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Health Readiness in the School Zone

by Karen Abramowitz, RN, CPAP, ACPNP

There is a dimension beyond which is known only to parents. It is a dimension as vast as the ocean and as timeless as the summer traffic on Hwy 98. It lies between the pit of your stomach and the summit of your child’s energy level.  This is the dimension of imagination and frustration. It is an area we call … The School Zone!

Wellness examinations are a requirement for school entry, and it is the establishment of physical and mental health that will ensure your child is ready for the rigors of the academic calendar. Here are a few tips that can help your child have a great school year!

1) Establish a medical home. A “medical home” is not a place, it’s a partnership with your primary care provider (PCP); your own clique of health and wellness. Everyone at home knows your name, allergies, and your medical records are updated and complete. It’s a partnership that establishes comprehensive services including health maintenance, sick visits, referrals, and physical and mental health coordination. Benefits of a medical home team approach are prevention, tracking growth and development, and identifying and addressing concerns early. How many times have you gone to a new office urgent care emergency visit and spent 30 minutes of your life filling the “book” of forms so they could know you? At an ER and urgent care center, you received a “band aid” approach. That is, immediate first aid and stabilization. The discharge paperwork directed you to your PCP for good reason. A band-aid is a good cover, but does not necessarily prevent further infection or disability.

2) Establish a dental home. Oral health maintenance and good dental habits today will reap a lifetime of health benefits tomorrow. Brush and floss daily. Regular dental check ups and teeth cleanings are paramount.

3) Vaccines need to be updated. Vaccines are a requirement for attendance according to Florida Law Statutes 1003.22 and the Department of Health (DOH).  Vaccines are effective in preventing serious and life-threatening diseases. Multiple research studies have substantiated this claim. You may visit The American Academy of Pediatrics website www.aap.org and The Centers for Disease Control website www.cdc.gov  for more information.

4) Establish healthy and regular eating habits. Healthy diets start at home. Encourage home meals. Keep your fridge stocked with fresh fruit, vegetables, and protein snack choices.  Set regular meal and snack times.

5) Establish routines. Children need and thrive with regular routines. Just ask any parent of a toddler who didn’t have their afternoon nap. Establish regular sleep/wake times. Most children and teenagers need ten hours of sleep for optimal growth and development.

6) Help your child develop a healthy sense of esteem. Children need to feel a sense of belonging, beginning with family and later extending to a circle of friends. Encourage family time, games, dinner together, sports, church; and community activities.  All of these things can help develop a cohesive circle. A sense of personal competence and pride comes from successful life experiences. Encourage creative outlets through reading, art projects and games. Remember to set appropriate expectations. Allow your child to make mistakes. Although failure is difficult to accept, teach your child that these obstacles are a normal process of living and learning. Being too overprotective can cause your child to become too dependent and feel a loss of control. Support their efforts and limit your criticisms to constructive remarks.

As you go about this school year, create a plan to successfully implement these health readiness strategies.  Call your PCP today and get started. If you do not have a medical home, Sandestin Health and Wellness Center is accepting new patients for health exams, sports physicals and urgent care. Visit www.sehwc.com or call 850-267-6767 for more information.

Weight as a Sign of Other Conditions

~Nirin Bawa

Some people think that losing weight is just about the number of calories taken in and the amount used up by exercise.  So they say that the important thing is just to push away from the dinner table.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In reality there are numerous conditions that make it difficult to lose weight and it is important to address all of those.

High Insulin:  Growing up in this country involves being exposed to a lot of candy and sugar.  This causes one to develop insulin insensitivity where the body has been used to high levels of insulin and develops a tolerance to high insulin levels.  This high insulin level tends to cause weight gain.  Metformin is a medication for diabetes but is now touted as an “anti-aging drug” as it lowers insulin.  There is also a new weight loss drug called Saxenda that is also used for diabetes and helps to lower insulin.

PCOS:  Lot of women have PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) where female hormone instead of being released from the ovary accumulate as a cyst and the progesterone gets converted to testosterone.  Progesterone counteracts the weight gain effects of estrogen so not having this hormone causes “estrogen dominance” which makes it difficult to lose weight.  Adjusting hormones make it easier to lose weight.

Testosterone: Because we are surrounded by a lot of chemicals in our environment that are like estrogens, men can often run low testosterone levels.  This low testosterone causes men to become couch potatoes, lose muscle mass, have low sex drive and Erectile Dysfunction.  Adjusting these levels can make it easier to lose weight.

Menopause: Starting even in the 30s, lot of women can have declining hormone levels that tend to make it easier to gain weight.  Adjusting hormones can make it easier to lose weight.

Stress and Anxiety: When we are stressed and anxious we tend to gain weight for two reasons.  The first being that high stress causes cortisol to be high and that causes weight gain.  The other being that many of us are stress eaters where we eat to relieve our stress.  Some anti anxiety medications such as Wellbutrin are now used for weight loss as helping people feel better make it easier to lose weight.

Bowel Flora:  The bacteria that we have in our gut can help us or hurt us.  There was a recent study done where bowel flora from obese adults was put into rats and the rats ended up becoming obese.  Yogurt has different bacteria that are beneficial for us so eating this regularly is a good idea but taking a probiotic pill also helps.  Use organic chicken that has not been given antibiotics as we can indirectly get antibiotics from the chicken we eat.  These antibiotics kill the good bacteria in our gut.

Cravings and Food addiction: Many of us have cravings and can even have food addiction.  Some of the cravings can be from yeast overgrowth in our gut which likes sugar and makes us crave sugar.  Eliminating yeast from the gut can help with these cravings.  Contrave is a newer medication that helps with cravings and food addiction.

Thyroid: Many people can have subtle thyroid abnormalities that make it difficult to lose weight. It is important to not just check TSH but to also check T3 and T4 as many people have trouble converting the inactive T4 to the active T3.  Medications like Armour thyroid can sometimes be better than levothyroxine as they contain the active thyroid hormone T3 in addition to the inactive T4 in levothyroxine.

Inflammation: Just like a car burns gasoline and produces fumes, we produce oxidative free radicals when we burn food for energy  If we do not get enough antioxidants or have other conditions that do not allow us to reduce these oxidative free radicals, we tend to get weight gain.  Inflammation causes damage to the body and tends to tell the fat cells to store up for a difficult period.  Reducing inflammation by having more antioxidants helps to make it easier to lose weight.

Don’t let anyone tell you that your weight is due to poor control on diet alone.  There are many other things that make it difficult to lose weight.  

Focus and Attention

Squirrel!!!  It’s funny in a cartoon but if you suffer from lack of focus or attention deficient, it can be a real source of worry and frustration.  To help your family improve their focus and attention for the new school year, here are some tips you will want to know.  

First, take a hard look at the foods you and your family eat.  Diet is one of the most researched causes of attention deficiencies.  Allergies to one or more foods, (usually milk, cane sugar, chocolate, American cheese, additives or wheat) are the most frequent causes, but not the only ones.   Sugar negatively impacts attention span, mood, short-term memory, and even the ability to learn. It actually changes brain wave patterns, making it hard to think clearly.

Other causes of attention deficit can be less obvious but important to investigate if a change of diet does not resolve the issue.  Explore these possibilities before running to the drug store.

Toxic metal accumulation, (usually lead, mercury, copper, or aluminum), may cause attention issues.  Metals are found in baby formula; baked goods and processed foods; deodorants; canned food, cigarette smoke, vehicle emissions and many more places.

Also, cervical segmental dysfunction (pressure or irritation in the neck or the junction of the neck and skull). A few chiropractic adjustments, (spinal manipulations), will usually be enough to correct this issue.

Micronutrient deficiencies, such as zinc, can have deleterious effects on both short and long term memory. White spots on the nails could be a sign of zinc deficiency.

For help and support there are many natural supplements that improve focus.  Here are just a few:

Fish Oil Rich in DHA– Increased red blood cell level of DHA in children is associated with improved reading, spelling, the ability to divide attention, and lower parent ratings of oppositional behavior, hyperactivity, restlessness, and overall ADHD symptoms.

Bacopa (Bacopa monnieri) is a highly esteemed Ayurvedic herb that’s been used for thousands of years as a brain tonic to enhance concentration and memory.

Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) is recommended to support brain functions such as mental clarity and a healthy memory, as well as to maintain a balanced mood. Centella asiatica is also a favorite food of elephants and, as we all know, elephants never forget!

Essential oils are a powerful tool to enhance focus and balance mood.  Best yet, they can be applied to the skin or inhaled for results.  Frankincense has been used for centuries to improve clarity of thought. And both Rosemary and Peppermint help stimulate and sharpen mental focus.

For an assessment of how these factors may be impacting your focus and attention or your children, call today to make an appointment with Doctor Leesa.  A simple biofeedback scan with Doctor Leesa can give you the answers you are looking for.   

Leesa Haire is a licensed Biofeedback Specialist/Registered Pharmacist — Biofeedback Health Scans  — 495 Grand Blvd, Regus Offices Miramar Beach, FL

contact@TheAllNaturalPharmacist.com or 850-733-7017

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” ~3 John 1:2

by Janet Hardy LMT BCTMB

Feeling stiffness, tightness or pain?  Science has been taking notice of a part of our bodies called the fascia, (pronounced ‘fa’ as in ‘fan’ and ‘scia’ like ‘shuh’). International Fascia Research Congresses are being held where researchers have been presenting their findings on how fascia affects the entire function and health of the body.  Dr. Guimberteau, French hand and wrist surgeon showed his videos of living fascia at the 2015 congress in Washington, D.C.  It’s a beautiful, sparkling fluid fiber-like web which surrounds and infuses everything in our bodies from head to toe and is the framework that holds us together.  Ideally these fascial fibrils if unrestricted, can slide upon themselves, changing configurations, adjusting as we move.

Dr. Christiane Northrup, M.D. says, “What we call aging is the fascia getting dense and hard.”  Unexplainable tightness or pain can be caused by myofascial (muscle fascia) restrictions in our fascial tissue. While these restrictions contribute to the symptoms of aging, they can occur at any age from repetitive motion, injuries, surgeries, poor posture and stress. 

Frequently, pain manifested in one area stems from another because of the powerful hold that restrictions can have on this 3 dimensional web.  Myofascial restrictions can result in more than tight muscles and decreased mobility.  It can pull, twist and squeeze nerves, blood vessels, organs, intestines and lymphatic vessels with an enormous amount of strength.  Tightened fascia can put pressure on nerves, contributing to pain and on other structures which can influence blood pressure, digestion, immune function or even the ability to take a deep breath.  Fascial restrictions do not show up on many diagnostic tests such as X-rays and CAT scans so it’s possible that people experiencing mysterious symptoms could be dealing with undiagnosed restrictions.

John F. Barnes, P.T. (JFB’s) approach to Myofascial Release (MFR) is an effective treatment to release myofascial restrictions without causing trauma to the tissue.  The skilled JFB’s trained MFR therapist engages the web of the fascia and holds it at it’s end range for an effective time period.  The gel like filling of the tiny fibrils transition to a more fluid state.  Dr. Paul Standley at the University of AZ made an interesting discovery that during this phase of treatment some of our bodies natural anti-inflammatories are released.  Findings like these are bound to impact future health care.

The term ‘myofascial release’ sometimes is misunderstood.  An example is with the use of the popular foam roll.  Aggressively ‘rolling out’ muscles on the foam roll does not allow the fascia to release.  A slow non forceful stretch, waiting until a release occurs is true myofascial stretching.  Two excellent books which explain this are available.  Myofascial Stretching by Jill Stredronsky Morton, MS, OTR & Brenda Pardy, OTR and Comprehensive Myofascial Self Treatment by Joyce Karnis, P.T.

JFB’s MFR and MF stretching can help with stress, headaches, jaw, neck and back pain, carpal tunnel, sluggish digestion, pelvic and hip pain and plantar fasciitis among other conditions. Mechanical therapies such as MFR is gaining popularity as an effective and less invasive treatment and preventative therapy for a wide range of conditions.

Individual treatment sessions with Janet Hardy address specific concerns.  A typical session begins with a consultation and postural analysis.  You will receive a treatment and some suggestions for home therapies

Janet Hardy, LMT, BCTMB is an Expert Level JFB’s trained Myofascial Release therapist.  She has been FL licensed since 1994 (MA17333) and has been practicing MFR exclusively since 2008.  She is the JFB’s NW Florida Study Group Facilitator for myofascial therapists. To learn more about myofascial release, visit www.caringtouchtherapy.net or call 850-231-9131/cell-850-832-6923.  Follow me on FaceBook: www.facebook.com/Caring Touch (Wild Blueberry Way, Santa Rosa Beach, FL)