Fidalgo Island Health Center

12/10/2023

Can chicken soup really heal you? 🍜 Colds and flu can sap your appetite right when our bodies need nutrition the most—not just fluids, but proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. That formula is where the legend of chicken soup originated.

“Broth-based soups have all those components, along with vitamins and minerals and electrolytes,” Tewksbury says. Hot and steamy soups can also help break down mucus in upper respiratory tract infections. “It checks a lot of boxes.”

Shea Mills, a registered dietitian nutritionist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, says some vitamins and minerals might also be targeted as part of a healthy diet for the sick. Vitamin C, sourced from fruits and vegetables, is a powerful antioxidant that supports immune cells as they prevent and fight off infections, she says, while vitamin D may also improve immune response and decrease the duration of sickness.

Mills also notes that it’s important to focus on drinking. Hydration is a key part of battling almost any illness, and it can be especially challenging when the body is losing fluid from vomiting, diarrhea, or sweating out a fever.

“Sip on decaffeinated beverages like herbal tea, water, 100 percent fruit juices, and low-sugar electrolyte-containing drinks like coconut or cactus water to promote hydration,” she says. Drinking a protein shake or smoothie can also add essential nutrients when your appetite isn’t up for solid foods.

12/04/2023

✨Updates at FIHC ✨

Dr. Bentz is continuing to see patients at FIHC on his current schedule of Tuesday and Thursday and now offers online booking: https://www.fidalgoislandhealthcenter.com/appointment

New location for Dr. Jaclyn Schlindwein: Magic Moon Medicine is expanding and relocating the practice to another downtown Anacortes location just a couple of blocks away at 1005 7th St.- right across the street from Anacortes Health and Nutrition. You can continue to book appointments on the online web portal at www.magicmoonmedicine.com

New location for Dr. Peter O'Dwyer: Dr. O’Dwyer is no longer practicing at Fidalgo Island Health Center and is now located at Drs Jeff & Brian Rindal at NW Chiropractic, 1601 William Way, Mount Vernon 98273.

10/03/2023

In his latest post, “Real vs Fake: The Consequences of Our Food Choices,” Understanding Ag, LLC’s Allen Williams, Ph.D., examines the “greener and healthier” claims being made by those promoting “cultivated meat” and points to the lack of research to support those claims. In contrast, he presents a plethora of research demonstrating the environmental and health benefits of regeneratively grown pasture-raised proteins.

Read more:

Work is underway now to develop acceptable lab grown meats for the consumer market. Also known as "cultivated meat," these products are made by taking

09/20/2023

“It’s often about the relationship of lifestyle to your genes. Each healthy act switches on youth promoting genes and switches off genes that make you age.

Men who changed physical activity, stress management, and diet were able to turn off genes associated with prostrate cancer growth. Lifestyle changes, including even modest exercise, did the same for colon and breast cancer. Lifestyle choices play a role in 40 percent of deaths of people before age 75.”

See more: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/want-to-live-longer-influence-your-genes

09/19/2023

Here are twelve simple ways you can help to boost & maintain brain function. 🧠 ✨

Mental decline is common, and it's one of the most feared consequences of aging. But cognitive impairment is not inevitable. Here are 12 ways you can help reduce your risk of age-related memory los...

09/14/2023

In Chinese Medicine, the elemental wisdom of fire is about the strength that guides us to willingly move towards transformation and change. Change isn’t something that is comfortable or easy for most people. And still, through most of our lives, change is one of the only constants that we can count on.

A major foundation of the medicine I practice is the study of the Five Elements- wood, fire, earth, metal and water. As someone who has spent a lifetime studying the Five Elements, fire has been the element that I have had the most challenge with. In recent years, late summer seems to have become fire season. This summer, I have spent a lot of time in deep reflection pondering the fire element.

Maybe the greatest lesson learned from the fire element, who’s corresponding organ in Chinese Medicine is the heart, is this: Our hearts keep beating with hope even when faced with destruction. At the center, we are resilient and compassionate beings who are made to survive even the most trying of times. Hope floats.

🔥 Learn more in this article by Dr. Jaclyn Schlindwein (Magic Moon Medicine)

In Chinese Medicine, the elemental wisdom of fire is about the strength that guides us to willingly move towards transformation and change. Change isn’t something that is comfortable or easy for most people. And still, through most of our lives, change is one of the only constants that we can coun...

09/01/2023

Stop listening to your subconscious tapes and started living in the present moment.

08/30/2023

“Our very old immune systems can’t keep up with modern lifestyles and diets.” Here’s a fascinating deep dive:

Our very old immune systems can’t keep up with modern lifestyles and diets, leading to increases in all sorts of chronic health problems like allergies and obesity.

08/23/2023

"It’s important to consider the role of human touch in healing. Reiki, for example, has been shown to be a powerful healing modality. Science has shown that our hands emit frequencies in the range of 0.3 to 30 Hz, and that frequencies between 2 and 30 Hz are significant in the regeneration of nerves, bones, ligaments and even certain types of cells like fibroblasts. NIS uses touch extensively to get feedback from Innate Intelligence through the nervous system, and I believe this contributes to the healing process. No robot will ever duplicate the power of human touch, or the accuracy of Innate Intelligence." - Dr. Jim Bentz

✨ See more: https://www.fidalgoislandhealthcenter.com/articles/is-artificial-i

08/18/2023

"The heart’s job is to pump blood around the whole body through the blood vessels. As it does this, the blood can either flow smoothly through the vessels, or be met with resistance. This resistance can be a result of excess fat, cholesterol, and other substances building up in the walls of arteries. Blood pressure can also rise due to excess fluid in the body, a result of consuming too much sodium (salt). The higher your blood pressure is, the harder your heart must work to do its job. Reducing sodium intake, eating a plant-based whole foods diet full of healthy fats, staying active and getting enough sleep can naturally keep that blood pressure under control and help to maintain a healthy heart."

Learn more:

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the leading cause of heart disease in the United States. February is American Heart Month. To celebrate, try out at least one of these tips to keep your heart healthy!

08/14/2023

“You need more than just "positive thinking" to harness control of your body and your life. It is important for our health and well-being to shift our mind's energy toward positive, life generating thoughts and eliminate ever-present, energy-draining and debilitating negative thoughts. But, and I mean that in the biggest sense of "BUT", the mere thinking of positive thoughts will not necessarily have any impact on our lives at all! In fact, sometimes people who "flunk" positive thinking become more debilitated because now they think their situation is hopeless - they believe they have exhausted all mind and body remedies.

What those positive-thinking dropouts haven't understood is that the seemingly "separate" subdivisions of the mind, the conscious and the subconscious, are interdependent. The conscious or spirit - is the creative mind. It can see into the future, review the past, or disconnect from the present moment as it solves problems in our head. In its creative capacity, the conscious mind holds our wishes, desires, and aspirations for our lives. It is the mind that conjures up our "positive thoughts".

In contrast, the subconscious mind is primarily a repository of stimulus-response tapes derived from instincts and learned experiences. The subconscious mind is fundamentally habitual; it will play the same behavioral responses to life's signals over and over again, much to our chagrin. How many times have you found yourself going ballistic over something trivial like an open toothpaste tube? You have been trained since childhood to carefully replace the cap. When you find the tube with its cap left off, your "buttons are pushed" and you automatically fly into rage. You've just experienced the simple stimulus-response of a behavior program stored in the subconscious mind.”
― Bruce H. Lipton

08/12/2023