body. mind. spirit. A Times Union Publication
march 2014
PTSD
The syndrome anyone can get
Heavy Lifting
The smart way to lift weights
Shaking It Up
with protein shakes
Plus…
• The download on kombucha • What to do about hair loss • Great books for a gloomy day
s Don’t mis our FREE e f HealthyLi n seminar o! March 6 48 See page s il for deta
bite-sized lessons Wholesome muffins Want to maintain your weight, have more energy, and lower your cholesterol? Bump up your fiber intake with whole grains. Start your morning with this delicious oatmeal muffin. Packed with fresh fruit, fiber, whole grains and good-for-you fats, it’s yummy and portable, too.
Craving more? Join your Hannaford dietitians for FREE nutrition classes and in-store demos. Go to hannaford.com/dietitians for upcoming FREE events and a monthly schedule.
Jean Bottillo-Faulisi, MS, RD Niskayuna Hannaford 3333 Consaul Rd.
Banana, Walnut & Date Muffins
Jean is available: Mondays, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Select Fridays, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Select Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Makes 12 muffins Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 2 cups whole wheat flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup Kashi® Heart to Heart® Oatmeal 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. McCormick® Ground Cinnamon 1 1/4 cups ripe Chiquita® Bananas, mashed (about 3) 2 eggs 3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt 1/3 cup I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® Deliciously™ Simple Spread 1 tsp. McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts 3/4 cup chopped pitted dates
Marianne Romano, MPA, RD, CDN Colonie Hannaford 96 Wolf Rd.
Marianne is available: Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Patty Wukitsch, MS, RD, CDN
Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line muffin pan with paper muffin liners; set aside.
Delmar Hannaford 180 Delaware Ave.
2. Combine flour, sugar, oats, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in large bowl; set aside.
Patty is available: Mondays & Fridays 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Select Saturdays 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
3. Combine bananas, eggs, yogurt, spread and vanilla in medium bowl. Stir into flour mixture just until combined. Stir in walnuts and dates. 4. Spoon batter into prepared pan, mounding slightly. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack; remove from pan and cool completely. Nutrition Facts, approximate amount per muffin: Calories 260, Calories from Fat 80, Total Fat 9 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Trans Fat 0 g, Cholesterol 30 mg, Sodium 160 mg, Total Carbs 43 g, Dietary Fiber 4 g, Sugars 22 g, Protein 6 g, Vitamin A 8%, Vitamin C 4%, Calcium 6%, Iron 8% Recipe courtesy of Unilever.
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We will soon announce the registered dietitian for our Albany store. Albany Hannaford 900 Central Ave.
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TimesUnion.com Paul Block, Executive Producer HealthyLife is published ten times per year. If you are interested in receiving home delivery of HealthyLife magazine, please call (518) 454-5768 or e-mail magcirculation@timesunion.com. For advertising information, please call (518) 454-5358. HealthyLife is published by Capital Newspapers and Times Union 645 Albany Shaker Road, Albany, NY 12212 518.454.5694 The entire contents of this magazine are copyright 2014 by Capital Newspapers. No portion may be reproduced in any means without written permission of the publisher. Capital Newspapers is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation.
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32
50
body
mind
every issue
32 Weight Training
61 Ask Emma
14 talk back
Try going heavier
36 It’s Alive
Making your own kombucha
40 Mostly Vegetarian
Delicious ways to add vegetables to your meal plan
Are we losing our capacity to bond?
62 Dealing with Trauma
spirit
50 When Bald Isn’t Beautiful
69 My Word
54 Tick, Tock
70 Book Club!
How to deal with hair loss
Should you freeze your eggs?
18 editor’s note
PTSD affects more than just victims of war
44 Shaking it Up
The deal on protein shakes
16 on the web
Forgiving yourself
20 fit & fab 22 news & views 28 did you know? 48 ask the doc
Dealing with obesity
74 cover model Q&A
Up close with Christy Venter
Great new reads Hair and makeup by Kimberley’s A Day Spa, Latham, (518) 785-5868. Select clothing available at Boscov’s Clifton Park, Clifton Park Center, (518) 348-0800. On the cover: Blouse by Notations, sweater by Premise, scarf by Ashley Cooper. At right: shirt by Premise, skirt by Nine West. Photos taken by Joann Hoose at The National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs.
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healthylife
march ’14
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talk back
The story behind the story from our contributors PTSD
The Fat-Burning-Zone Myth
Anna Zernone Giorgi As I learned about posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it was difficult to imagine the horror that its sufferers endure. Experiencing a trauma, whether in combat, in your community, or in your own home, is terrible enough, but having to remain mentally and emotionally locked in that terrible place and time seems to be the ultimate victimization of the victim. If there was a bright side to the story, it shone through in the possibility for healing and recovery with the right medication, therapy, and social support. See Anna’s story on page 62.
“Skipping meals can slow the metabolism.” Laurie Lynn Fischer The most interesting interviewee was the Skidmore professor who lately has been feeding people regular or special pancakes and measures their vitals before, during and after exercise. He told me that skipping meals can slow the metabolism. My bad habit of eating little or nothing until evening may be somewhat mitigated, he says, by my consumption of black coffee. See Laurie’s story online at timesunion.com/healthylife.
join the conversation!
! n i w or a Like us f o win chance t of d all kin s ! free stuff
facebook.com/ HealthyLifeNYmagazine
The Bald and the Not Beautiful Jennifer Gish I haven’t stopped checking my hairline in the mirror since writing about hair loss in women. But at least I now know there are several roads to restoration.. See Jennifer’s story on page 50.
What do you wish was on Netflix? Nick: HBO stuff Kathryn: I’m waiting for Orange is the New Black to return. Colleen: Anything HBO, everything Ken Burns, and a more comprehensive list of all of the movies you have ever watched and rated on Netflix. Lila: Big Bang Theory Abbey: BTTF Trilogy. And bring back Murder, She Wrote already.
healthylife
Brianna Snyder Just as I was reading Jenny Offill’s Dept. of Speculation, I did a search on Offill to read more about her. Then I saw she was on tour to promote her book in Saratoga in February and I caught her just in time. Don’t you love when that happens? That’s one of the many perks of reading just-released books: You might catch an event, adding a whole other dimension to the wonderful experience of reading. See Brianna’s story on page 70.
We asked, you answered!
Kevyn: The Simpsons.
14
Valerie Foster Vitrification, a process that rapidly freezes women’s eggs, is offering new hope to those not yet ready or in the position to bear a child. Recently, the process was given a boost when the American Society for Reproductive Medicine lifted the experimental label. One woman told HealthyLife that freezing her eggs gave her a new-found confidence and relief from the pounding in her head caused by the ticking of her biological clock. See Valerie’s story on page 54.
Book Club
Protein Shakes Melinda Webb After writing my article about protein shakes, I began buying protein powder. Now I have another easy source of protein in my arsenal. Plus, I learned that there are great dairyfree options, two of which I’ve already bought for my oldest daughter, who is allergic to dairy. I love it when I learn something new while researching a story! See Melinda’s story on page 44.
Eggs in the Bank
Chip: That Mitchell and Webb Look. Also a film called Begotten and a bunch of music-related documentaries, specifically I Want My Name Back. Rachel: King of the Hill. How dare they take Peggy and Bobby away from me like that … Diana: Personally, I’m a Food Network junkie. And I love things like CNBC Originals and Modern Marvels. Elizabeth: Golden Girls. Although there’s a nostalgic thrill that comes with stumbling
upon it on television.
What’s your favorite soup? Britta: Butternut squash soup. I could swim in it. Lila: Jewish chicken soup Mj: Butternut Squash and Bean soups! Diana: Pho, although I do love a good potato or corn chowder (addicted to the Whole Foods corn chowder). Jennifer: White bean & Rosemary! Elizabeth: Curry noodle soup. Kathleen: Butternut squash soup is sssooooo good!
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BEHIND THE SCENES Read our Q&A with Christy Venter on page 74, then head online to read our behind-the-scenes story and see photos from our shoot!
healthylife
blogs
COOKBOOK Cooking vegetarian? Check out our story on page 40; then head online to get the recipe for Whole Wheat Penne with Pumpkin, Rosemary and Pine Nuts.
Midlife Mom Rebecca Haynes, editor of HealthyLife Connecticut, offers her perspective on life and motherhood while she navigates the teen years and beyond.
Writer and freelance editor Beth Cooney scans the Web to bring you the latest info and tips for healthy living.
Healthy Life
READ THIS Is the “fat-burning zone” a myth? Find the answer in our story online. And while you’re there, check out our piece on online workouts. You’ll never go to the gym again.
16
healthylife
Writer and designer Carin Lane shares her success stories with losing weight her way — without a gym membership, a personal trainer, or special foods.
AND MORE Turns out meditation can be good for your soul and your skin. Go online for more about how meditation reverses the aging process.
Illustration: Computer mouse, ©Irina Iglina/Dreamstime.com.
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editor’s note
Au Revoir F
We’re excited as well about the prospects that a magazine of this breadth provides, including more collaboration with the Times Union newspaper, website and social media. No other multimedia company in the region has a footprint or readership as large. The options for what we can accomplish are boundless. So while this feels like a good-bye, I prefer to say au revoir, an expression the French use to mean see you later. I can’t wait to continue our conversation. HL
NOTE: Due to a production error, February cover model Lori Porter’s marital status was incorrect. For the record, Lori is not married and does not have children.
Photo by Krishna Hill.
ive years ago we started HealthyLife to provide the women of the Capital Region with the best local body, mind and spirit information and tips we could find. According to your feedback, we succeeded. Now it’s time to move on to another venture, to continue the conversation but in a different way. This is the last issue of HealthyLife, but not to worry! In April we are launching a new local magazine. Called 518Life, the magazine will, as always, feature local content. It will include the health and lifestyle features you’ve enjoyed in HealthyLife (and Life@Home if you were a reader of that magazine too), as well as new content about the Capital Region. The arts and regional trends are just a few of the new topics we’ll be able to cover in a magazine that has a broader scope.
Janet Reynolds, Executive Editor jreynolds@timesunion.com
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▶ Drink FIT: I try to never leave home without a water bottle and this FIT Top Clear Bottle is my new best friend. FIT stands for “Filter Isolation Technology.” The coconutbased filter system provides high-quality water every time. You can also add protein powder, iced teas or other additives without interfering with the filter. Other features: 24-ounce size, convenient wide mouth, the bottle is BPA-free and the top is also interchangeable with most water bottles on the market. $24.99 for the bottle and $12.99 for two replacement filters. Visit fittopusa.com.
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I love workout gear. Fabletics is a new workout clothing line designed by celebrity Kate Husdon and the popular shoe website JustFab.com. To get started, go to the website and take a lifestyle quiz. Based on your answers, Fabletics selects outfits from the collection to fit your style and workout needs. You can choose to purchase an outfit every month or skip it until you’re ready for something new. VIP members pay $49.95 for a full outfit; non-VIP play slightly higher depending on chosen items. Visit fabletics.com.
by carin lane
March is my birthday month. Here are a few FIt and Fab finds on my wish list that I think you will enjoy too! For more Fit and Fab goodies, go to timesunion.com/ healthylife. Have a new product you’d like to share? E-mail Carin at clane@timesunion.com.
You can visit Carin on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ carinlane.healthylife or follow her on Twitter @tiredorinspired, Pinterest at pinterest.com/carinlane and Instagram at instagram.com/carinlanehealthylife
▼ Green machine: The Omega Nutrition Center (NC900HDC) is a multi-tasking beast that can make smoothies, green drinks, almond milk, nut butter and a lot more. This masticating juicer runs at 80 RPMs so it can blend all fruits and veggies including wheatgrass without the prep work thanks to the wide chute. The different settings allow you to make tons of different healthy meals and snacks the whole family will enjoy. $379.95. Available at Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, or visit omega.com.
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news & views compiled by brianna snyder
Booze Blues YOU’RE PROBABLY DRINKING TOO MUCH. At least, that’s according to the Centers for Disease Control, who report at least 38 million adults in the U.S. are drinking too much — though most aren’t alcoholics. Only 1 in 6 Americans talk to their doctors about their drinking habits, the CDC says, noting that excessive alcohol use causes premature death (about 79,000 deaths a year). What constitutes too much drinking? For women, it’s four or more drinks within two to three hours (that’s considered binge drinking) or eight or more drinks per week (which is considered high use). Drinking too much can lead to heart disease and various cancers, as well as type-2 diabetes. Not sure if you’re overdoing it? Ask your doctor for more guidelines.
A STUDY IN ENGLAND FOUND THAT WHITE WOMEN are more susceptible to breast cancer than black and South Asian women. Why? Their lifestyle. On average, white women tend to drink more, have fewer children and are less likely to breastfeed, all contributing factors to the disease. In England, South Asian women have an 18 percent lower rate of breast cancer and black women have a 15 percent lower rate than white women, the study found. White women are also more likely to have an immediate family member with breast cancer, another risk factor. Researchers predict that as first-generation immigrants become “more Westernized,” their lifestyles will too, increasing their risk for cancer. Source: tinyurl.com/HLMar14-breastcancer
Source: tinyurl.com/HLMar14-alcohol
I’m So Excited WHEN YOU’RE ANXIOUS BEFORE A BIG MEETING, presentation or speech, don’t tell yourself to be calm. Tell yourself to be excited. According to research projects reported in the American Psychological Association’s Journal for Experimental Psychology, just the act of saying “I am excited” out loud improved the performance of the speaker. Participants in the study were asked to do various things — sing karaoke, give a speech in
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public and solve a tough math problem in a small amount of time. One part of the group was asked to say “I am calm” before taking on their challenge and the other part asked to say “I am excited.” Guess who did better? The excited ones. Why does it work? Dr. Alison Wood Brooks, Ph.D. at Harvard Business School, says, “Since both anxiety and excitement are emotional states characterized by high arousal, it may be easier to view anxiety as excitement rather than trying to calm down to combat performance anxiety.” Source: tinyurl.com/hl14anxiety
Photo:s: GettyImages. Booze Blues, Thomas Acop; So Excited, Karen Moskowitz; Bad Vibrations, mediaphotos; Cuddle, Tom Merton.
Dangerous Lifestyle
The
Bad Vibrations TURNS OUT, GOING TO THE DOCTOR makes many of us feel bad. Researchers found that 50 percent of people feel “guilty or ashamed” when leaving a doctor’s appointment. How come? The study found that triggers for these bad feelings are in conversations patients are having with their docs about sex, weight, alcohol, substance abuse or other poor lifestyle choices. This is a big deal. When patients leave a doctor’s office feeling negative about the experience, that makes them less likely to visit the doctor again — even if they need to. Researchers found that more than a third of all U.S. deaths are preventable and usually a result of unhealthy behavior. Feelings of shame and guilt tend to perpetuate those bad behaviors, rather than motivate anyone to do better. The study found that subjects were most susceptible to bad feelings at the dentist, general practitioner and gynecologist, and that sex and weight were the most shame-inducing subjects. The key, researchers say, is not castigating yourself for bad behaviors: “In the simplest terms: Those who say ‘I’m a smoker’ or ‘I’m a fat person’ may feel resigned while those who say ‘I smoke’ or ‘I eat too much’ also seem to think ‘I can stop doing that.’” In other words, go easier on yourself. Source: tinyurl.com/HLMar14-doctors
A Reason to Cuddle A RECENT STUDY FOUND THAT INFANTS BENEFIT so greatly from physical, skin-to-skin contact with their mothers that those benefits are measurable even 10 years after birth. Fortunately for us, baby-cuddling is a tough thing to resist. All that contact is “essential” for babies’ physical and psychological development, the study says, a lesson that’s been learned at the expense of neglected infants and orphans. Those less-touched children developed several problems, including depression and “a more global failure to thrive.” Ten-year-old children who had a lot of maternal contact as babies were better sleepers, less stressed and had better cognitive control. Source: tinyurl.com/HLMar14-babies continued on page 24
timesunion.com/HealthyLife
23
news & views
Seeing is Believing
THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL’S Institute of Integrative Biology has some good news for bunnies and other animals often used in testing mascara and other makeup products. These “mild irritants” are often tested on rabbits to calculate just how irritating the products are, causing pain and discomfort to the animals. The IIB, however, is developing “minuscule protozoa” on which this testing can be done, skipping the bunnies altogether. (The next philosophical question to ask ourselves is: Can protozoa feel pain? And if they don’t have big floppy ears and soft fur, does it matter?)
WE DIDN’T EXPECT GOOGLE TO MAKE SUCH A QUICK JUMP from smart glasses (Google Glass) to smart contacts, but it has. Google has proposed a “smart contact lens” to help diabetics measure their glucose levels in their tears. Researchers at the Google X lab, who recently unveiled the prototype, said the diabetic patients they talked to said monitoring their diabetes “is like having a part-time job.” Also, because glucose levels vary widely depending on what you’re doing — exercising, eating, sweating — “‘round the clock’ monitoring is imperative,” researchers say. But because patients have to prick their fingers every time they want to test their blood, they’re disinclined to check their levels more than they have to. The contacts would make it much easier for patients to monitor themselves.
Source: tinyurl.com/HLMar14producttesting
Source: tinyurl.com/ HLMar14-smartcontacts
The proposed “smart contact lens” by Google X labs
Say Om WARY OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS? Recent studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that meditation can be just as effective in fighting depression as antidepressant drugs. Apparently mindfulness meditation programs result in some improvements in anxiety,
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depression, pain and overall health. However, the same study found that similar levels of meditation didn’t directly benefit people’s wellbeing, attention spans, sleep, eating habits or body weight, though researchers did say stronger studies were needed to determine more clearly what effects meditation could have on those other behaviors. Source: tinyurl.com/HLMar14-meditation
Photo:s: GettyImages. Product Testing, Neo Vision; Say Om, James Braund; 99 Percent, Jeffrey Hamilton; Type 2, Donald Erickson. Google X Labs “smart contact lens” photo courtesy of Google.
Product Testing
continued from page 23
The 99 percent HERE’S SOMETHING SIMULTANEOUSLY SAD AND UNSURPRISING: Wealthier people have more success lowering their blood pressure than people of lower socio-economic status. A recent study found that in the U.S., “patients on low incomes with high blood pressure have their condition managed poorly compared with those who earned more.” When compared with countries who have national health care, the U.S. was found to give generally worse care to patients with hypertension, thanks to the wealth gap. Where those with money were successful in meeting “blood pressure targets” with medication and lifestyle changes, those without access to the same amount of care were less successful and had fewer resources to help them get their blood pressure back in check. Source: tinyurl.com/HLMar14-wealth
Beating
Type 2
NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT THE RISK of developing type2 diabetes can be reduced by following a Mediterranean diet, which consists of lots of veggies, fruits, beans, olive oil, whole grains and fish. Turns out the Mediterranean diet holds many health benefits, including lengthening lifespans, improving overall health, and reducing the risk of stroke. Researchers based their findings on an analysis of 3,541 men and women between the ages of 55 and 80 who didn’t have diabetes but were at high risk for heart disease, which is known to be a risk factor of type-2 diabetes. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of three diets — the Mediterranean with an added dose of olive oil, a low-fat diet, or the Mediterranean with an added dose of nuts. None of the participants were asked to reduce calories or increase physical activity. At the end of the study, 273 participants had developed diabetes — 101 of those had been on the low-fat diet, 80 were on the Mediterranean diet with olive oil and 92 on the Mediterranean diet with nuts. The researchers determined that a Mediterranean diet is “palatable and sustainable,” and therefore more effective as a dietary health guide. Source: tinyurl.com/hl14meddiet
timesunion.com/HealthyLife
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fast facts
did you know? compiled by brianna snyder
50 %
Nearly 50% of all women who diet are not overweight.
6,000 Whoa! Popcorn has been around for 6,000 years. source: tinyurl.com/HLMar14-popcorn
18
On average, 18 people die every day from the lack of available organs for transplant. source: tinyurl.com/HLMar14-transplants
11
pounds The world record for cheesecake-eating is 11 pounds eaten in nine minutes — by Sonya Thomas, who weighs 105 pounds. source: tinyurl.com/ HLMar14-cheesecake
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22 % Only 22% of American adults participate in regular, sustained physical activity for at least 30 minutes 5 times a week. source: tinyurl.com/HLMar14-physicalactivity
Photos: GettyImages. Popcorn, Michael Rosenfeld; Dieting, Hiroshi Watanabe; Exercise, Vstock LLC.
source: tinyurl.com/ HLMar14-dieting
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body Weight Training 32 DIY Kombucha 36
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exercise
Need a LIFT in Your
Weight Routine? (try going heavier)
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F
or years, I have exercised with 2- or 5-pound free weights, using my carpal tunnel as an excuse not to lift heavier. And when I hit the weight machines, I kept the weights at 20 pounds or less, using the same excuse. For leg exercises, I would kick it all the way up to 40 pounds. I’ve done this for decades, patting myself on the back for doing three weight sessions every week. My results have been less than stellar, but I chalked that up to age. Plus, I didn’t want to “bulk up,” because gracious, I didn’t need any extra weight on my frame. Oh, the excuses we make! But then I read a recent study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise that says women who lifted a challenging weight for eight reps burned nearly twice as many calories as women who did 15 reps with a lighter dumbbell, and it got me thinking that maybe my exercise plan needs an update. At the very least I thought I might be able to cut my exercise time in half — a most attractive thought. All the experts I spoke with say the study, like many others, paints a broad picture, and when dealing with exercise a custom plan is best. But they all agree that challenging weights should be part of everyone’s program, and that my way is definitely not the way to go. As for fewer reps? It’s complicated. “The research proves that you will burn more calories with higher weight loads,” says Michael Wood, chief fitness officer at the national fitness digital gym, Koko FitClub, founder of the Sports Performance Group, and one of the nine best trainers in the United States according to Men’s Journal. “Women are often scared that they will get big and bulky if they increase weights. They don’t understand how hard it is to bulk up, unless both of their parents are built big and bulky. Our job is to educate women that they need to be lifting heavier and to keep increasing weights as they got stronger.” Why? Because it’s healthier for you. Wood’s physiology lesson is easy to understand. Although it’s obvious that a pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same, that’s it for the similarities. Muscle is denser than fat, which means it takes up less space. He says that in actuality, five pounds of fat is three times the size of five pounds of muscle. A better translation: a 150-pound woman with more fat than muscle will wear a bigger size dress than a lean, muscle-toting 150-pound woman. Muscle also burns 3.5 more calories than fat, so as you build more muscle, your fat cells will shrink and you’ll begin to see definition in your body. The flip side of this is that since muscle is more dense, it does weigh more than fat if you compare same-size portions of each. The moral of this story: Stay off the scale and revel in the fact that you are wearing smaller sizes. continued on page 34
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exercise continued from page 33
Photo: Sporrer/Rupp/GettyImages.
And the best way to build lean muscle: Lift weights. Hopefully you’re convinced, but how do you start? Lisa Woods, owner of Skye’s the Limit Personal Training in Latham, says the trick is to start with the proper weight for your body to avoid injury. Woods thinks everyone should start with a personal trainer to learn proper form and techniques, the correct weight to be lifting, the number of reps to do, and how to gradually increase weight. “If you are slouching, hunched over or lifting too quickly using momentum to finish the repetition, you are not getting the right benefit out of that exercise,” she says. “For instance, if you are doing a bicep curl with a swaying back, you are engaging your back instead of your bicep.” And that could lead to injury, which Woods says will stop further exercise and begin the cycle of not exercising. Jayson Ball, owner of Feral CrossFit in Saratoga Springs, says that every exercise program needs diversity, a mix of weight-bearing exercises that work the whole body at different times, combined with cardio for stamina. He says that CrossFit workouts are varied and challenging, stretching and conditioning the whole body, not just one part. “When you are starting out you have to use lighter weights, simply because you are weaker,” he says. “Motions are new, so you go conservative, giving your body more recovery time. But as you get stronger, increasing weights gives your body a reason to get stronger.”
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“You want to feel your muscles burning. You want to feel fatigued.” — Lisa Woods, Skye’s the Limit Personal Training
You determine if you are using the right weight by listening to your body. Lisa Woods says you should really feel the last three or four repetitions during each set, so if you are breezing through your 15 repetitions using 10-pound weights, grab a 12-pound weight instead. “Some people think, ‘Only two pounds?’ but it can make a big difference,” she says. “You want to feel your muscles burning. You want to feel fatigued.” Michael Wood says the body should be under stress when lifting. “It’s important for women to understand that they really need to push themselves when they exercise, that when they finish that last rep they’ve had enough. That’s called momentary muscular failure [MMF].” He reassures that MMF only sounds horrid. Each weight session should feature two or three rounds of exercises. As you near the end of each exercise, your muscles should begin to feel challenged — you’ve tired them out. But to attain MMF, you have to work through fatigue to the point of failure, or as Michael Wood explains, reaching the point in that exercise where your muscles cannot continue to create additional movement. Of course, you have been performing each exercise per-
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fectly, using the proper form and technique trainer Lisa Woods says is so important. When the exercises begin to get challenging, instead of using additional muscles to finish the exercise, you concentrate on using only the intended muscles. Can’t do anymore? Then stop. Every trainer emphasizes that this is not a race. If you don’t listen to your body, you probably will wind up injured. Any exercise should be about getting your body into the best shape possible. So, back to that study: heavier weights, fewer reps? Forget about it. It’s all about MMF. There is no magic number of repetitions to perform or weights to use. What’s more important is that if you are able to increase your weights, do so. And consistently. Challenge yourself each time you pick up a weight. “Women need to push themselves every time they exercise,” Michael Wood adds. CrossFit’s Ball offers another take: “Any exercise you do should be all about getting your body stronger. I understand that for many women they equate strength with bulk. Don’t think of it that way. Think of it as getting your body toned.” HL
nutrition
It’s
E V I L A
How to Make Kombucha Tea at Home
making your own kombucha
Makes about 1 gallon INGREDIENTS:
by brianna snyder
I
f you’re not already familiar with kombucha, it’s a funky drink that’s trendy among serious health aficionados and homeopaths for its health benefits. A fermented sweet-tea mixture brewed with a special kind of live culture, kombucha is a holistic mainstay that was popular in China in the ’50s, then spread throughout Russia and Germany before finally finding a foothold in the U.S. Kombucha’s proponents, who recommend drinking about 150 milliliters three times a day, say the drink’s probiotic properties boost the immune system and aid the growth of good bacteria and flora in the digestive system, much like yogurt. Kombucha’s immuno-restorative effects make it a homeopathic staple for many HIV and cancer patients interested in alternative treatments. (It should be noted, however, that scientific studies refute the supposed benefits of kombucha on the immune system, according to Cancer.org.) You can buy kombucha in the store, or you can make it — quite easily — right at home. Colie Collen, education coordinator at the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany, makes her own. Her fellow kombucha-maker, Jessica Jenkins, is teaching a class on making your own at home on March 26. The kombucha community is a special one, Collen says, mainly because you need one special component to brew your kombucha, and that’s the SCOBY, also referred to as the “mother” or “mushroom.” SCOBY stands for “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast,” and you need a bit of it to start your kombucha brewing. Collen says that this can be purchased — expensively — online, but if you reach out locally to find someone who has it, you’ll often find like-minded people and an entire community of kombucha believers and lovers who are willing to share. Collen shares her recipe for homemade kombucha. And if you need a SCOBY, visit Honest Weight on March 26 for Jenkins’ class. HL
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EQUIPMENT:
Stock pot 1-gallon glass jar or two 2-quart glass jars INSTRUCTIONS: Note: Avoid prolonged contact between the kombucha and metal both during and after brewing. This can affect the flavor of your kombucha and weaken the SCOBY over time.
1. Make the Tea Base: Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar to dissolve. Drop in the tea and allow it to steep until the water has cooled. Depending on the size of your pot, this will take a few hours. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the pot in an ice bath. 2. Add the Starter Tea: Once the tea is cool, remove the tea bags. Stir in the starter tea. (The starter tea makes the liquid acidic, which prevents unfriendly bacteria from taking up residence in the first few days of fermentation.) 3. Transfer to Jar and Add the SCOBY: Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon glass jar and gently slide the SCOBY into the jar with clean hands. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers of cheesecloth or paper towels secured with a rubber band. 4. Ferment for 7 to 10 Days: Keep the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and where it won’t get jostled. Ferment for 7 to 10 days, checking the kombucha and the SCOBY periodically. It’s not unusual for the
Photos: Kobucha Tea Jar courtesy of Wiki Commons; Kombucha Ingredients, esemelwe/GettyImages.
3 1/2 quarts water 1 cup white sugar 8 bags black tea 2 cups starter tea from last batch of kombucha or storebought (unpasteurized, neutral-flavored) kombucha 1 SCOBY per fermentation jar
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Home Healthcare SCOBY to float at the top, bottom, or even sideways. A new cream-colored layer of SCOBY should start forming on the surface of the kombucha within a few days. It usually attaches to the old SCOBY, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OK if they separate. You may also see brown stringy bits floating beneath the SCOBY, sediment collecting at the bottom, and bubbles collecting around the SCOBY. These are all normal signs of healthy fermentation. After seven days, begin tasting the kombucha daily by pouring a little out of the jar and into a cup. When it reaches a balance of sweetness and tartness that is pleasant to you, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ready. 5. Remove the SCOBY: Before proceeding, prepare and cool another pot of strong tea for your next batch of kombucha. Gently lift the SCOBY out and set it on a clean plate. Check it over and remove the bottom layer if it is getting thick. 6. Bottle the Finished Kombucha: Measure out your starter tea from this batch of kombucha and set it aside for the next batch. Pour the fermented kombucha (straining, if desired) into bottles, along with any juice, herbs, or fruit you want to use as flavoring. Leave about a half inch of head room in each bottle. 7. Make a Fresh Batch of Kombucha: Combine the starter tea from your last batch of kombucha with the fresh batch of sugary tea, and pour it into the fermentation jar. Slide the SCOBY on top, cover, and ferment for 7 to 10 days.
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cookbook
Mostly Vegetarian
delicious ways to add vegetables to your meal plan by janet reynolds photos by yunhee kim/ chronicle books
S
ome people become vegetarians for moral reasons; others choose health. Cookbook author Sarah Copeland made the final leap to (mostly) vegetarian after meeting the man of her dreams — now her husband — who was a fullfledged vegetarian. The switch wasn’t as dramatic as it sounds. Despite cooking up a meat storm in her various positions at New York City restaurants and in the test kitchens of the Food Network, she already mostly
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ate vegetarian when cooking for herself at home. Making the final transition when another person was regularly joining her at the kitchen table wasn’t that big a deal. Except, of course, for the need to come up with 350 or so vegetarian meals a year and realizing they can’t all be salad. Feast: Generous Vegetarian Meals for Any Eater and Every Appetite is the result of Copeland’s foray into serious vegetarian cooking. Rather than focus
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For a recipe from the book, turn to page 42
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simply on main meals, Copeland divides the book into the way people eat: little meals (aka snacks) and sauces get their own chapters, for instance, as do full-on meals. And while vegetarian eating is certainly healthy, that does not mean no sweets allowed as Copeland’s killer DIY peanut butter and pretzel cups recipe shows in spades. While the book suggests it’s for strict vegetarians, Copeland, who wanted to call it Mostly Vegetarian, instead thinks of the book as a “modern cookbook.” “I think a lot of modern people are eating this way,” she says, noting the book works perfectly for people who want to eat less meat rather than no meat at all. “I think it’s the way we should be eating.” Vegetarianism, Copeland says, is better for people’s health and for the environment. “I’ve been writing about sustainability — it’s near and dear to my heart — but I have learned the hard way people will close off if you go down that path.” A cookbook of delicious recipes, on the other hand, can be another way to attack the same issue. “This way is the most delicious. These are the things I definitely crave. These are the foods that make me feel best, that make most people feel best. They’re super fresh and have great texture.” Copeland’s food is a mix of her lifestyle: living in New York with access to its ethnic neighborhoods, marrying a Hungarian, and growing up in the Midwest with a father who was raised in the South. “It’s a mix that makes it surprising, I hope,” she says. Copeland still gets practice cooking non-vegetarian meals in her position as food director at Real Simple. “There I don’t eat vegetarian,” she says. “At work I eat what we’re cooking for the magazine.” It’s a style of eating that she’s successfully helping her 3-year-old daughter adopt as well. Sometimes she brings her daughter samples from what she’s cooked at work. On Thanksgiving she had turkey. “But we have educated ourselves to make sure she gets plenty of iron and B12, etc.,” Copeland says. “I always ask the pediatrician how we’re doing. Her levels are good.” Added bonus of this flexitarian approach to child-rearing? “When you raise a mostly vegetarian they learn to eat a huge variety,” Copeland says. “She fills up on beans and nuts and grains.” HL
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cookbook continued from page 41
Glazed Winter Vegetable Medley with Chestnuts and Caper Berries • 12 fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise • 4 tablespoons olive oil • sea salt and freshly ground pepper • 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into large florets • 4 large shallots, quartered • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter • 1 bunch golden beets, peeled and cut into bitesized pieces • 1 bunch baby turnips, scrubbed and trimmed • 1 bunch carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces on the diagonal • 2 parsnips, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized pieces on the diagonal
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme • 1- 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water • 1/2 teaspoon unbleached raw sugar • 5 ounces roasted peeled chestnuts • handful fresh parsley, finely chopped • finishing oil for drizzling • fleur de sel or sel gris • handful caper berries • oil-cured black olives or kalamata olives for topping
method Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the potatoes with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and spread out on a baking sheet. Toss the cauliflower and shallots in the same bowl with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and spread out on a second baking sheet. Cover both baking sheets loosely with aluminum foil and roast until the vegetables are tender but with just a little browning, about 40 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon as needed. Meanwhile in a large, shallow straightsided skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the beets, turnips, carrots, and parsnips and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, add the thyme and
Serves 4
enough stock to come about halfway up the vegetables (you want them to steam, not completely boil). Cover loosely with foil, bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender and the stock reduced to 2 to 3 tablespoons of liquid, 10-12 minutes. Remove the foil and reduce the stock further, if needed. Set aside until the roasted vegetables are cooked. When the roasted vegetables are cooked, add 2 tablespoons butter and the sugar to the beets, turnips, carrots and parsnips. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until heated through and glazed, about 4 minutes. Add the chestnuts and toss to glaze Add the roasted vegetables to the skillet and toss together with 2 tablespoons butter and parsley. Drizzle with finishing oil and season with fleur de sel and pepper. Divide among bowls , making sure each one has an even mix of vegetables and chestnuts. Top with caper berries and olives. Serve warm.
Roasting chestnuts Make a crisscross slit on the domed side of the chestnut with a thin, sharp knife. Roast at 425 degrees until the shells look as if they are about to peel off at the incision, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and peel while warm. Eat or add to recipe as directed.
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nutrition
Shaking It Up the deal on protein shakes by melinda mcgarty webb
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teurized and heated to a boiling point where it kills off all the live enzymes. For the same reason we’re supposed to eat our fruits and veggies raw — as whole, live food — we should be eating our milk in its whole, live form. It’s healthier than pasteurized, homogenized cows’ milk.” Also, amino acids, which are so integral in a protein shake, are fragile and can become denatured (damaged) during heat or chemical processing. But if you’re either a vegan or are allergic to milk proteins, whey protein isn’t even an option. Luckily, a variety of vegan alternatives are now on the market. “There’s been a real renaissance in the vegetable protein industry,” says John Halstead, exercise supplement specialist at Paradise
Photos: GettyImages. Green Shake, Brian Balster; Gym Drink, Sava Alexandru.
P
eople looking to amp up performance in the gym, increase energy in daily life, or even just improve hair, skin and nail appearance sometimes turn to protein shakes as a way to boost protein intake quickly and easily. But which kinds of shakes are most appropriate for your needs, and what do all those terms mean? Isolate, concentrate, hydrolysate — to the uninitiated, the ingredients are a foreign language. Nurse and wellness educator Lori Morelli, who owns Impact Health in Delmar, says her views about people’s protein needs have changed dramatically in recent years. “About 5 1/2 or six years ago, I didn’t believe in protein shakes,” she says. “I thought we could get all the protein we needed from our food.” But faced with about 20 pounds to lose, she started a regimen that included drinking protein shakes as meal replacements, and quickly shed those 20 pounds. Surprised by the results, she began researching why it worked — aside from the fact that replacing meals reduced her daily caloric intake. After all, every time we burn 3,500 calories more than we take in, we lose one pound. “Protein is made up of amino acids, and when you eat a chicken breast, for example, you’re eating a complex grouping of amino acids that the body has to break down and then rebuild in the way it wants to use them in the body,” she explains. “When you drink a protein shake, though, you’re drinking amino acids that are already broken down.” But even if you think protein drinks might be a good addition to your diet — and anyone with a medical condition should first consult their physician about how additional dietary protein might affect their health — what type should you buy? “Everybody has their own opinions on what’s better,” says Morelli, who sells Isagenix brand whey protein shakes as part of her business. “Unequivocally, whey protein concentrate is my preferred way.” Finding out the source of the milk and the manner in which it’s been processed is also important, she says. Just as grass-fed beef (from cows that are allowed to graze in pastures as opposed to being confined to feedlots) is generally considered to be nutritionally superior to grain-fed, grassfed cows also produce a healthier milk. “Cows eating grass provide a better whey, and cows that are not contaminated with bovine hormones and antibiotics are going to provide a better product.” Plus, you might want to take into account the method of processing. “Cold membrane-filtered provides the best nutritional profile,” says Morelli. “In other words, it’s not pas-
Natural Foods in Albany. “I recommend plant-based shakes to people who are sensitive to dairy. I have a problem with dairy, and I work out five days a week with heavy weights, so I need some extra protein. There are a lot of people using just pea protein, or just rice protein, but there are also products including hemp, artichoke, quinoa, and so many other types of vegetable protein. Shop around and find one that doesn’t have all the additives and chemicals, and uses natural sweeteners.” Halstead recommends that if you’re looking for a vegan powder, find one that taps a variety of protein sources. Not only will you potentially get a more complete protein source, but it will cut down the risk of developing an allergy to any one protein after repeated exposure. He recommends PlantFusion brand for a moderately-priced vegan, soy-free option. As for a dairy-based product, he recommends Jay Robb brand whey protein isolate powder, which is cold-processed and made from grass-fed cows not treated with synthetic bovine growth hormone, according to that company’s website. Though soy shakes are still widely used, both Morelli and Halstead say they consider it an inferior option. “Research shows whey has a better amino acid profile by far than soy protein,” says Halstead. “Plus, it’s absorbed more quickly into the bloodstream and into the tissues. The other thing is that when soy protein is not fermented, it holds phytoestrogens, which can disrupt your hormonal balance, especially in men. I wouldn’t recommend any men use soy protein as a supplement. Also, most postmenopausal women are actually low in progesterone, so using soy protein can cause problems.” For people like Halstead, who drink shakes to maximize their bodies’ anabolic response to exercise, timing can be
crucial. Studies have shown there’s a window of time after a workout during which ingesting a mixture of protein and carbohydrates can help with muscle synthesis and rebuilding glycogen stores (which get depleted during intense exercise). Resistance training breaks down muscles, and the theory is that if you introduce amino acids (known as the building blocks of muscle) within this 60- to 90-minute window, you’ll get the most benefit. Some people say the best time to do it is “while you’re still sweating.” But what some people don’t understand is that the window doesn’t just close after 90 minutes. Instead, after that period, the body shifts its focus and the effects diminish with time. “What the science shows is that people doing acute damage to their muscle tissue working out with heavier weights that cause those little micro-tears to the muscle tissue, postcontinued on page 46
How much protein is enough? Opinions vary on how much protein we actually need. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is 46 grams of protein per day for women older than the age of 19; and 56 grams for men in the same age bracket. But many say those numbers are too low, and don‘t take into consideration how active we are. If you go to choosemyplate.gov, you can input your age, weight, height and activity level, and get a recommendation tailored to your specific body and habits. People with health conditions should always consult a physician for information on how dietary changes might affect them. Lori Morelli, a nurse and wellness ed-
ucator from Delmar, advises her clients to ingest anywhere from 1 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, depending upon their level of activity. She bases her advice on the research of Dr. Michael Colgan who, according to his bio, specializes in the inhibition of aging and has worked with more than 11,000 athletes, including many Olympians. According to their recommendation, a “couch potato,” for example, can use about 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight; and an elite athlete can use as much as 1.8 grams. For those of you who (like me) still have trouble wrapping their minds around the pounds/kilograms conversion, that means a 175-pound male elite athlete would use about 148
grams of protein per day. To give you a point of reference, according to the CDC website, one cup of milk has 8 grams of protein; a 3-ounce piece of meat has about 21 grams of protein; and one cup of dry beans has about 16 grams. But some of those proteins are complete proteins, meaning they contain all 20 amino acids; and some are incomplete, meaning they need to be combined to meet your dietary needs. In general, animal proteins are more complete sources, whereas proteins such as beans would have to be eaten within the same day as complementary proteins (rice, for example) in order to provide all the necessary amino acids.
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nutrition Choosing the Right Shake
workout recovery shake with a 4:1 or 3:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio,” says Halstead. “What the protein does after the workout is — especially if it’s whey protein, because whey protein is so quickly absorbed — is help regenerate that muscle tissue that was damaged. Also, it helps grow the new satellite cell buds.” The fitness community has also been abuzz recently about how ingesting protein right after a workout can potentially boost our bodies’ production of human growth hormone. During childhood, the pituitary gland produces growth hormone to fuel our bodies’ growth, but as we get older, production wanes. Some studies have shown that increasing HGH production in middle-age and older people can help build lean muscle mass and decrease body fat, and some even purport it can reduce signs of aging. Some evidence suggests that HGH has less effect on younger people, because their bodies are still producing it at higher rate. “There are certain shakes that help produce a huge increase in human growth hormone,” says Morelli. “A good-quality shake will do that.” HL
WHAT MAKES A GOODQUALITY SHAKE? It all depends on your goal. Looking to build muscle? A shake containing whey protein isolate is the most effective because it contains the most protein. Interested in overall health and immune system support? Whey protein concentrate may be the way to go. The difference is that whey protein isolate is essentially a more refined product that contains more protein per unit than concentrate. Manufacturers take the concentrate and process it with heat or acid to remove some of its fat content. The problem as some see it, though, is that those processes also strip it of good things, such as phospholipids (which may decrease inflammation, according to literature from the National
Institute of Health) and phosphatidylserine (which the FDA says may reduce dementia and cognitive dysfunction). Isolate is also missing immunoglobulins, which help our immune systems function properly. But because of its higher protein content, it may be more effective at building and repairing muscle. If you see the term “hydrolysate,” it means the manufacturer used hydrolysis to essentially pre-digest the whey protein to create smaller peptides your body can more easily use. “The isolates are the highest quality and they’re usually a little more expensive,” says Halstead. “The other thing to remember is to always look at the sourcing of the milk. The cleaner the cow, the cleaner the milk, and the higher-quality the protein.”
SHAKE RECIPES Nutty Chocolate • 12 oz. chocolateflavored almond milk
Cherry-Berry Blast • 8 oz. unsweetened vanilla-flavored almond milk • 1 serving vanilla or unflavored whey protein
• 1 serving chocolate whey protein
• 3/4 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 tablespoons raw almond butter or peanut butter
• 1/4 cup frozen raspberries • 4 oz. tart cherry juice
Green Goddess
• 1 teaspoon agave syrup or local honey (optional)
• 8 oz. unsweetened vanilla-flavored almond milk
Island Time
• 1 serving vanilla whey protein
• 8 oz. unsweetened vanilla-flavored coconut milk
• 2 large kale leaves, bottoms of stems removed • 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced into eight pieces • Juice of one lemon
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• 1 serving vanilla whey protein • 1/2 cup frozen pineapple NOTE: Adjust liquid amounts to accommodate your specific blender and tastes. If you prefer a thinner shake, just add water. If you don’t have frozen fruits available, use fresh, but then add ice to achieve your preferred consistency. Remember: these are just ideas. Add or subtract to your heart’s desire!
• 1/4 cup frozen mango • Orange slice for garnish
Photos: GettyImages. Milk, Ivan Bajic; Apple, Francesco Speranza; Kale, Suzannah Skelton; Vanilla Whey Protein, Alasdair Thomson; Raspberries, adam smigielski.
continued from page 45
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ask the doc
y t i s Obe and Weight Loss ways to get help by brianna snyder | photo by emily jahn
I
n the grand scheme of the American obesity epidemic, New York’s residents actually are doing fairly well: We live in the fourth-least obese state in the country. This does not mean, however, the obesity news is good: New York’s adult obesity rate is 23.6 percent, up from 20.9 Dr. Jennifer Lindstrom, percent in 2003 and from 9.3 percent in specialist in clinical nutrition 1990, according to fasinfat.org, a project and bariatrics, Albany committed to tracking the harmful effects Medical Center of the rising rates of obesity. Dr. Jennifer Lindstrom, specialist in clinical nutrition and bariatrics at the Albany Medical Center, will speak about obesity and weight loss at our HealthyLife seminar March 6. (See box for details.) Lindstrom says many people believe the term “bariatrics” refers only to weight-loss surgery, but that really bariatrics is “the specialty can’t exercise on their own so they need to be referred to of obesity management.” And what that physical therapy,” she says. entails for patients, it turns out, is complicated — emotion“You’d be surprised at how many people come in and ally and physically. haven’t seen a doctor in years,” Lindstrom continues. “So One of Lindstrom’s primary tasks is to assess what probwe do a full history and a full physical, risk-assess them. We lems patients with obesity may have. (And she also phrases figure out what kind of diet we’re going to recommend for her language about obesity this way: patients have obesity; them, what kind of exercise routine.” obesity is an illness, not an identity.) If patients have high Why haven’t these patients seen a doctor in so long? Lots blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, Lindstrom first of reasons, she says. “We see a lot of people who’ve lost works on getting those issues under control, suggesting, for their job and lost insurance,” she says. Also, recent studies instance, that they begin exercising. “We have people who
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healthylife
Join us for our next HealthyLife seminar: Obesity and Weight Loss: What You Need to Know
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The free seminar, sponsored by Albany Medical Center, features Dr. Jennifer Lindstrom. The seminar is Thursday, March 6, 5-6:30 p.m. at The Desmond, 660 Albany Shaker Rd., Albany. Registrants are automatically registered to win a free getaway to Cranwell Resort and Spa in Lenox, Mass. Must be present to win. Register at healthylifeseminar.eventbrite.com.
Rhinebeck 6406 Montgomery St. Rhinebeck NY 12572 845.516.4150 Joann Hoose photography
have shown that people with obesity experience deep embarrassment and shame at the doctor. They’re also afraid of what they’ll find out about their health. Lindstrom says the first course of action is education about what eating nutritionally is and means. She emphasizes to her patients that they’re not dieting; they’re changing their lifestyle. She also refers them to sleep studies and therapy when necessary. Often, obesity is a symptom of deeper, underlying factors. Many patients with obesity come in with severe emotional problems: anxiety, depression, PTSD. Many have eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia and binge-eating. “When I see a patient with depression and obesity, I say, ‘Let’s try to get you in with somebody so we can deal with this,’” Lindstrom says. The preferred strategy for dealing with obesity is nutritional coaching and therapy and any other behaviormodification treatments. When those fail, surgery is an option, though that route is a lifelong commitment. It’s also not an “easy way out” for people with obesity. The surgery is an incredible undertaking and a very serious one. It requires months of preparation and nutritional counseling before it can occur, and recovery can also be challenging. One of the dangers of bariatric surgery is the very real possibility that a patient loses, say, 100 pounds and then gains it back. That’s why, Lindstrom says, her clinic monitors bariatric-surgery patients for the rest of their lives. “If you’re going to have surgery at our program, you have lifelong follow-up with us,” she says. “That’s the way it should be done. … You want people to make an informed decision. You don’t want someone undergoing a surgery like this without really understanding what they’re getting into. Educating them is the best way to help them understand.” HL
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your hair
Bald
When Isn’t Beautiful dealing with hair loss by jennifer gish
I
t didn’t matter where she was — at the movies with people in the row behind her or at a work meeting where she could see herself during a video conference — Laura thought about her thinning hair so often it had become a distraction. Laura, a 54-year-old from the Capital Region who asked that her last name not be used because of the sensitive nature of hair loss, noticed the change in her hair when she was in her 30s. At first, she told people she simply had “fine” hair, but soon she realized it was thin. She’d go to the hairdresser seeking creative ways to cover the thin and sometimes bare spots, but it became an increasingly difficult puzzle for the hairdresser to figure out. People began asking her if she was ill. “I really didn’t think there was anything that I could do about it, that it was just the way it was and that I would live with it,” she says, adding that her grandmother had thinning hair. “And that went until I got into my 40s and just found that I was becoming more self-conscious when I saw pictures. … It may be tougher for women than it is for men overall because so much emphasis is placed [on it]. You see the commercials with the full hair, and it does make you think about how people might perceive you.” While bald can be beautiful on men, it’s rare that you’ll see a bald woman gracing a magazine cover. And though thinning at the temples or a landing strip of baldness down the center of the head can be a difficult part of the aging pro-
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Photo: Alain Schroeder/GettyImages. Hair loss illustrations by Colleen Ingerto.
cess for many men, thinning patches of hair are often a completely unexpected loss for women. That’s in spite of the fact that 40 percent of American hair loss sufferers are female, according to the American Hair Loss Association, a California-based national consumer organization aimed at educating about hair loss. Although the association says 90 percent of hair loss in men is due to male pattern baldness, the causes of hair loss in women can be varied. Like men, it can be hereditary, and will happen in women as they age. Sometimes, it can be caused by hormonal shifts, drug side effects or stress. And sometimes it’s a sign of an underlying health condition, which is why it’s important for women to see a doctor if clumps of hair head for the drain with the bubbles from their favorite shampoo. But because women are often upset by the loss, they often have a hard time broaching the subject with their doctor. “Emotionally it’s very hard for many females because we all would like to be attractive. … They have a lot of trouble, low self-esteem. It can get into depression even if it’s not getting addressed,” says Dr. Inesa Salei, a family medicine physician with Ellis Medicine who practices in Malta. “But (hair loss) can be a symptom of something more major in a body because symptoms go slowly and add to each other and the patient may not even be paying attention to it.” Salei once saw a female patient who was in tears over her thinning hair. After an examination, family history and some tests, the doctor discovered the cause of the woman’s hair loss was low vitamin D levels and high stress. After addressing those issues, the woman is now doing well and her hair is returning. Laura says she’s happy she sought treatment and didn’t accept hair loss as her genetic destiny. “As with anything, you have to be realistic. I’m not going to have that thick mane of hair, but I’m pleased with the outcome I do have, and I don’t have the sense of self-consciousness,” she says. “It’s really not all that much of an investment, and it’s one where the value of it is there’s more peace of mind, less self-consciousness when I’m at work or out in public settings. More focus on what I should be focusing on.” HL
Possible causes of hair loss DRUG SIDE EFFECTS There’s a list of medications that can cause hair loss as a side effect, says Dr. James Figge, an endocrinologist with St. Peter’s Health Partners, who practices in Waterford, Cohoes, South Troy and East Greenbush. Some antidepressants, cardiac drugs and cholesterol drugs are known to cause hair loss but not right away, which can be perplexing to patients. “It always happens a couple months after the fact,” Figge says. “People come in and they’re mystified. ‘Why is my hair falling out?’ And you have to explain to them it’s something that happened a couple of months ago.” Often, an alternative drug can be prescribed that does not carry the same side effect, he says. Certain birth control pills, the blood-thinner Coumadin and some beta blockers can also cause hair loss, says Dr. Inesa Salei, a family medicine physician for Ellis Medicine who practices in Malta.
THYROID CONDITIONS Hair loss can be a symptom of thyroid
disease — whether it’s an overactive or underactive thyroid, Graves disease or other thyroid condition. Once the condition is treated, and as medication levels are adjusted that can take time, hair will eventually regrow, Figge says.
ALOPECIA In alopecia, the immune system attacks the hair follicles causing hair loss. It’s not impossible to address alopecia, but it can be challenging.
OTHER CONDITIONS Addison’s disease (a disease in which insufficient hormones are produced by the adrenal glands) and lupus (an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself) are two disorders that can be underlying causes for hair loss, which is why it’s so important patients look at it as the potential symptom of a more serious problem, Figge says.
HORMONAL CHANGES “One of the most [frequent] causes of it is after delivery [of a baby] — postpartum,” Figge says.”There’s an abrupt change in hormones.
Sudden changes in hormonal balance is one of the most common causes of this.”
A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM Whether emotional stress or physical stress, such as a car accident, a shock to the system can cause hair loss. These symptoms will likely reverse as stress is alleviated.
VITAMIN AND MINERAL IMBALANCES A deficiency of Zinc, iron (anemia) or vitamin B12 can cause hair loss, as can excess vitamin A, Salei says.
INFECTIONS Local infections of the scalp or a case of mites can lead to hair loss, Dr. Salei says.
HARSH HAIR TREATMENTS Many women, particularly black women, have used harsh hair treatments, such as relaxers, over the course of their lives, says William C. Blatter, president of Hair Loss Control Clinic, which is headquartered in Latham. That can also lead to hair loss.
see solutions for hair loss on page 53
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51
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your hair continued from page 51
Options for Hair Loss
Photo: Sol de Zuasnabar Brebbia/GettyImages.
If a medical condition isn’t causing your hair loss, several alternatives are still available to try to replace hair rather than covering the balding spots with a wig (though that’s another option). FOLLICULAR TRANSPLANT Although it does work for some women, Dr. Douglas Hargrave, a plastic surgeon with The Plastic Surgery Group in Albany, says male patients tend to be more ideal candidates for the procedure because of the nature of male pattern baldness. 40 With baldness in men, hair follicles tend to percent of go dormant near the temples or on the top of American the head while the hair follicles on the sides hair-loss sufferers and wrapping around the back of the skull remain productive. A follicular transplant is an are female. in-office surgery that takes active follicles and Source: the American Hair Loss But even naturally occurring hair growth moves them to the place in the skull where hair Association is slow, taking three, four and sometimes five is needed. They remain healthy productive folmonths for a patient to look in the mirror and licles in that new location. see noticeable results. “You lose your hair over With female baldness, hair loss tends to happen time; you get it back over time,” Blatter says. anywhere on the head, Hargrave says, so you can’t be The clinic also combines laser therapy with other therasure that the seemingly healthy follicles you’re transplantpies including natural supplements, drugs to treat hair loss ing will continue to be good producers in their new location. and special shampoos. Treatments can range from a few But each case is different, and a consultation would dehundred dollars for a laser comb to $2,000 or $3,000 for termine whether a woman is a good candidate for follicular a full program. transplants. The procedure, which is done under a local anLaura, who is a client of Hair Loss Control Clinic, says she esthetic, takes four to five hours on average, and as many pays just less than $1,000 a year to maintain her hair at the as 1,500 to 2,000 follicles are moved at a time, planted like clinic, which she says is reasonable since her only other hair seeds in the scalp. It costs between $5,000 and $6,000 a care expense is haircuts. session, and sometimes an additional session or two may be required for the desired results. DRUGS AND SHAMPOOS LASER TREATMENTS Minoxidil, which is also sold over the counter under the brand name Rogaine, is a topical solution commonly used by While often associated with hair removal, lasers used in hair dermatologists to treat hair loss that’s been shown to have regeneration don’t use heat. They use light to stimulate remore success among women. According to the American growth, says William C. Blatter, president of Hair Loss ConHair Loss Association, Minoxidil was first used as a medicatrol Clinic, which is headquartered in Latham but has 175 tion in tablet form to treat high blood pressure when it was affiliated clinics that offer treatments and 700 locations that noticed patients were experiencing excessive hair growth. distribute hair-loss products around the world. Blatter says his clinics offer Minoxidil to patients in his Low-level lasers encourage protein and cell growth and imclinics, often at a 5 percent concentration rather than the 2 prove circulation, which stimulates the hair follicles to regrow percent dermatologist often prescribe. (The American Hair hair. The lasers, which can be used for in-clinic treatments or Loss Association notes, “The makers of Minoxidil have not purchased for home use, are cleared by the FDA and have received FDA approval for promoting 5 percent Minoxidil or been studied to show that 93 and 100 percent of people who Minoxidil extra strength for use by women.” Although the asused them regrow hair. Blatter says a recent study of an insociation says many dermatologists use the 5 percent soluclinic laser showed 100 percent of women regrew hair (with tion with patients under supervision and some small clinical 97 percent of women growing 20 percent or more hair and trials have shown it more effective than 2 percent solutions.) 77 percent of clients regrowing 50 percent or more of their Blatter says typical regimens also include natural supplemissing hair back in that area after six months of laser use). ments that encourage hair growth by giving the hair the In-clinic lasers are typically used a couple times a week to nutrients it needs, and special shampoos that are devoid once a week and every other week. In-home treatments are of some of the harsh chemicals in standard shampoos that often used every other day, and can come in the form of caps tend to hurt hair health. HL and helmets or even laser brushes and combs, Blatter says.
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fertility
Tick, Tock A
should you freeze your eggs before it’s too late?
by valerie foster
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healthylife
around. I had a new-found confidence. I was no longer only thinking about marriage and getting pregnant. Freezing my eggs bought me some time.” FREEZING UNDERSTOOD Male sperm and embryos have been slow frozen for decades. But although slow-freezing eggs has been done for almost a decade, the process was not without fault. Eggs contain water, and when the eggs were slow-frozen, crystals formed that could destroy the egg. Dr. Rob Kiltz, founder and medical director of CNY Fertility & Spa in Latham, explains that the breakthrough everyone was waiting for came with vitrification, a rapid-freezing method that plunges eggs (and embryos) into liquid nitrogen. “It prevents ice crystals from forming during the freezing process, and has improved the viability of live births,” he says. “I am amazed by the technology we are developing and a technology we keep improving upon.” In late 2012, the practice committee for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) lifted the “experimental” label from the vitrification process after examining 1,000 pub-
Photo: Esben Emborg/GettyImages.
round the age of 35, Sarah Elizabeth Richards of New York City began to panic. The man she was planning to marry finally admitted he didn’t want children, and she found herself alone. She also knew she was not about to find another man to marry any time soon. The ticking of her biological clock was hurting her ears. Three years later, Richards spent nearly $50,000 to freeze 70 eggs, hoping that if Mr. Right ever did come along, she could use these eggs to start her family. She also decided to go public with her decision. Last year, she wrote an essay for the Wall Street Journal detailing why she chose this route, in addition to publishing Motherhood Rescheduled: The New Frontier of Egg Freezing and the Women Who Tried It, chronicling the journey of four women — including herself — into the world of egg freezing. Now in her 40s, Richards has found love, plans to marry, and will soon begin the process of thawing some of her eggs. “I didn’t plan for my life to take these turns,” she admits. “But once I decided to freeze my eggs, it changed the way I thought about myself and my fertility. I was feeling really bad about myself, but I found a way to turn my story
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lished papers on the process. According to Dr. Samantha M. Pfeifer, committee chair, in addition to the advent of vitrification, they lifted the label for two other reasons:
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“When we looked at the data, we felt comfortable lifting the experimental label,” Pfeifer says. THE PROCESS First, a woman is given a series of shots to stimulate her ovaries to make multiple eggs. When the eggs are mature, the woman is given light sedation and the eggs are extracted with a needle. Kiltz says it is not unusual for women to experience some cramping or light spotting, but more serious complications, such as infection, ovarian trauma or infertility are infrequent. When the woman decides she wants to use her eggs, they are thawed, fertilized with sperm, allowed to grow, and then transferred into the woman. If more than one egg is fertilized, the fertilized egg can be frozen for future use. WHAT IT MEANS FOR WOMEN Richards says she spent most of her 30s panicked about her love life or desperate every time she saw an adorable child. Her decision to freeze her eggs was not an easy one, but once it was made, she never looked back. Her first batch of eggs was frozen in Massachusetts, the second in Canada. “I needed to freeze the second batch as a safety net,” she says. Annually, she spends around $1,000 for egg storage fees, money she thinks is well spent. Kiltz says most of the eggs CNY is freezing are from women that fall into three groups: • Those suffering from medical conditions, such as cancer, which could harm their ovaries. • Women like Richards, who are postponing childbearing until their late 30s or 40s.
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• And egg donors who receive around $4,000 for each batch of eggs. They are able to donate up to four times. But he also recognizes that the system is not perfect, and unfortunately the newness of the technology means many unanswered questions remain surrounding egg freezing. The biggest one is the length of time eggs can stay frozen. Kiltz suspects the answer is decades, but has no data to back this up. Pfeifer says the current norm is four to seven years. She adds that it’s not uncommon for pregnancies to occur from embryos frozen for 10 years. When ASRM lifted the experimental label, it came with
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fertility some caveats. It refused to endorse widespread use of egg freezing for elective use, citing a lack of data on safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness and potential risks. The report stated: “Marketing this technology for the purpose of deferring childbearing may give women false hope and encourage women to delay childbearing. Patients who wish to pursue this technology should be carefully counseled.” Also, what happens if you decide you don’t want to use your eggs? Kiltz says that CNY will not destroy any eggs, currently not an issue since they have unused storage space. If a woman officially abandoned her eggs, he said they would either send them to another storage facility that stores discarded frozen sperm, or ask the woman if she wanted to donate her eggs to another couple. In that case, she would be paid for selling her eggs. “There are many social and cultural issues that come into play with any advancements in medicine, and it takes time for us to catch up with the advancement,” he says. “The only constant is that technology is always changing. I think it is important for us always to be patient while we are in the
“
process of change.” And just as in life, the younger the woman, the greater the chance of the eggs’ viability. But Kiltz adds that just as in life, there are 20-year-olds who have trouble conceiving, and 40-year-olds who have no problems at all. “Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that if a woman freezes her eggs, she will give birth to a baby,” he says. “There are just too many variables.” CNY has had a “handful” of live births from eggs they have frozen. He tells his 30- to 35-year-old patients who are contemplating freezing their eggs that they can expect a 30 to 40 percent success rate, and those in their 20s, a 50 percent rate of success. Richards was aware of the percentages, but chose to ignore them. “Freezing my eggs changed my life,” Richards says. “I finally felt in control of my life when I was able to take control of my fertility.” HL
I finally felt in control of my life when I was able to take control of my fertility. ”
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mind Ask Emma 61 Dealing with PTSD 62
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Are You Still
Listening? are we losing our capacity to bond? by emma tennant
Photo: © iStockphoto.com/Lise Gagne.
I
’ve seen Rachel on and off for years. On her first visit — three hours after our session — I found her walking along the highway as I was driving home. Her car had broken down. It didn’t occur to her to return to my office to call, or wait. She just walked. So I drove her home. Most of the time, Rachel would come in and sit down, fold her arms around her chest, and stare at the wall somewhere in the middle distance over her left shoulder. She would sit like this for 20 minutes. Finally I’d say: “How was your week?” “Is that what we’re going to talk about? My week?” she’d snap. “Whatever you want.” “My week isn’t important.” I think you get the flavor of life with Rachel. Obviously she was hurt — very hurt — and came to therapy to express something. But what? I can’t say I ever found out. But here’s the point of the story. The last time she emailed me to return to therapy she wrote, “I don’t know if you’ll remember me, but my name is Rachel, I used to see you in therapy…” Remember her? My God. Somebody who forces you to sit in silence for an hour is not someone you are likely to forget. But OK, I wrote, “Of course I remember. I’d be happy to see you again.” So in she comes, arms folded, head turned to the wall. We wait. This time, I try something different: “I find it odd that you’d ask if I’d remember you,” I began. “Did you think I’d forget you?” “Of course you’d forget me. You see a lot of people. I don’t remember people I see infrequently. I think it is perfectly reasonable for me to ask. It’s like you are saying there’s something wrong, when I can’t be expected….”
W
hy am I telling you this? I think what breaks my heart about Rachel, and what worries me as time sails along, is I wonder if we all might be losing our willingness and capacity to connect — or what we might more technically call, “object constancy.” Put it this way. You and I are friends. I think. When we meet two weeks later, are we still friends? What if it is two years later? Or 20 years? It seems to me that at one time, people formed bonds that lasted forever, or if they broke down, they broke down over a conflict; they didn’t just fade away. I spent one summer reading letters from the Civil War,
from soldiers back to their families in Massachusetts and New York. “My beloved sister,” one began, “how I long to behold your precious face again and be once again with you and Mother. With every day I remain in gratitude for our love and pray with all my heart that you are well.” What comes through is the intensity, the absolute assurance that despite the passage of time, the distance, and the war, that nothing can dissolve the bonds of love that these siblings share. There is no hint of hesitancy. They have constancy. Think of The Odyssey, the great ur-text of our literature. A man goes to war, at Troy, and fights for 10 years. Then he tries to return home in Ithaca, and it takes 10 more years. Meanwhile his wife is waiting, with suitors at her door, eager for her to give in and marry one of them. But both Odysseus and his wife Penelope believe that they will be together again, and never waiver in their faith that when they meet again they will be remembered, embraced — fundamentally the same and bonded still. The prodigal son? He takes his money, he goes to the city, and he wastes it all on wine, women, and song. Broke and humiliated, he stumbles home in desperation, with the intention of begging to be allowed to be a mere servant at his father’s estates. What does he find? He is embraced with open arms: “Quick!” says the father to his servants, according to Luke: “Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” These are true riches. The relationships that we have with one another that never fade, that always confirm our value. The relationships where we are always who we are and nobody else. If we don’t have relationships like these we are poor indeed. I don’t know if we form these so easily anymore. Families are fractured, friends are unfriended, distrust and cynicism seem epidemic — at least with the people I see around you. If you have friends who will never forget you, hold onto them dearly. If you don’t, don’t despair — work to forge them. I believe what once came naturally to us in a simpler time takes work and patience now. I hope it happens for Rachel one day too. HL Emma Tennant (not her real name) is a practicing psychotherapist. All advice offered here is simply that. If you have a pressing concern, you should see a specialist in person. If you have a question you’d like addressed or a comment for Emma, send it to askemma@ timesunion.com. Inquiries will be treated with confidentiality.
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emotional health
Dealing with Trauma PTSD affects more than just victims of war
I
magine experiencing a traumatic event so disturbing that it alters the way you think, the way you relate to others, and the way you live. Imagine that, as you’re trying to find peace somewhere in this new reality, you’re debilitated by recurring thoughts and reminders of the horrific event that you’re trying to forget. And, imagine that those memories are so constant that they invade your dreams, so even sleep isn’t an escape. If you can picture yourself there, then you can try to imagine the struggle of coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can occur in some people after they experience or witness a traumatic event, which typically involved physical harm or the threat of it. While many associate PTSD with war, anyone who has been a victim of a traumatic event, or has witnessed a traumatic event
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as it happened to a loved one or even strangers. Its victims are people of all ages, even children. “Trauma can take a variety of forms. It can be combat exposure, but it also can be a terrorist attack, a physical or sexual assault, a serious accident, a natural disaster, or childhood sexual or physical abuse,” says Amanda Kras, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at the PTSD clinic at the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center. It’s likely that more than half the U.S. population will experience a traumatic event at some time. The National Center for PTSD, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which works to promote research and education on the disorder, reports that approximately 60 percent of men and 50 percent of women in the general population will experience at least one trauma in their lifetimes.
Illustration: CSA-Archive/GettyImages.
by anna zernone giorgi
CAPITAL DISTRICT COIN DEALERS ASSOCIATION Not everyone who experiences a trauma, however, will develop PTSD. Between 7 and 8 percent of U.S. adults are likely to develop PTSD at least once in their lifetimes, according to the National Comorbidity Survey, a groundbreaking nationally representative mental health survey completed in 1992. The risk is about twice as high for women compared to men. About 10 percent of women are likely to develop PTSD at least once, compared to a 5 percent risk of PTSD for men. The subsequent 2005 National Comorbidity Survey-Replication study estimated that PTSD affects about 7.7 million U.S. adults annually.
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Getting Lost The reasons that some people develop PTSD while others do not aren’t easy to predict, since every individual experiences events uniquely. “It’s based on how that person perceived the event, how the person felt in the environment, and whether their internal state of safety was at risk,”says Lauren Fury, a clinical social worker and therapist in Albany. While it’s difficult to predict who will develop PTSD, certain risk factors can make you more prone to the disorder if you have a traumatic experience. “If an individual has already experienced a [previous] traumatic event, it can make them more susceptible to getting a PTSD diagnosis. Other risk factors are: if they had prolonged exposure to violence and to a threat of their own safety in their environment in general, whether that be at home or in a community; or if they already have a mental illness such as depression, low self-esteem, or anxiety,” Fury says. “Other considerations are whether internally, they have the ability to cope; and externally, do they have family support or do they have friends who are supportive? What other community networks do they have? Do they have a group as a social support?” Whether or not a traumatic experience leads to a PTSD response isn’t always immediately apparent. “It’s really common for folks to have stress reactions immediately after going through a traumatic experience. Most people do. You might notice things like anxiety or trouble sleeping, feelings of anger or sadness, bad memories or dreams of the traumatic events that took place — all of those would be very common for most people right after they experienced something traumatic. Oftentimes, those kinds of symptoms will diminish over time for people,” Kras says. “It’s really when those persist and, or if they’re interfering significantly with someone’s life, that he or she may have PTSD and might benefit from more evaluation and potential treatment.” While the specific symptoms of PTSD can differ from one individual to another, certain types of behaviors typically occur in adults. “T.R.A.P. is a useful acronym to describe the symptoms of PTSD,” says Gretchen Wilber, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist at the PTSD clinic at the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center.
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T stands for the traumatic event that occurred. R is for re-experiencing symptoms, which are bad memories, traumatic dreams, or flashbacks. The A stands for avoidance, which can include avoidance of other people, avoidance of their emotions, avoidance of stimuli connected to trauma. P stands for physiological arousal or hyperarousal. “Many people will experience an exaggerated internal response, an increase in things like heart rate and blood pressure when they are exposed to trauma cues,” she says. “There is also a general sense of hypervigilance or being on guard. These symptoms need to occur for 30 days or more before an individual can be diagnosed with PTSD.” The difference between a typical reaction to a traumatic event and a diagnosis of PTSD is in the duration of the symptoms and their impact on your daily life. “In order to meet the criteria for most psychiatric conditions, including PTSD, it has to have interfered with an individual’s ability to take part in meaningful activities in their life, which could be school, work, or social relationships. Many people might exhibit some of the symptoms, but it may or may not necessarily interfere with their life,” Wilber says. As the symptoms persist, people with PTSD can experience more anxiety as they struggle to cope with maintaining a normal life. “At first, most people will usually have what’s called, ‘a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.’ However, ongoing hyperarousal, hypervigilance, and flashbacks
can make you unable to do your day-to-day activities. Having obtrusive thoughts or memories of the event can result in poor concentration and an inability to focus. You keep going back to the event in your mind, which is what makes it difficult to concentrate,” Fury says. The symptoms of PTSD in children can differ depending on the type of event that occurred and the age of the child. “For children, when it comes to sexual abuse and maltreatment, domestic violence, and things of that nature, they tend to sometimes withdraw from their normal personalities. Maybe they were more extroverted and become more introverted. When it comes to something like molestation, maybe they don’t want to be with a particular person, and they throw up a fight every time they see a person when before, it wasn’t a problem,” Fury says. “Children also may act it out in their play. They may be more sexualized or have more sexual knowledge than their age, or what’s appropriate for their age, or what they’ve been taught or learned. They also may act it out in other ways such as angry outbursts or sudden bedwetting or defecating in their pants.” Finding A Way Out If you suspect you may have symptoms of PTSD, it’s important to consult with a mental health professional to confirm a diagnosis so that you can pursue effective treatment. “Healing from trauma is different for different people, but it
Photo: Carmen MartA-nez BanAs/GettyImages.
Treatment for PTSD often involves psychotherapy or counseling.
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is something that’s very possible. The distress that accompanies PTSD and the ways that PTSD can limit and restrict a person’s life, they don’t have to go on indefinitely; there really is help,” Kras says. Treatment for PTSD often involves psychotherapy or counseling. It also may include medication in conjunction with counseling. The medications often prescribed to treat PTSD are a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which include sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil). For some patients, medication can be an effective way to control symptoms such as anger, worry, and sadness, allowing them to fully participate in psychotherapy. Treatment can vary depending on the symptoms present and individual needs. Psychotherapy or “talk” therapy can be an effective option. “Cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy are both examples of cognitive behavioral therapies that have a lot of research supporting their effectiveness in reducing the symptoms and the distress of PTSD,” Kras says. “These therapies, broadly speaking, help individuals with PTSD learn about PTSD and begin to address the factors that maintain some of the problems that they’re having. Those with PTSD are able to learn new ways of dealing with their symptoms and they have an opportunity to emotionally process and work on making meaning of their experiences. All of that promotes healing.” Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is another type of therapy that can be effective for treating PTSD, according to the National Center for PTSD. Like cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy, EMDR can help people change how they think about memories of the traumatic experience. As they think or talk about their experience, a therapist helps them focus on other stimuli such as eye movements or sounds. The length of prescribed treatment also is an individual issue. PTSD may be accompanied by diagnoses such as depression, other anxiety disorders, or other mental health issues. “There is likely to be some variation regarding what treatment looks like from person to person. Cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy are both designed to be time-limited treatment options. Both of those are designed to be about three to four months of intensive work on the PTSD, but it’s not uncommon for individuals to come in and also have other things that they may need to address in treatment as well, so the overall treatment package might look somewhat different from person to person,” Kras says. Treatment for substance abuse also may be necessary. “After a long period of time, they start to isolate because they don’t feel that the outside world is a safe place for them; that’s when depression really sets in and then it becomes anxiety and depression. After that is when you see people really start to self-medicate, especially to lessen the anxiety so that they can try to feel somewhat normal. Or, sometimes they use it as a way to escape,” Fury says. Sharing thoughts and feelings about PTSD with others who have similar experiences also can be therapeutic. “Groups are really important for trauma survivors. It’s re-
ally an amazing thing because you get to express yourself openly in safe place and with people who have experienced things similar to you. You get to share, but you also get a social support that sometimes people don’t come home to,” says Fury, who facilitates a women’s trauma support group and a support group for non-offending parents of children who have been physically or sexually abused. Having the support of spouses, family and friends also can be critical to the healing process of PTSD. The National Center for PTSD at ptsd.va.gov is an excellent resource for family, friends, employers who want to learn about the disorder. “It can be very helpful for those people to learn as much as they can about the disorder so that they can understand better what the individual with PTSD is going through. Other things they can do are: go to doctors’ visits, help them to keep track of medication and therapy appointments, and just generally be there and be supportive, telling a loved one that you want to listen and that you understand if he or she doesn’t feel like talking about it,” Wilber says. By becoming involved in the treatment process and understanding how the individual is affected, spouses and family members can avoid blaming the victim for the situation. “Offer them validation for their feelings. A lot of times, people do not validate their feelings and unintentionally blame the victim, but you don’t want to blame. It’s not the victim’s fault. They’re dealing with a normal reaction to an abnormal situation, where their faculties were not able to respond in a way that maybe they felt they should have. But, they need to remember that they did what they needed to do to survive,” Fury says. “Just giving people time to really heal is important. It takes time; it’s not something that happens overnight. They can get back to a normal life, but they need the support.” HL
Could You Have PTSD? If you’ve experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, you may have PTSD. If you think you or a loved one may be dealing with PTSD, compare your symptoms against the behaviors that The National Center for PTSD says are the most common. A Trauma Symptom Checklist is available at ptsd.va.gov/public/assessment/trauma-symptom-checklist.asp Consult your healthcare or mental health provider if you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms: • re-experiencing or reliving the event • avoiding thoughts, feelings, or other reminders of the event • feeling detached or disinterested in others after the event • physical symptoms, such as headaches or gastrointestinal problems, or emotional symptoms, such as anxiety or depression, that began after the event
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WHO WILL BE CROWNED 2014
Mother of the Year 16th Annual
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To nominate a mom you know, go to www.MotheroftheYearAlbany.com Nominations open March 20 - April 20, 2014
Behind the Scenes Hair and makeup by Kimberley’s A Day Spa in Latham. Select clothing available at Boscov’s Clifton Park. At right: blouse by Skye’s the Limit, pants by Nine West. Photo taken by Joann Hoose at The Natonal Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs. The National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame was established in 1986 as the only museum in the nation (and one of the few in the world) that is dedicated entirely to the art of dance. The museum campus includes the Lewis A. Swyer Studios and the School of the Arts, which offers a variety of dance classes. The Museum also offers a private, charming and scenic location for weddings and special events. Visit facebook.com/ healthylifenymagazine to view our Behind the Scenes photo gallery, or scan the QR code at right to link to our HealthyLife photos page on Facebook.
Top Tip: Be present. If you’re eating mindfully, you are tasting your food. You are getting the full experience and will feel satisfied. There is no reason to make your favorite treat off limits. You can have a small portion that you truly enjoy rather than a large portion that you didn’t even realize you just ate. Being present will enhance your everyday experiences and lead to a healthier life.
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my word
Forgiving
Yourself by rachel fiske
Illustration: CSA-Archive/GettyImages.
I
am a young woman who has the benefit of coming from a strong mother. I think being a mother always involves strength, no matter how crappy someone might be at it, insofar as it takes a lot of guts to love someone the way you cannot help but love the people who grow in your body. But my mother is a force. Outspoken, bright, educated, career-oriented, hard-working — my mother is the kind of person people look up to, a woman who has rammed her head against the glass ceiling until it breaks and who women around me stand back and admire. In high school this mortified me. My friends would talk about how cool they thought she was while I sat there wondering why everyone’s house had curtains except for mine. In my desperation to fit in, I wanted my mother to fit in too. We had these old shades you had to tug on just so in order to raise and, if you miscalculated, they’d never go back up. Yes, she had risen in a male-dominated field. Yes, she wore her hair short and rejected makeup. Yes, she swore like a sailor and had already read every book that blew my mind. But what about our ugly windows? Her refusal to hide made it harder for me to blend in, and it took me years to truly appreciate what a gift that was. If my back is straight, at the base of my spine are vertebrae passed directly from my mother’s body to my own. Whenever I argued with my mother growing up, she’d inevitably announce at some point that she’d done the best she could with the tools she had. It drove me nuts. NUTS. Rage rose in my throat as soon as she began the phrase. Oh, if only her toolmaker had given her a better kit, I’d snark in my head. Poor Mom. I rendered her declaration a trite cop-out, a refusal to take responsibility for whatever way she’d failed me. Really, though, this phrase was an admission of imperfection, her way of pointing at a hearty crack in the facade of the indomitable woman that she put forth the rest of the time. Not hanging curtains was rendered a mere quirk in the face of this admission of her hopeless fallibility. Every
time she referenced her tool set, I grew cold and steely. This was an unacceptable explanation. I was terrified that I was doomed if her tool set couldn’t fix any situation life threw my way. There was no way my tool set measured up to hers.
F
lash forward to a few years ago. I am in the emergency room holding my baby, holding her tight so she doesn’t move while the doctor slices into her body. If I cannot contain her, then they’ll tie her to a gurney. I can’t bring myself to make her not move her beautiful body — her miraculous body that wiggles and kicks and dances — but refuse to let her be tied down. Not my baby. No one is tying down my baby. It is this refusal that makes me hold her tight, that holds her eyes in mine and sings lullabies into her hair. There is no way to explain to her that this is for her own good. It is a harrowing experience that ends in a heap of uncertainty. Tests are ordered. We’ll call you, they say, and send us home to wait. I lie awake all night, my mind going backward through the days that brought us here, ticking off signs suddenly arrowclear, kicking myself and evicting the prospects of where we are going. There is only space for should’ve. It’s in every breath. When I call my mother the next day and whisper across the line the terror of awaiting diagnosis of my daughter’s small body, she is sympathetic and she listens. And then she says, Now you know what I meant. No point looking back; you did the best you could with the tools you had. It is a moment of intense forgiveness. My mother forgives me and, when she does, I begin to forgive myself. My shoulders slowly drop away from my ears. My jaw unclenches. For the first time, her metaphor comes into focus. All those years ago she wasn’t copping out; she was forgiving herself. We only know so much. We always know more later. The only way forward is to assess the path so far and then march ahead anyway. Her toolbox will always be missing tools; so will mine. We gather what we can, try to fill the holes, and keep going. Forgiveness is the way. HL
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reading
Book Club! great reads to beat the mud season blues by brianna snyder
CARTHAGE Joyce Carol Oates A young girl disappears in the Adirondacks. When an entire community launches a search and rescue, they discover something very troubling indeed.
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enthusiastic reader and she loves a good mystery. What’s she reading? “I just checked out a new book in a mystery series that I’m very fond of,” she says. “The author is Alan Bradley and the title is The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches.” That’s one definitely to check out; Hunter describes HL it as “like Wednesday Addams in Downton Abbey.”
COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE Haruki Murakami A story about a man who is abandoned by his friends and confronts each one of them in order to find out why.
ANOTHER GREAT DAY AT SEA Geoff Dyer The nonfiction writer explores life aboard the USS George H.W. Bush. Dyer is wry and observant, and Another Great Day tackles life on the boat as a passenger and a crew member, as well as the crazy sublanguage that exists at sea.
Main photo: Neal Grundy/GettyImages.
W
e know this is the sludgiest time of the year, so we rounded up a few of the best page-turners we could find, with help from Mary Ann Hunter of the Saratoga Springs Public Library, to help the time pass faster. Hunter is, like all good librarians, a prolific,
What You’re Reading
Movie Time A lot of novel-inspired movies are coming out this year, too! So check out these books before they hit the big screen.
We asked our Facebook fans what they’re reading. Here are some of their suggestions. Melissa M.: The Husband’s Secret was great.
THE GIVER Lois Lowry
Melissa K.: The Other Typist. A friend and avid reader recommends Longbourn by Jo Baker. It’s on my list.
A staple among Millennials in their youth, so it’s about time they made the movie!
Merci: The Goldfinch Marilyn: Little Scarlet, by Walter Mosley. Excellent novel. Anne: Carthage, Joyce Carol Oates
A LONG WAY DOWN Nick Hornby
What We’re Reading And here are some recent faves from the HealthyLife staff.
The writer of High Fidelity and About a Boy means there are great expectations for this movie version.
Janet Reynolds: The Dinner by Herman Koch, a real page turner that unfolds using the conceit of a dinner party, starting with the appertif. You won’t be able to put it down, even as it becomes more and more disturbing.
DIVERGENT Veronica Roth
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, one of the most lyrical novels I’ve read that examines aging and how our memories change as we age. Also has a surprising twist at the end.
Mary Ann Hunter says to look out for this series — it’s the next Hunger Games.
Emily Jahn: Under the Dome by Stephen King. I haven’t finished this novel yet as it is 1,074 pages but I’m having a hard time putting it down. A small town reels from discovering an invisible shield has encapsulated them and forces the residents to face the facts about very crooked local politicians. At least that is what it’s
THE FAULT IN THE STARS John Green A sad one about a woman with a terminal illness.
about so far, but if I know Stephen King (and I do, pretty well) I’m sure he’ll conjure up a surprising ending to wrap up this unique but twisted book. Brianna Snyder: I’m reading Jenny Offill’s Dept. of Speculation, which came out in January. It is a very dryly hilarious portrait of a married couple; the lead character is known simply as “the wife.” You’ll like it if you’re into that George Saundersy wryness. Colleen Ingerto: With The Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge. A harrowing perspective of marine warfare in the Pacific during WWII, with details so vivid and emotionally charged that one would think the whole war had occurred just yesterday.
PERFECT Rachel Joyce
BARK Lorrie Moore
THE EXECUTION Dick Wolfe
A coming-of-age story about a boy who worries when the British government adds two seconds to the year, which is freakier than you think.
A Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Moore writes sharp, insightful prose, and this book of short stories is both funny and dark.
Wolfe is the inventor of the TV hit Law and Order and Mary Ann Hunter is a big fan of Wolfe’s novelistic pursuits, particularly this mystery series. (The Execution is the second book, so check out The Intercept before you pick this one up.)
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A DV E R T I S E M E N T
Have you heard about this new technology that is FDA cleared, and non-surgical treatment for back pain?
Herniated Disc?
Non-surgical spinal decompression may be the last back pain treatment you will ever need. And you may be able to forget the pills, getting endless shots, struggling through exercise programs...and...risky surgery...because with this amazing new technology...if you are a candidate... they may be a thing of the past. You’re about to discover a powerful state-of-the-art technology available for: Back pain, Sciatica, Herniated and/or Bulging discs (single or multiple), Degenerative Disc Disease, a relapse or failure following surgery or Facet syndromes. Best of all -- you can check it out yourself for FREE! CALL 518-300-1212
I
magine how your life would change if you discovered the solution to your back pain.
In this article you’ll discover powerful new back pain technology that has the potential to be that solution for you. This incredible technology is Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression and the DRX 9000. Here’s the amazing story how it was discovered and why it has a chance to help YOUR back pain...
How Science Helps Back Pain The lower back is a series of bones separated by shock absorbers called “discs”. When these discs go bad because of age or injury you can have pain. For some the pain is just annoying, but for others it can be life changing...and not in a good way. It has long been thought that if these discs could be helped in a natural and noninvasive way, lots of people with back and leg pain could lower the amount of pain medication they take, be given fewer epidural injections for the pain and have less surgery.
Recent medical breakthroughs have led to the development of advanced technologies to help back and leg pain suffers!
Through the work of a specialized team of physicians and medical engineers, a medical manufacturing company, now offers this space age technology in its incredible DRX 9000 Spinal Decompression equipment.
The DRX 9000 is FDA cleared to use with the pain and symptoms associated with herniated and/or bulging discs. . . even after failed surgery. What Conditions Has The DRX 9000 Successfully Treated And Will It Help YOU? The main conditions the DRX 9000 has success with are: • • • •
Back pain Sciatica Spinal Stenosis Herniated and/or bulging discs (single or multiple) • Degenerative disc disease • A relapse or failure following surgery • Facet syndromes A very important note: The DRX 9000 has been successful even when NOTHING else has worked. Even after failed surgery. What Are Treatments On The DRX 9000 Like?
After being fitted with an automatic shoulder support system, you simply lie face up on the DRX 9000’s comfortable bed and the advanced computer system does the rest. Patients describe the treatment as a gentle, soothing, intermittent pulling of your back. Many patients actually fall asleep during treatment. The really good news IS... this is not something you have to continue to do for the rest of your life. So it is not a big commitment. Since offering the DRX 9000 in my Colonie office, I have seen nothing short of miracles for back pain sufferers who had tried everything else. . . with little or no result. Many had lost all hope. Had herniated disk operation 8 years ago another disc became herniated. Doctor wanted to operate have arthritis from 1st one (did not want to go under knife again) very grateful to DRX9000 (thank you Dr. Claude D. Guerra, DC) Very happy camper. Raymond F Niskayuna, NY Age 55 This treatment was a miracle for my cervical disk herniations. Only other alternative was surgery, which I no longer have to face. William I Schenectady, NY Age 63
I was told by a doctor I wouldn’t be able to work. I cannot afford to not work so I tried Dr. Claude D. Guerra, DC, and not only did the pain go away but I never missed a day at work. Rick S Clifton Park, NY Age 42 I would love to shake the hand of the person who invented this machine. It was a life saver for me and a lot better than going under the knife. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone with chronic back pain. Dawn H Colonie, NY Age 49 Before the DRX 9000 treatment. I had no quality of life. Couldn’t do anything for myself. Thank God for Dr. and the DRX machine. I can live again. Yvette K Schenectady, NY Age 47 I suffered for three years, before I received treatment on the DRX 9000. Today, I can sleep and get out of bed like a normal human being. Before, I couldn’t even drive my car because the pain in my hips, legs and feet were so bad from the sciatica nerve being pinched by my Herniated Disc L4 and L5, which also prevented me from sitting in a chair or even using my computer lap top at any time. Today things have changed due to advance technology therapy on the DRX 9000. They always try
A DV E R T I S E M E N T I would definitely refer people to your office. Dr. Guerra and his staff have made this experience a pleasure. Ed H Hoosick Falls, NY Age 70 Pain free, numbness in the left foot is gone. DRX 9000 is GREAT and does work. Sal L Niskayuna, NY Age 50
Dr. Claude D. Guerra, DC demonstrates the DRX 9000 to a patient
to regulate the treatments that work. What is up with this taught process???? The world is changing and so have I. Frank A Troy, NY Age 52 Before receiving the DRX treatments, my quality of life was very poor. I could hardly do anything other than going to work and going to bed. After the DRX treatments my quality of life has improved 90% which has resulted in me being able to go for long walks without a cane and go shopping. Anne P Burnt Hills, NY Age 70 I am so appreciative of this method of therapy because when I came to the office I had to use a cane and had muscle pain in walking. After 2nd treatment sciatica nerve pain was gone in my left leg. Judith W Albany, NY Age 64 Prior to this treatment my only options appeared to be invasive pain management, or surgery. After receiving 24 sessions on the DRX, I am markedly improved, relatively pain free and am able to function as I had in previous years. Highly recommend to anyone with disc issues. Alan P Scotia, NY Age 53 I would choose this therapy again! Painless treatment that gets your life back to
normal. Stick with it-it works! Linda G Broadalben, NY Age 53 I am so happy I came to Dr. Guerra. I was in a lot of pain and after being on the DRX I tell you I do not have pain. I feel wonderful and the staff are very nice. Dr. Claude D. Guerra, DC is wonderful. If you are in pain try the DRX it really helps. Edith C Schenectady, NY Age 71 I think more people should know about this procedure before considering any surgery. Medications help the pain but they don’t cure the cause. I am back to my old self again. Lorraine B Scotia, NY Age 78 I highly recommend this machine. I had my doubts but it really and truly works. Dr. Claude D. Guerra, DC is a wonderful doctor and his staff is great too. Linda D Clifton Park, NY Age 46
I’m able to go on long walks and get all night sleep (I’ve had 3 surgeries since 2006) Without the DRX I would be in for a 4th back surgery. I’m getting back to doing activities with my 10 year old son. Lisa V Catskill, NY Age 45 I wish to thank you very much for all the help I received with the spinal decompression therapy. Your entire office was very helpful and compassionate. No longer do I sit at night with my heating pads, moving them from sore spot to sore spot. My knees are no longer on fire and I’m able to go up and down the stairs much easier than before. Mable D Ballston Lake, NY Age 68
SPECIAL OFFER Call Dr. Claude D. Guerra, DC’s office at 518-300-1212 and mention to my assistants that you want a FREE back pain/DRX9000 qualification
consultation. It’s absolutely free with no strings attached. There is nothing to pay for and you will NOT be pressured to become a patient.
Here is what you will receive: • A consultation with me, Dr. Claude D. Guerra, DC to discuss your problem and answer the questions you may have about back pain and the DRX9000 • A DRX9000 demonstration so you see for yourself how it works! Due to current demand for this technology, I suggest calling today to make your appointment. The consultation is free. We are staffed 24-hoursa-day, 7-days-a-week. Call 518-300-1212 right now!
It’s absolutely FREE with no strings attached. There is ONE Big Problem: My busy office schedule will limit how many people I’m able to personally meet with... so you will need to act fast. Call 518-300-1212 right now... to be sure you are among the first callers and we will set up your free consultation today. We have the phones answered 7 days a week 24 hours a day so call now... 518-300-1212. (Free consultation is good for 45 days) 2016 Central Ave., Colonie www.albanyDRX.com
I was extremely skeptical at the beginning of treatments - Progress was slow in coming - But... then it worked! What a relief!!! Joan K Delmar, NY Age 71 I had no where else to go with this problem. The DRX 9000 was just what I needed. Many thanks! Burton S Mechanicville, NY Age 50
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cover model q&a
up close with … Christy Venter by brianna snyder | photo by joann hoose
C
hristy Venter, 32, is so healthy she gets paid to help other people be healthy. Venter is the owner and founder of HealthyME Living, which she’s been running for over a year. As a health coach and dietary consultant, Venter helps busy moms like herself figure out how to take better care of themselves. Venter lives in Glenmont, where she grew up, and has two daughters, Ella, 7, and Grace, 4, with her husband Ryan. “My daughter is attending my old elementary school and has my same second grade teacher. How fun is that?,” she says. You don’t totally love to work out, but you do exercise. How do you get yourself to do something you don’t like? I know how important exercise is for your health, both body and mind, so I just do it. I want to set a good example for my children, so I do it but try to find ways that are fun and don’t feel like exercise (such as dance parties, tag, hula hooping, etc.). I want them to have a positive feeling about health and fitness.
What’s your favorite thing to do on a Saturday afternoon? I like when we have a free afternoon where no one has plans and we can just relax as a family. Usually, we end up playing family games or go swimming at the Y. Who does the cooking in your family? What’s your favorite meal? It used to be me but I’m happy that my husband has now been doing more of it. We love doing make-your-own-pizzas. We add pesto sauce, tomato sauce or just tomato slices to the dough and fresh veggies and cheese for the toppings. Everyone makes it the way they like it and we all enjoy doing it together. What’s your favorite memory? Enjoying summers at Schroon Lake as a child and now being able to enjoy them with my children. Do you have a favorite movie? I like documentaries about health such as Hungry for Change, Forks over Knives and Food, Inc.
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Behind the Scenes Hair and makeup by Kimberley’s A Day Spa, Latham. Photo taken by Joann Hoose at The National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs. Above: Dress by JBS, shoes by Life Stride. Select clothing available at Boscov’s Clifton Park. Visit facebook.com/healthylifenymagazine to view our Behind the Scenes photo gallery, or scan the QR code at right to link to our HealthyLife photos page on Facebook.
What’s one thing about you that would surprise our readers? I just purchased healthy vending machines for the Bethlehem Central High School, Middle School and other locations. I want to make healthier options more accessible. HL
‘Before’ photo by Colleen Ingerto.
What’s a frequent mistake people make when it comes to their own nutrition and diets? Putting so much emphasis on dieting and not listening to your body. If you eat quality calories rather than only focus on quantity, your body will get the nutrients it needs which will cause less hunger and cravings and more clarity and energy. As a health coach, I help people with this process and look at other factors in their life that may be getting in the way. No one diet works for everyone but if we listen to our bodies, we’ll find what works best for us.
Children whose sleep was affected by breathing problems like snoring, mouth breathing or apnea were 40%-100% more likely than normal breathers to develop behavioral problems resembling A.D.H.D. The Journal Pediatrics, Volume 129, Number 4 April 2012
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