Archive for March, 2010

Herbal Alternatives for Anxiety, Depression and Insomnia

March 11th, 2010

Mirasol naturopathic physicianI was teaching my weekly health group at Mirasol and was feeling really excited about sharing information about herbal medicine with our clients. It was easy to pick-up on their enthusiasm about trying new things as a part of their recovery journey here. I also forget at times how special our program is and how fortunate I am to practice naturopathic medicine in such a unique environment.

One subject of great interest was the topic of nervine herbs. These are herbs that help nourish the nervous system. Many clients discover Kava Kava while in treatment at Mirasol. It’s an herb native to the South Pacific and is very effective in treatment of anxiety. It’s a nice alternative to the highly addictive anxiety medications like Valium and Xanax. You can take it as needed or throughout the day (up three times/day). However, if you’re going to take Kava Kava for more than a few months, it’s a good idea to have your liver enzymes checked.

I’m also a fan of herbal combinations that include passionflower, skullcap and milky oats. These can relieve anxiety and are may help us to better adapt to stress. I also like to include Valerian for clients who have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

I have found that there is no “one-size-fits-all” treatment for insomnia. I encourage clients to try different combinations and to practice good sleep hygiene. Cutting back on caffeine intake is a must also for those dealing with insomnia and/or anxiety.

For faster results, I suggest taking the herbs in a tincture form to ensure rapid absorption into the bloodstream. Otherwise, capsules and teas are fine too.

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Cooking with Robert: Mirasol’s Creative New Chef

March 10th, 2010

There have been big changes in Mirasol’s kitchen, thanks to our new chef, Robert Kuzyk. Kuzyk, who joined Mirasol’s kitchen staff after working in four-star restaurants at country clubs in Kansas and Arizona, believes in maintaining an “open kitchen” and encouraging clients to repair their relationships with food by becoming more involved in the process of creating it.

“What I like to do is help the clients overcome their fears of certain foods by actually cooking those foods with them,” says Kuzyk. “Learning how to cook those foods makes them more comfortable with them when they leave Mirasol and return to the
real world.”

Robert describes his work with Mirasol clients as a “building process”.

“The first step is getting them to trust me, and then walking them through the process of preparing the food, so that they realize that what they’re getting is nutritional, healthy food that also fits into their meal plans. I have prepared beef for women who haven’t eaten beef in six years. Even some women who are strict vegetarians have been persuaded to try fish, or shrimp or crabcakes.”

“Robert is very good at encouraging women to come into the kitchen little-by-little and maybe coaxing them to try something they haven’t tried before,” says Mirasol Clinical
Director Diane Ryan. “He’s also really great about teaching them to prepare foods they really like — maybe something they remember from childhood, like a special dessert or even just macaroni and cheese. And they can develop recipes and recreate those foods when they return home, and we find that’s really good for aftercare and for the recovery process in general.”

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