Dr. JJ Pursell
The next major advance in the health of the American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself.
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-John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation
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Naturopathic Medical Education
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30 Day Betterment Program Update
Well - time sure does fly!
I promised to give some updates throughout my process and I can say things are going well. I feel better then ever having cleansed and detoxed a bit. The greatest side effect having a ton of energy and feeling very clear headed. (I knew my brain was in there somewhere!)
It’s been all about marketing over the last 3 weeks. Teaching myself how to think like a consumer (not as easy as it seems!) and acting like an entrepreneur. I have logged an exorbitant amount of hours learning more about social media and branding, and I still have more to come.
Goal this weekend: make my daughters canvased, personally designed growth chart. She is almost 2, so I need to get on it already!
Exercise - need to step it up. So - I think I’ll step away from this computer and get outside while there’s a bit of a sun break!
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Stress Relief 101
Rhodiola Rosa
Lets face it, stress is something that creeps into almost everyones lives. Some of us are aware of it while others keep moving forward without much notice of what our physical bodies may be experiencing. The body is an amazing phenonenon that does everything it can to keep us alive and marching forth. This allows us to keep up with the daily tasks we have on our plate as well as jugggle the moment to moment experiences that come our way. What you may not know is how the body manages to do this.
One of the ways the body compensates when under stress is to release the well known and much talked about hormone, cortisol. Cortisol is released for various reasons, including; to balance blood sugar, inflammation, as well as to moderate the emotional stress response. Blood sugar dysregulation happens when we don’t eat regularly. The body needs somewhat of a regular eating pattern established so that it can release energy when needed, knowing it will be refueled frequently. When we skip meals, or go too long without eating, cortisol is released to keep blood sugar levels balanced. When the body doesn’t have proper nutrition/fuel, it puts the body under stress.
Same goes for inflammation. Whether a new injury or chronic pain, cortisol is released to keep the healing process going and inflammation under control. Again, this is a type of stress in the body.
And then you have emotional stress. The loss of someone close to you, a big work evaluation or presentation, a busy school schedule or juggling life as a parent, all of these things and many more can cause an emotional stress response. Cortisol is often released with this scenario as well.
The point I’m driving at is that we, as Americans, are constantly pushed to keep going and in the end our balanced and appropriate cortisol repsonse is weakened. This leads to an inability to handle stress causing an increasing list of physical symptoms. Sleep issues, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, digestion problems and fatigue just to name a few.
To combat these and many other potential symptoms that develop from long term “stress” I strongly recommend using adaptogen herbs to nourish and replenish the adrenal glands, the glands that secrete cortisol. By supporting these glands you will build up reserves to adequately support a healthy and balanced cortisol release system.
A few good choices are: Rhodiola, Schizandra, Skullcap, Wood Betony and Eleuthero to name a few.
A few good products we have at The Herb Shoppe:- Stress Free Tincture
- Adrenal Tonic Tea
- Adrenal Tonic Tincture
- Stress Free Capsules by Planetary Formulas
- Schizandra Adrenal Complex by Planetary Formulas
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Decadent 60 Second ChocoChia “Milkshake”
Unless you’re out of the loop, Chia seeds are the buzz right now. It’s the latest superfood mainly for the following reasons.
Chia is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds. And it has another advantage over flax: chia is so rich in antioxidants that the seeds don’t deteriorate and can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid. And, unlike flax, they do not have to be ground to make their nutrients available to the body. Chia seeds also provide fiber (25 grams give you 6.9 grams of fiber) as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc.
Another advantage: when added to water and allowed to sit for 30 minutes, chia forms a gel. Researchers suggest that this reaction also takes place in the stomach, slowing the process by which digestive enzymes break down carbohydrates and convert them into sugar.
My favorite recipe for Chia is:
Puree in blender:
1 cup coconut milk (I use canned full-fat)
6 ice cubes
1 tbsp chia seeds (Grind them in a coffee grinder first if you don’t have a Blendtec or Vitamix. Otherwise the shake will be lumpy rather than thick and smooth.)
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tbsp honey
10 drops vanilla stevia, or more to your taste (you can sub more honey, but it’s better with the vanilla stevia) -
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30 Day Betterment Program
The time has come to commit to myself. So for the next 30 days I am focusing on all the ways in which I can better myself. There are several different aspects to this program, all created by me. I help patients with a number of different plans to reach their health goals; detox plans, health protocols, exercise regimes, pattern recognition programs, whatever the need is, we work together to devise a realistic approach to create positive change.
For my program I decided to include aspects that were important to me. These include diet habits/cleansing, crafts to stimulate the creative self, removing day to day nuisances (like fixing the ever sticking back door), educating myself further on a few key business points coupled with gentle daily exercise and good sleep.
I’ve decided to follow The Herb Shoppe’s Detox protocol for 5 days, using it to gently prepare me for a 10 day Master Cleanse. After that I’ll take 2 days to ease back into an anti-inflammatory diet for the remainder of the program.
I’ll be utilizing walking, yoga and my Gazelle (think Tony Little) to keep my blood moving.
Yes, this will be hard. But, I see it as more of a 30 day adventure with a lot of rewards to be had along the way. I’ll be posting along the way, with the hope that if I share this with you all, I’ll have more success.
Let the betterment begin!
Dr. JJ
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Girls who play in dirt grow up healthier according to researcher
Playing house, collecting Barbie dolls, and wearing dresses are common acts of raising a young girl in our society. But according to a recent study, it could be detrimental to their health.
Young girls who play in the mud tend to end up healthier than those who don’t, according to a researcher at Oregon State University. (AP Photo)Sharyn Clough, a researcher at Oregon State University, has discovered that women who have higher rates of allergies, and other autoimmune disorders are a result of being too clean. In other words, parents who let their children run amok in dirt or mud tend to have healthier kids.
“Look, if you’re okay having your little boy play in the dirt, you should be okay having your little girl play out in the dirt as well,” Clough explained to King 5.
Women infected with the auto-immune disease Lupus outnumber their male counterparts 9-to-1. While there isn’t a concise explanation as to why the disease occurs more frequently in women, the expectation for young girls to stay cleaner than boys may provide a reason.
“Little boys are more often than little girls encouraged to play in the dirt. Little girls are dressed in clothing that’s not supposed to get dirty,” added Clough.
Being exposed to high amounts of bacteria found in dirt can actually help build a healthier immune system.
“There is some thought that getting exposed to things, even parasites and different microbial elements in the dirt, might actually improve the overall immunity that a child develops,” said Dr. Aoi Mizushima of Providence Medical Group Family Practice.
Mizushima explains how kids used to spend nearly two to three hours playing outside everyday. But with the influence of television and video games forcing kids to spend the majority of their time indoors, auto-immune disorders are on the rise.
“In the past 50 years, there has been a 400 percent increase in allergies and hay fever and asthma,” Mizushima added.
One daycare center in Portland has taken the study to heart, as they encourage both boys and girls to play in the mud. The Portland Providence Wee Care Day Care Center provides a pair of rubber boots, shovels, and a mud box for their kids to play in.
“We always tell parents the kids are going to get dirty, that’s part of the work of childhood,” explained Wee Care director Colette Brown.
Maybe letting the kids get dirty isn’t a bad idea after all.
You can learn more about Sharyn Clough’s research on Oregon State’s website.
Michael Simeona, MyNorthwest.com Editor
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Environmental Health Perspectives: Another Piece of the Obesity–Environment Puzzle: Potential Link b
Epidemiologic research suggests that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment may contribute to the development of obesity and features of metabolic diseases, such as elevated triglyceride levels, glucose intolerance, and cardiovascular disease. POPs include dioxins and furans—with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) being the most potent of these—and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Due to their lipophilic nature, these compounds accumulate in adipose (fat) tissue, the site of many endocrine and metabolic functions that are disrupted in metabolic diseases and obesity. A new study outlines a mechanism by which inflammation could play a central role in POP-associated metabolic disease [EHP 120(4):508–514; Kim et al.].
TCDD influences genes underlying various cellular processes by binding the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and has been shown to stimulate production of enzymes involved in the metabolism of environmental agents. Other halogenated dioxins and furans, as well as coplanar PCBs, may trigger similar effects.
Inflammation, one of the processes affected by these chemicals, is a significant factor in many diseases. Chronic low-grade inflammation in adipose tissue alters its biological function, potentially leading to insulin resistance and other health problems.
In this study, researchers treated both immature precursor cells and mature adipocytes (fat cells) that developed from them with TCDD, dioxin-like PCB126, and non–dioxin-like PCB153. For the in vivo portion of the study, wild-type and AhR knockout mice were injected with a single dose of TCDD or corn oil (control).
Mouse adipose tissue was examined after treatment to determine the size of the adipocytes and the presence of macrophages (an indication of inflammation). Gene expression analysis determined the numbers and types of up- and downregulated genes in both cultured cells and adipose tissue, with those involved in inflammation being the most significantly upregulated. However, the PCB153-associated gene regulation pattern was unlike the patterns for PCB126 and TCDD, whose effects could be blocked by an AhR antagonist in vitro.
The inflammatory response was strongly induced in precursor cells and to a lesser degree in adipocytes, and this response was mediated through the AhR. The findings were confirmed in the rodent tissue and are congruent with epidemiologic studies. Caution is required in extending the findings to human health, however, because the rodent exposure regimen was dissimilar from typical human exposures. Nevertheless, this study highlights what may prove to be one of the major mechanisms by which POPs affect disease development.
Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) is a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health. EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and its content is free online. -
The Nettles are coming! The Nettles are coming!
The Virtue of Spring Nettles as Food With the coming of spring, nettles becomes our dominant foraging food….
