Are You A Pepper

Why You Should Be:

(via seattletimes.com)

(via seattletimes.com)

Grass seed farmers burned their fields to eliminate unwanted strains of grass from polluting their crops.

The heat cleared the agricultural canvas for a new crop of specific seeds, not what the wind blew in.

Chili peppers do the same thing. Before they developed their internal heat, peppers were just another snack for animals to forage on, for bugs to spread fungus in.

The heat developed over time. A Northwest study with research links in Bolivia shows how it happened.

Insects bored into a chili pepper and left a fungus that grew quickly and killed the fruit’s seeds. The plant was defenseless until it developed the spicy heat we know today. The heat killed the fungus and chilies thrived.

A survey in Bolivia showed peppers in areas with high insect populations were hotter than plants growing where few insects lived. The plants’ heat is determined by the amount of insects they need to protect against.

Do we receive the same benefit by including chili peppers in our diets? [Read more…]

Portland Health Hike

Walking The Eastbank Esplanade

The best part of Portland in the summer is getting outdoors.

Of all the choices, the Eastbank Esplanade river walk stands out.

What is it about walking beside a working river that makes exercise an adventure? The bridges lifting for tall tugs? The exotic boats in Riverplace Marina? Or the city view from the east bank.

Visitors to Portland rave about the ambiance and the beauty. Don’t let them get have all the fun. Summer means it’s time to get a move on.

A recent poll listing the most fit cities in America saw Portland coming in third place behind Minneapolis – St. Paul at the top, followed by Washington D.C. The rest of the cities in order: San Francisco, Denver, Boston, Sacramento, Seattle, Hartford, San Jose, Austin, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, San Diego, Raleigh, N.C., Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Virginia Beach, Va., Cleveland, and Richmond, Va. [Read more…]

The Heart Of The Matter

(image courtesy www.healthymaz.com)

(image courtesy www.healthymaz.com)

One of the joys of a long naturopathic medical practice is seeing my colleagues and friends continue to stretch the boundaries of innovative health care.

Dr. Martin Milner has been doing that since he graduated from NCNM (National College of Naturopathic Medicine) in 1983.

Besides his role as Professor of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Medicine at the college, Dr. Milner is also the CEO and medical director of the Center for Natural Medicine. [Read more…]

Walking The Walk

Another View On The Benefits Of Regular Exercise

walker[1]

Do you walk for half an hour three times a week?

Have you joined a gym for dance aerobics?

You’ve always been a hardcore weightlifter?

Choose any of the above and it’s still a struggle.

If you know people who say they exercised enough in their thirties and forties to tie them over, they need a booster.

If you have someone in your life more dedicated to their lounge chair than a dusty treadmill, do this demonstration: [Read more…]

Sodium Intake Study

Italian Research Finds Little Surprise

fishveggie[1]

New findings uncovered by Professor Pasquale Strazzullo and his team in Naples show overweight/obese study participants use more salt than normal sized people.

If you love Italian food and move to Italy, you might gain weight.

If you love Italian food and move to Manhattan’s Little Italy for the cuisine, you’d have the same problem.

But too much dietary sodium is not just an Italian problem. [Read more…]

Thanks To Hillsdale

The Springfest Health Fair And Hillsdale Farmers Market Made A Good Day Great

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It started with a blank slate, or blank parking lot.

fest1 [Read more…]

Portland Mole Removal

Dr. Elaine Gillaspie, Portland Wellness Centeraesthetic

How many remember when you were pregnant, or your significant others were pregnant?

Didn’t the world seem full of pregnant women?

They were everywhere and you were part of it.

Then you had your baby and you didn’t notice as many pregnant women.

Instead you saw a million kids.

They were always there, and they still are, but when your kids eased through the ranks you saw them all for the first time.

You remember songs and television shows from each period you lived through.

If you open an album from the non-digital days and notice the same thing in shot after shot, maybe it’s time for a change. [Read more…]

Hot Weather Hydration

What Is The Most Important Part Of A Hot Day?

(courtesy flickr.com)

(courtesy flickr.com)

Portland’s own Benson Bubbler.

Be sure and carry a sip of water and drink before you feel thirsty. Read this interesting post on what to carry your sip of water in.

Cheers from the Portland Wellness Center.

Hillsdale’s Front Door

A Sunday Celebration On Cinco de Mayo

Hillsdale Farmers Market Fans

Hillsdale Farmers Market Fans

Nothing welcomes our warm weather better than the rainbow of colors you find in fresh vegetables and local fruit.

On this side of Portland that means opening day for the Hillsdale Farmers Market.
[Read more…]