I've been inspired by my favorite blog - The Archdruid Report. He has serialized several books, in between weekly essays. I'd like to do the same - and here is my first offering of what will become my next book. This week's post explains the title.

I have watched the fields of integrative and functional medicine blossom over the past decade. When I attended Harvard Divinity School in the early 1980’s “integrative medicine” had not entered the lexicon. Although people on the “fringes” of academia and medicine talked about mind, body, spirit approaches I was more or less on my own in my quest to understand why traditional healing practices worked.
 
I started with sensory integration, studied as part of my occupational therapy curriculum at Boston University in the early 1970s.  I saw it make changes in my patients with dementia, stroke, and a variety of physical and psychiatric disabilities during my first few years of practice.
 
In 1978 I moved to Tucson, Arizona and got my first exposure to traditional healers. The Tohono O’odham, Pima, and Yaqui nations within the Tucson metro region all have healers who practice in those communities. The Mexican-American community uses curanderismo to successfully treat a whole host of maladies. I listened to stories of healings and became fascinated by the richness of sensory experience they provided. I knew that I wanted to learn more about them.
 
The medical community held these practices in disregard, at best explaining positive outcomes as placebo effects. I knew that studying them from academic disciplines such as anthropology or psychology would only teach me why they did not work, so I ended up at Harvard Divinity School studying spiritual healing via theology. Not a perfect match, but at least I wouldn’t hear that it was all nonsense nearly as often. While there I had access to world class libraries, professors, all the courses at Harvard, as well as the nine other seminaries in the Boston Theological Institute – an amazing and sometimes overwhelming array of choices.
 
My study at the Divinity School had an interesting side effect, I had complete free-rein describing the workings of the nervous system, since no one there could comment on terms such as corpus collosum, reticular activating system or vestibular apparatus. When I got nervous about my understanding I headed back across the Charles River to Boston University where professors from my alma mater Sargent College would recommend papers I could read or suggest alternative scenarios.  They kept me on the neurophysiological “straight and narrow path.”
 
Harvard provided me with the framework of academic rigor, and credentials for entering academia as a professor in the Occupational Therapy Department of Eastern Kentucky University. That position led to my first book, Biomechanics: Problem Solving for Functional Activity and later to another textbook, Kinesiology: Movement in the Context of Activity, now in its third edition.
 
Fast forward three decades, through years of: contemporary occupational therapy practice; the study of Integrative Nutrition; Traditional Chinese Medicine; and creating healing rituals for others. I am ready to approach biomechanics from a different perspective – using quantum rather than Newtonian physics this time around.
 
Traditional healers work on the quantum level where energy and matter have fluidity (E=mc2) and genes express themselves like light switches that turn on and off (epigenetics). Western technological science has finally caught up. Rather than dismiss the outcomes of these traditions, we have a scientific way to understand and explain them. I hope to share some of this information with readers of my blog, in my seminars, and eventually in a book, tentatively titled, The Biomechanics of Spiritual Healing.
 
My next blog will cover the inseparability of biomechanics and spirituality – the what, where, how, and why of healing.

All mammals, especially young ones, do things “just for fun” without planning or expecting a “pay-off” in food, money or even falling in love. Spend half an hour on social media sites and you’ll see videos of a dog playing ball with a tortoise[1], or wrestling with a crow[2].  Apparently, birds and even reptiles play. Play seems very important to Mother Nature.
 
People have used play to survive starvation, prison, and illness[3]. Anthropologists tell us that the average person living in low-tech “primitive” cultures spends about 20 hours a week “working” to provide themselves with food, clothing, and shelter.[4] That leaves a lot of time left-over to play and sleep.  Most human beings lived like that until a few thousand years ago. Yet, still we scoff that p-l-a-y could powerfully heal our everyday stress.
 
P-l-a-y keeps our bodies flexible, our minds alert, and our spirits ready for change.

Play relieves stress and the inflammation that accompanies it.  Medical science tells us that reducing chronic inflammation allows the body to heal[5].  Enjoying games with other people releases oxytocin and boosts our immune responses. Playing, especially outdoors, gives us an appetite and revs up our metabolism so we can better digest our food. We work up a thirst and drink water that helps us eliminate toxins.
 
Play clears the mind. A 21 year study of healthy elderly showed that participants who danced or played board games three times a week stayed sharp much longer than those who did solitary activities like reading and crossword puzzles. Participants who exercised by climbing stairs and bicycling seemed more likely to get dementia.[6]  Children who have recess do better in school.[7] Why?
 
Play lifts the spirit. It keeps our bodies flexible, our minds alert, and our spirits ready for change. Imagination fuels play. Whatever we dream up expands our future possibilities. Creative play draws on inner resources. Like a drink of water, play helps us eliminate both physical andpsychic toxins. When we play with others we open our hearts in friendship so stress and loneliness melt away. Play feeds our souls.
 
Play flourishes with structure.  We need to set aside time and space for play every day of our lives.  Traditional medicine practitioners understood this, thousands of years ago. They used simple life-style changes to keep the body, mind and spirit in balance so people could stay well and heal from disease. Many of us playfully explore Yoga, Tai Chi, or Qigong when we first learn about them. Then we discover that we need to practice, practice, practice to get the best benefits – just like a child who bounces a ball against a wall over and over and over until they learn to catch it every time, at every different angle and speed. Regular practice prunes away clumsiness, and polishes awkward movements into grace and beauty.
 
Make some time to play every day. It keeps you young!

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glVFHMzMGWc

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C59YIwMcg3Y

[3] See accounts of:  Ernest Shackleton’s second trip to the South Pole on the ship Endurance; Patch Adams and Norm Cousins’ healing use of laughter; and George Eisen’s book Children and Play in the Holocaust.

[4] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/200907/play-makes-us-human-v-why-hunter-gatherers-work-is-play

[5] https://healthletter.mayoclinic.com/editorial/editorial.cfm/i/163/t/Buzzed%20on%20inflammation/

[6] Verghese, J., Lipton, R.H., Katz, M.J., Hall, C.B., Derby, C.A, Kuslansky, G., Ambrose, A.F., Sliwinski, M., Buschke, H. (2003). Leisure activities and the risk of dementia in the elderly. N Eng J Med. 348:2508-2516. June 19, 2003.

[7] http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/131/1/183

Have you heard about the benefits of probiotics for boosting the immune system and calming gut inflammation? It seems I’m seeing it everywhere I look.  Lots of people recommend foods like sauerkraut and yogurt, but with a picky eater those flavors usually don’t work well. How about everybody’s favorite condiment...ketchup!


Store bought ketchup inevitably contains lots of high-fructose corn syrup and sometimes other questionable ingredients.  This simple recipe has less sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, and LOTS of gut-calming, brain-building probiotics.

Here’s what you need to make a pint (2 cups):
‣ 12 ounces organic tomato paste (no salt added)
‣ 1/8 - 1/4 cup water
‣ 2 tablespoons of whey*
‣ 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
‣ 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder (or substitute a prepared dijon mustard)
‣ 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
‣ 1/8 teaspoon cloves
‣ 1/8 teaspoon allspice
‣ 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
‣ 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
‣ 1/4 to 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
‣ (you can even add a bit of molasses for extra flavor & minerals.)

Here’s what you do…
1.  Mix all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

2.  Pour this mixture into a glass jar, large enough to leave 1" of space at the top of the jar.

3.  Cover loosely and leave at room temperature for two days. The salt & vinegar will protect unwanted bacteria from growing until the friendly lactobacillus from the whey has a chance to multiply and preserve your ketchup.

4.  After two days at room temperature, move your ketchup into the refrigerator, where it will stay fresh for a couple of months – if you don’t eat it first!

Tips for Working with Picky Eaters

1. Get your picky eater to help you make the ketchup.  This gives them an opportunity to see exactly what is in it – NO SURPRISES! 
2. Taste it often while mixing in the spices and sugar.  Add half of the amount, then taste and see if you want to add some more.  
3. Get your picky eater to help you choose the coolest, squeeze container you can find. After the ketchup sits in a glass jar on the counter for two days, you can put it into it’s special container. 
4. Bring the homemade ketchup to the table at mealtimes, picnics & barbecues with fanfare & kudos to those who helped to make it.
5. Use the ketchup and experiment with the recipe until you get it to taste exactly the way you like best. It helps to have adventurous family members try it, like it, and prefer it to the familiar store bought version. You may have to make the store bought available for a while, but leave it in the refrigerator until someone asks for it.  Let them do the legwork to get it, too! 
6. NEVER ask your picky eater to taste this ketchup – either during preparation or later when it’s on the table. Bite your tongue, and look the other way if they do taste it.  Then break out some champagne or do the victory dance in the privacy of your bedroom!
   

You can use this ketchup to make Thousand Island Dressing by mixing it with an equal amount of mayonnaise. Make some Steak Sauce by mixing it with an equal amount of sour cream. Store both of these in the refrigerator.

This recipe comes from a wonderful course on Lacto-Fermentation at the Traditional Cooking School.  If you want to learn more about making other traditional foods I recommend Wardeh's courses – they are fantastic.

Want to learn more about the power of probiotics for health?
The New York Times ran an article by Peter Andrey Smith on June 23, 2015, “Can the Bacteria in Your Gut Explain Your Mood?”. 

Neurologist, David Perlmutter, covers the topic in depth in his excellent book, Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain - for Life.

AGUAS FRESCAS
These delicious and simple drinks provide health benefits: 1) Using whole fruits means you get all the nutrients those fruits provide; 2) You add little or no sugar; 3) Adding fresh fruit and letting it sit in the refrigerator provides a mild fermentation process that adds beneficial probiotics to your digestive system. Even if you add some sugar, these drinks provide only a fraction of what you would find in a soda or commercial soft drink.

Strawberry Water: Agua de Fresa  
Ingredients:
1 lb of strawberries, hulled, cleaned and chopped
1 quart of water
1/4 cup sugar (honey, maple syrup) 
1 cup fresh halved strawberries

Preparation: 
In a blender, add the chopped strawberries and enough water to get them to blend easily.  
Blend until very smooth. 
Transfer to a pitcher and add the rest of the water. 

Taste before adding sugar.  Start with 1/8 cup and taste again before adding more. Stir well and serve.

Watermelon water: Agua de sandia
Ingredients: 1½ cups diced watermelon, without rind
5 cups water
1/4 cup sugar (honey, maple syrup)

Preparation:
Put the diced watermelon in the blender with 2 cups of the water.
Blend until the black seeds break up (about 1-2 minutes.)
Let the ground seeds settle to the bottom, then pour the liquid into a pitcher, leaving the seeds in the blender to be discarded.
You will not need to use a strainer.
Add the rest of the water.   
Taste before adding sweetener.  Start with 1/8 cup and taste again before adding more.

Cantaloupe water: Agua de melón
Ingredients:
1/2 cantaloupe, seeds and rind removed, diced (about 1½ - 2 cups diced melon)
1 quart water
1/4 cup sugar (honey, maple syrup)

Preparation:
 Put the diced melon in the blender with enough of the water to cover.
 Blend just long enough to make a coarse pulp.
 Transfer to a pitcher and add the rest of the water.
 Taste before adding sugar.  Start with 1/8 cup and taste again before adding more.
Stir to dissolve the sweetener.
The resulting agua will contain small bits of fruit pulp.  If you don’t strain them out you get extra nutrients and fiber.

 
Lime Water: Agua de Limón
  Ingredients:
4 limes
1 quart water
1/2 cup of sugar (honey, maple syrup)
 
Preparation:
Peel a little less than half the rind off each lime.
Discard it or save it for a recipe using lime zest.
Cut the limes in quarters and put them in the blender with all of the water and sugar.
Blend on high setting for five seconds; longer blending will result in bitterness rather than the sweet-and-tart flavor the drink should have.
The lime wedges will still be in chunks.
Pour the contents of the blender through a strainer into the serving pitcher.
Taste before adding sugar.  If it is too tart for your tastes add another 1/8 cup and taste again before adding more. 

Think about salads as if you were making a drawing or a picture.   
Use leafy greens to make a textured background, then add all the other ingredients as accents.

Basic Supplies

1. Paper/Canvas = light colored – “sweet” or bland greens as a background – choose whatever looks freshest at the market. (Use 1 or 2 a week)
1. Iceberg lettuce
2. Romaine lettuce
3. Butterhead lettuce
4. Boston lettuce
5. Green cabbage
6. Bok choy
2. Background Texture = dark colored – “tangy”, “bitter” or more strongly flavored greens make the background more interesting – choose whatever flavors you like best – or try new flavors.  These carry the higher vitamin payload. (Try a new one each week)
1. Watercress
2. Arugula
3. Beet or turnip greens
4. Kale
5. Escarole
6. Endive (light in color but more bitter – pairs well with a darker bland green)
7. Radicchio
8. Dandelion
9. Purple or red cabbage
10. Purslane
3. Chunky Textures = more vegetables – cooked or raw
1. Vegetable leftovers
2. Celery
3. Broccoli
4. Cauliflower
5. Green or yellow beans
6. Artichoke hearts
7. Hearts of palm (canned in the Caribbean food section)
4. Color/Depth & Balance
= root  vegetables – grated, chopped or sliced
1. Carrots
2. Beets – cooked or raw sliced
3. Potatoes – try sweet or colored potatoes – cooked or raw
5. Color/Sweet & Bright = fruits with antioxidant powers – get what is in season
1. Blueberries
2. Cranberries – raw or dried
3. Pomegranate
4. Citrus sections (orange, Clementine, grapefruit)
5. Blackberries, raspberries or any berries
6. Apples or pears cut in slivers or chunks
7. Grapes or raisins
8. Tomatoes
9. Red, yellow & other colored peppers
10. Avocados
6. Focal Point = proteins – 1or 2 make the salad into a meal
1. Leftover meats or fish – cut into bite size pieces
2. Nuts – walnut, pine, almond, pecan, cashew – even peanuts!
3. Seeds – sesame, sunflower, pumpkin
4. Leftover or canned, rinsed & drained beans
5. Cheese – shaved, grated or cut into small bits
6. Eggs – hard boiled and sliced
7. Canned fish - tuna, salmon, sardines or anchovies

Weekly Shopping

1. 1 or 2 of the light greens (depending on how much salad you eat in a week).
2. 1 dark green (change it up every week until you find out what flavors you like) or buy a couple of bags of prepared salad greens

As for the rest of the supply list

1. Use leftover chunky vegetables from other vegetable dishes you make during the week – or snacks (like celery) – or canned goods (artichoke hearts, beans, hearts of palm).
2. Use leftover root vegetables from other dishes – or snacks (like carrots).
3. Use fruits you are buying for snacks & dessert – or maybe try a new special or expensive fruit you might put just in a couple of salads for the week.
4. Use whatever protein you have on hand – leftovers, snacks (cheese, nuts, seeds) staples (canned beans, fish, eggs).

Preparing Fresh Greens
 Greens prepared like this are usually fresher, less expensive and keep longer than bags of pre-mixed greens.  You can also try more varieties than you will get in prepared bags, but bags of prepared greens work just fine.  

1. Wash the greens by putting them into a big bowl or pot of cold water with a small spoonful of salt.  You can use the bowl of a salad spinner for this.
2. After a minute or less, pour off the water and drain in a colander (or the basket of your salad spinner)
3. Rinse off the salt water by holding the colander of greens under the faucet
4. Dry the greens by spinning them in a salad spinner or wrapping them in a clean dishtowel. 
5. Keep the greens in the refrigerator – in the salad spinner or in a plastic bag (the one they came in works fine).  If you don’t use a salad spinner keep the greens wrapped in the dishtowel to keep them crisp.

Assembling a salad

1. Chop or tear 5-10 light green leaves into bite size pieces and put into the salad bowl
2. Chop or tear 3-5 dark greens and put them on top of the light greens – you can mix the greens up with your hands if you like

Or use ½ to 1 full bag of pre-washed greens

1. Chop up a chunky vegetable – whatever is around – and scatter it on top
2. Chop up a root vegetable – or part of one – and scatter it around
3. Scatter fruit slices or berries on top – now your salad should look like an abstract painting!
4. Add a few proteins – scattered or artistically arranged – your choice!

Voila! You have a beautiful and unique creation – ready for the table!