Be Well Blog

Do I Really Need Detoxification?

Pollution As A Way Of Life

Now more than ever, living in the United States means being exposed to thousands of chemicals and environmental pollutants.  Although most pollutants are commercially produced, some occur naturally, and both are on the rise especially in metropolitan areas. Imagine the increased toxic load in the NYC air since 9/11.  Many pollutants are not obvious, like additives in our food and water supplies, and the over-use of antibiotics and other prescription medications. Our overindulgence in food, alcohol, and tobacco also increases our toxic load.

We are so used to living in a toxic world that we don't often stop to recognize the sources or long and short term effects.  Consider this: The Consumer Product Safety Commission has identified 150 chemicals in the home linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological abnormalities, the most dangerous coming from common cleaning products that are three times more likely to cause cancer than air pollution.  Ironically, we use most of these products to kill germs in order to keep us and our families well. 

Our bodies are constantly bombarded by pollutants present in our air, water, soil, food, clothing, furniture, carpeting, paints, and the list goes on.  Our exposure to toxins can be internally generated as well. “Natural Pollutants” include stress and sedentary lifestyles, which place a burden on our internal organs. Here's another eye-opening statistic: recent research suggests that 80-90% of visits to primary care physicians are stress related.

TOXIC SYMPTOMS  An overload of toxic exposure can manifest in a number of ways: headaches, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, irritability, depression, mental confusion, fibromyalgia, gas, bloating, heartburn, poor digestion, cardiovascular irregularities, weight gain, flu-like symptoms, or allergic reactions including hives, stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and even food allergies. And these are only some of the more benign results!

In addition to these symptoms, it has been suggested that toxic overload may also contribute to more serious conditions such as autoimmune disease including inflammatory and rheumatoid arthritis, neurological disease such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's disease, liver disease and cancer.

Our bodies are smart and come equipped with tools to filter toxins from our systems.  However, the high levels of heavy metals and poisons that invade our days cannot be discarded fast enough to maintain optimal health.  Simply put, most of the chemicals borne of the modern age and the desire to improve—and add ease to our lifestyles—are making us sick.  Sick and tired. 

THERE IS HOPE  In spite of how horrible this all sounds, there are ways to re-balance, and even “re-generate" your bodies!  In other words, all hope is not lost. This program is going to teach you how to detoxify and get your health and your life back in balance.

Grilled Eggplant & Ricotta Cheese

This is a super tasty recipe for summer that is quick and easy to make, using a plentiful, in season vegetable.  This versatile dish can be served as a vegetarian main course, a side dish, or even as an appetizer.  It’s also healthy for you!

Serves 4 or more, depending upon how you use it.  Adapt the recipe as needed for more diners.

 

You'll Need:

One medium to large unpeeled eggplant (look for wider rather than longer)
3 tbs olive oil
6 to 8 ounces of ricotta cheese
One or two fresh tomatoes
Lots of minced garlic
Salt and pepper
Fresh, sharp parmesan cheese
Fresh basil

Slice the eggplant thinly if using as a side dish, thicker (about ½ to ¾ inch) if using as a main dish. Salt each side liberally and set aside for 30 to 45 minutes, then rinse well and pat dry.  This process removes some of the eggplant’s bitter taste, but also ensures that it doesn’t absorb too much oil. 

Next, brown the eggplant in the olive oil using a heavy bottomed, non-stick frying pan.  You can also brown them in the broiler, placing them in a single layer on a cookie sheet, brushing them with a light coating of olive oil, and then turning them when the first side is brown. 

Once browned, cover each slice of eggplant with a generous layer of ricotta cheese, and then a layer of minced garlic (I love garlic and really lay it on thick here).  Next add a slice of tomato, more garlic, salt and pepper and finally, top with a generous layer of shredded parmesan cheese.  Place on cookie sheet(s), sprinkle on any leftover olive oil and place under the broiler until the parmesan is bubbling hot and browned, but keep it low enough from the flame so the lower layers warm nicely.  Remove from the oven, sprinkle a few pinches of chopped basil on top and serve immediately.

If you’re feeling creative you can make variations of this recipe by substitution or including layers of prosciutto, sausage, onions, roasted red peppers, pesto, and favorite spices.  You can also try slicing the eggplant length wise and assembling it in a casserole dish, baking it until it everything melts into a yummy mixture of the combined flavors.

Do you have a favorite summer recipe you'd like to share with our readers?  Click the "comments" button below and type it in.  Thanks in advance for your input!

Sweet News About Chocolate

If you love chocolate, and who doesn’t, go for the dark.  Studies have shown that dark chocolate is actually good for us.  One heroic element in dark chocolate is cocoa phenols which helps lower high blood pressure.  Chocolates made in Europe are generally richer in cocoa phenols than those made in the U.S.  Another is flavanols, antioxidants that help repair damage done by free radicals, and help prevent arteries from becoming blocked by blood platelets.
Milk added to chocolate negates the helpful nature of the cocoa bean and white chocolate really isn’t chocolate at all.
All dark chocolates are not created equal.  Cocoa contents can vary from 10 percent to as high as 94 percent per bar.  Processing methods can lower flavanol levels so aim for a minimum of 60 percent cocoa.  The higher the cocoa levels the deeper the flavor is as well.  Quality chocolate is made with cocoa butter and milk fat.  If vegetable oil or hydrogenated oil is included, skip it.  Also check the label for zero trans-fats.  And remember, even though it has healthy elements, dark chocolate is still high in calories, on average 250 calories per 1.5 ounces – about the size of a 1/3 inch of business cards.  (OK, not the whole bar, but I’ll take it!) 
All this label reading can feel like a drag, but it’s so worth it.  You not only get to eat chocolate guilt -free, but your health benefits as well.  Plus, if you give your Valentine the “good” chocolate, you may receive hugs rather than a whack on the head with the box.  

Integrative Medicine Explained

By Dr. C. Evers Whyte

What is “Integrated Medicine?”  Ask ten different doctors this question and you might get 10 different answers.  It’s an exciting topic in that new findings are being published every day about how the success of medical outcomes are  improving through integrating different therapies, protocols and even medical paradigms.

My answer is this: Integrated Medicine is a model through which a physician or therapist first looks at a person who is coming for help, asks themselves, “What does this person need to become whole again?” and then uses any and every tool and resource available to facilitate that healing process.  It is more than the combined use of various “conventional” and “alternative” therapies, but aims to access deeper levels of our consciousness.  For example, a hug could be clinically described as, “two persons wrapping their arms around each other and squeezing,” but we all know this explanation lacks the true essence of what a hug is all about!

To begin to understand and appreciate the “process” of Integrated Medicine we first have to appreciate that while our bodies are made of interconnected physical systems–cardiovascular, skeletal, endocrine, nervous, etc, we are more than the sum of these parts.  We are in actual fact, beings composed of integrated and interpenetrating Intelligences: body, mind, soul, and spirit.

To be healthy, we need all these aspects of our beings to be “aligned” and working harmoniously.  If there is dis-harmony, there is dis-ease.  As an Integrated Medical physician, I seek to align and integrate all effective medicinal modalities to heal all the integrated elements, or Intelligences, of your being.

The patient that comes into our office with fatigue and brain-fog may be suffering from iron-deficiency, anemia, or adrenal exhaustion, perhaps hypoglycemia, decreased melatonin production, or the reluctance to go through the natural process of grief at a loved-one’s death after a long illness.  As I work with the patient to find the root of her ailments, we may discover that a number of these diagnoses are correct, perhaps even all of them.  This patient doesn’t have a Prozac deficiency.  She may need a change in

Heart Disease in Women

A Preventable Killer 

Heart disease is the leading killer of women over the age of 25.  It kills nearly twice as many women in the US than all types of cancer combined, including breast cancer.  If you’re surprised by these numbers you’re not alone.  Only 13% of women believe heart disease is a threat to them.  Worse, a recent survey showed that less than half the doctors thought of heart disease as a major threat to women, and less than half the women receiving regular medical care say that their doctors have ever talked to them about reducing their risk of heart disease.

This underestimation, by women and their doctors, of the very real and severe danger of heart disease is a primary contributor to the high death toll because in most cases, with adequate awareness, heart disease is preventable.  This is worth repeating:  the disease that kills more women in the US than all cancers combined is in most cases preventable.

Preventing heart disease depends completely upon first acknowledging its threat and then educating one’s self to the various risk factors which can include high cholesterol, blood pressure, estrogen levels, heredity, diet, and lifestyle.   Does this list seem like too much to manage?  It’s not at all.  Most of the risk factors can be monitored through blood tests and all of the factors can be controlled by better, easy to follow, heart-healthy lifestyle habits. 

It is also important to know that the symptoms of heart disease displayed by women are significantly different than those presented by men.  Because they don’t display the “classic” symptoms of heart disease or a heart attack, women often go undiagnosed, or wait too long to seek medical help while having a heart attack.  Knowing the warning signs is as important as knowing how to prevent the disease to begin with.

At The Center For Health Renewal we strongly believe in empowered patients and advise women to take charge for their health through awareness, early diagnosis, and lifestyle management. 

Heart Disease In Women: Prevention Is The Best Medicine

Workshop Announcement

Heart disease kills nearly twice as many women in the US than all types of cancer combined, including breast cancer.  This statistic is stunning, especially because in most cases heart disease is completely preventable.  Join us and learn about risk factors, warning signs and easy to live with prevention methods.

WHAT:  An interactive discussion led by Brooke Davidson, D.O. (OB/GYN), with a special interest in preventative medicine.

WHEN:  Thursday, September 24th, 7:30 PM

WHERE:  The Center For Health Renewal, 30 Myano Lane, Suite, 26, Stamford, CT

HOW:  Please call to reserve a seat as space is limited:  (203) 708-9299 or email askdoctorwhyte@gmail.com

A $10 donation is suggested and will be given to The Women’s Heart Health Initiative at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in New York City. Dress comfortably and bring a friend or two because awareness is lifesaving.  To learn more, visit www.TheCenterForHealthRenewal.com

What's For Breakfast?

 

Breakfast is key to starting your day feeling healthy and energetic. Whether you are focused on balancing your blood sugar, lowering cholesterol, losing weight, avoiding gluten and dairy, fighting off yeast or improving your mood and focus...the breakfast recommendations are basically the same!

1. Make sure to include protein. 
2. Minimize carbohydrates.
3. Include healthy fat and fiber if possible.

Ok, with those three points in mind, let's build a breakfast for you. I would like to encourage you to think outside the breakfast box! Forget about cereals, pancakes, waffles and the like. They are simply too high in carbohydrates, have a high glycemic index and, furthermore, tend to contain gluten (an all too common grain that many people can't eat).

Set aside American breakfast concepts, and those advertised on TV and start thinking of breakfast in a whole new way. How about wild salmon for breakfast? (that is one of my favorites) Or left over chicken and roasted vegetables. 

Here are my favorite breakfast choices:

1. Protein shake (Metagenics Sustain or Thorne Mediclear Plus) with flax seed oil, ground flax seeds and ProBerry

2. Turkey Bacon (hormone and antibiotic free)

3. Frozen turkey sausage (hormone and antibiotic free)

4. Wild Salmon, sauteed with onions

5. Turkey Bologna (hormone and antibiotic free)

6. Whole, Organic egg (if you are not intolerant to eggs) poached or sauteed with arugula and goat cheese

How much you ask?

  My recommendation is to eat half. Eat half as much as you think you need or half as much as you usually have. What is the worst possibility? You might feel hungry in an hour or two? Great, then eat a second breakfast. 

It is better to spread out the calories and eat every 3 to 4 hours throughout the day, so for those of you like me, who love breakfast, I don't think it will take much convincing to switch to breakfast twice! That is right, eat half, and eat the other half (or something else) in a couple hours. 

 

To drink? 

Stay away from juices. They are basically sugar, adding to your carbohydrate load and making a tasty breakfast for yeast, encouraging them to stay instead of go away. A much healthier option is green tea. It helps regulate blood sugar and metabolism, and prevents cancer at the same time. 

Otherwise water, filtered of course, is a great place to start your day, especially if you consume caffeine, which is a diuretic. Minimize the caffeine, but at the same time I think you will find that the longer you stick to these breakfast items, you won't be needing that caffeine to boost your energy so much anymore.

  

Do you have a favorite, healthy breakfast plan or recipe?  Share it with us.  Click on "Post A Comment" below.

 

 

Dr. Whyte's Health Bites

GRAPES

 

You may have heard that a glass of red wine each day may actually be healthy.  It's actually the grapes that the wine is made from that should be credited.  Red Grapes are a rich source of the bioflavonoids known as "proanthocyanidins," which have been shown to be powerful antioxidants.  They also help to maintain capillary health.  some researchers have associated the low incidence of heart disease among certain populations with moderate wine consumption.

Dr. Whyte’s Spicy Southwestern Chicken Chili

(Serves 15-20)

OK, don't let the number of ingredients scare you off.  This recipe is not as difficult as it may appear, and it's SO WORTH THE EFFORT!   Plus, you make it the night before, relieving some party-day-stress. You can also make a batch for just the family and freeze the rest for future dinners.  You’ll become the Chili Champ!

 

8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts –cut into bite-size chunks

1 quart jar sliced Italian cherry peppers

2 large cans peeled and sliced tomatoes

3 cans whole-kernel corn (or sliced from 6 cobs)

2 large cans or 3 bottles cooked black bean (frijoles negros)

3 large red onions –chopped

4 cloves garlic –minced

3 large yellow peppers –chopped

2 sprigs each: rosemary, sage, marjoram –stemmed and minced

¼ cup sea salt

4 tbsp dried cumin powder

2 tbsp garlic salt

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 cups chunky peanut butter (***Make sure you announce this because of peanut allergies!)

½ lemon –juiced

2 cups chicken stock

½ cup balsamic vinegar

2 bottles of good ale (e.g. Sierra Nevada Celebration ale)

Ground black pepper to taste

Olive oil for sautéing

Condiments: cheddar cheese, sour cream, avocados, fresh lime wedges, your favorite hot sauce(s), corn or Italian bread a/or crackers are optional.

 

Sauté the onions, yellow peppers, and garlic in a little olive oil and salt –set aside.

Sauté the chicken, herbs, and garlic salt in olive oil until just cooked through (don’t overcook).

In a BIG pot add the chicken, onion/yellow pepper mix, corn, ½ jar Italian cherry peppers, 1 ale, cumin and vinegar –stir and simmer at a slight boil for a few minutes –stir often!

Add the black beans, tomatoes, sesame oil and 1 cup chicken stock –stir and bring to a slight boil –stir often!

Add the peanut butter and the lemon juice –stir and simmer for 10 minutes until the peanut butter is completely melted and mixed in.

Simmer on low heat for 1 hour, stirring often, and adding the last ale and chicken stock a little bit at a time. Add remaining salt and pepper to taste.

Let sit and cool overnight on stove. The next day, simmer another 30 minutes, * but let cool 10 -20 minutes before serving (to re-thicken).

Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, fresh lime wedges, and the rest of the Italian cherry peppers. Enjoy!

Have you made this recipe?  Have any comments or tips you'd like to share about it?  Or maybe you have another recipe you'd like to share.  Please click below on "Post A Comment" and let us know what you're thoughts are!  

Pesticides & The Food You Eat

When visiting your favorite watering-hole would you ask for a shot of weed-killer? How about a Binaca-like spritz of Raid (www.killsbugsdead.com)? Yuck, right? Well, there’s no need to order that weed-killer martini because you are already ingesting a full cocktail of pesticides through the fruits, vegetables, and water you eat and drink each day.

Recently we published an article in our newsletter and on our website about environmental toxins we’re exposed to daily from simply existing on this planet. It included information about our detox program that can help your body eliminate the excess build up of toxins more thoroughly than it does on its own. As a follow up to the concept of detoxification I wanted give you some food for thought by providing some facts about the pesticide residues you and your children are eating:

~The average child gets 5+ servings of pesticides in their food and water each day.

~The pesticide Atrazine is so toxic it is banned in Europe, but it is used so widely in the U.S., that it is found in 71% of the U.S. drinking water.

~Currently, over 400 pesticides can be legally used in the U.S. For example, apples can be sprayed up to 16 times with 36 different pesticides.

~According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, organophosphate pesticides (OP) are now found in the blood of 95% of Americans tested, and the levels are twice as high in blood samples taken from children.

~Exposure to these chemicals is linked to hyperactivity, behavior disorders, learning disabilities, developmental delays and motor dysfunction.

Yikes!

I am sharing these facts not to panic you, but to make you aware of prevalent dangers you are able to avoid when armed with the proper information.

Here’s some good news:

~None of these chemicals are present in organic foods.

You need to know more:

Here’s a new web search tool that shows what pesticides are on your food.

The Pesticide Action Network has launched a new on-line database designed to make the public problem of pesticide exposure visible and more understandable. Whether you want to find out what's in your apple juice, milk, peanut butter, or bottled water, this innovative tool links pesticide residue food data with toxicology data for each chemical, making this information easily searchable and user friendly. Check out: www.whatsonmyfood.org

People often complain about the higher cost of organic foods but once your visit this recommended site you’ll wonder why you’ve spent so much money on foods that are not only potentially poisonous, but in most cases, have also lost their nutritional value due to approved, non-organic practices used to speed product growth and thus profits, at the expense of wholesome nutrition.

Do a little reading and I think you’ll find that what you want in your 8-10 servings of healthy fruits & veggies does not include chemical pesticides, hormones, GMOs, recombinant DNA, weed killers, etc. Grow it yourself or buy organic as much as possible.

And don’t worry; we’re planning a Fall 2009 Group Super Detox! Stay tuned…And in the meantime you can also check out this article on the Super Detox program previously published on this website.

Post Lyme Disease Syndrome

By Dr. C. Evers Whyte

There’s a very good chance that you’ve never heard of “Post-Lyme Disease Syndrome,” even if you’ve suffered from Lyme disease itself.  Post Lyme Disease Syndrome (PLDS) is as controversial as it is complicated, and many doctors will assert that it simply does not exist.  However, if you have been treated for Lyme disease (LD) and still feel ill, you know, along with a growing group of medical professional, that PLDS is in fact, dreadfully real.  And much like LD, PLDS manifests and presents itself in a variety of ways that can make it difficult to decipher and therefore treat.  Sadly, many Lyme experts believe that the generally-accepted assessment and treatment practices are woefully inadequate.  The good news, however, is that more and more doctors are recognizing the realities of PLDS and better still are having success treating it.  There is hope!

HOW IT ALL STARTS
To truly understand PLDS we need to begin with an understanding of LD’s basic biology and how doctors in the US have been directed to view and treat it.

LD is caused by a strain of spirochete bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi.  Unfortunately, a majority of doctors, contrary to both empirical findings and a large body of research, stubbornly insist that once LD is treated with the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) recommended 21-day course of antibiotics, it should be considered cured.  Therefore, patients still experiencing symptoms are too often dismissed with a diagnosis of psychosomatic post-Lyme rather than an ongoing infection, or a set of very real physical ailments stemming from the Lyme disease and probable co-infection(s). 

There are several studies that refute this outdated protocol for LD treatment.  One in particular suggests that an estimated 30% of Lyme disease patients do not recover at all after being treated with the CDC recommended antibiotic protocol. 

In addition to this, it is unusual to contract only one infection from a tick bite.  Co-infections are rampant: Borrelia; Erlichia; Babesia; Bartonella; Micoplasma; and Rickettsia are all prevalent in the northeast, and most ticks are infected with these disease causing bacteria along with the one that causes Lyme.   Still, many doctors don’t test for these co-infections, or look deeper into the patient’s whole picture for breakdowns in various other bodily systems, triggered by these infections. 

To make matters even worse, doctors are under an enormous amount of pressure to argue against the existence of chronic Lyme infection because the insurance industry doesn’t want to pay for the ongoing treatment necessary to rid these unfortunate souls of the tenacious infection(s).

Immune-Boosting Broth Recipe

     

When you provide your immune system with extra energy it does a better job of keeping you healthy, and if necessary, fighting through a challenge like the swine flu. 

Here’s a recipe for a great immune-boosting broth (Use Organic ingredients whenever possible):

• 2 cups of  chicken or vegetable broth
• 4 chopped shallots
• 5 chopped shiitake mushrooms
• 2 cloves of chopped fresh garlic
• 2 chopped carrots (unpeeled)
• 2 cups of chopped leafy greens (e.g. kale, Swiss chard, collard or mustard greens)
• Optional: Unpasteurized Miso to taste. (South River Miso Company makes the best I’ve found:  www.southrivermiso.com)

Bring the broth to a boil, and then add the carrots, shallots, garlic and mushrooms. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.  Next, add in the cooking greens, turn the heat off and let sit for 5 minutes.  Finally, mix in the miso and add salt & pepper to taste.  Never boil miso.  (You can also add chicken, fish, tofu, lean beef, etc. to increase protein, if desired).

Besides being good for you its really tasty, too!

FAQ About The Swine Flu

Our medical director, Dr. C. Evers Whyte answers a few questions about flu prevention.  You can ask your own questions in the comment box below.  (If you don't see this box, click on this article's headline and scroll down.)  We truly welcome your questions and hope to be a helpful as possible during this uncertain period.

Q: Does wearing a mask over my nose and mouth really do any good?

A: Yes, especially if you're regularly exposed to someone who's sick and in confined spaces.  Viruses become airborne when someone infected coughs or sneezes.  The mask can help you avoid breathing that in if you're caring for someone with the flu.

Q:  What is a "Probiotic"?

A: Your lymphatic system, a major element of your immune system, and your digestive tract work in conjunction with each other.  This is why eating correctly positively impacts your immune system.  A probiotic is a positive kind of bacteria that keeps your digestive tract working at its most optimum level and thus improves your immune system as well.

Q:  Are the supplements mentioned in the article above safe?

A:  Completely.  We only prescribe products that are clinically researched and proven to be safe and most effective.  We personalize our recommendations according to our patients' health histories and other important information. 

Q:  Can they actually prevent the flu?

A:  Anything you do to energize and strengthen your immune system will equally improve your ability to resist a virus after exposure.  Using supplements that are scientifically designed to boost your immune system on a cellular level will greatly improve your odds of remaining healthy.

Q:  My husband says handwashing with hot water alone gets rid of germs and soap is not necessary.  I say we need soap.  Who's right?

A:  Don't scald yourself!  Hot water alone is only effective if the temperature is over boiling, so use the soap too.

Food Allergies & Cancer

Our workshop/group discussion led by Dr. Doni Wilson was a huge success.

There were many participants and lots of vital information shared about how to identify food allergies and reduce the risk of chronic ailments and cancer.  We'll be posting a summary article about this topic soon.  But in the mean time, I'd like to invite those of you who participated to share your comments about what you learned during the workshop and what it means to you personally using the "Post A Comment" area below.  (If you do not see this option, double click on this article's title then scroll down).  Also, I'd like to invite all our readers to join the discussion as well.  The more we share what we know the more we can improve the health and well being of our Center's community.
Thanks to you all and to Dr. Donni!
Michele Russell
Director Program Development

 

Dr. Donielle Wilson, ND

Naturopathic Family Practice

Why I Do What I Do

Today I met with a patient with an all too familiar story.   For 10 years she’s suffered persistent and worsening symptoms, visiting doctor after doctor, only to be told that everything is “normal.” 

You might ask, “How can it be that a medical professional would send someone home to continue suffering with no further concern, not to mention curiosity, as to what was at the root of her symptoms?”

I believe this occurs for two reasons.  One is that the body is really good at compensating and keeping things "normal" in the blood while the other parts of the body are ailing, which is why blood test results often come back "within the normal range" even when the patient feels terrible.  The second reason is that conventional medical training focuses on the extreme of medical conditions.  This means that for someone whose

C. Evers Whyte, MS, DC, DACBN

Non-Surgical Spine Specialist
Clinical Nutritionist

Why I Do What I Do

In college, I took up martial arts and while I was training, I stepped in some gymnasts’ chalk as I was throwing a kick.  I slipped and flew about 5 ft up in the air before landing flat on my sacrum on the wooden gym floor.  The pain in my low back was intense and continued to worsen until I was taking 25 Advil just to get through the day.  The stronger pain drugs made me sick.  I stopped exercising because of the pain and gained 20 lbs. After visiting 3 chiropractors, an orthopedist, a neurologist, a rheumatologist, and a neurosurgeon I always ended up with the same result:  “We can’t find anything Physically wrong with you.”  Obviously, my pain itself was not enough to convince these physicians that something was indeed seriously wrong.