Norm Goodyear with his wife Helena

This guest post was provided by Norm Goodyear. Norm and his wife of 42 years, Helena, live in San Antonio, TX. Norm is a licensed Commercial Pilot for Federal Express. He and his wife began using Young Living essential oils in 2001 as a means of maintaining their health. Now, over 10 years later, Norm and Helena Goodyear use essential oils a their primary medicine for illnesses. Norm says his favorite Young Living products are NingXia Red, Valor, Believe, Deep Relief, and Pan Away essential oils, and True Source Vitamins and supplements.

“There can be miracles when you believe,” Mariah Carey sang in DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt. And that’s how I feel about the Young Living Essential Oil blend aptly named Believe. Believe is a blend of Idaho Balsam Fir, Rosewood and Frankincense essential oils, and is one essential oil blend that I never leave home without.

I don’t know about you, but my world seems to be getting more and more stressful every day. I’m a pilot by profession and as you can imagine there are many stressful moments in my day. To prepare I use Believe every morning. I put a couple drops on the bottoms of my feet and follow up with a couple more on my ears and neck. The Idaho Balsam Fir gives Believe a fragrant “woodsy” scent that I prefer to any men’s cologne.

Believe and other essential oils are available at Seasons

Here’s how Young Living describes Believe: Believe is an uplifting blend of essential oils that has a steadying, balancing effect on emotions, helping you to overcome feelings of despair and move beyond them to a higher level of awareness. It helps release the unlimited potential everyone possesses, making it possible to experience health, happiness, and vitality more fully. Believe can also provide feelings of strength and faith.

When you look at the properties of the individual oils in Believe, you see why this oil can promote these feelings described by Young Living. Idaho Balsam Fir opens emotional blocks and recharges vital energy.  It gives a feeling of strength and inner peace. Rosewood has a relaxing and empowering effect. It is very grounding and stabilizes emotional stress. Frankincense stimulates the limbic part of the brain, elevating the mind and helping to overcome stress and despair.

Believe essential oil blend by Young Living is definitely one of my favorites. And while I’m not promising miracles, if you would benefit from feelings of strength, peace, and empowerment, then you will really enjoy Believe.

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

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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.

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.

What is a Flexible Spending Account (FSA)?

A Flexible Spending Account is a tax-advantaged account, set up through your employer, that allows you to set aside a certain amount of your earnings to pay for qualified expenses. Contributions you make to your FSA are deducted from your check before taxes are calculated. The purpose of the FSA is to help cover out-of-pocket medical, dental, and vision expenses such as health insurance co-pays, uninsured treatments, or even over-the-counter drug purchases.

How does a Flexible Spending Account work?

At the beginning of the plan year (usually January 1st), your employer will ask how much you want to contribute for the year. Each month, the amount of money that you have pre-determined will be deducted from your paycheck and put into an account for your use during that same year. There is a limit of how much can be deposited into an FSA account, so check with your employer on the limit.

You can access the funds in your FSA account two ways:

• You may pay out-of-pocket then submit a copy of the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) or the provider’s invoice and proof of payment to the plan administrator. A reimbursement check will be issued to you as long as the expenses are approved.
• Some employers offer an FSA debit card that can be used at the point of purchase. Please note that unlike other debit cards, FSA debit cards are not accepted at every merchant that accepts Visa or MasterCard. The merchant must be coded as an approved business. Ex: You visit a spa to make an approved purchase for prescription cream for Rosacea but the FSA debit card doesn’t process. Even though it’s an approved purchase, the card doesn’t recognize the business as a medical facility. In the case that your card is declined at the point of purchase, you must pay out-of-pocket and submit the appropriate paperwork for reimbursement as described previously.

What are the benefits of a Flexible Spending Account?

An FSA saves you money by reducing your income taxes and your out-of-pocket medical expenses. The contributions you make to a Flexible Spending Account are deducted from your pay before your Federal, State, or Social Security Taxes are calculated and are never reported to the IRS. You decrease your taxable income and increase your spendable income. A Flexible Spending Account, when utilized to its fullest potential, can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year.

You may be able to pay for lab fees using your Flexible Spending Account.

What expenses are eligible for reimbursement?

Any expense that is considered a deductible medical expense by the IRS and is not reimbursed through your insurance can be reimbursed through the Flexible Spending Account. Here are a few examples:

• Laboratory fees
• Acupuncture treatments
• Fees in excess of amounts allowed by your insurance
• Birth Control Pills
• Co-payments on covered expenses
• Deductibles
• Meals, transportation and lodging
• Nutritional supplements, vitamins, herbal supplements, etc. can only be included if they are recommended by a medical practitioner as treatment for a specific medical condition diagnosed by a physician, according to the IRS website.

A complete list of eligible medical expenses and explanations can be found on the IRS website.

What is the difference between a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and a Health Savings Account (HSA)?

The most important commonality between the two accounts is that you are allowed to set aside the money before you pay income taxes on it. The FSA is a spending account, which indicates that you are expected to spend the money that you have set aside within that year. The HSA is a savings account, meaning, you may save that money until you need it, even if you don’t need it until many years later.

Bethany Cox, LMT & Certified Facial Reflexologist

At Seasons Wellness Clinic and Seasons – The Spa, we use essential oils on a daily basis. I am often asked what essential oils are and why we use them. In short, essential oils are the natural, aromatic liquids found in shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, and seeds. In order to provide the most benefit to the body, Seasons only uses 100% pure therapeutic grade Young Living oils. And because we believe that essential oils should play a role in everyday life, we offer these oils for purchase to our clients.

In my massage practice at Seasons – The Spa, I use Young Living essential oils and lotions every day. These essential oils have many therapeutic benefits such as helping to calm and soothe muscle tension with blends of peppermint, coconut oil, lemongrass, oregano and sweet almond oil. I have had advanced training in Young Living essential oils and techniques using the oils and would be happy to answer any questions you may have by leaving a comment on this post.

Young Living Essential Oils are available at Seasons.

In the next few months, I will be writing a series of blog posts to highlight different essential oils and their benefits. My first blog post will highlight orange. Orange, as a pure essential oil, not only relaxes the mind with its sweet citrus scent, but it is also great for the immune system. To read more about this essential oils and to find out how you can receive a FREE orange Young Living essential oil, click here.

Orange essential oils offer a magnitude of health benefits and therapeutic properties, including:

• Anti-depressant. Well-known for its uplifting properties, orange essential oil is soothing to the mind and helps to relieve stress. It is refreshing and relaxing and commonly used for the treatment of anxiety.
• Anti-inflammatory. It provides relief from both internal and external inflammation caused by infections. It is helpful in treating swollen tissue by stimulating blood circulation.
• Anti-septic. It inhibits microbial growth and can help ease a sore throat if used in a gargle. It also helps to heal mouth ulcers when used in a mouth wash.
• Improves Digestion. It is known to promote digestion, ease constipation and increase the absorption of vitamin C. Use as a massage oil in the abdominal area.
• Anti-Cancer. D-limonene is a super-nutrient that occurs in Orange essential oil. It has been studied extensively for its ability to prevent cellular mutations and combat cancer tumor growth.
• Encourages Detoxification. Orange essential oil encourages detoxification by acting as a diuretic. It also stimulates the lymphatic system, the bladder and kidneys. Increased urination assists in the elimination of toxins like uric acid, bile and excess salts and helps relieve fluid retention. Detox and cleansing properties help breakdown and eliminate cellulite.
• Skin Treatment. Orange essential oil is shown to promote the production of collagen as well as increase the blood flow to the skin. It is helpful at soothing dry, irritated skin as well as acne-prone skin. It is excellent for rubbing on calluses on the feet.

Bethany Cox, LMT & Certified Facial Reflexologist

Bethany Cox, LMT & Facial Reflexologist
A graduate of Cedar Creek School, Centenary College of LA (Health and Exercise Science) and Natural Health Institute in Nashville, TN (Massage Therapy), Bethany has many talents! Besides being a smartie (she has always made great grades) and a fabulous massage therapist, she is an accomplished pianist and golfer. She even played golf in college. Bethany enjoys setting goals for herself and achieving them. Her favorite moment? A hole-in-one! Her favorite way to decompress after a long day? Scrapbooking, exercising, and practicing deep breathing for relaxation.

Guinot’s Masque Hydra Sensitive was recently named one of the “Top 100 Best Products of The Year” by New Beauty Magazine. Masque Hydra Sensitive relieves and calms your skin with an in-depth treatment that works instantly to help your skin boost its own natural defenses.

Guinot’s Masque Hydra Sensitive helps to:

• Soothe irritations.
• Reinforce the protection of the epidermis and the skins natural defenses.
• Visibly calm redness.

The Masque Hydra Sensitive’s formula includes activators that work on the surface to protect and reinforce sensitive skin. “With sensitive skin, you need to be extra gentle. And if you want gorgeous skin, you’ve got to baby it, and this product does both,” said Seasons Aesthetician Lisa Best. The natural ingredients in Masque Hydra Sensitive like Vitamin E restore, reinforce, and protect lipids from damage caused by free radicals. Chamomile extract and oak sooth irritations deep within your skin while Centellas asiatica extract help revitalize it.

Say goodbye to redness! Sensitive skin is vulnerable and needs extra protection from brutal environmental elements such as temperature variations and pollution. This sensitivity can manifest in the appearance of redness, friction or an itching sensation. “After using Masque Hydra Sensitive, the skin’s natural barrier of defense is reinforced and redness is visibly reduced, leaving the skin feeling comfortable, soothed and moisturized,” said Best.

“At Seasons – The Spa, we use Masque Hydra Sensitive in many of our treatments. Our clients love the way their skin looks and feels,” said Best. Want more good news? This product is also available for purchase at Seasons – The Spa so you can enjoy beautiful skin any time. For an at-home treatment once or twice a week, apply a thick layer to clean face and neck. Leave on for 10 minutes. Remove with water and apply toner.

For more information about spa treatments featuring Guinot’s Masque Hydra Sensitive or to purchase Masque Hydra Sensitive, contact our Spa Concierge at (318)255-1155.

Dr. Nathan Goodyear, MD

We are just days away from putting on silly hats, drinking champagne, and kissing the one we love as we bid goodbye to the year. What an amazing year 2011 has been and how quickly it has come to an end! Soon, we will wake to January 1, 2012 resolving to do something new, to do something better. We will all take the plunge into New Year’s resolutions.

So, why do we make resolutions?

The need for a resolution implies that a problem exists. That a need for a change of directon is required. With a resolution, we have a resolve or determination to do something better. The way I see it, we should be focusing on solutions. And in the battle for our health, we need a solution-focused approach.

To find a solution, we must define the problem. The greatest obstacle to health today is disease. The problem is that our current health care disease model doesn’t work for health or health restoration. It does do a good job of managing disease, but we are not interested in disease management, as it relates to obesity. We are interested in disease resolution.

So, what does the research say in response to the above statement?

The future health of Americans is bleak. According to a recent article from the world’s leading general medical journal, The Lancet, 50% or more of Americans will be obese by the year 2030. The same article showed that 12 states have an obesity rate exceeding 30%. The healthiest state was Colorado, but its obesity rate just clipped the 20% mark. In fact, no state had an obesity rate less than 20%. Another article from The Lancet revealed that 86% of American adults will be obese or overweight by 2030.

We need a resolution to focus on solutions, not band-aids.

But, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, it will happen before 2030. The OECD says that 75% of Americans will be obese or overweight by 2020. And it is worse for men, where 82% are estimated to be obese or overweight.

The impact of obesity? According to the International Diabetes Federation Foundation, 1 in 10 adults will have diabetes by 2030. That equates to 552 million adults worldwide. In the US, money spent or lost on obesity has reached an estimated 1% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

What has our current disease-model paradigm done for the obesity battle? If you look at the statistics, nothing. In fact, we are losing the battle. Yet we continue to pour money into a failing medical model for obesity, that studies have shown doesn’t work.

What we need is a solution-focused approach to the obesity epidemic. We need a resolution to do better as a medical community. We need a resolution to focus on solutions, not band-aids. We need a resolution to focus on health and health restoration, not on disease management.

At Seasons Wellness Clinic, our approach to wellness is solution-focused and addresses the obesity epidemic head on. We work every day to offer our patients and clients the tools they 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. We look forward to a New Year full of health, wellness, and solutions!

Guinot’s Aromatic Facial is featured in the October 2011 issue of American Spa Magazine. The Aromatic Facial offered at Seasons – The Spa is an all natural facial using essential oils and plant extracts. Great even during pregnancy, this “green facial” provides the “glow” without the chemicals that your body doesn’t need during this important time.

The treatment takes relaxation to a new level with the use of gentle effleurage movements and one of five Aromatic Essential Oils-Balance, Energy, Nourishing, Serenity, and Vitality-that is chosen based on the client’s particular skin type. A pressure-point massage ensures that the skin absorbs the rich plant actives, which help to hydrate, balance, and energize the skin. A custom-blended peel-offmask, also rich with plant concentrates, helps calm the skin and leave it glowing.

For more information about the Aromatic Facial, contact our Spa Concierge at 318.255.1155.

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.