February can feel like a tough month for many, with the dark days of winter lingering on and the coldness really settling in before spring. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and general lethargy are prominent this time of year, and feeling like you’re “in a funk” may last until the first warmer days of April. This is a time of year when we need to assess our emotional and mental health in ways that are a little different than summer and fall and make sure we’re taking care of ourselves in subtle ways to make it through the last push of winter. Implementing simple self-care in February does not have to be excessive or take a lot of time. These self-care activities are meant to take you out of a stagnant routine, enliven your mind and uplift your spirit, even for short periods of time. 

Read More: Mental Health Support in Winter 

• Keep a mug of warm herbal tea with you throughout the day. Herbal teas like ginger, chai, lemon & honey, chamomile, and hibiscus are great choices for deep winter. These nourishing, warming, and vibrant herbs will keep you feeling cozy and comforted throughout the day.

• When possible, take a walk outdoors (even in the cold!). Spending even just 15 minutes outdoors each day has been shown to uplift our mood and improve our mental health. This is especially helpful for those who are behind a computer screen all day. Engaging your eyes with outdoor areas helps to alleviate tension headaches and expand your mental capacity after working long hours indoors. 

• Engage in “play” or creative outlets for a few minutes each day. This works the brain out of a funk by doing something a bit out of the norm. Drawing, coloring, crafting, working with your hands, playing an instrument, designing your spring garden, and even floral arrangements can be fun and unique ways to bring some joy to your day. 

• Begin tidying up your indoor space if it’s feeling dark or cluttered. Sweeping out the winter cobwebs, cleaning up the surfaces of your communal spaces, deep cleaning your kitchen or bedroom, and getting a bit of fresh air (or aromatic smells like lavender or sweet orange) can make a big difference in your home if it is feeling uninspired or stagnant. 

• Schedule one day or afternoon this month that is a little unique. Take yourself to a museum, or your local botanical garden (these are still beautiful in winter months!), maybe visit a friend you haven’t seen in a while, take yourself on a local hike, or spend an afternoon cooking up an elaborate meal to share with friends. Getting out of the weekly routine can be something to look forward to and share with people who uplift your spirit. 

If you find yourself feeling the onset of the “winter blues”, or feeling like your mood is a bit different in the winter months and need personalized support, consider making an appointment with one of our naturopathic doctors. They will have an in-depth discussion with you to review your health history, diet, lifestyle practices, stressors, sleep, and any relevant lab work to help support you in your individual needs. They may also be a great resource for referrals to local therapists or counselors if needed. Don’t hesitate to seek help or ask questions if you feel that you need support maintaining your mental health at any time. The staff and practitioners at Richmond Natural Medicine are available to help and guide you to find a solution that works for you.

February is American Heart Health Month, and a good reminder to check in on your routine wellness habits to make sure you’re taking the little steps to support your heart every day. Heart disease is largely preventable and impacted by things such as stress management, dietary choices, exercise, and genetics. 

The American Heart Association estimates that in 2019, some 46% of Americans (about 116.4 million) had hypertension. The CDC also reported that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in men and women in the US. Cardiovascular disease costs the US healthcare system more than 200 billion dollars per year, making it an area of health that deserves a robust preventive approach through patient education.

If you are curious about specific ways that you can incorporate heart-healthy habits into your wellness routine, visit one of our naturopathic doctors for a detailed and personalized plan, just for you. 

4 Tips for Heart Health 

1. Practice stress management, and understand what your reaction to stress feels like. Long-term stress can dramatically contribute to stress on your cardiovascular system and increase inflammatory markers throughout the body. Take 1-2 minutes each hour to sit quietly, breathe deeply, and calm your mind. This will get your body into the habit of dropping into a space of calm, especially if you are under periods of prolonged stress.

Read more: Using Mindfulness to Reduce Stress

1. Exercise, even a little goes a long way. High-intensity interval training on a bicycle, treadmill or elliptical is very efficient. Attending fitness classes with others or scheduling a personal trainer is what keeps some people continuing to meet their fitness goals. If time and conditioning are a challenge, start where you are – walking is excellent too! Aim for approximately 30 minutes per day. 

1. Get your bloodwork done each year, and look at your HDL, LDL, and triglyceride levels over time. It is ideal to start doing this in your mid-twenties so you can notice patterns and changes, and also to see what your “normal” levels may be. Intervening in cholesterol management before medications are needed is always preferred, but we need to be paying attention to this early on. 

1. Enjoy a healthy diet as often as possible. Reduce or eliminate the consumption of processed fast foods, fried foods, or foods high in saturated fats. Consume foods rich in antioxidants every day. These include colorful fruits and vegetables (blueberries, red grapes, artichokes, spinach, kale, blackberries, and goji berries), dark chocolate, pecans, and green tea. And drink plenty of water each day for kidney health and detoxification support. Read more on staying hydrated here. 

How can naturopathic medicine be used alongside conventional treatment options, including medications?

When cardiovascular disease is already present, naturopathic medicine can provide support before and after surgery, during cardiac rehabilitation, and in the years following for the prevention of a future event. Naturopathic doctors can educate patients regarding appropriate exercise and how to incorporate a heart-healthy diet in real life. Some diet fads are not heart-friendly and genetics play a role in cholesterol management. Naturopathic therapies are useful when an individual’s blood pressure is not well-controlled by pharmaceuticals, managing early kidney disease resulting from hypertension or diabetes, and providing natural medicines if prescription medications are not well-tolerated.

If you are seeking support with cardiovascular health and would like to incorporate the principles of functional medicine and naturopathic medicine into your health plan. Request an appointment or call our office for more information, at (804) 977-2634

Now that we’re one month into the new year, let’s check in on your health goals and resolutions. If you made any dietary or nutrition resolutions, how are you doing with those? Do you feel like they are sustainable for you to continue and actually enjoyable to the point where your relationship with food is thriving? Here are a few nutritionist tips for making healthy habits stick this year. 

Top 5 Nutritionist Tips for Making Healthy Habits Stick

1. Focus on longevity – not quick fixes. It’s easy to set a goal for 30 days or commit to a 2-week detox or diet. But any nutrition change you’re wanting to make should be supporting your body for the long haul, not just a month. Ask yourself, what is the end goal for making these changes, and how can you achieve them in a sustainable way?

1. Start with the basics, then branch out. We often over-step our very basic nutrition needs and go straight into more difficult diets. Make sure your basic daily needs are met and remain a habit before adding on. These include 
   1. Drinking enough water throughout the day. Aim for half of your body weight (in ounces) each day through filtered water or herbal teas. Read more: ND Lifestyle – water & Hydration 
   2. Consuming vegetables and fruits throughout the day (aim for at least 4+ servings, or 4 different colors every day!) Read more: Eat the Rainbow! Health Benefits of Every Color
   3. Keeping a balanced plate – this means including protein, healthy fat, starchy carbohydrate, and non-starchy carbohydrate with your meals. 
   4. Reduce highly processed foods and added sugars. These are so hard to avoid, and over time make a big difference in our overall health. When we commit to preparing most of our meals at home, and using food-based sweeteners like honey or maple syrup, this significantly reduces dietary inflammation and keeps us feeling our best. Read more: Thoughts on Sugars & Sweeteners 

1. Be realistic – your daily diet does not have to be perfect. If there is ONE thing you think you can improve upon, focus on that one thing. This may be prepping weekly breakfasts to make eating breakfast a priority every day; bringing your own lunch to work to reduce getting take-out; Stocking up on your favorite herbal teas to enjoy instead of alcohol at night; keeping healthy snacks available to reduce sugary snack grazing. Either way, choose one thing and don’t overwhelm yourself. 

1. Seek accountability if you need it. Tell the people you share a home with your nutrition goals and allow them to support you and keep you accountable. Sometimes nutrition habits work best if you can do them together with a partner. Have your co-workers or friends share a nutrition goal with you, too, and work towards reaching your goals together. 

1. Consider staying off of social media. This space is saturated with health and wellness advice and opinions. It is very easy to just hop from habit to habit based on what we hear or see and not settle into our own embodied experience. This is a profound disconnect in recent years and makes it harder for us to make our own informed choices about what our body really needs. This is something your nutritionist or naturopathic doctor can help you develop. 

If you need help or support reaching some of your health goals this year, schedule an appointment with one of our naturopathic doctors who will work with you to create a custom care plan to see you through the rest of the year. 

With the beginning of a new year, it’s common to set health goals and find inspiration and guidance from outside sources. Social media is usually the first place people are presented with wellness trends or bite-sized health tips, but this can easily send folks into an unsuccessful spiral of following health advice on social media that is not appropriately tailored to their personalized health needs. With the best intentions of improving their health, it’s easy for people to become consumed with click-bait health hacks that are ultimately not supportive. 

Realistically, health education and health care affect 100% of people, and the vast majority of people are experiencing at least one health issue. The healthcare industry in the US can be difficult to navigate, overly complicated for simple issues, and inaccessible or unaffordable to many people. Thus, the health and wellness corner of social media has exploded in the past 5 years with health professionals and non-professionals offering snack-sized bits of wellness content for easily accessible, free pieces of advice. But this advice is often stand-alone, and not appropriately positioned to work best for your individual needs.  

While a small niche of social media posts are created for the overall benefit and education of their audience (1), the majority of social media content is created to gain followers, increase brand awareness, and sell products. 

Read More: Perks of a Naturopathic Wellness Visit

The Spiral of Sporadic Consuming:

When you consume a slow drip of sporadic health information over several months or even years, it is almost guaranteed you will be spending just as much – if not more – money on supplements, subscriptions, diet plans and other resources than you would be working with a naturopathic doctor or nutritionist.  It may seem harder to commit financially upfront to a nutritionist, herbalist, or naturopathic doctor, but all said and done they are creating an individualized, highly researched, and targeted plan, just for you at the same – or even less – cost over time. They can track your progress, be available for questions, change your supplements and diet as your health changes, and be a tandem resource along your journey. 

Remember, the influencer or poster who shares information about what worked for them and claims should work for you, too, does not have your health history, genetics, digestive health, stressors or array of other health inputs that you have. So much affects your health and your treatment plan that is different from someone else. This is why when you start a raw foods diet and end up feeling worse, or try several supplements that only add another symptom, you feel inclined to move on to another solution too quickly. 

You need to make healthy choices based on your history, current health needs, lifestyle, and capabilities.

What’s the alternative?

If your goal is to educate yourself on realistic, safe, and effective ways to improve your health, then we recommend starting with a plan and a professional guide. This means writing out your health goals, understanding your current state of health, getting clear on your resources, and feeling realistic about your intentions. When working with a nutritionist or naturopathic doctor, these professionals can keep track of all of the details of your plan and offer professional, well-researched, and specific recommendations to help you reach those goals in a very directed and straightforward way while also carefully tracking your progress. 

In the long term, this can actually save you time and money, and give you peace of mind that you’re not blindly following the next unsuccessful trend, diet, or supplement. 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed at all of the conflicting health information available and want to get more clarity on what will work best for your body and health goals, consider scheduling an appointment with one of our naturopathic doctors at Richmond Natural Medicine.  

References:

1. Social Media and Health Care Professionals 

RNM Favorite Holiday Dishes

Every year we like to round up our favorite holiday recipes to share with our RNM community. December is a festive month to share meals with family and friends, and enjoy nostalgic holiday flavors. Some of our go-to recipes include plenty of seasonal vegetables, delicious herbs and spices, and a nod to healthier ingredients that help to curb the sugar intake this season. We hope you enjoy some of these recipes around your own table this holiday season!

Breakfast:

Cranberry Orange Muffins – a gluten-free and vegan version of a breakfast classic. 

Chunky Chocolate Buckwheat Granola – for the sweet tooths in the family. 

Vegan Spelt Pumpkin Bread – a sweet and savory side to your morning eggs or oatmeal. 

Lunch:

Cream of Broccoli & Cashew Soup – a simple one-pot staple for the week. 

Garlicky Kale & Whitebean Stew – light and delicious, perfect for a light midday meal.  

Kale, Arugula & Butterbean Salad – the perfect accompaniment to any leftovers you have in the fridge. 

Dinner:

Lemon & Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs – with only 7 ingredients and 30 minutes. 

Butternut Squash Lasagna – a savory, nourishing one-pan dish for a crowd. 

Spicy Ginger Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowls – the leftovers are just as delicious as the first night!

Sides:

Roasted Cauliflower Salad – with a middle eastern twist of flavors. 

Classic Holiday Stuffing – a vegan and gluten-free option for everyone to enjoy. 

Balsamic Parmesan Brussel Sprouts – this will disappear every single time – we’d recommend doubling the batch!

We hope you enjoy your time in the kitchen this season! 

Do your best to prioritize sleep throughout the week. Maintain your bedtime whenever possible, and aim for at least 7 hours of sleep each night to support your nervous system, immune function, and enhance digestion. 

Start your day with a nourishing breakfast. If your afternoons and evenings tend to lack fruits and veggies, get these in FIRST THING so you can at least rely on 2-4 servings first and foremost.  If you’re crunched for time in the mornings, batch prep some breakfast options so you don’t skip them. This can look like a veggie frittata, overnight oats with 2-4 types of fruits included, or veggie-based smoothies.

Opt for herbal teas most nights of the week. The holiday season brings lots of opportunities for gatherings, and if you find yourself imbibing in alcohol more than twice a week, bring tea sachets with you for dinners, or enjoy a mug of warm tea while prepping dinner at home to reduce your alcohol intake these next few weeks. Try chamomile, holy basil, ginger, or mint teas for a soothing, calming, warming, and grounding experience. 

Continue to take afternoon walks. As the days get colder, these daily walks help acclimate our body to the changing season, gradually introducing us to colder weather so the shift is not so abrupt on our immune system. 

Read More: 4 Ways You Can Redirect How Stress Impacts Your Body

Maintain your boundaries if your calendar is filling up. It’s always OK to not-commit to an engagement immediately. Check your weekly or monthly calendar before adding one more thing to make sure you feel like you can reasonably commit your time to extra things that will not bring you unnecessary stress.

Batch-prep some soups to keep in the freezer. Colds and flu are still going around this season, and having nourishing, already-made soups for when you or a family member falls ill can be a lifesaver. We love Chicken Veggie soup and Butternut Squash soups. 

Read More: Healthy Holiday Recipe Round-Up

Switch off your devices. We know that many people use their phones and iPads at night to “wind down,” especially after kids go to bed to have some “me time.” Take notice if what you’re doing on your devices in the evening is actually relaxing (ie, scrolling through social media, reading or watching the news, engaging in online arguments, etc). A lot of our online behavior is quite stimulating and not supportive of relaxing our nervous system before going to bed. Instead, try listening to an audiobook, reading, journaling, or sketching to relax and calm your mind. 

Richmond Natural Medicine’s Infrared Sauna is Available For Current Patients

Saunas have been used for thousands of years to restore tired muscles and to chase away illnesses or even the chill of cooler weather. Sauna: meaning bath or bathhouse in Finnish originated in this Nordic land where today most households still maintain a sauna for good health and relaxation.

Infrared saunas use wavelengths of heat that are part of the sun’s natural rays, and are beneficial for our health. Infrared rays penetrate deeply beneath the skin surface to the cellular level, heating the body at a lower temperature than that of traditional saunas, and promoting detoxification and improved heart health. This gentle process is usually very comfortable for most people and allows the nervous system to move to its parasympathetic state which supports improved sleep and increased levels of β-endorphins. The lower temperature (approximately 120 to 140 degrees F) than that of a traditional sauna allows patients to enjoy the rejuvenation experience safely over a longer period of time (30-40 minutes on average instead of approximately half that time).

Infrared Sauna Benefits:

Detoxify: Sweating to release toxins is perhaps the benefit most associated with the sauna experience. The process of warming the body increases circulation and triggers the sweat glands. Many studies suggest that sweat helps to detoxify the body by releasing heavy metals, urea, bisphenol-A, and phthalates. Additionally, it improves blood flow and supports optimal blood pressure.

What’s good for the inside is good for the outside too, and sweating helps to unclog pores and improve the health of your skin.

Better sleep: Relaxing in the quiet warmth of the infrared sauna environment is a perfect way to calm the body and the mind. Often a reset of body temperature—from neutral to warm and then to cool—combined with the soothing heat of the sauna can aid in improving sleep.

Also, relaxing helps to balance cortisol, your body’s primary stress hormone, says Amy Myers, MD, author of The Autoimmune Solution who encourages including infrared sauna visits as part of an overall wellness plan.

Immune System Support: As the body’s core temperature rises, it works to strengthen the immune system and promotes healing.  Studies have even suggested that infrared sauna use provides a reduction in fatigue associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Pain Relief: As the infrared light warms the body from the inside out, it increases the circulation of the blood and the flow of oxygen. This brings a feeling of relief to patients with muscle soreness, arthritis, and related conditions, and helps to speed up the healing process.

Weight loss—the process of warming the body and sweating is likely to produce some weight loss, just as with exercise. This may be an added benefit or, for individuals with certain medical conditions, it may be a low-stress way to elevate the heart rate and improve circulation.

Whether you have a health concern or simply wish to enjoy some quiet relaxation, consider trying out this new wellness resource at RNM.  The gift of self-care gives back for a lifetime. Check out RNM’s in-house Infrared Sauna which is available for RNM Patients. Schedule your Sauna Session Today.

As we approach the winter season, we receive a lot of questions at RNM about habits to support immune function, appropriate supplements, and how to deal with the common cold. Our approach is always to take preventative and mindful steps every day to keep your body healthy and vibrant, mostly including lifestyle and nutrition practices that will enhance every part of the body – including your immune system. 

There is a lot we can do to support our immune system by simply sticking to daily, foundational habits that help to strengthen immune health and keep our resilience strong!

What can I do to support my immune system?”

Dr. Ferriera educates her patients on immune health by beginning with the basics:  

“Patients always think about taking supplements to support immunity which, yes can be helpful,, but those should be supplemental to a good diet and lifestyle including adequate and quality sleep, balanced diet low in sugar and processed foods, consistent exercise/movement, stress management, good hydration and then the supplements can be helpful including zinc, vitamin D3, vitamin C, and some adaptogenic/immune supportive herbs and mushrooms.”

Read more: Keeping Kids Healthy – Immune Support for Back to School

Our body is very capable of maintaining a healthy and strong immune system throughout the seasons, however when bombarded with daily inputs that strain our immune system – namely high sugar and pro-inflammatory foods, alcohol, environmental toxins, and lack of quality sleep. dehydration and a sedentary lifestyle – our immune function can become weakened, thus becoming more susceptible to seasonal bugs like colds and flu. 

1. Stay hydrated. Drinking enough water every day supports essential digestion, detoxification, lymphatic, and elimination pathways that are crucial for immune function balance. 

1. Devote at least 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night. Sleeping allows our body to rest and repair while our nervous system is relaxed and our digestion slows. This is also a time when our immune system can recover from the stressors of the day. When we go several days or weeks without quality sleep, you’ll notice almost inevitably you’re more likely to feel run down and more susceptible to being sick. 

1. Get outdoors every day. Not only does this keep us aligned with seasonal changes, but the vitamin D we absorb from the sun is necessary for proper immune function. It is common for people to become deficient in vitamin D throughout the winter months due to lack of sun exposure and staying indoors all day, every day. Try to get outside for 30 minutes each day. 

1. Eat a nutritious and colorful diet. Do your best to get at least 3-4 different colors of whole foods in your meals throughout the day. The more colorful your daily diet, the more vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and nutrients your body can utilize to stay healthy and strong. 

Read more: Eat the Rainbow: Health Benefits of Every Color 

1. Move your body for 30 minutes every day. This can be a gentle walk, yoga, weight training, or however you can get up and move your body around! Daily movement not only reduces stress and anxiety, but it supports optimal cardiovascular function and keeps our lymphatic system moving. A large portion of our immune system resides in our lymphatic system, and daily exercise is a great way to keep this flowing, healthy, and strong!

Read more: Supporting Your Immune System in a Changing World