By Lori Krause

It’s been such a mild winter and nice spring, I’m hoping the local farmers have bumper crops this year!

We are so lucky to have several quality Farmer’s Markets all over the Kansas City metro.   There is a great market in Downtown Overland Park, right behind the clock tower and one at  137th and Antioch in Overland Park.  Brookside has a great one as does Lee’s Summit.  And from where I live, 162nd and State Line-ish, the one in the River Market area is worth the drive!  But I admit that I am not good at getting up early and don’t get to go as often as I should.  But I have participated in the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program provided by the local Hen House Markets.   For a small membership fee and then so many dollars per week, I get the freshest from the local farmers.  I remember the first year getting Swiss Chard and wondering not only what it was, but what I was going to do with it!  Quiche with my fresh eggs & milk was the answer.   Now I look forward to the challenge if there is something in my bag that I’m unfamiliar with or have not cooked or eaten in the past.

So a few years ago when I first made the decision to start eating more fresh, local produce, I invested in a couple of new cookbooks.  *Here is where I need to insert that my dear husband would say, “You know honey, that internet thing just may take off,” but I am one of “those” people who love cookbooks!  And no I haven’t converted to a Kindle or Nook yet either for my pleasure reading, but that’s a different discussion!  But the first cookbook I bought was “From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce” which was put out a few years ago by the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition in Madison, Wisconsin.  I saw it in the kitchen of our favorite cousins who live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin one summer when we visited.   In addition to great recipes it talks about the benefits of participating in a CSA and eating from local farmers.

The other book I bought at the time was “Farmer John’s Cookbook:  The Real Dirt on Vegetables.”  By John Peterson and Angelic Organics.  It too has great recipes for farm fresh produce but talks about the life of an organic farmer.

One of my other favorites is “Simply in Season” by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert.  The recipes are divided by season and almost every recipe has a suggestion for alternative ingredients.  I like that because I tend to improvise A LOT when I cook.  I sometimes need inspiration, thoughts and ideas to get me started with a meal idea, but adjust to what my family will eat (or try) and what ingredients I have on hand.

I grew up a farm girl, but there are things offered now in Farmer’s Markets and part of the CSA I wasn’t familiar with.  I urge you to follow my example and be willing to experiment and sample the fresh produce we now have available.  And find a good recipe resource to help you get started!

Happy Eating!

by Jennifer Faimon

If you’ve been drinking one or more sodas every day, that aluminum can in your hand is to blame for those extra digits on the scale. We’re not talking a couple pounds either. We’re talking long term weight gain. One can of cola adds more than 100 calories to your daily intake. That’s over 10 lbs of additional body fat every year.

Obesity, type-2 diabetes, and soda addiction have all risen together steadily and scarily over the past decades. Coincidence? Not a chance. Soda is sabotaging your body.

What’s so bad about a little bubbly liquid?
Lots and lots of calories and zero nutritional value. Sugary soft drinks account for almost 10% of the average American’s daily caloric intake. That’s a ton of empty calories that lack any of the nutrients, fiber, or minerals your body needs to function. Because soda’s missing what your body craves, no matter how much you drink you’ll still be left feeling hungry. So, on top of hundreds of empty calories, you pile on additional food that still counts against your ideal daily allotment. Remember, there is one absolute truth: if you take in more calories than you burn you will gain weight.

Your odds of becoming obese increase as much as 1.6 times for every 12 ounces of soda you drink over the course of the day. That’s because one small can of soda holds a whopping 140 calories of added sugar. Reality check: at most fast food restaurants, a 12 ounce serving of soda is considered the kiddie size.

All these added sugars are simple sugars, meaning they are readily and easily absorbed. When you take in such a high volume so quickly your insulin spikes. Your body can’t handle the rapid influx, which leads to extra glucose being stored as fat. You don’t get any lasting energy from the liquid carbs; you get that familiar and inevitable crash. Instead of being ready to hit the gym to burn off any extra fat, you’re so exhausted you just hit the couch.

I’ll just switch to diet soda!
Not so fast. Recent studies show that over time diet sodas still cause weight gain. If you drink 2 or more servings of diet soda a day you are 5 times more likely to increase dangerous visceral fat in your midsection. That extra fat puts you at greater risk for diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses.

Let’s say you only drink a single serving of diet soda a day. Diet soda is still high in sodium. The more sodium in your body, the more water you’ll retain. Which means if you’re trying to lose weight, diet soda can actually make it that much harder move the scale in the right direction. And let’s not forget the artificial sweeteners in diet soda – a BIG no-no!

Instead of sodas, why not reach for healthier and even more refreshing beverages?
If you won’t give up the carbonated bite of soda, mix two parts seltzer water with one part 100% fruit juice – like pomegranate or cranberry. You’ll get your pleasant pop and fizz along with rich antioxidants and vitamins. Embrace homemade smoothies made with fresh fruit and almond milk or Greek yogurt for added protein.

Maybe it’s time you jump on the green tea train. Even if you sweeten your tea, you’re more likely to check your sugar intake when you’re the one spooning in the sweetener. Or reach for that oldie but goodie, pure H2O.

One thing is for sure: cut out sodas and you’ll start to feel lighter than carbonated air.

Let us help you rid yourself of the nutrition which sabotages your health and help you make better choices you can trust and a workout that gets results!

By Dr. Kezia Shine

I am doing this segment because so many women come in to see me with their shoulders up to their ears in stress, with constant headaches, they feel snappy, or just not quite themselves, because menopause has thrown them through the loop, or postpartum depression has hit them over the head.  The good news is, you can take care of most of these problems naturally with plants that have amazing effects on the body.  The following herbs are the 6 most recommended in my practice for the everyday lives of us amazing women.

1. St. John’s Wort-  This herb has been found to decrease the stress the on the body especially with emotions, and the nervous system.  This allows for the body to cope with everyday life changes including the day to day stress that women have trying to be a mom, wife, and your amazing overachieving self.  This amazing herb also promotes a healthy immune response to environmental stresses such as when the allergy season hits, or inclement weather. This is what I call the herbal happy pill!
2. Valarian Root-  Have you ever just laid in bed and you can’t get to sleep because your brain just will not shut off because you are planning, deciding, making lists, or replaying the day’s events with all the different outcomes that could have been possible?  This herb not only helps support the nervous system, but it promotes relaxation and encourages sleep.  No more need for those over the counter meds that toxify your liver!
3. Chaste Tree- promotes a natural, healthy balance within the female endocrine system (particularly in relation to supporting normal progesterone levels), while encouraging a healthy menstrual cycle.  This has been an amazing savior for many teenage girls, or women who have a very painful monthly cycle or uncontrollable mood swings associated with PMS.
4. Black Cohosh- this hefty herb is loaded in Estrogen!  So for those women who are menopausal, this will help ease the mood swings, and decrease hot flashes and night sweats while providing a healthy balance amongst all the female hormones.  This will also maintain and support healthy joints and lower the risks of osteoporosis.
5. Echinacea- We have all heard of this one over and over again, mostly because this herb is our immune system enhancing herb.  When our bodies get worn down, or the weather changes, it is the perfect time for those little bugs to hit us and make us sick.  If you take Echinacea during these seasons, it will not only enhance the immune system making it harder to get sick, but it will help promote healthy white blood cells that fight off illness, encourage healthy upper respiratory systems to avoid coughs and bronchitis types of illness, as well as promote a healthy lymphatic system.  The lymphatic system is the sanitation system of the body that picks up all the trash from the body and disposes of it.
6. Shatavari- This herb when translated means: “She who possesses a hundred husbands”.  That is right ladies, this is your libido tonic, which not only ramps up your sex drive, but increases fertility, and helps with lactation.  Shatavari has also been used in recent clinical research studies, with findings showing a potential decrease in post-partum depression.

As with any supplements, you need to make sure that the source or manufacturer is reliable, and the cheapest is usually not the greatest.  You should make sure that it is a whole food supplement, or the herb is pick from only the finest, or freshest environment that is not polluted with environmental toxins.  As far as dosage, be sure to consult a physician who specializes in herbs to ensure that you are taking the correct amount. In my practice I sell only pharmaceutical grade herbs and supplements.  For more information or to find other resources, please feel free to contact me at drkezia@myalign.com

by Louise Voelker

Chia Pudding

Serves 6

Chia seeds soaked overnight turn into a simple pudding, similar in consistency to tapioca.

Ingredients

2/3 cup chia seeds
2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk such as soy, almond or rice milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons currants or chopped dried figs or dates
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes

Method

Put chia seeds, almond milk and vanilla in a 1-quart glass jar with a lid. Tighten the lid and shake well to thoroughly combine. Or, stir together seeds, almond milk and vanilla in a bowl. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, stir well. Spoon into bowls and top with fruit and coconut.

Nutrition

Per serving: 280 calories (70 from fat), 7g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 200mg sodium, 49g total carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 7g sugar), 3g protein

Carrot Cashew Spread

Serves 8

This spread is also delicious for breakfast or a snack on toasted slices of Health Starts Here whole grain bread, instead of on crackers.

Ingredients

3 carrots, chopped
1 cup raw cashew pieces, divided
15 dried apricots, quartered (about 1/2 cup)
32 365 Everyday Value Woven Wheats Whole Wheat Crackers (from 1 box)

Method

Put carrots into a small pot and cover by 2 inches with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Add 3/4 cup cashews and apricots, cover and continue to simmer until carrots are very soft, 5 to 7 minutes more; reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and then drain well. Transfer carrot mixture and reserved water to a food processor and purée until smooth. Chill for at least one hour, and then spread onto crackers, garnish with remaining cashews and serve.

Nutrition

Per serving: 200 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 105mg sodium, 28g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 2g sugar), 6g protein

By Dr. Ladd Carlston

What if instead of taking Claritin®, Singulair® or Advair® – or instead of using an inhaler, you could fix the cause of why your child is having the allergy or Asthmatic response in the first place?

Unless your son or daughter has had allergies or asthma from birth, their immune system was normal until it went haywire and started over-reacting.  The immune system dealt perfectly at one time with what it now considers a foreign invader.

Think about that – IT WAS WORKING FINE.

Why the immune system is being overly sensitive to allergens in the environment is a question that not very many people in the medical community are asking.  Instead they just write a prescription for medication that suppresses the immune system.  If you’re ok with this then don’t rock the boat by reading further.  What you’re about to learn may shock you.

Here’s the deal – if your child’s body has been weakened by things like toxins, sugar or stress, the immune system becomes a runaway train because it’s not modulated by a healthy neuroendocrine cascade of hormones that isn’t working right because of the toxins, sugar or stress!  Simply put, the brakes have gone out on the immune system!

So it’s not the immune system that’s the problem.

If your child’s immune system was healthy at one point, and isn’t functioning like it should now – it’s a matter of restoring and rebuilding what CONTROLS the immune system.  Sure you can suppress the immune system directly with powerful pharmaceutical medications, but there’s an even better way.

I recommend 6 steps (part of which can be done with a sublingual spray):
1.  Re-set the pituitary gland – the master control gland that controls all the body’s hormones.
2.  Detoxify – not just through the colon, but also on a cellular level.
3.  Re-establish proper digestion through the use of digestive enzymes and systemic enzymes
4.  Re-inoculate the bowel with spore-forming probiotics
5.  Modulate the immune system
6.  Ensure adequate intake of critical vitamins and minerals.

The above steps can be powerful if used alone, but when done together, most kids find incredible relief from allergies.  If your child is struggling, then this may be your solution – and a way to prevent a lifetime of dependence on medication.

If you’re interested in more information about the products referred to above just let me know.  I can be reached at drladd@mindinmotionkc.com!

By Jennifer Faimon

Complex Movement is Best

WAIT! Don’t just skim down to see which exercise I’ve labeled as the best, get the whole story…

I’m often approached and asked to pin down a single exercise as the one that will help lose the most fat and sculpt the quickest. That’s not an easy question to answer. Not every exercise works with every person, hence my hesitation to label any exercise as the universal best. That being said, some exercises are definitely better than others so we are going to learn about the best TYPE of exercises that will get you results.

What makes an exercise the best?

When you decide which exercises to include in your routine, it is important to consider the type of movement involved. The simpler the movement, the fewer calories you’ll burn and the fewer muscles you will strengthen. On the other hand, the more complex the movement, the more calories you will burn and the more muscles you will strengthen.

To put it simply, exercises that use complex movements will deliver better results than exercises that use only simple movements. Complex movements recruit multiple muscles, some to stabilize and others to perform the movement. This process keeps your heart rate higher than a simple exercise would and gives you a more intense workout.

What is a complex movement?

A complex movement is a multi-joint movement that recruits large portions of the body to complete the exercise. Let’s compare a simple movement leg exercise with a complex movement leg exercise:

The leg curl machine uses a simple, isolated movement to work the hamstrings. You’re in a seated position moving only your knee joint. There isn’t much involvement, if any, from other muscles and it doesn’t burn very many calories.

Now let’s look at a stability ball double leg curl. You start by laying down on your back, hands next to your hips and heels of your feet on the top, center of the ball. Engage the core, squeeze the gluteus then bridge until you have control of the ball. Curl your heels towards your gluteus while keeping your gluteus off the floor! Repeat!!

How many muscles did you utilize while performing the stability ball leg curl? Probably too many to count. You certainly worked your hamstrings, gluteus, calves and your entire core to be able to control the ball during your movement. You also raised your heart rate and really kicked your metabolism into high gear. It’s all about combining exercises that demand more “help” from other muscles! That’s what I call a great exercise.

Other ways to increase intensity

Using complex movements are just one of many ways to kick your workout intensity up a notch. Try incorporating a Super Set into your routine. To do so simply perform two or more exercises in a row and then take a short rest. **For example: Stability Ball Double Leg Curl for 30 seconds then go straight to push-ups (no rest) for 30 seconds. Keep repeating for 2-8 rounds.

The key to finding the best exercise is to find the ones that bring your workout intensity to a whole new level. A combination of changing your workouts up, using interval training, and even some good old cardio will ultimately see you to your goal.

These methods will help you to burn more calories, increase your metabolic rate, and will stimulate the production of more fat burning and muscle toning hormones. Of course, there is more involved to achieving your fitness goals. You need to incorporate fat burning into your routine. You need to consistently challenge yourself during workouts. You need to take control of your eating habits.

So what’s the best exercise for you? Try different exercises patterns and create your own. Just remember to never sacrifice anything for good form. You can also call or email me today to schedule a time for you to try out a class for FREE and experiment with the complex movements I have described.

For some ideas you can go through my “On the 12th Day of Christmas my Trainer gave to me:” workout video on Youtube. It’s a great workout that utilizes Complex Movements..enjoy!

Remember to always Train HARD, Train SAFE and EXPECT results!

By Dr. Ladd Carlston

Do you feel like you need more “balance”.  Do you feel pulled in too many directions?

That feeling in your chest or stomach, or that tightness in your shoulders is the stress of wanting to do it all, but not having enough time in the day.  That much desired balance in your life only happens if you have clarity on what is most important and the focus to make it happen.

Look at your actions and how you spend your time each day.  Does it reflect your priorities?  Odds are you’re spending time on something that really isn’t high priority and it’s resulting in you getting to the end of the day and being dissatisfied.  Yikes.

So here’s the deal.  When you’re stressed, the part of your brain that helps you prioritize and see the consequences of your current actions doesn’t function very well.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Take a breather.   When you’re stressed, your breath becomes more shallow.  Pausing to catch your breath from the race of life is essential and can restore much needed perspective on what you’re facing.

You know the feeling – you’re frantically looking for something and then you find it was right in front of you the whole time.  If you’re stressed, that’s how you’re leading your life – missing pieces that will make things easier if you would just become aware that they’re there.

If you think you’re too busy to take a breather for a few minutes or you find that when you do you can’t stop your racing thoughts – you REALLY need to slow down or you’ll look up one day and wonder what happened.

2. Close those open loops. Researchers say that keeping a to-do list on your mind or having too many things that are undone not only zaps your brainpower, but can make you anxious, forgetful, and indecisive.  The solution?  Write things down.

Odds are that you’re keeping too much on your brain.  Think about your house, your car, your finances, work, etc.  There are things in each one of those categories that need doing and it’s impossible to keep it all in your head.

Here’s the deal – if you spent time right now going through all those categories and writing what you had to do down, it would free up energy for you to have more willpower to focus on what’s most important to you.  There are tons of research about this.

3. Energize your prefrontal cortex. What leads to the discrepancy between what you SAY you want to focus on and what you really end up doing is the lack of brainpower to see and make the right choice.

The specific area of your brain that is in charge of how you spend your time during the day is called the prefrontal cortex. There are different ways that have been used over the centuries to bring energy and blood-flow to this critical area of the brain.  Below are two different options – one that you can do on your own and the one I’ve developed as  a new alternative at my practice.

An exercise that you can do on your own:

• Start by simply carving out 5 minutes of your day morning or night to sit in a quiet undisturbed place.  Have your spouse be “on watch” for the kids or do whatever you have to do to be undisturbed.
• Next sit comfortably and focus on your breathing.  Thoughts will come to your mind which is okay, but just bring your focus back to your breathing and make sure you take a few deep breaths during that 5 minutes. Continually bring your focus back to your breath.
• Gradually increase the time to 30 minutes.

Part of a 45 minute session in my practice is a hands-on technique to clear physical stress and energize the prefrontal cortex.  In short, this portion of the session is a combination of breathing techniques, meditation, acupressure, and massage all in a 45 minute session.

After a few sessions, people gain more focus and clarity on what they need to be doing and get in action with their relationships, health, organization.  Things are changing in dramatic ways for them!

Whichever of the above options you choose, DO SOMETHING to be able to spend time doing what’s most important.

By Louise Voelker

Cleansing Veggie Stir-fry Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 bunch lacinato kale, chopped

2 golden beets, chopped

1/2 head purple cabbage, chopped

1 baby bok choy, chopped

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

1 medium yellow onion or 2 shallots, chopped

1 inch ginger root, minced

1 cup crimini mushrooms, quartered

8 asparagus stalks, cut in 1-inch pieces, tough ends removed

2 Tablespoons almond butter

1 Tablespoon low sodium, wheat-free tamari or soy sauce

1 Tablespoon water

1 15oz can no salt added black beans, drained and rinsed

Method

Steam-fry* kale, beets, cabbage, bok choy, carrot, onion and ginger root until kale wilts (~7 minutes).  Mix almond butter, tamari and water together while veggies are cooking.  Add mushrooms, asparagus and black beans to stir-fry and cook until another 2-3 minutes until mushrooms are warm.  Add mixture of tamari, almond butter and water to veggies and mix until all vegetables are coated.  Serve over brown rice.

* Learn how to steam-fry by watching this video.

Benefits

This stir-fry recipe is packed full of nutrient dense foods that help cleanse the body of toxins:

• The Lacinato kale provides Isothiocyanates (ITCs), which may decrease the risk of certain types of cancer.  Kale also contains 45 different flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory properties and they act as antioxidants that help protect our cell membranes from free radicals.
• The golden beets provide an antioxidant called betalain that provides detoxification support, especially in phase 2 of the liver detoxification process.
• Purple cabbage contains a glucosinolate compound called “sinigrin” that may have cancer prevention potential for the bladder, colon and prostate.
• Carrots have a phytonutrient called polyacetylenes that may inhibit the growth of cancer in the colon cells.
• Ginger promotes healthy sweating, which helps rid body of toxins during detoxing and helps fight off infection.
• Black beans have anthocyanins, which act as antioxidants in our body.
• The brown rice and black beans are good sources of soluble fiber that binds to toxins in the intestine, which destines the toxins to be eliminated from your body.

References:

www.whfoods.com

Matheson EM, Mainous AG 3rd and Carnemolla MA. The association between onion consumption and bone density in perimenopausal and postmenopausal non-Hispanic white women 50 years and older. Menopause. 2009 Jul-Aug;16(4):756-9. 2009

By Dr. Kezia Shine

Have you heard the latest on childhood ear infections?

Did you know that the #1 reason parents take their children to the pediatrician’s office is for earaches, with the most common diagnosis of Otitis Media (aka ear infection).  According to the Journal of the American Medical Association this diagnosis has increased by 150% in the last 20 years, with the most prevalent age group being under the age of 2.  But do you, as parents really know what otitis media is?  It is a general name for inflammation of the inner ear, that is characterized by pain and fever. Occasionally,  otitis media can cause fluid in the middle ear, which is why so many doctors jump to the option of tubes so quickly.

There are a certain population that is at a higher risk for ear infections. A study conducted by CDC showed that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke, and are bottle feed while laying down are at a greater risk.  When a child is given a bottle of milk while laying on it’s back, that milk can get into the ear canals.  Once the milk is in the ear canals, it ferments (because it is mainly sugar), and the bacteria have a hay day until the party explodes into a fever and lots of pain.  There are even some foods that are highly inflammatory to our bodies, such as dairy, wheat, soy, corn and peanuts that can complicate this condition.

The American Academy of Pediatrics passed new guidelines  in 2009 that stated to the doctors to limit the amount of antibiotics because the bacteria were developing resistance causing major problems if your child was to get really sick later in life.  A pediatrician, Dr. Hendley from the University of Virginia studied over 100 cases of otitis media treated with antibiotics. His conclusions were that it only helped 1 out of every 8 children. Another study published in the British Medical Journal stated the same findings.  So the truth is, is that there is little evidence to support the use of antibiotics to treat Acute Otitis Media, and the children are left with fluid in the ear, and symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and GI problems such as diarrhea from the drugs.

If you are looking for a more natural non-invasive approach to helping your child through an ear infection you can take them to the pediatric chiropractor, in which an average of 4 visits resolves otitis media.  The reason this works is because the first vertebrae of neck can slip to the side, right or left, and when it does it puts pressure on the ear canal, not allowing the ear to drain as needed.  From a simple, very light adjustment, your chiropractor can realign this bone and release the pressure on the inner ear.  From my experience, 8 out of 10 patients with ear infections have this vertebrae out of place.  For another non-invasive approach, you can also put 2-3 drops garlic oil in the ear canal 2 times a day, which has shown to have a greater effect on ear infections than antibiotics.  Garlic is a natural anti-inflammatory making it easy to help your child quickly get out of pain.  For questions on other childhood aliments, please do not hesitate to email or call my office.

By Lori Krause

A few months ago I was running through the store to pick up a few things. Thinking of dinner that night and how I was going to make some whole wheat beer bread, honey butter sounded so good melting into a freshly sliced piece! I went to the dairy case and pick up a little carton of a national brand, not giving it a second though. It’s honey butter, right? Honey and butter. Oh how wrong I was.

The ingredients were right there staring me on the face when I decided to look at them. No, it wasn’t just honey and butter but high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil AND regular soybean oil. Artificial flavor and color! Why do food manufacturers have to add all that stuff to simple food?

I felt cheated and stupid. This is what I’ve been preaching and trying to practice for years – read the labels! My husband, Jim said I should have taken it back but I didn’t. And not wanting to waste it, we did eat it over a period of time. But I made a vow NOT to buy it again and the next time I wanted some I’d figure out how to make it.

Another night we were having cornbread and again the thought of honey butter came to mind. Do you know how hard it was to make my own? A 1/2 cup soft butter and a 1/4 cup honey mixed with a hand mixer! How simple is that?

And while I’m on the subject, just yesterday I was looking at pickles. My son likes sweet pickles on sandwiches and I’ll add chopped pickles to a few recipes. Again, every commercial brand I picked up had high fructose corn syrup and usually the second ingredient right after cucumbers! Some even had more artificial colors and flavors.  ?I’m not sure I’m up for making my own pickles, (although my mom and grandmother used to) but if you can find “Million Dollar Pickles” made at Blackberry Hill Farms in Rich Hill, Missouri they are great! And their ingredient list is cucumbers, vinegar, sugar and spices. Perfect!