I do not usually promote services at my office, however……………. I feel so strongly and have  had soooo many patients and readers wanting clarification on purification and cleansing, I am offering two different  workshops ( no charge!)

Purify your body! Transform your life through whole food purification!

Monday February 6th 1:00-2:00 or

Wednesday February 15th 6:30-7:30

Cardin Wellness Center

9159 West 133rd Street. Overland Park, Kansas 66213

Call and reserve your spot today!

913-239-8501 or

info@cardinwellness.com

Ingredients

Directions

1. Get out the 8 quart pot.
2. Boil 1 quarts of water in a kettle.
3. Dice onions and garlic
4. Add celery, carrots and squash
5. Cover the bottom of the pot with olive or grape seed oil and stir-fry the above veggies. Add at least a tablespoon of sea salt and lots of black pepper. When hot, not tender, pour in the boiling water and boil another kettle of water.
6. Add to the soup and boil: tomatoes and puree,
7. Slice a whole cabbage as small as you’ll be comfortable eating, and to avoid really bad slurping noises. Put it in the pot as you go .
8. Add fresh parsley,basil and chives.
9. Cover the pot and boil the heck out of it. It’s done when the celery is no longer hard and the thick bits of cabbage are a bit translucent. The pot can cool overnight on the counter before you store it in the fridge.

EAT AND ENJOY:)

CAUSES of YOUTH SPORT INJURIES:
Participation in any sport, whether recreational or competitive can teach kids to stretch their limits and learn sportsmanship and discipline. But any sports carries the potential for injury.
By knowing the cause of sports injuries and how to prevent them, you can help make athletics a positive experience for your child.

• Kids, particularly those younger than 8 years old, are less coordinated and have a slower reaction time than adults because they are still growing and developing.
• Kids mature at different rates. Often there is a substantial difference in height and weight between kids of the same age. When kids of varying sizes play sports together, there may be a greater potential of injury.
• Lack of pre-season conditioning.
• Not warming up, cooling down or not stretching properly.
• Kids may not access the risk of certain activities as fully as adults might. So they unknowingly take risks that can result in injuries.
• Failure to provide reliable safety equipment (helmets, shin guards, etc) for all athletes.
• Overzealous practices schedules that do not allow proper rest or stretching.
• Failure to recognize and treat an injury promptly and competently.
• Playing while injured.
• Failure to ensure that young athletes have access to a health care professionals who is qualified to make medical assessments and decisions.
• Failure to educated family and players signs and symptoms of injuries.
• Allowing or even encouraging over aggressive or prohibited behavior.
• Denying athletes adequate water and rest during practices and game.s
• Poor nutrition and hydration.
• Unprepared for weather and temperature, too hot or too cold.
• More youths are specializing in one sport at an early age and training all year round.

PREVENTION OF YOUTH SPORTS INJURIES:
Review the Parent’s checklist for the sports. Ensure a safe and healthy playing environment for the children who participate in the sport.

• Use proper equipment and safety gear that is the correct size, fits well and is properly maintained.
• Make sure that all surfaces from courts to tracks to playing fields are in good condition, not full of holes and ruts.
• Warm up before exercising. This can minimize the chance of a muscle strain or other soft tissue injuries during sporting events. Warm up exercises make the body’s tissues warmer and more flexible, thus preventing injuries.
• Wear sunscreen and a hat to reduce the chance of a sunburn.
• Stay well hydrated before, during and after any physical activity.
• Know your coach. Any team sport or activity that kids participate in should be supervised by qualified adult. Select a team and league with the same commitment. The team coach should have training in first aid and CPR. The coach’s philosophy should promote player’s well being and development.
• Make sure that your child is matched for sports according to their skill level, size and physical and emotional maturity.
• Allow adequate rest between practices and games.
• Play a variety of sports. Playing multiple sports at different times of the year gives some muscles a chance to rest while other are being worked.

Common Types of Injuries:
1. Acute injuries occur suddenly and are usually associated with some form of trauma. Acute injuries can vary from minor bruises, stain, sprains to broken bones and torn ligaments. Acute injures often occur because of lack of proper equipment or the use of improper equipment. For example, no eyewear, no mouth guard, improper foot wear, loose cage of a helmet…….

2. Overuse Injuries occur from repetitive actions that put too much stress on bones and muscles. These account for more than 50% of all sports related injuries and are the most preventable. Overuse injuries also occur in adults but are more problematic in child athletes because of the effect they may have on bone growth.
Most common types of overuse injuries:

• Anterior knee pain
• Little league elbow
• Swimmer’s shoulder
• Shin splints
• Spondylolysis

Overuse injuries can be caused or aggravated by:

• Growth spurts or an imbalance between flexibility and strength
• Inadequate warm up
• Excessive activity, increased intensity, duration and frequency
• Playing the same sport year-round or multi sports during the same season
• Improper technique, whether throwing, catching, running, skating, jumping….
• Unsuitable equipment, from non supportive, improper fit…

3. Re-injuries occur from returning to the sport before the previous injury has sufficiently healed. Avoid a re-injury by allowing an injury to completely heal. A medically trained professional should be clear or approve the child to return to the sport.

TREATING YOUTH SPORTS INJURIES:
For acute injuries better to play it “safe than sorry”. Administer first aid immediately, then follow up with a doctor. If the injury seems more serious, it is important to take your child to the nearest hospital emergency room. Don’t trust the diagnosis to a parent or a fan in the stands.
For overuse injuries, the philosophy is similar. If a child begins complaining of pain, it’s the bodies way of saying there is a problem so do not wait to have it checked out.
Have the child examined by a qualified health care professional. It is important to get overused injuries diagnosed and treated as soon as possible to prevent them from developing into larger chronic problems.

Your doctor may recommend:

1. Continue to play but use protective device (ex. knee brace, wrist guard..).
2. Rest, Ice and recover to allow the healing process to begin and preventing further injury.
3. Undergo rehabilitation (physical therapy) to support tissues like muscles, tendons and ligaments.
4. See an orthopedist or sports medicine specialist for further diagnosis and imaging ( X-ray, CT, MRI…).
5. See a chiropractor to help restore normal mobility to the joints, muscles, spine and nervous system.
6. Receive acupuncture to decrease, pain, swelling and healing time.
7. Use proper nutritional support to decrease swelling and facilitate the repair process of the damaged muscles and connective tissues. Including an anti-inflammatory diet can also reduce the recovery time.

*ALWAYS have your treating physician determine when your recovery is complete and when you can return to your sporting activities.

My Thoughts:
When at least 60 percent of all injures sustained were in direct relation to training and overuse injuries…..have we gone too far? Are we putting too much emphasis on athletic participation and performance all consuming and causes injuries that can sometimes compromise a child’s future?
The most important thing to do when you suspect you your child is injured is STOP doing whatever sporting activity has caused the injury right away and seel medical advice.
In good health,
Dr. Heather

• Recognize the dangers of playing in the heat.
• Respond quickly if heat-related injuries occur.
• Schedule regular fluid breaks during practice and games.
• Drinking water is the best choice; others include fruit juices and sports drinks.
• Kids need to drink 8 ounces of fluid every 20 minutes, plus more after playing.
• Make player substitutions more frequently in the heat.
• Wear light-colored, “breathable” clothing, and wide-brimmed hats
• Use misting water sprays on the body to keep cool.

Dear Dr. Heather,
It is so expensive to eat “healthy”, it is much easier to eat unhealthy. I just think that you are wrong! No way is it about the same cost to eat unhealthy as it is to eat healthy??
Sincerely,

Junk food eater

Dear Junk food eater,

I refer to all junk food… “non-food items. The definition of food is
“any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc.”

Food items= basically everything that God grew and intended for human consumption, vegetables, grains, rice, corn, beans, fruits, beans, water, fish and animal protein
Non-food items= soda, candy, gum, frozen dinners, all prepackaged foods, canned pastas. I have never seen rivers filled with soda or trees made of candy and donuts ( except in Willie Wonka land), bleached flour/wheat products, hydrogenated oils, food colorings, monosodium glutamate, artificial ingredients….if you cannot read it or pronounce it, it is probably not a food. If it comes in a box wrapper, probably not a real food item.

Here is your homework to determine if it is more expensive to eat healthy:

1. Keep all of your receipts over the next month that you spend on food, grocery store, farmers market, drive thru and dining out.
2. Circle in RED pen all of the non-food items, if in doubt, count it.
3. Total up and calculate the percentage or what you spent on all non-food items.
4. Highlight all of the real food items that you purchased. ( fruits, veggies, meats, grains…)
5. Total and calculate this percentage.
6. Don’t forget to calculate any medical bills that were associated with illness of this month, missed work days, medical copays, prescriptions…… These expenses are related to being unhealthy. Eating unhealthy=being unhealthy.
7. Most importantly…….. I want to hear how what you found out for your household so leave send you comments!

I look forwards to hearing what you discovered,

In good health,

Dr. Heather

With the New Year off to a brand new beginning, it is a great time to start over… set new lifestyle goals, break bad habits and reslove to become healthier!

The most common New Year’s resolution is to  lose weight and begin an exercise program. If either of these are your resolution, then here’s a little bit more information for you to see if and why you should get that  new start to becoming healthier, losing the unwanted weight, changing your current health status.

Surprise, if you pinched an inch or more then it is likely that you are overweight. Can you believe that you are supposed to have less than an inch to pinch there! If you are like most people, the older or the more stressed we get, the more we have to pinch.

Weight is a serious issue. Excess weight is a problem facing an estimated 97 million adults in the United States. Currently, about one-fifth of all U.S. adults are believed to be considerably overweight. There are more “obese” people in the U.S. today than ever according to several medical journals and the American Dietetic Association.

We should be clear about what is meant by ‘obese’ and ‘overweight’. You are said to be obese if your body weight exceeds 20% more than the average desirable weight for a person of your height and is defined in terms of an excess of body fat. Overweight describes people whose weight is 10% greater than the average desirable weight.

As we all know, being overweight or obese can affect our mood, emotional well-being, and personal and family relationships. But what you don’t know is that our brain and neurotransmitter/hormone supply affect food intake, appetite regulation, and energy balance. Neurotransmitters and hormones can be measured, and with this information, your doctor can recommend the best program for you.
If you can  “pinching an inch”, start a physical fitness program, start eating a better diet, do a detox or cleansing program.

There is no Fountain of Youth and there are no ruby red slippers to click to give you rock hard abs and look perfect in the little black dress. It takes commitment to change, motivation and a plan!

Life is the most precious gift we own. Don’t wait for cancer or a heart attack  to drastically spark an epiphany  to change your  current health status.  Do everything you can do now to be here, on   this planted as long as you can with the quality of life you desire!

In good health and Happy New Year,

Dr. Heather

This juice is a popular one for breakfast as it gives your energy levels a boost, wakens your digestive system whilst giving your body a nutrition, yet gentle start to the day. 8 oz. mixed with 8 oz. of distilled water is usually enough to keep you going until lunchtime. If you are keen to get ‘6-a-Day’ this is a pretty good start!

Ingredients:

• 1 whole cucumber
• 4 sticks of celery
• 2-4 handfuls of spinach
• 8 lettuce leaves
• Any other greens!
• Optional boosters: parsley and fresh alfalfa sprouts

Directions:
Juice all ingredients and mix 50/50 with distilled water. Add optional lemon juice to taste.

Ingredients

• ½ a squash, seeds scooped out and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (if using a squash with a thick skin then peel the skin first)
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1/2-1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• A few handfuls of chopped leafy greens (spinach, chard or green cabbage)
• 1 red or green chilli, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
• Fresh juice of ½ a lemon
• Himalayan crystal salt or celtic sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or a Wok pan and gently fry the onion for a few minutes.
2. Add the ginger, chilli and garlic. Cook for a minute or so, but be careful that the garlic does not get burnt as it gets bitter otherwise.
3. Add the squash and a pinch of salt. Gently fry until the squash is just tender.
4. Toss in your leafy greens and add in a bit of lemon juice.
5. Season with pepper to taste.

A great side to any any time. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.askdrheather.net/2011/01/leafy-green-and-ginger-stir-fry/feed/ 0 http://www.askdrheather.net/2011/01/quinoa-apple-breakfast-warmer/ http://www.askdrheather.net/2011/01/quinoa-apple-breakfast-warmer/#comments Fri, 07 Jan 2011 19:39:01 +0000 drheather http://www.askdrheather.net/?p=1578 Quinoa is a gluten free grain. It is an ancient grain from South American that is high in protein and very versatile. Try it for breakfast as a substitute for oatmeal or cream of wheat or with lunch of dinner in place of rice.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of quinoa
• 1 apple
• ½ lemon
• Cinnamon
• Optional: raisins

Instructions:

1. Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions. Then bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. As you’re reaching the end of the 15 minutes, grate the apple in and cook for a further 30 seconds, grate in the zest of the lemon and squeeze a little lemon in to taste. Now serve in bowls with a sprinkle of cinnamon and voila! Delicious and warming.

Note: if you want to add raisins (and I only recommend this while transitioning) then throw them in just before you grate in the apple.