Migraines and Anger

Like many people, I suffer from migraines. Mine aren't out of control or completely debilitating anymore. This could be for many reasons such as diet and lifestyle changes, or the more prosaic getting older and having my hormonal milieu change. One thing I have always noticed is a correlation between sugar and my migraines. Eating too much to regularly increases the occurrence for me. Natural sugars like fruit, honey, or sucanat tend to be ok, but white sugar and HFCS seem to set me off. I don't know if the fact that they are frequently GMO plays a role in that, but I suspect it does. I have also noticed a correlation between sugar and uncontrollable anger outbursts. I never really put them together before. I had always assumed that it was the sugar that lead to the anger and irritability, not the migraines themselves.

I came across an article that made me think about that. I wasn't intentionally doing any migraine research. By chance I somehow clicked a link I didn't notice, and as I worked through the slog of open tabs on my computer I came across it. It is neither a long article, nor a well referenced one, but it gives me something to ponder and observe.

Anger and irritability are some of the lesser-recognized symptoms of migraine disease. These symptoms are most often experienced during the prodome phase.

The prodome phase comes before the migraine attack itself and serves as a warning of an impending migraine attack. The prodome phase can start as early as 24 hours before the onset of a migraine attack.

This anger, impatience and irritability are some of the most often misunderstood aspects of migraine disease for family members and friends. We often do not realize these tendencies are related to our migraine attacks and cannot warn our loved ones of this, either. It is not uncommon for those closest to us to perceive us as having a bad or nasty attitude that comes out of nowhere. The reality is that it can be extremely difficult for us to control this tendency, especially when we haven’t yet made any association between these symptoms and our migraine attacks.

I tend to have intense sugar cravings before a migraine which generally doesn't make me feel great and I've recognized that eating certain kinds of sugars like table sugar or HFCS sometimes leads to anger bursts. Does it happen every time? No. Which is why I haven't made a connection to it before or tried to observe it. When it does happen I feel like my liver becomes irate and the energy springs forth suddenly. It is a very "HULK SMASH!!!" sensation for me. This is based in a TCM understanding of liver and anger, not necessarily a directly physiological one. Sugar and fructose have been implicated in liver damage and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, so I think the concept of angry liver might deserve consideration. This is my personal story and only reflects my personal experience in my own body. I'm writing about it here so I don't forget to take the time to observe.

Migraines have many presentations in the body and how they appear is entirely dependent on your own constitution. That is one reason they are so hard to get under control. This post is not meant to diagnose anything. It is important to pay attention to our bodies and to learn about signs, triggers and everything else. It is a constant challenge as we are always changing. At one time in my life I had migraines 15-20 days out of a month. Now it is down to about 2 days with very little effort on my part. I even get other types of headaches now. Like I said at the beginning, this could be due to lifestyle or it could be internal hormonal changes as I've gotten older, or both. I suppose I will leave it at that for now.

Tips for staying healthy in the last few weeks of flu season

Much of what can be said about boosting the immune is based on lifestyle changes, such as eating whole nourishing foods, sleeping more, reducing stress, drinking less coffee/alcohol/soda, blah, blah, blah.... We all know about these changes we can make and how we should have started them back when we we born. But that's not where we are now, and even the person who does these things gets sick. What we can do is look at where we are at and make some easy modifications that can help.

Basically, the things that depress the immune system are the same things that tend to make our bodies feel off or even just kind of blah. These feelings are often dismissed as getting older and not being a teenager anymore. Fatigue, illness, poor nutrition, stress, pain, are all signs of poor health, not necessarily signs of the dreaded aging. What tends to happen is that all of these stressors quite literally slow and cool the body down. They weaken the immune system and all normal body functions. Body temperature needs to be robust to keep metabolic function active and to ward off disease. Most of recommendations and personal practices reflect this.

• Dress appropriately and comfortably for the weather and the inside temperatures where you live and work. Take specific care of the parts of your body that feel cold or stress most. If you have cold hands and feet take extra care that they are warm and protected. If you have neck or lower back pain (stress signs) take care to keep those areas warm, whether it's with a scarf or a longer jacket. Scarves are my favorite thing in the world! I have quite a collection. I will wear a warm one outside and a lighter one inside in the winter. I have been known to wear them in the summer as well because of too cold air conditioning. In TCM, illness often enters the body at the nape of the neck or via the kidney area, so protecting those areas and keeping them warm is important.

• Eat warming foods. This is not the time for a quick lunch of a sandwich or salad. You want warming, dare I say hot, foods to get your temperature up. Soups are awesome here, especially ones made with rich bone broth. If you can get Pho, do it. You can often find chili and various stews at cafes. Hot foods are easy on digestion so your body doesn't have to dedicate lots of resources and blood flow to break down your meal. Meals with hot sauce or wasabi are also appropriate here. Skipping meals will also cool you down so avoid doing that. 

• Drink hot things and not just coffee. Teas are wonderful and many have been shown to have antiviral effects (even you Lipton). You can go with what you have on hand with green or black tea, flavored, whatever. You can have hot ginger tea with lemon and honey. Use powdered ginger (1/4 -1/2 tsp) or fresh. Add a dash of cloves or cayenne. It warms you up and makes you sweat. Fever is how the body fights infections. If you're already warm you might not get sick if exposed or you may knock it out more quickly. If you already have an herbal tea stash add some elderflower to that ginger tea (AMAZING!), drink elderberry, peppermint, yarrow, monarda, echinacia, chai, reishi, astragalus.... But you already know this. The point is to drink something hot to warm you up and help to flush out any nasties that try to take up residence. Hot water also works. It helps the mucus membranes do their job. 

• On that note, stop drinking iced things! I know, they're delicious and it's a habit that's hard to break. But bundling up while drinking a smoothie is not really helping anything. You want a smoothie? Make it with thawed or fresh fruit without ice. Still delicious but not a cold rock to your stomach or immune system.

• If you can, sleep or rest a bit more. Everyone else is trying to give you the plague, so why not stay in instead of going out for drinks. If you do go out remember elementary school when we were all told not to share food or drinks. It's a good time to remember that. The vodka in your friend's drink won't be enough to prevent her from passing on her flu (that she's totally over) on to you. I don't care how delicious she says it is. 

• Hot showers and baths can make a difference. If you've been out in the world it is good to feel the heat and get the blood moving. It also helps to wash off anything that may have followed you home. I need to remind my husband of this one all the time: please at least wash your face and hands when you get home, and damn well before you get into bed with me! 

To sum it up, stop freezing your immune system and you'll have a better chance. If you get sick, stay home, stay warm, and take time to recover. Kind of boring advice in a world when everyone is looking for a magic bullet. They don't exist. Sorry. I wish taking elderberry elixir everyday was enough, but it's often not. I know because my whole family got sick this year. They were down for days with fevers and aches. Me, I followed my own advice and never felt more than blah, which says to me I got sick too but was able to clear it fast.

Good luck.

A few thoughts on this year's flu

As it seems like there is a particularly bad flu going around, I thought I would talk a little bit about it. I remember a few years back when H1N1 was going around there was a surge of energy going through the herbal community. Where conventional treatments seemed to have little to offer, our herbal treatments really seemed to help. Anecdotally this was a great validation for the herbal remedies we use in flu. Elderberry seemed like a champion and there was even some interesting research about elderberry extracts inhibiting flu replication by preventing viral binding to host cells. This year's flu has been particularly virulent. Part of the problem is the particular strain of Type A flu. It is the H3N2 strain and health care workers say it is making people far sicker than other types of influenza. From discussions with other herbalists, this seems to be quite true. Unfortunately our usual arsenal of elderberry and other herbs seem to be less effective against this year's strain. Why this is is unclear. Past research on elderberry and H3N2 strains have shown effectiveness against this type of flu.

Even if it isn't as effective against this particular strain of the flu, elderberry is still useful as an adjunct treatment. It's antimicrobial qualities are helpful at preventing the secondary infections that sometimes occur. Other useful herbs are boneset (which helps with the body aches), elderflower (for helping you through a healing fever), and peppermint to cool and soothe. Eating lots of garlic, onions, and ginger is also helpful for a variety of reasons. The best thing you can do for yourself is to rest. And I don't mean work from home. I mean to really convalesce and let your body do its important work of healing.

Inspired Medicine Making

All of 10 minutes ago my friend Barbara inspired me to use cranberry in medicine making. She had made a cranberry and astragalus elixir that sounded divine. Quickly searching my brain for what I had in the house I came up with cranberry and elderberry elixir. Simply said, I can never have enough elderberry concoctions in my house! I love it for all the immune offenses that seem to always be around me. I like elderberry with something tart to balance out it's sweetness. Cranberry is a perfect fit and I happened to have a bunch fresh on hand.

Today's immune tonic, which will be awesome as a base for festive drinks that aren't entirely bad for you, is amazingly simple to make.

To make a pint will need:

The peel of a mandarin orange, or any small orange you have on hand
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, broken up
an overflowing 1/2 cup of dried elderberries
fresh cranberries to almost fill the jar, maybe a little less than 3/4 cup (in retrospect I would have cut up the cranberries a bit)
1 cup of vodka or brandy
about 1/2 cup of honey

Put everything but the honey in the jar and give it a stir with a chopstick. Add the honey and stir again. All you need now is a pretty label and about a months worth of patience before you strain and enjoy.

Whole Food Holiday Ponderings

When else can you buy meat for less than a dollar per pound (stock up)? When else is the focus on lovingly prepared whole foods? Where do all the colors of the rainbow come together on one table and people eat  with joy?

The fall and winter holidays are some of my favorite times of year. I love getting together with friends and family eating good food made with love. In many ways I think that the holiday feasts are some of the healthiest meals people eat all year. Unfortunately they are also eaten with a once a year kind of wild abandon that ignores senses of fullness and satiety. Thanksgiving in particular is a day of marathon eating.

By putting these foods up on a holiday pedestal we forget how nourishing they really are. And before we get into how much butter and saturated fat there is in everything, I would have you know that fats and cholesterol really are not the demons western medicine has made them out to be. They are the nourishing foods that our forefathers ate for millenniums, and the modern fat phobia has only fueled modern diabesity with its forced reliance on carbohydrates and sugars taking the place of animal fats, organ meats, and traditional eating. Much of what goes on the holiday table could and should find it's place regularly on the dining table. Gathering with family and friends should occur more than a few times a year.

On my own family table we will be having a roast turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, brussels sprouts, peas, homemade cranberry sauce, vegetarian carnitas, wild mushroom stuffing, button rolls (I will eat many), pies, coffee, wine and love. I love the holidays and food so I am looking forward to the nonstop festivities between now and Jan 2nd. I am looking forward to cooking for friends and warming my house with an oven that is never turned off.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Juniper

Fall is a time of change and this fall this is abundantly apparent in my life. Particularly moving from a small apartment into a house, with a yard and a lot of work to do. While change is definitely making its appearance in my life what always amazes me about fall is how much stays the same. Maybe it's because I'm an autumn baby, but I love the fall and feel more myself at this time of year, both good and bad. My true nature comes out more, my love of warm spicy things, fires, camping, engaging the elements, cooking. At the same time I tend to get emotional as all the leaves fall off the trees. I like to cozy up to a fire with a fortifying drink. My favorites are mulled wine and hot Nog a la McTrouble.

Hot eggnog is one of my favorites. I have it for breakfast on cold mornings, or on cool evenings fortified with a bit of brandy or rum. I like to make it with black pepper, cardamon, vanilla, and wild juniper berries, sweetened with honeysuckle infused honey.

October in MD