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On the Cover: Bobbie Miller, Oklahoma’s own News 9 This Morning anchor. She’s got a super busy working-mom lifestyle that typically starts at 3:00 a.m. everyday. Miller finds time to be active with her three children and teach them the value of leading an active lifestyle. “Any exercise I do, I do with my kids. I don’t own a gym membership,” says Miller. Even Miller’s employer, Griffin Communications, helps support a healthy working environment for employees by providing healthy options in the workplace like fitness/weight-loss challenges and healthy food choices in the break room.
John West
Photo Support Brent Niles of BBJN Designs Thrive Staff
For advertising info call Thrive Magazine at 405.210.8205 or e-mail thriveokinfo@gmail.com Copyright © 2014 by Thrive Oklahoma, Health and Well Being and Green Apple Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the expressed written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Thrive Oklahoma Magazine assumes no responsibility for the content of articles or advertisements, in that the views expressed therein may not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or any magazine employee or contributor. Content in this publication should not replace the advice or your physician. This publication and all its contents are copyrighted.
Fall Leaves As fall launches into full swing, I want to embrace the cooler temperatures and the opportunity to reconnect with friends and family this season. With all the extra social opportunities, our children will come into contact with new surroundings and many new acquaintances– perhaps even go to a new school this year. Fall may also bring kids into contact with new teachers, new friends - and maybe even some new fears. No one likes the thought of children picking on each other to the point where it leaves permanent emotional damage. I‘ve had some candid conversations with school administrators, as well as representatives from the National Parent Teacher Association in Washington, DC about bullying in our schools. It’s an alarming and pervasive issue regardless of whether a child attends public or private school. The rate of bullying tends to be about the same however, the consensus about what to do, always comes back to awareness on both sides of the problem. It’s my sincere hope that our ThriveOK readers become empowered to support their children and become very aware of the bullying situation in our schools and online – it’s not some right of passage we must all go through! This fall I too am stepping back into the classroom as a Science & Engineering Adjunct Professor. My old class was there just waiting for me and it may start to feel like old times again as the semester gets under way. As a scientist, I tend to look for the scientific value in all things. In this issue we’ve made the conscience choice to include the debate on using the plant, Cannabis sativa for its medicinal properties. We talked with mothers who have little other choice than to dissect their child’s brain in half in order to eliminate the debilitating daily seizures. The only thing that has helped reduce the seizing episodes is Cannabis oil. As parents we are tasked with finding what works best for our kids. Most of us can relate to the constant juggle between life, work and family. Striking a balance with all of that can be magical! News 9 This Morning anchor, Bobbie Miller loves the go-go-go pace of her career and she’s got three young kids at home to add to the mix. Read more about how she finds balance between a busy career that literally starts at the crack of dawn and an active lifestyle. In this issue, ThriveOK’s featured authors. Dr. Jimmy and Andrea Conway share their healthy tips for eating on the go. And we are featuring all vegetarian recipes this month. As the trees begin their beautiful transition from green to red and orange, we too will be changing into our favorite team’s colors as another football season begins. Whether you’re in OU Crimson, OSU Orange or Tulsa Blue and Gold, remember that it’s just a game. Root FOR your team, not against the other. From little league to high school, college and the pros, be a good sport and demonstrate that to your children. Go Pokes!
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34 24 Features
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20 Cannabis for Health? 24 Meet the Millers 30 Eating Healthy on the Go special guest author Jimmy Conway, MD 36 Dysphagia: A Tough Pill to Swallow
Community Corner
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32 Fighting Hunger & Feeding Hope 33 Gia Madole Races Tahoe 200 34 Crafting the Food of the Future
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39 Living Well 12 14 16 18 28 42 43
A Fall Color Palate Tools To Stop A Bully At School Combine Learning Science & Play E-Cigs: Pros & Cons Too Young to Stroke Pushing Back the Clock A Cloudy Forecast
Mind / Body Connection
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Mind |Body
Books In Review
Recipes
Destinations
10 Some Kids Fiddle to Focus 31 Easy Black Bean Burgers and more
40 Grain Brain
39 Livesay Orchard Tours
Fiscal Fitness 44 Beyond the Budget
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Thrive Oklahoma Health partnered with Prodigal and Energy FC to treat one lucky outgoing Oklahoma family to a night on the town. It began with a limo ride from Backstage Limo service to a complementary dinner at Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse in Bricktown then off to the soccer game with Club-level seats!
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| Mind Body
by Paul Fairchild Life in the classroom is harder for Nicholas than it is for most students his age. The 9-year-old struggles with Attention Deficit Disorder and coexisting anxiety. For him, focus and concentration are hard-won prizes. But the coming school year will be easier for him, thanks to the secret weapon he keeps under his desk.
actively engaging the subject matter. They move. They touch. They participate with motion.
“In Kindergarten, he was the kid that was always in trouble. He couldn’t sit down. He’d come home from school and say, ‘I don’t want to go to school. I can’t sit there all day.’ It was very frustrating for him,” says Nicholas’s mom, a child development specialist.
“Keeping the hands busy can really help us concentrate on what’s coming in,” says Dr. Laura Riffel, a child development specialist and behavioral therapist. “When a child fidgets with a paper clip, it’s helping them concentrate Adults do this all the time, too. When a teacher takes that paper clip away, they’re reducing the kid’s retention of material they’re hearing by 39 percent.”
It was equally frustrating for his teacher and the students around him. The burning, irresistible compulsion to move expressed itself as acting out with behavior that disrupted the normal, social give and take of a classroom. Today, when Nicholas gets overwhelmed by the impulse to move, he reaches under his desk. There he finds a deceptively simple solution to his complex problem. Attached to the bottom of his desk with Velcro is what Rains and her partner, Dr. Jane Humphries, call a Busy Fingers. Created for Nicholas but helpful for so many others, it’s a product offered by their company, Creative Educational Strategies & Services, LLC. The fabric-covered, 4” by 12” strip of rubber, hung stealthily and discreetly from the underside of a desk, makes a classroom tolerable for many kids with ADHD. The Busy Fingers has applications for far more kids than the ADHD population, however. In recent years, educators and researchers have spent time looking at learning styles. One style, kinesthetic learning, poses particular challenges in classroom settings where students must sit and focus on one thing for long periods of time. Kinesthetic learners—“mover-learners” in the jargon of childhood development—are the kids that learn best when they’re 10
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Sometimes fidgeting blossoms into a full-blown behavior issue and sometimes it’s just a low-level nuisance in the classroom. Rains and Humphries, familiar with child development research, treat it as a learning strategy.
Each of the four fabrics on the Busy Fingers sports a different, unique texture, making it a playground of tactile sensation. The pliable rubber core makes it perfect for squeezing or pushing, proprioceptive behaviors that help ADHD kids—or mover-learners—focus. It’s noiseless, out of sight, and isn’t a distraction for other students. “The Busy Fingers is great because it attaches underneath the desk so that it’s always there. It’s immediately available, but it doesn’t become a flying object. Touching it, squeezing it, really helps these kids concentrate,” says Riffel. The story of how Busy Fingers—and its bigger brother, Busy Hands—made it into stores is one of trial and error, wandering the aisles at Lowe’s with a child’s curiosity and sewing at random. Like most kids with ADHD, Nicholas has trouble getting to sleep. That was the topic of conversation at a lunch Rains and Humphries shared almost a year ago. Fidgeting kept Nicholas awake at night. After looking at the problem from multiple angles, they formed an unusual hypothesis. Maybe, they thought, the trick isn’t getting rid of the fidgeting. Maybe the
trick is going with the flow, making the fidgeting work for Nicholas. They reasoned that an object that kept Nicholas’s hands busy might put his mind at rest, making it that much easier for him to drift off into sleep. The brainstorming session resulted in a stuffed, multitextured unicorn pillow, sewing courtesy of Humphries’s mother. It worked, a hit for Nicholas and Kari. She and Humphries sat down to tackle the next area where fidgeting cut into Nicholas’s lifestyle: school. At school, the fidgeting—the product of a burning, makeyour-skin-crawl, irresistible urge to move—was even more problematic. It kept Nicholas from focusing on lessons. The resulting behavior disrupted lessons and distracted other students. Any viable solution would have to incorporate fidgeting without distracting his peers. But again, they treated fidgeting as more of a strategy than a behavior that needed nixing. “This started as a project for Kari’s son, Nicholas,” says Humphries. “As time’s gone on, we’ve used it with all kinds of kids. They have a lot of sensory issues, anyway, whether they’re mover-learners or just kids that have to touch and feel. We’ve found that if a child’s interested in it, it works for them.” The two knew that any solution to fidgeting also couldn’t be a distraction to other students. It had to be silent and out of sight. They opted for an under-the-desk solution. First they fastened sandpaper to the bottom of Nicholas’s desk, but he didn’t like the texture. Also, his fidgeting was more about pushing and pulling, manipulating, than just experiencing different textures. Humphries embarked on the first in a series of long, wandering shopping trips at Lowe’s. With her husband in tow, she scoured the aisles for unusual textures to incorporate into the Busy Fingers design. Touching, pressing and poking everything in sight, she perused flexible, textured materials from the garden department all the way to interior decorating. If it bent, squished or squashed, it got her attention.
The second iteration of the Busy Fingers offered multiple textures sewn around a core of insulating foam, the end result of countless hours at Lowe’s and multiple passes at her mom’s sewing machine. This version hit the mark, and Nicholas gave it a full thumbs-up. “The mover-learners,” Humphries explains, “are the kids that truly have to move to learn. Visual learners, for instance, can sit and read forever. The visual stimulation provided by the book captivates them. But the moverlearner wants to be part of the story. They want to act it out. They want to walk around and move while hearing the story. That’s how they take in information. To tell them to sit still and just focus on the visuals, well, it’s just too hard for them.” Sure enough, the next version of Busy Fingers— far closer to the version available on the shelves today—found its larger audience, starting with Nicholas’s teacher and fellow students. While not formal market testing, the acceptance of other students was key. Too often, coping strategies for fidgeters come at a high social cost. Fidgeters get branded as nerds by less understanding peers. “This wasn’t something that made Nicholas different,” says Rains. “It’s something that helped him and the other kids saw that, too.”Humphries had only one more person to please with Busy Fingers—a patent attorney. The task ended up being a lot easier than she anticipated. When she showed off Busy Fingers to him, he immediately approved, in no small part because his wife was a special education teacher and he was familiar with the problems Busy Fingers solves. Lorraine Auchter, longtime occupational therapist, uses Busy Fingers at her Edmond clinic, Sensational Kids. “If a kid’s brain needs to move to stay focused and we can give them a Busy Fingers, it’s kind of like letting them pet a puppy. It definitely reduces stress and anxiety by keeping continued on page 26 Thrive Oklahoma
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| Living Well
As the weather cools, and we gear up for the holidays,the types of food we prepare changes.
by Kate Collins, MA, RD/LD he fall season is known for robust, deep hues like orange, red, purple and yellow. Keep in mind, the different colors of fruit and vegetables provide a variety of benefits to our body. A diverse and colorful palette contributes higher amounts of phytonutrients and antioxidants; which are the properties that fight off disease and keep us looking youthful. Here are a handful of our favorite fall colors that just happen to be nutritious winners.
Red:
Fall foods like cranberries, apples, beets, red onions, tomato and cabbage have components called lycopene, Ellagic acid, and Quercetin. These foods are not only high in vitamin A and fiber, they also may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer, heart disease, and gastrointestinal disorders.
Blue and Purple:
So you know red wine is good for you, but do you know why? It’s the Resveratrol. Blue and purple foods contain Resveratrol, which has been shown to provide anti-aging benefits. These pretty shades also have Anthocyanin, which assists in reducing blood clots, lowering cholesterol and preventing the formation of plaque in the arteries. Have you had your blue today? Our favorite fall picks are blueberries, grapes, eggplant and purple carrots.
Green:
Green is a great source of many antioxidants, the most common being calcium (move over milk), Lutein, vitamin C and Zeaxanthin. Leafy greens like Romaine lettuce, spinach, and collard greens all may aid in preventing macular degeneration leading to cataracts. Kale has become quite the trendy food these days, and for good reason. It fits the bill for keeping bones and teeth strong, and also preventing arthritis. But, give the other greens a shot. Brussel sprouts, arugula, broccoli and 12
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even celery all work to lower risk for certain cancers. And, recent studies by the National Cancer Institute have shown that nearly every American fails to meet the dietary requirements for vegetable intake.
Yellow and Orange:
Grandma was right; carrots help you see at night. Yellow and orange pigment foods provide carotenoids, which improve heart health, night vision, and a healthy immune system. Much like leafy greens, orange colors are known as vision protectors by preventing cataracts. So many of our favorite fall foods fall into this category; pumpkins, winter squash, carrots and a Thanksgiving favorite, sweet potatoes.
White:
While the pigment isn’t bright, white foods are a great source of antioxidants that maintain a healthy heart and reduce the risk of many types of cancer. Some are rich in Allicin (the antibiotic properties found in garlic) and Indole, found in cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables. Indole is a component of essential amino acids. White foods protect against inflammation, and possibly reduce blood sugar and blood pressure. Some favorites in this group are: onions, garlic, shallots and mushrooms! Also included are artichokes, cauliflower, pears, plantains, and coconut. Need some ideas to add more color into your diet? Aim to include one color of the rainbow at every meal and snack. Eating through the color wheel for fall can boost your health in a variety of ways. Even a small serving can reduce disease, improve general health and maybe even counteract a few of those pesky wrinkles.
Try these colorful tips: Yellow banana for breakfast.
Purple blueberries in your mid-morning yogurt.
Green spinach and kale on your lunch salad or sandwich.
Orange carrots with hummus or Ranch dressing for an afternoon snack.
Red tomato sauce on pasta for dinner, made with white onion, garlic and mushrooms with a bit of red pepper for kick.
Here are a few tricks to add in a colorful palate for picky toddler: Add pureed carrots or sweet potatoes to dishes and casseroles like Mac N Cheese. Try mashing cauliflower and add to meals containing potatoes. Add chopped or pureed tomatoes, kale or red peppers to dishes like meat loaf.
Teachers’ Back-To-School Survival Bag
We are supporting teachers, therapists and caregivers. Use this bag to re-direct, calm or soothe. Sign up to win the Fiddle Focus Busy Bag. Filled with 12 different activities.
SCAN THIS CODE
This bag is only available at Events with Dr. Jane Humphries or from us at www.ThriveOK.com
by Creative Educational Strategies & Services, LLC & Thrive Oklahoma Health Magazine
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| Living Well
by Heidi May
National PTA has long been committed to ensuring that all children learn in a safe school environment that is free of bullying.
esearch indicates that the most effective bullying prevention efforts build a culture of caring and respect throughout the school community, rather than focusing attention only on children who bully and those who are bullied. Over the past several years, National PTA has worked with StopBullying.gov and other community partners in our Connect for Respect program, which aims to help local PTAs take the initiative to build positive school climates full of healthy and supportive relationships. It’s tough to admit that bullying in schools is a pervasive problem. Today bullying can go way beyond the playground with the use of the internet and social media. These types of negative experiences, when unaddressed during youth, can have lifelong consequences. All students have the right to learn in a school climate that’s safe and doesn’t instill fear. This is true both for students who bully and for their intended targets. Most parents and educators are probably aware of direct bullying behaviors such as teasing, taunting, threatening, hitting, and stealing. But there are indirect behaviors that are more passive aggressive like spreading rumors, causing social isolation through intentional exclusion, or smear tactics on the internet or by misusing social media. Children subjected to ongoing direct or indirect bullying behavior may experience both physical and psychological intimidation, which ultimately creates a pattern of harassment and abuse. Children who bully, when left unchecked, may develop risk factors such as violent behavior, as reported by the National Center 14
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for Injury Prevention and Control which is a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. School bullies whose behavior goes unchallenged risk ending up as violent adults. The biggest mistake parents make is neglecting to talk about the bullying problem with their children. Parents are often unaware and students are left feeling that adult intervention is infrequent and ineffective. Many targeted children feel that the intervention only brings more harassment from the bully. All too often school personnel may view bullying as a harmless rite of passage that is best ignored. Those who stand by passively watching or actively encouraging bullying are also affected by these hostile acts. Encouraging a bully by creating an audience, may cause people to become desensitized to cruel behavior. Other students may then learn to imitate bullying behaviors. Complacent students may become fearful for their own safety, thereby adding to their own insecurity. Bullying can happen anywhere and to any child. This is what makes bullying such an important issue. However, there are measures that schools, teachers, parents, and children can take to prevent or stop bullying and the first step is to become informed on bullying and its effects. Together parents, students, and school personnel work to bring about an atmosphere of zero tolerance for bullying behavior, and an attitude that bullying behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in homes, schools, playgrounds, buses, school activities, or any place children gather.
Facts to be Aware of at School: •
According to the report, Indicators of School Crime and Safety:2008 by the National Center for Education Statistics, about 32 % of students reported being bullied at school.1
Anti-Bullying Tips by National PTA Uses Prevention, Intervention, and Elimination to stop bullying Parents/Teachers: Ask Questions Get Involved
• 79 %of those students reported being bullied inside the school building, 23 % reported being bullied on school grounds, and 4 % reported being cyberbullied.1
Stay Calm
Document the Bullying Look for Help
Keep Bullying In Check:
• According to the 2001 National Crime Victimization Survey by the U.S. Department of Education, there were NO major differences found between the number of boys and girls being bullied.2
Encourage Empathy and Patience
• There were NO significant differences between the number of students bullied in public vs. private schools.2
Ask Around
• However, fewer students reported being bullied in schools where a security guard or police officer was present.2
Teach Tolerance Be A Role Model
Discourage Retaliation Talk with the child References: 1. Dinkes, R., Kemp, J., and Baum, K. 2009. Indicators of School Crime and Safety: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, and Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Washington, DC. 2. DeVoe, J. F., and Kaffenberger, S. 2005. Student Reports of Bullying: Results from the 2001 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC:
Effects of Bullying:
3. Department of Education Website, www.ed.gov
• Students who were bullied are more likely to take a weapon to school for protection.2 • Bullied students are also more likely to get involved in a physical fight.2 • Bullied students are more likely to receive lower grades than those students who are not being bullied.2 • Bullied students are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, health problems, and mental health problems.3
Together parents, students, and school personnel work to bring about an atmosphere of zero tolerance for bullying behavior, and an attitude that bullying behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in homes, schools, playgrounds, buses, school activities, or any place children gather.
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| Living Well
by Christa Copeland Oklahoma Museum Network (OMN) and Science Museum Oklahoma (SMO) have long been on the forefront of science education in our state. Each organization aims to enhance a love of science through discovery learning with the objective to reveal the wonders and relevance of science in our everyday lives. Funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the Oklahoma Museum Network is a program of Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, and partners include Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum in Seminole, Leonardo’s Discovery Warehouse & Adventure Quest in Enid, Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton, and Tulsa and the Children’s Museum in Tulsa. This collaboration is part of a state-wide consortium of five different museums all working together to provide hands-on discovery opportunities. These include learning and science resources for families, students, and educators across the state. OMN’s goal is to always keep fresh exhibits on the horizon for its patrons. OMN and SMO are pleased to collaborate and support a new exhibit at SMO called Tinkering Garage. Everyone loves to tinker, take things apart and see what makes them work on the inside. Experiences such as Tinkering Garage at SMO are made possible by the continued support of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Recently, the foundation has granted another $4.1 million to the Oklahoma Museum Network to provide support to all five partner museums through 2020. The grant allows OMN to expand its impact with new exhibits like Tinkering Garage, teacher workshops, outreach programs and Science Matters mobile museum for children and families throughout Oklahoma.
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The Tinkering Garage is a great place to investigate,
experiment, design and create. This is the place to access your innovation with tools and technology, which allows visitors of all ages the opportunity to dive deeper into problem solving, while exploring science, engineering, technology. SMO visitors can take part in the scientific process with a hands-on discovery lab to better demonstrate common technology in our world. This collaboration is a state-wide partnering of five different museums all working together to provide hands-on discovery opportunities. These include learning and science resources for families, students and educators across the state. Network members include Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum in Seminole, Leonardo’s Discovery Warehouse & Adventure Quest in Enid, Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton and Tulsa and the Children’s Museum in Tulsa. The OMN’s goal is to always keep fresh exhibits on the horizon for its patrons. Jeremiah Davis is the Internal Events and Outreach Coordinator at SMO. Davis has the distinct pleasure of seeing kids and their parents interacting with the exhibits. “I get to observe children and adults thinking outside the box to create these amazing tinker gadgets. We give them the materials and assistance, they provide the imagination. We don’t tell them how to build it, we just ask them to build it. Whatever ‘it’ may be, we give our guests the freedom to explore their imagination and test their designs in a controlled and fun environment,” says Davis.
Power Play is a new, permanent exhibit at Science Museum
Oklahoma which is located on the second floor next to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. This 4,000-square-foot, interactive exhibit is designed to test strength, speed, stamina, flexibility and balance. SMO’s Power Play exhibit touches on human physiology and the power of the human body. “Power Play not only gets kids moving, but it also inspires the conversation among adults and children about the ways in which
our bodies work, the importance of taking care of ourselves and choosing the right foods to maintain a healthy body,” said Suzette Ellison, museum vice president of interpretation. Power Play includes several interactive elements and physical challenges like a two-person, 50-foot dash, tug of war, climbing wall, and vertical jump. “The exhibit encourages kids to challenge themselves as well as strike up friendly competition with friends,” said Ellison. “We have always been a museum that encourages loud voices and playing. Now, we want families to get to running, jumping, and climbing through the physical challenges found inside Power Play.” Power Play most likely will appeal to children ages 6 to 12, but also has a mini-ropes course for younger, budding athletes ages birth to four years of age. Attractions are included with general admission ticket prices. Admission is $13.95 for adults (age 13-64), $11.95 for children (age 3-12) and seniors (65+).For more information on other exhibits and attractions at SMO, please visit www.sciencemuseumok.org. Thrive Oklahoma
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| Living Well
by Jessica Sanchez Many smokers agree that calling it quits on cigarettes is easier said than done. For some, going cold turkey, or trying the patch or even nicotine gum just doesn’t cut it. Electronic cigarettes or e-Cigs have been applauded by smokers and some healthcare workers as a viable alternative to taking a drag off cigarettes. However, e-Cigs have not yet been approved by the FDA for smoking cessation. E-Cigs are often promoted and sold as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, but little is actually known yet about the health effects of using these devices. 1 The habit of smoking, the flavors and the addiction to the nicotine is what smokers enjoy. E-Cigs give the hand-to-mouth activity and the throat-hit that smokers expect and enjoy from the real thing. However, the jury is still out on safety.
Vape Shop of Norman manager demonstrates his product.
The liquid components of e-cigs usually have three or four ingredients. The liquid or “juice” contains propylene glycol, glycerin, flavorings and nicotine in varying concentrations according to the smokers’ preference. John West, owner of the Vapor Stop in Noble and now newly opened in Norman, admits that his customers tell him, “We love the act of smoking”. West watched both of his grandparents wither away from lung cancer due to decades of smoking cigarettes. “It’s kind of cliché, but I got into this business to assist people to stop smoking.” continued West. Being a nonsmoker, West was resistant to the idea of opening a Vape shop at first, until he did his own research. Recently published reports show there’s a striking difference in smoking secession success rates in men using the nicotine patch or gum: Men were 19% likely to quit using gum alone and 34% likely to quit with the patch alone. This study did however show that men using e-Cigs were 66% likely to quit lighting up during the one year study.2 Although E-cigs may help those who want to decrease their intake of nicotine, there are some safety issues to be aware of.2, 3 There has been a steady increase in calls to the poison control center of Oklahoma with children becoming ill from the toxic effects of the liquid used in e-Cigs. Children come in contact with the e-Cig liquids by simply handling the vaping device. Nicotine concentrations of can vary from zero to 180 mg per teaspoon of E-cig liquid juice. This is roughly equal to the amount of nicotine delivered by smoking 90 cigarettes. An-
other concern with the juice is that it’s frequently packaged in non-child resistant containers. The juice is colorful, scented and flavored, which makes it highly attractive to children and warning labels may be inadequate or nonexistent. Nicotine can be inhaled or swallowed, but in many cases the liquid juice is being absorbed through the skin of the child touching/playing with the vaporizing device. Illness occurs simply by spilling the liquid on their skin or clothing. Symptoms of nicotine poisoning include vomiting, seizures, slowed breathing, low blood pressure, coma and even death. Poison centers play a vital role in detecting public health threats from emerging trends, such as the dangers that e-liquids pose to children. The Oklahoma Center for Poison and Drug Information (OCPDI) has recorded a steady rise in calls regarding human exposures to e-liquid since 2010. In 2010 the Center received 1 call, in 2013 there were 77 calls and as of June 18, 2014 the Center has already received 52 calls on human exposure to the nicotine found in E-cig juice. OCPDI encourages people who keep e-liquids or juice, liquid nicotine and other vapor products in their homes to keep them out of reach of children, and not to refill their vaporizing devices in front of children. Also, teach children that these are not toys, food or drinks and not to touch them. If a child has been exposed to e-liquid products do not wait for the child to look or act sick, call the Oklahoma Center
for Poison and Drug Information immediately at 1-800-2221222. The Oklahoma Center for Poison and Drug Information is one of 55 accredited regional poison control centers in the United States. The American Association of Poison Control Centers supports the nation’s 55 poison centers in their efforts to prevent and treat poison exposures. To order educational materials or arrange for a poison prevention presentation, please contact Whitney Kemp at (405) 271-5062. The Oklahoma Center for Poison and Drug Information (OCPDI) is a program of the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Call toll free (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the state and the caller will immediately be connected with a specialist who is ready to assist with a poisoning emergency or medication information question. These services are provided at no cost to the caller. The center is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by highly trained and certified pharmacists and nurses. Dr. William Banner, a nationally-recognized physician who specializes in medical toxicology and pediatric intensive care, serves as the Center’s medical director and was recently elected to be president of the American Association of Poison Control Centers. References: 1. BMC Public Health 2014. DOI 10.1186/1471-2458 pages 14-18. 2. Ramström, LM and Foulds. J. 2006. Role of SNUS in Initiation and Cessation of Tobacco Smoking in Sweden. Tob Control: 15(3): 210–214 3. Fiore, MC., Schroeder, SA. and Baker, TB. 2014. Smoke, the Chief Killer — Strategies for Targeting Combustible Tobacco Use. NEJM: 370:297-99.
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| Feature
by Paul Fairchild pilepsy is an everyday ordeal for Jaqie Warrior. On any given day, the quality of her life is a simple, basic reflection of how many seizures she endures. On a bad day, she rides her way through 175 of them. The good news: there’s a medicine that stops the seizures. The bad news: if she’s caught with it, she’ll be Oklahoma’s youngest felon. She’s two. Epilepsy affects some 30,000 kids in Oklahoma. For most, conventional treatments work, staving off the
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violent seizures that can end in death. There is a set of patients, however, that doesn’t respond to conventional treatments. For these kids, there’s only one last, great hope: marijuana. “After we tried all these medications, we got scared. We were out of options in Oklahoma. There were no other medications we could try. Jaqie’s living proof that cannabis oil works,” says Jaqie Warrior’s mother, Brittany Hardy.
Hardy, now a “medical marijuana refugee,” spoke to Thrive Oklahoma from Colorado, where Jaqie’s treatment is legal. Marijuana, even when used for medical purposes with the supervision of a licensed physician, is illegal in Oklahoma. In April, Hardy became a member of a group of part-time Coloradans, extreme commuters splitting their time between Colorado, where medical treatment with marijuana is legal, and Oklahoma, where they live. The arrangement, to say the least, is a strain on the family finances. Jaqie, and her husband reach hard to pay the bills that come with their unusual double life. Brittany shuttles back and forth between Colorado and Oklahoma while her husband works. It’s an arrangement they formed when Jaqie’s seizure took a turn for the worse this April while undergoing treatment with conventional medications. The couple is grateful for the help they’ve received from the larger community. Completely abandoning Oklahoma isn’t really a practical option for Jaqie. Her epilepsy is both dangerous and complex. Moving to Colorado would mean starting over with a new neurologist and the other more ancillary doctors she regularly sees. Since birth, Jaqie’s been admitted to the hospital 25 times. Her parents hope they can stave off the 26th with regular trips to Colorado. “In April she took a turn for the worse. Her brainwaves were super-slow and she was catatonic. We had no other choice. With a doctor’s recommendation, we moved her to Colorado to start her on cannabis oil,” says Hardy. Jaqie’s treatment, of course, isn’t covered by insurance. Austin Hilterbran, the unlucky victim of a deleted chromosome, lives with Dravet syndrome, a catastrophic form of epilepsy. It’s as bad as epilepsy can get, and Austin’s grand
mal seizures are the worst of the worst. He suffers dozens of them each day. Austin’s mother, Amy, endures the pain of watching him stop breathing during his seizures with grit and determination. Austin has lived several years past the original lifespan predicted by doctors when he was a toddler. Austin’s seizures are so frequent and severe that doctors considered a lobotomy until they discovered that the seizures have focal origins on both sides of the brain, making him a poor candidate for the procedure. A lobotomy is an end-ofthe-road option for kids like Austin. “I would let my kid try any plant on the face of the earth that wasn’t toxic,” says Amy. “I’d do that long before I’d even consider taking out a part of his brain.” Austin hasn’t tried medical marijuana yet. But his mother, Amy, recently left her job in anticipation of living the double life of the medical marijuana refugee. Austin will see Colorado. And a new treatment. Austin’s treatment will be particularly expensive. At 13, Austin’s lived far longer than most with Dravet syndrome. His doctors are hellbent on continuing his streak. They’re only willing to green light marijuana as a treatment option for Austin if it’s administered in a controlled environment, preferably a hospital setting. Austin’s parents are unsure how they’ll foot the bill. They, too, are grateful for help from the larger community. Like many patients that have turned to cannabis, Jaqie uses the oil form of the drug. Cannabis oil is an extract of mature marijuana plants. Preparers shoot for the isolation of marijuana’s constituent cannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC is the active psychoactive ingredient in marijuana and produces the well-known high when ingested or smoked. Doctors and researchers are still largely in the dark when it comes to explaining the workings of cannabis on the brain. Study results vary, but anecdotal evidence suggests the drug is effective for controlling spasticity — continured on page 22 Thrive Oklahoma
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Cannibis for Health Continued from page 21 the key feature of seizures — as well as managing pain and anxiety.
Bowman, director of the nonprofit advocacy group Drug Reform Network of Oklahoma.
Cannabis oil as a delivery system for cannabinoids offers the advantage of being a measured, specific way of controlling dosage. Oils can be distilled with exact ratios of THC and CBD, making its efficacy measurable. In short, cannabis oil takes a chunk of the marijuana mystery out of the equation.
That propaganda extends to the medical establishment. The American Medical Association, while calling for more studies, officially opposes the use of marijuana for medicinal treatment. The group’s opposition explains the reluctance of medical authorities to speak out and endorse the issue. Doctors fear paying a hefty price if they do: loss of their license.
Jason Cranford runs Colorado’s Flowering Hope Foundation. The company’s prepared cannabis oil for hundreds of patients, including Jaqie, since it hung out its shingle in 2009. Cannabis, he says, often helps patients and he’s never seen it hurt anybody. Cranford handles his preparations from soups to nuts, from growing the plants to making the oil. He starts with organic marijuana plants. But the plants that fill his greenhouse can’t be found anywhere else. Over the past few years, he’s taken a page out of Gregory Mendel’s playbook and almost completely bred THC out of two strains while maximizing CBD content. “We’ve bred the THC down to a 1 percent level. We’ve noticed that if the THC is too low and the CBD too high, it doesn’t work medicinally. We’ve bred a strain that’s showing really good results with seizure control,” he says. He grinds mature plants and, using extractors, captures the trichomes, the small appendages of the plant containing the cannabinoids. The extract is heated and added to botanical oils. The finished product is tested in a laboratory for potency before being given to the patient. And the finished product, he says, works well. “We’re working hard to gather evidence that’s not anecdotal. We saw Jaqie’s brain waves improve after treatment. Another patient that was in a wheelchair and wearing a helmet was able to walk after four months of treatment,” he says. “We see a lot of improvement in patients, particularly with cognitive function and motor skills.” The nonprofit group Oklahomans for Health circulated petitions to introduce the issue of medical marijuana on the November ballot this summer. Twenty other states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use. The group fell short of the 155,000 signatures needed. “There’s 100 years of ‘reefer madness’ to work through. A lot of people still buy into that propaganda. It’s very difficult to overcome. But we’re seeing that people that were opposed to it are changing their minds,” says Lisa 22
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Despite the failure of the petition, Oklahoma’s legislature will be studying the issue with an eye toward legislative action in next year’s session. Hearings will be held later this year. Both gubernatorial candidates, Mary Fallin and Joe Dorman, have signaled support for limited legislative action. Polls regularly show that in the aggregate, the American public supports legalization for medical purposes. “There is quiet, silent support, not only because our laws are ridiculous but because people either have used it or know someone who has and all of the doomsday expectations just are not true,” said State Senator Constance Johnson. Specifically, Fallin invited the legislature to join her efforts to study the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis oil on a limited, medically supervised, trial-only basis. She’s interested in the medical properties of CBD. “I do not support legalizing the recreational use of marijuana,” said Fallin. “Nor do I support a broadly defined medicinal marijuana use that makes it easy for healthy adults and teenagers to find and buy drugs.”
Marijuana’s also shown limited success as a pain manager for patients with illnesses such as fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. It’s also been hailed as a treatment for glaucoma. For her part, Bowman hopes the balance eventually tips in favor of Warrior and other children for whom no other treatments are available. “The people who desperately need [cannabis oil] as medicine, those kids that are suffering epileptic seizures, can now get treatment in places where medical marijuana is legal. They’re being treated very successfully. It’s saving lives.” she notes.
Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation
For over 20 years, INTEGRIS Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation has presented Courage Awards to individuals who display exceptional bravery and grace through the most difficult of circumstances. This year’s award recipients are all young, thirty-something servicemen, either in the U.S. Army, paramedics and local police force. These brave survivors were nominated as a courage award recipient by their therapists and staff at Jim Thorpe helping them along their road to recovery. Al Moorad, the Medical Director at Southwest INTEGRIS whom oversees both the inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation centers says, “Everyday, every week, every month we really have miracles happen here.” The Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Center admits people with, “Broken souls, broken bones and devastated with paralysis after major trauma and they come to us in despair. We work as a team and our aim is to give hope and show there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” continued Moorad. This award is a symbol of courage, resilience and accomplishment, just like Jim Thorpe himself. Going against the odds to endure and overcome obstacles that will ultimately put rehabilitation patients back into their lives. Billy Wynne, Officer Matt Grice and E.H. Pittman will be honored at the Cowboy Hall of Fame for their strength and courage.
Billy Wynne was a 31 year old flight paramedic who went down in a helicopter crash last February. He was the sole survivor in that EagleMed crash on the north side of Oklahoma City. Wynne suffered burns on 65 percent of his body; a broken ankle, leg, arm, ribs and a crushed spine and sternum. He underwent several surgeries and significant treatment for his injuries. Doctors made the tough decision to amputate his left leg and fingers. He now uses a cane to walk. After four months in hospital care out of state, Wynne was brought back to INTEGRIS just in time for the birth of his daughter in a hospital room just one floor above him. He is now home and continues to make remarkable progress.
Officer Matt Grice, An off-duty Oklahoma City police officer, suffered a traumatic
brain injury after being rear-ended at a stoplight in Shawnee, by a distracted driver going 65 mph through the intersection. Immediately following the accident, Grice underwent surgery for the bleeding in his brain and was put in a medically induced coma. Doctors prepared his wife and family for the worst and the prognosis was grim. Grice is also a former UFC featherweight. Grice was not one to give up and he put that fighting spirit into his recovery. After being in a coma for more than a month, he awoke with little to no memory and was wheelchair bound. After months of therapy at Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation, Grice is now a walking and talking miracle. Although he still has some short-term memory issues, Grice continues to make remarkable strides in his recovery.
E.H. Pittman was a soldier with the 45th Infantry Brigade, who had just returned from
a year in Afghanistan when he went to work at the new 7-Eleven on Telephone Road in Moore last year before the May 20 tornadoes. When the EF5 tornado came barreling down on the store - his life was changed forever. Pittman rushed his co-workers and customers into the bathroom. He continued his heroic efforts by shielding those in most need – a young mom and her infant son. After the tornado had passed, Pittman was the first to be rescued. Upon being pulled from the rubble, he continued his efforts by telling rescuers where the others were located. Pitman had suffered critical injuries – severe wounds, fractured shoulder blades, collapsed lungs and a broken back. Although paralyzed, he continues to work toward his ultimate goal of walking again. INTEGRIS Health is Oklahoma’s largest health system with hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physician clinics, mental health facilities, independent living centers and home health agencies located throughout much of the state. For more information, visit www.integrisok.com.
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| Feature
by Lindsay Whelchel When Bobbie Miller’s feet hit the floor at her 3 a.m. wake-up alarm, it’s go time. he TV news anchor for News 9 is a journalist that knows about deadlines and what it means to rush, but Miller is also a mother, and that means she’s pulling double duty when it comes to being on the go. But being a healthy and active role model for her children is Miller’s top story. Miller’s journey to becoming a journalist started early. “I just grew up in a very news-appreciated environment and home, and I loved it,” Miller says, describing her childhood in Blanchard, Oklahoma with her parents carving out time each day to read the newspaper, as well as watch the 5 o’clock newscast. The impression of news value on Miller, coupled with her naturally inquisitive nature, set her on her chosen career path. “I’m very curious. I’m always asking questions and anyone I meet, my friends just joke about ‘oh she’s going to ask you like 20 questions.’ I just want to know about people. I find life in general pretty interesting, so for a curious gal, this is the perfect job,” Miller says laughing. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in journalism, Miller left the state to report for a few years from Texas to Arkansas, but she came back home as quick as she could and was met with a receptive news market. “People here love local news. They turn to us more than just about anywhere in America,” Miller says. “In Oklahoma, people are local news strong. The numbers always show it, whether it’s weather or breaking news, there’s always something happening here, so it just so happens that home is a very good TV market too.”
Bobbie enjoys walking in the park with her boys, Marshall and Merritt and one year old daughter Margo with husband Kendall.
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The competitive market leads to a busy day for Miller. She arrives at the studio shortly after waking up and gets briefed on news updates, checks email and does hair and make-up until the camera rolls. “It is ‘go go go!’ It flies by. I never look at the clock to say ‘oh how much longer am I going to be here,’ because you’re so busy. You meet deadlines constantly. You have three minutes and 56 seconds for this commercial break, and you learn what you can do in those three minutes,” Miller explains.
Miller credits her employer, Griffin Communications and their efforts to provide healthy options in the workplace, with making it easier for her to make good food decisions. The company has a health food pantry with cheap and healthy alternatives to the vending machine. They also host fitness challenges for employees, like a ‘”Fit Bit” challenge to earn time off and cash incentives for walking with a device that counts your steps. “I’ve never seen a company like Griffin go above and beyond for the wellness of their employees like this, and because we do have hectic TV life schedules it’s so wonderful that they care about us being on the go,” Miller says.
“We see that mom eats this, we are on a bike ride with mom, so I’m active because I want to be a good example and be there for them, and I truly do love healthy foods, but I also like desserts,” she laughs. Of Martin Nature Park, Miller is especially thankful. “We love Martin Nature Park. We’re there often on the trails, because it’s an adventure, and they don’t know that they’re exercising. Doing something fun is just the goal. They love it, and I feel good about it because we’re outside, we’re not in front of a TV. We’re breathing fresh air,” she says.
Miller thrives on the pace.
The family also utilizes a trampoline to get physical activity into their day. The boys, Marshall and Merritt, enjoy having lunch up in their tree house with mom.
“I love the ‘go go go’ of it, so then when I’m done [at work], I keep going, because our three kids are five, three and one, so they’re at home waiting on mommy and they’re ready to ‘go go go.”
Staying healthy is especially important for Miller’s daughter, 1-year-old Margo, who was born with only one kidney. Thankfully, her one kidney is classified as a “super kidney” Miller explains.
Her workday is done around 9:30 a.m., but as a mother of three young children, there is more work waiting back home in Edmond.
Miller’s hair goes into a ponytail and her on-set clothes turn to play clothes and that’s when her on-going mission to be a role model for her children kicks off, and it starts with healthy eating. “You have to really think about it, you have to do things consciously, because my day is long. When you’re tired you’ll eat whatever, and you’ll make bad choices because you feel low energy. So you have to be really careful to say ‘ok what time of day is it, and you really have to keep track, I think more than on an average schedule,” she says and adds, “yes it is a challenge to stay healthy, but any exercise I do, I do with my kids. I don’t have a gym membership, because right now I need to be their mom, and I need to influence them with these healthy decisions. That’s just the stage of life I’m in.” Miller emphasizes the importance of her children seeing her make good food choices as well as walking and hiking to stay healthy. The family goes on their favorite walks in Martin Nature Park.
“That means it’s 30 to 40 percent larger than an average one year old’s kidney, so it’s compensating. It’s like God blessed her with a super kidney to do all the work that her little body needs.” Margo is a healthy bouncy baby, but Miller and her husband Kendall are sure to take all precautions on medications and any other issues that could affect the kidneys. On a lighter note, another challenge Miller faces is with her picky eater. “He gets that from his dad, so we do things like ‘you eat your three broccoli, you get a dessert, you eat your three carrots you get a dessert,’ because I’m all about dessert. Mommy wants it too, but we need to make sure we’re getting our veggies too,” Miller laughs. Above all else, Miller has this advice for other moms, and for herself.
continued on page 26 Thrive Oklahoma
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Meet the Millers Continued from page 25
Busy Fingers Continued from page 11
“I would say, ‘beware of the captivity of activity.’ It’s great to be active, as in getting your kids exercising and doing fun things like swimming lessons and t-ball, but don’t over do it, because down time with your children in your lap reading, a book and making sure they get a nap time is just as important,” she says.
their hands busy,” she says. “Not every child needs it, but if a child needs to touch things to learn about their environment, it can definitely be a calming mechanism.”
And no doubt, for a mother and a journalist whose day begins well before sunrise, those naps are important!
Kalyn Murphy’s daughter, Jill, suffered a traumatic brain injury after completing the first grade. She was an avid reader before her TBI, definitely a visual learner. To compensate for the injury, her brain’s made the switch to kinesthetic learning. Jill’s injury moved her back to square one with reading and she often experiences the curious, frustrating and anxious feeling of knowing that she used to know how to read this or that word that she now processes differently. They Busy Fingers keeps her on task and avoiding anxious, antisocial behaviors such as acting out. “Her Busy Fingers helps with stress in the classroom. Squeezing it or feeling the different textures calms her. We tried breathing techniques and other stuff, but the Busy Fingers works the best. It brings her back so she can concentrate on what she needs to do,” says Kalyn. For now, the Busy Fingers is only available online or at a handful of stores in the metro area, but Humphries and Rains are already thinking about wider distribution. “Sensory items are needed for children that need something to calm them. For a lot of kids, if they keep their hands busy, they can concentrate better,” says Lynn Copelin, owner of Norman’s Copelin’s Teaching Tools.
Playtime with the Millers
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Sensory tools like Busy Fingers are also an important gateway to impulse control, a tough nut to crack for ADHD kids. For the ADHD child, the anxiety generated by the constantly squashed desire to move invites impulse to become action.
Satiate the desire to move and the impulses recede into the background. It makes life easier for both student and teacher. “Teacher are very accepting of these tools because they’re quiet and individual. And these teachers see them work, versus children tapping on the desks with their pencils or just stewing,” says Humphries. Humphries and Rain are well aware that they’ve got a winner on their hands. They’re happy with the limited sales they see from learning stores and educational boutiques, but they’re also certain that Busy Fingers will succeed with broader distribution. The reaction they see when demonstrating it practically guarantees success. “What’s so funny,” says Humphries, “is that when I give a Busy Fingers to somebody, I’ll see them start rubbing and feeling it. They say, ‘I didn’t know I fidgeted. To a certain extent, we all do, but some of us are more prone to it than others.”
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Supporting Health and Wellness in Oklahoma since 2010 Thrive Oklahoma
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| Living Well
by Mary K. Pinzon, RN, CPE, M.Ed. Ashley Overton’s life changed in a day. When she returned home from routine shopping on an average Saturday, she was light-headed, dizzy and having trouble walking. Less than two hours later she found herself in an emergency room, victim of a stroke. She was 25 years old. Strokes aren’t your grandparents’ illness, as they say. You don’t have to be 85 years old to have one, and Overton’s the proof. She’s never been a smoker or drinker, and led an active lifestyle. But at an unusually young age, she found herself doing battle with a blood clot in her brain. Across the U.S. and particularly in Oklahoma, stroke victims are getting younger. The last few years have seen a 53 percent increase in the incidence of strokes in adults between 15 and 44 years of age. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, one fifth of strokes now occur in adults between the ages of 20 and 55. In Oklahoma, strokes have become
Face:
Check the face by asking the victim to smile a big toothy grin. Facial drooping and a lopsided smile are signs of stroke.
Arms:: Check the arms by asking the person to hold both of them out front,
The Warning Signs:
palms up. One arm drifting down or the inability to raise them equally could be the sign of a stroke.
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause
Ask the victim to repeat a short, simple phrase, such as “The sky is blue today.” No response or slurred and incorrect speech are signs of stroke.
• Sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes
Speech:
Time:: Don’t waste it. Call 911 immediately if any of the above signs are detected.
If these symptoms go away quickly, that could mean that an ischemic stroke is in the works but hasn’t been completed. Unfortunately, these are often overlooked, ignored or unrecognized. The victim may think there’s nothing to worry about but the stroke could return with a vengeance. Recent studies show that the risk of stroke increases with an untreated incomplete stroke. Almost 20 percent of patients that don’t treat these incomplete strokes—temporary ischemic strokes— have a major stroke within 90 days. Most of them will have a major stroke within 48 hours. Rapid recognition and treatment of acute stroke can prevent lifelong disability. Overton’s doctors were explicit: another hour before seeking treatment, and she could have been permanently paralyzed or worse. Time lost getting help for a stroke can be a brain lost. Time saved can save a brain. 28
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• Sudden change in speech (no speech, slurred or garbled speech) • Sudden weakness, numbness or paralysis on one side ofthe body • Sudden loss of balance, coordination or the ability to walk independently
the 5th highest cause of death. The number of stroke victims in the state last year could fill Boone Pickens Stadium 1 1/2 times over. To put it simply, Oklahomans eat too much, drink too much and smoke too much, all while exercising too little. These are leading factors in 85 percent of all strokes—eschemic strokes—caused by clots or fatty deposits that block blood flow to the brain. But while those contribute to strokes, Overton’s living proof that strokes can happen without them. Doctors never pinpointed the cause of her stroke. It was Overton’s mother that called 911. Had Overton been alone, she might not have made it to the emergency room. Had the trip been delayed, she would have missed the three hour window for the tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) shot that dissolved the blood clot in her brain. The illusion that a person is too young to have a stroke, or the thought of “It can’t happen to me because I’m too young, fit and take care of myself,” is a dangerous misconception. This mistake leads to delays in getting medical help and may get in the way of rapid treatment that can prevent stroke-related death or disability.
More Contributing Factors for Stroke Uncontrolled high blood pressure Increasing Diabetes High cholesterol Obesity Recreational tobacco, drug and alcohol use Irregular rapid heart rhythm, also known as atrial fibrillation Valvular heart disease
Abnormal blood clotting factors, also known as hypercoagulable states
In addition, the public’s lack of knowledge about stroke signs and symptoms prevents recognition and emergency response. Overton’s made changes to her lifestyle to reduce the risk of another stroke. She eats more fruits and vegetables. She’s more active than she used to be, and every day includes a walk or bike ride. She continues to stay away from alcohol. But the best defense, she maintains, is knowledge. “Know the warning signs. I didn’t have high blood pressure or any other issues before my stroke, either. We had no ideas about the warning signs of a stroke. We didn’t know what was going on until it was almost too late. Just make sure you know the warning signs,” she says. Mary K. Pinzon is a Stroke Education Nurse at the INTEGRIS James R. Daniel Stroke Center located at 4401 S. Western, Oklahoma City, OK 73109. Office contact is 405.644.6867 or visit www. integrisok.com/strokefor more info and class schedule. References 1. Rutten-Jacobs, L., et al. 2013. Long-term mortality after stroke among adults aged 18-50 years. JAMA. 309:1136-1144.
The American Stroke Association recently called attention to a different set of risk factors for women, factors that show up at different times and in different stages of an average woman’s life. Pregnancy, oral contraceptive use and hormone replacement therapy increase the risk of stroke. Doctors have also noted that women that experience migraine headaches with auras and smoke run a dramatically higher risk of stroke.
2. Nedeltchev, K., der Maur T.A., Georgiadis,D., et al. 2005. Ischaemic stroke in young adults: predictors of outcome and recurrence. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 76:191-195.
Strokes require immediate assistance. If you see the warning signs in yourself or somebody else, call 911 immediately. Don’t wait to see if the victim gets better. Stroke victims should not take anything by mouth as swallowing may be compromised and choking might occur. No aspirin, food or water.
6. Egido, J. et al. 2012. Is psycho-physical stress a risk factor for stroke?
3. Greisenegger, S., Zehetmayer, S., Ferrari, J., et al. 2011. Clinical predictors of death in young and middle-aged patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack: long-term results of the Vienna Stroke Registry: clinical predictors of ischemic stroke mortality in patients _60 years. J Neurol. 258(6):1105-1113. 4. Graeme, J. Hankey, M.D. 2013. Stroke in Young Adults : Implications of the Long-term Prognosis. JAMA 309, No. 11 – Editorial 5. Kuruvilla, A., et al. 2011. Factors Associated with Misdiagnosis of Acute Stroke in Young Adults. J Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases. 20 (6): 523-527.
A case-control study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 83:1104–1110. 7. Jood, K. et al. 2009. Perceived psychological stress and ischemic stroke: a case-control study. BMC Medicine. 7:53. 8. Vital Signs: Avoidable Deaths from Heart Disease, Stroke, and Hypertensive Disease United States, MMWR 2001-2010 Vol. 62 . 9. Chronic Disease in Oklahoma Data Book. Oklahoma State Department of Health, Chronic Disease Service. September 2013. Thrive Oklahoma
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| Feature
by Andrea and Jimmy Conway, MD There are many ways to incorporate healthier, nutrient dense whole foods into any lifestyle. t’s more important than ever with heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity taking over our lives that we become conscious of what we eat. Being aware of what we put in our bodies is the first step to better overall health. We all have busy lives so planning ahead is vitally important. For breakfast try whole grains for cereal or a green smoothie. Stick with thick cut rolled oats, quinoa or millet as a base for cereals. Cut out the refined processed cereals loaded with sugar that’re on the market. These grains provide protein, fiber and many vitamins and minerals. They can be cooked ahead and stored in the refrigerator. For a smoothie, place about 2 oz. spinach or kale, a banana, and 2-3 other pieces of whole fruit such as a peach, mango, or ½ cup whole strawberries. Add in 2 tablespoons ground flax seed meal for a healthy boost of Omega-3 fatty acids. If you’re on the go, place these ingredients in a freezer bag and add to a blender when ready. Drench with unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, plain yogurt, spring water or coconut water before blending. Just 1 cup of kale adds 3 grams of protein and only 33 calories. For lunch and dinner try incorporating more beans. Beans are loaded with fiber and protein and can keep you full for long periods of time. Making a large pot of beans on the weekend can help get you through the week. These can be used in soups, on salads or eaten by themselves. Canned beans can also be used; be sure to buy low/no sodium and BPA free can. See the easy bean burger recipe for a kid-friendly dinner. These burgers can also be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Serve with a salad, oven baked fries or your favorite cooked vegetable! Greens are a high nutrient, low 30 Thrive Oklahoma
calorie food that should be incorporated into your diet as much as possible. Try adding frozen spinach or kale to soups or casseroles. For salads, buy your favorite salad makings on the weekends. Prep and place in baggies to make it easier to throw a nutrient dense dinner together at the end of a busy day. Don’t make the wrong choices when hunger hits on the drive home from work!
These yummy, will help you incorporate more beans and fiber into your day. Ingredients: 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed 2 Tbsp. ketchup 1 Tbsp. yellow mustard 1 tsp. onion powder 1 tsp. garlic powder 1/3 c. quick cooking oats (thick cut rolled oats that have been slightly mixed in a blender can be used) Instructions: Preheat oven to 400º. In a mixing bowl, mash beans with a fork until mostly pureed but with some bean parts still remaining. Stir in condiments and spices until well blended. Then mix in oats. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape into thin patties. Place on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake 10 min, carefully flip over, and bake for another 5 min or until crispy on the outside. Serve by them selves or on a whole grain bun! PS – double or triple this recipe so there are leftovers to freeze for later.
Try to always have healthy snacks stashed like, whole fruit, dried fruit, seeds and nuts for quick energy without all the processed ingredients that can derail a diet.
Try Bag these babies up in individual snack packs and carry them with you. Recipe makes 20-25 individual bites. Ingredients: 2 cups thick cut rolled oats 1/4 C shredded unsweetened coconut 1/2 C slivered, toasted, almonds 1/4 C Chia seeds 2 Tbsp. unsweetened almond milk 1/3 C almond butter 1/3 C raw Agave nectar Instructions: Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add almond milk and mix well. Add agave nectar and warmed almond butter, mix well. Using your hands roll into 1 ½� diameter balls. Place on cookie sheet covered with wax paper and refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Thrive Oklahoma
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| Community Corner
Fighting Hunger & Feeding Hope by Jessica Sanchez
More than just a slogan, Fighting Hunger and Feeding Hope is the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s main mission. The Food Bank here in Oklahoma may be synonymous with the annual Chef’s Feast or their food assistance programs for school-aged kids, but Simone Saldanha has taken the Food Bank’s original mission to the next level. This fall community partners join forces - on a Saturday no less - to provide the first ever Fresh Mobile Market and Nutrition Education program. Saldanha spearheaded this inaugural event, which she hopes will become a permanent part of the nutrition and education community outreach efforts at the Food Bank of Oklahoma. “Currently, the Food Bank’s mobile market with it’s eight sites tries to give 25 pounds of groceries and produce to each person every month,” says Saldanha. The goal here is to not only provide food, but educate participants on healthy ways to prepare fresh foods and help eliminate excess sodium, fats or refined sugars from the diet. Oklahoma City County Health Department’s registered dietician, Jennifer Like was on hand at this inaugural event, answering questions about organic produce, buying local and ways to eat healthy at home. Local Chef Robin Obert stepped in to help with the food demonstrations and plating. Obert has a passion for teach32
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ing others and has spent countless hours developing low sodium flavor shakers for kids’ hot lunches at the OKCPS district. Obert was assisted by three Platt College students who were also able to show off their knife skills at this first-time free event. The prepared and shared event menu featured grilled chicken breast with quick pesto sauce, Thai salad and fresh pineapple. From start to finish, each component of the meal had it’s own deconstruction so that the learning process could be emphasized. Included were safety tips, cost saving substitution tips and storage ideas for extending the life of leftovers. Established in 1980, the Regional Food Bank is the largest private hunger-relief organization in the state of Oklahoma. In Fiscal Year 2014, the nonprofit distributed 47.8 million pounds of food and products through a network of more than 1,200 charitable feeding programs and schools in 53 central and western Oklahoma counties. Each week, the organization provides enough food to feed more than 110,000 hungry Oklahomans. Please volunteer this season. Above photo: (L-R) Jennifer Like, RD of the OKC Co. Health Department, Chef Robin Obert and Platt College students Chris, Hymie, and Kara volunteer to help to help the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.
by Lindsay Whelchel Gia Madole has been active all her life. She played in high school sports growing up but was especially involved in riding and training hunter/jumper horses. So, it was only natural that Madole would take inspiration from her equine athletes and begin to push her own physical limits as a long-distance runner. After getting her business degree and then working as a fulltime horse trainer and riding instructor, Madole entered her first 5K-race. “I just really enjoy it. I like the challenge of pushing myself to see what I can do and what I can accomplish,” she says. Now, almost two years later, Madole competes in races a considerable amount longer than five kilometers. She’s gearing up for the Tahoe 200, a full 200-mile run around the lake. To get into the race she had to run a qualifier race at a mountain elevation. She completed the Bryce-100 a 100 mile run with an elevation of 18,000 feet. Out of only a 45 percent completion rate, Madole finished as the 3rd female and 10th overall. From the pool of qualifiers, a lottery drawing determines who is able to go on to Tahoe. Madole is one of only 75 runners chosen, and she’s working hard to prepare. She’ll top out her weekly mileage in training at around 130 miles. “You’ll peak at about three to six weeks out at top mileage then come back down,” Madole explains. Another help in preparing is Madole’s participation in fitness boot camps. She got involved with, and now even helps lead, boot camps for OneHealthyBod run by Steve Clausen.
“I think boot camps play a huge [role] as far as helping my overall fitness, because a lot of runners will just run, that’s all they do, and you just put yourself at so much more of a risk of injury, because you’re using the exact same muscles all the time,” she says and adds, “When you do more of a general fitness like what you do with the boot camps you become fit overall, and it helps prevent some of those injuries. It helps strengthen other muscles to become a better athlete.” Runners are given a cutoff limit on time to complete the long distance runs. For most 100-mile races, you’ll have between 30-36 hours to complete the race. For the Tahoe race, Madole has 100 total hours to complete; an amount she calls generous. She is actually hoping to complete the twiceas-long Tahoe race in around 60 hours. But that means she doesn’t have much time to sleep. “You have the option to sleep, but it counts for your time. It starts at 10 a.m. So once it starts, it doesn’t matter whether you sleep or keep going it still counts,” Madole laughs. Beyond the physical challenges of the race, there are mental hurdles. Being alone and in the middle of nowhere for such a long period of time is one Madole cites, but she will have friends waiting at the various aid stations to help her along. During the race, she has to maintain her fuel. It’s a balance between eating too much and feeling sick and not eating enough, but she will attempt to eat around 250 calories an hour. During daily life, diet is also a balance for Madole, who says she focuses on eating clean as much as possible. continued on page 37
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| Community Corner
with Executive Chef Christopher Rayman ven though Chef Christopher Rayman began his culinary career in Michigan, he now calls Oklahoma City home. He grew up on a farm and learned at a young age the importance of hard work and an appreciation for farm fresh food. This deep rooted appreciation translates into the pursuit of using authentic natural foods in all of his restaurant dishes. Locals can find his works of raw culinary art at Tamazul, in Classen Curve. With his innate passion for good food, traditional culinary training was Chef Rayman’s natural professional path. Working in his field alongside many other chefs, Rayman learned the ropes of a successful, well run kitchen. “When starting out I had no understanding of vegan, vegetarian or raw plant-based cuisine,” says Rayman. His formal kitchen training in traditional culinary styles ultimately allowed Chef Rayman to apply this knowledge toward a more healthy food menu. Chef Rayman has adopted a vegan vegetarian lifestyle due to some of his own health issues as well as environmental concerns. “With that I came to a crux in the industry where I had to put out food that knowingly was contributing to bad health. This conflict of interests propelled me to the realization that I needed to be working in an establishment that supported a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle and this ultimately, led me to Matthew Kenny and his style of food,” says Rayman. Similar to Kenney, Chef Rayman also shares a passion for technique and aesthetics. Simplistic food presentation done artfully with style, like that demonstrated here with the Peach Caprese Salad made with Heirloom tomatoes stacked with locally grown harvest peach and pressed almond cheese.
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This fall, Chef Rayman is making a move to Venice, California to help run one of the Matthew Kenney flagship restaurants. “This gives me the chance to gain a lot of credibility and get my name out as a young chef. I will retain the title of Executive Chef at Tamazul, while working from Venice, California with periodic visits to Oklahoma City,” says Rayman. This may prove to be the biggest career move yet for Rayman.
“We simply will be crafting the best vegetarian food on the planet.”
Respect for the ingredients and combining unique flavors that may at times go against conventional taste help push boundaries for what is known about plant-based cuisine. Both Kenney and Rayman desire to elevate and evolve plant-based cuisine. They hope to bring this creative style of culinary up to a level of high recognition. There’s the desire to be taken seriously as a style of food and to be as much a part of the 34
industry as any other food movement in the culinary arts industry.
The Venice location will be a mix of Mediterranean and California style cuisine and will be a departure from the 100% raw food menu which has been the hallmark of other Matthew Kenney eateries, like M.A.K.E. in Santa Monica and the former 105 degrees of Oklahoma City. Rayman believes this change will bring a broader audience and not seem as limiting as an entire raw food menu. As always, “Our focus will be on local farmers market produce, organics and some wild foraged foods as well. We simply will be crafting the best vegetarian food on the planet.”
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| Feature
by Tiffany Turner, MS, CCC-SLP Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, affects up to 15 million adults in the United States, and 1 in 17 people will experience some form of dysphagia in their lifetime, including 22% of those age 50 and older.1,2 People at greatest risk for swallowing impairments include individuals who’ve had strokes, those with neurological conditions such Parkinson’s disease, survivors of head and neck cancer, or the elderly. Despite the significant prevalence of dysphagia, this medical condition is often neglected, and many sufferers are never properly diagnosed or treated. Dysphagia can be the result of muscle damage, nerve damage, or other causes that occur at any phase of the swallowing action. Because the problems range from food still in the mouth or later down in the pharyngeal or esophageal phases, there are many different presentations of this condition.
Food in airway, heading toward lungs. This is aspiration
Some symptoms of dysphagia could include difficulty moving food from the front to the back of the mouth prior to swallowing, so that food gets stuck in the mouth, or difficulty swallowing certain foods, coughing or throat clearing while eating, to feeling like food or pills are getting stuck.
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In a normal swallow, several muscles in the back of the throat go to work to cover up and protect the airway (trachea) to make sure that food and liquid enter only the esophagus, which leads to the stomach, rather than the airways. When the swallowing mechanism isn’t functioning like it should, food or liquids can sometimes enter the airway instead of the esophagus. This is referred to as aspiration. Everyone experiences occasional aspiration of trace amounts (that feeling when something goes down Epiglottis the wrong way and your flaps over and body’s reaction is to cough). covers airway during normal However, when aspiration swallow to is persistent, this can lead to protect it. very serious complications, Food in such as aspiration pneumoesophagus, nia or even death. heading toward stomach... This is where it should go
We know there are many things that can go wrong with swallowing and the consequences can be very serious, so what options are available for those living with dysphagia? Many people are unaware that speech-language pathologists diagnose and treat swallowing impairments since swallowing involves the same muscle groups used in speech production.
of the most effective treatments for dysphagia management:
1. The most common method is to exercises and strengthen
the specific muscles used during swallowing. This will help improve function. In addition to traditional exercise therapy, neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) may be an option for certain patients. This combination helps re-educate the muscles involved in swallowing and can alleviate symptoms. 36
A wet vocal quality after eating is also common.
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2. This involves education of compensatory strategies to
decrease the risk of aspiration. Simply tucking the chin downward while swallowing can help cover up the airway and prevent aspiration. A speech-language pathologist can prescribe specific and individualized postures and techniques to increase safety depending on specific impairments.
3. Diet modification. Certain foods or liquid textures can be substi-
tuted to decrease aspiration risk. For example, thickened liquids travel more slowly than regular liquids and give the muscles more time to react and protect the airway and reduce the risk for aspiration. As a last resort a feeding tube may be placed and nothing by mouth will enter the patient. This may be temporarily or in some cases long-term in order to prevent food or liquid from entering the airway. If you feel that you or a loved one may be suffering from dysphagia, discuss your symptoms with your physician and seek a speech-language pathology consultation. Without treatment, dysphagia can be a debilitating condition, but thankfully quality of life can be improved greatly with proper timely diagnosis and treatment.
Tahoe 200 Continued from page 33 “That’s not saying you don’t have your cheat days, but just to try to stay healthy. I feel the more you can put the correct nutrients in your body the better your body can repair its tissues and muscles, because as you’re running, you’re tearing all of these things down, and it builds them back and makes you stronger.” Overall, Madole just tries to keep a grateful perspective. “I just try to run happy. I enjoy what I do, and I think about when I’m out there, there’s a lot of other people that would love to have the opportunity to be able to run and for whatever reason can’t. I’m lucky to have the opportunity to do it, and when you get tired you kind of remind yourself of that.” Another thing Madole is grateful for is the opportunity to encourage others, whether in the horseback riding arena or the gym. “I love the teaching and the coaching. I think helping other people achieve their goal is the true definition of success. If you can help somebody else achieve something they once thought was impossible that’s a really cool feeling,” And Madole would likely agree, the same goes for the feeling of crossing the finish line in Tahoe. Thrive Oklahoma
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Take an Apple Orchard Tour this Fall
September 15 thru October 5th
Livesay Orchards in Porter, Oklahoma offer an educational outdoor experience for families looking to do somethingdifferent. Try picking apples, milking a cow or learning about how our food is grown. Dawna Livesay, is a former public school teacher and is sharing her knowledge and providing exceptional farm tours to schoolaged children and their families. The interactive Livesay farm curriculum complies with the science and social studies standards for Oklahoma,
Apple Orchard Tour Includes: • • • • • • • • • • •
Red Barn Theater for the Apple harvest movie
Pumpkin Playland
Pumpkin Playland
Science-on-the-Farm Barn
Farm Related Learning Centers Fun Farm Games
Cow Milking stations Pumpkin Bowling
Mini-Pumpkin Hunt
Shop the Farm Market
Open the last weekend in September thru October) Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Market Hours (Open thru October) Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sundays, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Pumpkin Ring Toss
Find tomatoes, apples and pumpkins alongside jars of canned peaches, jams and jellies, pickles and salsa, preserves, and local honey.
Apple Picking in the Orchard
Fall Break Hours:
Hay Bale Maze
Open to Pre-school thru 3rd Graders, Monday thru Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Open Thursday & Friday - 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Bring a Picnic Lunch and enjoy!
39232 E 231st St S, Porter, OK
Call 918.483.2102 for more information
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| Books In Review
by Paul Fairchild Dr. David Perlmutter has no kind words for gluten. He dubs it “the silent germ” in his latest offering, Grain Brain (Little, Brown and Company, 232 pp., $27.00). It is, he contends, a contributor to the rising incidences of Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD, chronic headaches, depression, epilepsy, insomnia and other brain-related illnesses. We’re used to hearing about grains and gluten in the context of intestinal health. Linking it to mental health is a pretty new idea. Grain Brain is filled with studies and anecdotal evidence backing Perlmutter’s claim. Thankfully, he offers this disclaimer up front: “The good news is that I’m going to show you how to control your genetic destiny even if you were born with a natural tendency to develop a neurological challenge. This will require that you free yourself from a few myths so many people continue to cling to. The two biggest ones: (1) a low-fat, high carb diet is good, and (2) cholesterol is bad.” That’s a big problem, but Perlmutter gracefully serves up a relatively simple, easy-to-implement solution: a better diet, a diet that’s not too hard to embrace in a world of grocery stores that haven’t embraced the gluten-free way. Not satisfied with simply handing recipes over to his readers, Perlmutter devotes the last third of the book to making the gluten-free life easy, including a four-week diet transition plan that balances structure with flexibility. Perlmutter’s so confident about the diet that he makes promises that go beyond brain health and waistlines.“You will see change in every area of your life. You will feel more confident and have more self-esteem. You’ll feel younger and more in control of your life and future. You’ll be able to navigate through stressful times with ease, have the motivation to stay active and engage with others, and feel more accomplished at work and home. In short, you’ll be happier and more productive, he says. 40
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Recommended foods have all the trappings of modernity, but Perlmutter travelled back in time to find them, assembling a gluten-specific spin on the popular Paleo Diet. The issue, he contends, is that wheat was added to the human diet so quickly and in such large proportions that the body hasn’t had time to evolve around it. “With modern hybridization and genemodifying technology, the 133 pounds of wheat that the average American consumes each year shares almost no genetic, structural, or chemical likeness to what hunter-gatherers might have stumbled upon. And therein lies the problem: We are increasingly challenging our physiology with ingredients for which we are not genetically prepared,” he writes. What he leaves unmentioned is that the motivational force behind the diet grows out of a decent understanding of how gluten—and carbohydrates in general—wreck the body. His explanations are straight-forward and accessible. The root cause of so many degenerative illnesses, brain-related and otherwise, is inflammation. Susannah Cahalan’s Brain on Fire is an epic magnum opus of brain inflammation. Hers is an extreme—and gripping case, but mental disorders are matters of degree, and the symptoms she presented with full-blown meningitis are the symptoms, writ smaller, many gluten eaters deal with. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to foreign bodies, usually allergens. It’s the biological effort of marshaling antibodies, antihistamines and other warriors to the battlefield. Researchers (several of which are attributed at the end of Grain Brain) are confirming the link between gluten sensitivity and neurological dysfunction. You don’t have to be allergic to gluten to be sensitive to it. “Increasing numbers of studies are confirming the link between gluten sensitivity and neurological dysfunction. This is true even for people who have no problems digesting gluten and who test negative for gluten sensitivity,” he writes.
The aptly named gluten is the adhesive protein that holds flour together. If a food is made with dough, it’s got gluten in it. As many as 40 percent of Americans can’t process it. “Researchers,” he writes, “have known for some time now that the cornerstone of all degenerative conditions, including brain disorders, is inflammation. But what they didn’t have documented until now are the instigators of that inflammation—the first missteps that prompt this deadly reaction. And what they are finding is that gluten and a high-carbohydrate diet for that matter, are among the most prominent stimulations of anti-inflammatory pathways that reach the brain.” Perlmutter’s credentials are unassailable. He’s practiced neurology for 30 years and he’s a fellow at the American College of Nutrition. He’s also a founding member of the American Board of Integrative Health and Holistic Medicine. Sadly, it will take a Herculean effort to change minds abouthe importance of a gluten-free diet to stave off the coming epidemic of diabetes. Perlmutter estimates that within “the next decade, one in two Americans will suffer from diabesity—the term now used to
describe a range of metabolic imbalances from mild insulin resistance to pre-diabetes to full-blown diabetes.” Changing opinions—especially about a topic as nuanced as food—will be hard enough. It’s made harder by the almost addictive grip of wheat. Dr. William Davis, another strident enemy of grains and gluten, wrote in his book, Wheat Belly, “So this is your brain on wheat: Digestion yields morphine-like compounds that bind to the brain’s opiate receptors. It produces a form of reward, a mild euphoria. When the effect is blocked or no exorphin-yielding foods are consumed, some people experience a distinctly unpleasant withdrawal.” Who holds the blame for America’s high-carb addiction to wheat? Corporations, particularly of the pharmaceutical flavor. They make money selling cures, not prevention. But it’s not too late. Given the severity of the consequences and the relative ease with which they can be avoided, going gluten-free might be the last, best hope for a lot of us. Despite the hassles, it’s more welcome than a trip to the neurologist.
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| Living Well
by Natausha Spears, RN Have you ever dug thru old boxes, and found old photographs of yourself in college or perhaps a photo of your wedding day, and afterwards, looked in the mirror and realized you don’t quite look like that person anymore? Despite the fact you may feel young at heart, often times the mirror shows us what the world sees and perhaps a different perception of ourselves. This can leave some people feeling depressed, or wishing we could turn back the clock. Does it seem, like with every birthday and each new year there are new lines, wrinkles, and deeper folds appearing on your face and neck? Well, there are some great choices out there to help with minimizing the look of fine lines, wrinkles and sagging skin that has not aged well. Many skin tightening and smoothing procedures can be done in the office on a lunch break, with very little pain or redness. These are often considered less invasive than a surgical technique used to tighten the skin.
One celebrity trick that keeps so many famous faces looking young is the use of what’s known as a neuromodulator. This helps keep the muscles in the face relaxed to that over use (ie: frowning, smiling or squinting) doesn’t cause the surface skin to wrinkle as much. This results in increased smoothness. Botulinum Toxin-Type A or BoNT-A is an abbreviation for the 3 different types of neuromodulators that are currently FDA approved for use in the United States. Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin are common names frequently used as treatment options. BoNT-A is a great choice for minimizing the vertical lines between the brows (the “11), it also works for crows feet around the eyes. The horizontal lines across the forehead may also me treated in this way. However, in the lower face, the combination of BoNT-A and dermal filler seem to provide patients with the most noticeable improvements. Lower face BoNT-A is not something that is widely discussed. In fact, many people do not know that BoNT-A can be used safely in the lower face. Often, when combining dermal filler with BoNT-A in the lower face, there are more significant changes in the correction and softening of lines and wrinkles. Many of the muscles in the lower face act to depress the corners of the mouth and pull the neck and jowl area down. Two of the muscles that work in this “downward pull” process are located below the corners of the mouth and in the neck. By placing BoNT-A into these depressor muscles, we are able to relax the downward action of the muscle, thereby allowing the corners of the mouth and the jowl area to actually lift. The process of using both dermal filler and BoNT-A in the upper and lower face is often referred to as a “Liquid Facelift.” The use of a dermal filler to replace lost volume in the cheeks, lips, nasolabial folds (the line from the edge of nose to corner of mouth) out to the jaw line, in conjunction with BoNT-A into the upper and lower face, can create a more relax , lifted muscle. A “Liquid Facelift” is a great option for those who aren’t ready to “go under the knife” quite yet. However, not everyone is a candidate for the liquid facelift. Sometimes more moderate to severe elasticity issues in the lower face can’t be corrected.
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When choosing someone to perform lower face injections, it is important to choose a skilled injector as lower face BoNT-A requires a thorough understanding of lower face muscles and the function of each, in order create perfect symmetry. Thrive Oklahoma
by Brian Slovak, IBM IT Specialist Oklahomans are used to hearing about clouds, however more and more they are hearing about a type of cloud that does not show up on the Doppler radar – and that is Cloud Computing. “The Cloud”, as it is simply called today, is everywhere and becoming bigger and bigger by the day. But what is “The Cloud” and what can it do for you? To get an idea of what the Cloud is, first picture a huge building full of computers and disk drives. Now picture several huge buildings full of computers and disk drives scattered around the world. Now tie all of those huge buildings full of computers and disk drives together with the internet and you have the Cloud. The Cloud is actually comprised of many Clouds and there are also different types of clouds. There are Public Clouds – which anyone that subscribes to that service can use; Private or Corporate Clouds – which have restricted access; and Hybrid Clouds which are a combination of both. A public Cloud, such as Amazon’s Simple Storage Service allows you to store documents, pictures, music or any computer file in a space that can then be accessed on any device connected to the internet. Security features keep your files safe from prying eyes and redundant backups makes sure you don’t lose anything. For businesses, the Cloud creates an environment of nearly unlimited resources. Instead of companies buying and maintaining hundreds of servers in their basements, the Cloud allows companies to purchase their processing and storage. If a company needs to double its processing power, the cloud model can do this in a matter of minutes. The old method could take months to order, install and configure hardware and software. Pricing is done similar to your electric bill, the more you use, the more you pay. This allows companies to quickly scale up or down with very little upfront investment. Many software companies also offer Software as a Service (SaaS) via the cloud. With SaaS you pay an annual or monthly subscription fee to use the software instead of buying a particular version of the software. This allows you to always use the most current version of the software and allows you to access it from any compatible device. Microsoft Office 365 is an example of a cloud-based software service that gives access to the most current Office version and also offers cloud based storage. The Cloud is constantly evolving. Tech companies like IBM are investing heavily into the Cloud model, which indicates that this is not just a fad that will be here today and gone tomorrow. The future is going to be full of clouds, but it should bring sunny, less stressful days.
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| Fiscal Fitness
by Focus Federal Credit Union Preparing yourself for financial security can be challenging. The best way to begin developing fiscal fitness is to have a budget or a plan. But once you’ve created a budget; what comes next? The following information will help you get started on the road to financial health.
Set Goals – Whether it’s paying off credit cards, buying
using cash for a month. Using a debit card does not feel the same as handing over paper money. There is something about taking one little card out of our wallet that is so much easier and less painful than counting multiple bills, handing them to a cashier and watching them disappear into the register. It can also be a pain to go to an ATM every week but there’s no way to overspend when you don’t have money. After a month of using cash, you’ll have a much better sense of what you’re spending every day and what’s really worth the money.
a house or saving for retirement, goal setting is essential in helping you achieve your financial goals. Setting goals gives you something to work towards and also helps measure your success. You’re also more likely to achieve your goals if you define them. Your financial goals should fit into three categories: Short, medium and long-term goals. Short-term goals can be accomplished in two years or less; like paying off debt. Accumulating three to six months living expenses is a medium term goal and typically takes two to five years to accomplish. College savings or retirement savings is a long-term goal. Long-term goals take five or more years to accomplish. Once you have defined your goals, sit down and figure out how much you’ll need to save per month to achieve your goals.
A study by MIT’s Sloan School of Management found that people who use credit cards are much more willing to overspend than people who don’t use credit cards. Astoundingly, in one experiment, the MIT researchers found that people who were using credit cards to make a purchase were willing to spend up to 100 percent more than people who were using cash!
Could you refinance your mortgage and lower your monthly payment? Do you really need 300 satellite TV channels? Perhaps you could try eating out one night less per month. Or maybe you could rent movies at home and cut out your expensive trips to the theater.
automatic. Just like a utility bill that needs to be paid, you should set up an automatic payment into your savings each pay period or each month. Once your saving’s begins to grow, it can be very tempting to use that money for other purposes. You might find that you need to put your savings in a different credit union or bank so that it is more difficult to access the money. You should not be able to access your savings using an ATM card.
Involve the Family - By engaging all of your family
members, you can make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to spending and saving. Even if your children are very young, enlisting their help in saving for something special introduces them to the notion that money doesn’t grow on trees. This lesson will benefit them throughout their lives. The better their understanding of money and the way it works, the more they’ll think about what’s involved in making a big purchase.
Use Cash – Do you ever look at your accounts and won-
der where all the money went? It’s probably because you’re using debit or credit cards for all of your purchases. Try 44
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Cut Out Bad Habits – Tobacco, alcohol and eating out
are all budget busters. Cutting out or cutting back on these things can save you big bucks and you’ll likely improve your health! Use the extra savings to pay down debt or to start an emergency fund.
Pay Yourself First – The key to saving is making it
Establish an Emergency Fund- Life’s unexpected
events and emergencies will always pop up. Job loss, medical and dental complications and auto repairs can stress even the healthiest budget. Planning for these events will help minimize their impact on your finances. Experts agree that you should have at least $1000 in your emergency fund.
Review Your Budget and Adjust- A budget isn’t a set it and forget it document. Your needs and goals will change over time. Once a month, should review your progress, and
continue to refine your plan. For example, you may have been focusing on getting out of debt. Once you reach that goal, you may have a lot of extra money to redistribute. You should also be looking for a few quick and easy ways to trim your costs. For example, packing your lunch every day or refinancing your auto loan might free up extra cash in your budget to use for savings or debt reduction.
Reward Yourself – Most experts agree that rewarding your-
self can be a useful tool when you are trying to get your finances in order. Splurging a little once you reach a milestone helps keep you on track. But, how do you reward yourself without blowing the budget? Whether you choose gourmet coffee, a pedicure, a movie night or a new pair of running shoes, these small indulgences can motivate you to keep moving toward your goals without the guilt.
Know that with persistence and commitment, you can master your personal finances and be financially healthier and wealthier!
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