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Welcome Dr. Oz Viewers!

Welcome to our Blum Center for Health Community!

Through our website and blogs, you can stay in touch with other like-minded souls seeking information, guidance, and education on health-related topics! Feel free to click around the site to get familiar with what we’re all about. Learn about functional medicine; meet our staff; and keep up-to-date with our workshops and classes on our calendar of events page.

Because many of you don’t live in our area, we have been hard at work developing online support programs to help you succeed! Here, we outline all the many ways we can help in your immune system recovery.

1. READ DR BLUM’S BOOK!

  • The Immune System Recovery Plan A Doctor’s 4-Step Program to Treat Autoimmune DiseaseThe Immune Recovery Plan

    • Written with intention to provide hope and healing to many more people than can possibly come to our office, this 4-step program is the same protocol our patients follow with great results. Way more than a typical ‘how-to’ book, this book gives you insights and tools that will put you back in charge of your health and well-being. Warning: you may never look at health the same way again! Order your copy today!
  • We have created a Starter Kit for each of the 4-Steps in the program. A one-stop shop with everything you will need to begin your treatment plan and get you on the road to wellness! Visit our store to purchase your kit.

2. ONLINE PROGRAMS!

We want to help you succeed! To maximize the benefits of the program to support you while you work your way through the book, here are your options:

  • ‘Do It With Us’:

    • Join an interactive online group, designed to give you additional guidance and help, if needed, as you journey through each step of the book. We offer online groups for Steps 1-4, each launching at a different time. Connecting with others on the same path as you helps to make the process realistic, achievable, and even enjoyable! We use a blog format so you can ask questions and see our conversation with others. So, sign up today to ‘Do It With Us’ and make your health goals a reality!
  • Do it on your own, with our support:

    Blumbox starter kits 3

    • Buy your starter kit in our store, and follow the complete guide that comes with each kit. If you have any questions as you’re going through any of the steps or using any of our products, use the ‘Ask Us Anything’ button on the web-site.
  • Blum Blogs:

    • ‘Do It With Us’ Blog: this is where we lead our online groups. Check back here anytime to read our posts, and to see the discussions from past groups.
    • BCH Blog: we also post weekly informative, valuable, and practical information on all matters relating to health and wellness!

3. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

Connect with us! We are always sending out great information about health, nutrition and wellness so sign up for our newsletters and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn.

blum-center-for-health-facebook-profileblum-center-for-health-linkedin-profileblum-center-for-health-pinterest-profileblum-center-for-health-twitter-profileBlum Center for Health Youtube Channel

An added bonus to support you:

  • BlumKitchen Nutrition Guide and CookbookBlum Kitchen Cookbook

    • Expand your culinary horizons and satisfy your and your family’s appetite with additional recipes from our BlumKitchen cookbook. All recipes were happily taste-tested and approved by the entire Blum Team! This book is included in our Step 1 Starter Kit, or may be purchased separately here.

Wishing you vibrant health and wellness!

The Blum Team

The entire Blum Center for Health Team

 

For information about visiting Blum Center for Health, call our toll-free #: 855-9-IMMUNE (946-6863)

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Is There a Thyroid Disease Epidemic?

Have you noticed that many people you know have been diagnosed as having a low functioning thyroid, or hypothyroidism? And have you also noticed that they all have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease?

The conventional approach is to prescribe thyroid hormone medication, and this has become so common, that no one really thinks twice about it. However, taking the medication does nothing to address the Hashimoto’s and what might be causing that. This is very familiar to me, because 14 years ago when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, I made it my mission to go beyond taking medication, to find the cause and then cure the disease. And as many of you know, within 1 year, my Hashimoto’s was gone.

In the last decade, I have become additionally concerned because this problem seems to be affecting our children now, too. More and more of my patients are bringing their kids in to see me because they have recently been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I believe we are experiencing a startling increase in the diagnosis of Hashimoto’s in all age groups, so I am dedicating this month’s newsletter to this topic. I am also sharing this with you because my patients and staff asked me to write about it this month!

What is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis?
This is a disease where the thyroid gland tissue becomes inflamed and damaged (thus thyroiditis) because the immune system is creating damaging antibodies that are attacking the gland. Think of it like you are having an allergy to yourself, thus the word autoimmune. For a long time, the thyroid gland itself might function just fine, making its hormones despite the inflammation. But eventually, the gland becomes damaged, and the thyroid starts to fail-then comes the diagnosis of hypothyroidism and a prescription for hormone replacement. From a Functional Medicine perspective, you can prevent the need for medication if you fix the autoimmune issue before the thyroid gland becomes irreversibly damaged.

There is another autoimmune condition affecting the thyroid called Grave’s disease, where the antibodies actually stimulate the gland, causing hyperthyroidism. Again, in Functional Medicine, we approach the treatment for Grave’s the same as with Hashimoto’s.

In order to cure this disease, we first need to look at what causes the problem at the root. Here are the 3 most common causes of Hashimoto’s:
The thyroid gland gets damaged from toxins such as mercury from fish and silver fillings, and from pesticides in food and on your lawn. The thyroid is very sensitive to these toxins and absorbs them very easily, causing an immune attack on the gland. To treat this, you must detoxify your body and your environment. See our free online program Do It With Us: Supporting Your Liver to learn how. Or pick up a copy of my book, The Immune System Recovery Plan.
Gluten triggers an immune reaction that produces antibodies that cross react and target your thyroid gland. There are many studies looking at the association between gluten and Hashimoto’s. Gluten also damages the gut lining and can cause malabsorption of essential nutrients, like selenium, needed to protect the thyroid gland from damage. To treat this easily, remove gluten from your diet. For help, see our free online program program Do It With Us: Using Food as Medicine.
Due to poor digestive health, the immune system becomes dysfunctional. 70% of the immune system is in the intestinal lining and an overgrowth of harmful microbes like yeast, bad bacteria and parasites can cause the immune system to ‘misfire’. It then makes a mistake and damages tissues at distant locations in the body, such as the thyroid. There is also an important relationship between stress and microbial overgrowth. Fixing the immune system by healing the gut is an important part of the program. To learn more, see our free online program Do It With Us: Healing Your Gut.
In my practice and in my book, The Immune System Recovery Plan, we work through these steps to cure the Hashimoto’s and all autoimmune diseases. I know it can be done because I did it for myself. Today I feel better than ever and am committed to sharing this treatment program with as many people as possible. Hashimoto’s and Grave’s Disease are both indeed, curable.

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Should You Remove Gluten from your Diet?

MaryColorSo what’s all the hype about gluten? Most people think if they aren’t celiac, that gluten is fine to eat. That used to be the case, but unfortunately, today’s gluten is vastly different than it used to be.

Many people are discovering that they are sensitive or even intolerant to gluten-the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, bulgur, spelt, kamut and triticale-which has sparked yet another rising epidemic closely related to thyroid dysfunction. The problem is that over the last several hundred years grains have been hybridized into short, easy to harvest varieties. This hybridization has concentrated the amount of gluten, and other compounds, found in grains. For many people, ingesting these super-gluten grains causes damage to the gut and thyroid gland while causing inflammation throughout the body. Add this to an already damaged gut from too many antibiotics, too much sugar and not enough fiber, results in an increased likelihood of gluten sensitivity and quite possibly, gluten intolerance.

What can you do? Try an elimination diet where you remove gluten from your diet for a minimum of 3 weeks. Then reintroduce it in large amounts to see how you respond. If you’d like some guidance, you can schedule a consultation with me, or check out our easy to follow, free 21-day online program, Do It With Us: Using Food As Medicine.

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Black Bean Burgers

Black Bean Burger

Summertime often means barbequing with friends and family.  We love this vegetarian burger that’s not only gluten free, but it also supports the thyroid … and it can be made in a skillet all year round. Our black bean burger may lack the meat, but it doesn’t skip on being hearty.  It’s important to get adequate protein at every meal, which is why this makes a great lunchtime meal or causal dinner.  You can also freeze these uncooked and then defrost when you’re ready to eat them.

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How Stress Effects The Gut & What You Can Do About It

elizabeth_greig_05012013_225pxWhen you feel anxious or stressed, your adrenals glands secrete cortisol-the stress hormone-into your blood stream to help your body cope. One of the effects of cortisol is to shift blood flow in the body to where it’s needed most. This, in effect, takes blood away from the digestive organs – because fighting off those lions (real or metaphorical), becomes more important than digesting your last meal! Cortisol also has a direct effect on the developing immune system that lies along the intestinal wall, and a direct effect on the gut flora. When stress goes on too long, your flora and gut-immune system can become damaged, and this is one of the triggers for autoimmunity. Another issue is that when you’re stressed, your digestive function suffers, affecting the release of digestive enzymes and gastric acid, and this in turn also changes the balance of your gut flora, and the health of the gut lining. When you are chronically stressed over time, the gut lining is less able to regulate which substances move through it into the body, often leading to a condition called “leaky gut”, or in scientific terms, increased gut permeability. So, substances that were never meant to enter the body actually do, filtering through the immune tissues surrounding the gut, setting off immune reactions that can result in autoimmunity. Now you can see the big connection between stress, gut health and autoimmunity. You can help to heal the gut by decreasing the stress response through meditation, conscious breathing, rhythmic gentle movement, a walk in nature, or any quieting activity that gives you the “Ahhhhh……” response. Even 10 minutes of daily practice can make a difference in turning off the stress chemistry. If you need some support in one of these practices, consider trying our Learn to Relax Tool Kit that comes with guided exercises on a CD.

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Author’s Night The Immune System Recovery Plan

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Tia W

True Story:
When I first saw Dr. Blum over 6 years ago, I was very sick with Graves Disease. I had never been to a doctor who looks at the whole body, not just one area. Dr. Blum treated the underlying cause, which for me was infections in my intestines and an intolerance to gluten. I highly recommend her and her program for immune issues and beyond. If it weren’t for Dr. Blum, I would not have healed.

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Mercury and Your Health

April 2014         

Mercury and Your Health

Are you concerned about your exposure to mercury from the food you are eating?  If you eat fish at all, then you should be. This can be confusing, but is very important because mercury can cause autoimmune disease and other health-related problems.  That is why I decided to dedicate our April newsletter to this topic…to shed some light on this issue and to help you decide what to eat, and what to do to protect yourself from this environmental toxin.  

 

Where do you find mercury and what is it?  

 

Mercury is part of a group of compounds called heavy metals. There are ‘good’ heavy metals like iron, cobalt, copper, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc.  They are good because humans require these metals to function properly.  However, keep in mind that these too can be toxic at excessive levels.  

 

On the other hand, heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and plutonium are ‘bad’ toxic metals and if they accumulate in the body over time, can cause serious illness.   For our purpose today, I will focus on mercury because there is plenty of data that explains what it does in the body and how we are exposed.

 

Where does Mercury come from?

 

There are 2 main sources of mercury that we are exposed to.  First, mercury is released into the air from coal burning power plants and from volcanoes.  After it settles in the oceans and soil, we end up eating it from the fish or plants or animals that grow and live in these places. The big fish eat the little fish, and the mercury bio accumulates, which means it gets more concentrated in the bigger fish.  For a list of the worst fish with the highest level of mercury and those you should avoid, CLICK HERE.  

 

The other main source of mercury is the vapor released from silver fillings.  While this is somewhat controversial, there is enough evidence suggesting this is a real issue, and why I recommend replacing your fillings if possible.  For more information on how to do this properly, CLICK HERE

 

There are also other places you can be exposed to mercury, like in the preservative of some vaccines, and old thermometers.  But fish and silver fillings are the biggest problem.

 

How does mercury accumulate in your body and make you sick?  

 

Your body was created with multiple detox systems in place to clear out the mercury you are exposed to.  One of these, called the glutathione system, is very active in your liver and also in all the cells in your body.  If you are exposed to more mercury than this system can handle, the mercury can build up in your body and cause damage to your nerves, thyroid, immune system (autoimmune disease, for example), and all the cells in your body by causing something we call oxidative stress.  This simply means that you run out of the important antioxidants that your body needs to protect itself, resulting in free radicals created by the mercury that can then damage the tissues.

 

To protect your cells and tissues, it is critical that you keep your liver detox system in tip-top shape by eating lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables with plenty of color.  In addition, you can take specific antioxidant supplements to boost your glutathione.  Our favorite and most convenient way to do this is by taking our BlumBox Immune & Antioxidant Support Packets, created for just this purpose CLICK HERE.

 

What can you do to help your body release the stored mercury?

 

Our approach to lowering your mercury level begins with finding and removing all of your exposures.  In our Nutrition@Blum section below, Mary will review how to find the mercury in your diet, and recommend foods that will help pull it out, and foods that will help support your body’s detox systems.  

 

The next step is to support your liver and its ability to clear this metal out of your system. The best strategy is to do a liver detox program once or twice/year, and to make sure you are eating foods with selenium, sulfur (onions), cruciferous veggies, and lots of antioxidants. Our nutritionist can help you with a personalized program, or you can join one of our signature Detox Groups.  If you eat a lot of fish or suspect you have too much mercury already, both of these are good options.  For more information or to join our next detox group, CLICK HERE.

 

Lastly, we do not recommend doing a treatment program yourself, because removing mercury should be medically supervised. 

BlumNutrition

Food is Your Best Medicine 

We know that most of the mercury ingested in your body comes from seafood, which is why we recommend decreasing your fish intake to 1-2 times/week from the safe list above. Instead of eating lots of fish, eating more plant-based sources of omega-3s from hemp, flax and chia is a great way to get the nutrients you need. Also, there are certain foods that, when paired with fish, will actually help remove the mercury from your body.  These include Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, garlic, chlorella and turmeric, which all contain chelating agents that bind to mercury in the gut and in the tissues to safely remove these toxins.  

 

I also recommend adding deeply colored fruits and vegetables to your diet.  Berries, pomegranates, tomatoes, prunes, and pink/red grapefruit provide flavonoids that protect your body from the damage mercury can cause while also providing antioxidants to assist the liver in detoxification. And don’t forget about cruciferous and allium vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, mustard greens, radishes, arugula, watercress, onion, garlic, leeks, and scallions! These are all sulfur-containing powerhouses that prevent the build up of mercury and are critical for your liver detoxification pathways to safely remove this toxin. Incorporating all of these foods into your diet is the perfect example of how food really is your best medicine. 

 

 


BlumKitchen

Detoxing Deliciously

For your weekly fish dish, we love this low-mercury, flavorful recipe rich in nutrients that will help your body clear out toxins.

  


Recipe of the Month

Shrimp Masala

Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. coconut oil

2 tsp. cumin seeds

2 dried red chili peppers

1½ cups diced onion

1½ Tbsp. minced peeled, fresh ginger

2 tsp. minced garlic

2 tsp. ground coriander

1½ tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground turmeric

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup coconut milk

¼ cup chopped cilantro 

 

 

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and red chilies and cook, stirring, until the fragrant, about 30 seconds.

 

Add the onion and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Then add the ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until dark and fragrant, about 3 minutes more.

 

Add the tomatoes and cook until somewhat soft, about 3 minutes. You can make the sauce up to this point a day ahead.

 

When ready to serve, heat the sauce over high heat. As soon as it starts to bubble on the edges, add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until the shrimp turns opaque. Lower the heat, gradually stir in the coconut milk, and gently heat it through – do not allow to boil.

 

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with cilantro and serve over rice or quinoa. 

 

 

April Cooking Class

 

April 28th,  7:30-9pm: Signature Blum Detox Cooking Demo

 

Mind.Body.Spirit

Finding the Balance

 

Heavy metals, and toxins in general, can be a trigger for brain fog and mental dullness.  If this is something you are experiencing, there are different ways to detoxify your mind. One of the most effective tools is to be mindful about the information you take into your mind: bad news, fear-inducing news, gossip, and useless information can all clutter your mind.  

 

So what can you do? Be proactive and turn off the radio or television when you listen to things that make you feel anxious, angry, or bored.   Ask your friends and family to stop telling you the juicy, but destructive, gossip and tell them that you are being kind to your mind by making a choice about what’s really important for it to hear.  

 

I recently heard about a study that showed that the people who are the happiest are those whose thoughts are about what or who are right in front of them–meaning present time.  So keep your mind centered on what you are doing right now in the present, and don’t let it wander off looking for worries or troubles.  The secret to happiness is a happy mind that is enjoying the moment! 

 

 

April Mind.Body.Spirit Classes

Mind Body Skills Group Series A

6:00-7:30am: April 2nd, April 9th
*Pre-registration required, no drop-ins

 

Mind Body Skills Group Series B

9:00-10:30am: April 23rd, 30th, May 7th, May 14th
*Pre-registration required, no drop-ins

 

Restorative Yoga 4-Week Series on Tuesdays

10:00-11:00am: April 1st, 8th, 22nd, 29th

*Pre-registration required; no drop-ins

 

Guided Imagery on Thursdays

5:30-6:00pm: April 3rd, 10th, 24th  

 

Transformation Through Meditation on Fridays

10:00-10:30am: April 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th

 

Introduction to Meditation

5:30-6:30pm on April 17th  

   

Contact Us

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April Events

Wednesday, April 2nd

Private Cooking Class
Monday, April 7th

6:00-8:30pm, Group Weight Loss

Do It With Us Healing Your Gut On Line Program Begins
Thursday, April 10th

7:00-9:00pm, Mary Gocke’s GMO Talk at Rye Public Library
Monday, April 21st

6:30-7:30pm, Spring Detox Initial Meeting
Wednesday, April 23rd

6:00-7:30pm: Relaxation and Personal Transformation with Elizabeth Greig
Monday, April 28th

Do It With Us Supporting Your Liver On Line Program Begins

6:30-7:30pm, Spring Detox Transition Meeting
Wednesday, April 30th

6:30-7:30pm, Healthy Eating Club: How to be a healthy Vegan or Vegetarian

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Rye Brook, NY 10573