Practical suggestions for supporting restful sleep

An article by Peter Bongiorno in the March 2013 edition of Naturopathic Doctor News and Review offers a number of practical suggestions for supporting restful sleep including aiming to go to bed preferably by 10 PM.  This suggestion is based on maximum melatonin (which supports restful sleep) production occurring between 10 PM and 2 AM.  Another recommendation is to avoid bright lights at least 30 minutes prior to going to bed.  This includes bright lights from overhead lights or lamps, as well as bright lights from computer/phone/TV screens.  Building on this, it is important to create a night time ritual leading up to bed which can include dimming/shutting off room lights and considering a nervine tea, like chamomile, which helps to calm and relax the central nervous and supports restful sleep.  A person can also consider integrating a small nighttime snack (such as a slice of apple or banana with nut butter, a small piece of rice cake/bread with nut butter) to support healthy blood sugar balancing which also supports restful sleep.  Whether we have difficulty around falling and maintaining a restful sleep or not, these suggestions are easy to integrate and can result in a more balanced sleep for everyone.

Coconut oil and Alzheimer's Disease

An article by William Ware in the February/March 2013 edition of Integrated Healthcare Practitioners discusses the support that coconut oil (and medium chain triglyceride rich oil) can offer for people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease (AD).  One theory behind AD is that there is impaired glucose metabolism and impaired insulin action in the brain which leads to decreased energy production in the brain and impaired cognitive function.  Coconut oil is rich in medium chain triglycerides (MCT's) which provide a source of ketone bodies which can compensate for the impaired insulin action and act as an alternative fuel for the brain helping to support healthy cognitive function.  Based on this theory/research, specifically designed MCT rich oils are also now available in health food stores.  MCT rich oil provides a higher level of ketone bodies than coconut oil, but these higher levels decline more quickly in the blood/body than the ketone bodies that are provided from coconut oil.  An American MD, Mary Newport, has worked extensively with coconut oil and MCT rich oil and has developed a protocol to offer optimal support for people with AD.  She suggests a 1:1 ratio of coconut oil and MCT rich oil and to dose a total of 3 tbsp with each meal and 2 tbsp before bed.  Newport does report that she has seen diarrhea with these high doses, but slowly increasing the dose does tend to prevent diarrhea.  These doses would be way too high for someone without AD, but this research does give a great insight into the important level of support coconut oil and MCT rich oil can offer for overall brain health.  Based on this, it is good to consider integrating coconut oil (and/or MCT rich oil) into our daily routine.

Delicious Baked Brussel Sprouts!!

I have long been a fan of brussel sprouts, but I had only ever eaten them steamed.  Recently I have been seeing lots of pictures of baked brussel sprouts, so I decided to try it out - the results are delicious!!  Since trying it 3 weeks ago, I have been making a baked brussel sprouts and yam dish once a week.  To prepare, I peel and chop the yams and cut the brussel sprouts into halves or quarters and place in a canola oiled baking dish and then bake at 350 degrees.  After 30 minutes, I have been mixing in a sauce made with 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 2 freshly squeezed lemons, 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast, 2 tbsp of canola oil, 1 tbsp of tahini, and 1 tbsp of basil and then baking for another 30-45 minutes.  Tonight, I mixed this dish with brown lentils and a stir fry of onions, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, green beans, broccoli, and black kale (see above picture).  This is a particularly yummy winter meal and I am so glad that it is now a regular part of my supper choices!

Herbal Medicine

I recently signed up for a monthly herbal medicine webinar that will cover herbal protocols for specific concerns as well new research in the field of herbal medicine.  With the first webinar, I was reminded of some of the terms/actions that I love in herbal medicine.  The term alterative means a substance that supports a gradual and beneficial change in the body/our health.  To me, the definition of alterative sums up the goal of naturopathic medicine - with naturopathic medicine, we engage and support the body with gentle healing methods that slowly and steadily encourage the body/our health to move more towards.  I also love the demulcent action of herbs.  A demulcent herb coats and soothes the body tissues helping to reduce inflammation and support tissue healing.  Interestingly demulcents herbs (when taken orally) only come in direct contact with the lining of the  digestive tract, but through a reflex action in tissues that are embryonically similar to the digestive mucous membranes (which includes the lining of the lungs and the urinary tract), the demulcent herbs can also support and strengthen the health of the lungs and the urinary tract.  The action of demulcent herbs gives an insight into the incredible wisdom and ability to work together that both our body and the herbs share.

Final Day of the Cleanse!!

It is the final day of the cleanse for me and I realize that I posted no new recipes this year!  This is due to the fact that all of the meals that I have had on the cleanse have been a variation on a simple supper with either short grain brown rice, long grain brown rice, or mixed wild rice blend, as well as some type of legume (chickpeas, pinto beans, lima beans, black eyed peas, french lentils, red lentils), and stir fried/baked vegetables.  Sometimes I also included a tahini based sauce or just mixed a freshly squeezed lemon with the stir fry.  Even though this sounds pretty boring, it was even worse when I was in Germany in Sept 2010!  I literally ate the same meal every day (actually 2 times per day because I had leftovers every day for lunch - see above picture for an example!).  Generally it is not a good idea to eat the exact same food every day, but luckily for me, the foods I was eating were low allergenic/easy foods for my system, so I didn't have any concerns.  My meal consisted of wehani/red rice, french lentils, onions, garlic, carrots, and zucchini (all cooked in with the rice - I had limited cookware!!).  I dressed the rice bowl with raw cucumber and a lemon/almond butter mixture and sea salt.  I know it is hard to understand, but I did love the taste of this meal and looked forward to having it every day!  Having said that, I was definitely happy when I got home to my own kitchen and I did avoid french lentils for at least 1 month after my return!

NAC and Autism Spectrum Disorders

An article by Kaycie Rosen Grigel in the September 2012 issue of the Natural Medicine Journal discusses the potential support NAC can offer for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).  The article is based on research that was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry in 2012.  The research found that dosing NAC for 12 weeks lead to a significant improvement in irritability and repetitive behaviour.  An improvement was also found in social cognition and autism mannerisms.  The improvement that NAC offers is likely linked to NAC's ability to modulate glutamate activity/transport in the brain which impacts cognitive development, memory, learning and level of excitability/irritability.  As well, it is possible that children with ASD have impaired antioxidant status, so the improvement that NAC offers is also likely linked to its ability to increase antioxidant capacity. 

Supplements to enhance H pylori treatment

An article by Donald Brown in the July 2012 issue of the Natural Medicine Journal discusses a number of supplements that can enhance and optimize H pylori treatment.  H pylori is a bacteria that is commonly found in the stomach and can contribute to the development of peptic ulcers and chronic inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis).  The standard medical treatment for H pylori is the short term combination of 2 antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor.  There is research that has found taking vitamin C and vitamin E (both of which offer anti-oxidant/immune strengthening support) along with these H pylori medications improves the body's ability to clear H pylori infection.  There has also been research that has found that taking probiotics along with these H pylori medications improves the body's ability to manage these medications with less side effects.  There has also been research that has found taking NAC (which disrupts the protective film that H pylori creates to stabilize itself in the stomach) prior to integrating these H pylori medications also improves the body's ability to clear H pylori infection.  As well, research has also found that integrating cranberry juice (which prevents the adherence of H pylori to the stomach lining) both with and for 2 weeks post these H pylori medications also improves women's ability to clear H pylori infection.  Each of these sups are relatively easy to integrate for a short period of time and worth considering alongside H pylori medical treatment.