Feeling stressed out lately?  Finals got you down?  You might want to think about adding some vitamins and improving your diet.  Some of you reading this might be thinking “I can just take a pill for my problems.” I hear a lot of my patients think that taking medication long term is completely safe. 

Well guess again.

Side effects of anti depressants may include: abnormal dreams, impaired vision, anxiety, chest pain, chills, confusion, diarrhea, diminished sex drive, dizziness, dry mouth, gas, headache, hives, impotence, insomnia, loss of appetite, nausea, nervousness, rash, seizures, fatigue, sore throat, sweating, vomiting, & muscle weakness.

Simple ways to help cope

Folic acid  (brown, red & wild rice, beans, oranges, dark greens) and B12 (sea vegetables, Brewer’s yeast, miso, fortified foods, salmon, eggs, milk) People with B deficiencies are more likely to have severe depression.  Take 800 mcg of folic acid and 1 mg of B12 per day.

Magnesium  (wheat and oat bran, brown rice, nuts, molasses) Supports brain function and helpful for mood disorders, including PMS and bipolar disorder.  Take 300 mg of magnesium per day.

Omega-3 fatty acids (walnuts, flaxseed oil, hemp seeds, borage oil, primrose oil, oily fish,) Build healthy brain cell membranes and help facilitate neuron-to-neuron communication.  Take a supplement that includes a total of 650 mg EPA and DHA daily.

Chromium (broccoli, grapes, oranges, grains) Lessens depression, particularly in people who are also craving sugar. Chromium is a blood sugar stabilizer for all you sugar addicts out there.  Take 300 mcg of chromium per day.

Zinc (beans, nuts, oatmeal) Helps metabolize omega-3 fatty acids in the brain. Low zinc levels are often found in those suffering from postpartum depression.  Take 25 mg zinc per day.

So, if you’re having a hard time, please use the above information to at least get started. I hope this information helps lift your spirits!

Live natural.  Live well.
Heather

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I come from a unique perspective where I was once standing in your shoes. I felt like I had a lot of talent and that I should be getting paid for my work. However, what I quickly realized that saying I wanted to work and telling them I had the ambition to do great things wasn't enough. In short, Ambition and Drive didn't sign paychecks. Fortunately I got up to speed and took a few unpaid, for-experience-only positions first to demonstrate my value and ambition and then the paid internships started rolling in. The funny thing about this world is that you get exactly what you give…and if you're patient, you can uniquely position yourself for success!

Pretend for a minute that you are a hiring manager and put yourself in their shoes. A university student walks into your office for a posted, unpaid internship position with your company. They have no applicable work experience, a small works portfolio at best, and they say that they are really interested in becoming the world's most fabulous fill-in-the-blank. You will have to not only take out time from your busy schedule to train them, but you have no real way to guarantee that the work they will get done will be of any presentable quality. They then ask for a $15-$20 an hour (even though the job posting said 'unpaid') because…well, they have the drive and ambition! Would you hire them then? ...I didn't think so!

Here's a few important things to keep in mind:
-Just because you're not being paid in dollars and cents doesn't mean that you're not getting paid in other ways. Internships are a two-way street: You are being groomed for a job or industry. It is the experience that you have to pay with your time, instead of dollars (like tuition, for instance).
-Don't value yourself too highly. That doesn't mean that you should strive to get paid what you're worth, but know what you're really worth before you ask for a wage, stipend, pay, etc.
-If you aren't willing to bet on your own performance, why should they? Taking on the risk of an internship and knowing that it may not pan out into full blown employment is an admirable risk to take and demonstrates a commitment that you are willing to make.
-Take advantage of your unpaid internship by cross-training in as many aspects of their business or position as possible. You will not only show initiative, motivation and drive (what you probably mentioned at your interview),  but you will also walk away with that internship with valuable on-the-job training that you can now list on your resume or demonstrate your proficiency in.
-Know that nothing is guaranteed. That, of course, is more of a philosophical discussion and we'll go into that later!

Oh, and that first unpaid internship? Mine was with the Special Olympics -- I designed a one-off logo for their Winter Games. My "payment" was building a positive rapport with my faculty (the people who recommended me for the position) and getting a lot of press coverage for it. Shortly after that I got three more paid internships that year…which catapulted my marketability in the job market. (Hey, I started my job hunt in a recession too!)

From the title, you're probably saying to yourself: Avoid using plastic??? Why? I recycle and it's so convenient! And how? It's EVERYWHERE!

Besides creating the Great Eastern Garbage Patch and polluting our oceans, plastic has been know to cause:

* Brain damage
* Increased fat formation and risk of obesity
* Hyperactivity, increased aggressiveness, and learning impairment
* Auto-immune disorders
* Early puberty, stimulation of mammary gland development, disrupted reproductive cycles, and ovarian dysfunction -I've treated girls as young as 7 getting their periods.
* Thyroid disorders
* Stimulation of prostate cancer cells
* Increased prostate size and decreased sperm production
* Increase cancer risk

I know the side effects might seem scary and overwhelming. But doing regular detoxes, getting plenty of clean water, eating nutritious foods, taking the proper supplements can help prevent, eliminate, and reduce any of the above health issues.

I also know, that's it's pretty much impossible to avoid using all plastics. I recently interviewed a woman who tried for 2 weeks and failed. A few recommendations to limiting your exposure:

• Storing your food in glass container

• Using cooking oils that are in glass bottles

• Drinking filtered water in metal container

• Do NOT microwave in any plastic. For that matter, don't microwave at all.

• Using reusable bags when shopping

• And PLEASE recycle!

Please tell your friends, family, and communities this vital information.


Live natural. Live well.
Heather Lounsbury, L.Ac.

Tis the season of giving everyone, and I'm giving you tips on how to save money this holiday season in your favorite categories. Hopefully my previous tips have saved you enough money to get your gifts!