The most wonderful super food--ever.

What complete protein prevents cancer, mediates radiation exposure, seeds probiotics in the intestines, & chelates heavy metals??? Perhaps the most researched food on the planet—miso. Very different from its non-fermented cousin, soy, it boasts a boat-load of healing accomplishments with regular consumption.

In June 2003 Yamamato, S., et al. published their study showing that regular consumption of miso afforded protection from breast cancer, with an increase in consumption paralleling an increase in protection, particularly for postmenopausal women—up to 50% more protection compared to those who don’t partake.

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Many studies of Nagasaki and Hiroshima survivors show that those who had a regular diet of miso fared far less effects from radiation than those who had little in their diets. Further research supports these findings.

The isoflavanoids also protect against heart disease and strengthen immune system and bones. Miso provides powerful antioxidants, protecting cells from free radicals (think anti-aging). It aids in the digestion and bioavailability of other foods, especially minerals. It’s a complete protein because it contains all of the essential amino acids—essential, meaning we need them in order to make proteins but we can’t produce them on our own.

Surely you’re sold already. But there’s more. I have a cup every night in order to stave off night-time eating. It contains fiber which keeps you regular—and filled. There’s not another food on this planet that can boast as much. Thank you, miso!

Remember not to place miso in boiling water as the heat will kill the beneficial bacteria. Water should be warm/hot but not boiling.

(JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Volume 95, Issue 12, 18 June 2003, Pages 906–913, https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/95.12.906)

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3695331/)

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3800250/)

(https://www.naturalnews.com/049769_miso_radioprotective_effects_Hiroshima_survivors.html)

(https://www.huffpost.com/entry/radiation-misos-hopeful-h_b_836744)




4 Easy Ways to Boost Your Immunity

It’s the year of Covid and we’re entering flu season—double whammy. Here’s my favorite and most interesting ways to boost immunity:

Neti Pot & Gargling

The tried and true method of salt water is a great preventative. Many people are afraid to try the neti but once they do, they become converts. Salt water hydrates, soothes, heals, and maintains mucosa. It has antibacterial and antiviral properties. It’s also great at keeping your vocal cords supple.

Copper Zap

I promised interesting—a copper instrument that you stick into your nostrils. Back in 2016 I was updating my science classes at MCTC and my microbiology instructor talked about the research her team was conducting looking at copper’s ability to fight infections from bacteria. A year or two later I learned about the Copper Zap and decided to try it. Now it’s part fo my biweekly regimen. I also use it when I feel depleted or overtired. Here’s a study from another research team.

Wet Socks

I learned about this several years ago and started practicing it weekly during winters. Take a pair of wool socks and wet thoroughly with as cold water as you can. Put those on and cover with a pair of dry socks to prevent your bed from getting wet. In the morning you’ll wake with dry feet and a boosted immune system. Your body has to work a little harder to pump blood to dry and warm your feet (a little like a tiny fever), causing an immune boost. It’s an old home remedy that’s absolutely brilliant.

Fire Cider

I’ve written about this before because it’s such a nourishing way to keep healthy. Many cultures around the world use this tonic regularly. I make my fire cider every October and have the jars sitting in my kitchen on display for the winter season—they’re decorative and functional. Fill your jars with jalapeños, chilis, garlic, turmeric, tamarind, chives, ginger, lemon or lime peel, radish, horseradish, star anise, rosemary, thyme. I caution against using onions as they can make the resulting liquid sickly sweet. Pack the jars as full as you can with phytonutrients then pour Bragg’s apple cider vinegar over it, covering all the vegetables. It’s important that the veggies be completely covered so that they don’t mold. The apple cider vinegar needs to have the mother (the bacteria/yeast particles) on the bottom; filtered ACV won’t do. Place your jars on a shelf for a month. You’ll see the colors drain from the veggies as the vinegar leeches the nutrients. After a month, it’s ready for use. Most people take a teaspoon to a tablespoon several times a week in hot water or tea. If a cold is coming on, then take several times a day. Fire cider boosts immunity, aids and enhances digestion, promotes beneficial bacteria in the intestines, is anti-inflammatory, and shifts the pH balance a bit toward the acidic. All that in a teaspoon! You can have fun playing with the recipe (there are thousands of recipes all over the internet), making it up as you go. Just be sure to use fresh, organic produce.

Forest Bathing, Nature Imbibing, Plant Plunging: Where to get your nature fix in the Cities

Exposure to nature is considered a necessity. Twenty to thirty minutes of exposure effects significant reduction in cortisol levels and there's a wealth of other health benefits. However nature, and our time, is often in short supply. Where can one find repose without driving an hour? We have some beautiful little oases right here in the Cities:

St. Paul's Como Conservatory is my go-to especially in winter or on rainy days.

Lyndale Park Gardens near Lake Harriet has four themed gardens: Annual-Perrenial, Butterfly-Hummingbird, Peace, and Rose gardens.

Roberts Bird Sanctuary  Shares the same parking lot with the Lyndale Park Gardens.

Song of Hiawatha Garden is a gem I discovered a couple years ago. It's nestled behind the Minnehaha Parkway traffic circle and is home to hummingbirds.

Nokomis Naturescape Garden at the northeast end of the lake.

Loring Park Garden of the Seasons can be a trip combined with the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden & Bird Sanctuary on Theodore Wirth Parkway.

Then, for the tots, there's JD Rivers' Children's Garden, a part of Theodore Wirth.

Finally, and perhaps most important, you can create an oasis in your own back yard. A tree in your back yard can become a personal sanctuary when set up with a comfortable chair, flower pots, and a bird feeder. Enjoy spending time outdoors however you can.

Ted Meyer's TedMed Talk

Ted Meyer talks about how his suffering as a child informs his art and how he came to bring ailing artists into medical school classes in order to impart the importance of narrative and the power of a framing in healing.

Moving lymph

Lymph circulation is the waste management system of our bodies. It transports waste materials (toxins, dead bacteria and cells, cancer cells, dietary fats from our digestive system, interstitial fluid, etc.) out of our bodies. Lymph travels just under the skin through vessels. It is cleaned in the nodes and eventually returns to the whole blood in the circulatory system. Unlike blood, which has the heart to pump it, the lymph has no pump to keep it flowing. It is entirely dependent on external factors in order to operate optimally. Here are some ways to keep it moving:

  • pumping action of your gastrocs through walking or running
  • massage, particularly the light, directional, rhythmic lymph drainage massage
  • jumping, particulary on a rebounder or trampoline
  • skin brushing
  • hydrate
  • deep breathing
  • hot & cold treatment
  • stillingia tincture
  • Qi machine
It's terribly important not to restrict lymph flow with tight clothing, especially bras. If you wear a bra make sure it's well fitted and doesn't leave long-lasting grooves in your skin when you take it off.

Placebo research by Ted Kaptchuk

Very exciting research this past year by Harvard's Ted Kaptchuk, author of a primer on Traditional Chinese Medicine called The Web That Has No Weaver. He has identified the Placebo Spot in the brain—a region of the frontal lobe—and mapped genetic variations in neurotransmitter pathways that affect individuals' responsiveness to placebos, a system referred to as the placebome. Placebo is a complex neuro response by an individual, involving one's dopamine and/or opioid reward centers, to a caretaker's loving attention. It seems that some people are genetically predisposed to be responsive to loving attention, causing a healing cascade due to changes in neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine and opioids. This calls into question decades of research that pulled small sample sizes, perhaps flawed by genetic bias as it is unknown what percentage of the population is prone to placebo effect. While we have always known that placebo works (much to the disappointment of the western medical establishment), its mechanisms have been shrouded in mystery.

Here's a TED Talk that Kaptchuk did on Placebo in 2014.

Recipe for apple cider vinegar water

So many of us have systemic inflammation. It's an underlying factor in chronic pain, chronic stress, weight gain, and aging. If you have systemic inflammation use the vinegar water for a month or two to get your pH balanced and your gut restored. If you needed it, if you really had systemic inflammation, you'll feel a drastic difference in four or five days of drinking the concoction. Discontinue use when your symptoms are under control. Diet and lifestyle changes will keep those changes in place. There are powerful tools you have at home to battle this monster—sleep, exercise, cleaning up your diet, eating greens. None of these are to be underestimated.

Here's an amazing tool for short-term use:

6x/day
16 oz. water
1 Tbsp Bragg's apple cider vinegar (for the mother)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (not from concentrate)
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch turmeric

The water is an important part of the recipe; you can't put all the other ingredients into a smaller amount of water and think that you will get the results you want. Water is needed for hydrating and flushing. It also dilutes the acids which is critical for your tooth enamel.

I put the question of eroding tooth enamel to my dentist, Dr. Joe Grayden, a professor at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. He took the question to about a half dozen of his colleagues and here's the consensus:

  • The acidic level and its effects would land somewhere between drinking coffee with sugar (coffee without sugar is not very worrisome) and sipping on Coca Cola throughout the day.

  • While there's no research on vinegar water, there's a lot of research on caffeinated sodas and carbonated water. Sipping is worse than drinking it down faster. People who drink caffeinated pop tend to sip it throughout the day while people who drink non-carbonated pops tend to drink it down quickly. Those drinking the caffeinated pop have tooth enamel wear at a much greater rate than those drinking the non-caffeinated pops. Don't sip, drink it down quickly.

  • Your tooth enamel is most vulnerable the hour after eating/drinking. It takes a half hour before you start producing enzymes that will neutralize the acids and they take about two hours to do their job. Don't brush your teeth immediately after eating/drinking, especially acidic foods/drinks. Wait about an hour before brushing.

  • Using a straw does not mitigate the risk of erosion.

  • As a side: Dentists also see tooth enamel loss in bartenders who put slices of lemon in their mouths and in Gen Y-ers who grew up using electric toothbrushes but use them as though they are regular toothbrushes, placing pressure on the brush bristles against the teeth. An electric brush does all the work and there should never be pressure placed on the brush against the teeth.

Vitamin D may protect against cancer

A meta-study involving 5038 women aged 55 and older, as reported in Science News, found that higher levels of vitamin D were protective against breast cancer and indicate that a higher minimum recommendation may be warranted. While most women in the studies were white and while these studies don't necessarily prove cause and effect,

"Nonetheless, this paper reports the strongest association yet between serum vitamin D and reduction in risk of breast cancer," Garland said.

But not just breast cancer. In earlier research Cedric F. Garland, DrPH, adjunct professor in the UC San Diego Department of Family Medicine and Public Health found positive associations between higher levels of vitamin D and reduced occurence of colon, breast, lung and bladder cancers, multiple myeloma and adult leukemia.

To reach 25(OH)D levels of 60 ng/ml, said Garland, would generally require dietary supplements of 4,000 to 6,000 international units (IU) per day, less with the addition of moderate daily sun exposure wearing very minimal clothing (approximately 10-15 minutes per day outdoors at noon). He said the success of oral supplementation should be determined using a blood test, preferably during winter months.

The article warns not to exceed 10,000 IU/day as serious adverse effects may occur.

Mammograms of questionable benefit.

The Harvard Medical School published this video as part of their blog describing the overuse and misuse of mammography. The blog states:

They [JAMA Insights article co-authors Keating and Pace*] further point out that the USPSTF [U.S. Preventive Services Task Force] reiterated its recommendation in 2016 and that the American Cancer Society joined the task force in 2015 in advocating less routine use of mammography and a more individualized approach to screening.

“One of the greatest harms is overdiagnosis, which can subject some women to harmful treatment without any benefit,” Pace said. “Additionally, high rates of false positives and unnecessary biopsies should be considered as likely outcomes of breast cancer screening.”

Personally, I use thermography. It, too, is criticized as producing too many false positives but it doesn't expose patients to radiation so they can be done frequently and checked against a baseline. Those false positives, in my mind, are Qi Stagnation or Blood Stasis and can be treated with massage and acupuncture.

It baffles me that they end by saying that doctors know best. What physician has the time to spend counseling a patient or has the skill to do it?

*Nancy Keating is a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Lydia Pace is HMS assistant professor of medicine and an internist at Brigham and Women’s

Good news for plantar fasciitis

A meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials "investigating the effects of Mt [manual therapies] in the treatment of human patients with PF [plantar fasciitis], plantar fasciosis, and heel pain published in English....was conducted. The results showed improved function and decreased pain with use of manual therapies."* "It is recommended that clinicians consider use of both joint and soft tissue mobilization techniques in conjunction with stretching and strengthening when treating patients with PF."

I use a combination of manual therapy and acupuncture then send my patients home with exercises for strengthening and neuro-sensory training--a balanced approach that gives them the tools for life-long conditioning. I have found that rebilitating the feet is imperative for maintaining stabilization of the pelvis and alleviating back, pelvis and knee pain.

* Fraser, J.J.; Corbett, R.; Donner, C.; Hertel, J.; Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy (2018) 26:2, pp. 55-65.

Taping Rupert

My most popular FB post revisited:

Rupert sporting kinesiology tape. Rupert was 16.5 years old in this video. Proving, once again, that taping does not reduce viciousness!  ; ).

Rupert was not harmed in the making of this video and he was paid a living wage in raw chicken.

foam rolling

My shin splints returned. In a way this was a good thing because I've been working on my breathing so I can't run like I used to and it motivated me to get into the habit of foam rolling.

Here's a YouTube video tutorial (someone else's) on rolling out the shins. It's a really good technique for injury prevention, improving short-term range of motion and mobility.

Foam rolling effects deep myo-fascial release between layers of fascia where lymph is free to flow. Powerful therapy! Rock Tape performs a lot of research on best methods. They recommend longer time spent foam rolling post-workout, when your muscles are warmed and worked, than for pre-workout, when your muscles are relatively tight. It's akin to starting superficial and getting deeper as a massage progresses.

The foam rolling was great at managing my shin splints but I discovered that I was placing my right foot wrong. I remembered that, back in the day, my dance teacher would instruct me to evert while pointing my feet, to overcome a natural over-inversion. I tried doing this while running, paying particular attention to my right foot strike. I'm still having to pay attention as I haven't completely habituated to the new practice, but my shin splints are completely resolved rather than managed. Foot strike rules again!!!

who knew? home safety

I discovered an important home safety practice of which I think most people are misinformed; I know I was. I was arriving at a friend's apartment and the fire department was there responding to her 911 call. Her  carbon monoxide detector had started screaming. She didn't believe there was really a problem but she figured 'better safe than sorry'. It was a good thing she called—and informative too! Carbon monoxide had built up in her oven and started accumulating in her kitchen because she had lined the bottom of her oven with aluminum foil. Apparently this should never happen as it blocks the vents in the oven making it impossible to vent the gases. Who knew?

I also discovered recently that five beeps from your CO monitor is an end-of-life signal. If you hear the five beeps in a row, you don't need to change out batteries, you need a new unit.

foot to core sequencing

What do feet have to do with one's core? Turns out, everything. It all starts at the feet. The most functional movement humans do is walk. If our parts are aligned and neuro-muscularly coordinated we walk and work with ease and without pain. There is a sequence to neuro-muscular firing that is essential to this coordination. Think of a string of fire crackers, each causing the next to ignite. That's efficient. If you had to keep lighting every couple fire crackers you'd get frustrated and you wouldn't get the same effects.

So here's how it works:

We must have enough inversion of the foot in order to effect external rotation of the tibia which, in turn, causes internal rotation of the femur, activates the glutes, then initiates firing of psoas, pelvic floor and respiratory diaphragm. It's a neuro-muscular firing cascade that happens from the ground to the core by virtue of our feet impacting the ground.

We also must have enough eversion of the foot, have enough ankle dorsiflexion and be able to get over our big toe in order to effect adequate propulsion. A number of compensations reveal any inadequacies—walking with feet pointed outward, rolling the feet, twisting the leg, throwing the leg to the side or picking up the foot early. Have bunions? or flat feet? They're the result of compensations.

Neuro-muscular firing initiates while we are anticipating where to place our foot, even before the step is taken. There's an unconscious planning that takes place in walking (and running), one that either serves us well or has become a pathological habit. People who have been raised shod have more foot, ankle, and leg injuries than people raised barefoot because the sensory ability of the small, intrinsic nerves of the feet have been dampened. A shod foot trying to walk is like a ear trying to hear underwater—distorted and unsure.

Getting some barefoot time in each day can re-awaken those small, intrinsic nerves, improving balance and proprioception while protecting you from injury over the long term. Many runners who change from shod to barefoot, or minimalist, get injured because they try too much too soon. It takes some time for the nerves to waken and for your body to adjust to using your muscles in new ways. Take it very slow and gradually decrease your shoe's support over time.

Check out Harvard's website on "Biomechanical Differences Between Different Foot Strikes" for more, really cool information.

kinesiology taping

Since October I've been certified in kinesiology taping, also known as sports taping, by the only company teaching evidenced-based taping protocols for pain, edema, scar tissue, complaints during pregnancy and to improve functional movement. My patients call it "magic on tape".

How does it work? Two ways: It provides a microscopic lift to the skin which allows improved circulation of lymph and it's an irritant that demands the attention of the nervous system to that area. Some of the most powerful modalities are proving to be those that work with the skin—not only the largest organ but also the largest outcropping of the nervous system.

You may have seen this YouTube video of the cat who is taped and how it changes her movements (Yes, it went viral; it's a cat after all.):

Here's a video of Rupert the Papillon after being taped, proving that taping can't correct for aging (16.5 years) or  for viciousness.

No animals were harmed in the making of these videos.

pH & exercise

I found an article in the December 2013 issue of Velo, the high-performance bicycling magazine, that piqued my interest because it gets into biochemistry. The article "Understading the Burn, Lactic Acid Myths Debunked" by Trevor Connor points out that lactic acid exists as a buffer with its conjugate base lactate. Our blood's pH is carefully kept near a constant somewhere between 7.35 and 7.46. If we wander even a bit out of this range, we face imminent danger and death. We never get systemically acidic. What can build up locally in those muscles is hydrons (H+). These are quickly removed by the lactate (the base).

Professor Matthew Hickey, head of the Human Performance Research Lab at Colorado State University, has been studying the physiology of this buffer system.

In reality "lactate serves many important roles. For example, "it is the principle fuel for the heart during vigorous exercise," Hickey said. And the liver can recycle it, "releasing a brand new glucose molecule as if you'd been drinking a sports drink."

Remember this formula for repiration from biology or physiology class?

C6H12O6 (s) + 6 O2 (g) → 6 CO2 (g) + 6 H2O (l) + heat

Professor Hickey says that humans have no problem acquiring enough oxygen. Our lungs are overly large; we only need 2/3 capacity to achieve optimal oxygen levels. It's the exhaling of carbon dioxide that moves us to fatigue, sore muscles and out of breath.

Our best immediate buffer is a molecule called bicarbonate. Bicarbonate binds to acid to produce harmless water and CO2. However, "that process is only as good as the last step, which is breathing off the carbon dioxide." If we don't breath it off fast enough, the CO2 is converted back to acid, and we lose the race. The takeaway? Concentrate on exhaling.

How to get the best exhale for your efforts? Improve your circulation! That means slow but long training hours, keeping warm, breathe deeply and effect long, deliberate exhales. You can also eat fewer carbs in order to train "fat reliance". Utilizing fats for energy rather than carbs reduces the fluctuations in pH and the concomitant activity of the buffer system. It makes you more efficient. Lastly, exercise at threshold.

"There are ways to train your heart, your less frequently used muscles, and your liver to better clear hydrogen ions," Hickey said. "And, not surprisingly one of the ways to do that is to bathe those tissues regularly in lactate." Start with short five-minute threshold efforts. Then as your clearance systems improve, build to 20 and even 30-minute efforts.

So no need to worry about or spend money on products promising to clear your lactic acid or lactate. You need it. It's working for you. Focus instead on your breathing and on promoting your circulation.

Ionic Foot Bath

I've been getting questions from patients on the validity of ionic foot baths again. They are a scam and I'm embarrassed by practitioners charging money for these sessions. It amounts to a very expensive foot soak.

In 2011 they were all the craze, some of my colleagues purchased them and started offering them as a treatment and I was on the fence about their validity. So I asked my chemistry professor at the University of Minnesota what he thought. He was unfamiliar with the device but he said it didn't make sense to him because molecules just don't travel through the body like that--they have to go through a transport system such as the lymph, blood, or into the urine. You simply don't get molecules traveling through your body to your feet and out your skin. Even sweat has to follow prescribed metabolic pathways.

I tried one out when a colleague offered me a session. There is a piece of metal in the water and one adds salt and an electric current. Of course the water changes color—it's called rust! That's what happens when you oxidize metal. That will happen regardless of anything else placed in the water. We did a similar experiment in chemistry lab (no feet involved).

The death knell on the subject was when I watched this series of videos on YouTube. A highlight is when an organic carrot produces a color change that indicates it is releasing liver toxins.

There are places where faith, belief, and the concept of energy as a miasma are appropriate. The field of chemistry is not one of them.