20180510 healthy hudson valley magazine 2018 19 composite by Ulster Publishing

Ulster Publishingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Healthy Hudson Valley Magazine 2018-19

Facing health challenges Health around us by Violet Snow

Baby talk by Ann Hutton

Straightening up by Frederick Flamenfalt

Vitamins by Jennifer Brizzi

Diabetes by Jennifer Stack

Missing Pieces

DRAWING BY DION OGUST

by Julie Evans

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â&#x20AC;˘ May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

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Ancient Wisdom for Modern Wellbeing Our goal is to nurture holistic wellbeing through programs that awaken both mind and body. We invite you to join us.

2018 Events Talk About Karma

Saturday May 5, 1:00-3:30 pm Teaching by Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche

False Alarms: How to Build Core Calm Saturday, May 19, 1:00-3:30 pm Dharma in Daily Life Series

The Meaning of Death

Saturday, June 9, 1:00-3:30 pm Teaching by Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche

Basic Buddhism

Saturday, June 23, 1:00-3:30 pm Dharma in Daily Life Series

Embrace the Good

Saturday, July 21, 1:00-3:30 pm Dharma in Daily Life Series

Positively Angry

Saturday, August 18, 1:00-3:30 pm Dharma in Daily Life Series

Self-knowledge: Find Freedom through Connection Friday, August 31-Wednesday, September 5 6-day retreat led by Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche

Choice Words

Saturday, September 15, 1:00-3:30 pm Dharma in Daily Life Series

The Mindful Family

Saturday, September 22, 1:30-4:00 pm Dharma in Daily Life Series For details, ticket information and a full program schedule please visit DharmakayaCenter.org/Events 191 Cragsmoor Road, Pine Bush, New York 12566 | info@dharmakayacenter.org

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Health and wholeness It’s all about facing challenges

WIKICOMMONS

Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland, designer of the Nobel Peace Prize medal, created an installation of 212 bronze and granite sculptures charting the challenges and joys of human life in an Oslo park. By Paul Smart

ith our first great spring days, spirits have risen. But so have the challenges provoked by allergies. We feel for the travails our kid is experiencing entering his teenage years, and fret about our parents’ health problems. We speak with our old friends about the new angst mirrors give us. I’ve recently signed on with a new general practitio-

ner. For years, our entire family saw the same doctor. Sometimes our appointments came all in a row. It was great knowing that the people we entrusted with our primary-health care could see how family interactions might be helping or hurting us. It was a wholistic process. Now, we’re looking to ensure the family’s doctors are located within a few minutes of each other: the pediatrician, doctors who knows the medical needs of men and women slipping from middle age into whatever that next stage is currently called, a dentist, and, not

Table of contents Health and wholeness

exercise by Jennifer Stack ..........18

Missing pieces

It’s all about facing challenges by Paul Smart.................................3

Vitamins: hot or not?

Bridging the medical and the holistic in the quest to heal by Julie Evans ............................ 36

Straightening up A teen’s medical journey to adulthood by Fredrick Flamenfalt ................6

Baby talk Fertility comes with its own challenges by Ann Hutton..........12

Managing diabetes It all comes down to diet and

What’s trending in terms of supplements, and should you even bother? by Jennifer Brizzi ...................... 24

Healing ways The medicine cabinet all around us by Violet Snow ......... 28

Ranking regional hospitals Is the data accurate or even useful? by Terence P Ward ........ 32

Health briefs Memory care ...............................10 Toys for NDH tots....................... 14 Alcohol limits ............................. 22 Sitting hurts your brain ............ 26 Blondes have more estrogen .... 30 Furry loss .....................................37 Yawning is trending ................... 39

• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

to forget everyone in our household, a veterinarian. We’ve started shopping in several places instead of just one or two. We’ve learned that we’re willing to pay more for some products being healthier than others. We’ve started walking more often, eyeing a 50 percent cut to our driving mileage over the coming years. We’ve taken to heart how much healthier we can feel combining economic and health choices. Challenges persist. That’s the nature of health. My mother’s battling stage-three lung cancer. My father, homebound after a stroke, is happy to be revisiting all the books, music and films he’s spent a lifetime loving. My parents’ struggles are stressing out my siblings and me, and directing much of our reading. How does one convince another to address issues of anxiety and depression? How does one redirect others’ well-established attitudes and habits that are impairing the ability to sustain life? Endless screen time is giving our son headaches. Such battles have to be faced not just by decree. We’re obsessed, as are most of the people we know, with handheld news feeds about affronts to our environmental beliefs and attacks on SNAP and other social health programs. I’m personally affronted by the dismantling of our previous White House occupants’ planting of a high-yielding vegetable garden. I’m saddened by the politicization of all challenges, health and otherwise, that face us these days. Advancements continue on many fronts. New immunotherapy treatments are poised to add years to cancer patients’ lives. An experimental biology conTM

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ference in San Diego included a presentation on the ways in which artificial sweeteners may be adding to our national obesity and diabetes crises. Fascinated by a story about the use of metronomes for healing, I’m wondering whether recent moves away from the tick-tock of older timekeeping tools may have shifted our internal rhythms. We’ve started swimming regularly. I’m considering a sauna in the basement. Baseball season’s got our kid’s full attention. We planted lettuce and a host of veggies in a neighborhood garden. Something’s feeling right in this phase of springtime. It’s almost as though we’re undergoing new beginnings. There are two major definitions of health. One is that health is “the state of being free from illness or injury.” The other is simpler: “the state of an entity’s condition.” All hail the hale. As well as the whole.

Healthy Hudson Valley Magazine 2018-2019 An Ulster Publishing publication Editorial WRITERS: Jennifer Brizzi, Julie Evans, Fredrick Flamenfalt, Ann Hutton, Paul Smart, Violet Snow, Jennifer Stack, Terence Ward EDITOR: Paul Smart COVER DRAWING by Dion Ogust LAYOUT BY Joe Morgan Ulster Publishing PUBLISHER: Geddy Sveikauskas ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: Genia Wickwire DISPLAY ADS: Lynn Coraza, Pam Courselle, Pamela Geskie, Elizabeth Jackson, Ralph Longendyke, Sue Rogers, Linda Saccoman PRODUCTION MANAGER: Joe Morgan PRODUCTION: Diane Congello-Brandes, Josh Gilligan, Rick Holland CLASSIFIED ADS: Amy Murphy, Tobi Watson CIRCULATION: Dominic Labate

Healthy Hudson Valley Magazine is one of four Healthy Hudson Valley supplements Ulster Publishing produces each year. It is distributed in the company’s four weekly newspapers and separately at select locations, reaching an estimated readership of over 50,000. Its website is www.hudsonvalleyone.com. For more info on upcoming special sections, including how to place an ad, call 845-334-8200, fax 845-334-8202 or email: info@ulsterpublishing.com.

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Braces for scoliosis are only effective for younger patients who are still growing.

Straightening up A teen’s medical journey to adulthood

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work. Left untreated, my scoliosis could cause severe organ damage in the future, or it could just stop progressing and leave me fine. I was told to wear it for 23 hours a day, taking the brace off for an hour at school, in the locker room, for phys. ed. I refused to wear it. That worried the doctors and my parents. My mother, who only ever wanted to help, decided that if I wouldn’t wear the brace we had to look at other treatment options. The program that made an unorthodox scoliosis chiropractor in Connecticut famous consisted of a rotation of medieval-looking torture contraptions which pushed, pulled and shook the patient. I was signed up for that treatment.

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Curvature of the spine, or scoliosis, can create a host of related problems with internal organs. Effective treatment is still an area for research. Its most notable contraption was a chair which vibrated while pulling the head up. The worst of the rotation involved a table on which the patient lays. A strap placed on the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head led to a rope, which the doctor then yanked with full force. If there was no cracking sound, the procedure was repeated. The doctor would personally crack other multiple places on the body. The barbaric bracing method was first used in the 1500s. The earliest form of modern bracing was created

in the late 1800s, and changes have been made since. That program was seven to ten days long. In the last few days I became very ill and returned home to recover. It just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel right to me to go back to school. he symptoms got worse. I sometimes found myself too dizzy and lightheaded to walk, unable to eat because of the severe pain that left me crying when I did, and unable to think clearly. I suffered muscle

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pain and fatigue, along with other random symptoms such as inflamed lymph nodes, chest pains and inconsistent eye dilation. The increasing number of doctors I saw either had no clue what was happening to my health or decided I had mono, even though every test for it came back negative. As time passed and I remained ill, I more and more lost hope. Testing procedures included upper endoscopies and muscle-shocking with electrically charged metal pins stabbed into me to test my reactions. We found a team of doctors who put sticker-sensors all over my body. They talked about local dining choices, dating and more while I was strapped to a board. Then they flipped it flat, the straight up at a 90-degree angle and, finally, upside down at a 90-degree angle. Light-headed, I was seconds away from losing consciousness when they flipped me back to a “normal” position to get the blood flowing correctly again. “Yep. He’s got POTS” a doctor said. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.

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POTS was, I found out, a rare disorder that affects the central nervous system, causing miscellaneous malfunctions (dysautonomia). I experienced low blood pressure when I arose quickly from a prone position. Chronic fatigue syndrome is common in POTS patients. POTS occurs mostly in women. It cause is not clear, but it seems to be common after an illness or injury. Since I thought I was going to just waste away, the diagnosis came as a relief. The six months I had waited for the correct diagnosis had felt like years. Many sufferers wait years for their diagnosis. Medications helped only so much, so over the next few months I started using some self-treatment protocols. These included exercise and diet changes involving salt and water increases, and bans on gluten and dairy to reduce stomach pain. Despite missing food, I began to feel much better. I felt confident that I was on the road to recovery. When school began again, all was well. Then it wasn’t. Throughout my high school years I learned that while summers were great winters were always rough. I believe that’s partly because of the stress of school, along with a something akin to PTSD. Still, I got a little bit better each year until the afterprom-party I attended where everyone got sick. For most people, such things are short-term. For me it meant getting connected to an IV for six hours. My spine was still far from fine. It became clear that surgery remained my only option for the condition that got me into all this mess in the first place. The operation was scheduled for mid-August. I had a really great summer, including romance. Things were finally going well. pinal fusion was scheduled for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, rated the second best children’s hospital in America. A spinal fusion involves metal rods and pins on either side of the spine as well as fusion once the spine is straight. The surgery took place in the early morning. They had me walking (with help) that afternoon. It was a good experience, helped by a great staff of nurses, including “Big Ben,” a large man who reminded

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me of someone I knew, a and woman at whom I screamed the words, “You’re a monster!” under circumstances I don’t clearly remember right after the surgery. The ride home from Philadelphia is missing from my memory almost entirely, except for my request that I try driving (my parents thankfully didn’t let me). The next months involved gradual recovery, plus the pains involved in recovering from painkillers. Still, I felt optimistic. I was starting to feel better. My organs weren’t being crushed any more. My girlfriend Sydney tolerated my mumblings in recovery. I told her once that the walls liked her hair. I then noted how “I weigh an inch, an inch and a half more.” I vaguely remember crying semi-hysterically. After months, I decided I was done with OxyContin and Valium. The next five increasingly awful days felt like five weeks. Then I woke up feeling like a different person. The sun was shining in my window. Sydney drove to be with me. I was used to counting the minutes from when she said she was leaving. I figured it would take her 17 minutes, which I rounded up to 20 to avoid disappointment. She made it in 15. I was standing on the front porch. She got out of her car and immediately yelled, “Look at you! You’re standing!” I took pictures of her at the reservoir that weekend. The fall had been cold, but it was suddenly warm. Sydney kept coming to visit as often as she could, and once I was comfortable driving I visited her, too. Due to the surgery, I obviously couldn’t go back to my old jobs mopping floors and stocking shelves, so through Access VR (Vocational Rehabilitation), a governmentfunded service for individuals with disabilities, I was sent to the county’s Resource Center for Accessible Living, where they helped me find work writing! I spent too much time feeling sorry for myself. My suffering was partially my own fault, I feel. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to describe the full extent of the vileness of my high school years. I went through a lot, and I’m thankful to have turned a corner. I’ve come to realize that when things go sideways, giving in and falling down may seem like the only option. I learned that opening up is another.

Keep those memory cells growing

eople continue to develop new cells in an area of the brain responsible for new memories and exploration of new environments well into their seventies, a new study says, sustaining their ability to make new memories, to learn, to cope with the environment, and to better their emotional responses as they age. A team led by Dr. Maura Boldrini from Columbia University studied the brains of 28 men, women and children ages 14 to 79 who had died from conditions not involving the brain, focusing on an area in the brain’s hippocampus that’s thought to play a role in memory, learning and other

critical functions. Even the oldest brains produced new brain cells, and the number of developing and immature brain cells remained stable across the age range. However, a decline in the ability of mature nerve cells to change their function — a property known as neuroplasticity — was noted with increasing age. “This means that through healthy lifestyle, enriched environment, social interactions and exercise — all of which help maintain healthy blood vessels,” Dr. Boldrini noted. “We can maintain these neurons healthy and functioning and sustain healthy aging.”

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Baby talk Fertility comes with its own challenges By Ann Hutton

o you want to have a baby. Most of us take our fertility for granted. Many of us spend our early years and thousands of dollars on birth control before deciding it’s time to start a family of our own. Discovering that conception might, in fact, be a tricky business for one reason or another can come as an unhappy surprise. That unhappiness can be magnified when the drive to procreate is wrapped up with the highly charged emotions about becoming parents — and especially when that desire coincides with the idiosyncrasies of an aging reproductive system or any other physiological anomaly preventing WIKICOMMONS pregnancy. Infertility. There. I used the dreaded Childbirth has lost much of its mystery in recent years. Conception can still be a gamble for many, especially as one word. But let’s back up. Let’s look at the female ages. or what the health of her fertile window is. It’s a great reproductive system before infertility is identified as a tool for someone early on in the game of trying to get problem. If knowledge is power, then Dyami Soloviev pregnant, but who is not quite ready to engage with of Fertile Ground is out to empower women. Certified the medical system and wants to keep trying naturally. by the Association of Fertility Awareness Profession“The changes in the hormonal flows in a cycle are als, Soloviev consults individuals and teaches classes different from woman to woman,” she explains. “The in natural birth control, natural pregnancy and reprostandard map of a 28-day cycle is not everybody’s cycle. ductive health to women in the Hudson Valley region. If a woman knows that her luteal phase starts on this “I coach people in the use of the fertility awareness date, it might be the right day to go for a specific test. method, which is a lens for viewing and interacting with So, for someone who has exhausted all options, it might the reproductive cycle,” she says. “It’s a system of trackbe that cycle-charting could help them. But it’s not a ing and observing scientifically proven fertility signals, diagnostic tool. I would refer them out, saying, ‘I’m such as the changes in cervical fluid consistency and seeing something like this in your chart, which means waking temperature, and then using that information you might want to go speak with a specialist about X, for pregnancy achievement or for natural birth control, Y and Z.’” and also for gauging reproductive health in general. Cycle-charting is a great way to collect information, Decision time Soloviev said. Certain things can be seen through a cycle chart, like whether or not a woman is ovulating When is it time to turn to infertility specialists? Re-

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productive endocrinologists take advanced training in assisted reproductive technologies and advanced surgical techniques to help them provide specialty care for infertile men and women. At The Albany Center of Boston IVF, a fertility team is committed to educating and empowering patients to make the best choices for their fertility health. The Center’s website lists 28 indicators of potential problems to look for when unable to conceive. Any combination of these multiple conditions can prevent pregnancy from occurring, so it’s always recommended that both partners undergo diagnostic testing and proceed with prescribed treatment. Women take a standard blood test which is analyzed for possible imbalance in four hormones: AMH, FSH, Estradiol and LH, each having critical functions in the release and implantation of healthy eggs. A hystrosalpingogram (HSG) procedure exposes fibroids, polyps, adhesions, open fallopian tubes and uterus shape. A standard ultrasound can reveal other conditions in the ovaries, uterus and follicles. Because 40 to 50 percent of all infertility cases are caused by problems in the male reproductive system, it is obvious why testing is also required of men. A semen analysis measures sperm count, sperm motility, acidity, shape and volume. Genetic testing might be done, along with testing of hormone levels: FSH, LH, TSH and testosterone. And then the fun begins. The first line of treatment at The Albany Center is intrauterine insemination of sperm from a partner or a donor. From the website: “Statistically, IUI doubles the success rates of natural intercourse, but no two patients are exactly alike.” Lead endocrinologist Dr. Sonia Elguero and her team assess the chance of success depending on: age, sperm count and other contributing factors. IUI is easy. The procedure takes minutes and

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requiring no anesthesia or surgery. In vitro fertilization (IVI) is the next step should IUI not be successful. More time-consuming, IVF involves ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval — still, an in-office procedure, embryo growth and development in the lab, and embryo transfer into the uterus, with the overall process, called a cycle, taking about two weeks. IVF can utilize a couple’s sperm and egg sample or those of donors. This makes it possible for women with damaged fallopian tubes, endometriosis, or polycystic ovary syndrome to become impregnated, and offers lesbian couples with infertility or gay couples using a gestational carrier “to make a baby.” The logistics of timely fertilization make for great sit-com scenarios. Think of the hurried attempts for a busy professional man and woman to fit sex into their overpacked schedules during the right window of opportunity. Consider the humor in a husband’s exhaustion at needing to perform stud service on demand. Or his silly self-consciousness over producing a container of fresh “product” under less than seductive circumstances. There are real-life stories of couples racing against the clock up the New York State Thruway with a vial of warm sperm in hand. And the comedy inherent in any woman’s experience of losing all modesty, along with all sense of personal boundaries, as she exposes her nether parts to continuous poking and prodding and examining and proceduring. A return to laughter is always a good thing. Still, people should be aware of certain downsides to taking the medical route to become parents. Although The Albany Center and Boston IVF performs up to 4000 IVF cycles a year and claims a strong rate of success, treatments are expensive and results are not guaranteed. When the pull of heartstrings compel the continued opening of pursestrings — sometimes for repeated procedures that end in failure to conceive — a couple

Toy SUVs at Northern Dutchess

oung children at Northern Dutchess Hospital can now roll into the operating room behind the wheel of a miniature Mercedes SUV remote-controlled toy vehicle, recently donated to the by the NDH Mothers’ Club — a community group of volunteers. The aim is to make the moment children leave for the operating room less stressful and more fun. “When the children drive off in the vehicle, their reaction is priceless. They just light up,” surgical services assistant nurse manager Liz Rosa said in a HealthQuest press release. “And, the nurses are actually controlling the mini-car with a remote, so our staff has fun, too.”

Northern Dutchess Hospital now provides mini-SUVs for its youngest patients to ride to appointments, making their visits something to look forward to.

COURTESY OF HEALTH QUEST

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Enhanced Programming Special license that allows residents to age in place Nurses are on site seven days a week, and our highly skilled staff has training and experience with accommodating, in a respectful and caring manner, the changes associated with advanced aging.

Our owner-operator, Joan Hyde, PhD is a professor of Gerontology and an internationally recognized researcher and published authority on assisted living and best practice care for people with cognitive impairment.

Choose a small intimate setting with big resources

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• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

can lose more than hope. For this reason, they should go into the endeavor with some mutual understanding of their own limits. Financially speaking, does insurance cover infertility treatments? How much can realistically be spent without endangering economic security? Reputable infertility specialists should also offer genetic screening, donor egg programs, and egg freezing among their services. Is the couple’s relationship solid enough to face failure and potential conversations around adoption, a surrogate or gestational carrier, sperm or egg donors, and the like? The Albany Center houses a wellness center where individuals and couples can get counseling for a variety of issues that might impact their long-term emotional health as well as fertility, including nutritional advice and acupuncture treatments. The Domar Center for Mind/ Body Health, named for founder Dr. Alice Domar, recognizes how emotions, mental health, relationships, stress level and life choices come together to affect the physical and psychological symptoms that accompany infertility.

What if nothing works? The miracle of modern medicine does its best to offer hope. But there are times when dreams are dashed by physiological circumstances. When Julia Indichova was told that her body was not conceiving because her FSH level was the same as her age — 42 — she was advised to seek a gestational carrier or begin the process of adoption. She’d carried a baby to term only 13 months before, but now her dreams of having another child were deemed hopeless. Indichova is nothing if not tenacious. With monumental amounts of intention and persistence, she educated herself on all those more holistic elements of treatment now available at The Domar Center and in classes like Soloviev’s Fertile Ground. She set about the task of healing her body and soul in order to become a vessel ripe and ready for conception. As recounted in her first book Inconceivable: A Woman’s Triumph over Despair and Statistics, Indichova’s path to successful fertility was an arduous one, involving a total physical and spiritual transformation. “Not one of the mainstream specialists [at the time] suggested that nourishing the body, getting rid of tox-

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ins in my food, taking advantage of the physiological benefits of specific exercises, or diving in for a bit of psychological exploration might reverse the diagnosis,” she writes. Self-imposing a regime of cleansing and rejuvenation of body and spirit proved to do the trick for her, however. After birthing her second daughter — a miracle, based on all indications that for her conception was not in the cards — she was compelled to share her experience and the knowledge she’d gained through trials of doing research ad development on her own body. In the hopes she could inform and inspire both women and men to alter their own life courses in regards to parenthood, Indichova opened her home studio to others with negative prognoses. Her natural fertility program at Fertile Heart Learning Center in Bearsville invites people to do more than just fix their inability to conceive. “The Fertile Heart Ovum Practice is such a perfect set of tools for facilitating group processes,” says Indichova. “I’ve been doing the work for about 21 years. I make it clear that people can participate to the extent that they feel safe, but not necessarily comfortable. Yet, an hour into it, everyone feels that this is a space in which they can do whatever they need to do.” With the right number of people in a group, she continues, the most important insight often comes from being present and watching her work with someone else. “Ultimately, the aim is to turn this potentially devastating challenge, one of the most emotionally significant challenges a person can face, [and] turn it into the most powerful healing force in people’s lives,” Indichova continues. “So, what could ruin your marriage or wipe you out financially or even wreak havoc on your already compromised hormonal health, and you could end up without a baby anyway — my work is about making sure that that does not happen.” Indichova flips through photographs of parents with happy, healthy babies who participated in Fertile Heart workshops, many of whom had tried multiple times to conceive with IVF before engaging in this holistic approach. One woman went through 15 failed medical treatments. “Her husband was sitting over there, and she was over here. After the workshop, I knew that they really got it. Their daughter Tallula was conceived after about four months of doing this work.” We who earnestly wish to procreate have options these days. We can become intimately knowledgeable about the ins and outs of reproduction, and we can take advantage of the vast research and development done on our behalf to affect successful conception. What’s more, vital information concerning our general health and well-being now comes through a broad spectrum of sources, many outside the long-established science of medicine. This means that alternative, holistic practices of maximizing fruitful outcomes are more readily available and are often included by mainstream practitioners of infertility treatment. For people yearning to dedicate their hearts and souls to parenting, hope truly does spring eternal — one way or another.

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May 10, 2018 • 17

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• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

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Managing diabetes It all comes down to diet and exercise By Jennifer Stack aving to view a restaurant menu through the lens of how a meal will affect your blood sugar or trying not to think about your Type 2 diabetes can take away some of the pleasure of the occasion. As a diabetes educator providing weight loss and wellness coaching, I am well aware of the challenge of living with diabetes in a region of really good food. You may be surprised to learn that there is no onesize-fits-all “diabetic diet,” but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to meet your blood-sugars goals and still enjoy great-tasting food. There are strategies that can soften the blow to your blood sugar and weight when you’re enjoying a meal out. Seeking out places that offer “small plates” such as tapas restaurants will help you avoid the calorie and carb bombs that throw blood sugar and weight management out of whack. Reasonable portion sizes make it easier to enjoy a special meal without a blood-sugar surge. Select dishes with plenty of non-starchy vegetables. Include proteins like poultry, fish, tofu or lean meats. Opt out of extras like bread, big portions of starches and sweetened beverages to keep blood sugars and your weight in a desirable range. Healthy eating is only one of the lifestyle behaviors a person with diabetes needs to adopt. Increased physical activity, which occurs simply by sitting less, makes muscles more sensitive to insulin. These two lifestyle

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Diet is one key to controlling diabetes, regular exercise the other. changes, healthy eating and increased physical activity, have been shown to be more effective at improving blood-sugar levels than just taking a medication. So try walking after a meal or better yet check out the miles of hiking and walking trails in the Hudson Valley. With the right clothing you can be comfortable outside at almost any time of the year. Search “Hudson Valley outdoor apparel stores” to gear up for a more physical lifestyle. Diabetes requires lasting lifestyle changes to maintain your health, and the incredible natural beauty of our region makes it much easier to stay motivated and in motion. Remember to first check with your physician to see if you are well enough to start a physical-activity habit.

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• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

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In the past, diabetes was a quiet disease people rarely spoke about. With its increasing prevalence, it’s a condition many learn to monitor, to communicate about, and to live with. Over the past few decades, type 2 diabetes has become an epidemic affecting adults and children from all walks of life. Fortunately, effective strategies and options for managing this chronic disease have increased, too. Prompted by the numerous ads for diabetes medications seen on TV and online, taking a pill or injection to manage diabetes is now part of our cultural narrative. Yet, somehow, it is just recently that we are talking about

JOAN APTER AROMATHERAPY & WELLNESS PROGRAMS Therapeutic Essential Oils Essential Oils Massage & Spa Treatments Classes & Keynotes Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster Workshop Joan Apter, Aromacologist

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this health epidemic from a perspective of how to manage this chronic disease rather than condemning “the diabetic who is not compliant.” People with diabetes need support to juggle all the pieces of a disease that impacts the whole body. Discussing management options with your healthcare team usually occurs only occasionally, but you have to manage your diabetes every day. Family, friends and support communities (both online and in person) play a critical role in your well-being. Since almost everyone loves to eat, cooking together or sharing recipes can make eating at home an activity that limits the sense of isolation common with managing a chronic illness. If you are going to stick with healthy eating for a life time your meals need to be satisfying and taste really good. This is why I wrote “The DiabetesFriendly Kitchen 125 Recipes For Creating Healthy Meals” with The Culinary Institute of America. he Hudson Valley is a good place to live if you have diabetes. The opportunities for healthy eating, beautiful places and ways to stay active, and the

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Located in the New Paltz Plaza, we are the affordable choice for organic produce, groceries, vitamins and beauty products. • • • •

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• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

numerous healthcare resources make maintaining a healthy lifestyle more manageable. There are, however, times when you would like to ignore diabetes rather than deal with it. Apple season provides one example. If baking or eating apple pie is a seasonal tradition, diabetes can really put a damper on your enjoyment. The aroma and sight of a hot apple pie just out of the oven is a fall ritual that no one wants to miss. But it can be a real struggle to avoid overeating pie (and vanilla ice cream melting on top). Consider making mini-apple tarts instead of having a whole pie in your home. This will help you avoid taking just another little sliver until the whole pie is all gone. Celebrating at a restaurant, where one piece of pie can be shared by several people, is another option that can minimize the carbs and calories you consume during your indulgence. Though this season comes but once a year, it can significantly raise your blood sugar. Does a short period of high blood sugar really make a difference? Yes, it does. These periods of elevated sugars do contribute to the development of health complications such as heart disease and vascular problems. s there a way to pick your apples and eat some pie, too? To answer this question, you first need to consider how well your current diabetes management plan is working for you. Are you checking your own blood sugar levels at home? If so, you will be better informed about whether the pie or any other carbohydrate and calorie indulgence will be worth the potential damage to your health.

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Eating large portions of carbohydrates when your blood glucose levels are already too high moves you one step closer to the complications of poorly managed diabetes. The solution is finding a compromise between overindulgence and avoidance of all treats. A compromise might look something like this. Consume fewer carb-rich foods a few days prior to apple-pie day. Make sure you increase your physical activity. Applepicking is an opportunity to get moving and improve your blood sugar instead of being sedentary at home. Many people will treat themselves regardless of their current blood-sugar levels. Consider these strategies: A couple of days in advance of pie day, do what you can to improve your blood-sugar numbers. Take diabetes medications prescribed by your doctor regularly if you have not been doing so. Review your carbohydrate choices, and trim back your portions a little along with swapping out less desirable carbs, like refined starches and sweets, for better choices like non-starchy vegetables, whole grains or beans. Adding exercise to your daily routine helps bring your blood glucose level as close to your goal as possible before your gastronomic delight. You can also save up carbs and calories for your treat by having a low-carb meal with of lots of non-starchy vegetable and some fish or poultry beforehand. Diabetes is part of our culture now. Here in the Hudson Valley we have what you need to meet the challenges of diabetes day to day. It is not an easy process, but it is worth your efforts. Remember that better diabetes management today can help ensure many more happy and healthy apple seasons in your future. Jennifer Stack is a chef, dietitian and diabetes educator.

Alcohol limits too high?

ow-risk limits recommended for alcohol consumption vary substantially across different national guidelines. New studies published in recent months combined analysis of individualparticipant data from three large-scale data sources in 19 high-income countries. Most countries had upped their recommended limits too high, they concluded. “The chief implication of this study for public policy

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is to support reductions of alcohol consumption limits in existing guidelines, suggesting that the threshold for lowest risk for all-cause mortality is about five or six standard glasses of wine or pints of beer per week,” the British scientists’ conclusion reads. They noted higher “level of association” between alcohol consumption and the risk of cardiovascular disease as well as reductions in life expectancy.

KIWANIS ICE ARENA Open 7 days a week with various times for public skating Public Open Skating Admissions $6 for Adults, $4 for Children 6-18, Children 5 & Under are Free. Public Drop In Hockey/Sticks & Pucks $8 for Adults, $6 for Children Skate Rentals - $3 a pair. Hockey and Figure Skates available Skate Sharpening - $5 a pair Visit our website for the skate times for every public session

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Pre-Registration: Full Day 1 2 3 4+ Child Children Children Children Rate: $520 $935 $1,355 $1,770

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The region’s only pediatric emergency department. A child-friendly and focused environment, separate from the main emergency department Open 24/7, 365 days a year Staffed by more than 400 specialty trained pediatric doctors, nurses and other caregivers Completely integrated into the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Med, the region’s only children’s hospital Learn more at amc.edu/PedsED

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Healthy Hudson Valley

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Vitamins, from childhood gummies to supplements, have become a part of most daily lives as we age.

Vitamins: hot or not? What’s trending in terms of supplements, and should you even bother? By Jennifer Brizzi

hat vitamins are trending? What do people take now that they might not have five years ago? Do we even need supplemental vitamins if we eat a healthy diet? It depends who you ask. First, let me give you a bit of my personal bias. Although I have a side gig teaching people how to eat a balanced healthy diet, which should theoretically include all the vitamins they need to stay healthy, I

myself take an overflowing handful of vitamins every morning, as insurance. Years ago, a previous physician with a holistic bent prescribed vitamin D for a deficiency found in my blood work. My current doctor knows all my current vitamins and dosages. He seems to approve. But my ex-husband, a pharmacist and a pretty savvy guy, thought all vitamins a waste of money. They were excreted in the urine, anyway. “You might as well flush your money down the toilet,” he’d say. I would hide the pricey vitamin powder I used so he wouldn’t find it and

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Breast Cancer Options is a community-based breast cancer organization providing support & education services in the Hudson Valley. These groups are supported with funds from the State of New York

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Healthy Hudson Valley

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give me a hard time. Perspectives can shift. He currently gives vitamin D to our teenage kids, however, when they are with him and B12 to our vegetarian daughter. As healthily as you try to eat, there will always be gaps, so I personally feel that some supplementation canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hurt. A lot of people would seem to agree. Seventy-six percent of adults in the U.S. take supplements â&#x20AC;&#x201D; per the 2017 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and 31 percent of those are vitamins â&#x20AC;&#x201D; per the Nutrition Business Journal. These numbers have steadily risen. More of us are taking vitamins than ever. However, many experts donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t agree that supplements are worthwhile. Many clinical nutritionists and physicians, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, feel that in most cases our nutritional needs can be met by diet alone. The USDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lengthy pamphlet Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 does not suggest supplementary multivitamins. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of the use of multivitamins for the prevention

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of cardiovascular disease or cancer,â&#x20AC;? the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says. People who are vegan, averse to specific food groups (vegetables, for example) or who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t eat well due to illness, lack or appetite or self-indulgence may not get all the vitamins they need. Although the popularity of multivitamins continues to grow, the highly regarded Consumer Reports magazine says that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s virtually no evidence that they improve the average personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health.â&#x20AC;? The magazine maintains that no one brand is better than another. If you must take them, they advise, buy the cheapest ones you can find. Over the years Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always relied on Consumer Reports for my purchasing decisions, but sometimes I do have to take its opinions with a grain of salt.

Know the limits You can have too much of a good thing. We all know about the recommended daily allowances (RDAs) of nutrients, but there is also a UL, or upper limit, for most vitamins that we should try to stay under, including all

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• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

sources, such as food. This UL number, not printed on pill bottles, can be found online. For example, the daily UL for some popular vitamins and minerals are 2000 mg for vitamin C, 4000 IU for vitamin D, 350 mg for magnesium, and for calcium 2500 mg for ages 19-50 and 2000 mg for ages 51 and up. Nutrients very high in calcium may increase the risk of prostate cancer. Sodium is another mineral easy to get too much of. Although the UL is 2300 mg per day, most of us typically consume 4000 to 6000 mg. Too much Vitamin D3 can lead to an increased risk for kidney stones. Too much B6 can lead to nerve pain symptoms, per Web MD. If we take too much of the water-soluble vitamins, our bodies just excrete what we don’t need. But the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K can potentially build up in the system and become toxic, as can iron and selenium. Not all vitamins and minerals have official ULs, though. In April a New York Times article pointed out that preliminary studies on a nutrient can send shoppers rushing to buy the item du jour, and even when further studies disprove its efficacy, people continue to take it. One example is from the 1990s, when folic acid and vitamin D were thought to prevent heart disease. Further studies disproved the claim. Harvard’s health site admits that vitamin C has been proven to deflect some cancers and cataracts and boost

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the immune system, collagen production and more. But, “evidence that vitamin C helps reduce colds has not been convincing,” it said. Many holistic and alternative medicine providers recommend a variety of vitamins, including that multi-vite, to provide vitamin B complex and important minerals, as well as that multi-functional vitamin C, vitamin D3 (which even many traditional physicians now prescribe), calcium and magnesium. An informal query at a local natural-foods store revealed that vitamin K2 is surging in popularity. This vitamin works with calcium and vitamin D for strong bones. Also popular is co-enzyme B. Folic acid is being upstaged by folate lately because it is more readily absorbed. People have been asking for the sublingual methylcobalamin formulation of B12, too. That New York Times piece quoted Dr. Barnett Kramer, director of cancer prevention at the National Cancer Institute, as saying “people who take vitamins tend to be healthier, wealthier and better educated than those who don’t, therefore less likely to succumb to heart disease or cancer, whether they take supplements or not. That can skew research results, making vitamin pills seem more effective than they really are.” Whether to take vitamins or not, the decision is entirely yours. Whichever way you go, you will find plenty of experts to agree with you.

Sitting too much hurts your brain

itting too much is not just hazardous for your heart and waistline. It may also harm the brain, according to new research from UCLA that found that people who spend more time sitting or engaged in sedentary behavior have thinner brain structures in a region of the brain associated with memory. Thinning in this part of the brain could be a precursor to cognitive decline, dementia or Alzheimer’s. However, the new studies also found that high levels

of physical activity aren’t enough to offset the effects of that sedentary behavior. In other words, the amount of exercise one undertakes isn’t as important as how much time you spend sitting. Researchers at UCLA are now planning follow-up studies to better understand if sitting is causing the brain thinning or if other demographic or behavioral factors are playing a role. They also need to see if getting up and walking around — taking a break from sitting — makes a difference.

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May 10, 2018 • 27

Men, Hit Below the Belt?

Every First Tuesday of the month at 4:30 PM Prostate Cancer 101 Convenes at Hurley Reformed Church, Hurley

Meet with our survivor support group, Be educated and encouraged Discuss your options Make an informed decision

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color 28

• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

Ulster Publishing Co.

Healing ways The medicine cabinet all around us By Violet Snow

here are many avenues to maintaining wellness aside from doctors and drugs. Exercise and diet, of course, are essential to consider. A number of innocuous substances, plants and objects surround us that can help us stay in good health or return us there if we flag. Some of these items you may already have in the house, while others are growing in the yard. Still others might have to be purchased, but not at great expense. We’ll begin with the outdoors. Plantain — This plant can be chewed up and applied to wounds to stop bleeding, disinfect the cut, and jumpstart healing. Plantain grows in your lawn unless you apply herbicides (and if you use pesticides, you might want

to skip this remedy). The spoon-shaped leaves grow straight out of the ground, in a rosette pattern, without a stalk. Each leaf has an odd number of prominent ribs running from tip to stem. If in doubt, consult a field guide. Applying the chewed leaf also relieves the pain of burns and stings. Mullein — One of the few plants that stays green yearround, mullein can be used for easing sinus congestion while soothing the mucous membranes. The pale green, furry leaves grow readily on disturbed ground, but also pop up in lawns. Pick a plump, mid-sized leaf, tear it in a few pieces, and place it in a pot of water. Bring to a vigorous boil, then move the pot to the table, make a tent over your head with a towel, and inhale the steam — gently at first. Mint — Those mouse droppings in the kitchen are a health consideration. Though peppermint oil is rec-

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May 10, 2018 • 29

Healthy Hudson Valley

ommended for repelling mice, the smell can be almost more invasive than the mice. If you have fresh mint in your garden or meadow, try strewing it around the kitchen — on the counters, under the sink, along the floorboards. Mice hate it, and it really doesn’t smell unless you put your nose up close to the bruised leaves. Also works for ants. Note that excessive mint intake can be harmful to cats. Tansy - If you don’t have mint, you might be able to find tansy, a strong-smelling plant with deeply divided, ferny leaves and, in midsummer, tall clusters of yellow, button-shaped flowers. Both leaves and flowers are excellent for repelling ants and mice. The ants might walk across it a few times, but by the end of the day they’ll be gone. Supposedly the odor disorients their sense of smell, but you won’t smell it from head-height. As with mint, fresh leaves will need to be replaced about

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once a week. Note that tansy may be toxic to cats and small children, although it tastes so terrible that I can’t believe kids or cats would eat it. Still, skip this one if you have either of those housemates. Shovel and rake — In the interest of combining exercise with actual, useful work — and in case you’re not all that disciplined with your fitness regimen — there are certain tools that are indispensable. Once the ground thaws, shoveling new dirt or compost onto your garden is an excellent way to get fresh air and work up a sweat. Yard tools are not so important in summer, which tends to involve outdoor sports of some kind. By fall, the sports may be tapering off — just in time for raking leaves! Remember to switch sides every few strokes, to maintain symmetry. In winter, if you’re not skiing or snowshoeing, you might turn to snow shoveling to get your heart rate up.

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color 30

• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

Ulster Publishing Co.

PHOTOS BY VIOLET SNOW

Left, mullein has been used since ancient times to stem infections and decrease inﬂammation; center, plantain is considered the Band-aid of the plant world for its ability to staunch bleeding; right, tansy has been proved effective as a means of repelling ants and mice. Ideally, you will start while there are only a few inches of snow on the ground, to avoid heaving weighty loads that might strain your back or heart. If it means two or three shovelings per snowstorm, all the better to get

your dose of aerobic workout time.

ere are a few indoor items that you probably already have but may be underutilizing. The In-

Blondes are now mostly women

omen from European descent are twice as likely to be naturally blonde as men from the same background, according to the largest-ever genetic study on pigmentation, which looked at nearly 300,000 people of European descent for a study published in Nature Genetics. The study, whose authors worked with data supplied by the UK Biobank, the American DNA testing company 23andMe and other study partners in the Netherlands, Australia and Italy, chose people of European descent because of their variety in hair colors. It found men were three times as likely as women to have black hair.

The report’s authors were not sure why there are so many more blonde women than men, calling it an “intriguing mystery” that, for some reason, blonde genes are persisting in females and disappearing in males. A side fact: blonde women are just as likely to give birth to blonde boys as blonde girls, but the boys are not keeping their genetically blonde hair when they grow up. The changing of the expression of genes — switching them off and on — is known as epigenetics. Factors including chemicals, stress and hormones, along with possible evolutionary trends may account for the darker haired men.

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ternet is happy to supply you with many other ideas and details on how to use the substances below. Baking soda — A clean environment and a clean body help us stay healthy. Baking soda’s chemical composition and abrasive qualities make it an effective alternative to cleaning products containing toxic, harsh, and polluting chemicals (generally contained in plastic bottles, whose ecological disadvantages you already know). Look to baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, for scrubbing bathtubs and sinks. For extra scouring and disinfecting power, combine with white vinegar and washing soda (a similar but stronger substance, sodium carbonate, found in supermarkets). If you like, add a bit of liquid soap from the health-food store. (Yes, it’s in a plastic bottle, but at least you’re extending its usage.) A paste made of baking soda and water is a good substitute for shampoo. To maintain the proper pH, follow up with a rinse of apple cider vinegar, also diluted with water. And of course, baking soda is an excellent remedy for

May 10, 2018 • 31

a queasy stomach. Stir half a teaspoon into a glass of warm water. Your belly will tell you how much to drink. Vinegar — Useful in combination with baking soda, as above. Other cleaning uses include disinfecting cutting boards (without damaging the wood, as soap can do); cleaning microwaves, teakettles, and coffee makers; freshening carpets; etc., etc. Some people swear by a drink of apple cider vinegar in water before breakfast, to tone the digestive system. Epsom salt — Adding epsom salt to a hot bath is supposed to give relief to sore muscles and to combat hemorrhoids. Its drawing power makes it good for healing infected cuts, especially on hands or feet, which can be easily soaked in a container of water, as hot as you can stand, with epsom salt dissolved within. Humidifier — In winter, dry indoor air can lead to sinus issues. Forget the fancy humidifiers. An inexpensive one is efficient at keeping the air and mucous membranes moist, preventing congestion. Add a drop of tea tree oil, when you refill with water, to keep the container clean.

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• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

Ulster Publishing Co.

Ranking regional hospitals Is the data accurate or even useful?

WIKICOMMONS

Albany Medical Center and nearby St. Peter’s Hospital have been increasing their afﬁliations throughout the Hudson Valley. By Terence P Ward

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cal Center, or a variety of New York City destinations. While most treatments in local hospitals will result in successful outcomes, those patients of advanced age or with multiple concerns may require high levels of skill. Annual ratings in public and private data bases are

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color May 10, 2018 • 33

Healthy Hudson Valley

Ulster Publishing Co.

intended to evaluate performance and outcomes in specialty areas, with an understanding that patients deemed high-risk would be well advised to seek one of the best facilities for a given condition. Those who have a lower number of complicating factors in their history will likely fare well in a hospital with an average rating in that specialty. If the data reveal that a hospital falls short of ranking but is in the top ten percent in a specialty nationwide, U.S. News and World Report data designates that department and facility as "high-performing." In the end, where to seek treatment should depend not only on the particular health problem, but also the number and severity of complicating factors. Patients who find themselves referred elsewhere by primary-care doctors or area specialists must be willing to decide whether the extra distance is worth the effort. When your life may be at stake, do you want your fate in the hands of a one-time business magazine that now manufactures web-based hospital rankings? Do you want your life decisions dependent on the broad rating an agency of the federal government has assigned

to thousands of complex healthcare institutions? We live in a data-obsessed world in which every healthcare institution spins its own story. We have to make our own decisions, and those decisions should be as well informed as they possibly can be. “Nearly every hospital has a banner out front saying they’re a top hospital for something in some rating system,” said Dr. Nicholas Osborne, a Robert Wood Johnson scholar at the University of Michigan, told The New York Times reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal. “Those ratings have become more important for hospital marketing than for actually helping patients find the best care.” hat being said, let’s take a closer glance at the recent rankings US News and World Report assigned and the supporting details it has come up with in regard to four Hudson Valley regional hospital systems: Vassar Brothers Medical Center, the closest of the large hospital systems at just half an hour's drive from Kingston, is considered slightly above average, in that the heart specialists who work there are standouts in some areas. In particular, the facility has been deemed

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• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

high-performing in treatment of heart failure and for performance of heart bypass surgery. On the other hand, surveyed patients rated the facility simply acceptable. Why? The concerns cited included room cleanliness, staff responsiveness, and noisiness of the environment. Heading north, one can reach Albany Medical Center via the Thruway in about an hour. Per U.S. News criteria, it's ranked 13th in the state and deemed one of the best in the Hudson Valley. The performance in the nephrology (kidney treatment) department earned high-performing designation for being in the top ten percent nationally. That label also applies to several specific surgeries (aortic aneurysm repair and valve replacement, treatment of cancer of the lungs and colon, heart bypass) as well as heart failure. Though patients at Albany Medical were overall slightly more satisfied than those of the other facilities considered, that may not mean much. All told, they gave the experience two out of five stars across eleven areas. However, the only one-star ranking by patients was for the volume of ambient noise. About an hour and a half from Kingston by car is Westchester Medical Center, where outcomes for heart failure also are considered high-performance. Patient reviews show a general dissatisfaction with being treated there, providing especially poor feedback regarding pain relief, involvement in recovery, staff responsiveness, room cleanliness and noise volume. The overall impression surveyed patients give, the U.S. News folks have decided, depicts a facility that's largely impersonal,

The Culinarians Home

Ulster Publishing Co.

and the ratings don't suggest that the specialists there offset that sense with skill alone. Less than two hours' drive from Kingston is Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. This hospital is nationally ranked number 28 in diabetes and endocrinology, and has also been well ranked in seven pediatric specialties. That's more than enough to satisfy the criteria to be considered a "best regional hospital" for the New York metropolitan area and the entire state. It's ranked number eight. In addition to a national ranking in diabetes and endocrinology, other high-performing areas of expertise include cancer care, gastroenterology, geriatrics, nephrology, neurology, pulmonology and urology. Specific conditions for which results indicate a high-performing facility are treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, colon cancer and heart bypass surgery, and heart-failure treatment. Even at a top-ranked facility such as Montefiore, patient satisfaction only approaches the middle of the scale. What patients remember about their experience includes more than simple survival or successful treatment. While they deemed Montefiore slightly better than most other facilities within a relatively short driving distance, patients were particularly dissatisfied with the cleanliness of their rooms and the amount of noise in the background. While there are Montefiore-branded facilities in New Rochelle and Mount Vernon, only the Bronx location has been given a national ranking. The other two locations were found to be average in some areas and not evaluated in others, as is typical of smaller facilities.

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.S. NEWS & World Report touts its Best Hospitals rankings as the "global authority in hospital rankings." Its methodology is suspect, however. According to Judith Garber, writing in Health Affairs blog, this authority "places much more weight on hospitals' performance in specialties or complex medical procedures than on care for chronically ill patients, the population that makes up the bulk of hospitalizations." It’s a popularity contest for specialized medicine which only ranks outcomes for challenging or critical procedures rather than for exacerbations of chronic illnesses like heart failure and diabetes. “Reputation had a larger impact on hospitals' scores than more objective measures," found Garber and her colleague, Shannon Brownlee. U.S. News’ rankings give credit for modern technology, but not whether it’s being employed effectively. Its rankings reward risky procedures without asking whether hospitals should be performing these procedures.

May 10, 2018 • 35

“Hospital rankings have the potential to change hospital practices, for better or for worse," Garber and Brownlee write. And as we shift toward value-based care, "we need a ranking system that helps hospitals move toward that goal," Garber and Brownlee continue, "one that doesn't rely on reputation among physicians, includes multiple risk-adjusted outcomes, and takes cost of care, social mission, and high-value care into account" Many companies, now including Yelp, are developing quality metrics to guide healthcare reform and to help patients shop for their care. But it turns out that rating a hospital accurately is extremely complicated. Anybody can invent a hospital ranking system, assign various weights to various factors of varying relevance, and come up with a single bottom-line number. But there’s a question as to whether U.S. News produces one that’s reasonably predictive of quality outcomes. Or is it just fake news?

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color 36

• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

Ulster Publishing Co.

WIKICOMMONS

One of the legacies of Gustav Vigeland’s monumental Oslo sculptures is the way they capture the stoic dignity of men and women as they face the many challenges life throws their way.

Missing pieces Bridging the medical and the holistic in the quest to heal By Julie Evans

y husband and I are on the Thruway, and I’m in pain. I go from cold and clammy to pins and needles and horribly hot. I feel a gush of blood soak into my underwear.

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I open my eyes and stare out the window into the gray sky. I let my eyes drift shut again. Startled awake by another cramp in my belly, I let out a yelp, and Tommy pulls over. “Call the doctor,” he says. I’m swirling inside. Scared. “I don’t go to doctors,” I say, as another wave of nausea passes. I reach for my handbag. My hands have progressed from trembling to shaking. I paw at my phone. An automated voice gives me options for which button to press. I rest my head against the cool glass of the window and wait. I break into a sweat and turn on the air conditioning. I press 6. A nurse whose name I recognize answers the call. She asks me to describe what is happening. I blurt out that I’m bleeding like crazy and might be having a miscarriage. If it is one, it’s my third. I’m stunned to hear myself say this. So is Tommy. I can feel him staring at me. It would’ve been nice if we could’ve had a baby together. Another cramp grabs hold of my insides. I almost pass out. When we arrive at the family practice I’m ushered into an examination room. I hold onto the exam table

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Healthy Hudson Valley

as I try to get my clothes off and the paper gown on. I can’t do it. It rips in half, and I collapse in the chair. I am unable to stand any longer. A technician is called in to draw blood. The physician’s assistant comes in firing questions at me. I slump forward in the chair. When I finally get on the table I’m in so much pain the PA can hardly touch me. She calls my husband in and tells him, not me, that she thinks it may be ovarian cancer, and that I need a hysterectomy.

hen we get home I phone my friend Lewis, who is an MD and a Native American medicine man. I want ceremony; I need help from my ancestors.

May 10, 2018 • 37

His advice is sobering. “Once you’re in the medical model,” he says, “it is very hard to get out.” What’s he saying, that I should get the hysterectomy? I make myself of cup of raspberry tea and draw a warm salt bath. My husband of eighteen months paces in the other room. We’re still newlyweds. I’m worn out, afraid that I might have cancer. Tommy is scared that he is going to lose me. As I ease myself into the tub, the water turns pink. I fail miserably at imagining what everything should look like and feel like inside me. I’m 50 years old and have always had normal periods until today. I lie back in the tub, and will myself to relax. The next day I go to church and talk to my pastor. We

Grieving for your pet

s we grow more knowledgeable about the ways in which pets help human health, including increasing longevity, more attention is being placed on what happens to people when a pet passes. “When we lose a pet, we lose a relationship unlike any other,” writes Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio, author of The Pet Loss Companion: Healing Advice From Family Therapists Who Lead Pet Loss Groups. “In the immediate aftermath of this loss, too often family members and friends say things like, ‘Just get

another one.’” Dolan-Del Vecchio suggests attending pet loss support groups and treating one’s grief as one does with a fellow human. On a local basis, Kingston-based elder-law attorney Anthony Eminowicz has been working with the protection of pets in a number of situations, from those with owners who become mentally incapable of looking after their pets to the establishment of legal trusts for one’s pets. For more information on looking after your pets down the line, or yourself when they die, visit ame-law. com or thepetlosscompanion.com.

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• May 10, 2018

Healthy Hudson Valley

pray. I take all the right remedies and eat all the right foods. I call every close friend I have, and not one of them suggests my not getting the surgery. After a four-hour robotic assisted surgery six days later, I awake on a hard narrow gurney surrounded by drawn curtains. The room is dimly lit and I hear people moaning in pain. My mouth is too dry for me to be able to swallow. The curtain opens and the surgeon steps into the cubicle. He describes how he had to scrape my fallopian tubes from my abdominal wall. He chastises me for not knowing I had endometriosis. I feel horrible but don’t respond. At least I don’t have cancer. He hurries away after telling me he also removed my ovaries, my uterus and my cervix. I feel cheated, but it’s too late to change my mind. With my ovaries removed, I plummet into full-blown menopause. I don’t know where to go to for help. I just know I can’t go on like this.

fter a few visits to my massage therapist, my doctor, my pastor and an acupuncturist, I make an appointment with a holistic gynecologist. When I choke up answering her question about how I feel (“utterly hopeless”), she pushes a box of tissues toward me. She pulls her laptop further down her ergonomic desk to tap my tale of woe into her records. I sit there. The searing dryness in my vagina is unbearable. I hear her saying what I need to do is a ritual. “A what?”

Ulster Publishing Co.

“You need to find or create an object, like a brooch or a cup or a piece of art and let that be your hope, your anchor. And it’s proven very helpful to have a funeral for your missing parts. You know, like a fire ceremony or even digging a hole and putting your fears and sorrow in a box and releasing it into the great mother’s womb,” she says. My emotions shoot like a pinball machine within me. She leads me into the examining room where I pull off my stretched-out yoga pants, the only thing that I can comfortably wear any more. I lie down on the crinkling paper covering the examination table and place my feet in the cold metal stirrups. She hardly looks at all. There is no cervix, therefore no need for a pap smear. She inserts the cold speculum and says what she feels looks as good as it can in these circumstances. Deep sorrow pushes up from that now empty womb of mine. I turn my head to the side as tears slide down my cheeks. I stare at a poster of the female reproductive system on the wall. When the doctor leaves the room I put my clothes on, my vulva aching from the intrusion. I sit for a minute, wondering how I can go on. Then I think of Tommy. I think of the ceremony I will create to get through this. I rise up and walk out that door. I have accepted the challenge.

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wo healthcare systems serving the Hudson Valley and western Connecticut plan to launch a seven-hospital chain by 2019, the latest merger proposal in a not-for-profit industry facing economic pressures and an uncertain future. Health Quest Systems of LaGrangeville and Western Connecticut Health Network have proposed a two-state network of hospitals with a combined revenue of $2.4 billion that will serve 1.5 million residents. The agreement will require the approval of state and federal officials, but both sides say they don’t anticipate significant regulatory hurdles. If approved, the merger will create a 1500-bed system and a workforce of 12,300. “We look at this as a unique opportunity to bring two organizations that are of similar size together to change the way that health care is being provided to this very large community,” said Robert Friedberg, president and CEO of Health Quest. Both sides said the merger will allow them to introduce new programs and recruit specialty physicians. The announcement comes as Health Quest’s Vassar Brothers Hospital is in the middle of a $500-million expansion near the Poughkeepsie waterfront that will add 264 private patient rooms and additional medical services. The construction, one of the largest capital projects ever in Dutchess County, is expected to open in 2019.

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May 10, 2018 • 39

Yawning really is contagious

n a study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers from the University of Nottingham had 36 adult subjects watch videos of another person yawning. They then asked the participants to either allow themselves to yawn or try to resist yawning. The researchers measured how many times the participants had full yawns and stifled yawns. Telling participants to suppress their yawns only increased their urge to yawn. Moreover, a participant’s risk of “catching” a yawn correlated with the excitability of his or her primary motor cortex, a part of the brain that controls your movement. The more excitable the cortex seemed to PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTO be, the more easily the participant caught a yawn. Did we really need peer-reviewed medical research By using external transcranial magnetic stimuto ascertain that yawning was contagious? lation (TMS) to increase the excitability of a person’s primary motor cortex, the researchers study has similarly shown that people may be more likely were able to make a person more susceptible to yawnto yawn when people of the same race or ethnicity yawn ing, making TMS the opposite of a vaccine for yawning. versus those of a different race or ethnicity. This has lent credence to the theory that yawning may Contagious yawning isn’t the only form of echophebe a form of communicating. Yawning in response to nomena (automatically imitating another person’s yawning could be a way of demonstrating empathy. behaviors). Others include laughing, rudeness, gestures, A study published in Plos One demonstrated that body positions, treating someone well or badly, and people were more likely to yawn when those more faunhealthy eating. miliar to them yawned compared to strangers. Another

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Healthy Hudson Valley

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