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Narrative Medicine

IMG_0462I went to my GP, Dr. William Shaul, at Group Health today.  As we sat together discussing my current concerns in the exam room, he, sitting on the black stool in a pink-stripped shirt, was, as I have come to expect, very attentive.  Even though he was trying to get a read on my issues, I couldn’t resist diagnosing him.  You see, he is a heart type in Chinese Medicine, with the classic physical characteristic of a round, bald head and red tinged skin; however, the warmth in his eyes and genuineness in his laughter is what really gives his elemental type away.  Just as I get his type, he gets mine.  I’m the kind of patient who is primarily interested in practicing self-trust when it comes to dealing with my health issues. Respectfully and tactfully, he offers suggestions, tests, and diagnostic scans but doesn’t judge me for not choosing them.  Or when I do, he promptly facilitates their procurement. After he thoroughly and expeditiously handles all the medical business, he usually asks me for the real tell, “So, what books are you reading these days?”  And, that’s when we get down to the business of talking about our real fix: literature.  My husband, Craig, on his medical appointments, also shares his own love of books with Dr. Shaul; they, both voracious readers of the same genre of guy-lit, have a lot to discuss on his infrequent visits too.

When I was my mother’s caregiver, I went to see Dr. Shaul for a routine check up when the weariness and stress was at its highest, most crushing level.  After hearing my story and asking questions, he wrote orders for metabolic and blood panels, but it was his next set of recommendations that set this doctor apart from every other.  He handed me a list of five books on caregiving, most written by caregivers themselves. After reading over the list, I asked, “Is this my prescription?”  He laughed and said compassionately, “Yes.  It might help.”

That prescription of books was narrative medicine at its finest.  I read all the books Dr. Shaul recommended only to find that not one writer really exposed the rigor and risks I experienced as a caregiver.  Understandably, most caregivers either are dead, too exhausted or shut down to their own experience to ever give voice to it. This prompted me to start working on my own manuscript with the goal of shedding light on the interior life of a caregiver.

Dr. Shaul could not have known at the time when he prescribed his book medicine that it would be a springboard into intensive reckoning and reflection, not only about taking responsibility for my mother’s life, but ultimately, my own too.

He belongs in the tradition of healers who treat their patients with a good story.  Now, that’s a remedy I will gladly take.

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Nettle Chip Recipe

IMG_0451In my last post, I shared the benefits of using nettles for morning blended drinks and infusions.  I can attest that these drinks have successfully replaced for my morning coffee.  Because I collected more nettles than I could use in a week, I tried think of more ways to use them besides in soup, and then my brain was stung with a stunning idea: nettle chips.  It took me about 2 seconds from having the idea to getting my bag of nettles, gloving up and removing the stems from the leaves. I washed the leaves with cold water which softened the nettle’s stingers, spun dried them in the salad spinner and then set them out on a towel to air dry.  Afterwards, I made the nettle chips exactly like I make kale chips.  The nettle chips are lighter, almost flaky, a little fuzzy and more delicate than kale chips, but just as tasty and satisfying.  They’re sorta an elevated kale chip.  It definitely elevates my mood to think about how much they would cost if I bought them at Whole Foods.

Nettle Chip Recipe

(amounts vary on quantities used so just use your judgment)

Drizzle and toss enough olive oil to coat leaves. (Use a glove or metal tongs)

Add sea salt and nutritional yeast to taste

If you like spicey chips, add garlic powder and chipotle for seasoning.

Dehydrate at 145 degrees for an hour

Or, put in oven at 200 degrees on parchment paper.  Turn leaves after 20-30 minutes.

While nettle season is in full swing, my dehydrator will be continuously humming with nettles inside.  They will be an excellent snack food and addition to our summer’s backpacking food, given its high amount of protein and minerals.  I learned from www.skipthepie.org that 1 cup of cooked nettles provides 43% of the recommend daily intake (RDI) of calcium, 8% of Iron, 5 % of protein, 35 % of manganese, 36 % of Vitamin A and 555% of Vitamin K.

It takes some mettle to work with nettles but they give high rewards — even more vigor.

 

 

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A Shot of Nettles

In Eastern medicine, spring is the season of the wood element, the liver meridian and liver organ.  The liver meridian is linked to eye health and the smooth flow of energy through our body. Anger, depression and irritability are the emotions associated with the wood element when it is out of balance.

Many of us start spring cleaning in our homes, gardens and craving more lightness and energy in our physical and emotional bodies.

There are many ways to activate Liver Qi like getting acupuncture, increasing exercise, eating more sour and vinegary foods, and eating lots of greens. During early spring when the garden isn’t yet producing greens there are a few common plants like dandelions and stinging nettles that pop out of the soil just in the nick of time to assist us with a Liver activating spring regimen.

Most people are aware of nettle’s intense sting but few appreciate nettle’s nutrient values, making it a fierce physiologic ally.  In fertile soils, the purple hue on the top surface of its green leaves looks almost iridescent, shimmering with potency.  That’s why I consider stinging nettles to be one of the best shots in the arm, a rich injection of vitamins and minerals.

In Chinese medicine, nettles are categorized as a blood builder, cleanser and kidney tonic. Stinging nettles are known to be high in calcium, magnesium,manganese, iron, chlorophyll, vitamin C, and contain more protein (10%)than another other vegetable. As a blood builder, greater vitality, lustrous hair and stronger nails will result. As an antidote to seasonal allergies, it is thought to reduce the amount of histamines the body produces in response to free floating allergens if one drinks an infusion three weeks before pollens are released into the air. As a kidney tonic, it purifies the blood by eliminating toxins and metabolic wastes through its diuretic properties.

In late February and early March when I still feel some sluggishness from wintering and trees are releasing pollens, I start making nettle infusions to build my energy and clear out the accumulations from heavier winter foods. It’s too early to forage for wild nettles so I rely on dried nettles to make the infusions. You can buy organic nettles at your local natural foods market or online at Amazon, Mountain Rose Herbs. I buy a pound at a time. It seems like a lot but if you are consistent in early spring with making and drinking a quart of infusion a day,  you will use it up.

Nettle Infusion

In quart mason  jar or French Press  add nettles and then pour boiling water over it. Stir.

I cup raw leaves or one ounce dried nettles (an ounce is about a cup of dried nettles)

1 quart  boiling water

Let mason jar sit on kitchen counter for at least 4 hours or overnight for maximum infusion.  Strain and drink infusion throughout the day.

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Egg On My Face

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Although my client, Rhama, and I both agree that the secret to clear skin is good nutrition, especially raw fruits and vegetables, we, like women of all ages, are always on the hunt for an anti-aging facial treatment.

Here is a recording of Rhama, who at 94 years old still has lovely, smooth skin. She dishes on how to keep surfaces, her skin and cooper pots, shiny using common household items.

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Rhama’s Home Remedy Secrets

As a proponent of waste not, want not, I have been saving my eggshells (drying in oven and then powdering in blender) for a calcium garden amendment, but it never occurred to me that I could take it a step further, and save a little albumin on the inside of the shell for my face.

This week, I tried Rhama’s beauty secret and can report that while the albumin (egg white) was drying on my face, I felt a tightening, as in toning, sensation.  After I washed it off, my skin felt satiny and was left with a soft sheen.  Is it actually tightening my pores or ridding me of wrinkles? I’m not sure, but I can tell you I like how it feels so I’ll keep doing it.

The best part about putting egg on my face is nobody has to know. In the past when I walked around the house with other facial masks like clay, blended cucumber or sake lees, little dried flakes or wet chunks would plop onto my breakfast plate or onto the floor, triggering my husband to want to know, “What is that crap on your face?”  Now with a clear transparent glaze of egg whites on my face, my secret vanity will not be betrayed by its subtle sheen.