(There’s) Hope for Bunion-Sufferers!

By

this is what bunion booties look like on your feet

Hello fellow bunion people!

While science has determined a certain percentage of us have bunions due to genetic factors, I (Carol) have a strong suspicion my life of pounding-the-pavement activity (running, dance, living/walking in NYC, etcetera) have contributed greatly to the current state of my feet. I don’t want surgery if I can avoid it and even my beloved doctor, aka Mr. Common Sense, recommended I work on stretching the tendon out by massaging it myself on a regular basis, and not resort to surgery.

the packaged product

I came across Bunion Booties last spring when my big toes ached from being trapped all winter-long in shoes and boots- and only “orthopedically-inclined” Keens and Le Canadiennes, mind you. Amazon testimonies had a consensus of positive reviews with people saying it seemed their tendons were stretching with consistent use, so I bought a pair to try them out (they’re not cheap). I’d occasionally wear in them in the house (not exactly attractive to wear with summer sandals), planning to test them with consistent wear this past winter. Now I can attest that they definitely work! I have worn them under tights and socks every day for the past few months with the addition of a gel toe separator found at Walgreen’s. I’m finding they are doing what they are designed to do: slooooowly stretch out the tendons that are arcing the big toe in the undesirable direction. A little massage when you’re in the warm water of a bath or jacuzzi, or when applying a warming oil (something with Vitamin E  and/or almond oil) helps too, to break up adhesions and just the old habit. Don’t expect a miracle: if it took a long time to get that way, it’ll probably take awhile for the change to happen. A diet rich in anti-oxidants to reduce inflammation at the joint couldn’t hurt, either.

So- whether you’re a wanna-be athlete like me, a bona fide athlete, or somewhere in between and your feet have taken a hit from all your great activity, here’s a message telling you all is not lost and you can change the trajectory on this one, hopefully before it goes to far, so you can continue to get out there and do what you love.

—————————–

At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have a combined 34 years of experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: All Things Exercise, Health Tips, Nourishing You Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Tom’s Too-Thick-To-Drink Fruit Smoothie

By

Too Thick to Drink Fruit Smoothie

As the title suggests, this smoothie is chock-full of fruit and added nutrients. The supporting players give the smoothie its body and complement the fruit flavors: you can actually taste the cherries and blueberries and banana separately. We make it so thick we use a spoon. The spoon will slow you down but gives the added benefit of allowing your body more time to absorb the gorgeousness of this anti-oxidant rich meal.

Please note: if a thick smoothie isn’t your thing, just add more (veggie) milk or juice to thin it out- you’ll still get the benefits and the yum body feel.

This smoothie is fantastic after a workout or as breakfast in the hot summer months. The additions are rough suggestions and change with what’s on hand, so feel free to add what you like best to make your own concoction.

 

Yields: 2 servings in 12 oz. glasses

Ingredients:

1 C blueberries (fresh or frozen)                               2 T Green Vibrance

1 C cherries (pitted fresh or frozen)                          2 tsps chia seeds (Mila)

2 bananas, ripened                                                2 tsps milled flax seeds

2 T coconut flakes                                                 2 tsps nutritional yeast

½ C soy, rice, or almond milk                                 2 tsps lecithin

½ C plain Greek yogurt, 0% fat

 

1.Slice bananas into a blender and add the milk liquid; puree until smooth.

2. Add the blueberries and cherries (Costco sells organic both) and puree or liquefy.

3. Add yogurt and all other ingredients and blend until everything is well incorporated.

4. Enjoy

 

Nutritional Notes:

The blueberries and cherries are full of antioxidants.

Green Vibrance is a green-based product made of powdered vegetables, fruit, and herbs- real food- to provide a whole host of nutrients and probiotics.

Chia and flax seeds contain high amounts of both Omega 3 and 6 from a plant source, which makes it more balanced, and trace amounts of minerals.

Nutritional yeast has a high percent of most of the B vitamins, and good amount of magnesium, both of which are highly beneficial to nervous system function.

Lecithin is a fat emulsifier and many claim its health benefits include reducing cholesterol, boosting liver function, fighting heart disease, and improving brain function, but we looked it up and the research to back these claims is inconclusive so far.

_____________________

At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted

 

Filed Under: All Things Food, Cooking Basics, Health Tips, Nourishing You, Recipes, You Are What You Eat Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Inflammatory and Immune Response Systems, Part III

By

ACQUIRED IMMUNITY: WHERE AND HOW

Part III continues our series with a focus on specific defense. In a nutshell, the main immune players can be likened to different types military forces. Microphages and macrophages are the local police (see Part II), white blood cells are the standing army, at-the-ready, from all divisions, and immunoglobulins are the the special ops class, trained to react with precision in order to eliminate the enemy.

ANTIGENS AND ANTIBODIES: Immunoglobulins and White Blood Cells
Specific defense (acquired/adaptive) can be likened to the military’s special ops. The immune cells are found in the body tissue and on cell membranes, and their key function is to protect against pathogenic organisms or other sources of not-self. Specific defenses are unique responses (antibodies) to not-self elements (antigens).

1) Immunoglobulins
An antigen is a foreign substance that sets off an immune response. Antigens can be microbial (bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi) and non-microbial (poison plants, insect bites, and tree pollen). Our body creates antibodies to counteract each antigen.

Antibodies are proteins called immunoglobulins. There are five types of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD, and IgE), to respond to different kinds of enemies (antigens), located in different types of body tissue and fluids.

Structurally, antibodies are shaped like a Y so that they can easily lock onto the target cell and enable other immune components to find and either destroy the antigen, or stop its replication mechanism.

2) Immune Cells
Like soldiers, airmen, and seamen on the front line, there are different types of immune cells to attack not-self from all angles. These cells are present and active in both non-specific and specific defense.

Lymphocytes are the most common cells of specific immunity, and they are separated into two classes: T cells and B cells. Neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils are white blood cells. Other kinds of immune cells are monocytes, macrophages, denritic cells, natural killer cells (NK), and the major histocompatiblity complex (MHC).

3) Humoral Immunity and Cell-Mediated Immunity
Humoral immunity is found in body tissue and the blood’s plasma, on the lookout for invaders, and creates an antibody in response to an antigen. Cell-mediated immunity issues the clarion call that activates other immune players.

The Inflammatory and Immune Response Systems, Part III

—————————–
At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: Conditions Treated, Health Tips, Integrative Medicine, Stress Busters Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Inflammatory and Immune Response Systems, Part 1: Inflammation in a Nutshell

By

courtesy of digital thermal imaging, showing back pain originating from inflammation in the (R) kidney

Large or small, inside or outside, wherever injury occurs the body’s defenses set off a cascade of players to deal with the tissue damage (inflammation system) and keep strangers out (immune system). Whether you bump your elbow, get a splinter, or have an autoimmune disorder, the same sequence unfolds, aimed to restore order and heal you, naturally.

This series will cover the major components present where injury to tissue occurs. It’s a fascinating, complex process, with a lot of moving parts in a rapid sequence of events. We begin with a discussion of inflammation, and move on to immunity, inflammatory conditions, health tips, and related topics in future posts.

Inflammation is characterized by four cardinal signs:
Redness
Pain
Heat
Swelling

The inflammatory response serves to stop bleeding and wall off the injured area to prevent further damage to the local tissue. This unfolds as a natural process beginning with acute-phase and transitioning into chronic-phase responses.

1. Acute-phase response has active two stages, the vascular stage and the cellular stage.

a. During the vascular stage, the blood vessels first respond by constricting, then rapidly dilate (enlarge). The blood vessels that supply the area also dilate to allow fluid and plasma proteins to move out of the vessels and into the surrounding (interstitial) spaces, causing the swelling, heat, pain, and redness associated with acute-phase inflammation.

b. During the cellular phase, the capillaries become permeable for the delivery of immune factors, nutrients, and blood-clotting factors.

Chemical mediators produce the signs and symptoms of inflammation at both the vascular and cellular stages. These mediators perform an array of functions that keep the intricate process moving forward step-by-step, with the ultimate purpose of stopping the damage and returning the system to homeostasis. We will cover some of these in future posts.

2. Chronic-phase responses can become long-lasting if not treated. Some chronic-phase injuries are local (shoulder pain) and some are systemic (autoimmune disease). Foreign substances, both living (viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites) and non-living (example: splinters) can also underlie chronic inflammation.

Chronic-phase responses put an additional demand on the body’s resources, hence the reason why we stress the importance of quality nutrition that supplies the raw material for all the body’s functions.

The Inflammatory and Immune Response Systems, Part 1: Inflammation in a Nutshell

—————————–
At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: All Things Exercise, All Things Food, Conditions Treated, Health Tips, Nourishing You, Stress Busters, You Are What You Eat Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Preserving Hot Peppers

By

hot peppers from the greenmarket

Update: Ha! Since I wrote this post we’ve moved to Colorado, where hot peppers abound. Costco has a pounds of scorched-and-peeled green chilies in the freezer section. Comparatively, the trend is just beginning to take hold in New York.

There’s something addictive about the inside-out flavor hot pepper can impart to a dish, and the greenmarket is full of them right now, so my thoughts (Carol) began to percolate about preserving them to have that flavor in the coming winter months.

Casting about for a proven method, it seems from reviews across the internet that the freeze-raw method is the most popular, but I tried two methods: the freeze-raw method with the small and skinny ones, and the roast-then-freeze method with the larger and rounder ones.

Preserving hot peppers takes minutes to prep. I recommend you use gloves to avoid the onerous effects you can get from even washed hands near your eyes, nose, or face.

1. Start by cleaning the peppers and letting them dry.

2. Cut off the ends, slice lengthwise, and remove the pulpy core and seeds.

3a. To freeze: place on cookie sheet or flat plate in batches and freeze, then put in a freezer bag for storage

3b. To roast, then freeze: place in 375-degree oven until darkened, about 1 hour, check every 20 minutes to be safe; skin while hot, let cool, and freeze as above

In both instances, freezing the peppers on the flat surface keeps them from sticking together for longer storage. Pack tightly to avoid the icy buildup that comes with months in the freezer.

Preserving Hot Peppers

—————————–
At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: Nourishing You Tagged With: , , , , ,
« Older Posts