Midlife Health: Watermelon

Cool Off with Watermelon

Do you find yourself feeling more energetic during the summer months? Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) tells us that plants grow faster during summer and people act more energetically. Blood and the body’s qi quicken their pace.

TCM claims that the heart can over-function, causing you to sweat, and this then restricts the functioning of the lung. There are certain foods that are recommended to enhance lung functioning and maintain the body’s normal sweating mechanisms – watermelon, strawberries, tomatoes, mung beans, cucumber, bean sprouts, duck and fish.

So there’s good reason if you find yourself gravitating to a juicy slice of watermelon this summer. You may need cooling down, especially if you’ve been sweating a lot and thus losing Vitamin B.  Watermelon, which is a staple of many people’s picnic table, is nature’s gift to help us cool off. It is a great source of Vitamins B6, B1, magnesium and potassium which are excellent for keeping your energy levels up and muscle cramping down.

In TCM watermelon is an important healing food.  High in beta-carotene and antioxidants, it has been used medicinally to treat heart disease, diabetes, liver problems and kidney infection. Eat it regularly to help reduce high blood pressure. It also aids the body in releasing toxins via its ability to increase the  body’s need to urinate.

Additionally, watermelon can be effective for sunburns when used topically. The juice is cooling to the skin and promotes healing.

If you’re going to juice or blend the watermelon, include some of the white and green rind, as well as the seeds – they are a digestive aid. Just make sure your machine can break down the seeds.

Midlife Health: Vitamin C, the Kiwifruit Way

Although I don’t have too much of a “sweet tooth”, one of my favorite desserts is Pavlova. Basically it’s a round merengue “dome” with a soft, marshmallow-type center and topped with whipped cream and fruit.  Although I don’t make them often, I did have one just the other night while out to dinner at a New Zealand-style restaurant.  You will generally only find Pavlovas in Australia and New Zealand.

DownUnder we frequently put kiwifruit on top of the Pavlova, often along with strawberries.  So what’s in a Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa)?   They are delicious and loaded with Vitamin C along with other nutrients. The flesh is either a translucent, bright-green color (the most common one) or golden which is less common but equally delicious.Their skin is furry and although edible, not very tasty. The fruit itself has more Vitamin C than a similarly-sized orange, more vitamins E and K than most other fruits, almost as much potassium as a small banana and as much fiber as one of my favorite breakfasts – a cup of cooked oatmeal.

Kiwifruit was “born” in China and was originally know as Chinese Gooseberry, a name I still remember from growing up in Australia. New Zealanders however named it in honor of their national bird when they began to cultivate it commercially. Italy, Chile, Greece and France are now also commercial producers.

Components of kiwifruit have potential properties of a natural  blood thinner.  From a study performed at the University of Oslo in Norway it was reported that eating two to three kiwifruit daily for 28 days significantly reduced the stickiness of platelets and  blood triglyceride levels (something along the lines of “aspirin therapy”), potentially reducing the risk of blood clots.  The fruit is also a natural source of provitamin A, beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin.

One other benefit that appeals to me is that kiwifruit is low on the pesticide contamination list so if you can’t find organic ones, then conventionally grown fruits will add very little to your body’s pesticide load. Always a important consideration when buying foods today!

And in case all this talk of Pavlova has started you salivating … How to Make a Pavlova

Midlife Health: Feeling Anxious? Passionflower can Help You Relax.

No, it doesn’t have anything to do with “passion in the bedroom” or anywhere else! It has to do with calming you down. Passionflower has been used to treat nervous restlessness for over 200 years.  It slows the pulses and sedates. The herb works by increasing levels of the chemical GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) in the brain. GABA lowers the activity of some brain cells, making you feel more relaxed.

Insomnia.

Passionflower has been shown in numerous studies to be a great sleep aid. It relaxes the nervous system without causing drowsiness the next morning. It actually works with (rather than against) the body’s natural sleep/wake cycle.

Restless Leg Syndrome and Nerve Pain.

Passionflower has also been shown to be effective for RLS, neuralgia and shingles.

High Blood Pressure due to Stress and Anxiety.

Because of its calming effect, passionflower helps reduce high blood pressure.

Anxiety.

A 2001 issue of the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics published data from a small double-blind study with 32 people suffering from general anxiety disorder. Participants in the study received a daily dose of either a passionflower liquid extract (45 drops) or 30 mg of a common anti-anxiety drug, oxazepam. Both groups displayed a significant decrease in their anxiety symptoms after four weeks but those taking passionflower did NOT report any severely impaired job performance, while 44 percent of the patients taking oxazepam did. 

PMS and Menopause. Passionflower can help to relieve the anxiety, irritability, depression and cramps that are often associated with menopause and PMS.

Use: Passionflower can be taken as a capsule (400-500 milligrams), a tincture (30-40 drops in a small amount of water) or a herbal infusion (pour a cup of boiling water onto 1-2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb and leave to infuse for 10-15 minutes) two to three times a day. You will often find it in teas where it is mixed with other calming herbs such as chamomile, peppermint and catnip.
It is not recommended for pregnant women or children under two. Nor should it be taken with tranquilizers or sedatives since it may intensify their effect.  Adults over 65 and children between the ages of two and 12 should only take low-strength preparations.

All material is provided for informational or educational purposes only. Please consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or condition.

Midlife Health: The Emotional Side of Back Pain

Many years ago I read the ground-breaking book Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by Dr. John Sarno, which proved to be quite an eye-opener. Dr. Sarno’s work has been taken to the next level in the book Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain by a team of Boston area medical professionals. The premise here is that a large percentage of back pain is related to painfully tense back muscles rather than damaged or defective tissues. While there may be physical causes (ranging from accidents and injuries to tumors or infections), the pain cycle is often triggered by emotions such as stress over pain, worries about the future, financial worries, living with a difficult spouse, etc.

Mind-Body Practices for a Healthy Back

• Put it in Writing

— acknowledging your negative emotions can help you dispel them, reducing stress and enhancing immune function.

• Take Note of Your Beliefs

— the mind is extremely literal in creating exactly what words you think about. You experience what you think! An excellent example of this comes from a colleague who spent many years constantly reinforcing the thought that she wanted to marry someone RICH.  She did – his name was RICH!!!! I’ll leave you to guess whether or not he had any money!

So …… constantly repeating phrases like the following can actually contribute to the creation of back problems or pain:

My back is killing me

I can’t stand this

I don’t get any support

I feel backed into a corner

I won’t back down

He/she’s always on my back

I can’t stand it!

• Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

— stewing over things you can’t control or that don’t make a difference only add to muscle tension.

• Get Plenty of Rest

— when you skimp on sleep, your ability to handle stressful emotions decreases.  Small problems can send you “over the edge” more quickly, increasing muscle tension.

• Eat Healthy

— comfort foods high in sugars and fats may briefly reduce stress hormones but in the long run, a well-balanced, healthy diet contributes to better brain chemistry, emotional stability and less stress on the body.

When you do need to ease the pain of that aching back, try one of the natural remedies listed in the last newsletter. My two favorites are Arnica cream, a healing and soothing homeopathic remedy for the relief of bruises and sore muscles, and Zyflamend a unique herbal formula by New Chapter, which promotes healthy inflammation response and normal joint function.

© 2010 Evelin Saxinger, N.D., ACH

All material is provided for informational or educational purposes only. Please consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or condition.

Midife Health: The Incredible, Edible Egg

Despite all the bad press over the years, “eggsperts” are finally admitting that perhaps the egg isn’t such an “evil” food, something I’ve never believed.  Unless of course you happen to order a quiche in a restaurant (as I did last night) and forget to ask if it’s made with real eggs or yellow liquid out of a carton. It took me 5 minutes to realize my error, at which time I promptly asked the question, got my response and changed my order.  As a Naturopath, I’m very conscious about what foods I put in my body – fake eggs are not real food!

Eggs are one of my favorite foods as long as they come straight from the farm and are laid by chickens that are allowed to roam in the grass where they can eat bugs, worms etc.  These nutrition-rich natural eggs with golden-yellow yolks and fresh flavor are remarkably different from the supermarket variety.

Although eggs do contain cholesterol, they are also high in phosphatides (an oily organic compound that makes up cell membranes) and lecithins (essential for metabolizing fats), so they don’t add to the risk of hardening of the arteries. They are also a rich source of essential nutrients (many of which we become deficient in as we age) along with high quality protein and riboflavin. Not to mention they are easy and quick to use in all manner of recipes.  They beat a McDonald’s hamburger any day!

You may, however, be surprised to learn that not all eggs are equal, even when they’re marked “organic.” The best eggs come from family farms where chickens are raised on well-managed, rotating pastures.  Next best are those where chickens have ample space and are encouraged to go outdoors to well-managed runs or pastures. Eggs that I stay away from are ones that come from the industrial-scale egg operations where chickens are confined in cramped quarters with no access to the outdoors.

If you are an egg lover and are interested in the rankings of various organic eggs, go to http://www.cornucopia.org/organic-egg-scorecard.  You might be surprised.  I know I was!

Midlife Health: Forgetfulness

Periwinkle

Two elderly couples were enjoying friendly conversation when one of the men asked the other, “Fred, how was the memory clinic you went to last month?”

“Outstanding,” Fred replied. “They taught us all the latest psychological techniques – visualization, association – it’s made a big difference for me.”

“That’s great! What was the name of that clinic?”

Fred went blank. He thought and thought but couldn’t remember. Then a smile broke across his face and he asked, “What do you call that flower with the long stem and thorns?”

“You mean a rose?”

“Yes, that’s it!” He turned to his wife. “Rose, what was the name of that clinic?”

By the time we get to midlife, or even before, we can all probably relate to the joke.  First you forget your car keys, then you don’t remember whether you paid the phone bill and next you can’t remember your ATM password.  Forgetfulness can be a normal part of aging.

Scientists now tell us that most of us can stay both alert and able as we age, although it may take us longer to remember things. I like to think of it as already having so much information and knowledge in my brain that some of it gets misplaced for a time underneath another pile of good information.  It’s not lost, just buried.

In addition to some of the popular brain training games and memory techniques, there’s a supplement that might be helpful – Vinpocetine.

Vinpocetine is an extract from the leaf of the periwinkle plant.  Studies have shown that it can help circulation in the brain, improve oxygen use and make red blood cells more flexible and less clumped together.  It was developed in the 1960s and is available as a prescription drug in Japan and Europe but as a dietary supplement in the US and Canada.

Interestingly, this brain booster has also been shown to improve eyesight in many cases. That way, you can see more clearly what you’ve forgotten!

As always, check with your practitioner first regarding any possible side effects and interactions with other substances.

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All material is provided for informational or educational purposes only. Consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or condition.

Midlife Health: Herbal Energy Tonics

Rhodiola Rosea

In this fast-paced world I frequently hear comments such as “I’m so tired even though I get enough sleep” or “my energy levels aren’t what they used to be” or “why can’t I keep up?”. 

Is there something we can do about low energy, feeling weak or mentally fuzzy?

There is if we explore the world of herbal adaptogens.  This is a relatively new concept in the Western world but has been the basis of the preventative approach to health and wellness in the East.  Adaptogens work in such a way as to improve the body’s adaptability.  That is, they counteract physical and emotional stress by helping the body “around” the problem via the support of glands and other functions. They give the body a “tune-up”, in a broad spectrum way, helping many conditions without overpowering the cells as many drugs do.  Read on to find out which one may be right for you.

Rhodiola Rosea is an ancient folk remedy promoted by scientists in the former Soviet Union to boost the performance of Olympic athletes and astronauts. It increases energy and stamina, enhances alertness and concentration and can help fuzzy memory.

Panax Ginseng promotes regeneration from stress and fatigue and rebuilds strength. If a person is overworked and stressed out, ginseng can help. It is more effective taken over several months than in short-term doses.

Siberian Eleuthero improves physical and mental performance as well as boosting the immune system. A long-term energy tonic for the adrenal glands and the circulation.

Schisandra protects the liver, improves cognitive function, reduces irritability and helps to promote sleep.  It works synergistically with Eleuthero against stress, weight gain and fatigue.

Ashwagandha has been cultivated in India and the Middle East for centuries.  It improves stamina and immune function, combats stress and anxiety and shows antioxidant and mood-elevating properties.

Reishi Mushrooms are considered the “elixir of life” in traditional Chinese medicine. They are traditionally used as a health and energy tonic, boosting immunity, easing allergies, regulating blood sugar and helping the liver regenerate.

All material is provided for informational or educational purposes only. Consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or condition