2010 September/October Newsletter

Welcome!

Now that we’ve passed the Autumnal Equinox it’s officially fall. This is a beautiful season here in New Hampshire, and it’s a great time to take stock after a long summer. As you transition from lazy-hazy summertime to the get-up-and-go feeling of fall, what habits do you want to focus on? Did you let things slide during the summer that you want to pick up again?

Fall is also a good time to start preparing for winter. Hopefully we won’t have any big health scares like H1N1 last year, but it’s a good bet most of us will get the sniffles at some point. Are you ready to ward off those germs and help yourself and your family get back to school and work as quickly as possible?

This newsletter includes some fantastic articles about personal health and wellness. Click the titles to jump to the individual articles.

Healthy Bodies 101: Staying Fit with Cristyn Peters
Journey to Wellness Practitioner Spotlight: Beth Power
Boost Your Immunity & Stay Healthy Through the Seasons
Q & A: “What is your ‘desert island’ product?”

You can sign up to receive our email newsletter at the store’s website, herbalpath.com.

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Healthy Bodies 101: Staying Fit with Cristyn Peters
by Cristyn Peters, BS, CPT

Let’s face it, by now we all know that we need to be exercising for better health. Fitness and exercise are no longer “crazes”, but critical parts of our daily lives, Hectic as they may be. We want maximum results out of the time and energy spent on working out. Getting the most of an exercise program includes proper amounts of aerobic activity, strength training and flexibility.

Aerobic exercise challenges and strengthens the heart and lungs. The heart becomes a more efficient pump and the body becomes a more efficient calorie burner. Benefits include increased metabolism and reduction of fat stores, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Regular exercise promotes mental well-being by reducing stress and depression while increasing energy levels. Aerobic activity is most beneficial when performed 3-5 times a week with a duration of 20 – 45 minutes. Examples include walking, jogging. Hiking, biking swimming and aerobic fitness classes.

Applying force against any resistance, whether it is a dumbbell, a stack of weights or elastic bands, results in our muscles joints and bones becoming stronger. Denser bones are more resistant to osteoporosis and stronger muscles and joints allow us to do more activity without being as prone to injury. Other benefits include increased metabolism – muscle burns calories at a high rate, even at rest and pound for pound takes up less room that body fat. Optimal strength training requires 2-3 sessions a week that include all major muscle groups.

Stretching the muscles and increasing joint mobility relaxes the mind, tunes up the body and prevents injury and chronic musculoskeletal problems such as low back pain. It makes strenuous activities easier because it prepares the body for activity. Stretching is beneficial before, during and after every workout, especially when preceded by a light warm-up activity.

In addition to the basic recommendations above, daily activity of any kind contributes to good health and physical fitness. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator, park at the farthest parking space when doing errands, even working in the garden and playing with the kids in the yard counts. If you are new to exercise, start slowly and seek qualified instruction from a fitness professional. It is important that your fitness program is right for you and the exercises are performed safely and correctly.

Cristyn Peters has helped hundreds of people develop lean, tone, healthy bodies. She is a professionally certified personal trainer and nutrition educator and has openings for a limited number of new clients. She can be reached at maxresults@metrocast.net/www.CristynPeters.com. LOOK FOR UPCOMING FREE LECTURES WITH CRISTYN AT THE HERBAL PATH EVERY MONTH!

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Journey to Wellness Practitioner Spotlight
Baby steps to a healthy lifestyle: Conscious Breath for Immune Health

by Beth Power, LMT
Awakening Touch Herbal Therapeutics and Holistic Bodywork
603.498.6170

“Improper breathing is a common cause of ill health” –Andrew Weil, MD

Hello, my name is Beth Power and I am a native to Dover, NH. I have recently moved back to the area, after 5 years in Miami, FL., in order to set up an office where I can offer service to my community. It is my pleasure to be back “home” and to be in a position to give back to the people and community that nurtured and cared for me for so many years.

My new office is in the Journey to Wellness Integrative Health Center which is next door to the Herbal Path on Central Ave. in Dover, NH. I am a Trauma Informed Licensed Massage Therapist which means I have training and an understanding of how traumatic incidences, and stress, set up and affect our physiology therefore influencing all other aspects of ourselves.

The services that I offer include:

    Herbal Therapeutics

  • In depth health history
  • Personal herbal formulation based on you as a whole person (not just your symptoms)
  • Wellness education
  • Ongoing support
    Holistic Bodywork

  • Swedish Massage, Reiki, Polarity
  • Somatic (body) Awareness
  • Conscious Breath work
  • Self- Inquiry ….and more

Since the focus of this newsletter is on immune health as well as things that we can do for ourselves to stay well, let me share a little information about how what I offer may help to keep your immune system strong and vibrant. Let’s take stress as an example. We all have it, we all know what it feels like when we are overwhelmed, overworked and/or over worried. Our lifestyles have changed dramatically in the past 25 years and it is starting to show in our health and wellbeing, or lack thereof. It has become increasingly important to find ways to support our bodies as they interface with our daily challenges.

One of my mottos in developing a healthy lifestyle is to do small things (steps) often. A healthy life is accumulative. It’s done in baby steps…no big deal.

Keeping that in mind, did you know that a large portion of your immune system resides in your digestive tract? That’s right it does. Did you also know that one of the first systems of the body to be compromised during stressful periods is the digestive system? Yup, true again. It seems to me that finding simple ways to keep the digestive system relaxed and working efficiently is an important baby step in immune health. An easy, efficient and inexpensive (free) way to do that is by taking long slow deep breaths down into the belly. On the inhale make sure that your belly gets big like a balloon being blown up and on the exhale pull your belly in towards your spine, breathing through your nose on both inhale and exhale and do your best to stay focused on your breath. As long as the breath is done slowly and softly there should be no problem with hyperventilation. Do this as many times a day as you can remember. Each time the phone rings, take a deep breath, when you are stopped at a red light…breathe, waiting in line at the grocery store, in bed before you get up and again before you go to sleep. There are numerous times and circumstances that can be reminders to give yourselves the gift of health…one deep breath at a time.

I look forward to finding more and more ways to serve. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to know more about what I offer. It would be my pleasure to share with you.

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Boost Your Immunity & Stay Healthy Through the Seasons
by Jennifer Purrenhage, PhD, CHHC, CYT

We are currently in the ephemeral season of Late Summer, transitioning from the heat and long days of Summer to the colder weather and shorter days of Fall and Winter. As you gear up for the colder months ahead, it’s important to take precautions to boost your immunity. The following five suggestions will help you stay strong and healthy through the back-to-school craziness, holidays, travel, parties, and flu season that can normally compromise your immune system.

1. Start with a Foundation of Healthy Diet and Nutrition. In order to set the groundwork for your immune system to function optimally, your diet and nutrition should meet your body’s macro- and micronutrient needs, reduce inflammation, and enhance digestive function. But what does that look like? Although the answer is highly individual, there are some general guidelines.

  • Eat a wide variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and high-quality fishes and lean poultry and red meat. Begin to consider vegetables as your main dish and grains and proteins as your side dishes. Vegetables, especially leafy green cruciferous veggies (broccoli, kale, bok choy, chard, cauliflower, and others), are packed with important nutrients including vitamins A, C, and E, which are antioxidants that boost immunity. Sufficient, but not excessive, protein is necessary for making white blood cells, antibodies, and antioxidant enzymes (e.g., glutathione) associated with better immune function.
  • Choose nutrient-dense foods over ‘empty’ processed foods. Processed foods lack the complete array of nutrients and micronutrients that you need to stay healthy and are often loaded with sugar and artificial flavors, colors, and additives. Nutrient-dense foods, like fresh veggies and whole grains, are loaded with immune-supportive vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Read those labels. Better yet, buy real food, which usually doesn’t even have a label.
  • Limit or eliminate sugar from your diet. There are tons of reasons to avoid refined sugar (cravings, blood sugar regulation, etc.), but here’s a big one if you’re interested in boosting your immunity. Studies show that sugar reduces the effectiveness of your white blood cells, which destroy harmful bacteria, by as much as 40 percent – an obvious impairment of your immune function. Sugar also depletes many important immunity-boosting nutrients from the body.
  • Double dose your fiber. Make sure you get both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber (abundant in citrus, apples, carrots, and legumes) directly affects immunity by fighting inflammation, whereas insoluble fiber (abundant in whole grains, nuts, and leafy greens) is important for optimal digestive function, which in turn boosts immunity. It’s better to get your fiber from food than from supplements. To do this, eat whole foods – whole fruits instead of juice, whole grains rather than refined grains (brown rice, not white rice), etc.
  • Limit dairy products. Diets high in dairy have been associated with greater inflammation, congestion, and incidence of respiratory infections.
  • Don’t think low-fat. Think good fats vs. bad fats. Fats play many critical roles in our bodies, and we need them in our diet. A few of the important functions of fats include building cell membranes, production of hormones, and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K). In general, favor unsaturated fats like olive oil, sesame oil, grapeseed oil, and flax oil, eliminate all trans fats (anything “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated”), and limit saturated fats like those from meat and dairy sources. However, some saturated fats (e.g., coconut oil) can be beneficial. Coconut oil has recently been shown to raise “good” (HDL) cholesterol, and coconut fiber has been shown to effectively moderate blood sugar and insulin levels. Finally, beware of the “low-fat” label. Food products that are processed to be low in fat are often packed with sugar, artificial sweeteners, etc. We have been made to believe that low-fat is such a good thing that we often overlook what the missing fat has been replaced with. Consider eating smaller amounts of whole (full fat) foods, rather than overeating the low-fat alternatives.
  • Limit alcohol and caffeine. Much has been written about the effects of alcohol and caffeine on the body. You’re aware of the pros and cons. I’ll just say this: limit both to give your liver a break and improve your immune function.

2. Consider Nutritional Supplements. I tend to recommend getting your vitamins and minerals from your diet instead of taking tons of supplements. There are times and circumstances, however, that warrant nutritional supplements. It’s a good idea to discuss supplements and dosages with a health and nutrition consultant or a naturopathic doctor, but here’s a sound bite on five important supplements to consider using to maintain healthy immune function:

  • Vitamin D – Vitamin D is perhaps the most important supplement for boosting immunity. Vitamin D block harmful inflammation and directly supports the immune system by activating certain white blood cells (T cells) that fight infections.
  • Probiotics – Probiotics repopulate the gastrointestinal (GI) tract with healthy bacteria, which are necessary for immune function because the GI tract is our most important barrier against antigens from bad bacteria and food allergies. Look for a probiotic with a variety of different bacterial strains, all of which are naturally present in the human intestinal system.
  • Fish Oil – Fish oil is one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which have natural anti-inflammatory properties, and have numerous other beneficial effects including improved memory, mood, and circulation. Omega-3 fatty acids are also found in some vegetarian sources (algae, nut and seed oils), but fish sources have been shown to be more potent and absorbable.
  • Adaptogens – Adaptogens are a group of herbs that increase immunity by helping the body handle stress and balance hormones. Ashwaganda is a wonderful adaptogen to take during times of heightened physical (cold and flu season) or emotional stress.
  • Multivitamin – If you want to boost your immunity, a multivitamin’s not a bad idea because it can help you round out what you’re not getting from your diet. Be sure to get a high-quality multivitamin, preferably from whole-food sources, with B-complex vitamins and no more than 150% the RDA of any vitamin. It can be equally dangerous to get too much of some vitamins as it is to be deficient.

3. Assess Your Physical Activity. Most people become less active during the colder months. While it’s natural to spend less time outdoors and maybe even less time at the gym, it’s important to maintain some level of activity. Exercise improves both your mental and physical wellness. When we exercise, our bodies release endorphins, which help to stabilize moods and manage stress, thereby boosting immunity. Studies show that even low levels of exercise (20-30 minutes of brisk walking, 5 days/week) help to maintain a healthy immune system.

4. Manage Your Stress. Stress raises the cortisol level in the bloodstream. Temporary secretion of cortisol can be beneficial – it gives us a burst of energy and immunity to cope with a stressful event. Chronic stress and the maintenance of elevated cortisol levels, on the other hand, compromise immune function and are critical to avoid. Some great ways to manage stress include meditation, yoga, journaling, cultivating gratitude, massage, and spending time with loved ones. What works for you? Schedule time for self-care and stress management – it’s that important.

5. Get Adequate Sleep. A recent Harvard Medical School survey found that many Americans sleep less than 6 hours per night and that 75% of Americans experience some sort of sleep difficulty several times a week. This is troubling because healthy sleep is important for good health, and is especially important for boosting immunity. Sleep deprivation results in decreased T cell count and increased inflammation, and suppresses overall immune function. Moreover, you may find that you need more sleep during the winter months than you do during the summer. Most people need 7 -9 hours of good sleep nightly. Consistently inadequate sleep can negate all your good nutrition and stress management efforts to boost your immunity. If you continue to struggle with inadequate sleep, consider working with a health consultant or doctor to establish a healthy sleep schedule.

While it’s important to address all these areas of your life – diet and nutrition, activity, stress, and sleep – in order to boost your immunity, it’s also critical that you listen to your body-mind’s intelligent intuition. One misstep that many of us make is clinging to the same disciplined schedule throughout the year, despite our body’s resistance. The fact is that each of us has slightly different food, sleep, and activity requirements, and furthermore, these requirements can vary throughout the year. What is your body telling you as the seasons change? Are you craving more cooked food and less raw food? Do you need more down time, more rest? Is it harder to get up at your normal waking time? Pay attention to these messages from your body. Make small adjustments and be gentle with yourself, rather than forcing yourself to conform to old habits. Ultimately, you are the expert on your body’s unique needs.
Eat Well. Live Well. Be Well.

Jennifer Purrenhage, PhD, CHHC, CYT is a Holistic Health and Nutrition Consultant and the founder of Get Well Grounded | Holistic Health & Nutrition. For more information about health and nutrition programs for individuals, including a 14-day Seasonal Transition Guided Cleanse, or to access the Get Well Grounded blog and newsletter sign-up, visit www.GetWellGrounded.com. You can contact Jennifer directly at getwellgrounded@gmail.com.

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Q & A: “What is your ‘desert island’ product?”

This is a new feature being premiered in the September/October newsletter. Each issue will ask a different question, with answers provided by Herbal Path staff and customers.

What is your ‘desert island’ product? (In other words, if you could only take ONE supplement, what would it be?)

GENERAL SUPPLEMENTS

  • MegaFlora (probiotic by MegaFood)
    -Mekeel
  • Probiotic (unspecified)
    -Ron and Barbara
  • Calcium/Magnesium (unspecified)
    -Chad
  • Every Woman II (multivitamin, New Chapter)
    -Lynn

HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS

  • Rhodiola (New Chapter)
    -Patricia
  • Feverfew-Lavender Compound (Herb Pharm)
    -Marci
  • Passionflower Tincture (Herb Pharm)
    -Andrea
  • Rescue Remedy (Bach)
    -Hannah

SHAKES & GREENS

  • Whole Food Health Optimizer, Berry (meal replacement, Vega)
    -May
  • LifeSource Super Sprouts (Harmonic Innerprizes)
    -Greg

MISCELLANEOUS

  • RediCare Spray (multipurpose, Keys)
    -Elaina
  • Solar Rx Sunscreen (Keys)
    -Nicole

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