Photo by Mai Le.

Got a question for us? Drop your tricky, random, wacky or plain confusing health question into the Suggest-O-Matic, leave a comment, or tag your tweet questions with #wellwire and our team of experts will answer them in this weekly column.

Q: I’m interested in learning more about natural birth control and am considering the intrauterine device, ParaGard. My question has two parts. First, are there any health measures I should consider before inserting the device? Secondly, what should I do to prepare my body? -Michele U, Buffalo, NY

A: Great question! For our readers who might be unfamiliar with ParaGard, let me explain what is and how it works. The non-hormonal birth control is a T-shaped flexible plastic device that is inserted into your uterus during a routine office visit. It releases a tiny bit of copper to kill sperm and changes the environment to make implantation of a fertilized egg less likely. You can keep it in for up to 10 years and when you are ready to have it removed, your health care provider easily slides it out.

Unlike birth control pill, ParaGard does not alter your hormone levels. The device is effective immediately after insertion, it does not decrease your risk of fertility after removal, it’s safe during breast feeding, and is 99% effective. Some women experience side effects like pain and cramping during and after insertion which can last for days to months during the adjustment period (especially if you have never had children as your uterus is not used to something being up there), spotting between periods and a heavier menstrual flow.

Okay, so, now you know how it works. To answer your question Michele: because the ParaGard releases copper in small amounts, I advise women take a zinc supplement daily as zinc and copper deplete each other. I also advise women get screened periodically for anemia if they are spotting a lot or if their flow is much heavier or longer.

The ParaGard is probably not your best option if you already have really bad menstrual cramps or a really heavy flow because it might make them worse. If you have a small uterus or are looking for protection against sexually transmitted infections (which of course it does not provide), then I would advise another option.

Dr. Carrie Jones has practices in Tigard and Sherwood, Oregon where she focuses in all aspects of women's health. She is an adjunct professor at the National College of Natural Medicine, and writes and speaks regularly on the subject of women's medicine.

Photo by River City Gifts.

Ever combed the kitchen cabinets on a mission to indulge a sweet craving? Inspired by what I found in my pantry, this chocolate almond butter bark magically came together to make the perfect healthy treat! Loaded with omegas 3, 6, and 9 along with antioxidants and magnesium, this concoction will satisfy your sweet tooth.

What you need:

• 16 ounces raw crushed almonds
• 4 cups coconut flakes
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1 cup raw pepitas
• 4 cups hemp granola (Nature’s Path)
• 1 16-ounce jar room temperature almond butter
• 17.5 ounces dark chocolate (Green and Black’s is my fave)
• Sesame oil
• 2 deep casserole dishes

Putting it Together:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients and berries.
2. Melt chocolate and almond butter  in a double boiler continually stirring. Pour over dry ingredients and berries mixing quickly. If the texture appears too thick, stir in a teaspoon of sesame oil until a creamy consistency is reached.
3. Once thoroughly combined, equally divide mixture into the casserole dishes.
4. Cover with waxed paper or parchment paper and chill for about an hour in the refrigerator.
5. Once it’s chilled break off a piece and chomp down!

Photo by Mai Le.

Got a question for us? Drop your tricky, random, wacky or plain confusing health question into the Suggest-O-Matic (or leave a comment) and our team of experts with answer them.

Q: I am 5 months pregnant and want to start receiving pregnancy massages. I’ve heard there are certain pressure points that shouldn’t be stimulated at certain times, is that true? Will my massage therapist know where these are located? Is there a specific type of massage you recommend? Mistee J. Brooklyn, New York

A: Massage during pregnancy is a such a good idea and it will benefit both you and the baby! Back muscles start to get a little sore as the baby grows and stretches. Yes, there are certainly pressure points that should be avoided: GB21, the point on the top of the shoulders, SP6, about 2-3 inches up from the ankle on the inside of the leg, and LI4, the acupoint between so thumb and index finger. There are other areas of the body that may need more caution taken with massage, depending on the woman and the pregnancy. This is why asking your midwife, doctor, or acupuncturist for recommendations is ideal. Ideally, your massage therapist works with pregnant women often and can set you up comfortably with pregnancy cushions (special cushions that are designed for a pregnant body and belly) so you can relax nicely on the table. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable during the massage! If at any time something doesn’t feel right, tell the massage therapist immediately so you can change position, use the bathroom, or whatever else you may need. Don’t be shy and enjoy!

Amy Chitwood, L.Ac. is a graduate of the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. She is nationally board certified in Chinese herbal medicine and manages the Portland Acupuncture Blog.

Photo by avlxyz.

Want to taste the carbo-loaded delights of traditional Italian food without pasta’s simple carbs? Try complex carbohydrate rich vegetable lasagna. Layer by layer, this dish is full of vitamin C, beta-carotene, manganese, potassium and fiber. Buon Appetito!

What you need:

• 3 eggs
• 32 ounces ricotta or goat feta cheese
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 3 medium summer squash
• 1 eggplant
• 2  32-ounce cans tomato sauce
• 1 bag of collard greens, kale, or spinach
• 2 cans artichoke hearts
• 1 jar kalamata olives

To get started:

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, beat eggs and stir in cheese. Add salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and garlic. Slice squash and eggplant into ¼ inch strips.

To Assemble:

1. Spread 1 cup of sauce on bottom of 13×9 baking dish.
2. Layer strips of squash, cheese, and 1½ cups of sauce.
3. Layer greens, artichokes, olives, 1 cup cheese, and 1½ cups sauce.
4. Layer eggplant, 1½ cups sauce, and remaining cheese.
5. Cover with foil and cook for 55 minutes. Uncover and top with basil. Cook additional 5 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

Christine M. Dionese L.Ac. specializes in integrative medicine, medical journalism and is the VP of marketing at WellWire LLC. Visit her wellness and lifestyle blog, Reaching Beyond Now.

Photo by Orna Izakson.

At the end of a talk I gave the other day about gardening with medicinal plants, a lovely woman asked me if I could only have one herb book after the apocalypse/revolution/peak oil disaster etc., which book would it be?

Book geek that I am, I couldn’t pick just one. I cheated by recommending the new two-volume set, Earthwise Herbal, by Minnesota herbalist Matthew Wood. Then, I thought of some more:

1. The Earthwise Herbal

As mentioned above, my favorite herbal these days is the two-volume set published by Minnesota herbalist Matthew Wood in 2009. The first volume, The Earthwise Herbal: A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants, focuses primarily on the European plants that make up the bulk of the modern herbal toolbox, and which are often cultivated on purpose or as weeds in people’s gardens. The second volume, The Earthwise Herbal: A Complete Guide to New World Medicinal Plants, considers herbal contributions from the Americas.

One of the unique things about these books is that in addition to offering information about specific herbs, Wood offers a survey of historical systems used to categorize and prescribe them. He explains systems ranging from the four element system of the Greeks and the five element system of the Chinese to they physiomedicalist tradition and southern blood typology of more modern America. This adds huge depth to his encyclopedic offering, making it a rich set to go through repeatedly over time.

2. Anything by Michael Moore (the herbalist)

If you live anywhere in or near the Western US — and, frankly, even if you don’t — you must own any book you can get your hands on by herbalist Michael Moore. His writing is as opinionated and funny as the film director, though with a different life focus. His three main books are Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West, Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West and Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West. They cover different bioregions but it’s worthwhile to own all three because of species overlap between the regions.

During his prolific life, Moore digitized much of his own work and that of his predecessors in herbal medicine, and a great repository is available for free online. His school, Southwest School of Botanical Medicine in Bisbee, Arizona, continues to offer distance learning classes via DVDs.

3. Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Earth

Another of my favorite resources is Herbal Medicine From the Heart of the Earth by naturopath Dr. Sharol Tilgner. The first half of the book is a materia medica listing many commonly used medicinal plants. The second half offers detailed recipes for specific ailments.

Tilgner also offers a great public service by putting her materia medica online for free, listed by Latin and common names. While this won’t help you when the power goes out, it does make an excellent free reference in the meantime. Tilgner also hosts classes and a summer weekend conference on her land in Pleasant Hill, Oregon.

4. Two for beginners

As beginning texts, The Herb Book by John Lust and The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra cover a lot of ground within their small covers. Both are commonly available used, give basic information about a large number of herbs, and include information about making medicine from the plants.

5. Getting growing

But all the herb books in the world won’t do any good if you can’t get them to grow — a critical skill come the apocalypse/revolution/peak oil.

My top two books on getting things to grow have been the same for years. And while these aren’t specifically about growing herbs, this is great general information for anyone growing any kinds of plants.

Start with Steve Solomon’s Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times. The book takes you through everything you need to know now, including how to choose seeds, how to feed your soil, favorite tools, bugs and diseases, and growing specific food plants. This is gardening 101.

The next step is putting a garden together in the most functional possible way. To my mind, that means Permaculture — defined by one of its creators as “the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.”

The most practical and accessible Permaculture introduction I’ve seen is Toby Hemenway’s book Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture. Toby, the first person I ever spoke with about Permaculture, does a great job of explaining issues clearly and offering great ideas that instantly make sense.

Another great introduction to both permaculture and its huge potential for social change is Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard Into a Garden and Your Neighborhood Into a Community by H. C. Flores. Flores offers great and practical suggestions for making do with what’s readily available, keeping an eye to politics and maintaining optimism.

Two of the best books specifically about growing and using medicinal plants are self published by Richo Cech of Horizon Herbs — itself a phenomenal resouce for medicinal plant seeds and starts. Check out his classic Making Plant Medicine and The Medicinal Herb Grower.

If that’s not enough to get you started, online information abounds. As a starting point, check out my website GardenMedicine, where I continue amassing information and articles on these topics.

Dr. Orna Izakson, ND, RH (AHG) is a naturopathic physician, herbalist, gardener and writer. She specializes in respiratory issues, mood and women's health at Celilo Natural Health Center in Portland, Oregon.

Photo by Mai Le.

Q Here in the Pacific Northwest, the damp winter weather seems to affect my sinuses. When the barometric pressure changes, I get an infection. How can I avoid or prevent these infections despite the seasonal weather change? I’m not taking any medication. Carol C Portland, Oregon

A You’ve hit the nail on the head! The key to your question is preventing sinus infections. Sinus infections occur when there is improper drainage of the sinuses. The sinuses contain holes through which the intra-sinus fluid that is produced, drains. If there is inflammation or an immune reaction, the tissue around these drain holes swells. When the fluid cannot properly drain, the fluid accumulates resulting in a closed cavity, (increasing pressure) and a festering infection.

Addressing the cause of chronic swelling of sinus tissue is the best way to prevent chronic sinus infections. The sinus linings are swelling and secreting excessive fluids and mucous for a reason and that needs to be figured out. Talk to your acupuncturist or naturopathic physician about being proactive, instead of reactive, in taking the necessary steps to keep your sinuses functioning well.

Dr. Gibran Ramos, ND, MSOM completed his six year training and internship in Naturopathic and Chinese Medicine at National College of Natural Medicine. Dr. Ramos helps patients transform their lives and optimize their well-being at Northwest Natural Medicine in Milwaukie, Oregon.

Photo by turtlemom4bacon.

Last month while visiting Rochester I popped into the local market my parents have shopped at my entire life. Only having purchased 3 items, but realizing I’d forgotten my re-usable shopping bag, I opted to go bag-less. Before I could get the words, “no bag thank you,” out of my mouth, the young man behind the counter had begun dropping my stuff in a plastic bag. I quickly said, “oh no thanks, only 3 things, no need for a bag, save it for the next person.” To my astonishment he pulled my items out, handed them over like a robot, and threw the un-used bag into his garbage!

Can’t wait until the chap behind the counter cheerfully asks, “hey, how are ya?” instead of, “paper or plastic?” When I first moved to California almost a decade ago I was amazed at how much organic produce was readily available. I was continually baffled at the plastic mess it was packaged in though!

I’ve heard a lot of folks remark, “oh, it’s paper it’ll degrade” or “what’s a little piece of plastic actually gonna do if it just stays in a dump?” I regularly pipe up with answers to those ludicrous questions.

Reaching Beyond Paper or Plastic

While reading an issue of Dwell I lit up when I saw an article titled The Future of Groceries. It reviewed three brilliantly simple ways to enhance our entire method of procuring and storing the foods we love. Summing it up, creative concept idea machine, Marti Guixe says, “food design, if properly done, should eliminate superfluous packaging.” Complimenting this sentiment is Food Probe’s Home Farming Unit, a biosphere containing live seafood with the ability to grow vegetables. Imagine how wonderful it will be to maintain just what you need, excess free!

Shopping Conscientiously

Until these farming units hit our homes, consider every action you put forward with what I call whole conscious thinking:

• Buying organic? Great job! Now consider, am I purchasing my food from a sustainable source? Go online or ask neighbors where the local farmer’s markets are located. Many farms now offer a twice monthly service farmer’s box chock full of the season’s best.
• The next time you’re shopping compliment your grocer on what you see them doing best. Politely suggest they offer re-usable shopping supplies or they leave produce un-wrapped free of plastic packaging.
• Don’t forget to get an update from your waste management company of the items you may recycle each week with your other trash. At the end of the week our recycling bins are absolutely over-flowing. Almost all materials you consider garbage can and should be recycled. If your company doesn’t take certain items, find an alternative resource for your garbage. We save any plastic bags that might come into the house via guests to be later taken down the street, where our local market will recycle them for the public.

Reusable Shopping Totes

Just about every grocer now offers (at a small cost) reusable totes for your continued convenience. If you’re like me, you’ll want to support organizations that give back to the environment by donating proceeds. Try a couple of my sturdy faves:

• Envirosax. Can fit the equivalent of 3 full plastic bags or about 2 full paper sacks.
• ACME bags. Reusable Bag Company designed their own line of re- and up-cycled shopping totes and ACME bags are great for bicycle baskets!
• Etsy often features bags made by independent designers in their own homes, many of whom donate a certain amount of profits to various charities.

Remember to wash that re-usable shopper every couple of times you bring it home. Un-washed, bacteria has a chance to thrive in your tote. Kind of defeats the purpose if your shopper turns into a bacterial breeding ground. Give your totes a pre-shop spruce by spraying a few shots of Clean Well’s thyme and citrus oil sanitizer and shake to dry!

Christine M. Dionese L.Ac. specializes in integrative medicine, medical journalism and is the VP of marketing at WellWire LLC. Visit her wellness and lifestyle blog, Reaching Beyond Now.

Photo by SuhelSheikh.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a wonderful tool during pregnancy: drug-free and relaxing for baby and mother. I get this question a lot, acupuncture can be used safely and effectively throughout the entire pregnancy, even after delivery.

• During the first trimester a woman might feel fatigue and nausea or experience a lot of vomiting. There may be some herbal formulas to take but these are limited since many herbs shouldn’t be used during pregnancy, worse, the taste may be difficult for a pregnant woman with nausea to handle! Weekly acupuncture treatments are the best remedy during this time of the pregnancy to combat nausea and help gain some energy.

• During the second trimester, a woman often starts to feel slightly better (and look and feel more pregnant). She will start to feel the baby move, and changes in her body become more rapid. Due to these rapid changes, it’s possible that heartburn, constipation, varicose veins, and even hemorrhoids may occur. This is due to hormonal changes that affect the smooth muscle in the body, as well as the veins. Acupuncture points can be used now to provide relief for the mother. Weekly treatments are recommended if symptoms are severe.

• In the third trimester, acupuncture can help relieve edema (water retention) around the ankles and feet as well as back pain and insomnia. If the baby is in a breech position, moxibustion can be used to turn the baby around. It usually takes around ten days of using the moxibustion stick daily, but it can be very effective when used properly. Tuina or shiatsu massage are techniques I use to help the mother relax and to help with back pain.

Acupuncture can also be used closer to the delivery date to help with cervical effacement, and to shorten the labor time. There are also practitioners who will help induce labor in a baby that is past the due date, depending on the situation. Some hospitals and midwives allow acupuncturists to be present during a delivery if requested by the mother.

Every pregnancy is different, and it’s important to keep an open mind with your treatment options.  This site has some good suggestions about Western herbs to avoid during pregnancy, as well as some other helpful hints. What to Expect When You’re Expecting is a great pregnancy book, and Mother’s Special Blend is an oil that several women swear by to help with stretch marks (you can also find this at New Seasons in Portland). Pregnancy is a special time in a woman’s life, and acupuncture can effectively help her to have the best 40 weeks possible.

Amy Chitwood, L.Ac. is a graduate of the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. She is nationally board certified in Chinese herbal medicine and manages the Portland Acupuncture Blog.