Naturopathic Source

The good

Working out to relieve stress is great because you are burning off all those stress hormones which, if they sit around in your system, have negative effects on your organs and tissues.

And then there's the fact that regular exercise is good for you, for a whole host of reasons that are not the focus of this post.

The bad

If you use exercise as your daily stress management technique, this is not a good thing.

Why? Because you are still requiring your body to pump out lots of stress hormones and this is not healthy. Eventually your body will become depleted and you may very well not have the same level of energy that you used to.

Relaxation exercises are important too

Exercise is great to burn off those stress hormones, but other relaxation techniques are important as well for:

(1) Bringing down stress hormones.

(2) Reducing your perception of stress throughout the day.

(3) Generally calming your nervous system.

Yoga, daily meditiation and deep breathing are just a few examples of relaxation exercises.

Emotional health takes more than exercise

Also, it is important not to use exercise as your sole means of dealing with anger and frustration. These are emotions that also need to be dealt with on a deeper level.

There is no escape...

Some people also use exercise as a way to escape their emotions; they get in a good workout, get a nice endorphin high and all the bad feelings they were having about themselves/others/their life go away. For a short time.

But they come back in a short while, because they have not been dealt with. Please make sure you are not falling into this trap.

The ugly

Exercise increases the need for anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and quality protein. I am always surprised at the number of people who put so much effort into exercising their body but do not realize that their body needs quality fuel.

Both stress and exercise use up a lot of anti-oxidants, vitamins (especially B vitamins) and minerals.

Round and round she goes

A deficiency of B-vitamins will make you feel more stressed, but your metabolism needs lots of B vitamins to properly burn fat and carbohydrates.

Exercise uses up B vitamins and can leave you not dealing with stress as well. These feelings of increased stress further use up extra B vitamins.  So you exercise more because you feel stressed and further use up  B vitamins.

If you are an outside runner and live in the city, you are breathing in a lot of pollution and this needs to be counteracted with anti-oxidants, a healthy diet and possibly vitamin supplements.

TC

Echinacea is safe to use in pregnancy.

Gallo, Michael, et al. Pregnancy outcome following gestational exposure to echinacea. Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 160, November 13, 2000, pp. 3141-43

It is important for anyone using echinacea to know that this herb stimulates your body's immune system to fight off viruses and bacteria. This means that you need to take it before you have a full-blown cold or it will not work.

The symptoms that we commonly associate with having a cold or flu-- sneezing, coughing, phlegm, fever, chills and aches -- are all caused by your immune system fighting off the virus or bacteria and not by the virus or bacteria themselves.

So once you are feeling all these symptoms, it's too late for echinacea. Catch it early with echinacea or not at all.

TC

The other day I was speaking to a patient about replacing her coffee with tea. We were discussing types of tea and she started to say that she had tried some and didn't like them and then she stopped herself and said:

"There are what -- six hundred different types of tea? I'm sure I can find one I like."

(Actually it's more in the area of 1500, but who's counting?)

TC

For a little variety, chicken or turkey burgers (preferably made from ground white meat) are delicious with some salsa on top.

In fact, I think they are so delicious that you can skip the bun entirely and save your carbohydrates for something else.

TC

No, neither are local (unless you live in Madagascar or Saigon), but self-forgiveness may come swiftly after you taste these culinary treasures.

Saigon Cinnamon (It has a nice ring to it...say it a couple of times)

Saigon Cinnamon has traditionally been considered the finest quality cinnamon due to the fact that the oil content runs higher on average than the other types. Saigon has a distinctly sweet flavor as compared to the Indonesian types. The color is darker than the Indonesian as well.

Lots of anti-oxidants

Of all the spices, cinnamon is one of the richest in anti-oxidants.

Delicious and helps with diabetes

Studies have shown that people with type 2 diabetes that have as little as 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon a day can help lower the risk of high blood cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose levels by 10-30 percent.

Like insulin for blood sugar

This is due to cinnamon's insulin-like effects. The anti-oxidants in cinnamon increase the amounts of the three key proteins that are important in insulin signalizing, glucose transport and inflammatory response.

Take a whiff and perk up

Other research has focused on cinnamon's role in improved cognitive function. Studies have shown that just smelling cinnamon can boost performance and alertness, stimulate the brain and cut fatigue.

Costco now carries huge shakers of Saigon Cinnamon.

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Madagascar Vanilla

I can't believe it has taken me so long to discover Madagascar Vanilla. It is absolutely delicious and definitely a cut (or two or three or four cuts) above regular vanilla.

I suggest keeping your regular vanilla around for baking, but in any situation where you would actually taste the vanilla (I will soon be posting a Wild Rice Pudding that has vanilla in it where you definitely taste it), use this one. You won't be sorry.

I got this one at a health food store with a fairly wide selection of natural extracts.

TC