Natural Nutmeg September 2020

September 2020

Natural Nutmeg Connecticut's Resource For Essential Living

The Four Pillars of Anti-Aging Medicine Henry Sobo, MD

8 Tips to Slow Down the Aging Process

The Amazing Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy Yvette Whitton, ND

Natural Treatments for Chronic Pain Adam Breiner, ND

Tamara Sachs, MD

Could Your Fatigue Be Related to Mold Sensitivity?

Never Fear Food Poisoning Again Steven R. Frank

Tonya Pasternak, ND

Healthy Aging Guide Celebrating 14 Years of Publishing www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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Preventative Health Care Book an appointment and buy gift somaspact.com

Phone 860.678.7880 • Text 860.712.1762

Are you SICK from feeling SICK TIRED of being TIRED Do you go from Here to There with NO Results at all?

IMAGINE the possibilities of a machine that provides detailed information on your Cellular Health ~

IMAGINE receiving answers to many years of Health Issues ~

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The Bio-Tracker checks the following....

Endocrine System Sinus Circulatory System Stomach Body Organs Fibrous Tissue Inhale Allergies Joints Spleen Carbohydrate Metabolism

Adrenal Glands Thyroid Glands Pituitary Gland Throat Ears Small Intestines Large Intestines Ileocecal Valve Lungs Ess. Fatty Acids Skin

Nervous System Lymph System Liver Heart Gallbladder Urinary Bladder Pancreas Kidney Food Allergies Reproductive System

....and much more if needed!

Metals ~ Chemicals ~ Bacteria ~ Viruses ~ Hormones ~ Neurotransmitters Mold ~ Vitamins ~ Minerals ~ Candida ~ ATP ~ GeoPathic Stress etc.

~ Bear Walker ~ Holistic Practitioner

3 Waterville Road Farmington, CT 06032

Office visits by appointment only

860-384-1527

www.circleofhealthonline.com 2

Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

Nutrition Specialists Trusted Since 1956

go deep

Your Local Health Solution

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Vote Us a 2020 Natural Nutmeg 10Best Health Food Store!

• In-Store Shopping Every Day • Email: orders@cthealthshop.com • Curbside Pickup, Local Delivery & Mail Order • Science-Based Information & Personal Service • Loyalty Program: Over 7,000 Healthy Items Vitamins • Herbs • Sports Supplements Organic Produce • Allergen-Free Food Natural Body Care • Aromatherapy

Discover your own unique self with our 27-week Human Relations Program.

Join us for a free introductory session on September 9 at 7 PM

Manchester Parkade Health Shoppe 378 West Middle Turnpike, Manchester, CT In-Store Hours Mon-Fri 9-7/Sat 10-7/Sun 12-7 www.cthealthshop.com/pandemic-updates 860.646.8178 / 860.783.8802 @parkadehealthshoppe

Register at hartfordfamilyinstitute.com/hrp-intro (860) 236-6009

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PUBLISHER'SLETTER

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all is here and our annual reader-nominated 10Best Awards are back! I love these awards because they bring massive awareness throughout Connecticut for Holistic Businesses & Practitioners and we receive amazing feedback from the winners and readers. Many business owners in categories like Natural Product Companies, Spas, and Farm-to-Table restaurants said they just discovered the magazine and didn’t realize their customers were avid readers and fans. Because of this we were able to increase our advertiser demographic and distribution and holistic business owners increased their exposure!

Our 4th annual 10BEST awards are happening through September 15th.

As a Natural Nutmeg reader, you have the opportunity to nominate your favorite holistic practitioner or business in 20 categories listed on the inside back cover.

Go to https://rebrand.ly/NN10BEST2020 to place your nominations by midnight September 15th!

Please take the time to make these nominations! These awards are a fantastic way for business owners to increase their market share and expand their business. Most businesses experience 37% more growth after winning a local award. Our Connecticut holistic practitioners are extremely passionate about helping their local communities and they need you to help them bring more awareness to all of the amazing natural and ecofriendly choices we have in this great state. We are proud to be the first reader nominated awards exclusively for the holistic business community in Connecticut.

Winners will be announced in late September via eblasts and social media – if you want to be the first to hear, please go to naturalnutmeg.com and sign up for our monthly eblasts and Like us on FB and Instagram.

We will be showcasing the 10BEST in each category in a special additional issue released in December 2020. This issue will also include articles, ads, business profiles and a holistic practitioner directory that you can keep and use for all of 2021.

And welcome to our first annual Healthy Aging Guide! This will be an amazing resource for readers 50+ who truly want to redefine what it means to age and also find resources to help elderly parents. Our Healthy Aging Guide contains Connecticut’s vetted resources of practitioners and businesses that provide services to people 50+ and their caregivers. Our mission is always to help people navigate these important choices so they can age gracefully and positively, which is now more important than ever.

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ur mission is to provide valuable insight, information and resources that will allow our readers to maintain a healthy, active, sustainable lifestyle. Natural Nutmeg contains timely information on natural health, complementary and alternative medicine, nutrition, fitness, personal growth, green living, and the products and services that support a healthy lifestyle.

PUBLISHER Dr. Diane Hayden Diane@naturalnutmeg.com ADVERTISING advertising@naturalnutmeg.com DIR. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Christopher Urso Curso@naturalnutmeg.com MARKETING DIRECTORS Heather Zundel heather@naturalnutmeg.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ashley Frament layout@naturalnutmeg.com ADVISORY BOARD Adam Breiner, ND Mark Breiner, DDS Deanna M. Cherrone, MD Erika Dworkin, Dip. C.N. Kenneth Hoffman, LAc, CCH Vicki Kobliner, MS, RD, CD-N Lauren Young, ND

In Health and Happiness, DISTRIBUTION Greater Hartford and surrounding counties, please contact Natural Nutmeg.

FFC - Tom Cossuto, Man In Motion, LLC

Natural Nutmeg Magazine

A big Thank You to our wonderful writers and advertisers who make this free resource possible!

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In keeping with our concern for the environment, Natural Nutmeg is proudly printed on recycled paper with soy based inks.

Natural Nutmeg is a free publication supported solely by our advertisers and distributed throughout Connecticut.

Please call for a location near you. (860) 508-0894 or email to publisher@naturalnutmeg.com. © 2007-20 by Natural Nutmeg, LLC. All rights reserved.

Parts of this publication may be reproduced and reprinted, we require that permission be obtained in writing. We do not necessarily endorse the views expressed in the ar ticles and adver tisements, nor are we responsible for the products and ser vices adver tised. We welcome your feedback.

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

In This Issue 10

The Perseverance Diet

25

Sonia Manganello

11

Relax with the Call of the Loons at The Lake House at Ferry Point

Erica L. Wilcox, MS, LPC

27

Diane Hayden, PhD

13

Ask Dana: A Column Where Personal Finance & Life Intersect Dana R. Mascalo CFP®, RLP®, AAMS®, C(k)P®

14

Never Fear Food Poisoning Again Steven R. Frank

15

Investing for Today’s Woman Caroline Wetzel, CFP®, CDFA®, AWMA®

17

Could Your Fatigue Be Related to Mold Sensitivity?

Tonya Pasternak, ND

19 21

Man-Made EMF Radiofrequency Radiation: Natural Protection from Electropollution

Acupuncture Plays a Strong Role in Treating Pain, Cancer and Chronic Illnesses

35 36

28 29

37

How the Crystal Amethyst BioMat Saved My Back

39

Liz Kametz and Adrienne Gervais

41

How Telling Your Life Story Can Heal Your Pain

The Four Pillars of AntiAging Medicine

The Amazing Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy Yvette Whitton, ND

44

Got Chronic Pain?

Try Rolfing® For Fast, Natural Relief

Natural Treatments for Chronic Pain Adam Breiner, ND

In Every Issue

Beautiful People Do Not Just Happen: Embracing Empathy in Leadership Sandi Coyne-Gilbert, MBA, DM

Elder Scams: What You Need to Know Jenny Stronk

43

What the Autumn Equinox Teaches Us About Love

Sharon Sklar

50

8 Tips to Slow Down the Aging Process

Henry Sobo, MD

Pat Heavren

33

Advocating Care for Your Aging Parent

Tamara Sachs, MD

Robin Clare

31

Healthy Aging Buzz

Neil Anand

Veena Verma-Dzik, ND, FIAMA

Stress Could Be Causing Your Infertility Nicole Kerr, ND, LAc

Online Therapy is Not the Wave of the Future, It is Now

NN’s Healthy Aging Guide

6 BUZZ 47 HAPPENINGS 48 RESOURCES

Erika Dworkin, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition

What's Coming Up in 2020 October • Natural Treatments for Cancer • Mindfulness & Self-Care November/December • The Epidemic of Diabesity • Brain Health

44

2020 10BEST/ Essential Living Guide • Stress Reduction • Sleep Optimization

Contact diane@naturalnutmeg.com to feature your business in Natural Nutmeg! www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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THE BUZZ Austin Bracelet Company Offers Essential Oil Diffuser Bracelets for Emotional Health

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Just Be Supports Kids

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e are living in a world of uncertainty. The socio-emotional health of our children is being tested. The women at Just Be, A Personalized Self-Care Retreat, created a supplemental program to support kids and caregivers during these uncertain times.

Do You: • Know in your heart your children need to Just Be Kids?

• Want a place that honors the highest standards of health and safety?

• Need a break here and there to take care of yourself?

Whether your kids are going back to school part-time or e-learning or gathering into pods for homeschooling, the Just Be Kids Program is a supplemental experience for our kiddos to Just...Be...Kids!

• Your children will enjoy a small group of no larger than 8 children to interact with safely.

• 3000 square feet to play through art, music, movement, nature walks and much more!

• Rare opportunity to partner directly with a Japanese classroom to share and grow together.

• Certified Lead teacher and Program Lead total over 40 years of experience with children.

eautiful and functional, that is the purpose behind The Austin Bracelet Company’s essential oil diffuser bracelets.

Co-founder and Creative Visionary, Taia Cesana, learned about the amazing emotional health benefits of using pure essential oils and created the bracelets as a reminder of self-care and to share her love of essential oils with others. She is partnered with her sister Traci Blake, who lives in Austin, TX. The Austin Bracelet Co.’s bracelets are made with all natural gemstones, unfinished wood and lava beads. The wood and the lava beads absorb and diffuse your favorite essential oils that you apply to the bracelets. They are an amazing way to experience the benefit of the oils as you go about your day. Using essential oils to support your emotional health is a very powerful tool in your daily self-care routine. For example, floral oils can be very calming and soothing, mint oils are very uplifting and energizing and tree and grass oils can promote grounding emotions and feelings of renewal.

Applying essential oil to the bracelet is easy, simply put a couple of drops of oil in the palm of your hand and massage it into the unfinished beads. The oils can be layered and applied as frequently as needed though they can last on the bracelet for 8-24 hours. The bracelets look beautiful stacked together and designs are meant to be mixed and matched to create your own unique style.

Visit our website www.theaustinbraceletco.com and take 15% off of your first order with code NUTMEG. Keep up with new designs and events on Facebook and Instagram @austinbraceletco. New bracelet designs are released every week on Friday at 12:00 PM and subscribers to the VIP email list get access to exclusive sales and new releases. The Austin Bracelet Co. also offers online essential oil education classes. See ad on page 9.

Drop off or stay and work in one of our professionally designed wellness rooms, or give yourself a treat with one of our unique self-care services.

Just Be is a place where you can trust your children’s well-being is cared for and your kids can be what they are naturally, kids!

Select Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, 9:30-11:30am, $25 per session, 10% off siblings. Open for Ages 6 and up! Just Be in East Hartford/Glastonbury. www.justbethejourney.com.

860.308.2623. See ad on page 7.

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

Tues., Wed., Fri. 10-6, Thurs. 10-7, and Sat. 10-5

THE BUZZ

Discovering Your Own Unique Self

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Can Storytelling Heal the World?

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e are at a time in our fractured country where communities are suffering, women are coming forward bravely telling their stories of sexual abuse, children are being separated from their families, racial inequities continue to be ignored, the LGBTQ community is targeted, and places of worship are threatened. It is vitally important we have local and national conversations to repair, restore, and heal, so we can honor the dignity of ALL humanity and address the critical issues of our climate and Earth.

Whether one works in schools, communities, hospitals, hospice, social services, law enforcement, environmental activism, or the arts; learning how to mediate these community concerns, create connection, heal deep wounds, and find a path to forgiveness is done through the process of narrative healing. This is the heart of my work with storytelling, writing, journaling and dialogue.

Narrative healing provides a safe space for those suffering, silenced, shamed, or afraid, to find a way to free the story within them, to understand the root of their pain, to awaken others to what they’ve experienced, and to discover ways of addressing their trauma, isolation, fear, and pain so they can then move toward healing, care, connection, and compassion.

t was like an earthquake,” remembers Donna Berman of the Hartford Family Institute’s Human Relations Program (HRP).

“Many long-held things I thought about myself got shaken to the ground. I felt liberated.” Berman, who spent just over 20 years as a student and is now the Program’s Director, acknowledges that it changed her life. “HRP is a complement to individual therapy,” she explains. “The program enables people and gives them the tools to get in touch with and take responsibility for their whole selves, the light and the shadow, and to experience what it feels like to have acceptance for all of who we are.”

HRP uses the somatic wisdom of body-centered Gestalt therapy, to help people understand and have compassion for themselves and, as a result, others. “The program is about teaching techniques to go inside, to make room for our feelings. Ultimately this is the only way to find true peace,” Berman says.

The HRP format begins with a kick-off weekend, which will be held September 26 and 27 this year. Classes meet, from then on, every Wednesday for 27 weeks, starting at 5:30 pm with a lecture from one of Hartford Family Institute’s partners. After the lecture, there is a 30-minute break and then people meet in their small group of 8 to 10 people for 90 minutes of discussion, therapy and mindfulness exercises. Both an entirely virtual and hybrid in person/virtual format are available. “HRP is a rare opportunity to enrich your life, make deep connections with yourself and with others, to flourish and to blossom into the fullness of your own unique self,” Berman added.

To learn more about the Human Relations Training Program and to register for a free introductory session on September 9 at 7 PM, visit www.hartfordfamilyinstitute.com/hrp. See ad on page 3.

If you examine the narrative design of great classics, as well as contemporary award-winning novels, memoirs, and narrative nonfiction writing, you realize most of the stories are about the journey from brokenness to wholeness. This story process often begins by uncovering what’s hidden, then writing toward the wound, and finally discovering the way toward restoration and individual and collective transformation. To lead students and community members to this place of deep story sharing and personal and communal revelation is the objective of my narrative healing work. It is also a skill that students in the WOT program acquire both as storytellers and writers. I believe storytelling can help heal the world.

Lisa Worth Huber, Ph.D., is the Academic Director of the Writing and Oral Traditions program at The Graduate Institute in Bethany, CT. She is a specialist in community peace-building and conflict transformation and has worked in diverse settings as a consultant, facilitator, peace and social justice educator. She is also a teaching artist with a passion for storytelling, fiction writing, poetry and spoken word. www.learn.edu. See ad on page 22.

www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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THE BUZZ

Holistic Therapies and Art Center

The Red Barn in Durham: New Earth Holistic Therapies and Art Center

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The Essentials of a Woman’s Sober Toolbox

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lcohol use disorder among women has nearly doubled since 2002. Despite the associated risks for serious disease that are linked with regular alcohol consumption, heavy drinking is very common and often celebrated. For women, heavy drinking is typically defined as consuming 8 drinks or more per week, and binge drinking is consuming 4 or more drinks on a single occasion, generally within about 2 hours.

Alcohol is deeply ingrained in our social interactions and a woman’s decision to stop drinking can be very intimidating. However, given the progression of alcohol use disorder, more and more women are considering this choice while they still have a choice to make.

Through my own long-term recovery and professional practice, I have learned that women have unique needs when creating an alcohol-free lifestyle. It is imperative to build an individualized “Sober Toolbox” based on the following pillars: 1. The Physical: Our physical needs must be appreciated and addressed in recovery. We must be aware of our current routines and have structure that support healing in our sleep hygiene and habits, diet and nutrition, and our sensory diet (through our “5 sense therapies”).

2. Pause: Developing a mindfulness practice through meditation, breath awareness and focus, journaling, and reflection will enable us to navigate life’s difficulties while alcohol free.

ur world is changing rapidly: Covid concerns, social isolation, loss of employment, political and social unrest, racial justice issues and generally loss of a way of life which has been the familiar but not always the highest good.The old is being re-examined and change is around the corner. We offer mind-body-spiritual services at The Red Barn. We believe that as a group of like-minded practitioners we welcome a new age where collaboration and heart based living is possible for our future.

• Professional dietitian available to assist in healthy food selections or for specialized dietary needs.

• Psychotherapy and Counseling offered through telehealth and office visits adhering to CDC guidelines.

• The Art Center at The Red Barn will be offering a variety of art classes and events in September and going forward.

Art is magic, creative expression is transforming and important especially now with anxiety, stress being experienced by many. Art heals.

• Check out the new hours for The Borrowed Time Emporium and for the Soulshine Salt Cavern. Psychic/Vendor Fairs will be outdoors on our grounds during the fall season.

The Red Barn in Durham is here to help make the passage to the New Earth.

Janice Juliano, MSW, LCSW is Director of the Vision of The Red Barn in Durham. janmjuliano@yahoo.com. 860.559.6151 www.circlewllnesstherapies.com www.theredbarnindurham

Dr. Katy

3. People: As social beings, humans need to pay particular attention to finding community in which we can socialize soberly, and in productive ways that enable us to create a new sober lifestyle, and ultimately- to be the woman that we wish to be.

Firisin

ND, MSPT

4. Parasympathetic: We need to partner with our nervous systems to reset our innate barometer for stress. Utilizing exercise, yoga, tai chi, and more we can fine tune our response to anxieties without utilizing alcohol, and with great success!

VOTED

5. Positive Indulgence: Cultivating habits that are truly rewarding and life enhancing is the difference between surviving while sober, and a thriving sober life.

ONE OF

Every woman needs to individualize their plan when creating any wellness plan and a Sober Toolbox is no different.

Joy Herbst is an AANP board certified nurse practitioner and sober coach. She offers telehealth and in-person integrative mental health care and recovery coaching for women who suffer from depression, anxiety and alcohol use disorder, as well as Women for Sobriety meetings, Women’s Circles, Yoga of Recovery classes, and more, at the Women’s Community Wellness Center in Fairfield, CT. joyherbst.com. wcwcct.com. sobertoolbox.com.

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

“Experience & expertise in naturopathic medicine.”

2600 Post Road, Suite L2 Southport , CT 06890

475.999.2032

10 BEST

NATUROPATHS

IN CT 2019

THE BUZZ Find more articles and

Using CBD with Low-Impact Workouts

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f one of your goals is to start a new exercise routine but you are not sure how to begin and be mindful of your body, we are going to introduce you to 5 very effective low-impact workouts you can start right away.

While it is true high intensity workouts will burn the most calories in the shortest amount of time, they may cause major stress on our hips, knees, elbows, and shoulders; especially as we get older. As we age, high intensity workouts with their repetitive impacts and motions can result in damage to joints and muscles.

The fear of injury and discomfort prevents many of us from getting started. There is no reason to not start an exercise program when you can add CBD to your pre and post workout routine. The antiinflammatory properties of CBD can help muscles recover quicker and add to the natural sense of well-being the endorphins your exercise released.

Our Top 5 Low Impact workouts:.

1.

2.

Elliptical: The elliptical is easily a best option when it comes to putting less stress on your arms and legs. Try a 20-minute interval workout. It will surprise you how easy it is to work up a good sweat and burn a surprising number of calories. Using an Elliptical will strengthen your entire body in a short period of time.

Walking: Say goodbye to the high impact of running and sore knees, sprained ankles and muscle injuries. Walking, whether on a treadmill, around the block, or on a trail, is a fantastic way to get low impact exercise. Walking will get your cardiovascular system pumping as well as get you some fresh air. It is easy to increase the difficulty if you find your walk to be too easy; walk up hills, use ankle weights, or speed up.

search our web archive at naturalnutmeg.com 3.

StairMaster: The StairMaster at your gym is one of the most effective ways to burn calories while being easy on your body. I am sure you have noticed how winded you get when taking the stairs instead of an elevator. That is why climbing stairs is one of the best cardio workouts you can do. Climbing stairs at every opportunity, at work, in your home, or in the gym will help you burn a lot of calories very quickly while strengthening your leg muscles.

4.

Yoga: Get the benefit of serenity while you work out, that is the beauty of Yoga. There is a reason Yoga has been so popular going back thousands of years. It works. Feel the burn without feeling the pain. Use your muscles to hold your own body weight in positions that stretch your muscles and relieve pain.

Burn calories in an all-encompassing workout from the comfort of your home or a local Yoga studio.

5.

Swimming: Ever wonder why swimmers are always in incredible shape? Swimming laps is perhaps the best low-impact exercise for your body. It may not seem like a tough workout at first, but you will be surprised how few laps it takes to really get your heart rate up. You will burn a lot of calories while getting a full-body workout. Swimming strengthens your core, legs, arms, and back.

Stop in at Nature’s Gifts in Avon or call us to see which CBD products we would recommend for you after one of these 5 Low-Impact Workouts and experience fantastic relief, recover faster and don’t worry about that post workout recovery. Join the CBD revolution. Nature’s Gifts in Avon Connecticut has a whole host of products to help you thru your workout regime, including 2 new CBD products specifically designed to be used before and after a workout. Nature’s Gifts - 304 West Main Street, Avon.

860.995.4444. www.NaturesGifts-usa.com. See ad on page 40.

brings Confidence, Creativity & Connection

When you write your story, you heal yourself.

ROBIN CLARE, LIFE & WRITING COACH

When you share your story, you heal others.

Release the Power of Your Life Story Sign up for a free 30 minute phone call at www.clare-ity.com Nominate Robin for 10Best Life/Business Coach & 10 Best Energy Healer in NN’s 10BEST Awards! clareitywithrobin

claritybyrobin www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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The Perseverance Diet

By Sonia Manganello

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n today’s world climate, it is easy to feel as if you are suffocating with the extraordinary demands of life. Yet we all find a way, don’t we? One way or another life moves forward and changes at every turn regardless of race, religion, age, or place.

So how is it that some are making headway while others struggle to put one foot in front of the other? I will give you the 12 steps to persevere now and in the future.

As a transformation coach I am not going to tell you what you can’t do, but what it is you can do. It’s that can-do approach that will get you where you want to be. Think of it as a perseverance diet that will enable you to shed the pounds of life that’s weighing you down, or perhaps the actual pounds you’d like to take off but haven’t a clue as to why the other diets have failed. I’ve developed a method of twelve steps to touch upon each area of mind body nutrition as a means of completing the circle, filling in the gaps, and envisioning the big picture. I call this method the P.E.R.S.E.V.E.R.A.N.C.E diet and you’ll be able to use this now, later, and for life. It is not just a diet but a lifestyle to living and being your best vibrant self.

P – Path to Perseverance While walking the path to wellness you’ll need to recognize that perseverance is the key to success in all areas of your life, including health, that will get you to the finish line.

E – Establish a Positive Mindset Learning the importance of positivity and understanding the framework of spirituality is a third of the circle of mind body nutrition. I always repeat the adage of mind over matter and how it works to bring you clarity.

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

R – Reverence of the Past

A – Acknowledgment of Gratitude

Reflecting on the past to push forward and experience personal growth will release self-limiting beliefs that were caused from adverse experiences.

It is Thanksgiving every day with The Perseverance Diet! Whether journaling or verbally giving thanks and praise for all the good you have or are about to have is empowering.

S – Spark a Vision Creating a vision for yourself through incremental goal setting will ignite the law of attraction to manifest your absolute best and perfect health.

N – Nutrition Past the Plate

E – Embrace Failure

C – Curative Foods

Accepting the fact that you failed and acquiring the tenacity to fight on despite disappointment shows you that you still believe in yourself. It also shows that despite irrefutable evidence that you will do whatever you put your mind to.

Foods have healing properties for a multitude of illnesses that many are unaware of. With your mystery symptoms and chronic illnesses in mind we will delve into the world of integrative nutrition for a look at why food is thy medicine.

V – Validation from the Body

E – Evolving Nutrition

Listen to what your body is telling you. It has a language that you can decode to know exactly how to bypass the problematic symptoms.

E – Ease Through Stress Management

When all three areas; mind, body, and nutrition are balanced you will be able to see how your nutrition will evolve from the current sticky situation to a beautifully blossomed lifestyle full of all your favorites.

Having techniques and tips to manage stressful situations can reduce negativity in your life in addition to bringing about ease from pain or symptoms.

The PERSEVERANCE Diet is a way of life that can seem daunting but quite easy to follow when put into practice and has been proven to work for all areas of your life.

R – Reward Yourself Creating boundaries and balance in your life by becoming more assertive allows more space for all the things that you have been wanting to do, but just haven’t had the time.

Learning to nurture yourself past the plate will help you to receive the maximum nutritional benefits on the plate.

Dr. Sonia V. Manganello is a bestselling author of The Perseverance Diet, a health/life/ nutrition coach, an interfaith minister, and metaphysician.

860.966.8747.

Relax with the Call of the Loons at The Lake House at Ferry Point

By Diane Hayden, PhD

R

ebecca Daniels had dreamed of running a Bed and Breakfast for a long time. She always enjoyed traveling around the world and staying in unique places and her experience in hospitality and the service industry had prepared her for the role as an Innkeeper. After living in various parts of the country, she settled in Massachusetts and realized she wanted to be in New England to fulfill this dream. Her parents, Monty and Jeannette, grew up in the Midwest and lived in many places around the country during Monty’s work in the shopping center industry. His experience in the restaurant industry exposed him to many aspects of running a successful business that could be applied to innkeeping. Jeannette is an amazing cook and always enjoyed serving dishes that are pleasing to the eye, as well as the pallet. After Monty’s retirement, the Daniels’ family decided the time was right to pursue Rebecca’s dream of innkeeping. In 2015, they purchased the Lake House at Ferry Point in Sanbornton, the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, and the rest is history.

Whether you want to relax or be active, there is no shortage of things to do here. Enjoy an afternoon paddling or boating on the picturesque and quiet Lake Winnisquam, with full use of the Inn’s nice collection of kayaks, a paddle boat, canoe and tubes. Or just relax in Adirondack chairs on their private beach after a day of swimming. Enjoy an afternoon birdwatching on the lake. The Common loon, with their sleek black heads, striking red eyes, and mournful song, are particular favorites in the area.

Other common birds you’ll find on the lake are eagles, cormorants, mergansers, and great blue herons. Hiking is one of the most popular things to do in the Lakes Region, or go biking on one of the many easy-to-navigate trails in the area. Take a scenic drive through the White Mountain National Forest. It’s truly beautiful during the summer, but come fall, the mountains will be absolutely ablaze with color; a sight to behold, for sure. Visit New Hampshire’s beautiful covered bridges, there are 54 of them in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region alone.

My main purpose for traveling while Covid-19 is still a concern, was to visit some locally owned B&Bs and Inns in New England to support them and educate readers that it’s perfectly safe to stay. Many people asked me if I was nervous traveling, and although I am not fearful at all, I have to say that the safety and best practices the Daniels’ have implemented here reassured me even more. Here are just a few of the changes: 1. Staggered breakfast times so only 4 couples are in the breakfast area at one time and appropriately distanced. Or you can have your breakfast to-go.

2. Removal of all throw pillows and other decorative pieces that can’t be washed/sanitized from the rooms.

3. Afternoon cookies are wrapped on individual plates.

4. Disinfecting all touch points frequently throughout the day.

5. The check-in process is accomplished via non-contact and appropriate distancing levels. Only one guest and the Innkeeper present at the desk. Masks are required inside.

Pens and room keys sanitized each time a person comes in contact with these items.

6. Cleaning products and procedures meet the New Hampshire Re-opening guidelines and standards.

7. Staff is checked prior to each shift and wear face coverings as required.

8. Staff will not enter your guest room throughout the duration of your stay unless agreed for a specific need. They exchange and replenish items in your room on an as-needed basis while maintaining physical distancing.

They are clearly going above and beyond to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of their guests.

Now, let’s get to our room! This was one of my most favorite rooms I’ve ever stayed in. The Lake Winnisquam Room, named afwww.NaturalNutmeg.com

11

ter the serene lake on which the property sits, is a Southeast corner room drenched in sunlight from the three large windows overlooking the lake. This bright and open space is very warm, inviting and private, as it does not share walls with any other rooms. The bed and bedding was luxurious, the bathroom spacious and the shower invigorating. I seriously could have lived in that room.

If you want even more privacy, The Lake Solitude Suite is a two-story house attached to the Southwest corner of the Lake House, and includes its own private entrance. The living room features expansive lake views, a comfortable love-seat and queen sleep-sofa, leather wing-back recliner, flat-screen TV, blu-ray player, pub table with 2 chairs, and hardwood floors. The galley kitchen is complete with a stove, oven, microwave, full-size refrigerator, and small appliances as well as a BBQ for outside grilling. On the second floor, the full bathroom includes a one-person Jacuzzi tub and shower, and the bedroom features a California king bed and gorgeous views of the lake. The Lake Solitude Suite can accommodate up to five people utilizing the Queen sleep sofa and roll-away cot. Inquire about longer-term stays as this could be the perfect getaway this Fall if we see a resurgence in the virus.

Last but not least – the amazing breakfast! You’re treated with warm, home-baked breads or muffins along with fresh fruit, yogurt or granola parfait for the first course. The second course consists of a variety of different quiches or casseroles, or peach melba French

toast with raspberry coulis or Jeannette’s famous breakfast banana splits! The Lake House at Ferry Point supports local farmers and uses fresh ingredients and produce for the breakfast creations. As New Hampshire is famous for its maple syrup, they proudly serve rich, extra dark amber syrup from Just Maple sugar house right down the road, to please your palate and to give you a taste of what New Hampshire has to offer. Homemade brownies or cookies are always nearby and her chocolate chip cookies were to die for. Also, don’t miss dinner at The Local Eatery in town – a fantastic little farm to table place.

Staying at The Lake House at Ferry Point is a dream. I’m sure you can imagine from the pictures how utterly relaxing and rejuvenating this place really is. On a warm summer day in July, even amidst a pandemic, I didn’t want to be anywhere else than swimming the day away in the pristine waters of Lake Winnisquam and lounging on the expansive front porch in a rocking chair. I had left Connecticut for some incredibly needed R&R and The Lake House did not disappoint. I was even lucky enough to hear the loons calling in the middle of the night or what the Spanish would call “madrugada”, the dark hours of the morning before sunrise – something that has been on my bucket list forever. I will definitely be back.

For more information, visit www.lakehouseatferrypoint.com.

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

Ask Dana: A Column Where Personal Finance & Life Intersect

By Dana R. Mascalo CFP®, RLP®, AAMS®, C(k)P®

F

inancial Life Planning connects the dots between our financial realities and the lives we long to live. Life Planning focuses on the human side of financial planning. This is where we can tap into our inspirational fire. This is where the magic happens.

The creator of this movement is George Kinder, CFP®. He is the recipient of numerous awards for leadership in the financial planning industry and is famous for his 3 Questions, which I will include for you at the end of this column.

The 3 Questions are an integral part of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning’s process called EVOKE®, which stands for Exploration, Vision, Obstacles, Knowledge, and Execution. Registered Life Planners® use this mindfulness-based methodology to inspire clients to discover, articulate, and pursue their aspirations. It is much different than a typical discovery meeting in financial services. We discuss and resolve obstacles that may exist as blockages. Instead of a traditional financial plan, our financial life plan is alive and adaptable, and we align a client’s financial resources in support of what is most meaningful in their lives.

We have to make this happen! That is how you feel once you have tapped into this process. I know this because it happened to me, as well as many other clients and friends. For the last 15 years, I’ve been providing financial advice and offering holistic financial planning services. In 2016, I was intrigued by George Kinder’s educational program for advisors and accountants and signed up for the journey.

To become a Registered Life Planner®, part of the intensive training program includes going through the methodol-

ogy personally. I began at the beginning and answered the 3 questions, as well as completed a financial inventory exercise. I then went through the EVOKE® process with another planner for five intense full days.

During the rounds of personal dialogue and interaction with your life planner it hits you.

Clarity. Focus. Inspirational Fire. The things, people, principals, and/or dreams that matter most to you are front and center during this process and you realize that your life needs to change if you currently aren’t living the life you were meant to live.

What was also surprising is that it seemed very attainable, rather than an unrecognizable longing that was in my head. We would need a longer column to go through all the amazing details, which I’ll spare you except for that since then, my whole life has changed both personally and professionally. Within a few months, I moved my residence and was inspired to make other changes step by step. Looking back since then, I find myself married instead of single, in a new home of my dreams, a business owner instead of an employee, and last but not least, a new mom.

I encourage everyone reading this to be open to possibilities in general and take some time to answer George Kinder’s famous 3 questions. Before you begin, find a quiet and peaceful space and take a few moments to settle in for the exercise.

Question #1. Imagine that you are financially secure, that you have enough money to take care of your needs, now and in the future. The question is…how would you live your life? Would you change anything? Let yourself go. Don’t hold back on your dreams. Describe a life that is complete, that is richly yours.

Question #2. This time you visit your doctor who tells you that you have only 5–10 years left to live. The good part is that you won’t ever feel sick. The bad news is that you will have no notice of the moment of your death. What will you do in the time you have remaining to live? Will you change your life and how will you do it?

Question #3. This time your doctor shocks you with the news that you have only one day left to live. Notice what feelings arise as you confront your very real mortality. Ask yourself: What did I miss? Who did I not get to be? What did I not get to do?

For those who would like to explore the life planning process on your own, check out the website www.lifeplanningforyou.com or read George Kinder’s book, Life Planning for You. If you are the type of person that prefers one-on-one guidance, please don’t hesitate to contact me to learn more about how I can help inspire you on your journey and manage your financial life.

Dana R. Mascalo CFP®, RLP®, AAMS®, C(k)P® is a Managing Partner with TrinityPoint Wealth, an independent SEC Registered Investment Advisory firm in Milford, CT and Charlotte, NC. Dana advises high net worth clients with complex needs and is sought after by individuals, families, business owners and executives all over CT and the United States. Acting as their personal CFO, Dana looks at a client’s entire financial life with a visionary lens, advising on investment portfolios, retirement planning, life transitions, exit planning for business owners, customized advanced cash-flow planning and multi-generational wealth transfer strategies. See ad on page 22. www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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Never Fear Food Poisoning Again

By Steven R. Frank

Y

our head is pounding, your brow is sweating, and the stabbing pain in your gut is the only thing that distracts you from the nausea. You run for the bathroom, you want to run to the hospital, but what can they do for you? It’s the middle of the night and you have food poisoning. Was it the fruit salad that cousin Mary brought or the macaroni salad that Aunt Anne made?

Maybe the turkey wasn’t done enough? Just thinking about it makes it worse. Then, it gets worse. Your kids come rushing into your room holding their bellies. They have it too!!

Now, what are you going to do?

According to the CDC, food poisoning strikes as many as 1 in 4 people every year. Most of these cases are not linked to major outbreaks and many happen around holiday time when food sits out for too long. There are bacteria in everything. The world is not sterile. The problem comes when the numbers of bad bacteria get so high that your defenses are overwhelmed.

Bacterial populations can double every 20 minutes. If there are a mere 100 organisms in the macaroni salad when it is prepared, an hour later when it is brought to the party, there will be 800. As it sits on the counter awaiting the great feast, there will be 51,200 two hours later when you eat it. Your scoop will contain about 2000 at dinner. Then by 9 pm, that 2000 has turned into almost 10 million bacteria; all excreting toxins into your gut.

Don’t get lost in the numbers and don’t get consumed by worry. There is a way to do this safely and without antibiotics or 14

Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

hospital emergency rooms. There is a way to get those children feeling better and back to sleep in an hour. Vacationers bring it to South America. Explorers have packed it to the top of Mount Everest. This antidote has been shown to be lethal to Salmonella (yes even Typhoid), Staph., E. coli (yes even O157:H7), C. Sporogenes, H-Pylori and many more common pathogens that cause intestinal distress. Yet, even with this lethal effect on harmful bacteria, it is so benign to people that you can drink a pint of it and it won’t hurt you a bit. It’s even safe for kids.

By now you must be screaming, “What is it already!!??” The antidote you seek is an enhanced aqueous colloid of silver. Years of laboratory research on bacteria, fungus and virus in mice, rats and people have produced reams of research demonstrating the ability of this silver colloid preparation to safely reduce populations of germs by more than 1,000,000: 1 in less than 20 minutes.

Not just any silver colloid will do this.

Some preparations are too weak (less than 20 parts per million) and some are compounded with sugars, citrides or proteins to achieve ridiculously high concentrations like 250 or 500 parts per million (ppm).

But these compounded colloids are far less bio-active. As it turns out, a strong colloid of 40 to 60ppm when mixed with a little surfactant like a food-grade polysorbate 20 and some peppermint oil, out-performs those other silver colloids by hundreds or thousands of times. That means killing more bacteria faster. And that is precisely

what you want to do. You want to drink this enhanced aqueous colloid of silver as soon as you start to feel queezy.

One ounce, taken at the first signs of nausea, can stop food poisoning in its tracks in 30 minutes. If one waits until the symptoms are as bad as they can get, it may take a few hours and a few ounces to kill enough of the bacteria to end the situation. But even that is better than 2 to 3 days of diarrhea, vomiting and fever. If you treat the situation soon enough, there will be no vomiting, diarrhea and fever. That is precisely why Moms should have a bottle in their purse at all times. Everyone who eats should have a bottle in their home at all times. Vacationers should take several with them on every trip. You never know when it’s going to strike. Everyone that I have ever known who has used this antidote has never been without it ever again.

Steven Frank is an innovative herbalist for Nature’s Rite.

His concoctions and decoctions have helped thousands achieve more comfortable healthier lives. Mr. Frank has spent more than a decade doing medical research and has numerous patents in the healthcare arena. His products and formulations can be seen at: MyNaturesRite.com.

See ad on page 3.

Investing for Today’s Woman

By Caroline Wetzel, CFP®, CDFA®, AWMA®

W

ho is today’s woman, and why is investing so important for her well-being? Today’s woman is a competent, perpetual decision-maker. She continuously makes priority calls around how to spend her limited time and energy on the relationships and activities that enable her to live her life with intention, on her terms. Today’s woman has a strategic, long-term mindset. She realizes women live longer than ever before in history and she is experiencing this reality first-hand. At the same time today’s woman is tending to her own needs, she often finds herself providing financial and/or caretaker assistance to children, aging parents, and other loved ones.

COVID-19 has intensified existing demands on today’s woman. Lockdowns required today’s woman to take on a greater proportion of existing household duties and assume new responsibilities, like homeschooling and coordinating care for loved ones from a distance. These expanded roles often have not been in place of, but in addition to, ongoing professional responsibilities that today’s woman already was balancing in new ways during the crisis.

Thousands of today’s women ventured outside of their homes during the global pandemic because they were “essential”; they comprise 70% of all health and socialservices professionals. The valiant heroes who worked on the front lines during these most difficult times and those who worked from home earned, on average, between 79 cents and 82 cents for every dollar that men earned. And, as our communities

emerge from this crisis, cautiously reengage, and establish (re)new(ed) routines, many of today’s women are continuing to juggle their COVID-19 expanded set of responsibilities while charting their new paths forward.

Today’s woman sees all of this and is making new choices. More than half of college students are today’s women, driven to learn skills that they can use to earn incomes that can support them in realizing a quality of life for themselves and those important to them. And in 4 out of 10 households with children under 18, women have become the primary or sole income earner. And these decisions are yielding results and new financial ways forward for today’s women. Already today’s women control approximately $11 trillion in investable assets, with many of today’s women owning day-to-day financial decisions like budgeting and bill paying.

Interestingly, while many of today’s women are owning their immediate financial opportunities, fewer of them are owning their wealth over the long term.

Among heterosexual married women, for instance, 58% of women defer all longterm investing, insurance, and financial planning decisions to their spouse and only 19% share in these decisions. These statistics do not change dramatically when women hold advanced degrees (46% defer decision making to spouses) or if women work in specific industries (60% of women in technology defer decision making to their spouses).

Today’s woman does not need to burden herself with even more responsibilities, managing all of the details of her immediate and long-term finances on her own. It can make a lot of sense for today’s woman to divide up financial responsibilities with others. From trusting her spouse to manage some family financial decisions to engaging a Certified Financial PlannerTM to develop her financial plan and manage her investments, today’s woman has many different people available to her to support her with her finances so she can focus on life’s other priorities.

What is essential is that when today’s woman trusts others to work on her finances for her, she has them work on her finances “with” her. For her own well-being, today’s woman seeks clarity on the pieces of her financial picture, how they work together for her, and how she can change them if she needs to adjust them as life changes. Because the truth of the matter is that life will change for today’s woman; it’s not a matter of “if”, but “when” and “how”. More couples than ever are choosing to end their decades-long marriages once they become empty nesters and their children become independent in a trend called “graying divorce”. Nearly 80% of all women are ending up solely responsible for their financial well-being at some point in their lives, due to decisions to live independently, due to divorce, or due to death and outliving their life partners.

www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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When today’s woman invests in herself, she makes thoughtful decisions around her finances that go beyond budgeting and bill paying. She applies that same judicious decision making around her time and energy toward her finances and her own well-being. When today’s woman invests in herself, she cultivates financial confidence that carries her and enables her to navigate an uncertain future with care and grace.

Learn more about Investing for Today’s Women via ZOOMs that I’m hosting on Thursday, September 17th. I’ll offer the same experience three times in one day, so join from the comfort of your own office or home at your convenience. RSVP in advance to obtain your custom link here: • Virtual Morning Coffee with Caroline 10–11am https://tinyurl.com/AMcwcSept • Virtual Lunch & Learn with Caroline 12pm – 1pm https://tinyurl.com/LLcwcSept • Virtual Happy Hour with Caroline 5:30–6:30pm https://tinyurl.com/HHcwcSept

· Certified Shamanic & Shapeshifting Practitioner · Registered Yoga Teacher: Gentle, Mixed, Shamanic · Certified Hypnotherapist & Regressionist · Spiritual Counselor, Mentor, Reader · Host “The Sacred Journey” TV Show · Workshops, Children’s Circles, Energy Healing · CT Justice of the Peace: Nature Inspired Ceremonies · International Retreats & Cruises: Shamanism, Yoga, & Psychic Development

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

Caroline Wetzel is one of Natural Nutmeg’s 2019 and 2018 10Best Winners for Business/Life Coach. Caroline is a Certified Financial PlannerTM (CFP®) and Vice President, Private Wealth Advisor with Procyon Private Wealth Partners, LLC. Procyon Private Wealth Partners, LLC and Procyon Institutional Partners, LLC (collectively “Procyon Partners”) are registered investment advisors with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). This article is provided for informational purposes only and for the intended recipient[s] only. This article may also include opinions and forwardlooking statements which may not come to pass. Information is at a point in time and subject to change. Procyon Partners does not provide tax or legal advice. https://www.procyonpartners.net.

See ad on page 20.

Could Your Fatigue Be Related to Mold Sensitivity?

By Tonya Pasternak, ND

B

eing exposed to mold could cause an array of devastating symptoms including headaches, fatigue, brain fog and joint pain. This phenomenon of mold sensitivity is sometimes referred to as CIRS or chronic inflammatory response syndrome. While for some people this can be the sole cause of chronic disease, it is extremely under-recognized in the medical community. Raising awareness for both patients and physicians can help solve this treatable medical mystery.

The mold sensitivity discussed in this article differs from a mold allergy. With an allergy, a person can get the typical symptoms of sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes. Having a sensitivity on the other hand means the body reaction is a widespread inflammation in response to exposure. This can cause long lasting effects, hence the term chronic inflammatory response syndrome.

Common Symptoms of Mold Sensitivity There are a host of common symptoms typically experienced with CIRS including fatigue, brain fog, headaches and joint pain.

Some people develop edema (swelling or water retention in arms or legs), rashes, unexplained anxiety, sleep difficulty, and a vibration or buzzing sensation throughout the body. These symptoms can be caused by even the smallest amount of mold exposure. They can happen intermittently if the exposure is inconsistent or can develop to chronic during regular exposure.

More often than not the source of exposure isn’t always obvious. This is especially the case when even minute amounts can cause a reaction. How do you know if mold is an issue?

Questions to Ask: 1.

Did symptoms start after being in a new location such as a new home or office?

2.

Are my symptoms worse during wet and rainy seasons?

3.

Do I feel worse in some buildings and better when I leave?

4.

Do I live with any of the following conditions: an old house, a house with signs of water damage, older carpeting, condensation on the windows or a musty smell?

All of these scenarios could indicate a mold exposure and shed light on the cause of your symptoms. While there are various swabs and cultures that can be used to test your home, they aren’t always sensitive enough to get a true picture. The most effective way to get a definitive answer is to have a certified inspector assess the location. If mold is found, it is best to have a professional do the remediation.

Stopping your exposure is crucial for recovery. You can think of this like a sinking boat, with a hole being your exposure and the water filling it up being your symptoms. You can try endlessly to get the water out but unless you plug the hole it’s going to be an ineffective battle. Once exposure is remedied, there are many additional options for people to help with their recovery.

Treatment for Mold Exposure The first step in treatment includes the use of binding agents.

Binders are substances that, once taken, serve to literally bind toxins (such as mycotoxins, or mold toxins) for elimination from the body.

Among the most common natural agents to do this are activated charcoal and chlorella. I find activated charcoal to be more effective at eliminating mycotoxins. Since binding agents can interact and bind to more than just the toxins, care must be taken to prevent inappropriate binding of nutrients or medications. Speak with a knowledgeable provider for specific recommendations.

Another treatment that is extremely effective is the use of low dose immunotherapy or LDI. Clinically I find this to be the biggest game changer for a person’s recovery. While being exposed to mold is unhealthy in general, not everyone will become sick in response

Alexandra Leone, ACC Transformational Coach, Artist & Writer I coach visionary womxn who are ready to level-up their emotional intelligence, confront and integrate their shadow, unleash their purpose and truth, tune in to the wisdom of their body, and become the driver of their own life. Let's meet—at the heart of human change.

@aly.leone @alexandraleonecoach aleone.coaching@gmail.com

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If the above scenarios of exposure and their corresponding symptoms sound familiar, speak with a knowledgeable physician and know that it is a treatable condition. Consider getting your physical environment tested. The use of air purifiers and dehumidifiers can be helpful and both are good starting points.

Dr. Tonya Pasternak has a family practice in Manchester, CT at Collaborative Natural Health Partners. All of the physicians at the clinic are in network providers for most insurance companies and are accepting new patients. For more information or questions, please call 860.533.0179 or visit ctnaturalhealth.com. See ad on back cover and page 20.

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to it. There are many reasons not discussed here including genetic susceptibility that play a role in a person’s reaction. However, we know for those affected the reaction is caused by an inappropriate immune response. LDI works to correct this process, significantly reducing the inflammatory reaction. When we can get inflammation under control, many symptoms will be relieved. Additionally, LDI helps to create long-term retraining of the immune system, making a person more resilient to future exposures. Low dose immunotherapy is administered by taking a small amount of a homeopathic dilution orally until the desired effects are obtained. It is safe, effective, and can be used for all ages.

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

DrMar v i nSc hw ei t z e r. c o m 2 0 3 . 8 4 7. 2 7 8 8

Stress Could Be Causing Your Infertility

By Nicole Kerr, ND, LAc

Q

uarantine, protests, virtual or no work/school, riots, face mask wearing. Demands, expectations, uncertainties, and judgement from others.

I want to be pregnant, when is it my turn, none of this is fair.

Life is full of constant change, how you are able to cope and adapt to change is imperative for a healthy reproductive system. Each day you are faced, and often challenged, with events and situations that result in a beautiful cascade of biochemical pathways adapted from centuries of human development. Unfortunately, due to the non-stop nature of the current Information Age, these challenges often come too many and too fast for your body to accommodate as it usually could for proper reproduction.

Although the stress reaction to this Information Age is a life preserving activity, and cortisol (glucocorticoids/GC) mediates a stress response and plays a role in a multitude of functions in the body such as regulating metabolism, the inflammatory response, and immune function; continuous exposure to cortisol shuts down regulatory functions of the reproductive system. Picture all body activities on a totem pole. Some are a top priority while others, reproduction as an example, take a bottom position to more important life sustaining activities.

The onset of stress initiates numerous inhibitory effects on both sexes and their reproductive hormones, mainly from a rise in glucocorticoids. For males, increases in GC directly decrease testosterone in the testes and at the brain level which impacts sperm density, total sperm count, forward

motility, and morphology, and can lead to low libido and erectile dysfunction.

For females, GC suppresses gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) which decreases follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) leading to ovulation disruptions that can ultimately cause estradiol, progesterone and testosterone production disruptions, and more period problems. Cortisol also induces resistance of target tissue to estradiol leading to amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and painful sex.

Stress reactions are seen clinically when big life events such as earthquakes, death of a loved one, and pandemics correlate with skipped periods or late periods for what would otherwise seem like for no reason. The body can be that sensitive to stress reactions that ovulation is pushed later than expected or not at all in that single reproductive cycle.

Now consider the overwhelming increase in stress occurrences to the fact that ~20 million Americans have thyroid issues and problems become even worse for reproduction. If you develop a thyroid issue in your lifetime you can potentially be decreasing your fertility without any stressors present.

What can you do to reduce stress?

First, stress needs to be addressed and talked about. We need to remove the blame and stigma that it is somehow your fault for your body’s beautiful biochemical pathway that is saving your life. You DON’T have to just relax, never let a practitioner tell you to just relax, at least when it pertains

to your inability to conceive today. Second, understand that if you have thyroid problems, obesity, blood sugar dysfunctions, sleep disturbances, or have long-term glucocorticoid drug use, minor stressors will compound your reproduction struggles even more.

Fertility Oasis uses a variety of therapies to combat stress and increase fertility: • Address ACE: adverse childhood events increase your sensitivity to stress as an adult.

• Remove stressors: the difficulty with this is many fertility patients don’t identify any stress.

• Support groups: women with a support group have higher conception rates (54%) than those without a support group (20%).

• Self care: sounds simple because it is. Make yourself a priority now.

• Vagal nerve exercises: laying on your right side stimulates vagus nerve (key part to parasympathetic “rest and digest” nervous system).

• Stimulate oxytocin release: physical touch, encouragement, appreciation, genuine laughter.

• Journaling • Emotional Freedom Technique aka Tapping.

• Grounding exercises • Meditation • Avoid electronics upon waking and at bed. www.NaturalNutmeg.com

19

• Get full sun exposure upon waking.

• Support your biochemical pathways: • Good Multivitamin

Realize Your Financial Dreams Make your dreams a reality through financial planning.

Dream it. Plan it. Do it.

Call me for more information (475) 232 – 2713 Advisory Services are offered through Procyon Private Wealth Partners, LLC., a registered investment advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Caroline Wetzel, CFP®, MBA, AWMA® Procyon Partners Vice President | Private Wealth Advisor

• B complex: B5 (500mg), B6 (as P5P 10-50mg) • Vitamin C: 100mg-1000mg • Magnesium: 250-500mg • Essential Fatty Acids: 1000-3000mg • GABA 250-1000mg • Amino Acid therapy • L-theanine: 200-600mg (organic matcha) • 5HTP 50-300mg • Tyrosine 500-1000mg

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• L-taurine 250-300mg • Epsom Salt baths • Get 8-10 hours of sleep: your circadian rhythm greatly influences glucocorticoid release and hormone production.

• Acupuncture • Herbal Therapy: herbs can decrease glucocorticoids, restoring proper GnRH production, and decreasing GnIH release.

• Magnolia, Ziziphus vulgaris, Skullcap, Chamomile, Passion flower.

• When stressed and wired: Withania somniferous, Holy Basil, Schisandra, Shataviri, Rhodiola.

• When stressed and tired: Glycyrrhiza, Maca, Panax ginseng, Eleuthero.

Speak to a healthcare professional that will look at all body systems together to determine which of these therapies will best strengthen your resilience to stress responses and improve your fertility outcomes.

Dr. Nicole Kerr, ND, LAc operates an all-natural fertility clinic in Wallingford CT, Fertility Oasis. At Fertility Oasis, Dr. Kerr teaches her patients the importance of preconception care and about all treatment options available to couples struggling to conceive. Male and female infertility factors are addressed by Dr. Kerr to offer comprehensive fertility care for her patients. Fertility Oasis, 857 N Main St Ext Suite 1, Wallingford CT, 203.265.0459 www.fertilityoasis.com. See ad on page 49.

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

Man-Made EMF Radiofrequency Radiation: Natural Protection from Electropollution

By Erika Dworkin, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition Our bodies and brains generate electro-magnetic fields within us and around us. We live in the Earth’s natural magnetic field and from the beginning we have been dependent on this environment. However, we have now created a vast global network of man-made electromagnetic fields – the greatest polluting element in the earth’s environment. The human body electric and the Earth’s body electric have been damaged. ~ Wireless Radiation Rescue: Safeguard Your Family from Electropollution, Kerry Crofton, PhD (2011), quoting Robert O. Becker, MD, a leading bioelectromagnetics expert.

E

specially with the recent introduction and anticipated increased presence in Connecticut of the 5th generation (5G) mobile network, there is no question that our computers, cordless phones, cell phones and cell phone towers, and microwave ovens are all here to stay. There is also no question that ongoing, repeated exposure to the low-energy radiofrequency radiation from these devices’ man-made electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can seriously undermine wellness. To live as safely as possible with this ubiquitous invisible pollution, it is prudent to learn more about it and the ways to guard against its harmful effects.

What is EMF Radiofrequency Radiation?

EMFs exist naturally in the bioelectrical human body, including in the cardiovascular, neurological, and muscular systems, and the Earth’s electrical energy enables the body to maintain these orderly electrical frequencies. Like the body, its organs, and the Earth, every energy source has its own electromagnetic frequency, and is either ionizing (able to destabilize atoms, the building blocks of all matter, weaken DNA, and damage cells; includes X-rays and ultraviolet rays) or non-ionizing (microwaves, cell phones, TV, radio, power lines, and ELFs/Extremely Low Frequency EMFs).

While the body’s and Earth’s natural EMFs support good health, some prominent experts maintain that exposure to man-made EMFs

can harm the body by increasing the electromagnetic toxic load.

These EMFs include “dirty electricity,” unusable electromagnetic energy resulting from interruptions in the flow of normal 60-Hertz AC power that flows from many electrical devices as they operate (including WiFi, dimmer switches, and power lines). The six key exposure factors that determine the extent to which man-made EMFs can undermine health are: 1. Ability to Cause Harm: according to many eminent scientists (including one that the cell phone industry itself hired in the 1990s), current government safety guidelines for wireless communications are irrelevant and obsolete (they are based solely on whether a 200-pound male’s short-term cell phone exposure caused acute thermal effects, such as shocking or burning; many studies have shown damaging effects from frequencies far below those originally tested); 2. Intensity: the power of the devices; 3. Proximity: how close to the body the devices are being used; 4. Duration/Frequency: of the use of each device; 5. Individual Vulnerability: fetuses, children and teens with thinner skulls and developing brains, the elderly, and cancer survivors and others with compromised immunity, are most vulnerable; and 6. Combination of Factors 1-5: the more of these factors that are present, the higher the EMF toxic load and the greater the risk.

Proven Health Risks from EMF Radiation Though all scientists do not agree on how EMFs affect the body and many do regard them as too weak to cause harm, there is ample scientific evidence that even low-level EMFs can: (1) interfere with the messages that cells receive and send; (2) rupture cell membranes, allowing contents to spill out and toxins to enter; (3) damage DNA, cellular genetic material, and its directions to cells in a way that can generate disease; (4) create oxidative stress and free radicals that compromise immunity, cause aging and disease, and reduce the body’s ability to heal itself by suppressing the production or activity of antioxidants (melatonin, superoxide dismutase/SOD, and glutathione peroxidase); (5) cause leakage www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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of the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain from toxins and ensures its retention of cerebrospinal fluids; and (6) increase “stealth” stress on the body that can increase the risk of heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, digestive problems, and reproductive issues (erectile dysfunction, infertility, miscarriage, poor sperm quality, and birth defects). Hundreds of studies have shown that EMF exposure may be associated with decreased brain/memory function, neurological conditions (sleep problems, tinnitus, learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, MS, ALS, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases), cancer, and childhood cancers and emotional/behavioral problems.

Protective Steps You Can Take NOW Against Man-Made EMFs Although it would seem that the existence and anticipated increasing intensity of EMFs does not bode well for the general health of our society, the good news is that there are many simple measures that can together greatly reduce their harmful impact. Below are just a few ways to start protecting yourself and your family.

Protective Dietary Supplements

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Minerals/Electrolytes: The chronic stress that EMFs create in the body and its cells quickly uses up daily mineral stores. Taking mineral supplements can strengthen otherwise compromised cell walls to maintain their osmotic pressure and pH, which protect cells and their membranes from viruses, bacteria, and ultimate destruction. They are also critical to the formation of the powerful, critical antioxidants glutathione and SOD.

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Some of the most important mineral supplements include: calcium (holds cells together; leaks out when EMFs break through cell membranes); magnesium (supports absorption and retention of calcium; anti-stress nutrient that promotes healthy nerves, muscles, arteries, bones, and blood circulation); phosphorus (ensures healthy cell membranes and cell communication; critical for energy (ATP) production and proper genetic function; found in most foods); potassium (with sodium, ensures cellular membrane stability and cell communication); selenium (chelates heavy metals/mercury; antioxidant and required for the production of glutathione); sulfur/MSM (critical to glutathione’s ability to neutralize and promote expulsion of free radicals and toxins); and zinc (essential to proper cell function, maintenance of glutathione levels, and immunity).

Antioxidants: Studies support taking these nutrients to protect the body against the free radicals and oxidative stress (which damages cellular proteins, lipids, and DNA) that EMF exposure is known to produce: (1) Melatonin: electropollution is known to greatly diminish this hormone that crosses the blood-brain barrier; important for glutathione and SOD regulation; five times more effective than glutathione in neutralizing extensively damaging hydroxyl radicals; linked to cancer protection; (2) NAC (N-acetylL-cysteine): an amino acid and sulfur compound that boosts the immune system; needed to make and replenish glutathione; (3) Vitamin D3: facilitates cellular communication and activates the immune system; (4) Whey Protein: one of the richest sources of cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine, the three amino acids that comprise glutathione; contains multiple immune enhancers; (5) Alpha Lipoic Acid: (increases glutathione; rejuvenates other antioxidants that become free radicals after latching on to unpaired electrons to combat free radicals); (6) CoQ10/Ubiquinol: critical to cellular energy production and ability to convert fats and carbohydrates to fuel; and (7) Milk Thistle: high in silymarin, which increases glutathione and SOD levels; supports cell repair, calms inflammation, and detoxifies the liver.

Lifestyle Changes These are some key protective lifestyle changes you can make right away to reduce EMF damage: (1) Cell Phones (and all other electronic devices, where applicable): whenever possible, use a

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landline instead; use the speakerphone and use only a hollow air tube or wired headset; don’t speak on the phone with the antenna within 6 inches of your body or carry it near/on your body; sleep with it either on airplane mode/off/with battery removed and/or in another room (use a battery operated alarm clock instead); keep it fully charged and charge it only when off and 6 feet away; use wired access rather than WiFi when possible; keep off whenever possible; and use outside of confined metal spaces and near windows, with the device closest to the window; (2) Detox Your Bedroom: remove all electrical/non-battery operated devices (TVs, radios, cordless phones, heating pads, electric blankets) and unplug unneeded lamps; move the bed at least 3 feet from the electrical wiring in the wall; keep wireless baby monitors at least 6 feet from your bed and the crib; change fluorescent lights to incandescent bulbs; use free standing fans instead of ceiling fans; and (3) Earthing/Grounding: to restore your essential connection to the Earth and absorb its negatively charged electrons, connect with its naturally healing energy by sitting, standing, or walking barefoot outdoors, or using indoor grounding devices, for 30 minutes daily/routinely.

Dietary Changes Maintaining a healthy diet is one of the most important ways to prevent EMF damage. Regularly consuming an abundance of these common superfoods with high ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) scores [ideally, a total of 5000 ORAC points/day] will increase the antioxidant levels in your body, reduce your pain and

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inflammation, and enhance your overall immunity: cinnamon (267536); dried oregano (200129); ground turmeric (159277); pecans (17940); walnuts (13541); cranberries (9090); artichokes (6552); red kidney beans (8606); blueberries (4669); and asparagus (2150).

For additional protection, also include these foods in your diet: wild Alaskan salmon; olive oil; medicinal mushrooms (shiitake, maitake); garlic; and cruciferous vegetables (kale, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts; collard greens; cauliflower).

Like all other forms of pollution, it is impossible to avoid electropollution from EMFs. But it is NOT impossible to arm yourself against it with preventive measures. The more you do now, the better you will protect yourself and your family in the future.

See this full article online at www.naturalnutmeg.com. The statements in this article have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, are for educational purposes only, and are not intended to take the place of a physician’s advice.

Submitted by Erika Dworkin, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition®, Owner of the Manchester Parkade Health Shoppe 860.646.8178, 378 Middle Turnpike West, Manchester, CT, www.cthealthshop.com), nutrition specialists trusted since 1956.

Erika is available to speak to groups, including on Zoom. All statements in this article are practice- or scientific evidence-based and references are available upon request.

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Online Therapy is Not the Wave of the Future, It is Now

By Erica L. Wilcox, MS, LPC

Y

ou wear many hats. You have a career, you are a parent, you are a friend, a son/daughter, a leader, an organizer, a planner. You know how to show up for others and to get it done. You can remember the mornings when you were rushing out of your front door for work with five bags in hand. The struggle of cross referencing your social/family calendar before confirming your next meet up with your friends that you haven’t seen in a while. The exhaustive collapse onto your bed at night, thinking back on your whirlwind of a day. You asked yourself, do I even remember what I ate today? You tell yourself, tomorrow I am going to do something for me for once, but the next day comes around and you realize that it felt impossible to even take a walk for yourself, as if this were a radical act of selfcare. You convinced yourself that you were leading the ever elusive “balanced life” that is so widely preached and sought after. You were busy; so busy.

COVID has changed so much in your life. You have found yourself vacillating between moments of “I’ve got this” to “I’ve got nothing.” Now, you are facing an entire new set of scheduling and time management challenges and self-care, once again, is an after-thought. You have begun to appreciate the convenience of online meetings, virtual doctor’s appointments, and even social Zoom game night.

A large part of you is anxious about the thought of returning to “business as usual” and being bombarded with that age-old feeling like you are always racing the clock to “fit it all in.” Buried beneath all of your roles are feelings of anxiety, depression, and overwhelm that, despite your ability to

try to stay on top of things, you never really have addressed or gotten to the bottom of.

You’ve considered going to therapy to focus on your mental health, but who has time for that? When you add it all up, the time to commute to and from a therapist’s office and the actual therapy session time, it feels like scheduling tetris, which leaves you feeling more overwhelmed and defeated.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Seeing a therapist to help you focus on yourself (for once) doesn’t have to be inconvenient or stressful. Video therapy is a way that you can work on yourself, at a time and pace that works for you, and takes the hassle out of commuting and figuring out who is going to run the show when you are working on yourself. Imagine being able to wake up, make your first cup of coffee, and hop online in your favorite chair for your morning power hour of self-care with a therapist who is there to listen, support, and lead you through the tough stuff. Imagine taking your hour lunch break from work and connecting via video with a professional who is dedicated to your well-being and can give you real-life solutions to real-life problems. Imagine talking a walk outside for an hour while you talk to your therapist over the phone and practice mindful movement to help center yourself so you can continue to lead your life? Think of online therapy as a personal trainer for your brain that shows up at your door with a water bottle, towel, and some weights, ready to get you strong and healthy!

Video therapy is not the wave of the future. It is now. Unlike life, video therapy is not very complicated either. You need four things to help make video therapy successful:

1. A device such as a computer, laptop, tablet, or phone.

2. A private space to virtually meet with your therapist.

3. One hour during your day.

4. A commitment to taking this short amount of time for yourself.

P.S. Sweatpants and pets are welcomed! Just be yourself.

Most people who are hesitant to start online therapy are concerned about two things: 1. Privacy.

2. Being able to truly connect with their therapist via video.

First, licensed mental health professionals follow the same ethical codes and laws virtually as they do in person. When we meet with you via secure video, we ensure that the physical space on our end is also private, secure, and free of distractions. The team of therapists at Wilcox Wellness use HIPPA compliant, safe, and secure video platforms and follow the best practices for providing online therapy set forth by the main governing bodies for therapists (such as the ACA, APA, and EMDRIA). We cannot do this work together if it is not private, secure, and confidential.

Our team of therapists at Wilcox Wellness have gotten very creative during COVID on ways to maintain privacy for video therapy, especially when there is a full house of family members. Sometimes, as our client, this means having a video session from your car on your tablet or phone. Sometimes this means making your www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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own “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door, placing a sound machine outside of the room, and making an announcement to your family that you are not available for the next hour.

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We have found, as therapists, that we feel just as connected with our clients via video as we did in person. We love getting creative on ways to feel more virtually connected and continually receive a lot of positive feedback from our clients that the feelings are mutual. We love thinking outside of the box and video therapy allows us to do this even more. An example of this is at the start of each session, a therapist and client will each light a candle to create a container for the session. The candles will burn during the hour and then the therapist and client blow them out together as part of a closing meditation exercise. We have found that being able to work with our clients in their own spaces and for them to see our virtual office space has created a deeper sense of connection as well.

Wilcox Wellness is a virtually-based team of mental health and wellness experts providing innovative counseling for children, teens, couples, and adults. We make video-therapy especially convenient and effective for our clients because of our wide range of types of therapy specializations such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Solution-Focused Therapy, and therapy for Spanish speaking individuals. Because we do not have to commute to an office either, we are able to see our clients during “off-peak” hours, including weekends. Our decades of continued training and education coupled with our down-to-earth personalities allow us to form genuine, connected, and compassionate relationships with our clients. We help hurting people heal.

Erica Wilcox is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified EMDR Therapist who dedicates her work to holistically helping individuals and groups heal from stress and trauma. She is the Founder and Director of Wilcox Wellness Center for Personal Growth, a private and professional counseling practice located in Southington, CT. www.wilcoxwellness.com. Contact by phone 860.266.6098. help@wilcoxwellness. com. See ad on page 16.

Acupuncture Plays a Strong Role in Treating Pain, Cancer and Chronic Illnesses

By Veena Verma-Dzik, ND, FIAMA

N

atural therapies are underutilized as effective treatment for patients experiencing chronic health conditions.

Effective complementary therapies such as acupuncture address the underlying causes of illnesses as well as the symptoms. Natural therapies used with traditional medicines and alone see the whole person; mentally, emotionally, and physically. Chronic illnesses related to stress and environmental toxins have increased dramatically. Natural therapies address the root causes of these chronic illnesses and can be used successfully as primary care or as an integral component of an overall care plan for patients who are not healing and thriving in traditional therapies.

The idea of autonomy in using natural therapies is of great importance to patients who want to regain their health and wellbeing and participate fully in their healing process.

If you have never heard of the dramatic results of a natural medicine approach, I offer former President Bill Clinton’s decades long struggle with obesity and cardiovascular disease. After leaving the White House in true cardiovascular risk, he consulted physicians who integrated traditional care with natural medicine, and after changing his diet and some aspects of his lifestyle, cured his blocked arteries.

Acupuncture, a treatment used successfully for thousands of years, is a successful treatment for pain, cancer and many chronic illnesses. According to the National Institute of Health, there are a number of studies that suggest acupuncture to be beneficial in treating chronic pain. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, acupuncture is based on life energy, referred to as Qi, which circulates

through pathways or channels throughout our bodies. These channels are interconnected to organs throughout the body.

When a disruption occurs in the flow of energy, illness and disease can occur.

By inserting needles into points along the channels that correspond to different organs, this energy can be restored and healing occurs.

Acupuncture works by increasing blood flow and tissue perfusion, which facilitates healing. To get even more detailed, the concentrations of β-endorphin, epinephrine, cortisol, prostaglandin E2 and many other chemicals within our bodies are altered by acupuncture, thereby further promoting pain relief. Acupuncture acts on the peripheral and central nervous systems to decrease cortical activation of pain perception. According to one study, where data was received for a total of 20,827 patients from 39 trials, acupuncture was found to be superior when compared to controls of both sham acupuncture, as well as no acupuncture, when it comes to treating conditions associated with pain.

Acupuncture has been very beneficial in providing supportive care for cancer patients. Randomized clinical trials have shown acupuncture to be effective for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and in managing cancer-related pain, neuropathy, and fatigue, both during and after conventional cancer treatments. Due to the positive physiological effects it has, acupuncture is a well sought out treatment in alleviating symptoms associated with cancer and is now integrated in world renowned cancer treatment centers. It is in fact moving into “mainstream” care as a

viable method of helping cancer patients manage all the side effects of chemotherapy and non-narcotic pain relief.

Acupuncture is highly effective for many in significantly improving symptoms and quality of life. It can be used for numerous physical and mental health conditions; including anxiety, depression, addiction, Lyme, infertility and more. Not only can effects be felt initially, but persist over time. Speaking from personal experience, acupuncture helped me significantly when I experienced postpartum depression and saves me whenever I experience physical trauma from running. Due to the growing prevalence of chronic diseases, as well as emotional stressors that people face, acupuncture serves as a highly beneficial alternate and supportive therapy.

Dr. Veena Verma-Dzik, ND, FIAMA is a board certified Naturopathic physician, certified medical acupuncturist and specializes in Lyme and tick-borne illnesses, allergies, fatigue, anxiety, ADHD, MTHFR, and gastrointestinal conditions. She uses many therapies that can be used solely or be integrated with conventional medicine, from botanical medicine, nutraceuticals and acupuncture for cancer, Lyme, anxiety, gastrointestinal conditions and more. She utilizes both conventional and functional laboratory testing, as well as spending a great deal of time, care and support to provide thorough, successful care for her patients. Insight Counseling, 105 Danbury Road, Ridgefield. 203.431.9726. insightcounselingllc.com. See ad on inside cover. www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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How the Crystal Amethyst BioMat Saved My Back

By Liz Kametz and Adrienne Gervais

I

t was typical for Adrienne not to sleep through the night, but one-night last December she woke with excruciating pain in her lower back and down her leg.

Through many doctor’s visits and trips to the ER, she came to learn that she had experienced 3 bulging discs and 1 herniated disc in her lower back. As an Integrated Energy Therapist, Adrienne knew that the body can be the vessel to hold many unprocessed traumas and stress. She started tapping into all the holistic approaches she could research. One of the biggest shifts came when she was able to use the Crystal Amethyst BioMat. We spent time to sit with her and learn about her experience and all the benefits she gained from this healing modality.

Liz: Where did you find out about the BioMat in the first place?

Adrienne: I have a friend with a daughter with severe physical and mental challenges. She told me about the BioMat once because she said it was the only thing that could get her daughter to calm down during some of her outbursts. My friend also used the BioMat to help her reduce her own stress and anxiety while caring for her daughter.

Liz: How did you know it would help your back?

Liz: So would you suggest people only use it one time?

Adrienne: Knowing it was used for stress reduction, I started researching the BioMat on BioMat.com and learned that not only was this considered a certified medical grade device, but that it’s backed by science to alleviate inflammation and pain.

Adrienne: The significant injury that I had really required a longer recovery plan. After daily use I credited it to helping increase my mobility and decrease the severity of the pain.

Liz: What did you experience after the first-time use?

Adrienne: I was excited to try it.

Especially after all I had heard and read.

At first it was impossible to lay flat on my back due to my sciatic pain, so I had to prop myself up with pillows. Even with all the props, I was still able to feel the heat penetrating into my lower back and legs.

After laying on it for an hour I felt calm and my muscles felt much more relaxed.

Liz: Did you find the benefits lasted or did you need to keep using the BioMat? Adrienne: I was surprised to realize that even the next day after having used the BioMat, more than 24 hours later, I still had the sensation of my muscles being less inflamed and in less pain.

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

Liz: Now that you’ve had clients using it, what sort of feedback have you received?

Adrienne: Each client who has tried the Crystal Amethyst BioMat therapy has returned. They are finding relief both physically and mentally. Some find the biggest benefits to be an increased feeling of calm and being granted with more patience.

These clients have come in with ailments of pain, anxiety, stress and even depression.

One of the benefits of the BioMat is that it helps regulate the central nervous system.

It gives you a renewed sense of being able to manage life.

Liz: What is one thing you would say to people who have never tried it?

Adrienne: Personally I was in a place where I had never experienced such pain and hope to never again. The BioMat is something I trust. It’s completely safe, the time you’re on it is customizable to your needs, and don’t just take my word for it, come experience for yourself.

Simply lying on the Crystal Amethyst BioMat promotes a feeling of well-being for a healthier mind and body. It Increases local circulation where applied, provides temporary relief of minor muscle and joint pain, and supports the immune system.

Just Be in Glastonbury/East Hartford is one of the only places in CT to offer this therapy. Just Be offers stress reliever and reflection bundles to pair the healing effects of the BioMat with that of Energy Work and Massage. We pride ourselves on our unique holistic modalities. justbethejourney.com.

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How Telling Your Life Story Can Heal Your Pain

By Robin Clare

H

ave you ever told stories from your life to someone and that person said to you, “Wow, you should write a book?” Perhaps writing a book is not the next logical step in your life, but for sure, you have a life story that has filled your days with thought-provoking events and outcomes. These events are not always glamorous; in fact, they might be riddled with drama and trauma.

Our life experiences consist of good, bad, and ugly moments. As a life coach, I know that all three of these types of experiences make for excellent teaching material in our personal and professional life. As an author and writing coach, I know that these same experiences make for incredible content when writing your life story.

Writing Your Life Story – Something Everyone Must Do Everyone should write their life story whether they ever want to publish it or not.

By writing your life story, you will gain a greater understanding of what has transpired in your life. This review will enable you to see where you have healed and take stock of all that you have accomplished.

This review will also point out where you still need to improve your life.

There are many different ways to heal your life and one of the most profound ways is to engage in a conversation with

your inner wisdom. By writing your story, you activate your inner wisdom and you see your traumatic patterns where profound healing is possible. I experienced this in the writing of my third book, Feast & Famine: Healing Addiction with Grace.

An Author’s Struggle The first time I wrote Feast & Famine, I was in addiction to obsessive-compulsive food disorder and bulimia. I could see that I had so much to heal and I went on an extensive self-healing journey. I had to put the manuscript down until I came into recovery. Once firmly in recovery, I wrote the book a second time, seeing the book through an entirely new lens.

Moving beyond my fear, I was able to share my life experiences and the full healing path that worked for me. I had an incredible message to share and I stopped worrying about being judged by others. I released the book from this new place of empowerment. Now, I gladly speak about my life story with a knowing that I am serving others. After my courageous healing journey, I realized how much writing my story enabled my recovery. I became so enthusiastic that I changed the direction of my life coaching business to one of hybrid life and writing coaching. My aspiring writer clients receive the benefit of both my deep experience as a life coach and as an author.

The key is to write your life story for yourself first as a healing tool for your life.

Finding Your Courage The hardest part about being a writing coach is getting my clients to write!

Being able to write your story takes a tremendous amount of courage. The fear of confronting your painful life experiences can be overwhelming. The key is to write your life story for yourself first as a healing tool for your life.

If, after you have written your life story, you feel another level of courage coming on, then it is time to share your story with others. You can accomplish this in many ways and in many different styles; from sharing it informally with others, to writing a blog post or an article, to designing a program to coach others. And yes, you can transform your incredible life story into a book! www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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The Four Phases of Writing a Book

Find more articles and search our web archive at naturalnutmeg.com

Lunch & Learn Live Video Discussions with Dr. Diane interviewing our Natural Nutmeg expert contributors & Support for COVID-19

Natural Nutmeg has launched a new Lunch & Learn video cast interview series.

The video casts highlight each guest’s practice/business, further promoting them as experts in their field of expertise.

If you would like us to promote your practice/business by participating in our Lunch & Learns, please email Dr. Diane at: diane@naturalnutmeg.com for more information.

Here are some testimonials about prior guest experiences on the call and the impact it has had on their practice/business.

“Dr. Diane certainly knows how to put someone at ease, creating a safe space to share thoughts and ideas. Her questions and added discussion enabled me to discuss what matters the most to me: education of the leaders we need and the role self-growth plays in all of our lives. In Diane’s enthusiastic and engaged hands, our conversation was truly a time I will treasure! I walked away elated for taking this opportunity to share with such an amazing person. I heartily endorse Diane and Natural Nutmeg for offering all of us opportunities for growth and discussion.” ~ Sandi Coyne-Gilbert, MBA, DM, Goodwin University “Dr. Diane Hayden has taken this time of uncertainty and turned it into an opportunity. Reaching to an audience seeking wellness advice amid fears of communicable disease, Dr. Diane came up with the idea of weekly Lunch and Learn discussions with experts in the field of health and wellness. I closed my business as acupuncture is not deemed essential in the treatment of COVID-19, but I had the great fortune to talk about the unexpected benefits of acupuncture with Dr. Diane. Patients, some established and many new, learned about my practice and I look forward to being busy once again when we open for new patients in the near future. Thank you, Diane!” ~ Jessica Peck-Lindsey MS, MAc, LAc, Peck’s Family Acupuncture “It was a pleasure to connect with Dr Diane Hayden at Natural Nutmeg online in discussing the cutting edge information on Traditional Chinese Medicine and COVID-19. Dr. Diane and Natural Nutmeg have been a great support in getting the holistic word out during this unusual time.” ~ Dr. Artemis Morris, ND, LAc, Artemis Wellness Center “Diane is a skilled interviewer. We were able to cover a lot of excellent information. We used the interview on both our social media and website. It’s a great informational tool to refer patients as well as potential patients to listen.” ~ Dr. Adam Breiner, ND, Breiner Whole-Body Health Center “Sharing EFT Tapping on Dr. Diane’s Lunch ’n Learn series was a highlight of my practice during this time of the Coronavirus! The importance of reducing stress to strengthen our immune system is truly imperative, so Thank You for broadening the alternative medicine message that you do so well.” ~ Karen St. Clair, EFT International ACAP “Diane was amazing to work with. She really understood my messaging and target audiences. Diane’s expertise in both wellness and marketing made me feel comfortable sharing my story through Natural Nutmeg’s webinar, as well as advertising.” ~ Dr Sherry Skyler Kelly, Licensed Psychologist

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The writing process consists of four phases: • Phase I: Share your unique life experiences from your past (your backstory) that make you the ideal person to write this book about this topic of your self-help book.

• Phase 2: Describe your current life struggles and victories on the self-help topic in a way that will encourage your readers to say, “She (or he) gets me!”

• Phase 3: Reveal what integrative solutions you discovered on your healing journey that brought you out of struggle and into the ease of grace-filled healing.

• Phase 4: Design your practical advice and processes for your self-help topic to be relatable to others to help them to have a more positive present and future life.

Let’s Get Started Check out Robin’s fun and informative group training called Getting Ready to Write. The program gathers aspiring writers to learn practical and inspirational aspects of becoming a writer. This program is a beautiful way to declare that you are ready to honor your life story and embrace it as a healing tool for yourself and others. The next group program begins in September 2020!

Please sign up for a FREE 30-minute discovery call to learn more.

Only after revealing her deepest dark secret, Robin Clare was able to become her most authentic spiritual self. Struggling with food addiction and bulimia for decades, she finally dug deep into current and past lives to heal wounds that had blocked success and fed her active addiction. Now in recovery, Robin is living her Soul Mission as a speaker and life & writing coach. As an author, she documented her extraordinary spiritual journey in the highly-acclaimed Messiah Within, followed by Amazon bestsellers, The Divine Keys, and now, Feast & Famine. Awards include 10 Best Life/ Business Coaches and 10 Best Energy Healers in The Natural Nutmeg Readers Polls of 2017-2019. To learn more, go to www.clare-ity.com or follow Facebook: #clareitywithrobin, Instagram: #clareitybyrobin. See ad on page 9.

What the Autumn Equinox Teaches Us About Love

By Pat Heavren

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ince the autumn equinox is the time of equal day and night, it’s easy to assume its connection to love is that it’s a 50/50 deal. You do your part, I’ll do mine.

We’ll get love right if we meet eachother’s needs equally. But that’s the human world’s definition, not nature’s. The human world has groomed us to be concerned with managing risk and jockeying for advantage, and calling it love.

If we’re honest, we’ll recognize how often we find ourselves peering at eachother over tightly clutched clipboards, tallying wins and losses in relationships, keeping lengthy records of resentment and fulfillment to determine the safety of future investments. This isn’t love. Rather, it is brokering that’s mistaken for love.

Lucky for us, unexpected circumstance, painful challenge, and the passage of time will eventually expose the lies about love we’ve been fed and perpetuated through cultural distortion. Somewhere along the line, the idea of getting needs met has become the primary definition of a healthy relationship.

While it’s important to recognize that the genuine desire to meet another’s needs is essential to intimacy, connection and interdependence; the kind of meeting eachother’s needs that insists on giving while expecting equal return is really barter and begets a volley of maneuvers that has nothing to do with love at all.

We’ve absorbed this message from a world that glamorizes the organic, naturally reciprocal, fundamental spirit of love

and treats it as a calculated commodity exchange. Defining healthy relationships this way leaves us dueling in self-interest, downgrading the quality of our mutual experience and accelerating the demise of other aspects of community life that vitally depend on our ability to thrive in relationships of all kinds.

This is a true crime against nature, love’s nature (and nature’s love) and the good example the natural world gives us if we’re paying attention to how interdependence and ecologically sound relationships really work. Nature Herself is available to be our greatest mentor if we’re willing to seek the wisdom She keeps.

The smallest and largest creatures of Earth and the harmonious interplay of elemental forces keep our ecosystem in balance. Nature is devoid of self-consciousness, spared from the calculation that it should or will get back what it gives in equal measure. The various expressions of nature contribute one hundred percent in the moment, as they are. Return for contribution is never measured in a oneto-one exchange.

Autumn leaves don’t look six months to the future to assure substitutions will be sent before they part from the branch. Neither do they scream in protest as they release their attachments. Nor do they see their solo part in the orchestra as a replacement for the beauty of the whole score. They offer their all, in service to a larger unfolding.

The Autumn Equinox marks the time of full harvest, when plants bear final fruit, go to seed, and fall back to the earth. As

they near the end, they lose their vigor for looking buff, slack in productivity and eventually surrender themselves toward the dark soil whence they came. Dissolving and merging into the rhythm of life through death are essential to fertilizing tomorrow.

True love requires the falling away of self-interest, so the lover feeds the system that supports the overall care of the we, recognizing the me is contained within the we. That’s the protection it seeks through commerce that can never be truly delivered. It’s important to understand that love doesn’t mistake the death of self-interest for the kind of death that is a separation-making self-sacrifice. In other words, love doesn’t put itself in harm’s way with a partner who doesn’t endeavor (even if sometimes falling short) to also hold the good of the we in mind.

The Autumn Equinox teaches us what love requires, so we can perhaps place the clipboards aside, experience the joy that comes from contributing fully without concern for return, and embrace the dark and light of resentments and fulfillments as they come and go without tally and calculation.

Somewhere in this teaching is the opportunity to restore our trust in nature as our guide and to experience a mature love beyond the deceptions that mere selfinterested exchange perpetuates. If we go 100/100 all in, maybe we stand a chance of re-entering the wisdom of a time long ago, before human culture separated itself from nature and the many teachings She offers in the movement of Her seasonal turns.

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Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll learn to truly love.

“I’m one of the lucky ones this article refers to! My husband and I have worked with Pat together and separately.

As a result, I’m learning to love more deeply: both the parts of myself and others that I’ve judged harshly, and the unexpected challenges life can bring. My self-image and close relationships have changed in ways I never could have predicted. The benefits continue to ripple.

Working with Pat isn’t therapy.

It isn’t goal-oriented coaching. It’s about learning to live life by listening for the magic that’s present inside me and in the world around me…and understanding how my response and perspective shape my world.” ~ ML, Prospect, CT, a client of Living Source

Experience the Difference with a Liquid Ayurveda Supplement that is Optimized for Superior Absorption and Health is Achieved at the Cellular Level.

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Pat Heavren is a relationship coach, mediator, educator and healer who is passionate about supporting individuals and couples to flourish through alignment with the wisdom of the natural world. She is the author of Magic in Plain Sight: When Acceptance is the Healing and is former senior teaching faculty with the Four Winds Society, an international school of neo-shamanism and energy medicine. Pat has led workshops across the US, Canada and Latin America and works worldwide with clients via telephone and Zoom from her Woodbridge, CT office. She can be reached at www.livingsource.us and 203.444.4424 for appointments.

See ad on page 18.

Got Chronic Pain?

Try Rolfing® For Fast, Natural Relief

By Sharon Sklar, Certified Advanced Rolfer

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very week my office phone rings or the emails come in from people with chronic, longstanding pain wanting to know more about Rolfing®. They have heard this or that or just found it on an internet search and have the need to know more. Part of my job is to educate people about this work, explain why it works and point out that it has had a devout following for pain relief since the early 1970’s when the Rolf Institute was founded in Boulder, Colorado.

We Rolfers, those trained in the teachings of Dr. Ida P. Rolf, see the body as structural form with balance and order.

We see the body as an aggregate of vertical blocks that are stacked on top of one another giving support throughout. In many cases due to accidents, injuries or past traumas, those blocks are twisted or turned, shifted forward or backward and have little structural integrity. This disorder creates chronic imbalance which results in stiffness, pain and lack of ease.

To Rolfers, the organ of support, the soft or connective tissue and the fascial network, is what supports and moves the bones while the bones serve as merely spacers. Fascia is a thin membrane that wraps around individual muscles, a grouping of muscles, and also lies just under the surface of the skin. This membrane system along with muscles, tendons, and ligaments make up the soft or connective tissue of the body, basically everything but the bone. Through the direct manipulation of all of the body’s soft tissue, we strive to reorder the basic organization of the body and get it back into balance. With balance comes freedom. This all makes sense to people. This is why I am starting my fortieth year as a Rolfer!

The last thirty-nine years have flown by. I have seen so many “miracles” in my practice. I have worked with a baby who was struggling to walk because he couldn’t extend his heels, receive a few moments of “spot” work and the next day began to stand and walk. I have seen people struggling with pain after that car accident regain their order and balance and get well again. Sports injuries, chronic areas of reinjury, like that ankle that continues to feel weak and is vulnerable to being resprained, do well with Rolfing®.

What is Rolfing® and why does it work? When the body gets injured, the fascia or connective tissue releases a gelatinous substance that lubricates the area. After some time, that lubricant dries out, acts like glue and begins to get all the layers of tissue stuck down to one another. This begins to show up as lack of range of motion, stiffness, less flexibility and chronic aches or pain. Simply put, if the connective tissue is pulling the bones unevenly, the body lacks support. To get that support back, direct manipulation by hand using specific pressure releases the “glueing” of the fascia which allows the muscles and soft tissue to go back to their natural balanced state.

When this happens, flexibility increases, pain and stiffness disappear, and the body is once again doing what it is supposed to do, feel free and easy.

Five years ago, I met 55-year-old Monique. She had been a nurse at a local hospital for many years. When she was 26, she slipped in a patient’s room and two months later had her left anterior cruciate ligament surgically repaired. She was casted from her groin to her ankle for 16 weeks, had a lot of physical therapy, and complained her leg was never right. She

compromised by not being too active and always wearing flat shoes. Any activity reignited her left knee pain; 15 minutes on an elliptical machine, walking in the city for a day, and sudden motion would bring it on. She always felt twisted. This feeling stayed with her for 29 years.

Going through 10 sessions of Rolfing® reconfigured her body and finally got that twist out of her system. Halfway through the sessions, Monique mentioned that her knee was less problematic and was not in her conscious thought 24/7. The surgery repaired the acute initial problem but nothing identified the trauma to her body in that fall. We untwisted tissue, organized her pelvis, worked directly around her knee and finished the sessions with a new way to live; pain and worry-free. Five years after her completion of the 10 session Rolfing® series, Monique’s knee issue is history and her occasional “tune-ups” are for other issues that creep in during the course of living life.

After 39 years of doing this powerful work, I see miracles all the time. I invite you to look at my website, call me or email me with any questions. I’ll be around for a long time, but why wait?

Sharon Sklar is in her 39th year of private practice as a Certified Advanced Rolfer.

State licensed and the only Rolfer in Central CT, Sharon works with direct manipulation of the soft tissue of the body and movement re-education over a ten-session series to help her clients feel freer, get more balanced and reduce chronic pain.

Call 860.561.4337 for more info or to schedule a consultation. www.SharonSklarRolfing.com. See ad on page 42. www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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Welcome to Natural Nutmeg’s

Healthy Aging Guide!

“Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.”

- David Bowie

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ging is not the end of the world and actually comes with benefits. The sad part is too many people wait until they are told they have a limited amount of time left to live before they start living.

Our hope is this Healthy Aging Guide will be an amazing resource for readers 50+ who truly want to redefine what it means to age and also how to help elderly parents.

The following section contains Connecticut’s vetted resources of practitioners and businesses that provide services to people 50+ and their caregivers. Our mission is always to help people navigate these important choices so they can age gracefully and positively, which is now more important than ever.

Hoffman SummerWood: A Unique Culture of Caring

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hen it comes to living out the golden years, families are favoring senior living communities for the independent lifestyle that offers endless opportunities for enrichment. Hoffman SummerWood, located at 160 Simsbury Road in West Hartford features spacious, one to two-bedroom apartments complete with a full kitchen and private bathroom. A warm and inviting community, SummerWood offers Independent Living, as well as a variety of individualized health and wellness services for Assisted Living. We support our residents to “gracefully age in place,” in that there is no need to move apartments if resident wellness needs change.

Hoffman SummerWood is an independently owned, non-profit organization, with no buy-in costs. Surrounded by welcoming neighbors, residents can take part in friendly gettogethers, guest speakers and lectures, wellness activities and exercise classes, an in-house beauty salon and gift shop, classes and performances in the creative arts, complimentary memberships to local gym and recreation centers, and complimentary transportation to religious events, theaters, museums, casinos, gardens, shopping and dining experiences. Even in these recent times, SummerWood prioritized keeping residents successfully engaged and active while at a safe distance.

Here is a testimonial from a SummerWood resident family member. “We wanted to be sure that Mom was as safe as possible during the pandemic, and we know that we made the right choice with SummerWood. All of her meals were delivered directly to her front door and she enjoyed the activities. She even had a musician play for her through the window! We are relieved knowing that care was available to her if she needed it.”

SummerWood offers a unique “Try-Us” program that allows for a temporary 1-3 month stay in a fully-furnished apartment. This opportunity provides the experience that allows you to sample our unique culture of caring, giving you the confidence in making SummerWood your new home.

Hoffman SummerWood is available to answer any questions you may have. Simply call 860.523.3808 and ask for Marketing Coordinator, Sophia Cannavo, or Executive Director, Denise Jones.

See ad on page 40.

Qigong for Healthy Aging

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igong is on people’s minds these days. It’s in the news and at your local Y or maybe at your yoga center. What is qigong? Whereas tai chi is a routine that is followed from start to finish, qigong is slow moving exercises which open blockages of energy, self-massage along our acupuncture pathways, conscious breathing and focusing on being present in the body.

Anyone can pick up qigong easily without any experience and can be practiced by the very old and the very young. You don’t have to be flexible or in good shape and it can even be done sitting down.

Qigong as well as tai chi are considered moving meditations where we strive to bring our body and mind into balance.

Calming the mind by lowering stress levels, focusing on breathing slowly and deeply as well as creating a sense of peace are the true rewards of qigong, but the physical benefits of improving balance, flexibility and strength are very valuable as well.

What do we mean by balance? In western medicine is it known as homeostasis. This is the place between the stress mode, also called the fight or flight response and the rest and relax response. We are constantly vacillating between these two states during most waking hours. More than ever we are in continuous stress mode due to changes in lifestyle, constantly needing to be connected, and even more so with the pandemic which has brought uncertainty to many people’s lives. This everpresent stress takes its toll on the body, creating malfunction in any of the systems of the body, leading to illness and subsequently aging us much faster.

Qigong is an excellent way to keep our organs functioning optimally, our joints and muscles strong and flexible, to destress, and bring the body and mind into balance and harmony.

Donna Bunte, MSOM, L.Ac. is a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, integrative nutrition health coach and qigong teacher. She teaches qigong in her community at various locations in Greenwich and Stamford and on Zoom. To try a free class email her at: health@donnabunte.com. 203.253.9885. www.donnabunte.com. See ad on page 38.

www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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NATURAL NUTMEG’S HEALTHY AGING GUIDE

Advocating Care for Your Aging Parent

By Neil Anand, Owner, ComForCare Home Care

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amily caregivers often accompany their parent to their doctor appointments and possibly even sit in the exam room with them. It is important to be prepared, especially when you are advocating care for someone else. Below are 12 suggestions on what to do before, during and after a visit with the doctor.

Before 1. Make sure your loved one has a release of information signed in their medical records.

2. Pack a go-bag that includes a list of your loved one’s current medications and a change of clothing in case of any accidents while away from home.

3. Write down any questions and/or concerns you or your parent have about their health.

4. Pack a notebook, laptop, or tablet so you can take notes.

5. While waiting to be seen, engage with your loved one, even if it’s just filling out a crossword puzzle together.

During 1. Write down any changes or the physician’s concerns.

2. Reference your written questions and ask them.

3. Involve your parent in their own care.

4. If you are seeing a specialist, ask if the office staff can send copies of medical records to the primary care doctor.

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After 1. Ask your parent if they have any new questions or concerns and write them down.

2. Drop off any new prescriptions at your loved one’s pharmacy and schedule any tests like an MRI or colonoscopy as soon as possible.

3. If your parent needed to fast for blood work or maybe received some bad news, get some lunch with them after the visit. Make it a time to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

There may be days where you can’t join your loved one on their trip to the doctor. That’s where ComForCare Home Care comes in. Our caregivers can provide transportation and even escort you to your appointment and advocate on your behalf. Visit www.comforcare.com/ fairfieldct to learn about more ways we can help.

ComForCare Home Care is a premier provider of in-home care with nearly 200 independently owned and operated locations in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., helping older adults live independently in their own homes and continue to do all the things they love. The home care company is committed to helping people live their best life possible and also offers special programs for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Portions of this article were originally featured on blog.comforcare.com.

ComForCare Home Care, 1700 Post Road, Suite E5, Fairfield, CT. 203.612.8966. fairfieldct@comforcare.com.

ComForCare.com/FairfieldCT. See ad on page 40.

8 Tips to Slow Down the Aging Process

By Tamara Sachs, MD

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ging is inevitable, but premature aging is preventable. The goal of functional medicine is to help patients stay healthy, active and fit into their eighth and ninth decades and beyond.

We can postpone the symptoms of aging until we are close to the end of our lives.

Currently, many Americans start to feel declines in stamina, vision and flexibility decades before the end of their lives. That is premature aging and that is what is, in large part, preventable.

premature aging. Even eating “very well” does not ensure adequate phytonutrients and antioxidants to counteract the pollution we breathe and the toxins we have internally and that we are all exposed to. As we age, we often need more nutrients to combat the inevitable wear and tear over time, however, in many cases, we eat less as we get older and we have other factors that also impact the need for nutrients, as well as aging in general.

The same factors that result in the current epidemic of chronic illness and contribute to premature death are also responsible for premature aging; our diet and lifestyle, our environment, what we tell ourselves, our relationships and our community. All of which put together is what is known as our exposome.

We require additional protein as we get older to maintain our bone mass and our muscle mass. Experts disagree on the actual amount but somewhere between 20 and 30 grams of protein at every meal is encouraged to prevent muscle loss. Legumes and other vegan options work if you are careful. I like to add eggs and seafood.

Here are 8 tips to help to slow down the aging process and allow us to age gracefully and be healthy until the very end of our hopefully, very long life.

3. Minimize Sugar

1. Optimize Your Nutrition Eat a plant-based, Mediterraneanstyle diet. Cover 60 to 80% of your plate with vegetables and other plants, both raw and cooked, as each offers different nutrients. Nutritional deficiencies cause long-latency diseases, meaning they begin and continue long before symptoms appear or a diagnosis is made. Nutritional deficiencies over the course of a lifetime cause premature aging. Certain nutritional deficiencies, even just short term, cause

2. Consume More Protein

Sugar really does rot your brain, it was not an idle parental threat. It is unhealthy in many ways; do your best to limit or avoid sugar beyond what is in food.

4. Limit Prescription Medications Prescription medications and polypharmacy are causes of premature aging and death. In addition, many prescription drugs cause nutritional deficiencies which in turn promote premature aging. Some of the commonly prescribed drugs include acid blockers, also known as H2 blockers, which block the absorption of B12, protein and minerals. If these drugs are used for

extended periods of time, they can lead to osteoporosis, hip fractures, muscle loss and gall bladder dysfunction, and make us more susceptible to infections such as H. Pylori, C. Difficile and pneumonia. Antibiotics are often prescribed without a thought to nutrition, but they alter the microbiome which is the source of several of our nutrients. Antibiotics also deplete us of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, many of the B vitamins, potassium, and zinc. The non-steroidal antiinflammatories (NSAIDs) can deplete us of folate which is a critical nutrient. Statins are known to deplete Coenzyme Q10, but they also deplete zinc, selenium and copper. CoQ10 depletion also occurs with beta blockers, which are commonly used to treat hypertension. Estrogen replacement requires additional B vitamins, CoQ10 and magnesium. Over time, the constant exposure to these medications combined with our habit of not taking in enough nutrients causes us to become nutritionally deficient and age prematurely.

5. Work with a Forward-Thinking Health Care Provider Lab tests for inflammation, autoimmunity, total toxic burden, genetic variations that matter, and other tests appropriate to your health story can reveal important issues you can address. The panel of tests conventional doctors typically order have not changed in the past 30 years, yet our knowledge certainly has. Do not let insurance policies dictate your preventive care.

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6. Sleep Sleep changes occur as we age, however, it is not true that we need less sleep as we age. We still need the same amount of sleep as we always did, it just may be harder to get it. Having good sleep habits is vital to maintaining brain health as well as repairing the wear and tear of the day.

7. Exercise Move more, not less. We actually need more exercise as we get into our 50s, 60s and beyond. Not the same kind, necessarily, but more frequent moving of our joints and fascia, work on balance and combating muscle loss aggressively with weight training or other activities. It is truly a case of, “use it or lose it.”

tsachsmd.com

8. Challenge Your Brain

Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine is Here!

PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) Treatments & Adult Stem Cell Therapy Dr Henry Sobo offers these cutting edge technologies: PRP

Stem Cell Therapy

A natural and safe, non-surgical • for joints & arthritis – used by method for healing: professional athletes and their doctors.

• Hair Restoration • Stem cells are also being researched and • Arthritis/Joints used for many degenerative conditions• Erectile Dysfunction ask Dr. Sobo if this is right for you.

Other Conditions Treated by Dr. Sobo • Food Allergies • Alzheimers/Dementia • Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia • MTHFR • Hormonal Health • Weight Loss • Natural Thyroid • Anti-Aging Medicine • Diabetes • Cardiovascular Disease

Call for your

to see if these new, safe, and natural therapies are for you.

Join me virtually for stress relieving qigong on Fridays at 10 am.

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

10BEST Integrative MD

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Proven solutions to boost immunity and relieve stress naturally.

203/698-0793 - 203/253-9885 c. health@donnabunte.com www.donnabunte.com

Vote Dr. Sobo for

Nominate me for Natural Nutmeg’s 10BEST Coach or Nutrition

We should always be trying to learn new things, to grow and explore, and to keep the brain occupied with artistic and intellectual endeavors including music and art, learning new languages and solving puzzles. Trying new things will help to keep our brains as limber as we’d like our bodies to be.

Connection, community and purpose all are vital to healthy aging and to living a long and joy-filled life.

In 1998, Dr. Tamara Sachs turned her focus to Clinical Nutrition, Toxicology, Integrative and Functional Medicine, and dedicated several thousand hours of accredited advanced medical education to this field.

Dr. Sachs lectures frequently and is passionate about teaching people how their bodies work and providing tools to make healthy living easier, more convenient and affordable. 15 Bennitt St., New Milford.

860.354.3304. www.tsachsmd.com. mail@ tsachsmd.com. tsachsmd.com/events/.

See ad on this page.

The Four Pillars of Anti-Aging Medicine

By Henry Sobo, MD lthough it has long been felt a healthy diet, regular exercise and stress reduction can result in a host of medical benefits, research has now validated many of the ideas utilized in Anti-Aging Medicine.

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els more youthful as we age also helps to improve the signs and symptoms of aging for both men and women. The following symptoms of hormone deficiency with aging are experienced by both sexes: low libido, sleep disturbances, fatigue and bone loss.

Lifestyle Changes

Peptides

Healthy lifestyle slows cellular aging which has been proven through the study of chromosomal structures called telomeres.

Telomeres, found at the end of our chromosomes, prevent the DNA within our chromosomes from being damaged, but as we grow older the telomeres become shorter and cells begin to age and die more rapidly. Previous studies have linked the shortening of telomeres to a decrease in life expectancy and a greater risk of age-related diseases such as heart disease, vascular dementia, obesity, stroke, diabetes and various cancers. Research shows that healthy lifestyle changes can partially reverse the telomere shortening which occurs with aging.

Peptides are chains of amino acids with diverse biological effects. They are prescribed for many conditions and enjoy a great safety profile. Some peptides are anti-inflammatory, helping the joints, muscles and the gastrointestinal system. Other peptides improve the immune response to fight infection and help many autoimmune conditions. Some peptides enhance the body’s own natural production of growth hormone. Growth hormone itself has been used for years as an anti-aging treatment, however, its expense and regulatory issues surrounding its use has limited its availability in medical practice. Peptides can achieve the same benefits as growth hormone treatments at much less expense.

Scientists from UCSF examined changes in the telomeres after study participants engaged in, “moderate” levels of aerobic exercise, dietary improvements and stress reduction. Their study showed a reversal of the shortening of chromosomes that occurs with age. Dr. Dean Ornish, the lead researcher of the study says, “If validated by large-scale randomized controlled trials, these comprehensive lifestyle changes may significantly reduce the risk of a wide variety of diseases and premature mortality. Our genes and our telomeres, are a predisposition, but they are not necessarily our fate.”

One peptide, Epitalon, has been shown to improve the length of a person’s telomeres. It is prescribed as a 3-week treatment, done twice per year as a long-term anti-aging strategy. Peptide therapy reduces depression, chronic pain, thinning skin, decreased stamina, forgetfulness, headaches and heart palpitations.

Bioidentical Hormones for Men and Women Bioidentical hormone therapy is most often used in the context of improving the symptoms of menopause experienced by women as their levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone decline. Beyond help with menopause, keeping hormonal lev-

Stem Cells A scientific article entitled, “Stem Cells Targeting Inflammation as Potential Anti-Aging Strategies and Therapies” was published by lead author Rafael Gonzalez. This article reviews studies which demonstrate that intravenous infusion of stem cells decreases inflammatory markers in the body. Fighting inflammation is key to the prevention of disease and aging. Many medical problems result from the effects of underlying inflammation and anything which can reduce inflammation may reduce the risk of many conditions, and have the effect of extending youthful ageing. www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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Supplements A comprehensive discussion of how nutritional supplements may function as an anti-aging treatment is beyond the scope of this article but here are 4 very important ones.

- Hoffman SummerWood 1 6 0

S I M S B U R Y

R O A D ,

W E S T

H A R T F O R D

C T

-Independent & Assisted Living in a Vibrant Senior Living Community-

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1. Vitamin D: There is overwhelming evidence of the many benefits of supplementing with Vitamin D. All of the following disorders have been linked to Vitamin D deficiency; cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, muscle pain, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and mood disorders.

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The benefits include: cancer prevention, cardiovascular protection, liver protection, and gallbladder stone prevention.

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

Elder Scams: What You Need to Know

By Jenny Stronk

I

t can happen to anyone, no one is truly scam proof. For almost an entire year my 90-year-old grandfather was the victim of a phone scam. He mailed thousands of dollars in cash to a stranger who claimed to be an FBI agent, who needed money to keep my uncle from losing his job, tarnishing his good name, and going to jail. Sounds a bit fishy, right? Because it is! My grandfather, unfortunately, fell under this stranger’s spell and for months willingly mailed huge sums of his life savings to a P.O. Box in South Florida.

Thanks to a call from a victim specialist at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, my family learned that the postal service had intercepted an envelope full of cash sent by my grandfather that they believed was headed to a scammer. Once my mom and uncle got over the immediate shock, they spoke to my grandfather, but when mentioning the subject, he got very defensive.

He’d say things like, “It’s all above board”, “It’s all legal”, and more often, “I can’t talk to you about that”. He would get very angry, an emotion I had never seen him express ever before. He needed help, but it was impossible to get through to him.

The USPIS victim specialist suggested we contact the police to report the scam, speak with his banks, and she sent along a list of steps to help bring this to an end. The police were a very supportive resource. My mom filed a police report and the officers suggested hosting an intervention for my grandfather with my mom, dad, aunt and uncle present. With the help of the police, they tried to explain to my grandfather that these calls were scams, that my uncle was

not in trouble, that he was not in danger of losing his job. It was a difficult day; my grandfather was not receptive to the intervention. My family knew they could help but the hardest part would be doing it without upsetting him.

My mom and family worked for months to stop the scammers from contacting my grandfather and to stop my grandfather from continuing to send money.

The back and forth between the phone company alone took weeks to have calls forwarded and his number changed. We had to screen his mail. Legally appointing a Power of Attorney was another important step to be able to set limits on bank accounts, credit cards, and notify Social Security in case his SSN had been stolen. It was a huge effort on my mom’s part, but for a loved one in need, it’s what you do.

What We Learned There are all kinds of scams out there; internet, email, social media, phone, postal, and yes, even Coronavirus scams.

Scammers will impersonate family members as emotional scare tactics to prey on the lonely and confused. They will brainwash older folks into believing things they would normally know to be false.

For the family or caregiver of an older person it is so important to be aware of these threats. By simply checking in once every day you might be able to save a person from the theft of their life savings, credit, social security number, and identity.

If something doesn’t seem right, question it. If your loved one seems out of sorts, talk to them or arrange a visit to their GP. Elders

should not feel embarrassed or ashamed.

To have an open line of non-judgemental communication between caregivers and the elderly is really helpful.

Looking back on the months before my family knew of the scam, I remember my grandfather, typically a happy conversationalist, becoming closed off. His daily phone calls became few and far between and much shorter than usual. At family gatherings, he would leave as soon as the meal was over. He was showing signs that even his closest relatives didn’t pick up on.

Helpful Resources In my family’s experience, there was not one single resource that answered all our questions or solved all our problems.

This is why word of mouth and sharing experiences is so important, so we can learn from one another.

1. Create a checklist to help keep organized. Visit the Postal Inspection Service website: www.uspis.gov for tips on scam prevention and steps to end scamming in progress.

2. Reach out to local police. File a report on the scamming incident, if needed get their assistance with an intervention. The police have information on other scam victims, the number of incidents happening on a local and state level. They are here to help.

3. Speak to local businesses; banks, WesternUnion, grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores. Let them know what is happening with your loved one.

They have experienced other victims of www.NaturalNutmeg.com

41

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Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

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scam and have procedures in place to help. Set an alert or limit bank account withdrawals, take down your loved one’s name, refuse to sell them gift cards or MoneyGram.

4. Call the Post Office. Have your loved one’s mail forwarded for you to screen.

Check with FedEx and UPS to see if your loved one has been sending packages with cash.

5. Reach out to your phone company.

Monitor calls, do not answer, get a phone with caller ID, and set up a voicemail account. Do an online search of suspicious numbers and see what pops up. Many scam phone numbers are reported online. Then block those suspicious numbers. Change phone numbers if you must, have calls from the old number forwarded.

6. Consult a lawyer and social security.

Make sure you have legal authority to help your loved one.

Caregivers and family members play such an important role in an older person’s healthy aging. When it comes to scams, the more information, resources, and tips we have, the better protection we can provide to our elderly. Be aware of scamming and act fast if you believe it is happening to a loved one.

My family hopes that one day all elder scammers will be caught and put away for their crimes. The money my grandfather sent away is gone for good and we’ve made our peace with that because it’s really the least important thing.

Today, thanks to the love and steadfast determination of my mom and family, my grandfather is safe. He is open and talkative again, dispensing ninety years’ worth of stories. He laughs and has joy in his life.

He keeps active, eats a healthy diet, does home improvement projects, maintains his bird feeders, watches NASCAR and Late Night talk shows, and enjoys family time.

My grandpa is back to his lovable self and that is worth more than anything.

Submitted by Jenny Stronk of Thyme & Season and The Common Bond Markets. www.ThymeAndSeason.net. 203.407.8128.

The Amazing Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy

By Yvette Whitton, ND

S

tems cells are progenitor cells, meaning that they have the potential to morph into any type of body cell from nerve cells to cardiac cells and everything in between, upon maturation, and under specific conditions. These cells function either to replace old, diseased, or dead cells, which is commonly known as regeneration, or may undergo a process of change, or differentiation, generating completely different cell types. Stem cells originate from different places within the body such as bone marrow, amniotic fluid which is the fluid filled sac surrounding the developing fetus, and embryonic stem cells which derive from developing embryos. Another source of stem cells are from adult “pluripotent” or rather adult cells that can be genetically engineered to display embryonic stem cell properties. This may sound like a script from a Sci Fi movie, provoking many ethical questions and concerns regarding the nefarious potential of this form of therapy.

What is Stem Cell Therapy?

The popularity of stem cell therapy is quickly expanding in the arena of antiaging, regenerative medicine, and beyond, producing remarkable results in tissue repair, cognitive decline, energy production, muscle building and thus improvement in strength.The cosmetic benefits range from wrinkle reduction, firming and tightening loose skin, to improvements in erectile dysfunction. Stem cell therapy also has benefit in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

The ethical concern associated with stem cell therapy can be averted by choosing modalities for stem cell generation that do not include genetic modification or fetal tissue fragments, but represent more conscionable, less painful, non-invasive

methods of stem cell production such as prolonged and intermittent fasting. The process of conducting a water only fast for a period of five days or more generates a process called autophagy, the body’s way of self-cleaning by ridding itself of old, diseased and dead cells, followed by regeneration of new stem cells. However, prolonged water fasting is not for everyone, and can be extremely dangerous when attempted without medical supervision.

Photodynamic therapy, or light therapy, is another form of therapy for generating new stem cells. There are many phototherapy devices on the market. Some of the more popular devices are the JOOV light and BEMER. Photodynamic therapy requires frequent treatments to produce favorable results and can be quite costly to either purchase the equipment for home use or locate a facility that offers these treatments. If you are unable to make the time and financial investment in photodynamic therapy, there is another more cost-effective option for stem cell regeneration using light waves. Not only is this option affordable, it is extremely convenient, consisting of the application of a small transdermal patch applied topically to specific meridian points on the skin and left in place for 12-hour segments. Results are often immediate and can range from improved sleep to pain alleviation, all without any painful needles or drugs.

A Drugless Patch: How Does it Work?

The patch contains GHK-Copper peptide (Tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine), a naturally occurring substance in the body and is at its highest concentrations in blood plasma, saliva, and urine during youth.

With age, the concentration decreases.

The peptide is released from body tissues

during cellular injury, repairing and regenerating damaged cells. A study shows the biological response modulating benefits of GHK-CU peptide by its ability to inhibit the over expression of certain genes known to increase aggressiveness and spread of certain types of cancers. Additionally, GHKCU is indicated in cellular regeneration, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress within the body. This patented transdermal technology was developed by David Schmidt and has been successfully used for over a decade. This technology is registered with the FDA as a medical device. The copper peptide is contained within the center of the patch. The peptide complex does not enter through the skin, but when the patch is applied to the skin it absorbs thermal energy, a form of light energy which is reflected through the skin, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, and regenerating cells within the body. Although results cannot be guaranteed, benefits are reported as the following: improved sleep, improvement in energy, firmer skin, improvement in skin tone, pain reduction, thicker hair and enhanced wound healing.

Submitted by Yvette Whitton, ND of Adonai Optimal Health and Wellness in Madison. To learn more about how stem cell therapy in the form of the GHK-Cu skin patch technology, can transform your health and improve the quality of your life, contact our office at 888.655.8489. Adonai Optimal Health and Wellness is a result based Integrative practice specializing in chronic disease and cancer. Transdermal patches are also available to enhance weight loss.

See ad on page 42. www.NaturalNutmeg.com

43

NATURAL NUTMEG’S HEALTHY AGING GUIDE

Natural Treatments for Chronic Pain

By Adam Breiner, ND

M

any of you reading this article suffer from chronic pain. According to the CDC, 1 out of every 5 Americans, or about 50 million people have some form of chronic pain. Acute pain alerts us to an injury or illness. Pain is your brain’s signal telling you to stop doing the activity that caused the damage or to rest the injured area to allow it to heal. Sometimes, allowing the acute pain time to heal works; however, sometimes the inflamed state doesn’t wholly resolve. This can be due to various reasons including structural abnormalities, chronic infections, or metabolic deficiencies. Chronic pain often persists for months or even longer.

When pain becomes chronic, anything that led to that state can keep it going.

There are many natural treatments for chronic, as well as acute pain. Some natural remedies should be on hand in your home remedy cabinet, while other procedures will involve the care and treatment 44

Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

of knowledgeable health professionals.

Natural remedies to keep on hand include homeopathic remedies such as Arnica for trauma; this can be both oral pellets or liquid drops and topical gels or creams. Other natural anti-inflammatories include Bellis Perrennis for deep-tissue injuries, Ruta Graviolus for ligament and tendon injuries, or Hypericum for nerve injuries. If used early, these remedies can sometimes keep acute pain from becoming chronic pain.

If an acute injury doesn’t resolve, it could be due to structural damage to the area. You should seek proper diagnosis and treatment from qualified health professionals. Some of the natural approaches to treating pain due to structural damage include chiropractic care, osteopathic care, massage, and others. These hands-on approaches can be helpful in both acute and chronic pain.

Energy-based treatments offer natural approaches to help with both acute and chronic pain. These therapies run the gamut from hands-on healing to devices that employ microcurrents or frequencies that restore proper communication between the cells. Pain or ill health associated with pain correlates with changes in frequencies.

Pain is a sign of acute or chronic inflammation, a sign that something has gone awry.

Energy-based treatments work at the energetic or vibrational level. Physical changes are always linked with energetic changes, changes in frequencies. Pain is an aberrant frequency. We can view any disruption in health as a disruption in cellular communication via frequencies. When you correct these abhorrent frequencies, cells can communicate properly and health is restored.

and creating homeostasis. We have seen remarkable results using the concepts of Biomagnetism with our patients.

2. Microcurrent Therapy. An exciting new therapy introduced recently into the United States is an FDA-cleared Class II Medical Device for treating acute and chronic pain, such as from Fibromyalgia, arthritis, and overuse. Approximately 2” x 2”, this new device is wearable and can clip to your pocket or clothing.

This technology is composed of several components. There are microcurrent wrist straps which plug into the unit and a phone app connects to a medical cloud. The artificial intelligence of a quantum processor inside assesses which frequencies in your body are out of balance. It then downloads balancing frequencies from the medical cloud to the device. Then these balancing signals are delivered to you via microcurrent wrist straps. This revolutionary unit provides the real-time specific frequencies that you require versus devices that just output set frequencies. You can call our office to experience this new technology.

pictured : dr . breiner performs photobiomodulation on a patien

Newcomers to Energy-Based Therapies for Pain (Acute and Chronic) 1. Biomagnetism or Biomagnetic Pair Therapy (BPT). Holistic medicine understands that for your body to function optimally, a proper pH must be maintained.

Ideally, our bodies should be slightly alkaline. Less than optimal pH leads to cellular aging, pain, inability to heal correctly, infections, and general ill-health.

A skilled BPT practitioner identifies organs or tissues that are out of normal polarity. Placement of magnets, 1,000 to 4,000 gauss, on Biomagnetic Pairs at select points on the body allows restoration of proper pH. The magnetic field of the applied magnets affect hydrogen ions and thus the pH in the cells and structures. Restoring the proper pH creates an inhospitable environment for pathogens, improving immune function, reducing inflammation,

the newest term for Qi is “bioelectromagnetic energy.” Electromagnetic energy can be quantified, measured, and photographed.

2. Traditional Japanese Reiki.

Traditional Japanese Reiki, which differs from Western Reiki, falls into oriental medicine, best termed “energy work.” It can take years of study and practice to become certified as a Japanese Reiki Master; there are few traditional practitioners of Japanese Reiki in the United States.

Traditional Japanese Reiki differs from Western Reiki much as checkers differs from chess. The board (or the patient) is the same, but the pieces and the moves are all different. As with Acupuncture, Traditional Japanese Reiki works on the flow of Qi (or life force).

Rather than needles, the Reiki Master uses his or her hands to move, restore, open, and balance Qi’s flow. Qi that doesn’t flow correctly and at the right time can lead to imbalances, which eventually manifest as disease.

Traditional Hands-On Natural Therapies for Pain

State of the Art Equipment That Offers Energy-Based Therapies for Pain

1. Acupuncture. Acupuncture comes from traditional Chinese medicine and has been used consistently for more than 2,000 years. Acupuncture influences energy channels or meridians that run throughout the entire body. According to traditional Chinese medicine, these energy meridians flow through the body in regular patterns and nourish all the organs and tissues. The flow of energy through these meridians is called Qi (pronounced “chi”). The qi movement helps balance yin and yang (hot or cold properties), balances an excess or deficiency in the body, and nourishes the internal organs.

1, Photobiomodulation. Laser therapy, such as a Class IV infrared laser, can rapidly reduce acute and chronic pain resulting from injuries and neuropathic pain. The laser energy is soaked up by the cell’s mitochondria, the energy production centers, resulting in a cascade of healing events.

When the flow of Qi is blocked or constrained, the internal organs and tissues fall out of balance. By needling one of the acupuncture points, the Qi is drawn out through the acupuncture point, unblocking the obstruction, and restoring the proper flow of energy. Recent scientific evidence has confirmed that Acupuncture has a direct and immediate physiological effect.

By stimulating the acupuncture points, the nervous system releases chemicals in the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These chemicals help decrease inflammation, alleviate pain, and trigger the release of other chemicals and hormones that may restore balance to the body’s hormonal system and overall biochemistry. In Western medicine,

2. PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy). PEMF can help with pain. Cells hold a charge across their membranes; injury and inflammation can disrupt that charge. PEMF works directly on the charged particles within the cell to reestablish proper membrane potential, resulting in faster healing and pain relief. Even blood is positively affected by PEMF, as microcirculation dramatically increases.

3. BEMER (Pulsed Electromagnetic Energy Regulation). BEMER is a precise and highly effective modulation of amplitude and frequency; the BEMER device is designed to improve circulation, thus allowing our bodies to function correctly. About ¾ of our blood vessels are microvessels and optimal blood flow through these microvessels is necessary for our wellbeing. BEMER applications boost blood flow, thus benefiting the body’s cardiac system, regenerative abilities, and even mental www.NaturalNutmeg.com

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acuity. Without the proper performance of the microvessel circulation, most of our cells are denied the nutrients required to function optimally. In our office, we have used the BEMER to heal injuries, decrease inflammation, aid in detoxification, and help drive nutrients into the cells. We find the BEMER a great complement to our other healing therapies.

Two Unique Therapies We Offer to Help with Pain: HBOT and Neurotherapies 1. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). HBOT is a medical treatment that utilizes oxygen to enhance healing.

Patients lay inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber with an oxygen concentration of 100 percent. The hyperbaric technician slowly raises the chamber pressure 1.5 to 2 times the normal atmospheric pressure. Patients breathe concentrated oxygen inside the pressurized chamber, allowing more oxygen to enter the bloodstream and cerebral spinal fluid. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy improves blood flow dramatically, allowing for improved function in the brain and increased stem cell production and circulation. The rise in oxygen concentration facilitates a reduction of inflammation and promotes healing.

Research and our clinic’s experience have shown that HBOT has been useful for people suffering from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), Fibromyalgia, and peripheral neuropathy.

2. Neurotherapies. Your brain tells you that you are experiencing pain. Neurotherapies, including EEG Neurofeedback, Transcranial Magnetic Electrical Stimulation, and Brain Rejuvenation Protocols, heal the injured brain.

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46

Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

Neurofeedback is a specialized therapy where a patient’s brain waves are recorded with an EEG (electroencephalogram). Through a feedback mechanism, the patient can learn how to control the dysregulated brain wave patterns. Further neurotherapies such as Pulsed Magnetic and Transcranial Electrical Stimulation are noninvasive procedures that stimulate nerve cells and help correct imbalances in the brain. Guided by advanced EEG brain mapping, these therapies are used in conjunction with neurofeedback. Also, our TBI and Brain Rejuvenation Protocol help to heal the injured brain. After assessing each case, we create a specific protocol to help with a variety of neurological and psychological states, including pain syndromes

such as Fibromyalgia, RSD/CRPS, and peripheral neuropathy.

Conditions Associated with Chronic Pain 1. Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ) (often referred to as TMD) is usually due to malocclusion or disharmonious relationship between the upper jaw and the lower jaw. TMJ is often the cause of headaches, neckaches, shoulder aches, and backaches.

TMJ can throw off the whole spinal alignment and even cause knee pain, leg pain, and hip pain. Pain from TMJ can be alleviated by bite adjustment or repositioning of jaws to put them in alignment through orthodontics, appliances, and once in a while with surgery.

2. Root Canals and Jaw Cavitations (holes in the bone that harbor toxins) can cause chronic sinus problems, facial or head pain, trigeminal neuralgia, and much more. Root canals and cavitations can be a source of bacteria and their toxic by-products. They can also interfere with energy meridians and can cause pain in far distant sites from the actual root canal or jaw cavitations.

Dental extraction of the root-canaled tooth may be necessary to alleviate pain caused by the tooth. Treating the whole person with various modalities that may include homeopathy, ozone, and Biomagnetic Pair Therapy often resolves the pain without surgical intervention.

3. Fibromyalgia is chronic pain throughout the body. Often hidden infections, toxicities from such things as heavy metals, pesticides, chemicals, mold, and nutrient deficiencies underlie the chronic pain associated with Fibromyalgia. Thus, a whole-body approach is necessary when treating this disorder.

Some of these whole-body approaches may include various detoxification protocols, dental evaluation, assessment of nutrient deficiencies, and their correction through supplementation and IV infusions. Hyperbaric Oxygen sessions can also be a powerful tool.

Additionally, neurotherapies can help calm down areas of the brain dealing with chronic pain.

4. Lyme Disease. Many people in our area have Lyme Disease and chances are they have been prescribed antibiotics. That may be fine but it may not be enough to keep symptoms at bay. You may find the problems return a few weeks, months,

HAPPENINGS or even years later. This recurring problem happens because the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria (which causes Lyme disease) like to “hideout” in tissues where blood flow and, therefore, oxygen is reduced, such as in connective tissue.

Borrelia has also been found to create biofilms, which are like a walled-in city, and the bacteria can survive there in safety until antibiotics are no longer in the body’s system. Then the Borrelia bacteria will reemerge, causing symptoms of Lyme disease to appear once again.

After treatment of the acute phase with antibiotics, Lyme Disease and its co-infections can cause lingering chronic pain in various muscles and joints and other health problems.

In addition to specific sophisticated types of blood testing, we employ energetic methods to reveal and treat this often-hidden problem. The numerous modalities we use include homeopathic and botanical medicines, Biomagnetic Pair Therapy, energy-based therapies, Hyperbaric Oxygen, Neurobiofeedback, and specific dietary recommendations based upon testing.

As you can see, there are many natural approaches to treating pain. Pain is often multi-faceted and therefore the resolution of the problem may require a multi-faceted approach.

Dr. Adam Breiner practices naturopathic medicine at Whole-Body Medicine in Fairfield, CT. Patients from Connecticut and surrounding states seek his care for Lyme Disease, Brain Injuries, such as stroke, concussions, TBI, as well as enhanced Brain Performance. Visit www. wholebodymed.com or to schedule an appointment call 203.371.8258 ext. 2.

Call now to experience the latest microcurrent device mentioned in this article.

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September 2020

Wednesday, September 9th Psychic/Spiritual Development Virtual Monthly Study Group with Joyce St. Germaine, M. Ed., CHt., RYT-200. 6:30-8:30pm. $20. Every session starts with a positive, light-filling exercise and includes topics such as palmistry, oracle cards, pendulums, remote viewing, and spirit guides. Reclaim your natural gifts, assist others, and live your life more joyfully!

Second Wednesday of every month. Register at www. thesacredjourney.biz. or join my email list there to receive regular announcements. The Sacred Journey, 29 Davis Road, Burlington, CT 06013, 860.675.9706, jsgermaine@aol.com

Thursday, September 10th Getting Ready to Write with Robin Clare, Amazon Best-Selling Author, and Writing Coach. 7-8:30pm.

9/10-11/19 in Zoom. $299. Write your life story and heal yourself and others! Gather with aspiring writers to learn practical and inspirational aspects of becoming a writer. Declare that you are ready to honor your life story and embrace it as a healing tool for yourself and others. Space is limited. Email Robin@clare-ity. com or call 860.232.3331 to register.

Wednesday, September 16th Shamanism Virtual Monthly Study Group with Joyce St. Germaine, M. Ed., CHt., RYT-200. 6:308:3pm. $20. No experience needed! In this group, you will develop an understanding of cross-cultural shamanism and become adept at journeying into non-ordinary reality and working with animal allies and spirit helpers, ancestors, and elemental energies.

Third Wednesday of every month. Register at www. thesacredjourney.biz or join my email list there to receive regular announcements. The Sacred Journey, 29 Davis Road, Burlington, CT 06013, 860.675.9706, jsgermaine@aol.com

Thursday, September 17th Investing for Today’s Woman. Free. Are you a woman ready for a fresh approach to investing? Join CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM Caroline Wetzel for a ZOOM where she’ll offer insights on understanding your money why, three ways to invest in you, and strategies for investing in the financial markets for the long term. Caroline’s offering the same program three times in one day; sign up for the one that works best for you: Virtual Morning Coffee with Caroline: 10–11am.

RSVP & info https://tinyurl.com/AMcwcSept Virtual Lunch & Learn with Caroline: 12–1pm RSVP & info https://tinyurl.com/LLcwcSept Virtual Happy Hour with Caroline: 5:30–6:30pm.

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UPCOMING

November 14-20, 2020 A Caribbean Retreat with Lori Carpenos.

Begins with your relationship to yourself. We don't want you to worry about anything: All-inclusive resort: Lodging, Food, Drinks, Entertainment, 6 Beaches, 11 Restaurants, transportation from the airport to the resort and all Mental Well-Being programs: $1099 if you sign up before October 1st. lori@3principlestherapy.com. 860.561.1919

ONGOING

West Hartford Yoga Zoom Classes. 7 days/week, varying times; visit westhartfordyoga.com. Varied price structure; visit westhartfordyoga.com. West Hartford Yoga is now streaming 25+ interactive yoga classes each week via Zoom. To participate in these classes, you will need to be able to log in and register via our MindBodyOnline using your email address. Additional information at westhartfordyoga.com. info@westhartfordyoga.com

Tuesdays WHY at the Hill-Stead Museum. 6-7pm. $10 drop in, online pre-registration required. West Hartford Yoga has partnered with the Hill-Stead Museum for outdoor yoga classes! Join Nykki on Tuesday evenings for a fun, all-levels practice. Bring your yoga mat, towel, and water. Classes are weather permitting, with appropriate personal protection and social distancing. Directions, maps, and additional information at westhartfordyoga.com. info@westhartfordyoga.com.

Hill-Stead Museum, 35 Mountain Road, Farmington

Wednesdays WHY in the Parks: Eisenhower Park. 5:30-6:30pm.

FREE, but donations welcome. West Hartford Yoga, in cooperation with West Hartford Parks & Pools, is bringing FREE socially-distanced yoga to the parks!

Join Katie Wednesday evenings for a fun, all-levels class (weather dependent). Bring your yoga mat, towel, and water. Directions, maps, and additional information at whyintheparks.com. Online preregistration required – capacity is limited. info@ westhartfordyoga.com. Eisenhower Park, 33 Sheep Hill Drive, West Hartford.

Fridays Qigong for Health and Relaxation. 10-11am. $10/session. Qigong to destress and open your energy channels. This ancient Chinese form of exercise will help to calm your mind and nervous system, stimulate your acupuncture meridians and boost your immune system with slow moving exercises, breathing techniques and meditation. Zoom class. Must preregister $10 donation or free to try!

Email Donna Bunte at health@donnabunte.com

Saturdays Chen Taiji classes Elizabeth Park. Saturdays and some week days. Times TBA. Classes taught by Stan Baker who has over 30 years experience. Call for more info 860.836.1068. stanbaker27@cox.net.

Sundays WHY in the Parks: Beachland Park. 9-10am. FREE, but donations welcome. West Hartford Yoga, in cooperation with West Hartford Parks & Pools, is bringing FREE socially-distanced yoga to the parks!

Join Miranda Sunday mornings for a fun, all-levels class (weather dependent). Bring your yoga mat, towel, and water. Directions, maps, and additional information at whyintheparks.com. Online pre-registration required – capacity is limited. info@westhartfordyoga.com. Beachland Park, 847 Quaker Lane South, West Hartford.

CLASSIFIED

Office space available in professional suite in West Hartford. Perfect for an Alternative practitioner. A lovely space with reasonable rent.

Call 860.965.6214 for details.

www.NaturalNutmeg.com www.NaturalNutmeg.com 47 47

Community Resources ACUPUNCTURE Acupuncture of Greater Hartford Stan Baker, LAC 91 South Main Street, West Hartford, CT 06107 860.836.1068 acupuncturestanbaker.com See ad on page 23.

Collaborative Natural Health Partners Nick Edgerton, ND, LAc & Diana Zitserman, ND, LAc 315 E. Center St., Manchester, CT 06040 860.533.0179 • www.ctnaturalhhealth.com See ad on page 20.

HEALTH FOOD STORES Parkade Health Shoppe Manchester Parkade, 378 West Middle Tpke, Manchester, CT • 860.646.8178 M-Sat 8am-9pm • Sun 9am-6pm See ad on page 3.

FINANCIAL PLANNING Dana Mascalo CFP®, RLP®, AAMS®, C(k)P® Managing Partner, TrinityPoint Wealth 612 Wheelers Farms Rd.Milford, CT 06461 Office: 203.693.8521 | Fax: 203.693.8524 dana@trinitypointwealth.com See ad on page 22.

Caroline Wetzel, CFP®, AWMA® Procyon Private Wealth Partners, LLC 1 Corporate Drive Suite 225 Shelton, CT 06484 475.232.2713 • cwetzel@procyonpartners.net www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-wetzel/ www.procyonpartners.net See ad on page 20.

HOLISTIC COUNSELING James Osborne, MS, LPC, BCPC ProNatural Physicians Group, LLC Berlin, CT • 860.829.0707 pronaturalphysicians.com James Osborne is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Board Certified Professional Counselor, Board Certified PTSD Clinician and a Fellow in the American Psychotherapy Association with over 40 years of clinical experience. I am honored and grateful to receive this recognition for a second year. I thank all who have shared their lives and stories with me See ad on page 24.

HOLISTIC DENTIST Dr. Mark A. Breiner, DDS, FAGD, FIAOMT Fairfield, CT • 203.371.0300 WholeBodyDentistry.com A recognized authority in the field of holistic dentistry, Dr. Breiner treats patients for a myriad of dental concerns including Sleep Breathing Disorders, TMD, Mercury Toxicity, hidden Infections from Cavitations and Root Canals. “If you have unexplained symptoms that won’t go away, the answer could be in your mouth.”

See ad on page 26.

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Natural NaturalNutmeg Nutmeg--September September2020 2020

Dr. Steven F Hinchey, DMD South Glastonbury 860.633.6518 • drhinch@agd.org dochincheydmd.com Thank you to our wonderful patients who trusted our team to care for their improved oral health. Please let your family and friends know that a healthy disease-free mouth will help your overall health – it is all connected – the mouth and the body.

And we can help you get there.

See ad on page 46.

HOLISTIC PSYCHIATRY David London, MD 567 Vauxhall St. Ext, #218, Waterford, CT 06385 Ph: 860.443.5822 Fax: 860.444.0581 davidlondonmd.com Allison B. Spitzer, MA Trumbull, CT • 203.218.2200 spitzerhealth.com Therapeutic Coaching and Counseling for children, adults, families, and individuals. Traditional, alternative and creative healing modalities in a cozy, judgement free zone. Practical solutions for stress, anxiety, parenting, depression, and emotional challenges. Change worry into action.

Short-term, solution-focused, holistic and hopeful. Comfortable for first timers and those in therapy before.

HOMEOPATHY Abby Beale, CCH RSHom(NA) Homeopathy Healings HomeopathyHealings@gmail.com HomeopathyHealings.com • 413.426.1024 Want to get to the root cause of your chronic symptoms? Homeopathy can relieve the symptoms of depression, anxiety, women’s issues, headaches, digestive troubles, child behavior problems, and so much more. Contact Abby to see if homeopathic care is appropriate for you.

Appts over Zoom and Skype possible.

HYPNOSIS Diane Bahr-Groth, C. Hy., TFT, Dir. 1177 High Ridge Road, Stamford, CT. 203.595.0110 • mindbodytransformation.com See ad on page 20.

Joann Dunsing Hypnosis 204 Cherry Street, Milford CT 06460 203.907.7710 • joanndunsing.com I am passionate about enabling you to get the changes you want! This is accomplished by empowering you through the skillful use of NLP Neuro-linguistic programming, EFT Emotional Freedom Techniques also known as Meridian Tapping and the relaxed focused state of Hypnosis.

Michele P. Rousseau, MA, CH 267 William Street, Middletown, CT 06457 860.704.9054 • mprousseau@sbcglobal.net www.micheleprousseau.com

INTEGRATED MEDICINE Collaborative Natural Health Partners Kate Zachau, DO, Julia Vitali, DO, Brad Brooks, DO, Amy Smith-Bassett, nurse practioner 315 E. Center St., Manchester, CT 06040 860.533.0179 • www.ctnaturalhhealth.com See ad on page 36.

ProNatural Physicians Group 120 Webster Sqr Rd.Berlin, CT 06037 860.829.0707 • www.ProNaturalPhysicians.com Sophia Natural Health Center 31 Old Route 7, Brookfield, CT 06804.

203.740.9300 • SophiaNaturalHealth.com Tamara Sachs, MD Functional Medicine & Integrative Care LLC 15 Bennitt Street, New Milford CT 860.354.3304 • tsachsmd.com Dr. Sachs prevents and treats chronic illness by uncovering and correcting the underlying root causes of your health concerns, while remaining respectful of the uniqueness and complexity that make us human. She comprehensively and thoughtfully creates personalized plans explaining why and how each area of your healing will be addressed.

See ad on page 38.

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE Dr. Adam Breiner, ND Fairfield, CT • 203.371.8258 WholeBodyMed.com Focusing on brain health and Lyme Disease, Dr. Adam Breiner offers cutting-edge therapies that include Hyperbaric Oxygen, Neurocognitive Therapies including sophisticated brain-imaging equipment to evaluate brain injuries and brainwave patterns associated with Metabolic Imbalances, Infections, and Allergies. Conditions treated include Concussions, TBI’s, Stroke, PTSD, ADD/ADHD, Anxiety, Depression and more.

See ad on page 23.

Collaborative Natural Health Partners Dr. Lauren Young, Dr. Ashley Burkman, Dr. Tonya Pasternak, Dr Craig Fasullo, Dr. Carolina Padilla, ND, Dr. Carissa Fioritto, ND 315 E. Center St., Manchester, CT 06040 860.533.0179 • www.ctnaturalhhealth.com Other locations: 107 Wilcox Road, Ste 103, Stonington, CT 06378 74 Park Road, West Hartford, CT 06119 See ad on page 20.

Naturopathic & Acupuncture Health Center Dr. Marie Mammone, Dr. Renee Mammone, NDs John Mammone, Licensed Acupuncturist 274 Silas Deane Hwy., Wethersfield, CT 06109 860.529.1200 • www.NAHcenter.com The Wellness Institute Marvin Schweitzer, ND 1 Westport Ave, Norwalk, CT • 203.847.2788 See ad on page 18.

West Hartford Naturopathic Medicine Frank Aieta, ND 301 N. Main St., West Hartford, CT 860.232.9662 • www.DRAIETA.com See ad on page 32.

ProNatural Physicians Group Dr. Ann Aresco, Dr. Cora Stover, & Dr. Martin Opoku 120 Webster Sqr Rd.Berlin, CT 06037 P: 860.829.0707 • F: 860.829.0606 ProNaturalPhysicians@comcast.net www.ProNaturalPhysicians.com

NUTRITION Holcare Nutrition Vicki Kobliner MS RD 3 Hollyhock Lane, Suite 2A, Wilton, CT 06897 203.834.9949 • www.holcarenutrition.com See ad on page 28.

PHYSICIANS, M.D. Natural Health & Healing, LLC Deanna M. Cherrone, MD 41 N. Main St, Ste 207, West Hartford, CT 860.677.4600 • naturalhealthandhealing.net Optimal Health Medical, LLC Henry C. Sobo, M.D. 111 High Ridge Rd. ,Stamford, CT 06905 203.348.8805 • www.drsobo.com See ad on page 38.

ROLFING® Rolfing®- The Art and Science of Body Change Sharon Sklar, BFA, MsT, Cert. Adv. Rolfer West Hartford • 860.561.4337 sharonsklarrolfing.com

Rolfing®-The Art and Science of Body Change.

A dynamic 10 session bodywork series that eases pain, improves movement and restructures your body when you feel "out of whack". A hands-on and educational approach which establishes order and balance after life's injuries, stress and accidents. Since 1981.

See ad on page 42.

SPAS/WELLNESS CENTERS

SCHOOLS

Lauri Ingram Hamden, Connecticut • 203.435.5650 www.lauriingram.com Services available in person, and via zoom/skype.

Lauri Ingram is an ordained interfaith/interspritual minister, offering spiritual counseling, Crystal Dreaming, Crystal Light and Color Therapy along with workshops and ministerial officiant services.

The Graduate Institute 171 Amity Rd, Bethany, CT 06524 203.874.4252 • info@learn.edu See ad on page 22.

SKINCARE/ NATURAL BEAUTY Immortal Opulence Old Wethersfield, CT 860.712.1933 ImmortalOpulence.com Richard Fanelli, Founder/formulator of Immortal Opulence Anti-aging Skin Cream.

Coming from a family of European MDs, Richard was inspired to create this high-performance, anti-aging skin cream. Over 27 powerful ingredients of organic, wild grown botanicals from remote areas around the world. No chemicals ever. Hand crafted in small batches to assure impeccable quality.

Imagine Float 290 West Main St., Avon 860.255.7771 • imaginefloat.com

SPIRITUAL COMPANIONSHIP

YOGA/PILATES/ BARRE STUDIO Sacred Rivers Yoga East Hartford, CT • 860.657.9545 sacredriversyoga.com Paula Scopino, E-RYT 500 hour, C-IAYT, CT Licensed LMT, YACEP is the Owner/Director of Sacred Rivers Yoga and Allied Health Therapies and ‘Sacred Rivers Yoga for Every Body’, a Yoga Alliance 200 and 500 Hour Registered School, as well as a member of IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapy.)

See ad on page 18.

Fertility Oasis "The place to fulfill your dream of becoming a parent, naturally."

Preconception Care, Regulate Female Cycle, Improve Female/Male Fertility, Fertility Acupuncture Dr. Nicole R. Kerr, ND, LAc 857 N. Main St Ext Suite 1, Wallingford CT 06492 www.fertilityoasis.com (203) 265-0459

Agnes Daddona, MA 20+yrs. experience

Certified Psychic Medium Healer

SERVICES:

Intuitive Readings, Life Coaching Spiritual Healing, Angel Workshops

HEALING TECHNOLOGIES:

Crystal Bed, DNA Technology Amethyst BioMat, Aura Photography SERVICES ARE OFFERED IN PERSON, BY PHONE OR ZOOM

To learn more or schedule a session please visit: IntuitiveCounselingLLC.com

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Holistic Spa Intuitive Counseling LLC 39 E Main St, Suite 1, Avon, CT 06001

860.941.2667

www.NaturalNutmeg.com www.NaturalNutmeg.com 49 49

Beautiful People Do Not Just Happen: Embracing Empathy in Leadership

By Sandi Coyne-Gilbert, MBA, DM

T

he year 2020 is focusing an intense spotlight on the cracks in American culture, and the need for change couldn’t be more urgent. Leaders are challenged by the loss of human life, by economic despair, and by the countless disturbances, large and small, created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional energy created by activists worldwide seeking positive change in the face of police brutality is reshaping society’s ethical fabric unlike anything in recent memory. As tensions mount, there is increasing curiosity on what it means to be a truly effective leader. The answer is empathy.

Compassion in End-Of-Life Care While previously employed at a hospice facility in Springfield, Massachusetts, I became acquainted with the work of Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, known for identifying the five stages of death and dying.

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths,” Kubler-Ross explained. “These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen,” she said, describing the individuals who, through the very essence of their beings, embody empathy.

I have learned that the emotional intelligence behind empathy is an essential trait, whether innate or acquired from lived experiences. Without the ability to, “walk in someone else’s shoes” and truly 50

Natural Nutmeg - September 2020

understand others’ feelings, I wouldn’t have gotten very far in my hospice care career or any profession, for that matter.

The Advantages of Altruism Empathetic leaders cater to the human condition. They stand out because their tunnel-vision is focused not only on you, but on those around you as well. That thoughtful quality encourages curiosity and nurtures all of the connections that follow.

The skill of kind consideration doubles as respect. Engaging in empathy empowers individuals to feel included in sharing their experiences, ensuring that no one feels stuck, marginalized, or left in silence. Empathy is also a fundamental part of being an ally. Authentic leaders are active partners, not only for one another but especially for those who long to be acknowledged, appreciated, and included as well.

Essentials of Understanding in Inclusion Genuine empathy brings intent and action to inclusivity. The awareness that we are not alone and that diversity in the human experience includes differing points of view allows us to acknowledge each audience’s unique nature.

Empathy also means not simply nodding in agreement, but asking for opinions outside of your own, exposing you to the needs of those who may not share your experiences. With America in dire need of increased inclusion, empathy when met with cultural consistency can reveal the privileges gained during groupthink.

When similar people are seated at a table, their identical ideologies can be counterproductive and limit opportunities and outcomes for all.

Personally and Professionally, Empathy Pushes You to Do Better Engaging in empathy tackles the outdated workplace belief that emotions equal weakness. To the contrary, informative insight can create commitment, cooperation, and collaboration in professional settings.

Insight strengthens teams and increases feelings of safety, security, support, and trust. Empathy can transform the work environment from a cold occupational culture to a community of coworkers who care not just about the work they produce, but the people they work alongside as well.

For leaders with empathy in their tool belts, not only can job satisfaction surge among your team, but insight can also aid in communicating effectively overall, proving empathy an essential skill for any future endeavor.

Sandi Coyne-Gilbert is an accomplished leader with experience in both the education and nonprofit sectors.

Coyne-Gilbert specializes in working with adult learners and is enthusiastic about instilling a passion for lifelong learning in her students. Her work with at-risk and marginalized groups provided her with unique insights into the power of education for people in transition.

Coyne-Gilbert brings her experiences to the classroom as program director for the master’s degree in Organizational Leadership at Goodwin University. Are you ready to make a lasting impact? She’d love to hear from you. Call us today: 800.889.3282 or learn more at goodwin.edu/leadership.

See ad on page 32.

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