Wellspring Issue #40

MAY 2019 // IYYAR 5779 // ISSUE 40

Must entering middle age be synonymous with weight gain?

Running low on iron?

Laura Shammah's tips for managing anemia

Tamar Feldman's 5-Step Treatment Approach to PCOS

DREAMING OF A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

Why sweet slumber is elusive for many

How does craniosacral therapy work?

Cup of Tea with Yocheved Hardt

HOW BULLYING

IMPACTS EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO STOP IT

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Editor In Chief Shiffy Friedman, LMSW, CNWC COPY & RESEARCH Nutritional Advisory Board Dr. Rachael Schindler Laura Shammah, MS, RDN Beth Warren, MS, RDN, CDN Tamar Feldman, RDN, CDE Nutrition Contributors Tanya Rosen, MS CAI CPT Shani Taub, CDC Health Advisory Board Dr. Chayala Englard • Chaya Tilla Brachfeld, RN • Miriam Schweid Fitness Advisory Board Syma Kranz, PFC Child Development Advisory Board Friedy Singer, OTR/L Roizy Guttman, OTR/L Coordinating Editor Liba Solomon, CNWC Feature Editors Rochel Gordon • Rikki Samson Copy Editors Gila Zemmel • Malka Winner Proofreader Faige Badian

FOOD CONTENT Food Editor Esther Frenkel Recipes, Food Styling & Photography Yossi & Malky Levine Chavi Werzberger ART & PRODUCTION Creative Director Baruch Samuel Art Director Aryeh Epstein Designers Rivky Schwartz • Shevy Gerdts Photography Sruly Rosenberg • Ruchy Baum Yanky Schwartz Digital Rivkah Shanowitz • Chanah Singal ADVERTISING Executive Account Manager Malky Lichtenstien 718-412-3309 Ext.2 ads@wellspringmagazine.com SUBSCRIPTION 718-412-3309 Ext.1 subscribe@wellspringmagazine.com DISTRIBUTION JMD Network LLC 718-972-0308 Esther@jmdnetworkllc.com

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The Wellspring Magazine is published monthly by Wellspring Magazine Inc. All rights are reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part or in any form without prior written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher reserves the right to edit all articles for clarity, space and editorial sensitivities. The Wellspring Magazine assumes no responsibility for the content or kashrus of advertisements in the publication, nor for the content of books that are referred to or excerpted herein. The contents of The Wellspring Magazine, such as text, graphics and other material (content) are intended for educational purposes only. The content is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your health care provider with any questions you have regarding your medical condition.

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From the Editor shiffy@wellspringmagazine.com

Is That The Sun I’m Seeing?

Sleep deprivation affects us in strange ways.

Six years ago around this time of year, as the mother of a newborn colicky baby, I went through a bout of longing for sleep so intense that all my memories of that period are intertwined with that longing. I wasn’t greedy.

All day long, I stumbled around like a zombie, praying for the moment when Baby’s cries would subside and we’d both doze off into a sleep that would last… ten minutes. On some nights, when my bar had dropped to wishing for just five minutes of uneventful shut-eye, I remember wondering, How did I pull off all those all-nighters as a teen?

I couldn’t fathom why I had deliberately chosen to spend the hours that were allocated for recharging engaged in anything other than that precious pastime.

Later, when my baby daughter got acquainted to life in this world (she’s our best sleeper today) and life miraculously returned to normal, my brain-fuzz lifted and I was able to think more lucidly again. It was then that I realized that as long as I was the one who chose to stay awake, sleep deprivation didn’t feel painful. But when the option to fall asleep was not in my control, everything changed.

Ruchy Reese describes in her excellent feature, the inability to experience a proper night of sleep is real. Insomniacs, for instance, would give anything to finally doze off. It’s as if the sleep disorder is keeping them chained to a chronic state of alertness. If you find it hard to fall asleep at night, you’ll appreciate Ruchy’s valuable tips on how to make it happen.

It was on one of those endless nights, when watching sunrise wasn’t nearly as fun as it is on a nature hike, that I wrote a poem I titled, “Up With the Baby.” It was a reminder to self of the blessings in my life, of the gift hiding in my dire lack of sleep.

Parents stay awake on behalf of a child for various reasons.

For parents whose child is being bullied, as this issue’s cover feature explores, the agony of knowing that their child is in pain makes dozing off a difficult feat. So while it felt tortuous at the time, being up to tend to a healthy newborn baby was certainly the best reason of them all.

Here is the poem, in appreciation to all mothers who are up with their baby, as well as all parents who are up worrying about their precious children, and for those who are wishing to be parents, awaiting their salvation. May we merit having nights of restful sleep with peace of mind.

For individuals who experience sleep disorders as the ones

Up With the Baby She tosses and turns.

Sleep eludes her.

And I?

on her damp pillow

she tries

from my window

No spot at all

is soft enough

to soothe her heart

to cushion the blow

as she thinks of her son in his leather jacket tattooed arms defiant face

Will he ever find his place?

No matter how hard her ears still ring

I too watch sunrise embracing the spark of light

still replay

an orange streak

the cries

as she thinks of her son in his sickly frame scraggy arms

anguished face

Will he ever leave that place?

a globe of glow

as the world slumbers still in a cocoon of silence bundle in my arms cherubic face

I would never give up my place.

Well-Put!

Sincerely, Shiffy Friedman

“Whether we’re aware of it or not, no food simply passes through the body without having some impact.”

Shani Taub, page 48

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 13

Contents

MAY 2019 IYAR 5779 ISSUE 40 The next issue of The Wellspring will appear iy”H on June 19th.

120

WELL INFORMED 20 TORAH WELLSPRING

By Rabbi Ezra Friedman 24 SPIRITUAL EATING

By Rabbi Eli Glaser, CNWC, CWMS 26 DENTAL HEALTH

By Dr. Jacques Doueck, DDS 28 SECRETS OF A KOSHER DIETITIAN

By Beth Warren, RDN 30 HEALTH UPDATES IN THE NEWS

By Ariella Schiller & Rikki Samson 36 FIGURES

By Ruchy Reese 38 HEALTH ED Anemia

By Laurah Shammah, MS, RDN 42 DEDICATED TO HEALTH 10 Questions for Susan Lust

By M. C. Millman

93

LIVING WELL 46 IN GOOD SHAPE Diet Is Not Enough

By Syma Kranz, PFC 48 ASK THE NUTRITIONIST Midlife Weight Gain

By Shani Taub, CDC 50 HEALTH PROFILE Client: Shlomie B.

By Rachel Esses

70

52 FEATURE Sleep Disorders

By Ruchy Reese 62 AT THE DIETITIAN PCOS

By Tamar Feldman, RDN, CDE 64 CUP OF TEA With Yocheved Hardit

By Shiffy Friedman 68 MEMOS FROM A KINESIOLOGIST Acid Reflux

By Miriam Schweid 69 DIY Allergy Relief

By Miriam Schweid MEDICAL MYSTERY WILL RETURN NEXT MONTH

48

WELLBEING 70 COVER FEATURE An End To Bullying

By Shiffy Friedman 80 COVER FEATURE Thick Skin for Elephants

By Raizy Fried 83 HEART TO HEART

By Shiffy Friedman, LMSW 86 CHILD DEVELOPMENT

By Friedy Singer & Roizy Guttman, OTR/L 90 SERIAL DIARY

By Zahava List

Springboard

Letters

Of Gluten Sensitivity, Lyme Disease & Dealing with My Critical Mother

Feeling Sleepy May Be a Red Flag Issue #39: Ask the Nutritionist

Thank you for an excellent, much-needed publication that my family and I thoroughly enjoyed over Pesach.

invites readers to submit letters and comments via regular mail or email to info@ wellspringmagazine. com. We reserve the right to edit all submissions and will withhold your name upon request. We will honor requests for anonymity, but we cannot consider letters that arrive without contact information.

16 Wellspring | May 2019

I found Shani Taub’s article on postprandial somnolence to be spot-on and true. However, it’s important to mention that the reason some people feel tired after eating even what appears to be a nutritious, balanced meal is due to sensitivity to a particular food. For years, I felt sluggish after eating my modest meal of whole-wheat bread with tuna and salad, until I learned that my body is sensitive to gluten, which resulted in extreme tiredness, no matter the time of day or how many hours I slept the night before. Going off gluten made all the difference to me. What’s healthy for one body might not be so beneficial for another.

Leah J. Monsey, New York

Lyme in the Limelight Issue #39: Medical Mystery

Meira Polatsek’s personal account of her medical mystery was a fascinating read. It’s

unbelievable to see how, despite the wealth of information available to us today, when it comes to a correct medical diagnosis, there is a right time for our salvation. I was impressed with how this young woman kept strong throughout the ordeal and I wish her a refuah sheleimah.

I will be passing the article on to a relative who’s been complaining of similar symptoms for quite some time and has also been tested for Lyme, but perhaps only did the basic test that doesn’t pick up on the various coinfections described in the article. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Keep up your fabulous work, Mrs. T. Heller

The Perfect Gift Issue #39

I just wanted to drop a line to tell you how much I enjoyed the mega Pesach edition, which arrived in our mailbox as a surprise.

Knowing that I appreciate a healthy lifestyle, my husband gifted me with a subscription as a Yom Tov present. Although we got it on Yom Tov, I was still able to prepare some of the fabulous, healthful recipes for our family. Tamar Feldman’s Pesach pancakes were a hit around here! And we were all mindful to

Letters

Quick Question

Q

What is the best natural remedy for seasonal allergies? Are the allergies this season worse than in other years? I feel like they are.

stock up on fiber all Pesach long, as well as to appreciate every breath.

I look forward to receiving a years’ worth of valuable information in a beautifully designed, fun-to-read format.

Keep up your fabulous work!

Excited to join the club, S. M. Waldman

A Different Pesach With My Critical Mother Issue #39: Heart to Heart

I was home for the first days of Pesach and then was scheduled to spend the second part of the Yom Tov at my parents’ home. While everyone who knew about my plans made comments like, “How nice that you’ll be traveling to your family,” (we live a four-hour drive away from them), deep inside I was dreading it. In my case, my mother is the critical family member I have to deal with, and although I’ve tried so many different techniques over the years, I had always been uptight during my stay and looking forward to when we would finally pack our bags and leave.

As hashgachah would have it, I had a chance to read the “Heart to Heart” column during the first days of Yom Tov. I found that I was very much able to relate to the woman who sent

18 Wellspring | May 2019

A

- Penina M. , Lakewood, New Jersey

I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there is no “best solution” for seasonal allergies. I know how challenging dealing with allergies can be, but part of it is also trying to find the unique solution that works for you. Just like every individual is unique, the treatments also work differently for different people. You’re best off experimenting to find out which solution works best for you.

Here are several suggestions for you to try: Supplements that target allergies and have worked for my clients include Maxi Health’s Allergy Support, Allergease from Zahler’s, and Allegy Assist from Nutri-Supreme. If you have remaining Panto C at home (perhaps left over from dealing with winter colds), try that to dry some of the mucus. Vitamin C is a good choice as well, and vitamin D helps strengthen the immune system so it can fight back better.

Homeopathic remedies such as allium cepa and histaminum are good choices. Essential oils such as Releaf’s Sinus Oil and olbas oil offer relief as well. Do not visit parks and gardens until blooming season ends.

And no, this spring is not any worse than last; you may have forgotten how hard it was last year, too. When you’re in it, it just seems so much more overwhelming and difficult. Good luck in dealing with your allergies this year!

To your health, Miriam Schweid, health consultant

in the question regarding her critical sister. I was eager to read the response, hoping to get some helpful tips to make it through another Pesach together. While I was hoping for a quick fix, I understood deep down that these things don’t work that way.

I especially appreciated the line that said, “I’m tempted to tell you that being with your sister will become a joy, but that would be burdening you with another unrealistic ideal. Just as when it rains, we inevitably get wet, when someone makes a critical comment, we inevitably get hurt, and when someone consistently makes critical

comments, we inevitably find it difficult to be in their presence.” How true!

Following the advice given in the column was not easy, but it was so worthwhile, and for that I want to thank you. By the time we reached the end of our stay, my husband was the one who turned to me and said, “I can’t believe it’s almost over and I haven’t heard you counting down the seconds yet!”

Thanks for a fabulous read, and for giving me a true simchas Yom Tov! Yaeli F.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease.

Springboard

MORE PROBIOTICS THAN SUPPLEMENTS

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Well Informed

Torah Wellspring: Spiritual Health By Rabbi Ezra Friedman

Do You Feel the Light of the Torah?

The mistake we make that keeps us in the dark At this time of year, we’re counting toward the big day that’s just a few weeks away: Shavuos.

What happened on Shavuos that we look forward to it with such great anticipation? Of course, simply put, it’s the day on which Klal Yisrael received the Torah. It’s the day on which we, and essentially the entire world, was presented with the greatest gift there ever was or ever will be. And every year on this day, we merit receiving this gift again.

Why is the Torah considered to be the ultimate gift? The sefarim explain that the root of the word Torah is horeh, to teach. The Torah is our manual that instructs us how to live.

Without it, we simply wouldn’t know how to lead our lives. Our Sages compare this incredible gift to the various elements we can’t live without, such as water and air, the underlying message being that Torah is what keeps us alive.

In the same vein, the Torah is considered orah, the most brilliant light. Perhaps the greatest benefit of light is that it allows us to experience pleasure. Without the sun or other sources of light, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to see any of the beauty in this world. We

20 Wellspring | May 2019

We could be facing a most breathtaking panorama, but if there’s no light with which to see it, it doesn’t give us any pleasure.

could be facing a most breathtaking panorama, but if there’s no light with which to see it, it doesn’t give us any pleasure. In other words, we’re taught that without Torah, we simply can’t enjoy anything we have. We could be blessed in many ways, yet still feel the pleasure in these blessings.

If this is so, why in reality doesn't it always feel this way? Why is it that we don’t experience this deep pleasure from keeping the mitzvos? Furthermore, if Torah is the reality of light, why do we need to explain it? Just as someone who enters a wedding hall need not be told that this is a happy environment, and someone who has just won a million dollars need not be commanded to be happy, we should be seeing the beauty in Torah just by keeping it. Shouldn’t it be self-understood to anyone who comes into contact with it?

In response to this question, the sifrei Chassidus offer the analogy of a person who walks outside on a sunny morning and announces, “If the sun is supposed to be this great light, how can it be that it’s so dark here?”

Then, someone walks by and says to him, “Listen, as long as you’re holding a finger to your eye, you won’t see the light.”

But the man can’t understand. “How can it be that this huge source of light gets blocked by my thin little finger?”

Why is it that we don’t experience this deep pleasure from keeping the mitzvos?

“If there’s anything, no matter how small, before your eyes,” the passerby explains, “you won’t see the sun.”

“So do I have to move my entire finger in order to see it?” the man asks.

“That depends on how much you want to see,” the other man says. “If you want to see it all, yes, but even if you move it only slightly to the side, you’ll catch a glimpse of the light.”

How is it possible that something we’re doing prevents us from feeling the pleasure of Torah and mitzvos? Isn’t the light so strong and powerful that it’s simply right there before us? And the answer is that as long as we hold that finger before our eyes, as long as we’re involved in the pursuit of worldly pleasure, we simply can’t feel the Torah’s beauty. That the Torah is the greatest light is indisputable. Whether we see it or not depends on that little finger.

The finger, the blockage that does not allow us to feel the light of Torah, the sefarim tell us, is our pursuit of worldly pleasures, which we ironically engage in because we have this deep, inherent desire to be connected to the truth. Every Yid is born with a deep hunger, one that we can’t explain to the mainstream world, that we feel throughout our entire lives. This is the yearning to feel a deep relationship, which is essentially to feel close to Hashem, that becomes fulfilled only through observing

and learning the Torah. In the Next World, we sit and bask in His presence, and in this world, we work toward feeling an iota of that closeness. It is this deep hunger that propels us to do everything we do in life.

Since we can’t understand the purpose of this yearning in our youth, we think that perhaps it’s a hunger for food, for money, for friends, for fame, and so on. This drive takes us in all directions because we can’t explain it.

But this is where our bechirah lies: Will I recognize that this hunger is “lo ra’av lalechem velo tzama lamayim ki im lishmoa es dvar Hashem, not a hunger for bread or a thirst for water, only to hear the words of Hashem” (Amos 8:11), or will I convince myself that all I’m lacking is the house or the vacation?

Rav Avigdor Miller, zt”l, gives a mashal of a famished individual who, when he finally sees food, starts stuffing his pocket with it. When he realizes that he’s still not satiated, he fills up another pocket. When that doesn’t do the trick either, he stuffs his shoes.

His friend comes into the room and asks, “What’s going on here? Why do you need so much food?”

“I’m hungry!” he cries.

But then the friend says, “You don’t need so much. You need a little, but in the right place.”

If we don’t realize the purpose of our hunger and how it can be filled, we may feed it in a variety of ways that don’t leave us feeling satisfied. We’re stuck in a perpetual search, possibly even over our entire life.

On the other hand, if we stop and ask ourselves, “Why am I here? What’s my purpose here? Did I have a happy day in my life? Have I ever felt accomplished with what I’ve been doing until today?” we'll figure out what we need. If we're not in the right place, we'll have to redirect ourselves.

When we make such a cheshbon nefesh to gauge how we feel, we may start to realize that perhaps there’s more. Perhaps there are ways for me to feel happy, to feel fulfilled; it's just that I've yet to explore them.

On this topic, the Mesillas Yesharim offers the popular mashal of the princess who wandered off from the king’s palace and landed in a poverty-stricken village, where she is shortly married off to a peasant. In his desire to please his new wife, the peasant presents her with the best hay from the field, but it doesn’t satisfy her. The princess doesn’t need even the cleanest, longest, healthiest stalks of hay. She wants more!

She wants the real thing.

Every single one of us Yidden has this deep yearning for something real because the neshamah is not satiated by anything else. We’re like that princess. Straw, no matter from which make or designer, doesn’t make us happy.

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 21

Well Informed

Torah Wellspring: Spiritual Health

Every Yid is born with a deep hunger, one that we can’t explain to the mainstream world, that we feel throughout our entire lives.

In Pirkei Avos, our Sages tell us that “everyone who observes Torah in poverty will ultimately observe it in wealth” (4:9). Commenting on this verse, the Sfas Emes asks an obvious question: “Is there a lack of pious Jews who kept Torah meticulously and were poverty-stricken until their last day?”

He explains that wealth doesn’t refer to what we think of as wealth. It doesn't refer to monetary value. It means that ultimately this individual will end up being happy with his lot. If you’ll observe the Torah before you’re happy with your lot, our Sages are telling us, you’ll end up not needing so much in terms of material possessions because you’ll feel the real fulfillment. You’ll be happy without all that money, fame, etc., because you’ll be feeding your hunger in the right way.

Just last week I merited to hear words from a ba’al teshuvah that inspired me deeply, portraying precisely this point. He said that the catalyst for his return to Yiddishkeit was what occurred to him davka when he was at the peak of his attainment of olam hazeh, when he had everything going for him. He was rich and famous and living the “good life” — except that he was missing Yiddishkeit. When he was at his “peak,” when he was staying at the most luxurious hotels in Europe with his famous non-Jewish friends, he would lie in bed at night, unable to fall asleep. They would sleep well and appear happy, but he just couldn’t do that. When his friends asked him what was going on, even he didn’t know what to an-

22 Wellspring | May 2019

swer them — he didn’t even know he was Jewish.

He had no idea that he was different from his friends, that his neshamah simply wasn’t satiated by what they took pleasure in. He felt something they didn’t feel, the yearning inherent in every Yid. Today, he has little in material comforts, but he’s happier than he’s ever been because he found a way to satiate his yearning, and that’s all that counts.

Whether we recognize it or not, the hunger is there. The question is only how we choose to fill it.

“Ki hi chayecha v’orech yamecha, the Torah is our source of life” (Devarim 30:20), we’re taught. But then we may wonder, how can it be that if the Torah is life, people are living in the absence of Torah too? The answer is that there’s living and then there’s surviving. When a patient is attached to a respirator, he’s getting air to survive, but is he living? When an individual pursues pleasure from anywhere other than the Torah, the sources of his pleasure are helping him survive; they’re pumping oxygen into his body, but he’s not alive. Torah is the only thing that enables us to live.

So yes, the ta’avos of olam hazeh, like that tiny finger, have the ability to inhibit us from seeing something so great. Our work is to move it away, even just an inch, to finally see the light of the Torah. I could be keeping Torah and mitzvos all my life, but if I draw my every enjoyment from mate-

rial pleasure, if my thoughts revolve around my next meal, my next vacation, my journey to fame, shopping, or anything of the sort, I simply can’t feel connected to my Yiddishkeit.

Here’s the great chizuk we draw from the mashal of the sun: Just like slightly moving the finger already gives us the ability to see a speck of light, every tiny step of growth is valuable. Even if we abstain just a drop, we already start seeing the light. The more we distance ourselves from worldly pleasure, the more we see how we can fill ourselves in a real way; but even taking a tiny step gives us a glimpse. Feeling connected to Yiddishkeit doesn’t happen in one day. On the contrary; it takes a lifetime of work — it’s why we’re here.

When we first start not giving in to our temptation, something unusual happens to us — we may feel hungry for the first time in our life. This will be the first time in our life that we have the ability to choose how we want to fill it. As long as we don’t feel this hunger because we keep quieting it with worldly pleasures, we don’t have the ability to choose how we want to fill it. When we feel this need and we fill it right, we finally get to feel fulfilled.

Every year on Shavuos, we have the opportunity to see the great gift Hashem is giving us. It is the time to ask Hashem that we merit seeing its light, to realize that this is what we really need to feel happy and connected, and to help us remove the tiny “fingers” blocking our true vision.

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Well Informed

Spiritual Eating By Rabbi Eli Glaser, CNWC, CWMS

They wound their way along a circuitous route while exiting Egypt. They crossed a split sea that up until the last second appeared to be a fatal trap. They ended up in a barren desert eating miraculous mahn. They camped under an otherwise nondescript mountain while preparing themselves for the most monumental episode in human history — a national encounter with the Creator of the Universe.

Do More With Less and Gain Everything

Were these a series of chance occurrences leading up to Matan Torah? Hardly.

Chazal tell us that Klal Yisrael needed to experience each of these events in order to acquire the attributes necessary for receiving the Torah and becoming a mamleches Kohanim and goy kadosh (a kingdom of priests and holy nation).

The requisite emunah in Hashem and in the prophesy of Moshe was internalized at the sea. It was a consummate clarity and emotional grounding in knowing that the Almighty is the Creator and Sustainer of the world and that Moshe is His prophet: vayminu baHashem u'beMoshe avdo.

Once Klal Yisrael had this ultimate emunah, what else was necessary as a prerequisite to receiving the Torah? What character trait did the Jewish People need to internalize that would allow them to stand at the foot of Har Sinai and have a direct audience

with Hashem? The key to these questions lies in the mahn. Eating mahn in the desert did something to Klal Yisrael that changed them and made them become a fitting receptacle for Torah.

The mahn, eaten in that desolate expanse of the midbar, always came in just the right amount. It was never overabundant and never too scant. It was immensely pleasurable to consume – but that pleasure was dependent on a person's spiritual focus. The mahn was an invaluable tool in helping us internalize the lesson that boundaries and limits are vital in fighting the yetzer hara and taavah – and in preparing us for a closer relationship with Hashem.

As we know all too well, it's very hard to overcome the yetzer hara and the ever-pressing desire for more. When there are no boundaries, the sky's the limit – or one's wallet, time, or local laws set the rules. But the mahn taught us – on a national level – that making do with less is the best, and that the middah of histapkus, that ability to make do with less, is something to strive for.

The Kli Yakar discusses this same idea, explaining that the Jewish People needed to be in an uncultivated land, be'eretz lo zaruah, in order to acquire that middah of histapkus (Shemos 13:17). A barren desert has few, if any, distractions — no marketplaces, amusement parks, no newspapers — and certainly no Internet. We needed to receive the Torah in this environment to understand that Torah is, and should be, the sole focus of our lives.

The Torah is not a piece in a puzzle, nor is it part of any larger picture. It is the picture. It’s our guidebook for living, so when we do enter Eretz Yisrael and go off to fulfill our particular roles in life, with the varied and harried distractions and responsibilities incumbent upon us, we’ll be rooted in Torah and have the proper priority structure in place, through which to make decisions and lead our lives.

Although we don’t have mahn today and we live in a world full of distractions, we do have easy access to information telling what foods we should be eating and in what amount. We have the ability to focus on what's important.

Since this is part and parcel of the natural world Hashem created, and is something we experienced in our collective history, it’s clearly His will for us not to overeat, not to under-eat and not to eat unhealthy foods. With the Torah as the perfect prescription for our lenses, we are capable of viewing our options with clarity and making the right choices from the menu. Left to our own vision and desires, without the Torah, lo aleinu, without the limits of the mahn, we stand a far lesser chance.

And that’s why the middah of histapkus is so vital. Succinctly put, we can’t have ein sof (no end) in ruchniyus unless we have maspik (enough) in gashmiyus. We don’t have the ability to grow exponentially in our spirituality unless we have boundaries and limits in our physical desires. It's an incredibly important and poignant lesson for us all, especially in the time and environment in which we live.

May we all be zocheh to experience a geulah from our taavos with the coming of the ultimate Geulah, bimheira biyameinu.

Rabbi Eli Glaser is the founder and Director of Soveya. He is certified as a Nutrition/Wellness Consultant and Weight Management Specialist, with 25 years of coaching and counseling experience, and is maintaining a 130-pound weight loss for more than 16 years.

Soveya has offices in Lakewood and Brooklyn, and works with clients via phone and Skype around the world. For more information or to make an appointment, contact Soveya at 732-578-8800, info@soveya.com, or www.soveya.com.

24 Wellspring | May 2019

E H T E T S TA R E M M SU 24 RIN’S D A H E M

Y VARIET

PACK

ILY IRE FAM T N E E FOR TH

Well Informed

Dental Health By Dr. Jacques Doueck, DDS

ARE YOU AT RISK FOR CAVITIES? “It’s so frustrating! I don’t eat any more junk than my friends, and I know I brush my teeth longer than they do. I even floss every day. Why do I get so many cavities?”

The reason? Some people are simply more at risk for cavities.

If you’re one of those people, what can you do? The good news is that you can do something to control risk factors. A professional risk assessment helps determine which changes will be most effective for you to reverse the damage and prevent future damage. If you are getting more cavities or think that you may be at risk, be sure to tell your dentist or hygienist so that you can benefit from a few simple changes that can save your teeth.

Step one: If you seem to be getting too many cavities, do a risk assessment.

A dentist can test your saliva, examine your teeth, and evaluate your habits.

Step two: Depending on your risk factors, a few simple recommendations can help in a big way. The key is to design a custom plan based on your specific risk factors. One or two of these changes can make a major difference.

You can have fewer cavities, stop bleeding gums, and have sweeter breath.

RISK FACTOR

26 Wellspring | May 2019

RECOMMENDATION

You tend to have a dry mouth.

Have the amount of saliva you produce tested. There are safe, natural products that can help reverse the damage of dry mouth and keep your mouth moist.

Your saliva is too acidic.

Special pastes can neutralize the acidity, reverse damage, and prevent future cavities.

The enamel of your teeth is already damaged and prone to cavities.

Use custom dental trays similar to the trays used to bleach and whiten teeth. A small amount of high-strength fluoride or calcium paste worn for a few minutes every day (like during a shower) is very effective in treating teeth that are already damaged.

RISK FACTOR

RECOMMENDATION

You frequently drink soda or iced tea, both of which are high in acid and damaging to teeth (even Diet Coke and Diet Snapple are damaging.)

If you drink these beverages frequently or have frequent snacks, you can learn how to enjoy your snacks and drinks without having to eliminate them. Something as simple as using a straw to drink your soda can make a major difference.

Your teeth still have loads of plaque even after you’ve brushed.

A Waterpik® or other dental water jet is very effective in flushing out bacteria and food hidden between teeth.

Bacteria enters your mouth through your sinuses.

Nasal irrigation, combined with the use of Xlear Xylitol nasal spray, is a very effective remedy.

Xylitol has been used to treat ear infections and bad breath, and Xylitol gum and candies are very effective against the bacteria that cause cavities and bad breath.

Bad breath is frustrating you.

Squigle® Enamel Saver Toothpaste may be just what the doctor ordered.

Your gums bleed.

Perio Protect Trays are effective in helping your gums become pink and healthy, and improving your breath. Similar to bleaching trays, these are designed to force oxygenation gel under the gums.

The bacteria that cause gums to bleed are anaerobic, which means they have oxygen. Creating an oxygen-rich environment under your gums helps to eliminate the damaging bacteria.

Dr. Jacques Doueck has been practicing family dentistry in Brooklyn, New York since 1977, and is a Diplomate of the Academy of Clinical Sleep Disorders Disciplines. He speaks nationally and trains other dentists in oral appliance therapy and state-of-the-art dentistry. Dr. Doueck is a member of the American Dental Association and serves on the District Claims Committee for the state society.

WHEN YOU'RE HAPPY,

EVERY THING FALLS INTO PLACE.

FAREWELL

76

Subscribe Today at wellspringmagazine.com/subscribe subscribe@wellspringmagazine.com 718.412.3309

Well Informed

Research Based Recommendations By Beth Warren, MS, RDN, CDN

||| SECRETS OF A KOSHER DIETITIAN |||

SECRET

#14

ARE YOU EATING OUT MORE OFTEN THAN YOU'RE EATING AT HOME?

, According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture of nt perce 37 s spend y famil ican Amer the average . their food budget at restaurants and fast-food joints uconcl its in The research is pretty straightfor ward t sion that the more a person eats out, the more weigh where much too r matte to he gains. It doesn’t seem one goes either, according to a study from Tufts ich University. Statistically speaking, a healthy sandw a as ating place seems to lead to just as much overe ael Mich place. ese fast-food joint or the local Chin the Pollan, journalist and real-food activist, equates ng. cooki home of se collap the rise in obesity with When a person eats at a restaurant, there are multiple obstacles in his way. Here are a few: Serving Sizes The amount of food one gets in a restaurant meal is typically a few times greater than a healthful serving size. Endless bread, multiple courses, and large is dinner plates are crowd pleasers: the restaurant the ver, giving more for the customer's money. Howe a big bowl of pasta is four or five times larger than healthful serving size. is I always explain that pasta is not a main as it goes same The . menu rant’s restau a in designated ngs. for the helpings of meat, soups, and salad dressi by e choic y health a You may think you are making the s alway not is that but selecting these options, s case. Sometimes the healthier options have exces . sugar r and/o fat, m, sodiu calories,

28 Wellspring | May 2019

Drinks

A small soda is double the regular serving size, containing around 16 ounces in fast-food restaurants. es Wine and cocktails also easily throw one's calori ins over the limit. A five-ounce glass of wine conta has about 125 calories and a two-ounce daiquiri around 112 calories.

Incorrect Nutritional Information Some restaurants list the calorie counts of foods h, on their menu. However, according to TIME Healt per18 as much as in conta often meals restaurant cent more calories than listed. So if you eat a meal as listed at 500 calories, you might be eating as many needs one 590 calories. Eating 90 calories more than t daily will result in a little over nine pounds of weigh gain each year. e According to this finding, a person should assum es calori more nt perce 20 his or her meal has about than advertised.

Restaurant Mentality as Eating out with friends can lead a person to eat s make eating and much as 35 percent more. Talking conhas one food it easy to lose track of how much sumed and can lead a person to ignore signs of satieat ety and fullness. A person is also more likely to well. as it order s dessert if his friend

To schedule a nutrition appointment with Beth in the Brooklyn, NYC, NJ locations or virtually, or book an appearance, email beth@bethwarrennutrition.com or call 347-292-1725. Most insurances accepted. You can also follow her Instagram for healthy eating motivation and recipes @beth_warren

Where Do We Go From Here? you want doesn’t mean you can never eat out. Ultimately, Although the odds are stacked against you, it d be a part shoul eating social and out g Dinin s. tation expec your weight-loss plan to work within realistic and health work to learn how to make both goals of socializing of any healthy lifestyle. A person simply has try: can you tips 10 are Here synergistically while out at a restaurant.

1

5

2

6

When you’re done with your portion, do what you can, physically, to make sure you don’t pick at the leftover food. Simple things like covering the bread basket with your napkin really work!

Eat out less frequently, even if you go out just as often. It’s quite liberating to realize that you don’t have to eat out even if you go out.

3

Request that no chips or bread be brought to the table before you order. Instead, enjoy a calorie-free beverage while deciding what to order.

4

Nip negative cycles in the bud. Sure, your natural inclination may be for something more indulgent, but a balanced breakfast the morning after gets you back to feeling full and in control sooner.

Micromanage your order.

Simple requests like asking for dressing on the side are a start. Just because the French onion soup usually comes with cheese and bread doesn’t mean you can’t ask for it to be omitted in your order.

If you know you are going to eat out, make your other meals lighter during the day; however, the options should still be balanced. Do not skip meals or food groups because you may end up overeating later.

7

Never arrive starving.

There is nothing like the combination of hunger and eating out to start you off on the wrong foot. Eat something satisfying before you go out. If you have a good pre-dinner snack at home, you can order something smaller and be sociable without overeating.

8

Only spend calories on foods you really love. If you don't really care for an item that comes with a dish, ask that it not be brought with your meal. (This does not give you license to skip the veggies, those are there to help you feel fuller faster.)

9

Eat slowly and pay full attention to the sight, texture, and taste of your food. Mindful eating means enjoying the experience of truly eating. Plus, studies show that using mindful-eating techniques actually helps incorporate eating out not just for weight maintenance but in weight loss as well. Women who attended six-week intervention programs learned about managing their weight, setting goals, strategies for eating out, and mindful-eating meditations.

Those in that intervention group lost more weight than the control group, even though they ate out, too.

10

When dining out with someone else, consider splitting a meal and ordering an extra dinner salad.

go of your healthy-eatably means you have to “cheat” and completely let You don’t have to assume that going out to eat inevit about your experience, happy g feelin meal yourself in check so you leave the keep to do can you thing some is There s. effort ing rant. there is more than one choice to make at a restau not guilty. It’s always your decision, but know that

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 29

Well Informed

Health Updates in the News By Ariella Schiller

BAKING A BETTER BREAD How bakers are working to make bread easier to digest

Bread is a household staple for many reasons, namely French toast. Enough said. (Okay, also grilled cheese, PB & J, and turkey-mayo). But for those with celiac disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, or just stomach discomfort, bread might very well be the bane of their diets.

But there is hope! Science and technology may be coming to the rescue. Using newly developed enzymes, novel ingredients, and gene editing, researchers and food companies around the world are trying to develop bread without side effects or/and with health-enhancing components.

While most are actively working on reducing or eliminating components in bread (such as fructans and gluten), others are asking, “What can we add to bread to make it healthier?”

Answer: Fiber-rich flours. Most of the people seeking this answer are from the type-2 diabetes community. Bread raises blood sugar levels and is therefore a big no-no for diabetes sufferers. They require a minimally processed bread that’s higher in fiber and protein, but lower in starchy carbohydrates. This combination of nutrients helps the body break down bread at a slower pace, so it doesn’t cause a quick rise in blood sugar levels.

Cue the world’s bakers to get creative.

European bakers are experimenting with tritordeum flour, which is a newly developed hybrid of wheat and wild barley. Its manufacturer says it yields 30 percent more fiber than traditional wheat flour, so the same piece of bread would have enhanced health benefits. Other bakers are adding fiber by blending traditional wheat flour with lupin-bean or lentil flour. Studies

30 Wellspring | May 2019

show that eating lupin-enriched bread instead of regular wheat bread can even help lower the risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Adding lupin to an otherwise carb-rich meal can reduce blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. And it can even play a role in overall blood sugar management.

For the 45 million Americans with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which causes symptoms such as abdominal pain, gas, and diarrhea, scientists are also working on a better bread choice.

Researchers believe that one of the culprits of IBS is food high in FODMAPs (which are poorly absorbed fermentable carbohydrates), with wheat being a well-known FODMAP, as it contains carbs called fructans. Finnish company Fazer Mills recently introduced an enzyme called LOFO, which can help reduce the fructan content in wheat bread. That means bakers could produce low FODMAP bread for people with IBS. Research has shown that a diet low in FODMAPs can help improve symptoms in about 70 percent of people with IBS. Fructanase, an enzyme that helps the body break down fructans into smaller units, is the secret ingredient. It may be gentler on the stomach. According to company reports, this enzyme decreases fructans by 50 percent without changing the taste or texture of the bread. For some people with IBS, reducing fructans by half will give relief. Others may need to avoid fructans entirely, so this bread may not help.

Lots of test baking is happening in the United States using the LOFO enzyme, but no bread is on the market yet. Meanwhile, we’re looking forward.

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Well Informed

Health Updates in the News By Rikki Samson

BEWARE OF THE PILL Why popping a sleeping pill may be hazardous for you

For many, reaching for a sleeping pill when they really need to get eight hours of sleep to prepare for a big day has become instinctual. But a new warning from the FDA might make you think twice about relying on sleep medications.

This month, the FDA announced that it will now require the packaging of some sleep medications to feature warnings about potential dangerous side effects. The administration is requiring the packaging of some of these medicines to feature a boxed warning stating the potential dangerous side effects. A statement from the FDA says the boxed warning is the “most prominent warning” a drug can have.

The statement comes after the FDA learned of “rare but serious injuries and deaths resulting from various complex sleep behaviors after taking these medicines.” Among what the administration refers to as these “complex sleep behaviors” are sleepwalking, driving while sleeping, and engaging in other unsafe activities — such as using a stove — while asleep.

The FDA analyzed the cases of 66 individuals who took an insomnia medication and ended up dead or with a serious injury.

Forty-six of those cases involved nonfatal injuries.

Dr. Harneet Walia, who works at the sleep-disorders center at the Cleveland Clinic, explains that some of the medications called out by the FDA are more harmful to women than men — a point that isn’t mentioned in the FDA's new statement.

She explains that since women process zolpidem, the active ingredient in many sleep medications, differently than men, they should be prescribed lower doses of the medication. She says that even though the administration warned the public of the risks of a higher zolpidem dose prescribed to women in 2013, two years later 68 percent of women who took zolpidem reported taking more than the recommended dose of the drug.

While Dr. Walia spoke of this problem, she emphasized that sleep medications are incredibly common (check out this issue’s feature for more on this topic), and specialized experts aren’t always the ones prescribing them. In fact, sleep medications are often prescribed by primary-care doctors, who might not be as knowledgeable about them. Something to think about before popping the pill.

32 Wellspring | May 2019

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Well Informed

Health Updates in the News

A RIGHT TIME FOR EVERYTHING To control blood sugar, set strict meal times

Many factors contribute to a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and some of these, particularly lifestyle and diet, are fully modifiable. More recently, some investigations have uncovered evidence that in order to keep diabetes and other metabolic conditions at bay, it is important to control not just what and how much you eat, but also when you eat.

A new small-scale study published in Obesity has found that men at risk of developing type 2 diabetes could benefit from eating all their meals within a restricted nine-hour time frame.

Doing so, even without changing other dietary habits, can help keep blood-sugar levels under control, the research suggests.

For this study, Associate Professor Leonie Heilbronn, a research leader at Australia’s University of Adelaide, and colleagues, recently conducted a one-week trial involving 15 men at risk of type 2 diabetes.

The participants, who were aged between 30 and 70 years and who each had a waist circumference of at least 40 inches (102 centimeters), agreed to eat their meals within a specific ninehour time frame every day.

“The men, who are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, limited their food intake to a nine-hour period per day.

Participants undertook time-restricted eating, either from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or later in the day, from midday to 9:00 p.m.,” explains Heilbronn.

All through the experiment, the participants ate their normal diet. “In fact,” Heilbronn notes, “we told them to keep eating all the foods they usually eat, without any other restrictions.”

34 Wellspring | May 2019

The researchers measured the participants’ blood glucose levels every day for the entire week over which the study took place.

Their findings indicated that both models of time-restricted eating tested in the study helped improve the participants' glucose control.

“Our results suggest that modulating when, rather than what, we eat can improve glucose control,” says Heilbronn, though she admits that she and her colleagues “did see a tiny amount of weight loss in this study, which may have contributed to the results.”

One study participant, who also took part in an eight-week follow-up study, agreeing to restrict his meals so that they would all fall into the 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. time slot, notes that he has found the experiment helpful.

“The restricted eating regime was initially challenging,” he admits, but it “soon became more manageable.” He also notes that he was able to choose a time frame that worked well for him.

“I only ate up until 7:30 p.m., as I found this worked well with my lifestyle,” he explains.

“Over the trial,” the participant says, “I found that my fasting blood-glucose tolerance improved significantly. It changed from 'increased-risk' level to 'normal.' This was without changing any of the foods that I like to eat.”

Heilbronn argues that the benefits occur thanks to the fact that such a dietary schedule allows a person's body to process the nutrient intake at the times at which it is most active.

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Well Informed

Figures By Ruchy Reese

Roughly

Disordered Sleep Stats

30%

of our lives should be spent sleeping.

35%

of adults don’t get a full 7 hours of sleep per day.

Americans average In 1910, the average hours of sleep was

9

hours per night.

6.8

hours of sleep per night.

almost

There’s a

20%

of car accidents are associated with sleepiness.

36 Wellspring | May 2019

24%

increase in heart attacks the day after Daylight Savings Time in the spring, pointing a finger to the power of that lost hour.

10

minutes

Falling asleep should take about

If you fall asleep sooner, you may be sleep deprived.

30% 10% of U.S. adults suffer from insomnia and

from chronic insomnia.

It is the most common sleep disorder.

24-31% of men have obstructive sleep apnea.

According to Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center, anywhere from

5-39%

40% of all insomnia patients have a coexisting psychiatric condition.

9-21% of women have obstructive sleep apnea.

There are more than

4,700 sleep centers in the U.S.

of ADHD diagnoses could be attributed to sleep-related breathing disorders.

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 37

Well Informed

Health Ed By Laura Shammah, MS, RDN

Test Yourself: Anemia, from A to Z While tiredness and fatigue plague so many people nowadays, many are not aware that the culprit isn't just late bedtimes or hectic days. When iron-deficiency anemia strikes, it can drain a person of all energy, leaving him or her feeling chronically exhausted. Take this quiz to find out how much you know about this condition that affects more people than you think.

1

True or False:

2

What may be a cause of anemia?

Anemia is a condition in which the individual does not have enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to the body’s tissues.

A. Inadequate iron intake

Answer: True.

Answer: D.

3

True or False: Symptoms of anemia begin at their peak strength.

Answer: False.

Symptoms of anemia can be so mild at first that they could go unnoticed.

Signs and symptoms of iron deficiency vary depending on the severity of the anemia, how quickly it develops, age, and your current state of health.

In some cases, people experience no symptoms.

38 Wellspring | May 2019

B. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) C. Blood loss

D. All of the above

When someone has iron-deficiency anemia, his or her body doesn’t have enough of the mineral iron. Since iron is needed to produce hemoglobin, the protein in red-blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen around the body, a deficiency in iron leads to anemia. Although there are different types of anemia, iron-deficiency anemia is the most common worldwide.

4

True or False: There are two types of iron in foods.

Answer: True:

Heme iron and non-heme iron. Heme iron is found in meat, poultry, and fish. Non-heme iron is found in plant foods and foods fortified with iron.

Your body can absorb both types, but it absorbs heme iron more easily.

Common Anemia Symptoms Fatigue

One of the most common signs of iron deficiency, fatigue occurs when less oxygen reaches body tissues, depriving them of energy.

Paleness

Appearing pale, in general, or in specific areas such as the face, lower inner eyelid or nails, may be a sign of moderate or severe iron deficiency. This is caused by lower levels of hemoglobin, which gives blood its red color.

Shortness of breath

Low hemoglobin levels mean the body isn’t able to transport oxygen to muscles and tissues effectively.

Headaches and dizziness

The lack of hemoglobin means not enough oxygen reaches the brain, causing its blood vessels to swell and create pressure.

Heart palpitations

In cases of iron deficiency, the heart has to work extra hard to transport oxygen around the body. This can lead to irregular or fast heartbeats, and even heart murmurs, an enlarged heart, or heart failure.

Dry and damaged hair and skin

Because skin and hair receive less oxygen from the blood during iron deficiency, they can become dry and damaged. In more severe cases, this can cause hair loss.

Difficulty sleeping

Restless leg syndrome, a condition that causes a creeping pins-and-needles sensation in the legs, results in an urge to move the legs. This often occurs at night, which makes it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep.

Craving ice

Pica is a condition where the individual crave non-food items, and pica for eating ice can be a symptom of iron deficiency.

Swollen tongue

Low hemoglobin in iron deficiency can cause the tongue to become pale, while lower levels of myoglobin can cause it to become sore, smooth and swollen.

Nail abnormalities

Iron deficiency also impacts the health and appearance of the fingernails and toenails. Patients with very low levels of iron sometimes have “spoon-shaped nails,” which have dips or depressions in the center. Iron deficiency is also associated with nails that are thin, brittle, and prone to cracking or splitting.

Anxiety, depression, and difficulty concentrating

Iron is very important to the health of the brain and nervous system, and neurological symptoms are often the first to appear when the body’s iron stores are depleted. The outward neurological impacts of iron deficiency vary from person to person: you may experience anxiety, depression, mood swings, or difficulty concentrating.

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 39

Well Informed

Health Ed

5

Which foods help prevent or reduce ironand/or vitamin-deficiency anemia?

A. Leafy greens

B. Liver

C. Beans

D. All of the above

Answer: D.

But there’s more. Here’s my anemia diet plan.

Anemia treatment plans often include dietary changes. The best diet plan for anemia includes foods rich in iron and other vitamins essential to hemoglobin and red blood cell production. It should also include foods that help your body absorb iron better. Bear in mind that no one food will cure anemia. Aim to eat an overall healthy diet rich in dark, leafy greens, nuts and seeds, fish, meat, and beans to help meet iron requirements.

Since it’s hard to obtain adequate levels through diet alone, you may also need to take prescription iron or an over-thecounter iron supplement until your levels are replenished.

Add these foods to your diet to get more iron and help fight iron-deficiency anemia:

1. Leafy greens

Leafy greens, especially dark ones, are among the best sources of non-heme iron.

They include: • spinach • kale

grains are good sources of folate. When eating dark, leafy greens for iron, there’s a catch: Some iron-rich greens, such as spinach and kale, are also high in oxalates, compounds that prevent the absorption of non-heme iron. So, while it’s beneficial to eat your greens as part of an overall anemia diet, don’t depend on them solely to treat the condition.

Since vitamin C helps your stomach absorb iron two to four times more effectively, eating leafy greens with foods that contain vitamin C, such as oranges, red peppers, strawberries, or lemons, may increase iron absorption. Some greens are good sources of both iron and vitamin C, such as collard greens and Swiss chard. Combine nonheme iron foods with vitamin C (for example, lemon juice on kale salad) to increase absorption of iron.

2. Meat and poultry

All meat and poultry contain heme iron.

Red meat and lamb are the best sources.

Poultry and chicken have lower amounts.

Eating meat or poultry with non-heme iron foods, such as leafy greens, may increase iron absorption.

3. Liver

Liver is a great source of iron and folate.

• collard greens

• dandelion greens • Swiss chard

Some leafy greens such as Swiss chard and collard greens also contain folate. A diet low in folate may cause folate-deficiency anemia. Citrus fruits, beans, and whole

• fresh halibut • fresh perch

• fresh haddock

Although both fresh and canned salmon are good sources of iron, canned salmon is high in calcium. Calcium binds with iron and reduces its absorption.

Foods high in calcium shouldn’t be eaten at the same time as iron-rich foods. Other examples of calcium-rich foods include: • raw milk • yogurt • kefir

• cheese

• sardines • broccoli • tofu

5. Quinoa

A natural source of B vitamins, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, vitamin E and fiber, quinoa is also rich in iron.

6. Dried fruit

Many dried fruits are a great source of iron. Half a cup of dried apricots, for example, contains 2 milligrams of iron. And there are 1.6 milligrams of iron in a quarter cup of dried peaches.

4. Fish

Some fish contain iron. Fish high in iron include: • sardines canned in oil • tuna, canned or fresh • fresh salmon

7. Fortified foods

Many foods, such as orange juice, rice, grains, and cereals, are fortified with iron.

Add these foods to your diet if you’re a vegetarian or struggle to eat other sources of iron.

Laura Shammah MS, RDN, has been operating a private practice in New York and New Jersey for over 20 years. Her clientele runs the gamut from people with eating disorders to those dealing with hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and cancer. She also helps clients who run in marathons or are looking to lose or gain weight in a healthy way. Her nutritional guidance is published in MaryAnne Cohen’s book Lasagna for Lunch: Declaring Peace With Emotional Eating. Laura can be reached at 718-376-0062 or Laurashammah@aol.com.

40 Wellspring | May 2019

8. Beans

Beans are good sources of iron for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

Some iron-rich options are: • kidney beans • chickpeas • soybeans

• black-eyed peas • pinto beans • black beans • peas

• lima beans

9. Nuts and seeds

Many types of nuts and seeds are good sources of iron. Some nuts and seeds that contain iron are: • pumpkin seeds • cashews

• pistachios

• hemp seeds • pine nuts

• sunflower seeds

10. Tomato paste

While raw tomatoes are an insignificant source of iron, in a dried or concentrated form, they pack in the nutrient. A half-cup serving of tomato paste has 3.9 milligrams of iron, and a similar-sized portion of sundried tomatoes ranges from 1.32.5 milligrams. As a sauce, one cup of tomatoes offers 1.9 milligrams of iron.

11. Almonds

Almonds are great as part of a healthy eating plan, but since they’re also high in calcium, they may not increase your iron levels significantly.

Increasing Iron Absorption • Whenever possible, use a cast-iron skillet for cooking. The food being cooked will absorb iron from the skillet and reduce anemia. Acidic foods absorb the most iron, and foods cooked for short periods of time absorb the least.

• Don’t eat iron-rich foods with foods or beverages that block iron absorption. Iron-blocking foods include coffee or tea, eggs, foods high in oxalates, and foods high in calcium.

• Eat iron-rich foods with foods that contain beta carotene, such as apricots, red peppers, and beets, to improve absorption.

• Eat a variety of heme and nonheme iron foods throughout the day to up your iron intake.

• Eat heme and nonheme iron foods together whenever possible to increase iron absorption.

• Add foods rich in folate and vitamin B-12 to support red blood cell production.

Anemia Prevention

• Treat the cause of blood loss. Talk to your doctor if you have heavy menstrual periods or if you have digestive-system problems, such as frequent diarrhea or blood in your stool.

• Eat foods containing iron.

• Eat and drink foods that help your body absorb iron, like orange juice, strawberries, broccoli, or other fruits and vegetables with vitamin C. • Make healthy food choices. Most people who make healthy, balanced food choices get the iron and vitamins their bodies need from the foods they eat.

• Avoid drinking coffee or tea with meals. These drinks make it harder for your body to absorb iron.

• Talk to your doctor if you take calcium pills. Calcium can make it harder for your body to absorb iron. If you have a hard time getting enough iron, talk to your doctor about the best way to also get enough calcium.

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 41

Well Informed

Dedicated to Health By M. C. Millman

1

What motivated you to launch SPARKStudio?

As a movement therapist, I thrive on seeing people move well — from everyday housework and normal activities, to dance, sports, walking on the street, kids playing, and more. Movement is life!

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurological movement disorder, and I knew that somehow movement, dance, breath, music, and rhythm could help. I was inspired by a friend with PD who I met through Project Hope. (Project Hope volunteers visit women who are homebound or hospitalized.) Through the deep friendship I developed with her, I realized that PD is a movement disorder. As such, there had to be a relationship between music, movement, and rhythm for PwP.

I found a unique class that was given by the Brooklyn Parkinson’s Foundation and was teaching these very principles. When I called to sign up, I was told that they were already full. The next class wasn’t taking place for another full year. I was disappointed, to say the least, but later that day I got a phone call: Someone had dropped out, and I was in!

That course was the first step toward working with PwP and inspiring me to realize that my dream was to help people with movement disorders. To do that, I needed to make one place for all PD individuals, with 42 Wellspring | May 2019

everything needed for PD wellness under one roof.

When I saw Rabbi Moshe Gruskin’s ad for a Sparks of Life educational event in Monsey two years ago, I called him and asked to meet with him.

During that meeting, we realized we both had the same dream, so we joined forces to accomplish that dream of helping PwP to achieve a full and meaningful life. We're presently building a movement center to give PwP everything they need to change their diagnosis from hopelessness to a life where they choose life.

To that end, the SPARKStudio in Pomona, the Parkinson’s movement-therapy center, opened in February 2018, under the guidance of the Sparks of Life organization.

The SPARKStudio is currently the only studio in the United States that utilizes the techniques of Alex Kerten, renowned author of Goodbye Parkinson’s, Hello Life, and founder and director of the Gyro-Kinetics Center in Raanana, Israel. Alex has been treating clients with movement disorders, specializing in Parkinson’s disease, for over thirty years. Alex is our SPARKStudio adviser and we’re in touch with him on a steady basis.

SPARKStudio is also the first and only Rock Steady Boxing (RSB) affiliate in Rockland County with a certified RSB coach, Yuri Milshtein.

10 Questions for: Susan Lust,

managing director of Sparks of Life and SPARKStudio Sparks of Life in a nutshell: Sparks of Life's mission is to improve the lives of Parkinson’s patients by empowering them with the knowledge and tools to fight their symptoms and reclaim productive, healthy lives. With the awareness that they are not alone, participants in Sparks of Life programs learn about what can be done to improve their lives, giving People with Parkinson’s (PwP) renewed hope and inspiration.

Sparks of Life, a nonprofit organization, also hosts public-awareness events across the tristate region. The organization provides an array of emotional, medical, financial, and educational resources. It also runs SPARKStudio, a movement-therapy center for individuals with Parkinson’s.

2

What is your current role at SPARKStudio and Sparks of Life?

I am director of the studio and special events, developing all the programming, teacher training, and one-on-one training.

We currently offer 14 hours of classes a week. I work closely with Rabbi Gruskin, our founder/director, and Channi Feuer, our program coordinator, to develop special events and support workshops. Our intern movement therapist, Frady Berger, has been an inspiration to our members. We have two terrific music therapists, Sam Amdurer and Moshe Sobol, on staff as well.

As a movement therapist, I am certified by Alex Kerten in his GyroKinetics method, which helps to regain a new movement inventory by retraining the mind to change the PD behavior patterns.

We are presently reaching out to more therapists and instructors in Monsey and the tristate area to help us reach more PwP, and we will be hosting Alex Kerten for a threeday workshop for our instructors and therapists this summer.

3

What is one great challenge you face in running the organization?

In addition to keeping the money stream steady, our biggest challenge is convincing PwP that they must take action. PD is a progressive condition that can be checked or even reversed, depending on the right combination of movement and medicine.

Rabbi Gruskin is a perfect example of this. After his diagnosis, he ignored his condition for three years and became trapped inside his body. He could not get in and out of a car. It would take twenty minutes to walk from his driveway to his house, and he had a difficult time eating.

But once he became aware that individuals with PD can do something to get better, he realized that movement is life. Since there is no medical cure yet, he began to practice simchah-dancing every night with his kids for an hour. Research proves that dancing and learning new and challenging movements slows down PD progression, and moving together in a group really fires up the neurons. After a year and a half, he was a new person. That’s when he became an activist for others with PD.

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 43

Well Informed

Dedicated to Health

4

Can you share a story that highlights the work you do?

This past October, we brought in Alex Kerten for two great workshops. We had an all-day training for therapists and instructors and an all-day workshop for PwP and their families. It was an overwhelming success.

Alex inspired our community to develop a healthy rhythm, to combat the freezing and tremors, to see that movement is life and that you cannot live a full life if you are not attuned to the needs of your body.

Alex brought a group of men onto the stage to show how music and rhythm can inspire a healthy and balanced movement repertoire. Gradually, the men, who could barely move — both those on stage and those in the audience — were dancing as never before. One said, “I forgot I even had Parkinson’s.”

5

What do you wish people would know about Parkinson’s?

Although there is no cure as of yet, there is much one can do to control the condition. Most of all, though, one must move. The lack of motivation and depression in PwP is not because they are depressed about having the disease; it is a symptom of the disease, but exercise really helps.

Studies show that by adding physical activity to our lives, we become more socially active — it boosts our confidence and provides an opportunity to meet people.

The vigor and motivation that exercise brings help us establish and maintain social connections.

Social connections are critical as well, since PwP are often ashamed for people to know about their condition. SPARKStudio, where these people spend time with each other and enjoy each other’s company, helps take away that stigma; there is no shame in being there, so PwP are no longer alone. One member’s daughter told us, “My mother feels like Sparks is her home — a place she feels safe and not alone.”

Exercise is a great tool for everyone. In Britain, doctors now use exercise as a first-line treatment for depression, but it’s vastly underutilized in the United States, and that needs to change. Keep challenging your mind. Doing a mix of low-, medium-, and high-intensity exercise is important, as it improves the brain and body.

44 Wellspring | May 2019

Rabbi Moshe Gruskin Sparks of Life’s founder

Lakewood resident Rabbi Moshe Gruskin began experiencing Parkinson’s symptoms in 2009. Denial kept him from doing anything about it. Four years later, and facing life as an invalid, he agreed to see a specialist and began to fight for his health. When he learned that doctors and researchers have concluded that exercise can decrease, and even reverse, Parkinson’s symptoms, he went into high gear to help himself and others. Today, he is a new man.

Rabbi Gruskin started Sparks of Life to share his success story with other people with Parkinson’s. He is passionate about the need to create awareness within the Jewish community to improve the lives of those who are also facing this challenge.

Event Calendar In addition to informing and empowering those facing Parkinson’s with the latest treatment options and personalized suggestions for each case, Sparks of Life has been hosting public awareness events across the tri-state area.

This month, they will be running an exciting event in Monsey with Rabbi Jonathan Rietti and in November with Dr. Laurie Mischley.

6

Can you share a positive story that you’ve recently experienced?

One of our members drives from an hour away, each way, three times a week, to come to SPARKStudio. Her daughter told me that before she came to us, her mother couldn’t even prepare Shabbos. Now she just coasts through her preparations. Not only that, but she was able to cut back on her medications, and her doctor is also raving about how well she is doing.

Another woman, Leah, used to write poetry before she was diagnosed. After that, she stopped writing. One day, I asked her to create a poem that we could put to music for the next class. Leah said she would look to see if she had something suitable from the poems she had written before, but by the next class, she arrived with a new piece she had written, the first since she had symptoms.

“I don’t know,” she said, when we asked her how she had done it. “It just came out of me.” The drive and initiative she was sure she had lost was regained.

PwP suffer from a lack of dopamine, which can bring on depression. Exercise stimulates dopamine production, so it was no wonder that Leah felt like her old self again after attending SPARKStudio classes.

7

What is an interesting area of healthy well-being SPARKStudio has explored?

Our method of MREE (Movement, Rhythm, Expression, and Energy) is the most interesting area we are still exploring.

Talking, connecting, and socializing are a huge part of the healing process and create a value way beyond even the exercise. We are teaching gratitude and learning to heal from within.

In addition, we have found that PwP sometimes need to make a one-on-one connection to get past their unique, individual challenges. One-on-one private treatment can be an important component in PD care. One-on-one help encourages individuals to break old behavior patterns to learn healthy new habits.

Neuroplasticity is the novel idea that the brain can change. This idea is brought out in private practice and in group classes.

One-on-one participants can interact online with Alex Kerten, together with a local therapist, for the initial consultation and goal-setting. Then we arrange for private trainers to come in a couple of times a week for one-on-one work. Both classwork and one-on-one training turns out to be a real winning combination.

8

What’s the best part of your work?

The best part of my work is making a difference in people’s lives. One member recently told me, “Thank you for having SPARKStudio — it is saving my life.”

People tell me that the classes are the best thing for them, and these are PwP who never wanted anyone to know they had the condition, but now they can be more open about it, which is healthier all around.

9

How do you manage the stress that comes along with your taxing work?

My work can be taxing but when I am able to see the purpose behind it all, the results, no matter how incrementally small, are a joy! I take the advice that I give to all our members — MREE — Movement, Rhythm, Expression, and Energy. Helping others, and giving in a way I know I am meant to do, make my day. In addition, learning with our members to be grateful for all the small things in our lives is key to healing from within and takes the stress out of life!

10

What was a powerful feedback message you received about your work?

When members share experiences and information and give chizuk to each other, it’s a powerful group message, especially when we see how everyone is rooting for one another.

I also get chizuk when a spouse or family member calls to tell me about the remarkable improvement in their loved one. That keeps us all going.

Sparks of Life trainers have received feedback from neurologists that they are seeing advances in their SparkStudio members who are actively involved and taking responsibility for their health.

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 45

Living Well

In Good Shape By Syma Kranz, PFC

Diet May Be More Important for Losing Weight,

But You Need Exercise to Maintain It Losing weight is only half the battle. Then you have to maintain it! The odds of maintaining your weight loss are, unfortunately, overwhelmingly against you.

1

How Your Body ‘Sees’ Weight Loss

When you lose a significant amount of weight, your body makes adjustments that affect your appetite and activity level. These adjustments are beyond your conscious awareness, but the fact is that you unconsciously eat more and move less after losing weight. Even though you’re happy at your new weight, your body views the loss as a threat to homeostasis. Thus your body subtly shifts your physiology, leading you back toward gradual weight gain.

46 Wellspring | May 2019

It wants to make sure you have enough stored fuel should a famine come along.

You might think that watching everything you eat is more important than moving your body for avoiding weight regain. However, a new study suggests that exercise matters for weight maintenance after significant weight loss, and if you don’t stay physically active, you’ll likely end up back where you started.

2

The Importance of Strength Training

3

Get Back to Basics

Exercise is important for preventing weight regain, but let’s not forget about the other physical benefits. Exercise, particularly strength training, helps you maintain a healthy body composition. It’s not weight that matters as much as the composition of that body weight. Even normal-weight people can be obese based on body-fat measurements.

Strength training helps you hold onto and build lean body mass for healthier body composition. Therefore, strength training is a must for preserving muscle.

If you’re trying to avoid regaining the weight you lost, make sure your lifestyle habits are sustainable. Excessive calorie restriction isn’t something you’ll be able to or should maintain long term. Upgrade the composition of your diet so you’re eating more whole foods and fiber-rich fruits and vegetables rather than obsessing over calories. Food quality

Also, research suggests that the quantity of exercise you need to ward off weight regain is higher than the amount established for heart health. The quantity of exercise recommended for cardiovascular fitness is 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of highintensity physical activity per week. If you’re trying to hang onto a lower body weight, you may need to move a little more than the established minimums.

matters for weight control and for your health. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep and managing stress, too. Lack of sleep and chronic stress can elevate cortisol, a hormone that increases appetite and weight gain in the long term.

Finally, eat mindfully. Studies show we’re satisfied with less when we consume our food in a slow, mindful manner.

Maintaining weight loss through diet and exercise is not easy. But the long-term benefits of good health make the hard work worth it. Remember that the process is a journey, and we all have our ups and downs, but the main thing is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep it up!

Syma Kranz, PFC, is a certified aerobics, Pilates, and Barre instructor, as well as the fitness director at Fusion Fitness in Lakewood, New Jersey. What started out as a small exercise class in her home catapulted into a popular gym that prides itself with tzanua, professional instructors and an appropriate atmosphere with lyric-free music and proper attire. Syma specializes in training women to integrate fitness into their busy lives, paying special attention to proper form and alignment and specializing in core and pelvic floor strengthening.

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 47

Living Well

Ask the Nutritionist By Shani Taub, CDC

Midlife Weight Gain

How can I deal with it?

Question: For years, I was the person everyone was jealous of. I never had to concentrate on what I ate for fear that my clothes would get tight. I always ate in a rather disciplined way, enjoying salads and nutritious foods as well as other stuff, but that came naturally to me, and I didn’t have to think too much about saying yes or no to dessert. When I was in the mood for it, I went for it, and when I wasn’t, I simply declined the offer. Having an upcoming simchah on the calendar never meant scrambling for another crash diet. That was life for me until about a year ago.

As I’m thankfully making my way into middle age and feeling grateful for the gifts in my life, I can’t help but realize how things are changing on the weight end. It looks like my metabolism is starting to catch up with me, and I don’t know what to do about it.

At 48, I am, baruch Hashem, healthy, but I know that unnecessary weight gain won’t do me much good at this stage in my life — or later. Is weight gain a natural part of middle age? And what can I do to keep my weight in a healthy range while I enjoy the perks of growing up?

The Menopause-Weight Gain Connection In my experience, I have found that a slower metabolism is not necessarily the main reason for midlife weight gain in most women. In fact, I’ve worked with women in their sixties and even older whose metabolism worked faster than that of some adolescent clients. However, for some women, even if they’re maintaining the same diet and exercise routines that they’ve had for years, and even if the number on the scale doesn’t change, they complain of a shift in fat to the midsection after menopause. This is a normal tendency that may be a result of a loss of estrogen. Regardless, adhering to a healthy diet and a regular exercise program will only be of benefit in maintaining a healthy weight and remaining in good health.

48 Wellspring | May 2019

Shani’s response: Welcome to the world of normal people. You’re in this with everyone else. While for many years you were accustomed to not thinking much about which foods you consumed, that reality was a bonus, an exception to the rule. Now, you’ve joined the club that most human beings are members of, so I’d like to welcome you inside.

The food we eat impacts us all in some way. Whether we’re aware of it or not, no food simply passes through the body without having some impact. A nutritionally dense food, such as vegetables and lean protein, will provide the body with a kick of energy and many vital nutrients, while a food that contains empty calories, such as processed foods or those that are high in sugar, will only cause damage. The foods we eat play a role in the functioning of all the body’s vital systems, including circulation, hormone production, and, of course, digestion.

For most people, however, one of the most obvious effects of the foods they consume is in the weight arena. If people eat mainly nutritionally dense foods for a considerable amount of time, they will literally see the difference on the scale or feel it in their clothes.

When the opposite happens, the results are obvious, too. Weight gain is a natural part of the digestion process that occurs when the body becomes overstocked with material that gets stored as fat in the body.

You say that until recently you were able to eat freely without considering your weight. While most people who are concerned about weight gain do have to think about their food intake — which could be a good thing because it encourages them to make healthy choices — the way you describe your past eating habits sounds like you were simply in balance naturally. Your apparently healthy eating habits may have been a contributing factor in the healthy weight you maintained for decades.

So, while it may be true that your metabolism has been slowing down gradually over time, the real reason for your weight gain may be the lifestyle changes you may have inadvertently adopted. For example, most people are simply more active in their twenties and thirties than they are later on. Physical activity is one of the best ways to speed up the metabolism and keep it going all day long. Another good way to rev up the metabolism is to drink water, especially at temperatures that are higher or lower than the body’s. When you drink either cold or hot water, the body fights to maintain its homeostasis, getting the metabolism to work in the process, which leads to a bonus calorie burn.

Also, if you haven’t been paying much attention to your food intake, you may be surprised to notice that you could be eating differently than you once did. Perhaps you have more time to eat, or you eat out more than you did in your younger years. Even slight changes to your diet may be contributing to weight gain without you being conscious of those variations.

Midlife comes with many changes, and weight gain with a slower metabolism is one of them. Just as you have to adjust to the other changes, accepting certain new realities and investing in yourself to make the other changes work for you, maintaining a healthy weight and remaining physically active will have to become part of those tasks. I recommend that you see a nutritionist or dietitian to get a plan that works for you and to help you understand the basic benefits that each food group provides. Find a way to make physical activity fun, such as doing it with a friend or two or choosing activities that you enjoy, so you’ll stick to the regimen on a consistent basis.

It makes sense for you to miss the days when you didn’t have to think about the consequences of your meals, but you may take comfort in knowing that now, when you will have to be more conscious of what you consume, you will feed your body what it needs most: a healthy, balanced diet.

Please send your questions to the nutritionist to info@wellspringmagazine.com.

Shani Taub, CDC, has been practicing as a certified nutritionist in Lakewood for almost a decade, meeting with clients in person and on the phone. She also owns the highly popular Shani Taub food line, which carries healthy, approved, pre-measured foods and delicacies sold at supermarkets and restaurants.

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 49

SHLOMIE B.

Living Well

Health Profile By Rachel Esses

Age: 38

Gender: Male

Weight: 249 pounds

Marital Status: Married

Location: Five Towns

Height: 5'8"

Occupation: Loan broker

Favorite health food: Bananas and peanut butter, for sure!

That's an amazing health food choice!

Bananas are a very good source of potassium, manganese, and vitamin C. They also provide an energy boost, as well as aid in digestion and with gastrointestinal problems. Peanut butter is nutritious as well.

It’s a good source of protein, low in carbohydrates, high in healthy fats, and rich in antioxidants. However, remember to limit peanut butter to one to two tablespoons and make sure it’s reduced-fat.

Favorite junk food: Bagels Bagels certainly taste good, but one bagel equals about six servings of bread.

Favorite exercise: I love to walk for one and a half hours every day after I finish working, no matter what time it is. It just makes me feel very good and refreshed after a long day.

If you have no time to do any other form of exercise, walking is a good alternative.

Walking in itself is very beneficial to your health. You don’t only burn calories, but you also strengthen your heart, boost your energy and immune system, and lower your blood sugar.

Not only do you get these health benefits but you feel great after, too.

Favorite nutritious dish: Honestly, I don’t love the taste of “healthy” foods, but if I had to choose, I would say brown rice as opposed to white rice.

Brown rice is much better than white rice, so that’s good. One cup of white rice has one gram of fiber, whereas one cup of brown rice has four grams of fiber. The fiber in brown rice helps lower cholesterol, promotes fullness, and prevents formation of blood clots.

My usual bedtime: 1:30 a.m. My usual wake-up time: 6:15 a.m.

My biggest meal on a usual day: Lunch is my biggest meal of the day. That probably sounds funny since I’m busy at work all day. However, when it comes to lunch everything else pauses.

My usual dinner menu: I usually eat pasta with zucchini, peppers, onions, and mushrooms, with salmon on top, and I like the garlic-lemon sauce my wife makes with it.

My weight loss saga: I have a hard time eating snacks throughout the day, like a fruit or even a yogurt.

Lunch is the biggest meal of the day so I don’t feel much of a need for anything else after.

I’m glad you make sure to have a satisfying lunch. I do suggest having a couple of snacks afterward, even if it’s a small fruit or a bag of popcorn. This helps keep your metabolism going.

Greatest weight loss challenge: I’m a big coffee-drinker so I probably drink too much coffee and barely drink any other liquids such as water.

It’s extremely important to drink water throughout the day. The minimum daily amount of water for males is 10 cups. Especially since you drink a lot of coffee, and caffeine dehydrates the body, drinking enough water is vital for you. Take it step by step, two cups of water at a time until you become used to drinking all of it.

My weight/lifestyle goals: To lose 35 pounds Drinking 10 cups of water is one good start. Good luck in getting there!

How I would treat myself if I get there: I would go to Eretz Yisrael with my wife and five kids!

Rachel Esses is a nutrition counselor at Nutrition by Tanya, a nutrition practice run by Tanya Rosen, which has locations in Boro Park, Flatbush, Lakewood, Monsey, Monroe, Williamsburg, Queens, Five Towns, and Israel. Tanya is the creator of the TAP (Tanya approved products) line available on her website, offices, and at select supermarkets, offering all-natural low-calorie delicious snacks and food. Tanya can be reached through The Wellspring.

50 Wellspring | May 2019

WHEN I TAKE CARE OF MYSELF, I TAKE BETTER CARE OF THE PEOPLE I LOVE.

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Living Well

Feature

Succumbing to Sweet Slumber

By Ruchy Reese While the benefits of sleep are many, a large percentage of the population simply doesn’t manage to get their much-needed shut-eye. Here, we explore the various sleep disorder types and what you can do to give your body the recharge it deserves.

Iyar 5779 | Wellspring 53

Living Well

Feature

“The insomnia has gotten so bad,” Mr. Chaim Katz tells me, “that I’ve joined Kollel Chatzos; at least I’ll be able to do something worthy while I’m up!”

Likewise, Mrs. Dina Weiss informs me that her freezer is stocked full of cakes due to her midnight baking marathons. And me? On some nights, insomnia breeds articles. Other times, I just shiver and shake as my body misbehaves, waiting for the hours to finally pass.

I, like Mr. Katz and Mrs. Weiss, suffer from Red Skin Syndrome, a condition caused by wrongful use of topical steroids. Sleepless nights are part of the parcel, and though I’ve come to appreciate the dawn chorus of birds outside my window and the hues that come with the sun breaking over the horizon, I’ve also come to appreciate the sleep I rarely get.

On any given night I’ll look at my bed and wonder: Will tonight be the night I succumb to sweet slumber?

If you’re like many people in this day and age, you likely attach far less value to sleep than it deserves. In fact, making due with minimal slumber is often seen as a source of pride, as if skipping the shut-eye is a true sign of strength. And while staying up all night is worthy of praise once a year on Shavuos, it should be frowned upon the rest of the time. Because aside from all of the obvious perks such as feeling great, enhanced ability to focus, increased empathy, and a bounce in your step, the proper amounts and types of sleep are integral to your health. But what about those who desperately try to heed the call of their circadian rhythm, but somehow just can’t catch quality shut-eye? People with sleep disorders suffer greatly, rarely feeling fully rested. Thankfully, science is advancing, with more knowledge being gained daily about how to get the most out of the sleep we crave.

Before we delve into deficiencies, however, let’s understand what's so important about sleep anyway. Why do living beings require periods of altered consciousness?

The truth is that scientists are still largely in the dark (no pun intended) about the ultimate reason for sleep, but the constantly emerging data about what sleep accomplishes is astounding and somewhat frightening when we consider the implications of not sleeping well. Let’s get into the

54 Wellspring | May 2019

nitty-gritty of what your body’s doing while your eyes are shut.

The Janitor in Your Brain Brains are busy during the day. Really busy. And just like in busy households, clean-up is often pushed off for quieter moments. You see, the brain is an incredibly complex organ and uses tremendous energy throughout the day. But along with energy use comes energy waste.

One specific waste product in the brain is a sticky protein called beta-amyloid that has a really bad rap for being closely associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Patients with the disease have clusters of beta-amyloid that disrupt communication between neurons, ultimately resulting in brain cell death.

In a fascinating 2012 study funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, researchers discovered that during sleep, a clear fluid called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) washes over the brain’s blood vessels, clearing away toxic debris, specifically betaamyloid. Likewise, in a more recent study on participants who skipped only one night of sleep, thereby forgoing that nightly CSF scrub-down, results showed a 5 percent increase in beta-amyloid burden. While it’s important to note that these findings don’t necessarily mean that lack of sleep is the direct cause of Alzheimer’s, they have given scientists direction, helping them to hopefully develop new treatments for the condition. Laymen, however, just need to know that scrimping on sleep is like letting dirt pile up in the brain; something not at all conducive for healthy living.

Memory Consolidation We’ve all had those bleary-eyed days where we fumble over our feet, clumsy and unfocused. It takes tremendous effort just to get through the day, let alone learn and retain a new skill. Is it no wonder then, that sleep plays an integral role in the formation of memories, including skill-based memory?

“Deep sleep,” one of the four phases of the sleep cycle, specifically, is important to memory consolidation. During

Workers who remain in artificially bright environments and stay awake through the night do not produce sufficient amounts of melatonin.

who were allowed to sleep for only four hours on a single night, the function of natural killer cells, a type of white blood cell responsible for identifying and destroying invading substances, was reduced by a mean of 72 percent in most of the participants. The good news is that the performance of the cells returned to normal after a night of recovery sleep. But what if a person is running on a chronic lack of sleep? Those who are deprived of normative slumber on a frequent basis may be wading through life with a severely deficient immune system.

Hormonal Dysfunction deep sleep, the pattern of brainwaves is significantly altered, with slow waves replacing the relatively fast waves that our bodies produce at other times. These waves are believed to be responsible for converting our daytime interactions into long-term memories. When we shortchange ourselves on sleep, the ability to remember things we’ve learned and done is dampened. In a study comparing two groups, one of which consisted of people who had a full eight hours of sleep and the other, which consisted of people who had pulled an all-nighter, the group that went without sleep showed a 40 percent deficit in ability to make new memories.

Deep sleep is also the time in which cells repair themselves from the wear-and-tear of the day, and is also the time that the secretion of growth hormones, which come from the pineal gland in the brain, is at its highest.

Losing out on deep sleep is problematic for anyone, but it may be most concerning in children whose brains and bodies are still developing, and who rely upon growth hormones to bring out their physical potential and deep sleep to consolidate all of what they’ve learned throughout the day.

Fight Off Invaders These days, it's pretty common knowledge that a wellfunctioning immune system is vital to health and wellbeing. What's less known, however, is the impact that sleep has on the immune system.

In a small yet eye-opening study of 23 healthy people

Even our hormones are affected by a lack of sleep. In 2007, the International Institute for Research on Cancer added to their list as a “probable human carcinogen” shift work that disrupts the natural circadian function. The rise of various cancers seen in populations of workers who switch night for day and day for night is speculated to be related to a lack of proper melatonin secretion. Melatonin, a stress hormone that activates when darkness begins, signals to the body that it’s time to shut down and go to sleep. But workers who remain in artificially bright environments and stay awake through the night do not produce sufficient amounts of melatonin. Over the course of time, this can lead to significant health concern.

In women, the hormone estrogen, which is associated with specific forms of cancer when secreted in excess, is produced by the body to compensate for melatonin deficit.

Add to those factors a sleep-deprived body struggling with impaired immune function (which causes those natural killer cells to less effectively fight off cancerous growths), and a health crisis may be in the making.

Of course, not every shift worker will suffer significant bodily damage, but the data is concerning enough to make one pause and say, “No more excuses; it’s really time for bed now.”

Beyond hormonal balance, immune function, memory storage, and the brain-clearing benefits of sleep, there are probably many more functions taking place in the brain and body during hours of slumber that scientists have yet to discover. All the data we have points to one fact: Sleep is too precious to play around with.

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