Natural Awakenings Washington, D.C. February 2019

E R F

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HEALTHY

LIVING

HEALTHY

PLANET

Ken Page on

MAKING LOVE LAST

HEART OF A WOMAN The Right Choices Keep It Strong

RECIPES A HEART WILL LOVE

HOW TO ALIGN MONEY WITH VALUES

February 2019 | Washington, D.C. Edition | NaturalAwakeningsDC.com February 2019

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February 2019

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letter from the publisher

Dear Readers, February is, in so many ways, an in-between month when we transition from winter to “Hey, it’s almost spring!” It can test our

HEALTHY LIVING HEALTHY PLANET

WASHINGTON, D.C. EDITION PUBLISHER Stephen Ellis

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Robin Fillmore

spirits and resiliency, but it can also make our hearts yearn for

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jessica Bradshaw Randy Kambic

the delightful signs of the coming warmer days. We all can agree

DESIGN & PRODUCTION Irene Sankey

it’s been an interesting past 12 months of weather patterns. As

OUTREACH DIRECTOR Samantha Hudgins

climate variability affects our temperatures and precipitation, the extremes will become even more noticeable. Yet, there is much we can do personally to live into this new reality, while keeping a check on our own health.

February is also the month we distract one another by focusing on matters of the heart, as

CONTACT US Natural Awakenings of Washington, D.C. Phone: 202-505-4835 10411 Motor City Dr., Suite 301 Bethesda, MD 20814 Stephen@NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

many enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day. Our feature articles this month look at various aspects of the heart—from the joys and challenges of being a long-term relationship, to the benefits of hugging and also health-related heart issues. Our main feature this month offers insights into

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women’s heart health. At near-epidemic rates, women are dying of cardiovascular disease, with about 44 million women in the U.S. alone being diagnosed with some form of the disease. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), one in three women die from it each year, making it the leading killer of women.

Yet, with the increasing levels of stress and unhealthy lifestyle choices, this rate will contin-

ue to stay the same or increase. Linda Marshall writes this month of new lifestyle choices that women (and men) can make to fend off the likelihood of cardiovascular disease. Local health practitioners like integrative nutritionist Elizabeth McMillian, from the Rose Wellness Center, in Oakton, and Dr. Allan Tomson, a chiropractor and functional medical specialist from Neck, Back & Beyond, in Fairfax, offer the wisdom that you need to know about your heart and suggest ways to keep it healthy.

In our ongoing series of webinars sponsored by Natural Awakenings, Washington D.C.,

NATIONAL TEAM CEO/FOUNDER Sharon Bruckman

NATIONAL EDITOR Jan Hollingsworth

MANAGING EDITOR Linda Sechrist NATIONAL ART DIRECTOR Stephen Blancett

ART DIRECTOR Josh Pope

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Dr. Alex Leon will be offering a free online presentation on integrative approaches to thyroid issues. Much like heart disease, about 20 million Americans (women and men) suffer from type of thyroid disease, and for many, it is undiagnosed.

Make February your month to keep up your resolutions (remember those?) and find the

best ways to protect your heart and your thyroid. This is the month of love, so take time to lavish a little bit of love and self-care on yourself.

Best,

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Contents 14 HEART OF A WOMAN The Right Choices Keep It Strong

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17 KEN PAGE

on Making Love Last

18 AMAZING EMBRACE The Healing Power of Hugs

19 YOUR HEART Do You Really Know It?

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20 RECIPES A

HEART WILL LOVE Tasty Ways to Boost Heart Health

23 INVESTING FOR GOOD

How to Align Money With Values

24 THE NUMBERS OF THE HEART

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How We Can Improve Them

ADVERTISING & SUBMISSIONS HOW TO ADVERTISE To advertise with Natural Awakenings or request a media kit, please contact us at 202-505-4835 or email Stephen@NaturalAwakeningsDC.com.

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Deadline for calendar: the 10th of the month.

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26 SOOTHING ANXIOUS KIDS

Natural Remedies Restore Calm

27 LISTENING TO YOUR HEART

Acheiving Coherence Between the Heart and Brain

DEPARTMENTS 6 news briefs 8 health briefs 11 eco tip 12 global briefs 17 wise words 18 healing ways 19 healthy heart

20 conscious

eating 23 green living 24 food as medicine 26 healthy kids 27 leading edge 29 calendar 32 resource guide February 2019

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news briefs

Free Webinar: An Integrative Approach to Thyroid Conditions

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bout 20 million Americans suffer from some kind of thyroid disease, according to the American Thyroid Association. Moreover, a large number of them are unaware of their thyroid disorder. To learn more about this condition, and to discover the ways that it can be treated in from an integrative approach, join Natural Awakenings and Dr. Alex Leon for a free, live webinar, from 7 to 7:45 p.m. on February 21.

Leon, who practices with the team at the Rose Wellness Center, in Oakton, Virginia, is a board-certified family physician specializing in integrative functional medicine for the entire family. His comprehensive approach includes utilizing the functional medicine matrix, reviewing your health issues and developing a collaborative plan for further testing and interventions, including lifestyle enhancements.

In this webinar, Leon will review how a low thyroid condition is frequently undiagnosed and often not well understood. Common symptoms of thyroid disease include: fatigue, depression, cold intolerance, weight gain, hair loss, headaches, constipation, mental slowness, menstrual irregularities and elevated cholesterol.

Thyroid symptoms occur due to a multitude of reasons even when blood tests may appear to be within the normal range. In this webinar, you can learn how to create a personalized plan to manage thyroid disorders based on your individual health, genetics, hormone levels and medical history.

For more information about this webinar, visit IntegrativeApproachToThyroid. eventbrite.com. See ad, page 13.

What Are You Reading?

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ccording to a recent press release from the D.C. Public Library, more than 4 million items were borrowed, streamed or downloaded in 2018. These are this year’s most popular items that were checked out in print form.

The top fiction books last year include: Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng; Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward; An American Marriage by Tayari Jones; The Power by Naomi Alderman; The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead; Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan; Pachinko by Min Jin Lee; A Gentleman in Moscow

by Amor Towles; Exit West by Mohsin Hamid and Less by Andrew Sean Greer.

Those who prefer nonfiction especially enjoyed Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah; Educated: a Memoir by Tara Westover; Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond; Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff; Killers of the Flower Moon: the Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann; Hillbilly Elegy: a Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

by J.D. Vance; Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates; Hunger by Roxane Gay; A Higher Loyalty by James Comey and I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara.

Happy reading in 2019!

For more information about what’s happening at the D.C. public libraries, visit at DCLibrary.org.

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Dawson’s Market Has Reopened

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ess than two months after closing, Dawson’s Market, in Rockville Town Square, has reopened its doors under new ownership. The independent grocery store is now run by former director of operations Bart Yablonsky. He notes in a recent press release that the community was been very supportive of his decision to reopen Dawson’s Market and is excited for what’s to come.

“It’s clear that the community feels strongly about having a quality, specialty grocer in downtown Rockville. I’m very excited about the next chapter of Dawson’s and look forward to maintaining strong community partnerships,” notes Yablonsky.

While Dawson’s Market will stay true to its local, organic roots, it will expand its product mix to include national brands so that the market will be the go-to store for everything on one’s grocery list. They will also carry household items and have an expanded wine, beer and prepared food selection.

Dawson’s will continue to provide a full calendar of events—from free beer and wine tastings, live music in the café, a monthly opportunity to Meet the Locals Vendor Fair—as well as their famous Jazz Brunch.

Location: 225 N. Washington St., in the Rockville Town Square. For more information and a full listing of events, visit DawsonsMarket.com. See ad and store coupon, page 24.

Believe in something larger than yourself... get involved in the big ideas of your time. ~Barbara Bush

Just Breathe: An Immersion of Emotional Mastery

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xperience a revolutionary approach to self-improvement and self-healing, just outside of Annapolis at the Breath of Wellness Studio this coming March 4 through 10. Participants will enjoy a week, or a day, of learning, dedicated to personal empowerment, right action and emotional management with Dan Brulé, master Breathworker and author of Just Breathe.

Dan Brulé

Join Brulé for a book signing and tea ceremony as well as experiential breath workshops on topics such as relationships, peak performance and success and healers and helpers. They will also be offering a group healing circle and a course on the three fundamentals. Participants can enjoy the entire week of events for one rate or select the specific sessions they wish.

Cost: $799 for the week immersion or sessions can be purchased á la cart. Location: 815 Ritchie Hwy., Ste. 218, Severna Park, MD. For tickets and full schedule, visit DanBrule.eventbrite.com.

When Thyroid Hormones Fail Us – A Free Webinar

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ven though many women are taking thyroid hormones and their lab tests state that they are “normal”, up to 90 percent continue to suffer from many of the symptoms. Dr. Serena Satcher is offering a free webinar to help women break out of this cycle by discussing the root causes of hypothyroidism and natural ways to overcome it.

The talk will be held at 7 p.m. on February 7.

In her practice, Satcher has worked Serena Satcher, M.D. with women who continue to suffer from a list of symptoms, including tiredness and insomnia, inability to lose weight, cold hands and feet, constipation, depression and lack of motivation, thinning hair and acne, memory problems or brain fog or feelings of nervousness and heart palpitations. The traditional approach is to drive the labs into the “normal” range by giving thyroid replacement hormones, such as synthetic thyroid hormones. This drug-only approach is not helping most of the women who try it.

Satcher will provide information that will help women sufferers to understand the underlying cause of 85 to 90 percent of hypothyroidism in the U.S., why it’s destroying not only the thyroid gland, and other glands and tissues as well, why taking thyroid medication may not help and why a personalized approach is essential. Satcher, an M.D. and certified in PMR, functional medicine and integrative medicine, specializes in metabolic and autoimmune problems affecting the glands, nervous system and musculoskeletal system.

To register, visit Info@TreatYourselfToHealth.com. For more information, call 703-454-9326, ext. 0 or email Info@TreatYourselfToHealth.com.

Functional Medicine

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We strive to identify sonalized treatment plans based on your history as well as results from specialized diagidentify the root cause and treat YOU rather than just your symptoms. roottesting. cause and treat YOU2 rather than just your symptoms.

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sonalized treatment plans based on your history as well as• results from specialized diag• Integrative and Functional Medicine Hypothyroidism Our key services and treatments include: nostic testing. We have 2 Functional Medicine Physicians, an Integrative Nutritionist, a • Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement (BHRT) • *Integrative and Functional Medicine *Acupuncture Acupuncture Classical Homeopath and an Acupuncturist.

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health briefs

Zinc Combo Fights Aging Diseases When zinc, a trace mineral, is combined with tea, coffee, chocolate and other foods that contain specific antioxidant compounds, it boosts protection against the oxidative stress linked to aging and diseases such as dementia, cancer and heart disease, report researchers from Auburn University, in Alabama, and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, in Germany.

Zi nc activates a pl a nt com pou nd k n o w n as hy d ro q u i n on e , w h i c h boosts foods’ antioxidant properties. Hydroquinone alone cannot break down harmful free radicals, but when combined with zinc, a type of enzyme is created that helps prevent damage to organs and tissues.

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Harmful bacteria from the genus Mycobacterium have been shown to linger in showerheads and lead to lung infections through inhalation of steam.

University of Colorado researchers analyzed 656 biofilms coating the inside of showerheads sent to them by volunteers throughout the U.S. and Europe, and found twice as much mycobacterium in showerheads from households receiving municipal water than in those receiving well water.

Chlorine disinfection methods were suspected by the researchers. Plastic showerheads had levels that were, on average, two times lower than showerheads made of metal or metal and plastic components. “Hot spots” with high levels of mycobacteria—such as Hawaii, southern California, Florida, the upper Midwest and the mid-Atlantic states—generally overlapped regions where mycobacteriumrelated lung diseases are most prevalent.

Maxal anatTamor/Shutterstock.com chant/Shutterstock.com

Harmful Bacteria Linked to Certain Showerheads

Immigration to U.S. Lowers Healthy Gut Bacteria People in developing nations have much greater diversity in gut bacteria than Americans, but a University of Minnesota study of U.S. immigrants has found that six to nine months after moving to the U.S. and eating a Western diet, the gut bacteria of those from countries with predominantly nonWestern diets changed to match gut bacteria typical of a Western diet, while their gut bacteria became less diverse and less healthy. These effects increased with the duration of U.S. residence and were compounded across generations. The more “Westernized” a woman’s microbiome, the greater her risk of obesity.

Shamaan/Shutterstock.com

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia), a spiky, cucumbershaped fruit, has traditionally been used in Asian countries to lower blood sugar. Now, researchers at Universiti Sains Malaysia report that it can significantly improve symptoms and reduce the pain of knee osteoarthritis. Half of 75 patients were given a placebo and the other half 1,500 milligrams three times a day of a bitter melon supplement.

After three months, the bitter melon group had significantly fewer symptoms and less knee pain and analgesic use, as well as lowered body weight, body mass index and fasting blood glucose levels.

Dmitry Bruskov/Shutterstock.com

Bitter Melon Eases Knee Pain

Eskymaks/Shutterstock.com TukkataMoji/Shutterstock.com Peter Hermes Furian/Shutterstock.com Eric Isselee/Shutterstock.com

Ashwagandha Normalizes Hypothyroid Levels Ashwagandha, a traditional ayurvedic herb, can significantly improve symptoms of subclinical hypothyroidism, a condition that affects many women, a new double-blind clinical study shows. Researchers from India’s Sudbhawana Hospital tested 50 patients that had high circulating thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. For eight weeks, half were given 600 milligrams a day of ashwagandha; the other half were given a placebo. In the treatment group, TSH levels fell by more than 17 percent, T4 levels increased by nearly 20 percent and T3 levels increased by more than 40 percent. “Ashwagandha treatment effectively normalized the serum thyroid indices during the eight-week treatment period in a significant manner,” the report concluded.

The Power of Thank-You Notes Practicing gratitude is a healthy habit, yet people often hesitate to write heartfelt thank-you notes to people that have touched their lives. Researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Texas, in Austin, report that writers underestimate how much people receiving those notes are surprised, happy and appreciative.

The researchers also found that the letter writers were unduly concerned about their ability to express their gratitude skillfully. While the writers worried about choosing the right words, the recipients felt happiness simply through the warmth of the gesture.

Walnut Leaves Improve Diabetic Health In a double-blind study of 40 Type-2 diabetes patients, Iranian researchers gave half of them 200 milligrams of an extract of walnut leaf (Juglans regia) for eight weeks and the other half a placebo. Although the walnut leaf extract had no significant effect on their blood glucose levels or insulin resistance, it significantly lowered systolic blood pressure and body weight in the patients.

Sniffing Dogs Can Detect Malaria After years of worldwide decline, malaria is on a worrisome upswing, but researchers from Durham University, in the UK, have found a quick, noninvasive, low-cost

detection method: dogs.

Trained to sniff out malaria parasites in socks that West African children wore for one night, the canines correctly identified 70 percent among the infected and 90 percent among the uninfected children.

February 2019

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health briefs

film brief

Pitipat Wongprasit/Shutterstock.com

Children and teens that spend more than seven hours a day on screens have twice the risk of being diagnosed with anxiety or depression compared to those that spend one hour a day similarly engaged, concluded a San Diego State University study of more than 40,000 youngsters.

violetkaipa/Shutterstock.com

Jula Store/Shutterstock.com

Tatyana Vyc/Shutterstock.com

Screen Time Doubles Kids’ Risk of Anxiety and Depression

Nuts Improve Blood Vessel Health Munching on almonds and walnuts significantly increases blood vessel dilation and reduces artery plaque, say West Virginia University scientists. In a two-day study, 27 overweight volunteers ate 77 grams of almonds (about 2.5 handfuls) along with their lunch one day; on another day, they ate 60 grams of walnuts (about two handfuls) with lunch. Measurements taken four hours after each meal found that both diets significantly increased blood vessel dilation and lowered markers of artery plaque. Both types of nuts also reduced heart rate and systolic blood pressure among the volunteers.

Holy Basil Fights Tooth Infection Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), an Indian herb also known as holy basil, has been proven effective in studies in reducing stress, lowering blood sugar and healing wounds.

Now, research from India’s Rishiraj College of Dental Sciences has found that tulsi essential oil, used as a disinfectant, significantly reduced infection levels following root canals of primary molars in a study of 40 children. Although a triple antibiotic cream had better antibiotic properties, the researchers recommended tulsi for longstanding infections and to avoid antibiotic reactions and overuse.

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Michael Bloomberg at the special advance screening of Paris to Pittsburgh.

Changing Landscapes Climate Change Documentary Seeks Consensus

National Geographic Documentary Films, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and RadicalMedia, has released the new film Paris to Pittsburgh (free at NatGeoTV.com), a tribute to the impassioned efforts of individuals battling the most severe threats of climate change in their own backyards. Set against the national debate over the United States’ energy future and the Trump administration’s decision to exit the Paris Climate Agreement, the film captures what’s at stake for communities around the country and the inspiring ways Americans are responding. The film, which premiered in December in 172 countries in 43 languages, is directed and produced by Emmy Award winner Sidney Beaumont and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Michael Bonfiglio.

It features local leaders and everyday citizens telling the stories behind climate-related recovery and resiliency. The documentary illustrates the tireless innovative efforts to reduce carbon emissions, including those in former coal boomtowns such as Pittsburgh, where Mayor Bill Peduto says, “There are now more jobs in renewable energy in the state of Pennsylvania than coal, natural gas and oil combined.”

eco tips

Tips for a Tree-Free Home Many Ways to Pare Down Paper Use

If one in five households switched to electronic bills, statements and payments, the collective impact would save 151 million pounds of paper annually, eliminating 8.6 million full garbage bags and 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the PayItGreen Alliance. While computers continue to offer significant environmental benefits, there are other “tree-mendous” things we can do to conserve forest resources. n Paper bags can be substituted for plastic bags as trash can liners and serve as compost-ready receptacles for fruit and vegetable scraps. ChasingGreen.org describes many ways to reuse paper bags after cutting them along the seams; use them to wrap gifts and shipping boxes or let the kids paint or draw on them. n Use the blank side of sales receipts, envelopes, shopping lists and other paper scraps to jot down to-do lists, notes and more. The family can keep a small pile that everyone can tap into. n Replace paper napkins and towels with cloth napkins or portions of old T-shirts that can be washed and reused. n Choose paper products that are gentle on the Earth in how they are made.

TreeZero Inc. (TreeZero.com) markets, supplies and distributes 100 percent carbon- neutral paper made from recycled sugarcane waste fiber. n Consider “branching out” and help protect trees that are being threatened by overharvesting, development and the effects of climate change by supporting the Alliance for Community Trees (ACTrees.org), a national nonprofit that plants trees in communities across the nation.

Get the shovels ready to pitch in when the Arbor Day Foundation (ArborDay.org) celebrates its 148th annual tree-planting events on April 26—especially important this year due to the destruction of many trees from recent hurricanes and fires.

February 2019

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Fish Revival

Insects around the world are in a crisis, and a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the problem is even more widespread than scientists first believed. In a pristine rain forest in Puerto Rico, the number of invertebrates—including moths, butterflies, spiders and grasshoppers—dropped 60-fold between 1977 and 2013, probably due to a four-degree rise in average temperature. The lizards, birds and frogs that fed on them also seriously declined. In 2014, an international team of biologists estimated that globally in the past 35 years, the numbers of invertebrates such as beetles and bees had decreased by 45 percent.

Another recent study showed a 76 percent decrease in flying insects in the past few decades in German nature preserves. The food web may be being obliterated from the bottom: Insects pollinate three-quarters of our food crops, feed the birds and fish that are also consumed by larger species and are vital to the decomposition that keeps soil healthy and ecosystems running. “Nature’s resilient, but we’re pushing her to such extremes that eventually it will cause a collapse of the system,” Brad Lister, a co-author of the Puerto Rican study, told the New York Times.

Following the removal two years ago of an obsolete dam in Manville, New Jersey, American shad are successfully spawning in the lower section of the Millstone River.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently observed juvenile fish there for the first time since 1845. American shad (Alosa sapidissima) are the largest member of the herring family and are anadromous, as they spend most of their lives in saltwater, but return to freshwater rivers each spring to spawn. They played an important role in American history and economics.

New Jersey Department of Emvironmental Protection Commissioner Catherine McCabe says, “This species has an inherent tendency to recolonize once obstacles are removed from its migratory path.” During the Industrial Revolution, rivers were dammed for electric power and lakes, but during the last decade, dam removal has become a new call to action. Besides preventing fish migrations, dams also harm water quality in rivers by blocking water flow, trapping sediment and changing habitats.

Horse Sense

Wild Horses Ride Out the Storm North Carolina’s freeroaming wild horse herds on the Outer Banks have “ridden out” their share of storms. When Hurricane Florence struck the area in 2018, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund of Currituck County, where the herd lives, announced on Facebook, “The horses have lived on this barrier island for 500 years, and they are well-equipped to 12

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deal with rough weather.

They know where to go to stay high and dry, and are probably in better shape right now than most of us humans, who are scrambling with final preparations.” Historians believe the herds, which number about 100 horses, descend from those brought to the New World

by European explorers.

Instincts dating back

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Hein Nouwens/Shutterstock.com

Sharp Decline Threatens Ecosystem

Shad Return After 174-Year Absence

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Bug Apocalypse

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global briefs

five centuries compel the feral mustangs to either huddle on high ground, butts to the wind, or seek refuge in the maritime forest during storms, say experts. But news has come of a Shackleford Banks horse named Merlin that was fenced in an inundated quarantine

site during the storm, according to the Foundation for Shackleford Horses.

Merlin somehow survived, and it “may have involved swimming,” says Margaret Poindexter, president of the foundation that co-manages the herd on National Park Service land.

Bat Cave Rescue

Mind Meld

A cold-loving fungus known as white-nose syndrome (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) originating in Eurasia, where bats evolved to develop immunity to it, began infecting 15 species of hibernating bats in North America in 2006. As the fungus grows over bats’ noses and wings, it disrupts their winter sleep, causing them to expend too much energy and burn up fat they need for winter survival. More than 6 million bats have succumbed to the disease so far. Some species are experiencing near total collapse: Little brown bat populations have been decimated by about 90 percent, while tricolored and northern long-eared bats are suffering losses of around 97 percent. Ecologists thought the fungus might halt at the Rockies, but by 2016 it had made its way to Washington State.

A collaboration between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, biologists, ecologists, mycologists, biochemists and other scientists at universities, NGOs and state, federal and tribal agencies have made significant progress in combating the fungus using genomics: Sequencing its genes has allowed them to determine its origin. Plans include treating the caves and mines in which the bats hibernate. It also appears that some species are developing resistance to the fungus or developing coping strategies, like waking up together every night to generate extra group warmth.

Scientists are trying to translate speech-paralyzed patients’ thoughts into speech using brain implants. The technique will potentially provide a brain/computer interface (BCI) to enable people with a spinal cord injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke or other paralyzing conditions to “talk” again. Experts think a system that decodes whether a person is silently saying yes, no, hungry, pain or water is now within reach, thanks to parallel advances in neuroscience, engineering and machine learning. “We think we’re getting enough of an understanding of the brain signals that encode silent speech that we could soon make something practical,” says Brian Pasley, of the University of California, Berkeley.

The first BCI read electrical signals in the motor cortex corresponding to the intention to move, and used software to translate the signals into instructions to operate a computer cursor or robotic arm. In 2016, scientists at the University of Pittsburgh went a step further, adding sensors to a mind-controlled robotic arm so it produced sensations of touch.

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Promising Progress Against Disease

Translating Thoughts Into Speech

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Heart of a Woman The Right Choices Keep It Strong

by Lisa Marshall

S

ometime between the salad and the main course at her grandson’s bar mitzvah, Joyce Lenard, then 69, felt a crushing pressure deep within her chest.

A tireless go-getter who had worked in Hillary Clinton’s district office when she was a U.S. senator, raised two daughters and recently donated a kidney to one of them, Lenard had spent months painstakingly planning the 100-guest gala, so when the pain came, she ignored it and got on with the party. She even drove herself to her Long Island home that night. “I just assumed I was having indigestion and it would pass,” Lenard recalls.

Hours later, her husband rushed her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a rare, often-fatal form of heart attack, takotsubo cardiomyopathy, in which intense stress literally changes the shape of the heart. Thankful to be alive, she has since taken up meditation, cleaned up her diet and now leads a support group for female heart patients of all ages. Like her, many of them never saw it coming.

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“Women tend to be the caregivers,” says Lenard. “We take care of our husbands, our families, our friends, our careers, and we often forget about our own health. Then look what happens.” Lenard is among the 44 million U.S. women with cardiovascular disease, an insidious illness that until recently has been erroneously framed as a “man’s disease”. In reality, it is the number one killer of women, responsible for one in three deaths each year, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). By comparison, one in 26 women die of breast cancer.

While awareness has risen since 2004, when AHA launched its Go Red for Women campaign, surveys show only 17 percent of women view cardiovascular disease as something that should concern them.

It should, experts say, because 80 to 90 percent of cases are avoidable with lifestyle and dietary changes. In some cases, natural remedies can even reverse it. “We have all this sophisticated equipment and all these medications, but when it comes down

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Know Risks and Address Them Early

In the late 1990s, researchers discovered women were about as likely as men to be diagnosed with the disease, and far more likely to die from it. “They didn’t have the classic signs and symptoms, so they often went undiagnosed and untreated,” explains Jennifer Mieres, M.D., a cardiology professor at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, in New York.

Along with chest pain, women often suffer fatigue, shortness of breath, indigestion, pain in the neck, back or jaw, nausea or anxiety in the months leading up to a heart attack. In more than half of the cases, according to one recent study in the journal Circulation, doctors fail to recognize these symptoms.

Then there is the “not now” factor. “I used to see women all the time who said, ‘I have had these symptoms for months, but I just didn’t have time to take care of it,’” says Mieres, co-author of Heart Smart for Women: Six S.T.E.P.S. in Six Weeks to Heart-Healthy Living.

Recent research has also shown that women are uniquely vulnerable to developing heart disease in ways that men don’t share. Taking birth control pills (especially while smoking) can boost risk. Complications during pregnancy such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes can be hard on the heart, increasing vulnerability for years to come. Because estrogen is believed to be cardio-protective, when it wanes during perimenopause and menopause, risk goes up again.

“As soon as we hit menopause, our biological milieu starts to change,” says Mieres, noting that “good” cholesterol tends to decrease and “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides tend to increase.

Yet, arterial plaque—which can ultimately build up, break loose and cause a heart attack or stroke—starts accumulating as early as age 20, so the earlier women start paying attention, the better.

mimagephotography/Shutterstock.com

~Christina Adams, M.D.

to it, the vast majority of cardiovascular disease can be prevented,” says integrative cardiologist Christina Adams, M.D., of the Scripps Women’s Heart Center, in La Jolla, California.

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We have all this sophisticated equipment and all these medications, but when it comes down to it, the vast majority of cardiovascular disease can be prevented.

Food Not Meds

Thirty years after the first cholesterol-lowering medication hit the market, so-called statin drugs have become the largest class of medications in the world, with U.S. sales doubling between 2000 and 2010 to reach $20 billion, according to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. While drugs can be appropriate for those already diagnosed with heart disease and at high risk of heart attack or stroke, they are not without serious side effects. Statins can cause chronic muscle pain, memory loss and increased blood sugar, while hypertension drugs can precipitate fainting and kidney damage.

For many patients, there’s another way, integrative cardiologists say. Unfortunately, most of the talk about prevention focuses on prescription medications, says Stephen Devries, M.D., executive director of the Chicago-based Gaples Institute for Integrative Cardiology. “What often gets lost in the discussion are the dietary changes, which can be equally important.”

Devries recommends a plant-based Mediterranean diet—low in the saturated fat found in beef, processed meats and cheese—and high in leafy greens, whole grains and the “good” fats found in fatty fish, olive oil and avocados. Specific foods have also been shown to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

Nuts, including walnuts, peanuts and almonds, have been shown to lower LDL. One 2017 study of 77,000 female nurses, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found those that ate peanuts or tree nuts (including almonds and cashews) two or more times per week had a 19 percent lower risk of developing heart disease. Those that ate walnuts once a week cut their risk by 23 percent.

Dark purple and red fruits contain compounds called anthocyanins that boost production of nitric oxide, and in turn expand blood vessels, improving circulation. Another recent study, published in the journal Circulation, followed 94,000 women for 18 years and found those that ate four servings or more per week of blueberries and strawberries were a third less likely to have a heart attack.

Pomegranates are also key for heart health, with recent research published in the journal Clinical Nutrition showing a daily serving of juice can make platelets less sticky, lower blood pressure and reduce plaque formation.

Dark leafy greens like kale and broccoli—which are rich in vitamin K—play an important role in fostering a healthy heart structure, with each serving per week cutting the risk of heart disease by 23 percent, according to the Gaples Institute.

Nurturing the Emotional Heart

No discussion of heart health would be complete without an emphasis on social and emotional health, a critical risk factor which until recently has been largely absent, says Sandeep Jauhar, M.D., director of the Heart Failure Program at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and author of the new book, Heart: A History.

But research shows the emotional heart can break, too, as in Lenard’s case.

With as many as 90 percent of incidents occurring in women, the condition that landed her in the emergency room often shows up in patients with no signs of obstructed blood vessels or high cholesterol.

Rather, factors like financial worries, work stress or the death of or break-up with a loved one can flood the heart with stress hormones, changing its shape to one that resembles a Japanese pot called a takotsubo and weakening it profoundly. “Remarkably, in many cases, once the emotional state returns to normal, so does the heart,” says Jauhar.

Longer-term, emotional stress has been shown to lead to platelet aggregation, or stickiness in the blood, which can impact blood flow. Also, constant bombardment by stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol can damage the inner walls of blood vessels, boosting accumulation of plaque.

Supplements for a Healthy Heart Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock.com

ª Red yeast rice extract: This over-

the-counter (OTC) extract, commonly used in Chinese medicine, has been shown to significantly lower both total cholesterol and LDL, or “bad” cholesterol levels, much like a statin does. Studies show 1.2 to 2.4 grams per day can reduce cholesterol by 26 percent in 12 weeks.

ª Omega-3 fatty acids: Eating fatty fish or taking fish oil supplements (one to four grams daily of EPA/DHA) has been shown to reduce risk of heart disease in healthy people and lower triglyceride levels and risk of heart attack in those already diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. Walnuts, chia, hemp and flax seeds are excellent vegan sources of Omega-3s.

ª Coenzyme Q10: Found in small

amounts in organ meats, sardines, cauliflower and asparagus, this powerful antioxidant—also available in OTC supplements—can lower blood pressure and help combat the side effects of statins.

ª Nicotinomide riboside: Fairly

new on the supplement scene, this compound, known as NR, has been shown to mimic the beneficial impacts of calorie restriction, improving blood pressure and arterial health in those with mild hypertension.

ª Garlic: Some studies suggest that garlic, either fresh or in supplements, can lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

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To nurture the metaphorical heart, integrative cardiologists recommend taking time to maintain healthy personal relationships and minimize work stress. As well, exercising five to six days per week for at least 30 minutes and practicing activities like mindfulness meditation or yoga have been shown to lower heart rate. A recent study published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes looked at 201 people with coronary heart disease. It found those that practiced meditation were 50 percent less likely to die or have a heart attack or stroke in the span of five years.

Finding quiet spaces to retreat to can also be important. A study published in November by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, found that living and working in chronically noisy environments can boost the risk for heart problems. It is also wise to prioritize sleep (at least seven hours per night), because the lack of it can inflame arteries.

The bottom line is that a holistic approach is best, says Jauhar. “If you want to live a long life, don’t smoke, eat well and exercise, but also pay attention to the quality of your relationships and your ability to withstand stress and transcend distress. Those are also a matter of life and death.”

Lisa Marshall is a freelance health writer in Boulder, CO. Connect at LisaAnnMarshall.com.

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wise words

Ken Page on

Making Love Last

by Emily Courtney

K

en Page is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist and author of Deeper Dating: How to Drop the Games of Seduction and Discover the Power of Intimacy.

A relationship, intimacy and dating expert, he has led hundreds of workshops on intimacy and spirituality and taught at Columbia University, the Omega Institute and the Garrison Institute. Page also hosts the Deeper Dating Podcast (DeeperDatingPodcast.com).

What are Core Gifts, and what role do they play in the search for lasting love?

In my decades of work as a psychotherapist and coach, I’ve come to realize again and again that the qualities people feel most embarrassed or awkward about—their deepest insecurities—are some of their greatest gifts.

These Core Gifts are like secret parts of ourselves that we often want to hide because we feel so vulnerable around them. But these gifts are where we have the greatest sensitivity and passion; they’re the things we feel and care the most deeply about and the keys to finding someone who really loves us for who we are. When we learn to lead with and cherish our Core Gifts instead of hiding them away, the story of our romantic life completely changes.

But the opposite is true, too. Suppressing our gifts is actually an act of

quiet violence against our most authentic self, and it always leads us into situations where we end up feeling diminished or hurt. The degree to which we feel ashamed of those vulnerable parts of ourselves is the degree to which we’re going to be attracted to people who are bad for us.

How can we move past our insecurities to discover and honor our Core Gifts?

If you find yourself repeatedly attracted to people who don’t treasure you for who you are, there are Core Gift qualities you haven’t learned to honor. Anywhere you’re insecure, you can ask yourself questions that really change the way you think about yourself. What might be the gift that lies inside this insecurity, and how have I not honored it? Who are the people in my life who have valued my gifts and how did that feel?

You can also discover your Core Gifts by asking yourself what sensitivities keep getting stepped on or neglected—those are qualities you haven’t learned to treasure enough yet.

Why is it important to differentiate between what you call Attractions of Inspiration and Attractions of Deprivation?

This is perhaps the most important distinction you can make in your search for love.

Attractions of Deprivation are attractions to people who are only sometimes available to love and treat you well, but you become deeply invested in trying to get them to love you because you’re unconsciously trying to heal old childhood wounds through the relationship.

But there are also Attractions of Inspiration; these are people who inspire you by who they are in the world and how they treat you and others. When you start really learning how to honor and lead with your Core Gifts, your attractions change. You’ll start becoming attracted to available people who love you for who you are.

Deciding to say no to Attractions of Deprivation to only pursue Attractions of Inspiration is quite simply the most important decision you’ll ever make in your search for healthy love.

What is the Wave of Distancing, and how can it sabotage relationships?

The Wave of Distancing is the single greatest saboteur of healthy love that I know of.

If you haven’t yet learned to honor your Core Gifts, you’ll want to flee when you meet Attractions of Inspiration who are available and kind. You may begin noticing qualities about them that irritate you and find yourself wanting to leave—this is what I call the Wave.

The Wave is fear, because something deep inside you knows that this person could be special, and to open yourself up to and possibly be hurt by a kind person is a very scary thing. So your psyche unconsciously protects you by making you want to flee, and if you don’t understand this, then you may leave what could be a wonderful relationship.

If you do understand it, you’ll come to realize that like a wave, it hits hard, but then passes. If you can stick around long enough and just keep enjoying that person throughout the Wave, those feelings will disappear and the attraction will return.

Emily Courtney is a freelance health and wellness writer and editor living in northern Colorado. Connect at EmilyCourtneyWrites@gmail.com.

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healing ways

AMAZING EMBRACE The Healing Power of Hugs

by April Thompson

H

These behaviors ugs don’t just feel A Primal Need good; they do also turn down our for Connection good. A simple biological response to Mata Amritanandamayi, embrace can boost our stress and may even a 65-year-old Indian spirihealth and mood, connect tual leader better known improve us spiritually and even help as Amma, has hugged mend society. how our immune tens of millions of people

Hugs and other types system works. around the world, earning of affectionate touching her the nickname, “the ~Michael Murphy, can provide numerous hugging saint.” benefits in the face of researcher Amma’s tradition of threats or stress, according hugging people grew organically, from hugto Michael Murphy, Ph.D., a researcher ging someone she noticed in distress, to how with the Laboratory for the Study of she receives massive crowds clamoring for Stress, Immunity and Disease at Carnegie one of her loving, compassionate embraces.

Mellon University, in Pittsburgh. “The

“A hug is a gesture that reveals the research shows that touch behaviors like spiritual truth that, ‘We are not two—we hugs reduce negative responses to threats are one,’” says Swami Amritaswaruand make people feel happier, more secure pananda, one of Amma’s senior disciples. and more supported.”

“In today’s world, where people often feel

In a study of 404 adults, Carnegie alienated and lonely, a hug can uplift and Mellon researchers looked at how social make us feel reconnected to the people and support and hugs affected participants’ world around us.” susceptibility to the common cold after

Intention is key to the exchange of being exposed to the virus. “People expeenergy that occurs with a hug, says Amririencing lots of conflict are more likely to taswarupananda.

“What is important is the get a cold when exposed to a virus,” says sincerity behind the action—the genuine Murphy. “But individuals who also tend to feeling of love and compassion. A simple receive lots of hugs appear protected from glance or mere touch of the hand can have this additional risk.”

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that same power to make us feel whole if that genuine, heartfelt connection is there.”

Hugs tap into that fundamental human need to belong, says Murphy. “Hugs and other forms of affectionate touch act as powerful reminders that we belong. “These behaviors also turn down our biological response to stress and may even improve how our immune system works.” For example, researchers think that touching might trigger our body to release oxytocin, a hormone that can reduce fear and improve social bonding, Murphy notes. Hugs and the associated oxytocin release can have powerful ripple effects in the body, decreasing heart rate and levels of stress hormones cortisol and norepinephrine, along with improving immune function and pain tolerance. Oxytocin can also trigger the release of feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine.

Bridging Divides With a Hug While Murphy cautions that the jury is out on the effects of hugs on strangers, as most research has been done on embraces between loved ones, Ken Nwadike, Jr. has built a national campaign around the concept. Known as the “free hugs guy”, the former competitive runner began offering up hugs during the 2014 Boston Marathon, the year after the deadly bombing.

Nwadike has since brought the Free Hugs Project to more divisive spaces, from political rallies to protests, offering hugs to all to spread love and inspire change.

The Los Angeles activist’s all-embracing hugs are a symbol of unconditional love, respect and unity at a time when tensions and political divisions are running high. For Nwadike, hugs are a way of de-escalating conflict and mending the human divide.

“Communities are divided because of fear, hatred and misunderstanding. Starting the conversation with kindness, rather than hatred, will get us a lot further,” he says.

Consent is always important, and not everyone appreciates an unsolicited hug. But like compliments, hugs are free to give and usually well received. As humans, we bear arms that were built not to harm, but to heal.

Connect with freelance writer April Thompson, of Washington, D.C., at AprilWrites.com.

healthy heart

Oksana Shufrych/Shutterstock.com

surement in the actual artery, one can get an idea of their risk factor for arteriosclerosis. This five-minute procedure is done by a CT scan and typically costs less than $250. The second test is a Cardiometabolic profile. This test measures blood fats— lipid levels such as cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides, but in an expanded way.

The results of this test show the different fractions of LDLs, for instance. This is important as some of the fractions are much more atherogenic and therefore more dangerous than others. This test typically costs about $200 with insurance.

YOUR HEART

Do You Really Know It?

T

by Allan Tomson

he heart is a muscular pump that sits in the center of the chest within a protective sac called the pericardium. The heart is made up of four chambers: a right and a left atrium, which are the upper chambers and receive blood, as well as a right and left ventricle, which are the lower, more-muscular chambers that pump blood. The left atrium receives deoxygenated blood from the body and sends it to the right ventricle, which pumps the blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen.

The tricuspid valve between the right atrium and ventricle prevents blood from flowing backward.

Once blood is oxygenated in the lungs, it is sent back through the left side of the heart—first the left atrium, then to the left ventricle and out to the tissues of the body via a large artery called the aorta. The mitral or bicuspid valve prevents blood from flowing backward and shunts the blood into the aorta. The aorta gives off branches throughout the chest and abdomen that supply the entire body with oxygenated blood.

There are two very small, but very important vessels that branch off the aorta almost immediately called the coronary arteries: a right and a left, which supply their respective sides of the heart muscle with oxygenated blood. The left anterior descending (LAD) is a branch off

the left coronary artery that is responsible for supplying much of the left ventricular wall with blood. This is also, unfortunately, one of the most often occluded or blocked of any of the coronary vessels and, as a result, is sometimes referred to as the “widowmaker”.

What causes blockages?

Blood clots or plaques that adhere to the inner walls of our blood vessels can cause blockages and narrowing of our coronary vessels, thus inhibiting blood flow to the heart muscle. These plaques are often created by inflammation of the endothelium or inner lining of blood vessels, plus a buildup of cholesterol, fat, calcium, clotting factors, cell debris and other substances found in blood. This condition is called arteriosclerosis. This is usually accompanied by hardening of the arteries called atherosclerosis.

How can we test for blockages and risk factors?

There are many tests available, but most evaluations begin with two that are inexpensive and noninvasive. The first is the cardiac calcium score, which measures the amount of calcium within the coronary arteries. Since calcium is a major component of plaque formation, through a mea-

What can we do to maintain heart health?

According to Edgar Cayce, the body thrives in an alkaline environment. He wrote often that one’s diet should be 80 percent fruits and vegetables and 20 percent grains, nuts and meat—which is quite similar to the highly effective Mediterranean diet. This is a good start to maintain a healthy heart.

Dr. Allan Tomson, DC, is the executive director of Neck Back & Beyond Healing Arts, an integrative wellness center in Fairfax, with a satellite office in Manassas. Not your ordinary chiropractor, Tomson has skills and experience in functional medicine, visceral manipulation, CranioSacral Therapy and Cayce protocols. Next month in Natural Awakenings, he will explore the effect of diet, heart-specific supplements and stress on the heart. See ad, page 11.

Tears come from the heart and not from the brain. ~Leonardo da Vinci

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conscious eating

Divide into four bowls. For texture and crunch, garnish with roasted pepita or pumpkin seeds.

Hearty Bread Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock.com

This whole-grain, gluten-free, no-knead, no-mess bread contains flax, sunflower and chia seeds, hazelnuts, oats, coconut oil and maple syrup as a sweetener. Accompanying soup, it makes for a satisfying meal.

This recipe is adapted from “Change Your Life Bread” in D’Anca’s book My New Roots.

RECIPES A HEART WILL LOVE Tasty Ways to Boost Heart Health

by Avery Mack

A

s a special meal for Valentine’s Day or any other, many plant-based dishes are so tasty that no one will miss the meat. Low in fat and sugar and high in ingredients that promote heart health, the following recipes are courtesy of Carol D’Anca, a board-certified nutrition practitioner and author of Real Food for Healthy People: A Recipe & Resource Guide, in Highland Park, Illinois.

Start With Soup

Rich in dietary fiber and low in fat, butternut squash with low-salt vegetable broth and spices is an easy-to-make soup loaded with nutrients and flavor. Allow 40 to 45 minutes to roast the squash.

Butternut Squash Soup Yields: Four servings 1 butternut squash, 2-3 lbs, peeled and cut in cubes to equal 4 cups

3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth Dash red pepper flakes Freshly ground black pepper Pepitas or pumpkin seeds for garnish Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a heavy baking pan with parchment paper. Spread squash cubes in a single layer, using two lined pans if needed. Roast for about 40 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork.

Alternate method: Wash the squash. Make several slits to allow for escaping steam.

Roast whole in the oven for about 45 minutes or until soft and easy to peel and cut.

Transfer the roasted squash to a food processor or heavy-duty blender. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Add additional broth to reach desired consistency.

Natural Awakenings recommends using organic, fair trade, non-genetically modified ingredients, BPA-free canned goods and non-bromated flour whenever possible.

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Change Your Life Bread Yields: One loaf 2 cups shelled raw sunflower seeds 1 cup whole flax seeds 1 cup blanched hazelnuts 3 cups rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats, if needed) 4 Tbsp chia seeds 6 Tbsp psyllium husks Pinch fresh ground coarse salt, preferably Himalayan 2 Tbsp maple syrup 6 Tbsp coconut oil, liquefied at low temperature in a small pan 3 cups water In a loaf pan lined with parchment, combine all dry ingredients, stirring well.

Whisk maple syrup and water together in a measuring cup.

Add to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is soaked and dough becomes thick. If it’s too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until it’s manageable.

Smooth the top with the back of a spoon.

Let it sit on the counter for at least two hours, or all day or overnight. When the dough retains its shape, even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan or lift the parchment, it’s ready to bake.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes.

Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing.

Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. Freezes well. For a quick and easy toast, slice before freezing.

The Pleasures of Pasta

photo by Stephen Blancett

Pasta is guilt-free when we use a whole wheat variety that digests more slowly than white flour pasta, avoiding blood sugar spikes, D’Anca says. Gluten-free, grainfree or vegetable pasta can be substituted for whole grain pasta. Fresh asparagus is recommended. If it’s not in season, consider red chard for its bright red and green colors and abundance of vitamins K, A and C. It’s a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron and dietary fiber.

Use red, orange, yellow or a mix of colors 1½ Tbsp fresh thyme leaves 1 lb fresh asparagus, pencil thin is best (if not available, substitute red chard) ¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives ½ cup fresh basil ¼ cup white wine or white wine vinegar Squeeze garlic from its skins into a large skillet. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is reduced and thickened to a sauce (coulis), about 20 to 30 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.

Drain the pasta well and place back in the pan. Add tomato coulis and olives. Toss well to infuse flavors. Let warm for 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve at once.

Savory Side Dish

Chickpeas are a great source of fiber. Bell peppers, also known as sweet peppers, are available in white, orange, green and purple. Lycopene gives red tomatoes their color, may reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower blood pressure. Yellow tomatoes have twice as much iron and zinc and higher levels of vitamin B and folate to help red blood cells. Darker tomatoes ranging from purple to black produce higher levels of antioxidants for a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Don’t overlook green tomatoes, which are higher in vitamin K and calcium than reds or yellows.

Roasted Chickpeas with Grilled Vegetables Yields: Serves two, or four if dished over quinoa

Whole Grain Pasta with Asparagus and Tomato Coulis Yields: 6 servings for dinner or 8 as a smaller first course.

1 lb of your favorite whole grain pasta 3 large cloves garlic, roasted for about 25 minutes in their skins 3 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

12 small mushrooms, sliced 2 ripe tomatoes, quartered 1 red bell pepper, cut in strips 1 yellow pepper, cut in strips 1 red onion, cut into wedges, or 1½ cups leeks, halved lengthwise, cleaned, and cut chiffonade-style About 6 cloves of garlic, peeled 2, 14-oz cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary Balsamic or white wine vinegar February 2019

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Almond Butter and Raw Cacao Chocolate Truffles Yields: 12 servings

Remove the pan and turn the vegetables over. Add the chickpeas and rosemary and return to the oven. Roast for another 30 to 45 minutes until the edges of the vegetables start to turn dark and the chickpeas are browning.

1 cup almond meal ½ cup almond butter ¼ cup raw cacao, organic 3 Tbsp grade B maple syrup 1 tsp organic vanilla ¼ cup raw almonds, ground ¼ cup raw cacao nibs, ground Finely ground nuts like walnuts or hazelnuts, shredded coconut or raw cacao for texture and added flavor

Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, toss and serve warm as is or over quinoa.

Make a flax “egg” by mixing the ground flax seeds with the water. Let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes until it thickens to an egg consistency.

Place the bell pepper, onion and garlic in a food processor and process until smooth.

Remove the mixture and drain in a fine sieve. Too much liquid will make the burgers fall apart.

Burgers for Lunch

These burgers are good either oven baked or grilled, weather permitting. Offer toppings like baby spinach, salsa, nut cheese, pesto, fig jam, mango or slaw. Apple cider vinegar, dill, celery salt and agave nectar to taste makes a dressing for slaw. Thin slices of Granny Smith or Honey Crisp apples add a tang of tart or hint of sweetness.

Black Bean/Veggie Burger 1 16-oz can of black beans, drained, rinsed well and dried on a paper towel ½ red bell pepper, cut in large pieces 1 medium-size onion, cut in large pieces 1 Tbsp chili powder, mild or hot to taste 3 cloves of garlic, rough chopped 1 tsp black cumin 1 Tbsp ground flax seeds 3 Tbsp water Approximately 1 cup bread crumbs (gluten- free if needed) to act as a binder 4 buns or bread of choice 22

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Place black beans in the food processor and pulse to a thick, sticky consistency.

Add the drained red pepper mixture, flax “egg”, cumin and chili spice. Process until lightly mixed.

Remove the burger mixture to a bowl.

Add bread crumbs until you have a firm burger and form into patties.

Grill for 5 to 10 minutes, turning once, or bake in a 350° F oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet for about 5 to 10 minutes on each side.

Guilt-Free Chocolate Dessert

“Chocolate desserts usually include loads of sugar and butter, making them a highly processed and saturated-fat food,” says D’Anca. “These treats deliver the good fat of cacao nibs and the antioxidants of raw cacao.”

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Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix them to a smooth batter. Chill the batter for about 20 minutes.

Roll into either bite-sized or larger balls to serve as is or roll in nuts, coconut or cacao for texture and added taste.

For more recipes and information about nutrition and heart health provided by D’Anca, visit FoodNotMeds.com.

Avery Mack is a freelance writer in St. Louis, MO. Connect via AveryMack@ mindspring.com.

AS Food studio/Shutterstock.com

Put mushrooms, tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, onion and garlic in a large roasting pan. Roast for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables caramelize.

Eating healthy doesn’t mean all salads, all the time. From appetizer to dessert, healthy, easy-to-make, creative and colorful recipes can improve health and add flavor to life.

photo by Stephen Blancett

Preheat oven to 400° F.

green living

Vector Goddess/Shutterstock.com

money that does good can also do well. The firm Nuveen TIAA Investments assessed the leading SRI equity indexes over the long term and “found no statistical difference in returns compared to broad market benchmarks,” nor any additional risks, according to a 2017 report Responsible Investing: Delivering Competitive Performance.

SRI Approaches and Outcomes

INVESTING FOR GOOD How to Align Money With Values

H

by April Thompson

ow we spend our money is important, but how and where we save it matters just as much. Today’s financial marketplace offers diverse options for values-based investing and banking, regardless of interests or assets.

Sustainable, responsible and impact investing is rapidly expanding. Professionally managed assets in the U.S. using socially responsible investment (SRI) strategies grew from $8.7 trillion to $12 trillion in the last two years, according to a 2018 report by the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. This represents 26 percent—about one in four dollars—of all U.S. assets under professional management.

The Big Bank Break-Up While large numbers of investors are moving their money responsibly, changing bank accounts can still feel difficult to many people, says Fran Teplitz, executive codirector of the Washington, D.C., nonprofit Green America, which works to promote a more sustainable economy.

To make the sometimes intimidating bank-changing process a little easier, Green America’s Get a Better Bank campaign at GreenAmerica.org/GetABetterBank breaks it down into bite-sized steps. “Educate yourself on the issues with the conventional bank-

ing industry, from Wall Street speculation to predatory lending practices,” says Teplitz.

People don’t need to sacrifice banking needs for their values. Reflect upon what’s important in a financial institution, and then shop around for the right fit. Credit unions and community development banks that lend in local and underserved communities are often great choices, says Teplitz. Green America’s Get a Better Bank database is a great starting point for responsible banking options.

Investing for the Future For longer-term investing, there are more vehicles available to responsibly assist investors toward their financial and social goals. While responsible investing once meant simply screening out “sin stocks”, like tobacco, guns and gambling, which were available only to investors able to make a large minimum deposit, today there are values-based funds to suit every cause and income level.

“Socially responsible investing has come a long way since it got off the ground in this country during the apartheid divestiture movement in the 1980s,” says Gary Matthews, an investment advisor and CEO of SRI Investing LLC, headquartered in New York City.

Countering some investor concerns about underperforming SRI funds, there is a growing body of evidence to show that

Fossil fuel-free portfolios are trending, Matthews notes—which Green America encourages. While acknowledging the ever-fluctuating price of oil, Matthews says he’s seen diversified portfolios that eliminate oil, coal and natural gas do better at times than those that include them.

A subset of SRI investments, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing focuses less on what sector a company is in than on how they conduct their business. The way companies treat their employees and respond to climate change are factors that may have a positive influence on financial performance.

Robo-advisors, a recent arrival in the SRI sector, are online investment services that automate money management.

Robo-advisor companies make it easier for people to invest and leverage technology to keep fees down, although they usually do not offer in-depth impact research on the companies within the financial products they offer, according to Amberjae Freeman, of the portfolio management team for Swell Investing LLC, an impact investment company in Santa Monica, California.

Swell evaluates thousands of companies to build diversified portfolios of businesses aligned with at least one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Like most SRI firms, Swell offers retirement IRAs (individual retirement accounts), as well as more liquid brokerage accounts, with a minimum initial deposit of $50.

While the array of investment options can be daunting, investors should aim for progress, rather than perfection, in their portfolios. As the money and impact in a portfolio grows, so does an investor’s confidence and knowledge.

April Thompson is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C. Connect at AprilWrites.com.

February 2019

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food as medicine

The Numbers of the Heart How We Can Improve Them

E

by Elizabeth McMillan

very doctor visit generally requires a blood pressure check.

Normal blood pressure is 120/80, but what do these number mean and why do we always have to get it checked?

Blood pressure is essentially a ratio of the systolic and diastolic pressures in the heart. Systolic pressure is the arterial pressure while the heart is contracting. Diastolic pressure is the arterial pressure while the heart is in relaxation and refilling with blood. When either of these numbers are too high, it means that the heart must work harder to pump blood. Blood pressure can be high because of stress, diet, plaque formation, weight, kidney disease, thyroid problems and genetics.

Another important number to pay attention to is your pulse pressure. The pulse pressure is the difference between the systolic pressure and the diastolic pressure. If the pulse pressure is above 40, it indicates an increase in stiffness in the arterial wall. This lack of elasticity within the arteries can be the result of arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. Arteriosclerosis decreases blood flow, which can lead to increased risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Traditionally, when either the pulse pressure or blood pressure is elevated, a doctor will prescribe a

24

Washington, D.C.

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

common blood pressure medication.

Common side effects of blood pressure medications include cough, altered gut function, dizziness, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, headache and nausea, along with nutrient depletion of B vitamins, magnesium, sodium, zinc, potassium and phosphorus.

However, from an integrative health approach, there are many natural ways to decrease blood pressure, therefore potentially decreasing your risk of heart attack and stroke. An integrative approach involves the incorporation of traditional Western medicine and natural medicine. With the aid of proper nutrition and natural, well-documented and researched herbal supplements, the numerical imbalances of heart health can be resolved.

Specifically, for high blood pressure, there are some well-researched natural therapies. These include olive bark extract to blocks the beta adrenergic activity, magnesium orotate as an electrolyte to aid the heart muscle, Coenzyme Q10 and activated vitamin B-6 as pyridoxal 5 phosphate. To help lower an increased pulse pressure, taking 2,000 milligrams of cornfree vitamin C per day helps maintain the elasticity in the arteries. With any supplement suggestion or research, it is best to

consult with someone trained in integrative medicine before beginning a regimen.

Another aspect to consider for heart health is a maintaining a well-balanced diet full of whole foods. A whole foods diet is based on plenty of fresh vegetables and limited commercial or prepackaged foods. Decreasing the amount of white sugar and adding more vegetables into your daily diet will improve your overall health. Some professionals also suggest salt-restricted diets as well. Also, drinking half of your body weight in ounces of clean spring water will also aid in improving your health. Some form of daily exercise is very beneficial, whether it be going to the gym or deciding to park farthest from the door at work or your favorite shopping plaza. Finally, for anyone dealing with high blood pressure, try to include deep breathing and de-stressing techniques in your daily life as well.

High blood pressure is something not to be ignored since it puts a direct strain on your heart. There is a reason it is called the “silent killer”—often a patient with heart disease may be asymptomatic. Be sure to seek medical care if there is a rise in blood pressure, whether it is from a traditional allopathic doctor or someone who is certified in integrative medicine. Get to know your numbers by checking them often at home in a safe, worry-free environment.

If your numbers are elevated, change what you can to help take control of your heart health by living a healthy lifestyle and seeking the help of a trained professional.

Elizabeth McMillan, CNS, LDN, is an integrative nutritionist at the Rose Wellness Center, in Oakton, VA. She specializes in digestive health, hormone balance, sugar control and inflammation. Check out their monthly seminars and ad on page 7.

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25

fuel—a blend of lean proteins, healthy fats—and in some cases, gluten-free, whole grain carbs.”

Eating foods high in healthy fat and protein can help minimize blood sugar fluctuations that can trigger symptoms of anxiety in kids. Probiotics and/or cultured and fermented foods can help gut health and promote equilibrium. Omega-3 fats from fish or vegetarian sources are also important additions.

Julia Kuznetsova/Shutterstock.com

healthy kids

Soothing Anxious Kids Natural Remedies Restore Calm

by Marlaina Donato

K

ids and teens have always had plenty to be stressed about, such as family finances, parental bickering, the birth of a sibling and other challenges on the home front. Then there are the age-old tensions of taking school exams and squabbles with friends and other classmates.

Yet with the proliferation of social media and cyber-bullying, kids face obstacles other generations did not, and chronic juvenile anxiety has become a pervasive mental health issue. However, there are a number of integrative approaches that can help heal youthful psyches. “I encourage kids and parents to focus on skills, versus pills,” says Lawrence Rosen, M.D., founder of The Whole Child Center, in Oradell, New Jersey. “There are several safe and cost-effective natural options for anxiety.”

Mindful Modalities Relaxing and engaging the imagination are necessary for healthy brain development and offsetting stress. Downtime in general and specifically limiting screen time is paramount. “Electronic devices can be very overstimulating and can cause or exacerbate anxiety,” says Kristi Kiel, ND, Ph.D., of Lake Superior Natural Health, in Ashland, Wisconsin. “There should be at least a one-toone balance of screen time and outside play.”

Mindful activities and creative outlets like art, music and dance in a no-pressure environment help kids get out of “fight-or26

Washington, D.C.

flight” mode. “Both parents and kids need to have go-to coping skills,” says Rosen.

“Meditation and yoga are safe and work very well.” Kids need to feel a sense of control over their bodies, he adds, and mindful breathing techniques can make a significant difference in how they handle stress.

So can a regular dose of the great outdoors. Exercise helps boost serotonin levels, which decreases anxiety. Timothy DiGiacomo, Psy.D., clinical director of the Mountain Valley Treatment Center, in Plainfield, New Hampshire, emphasizes the value of getting outside. “Connection to nature, calmness and present-moment awareness are all benefits.”

Sleep and Diet Triggers Before parents seek any treatment for their child’s anxiety, Kiel stresses the importance of looking at the basics. “When children don’t get enough sleep, their bodies don’t respond as well to stressful situations.

School-age children need 10 to12 hours of sleep per night, and teenagers should be getting nine to 10 hours.” Sensitivity to certain foods such as gluten or dairy is also something to consider, says Kiel.

Rosen concurs. “Artificial dyes and sweeteners can negatively impact mood and focus. More of an issue, though, is nutritional imbalance.” Skipping breakfast or eating mostly carbs can feed anxiety, he notes. “The brain relies on sustainable

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

Helpful Supplements Supplements dosed appropriately for children and teenagers are safe and can offer huge benefits. “Magnesium is good for relaxation, especially anxiety accompanied by muscle tension.

B-complex vitamins are also important because they are depleted by stress and help the body to handle stress,” says Kiel. Her herbal recommendations include skullcap, hops and milky oat as teas or glycerin-based extracts. “For teenagers, in addition to these three gentle herbs, I recommend kava kava, which can have a significant calming effect without drowsiness.”

Polyvagal Theory Research by Stephen Porges, Ph.D., a professor at the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill, addresses the importance of the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain through the face and thorax to the abdomen. His polyvagal theory suggests the interconnectedness of emotions, mind and body in both children and adults.

This nerve affects all major organs and plays a critical role in anxiety and inflammation. Mindful breathing and using the vocal chords, especially singing, stimulates the vagus nerve and nourishes well-being. Splashing the face with cold water during times of stress also tones this nerve and reduces acute anxiety.

DiGiacomo emphasizes that different natural therapies offer hope even for severe cases, advising, “It’s important to know that anxiety is highly treatable.”

Marlaina Donato is the author of Multidimensional Aromatherapy. Connect at MarlainaDonato.com.

leading edge

Helpful Homeopathy

H

omeopathic remedies are most effective and long-lasting when they are prescribed by an experienced practitioner that can find a constitutional remedy that matches the child’s symptoms. However, they can also be used effectively on a short-term basis.

n Aconite: for panicky feelings that seem to come out of nowhere, or for anxiety that begins after some type of trauma

n Arsenicum: for anxiety about health

or fear of germs

n Gelsemium: for stage fright and

both performance and anticipatory anxiety

n Phosphorus: for children that

worry about the safety of their parents

n Pulsatilla: for children that have a hard time being alone and need lots of reassurance and attention

For More Advice Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (abct.org) International OCD Foundation (iocdf.org) National Child Traumatic Stress Network (nctsn.org)

Food for Thought In 2015, The New York Times reported on the use of mind-altering medications for infants and toddlers. Approximately 83,000 prescriptions for Prozac were written for kids of ages 2 and younger in 2014, as well as 20,000 prescriptions for antipsychotics.

Listening To Your Heart Achieving Coherence Between the Heart and the Brain

I

by Dr. Isabel Sharkar

n his book, The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery said “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

The heart has its own intelligence, its own mind, and holds cellular memory. It is a conscious organ with its own endocrine system and nervous system. Our heart is the strongest electrical and magnetic field generator in the body. It creates 60 times the electrical fields and 5,000 times the magnetic fields than that of the brain. The heart is constantly interacting with our physical world, which also functions off electromagnetic fields.

Emotions in our heart are more powerful than thoughts in our mind.

When emotions and thoughts marry, they create feelings. Feelings directly affect our heart rhythm pattern. When we experience feelings that deplete us like anger, resentment, stress, anxiety, sadness and depression, the heart falls out of harmony. Positive emotions such as love, gratitude, appreciation, joy and forgiveness, create smooth, harmonious and coherent heart rhythm patterns. We achieve coherence between our heart and brain when our emotions and thoughts are balanced through the power of our heart.

According to HeartMath, more coherent heart rhythms lead to higher intelligence and improve focus, creativity, intuition and higher-level decisionmaking. The heart permeates every cell of

our body, binding the cells together and allowing them to work in a harmonious fashion. The electromagnetic waves produced by the heart transmit information into the external environment, interacting and resonating with others, influencing what happens in our world around us.

This field extends three to four feet outside of the body in a torus-like shape.

By creating the feeling in our heart as if the outcome we desire has already happened, the field around us recognizes and expresses it in the reality outside of us. Gratitude and appreciation, with a conviction behind the belief, create the optimal feeling and coherence between the heart and the brain.

Whenever you experience a negative feeling, use the following quick coherence technique. Start with your eyes closed and shift all of your attention from the thoughts in your head to the area of your heart. Focus on your breath by inhaling and exhaling through your heart. Maintaining your heart focus, continue heart focus breathing and emit a positive emotion by feeling gratitude and appreciation for all the good things in your life. Feel the love you have in your heart and focus on holding that space.

Dr. Isabel Sharkar, ND, is a licensed naturopathic physician and co-owner of the Indigo Integrative Health Clinic, in Georgetown. For more information, call 202-298-9131 or visit IndigoHealthClinic. com. See ad, page 36.

February 2019

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calendar of events

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2 Living Mindfully: How to Follow Through on Your Highest Priorities – 9am-1pm. With Melissa Corley Carter. Learn what mindfulness is, learn basic physiology and neuroscience of mindfulness and explore mindful prioritization and practical applications for your everyday life. Bring lunch or buy one here. $45. Rise Well-Being Center, 11130 Sunrise Valley Dr, Ste 150, Reston, VA. Register: RiseWellbeing.

Center/Special-Events. Info: 703-429-1509.

Kids Club/Teen Club – 1-3pm. In partnership with GW Cancer Center, Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center and Camp Kesem. Kids’ Club (ages 6-12) and Teen Club (ages 13-18) is for those with parents or grandparents undergoing cancer treatment. Together we explore tools for coping with cancer in the family. Dinner is served. Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

Mindfulness Painting Experience: Creating Art from the Soul – 2-4pm. With Jody Tompros. A powerful, intuitive practice to ignite creative self-expression. Improvisational painting process connects to your energy source. $49 includes all supplies. Rise Well-Being Center, 11130 Sunrise Valley Dr, Ste 150, Reston, VA. Register: RiseWellbeing.Center/ Special-Events. Info: 703-429-1509.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3 Yoga, Chakras, Crystals and Essential Oils – 1-3pm. With Sherri Piñeyro. If you have ever taken a class or had a healing session with Sherri, you may have observed her using essential oils and/or crystals. She uses them to help enhance your experience and allow you to be open and receptive to the healing properties they have to offer you. In this workshop, Sherri will teach you about the chakra system and how yoga, crystals and essential oils can be used to help improve your life. $28. Be Here Now Yoga, Healing and Wellness, 406 8th St, SE. Register: BeHereNowYogaDC.com/Workshops.

Natural Health Seminar – 2-3pm. Seminar on prevention and management of cardiovascular health. Presented by Dr. John Bohlmann, N.D. Free. Advantage Integrative Health and LivingWell Health Food Store, 12004 Cherry Hill Rd, Silver Spring, MD. Info: Advantage Integrative.com.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4 Viewing Stress Through the Lens of Ancient Chinese Medical Philosophy – 6:30-8pm. Jonathan Gilbert, L.Ac., NCCAOM. A cancer diagnosis creates a fundamental shift in our lives.

Jonathan Gilbert shares ancient Chinese medi-

cal strategies that enable us to cope more fully with the stress created by this change. Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

ary, 1030 Shannondale Rd, Harpers Ferry, WV. Info: AngelaBlueskies.com.

New Moon Circle – 7:30-8:30pm. With Erin Scherer. The new moon is a powerful time to go inward and bring forth your deepest intentions.

Discussion on the unique astrological energy and theme of each new moon, mediation, yoga, journaling. $16. Rise Well-Being Center, 11130 Sunrise Valley Dr, Ste 150, Reston, VA. Register: RiseWellbeing.Center/Special-Events.

Info: 703-429-1509.

Seasonal Soups and Stews – 10am-1pm. With Chef Laura Pole. Come and warm up in Chef Laura’s healing kitchen. Learn to prepare delicious and nourishing soups and stews using warming winter vegetables, beans and grains and enjoy eating your meal in each other’s warming company. $35 (suggested donation). Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5

Healing Through Your Akashic Records – 1-5pm.

Akashic Records are vibrational information of every soul’s journey in physical form. Resolve recurring patterns, heal challenges and empower choices through a combined individual/group healing. $45. Journey Space, 6110 Oberlin Ave, Cabin John, MD. Register: TheJourneySpace.com/ Class-Schedule. Info: BillSanda@gmail.com.

Mindfulness Painting Experience: Creating Art from the Soul – 6:30-8:30pm. With Jody Tompros.

See Feb 2 for details. $49 includes all supplies.

Rise Well-Being Center, 11130 Sunrise Valley Dr, Ste 150, Reston, VA. Register: RiseWellbeing.

Center/Special-Events. Info: 703-429-1509.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7 Pretty Ugly – 6:30-9pm. Not all products are safe and nontoxic. We’re putting known toxicants on our bodies for the sake of beauty and hygiene, but don’t have to. $25 (suggested donation). Elements Fitness and Wellness Center, 2233 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 217, NW. Register: FrontDesk@ElementsCenter.com. Info: 202-333-5252.

The S Word: Sex After Cancer – 6:30-8pm.

With Jenna Perkins, WHNP-BC. Join us for a discussion to explore ways that a cancer diagnosis can affect your sex life. Learn about medication and lifestyle management options that can help prevent and treat common conditions.

Partners are welcome. Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-4838600 or SmithCenter.org.

special event Online Webinar: Why Isn’t My Thyroid Hormone Working Anymore?

Dr Satcher will discuss with participants, common hormonal issues and complaints that may indicate that further workup is indicated. Stop suffering in silence, get the help you deserve to feel better.

Thursday, February 7 • 7-8pm

Regenasyst Wellness and Health Online Webinar Register: Info@TreatYourselfToHealth.com Info: 703-454-9326

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8 Andean Despacho Ceremony, Sacred Fire and Potluck – 6-9:30pm. A Despacho is a sacred offering, created in the form of a nature mandala and prayer bundle. Objects placed within the mandala are symbolic offerings, carrying the prayers of those gathered for the ceremony, calling for the release of heavy energies, welcoming blessings and benevolent forces and honoring the balance of ayni, reciprocity, the sacred exchange of giving and receiving. $20 (suggested contribution). Rumi Wasi Sanctu-

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9

Community Shamanic Journey in Alexandria – 2:30-4:30pm. Explore the shamanic practice of journeying to the rhythms of the drum and learn to make contact with your own intuition, as well as with guides, totem spirits and ancestors. $3035. Heart Centered Healing, 3345 Duke St, Alexandria, VA. Info: AngelaBlueskies.com.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12 Painting Outside the Lines – 6-7:30pm. With Kiersten Gallagher. For those who can’t make the daytime class or can’t get enough creativity time, join us for a night of acrylic painting. We will play with color and explore a fun way to express ourselves. $15 (suggested donation). Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15 Inviting Love Into Your Life: A Workshop for Attracting the Relationship You Want – 7-9pm.

With Mary Kearns and Deborah Carusone. In this interactive workshop, we’ll talk about laying the groundwork for attracting love into your life, then journey through guided visualization, journaling and more. $35 for Rise members and $40 for nonmembers. Your Stellar Self, Rise Wellbeing Center, 11130 Sunrise Valley Dr, Ste 150, Reston, VA. Register: RiseWellbeing.Center/Special-Events.

Info: Info@YourStellarSelf.com.

Gong Medicine Journey – 7:30-9pm. with Angela Blueskies. Through the intense vibrations of the sound, the body and mind are able to relax and surrender to the healing energies of the Gong and as the waves of sound wash over participants, a deep energetic clearing occurs, leaving participants feeling balanced, peaceful and light. $25-$30. East Meets West Yoga, 8230 Old Courthouse Rd, Ste 400, Vienna, VA. Info: AngelaBlueskies.com.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16 Intro to Sound for Personal Use – 1-3:30pm.

With Stephanye Auryra Courtney. What is sound healing and how does it balance the body? Chakra correlation to specific tones. Many instruments (including voice) will be taught/experienced as healing and available for sale. $45. Rise WellBeing Center, 11130 Sunrise Valley Dr, Ste 150, Reston, VA. Register: RiseWellbeing.Center/ Special-Events. Info: 703-429-1509.

February 2019

29

Calendar A wonderful resource for filling your workshops, seminars and other events.

Valentine’s Thai Yoga Date Night – 3:306pm. With Rhiannon Morsberger. A relaxing Thai Yoga Therapy date night just in time for Valentine’s Day. Participants will be guided through two, 60-minute flowing massage sequences—one to give and one to receive. Learn basic techniques to use at home, or just enjoy with a date and relax for an evening. $28/person. Be Here Now Yoga, Healing and Wellness, 406 8th St, SE. Register: BeHereNowYogaDC. com/Workshops.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17 Crow Clinic – 1-2pm. With Simone Mishler.

Crow pose, or kakasana, is a great introductory arm balance that strengthens the shoulders, arms, wrists and hands, as well as the core muscles. In this one-hour clinic we will break down the pose, show variations and modifications and demonstrate how you can build up to this asana. Yogis of all levels are welcome. $20. Be Here Now Yoga, Healing and Wellness, 406 8th St, SE. Register: BeHere NowYogaDC.com/Workshops.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19 Essential Oils Class: Back to Basics – 7-10pm.

This is a great, low-key event to be introduced to essential oils or to continue to learn the endless amazing benefits of essential oils. Everyone attending will be entered in a drawing for a free 15-ml bottle of Citronella essential oil. Led by Pamela Snyder. Free. RSVP appreciated as space is limited. Neck, Back & Beyond, 10195 Main St, Ste D, Fairfax, VA. RSVP: NeckBackAndBeyond. com/Eventsa.shtml#Oils. Info: 703-865-5690.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21

Two styles available: n Calendar of Dated Events:

Designed for events on a specific date of the month.

n Calendar of Ongoing Events:

Designed for recurring events that fall on the same day each week.

Free Webinar: An Integrative Approach to Thyroid Conditions – 7-7:45pm. About 20 million Americans suffer from some kind of thyroid disease, according to the American Thyroid Association. Moreover, a large number of them are unaware of their thyroid disorder. To learn more about this condition and to discover the ways that it can be treated in from an integrative approach, join Natural Awakenings and Dr. Alex Leon for a live webinar. Free. Online. Info: IntegrativeApproachToThyroid.eventbrite.com.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Gong Medicine Journey – 2-4pm. with Angela Blueskies. See Feb 15 for description. $25-$30. Hagerstown Holistic Wellness, 28 S Potomac St, 2R, Hagerstown, MD. Info: Angela Blueskies.com.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 Contact us for guidelines so we can assist you through the process.

We’re here to help!

202-505-4835 NaturalAwakeningsDC.com 30

Washington, D.C.

Movie Night – 7-10pm. (New night). The Widowmaker. More than 700,000 Americans die of heart disease each year, yet many patients are denied livesaving scans. This documentary will change the way you think about heart disease, and it just might save your life. Practitioners attending for after-film discussion. Lite fare. $5 donation Neck, Back & Beyond, 10560 Main Street, Ste D, Fairfax. RSVP: 703-8655690 or NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 Writing for Healing – 6-8pm. With Elise Wiarda.

Experience the powerful mysterious and often surprising gifts that merge as you listen to, write,

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

and share poetry. Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org. .

plan ahead FRIDAY, MARCH 1 Sound Medicine Journey – 7:30-9pm. With Angela Blueskies. Let go of stress and relax while you are bathed in the healing vibrations of singing bowls, flute, chimes, sounds of nature and inspirational songs. $25-$35. Sky House Yoga, 1111 Spring St, Silver Spring, MD. Info: Angela Blueskies.com.

special event Just Breathe: An Immersion of Emotional Mastery

Experience a revolutionary approach to selfimprovement and self-healing. A breath session dedicated to personal empowerment, right action and emotional management with Dan Brulé, master Breathworker and author of Just Breathe.

Join him for a book signing and tea ceremony, experiential breath workshops on relationships, peak performance and success or healers and helpers.

Also offered: a group healing circle and the three fundamentals course. $799 for the entire week immersion or sessions can be purchased a á la carte.

March 4 to 10

The Breath of Wellness Studio 815 Ritchie Hwy, Ste. 218, Severna Park, MD For tickets and full schedule, visit DanBrule.eventbrite.com

SUNDAY, APRIL 14 Discover Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley – 7:30am-2pm. Through April 23. Travel to this enchanted land and be inspired by the deep nature, archaeology, Inca culture, and twice daily yoga and meditation practices. Our journey will culminate with a visit to one of the seven modern wonders of the world, Machu Picchu. $3,495.

International Yoga, Sacred Valley, Peru. Register: InternationalYoga.com/Retreats/Yoga-Culture-inPeru-Mimi-Rieger-Hawah-Kasat.

MARCH

Coming Next Month

Nutrition Upgrades plus: Managing Allergies

ongoing events NOTE: All Calendar events must be received via email by the 10th of the month and adhere to our guidelines. Email CalendarNADC@gmail.com for guidelines and to submit entries. No phone calls or faxes, please.

sunday Sunday Morning Meditation Class – 10:30am12:30pm. With Hugh Byrne. An oasis in a busy week, including 30-minute guided meditations, a 10-minute walking meditation and 30-minute discussion. A mini-retreat. Drop-ins welcome. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown. Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

Mindfulness in Recovery – 6:30-8pm. This group is open to new meditators and seasoned practitioners alike with a common interest in the intersection of Buddhist teachings and 12 Step recovery. All 12 Steppers are welcome and we ask that participants have at least 90 days of continuous recovery and a working relationship with a home 12 Step recovery group be established before attending your first meeting. This group is not a replacement for our individual 12 Step programs. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown. Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

monday

Pet Loss Support Group – 6:30-7:30pm. 1st Tues. This group, facilitated by Dr. Karen Randall (DVM), is a safe place to share your grief with others who have also lost a beloved pet and or service animal. It’s a place to share memories, stories and to learn how to work through grief. Attendees are encouraged to bring a photo or a memento of their fuzzy companions to share. The Big Bad Woof, 6960 Maple St, NW. RSVP: Info@Solacevs.com.

Info: 202-291-2404 or TheBigBadWoof.com.

Back School – 7pm. 2nd Tues. With Dr. Tomson.

Learn how to take care of your back. Join us for a short talk and demo on easy ways to improve back health. Gentle exercises, dress comfortably. $5. Neck, Back & Beyond, 10195 Main St, Ste D, Fairfax, VA. RSVP: 703-865-5690 or NeckBack andBeyond@gmail.com.

wednesday Early Morning Meditation – 7:30-8:15am. See Mon for details. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown.

Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

SEEKING DC LICENSED ACUPUNCTURIST Join us to be part of an HRSA/NIH grant awarded to Bread for the City’s free medical clinic. This is on behalf of Access to Integrative Medicine Health Institute (AIM), the nonprofit organization that is administering the massage and acupuncture parts of the project.

• Be part of a team of integrative medical professionals and primary care physicians • Offer acupuncture to Medicaid clients with chronic pain, build relationships with recruited patients • See acupuncture patients as scheduled, either concurrently or individually, and complete basic SOAP note in the electronic health record system • Once or twice a month, now through September • Fridays 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., $192/week, paid monthly • Acupuncture room, needles and other associated supplies provided This is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in community involvement. Must be D.C. licensed and have standard malpractice/ liability coverage.

Please direct any questions to Ankita Jain at AnkitaJain@gwcim.com.

thursday

Early Morning Meditation – 7:30-8:15am. A beautiful way to start your day, with a 30-minute meditation and optional 15-minute discussion following.

Drop-ins welcome. A project of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW). The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown. Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

Early Morning Meditation – 7:30-8:15am. See Mon for details. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown.

Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

tuesday

friday

Early Morning Meditation – 7:30-8:15am. See Mon for details. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown.

Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

Early Morning Meditation – 7:30-8:15am. See Mon for details. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown.

Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

Stop worrying about what you have to lose and start focusing on what you have to gain. ~Unknown

February 2019

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community resource guide

CONSULTING

Connecting you to the leaders in natural health care and green living in our community. To find out how you can be included in the Community Resource Guide, email Stephen@NaturalAwakeningsDC.com to request our media kit.

ACUPUNCTURE NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER

BEDROOM FURNITURE SAVVY REST NATURAL BEDROOM

10195 Main St, Ste D, Fairfax, VA 703-865-5690 • NeckBackAndBeyond.com NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com Neck Back & Beyond in Fairfax, VA, offers chiropractic and naturopathic care, acupuncture, massage,reflexology, lymphatic drainage and more. See ad, page 11.

VIRGINIA MITCHELL, L.AC

258 Maple Ave East, Vienna, VA and 12242 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 703-255-7040 (VA) or 301-770-7040 (MD) Maddie@SavvyRest.com • SRNB.com Savvy Rest Natural Bedroom is the premier retailer of Savvy Rest organic mattresses and bedding, a Virginia manufacturer andretailer of fine bedroom furniture.

See ad, page 3.

CANCER SUPPORT

Rose Wellness Center 2944 Hunter Mill Rd, Ste 101, Oakton, VA 571-529-6699 • Info@RoseWellness.com RoseWellness.com

NATIONAL INTEGRATED HEALTH ASSOCIATES

Virginia Mitchell is board certified in acupuncture by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and has been helping patients feel better for over 20 years. Virginia also focuses on acupressure, cupping, Gua Sha and zero balancing. Acupuncture is one of the most powerful tools used in alternative medicine. Used for its many health benefits, acupuncture therapy is considered a safe and effective treatment for a variety of health conditions. She helps patients of all ages (minimum age 7). Let Virginia ease your suffering and feel your best. See ad, page 7.

If you are diagnosed with cancer, there are supportive treatments which may enhance the body’s ability to fight cancer and help the traditional cancer treatments work more effectively.

Integrative, holistic medicine combines traditional and adjunctive complementary treatments to restore the patient to a better state of health and improve the quality of life. Whereas traditional medicine will focus on treating the tumor, the holistic approach is to focus on the patient and outcome. See ad, page 16.

AYURVEDA RANJANA CHAWLA AYURVEDA & ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE Dr. Ranjana Chawla Vienna, VA 571-429-2716 • RanjanaChawla.com

Ranjana Chawla is an Ayurvedic Doctor. She uses ayur vedic science to diagnose diseases and treat the underlying root cause of the sickness—not just managing the disease symptoms. Her entire treatment is customized to patient’s own unique body-mind constitution. She uses a multitude of healing modalities including herbal medicine, diet, lifestyle recommendations, aromas, meditation and yoga.

5225 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 402, NW 202-237-7000 • NIHADC.com

CHIROPRACTOR NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER DR. ALLAN TOMSON, DC

10195 Main St, Ste D, Fairfax, VA 703-865-5690 • NeckBackAndBeyond.com NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com Dr. Allan Tomson, DC, director of Neck Back & Beyond Healing Arts in Fairfax, VA, with a satellite office in Manassas, VA. He is not your ordinary chiropractor with skills and experience in functional medicine, visceral manipulation, CranioSacral Therapy and Cayce protocols. See ad, page 11.

CLEANING MAID BRIGADE CAPITAL REGION

4813-A Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria, VA 800-515-6243 • MaidBrigade.com Marketing@Maid-Brigade.com We are Green Clean Certified, so you can have peace of mind that you r home w i l l b e healthier for you, your pets and the environment.

See ad, page 25.

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Washington, D.C.

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

JESSICA CLAIRE HANE CONSULTING 571-358-8645 Jessica@MindfulHealthyLife.com JessicaClaireHaney.com

Writing, editing, marketing/ digital media support and strategy consulting for holistic-minded businesses and organizations from experienced local writer, blogger and event organizer Jessica Claire Haney.

CORPORATE WELLNESS MARIANNE SCIPPA

Neck Back & Beyond Wellness Center 10195 Main St, Ste D, Fairfax, VA 703-865-5690 • NeckBackAndBeyond.com ScippaAssociates.com We design interactive sessions for you and your staff to better understand the physical, mental and emotional costs of many common work management habits. Individual or team coaching for ongoing leadership, management and health development support to create the peak performance habits you need. See ad, page 11.

ENERGY THERAPIES RISE WELL-BEING CENTER

11130 Sunrise Valley Dr., Ste 150, Reston, VA 703-429-1509 • RiseWellBeing.com Info@RiseWellBeing.Center Looking for more peace and well-being in your life? Come nurture yourself and experience the inherent healing of nature.

Rise offers a relaxing indoor garden area, Mindful Movement, yoga, meditation and wellness classes, one-on-one sessions including reiki, and Healing Touch to give you the personalized attention you desire. Discover how good you can feel!

ESSENTIAL OILS PAM SNYDER

Neck Back & Beyond Wellness Center 10195 Main St, Ste D, Fairfax, VA NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com 703-865-5690 • NeckBackAndBeyond.com Let us help you integrate the healing power of essential oils into your home and personal care routines. We offer free ongoing classes each month. Individual and group consultations are available by appointment. See ad, page 11.

HEALTH COACHING ​CHI HEALTH CARE

15001 Shady Grove Rd, Ste.200, Rockville, MD • 301-664-6464 CHIHealthCare.org • FB /healthcare.CHI C H I H e a l t h C a r e ’s integrative primar y care model includes a staff of collaborative practitioners.

Services include family medicine, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, nutrition, yoga therapy, therapeutic massage, health coaching and programming. See ad, page 11.

NATIONAL INTEGRATED HEALTH ASSOCIATES 5225 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 402, NW 202-237-7000 NICADC.com/Health-Programs/ Rejuvenation-Detoxification.html

Rejuvenation & Detoxification program provides guidance to restore balance and health with lifestyle tips on diet, hydration, digestion and internal cleansing and detoxification with integrative at-home and spa strategies. See ad, page 16.

HOLISTIC NUTRITION ELIZABETH MCMILLAN, MS, CNS Rose Wellness Center 571-529-6699 • RoseWellness.com

Elizabeth McMillan is a boardcertified clinical nutritionist specializing in functional nutrition.

She believes in finding the root cause of a liments and cre at ing a personalized dietary plan to restore optimal wellness. Elizabeth specializes in diabetes, food sensitivities, gastrointestinal health, autoimmunity and metabolic syndrome issues. Call today to see how she can help. See ad, page 7.

HOLISTIC PARENTING HOLISTIC MOMS NETWORK HolisticMoms.org

Holistic Moms Network is a national organization supporting natural-minded parents. Local chapters in Arlington/Alexandria, Burke, Fairfax, Gainesville and Montgomery County hold monthly meetings and more.

MINDFUL HEALTHY LIFE571-3588645 • MindfulHealthyLife.com Jessica@MindfulHealthyLife.com Online lifestyle magazine for natural-minded parents with a blog, calendar, directory and eBook filled with resources for holistic parenting and family wellness in metro D.C.

HOMEOPATHY

ALEX LEON, MD

MICHAEL LISS

Integrative Family Physician Rose Wellness Center 2944 Hunter Mill Rd, Ste 101, Oakton, VA 571-529-6699 • RoseWellness.com

Michael Liss is a Doctor of Classical Homeopathy and an integrative health practitioner. He specializes in using homeopathy to help you find relief from various emotional and physical health problems including addictions, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, allergies, asthma, childhood ailments, migraines, hair and skin disorders, immune deficiencies and sinus disorders. See ad, page 7.

Dr. Alex Leon is a board-certified family physician specializing in integrative functional medicine to help restore and maintain your wellbeing. He has a special interest in men’s health care, chronic pain syndromes including mus c u loskelet a l problems, fibromyalgia, bioidentical hormone replacement for men and women, chronic conditions including hypothyroidism, gastrointestinal disorders and allergic disorders. He treats kids too. See ad, page 7.

Rose Wellness Center 571-529-6699 • RoseWellness.com

HYPNOSIS FREE YOURSELF HYPNOSIS Michelle DeStefano 301-744-0200 • FreeYourselfHypnosis.com FreeYourselfHypnosis@gmail.com Life strategies and techniques to rewrite the software of your mind and change the printout of your life ­— become stress-free, stop smoking, manage pain, or lose weight. We work with PSTD, birthing, peak performance, PSYCH-K, Graphology, Meditation and Qigong. See ad, page 16.

INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE SUSHMA HIRANI, MD

Rose Wellness Center 2944 Hunter Mill Rd, Ste 101, Oakton, VA Info@RoseWellness.com RoseWellness.com • 571-529-6699 Dr. Sushma Hirani uses an integrative approach to wellness, utilizing conventional medicine and evidence-based complementary therapies. She strives to treat the whole person and emphasiz es nut r it ion , preventive care and lifestyle changes. Dr. Hirani specializes in the treatment of chronic issues such as hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, menopause and women’s health issues.

Patients love her compassionate care and personalized attention. See ad, page 7.

INDIGO INTEGRATIVE HEALTH CLINIC 1010 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 660, DC 202-298-9131 • IndigoHealthClinic.com

The body has an innate ability to heal itself and achieve balance from everyday stressors through non-toxic, non-aggressive and highly effective modalities. See ad, page 36.

NATIONAL INTEGRATED HEALTH ASSOCIATES 5225 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 402, NW 202-237-7000 • NIHADC.com

The professional health team at NIHA is comprised of holistic medical physicians, biological dentists, naturopaths, a chiropractor and health professionals highly skilled in acupuncture, nutrition and other healing therapies. See ad, page 16.

ROSE WELLNESS CENTER

2944 Hunter Mill Rd, Ste 101, Oakton, VA 571-529-6699 • RoseWellness.com Info@RoseWellness.com

Suffering from chronic pain, fatigue, allergies, stress?

Whatever your health challenges, Rose Wellness Center can help you get on the path to real wellness. We help identify hormone, metabolic, digestive, nutritional and food sensitivity issues to get to the root cause of your health problems, where true healing begins. Our services include digestive and women’s health programs, hormone balancing, acupuncture, Lyme treatment, homeopathy and thyroid management. See ad, page 7.

MEDITATION RISE WELL-BEING CENTER

11130 Sunrise Valley Dr., Ste 150, Reston, VA 703-429-1509 • RiseWellBeing.com Info@RiseWellBeing.Center Looking for more peace and well-being in your life? Come nurture yourself and experience the inherent healing of nature.

Rise offers a relaxing indoor garden area, Mindful Movement, yoga, meditation and wellness classes, oneon-one sessions including reiki, and Healing Touch to give you the personalized attention you desire. Discover how good you can feel!

February 2019

33

NATURAL LIVING RESOURCE MINDFUL HEALTHY LIFE OF METRO DC Jessica@MindfulHealthyLife.com MindfulHealthyLife.com • 571-358-8645

Blog, calendar and directory for natural living, holistic parenting and family wellness.

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE ​CHI HEALTH CARE

15001 Shady Grove Rd, Ste 200, Rockville, MD • 301-664-6464 CHIHealthCare.org • FB /healthcare.CHI CHI Health Care’s integrative primary care model includes a staff of collaborative practitioners. Services include family medicine, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, nutrition, yoga therapy, therapeutic massage, health coaching and programming. See ad, page 11.

PHYSICAL THERAPY NURTURED BONES

Great Falls, VA 703-738-4230 • NurturedBones.com Nurtured Bones provides a holistic approach to addressing osteoporosis and bone loss. Our BONES method will help you build strong, healthy bones for life. See ad, page 31.

POLARITY THERAPY NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER

Janice M Johnson 10195 Main St, Ste D, Fairfax, VA NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com NeckBackAndBeyond.com • 703-865-5690 Allow me to join you in creating your own individualized treatment program, which provides a safe and supportive experience for your healing process, with Polarity Therapy and Swiss Bionic Solutions MRS 2000 (Magnetic Resonance Stimulation) pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF). See ad, page 11.

NUTRITION ​CHI HEALTH CARE

15001 Shady Grove Rd, Ste 200, Rockville, MD • 301-664-6464 CHIHealthCare.org • FB /healthcare.CHI CHI Health Care’s integrative primary care model includes a staff of collaborative practitioners. Services include family medicine, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, nutrition, yoga therapy, therapeutic massage, health coaching and programming. See ad, page 11.

ORGANIC PRODUCE - CSA SPIRAL PATH FARM

717-789-4433 • Csa@SpiralPathFarm.com SpiralPathFarm.com 100% USDA-certified organic all grown at our farm in southcentral Pennsylvania. Join for our weekly produce deliveries t h rou g h a C om mu n it y Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership. See ad, page 7.

PRIMARY CARE ​CHI HEALTH CARE

15001 Shady Grove Rd, Ste 200, Rockville, MD • 301-664-6464 CHIHealthCare.org • FB /healthcare.CHI CHI Health Care’s integrative primary care model includes a staff of collaborative practitioners. Services include family medicine, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, nutrition, yoga therapy, therapeutic massage, health coaching and programming. See ad, page 11.

SHIATSU THERAPIST NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER

Nathalie Depastas 10195 Main St, Ste D, Fairfax, VA 703-865-5690 • NeckBackAndBeyond.com NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com Nathalie Depastas is a highly skilled acupuncturist and Shiatsu therapist with 30 years of experience in Chinese medicine, including medical qigong. See ad, page 11.

OSTEOPOROSIS SUPPORT NURTURED BONES

Great Falls, VA 703-738-4230 • NurturedBones.com Nurtured Bones provides a holistic approach to addressing osteoporosis and bone loss. Our BONES method will help you build strong, healthy bones for life. See ad, page 31.

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Washington, D.C.

STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION

SHIATSU THERAPIST NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER

10195 Main St, Ste D, Fairfax, VA 703-865-5690 • NeckBackAndBeyond.com NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com Neck Back & Beyond in Fairfax, VA, offers chiropractic and naturopathic care, acupuncture, massage,reflexology, lymphatic drainage and more. See ad, page 11.

ROSE WELLNESS CENTER

2944 Hunter Mill Rd, Ste 101, Oakton, VA 571-529-6699 • RoseWellness.com Rose Wellness Center for Integrative Medicine offers Thermography or Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI). This noninvasive diagnostic technique creates thermal images that are analyzed for abnormalities and early signs of disease.

Thermal imaging is painless, non-invasive, does not involve any compression and emits no radiation.

Call today to setup your scan. See ad, page 7.

YOGA RISE WELL-BEING CENTER

11130 Sunrise Valley Dr., Ste 150, Reston, VA 703-429-1509 • RiseWellBeing.com Info@RiseWellBeing.Center Looking for more peace and well-being in your life? Come nurture yourself and experience the inherent healing of nature.

Rise offers a relaxing indoor garden area, Mindful Movement, yoga, meditation and wellness classes, oneon-one sessions including reiki, and Healing Touch to give you the personalized attention you desire. Discover how good you can feel!

YOGA THERAPY ​CHI HEALTH CARE

15001 Shady Grove Rd, Ste 200, Rockville, MD • 301-664-6464 CHIHealthCare.org • FB /healthcare.CHI CHI Health Care’s integrative primary care model includes a staff of collaborative practitioners. Services include family medicine, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, nutrition, yoga therapy, therapeutic massage, health coaching and programming. See ad, page 11.

MaxAlignment Bodywork Max Rosenberg, L.M.T. • 240-893-6209 Chevy Chase, DC • MaxAlignmentDC.com

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

Structural Integration is a specialized fascial manipulation technique aimed toward realigning each segment of the body. It is an effective treatment for any form of chronic pain, misalignment, stubborn injury or trauma.

Let no one who loves be unhappy, even love unreturned has its rainbow. ~James M. Barrie

Copper device stops a cold naturally last holidays,” she said. “The kids had colds going around, but not me.”

Some users say it also helps with sinuses. Attorney Donna Blight had a 2-day sinus headache. When her CopperZap arrived, she tried it. “I am shocked!” she said. “My head cleared, no more headache, no more congestion.”

Some say copper stops nighttime stuffiness if used just before bed. One man said, “Best sleep I’ve had in years.”

Copper may even stop flu if used earNew research: Copper stops colds if used early. ly and for several days. Lab technicians ew research shows you can went away completely.” It worked again placed 25 million live flu viruses on a stop a cold in its tracks if you CopperZap. No viruses were found alive every time he felt a cold coming on and take one simple step with a soon after. he hasn’t had a cold since. new device when you first feel a cold People have used it on cold sores He asked relatives and friends to try coming on. and say it can completely prevent ugly it. They said it worked for them, too, so Colds start when cold viruses get in outbreaks. You can also rub it gently he patented CopperZap™ and put it on your nose. Viruses multiply fast. If you on wounds, cuts, or lesions to combat the market. don’t stop them early, they spread in infections.

Soon hundreds of people had tried it your airways and cause misery.

The handle is curved and finely texand given feedback. Nearly 100% said But scientists have found a quick tured to improve the copper stops way to kill a virus. Touch it with copper. colds if used withcontact. It kills in 3 hours after the Researchers at labs and universities germs picked up first sign. Even up agree, copper is “antimicrobial.” It kills on fingers and to 2 days, if they microbes, such as viruses and bacteria, hands to protect still get the cold it just by touch. you and your That’s why ancient Greeks and Egyp- is milder and they family. tians used copper to purify water and feel better.

Copper even heal wounds. They didn’t know about Users wrote kills deadly germs Sinus trouble, stuffiness, cold sores. that have become viruses and bacteria, but now we do. things like, “It Scientists say the high conductance stopped my cold right away,” and “Is it resistant to antibiotics. If you are near of copper disrupts the electrical balsupposed to work that fast?” sick people, a moment of handling it ance in a microbe cell, destroying it in Pat McAllister, age 70, received one may keep serious infection away. It may seconds. as a gift and called it “one of the best even save a life.

Tests by the Environmental Protecpresents ever. This little jewel really The EPA says copper still works tion Agency (EPA) show germs die fast works.” Now thousands of users have even when tarnished. It kills hundreds of on copper. Some hospitals tried copper stopped getting colds. different disease germs so it can prevent for surfaces like faucets and doorknobs.

People often use CopperZap preserious or even fatal illness. ventively. Frequent flier Karen Gauci This cut the spread of MRSA and other CopperZap is made in the U.S. of used to get colds after crowded flights. illnesses by over half, and saved lives. pure copper. It has a 90-day full money Though skeptical, she tried it several The strong scientific evidence gave back guarantee when used as directed times a day on travel days for 2 months. inventor Doug Cornell an idea. When to stop a cold. It is $69.95. Get $10 off “Sixteen flights and not a sniffle!” he felt a cold coming on he fashioned each CopperZap with code NATA8. a smooth copper probe and rubbed it Businesswoman Rosaleen says when Go to www.CopperZap.com or call gently in his nose for 60 seconds. people are sick around her she uses Cop- toll-free 1-888-411-6114.

“It worked!” he exclaimed. “The cold perZap morning and night. “It saved me Buy once, use forever.

N

ADVERTORIAL

February 2019

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Washington D.C.'s Finest

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Chronic Fatigue. We have accurate tests to determine your adrenal and hormone levels, and possible autoimmune conditions. We investigate why you are feeling exhausted and stressed and treat appropriately.

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Food Sensitivities. Each person has a unique profile as to which foods can either hurt or heal the body. We help you define which foods are causing you chronic inflammation versus those that build your immune system.

Detoxification. Every day you are exposed to chemicals that can make you feel drained, moody and unable to concentrate. With our metabolic Indigo Detox Program, you could feel reenergized in just 7-28 days.

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202-298-9131

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info@IndigoHealthClinic.com Learn more at IndigoHealthClinic.com Washington, D.C.

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

SNEJANA SHARKAR, RND, FNP, ACNP

ISABEL SHARKAR, NMD

INDIGO INTEGRATIVE HEALTH CLINIC 1010 Wisconsin Ave. NW Suite #660 Washington, D.C. 20007

Our goal is to lead you back to thriving health WHAT OUR PATIENTS ARE SAYING: “This was a great experience with very personal and knowledgeable staff and doctor. I will definitely be returning for a follow up and recommend this clinic to anyone interested in getting to the bottom of their health issues. It was great to get looked at from a holistic approach rather then just masking the symptoms. “ ~RK “I’ve been to many doctors in my life and finally, Dr. Sharkar has actually helped me to improve my health. It has been the best investment I’ve ever made and I’m very happy to have such a great and caring doctor. The best part is that everything is natural and it actually works. “ ~ ES