Little Ears; Mini Workouts; Apricot Chicken Wings
Health Tip:
Do you know you need to add workouts but are having trouble putting it into your daily schedule or your body won’t allow you to do a long workout? Add in small simple mini workouts into your day to help you make small improvements. Do 10 jumping jacks; or 3 squats; or park a little further away; or take the stairs. Start by adding one thing and then once that becomes something you naturally do, then work on ways to add more ways of being active. I do a little mini leg workout when I put on my socks in the morning; it takes all of about 20 seconds but it is still something I didn’t do before that is helping my strength and balance on a daily basis. All this to remind you that adding in workouts does not have to be all or nothing! If you are not doing any workouts now, even 20 seconds is an improvement! If you are doing workouts, but want to improve more, adding in mini workouts means that it becomes part of your day and you get in little workouts even if you miss your main workout. Get creative and find ways to move more!
Monthly Article:
Little Ears
I’d like to talk about “little ears” this month. If you have children and have brought them in to see me, you may hear me talk about not saying some of what I’m checking out loud. I’ll refer to them as ‘parenthesis’ questions and will ask these questions quietly (I’ll sometimes do this same thing for adults for the exact same reasons below). The reason for this is that those “little ears” may hear what is said and ‘own’ that issue. I don’t want them to own these negative issues and have it affect them later in life. As humans, we can be very impressionable and this can be both good and bad. As adults, we need to recognize that words can be very powerful and do our best to protect those “little ears.” I like to have parents email, text, or discuss with me what is going on with their children where the kids cannot hear; especially when we are talking about very sensitive issues such as emotional health, weight, trouble in school, etc. Talking freely about these topics right in front of them can be very damaging, degrading, and create trauma that is not necessary or helpful.
The trauma that can be created is ‘medical trauma’ and what I discussed above is how I handle this issue in my office. This comes from personal experiences in my past that have made me acutely aware of just how damaging this type of medical trauma can be.
I grew up in the ‘medical model’ of health care. It was all we knew at the time. (NOTE: I love my parents and they did an awesome job raising me and my brothers!) I had anemia as a child and regularly had to go in for finger sticks to check my iron levels. This may have started my desire to do things differently with my health and I still have an issue with needles, especially finger pricks. For example, I know in my head that acupuncture is a healing art but my issue with needles is still preventing me from utilizing acupuncture because needles are involved. This is one instance of ‘medical trauma’ that many will not recognize. Here is another one that made this issue VERY apparent to me: A few years ago I decided to have a full body thermography scan done. I am extremely modest and it had never occurred to me that the test requires a person to be nude to measure temperatures coming from the body. Upon hearing this and knowing I still needed to do the test, I had what I can only explain as a near nervous breakdown response. After a while I realized that how I was behaving was similar to the way I would expect a women to act that had been sexually abused. I tried to think if there were any repressed memories from a trauma in my childhood and the only thing I could come up with was when I was in 8th grade. I had a very bad bladder infection that was moving up into my kidneys. I had to have a catheterization procedure to apparently assess bladder function. No other medical procedures were done other than medications after this. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Now, let me tell you what I remember as the patient in grade school about this event….
I remember the pain started on a Sunday morning while I was assisting our pianist turn pages at church.
The pain was on the right side and traveled up my back and hurt so bad I could not turn my neck to the right.
I was reading the book ‘Watership Down’ and I was in 8th grade. I was sitting in the living room on the recliner for most of the days trying to read while in pain.
It felt like there were 6-7 men in the room during the catheterization procedure along with my mom. All standing at the end of the table.
I remember joking a little during the procedure
I remember wondering if I would still be virgin after this. I never voiced this as a concern or question.
Notice the detail of what I remember as a child around this one event? This is a sign of trauma…even if it was mostly perceived. I don’t recall any explanations though I’m sure some were given. I obviously didn’t understand enough detail about the physical body and did not feel comfortable voicing my ignorance.
The trauma I experienced above had a lot to do with perception; I was not sexually abused but my young mind perceived it as such. There should not have been so many people in the room or at least they should have been in a less sensitive area. Parents, I know it is hard to think of all these things when your little ones are hurting – you MUST be their advocate! Kick extras out of the room! Joking and not asking questions does NOT mean your child knows what is going on or is ok with what is going on. Open up as much discussion as is age appropriate so they have the opportunity to express their true thoughts. After the event, continue to remain open to discussing and watch for any change in behavior following. For example, I likely became much more modest and started to be more concerned with body image. (This was very likely missed because of my age as this happens about this time to girls unfortunately.)
If you may have inadvertently contributed to medical trauma in a child, please don’t beat yourself up! It is not intentional and can be very easy to do. What I do ask is that now that you know about this, be more aware of your words and open up discussions with these children when appropriate. Keep any discussion that may be traumatizing in private with those care providers that are helping these children. Do the best you can and know that you cannot prevent every one of these events.
Have you had some ‘medical trauma’ in your past? I found that journaling has allowed me to actually process that event and recognize how it has affected my life since then. It doesn’t have to be all bad things. The bladder infection event may have started encouraging me to go more away from the medical model and into more natural healing. It also shaped how I deal with children in my office. It has been eye opening learning why I sometimes do things the way I do. If you think you may have had some ‘medical trauma’, start by finding a way to actually process it. Then find a way to use it to grow and learn more about yourself.
Recipe of the Month:
Apricot Chicken Wings
Serves 8-10
These wings are crowd pleasers. Turmeric, a spice that naturally reduces inflammation, ups the health benefits without altering the flavor. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients:
½ cup gluten-free soy sauce or wheat free tamari (or coconut aminos for soy free)
1 (8 oz) jar apricot preserves, preferably fruit juice sweetened
3-4 tablespoons rice vinegar
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons tapioca starch/flour
3 pounds chicken wings (cut into pieces at joints)
Directions:
1. To make marinade, combine soy sauce, preserves, rice vinegar, garlic powder, turmeric and pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Mix tapioca starch/flour with an equal amount of water to make a slurry. Add to saucepan ingredients and continue cooking for 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. In a zipper plastic bag or glass container with tight-fitting lid, marinate chicken wings in apricot sauce for at least 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Turn bag or container occasionally to distribute marinade thoroughly.
3. Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a baking pan or line it with parchment paper.
4. Remove wings from refrigerator and place them in a single layer on prepared pan. Place in preheated oven and bake 40 minutes, turning and basting occasionally with accumulated juices.
From Living Without magazine April/May 2012 edition, pg 50
Upcoming Activities and Announcements:
Roots to Health talk Tuesday July 12 & August 9 at 6:15. Please sign up at the front desk. Bring a friend and write a question! This is a casual time to learn about the real Roots to Health!
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