Compass Chiropractic

Ground beef that could be contaminated with with E. coli bacteria has led to the recall of 14,158 pounds of ground beef in 10 states including Indiana.

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef located in Arkansas City, Kansas was the distribute of the tainted meat.  The meat with distributed to wholesalers in ten states including Indiana.

The beef likely was repackaged into consumer-size packages and sold under various retail brand names.

The best way to avoid E. coli food poisoning is to take food-safety precautions while handling raw beef and to thoroughly cook beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine,  tells us to  “let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.”

Food is meant to be a daily medicine that provides nourishment for a healthy vibrant body, not something to only be considered when sick.

In this edition of Katie’s Kitchen we look at a simple curry recipe that includes a couple ingredients that are packed with a healthy punch: ginger and cumin. 

Ginger – This sweet, warm, and spicy vegetable is sure to add a rich aroma to your recipe! Additionally, this root has shown to be very effective in alleviating gastrointestinal distress. In herbal medicine, ginger is regarded as an excellent carminative (encourages elimination of intestinal gas) and intestinal spasmolytic (relaxes and soothes the stomach and intestines). In addition to aiding your GI tract, it has been found to have anti-inflammatory effects, boost the immune system, and decrease your risk of a few types of cancer! So whether you’re eating it pickled on the side of sushi or finely graded in your curry, it’s doing great things for your body!

Cumin – Cumin is a nutty, smoky, peppery seed that you would probably recognize from chili and packs a punch of flavor… and nutrition! Cumin seeds are a very good source of iron, a mineral that helps transport purified oxygen from the lungs to all body cells, takes part in producing energy and metabolism, boosts your immune system, and is particularly important for menstruating women! Similar to ginger, cumin also plays a big role in keeping a healthy digestive system. IF that’s not enough, it even can decrease your risk of tumors and certain types of cancer! Another great seasoning for your meals!!

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup tomato paste
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablesppon grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken
• Himalayan sea salt and black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice
• 1 cup Greek yogurt or coconut milk
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, whisk together the tomato paste, garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, and ¾ cup water. Add the onion and stir to combine. Place the chicken on top and season with 1 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
2. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender, either 7 – 8 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high.
3. About an hour before serving, begin cooking brown basmati rice according to package.
4. Just before serving, add the yogurt or coconut milk and ½ teaspoon salt to the chicken and stir to combine. Serve with the rice and sprinkle with the scallions.

I don’t know about you, but I find myself snacking throughout my day and feel so much better/ full when I have healthy snacks. Granola has many different shapes, sizes, and make-ups, but generally is very healthy and rich in nutrients we all need! After finding a great granola at The Fresh Market, yesterday, I tried my luck at making my own. I’m so excited to share this recipe as I think it is soo good and got the same affirmation from my coworkers here at Compass!

Again, one of the great things about granola is that you can uniquely create a recipe that fits your taste! Below is my own recipe, but feel free to combine addition ingredients or substitute as desired. For instance, feel free to use Omega-3 rich walnuts or pecans instead of my chosen almonds. Or if you don’t love dried cherries, use dried cranberries, raisins, apricots, or really any other dried fruit! Have a sweet tooth? Add peanut butter chips or chocolate chips to the mix.

• 1/2 cup almond slivers
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/4 cup wheat flour
• 1/4 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup dry milk powder
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons raw organic coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons safflower oil
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2 1/2 cup oats
• pinch of Himalayan sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 275.

Mix all ingredients until well integrated. Pour the granola mixture onto a baking sheet. Keep it as a close clump to begin and bake for 20 minutes. Take out granola, mix with wooden spoon and spread out a little evenly but keep all bits touching each other. Bake another 8-10 minutes. Mix granola again with wooden spoon to ensure even browning. Bake 8 -10 more minutes until it is just golden brown. As it cools, it will its wonderful texture emerges, becoming chewy and delicious!!

The asparagus season has come and past, with it the pungent pee that seems to appear minutes after consuming a stalk.  I had always been under the impression that only a certain population has the physiology which creates this odor, but I’ve recently found that this is not the case.

Depending on the studies that you read, 22%-50% of the population reports a fowl smelling urine after  ingesting asparagus.  What accounts for this populations production of pungent pee?

The people who have report the odor do have a special gene, but it has nothing to do with producing the odor.  The gene that this 22%-50% possesses allows them to smell the odor.  Regardless of whether or not you smell the odor, it’s there.  If you do smell the odor consider yourself  lucky…you have a special gene.

I recently became aware of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and have been very impressed with their work.  The first iPhone application that I downloaded from them was a list of the best to least healthy sunscreens and now they’ve added another app that will help you decide which foods to buy organic.  There is also a pdf version of their list that is available on the EWG website.

Buying organic is best, but it is also expensive.  There are some foods that hold the pesticides in more than others.  When buying these foods you should opt for the organic.  The list produced by EWG list the foods that contain the most pesticides and foods that have the least.

Happy eating

I’m not a coffee drinker, but I’ve been around enough coffee drinkers (especially living in Portland) to know that people are a lot happier after their morning cup of joe.  For many people coffee is a necessity for survival, but a new study out of the University of Bristol found that the energy boosting effects of coffee might just be in your head.

In this study subjects were given either a caffeine pill or a placebo and their alertness was measured through computer testing.  The results of the testing showed that caffeine did not improve the alertness of the subjects who took the caffeine pill.

The take home message from this study was that People who drink coffee experience an acute caffeine withdraw fatigue that makes them more tired and require coffee to return back to normal.

Study researcher Peter Rogers, from the University of Bristol’s department of experimental psychology, says in a news release: “Our study shows that we don’t gain an advantage from consuming caffeine — although we feel alerted by it, this is caffeine just bringing us back to normal. On the other hand, while caffeine can increase anxiety, tolerance means that for most caffeine consumers this effect is negligible.”

Link to original article

Romaine lettuce that was sold in 23 states  may be contaminated with dangerous E. coli O145 bacteria and has been recalled.

Authorities have reported 19 cases of E. coli O145  in Michigan, Ohio, and New York. Twelve people have been hospitalized, including three with life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by the bacterium.

Several lines of evidence — including detection of bacteria in an unopened package of Freshway Foods shredded Romaine lettuce — point to Freshway Foods wholesale Romaine lettuce products.

Freshway Foods has recalled all products containing Romaine lettuce with a use-by date of May 12 or earlier. These products were sold wholesale to restaurants and supermarkets under the Freshway or Imperial Sysco brands.

The recall does not include bagged or prepackaged Romaine or lettuce mixes containing Romaine. However, the lettuce may be found in supermarket salad bars and delis.

Freshway Foods is advising consumers not to eat “grab and go” salads sold in store salad bars and delis at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets, and Marsh stores.

Symptoms of infection with harmful E. coli may range from none to mild diarrhea to severe complications. The acute symptoms include severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea, which may be bloody. Patients may progress to serious complications, such as kidney damage. The FDA and the CDC encourage anyone with these symptoms to contact his or her health care provider immediately.

The states in which the lettuce was sold are Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin

Not getting enough vitamin D  may make asthma worse, according to a new study.

Researchers found that low vitamin D levels were associated with worse lung function compared to higher vitamin D levels in people with asthma.

In addition, the study showed that people with low vitamin D levels didn’t respond as well to asthma treatment  compared to people with higher vitamin D levels.

“Our findings suggest that vitamin D levels influence a number of important features of asthma, including lung function, bronchospasm, and therapeutic response to steroids,” researcher E. Rand Sutherland, MD, MPH, chief of the pulmonary division at National Jewish Health in Denver, says in a news release. “The next question to answer is whether giving supplemental vitamin D will lead to clinical improvements in patients with asthma.”

Vitamin D is most commonly produced by the skin  in response to exposure to sunlight and is also found in some foods.

To read the rest of the article on WebMD click here

It would be wonderful if all our food could be pesticide-free, but organic food isn’t cheap and we have to be selective with our grocery selections.  In this blog post we will look at the foods that contain the most and least pesticides as they reach your neighborhood grocery store.  The D.C. based non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) ranked 43 of the most commonly consumed fruits and vegetables  from highest to lowest levels of pesticides.  Below is a list of the 12 fruits and veggies  that contain the highest level of pesticides (The Dirty Dozen) and the 12 cleanest (The Consistently Clean).

I’m a big fan of an Indianapolis based organic delivery company that brings fresh produce to your house every two weeks.  You can find out more about this local company by clicking here.

The Dirty Dozen (from lowest to highest)
1. Potatoes
2. Lettuce
3. Spinach
4. Grapes
5. Pears
6. Cherries
7. Strawberries
8. Nectarines
9. Celery
10. Sweet Bell Peppers
11. Apples
12. Peaches

The Consistently Clean (from lowest to highest)

1. Onions
2. Avocado
3. Sweet corn
4. Pineapples
5. Mango
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet peas
8. Kiwi
9. Bananas
10. Cabbage
11. Broccoli
12 Papaya

Natural Calm is a isotonic form of Magnesium that is absorbed into the body at a higher rate than tablets.  The body needs a balance between Magnesium and Calcium in order to function properly.  Magnesium’s role is to relax muscles, while Calcium’s role is to contract muscles.  Due to the foods we eat, the majority of us have more Calcium in our system than we do Magnesium which leads to tightening of muscles.

See how important Dr. Hyman MD thinks Magnesium is at huffingtonpost.com

Magnesium is found in a number of food sources, but many of these foods are not in the typical American diet.  To see a list of foods that are high in Magnesium visit this page from the National Institutes of Health.

Magnesium is responsible for muscle relaxation, while calcium is responsible for muscle contraction.  If we become out of balance with a ratio of higher calcium to magnesium, our muscles have a hard time relaxing.  This is common in our diets because calcium is more common in the American diet, not to mention that a number of people take calcium supplements.

I have been using natural calm in my practice for a number of years and found that it has helped my patients with a variety of different conditions including insomnia, anxiety, constipation, migraines and muscles pains.

We carry Natural Calm in the office or you can order it online.  To find out more about Natural Calm you can visit their website.

If you have any questions about the usefulness of this product please contact me on our contact page.