Autumn Health Tips:

1. Eat bountiful fresh organic foods. Celebrate the harvest season by eating more root vegetables like carrots, onions, and beets.

2. Boost your immune system in preparation for the cold and flu season. Make an acupuncture or naturopathic appointment at Sages’ Healing Center to give your immune system extra protection for the season.

3. Protect your lungs’ health to keep your immune system strong: Minimize your intake of spicy foods during this season, which may irritate the lungs – making them vulnerable to infection.

4. Avoid drafts and breezes. Cooling temperatures and increased seasonal winds can cause a chill, which sometimes leads to illness.

5. Be aware of dryness – Arizona is home to “dryness,” so it is very important to drink plenty of fluids and take warm baths with your favorite oils.

6. Take time to journal and reflect. The falling leaves of autumn symbolize the transition from an expansive, social summer to the contracting, internalized winter. Reflect on your life now: What are you presently letting go of? What are you cultivating in your life right now?

Summertime is just about here and Prescott is warming up at last! With the change in our schedules, kids out of school, etc there is less desire and motivation to keep up with those healthy routines. Sages’ Healing Center is here to help you stay accountable! We are changing the price of return naturopathic visits with Dr. Kate. Starting Wed, June 1^st, your hour-long visit will now only be $85. Kid’s visits will stay the same at $60.

Please too know that Dr. Kate may be available outside of regular hours if you or a family member is suffering from an acute condition, like an ear infection, and needs to see the doctor sooner than later. This is likely going to be a much cheaper and less stressful experience than trying to tackle Urgent Care or the ER. We can’t make any promises, but if Dr. Kate is in town and available, she would be happy to see you. After hours call and leave a message on our usual business line, and we will get back to you quickly.  Keep us in mind!

Now to share with you some insightful suggestions to enhance the quality of your life:

How you can add more life to your years:

By Nazia Mallick

• Great love and great achievement involve great risk. Take the risk anyway.
• When you realize you have hurt someone’s feelings, take immediate steps to correct it. Ask for forgiveness.
• Keep your arms open to change, but don’t let go of your personal values.
• Quiet the voice in your head that says, “I can’t do this.”
• Don’t quit, no matter what.
• Spend some time alone
• Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
• When you say “I love you,” mean it.
• When you hug someone, do it with love.
• Make eye contact.
• Live life like it is your last day on the Earth.

Take care,

Dr. Kate, Damon & Sophia Sage

As a child, I remember the best thing about October was not the changing leaves or the opportunity to dress up as a princess (although those were great things about the season) but rather my favorite part was going trick-or-treating for candy!

Now as a physician focused on the health and wellbeing of all of my little pumpkin patients, I am concerned about the calories and sugar intake (as well as the dyes, chemicals, etc) that comes along with this holiday tradition. But how could we possibly make this process any healthier without being considered unusually cruel?

Enter “The Great Pumpkin”! This is a method used by many student parents I met while in naturopathic school. How it works is this:

1). Child dresses up in favorite costume and trick-or-treats like all of the regular kids

2). When child comes home with all of their candy, he or she gets to pick 2 treats to enjoy and then leaves the rest for “the Great Pumpkin!”

3). The “Great Pumpkin!” comes in the middle of the night (or right after child goes to sleep ☺), hides candy so it can be donated or disposed of, and then leaves a toy for the child in its place.

This means when your kid wakes up, he or she doesn’t feel like they lost anything at all. Instead they are rewarded for leaving their candy for something that won’t make their teeth rot.

Now, all that is important is that the parents playing the “Great Pumpkin” do get rid of the candy so they too don’t become pumpkin-shaped.

Need more ideas for getting through the holiday season? Sages’ Healing Center has lots of solutions, just ask.

Why do I need to take probiotics?

Did you know that you have about 3-4 pounds of gut bugs (aka intestinal flora, gut bacteria or probiotics) in your intestinal tract? There are so many that some consider your intestinal flora another organ. In fact, researchers are not even sure how many live in your intestines or the different names of all of the species! What we do know however is that gut flora plays a vital role in your health and for this reason, it is very important to keep your levels healthy and happy.

The intestinal flora in your stomach, small and large intestines serves you in many, many different ways. For starters, it is a key player in your digestion. It helps you digest carbohydrates and proteins and stimulates intestinal motility so your food can be properly digested and wastes can be excreted. Flora also creates vitamins for you, such as vitamin K, biotin, some B vitamins and a milieu of antioxidants. It is also a very important part of your immune system; your gut flora is what screens out harmful bacteria and toxins that enter your body through your food.

Where did you get this gut flora? You got it on the day you were born. If you were born in a vaginal birth, you picked up a great amount traveling through mom’s vagina. You also got a large amount from mom on a daily basis if you were breast-fed. If you were born via Cesarean Section or were not breast fed however, you did not get a chance to get fully inoculated; you may still be feeling the impact today of having reduced intestinal flora.

There are many reasons why the flora in your gut may be out of whack. Flora naturally starts to decrease at age 50, leaving some people unable to digest the foods they love and with decreased immunity. Levels may also be disrupted from antibiotic use, stress, a diet high in animal fats, immune deficiency or rectal/colon surgery.

It is possible to get some good healthy flora back into your gut from fermented foods, such as yogurt, tempeh, saurkraut, and kimchee. The likelihood of the flora actually living through the processing of these foods however is slim. It is recommended that if you wish to increase your levels of good intestinal flora to either ferment those foods yourself or use a probiotic.

Are all probiotics the same? Absolutely not. In fact, a mentor of mine decided to do a study on his own and purchased some of the common named brands from local markets and sent them to a lab to be analyzed. In many of the products he sent, the amount of live flora in the product was zero. The companies may say that their product contains 5 billion flora but they always include a clause that says “before processing”.

In order to be sure that your product contains live flora, the company should be willing to show proof that their product has been tested (after processing) by an independent laboratory. We want to make sure you are getting all that you pay for, so please ask us for help if you are interested in introducing probiotics in your life. We are always happy to give a little love to your little flora friends.

Is Cholesterol Really Bad For You?

The idea that cholesterol causes heart disease, while popular, is not compatible with human life. Cholesterol is essential to your health and survival. It is so important, in fact, that your body makes 80% of your required cholesterol daily. In people with low dietary cholesterol intake, such as vegans, nearly 100% is made by the body.

Every one of your cells needs cholesterol to keep their shape and not rupture and die. It is also needed to make Vitamin D and many hormones including testosterone, progesterone, estrogen, and cortisol.

As you may have heard, cholesterol has been divided into “good” and “bad” cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is considered the “bad” cholesterol because it takes cholesterol from the liver to the rest of the body. This cholesterol may get deposited on blood vessel walls but your body does this intentionally. The cholesterol that is deposited on the walls of blood vessels is used by the body to patch damaged blood vessel cell membranes. Blood vessels are subject to damage caused by environmental toxins, dietary allergens, and high sugar levels among other things. Without LDL cholesterol, the damaged blood vessels would be very leaky. Essentially, LDL cholesterol is the body’s Band-Aid.

HDL cholesterol, or the “good” cholesterol, is responsible for removing excess cholesterol from the rest of your body and taking it to the liver to be broken down. Increasing the amount of HDL in the body actually decreases your risk of having a heart attack in the future.

The goal in prevention of heart disease should not be to stop the body from trying to heal itself with cholesterol, but to limit the damage caused by diet, the environment, and stress. This can be achieved by stabilizing your blood sugar levels, removing potential food allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, and corn) and refined sugars from your diet, proper aerobic exercise, limiting your exposure to environmental toxins, and reducing your stress levels. Including fish oils and garlic in your diet can also increase your levels of “good” HDL cholesterol.

You may now schedule a free 20 minute consultation with Dr. Kate to discuss your cholesterol and what it means to your health. Call today: (928) 458-6748I

Interested in learning more about hydrotherapy? This Saturday, June 12th, Dr. Kathryn Sage will be giving a lecture entitled, “Hydrotherapy: Harnessing the Healing Power of Water”, at One Root Tea and Herbothcary (500 W. Gurley in Prescott). The lecture will start at 9:00am and will go over many of the basic tenants of hydrotherapy, as well as give you some easy, at-home hydrotherapy treatments for the entire family.

For now, here is one of our favorite hydrotherapy treatments that we share with many of our patients:

Hydrotherapy treatment #1

This is an easy hydrotherapy treatment that you and your family can do everyday in the shower. It will wake you up, improve your mood and give you more energy. The treatment also helps boost your immune system so you may notice over time that you will get less sick or not sick at all with the “nasty bug” everybody else is catching.

This most basic and tonifying hydrotherapy treatment uses alternating hot and cold in the shower. When you use hot water on your skin, blood is drawn towards the smaller vessels closer to the skin, thus the reason you turn red/pink. When it does this, it brings with it nutrients and oxygen to feed tissues that often time don’t get as much fresh blood. When you use cold, the blood gets pulled back towards the center and out of the small vessels, the reason you turn white. When the blood is drawn back in, it brings toxins and wastes with it to be disposed of by the liver.

Ideally it is best to do two minutes of hot water all over your body and then thirty seconds of cold (as cold as you can stand it) all over your body. If possible, try to do this a total of 3 times in the shower. As I know I am asking a lot, better than nothing is to always end your shower in cold water for 30 seconds. You may find that it brings more energy and vitality to your day.

The sun is finally shining and our bodies are ready to get out and play in the sunshine. Before you embark on day-long hikes, spend the weekend out gardening, or begin an aggressive exercise regimen to lose that winter weight, you should realize that your body may not be ready to jump right into all of the fun. Instead, it is important gradually work into your summertime movement routines. Here are some helpful tips to get you started:

1). Before working out, the best way to get your muscles warmed up is by going on a walk. Get outside and walk for 10-15 minutes, gradually working the pace. Stretching before exercise can be dangerous when done on cold muscles; instead stretch at the end to keep your muscles from getting sore or even seizing up.

2). Don’t try to climb Granite Mountain (or any other mountain) as your first hike of the spring. Instead stick to an easy to moderate hike, one that lasts 1-2 hours max, and enjoy it! Give your body a chance to just move, be outside, relish in the sun rather than working really hard to get to the top. If you get tired along the way, take a rest. It is not worth pushing yourself because it increases the chance of injury. There is plenty of time to work up to the more strenuous hikes later in the season.

3). Don’t be a “weekend warrior”. These are the people that only move their bodies on the weekends and sit for the rest of the week at work. Instead, try to fit in short walks or other aerobic exercise during the week so you don’t overdo it on the weekends. Weekend warrior injuries are especially common for people who garden: lifting, bending over, and digging can all cause injuries if your body is not used to that sort of movement.

Springtime is a time of transition: let us let our bodies transition too. Listen to it and be cautious to not over do it so when summer comes, we can take full advantage of all of the amazing outdoor activities the season has to offer.

Stinging nettle, Uritica Dioica, grows along roadsides and in the forests almost throughout the US and Canada. It is best known for its ability to “sting” you with its prickers, causing an uncomfortable urticaria or itchy rash that may last up to 12 hours. Although not a commonly known herb now, nettles have a rich history of medicinal uses and its leaves and roots have been used for everything including bladder issues, allergies and even hair re-growth. Once boiled, the stinging nettle can also be added to soups and salads, adding a multitude of vitamins and minerals as well as a delicious taste to your meal.

Today the herb is frequently used in the springtime to deal with the most common seasonal condition, allergies. It has been tested to be a potent anti-histamine when taken either in teas or in its whole form in capsules. Taking nettles will help with all of those nasty allergy symptoms, such as sneezing, sniffling and runny nose. And best of all, it won’t make you drowsy. Although the tea literally tastes like you are drinking grass, it may become appealing once you realize the strength of this potent herb.

As this herb is a diuretic, it should not be used if you have congestive heart failure or kidney problems. Also, if you are pregnant, diabetic or have a prostate condition, please consult with a naturopathic physician before taking this herb. Please also be careful if you are harvesting stinging nettles yourself. Gloves are recommended.

Sages’ Favorite Nettle Soup:

You may be able to buy already harvested nettles at your co-op and farmer’s markets. Or if you are brave, you can harvest them yourself.

Ingredients:

2 TB vegetable oil or butter

2 TB flour (gluten-free works great)

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Several handfuls of freshly picked and washed young nettles

2 cups milk (cow, soy, rice – it all works)

1 cup vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Fry the onion and garlic in the oil/butter for a few minutes then stir in nettles (don’t worry about removing the stalks) until they are soft. Stir in the flour and gradually add the milk and stock, stirring all the time. Add seasonings. Blend half if you desire a creamier soup. Enjoy!

Why do I get seasonal allergies?

Seasonal allergies, also known as allergic rhinitis or hayfever, are your body’s annoying and inappropriate immune response to something that it thinks is troublesome, even though it is not. What happens is that the first time you are exposed to something like pollen, your body may decide that the pollen is dangerous (like a bacteria) and will begin to make specific antibodies to the pollen. The second time you are exposed to that same pollen, those antibodies will cause an allergic reaction – they attach to a certain cell called a mast cell, causing it release histamine, thus creating sneezing, nasal itching, runny nose, and itchy eyes. As those of you suffering from this condition know, this immune response continues until the season is over.

More than 20% of the U.S. population suffers from seasonal allergies even though this is a condition that can be successfully treated with naturopathic and East Asian medicines. The ultimate treatment goal focuses on changing your body’s immune response with diet and herbs so that it no longer responds inappropriately to something that is not harmful. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, the treatment may also include tools such as certain vitamins and nutrients, to help stop an allergic response while it is currently happening. Finally, there are methods that may be useful to employ in order to stop exposure to the allergen.

If you are a sufferer of seasonal allergies, there are things we can do right away, even if it is not the season in which you are the most allergic. By starting today, we can stop the seasonal allergic response in the future. Sages’ Healing Center is your one-stop shop for all of your healthcare needs. Call us today for a free 20 min. consultation: 458-6748.

We can already tell that 2010 is going to be great. We are starting the New Year with a Grand Opening Celebration, and you all are invited. Please come on January 14th to our open house, located at 1101 E. Gurley St. in Prescott, from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. The official ribbon cutting will be at 4pm, followed by hors d’oeuvres and light refreshments. This is a great opportunity to meet us, Kathryn Sage, ND and Damon Sage, L.Ac., as well as see our clinic and learn more about our approach towards health.

The New Year brings us all new opportunities for growth and fresh beginnings. Perhaps you have already decided on a New Year’s Resolution or even less formally, have a plan to get healthier, eat better, exercise more. We at Sages’ Healing Center would like to challenge you to be successful this year with your health goals. Here are a few tips to help you gain the health that you desire:

1). Instead of starting your resolution/plan on January 1st, push it back to another date, like January 15th. This reduces the stress of starting your resolution on a holiday, with everyone around you still in the holiday mode. It also gives you a chance to lay out a plan, with specific goal dates, support systems, tools, etc. We find that persons are more successful meeting their resolutions when they have a concrete plan.

2). As mentioned before, create a support system. This can and should include family, friends, doctors, co-workers, anyone who will give you a boost and put you on the right track when you need it. Make sure to reach out to them before, and when your plan is in action, as they need to know how and when to support you best.

3). Have all of the appropriate tools available. For instance, if you are trying to quit smoking, get a prescription ahead of time for whichever type of smoking cessation medication you think will help you the most. If you are trying to lose weight, have the right exercise equipment and correct foods for your new diet all set. This may be a good time to see your naturopathic doctor, as they can help you get all of the tools you need in place.

4). Give yourself a reason why. This reason should be more than “to get healthy”. Instead, your reason should be something that is truly important to you. For instance, a reason for some may be “to be able to play with my grandson/daughter”. Take some time to meditate on this, because this will be your motivation for success.

5). Set a reward for yourself and make it great! Even in this economy, if a trip to Florida is going to keep you motivated to quit smoking, it is completely worth it. Make it something you really, really want.

If Sages’ Healing Center can help you to achieve your goal in any way, please contact us. We currently offer special programs specifically to help people quit smoking or lose weight. These programs combine the best of Naturopathic and East Asian Medicines in an affordable way so that you may be successful.

We wish you all the best and look forward to working with you in 2010!