Combine chicken with goji berries, longan and red dates for a welcome antidote after holiday excesses

From www.theglobeandmail.com

In a season when comfort food is king, just about everybody is looking at what they can eat to stave off the cold. One of my favourite remedies around this time is a chicken soup using Chinese medicinal ingredients.

I find this broth both comforting and re-energizing, especially in the dead of winter. With New Year’s resolutions just setting in, this healthy and refreshing soup always seems to fit the bill. And it’s always great to have a bowl right after the holiday glut.

I began making this soup two years ago, after a routine physical showed elevated transaminase levels in my blood, indicating poor liver performance. Following a visit to a liver specialist, it became clear that my diet and lifestyle were seriously affecting my health. Soon after, I changed my priorities to include increased time for exercise and began to pay more attention to what I put in my body. One of the things I do now is make this soup during the winter; it has become a new tradition throughout the holiday season.

This soup uses Chinese medicinal ingredients including red dates, longan fruit, goji berries and wai san (Chinese yam) stems. Although many of these ingredients don’t come up regularly in Western diets, their medicinal qualities have been known for centuries. And as any mother could tell you, even the soup’s base is good for you. Chicken broth helps combat respiratory inflammation and mucus production during the cold season. Ginger, as well, is frequently steeped in water to alleviate stomach pain, indigestion and nausea, and to help with inflammation. Recent studies have also shown it contains strong anti-carcinogenic characteristics. Similarly, coriander is more than just a flavourful herb - it is known to aid digestion and combat joint inflammation, as well as provide an excellent source of dietary fibre.

Adding dried red dates to the broth will increase the sweetness of the soup and add iron, an important mineral for blood hemoglobin. Longan fruit also adds a pronounced sweetness, along with memory-enhancing properties. Wai san stems contain anti-aging properties, help to lower blood sugar, increase appetite and give the broth a clean flavour.

You can find traditional Chinese ingredients (and sometimes advice) at any number of supermarkets in Chinatowns across the country. They often sell fantastic prepared packages that are available in single-serving sizes. It may take a little exploring to get it right.

CHINESE MEDICINAL CHICKEN SOUP

What you need

1 3-pound whole organic chicken

1 cup dried sea scallops

4 to 5 whole stems of coriander, washed

1 large knob of ginger, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup dried goji berries

1/2 cup Chinese red dates (jujubes)

1/2 cup wai san (Chinese yam) stems, soaked for 30 minutes in three changes of cold water

1/2 cup dried longans

What you do

Place chicken in a pot and fill with cold water until covered. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low simmer. Skim if necessary. After 30 minutes, turn stock to very low heat and add goji berries, red dates, dried scallops, longan, wai san, ginger and coriander stems. Steep for 15 to 20 minutes.

After this time, remove wai san stems and discard. Check the internal temperature of the chicken using a food thermometer in thickest part of the thigh. It should read 170 to 175 F.

Once the chicken has reached this temperature, remove the bird from the pot and pull the meat from the bone (you may need to wait for it to cool a few minutes). Eat the pulled chicken together with the soup, or reserve the cooked meat for another purpose. If you like, you may add some dark leafy greens - my preference is spinach and rapini.

Check seasoning and serve.

Serves 4 to 6.

Traditional saunas are more likely to spread and cultivate bacteria in the humid air, therefore an infrared sauna creates a more sanitary environment. An Infrared Sauna will heat up in a shorter time period than a steam sauna because it can heat the skin directly and does not need to heat the air.
Why Is FIR important to the human body?
FIR has the ability to penetrate, refract, radiate and reflect. The human body can absorb FIR because of its deep penetrating ability. When FIR penetrates through skin to the subcutaneous tissues, it transforms from light energy into heat energy. The thermal effect within the deep layers of the tissues causes bloods vessels and capillaries to dilate, promoting better blood circulation, and the heat produced helps to get rid of body toxins and metabolic wastes through sweating.

What are the health benefits of spending time in a sauna?
The health benefits of a FAR Infrared Sauna are numerous. Saunas are often used in the treatment of diseases and drug addictions, as well as for general therapy and well being.

Health Benefits of Infrared Saunas are said to include:

Better Circulation and Increased Energy
The sauna emits FIR energy that is absorbed by human cells, causing a physical phenomenon called “resonance”. Thus the cellular activities are instantly invigorated, resulting in a better blood circulation and an overall improved metabolism.

Weight Loss
FIR Sauna heat therapy can aid in weight loss by speeding up the metabolic process of vital organs and endocrine glands resulting in substantial caloric loss in a sauna heat session.

Speed Recovery from Injuries
For injuries, FIR generated heat stimulates vasodilatation of peripheral blood vessels, bringing oxygen to joints and extremities, speeding the healing of sprains and strains, thus relieving pain and reducing the time it takes the human body to recover from an injury.

Detoxification
The quicker metabolic rate causes extra toxic waste products to be purged from the body through the skin, during perspiration. The skin is often referred to as the 3rd kidney, because it is believed to be responsible for eliminating 30% of the body’s waste.

Stress Reduction & Relaxation
FIR Sauna heat treatment before a massage also helps prepare a client by creating an overall relaxing effect. It loosens the muscle tissue so the therapist can do a more thorough and effective massage.

Skin Beautification For that sought after healthy glow
FIR Sauna heat therapy allows increased blood circulation to carry great amounts of nutrients to the skin, thus promoting healthy tone and texture. A FIR Sauna heat bath also provides a mild cleansing of the skin.

Improved Immune System
By creating an “Artificial Fever”, FIR heat has a positive effect on the immune system. Often misunderstood, fever is a natural healing response of the body. The function of the immune system is increased naturally during a fever, while virus and bacterial growth is slowed, weakening its hold. This helps the body ward off invading organisms. A FIR heat treatment in the early stages of a cold or flu has been known to stop the disease before the symptoms occur.

Can an Infrared Sauna help with acne?
Sweating and improving your circulation are probably good for acne, but there is no direct evidence that infrared saunas themselves do anything beneficial.

Did you know that using an infrared sauna

• Causes weight loss (without having to lift a finger)
• Helps treat cellulite
• Improves your immune system
• Improves your strength and vitality
• Helps cure several skin diseases like eczema, psoriasis and acne
• Strengthens the cardio-vascular system
• Helps control your blood pressure
• Detoxifies your body
• Gives you more energy and relieves stress
• Helps treat burns and scars
• Relieves pain (joint pain, sore muscles, arthritis)
• Helps control your cholesterol level
• Helps treat bronchitis
• Helps treat hives (urticaria), gout, tissue damage, prostate hypertrophy

What is Infrared Sauna?

Far-infrared radiant (FIR) heat is a completely safe form of naturally occurring energy that heats objects by a process called direct light conversion. Radiant heat is also called infrared heat or infrared energy. Direct light conversion warms only the object and does not raise the temperature of the surrounding free air. This type of energy travels 2-3″ deep into the body and is thought by some to increase circulation and nourish damaged tissue.

The sun is the primary source of radiant energy, but not all of this energy is beneficial. Although life needs energy from the sun, too much sunlight damages the skin. FIR heat provides many of the health benefits of natural sunlight without any of the dangerous effects of solar radiation.

Benefits of Infrared Sauna

Infrared heat has some distinct advantages over traditional steam heat saunas, however many steam sauna advocates feel that an infrared sauna does not provide the same relaxing and invigorating experience as steam for a steam room or steam shower. This is an issue of personal preference.

Infrared heaters warm the body in the same manner as natural sunlight. FIR heat therapy uses the wavelength of the visible and non-visible light spectrum of sunlight that heats the body normally.

Traditional steam saunas raise the temperature of the air to a very high level within the chamber to warm the body. Some people have difficulty breathing in this extremely warm air. FIR saunas work differently. Instead of heating the air within the enclosure, FIR saunas heat the body directly. The result is a lower power bill and deeper tissue penetration. In the FIR sauna, the body perspires and receives all of the healthy benefits but avoids the harmful and extremely hot air of a traditional steam sauna. FIR saunas are safe for all ages.

By Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.

Some 30 years ago, birth control pills were the be-all and end-all of the sexual revolution. Freed from the worries of pregnancy, women explored their sexuality, perhaps for the first time in history. Only a few years passed before the “magic” pill began to lose its luster. Discoveries that high-estrogen birth control pills contributed to breast cancer, embolisms and stroke made women begin to think twice.

Today, newer lower dosage birth control pills maintain high popularity, despite their continued serious health risks for women.

Let me give you my opinion in a straightforward manner: I don’t advocate the use of birth control pills. Yes, they are effective at preventing unwanted pregnancies, but the risks far outweigh those benefits.

If you are currently using birth control pills of any kind, I cannot urge you strongly enough to stop taking them as soon as possible.

Presently, 16 million American women are using birth control pills, fueling a $2.8 billion industry. Many of us became familiar with the Pill in adolescence either because of a desire for sexual intimacy or due to painful or irregular periods. Both reasons are fundamentally flawed. There are numerous safe and effective ways to prevent pregnancy.

Cramping, painful and irregular periods are often due to a deficiency of progesterone and an excess of estrogen. So estrogen-alone birth control pills — as are the most commonly prescribed pills on the market now — often compound the problem.

That’s why some women have intolerable estrogen-induced side effects when they are on birth control pills like:

• Weight gain
• Mood swings
• Breast tenderness

What’s Wrong With the Pill?

In simple terms, what’s wrong with the pill (by the way birth control shots and patches are essentially the same thing) is it promotes continuous high levels of estrogen in a woman’s body.

Science tells us this is dangerous.

A woman’s natural cycle is composed of rising and falling levels of estrogen and progesterone. Birth control pills work by keeping estrogen at a sufficiently high level that they fool the body into thinking it is pregnant, therefore another pregnancy cannot occur.

They work by one or a combination of methods:

• Some pills prevent ovulation.
• Others prevent implantation of a fertilized egg in the endometrium or lining of the uterus.
• Still others thicken the mucus around the cervix, making it difficult for sperm to penetrate.

There is even a new brand of birth control pill on the market that boasts woman can safely have a period only four times a year or they can avoid having periods altogether for years at a time without a break from the estrogen blast.

We certainly don’t know everything about estrogen or estrogen dominance, as it is called when estrogen levels remain high without being balanced by progesterone, but among the effects we do know are:

Increased risk of breast cancer Increased risk of blood clotting, heart attack and stroke Migraines Gall bladder disease Increased blood pressure

Weight gain Mood changes Nausea Irregular bleeding or spotting Benign liver tumors Breast tenderness

In addition, the use of antibiotics has been shown to decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills.

What is not usually mentioned, or even known, is the metabolism of birth control pills by the liver requires extra amounts of the B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium and zinc. That means if you’re taking birth control pills for years at a time, as are most American women, you’re creating nutrient deficiencies. Weight gain, fluid retention, mood changes, depression and even heart disease can all arise from nutrient imbalance.

For example, we now know high levels of an amino acid called homocysteine cause heart disease. And high homocysteine occurs when there is a deficiency of B vitamins and magnesium.

In addition to all this misery, the continuous use of birth control pills like the new no-period pill has not been sufficiently studied. Women who use these methods — that may be you — are the “test subjects,” if you will, for an ongoing experiment. We have no idea what the long-term effects of daily hormones will do to fertility or other aspects of our health.

The Pill and Yeast Overgrowth

The insidious yeast, candida albicans, generally makes its home in the human digestive tract. But, in a modern society where common lifestyle choices for women include birth control pills, antibiotics, a highly refined bread and sugar diet, coupled with high stress levels, candida overgrowth can have wide-ranging effects.

When the right set of risk factors occur, toxins from yeast overgrowth and their byproducts can adversely affect the entire body, causing problems far beyond the common vaginal infection.

Symptoms ranging from migraines to infertility, endometriosis, psoriasis, PMS, depression, fibromyalgia, digestive disorders and many other seemingly unrelated health problems have been attributed to yeast overgrowth. And evidence-based results show that treating the yeast overgrowth often alleviates these symptoms.

These symptoms can be so widespread that it is difficult for patients and most doctors to comprehend that this is a complex of indicators that could be related to one underlying cause.

The use of birth control pills is a major risk factor for developing yeast overgrowth because it promotes estrogen dominance. Because birth control pills give a woman’s hormonal system a continual stream of estrogen, an imbalance is created, Science has shown us that there is a close link between estrogen dominance and yeast overgrowth. Visiting The Yeast Connection Web site can help you learn about yeast and decide if you might have an overgrowth and give you tools to treat this condition.

What are the Alternatives?

I’m very aware that women (and their partners) want to avoid unplanned pregnancies. I concede that birth control pills have provided an easy — but not safe — way to accomplish this goal. There are numerous safe and effective ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Here are a few options to consider:

• Male condoms: Most of us are familiar with male condoms, which, at a 98 percent effectiveness rate when used correctly, are nearly as effective as birth control pills. However, be sure to purchase lubricated condoms or use water-based lubricants like K-Y jelly or spermicidal creams to increase your protection. Many couples are unaware that lubricants like petroleum jelly actually cause the latex in the condoms to break down and increase the risk of pregnancy. An added bonus of condoms: They help protect against sexually transmitted diseases.
• Female condoms: Most of us are unfamiliar with female condoms, but these thin, soft polyurethane pouches fitted inside the vagina before sex are 95 percent effective. Again, the rate of effectiveness is increased if a spermicidal jelly is used. The female condom has an inner ring that goes into the upper part of the vagina and an outer one, which should be visible outside the vagina. Female condoms are less likely to tear than male condoms.
• Diaphragm: Diaphragms, which must be fitted by a doctor, are thin soft rubber mounted on a ring. When inserted into the upper part of the vagina to cover the cervix, they act as a barrier to sperm. If used correctly with spermicidal jellies, they are 92 to 98 percent effective in preventing pregnancy.
• Cervical cap: This effective (91 percent), but underutilized, form of birth control has been available in the U.S. for decades. The heavy rubber cap fits tightly against the cervix and can be left in place for 48 hours. Like the diaphragm, a doctor must fit the cap. Proper fitting enhances the effectiveness above 91 percent.
• Spermicides: Creams, jellies and suppositories contain chemicals that kill sperm. While they can increase the effectiveness of other forms of contraception, I don’t recommend using them alone.

Finally, I highly recommend the Creighton Model Fertility Care System (CrM). It uses the science-based modality of NaPro Technology (NaPro), a women’s health science that evolved from interpreting the biomarkers of the menstrual and fertility cycle, mainly, all the stages of cervical mucus and the length and intensity of the menstrual flow. (I’ll write about this method in the future.)

Working with a trained doctor, a woman has many options with this technology:

Identify times of fertility to either get pregnant or avoid pregnancy Identify chronic discharges Evaluate hormones and apply appropriate hormonal treatment (with bio-identical hormones) Identify functional ovarian cysts and treat them non-surgically by using the appropriate bio-Identical hormone Evaluate the effects of stress

Treat premenstrual syndrome Evaluate, treat and/or prevent reproductive abnormalities such as infertility, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, prematurity Identify and treat perimenopause Evaluate and treat heavy uterine bleeding Help avoid hysterectomy by applying the appropriate hormonal treatment

You can learn more about NaPro Technology at their Web site.

Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D., is health advisor to Woman’s Health Connection at The Yeast Connection and is featured on the Web site’s “Ask A Pro” page. Her latest books are The Miracle of Magnesium and Natural Prescriptions for Common Ailments.

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

Dr. Dean is a key health advisor to www.yeastconnection.com, a Web site I highly recommend to women based on the pioneering work of the late Dr. William Crook. Dr. Crook, one of my first mentors and a friend was the author of the classic book, The Yeast Connection, and many other bestsellers that helped millions of women. He was instrumental in helping me recognize that there was a wide network of physicians who understood the importance of nutrition. He indirectly helped connect me to this network and I will be ever grateful for his guidance in this area as that was really the beginning of my journey into high-level natural health. His great legacy is being carried on at www.yeastconnection.com, where you will find out all the latest insights on how candida yeast causes problems in your body, and how to alleviate them. Traditional hormonal birth control methods work by releasing estrogen and progestin into the body, preventing the ovaries from releasing eggs. They also thicken cervical mucus, making it harder for sperm to enter the uterus. There are a wide variety of hormonal methods on the market. The most important thing to remember about hormonal birth control solutions: These contraceptives are SYNTHETIC hormones and it isn’t healthy for a woman to be exposed to them. In fact, their long-term use will invariably increase a woman’s risk of developing serious chronic illness. In fact, it is rarely justified to use birth control pills or synthetic hormones. In addition to increasing serious health risks such as blood clots, birth control pills can also deplete the more important nutrients, including vitamins B2, B6 and B12.