Category: Inspired Page 4 of 6

1 Broken Jar + 6 Stitches = 5 Lessons on Life

On June 11, 2015

I’ve been getting around a bit more slowly than usual this week.

But it hasn’t been by choice.

I usually rush through my day, moving from one commitment to the next with few breaks in between. Because I’m so passionate about the work that I do, I tend to say “yes” to a lot of things and am always on the move.

I was abruptly reminded about the need to slooooow down on Monday night.

I was in the kitchen about to make this dessert for a co-worker’s baby shower.

I grabbed a glass jar of coconut flour from our lazy Susan and was lifting it up by the lid to set it up on the counter top.

Within a matter of seconds, the side of the jar and the edge of the countertop collided in such a way that the bottom of the jar blew out and fell to the ground, lacerating the top of my bare right foot in the process.

I yelled as I realized what happened and started to see blood. Bill came running in to see what was wrong.

He grabbed our kitchen first aid kit and tried to stop the bleeding and after one look, he said “We need to go to Patient First“. With hindsight, I know that I am lucky that I don’t have to worry about the costs of things like urgent care. Many people have to rely on crowdfunding and similar things to cover their bills. But nevertheless, at the time I panicked and complained. Bill calmly wrapped the wound, and I then hopped to the car.

When we arrived, they sat me in a wheelchair, so I didn’t have to put pressure on my foot, and I waited ~~patiently~~ until I could be seen.

The nurse who initially helped me was the same nurse who saw me last year when I ever so gracefully cut off part of the tip of my finger with a chef’s knife.

“Oh yeah, you’re gonna need stitches,” she said.

GREAT.

I threw a pity party for the next hour or so as Bill held my hand and I texted a few friends about my unfortunate accident.

My friend, Corinne, provided some comic relief (friends are the best!) in the midst of my less than awesome night. Don’t mind some of my misspelled words 🙂

When the physician’s assistant finally came in to numb me and sew me up, she prefaced what she was about to do with, “When I numb this, it’s going to hurt, burn, sting. You can scream, cuss, or yell, but please don’t hit me.”

Fantastic.

I braced myself.

I had a death grip on Bill’s hand and started DEEP breathing and exhaling while the area was numbed. It’s amazing how much that stuff from yoga, meditation and singing ACTUALLY WORKS. I hardly felt a pinch 🙂

I left with a mini boot so that I could walk more comfortably and keep it protected in the bandage the next day. Super cute, right??

By the time we got home, it was after 11:00, and I had yet to make the dessert for my co-worker. Bill did it for me, even though he had to wake up early to get to school to set up field day, which is fully in his hands as the phys ed teacher.

As I fell asleep, I was feeling sorry for myself in a big way and was asking, “Why is this happening TO me??”

When I woke up Tuesday morning with a sore foot and spent the morning hopping around the house, I took some time to reflect on what this situation could be teaching me.

Almost immediately, I was reminded of a friend of mine who was injured at work. She had a nasty fall at work and ended up needing to take a significant amount of time off. In the end, after speaking to an attorney she even decided to file a personal injury lawsuit.

If ever you are injured at work and you suspect that the negligent behavior of someone else might have contributed towards your accident, there is a chance that you could be entitled to compensation. That being said, personal injury law can be confusing and so reaching out to a legal expert is always in your best interest.

Ultimately, my accident happened in my kitchen in my own home so I was quite lucky in this respect!

So, what if instead of asking,“Why is this happening TO me?” I asked…

As I’ve thought about that over the past three days, here’s what has come to mind for me:

1) SLOOOOW Down

I’ll be honest, with my entrepreneurial spirit and passion, I tend to be running 100 miles per hour most days of the week. I can easily get caught up in all of the ideas, dreams, visions and activities in my life and forget to take a moment to slow down, pause, and check in with myself.

When I was at the urgent care clinic, the physician’s assistant who was treating me made a comment that resonated with me because it’s so true of most of us. Patients come in all the time and say things like:

“I don’t have time to be sick. Give me a pill.”

So many of us tend to do that, don’t we? We “don’t have time” to be inconvenienced or slowed down. But sometimes it takes something like this happening to make us realize we’re rushing through life instead of fully appreciating each day.

2) I’m grateful I can move my body freely in ways that I choose.

Whether I want to go for a morning walk, a jog around the harbor, a hike in the park, or shake what I’ve got in Zumba or Nia, I generally move in ways that make me feel good without thinking about it. I used to force myself to exercise in ways that weren’t fun or enjoyable for me, but I’ve realized life is too short to do that. I’m committed to moving in ways that bring me joy.

With my friend Lola after taking her Nia class. SO invigorating, freeing and joyful!

This week, my injured foot has felt “tight” and a bit swollen, so I haven’t really been able to exercise. I’m really looking forward to when I can move freely again and know I will appreciate it more than I have in the past.

3) Having needs doesn’t make you “needy.”

We all have needs. Sometimes we give more than we get, but at other times, we get more than we give. Growing up in a home of ambitious, independent, self-starters, I was never very good at asking for help or what I needed or wanted. I didn’t want to be a burden or look like I couldn’t handle something. But then I think of times when people need my help. I don’t think they’re “needy” and I’m more than willing to help them. When I’m in the midst of trying to “do it all” myself, I lose sight of that.

From the guy who held the door open for me and made me laugh on the elevator to my friend Laura coming over to pick up the dessert, Dulaney going to my car to get business cards and Kat helping me carry boxes out to my car, people were more than willing to help me.

I just had to be open to receiving it.

4) **The body has an amazing capacity to heal.**

The day after my injury, Bill looked at my foot and commented how it was already starting to heal. Isn’t the body amazing? It WANTS to heal. Inside and outside. Most of the time, we just refuse to get out of its way.

Several years ago, I had surgery on my hand and ended up with a scar over the knuckle of my left ring finger. When I first saw the stitches, I was horrified. This was my wedding ring finger.

Ring Finger Scar

It took 3 months of physical therapy to rehab my hand and get it back to where I could use it normally again. I was diligent about massaging the scar and patching it at night, and most of the time I don’t even notice that it’s there.

I’ve been equally nervous about my foot and the 2-inch-long scar that is now very visible just beneath my toe line.

I’m going to be partnering with my friend and mentor, Katie Hussong, to use healing oils to aid my body in its healing process. After all, they were the first form of plant-based medicine we ever had, so I might as well try them! I’ll be reporting back how the healing process goes and am optimistic it will go well!

5) Unconditional love is a wonderful thing.

I’ve been blessed with an incredibly selfless husband who loves me at my worst when I’m acting anything but lovable. I’ve struggled to feel “worthy” of this kind of love. But this is what real love is about – sacrifice, selflessness, patience, kindness, grace and forgiveness.

It’s about saying, “I don’t love how you’re acting, but I still love YOU.”

That’s how I’ve felt this week. And for that, I’m grateful.

In the midst of our challenges, we can be open to learning lessons we’re often too busy to see when we’re hurrying through life.

I’m thankful for the lessons I’m learning through this one.

Top 10 Steps to Optimal Health: Go With Your Gut!

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On May 28, 2015

In Inspired, My Story

If you feel less than awesome in your body at this very moment, keep reading. What I’m sharing today could literally change your life!

Today, we’re talking about a topic that is near and dear to me because of my personal healing journey to identify food sensitivities, get myself off of a chronic disease medication, and heal my body.

What I’ve learned about the digestive system and its role in keeping me healthy has transformed my life. I have dealt with some form of sickness for most of my life, but addressing the underlying system and root causes has helped me feel better.

For the longest time, I felt like what I was dealing with was “normal” because it was all I’d ever known. (Doesn’t everyone get ear and sinus infections and bronchitis and reflux??). On what seems like a daily basis, I either hear stories about, talk to people dealing with or read about frustrating struggles with health issues that SEEM to be “normal” because they are common.

From indigestion, migraines, asthma, acne, irritable bowel syndrome and heartburn to depression, anxiety, diabetes, and constipation, we’ve grown to think of these things as normal because so many people we know deal with them.

So what’s the secret?

Good health begins in the gut, the digestive system.

Did you know that over 50% of our immune system lies in and around our digestive tract? And that’s being conservative. Some experts report that as much as 70-80% of our immune cells are in and around our digestive system!

That means EVERYTHING we eat and drink goes through that system and affects it. Everything.

There is a strong link between what we eat and drink and how we feel.

I’m excited to share some potentially life-changing information with you in today’s post. I had the privilege of learning from one of the best and brightest in the field of nutrition and gut health, Dr. Chris D’Adamo from the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine.

Check out his top 10 tips to optimize YOUR gut health to start feeling better today!

With Dr. Berman and Dr. Chris D’Adamo before his keynote

1) Acknowledge and believe that you don’t have to live with these symptoms just because you always have!

The body has a remarkable ability to be transformed and heal when we give it what it needs and take away what is hurting it.

Consider something like depression. It’s a complex condition without a sole cause or treatment. BUT, when you learn that over 90% of our “happiness hormone” (serotonin) production occurs in the GUT, it makes sense to look at healing the gut as a way to boost our mood and feel better. Aligning with functional medicine doctors can help you determine the true root cause of your condition, not matter what it is, and even it seems to have no connection to your digestive system.

2) See a gastroenterologist to rule out any serious gastrointestinal disorders.

I’m talking about Celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcers, diverticulosis, infections, ulcerative colitis, gallstones, and colorectal cancer, among others. In case you were not already aware, gastroenterologists are doctors who investigate, diagnose, treat and prevent all gastrointestinal (stomach and intestines) and hepatological (liver, gallbladder, biliary tree and pancreas) diseases. Gastroenterologists can be found all over the world, so whether you are looking for a gastroenterologist in castle hill or a doctor closer to home, do not be afraid to do some research online to track down a specialist in your area. Above all, speaking to a few different doctors can help you to get a second opinion.

Consequently, if you’re looking for a gastroenterologist who has been recommended to me by Dr. D’Adamo, contact Dr. Jim Novick at GBMC in Towson. If you want to find someone near you, search for a provider at the Institute for Functional Medicine’s website here.

3) Try an elimination diet for at least 2 weeks.

Two weeks is NOT the same as forever. I promise.

Think of going through an elimination diet as “removing the tacks” you’re sitting on that are causing you pain/discomfort/less than awesome health. The ultimate goal is to remove as few foods as possible while optimizing your health.

Suppressing symptoms with medication is just like sitting on a sharp tack and holding an ice pack on the spot to numb it rather than removing the tack completely.

Sometimes we are eating foods that are literally making us sick and causing us to stay there, no matter how much of the good stuff we add in. For me, those foods are dairy and gluten (the two most common allergenic foods).

Once I removed them from my diet, everything from congestion to sinus and ear infections and acid reflux went away.

Check out these AWESOME resources about how to do an elimination diet on the Institute for Functional Medicine’s website. Try it. These practitioners restore hope to health care.

4) Reduce or (ideally) eliminate artificial sweeteners (including Splenda).

Aspartame, found in Diet foods and drinks, and also known as Equal and Nutrasweet damages the healthy balance of bacteria in our digestive system that keeps us well.

Sucralose, the sugar in Splenda, has been associated with weight gain and potential involvement in irritable bowel disease. Sugar alcohols (anything ending in “-ol” like malitol) can have laxative effects and disrupt healthy gut function.

If you or someone you know is trying to get off of artificial sweeteners, watch the free documentary Sweet Misery. In the meantime, your best bet for a real sweetener (in moderation) is raw honey because it contains prebiotics and probiotics.

5) Wean off of acid-blocking medications (under doctor supervision).

I’m talking about the Prilosecs, Prevacids and Nexiums of the world. They have NOT been studied for long-term use and can often ultimately do more harm than good.

They are symptom “shushers.” Many of them (PPIs – proton pump inhibitors like what you see above) work by shutting off our body’s stomach acid production.We NEED stomach acid to break down our food, so we can properly absorb and use it. We don’t want to shut off this natural function of our body.

Believe it or not, many people who are diagnosed with acid reflux may actually have LOW stomach acid, which was the case for me. I rarely felt true hunger and often felt like my food was just sitting in my stomach after eating, taking its sweet time to digest.

As a result of taking acid-blocking medications for almost a decade, I messed up my body’s natural stomach acid and wasn’t breaking down proteins properly into amino acids or creating vitamin B12 (essential for energy and hundreds of other functions in the body).

Oops.

Guess what I’ve learned since then? We need the building blocks of protein to build everything from hormones and neurotransmitters to hair, skin and nails. I also learned I was deficient in stomach acid, so I had to supplement with hydrochloric acid (under the supervision of my nutritionist) to restore my digestive health.

Here’s my story of how I healed and got off of my medication….for good! Talk to your doctor before altering medication, and if your doctor is not open to doing this, find a functional medicine doctor, who will support you.

6) Heal the intestinal lining.

Bone broth and the supplement l-glutamine can both help us heal our intestinal lining.

Homemade bone broth contains amino acids that build and heal the gut lining. Here’s a link to learn about the health benefits of bone broth and how to make it yourself.

Buy yourself some bones* at your local market (MOMs Organic Market carries them), and make it yourself. Make sure they are from grass-fed, pasture-raised, humanely treated animals.

7) Choose fermented foods carefully.

They are a component of most traditional diets and naturally contain probiotics. Focus on miso, natto, kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, and fermented yogurt.

I find Farmhouse Culture sauerkraut (lots of varieties!) and Bubbies (both pictured below) at MOMs Organic Market. Hex Ferments in Baltimore is another great place to buy lots of different fermented foods.

I used to HATE sauerkraut, but now that I know how good it is for my health, I have tried several kinds and have learned to enjoy it.

A lot of people ask about yogurt for probiotics. Most processed yogurts in the grocery store are heavily processed and contain more sugar and additives than healthy bacteria. For a review of over 100 yogurts and a ranking from best to worst, check out this guide from the Cornucopia Institute. Dannon and Yoplait are in the bottom 5!

Check out your local natural or health food store (or Whole Foods and Wegmans) for healthy fermented food options.

8) Consume prebiotic fibers to feed the bacteria in the gut.

We hear a lot about PRObiotics these days but not too much about PREbiotics. Prebiotics are fermentable fibers that FEED probiotic bacteria. Probiotics and prebiotics are both great for our gut.

We want the good guys to get the food they need to protect us and strengthen our immune system. Check out Fittty Brittty to see how probiotics and multivitamins impact our guts.

Sources of prebiotic foods include buckwheat, chicory, sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes), burdock root, onions, garlic, asparagus, green tea, and blueberries, to name a few.

Clockwise: onions and garlic, asparagus, sunchokes, burdock root, buckwheat groats

9) When it comes to probiotics, you get what you pay for.

According to the World Health Organization, probiotics are “live microorganisms that can provide benefits to human health when administered in adequate amounts, which confer a beneficial health effect on the host.”

In other words, probiotics are “good” or “healthy” bacteria because they support digestive health. Not all bacteria are bad! And since 70% of our immune system is located in and around our digestive system, it makes sense that supporting digestive health will boost our overall health.

Choose products that specify the strains of bacteria in them and that have research behind them. You also want them to be shipped on ice/cold shipped to protect the delicate, living bacteria. A few that were mentioned in the workshop were Natren, Garden of Life Raw, Theralac, and VSL #3. I’ve been using one recommended by my nutritionist called HLC MindLinx by Pharmax.

Probiotics are most important for people who have been on antibiotics, have digestive or autoimmune issues, or who will be traveling out of the country.

Keep in mind that different people respond to the same probiotics differently, so just because something works for a friend of yours doesn’t necessary mean it will work for you.

10) It’s not just WHAT you eat that matters, it’s HOW you eat, too.

Eating mindfully (slowly, chewing thoroughly, without distractions) is key to healthy digestion.

There’s a reason we call the gut “the second brain.” The brain impacts the bacteria in our gut and our gut health impacts our brain. It’s a two-way street. When we eat under stress, our body processes food differently, and we don’t get the most out of our meals. This is why it is a good idea to understand better how you can help you Inner Ecosystem, to help improve your gut so that you don’t prioritize food over your health.

Prioritize food enough to slow down and savor it when you eat.

If you’re going to take the effort to eat well in the first place, don’t you want to get as much out of that nourishing food as possible? Optimizing our gut health is key to making that happen.

From Teacher to Triathlete: A Story of Accomplishment

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On May 21, 2015

In Inspired, My Story

I love having this blog as an outlet to share what I’ve learned about food as healing, nourishment and energy as well as how to live a full and vibrant life.

I’m excited to share today’s post about my husband Bill (yes, the guy who voluntarily eats all this “weird food” with me :)). He knows that fueling his body with nourishing food gives him the energy and stamina to perform at his best, especially athletically.

Back in January, Bill and I continued our annual tradition of going to a New Year’s Day brunch, recapping all of the great things that happened in the previous year and talking about the year to come.

Rather than focusing on an uninspired checklist of “things to do,” we focused on how we wanted to FEEL. Using Danielle LaPorte’s book, The Desire Map, as a guide, each of us identified how we wanted to feel in 2015.

My words were Radiant, Flowing, Clarity, Connected, and Worthy. I wrote about why I chose them in this post.

Bill’s words and core desired feelings were:

As an elementary school phys ed teacher, he has a purpose-driven yet “thankless” job. No matter how good they are, teachers are rarely given the appreciation, recognition, and gratitude they deserve. They’re in it because they love kids and want to help them grow and learn.

At the end of many school days, they can feel tired, frustrated and anything but motivated or accomplished.

Not only that, but since graduating from college, where he was a four-year athlete and played saxophone in the jazz band, he hasn’t had many opportunities to pursue things that made him feel energized, motivated or accomplished.

Bill said one of the things he wanted to do this year was to train for and complete a triathlon and that doing so would give him the core feelings he desired.

He was inspired and guided by the example of my dad, who is nearly 65-years-young and a 5-time Ironman triathlete; my 21-year-old sister, Jane, who has completed two Ironman triathlons; and my mom, who learned to swim in her 50s and has since completed several triathlons herself.

Volunteering along the Ironman 2014 bike route and then smiling with the finishers later that night!

He signed up for the Columbia Triathlon – an Olympic distance race that starts with a 1.5k swim (.93 miles), followed by a grueling 40k (24.8 miles) bike through hilly neighborhoods, and finished off by a 10k (6.2-mile) run.

His training began in March, and he diligently followed a daily workout regimen that included a combination of swimming, biking and running, sometimes requiring him to wake up at 5:00 a.m. before a long school day to train.

He spent Saturday mornings at Loyola University’s pool with my dad learning a new, more efficient and energy-conserving swimming technique called Total Immersion.

Bill’s first time on the road on his racing bike was less than six weeks ago.

My husband is a quick learner, especially when it comes to anything kinesthetic and athletic.

He can pick up on new sports or athletic moves faster than just about anyone I know, so I didn’t doubt that he could finish the race.

But this was the first time he would be fully responsible for his training, accountable to himself, and motivated not by his teammates, as has always been the case, but by his own desire to feel energized, motivated and accomplished.

I saw his mental toughness years ago when we first started dating, and he had torn his Achilles tendon.

Bill at the top of Little Whiteface near Lake Placid. We had to take the gondola up because he was recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and was confined to a boot.

Told by doctors that he might never play soccer again – devastating news for a lifetime athlete – he was back on the soccer field within six months, determined to beat the odds.

He had trained diligently in a physical sense, but I also knew he’d have the mental toughness to do what it takes to complete a triathlon.

The night before the race, Bill couldn’t sleep and was up by 4:00 a.m. on race day, eager to begin.

We were greeted by a humid and overcast morning and a forecast calling for a chance of rain – not exactly ideal weather conditions for a triathlon.

He and my dad headed to the race around 5:30, and my mom, sister, I and our friend, Tim, met them there shortly thereafter.

The triathlete community has a special energy about it.

These people are alive.

Making my way through the “buzz” and sea of energy, I found Bill, who appeared calm but ready to go, and my dad, who was his usual energetic self, ready to embark on yet another triathlon.

At the age of 65, he wasn’t even the oldest competitor, with nearly 10 people filling the bracket above him in the 70-74 age group.

Our friend, Tim joined us at the start, as the athletes lined up to enter the water.

Because of the narrow entry point, the swimmers were grouped in pairs and entered the water by age group, with Bill’s group being one of the last.

He had to patiently wait nearly an hour to start after being revved up since 4:00 a.m.

We cheered him on as he finally entered the water just before 8:00 a.m.

As we made our way over to the swim/bike transition area, we were joined by my sister, Jane, and arrived just as my dad, who started the race in one of the first waves, was coming out of the water and making his way to the bike.

We shouted and cheered as we saw Bill emerge from the water around 8:30.

We would later come to find out that a kayaker, who was pulling another swimmer out of the water, ran into Bill and rattled him a bit, but he continued on despite the distraction.

He looked like he was a veteran at this, as he entered the swim/bike transition area and hurried up the hill to begin the 25-mile bike ride on what were now rain-slicked roads.

His parents and sister came down from Harrisburg and joined us as we waited for the athletes to come down the steep bend on their bikes before embarking on the last leg of the race.

We saw my dad come through and waiting with anticipation to see Bill’s red bike.

When we finally saw him, we were thrilled!

He’d finished the first two legs and had what came most naturally to him as the final one – running.

The rain had given way to a hot and humid Baltimore day, and headed to the finish line to wait for my dad and Bill to make their final push.

Both finished strong and were smiling as they made their way down the final tunnel to claim their hard-earned medals.

Bill and my dad smiling after their finish

Bill and dad and their fan club!

This summer, when we go to Upstate New York for our annual family vacation, Bill will be going with my dad to sign up for his first Ironman triathlon in Lake Placid for 2016.

That’s a 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a marathon (26.2 miles). (Yes, people who do this race are the slightest bit crazy…and a different breed of human, but MAN are they fun to watch!).

We’ll all be there on the sidelines cheering him on as he moves another step closer to feeling energized, motivated and accomplished.

I wonder what his words will be when we have our New Year’s pow wow in January of next year.

Maybe these words will be on his mind, just as they’re on the wall of my dad’s office:

Some day you will not be able to do this. Today is not that day.

My dad crossing the finish line at one of his 5 Ironman triathlons. Bill will soon be joining him!

An Inspiring Day of Hope, Happiness and Integrative Health in Baltimore

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On May 12, 2015

In Inspired, My Story

I first saw signs advertising the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative Medicine’s Health & Wellness Conference a few years ago.

The topics and speakers always sparked my interest, but the timing never seemed to work with my schedule, so I never went.

After spending the past three years learning how to listen to my body, help it heal from years of medication use and poor diet, and optimize my health, I’m more passionate about the power of functional, integrative medicine than ever before, and I knew I had to go.

For the first time ever, the conference was held downtown at the Institute for Integrative Health’s facility on Fleet Street in the old Broom Corn factory. The recently renovated building has been converted into an open, inviting, vibrant space designed to provide an environment for innovative thinking, convene leaders and visionaries to promote true health care, reverse the sick care crisis, and educate the community about integrative health. Health is extremely important and it has been known that marijuana can have medicinal purposes, this includes physical and mental health, you can check out a medical marijuana card provider. A marijuana card provider is handy to get yourself a marijuana card – looking after your health!

Attending events like this and being surrounded by such brilliant, passionate, like-minded people energizes and inspires me and reminds me of why I do the work that I do.

As I wrote back in January, there is a special gift that comes from being with “your people.”

The conference started with some mingling and breakfast provided by my go-to healthy and nourishing meal choice in Towson – Zia’s Café – and Belvedere Square – Plantbar.

Daniela Troia, who owns Zia’s Café and Plantbar at Belvedere Market, uses whole, unprocessed, nourishing, vibrant food as a platform to promote health and wellbeing in Baltimore and beyond.

Not only did they serve breakfast, but they also provided snacks of veggies and hummus, fresh cold-pressed juices, wraps and salads for lunch and a chocolate ganache brownie for an afternoon snack. YUM!

Following the morning mingle, everyone convened for a Welcome to Wellness led by a pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, Dr. Brian Berman. He is the President and Founder of the Institute for Integrative Health and Director of the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine.

Dr. Berman has dedicated his career to researching and promoting complementary and integrative medicine, and in 1991 he founded the first U.S. academic medical center-based program for integrative medicine.

He started the conference by asking,

“What is wellness? What is health?”

Those two words have a range of meaning depending on whom you ask.

Dr. Berman’s comment about how integrative health can change the future really resonated with me. I share his vision:

YES!

I firmly believe this to be true and am honored to be part of such a transformational movement that has already helped and will continue to help so many people restore and optimize their health.

We were then led through a centering morning chanting session with monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery, who will be at Baltimore Yoga Village in Mt. Washington speaking, singing, praying and creating a sand mandala from now until May 14^th.

To learn more about these events, click here.

The rest of the day was filled was passionate speakers sharing the latest research and life learnings about a variety of integrative health topics.

While we know food is important to overall health and is something I write about a lot on this blog, non-food nourishment is equally important.

The conference was filled with both forms of nourishment and truly focused on integrative health and the connections between our mind, body and spirit.

The first session I attended was about the science of happiness and forgiveness and was co-led by Drs. Delia Chiaramonte and Dahlia Hirsch.

A whopping 50% of our happiness is hard-wired and inherited while a mere 10% is influenced by our circumstances. That means 40% of our happiness is changeable. We have the power to influence that.

The most fascinating thing I learned in the session on happiness was that writing and talking about negative things in our lives increases our happiness, while intentionally dwelling on and THINKING about positive things that happen boosts our happiness. Talking and writing about positive things doesn’t change our happiness, but dwelling on the negative decreases it.

So, when bad things happen, write or talk about them, but try not to mentally dwell on them. When good things happen, think about them over and over again.

We can actively increase our happiness by doing these things:

Identifying and using our strengths and making note of how we’ve used them each day
Looking for the good, even in tough situations
Purposely ruminating over positive experiences (instead of forgetting them and fussing over the not so good stuff)
Nurturing social connections
Committing to a gratitude ritual, whether it’s keeping a journal, reflecting on three appreciations before bedtime each night or writing a gratitude letter to another person and reading it aloud to them

As we shifted from happiness to forgiveness, we were challenged by Dr. Dahlia Hirsch to consider,

“What ideas are running your life? Your body?”

This resonated with me, as I’ve been struggling with some negative thought patterns lately and feeling “stuck” in my thoughts and my body. It can be so hard for us to forgive ourselves and other people.

She reminded us that we CHOOSE what to focus on. We can either focus on being frustrated, stuck, annoyed or angry, or we can choose to forgive to free ourselves from those feelings.

The question that stuck with me the most was this:

“What do I have to give up to have peace?”

It’s something each of us can ask ourselves.

Whether it’s a feeling, a relationship, a job, a wrongdoing, or something else entirely, what are you holding on to that is preventing you from having peace in your life?

We transitioned from happiness and forgiveness to the healing power of touch. I’ve experienced this myself in the past through massage therapy, chiropractic care, and most recently, acupuncture. Donna Audia, the main speaker for the talk, is an integrative therapy nurse and team lead for the integrative Inpatient Care Team at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

She opened with talking about the anti-inflammatory response of shock trauma patients to acupuncture and had to make a shift in her own mindset from “intubating and sedating” patients to using healing touch to help and heal them.

Donna captured her patient philosophy in one brief statement:

I LOVE that.

Imagine if every health care provider adopted that same mentality. The epidemic of health that Dr. Berman is calling for could be here sooner than we thought!

What stuck with me the most from our session was the knowledge that 20 seconds of continuous touch releases the bonding, trust, and safety hormone oxytocin – for both the giver AND receiver – assuming the touch is wanted.

As part of the session, each of us had an opportunity to buddy up with someone else at our table and alternate giving each other light back rubs. My partner was a beautiful young woman named Maura, who at the age of 19 is discovering what health means to her, as she has battled with weight and smoking, but is determined to change her life. I encouraged her that what she is going through and growing through will ultimately be used to help and inspire others.

It’s in our struggles that we become relatable and real and connect to other people. Imperfect people are the greatest inspirations.

I plan to stay in touch with her, so I can continue to follow her journey. She will be a voice of change one day, and her story will impact more people than she ever thought possible.

She said something so profound that I had to write it down:

Wow. Wisdom from a 19-year-old. Isn’t it true for so many of us?

We’ve so deprived ourselves of genuine, meaningful, healing human touch and connection that we reach for other things to satisfy and fill us – from food to alcohol to cigarettes and even credit cards.

The next time you hug a loved one, see if you can hold it for at least 20 seconds or offer to give them a back rub for at least that long.

There is healing power in touch.

Before heading to lunch, I attended a session on increasing sustainable, healthy local food led by Louise Mitchell, who has worked with one of my company’s clients, Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown.

Louise taught us about the importance of eating locally, which usually means the food has traveled under 250 miles from farm to table, whereas most conventional food has traveled anywhere from 1,500 to 2,400 MILES before it reaches us.

A lot of the tips she shared about how to make eating sustainable, locally grown food more affordable are captured in this blog post about how to eat organic without going broke.

She also shared great information about the harmful health effects of pesticide use (what is sprayed on conventional, non-organic produce to keep it looking “perfect” and bug-free):

I learned about the work of Dr. Jim Duke, and the “green farmacy” he grows on his farm in Fulton, Maryland, where anyone can volunteer. I plan to check it out this summer! To learn more about his work and the farm, click here.

One of the most useful tips Louise shared was how to pick the highest quality and safest meats and poultry, so here you go. We want to eat:

Pasture-raised pork and poultry
Grass-fed and grass-finished cows, dairy products, and lamb. This means they are fed grass throughout their entire lives rather than being grain-finished, which is what helps “fatten up” and marble beef, but is not how cows are designed to eat. Check out the Eat Wild website to find sources for this type of meat near you.

Also, I teach this in the workshops I lead, but it’s worth reiterating that the word “natural” on a food label is unregulated and has nothing to do with how the food is produced. Don’t buy the marketing hype!

To learn more about sustainable farming, check out these resources:

After lunch, I was honored to attend a keynote presented by Dr. Chris D’Adamo, a nutrition researcher who is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine. He also teaches workshops at the Institute for Integrative Health.

With Dr. Berman and Dr. Chris D’Adamo before his keynote

We learned the top tips to optimizing gut health, which many of you know is a passion of mine because of my own healing journey. I’ll be sharing those tips in a separate post because there was just so much great information that I can’t do it justice by summing it up here!

Dr. D’Adamo shared how over 50% of our immune system activity is in our “gut,” which starts in our mouth and ends, well, you know where 😉

Because of poor diet, stress, alcohol intake, and years of antibiotic and medication use, many of us have compromised our health and immunity and are dealing with the consequences in the form of everything from bloating, abdominal pain, reflux, allergies, and colds to rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and anxiety.

According to Dr. D’Adamo, the bottom line is this:

That’s right. We can heal and be well. The body is incredibly resilient. We just need to give it half a chance to do its thing.

Dr. D’Adamo will be teaching a series of workshops about What Science Says about Dietary Supplements in May and June, and I will definitely be attending! Click here to learn more and register.

After going through an energizing movement routine led by Lynne Brick, we finished out the day by attending a few more workshops.

The first was a healthy cooking workshop led by Jennifer Helene, who emphasized the message that it’s not about deciding between being healthy OR enjoying food.

It’s about having it all.

Healthy food can be both nourishing and delicious, and I seek to constantly reinforce that point in every recipe post I share on this blog.

She said it’s about becoming the best version of ourselves and planning for the space between where we are now and where we want to be. It’s about making a commitment to our health and ourselves and not letting excuses get in the way.

As Jennifer said,

“Invest today to save tomorrow. Be in action every day without guilt.”

She shared some delicious recipes with us, and you can find more of them on her website.

The second part of the experiential workshop was led by Susan Weis-Bohlen, an ayurvedic expert, who taught us about the different doshas – mind/body constitutions that are reflected in our physical characteristics, temperaments and emotional traits.

My friend Susanna having her ayurvedic pulse points read by Susan Weis-Bohlen

I learned that I am DEFINITELY Pitta dosha, known to have a “fiery nature” in both spirit and body.

According to the Chopra Institute, “Pittas have a powerful intellect and a strong ability to concentrate. When they’re in balance, they are good decision makers, teachers, and speakers. They are precise, sharp-witted, direct, and often outspoken. Out-of-balance Pittas can be short-tempered and argumentative.”

#NailedIt

Want to discover your dosha? Check out this free quiz.

To learn more about Susan’s ayurvedic and vegetarian cooking classes at her home in Reisterstown, check out this link.

The day closed with a workshop that dove deeper into digestive health, specifically as it relates to adverse food reactions, allergies, sensitivities and intolerances led by Erin Peisach, a registered dietitian who sees patients at the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative Medicine. I’ll include the highlights from her workshop when I share the write-up about Dr. D’Adamo’s session in a future post.

Reflecting on the day, a few key insights stood out to me that summarize the mindset behind the day.

Sue Berman, Dr. Berman’s wife and Executive Director at the Institute for Integrative Health, noted,

“It’s great to have a day to be nourished in so many ways.”

I wholeheartedly agree. I wish more people could experience what TRUE nourishment looks and feels like and how transformational it can be for our health and our lives.

So many of us look to a TV show, book, “expert,” or doctor to “fix” us and tell us what to do. Part of what I’ve learned along my journey to healing my body and boosting my health is that I have responsibility in the process. I had to start listening to my body and stop ignoring and suppressing the signals it was sending me about how I felt.

That’s the secret.

At the close of her session on ayurveda, Susan Weis-Bohlen declared a truth that captures the essence of functional medicine and integrative health and the gist of the day. I hope it resonates with and inspires you to start paying attention to your body and take back YOUR health!

How to Live to Be 106: Lessons from The Blue Zones & Great Grandma

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On April 12, 2015

In Inspired, My Story

Whether you’ve read this blog for a while or if this is your first time here (welcome!), you’ll notice that most of what I write about is food – food for nourishment, fuel, healing, connection and community.

The past two weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind (hence my brief hiatus) but have reminded me that there’s more to being well than food.

Although what we eat matters, other lifestyle habits can significantly impact our health and wellbeing, the quality and happiness of our lives, and even how long we live.

I recently spent 11 days in San Diego to attend two wellness conferences and relax with a much-needed vacation with my husband, Bill, to celebrate what has been the most exciting year in my career.

During the conference, I was honored by the Wellness Council of America and had the privilege of meeting and spending time with some remarkable people in the field of health promotion.

The second to last day of the conference, as my husband was preparing to fly across the country to join me, he called to tell me that his great-grandmother, Anna “Loucene” Trueworthy, had passed away at the age of 106.

It was a bit ironic yet poignant that the topic of the conference keynote that morning was Blue Zones of Health by Dan Buettner, a man who has studied the lives of the longest lived people in the world to learn their secrets of longevity. Dan is the author of the books Thrive, The Blue Zone Solution and The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.

Dan shared what he learned in his research as he traveled around the world, spending time with and studying the lifestyle habits of people living in “Blue Zones,” regions around the world with the greatest concentrations of centenarians – people who live to be 100+.

In his talk, he shared the lessons to a long life, and while diet was one of the key components, he and his team found that other factors impact a person’s longevity with genetics accounting for about 20%, as established by the Danish Twin Study.

As I’ve spent the past week or so reflecting on what Dan shared, I couldn’t help but think of Bill’s great-grandmother and the life she lived. She certainly had genetics on her side with a mother who lived to 99, just six months shy of her 100th birthday, and a sister who is now 97. Great Grandma even smoked for many years (which is not a free pass to smoke!), but it just shows us that aging well is a complex process and is never about just “one thing.”

Without even knowing it, Great Grandma was a living example of many of the Blue Zones lessons.

“For Rachel – I dedicate this book to the memory and example of Loucene” ~Dan Buettner

I wanted to take a moment to honor Great Grandma’s legacy and highlight just a few of the ways she lived out these lessons. For a full list of the Blue Zones “Power 9” longevity lessons, click here.

Move Naturally

Great Grandma didn’t spend hours at the gym. She didn’t have to. Much of her day was filled with natural movement – from doing chores, gardening, and taking after-dinner walks with her husband to square dancing and line dancing into her 80s, she moved naturally and enjoyed it. For people living in Blue Zones, being active without having to think about it was found to be a key to longevity. So many of us try to force activity and do things we don’t enjoy. Find ways of moving that make your body feel good and make you happy and incorporate them into your daily life.

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa enjoyed dancing

Hara Hachi Bu

This one might sound a little bit strange, but it is taken from the Japanese and means we should eat until we are 80% full or no longer hungry. Many of us eat until we are “stuffed” and fall completely out of touch with our body’s hunger signals.

As her granddaughter Susan shared during the eulogy, Great Grandma lived a life of moderation, never to excess. She was “the master of portion control” and never counted calories or fussed over what she ate, and unlike many of us today, she was never “on a diet.” She cooked a full meal every night for dinner, and the family ate together. We can all learn something from her example of listening to your body and eating to live rather than living to eat.

Purpose Now

Great Grandma had a reason to wake up in the morning. She lived on the family farm and lived independently in a small cottage until just a few years ago when she went to live next door with her daughter. Whether her purpose was to spend time with her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren or even great great grandchildren, she had a reason to live. She was also an organist and in the bell choir at her church and played piano for the Yankee Doodle Entertainers until she turned 100. She found joy in socializing, music, reading, and needlework. A sense of purpose is one of the keys to living a long time.

Great Grandma played the piano well into her 100s

Downshift

Taking time to relieve stress was another lesson Dan shared with us. During her eulogy, Loucene’s son John commented how Great Grandma was never stressed. I would imagine she felt stress at times, as all of us do, but she knew how to handle and contain it in such a way that it didn’t impact her negatively. She spent time with family and her church community on a regular basis and found music to be relaxing as well. She was described by many as a devoted woman of faith, and her connection to God and her church also served as buffers to stress.

My mother-in-law told me that Great Grandma and the rest of the family observed Sunday as a day of rest and set it aside for family time and a big family meal each Sunday afternoon. They would Cook as a Family, spending quality time together to make their bonds stronger. This is somewhat of a lost art today. Centenarians take time to slow down, reflect and downshift their lives and Great Grandma knew how to do that, too.

Great Grandma celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary. She was very social and made time to unwind and celebrate.

Great Grandma celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary. She was very social and set aside time to unwind and celebrate.

Belong to a Spiritual Community

Healthy centenarians have faith and are involved in serving and socializing with a spiritual community. Loucene’s granddaughter described the church as “the center of Great Grandma’s life.” She was involved in the Women’s Society, and she was a church organist and in the bell choir until age 100. She and her husband participated in the Couples Club, so the church was the center of her social life as well. The sense of belonging, purpose and connection that comes from being part of a spiritual community is one of the Blue Zones Power 9 keys to longevity. Managing a church to accommodate all people, young and old, can be a tall task but there are ways that this can be done in a simpler way. Something like the Tithe.ly church management system could help to engage the church community while making admin tasks and leadership easier; see here – https://get.tithe.ly/church-management.

Loved Ones First

The most successful centenarians put their families first. Great Grandma never missed a birthday and sent a card for all major holidays, which was no small feat considering she has two children, 9 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren.

Her great grandchildren described her as admirable, talented, honest, witty, resilient, unifying, encouraging, wise, gentle, warm, welcoming, and classy.

Great Grandma Loucene in the front row in the white with her younger sister, Eva, to her right in green, and her daughter, Cynthia, to her left in blue. Her great and great-great-grandchildren surround her.

She embraced technology and Skyped with one great-granddaughter in Haiti, another great-grandson in the Middle East and her first great-great-grandchild in New York City.

She lived independently with her daughter, Cynthia, until the last few weeks of her life when outside care was brought in to help. An in-home care company like Always Here Home Care, helped look after her until the very end. In a society where caring for aging relatives is often seen as a burden, her family revered her and rallied around her to support and take care of her. Before she went to live with her daughter, her family bought her a new phone from somewhere like fanmisenior to make communication easier. She just wanted to be independent and having a phone which she could easily use, really helped with this.

During her memorial service, the pastor pointed out how Loucene’s life is an example to all of us of how to live fully. I feel blessed to have married into her family and to have had the privilege of knowing such a remarkable woman, who I’ve learned more about in her passing than I knew and appreciated while she was here.

As I listened to everyone share their stories and memories, I reflected on how much Great Grandma lived the Blue Zones lessons – from living a joyful, simple, purposeful life of moderation and low stress, to belonging to and serving her religious community, socializing, and putting family first.

The example of her life will continue to impact and influence the lives of all of the generations that follow her.

Here’s to Great Grandma and the love and inspiring legacy she’s left behind.

My WELCOA Moment: A Day I Will Never Forget

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On April 2, 2015

In Inspiration, Inspired, My Story

Each of us has days in our lives that we’ll remember forever.

Tuesday, March 31st was one of those days for me.

In February, I found out that I had been named the Top Health Promotion Professional in the U.S. by the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA).

I was overjoyed and shocked when I got the news and am pretty sure I didn’t stop smiling for about a week!

Doing the work that I do is rewarding in and of itself because I’m put in a position on an almost daily basis to impact people’s lives for the better and to give them hope that they can be well.

A super cool perk that was packaged with the award was a trip to San Diego to attend WELCOA’s annual summit, which brings together leaders in our field and serves as a source of inspiration, energy, and community each time I come.

On the second day of the summit, I had the privilege and opportunity of delivering an acceptance speech to nearly 400 of my peers, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I had spent several weeks working on what I wanted to say, crafting the words based on inspirations that came to me first thing in the morning, on a run, after conversations with my dad, and even in the midst of reflecting on what other speakers shared during the conference.

Our message was essentially the same: Tell your story. Stories are powerful.

As Ryan called me up on stage, I was so present to that moment and just took in everything I could. You know you’re doing what you’re meant to do when you feel so alive and excited you could burst with joy, and that is how I felt in this moment.

I was humbled by the kind words complete strangers, colleagues, and industry leaders shared with me afterwards. Several people commented that I should speak at a future WELCOA conference.

Wouldn’t that be the coolest?! 🙂

I felt so overwhelmed with gratitude for being given this honor and so humbled that what I had to say meant something to and touched so many people.

Some people wait their whole lives to feel how I felt on Tuesday.

At the beginning of this year, I declared that I wanted to FEEL five things:

The experience I had at the WELCOA Summit gave me the opportunity to feel all of them at once.

I felt so alive.

I can hardly put into words how incredibly special and meaningful this experience has been for me.

It was a feeling, a moment, and a day that I will never forget, and for that, I am grateful.

Do you want to bring health and wellbeing to your workplace? If you want to learn more about how I can help, including leadership training and interactive health and nutrition workshops, contact me at rachel@silbs.com.

From Under Armour to Belvedere Square: Jinji’s Inspiring Journey to Pure Chocolate Bliss

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On March 11, 2015

In Connect, Inspired, My Story

In case you missed the first post in this series about my favorite chocolates (and my #1 indulgence), click here. This post tells the story behind the chocolate and its inspiring owner and creator, Jinji Fraser!

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Born in Germany (her dad was in the military) and raised in Baltimore, Jinji grew up without any particular interest in food.

She credits her uncanny smell memory with many of her creative inspirations.

Her first food memory is one that she draws on a lot for inspiration and is a key part of one of her favorite treats – Chocolate-Covered Date Poppers stuffed with raw honey, crunchy cacao nibs and sea salt.

The inspiration? Honeysuckles.

As a child spending her summers in Alabama, she and her brother would spend hours lying by her grandmother’s endless chain link fence, interwoven with honeysuckles, pulling them off one by one and soaking in the sweet nectar.

Inspiration can literally come from everywhere […] Inspiration is everywhere all the time.

As we sat at the table during the interview, she saw a bag of popcorn lining the counter of one of the food vendors and told me it made her think about her new corn-infused chocolates and how they would taste different if she incorporated popcorn instead of corn flakes.

Her creative wheels are always turning; she’s open to being inspired.

Jinji’s start in the chocolate business came in a rather unexpected way.

The Turning Point

After graduating with a college degree in Communication and Culture and completing her health coaching training through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, she returned to Baltimore, eager to become a nutrition counselor and teach classes.

Her first corporate job after college was working at Under Armour. At that point, she had no inkling she would a) have her own food business and b) have anything to do with chocolate.

One of her roles at Under Armour was designing nutrition and fitness programs for kids with Living Classrooms, a non-profit organization based in Baltimore.

As she was doing that, she had her first “aha” moment:

You know what? I’ve gotta do food. This is what I want to do.

With nothing holding her back or tying her down, Jinji left her corporate job and went out on her own. She started organizing events around food and got connected to the local healthy food and chef community, including Daniela Troia, owner of Zia’s Café & Plantbar (another favorite place of mine at Belvedere Square).

The turning point in her career came one night during an event she had organized at The Black Olive that centered on creating a delicious raw food dinner to introduce people to that way of eating.

Throughout the night, Jinji kept stepping over a postcard that was turned over on the ground. Eventually, she heeded the urge to pick it up and flip it over (after all it was her event and she knew she should at least pick up the trash). The card was advertising raw chocolate workshops.

I can’t imagine what compelled me to actually look into this thing. This is totally not me to go do this thing.

But she did, and it changed her life and career forever:

I went to this workshop that wasn’t very good. It didn’t need to be good. All I needed was to see this thing, to see chocolate being made and to see that process of making it and the amount of work that goes into it. I just needed to see that. And once I did, I said, ‘This is what I’m supposed to do. This is what I’m going to do.’

Jinji has been “completely in love with chocolate ever since.”

Her father, Guy, who retired from the military after 38 years of service, came on to help her with the finances and logistical and administrative details.

Jinji and her dad

“He’s a big heartbeat of the business,” she says. He’s also a welcoming, friendly face. I always look forward to seeing and chatting with him when I’m looking for my chocolate fix 🙂

The Path

Like most successful people, Jinji’s path has not been an easy one. I asked her what barriers she’s faced in business.

“ALL of them,” she said.

Her greatest challenge was figuring out how to work with chocolate and turn it in to decadent and carefully crafted bites of bliss.

Chocolate is so emotional. You have to get that in order to work with it […] It’s never the same from one day to the next. […] It takes on whatever energy you have. I swear it does. It knows how you feel, and it reacts to that […] When I was starting out, I don’t know that I really understood that. I thought it was just like candy, like everyone else does […] but I didn’t really get that there’s something much deeper to it than that.

When she first started, she would get stressed out trying to make the “perfect” piece of chocolate.

Eventually, she learned that if she was patient, wasn’t in a rush, took her time, and just loved the process of what she was doing, it was so much easier to work with.

I’ve found the same to be true in my career and life. When I feel like I’m forcing things to happen, it’s exhausting. It doesn’t feel easy. And often, it doesn’t feel quite right.

When I’m patient, enjoying the process and allowing myself to be “in the zone,” on the other hand, I feel alive, and I’m fully present and being the best and truest version of myself. I’m all of me, and things just flow. Whether I’m teaching a workshop, leading a cooking class, or speaking to a room full of people about WHY health matters, it comes easily to me, and I shine.

Think about what makes YOU feel most alive. What comes easily to you? What feels right and natural? Pay attention to that. Do more of it. Be open to what “ease” is trying to tell you.

The Future & “The Nod”

I asked Jinji what’s next and how she envisions her future, given the success she has had in such a short period of time since opening her business.

She wants to travel, see the world, and most importantly, connect.

I feel like enough people love chocolate that they could be connected by chocolate. I feel like enough people would be open to this world that I’m creating right now. There’s just so much happiness in it.

I really just want to travel. I want to get other kinds of inspiration. I want to taste things. I want to share with people the things that I’m doing. I want to keep teaching and doing workshops and talking to people and really just connecting people with chocolate.

But don’t worry, Baltimore, Jinji’s chocolates will always have a home here.

In some capacity, the chocolate will live on in Baltimore because I love Baltimore and I love what I’m doing here, but that’s not my story, that’s not the end of my story at all.

It is so much bigger than Baltimore. It has to be. It just has to be. I really have this dream of just seeing the entire world and all of the people out there […] I love what I’m doing. I love people.

Jinji loves what she does and is grateful for it.

I come and I make chocolate all day long. As bad as life could ever get, at the end of the day, I make chocolate for a living.

One of the greatest joys of her career has been meeting so many chefs and other people who truly love food, including her crew from Belvedere Square.

We have this saying, a couple of chef friends of mine: ‘At the end of the day, we do it for the nod.’ When someone eats something that we’ve made and they just nod, we’re like,

‘That’s the moment, that’s the thing, that’s why we do it.’

If you want to try Jinji’s chocolates, here’s where you can buy them, but to get the best of the best, visit her shop at Belvedere Square Market.

My Trusted Health Providers & Top Resources to Help You Heal Your Body Naturally

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On March 3, 2015

In Inspired, My Story, Tips & Tricks

If you missed it, be sure to check out my last post about the 8 Steps I Took to Heal My Heartburn and Acid Reflux Naturally after being on medication for almost ten years to suppress my symptoms.

Aligning myself with functional medicine practitioners has been the key to getting well and turning my health around. I truly believe that everyone can benefit from a more natual way of living that works alongside modern medicine. Finding natural ways to get rid of headaches, using big bongs and marijuana to help with stress and anxiety instead of pharmacutical medication, having a healthier diet and so much more can be done to help improve your lifestyle.

I have written about that aspect of my journey and functional medicine (including an awesome TED Talk!) in the past and offered this reflection in closing:

I truly believe that because of what I’ve experienced in my own life.

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post about how I healed a decade of reflux, I wanted to share with you some excellent books, websites, and healthcare practitioners that have helped me and can help you move to the next phase of your healing journey.

1) Read a Book to Learn More

These are two of my favorite books on the topic of digestive health:

Think of Digestion Connection as more of a reference book than light Saturday morning reading material. Having said that, whether you’re dealing with reflux, diabetes or migraines, Digestion Connection is a great resource to have on hand to help you make sense of what’s really going on in your body and begin the healing process.

Dr. Lipski is one of the international experts on digestive health, and she is located right here in Maryland. Although she doesn’t take new patients anymore, she has a list of recommended nutritionists on her website that are spread out across the U.S. I’ve listed my favorite local (Baltimore-based) nutritionist below.

In Clean Gut, Dr. Junger explains digestive health, dysfunction and disease in a way that the average person can understand. He outlines how the digestive system works and how our digestive health is at the root of most illness and disease, even seemingly unrelated conditions like depression and asthma.

He offers guidelines for how to put yourself on an elimination diet and includes quite a few delicious recipes – several of which my husband Bill and I have tried and enjoyed.

Clean Gut’s roasted kabocha and curried tahini sauce. SO good!

Another book that has influenced my thinking about disease and why we get sick in the first place is The Disease Delusion by Dr. Jeffrey Bland.

Every medical school should have this book as required reading. One of the underlying themes is a fundamentally different way of thinking about disease in the first place:

Our genetic inheritance tells us more about how we should live than about the chronic disease we are doomed to suffer. We are not doomed at all.

Dr. Bland’s approach focuses on taking away the things that are the problem (removing the tacks we’re sitting on!) and providing the things that are missing (giving our body what it needs to repair and heal).

2) Look Online

Here are some websites that contain great information about how to heal the “gut” naturally and address conditions like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as well as other chronic health concerns.

I’ve shared these links with dozens of other people who have come to me with questions about how I healed myself:

Why You Have Reflux, Bloating, Gas and Burping and What To Do by Josh Gitalis
7 Steps to Reverse Acid Reflux by Dr. Mark Hyman
3 Simple Steps to Eliminate Heartburn & Acid Reflux by Dr. Mark Hyman
15 Natural Remedies for the Treatment of Acid Reflux and Ulcers by Dr. Joseph Mercola
What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About GERD by Dr. Amy Myers
Get Rid of Heartburn and GERD Forever with 3 Simple Steps by Chris Kresser

3) Find a Doctor…& My Trusted Health Professionals!

If you want to find a healthcare provider who can help you consider ALL of the options for addressing reflux or whatever disease is troubling you and who can help you get to the ROOT of what’s going on in your body, search for a functional medicine practitioner near you using this link. Search by zip code vs. city. I find it works better.

Keep these things in mind:

Functional medicine practitioners may often recommend that you keep a Primary Care Physician (PCP) relationship for addressing other health needs, but they will be a fantastic complement to that doctor. Keeping your PCP within your health plan’s network can also help you order lab tests that may be covered through insurance but would otherwise cost more through an out-of-network provider.
Some participate with health insurance plans but some don’t, which means you will often have to do more than pay a $20 copay. Obviously, every health insurance plan is different – some of you may have a family plan, others may be in self funded health plans, the list goes on – so you will have to research what your policy covers and if your health provider participates or not. In other words, these practitioners are often “out of network.” I’ve found it to be cheaper to partner with them long-term, since I actually got answers and got better and, as a result, was able to stop seeing 5 other specialists who were very well-meaning but just helped me suppress symptoms. Call their office and ask if they participate with your insurance.
Ask what packages they offer. They may offer a certain number of sessions for a set fee, which often means not having to deal with insurance and have predictable payments. That can provide relief in and of itself.
Even if they are out of network, you can usually use FSA, HRA, HSA funds to pay for their services. You’ll just need to submit paperwork as you would for any other FSA/HRA claim.

top docs

Here’s my list of trusted professionals in the Baltimore area (pictured above in the order listed below):

Dr. Mary Jo Fishburn (The first doctor I saw who did my nutrient testing and helped me on my healing journey. She is also an acupuncturist.)
Dr. Janene Martin, Sunlight Natural Health (Naturopathic doctor who runs the clinic where my nutritionist, Kasia, works)
Kasia Kines, Holistic Nutrition Naturally (My amazing nutritionist)
Dr. Bill Rollow, University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine (My parents’ doctor)
Dr. Gerard Mullin, AKA “The Food MD” (I’ve not yet met him but checked out his website and see that we align in our thinking about gut health.). He has written several books on digestive health that I want to check out, including The Inside Tract: Your Good Gut Guide to Great Digestive Health and has a new book coming out in June titled The Gut Balance Revolution.
Nava Health & Vitality Center. Nava Centers are currently open in Columbia and Chevy Chase, Maryland and are opening soon in Rockville and downtown DC. Their approach combines the best of Eastern and Western medicine to help patients heal and optimize their health. Their leadership team and practitioners understand that the body is an interconnected system and take into account the WHOLE person, not just their overt symptoms. I’ve also been a guest blogger for them since last summer.

nava

There you have it! Those are the ways I’ve naturally healed my body and the additional resources I’d recommend you check out if you are tired of feeling frustrated about your health and about seemingly “normal” yet bothersome symptoms like reflux and want to start feeling better. Ultimately, having an excellent health insurance policy is a necessity as you never know when your health might take a bad turn. For this reason if you’re looking to compare insurance rates, it pays to shop around – visit Insurdinary.ca for details.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, and this information is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any health condition. Rather it’s a reflection of what I have learned on my journey to heal my body. Never stop taking medication without consulting your doctor, as there can be negative side effects to doing so. If you have concerns about a particular health concern, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), I highly recommend seeing a health care provider who understands that there are and is open to trying alternative approaches to treating (and even reversing) reflux.

I want to hear from you! Have you had a physical healing experience that has transformed your health or life? Feel free to share your story below 🙂

How I Healed 10 Years of Heartburn & Reflux Naturally

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On March 2, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Connect, Inspired, My Story

It’s been almost two years since I filled my last prescription after taking a pill daily for almost a decade.

I was first diagnosed my sophomore year of college.

I had chronic acid reflux (more commonly known as heartburn or indigestion) and swallowed a pill daily to quiet my symptoms.

I was terrified to eat anything without taking my pill for fear of unbearable burning sensations in my chest or bloating and sharp pains in my stomach.

But what was the medicine actually doing to my body?

Why did I have reflux in the first place?

I kept my last filled prescription for Protonix, even though I never used it, as a reminder to myself of what I’ve done to heal my body

For years I didn’t think about it and didn’t ask.

Sure, I was “compliant” and took my medicine every day (sometimes twice a day), but I wasn’t getting better, and I hated that I depended on a pill to eat.

Over time, I learned that the medicine I was taking wasn’t helping me heal. All it was doing was masking my symptoms and keeping them quiet, so I could eat what I wanted and not change anything else.

It was actually harming me.

Lab testing over the past 18 months revealed that I had nearly a dozen nutrient deficiencies, including some pivotal to energy, immunity, and anxiety, like magnesium, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D.

This, in spite of that fact that I was eating lots of plants and avoiding stuff like fried food, fast food, and processed and packaged food.

So, what was happening?

I learned that suppressing my stomach acid by taking pills was actually preventing me from fully breaking down food and absorbing nutrients.

The body needs adequate stomach acid to break down food, so nutrients can be absorbed.

My body wasn’t doing that properly, as I had shut off its natural ability to produce adequate acid by taking acid blockers every day.

Despite the fact that my grandparents, aunts and uncles and mom had reflux, I didn’t think it had to be my genetic destiny. I believed something could be done.

I knew I didn’t want to be medicated forever, so I read several books (like the two below) and dozens of articles on the topic of healing reflux naturally and learned through experts in my health coaching program that there was another way.

My nutritionist also helped me get to the bottom of the issues I was having, and I am forever grateful to her for that!

I started making some changes and am happy to report I have been COMPLETELY OFF of my acid blocking medicine for almost two full years! 🙂

Below are the eight steps that work for me.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, and this information is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any health condition. Rather it’s a reflection of what I have learned on my journey to heal my body. Never stop taking medication without consulting your doctor, as there can be negative side effects to doing so. If you have concerns about a particular health concern, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), I highly recommend seeing a health care provider who understands that there are and is open to trying alternative approaches to treating (and even reversing) reflux. I’ve shared my full list of links and recommended providers here but have also embedded links below:

1) Chew Your Food & SLOW Down

This might seem simple, but most of us don’t do it! Enzymes in our mouth help us start the digestive process. If we inhale our food, we bypass that step, which makes our stomach work harder to break down our food.

2) Drink Water BEFORE Not During Meals

When we drink liquid during a meal, we can dilute our stomach acid and fill up our stomachs too much, which can put pressure on the LES (lower esophageal sphincter). The LES is the muscle that prevents food from going back up our esophagus. Drinking room temperature water 10-15 minutes before a meal and only sipping water or warm tea as needed (if at all) during a meal has helped me. When we chew our food thoroughly, we don’t need as much liquid to “wash it down.”

3) Eliminate Trigger Foods.

For me and many other people, those foods were dairy and gluten. For others it’s things like coffee or fried food. Cheese, ice cream, milk, cream, yogurt, milkshakes triggered my symptoms the most. Every time I ate them, I felt like something was coming back up. This is not normal. I was embarrassed to talk about it because it was “gross.” Now, I know better, and I’ve found healthier ways to make (and enjoy!) those foods without dairy.

Gluten (the sticky “glue-like” protein in wheat, barley and rye) disrupts the healthy bacteria balance in our gut and can trigger inflammation and digestive irritation, like reflux. Cutting out gluten was key to reducing bloating, gas, and other symptoms that tended to come along with digestive conditions like reflux.

Every recipe on this blog is dairy-free AND gluten-free, including dairy-free smoothies like this one…

4) Repopulate My “Gut” with Probiotics

The healthy bacteria in our digestive system (AKA our “gut”) need to be fed the right stuff to keep our body healthy and our digestion smooth. This is especially true for those of us who have taken countless rounds of antibiotics (yup!) and therefore repeatedly wiped out all of the bacteria in our gut – both the good guys and the bad guys.

Taking a probiotic daily helps me. I take one through my nutritionist that is specifically designed for people with sensitivities to gluten and dairy.

5) Relax with Magnesium

Magnesium plays a key role in relaxing our muscles, including the ones in our digestive tract that can act up and send food and acid in the wrong direction. I was deficient in magnesium and started supplementing with it through my nutritionist, and it helped me tremendously. I would encourage anyone facing the same issues I was to add magnesium citrate powder to your diet so it helped me a lot.

6) Protect with Licorice Root

Adding soothing foods like licorice in the form of teas and tablets help to coat my stomach and protect it before and between meals. DGL tablets are one option for this and can work wonders.

This is the primary way my MOM was able to stop taking Nexium after being on it for about 12 years! My mom was taking Nexium for years because her friend had recommended it to her but she recently found out that one of the Side Effects of the drug is a 20-50% increased risk of developing fatal kidney disease. This obviously got alarm bells ringing so she knew she had to find a way to get off the medication. She and my dad both switched from their traditional doctor – who told them they were his “best patients” even though my mom still took daily reflux meds – to Dr. Bill Rollow. He helped my mom safely wean off of Nexium (this is SO important) and transition to a natural way, and she is now Nexium-free! She swears by these DGL tablets and takes one 15-20 minutes before each meal.

7) Add in hydrochloric acid (HCl)**

(See important note about this below!). It turns out some people suffering from reflux have LOW stomach acid, not too much. Totally counterintuitive, right?? That was the case for me, especially after years of suppressing normal acid levels with daily medication. My nutritionist put me on a regimen of taking hydrochloric acid tablets (betaine HCl) with meals containing protein to get my stomach acid levels back up. This helped my body break down food into a form it could use to nourish and heal me and helped minimize symptoms like burping and bloating, which can be indicative of low acid. I make sure to avoid these 4 mistakes when taking HCl and have been closely supervised by my nutritionist throughout the process.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: SOME people with reflux symptoms have stomach ulcers, hernias and other bacterial infections, so it is CRUCIAL that you see a doctor for a proper diagnosis and not self-prescribe things like betaine HCl. I’m just sharing my story and what worked for me. A trained functional medicine doctor will be able to talk more in-depth about this option with you to determine if it’s the right path of treatment for your body.

8) Soothe with Aloe

Sometimes if I overeat or otherwise do something to upset my stomach, I like to have something on hand to “put out the fire.” For me, Aloe Force does that. Dozens of people have shared their testimonials about how this product has healed their digestive issues, including reflux. I’m not compensated by them in any way for saying this – I’ve just used their product and liked the results. It doesn’t taste all that great, but you can mix it in with water to dilute it.

The quality of aloe is important, so not just any aloe (there are a lot on the market) will work. The most important thing my nutritionist told me about taking aloe is to avoid the ingredient “aloin” which can have a laxative effective and be damaging to the digestive tract. Aloe Force’s aloe does not contain aloin. I called the company to ask. I buy Aloe Force at MOMs Organic Market.

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Here are my top 3 resources for healing reflux naturally, including my favorite books, websites and local healthcare providers who ROCK! 🙂

PLEASE share this information with anyone you know who suffers from GERD, reflux, heartburn, etc. It may help them find relief from years of pain and discomfort!

Energy-Boosting Super Food Trail Mix

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On February 12, 2015

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Inspired, My Story, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

I made an announcement a week ago that I had been selected as one of the Top 10 Health Promotion Professionals in the country, and I was SO excited about it!

Well, I found out even more amazing news this week!! I WON the whole thing and was selected as the #1 Health Promotion Professional in the COUNTRY! Ahhhh! I seriously couldn’t believe it when I found out on Tuesday afternoon.

The prize is an all expenses paid trip to San Diego for the WELCOA conference in late March AND I will have the honor of being called up on stage to be recognized and be given a few minutes to speak. I was so excited about it that I woke up yesterday morning and wrote what I want to say! I can’t wait.

Here’s the write-up that WELCOA put together about the award. I’m immensely grateful to have this recognition and the opportunity to share my passion and vision with more and more people.

All of my friends, family, coworkers, classmates, and mentors have been so gracious with their kind words this week. Thank you to everyone who has believed in and supported me. I couldn’t be happier!

I’ve definitely been feeling the love as we make our way into Valentine’s Day this weekend 🙂

What better way to celebrate than to share an energizing, beautifying, heart healthy trail mix recipe with you!

As I’ve shared in the past, one of the keys to eating for all-day energy is to make sure we are including a combination of protein + healthy fats + fiber into our meals and snacks.

It’s also important to include lots of nutrient-rich foods (foods loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and other health and beauty-boosting ingredients).

When our body has the nutrients it needs, we’re less likely to have cravings and more likely to maintain our health and weight.

Today’s trail mix fits the bill. We make a batch at the beginning of the week, and it lasts us for about 2 weeks.

Most of the ingredients in this recipe (nuts, seeds, berries) are GBOMBS, an acronym for some of the healthiest foods we can eat – foods that fight inflammation, damage to our cells and fat storage. It also contains blood-sugar balancing cinnamon as a natural sweetener.

Check out some of the super awesome health benefits of this super food trail mix. Click the hyperlink for each ingredient to learn more specifics about why it’s such a super-powered food!

Pumpkin Seeds: Loaded with vitamins, minerals, fats, and protein that may promote heart health, immune health, help fight diabetes, and offer unique benefits for men’s prostate health and women’s relief of menopause symptoms

Sunflower Seeds: Good source of magnesium to calm your nerves, muscles and blood vessels; anti-inflammatory, heart healthy fats and vitamins; the detoxifying and cancer preventive mineral selenium; rich in compounds called phytosterols that promote healthy cholesterol levels.

Almonds: Rich in the skin-beautifying, anti-aging antioxidant vitamin E and full of anti-inflammatory fats and phytochemicals (think, fight-o-chemicals!) that help protect our skin and our heart.

Walnuts: Cancer-fighting properties, promote heart health, contain powerful and protective antioxidants, aid in weight control, boost brain health, and help with blood sugar control in diabetics. Our heart health is something we should all take very seriously. Many people’s diets are poisoned with fast food and sugary snacks. Now more than ever, it is of paramount importance that people learn CPR. In fact, CPR training in Ottawa might help you master the skill.

Goji Berries: Known as the “longevity” fruit in China after being used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years, goji berries are truly a super food. They have been associated with vision and immune health, improved memory, and cancer protection. Find them cheapest at an Asian market or Home Goods. You can also find them in health food stores and on Amazon and Vitacost, but they are a bit pricy.

Cacao Nibs: Raw cacao contains more than 300 phytochemicals and more antioxidants than any other plant food. It’s loaded with compounds that are known to improve heart health, cholesterol, stress levels, and inflammation and naturally boost our mood and feelings of “bliss.” Raw cacao nibs are basically pieces of the raw cacao bean (where chocolate comes from). They are a bit bitter but have a nice crunch, so I usually eat them in a trail mix or sprinkle them on a smoothie.

Coconut: Check out this post about the health benefits of coconut. I wrote about it in my 11 Sweet Treat Pantry Essentials Post.

You can find all of these ingredients at Nuts.com!

Ingredients

1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup goji berries or raisins
1/2 cup raw cacao nibs
1 cup coconut flakes, lightly toasted
1 cup roasted chickpeas (Nuts.com, The Good Bean, Biena and Chickpeatos are great brands!)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until evenly coated and store in a glass container in the fridge.

Category: Inspired Page 4 of 6

1) SLOOOOW Down

“I don’t have time to be sick. Give me a pill.”

2) I’m grateful I can move my body freely in ways that I choose.

3) Having needs doesn’t make you “needy.”

4) The body has an amazing capacity to heal.

5) Unconditional love is a wonderful thing.

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1) Acknowledge and believe that you don’t have to live with these symptoms just because you always have!

2) See a gastroenterologist to rule out any serious gastrointestinal disorders.

3) Try an elimination diet for at least 2 weeks.

4) Reduce or (ideally) eliminate artificial sweeteners (including Splenda).

5) Wean off of acid-blocking medications (under doctor supervision).

6) Heal the intestinal lining.

7) Choose fermented foods carefully.

8) Consume prebiotic fibers to feed the bacteria in the gut.

9) When it comes to probiotics, you get what you pay for.

10) It’s not just WHAT you eat that matters, it’s HOW you eat, too.

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Some day you will not be able to do this. Today is not that day.

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“What is wellness? What is health?”

“What ideas are running your life? Your body?”

“What do I have to give up to have peace?”

“Invest today to save tomorrow. Be in action every day without guilt.”

“It’s great to have a day to be nourished in so many ways.”

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Move Naturally

Hara Hachi Bu

Purpose Now

Downshift

Belong to a Spiritual Community

Loved Ones First

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Inspiration can literally come from everywhere […] Inspiration is everywhere all the time.

The Turning Point

You know what? I’ve gotta do food. This is what I want to do.

The Path

The Future & “The Nod”

‘That’s the moment, that’s the thing, that’s why we do it.’

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1) Read a Book to Learn More

2) Look Online

3) Find a Doctor…& My Trusted Health Professionals!

I want to hear from you! Have you had a physical healing experience that has transformed your health or life? Feel free to share your story below 🙂

Share this:

Like this:

Below are the eight steps that work for me.

1) Chew Your Food & SLOW Down

2) Drink Water BEFORE Not During Meals

3) Eliminate Trigger Foods.

*Every recipe on this blog is dairy-free AND gluten-free, including dairy-free smoothies like this one…*

4) Repopulate My “Gut” with Probiotics

5) Relax with Magnesium

6) Protect with Licorice Root

7) Add in hydrochloric acid (HCl)**

8) Soothe with Aloe

PLEASE share this information with anyone you know who suffers from GERD, reflux, heartburn, etc. It may help them find relief from years of pain and discomfort!

Share this:

Like this:

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4) **The body has an amazing capacity to heal.**

Every recipe on this blog is dairy-free AND gluten-free, including dairy-free smoothies like this one…