Supplements: Part of the Cure for Modernity

As a raw vegan chef, author and teacher, I’m often asked, “Is it necessary to take supplements if I’m on a balanced, organic raw food diet?” I used to assume not, based on the idea that a raw diet is the food that humans evolved to eat. Well, it turns out I was wrong. No matter how well you eat, I think it is essential to supplement.

Here’s why:

Paleolithic humans foraged from hundreds of species of wild (unhybridized) plants that grew in rich soils that had never been farmed (let alone farmed with pesticides and herbicides). In modern society, the best you can hope to achieve is to eat all or mostly organically grown plants of maybe a few dozen varieties, most of which have been hybridized over generations to maximize appearance, size and calories rather than nutrition, and farmed on the same land over and over. Even with the best organic farming practices, minerals don’t just appear from nowhere…. Soil loses some of its punch with every crop unless some artificial or natural process replenishes the minerals (volcanoes, glaciers, etc.). In short, even the best of modern food isn’t anything like what our pre-agricultural forbears ate, and to get adequate levels of some nutrients, you’d have to eat more food than is humanly possible. Supplements are, quite literally, part of the cure for modernity.

But perhaps the main reason I supplement, in addition to those mentioned above, is that paleolithic humans did not evolve to maximize longevity, such as living into one’s 90s. (Their lives were so perilous that they rarely lived to be 40.) Over the years, many things break down in our bodies and don’t work as efficiently as when we’re young, and it’s accurate to say that this process is “natural”… except that we’ve made it worse with an unavoidable daily attack from environmental toxins. And so here, at least, is one instance where I’m more than happy to deviate from nature’s plan and use some nutritional science and technology to reach my goal of becoming a centenarian. In fact, I’m philosophically closer to being in the camp of Ray Kurzweilian (of “Singularity” and life extension fame). He takes hundreds of pills a day. Actually, I only take between 0-25 pills a day (sometimes more if I’m taking a lot of chlorella tablets), of up to 15 kinds, depending on what’s going on in my life. My husband does as well; a different set of supplements unique to his situation.

There are many things to consider with the art of supplementation, and a good place to start is with your doctor and blood tests. Every year I get the annual run-of-the-mill blood test for basics, and I also get a micronutrient test that my naturopathic doctor orders. We take these results into consideration, along with many other things. I’ll vary what I take based on my goal for longevity, the physical activity of my life, as well as whether I’m pregnant, breast-feeding, trying to conceive (fertility), stressed, ill, looking for more energy, cleansing, detoxing, hormonal and/or traveling (considerations: ease of packing, where I’m traveling and for how long). I also split up my supplements and take them in two or three batches throughout the day. Some are taken with food; some are taken on an empty stomach.

Although my supplement repository changes, there are some staples that I like to include “almost” always. I say “almost” because there are times when I just plain have a supplement-free day. The following is a list of supplements you’ll routinely find on my countertop or in my refrigerator (in addition to some food-source “supplements,” like Brazil nuts for selenium). I also include a list of supplements that I “frequently” have in my life. Remember, the items below are just a partial list of everything I take. Furthermore, I’m constantly researching and experimenting, meaning I’m always trying new things that I’m not ready to recommend yet but I may in the future. Note: If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, be sure to check with your physician or midwife before taking supplements.

I almost always take vitamin B12 (as methylcobalamin), probiotics, multi-vitamin, vegan DHA+EPA, vitamin D (I prefer D2 because it’s vegan and effective). I frequently take: digestive enzymes, chlorella, magnesium, vitamin K2.

 For more by this author, visit kristensraw.com.

MD vs. NMD for Baby

Just before Kamea’s 4-month birthday, we took her for a wellness visit with her naturopathic medical doctor (N.M.D.), whom she had been seeing exclusively for all wellness visits. We’ve been happy with him and look forward to having him be Kamea’s primary doctor. In addition to being a pediatrician, he’s our family doctor, too. Whenever I have questions with my own health, this doctor knows I’m breastfeeding and is familiar with my family, so it makes treating me more convenient and, in my opinion, safer. For instance, he’s more likely to take into consideration my breastfeeding Kamea when he’s treating me with medicine or herbs.

However, Kamea also sees an allopathic doctor (i.e., a “regular” doctor). She had her first visit with him for the 4-month wellness visit, officially establishing her as his patient in the event that we need him in the future.

Why two doctors? First, in the event of an emergency, N.M.D.’s in our area do not have “hospital privileges.” If Kamea needs to go to the hospital, we would not want her physician to be whoever happened to be on duty at the time. It’s better to establish a relationship and client history before any such emergency.

Second, I like the idea of having access to both an N.M.D. and an allopathic medical doctor. I think they both have value, and I like being able to tap into the knowledge and experience of either, or both, depending on the situation. Second opinions can be important. By combining perspectives from both an N.M.D. and allopathic doctor, we increase our options and dampen the effects of either doctor’s inherent biases. And when they both say the exact same thing (which has already happened), it’s reassuring. This allows us to focus our attention on those issues where the two doctors’ perspectives or recommendations are different.

So, you may be wondering, will these two guys “play nice”?

After some research, we were fortunate to find an allopathic M.D. who is open-minded about naturopathic alternatives. I was excited to meet him. I was also curious to compare the two visits (naturopathic vs. allopathic) since they were both for the same reason: the 4-month check-up.

Turns out, the visits were similar. They both weighed her, measured her, checked her ears, heart beat, lungs, etc. The N.M.D. checked her eyes; the allopath did not. They both asked developmental questions, but the N.M.D. asked more. They both briefly discussed the topic of Kamea eating solids in the future (more detail was given from the N.M.D.). Aside from these, the main difference was the amount of total time Kamea spent with each doctor. The N.M.D. has a small practice with no assistant and did everything himself, whereas a nurse took Kamea’s measurement at the M.D.’s office. While I don’t fault this, I liked that our N.M.D. saw Kamea longer. Much of practicing good preventative medicine is observation. More time means more observation, perhaps noticing something minor that would’ve otherwise escaped a hurried doctor’s attention.

Our N.M.D. gave us Kamea’s percentile stats. We didn’t get those at the allopathic doctor’s office, but I’m sure he would have if asked. On subtle points like this — again, all requiring more time for the visit — I give props to the N.M.D. As a new parent, you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s helpful when the professional offers additional information without my needing to ask.

There were other differences
For starters, our N.M.D.’s office is physically very different than the allopathic doctor’s office. The N.M.D. has a one-room office in a non-medical office building… it’s a little odd, but not a big deal. The waiting room is the actual lobby that the whole building would use, whether you’re there to see the doctor, the financial advisor, or the real estate developer. No kid waiting area with tiny kid-sized chairs or giraffes painted on the wall. This arrangement presumably is not an N.M.D. thing; it likely has more to do with our N.M.D. being relatively newly established and independent, as opposed to part of a practice that can share an office and administrative resources.

Going to a one-room doctor’s office was weird at first, but I’m used to it now. And, quite honestly, I kind of prefer it. Maybe it’s cognitive dissonance, but I’ve come to equate it with an old-fashioned country doctor, the kind who used to make house calls and accept jars of strawberry preserves as payment.

OK, Laura Ingalls Wilder stuff aside, there’s a real benefit to this: no germy kids. Our N.M.D. has no “well kids” or “sick kids” waiting areas because he has … no kids’ waiting area, period. You might think this is a negative, except that we’ve never seen another patient there in all our visits. He has scheduled his patients spaced out with no crossovers, which brings me to my next point … there is virtually no wait for the N.M.D. The allopathic doctor on the other hand … we waited in the waiting area for a good 15 minutes, and then, once the assistant/nurse took Kamea’s weight and measurements, there was another wait of about a half hour. Not fun with an infant in a small examination room, two adults, a stroller, car seat, etc.

Overall, I appreciated the visit with the allopathic doctor. He answered our questions and didn’t give us shit about being vegan. He was non-pressuring, open to unconventional ideas, and — most importantly — a great doctor.

Fast-forward to Kamea’s 6-month well-visit where we, again, visited both doctors. Much of the same … the naturopath was more thorough and unconcerned about my decision to continue exclusively breastfeeding.

At that point, we decided that we’d continue wellness visits with Kamea’s naturopath only. We met our goal in establishing Kamea as a patient with the allopathic doctor so if we need him in a pinch, or want a second opinion, we have access. Otherwise, we prefer our naturopath. Both doctors know we’re seeing both doctors, and they are fine with that. They offer different treatments and perspectives, and it’s nice to have the choice. I’m learning a lot that way, too.

For more information on how to optimize your health, visit KristensRaw.com and GreenMommyBlog.com.

Photo credit: David Mason

7 Eco-Friendly Tips for Raising Your Baby

When we decided to have a baby, we knew we wanted to keep the experience as eco-friendly as possible. What we found out is that raising an eco-friendly baby can be really fun and easy on both the earth and your wallet. Here are some tips to get youstarted.

1. Breastfeeding: More Than a Trifecta – Not only is breastfeeding the best way to start off your baby nutritionally, but it’s also better for the environment, your wallet and your waistline. How awesome is that? Imagine all of the cans of formula and bottles you won’t have to buy and how that helps the earth and your cash, while being confident that you’re giving your baby the absolute best. Plus, you’ll burn an extra 400 to 600 calories a day, making breastfeeding one of the best ways to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight. (As our daughter transitions to solid foods, our next step is feeding her organically grown food.)

2. Organic Cloth Diapers and Cloth Wipes Are So Stinkin’ Cute (no pun intended!) – These offer another way to help save our earth by keeping a bunch of disposable diapers and wipes out of the landfills. There’s a feeling of pride that comes over me every time I snap on one of Kamea’s cloth diapers or use an organic cotton cloth wipe. Cloth diapering takes a few times to get the hang of, but you’ll be glad you did, and you’ll save money on diapers in the long run.

3. Co-Sleeping: Keeping Mama and Earth Rested – When you co-sleep you don’t have to spend money or waste the earth’sresources with a crib, sheets, mattress … heck, we don’t even have a nursery! And can I just say? It’s been the best way for this mama to get in lots ofsleep.

4. Hand-Me-Downs Are Hot – Here is an area that has really had an impact on the earth and our wallet. Thankfully we were one of the last couples in our circle of friends who started having kids,because we reaped some great steals. What a blessing to not have to buy everything brand new. Hand-me-downs are the ultimate “reuse.”

5. Eco-Friendly Toys Rock – First, reduce the overall number of toys you buy. (I know, it’s hard, because they’re so damn cute!) Instead, rotate in safe common household objects. Baby won’t care either way, and you’ll be amazed at how much fun a baby can have with something as simple as measuring cups or the cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper.

For toys you buy (and encourage as gifts from others), keep your baby and the earth happy with eco-friendly toys that are made from sustainable, BPA-free and organic materials. Old-fashioned wooden toys are especially darling, and babies like them just as much as plastic. With eco-friendly toys, you can rest easy knowing that your baby isn’t exploring toxic substances with his or her little hands and mouth.

And we all know that reading to our babies is of uber importance! Books are aterrific way of keepin’ it green, both for the planet and inside your wallet. Two words: public library!

6. Organic Clothes Rule – Organic clothes are a great and gentle option for your eco-friendly baby. There was a time when they were all expensive and hard to come by, but not anymore. You can now find cute, reasonably priced, organic baby items at places like Wal-Mart and Target, as well as scoring deals from websites like GreenBabyBargains.com and EcoBabyBuys.com.

7. Air Dry Laundry Whenever Possible – This is easier to do in dry climates, but you’ll score a double whammy in the summer. Not only will you reduce your electricity bill by not running the dryer as much, but you’ll also avoid having the dryer heat up your house during warmer months. When you do run the dryer, run it at night when rates are lower and the outside temperature is cooler. Air dry your cloth diapers for the ultimate in green.

These seven ways to raise an eco-friendly baby are easy to do. Whether you do one or all of them, you’re setting a great example!

Photo credit: stetted

Six Ways to Ease Your Postpartum Frazzle

Postpartum self-care is an important topic that doesn’t get enough attention. When I was pregnant, nobody really talked about it other than saying, “Make sure you have food in the freezer because you’ll be too tired to cook.” But you know what? There’s more to it.

As my midwife said with a chuckle, “Try getting a one-month postpartum mom to feel sorry for a woman in labor … not gonna happen.” I now understand the sentiment. No doubt there are plenty of women who have wonderful postpartum experiences. In general, however, it can be rough. It’s important to make sure you take care of yourself. Not just for you, but for your baby. Remember, happy mommy equals happy baby (at least for the most part – haha).

Postpartum emotions sweep from one end of the spectrum to the other. Naturally this special time is primarily filled with joy. But it can also be a time of anxiety and stress, particularly for first-time moms. My hormone-soaked emotions took a roller coaster ride shortly after my baby’s birth. Most of the time I was up high as a kite, happy as can be (heck, I had a baby – I was so happy!). But there were also times I was stressed, worrying about all kinds of what-ifs and decisions that would affect my baby. Anxious thoughts crept in from all sides: Why hasn’t her cord stump fallen off yet? Is she eating enough? Why is my boob lumpy? Is she sleeping enough? I hope she doesn’t get sick. Is she getting enough indirect sunlight for her jaundice? For that matter, what the hell is “indirect sunlight” – shade?

And a whole slew of other things.

But perhaps the hardest part was the lack of sleep. I’m breastfeeding on demand, which means living on a 24-hour clock, being sleep-deprived and constantly exhausted (especially the early months – my baby fed every one-two hours it seemed). Extreme fatigue makes everything worse. Normal, trivial problems can become almost unmanageable. Fatigue makes hormone swings feel more intense and shortens your fuse, meaning it takes less to set you off and the bang is louder. But as all new moms do, I made it through, and I’m on the other side. Things are definitely nicer now, allowing me to enjoy motherhood and its magical moments that come every day.

Postpartum Self-Care Tips

So what’s the best way to care for yourself? Here are a few things that helped me.

1. Eat well. Nutrition is important. I didn’t always have time to make food, and my husband was best used for making fruit and veggie runs to the store. The solution: giant smoothies packed with tons of goodies made for super easy and healthy meals. I loaded them with organic fruits, greens, probiotics, nuts or seeds, coconut oil, superfoods, chia or flax seeds, etc. It’s important to keep calories up because you’re burning extra by breastfeeding. I could easily chug down 600 calories in one of my smoothies. It was delicious raw vegan goodness. I also kept fresh fruit, trail mix and other organic snacks on hand at all times.

I also enjoyed Joyful Mother Tea, a blend of teas that support a happy mama and her changing hormones. Better yet, drink a nice cup of tea while you take a bath. Even if it’s only 30 minutes to pamper yourself and relax, do it. The 30 minutes you take for yourself recharges you the remaining 23.5 hours that you need to care for baby.

2. Make a list. Create a list of “must haves” and make sure you have them. These are things that make your life easier. For me it was having a breastfeeding stool to prop my feet on, plenty of organic cloth prefolds lying around ready to wipe baby spit-up, water to drink at various places I nurse, my Kindle with books to read while nursing, a baby rocker/swing chair that can move from room to room where I can place baby while I’m eating, making a smoothie or going to the bathroom. I also had a friend I could go to for support and questions. As a first-time mama, I had tons of questions. Having access to a friend that I could text or e-mail anytime was a life saver. Figure out your must haves and make sure you have them.

3. Relaxing music. Lullabies are a wonderful way to self-care a postpartum mama. I know lullabies are traditionally for the baby, but as a mom, I can’t tell you how nice and relaxing it was to have them playing.

4. Ask for help. Self-care is about taking care of yourself, whether you do it or someone else helps. So please ask for help! Ask for anything and everything. Don’t be afraid to call on your partner, family and friends so that you can focus on baby. Put family and friends to work! Trust me, they want to help.

5. Cry. As much as you want or need. Just let it out. The hormones will probably make you want to wail at least once. Do it. It’s cathartic. Having a baby is life changing. Some of us need to cry at least once during that transition. It’s OK!

6. Baby steps. Your new baby isn’t the only one learning a bunch of new things – you are too. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Overloading yourself is a recipe for frustration. Learn things one at a time. I concentrated on breastfeeding for several weeks until I had it down just right. Then I worked on babywearing until I was completely comfortable with it. Then I started playing around with cloth diapers. But to learn all of those things at once would have been too much for me, especially as a first-time mom.

By focusing on yourself with just a few of these items, you’ll be in a much better frame of mind. You and your baby will appreciate the difference!

When Your Home Birth Doesn’t Go As Planned

Everyone who follows my blog knows I planned a home birth. “Plan” is the operative word. Even though a home birth was my first choice, my birth plan included backup plans in the event I transferred to the hospital (separate plans for hospital vaginal and C-section deliveries). I imagined the major scenarios, so I wouldn’t be forced to make difficult decisions under the duress of labor or in an emergency.

On Thursday night, I started dripping water, no gush like you see in the movies. An hour later, I started to feel light contractions. I continued to labor. It wasn’t bad either. Kind of fun. We had the lights off except for the orange glow of the salt lamp. I had soft ambient music playing. In addition to my husband, I had a crew of women there: mom, mom-in-law, three midwives and two doulas.

In hindsight, I’m not sure it was best to have so many people attending my birth. I wonder if having so many eyes on me was unnerving and delayed my labor. I was excited for everyone to arrive, but I noticed that my labor slowed down once it wasn’t just me, Greg and my mom. I’ve read this can happen in the hospital because of bright lights, rotation of doctors/nurses, etc., but I didn’t expect it with my birth team, in my own home.

Before I knew it, many hours passed. But during that time I was cruising right along, doing hypnobirthing, handling the contractions. Then something changed. The labor became agonizingly, torturously painful. Friday morning turned into afternoon, and I was experiencing hour after hour of excruciating pain that was becoming impossible to handle. The hypnobirthing techniques?  Not a chance. I tried a bathtub of warm water … didn’t help. I tried different positions … didn’t help. I began to fear something was going terribly wrong. It was then that I started contemplating going to the hospital.

As my intuition continued to scream at me that I needed to go to the hospital, I hate to say this: I was afraid to tell my birth team. Afraid of looking like a wimp, of letting them down, or of making them think they had let me down. Finally, I got the courage to say it. (With the benefit of hindsight, I realize I should’ve never felt ashamed for wanting to go the hospital, but my home birth had meant so much to me, and such a radical change takes time to process.)

My instincts told me something wasn’t right. My birth crew tried to talk me out of transferring, told me that everything I was feeling was normal. My husband looked worried though; he knew how badly I wanted a home birth and that something was probably not right. At this point, my midwife checked my dilation and found that I was only four centimeters! In that instant I knew that I had to go to the hospital. Knowing that I might not even be halfway there, with many more hours of hell to go was all it took for us to switch to Plan B. My midwife seemed surprised by my lack of progress and supported my choice to go, but technically, this wasn’t an emergency transfer. Instead of transferring to the nearby hospital 15 minutes away, we opted to transfer to a hospital 45 minutes away, but much friendlier toward home birth transfers. Most of all, it had lower C-section rates.

At the hospital it was another agonizing hour until I received pain relief, which by then was an incredibly easy decision. At that moment, my concern was for getting my baby born and being helped to do it. Two days before, I would’ve never dreamed I’d accept drugs for pain, but when new information presented itself, I knew I had to be flexible. My overriding concern at that point was to have a vaginal birth, not a C-section. That would require all of my strength. After being relocated from triage to my comfortable delivery room and receiving pain medication, everything was better. I was able to relax a bit, to be myself again. I was able to focus on my baby.

In spite of my previous concerns about hospital births, this experience largely proved me wrong, and tells me that not all hospitals are the same … in fact, far from it! At the hospital, I started to relax, get rest, and I was able to eat. Yes, eat. The hospital did allow that. In fact, my doctor brought me food! My labor was still long once I was at the hospital (about 12 hours more), but it was more manageable. When the time came for pushing, the epidural had mostly worn off, and it was hard work, but without pain. When Kamea came out … that part wasn’t painful at all. It was super cool.

For the past year, I’ve been hard on hospitals for birth. I’ve learned that not every hospital deserves that. The hospital we chose was amazing. They explained the different options I had through every step. They encouraged breastfeeding. They answered my questions. They were patient. They accepted my birth team and collaborated with my midwife, who was my staunch advocate. They respected my birth plan. They didn’t pressure me with anything (except for one formula-pushing nurse). The attending doctor even said something in front of his staff that amazed me: “We doctors could learn a few things from midwives.”

What I’ve walked away with is this: I had the chance to experience part of a home birth, as well as a hospital birth. The birth team believes that Kamea was presenting with her elbow in the up position, explaining the slow progress and extreme pain. I suspect if Kamea didn’t have an elbow up, my labor would’ve progressed faster and might not have been as painful. But she did. And as her mom, I made decisions that I didn’t expect to make, but I was happy to make them. They felt right in my gut. And the other thing I learned: Don’t be afraid of the hospital if that’s the route you need to go, yet you had planned a home birth. Choose a hospital that is midwife-friendly, if possible. Otherwise be sure to have your birth team there to advocate on your behalf.

I wonder if the labor was protracted because she just wasn’t ready to come out. Three days prior to my water breaking, I took measures to “support labor starting.” I underwent two aggressive acupuncture treatments. I now wish I hadn’t done that. I wish I had let Kamea come on her own time. I did it because she was almost two weeks past due, after which my midwife technically wasn’t allowed to do the delivery. Because I wanted a home birth, I was willing to speed things. I wonder if this contributed to my long labor.

In the end, I have a happy, healthy baby (that’s what matters), and I love her so much!