Osher Center For Integrative Medicine
November 2021
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Gratitude and Kindness Go Hand-in-Hand |
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As we approach an amped up month full of food, friends and family, we may find ourselves getting swept up in the pomp and circumstance of Thanksgiving, and miss the quest for the overarching meaning of the holiday.
Thanksgiving, as joyous as it can be, historically has its roots not in peace and plenty but in dispossession and adversity. We can lose sight of the inheritance of what it means to be thankful. The true endowment of Thanksgiving is not to ignore hardships, but to fully acknowledge them, work together to alleviate them, and offer gratitude for the blessings in our lives.
The month is also host to World Kindness Day, a global movement day that promotes the importance of being kind to each other, to yourself, and to the world. This day is to help everyone recognize that compassion for others is what binds us all together. This gives us an additional opportunity to keep gratitude and kindness in the forefront of our minds and focus on making it a norm and not a once-a-year occasion.
So how do we begin to integrate kindness and gratitude on a daily basis and not just on an annual holiday? Daily acts of kindness can range anywhere from simply using your manners, to smiling at a stranger, to sending a “thinking about you” text. Expressing gratitude can be as simple as a sincere acknowledgement of someone’s effort, to being a generous listener where you really hear and see someone. These random acts of kindness and gratitude will often warm the hearts of others and in turn cause them to pay it forward.
Don't forget to be kind to yourself and register for the November 6 virtual community education symposium on Integrative Approaches to Immunity. These programs are our way of expressing our gratitude to you by sharing knowledge from leading experts to keep you and your loved ones healthy. I invite you to partner with the Osher Center as a patient, colleague, or supporter. To learn more please visit our website.
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Osher Highlight
IM AWARE Philanthropic Advisory Council
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Many of the Osher Center's education, research and community endeavors would not be possible without the support of donors and advocates of integrative medicine. In a month of giving thanks, we would like to especially acknowledge those supporters and our IM AWARE (Integrative Medicine: Advising With Awareness, Resources and Education) philanthropic advisory council. The council's vision is to help integrative medicine become everyone’s everyday medicine. Council members work to raise awareness, provide guidance and foster fundraising in support of the Osher Center.
Click here to get to know all of our current council members. If you are interested in joining the council or finding out more about the work we do, please email our chairperson Diane Meagher at tdmeagher@msn.com.
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Educational News
Cooking Up Health Pilots for Residents and Faculty
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Associate Education Director, Anna Shannahan, MD, has been leading our efforts to bring our culinary medicine education program Cooking Up Health (CUH) program to a new population of trainees with great success.
CUH was piloted as an expansion to residents in Northwestern's Lake Forest family medicine residency program. After studying real-world nutrition content in online modules, residents participate in 3 weekly virtual healthy cooking classes led by a Common Threads chef instructor. The trainees then go into Roundlake Middle School for three weekly sessions to teach kids in an at-risk community about the importance of nutrition and healthy eating.
Dr. Deborah Clements, Nancy and Warren Furey Professor of Community Medicine and
Chair, Family & Community Medicine, shares her thoughts on the importance of this program: "As physicians, we have long known that food is the first medicine. Lifestyle changes impact wellness and chronic disease prevention throughout our lives. This program gives our family medicine residents the tools they need to offer exceptional care to the patients we serve."
The Osher Center also launched a faculty and staff pilot over the summer through a faculty wellness grant that supported two single night culinary medicine trainings. We hope to expand this program to allow more health professionals and caregivers to learn important cooking and eating concepts to foster their own wellbeing and that of their patients.
Click here to discover more information on our website. Read Dr. Ring's recent feature on culinary medicine, here.
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News You Can Use
Selected Integrative Medicine Research Developments
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The Society of Integrative Oncology and American Society of Clinical Oncology have recently endorsed a set of guidelines for the implementation of integrative techniques specifically in patients with breast cancer. Although the current guidelines focus largely on the management of chronic symptoms, there exists evidence to support the use of these techniques in acute symptom management as well.
Tip: If you or a loved one are dealing with cancer, speak with your doctor about integrative oncology options.
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Every hour spent sitting or lying down increases the risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, the study authors said. But moving around during those sedentary hours is an easy way to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the odds of developing metabolic syndrome, which is associated with the development of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other health problems.
Tip: People were meant to move so take a break: set a timer to remind you to get out of your chair at least every half hour to stay metabolically healthy.
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Studies show that people who don't get quality sleep or enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold virus. Lack of sleep can also affect how fast you recover if you do get sick. In addition, infection-fighting antibodies and cells are reduced during periods when you don't get enough sleep.
Tip: The optimal amount of sleep for most adults is seven to eight hours each night. For optimal slumber, maintain a daily exercise routine, power down electronics at least an hour before bed and rest in a quiet, dark and cool environment.
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Our brains have positive psychological reactions with even simple acts of kindness. Chemicals released during the act of helping someone else help reduce our own stress and anxiety, improve mood, decrease blood pressure, protect our hearts, lessen aches and pains, strengthen our immune system and slow aging.
Tip: Offer kindness with no strings attached. Be sure the recipient knows nothing is expected in return. The act of kindness becomes more authentic and genuine with this expectation.
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Osher In The News
Recent Media Highlights
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Read: Dr. Inger Burnett-Zeigler speaks about suicide prevention awareness and mental health.
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Discover: Dr. David Victorson's blog post on anxiety, mindfulness and connection amidst cancer. Check it out, here.
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During the chaos of this month, make sure to spend some moments in quiet reflection.
This guided 15 minute meditation will help you slow down and be grateful for the beauty all around you.
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Wellbeing Events and Monthly Recipe
See How You Can Take Part!
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Virtual Integrative Approaches to Immunity on November 6th, 2021. Click here for updates and registration.
Osher Grand Rounds will begin again on Thursday, December 2, 2021 with Dr. Peter Wayne from Harvard University. Please explore our upcoming and past lectures and register here to join us for these exciting talks by leaders in the field.
Cleveland Clinic Virtual Preventive Medicine and Longevity Conference
Dr. Melinda Ring will be speaking at this conference on December 4-5. Click here for more information.
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Recipe
Passing on the turkey and skipping anything with cream doesn't mean you have to sacrifice all the Thanksgiving classics. These yummy plant-based recipes won't disappoint!
Click here for 15 PLANT-BASED THANKSGIVING RECIPES to try this year.
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Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern University | Website
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