A Cuppa Tea: the Antidote to Stress

February 7, 2013

red rooibus bush tea — I'm picky about my Rooibus, but here is one brand I really like: Choice.

I’ve always loved the British tradition of pausing for a cup of tea in the late afternoon as a break in the day to relax and release stress. It turns out that compounds in green and black tea chemically help you de-stress and studies have shown that tea drinkers are less stressed than non-tea drinkers.

Lately, my tea of choice has been red rooibus, or bush tea. Like green and black teas, it’s brimming with antioxidents, but I like it because it has a robust, earthy flavor and is naturally decaffeinated. I wonder if rooibus has the same relaxing effects as green and black teas? It seems to work for me anyway.

Natural Treatments for Croup

February 6, 2013

Question: I’m pretty sure my 2 yr old has croup. Coughs like a barking seal at night in bed, but is better during the day. Any advice on treatments or things that ease symptoms? Thanks.

Croup is always identified by that distinctive seal-like barking cough, and is easy to come by for young kids in the fall or winter months. Croup happens when the windpipe and vocal cords become inflamed, usually from a viral respiratory infection, making it difficult to breathe, and croup attacks usually come at night. During the day, the child may have stridor, or noisy, raspy breathing, which can be a good warning that a croup coughing attack is coming that night.

A croup attack can be really scary for both the child and the parent as the child fights to breathe between barking coughs. Fortunately, you can ease a croup attack quickly and effectively with a few simple actions.

Ease Croup Symptoms

First, take the child into a steamy bathroom. Turn the shower on hot to produce steam that will loosen the windpipe and help it relax while hydrating any dried mucous in the throat thus allowing it to be cleared. Stay in the steam for 15-25 minutes, or until the child is breathing easily again.

Second, soothe the child. When this would happen to my children when they were younger, I would sit with them on my lap while perched on the edge of the tub, the shower curtain draped behind us to direct the steam, rocking and crooning soothingly. Fear and anxiety, though understandable, make the croup experience worse because they tighten up the throat. Control your own fear and project calm. Reassure the child that she will be ok and that you are there to take care of her until she is better. Stay with her until the attack is over and she is ready to go back to bed.

Third, crack a window. Croup responds best to cool steam, and it usually happens during the cooler months, so cracking a window or even stepping outside for a few minutes might help break the coughing cycle. Usually I find that the steam itself is enough to end the attack, but stepping outside can be very effective, too.

Prevent Croup

If you suspect your child is heading for a croupy night, you can take some steps to prevent or avoid the worst of it. You can also these strategies after calming a croup attack to prevent another one that night and in the following nights.

First, use a cool mist humidifier. Keep the air moist in your child’s room to keep her throat lubricated and moist. I like to use an ultrasonic vaporizer because it purifies the water as it works.

Second, add aromatherapy. Fill the little dish that comes with the humidifier with clean water and add 2-3 drops of eucalyptus essential oil. Set it atop the steam vent so that the scent diffuses through the room with the mist. Eucalyptus oil has astringent properties which can help clear air passages and fight infections. Rubbed directly on the soles of the feet, eucalyptus essential oil can calm any coughing attack – even a croupy cough.

Third, offer homeopathic remedies. The first remedy to use is Aconite. Dissolve in water and offer one dose at the onset of croup, when the cough is dry, loud, and barking. Offer a second dose in an hour if symptoms persist. If the croup progresses into an attack, dissolve homeopathic Spongia Tosta in water and offer 1 teaspoon. If, once past the croup seal-bark stage, the cough turns loose and rattling, try a dose of Hepar Sulph to clear it out. Here are instructions on how to take homeopathic remedies.

Can Food Sensitivities Cause Behavior Changes?

February 5, 2013

Lately I’ve been fielding a number of questions from mothers who wonder if their child’s unpleasant or unacceptable behavior could stem from something they are eating. My answer is always a resounding YES!

Yes, food sensitivities can cause behavior changes including tantrums, aggression, irritability, mood swings, excitability, inability to concentrate, inconsolable crying, fatigue, lethargy, inability to stop moving and settle down, etc., etc., etc.

I first saw the connection between what a child eats and their behavior when we discovered my son’s food sensitivities at age 6. Within eight weeks of removing the offending foods not only did we see physical effects like he grew 2 inches and gained 15 lbs., but he went from a dark, moody kid prone to irritability and tantrums to a happy child who wanted to give and get more hugs. His sleep improved and he stopped wetting the bed. I knew we had really turned a corner when I heard him singing to himself in the bathtub – something that had never happened before!

Really, it makes sense: food sensitivities trigger inflammation all over the body, including in the brain. When your brain is inflamed, it’s impossible to think clearly and rationally and emotions are close to the surface. When the inflammation is removed, often a different person will emerge.

Here is another case study in how food sensitivities cause behavior changes:

Five months ago, in early September of 2012, we conducted an MRT food sensitivities test on a 5 year old girl, “Kristy”. Her mother came to me because Kristy was having constant constipation and bad belly aches almost daily. She describes her efforts to help her daughter:

“We tried to eliminate different things like milk and gluten, but it was just a big guessing game and it was hard to tell if anything was working. And it was a lot to put a 5-year old through, trying all these random diets without seeing any great results. Then I took her to the pediatrician to get her blood tested because she had such low energy levels and stamina and I was worried that something might be really wrong with her. All the blood work turned up fine. When I mentioned her lack of energy to the pediatrician, he just said that some kids are more tired than others and recommended iron supplements, but that made the constipation even worse. The pediatrician did not address food sensitivities at all, nor would he have had the tools to test for it.”

The MRT came back showing that Kristy had multiple food sensitivities, including some of her favorite foods like strawberries, tomatoes, and oats. Kristy’s mom and I reviewed the results together and designed a customized anti-inflammatory diet for Kristy. We determined safe foods to offer her for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, and discussed recipes and cooking ideas to help replace the unsafe foods she had been accustomed to eating. Our goal was to make the food transition as smooth and easy as possible for Kristy and for her mom, who works and didn’t have much time to do extra cooking.

“When we started the program, Kristy’s belly aches stopped almost right away. The constipation took longer… maybe at least six weeks of sticking to the program before it really eased up to where we could call her regular, but from the beginning it was nothing like it had been before we started. Before, we were giving her prunes, prune juice, children’s laxatives… but nothing was working and she would go 5-6 days between bowel movements. When she is regular, she’s like a new person. When she’s stopped up for six days, her personality changes. She’s whiney, tired, inconsolable. The personality difference is so significant that it’s hard to describe.”

Now, almost five months after starting on LEAP, Kristy has adjusted to living on the foods that are safe for her and has reached a “safe” place in that her body is no longer constantly being triggered into inflammation. Kristy is fully aware of the foods that cause her distress and is happy to stay on board the program. (Of course, she still begs for candy like most kids!) Now, her mom can clearly see the effects on Kristy’s behavior when she eats a sensitivity-triggering food. Additionally, some of those original trigger foods have been successfully re-introduced without triggering symptoms.

“Her most difficult sensitivities for us to manage are to sugar, chocolate, and milk,” Kristy’s mom describes. “Within twenty minutes of eating something with sugar, she gets very aggressive and can’t help herself from lashing out at others. Within two hours she’ll have a full meltdown about something silly and dissolve into a mess of tears for an hour or more. This just happened the other day when a friend gave her a lollypop. What a nightmare that was!

“When she’s on the LEAP program, she’s not constipated, but when she strays, she’ll be constipated for up to a week. After Kristy eats something she’s sensitive to, her energy level decreases for the next several days and she just wants to lay on the couch and watch tv. As soon as we’re able to get her back on track, which can take a week or two of sticking closely to LEAP, her energy levels rise tremendously and she wants to do 100 laps around the house! She’s really a different person now.”

The Value of Food Sensitivity Testing

February 4, 2013

When I came across your website I was so relieved to find that there may be hope for me, but then saw what you charge and I realised that you are just out to make a huge profit off of others pain and illness. Who do you think can actually afford almost $1000 for a blood test?
~ Kate, New York

Hi Kate,

I’m glad to hear you are looking for non-medicinal ways to help alleviate your chronic physical distress. I’m happy that you found me and I hear your concerns about fees and why they might seem high. Let me assure you that even though it might seem like a lot of money up front, you get a lot for your money, including about four months of follow-up visits and an education in food sensitivities and your body.

Here are why it costs a little bit of money to get this kind of health care and support:

1. The Mediator Release Test. The MRT is cutting-edge science that uses state-of-the-art machinery to perform exact calibrations and procedures. Developed by Oxford Biomedical Labs (formerly Signet Diagnostic), the MRT is at the forefront of the food sensitivities field with the highest rates of reproducibility and reliability and offering the most accurate identification of inflammatory markers in the blood. Only a few laboratories around the globe are equipped to perform this test as it is highly specialized. I receive a discount off the list price of $995 which I pass along to my clients.

2. Implementation. You don’t just receive your MRT results and be left wondering how to implement them effectively. Modern test results are technical and require some interpretation; simply receiving test results is a poor predictor for success. Certified LEAP (Lifestyle Eating and Performance) Therapists (CLTs) receive more than forty hours of training on understanding the physiology, interpreting the results, and designing modern, customized, anti-inflammatory dietary protocols based on science to facilitate positive outcomes. In other words, you’ll experience better results if you work with a CLT to interpret the results.

3. A Sustainable Diet. Not only will you receive your personalized “safe” diet designed to remove inflammation from your body quickly and to speed relief from symptoms, but you’ll also receive a week-by-week food re-introduction schedule to help get you to a comfortable place where you can have an easy lifestyle with a sustainable and enjoyable diet that doesn’t make you sick. You will get help with menu plans and food products as well as recipes that work with your allowed foods to help implement a new, balanced and nutritious eating style over the long haul.

4. Healing. The focus is on healing so that, as time goes on, some foods may be successfully re-integrated without inducing symptoms. Additional herbal, probiotic, or homeopathic remedies may be recommended, depending on your symptoms. Years of schooling and clinical practice have given me the knowledge to work holistically with your particular body.

5. Coaching. You receive coaching for how to recover quickly from mis-steps and keep control of your health for the long-haul. My goal is to send my clients out into the world symptom-free with the knowledge of how to stay there.

6. Expertise. Lastly, these are professional services. Not only do I have a doctorate in naturopathic medicine, and am a Certified Nutritional Consultant and a Certified LEAP Therapist, I’m also an award-winning, best-selling cookbook author and the director of the Fight MS with Food project. I get paid to speak around the country on health, nutrition, and autoimmune issues related to diet.

Please feel free to contact me for more information or to schedule a free consultation.

A New Danger In the Fish We Eat: Plastics

January 30, 2013

Drawing of a rainbow trout. — Ok, so this is a picture of a river-dwelling fish, a rainbow trout, not an ocean fish. But it a fish and was drawn by my 8-year old daughter – with a little coaching from her fisherman father.

We’ve been warned for years about rising mercury levels in predator fish such as tuna and mahi-mahi, but now they’re identifying a new danger in fish as the oceans become full of plastic debris. It turns out that the fish are eating the plastic garbage and the PCBs and chemicals in the plastics are integrating into the flesh of the fish. About one-third of the fish in the English Channel are now found to have ingested and integrated plastic.

Aaaaggghhh! I can’t stand it!

It makes me want to pull an ostrich move and bury my head in the sand and scream: “I just don’t want to know!”

Because, now that I know, it will haunt me.

And the only thing I can do about it is encourage people to recycle their plastics rather than toss them.

A Cuppa Tea: the Antidote to Stress

Natural Treatments for Croup

Ease Croup Symptoms

Prevent Croup

Can Food Sensitivities Cause Behavior Changes?

The Value of Food Sensitivity Testing

A New Danger In the Fish We Eat: Plastics

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