Post-op update 6 wks: Cleared for take off!

Last Friday, I had my final post-op appointment with Dr. Cook that finalized the "surgical phase" of my treatment. I have been feeling so good for almost a week now that I was honestly able to tell him my pain levels were zero at the appointment (and I didn't have any pain meds in my system). Dr. Cook cleared me to resume all activity that I feel good enough to engage in as long as I take it in stages and don't overdo it. He also cleared me to do hot tub therapy and massage therapy. I feel like I've passed a major milestone!

The next step is to address the secondary issues Dr. Cook is concerned about--namely my low body temperature (I was 96.7F at the appointment--two degrees below normal). In the next week or two, I have to do a glucose/insulin 3 hour test and some other specialty blood work to determine if I have a thyroid issue or not.

Dr. Cook is also addressing my Vitamin D deficiency (normal is a level of 50-100 and I'm at 10). I'm now taking 6,000 i.u. of Vitamin D a day as directed by him. After taking the Vitamin D for two months, I have to do more blood work to see if my levels have gone up.

I'm focusing a lot of my efforts on adding more nutrients into my diet from whole foods like fruits and vegetables. Since I'm a "supertaster" and taste things with far more intensity than most people, eating some vegetables has always been a challenge for me because I taste unpalatable nuances in foods that others don't (e.g., fresh tomatoes taste like I'm eating the tomato plant instead of the fruit). So Hubby (who does all the cooking) is going to begin employing techniques used by Jessica Seinfeld in her cookbook Deceptively Delicious so I can get the good nutrition from the veggies without being able to taste those nuances.

In the past few years I've removed almost all trans fats (hydrogenated oils) from my diet and increased my intake of whole grains. I'm now trying to eliminate almost all processed flour as well as make sure the majority of my food is as close to fresh and unprocessed as possible.

Little by little as we tackle all the "mystery stuff", I know my health will increase even more. The surgery gave me the freedom. Dr. Cook gave me the clearance for "take off". Now I just need to make sure I'm fueled properly and ready to go.

True confessions of a turkey junky... a bonafide turkaconis freak

A favorite holiday movie in our home is A Christmas Story. When Ralphie says descriptively, "Now it is well known in the midwest that the Old Man is a turkey junky--a bonafide golly turkaconis freak", Ralphie could easily be describing me! Autumn is my favorite season, and I have to slyly admit that's it's mostly because it is the official season of the turkey. That's how bad I am.

Growing up, turkey was served on two holidays--Thanksgiving and Christmas. The rest of the year we didn't have turkey much. Consequently, when it was served the turkey leftovers were used up completely over the week following the turkey dinner. My favorite use was when the turkey was sliced and put into grilled turkey sandwiches made just like a grilled cheese sandwich except with turkey instead of cheese. I have a purist's palate so the only thing on my sandwich was the turkey (white meat only please) and a dash of salt. That's it. I was in heaven.

Now thanks to the amazing deli turkey selection at the store, I can have turkey any time of year. Grilled turkey sandwiches taste best with carved turkey from a home-roasted bird, but I will happily settle for one stacked with fresh deli turkey.

Interestingly, it wasn't until only a few years ago that I discovered one of the reasons that I probably love the sandwiches so much. It turns out that turkey is a great food to boost neurotransmitters in a brain like mine that is short on serotonin. And if made with whole grain bread (I like Milton's whole wheat bread), there's an additional boost from the whole wheat! That's probably why, as a kid, I loved the sandwiches so much that I would crave them. My body and brain were loving all the fantastic turkey goodness!

Okay... now I want a grilled turkey sandwich... That or turkey and rice soup... Honey, we need to roast a turkey!

Managing Depression and Anxiety With Nutrition

Originally published in 2007, I am publishing this again for those that may have missed it the first time

I'm a research junkie. I admit it. I own it. I'm okay with it.

I'm okay with it because it is the reason why I have found wonderful answers to my personal health issues. As I've taken the facts I've gleaned from various sources and put them all together into one whole just for me, I've found a great deal of relief from the maladies that biology has left me to face.

One such issue is my struggle with anxiety and depression combined (the official diagnosis from the doc was "OCD depression"). It seems to run in our family because as I've compared notes with relatives, we all manifest our issues in similar ways, and our genetic predecessors did as well for at least two generations back. The genetic cards I've been dealt haven't been an easy hand to play during life. But the bottom line seems to be a lack of serotonin in my system.

What is Serotonin?
Serotonin is the wonderful chemical that the brain uses to make electrical connections between brain cells so they can talk to one another. The serotonin serves like "wires"or "electrical conduits" for the electrical impulses to travel on. Called a neurotransmitter, serotonin is used to regulate lots of stuff in the body. It helps your brain to tell your heart to beat, to remind you to breathe, to tell your stomach and intestines to digest food. It's also used to regulate your mood.

The Limbic Center
About the size of a walnut, the limbic center of the brain is right in the core of the brain and is where all the "warm-fuzzies" get processed. It's where emotional attachments are processed. Women have a slightly bigger limbic than men which accounts for their ability to bond and for that in-born "mothering instinct". The limbic is where mood is handled and processed. Brain scans (pioneered by Dr. Daniel Amen) have shown that someone in a sad or depressed mood has a limbic that looks bright and "lit up" on a brain-activity scan, while someone that is in a fairly good mood has a limbic that doesn't light up nearly as much. The "hotter" the limbic runs the worse the person's mood usually is at the time of the scan. Just like a car radiator, the limbic can't run hot all the time without having adverse effects on every other function around it and connected to it. Just as a car radiator that overheats for too long eventually will result in a warped engine head, so too a limbic that overheats too long and too often will result in a "warped head".

Shortage of Serotonin
My body has a shortage of serotonin on a regular basis. For whatever reason, my body doesn't produce enough. Because my brain has a shortage of it, it uses the serotonin it does have for the critical functions first (i.e., keeping my heart beating). It then parses out the rest to other functions putting mood-regulation lowest on the priority list. So my brain has a tendency to run "hot" all the time because there's a lack of the "coolant" serotonin.

Getting More Serotonin into My Brain
The body is just amazing! It can take a complex carbohydrate food like whole wheat bread and in only a few digestive steps convert it into serotonin! Amazing! So for me, if I'm having an issue with anxiety I can eat a piece of whole wheat bread, a few Triscuits, or a yummy plate of whole grain nachos (pictured at right--see recipe at bottom). In about 20-30 minutes my mood feels more calm. If I remember to consume complex carbs throughout my day at regular intervals, I am able to regulate my anxiety much better. Conversely, if I eat a low-carb diet, I'm a bear to live with!

Nutritional "Supplements"
The work of both Dr. Christiane Northrup and Dr. Daniel Amen have been key for me to manage my serotonin imbalance issues as well. I take a multi-vitamin daily as well as a the following additional "supplements":

• Vitamin C


• Magnesium


• Omega-3


• Folic Acid


• Vitamin D


• 30 min. daily of natural sunlight or light from a full-spectrum light bulb


• Consciously and frequently think about something that makes my insides say "ahhhh" like baby kittens


• Sing to myself and let myself dance


• Give myself permission to take a nap when I need to nap


• I don't consume foods that have anything "hydrogenated" in the ingredient list

I won't go into the reasons why all the above "supplements" are biologically necessary, but they all assist important functions in my body to help me feel better emotionally (and physically).

Medicinal Supplementation
I have a fairly severe issue with serotonin imbalance, so I also take a prescription medication that falls into the class of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This class of meds works like a dam in a river. It prevents my body from reabsorbing the little serotonin that it does produce and creates a reservoir for my body to utilize for the lower priority functions that it would otherwise short-change if I didn't take the SSRI. There are number of SSRIs in this class of medications. I've been on 3 different ones over the past 12+ years. Each has it's benefits. Eventually, I found the right fit for my particular brain chemistry which allows me to take a small dose and still get all the benefits of the additional seratonin available to my brain.

The Bottom line
For me, tackling anxiety and depression required a multi-faceted approach--counseling, medication, and nutrition. Nutrition is a major facet of the three. It is easy to slack off on nutrition, but if I do I feel it. I've found that if I "feed" my body and my brain with the right nutrition (including exposure to sunlight), my issues are very manageable and my life is much more fulfilling and rewarding.

Healthy Nachos (6 points)
15 whole grain tortilla chips from Trader Joe's (Salsa Fresca flavor is great!)
1/2 can of fat-free refried beans
1 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
optional carmelized white vidalia onions (I use leftovers from other dishes)

Lay out the tortilla chips in one layer with edges slightly overlapping onto a microwave-safe plate. Put spoonfuls of refried beans evenly spaced over layer of chips. Hand-grate cheddar cheese over top. To regulate the amount, I put the entire plate onto my kitchen scale before putting the cheese on, zero out the weight, and then grate the cheese on until the scale reads 1 oz. Place optional onions over the top. Microwave the plate of nachos for 60-90 seconds on high. Enjoy with a cool glass of water!

Kettle Korn With Only 100 Calories!

That's right... 100 calories! If you didn't already know, Orville Redenbacher makes a "Smart Pop!" popcorn with the wonderful sweetness of kettle-corn popcorn without the guilt. Each mini bag is 94% fat free and is perfect for a one-person snack.

I like to have mine in the evening while I'm watching TV or a DVD when I feel a need for something crunchy and/or something sweet.

It pops up very evenly in the microwave. I use the pre-set for a small bag of popcorn, and I have yet to have a torched batch.

The Smart Pop! Kettle Korn is also available in bigger bags if you want to pop up some for more than one person (of course it'll be more than 100 calories).

Here the nutrition breakdown for a mini bag straight from the product site:

A Free Way to Track Nutrition Online That Isn't Just a Diet

For a year and a half now, I've been searching for an efficient and economical way to track nutrition (not just calories) in electronic form. Aside from building my own cumbersome and stand-alone spreadsheet in Excel, I wasn't finding anything to my liking. As a member of WeightWatchers for that year and a half, I utilized their proprietary tool but it only tracked WeightWatchers points and cost me a pretty penny. What to do? What to do?

The answer came in a humble little unobstrusive email from my MyPoints service that lets me earn points for clicking on buttons in emails they generate for advertisers. One such email came through for SparkPeople.com that touted it was a free service to help people track nutrition, go on a diet, and/or adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Free Calorie Counter at SparkPeople.com

It all sounded too good to be true. Boy, was I wrong!

SparkPeople is part of the new phenomenon of "Web 2.0" which includes websites that are free for the user and rely on other income (i.e., advertising) to pay the bills. The other aspect of SparkPeople that makes it "Web 2.0" is that it is interactive with its sophisticated tracking tools, grows as its users provide nutritional information to their amazingly comprehensive nutrition databse, and essentially offers an online community for health-conscious individuals. Technology is an amazing thing when visionary developers take it and create something as wonderful as SparkPeople.

SparkPeople lets me do all of the following (for FREE):

• track my nutrition (not just calories but EVERYTHING)
• track my daily water intake
• set nutritional goals for myself
• track my fitness activities
• set fitness goals for myself
• read valuable health related articles
• view valuable health related videos (I recently watched one about the common cold that was very helpful while I was battling one)
• join communities of individuals (called SparkTeams) that have similar interests and needs as I do
• get emails including recipes, health articles, tips, etc.

That's just scratching the surface! I highly recommend going over there and trying it out (I'm even providing a button below). And don't let the word "diet" deter you--it's so much more than that!

NOTE: Neither the writer of Rosehaven Cottage is receiving NO COMPENSATION for writing this or for any reader utilizing the link button provided.

A Delicious and Healthy Way to Get My Veggies

WeightWatchers: 10 points

I admit right here and now that I am not a vegetable lover. My husband is, and I envy him. I wish my palate liked the taste of steamed vegetables, but it doesn't--I gag or wretch or any of those other unpleasant things. I just can't enjoy them at all. So I (and my "personal chef" husband) have to get creative on how I get my vegetables into my daily diet for good nutrition.

I had a brainstorm last night that I consider real inspiration from above. Here's the basic idea... I love pasta. I love marinara meat sauces. I also love vegetables in marinara meat sauces. So my idea was for him to chop up zucchini, mushrooms, and onions to be incorporated into a meat sauce that would be put over whole wheat pasta. I figured that I would get my complex carbs, my protein, AND my veggies all in one delicious shot.

I presented the idea to my husband and he concurred that it sounded like a great idea. So this evening after my husband made his weekly trip to the market, we embarked on the adventure of seeing if my idea was as great as it sounded. It was!

We are big fans of Trader Joe's (I apologize profusely to any readers that are not fortunate enough to have one in your area). Their foods are free of hydrogenated fats, tend to be organic, and are usually low in calories and fat (some are great for fiber). So my husband procurred the Trader Joe's marinara sauce to be used as the base for the sauce with canned tomato sauce to be added later to reduce the richness of the marinara. He also procurred nice fresh veggies from Trader Joe's. The whole wheat pasta came from Trader Joe's as well. The only ingredient that didn't was the 91% extra lean ground beef from Sam's Club.



After dicing up all the vegetables, my husband sauted them in about a tablespoon of olive oil (good stuff) and then added 4 oz. of extra lean ground beef. The ground beef and vegetables sauted together infuses the meat with the juices and flavors of the veggies (particularly the yummy onions). He then added the jar of marinara sauce and a can of tomato sauce and reduced the heat to let everything simmer and get super-yummy.

The pasta went on to boil at that point. When the pasta was nice and aldente, he drained it and divided the portions on the plates. The sauce was done simmering by that time so he ladelled the sauce over the top pasta on the serving plates and Voile! Although the portions were quite generous the total WeightWatchers points for the whole plate were only 10 points!

What did it taste like, you ask? The whole wheat pasta has a wonderful hearty and nutty flavor that I don't get when I eat just regular pasta. I love pasta aldente and the whole wheat pasta gave it a wonderful feel in my mouth. The sauce was rich but not too dark in flavor. It had a brightness that only fresh veggies can give a sauce without the pieces of veggies being slimy or surprising my mouth with punches of veggie flavors that I don't like. The flavors all married so beautifully. The ground beef was fresh and flavorful after having been sauted with the vegetables. It was a very filling meal that hit the spot and keep my tummy full for hours.

And the best part? There's leftover sauce for lunches this next week! All I have to do is boil the pasta!

Managing Depression and Anxiety With Nutrition

I'm a research junkie. I admit it. I own it. I'm okay with it.

I'm okay with it because it is the reason why I have found wonderful answers to my personal health issues. As I've taken the facts I've gleaned from various sources and put them all together into one whole just for me, I've found a great deal of relief from the maladies that biology has left me to face.

One such issue is my struggle with anxiety and depression combined. It seems to run in our family because as I've compared notes with relatives, we all manifest our issues in similar ways, and our genetic predecessors did as well for at least two generations back. The genetic cards I've been dealt haven't been an easy hand to play during life. But the bottomline seems to be a lack of seratonin in my system.

What is Seratonin?
Seratonin is the wonderful chemical that the brain uses to make electrical connections between brain cells so they can talk to one another. The seratonin serves like "wires"or "electrical conduits" for the electrical impulses to travel on. Called a neurotransmitter, seratonin is used to regulate lots of stuff in the body. It helps your brain to tell your heart to beat, to remind you to breathe, to tell your stomach and intestines to digest food. It's also used to regulate your mood.

The Limbic Center
About the size of a walnut, the limbic center of the brain is right in the core of the brain and is where all the "warm-fuzzies" get processed. It's where emotional attachments are processed. Women have a slightly bigger limbic than men which accounts for their ability to bond and for that in-born "mothering instinct". The limbic is where mood is handled and processed. Brain scans (pioneered by Dr. Daniel Amen) have shown that someone in a sad or depressed mood has a limbic that looks bright and "lit up" on a brain-activity scan, while someone that is in a fairly good mood has a limbic that doesn't light up nearly as much. The "hotter" the limbic runs the worse the person's mood usually is at the time of the scan. Just like a car radiator, the limbic can't run hot all the time without having adverse effects on every other function around it and connected to it. Just as a car radiator that overheats for too long eventually will result in a warped engine head, so too a limbic that overheats too long and too often will result in a "warped head".

Shortage of Seratonin
My body has a shortage of seratonin on a regular basis. For whatever reason, my body doesn't produce enough. Because my brain has a shortage of it, it uses the seratonin it does have for the critical functions first (i.e., keeping my heart beating). It then parses out the rest to other functions putting mood-regulation lowest on the priority list. So my brain has a tendency to run "hot" all the time because there's a lack of the "coolant" seratonin.

Getting More Seratonin into My Brain
The body is just amazing! It can take a complex carbohydrate food like whole wheat bread and in only a few digestive steps convert it into seratonin! Amazing! So for me, if I'm having an issue with anxiety I can eat a piece of whole wheat bread, a few Triscuits, or a yummy plate of whole grain nachos (pictured at right--see recipe at bottom). In about 20-30 minutes my mood feels more calm. If I remember to consume complex carbs throughout my day at regular intervals, I am able to regulate my anxiety much better. Conversely, if I eat a low-carb diet, I'm a bear to live with!

Nutritional "Supplements"
The work of both Dr. Christiane Northrup and Dr. Daniel Amen have been key for me to manage my seratonin imbalance issues as well. I take a multi-vitamin daily as well as a the following additional "supplements":

• Vitamin C


• Magnesium


• Omega-3


• Folic Acid


• Vitamin D


• 30 min. daily of natural sunlight or light from a full-spectrum light bulb


• Consciously and frequently think about something that makes my insides say "ahhhh" like baby kittens


• Sing to myself and let myself dance


• Give myself permission to take a nap when I need to nap


• I don't consume foods that have anything "hydrogenated" in the ingredient list

I won't go into the reasons why all the above "supplements" are biologically necessary, but they all assist important functions in my body to help me feel better emotionally (and physically).

Medicinal Supplementation
I have a fairly severe issue with seratonin imbalance, so I also take a prescription medication that falls into the class of seratonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This class of meds works like a dam in a river. It prevents my body from reabsorbing the little seratonin that it does produce and creates a reservoir for my body to utilize for the lower priority functions that it would otherwise short-change if I didn't take the SSRI. There are number of SSRIs in this class of medications. I've been on 3 different ones over the past 12+ years. Each has it's benefits. Eventually, I found the right fit for my particular brain chemistry which allows me to take a small dose and still get all the benefits of the additional seratonin available to my brain.

Bottomline
For me, tackling anxiety and depression required a multi-faceted approach--counseling, medication, and nutrition. Nutrition is a major facet of the three. It is easy to slack off on nutrition, but if I do I feel it. I've found that if I "feed" my body and my brain with the right nutrition (including exposure to sunlight), my issues are very manageable and my life is much more fulfilling and rewarding.

Healthy Nachos (6 points)
15 whole grain tortilla chips from Trader Joe's (Salsa Fresca flavor is great!)
1/2 can of fat-free refried beans
1 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
optional carmelized white vidalia onions (I use leftovers from other dishes)

Lay out the tortilla chips in one layer with edges slightly overlapping onto a microwave-safe plate. Put spoonfuls of refried beans evenly spaced over layer of chips. Hand-grate cheddar cheese over top. To regulate the amount, I put the entire plate onto my kitchen scale before putting the cheese on, zero out the weight, and then grate the cheese on until the scale reads 1 oz. Place optional onions over the top. Microwave the plate of nachos for 60-90 seconds on high. Enjoy with a cool glass of water!