Wellspring Issue #55 by The Wellspring

Time of

Comfort

But aren't we still in galus?

The Sweet Truth Laura Shammah on foods diabetics can enjoy

Are You a Mindful Eater? Three questions to ask yourself

Master My Space What a house fire taught Adina Forouzan about holistic home organizing

AUGUST 2020 // AV 5780 // ISSUE 55

Why Does My Doctor Claim That Diet Has No Effect on My IBD? Tamar Feldman’s evidence-based take

Hell’s Itch

Trust me - it’s as awful as it sounds. The culprit? A sunburn.

Water Works

Takeout Tuesday Whip up these wholesome breakfast burritos in minutes

6 moves for an intensive pool workout

I Was There Too

Words I wish I’d heard while stuck in a rut

New Column!

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The Wellspring Magazine is published monthly by Wellspring Magazine Inc. All rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part or in any form without prior written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher reserves the right to edit all articles for clarity, space and editorial sensitivities. The Wellspring Magazine assumes no responsibility for the content or kashrus of advertisements in the publication, nor for the content of books that are referred to or excerpted herein. The contents of The Wellspring Magazine, such as text, graphics and other material (content) are intended for educational purposes only. The content is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your health care provider with any questions you have regarding your medical condition.

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From the Editor shiffy@wellspringmagazine.com

All in the Relationship Recently, I started baking whole spelt challah for Shabbos after having used white spelt flour for several weeks.

(Before that, it had been whole wheat.) When my husband cut up the latest version of the fragrant loaves, and the kids noticed its dark interior, it was obvious that some of them were disappointed. They wanted white. And so, the next Shabbos, there was whole spelt challah for the takers, and white challah for those who preferred that. It’s been this way ever since because, the way we see it, and especially for Shabbos, we’d rather have our kids eat less nutritious fare but feel pleasure at the meal than the alternative. This is what works for us. On the other hand, I had a friend’s kid over the other day and, while enjoying some whole spelt garlic knots (made from challah dough, using the Fresh and Easy fabulous recipe), she said to me, “You know, I haven’t had white bread since Rosh Hashanah!” She shared this with a sense of accomplishment and pride. That, apparently, worked for her. How do we know what works for our kids in the long term? That’s always the question. Should we be more permissive now and let them make their own choices, or more restrictive now to foster more wholesome development? I remember once having this conversation with a woman I have great admiration for, Mrs. Perl Abramowitz. She told me that the stance we take as parents matters less than our approach to the approach. She’s had women tell her that they’re overweight as adults because their parents let them eat candy all day, and other women tell her that they’re overweight as adults because they could never have candy as kids. It’s how the mother feels about the stance she takes, Perl wisely noted, that impacts the child most. If the

8 Wellspring | August 2020

rules she sets emanate from love and kindness, and the mother is confident in her decisions, the child will absorb that. In this issue’s cover feature, dietitian Yaffi Lvova shows us how we can encourage our children to appreciate leading a healthy lifestyle by bringing them into the kitchen with us. Her approach, she posits, can help even the pickiest eaters enjoy their food. The logic behind this, I suspect, is that it’s all about the connection that is fostered in the process. So much happens when a child feels encouraged and supported. It’s all about the relationship, as Perl pointed out. The other details matter little, but what makes all the difference is the subtle feelings our children associate with the foods they’re eating — and in every area of their lives. The same is true for us, as adults. Two people can both be engaging in the same activity, yet how it impacts us can differ vastly — depending on our relationship with that activity. The best example for this would be… eating. Shira Savit, writer of the popular Emotional Eating column, whom I’m honored to call a friend, mentioned to me that every diet or non-diet approach can be detrimental or positive to an individual’s wellbeing. The determining factor is their relationship with food and themselves. If I’m eating this piece of chocolate because it helps me feel calm, because I feel that I’m treating myself, and it doesn’t significantly impact my physical health, then great. But if I’m eating it with a mission to assuage my guilt of unhealthful eating, or I know it will significantly impact my health, or I’m using it to stuff down my emotions, this very same deed is detrimental for me. In Shira’s words, “From my experience, it’s not about whether a person is on a diet or eating intuitively; it’s about their relationship with food and self. Interestingly enough, intuitive eating can become a diet just like

all the other diets out there. I always say, if it’s working for you, then great. But if you’re struggling or reaching out for help, then there’s a reason, so let’s see how we can help.” We’re living in a world that has embraced extremes. In terms of health, this may mean ingesting no sugar at all or having as much sugar as you please — abstinence or indulgence. The Torah’s way is that of the shevil hazahav, the golden middle (unless a health condition necessitates otherwise). There’s a large golden area between stepping on the bathroom scale twice a day and banishing the scale from our home with a vengeance. There’s also a large golden area between using the food scale to weigh a salad—shuddering that the extra cucumber will contribute to weight gain— and not using a food scale even to weigh recipe ingredients or challah dough strands. And it’s in this middle where living happens. It’s in this middle, with healthy boundaries in place, where we can connect to what we’re doing, as opposed to being driven by messages that don’t feel good or right to us, that are too restrictive or too permissive. It’s with the combination of love and boundaries that we, like our children, can thrive. While here at Wellspring we present many avenues that span the gamut of this middle, we see ourselves as offering a sort of smorgasbord. We introduce you readers to various approaches and concepts in healthy living, and we encourage you to choose a path that works for you — for your body, for your wellbeing. As the frum community’s health and wellness magazine, we

recognize the impact we have on our readers’ lives. We appreciate that. At the same time, we don’t take that lightly. It is our tefillah that we be the vehicle of only good, of encouraging only healthier, more connected, happier living. May Hashem help us be the good shlichim for you. The phenomenon of “it’s all in the relationship” is especially true in regards to our ultimate relationship— with Hashem. Mitzvos like Shabbos, kashrus, and tznius can feel so stifling, so restrictive, when the connection is lacking. On the other hand, when we feel that bond, when we experience a sense of connection in observing His commandments, observing these same directives fills us with profound joy. Through this, we satisfy our intrinsic longing for acceptance and connection. Speaking of the time before Moshiach, the navi Amos (8:11) prophesied, “Hinei yamim ba’im… lo ra’av lalechem… There will be not a famine for bread nor a thirst for water, but [rather] to hear the words of Hashem.” We’re a hungry nation, there’s no question about that. We turn this way and that, searching, seeking. Perhaps I’ll feel fulfilled if I take this course or follow that approach, feel happier if I engage in this pursuit or that one. But, at the end of the day, what we all seek is the same sense of inner peace, that satisfying relationship with Hashem that leaves us feeling unconditionally loved. May we merit getting our fill from the real thing. That will be our ultimate comfort.

To a happy and healthy Shabbos Nachamu and rest of your summer,

Well-Put!

Shiffy Friedman

Frequently, an issue that is perceived as physical is, in truth, emotional. Naomi Brudner, Cup of Tea

Av 5780 | Wellspring 9

Contents

AUGUST 2020 AV 5780 ISSUE 55 The next issue of Wellspring will appear iy”H on September 2nd.

WELL INFORMED

LIVING WELL

30 IN GOOD SHAPE Water Works By Esther Fried, PFC

TORAH WELLSPRING By Rabbi Ezra Friedman

20 SPIRITUAL EATING By Rabbi Eli Glaser, CNWC, CWMS 22 DENTAL HEALTH By Dr. Jacques Doueck, DDS

32 ASK The Sweet Truth By Laura Shammah, MS, RDN

24 HEALTH UPDATES IN THE NEWS By Esther Retek NEW

34 MEDICAL SAGA Sunburn Gone Bad As told to Roizy Baum

26 INSIDER The Lungs By Roizy Baum

38 COVER FEATURE I ♡ Healthy By Yaffi Lvova, RDN

MINICOLUMN WELL-SPENT

46 AT THE DIETITIAN How Diet Affects IBD By Tamar Feldman, RDN, CDE

WELLBEING 58 FEATURE I Was There Too By Shiffy Friedman 68 EMOTIONAL EATING By Shira Savit

48 CUP OF TEA With Adina Forouzan By Libby Silberman 52 BYE, DIET. HELLO, LIFE. Chapter 2: Background By Gila Glassberg, MS, RD, CDN

55 DIY Kidney Support By Miriam Schweid

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Springboard

Letters

On PCOS, Intermittent Fasting, Rebirthing, and More

PCOS, Revisited Issue #53: Ask

I was so excited to see that Laura Shammah will be responding to questions in the Ask column. It is so fitting that her first response was for PCOS. Not only has she helped me manage my own symptoms of this condition (I have since given birth twice, baruch Hashem), but the women I’ve referred to her have also seen much improvement. And this is all thanks to Wellspring for bringing Laura’s expertise in this important area to my attention. invites readers to submit letters and comments via regular mail or email to info@ wellspringmagazine. com. We reserve the right to edit all submissions and will withhold your name upon request. We will honor requests for anonymity, but we cannot consider letters that arrive without contact information.

12 Wellspring | August 2020

Many thanks and tizku l’mitzvos, Shayna M.

It Takes Time Issue #54: Cover Feature

In the feature about the #EatClean community, one of their in-house nutritionists wrote this about stomach hunger: “This starts out as uncomfortable pangs and quickly turns to loud growls. This is the only sensation that warrants food intake.”

I think it’s important to point out that when you first start eating in a more healthy and controlled manner, you will

generally feel hungry — “stomach pangs” kind of hungry. It’s not the most fun thing, but your body has to get accustomed to not eating whenever you feel like it. It may take a couple of days or even weeks, but your body will learn that it doesn’t need food at 10:00 at night. So even stomach hunger, in the beginning, may not necessarily warrant food intake.

A grateful reader, P. Lefkowitz

This Is Not Functional Issue #53: Emotional Eating

Thank you to Shira Savit for an excellent column on emotional eating.

I can relate to overeating; I’m normal. But let’s be honest: should a daughter really be laughing with her mother over behavior that is not functional? If a mother engaged in a bit too much online retail therapy because of quarantine cabin fever, would she be laughing about it with her daughter or be worried that her daughter is subconsciously learning this behavior? (She will. Guaranteed.) She’s much more likely to tell her friend, who would understand her and tell her, “You know it’s really not your type of thing to do, it’s just the

Quick Question

What can I give my toddler as a natural pain reliever/fever reducer, as an alternative to Tylenol or Motrin?

First, massage bathing is an effective means to reduce fever. Do this by washing one area at a time, starting with the hands. Dip your hands into lukewarm water, to which you have added some drops of lavender oil, and briskly massage the child’s hands. Proceed with massaging your child’s legs and back. You can also massage the soles of his feet. Another way to reduce fever is to seat your child in a lukewarm bath for a few minutes. Avoid covering or dressing your child with very warm clothing or blankets as this will cause his body temperature to increase. Make sure your child is well hydrated, either by drinking lots of water or Pedialyte. If your child is in pain and you prefer not to use Motrin or Tylenol, use essential oils at the area of the pain. (However, if the pain is intense, do not hesitate to provide the child with an option you know will help relieve it immediately.) For stomach pain, use a few drops of peppermint oil and massage the stomach. For headache, in adults as well, combine peppermint oil and alcohol and massage into the forehead. For ear pain, use MR Ear Relief, PanAway oil, or Thieves oil to reduce pressure from fluid that is causing the pain. For teething pain, use clove oil or homeopathic Chamomilla 12. Report any unusual symptoms such as unresponsiveness, seizures, or stiffness to emergency medical personnel for further instructions and care.

crazy situation,” and they’d just laugh together about the ridiculousness.

Shira Savit responds:

G. Meisels

Thank you so much for your feedback. Contrary to what many people think, I actually believe that overeating is a functional behavior, as opposed to “not functional” (which is defined as having no purpose). Any time we eat for reasons other than physical hunger, there is a reason. Sometimes we’re avoiding uncomfortable feelings, sometimes we’re triggered by the environment, and sometimes we’re eating in reaction to feeling deprived from years of dieting and restricting. Regardless of the reason for overeating, we can learn from our behaviors. When we’re able to relate to our actions without self-criticism and anxiety, we’re putting ourselves in a better position to make changes. When we recognize why we are turning

to food, and don’t judge ourselves or feel guilty about our actions, we are functioning in a healthy and healing capacity. My anecdote about the mother reaching into the freezer for cookies and initially beating herself up was actually a real scenario from my practice. Over the course of her time working with me, this mother was able to learn the voice of compassion and tune in to why she was eating at times she wasn’t hungry. She was able to be forgiving of herself, which allowed her to continue to eat in a healthy way the rest of the day or week, even after she finished all the cookies. (By the way, whether or not a daughter is “guaranteed” to copy her mother’s behavior of excessive online retail therapy is not in our control. What is in our control is our voice of compassion.)

Dangerous Message Issue #54: Springboard

I’m afraid that Esther P.s letter in regard

to intermittent fasting can spread a dangerous message. What she describes as intuitive sounds like disordered eating to me. What is intuitive about fasting for so many hours? Doesn’t a body need food to function?

Thank you for a thought-provoking, much-needed magazine.

Just trying to understand, Dear M. B.,

M. B.

We sent your question to Esther P. Here is her response:

I understand you for thinking this way. You are not the first one to ask me this question. Many in the intuitive eating camp feel the same way. However, I believe the key word in your concern is “to me.” Yes, it is true that fasting for long periods of time can be a form of, or part of, disordered eating. It may be a symptom of

Any health information, advice, or suggestions published here are the opinions of the letter writers and are not independently investigated, endorsed, or validated by Wellspring. Always seek the advice of a qualified health professional or medical practitioner regarding any medical advice, condition, or treatment.

Take care, Miriam Schweid, kinesiologist

Av 5780 | Wellspring 13

Springboard

Letters

Quick Question

What is the best (or least harmful) type of sweetened water? Lately, I have a hard time drinking enough plain water. I usually avoid sweetened water, but since I’m currently pregnant and it’s the summertime, I want to ensure that I stay hydrated. Please advise.

It’s great that you’re taking the initiative to include more water in your daily diet. Drinking a sufficient amount of water is vital, especially during pregnancy. Your best option would be to drink water infused by fruits or teas. Slice some citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, or oranges. Add to your pitcher and refrigerate for two to three hours. You can try this with cucumber slices as well. Fruit-flavored teas can work wonders too. Make yourself a cup of tea and add it to your pitcher of water. If this flavoring is not enough, and you need it to be sweeter, add a half a packet of Truvia or Stevia to the fruit-tea infused water. This is always a better option than commercially sold sweetened water. I hope this helps!

orthorexia or anorexia. At the same time, however — and this depends solely on the individual’s intention, mindset, and body — it can be strictly intuitive. Often, it may even be difficult for the person themselves to know exactly why they’re doing what they’re doing, which is why it may be wise to work with a coach or an individual with whom they can be transparent. If we feel deprived in any way, or our body lets us know that this isn’t what it needs, that may be a sign it’s not for us. All the best, Esther

No Agenda

Issue #54: From the Editor

I am so moved every time I read a new Wellspring issue. It’s clear to me that you have no agenda, only to inspire and educate our community and that means so much to me. I feel the emes, which is why I’m so drawn to every new issue.

I especially appreciated the editor’s letter in the last issue, titled “Beneath the Surface.” When we get introduced to new concepts, such as a new diet or an approach of shunning diets, we’re often quick to either embrace or reject it. We see it from our own perspective, with our own baggage, but if we take a step away, we notice that there are good parts and not such good parts to everything. It’s our job as thinking human beings to make decisions that work for us. I am in awe of how you manage to present both sides —

14 Wellspring | August 2020

Stay well, Shaindy Oberlander, INHC

all sides — while constantly relating this important nuance.

Lauren K.

Queens, New York

My Rebirthing Experience Issue #54: Wellbeing Feature

What a joy to read your exquisite feature on rebirthing! I loved the clear, Torah-based descriptions of the process and the wisdom that lies behind it.

I actually gave rebirthing a try because I found myself getting out of breath too often. Several times a day I’d feel like my breath had gotten stuck in my throat, like I needed a good yawn to clear it up, and I was curious about it. I knew I didn’t have a respiratory issue, but I couldn’t imagine what was behind this source of discomfort. When my sister-in-law mentioned the concept of rebirthing to me, I was in-

trigued and decided to give it a try.

At rebirthing, I realized that this was not a physical “blockage,” but rather a subconscious mechanism I had developed over time in an effort to “quiet my voice.” Releasing the baggage I was carrying there was an incredible experience, one that has changed my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined.

It’s important to note that, as Yair Shilo points out in his fascinating conversation, while the process can bring up dormant emotional pain, a good practitioner eases you into the process. You start out feeling very relaxed about it, learning how to breathe calmly, and only after two to three sessions do you start to get in touch with the oxygen-deprived areas. I believe knowing this takes away a lot of the fear people have about trying this incredible Heaven-sent mode of healing. If anyone has more questions on the topic, I can be reached via Wellspring. With much appreciation for the amazing work you do,

Gitty S.

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Well Informed

Torah Wellspring: Spiritual Health By Rabbi Ezra Friedman

Time of Comfort But aren’t we still in galus?

“Nachamu nachamu ami…” is what Hashem tells us these days, during the shivah denechemtah, seven weeks of consolation following Tisha B’Av. “I will take you back home and we will be reunited.” Let’s understand how we can be comforted if the Exodus we pine for still hasn’t materialized. What changed since a few days ago, when we were still in mourning and focused on our loss? The sefarim explain that this that we took three weeks to focus inward and see what we’ve lost and what’s still missing for us, and we cried about it, is enough to facilitate comfort. It’s not the actual rebuilding that’s providing the consolation, because that hasn’t yet happened, only the mourning process—the crying, the longing, etc.— we’ve undergone during this phase. How does the mourning process lead to nechamah? Let’s understand the power of crying—what it does to us. Crying is an incredible gift from Hashem. We human beings are the only creatures who have deep

16 Wellspring | August 2020

We, as a nation, are in deep pain— pain with a purpose of rectifying our deeds and drawing closer to Hashem.

emotions, feelings that our lives revolve around. As we’ve already discussed in this space, we are constantly in the process of feeling, whether positive or negative emotions. The more we allow ourselves the space to feel these feelings, and we don’t attempt to banish or numb them, the more alive we feel and the more healthy—emotionally and even physically— we are. Accepting how we feel may be difficult for us for a variety of reasons. We may ask ourselves: Does this feeling “make sense?” Is it “mature?” But regardless of how we view these feelings, they’re a reality that Hashem created us with. Every emotion we experience is directly from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, with intention and purpose. In this vein, the Chovos Halevavos writes that part of our obligation of emunah is to believe that Hashem loves us and thinks about us at every moment, thinking how He can make our lives better. Therefore, every feeling of love and pleasure that we feel from anyone or anything is sent

Every emotion we experience is directly from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, with intention and purpose.

directly from Hashem to us, through that individual or source of pleasure. This is true for every emotion: I’m feeling it now because this is what Hashem wants me to feel. Thus, when we accept that this is how we feel and we experience the emotion the way we feel it, it serves its purpose. Ultimate Release

Crying is the ultimate acknowledgment of emotion. When we cry, we’re at the highest state of experiencing what we’re feeling, exactly the way we’re feeling it. It’s a state of total surrender. This is true when we cry from joy or from pain. And this is why it feels so cathartic to cry—it’s relieving to feel what we’re feeling without resistance. (This does not refer to crying from self-pity, which is not a cry from the heart but rather with logical calculations, such as to draw pity or achieve a goal. Here, we’re referring to crying that is natural and comes from the heart.) From the outset, it may appear that

crying increases sadness. However, the opposite is true. Surrendering to our emotions, which is what happens when we cry, releases pain. When we cry, instead of burying our feelings, our yissurim fulfill their purpose. As the Gemara in Berachos tells us, “Sama deyissura kabila,” the way to get rid of suffering is through accepting it. Crying is the highest form of acceptance: you let the pain flow through you. Only human beings are gifted with this ability because only we have the ability to feel emotion.

Since surrendering to our pain is not always easy, and it could actually be arduous, it may take time for us to accept how we feel. This is why, when profound pain is experienced, such as after the passing of an immediate relative, Chazal have designated an extended period of mourning. This gives the bereaved individual the time he needs until he is able to release all that pain. With every kind of unpleasant emotion we experience, we must reach the point of really feeling the emotion. Even when it may appear as if we’ve successfully

buried the feeling, as if we’ve “moved on,” until we don’t give it the space it needs, it will come back to haunt us. How Mourning Leads to Consolation

The destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, and the ensuing galus, has been a great source of distress for us. We, as a nation, are in deep pain—pain with a purpose of rectifying our deeds and drawing closer to Hashem. By recognizing that we are in pain and giving this emotion its space, the purpose of this feeling becomes fulfilled. And it is then that Hashem can remove the pain. So even while the Beis Hamikdash may not yet be rebuilt, as long as we are mourning our loss and internalizing our pain, it is achieving its purpose and thus becomes unnecessary. When Hashem sees us mourning, He says to us, “I will console you.” We’re still in galus, but the pain we’ve felt has achieved its purpose.

Av 5780 | Wellspring 17

Well Informed

Torah Wellspring: Spiritual Health

This is why it feels so cathartic to cry—it’s relieving to feel what we’re feeling without resistance. The Gemara (Taanis 30b) tells us, “Every person who mourns Yerushalayim merits and sees in her simchah.” The words merits and sees are not in future tense, but rather in the present tense, because when we internalize our pain in our current state, we actually see and feel joy right now, even while still in galus. We may not see the rebuilding, but we see the comfort. This is the koach of dealing with our emotions properly, of accepting the feelings Hashem sends our way and al-

lowing ourselves to feel them—to cry, to mourn, and to heal.

Over the past few months, all of us have experienced yissurim in our own way. Although it may have appeared as if a pandemic swept through and affected us “as the chips fell,” every bit of this pain has been and will always be especially directed to its precise destination. Every bit of pain I experience is uniquely tailored for me and my needs. Only by recognizing this and giving the feeling its

space can the emotion achieve its intended mission.

In all of this, there is one universal message. It’s Hashem’s call to us to draw us closer to Him. It is only when we accept these yissurim and mourn fully that we can find this message. May we be zocheh to accept whatever He sends us, mourn as much as we need to mourn, until we see the good in the situation, and to feel comforted in Hashem’s embrace, until we are zocheh to the ultimate nechamah.

Rabbi Ezra Friedman welcomes questions and comments on this column. Please write to rabbiefriedman@wellspringmagazine.com.

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Well Informed

Spiritual Eating By Rabbi Eli Glaser, CNWC, CWMS

Choose Wisely Engaging in risky behavior is actually a Torah prohibition.

“Guard yourself and guard your soul mightily…And you shall guard your souls greatly” (Devarim 4:9, 15).

Parshas Devarim presents the injunction to protect our physical health, and it is one of the 248 positive mitzvos of the Torah (see Rambam, Hilchos Rotze’ach U’Shemiras HaNefesh 11:4; Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 427:8). Our bodies are the precious carriers of our eternal souls. Hashem obligates us to respect the needs of the body and to safeguard its well-being. We are required to attach the same significance to this mitzvah as that of any other mitzvah in the Torah. We would never justify eating nonkosher meat or theft, so why is it that when it comes to behaviors like unhealthy eating or smoking, we find it convenient to rationalize away Hashem’s clear dictates? Nowadays, we can no longer claim that we are ignorant of the consequences of

unhealthy behaviors. It is a known and oft-stated fact that obesity is the number one health epidemic in the United States today, and it exacts a chronic and fatal toll on our health no less than smoking. We have access to a wealth of information and statistics on the implications of neglecting our health and the benefits of making wiser lifestyle choices. (See the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — National Institutes of Health.) Let us look to the Gemara for an answer. A righteous man was in the middle of praying by the side of the road when an army general approached him to say hello. The man ignored him, and the general waited until he was finished praying and said, “Boor! Is it not written in your

Torah: ‘Guard yourself and guard your soul’? And it is written: ‘And you shall guard your souls greatly.’ When I greeted you, why did you not return my greeting? Were I to cut off your head with a sword, who would demand your blood from me?” (Berachos 32b). The mefarshim explain that the righteous man was eventually able to appease the general because he had somehow known with certainty that this particular general would listen to reason. Nevertheless, the Gemara uses this episode to illustrate the Torah prohibition against exposing ourselves to risky behavior. Had the righteous man not been certain that the general would listen to reason, the general’s chastisement of the man for going against the halachah and endangering his wellbeing by ignoring his greetings would have been justified. When we are tempted to engage in risky behavior and make choices that compromise our health, we tend to consider our motives righteous and easily come up with a host of rationalizations. Yet, the objective reality may be quite the contrary.

Rabbi Eli Glaser is the founder and Director of Soveya. He is certified as a Nutrition/Wellness Consultant and Weight Management Specialist, with 25 years of coaching and counseling experience, and is maintaining a 130-pound weight loss for more than 16 years. Soveya has offices in Lakewood and Brooklyn, and works with clients via phone and Skype around the world. For more information or to make an appointment, contact Soveya at 732-578-8800, info@soveya.com, or www.soveya.com.

20 Wellspring | August 2020

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Well Informed

Dental Health By Dr. Jacques Doueck, DDS

GAME-CHANGING TECHNOLOGY A REMARKABLE ADVANCE IN EARLY CAVITY DETECTION signal and registers a digital read-out, which identifies cavities developing below the surface. The higher the number, the more decay within the tooth. The revolutionary patented ECD technology was developed and tested at Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine. By measuring the conductivity of enamel, the ECD was specifically designed to help dental professionals diagnose and monitor early cavities in the pits and grooves located on the biting surfaces of back teeth. Due to their anatomy, these vulnerable sites account for approximately 80 to 90 percent of tooth decay in permanent teeth.

Thanks to a new technology called Ortek ECD™ (early cavity detection), dentists are now able to target and treat your small cavities before they turn into larger issues that require more complicated procedures. Incredibly, as much as 50 percent of tooth decay may go undetected by traditional dental methods of probing and x-rays. In the past, tooth decay was mainly between teeth, but these days, most tooth decay starts in the hard-to-see pits and valleys of the biting surface. With the widespread use of fluoride, the very nature of tooth decay has changed, since the outer surfaces of teeth are strengthened and more resistant.

X-rays are very effective at finding cavities between the teeth, but not in the pits and valleys. The Ortek ECD™ emits an audio

Ortek ECD™ measures changes in the electric conduction caused by the cavities in the deeper parts of the tooth. Healthy tooth enamel is a good insulator with a reading of zero. The higher the reading, the more damage has been done. The score is displayed from 00–100. Your dentist can use the Ortek ECD™ as a routine part of exams. It’s safe even for pregnant women since there is no radiation. Not only can this technology help prevent the spread of decay, but catching decay early means fillings required are simpler and shallower, preserving more of the tooth. This allows us to use minimally invasive filling procedures, such as drill-free laser cavity preparation. Finally, we're able to objectively monitor any suspicious areas without repeated x-rays.

Dr. Jacques Doueck has been practicing family dentistry in Brooklyn, New York since 1977, and is a Diplomate of the Academy of Clinical Sleep Disorders Disciplines. He speaks nationally and trains other dentists in oral appliance therapy and state-of-the-art dentistry. Dr. Doueck is a member of the American Dental Association and serves on the District Claims Committee for the state society.

22 Wellspring | August 2020

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Well Informed

Updates in the News By Esther Retek

FIREWORKS SPARK CONTROVERSY Are They Bad for Your Lungs? Whether you’ve watched the fireworks show on the fourth of July, or you get your fair share of it every night (New Yorkers, of course), fireworks can be a spectacular show and seem to be a fun form of entertainment. However, with recent findings published in Particle and Fibre Toxicology, you may reconsider watching what appears to be a threat to respiratory functioning. Fireworks, the study found, can release toxic metals that can damage the lungs.

Metals that compose fireworks, giving them their vivid colors, were found to be harmful in some of the 12 types of commercially available fireworks that were tested.

“While many are careful to protect themselves from injury from explosions, our results suggest that inhaling firework smoke may cause longer-term damage, a risk that has been largely ignored,” says study senior author Terry Gordon, a professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York City.

NEW MINI-COLUMN!

Gordon and his colleagues collected emissions from a dozen fire-

works commonly used in the United States by setting them off in a lab chamber, then exposing mice and human lung cells to low doses of the particles, mimicking an average person's daily exposure to air pollutants. Along with the lead finding, they found that particle emissions from five types of fireworks significantly increased oxidation, a chemical process in the body that can damage or even kill cells if left unchecked. They also analyzed 14 years’ worth of air quality samples from dozens of sites across the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency throughout each year, and found that levels of toxic metals were higher in samples taken around Independence Day and New Year's celebrations than at other times of the year. “Although people are only exposed to these substances for a short time each year, they are much more toxic than the pollutants we breathe every day,” says Gordon. So fireworks are not all that fun anymore.

WELL-SPENT

How to lead a healthy lifestyle on a budget, one tip at a time HOME-STYLE “CHOPPED” As the supply of food in your house dwindles (such as at the beginning of the week), instead of replacing your stock with a trip to the supermarket (which can be complicated or costly if you’re vacationing in a remote spot), how about playing creative cooking? Look into the fridge and create your menu around what you have instead of the other way around. You’ll be surprised how many options you can come up with using a minimal amount of items.

24 Wellspring | August 2020

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Well Informed

Insider By Roizy Baum

THE

LUNGS

Breathtaking Breathing is so habitual and spontaneous that it often goes unnoticed. Without the capacity to breathe, no human being can survive. On average, we humans inhale 13 pints of air — in 12 to 20 breaths — per minute. How incredible is it that the respiratory system can carry through the exchange of gas — taking in oxygen from the air and moving it into the blood and the lungs — without leaking? That this goes on day in and day out, all our lives, to ensure human survival is an awe-inspiring gift that takes the breath away. And the way it is carried out is all the more breathtaking.

Not As Illustrated If you had to draw lungs, your inner artist might instinctively depict them as a mirror image. But human lungs are not symmetrical. The right lung is slightly wider than the left. It is also shorter, to make room for the liver. The left lung is narrower to accommodate the heart. Another factor in this size discrepancy is that the right lung has the three lobes, while the left has two.

The Exchange Every cell in the body requires oxygen for optimal functionality. The lungs are crucial in achieving this goal. How? Once air enters the lungs, oxygen gets absorbed into the bloodstream and moves through the body. Cells begin a barter exchange, swapping oxygen for carbon dioxide, which the bloodstream then transports back to the lungs. By exhaling, we expel carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen, and water vapor. Exhaling that toxic CO2 is just as important as taking in oxygen. Bronchial tubes connect the lungs to the throat and mouth. The tubes are lined with cilia, minuscule hairs that move in wave-like patterns. This motion drives mucus up your throat. At the base of the bronchial tubes are alveoli, tiny air sacs that hold inhaled air. These tiny, spongy air sacs are no thicker than a typical cell (which you cannot see without the help of a powerful microscope). They sit in the pleura, a special membrane that separates the lungs from the chest wall.

26 Wellspring | August 2020

Under Seven Seconds The brain controls the lungs by instructing them how much to inhale or exhale, which is why one will experience changes in breathing without intention. Smoke and vaporized medicine can reach the brain in under seven seconds because the lungs have an enormous surface area and a a vast surrounding network of blood vessels that give them quick access to the brain.

Not Funny Unbelievably, and thankfully extremely rare, it's actually possible to die from laughter — not from the hysterical joke itself, but from the body's reaction to it. Among the possible medical causes of laughing to death are ruptured brain aneurysm, cardiac arrest, collapsed lung, stroke, suffocation, and asphyxiation.

Hold It

First Breath

Ever tried holding your breath for longer than a minute and found it to be impossible? You’re in good company. The average time a typical adult can hold his or her breath ranges between 30 and 60 seconds. But free divers — people who practice diving underwater without using equipment like scuba gear — use different techniques, such as hyperventilation, to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood, permitting them to hold their breath for an unusually long amount of time. Denmark’s Stig Severinsen currently holds the Guinness World Record for holding his breath underwater. He has gone for 22 minutes and 22 seconds without taking a breath.

Do babies breathe in the womb? Before they are born, babies' lungs are filled with fluid. Babies get oxygen from the mother's blood, via the placenta. Once born, a baby takes his or her first breath within 10 seconds. A baby's cough, as well as air filling their lungs, should expel the remaining amniotic fluid.

The Army Mucus is super annoying when it’s clogging your chest or nose during a cold. Still, it’s a highly underrated, powerful infection-fighting operator in your body. Mucus is such an important protective agent that one could die without it, as it keeps the lungs hydrated. If a person had no mucus, he would lose so much water through evaporation that he would die within minutes.

In and Out Buckets, Not Balloons We grew up conceptualizing our lungs as big balloons. However, experts advise visualizing them as buckets of blood with air bubbles circulating through them. Contrary to the idea of hollow lungs, the lungs contain as much blood as the rest of the body, and they produce blood cells, too. With every heartbeat, an equal amount of blood is sent to the lungs as to everywhere else in the body.

Out of Sight Just One Incredibly, it’s possible to live a healthy life with just one lung. Difficulties may be noticeable when exercising, but as long as the one-lunged individual remembers to come up for air, there will be little effect.

It often seems that the lungs are just another elusive organ in the treasure trove that is our body. Although we don’t see the lungs, the mouth is directly connected to them via the windpipe and esophagus. Lungs are connected to the spinal cord at the back, and the sternum (breastbone) at the front. They are kept within your rib cage for protection.

Swelling and collapsing of the chest are not actually the result of air filling up or exiting the lungs. During inhalation, the diaphragm — a thin sheet of domeshaped muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities — contracts and moves down, increasing the space in the chest cavity. At the same time, the muscles between the ribs contract to pull the rib cage upward and outward. In the course of exhalation, the exact opposite occurs. The lungs and windpipe must work together to provide oxygen to all the tissues and cells of the body. In ancient Egypt, people understood the importance of this cohesion for survival. To symbolize the unity between upper and lower parts of Egypt, which was necessary for the country's survival, ancient Egyptians created a hieroglyph depicting the lungs attached to the windpipe. Interestingly enough, because the pharaohs were responsible for ruling over the two lands, the lungs-windpipe hieroglyph is often found on artifacts that belonged to them, including clothing, furniture, and jewelry. Av 5780 | Wellspring 27

Well Informed

Asthma Info

Keep ‘Em Clear

Asthma, whose primary symptoms are wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath, is actually a number of different illnesses under one umbrella. The good news is that asthma-related deaths are very uncommon, and are decreasing significantly. Women are much more likely to develop asthma as adults than men, especially if they are overweight.

What did the lung say to the cigar? You take my breath away. Indeed there's no reason to laugh at that joke, as cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. Tar from the cigarettes remains in the lungs, eroding them. Approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths are a result of smoking. Heavy pollution may also affect the lungs.

People in rural areas are less likely to suffer from asthma than those in urban areas. The reason? Increased particulate matter (i.e., pollution) in the air from car exhaust and industrial contaminants do our lungs no good.

Luckily, the lungs have their own defense mechanisms to shield the body from pollution and contamination. Goblet cells in the lungs produce mucous to act as a barrier and shield against dust and dirt.

That Big

A Deep Breath

What do your lungs and a tennis court have in common? In addition to the panting caused by a run through said court, if you spread out the surface area of the alveoli, the sacs in which oxygen and blood interface, you could cover an entire tennis court.

Breathing deeply into your lungs can help ease pain, assist relaxation, and relieve stress. Breathing is used to an advantage in activities such as yoga and meditation. Research suggests that asthma may improve through cardiovascular exercise.

Mic Aside from breathing, lungs also play a key part in speech. The larynx, or voice box, is located above the windpipe, thus pushing the air from the lungs through the voice box and converting it into sound.

Tips From the Expert By Dr. Daniel Grove The nice thing about the lungs is that our bodies have a natural defense system designed to protect them. As long as you don’t do anything to harm them, the functionality is great. The most important thing you can do for your lungs is exercise. Certain exercises, such as aerobics, help the lungs work more efficiently. Exercise doesn’t necessarily improve lung function or directly impact the lungs' overall health, but it improves your muscles' ability to do work and builds lung capacity, which is the amount of oxygen you take in with each breath. Less carbon dioxide is then produced, so there’s less strain on the lungs. Deep breathing and exhalation also improve lung capacity. This is no revelation, but smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer. Ninety percent of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. To maintain optimal lung health and breathing capacity, stay away from cigarettes. A pulmonologist in Towson, Maryland, Dr. Grove is affiliated with Union Memorial Hospital.

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Living Well

In Good Shape By Esther Fried, PFC

WATER WORKS Six Pool Workouts There’s something about the water that makes us feel swan-like, regardless of how clumsy we think we are. And of course, what could be more refreshing in the sticky summer heat than being immersed in water while you’re burning calories? Additionally, aquatic exercise offers some exceptional benefits. Here’s a look at the advantages of water workouts, along with six pool exercises that can work the major muscle groups in your body. Because water offers more resistance than air, working out in the pool can make the same exercises that you normally do, such as squats or jumping jacks, more challenging than usual. The heavier resistance can engage your muscles more fully and also help you burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. Aquatic exercise allows you to get a great cardio workout while also increasing your strength, endurance, and flexibility. The buoyancy of water provides extra support for your muscles and joints. This allows you to work out harder while putting less impact on your body than you would on land. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, workouts done in water are especially helpful for people who have joint conditions, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

1 Walk in Water Walking in water is a good exercise to start off with as it helps get a feeling for how to create resistance. Walking in water can target your arms, core, and lower body. Increase the intensity by using hand or ankle weights. ⇒ Start off walking in shallow water, about waist height. ⇒ Lengthen your spine and walk by putting pressure on your heel first and then your toes, instead of walking on your tiptoes. ⇒ Keep your arms at your side, in the water, and move them as you walk. ⇒ Engage your core and stand tall as you walk. ⇒ Continue walking for 5–10 minutes, moving to deeper water until where you can stand comfortably.

30 Wellspring | August 2020

2 Back Wall Glide

3 Jumping Jacks

This exercise helps to activate the muscles in your core and lower body.

Jumping jacks in the water work the muscles in both your upper and lower body.

⇒ Hold onto the pool ledge, tuck your knees into your chest, and press your feet into the wall.

⇒ Stand in water at chest level. ⇒ Start with your feet together and your arms at your side.

⇒ Push off from the wall and float on your back as far as you can.

⇒ Do 1–3 sets of 8-12 jumping jacks.

⇒ Draw your knees into your chest, press your feet down to the bottom of the pool, and run back to the wall. ⇒ Continue this exercise for 5–10 minutes.

Leg Shoots

This dynamic exercise, where you alternate between floating on your stomach to floating on your back without dropping your feet to the bottom of the pool works your core, lower back, and legs. ⇒ Tuck your knees into your chest. ⇒ Explosively press your feet and legs out in front and float flat on your back. ⇒ Draw your knees back into your chest. ⇒ Press your legs out behind you so you’re floating on your stomach. ⇒ This is 1 repetition. Do 1–3 sets of 8–12 repetitions.

High-Knee Lift Extensions

This exercise strengthens the muscles in your core and lower body. ⇒ Stand in water at waist height. ⇒ Engage your core as you lift your right leg, bending your knee until your leg is level with the water. ⇒ Pause with your leg lifted for a few seconds. ⇒ Extend your leg straight out and hold this position for a few seconds. ⇒ Slowly lower your leg down, keeping it straight. ⇒ Repeat this move with your left leg. ⇒ Continue for 5–10 minutes.

Leg Kicks Here are a couple of leg kicks to strengthen your core and body muscles. For each of these kicks, hold onto the pool ledge or a kickboard. ⇒ Flutter-kick: Extend your legs straight and then slightly bend your knees in an upward motion. ⇒ Scissor-kick: Think of your feet as scissors. Open and close them in scissor motion.

⇒ Breaststroke-kick: Bring your heels in as close to your glutes as possible. Then extend your legs outwards and backwards while pushing the water with the soles of your feet to accelerate and propel your body forwards (if using a kickboard). Point your toes at the end of the kick as you straighten your legs. ⇒ Do each kick for 1–3 minutes. Av 5780 | Wellspring 31

Living Well

Ask By Laura Shammah, MS, RDN

The Sweet Truth

Foods diabetics can enjoy

Question: As a Type II diabetic, I try to be very vigilant about what I eat, and in general, I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle. And as anyone with diabetes can attest, that’s not an easy feat. With sugar as the culprit of my body’s dysfunction, I know that I need to completely abstain from sweets, including fruits. However, there are times when it’s hard to resist. How can I subdue my cravings for sweet, and what can I eat to satisfy my sweet tooth?

Laura's response: Diabetes is one of the common illnesses I work with on a daily basis. Although it is a health condition, thankfully, many of its symptoms and ramifications can be controlled through lifestyle changes. When I hear my diabetic clients vent about their limited diet, I’m frustrated. There are too many misconceptions surrounding diabetes, chiefly around the do’s and don’ts of a diabetic diet. As you wrote, “I know that I need to completely abstain from sweets,” but is that true? Many diabetics painstakingly eliminate carbs and sugars completely, despite it being unnecessary. Although a diabetes diagnosis does necessitate revision in the diet, one can still enjoy plenty of foods — even sweets. For the most part, a diabetes-friendly diet is focused on when you eat and your food combinations, as much as what is consumed. In order to keep glucose levels stable, I suggest eating every two to three hours. Keeping the digestive system going is a key component to keeping glucose levels balanced and preventing weight gain (a common side effect of insu32 Wellspring | August 2020

lin therapy). It’s also important to consult with a medical or nutritional professional to figure out which food groups and food combinations work for your body. A typical combination is comprised of a non-starchy vegetable, protein, fat, and a low GI index carb. Many diabetics view even natural sugar as a nutrition super-villain, but as a dietician I can’t help but notice how a completely sugar-free diet comes along with some consequences. Agreeably, you would like to eliminate unnatural sugars, honey, dried fruit, and artificial sweeteners. But, fruits for example, have unfairly earned a bad rap for diabetics. While fruit is dense in sugar, all of it is natural. And if you eliminate fruits from your diet, you’re also missing out on all the nutrients fruits are loaded with that are vital for your health and body maintenance. Potassium, fiber, vitamin C are just some of them. Therefore, instead of eliminating fruit completely, try to incorporate small amounts with a protein. In fact, many of my diabetic clients are consuming three to four fruits daily without experiencing any glucose issues. In general, all carbs and fruits must be spaced out throughout the day, eaten with a protein and portioned to keep sugar stable. Another food that can slowly be incorporated into a dia-

betic diet (ideally under the guidance of a certified dietician or nutritionist) is dark chocolate with high cocoa content, but use most of your daily sugar quota for highly nutritious foods like fruits. On the same note, as important as it is to avoid trigger foods, it’s imperative to consume the right foods. Loading up on fiber,

vegetables, and nutrient-dense proteins is essential. I was also happy to read that you’re trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, as this is especially vital for diabetics and those at a high risk for diabetes. Exercising frequently, eating the right foods, and drinking properly will certainly make a difference in reducing your symptoms. With the help of Hashem, keeping a healthy lifestyle may grant you many symptom-free years.

When the Cravings Kick In Tips to reduce your sugar intake

Exchange sugar-dense drinks for unsweetened tea, infused water, or seltzer. Use olive oil- or vinegar-based dressings instead of sugar-dense ones. Get enough sleep! A lack of sleep causes sugar cravings, so a good night’s sleep may help you consume less sugar. Use natural nut butters in place of sweet spreads. Instead of jelly, slice bananas into your peanut butter sandwich. Swap your morning cereal for a bowl of rolled oats topped with nut butter. Replace candy with fruits, nuts, or dark chocolate. With coffee, make the change a gradual one, adding in a little less sugar every few days. Beware of the Sugar:

Dextrose

Check food labels for any to these “sugar nicknames.”

Invert sugar

High fructose corn syrup

Rice syrup

Cane sugar/juice

Molasses

Maltose

Caramel

Laura Shammah MS, RDN, has been operating a private practice in New York and New Jersey for over 20 years. Her clientele runs the gamut from people with eating disorders to those dealing with hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and cancer. She also helps clients who run in marathons or are looking to lose or gain weight in a healthy way. Her nutritional guidance is published in MaryAnne Cohen’s book Lasagna for Lunch: Declaring Peace With Emotional Eating. Laura can be reached at 718-376-0062 or Laurashammah@aol.com. Av 5780 | Wellspring 33

Living Well

Medical Saga

My Sunburn Gone Bad Summer and its rays are welcomed with open arms; first a generous lathering of lotion, then faces gleefully tilting back to soak it all in. Ahhh. In our hope to capture that long coveted summer souvenir on our pale city skin, we’re delighted to have the strength of the sun to join us on our pool outings and beach trips. Winding up with a sunburn — a remembrance less tempting than the coveted suntan — is unpleasant. What happens, though, when the sunburn morphs into a phenomenon known as hell’s itch?

As told to

Roizy Baum

It was on a Sunday towards the end of June, a hot and sunny day that was typical of Jerusalem’s summer heat.

Ever the cautious type, I sprayed my face, hands, and feet with a good-quality suntan lotion before heading out to the beach with a handful of friends. When I had my share of the salty beach water, I stumbled onto a beach chair, sand between my toes, eager to get the most of the sun. The sun was timid: not very arrogant, glaring, or conspicuous. I bid farewell to the idea of a fullfledged tan. Turning to my friend Mimi, I casually mentioned, “It’s not being one of those lucky sun-kissed days for me, but as long as we’re having a fun time, I’m good.” After being sprawled on the beach chair for about half an hour, I removed my t-shirt (it was not very sunny. Why the extra coverage?), and continued relaxing to the soothing rhythm of the ocean’s waves. On the bus ride home, I started feeling a burning sensation on my feet. Some tan, after all. I thought. Looking into the mirror when I got home, I saw my skin had taken on a bright red color. Equipped for such situations, I reached for the aloe vera and sprayed myself generously. The aloe vera worked its magic, and in just a minute, I was feeling a whole lot better. I kept reapplying aloe vera over the course of the day. “See? It’s not even so bad not to apply suntan lotion,” I said to my husband, referring to the areas that were deprived of SPF protection because they were covered with a t-shirt at the time of application, “Aloe vera works wonders and I’ll have beautiful color to boot!” I skipped work on Monday because as much as the aloe vera was bringing me relief from my burns, there were certain sitting positions that were not yet comfortable. By Tuesday I felt ready to go to work. My burn looked much better; it still felt hot but was a lot lighter in color. My husband tried dissuading me from going. “Maybe take off another day until it goes away completely?” But I wasn’t ready to waste away another day. Besides, Mondays are usually the busiest days at work and I was dreading the backlog awaiting me. The day passed quickly, I accomplished loads and was happy I ventured out. Towards the end of my work

day, I started feeling extremely itchy, but I blamed it on the heat in the room. The room was stifling hot and the air conditioner in the cramped office never managed to cool the room adequately. I wasn’t overly concerned. I clocked out of work feeling itchy but energetic. As soon as I walked through the door, I shifted into supper-making mode. After two days of no homemade supper, the guilt kicked in and I wanted to compensate for it with something gourmet. The itchiness didn’t subside, but I kept delivering small slaps to my skin to sort of distract the irritation. I also didn’t want to end up with abrasions all over my skin because of the uncontrollable urge to scratch, and a slap doesn’t leave its mark like fingernails does. I had almost finished preparing supper when my husband walked in. “I’m feeling itchy again,” I cried in lieu of a hello. “I’ll just go spray myself with more aloe vera.” But something didn’t make sense. Instead of the usual relief the aloe vera offered, the itchiness on my shoulders, back and chest was now intensifying from one minute to the next. I tried to spray once more, because how can aloe vera be defying its mission? But the more I sprayed, the more the itch strengthened. What was going on? It must be an expired bottle, I thought, checking the bottle for the expiration date. But the date printed on the bottle was 2023. Suddenly, I felt like I was engulfed in flames. I felt hot and stingy, like a million bees were under my skin and stinging me mercilessly. I began screaming and crying. My husband, who knows me as someone who never overreacts, knew there had to be something very wrong. He met his wife pacing the room hysterically, throwing herself onto the bed, off the bed, rolling from side to side and almost upside down. There was not a single position where I felt relief ! I was hollering at that point. “I’m not surviving this!” “More aloe vera?” my husband offered, his face pain-stricken. “This caused it!” I said, still pacing and throwing myself. “No aloe vera! Bring me a wet towel. Please.” I wrapped myself around with the towel but it barely helped. Then I tried massaging my skin, squeezing water onto it but again, nothing helped. “How about a shower?” my husband asked. “Showers are great for burns.” Av 5780 | Wellspring 35

Living Well

Medical Saga

What did I have to lose? I took the handheld showerhead and tried washing myself down. The cold water had me think I was dying; the hot water was even worse. In my life I had never felt such throbbing, intense pain. My adrenaline was pumping so fast, I had no control over myself. I went from shower to bed to shower to towel to bed to shower, all the while hollering from agony. “Mordechai, this is unbearable! This is it. I feel like something is happening to me but I don’t know what. This is not a burn. It’s something else. I’m being stung by a million bees. I feel like I’m in a pot of fire. Can my skin be removed?” I could not catch my breath. My husband knew it must be really serious. His wife of one year who was entirely normal until a few minutes before had gone beserk. “I’m calling Hatzolah.” I was in no state to protest and hoped, hoped they would have some magic cure. I literally was ready to have my skin peeled off. Until Hatzolah arrived, my husband rushed to do some online research. As much as we abhor Dr. Google, sometimes we do get enlightened. He was mumbling some terms, which all flew over my head, and he typed and read until the doorbell finally rang. He hit upon a phenomenon known as “hell’s itch” and was perusing some personal accounts. Hatzolah arrived to the sight of a madwoman throwing herself like a Ping-Pong ball. I was rolling in bed from throbbing pain, and keeping my eyes shut to at least attempt to block out the pain. Don’t try asking me what the Hatzolah members looked like; I won’t be able to answer you. If I couldn’t even compose

36 Wellspring | August 2020

Suddenly, I felt like I was engulfed in flames. I felt hot and stingy, like a million bees were under my skin and stinging me mercilessly.

myself when the Hatzolah members came, I was surely in real agony, since the last thing I needed was for them to see me acting the way I was. My hands were wrapped around my entire body in a tight hug, clutched around my heart. The first thing Hatzolah was concerned about was my behavior being related to a malfunction of the heart. But I was only clutching my chest because I was trying to contain the pain. The pain was circulating, out of control, and in that position I most felt that I was in control. The vitals, baruch Hashem, were all perfect. After their checkup, my symptoms were ascribed to a development from a burn. Because the burn was not pussy or overly red, they advised that I take a shower. I emitted an earsplitting scream, “I took a shower and it was so painful! I’m not going into the shower for the next week!” “You Americans are probably not accustomed to sunburns,” the Hatzolah member pointed out gently. “This looks like a typical sunburn. No need even for an ambulance.” My husband was adamant. “This is not about sheltered Americans. This is my wife and I know her well. She does not take things to the next level. To me, it looks like hell’s itch.” Comforted by the presence of the Hatzolah members, my husband had returned to the screen and gleaned additional insight on the topic, aptly named to convey its severity. In the few minutes of research, he came across the mention of Benadryl, Motrin, and Tylenol as the only relief. He suggested it to the Hatzolah members, but because they never heard of this phenomenon, they remained hesitant. With pressure on my husband’s

end, they called their supervisor who agreed that Benadryl may be a step in the right direction. Benadryl in any form would’ve helped, but getting it in a spray form was particularly relieving.

Sunburn Prevention 101 Fittingly named to convey its severity, hell’s itch denotes excruciating itchiness that sometimes emerges several days post contracting a sunburn. To avoid it at all costs, dermatologists urge to be careful of sun exposure. Here are four recommended preventative measures.

Water-resistant sunscreen containing a broad-spectrum sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 should be used. Keep generously reapplying sunscreen every two hours, especially after swimming or sweating. The average adult should use an ounce to cover the face, neck, arms and legs. Give your skin enough time to absorb the sunscreen before venturing outdoors.

Wear protective clothing, like hats, sunglasses, and long-sleeved shirts, when in direct sunlight. Those with lighter skin are more susceptible to sunburns. Be aware of how much sun exposure you can comfortably tolerate.

Seek shade whenever possible. The hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. are when the sun's rays are strongest.

Babies under the age of 6 months are vulnerable to sunburns. They should never be in direct sunlight and should always wear a hat and clothing that protects them from UV rays.

Apparently, with hell’s itch, the burn is not the issue, so aloe vera doesn’t do its usual soothing job. Instead, it only serves to increase the aggravation. Hell’s itch is a reaction from the sun and not from the burn. Finally, after Bendaryl and a dose of Motrin (both Motrin and Tylenol are recommended), I felt myself returning to normal again. Soon after, my husband recognized the woman he had married, and we were able to talk through the ordeal with clear heads — albeit a messy kitchen and half-cooked dinner. “Are you sure I really don’t have a billion stings and bites all over my body?” I asked as soon as I regained some clarity. My spouse and the mirror dispelled my beliefs. “You know,” my husband said. “I could’ve sworn the articles I read online were written by you. It was as if you were reading from a script. The symptoms, the reactions, the comparisons — all the sufferers felt it exactly the same!” And he was right. When I read people’s testimonies, their experiences were so similar to mine. It was eerie and yet so validating. Part of the pain is feeling completely at loss. Many even described the pain as suicidal, that’s how excruciatingly painful it is. A burn can hurt; a burn can really hurt. But this is flames of fire rather than a burn. There’s the pain coupled with hysteria, which multiplies the pain tenfold, because nothing you try can soothe the pain. Because the Hatzolah members were not informed of any of this, they dismissed the symptoms as a typical burn. And I don’t blame them. Any uneducated individual would do the same and view it as a heat rash or simple burn. If you haven’t experienced this yourself — and I pray you do not — it’s impossible to validate the pain of someone who did. Interestingly enough, because the authenticity of hell’s itch is doubted, there’s a lack of education on the subject. Whatever I gathered on the topic was from collections of personal experiences shared through online forums, but believe me when I tell you this is real. Fortunately, hell’s itch is only a 24–48-hour nightmare. Sleeping during this excruciating period was tough, but wrapping myself tightly in a blanket relieved the pain, and whenever the itchiness kicked in again I reached for the Motrin or Tylenol. Apart from the instantaneous physical problem which has since ebbed, the pain is ingrained on my body and mind alike. Emotionally, I’m still scarred. Every outdoor trip will now warrant a full tube of suntan lotion. I may be overdoing it, but until I overcome the trauma, I’ll be patronizing Neutrogena.

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I Healthy How to foster an appreciation for healthy living in your kids, starting in the kitchen

Yaffi Lvova, RDN 38 Wellspring | August 2020

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between 2 and 6 years old, depending on many factors. In most cases, the biggest factor in determining when this food neophobia (fear of new foods) will end is how the parents approach the obstacle.

Through cooking, children can learn how to appreciate colors, textures, and flavors that may be new, or may have been previously distasteful to them. As a dietitian, I have made this my theme. That’s because my greatest joy in teaching has been watching the parents’ joy as they learn how capable their small child is, both in physical skill and in an adventurous outlook toward food.

Food neophobia even has a biological basis. Children start to be cautious about food around the same time they start walking — and that’s no coincidence. As a child becomes more mobile, the chances that they will put something dangerous in their mouth increases. The increased awareness helps prevent that.

W hen I introduce myself as a registered dietitian, many people hear “dietitian” and stop after the “diet,” but I like to say that I help people eat. Specifically little ones. And one of the best ways to open little minds, and therefore little mouths, is to get them into the kitchen.

Start ‘em early, but also know that it’s never too late. From the stepstool toddler chef to the nearly adult child, cooking can be fun and educational.

My own kids earned their first chef ’s hats while facing forward in a baby carrier. They kneaded challah, advancing their gross motor skills while experiencing a fun texture — all the while learning about our rich culture. We cooked and we bonded as they learned to associate the complete sensory experience that is food, with happiness, hugs, and laughter.

Through cooking together, and making laughter your soundtrack, we can open minds, expand palates, and decrease parental anxiety. Got your chef ’s hat on? Let’s get started!

W hy is my child picky? Pickiness, or as I prefer to call it, “selective eating,” is a normal and natural phase that children (and parents) encounter. It begins at around 12 months and can end when the child is anywhere

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First things first: calling a child “picky” is assigning a label that the child will hear, internalize, and own. Then you’re in trouble. By using a softer term, such as “selective,” “hesitant,” or “cautious,” you lend much less permanence to the concern. Of course, the best idea is to avoid labels altogether, continuing to offer a variety of foods and food experiences as the phase comes to its natural conclusion.

One way to get past selective eating to help our children make choices that are good for them is by following the “Division of Responsibility,” established by Ellyn Satter, which describes the ideal dynamic at the family table. (chart here) The major idea behind the Division of Responsibility is to provide a neutral but pleasant environment where each family member is free to listen to their own biological signals of hunger and fullness in order to meet their nutritional needs. The parent decides what the meal is, where the meal is served, and when it is served. The parent accounts for the child’s food

preferences by including a safe or familiar food on the table, but doesn’t offer each family member a different meal — there is one meal available and it’s available to the whole family. The rest is up to the child.

into my playroom and use my toys — spinach, carrots, potatoes, flour, yeast, sugar, cocoa, sauce (that was my shopping list) — to make something fun and delicious, but also to work on different skills. Here they are, presented in order of age:

The child decides whether to eat, and how much to eat. It is a normal and natural part of childhood to elect to skip dinner. Kids have a great connection to their bodies, knowing precisely the amount of food they need to support their growth on a given day. Some days they will eat more and some days less. It’s very common for children to load up on food at the beginning of the day and then skip dinner. That’s okay.

▷ Fine and gross motor skills: kneading, mixing, pouring, and rolling

The neutral but pleasant atmosphere cultivated at the table can also be taken to the grocery store as you ask your child whether you should select a red pepper or green pepper; to the garden where you show your child the miracle of sprouting seeds and growing food right on the windowsill; and to the kitchen where you joyfully create something delicious together. Nutrition is a long game, more of a marathon than a sprint. The dynamic you set with your child where food is concerned helps to prepare them for the responsibility of adulthood. As you teach your child that their hunger and their fullness are valid and important signals, you prepare them for a life of truly listening to and engaging with their body, honoring their needs. This can help prevent a lifelong struggle with body image and the terrible yo-yo dieting that so many adults endure and continue to experience. As a child learns to enjoy a range of food experiences, varying in taste, color, texture, and more, they take that into adulthood and will be more likely appreciate the crunch of celery, the creaminess of chummus, as well as the velvety flavor of chocolate cake. Their appreciation for these different experiences will lead them to seek variety, and that variety in food choices is closely associated with the likelihood that they will meet their nutritional needs. Kids — and adults! — meet their nutritional needs not at one single meal, or even over the course of a day, but over a few days. What is missing in one meal is made up at another. The key is using joy as your main seasoning, and sprinkling it liberally. On everything. Early on in the game, and often.

The Benefits of Cooking Together I don’t know about you, but I’m not a big fan of getting down on the floor and building blocks with my kids. Instead, I’ll bring them

▷ Sensory exposure: smell, taste, touch, sound ▷ Language skills: naming colors and shapes ▷ Vocabulary: identification of ingredients and tools ▷ Literacy: reading labels ▷ Science: basic food chemistry (which advances in complexity as they grow and learn) ▷ Math: from basic addition to complex equations with fractions ▷ Geography and botany: where an ingredient comes from, how it traveled to the store, how it grows ▷ Culture: experiencing different foods from different places and discussing what makes it different or similar All of this can be accomplished with a simple batch of chocolate chip cookies or a tray of roasted broccoli. Isn’t that amazing? The surprise benefit is a boost in confidence. When your child reflects your own smile back at you, knowing they helped put dinner on the table — when they see other family members enjoying the food that they helped prepare — the pride they feel in themselves and their abilities gives them their first taste of satisfaction. And that satisfaction builds them up, encouraging them toward a more adventurous attitude at the table.

It’s Not About the Bite Can I guarantee that your child will eat what they have prepared? No. I don’t claim to. But much like a trip is more about the journey as the destination, cooking together is more about the smile than the bite. Joyful experiences with different types of food count as food enjoyment. As your child interacts with food in a positive way, they grow. As they feel less threatened by spinach after making spinach muffins, they take a tiny step forward. According to feeding therapists, the process of eating has between 25 and 32 steps, the Av 5780 | Wellspring 41

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final step being actually swallowing. Any one of those steps is a positive move forward and should be viewed as a success. When we define feeding success by the number of bites a child takes, we undercut the complexity of feeding and we miss opportunities to recognize progress. That being said, the child should be allowed to taste while cooking. When starting out, it’s best to select a recipe that has no raw eggs or meat for safety reasons. You’ll also learn which ingredients should be on hand in excess, just to ensure that enough of that ingredient actually makes it into the final dish. I’ll start you off with this: always double berries and chocolate while shopping for a recipe. Actually, that’s just good advice in general.

How Can I Start? Kids can start participating in the kitchen in meaningful ways as early as 12 months old. Yes, you read that right. Of course, their motor skill abilities at that age will be limited, but that doesn’t need to stop your own little chef from getting their hands dirty (or face, or feet…) Here are some readiness signs to check before getting started: 1. Your child can stand independently and confidently. You’ll provide a solid and safe place where your child can stand. 2. Your child is confident with their pincer grasp. This generally starts to happen at around 9 months.

5. Your child is willing to let go of objects. The following information should be taken with a grain of salt (yes, pun intended). All children develop at different rates and may have different experiences with sensory perception. Start small, but remember to challenge your child. They will surprise you. Level 1: At 12 months of age, a child can help add fistfuls of spinach to the mixer (dropping it from a safe distance above, as demonstrated by the adult sous chef ). The child can help put the lid on the mixer and can flip the on/off switch. The child can help the adult mix batter by using an adult’s hand-over-child’s hand method. The child can use a potato masher to incorporate ingredients. Level 2: The 18 month-old can start to pour and mix independently. This child can begin to roll out pizza dough, and can also spread the sauce and sprinkle on toppings. Level 3: At 24 months, the child who is often rambunctious at any other time may suddenly find focus when a recipe is at hand. This growing child can suddenly help measure ingredients. They can stir, and peel, and press, and even… wait for it… chop! By using a toddler-safe knife and minding a few safety precautions, your two-year-old is capable of performing many kitchen actions, truly taking the lead in many different recipes. And it only gets better from here.

3. Your child pays attention to your words. They respond to “uh oh” or “no”.

W hat About Safety?

4. Your child can put objects into a container and pull objects out of a container.

Certain foods should be prepped ahead of time for safety reasons. If you’re cutting a melon with a beginner chef, the melon itself can

If you’re looking for a more multi-faceted academic opportunity, consider these questions with your child: 1. What color is the batter? 2. Do you like the smell of vanilla? 3. How does a pinch of salt feel between your fingers? 4. Can you draw a happy face on a paper plate out of cinnamon on your finger? 5. Do you think a spinach leaf sinks or floats? How about a date? 6. Where does spinach come from? 7. How does spinach grow? 8. What other types of food grow in the same way?

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9. Are there other ways we enjoy spinach? 10. What other foods are green? And for the more advanced set: 11. How would you triple the recipe? 12. What do you think would happen if you forgot to include the baking soda? 13. What function does sugar play in the recipe? (Answer: it balances the natural bitterness of the spinach, but it also provides structure as the muffins rise.) 14. What about the recipe will change if you use a mini-muffin pan rather than full-size muffins?

Super Green Machine Muffins Yields 12 muffins 2 cups whole-wheat flour (gluten-free flour optional) ¾ cup sugar (coconut sugar, brown sugar, white sugar, or 10 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked) 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda 1½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp salt ¼ cup light olive oil or avocado oil, plus more for greasing ¾ cup milk (milk alternative for vegan option) 6 oz baby spinach, tightly packed (about 3 cups) ½ cup mashed banana (about 1 large banana or 2 small bananas) 2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Adult step: Preheat the oven to 350°F. 2. Level 2+ mini-chef: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. 3. Level 1+ mini-chef: In a blender, purée the oil, milk, spinach, banana, and vanilla. 4. (Optional, but encouraged): Take a short break and pretend to be a blender. Spin around with your mini-chef ! 5. Level 3 mini-chef: Pour the puréed mixture into the dry mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula until completely combined. 6. Level 3 mini-chef: Prepare a muffin tin by lightly greasing the cups with olive oil or lining the cups with paper liners. Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full. 7. Adult step: Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Refrigerate in a sealed container for 3–5 days or freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

This is a great starter recipe. You only need a blender or food processor and one bowl. These Popeye Muffins are also popular because, aside from being soft and delicious, they freeze well and travel well too. I’m not a fan of hiding veggies in food. When we hide veggies, an element of distrust is introduced into the feeding dynamic. That distrust can cause the child to question other items of food, further increasing picky-eating tendencies. There is no hiding the spinach in these muffins — they’re bright green! When the child is involved in preparation, they see exactly what is going into the batter. They know that they’re eating — and enjoying — vegetables. Each muffin has about ¼ cup of spinach!

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be washed by the little one, cut across the middle by the adult assistant, seeds scooped by the little chef, the melon skin removed by the adult assistant, and the melon itself cut by the child. This process comes with the added bonus of reinforcing patience as well as the concept of taking turns. There are a few basics to keep in mind: 1. This is a fun activity, much like playing in plastic balls, coloring, or splashing in the bath. The adult sous chef should do their best to create an environment that is joyful. If you feel anxious about cooking with your child, you might select a

Calling a child “picky” is assigning a label that the child will hear, internalize, and own. simple recipe, move the activity to the floor, or prep many of the ingredients ahead of time (measuring, peeling, etc.). 2. The child should have a solid place to stand, bringing the countertop to their waist. Their step stool or learning tower should be solid, not rocking. 3. Remind the child that this will be fun, but that there are also rules: “This is going to be a lot of fun. We’re going to cook together! Isn’t it exciting? It’s very important that you listen to mommy while we have fun together. Are you ready?” There are just a few tools that will help to set the stage for a happy culinary adventure with your little one. If you have a great place for them to stand, you’re halfway there. The next item I often recommend is a toddler-safe knife. I love the Curious Chef knives because they are sharp enough to cut food, but not fingers. They don’t slip or break (as disposable plastic knives often do, putting little fingers at risk), and they have a wide-grip handle, perfect for little hands. They are long-lasting and clean easily. They do get stained, but an overnight soak in diluted bleach takes care of that. And no, this is not a sponsored article. I just love them!

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And of course, there are guidelines to account for knife safety: 1. Explain that the knife is a tool, not a toy. We pick it up to cut, then we put it back down where it goes. The knife lives in the kitchen and we only use it while cooking with our adult sous chef. 2. Keep your cool. An activity we share joyfully will become a fun pastime. If you are anxious, it will come across to your toddler and they may begin to associate kitchen activities with stress. 3. It’s okay if it’s not working. Much like any other activity with a child, sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. If you notice that your little chef is tired or disinterested, you can decide to end the activity and try again another time. 4. Demonstrate the skill first, so your child can copy your actions. This will help support your child’s confidence in using their knife. Different types of foods will require different kinds of cutting actions and your child may need to see you demonstrate a few times. 5. A good cutting board is important. Select one that has grips on the bottom so that it won’t slide as your mini-chef cuts. 6. Cut anything round in a lengthwise fashion so that it lays flat on the cutting board. For example, cucumbers should be cut in half lengthwise so that they lay flat while your little chef is cutting. 7. Begin with softer foods, and slowly advance toward more challenging items so that your child has an opportunity to develop confidence with this new and advanced skill. There’s another consideration when planning to cook with kids: schedule and boundaries. It’s not always convenient to have kids in the kitchen. It’s messier. It takes more time. It’s just not as efficient. That is why boundaries are important. For example, in my house the kids don’t help with breakfast. Everyone wakes up hungry, so getting breakfast on the table is the priority. Delaying the meal only leaves everyone, including me, grumpy. That’s not a great way to start the day. When preparing for a cooking event, consider it an activity rather than efficient meal preparation. Make sure there is time for it, that everyone is patient, and that nobody is starting out with an empty belly. If you set yourself up for success, starting with good intentions and an even better mood, this can be a great time for everyone. Yes, including you! Bump up the fun factor even more by putting on some great music and adding a mini-dance party between steps!

Banana Sushi Yields 1 sushi roll 1 banana toppings — pick your mix! ◎ 2 Tbsp dark chocolate, melted and 1 Tbsp sprinkles ◎ 2 Tbsp nut or seed butter and 2 Tbsp shredded coconut ◎ 2 Tbsp nut or seed butter and 2 Tbsp puffed rice cereal ◎ 2 Tbsp dark chocolate, melted and 1 Tbsp chia seeds ◎ 2 Tbsp plain yogurt and 2 Tbsp crushed freeze-dried berries ◎ 2 Tbsp nut or seed butter and 1 medium-sized flour tortilla

This is a wonderful recipe for those just starting out with food preparation. Use one of the combinations above or come up with your own! Take it a step further by making lollipops out of your sushi — just insert a popsicle stick into each piece!

1. Adult step: Help your child start peeling the banana. Just pinch off the top and allow the child to uncover the tasty treasure. You can simplify this further for very little hands by superficially slicing the peel lengthwise, leaving a seam where the peel will naturally split. 2. Level 1 mini-chef: Roll the banana in the liquid or sticky ingredient of your choice. Depending on your selection, spreading may go a bit smoother. Cover the banana as completely as possible. 2a. If you have selected the yogurt, place it in the freezer for 20–30 minutes to harden just a bit, but still retain some stickiness. 3. Level 1 mini-chef: Roll the banana in the dry ingredient of your choice, covering as much of the banana as possible. 4. Level 3 mini-chef: Cut the banana into “rolls.” This may require additional adult help to stabilize the banana so it doesn’t roll around. Refrigerate in a sealed container for 3–5 days or freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

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At the Dietitian By Tamar Feldman, RDN, CDE

Why Does My Doctor Claim That Diet Has No Effect on My IBD? This is one of the most common questions I get, usually within the first five to ten minutes of meeting a client with inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. And it’s a good question, particularly being that more and more research is pointing in the direction that many people instinctively have believed to be true: that what you eat can have a direct impact on disease activity in IBD. Patients are often told, “Eat what you can tolerate.” Despite this refrain, approximately 40% of patients with Crohn’s disease believe that diet can control symptoms, while approximately 80% believe diet is important in the overall management of disease. And 40% of IBD patients have attempted various diet therapies, often without the assistance of a physician or dietitian. The question therefore begs to be asked: why are most mainstream medical professionals ambivalent or even downright opposed to dietary interventions? Being that doctors generally will only implement recommendations if there is scientific evidence to support it, has there been no research conducted proving the efficacy of dietary interventions in IBD? Before answering these questions directly, I will summarize three of the most common diets currently utilized in IBD, as well as the evidence that supports each one. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is one of the most popular diets for IBD available, as well as one of the most challenging to follow. It was initially developed by gastroenterologist Dr. Sidney Haas in 1951, and later popularized by biochemist Elaine Gottschall in the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health through Diet. The diet is based on the principle that certain carbohydrates that require minimal digestive processes are completely absorbed, and leave virtually nothing left to be used for feeding

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potentially harmful bacteria lower down in the GI tract. These carbohydrates are the only ones allowed, and all other types are excluded from the diet. The SCD allows: • almost all fruits and vegetables • nuts and nut-derived flours • low-lactose dairy such as farmer and cheddar cheese • meats • eggs • clarified butter and oils It excludes sugars, lactose, all grains, potatoes, soy, cheeses containing high amounts of lactose, as well as some food additives and preservatives. In addition to a case study done with 50 patients, several studies, such as those published in Digestive Diseases and Sciences (2016) and Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (2014), have been published that suggest that the SCD may be effective in IBD. While there was some research on adults, most clinical observations have been in pediatric disease. In adults, a 2012 study published in Gastroenterology demonstrated that the microbiome, or bacterial composition of the gut, of IBD patients following the SCD may be different and more beneficially diverse than IBD patients following a standard Western diet. The SCD is not an approach suited for every inflammatory bowel disease patient. It may not be practical for a Crohn’s patient with significant amount of small bowel strictures because it can tend to be higher in fiber and may lead to an obstruction. Though Gottschall recommends strict adherence to SCD, there is some data to suggest some liberalization may be possible with continued maintenance of remission, suggesting that SCD is a starting

point for IBD patients to explore their individual diet-disease relationship, especially in the maintenance phase. Indeed, I have found this to be the case in my practice, where I often guide individuals in remission who seek to transition off of SCD onto an individualized protocol, with often positive outcomes. Semi-Vegetarian Diet While the standard Western diet, high in processed foods, animal fats, sugars, and omega-6 fats, are known to be associated with the development of IBD, the semi-vegetarian diet has had some scientific backing as far as improving IBD and preventing remission, such as were indicated in studies published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology (2010) and The Permanente Journal (2015). The diet includes brown rice, miso soup, pickled and other vegetables, fruit, green tea, eggs, yogurt, potatoes, and milk. Meat and fish are limited but not completely excluded. Fast food, sweets, carbonated beverages and cola, juices, alcohol, margarine, butter, cheese, and bread are discouraged. The promising research showed that the semi-vegetarian diet may be effective for maintaining remission for up to two years of follow-up, with a remission rate of 100% at 1 year and 92% at 2 years. Â

Once every 2 weeks Once a week

Meat Fish

Milk, algae, other plant foods Daily

Eggs, yogurt (plain), vegetables, fruits, legumes, potatoes Brown rice, miso (fermented bean paste) soup, pickled vegetables, green tea

The Crohnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Disease Exclusion Diet

This diet, developed by Professor Arie Levine of Israel, is a whole foods approach that minimizes the use of many food additives such as maltodextrin, emulsifiers, and carageenan, as well as animal fat, sugar, and gluten. In a randomized controlled trial of children with mild to moderate Crohnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 75% achieved remission on this diet combined with liquid nutritional supplements, as detailed in a 2019 Gastroenterology report. I have seen in my practice that for individuals only willing to change their diet minimally, incorporating some of the scientific evidence currently available, even without going all the way, can sometimes result in significant positive outcomes. Other data not discussed in this article, such as limiting omega-6 fats, saturated fats, and animal protein, increasing anti-inflammatory fruits and vegetables, the Mediterranean diet, and curcumin and fish oil supplements, all have some scientific support and can safely be incorporated into an individualized dietary protocol.

Based on the developing research and my own clinical experience, I believe that if an individual is willing to try a dietary approach under the supervision of a trained dietitian and their physician, so long as quality of life and maintenance of nutritional status are monitored, there are few risks with potential benefits. Of course, stopping medication without medical supervision is strongly discouraged and dangerous. But using diet with medical supervision as an adjunct therapy when medication alone has not controlled the disease, or to prevent progression to the need for stronger pharmaceutical therapy, can be a discussion that patients should have with their medical professionals. To answer the initial question of the hesitance on the part of medical doctors to support dietary interventions, I would say that there are three main factors: the still developing body of research, a fear of patients discontinuing medication without proper medical supervision, and a concern for malnutrition. While the expanding research in the coming years will likely bring more doctors on board with dietary interventions, with proper communication as discussed, even current patients and their doctors can find common ground on this topic. Detailed citations are available upon request from Wellspring.

Tamar Feldman, RDN, CDE, is a highly acclaimed and experienced registered dietitian/nutritionist and certified diabetes educator. She maintains a busy nutrition practice with offices in Lakewood and Edison, and via phone/Skype to numerous international clients. She specializes in balanced and sustainable weight loss and nutrition therapy for autoimmune, hormonal, and gastrointestinal issues. She can be reached at 732-364-0064 or through her website www.thegutdietitian.com.

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Health Personality By Libby Silberman

Adina Forouzan may refer to her occupation as a professional organizer, but she doesn’t organize houses. She organizes people. Enthusiastic about embracing people’s individual routines that help them get organized, her approach to organizing helps her clients become better people, employees, spouses, and parents. Hence, you get to hear about her right here, in the pages of a magazine geared to all things health and wellness. That’s because for Adina, organizing is so much more than having a neat closet. “Organizing from the inside out is a holistic approach to organizing that reflects the real you. It’s a comprehensive approach that analyzes the bigger picture. It’s not just clearing the physical environment from clutter to ‘gain back control’ quickly because you can’t stand the mess. That method is a Band-Aid and leaves so many discouraged that they give up on organizing altogether,” Adina explains.

Cup of Tea With:

Adina Forouzan

Rather, she says, organizing starts with understanding oneself from within. “When you stop and think about all the factors, like your organizing personality, your roadblocks, the root causes of your clutter, your natural tendencies — and then set up systems accordingly, you’re setting yourself up for long-term organizing success.

“Clutter is not just ‘stuff.’ In reality, your outside environment, the ‘physical clutter,’ often reflects your inner reality, the ‘mental clutter,’” she asserts. “Mental clutter is the annoying voice in our head that feels overwhelmed by the physical clutter. It’s the voice that wants to procrastinate, make excuses, blame everyone but ourselves for being disorganized or unproductive.” The difference between physical and mental clutter is that physical clutter is the piles of stuff that are all over the countertops, desktops, and beds. When you leave the room, you leave that clutter.

“Mental clutter, on the other hand, is there when you wake up. It’s there when you go to work. It’s there when you come home. It’s there when you go to sleep. Mental clutter follows you around. It weighs you down. It’s the voice that won’t go away until your physical clutter goes away. Physical clutter is a manifestation of something going on in your life,” Adina expounds. Adina actually holds a degree in special education, but made a career change after an epiphany that was followed by a dreadful twist of events. “I had messy closets, cluttered kitchen counters, and a hard-to-navigate pantry. And I had thought I was naturally organized.”

She purchased bins. That didn’t help. She de-cluttered. That didn’t help. She felt so frustrated; why was it not working? 48 Wellspring | August 2020

OCCUPATION: Professional organizer at Master My Space

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

FOUNDED: 2015

PASSION: To help people function their best via organizing from “the inside out”

Living Well

Health Personality

“And that’s when I started to do research—day in and day out. I became obsessed with anything organizing. What I discovered was life-changing: I realized the problem was I was trying to organize outside of myself — just the physical environment — instead of looking within myself to see the root of the problem.” She thought she’d nailed it.

“In the afternoon of January, 19, 2013, I told my husband ‘I really want to de-clutter this house!’ That night, we went out to dinner, only to come home to no home of our own.” Adina’s house had been destroyed by a fire — barely twenty minutes after they’d left the house.

“Thank G-d no one was hurt,” she interjects, but her possessions were all gone. “I don’t have my wedding album. Our photos melted into each other. But I realized that I could move on without a lot of my ‘stuff.’ I didn’t need it all. I can manage very well without my fifty jackets and coats. I can live a meaningful life with less things.” Adina’s husband’s takeaway from the fire was very different, she recounts with a laugh. “Hon, next time you say, ‘I really want to de-clutter the house,’ make sure I raise the insurance policy!”

As she was rebuilding her life after the fire, she was determined to get it right. “I immersed myself in building a new skill set. I actually set up effective organizational systems that worked for my family. I no longer tried to get organized; I actually stayed organized. “When I realized to what extent living an organized life comes from within, I was fueled by a mission. I wanted to help others achieve the same thing. Organizing is so much more than putting things away,” Adina relates. In order to remain organized, a holistic approach is needed.

“When I walk into a client’s home and start telling them about various organizing styles, they tell me they don’t have an organizing style.” While some people are naturally inclined to being organized, Adina asserts that every single person has their individual organizing style. If Adina would be out to clean up people’s homes, she wouldn’t get very far in the long term. However, she starts from the inside out: she gets to know her client — their lifestyles, their natures, their tendencies — before even glancing into their kitchen cabinets. De-Cluttering For Real

The bottom line of Adina’s passion is improving her clients’ emotional health and wellbeing. How does she accomplish that through organizing homes? The science is pretty simple, Adina states.

“I help my clients set up systems to suit their lifestyles so that they can live efficiently. When we’re living efficiently, we’re more productive. Higher productivity yields more time as we achieve goals faster. That time can be spent doing the things we love with the people we love — in a relaxed environment we love. This lowers stress, increases happiness, and gives you space, freedom, creativity, time, money, confidence, energy, and control.” Adina’s novel approach in organizing people’s homes lies within her innovative method of helping her clients get to know their own root causes of clutter. Most of your clutter isn’t the stuff around you. It’s ac50 Wellspring | August 2020

tually you. It’s the deepest part of yourself. Adina helps her clients figure out their own roots of clutter, in an easy acronym: CHAOS. She stresses that as physical clutter is cleared away, mental clutter eases as well. C: Constantly Shopping

What it may look like in you:

› You go shopping often and buy things regardless of whether you really need the items or not. › You buy impulsively, possibly because the items are on sale.

› You shop to fill a void, and/or to give you a temporary “high.”

What you may want to do about it in order to cut the clutter:

› Recognize the difference between need and want. Don’t buy on impulse. Just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean you need it. › If you do buy, purge! Follow the one in, one out rule.

› Opt for experiences instead of purchases, which is more conducive to longer term happiness, according to research. Go out with your friends for coffee instead of buying yet another pair of shoes. H: Holding on

There are a lot of emotions at play when clients need to let go of their stuff. What it may look like in you:

› “I loved Grandma so much and these were her Shabbos dishes.” (sentimentality) › “How can I throw out the file of bank statements? What if we need it one day to track something?” (fear) › “I will fit into these size six dresses after my diet.” (dreams)

What you may want to do about it in order to cut the clutter:

“I help clients understand that they are not attached to their possession per se, but to the experience or memory connected to the item. It’s so important to understand this in order to let go,” Adina explains. Nevertheless, as clients are faced with the challenge of parting with a possession that represents dreams, Adina suggests they share the dreams attached to the items with someone. One of two things will happen: either they will commit to making that thing happen, or they will realize that right now, this dream is not realistic.

For example, if a client is holding on to dresses that she dreams of fitting into one day, she will have to evaluate whether it is realistic or possible to lose that weight at this point in her life. Adina helps her clients preserve the memory in a different way, like through photographing the items. A: Attitude

What it may look like in you:

› “What’s the point, my kids or messy spouse make it impossible to be organized.” › “I grew up like this — there’s no hope.”

› “I’m a hoarder by nature; I can’t get organized.”

› “I’ll never get it perfectly done, so I may as well not do anything.”

What you may want to do about it in order to cut the clutter:

› Switch your mindset. Realize, the only thing holding you back from being organized is you.

› Acknowledge that these are all excuses. Decide you want things to change.

› Commit yourself to plowing through with your organizing commitments, despite any inconvenience that may arise. O: Out of Order

What it may look like in you:

› The rod for hanging clothes fell (impossible to hang clothes).

› A drawer is jammed (complicated to put folded laundry away).

› A closet is blocked by a different piece of furniture (too hard to put the toys away properly). What you may want to do about it in order to cut the clutter:

› Fix what’s broken. As simple as that. If one structurally cannot get organized, it will delay the organizing process. S: Schedules, or lack thereof

What this may look like in you:

› “I don’t have time to organize and maintain my home.”

› Lack of time management. You spend a lot of time on your phone or social media etc.

› Life events change. Some examples are marriage, birth of a baby, divorce, moving, a new job, etc. People may be naturally organized but are thrown for a loop by the change. What you may want to do about it in order to cut the clutter: › Understand and accept the change

› Design a good schedule and manage your time effectively in order to stay productive. › Change your organization systems to meet the demands of your new life.

How does Adina organize homes using her unique holistic method? After meeting and getting to know her client, she follows her own guide to organizing homes and lives, using the acronym CLASS.

C: Categorize. Adina and her client choose an area, a closet, or a room. They start by categorizing all items kept in that location.

L: Let go. This is a tough one for the “holder-ons.” They purge the space of any items not used, loved, or serving a purpose.

A: Assign a home/Address. They find a place for every item in your home. S: Store. They store possessions in bins, containers, and on shelves.

S: Sustain. They make sure that each system in place can be sustained.

“I organized a client’s home with her a while back,” Adina shares. “A month later, I stopped by and was taken aback when I saw her. She had lost a significant amount of weight and her clothing was literally big on her. I asked her ‘What happened? It looks like you lost weight.’ And she replied, ‘I’m not on any diet now, it’s just that now that my home is organized, I no longer draw comfort from food. My organized space gives me comfort.’” Several years ago, Adina’s grandmother passed away. Within an hour, Adina had to catch a flight to New York to attend the funeral. Just like that, she left her family behind. Adina’s then-five-year-old daughter managed to run the house. Of course, she didn’t cook and babysit, but she theoretically was able to run the house. She knew where everything belonged. That’s the success story of having amazing systems in place. Interestingly enough, this daughter was struggling with organization in school. Her teacher called Adina and told her that she wasn’t managing in school, being that her locker and supplies were such a wreck. “I was totally surprised. I’m a professional organizer and my home runs in systems. How could it be? Then I realized that systems are tailor-made for every area in my house.” Adina went to school with her daughter, and helped her organize and label her locker. She hasn’t struggled with organization in school since. It was so well-organized, that even during the homeschool period of COVID-19, she maintained her schoolwork beautifully.

“An old client called me recently. I had organized her home three years earlier, and she wanted to make some system changes and needed help implementing them. I walked into her house, and said ‘You definitely cleaned up before I came, didn’t you?’ She told me she hadn’t cleaned up for me. It was still as organized as it was three years earlier. And this was a creative personality. ‘You organized my home based on my personality. It was a breeze maintaining it.’”

“It’s mastering techniques that are aligned with you, your lifestyle,” Adina concludes. “It’s working with the way you naturally function, and not fighting it. When you spend the time delving into who you really are and integrating that with your organizational abilities, you’ll find the right solution not just to get organized, but stay organized! “By implementing a comprehensive approach to your physical environment, it allows your inner world to release blockages or restrictive beliefs you may have had to achieve success in your business, marriage, and relationships. It creates a space both physically and mentally for you to achieve more.” Adina can be contacted through Wellspring.

Av 5780 | Wellspring 51

Living Well

Growth Log By Gila Glassberg, MS, RD, CDN

chapter 2 Background

EE DOM R F

BYE, DIET. HELLO, LIFE. 52 Wellspring | August 2020

GILA: The first thing I do after our greetings is to gather Adina’s diet history. I want to know: What was your relationship with food as a child? What were the typical conversations about dieting, your body, and your weight when you were growing up? Were they positive or negative? Does anything in particular stand out for you when we bring up this topic?

ADINA: I’ve been on a diet since I can remember. The adults in my life often made comments about what I eat and how I’d gained weight. When garlic bread was served with dinner, I wasn’t allowed to have it. I’d get some baby carrots instead. For dessert, while my siblings munched on cake or devoured a bowl of ice cream, I was given a cup of fruit. I’ve hated my body ever since I can remember. I’ve tried Atkins, keto, and juicing. Even when I lose weight, I still don’t see myself as thin. I can’t even remember all the names of the diets I’ve been on. I think Weight Watchers worked best — as in, I really lost weight on it. Even though the thought of dieting makes me cringe, I keep trying to go back onto it again, but I can’t seem to do it. Ugh, I am so out of control. This is useless. Is it even worth it to try this?

GILA:

GILA: If you feel this way, then every time you eat garlic bread, for example, you may feel bad or defiant. You feel this guilt bubbling inside. Does that sound accurate?

ADINA: Yes. I’ve always felt that something was fundamentally wrong with me and I had to be fixed. My eating hasn’t really affected my health physically — but emotionally, I am so bothered by it.

GILA: Let’s do a body scan. What do you feel and where in your body do you feel it?

ADINA: It’s in my stomach. I am carrying all this tension in my stomach.

What are you looking to gain from trying another diet?

GILA: ADINA: Being thin makes me feel good, not so much physically as it does emotionally.

GILA: For many people, being thin is associated with being good. To them, it means they’re compliant, or pretty, or worthy. Every pound represents their every failure.

ADINA: That sounds like me.

The most special part of my job is reassuring Adina that she is beautiful and worthy, no matter what. In our first session, I debunk the diet rules and diet truisms she has been believing for years.

ADINA: I have never felt that I’m okay at this size. It was always about, “When I lose weight, then…” And weight loss has always been my goal. It’s really hard to put weight loss on the back burner when it has taken up so much of my life, so much of my head space. Dieting has always welcomed me with open arms. In the world of dieting, I felt comfortable. It felt superficially safe and familiar, at least appearing to be getting me to where I want to be. Av 5780 | Wellspring 53

Living Well

Growth Log

GILA: Let’s look at the research and what we know from experience. Most people (90–95%) who lose weight on a diet will gain it back within five years. About 60% gain back even more than they lost. At the same time, they gain something else: shame, guilt, and even hatred toward their body. Every food encounter becomes another reason to berate themselves.

ADINA: I can relate to this. I’m relieved that I won’t have to go on another diet to feel good, but I’m also confused and skeptical. Can this really be true when I’ve been taught the exact opposite since birth?

GILA: Dieting can actually create long-term weight gain for a few reasons. First, whenever we restrict calories or any food group, our body holds on to those calories. Pat your body on the back, because this is a survival mechanism at play — this very thing that you hate is your body doing a great job at helping you survive. Your body can’t differentiate between voluntarily restricting yourself and being lost in a desert with no food. So in order to save you, your body will hold on to the calories by slowing down your metabolism. Enough dieting and restriction may lead to long-term weight gain. Another way the body survives dieting is by cannibalizing its own muscle. Energy is really important to the body, and it will therefore destroy its own muscles to burn as fuel, and convert them to carbohydrates.

A third mechanism at play is something called “fat overshooting,” which is the loss of both fat and lean muscle tissues. This will trigger the body to gain more weight in the form of body fat to survive. Lastly, hormonal changes occur as a result of dieting, which can affect our weight and appetite.

Physiologically, we now know that our body has a set point weight range (a preset weight baseline hardwired in our DNA). Whenever it is threatened, a biological cascade takes place in order to maintain it. Linda Bacon, in her book Health at Every Size, likens this to a thermometer. The further you go from the center, the stronger the pull to get you back to the comfortable range.

Even when I lose weight, I still don't see myself as thin. I can't even remember all the names of the diets I've been on.

ADINA: If dieting doesn’t work — not even for the one reason I desperately need it — what does? I don’t want either obsession with food or weight loss to take over my life.

GILA: Let’s start with a twenty-four-hour diet recall so we can get an idea of what you’ve been doing until now and what does and doesn’t work for you.

to be continued...

Gila Glassberg is a master’s level registered dietitian and a certified intuitive eating counselor. She uses a non-diet, weight-neutral approach to help growth-oriented women break out of chronic dieting patterns, and regain clarity into what is really important to them. She can be contacted through her website: www.gilaglassberg.com, or via email at gilaglassberg@gmail.com. The name of her podcast is Get INTUIT with Gila.

54 Wellspring | August 2020

Living Well

Home Lab By Miriam Schweid

DIY

recipes for natural living

Kidney Support Weakened kidneys is among the unfortunate aftereffects of coronavirus. This simple mixture may help support kidney health and aid in their rehabilitation. A peer-reviewed clinical trial published in Lipids, among other studies, indicates that flaxseed is potent enough to facilitate healing in renal disease. It has shown great success in supporting kidney function in patients of all ages.

3 cups water 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

Bring water to a boil, then add flaxseed. Allow to cool and store in a glass bottle in the refrigerator. Start by ingesting 2–4 Tbsp of the mixture every day. If you are suffering from kidney stones, ingest up to 1 cup daily. This may help with eliminating stones quickly and effectively. This mixture is safe to use as prevention too, by taking 1–2 Tbsp daily. Patients on dialysis have reported improvement in their condition as well.

Coming Soon in Wellspring

Healthy-Ish Brokerage is my job. Learning is my passion. And I lead a healthy lifestyle too. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how I do it (with some help from my wife).

By Aryeh Leib

i was there too

These are the words of comfort I wish I'd be told Mindful vs. Mind-full That L makes all the difference

Wellbeing

Feature

58 Wellspring | August 2020

I Was There Too How comforting are these words? Here, 12 women recall the time when they needed to hear them most.

By Shiffy Friedman

Av 5780 | Wellspring 59

Wellbeing

Feature

Regret. Overwhelm. Confusion. Disappointment. Sadness. When we experience emotions that don’t feel comfortable, we take comfort in knowing that we’re not alone in feeling this way. Perhaps it’s the emotional spin on “tzaros rabim chatzi nechama,” the tribulations of many is half the consolation, an expression based on a teaching by Rebbe Yochanan (Midrash Rabbah), in the name of Rebbe Akiva: “Every tzarah that is individual is a tzarah; every tzarah that is not individual is not a tzarah.” One of the women I work with endured a painful loss due to COVID-19. While the tragedy was catastrophic, shocking, and profound, she said to me, “I know this sounds crazy because why would I want more people to suffer, but the feeling that others were going through what we were going through did something to ease the pain.” While feelings don’t have to be “normal” (see sidebar), it makes us feel better to know that we’re not alone in experiencing a particular emotion. In this feature, 12 women share when this knowledge would have meant so much to them. If any of these resonate with you, now you know you’re not alone.

Grows On You I’m supposed to be excited now? That was my biggest stressor right before and during my l’chaim. My future husband fit all (well, almost) the criteria on my dream list, and there were no red flags, but I wasn’t the excited kallah everyone else appeared to be. I believe the thought that I was the only one to feel this way was even more stressful than the actual reality, but everywhere I looked, kallahs were wreathed in smiles, on a high about their respective chassanim. Something was not right with me.

That was until a seminary friend from overseas called to wish me mazel tov. She had already gotten married and moved to Eretz Yisrael, and practically the first thing she told me when we spoke was how stressed out she had been about not being excited. Wow, the relief I experienced after that conversation made all the difference in how I felt throughout the engagement period. Every time I felt like, “What did I get myself into? Is this for me? Who says he’s the right one?” I remembered her words: It’s totally normal.

60 Wellspring | August 2020

Letting Go Marrying off an oldest child is essentially the culmination of all your wishes right there, before your eyes. Our Yaakov was marrying a lovely girl, everything he and we had envisioned. It was a beautiful simchah, with all of our family and lots of friends in attendance. Still, I felt so weird. Why was I feeling sad when what we had davened for was finally happening?

After the chuppah, I could not stop crying. During the chuppah, it looked “okay,” but afterward, I had to force myself to hold it all in. This was my son’s wedding, after all! My older sister-in-law, who is also a dear friend of mine, came over to me right then and said, “Just because you’re so happy for your son, doesn’t mean it’s not hard to let go. I feel you,” and those words were priceless.

Not Just the Bugaboo At the birthing class I attended before my first child was born, the instructor mentioned matter-of-factly, “Having a baby is not only about strolling down the avenue with your Bugaboo.” I didn’t really hear that right then, when I could not yet fathom what motherhood, especially brand new motherhood, meant.

It was only a few weeks later, after I had given birth, that I started to realize what this was all about. There were nights when I paced the kitchen floor, willing my daughter to finally, finally fall asleep; that the thought of “This is not what I signed up for!!” threatened to overwhelm my sleep-deprived self. I was aching all over, hovering between sleep and wakefulness all day long, pining for just an hour — just an hour — of solid sleep, of a pain-free body. I wished someone would tell me right then, “This is how it was for me too!” All I remembered seeing was smiling mothers wheeling sleeping babies. What was wrong with me?

I’ve been a mom for twelve years now, baruch Hashem, and while I hate to be the party pooper, I tell this to many expectant first-time mothers, and to new moms too: It’s not only about strolling down the avenue with your baby. Motherhood is beautiful, but that precious bundle may come along with a lot of sleep deprivation, feeding discomfort, and aches and pains. Your life will never be the same, but you will im yirtzeh Hashem get used to a very wonderful new normal.

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Wellbeing

Feature

The Parts That I Miss After I divorced my ex-husband, I was especially sensitive. Somehow, what bothered me most was when people would say, “Now you can forget about the past and move on.” To someone who hasn’t been through this, this sounds perfectly sensible, but, as much as I was relieved to be over with the marriage, I didn’t want to let go of the past. There were good times we had together too — times that I would miss for a long, long time. Times that I would cry about and long for too.

This is what I wish a fellow divorced woman would have told me: “It’s true that you couldn’t live together, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t times that you miss.” When I tell that to divorcees today, who have shared their stories with me and I can see this resonating with them, their eyes light up.

Where’s the Bubble? I wish wish wish someone would have told me that shanah rishonah is not supposed to be blissful! I went into marriage “knowing” that shanah rishonah is pure bliss, that you're in this bubble for a year straight, and other such ideas. Well, shanah rishonah for me was nothing like that. It was plain hard, and so, so challenging.

First, there was getting used to the marriage part of things, then there was understanding the differences between how men and women operate. And for me, personally, there was also this huge culture shock because my husband is Israeli and I’m American.

But, in hindsight, what made it even harder was that I had this image of what shanah rishonah was “supposed” to look like, and since mine was nothing like that image, I was way more bothered by it, and instead of letting time work its magic, I kept trying to push things — which just backfired. I've since spoken to many newlyweds — friends, sisters, family — and it seems like it's actually more common to struggle through shanah rishonah than to glide through it.

Baruch Hashem we made it through that year, and now we joke about how our shanah rishonah was the second year of our marriage (the challenges of that first year made us stronger, and we emerged way more connected because of them). I wish someone would have told me that shanah rishonah could be hard work, and that I just need to let time do its thing, and that it's perfectly normal to struggle — and that there's nothing wrong with me, my husband, or our marriage if we don't feel this magical connection right away. It would have saved us so much heartache.

62 Wellspring | August 2020

Made in Heaven Within weeks of getting married, I realized that my husband and I have almost nothing in common. We didn’t enjoy the same things, and whatever interested him was beyond my understanding. We have vastly different views on managing money, as well as practically every other topic under the sun. Our personalities are worlds apart, as are our modes of communication. Even our families have very little in common. We are as different as heaven and earth in every single area. The only thing we have in common is our values, long-term goals and vision for building a family. (That’s how we even got married in the first place!) When I first realized this, I was devastated. I saw myself divorced within a year, because who ever heard of such a shidduch surviving?

I would literally count the days and weeks as they went by, shocked with each passing day that I was still married, all the while waiting for it to all blow up. I liked my husband, admired him, and thought he was a fantastic person — although for the life of me I could not figure out what made him tick, at least for that first year. And I didn’t tell a soul about this. For about a year, I l walked around thinking that this was not going to last.

As time went on, I slowly realized that a person can have a fulfilling, deep, and strong relationship without all the external and even internal similarities that society deems important for happily married couple to possess.

Yes, we've had our ups and downs, but as long as two people who respect each other and want the other to be happy are able to make peace with their differences, nothing else matters.

It’s now five years and three kids later, and in my wildest dreams I couldn’t have ever imagined being so happily married. I wish someone would have told this to me earlier. I was a conscientious student in high school and seminary, and listened carefully to the shalom bayis lessons on working out differences, but I was always under the assumption that first the couple has to be perfectly compatible in order for them to work out the minute differences that may come up. I had never come across the concept that a couple that doesn’t have anything at all in common can not only stay married but truly be happily married. Had someone explained this point to me somewhere along the way, it would have spared me a year’s worth of agmas nefesh.

Wellbeing

Feature

Not the Regular Morning Sickness When I was going through HG (Hyperemesis gravidarum) during my pregnancies, feeling intensely nauseous, dehydrated, and literally vomiting all day, I wished I had someone who understood exactly what I was going through. It’s not something you could understand unless you’ve experienced the same thing. Having people try to sympathize with me because they had morning sickness or nausea just made me feel more isolated because I felt like no one in the world could understand. I felt misunderstood (by my doctors as well), lonely and scared (of not being able to survive the horror), miserable (physically, from how I was feeling), and also very guilty (for not being able to fully be there for my husband and child).

Land of My Dreams In high school and seminary and when I was in shidduchim, there was nothing I wanted more than marry a ben Torah and move to Eretz Yisrael. I envisioned a life of bliss there. But then, when my dream actually came to fruition, it was nothing like I had pictured it would be. There was the homesickness, the loneliness, the culture difference, and also the profound disappointment. I wish someone would have told me that I wouldn’t love Eretz Yisroel to pieces the second I got here. The only thing I’d ever heard was “You’ll loooooove it. You won’t want to come back ever.” And there I was, practically miserable for the first few months. Now I'm so happy to be here, but it took time. A lot of it.

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Always a Mother I remember thinking one day soon after the birth of my first child, “What on earth did I get myself into? I can never ‘unmother’ myself. This is a responsibility for life!”

The feeling itself was overwhelming, and the skyrocketing hormonal levels only exacerbated them, but all everyone was telling me was “Mazel tov! Enjoy her! So delicious…” No one mentioned that it’s normal to feel overwhelmed, so you feel like you're doing something wrong by feeling so. Even at birthing classes, this wasn’t mentioned. It was all about “the prize, and it’ll be worth it once you hold that bundle in your arms. Birthing is a beautiful experience.”

And that's all true. It is beautiful, the bundle is worth it, and you should have much nachas, but feeling overwhelmed at the same time is not a contradiction.

My community has a track record of shoving certain things under the rug (which is baruch Hashem improving over time). Letting a new first-time mom know what to expect emotionally from herself in that week after birth is important. A new mother-to-be needs to be told, “You will feel extremely overwhelmed. Your life will never be the same. It’s normal, it passes, every experienced mother you see on the street went through this at first.”

So now, every time a friend or sister of mine has their first, I call to wish mazel tov, and I make sure to throw in, “I know no one else told this to you, but I remember my first. I was freaked out and overwhelmed at the thought that this is a responsibility for life, and I can never undo it. Know that it’s is normal, and it passes. And when it sinks in after a week or so, you'll never want to give up mothering for anything.”

Each and every time I say this, the new mother responds with something along the lines of, “Wow! Thank you so much for telling this to me. I'm experiencing these emotions, but I didn't feel comfortable sharing them with anyone since all the first time mothers I've encountered seem to totally relish the joy of a first birth. I thought something was wrong that I was having these overwhelmed feelings.” The above should not to be confused with PPD. My experience was with the typical slight panic and overwhelmed feeling at the thought of mothering for life.

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Wellbeing

Feature

Back to Normal, Please During the whole coronavirus quarantine period, I kept hearing people say, “This is not so bad. It’s actually nice to have the kids home for a while!” And every time I heard that, I cringed. For me, it was hard. Not because any of my kids are especially difficult, but because I need my space and this was all too much for me. When friends would tell me, “Today we did this and tomorrow we’re doing that,” I seriously thought something was not okay with me. Why did I only have patience for the bare minimum? Why did I have absolutely zero energy to do more? One time, when my neighbor was telling me about an activity she was trying with her kids, all of my frustration came rushing out. The poor woman just stood there looking lost, her eyes screaming, “I’m not a therapist!” And I don’t think I needed one; I just wanted to hear that I wasn’t the only one wishing this quarantine would go away.

Not Ready for This A few months after my husband passed away, my first granddaughter got married. The family was so happy for me that we were having a simchah so soon, but I could not gather my strength to fully be there in spirit. When I let my daughter know that I wouldn’t be attending the aufruf, I could sense her upset. I wished everyone would understand me for needing more time to heal.

The night before the wedding, a neighbor who I knew vaguely and had also been widowed young knocked on my door with a platter of fruit and a beautiful card. “Simchahs just aren’t the same now,” she commiserated. “Everyone just wants to see that you’re smiling and happy, but what you really want to do is just cry.” And then I cried on her shoulder for a long time. We’ve been close friends since.

Love at First Sight? After I gave birth to my first child, I was so weak I couldn’t even take a shower on my own. I had gone through a very rough pregnancy and I thought that when the baby would be born, the misery would be all over. I thought just looking at the baby would fill my heart with love and that I would simply revel in motherhood. Instead, I found myself feeling resentful toward my new baby. I did not feel that instant connection I’d read and heard about. I remember asking my mother, “Why didn’t anyone tell me that this is how it really feels?” I know it’s not this way for everyone, but knowing that I wasn’t the only crazy one would have helped.

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No Normal

Emotions don't have to be legitimate One of the most common questions I get from women who are experiencing emotions that feel uncomfortable to them is, “Is this normal?” Whether we’re overwhelmed or resentful or experience any other feeling that doesn’t feel “sensible” to us, we may find the lack of logic disconcerting. We may feel meek or juvenile or rude for feeling the way we do.

All of these emotions emanate from the flawed understanding that emotions should somehow be connected to logic, that the way we feel must make sense. In truth, however, the two are unrelated. Emotions are what they are; they need not be explained, understood, or justified. (This does not apply to acting upon them.) This misconception does not especially impact our positive emotions, because when we’re happy or feel loved or content, the whys and hows matter little. But when it comes to negative emotions, when we try to ascertain whether they “make sense” or not, we find ourselves shifting our focus from what we’re really feeling to the logic behind it. The more we move away from the emotion, and enter our mind, we lose touch with ourselves. Simply acknowledging, “This is how I feel right now. Whether this makes sense or not is irrelevant because this is how I feel,” goes a long way in enabling us to be there for ourselves in a time of

crisis. It enables us to be present in the emotion, and to eventually move past it in a way that is beneficial to our wellbeing. (If you find that your emotions are debilitating and/or a handicap to functioning, please seek guidance to help you deal with them properly.)

Since emotions don’t have to make sense, we may find ourselves feeling several of them simultaneously. We can feel happy and sad, hope and despair at the same time. Denying that we feel any of these emotions because they’re not “appropriate,” our Sages note, is contrary to the truth. Based on the gemara in Berachos, the Shulchan Aruch (223:1) rules that when a father passes away and bequeaths his sons with a sizable yerushah, they are obligated to recite the brachah of hatov vehameitiv, thanking Hashem for His good. (If there is only one heir, the son recites shehecheyanu.) While logically, we may view this as inappropriate, emotionally, that would be denying the truth — because the emotion is there. The Torah is emes. Feeling more than one emotion simultaneously, including emotions that don’t seem “appropriate,” is a very human reality. Denying that we’re feeling them does not make them disappear, whereas acknowledging them gives them their space for us to feel them and move on.

In her practice as an LMSW, Shiffy Friedman realized that her knowledge in psychology was not helpful in healing the infinitely profound nefesh. An intensive search led her to discover the Torah’s direction toward a more connected life. To sign up to receive Shiffy’s weekly message on this subject, write to emotionalwellnessthroughTorah@gmail.com

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Wellbeing

Emotional Eating By Shira Savit

Are You Eating with Two Ls or One?

Three questions to ask yourself “Mindfulness” is a very popular term nowadays. We are advised to be more mindful in our parenting, relationships, tefillah, and mitzvos, and of course, we are encouraged to be “mindful eaters.” Although eating mindfully — paying attention to taste, smell, texture, etc. — is definitely the best way to enjoy the blessing of food Hashem has given us, and can help us have a healthy relationship with food, the goal of this article is not to teach you how to master mindful eating. It is to become aware of whether you are eating with two Ls or one.

I am mind-full. I am not present, not engaged in what is going on in the moment. On the contrary, when I am mindful, I am here. I am focusing on what Hashem has given me in my life, right now, at this moment, and making conscious decisions. I am connected to how I am feeling now, as opposed to what happened yesterday or what I anticipate will take place in the future.

It’s pretty simple. You see, the terms “mindful” and “mind-full” are inherently opposite. When my mind is full of all different thoughts,

Baila had been attempting to lose weight for years. She had been to dozens of nutritionists and weight-loss groups, and had read all

68 Wellspring | August 2020

Let’s see how this relates to our relationship with food by demonstrating how Baila learned to differentiate between mind-full eating and mindful eating, and helped herself let go of that extra L.

the diet books, to no avail. Every time Baila sat down to eat, her mind was full of details: counting the points and calories, weighing her food, remembering how much she was “allowed” to have. All of this “tracking” really distracted Baila from enjoying her food. She was also full of questions and judgments: Will these almonds make me fat? Why are the numbers on the scale not going down? I wish I had more discipline and self-control. Baila said that although some diets worked better than others, she always felt guilty when she “cheated.” She would then find herself bingeing on foods that weren’t allowed on her diet because she’d anyway “blown it.” Baila was consumed by her worries, fears, and feelings about her food and weight.

Baila explained that her husband normally came home at 8:00 p.m. and had dinner then — but she never, ever, ate dinner with him out of fear that she would gain weight if she ate later than 7:00.

In our work together, Baila learned to recognize what her relationship with food had been like until then. I taught Baila to ask herself questions in order to become more aware of the circumstances around her eating. For example, she began to ask herself: “Why am I eating now?” I asked her to decide whether she was “eating for fuel” (i.e., mindful) or “eating because of a rule” (i.e. mind-full).

Over time, Baila began to help herself shift toward eating for fuel. One way she did this was by concentrating when reciting the berachah before she ate; she would remind herself that she was eating to have energy to serve Hashem and take care of herself and her family. We also worked together to help her identify the times she was eating because of a trigger (mind-full). Instead, she learned to identify what she was actually emotionally hungry for at those moments.

I also advised Baila to ask herself: “When am I eating?” Was she eating when she was physically hungry (mindful) or when she was “allowed” to or “not allowed to” (mind-full)? Baila concluded that her eating tended to be based on timing. She admitted that this was partly because she had heard that eating after 7:00 p.m was not conducive to weight loss. When we discussed this further, Baila explained that her husband normally came home at 8:00

p.m. and had dinner then — but she never, ever, ate dinner with him out of fear that she would gain weight if she ate later than 7:00. She felt like a “bad wife” because, in reality, she wanted to eat together with him. Baila slowly learned how to tune into her own body’s hunger and fullness levels with the structured tools I gave her. Sometimes she would eat dinner earlier, sometimes she would eat with her husband, and sometimes she would sit and have a snack while he ate his meal. She began to follow her body’s cues to determine when she needed to eat.

Baila continued the work by asking herself: “How am I eating?” I asked Baila to reflect on the following questions while eating: How do I feel about my food choices? Am I hiding, feeling guilty, or eating on the go — or am I present, and eating intentionally?

Baila observed that most of the time, she ate in a fast-paced, rushed manner, so we worked on helping her become more connected to the actual experience of eating. For example, she learned to slow down by putting her fork down in between bites. This was also where we worked on the more technical aspects of mindful eating. Baila made the effort to pay more attention to the details of her food, taking note of flavor, smell, color, and texture at least once a day. Gradually, Baila learned to be aware of her physical sensations, thoughts, and feelings while eating, and then felt empowered to make choices. Rather than worrying about details and how much or how little control she had, Baila became more in touch with herself. This meant that sometimes she would choose to eat when she was hungry, and sometimes she would choose to stop eating when her body had enough. Sometimes she opted for the salad and sometimes she chose the cookies. She learned that there were no rights or wrongs in her food choices. Baila accepted that sometimes she would savor and gain pleasure and delight from her food, and other times she would eat while distracted. But that was OK with her because she felt a lot lighter without that extra L!

Shira Savit, MA, CHC, MHC is a mental health counselor with multiple certifications in nutrition and health. She specializes in helping her clients with weight loss, emotional eating, and binge eating. Her unique approach incorporates both nutritional and emotional factors to help her clients reach their goals. Shira has a private practice in Yerushalayim and also works with women in any location via phone or Skype. She can be reached at 516-978-7800 or Shirasavit@gmail.com.

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ISSUE 55

AUGUST â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;20 AV 5780

Get Grilling 2 quick and easy barbecue recipes My Table What's for summer dinner?

It's Tuesday Again Fakeout is the way to go

Index Page

Hot Off the Grill

BARBECUE RECIPES

Page

SWAP

Page

SUGAR SUBSTITUTES

Day by Day

TUESDAY

MY TABLE

TIDBITS

SUMMER DINNER

E FOR ESSENTIALS

P. 92

P. 95

Dear Cooks, The unanimous vote for summer dinner, it seems, is barbecue. That’s the go-to menu for most contributors in My Table, as well as almost everyone I know. But grilling doesn’t only have to happen in its full-fledged version. I like to do it all year round in my grill pan, and the outcome is fantastic. Of course, the flavors and excitement don’t compare to the “real thing,” but the prep and mess aren’t comparable either, in a good way. All it takes is a few seconds for the pan to heat up and before I know it, there are gorgeous (can’t think of a better word!) grill lines forming on the cutlets. Chicken and meat aren’t the only main dishes that go well on the grill. In this issue of Seasoned, the Levines bring us a fabulous recipe for the perfect slice of grilled salmon. And you don’t want to pass up on the grilled veggies on the side. For when you don’t want to do the grilling thing, Charnie brings us two excellent recipes that are just right for Tuesday and all week long, especially on days when you’re not in the mood for heavy cooking. (Wait, is that every day?) These recipes are the closest we can get to actually treating you to a well-deserved wholesome meal. Summer is the time when we all want to take it easy, especially now that we’re starting to rehabilitate from several chaotic months. Give yourself the space you need to take it easy, to breathe in the summer air, while nurturing your body with foods that leave you feeling good. To a wonderful rest of your summer,

Est her Pinch of Health

To bring down the carb count and up the nutrient content in your potato kugel, swap two potatoes (in a recipe of 6-8 potatoes) for two medium-sized zucchinis. The result is a creamier, healthier, and tastier kugel. Submitted by Kayla B., Swan Lake, New York

Thanks, Kayla! Have a healthy cooking tip to share with your Wellspring community? Please send it our way at info@wellspringmagazine.com.

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make every occasion

Hot Off the Grill Being separated from family and friends for a while was not simple, to say the least. Now that summer is here and life is gradually returning to (semi-)normal, I enjoy spending time at the grill, surrounded by friends and family. I love every part of the process: the preparation, the delicious aromas, and of course, watching the satisfaction of my guests as the fresh food comes off the grill. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to start barbecue nights again! Here are twoÂ of my favorites for grilling with company. When I host a barbecue for a crowd, I like to serve buffet-style so that the food gets served hot and fresh off the grill. Also, this way, I could enjoy the company too.

Recipes, styling, and photography by Yossi & Malky Levine

Honey Paprika Grilled Chicken Kebabs This spice blend marinade is my favorite and mostused recipe for grilling chicken. It works great with baby chicken, dark chicken, or chicken breast. When grilling vegetables, I like to skewer the variety of vegetables separately so I could properly grill each vegetable for the amount of time it needs. It's also a great crowd pleaser because everyone could choose the veggies they prefer. 3 lbs chicken cubes or strips Marinade Â˝ cup oil Â˝ cup honey 2 Tbsp paprika 1 Tbsp garlic powder 2 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper Vegetables mini peppers portobello mushrooms shallots Campari tomatoes cauliflower oil salt and pepper Combine all marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag or plastic container and marinate chicken for 4 hours or overnight. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat. Skewer the chicken and grill for 6â&#x20AC;&#x201C;7 minutes per side. Meanwhile, toss vegetables in oil, salt, and pepper. Skewer them and grill over medium-high heat for 4 minutes. Flip and grill for an additional 4 minutes.

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Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon This is a simple and elegant technique for cooking salmon. The fish steams gently in the heat of the grill, staying incredibly tender and moist. It also picks up smoky flavors from the grill and woodsy flavors from the cedar. Yum!

3 lbs side of salmon fillet 5 frozen garlic cubes 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp lemon juice 5–6 sprigs rosemary 2 Tbsp kosher salt 2 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper ¹⁄₃ cup dark brown or coconut sugar 2 lemons (thinly sliced) Supplies 1–2 cedar planks

Soak cedar plank(s) in water for 1–2 hours. Place a heavyweight item on top of the plank so it’s fully submerged in water. Heat grill to medium-high and place cedar plank on the grate until it starts to smoke (about 10 minutes), then flip plank and wait for it to smoke again. Combine garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Cut 4 large slits into the salmon fillet and spread garlic mixture on fillet and into slits. Fill slits with rosemary sprigs. Combine salt, pepper, and sugar, and rub over entire fillet. Place salmon fillet on cedar plank(s) and grill for 45 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Note: Please consult with your halachic authority regarding using a fleishig grill for fish.

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Eat Well

SWAP By Yossi & Malky Levine

SWA P Many of us are under the impression that if we want to lead a healthy lifestyle, we have to part from many of our favorite foods that don’t fit the bill. Here, in SWAP, we’ll show you how you can still have that favorite cake you’ve grown up with or the dessert that has been gracing your Shabbos table for years now. You can use your favorite recipe; it’s just a matter of switching ingredients for smarter alternatives.

Sugar Substitutes This month, let’s look at sugar substitutes in liquid form. The list includes honey, maple syrup, date syrup, stevia drops, and agave.

These are most useful in recipes for liquids, such as drinks, sauces, and dressings. While most of these contain ample health benefits and are unprocessed or less processed than table sugar or artificial sweeteners, keep in mind that they metabolize as sugar in the body, as do fruits, and should be treated as such.

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Date syrup, made purely from the sap of

dates, was once only found in health food stores, but is now widely available in supermarkets. Dates are rich in potassium, iron, and fiber. Date syrup works well in drinks and sauces because it adds substance, and the flavor is not overpowering. I use date syrup in ice cream, smoothies, as well as when roasting vegetables like carrots or beets.

Honey, the sweet food substance made by bees from

nectar collected from flowers, is a naturally-occurring sweetener that has been used in cooking for centuries. It’s great for dressings, smoothies, sweet and sour sauces, and hot drinks, but not recommended in baking as it is difficult to measure and doesn’t create a crumbly structure. Although it’s a healthier alternative to sugar, honey is high in calories. On the positive side, it contains antioxidants and has a lower glycemic index than sugar, as well as being anti-inflammatory and also antibacterial. So the “old wives’ tale” of taking a spoonful of honey is actually true! It really is great for general wellbeing. The best part about using honey as a substitute is that most people generally have it in their pantries, so a switch can be made without buying special ingredients. Ratio for substitution: 1 cup sugar = ¾ cup honey.

Maple syrup (real) is made from the sap of the

maple tree. Many nutrients are naturally found in pure maple syrup, including zinc, potassium, manganese, thiamine, calcium, iron, magnesium, and riboflavin. Zinc is beneficial to heart health, is an antioxidant, and is also involved in important bodily functions such as cellular growth and regeneration. Simply by switching from sugar to maple syrup, you are immediately increasing the nutritional value of the dish.

However, maple syrup does have a unique and distinctive flavor, so it’s best used in recipes that also have strong flavors, like marinades, salad dressings, and dessert toppings.

Chef tip: Real maple syrup can be expensive. Check the label before buying — maple-flavored syrup is not the real deal and is a manufactured copy with zero health benefits.

Ratio for substitution is 1 cup sugar = ¾ cup maple syrup.

Agave is derived from a large spiky succulent that grows

in Mexico which provides both agave nectar and tequila. The mild syrup is extracted and filtered from the core of the plant. It has become popular in cooking and baking, because unlike many other liquid sugars, it has a relatively neutral taste. Agave works great in iced tea as a sweetener or as a topping for pancakes or French toast. Ratio for substitution is 1 cup sugar = ⅔ cup agave.

Liquid stevia is extracted from the leaves of

the stevia plant and is usually sold in bottles with a dropper. Since it is extremely potent — 1 cup of sugar = 1 tsp stevia — exercise caution with the ratio of your ingredients. Make sure to choose the 100 percent pure unrefined version when purchasing. Stevia is useful for just adding one or two drops to gently sweeten a drink or a sauce without adding extra liquid. I use liquid stevia in cocktails instead of simple syrup, and also for hot drinks and homemade ice creams.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now that the Cabernet vines have grown older and our knowledge has improved, one can say that the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is reaching new heights every year.â&#x20AC;? Golan Flam, Winemaker

Product of Israel

All-Purpose Balsamic Vinaigrette There are plenty of robust flavors in this fabulous dressing, so maple syrup will work perfectly to balance them out. This dressing is incredibly versatile and can be used on a basic green salad, layered salads, or simply poured over sliced tomatoes. Prepare this in just a few minutes, and you’ll be looking forward to your salad every day of the week.

5 cloves garlic 2 Tbsp maple syrup 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt ½ cup balsamic vinegar ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients in a container. Use an immersion blender to blend ingredients until smooth. Cover and store in the fridge for up to a week.

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by day y a d With Charnie Kohn

What’s on the menu for…

tuesday?

It’s on this day, right in the middle of the week, when you may find yourself feeling most overwhelmed with the daily grind. No matter where you're spending your summer, this may be the day of the week when you want to take a cooking break. That makes takeout oh so tempting. You want good comfort food without much work on your part. But, takeout food is usually loaded with ingredients that aren’t good for you. Besides, why wait around for the food to arrive or trek out to get it when you can put it together in your own kitchen in just a few minutes? Enter fakeout. In my dictionary, that’s takeout-style food at home that takes under thirty minutes to prepare. And it’s good for your body, too. How’s that for a terrific Tuesday? Happy Cooking, Charnie

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Breakfast Burritos According to a study released by UberEats, a popular food delivery service, one of the most popular food items that people order is burritos. Why not enjoy this delicious breakfast/lunch sans the ingredients you’d be better off without? In under fifteen minutes, you can create it in the comfort of your home!

 Yields: 2  Cooking time: 15 minutes

2 whole wheat wraps 4 eggs ¼ cup milk ½ avocado leafy greens of your choice Salsa 2 cups canned diced tomatoes 2 cubes frozen garlic juice of ½ lime 1 Tbsp honey 1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped 1 tsp salt ¹⁄₈ tsp black pepper ¹⁄₈ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for salsa and mix well. Pour eggs and milk into a pot and season lightly with salt and pepper. Scramble over medium heat. Remove from pan and set aside. Spread some avocado, greens, salsa, and eggs on each wrap. Tuck in the two ends and roll up, burrito style. Toast in the pan for about two minutes each side. Note: To avoid a soggy wrap, don’t fill the burrito with too much salsa.

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Better for You Beef and Broccoli Beef and broccoli is a typical dish in many restaurants. Does it bother you to see how such a seemingly wholesome meal is drowned in unhealthy sauces? Me too. Making it at home can cut down on three-quarters of the calories, and it’s so simple to prepare.

 Yields: 4 portions  Total cooking time: 25 minutes

1 lb London broil ¼ cup oil 1 bag frozen broccoli florets ½ cup low sodium soy sauce 4 Tbsp honey 4 cloves garlic, crushed 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp salt 1 tsp ground ginger ¼ tsp black pepper ¹⁄₈ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Slice meat against the grain into thin strips. Heat oil over mediumhigh heat in a skillet. Sear meat strips for sixty to ninety seconds. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add broccoli to skillet and allow to cook for 5–10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, honey, garlic, sesame oil, salt, ginger, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Pour into heated pan. Simmer for five minutes or until slightly reduced. Add meat and broccoli and cook for three more minutes. Serve over a bed of rice.

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In the pages of Wellspring, we share expert advice from some of the community’s most popular and competent dietitians and nutritionists. In this column, you get to see how they practice what they preach in their own kitchens. Pull up a chair at “My Table” and join the chat.

Summer Dinner This Month:

What is your favorite summer dinner? Something light and easy that you keep preparing for yourself and your family, especially on afternoons when you prefer being out of the kitchen and in the sunshine.

Compiled by Shiffy Friedman

Shani Taub, CDC: Grilled salmon, with grilled veggies on the side. For the kids, I’ll grill chicken cutlets and serve a fresh salad as well.

Dr. Rachael Schindler:

My favorite summer meal is grilled steak and chicken marinated in a little olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. We put zucchini on the grill, sliced sideways, and my kids love it along with baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, and an easy avocado-cucumber salad with no-sugar Caesar dressing. We make iced tea with lots of ice and sip it from a straw. Usually we have no room for dessert but for when we want it, frozen bananas dipped in chocolate are our go-to choice. I mix a bar of sugar-free pareve chocolate with some coconut oil, melted in the microwave for 30 seconds (or use any other oil), then dip the bananas into the mixture and freeze them on parchment paper. I also freeze grapes and my kids love to pick them off the tray with toothpicks. So refreshing! Leftover grilled chicken, if you have any, works great in wraps for the next day.

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Bashy Halberstam, INHC This is what I had for dinner the other day, served with a slice of salmon. It was a delicious, wholesome meal! Wonder Noodles are low-carb, ready-to-eat noodles that basically take on the taste of the sauce they’re eaten with. With a sauce like this one, you have a fabulous meal for yourself. Vegetable Wonder Noodles 1 package Wonder Noodles (or brown rice pasta) oil for sautéing 1 large onion 1 red pepper 1 orange pepper 1 yellow pepper 1 can whole mushrooms ½ Tbsp salt pepper, to taste Cut vegetables into strips, then cut strips into three. Sauté the onion in oil. Add peppers and sauté until soft, about half an hour. Meanwhile, prepare the noodles by removing both packets from the package, pouring it into a colander and rinsing. Set aside. Add the mushrooms along with some liquid to the pan. Continue sautéing. When the mushrooms are heated through, add the wonder noodles. Continue sautéing until the noodles are nice and hot.

Shiffy Friedman: I’ve mentioned this idea here before, but every time I prepare vegetable skewers for my kids, and I watch them finish them off in no time, I make a mental note of reminding my Wellspring community about this quick and easy vegetable side dish. I cut red and yellow peppers into squares, slice cucumbers into rounds, and skewer them in a fun pattern, using olives too. (Juicy vegetables like tomatoes don’t work well here.) Especially when there’s too much fun outside to sit and eat at the table for too long, the kids enjoy their vegetable “lollipops” while at play, either before or after their main course.

Shira Savit, MA, MHC, CHC: In our home, lunch is typically the biggest/main meal of the day (which I also advise in meal planning with clients), so our dinners are creative, fun, and easy. My goal for summer dinners is to have something for the family that is nutritious, light, and enjoyable. Our favorite dinner is protein-packed pancakes with smoothies. The pancakes are made with whole spelt flour, organic plant-based chocolate protein powder, eggs, baking powder, and almond milk. We mix frozen fruit in our blender with some orange juice or rice milk for a refreshing smoothie. The best part is that my son makes the pancakes and my daughter makes the smoothies. That’s a win/win for everyone!

Gila Glassberg, RDN, Intuitive Eating Coach: Baked-schnitzel salad is a favorite around here, especially when we have leftover schnitzel from Shabbos. I throw together lettuce, cucumbers, pickles, peaches (no kidding! Especially with the abundance we had thanks to school lunches), avocado, peppers, and red onions. I add diced schnitzel, then crush in some sweet potato chips as a topping. For the dressing, I combine olive oil, mayonnaise, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, garlic cubes, cilantro cubes, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and mustard. As you can see, my salad dressings have lots of flavors. You don’t need a lot of mayo and oil, just enough to emulsify, and you have a great dressing right there.

Tanya Rosen, Nutritionist: Since I love barbecues in summertime, grilled chicken is one favorite. But my real favorite summer dinner is my Balsamic Chicken Wraps along with veggie skewers. I love the salty, garlicky taste of the balsamic chicken together with the grilled taste of all different types of vegetables — so good! 4–6 oz chicken cutlets, cubed 1–2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated, or 1 cube frozen ginger 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ¼ Tbsp onion powder salt and pepper, to taste 4 medium cabbage leaves, separated In a medium-sized bowl, mix together garlic, ginger, vinegar, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Toss in chicken pieces and coat. Cook chicken in a frying pan over medium heat until cooked through, about 10–12 minutes. Tear up two cabbage leaves and add to chicken mixture. Continue cooking until cabbage is slightly softened, about 3–4 minutes. Spread chicken mixture onto two remaining cabbage leaves and roll into wraps. Serve immediately.

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Discover why La Fruttaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s famous fruit pop bars are a sensation across the world!

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Eat Well

Nutrition Tidbits in the News By Malka Sharman

For Essential 8 Food Sources for Vitamin E Getting enough vitamin E, a fat-soluble compound with antioxidant properties, is essential for the immune system, and may increase expression of certain enzymes that widen blood vessels. Most importantly, according to extensive research, including a 2015 study published in Biomolecules and Therapeutics, vitamin E can also improve skin health by reducingÂ collagenÂ breakdown and free radical damage in the skin. Therefore, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not surprising that vitamin E, in its many forms, is commonly used to heal bruises, burns, or cracked skin. Plenty of foods contain vitamin E, which means you can get enough of the vitamin naturally through your diet, but during the summer months, when most of us need higher doses of vitamin E (think bruises, burns), we can benefit tremendously from upping our intake. Here are eight great super-sources of this vital nutrient.

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Eat Well

Nutrition Tidbits in the News

Sunflower Seeds

Almonds

These tiny yet tasty seeds are an excellent source of vitamin E — a 100-gram (3.5oz) serving of sunflower seeds contains a whopping 35.17 milligrams of the vitamin. Additionally, sunflower seeds are packed with a variety of nutrients, such as potassium and fiber, to support digestive health.

In case you’re not yet obsessed with this nutrient-dense nut, here’s one more reason to reach for some almonds. For every 100-gram serving of almonds, there’s 25.63 mg of vitamin E. That’s even more than the recommended daily intake!

Spinach Avocado This versatile fruit contains a significant amount of vitamin E. Besides, avocados contain very little sugar and plenty of other nutrients such as vitamin C and potassium, rendering them a healthful addition to a meal or snack.

One more reason to serve your kids — and yourself — a plate of spinach! Spinach, especially in its raw form (as spinach leaves) boasts a high amount of vitamin E, as well as many other important nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber.

Butternut Squash Although we don’t generally associate this vegetable with summer, you may want to remember this as soon as fall rolls around. Bake them, or create a delicious butternut squash soup and have your children delight in this savory gourd.

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Olive Oil Although this common oil doesn’t contain a high dose of vitamin E, it still contains more vitamin E than the other commonly-used cooking oils. So if your usual choice is canola or vegetable oil, you may want to switch over to the healthier alternative.

Kiwi This summer fruit doesn’t only make for a nice presentation. Kiwi is a great source for vitamin E as well as other vitamins and minerals. Even more so, with its whopping 84-percent water content, kiwi is a go-to fruit in the summer, when hydration is especially essential.

Spice It Up For immediate antiinflammatory health benefits

Broccoli Cook it, steam it, bake it, or enjoy to munch on it raw. This versatile vegetable possesses much-needed vitamin E, in addition to its high iron, calcium, and vitamin C content.

In addition to the flavor and zing that spices lend to even the blandest dishes, they provide important health benefits too. That’s not news, but what a recent study has shown is that some of those benefits happen very soon after the spices are ingested. The study, published in Journal of Nutrition, conducted by researchers from Penn State, found that adding six grams of a blend of basil, bay leaf, black pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, ginger, oregano, parsley, red pepper, rosemary, thyme, or turmeric to a high-fat and processedcarbohydrate meal lowers levels of body inflammation hours later. Defeating inflammation, which is implicated in the development of some cancers, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, is essential for restoring overall health. So get in the kitchen, and prep your chicken with a generous homemade blend of spices and herbs. The reward? A fabulous-tasting meal with anti-inflammatory properties.

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Dictionary

Neophobia Definition: noun

extreme or irrational fear or dislike of anything new, novel, or unfamiliar

â&#x20AC;&#x153; â&#x20AC;? The biggest factor in

determining when food

neophobia will end is how the parents approach the obstacle.

Yaffi Lvova, RDN, Cover Feature

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