Touch of Radiance

I have moved my business into a professional office space this month. I am looking forward to sharing a beautiful space with several other practitioners. In our suite, in addition to my massage therapy and holistic nutrition services you may find homeopathy, biofeedback, psychotherapy, and an aesthetician. The building next door includes a naturopathic doctor and a chiropractor. My new office is located on Speedway Blvd., between Campbell Ave. and Tucson Blvd., in one of the buildings that used to be the Ronald McDonald House. We are right next to the post office, at 2230 East Speedway Blvd., Suite 120.

This move will enable me to focus on building the nutrition aspect of my business, and to see more massage clients as well. In general, I am available Monday through Wednesday and Friday each week. We will be scheduling a Grand Opening for the whole building in the Fall. I am excited to put my new office to good use!

Cultured and fermented foods are an essential part of a healthy diet. These living foods provide valuable bacteria that help with digestion and prevent overgrowth of unwanted bacteria. Our bodies contain 3.5 to 5 pounds of bacteria, and it is important to maintain a healthy balance of these organisms. When the “bad” bacteria start to outnumber the “good” bacteria, a condition called dysbiosis occurs. This can result in gas and bloating, diarrhea or constipation, rashes, candida, and fungal infections. Main causes of dysbiosis include digestive disturbances, stress, antibiotics, decreased immune function, intestinal infection and altered pH levels.

In addition to helping maintain bacterial balance, living foods are also important for nutrition. Beneficial bacteria in the large intestine produce B vitamins and vitamin K while helping to finish the digestive process. Some foods, such as dairy and soy, are not easily digestible unless they have been fermented or cultured. Because live foods contain natural enzymes, they are highly digestible themselves, as well as contributing to the digestion of everything you eat with them. Living foods are also helpful in prevention and treatment of conditions such as leaky gut syndrome and ulcers.

So what are these living foods? Sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, unpasteurized beer and wine, yogurt, and cheese are a few examples. For the more adventurous, kimchi and natto are traditional Asian fermented foods with strong flavors that seem to be an acquired taste. Some foods start out as living foods, and then are “dead” by the time we eat them, such as yeast breads, pasteurized dairy products, and most wine and beer. These foods are more digestible than if they had not been cultured or fermented, but they do not contribute to the healthy bacteria in your intestines.

Some of the easiest living foods to add to your diet are yogurt, miso, and sauerkraut. Look for a “cream top” yogurt, meaning it is not homogenized, for the best digestibility. When buying sauerkraut, make sure to read the ingredient label. Traditional sauerkraut is made with cabbage and salt, period. It is kept in the refrigerated section, typically in a glass jar. If the ingredient list includes vinegar or preservatives, it is not living sauerkraut. My favorite brand of real sauerkraut is Bubbie’s, and I frequently eat a forkful with meals or before bed. With miso, look for the paste in the refrigerated section. The powdered miso available on the shelf is not a live food. Miso has a salty taste, and is great in salad dressings, sauces, and soups. Also worth noting: cooking destroys the bacteria, so when eating sauerkraut or adding miso to your soup, it is important to keep the temperature low. If you can hold your finger in your soup without burning it, then it is safe to stir in some miso paste.

Try to incorporate at least one live food into your diet each day. If you are not accustomed to eating these foods, start with a very small amount and build up slowly. You might be amazed at how much better your digestion becomes, and how much better you feel!

Eating seasonally was a necessity in times past, but today it is easy to take for granted the wide availability of food. These days you can buy just about anything at any time in your local supermarket. A lot of the produce is grown in greenhouses and even more is grown in other parts of the world in order to provide consumers with exactly what they want, when they want it. This has led to a disconnection between foods and their proper seasons for many people.

It isn’t just produce that has seasons – other foods are traditionally seasonal as well. Fresh milk, yogurt, and young cheeses were consumed only in Spring and Summer because they simply were not available during the Winter. Aged cheeses were made in Spring and Summer and eaten in Winter during the time when the family cow was not in milk. Meats were not always available year round either.

We are designed to eat seasonally, and we digest better and feel healthier if we choose foods when they are naturally in season. Our bodies need variety, and changing our diets with the seasons is an important part of keeping our digestive systems functioning well. It also helps with keeping food fun and exciting – you can’t get bored with the same old flavors if they are changing all the time. Check out your local farmer’s market and see what foods are in season today!

What should we eat in the summertime? Our nutritional needs vary throughout the year, and our food choices can either enhance our health or disrupt it. We generally don’t think of eating a hearty beef stew in the summer, just as a fresh, crisp salad doesn’t sound so good in the winter. Some of these choices we make automatically, knowing intuitively that watermelon is better in summer and pot roast is a perfect winter food. These days, the seasonality of many foods is not as obvious as it once was, as most items are available year-round in supermarkets. Learning to change our diets with the seasons is an important aspect of feeling our best.

In Chinese medicine, there are six External Pernicious Influences that can cause imbalances in the body. These six are Heat, Cold, Dampness, Wind, Dryness, and Summer Heat. In the summer, the weather is often hot and sometimes humid, so we most often have to deal with invasions of Heat, Dampness, and Summer Heat (which is basically an extreme version of Heat). We can choose foods to counteract these influences, and prevent them from causing discomfort and illness.

Foods that are cooling and foods that drain Dampness are great choices for summertime. Increasing fruits and vegetables while decreasing meat, fat, and alcohol helps to keep the body cool. Spicy foods also contribute to cooling the body, as they help to open the pores and release Heat. Foods that drain Dampness include mung beans, sprouts, and watermelon. How the food is prepared makes a difference as well. Try grilling, sautéing, and steaming, and avoid roasting, stewing, and slow-cooking. Summer is also a good time for more raw foods. For beverage choices, green tea and juices are very cooling.

A good rule of thumb is to eat produce that is grown locally, as you won’t find asparagus in July unless it was grown in the Southern Hemisphere. Choosing foods that are grown nearby also ensures that the produce did not have to travel far to get to you, and therefore is likely to have higher nutritional values than the jet-lagged supermarket stuff. As an added bonus, supporting local farmers helps the environment and your local economy. Visit your local farmer’s market to discover what is in season today!

How to Eat

Nourishing Wisdom by Marc David addresses the topic of how to eat and truly nourish ourselves. It is not a diet book, and it gives no specific nutritional advice. Instead, the book presents a series of discussions and exercises that assist the reader in discovering and understanding their own personal relationship with food. When we understand why we are making the food choices that we make, we then have the ability to change or be at peace with what we eat. Chapters on sweets, body image, cravings and habits are some of the fascinating topics within Nourishing Wisdom.

Take your time reading this book, and spend some effort on the exercises at the end of each chapter. Exploring how you relate to your food can teach you a lot about yourself, and has the potential to change your health in profound ways. Nourishing Wisdom is available in my store.