Herbal and Natural Medicines

A recent article I found on Yahoo! got me wondering: How do I really know what natural and herbal medicines are safe to use? The article, "Natural Cures Pack Dangerous Chemicals," reports about a study completed by Boston University that found dangerous levels of chemicals in some well known "natural cures."

The cures they studied are part of the Ayurveda tradition from India. The article wrote:

A team from Boston University found that more than 20 percent of nearly 200 samples of various ayurvedic cures contained dangerous amounts of lead, arsenic and mercury. Sometimes the presence of metals was a result of sloppy manufacturing; other times the metals were added deliberately as part of the cure.

As you may have suspected, the study was not cited and I can't find it online! But it does help to raise the bar to the level of awareness that we should all have when buying and using natural medicines.

Some critics of the article say the study used unreliable sources that were purchased from online companies only. They also point out the fact that there are reputable brands that sell Ayurveda solutions.

The very makeup of the Ayurveda tradition makes me question the fanatics on both sides. First, the Ayurveda tradition of natural medicine uses a combination of herbs, metals and gems to develop tailored mixtures for each person. The intake of metals along is enough to make me question who is selling this to me and what is the source of these ingredients.

The key to buying herbal and natural medicines is to research, learn and ask questions. There are naturalistic practitioners, such as Dr. Darrell Misak of Pittsburgh Alternative Health who spoke at the Farm to Table conference last year, that can help guide you through this process if you are hesitant to trust information you find for yourself.

Ironically, Dr. Misak's recent newsletter was talking about this same issue. Dr. Misak recommended the Consumer Lab web site to research the supplements you are using. He also warns that in times of slow economy, people should not sacrifice the quality of health supplements and food they intake.

Dr. Misak states:

I have told you that your body is composed of water, protein, fat, carbohydrates and nutrients. Unfortunately, every molecule you consume or absorb through some body orifice must be broken down and either become supportive or a burden to your body. We are bio-accumulators! Your body has and continues to store multiple chemicals and environmental toxins as proven within the article found in October 2006 National Geographic magazine. So why would you want to take supplements that possibly add to your toxin load or don't actually have enough nutrients in them to accomplish what you are taking them for?

This is advice that we can take to the bank! The best advice I can give is to talk to someone who you can trust. I like to contact local experts that I can really relate to and whose advice is not a sales gimmick or lost in translation.

You can find local practitioners in the yellow pages or online directories.

A note about conducting medical research online
There are many sites on the web that cater to expert and non-expert medical knowledge. You must be aware of a few things when taking into account the information that you find.

Medicinenet.com provides a list of questions that you should ask about each site before placing your trust in the content they provide.

Read the article here.

Renewing HealthMart

We began developing HealthMart, a network of credentialed wellness providers, a few years back. Following the feedback we have received, we have made some major improvements within the membership program, which will lead to benefits for the consumers using our HealthMart network.

Read more about the benefits for providers on the HealthMart page on this site.

We are hoping that HealthMart evolves into a comprehensive resource for our corporate and consumer wellness clients to find trustworthy providers of health and wellness services. In the same way you can verify the credentials of physicians and medical practitioners, we hope to create a directory of providers and list their credentials and services online and in print.

The providers within HealthMart will also provide discounted services to Pathways to SmartCare wellness program members. All providers will be screened for legal infractions related to their practice and all criminal background activity. We will also screen the applicants to ensure they are legally licensed and certified to be practicing their specialty.

This will give consumers access to a quality-controlled resource of a wide variety of health and wellness providers.

One of the benefits for providers is increased exposure to clients that are actively searching for quality wellness providers.

Upcoming Local Health Event: Getting Well through Food and Nutrition

The International College of Integrative Medicine (ICIM) is holding a conference this October 1-5 at the Sheraton Hotel at Station Square.

ICIM is an organization based out of Northwest, OH that acts as a reference for patients looking for complimentary medicine and also as a community for Alternative Health Providers to learn from each other.

Their conference this year fits right in with Pathways to SmartCare and Farm to Table: "Getting Well with Food and Nutrition". There will be a lead-in seminar on metal toxicity and its impact on human health. For a full list of presentations and a summary of learning objectives, download this handy little sheet.

Go to the conference web site to get more information or register.

Wendy Chappell, executive director of ICIM, let me know that you can register for one or all days of the event. If you attend for less than a 24 hour period, your registration is half price! This is great for area practitioners who can try to get out of the office for a few hours one day.

The ICIM also has some great tools on their web site. Go to their "Find a Practitioner" page and enter your zip code to see all of the providers within your area. These practitioners are credentialed integrative medicine providers that must apply to be listed on the site.

They also have a wealth of information in the form of articles, a library, multimedia presentations, classified ads and a marketplace. It is a very comprehensive resource for those who would like to use complementary medicine to treat their chronic illness.

Eating Locally Throughout the Off Season

As a follow up to our article in the Guide To Good Health publication, we have put together some resources for eating locally after the farmers markets have closed down and the ground is frozen.

Preserving your food for the winter: The National Center for Home Food Preservation has a very comprehensive list of preservation techniques and instructions on how to carry them out. You have go to their web site if you want to learn how to preserve your food or even if already know a few techniques.

They talk about the different methods of canning: methods you should and shouldn't use, methods for different types of produce, safety methods, and even a troubleshooting guide.

They talk about more than canning! Here is their list of topics:

• Can


• Freeze


• Dry


• Cure & Smoke


• Ferment


• Pickle


• Make Jam & Jelly


• Store

Buying Fresh Local Products: My mouth is watering thinking about the last organic grass fed beef burger I ate from Ron Gargasz's farm. I can only imagine how much I would be drooling had this burger been in chili and I had just come in from some outdoor activity that occurred in two feet of snow... I'm just glad that you can purchase local meat in bulk. I got an 1/8 of a cow from Ron and it only filled up 3/4 of my small freezer. There was 18 lbs of ground beef in 1 lb bricks. They looked smaller than what you usally get in the store, but that's because it's not shot full of air and layed out over a pan of styrofoam. So you can easily fit 1/8 of a cow into your freezer.

Other local products that you can buy during the winter are bread, flour, eggs, cheese and milk. Someone from a local apple orchard told me they preserve apples over the winter by placing them in a storage container and continually removing the gas that contributes to the decay of apples.

Some farms have greenhouses that they operate throughout the winter. Off the top of my head, I can think of Mung Dynasty and Milestone, both local to Pittsburgh. Mung Dynasty grows a variety of sprouts, while Milestone grows specialty produce through a hydroponic system.

Patronizing Local Restaurants: Although we should all strive to eat at home as much as possible, if you are going out to eat, there are several restaurants in the Pittsburgh area that use local food within their menu. A big one in my mind is the Big Burrito Group and they have several different types of restaurants. Also Six Penn Kitchen in downtown Pittsburgh is a beautiful restaurant and they are owned by the Eat n Park Hospitality Group. Both chefs from these restaurants came to our first Farm to Table conference.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette has a good article entitled "Restaurants here serve up trend of buying —and eating —locally", written by my favorite local journalist, Marlene Parrish. Marlene states:

There are about 50 restaurants and chefs in Western Pennsylvania buying fresh, local and seasonal products. Purchases can be as homespun as potatoes and onions or as upscale as micro greens and cheeses. These chefs are agents of change, because by working together with farmers, they allow their customers to experience local food in a way that they couldn't do in their own homes.

We have more local food resource listings on our Farm to Table page. If you have a favorite, send her in and we'll post it on our blog or on the Farm to Table page.