Anti-inflammatory diet

Amy,

I was looking at another blog posting regarding the Anti-inflammatory diet and am looking forward to learning more about it. I know the basics but will be studying it in more detail.

I am familiar with the Eat Right For Your Type Diet, and have used it for years as the diet of choice for my allergy protocol. I can see that either diet will provide the cleansing, and lowered toxic load that I am looking for while patients are going through the allergy protocol. With the blood type diet, you are eating foods based on design with the intention of maintaining low lectin levels in the body as lectins lead to inflammation and reactivity.

Here's the very basics of blood type diet. Type O are the hunter gatherer, do better on meats, vegetables and fruits, no grains or dairy. Type A diet is based on an agrarian culture, and so tend to do better on more vegetarian, lighter meats and fish, and some grain, but little dairy or wheat. Type B are the nomadic cultures, seem to tolerate dairy, some wheat, and may benefit from a Mediterranean diet. Type AB is a more modern blood type, seem to tolerate a combination of A and B. The gist of eating according to blood type specific diets is that is lowers the toxic load in the body. There is less reactivity to foods, in a way the body is more at peace. It seems to be the goal of the anti-inflammatory diet as well.

And can't we all use a little more peace in our lives and our bodies.

Dr. Joanie

Transition

I am reminded this week... Ok, reminded might be too friendly of a word. I have been hit by a 2x4 over the head this past week with transition, and with my personal struggles in this arena. I'm a planner. I like to have my life organized around me. I like to know what is happening next. I like order. I like being prepared. None of these are bad characteristics. However, it is a good thing to be reminded at times to be present in the moment, to be flexible and to allow my days to be organic, to flow, to allow for change, upset, newness. Without this flexibility, it is possible to miss out on phenomenal shifts in our lives. And, without allowing and being present and grounded through change, we tend to see these transitions as a major stressor, allowing them to derail our lives, affect our moods, our sleep, our relationships.

In my case, there is much joy and gratitude in some of this transition. We are welcoming Renee Howard, LMT back to Soaring Crane Clinic. She has created a beautiful massage and healing space in the basement of our clinic and it is truly a blessing to have her working with us once again.

We also are welcoming Joanie Kirk, ND to Soaring Crane. Dr Joanie practiced Naturopathic Medicine in New Mexico for many years before making her way to Alaska. She will be seeing patients at the clinic on Fridays and Saturdays. Joanie brings an incredible amount of experience and a gifted healing presence to our space. Joanie works with allergy assessment and treatment as well as family practice, adding a modality to the clinic we have not had before and providing us with the ability to treat patients six days a week. She will be writing the article for this summers newsletter so I will allow her to introduce herself to you in greater detail.

 Thirdly, we will soon be introducing a new office manager and I am excited to see what this person will offer and how our team will continue to grow and change.

And so, today, I am choosing to open myself to the new, to the transition, to the flex and flow of life changes. I will be placing my intention here as I practice yoga, as I meditate and I hope, as I answer phones, see patients, clean my house, interact with my husband, and all other tasks of daily life. And, I encourage you to ponder how transition affects you on a daily basis. How well do you allow life's changes to come your way and how do you maintain your center while being open to the new and the different? 

Dr Amy

Anti-Inflammatory Recipes

This thread is for recipes that fit the Anti-Inflammatory Eating Plan. As many of you know, this is a diet that involves the elimination of the most common allergenic or inflammatory foods. This plan encourages a whole foods diet full of vegetables, legumes, healthy meats, non-gluten grains, beneficial spices, nourishing fats and clear, clean water. This diet promotes healthy blood-sugar balance, decreases cardiovascular inflammation, can act as an elimination diet to ascertain specific food allergies or intolerances. Following an Anti-Inflammatory diet can often alleviate joint pain, promote improved digestion, decrease auto-immune disease flares, improve hormone balance and more. As we learn which foods nourish our individual systems, we can make choices daily to promote vital health. There is a handout on the website elucidating the specific details of an anti-inflammatory diet.

Eating in this way can often be challenging at first and having some proven recipes to work with can make the process much more enjoyable. Whether you are using the anti-inflammation diet as an elimination diet with the intention of reintroducing foods in 6-8 weeks, or as a long-term plan to promote your health, the recipes should make shopping, cooking and eating more enjoyable!

With that, bon appetit.

Welcome!

I am very excited about the opportunity for patients and friends alike to use this blog as a resource for sharing ideas, thoughts, recipes, and musings on health. Many of you have been learning healthy ways of living for days, months or years and along the way have found tried and true recipes, have come across a quote that inspired you on your healing journey or have been surprised or educated by a piece of new research on health and wellness.

This site is your opportunity to share your thoughts. For many patients, learning to cook and eat in a new way, learning to approach food, exercise or meditation from a new perspective can be incredibly challenging. It is daunting to be given a diet that appears to eliminate all of the foods normally eaten in any given day. Grocery shopping can seem completely foreign; tackling that gluten-free bread recipe almost impossible.

My goal for this forum is to make all of this a little easier through sharing resources, experiments, and encouragement. Unfortunately, in our current society, choosing a healthy lifestyle is not necessarily the easy path, but the benefits to our everyday well-being as well as our long term survival are profound.

So, I invite you to join me in sharing your successes, your humor, and your struggles on your own path to wellness, for it is certain that what has inspired you or worked well in you or your family's life will also benefit others. For, it is in giving and sharing that we truly are blessed.

I welcome suggestions on how to make this resource work for each of you.
In health,
Dr Amy