often get the most exposure to these pollutants.”
Dr. Wallinga is a medical doctor who has, for the last nine years, been involved in examining the health impact of consumed food and how it is grown and produced.

“Most of the ‘conventional’ produce that we eat now is contaminated with residues of at least one and often many different pesticides,” he continued. “There are also many issues with meat and poultry. We did a study years ago showing that perhaps as much as 70 percent of the chickens grown in this country are routinely given a form of arsenic in their feed-not because they need it but just because it makes them grow faster. That’s a practice that was never approved as safe in Europe.

“Antibiotics are used heavily in the raising of farm animals. Anytime bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, it tends to make them more resistant to these drugs, which is true whether the antibiotics are used in hospitals, in communities or on farms. The problem is that the bacteria don’t really respect the boundaries between those places, so they travel from farms to people to hospitals. And so the scientific consensus now is that with the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in the farm setting, we’re helping to create drug-resistant superbugs that affect humans.”

Do We Need More Technology?

“There seems to be a big focus on how we need more technology to help fix some of the problems in agriculture, and I don’t think that’s true,” Rebecca Spector, West Coast Director of the Center for Food Safety, told Organic Connections. “We don’t need genetically engineered crops. We don’t need food irradiation to get rid of E. coli. We need to clean up our farms and clean up the way our food is processed to get rid of E. coli. We want to fix the real problem; we don’t want to look to band-aid solutions, such as irradiation, to try and fix some of the problems in our food system.”

The Center for Food Safety (CFS) is a national non-profit environmental organization with a goal to ensure that the US has a healthy and safe food supply.

A Better Food Future

With all that has gone on with our food system in the last 50 years, all three of these experts believe there is indeed a bright future ahead and see numerous ways to bring it about.

“I definitely think one of the key parts of the solution is that we need to focus on education,” Rebecca Spector remarked. “We need to help people make the distinction between real food and processed food so that they understand what actually makes healthy food, and to show them how to prepare real meals and incorporate cooking and family mealtimes back into their busy lives.”

CFS has a program through which they are not only educating people on the choice of sustainable food but also increasing their awareness of food processes and what can be done about the harmful ones. “We have a membership of about 85,000, and we send them regular information on new food technologies that are being proposed, opportunities to comment on food legislation, and opportunities to write to both federal and state agencies,” said Spector. “We’re really trying to empower people to express their concern about these issues.”

Dr. David Wallinga sees a good amount of positive change occurring in agricultural methods. “The one thing that you can’t really get away from is that agriculture is inherently ecological. To pretend that in the long term you can grow food without really thinking about its impact on soil erosion or on the quality of ground water and its pollution with heavy metals is just folly. I think that the people in public health and medicine and other health sciences are waking up to this fact. For example, the American Medical Association recently passed a new policy concerning sustainable food. It’s pretty good. It talks about finding ways to produce food without squandering antibiotics, as well as ways that contribute less to climate change.

“They’re not the only organization; both the American Dietetic Association and the American Public Health Association have something very similar.”

With a view much like Rebecca Spector’s, Dr. Preston Maring sees the problem as primarily an educational one. He first considered it a problem of getting out nutritional, sustainably grown food so that people would know it was there-a problem he began solving by opening a farmers’ market right next to the very medical center where he worked. The program has become an integral part of Kaiser Permanente’s operation, and there are now 37 farmers’ markets at Kaiser locations around the country. The food is purchased by staff, visitors and patients and taken back to neighborhoods and kitchens throughout their communities.

Dr. Maring also believes in simply teaching people to cook. “I think the first priority is to just help and encourage people to get started cooking fresh foods, even if they’re grown using conventional agriculture,” he said. “You then encourage people to eat sustainably grown local produce. I’m getting more and more convinced, as time goes by and I talk to people in various groups, that probably the best thing we could do for public health is to teach people how to sharpen a chef’s knife and how to use it, and have a couple of cutting boards and salad spinners. That could transform the whole experience for people of preparing good food at home.”

In conducting this education, Dr. Maring takes time to demonstrate the economy of making your own meals-such things as replacing a three- or four-dollar jar of salad dressing with 25 cents’ worth of garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard and chopped parsley; the remainder of the money can then be spent on some good fresh fruit or fresh vegetables. “A little bit of simple instruction about how to mince garlic, how to dice onions, how to pan-sauté some foods, and it would be easy to show people how to put together a meal for 4 to 15 bucks instead of spending 30 or 40 or 50 out at a local family restaurant,” Dr. Maring said.

It even comes down to competing with fast food. Not long ago, Dr. Maring was talking to a group of 30 or so high school students at his local farmers’ market and asked them how much they spent, for example, on a bag of potato chips. One student was able to answer immediately: $1.29. Based on the actual potato content of the chips, Dr. Maring calculated the cost of potatoes for the bag to be about $16 a pound, and he took the students over to one of the stands where he found red potatoes for $1.50 per pound. He then advised the students on how to roast potatoes. Pointing out the $10 to $12 price for a pizza, he next talked them through how to make a pizza for half that cost-with wholesome ingredients.

Dr. Maring concluded with a story that truly brought home the point. Recently he spent the day at the Kaiser Permanente Center in Watts, Los Angeles-one of the most economically depressed neighborhoods in the nation. “While I was there, a little boy came up to me and asked, ‘Sir, what’s healthier, white or green asparagus?’ I said, ‘You know, I think they are both really healthy, and it’s just important every day to eat multiple different colors.’ Then I said, ‘Listen, I’m going to do a cooking demo; would you help me?’ He said, ‘Sure.’ This boy was probably 10 and had never used a chef’s knife before. I taught him how to mince garlic and how to mince a shallot, how to make a vinaigrette and how to chop some parsley. He made a red wine vinaigrette and put it on a little tiny salad he’d prepared and served it to the various people coming to the market. He was thrilled, and at the end he said, ‘Thank you very much. You’ve opened a new door for me.’ It’s a day I’ll never forget.”

In the end, it’s our healthcare system and our country, and while a growing number of us are shopping for fresh, local and organic food, the majority of Americans who end up in our healthcare system are not. Thus there is always a need for constant outreach and education.

 from Organic Connections

1 cup dried adzuki beans, rinsed and drained

2 bunches green onions, white and green parts chopped separately, divided

½ cup dried shitake mushrooms, crumbled

¾ lb. small red potatoes, quartered (2 cups)

1 ½-2 Tbs. miso paste

1. Soak adzuki beans in 4 cups cold water for 5 hours, or overnight.  Drain and reserve soaking liquid.
2. Coat large saucepan or Dutch oven with cooking spray and heat over medium-low heat.  Add white parts of green onions, sprinkle with salt, and cover.  Cook 5 to 7 minutes or until onions are soft.  Add shiitake mushrooms and adzuki beans.  Add enough water to soaking liquid to make 4 cups, and stir into bean mixture.  Cover, and bring to a boil. 
3. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 45 minutes, or until beans are beginning to be tender, adding a little water if necessary.  Fold in potatoes, cover and cook 15 minutes more, or until potatoes are tender and beans are soft, but not mushy.
4. Ladle 1 cup broth from bean mixture into measuring cup.  Stir in miso paste with fork until dissolved.  Stir miso mixture into bean mixture, and simmer 2 to 3 minutes more, or until heated through.  Sprinkle with chopped green parts of green onions before serving. 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 3 cups (packed) coarsely chopped Swiss chard leaves (from 1 small bunch)

Preparation

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender and golden, about 9 minutes. Add squash; stir 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Stir in beans, broth, and tomatoes with juices; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in chard; simmer until chard is tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.

from Bon Appetite

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over a medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until translucent for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
2. Add the carrot and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and ginger and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the salt and stir.
3. Add the stock and water to the pot and stir well. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Next, add the rice to the pot and stir. Cover again and cook for another 10 minutes.
5. Add the chopped coriander and stir well. Add the kale, stir and then simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Serve in soup bowls with lemon wedges for squeezing.

8 ounces cooked beets (or one 15-ounce can, drained)
2 teaspoons minced or grated ginger
1 cup hot vegetable broth
4 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Chop cooked beets roughly, and put into a blender with ginger, hot broth and lemon juice. Purée to make a smooth soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Pour into a soup bowl, and serve immediately at room temperature, or heat and serve piping hot.

• 1 lb. green beans, trimmed
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  Directions

  1. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add beans and return to boiling. Cook beans until crisp and tender, approximately 2 minutes.
  2. Drain and rinse under very cold water. Drain again and pat dry.
  3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil. Add garlic and cook until softened, approximately 1 minute. Add green beans and lemon zest.
  4. Cook and stir occasionally until beans are warmed through, approximately 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice.
  5. Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat up the oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and celery and cook
until tender/crisp (about 5 minutes). Add rice to the fry pan and heat through.
Add all the seasonings, pumpkin seeds, almonds, salt and pepper to taste.
Makes enough to stuff a 10 to 12 lb. turkey. Or bake in a covered baking dish
at 325 for one hour.

Variations: walnuts, pine nuts, shitake mushrooms, fennel or even unsweetened dried cranberries.

October 2^nd- 4^th: Whole Health Center is closed for our move.

October 5^th: Grand Opening for Whole Health Center at Lone Tree location. 

October 17^th, 4 pm-8pm: Whole Health Center Open House at new Lone Tree location.  Come tour the new building, win door prizes, visit with practitioners, and have an evening of fun. 

Lone Tree Practitioners:

Acupuncturists

Paul Murray

Troy Krebs

Rick Woodward

Kindra Farizel

Heidi Alexander

Peyton Dryden NEW

Chiropractors

Michael Beggs

Greg Justice

Massage Therapists

Linda Watson

Carolina Amashta

Amie Harris

Kendra Ciampa

Rebecca Hilton NEW

Movement Therapist

Brian Hassler NEW

Colon Hydrotherapist

Megan Wright NEW

Professional Chef

Shu Yun Liu (Chef Sue) NEW

Office Staff

Marcy Gardner, Office Manager

Andrea Mink, Insurance Manager

Christa Oakes, Acupuncture Health Manager

Amy Shade, Weekend Receptionist

Bonnie Conilogue, Receptionist NEW

Please visit our website for more information about our practitioners.

Here is our calendar of events and Grand Opening Specials: (Can we put the calendar here with all the dates in addition to a link to the website)

Here are directions to the new clinic: (can we also provide a link to a Google map?)

Directions to Whole Health Center, Lone Tree from Denver on I-25:

Head South on I-25 toward Colorado Springs.

Take the Exit 195 for County Line Rd. on your right. (0.3 mi)

Keep right and merge onto E. County Line Rd. (0.7 mi)

 Turn Left on S. Yosemite St. (1.2 mi)

Turn Left on Kimmer Dr. just before Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant (404 ft.)

Take First Right onto Forsstrom Dr. (0.1 mi)

Whole Health Center will be on your right.

Directions to Whole Health Center, Lone Tree from the West on C-470:

Head East on C-470 and take the Yosemite Exit. (0.3 mi)

Turn Right on S. Yosemite St. (0.4mi)

Turn Left on Kimmer Dr. just before Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant (404 ft.)

Take your first right onto Forsstrom Dr. (0.1 mi)

Whole Health Centers will be on your right.

From Whole Health Center, Highlands Ranch to Whole Health Center, Lone Tree:

Turn left onto S. University Blvd. (1.8 mi)

Continue on E. Lincoln Ave.  (University becomes Lincoln at Quebec) (1.6 mi)

Turn Left onto S. Yosemite Street. (1.0 mi)

Turn Right onto Forsstrom Dr.  (180 ft.)

Whole Health Center is on the corner of Forsstrom and Yosemite.

A new food-labeling campaign called Smart Choices, backed by most of the nation’s largest food manufacturers, is “designed to help shoppers easily identify smarter food and beverage choices” but also recommends sugar-laden cereals such as Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops. The green checkmark label that is starting to show up on store shelves will appear on hundreds of packages, including some choices that are surprising many nutritionists. “These are horrible choices,” said Walter C. Willett, chairman of the nutrition department of the Harvard School of Public Health. He said the criteria used by the Smart Choices Program were seriously flawed, allowing less healthy products, like sweet cereals and heavily salted packaged meals, to win its seal of approval. “It’s a blatant failure of this system, and it makes it, I’m afraid, not credible,” he said. The Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture also have weighed in, sending the program’s managers a letter Aug. 19 saying they intended to monitor its effect on food choices. The letter said agencies would be concerned if the labeling “had the effect of encouraging consumers to choose highly processed foods and refined grains instead of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.” The government is interested in improving nutrition labeling on packages in part because of the nation’s obesity epidemic. Eileen Kennedy, president of the Smart Choices board and the dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, said the program’s criteria were based on government dietary guidelines and widely accepted nutritional standards. She said the program also was influenced by research into consumer behavior. That research showed that while shoppers wanted more information, they did not want to hear negative messages or feel as though they were being dictated to. “The checkmark means the food item is a ‘better for you’ product, as opposed to having an x on it saying ‘Don’t eat this,’ ” Kennedy said. Kennedy, who is not paid for her work on the program, defended the products endorsed by the program. Froot Loops qualifies for the label because it meets standards set by the Smart Choices Program for fiber and Vitamins A and C, and because it does not exceed limits on fat, sodium and sugar. It contains the maximum amount of sugar allowed under the program for cereals, 12 grams per serving, which in the case of Froot Loops is 41 percent of the product, measured by weight. Ten companies have signed up for the Smart Choices Program so far, including Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, ConAgra Foods, Unilever, General Mills, PepsiCo and Tyson Foods. Companies that participate pay up to $100,000 a year to the program, with the fee based on total sales of its products that bear the seal.

Feel how your regular activities can become a vehicle for overcoming your most difficult challenges.

An effective approach to challenges can vastly improve your success in any endeavor.

TIME: August 29, 2009
12pm-2pm
LOCATION: 1 mile from the new center in Lone Tree!
COST: Compliments of Whole Health Center
**Call now or email for details**
720-982-3814
brian@wholehealthcenters.com

This gentle form of exercise can prevent or ease many ills of aging and could be the perfect activity for the rest of your life.

Tai chi is often described as “meditation in motion,” but it might well be called “medication in motion.” There is growing evidence that this mind-body practice, which originated in China as a martial art, has value in treating or preventing many health problems. And you can get started even if you aren’t in top shape or the best of health.

In this low-impact, slow-motion exercise, you go without pausing through a series of motions named for animal actions — for example, “white crane spreads its wings” — or martial arts moves, such as “box both ears.” As you move, you breathe deeply and naturally, focusing your attention — as in some kinds of meditation — on your bodily sensations. Tai chi differs from other types of exercise in several respects. The movements are usually circular and never forced, the muscles are relaxed rather than tensed, the joints are not fully extended or bent, and connective tissues are not stretched. Tai chi can be easily adapted for anyone, from the most fit to people confined to wheelchairs or recovering from surgery.

“A growing body of carefully conducted research is building a compelling case for tai chi as an adjunct to standard medical treatment for the prevention and rehabilitation of many conditions commonly associated with age,” says Peter M. Wayne, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Tai Chi and Mind-Body Research Program at Harvard Medical School’s Osher Research Center. An adjunct therapy is one that’s used together with primary medical treatments, either to address a disease itself or its primary symptoms, or, more generally, to improve a patient’s functioning and quality of life.

Tai chi in motion

A tai chi class might include these parts:

Warm-up. Easy motions, such as shoulder circles, turning the head from side to side, or rocking back and forth, help you to loosen your muscles and joints and focus on your breath and body.

Instruction and practice of tai chi forms. Short forms — forms are sets of movements — may include a dozen or fewer movements; long forms may include hundreds. Different styles require smaller or larger movements. A short form with smaller, slower movements is usually recommended at the beginning, especially if you’re older or not in good condition.

Qigong (or chi kung). Translated as “breath work” or “energy work,” this consists of a few minutes of gentle breathing sometimes combined with movement. The idea is to help relax the mind and mobilize the body’s energy. Qigong may be practiced standing, sitting, or lying down.

No pain, big gains

Although tai chi is slow and gentle and doesn’t leave you breathless, it addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and, to a lesser degree, aerobic conditioning. Here’s some of the evidence:

Muscle strength. In a 2006 study published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Stanford University researchers reported benefits of tai chi in 39 women and men, average age 66, with below-average fitness and at least one cardiovascular risk factor. After taking 36 tai chi classes in 12 weeks, they showed improvement in both lower-body strength (measured by the number of times they could rise from a chair in 30 seconds) and upper-body strength (measured by their ability to do arm curls).

In a Japanese study using the same strength measures, 113 older adults were assigned to different 12-week exercise programs, including tai chi, brisk walking, and resistance training. People who did tai chi improved more than 30% in lower-body strength and 25% in arm strength — almost as much as those who participated in resistance training, and more than those assigned to brisk walking.

“Although you aren’t working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm exercise involved in tai chi strengthens your upper body,” says internist Dr. Gloria Yeh, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. “Tai chi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen.”

Flexibility. Women in the 2006 Stanford study significantly boosted upper- and lower-body flexibility as well as strength.

Balance. Tai chi improves balance and, according to some studies, reduces falls. Proprioception — the ability to sense the position of one’s body in space — declines with age. Tai chi helps train this sense, which is a function of sensory neurons in the inner ear and stretch receptors in the muscles and ligaments. Tai chi also improves muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble. Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall; some studies have found that tai chi training helps reduce that fear.

Aerobic conditioning. Depending on the speed and size of the movements, tai chi can provide some aerobic benefits. But in the Japanese study, only participants assigned to brisk walking gained much aerobic fitness. If your clinician advises a more intense cardio workout with a higher heart rate than tai chi can offer, you may need something more aerobic as well.

Tai chi for medical conditions

When combined with standard treatment, tai chi appears to be helpful for several medical conditions. For example:

Arthritis. In a 40-person study at Tufts University, presented in October 2008 at a meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, an hour of tai chi twice a week for 12 weeks reduced pain and improved mood and physical functioning more than standard stretching exercises in people with severe knee osteoarthritis. According to a Korean study published in December 2008 in Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, eight weeks of tai chi classes followed by eight weeks of home practice significantly improved flexibility and slowed the disease process in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, a painful and debilitating inflammatory form of arthritis that affects the spine.

Low bone density. A review of six controlled studies by Dr. Wayne and other Harvard researchers indicates that tai chi may be a safe and effective way to maintain bone density in postmenopausal women. A controlled study of tai chi in women with osteopenia (diminished bone density not as severe as osteoporosis) is under way at the Osher Research Center and Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Breast cancer. Tai chi has shown potential for improving quality of life and functional capacity (the physical ability to carry out normal daily activities, such as work or exercise) in women suffering from breast cancer or the side effects of breast cancer treatment. For example, a 2008 study at the University of Rochester, published in Medicine and Sport Science, found that quality of life and functional capacity (including aerobic capacity, muscular strength, and flexibility) improved in women with breast cancer who did 12 weeks of tai chi, while declining in a control group that received only supportive therapy.

Heart disease. A 53-person study at National Taiwan University found that a year of tai chi significantly boosted exercise capacity, lowered blood pressure, and improved levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, and C-reactive protein in people at high risk for heart disease. The study, which was published in the September 2008 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, found no improvement in a control group that did not practice tai chi.

Heart failure. In a 30-person pilot study at Harvard Medical School, 12 weeks of tai chi improved participants’ ability to walk and quality of life. It also reduced blood levels of B-type natriuretic protein, an indicator of heart failure. A 150-patient controlled trial is under way.

Hypertension. In a review of 26 studies in English or Chinese published in Preventive Cardiology (Spring 2008), Dr. Yeh reported that in 85% of trials, tai chi lowered blood pressure — with improvements ranging from 3 to 32 mm Hg in systolic pressure and from 2 to 18 mm Hg in diastolic pressure.

Parkinson’s disease. A 33-person pilot study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, published in Gait and Posture (October 2008), found that people with mild to moderately severe Parkinson’s disease showed improved balance, walking ability, and overall well-being after 20 tai chi sessions.

Sleep problems. In a University of California, Los Angeles, study of 112 healthy older adults with moderate sleep complaints, 16 weeks of tai chi improved the quality and duration of sleep significantly more than standard sleep education. The study was published in the July 2008 issue of the journal Sleep.

Stroke. In 136 patients who’d had a stroke at least six months earlier, 12 weeks of tai chi improved standing balance more than a general exercise program that entailed breathing, stretching, and mobilizing muscles and joints involved in sitting and walking. Findings were published in the January 2009 issue of Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.

Can you embody your mind?

Explore the Mind-Body Connection

Learn how your mind affects your body:

• How you move
• How you look
• How you feel
• Your relationship to pleasure and pain

Feel how your body affects your mind:

• Posture affects your outlook
• Body language changes how you relate to yourself and others
• Do we make choices based upon how our body makes us feel or does our body reflect our choices?

When: Saturday, August 1, 2009
High Noon (12:00 PM)
Contact: Brian Hassler
720-982-3814
brian@wholehealthcenters.com

Compliments of Whole Health Center

The combination of gentle stretching movements and breathing used in qigong have been shown effective in the treatments of many issues.

NEW!
TIME: Saturdays July 11-August 29, 2009
10:00-11:00 AM
COST: $12 Drop-in
$10 each when you sign up for 4 or more!
Beginners are welcome to drop in for any of the classes

• Don’t leave hungry, or you’ll be much more likely to make poor food choices.   By having quick options readily available on the road you will be much more likely to stay on track.  Try to pack raw nuts, raw vegetables, healthy crackers, cereals etc.  You can also buy some fresh produce once you reach your destination by finding a grocery store once you arrive. 
•  When you reach your destination, look for healthy food options in or near your hotel. When you’re pressed for time, you’ll be less likely to run to the closest fast-food restaurant if you know there’s a cafe with healthy salads and sandwiches right around the corner.
• Don’t think of traveling as a break from your regular life and healthy eating habits.
•  When eating out, most of the dangers lie in sauces and dressings. Avoid sauces, or at least ask for them on the side if an ingredient list isn’t readily available.  Sauces tend to be where most sugars are added to a meal. 

·         Drinking plenty of water will also help fill you up and keep you from feeling fatigued.

·         Don’t forget to exercise.  Most hotels have fitness facilities and a quick workout, even just some time walking on the treadmill, will speed up your metabolism and give you energy for the things you need to accomplish in the day.

Some Easy Tips:

-Involve your kids in the cooking process

-Allow them choices– but healthy choices.  By no means should your kid be in control of the kitchen, but you can let them express creativity and independence by allowing them some choice in what they or the family is having for dinner. 

-Eating meals together as a family is a great way to spend time together and to teach good healthy habits. 

-Serve a variety of healthy meals and snacks to keep things interesting. 

-Be a role model by eating healthy yourself.

Snacks for Kids

Yam Chips

2 small yams, cut into 1/8-inch slices

½ teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  In a self-sealing plastic bag, place yam slices, herbs, and onion powder.  Shake to coat.  Place the yams on the nonstick baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Bake for about 45 minutes or until yam slices are slightly golden and crispy, making sure to turn at least once during cooking process.  Be careful not to burn yam slices. 

**You can make this a sweet treat by substituting 1 packet of stevia and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon for the Italian herbs.

Nut Mix- By roasting your own nuts, you can ensure you are getting all the freshest nutrients they have to provide.

2 Tablespoon coconut oil

½ cup Almonds

½ cup pecans

½ cup walnuts

½ cup pumpkin seeds

¼ teaspoon cayenne

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Melt coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add all ingredients to skillet, stirring constantly to blend making sure to coat nuts evenly with spices.  Cook until nut mixture is lightly golden brown and toasted, about 6 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Store in air tight container.

8 ounces cook salmon fillet, skinned (you can also use canned salmon)

¼ cup scallions, finely chopped

2 teaspoons fresh dill

2 garlic cloves, minced

Splash of fresh lemon juice

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place salmon in a large bowl and separate with a fork.  Mix in scallions, dill, garlic, lemon juice, and egg.  Shape mixture into two patties, about ¾ inch thick.  Place patties in nonstick baking dish or sheet in oven.  Bake in oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

Serves 2