This month’s newsletter, we focused on iliotibial band syndrome (ITB Syndrome), and seeing that it causes such inflammation, I wanted to think of a recipe that would include the most anti-inflammatory spices in it. Twelve spices with very high anti-inflammatory properties are: ginger, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, rosemary, basil, cardamom, chives, cilantro, cloves, garlic, and parsley. Mmm! I just love flavor! So it works out well for me to eat these foods… I hope you do too! The first type of meal that came to my mind that includes a number of these spices was… curry.

The word curry means ‘sauce’ and has immense popularity in Thai, Indian, and Japanese cuisine. This blend of spices varies depending on the cook and can be individualized to your own taste. If you are not so sure about trying curry, rest assured, I used to be as well until a few years ago. I was on a trip in New Zealand, and a friend from India convinced me to try Indian curry… it was love at first bite! I have now tried other types of curries, really enjoy them, and even try to make it. I have found that I particularly enjoy most Thai curries as they typically have a hint of sweet and spicy. This yellow curry recipe is a classic Thai dish that can easily be adapted to the flavor profile you prefer and the veggies you have on hand. My recipe includes chicken, but it can very easily be made vegetarian, or vegan. Remember to let veggies be the main show (as this is where most of the nutrition you need is) and the meat be a side. Let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb-size piece of ginger, minced
• 1 small onion
• ½ – 1 tsp. dried crushed chili, depending on heat desired
• ¾ tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp white pepper
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce or Bragg liquid aminos
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 chicken breasts, cut in roughly 1 inch cubes
• 2-3 potatoes (can mix sweet and white potatoes), cut in roughly 1 inch cubes
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ½ – 1 can diced tomato, depending on preferred taste
• handful fresh Thai basil

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Peel off and discard the outer woody layers of the lemongrass and place cut the stalk about 5 inches from the bottom. Place that in a blender or food processor (the greener top of the stalk is too tough to eat but can be used in potpourri or tea). To the lemongrass, add garlic, ginger, onion, chili, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, white pepper, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and coconut milk. Blend until a fragrant, even sauce is made.
3. Pour sauce to a 9×13 casserole dish. Add the chicken stock and stir to combine. Mix in chicken, potatoes, and chickpeas. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and add tomatoes, then cover and return to oven for 15-20 more minutes.
4. Remove from oven and check the chicken. If the meat is tender and juices run clear, the dish is cooked. If not, stir and return to oven for another 10 minutes.
5. Top with a handful of lightly-chopped Thai basil, serve with rice, and enjoy…mmmm!

Flu influenza spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics which slows down our busy lives and results in 250,000 and 500,000 deaths every year! Typically occurring between October–March (for our area), the flu outbreak typically coincides with flu vaccinations being pushed at us from all angles. I’ve always been a bit skeptical about getting the flu vaccination and have often gotten sick from the shot. After doing a bit of research, a key vitamin (one of our favorite here at Compass) has proven to be more effective than the flu shot.

Flu shots were originally recommended only for the elderly and youngest children, but each year, the recommended age range grows. Though those groups are at more risk, the flu shot shouldn’t be the only strategy recommended against the flu. In fact, there is a lack of evidence for it being beneficial, receiving the vaccination poses great risk to the consumer, and you might not even be protected from the correct strain of flu! Because there are so many strains of the virus, officials must select the 3 strains they think are most likely to circulate. The vaccines are then grown in fertilized chicken eggs for up to eight months. Formaldehyde (a known cancer-causing agent) is used to inactivate the virus. Aluminum (a neurotoxin that may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease) is added to promote an antibody response. Other additives in the flu vaccine include Triton X-100 (a detergent), Polysorbate 80, carbolic acid, ethylene glycol (antifreeze), gelatin, and various antibiotics that some are allergic to! I was stunned when I saw this list of chemicals!

In an article titled Avoid Flu Shots, Take Vitamin D, by Dr. Donald Miller, he states that there is some evidence that flu shots have caused Alzheimer’s and the mercury levels in the vaccination has also been implicated as a cause of Autism. In addition, he states that “Three serious, acknowledged adverse reactions to the flu vaccine are joint inflammation and arthritis, anaphylactic shock (and other life-threatening allergic reactions), and Guillain-Barré syndrome.” Guillian- Barré syndrome is a paralytic autoimmune disease. It is rare that something as severe as these reactions would happen to you, but I would rather risk getting the flu or using something else much more trustworthy than risking Alzheimer’s, arthritis, paralysis, or other reactions!

So what is a recommended, healthy, and safe alternative to the flu shot? Vitamin D. As the sun shines down on you, UVB rays interact with the skin, and particles of a cholesterol derivative open to form vitamin D! Amazing, isn’t it?! Vitamin D regulates many processes in your body, acts as an antiviral, makes natural antibiotics, and keeps inflammation down. In twenty minutes of sun exposure for a fair skinned person (more for those with darker skin), 20,000 IU of vitamin D are produced at which the body stops synthesizing it for the day.

Depending on what you read, daily vitamin dosage recommendations can range from under 1,000 IU to over 20,000 IU.  Personally I feel that 5,000 units per day is sufficient unless you’re fighting off an infection in which case I recommend 15,000-20,000 IU.  There have been no cases of Vitamin D toxicity in the literature and Vitamin D can be found in prescription form with up to 50,000 IU.

In the winter months sun can be hard to come by especially when you’re covered head to toe.  If you are unable to get in the sun each day, look to supplements or foods rich in vitamin D, including wild Alaskan salmon and mackerel.  For a list of foods high is Vitamin D click here.

I recently attended a seminar in Chicago presented by Dr. Seaman, professor and founder of deflame.com.  The seminar was titled Pain and the Clinical Practice, a topic only a Chiropractor could love.  There was a lot that I took away from the seminar, but the most profound is the wide ranging impact that Vitamin D deficiency has  on the health of our population.

Unfortunately the current RDA for Vitamin D was created to ward off diseases such as Rickets and as most researchers believe, these levels are too low to have a preventative disease fighting effect.  The current RDA for an adult is 600 IUs and to put it in to perspective, a light skinned person will get about 20,000 IUs after spending 30 minutes in the sun (Harvard “Ask the Experts”).

There have been numerous studies showing the health benefits of Vitamin D and the pandemic deficiencies, but outside of disease prevention Vitamin D has also been shown to decrease low back pain (Vit D and Low Back Pain).

How do you know if you need Vitamin D?

Considering the vast population is Vitamin D deficient you can assume that you’re levels are low, unless you spend a lot of your time outside in the sun uncovered and without sunscreen.  You can also get a blood test from your doctor at a local lab.  One option that I have recently become aware of is the at home test.

Ordering an at home Vitamin D test.

Grass Roots Health is a public health promotion organization that is comprised of Vitamin D researchers who are studying the benefits of Vitamin D.  The website allows you to order a test kit for $70 (including shipping) and they give you the option to partake in a study that looks at Vitamin D levels and consumption.  I have recently ordered my kit and will send out updates as I get the kit.

It might not surprise you to hear that we see a lot of low back pain in our office, what might surprise you is that a vitamin deficiency might be contributing to the lower back pain that many people experience.  A recent study out of Canada looked at patients who had chronic back pain and found that there was a significant rate of vitamin D depletion in these patients.  When given Vitamin D supplementation patient showed improvement in reported pain levels.

Who is deficient is Vitamin D?

It is estimated that 60% of Americans are  deficient in vitamin D.  Why is this?  Vitamin D is obtained from two sources, the sun and food.  Because we are spending more and more time indoors, people are not getting exposed to the sun and therefore not getting vitamin D.   As far as food sources go, fish is one of the best sources of vitamin D and most Americans don’t consume fish on a regular basis.

Are you deficient?

Most people don’t know if they are vitamin D deficient.  You can obtain a blood test that will test your levels of vitamin D.  You can ask your doctor about this test next time you see them or your next physical.

What can you do?

If you suffer from chronic lower back pain you might considering increasing your vitamin D intake.  As we get closer to the winter it is going to be harder to get outside and more of our bodies will be covered preventing sun exposure.   Vitamin D can easily be obtain in food and supplement form.   For a list of foods with the highest levels of vitamin D click Vitamin D foods.  If you don’t find yourself eating many of the foods on the vitamin D list you can get vitamin D through supplementation.  Vitamin D3 has been found to be the most beneficial.  The Vitamin D3 that I recommend is from Metagenics and you can see it by clicking Metagenics vitamin D3.

Most of the studies done on vitamin and pain have looked at lower back pain, but it would stand to reason that if you have other pains such as neck, upper back and shoulder pain that vitamin D might also help.  There are numerous benefits from getting a healthy dose of vitamin D and very few risks if taken appropriately.

For more information of vitamin D you can view these other articles on our blog, You need more vitamin D and Vitamin D as an anti-inflammatory.

In my previous article (found here), I began to explain a resource that has been helpful to me. It is a wheel that allows you to visually see the different of areas of your life charted out according to how much of your time and energy you put toward developing those areas. After creating your own wheel (with areas of your life that are significant and important) you can analyze and discovering which areas need improvement or more attention. In this article and my 2 more articles to come, I want to share outside-the-box ways to tend to a few different areas…at the same time! This hopefully will benefit you as many of your wheel’s shorter ‘spokes’ have direct impact on other spokes. Now, I would love to share a creative way to develop the areas of Health, Relationships, and Money together.

A typical way we tend to connect with each other is hitting up a restaurant/club and attending some sort of entertainment. We all need a night out on the town.  But an alternative to that regular Saturday night with friends could be simple and very rewarding. Here’s a way to focus on having a healthier, richer, and more conscious evening. Instead of going out for the meal, make a delicious meal at home (Money) with our friend, significant other, childen etc. Spend time investigating and trying new recipes (Health), and choose to engage in intentional and meaningful conversation as opposed to being simply consuming the evening with the use of technology (Health).  Many studies show that even though we may be connecting via text or emails, our entire health gets a big boost from actual human contact.  I can’t begin to tell you that some of my favorite times with friends and family has been in the kitchen.  Bonding over mishaps and culinary mistakes are priceless.  Taking away the expensive tab, noisy restaurant and even the wait could be an easy exchange for a fun evening at home followed by a leisurely walk (whether the weather cooperates or not).

With a simple evening in, we have effectively boosted our relationships, saved some money AND helped out our mental and general well being.  What are some fun combo ideas you have for these three wheel areas?

I love making recipes that give me the freedom to pick and choose the combination of vegetables that are in season and that I love to eat. This recipe is vegetarian and a great way to incorporate a your choice of vegetables. I would recommend using those vegetables that are fresh and in season but use any variety of those I included in the recipe or any of these: zucchini, peas, yellow squash, eggplant, yellow or orange bell pepper, broccoli, cabbage, or mushrooms.  In this recipe, I additionally included quinoa to increase the amount protein! So here’s how to prepare it!

• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
• 1/2 cup dry quinoa
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1-2 ears worth of corn kernels
• 1 cup (1-inch) cut green beans
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 to 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tablespoon sea salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 diced fresh tomatoes (can also use 1 can diced tomatoes, drained, if not in season)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/4 cup blanched almonds
• fresh basil

1. In a saucepan, add chickpeas, quinoa and 1 ¼ cup of water. Heat on medium-high heat, bringing water to a boil. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce heat; simmer for 15 minutes, or until quinoa has ‘opened’ (quinoa will look translucent with a ring around it) and chickpeas have softened. Next put the sweet potato in the pan, put the lid back on, and steam for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies to the pan and steam for an additional 5 minutes until desired tenderness.

2. While vegetables are cooking, a separate skillet, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent. Add all of the spices. If you don’t have each of the individual spices, feel free to use a store bought curry powder mix.

3. Add the chickpea-quinoa-sweet potato mixture to the skillet. Add tomatoes and coconut milk and mix all together.

5. Allow temperature to rise again and bring to a boil. Reduce heat back to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Serve into bowls and top with almonds and basil.

I hope you enjoy it!! Happy Cooking!!!

The ingredient I am highlighting today is Coconut Water. This item has increased in popularity recently, and for good reason. Coconut water, the liquid found naturally protected inside of the coconut ‘meat’ and outer shell, is a pure liquid that is even used in some cultures intravenously to rehydrate patients. In addition to re-hydrating, it also is full of minerals and vitamins to boost immune system, brings your pH back to a more optimal level which makes your body function more efficiently, replaces electrolytes (great for dehydration and sweating), is high potassium levels,  promote cardiovascular health, and even more.

With the unforgiving heat this summer, we thought we’d share a fun and kid friendly way to use coconut water! Coconut Ice Pops! This is SO easy and if you don’t have popsicle molds, you can use Dixie cups or even a muffin tin! You can honestly be really creative with these to match your taste buds, but here are a few starter recipes for you. Let me know recipes you come up with and if you like it!

Coconut Sunrise Ice Pops

• 1 pint Coconut Water
• 2/3 cup thawed orange juice concentrate
• 2 large bananas
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Blend coconut water, orange juice concentrate, bananas, and lime until mixture is even. Pour mixture into popsicle molds, and place in freezer until frozen, about 4 hours. If you are using popsicle sticks, push them in after about an hour in the freezer. To release pops, dip molds into hot water until pops loosen and slide out. If using cups, peel away paper.

Strawberry Coconut Ice Pops

• 1 pound strawberries, washed and hulled
• Coconut water
• Agave Nectar, if needed

Fill a blender halfway up with strawberries. Pour coconut water halfway up the berries. Blend until smooth. If you need some more sweetness to the popsicle, add agave nectar a little at a time and continue blending blend. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Fill popsicle molds and freeze until frozen, about 4 hours

Simple Mixed Berry Ice pops

• Any variety of mixed fruit (pineapple, kiwi, peach, pear, strawberry, blueberry, honeydew, ect),  cut into blueberry-sized pieces
• Coconut water

Place the fruit pieces into the popsicle molds. Pour coconut water on top of the fruit, and freeze!

Berry Explosion Ice Pop

• 1 cup mixed frozen berries
• 1/2 – 1 cup or so of organic plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup carrot juice
• 1/4 cup coconut water

Combine all ingredients, pour into popsicle molds, and freeze! Easy as that!

Tell me if this sounds familiar: “Monday morning I’m going to start exercising and eating better!”?  What is your first reaction when you hear a declaration like this?  My first thought is, wow that sounds like a lot of work. Because a statement like “I’m going to exercise and eat better” is open ended it can feel oppressive. Often times we fail at  mega-goals which will start a downward spiral.   Instead of creating  unreachable open ended goals,  try making small goals and celebrating successes.

In most parts of our life we look at small incremental goals that bring us to our ultimate goal.  Take running a marathon for example, you wouldn’t say “I’m going to run a marathon on Monday”  if you’ve never been a runner.  You would start small by running a few miles and build up until you had the stamina to run 26.2 miles.  Being healthy is like running a marathon, it is not something that you do one day.  It takes small steps to become healthy  and you should reward yourself at each milestone.

How we’re getting healthier

My wife and I recently decided that we each have an unhealthy habit that we wanted to change and decided to make it a competition. My wife has a sweet tooth and I have a beer tooth.  For my wife, she struggles with her cravings for sweets in the early afternoon and I enjoy having a beer or two with dinner.  We decided that we would commit to not drinking or eating sweets  during the week over  a period of a month.   My wife and I are competitive people so it had seemed  that  beating  the other would be enough incentive, but we decided to take things a step farther and build in a punishment.  The person who cheats is required to walk our 95lb (bad on a leash) dog for a week.  The fact that walking the dog is considered serious punishment in our house  shows how bad it has become  for our dog since the arrival of our two girls.

We are in our third week  and neither one of us has cheated.  There are a couple things that have come out of this experiment:

1.  Indulging in our vices is much more enjoyable when we earn it.
2. Confidence that we can succeed with our  bigger goals.
3.  It is harder to cheat when your have someone holding you accountable.
4.  We need to walk our dog more.

Both of us are encouraged by the success that we’ve had with this small step and know that it will lead to improving other areas of our lives.  In this example I discussed our health and wellness goals, but these principals could easier be transfered to any other part of your life.

Remember that health is not a destination, but a journey and like any journey it starts with a single step.  Along the way you may falter, but that doesn’t mean that you can get right back up and start walking again.

Ingredient Highlight: Quinoa [pronounced keen-wah]

This ivory-colored seed is a staple in many parts of South America. Not only is quinoa very high in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein (meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids)! This is a unique food! Quinoa is additionally a very healthy food because of its amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. In addition to protein, quinoa is a host of other health-building nutrients such as manganese, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus. Because of this healthy profile, this “grain” may be especially valuable for those of you with migraines (the high magnesium relaxes blood vessels, which prevents the constriction and dilation in the head), fatigue (the riboflavin/ Vitamin B2 allows for healthy energy production within cells), cardiovascular problems (Low levels of magnesium is linked to increased rates of hypertension, ischemic heart disease and heart arrhythmias), diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil (Can be replaced with olive oil if you don’t have coconut oil)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed until water is no longer cloudy
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Himalayan sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh lime juice

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans, cilantro, and lime.
4. Enjoy!

Vitamin D is essential for much more that just building bones and teeth. In addition to enabling normal mineralization and health of the skeleton, Vitamin D helps the body do a number of things including:

• Assists in cell growth
• Aids neuromuscular function
• Reduces inflammation
• Reduces the risk of breast cancer in women
• Boosts your immune system

Additionally, Vitamin D helps to prevent the following medical issues:

• Osteoporosis
• Multiple Sclerosis and other autoimmune conditions
• Rickets in children
• Osteomalacia in adults

Considering the numerous health issues it is linked to, getting too little vitamin D will cause your body to will operate far below its potential.

In the world of pain and chiropractic, one of those in particular is of interest to us: inflammation reduction. When you injure yourself, your body has a natural healing process that begins with the acute healing phase. During the acute phase, your body ships specialized cells into the area to clean up the debris and damage and set the stage for new healthy growth. As the vascular permeability increases to allow the needed chemicals in, up to 10x the blood volume comes to that area and swelling occurs. Through the healing process, the swelling should reduce back to its pre-injury size. You can assist your body in decreasing the swelling with rest, ice, compression, elevation (RICE), soft tissue massage toward the body’s core, and by consuming foods that have anti-inflammatory effects. Vegetables consistently have anti-inflammatory properties as well as some spices and foods high in Vitamin D!

How much to consume? Researchers have found many Americas to have low levels of this essential vitamin, and a deficiency in vitamin D is not something you want to deal with. As of November 2010, the recommended baseline vitamin D intake for those over 70 is 800 International Units per day to stay healthy. Those under 70 years old should take 400 IU per day with an upper limit of 4,000 IU per day, kids between 4 and 8 years should take in up to 3,000 IU per day, and children 1 to 3 years should not have more than 2,500 IU per day.

So how do you get enough? The Institute of Medicine set a recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D from a combination of diet, supplements, and sun exposure. The best source of natural vitamin D is sunlight (Fine by me!!). Just 10 to 15 minutes of exposure without sunscreen each day usually gives you enough. Know, though, that because of the melanin in dark skinned people, it is more difficult to produce vitamin D up to 90 percent. Easy enough, right!? It is also naturally found in butter, eggs, salmon, cod, mackerel, fish liver oils and added to fortified foods such as milk, orange juice, and cereal.

For more information about nutrition, visit our nutrition page.