DR. TERI GOETZ
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Category Archives: aging

Kale and Avocados: synergistic superfoods (& recipe) PART I

Posted on by Teri Goetz

The First Half of the Superfood Duo — Kale

When you eat certain foods together, the whole is definitely greater than the sum of the parts. Kale and avocados create one such perfect marriage. Kale is high in phytonutrients but some of them are fat soluble (like lutein and vitamin K). When you eat fat soluble vitamins WITH a fat, you absorb more of the nutrients. (Think salsa and guacamole). Let’s dive into the health benefits of two of my favorite foods: kale and avos! First, kale.

Kale—Green of the Gods

It is perhaps not a shocker to you that kale is mind-blowingly good for you – a true superfood. Lucky for us these days, it’s everywhere! Let’s talk about WHY this food is a must on your menu.

What’s not to love about a vitamin-loaded green that packs more Vitamin C into one 36 calorie cup than an orange does (without the sugar) and has 5 gm of fiber (yay for improved digestion and the help in eliminating regularly!)? It’s also one of the world’s best sources of Vitamin A –meaning it’s great for skin and hair and helpful in preventing some cancers. Not only that, but your immune system will love you for ingesting lots of kale because it’s packed with antioxidants that ravage free radicals.  That’s not all…. It’s also anti-inflammatory, with over 10% of the RDA of omega 3s — and you know how I feel about that. Inflammation is the cause of most disease.

There is even more about this green of the gods! Kale also contains:

Vitamin B6. Important in red blood cell production, carb metabolism, brain and nervous system function. (For instance, three key neurotransmitters— GABA, dopamine, and serotonin—all require vitamin B6 for synthesis.) Researchers in Japan found that there was a higher risk of depression in those who had low levels of dietary B6. Interestingly, another research study showed this link to be even more powerful when dietary folic acid is inadequate, as well. (PS Folic acid is a nutrient that works with vitamin B6 in the brain and nervous system chemistry and, um, is present in avocados!)

Lutein, a carotenoid (organic pigment in plants), is highly concentrated in the eye—especially the macula. Therefore, lutein is great in helping to prevent macular degeneration. It’s also good for the eyes in general and preventing cataracts. In addition, it is being shown to support brain health and functions like learning and memory.

Iron. You might know that iron helps with the delivery of oxygen to every cell in your body and is a crucial part of blood. But, did you also know it helps our immune system?  It helps build healthier T-cells and aids the ability of the white blood cells to consume bacteria in our bodies, while also helping with muscle function and energy production, as an essential element in hemoglobin.

kale

Chlorophyll. Also fat soluble, this pigment is similar in structure to the heme in hemoglobin! Research is showing that chlorophyll binds to certain carcinogens, and prevents them from being absorbed. Chlorophyll also works as an antioxidant and is considered a natural internal deodorant (that’s always nice!).

Indole-3-carbinol. This is found in all cruciferous veggies and can help protect against several cancers, including colon.

Calcium. Nature’s best delivery system for this vital mineral, kale has more calcium than milk. Considering that milk is inflammatory and kale anti-inflammatory—you do the math. Calcium is used for many bodily functions but for adults, the key benefits are the prevention of osteoporosis, the building of cartilage, and multiple benefits to heart, nerves, and muscles. Oh, and getting back to our concerns with weight? Calcium helps us maintain an optimal body weight.

Allow me to continue just a bit more about this magical green. Honestly the hits keep on coming. So, in addition to all the above, kale also helps detoxify your body as it’s so high in fiber and sulphur (benefits to liver function) and it helps reverse Vitamin K deficiencies.

Vitamin K hasn’t been talked about much in the past, but we are learning more and more about its importance in the body—for instance building bone, helping with blood clotting, and preventing heart disease. K and D work together so if you are deficient in either, the other doesn’t work as well in your body.

It turns out most of us are deficient in vitamin K—and kale can help you out with that. Vitamin K deficiencies have been linked to osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, varicose veins, brain health problems, tooth decay, certain cancers like prostate, lung, liver, and leukemia, and infectious disease. Because it is a fat soluble vitamin, it’s best absorbed if you eat kale with some fat…. enter, the avocado!

Next week I’ll bring you the glorious avocado and a supercharged recipe combining it with kale!

Acupressure and Other Tips for Fear and Anxiety

Posted on by Teri Goetz

We are all connected. A tree does not stand alone. It lives in an inter-dependent community that includes its own roots, the fungus and lichen that live on and near it, the decomposing litter on the forest floor that feeds it.

We live in a web too. We rarely tune into it, but we are connected to each other and everything around us. That means the feelings of one can affect the wellbeing of others. (I will spare you the quantum physics explanation.)

The fear and anxiety circulating these days is understandable, but toxic. What can you do about it? Plenty.

Here are some tips for quelling the fear and embracing your accountability to the planet — because we live in an interdependent world.

Anxiety disorders form the majority of diagnosed mental illnesses. Rather than focusing on the symptoms of the various diagnoses, I want to focus on helping you find balance and the tools to relieve the anxiety or fear you might be experiencing.

Worrying about outcomes, being scared of what might happen—these are normal experiences now and then. Given the state of the world, we are seeing more of it. Wherever it comes from, fear produces chemicals in our bodies that are designed to help us deal with serious threat—to fight or flee. The problem is, we produce the same chemicals even when the threat is imagined, caused by compulsive thinking, or generalized anxiety.

The more we stress out, the more our bodies become habituated to those chemicals. What that means is that it becomes easier and easier for our thoughts to trigger a bodily reaction suitable to a saber-tooth tiger attack. Now the body is flooded with stress chemicals but we have no tiger to fight or run from.

We get so used to being flooded with the chemicals (being anxious) that when they leave, we may feel strange, which triggers the scary thoughts, the chemicals, and the process starts over.

Acupuncture has recognized anxiety for centuries and has a millennia of treatment options for alleviating it. While a diagnosis by a qualified acupuncturist is always ideal, here are some steps and a few acupressure points (there are many more) you can engage to help you bring down the fear and over-thinking. Couple the acupressure with a simple breathing technique, and you will start to retrain your brain, hormones, and mind to respond differently.

Step 1: Acknowledge your fears or anxiety. Pushing them down only makes them bigger.

Step 2: Remember how easily we are affected by others’ fears and vice versa.

Step 3: Talk to yourself: how likely is it that what you are worrying about will come true? Most likely, it is pretty unlikely. (In other words, put it in perspective to calm your over-active mind.)

Step 4: Breathing technique:

Close your eyes and settle comfortably.
Take a few deep breaths and inwardly repeat to yourself: “I am safe in this moment” with each out breath.
Feel your breathing quiet and slow.
Feel your body begin to relax. (This whole process may only take one or two minutes).
Pay attention to the length of your inhalation. Most people inhale (when focusing) to the count of 3 or 4.
Lengthen your exhalation so that it is twice as long as your inhalation, so you exhale to a count of 6, 7 or 8. Doing this just a few times will physiologically slow your heart rate and decrease the hormone release that causes anxiety or stress.
Do that for a few minutes.

Step 5: From the following table, locate several acupuncture points that you feel pertain to your situation and feelings.

Step 6: Press or massage the acupuncture point until you feel a strong sensation. Send your focus into that point, knowing it will begin to strengthen your resolve and the meridian itself. Intend that you will find more balance, simply by doing this.

Step 7: When you feel your fear and anxiety subside more, you may stop.

This whole process can be done as many times as needed. You might find different points more effective at different times. Play around and give yourself the gift of 5-10 minutes of what is essentially retraining your brain and therefore body, to respond differently. Once you know your triggers, and what points work for you, you can cut that time in half and still have results.

Finally, the next time you feel fearful or anxious remind yourself that you are safe in this moment. Don’t allow the old fear pattern in your brain to rewire again — you are creating a different wiring to create a different habit.

tgapressure

An Alternative to Botox™- Cosmetic Acupuncture!

Posted on by Teri Goetz

“True beauty is not an unmovable face, unnaturally frozen in time. It is a woman who works with her body to bring out its natural radiance and glow, whose smile lights up the room instead of hiding behind a glass wall of paralyzed muscle.” Teri Goetz, LAC, MS, AAC

As a licensed and board certified acupuncturist and herbalist and practitioner of cosmetic acupuncture, I believe that the injection of one of the world’s deadliest neurotoxins into one’s muscles/body for many years can have a quietly negative impact on many of your body’s systems — like your detoxification, nervous and respiratory systems. Our liver and kidneys already have a hefty job to do in dealing with the bombardment of environmental, ingested and applied toxins in every day life. Why add the burden of having to process a neurotoxin, or other types of injectable chemicals, to the long line of things to filter out of the body?

The long term effects of Botox ™ on the nervous system, muscles and even the brain are simply not known and we don’t have long-term studies on it. The risks of permanently atrophying muscles, decreasing normal facial movements (maybe permanently) and negatively impacting the above-mentioned systems seem hardly worth it. In addition, studies indicate the botulinum toxin could possibly attach itself to other cells in the body and migrate. The many reported immediate side-effects will inevitably compound over many years.

Side effects include droopy eyes, confusion, headache, blurry vision, severe muscle weakness, difficulty swallowing or breathing, diarrhea, stomach pain, dizziness, inflammation of the cornea, fever, sore throat, cough…the list goes on.

Additionally, there is a lot of evidence that people are having Botox™ injected in less than ideal situations – in non-medical settings by unqualified administrators. The Daily Mail reports that in the UK there are many “faux-tox” salons, offering the treatment in “less than sterile” environments. The author adds:

  • Five in six patients don’t know if injections contain Botox™ key ingredient
  • One in ten admit to receiving Botox™ treatment at home or a friend’s home
  • Two-thirds of patients do not think that the industry is properly regulated
  • Leading plastic surgery sees 15 per cent increase in corrective procedures
I am not making a judgment on people who enjoy their Botox ™. I am offering an alternative – one that is healthier overall, and one that will have a big impact on looking naturally younger, healthier and glowing. One that will improve your health and balance, not tax your bodily systems.
cosmetic acupuncture
An Alternative to Botox – Cosmetic Acupuncture

 

An alternative to Botox™ (or other injectables) is cosmetic acupuncture, which

  • slows the signs of aging
  • diminishes fine lines and wrinkles
  • improve skin’s elasticity
  • improves color and texture of skin
  • preserves a youthful, healthier appearance
  • reduces sagging
  • evens skin tone
  • reduces puffiness and eye “bags”

As an alternative to Botox ™, cosmetic acupuncture enhances your own body’s resources by stimulating the body’s own anti-aging powers, resulting in younger looking skin. It is deeply relaxing, works on the entire body and also helps to heal causes of premature aging, wrinkles or dull-looking skin. It creates a glow and lifts from the inside out.

Starting early is actually a good thing! It brings balance and healing, helps stop fine lines and habitual muscle contractions from developing into wrinkles. It is great at any age to turn back the hands of time.

The unmovable face is hardly beautiful to me. I think the story of who you are is beautiful. We all want to look our best, and cosmetic acupuncture helps you do just that. Naturally.

If you’d like to book a cosmetic acupuncture treatment, drop me an email at Teri@TeriGoetz.com or, Call Savor Spa at (212) 304-2887. Services available at my private clinic or at Savor Spa in the West Village of NYC.

 

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