Marion Healthy Living November 2017

YOUR BODY AFTER... 6 HABITS YOU NEED TO BREAK | SNOOZE MORE, SNORE LESS

Help For The Helpers

Most insurances accepted. We are ICANL and AAAHC accredited. All of our physicians have hospital privileges in Marion County. Full EHR capabilities and i n-house billing.

Dr. Shafeeq Ahmed Dr. Siva Gummadi

Dr. Vijaya Koka

Dr. Jayanth Koneru

Dr. Hima Mikkilineni Dr. Jigar Patel

Dr. Srisha Rao

Dr. Prem Singh

Dr. Paul Urban

When your health or the health of a family member matters most, the professionals at Cardiovascular Institute of Central Florida are here to help.

Bridget Boynton, ARNP Eddice Companion , PA

Dianne McDonaldGraber, ARNP Matt Morgan, ARNP Theresa Owens, ARNP

ARNP

HEALTHY beat

› PAGE 7

TRENDS | NEWS | PEOPLE

By Laurel Gillum

& JoAnn Guidry

› 8 What to do this month.

› 10 Exploring The Island.

› 12 Listen and learn.

HEALTHY dose

› PAGE 13

INSIGHT | ADVICE | SOLUTIONS

By Laurel Gillum

› 14 Pregnancy myths and facts.

› 16 Medicine must-knows.

ON THE COVER:

farm fresh

› PAGE 24

Farm to table is more than just a buzzword at The Greenhouse Bistro & Venue in Citrus County. › By Cynthia McFarland

bodily harm ›  PAGE 18

Because we put our bodies through a lot.

› By Cealia Athanason

sleep on it › PAGE 30

Early to bed and early to rise does not necessarily make you healthy, wealthy and wise—especially if you su er from sleep apnea. › By Jim Gibson

caring for caregivers › PAGE 34

Experts caution that one of the biggest mistakes you can make is leaping into the role of caregiver based purely on emotion, yet people do this on a regular basis.

› By Cynthia

McFarland

HEALTHY body

› PAGE 39

NUTRITION | FITNESS | BEAUTY

By Angelique Anacleto,

HEALTHY vibe

› PAGE 45

MIND | SPIRIT | FINANCE

Robin

Fannon and JoAnn Guidry

› 40 Talkin’ about frittatas.

› 42 Year of beauty: feet.

› 44 Run for the wild.

By

Angelique Anacleto, Diane Bedard and Laurel Gillum

› 46 Shop through history.

› 48 Environmentally friendly scents.

ADVISORY BOARD

HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE has brought together a group of medical experts and community leaders to serve on our advisory board and share their expertise and insight with our readers.

Craig Ackerman Public Information O cer

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IN MARION COUNTY

Nicolas Blaser Vice President – Business Services O cer

BB&T

Amanda Brown Director of Marketing and Communications RADIOLOGY ASSOCIATES OF OCALA, P.A.

Ashley Cauthen, M.D. Cosmetic And Clinical Dermatology MIDSTATE SKIN INSTITUTE

Kristina Donohue Mission Advancement Coordinator THE CENTERS

Derek Farr, D.O. Orthopedic Surgeon TWIN PALMS ORTHOPEDICS

Carmen M. Hernandez Health Education Program Manager

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Ashley Hersey Clinical Liaison

KINDRED HOSPITAL OCALA Michael Holloway, M.D. Physician-Directed Weight Management & Medical Aesthetics LIFESTYLE SOLUTIONS MEDSPA

Mark Jank, M.D. Ophthalmology OCALA EYE

Brittney Marthaller Director, Marketing & Public Relations OCALA HEALTH

Linda McKenna Director of Business Development SIGNATURE HOMENOW

Amy McLaughlin, APR, CPRC Director, Marketing & Communications SEVEN RIVERS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

Katie Myers, APR Director of Marketing and Public Relations CITRUS MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM

Navinderdeep Nijher, M.D. Plastic Surgery

OCALA PLASTIC SURGERY

Chris Okonkwo, M.D. Pediatrics CHILDREN’S HEALTH OF OCALA

Jayanti Panchal, M.D. Internal Medicine and Medical Weight Management

SUCCESS BY DESIGN

PUBLISHER

Kathy Johnson

kathy@healthylivingmagazines.com

OFFICE/PRODUCTION MANAGER

Cynthia Brown art@healthylivingmagazines.com

EDITORIAL

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Karin Fabry-Cushenbery karin@healthylivingmagazines.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Melissa Peterson melissa@healthylivingmagazines.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR & SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Cealia Athanason cealia@ocalastyle.com

SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST

Vianca Torres vianca@ocalastyle.com

FOOD & LIFESTYLE CONTRIBUTOR

Robin Fannon

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Angelique Anacleto

Brett Ballantini

Diane Bedard

Jim Gibson

Laurel Gillum

JoAnn Guidry

Bonnie Kretchik

Cynthia McFarland

Katie McPherson

Nick Steele

Sean Trapani

ART art@healthylivingmagazines.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Jessi Miller

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Kristy Taylor

Amber Laudicina

PHOTOGRAPHERS

John Jernigan

Sheila Hartley

Richard Rossetto 123rf.com

SALES

DIRECTOR OF SALES

Dean Johnson deanjohnson@healthylivingmagazines.com

SALES MANAGER

Sharon Morgan

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Skip Linderman

Peggy Sue Munday

Cecilia Sarco

Lori Tani

Tammy Sontag

DISTRIBUTION

Dave Adams

Debra McQueen

Rick Shaw

-Nancy Garwood

take to the lake

With roots in an ancient folk ritual of contending villagers deep in southern China, dragon boat racing has become a sport esteemed around the world, including our very own city of Hernando. Last year’s Lake Hernando Dragon Boat Festival hosted 51 teams trying their hand at the competitive race, plus 50 arts and crafts vendors, 15 food vendors, live music and games for the kiddos. Sorry you missed it? Catch this year’s festival on November 11 from 9am-5pm. To register your team, visit lakehernandodragonboatfestival.com or call (352) 201-6500 by November 6. May the best watercraft paddlers win!

day by day

Fun events, helpful tips and monthly to-do’s for November

Take Control of Your Diabetes Support Group at the Senior Wellness Community Center*

Aerial Fitness at Studio SC: Barre, Yoga, Fitness (Every Thursday)

Make plans to attend the Inverness Festival of the Arts this Saturday and Sunday.

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Daylight Savings Time Ends

Plan and schedule family photos.

Schedule a parentteacher conference.

Veterans Benefits Seminar at the Senior Wellness Community Center

Start jotting down gift-giving ideas. Start a papers-toshred pile.

Florida Xtreme Triathlon at Fort Island Trail Park in Crystal River (Nov. 10-12)

VETERANS DAY Shop with a Cop 5K at Lake Lillian Park in Belleview

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Spruce up the yard and pull some weeds.

Plan a weekend of fun for when the kids are out of school in December.

Quit Smoking Now: Tobacco Cessation Support at the Senior Wellness Community Center*

Chair Yoga at Blissful Life Corporation (Every Wednesday at 10:30am)

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Pick up any lastminute groceries for family get-togethers.

Do a thorough cleaning in preparation of guests. Enjoy some quality time outdoors. Visit a city park.

Make plans to attend Light Up Ocala this

Family movie night: Premiere of Wonder Critter Trail 5K Run/ Walk at Silver Springs

Make a fall craft with the kids.

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Take the dog to a dog park.

Turkey-cranberry sandwich for lunch Schedule any necessary doctor/lab appointments.

Install weather stripping around exterior doors.

no-shave november

No-Shave November is here, and we are tossing our razors all month long. Among the listed pros of this month-long event include longer body hair to keep us warm in the winter months, oodles of money saved from the refrain of purchasing razors and, most notable, the cancer awareness raised by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, by letting it grow. For more information, visit no-shave.org

Seven Rivers Regional Kings Bay 5K at Hunter Springs Picnic Ground in Crystal River

the island perspective

By JoAnn Guidry

For 81 years, the four towering concrete bridge stanchions rising out of the U.S. Highway 441 median in Santos, just north of Belleview, have stood as sentinels to a brief moment in history. And if their reason for being had materialized, the highway would be traversing a barge canal via a bridge.

The bridge stanchions were built in 1936 as part of the Cross Florida Ship Canal project, a federal relief program to create jobs during the Great Depression. The project later evolved into the

Cross Florida Barge Canal, but all was permanently halted in 1971. The state-owned land was re-purposed to recreation and conservation in 1990 and became the Cross Florida Greenway in 1991.

Today, the bridge stanchions are the centerpiece of The Island, a recently created Florida Park Service interpretive historical park. Located directly behind the Marion County Sheri ’s Department substation on Hwy 441, the park is a median island.

“The Florida Trail cuts across that median, but it had gotten so overgrown that people couldn’t get through. At first, we were just going to clear the Florida Trail path, but then along came Dr. Bob Busha,” says Bre Ximenes, the trails and volunteer coordinator with the Cross Florida Greenway, which oversees the park. “He volunteered to adopt the area on the median. We consulted on what could be done with it. But Dr. Bob did all the hands-on work and came up with the name.”

The Island o cially opened this past January with Busha leading an interpretive group

walk. Flanked by the stanchions on the east side, the 6-foot wide four-tenths-of-a-mile Canal Trail is perfect for a stroll through history. It is lined with six kiosks and seven interpretive boards, providing historical information about the canal project. A slightly uphill optional detour takes you right under the last arched stanchions. In the Port Santos section, markers show how wide the ship and then barge canals would have been.

For those wanting a little more of a hike, there’s the West Side Trail. The single-track trail is three-tenths of a mile and loops back to the Canal Trail. Ready for a rest and a snack? There are park benches, covered benches and picnic tables alongside the main trail.

“We are looking for a couple of volunteers to help us maintain The Island,” says Ximenes. “We want everyone to enjoy it and know the history tied to those bridge stanchions.”

Learn more › Bre.Ximenes@dep.state.fl.us › (352) 236-7143

This unique Florida Park Service nature park is a historical landmark dedicated to what could have been.

›

Photo by Bre Ximenes

Photo by Bre Ximenes

Photo by Bre Ximenes

Photo courtesy of Marshall Gray

the power of gravity

Dr. Joan Vernikos, former director of Life Sciences at NASA, will be the featured speaker for the Ocala-based IHMC Evening Lecture Series on December 14.

Dr. Joan Vernikos wants you to know that, contrary to popular belief, gravity is not the enemy when it comes to aging. In fact, gravity is our best ally in aging well. And Vernikos has the space science to prove it.

“In my research at NASA, I studied the e ects of extended weightlessness on astronauts and volunteers in simulated weightlessness,” says Vernikos, who was the director of Life Sciences at NASA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters from 19932000 and also worked at NASA’s Californiabased Ames Research Center. “What we learned is that astronauts, who go into space far fitter than the average adult, seem to rapidly age in extended weightlessness. They su er muscle atrophy and lose bone density. Their overall health degenerates to levels usually seen in elderly people. All this is because of no gravity. Once they return to Earth and gravity, their health improves with physical rehabilitation.”

Although we may not be astronauts, Vernikos believes our increasingly sedentary lifestyles produce similar health risks as experiencing space weightlessness.

“Thanks to modern technologies, our minds are overloaded and our bodies are under-loaded,” says Vernikos. “We have become experts at normalizing a sedentary existence, and that leads to unhealthy aging. The key is to move our

bodies and use the resistance of gravity to our benefit.”

Vernikos has written two books on that very subject: The G-Connection: Harness Gravity and Reverse Aging which won the Life Science Book Award from The International Academy of Astronautics, and Moving Heals

The topic for Vernikos’ IHMC lecture on December 14 is “Gravity Is Our Friend.”

“Gravity, the force under which all life on Earth evolved, is our body’s friend,” says Vernikos, also a pharmacologist and inventor. “You automatically harness gravity any time you move. And it’s that movement that keeps our bodies functioning as they should.”

For Vernikos, the solution is “intermittent moderate movements that resist the force of gravity throughout the day, starting from the time you wake up until you go to bed.”

She adds, “It’s as simple as standing up every 30 minutes and not slumping when we sit. This keeps stimulating and fine tuning our bodily systems.”

Of course, Vernikos acknowledges aging is inevitable.

“We cannot escape growing older,” she says. “But we can, with a positive approach to life, the right diet, activities and exercise that capitalize on the gravity around us, age in a healthy way.”

Learn more SERIES › Dr. Joan Vernikos, former NASA researcher & author 6-7pm › ihmc.us/

a shot in the dark?

To be vaccinated or not to be vaccinated: That is the question. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu vaccine was e ective in 42 percent of 7,205 surveyed subjects between 2016 and 2017. Although it’s true that each flu season is di erent, the CDC is recommending an annual seasonal flu vaccine to reduce your risk of getting sick with the seasonal flu and spreading it to others.

here’s the latest:

› The nasal spray flu vaccine, also known as the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), should not be used for the 2017-2018 flu season.

› Flu vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses. (The influenza A (H1N1) component was updated.)

› Two new quadrivalent (four-component) flu vaccines have been licensed: one inactivated influenza vaccine (“Afluria Quadrivalent” IIV) and one recombinant influenza vaccine (“Flublok Qudrivalent” RIV).

the tell-tale pregnancy

If you are craving meat, it’s a boy. Gorging on sweets? It’s a girl! And if it’s a full moon, well, you’re having your baby tonight.

› By Laurel Gillum

Though most folk wisdom regarding pregnancy has been fully debunked, there are some claims that scientists have had a hard time proving false. Calling all soon-to-be mommies—here are some so-called myths that just might have scientific value after all.

Long labor spells b-o-y!

In 2003, a team of doctors analyzed more than 8,000 births from a single hospital in Ireland between 1997 and 2000, excluding women who delivered prematurely or needed to induce labor. On average, labor for boy births lasted a little over six hours, while girl births took a little under six. The reason? Boys typically weigh three and a half more ounces than girls do, demanding more physical work during delivery.

It’s a girl—if you didn’t eat too many bananas!

Evidently, specific nutrients play an important role in the gender of your baby. Eating plenty of potassium prior to conception has previously been linked to having boys. The same is true with diets high in calcium and sodium. Scientists from Britain’s Oxford and Exeter Universities studied 740 women during pregnancy and confirmed the myth that eating bananas and a lot of sodium was associated with having a boy. Also, the study showed a higher calorie intake by women prior to conception can significantly increase the chances of having a son, while women who eat fewer calories are more likely to have a daughter. We’re not totally sold on this one.

Heartburn

and hairy babies. Pay attention to the heartburn you experience during pregnancy. If heartburn becomes too much of a trend, your baby may likely be born with a head full of hair.

In 2006, a study published in the journal Birth followed 64 women throughout their pregnancies, 28 of which reported moderate to severe heartburn. Within that group, 23 women ended up having babies of average or above-average hairiness. On the opposite end of the spectrum, of the 12 women who reported no heartburn at all, 10 of them gave birth to kids who were less hairy than the average newborn.

Breastfeeding is not birth control.

Contrary to popular belief, breastfeeding isn’t a surefire way to suppress ovulation. The amount of time it takes a woman to experience ovulation after pregnancy varies greatly and is completely unpredictable. Do not rely on breastfeeding as a method of birth control unless you are fully onboard for baby No. 2.

pharmaceutical pros

A good patient does more than adhere to doctor’s orders. They ask questions.

›

By Laurel Gillum

Next time your prescription is ready, bring along this checklist of smart questions to ask the pharmacist. Expertly trained in their profession, pharmacists are knowledgeable about both prescription and over-the-counter medications. As any proactive patient knows, better safe than sorry. Here’s what to ask.

Is this safe to take with my medications?other

If you mix certain ingredients of one medication with another, you could experience sudden dips or spikes in your blood pressure. This is especially common when mixing three or more medications at a time. Make sure both parties—doctors and pharmacists—are aware of your current medication list to catch potentially dangerous combinations.

Can I take this prescription with my supplementscurrentand over-the-counter medications?

Supplements and over-thecounter medications should always be included on any list of medications that you give to your doctor or pharmacist. Many over-thecounter medicines contain acetaminophen, which the FDA has deemed dangerous if the safe dose is exceeded. So if your new prescription also contains acetaminophen, you could run into a problem.

Are there any dietary restrictions with this medication?

Thyroid medication cannot be properly absorbed if taken with large amounts of calcium. Grapefruit alters metabolism, and red wine should not be consumed with most antidepressants. Your pharmacist will be able to inform you of any restrictions associated with the medication you’re prescribed.

What are the common side effects? Which side effects are dangerous?

Knowing the side e ects to expect can prepare you for what is to come. Headache?

Insomnia? Nausea or diarrhea? Know what to expect and how to make it better.

What do I do if I miss a dose?

With some medications, it’s OK to skip one dose and wait for the next timeslot to take it; for other medications, it’s OK to double up. Ask your pharmacist what to do with each medication. Answers will vary depending on the type.

Is there a generic version of prescribedthedrug?

A pharmacist can advise you if there is a generic option that is less expensive than a brand-name drug. Generic medications have the same active ingredient as the brand name but are far less expensive.

LIFE. SAVED.

“I was visiting the springs in Ocala when I was involved in a four car accident on HWY 27 near downtown. I was ejected from the car and landed on the pavement. A nurse from Ocala Regional Medical Center saw the accident, had her daughter call 911 and the nurse performed CPR on me. I came to Ocala Regional Medical Center as a trauma alert and went into surgery for hours. I was in the hospital for almost a month and the list of my injuries is so long but every single day is getting better. So many people at Ocala Regional supported me and worked diligently to maintain my vitals so I would survive. I feel very blessed and feel like I have a second chance at life.”

-Tommy, age 23

TAKING CARE TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

Ocala Regional Medical Center’s Level II Trauma Center has transformed care for critically injured patients in Marion County and beyond. Our experts are here 24/7, saving time and saving lives, giving patients like Tommy a second chance at life.

Bodily Harm

Because we put our bodies through a lot.

BY CEALIA ATHANASON

It could be a seasonal tanning bed session, a weekly energy drink, pulling an all-nighter to study or even the occasional night of binge drinking. Maybe you aren’t doing these things on the daily, but what happens to your body when you indulge even once? Ready or not, we’re diving in. This is your body...

...on one energy drink

Mid-week, you’re reaching for an energy drink to break out of your slump. From the first gulp to almost one day later, here’s what’s going down on the inside:

10 minutes: Ca eine has made a new home in your bloodstream.

15-45 minutes: This is the sweet spot. You’re awake and alert.

30-50 minutes: The ca eine has absorbed, and your liver responds by absorbing more sugar. Feeling a bit stressed? That’s normal at this point.

1 hour: The sugar crash begins, taking your energy with it. Droopy eyes, tiredness, no motivation—it’s all happening now.

5-6 hours: Only about half of the ca eine is out of your bloodstream. Sit tight. You

have another five or six hours to go.

12-24 hours: Depending on your body makeup and activity levels, the ca eine should be out of your system by now. Unless you’ve had another one already...

That’s not so bad, right? The ingredients in most energy drinks aren’t necessarily unhealthy on their own and in appropriate amounts, but energy drinks are known to pack large amounts of them into each can. These ingredients include ca eine, added sugars, vitamins (specifically B vitamins), legal stimulants (such as guarana), taurine (an amino acid) and L-carnitine (a substance made in the liver and kidneys).

Katherine Zeratsky, a clinical dietitian at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, explains the controversy surrounding energy drinks.

“Overall, the concern is that these vitamins, amino acids and herbals are often in higher concentrations than naturally found in food or plants, and the e ects when combined especially with ca eine may be enhanced,” she says.

After only one energy drink, your heart will beat faster and your blood will thicken. The National Center for Biotechnical Information published one study that raised concern about the e ects of energy drinks on consumers’ arteries. Because of the way ca eine interacts with the other ingredients in these drinks, it was found that energy drinks may impact arterial function by preventing proper dilation during exercise.

Is it really worth those precious 30 minutes of extra focus and alertness? We’re not convinced.

Sources: cnn.com, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, msn.com

...after a night of no sleep

If you’re lacking even 1.5 hours of sleep, your overall alertness su ers. Not getting enough sleep also messes with your memory and processing capabilities, decreases your overall quality of life, puts undue stress on your relationships and even increases the probability of getting in a car accident. But a night with absolutely no sleep? *shudder* Here’s what happens after 24 hours of no sleep:

You lose focus. Your ability to focus and pay attention is severely lacking. One study published in the International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health found that it’s about the same as when you’ve had a couple of drinks.

You’re uncoordinated. Say goodbye to your natural hand-eye coordination. That and other complex mental processes are beginning to deteriorate. This includes making simple decisions or even changing old plans.

You have no filter. Distinguishing irrelevant content from the relevant is almost impossible for you right now, and you feel overloaded and confused easily. It’s a good idea to postpone any web research, as that will quickly become overstimulating.

Your reaction time is not award-winning. You might drop your keys, spill your co ee or trip up the stairs. In fact, plan for it.

Get some sleep as soon as you can. You don’t want to know what happens to your body after 36 hours of no sleep.

Sources: clevelandclinic.org, bustle.com

After only one energy drink, your heart will beat faster and your blood will thicken.

...in the tanning bed

You’re just after that year-round tan. It’s not like you’re in the tanning bed every week— just enough to maintain your glow.

Turns out, it doesn’t matter if you’re going for a slight glow or a deep brown shade in the tanning bed. Your skin cells mutate, and, although your body tries to send help and protection in time, it’s just not enough. The onslaught of UVA and UVB rays is too much for your body to handle. But, hey, that’s when you get that sought-after brown hue often thought to represent beauty, health and vitality.

Ironically, a tan actually represents quite the opposite of those things. Still in denial? Here’s what happens during and after just one tanning bed session:

Within seconds: Once you close the top of the tanning bed, approximately 12 times more UVA and UVB rays than you would encounter from the sun begin to attack your skin—quite literally.

Within a few minutes: Those UVA rays penetrate your skin, breaking down collagen and elastin along the way. This isn’t temporary damage, either. Nope, it’s there for the long haul and responsible for sagging skin, wrinkles and sun spots. These UVA rays go so deep that they damage your DNA, forcing your body to respond by sending in loads of melanocytes to protect your skin.

Women’s Health writer and editor Meghan Rabbitt explains: “Think of melanocytes as little brown umbrellas that help protect your DNA from any additional damage. Because those melanocytes are brown, your skin starts to tan. Your tan is like a fullbody scab.”

Meanwhile: Your body also begins to release endorphins, and you start to feel great—like you just left the gym or ran a race—even though you’re just laying there sustaining irreparable damage. Plus, we can’t forget those UVB rays. At this point, they’ve taken care of frying the outer layers of your skin.

Within hours and days: How dare we even say it, but your tan slowly starts to fade. This is because your cells begin replicating to replace the damaged ones. The only problem is that small mistakes, or mutations, are sometimes inevitable in this process.

“When mutations happen in the squamous cells, it can lead to squamous cell carcinoma; if they’re in the basal cells, you could be in for a basal cell carcinoma diagnosis. And if the mutations happen in the melanocytes? Melanoma,” writes Rabbitt.

So, what was ever wrong with your skin’s natural shade?

Source: womenshealthmag.com

“Your tan is like a fullbody scab.”

-Meghan Rabbitt, Women's Health

...after a night of binge drinking

Girls’ night out or rosé all day? It’s not a question of if you’re drinking—whether you’re toasting mimosas, sharing a few bottles of red wine or going straight for the dirty martinis. Although ‘binge’ may not be a word you’d associate with your brunchin’ gal group or craft-beer-drinking guy friends, it’s likely happening. Classy indulger or not, binge drinking is defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as approximately four or more drinks within two hours for women and five or more within two hours for men.

“We found that a single alcohol binge can elicit an immune response, potentially impacting the health of an otherwise healthy individual,” says Gyongyi Szabo, MD, Ph.D., professor of medicine and lead author of a University of Massachusetts Medical School study. “Our observations suggest that an alcohol binge is more dangerous than previously thought.”

The study by UMMS demonstrates what just one episode of binge drinking does to your body.

Your gut leaks. Bacteria begins to leak from your gut, spilling toxins into your bloodstream.

Your cells break. The alcohol breaks through the walls of bacterial cells containing endotoxins, causing a rapid increase of those toxins within your body.

Your body responds. These endotoxins activate an immune response that leads to fever, inflammation and even tissue destruction.

There was evidence of gut permeability in study participants’ DNA, too. This means bacteria and endotoxins were able to get into other parts of the body, including the liver and other organs. Plus, the women in the study were found to have more circulating toxins in their blood than the men. We’re thinking it’s time for a new approach to get-togethers.

Sources: umassmed.edu, bustle.com

"A single alcohol binge can elicit an immune response, potentially impacting the health of an otherwise healthy individual.”

-Gyongyi Szabo, MD, Ph.D

...on a sugar high

The moment you feel a sugar rush from the doughnuts at your morning meeting, you know you’ve not only had too much sugar but you’re definitely going to crash later. Though it’s fairly known that sugar is not good for our bodies, exactly how bad is it?

The American Heart Association recommends women consume no more than 25 grams of added sugar each day, which is six teaspoons or 100 calories, and men no more than 36 grams, which is 9 teaspoons or 150 calories. That’s not much, especially when you consider a can of Coke contains 39 grams of sugar. Natural sugars in fruits and vegetables don’t count, though. These sugars slowly release into the body due to the fiber and water content within these foods. The slow release prevents your insulin from spiking.

“There’s no need to avoid the naturally occurring sugars in fruit, vegetables and low- and nonfat dairy,” says Rachel Johnson, professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont in Burlington.

Here’s what happens when you experience a sugar high:

Your brain loves it. Sugar releases your brain’s feel-good hormones dopamine and serotonin—just like certain addictive drugs do. That’s why every time you eat sugar, you crave more of it.

Your insulin spikes. Your body releases insulin to regulate the influx of sugar in your blood.

You crash. Shortly after, you feel the crash. That means, your sugar high was regulated by a surge of insulin, dropping your sugar levels and making you feel completely drained.

Consume lots of sugar regularly and you will feel tired, hungry and thirsty—all the time. Long term, this leads to fat buildup in the liver, damage to most of your body’s other organs and weight gain—which leads

to obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and many other health problems. Your arteries will eventually sustain damage, too, because blood that’s full of sugar is harder to pump.

“The pipes will finally get tired. That’s what happens with your vessels,” says Kristen Gradney, R.D., director of nutrition and metabolic services at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “It can lead to chronic kidney disease or kidney failure [and] high blood pressure, and you have an increased risk of stroke if you have high blood pressure.”

Let’s just say a little bit of sugar goes a long way.

Sources: heart.org, cnn.com, health.com, foxnews.com, self.com

Sugar releases your brain’s feel-good hormones dopamine and serotonin— just like certain addictive drugs do.

Sugar releases your brain’s feel-good hormones dopamine and serotonin— just like certain addictive drugs do.

...after one cigarette

Maybe you like a cigarette when you drink, or perhaps an occasional smoke is your favorite stress reliever. One can’t be bad, you think. Unfortunately, smoking even one cigarette is dangerous because the e ects are immediate.

According to the American Lung Association, you allow approximately 7,000 di erent chemicals and carcinogens into your body with each inhale when you smoke. Hundreds of these compounds are toxic, and approximately 70 of them are known to cause cancer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains the Surgeon General’s findings on smoking: “There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Any exposure to tobacco smoke—even an occasional cigarette or exposure to secondhand smoke—is harmful.”

Here’s what happens when you smoke one cigarette:

Your first inhale: Thousands of chemicals and carcinogens enter your lungs, immediately inflaming them.

With each subsequent inhale: These toxic invaders hitch a ride in your bloodstream.

And, they don’t play favorites—they a ect di erent areas of your body along the way.

“These poisons damage DNA, which can lead to cancer; damage blood vessels and cause clotting, which can cause heart attacks and strokes; and damage the lungs, which can cause asthma attacks, emphysema and chronic bronchitis,” according to the CDC.

Immediate damage: These chemicals damage blood cells, sti ening your arteries and making your blood more likely to clot. You now have an increased risk for stroke, aortic aneurysm and heart attack.

Put it out and take a look at your health goals. This one is important to think through.

Sources: cdc.gov, lung.org, livescience.com, sciencedaily.com

FreSh FArM

Farm to table is more than just a buzzword at The Greenhouse Bistro & Venue in Citrus

County.

By Cynthia McFarland

Photography by John Jernigan

Once upon a time eating “farm to table” was the norm. Many Americans lived on farms or at least had a garden, and even those who lived in cities were supplied by nearby farmers.

It wasn’t until the early 1900s that urbanization of the country meant more people lived farther away from where their food was produced. As transportation improved and refrigeration became the norm, the food supply chain became much longer, stretching even thousands of miles.

Over the years, something else happened as well. You might say we got greedy. We wanted fresh fruit regardless of season and vegetables that couldn’t be

grown in our state—or even our country. We wanted inexpensive meat even if that meant using steroids and hormones to get those animals to market as quickly as possible.

Now, in the 21st century, in an era when exotics fruit is flown in from around the globe and the vast majority of meat consumed is raised on factory farms, often under disturbing conditions, we’ve had an epiphany. Once more, eating fresh, local and seasonal—in other words, eating like our great grandparents did—is trendy again.

It’s called farm to table or fresh to table. The bottom line involves using fresh products grown and raised locally, which

means a smaller carbon footprint, not to mention the fact that more money stays in the local economy. Farm to table has become a form of direct marketing for farmers and ranchers. Instead of selling to a middleman, like a grocery store, they’re selling to the consumer, whether that’s a restaurant or an individual.

The term farm to table has become a buzz word. Many restaurants use it as a promotional tool, but genuine farm to table requires a serious commitment and e ort. To find out just what’s involved, we sought out a genuine farm-to-table establishment in Citrus County and also spoke with producers.

Fresh, Seasonal, Local

“People use the term farm to table very loosely,” notes Craig Shatto, who, with wife Cindy, owns and operates The Greenhouse Bistro & Venue in Homosassa Springs. “For us, it means being committed to sourcing food that is local, sustainable, organic and naturally grown/raised whenever possible.”

The Shattos’ definition of farm to table means literally going to the farm to pick the

“P p use e rm farm tab very loosely. For us, it means being mmi ed sourcing od at is local, su ainab , organic and na rally grown/ raised whenever possib .” —Craig Shatto

produce themselves—plus seafood from the docks or commercial fishermen—and, when that’s not do-able, verifying that products came directly from the farm. Whenever possible, they contract with small, local farmers and growers. They’ve even taken it a step further and grow their own herbs and some veggies in hydroponics systems on-site.

“I’d been reading about food as medicine since my early 20s and have cured a lot of my own health issues with food, including asthma, by eating healthier,” notes Cindy, who is deaf. “We’ve eaten a Paleo diet for years using mostly grassfed beef, etc. There are very few places we could eat out because my body is so sensitive.

“We wanted to provide a place for people to eat the way we eat at home,” she adds. “We did marketing studies and found that a lot of people said they ate at home because it’s hard to find fresh, healthy food in a restaurant. People still want to go out to eat, but they don’t want to feel sick afterward!”

Craig hails from a farming family and notes that the idea of opening a restaurant focused on fresh, healthy food naturally led down the farm-to-table path. The goal was to create a menu based on “eating clean” without toxic ingredients, such as trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, additives, artificial ingredients, preservatives, antibiotics or chemicals.

The Shattos found an ideal location overlooking the Hidden Halls River head spring. Sadly, the overgrown property and spring waters had become a dumping ground for all manner of trash for decades.

After extensive cleanup and construction, which began in late 2015, the Shattos opened The Greenhouse Bistro & Venue in June 2016. The eatery is situated on eight idyllic acres perfectly suited for weddings, private parties and other events. Currently, an eco-watercraft business has started on this secluded river, and an ecoresort on the property is being planned.

In addition to enjoying the Shattos’ clever repurposing e orts, such as one wall made entirely of shutters, patrons can appreciate views of an indoor butterfly garden while dining in air conditioning and other nature scenes while looking out over the pristine grounds. When it comes to the appearance of their property, Craig credits

Cindy, a naturalist, who has a Master Gardener certification from the University of Florida.

Heal y Spin

The Shattos quickly discovered they’re hardly alone in following a lifestyle that focuses on clean eating.

“People want to live longer and are finding out their diet can help them do that. They’ve found eating healthier, cleaner, more natural food means they don’t have digestive problems and even [helps them] sleep better,” notes Craig, who often hears such stories when he makes the rounds of each table during the evening.

The Greenhouse Bistro has no fryers or microwaves. There’s only a small freezer, and it’s used mostly for gelato and sorbet.

You won’t find any margarine or corn syrup in the kitchen. The Greenhouse Bistro even makes its own mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, soups and salad dressings. Cindy bakes almost all the desserts from scratch, many of which are gluten-free.

“I have cured a l of my own heal issues wi od, including a hma, by eating heal ier,”

—Cindy Shatto

About 90 percent of the menu has a healthy spin. Even people with food concerns can easily find dishes that won’t put them at risk, thanks to a sta that was trained and built to be very sensitive to allergies and celiac disease.

Although many menu items are friendly to patrons who don’t eat meat, The Greenhouse Bistro is definitely not a vegan or vegetarian restaurant. In fact, their “Bistro Burger” won the Judge’s Choice award in the 2017 Citrus County Chronicle’s Battle of the Burgers.

One of the challenges with farm to table is that a local farmer may provide some unusual vegetables—but not in large quantities. The chef can come up with something delicious with those vegetables but, on a busy night, may run out of that particular dish.

“The chefs (executive chef Marc Bell and sous chef Dillon Burtsell) may not know what we’re bringing back in the way of vegetables, so they have to be creative,” says Craig. “I think this is why we have a big following. But it’s also why we might run out because we don’t have it in the freezer. We move our inventory quickly. We get four deliveries a week, and we also pick up ourselves at fish houses, farms and produce places.”

The Shattos find that the farm-to-table concept and being more creative with ingredients has also helped them be more competitive.

“We do price checking with other restaurants—even chain restaurants—and find we are usually only 1 to 2 percent higher for higher quality product,” notes Craig, adding that not serving enormous,

over-sized portions like most restaurants helps them stay competitive.

Patrons can enjoy a full bar, with some beer and wine from local sources.

Suppliers Weigh In

When it comes to fresh fish, it doesn’t come any fresher than local waters, which is why The Greenhouse Bistro relies on Loughridge Brothers Seafood (facebook.com/naturecoastfresh) as a main source.

“We’re mostly known for stone crab and fish that are indigenous to the Gulf of Mexico,” notes Amy Watson, who represents her brother’s company Loughridge Brothers Seafood, based out of Yankeetown.

For the past 20 years, Paul Loughridge and his crew have had three boats that fish the Gulf year-round. The company has built a strong wholesale business to seafood markets and to select restaurants, like The Greenhouse Bistro.

“I’d eaten at Green House Bistro and knew we wanted to supply Craig and Cindy with fresh product from right here in the Gulf of Mexico,” says Watson. “It’s neat to be able to provide a small restaurant like Craig’s with product that some of the big chain seafood restaurants don’t have. Tourists think if they’re eating at Florida restaurants, the seafood comes from local sources, but at these large chain restaurants, it often doesn’t.

“The seafood we sell is never frozen, and it doesn’t get any fresher,” states Watson. “By the time they land on a customer’s plate at Craig’s restaurant, they’re as fresh as can be, and that’s what everyone wants. People really care about eating better, and they want to eat local.

“The Greenhouse Bistro is like the unicorn of restaurants in Citrus County. They really care about what they do,” says Watson. “The reason more restaurants aren’t farm to table is because it is more work and more expense. We’re fortunate to

live in a place where local food, especially seafood, is phenomenal.”

Locally Grown

At Arbor Trails Nursery (arbortrailsnursery.com) in Inverness, all produce, fruit and herbs are grown using hydroponic Vertigro systems. Strawberries (in season), tomatoes, peppers, various lettuces and Swiss Chard are among the products regularly purchased by The Greenhouse Bistro.

“Although we are not certified organic, we use organic practices, such as using only organic-approved pesticides and only if necessary. We also use fertilizer specific to hydroponics and use non-GMO seed sources,” says manager Jen Vicari.

“The Green House Bistro has attracted a lot of customers who care about how and what they eat,” she notes. “So many products come from big providers, and you don’t know where it comes from or what it’s been sprayed with. It’s a big thing for people to come here themselves and see how it’s grown.”

Arbor Trails Nursery starts most of what they grow from seeds, except for strawberries.

“We get about 3,000 strawberry plants at a time, and we just don’t have the capacity to start that many here,” says Vicari, who hopes to see more area restaurants step up and support local farms and nurseries the way The Greenhouse Bistro has done.

Organic Produce

When Duwayne Sipper opened a homeless shelter in Beverly Hills, Florida, in 2001, he found most of the people checking in were malnourished, so he started a backyard garden in 2002 with the idea of helping them eat healthier. In 2005, a local church loaned him 10 acres to grow vegetables and later added another five acres. Many of the homeless ended up working the fields for supervised “work therapy,” gaining not only peace and solitude but also improved health from the exercise and useful workforce skills.

Since opening its doors, The Path of Citrus County (pathofcitrus.org) has sheltered more than 1,700 homeless or displaced men, women and children, mostly from Citrus County. The Path Farm has not only helped these individuals with their recovery but has also turned into a place for Citrus County residents and restaurants to purchase fresh, locally grown, pesticide-free vegetables through co-op membership plans, allowing them to obtain a basket of seasonal veggies, whatever is ready for harvest that week, for the duration of their membership.

“The Greenhouse Bistro chef said he was on the trail from Gainesville to Tampa and couldn’t find vegetables like we have,” says Sipper, noting that all produce is grown without herbicides or pesticides. The Path even germinates its own seeds and then transplants those seedlings to the fields.

Realizing that it’s challenging to grow crops in sugar sand, Sipper set out to find ways to enrich the soil. When the

county was dredging lakes to remove weeds, he recruited them to dump the rich black mulch from the lake bottom on his cropland. He also has permits to take water from Lake Hernando to use for irrigation.

Certified Humane

One of the challenges of going farm to table is finding consistent supply. That’s the reason a restaurant like The Greenhouse Bistro uses a company like Master Purveyors (masterpurveyorsfla.com) of Tampa as a source for quality meats.

“The Greenhouse Bistro gets hormone-, steroid-, antibiotic-free beef that is USDA certified humane for the treatment of animals,” says longtime sales rep Chris Mina. “Not many producers are USDA certified humane; it’s a very hard certification to get. The animals have to be able to roam freely and not be stressed by handling; the rancher has to go above and beyond when raising the animals.”

Mina explains that animals raised without hormones and steroids take longer to raise to optimal weight for harvesting, which tends to make the meat more expensive.

“Because they take longer to grow, it takes more feed, but their meat has more fat marbling,” says Mina. “Beef grown without steroids doesn’t have the shrinkage when cooking that you get from ‘commodity’ beef, and it has a tastier, more beefy flavor.”

LEARN MORE › The Greenhouse Bistro & Venue › 2420 S Suncoast Blvd., Homosassa Springs › (352) 503-7276 › facebook. com/greenhousebistroandmarket or greenhousebistrovenue.com

Sleep On It

Early to bed and early to rise does not necessarily make you healthy, wealthy and wise—especially if you su er from sleep apnea. In fact, you might end up early to bed and late to rise with a long afternoon nap sandwiched somewhere in between.

BY JIM GIBSON

What is sleep apnea? It’s a sleep disorder characterized by long or short pauses in breathing while asleep. Some people could have 20 such pauses in an hour and some could have 20 every two minutes.

The problem with diagnosis is in the name. A person has to be asleep to have sleep apnea, and if he or she is asleep, then, if someone else doesn’t witness the actual incident, it usually goes by completely unnoticed. The only signs that this person might have sleep apnea would be a set of symptoms that gradually increase in intensity over time. For this reason, most incidents of sleep apnea are initially discovered by a sleeping partner.

It’s vitally important to understand that sleep apnea isn’t confined to a certain type or group of people. It can occur in any gender, at any age, with or without accompanying illness and in obese or very thin people.

“I had no idea I had a problem,” says Richard Smith of Ocala. “If my wife hadn’t noticed that I wasn’t breathing for long periods of time, I would never have known. She would punch me to wake me up and tell me that I needed to breathe. I’ve snored for years, but I just figured that most men snore and it wasn’t that big of a deal. I told my regular doctor about not breathing at night, and he sent me to a specialist for a sleep study.”

Testing confirmed that Smith is one of more than 20 million Americans who su er from sleep apnea. He has begun treatment

to help alleviate the symptoms and prevent any further health problems.

Types Of Sleep Apnea

There are two types of sleep apnea: obstructive and central.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when the muscles of the body relax during sleep. The soft tissue in the upper respiratory airway relaxes and collapses, thereby narrowing or completely obstructing the airway.

OSA can be caused by several di erent factors. Loss of muscle tone is the primary factor, and this can come from advancing age, lack of physical activity, alcohol use, sedatives or other medications, injury or illness. It can also be caused by a malformed upper respiratory tract or an increase in tissue mass due to weight gain. However, it cannot be stressed enough that, although the majority of people su ering from obstructive sleep apnea are

obese, body mass is not a direct indicator of the disorder. This is especially true in children, where the child could very well be underweight due to the physical stress imparted on the body from having OSA.

Central sleep apnea (CSA) occurs when the brain simply doesn’t signal the body to breathe. Normally, increased carbon dioxide levels in the bloodstream would naturally trigger the breathing response, but with CSA, the brain sends no signal to the larynx or rib cage and diaphragm muscles to initiate a breath. Most episodes last less than 30 seconds but can last as long as two minutes.

CSA can be caused by brain injury due to stroke, illness or physical trauma; opioid use; heart conditions, such as atrial fibrillation or congestive heart failure; the aging process; or the use of a continuous positive airway pressure device used to treat OSA.

“If my wife hadn’t noticed that I wasn’t breathing for long periods of time, I would never have known. She would punch me to wake me up and tell me that I needed to breathe.”

— RICHARD SMITH

The principal sign of CSA is that the person makes no attempt or does not struggle to take a breath, the breathing cycle simply ceases. Persons with OSA “struggle” to breathe in fresh oxygenated air to overcome the buildup of carbon dioxide in their bloodstream.

Treatment

Pulmonologists (lung doctors), neurologists, cardiologists or otolaryngologists (ear, nose and throat doctors) that are board-certified in sleep medicine can perform sleep studies in their labs to determine whether a person is su ering from sleep apnea and which type of sleep apnea is present.

“The first night I spent in the sleep lab, the results showed that I definitely had sleep apnea,” says Smith. “The doctor asked me to come back again, so he could try me on a CPAP machine and evaluate its e ectiveness. He found out I had obstructive sleep apnea, and I’ve been on my CPAP machine ever since. At first, I really didn’t think I’d be able to do it, but it’s gotten much easier over time. It’s been almost a year now, and I hardly even notice it at all. It’s already become second nature to me, and I probably couldn’t sleep without it.”

Most persons who use CPAP machines wear a facemask much like the ones used with oxygen therapy, but the mask is usually sturdier and must be strapped

snugly to the wearer’s face. Smith says that was the hardest part in using the machine, getting used to the feel of the mask on his face and having to readjust it periodically when he turned from side to side while sleeping. However, the results of its use won him over.

“After about a month, I began to notice that I wasn’t nearly as tired during the day, and I could just feel that I was thinking clearer,” he says with a smile. “In fact, I felt like a new man. I love Sudoku, and I think I’m a lot sharper.”

Smith, who is in his 50s and works as a carpenter, says he feels that he doesn’t get as tired during the day and that his sleep schedule is better than before treatment. He says that he regularly gets between seven and eight hours of sleep each night and maintains the same sleep schedule on the weekend.

A CPAP machine is a ventilator that provides a constant source of air pressure, which keeps the upper respiratory tract open, assuring adequate airflow to the lungs. The machine consists of the air pump unit, a length of air hose and a

facemask. Masks range from the ultralight nasal pillow to a full facemask. Most CPAP machines today have humidifiers to help moisten the air and can provide heated air for comfortable breathing.

For some patients, the CPAP air pressure required to overcome the obstruction in their upper respiratory tract is so great that it makes exhaling against the constant airflow strenuous. The person feels as if they are laboring to exhale. For these persons, their physician may suggest a bi-level positive airway pressure machine (BIPAP).

BIPAP looks and works much the same as CPAP but does not supply a continuous pressure. The pressure is higher as the person inhales but then drops as the person exhales, making it easier to push air out of the lungs.

Not all persons adapt as easily to CPAP or BIPAP therapy as Smith. For those who can’t tolerate wearing a mask while sleeping, there are other options.

The simplest option is an oral device that looks like a sports mouth guard. It is called a mandibular advancement device and is placed in the mouth between the teeth while the person sleeps. It helps advance the lower jaw forward and lifts the soft palate tissue up and away from the pharynx. This may help in slight to moderate sleep apnea cases.

For more severe cases, surgery may be an option. Because the obstruction can occur anywhere in the upper respiratory tract, each surgical procedure must be customized for the individual. Surgery can

include the nose, tongue or throat and will deal with the immediate obstruction.

Surgery addresses nasal obstruction or congestion, removal of soft tissue from the soft palate or pharynx, removal of the tonsils and adenoids, soft palate implants, tongue advancement or reduction, or lower jaw advancement. Some procedures are fairly extensive, while some are minimally invasive.

If no other treatment works, the surgical options are a viable alternative. According to the American Sleep Apnea Organization, more than 75 percent of the cases of sleep apnea in children can be cured simply by the removal of enlarged tonsils and adenoids.

Treatment of CSA can be more complicated and usually involves treating the underlying physiological problem that is a ecting signals sent to and from the brain. Check with your physician to see what the best course of action is if you su er from CSA.

When Left Untreated

Left untreated, sleep apnea puts a tremendous strain on the entire body. Research has shown that people with OSA, no matter what age, gender or body weight, are much more likely to su er from hypertension, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke. Recent evidence has shown that OSA may even be linked to Meniere’s disease.

The good news is that every one of these illnesses was alleviated to some

degree when measures were taken to treat the OSA. This is why it’s important to diagnose and treat any form of sleep apnea as soon as possible.

One of the simplest signs of possible sleep apnea is snoring. If you or a sleeping partner snore, the odds are great that you have sleep apnea. If you are sleepy during the day, have trouble concentrating or are generally fatigued, check with your doctor and determine if sleep apnea might be a problem.

Sources: sleepapnea.org, nhlbi.nih.gov, sleepassociation.org

Symptoms Of Sleep Apnea

ADULTS

› Snoring

› Daytime sleepiness

› General fatigue

› Night sweats

› Morning headaches

› Inability to concentrate

› Irritability or depression

Health Problems Associated With Sleep Apnea

› High blood pressure

› Heart disease

› Heart arrhythmias

› Heart failure

› Metabolic syndrome

› Abnormal liver function

› Diabetes

› Stroke

› Possible link to Meniere’s disease

Source: mayoclinic.org

› Dry mouth and sore throat on awakening

› Frequent nighttime urination

CHILDREN

› Hyperactivity

› Behavior problems

› Poor grades

› Breathing through mouth during the day

Source: nhlbi.nih.gov

Research has shown that people with OSA, no matter what age, gender or body weight, are much more likely to su er from hypertension, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.

BY CYNTHIA MCFARLAND

All it takes is one emergency. Your widowed mother has a stroke, and this once fiercely independent woman can no longer live alone.

In other cases, it happens slowly over time. Your aging parents su er cognitive decline, can no longer drive and need help managing medication and doctor visits.

In both situations, adult children—and sometimes other relatives—find themselves taking on the role of caregiver. After all, it’s what you should do. Right?

Experts caution that one of the biggest mistakes you can make is leaping into the role of caregiver based purely on emotion without thinking it through, yet people do this on a regular basis. Caregiving for a loved one is an enormous undertaking and should be a decision you choose willingly—not something you take on out of obligation or guilt.

“I think family members should be the ‘first line of defense.’ If it is planned and prepared for properly, there can be wonderful benefits in a multigenerational household, but as the caregiver, you have to set the tone,” notes Carol O’Dell, a certified caregiving wellness expert and contributing editor at caring.com, an online resource for caregivers.

O’Dell has hosted hundreds of caregiver workshops around the country and is also the author of Mothering Mother: A Daughter’s Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir, which she wrote about caring for her elderly mother who had Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Becoming A Caregiver

O’Dell says that the first step is deciding if you can actually a ord to become a caregiver. “A ordability” refers to more than just finances—it also includes your health, relationships and career.

“It does take some soul searching and an honest, hard look at your life,” she notes. “If you are in a relationship, you owe it to your partner and/or family to sit down and have many discussions before committing to doing this.”

These discussions should include not just you and the person you will be taking care of but everyone involved. This is the time to lay everything on the table: everyone’s expectations of the living and care arrangements, what each person is willing to contribute and one of the most important topics—boundaries. Setting boundaries in the beginning is crucial.

Let’s say your aging father can no longer drive and is moving in with you. Are you going to take on the responsibility of driving him to the twice-weekly card games he’s been playing for years, or will he need to give them up or agree to a di erent schedule? It sounds trivial, but such scenarios can morph into frustration and hurt feelings if boundaries are not set and discussed from the start.

“There were times when my mom was hospitalized and I was sleeping on the vinyl chair by her bed while my husband was home taking care of our kids,” recalls O’Dell. “But if you do that all the time, you lose your sense of balance. Your job as a caregiver is to be left with a life when it’s all said and done. It sounds harsh, but if you’re

CaringNumbers by the

65 million:

(nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population) people caring for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend, spending an average of 20 hours per week providing care for this loved one.

7 out of 10% are taking care of loved ones over age 50

66% percentage of family caregivers who are women

20 hours per week: average time family caregivers spend caring for loved ones

47% percentage of working caregivers whose caregiving expenses have caused them to use most or all of their savings

caring for an elderly person with an illness, eventually that person is going to die. You need to nurture yourself and the loving relationships you’re going to have left.”

Taking Care Of Yourself

In the many workshops she’s given, O’Dell says the most gut-wrenching questions come from caregivers who ask, “When am I going to feel like ‘me’ again?”

Losing your identity in caregiving is common; it’s also a huge mistake.

“You’re not doing your loved one any favors if you stop taking care of yourself. You can’t help someone live longer or better by losing yourself,” she notes, adding that it’s not just about the physical. “Don’t lose your sense of humor, your spunk, your spirit. If you lose the spark that is ‘you,’ you’ve lost everything.”

O’Dell recalls the pivotal moment after her mother had passed when she realized the extent of the sacrifices she’d made during her years of caretaking.

“I had a moment of revelation, when I said, ‘I want my life back, my health back, my marriage back. I wanted me back.’ I’d like to say I didn’t lose myself while caretaking, but in a lot of respects, I did.”

O’Dell encourages caregivers to realize they don’t have to shoulder the entire burden on their own. Being a caretaker doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for help. This is when attending a caregiver workshop can o er multiple solutions. Geriatric care managers, social workers, doctors and other caregivers can all be invaluable resources for brainstorming ways to solve whatever problems you’re dealing with.

“There are caregiver workshops in almost every community, often put on by senior communities, hospitals, large churches, even funeral homes,” says O’Dell, who suggests starting with your local senior community center.

You can also do an internet search; just type in “caregiver workshops/events” and your town.

“These workshops can help you figure out the world of caregiving and gather local resources,” says O’Dell. “You can also look around the room and realize you’re not alone.”

Time For A Change

If it feels as though your own personal life, your health, your family, friends and career have been sacrificed on the altar of caregiving, this is a red flag that you need to stop and re-evaluate the entire situation.

“Caregiving requires constant reassessment, and it should always be a choice. Even if you have committed to it, this doesn’t mean it’s forever. It may be for a season, and there may come a time when it’s no longer a healthy environment for all members of the family,” says O’Dell.

For example, you shouldn’t have to continuously choose between your children or your marriage and the loved one you’re caring for. If a situation has become truly detrimental to the lives of those you love, it may be time to make the tough decision and realize caregiving is no longer an option and another arrangement must be found.

Yes, we make sacrifices for those we love, but there may come a time when moving your loved one to a nursing home or other care facility is the best situation for all involved. If so, don’t beat yourself up. Don’t let guilt keep you in a situation that has become overwhelming or even dangerous.

Overwhelming Responsibility

“Caretaking for my Aunt Bernice was the most challenging, yet extremely rewarding time of my life,” reflects Linda Bullington of Ocala, who spent five years as primary caretaker for her aging relative until her aunt passed in 2014.

After her widowed aunt broke her arm and had a series of strokes, she was moved into an assisted living facility, and Bullington became her primary caretaker, doing everything except personal hygiene care. For a year, Bullington took on these duties while still working full time, but the responsibilities were overwhelming, and she eventually gave up her job.

With all the back-and-forth driving required, Bullington at one point thought it might be easier if Aunt Bernice moved into their home, but her husband wisely disagreed. After candid discussions, Bullington admitted that decision was a boundary she was glad he’d insisted upon.

As it was, she felt pulled in two directions and fought depression, fatigue and guilt because she couldn’t spend the time she wanted with her husband and family due to the constant demands of caregiving. Vacations were out of the question. By the time Aunt Bernice passed at age 96, Bullington’s own physical and emotional health were compromised.

“I was burning the candle at both ends but didn’t realize until after she passed how much I had neglected ‘me,’” says Bullington, who finally went to the doctor because she felt like she was “falling apart.”

“He told me I’d been so focused on taking care of my aunt that I had neglected my own health and state of mind,” says Bullington, who urges other caregivers not to make the same mistake.

“You have to exercise, rest, drink plenty of water, eat healthy meals and take time to get away from everything to regain your focus, even if it’s just for 15 minutes,” she says. “Caregivers face defeat when they don’t take care of themselves. They spend energy, time and health as if these things were unlimited, and they’re too embarrassed to express their real feelings, so they quietly su er. If you don’t take time for yourself, you’re going to fall apart.”

Caregiver Burnout

When you’re a caregiver, there are definite signs you should watch for so you don’t get to the point where you’ve put your own life on the back burner.

If any of the following apply to you (especially if multiple statements apply), you need to seriously consider what the stress of caregiving is costing you, physically and emotionally, and reassess the situation.

› Getting less than seven hours sleep

› Not participating in hobbies/activities you formerly enjoyed

› Easily irritated/short fuse

› Di culty concentrating

› Constantly feeling overwhelmed

› Using alcohol, prescription sedatives or other substances to help yourself relax

The extreme stress of family caregiving can cause premature aging. Researchers believe that stress of this magnitude can take as much as 10 years o the caregiver’s life.

Studies have shown that brief, intense exercise (even just 13 minutes per day!) can o set the destructive influence stress has on your body. Remember that next time you swear life is too crazy to find time for yourself.

If you decide to continue caregiving, incorporating some of the following options can help ease the burden and relieve some stress:

› Ask for additional help from family members and/or friends.

› Utilize an adult day care facility.

› Hire a personal care assistant to help with bathing or hygiene, such as dealing with urinary and/or fecal incontinence.

› Hire someone for companion care (or locate a volunteer).

› Form a caregiver co-op (arrange with neighbors or friends in similar situations to help each other in exchange for a few hours o ).

Need help finding resources? caring.com

Carrol Dillon-Smith Administrator/Owner

Photo by John Jernigan

fantastic frittatas

occoli Bacon

Cheese ittata

1 6-cup muffin tin

Cooking spray (we recommend a healthy avocado oil spray)

2 cups blanched and shocked broccolini or broccoli florets (the shocking helps retain the bright green color)

6 slices cooked, uncured, nitrate-free bacon, crumbled

1 cup organic shredded sharp cheddar cheese

By Robin Fannon

Easy to prepare, versatile, healthy and delicious, they are the ultimate clean-outthe-veggie-bin dish. Here, we have two individual mu n tin varieties—one savory and one sweet. If desired you can certainly make these larger in a 10- or 12-inch, oven-proof frying pan and simply cut into pie wedges. Delicious served hot, room temperature or even cold right out of the refrigerator, serve these alongside a tossed salad, some warm crusty bread and you will please even the most discriminating palate.

8 large organic pastured eggs

1⁄4 cup organic milk  freshly ground pepper and your favorite salt to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. › Crack eggs into a large bowl, add 1/2 the cheese and season with salt and pepper. › Divide bacon and broccoli into mu n tins. › Pour egg mixture into mu n tins. › Top each with a sprinkle of the remaining cheese. › Bake on center rack for 15-18 minutes until set.

› To remove frittatas from mu n tins, run a knife around the edges to loosen and lift out. › Cool on wire rack if desired, or enjoy immediately.

Pumpkin Cranberry

Pear ittata

1 6-cup muffin tin

Cooking spray (we recommend a healthy avocado oil spray)

1 cup organic whole milk yogurt

1 cup pumpkin purée (mashed sweet potato or butternut squash can be substituted)

1⁄2 cup dried cranberries

2 ripe pears, peeled and diced

1⁄2 cup non-GMO dark brown sugar

1⁄2 tsp fresh or ground nutmeg

1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt (or your favorite salt)

5 large organic, pastured eggs

1⁄2 loaf of French bread (your favorite, day old is good!) cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tbsp powdered sugar for garnish

Robin Fannon is a New York culinary school trained-chef and a successful party planner with decades of experience. You can visit her popular blog at rsvprobin.com for healthy recipes, party tips and lifestyle articles. Or check her out on Facebook or Instagram.

rsvprobin.com

Pre-heat oven to 375°F. › In a large bowl, whisk to combine yogurt, pumpkin purée, brown sugar nutmeg, salt and eggs. › Add bread cubes, and mix until absorbed. › Fold in cranberries and pears. › Divide mixture into prepared mu n tins. › Bake on center rack for 25 minutes until golden brown on top. › To remove frittatas from mu n tins, run a knife around the edges to loosen and lift out. › Cool on wire rack, and then place on a platter and garnish tops with sifted powdered sugar.

Frittatas have long been a favorite in our house and have been my fallback dish for those ‘what-am-I-goingto-make-for-dinner’ days when I am short on time, ideas and ingredients. ›

Photo by John Jernigan

Photo by John Jernigan

Melissa Singleton, PA-C

Dr. Christina Mitchell

Dr. Ashley Cauthen

Katie Keel, ARNP-C

Stacey Klingbeil, PAC

comfort zone

Ready, set, party! Amble breezily through party season with friendly foot care.

› By Angelique Anacleto

Happy feet, happy life? When your dogs start howling, it’s time to re-examine your foot comfort before complications set in. And dressing to impress in December can be especially rough with pinched, chafing styles or challenging, sky-high stilettos. Our toolbox defends against painful shoe hangovers during nonstop celebrations.

our foot guru says

Comfortable shoes can definitely be fashionable says Dr. Sheila Noroozi of Family Foot & Ankle—Ocala.

“We recommend Vionic shoes, sandals and boots since they have built-in arch support for plantar fasciitis heel pain and joint fatigue,” she says. “We sell these, or visit vionicshoes. com. Clarks (clarksusa.com) and Merrell (merrell.com) brands similarly o er support.

“Try to stick to one-inch heels or less. Wedges are better than pumps for less strain on arches and Achilles tendons. And always bring a pair of comfy shoes for changing.

“Then recover with either ice or a soothing Epsom salt soak with lavender oil or bath salt. Topical treatment containing arnica plant also has antiinflammatory properties.”

clodhopper check

Strutting vertiginous heels inevitably yields not-so-sexy hazards: blisters, corns, bunions, plantar fasciitis, shortened Achilles tendons, scrunched hammertoes or ankle sprains. However, if you must hobble in a delicious pair, test these heel hacks.

› Professional models bind third and fourth toes together with medical tape to lessen pressure on the nerve between.

› Apply petroleum jelly or antiperspirant to decrease rubbing.

› Because achy heels mean sparse arch support, silicone heel cups, a moleskin heel grip or orthotic gel insoles add cushion to prevent feet sliding around.

› Chunkier heels provide wider surface area to distribute weight.

› Limit wearing to three hours a day.

› Massage by rolling golf or tennis balls underneath feet. Then pick up small

objects with toes to stretch rigid muscles.

› For DIY shoe-stretchers, insert Ziploc bags half-filled with water into toe boxes, then place shoes in freezer. As water hardens, leather should expand. Or loosen with a warm hairdryer.

› To protect nerves and soft tissue, podiatrists can inject dermal fillers into the balls of feet (metatarsal cushions). Botox inhibits sweaty swelling; then hyaluronic acid augments pad volume for three to four months.

FALL/WINTER STYLE GUIDE

Comfort reigns supreme. The ubiquitous socks-andsandals trend rocked fall runways, lending a vintage, street fashion vibe. If that’s too over the top, hidden liner booties can ease friction.

Sprinkle in lower kitten heel looks, or indulge in fuzzy-lined slipper loafers. Mix a harder edge to dressier ensembles with chunky combat boots, mod ankle boots or sporty sneakers à la Big Bang Theory actress Kaley Cuoco.

Early registration (Through November 5)

5K run/walk: $30

5K virtual: $25

Late and race day registration (November 6-11)

Race day registration is from 7:15-7:55am

5K run/walk: $35

5K virtual: $25

run for the wild

Forest Animal Rescue hosts its inaugural Wild Side 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, November 11, at Citizens’ Circle.

Ever have the urge to run on the wild side? Then the Forest Animal Rescue’s Wild Side 5K Run/Walk may be the answer.

Established by Lisa and Kurt Stoner in 2013, FAR is located on 80 acres in the Ocala National Forest. The wildlife sanctuary is home to more than 100 rescued animals, including tigers, black bears, African servals, capuchin and spider monkeys, several bat species and gray wolves. Its most recent rescues include two Pantagonian pumas.

“All of the animals at our sanctuary were exploited by humans in some way,” says Lisa Stoner. “Many were bought illegally by people who charged others to view them. Many have come from roadside petting zoos, as well as other zoos that were forced to close. Here at

›

By JoAnn Guidry

our sanctuary, they enjoy the best quality of life that they have ever had.”

FAR, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. FAR is also accredited by the American Sanctuary Association and Tigers In America. FAR is not open to the public, except for scheduled twice a month $50 per person vehicle tours.

“Of course, running a sanctuary and providing the best care possible for our animals is expensive,” says Stoner. “We are supported entirely by private donations from individuals, groups and foundations. Their

generosity has allowed us to build a wonderful tiger habitat of an acre and a quarter. We’ve also built a 4-acre black bear habitat. One of our future goals is to build concrete pools with waterfalls in the tiger habitats. And we are moving forward on the construction of our on-site veterinarian clinic and sanctuary o ce.”

While brainstorming on community outreach fundraising ideas, Stoner decided a road race was a natural fit.

“We chose Citizens’ Circle because it’s centrally located and we could have a nice race route through the downtown historic district,” says Stoner. “It’s going to be a fun, family event with medals, prizes and entertainment. We encourage people to wear safari or wild animal print. Of course, the

o cial race T-shirt will be wildlife themed. All proceeds from the race will go to the sanctuary.”

The Wild Side 5K Run/Walk will take place on November 11 at Citizens’ Circle and is sponsored by BMW of Ocala, Staples and BB&T.

Learn more › WILD SIDE

5K RUN/WALK › Saturday, November 11, 8am › Citizens’ Circle, 151 SE Osceola Avenue, Ocala › wildside5k.org › forestanimalrescue.org › (352) 625-7377

the second shift

Ladies, do you feel like you’re the only one who swaps out the empty toilet paper roll for a fresh one? We, along with sociologist Susan Walzer, feel you. In an article published by Walzer, she points out this rather annoying household gender gap, naming it the “second shift.” Walzer interviewed 23 husband-wife couples, finding that most women do more of the “mental” work in the household—the organizing and delegating that is. Although a fair share of men help with household chores, we can all agree women ultimately notice and accomplish the detailed to-dos. Shall we switch it up?

Gentleman, here are three chores that may earn you an extra kiss or two:

1. Keep the pantry stocked with healthy snacks for the kiddos.

2. Remove the K-Cup from the co ee maker after you are done using it.

3. And most importantly… toilet seat down!

Source: realsimple.com

shopping in history

Downtown Crystal River’s quaint shopping district features myriad charming shops and restaurants.

Along 5th Avenue, near US 19, many of the area’s shops and restaurants are housed in historic homes from the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is akin to shopping inside history. The friendly shopkeepers and fabulous finds are fantastic.

Heritage Village is the area’s central point, with cracker-style cottages surrounding a two-story historic home that is part of Laura Lou Tolle Fitzpatrick’s family history.

“My brother, Hugh, and wife, Kathy Tolle, started Heritage Village in 1983 with Heritage House. Our grandmother, Edna Eubanks Barco, was born in the house and grew up there with her older sister Ada B,” Laura Lou Tolle Fitzpatrick explains.

Ada (Aunt B) married Harvey Edwards, and they lived in the house. She taught piano and voice for many years, but she and Harvey had no children of their own.

›

By Diane Bedard

“When Aunt B and Uncle Harvey passed away, my brother and his wife wanted to keep their memories alive by allowing the public to visit the house. Our family’s estate consists of many cottages surrounding Heritage House. One by one, we have turned the cottages into retail shops, while preserving the Heritage House as the heart of Heritage Village,” Laura Lou shared.

“Heritage House has had many tenants throughout the years, and the family history came full circle when I decided to open a gift and home decor shop in addition to the welcome center for the Village a few years ago,” Laura Lou shares. “Inside are six themed rooms full of clothing, gourmet food, home decor and, of course, Crystal River-themed items for our visitors!”

There are now 13 cottages and shops in the Heritage Village campus.

“We o er a wonderful shopping experience with great eateries right in the middle of a day trip experience. Just park your car and walk among the many wonderful shops and eateries of Heritage Village,” Laura Lou extols.

Across 5th Avenue are some additional shopping and dining options, also housed in historic homes. 650 Tea Bar o ers a wonderful respite where one can belly up to the bar and try any one of 65 loose leaf teas, as well as an accompaniment pastry or meal. Next door, the Highlander Café o ers co ee, as well as soups, sandwiches and pastries with a Scottish twist.

Within these historic structures are art galleries, outdoor recreation tour operators and clothing and beauty shops—and more. Feel the history and enjoy the service that these committed retailers o er their guests with a visit to downtown Crystal River’s historic shopping district.

Learn more › THE SHOPPES OF HERITAGE VILLAGE › 657 N Citrus Avenue, Crystal River › (352) 564-1400 › theshoppesofheritagevillage.com

Photographs by Diane Bedard

scents & sensibility

Going perfume-free does your body and Mother Earth proud.

› By Angelique Anacleto

As you quickly spritz fragrance before dashing out the door, do you realize what’s in your favorite cologne or perfume? No thanks to a highly unregulated industry, harmful synthetic chemicals comprise 95 to 100 percent of countless mass-marketed brands. And their base material is often crude oil or turpentine oil. An ABCNews.com article reveals antifreeze, bacteria and urine have even been uncovered in counterfeit colognes.

phony smell

Many falsely assume scents are extracted from precious flowers, plants, fruits, herbs, pu y clouds and rainbows. The reality is utilizing artisanal approaches involves painstaking, time-consuming methods like pressing organics into oils or steam distillation (reminiscent of high school chemistry class). For clearer perspective, consider that approximately 2,000 flowers are required to produce 1 milliliter of rose oil costing $15-$60. As such, cheap synthetic ingredients simulate botanical essences to keep production costs low.

foul downside

Synthetic compounds can be dangerous when inhaled or applied to skin, and many have been listed on the EPA Hazardous Waste List. These include carcinogenic chemicals, neurotoxins, respiratory irritants, solvents, aldehydes, petrochemicals, phthalates, narcotics and more. Over the years, product exposure builds up in human tissue, causing allergies, inflammation, hormone disruption, reproductive problems and cancer. Extrapolating to baby care, beauty, candles, fresheners and household products, the word “fragrance” listed on labels more truthfully translates as “hidden chemicals.” Because scent is considered a proprietary, trade secret formula, companies are not required to disclose every component. Also worrisome is that fragrance can be used to mask a product’s other unpleasant chemical odors.

whiff notes

THE SOLUTION: Smell like you. Although perfume seemingly imparts chic polish, the boldest route to safeguarding your body’s tissues is practicing good, old-fashioned hygiene.

DIY FORMULAS: If you prefer scent for special occasions, tailor-blend your own essential oil elixirs in dark glass bottles to preserve scent strength.

For women’s mixtures, start with baseformula.com or onegreenplanet.org. For men’s recipes, consult thehippyhomemaker.com, doterra.com or draxe.com.

Beauty giants Aveda and The Body Shop consciously source their sustainable fragrances or explore small batch, handcrafted perfumes.

eco impact

A tiny spritz of perfume carries larger environmental implications. According to Greentumble.com, favorite ingredients like musks can accumulate in the environment. Instead of degrading when released, substances attach to fatty tissue of aquatic organisms and bio-accumulate

throughout the food chain. Aside from a ecting marine life and waterways, water treatment cannot e ectively remove these materials.

Additionally, air quality is a ected. Most fragrances classify as volatile compounds, meaning they transmogrify into worse, more menacing forms after being released.

The Nature Coast’s LOCAL radio stations!

More music & less talk.

We know why our audience listens to our stations…because they LOVE THE MUSIC! So we avoid DJ chatter and deliver the greatest Top 40 and classic hits of all time, along with important information like news, sports and weather. As a result, our listeners listen longer!

The Nature Coast’s #1 hit music station

Classic Hits

Classic Hits

THE ENTIRE STAFF WAS AWESOME AND WENT OUT OF THEIR WAY FOR ME.

Colleen Scala Colon Cancer Patient

When it’s time for surgery, you can count on the team at Ocala Regional Medical Center and West Marion Community Hospital. Whether you have your surgery same-day or inpatient, our team is ready to care for you before, during and after. We want you to have the best surgical experience possible, so we make sure we’re providing a safe environment and guide you and your family through the process with care. With minimally invasive surgeries available, patients experience better results and quicker recovery. Some of our surgeries are also available with robotic-assisted technology.