Natural Awakenings Boston May 2020

HEALTHY LIVING

HEALTHY PLANET

AUTOIMMUNE BREAKTHROUGHS GUT HEALTH The Missing Link THE KITCHEN AS SACRED SPACE

FINDING

CALM

May 2020 | Boston | NaturalAwakeningsBoston.com

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HEALTHY LIVING HEALTHY PLANET

publisher's blog As the effects of COVID-19 are rippling through, and in some cases trampling over, our concept of life in the 21st century, I am grateful for some aspects of this pandemic.

I and everyone on our Natural Awakenings team are most grateful for being able to continue doing the work of delivering high-quality content intended to support you in living a full and healthy life.

Clearly this is a challenging time for most businesses, and we are no exception. Many of our partners have reluctantly been forced to put their advertising on pause until they are able to reopen, rebuild or perhaps ultimately even shutter for good. The effects can feel devastating, scary and insurmountable.

Choosing to take a helpful and productive outlook, we know that whatever happens during and in the aftershocks, is all going to be okay however it shakes out. The mindset—just keep moving forward, don’t let fears take over, keep looking for the blessings—has become my mantra.

For years I’ve been thinking about creating a strong digital presence, interviewing our practitioners and business owners and sharing their informative videos, boosting our email lists, etc. In this respect, the pandemic has been a gift. It quickly became do or die time. With physical distribution of our print edition becoming limited, there has been no choice but to take these very important steps to adapt to our current affairs.

It was just the kick in the pants I needed.

Remember the local food movement that became popular in 2014 and later sparked the “shop local” movement? I think it’s time for all of us to resurrect it and support our communities as pandemic restrictions ease. When we buy local, more money stays in the community and keeps our local economy alive. This is something we’ll definitely need for our community to economically recover, so please consider our advertisers when purchasing goods and services related to your wellness needs. We are 100% supported by their monthly marketing dollars. When they know how you found out about them, it’s very helpful for their decision making at renewal time and is deeply appreciated.

Never miss an issue by subscribing to our newsletter at NaturalAwakeningsBoston.com/ pages/subscribe or text NABOSTON to 22828. Each month you’ll receive the digital edition right in your inbox so there’s no worry about tracking it down.

I hope that you and yours are doing well during this time of uncertainty. Thank you for your readership and support over the last nine-plus years. We appreciate it greatly.

Peace,

BOSTON EDITION PUBLISHER Maisie Raftery

MANAGING EDITOR Nancy Somera DESIGN & PRODUCTION Courtney Ayers

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STAFF WRITER Wendy Fachon CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Bridgitte Carroll Dilshan Kevin de Silva Marlaina Donato Matthew Herrold Laurie Nadel Margo Roman April Thompson

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DEPARTMENTS 8 news briefs 11 health briefs 12 global briefs 13 health alert 20 conscious eating 22 plant medicine 25 inspiration 26 classifieds 27 resource guide 31 naturally boston Due to the fluidity of the coronavirus situation and massive amounts of cancellations, please visit our website for calendar listings. Please also be sure to confirm events prior to the date of the event.

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Natural Awakenings | Boston | May 2020 issue

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GUT HEALTH

NEUROFEEDBACK FOR TREATMENT OF THE ESTEEMED POST-TRAUMATIC TUMERIC ROOT STRESS DISORDER

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SOUL NOURISHMENT

FINDING CALM

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14 The Missing Link of Autoimmunity

HEALING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

The Kitchen As Sacred Space

During Trying Times

Autoimmune Breakthroughs Offer New Hope

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May 2020

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news briefs

Natural Relief for Upset Tummies

Tummy Drops are an all-natural, healthy, medication-free way to relieve tummy troubles. They are made with just four, simple, plant-based ingredients including ginger and peppermint. What sets this tasty remedy apart from other natural tummy aids is its creator, a board-certified gastrointestinal physician, making Tummy Drops a trusted source of relief.

Tummy Drops are third-party certified organic, gluten-free, non-GMO project and kosher. They are also tested to contain no heavy metals, making them safe enough for even pregnant women to use.

For more information, visit TummyDrops.com.

From our family to yours, Please stay safe.

We are open and here for you.

Functional Medicine, Biological Dentistry and Café are Open

With strong COVID-19 infection control procedures in place, Groton Wellness continues to support patients and their families on their health and wellness journey. Available services are functional medicine, either in-person, or via Zoom, Facetime and Skype; high-dose intravenous Vitamin C; ozone therapy; far infrared sauna, sterilized with ozone; and nutritional and immune support supplements.

The Biological Dental Center is open for emergency dental services, essential restorative dental services using additional COVID-19 recommended protocols and teledentistry to review previous treatment recommendations and how to best move forward with care.

The Café is also open and taking online orders for takeout.

Use code cafeonline for a 10 percent discount.

Location: 493-495 Main St., Groton. To schedule an appointment, call 978-449-9919. For more information, visit GrotonWellness.com. See ad on page 2 and Resource Guide on page 28.

Free Yoga for Healthcare Workers

Down Under School of Yoga is supporting frontline workers with two weeks of free yoga. The school has long-time relationships with Beth Israel, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Hebrew SeniorLife, Mass General Hospital and Tufts Medical Center and is now supporting the true heroes of this pandemic. Hospital staff have free access to their livestream classes. Employees of these hospitals are invited to create an account and upload their badge on the website.

All other hospital staff and hospitals across Massachusetts, America and the world are invited—the offer is open to frontline medical workers everywhere. Connect them to your medical facility by reaching out to Michael@DownUnderYoga.com.

For more information, visit DownUnderYoga.com/hospitals.

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news briefs

The ‘Take What You Need’ Sale

With so many people staying at home and looking for ways to learn more about how to improve their health, the CommonWealth Center for Holistic Herbalism, in Boston, is offering a “Take What You Need” sale on online courses in herbalism. The sale offers multiple coupon codes so that people can get a discount that matches their current means.

For people that are still being paid through this shutdown, co-owners Katja Swift and Ryn Midura ask that they choose the smallest possible discount, or that they take no discount at all so they can help as many people as possible. If your income is disrupted, they offer multiple different coupon levels and encourage people to take the one that they need to be able to afford the courses that they want.

“Just like toilet paper, this kind of thing only works if those who have what they need share with others who don’t— this is a time for our community to blossom with support for one another,” says Swift.

Multiple courses, including Immune Health and Respiratory Health, are available and include hours of video lessons, plus printable quick-guides, quizzes, resources, access to their twice weekly live Q&A web conferences and more. The codes are corona20, corona30 and corona50 to take 20, 30 or 50 percent off any course.

Special thanks to Dole & Bailey for supporting us with home delivery in their customer orders.

We appreciate you very much!

Visit: DoleAndBailey.com for more information about their products and services.

For more information, email Info@ CommonWealthHerbs.com or visit CommonWealthHerbs.com.

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May 2020

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news briefs

New Virtual Session Specials For Overall Health, Wellness and Pleasure

Sacred Temple Arts offers new types of virtual sessions for one’s overall health, well-being, intimacy and relationships.

Session choices include essential oils consultations for natural solutions to health challenges, improving well-being, increasing immunity, disinfecting and much more. Gem and flower essence therapy is available, as is flower essence grid distance energy work that includes meditation and breathwork.

“Isn’t now the time to find the practices that most contribute to your life and lifestyle?” asks Sacha Fossa, MA, certified sex, intimacy, relationship and wellness coach, educator and healing arts practitioner. Fossa teaches clients in ancient and modern techniques for greater energy, intimacy and consciousness. Using various intuitive tools, clients will learn how to actualize more of what they desire through intuitive readings, Law of Attraction and Tantra, all of which can improve relationships and one’s sex life.

For more information, call or text 978-3099399 or visit SacredTempleArts.com. See ad on page 23 and Resource Guide on page 30.

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health briefs

Dean Drobot/Shutterstock.com

Take Quercetin to Reduce Blood Pressure

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A new Harvard study of 746 young sperm donors reports that men that exercise more have better sperm quality. The men, with an average age of 26, at least a high school education and no radiation exposure or sexually transmitted diseases, were qualified to donate to a sperm bank in their area. Compared to men that seldom exercised, those that reported the most total exercise and logged the most time doing intense workouts had better sperm motility, which increases the chances for sperm to move through the female reproductive tract to reach an egg.

Watch Out: Rapid Weather Changes Boost Flu Risk Rapid weather swings as a result of climate change raise the risk of flu virus infections and epidemics, reports a study from Florida State University and international researchers. Tracing weather patterns and infection rates during a 20-year period in the U.S., China, Italy and France, scientists found that extreme fluctuations in weather during the autumn months of 2017 essentially kick-started that winter’s severe flu epidemic, implying, “The lapsed human immune system in winter caused by rapidly changing weather makes a person more susceptible to flu virus,” says lead author Zhaohua Wu, a professor of meteorology. The study warned that as weather variability increases, Europe could see a 50 percent increase in deaths tied to flu by the end of the century, but added that factoring in weather variability could help public health planning.

unknown/Canva.com unknown/Canva.com

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Exercise to Boost Sperm Quality

Supplementation with quercetin, a plant pigment found in capers, cilantro, fennel, onions, red leaf lettuce, watercress, elderberries, asparagus, kale, cocoa, apples and chia seeds, can significantly reduce both diastolic and systolic blood pressure, lowering each by about three milliliters/Hg, reports a new review of research published in the Oxford Academic Journal, of 17 clinical studies that tested 896 participants. Quercetin also improved HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels when consumed for eight weeks or more.

Tuck Kids In Early to Reduce Depression and Cognitive Issues Fewer than seven hours of sleep for a child is not only linked to anxiety, depression, impulsiveness and cognitive difficulties, but also impacts a child’s brain structure, suggests new research from the UK’s Warwick University published in Molecular Psychiatry. Researchers used data that included MRI scans of more than 11,000 children ages 9 to 11 from 21 centers in the U.S. Parents also provided information about their child’s sleep duration and mental health conditions, and children performed a battery of cognitive tests. Researchers found that compared to children that slept between the recommended nine and 11 hours, those receiving less than seven hours had 53 percent more behavioral problems and scored 7.8 percent lower on cognitive tests. In children that slept less, volumes were smaller in five brain regions. Children that slept longer showed less depression and higher cognitive scores, and felt safer and more secure in their homes and neighborhoods.

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May 2020

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Buzz Off

Bee Swarms Form Giant Brains

New research from the University of Sheffield in the UK published in Scientific Reports suggests that individual members of a bee swarm behave like neurons in a human brain. The scientists applied a theoretical model commonly used to study human psychology to the behavior of bee colonies, and they believe that studying “bee speak” could inform us about how our own minds make decisions. In the field of psychophysics, Weber’s law describes a relationship between the size of a stimulus and noticeable increases in its magnitude. This general rule about stimulus and perception has been observed in birds, fish and even the collective behavior of simpler organisms, but not in whole clusters of tiny brains such as an insect hive. To investigate its role in the decision-making processes of the European honey bee (Apis mellifera), the researchers watched hives split apart and hunt for new homes. Among bees, the process of choosing a hive comes down to the interactions of scout bees communicating their discoveries through a visual display of body wiggles.

“The study also supports the view of bee colonies as being similar to complete organisms,” says computer scientist and lead author Andreagiovanni Reina.

Passing Gas

Seaweed Lowers Cows’ Methane Emissions

If Australia can grow enough of the puffy, pink Asparagopsis taxiformis seaweed for every cow in Australia, the country could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent. That’s the conclusion the University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia) seaweed research group leader Associate Professor Nick Paul.

The cows burp out methane, but, “When added to cow feed at less than two percent of the dry matter, this particular seaweed completely knocks out methane production. It contains chemicals that reduce the microbes in the cows’ stomachs that cause them to burp when they eat grass,” he says. Cows are known to eat seaweed. “This seaweed has caused a lot of global interest, and people around the world are working to make sure the cows are healthy, the beef and the milk are good quality,” Paul notes. “But the one missing step, the big thing that is going to make sure this works at a global scale, is to make sure we can produce the seaweed sustainably.”

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Clean Energy Growth Trend Upended

The widespread layoffs in clean energy risk derailing an industry that was leading the country in job creation, and Massachusetts is among the hardest hit states. At the start of 2020, clean energy employment increased for the fifth straight year, growing to nearly 3.4 million workers nationwide. Renewable energy led the way, increasing 3.2 percent to about 523,000 jobs.

Energy efficiency continues to be the single largest section of the clean energy economy, employing 2.4 million Americans at the end of 2019, up 2.3 percent from 2018 despite federal rollbacks and delays of energy efficiency standards. But the March layoffs are just the first indication of how badly the clean energy industry will be hit by the crisis, with the analysis projecting that more than 500,000 clean energy workers—15 percent of the entire clean energy workforce—will lose their jobs in the months ahead, unless Congress and the Trump administration take quick and substantive action.

Bob Keefe, executive director of the national, nonpartisan business group E2, says, “What these numbers tell us is that clean energy workers are a huge and important part of America’s workforce—and they are hurting badly. Lawmakers simply cannot ignore the millions of electricians, technicians and factory workers who work in clean energy as they consider ongoing economic recovery efforts—especially since we know from our country’s last economic meltdown that clean energy can lead the way to recovery.”

Source: American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE)

Financial Fix

Great Britain Coal Use Falls With Carbon Tax

A tax on carbon dioxide emissions in Great Britain has led to the proportion of electricity generated from coal falling from 40 percent to 3 percent over six years, according to research led by University College London (UCL) and the University of Cambridge. In a report entitled The Value of International Electricity Trading, researchers showed the British Carbon Price Support tax caused electricity generated from coal to fall from 13.1 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2013 to 0.97 TWh in September 2019, and that coal was replaced by other less emission-heavy forms of generation such as gas.

The decline in coal generation accelerated substantially after the tax was increased in 2015. The tax is one part of the Total Carbon Price, which also includes the price of EU Emissions Trading System permits. Project leader Dr. Giorgio Castagneto Gissey, of the Bartlett Institute for Sustainable Resources, says, “Should EU countries also adopt a high carbon tax, we would likely see huge carbon emission reductions throughout the continent as we’ve seen in Great Britain over the last few years.”

Peter Llewellyn/Canva.com

global briefs

health alert

A Note from Dr. Margo Roman

Medical Ozone Therapy Helping COVID-19 Patients Some fantastic news on medical ozone therapy is emerging as creative medical professionals use their skills to help COVID-19 patients around the world. Pilot studies in Spain, Italy and China show medical ozone treatment dramatically reduces the percentage of patients needing ventilators and speeds recovery from COVID-19 respiratory disease. Larger controlled O3 studies are approved and underway in Spain and in Italy.

Medical ozone has been used extensively around the world for the past 30 years and has extensive, peer-reviewed studies to support its cellular action in vitro and its safety and efficacy in clinical applications. Ozone is used worldwide to decontaminate drinking water from viruses and has even been used successfully against the Ebola virus.

Medical oxidative therapy is completely safe, with no side effects, unlike the anti-malaria drugs, which have serious—even fatal—side effects, and reports of the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin clearing virus in vitro, but at 1000x safe clinical dosage. Recent anecdotal reports from emergency doctors in New York City suggest that hypoxia is the primary characteristic of severely affected COVID-19 patients, not pneumonia related dyspnea, more reason to consider a treatment that does no harm and increases the oxygen available to patients.

With vaccines a year or more away, we need to use open and creative methods to protect our vulnerable populations. The brunt of this epidemic is

being borne by people in crowded urban environments, in nursing homes, in group homes—the demographics of the COVID-19 death rates reveal this devastation. We need options for treating life-threatening pulmonary collapse, and ozone therapy offers that. Published research and news reports on the success of ozone for treating COVID-19 can be found at Plenacuraevets.com/ medical-oxidative-therapies- forcovid19-resource-page.

I can help you reach ozone-trained medical doctors all over the United States to help initiate treatment for coronavirus patients through our ozone professional organizations. But, medical ozone can do so much more: ozonated saline can help protect medical workers and first responders from infection, ozonated drinking water can be used by all essential workers to prevent the virus from taking hold and ozone can be used to disinfect personal protective equipment (PPE) safely for reuse.

With the new national law “Right to Try,” this is a right for all Americans.

We need to provide safe, accessible options. Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions about clinical applications and getting access to trained O3 practitioners.

Source: Margo Roman, DVM. DrRoman@ MashVet.com. For information on disinfecting PPE using Medical Ozone, visit: youtu.be/PiZv9pLbW6g. See ad on page 10 and Resource Guide on page 29.

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May 2020

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GUT HEALTH The Missing Link of Autoimmunity

by Bridgitte Carroll

Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases, lupus and celiac disease are on a significant upward trend in the United States today. Autoimmunity is a misdirected immune response that happens when the immune system attacks itself. For example, in Hashimoto’s disease, the immune system attacks the thyroid. Therefore, the presence of an autoimmune condition indicates that we need to focus on correctly directing the immune system.

Conventional medicine treats autoimmune conditions by using medication to inhibit symptoms. However, a huge piece of the puzzle is missing, one that is a root cause of many conditions: gut health. With 70 percent of the immune system located in the gut, it is important to focus on the role of gut health in autoimmunity. According to renowned researcher Dr. Alessio Fasano, there is a “three-legged stool of autoimmunity,” meaning three factors need to be present for autoimmunity to develop: 1) genetic predisposition; 2) a trigger; and 3) intestinal permeability. These three factors together create the ideal environment for autoimmunity to develop. Eliminating or repairing intestinal permeability can lead to potential improvement or even remission of autoimmunity.

Research shows that gut dysbiosis, an imbalance of good and bad bacteria, is a contributor to autoimmune conditions, and specific bad bacteria in the gut can directly trigger an autoimmune reaction. What people may consider normal—acid reflux, bloating, not going to the bathroom everyday (less than one bowel movement per day)— are actually signs that the gut is out of balance and must be addressed.

Diet and lifestyle are the largest factors that can help or harm our bacterial balance. The factors that negatively contribute the most to microbiome disruption include high intake of processed foods, refined sugars, hydrogenated/trans fats, overuse of antibiotics or acid blockers, stress, smoking and alcohol. However, even the healthiest eater can have a significantly imbalanced gut.

A good balance of bacteria can be supported by consuming a diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables, stress reduction, smoking cessation and avoiding unnecessary medication. Another strategy is to consume probiotics, which are live beneficial bacteria. They can be an excellent addition to a supplement routine or easily consumed through fermented foods, such as kefir, kombucha, kimchi and sauerkraut. However, for some, probiotics may exacerbate certain conditions. Thus, when adding or subtracting foods and/or supplements for gut health, personalization is absolutely key.

Similarly, probiotic supplements should be individualized as well. Prebiotics, substances that feed bacteria and are, in a sense, precursors to probiotics, are also a worthwhile addition for many people. Onions, garlic and asparagus are examples of prebiotics. At the same time, if someone ingests these and it causes any GI upset, it may indicate that the prebiotics are feeding bad bacteria.

For those with autoimmune conditions, or even for prevention, a comprehensive 14

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stool test is the optimal way to determine best steps for moving forward with gut health. By simply evaluating symptoms, it is hard to know where to start. Add probiotics? Remove gluten? Add anti-inflammatory support? The stool test gives us a road map about the current state of the gut and how to proceed.

Another marker of gut health called zonulin, can be evaluated when determining any food sensitivities. Zonulin is a protein that is responsible for controlling the gut’s permeability. Specifically, it has the power to disassemble the tight junctions that keep a gut in intact, making sure undesirable proteins do not get through to the bloodstream. However, when gluten or other potential inflammatory foods or proteins are ingested, zonulin is released and tight junctions become loosened allowing the protein’s access to the bloodstream. This sets off the entire inflammatory and immune cascade. As a result, other food proteins that may have previously caused no problem and may even be anti-inflammatory could then cause a similar immune reaction, becoming labeled as additional food sensitivities.

The food groups most implicated in worsening autoimmune conditions include gluten, dairy, sugar, eggs and nightshades. Additionally, targeted supplements that include glutamine, an amino acid that fuels the intestines, or other gut healing nutrients may be helpful to add in.

Each person should seek a healthcare practitioner that will take an individual approach to managing, improving or preventing an autoimmune condition.

With extensive nutrition and biochemistry education, functional dietitians are ideally suited to guide and support individuals with diet and lifestyle changes that may prevent or improve symptoms associated with autoimmune conditions.

It’s So Easy...

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Bridgitte Carroll, MS, RDN, LDN, is an integrative and functional dietitian in Waltham. She works one-on-one with clients utilizing a systems approach to get to the root cause of bodily imbalances. She is currently accepting new clients and accepts insurance at Johnson Compounding and Wellness. To schedule a consult, visit Calendly.com/Bridgitte-Carroll. See ad on back page and Resource Guide on page 28.

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May 2020

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feature

Healing the Immune System Autoimmune Breakthroughs Offer New Hope

by April Thompson Some 23 million Americans suffer from one or more autoimmune diseases—a category comprised of more than 80 conditions, including fibromyalgia, Hashimoto’s disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and Type 1 diabetes. These pernicious disorders are notoriously difficult to diagnose, even harder to treat and can be debilitating, diminishing the quality of life for sufferers.

Another commonality is the increased prevalence of autoimmune disease in women versus men; in the case of lupus, for example, a nine-fold difference. Some early indicators are that this may be related to a “gene dosage effect”, as men with XXY chromosomes have the same risk of developing lupus as other women, and women with XXX chromosomes (known in medical parlance as “superwomen”) have an even higher risk of autoimmune disease, according to Judith James, chair of the Arthritis & Clinical Immunology Program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, in Oklahoma City.

Yet there is hope on the horizon, as scientific discoveries unlock important insights about the manifestation and progression of autoimmune diseases leading to new treatments 16

and prevention tips. Evidence is also mounting around the role of diet and lifestyle in autoimmune conditions, giving patients new avenues for taking charge of their health instead of simply waiting for a cure.

Autoimmune diseases are chronic and can affect almost any part of the body, including the heart, brain, muscles, skin, eyes, joints, lungs, kidneys, glands, digestive tract and blood vessels. Each disease carries its own set of symptoms, but inflammation is nearly always present, and are all connected by how the immune system attacks the body’s healthy tissues. “Those shared characteristics hold the potential for shared treatments, and ultimately potentially common cures,” says Jane Buckner, president of the Benaroya Research Institute (BRI), at Virginia Mason, in Seattle, which works to advance the prediction, prevention, reversal and cure of immune system diseases.

“I’m excited about our progress toward prevention. We are working to understand those tipping points in transitioning into disease that help us understand who is at highest risk, and helps give very directed therapies,” says James.

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SELF-HEALING FROM AUTOIMMUNITY By her early 20s, Mickey Trescott, of Willamette Valley, Oregon, was bedridden and had lost her job to autoimmune disease.

At one point, doctors thought it was multiple sclerosis (MS); she was dizzy, numb, falling

Mickey Trescott, NTP, had the experience of recovering from a debilitating health crisis due to autoimmune disease. She is a three-time bestselling author.

She found an early version of what would become known as the autoimmune protocol (AIP), and in following its guidelines, began to find relief. Trescott connected with other women and started a private Facebook group to share information on what was improving their condition from which the AIP community sprung. AIP, an elimination diet that seeks to reset the immune system by cutting out inflammation-causing foods and treating leaky gut, has much in common with the paleo diet and promotes vitamin- and nutrient-rich foods. However, every individual comes out of the AIP process with a customized diet.

in our toolbox, including surgery, medication and lifestyle changes,” she says.

Anecdotal successes like Trescott’s have led researchers to pursue funding to test the AIP’s efficacy. In a pilot study of 18 individuals with an average sick time of 19 years that didn’t respond to traditional medication, 73 percent were in clinical remission at the end of the trial, having followed the AIP. “It was a small sample size, but the results are promising,” says Trescott.

PHYSICIAN, HEALED THYSELF Like many physicians, Terry Wahls focused on treating her patients with drugs or surgical procedures—until the Iowa City doctor was diagnosed with MS in 2000. Within three years, despite conventional medical treatments, her back and stomach muscles had weakened to the point where she needed a tilt-recline wheelchair, and by the summer of 2007, she could no longer sit up.

For Trescott, “Gluten is a forever-no, and I am also allergic to dairy and sensitive to a lot of nightshade vegetables, like tomatoes and peppers.” It took three years to recover most of her functioning, and although she had been a personal chef, it was still challenging to determine a new approach to eating that didn’t include the grains and legumes that had been staples of her diet.

Though Wahls had been a vegetarian on a low-fat diet for 20 years, she went back to eating meat and gave up all dairy, wheat and grains, but still wasn’t improving. Delving back into the science of her condition, Wahls realized that mitochondrial support was key, and the speed of her decline slowed while taking a cocktail of vitamins to support its functioning.

Trescott is still on medications, including the same thyroid support she’s relied on from the start. “There is a misconception that the AIP is an alternative to conventional medicine. We really pride ourselves on using all the tools

It wasn’t until she took a comprehensive approach to optimize everything she could take in through her food rather than relying on supplements that she saw radical results: Her brain fog, fatigue and pain went away

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and she biked around the block for the first time in six years. “Taking in nutrients in the form of food rather than supplements, you get related compounds and thousands of others in biologically anticipated ratios,” explains Wahls. “I still do take some supplements, but the magic is the food.”

Those key ingredients, says Wahls, include magnesium, zinc, selenium, sulfur, amino acids, cholesterol, omega-6 and omega-3s, fats, carnitine and creatine. Her rule of thumb for daily intake is three cups of leafy green vegetables; three cups of sulfuric vegetables like cabbage, mushrooms and onions; and three cups of deeply

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over and slurring her speech. Eventually, she was diagnosed with both Hashimoto’s and celiac diseases, affecting the thyroid and small intestine, respectively. Trescott, a nutritionist, chef and author of The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook, had been vegan for 10 years, but had a feeling that her body needed something different.

Dr. Terry Wahls used functional medicine to bring herself back from debilitating MS, and now teaches others how to use the Wahls Diet to heal.

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pigmented vegetables, plus sources of protein for meat eaters and vegetarians.

While her work was initially not accepted, today she has funding from the National MS Society and her research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals. “Basic science is now showing that the microbiome has a huge impact on the immune system activity and the brain; the food we eat can turn gene expression on and off,” says Wahls, who hasn’t taken any drugs for her autoimmune condition since 2008.

Buckner cautions against patients trying to manage disease with lifestyle changes alone, without giving available allopathic treatments a fair try. “People do better if they are treated early and aggressively. They are reliant on fewer medications down the road and don’t have permanent damage if they seek treatment early.”

However, even researchers focused on pharmaceutical approaches acknowledge the importance of diet and lifestyle. Meggan Mackay, professor of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, at Northwell Health, in Manhasset, New York, believes this can play a critical role in disease management. She cites numerous studies showing exercise as a stress-buster positively influencing disease outcomes, as well as a more specific study looking at the benefits of adding fish oil and vitamin D to the diets of lupus patients. “The rise in obesity, which is linked to increased inflammation in the U.S., may be one of reasons we are seeing more autoimmune disease than ever,” says Mackay.

At-risk individuals should be aware of factors under their control, adds James. “If someone is worried about autoimmune disease running in their family, monitoring and maintaining adequate vitamin D levels and avoiding smoking and other high-risk behaviors can help improve their chances.”

Even sleep patterns can play a role in disease 18

manifestation, says the researcher. In one study, individuals at high risk for autoimmune disease that slept less than seven hours per day were more likely to develop an autoimmune condition, according to James.

COMMON LINKS SERVE AS RESEARCH CLUES There are some clear links between autoimmune diseases, such as the genetic predisposition that runs in families. “Someone with rheumatoid arthritis may have a sister with celiac disease, for example, and one individual may suffer from multiple autoimmune conditions. We can learn from these common genetic links,” says Buckner. These common links can serve as important clues. For example, Buckner says they are able to demonstrate changes in T cells in diabetes and MS that are the same, which might lead to common treatments for the two conditions.

Meggan Mackay, M.D., MS, Professor, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, is hopeful about advances in basic science, addressing specific immune system abnormalities linked to inflammatory problems.

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While the process from basic scientific discovery to development of effective treatment can be slow, there are some concrete breakthroughs autoimmune researchers are excited about, having demonstrated ability to both prevent and delay disease. Citing a recent clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, “They have demonstrated in kids at high risk for developing Type 1 diabetes the ability to delay onset for at least two years. It’s an incredibly exciting finding,” says Buckner.

Mackay is hopeful about advances in basic science addressing specific immune system abnormalities linked to inflammatory problems. “Lupus is very challenging to diagnose and treat because it can affect every system in the body,” says Mackay, whose research team has focused on lupus for decades. “The only forms of treatment have been very immune-suppressive medications that shut down the immune response. None of these medications are specific, so in shutting down the immune response to treat lupus, they in turn interfere with the body’s ability to fight off infection and cancer.” Researchers are now honing in on single cells from biopsies that indicate which proteins are abnormal, thereby helping develop more selective therapies, she says.

Seeing progress in the lab is one thing; seeing it in the waiting room is another, and that’s where autoimmune scientists and clinicians are really beginning to note a difference.

“I’ve seen patients for 25 years, and when we started, we had very few options in my clinic, which was full of wheelchairs,” says Buckner. “In the last 20 years, we have seen an explosion in research and available treatments. I don’t have wheelchairs in my office anymore.”

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

Neurofeedback for Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

by Dilshan Kevin de Silva Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a devastating emotional disorder that can have a significant impact on an individual’s mental and physical health, productivity and overall quality of life.

Epidemiological data indicate that the estimated lifetime prevalence rate among adult individuals in the United States is nearly 7 percent of the whole national population and that, among war veterans this number can increase to 10 to 14 percent.

Research also shows that at least 20 percent of staff working in American intensive care units present PTSD symptoms, and this figure is certainly due to significantly increase during and in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic.

A clinical diagnosis of PTSD is made by a psychiatrist when specific symptoms are displayed for more than six months after the exposure to a stressful event. These symptoms may include nightmares, flashbacks, poor sleep, intruding thoughts, reduced ability to focus or sleep, emotional and/or sensory numbness and altered sense of reality, among others. Also, in individuals with other health conditions, PTSD can lead to poorer clinical outcomes, when compared to individuals with the same condition without PTSD.

While the combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy is still considered by most psychiatrists the most

effective clinical intervention, the growing number of persons with PTSD and the level of psychological suffering of those that experience treatment-resistant symptoms has led, over the last few decades, to innovative treatment methods. One of these methods is neurofeedback training, a completely non-invasive therapeutic strategy that naturally induces specific functional changes in the brain, with effects on the underlying physiology and behavior.

Neurofeedback holds promise in alleviating overall PTSD symptoms, and although prematurely heralded as ineffective in some of the early studies, recent research employing more advanced technology and treatment protocols has shed light into the possibility of using neurofeedback either as a standalone treatment for PTSD or in combination with other therapeutic interventions. In the randomized, controlled trial with the largest sample size carried out at the Boston University Medical School, van der Kolk and colleagues (2016) showed that neurofeedback sessions lasting 12 to 30 minutes each, occurring twice per week for 12 weeks, resulted in a clinically significant, post-intervention improvement in PTSD symptom scores.

While some neurofeedback protocols require expensive equipment and highly trained clinical staff, recently developed technology based on electroencephalography (EEG) allows any mental health professional to offer neurofeedback services to clients, using relatively inexpensive equipment. Hands-on EEG neurofeedback software can be installed on a regular desktop or laptop computer and, with the right training (many affordable online certification courses are available), any therapist can use neurofeedback technology to run both before-treatment EEG-based assessments and also therapeutic interventions, creating detailed reports that integrate the therapist’s clinical evaluation with electrophysiological data.

With more and more neurofeedback studies consistently demonstrating results in rigorous experimental designs, therapists must give strong consideration to using neurofeedback technology as both a diagnostic and intervention tool to alleviate the psychological suffering of individuals with PTSD. For more information about neurofeedback training, visit BrainCoreUSA.com and schedule a free 30-minute initial phone consultation with founder Dianne Kosto via this link MeetMe.so/DianneKosto. See Resource Guide on page 27.

Dilshan Kevin de Silva is a medical writer. Connect with him at LinkedIn.com/in/ DilshanKDeSilva.

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May 2020

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conscious eating

Soul Nourishment The Kitchen As Sacred Space

by Marlaina Donato

In our busy lives, grabbing food on the run or eating while standing at the kitchen counter is often the norm.

Designating the kitchen as a practical sanctuary and seeing the sacredness of food not only makes it more conducive to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but also gives our spirits much-needed satiety.

“If we don’t touch the transcendent—emotionally and spiritually—physical nourishment won’t fill us up,” says Ronna Kabatznick, Ph.D., former psychological consultant to Weight Watchers International and the author of The Zen of Eating: Ancient Answers to Modern Weight Problems. “Seeing the kitchen as sacred is something that represents gratitude, beauty and blessings.”

Delia Baron, co-author of Better Together Kitchen: Beautiful Recipes to Share With People You Love and the host of seasonal food workshops with partner Ronnit Hoppe in Melbourne, Australia, concurs, “ The kitchen is often the hear tbeat of the home and the best place to gather, feast, chat and create beautiful memories and rituals. The kitchen is also a place to connect to our food source.”

FUN AND FELICITY

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Preparing meals the old-fashioned way can slow us down and foster mindfulness, but Kabatznick emphasizes that cooking is irrelevant. “Look at the kitchen in terms of possibilities: ‘What can I create in this space?’

You don’t have to turn into Julia Child,” she says, adding, “You could be eating Chinese takeout or a prune; it’s all about mindset and simple rituals like saying a blessing, appreciating what we eat as a great gift.” Kabatznick encourages everyone to eat with dignity, and this includes using the good dishes, putting fresh flowers on the table and eating with awareness.

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Seeing the kitchen as the inspired nucleus of the home, it’s natural to add favorite items like art prints, colorful jars, sentimental treasures, dried flowers and other seasonal delights to nourish daily contentment. Conjuring an element of joy adorns the mundane. “Put on some music to put you in either a peaceful or joyful mood,” says Boston | NaturalAwakeningsBoston.com

Preparing food, whether a healthy smoothie or a gourmet weekend dinner for two, is a way to express love for ourselves and others. Baron loves the presence of plants, lovely ceramics and interesting platters and dishes, and notes, “Families can definitely shop, chop, cook and meal-plan together to make the kitchen a fun place to be. Doing these things together is very bonding and sends the message that looking after yourself is important.”

PRACTICAL MAGIC Meal prep can be enjoyable and even relaxing in a calm environment. For Baron, organization is key. She advises, “Having all the ingredients you need and working in a clean space also helps make the experience rewarding.”

The smallest of kitchens can be abundant and organized with the help of a little innovation.

A simple bookcase can offer additional shelf space for dry goods, bowls of produce or favorite cups. A small end table can hold a favorite tea pot and a jar of gourmet dark chocolate. A beautiful basket can hold go-to spice jars, and a pretty pitcher near the stove can accommodate a multitude of cooking utensils. “If you can’t fit it all out of sight in a cabinet, get some glass jars, fill them with grains, flours and legumes and line them up on the countertop. It will be neat, and you can see what you have,” suggests Larkin.

SACRED SERVINGS Spring Fever Salad with Flowers and Fruit Yields: 4 servings 1 head romaine or green leaf lettuce 8 medium-large organic strawberries, thinly sliced, or 2 small packages of fresh organic raspberries Handful of fresh, chemical-free flowers from the garden or store’s produce section: nasturtium, pansies and/or calendulas; gathered wild: spring violets and dandelion blooms

In-the-Bowl Dressing:

Juice from one fresh tangerine 1 part organic apple cider vinegar to 2 parts avocado oil Dash of sea salt Add avocado oil, apple cider vinegar and salt into a large bowl, swirl around twice. Tear (don’t chop) lettuce and add to the preliminary dressing. Squeeze tangerine juice over lettuce and toss lightly until well-dressed. Place strawberry slices over salad. Sprinkle (don’t toss) flowers on top or artfully place where desired.

Serve immediately.

In the end, a well-nourished body and spirit fosters a beautiful life and inspires the same in others. An advocate for supporting the hungry in all communities, Kabatznick underscores local efforts and seeing the big picture of our relationship with food: “Taking out the garbage and cleaning up is also a sacred act if we bring that attitude into it. Food connects us to the Earth, the moon and the stars. From the seed to the truck driver—everything and everyone involved—the process of food is miraculous.”

Marlaina Donato is the author of several books and a composer. Connect at AutumnEmbersMusic.com.

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photo by Marlaina Donato

Molly Larkin, author, healing practitioner and blogger at Ancient Wisdom for Balanced Living (MollyLarkin.com), in Corrales, New Mexico. “Turn off the TV and give everyone in the family a job. Laugh throughout the meal preparation. Dance as you cook. Do the same thing if you live alone.”

May 2020

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PLANT MEDICINE

The Esteemed Turmeric Root

by Matthew Herrold People are ready to buy anything that promises to bolster their immune system. With COVID-19 cure scams on the rise, consumers must be wary. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is sending out cease and desist letters to false advertisers, and plant medicines are not immune to this scandalous wave of marketing.

There is, however, a need for trustworthy solutions for people that want to protect themselves. Plant medicines are poised to step up, and the esteemed turmeric root brings thousands of years of medicinal use behind it. Turmeric and its constituents boast a wide array of accepted health benefits and can help the immune system function optimally.

Current perspective accepts that a compound called curcumin is the main driver of turmeric’s health benefits. Curcumin itself was first isolated from the turmeric root in 1842. In 1949, curcumin was identified as a biologically active compound that has antibacterial properties. Scientists’ interest in curcumin has accelerated over the decades from two studies in 1960 to more than 18,000 scientific publications on this one compound to date.

New discoveries about turmeric have continued to emerge. In

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the 1970s, curcumin became the subject of scientific investigation, and three independent groups discovered diverse characteristics of curcumin, including cholesterol-lowering, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities.

Later, in the 80s, Ramadasan Kuttan and colleagues demonstrated the anti-cancer activity of curcumin in both in vitro and in vivo models.

There are also growing interests in suggestive evidence for improving gastrointestinal conditions and to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Given the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotectorant properties of curcumin, this does make sense. More time is needed to tell just how powerful these relationships are.

One particular challenge is curcumin has poor absorption in the body, and whatever is absorbed metabolizes very quickly.

Fortunately, there are strategies that can help overcome curcumin’s poor bioavailability. To help maximize turmeric and curcumin’s health benefits through ingestion, combine it with pepper and healthy fats. Heat is often recommended to help combine these ingredients. Piperine—extracted from peppercorns—can increase the bioavailability of curcumin by up to 2,000 percent. Another way is to consume turmeric in tincture

form. Turmeric tinctures can be made with ethanol or medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) oil plus piperine extract.

Less talked about are the ways turmeric can improve skin health. Master esthetician Barbara Moore-Lee likes to point out that turmeric offers skin benefits when applied topically. “Turmeric is a skin brightener. It lightens acne scars and dark circles,” she maintains. She says to take an eight-ounce jar of lotion and ¼ to ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder and “whisk it really good.” Another option is to incorporate a few drops of lavender and tea tree oil. First mix it into a teaspoon of grapeseed or jojoba oil as a carrier then mix that concoction into a favorite face lotion. “That does wonders for acne,” Moore-Lee says.

different systems within the body. The human body has 12 major systems that all function like a team. If one suffers, then the others must pick up the slack.

Over time, that can cause additional problems. Homeostasis is the tendency of the body to try and balance itself.

Supporting homeostasis in the body with medicinal plants like turmeric or the fast-rising star, cannabis, can help prevent systems like the immune system from breaking down.

The pressure is certainly on right now for

people to take care of their bodies and minds. Plants like turmeric offer accessible and safe ways to combat stresses on our various bodily systems. As a reminder, always seek guidance from a qualified health professional before beginning a new health habit.

Matthew Herrold is a certified wellness program coordinator and currently helps to develop the Massachusetts marijuana industry through branding and education..

Connect at Matthew.Herrold@gmail.com.

There is some particularly good news for summer. Newer research was published on the effect of turmeric on grilled meats.

The study looked at a very popular dish, called satay, where turmeric is often used to marinate meat before the meat is grilled. Researchers concluded that turmeric helps prevent harmful compounds commonly formed when grilling meats.

What makes this discovery especially interesting is that this prevention takes place outside of the body.

Moreover, turmeric works to push the body toward balance by interacting with

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April May 2020

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inspiration

JUNE

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Coming Next Month

Brain Health

FINDING CALM

Plus: Inspired Lifestyle Travel

During Trying Times

by Laurie Nadel

From the moment we wake up and log on to our day, we are flooded with news about people whose days started off much the same, with an expectation of going from point A to point B, to lunch, to point C and then back home.

But something happened. A tornado touched down in the neighborhood. Or a train derailed in a cousin’s hometown.

Or, like now, an invisible killer stalks the globe, threatening to take our life or the life of someone we know.

Within seconds, we are flooded with horror and helplessness. Unable to stop the cascade of acute stress hormones, our bodies shift into fight-or-flight mode or leave us frozen like deer in the headlights.

Whether we see what is happening online, on screen or in real time, we feel unsafe in our own skin. Although disturbing images can be swiped away, when something bad happens to us, we don’t know what to do.

We can’t change the channel.

Even during these tough times, we can find opportunities to develop new strengths and grow individually and together. To start with, we need emotional first aid to help us find calm quickly. We can do this by locating the tension points in our body and asking them what color would help them feel calm. Then we can inhale that color, letting it find its way within to soothe our cells, and exhale our stress by breathing

out a different color. We can repeat this technique as long and as often as needed.

Teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida, report that this really works for kids, too.

To heal means to make whole. It doesn’t mean to make something go away. Hardship is part of life’s journey. Even this global pandemic can serve as our spiritual wake-up call to learn how different spiritual traditions heal from life-shattering events. Five gifts offer us the keys to wholeness:

•

Humility helps us accept what we cannot change.

•

Patience takes the edge off when the hurt lasts longer than we want.

•

Empathy keeps us connected for the long haul.

•

Forgiveness means forgiving ourselves, our leaders and God.

•

Growth lets us look back with thanks for what we learned when the journey of life was anything but comfortable and easy.

Let’s journey together.

Laurie Nadel, a Manhattan psychotherapist, is the author of The Five Gifts: Discovering Hope, Healing and Strength When Disaster Strikes.

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BOSTON COMMUNITY All Calendar events for the June issue must be received by May 10 and adhere to our guidelines. Visit NaturalAwakeningsBoston.com for guidelines and to submit entries. For extended event descriptions and additional listings, visit NaturalAwakeningsBoston.com/events/new.

Due to the fluidity of the coronavirus situation and massive amounts of cancellations, please visit our website for calendar listings. Please also be sure to confirm events prior to the date of the event. Thank you, Natural Awakenings.

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

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Chiropractic

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Quan Zhou, LicAc, Nutritionist 493-495 Main St, Groton 978-449-9919 GrotonWellness.com Helping patients return to health with acupuncture, ear therapy, cupping, guasha and acupressure, Quan’s expertise lies in the areas of chronic and acute pain, allergy, digestive conditions, stress-related problems, headaches, migraines, anxiety, depression, neurological disorders, respiratory issues, supportive treatment for cancer, fertility, reproductive health, women’s health and difficult-to-treat conditions in conventional medicine. See ad, page 2.

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Kristine uses a form of muscle response testing to identify and clear nervous system interference, facilitating optimal health.

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ADVANCED NEUROTHERAPY, PC

Well-Being Acupuncture Center 16 Main St, Groton, MA 01450 978-448-3940 Well-BeingAcupuncture.com

Jolene Ross, PhD 781-444-9115 RetrainYourBrain.com

Effective and compassionate acupuncture, herbal medicine, TuiNa, cupping and holistic therapeutic treatment. Relief for acute and chronic pain, stress and anxiety, headaches, insomnia, digestive issues, allergies and more. Clinical specialty in women’s health, male and female infertility, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause.

ALANA P. HAMMER

Newton Chiropractic & Wellness Centre 383 Elliot St, Ste F 250 Newton Upper Falls, MA 02464 617-964-3332, Fax: 617-332-7601 WellAdjusted.com Alana is a certified acupuncturist providing acupuncture, herbal medicine and adjunctive therapies to treat acute and chronic pain, orthopedic conditions, digestive disorders, stress and anxiety, sleep and cosmetic facial rejuvenations for over 10 years. See ads, pages 3 and 9.

Specializing in Neurotherapy, an effective, drug-free treatment for: attention, behavior, emotional, and executive function problems, autistic spectrum, anxiety, depression, post-concussion, peak performance and more. See ad, page 10.

SYMMETRY NEURO-PATHWAY TRAINING Dianne Kosto, Founder & CEO 132 Central St, Ste 205A, Foxboro 844-272-4666 Dianne@SymmetryNeuroPT.com SymmetryNeuroPt.com

Natural solutions to ADHD, autism, migraines, memory loss and mental fatigue do exist.

SYMMETRY is helping families increase grades in school, become more productive at work, manage emotions with calmness and security, and regain their health. Book a free consultation at MeetMe.so/DianneKosto.

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Julie Burke, DC 617-964-3332 Info@WellAdjusted.com WellAdjusted.com

We are a total wellness center open 7 days a week. We specialize in Gentle Non-Force Chiropractic (NSA), an assortment of massage modalities, HydroMassage, “Super Comfortable” custom orthotics, physical therapy, detoxifying ionic foot baths, and our latest wellness tool, BEMER (designed to improve circulation supporting the body’s natural self- regulating processes). See ads, pages 3 and 9.

Coaching LOVE CREATES MIRACLES 857-753-6819 ProsperityPrincess@gmail.com EdieBlue.com

Edie provides unique, boutique coaching tailored to help you create more love in your life.

Courses by Edie: The ABC’s of Love, The “Write” Way to Love, Soulmate Bootcamp, Knotty Minds: Knotty Bodies. Call Edie for a free 10-min session to see if you are ready to make changes that last. See ad, page 8.

TAKE THE LEAP COACHING

Kim Childs 1025 Mass Ave, Arlington, MA 02476 617-640-3813 Kim@KimChilds.com KimChilds.com Need help clarifying and realizing your desires? Asking “What’s next?” or “How do I get started?” Kim is a certified life and career coach specializing in Positive Psychology, creativity, and midlife transitions, to help clients create more personally fulfilling, meaningful and empowered lives. Initial consultations are free.

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Colon Hydrotherapy GROTON WELLNESS Katryn Miller, MEd, LMT, Colon Hydrotherapist 493-495 Main St, Groton 978-449-9919 GrotonWellness.com

Katryn has always held a deep desire to learn about the body and how it works. After many years of running her own business, Katryn joined Groton Wellness to help others with Colon Hydrotherapy. She holds a training certificate on the Libbe Colon Hydrotherapy Device. See ad, page 2.

INTERNAL WELLNESS CENTER Liz Marcano-Pucillo 150 Wood Rd, Ste 403 Braintree, MA 02184 781-228-6915 Liz@InternalWellnessCtr.com InternalWellnessCtr.com

Receive professional colon hydrotherapy by a national board-certified therapist using the Angel of Water system. The most comfortable and private system in the industry. See ad, page 8.

Compounding & Wellness Pharmacy BIRD’S HILL COMPOUNDING PHARMACY

401 Great Plain Ave, Needham, MA 02492 781-449-0550 Pharmacist@BirdsHillPharmacy.com BirdsHillPharmacy.com Familyowned and -operated since 1960, we have evolved from a traditional pharmacy to a worldwide compounding and nutritional resource.

Our unique one-on-one patient consultations produce a full understanding of your health needs.

You, your physician, and one of our compounding pharmacists work as partners to ensure that you will receive the best care possible.

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DINNO HEALTH

Acton Pharmacy 563 Massachusetts Ave, Acton, MA 01721 978-263-3901 Keyes Drug 2090 Commonwealth Ave Newton, MA 02466 617-244-2794 West Concord Pharmacy 1212 Main St, Concord, MA 01742 978-369-3100 DinnoHealth.com For more than a quarter of a century, Dinno Health has been a trusted provider of pharmacy services and is committed to providing the highest quality of individualized care for each customer. At our three independent pharmacies, we offer prescriptions, compounded medications, medical supplies, homeopathic remedies, vitamins and vaccines. See ad, page 8.

JOHNSON COMPOUNDING AND WELLNESS

John Walczyk 577 Main St, Waltham, MA 02452 781-893-3870 • Fax: 781-899-1172 John@NaturalCompounder.com NaturalCompounder.com JCW is the only sterile and non-sterile PCABaccredited pharmacy in Massachusetts. In addition to our compounding service, we offer a full range of nutritional supplements, natural products, homeopathic remedies and home health care equipment. See ad on back page.

Dentist BOSTON DENTAL WELLNESS

Dr. Iveta Iontcheva-Barehmi DMD, MS, D.SC. 1842 Beacon St, Ste 305, Brookline, MA 617-868-1516 BostonDentalWellness.com Dr. Iontcheva-Barehmi is an accomplished dentist and specialist in Periodontics and Implants with a holistic approach to medicine and dentistry. To schedule your comprehensive exam and share the excitement of a healthy smile, call: 617-868-1516. See ad, page 15.

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GROTON WELLNESS

Dr. Jean Marie Nordin, DDS, IBDM, ND 493-495 Main St, Groton 978-449-9919 GrotonWellness.com Health-focused general dentist, integrative biologic dental medicine and naturopathic dentist specializing in biological dentistry, oral surgery, sleep solutions, chelation therapy and safe mercury removal. Certified trainer of Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) developed by the Benson-Henry Institute in conjunction with Harvard Medical School. Dr. Nordin now teaches staff and other healthcare providers. See ad, page 2.

Functional Dietitian BRIDGITTE CARROLL, MS, RDN Johnson Compounding & Wellness Bridgitte@NaturalCompounder.com 781-893-3870 x 149

Bridgitte is experienced and passionate about helping individuals improve their well-being with food and lifestyle changes. Specialties include gastrointestinal issues, inflammatory conditions, anti-aging and weight management although she has worked with people of all ages with many diseases. See ad on back page.

Functional Medcine GROTON WELLNESS

Dr. Henri Balaguera, MD 493-495 Main St, Groton 978-449-9919 GrotonWellness.com Functional medicine doctor and clinical director of Groton Wellness. Specializes in functional medicine, chronic and infectious disease, autoimmune disorders, functional nutrition, pulmonary disorders, sleep issues, cardiovascular and metabolic dysfunction, natural hormone replacement and preventative medicine.

Mindfulness and meditation are at the foundation of his core values. See ad, page 2.

Functional Orthodontics

Mind-Body Medicine

Physical Therapy

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BODYMIND REPATTERNING

NEWTON PHYSICAL THERAPY

Dr. Samantha Bogle, DMD, MDS 493-495 Main St, Groton 978-449-9919 GrotonWellness.com Functional orthodontist specializing in orthodontics, dentofacial orthopedics, braces and Invisalign. Dr. Bogle loves creating beautiful smiles for her patients with a specific emphasis on early treatment in children to improve facial growth and development. She believes focusing on the airway, proper breathing and early structural intervention can reduce the need for orthodontic treatment later in life. Prevention is key. See ad, page 2.

Integrative Veterinary Medical Care MASH MAIN ST ANIMAL SERVICES OF HOPKINTON Margo Roman, DVM 72 W Main St, Hopkinton, MA 01748 508-435-4077 MASHVet.com

A full-service integrative veterinary clinic offering caring and healthful options and modalities like acupuncture, functional nutrition, homeopathy, chiropractic, herbs, ozone therapy, surgery and dentistry. See ad, page 10.

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Naturopathic Medicine GARY KRACOFF, RPH & NMD

383 Elliot St, Ste 250 617-964-3332 WellAdjusted.com

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Reiki BOSTON REIKI MASTER

Dr. Gary Kracoff provides guidance and in-depth consultative services to find the “why” to what is happening physically and mentally, working with individuals to restore balance in the body.

Specializes in customizing medications to meet individualized needs of patients, and he suggests nutritional supplements, natural products and homeopathic remedies to aid in faster healing and recovery. See ad on back page.

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Massage

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Dr. Darrow Hand, a naturopathic doctor with 20 years of experience, enjoys seeing patients of all ages, finding effective ways of helping to heal his patients. Dr. Hand treats a wide range of health issues. See ad, page 2.

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324 Central St, Newton 02466 617-244-8856 Elise@BrennerReikiHealing.org BrennerReikiHealing.org Providing you with reiki healing sessions, reiki meditation and reiki training to support you in reaching your goals of mind-body-spirit wellness and wholeness.

May 2020

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Spiritual Energy Healing

Wellness Resources

KRISTI BORST, PHD

BETH GARDNER

Inner child healing/reconnection, getting unstuck from trauma/abuse, energy balancing, pain release. Healing Resonance LLC with Kristi Borst spiritual healer/medical-emotional intuitive. Support for healing: mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically. All ages; private, couples, groups.

Certified lifestyle educator and the director of health and wellness at Acton Pharmacy, Keyes Drug and West Concord Pharmacy. Beth Gardner works one-on-one with patients to help create ways to improve diet and overall health as a means for disease and illness prevention. See ad, page 8.

Healing Resonance Wells, ME 207-216-0473 Phone/Skype worldwide ReleaseItAll.US

Tantra/Sacred Sexuality SACRED TEMPLE ARTS

Sacha L. Fossa, Masters Health Arts & Sciences, Certified Sex & Tantric Educator, Licensed Erotic Blueprint Coach, Healing Arts Practitioner 978-309-9399 SacredTempleArts.com

Acton Pharmacy Keyes Drug West Concord Pharmacy BGardner@DinnoHealth.com 508-259-7851

Yoga CECILE RAYNOR

Certified Alexander Technique Teacher; Certified Thai Yoga Therapist 33A Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02445 617-359-7841 OffTheMatYogaBlog.com Your yoga can release or create tension depending on the quality of your daily movements. Learn to let your postural mechanism work for you and notice excess body tension ease away on-and-off the mat.

Wellness Center NEWTON CHIROPRACTIC AND WELLNESS CENTRE Julie Burke, DC 617-964-3332 Info@WellAdjusted.com

We are a total wellness center open 7 days a week. We specialize in Gentle Non-Force Chiropractic (NSA), an assortment of massage modalities, HydroMassage, “Super Comfortable” custom orthotics, physical therapy, detoxifying ionic foot baths, and our latest wellness tool, BEMER (designed to improve circulation supporting the body’s natural self-regulating processes). See ads, pages 3 and 9.

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Boston | NaturalAwakeningsBoston.com

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Ready to have better sex and love your life more, partnered or not? Holistic, cutting-edge sex, intimacy and relationship coaching, energy and bodywork, for your sexual healing and empowerment. In-person and/or virtual sessions and programs.

See ad, page 23.

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naturally boston commitments or membership necessary. It purchases directly from local farms, up until 1 p.m. the day before delivery, and then the farms deliver orders to WhatsGood every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The shoppers’ orders are packed and delivered the same day. People can sign up for a free account by visiting SourceWhatsGood.com.

FARMERS TO YOU

Online Community Supported Agriculture

by Wendy Fachon

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs empower consumers to buy freshly harvested produce directly from local farmers, and several programs in the Boston area offer online ordering and home delivery. As these programs grow, consumers will have more opportunities than ever to support a local system, access better quality food, improve environmental sustainability and keep farmland in production.

Long-distance trucking compromises freshness, nutrition and flavor, adds cost and is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. CSA programs eliminate these transportation costs and middlemen, and fewer people are handling the products. The current pandemic is spurring the growth of programs that offer the added conveniences of online ordering, doorstep delivery and more consumer choice than a traditional CSA.

FRESHCONN FreshConn is a food accelerator social enterprise currently serving Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and is distinguished in personality, values and safety. While describing itself as “the instacart of farm fresh food,” FreshConn adheres to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) standards, along with COVID-19 sanitation. The company’s app solves a national last-mile logistics issue for farmers and artisans, contracting its drivers like an Uber for local food. The drivers, trained in FSMA standards, deliver food straight from the farm to the consumer.

FreshConn is also passionate about providing food where access to affordable and nutritious food is limited, delivering COVID-19 relief to residents of inner-city food deserts and those lacking transportation to purchase local food. From its online children’s book and its family meal show to job creation and community giving, FreshConn supports people everywhere. Learn more at FreshConn.com.

WHATSGOOD WhatsGood’s technology brings communities together to enable an efficient, convenient and waste-free system for access to the freshest local fruits and vegetables, meats, seafood and artisanal products. Customers can place an order any day of the week from as many vendors as they like. WhatsGood then aggregates the order at its Fenway hub and provides home delivery to zip codes in the Boston area and south of the city.

The company also offers the option to purchase CSA Farm Shares. For produce, it works the same way as a typical full-seasonal farm share, except it is billed weekly. Farm shares for meat and seafood are highly customizable, as customers can order a chicken farm share, pork farm share, etc. These run for 12 weeks at a time.

WhatsGood is rapidly hiring, expanding operations and updating safety and sanitation procedures to serve as many folks as possible. Customers can shop with no minimums, Be sure to let our advertisers know you found them in

Farmers to You is an online market that makes it easy to shop from more than 90 farms and food producers all located in New England. Most of the partnering farms are located in Vermont. Customers place their orders each week by Sunday night, and they can pick up their order at one of the 25 local Boston area pickup sites or enjoy home delivery. Selection changes constantly for seasonal items like fruits and vegetables, but there is also milk, cheese, pasture-raised meats, fresh fish, bakery fresh breads, eggs, fresh pastas, and loads of pantry items.

This marketplace is truly committed to rebuilding a trustworthy and sustainable regional food system. Affiliated farmers and producers are some of the best in the region. Most are organically certified, and those that are not use sustainable farming practices. If asked about any of their crops or animals, their soil practices, or their land, these are farmers that will deliver a lengthy and passionate discourse. Farmers To You believes its customers deserve to know the people that produce their food and how the food is produced and are fully committed to the well-being and health of its consumers.

Operating 12 months of the year, this marketplace offers the abundant selection of a great farmers’ market, the direct relationship of a CSA and the flexibility and convenience of online shopping and even delivery. By eliminating all the middle people, the food arrives fresher, it is handled by fewer people and the farmers and producers receive up to three times more of every dollar spent, helping them maintain their land and continue their sustainable practices. Learn more at FarmersToYou.com.

Wendy Fachon is a regular contributor to Sustainable Living News and host of the Story Walking Radio Hour on the Dream Visions 7 Radio Network. Visit DreamVisions7radio.com and search out her podcasts on sustainable living. See ad on page 10.

May 2020

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