We all know how important it is to have a healthy diet, but do we ever think about how we should eat? How many of us sip on iced water, tea or other beverages as we wait for dinner at our favorite restaurant? How many of us begin our meal with a fresh bowl of soup or salad? The order in which we eat food is crucial in maxi-mizing the efficiency of diges-tion, and it seems that the typi-cal American restaurant is not catering to the way our bodies function.

When establishing a menu that promotes optimum digestion,

one of the most important factors is the efficacy of gastric acid within the stomach. Here are a few facts to keep in mind regarding gastric acid: First of all, gastric acid should remain acidic, and anything that neu-tralizes it interferes with the breakdown of food. Secondly, protein stimulates secretion of additional gastric acid, while cellulose slows the breakdown of food. Furthermore, less acid is required to digest car-bohydrates than proteins.

By keeping this information regarding the role of gastric acid in consideration, one can

The Best Order for your Order

Integrative Medicine Interest Group LSUHSC School of Medicine—New Orleans

November 2006

Vol. II, Issue 3

The Best Order for your

Order

1

Foods that Feed

Headaches

2

Food For Thought 3

Food Allergies,

Sensitivities, and

Intolerances

4

Ask Dr. Roca 5

IMIG’s Wellness Day 5

Wellness Tips of the

Month

6

Contributors 6

Fruits or Vegetables 2

Mark Fujita, L1

Wellness Newsletter Inside This Issue:

Upcoming meetings and

events:

FALL 06 meetings (12 pm)

• Thursday, November 30th

Stress and Relaxation

Techniques

• *Tentative*—Thursday,

December 7th

Yoga

SPRING 07 meetings (12 pm)

• Thursday, January 11th

• Thursday, January 25th

• Thursday, February 15th

• Thursday, March 1st

• Thursday, March 15th

• Thursday, March 29th

• Thursday, April 12th

• Thursday, April 26th

Whole Foods Health Fair: Jan.

Cultural Awareness Day:

Wed, Feb. 28th, 11-2pm

Egg Hunt for Health: April

November theme: Food as Medicine

Food and Nutrient Digestion—Overview. http://www.nutristrategy.com/digestion.htm Food Combing. http://www.bodyandfitness.com/Information/Weightloss/combining.htm

develop an efficient digestive regiment.

Here are some tips on how to boost your body’s

digestive power:

• Avoid water before meals especially iced water because it

can anesthetize parietal cells, which produce gastric acid.

• Beverages of any kind can neutralize gastric acid—this in-

cludes soup!

• Eat protein-rich foods on an empty stomach. Protein stimu-

lates the secretion of additional gastric acid.

• Follow proteins with carbohydrates, but do not combine

them.

• Finish with salads, veggies, and soup, as they do not require

much gastric acid and other enzymes are required for their

breakdown.

• Try not to combine fruits and vegetables.

Foods that Feed Headaches

PAGE 2 IMIG Wel lness Newslet ter Vol . I I , I ssue 3

If you experience chronic headaches, your diet might be the cause. By keep-ing a diary of the foods you eat along with the times at which you experience headaches, you might be able to deter-mine which foods most often precipi-tate headaches and eliminate them from your diet. In some cases, you may be sensitive to additives in a particular food item. Rather than eliminating that food, you might try switching to other brands.

Darren Marchal, L2 According to the National Headache Foundation, the

following foods are most likely to trigger headaches:

• Chocolate

• Anything fermented, pickled or marinated

• Sour cream (in excess)

• Nuts, peanut butter

• Sourdough bread, breads and crackers containing cheese or

chocolate

• Broad beans, lima beans, fava beans, snow peas

• Foods containing monosodium glutamate (MSG) - soy sauce,

meat tenderizers, seasoned salt

• Excessive amounts of figs, raisins, papayas, avocados, red

plums, citrus fruits, bananas

• Pizza

• Excessive amounts of tea, coffee or cola beverages

• Sausage, bologna, pepperoni, salami, summer sausage, hot

dogs

• Ripened cheeses - Cheddar, Emmentaler, Stilton, Brie and

Camebert

• Herring - pickled or dried

Fruits or Vegetables—What your preference may say about you Lauren Hebert, L1

The US Food and Drug Administration considers fruits and vegetables vital com-ponents of a healthy diet, but what it does not say is that the proportions of fruits and vegetables we choose is indica-tive of other aspects our lifestyles, namely predilections toward certain foods and methods of preparation.

People who favor fruits tend to prefer sweet foods, and people who veer to-ward vegetables are inclined toward ex-otic or highly spiced dishes. Further-more, the vegetable lover is more of a foodie, tending to attempt unfamiliar recipes and have wine, usually red, with a meal; the fruit lover, however, tends to shy away from preparing complicated meals. The correlations between these

tendencies is not understood completely, but it has been noted that most vegetable dishes entail more complicated prepara-tion, while fruit consumption does not require much preparation at all. Perhaps most interesting is the finding that mem-bers of the veggie camp have dinner guests more often than fruit lovers.

The predilection toward fruits or vegeta-bles does not, in isolation, dictate the health of a person’s diet; although studies suggest a trend between vegetable lovers and cooking healthier dishes. Individuals who have a penchant for fruits can coun-teract inclinations toward less healthy meals by being aware of their eating habits, learning to prepare uncomplicated nutri-tious meals, and by having fruits on hand

Wanksink, Brian and Keong-Mi-Lee. “Cooking Habits Provide Key to Five a Day Success.” Journal of the Ameri-can Dietetic Association. (November) 104:11, 1648-1650. www.foodpsychology.org

National Headache Foundation www.headaches.org

to satisfy the sweet tooth instead of cookies or candies. Therefore, it is not necessary to alter one’s preference for vegetables or fruits to maintain a bal-anced diet, but one should be aware of his or her tendencies and make the most nutritious choices while continu-ing to enjoy the taste sensations he or she prefers.

PAGE 3 IMIG Wel lness Newslet ter Vol . I I , I ssue 3

Food for Thought Rebecca Braud, L1

� Complex Carbohydrates

▪ Importance:

- Maintain steady sugar levels in the brain

- Make serotonin (“happiness hormone”)

▪ Found in:

Whole grain breads,

brown rice, vegetables,

salads, and fruits

▪ AVOID:

- Simple sugars from sweets

and cakes

- Sweetened power drinks

- Soft drinks/Sodas

� Essential Amino Acids

▪ Importance:

- Make Proteins

- Act as or are converted to neurotransmitters

▪ Found in:

Fish, seafood,

lean meats,

eggs & dairy products,

legumes, soy,

whole grains,

nuts, potatoes,

vegetables

� Fats & Essential Fatty Acids:

▪ Importance:

- Used to make myelin, which protects axons and

helps transmit information across nerve cells.

- Omega-3 fatty acids keep myelin sheath supple

▪ Found in:

- Oily fish such as tuna, salmon, sardines

- Flax seed oil

� Vitamins:

▪ Importance:

- Vitamins jumpstart biochemical processes

- Stress consumes nutrients like Vitamin C

- Vitamin E protects fatty acids and nerve cells from

damage

- Vitamin A is important for healthy vision

- B vitamins are important for neurotransmitters

▪ Found in:

- Vitamins A,D,E,K in grains, seeds, leafy vegetables

- Vitamin C in fresh fruits and vegetables

- Vitamin B is in whole grains, lean meat, seafood,

dairy, legumes, walnuts, avocados, bananas

� Minerals and Trace Elements:

▪ Importance:

- Calcium aids in information transport across syn-

apses

- Magnesium calms nerves, reducing irritability, stress

& aggression

- Iron is needed to carry oxygen to the brain

▪ Found in:

- Calcium in dairy, sesame seeds, nuts

- Magnesium in whole grains, milk, vegetables, leg-

umes, nuts, seeds

- Iron in meat, vegetables, legumes, whole grains

� Water: the ideal beverage. It is the medium for

every metabolic reaction and helps information

flow to the brain.

� Moderate Nicotine, Caffeine & Alcohol intake.

� Exercise enhances brain function by facilitating

oxygen transport to the brain.

Szwillus, Marlissa. Smart Food: Culinary Delights for Optimal Gray Cell Performance Author: Silverback Books, Inc. 2001.

Page 4 IMIG Wel lness Newslet ter Vol . I I , I ssue 3

Carrie Spangler, L1

Food Allergies, Sensitivities, and Intolerances

Food Allergies. Most lay people can identify the obvious food allergies, which can often be easily recognized by the rapid onset and dramatic na-ture of the symptoms. The types with which we are most familiar, such as hives and ana-phylaxis, are usually due to an IgE-mediated immune re-sponse. Furthermore, the im-mediate histamine reaction allows diagnosis of food aller-

gies via skin prick tests and RASTs (radioallergosorbent test).

Food can induce other types of reactions known as sensitivities and intolerances, which often go undiagnosed due to their enigmatic nature.

Food Sensitivities. Like food allergies, food sensitivities are immunologic, but they are mediated by other systems,

such as IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies, immune complexes formed by food and food anti-bodies, and cell-mediated re-sponses. Many of these reac-tions are not immediate like those involving the IgE sys-tem, and the connection be-tween the symptom and its cause goes unnoticed.

Food Intolerances.

Food intolerances are reactions to food caused by non-immunologic mechanisms. This broad category includes enzymatic deficiencies, irrita-tion by pharmacologic agents in foods, and food additive reactions. Examples include lactose intolerance and mi-graines brought on by phenethylamine in wine and cheese.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Ferreting out the connections between possible food sensi-tivities and intolerances and their symptoms can be an ar-duous task. Keeping a food journal and noting suspicious symptoms can aid in discover-

ing the food culprit.

Elimination diets are also used for this purpose; this method requires that suspected foods are removed from the diet for three weeks and are then rein-troduced individually to see if symptoms return.

Recently, ELISA tests for the presence of IgG antibodies have been utilized to determine which foods to include in the elimination diet. The presence of IgG antibodies alone, how-ever, does not constitute a diagnosis, as they can be pre-sent in non-symptomatic indi-viduals.

Until more definitive methods of diagnosing food sensitivities and intolerances have been established, individuals can help themselves by being aware of the most commonly sus-pected forms of food sensitiv-ity and intolerance and the foods that are implicated in these adverse reactions.

Conditions associated with food allergies,

insensitivities, and intolerances

• Migraines

• Asthma

• Irritable bowel syndrome

• Rheumatoid arthritis

• Rhinitis gluten enteropathy

• Depression

• Hyperactivity

• Anxiety

• Crohn’s disease

Common Problem Foods

• Yeast (wine, beer, breads)

• Barley

• Wheat

• Milk

• Beef

• Chicken

• Pea

• Soy bean

• Almond

• Brazil nut

• Cashew nut

• Peanut

• Shellfish

• Fish mix

• Egg

• Cheese

The most common food allergies are caused by wheat, nuts, eggs,

milk, fish, shellfish, and soy. Wheat, milk, and soy are also com-

mon causes of food intolerance.

W Atkinson et al. “Food elimination based on IgG antibodies in irritable bowel syndrome: a randomised controlled trial” Gut 2004;53:1459–1464 |Finn R. “Food allergy -fact or fiction: a review.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 1992 Sept: Volume 85:560-564 | Fotherby KJ, Hunter JO “Symptoms of food allergy.” Clin Gastroenterol. 1985 Jul;14(3):615-29.

Page 5 IMIG Wel lness Newslet ter Vol . I I , I ssue 3

Question of Month to Dr. Roca—What are the Top Poison Foods?

The concept of “Poison Foods” is one created by our culture’s overuse of certain energy-dense yet nutritionally depleted foods. Having said this, there are no foods which literally outright poi-son us (though there are some botanicals that can accomplish that task). Of those foods which we consume to excess, the fol-lowing would top my “most dangerous list”:

1. Anything containing trans fat. Also called par-tially hydrogenated vegetable oil, trans fat is a substance which is metabolized by the body inefficiently and is preferentially stored in the artery walls.. It has been used as a oil/fat substitute since the 1960s and is found in most processed foods and almost all fast foods.

2. High glycemic index foods (aka white foods and sweets). Many people eat multiple servings of these foods at every meal. The bread, the gravy, the rice, the potatoes are all high glycemic items. Metabolism converts them readily to glu-cose contributing to excess insulin levels, increased oxidation end products, and increased advanced glycosylation endpro-ducts. Use the low glycemic index whole grain foods.

3. Feed lot meat products. Whether its beef or chicken or whatever else, animals raised on feed lots are given antibiotics to prevent disease and are given steroids to encour-age growth. Both sets of chemicals can affect human metabo-lism.

4. Commercially-grown vegetables. Some pesticides used in agribusiness are xenoestrogens. Be sure to wash off the pes-ticides and waxes prior to eating non-organic vegetables.

5. Soda. Unfortunately for many, soda has replaced water as the hydrating fluid of choice. Sweetened sodas add 150 to 200 calories per can thus adding to our obesity epidemic. Unsweetened sodas which use aspartame are coming under greater scrutiny as a possible trigger/etiology for some auto-immune disorders. Some contain signifi-cant amounts of so-dium. Some contain phosphate as a by prod-uct of the process to create carbonation thus triggering questions about its effect on bone development (a question that will only be answered completely in a decade or two.) And if the above were not reason enough to reduce or eliminate soda consumption, the plastic bottles also contain xenoestrogens.

IMIG’s Third Annual Wellness Day

On November 9th, about ten visiting Complementary and Alternative Medicine practitio-ners from the New Orleans community volunteered their time to share information about

their practices and demonstrate some of their specific healing techniques. The CAM modali-ties presented included massage therapy, acupuncture, flower essence therapy, energy healing, magnetic therapy, reiki, nutrition, yoga, tai chi, and breath work.

The event was open to the entire LSUHSC community, and par-ticipants included students, fac-ulty, and staff from the medical school, graduate school, nursing school, and allied health school.

Wellness Day aims to expose those in the Western and allo-pathic field of health to forms of Eastern, alternative, holistic, and/or natural medicine.

Our supporters included the American Medical Student Asso-ciation Foundation’s EDCAM program, Whole Foods, the Wholistic Wellness Network,

Mamina Turegano, L2

LSUHSC Family Medi-cine Department, and our faculty advisor, Dr. Henri Roca.

The event was a great success, and we hope to continue with this tradition in the future.

Participants enjoyed a healthy lunch

from Whole Foods.

Above: A second-

year med student

receives a free

massage treat-

ment.

Left: A first-year

med student re-

ceives an auricu-

lar acupuncture

treatment from Dr.

Roca.

Thank you… We would like to offer thanks to the American Medical Student Association Foundation’s EDCAM program, Whole Foods Company, the Wholistic Well-ness Network, LSUHSC Family Medi-cine Department, and our faculty advi-sor, Dr. Henri Roca who is Chief of LSU’s Section of Integrative Medicine and a Holistic Area Resource Person of the American Holistic Medical Associa-tion.

Page 6 IMIG Wel lness Newslet ter Vol . I I , I ssue 3

Wellness Tips of the Month

The holidays are here and here are a few tips to get you through the season without adding to your

waist!

1. Moderate exercise is better that no exercise at all. If you only have time for a brisk ,walk for 30 minutes

twice a week. Keep moving!

2. Eat in moderation. Restricting yourself from certain foods during this festive season will only cause you to want them more and lead to a binge. Enjoy foods in

moderation… even desserts.

3. Water, water, water. Drink at least 8 – 8 oz. glasses of

water per day!

4. Prepare yourself for your workout by packing your gym bag the night before. Grab it on your way out of

the door!

5. Just because it is the holiday season does not mean that you have to fill your pantry with snacks. Clean the

pantry out. Try not to tempt yourself!

Editor:

Mamina Turegano, L2 Medicine

Assistant Editor:

Lauren Hebert, L1 Medicine

Contributors/Helpers:

Rebecca Braud, L1 Medicine

Mark Fujita, L1 Medicine

Nijel Baron, LSUHSC Wellness Center Fitness Manager

Darren Marchal, L2 Medicine

Jeff Marino, L2 Medicine

Carrie Spangler, L1 Medicine

Faculty Advisor:

Henri Roca, MD, Chief of Section of Integrative Medicine,

Department of Family Medicine

Donations can be made out to the LSU Founda-tion. Please specify LSU Section of Integrative Medicine on the comment line. Send donations to 2364 Constance Street, New Orleans, LA 70130.

Nijel Baron, LSUHSC Wellness Center Fitness Manager