Back to School Ideas and Healthy Snacks

In the spirit of “back to school” I thought I’d offer a few thoughts on nutrition for kids.  (Of course this advice applies to adults as well.)  In all honesty, it is probably the most challenging aspect of my private client practice.  While it can be difficult to get adults to eat healthier, kids can be even more so.  The food producers and manufacturers have developed special foods that they call “kid’s food”.  If you take the time to read the list of ingredients you will find that most of it is not food and should not be consumed by anyone, particularly our children.  Our children are growing and need the healthiest foods available to properly fuel their minds and bodies. 

The consumption of “kid’s food” and more sedentary lifestyles (lack of exercise, lots of television, computer, and video games) is greatly impacting the health of our youth.  Here’s some scary statistics from the CDC.  Obesity among children aged 6 to 11 more than doubled in the past 25 years, increasing from 6.5% in 1980 to 17.0% in 2006. The rate among adolescents aged 12 to 19 more than tripled, going from 5% to almost 18%.  Keep in mind, before being classified as “obese” there is “overweight” classification, which I have seen estimates between 20 and 25%. 

How do we get our kids to eat healthier foods? One successful strategy that I use is to make subtle substitutions to the foods they like to eat.  Let’s take something as simple as the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  For the peanut butter use organic peanut butter that is nothing but peanuts and peanut oil.  Most commercial peanut butters contain added sugar and hydrogenated oil (trans- fats).  We know trans-fats are linked to cancer and that added sugar adds empty calories.  I stress the organic because peanuts are one of the most highly pesticided crops, so non-organic peanut butter will contain potential chemical residues and toxins.  Ever wonder why there are so many peanut allergies today?  For the bread I recommend sprouted bread.  It comes in a variety of flavors and is the healthiest bread option.  It has more vitamins and fewer calories per slice.  However, it is made from wheat so for those with gluten intolerance use another bread option such as flax and millet bread.  For the jelly, find the most natural product you can.  Look for spreads that do not add sugar or have less sugar added.  The fruit already has plenty of sugar. 

What are some other healthy substitutions?  A major area to look at is the carbohydrates.  Our kids eat a lot of them – bread, rice, pasta.  Our goal here is to shift from the refined and processed white flour products to whole grains.  In addition to the switch to sprouted breads, we can use brown rice instead of white rice and pasta from brown rice rather than refined wheat (the white pasta).  All of these substitutions taste virtually the same.  They just look a little different and that may turn off the kids. But, covered in tomato sauce they will never know the difference!

Then there are snacks.  The kids get home from school and they are hungry and it is not quite dinner time.  There are certainly some better choices than chips and dips.  Another societal norm is this idea of “snack food.”  Just like with “kid’s food” we need a little retraining.  What is a snack?   It is a small meal.  So, think of something healthy that would be part of a meal.  There’s nothing special about these foods, except that they are healthy.  I like to tell people not to worry about if something is considered “breakfast” food or “snack” food – just eat healthy food when you are hungry! 

Here’s a list of some healthy snacks: hard boiled eggs; jerky (beef, bison, turkey, salmon – just be sure from a healthy source); sushi; organic cheese (cottage, cheddar); organic yogurt; fruit salad; almond butter and celery; baby carrots and bean dip; broccoli with dip; blue corn chips with bean dip, guacamole, or salsa; loaded baked potato; nuts; and seeds.  See there’s plenty to choose from!

Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. He has offices is in Thiensville and Glendale. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.

Summer Time!!! August 2012 Newsletter

The Dog Days

For most of us it seems we already had the Dog Days of August - in July!  The drought has had significant effects on our farmers, particularly the small farmers trying to provide us with fresh, healthy and natural foods.  We should all continue our support of them in whatever way we can.

The Summer is always a good time to catch up on our reading.  For me, I’ve gone back to one of the first books I read on nutrition, the classic work by Dr. Weston A. Price – Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.  I speak frequently of the Weston Price Foundation and encourage you to read this book and visit their web site (www.westonaprice.org).  

I’ve also been listening to a series of recordings of the 1950’s and 1960’s lectures of Dr. Royal Lee, the founder of Standard Process among other companies.  Dr. Lee frequently refers to the needless deaths from heart disease and diabetes as the fastest growing disease we face.  Sounds similar to today!  And this is what I can never quite get over – they (Dr. Price, Dr. Lee and many others) predicted in the 1930’s and 1950’s the exact health problems we are experiencing today across the board:  heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, mental illness, cancer, etc.

Digestion: What to Do (A Self Help Guide)

Here are some recommendations to reduce symptoms of acid reflux.  Drinking eight ounces of water about 30 minutes prior to a meal supplies fluid to form sufficient amounts of gastric juices.  Once you begin the meal drink no more than a cup of additional fluid.  If you can, it is best not to drink at all. By drinking liquids, even water, you are reducing the acidity of the stomach, so it needs to work harder.  My grandmother never drank with her meals and now I understand why! 

For the rest of the article click here: http://brwellness.blogspot.com/2012/08/digestion-what-to-do-self-help-guide.html

I’m Glad to Help

Here’s a thank you that I just received from a client (female, late 40’s).  Her major complaints were weight gain, lack of energy, moodiness – pretty typical of what I see. My response to her is that she is very welcome.  However, she did all the hard work!  My job is easy (well sort of).  I offer the information.  But, in our modern world, it is not always easy to comply – but when you do this is what happens:

“I'm doing great thanks to you.

I'm still following the eating plan; no sugar, or white anything, nothing with gluten, just clean
organic food.  I'm happy with my weight, of course I'd like to lose a bit more, but not sure how.

I'm so happy that I came to see you because I feel better now than I ever have.  I have energy like an
eighteen year old, my stomach doesn't hurt, and I actually feel happy. 

Again, thank you for giving me my life back!”

Digestion: What to Do (A Self Help Guide)

Here are some recommendations to reduce symptoms of acid reflux.  Drinking eight ounces of water about 30 minutes prior to a meal supplies fluid to form sufficient amounts of gastric juices.  Once you begin the meal drink no more than a cup of additional fluid.  If you can, it is best not to drink at all. By drinking liquids, even water, you are reducing the acidity of the stomach, so it needs to work harder.  My grandmother never drank with her meals and now I understand why!  

Another home remedy is to drink organic raw apple cider vinegar prior to eating.  The vinegar does not actually digest anything; it just aids the stomach in becoming acidic so that pepsin will be released.  

To further heal the body it is recommended to wean off acid stopping medications (with doctor’s permission and assistance).  Begin to eat healthy foods and in smaller meals.  Do not lie down within four hours of a meal.  Lying on your left side can help relieve heartburn and aid digestion.  It keeps the stomach below the esophagus.

How do you know if you are making sufficient HCl or pancreatic enzymes?  You can perform a self check using a couple of easily accessible reflex points. 

The HCl reflex point: To check for low stomach acid or hypochloridria follow this procedure.    Lie on your back with your knees bent.  Begin with the second and third fingers of your right hand at your Xiphoid process (the point at the bottom of your rib cage).  Move your fingers down approximately 1” below the Xiphoid process and then move the fingers to the left edge of the rib cage.  Come in at about a 45° angle with the finger tips.  The point is on the edge of the rib cage.  You will want to poke around an area about the size of a quarter as the placement of the point can vary somewhat. If the point is tender this indicates a need for HCl until the tenderness goes away.  Sometimes people are confused whether it is really tender or just the poking.  The best was to tell is to poke your rib cage nearby with the same pressure.  You should be able to determine the difference between a poke and a tender spot. 

The Enzyme reflex point:  To check the pancreatic enzyme output follow the procedure above except use the left hand and slide the two fingers to the edge of the rib cage on your right side.    The Enzyme point is directly across from the HCl point.  

Pancreas Point: There are two other ways to check the pancreas.  The first involves applying slight pressure to see if it is tender.  The pancreas is deep in the abdomen.  To find it place your hands just below the left side of the bottom of the rib cage.  If you press in at 45° angle with both hands you will be on the head of the pancreas. Note whether or not it is tender.  The second way to check the pancreas is from a reflex point on your right thumb pad muscle.  Find this location and squeeze and palpate.  Again, if there is tenderness, there is stress in the pancreas. 

Gall bladder – acute: This test is called Murphy’s Sign and is for acute gall bladder problems.  There are two parts to the test.  First take a deep breath in and out and put your fingers under the right rib cage.  Next, take another breath in.  This pushes the gall bladder and liver against the fingers.  Notice if there is tenderness.  This can be done at both the upper and lower quadrants of the liver.

Gall bladder – chronic: This point is found on the right hand.  Where the thumb and forefinger come together (fleshy point, not muscle) use a pinching, rolling motion to look for tenderness and nodulation.  Use the index finger for support with the thumb on top.  Then, pinch and roll.  The tenderness will go away before the nodulation.  The nodule is a physical response.  Sometimes pain is subjective and pain goes away first.  The nodule goes away slower over time.

You can also do a self test for yeast.  First thing in the morning pour a glass of water and spit into it before put anything in your mouth.  Check the water every 15 minutes.  If you see things floating down, the spit grows legs or it gets cloudy, the saliva is carrying fungal overgrowth.  If saliva is still floating after one hour, you are likely okay.

A few other notes of interest:

Lower bowel gas is never good.  It is a sign something is not digesting.  In general, an earthy smell comes from the large intestines, while foul smells come from liver or gall bladder issues.

If you have burning sensations in your stomach that eating relieves there is the potential for an ulcer that should be checked.

In order to eat meat you must have HCl.  Often, when people lose the taste for meat that is the body being smart since they are unable to adequately digest it and their body encourages them to avoid it.

If you suffer discomfort after eating here are some reference points.  If it hurts at the bottom of breast bone this may be the esophagus.  Pain in the left rib cage is associated with the stomach.  If the left shoulder hurts after eating you likely ate too much.  Your stomach is so full that it is pressing against your diaphragm.  This refers to the left shoulder.  If your right shoulder blade hurts it is likely your liver or gall bladder is inflamed.  When the pain is in between the shoulder blades it is the stomach.  

If you feel it all through the abdomen both front and back check the pancreas.  If the pain is above the belly button it is originating from the stomach.  If it is around the bell button it is from the small intestines. And, if below the belly button it is coming from the large intestines.

Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. He has offices in Thiensville and Glendale, WI. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.