Have you been experiencing difficulty focusing, or been having difficulty with your motivation to do things you used to do or to plan for your future? These executive functioning skills are how our brains help us to set goals, create plans, and to carry out those plans. When we are experiencing a high level of stress, we hit a brick wall and all of those skills stop functioning properly.
With stress, an individual may feel overwhelmed and cannot make decisions, they may experience difficulty with organizing, planning, and getting started. An individual under extreme stress may lose interest in activities, have mood swings, and be unaware or deny poor decision-making.
To regain temporary focus, an individual might want to work on simple problem-solving strategies:
– First, they will need to identify what the problem is.
– Next, they can consider some alternatives and options and create a list of strategies to move forward.
– Next, they can create an effective plan by laying out the steps to that plan.
– Finally, they may consider creating the plan in writing and planning and initiating action for that plan.
Sometimes it is difficult to initiate these steps on your own and we can help guide you through that process. At Specialized Therapy Associates and Fx Med Centers, our therapists and specialists are trained to help guide individuals to carry out these goals and plans.
You may also be concerned about the way you are processing information, and at Specialized Therapy Associates we can evaluate the way you learn information for planning and processing potential. (What does she mean by processing potential?) Some of our evaluations include neuropsychological evaluations, ADHD evaluations, and dementia identification.
If you are interested in an evaluation, you can contact our offices at (201) 488-6678. All evaluations are being conducted virtually at this time.

Author: Jill Caruso, PsyD
Assistant Director, Specialized Therapy Associates
4 Forest Avenue, Paramus, NJ 07652
(201)488-6678

The post Dr. Caruso has advice for Pandemic induced stress first appeared on Specialized Therapy.

The post Dr. Caruso has advice for Pandemic induced stress appeared first on Specialized Therapy.

The Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organization have classified heavy metals as toxic to human health because they interfere with normal physiologic function and cause an increased risk for cancer, dementia, neurotoxicity, kidney disease, liver disease, insomnia, emotional instability, depression, and in high enough doses, death (2,3,4).

Babies and children are even more susceptible to the dangerous health consequences of toxic heavy metal exposure because they are growing and developing at a rapid rate. Even low levels of toxic heavy metal exposure are linked to irreversible brain and developmental damage (1).  Research has shown that heavy metal exposure can cause a permanently reduced IQ and an increased risk for criminal and withdrawn behavior in children (1,5).

In November 2019, government officials requested internal documents from seven of the largest baby food and infant formula manufacturers in the U.S. based on studies that found high levels of toxic heavy metals in their finished products (6,7).

The brands under investigation included:

• Nurture, Inc. (makes Happy Family Organic and HappyBABY baby food)
• Beech-Nut Nutrition Company
• Hain Celestial Group (makes Earth’s Best Organic baby food)
• Gerber
• Campbell’s Soup (which makes Plum Organics baby food)
• Walmart (Parent’s choice)
• Sprout Foods, Inc. (Sprout Organic Foods)

Only four of the seven companies in question agreed to cooperate with the investigation (Nurture, Beech-Nut, Hain, Gerber) raising concern that the non-responders may have even higher levels of toxic heavy metals than their competitors.

All responding companies had arsenic, lead, and cadmium present in their baby food. Not all companies tested for mercury, but the ones that did had exceedingly high levels. On top of that, reports showed up to 91 times the arsenic level, 177 times the lead level, 69 times the cadmium level, and 5 times the mercury level allowed under existing regulations by the FDA and EPA.

How does something like this happen? Present-day industrialized food manufacturing processes raise the risk for heavy metal contamination in our food supply (including baby food!) through mechanical processing by means of heavy machinery or leakage from packaging materials (6).

What can you do to protect your child from heavy metal exposure in their baby food? Make your own! Making your own baby food is the best way to have control over your child’s exposure to heavy metals as well as know exactly what is going into their food from start to finish. Steaming fresh, organic fruits and vegetables (ex: apples, bananas, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas) will retain nutrient quality and composition better than boiling. Puree cooked fruits and veggies with a small amount of water or breast milk until smooth and serve. Don’t add sugar, syrups, or artificial flavorings as these can be harmful to your child’s growth and development as well. Instead, try using cinnamon or mix in pureed sweeter fruits like apples or pears.

If you don’t have the time to make your baby’s food research baby food brands and infant formula that test for the presence of heavy metals, like Cerebelly.

Tune into our next newsletter for part 2 of “Raising awareness: the dangerous truth behind the toxins present in our food supply”.

Click here to sign up for the newsletter if you haven’t already!

1. https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2021-02-04%20ECP%20Baby%20Food%20Staff%20Report.pdf
2. https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/6577/heavy-metal-poisoning#ref_13375
3. Jan AT, Azam M, Siddiqui K, Ali A, Choi I, Haq QM. Heavy Metals and Human Health: Mechanistic Insight into Toxicity and Counter Defense System of Antioxidants. Int J Mol Sci. 2015;16(12):29592-29630. Published 2015 Dec 10. doi:10.3390/ijms161226183
4. https://www.fda.gov/food/chemicals-metals-pesticides-food/metals-and-your-food
5. Pan S, Lin L, Zeng F, et al. Effects of lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury co-exposure on children’s intelligence quotient in an industrialized area of southern China. Environ Pollut. 2018;235:47-54. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2017.12.044
6. Vella C, Attard E. Consumption of Minerals, Toxic Metals and Hydroxymethylfurfural: Analysis of Infant Foods and Formulae. Toxics. 2019;7(2):33. Published 2019 Jun 8. doi:10.3390/toxics7020033
7. Gardener H, Bowen J, Callan SP. Lead and cadmium contamination in a large sample of United States infant formulas and baby foods. Sci Total Environ. 2019;651(Pt 1):822-827. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.026

The post Toxic Heavy Metals in Baby Food – What To Do! first appeared on Specialized Therapy.

The post Toxic Heavy Metals in Baby Food – What To Do! appeared first on Specialized Therapy.

This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week! Did you know that eating disorders are among the deadliest mental illnesses second only to opioid overdose? 10,200 deaths each year are the direct result of an eating disorder (1).

Some common myths surrounding eating disorders are:

1. “People who have eating disorders must be underweight”. Eating disorders look different for everybody and present themselves in many different ways. Less than 6% of people with eating disorders are actually diagnosed as being underweight (2). Just because someone doesn’t look physically sick, doesn’t mean they aren’t suffering.
2. “Only women can have eating disorders”. Men can have eating disorders, too, and the number of cases has increased in recent years. From 1999 to 2009 the number of men hospitalized for eating disorder-related causes increased by 53% (4). Males account for 25% of individuals with anorexia or bulimia eating disorders. Gay men represent almost half of men with eating disorders and are more likely to fast, vomit, or take laxatives or diet pills to control their weight (5).
3. “Eating disorders are a choice”. Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses, not lifestyle choices.

Click here to fill out our Eating Disorder Self-Assessment checklist.

If you feel like you or someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder, we are here to help! Our staff offers a unique holistic and integrative approach to eating disorder treatment using psychological therapy and a functional medicine approach to regain health.

Call 201-448-6678 to make an appointment or click here to enter your information and learn more about how our team can help!

By Taylor Groff, MS Functional Nutritionist

References:

1. Deloitte Access Economics. The Social and Economic Cost of Eating Disorders in the United States of America: A Report for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Academy for Eating Disorders.June 2020. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/.
2. Arcelus, Jon et al. “Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. A meta-analysis of 36 studies.” Archives of general psychiatry68,7 (2011): 724-31. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.74
3. Zhao, Y., Encinosa, W. Update on Hospitalizations for Eating Disorders, 1999 to 2009. HCUP Statistical Brief #120. September 2011. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb120.pdf
4. Hudson, J., Hiripi, E., Pope, H., & Kessler, R. (2007) “The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication.” Biological Psychiatry, 61, 348–358.
5. Eating Disorders in LGBTQ+ Populations. (2018, February 21). Retrieved February 22, 2021, from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/lgbtq

The post National Eating Disorder Awareness Week! first appeared on Specialized Therapy.

The post National Eating Disorder Awareness Week! appeared first on Specialized Therapy.

Eat your Broccoli!: Learn why this much-maligned food is more than it seems!

Do you remember being told to “eat your broccoli” as a child? It’s no secret that most children want to run in the opposite direction at the mere sight of broccoli because of its “stinky” smell, bright green appearance, and bitter taste. Broccoli has gotten a bad reputation over the years, but based on current research, it seems like it’s time for broccoli to make a comeback! And here’s why…

Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable, otherwise known as Brassica vegetable. Other Brassica vegetables include cauliflower, mustard greens, turnips, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, kale, and cabbage. Brassica vegetables contain a compound called sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is a plant chemical with powerful health benefits that range from decreased risk of death from any cause to improving cognitive function in patients with thought and behavior disorders. Sulforaphane’s main mechanism of action is by increasing glutathione production, otherwise known as the “mother of all antioxidants”. Thus, sulforaphane has extraordinary antioxidant potential in the body!

Sulforaphane is found in Brassica vegetables that contain high levels of glucoraphanin. What is glucoraphanin you may ask? Glucoraphanin is a plant molecule naturally present in Brassica vegetables that is responsible for their pungent smell. Glucoraphanin is important because it is the building block for sulforaphane production and is associated with decreased risk for thought disorders like schizophrenia¹, cancer², cardiovascular disease³, autism⁴, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease⁵. Sulforaphane has also shown to be beneficial in reducing symptoms and severity of chronic skin conditions, like eczema⁶.

How does sulforaphane lower the risk for chronic disease? Great question! Sulforaphane works by targeting and binding to DNA sequences that are responsible for inflammation and reducing their expression^2,3,6. In addition to reducing inflammation, sulforaphane increases the production of powerful antioxidants like glutathione². Glutathione then acts like a magnet, grabbing toxins and free radicals from the body and delivering them to the colon to be excreted in the feces and prevent them from damaging tissue.

Research shows that one of the underlying causes of schizophrenia may be high levels of oxidative stress. In a pilot study, supplementation with sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extract improved cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia⁷. Furthermore, there’s evidence that shows that people with neuropsychiatric disorders have low levels of circulating glutathione, thus suggesting a potential role for sulforaphane in psychological symptom improvement.

Of all the Brassica vegetables, broccoli sprouts have the highest levels of glucoraphanin which means they have the highest potential to produce sulforaphane. In decreasing order, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, turnips, kale, watercress, kohlrabi, red cabbage, broccoli, horseradish, cauliflower, and bok choy, also have the potential to produce sulforaphane⁸.

How do you optimize sulforaphane production to get the most antioxidant potential from Brassica vegetables? This is where glucoraphanin comes into play! Sulforaphane is produced by a chemical reaction between glucoraphanin and myrosinase, an enzyme that is only activated only when you chop or chew the vegetable.  Unfortunately, boiling, blanching, roasting, or steaming Brassica vegetables destroys myrosinase activity which wrecks its sulforaphane potential. Luckily, researchers have discovered a way around this.  Raw ground mustard seeds contain myrosinase, so adding them to your favorite cooked crucifers is enough to offset the antioxidant potential lost during cooking and increases sulforaphane production by almost fourfold in humans⁹!

Eat your broccoli and your other vegetables. If you would like more guidance on how to get the most out of the foods you eat and capitalize the power of broccoli, please contact Specialized Therapy Associates at (201)-488-6678 to make an appointment with one of our functional nutritionists. You can also visit us online at Specialized Therapy. Together, we can achieve your ultimate mind-body balance.

By Taylor Groff, MS Functional Nutritionist

References:

1. Shiina A, Kanahara N, Sasaki T, et al. An Open Study of Sulforaphane-rich Broccoli Sprout Extract in Patients with Schizophrenia. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2015;13(1):62-67. doi:10.9758/cpn.2015.13.1.62
2. Houghton CA. Sulforaphane: Its “Coming of Age” as a Clinically Relevant Nutraceutical in the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Disease. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019;2019:2716870. Published 2019 Oct 14. doi:10.1155/2019/2716870
3. Bai Y, Wang X, Zhao S, Ma C, Cui J, Zheng Y. Sulforaphane Protects against Cardiovascular Disease via Nrf2 Activation. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2015;2015:407580. doi:10.1155/2015/407580
4. Klomparens EA, Ding Y. The neuroprotective mechanisms and effects of sulforaphane. Brain Circ. 2019;5(2):74-83. doi:10.4103/bc.bc_7_19
5. Sun Y, Yang T, Mao L, Zhang F. Sulforaphane Protects against Brain Diseases: Roles of Cytoprotective Enzymes. Austin J Cerebrovasc Dis Stroke. 2017;4(1):1054. doi:10.26420/austinjcerebrovascdisstroke.2017.1054
6. Wu W, Peng G, Yang F, Zhang Y, Mu Z, Han X. Sulforaphane has a therapeutic effect in an atopic dermatitis murine model and activates the Nrf2/HO 1 axis. Mol Med Rep. 2019;20(2):1761-1771. doi:10.3892/mmr.2019.10405
7. Shiina A, Kanahara N, Sasaki T, et al. An Open Study of Sulforaphane-rich Broccoli Sprout Extract in Patients with Schizophrenia. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2015;13(1):62-67. doi:10.9758/cpn.2015.13.1.62
8. McNaughton, S., & Marks, G. (2003). Development of a food composition database for the estimation of dietary intakes of glucosinolates, the biologically active constituents of cruciferous vegetables. British Journal of Nutrition, 90(3), 687-697. doi:10.1079/BJN2003917
9. Okunade O, Niranjan K, Ghawi SK, Kuhnle G, Methven L. Supplementation of the Diet by Exogenous Myrosinase via Mustard Seeds to Increase the Bioavailability of Sulforaphane in Healthy Human Subjects after the Consumption of Cooked Broccoli. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2018;62(18):e1700980. doi:10.1002/mnfr.201700980

The post Eat your Broccoli ! : Why this Adage Holds True! first appeared on Specialized Therapy.

The post Eat your Broccoli ! : Why this Adage Holds True! appeared first on Specialized Therapy.

How you cope with all of this depends on you, but healthy coping skills can be learned and developed. While some people would turn to a drink, others will turn to a good book or funny movie. Exercise is a great stress management tool. The American Psychological Association recommends exercise to manage stress and balance mood. They also recognize healthy coping skills including hobbies, reading, music, and social support.

Certainly, there are many ways to cope positively with stress. Recently I have seen more people using coloring books. There are companies now making fun coloring books for grown-ups.  Simply coloring with markers or pencils seems to have a calming effect. Who would have thought that a childhood activity you may have enjoyed could be beneficial in your adult life? So give coloring a try – and it’s up to you whether you stay in the lines or not!

If you would like to learn better-coping skills, call Specialized Therapy Associates at 201-488-6678 or check our website www.specializedtherapy.com.

The post I Can’t Cope!: Learn how to Deal with Stress first appeared on Specialized Therapy.

The post I Can’t Cope!: Learn how to Deal with Stress appeared first on Specialized Therapy.