Foothills PT News FoothillsPTMaine.com • 207-625-4300
FROM THE DESK OF Tom Thoman
STAY BALANCED Have you or has someone you know had a fall in the past year? Do you feel off balance? Have you developed a fear of falling? Many people believe that falls just happen. While it is true that people are more likely to fall as they age, there are many reasons for falling. You do not need to accept that you are just more likely to fall because you’re getting older. The consequences of falling can be serious, from broken hips to concussions to other trauma. The good news is that the causes of falling can be addressed with proper treatment. Physical therapy is the best choice for addressing balance problems. Come join us for a FREEWORKSHOP at Foothills Physical Therapy. Our physical therapists will discuss common causes of falling and the various treatment options.
A GUIDE TO EATING SEASONALLY W hat to B uy and C ook T hroughout the Y ear
This time of year, many people resolve to eat healthier. It’s a noble goal, but it can’t be accomplished through wishful thinking alone. There are infinite fad diets and eating challenges you can try in order to improve your diet, but more often than not, these methods produce fleeting results. It’s much more logical to transform your diet through simple, actionable steps rather than attempting a complete overhaul based on obscure methodology or marketing gimmicks. Fortunately, one of the biggest steps you can take to improve your diet is also a simple one: Increase the amount of local and seasonal produce in your pantry and on your plate. Fruits and vegetables are the cornerstones of nutritious eating habits, and sourcing from local purveyors guarantees you’ll get your produce at the height of freshness. In addition to the health and taste benefits of eating fresh produce that hasn’t traveled thousands of miles to your store, seasonality and locality affect the sustainability and price of your food. “If people are prepared to eat locally and seasonally,” says philosopher and food theorist Peter Singer, “then they probably do pretty well in terms of environmental impact.” On the economic side of things, the shorter the distance between farm and store, the lower the price, which is why you can always find great deals at your local farmers market. To help make 2019 a year of seasonal eating, you’ll need to know what’s at peak ripeness each season. Of course, some of what’s available in your area will vary based on the climate where you live, but the vast majority of this guide will be applicable to the 48 contiguous states.
Following this workshop, you will be invited to schedule a free screening with our therapists.
We will suggest how we can help you to STAY BALANCED!
Please call 207-625-4300 and sign up soon. Space is limited to 25 people.
Location: Foothills Physical Therapy, 16 Old Pike Rd, Cornish Date: Jan. 16, 2019 Time: 6:00 p.m.
- TOM THOMAN
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WINTER
the pickiest of eaters can get behind. The downside with spring produce is that the season tends to be relatively short, so you’ll have to enjoy these treasures while you can.
begin appearing more frequently, as well as unique varieties of carrots and apples. Fall is also the best time of year for foraged mushrooms like oysters and chanterelles. As with the weather, autumnal foods are the bridge between the brightness of summer and the depths of winter. SeasonalFoodGuide.org is a great to tool to find up-to-the-minute lists of what’s in season in your state, from traditional favorites to obscure vegetables you’ve probably never heard of. When it comes to seasonal cookbooks, you can do no better than Joshua McFadden’s “Six Seasons,” which divides the calendar beyond our traditional four quarters for maximum specificity. Here’s to a year of enjoying seasonal, local produce. It will expand your horizons and improve your health — a win-win by any measure. TOOLS FOR EATING SEASONALLY
While you may not expect it, the coldest portion of the year produces a bounty of vegetables that are earthy and subtly sweet. At the top of this list is cabbage, which comes in many varieties and is at its peak during winter. Root vegetables like parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, and kohlrabi are also in abundance. On the fruitier side of things, winter in the warmer parts of the country yields delicious citrus harvests. At no other time of the year will you find such an awesome variety of oranges, lemons, limes, and more. Be on the lookout for exotic varieties like blood oranges and pomelos. Unsurprisingly, spring is when bright green vegetables start to emerge en masse. From asparagus and artichokes to snap peas and fava beans, you’ll find no shortage of delicious veggies to signal the blossoming of a new season. Spring is also the best time to eat strawberries, which is something even SPRING
SUMMER
Variety is at an all-time high during the summer months, but a few categories of produce deserve particular attention. Nightshades, including tomatoes, peppers, chilis, and eggplant, shine during this time of year. In fact, eating a tomato in December is a pale imitation of what you’ll get in July, making it one of the best examples of the stark difference between eating seasonally and grabbing whatever is languishing on the shelves at the grocery store. The same goes for corn and stone fruit like peaches, which are barbecue staples for a reason.
FALL
Think of the Thanksgiving color palette, and you’ll have a good idea of what’s in season. Hearty greens like kale and Swiss chard will
Sgt. Fieldy Comes Home Reuniting Brothers in Arms
There are around 2,500 military working dogs currently in service, and their efforts help save the lives of countless soldiers and civilians every day. One of these brave military dogs is Sgt. Fieldy, an 11-year-old black lab who was trained to locate the No. 1 threat in Afghanistan: IEDs. Sgt. Fieldy was deployed to Afghanistan with his handler, Cpl. Nicolas Caceres, in 2011. Early in their deployment, their vehicle struck a pressure plate while they were on patrol. Fieldy and Caceres were all right, but one of the other Marines in their company was badly injured in the explosion. The injured Marine could not be evacuated by helicopter until the landing zone was secured. Fieldy found another IED in the area and alerted
Caceres. The bomb was quickly disarmed, and the injured soldier was taken to safety.
Courage Award, and in 2018, he won the American Humane Hero Dog Award for his service. “These dogs are out there with us,” said Caceres when he and Fieldy accepted the Hero Dog Award. “The dangers we face, they face them too. They deserve to be recognized. We ask so much of them, and all they want is to get petted or play with a toy. They’re amazing animals, and Fieldy is just an amazing dog. I can’t begin to express the gratitude I have for him.” If you are interested in supporting our nation’s working dogs or would like to adopt a retired working dog yourself, you can learn more at Missionk9rescue.org.
This wasn’t the only IED Fieldy found. His sharp nose and dedication helped save thousands of lives. After his deployment, Caceres returned home, but Sgt. Fieldy served several more tours without him. While Fieldy continued to protect soldiers and civilians by tracking down IEDs, Caceres worked tirelessly to make sure he could bring Fieldy home when his service was over. Military working dogs can be adopted by former handlers, law enforcement, or qualified civilians when they retire. After three years apart and a total of four tours served, Sgt. Fieldy was reunited with Caceres. In 2016, Fieldy received the K9 Medal of
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Not Hitting Any PRs Lately? Time to Exercise Your Mental Fitness
Sports psychology has helped athletes, like Michael Jordan, and golf pros, like Greg Norman, become legends. “What separates the good from the great is between the ears, the way they talk to themselves, their inside communication,” says Dr. Sylvain Guimond, a sports psychologist. World- class athletes stay mentally tough and visualize their victories to propel them past competitors. This same strategy can help you take your training to the next level. Outside of the professional sphere, mental exercises based on sports psychology can help you hit new PRs by changing the way you think about your performance. Psychologists have found that believing you can succeed —whether it’s scoring a goal or stealing a base — is key to actually succeeding. One of the newer techniques to enter the sports psychology scene, neuro- linguistic programming (NLP), aims to instill this belief in athletes. While the subjective nature of NLP makes its effectiveness hard to verify, NLP reportedly increases confidence in athletes, as Rhonda Cohen notes in “Sport Psychology: The Basics: Optimising Human Performance.” It focuses on building confidence through visualization and speech patterns to help athletes tune into a winning mindset. While the name might sound complex, NLP is anything but — it can be as simple as choosing a song that you associate with confidence and playing it on repeat for 10 minutes as you visualize yourself getting a PR for squats. Before your next workout, play the song as an audio cue to go into that confident state of mind.
Mindfulness exercises can also be extremely effective at improving athletic performance. These exercises, like yoga and meditation, build a strong foundation for mental fitness. By learning how to ease your thoughts and calm your mind, you’ll be better prepared to call on techniques like positive thinking and mantras during your workouts so you can, as one NLP expert says, “consciously enter a state of peak performance.” Even as you’re incorporating sports psychology techniques into your routine, remember that they’re only going to be effective if you put in the work when you’re training. As Cohen says, “It is one thing to think about or want to change; it is another thing to go ahead and actually do it.”
Take a Break!
CITRUS AND AVOCADO SALAD
Ingredients
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1 blood, cara cara, or navel orange, sliced 1/8-inch thick and deseeded 1 Meyer or regular lemon, sliced 1/8-inch thick and deseeded
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1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
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2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
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1 bunch arugula
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1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
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4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
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1 avocado, cut into wedges
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Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Heat oven to 425 F. 2. In a rimmed baking sheet, toss citrus slices with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast citrus until lightly charred and caramelized, about 10–15 minutes. Let cool. 3. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine onion and
lemon juice. Season with salt and let sit for 5 minutes. 4. Add citrus, arugula, andmint to onionmixture. Drizzle with remaining oil, season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss thoroughly. 5. Add avocado, combing very gently to not crush avocado.
Inspired by Bon Appétit
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During the winter months, colds and the flu can spread like wildfire. Getting sick at least once during the season can be hard to avoid, and once you are sick, you want nothing more than for it to be over and done. While there is no way to completely avoid getting sick, there are ways to speed up your recovery. Next time you’re suffering from a cold, try these remedies to get back on your feet a little bit faster. Also referred to as elderberry extract, this syrup is made from a plant called European elder. It can be purchased at many health food stores or made at home (but use caution when doing this, since raw and undercooked elderberries are toxic). Many people swear by the berries’ ability to ease congestion and relieve a number of INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Tom PAGE 1 The Value of Seasonal Eating PAGE 1 What Happens to Military Service Dogs? PAGE 2 Tapping Into Sports Psychology to Optimize Performance PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Citrus and Avocado Salad PAGE 3 Have a Cold? Recover Faster! PAGE 4 ELDERBERRY SYRUP
3 EASYWAYS TO RECOVER QUICKLY FROM A COLD
ZINC
other cold symptoms. Plus, elderberry syrup is known for having anti- inflammatory and antiviral properties, making it an ideal tool for fighting the common cold. Some research even suggests that it can shorten flu symptoms by up to three days.
While many people turn to vitamin C to hurry through a cold, that’s not the supplement you should
be focusing on. In fact, an overwhelming number of
studies show that vitamin C does absolutely nothing to help shorten a cold. Instead, take zinc. You can find it as a nasal spray or lozenge, or even as part of a vitamin C supplement. One study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that those who took zinc reduced their recovery time from a cold by half. Cold symptoms among those taking a zinc supplement lasted about four days, while symptoms among those taking a placebo lasted about eight days.
EUCALYPTUS
If you’re suffering from congestion or can’t stop coughing, eucalyptus may offer the relief you’re looking for. Available in several different forms, including syrup, oil, and dried leaves, eucalyptus can be used
as an expectorant or as a way to relieve a sore throat. When you’re at home and sick, try
adding a few drops of eucalyptus oil to the water in a humidifier. The results are remarkably soothing!
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