My dear mother is in the hospital right now and because of Covid-19, I am not allowed to visit her. She has had 3 surgeries in 4 months and is tired. She is 86 years old and does not have the ability to recover from surgery like someone even half her age. She is extremely weak right now. Because I love her so much and am worried about her, I wrote her 2 cards yesterday (they were both small cards so I filled every space I could with my words.)

When I think about my Mom and the life she has lived, and her dear sweet character and the thought of losing her and the impact it would have on my life, I think of what I can write that might lift her up at this time. My Mom was the most positive, encouraging person before these 3 surgeries. She had fire and strength and was filled with vitality for her age. She always told me to look for the silver lining, to reach for the light. She would send me bible verses when I was feeling discouraged by life.  She had a life force that was vital and palpable. She celebrated life. These surgeries have had a tremendous impact and have weakened her life force. That is a fact. 

So reflecting on her life, and the amount of energy she had brought to every moment, what I thought of is she is my superhero! She needs to draw on superhuman strength at this time to bring her remaining life force back into her body. I wanted to draw her attention to my memories of her superhero strength so she might draw on those superhero qualities right now when she needs them to recover! So the first quality is her strength of character and I will bear witness to that strength a little in the following paragraph.

My Mom had six children and birthed five children. She adopted a native child when he was 3.  She raised us all (I am the youngest!) without a nanny. She took care of our physical needs with as much love and personal attention as if we all had her monocular view. My Mom would make cinnamon rolls from scratch when I came home from elementary school. My Mom cooked for all us kids and her husband, meal after meal for many, many years without a complaint. She made all our lunches every day (to the envy of all my friends). I did not cart a peanut butter and jam sandwich- rather a European Hot Dog. This was an unfortunate advantage when I had anorexia because it was easy to give away my lunch. (All tasteless jokes aside.)    Who does that? A Superhero! Superhero strength number one: She has a Strong constitution to draw on! (My Dad was a specialist and worked night and day. I will blog about him in a future blog!) My Mom worked equally hard raising six kids (my native brother was a handful -understatement of the year!)

My Mom fed us with homegrown food. She made homemade sauerkraut before it was in vogue.  She had an amazing garden with a plethora of vegetables, including beautiful corn on the cob, that we would get to eat in our backyard in beautiful Okanagan summers. I have memories of my Mom working in that garden in the heat of the summer. That strength of character fueled many amazing dinners that I have fond memories of (despite my ignorance brought on with being in my twenties). So many beautiful moments at that backyard wooden picnic table immersed in the love that only a family can bring. I am so grateful to be raised in this family and my Mother played such an important role for me in anchoring that love.

Super hero strength number 2: a great attitude and sense of humor. I have a memory of being a teenager and cooking myself a hamburger in my kitchen. Well wouldn’t you know, my hamburger caught fire in the oven. We lived in a house with a lot of wood. I freeze in situations that are dangerous. This is why I did not go into conventional medicine. I would not have made a good doctor in a crisis. I have largely a counseling based practice-read ‘no risk’! Anyways, my Dad had to use a fire extinguisher to put the fire out while I hid sheepishly in the corner. My Mom was the perfect mate to my Dad. He was so serious and she was the sanguine temperament to balance his intensity. My Dad was stressed about my hamburger mishap. Later they went out for dinner and my Mom’s first comment to my Dad was “You look extinguished tonight!” My Mom was the first person to laugh at the irony of life. She has kept us laughing when we might think our lives were seriously ‘de-railing’ and has always encouraged us to believe in ourselves despite our perceived failures or our character flaws. What a gift to a child with low self esteem! 

Superhero strength number 3:Commitment to being a wonderful Mother! She told me when I was fairly young that all she cared about was being a mother. This was so obvious to me because of the joy she had while being a mother. She believed in us all so strongly. I am so grateful to grow up in a family where my Mom accepted and loved me. I did not have the courage to be a mother in this life but I so respect anyone who takes on the task with complete love and commitment. My Mom wears vulnerability on her sleeve because she is so authentically heart centered. That has resulted in a family that is heart centered. At this time in our daily world, love and heart centered living are so important to combat the fear that is often a central thread in the media right now. I am so grateful for being brought up in such a tight knit, heart centered family.

Superhero strength number 4 that Mom carries is unconditional love. I have always felt completely loved and accepted by my Mom. I had my challenges with an eating disorder when I was growing up that I have healed from. I had issues with low self esteem growing up. My Mom loved and accepted all of me when I struggled with anything. She never gave up on me. I hope that I can make her feel as loved now in her frailty; that she knows that she can always count on me. That we as a family will lift her up when life is challenging and her strength falters… Thank you Mom! You are such an inspiration for me! I love you SO much and send you my healing vibes to get you through this time!! God bless!!

So we have been bombarded with news about Covid-19 for quite some time now and we are all doing our part with the basic recommendations (constant and proper hand washing; self isolating, keeping a distance of  6 feet between you and the next person, being conscious of not touching our eyes, nose, or mouth or our face in general, avoiding crowds, using hand sanitizers, being mindful of the symptoms  of COVID-19 so we are tested if at high risk of contracting (fever, dry cough, trouble breathing being the initial typically). For more info regarding COVID-19, go to Canada.ca or the WHO web sites. 

In the meantime, we must strengthen our host (our bodies). This virus has an infectivity rate of 83% which is high. The recommendations to support one’s body immunity include Vitamin C in the ascorbate form 3000 mg in divided doses. As Vitamin C is a water soluble antioxidant, decrease that dose if you get loose stools (back the dose off until you don’t get loose stools). Zinc is an antiviral mineral. I use Gammadyn Zinc but over the counter brands of zinc like zinc acetate are well absorbed as well.  You can also get zinc through food sources like pumpkin seeds, oysters, oats,poultry, or herring. A basic multivitamin/mineral which contains zinc would also be adequate to support your needs. 

Spices that are antiviral include fresh peeled ginger root, sliced thin and simmered on medium heat for ten minutes in water or you could even juice ginger too (combine a small amount with fresh lemon,  hot water, raw honey). Raw garlic should be used liberally as it is an antiviral herb too (1-2 cloves daily). Other herbs that have antiviral activity include licorice. Traditional Medicinals makes a great Organic Licorice Root tea that you can drink during the day if you get sick of drinking ginger tea.

Echinacea is also an antiviral herb and could be drank as a tea. The Medical Medium has a recipe for Thyme tea that you can look up online that is also antiviral. 

Other foods that could help your body be stronger include mushrooms with their polysaccharides which are immune boosting (especially Shitake and Oyster). Gregg Braden has videos on YouTube that I have posted on Facebook about using mushrooms to strengthen the host or go to GreggBraden. com for references and more information on staying strong and healthy at this time. 

Stay away from sugar in any form which suppresses white blood cell function. Choose good fats like avocado, olive oil, flax seed oil over hydrogenated or trans fats in any form. 

Exercise at least 30 minutes daily to move white blood cells through your body. Make sure you get a good sleep every night. Practice stress reduction using yoga or use whatever works for you- I love music to help me feel better.

Do things to reduce anxiety over this global crisis like Emotional Freedom Technique to calm your nervous system. Set up a phone consultation with our clinic with me at this time if you are interested in reducing anxiety utilizing E.F.T. Practice good self care in general right now. Love is very good for the immune system so keep your family close or your pets right now. If they are safe and free of the virus, cuddle them. Until next time, stay well! To book a phone consult at this time, please call Parallel Wellness  Robin Vinge, Naturopathic Doctor 4032321283

Disclaimer: Our treatments do not prevent or treat Covid-19 just to be clear.

 

I did a lecture on being Wired and Tired downtown for an occupational nurse’s luncheon this past week. Everyone it seems, is feeling the pressure cooker these days. I went over the basic physiology of stress and how it affects us and our neuro-endocrine systems. I talked about the general adaptation syndrome- the 3 phases of stress- the alarm phase, the resistance phase and the exhaustion phase. I talked about the effects of high cortisol on the body and the consequences of the resistance phase which may lead to insulin resistance, high cholesterol and abdominal obesity amongst other things. I talked about the effects of high cortisol on the brain including hippocampal shrinkage and reduction in neurotransmitters resulting in anxiety and depression in some cases. I talked about the exhaustion phase when cortisol levels are low resulting in profound fatigue and poor tolerance and response to stress. But what can we do about this and how do we thrive despite stress?

Starting with nutrition, we need to cut out flour and sugar. That will help reduce inflammation. We want to fast twelve hours overnight to help regulate metabolism. The Mediterranean diet is the best bet to lower mortality all causes women (20%) and men (21%) and can reduce risk of cancer, heart disease and neuro-degenerative disorders. Eat ten servings of fruits and vegetables daily optimally. Limit whole grains to 2 servings daily and eat more non-starchy vegetables like the brassica family, dark leafy greens, asparagus, jicama, konjac root noodles, parsley, cilantro and other fresh spices. Consume ginger root and turmeric root to lower inflammation. Wild seafood think SMASH (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring) should be consumed 3x/week. Adaptogen teas can be consumed including holy basil or Tulsi tea to help normalize cortisol and reduce anxiety. For those with low blood pressure and in the exhaustive phase, I recommend licorice (traditional medicinals organic licorice root). Don’t take it if you have high blood pressure. Rooibos tea is a nutritive tea high in minerals which is supportive as is nettle tea.

In terms of the plant world, adaptogens are what we need to be taking for stress. Plants that are called adaptogens are plants that have grown up in inhospitable parts of the world- think Siberia or the Arctic. These plants survive these harsh environments by producing compounds that help them survive. These compounds can help us survive our stress better as well and harsh environments like living in a modern world with an economic recession. These plants help us modify our HPA axis (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal axis) as well as modulate our hormones so we can function in balance as much as possible.  When there is an adrenal dysfunction, there is usually a secondary thyroid dysfunction as well. I see the adrenals being in hyper-drive which causes the thyroid to put the brakes on- low thyroid function ensues. Animal studies show that plants like Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) can help stimulate the production of T4 and T3. This plant also helps with brain function (may help in acetylcholine pathways therefore helps us remember important things!). Ashwagandha helps inhibit angiogenesis by its suppression of vascular endothelial growth factor and NF- Kappa B; it may have some effect in cancer prevention and treatment as a result.

Adaptogens helps us respond better to stress, come into balance sooner after stress, sleep better, have a stronger immune response in the face of stress (especially with Ginseng- think Cold FX). These plants all seem to protect us from toxins, heavy metals, pesticides; help the liver and kidney to get rid of toxins. These plants help reduce the damaging effects of free radicals and support healthy aging. They are really an answer to support our free radical ravaged bodies in today’s modern world.

Rhodiola which is also called Arctic Root is a great adaptogen if you feel depressed in the face of stress. This plant seems to prevent the breakdown of neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine and norepinephine keeping them active in the brain longer. This plant is considered a tonic which helps you work longer and have better concentration despite being in a high stress atmosphere. Using it short term may help you get through high pressure exams for instance. It has been shown to reduce headaches and sleep disturbances associated with stress. Studies suggest it may be an aid to stimulate fertility in women or bring on a cycle in women in the case of amenorrhea. This herb can help support healthy thyroid function. The great thing about this herb is it’s safety profile. It is well tolerated with a low chance of side effects.

Ginseng whether  it be Panax, Siberian or American are adaptogens that have been used traditionally to  help with aging and thus extend longevity. Ginseng inhibits the formation of advanced glycation end products, enhance insulin signalling and cellular glucose utilization. Ginseng cuts rate of acute illness by its  immunomodulatory effects on the body. Studies show it enhances the overall activity of the immune system including the antibody response, natural killer cells, and activation as well as proliferation of phagocytes. It has antiinflammatory effects through it’s inhibitory action on COX-2 enzymes.  

All of these adaptogens may play a role in supporting our best selves. In general, adaptogens are well tolerated with low risks of side effects. That being said, I do not advise taking adaptogens in pregnancy or breast feeding. They should not be dosed with liver or kidney disease. I would not take adaptogens with diabetes. Always consult with your medical doctor if you already taking conventional medications as they may need to be adjusted if you are on an adaptogen. Side effects may occur with any herb so if you experience a side effect after starting an herb, it is best recommended to stop taking the herb in that case. Don’t dose adaptogens if you are taking sedative herbs or antidepressant or antianxiety medications or herbs that affect the central nervous system as they may interact with your meds. Adaptogens teas as mentioned earlier in the article are a safe bet to start with. Until next time, be well and thrive despite your stress. To make an appointment with me or discuss your health care needs or adaptogens, phone 4032321283 (Parallel Wellness). Robin Vinge, Naturopathic Doctor

References: 1. Adaptogens in Medical Herbalism Donald R. Yance, CN, MH, RH (AHG)

2. Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients- January 2004. Women’s Health Update Tori Hudson, ND. ‘Rhodiola Rosea An Overview of its Versatility, Effectiveness and Indications’.

3. Nutritional Management of Stress-Induced Dysfunction, Richard L. Shames, M.D.  Applied Nutritional Publications Inc. 2002 Metagenics