Who We Are
Our mission is to inspire and cultivate spiritual, physical and mental health and wholeness within ourselves, in our congregation, in our communities and in our relationship with God's beloved creation.
Announcements & Upcoming Events
The Health Advisory Team is happy to announce that we have a new addition to our congregation- an AED! This "automated external defibrillator" is located in the alcove in the stairway down to Fellowship Hall. You'll notice new AED signs in strategic places to let people know where to find this potentially lifesaving equipment.
Please do not open the AED cabinet unless it is a true emergency; the cabinet has an alarm that is activated when the cabinet is opened.
If you have any questions about the AED, contact Danna Park, MD at 828-333-3339 or mountainintegrative@outlook.com (put AED in the subject line).
Please do not open the AED cabinet unless it is a true emergency; the cabinet has an alarm that is activated when the cabinet is opened.
If you have any questions about the AED, contact Danna Park, MD at 828-333-3339 or mountainintegrative@outlook.com (put AED in the subject line).
Nibbles and Tidbits
It's finally spring and asparagus is a popular vegetable this time of year with an added bonus of being cheaper since it is in season. It is low in calories (half a cup of cooked asparagus has only 20 calories!) and is a great source of nutrients, including fiber, folate and vitamins A, C and K. Also, eating asparagus has a number of health benefits including weight loss, improved digestion and lower blood pressure. To read more about these wonderful spears, click here:
Top 7 Health Benefits of Asparagus (healthline.com)
For easy grilled asparagus , try this (use spray olive oil for fewer calories):
Nif's Easy Grilled Asparagus Spears Recipe - Food.com
Top 7 Health Benefits of Asparagus (healthline.com)
For easy grilled asparagus , try this (use spray olive oil for fewer calories):
Nif's Easy Grilled Asparagus Spears Recipe - Food.com
Have you heard about the problem of over-fishing? Last week I watched a new documentary on Netflix titled Seaspiracy. It’s about the devastating ecological impacts of commercial fishing and fish farming, highlighting salmon farming in Scotland and even forced labor in Thailands shrimp industry. Obviously the documentary was depressing; Sometimes I wish spirit had called me to hold babies all day and not this call to advocate for changes in what we eat. But the fact is, in 2021, if you eat, you are called to be a part of the solution. The urgency cannot be overstated, and my feeling is that church communities could and should play a lead role in changing the course we’re on.
Other docs on the subject, now 20 years old but still valuable for understanding how the fishing industry is ravaging our seas, include:
https://www.thetvdb.com/series/the-blue-planet/episodes/400947
http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/eoen.html
One more documentary I hope you will make time for is Sir David Attenborough’s A Life On Our Planet, released in October of 2020. Of all his beautiful gifts to us I believe This is his greatest one.
https://attenboroughfilm.com/
COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines: How do they work?
There has been a lot of confusion about the two most available COVID-19 mRNA vaccines that are manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna. Here are answers to some of the most frequent questions I’ve gotten in clinic:
1. How do vaccines work?
Vaccines work by stimulating your immune system to recognize disease-causing organisms like viruses. By recognizing and killing the organisms early, your immune system can help you avoid getting sick or can decrease the severity of symptoms and illness if you do get sick.
Vaccines were pioneered by Edward Jenner, a British physician, in 1796. Dr. Jenner used cowpox virus, a weak variant of the smallpox virus, to immunize people against the smallpox virus. People who were injected with the cowpox vaccine were immune to smallpox.
Modern vaccines such as the flu vaccine are similar to Jenner’s cowpox immunization. Attenuated viruses (viruses that are altered so they cannot infect you) or inactivated viruses (killed viruses) are injected to teach your immune system to identify and attack viruses before they can make you sick.
2. What is mRNA?
To understand mRNA, we must first understand DNA. Put simply, DNA is our genetic code. It is a long complicated set of genes that code for everything in our bodies including proteins that our cells may need. When our cells need a protein, they read a section of DNA and produce a small message to give to our cellular machinery. That message is read by the cellular machinery and the protein is produced. The message created by reading DNA is called messenger RNA or mRNA. mRNA does not change, alter or affect the DNA at all.
Using mRNA for prevention and treatment of disease is not new; in fact, it has been researched over the past thirty years in the field of cancer treatment. The primary difficulty with mRNA is that it is very fragile; this is why the current mRNA vaccines in use have to be frozen. Once thawed, the vaccine must be used rapidly before the mRNA in the vaccine breaks down or degrades. Prior to now, this fragility has limited mRNA’s use in immunizations and cancer treatment. Only in the past two years have scientists have been able to stabilize the mRNA enough to make it clinically useful.
When COVID-19 hit, pharmaceutical companies that have been researching mRNA for cancer treatment switched their research to developing mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. That is why the vaccines were able to be so quickly developed, studied and approved for emergency use.
3. How does the mRNA vaccine work?
The mRNA vaccine contains a small snippet of mRNA that codes for the COVID-19 “spike protein”. The spike protein is the protein on the surface of the COVID-19 virus that allows the virus to attach to and infect your cells. On its own, separate from the rest of the COVID-19 virus particle, the “spike protein” is not infectious. When the mRNA is injected into your arm, your cellular machinery reads the mRNA and produces the protein that it encodes. Your body then produces an immune reaction to the spike protein and learns to block the virus from infecting your cells.
It is important to understand that mRNA vaccines are focused- they have our bodies produce just one protein for our immune system to learn and defend against. Other types of vaccines, like the flu vaccine or varicella (chickenpox) contain multiple components for our immune system to mount a defense against. The current mRNA vaccines produce just one protein for our immune system to learn and attack. The likelihood of unusual reactions is lower with such a tailored type of vaccine.
4. How effective are mRNA vaccines?
The Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines showed an effectiveness of approximately 95%. That means that the mRNA vaccines prevented 95% of people from becoming infected with COVID-19. The success rate is spectacular.
In the Moderna trial 30,000 people were enrolled and in the Pfizer trial 43,000 people were enrolled. For perspective, these clinical trials were very large.
5. What symptoms do people develop from the vaccines?
Most people have mild reactions of arm soreness, fatigue, muscles aches, and occasionally low grade fever.
6. What are the risks of the vaccine?
There were very few significant adverse reactions to the vaccines. In the Pfizer trial four people developed a neurological condition called Bell’s palsy, a limited partial facial weakness that usually resolves spontaneously over several months. Severe allergic reactions have been extremely rare, approximately three to five episodes per million doses.
Short and long term effects of the vaccine are being rigorously tracked, monitored and studied by the CDC and other organizations. Over 22 million (and counting!) vaccinated people in the U.S. are voluntarily participating in an easy-to-use smartphone based vaccine monitoring program called V-SAFE through the CDC. You can participate as well- information will be given to you at your vaccination appointment. You can find more information about V-SAFE here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/vsafe.html
7. After I have my two COVID-19 vaccine shots, do I still have to take precautions?
Yes! The vaccine immunity does not happen immediately. Studies showed that it took approximately 2 weeks after the first Pfizer and Modena vaccine for antibody effectiveness to reach 50%. After the second shot, it took an additional 2 weeks after to reach 95% efficacy.
We know that it is possible to have COVID-19 without symptoms, but still be able to spread the virus to others. Researchers do not know if it is possible for immunized people to have asymptomatic COVID-19 infection and be able to spread it to others. For now until more information is known, it is very important to continue to follow all COVID-19 precautions, including continuing to wear a mask in public, maintaining 6 ft. distance from others, and washing your hands frequently even if you have been vaccinated.
Overall, the mRNA vaccines show excellent effectiveness against COVID-19 with few known adverse reactions. In contrast, COVID-19 itself can cause severe illness and death, especially in the 65+ population and in people between the ages of 35-65. We are also just beginning to understand “Long-COVID”, where patients who have had COVID-19 infection, including mild disease, continue to have longer-lasting symptoms and medical issues including heart, lung and neurologic symptoms. Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 greatly decreases the possibility of these types of outcomes. We encourage you to highly consider this information when deciding whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine. For more vaccine information go to https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines/find-your-spot-take-your-shot or https://www.buncombecounty.org/covid-19/default.aspx for Buncombe County.
1. How do vaccines work?
Vaccines work by stimulating your immune system to recognize disease-causing organisms like viruses. By recognizing and killing the organisms early, your immune system can help you avoid getting sick or can decrease the severity of symptoms and illness if you do get sick.
Vaccines were pioneered by Edward Jenner, a British physician, in 1796. Dr. Jenner used cowpox virus, a weak variant of the smallpox virus, to immunize people against the smallpox virus. People who were injected with the cowpox vaccine were immune to smallpox.
Modern vaccines such as the flu vaccine are similar to Jenner’s cowpox immunization. Attenuated viruses (viruses that are altered so they cannot infect you) or inactivated viruses (killed viruses) are injected to teach your immune system to identify and attack viruses before they can make you sick.
2. What is mRNA?
To understand mRNA, we must first understand DNA. Put simply, DNA is our genetic code. It is a long complicated set of genes that code for everything in our bodies including proteins that our cells may need. When our cells need a protein, they read a section of DNA and produce a small message to give to our cellular machinery. That message is read by the cellular machinery and the protein is produced. The message created by reading DNA is called messenger RNA or mRNA. mRNA does not change, alter or affect the DNA at all.
Using mRNA for prevention and treatment of disease is not new; in fact, it has been researched over the past thirty years in the field of cancer treatment. The primary difficulty with mRNA is that it is very fragile; this is why the current mRNA vaccines in use have to be frozen. Once thawed, the vaccine must be used rapidly before the mRNA in the vaccine breaks down or degrades. Prior to now, this fragility has limited mRNA’s use in immunizations and cancer treatment. Only in the past two years have scientists have been able to stabilize the mRNA enough to make it clinically useful.
When COVID-19 hit, pharmaceutical companies that have been researching mRNA for cancer treatment switched their research to developing mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. That is why the vaccines were able to be so quickly developed, studied and approved for emergency use.
3. How does the mRNA vaccine work?
The mRNA vaccine contains a small snippet of mRNA that codes for the COVID-19 “spike protein”. The spike protein is the protein on the surface of the COVID-19 virus that allows the virus to attach to and infect your cells. On its own, separate from the rest of the COVID-19 virus particle, the “spike protein” is not infectious. When the mRNA is injected into your arm, your cellular machinery reads the mRNA and produces the protein that it encodes. Your body then produces an immune reaction to the spike protein and learns to block the virus from infecting your cells.
It is important to understand that mRNA vaccines are focused- they have our bodies produce just one protein for our immune system to learn and defend against. Other types of vaccines, like the flu vaccine or varicella (chickenpox) contain multiple components for our immune system to mount a defense against. The current mRNA vaccines produce just one protein for our immune system to learn and attack. The likelihood of unusual reactions is lower with such a tailored type of vaccine.
4. How effective are mRNA vaccines?
The Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines showed an effectiveness of approximately 95%. That means that the mRNA vaccines prevented 95% of people from becoming infected with COVID-19. The success rate is spectacular.
In the Moderna trial 30,000 people were enrolled and in the Pfizer trial 43,000 people were enrolled. For perspective, these clinical trials were very large.
5. What symptoms do people develop from the vaccines?
Most people have mild reactions of arm soreness, fatigue, muscles aches, and occasionally low grade fever.
6. What are the risks of the vaccine?
There were very few significant adverse reactions to the vaccines. In the Pfizer trial four people developed a neurological condition called Bell’s palsy, a limited partial facial weakness that usually resolves spontaneously over several months. Severe allergic reactions have been extremely rare, approximately three to five episodes per million doses.
Short and long term effects of the vaccine are being rigorously tracked, monitored and studied by the CDC and other organizations. Over 22 million (and counting!) vaccinated people in the U.S. are voluntarily participating in an easy-to-use smartphone based vaccine monitoring program called V-SAFE through the CDC. You can participate as well- information will be given to you at your vaccination appointment. You can find more information about V-SAFE here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/vsafe.html
7. After I have my two COVID-19 vaccine shots, do I still have to take precautions?
Yes! The vaccine immunity does not happen immediately. Studies showed that it took approximately 2 weeks after the first Pfizer and Modena vaccine for antibody effectiveness to reach 50%. After the second shot, it took an additional 2 weeks after to reach 95% efficacy.
We know that it is possible to have COVID-19 without symptoms, but still be able to spread the virus to others. Researchers do not know if it is possible for immunized people to have asymptomatic COVID-19 infection and be able to spread it to others. For now until more information is known, it is very important to continue to follow all COVID-19 precautions, including continuing to wear a mask in public, maintaining 6 ft. distance from others, and washing your hands frequently even if you have been vaccinated.
Overall, the mRNA vaccines show excellent effectiveness against COVID-19 with few known adverse reactions. In contrast, COVID-19 itself can cause severe illness and death, especially in the 65+ population and in people between the ages of 35-65. We are also just beginning to understand “Long-COVID”, where patients who have had COVID-19 infection, including mild disease, continue to have longer-lasting symptoms and medical issues including heart, lung and neurologic symptoms. Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 greatly decreases the possibility of these types of outcomes. We encourage you to highly consider this information when deciding whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine. For more vaccine information go to https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines/find-your-spot-take-your-shot or https://www.buncombecounty.org/covid-19/default.aspx for Buncombe County.
As we move into school and colleges restarting and five more weeks of Phase 2 in NC, I’ve been getting a number of questions about masks. Research has shown that masks work and are one of the simplest ways to slow down the spread of the virus in our communities especially when they are worn by everyone. As part of the “three W’s” (Wear a mask, Wash hands with soap and water frequently, and Wait 6 feet apart from others), masks are integral in our everyday response to COVID-19. And it is working! Although our rates of COVID-19 and hospitalizations in NC are higher than we’d like them to be, we have so far avoided large sudden spikes of cases, which is great news.
There are a lot of mask types available now, and not all masks are equal in their ability to stop viral droplet spread. When you wear a mask, you are wearing it for yourself (to avoid breathing in others’ droplets) and for others (so they don’t breathe in your droplets).
A new study from Duke University’s physics department shows that all masks are not equally effective in blocking virus droplets. Using a laser, they tested a variety of masks, all the way from the “gold standard” N95 which is worn by healthcare providers, to cotton bandanas and neck gaiters (those stretchy polyester fleece ones).
What a difference! Neck gaiters have more porous fabric (which makes it easier to breathe) but were no better at blocking virus droplets than wearing no face covering at all. Also, the porous neck gaiter fabric actually broke up bigger particles into many smaller ones, which are more likely to remain aerosolized and linger in the air longer. Bandanas and knitted masks had the same problem.
Masks with the plastic exhalation valves on them are no better at blocking virus droplets than wearing no face covering at all. The exhalation of unfiltered droplets through the valve is a big risk for COVID-19 spread. See the picture below. The exhalation valve on these masks do not provide any droplet protection for others around this person- the exhaled air goes straight out the plastic port without any filtering. The CDC does not recommend these types of masks and notes that if there is no other option and only a mask with an exhalation valve is available, then the exhalation valve needs to be covered by another mask that does not interfere with the fit of the mask.
Here’s the good news- we have a lot of effective mask options. Cotton cloth masks with at least 3 layers of cloth performed similarly to surgical masks when it came to blocking virus droplets. Ideally any mask worn should have 3 layers. One favorite is the two layer cotton masks with a removable filter- WNC Masks of Love are making these- www.masksoflove.org- see their fitted mask design especially.
Take a look at the Duke report (with some amazing pictures of droplet spread…): Low-cost measurement of facemask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech - https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/07/sciadv.abd3083
There are a lot of mask types available now, and not all masks are equal in their ability to stop viral droplet spread. When you wear a mask, you are wearing it for yourself (to avoid breathing in others’ droplets) and for others (so they don’t breathe in your droplets).
A new study from Duke University’s physics department shows that all masks are not equally effective in blocking virus droplets. Using a laser, they tested a variety of masks, all the way from the “gold standard” N95 which is worn by healthcare providers, to cotton bandanas and neck gaiters (those stretchy polyester fleece ones).
What a difference! Neck gaiters have more porous fabric (which makes it easier to breathe) but were no better at blocking virus droplets than wearing no face covering at all. Also, the porous neck gaiter fabric actually broke up bigger particles into many smaller ones, which are more likely to remain aerosolized and linger in the air longer. Bandanas and knitted masks had the same problem.
Masks with the plastic exhalation valves on them are no better at blocking virus droplets than wearing no face covering at all. The exhalation of unfiltered droplets through the valve is a big risk for COVID-19 spread. See the picture below. The exhalation valve on these masks do not provide any droplet protection for others around this person- the exhaled air goes straight out the plastic port without any filtering. The CDC does not recommend these types of masks and notes that if there is no other option and only a mask with an exhalation valve is available, then the exhalation valve needs to be covered by another mask that does not interfere with the fit of the mask.
Here’s the good news- we have a lot of effective mask options. Cotton cloth masks with at least 3 layers of cloth performed similarly to surgical masks when it came to blocking virus droplets. Ideally any mask worn should have 3 layers. One favorite is the two layer cotton masks with a removable filter- WNC Masks of Love are making these- www.masksoflove.org- see their fitted mask design especially.
Take a look at the Duke report (with some amazing pictures of droplet spread…): Low-cost measurement of facemask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech - https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/07/sciadv.abd3083
Benefits of Exercise
One of the six areas of Lifestyle Medicine is increasing physical activity. Also, known as exercise, it can include many types of physical activity, including swimming, walking, jogging, biking and dancing. And generally, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day (if you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, exercise longer).
Exercise has many healthy benefits, both physically and mentally. Regular exercise can help protect you from heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, noninsulin-dependent diabetes, obesity, back pain and osteoporosis; exercise has the mental benefit of improving your mood and helps you to manage stress. And for woman, weight bearing exercises such a walking, running and strength training help ward off bone loss. If you have arthritis, exercise helps protect joints by easing swelling, pain and fatigue and by keeping cartilage healthy (motion is lotion!).
Click here to read more about the benefits of exercise: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-exercise
One of the six areas of Lifestyle Medicine is increasing physical activity. Also, known as exercise, it can include many types of physical activity, including swimming, walking, jogging, biking and dancing. And generally, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day (if you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, exercise longer).
Exercise has many healthy benefits, both physically and mentally. Regular exercise can help protect you from heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, noninsulin-dependent diabetes, obesity, back pain and osteoporosis; exercise has the mental benefit of improving your mood and helps you to manage stress. And for woman, weight bearing exercises such a walking, running and strength training help ward off bone loss. If you have arthritis, exercise helps protect joints by easing swelling, pain and fatigue and by keeping cartilage healthy (motion is lotion!).
Click here to read more about the benefits of exercise: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-exercise
Want more vitamin C in your diet for the immune boosting benefits? Try incorporating more of the tomatoes that are becoming abundant this time of year! Here’s a recipe for Vegan Ratatouille Spaghetti- can easily use chopped fresh tomatoes instead of the cherry tomatoes depending on what’s in the garden or supermarket.
Click HERE to get the recipe!
Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Bites:
½ cup pumpkin puree
4 medjool dates – pitted
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup rolled oats
¼ cup hemp seeds
1 Tbs almond butter
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Combine dates, almond butter, ½ of the oats in a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix together. Refrigerate for 1 hour, roll into balls. Store in the refrigerator. ENJOY!
½ cup pumpkin puree
4 medjool dates – pitted
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup rolled oats
¼ cup hemp seeds
1 Tbs almond butter
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Combine dates, almond butter, ½ of the oats in a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix together. Refrigerate for 1 hour, roll into balls. Store in the refrigerator. ENJOY!
Baked Oatmeal Cups
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups of rolled oats
2 Tbs of oat flour
1 tsp of oat flour
1 Tbs of ground chia seeds
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp baking soda
dash of sea salt
½ cup of pumpkin puree
¼ cup of pure maple syrup
1 tsp molasses
1 ½ Tbs grain-sweetened chocolate chips
1 Tbs raw pumpkin seeds
Also needed:
Muffin pan
Muffin pan paper liners
Directions:
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups of rolled oats
2 Tbs of oat flour
1 tsp of oat flour
1 Tbs of ground chia seeds
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp baking soda
dash of sea salt
½ cup of pumpkin puree
¼ cup of pure maple syrup
1 tsp molasses
1 ½ Tbs grain-sweetened chocolate chips
1 Tbs raw pumpkin seeds
Also needed:
Muffin pan
Muffin pan paper liners
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line eight 2 1/2 -inch muffin cup with paper bake cups or use nonstick muffin cups.
- In a larger bowl stir together the first 7 ingredients (through salt). In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, maple syrup and molasses. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture. Mix well. Add chocolate pieces and pumpkin seeds. Spoon about 1/3 of cup batter into each lined muffin cup. Use a spatula to lightly pack batter.
- Bake 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; cool 5 minutes. Remove oatmeal cups from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Quinoa & Bean Salad
Ingredients:
In a large bowl, mix together the kidney beans, quinoa, onion and basil. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad and toss to coat evenly. |
