Welcome spring, at long last; and with it, lots of wonderful new beginnings...
NEW OFFICE LOCATION
I am excited to announce that High Desert Naturopathic Care is now at its new location.
The Galisteo Center Office Park
2019 Galisteo Street
Suite E2
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Contact phone number remains the same: 505-670-9042.
Also working in this office is:
Dr. Kate Dow, a counselor who works with people in transition such as marriage, perinatal changes, parent coaching, women's issues, and divorce.
We strive to create a healing environment that invites physical, spiritual, and mental wellness.
For directions, see this Online map.
SPRING CLEANSE
Spring is a healthy time to cleanse your system of toxins that are stored in the body over the winter months. The body is naturally programmed to store fat and (inadvertently) toxins during the cold months of ancestral starvation. Once the weather changes, the body begins to metabolize more efficiently, making it a safer time to rid the body of those toxins. In Chinese Medicine, spring is a time to support the liver and gall bladder. It is not only a time to release physical toxins, but also a time to release stored emotions such as anger and frustration. This is why you may feel yourself becoming a bit more irritated this time of year. The wind may aggravate that "liver qi release".
Foods that naturally support the liver and gall bladder include: beets, artichokes, onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, lemons, mustard greens, beet greens, collard greens, kale, chard, sprouts, romaine lettuce, sea vegetables, daikon radish, turnips, figs, apples, and banana.
There are several approaches to doing a cleanse. While, for example, a gall bladder flush may be healthy for one, it may be dangerous for another. I strongly encourage each of you to come in to create an individualized cleansing program that is best for you.
NEWS BRIEFS
ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH IODINE? Additional need for patients with hypothyroidism...
Guy E. Abraham, MD, et al, The Original Internist, Dec. 2002 (reviewed in DSD Newsletter #115)
This article reviews the lack of iodine in our diets, claiming that low iodine intake is the world's leading cause of intellectual deficiency. The key points that I would like emphasize are that women have a higher need for iodine than do men, and that female patients on thyroid medication seem to be at higher risk for breast cancer. Why is this? Iodine is required not only by the thyroid to make T4, the thyroid hormone, but also by both breast tissue and ovaries. If iodine is insufficient, at least one of these organs will suffer. We do see more hypothyroidism in women than in men. This article is maintaining further that women who are taking thyroid hormones and are already iodine deficient are at higher risk for breast cancer. One study showed that the incidence of breast cancer was twice as high in women receiving thyroid medications for hypothyroidism as in women not on thyroid medication.
While no direct coorelative study was shown, I believe the take home message is this: we should all make sure that we are getting enough iodine in our diets (especially here in land-locked New Mexico). Patients who are on thyroid medication should make sure that sufficient iodine is part of their daily nutritional plan.
Recommended Daily Allowance: 150mcg/day
Optimal Daily Intake: 150-300 mcg
National Average intake in Japan (where sea vegetables are part of the diet, and breast cancer is much lower than in the USA): 13.8mg/day (or 1380 mcg/day).
The best sources of iodine include the seafoods such as sea vegetables (seaweed), fish, and shellfish. One gram of iodized table salt provides about 76 mcg of iodine.
If you feel that your diet does not provide enough iodine, drops are available at Dr. Keller's office. One tasteless drop provides 75 mcg of potassium iodide.
SPLENDA and other sugar substitutes
Many patients have asked me about the new sugar substitute, Splenda. Because it is advertised as "made from sugar", some assume it to be natural. In fact, Splenda, like other artificial sweeteners, is modified in a lab and is not recognized by the body as a natural substance. Sucralose, the chemical form of Splenda, is made by adding chlorine to sugar molecules. There have been no long-term studies to show the safety of Splenda.
As with all foods, I advocate moderate intake in it's most natural form. Sugar should never be used in excess, but when used, it should be in its most "whole food" form. Whole cane sugar (Rapadura, Sucanut), for example, not only contains sucrose, but also minerals such as magnesium and vitamins and fiber, all which aid in sugar's metabolism (isn't nature smart?!). Other healthy options include: stevia, honey, blackstrap molasses, natural fruit juices, and licorice root (avoid if you have high blood pressure). Always avoid products that contain aspartame, neotame, sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame, and sorbitol.
ANTIBACTERIAL SOAPS MORE HARMFUL THAN HELPFUL
CNN.com, Tuesday, March 2, 2004 Posted: 10:11 AM EST (1511 GMT) PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Anti-bacterial soaps do not deliver the type of protection from common health ailments that consumers expect, according to a study.
Researchers at Columbia University gave anti-bacterial cleaning products to 120 New York City families, monitored them for almost a year, and found they experienced about the same number of runny noses, sore throats and fevers as another group that got regular soaps and detergents...The study's lead author, Elaine Larson, said the results would not surprise physicians; the products tested were designed to kill bacteria, not viruses. . "People think, in their heads, that if they use an anti-bacterial soap, it will keep them from getting an infection," Larson said. "What we found is that these products don't offer much added value."
The growing use of anti-bacterial soaps in the home has been of concern to some scientists who theorize that their widespread use might lead to the evolution of harder-to-kill, antibiotic-resistant germs.
Wishing you all a healthy, fun-filled springtime!
Deb Keller, ND, LM, CPM
|
