The Sun in Your Life

In a few days, we will be in summer for real: sun is coming, temperatures are getting hotter and your swimsuit is already under your clothes!

It is true that it is very pleasant to eat outside and enjoy the warmness of the sun. But as you know that you must not overindulge in sweet things, you have to be careful with sun exposure. If you drink too much, you will be drunk and if you go out in the sun to excess, you will be burnt!

But the sun is not your enemy: you need it. When ultraviolet rays strike your skin, they trigger vitamin D synthesis.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin you can find in few foods : milk, egg yolk, salmon, trout, tuna. And you need ultraviolet rays from sunlight to have the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for Vitamin D.

Vitamin D obtained from sun exposure, food, and supplements is biologically inert and must undergo two hydroxylations in the body for activation. The first occurs in the liver and the second in the kidney.

Why do you need vitamin D?

Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains adequate serum calcium and phosphate concentrations. There is a very important mineral balance in your body and calcium and phosphate are a large part of it. Bone mineralization is directly dependent on this balance.

Vitamin D has other roles in the body:  modulation of cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and reduction of inflammation.

Vitamin D is needed at any age because it helps preventing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. These diseases are no longer rare because there is a large deficiency in vitamin D rate in our population. People do not eat correctly, they prefer ready-cooked meals because they lack time and these ones are less concentrate in vitamins than fresh food. Moreover, they do not have a regular sun exposure to provide necessary ultraviolet rays to create vitamin D.

In other hand, sometimes, some people have too much sun exposure. We have already said it, striking a balance is the rule.


What are the consequences of too much sun exposure?

Of course, you can be burnt: your skin becomes red, it hurts and then it peels. But you are also at the risk of developing skin cancer. Skin cancer has a better prognosis, or outcome, than most other types of cancer. It is generally curable but it also kills a lot of people each year in the world. Melanoma is the most common but not the only one.

That’s why it is very important to protect yourself against too many ultraviolet rays.
Patients and people in general must examine themselves regularly and see a dermatologist as soon as they find something unusual or suspicious.

Protection from ultraviolet rays is important all year round, even if you do not see the sun in the sky, you should know that ultraviolet rays are not stopped by clouds!

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends easy actions to protect yourself from UV rays:

• Seek shade, especially during midday hours.
• Wear clothing to protect exposed skin.
• Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck.
• Wear sunglasses that wrap around and block as close to 100% of both UVA and UVB rays as possible.
• Use sunscreen with sun protective factor (SPF) 15 or higher, and both UVA and UVB protection.
• Avoid indoor tanning: many people use a tanning bed, booth, or sunlamp to get tan and it is very dangerous.

These recommendations are easy to adopt and they protect you again sun damages and skin cancer.

So, as we have seen, sun exposure is necessary but you have to be careful because excessive sun exposure can lead you to skin problems and cancer. Strike a balance and everything will be nice!

Laure Martinat

Mediterranean diet: the best for a healthy life?

It is sunny outside; the summer is coming, so as delicious fruits and vegetables whose colors decorate market stalls.

So what can we cook for lunch?

Well let’s start with houmous and pitta bread, tabbouleh and olive oil! Two typical meals coming from the Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean diet is famous for its healthy benefits.

What is it exactly?

It is not just a diet, it is also a life approach, a way of life because people do not forced themselves to eat in a specific manner, they do not change their habits for a couple of weeks like we do in our countries when we want to lose weight: this is how they live, how they eat all year. 

It is inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of Spain, Italy, Greece, parts of the Middle East and Crete, a Greek island. As we can see, it is a blend of different cooking, from varied origins, and we can see it as an allusion to diversity: cultural exchanges are better than border closing… maybe, not only in cooking…

It is known as one of the best diet in the world thanks to its results: a healthy life, with less chronic disease, in particular cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, hypercholesterolaemia, etc.

One of the “rules” of this diet is seasonal nature and these words are forgotten most of the time in our countries: we eat strawberries in winter, oranges in summer… but this is not how Nature functions and people who are living in the Mediterranean area have already understood it for a long time.

Moreover, as we have said, this is not just a diet: in this part of the world, people consider their meals like a good moment to talk, to be together; this is really a “way to eat”. They take time because it is a moment of sociability and conviviality. 

We have forgotten this dimension in our society: who really takes time to eat? Who considers each meal of the day as a pleasure time to share? Most of the time, everybody is in a hurry, because we are short of time. Why? Perhaps, because of our society, which demands us to be the fastest, the strongest, the best so we have forgotten all that happy moments sharing our meals. 

Then, and it is an important part of the Mediterranean diet, everybody has to do regular physical activity, which is important for a good health, in particular heart and cardiovascular system. 

So what do we have for dinner? 

Well, there is not a single way to cook, nor even a single recipe. Mediterranean diet is based on fresh seasonal whole foods and preparation methods tend to be simple. 

Which food? There are the “high-consumption”, the “moderate consumption” and the “low consumption” ones:

• A high consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole cereals. 
• A moderate consumption of dairy products (goat and ewe’s cheese and yogurt), fish and wine.
• A low consumption of red meat.

Olive oil is used to cook and season meals, so as herb and spices to decrease salt consumption.

What about wine? Is it really good for health?

In fact, it is supposed to, despite many debates over the years. 

Red wine is rich in tannins which are supposed to soften blood vessels; there are also quercetin and resveratrol in red wine, which are antioxidant and protect cells.

But you have to keep in mind that red wine must be drunk in moderation. And if you do not like it, you do not need to start drinking, purple grape juice may be a good and tasty alternative to wine!

I hope you have understood that the Mediterranean diet is truly a way of life, which is very good for your body and your mind. 

I couldn’t finish without giving you a typical recipe from the Mediaterranean area…

Let’s finish with the recipe of houmous, from Middle east. It is a nice alternative to usual cakes and biscuits eaten before lunch to work up an appetite!

Ingredients:

130g chick-peas

½ teaspoon of ground cumin

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

60ml milk

2 teaspoon of fresh coriander leaves

1 clove of garlic

2 teaspoons of olive oil

Cook the chick-peas in water and peel it, then mix all the ingredients in a blender.

Serve it with pitta bread.

Enjoy!

Cordially yours,


Laure Martinat,

Cholesterol: enemy or friend?

Cholesterol is a lipid produced by the liver and necessary for a healthy functioning body. However, it is usually considered as a thing to eliminate! This is a mistake because it has many different functions, even vital ones in your body. 

Cholesterol circulates in the blood by lipoproteins called LDL (low-density lipoprotein), HDL (high-density lipoprotein.

LDL and HDL make a complex: HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol.

When someone gets older, he is often said not to eat butter or red meat for example, because it is full of cholesterol! But this is not exactly the truth. 

Indeed, meat, oil, butter, biscuits, cakes … are good for your body and… your mind. But it is true that you have to be careful with fat quantity. 

Let’s take the example of butter: we often see advertisement explaining that butter is full of fat so you have to replace it with shortening, low-fat margarine. The new ones are enriched with plant sterols. 

So what do we have exactly in butter?

Butter is compound of about 60% of saturated fat, 35% of unsaturated fat, and about 5% of trans-fat. As we can see, it is true that butter is full of lipid! However, these lipids are necessary for our body to function. 

Saturated fat is supposed to increase LDL cholesterol, whereas unsaturated fat (polyunsaturated fat) is supposed to increase the good one. According to different studies on fat and cholesterol rate, polyunsaturated fat increases HDL cholesterol which is a vascular protector.

LDL? HDL? What is it exactly?

LDL cholesterol, also called as “bad cholesterol”, carries cholesterol from the liver to cells. It is important to have a low level of LDL because it can increase the risk of arterial disease: LDL-cholesterol collects on arterial cell walls. This buildup is called plaque. Plaque reduces, or even stops, the blood flow and causes high-blood pressure, heart attacks etc.

HDL, also called as “good cholesterol”, carries cholesterol from cells to liver so the liver can destroy it. It acts like an arterial protector: it prevents arterial disease.

That’s why, it is important to have a low level of LDL-cholesterol and a high level of HDL-cholesterol. But you need a small amount of LDL cholesterol because it is necessary for cell membrane, production of bile salts etc. 

Let’s talk about trans-fat in butter: 

When you go shopping, this is the new fashionable slogan. Take a look to food wrapping: “trans-fat free” is written everywhere, on biscuits, cakes etc.

Most people think that trans-fat are bad for health. And it is true but you have to know that trans-fat can be natural (in butter for example) or artificial (in shortening, hydrogenated oils). 

It is proved that artificial trans-fat has negative effects on health : it increases LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and decreases HDL cholesterol, so it is better for you to avoid it.

Natural trans-fat is completely different, it is not produced from chemical or physical process and is not associated with high cholesterol rate or dyslipidemia.

Saturated fat, unsaturated fat have a role to play in our body: don’t throw it away!

There is also a small amount of cholesterol in butter but it is not associated with a high cholesterol blood rate. In general, cholesterol directly from food does not have a role in dyslipidemia.

Moreover, butter is an important source of vitamin A, which is benefit to your skin, protects again infection. It is a liposoluble vitamin so you need fat to assimilate vitamin A. And butter is rich in fat as we have seen before…

So cholesterol and fat are not an enemy, it is necessary for your body, for a good health and it is better to eat a small amount of butter spread on bread than shortening rich in artificial trans-fat.

So don’t listen to all that propaganda which wants you to eat fat-free food, the truth is in balance!

Just a few words about plant sterols which are said to decrease LDL cholesterol. Until now, The American Heart Association has recommended phytosterols in hypercholesterolemia because lipid disorders are associated with cardiovascular disease. However, a recent study published this year by the European Heart Journal shows no evidence of any beneficial effect on cardiovascular disease. 

In conclusion, keep in mind that you need to diversify your diet, giving priority to natural food instead of artificial preparation. Choose reasonable quantity and do exercise!

You can find a lot of good recipes with low cholesterol ingredients to help you when you have to control your diet. Here is an example to show you that a good meal is possible even when you have to reduce cholesterol rate.

Moroccan lentils soup:

Ingredients

 2 onions, chopped

 2 cloves garlic, minced

 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

 6 cups water

 1 cup red lentils

 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

 1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans

 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

 1/2 cup diced carrots

 1/2 cup chopped celery

 1 teaspoon garam masala

 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom

 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

 1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Put in a large saucepan the onions, garlic, and ginger in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes. 

2. Add the water, lentils, chick peas, white kidney beans, diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, garam masala, cardamom, cayenne pepper and cumin. Bring to a boil for a few minutes then simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or longer, until the lentils are soft. 

3. Mix half the soup in a food processor or blender. Return the mixed soup to the pot, stir and enjoy!

Asian Beef with snow peas 

Ingredients

 3 tablespoons soy sauce

 2 tablespoons rice wine

 1 tablespoon brown sugar

 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

 1 tablespoon olive oil

 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

 1 tablespoon minced garlic

 1 pound beef round steak, cut into thin strips

 8 ounces snow peas

1. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar and cornstarch. Set aside. 

2. Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat. Stir-fry ginger and garlic for 30 seconds. Add the steak and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until evenly browned. Add the snow peas and stir-fry for an additional 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until the sauce is thick and smooth. Serve immediately.

An interesting site to find more recipes: www.allrecipes.com 

Cordially yours,
Laure Martinat,

Detect a stroke and save a life!

A stroke or cerebrovascular accident is a medical emergency: what is a stroke exactly?

Our brain and particularly neuronal cells need blood to function for it provides oxygen and glucose. Thus, there is a large vascular net in our brain and in normal conditions, blood circulate easily.

A clot can block a cerebral artery or a blood vessel can break so blood cannot circulate. When there is a disturbance in blood supply to the brain, neuronal cells lack oxygen, they suffer and finally, they die. What is the result? Brain damage occurs.

Or areas of the brain control different abilities such as movement, memory and speech. When brain cells die, it is easy to understand that these abilities will be lost in different levels depending on how much the brain is damaged.

That’s why a stroke is an emergency: it can cause permanent neurological damage and even death.

How to detect a stroke?

Stroke symptoms typically start suddenly and it affects speech, movement and memory. Symptoms and its seriousness depend on how many brain cells die: The more extensive the area of brain affected, the more functions that are likely to be lost. A minor stoke may cause only minor problems such as weakness of a leg, whereas a larger one may cause real paralysis.

According to the National Stroke Association (http://www.stroke.org) common stroke symptoms include:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg – especially on one side of the body,
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding,
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes,
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination,
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause.

Use the F.A.S.T. test for recognizing and responding to stroke symptoms:

F = FACE Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

A = ARMS Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

S = SPEECH Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Does the speech sound slurred or
strange?

T = TIME If you observe any of these signs, it’s time to call the emergency service or get to the nearest stroke center or hospital.

Another simple way to detect a stroke is to use the acronym RST :

S = SMILE! Ask the individual to smile and to stick his tongue out.

T = TALK! Ask the person to talk or speak a simple sentence coherently like
“It is sunny out today.”

R = RAISE! Ask the person to raise both arms together.

If someone fails any one of these 3 simple tests, don’t hesitate and call for an ambulance: the quicker a stroke victim is examined by a neurologist, the better he will be.


Once the stroke symptoms occur the clock starts ticking and your quick response could be the difference between life or death, permanent disability or significant recovery.


Laure Martinat
(France)

Smoothies and juices, fruits and vegetables upside down!

Nutritionists recommend to eat fresh fruits and vegetables everyday because they are full of vitamins and minerals, which are very important to our body and its functioning.

The way you cook can destroy vitamins: these tiny elements are fragile. For example, vitamin C is particularly sensitive to heat.  Raw fruits and vegetables keep their micronutrients.

Vitamins and minerals are no energy-giving micronutrients but they are essential to live; that’s why, to have a good micronutrient intake, you can eat raw fruits and vegetables: they are not denatured.

Juices are tasty. Moreover, they are easily absorbed during digestion. Why? Because they are extracted from squeezed fruits and vegetables.  A juice is a liquid substance, made up of water, vitamins and minerals, without fibre (fruit pulp contains fibre), hard to digest.

Juices give you a lot of available nutrients and micronutrients in a very short space of time. When you eat fibre, your digestive system need to do “work harder” to find vitamins and minerals; Moreover, fibre accelerate intestinal transit: the contact between bolus and intestinal mucous membrane is reduced. However, fibre is beneficial to our body and it has an important trophic role.

Smoothies are made up of ground fruits and vegetables: you have juice plus fibre. Nevertheless, fibre is not absorbed: our digestive system has to work harder and longer. Specific intestinal enzymes are needed to facilitate digestion.

We know fibre is not like vitamins or minerals. So what is it exactly?

Fibre is a compound that is found mainly in plants. The different kinds of fibre are categorized based

on their solubility in water. Therefore, there are two categories: soluble fibre (pectin, gums and

mucilage) and insoluble fibre (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin). These two categories perform

different functions, which is why it is important to eat both kinds regularly.

S o l u b l e F i b r e

Soluble fibre is found most often at the heart of plant material. In the small intestine, food residue

sticks to soluble fibre and is then be excreted by the body. In the colon, soluble fibre is attacked by

bacteria. When it comes into contact with liquid, this fibre becomes viscous, which favours the

passage of residue. Oat bran, legumes and citrus fruit are rich in soluble fibre.

I n s o l u b l e F i b r e

Insoluble fibre is generally found on the exterior of plant material. There are less easily attacked by

bacteria and therefore do not ferment as well. They retain water and have a great ability to increase in volume. Many foods contain insoluble fibre: wheat bran; many fruits and vegetables, such as cabbage;as well as bread and grains.

Soluble fibre creates a viscous gel that:

• stabilizes glycemia

• creates a feeling of satiation (to stop hunger during weight loss)

• allows an appetite-moderating hormone called cholecystokinin to be released

Insoluble fibre swells up in water:

• It helps stimulate intestinal transit and increases stool volume to prevent constipation

Smoothies and juices are full of essential elements: they are different and complementary. You need to eat different fruits and vegetables, specially raw ones and to vary your diet.

Some characteristics of fruits and vegetables you can use to make juices and smoothies:

• Carrot improves your vision thanks to vitamin A. Vitamin A is liposoluble, so don’t forget to add fat, such as olive or sunflower oil drops to improve absorption. Vitamin B6 helps your immune and neuropsychic systems to produce cytokines and neurotransmitters. Moreover, carrots are full of fibre.

• Avocado has high fibre content. Vitamin B5 is essential to skin and mucous membranes resistance.  Moreover, it helps to reduce stress. Vitamin K is essential to coagulation.

• Blueberry is an interesting oxidation inhibitor thanks to high flavonoid content. Vitamin C is a very important vitamin because it has a major role in different biological syntheses (red blood cells, collagen etc.) 

• Banana contains vitamin B6 and manganese. The latter is an oxidation inhibitor and enzymatic cofactor.

• Kiwi is rich in vitamin C, K and fibre.

Recipes:

Avocado/kiwi/carrot smoothie

Ingredients: 1 kiwi, ½ avocado, 1 carrot, 250ml apple juice, sesame seeds (1 teaspoon), ½ teaspoon olive oil.

Peel the kiwi and put it with avocado, carrot, apple juice and olive oil in a blender. Blend until smooth. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Blueberry and banana smoothie

Ingredients: 1 banana, 250g blueberries, 1 vanilla flavored soy yogurt, 1 glass of iced water, ½ teaspoon vanilla sugar, 1teaspoon grated coconut.

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Sprinkle with grated coconut and serve chilled.

Laure Martinat

(France)

Have You Ever Visited an Oriental Medicine Practitioner?

Everyone has been to the doctor, at least once in their life. And the dentist? Most know how a routine visit will unfold. But do you know what to expect from a visit to an oriental medicine practitioner?

There are variations, and different approaches, of course. But, generally speaking here is what to expect:

Session Procedure

During the first consultation, the practitioner always favors the diagnosis: its precision and will determine the effectiveness of the treatment. During the consultation, the goes through the patient’s history, and takes note of the patient’s complexion, pulse and which will reveal important clues.

Once the points have been chosen, the practitioner stimulates them using different methods. These
methods have different names:

• Acupuncture: steel, brass, stainless steel or silver needles;
• Moxas: according to the practitioner’s preference, heated herbs or suction discs are applied on the points;
• Electroacupuncture: the electronic stimulator (some also make the diagnosis);
• Laser therapy: laser stimulation;
• Acupressure: Chinese massage or acupressure, digitopuncture, shiatsu, etc.;
• Ultrasounds and light waves: devices that emit waves ranging from ultrasounds to sound and light waves.

Improvement will be noticeable after the first session or, at the most, after the fourth treatment. In order for the treatment to be effective, approximately ten sessions are recommended.

This information is an excerpt from the excellent AMCC course materials:

The Pillars of Health (131)

Have a great time at the Oriental Medicine Practitioner's office!
Sheryl-Anne

Sniffle-Free Fall

As a health professional, we are often asked, especially at this time of year, how to prevent and cure, or at the very least ease the unpleasant symptoms of colds and flus.

The first order of business: reinforce the immune system. How one goes about achieving this depends entirely on one's preferences. There exists really effective, side effect free modalities out there Some will opt for homeopathy, others for supplementation, naturopathy, vitamins, medicinal herbs. Some choose to adapt their food intake. And the list goes on.

1. Nutritionally, we know that food is fuel for the human body, and that includes the immune system. High quality proteins, vitamins and minerals sourced from high quality ingredients and in adequate amounts, are all essential. Eat an abundant and wide variety of colourful fruits and vegetables to fill up on antioxidants; add flax, walnuts or fish to get those all important omega-3s.
2. Exercise to stimulate your immune responsiveness, but don't overdo it: 30 minutes 3 to 5 times a week will suffice. An overly aggressive exercise regimen will have the exact opposite effect: a weakened your immune system. 
3. Upper respiratory issues coincide with the drier indoor air, usually caused by heating. This is remedied quite simply by adding humidifiers, that have to be meticulously maintained to avoid unwanted bacteria and to preserve the indoor air quality.
4. A healthy intestinal flora will boost immunity. A regular intake of probiotics, especially if taking antibiotics, is recommended. Good bacteria can be found in unpasteurized sauerkraut, kimchi, and of course, the ever popular yogurt. Pasteurization will render any bacteria inactive, and therefore ineffective in promoting a healthy intestinal flora.
5. Getting enough sleep seems like a good idea for many reasons, but did you know it also improves immunity? So hit the sack for at least 7 hours every night.
6. A little cleanliness will go a long way in preventing the spread of colds and flus. Wash hands regularly, and cover mouth or nose when coughing or sneezing.
7. And of course, take a few days off when sick: you will get better sooner while limiting the spread of germs.

Certain supplements can help when one has a cold or the flu.

1. Ginseng
2. Vitamin C
3. Echinacea
4. Goldenseal
5. Garlic (raw preferably)
6. Peppermint essential oil
7. Licorice root (soothes respiratory tract)
8. Black elderberry

There you have it. A few good tips to heal oneself and to share during your consultations.

Health!

Sheryl-Anne