Healthy Nutrition Hints and more….

Ever wonder what is so powerful and potent about green tea? Why do I see green tea in just about everything. For instance, just the other day, I saw green tea as one of the ingredients in a hair product. Hmm, what makes green tea so mysterious yet powerful? I decided to research and find out exactly what makes green tea one of the best teas for us as a whole.

Tea is known as one of the first Asian herbs we have ever used. There are wide varieties of teas in the Eastern World, but us in the Western World are only familiar with a select few. Each type of teas was use for certain medicinal purposes and the green teas were used for cooling and cleansing.

Recent studies have shown that green teas have reduced cholesterol by lowering blood lipids. Because of this, they reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer. Green teas are also known to be more bitter than the other varieties. The leaves are dark green and the effect is slightly laxative. Not only have they been shown to reduce cholesterol, green teas’ flavonoids help with the absorption of Vitamin C, which boosts the immune system.

Green teas when taken in the morning will give you the added boost to start your day. This bitter tea will help in the elimination of poorly digested food. It also acts as a stimulant because it clears phlegm. The teas that work well are those that feel refreshing and energizing and cleansing. Green tea provides all of these characteristics, making this a great morning tea. But don’t limit yourself to just mornings. Green tea is a great energizer for throughout the day.

You will find many varieties of green tea on the market today. You will not have to go to a health food store or a Ethnic shop to buy this amazing tea. You can find it in your local grocery store and it is not just made to drink hot either. Some of the most popular forms of drinking this wonderful, mysterious green tea is in cold forms. Because of all it’s properties, it has become one of the widely used teas on the market today.

Have you had your green tea today? If not, what are you waiting for?

Until next time,

Dr. Mommy

Sleep is an important component to our health. Our body requires sleep to boost the immune system. But how much sleep is enough?

Each person’s sleep requirement is different. Some people can function on 5-6 hours of sleep where others need 10-11 hours for optimal function and performance. In order to determine how many hours is enough consider the following. How many hours did you sleep on average as a child? How many hours of sleep do you need to awaken naturally without an alarm? How many hours of sleep do you need in order to feel refreshed and not feel drowsy throughout the day?

The amount of sleep you need depends on many factors, one being your age. A newborn will naturally sleep 16-19 hours a day and toddlers should sleep between 10-12 hours. Older children and teens require at least nine hours to be well rested and some teens need more sleep. This is attributed to changes within their bodies.

Adults require 7-9 hours of sleep but unfortunately some only get 5-6 hours a night. But of course this depends on the individual. Senior adults have shortened sleep requirements, but this is due to increasing intrinsic sleep disturbances such as sleep apnea or joint pain.

It is important to establish a regular sleep schedule by going to bed at the same time every evening and getting up at the same time every day. Having a different sleep schedule on the weekends can definitely throw your schedule off. If you experience difficulties falling asleep, try getting up half an hour earlier in the morning than your usual time; this may help you fall asleep in the evening.

If you have difficulties falling asleep in the evenings some things to avoid are naps, caffeine, exercise, nicotine and alcohol use.

• Naps will disrupt your sleep cycle, but you can take ‘power naps’ of 15-20 minutes to boost your energy.
• Caffeine intake should be reduced after 2pm. Coffee, sodas, and tea all contain caffeine an are known to make people anxious and jumpy and may interfere with your sleep patterns.
• Exercise is great but you should avoid exercise 2 hours prior to your bedtime. Exercise, especially aerobic, will increase your heart rate and keep you awake. Exercise throughout the day is wonderful and will give you a sense of well being, but should be avoided close to your regular bed time.
• Nicotine is a stimulator, and can increase your anxiety and nervousness. This may be a cause if you are having difficulty sleeping.
• Alcohol may initially make you feel sleepy or drowsy but it can cause you to become very awake in the middle of the night. Try to avoid moderate to heavy use during the day, so as not to disrupt your sleep pattern.

Try implementing a sleep ritual before bedtime. Rituals that signal the end of the day may help with your sleep disturbances. Try closing up the house for the night, reading a book, warm calming herbal tea, warm milk, deep breathing exercises, warm baths, and meditation. All these rituals will shift your thinking from daily stressors to gear your mind to closing the day and time for rest.

Another thing to note is to keep your bedroom or bed in particular for sleep and sex only. If you use your room as an office, your mind will be thinking of work related issues and not sleep. Keeping your room temperature between 60-70 degrees will also make it more comfortable and not interfere with sleep time.

Sleep is very important to our bodies because our immune system is boosted during our sleep. It is important to get enough sleep that will make you energized in the morning and not sleepy throughout the day.

So how many hours of sleep is enough? Experts note that if you feel sleepy or drowsy during the day you are not getting enough sleep. It is also important to note that quality is just as important as quantity. If your sleep is constantly interrupted, you are not getting quality sleep. So unfortunately, I can’t give you magic number of hours that you must sleep, but it is easy enough to gage now if you are getting enough quality sleep. Hope these tips have been helpful.

Until next time,

Dr. Mommy

Our homes are naturally filled with toxins. Here are 5 tips to keep your home kid-friendly.

1. Choose as many organic foods as possibly. Many of the produce you purchase is filled with toxins and sprays and choosing organic can eliminate that exposure. Also pass up on fast foods and highly processed foods.
2. Use natural cleaners and personal care products. Try to purchase ones that are labeled chlorine-free, biodegradable, petroleum-free and organic.
3. Keep those pesty bugs and weeds away with natural insecticides and weed killers. Use natural fertilizers on your lawn and be sure to have your children wash their hand with soap and water after playing outdoors.
4. Open you windows to air out your house. Change the filters in your air conditioners monthly. Purchase air filters or indoor plants. Don’t forget to empty out your vacuum filters as well.
5. Replace your children’s plastic toys. Many of these toys are made from certain types of plastic which can leach toxic chemicals with repeated use. Try wooden or metals toys instead.

Until next time,

Dr. Mommy

I am one that loves to listen to people talk about their health and how they want to lose weight for the summer. I find it interesting how they schedule their diets around seasons or holidays.

Some want to lose weight for summer months in order to wear their favorite swim suits where others plan their diets as New Year’s resolutions and some torture themselves by starting their diets around the holiday season where they are doomed to fail.

Why not concentrate on your eating habits on a daily basis? Make a conscious effort to eat right every day.

But what exactly is eating right? We all know that we should eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and include at least 2 more meals or snacks throughout the day. This will increase your metabolism therefore allowing your body to lose calories quicker. You must also consume large quantities of water to release the toxins from your body.

Some people however, believe they can skip meals and lose weight. Or the latest craze are the doctor prescribed diets which include Vitamin B12 shots and extremely low caloric intake. In all honesty, eating 800 calories a day is not healthy and sure you will lose weight, but you may risk the chance of other side effects as well. Our bodies are not made to live on 800 calories a day; we should consume a minimum of 1500 calories a day.

You can easily lose weight by eating fruits, vegetables, lean meats, poultry and fish. It is not necessary to take over the counter medications to lose weight and often you will lose weight quickly only to gain it back just as fast.

I personally know people on the doctor prescribed diets and they do not look healthy at all. They are practically starving themselves! Is it truly worth it? With low-fat diets and exercise you can achieve the look you desire the healthy way. Making smart decisions will be best for you in the long run. The most important thing to have is patience, unfortunately you can not lose over night, but with dedication and diligence you will accomplish your target weight.

Until next time,

Dr. Mommy

Many people wonder how they can lose weight without feeling hungry. These same people feel they need to take hunger suppressing diet drugs, but there is a safer and less expensive way. There are more satisfying ways to curb your hunger, the natural way.

• Make time for breakfast - yes, breakfast, if you have read my other posts, you will know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Did you know that it can also prevent nightly cravings? Many of us consume most of our calories at the end of a long day. But, research has shown those who start the day with a healthy, calorie-rich meal, will consume 5% less calories throughout the day. You will not starve yourself and you can actually be 10 pounds lighter in a year!
• Think low-calorie and nutrient rich - start by smart snacking. By snacking on fruits, veggies or sweet potatoes, you can actually suppress the hunger hormone. Low-calorie, nutrient-rich foods will make you feel satiated on a lot fewer calories. So, stay away from the potato chips!
• Take a deep breath - yes, a deep breath. Stress causes the body to produce cortisol, which then creates a resistance to leptin, a hormone that helps you feel full. By simply breathing, you can reduce stress and keep yourself feeling full longer. Try a breathing technique, where you release tension from your body by exhaling for a count of five, letting your shoulders slump as you breathe out. Then count to five as you inhale gently and fully, down through your lungs and into your belly. Hold for a count of four, exhale and repeat the process. Continue this technique throughout the day at different intervals and reduce your stress.
• Don’t skip your complex carbs - By including sweet potatoes, apples and even lentils to your diet, you can lose weight in just weeks. People who consume fiber-rich, complex-carbohydrate foods will most likely lose more than 2 pounds in five weeks. These foods are low in glycemic levels and will not cause your blood sugars to spike, therefore making you feel full longer.
• Don’t rule out potatoes - yes, you can eat white potatoes. White potatoes contain a natural resistant starch. This type of starch will act like a fiber once it hits your digestive system. This will in turn cause you to feel full longer while keeping your blood sugar level after a meal and may even reduce body fat. Cooling the potatoes will double the amount of starch, so it is just fine to enjoy your potato salad and fit into your skinny jeans, too.
• Don’t dismiss vanilla - it is not just for potpourri or decorative candles, it can also curb your appetite. The scent of vanilla releases neuropeptides, which then send signals to your brain making you feel full. Any vanilla scent will do, from extract to body lotions to candles. Enjoy the scent and lose weight.
• How about a dash of air with your meal - Professor Barbara Rolls, PhD, discovered that those who drank smoothies and other blended drinks for at least twice as long as necessary, ate 12% less and felt fuller than people who drank beverages blended for a shorter period of time. Dr. Rolls, a published author and Gunthrie Chair of Nutrition at Penn State, claims that the increased air in the longer-blended drinks made the people feel fuller.

Now you can feel full the natural way.

Until next time,

Dr. Mommy

It can be near impossible to wean your children off of soft drinks. At times it’s just easier to give in to their demands. But believe it or not, it may be easier to reduce their intake of sugar-laden soft drinks by reducing their salt intake.

A study performed in the United Kingdom showed the reduction of salt intake in children reduced their demand for soft drinks. The study consisted on a group of 1,686 children between the ages of 4 and 18. These children were asked to keep food and drink diaries for one week to track both their salt and fluid intake. The researchers found that by reducing 1 gram of salt per day (about 2 teaspoons), the reduction in sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption was about 27 grams (about 1 fluid ounce). The researchers speculated that a decrease of 3 grams per day of salt could lead to an average reduction of 2.3 soft drinks per child per week.

6 Ways to Reduce Family’s Salt Intake:

1. Choose low-salt varieties of snacks and canned goods
2. Purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables (if not possible choose frozen)
3. Remove the salt shaker from the table to reduce temptation
4. Use lemon juice, herbs and spices to add flavor to food
5. Don’t add salt or reduce the addition when making foods
6. Shop wisely and read labels carefully

Until next time,

Dr. Mommy

Wow, I was completely surprised when I came across an article in Science Daily (March 12, 2007), that claimed cocoa was a vitamin with health benefits that can outshine penicillin.

There are tremendous health benefits related to epicatechins, compounds found in cocoa. Epicatechins may rival penicillin and anaesthesia in terms of importance to public health. Epicatechins are so important that some believe that they should be considered a vitamin.

Many studies have shown that cocoa have reduced the risks of stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes. A study was done with the Kuna people in Panama regarding the benefits of drinking cocoa. They can drink up to 40 cups of cocoa a week. Natural cocoa has high levels of epicatechin. The studies showed the risk of the most common killer diseases were reduced by 10 percent.

Norman Hollenberg, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, stated that although we know that penicillin and anaesthesia are enormously important. But epicatechin could potentially get rid of 4 of the 5 most common diseases in the western world…so how important does that make epicatechin? I think very important!

Currently, there are only 13 essential vitamins. An increase in the number of vitamins would provide significant opportunity for nutritional companies to expand their range of products. Commercial cocoas remove flavanols and epicatechin because they tend to have a bitter taste. So there is a huge scope for nutritional companies to develop epicatechin supplements or capsules.

Epicatechins are also found in teas, wine, fruits and vegetables and dark chocolate.

Xocai, makes 6 different products that contain high levels of epicatechins. These products are made with a cold press process therefore keeping all the vitamins and nutrients within the cocoa. These products known as Healthy Chocolate, also add the acai berry and blueberries to remove the bitterness of the cocoa.

So, how’s that for some food for thought?

Until next time,

Dr. Mommy

Did you know that a glass of red wine is good for you??

A recent French study published in ‘The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’ (FASEB), found that very high doses of antioxidant polyphenols (equivalent to one bottle of red wine per day) can shut down and prevent cancerous tumors.

Well, I am not suggesting you drink a bottle of red wine a day, but a diet rich in fresh produce, combined with a good supplement is the better choice to obtain the anti-cancer effect. You can also add other antioxidant rich foods to your diet to get the same effects, such as healthy chocolate made from unprocessed cacao with the acai berry, blue berries, rich dark green leafy vegetables, etc…

Studies have shown that low doses of polyphenols, play a beneficial role for those with ailments of the heart and circulatory system, because they facilitate blood vessel growth. The researchers claim that polyphenols are micro nutrients, often found in whole, unprocessed foods such as red wine, fruits, vegetables and green tea.

Imagine, finding the treatment for complex diseases can be easily found there waiting to be discovered in unexpected places, like the produce aisle.

**Veggie Fact**

The asparagus, a close relative of onions, garlic and leeks, long has been considered an aristocrat among vegetables. This harbinger of spring not only boasts fine taste, it’s rich in vitamins A and C, as well as potassium and folate .

Until next time,

Dr. Mommy

There 10 fruits, vegetables and plants that should be a part of your diet…are they in your diet? Let’s see:

1. Pumpkin seeds : Did you know that just 1oz of pumpkin seeds contain 150mg of magnesium. They are also high in zinc and phytosterols, shown to lower cholesterol and defend against cancer.
2. Cabbage : These leafy, green vegetables contain a healthy supply of nutrients. One of the nutrients include sulforaphane, a chemical which increase your body’s production of enzymes. These enzymes combat cell-damaging free radicals and reduce the risk of cancer.
3. Dried plums : These little beauties are infamous for their high fiber content. However, they also include high amounts of neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids which fight against structural damage to cells, one of the primary causes of cancer.
4. Gogi berries : These berries resemble raisins, yet they taste sweet and sour and are red in color. Including these in your diet will help protect the liver, improve sexual function and increase circulation. They are very high in antioxidants that help prevent the aging process of our cells.
5. Beets : These roots are known for their dark red coloring and are surprisingly sweet for a vegetable. They are the best source for folate and betaine, which help to lower your blood levels of homocysteine. What exactly is homocysteine?? Well homocysteine can damage arteries and increase the risk of heart disease…so eat your beets!!
6. Cinnamon : This is a common spice that many think are just used for cookies or cakes, but don’t overlook a pinch or two in your coffee or on your oatmeal. Cinnamon can lower your blood sugar and lower triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol.
7. Guava : This slightly pear-shaped fruit is known for its sweet, acidic flavor and its yellow or pink in color. It contains cancer-fighting agents such as lycopene. Lycopene is known for warding off prostate cancer. It also contains 688 mg of potassium and 9 grams of fiber, which is important in everyone’s diet.
8. Swiss chard : This is a slightly bitter and salty vegetable. This particular vegetable contains huge amounts of lutein andzeaxanthin, plant chemicals known as carotenoids. These protect the retinas from age-related damage.
9. Purslane : This is a broad-leaved weed. It has the highest amount of heart-healthy omega-3 fats of any edible plant. It also contains 10 to 20 times more melatonin than any other fruit or vegetable.
10. Pomegranate juice : This juice has been consumed for decades in the Middle East as a popular juice beverage. Just 4oz of this juice a day provides 50% of your daily vitamin C needs.

Until next time,

Dr. Mommy

Being a Chiropractor I found this to be very interesting. I came across an article that mentioned how Chiropractic care can help children with Autism. Well, that sparked my interest because I know many who have children with this dreadful problem and find themselves helpless.

This article was written by a world-renowned chiropractor for children, Dr. Joan Fallon. She stated that more and more parents of children with developmental issues were seeking out chiropractors. She believes, as I do, that many times children with developmental issues, especially children with autism, experience sensory integreation problems. Sensory integreation disorder is defines as ‘the disorganization of the multi-sensory input into the body.’ People who suffer from this have profound and often dibilitating difficulty with touch, taste, smell, sound or visual input. Which means they have difficulty processing incoming sensory information.

So for instance, when in a mall or playground, most of us can block out sounds and talking that occurs around us. However, a child with sensory integration problems has difficulty filtering out the noises effectively, so it all comes at him/her all at once. Dr. Fallon believes that Chiropractic can help children with these problems, because Chiropractic care can get to the root of the problem by helping correct the imbalances in the nervous system. Imbalances in the nervous system are caused by ’subluxations’ in the spine.

Chiropractors correct ’subluxations’ in the spine. What are ’subluxations’? It is when two or more segments in the spine with the disc between are misaligned or lost its proper position. Subluxation can cause a numerous amount of problems in an adult and in a child it is much worse. As Chiropractors, we determine the areas of subluxations, misalignments and put them in the proper position. When subluxations are corrected, the body is brought into alignment and able to maintain the integrity of various systems within the body, including the nervous system.

Much more research has been done offering hope for children with autism. Chiropractic care believes that healing of the body comes from within. We as chiropractors, maintain the spine in alignment, therefore allowing your body as a whole to function at its optimum level.

We have seen children with these same conditions, improve tremendously with Chiropractic care. Give Chiropractic a chance and a child with autism a chance to live a symptom-free and healthier life.

Until next time,

Dr. Mommy