Anti-Inflammatory Food/Herbs: Your Comprehensive List

In my conversations with you we often discuss how to address inflammation naturally with food, rather than anti-inflammatory drugs. Keep this list in your pocket when you're grocery shopping. Rather than depend on prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs, I suggest you explore this list of food and herbs, which all have a proven record.

• Teas: green, white and black - you may find plenty from great brands, like  Organic India, Extended Health, Gaia Herbs, Wise Woman Herbals ... on my Virtual Dispensary. Log in, click Product Catalog, then click Shop By tab on the left of the screen and scroll down to the Teas category.
• Tisanes, means herbal infusions: Gynostemma from Spring Dragon
• Spices: ginger, turmeric. please do not peel the skin, slice thinly, add to boiling water, let it cool naturally, add lemon or lime and sweeten with Lakanto Monk fruit drops
• Garlic
• Apple cider vinegar - Buy on my Virtual Dispensary
• Cinnamon - best brand Ceylon organic from Savory Spice Shop - buy here
• Saffron - good one on Amazon
• Food rich in Omega-3 oils: cold water fatty fish: salmon, sardines, mackerel - available on Vital Choice with my 10% off discount - Use code Irina10
• Seeds and nuts: chia, hemp and flax seeds, walnuts, peele nuts - nuts.com
• All green leafy veggies and colorful veggies - PLEEEEASE buy organic, otherwise you consuming toxic pesticides, that cannot be removed by thorough washing unfortunately. Give a good try to daikon radishes and bok choy.
• Seasonal fresh berries - always organic, or home grown without toxic sprays. Hello blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and my favorite gooseberries (sorry you will not find them in the grocery store). Nick and I are growing them in our backyard. Ask me about them, when you come for your next session. Gooseberries are growing nicely here. You may decide to add a bush or two to your garden.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil - please do not heat much, use coconut or ghee for cooking instead. (Paesano is what we use in our house.)
• Mushrooms: shiitake, reishi, maitake can be found in the store. Fairway and Whole Foods carries them.
• The infused water I give you after each session.
  • You can buy infuser here:
    • For a litter of water I use half inch fresh Ginger root with the skin - thinly sliced, three to four circles of organic lemon or lime. Cover them with boiled water and let the water cool naturally. That is it. Easy, easy. 

Now, with abundant peppermint and spearmint herbs in our backyard, I will offer you mint infused water as well. I use leaves with abandon. Good for your digestion and it is spirit lifting.

Oh Sweet, Let's Talk About Sweets

Let me have a sweet talk with you about the sweets in our life. I'm going to cover all sweets – the good, bad and in between, starting with carrots, beets, blueberries, bananas, dates, red wine and dark chocolate. Then we'll get into what some may call "guilty pleasures" such as an assortment of candies and baked goods. Healthy foods that also have sugar in them can supply our body with much needed macro and micro nutrients as well as necessary glucose used for generating cellular energy. But that is only if we have a sufficient sugar metabolism. If not, here comes pre-diabetes or diabetes – the number one metabolic disease of our time.

Reminder on Most Common Types of Sugars:
Regular table sugar, called Sucrose, is made of 50% Fructose and 50% Glucose. Fructose is metabolized in the liver, while Glucose goes directly into the blood stream. Milk contains sugar as well, called Lactose, that consists of Glucose and Galactose. For your reference, here is a chart below of the amounts of sugar in many common fruits. This chart was found on the following website.

50% of adults in the United States have diabetes or pre-diabetes, study finds, as noted on Forbes.com. That is an unbelievable percentage considering how many adults we have in this country.

Yuval Harari in his fascinating new book “Homo Deus, A Brief History of Tomorrow," brings critical numbers to prove this point on page 17.

”In 2012, about 56 million people died throughout the world: 620,000 of them died due to human violence (war killed 120,000, and crime killed another 500,000). In contrast, 800,000 committed suicide, and 1.5 million died of diabetes."

Talk about your fork and spoon being the weapons of mass destruction, indeed! What if we learn to burn fat instead of sugar to fuel our body and minds? In my previous blog post “The 4 Truths” I wrote about the ketogenic way of eating, not to repeat myself again, but here is the link in case you're curious.

As many of you know, I constantly fight with my extra weight. I have poor metabolism, inherited from my mama. Full disclosure here, my mom lives and struggles with Diabetes Type II for the last 30 years and is legally blind from it now. I am greatly predisposed to it, as I learned through the genetic test called “smartDNA." I am affiliated with the lab that performs the test and I offer this test to my clients as well (feel free to ask me about it at your next appointment.)

As I shared with you before, Nicholas and I switched from Raw/Vegan to a low carb/high fat, a.k.a. the Ketogenic way of eating. We made this decision after spending two weeks last summer with a truly gifted health coach, Truth Calkins.

Here came the need to buy high quality fish/seafood/meat. 

I learned about the company “VitalChoice.com” and we started to order their offerings online. We are very happy with the taste of their products and I am glad to offer you an additional 10% off their price through my affiliation with Vital Choice. Click the link here. 

Also we enjoy three meals a week from “Greenchef.com's" Paleo program. All organic ingredients are delivered to our door with easy-to-follow recipes and delicious pre-mixed sauces. I have a limited number of coupons for free meals from them. Please just ask/email me for the link.

Below are the books on my reading desk this month. I invite you to discover Anthony William's books where he reveals the secret behind chronic diseases and his solution to healing them with food and supplements. We will discuss this in next month's newsletter!

Reflexology for Diabetic Patients

The field of Reflexology is getting more integrated into mainstream medicine as a complementary modality that is a safe, cost-effective and efficient one at that. The majority of controlled studies are done overseas, in Europe, China and Korea. Some of the research published can be found here.

Of the results from 13 clinical studies on the effects of reflexology treatment given to diabetic patients, 41.41% were significantly effective and 57.51% were effective in some way. For context, this was out of a total of 158 cases. The results from those studies show that reflexology provided a 100% measurable positive outcome.
(Kunz and Kunz, Medical Application of Reflexology,  copyright RRP Press 1999,  page 30)

From my own practice, I can tell you, that my mom receives Reflexology treatments at least bi-weekly with consistently positive feedback. Even though her blood sugar is elevated and managed by Metformin and Glyburide, she does not need insulin injections. If only she could stay away from cookies and bread on a daily basis!!! Arghh!

Here is another account from one of my clients:

“I have been a Type II Diabetic for more than 26 years, somewhat controlled with pills and over the past five years replaced with dosages of insulin. During this period my readings fluctuated between 165 dmo. and 200 dmo daily. I started with Reflexology at the recommendation of my daughter in November 2012 in order to rebuild my body and overall health and redevelop a sense of well being. Much to my amazement I noticed my need for insulin was becoming less and less. I went from 54 units daily to 20 units!!!My primary doctor cannot find an explanation for such change. I believe, however, this change is due to Irina Breslav’s Reflexology treatments, that stimulate my pancreas and kidney functions. I continue to with my Reflexology sessions , as I strongly believe in the benefits this complementary medicine has given me”

— Melvin Bye

#SleepwithBenefits: Night Pillow

I recently upgraded my old-old memory foam pillow to a black Night Pillow. 

It improved the quality of my sleep in a huge way. I just ought to share this with you, so you can enjoy improved sleep too.

It come with a protective mesh bag to insert the pillowcase, which protects it when it's laundered or cleaned.  This is not why I bought it. :-))

Here it is, why I bought it, right from its designer's website: https://discovernight.com

1. Intelligently Designed Black Hue.

Signature black hue negates light stimulating production of Melatonin and resulting in a deeper sleep.

2. Self-Adjusting Memory Foam

Our special-engineered memory foam is lighter and airy to provide the optimal balance of comfort and support.

3. TriSilk™ Moisturizing Pillowcase

Our proprietary spandex silk formula keeps moisture in, promoting healthy, beautiful skin & hair.

It is on the pricey side alright. On the other hand, if you do not find it worthy, you may return it within 101 day for a full refund. If you like it, like I do, it will make you very happy.

Bounce Gently, Bounce Daily

In my August Newsletter, I wrote about rebounding or exercising on mini-trampoline, as a part of an anti-aging health program.

Doing this simple exercise of bouncing can burn 350 calories in 30 minutes. You improve your balance and flexibility. You can even watch a favorite show or listen to a famous podcast while bouncing.  

We recently replaced the old metal spring rebounder with the Bellicon brand, which uses flexible, but sturdy and silent bungee cords.

Here again the benefits of bouncing:

1. great, gentle workout for all muscle groups
2. flushes out the lymphatic system, where toxins are accumulated
3. aids in the digestion and elimination
4. enhances and brightens mood

Check it out https://www.bellicon.com