Conditions We Treat

  Eat a breakfast that includes proteins and fiber

  Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day between your meals

  Take a good-quality multiple vitamin/mineral daily

  Connect with other people, especially friends and family

  Express your emotions appropriately and openly

  Eat your fruits and vegetables in abundance

  Spend at least 30 minutes outdoors for fresh air

  Do something physically active to get your heart rate up

  Take some quiet time for yourself (a must)

  Keep regular sleep hours (at least 7-9 hrs. per night)

  Establish a relationship with a doctor you can trust

Eat a Healthy Breakfast

As we work with patients to improve their diet, we continue to be amazed at how few people eat breakfast. Most either skip it entirely, or drink coffee and eat sugary pastries instead. A healthy breakfast is the cornerstone of a good diet. It is a meal that provides the opportunity to eat a serving of whole grains, a digestible protein, and have a serving or two of fruit. The energy from a healthy breakfast can carry you through your morning in a more stable way than by eating stimulating foods such as sweets and coffee, which quickly wear off. Studies have shown, for example, that people can lower their cholesterol by eating breakfast. This is due to several factors. Breakfasts tend to be high in fiber (fruit, oatmeal, whole grain cereals), which absorb cholesterol in the intestines for removal from the body. More importantly, however, when we skip breakfast, our bodies go for 10-16 hours with no outside source of energy. Our chemistry begins to shift to a mode of starvation, which increases appetite and changes how our bodies regulate blood sugar. Then, our bodies crave the high sugar foods for the instant energy we are lacking, which then gets stored by the liver as fat for later use.

If you are trying to improve your diet and nutrition and stay healthy as you age, eat a good breakfast every day. Vary your foods and try to get some protein if you have problems regulating your blood sugar.

One of our recommendations for a healthy breakfast is “Congee.”

What is Congee?

Congee is a grain based, usually rice, medicinal porridge served for centuries in traditional Chinese homes. It is used promote good health and long life.

Benefits of a Congee breakfast:

It can jump start your digestive system. Its long cooking time breaks down the grain, making it very easy to digest and assimilate, providing your body with the nutrients it needs. It strengthens digestion, builds energy and enhances metabolism. Congee is economical, easy to prepare, high in nutrients and low in fat!

How do I prepare Congee?

Congee is easily prepared in your crock-pot. If you don’t have a crock-pot, it can be simmered on the stove over very low heat. Please, use an enamel, glass or stainless steel pot.

Congee that makes 8 servings.

1 C. Brown Rice (or alternative)	½ C. Chopped Dates (or alternative)
8 C. Filtered Water	½ C. Slivered Almonds (or alternative)
8 Dried Apricots (or alternative)	1 C. Soy Milk (or alternative)

Combine water and rice (or alternative) in crock-pot and cook on “high” for 2 hours. Add any other dry ingredients and cook on “low” for 4-6 more hours. The Soy Milk (or alternative) can be added near the end to get the consistency you like with your cereal.

Suggested Congee grain combinations:

Grains:	Spices:	Nuts/Fruits:	Veggies:	Flavorings:
Rice	cinnamon	almonds	sweet potato	gomasio
Millet	bay leaf	walnuts	carrots	molasses
Barley	ginger	pumpkin seeds	spinach	honey
Rye	nutmeg	dried cherries	pumpkin	maple syrup
Whole oats	cloves	dried fruits	squash	rice milk

Naturally, you can be creative and add anything else that you enjoy in your morning meals!

Congee can be cooked on a stove for 2-4 hours for reduced cooking time! But the longer it is cooked the better for your digestion.



Drink Water

Drink at least eight 8oz. glasses of water a day.
Thoreau said that water is the drink of the wise man. Water is fundamental to all life on earth. Our bodies are made up of more than 90% water. It is involved in every function in the body, including circulation, digestion, absorption of nutrients and the transmission of electrical currents in the body, which control our nerves, muscles and hormones. As water facilitates the elimination of waste products through urination, sweating, defecation, tears and mucus which line our respiratory and digestive tracts; diluting your bodily fluids, by drinking ample water, allows it to carry more waste products out.

While we get water in many foods we eat and beverages we drink, pure water is often the best form to ingest. A recent study surveyed peoples' various aches and pains, energy levels and sense of well-being. When they were instructed to drink 8 glasses of water a day and their symptoms were reevaluated, notable improvements were seen in improved energy levels, fewer aches and pains, and generally improved sense of health. Adequate water is an extremely inexpensive and efficacious health practice.

Water quality is very important. In many areas of the country, tap water may contain lead, radon, nitrates and other potentially toxic chemicals. Additionally chlorine and chloramines are placed in municipal water to decontaminate it. Recently, San Francisco changed from using chlorine to using chloramines. Fluorides in water supplies are a controversial topic with some studies suggesting health risks associated with fluoridation.

For these reasons, I recommend using clean sources of water and the use of solid carbon filters, such as Multi-Pure, or reverse osmosis filters. Avoid water that is in soft plastic containers, particularly in hot climates, as these can leach plastics into the water. Nalgene bottles are a good type for storing and transporting filtered water.



Take a Good Quality Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement

Eating a health-promoting diet is an essential component of good health. While it seems to be common sense that eating a healthy diet provides all of the vitamins and minerals we need to enjoy good health and reduce the risk of chronic disease, numerous scientific studies have shown that using good quality nutritional supplements can go beyond addressing nutrient deficiencies and help you achieve optimal health.

A recent study commissioned by Wyeth Consumer Health found that daily use of a multivitamin by older adults is a relatively inexpensive yet potentially powerful way to stay healthy. The group studied the effects of taking multivitamins on five diseases: coronary artery disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer.

These researchers estimated that providing a daily multivitamin to the elderly would result in a five-year potential health care cost savings of approximately $1.6 billion, and avoidable hospitalization for heart attacks of approximately $2.4 billion because of improved immune functioning and a reduction in the relative risk of coronary artery disease.

There is evidence that both clinical and sub clinical nutrient deficiencies are common in the US. In recent years, the US government has commissioned a number of comprehensive studies (HANES I and II, Ten State Nutrition Survey, etc) to determine the nutritional status of the US population.

These studies in general reveal that marginal nutritional deficiencies exist in approximately 50% of the US population, and that for some selected nutrients and selected age groups, more than 80% of people consumed less than the RDA (recommended daily allowance). While it is theoretically possible for us to get all of the vitamins and minerals we need from our diets, the evidence suggests the reality is many of us do not. Taking a multiple vitamin and mineral formula can in many ways be viewed as cheap health insurance.

While most Americans are deficient in some vitamins and minerals, the level of deficiency is not often obvious. Severe vitamin C deficiency as seen in scurvy is rare, though evidence suggests that marginal, or sub clinical, vitamin C deficiency is quite common.

So, what do I mean by a good quality nutritional supplement? First of all, it is not a one-a-day RDA vitamin/mineral combination. RDA guidelines were originally developed to reduce the rates of severe deficiency diseases such as scurvy and pellagra. There is much scientific evidence that the optimal levels for many nutrients, especially the antioxidant vitamins such as vitamins C and E, are significantly higher than the RDAs for these vitamins. RDAs also do not take into account environmental and lifestyle factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption and exposure to toxins that affect how we absorb and utilize vitamins and minerals.

A good quality supplement, in my opinion, contains higher levels of antioxidant vitamins and minerals. It also balances the minerals and vitamins in proper ratios for absorption and utilization by the body and contains few if any binders, excipients and other additives. While not necessary for many people, I often use ones with hypoallergenic ingredients to avoid reactions in sensitive people. Finally, vitamins and minerals should be in safe amounts and chemical forms that are easily absorbed and utilized by the body.

I advise all my clients to purchase their vitamin and minerals at health food stores such as Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods and Wild Oats. You can always find a health representative at these stores who can advise you on the quality of their products.