By Laura Firetag, ND Student, Bastyr University
While I usually write about interesting research, I would like to take the opportunity this month to blog about something very exciting that involves several of my friends here at Bastyr University. During spring break over 20 members of the Naturopaths Without Borders club at Bastyr University will be traveling to Haiti to provide healthcare to the people who are still suffering after the earthquake that occurred over one year ago. The naturopathic and midwifery students will be working at the MamaBaby Haiti naturopathic clinic in Northern Haiti near Cap Haitien. According to their website, MamaBaby Haiti ‘staff(s) and maintain(s) a free standing birth center and health clinic.. (that) ..serve(s) as a safe and clean place for women to come for free quality health care from midwives and naturopathic doctors. We provide prenatal, birth, postpartum, and pediatric care, as well as education and other life-saving services. We provide care 24/7. Women come to the clinic weekly for prenatal care and children and families show up for needed healthcare. We also go to surrounding villages weekly to provide prenatal care and village healthcare for families. We teach mothers and families about prenatal health and nutrition, hygiene, childbirth education, breastfeeding education with the goal of exclusive breastfeeding for a minimum of one year, contraception methods, and sustainable living (including herbal health remedies, gardening and raising chickens). We have started a garden at our birth center that will be used as an example for gardening fruits, vegetables and medicinal herbs. We collaborate with Haitian midwives and midwifery students to reduce the maternal, fetal and neonatal mortality rate in Haiti. We feel we will all benefit from learning from each other and serving the women together in safe and gentle birth.’
While I usually write about interesting research, I would like to take the opportunity this month to blog about something very exciting that involves several of my friends here at Bastyr University. During spring break over 20 members of the Naturopaths Without Borders club at Bastyr University will be traveling to Haiti to provide healthcare to the people who are still suffering after the earthquake that occurred over one year ago. The naturopathic and midwifery students will be working at the MamaBaby Haiti naturopathic clinic in Northern Haiti near Cap Haitien. According to their website, MamaBaby Haiti ‘staff(s) and maintain(s) a free standing birth center and health clinic.. (that) ..serve(s) as a safe and clean place for women to come for free quality health care from midwives and naturopathic doctors. We provide prenatal, birth, postpartum, and pediatric care, as well as education and other life-saving services. We provide care 24/7. Women come to the clinic weekly for prenatal care and children and families show up for needed healthcare. We also go to surrounding villages weekly to provide prenatal care and village healthcare for families. We teach mothers and families about prenatal health and nutrition, hygiene, childbirth education, breastfeeding education with the goal of exclusive breastfeeding for a minimum of one year, contraception methods, and sustainable living (including herbal health remedies, gardening and raising chickens). We have started a garden at our birth center that will be used as an example for gardening fruits, vegetables and medicinal herbs. We collaborate with Haitian midwives and midwifery students to reduce the maternal, fetal and neonatal mortality rate in Haiti. We feel we will all benefit from learning from each other and serving the women together in safe and gentle birth.’
My friends sent out emails requesting donations for their trip which I forwarded to Innate Response Formulas. Innate was very generous and put together a program called ‘Care for Care’ during the month of February. Innate donated a bottle of their ‘Kids’ Multi’ for EVERY supplement purchased by Bastyr students. I was able to send nearly EIGHTY bottles to Haiti with the Bastyr brigade because Innate Response Formulas donated an extra fifty bottles of multivitamins. I am grateful for the brave physicians who are staffing the clinic in Haiti, I am grateful for the amazing Bastyr students who are spending their spring breaks learning to take care of the suffering and I am also grateful that I work for such a kind and generous company. If you want to learn more about NWB or MamaBaby Haiti, please follow the links below:
By Karen Brothers, ND student, NCNM
Do you remember learning about enzymes in school? Your textbooks stated that they are proteins in our bodies’ cells that can cause or catalyze (accelerate) biochemical reactions by lowering the activation energy required for the reaction to occur. Your teacher likely emphasized that they act on substrates to create products, but they are not used up or altered by the reaction. And you probably answered a test question or two demonstrating your knowledge of their sensitivity to temperature, chemical environment, and concentration of substrate. Sound familiar?
All of our bodies’ cells make the enzymes we need to perform the basic metabolic functions of producing energy, removing wastes, and repairing cell structures. However, for these functions to occur, we need to unlock the nutrients in our food through digestion. Specialized enzymes, called digestive enzymes, break down our food into its nutrient components that our bodies can absorb.Digestive enzymes are produced throughout our gastrointestinal system, from the mouth (in saliva) to the stomach, pancreas, and intestines. We also ingest digestive enzymes in the food that we eat, particularly in raw foods. No matter the source, digestive enzymes are classified based on their substrates, i.e., the macromolecules on which they act: Proteases and peptidases break down proteins into amino acids. Lipases split fat molecules into fatty acids and glycerol. Carbohydrases, such as amylase and lactase, break down starches and sugars into simple sugars.
Supplementation of digestive enzymes is big business, as these enzymes have several therapeutic uses. For cases of indigestion, they can augment the digestive enzymes that we eat and that our digestive system makes. They also can serve as replacement therapy in conditions such as pancreatitis, gastric bypass surgery, or other gastrointestinal surgeries in which the functional capacity of the organs and tissues that secrete the enzymes is diminished or disrupted. A third use is to calm inflammation caused by chronic disease, surgeries, or injuries; to be effective in this regard, the enzymes should be taken away from food.
Before you run out to purchase digestive enzymes, be sure to determine your health needs. Which enzymes do you need? How often do you need them? Occasional or temporary use for indigestion or inflammation may be fine, but consult your physician if you find that you need them regularly or if you’ve recently experienced a major gastrointestinal illness or surgery that may affect your body’s ability to produce them.
Disclaimer: All data and information provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. Innate Response
Formulas makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this blog and will not be liable for the content. All information is provided on an as-is basis.
© 2010 Innate Response
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