My Really Yummy Easy Recipe for Granola

For those of you who are looking to change out the sugary, pre-packaged cereals for a wholesome, organic alternative, you might like to try this:

Ingredients:

5 cups of organic old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup organic sunflower, grape seed or safflower oil
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon pure organic vanilla extract
1 tsp. pure organic almond extract
2 tsp. organic ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pink salt
1 cup chopped organic walnuts
1/2 cup chopped or slivered organic raw almonds
1/2 to 3/4 cup organic raisins
1/2 cup organic dried cherries
1/2 cup organic dried cranberries

Raised edge cookie sheet, standard size
parchment paper, cut to size of cookie sheet

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  In a very large bowl, using a heavy whisk, mix the oil, sugar, syrup and water together...this may initially be a thick messy concoction, but, keep whisking until it is smooth and silky.  Add the extracts, salt and cinnamon and whisk until incorporated.  Add in the oats and nuts, and coat the entire mixture, thoroughly.

Pour this onto the parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and press out, evenly.  Place into your oven for 33- 40 minutes, turning the sheet around once (front to back) during baking.  There's no need to stir, at all.  If you have a hot oven, it'll be done in 33-34 minutes.  Cool on a rack until you can handle the granola.  Break it into small pieces (I use my hands) in a large bowl and then add your fruit mixture...do not bake the dried fruit as it will become very hard! 

Store it in air tight containers in the refrigerator....it should last for 7-10 days...if your family doesn't devour it, first.
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When it Comes to Your Health, Sex Matters!

For those of you who missed 60 Minutes on Sunday, I highly recommend you go to the CBS news website and view it.  The report to view was about the difference between men and women when it comes to how our bodies synthesize medication.

A "new" study shows that when it comes to Ambien  (40 million prescriptions are given out every year!), it appears that women who were given the same prescription strength as men, showed cognitive impairment the next day, especially when driving.  Women need one-half the dosage of men.  What is particularly interesting is that the FDA knew about this over 20 years ago, and yet, made no acknowledgement of this to prescribing physicians.  The neuroscientist who was part of the interview on 60 Minutes believes that the FDA simply didn't think it was that important.

He also believes that there needs to be a complete re-think among researchers when it comes to all drug strengths for men and women.   According to another researcher interviewed on the program, women's and men's stem cells behave differently, too.  Male rats who were given female rats' stem cells to see if they would have an affect on plaque build up in the arteries, responded positively to the female stem cells, but their arteries showed no change with male stem cells.  Even she was astonished by the results.

The health care profession definitely shows a bias towards men, when it comes to both research and medical care.  Since women's symptoms are far different from men's when experiencing a heart attack, research dating back for 20 years shows that women are much more likely to be misdiagnosed with some other condition, while having an active myocardial infarct.

The FDA representative chose to downplay this difference between males and females when it comes to these differences...it appears the FDA has chosen to close its eyes to the concerns of the researchers.

What shocks me is the complacence by the American public concerning this situation.  Look at the hue and cry about GM not being forthcoming about the ignition problem in many of their cars over the last decade that caused a few deaths and numerous accidents.  Yet, we have a government oversight agency ignoring their own data and not a peep from any of the media or consumer's groups.  I remind you that the average American (under Medicare age) takes 13 prescription drugs, a day.  I have to wonder just how over-medicated we truly are. What a shame.

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Warnings About the Foods You Buy

I was listening to the news, this morning.  I was struck by the number of recalls...not by our car manufacturers, but by the food industry.  Problems with e. coli, listeria, salmonella and so on, in pre-packaged hamburger patties, humus and other packaged foods.

As consumers, I believe that we need to open our eyes to an on-going pattern of food contamination in the packaged food industry.  Do we truly need pre-made, frozen (and in my opinion, rather tasteless) hamburger patties?  Do we need our carrots, celery, cheese, other raw vegetables and lettuce already cut and prepared for instant use when this sets us up for potentially sickening food contamination?

I would ask us all to stop using convenience foods and begin preparing food at home, at the time we wish to eat.  We can make our own humus quite easily in the amount that we need, at the time.  I know that cutting up vegetables can be time consuming, but considering the possible consequences, isn't our family worth the bother?

It doesn't take a lot of expensive, fancy appliances to prepare our food.  A blender, food processor and an electric mixer (may even be an inexpensive hand-held variety...Cuisinart makes one for about $70.00)  are all I use for all my recipes.  I don't have a microwave, toaster oven, special utensils or even special baking dishes, pots or pans.  I do have very good knifes and a knife sharpener...vital for all that, "cutting up." 

Hopefully, we'll all think about what changes, no matter how small, we can make to improve the quality of food that we eat.

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What's the Difference Between a Gluten Allergy and Gluten Sensitivity?

By medical definition, an allergy is developed when the body reacts to a specific substance by producing an antigen-antibody response.  In simple terms, if one is truly allergic, after the first contact with the substance, the body goes into anaphylaxis....the symptoms of which can be life threatening.  The medical profession has allowed the confusion between sensitivity and allergic response to go uncorrected.  Those seasonal allergies one responds to are truly sensitivities, albeit very uncomfortable and annoying.  People who are allergic to shellfish or bee stings or certain medications will go into anaphylatic shock if exposed to these things and need to carry epi-pens with them at all times.

I have yet to run into anyone who has a true gluten allergy.  I'm sure they may exist, but probably in minute numbers.  No, what we have developed is a gluten sensitivity.  One significant reason is that the wheat crop has been genetically modified since the 1990's to contain twice the gluten content that unadulterated wheat used to contain.  We eat lots of bread, crackers, pie crusts, cakes, cookies and processed, packaged foods...all of which contain gluten.

When the body is given the same food or type of food all the time, it develops a sensitivity; it can even develop an allergy.  One of my nutrition professors at chiropractic school told us that when he was a poor undergrad, he ate a pound of peanut butter everyday.  He cannot even be near peanuts, anymore...he developed an allergy and carries an epi-pen wherever he goes.

The symptoms of gluten sensitivity are many and varied...foggy thought processes, muscle and joint pain, headaches, sinus infections, bowel irregularities....any symptom, really, that has to do with inflammatory changes in the small intestines.  The gut is where all nutrient assimilation and digestion takes place...as such, gluten can interfere with enzyme production and nutrient utilization.

My suggestion is for all of us to assume we have a degree of gluten sensitivity and simply adjust our diet to accommodate for that.  There are so many gluten-free choices available today that we should all be able to incorporate this change into our everyday lives fairly easily.

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How Your Body Communicates with Practitioners

Many of us are familiar with the term, "body language."  It refers to our energy levels and how those levels are transmitted to others without the need for us to say a word.  A good example of this is the feeling we get when we enter a room filled with people or even just one person.  We can sense the type of interaction among others without ever having to hear a word.

Interestingly enough, our bodies have a signature dialogue, also.  We are basically energy-producing machines.  That energy not only comes from our nervous system, but also from the nucleus of each cell in our bodies.  The Chinese mapped out this energy in the entire body over 5,000 years ago; it's called, "meridians."  Most of us are familiar with acupuncture meridian therapy, but there's more to it than that.

When a body's energy is unbalanced, this imbalance affects not only the localized meridian, but also affects the reflex areas to which that meridian is associated.  This is called, "a visceral/somatic reflex," when an organ and its associated part of the body is affected.  For example, we had a patient who came to us with a tooth problem in which she was trying to figure out whether to have a root canal done on a tooth with a dead root or just have it pulled.  The decision was hers about the tooth, but what she didn't know was that that particular tooth (somatic area) dysfunction was directly related to a particular organ (the visceral area).  The decay of the tooth (absent poor dental hygiene) was now related to the dysfunction of the organ or, in her case, organs.  That is the case with each tooth...there is a related organ to which it is directly associated.

The difference between western and eastern medicine is that we, in the West, have been conditioned to think about our health (or lack of same) only when we feel symptoms.  The eastern medicine mindset is to keep the body in a state of well being or wellness.  That is done through keeping the function of the body in balance.  The best way to assess this is through a practitioner who understands how the body functions, as a whole. 

When you wait until you feel pain to get therapy, your body is already in a state of serious dysfunction...up to 75% dysfunction.  Getting rid of the pain/symptoms/infection/etc.  does not re-balance and normalize function.  It also does not address the nutritional imbalances that exist.  Unless the patient with the tooth problem is willing to allow the practitioner to listen to the body and offer correct nutritional support, it is highly likely that the associated tooth on the other side of the jaw will undergo decay, too.

One of my favorite sayings is, "The body is very chatty; one just needs to know how to listen."  Listening is a skill that just might save one's life.

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Whole Food Alternative Therapy for Pets

The whole food organic company that supplies all our food supplements also offers nutritional products and therapies for your pets.  You can be certain that all of their products are safe and made with the same assurances of quality that their human products carry.

If you wish to have an alternative to traditional vet therapy for your pet as well as wellness programs, these are the products for you.

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Big Announcement

For those of you who might be wondering if anything had happened to me because of my not publishing my blog for 2 weeks, I'm fine, I've just been very busy.  Because of the needs that I have seen from my patients as well as my discontent with some of my present suppliers, I have been developing an entirely new supplement protocol.

I'm working with a company that has been in business for over 90 years, whose  wellness nutritional protocol has been used for over 70 years by thousands of doctors, helping countless numbers of patients with chronic conditions to better health.  I'm very excited by the organic, whole food products and herbs that I have to use to nutritionally support people in their quest for good health.

On our website, I have posted a system's survey that I encourage  you to download and print out and either bring it into the office or scan and send it to me by e-mail.  By the time I finish assessing the results, I'll be able to give you an accurate picture of how every system in your body is functioning.  This is something I offer to everyone for free.  You'll find the health analysis under the "therapeutic services" tab...located in the "Nutritional and Wellness Programs," section.

Would it be worth an hour of your time to know just how well your body really is functioning?

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drkollars@gmail.com

STOP! Before You Eat Another Bag of Microwave Popcorn

The manufacturers of microwave popcorn are putting us all at risk for bladder, kidney and lung cancer.  The problem is that the bags are coated with chemicals that are carcinogenic, but in allowable amounts by the FDA.  Many of the brands also contain diacetyl chemicals that have been shown to cause the workers in the manufacturing plants to develop obstructive lung disease and lung cancer.

These chemicals are added to the microwave popcorn to give it that, "movie theater-like" smell that most people appear to need or want. Taking a deep "wiff" in the bag after it pops allows those chemicals to penetrate into your lungs, causing scarring of the air sacs. 

The popcorn also contains only trans fats, which are known to affect the cardiovascular system...they clog the arteries and veins.

You can easily avoid all of this by doing the following:

     Purchase organic, non-GMO popcorn in either a box or jar.  Add one-third to one-half a cup of the popcorn to a brown paper bag.  That's it.  Pop it for one and a-half to two minutes (when the corn stops popping) and then add some avocado, sunflower, grape seed or any other organic oil and a tiny bit of salt, if required.  If you must, add a small amount of melted butter, but then you'll be eating trans fats instead of the cis-fats from the oil.  You can also re-pop any of the corn that didn't pop the first time.  I think you'll really enjoy it.

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