Maximize Your Nutrition With These Winter Fruits and Veggies
This time of year it is really hard to find fresh produce. Most farmer’s markets are not meeting and many local farms don’t have much winter season produce. The local grocery store will have a variety of fruits and vegetables but your best bet is to stick to the produce that is in season. Seasonal fruits and vegetables will give you the most nutritional bang for your buck. Buying local is the first choice but if local is not available, opt for what’s in season.
Vegetables in season right now include:
- Greens (kale, collard and turnip)
- Brussel sprouts
- Winter squash
- Radishes
Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Kale and Brown Rice
And don’t forget about fruits. God is creative in His planning of seasonal foods and what nutrients are more abundant at certain times of
the year. Winter is full of fruits that are loaded with vitamin C to ward off colds and the flu. Fill up on your vegetables for meals and have oranges, mandarins, clementines and grapefruit for dessert.
Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Kale and Brown Rice
Ingredients
Peppers:
- 3 medium red bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Filling:
- 8 ounces kale, (6 cups lightly packed), trimmed
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup cooked short-grain brown rice
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, divided
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Preparation
1. To prepare peppers: Preheat oven to 400°F. Halve peppers lengthwise through the stems, leaving them attached. Remove the seeds. Lightly brush the peppers outside and inside with oil; sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper. Place, cut-side down, in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bake until peppers are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly. Turn cut-side up.
2. To prepare filling: Bring 2 cups salted water to a boil in a large wide pan. Stir in kale, cover and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water; squeeze dry. Finely chop.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and chopped bell pepper; cook, stirring often, until onion is golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the kale. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Stir in rice, Parmesan, 2 tablespoons pine nuts and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the filling among the pepper halves. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons pine nuts.
4. Add 2 tablespoons water to the baking dish. Cover the peppers with foil and bake until heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 minutes more. Serve hot.
Recipe provided by eatingwell.com
Valerie Costanza, RD
Valerie Costanza, RD, received her Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Louisiana Tech University in Nutrition and Dietetics. She loves being outdoors and playing with her labradoodle, Leilah. Avid runner, Registered Dietician, wife to Sam and now she has a new title: mom to Amelia Claire. Valerie is an advocate for leading a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy and staying active is her passion and encourages those around her to follow suit! Her favorite job as a teenager? Working at the Cucuzza Squash Farm.
Get Your Body Back On Track With These 5 Points of Wellness
Dr. Nathan Goodyear, Overseeing Physician at Seasons Wellness Clinic
“What is Seasons? And what do you do?”
These are questions I am often asked. In short, Seasons breaks free from the disease model of medicine. Our focus is wellness by optimizing your health. What does this mean? Just because you are free of disease does not mean you have great health. A wellness model of medicine is the only way to prevent disease and promote healthy living.
At Seasons, we work to achieve health and wellness with balance using our 5 Points of Wellness: Nutrition, Exercise, Hormones, Inflammation, and Detoxification.
NUTRITION
Are nutrition and health related? Absolutely. We are what we eat. Hippocrates said it best, “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” Your diet must be individualized to meet your metabolic needs, limit inflammatory responses, and meet your lifestyle demands.
We offer personalized nutritional counseling to develop a plan for disease management, disease prevention, and overall good health. At Seasons, your nutritional plan is individualized to meet your needs in a way that fits your lifestyle.
EXERCISE
Exercise is an important part of any weight-loss or weight-maintenance program. Maintaining healthy weight is an excellent benefit of exercise, but it does so much more for your body. Exercise builds muscle, relieves stress, and helps to detoxify, just to name a few. However, too much exercise can severely harm the body.
At Seasons, we work to maximize your calorie expenditure, while reducing the damage to your body from excessive exercise. We do this in a way to match your lifestyle and your physical abilities.
Valerie Costanza, RD will develop a nutritional plan that is created to meet your individual needs in a way that fits your lifestyle.
HORMONES
Regardless of your age, your body needs hormones to function. Hormones are a means of communication with your body. And balance of those hormones is the key. Sure, it would be great if men were just a Testosterone sponge; or women just an Estrogen factory. But, that is not the case and the key is to create a balance. When your hormones are balanced, so are you. When your hormones are not balanced, your body will let you know.
Your hormone balance is unique and will change based on factors such as weight loss, weight gain, stress, and even nutrition. The only way to determine your imbalance is to share any symptoms you may be having with your healthcare team at Seasons. This gives us information on where to look for hormone imbalance issues. Only then can we identify your particular imbalance and formulate a plan to balance your hormones. Balanced hormones = better health.
INFLAMMATION
Inflammation is the greatest obstacle to good health and is a part of the body’s immune system signaling department. Pain, redness, swelling, heat, and loss of function are common manifestations of inflammation. Inflammation is not new. The first four classical signs were described by Celsus (30 BC – 38 AD).
The source of inflammation is unique to each person. It may be due to deficiencies, such as vitamin D, poor dietary intake of antioxidants, such as resveratrol and curcumin, or even a deficiency of fish (low Omega-3 intake leads to inflammation). Your gut could also be the source of inflammation! Did you know that up to 75% of your immune system lines your gut? In many ways, your health starts with your gut.
The source of inflammation is as different as the individual. The only way to identify your unique source of inflammation is through symptom evaluation and state-of-the-art testing. At Seasons we can identify the causes of inflammation and implement specific therapy to eliminate inflammation, which can be as diverse as parasite treatment to dietary changes.
DETOXIFICATION
We live in a toxic world today. There is no way around that! According to a recent study, detectable levels of toxins were found in up to 99% of pregnant women even though many of these chemicals have been banned since the early 1970’s. This number will only rise with the approximately 1,800 new chemicals approved annually. This tidal wave of toxins are overwhelming our detoxifications systems proven by the exponential rise in rates of autism spectrum disorder and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis.
The ability to detoxify is critical to health. Every cell must detoxify. At Seasons, we evaluate your individual ability to detoxify with state-of-the-art testing and treat those areas that are dysfunctional. We focus on your major detox organs — liver, skin, kidneys, lymphatics, and GI tract — through which every cell in the body must detoxify. We provide a detoxification plan to meet your specific toxic load and to support your identified needs.
WHAT NEXT?
At Seasons, we offer individualized therapy to aggressively eliminate the obstacles to good health and maximize your body’s performance. We are not your disease doctor, we are your partners in health. We work to restore your health and then maintain that good health.
As Aristotle said, “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” And at Seasons, our holistic approach encompasses all the body’s functions creating one plan giving you the tools you need to pursue wellness.
Questions? Spend some time on our website getting to know us and what we do. Then call 318.255.3223 and speak with one of our Patient Relations Specialists. Remember, good health is a choice. And at Seasons, we offer you that opportunity. Don’t miss your opportunity to choose a health and wellness lifestyle.
Seasons Patient, Kathy Burns: “It is a whole new me!”
Seasons Patient, Kathy Burns
“My mother has osteoarthritis. When I began to hurt and swell, I just thought it had to be genetics – thanks, mom! I sought treatment for my pain so I went to a General Practitioner. As the pain progressed, I went to a Rheumatologist. The pain continued to grow and so did the amount of prescription pain medication I was taking. I was on my way to getting hooked on pain medicine, and I knew there had to be another way.”
“I asked my physical therapist about alternative ways to treat my pain. That’s when she told me that she was a patient of Dr. Nathan Goodyear at Seasons Wellness Clinic and referred me to him. I made an appointment with Dr. Goodyear and I’ll be honest, I was pleasantly surprised. Dr. Goodyear never herded me in and out like cattle. I would come in his office and we would talk, actually discuss things going on with my health. I could tell that he genuinely cared.”
“Dr. Goodyear designed a custom plan to get my health back on track. Throughout my visits we did blood work, testing, detoxification, and I had B vitamins through IV. Along with seeing Dr. Goodyear, I also saw Valerie Costanza, the Dietitian at Seasons. She taught me what and how to eat. And she taught me what would agree with my body. And as I began to follow what she was telling me, I saw almost immediate results. The swelling in my hands began to go down and my knees stopped aching. My shoulders and my lower back are almost pain-free. It is amazing what the right nutrition can do for you. And as an added plus, I lost weight!”
“I have been feeling better for 8 months now and it is just wonderful. It is a whole new me and a whole new way of life! I wanted to share my story because I know there are others out there that hurt just like I did. There are middle-aged women out there that think their pain is just a part of growing old. But you don’t have to put up with it. You don’t have to take pain medication to feel good. There is another way!” – Kathy Burns
Our goal is to restore our patients’ health by offering a more holistic approach along with cutting edge advancements in traditional medicine all in a comfortable environment. We are dedicated to providing individualized treatment and improving our patient’s quality of life by providing the best complementary and integrative medical treatment available. Our mission is to transform lives, one patient at a time. For more information about becoming a patient at Seasons Wellness Clinic, visit our New Patient Page or contact our Patient Relations Specialists at 318-255-3223.
Tips To Help Fight A Cold Or The Flu
Valerie Costanza, RD
Staying well during cold and flu season is hard to do but with a little nutrition know-how, fighting a cold or the flu is a little easier.
There are several important things to remember when you are trying to prevent a cold. First of all, sugar suppresses the immune system and hinders your ability to fight off the sickness. It is good practice to avoid sugar as a prevention and especially during a cold. A good multivitamin is a must to take every day for prevention of colds. And last, if not restricted by medicine, grapefruit is perfect for providing vitamin C and detoxifying the liver to keep you well.
If you currently have a cold and are in dire need of relief, remember these points to help your body fight the cold faster:
- Drink plenty of fluids. Water and a small amount of fresh fruit juice are best.
- Avoid dairy which has been shown to increase congestion.
- Avoid diuretics such as coffee and tea.
- Avoid alcohol which depletes stores of vitamin C.
- Eat light with focus on easily digestible foods such as broths, vegetable soups, salads, fish and chicken.
- Chicken soup actually does work! Researchers say that the cold-fighting powers are from the vegetables that are part of the stock and that it helps relieve symptoms especially congestion. Make a batch of chicken vegetable soup and freeze to thaw when you are fighting a cold.
GRANDMA’S CHICKEN SOUP
Grandma’s Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients :
- 1 young (3-4 lb.) chicken
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 2 qts. water
- 2 med. onions, whole
- 4 med. potatoes, sliced
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 4 carrots, scraped or diced
- 3 stalks celery, cut in 2 inch pieces
- 1 parsley sprig
- 1 parsnip, pared, if desired
Preparation :
- Clean chicken and cut into serving pieces. Place chicken in pot, cover with water and cover pot. Bring to full boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add whole onion and simmer 30 minutes more. Add salt and pepper and simmer 15 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, wash vegetables and cut into bite size pieces. Add in 15 minute intervals in this order: carrots, celery, parsley and parsnip. Cook until chicken is tender.
- Before serving let soup cool, then skim off fat. If allowed to chill several hours, fat will rise to top and solidify for easy removal. Strain soup, if clear broth is desired, discarding any vegetables you do not like. Return chicken to soup or serve separately.
Note: If a creamier soup is desired, mash potatoes and then add to soup, also discarded vegetables can be pureed until smooth and returned to broth.
Click here for more information.
This Nutrition Update is brought to you by Valerie Costanza and Seasons Wellness Clinic. For a personalized nutrition consultation with Valerie Costanza, call Seasons at 255-3223 and schedule an appointment.
Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge 2012
Need inspiration? Information? Accountability? Join some of North Louisiana’s top physicians, nutritionists and personal trainers for the 2012 Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge. Each FREE session offers you the opportunity to accomplish your nutrition and fitness goals for the new year. The reward? A healthier you, goodies, door prizes, and much more! This year we have added a 30 minutes workout to the end of each session. So bring your water bottles and let’s get going!
Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge Session #1
The first session of the 2012 Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge will be held on Tuesday, January 10th from 5:30pm – 6:30 pm at the Lincoln Parish Library Community Room. We will be conducting optional weigh-ins and measurements at the end of each session so please come prepared to exercise and dress comfortably.
Our first session will include:
- Meal plans
- Strength workouts
- Recipes
- Time Management | Making time for yourself
- Prepping for our 5k run with Maryanne Smith
- Optional weigh-in and measurements (5 – 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 – 7 p.m.)
To register, you must first join our Healthy Woman program and then click the link to RSVP. Please note: you must RSVP for each session after you have joined.
Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge Session #2
Join us for the second session of the 2012 Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge on Tuesday January 24, 2012 from 5:30 PM to 6:30 at the Lincoln Parish Library Community Room. Don’t forget we will be exercising and doing weigh-ins at the end of this session. So, come prepared to workout and dress comfortably. You can still attend this event even if you are not participating in the Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge.
The focus for this session will be:
- “Knees, Knees, Knees!” | Orthopaedic Surgeon, Major Blair, M.D., will discuss ways to avoid injury while exercising.
- “Getting down to the basics: Nutrition” | Registered Dietician, Jessica Hood, RD, LDN, will give nutrition advice and tips on staying on track with your diet.
You must be a member of the Healthy Woman program to participate in this event. If you have not joined already, click here. Membership is free, and the benefits last a lifetime. You must RSVP for each session of the Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge that you would like to attend.
Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge Session #3
Our 3rd session of the 2012 Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge will take place on Tuesday February 7, 2012 from 5:30 PM to 6:30 at the Lincoln Parish Library Community Room. Don’t forget, we will be working out and breaking a sweat for the last 30 minutes of the session. We will also be doing weigh-ins and measurements. So, dress comfortable!
The focus for this session will be:
- “Hello, dont forget about your heart!” | Interventional Cardiologist, Michael Langiulli, M.D.
- Heart Health Recipe Fun
To join Healthy Woman or RSVP to this event, click here. Membership is free, and the benefits last a lifetime.
Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge Session #4
Session #4 will be our final session of the Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge. This session will take place on Tuesday February 21, 2012 from 5:30 PM to 6:30 at the Lincoln Parish Library Community Room.
Our focus for this session will be:
- Staying on track… You CAN do it!
- Accountability = Stability
To RSVP for this session or to Join Healthy Woman, click here.
For more information about the sponsors of the 2012 Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge, please visit their websites.
- Northern Louisiana Medical Center
- Body Back by Maryanne Smith or on Facebook
- Seasons Wellness Clinic and Seasons – The Spa or on Facebook and Twitter
- Sharon Jackson’s Personal Training Services or on Facebook
Click here to see out photos from a previous Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge 5K!
Nibble-On-This: Best Food Phone Apps!
Valerie Costanza, RD
With the convenience of today’s technology, there is no excuse for poor eating habits. From recipes and food journals to menu planners, you can find just about anything you need online. There are hundreds of apps that can be downloaded to your phone or iPad to help with any dietary needs or health plan. Some of my favorites include:
- True Food Shopper’s Guide and Non-GMO Shopping Guide: these allow you to search out food that are Genetically Modified Organism free
- The Farmer’s Market Finder: find your nearest farmer’s market
- Fooducate: this rates foods based on the Nutrition Facts panel as well as ingredients
- Go Meals HD: provides a guide for searching out healthier options at restaurants
I know you are looking forward to the good food and family that will surround us as we count our blessings this Thanksgiving. You are sure to have leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner so here is a healthy recipe for the leftover turkey.
Crispy Turkey Tostadas
Crispy Turkey Tostadas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, with jalapeños optional
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cups shredded cooked turkey, or chicken (12 ounces; see Tip)
- 8 corn tortillas
- Canola or olive oil cooking spray
- 1 avocado, pitted
- 1/4 cup prepared salsa
- 2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Preparation
1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 375°F.
2. Bring tomatoes and their juice to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes. Add turkey (or chicken) and cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, coat tortillas on both sides with cooking spray. Divide the tortillas between 2 large baking sheets. Bake, turning once, until crisped and lightly brown, about 10 minutes.
4. Mash avocado in a bowl. Stir in salsa, sour cream and cilantro until combined.
5. To assemble tostadas, spread each crisped tortilla with some of the avocado mixture. Top with the turkey (or chicken) mixture, lettuce and cheese.
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Valerie Costanza, RD, received her Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Louisiana Tech University in Nutrition and Dietetics. She loves being outdoors and playing with her labradoodle, Leilah. Avid runner, Registered Dietician, wife to Sam and now she has a new title: mom to Amelia Claire. Valerie is an advocate for leading a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy and staying active is her passion and encourages those around her to follow suit! Her favorite job as a teenager? Working at the Cucuzza Squash Farm.
Cinnamon: The Super Spice!
It's not just for your french toast!
Cinnamon has long been known for its health and healing properties. Benefits include anti-clotting actions, anti-microbial and fungal activity as well as blood sugar control. Many people have the stubborn yeast called Candida. Cinnamon has been found to help stop the growth of this nasty fungus. Among it’s many benefits, cinnamon has one of the highest antioxidant levels of any spice. This super spice can also help reduce blood sugar spikes after eating foods loaded with carbohydrates. If eating a high carb meal, season with cinnamon to help lessen its effect on blood sugar levels.
Here are a few ways to add cinnamon to your day:
- Sprinkle hot cereal with cinnamon in the morning
- Diffuse cinnamon essential oil
- Simmer cinnamon sticks with your favorite type of milk and honey
- Add ground cinnamon to black beans and enjoy a distinctively, delicious taste
- Spice up your holiday dishes by making a cinnamon turkey glaze or healthy peanut butter cookies.
Pumpkins: More Than Just Fall Decorations
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Patti Wall: A Story of Weight Loss, Rejuvenation, and Life Change
Medical Care is Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S.
“I asked Chris Kresser to guest post on our blog because he has an interesting view on health and wellness and the issues that surround it. I believe that an individual’s greatest obstacle to health and wellness could actually be the drugs that they take. This article clearly reveals that.” – Dr. Nathan Goodyear
Chris Kresser, L. Ac Photo courtesy of www.chriskresser.com
The popular perception that the U.S. has the highest quality of medical care in the world has been proven entirely false by several public heath studies and reports over the past few years.
The prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association published a study by Dr. Barbara Starfield, a medical doctor with a Master’s degree in Public Health, in 2000 which revealed the extremely poor performance of the United States health care system when compared to other industrialized countries (Japan, Sweden, Canada, France, Australia, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium and Germany).
In fact, the U.S. is ranked last or near last in several significant health care indicators:
- 13th (last) for low-birth-weight percentages
- 13th for neonatal mortality and infant mortality overall
- 11th for postneonatal mortality
- 13th for years of potential life lost (excluding external causes)
- 12th for life expectancy at 1 year for males, 11th for females
- 12th for life expectancy at 15 years for males, 10th for females
The most shocking revelation of her report is that iatrogentic damage (defined as a state of ill health or adverse effect resulting from medical treatment) is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease and cancer.
Let me pause while you take that in.
This means that doctors and hospitals are responsible for more deaths each year than cerebrovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, accidents, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and pneumonia.
The combined effect of errors and adverse effects that occur because of iatrogenic damage includes:
- 12,000 deaths/year from unnecessary surgery
- 7,000 deaths/year from medication errors in hospitals
- 20,000 deaths/year from other errors in hospitals
- 80,000 deaths/year from nosocomial infections in hospitals
- 106,000 deaths a year from nonerror, adverse effects of medications
This amounts to a total of 225,000 deaths per year from iatrogenic causes. However, Starfield notes three important caveats in her study:
- Most of the data are derived from studies in hospitalized patients
- The estimates are for deaths only and do not include adverse effects associated with disability or discomfort
- The estimates of death due to error are lower than those in the Institute of Medicine Report (a previous report by the Institute of Medicine on the number of iatrogenic deaths in the U.S.)
If these caveats are considered, the deaths due to iatrogenic causes would range from 230,000 to 284,000.
Starfield and her colleagues performed an analysis which took the caveats above into consideration and included adverse effects other than death. Their analysis concluded that between 4% and 18% of consecutive patients experience adverse effects in outpatient settings, with:
- 116 million extra physician visits
- 77 million extra prescriptions
- 17 million emergency department visits
- 8 million hospitalizations
- 3 million long-term admissions
- 199,000 additional deaths
- $77 billion in extra costs (equivalent to the aggregate cost of care of patients with diabetes
I want to make it clear that I am not condemning physicians in general. In fact, most of the doctors I’ve come into contact with in the course of my life have been competent and genuinely concerned about my welfare. In many ways physicians are just as victimized by the deficiencies of our health-care system as patients and consumers are. With increased patient loads and mandated time limits for patient visits set by HMOs, most doctors are doing the best they can to survive our broken and corrupt health-care system.
The Institute of Medicine’s report (“To Err is Human”) which Starfied and her colleagues analyzed isn’t the only study to expose the failures of the U.S. health-care system. The World Health Organization issued a report in 2000, using different indicators than the IOM report, that ranked the U.S. as 15th among 25 industrialized countries.
As Starfied points out, the “real explanation for relatively poor health in the United States is undoubtedly complex and multifactorial.” Two significant causes of our poor standing is over-reliance on technology and a poorly developed primary care infrastructure. The United States is second only to Japan in the availability of technological procedures such as MRIs and CAT scans. However, this has not translated into a higher standard of care, and in fact may be linked to the “cascade effect” where diagnostic procedures lead to more treatment (which as we have seen can lead to more deaths).
Of the seven countries in the top of the average health ranking, five have strong primary care infrastructures. Evidence indicates that the major benefit of health-care access accrues only when it facilitates receipt of primary care. (Starfield, 1998)
One might think that these sobering analyses of the U.S. health-care system would have lead to a public discussion and debate over how to address the shortcomings. Alas, both medical authorities and the general public alike are mostly unaware of this data, and we are no closer to a safe, accessible and effective health-care system today than we were eight years ago when these reports were published.
This guest post was provided by Chris Kresser. Chris lives in Berkeley, CA and is a licensed acupuncturist and practitioner of integrative medicine. Chris writes a health and wellness blog that includes information on hypothyroidism, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, natural childbirth and more. He began writing because it is his “sincere hope that the information on this blog will lead to greater health and well-being for you and those you love” [chriskresser.com]. Visit his blog or follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisKresser for more information on health, wellness and nutrition.
