Treating Cold and Flu Symptoms

“My temperature is 101! Where is my ibuprofen?”

Is this your first reaction to a fever? It might not be the best action to take.

Why Taking Medicine to Reduce a Fever Might Not Be the Best Approach

A fever is the body’s natural reaction to fight off an infection, like a cold or the flu. A fever is a symptom of an illness, but not an illness itself.

Many illness-causing germs thrive at or below the body's normal temperature. Two purposes of a fever are:

• A fever increases the body’s temperature beyond the limit that invading microbes need to reproduce.
• A fever kicks your immune system into high gear, increasing the number of white blood cells which help fight the actual illness.

For most adults, 102-103 degrees is the ideal temperature for the body to kill off these microbes. (source)  Research shows that letting a fever run its course may reduce the length and severity of illnesses such as colds and flu.

Furthermore, conventional methods of reducing a fever can do more harm than good. Tylenol (acetaminophen), Advil and Motrin (ibuprofin)  all have side effects (read a long list on the package) that includes liver damage in adults and children, especially when taken frequently. Medications are foreign substances, which the body has to metabolize and filter. This requires energy that the body could be using to fight the actual illness that led to the fever in the first place.

What About Other Cold and Flu Symptoms?

There are many ways that our bodies fight off illness caused by viruses and bacteria. Coughing, sneezing, nasal mucous, vomiting, and diarrhea are ways that your body gets rid of pathogens. Taking medications to suppress these symptoms can slow down our bodies natural processes healing itself.

Read more ...

Weekly Wellness Challenge #20 - Practice Gratitude

Did you know that research correlates giving thanks and improved happiness?

Keep reading to learn from two studies that make this connection.

Count Your Blessings vs. Burdens

The first study took three groups of people. One of the groups was told to write down things that they were thankful for in a journal, the second group was told to write down things that irritated them, and the third was to just make notes on events from the day with no emphasis on positive or negative spin. At the end of ten weeks, each group was followed up with. The group that wrote about gratitude was more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Another interesting finding was that the group that wrote what they were thankful for also had less visits to physicians and exercised more than the other groups. Wow! Who would think that something as simple as writing what you are thankful would correlate with less doctor visits.

Deliver Letters of Gratitude

The second study evaluated the effects of various positive psychology interventions. Each intervention was compared with a control group that was assigned to write down early memories. The intervention had the most impact when participants were instructed to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for their kindness. After delivering letters of gratitude, participants immediately showed a huge increase in happiness scores, and benefits to this group lasted a month!

Read more ...

Lending Library Is Open!

I am excited about changes coming to the office space at DuPage Family Wellness. In the next 6 months, we will be painting, decorating, and building a consultation room. In the mean time, I've started with step 1: The lending library.

The Lending Library is Open Now!

There will be 3 types of information for you to use:

• Books: I have my entire collection of books available to you in a lending library! These range from cookbooks, to books about movement, to books about breastfeeding and more! If you want to read them, I am happy to loan them to you! Need a recommendation for your situation? I am happy to provide that as well! Please borrow the books while you are using them, but if you find them sitting around on your coffee table, bring them back so someone else can learn!
• Magazines: I have subscribed to some new magazines including Pathways to Family Wellness and Paleo Magazine.
• Binders: I am creating binders of reading material for patients. One will share important research articles, another will contain blog posts that I’ve written,  and  a third will be success stories and testimonials from patients! That being said,  if you had a great experience at the office that you’d like to share, please send it my way and I’ll add it to the binder! If you are receiving this in your email,  just respond to the email. If you are reading on the website, send an email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

If you arrive early for your appointment- or just want to swing by and hang out, these resources provide valuable information for your journey to health! New information and research about health improvement comes out all the time. I try to keep learning and make sense of all this information for myself, my family, and my patients. We are all constantly striving to become healthier.

My passion is teaching others to improve their health, get relief from chronic health conditions, and feel great!

If you are interested in improving your health, please use the resources that I am extending to you, and tell a friend who is looking to improve their health as well! 

Dr. Jamie Thomure

Make Nuts More Delicious and Easier to Digest!

It is easy to  make store bought nuts even tastier, and at the same time,  easier to digest.

Nuts are nutrient dense, and provide a good balance of fat and protein, along with omega 3 fatty acids! They can be a great food for most people.

What Problem Occurs with Eating Raw Nuts? 

One of the downsides to nuts is that they contain enzyme inhibitors like phytic acid. In nature, phytic acid prevents the seed from sprouting prematurely, safeguarding the nut until proper growing conditions occur. Unfortunately for humans, phytic acid can be considered an "anti-nutrient" because it binds to minerals (e.g. calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, and copper) making them unavailable for the body, and inhibits enzymes that aid in digestion. 

Although nuts are considered a nutrient dense, "healthy" food, the body will not benefit as much from nuts if the nutrients are not digested and absorbed. In addition, whole grains and seeds also have high levels of phytic acid, so eating them with nuts makes the problem worse. Read more about phytic acid. in nuts, grains, and seeds.

How Do You Solve This Problem?

It's easy! Soak and dry the nuts.

Our ancestors soaked nuts, seeds, and grains to start the process of breaking them down and making them easier to digest!

How Do The Nuts Taste?

I did a side by side taste test of soaked and dried nuts vs. nuts straight out of the bag. There is a definite difference. Nuts out of the package have a slightly bitter taste that is absent with the soaked and dried nuts!

Recipe to Soak and Dry Nuts

Ingredients:

• Nuts - any kind you like. For example: almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, macadamia nuts, or brazil nuts. Note: Peanuts are not a nut, they are a legume, and have their own issues that are outside the scope of this recipe.
• Filtered water
• 1 TBSP sea salt

Directions:

1. Place nuts in a large glass bowl or mason jar

2. Cover completely with filtered water

3. Add sea salt and stir

4. Cover and let sit overnight or up to 24 hours

5. Drain and rinse nuts and lay them out on trays of dehydrator

6. Dry at a low temperature (about 105-150 degrees) for about 24 hours. If you don’t have a dehydrator,  bake them in the oven at the lowest temperature of your oven for 12-24 hours.

7. Enjoy! Store your dried nuts in the refrigerator or freezer for best quality.

Soaking and drying nuts is not difficult, but it does take some time. I urge you to give it a try, and observe the difference. Let me know what you find on facebook!

Dr. Jamie Thomure