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Health • Fitness • Mind • Spirit • Medicine • Well-Being
Berthoud, CO 80513
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© Berthoud Weekly Surveyor
October 8, 2015
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INDEX Rethinking inflammation.............4 Myths about flu shots...................5 Relaxation techniques..................7 What is pickleball, Alex?...............8 Winter superfoods.......................10 Daily meditation..........................11 Body & Soul 2015© is published in Berthoud, Colo., by the Berthoud Weekly Surveyor. The publishers reserve the right to edit, classify or reject any advertising or news copy. Liability for any newspaper error in an advertisement shall not exceed the cost of space occupied by error. The publishers assume no liability for any advertising which is not published for any cause. The publishers assume absolutely no obligation or responsibility for subject matter in copy placed by its advertisers or their agents. It is also understood that the advertiser and the agency placing such advertising jointly and severally agree to indemnify Berthoud Weekly Surveyor, LLC against all expense, loss or damage sustained by reason of printing such copy.
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Taking time for soul care W e all have a lot to do. We are exhausted, run down, or wearing thin around the edges. We have places to go, people to see, and things to accomplish. Inside each of us there is an essence longing for rest. We know we need to take care of our bodies by eating Guest nourishing foods, Columnist drinking water, exercising and resting. We can use the same healthful training to care for our souls. Care for our soul helps to keep from experiencing burnout, overtiredPastor Emily ness and fatigue. Hagan When we offer our souls nourishment, living water, exercise and rest, we become reconnected to ourselves and ready for whatever is at hand. Food for the soul: One of the great Americans mentioned by Pope Francis during his visit to the United States last month was Dorothy Day, who said “Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul.” For a social justice activist worried about what hungry people would eat, this is amazing. So, what are
you feeding your soul? Reading sacred texts can feed our souls. Walking into a familiar place and recognizing a scent, finding a favorite nook or seat, or going for a walk down memory lane can feed our souls, too. Think about if what you are listening to, reading or doing is actually nourishing your soul. Are you getting enough protein for the core of who you are to flourish? Living water: Being in nature where water flows helps us to remember to let go, be unpredictable and free. Water is so necessary for life, and yet we sometimes wait until our souls are totally parched before quenching the thirst we feel. “When the well is dry, we will know the worth of water,” — Benjamin Franklin. For me this water for my soul comes in the form of music, laughter and quiet times in nature. If you have ever felt the dryness of your soul, you will remember what flooded in to quench the thirst. Try not to let the well go totally dry before you fill it up again. Soulful exercise: Exercising a soul is hard to get at, although exercising our bodies can be pretty tough, too. Yoga is a body exercise that was meant to help prepare people to meditate. Meditation or silent, contemplative prayer can be an exercise for our souls. One of the best ways to exercise our souls is to learn to be still. The longer we are able to sit in silence, being fully present to ourselves, the more ready we become to connect with our souls, and also with the people around
us. All exercise takes discipline. When we are able to discipline our bodies, minds and spirits, we will reap great benefits in health and life. Resting our souls: Rest is essential for our health. The ancient Hebrews practiced Sabbath rest weekly, with holiday festivals, a year of Sabbath every seven years, and a year of Jubilee every 50 years. During the 50th year, each family was relieved of any debts that were owed, this made sure that resources were divided well among all the people. Since we don’t have these larger times of rest automatically, it becomes a challenge for us to manage our own times of rest. Resting means we cease from being productive, striving and industrious. The idea of resting our souls can be pretty countercultural in our commerce-driven world. Next time you start worrying about the stock market, your bottom line, or how much money you have left in your wallet or purse, see if it doesn’t help to rest a bit. Take a break from the expectations of work, others, and life. Listen for what your heart truly desires and find a way to rest. Thomas Raymond Kelly states: “Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Centre, a speaking voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our timetorn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto itself.” Ms. Hagan is the pastor at Berthoud United Methodist Church .
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Rethinking inflammation: The inflammatory bucket
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t the crux of all disease is inflammation. This is no secret. The effects of inflammation are determined by a patient’s ability to cope with or mitigate inflammatory events. This is Guest heavily influColumnist enced by genetics/ inborn errors of metabolism and environmental influences. Due to the complex nature of how inflammation is produced, it is a well-orchestrated game between the different immune Dr. Brett cells and tissues; I found it necesWisniewski sary to come up with an analogy to make it easier to understand. I would like to present the concept of the inflammatory bucket. Depression, anxiety, autoimmune disease and joint pain are often times a constant struggle with patients, but there are select times when patients will feel some relief or no symptoms at all. Why is that? How can this chronic, systemic disease wax and wane abruptly? It all has to do with your level of inflammation. One of the largest contributors to inflammation is our diet. The average American will eat over 2,000 pounds of food per
year. We are currently in a state of crisis — the number of people considered obese has surpassed the overweight, and the overweight are more numerous than the hungry. Believe it or not, although folks may be overweight, they are more often malnourished. Sounds contradictory ... right? Many of the foods that contribute to obesity encourage overconsumption due to their lack of nutritional values and the chemicals contained that shut off certain hunger or satiety centers in the brain. You would be hard-pressed to find someone that can gain the equivalent amount of weight by eating only vegetables and lean meat. You can eat two fast-food hamburgers and a large soda, but an entire large grilled chicken salad would be a chore to put back. This has to do with the nutritional density of the salad vs. the two fast-food patties and large, bubblychemical cocktail. It’s a struggle to relate your food choices to your symptoms at times, partly due to the seemingly random influence of specific foods. Here is an actual patient example: A patient presented to the office with nerve-type pain in both his legs and numbness in his feet. He noticed it would get worse when he ate sugary foods with his granddaughter, but only sometimes. Other times he would be fine. When he had his morning breakfast sandwiches and donuts, there were days when he felt OK and other days where it seemed the numbness got worse. When I asked if he thought his diet was
contributing to his complaint, he responded, “No, I cannot pin-point any food that consistently makes it worse.” I believe this mentality of one ingredient causing “X” symptoms has been instilled in us through our understanding of allergies such as bee pollen causing you to sneeze or peanuts causing anaphylaxis. We have to forget that model in the chronic-disease state. So what was happening with the patient above? One day sweets bothered him and the other days he was fine — leading him to believe the sweets were OK and his complaints independent. Let’s put this situation into the perspective of the proposed inflammatory bucket. An empty bucket produces no symptoms. Note: You can still have a disease process building in the background without symptoms — we like to call this the “silent killer,” as damage continues to occur 24/7 without any signs. Now fill that same bucket to the top and ta-da, symptoms present. So did the sugary food or his breakfast sandwich have anything to do with his symptoms? Absolutely, yet on certain days he did not consume enough of them to fill his inflammatory bucket, thus no symptoms showed. A lot of other substances exist that contribute to your bucket’s load: stress, infections, chemicals, etc. So if one day you are stressed and happen to have that donut — the combination may be enough to have your bucket spill over and result in symptoms. However, a couple days later when the stress is gone you have another donut,
and no symptoms seem to appear. You cannot change the size of your bucket, but you can lower its contents consistently. Reduce those foods you know are inflammatory to humans, reduce stress, and try and stay healthy. I know, easier said than done — especially that stress one, but every little bit helps. It will slowly drop the level overtime. Many nutrients prevail that have strong anti-inflammatory properties and diseasemodifying capabilities that also help to empty the bucket. The ability for these nutrients to have their intended purpose is highly dependent on quality and dosage. I would recommend working with someone who is well versed in natural medicine and/ or functional medicine to guide you to the best results. This will be the most efficient way to reach your health potential and probably save you money in the long run, as there are still many products out there that don’t work but have good marketing. Next time you’re experiencing pain, try and think of your pain threshold as filling a bucket and remember what you came in contact with, what you ate, and mentally how you felt. Is there anything you can think of that you can change or modify so it is no longer an item that fits in your bucket; changing your fast-food burger to a homemade patty on top of some grilled veggies? Exercise is also a huge contributor to optimal wellness and even provides stronger effects than any natural or synthetic for mental health. Be well and stay well.
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The myths about the influenza shot debunked and explained
Question: I heard about this person who got the flu after they got the flu shot and I don’t want to Guest be sick right Columnist now. Answer: The traditional flu shot is a killedvirus vaccine and does not have any way of replicating to cause influenza. The problem is, influenza vaccines Dr. Ashlea are given at the Franques height of cold/ virus season. Children have returned back to school and germs are spreading, most colds are in the fall and winter so it is very possible to get the flu shot and then catch a cold, but the virus you have will not be influenza, so you are still getting protection against a way worse cold than you caught, and whether you had the flu shot or not you would have gotten that cold. The flumist vaccine is a live vaccine but is at a very low dose. It is possible to have some runny-nose and mild cold symptoms from this form of immunization, but again, much more mild than true in-
fluenza. Question: I got the flu shot and I still got the stomach bug with vomiting and diarrhea that year. Answer: The flu shot is a specific vaccine against influenza only. The problem with calling viral gastroenteritis the stomach flu is that many people have the misconception the stomach flu is caused by influenza; it is not. Influenza is a specific virus which causes high fevers, body aches, cough, congestion, and occasionally vomiting related to drainage and cough. “Stomach flu” or viral gastroenteritis is usually caused by rotavirus, norovirus, enterovirus, or a myriad of other viruses that are not contained in the influenza vaccine. Question: What is the big deal, I handle colds really well and don’t get that sick, how much worse can influenza be?
Answer: Influenza can cause a large variety of symptoms and can present itself in many different ways for different people. It is true, for many people influenza will be a miserable week from which they will fully recover with cough, congestion, body
aches and fever. However, influenza causes an average 6,000 deaths each year across all age groups, with death risk highest in the very young and old. In addition, complications from influenza can include pneumonia, encephalitis, asthma exacerbations, sinus infection and ear infections. Not just your common cold. Question: I got the flu shot last year and still got the flu so what is the point? Answer: Influenza is a rapidlychanging virus, which is why immunity does not last from one season to the next as it does for many vaccine-preventable diseases. The flu shot is formulated each year based on virus that is circulating half-way around the globe before influenza reaches the U.S. This year’s vaccine contains four strains of influenza to protect as much disease as possible. Some years the influenza virus that reaches the U.S. is slightly different from the strain in the vaccine, allowing vaccinated people to also contract influenza. Even if this happens, the vaccinated people enjoy partial protection with a shorter duration of illness and less risk of major complications from influenza than unvaccinated people.
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Simple techniques to help you relax Special to the Surveyor Finding ways to relax can improve life at home and at the office. While it’s not often easy to find time to slow down, especially for those men and women juggling the responsibilities of career and family, the following are some simple techniques that don’t take much time but can have a positive impact on your day. • Take some time out from multitasking. The ability to multitask is a cherished commodity for parents and working professionals alike, but men and women can benefit from periodic breaks from their everyday juggling acts. Something as simple as focusing on a single task for 30 minutes at a time, as opposed to checking emails while preparing dinner or working on a project while answering a client’s phone call can help lower stress levels and have a lasting and calming effect on your nerves. • Make time to meditate every day. Studies have shown meditation can affect the circuitry in the brain, positioning it to more adequately respond to illness and stressful situations. Meditation has the added benefit of being a relaxing exercise,
as meditation encourages people to sit with their feet on the floor with both eyes closed in a relaxing setting that is free of external distractions. • Walk away from your desk and couch. It’s well documented that spending too much time sitting at a desk can have a negative impact on your health. In addition to elevating a person’s risk of heart disease and diabetes, sitting at a desk all day long has been linked to repetitive stress injuries, obesity and back pain, each of which can contribute to stressful living conditions that make it difficult to relax. Men and women should spend at least five minutes each hour walking, whether they are getting up from their desk at work or getting off the couch at home. Doing so takes little time, but it can help to relieve stress at work and at home and improve your overall health. • Practice yoga. Yoga is another activity that can help men and women relax. Yoga involves a series of poses that helps stretch the muscles and aid their recovery from everyday aches and pains, including those that often result from stressful experiences or days at the office.
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What is pickleball, Alex?
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like to think of myself as a competitive person. Now, after more than seven decades on this earth, many of my competitive efforts include testing my word knowledge with online Scrabble Surveyor or getting the Columnist answer to the final Jeopardy question on television. Fortunately, I recently found a “real” sport I can take part in and enjoy. It’s called pickleball. Pickleball Bob started some McDonnell 50 years ago, but it is a new sport to me. The United States of America Pickleball Association (USAPA) describes pickleball as, “a paddle sport created for all ages and skill levels. The rules are simple and the game is easy for beginners to learn, but can develop into a quick, fast-paced, competitive game for experienced players.” Pickleball incorporates aspects of tennis, ping pong and badminton. With all
due respect to the men and women who play the sport, I call it “tennis for old people.” Why do I love pickleball? I guess the first reason is that it is easy to learn. I took lessons for a couple of hours two times a week for three weeks. By the end of week one, my fellow students — both male and female — possessed the skills needed to play a game together. I like that the game provides a workout but is not too tiring or taxing on the body. The court is approximately one fourth the size of a tennis court and the net is three inches lower, but at times does not seem that way. Serving is done underhand, without stressing the shoulders like a tennis serve. As a bonus, the ball travels about one-third the speed of a tennis ball. I walk a lot, and find about 90 minutes of pickleball to be a comparable workout. It does get the blood flowing and the sweat glands working. Another reason I like this sport is because the equipment cost is low. A decent paddle might cost $40 to $50 and the wiffle-ball-like plastic balls are about $1 each. Long ago, I tried to play tennis. One of my difficulties —and there were many — involved the scor-
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Photo by Bob McDonnell
Don McDaniel readies his paddle to return a shot during a game of pickleball.
ing system. In pickleball, scores are stated in numbers like 2-1 or 7-10. In doubles play, an extra number is thrown in to designate if the first or second person on the team is the server. Lastly, pickleball can be played on an indoor or outdoor pickleball court or a tennis court. A few courts dedicated to pickleball exist in Loveland.
one in the newly opened Mehaffey Park in northwest Loveland. According to the USAPA’s website, there are an estimated 400,000 people actively playing pickleball in all 50 states. Well, USAPA, you can add one more to that number. I just want to be done before Jeopardy comes on at 6 p.m.
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Winter superfoods for optimal health Special to the Surveyor
Illnesses seem to peak during the winter months. A tapped-out immune system as well as dry, cold air may encourage the spread of common viruses and bacterial infections more easily. As a result, it’s important that men, women and children take every step possible to ward off sickness when the temperatures drop. Dietary changes can make a world of difference, and more and more people are including these proven superfoods in their winter diets. • Avocado: Avocado has high levels of essential fatty acids and vitamin B6, which is important in the biosynthesis of important neurotransmitters. Foods high in B vitamins may be able to counteract some of the symptoms of winter-related depression. • Pomegranate: This quirky fruit has vitamins C and K, folate and potassium and is a good source of fiber. Pomegranate has anti-inflammatory properties, which can help in reducing joint pain and preventing strokes. Pomegranate may also help the body fight viruses.
• Cinnamon: Cinnamon has high levels of antioxidants, and some studies point to cinnamon as a natural antibacterial agent. Cinnamon also can help regulate blood-glucose levels, which is beneficial for those with diabetes. • Prunes: Now widely referred to as dried plums, prunes are an important source of boron, which could prevent osteoporosis. High in antioxidants, prunes help the body fight a variety of illnesses. • Cabbage: Cabbage may be a key element in the fight against cancer. Cabbage has phytochemicals that can protect the body against cancer-causing free radicals. It’s also a good source of dietary fiber, which can stimulate a sluggish digestive system. • Butternut squash: This food is packed with carotenoids, which are stellar antioxidants. The starches in this squash also have been found to have antiinflammatory properties. • Chestnuts: Chestnuts are worthy of inclusion in anyone’s diet. Unlike many nuts, chestnuts are relatively low in fat but have high levels of protein. They’re also packed with vitamin C and B vitamins.
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Unconventional daily meditation — A common person’s approach to what we all need: relaxation, decompression, reflection
By May Soricelli The Surveyor
Amidst the busyness of life, the demands of parenthood, home ownership, school, or job requirements, it can be difficult to find that ounce of time where all the stress can simply wash away. Meditation may come in the form of quiet religious prayer or thoughtful alone time. However, many of us may find we have the hidden luxury of finding a peace of mind, in simple ways, during our daily routine. The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary definition of meditation is “to spend time in quiet thought for religious purposes or relaxation.” “Quiet thought” and “relaxation” are things we all need yet seldom have. How can it be achieved daily? Surveyor staff lends insights to their favorite ways of “meditating” in their daily lives. “The answer to the question of how do I relax is: it depends. One of the main ways I relax is by watching television,” said Berthoud Weekly Surveyor contributing writer, Bob McDonnell. “It gets my mind off things when I watch reality-type shows. As with reading — another relaxer — I prefer non-fiction. One of my favorite shows is ‘Shark Tank’ and, additionally, I like most of the shows about cars, old cars, and customizing cars. “Getting out and walking is relaxing to me too,” McDonnell continues. “I tend to use the same route and occasionally see people along the way that I
know. A good 45 minutes in the wonderful Colorado weather is great. I listen to podcasts about business, marketing, podcasting and photography on my smartphone. Maybe multitasking is not relaxing to some but it works for me. “I hear that now it is possible to watch television on a smartphone, so I guess I could combine some of these techniques and be really relaxed.” Editor John Gardner found a new way to decompress after a busy day by accident. “Understand that I’m talking not about relaxation; sitting quietly in a chair and reading a good book. I’ve not had time to do that since my 4-year-old daughter was born,” Gardner said. “What I am talking about is decompressing after the day is over. And what I’ve found came with a new lawn. Gardner recently installed a new lawn at home and didn’t put in one of those fancy irrigation systems, but instead chose to water by hose with a nozzle or sprinkler. “At first I thought it was a good idea, but then I noticed how much time I spent watering and then thought that maybe it was a really bad idea,” he said. “But I’ve actually found that watering, and in this case, watering with a hose and nozzle, is actually a great way to decompress. It gets me outside in the yard, typically with my 4-year-old, so it gives us time together while providing me with at least 30 minutes of time to reflect upon the day’s events. It’s mindless, so there’s not much to distract me, and it
allows me to transition from the work day to family time in the evening. The same, I’m guessing, could be said about gardening or any outside yard work as long as you enjoy it.” As for myself, being reflective and thoughtful is truly difficult in the noise of my typical day raising children and working. But my absolute favorite “release” in the midst of a day is music. When I get the opportunity to pick up my acoustic guitar and just strum away or sing what is on my heart presently, I can feel any pent up tension just wash away. Even those few moments to myself to get lost in a song, help me regain clarity. Music has this effect in other ways for me too, when navigating traffic or cooking a meal, music gives me that “head-space” I need to process my thoughts and emotions. My primary reflective time, however, comes in the form of coffee on the front porch; when it’s quiet and still and the wind is blowing through the trees, it’s peaceful and I feel like I trade in any troubles for a yummy home-brewed cappuccino and time to ponder. Other little ways a person might meditate through decompression, relaxation and reflection could be playing a sport, going for a run, doing a hobby, sitting in nature, reading a book, watching a movie, taking a bath, journaling, praying, stargazing, working out, time with pets, a cup of tea, or simply resting.