BC the Mag Health, Beauty & Fitness Fall '19

BC Health Beauty & Fitness

FALL 2019

FALL 2019 • COMPLIMENTARY ISSUE

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SPECIALIST IN TUMORS OF THE LIVER, GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, PANCREAS, SARCOMAS, MELANOMA & BREAST

EXPERIENCE with MELANOMA: We have the largest single practice performance of sentinel lymph node biopsies and dissections-over 1,000 in the past 10 years.

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Results have been published from our data base of over 600 patients in ASCO-GI Malignancies Symposium 2009.

EXCELLENCE with Gl MALIGNANCIES: We perform a high volume of resections for cancers of the stomach, pancreas, small bowel, colon, rectum and retroperitoneum,many with unusual pathologic diagnoses.

Open, laparoscopic and/or robotic approaches are applied depending on the diagnosis, complexity and overall medical status of the patient.

"Castle Connolly Top Doctors Award" 2015 New York Metro Area "America's Top Surgeon Award" 2014

Attending Physician at Holy Name Medical Center Vice Chairman ofthe John Theurer Cancer Center Chief-Division of Surgical Oncology Hackensack University Medical Center

Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery UMDNJ Hackensack University Medical Center Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery Surgical Oncologist Board Certified

Fellowship - Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center PhD in Molecular BioP-hysics Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Member American Society of Clinical Oncology

American Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association, Soc1ety of Surgical Oncology

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For innovative and premier cardiac care, trust the experts at Mulkay Cardiology Consultants. From prevention, intervention and treatment, our team of board-certified physicians specializes in general cardiology, cardiac electrophysiology, and cardiac and endovascular interventions.Expert care has never been this convenient – with locations throughout Bergen and Hudson counties – we offer on-site echocardiography, nuclear stress testing, vascular diagnostics, lipidology, nutrition and lifestyle counseling.

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Angel J. Mulkay, MD, FACC Scott D. Ruffo, MD, FACC

Soo Mi Park, MD, FACC

Michael B. Cohen, MD

I N T E RV E N T I O N A L C A R D I O LO G I S T

C A R D I O LO G I S T

I N T E RV E N T I O N A L C A R D I O LO G I S T

C A R D I AC E L E C T R O P H Y S I O LO G I S T

493 Essex Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601 T 201-996-9244 F 201-996-9243 529 39th Street, Union City, NJ 07087 201-601-0900 F 201-601-0995

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15 Ver Valen Street, Closter, NJ 07624 T 201-996-9244 F 201-996-9243

Maryeth Herrara, APN

Reynaldo Pella, APN

Michele Catena, APN

C A R D I AC N U R S E P R AC T I T I O N E R

C A R D I AC N U R S E P R AC T I T I O N E R

C A R D I AC N U R S E P R AC T I T I O N E R

Fall 2019 Publishers

Sharon & Steven Goldstein Associate Publisher Brandon Goldstein

Editorial Director

Jessica Humphrey-Cintineo Design Director

Jessica LaPlaca-Bruno Fashion Director Candace Kristin

Contributing Writers

Sheila M. Clancy, MS, CHES Kevin Czerwinski Tara DeLorenzo

Tara Ippolito-Lafontant

Tanvi Mathew, MS, LPC Stacie Rose

Stefanie Sears

Nadia Thomas

Michele Weinstein Audrey Zona

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Copyright 2019. All materials are the property of Bergen County The Magazine, LLC. and may not be copied or reproduced without written consent from the publishers.

A Letter From The Editorial Director

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Jessica Humphrey-Cintineo Editorial Director

@bcthemag

he other day I was out and about with my two boys when an older lady came up to me and asked, “How old is your adorable baby?”

“He’s 5 months,” I replied.

“And, how are you doing?”

Now, that’s not the follow up I’m used to receiving! “He’s so cute” and “God bless him” – sure. But, “How are you doing?” – never. As pregnant women, we’re often fussed over and complimented. As new mothers, we’re often bypassed to get to the baby.

After thanking the lady for asking about my wellbeing, she simply smiled and said, “I see he’s your second. First, second, third, it doesn’t matter. Postpartum is hard on many levels. You deserve to be celebrated just as much as that baby.”

And, just like that, a stranger reminded me that I am worth celebrating, that my body is worth celebrating and that my efforts are worth celebrating. She made my day, my week, my month.

When’s the last time you took the time out of your day to compliment a stranger, or simply ask them how they are doing? Maybe you never have, or maybe you are like me and you recently complimented a fellow mother at the park in an effort to make a new mommy friend.

This fall, as you return to your normal work hours, head back to the school drop off line or hop on that senior bus to your next getaway, I challenge you to find your compassion for your fellow “man.”

Drop someone a compliment. It’s completely free and takes literally seconds to do.

And, hey, who knows, you may just say it to the editorial director of some magazine and get a shout out in their quarterly letter and start a domino effect.

With that, I’m off to go spread the love.

Catch you soon, beautiful,

Jessica Humphrey-Cintineo

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CONTENTS 12

22

10 How To Cultivate Calmness as the Back-To-School/ Back-To-Life Rush Begins

12 Pack It Up

Creative (and Healthy) School and Work Salads, Sandwiches

14 Eight Kid-Friendly, Back-To-School Recipes 22 NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Brave Minds Project Connects Those With Brain Conditions

28 Take A Hike

These Local Trails Are Waiting For You

32 Tucker Senior Life Care: Welcome To Compassionate Senior Care

A hiking trail at the Ramapo Reservation, located in Ramapo.

46 36 EVENTS

Health, Beauty and Fitness Happenings Throughout the County

38 AL DENTE DIVA

Al Dente Diva’s Calorie Conscious Comfort Foods

40 Talking The Stigma Out of Infertility 44 Rid Yourself Of Toxins, Or At Least Get Started 46 ‘You Got This’

Ridgewood-based Psychotherapist Gives a Voice To Women

52 54 Understanding Pediatric Chronic Illnesses How Families Can Manage Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

56 Can You Handle A Digital Detox?

58 Creating Your Nighttime Ritual 60 SOCIAL

A Glimpse Into Some of Bergen County’s Recent Health, Beauty and Fitness Events

66 Struggling With Sleep Apnea?

52 Mental Health: It’s Invisible, But Not Imaginary, and Important

Disclaimer: This information is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. All material provided in this publication is intended for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition before undertaking any diet, exercise, health program or procedure set out in this publication.

Caring for Mind and Body as One The Graf Center for Integrative Medicine at Englewood Health is reimagining what wellness looks like through a holistic approach, focusing on the mind and body as one. Our physician-led team of licensed and/or certified practitioners offers evidence-based services to promote prevention, recovery, and support in a safe, comfortable environment. Our services can help minimize nausea, reduce pain, lower blood pressure, and relieve stress and anxiety.

Acupuncture | Aromatherapy | Integrative medicine consultations with physician Manual lymphatic drainage | Massage therapy | Meditation, including pre/post-surgery Nutritional counseling | Pre/postnatal massage, nutrition and yoga | Private stretching with exercise physiologist | Reflexology | Reiki | Stress management | Wellness coaching | Yoga 201-608-2377

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How To Cultivate Calmness as the Back-To-School/ Back-To-Life Rush Begins

By Stacie Rose

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ummer sun, summer nights, summer fun, summer hours.You can add any word to summer and it’s just good! Try it. Summer food. Summer love.

Summer buzz. Summer songs. It goes on and on.The words that seem to really sting when added to summer are the ones with the most finality like end and over.When people say “the end of summer” this and “the end of summer” that, it’s like a dagger to many teachers, kids, parents, people with summer Fridays or just those who remember the long and lazy days when cares seemed to melt away like sunscreen on hot skin or ice cream dripping down your arm.

The beginning of something new like back to school, back to work, back to life and back to reality can carry with it the weight of a thousand bricks and anticipation of, well, something new. But, it needn’t be that way. First off, the summer weather lasts through practically October. Summer gardens are still bearing fruit and veggies.

No need for a total wardrobe makeover just yet, and you can still hit the farmer’s markets and think seasonally when shopping and preparing foods.

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Keeping calm while the inevitable – like the seasons – change largely comes down to your outlook and how you choose to frame things.What if you vowed to maintain a more laid back approach while stepping back into action? Perhaps overdrive is not needed, at least not until the holidays.

What if you kept up with some of the aspects of fitness that are serving you instead of throwing them overboard the minute September starts? Walking, running and biking weather sticks around for a while, so don’t lock yourself indoors. Perusing pictures of summer adventures might keep your spirits high. Continuing to embrace the foods that are still in season helps with the transition and you might consider adding some home brewed, iced green tea to your routine for an extra boost.

Back-to-school is a really fun time for families, but it’s easy to get thrown off by how many things need to happen right around the start of the new school year. Be organized, plan ahead and don’t worry too much since back-to-school is only really about a week long. Ration-

speaking, once kids are back in school, they are back in school.The press, commercials, catalogs and social media would have you believe that back to school lasts for four months. But, it really just comes down to supplies, systems and state of mind.

Systems are good. Consistency and routine are your friends when you’re back to schooling. It will help you; it will help the kids, your coworkers and significant others. And your calm, cool-as-a-cucumber mentality will rub off on your young ones who might be feeling antsy, anxious or arranging an in-house protest.

Get your snack game together for your kids and yourself. Purchase any new Earth-friendly water bottles, bento boxes and such in advance. It’s nice to start as new season with a new lunch or snack bag.They can get pretty yucky after a while. Things seem to seep into the seams. Donate items that are still in fairly good condition and have the labels with names on hand. Remember, what was popular with your kiddos last year might not be welcome in their lunch bags this year.Talk to your kids about the kind of healthy, yummy snacks they will actually enjoy and eat. God only knows the true quantity of unwanted snacks that never see the light of day. You owe it to yourself to get organized with your snacks.

When adults get busy they forget to eat, binge and eat things they are often ashamed of admitting. But if you do a little meal prep you set yourself up for good health. Packing lunches or snacks are such a good way to ensure good health, keep your weight in check and provide energy boosts when needed. Diced fruit and veggies, cooked lentils, grilled chicken, bananas, avocadoes and cooked whole grains are all things that are good to have prepped. Once prepped, you can mix and match making salads, quick soups, smoothies, rice or quinoa bowls. It’s all so simple to toss together when you’re prepped and ready.

Don’t skimp on sleep as things get busy.A charged battery will make the “getting back to it” seem a lot easier. Try to grab an extra hour, if possible. Don’t eat too late; try to kick the blue light addiction and put down the gadgets before bed for heaven’s sake. A little classical music or Bossa Nova before bed is never a bad idea and make sure you rock a good wholesome breakfast.

Getting your kids back on schedule doesn’t have to be stressful either. Ease back in. It’s hard to get everyone sleeping when the sun is screaming, “come out and play” until 9 p.m. Dial back bedtime a little each night and in a few weeks you should be in good shape. Get-

ting your Cozi, Apple or Google Calendar organized will help you unwind at night and keep you collected in the morning because you won’t be stressing over what’s next.

A paper/book calendar like people had in the olden days of stationary stores might actually make for even more calm, relaxed days ahead.

Sometimes the tactile feel of holding your thoughts, schedules and lists and actually writing them down can be very good practice.

If you feel work, life, school, events, obligations, laundry or the sheer volume of responsibility closing in on you, talk to your friends, family or partner, make sure you are getting some air, some exercise and, most importantly, sit yourself down, take some deep breaths and remember it will all get done. And, if it doesn’t, everything will probably still be OK. A little meditation in the morning (or whenever the heck you can sneak it in) will really center you, cleanse and calm your mind and bring you back to yourself. Sitting on the ground is a really easy way to connect with the Earth and help you feel grounded. So, as you embrace this moment and the next, remember that you are in charge.

You don’t have to let others sweep you up in their madness and drama.

Keep calm, carry on and soon you’ll be picking pumpkins and sipping cider with the best of them.

PACK

IT UP

Creative (and Healthy) School and Work Salads, Sandwiches

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By Michele Weinstein

he summer is over, and now it’s time for school and work. While it can be a hard transition time, it’s possible to stay healthy. Here are a few different meal ideas which will keep you healthy this fall.

Sandwiches

Sandwiches can be healthy; you just need to be aware of what you use. Here’s what you need to be aware of.

BREAD.

• Choosing the Bread – One slice of bread typically ranges in calories from 60 per slice to 140 per slice. So, if you use two slices of bread, you are dedicating 120 calories or 280 calories from bread to your diet. For some, who are very active, this may be OK, but for others, this difference can make a difference, especially if you are having sandwiches every single day. I find myself using Dave’s Killer Bread (thin-sliced), FlatOut Wraps, Tumarro’s Low Carb Wraps and/or Angelic’s Bakehouse Wraps.

• Forgo The Bread – Another option is to forgo the bread and take a collard or lettuce wrap.

THE IN-BETWEEN (THE PROTEIN).

There are so many options to use, but there are lower calorie options available.

• Grilled chicken • Turkey • Tuna + 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt • Salmon + 2 tablepsoons of Greek yogurt • Lunch meat (Watch the sodium content)

THE CONDIMENT.

You have so many options to choose from depending on your needs and preferences.

Here are some you can use: • Mustard • Avocado • Olive oil + balsamic • Greek yogurt • Mayo With this list, staying in shape should be made simple. As always, do your best and try to keep meals nice and easy.

Salads

Salads are easy to pack and take along as they are simple to make and store. Here are a few of my favorite combinations.

• Spring Mix + Cottage Cheese + Blueberries (and/or roasted veggies) + Almonds + Poppyseed Dressing • Spring Mix + Chicken + Apple + Walnut (and/or avocado) + Dressing • Spring Mix + Tuna mixed with 2-4 TBSP of Greek Yogurt + Grapes + Almonds + Dressing • Spring Mix + Salmon mixed with 2-4 TBSP of Greek Yogurt + Grapes + Almonds + Dressing Michele Weinstein is a graduate of the University of Vermont with a degree in biology and nutrition. Although her intention was to go into the medical field, she later found that she could help many more blogging using both her education and experiences. On her blog, A Fit and Fabulous Michele, she shares all parts of life after a 10-year struggle of anorexia and after growing up with a Type 1 Diabetic brother and another brother who is severely allergic to many things. Follow Michele at the following links: www.instagram.com/afitandfabulousmic hele; www.facebook.com/afitandfabulousmichele; www.pinterest.com/afitandfabulousmichele; www.twitter.com /afitandfabulou1; and www.linkedin.com/in/micheleweinstein.

Eight Kid-Friendly,

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Back-To-School Recipes

ave time and serve up better-for-you lunches, snacks, desserts and afterschool energy boosts with these simple and affordable recipes. By packing quick and easy lunches, you can have your kids set for each busy day without sacrificing time together. Shopping for your grade-A, back-to-school essentials at a store like ALDI means you’ll use quality ingredients to prepare fun, better-for-you lunchboxes and more.

Consider these eight recipe ideas to pack a better lunchbox. Get schooled in savings and check out aldi.us for more inspiration.

Carrot Pineapple Smoothie

Before diving into the evening’s homework assignments, help your little learner refuel with fruits and veggies in this creamy smoothie.

Ingredients: 2 cups chopped pineapple 1 cup chopped carrot 1 cup ice 1/2 cup Nature’s Nectar Premium Orange Juice Not From Concentrate 1 banana

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Directions: In a blender, combine all ingredients.

Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds

Bento Box Lunch

If your child is adventurous when it comes to flavors, combine a turkey sandwich roll, quinoa salad, broccoli salad and cinnamon apples in this full-flavored bento box.

Ingredients: Sandwich Roll: 4 slices Knock Your Sprouts Off Sprouted Low Sodium 7 Grain Bread 4 slices Lunch Mate Never Any! Turkey 1 teaspoon Burman’s Yellow Mustard 1/2 avocado, sliced 1 mini cucumber, cut into 1/4 x 3-inch sticks

Directions: • For the Sandwich Roll: Trim crusts from bread.

Using a rolling pin, roll out slices to a 1/8-inch thickness.Top with turkey, mustard, avocado and cucumber.

• Roll into a cylinder. Wrap with plastic wrap and cut in half.

• For the Quinoa Salad: In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, season to taste with salt and pepper.

• For the Broccoli Salad: In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Season to taste with pepper.

• For the Cinnamon Apples:Toss apples with lemon juice and cinnamon. Place in a plastic baggie and wrap tightly.

• Serve all components together for a healthy lunch.

Quinoa Salad: 1 cup organic quinoa, cooked 1/4 cup sliced almonds 2 mandarin oranges, peeled and separated 1/4 cup dried cranberries 2 bunches green onions, sliced 1 teaspoon pure olive oil Iodized salt, to taste Ground black pepper, to taste Broccoli Salad: 1 large head broccoli, chopped 1/4 cup sliced almonds 1/4 cup dried cranberries 1/4 teaspoon Fusia Soy Sauce 1/2 cup vanilla nonfat Greek yogurt Ground black pepper, to taste Cinnamon Apples: 1 granny smith apple, sliced 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

BC Health, Beauty & Fitness

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Tropical Granola Bar

One of the most versatile snacks to enjoy nearly any time of day: granola bars. This homemade version combines dried fruit with pumpkin flax and quick oats for a sweet, nutritious treat.

Ingredients: 2 Tablespoons organic coconut oil 1 teaspoon pure vanilla 3/4 cup cashew butter recipe, divided (recipe follows) 1 cup quick oats 1 cup dried fruit medley, chopped 1 1/2 cups Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola

Directions: • In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, heat coconut oil and vanilla until combined.

• In a large bowl, combine coconut oil mixture, ½ cup cashew butter, quick oats, fruit medley and granola. Place in parchment-lined 8x8-inch cake pan, top with parch-

Cashew Butter Recipe:

In a food processor bowl, combine 2 cups Southern Grove Jumbo Fancy Whole Cashews with Sea Salt, 1 tablespoon coconut oil and 1 teaspoon honey until blended. Scrape down sides and continue processing until smooth. Add 1 more tablespoon of coconut oil, if you would like the cashew butter to be smoother. Add ½ teaspoon of honey, if you would like the cashew butter to be sweeter. Store cashew butter in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

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ment paper. Using another 8x8-inch cake pan, lightly press down granola bars. Evenly spread granola bars with remaining 1/4 cup cashew butter. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

• Take granola bars out of refrigerator and cut into 21 individual bars. Place into plastic bags and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Banana Pecan Cherry Oatmeal

Make dessert a more nutritious venture with the classic combination of peanut butter, fruit and honey.

These small bites of savory flavor can be ready in just 12 minutes for a nighttime snack the whole family can share.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup diced strawberries or blueberries 1 cup quick oats 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 3 Tablespoons honey 1 Goldhen large egg Directions: • Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.

• Place tablespoon-sized scoops of mixture on a parchment-lined baking pan. Bake for 7 minutes.

Strawberry Yogurt Bars The nutritious combination of oats and strawberries makes for a tasty treat.

This kid-friendly recipe is an easy option to make ahead and serve anytime.

Ingredients: 4 1/2 cups chopped strawberries, divided 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla 3 Tablespoons cornstarch 3 tablespoons water 3 cups Multigrain Crispy Oats, crushed 4 Tablespoons Tastes Like Butter, melted 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt Directions: • Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 4 cups strawberries and sugar. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla.

• In a small bowl, whisk together corn-

starch and water until dissolved. Stir mixture into saucepan and cook for 3 minutes, until thickened. Pour into a medium bowl and refrigerate until cool.

• In a large bowl, combine crispy oats and butter spread. Press into an 8x8-inch baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Cool

to room temperature.

• Stir yogurt into cooked strawberries and pour on top of crust.Top with remaining 1/2 cup strawberries and refrigerate for 4 hours.

• Cut into 9 squares and serve. Best eaten with a fork.

Tropical Superfruit Smoothie It only takes six natural ingredients and five minutes to make a supercharged after-school snack.

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups organic baby spinach 1 cup vanilla almond milk 1 cup organic blueberries 1/4 avocado 1 banana 1/2 cup chopped pineapple Directions: • In a blender, combine spinach and almond milk and blend on high until smooth.

• Add blueberries, avocado, banana and pineapple and blend on high until smooth.

• Serve in a chilled glass and garnish with a slice of pineapple.

Fruit Leather Wraps

Snack time doesn’t have to mean candy and other unhealthy options. Instead, provide a sweet treat that’s all-natural with blueberries and raspberries in these fruity wraps that are both guilt- and gluten-free.

Ingredients: 8 ounces blueberries 5 ounces raspberries 1 Tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest 3 mint leaves 1 teaspoon Organic Wildflower Honey

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Directions: • Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.Add all ingredients into a blender and puree. Pour onto silicone mat. Spread evenly using a spatula, leaving a one-inch perimeter. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, rotate the pan and bake for another 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 3 minutes.

• Cut 7 strips of parchment paper about 2 inches wide each. Cut 7 strips fruit leather about 1¾ inches wide. Place leather on parchment strips and roll. Secure with twine or colorful tape.

Tip: If leather appears to be getting too dry around edges while baking, simply sprinkle a small amount of water on it.

Secret Veggie Turkey Nuggets

Sneak those all-important veggies into your children’s lunch with these baked nuggets that combine ground turkey, cauliflower, zucchini and onions. Add a favorite dipping sauce to the lunchbox for a tasty, nutritious midday meal.

Ingredients: Canola cooking spray 3/4 cup chopped cauliflower 3/4 cup chopped zucchini 2 Tablespoons yellow onion, finely chopped 1 pound Fit & Active 93% Lean/ 7% Fat Fresh Ground Turkey 1 teaspoon ground salt grinder, divided Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. In a food processor, combine cauliflower, zucchini, yellow onion and blend to a puree.

3. In a medium bowl, combine pureed vegetables, turkey and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheet.

4. Set 3 medium bowls in line. In the first bowl, mix flour and remaining salt and

1 2 6 1/4 2 1/2

teaspoon ground black pepper grinder, divided cups all purpose flour Goldhen large eggs cup water cups Chef’s Cupboard plain breadcrumbs teaspoon parsley flakes

pepper. In the second bowl, whisk eggs and water together. Place breadcrumbs in the third bowl.

5. Roll balls in flour, then in egg mixture.

Toss in breadcrumbs until completely coated; press down to form into a nugget shape. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.

6. Bake for 10 minutes, turn, and continue baking for 8 minutes or until fully cooked.

7. Garnish with parsley flakes.

Tip: Serve nuggets with your favorite sauce.

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NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

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Pictured above: Seventeenyear-old honoree Victoria Caetano and Alyssa Carfi, founder of The Brave Minds Project.

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CONNECTS THOSE WITH BRAIN CONDITIONS

By Stefanie Sears

nspired by her own personal experiences, Alyssa Carfi founded the Brave Minds Project, a nonprofit program intended to provide support systems, form a community and raise awareness for those diagnosed with brain and brain stem conditions.

This past June marked Carfi’s 10-year anniversary of her own brainstem surgery. When she was 15, doctors discovered that she had a cavernoma, also known as a cavernous malformation.

To describe it in more understandable detail, a cavernoma is a bunch of little blood vessels that resemble grapes lodged in the brain stem. Because it had contact with Carfi’s sixth and seventh cranial nerves, every time it bled, it would cause some kind of distortion in Carfi’s eye and smile. This was first noticed when Carfi

BRAVE MINDS

found it difficult to smile at age 12. After her parents initially dismissed it as tiredness, they brought her to the emergency room to have it checked out. It was originally determined to be Bell’s Palsy and Carfi was given a steroid. Within weeks, she was back to normal and it was just written off as stress due to the then recent Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy.

However, when Carfi was a freshman in high school, it returned, evidenced by the right side of her face looking a bit off. After another trip to the emergency room, it was again diagnosed as Bell’s Palsy. That night, her pediatrician Dr. Barry Weissman of Bergen Pediatrics called and asked her father various questions about her functioning capabilities. He then told them to come into his office the following morning. When they did, he revealed some new information to them.

“He was like, ‘They misdiagnosed you. We need to get you back to the emergency room. You need an MRI, a catscan, the works,’” said Carfi.

After some tests back in the emergency room at Hackensack Hospital, Dr. Arno Fried greeted Carfi and her family and explained everything about her cavernoma to them, granting Carfi the ability to ask questions and learn more about her body. Because Carfi bounced back after the two times it bled, Dr. Fried did not see the need to remove it at the time and Carfi went on with life.

One day at track practice, Carfi, now a high school senior, felt so tired that she felt like she was not running, but this too was attributed to stress, this time about the upcoming prom and prepar-

PROJECT

Pictured: Brave Minds Project Founder Alyssa Carfi (third from left), honoree Victoria Caetano (fourth from left) and Running Lights members, from left, Mike Squillante, Stephen Ranellone and Nick Squillante.

BC Health, Beauty & Fitness 23

BRAVE MINDS

ing for college. However, when she went home to take a nap, she woke up with her eye turned toward her nose.

This was when it was decided that something further needed to be done. In the interim, Carfi was able to finish school and attend prom because nothing had changed further. Three days following her high school graduation, at the age of 18, she had surgery done on her brainstem (and eventually over 11 cosmetic surgeries thereafter).

“I had to defer college for a semester to recover because I had to essentially learn how to walk again and get strong again,” explained Carfi.

She attended college at the Fashion Institute of Technology and even studied abroad in London and Shanghai. She also graduated on time, despite having started college a semester late.

“I think that when you’re told that you can’t do something, it makes you want to do it even more. Being that I had to defer college for a semester, it made me ultimately a better student because I wanted it so badly,” she said.

To commemorate her 10-year anniversary, she founded the Brave Minds Project, which places a special focus on those aged 10 through 29.

“Those are some of the most critical years of your life,” Carfi explained. “Those very well could have been the years that shaped who you are today, and so what I wanted to do was to help the patients, and not only help the patients, to help their families.”

Something that Carfi wants do through Brave Minds Project is to supply age appropriate care packages for the teenage and adult

PROJECT

Alyssa Carfi with her family, Dr. Max Gomez of CBS and Joe Schiavo owner of The Shepherd & The Knucklehead.

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The Brave Minds Project is a nonprofit program intended to provide support systems, form a community and raise awareness for those diagnosed with brain and brain stem conditions. patients. Another is to create a mentorship program.

“This mentorship program will help these patients to navigate through these times, through helping them educationally and professionally. Again, ages 10 to 29 is when you’re figuring out who you are and what you want to be in life. If someone wants to be a teacher or a doctor or a musician, I would like to find people who are excelling in those areas and bring them to our patients. So far we have been really successful. Just with social media alone we have connected with so many people not only in America but around the world who have found us,” she said.

Brave Minds Project held its very first brunch event on April 7 at The Shepherd & The Knucklehead in Hoboken. There they honored one of Dr. Fried’s patients Victoria Caetano, a high school senior with spina bifida aspiring to be a doctor, as a way to celebrate her bravery as a nice sendoff before her surgery on April 15.

“I had asked Dr. Fried to find a few patients who were within our age group.

I really wanted to focus on someone who was in high school and was going through some of the things that I was going through,” said Carfi.

Dr. Fried’s team recommended Caetano based on her similarities to Carfi. “‘We have this one patient and she

reminds me a lot of you,’” said Carfi, quoting Dr. Fried’s team, “‘She is outgoing and spunky. She’s had all of these medical hurdles, but they’re never a setback for her. She just deals with it and overcomes it and she would be a great person.’ Just within 20 minutes of talking with her and her mom, I was like, ‘Oh. She’s it. This is the girl we are definitely honoring for our first time.’”

Mr. Cupcakes provided cupcakes for the event and the band Running Lights performed. Also in attendance were Dr. Max Gomez of CBS New York and Iliana Rodriguez and Teri Gabay from Advanced Neurosurgery Associates.

“Iliana and Teri are a huge help with Brave Minds Project. They were always there for my family and I, and still continue to be,” said Carfi.

The event raised over $5,000 and Brave Minds Project is now accepting donations for their #CourageKits project.

“As we forge ahead to create an inclusive community, these funds bring us one step closer to developing programs that will help patients and their families.

Including our #CourageKits, a personalized box for each patient and sibling in need of some courage and happiness. If after a large procedure or surgery, Brave Minds Project will put special items together to brighten their day,” she said.

Brave Minds Project held their next event, a shopping night out on May 2, at

Katie Diamond Jewelry. This night honored one of Brave Minds Project’s #BraveMamas, mother of three Suzanne Donadio with Luminous doing her makeup. Donadio’s 13-year-old daughter was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and epilepsy and Donadio “is determined to give her three daughters the best life possible, while helping others along the way.” Katie Diamond Jewelry donated 15 percent of both online and in store sales to Brave Minds Project.

To commemorate her 10-year anniversary since her surgery, Carfi participated in Sky Dive For the Brave (https://skydiveforthebrave.splashthat.co m) to raise money for Brave Minds Project by jumping out of a plane at Sussex Skydive on June 27. Joining her was Remi Adeleke, “Transformers: The Last Knight” actor, author of “Transformed: A Navy SEAL’s Unlikely Journey from the Throne of Africa, to the Streets of the Bronx, to Defying All Odds” and a Navy SEAL veteran.

To learn more about the Brave Minds Project, visit www.bravemindsproject.org.

Take A Hike These Local Trails Are Waiting For You

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By Kevin Czerwinski

he idea of being outdoors and enjoying nature certainly sounds appealing. Bergen County and the surrounding area are perfect for getting back in touch with the outdoors. There are dozens of outstanding hiking locations in and around the county, some grand and difficult while others are smaller and more manageable for the novice outdoorsman. Here’s a closer look at some of Bergen County’s popular hiking trails as well as some excellent ones just over the county and state lines in Passaic and Rockland counties.

Ramapo Valley County Reservation, Mahwah

The reservation is a dog-friendly park that features a series of five loop trails that are all well within walking distance of the parking lot. The easier of the walks is around the lower lake, which features enough shady spots and picnic benches to take a break and enjoy the water. Longer and more difficult hikes up to Hawk Rock and Cactus Ledge are also enjoyable, featuring a 28 BC Health, Beauty & Fitness

Ramapo Reservation

waterfall and breathtaking views of the Ramapo Valley. The upper lake is magnificent, but the walk up is a steep incline (partially paved) and the path around the lake is a bit a rocky. Swimming is not allowed in either lake, but your dog will certainly enjoy taking a dip.

The Giant Stairs, Palisades Interstate Park, Alpine

The Giants Stairs/Long Path Loop is one of several hikes in the Palisades Interstate Park but is quite possibly the most enjoyable. It takes some moxie to negotiate this trail because it is the park’s most difficult one to navigate. There are climbs and descents on large, uneven rocks and the walk along the Hudson River is also littered with bigger rocks. You’ll need to use your hands as well as your feet on this trail but the effort is well worth it and features some incredible views of the river and Westchester County across the way in New York. There is a café on site that serves light refreshments.

Flat Rock Brook Nature Center, Englewood

The nature center features two loops totaling 3.6 miles. It’s a self-guided experience but one that is well worth it, featuring streams, wetlands, ponds and a meadow. The hikes are part of the 150 acres that surround the Flat Rock Brook Nature Center. The hike is not difficult – there are some moderate climbs – so feel free to bring the kids. Take some time to enjoy Mystery Bridge and the waterfall over which it stands. It’s at the end of the wetlands and is a perfect spot for photo opportunities. Check out the nature center while you’re there.

Atkins Glen Park, Park Ridge

Atkins Glen has a rich local history, according to the Bergen County Historical Society, which has placed a marker at the park detailing the park’s story. Native American wore out a path up Spook Bergh, a path that was used later by Dutch settlers. A sandstone cave is said to be a hiding place for Native Americans and outlaws. While that cave is mostly filled in these days it’s an integral part of the Atkins Glen experience. The stream that runs through the ravine is gentle and calming, a perfect place for children and pets.

The Giant Steps

inexperienced hikers. Dogs are allowed but must remain on a leash.

The Celery Farm and Allendale Wetlands, Allendale

The bustling town of Allendale, which is bisected by Franklin Turnpike, doesn’t seem like it would be a place to find such wonderful trails. The farm is a 107-acre freshwater wetland nestled between Franklin Turnpike and Route 17. The farm is a hotspot for bird watchers – nearly 250 species have been seen there – but there is also plenty of other wildlife to enjoy. Pets are not permitted and you not allowed to pick any flowers.

The Allendale Wetlands is a nature preserve just about a mile or so away from Celery Farm and is located just off Franklin Turnpike. It is part of the Passaic River Watershed Coalition, which includes more than two dozen sites scattered around North Jersey.

Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve, Franklin Lakes

The preserve is a 120-acre spread that features a 75-acre lake. It features a handicapped accessible trail that is suitable for novice and hiking veterans. The trail also connects to a nearly 2.5 mile collections of trails within the preserve

Rockleigh Woods Sanctuary, Rockleigh

The sanctuary covers parts of Rockleigh and Alpine and has two tracts that are accessible. The Rockleigh Woods Sanctuary is an 84-acre plot in Rockleigh while the 134-acre Lamont Reserve is in Alpine. Overall, there are more than 4.5 miles of trail to enjoy.

The land, which is on the western edge of the Palisades, is formerly owned by The Boy Scouts of America. There are streams and some moderate inclines but by and large the trails are good for BC Health, Beauty & Fitness 29

not a busy road it is dangerous so extra caution must be taken. Be sure to check out the Van Slyke Castle when you’re at Ramapo Mountain. The entrance to the park is in Ringwood though the park also encompasses Wanaque, Pompton Lakes and Oakland, covering 4,300 acres.

HIgh Mountain Reserve

that ultimately link up to the dozen or so miles of trails at High Mountain Park Preserve in Wayne.

trip to the High Mountain Reserve is the spectacular view of New York City. The view alone is well worth the trip.

High Mountain Reserve, Wayne

Ramapo Mountain State Forest, Ringwood The forest straddles the line between Bergen and Passaic Counties. There are several trail loops totaling nearly a dozen miles. The longest and most difficult trails should only be attempted by those who are experienced hikers. Hikers will have to cross Skyline Drive twice. While it’s

You can start out at the Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve and make your way to High Mountain or you can simply go a stone’s throw over the border and hit the trails over the 1,300 acres located in the reserve, which is part of the Preakness Mountain Range. The highlight of a

Harriman State Park, Sloatsburg, N.Y.

Harriman, which is five minutes up Route 17 once you cross the New York State line, is nearly 50,000 acres and is the second-largest state park in New York. It is the granddaddy of all hiking expeditions in the Hudson Valley region featuring 31 lakes and reservoirs and more than 200 miles of hiking trails. Camping, boating and fishing are also available in the park, which stretches from Sloatsburg to just short of the Hudson River by the Bear Mountain Bridge. There are varying degrees of hiking trails available, all of which feature incredible vistas and wonderful spots to stop and have a picnic lunch.

Bear Mountain

ERIC ALT

SALON

HOUSE OF BLONDE SADDLE RIVER | 201.438.0900

Tucker Senior Life Care: Welcome To Compassionate Senior Care

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By Kimberly Redmond

s New Jersey’s population continues to gray, it brings along an increasing amount of challenges for senior citizens and their loved ones.

Over the last decade, the Garden State’s median age has increased almost a year to 39.6 years and Bergen County – the state’s most populous area – has one of the highest rates of aging, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Across the country, Baby Boomers are continuing to age and are slowly outnumbering children as the birth rate has declined steadily, and by 2035 Census officials estimate that senior citizen population will be the biggest in the U.S. Those demographic changes will have major implications, such as the greater need for medical care and facilities for those 65 and older to the funding of federal Social Security and Medicare programs.

It also means more families will be tackling questions related to the care of elderly relatives, a conversation that Margo Tucker, an Englewood-based care manager, said is rarely easy.

“The needs of our elderly population are intense and getting more complex every minute,” she said. “And, it can be hard for children to see how aging changes a parent and what to do when it comes to caring for an elderly parent.”

Aging comfortably and safely can be challenging due to a number of factors, such as increasing disability, financial resources and a lack of social support.

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Some seniors may also refuse a higher level of care – even when they need it – or refuse to downsize from their long-term home to a smaller apartment.

What should a child do when their aging parent isn’t having trouble taking care of themselves? How should a child raise the issue of whether or not it’s safe for a parent to be driving anymore? Or, what if a parent starts showing signs of dementia?

Tucker, a licensed social worker who has been in care management for 19 years, said, “My goal is to bring any and all family together to be the voice of their loved one and to give families the tools they need to handle situations, and to have practical, emotional and realistic conversations about what’s happening.

“I want people to know this journey cannot be done alone. But, when you do it with others and a network, all the pieces come together and that’s how we age well. To age well, we need a village,” she said.

And that’s where geriatric care management comes in, Tucker said.

A client could be someone who can no longer live safely at home, or has limited or no family support. Or, a family could choose to work with a care manager if they are having trouble finding services or dealing with the health needs of an aging parent.

As a geriatric care manager, Tucker works to help the elderly and their families deal with anything from health and financial issues to housing matters to other emergencies.

Just a few of the many tasks a geriatric care manager takes on include: making home visits, recommending needed services, coming up with shortand long-term plans, selecting care personnel, evaluating in-home care needs and coordinating medical services.

“We can’t change the destination, but with the right support, we can change the journey by seeing who they were, who they are now and who they want to be by listening, understanding, loving and caring for them,” Tucker said.

Tucker, who was adopted, was drawn to social work in college, when she completed her first internship at the Miami Jewish Home & Hospital for the Aged, an assisted living center in Florida.

“That’s where I found myself,” she said. “I didn’t want people who were abandoned and left alone to feel pain.”

For the last decade, the wife and mother has run her own private practice,Tucker Life Associates, and recently decided to expand and rebrand her business as Tucker Senior Life Care due to increasing demand for services.

BC Health, Beauty & Fitness 33

With assistance from two care managers, the agency aims to serve seniors, as well as those with special needs, in a way that is professional, respectful and compassionate and helps them flourish and thrive, Tucker said.

Tucker said she and her colleagues specialize in chronic illness and mental health issues, such as depression and psychosis.

The majority of clients suffer from dementia, a condition that affects at least 5 million people in the U.S., according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Every 65 seconds, someone in America develops the disease and by 2050 the number of people living with Alzheimer’s is projected to rise to nearly 14 million.

“Our expertise lies in the various types of dementias – each has its own story,” Tucker said. “More and more, we’re seeing early onset dementia. People who are 55, 62 and 68.”

Besides helping families understand the challenges of elder care, Tucker also seeks to encourage the greater community to learn more about the needs of the elderly and special needs population.

Tucker is just one of many people advocating for more comprehensive longterm care in the U.S. and buildings and neighborhoods that are more amenable to seniors and disabled individuals. There’s also a push for more programs that encourage older adults and those with special needs to participate and feel included within their communities.

Unfortunately, Tucker said, both populations are still often misunderstood or ignored by the general public, mainly due to “people’s ignorance.”

“On the positive, there’s a real push for towns to take responsibility for the elderly,” she said. Some communities have sought to become “more age-friendly” by adding more programming. Englewood, for example, “has an incredible, comprehensive volunteer-based program.”

She is in the process of working on a lecture series for Englewood Hospital about dementia and has conducted smaller programs in communities around the county.

“One of the biggest changes I’ve seen is over the last few years is the complexity and challenges of the medical system,” she said. “When you or a loved one is living with a chronic illness or disease, there’s a lack of resources and many people don’t know where to turn.”

As a geriatric care manager,Tucker said it’s important to teach people “how to look at situations differently – creatively and outside of the box.”

The people Tucker is helping aren’t the only ones who learning something.

After almost two decades in social work, Tucker said she “continues to learn and grow as a person” from the bonds she forms with clients.

“I can’t tell you how many people have completely changed my life,” she said.

She recalled a 73-year-old female client who “was a very challenging person” that passed away last year. The woman, who had “serious issues with being neglected, teased and abused as a child,” became avoidant and difficult for others to be around as she grew older, Tucker said.

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“To age well, we need a village.”

– Margo Tucker, an Englewood-based care manager

“No one had patience for her. She had a story, and it was fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time,” Tucker said. “She was brilliant and socially inappropriate, because she was so damaged at a young age. She was mercilessly teased for her extreme eczema, coupled with an abusive mother. Animals were her only escape and she loved them. At the zoo, she knew every exhibit and that’s where she spent all of her time until it became too difficult to go.”

“The best gift to care managers are the stories we hear. Clients share their secrets and we really try to understand all of them, and take the love and lessons to put into the best care plan,” Tucker said. “Many of our clients sit all day. One day becomes the next and you’re losing meaning and purpose.”

Tucker said that particular client “taught me that everyone deserves to be loved. We, as people, can become very judgmental of others and we can lose patience with someone who has mental health challenges. My message is that people take a minute to care.”

To find a care manager, visit the Aging Life Care Association’s website at aginglifecare.org or call (520) 881-8008. The U.S. Administration on Aging also offers an elder care locator tool on its website (https://eldercare.acl.gov/Public/Index.asp) or by calling (800) 677-1116.

In addition to private practices, a number of non-profits offer similar services, such as Jewish Family and Child Services, Catholic Charities and the Asian Women’s Christian Association.

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EVENTS MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION • Learn about the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course at an orientation session. Published research has shown that mindfulness training can be an important adjunct to conventional medical treatment of many disorders as well as powerful way of reducing stress and pain.

Fall MBSR courses are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays. For more information or registration, visit tinyurl.com/KrameMBSR Krame Center for Mindful Living at Ramapo College of NJ, Mahwah, Anisfield School of Business Room 420. For more information, email mindfulness@ramapo.edu.

PARKINSON’S SUPPORT GROUP • The next monthly meeting of the Parkinson’s Disease Northern Valley New Jersey Support Group is Sept. 7 at 12:30 p.m. at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, lower level, 276 Haworth Ave. in Haworth.

Speaking at the meeting will be Tess Tomasi from Senior Services Bergen County. For more information, call (201) 599-2232.

8TH ANNUAL AIR EXPRESS GOLF OUTING • The 8th Annual AIR Express Golf Outing honoring Dr. Lauren Koniaris, M.D. for her service to Hackensack University Medical Center will take place on at Knickerbocker Country Club, 188 Knickerbocker Road, Tenafly, on Sept. 23 from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Golf outing tickets are $550 each or $240 for dinner only per person. Foursomes are available for $2,200, which includes brunch/lunch, dinner/open bar, prizes, use of driving range and locker room and 18 holes of golf. All proceeds benefit the AIR Express mobile asthma bus, now in its 15th year of operation. For registration or more information, call (888) 996-2065 or email Barbara.Mcgoey@hackensackmeridian.org.

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KOMEN NORTH JERSEY

• Join Komen North Jersey for an afternoon of celebrating survivors and networking with passionate business leaders and advocates in the fight against breast cancer on Sept. 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Mayfair Farms, 481 Eagle Rock Ave., West Orange. The afternoon includes lunch with pink champagne, silent auction, performance by HeART in Motion, and a fashion show featuring breast cancer survivors modeling fashions by Worth New York. The Pink Champagne Lunch & Fashion Show supports the fight against breast cancer by heightening awareness, creating a passionate call-to-action and generating funds for screening and diagnostic services, breast health/breast cancer education, treatment support, patient navigation and survivorship programs in North Jersey, as well as breakthrough national research. For information or to register, visit www.KomenNorthJersey.org/lunch or call (908) 277-2904.

RESOURCE & COMMUNITY WELLNESS FAIR • Buddies of NJ will host its 2nd Annual Buddies of NJ Resource & Community Wellness Fair on Sept. 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Franklin A. Smith Resource Center, 149 Hudson St., Hackensack. Area hospitals, dentists, massage, chiropractic, mental health, substance abuse, STD and HIV screenings, blood pressure and hear screenings, eye screenings and more will be present.

A WALK TO REMEMBER • Alumni In Recovery’s Parent Program will be hosting the 1st Annual A Walk to Remember, a walk dedicated to honor lives lost to the disease of addiction, on Oct. 27. The rain date is Nov. 3. The walk will begin at 10 a.m. and continue on until 1p.m. Anyone who is unable to get to the walk by the starting time will still be able to walk and contribute at any point throughout the scheduled event. The walk

is not created to be a 5K walk or run. Participants will simply walking along the paths running from Westvale Park in Westwood through to Pascack Brook County Park in Emerson. There will be beverages as well as some local food truck businesses. The main goal is to honor the lives lost. For more information or to register, visit www.alumniinrecovery.org/ walk or email walk@alumniinrecovery.org..

FALL RACES • The Norwood Fast and Flat 5K will take place on Oct. 5 at Kennedy Field, 453 Broadway, Norwood. Founded in 2005, the Norwood Fast & Flat 5K is a renowned, goto race for runners all over Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, Rockland, and other surrounding counties looking to blaze a new PR in a highenergy atmosphere on a lightning quick course, usually in optimal autumn running conditions. Now in Year 15, the race also attracts many recreational runners and walkers.To register or for more information, visit www.runsignup.com/Race/NJ/Norwood/No rwood5K. • The 8th annual Run for the Kids at the beautiful Ross Dock Picnic Area in Fort Lee will take place on Oct. 12. This year, Grace In Motion is partnering with Teaneck Public Schools. All proceeds will go towards empowering Teaneck students in need, making sure they have everything they need to pursue a quality education. To register or for more information, visit www.grace-inmotion.org/race.

• The Old Tappan Superhero 5K is a fundraiser to support the Old Tappan First Aid, Fire Company and the Police Officer’s Association.The 5K is scheduled for Oct. 19 at Stone Point Park, located on Westwood Avenue in Old Tappan. Email OldTappan5k@ gmail.com for more information.

Have an event you’d like featured in Health, Beauty & Fitness? Send the necessary information to info@bcthemag.com for a chance to be included.

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AL DENTE DIVA

Al Dente Diva’s

Calorie Conscious Comfort Foods

h, comfort food. Sometimes you just need a big hug in the form of something delicious. But, indulging doesn’t mean you have to toss your diet out the window. By making some small adjustments, these comfort foods have been transformed into meals you’ll be able to enjoy without feeling those calorie consequences later.

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Cauliflower Crust Pizza Guilt-free pizza sounds like a dream come true. Turn that dream into a reality by replacing your regular pizza dough with cauliflower crust. It’s super delicious and easy to make. Pulse one large head of cauliflower in food processor until it looks like the consistency of rice.

Squeeze it in a kitchen towel and remove all moisture. Mix in 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon of garlic power, 1 egg and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. Form into the pizza size of your choice and bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add your sauce and toppings and return it to the oven.

Continue baking until the cheese has melted.

Baked Chicken Parmesan Chicken Parmesan is one of the most popular dishes in New Jersey restaurants – for good reason: it’s out of this world delicious. Here’s a good way to get your chicken Parmesan fix without all of the extra calories associated with it. Season pounded chicken breast with salt, pepper and garlic powder on both sides. Dip chicken in an egg wash made with 2 whisked eggs and a little water. Then place chicken in seasoned breadcrumbs and coat on both sides. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and place the chicken on top.

Spray the chicken with more cooking spray and bake in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven for 40 minutes. Add tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese to the chicken and continue baking until the cheese is melted.

Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers If you want the delicious taste of a cheesesteak without counting carbs, then I’ve got just the thing for you. Not only are cheesesteak stuffed peppers a great low carb alternative to the sandwich, but they also make for a pretty cool presentation. Slice a bell pepper vertically and remove the seeds. Place them in a baking dish. Sauté a sliced onion in a little olive oil; season with salt and pepper.When the onion is soft, add some thinly sliced steak (I like using rib eye) and 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.

Season the steak with more salt, pepper and whatever other spices you enjoy. When the steak and onions are done cooking, stir in your preferred shredded cheese. Stuff the peppers, cover and bake in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for 35 minutes.

Taco Salad

I love a good taco – maybe even a little too much at times.

Here is a great way to get the entire delicious taco flavor without added calories. Add all your favorite taco toppings to a big bowl of cleaned lettuce. I like to add chopped tomatoes, red onion, sliced olives and shredded cheese. Brown turkey meat with a taco-seasoning packet. Let it cool slightly and add it to the salad. Toss in Catalina dressing and top with some fresh salsa.

Tara Ippolito-Lafontant is a longtime Bergen County resident and local foodie. This stay-at-home mom is the creator of Al Dente Diva, a page where she shares recipes, entertaining tips and cooking hacks with her followers.

Visit her on Instagram (@AlDenteDiva) for a peek into her everyday culinary adventures.

Talking

THE STIGMA OUT

of Infertility

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By Tara DeLorenzo

fter 8 years of trying to conceive, Raquel Bruno and Chris Caira welcomed their baby boy into the world with the help of an egg donor. Through their joy, they are working to share their story to help eradicate the stigma surrounding infertility.

The couple first got together in 2009 after reconnecting through Facebook. They married at 39 and even before their big day, they were trying to make their dream of being parents a reality. In fact, the two believed Bruno had been pregnant on their wedding day – but that was just the first of her three miscarriages over the next 8 years.

“The first one was really tough because it was my own egg, and basically it was like an empty nest,” Bruno said.“It was a sack with nothing in it, and it was really hard, but we thought, ‘Let’s keep trying.’ ” And so they did.

Infertility, according to Dr. Maria Constantini, a reproductive endocrinologist at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey (RMANJ) of Englewood, affects a range of people. Constantini stated that around 12 percent of women 15-40 reported to have infertility problems, with that percentage increasing sharply as women reach their thirties. Part of the problem too, she believes, is celebrity pregnancies, where older celebrities seemingly get pregnant with no assistance.Therefore, women don’t think, or simply don’t know, to get help earlier.

The Caira family began with an infertility clinic in New York City.

First, they tried intrauterine insemination (IUI), a procedure less invasive than in-vitro fertilization (IVF), Bruno said.When that was unsuccessful, they tried other clinics and procedures, including IVF. “The difference between natural and in-vitro is [the whole process] happens in the lab,” said Dr. Constantini. “[This means] we go and take

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the eggs before they’re in the tube and the body and brain is programed to have one or two eggs grow at one time in a woman’s ovary. So, what we do in IVF, we do what the brain does, meaning we give medications that the body is used to receiving and we program the body to, instead of growing one egg, to grow as many as possible in a certain cycle. It’s trying to recruit all the eggs that are available in a particular cycle and getting those eggs out before they’re expelled into the tube or ovulating.

We take them and fertilize them in the lab. We provide in the lab then what the fallopian tube provides naturally.”

Bruno tried 15 rounds of IVF, and after her third miscarriage, she, heartbroken and beaten down by losses, felt she needed to take a break from it all.

“It was just heartbreak every month,” Bruno said. “You get pregnant or you think you’re pregnant, there’s just so many highs and lows. It takes a toll, physically, financially, mentally, spiritually, you just become bankrupt. It’s just too hard to keep going.”

Bruno and Caira knew they weren’t looking to adopt; Bruno had always wanted to carry a child. So, one night, as they watched a show Bruno had helped produce, the couple decided to try again, this time with the help of an egg donor – a decision that took a lot of soulsearching for Bruno to come to terms with.

Their doctors at RMA were nothing but supportive, helping the couple come to terms with their options.

“Going through it together, I think the biggest part is that Raquel wasn’t going to be able to use her own egg, so with not being able to use her own egg, it was a hurdle because it wasn’t going to be hers, so to speak, and there was a stigma to not using her own eggs, like it not being her baby,” Caira said. “All these things popped in our heads. But the people at RMA, especially Dr. [Eli] Rybak, really talked us through all of these things because they’ve done it for so many folks and they allowed us a voice; they allowed us to cry; they allowed us to talk and verbalize a lot of things we’d been thinking of together that we were unsure of moving passed that big hurdle of using a donor egg, and once we had that talk with Dr. Rybak, he really put to rest a lot of fears and concerns we had.”

When they went to Dr. Rybak about their decision, the team at RMA was encouraging, but cautioned finding the right donor might take some time.

It took them 3 days to find their perfect match.

“This is obviously how our child was meant to come to us,” Bruno said.“It took me a long time for me to come around with it cause I come from a musical family; I come from a strong Italian/Jewish background; there were traits I have that I wanted my child to have. But then, once BC Health, Beauty & Fitness 41

we realized we found a donor and had hope it would work, we went and met with her and had a meeting with the team in Basking Ridge, and they walked us through and they basically said look, we can do this and it can happen, so I felt a little better about the decision. So we went in 2017, the end of July, and the pregnancy took.”

Baby J, while born 3 weeks early, was born perfectly healthy – as Bruno said, he “was healthy as an ox and born like a beast.”

Bruno’s pregnancy was in no means an easy one, as she had suffered from preeclampsia, but as she saw her baby boy for the first time, it was all worth it.

In the wake of their success, they began their quest together to help remove the stigma from infertility. Emphasizing that no woman or partner should feel alone in their struggles. For RMA, they put together a PSA video to encourage women to share their stories. RMA regularly sponsors webinars to help women come to terms with their infertility.

“Infertility has often been compared to the diagnosis of cancer, with the pain and stress people go through,” Dr. Constantini said. ”The problem with cancer is people understand cancer; people understand the fear of death and people are certainly right there to support people with that diagnosis, and rightfully so. With infertility, it’s more of a silent diagnosis. People don’t talk about it – they feel embarrassed or ashamed because there’s a certain feeling of accomplishment that you feel as a mother that you don’t feel if you can’t be a mother. You feel as if you’re failing as a woman in some ways, in front of friends, peers or even your family sometimes. So, we teach women how to communicate with friends and family, how to protect yourself. We talk a lot about taking care of you and what are the steps for that, with family, with friends or anyone you come into contact with.”

RMA also helps women and couples through encouragement and education. With options available for all stages of life, Dr. Constantini, while saddened that women are not more informed, is excited to help them and is in awe of their tenacity and bravery in the face of this silent diagnosis.

“I care about my patients,” she said. “These are a lot of real stories of fear, of loss, of sadness, but more than anything these women humble me because their endurance is beyond anything I’ve seen. The desire to have a child is probably one of the most fervent inner desires that a human can ever harbor and feel.”

Even in the face of all the options, Dr. Constantini, and both Bruno and Caira recommend, if a woman is delaying having a baby to consider freezing their eggs.

“I think if I were to see us at a younger age, I would suggest freezing eggs, because younger people may want to pursue their careers and do 42 BC Health, Beauty & Fitness

“Infertility has often been compared to the diagnosis of cancer, with the pain and stress people go through... The problem with cancer is people understand cancer; people understand the fear of death and people are certainly right there to support people with that diagnosis, and rightfully so. With infertility, it’s more of a silent diagnosis.”

– Dr. Maria Constantini

other things before having a family, and doing those other things may influence whether or not they can use their eggs,” Caira said.

Bruno concurred, but also emphasized no woman is alone in her struggle.

“It’s like training for a marathon,” she said.“You have to prepare your body, your mind and your spirit to take on whatever’s in front of you. I thought for sure I was going to have a baby with my own eggs, and it wasn’t going to be a problem and then we couldn’t get pregnant.Then it was an egg donor and then it was preeclampsia.There’s nothing you can control. You have to be very flexible and open in your mindset and the biggest part is having the right support around you and that you have a partner who loves you no matter what and vice versa. And, you cannot blame yourself. It’s an easy thing to fall into, thinking why me, and you become hopeless.You really just have to find strength so you can go on the journey cause you don’t know where the journey will take you.”

With seminars and webinars, as well as programs like Big Sister at RMA, which pairs patients with other women who have experienced similar things, RMA and couples like the Caira family and their Baby J are hoping to eradicate any stigma following infertility, shifting the focus back to the power of parenthood and also to the donors.

“I do have to give a shout-out to those who donate, sperm or egg, because they are helping families,” she said.“They’re the unsung heroes in this. What I loved in the description of our egg donor was that, from what I remember, is she had family members who went through this and she felt she wanted to give back. That in itself was one of the reasons we chose her, her open heart.”

Not only do they hope their story will help couples that have faced a similar struggle, they also hope their story shows their son how much he is loved.

“I’m hoping to eradicate the stigma and that’s really important to me because I don’t want anyone to feel ashamed about his or her bodies,” she said. “Because when you go through that, you think, ‘Well, what did I do wrong? Some people just pump out kids, and why isn’t that us?’ You really start to get mad and upset.There are thousands of adjectives that go with it. But the most amazing thing is we live in a society that this is an option. [Infertility] brings you to dark places, but at the same time, with the darkness comes the light, and when you shed light on something, it no longer has to be dark; it means people do have hope and you’re not alone in the process. This is my narrative, and this is a narrative I gave myself; I don’t need someone else’s words, I want him to hear from mommy and daddy how much hard work we did to get him, how much he’s loved. It was worth every minute of everything we went through. I just wish it happened sooner and that we could’ve had this option earlier in life. I’m perfectly happy with our one happy baby.”

BC Health, Beauty & Fitness 43

Rid Yourself of Toxins, Or At Least Get Started

By Audrey Zona

sk me about toxic-free living, and my mind ranges from relationships that need to be abandoned to bad habits, like smoking, to the environmental toxins we are all trying to avoid. Toxins are innumerable and everywhere you look.

I help my private clients think holistically about nutrition and wellness through their choices and behaviors. We all know that we should cut out refined sugars and artificial sweeteners, eat organic, add leafy greens and superfoods with antioxidants, fermented veggies and get more high fiber. But, there is plenty more you can do, so I’m sharing my personal detox list that can help you rid yourself of toxins and reset your body, mind and spirit.

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First, Love Your Liver & Sweat It Out Eat half a grapefruit a day. They are rich in antioxidants and Vitamin C – two great liver cleansers.

Drink green tea. It’s a calming cup that contains plant antioxidants called catechins, which research has shown burns fat that accumulates in the liver.

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Include turmeric in your diet. A powerful anti-inflammatory, it protects your liver from damage, and has been shown to improve overall gallbladder function, another crucial part of the body’s detox process.

Take Milk Thistle, an herbal supplement, which contains Silymarin, a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory used in the treatment of liver problems.

Eliminate alcohol. Booze puts a strain on your liver, and simply cutting back – or cutting it out – will dramatically improve your health.

Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces every day. Drinking 3-4 liters of filtered spring water daily is key for the body’s detox process.

Sweat! Head to your gym or local day spa and speed up the body’s natural detoxing function by sitting in the sauna.

Incorporate high-intensity interval training into your workouts too. Twenty minutes of HIIT will ignite your body’s excretory system, removing waste from your blood through sweat.

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Don’t Forget The Mental Detox This can take many forms – from removing negative people from your life and surrounding yourself with inspiring friends, to saying positive affirmations throughout the day. Whether you’re eliminating toxicity from relationships with others, or your relationship with yourself, a mental and emotional detox is just as important as a physical detox for your overall health. Practice relaxation or meditation and consider taking up yoga to clear both the mind and body of toxicity.

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Consider Your Whole Body Get a massage, particularly one that focuses on blood flow and redistribution of energy, such as a Chinese Massage. An intense sports or deep tissue massage can

also promote healing across the body.

Sleep! Your body rejuvenates and restores itself during sleep, and we know sleep supports the immune system and the body’s ability to detox. Get 7-8 hours in a healthy sleep environment.

Do oil pulling with coconut oil.

Rich in Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) and high in lauric acid, coconut oil is also a powerful antibacterial.

Twenty minutes each day will cleanse the mouth of toxins and bacteria from teeth, tongue and gums, causing infections and disease.

Dry brush your skin to increase circulation. It’s your largest organ, so focus on it by brushing your extremities, including your hands, feet, legs and arms.

And, speaking of your skin, if you think the FDA does a subpar job of regulating what goes into our food supply, you’ll be equally appalled with the regulation of cosmetics and personal care products.

There are thousands of chemicals in these products, most of which are being absorbed into your body through your skin. Companies have carte blanche to use almost any ingredient without governmental review or approval.

Consider cleaning up your beauty regime and look at beauty products the same way you do food labels. Many of the synthetic chemicals used in these products are skin irritants, endocrine disruptors and

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are carcinogenic. Here’s a list of some of the most harmful chemicals to stay away from: parabens; fragrances; phthalates; triclosa; sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS); formaldehyde; and propylene glycol.

Looking for clean beauty?

Visit Follain.com for the most fabulous clean beauty. I happen to be an ambassador for the company, so I can offer you a discount at checkout using the code ref_zohealthy. Whether you try some or all of these, I promise that you will see and feel amazing results.

Audrey Zona is an integrative health and wellness coach and the founder of Zo Healthy. She is a mother, wife and personal coach who loves seeing her clients break old diet patterns and enjoy more satisfying, healthier lives. Follow Audrey on Instagram (@zo_healthy) for recipes, tips and tricks for leading a healthy lifestyle.You may also find out more by visiting her website, www.livezohealthy.com/, or Facebook page, w w w. fa c e b o o k . c o m / Z o Healthy.

Ridgewood-based Psychotherapist Gives a Voice To Women

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By Tara DeLorenzo

ooking for a way to foster empowerment for women, New Jersey psychotherapist Tanvi Mathew’s #YouGotThis gives a voice to women and further positions women as powerful warriors in society just looking to be heard.

With the purpose to educate women and aid them in finding a healthy work/life balance, Mathew developed a workshop and a blog to share the story of 10 influential women looking to share their stories.

From celebrities to news anchors and real estate agents, Mathew found women of varying backgrounds to spread a message of hope, sharing their story through the #YouGotThis blog she kept.

“My goal is for young girls to be equipped to advocate and be assertive for themselves,” Mathew said. “Women talk so much about feeling stuck, but they don't realize just how much time they waste talking about it when they can be doing something about it and actually moving forward.”

While her career specializes in children and women, Mathew started her career 16 years ago with her first field experience at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains working with adult populations with severe mental illness. Her next opportunity came from a hospital working with children coping with abuse, abandonment and other traumas. By graduate school, she focused her career on working with children and teenagers. She later moved into an administrative position, working as the program director for a children’s program at the hospital she worked at and also opened her own private practice, Emerge, in Ridgewood.

“I've always been fascinated with mental health and how we respond to our environments and people around us,” Mathew said. “People talk about how others ‘make them’ feel a certain way or do certain things, but they don't realize that they are the only ones who have control in managing themselves. I've been very successful in having people become aware, understand and take responsibility for their responses. In therapy my clients begin with redefining their relationship with themselves and understanding the relationship with self is the most important relationship in your lifetime.”

With her work with children, Mathew started having parents come in to help sort through the issues that the children came in presenting.

What she found, she said, was that many coming in were of one-parent households or that the fathers of the children were not able to make BC Health, Beauty & Fitness 47

“We are capable of doing anything.

You have to have faith in yourself and refocus. When we start to change the way we think, we’re going to start changing the way we feel and when we start to change how we feel, we start to change all the possibilities that exist around us.

it. As mothers came more frequently, they also started to schedule their own appointments to speak with Mathew, and as the mothers and children both worked to resolve their stressors, Mathew noticed a shift in the family dynamic and saw progress.

“Families were reporting they were aware of feeling more successful and lines of communication were opening up because it wasn’t just one client, it was the family dynamic,” she said. “So, I was finding with the mom we don’t hold ourselves self-accountable for our own life and we don’t realize the choice we have, and we 48 BC Health, Beauty & Fitness

let people dictate. We don’t feel empowered like we should. As that started happening, I started to get more women in their twenties coming in, right after college, trying to figure out their career. I was seeing the same thing with them too; there was no work/life balance. It was either one or the other – stuck in an abusive relationship and feeling they had to constantly feed the need of their significant other and not focus on their career or being so invested in their career trying to climb the corporate ladder that they didn’t have the time to have personal relationships to develop.

This all really started about 2 years ago and

that’s where my whole women empowerment came into play.”

As her own health took a toll and she had a major flare with her ulcerative colitis, Mathew was forced to find the same balance she was encouraging her patients to find. In September, she left her position at the hospital, and #YouGotThis became her passion project. First, however, she ran a workshop with the same name and the subtitle of “Women Looking for Work/Life Balance (Minus the Guilt).” This workshop was a presentation of value systems and the importance of self-worth.The blog became an expansion of that.

It's important for girls to learn at a young age that they will have to work hard, and life will knock them down, but they will get right back up and try again until they reach their goals.”

– Tanvi Mathew

“#YouGotThis came when I was sick in March,” Mathew said.“While I was on bedrest for a week, one day I woke up and said, ‘I’m going to have an event. I can’t be the only one going through this and I know exactly what I need to do.’ From there, I started to get the ball rolling.

This workshop was for women and having that work/life balance minus the guilt because we’re always like I’m not going to make it through and one of the things my husband said to me when I felt this way was ‘You got this,’ so that’s where it came from. My husband essentially inspired it.”

In her involvement with the women empowerment movement, Mathew started getting more calls from women and she became inspired. Her first goal was to find someone with a platform that could help her share her message.

Mathew reached out to people through social media, asking for support and went to bed, unsure of responses to expect. By morning though, she had a reply by Dolores Catania of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” and a few weeks later, they had a session scheduled and the blog began after their four-hour session.

“We talked about everything – how she hit rock-bottom and how she came back up,” Mathew said. “She said to me, ‘You should make this bigger.You need to go out and get more women.’ So, I agreed and said, ‘Let’s get 10 women.’ I had no idea where these 10 women were going to come from and at this point, I was still working at the hospital in the summer, but it was still fueling me. I was still multitasking and trying to find my balance between work, my kids and my practice. I didn’t want to give any of it up. I started thinking of women from my childhood and people I knew, and one person would introduce me to another person and before you knew it, I had these 10 amazing, powerful women.”

In addition to Catania, the women included an Emmy-winning journalist, a celebrity make-up artist, a New Jersey mommy blogger, a neurosurgeon, an author, a news anchor for CBS in Atlanta, Ga., a real estate agent from South Carolina, a breast cancer survivor who owns a nonprofit and is on Forbes non-profit board, a radio host and an executive vice president of Valley National Bank. Each shared their tale of adversary and triumph, and each story was recorded as a new post to be featured on the #YouGotThis blog.

Working through this, Mathew not only felt a change in herself, but she felt even more inspired and motivated to continue the work she started.

“I went through my own shift. Doing the workshop, I was very motivated. I was like a bull. I wanted to get women on board and start making changes and do it for themselves.The blog was a little more difficult because a lot of the women I had known personally, and even I hadn’t, their stories were so impactful. Things like becoming an orphan at 13, three of the women were assaulted and never reported it, poverty, the racism, you name it, infidelity, raising a kid on your own – it was so impactful. “[A project like this shows] we are capable of doing anything. You have to have faith in yourself and refocus.When we start to change the BC Health, Beauty & Fitness 49

way we think, we’re going to start changing the way we feel and when we start to change how we feel, we start to change all the possibilities that exist around us. It's important for girls to learn at a young age that they will have to work hard, and life will knock them down, but they will get right back up and try again until they reach their goals.”

Overall, the goal of #YouGotThis was to help connect women and help them support one another. While women have stepped forward to participate in the blog since its inception, Mathew has decided to leave it at the 10 women for now. She does hope to hold more events that include the original women for question and answer

sessions and to continue spreading their messages of hope and empowerment.

“I think women tend to take each other as a threat but we need to change that view,” Mathew said. “We need to change how we think; we need to support one another more and I mean that genuinely.You have to uplift each other. When you rise, if you’re leaving someone else at the bottom, give them your hand and help them up. If you know that you have something to offer that’s going to benefit someone else’s life, why not help them. Life is not about competition and who’s going to get to the top first, and women, we are warriors, but we don’t often realize it. We need to bring each other’s strength out.”

More information on #YouGotThis and Tanvi Mathew can be found at https://emergecounselingnj.com.

Mathew looks to continue her work though to teach women and girls to work hard and pick themselves up when things get more difficult. She is looking to one-day reach out to work with both men and women, but for now is focused on empowering women and helping them find their voice to be able to be feel fulfilled.

“Live your best life each day,” she said.

“Don’t sell yourself short.That’s a big thing, it’s not about luck. It’s about how you do things and you have to change how you see things. If you keep seeing the same pattern and nothing is changing, you need to change something, and you need to change your pattern.”

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By Tanvi Mathew, MS, LPC

ental health has become a hot topic on the rise over the years. I hear people talk more about implementing self-care and mindfulness into their day-to-day lives in order to keep their minds healthy. We don’t realize it, but this movement is a part of the prevention and intervention process that keeps us aware and in tune with where we stand emotionally and mentally. It also helps us make choices that can change the course of our path and help us lead healthier and happier lives.

National Suicide Prevention Week is Sept. 8-14, 2019. During this week, we see awareness heightened as people provide one another with support. It’s a heavy topic that has been brushed under the rug in the past and we show hesitation in discussing, but the reality is so many have felt it was the only choice they had. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the tenth leading cause for death in the United States and in 2017 alone there were 47,173 deaths by suicide.

There were also an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts. Our country now has twice as many suicides occurring than homi-

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cides. These numbers already seem high, but realistically these numbers are actually higher considering suicides can be overlooked and reported erroneously under another classification.

Deaths by suicide have also been linked to a number of recent celebrities, who have brought this topic to light. In 2014, we were jolted by the news of actor Robin Williams’ death; Williams had openly spoken about his experience with bipolar disorder over the years. In 2017, musician Chester Bennington of Linkin Park took his own life and in 2018, just weeks after Bennington, came the news of celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain and fashion designer Kate Spade who both surrendered to the depression they combatted for so long. In between and even prior to there were many more.

During my 16 years in the mental health field and as a psychotherapist, I’ve treated countless children and adults for suicidal thoughts and attempts. The one thing I’ve seen consistently is when you reach for help and allow yourself to accept support, change will happen. We tend to bulldoze through the dayto-day routine of our lives and struggle to keep ourselves

together for others and present with a facade. But, when you ignore what you’re experiencing emotionally, the effects can be detrimental and you may feel out of control.Your emotional health will impact and manifest physically in your body. Approximately 75 percent of the clients I treat in my private practice have seen multiple specialists, specifically cardiologists, neurologists, dermatologists, gastroenterologists and chiropractors for chronic aches and pains prior to coming to therapy. In many cases, they went for second opinions when their results came back normal. People don’t always want to accept the root cause is related to their mental health.

Our mental health is such a complex part of who we are. It can change at any moment as our situations and environments change. Nowadays, stress and anxiety have become a norm that we all tend to “just deal with” and even children are feeling the impact of it.

Think about experiencing these feelings at a young age, which many people have, and internalizing them without talking about it. With each day that passes, the way we cope with these feelings and moods can become habitual and part of our norm. We almost become comfortable with being uncomfortable because that is what we know and the outcome is predictable.

The most important details to pay attention to when feeling a range of emotions are understanding what your triggers are and how they affect your mood. Take action by implementing healthy coping mechanisms that will help you work through the process effectively and clear your thoughts to better understand them.

A method that works for one may not work for another. Sometimes it’s trial and error, but you will get there. Understand your worth and know it’s worth the energy to put into yourself. Help is out there and you can and will feel better. It’s one day at a time.

If you feel you have reached a point where you need professional support, reach out to your nearest hospital or call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255.

Tanvi Mathew, MS, LPC is the founder and clinical director of Emerge - The Counseling & Coaching Center, located at 162 E. Ridgewood Ave., Suite 2, in Ridgewood.

Top Picture: Tanvi Mathew, MS, LPC, founder and clinical director of Emerge - The Counseling & Coaching Center.

Bottom Picture: Tanvi Mathew, MS, LPC, founder and clinical director of Emerge - The Counseling & Coaching Center, was recently a guest on Marci Hopkins’ morning talk show, Wake Up with Marci. The episode, which aired on July 27, focused on children’s mental health and suicide prevention.

BC Health, Beauty & Fitness 53

Understanding Pediatric Chronic Illnesses

How Families Can Manage Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

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By Nadia Thomas

or a parent of a child diagnosed with a chronic illness, the future can be scary and overwhelming. Assembling a medical team and beginning to formulate a treatment plan, even becoming familiar with a glossary of new terminology, can be taxing.

Resources are available to help families make sense of many diseases and ailments, and some of these organizations even offer tools specifically designed to help support the care of a child patient. For example, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation is a leading resource for families navigating inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

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What Is IBD?

How Does It Affect Children?

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two most common types of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). These chronic conditions produce similar symptoms, use similar therapies, and are both treatable. However, they are not the same.

Crohn’s disease may occur in any part of the large intestine (also called the colon). In fact, it can happen anywhere in the entire digestive system. However, it most commonly develops right where the small and large intestine meet. In ulcerative colitis, only the colon and rectum are affected.

No one knows for sure what causes Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, but experts believe several factors may lead to the development of the diseases, including genes, environmental elements like viruses and bacteria, and inappropriate immune reactions.

When IBD is diagnosed in childhood, it may be more extensive and follow a more severe course than when it is diagnosed in adulthood. While symptoms are similar in adults and children, some children with IBD experience delayed puberty and some fail to grow at a normal rate. Dealing with disease relapses, frequent doctor visits, hospitalizations, treatments and even surgery, many children with IBD miss significant school time and social activities.

They are often overwhelmed by the emotional and psychological side effects of the disease.

Learning how to manage the disease is not always easy for children. Parents play an important role in educating their children about IBD, including teaching them they need to take their health seriously and take responsibility for caring for themselves.

Despite the differences between Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, both can produce similar symptoms when active, all brought on by chronic inflammation. Symptoms may include diarrhea, rectal bleeding, urgent need to move bowels, abdominal cramps and pain, sensation of incomplete evacuation, and constipation.

“It is critical that if you suspect your child has inflammatory bowel disease, you seek care with a qualified pediatric gastroenterologist who can carefully and efficiently help determine the diagnosis and begin a treatment plan to help your child feel better, thrive, and maximize quality of life,” said Andrew Grossman, MD, pediatric gastroenterologist and chair of the pediatric affairs committee of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

It is possible to live a full, rewarding, happy and productive life with IBD. Treatment begins with finding a pediatric gastroenterologist you trust. Your child’s IBD treatment may ultimately involve a wide range of therapies including medication, nutritional adjustments and surgery.

Maintaining your child’s health may also involve lifestyle accommodations, like organizing your schedule for ample bathroom breaks when away from home.You may also need to work closely with your child’s school to manage absences and academic performance along with any medical care that needs to take place during school hours.

Many families also find value in building a network of supportive friends and loved ones. One example, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation offers Camp Oasis – a co-ed residential camp program that allows children to meet others like them in a safe and enriching environment.

What Are The Symptoms?

How Can IBD Be Managed?

Another resource is justlikemeibd.org, a website featuring stories and videos from teens with IBD as well as information on school, dating, managing stress and diet, research updates and resources for parents.

Is Your Child Ready To Manage His Or Her Own Care?

For young adults, managing IBD may be particularly challenging, and the transfer of care from a pediatric health care team to an adult health care team may further complicate this stage. If you have a child taking the next steps into adult care, consider sharing these tips from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and visit crohnscolitisfoundation.org/campus-connection to help your young adult become independent in his or her IBD management: Understand your disease and how it affects you personally, including your typical symptoms and signs of a flare. Also, be sure you understand when and how to contact your health care team.

Know your medications and how much you take.This is especially important when you see other doctors so they can help you avoid medicines that don’t work well with your IBD medications.

While a parent is still involved, practice becoming your own advocate with your doctor and others, such as school administrators. Ask questions and take an active role in your treatment.

When your doctor orders tests or procedures, be sure you understand any preparations that are required, and be sure to follow up so you understand the results and any changes necessary to your treatment.

If you move, enroll in a new insurance plan or travel, know what medical services will be accessible and covered so you can make the best decisions about your health.

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BC Health, Beauty & Fitness 55

D

igital detoxing is the process of taking a break from your technology gadgets. If reading the words “digital detox” is already causing you to feel a tightness in your chest or you are short of breath, don’t fret; you can work your way into this slowly.

In our current society, we do need to stay in touch with people and be aware of what is going on with family, friends and work. Sometimes though, we are too busy when we don’t have to be. We are multitasking and yet not giving our full attention to anything.We are constantly being interrupted and in many cases have become less productive even though we feel more “connected.” Kids are losing the skills of face-to-face conversation because they are texting everything – even when they are sitting in the same room with each other.

Let’s ease off the digital devices one step at a time.

First, turn off the push notifications on your phone.You can set aside a bit of time during the day to check your social media sites without your phone buzzing or beeping every time someone contacts you on

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By Sheila M. Clancy MS, CHES

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. This puts you back in control and leaves you free of so many interruptions.

Next, set some ground rules. No phones at the dinner table will give you some social interaction with your family and will help you set a good example for the kids. Don’t even keep the phone on the table – nothing worse than the anxiety of seeing you have a message from someone but trying to get through dinner before you read it.You could also say no email or social media after 7 p.m. so you let your mind take a break. Instead, go for a walk or do some stretches. Take a hot bath, read a book or play a board game with the kids.

Also, they still make alarm clocks so you don’t need to use your phone for that – keep it out of your bedroom.

While you’re at it, put your phone on airplane mode when you’re at the gym. Have you seen the people who keep stopping to check their phones while on the treadmill or in a group exercise class? Your workout time should be a mental break to clear your mind of everything and enjoy yourself. Pay attention to your body and how you are

feeling and focus on running your last mile or pushing out those last few reps.

Finally, try powering off for a whole day.

Shut everything down – iPad, computer and phone – and enjoy the day free of distractions. For peace of mind, and emergencies, let your family know your plans so you are still reachable. Up until 20 years ago, this is how we actually spent everyday.

You let people know your plan for the day and you went on your merry way. You waited until dinnertime to tell everyone how you spent your day and you didn’t have any “selfies” or pictures to show them.

Research has shown that interpersonal relationships with other people can increase longevity and improve the quality of your life. Having a support system of people you can count on and spend time with can make you a happier and healthier person. You can have 500 Facebook friends and still be very lonely and separated from the real world. Technology is part of our world and it has its place, but don’t replace your family and friends with it. Use it and enjoy it, but don’t let it take over your life.

By Sheila M. Clancy MS, CHES

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et’s face it – we’re all busy.We’re rushing.We’re not fully paying attention to what we are doing, and we’re struggling to fit everything into our day. While you can’t change many of your responsibilities, one way to help you unwind from your hectic day and prepare for your next day is to create your own nighttime routine.

Creating a routine for yourself can take some of the stress out of your day and can make your day’s activities flow better.

Having an effective nighttime routine can lead to a smoother and calmer morning, and before you know it, you are feeling better and using your time more effectively.You can improve your sleep and become more productive just by identifying a few activities that help you to use the last few hours of the day wisely.

Once you get home, put your bags away, put your dirty Tupperware in the sink and change out of your work clothes. Mr. Rogers was really onto something! This is a great way to create the feeling that your work day is done. Next, walk the dog, feed the fish, check the mail and wash the dishes in the sink. Now, you have a clean slate to prepare dinner, help the kids with homework, throw in a load of laundry or write a few bills.Try not to sit down for too long – sometimes that zaps your energy so badly that you can’t get back up.Also, if possible try not to turn on the TV or computer because they can really distract you from getting other things done.

Having dinner together with the family can help you to connect with everyone and it helps people to be able to share the events of their day. Right after dinner, contemplate the next day and figure out what you will wear and if you’ll need to pack some food for lunch or a snack. Do the same for the kids; use small containers or Ziploc bags to pack snacks and lunch for the kids 58 BC Health, Beauty & Fitness

and figure out what they need for the next day. Is it gym day, crazy socks day, wear pink day, favorite hat day etc.? This can help everyone to avoid a crazy scramble around the house the next morning.

You can every have the kids pack their bags and put them neatly by the front door so they are ready to go in the morning.

Once the kids are in bed and you have a little bit of time to yourself, find a relaxing activity that you enjoy that you could do for 30 minutes.You could take a warm bath, do a crossword puzzle, listen to some favorite music while you stretch or read a book or magazine. Meditating can calm your body down and reduce tension, anxiety and pain. Journaling can also release some tension and a gratitude journal can help boost your mood and help you reflect on your day.

Once it’s time for bed, make sure your room is cool and dark and you are wearing comfortable and non-restrictive clothing. Going to sleep and waking up at the same times every day, including weekends, creates a routine for your body and helps you to get a better quality sleep. Try not to have caffeine 4-6 hours before you go to bed and avoid alcohol whenever possible – it can make you feel sleepy, but you get a poor quality sleep.

Try to keep to a “no electronics in the bedroom” rule so that it is a calm and relaxing atmosphere.

We are all different, and the routine that you follow might not be the best routine for your neighbor or coworker.Try some different activities and tweak your routine until you are feeling the most energetic and productive. Not every day brings the same responsibilities and events but a routine can help to make the regular days flow smoothly. Building in time for yourself can help to keep your energy up so you can be there for others.

SOCIAL

FRIENDS of the Hackensack University Medical Center FRIENDS of the Hackensack University Medical Center held their second annual Women’s Health Night at the Indian Trail Club in Franklin Lakes. For more information, visit www.hackensackumc.org.

Linda Berlinger, Candice Paxos

Judy and Karen Rostello

Mary Krugman, Carol Zurier, Brett Krugman

2

Late Spring 2017

Eileen Cuomo, Candice Paxos

Darleen Redeille, Patty Trava, Mary Schneider

Stephanie Lench, Sandy Kissler

Melinda Godino, Roberta Haselkorn

Mary McBride, Stacey Louisot

Angela Aiello Frassetto, Patricia Hanratty, Christine Nolan

Dr. Leslie Montgomery, Dr. Ami Vaidya, Dr. Lisa Tank, Dr. Debra Fromer

Joye Wesler, Reggie Gross

Catherine Napolitano, Helena Theurer

Rosita Grijalva, Debra Fabbio, Lisa Moumdjian, Krystal Choi

Cindy Martins, Catherine Napolitano

Michelle Heinsohn, Theresa Kearns

Shantal Rosano, Colette Ford, Carole Guerriero

Patricia Hanratty, Gail Trumbetti, Joann Berndt

The Valley Hospital Foundation The Valley Hospital Foundation held their annual Women for Health luncheon at the Edgewood Country Club in River Vale. For more information, visit www.valleyhealthfoundation.org.

Lauren Kafka, Grace Galvin

Bev Tanis, Ginny Flaherty

Lisa Mactas, Gail Lazarus

Jean Neri, Elaine Heimberger, Elaine Weg

Ann Swist, Joyce Sredicki, Lia Martirossian

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Stacy Strohmenger, Daria Linnington, Mary O’Reilly Late Spring 2017

Jean Meloro, Elaine Urciuoli

Paulette Laurenzi, Linda Cennerazzo

Gail McCarthy, Kathy Slomin

Kathy Nardella, Dr. Rochelle Brief, Paula D’Amico

Gina Diamond, Steven Nussear, Judi DiDonato, Flo Salierno, Nancy Bush

Carla and Sarah Fels, Joice Smith

Nancy Davidson, Linda Leeber, Barbara Mills, Lynn Weston

Gigo Lee-Taylor, Mary Roberts, Christine Rudd

Cady Coleman, Audrey Meyers

Nancy Weiss, Bettina Daly

Sandy Carrapezza, Cady Coleman, David Bohan

Donna Fischer, Cady Coleman, Julie Epstein

Englewood Health Foundation

Dr. Apurva Motivala, Dr. Vindya Achuthan

Frank Mei, Tricia Morris

Stefanie Cohen, Jennifer Graf, Suzie Shapiro

Larry and Ladan Davis, Nancy and Bruce Harper

2

Kristina Hanley, Lisa Iaccetti

Late Spring 2017

Mara and Andrew Paolino

Jerry Simmons, Michael Seaver, Tony Orlando, Joseph Brown

Chris and Gisela Perruna

Joe and Megan Holl

Emily, Michael and Alana Brenner

Kylie Burst, Christine Spigai, Mary Ciccarelli

Dr. Richard Goldweit, Jay Nadel, David and Jennifer Graf, Warren Geller, Tom Senter

Glenn and Michelle Brauntuch, Melanie and Barry Zingler, Gayl and Sam Suede

Rich and Dorothy DeLuca

Frank and Irina Blancato, Cynthia and Kevin Waldman

Kristen Geller, Beth Nadel

Danielle and Matt Langer

The Englewood Health Foundation held their annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

For more information, visit www.englewoodhealthfoundation.org.

Gabrielle and Pasquale Avallone

Chris Fierro, Helaine Blumenthal

Amanda, Jennifer, David and Carolyne Graf

Dr. Richard Goldweit, Pamela Mitchell, Richard Kurtz

Paul and Christine Imbarrato

Diana and Juan Chico

Nancy and Joel Bergman

Roula and Bill Ioannou, Litsa Kalkanis

Ross Nadel, Sara Adam, Jay and Beth Nadel, Hillary and Daniel Needleman

Abigail Suzman, Kristen, Warren and Sarah Geller, Blythe Dewling

May and Erik Chu

Tami Rager, Rick Rosenthal

Jodi and Eric Kleiner

Sue Giordano, Don O’Leary

Sue Tang, Alicia Park

Michele Byrd, Milena Boeva-Rashba

Matt Boylan, Anika Islam, Matthew, Tom and Linda Senter

Good Samaritan Hospital Good Samaritan Hospital held their spring ball at the Edgewood Country Club in River Vale.

For more information, visit www.goodsamhosp.org.

Anna and Gene Cortes

Marlo Mcpartland, Kenneth Newman

Dr. Richard and Angela Clarkin

Joe Allen, Rochelle and Mark Acker

Brenda King, Tara Cullen, Chris Nevin

Stephen and Shannon Albanese

2

Kimberly Bachorik, Dr. Steven Reichard

Late Spring 2017

Dr. Jeffrey Oppenheim, Meredith Trussell

Sister Rosemary Moynihan, Sister Elise Gittrich, Dr. Mary Leahy

Candice Timmerman, Jimmy Macagna

Gayle and Dr. Cary Hirsch

Eugene Mitchell, Mecca Santana

Melanie and John Bilancione

Joseph and Mary Grace Lagana, Dr. Mary Leahy, Dr. James Vela

Dr. Mary Leahy, Joe and Ashley Allen

Marc Chasin, Anastasia Van Allen

Larisa and Dr. Harry Bolton

John Theurer Cancer Center The John Theurer Cancer Center held their first annual gala at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

For more information, visit www.hackensackumc.org.

David and Alice Jurist

Christine Rizk, Eileen Dr. Mark Schlesinger, Sam Toscano Riemerschmid

Dr. Andre Goy, Jeff Ornstein

Joe Simunovich, Dr. Ihor Sawczuk

Dr. Michael Atkins, Susan Crockett, Kathleen Hilburn, Dr. Martin Gutierrez

2

Dianne and Frank Aroh

Sharon Goldstein, Ro Sorce, Laura Garrett, Dr. Yuki Kimura, Alex Sawczuk

Nick Cangialosi, Ann Goodwill Pritchett, Colleen and Mark Spart

Domenic Dipiero, Larry Inserra, Hilary Dipiero, Bob Garrett

Late Spring 2017

Martin Kafafian, Larry Inserra

Bill Murray, Dr. Jeff Boscamp, Bob Garrett, David Gettleman, Joe Simunovich

Dr. Martin Gutierrez, Debbie and Nick Cangialosi

Dawn and John Reinhardt, Jen Smith, Carol Stillwell

Louise Goetz, Helena Theurer

Geri Topfer, Maureen Keating, Penni Feiner

Joel Lemaire, Dr. Andrew Pecora

T

he Valley Hospital is among the first in the New York metropolitan area to offer a breakthrough treatment for central sleep apnea, the remedē® System. The innovative therapy is used to treat patients with moderate to severe central sleep apnea. We recently sat down with Dr. Suneet Mittal, Director of Electrophysiology at The Valley Hospital and Medical Director of Valley’s Snyder Center for Comprehensive Atrial Fibrillation, and Dr. Jeffrey Barasch, Medical Director of The Valley Hospital Center for Sleep Medicine, to discuss this exciting new treatment option for patients.

Q: What is central sleep apnea?

A: Central sleep apnea is a serious condition in which a person’s sleep is interrupted because the brain does not send proper signals to the diaphragm during sleep, causing lapses in breathing. Central sleep apnea causes significant drops in nighttime blood oxygen levels and disrupted sleep, with significant impairment in cardiac function and daytime performance.

Q: Is central sleep apnea the

same as obstructive sleep apnea?

A: The condition is different from the better-known obstructive sleep apnea, in which breathing disruptions occur when the throat muscles intermittently relax and block the airway during sleep.

Q: What is the remedē® System?

A: The remede® System, approved by the FDA in 2017, is a pacemaker-like device that is placed under the skin in the upper chest area during a minimally invasive outpatient procedure.

Q: How does the remedē® System work?

A: It treats central sleep apnea by activating a nerve located in the chest that stimulates breathing. The system monitors the patient’s breathing during sleep and if irregular breathing is detected, it stimulates the nerve to move the diaphragm and restore normal breathing.

Dr. Jeffrey Barasch

Medical Director of The Valley Hospital Center for Sleep Medicine

Q: How does the remedē® System impact patients?

A: We believe that this new technology is a major step forward that will enable us to treat these patients much more effectively. Until this new development, central sleep apnea had been difficult to treat, frequently resistant to medical therapy, and unresponsive to CPAP, the usual therapy for obstructive sleep apnea. This therapy has been proven to reduce the number of sleep apnea events, which will improve patients’ quality of life and overall cardiovascular health.

Dr. Suneet Mittal

Director of Electrophysiology at The Valley Hospital and Medical Director of Valley’s Snyder Center for Comprehensive Atrial Fibrillation

To make an appointment for a consultation to see if you are a candidate for the remedē® System, please call 201-447-8392.

BRINGING BACK THE HOUSE CALL Valley Health System and DispatchHealth have partnered to bring high-quality urgent care to you, in the comfort of your home.

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HARNESSING JIM’S MOST

POWERFUL ALLY HIS IMMUNE SYSTEM.

As a leader in the evolution of immunotherapy, John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center continues to help pioneer ground-breaking discoveries. Breakthroughs like CAR T-Cell therapy – which empowers a person’s immune system to fight cancer. And as 1 of only 16 cancer center consortia in the U.S. approved by the National Cancer Institute – we’re not just at the forefront of cancer, we’re pioneering the possible.

Visit JTCancerCenter.org or call to speak to a nurse at 551-996-5855.