Greetings and Happy Spring!

Beyond the arrival of soft breezes, warm rains and fragrant flowers, April brings about the amazing prospect of self-renewal. It's the perfect time of year to refresh and refocus on what it means to be alive. For many, that includes a greater emphasis on eating healthy, staying active, and ensuring that our mind and spirit remain in optimum condition. By practicing renewal, we are given the gift of improving our overall health in the process.

As we reset, we may want to distance ourselves from technology and stress and be present with the budding nature all around us. Being overly connected, technologically, can cause psychological issues such as distraction, expectation of instant gratification, and even depression. Beside affecting users’ mental health, overuse of technology can also have negative repercussions on physical health causing vision problems, hearing loss, and neck strain. Stepping away from the socials and taking time to connect with nature will refresh our minds, improve our mental and spiritual health and lead to a healthier body.

We invite you to refresh your commitment to integrative medicine by joining the Osher Center for Integrative Health as a patient, colleague, or supporter. To learn more please visit our website. We look forward to supporting your health. 

To Your Well Being,

Melinda Ring, MD

Executive Director

www.drmelindaring.com

Who's Who at Osher

Dr. David Victorson

Why Sleep is Essential for Disease Prevention

Sleep and the body’s functioning are closely aligned. Research suggests that even a small loss of sleep can impair the immune system.

One study found that when participants restricted their sleep to four hours for just one night, their natural killer cell (NKC) activity dropped by 70 percent. A significant drop in NKC, immune cells that fight off tumors and virus-infected cells, can have a profound impact on the body’s response to threats big and small. In addition to putting patients at risk for cancer, poor sleep is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity.

Tip: A minimum of 7 hours of sleep is necessary in order to fight disease, stave off anxiety and increase overall health and wellness. Here are some helpful tips to get better rest: Keep the bedroom cool; Avoid alcohol; Avoid caffeine and nicotine; Reduce napping; Use weighted blankets; Remove electronic devices and use blue-light blockers in the evening.

Purple Vegetables and Tubers May Reduce the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

A new study from the American Chemistry Society shows that anthocyanins (red, purple and blue pigments found in fruits, vegetables, and tubers) in plants have properties that reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by affecting energy metabolism, gut microbiota, and inflammation.

Acylated anthocyanins, found in purple potatoes, purple sweet potatoes, radishes, purple carrots and red cabbages have probiotic properties that reduce the risk of diabetes.They possess more effective antioxidants than the non-acylated anthocyanins, and can also improve the intestinal barrier that enables the absorption of necessary nutrients. 

Tip: Eating a variety of colorful foods every day is best, but do include purple ones! Here’s what to look for and what to add to your menu: Purple cabbage; Purple (red) onions; Purple carrots; Purple cauliflower; Purple kale; Purple potatoes; Purple asparagus; Eggplant.

Read: Do melatonin, CBD, magnesium, valerian, and other sleep supplements actually work? Selena Chan, DO, a psychiatrist and interim director of clinical programs at the UCFS Osher Center for Integrative Health weighs in on these popular sleep supplements.

Read about it, here.

Listen: Dr. Melinda Ring is featured on the Northwestern podcast speaking about the science behind culinary medicine and how our Cooking Up Health course can improve the health of patients and train more nutrition-aware physicians.  

Tune in, here.

Rethink: Dr. Inger Burnett-Zeigler helps us rethink the phrase "Black Excellence" in this insightful article about the extreme pressure of exceptionalism that this phrase implies. Instead of looking outward, writer Amber Shephard suggests that we should choose to look inward.

Get inspired, here.