Great Way Weekly

Nancy (not her real name) came to see me for acupuncture to treat her lupus symptoms of chronic neck and upper back pain. She had a host of other issues, too–anxiety, poor sleep, low energy, intermittent joint pain–but the neck and upper back were the worst.

When someone has pain, Chinese medicine believes that there is usually an element of stagnation present–blood stagnation, dampness causing stagnation, maybe cold causing stagnation–and we do a treatment to move that stagnation, and strengthen the patients qi so that their bodies can keep battling stagnation off of the treatment table.

When I agreed to work with Nancy, I encouraged her (actually, I practically begged her, at almost every visit) to get tested for Celiac disease and food allergies. I have seen in my clinical practice that a condition called “leaky gut syndrome” can be the cause of autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Leaky gut syndrome can occur when someone has an overgrowth of candida, or if they are consuming food that their body can’t tolerate. Overuse of oral antibiotics can be a factor, too, since they destroy all of the “good” bacteria in the intestines, leaving them weak and inflamed. The small intestine becomes porous and toxins leak out into the body, stimulating an autoimmune response.

Western medicine has not gotten on board with the idea that a leaky gut could have anything to do with autoimmune disease. I can’t say that it’s the only cause, but I’ve seen it in a few patients.

Nancy finally had to get allergy testing after two severe allergic reactions that sent her to the emergency room for anaphylactic shock. Her first test showed that she was allergic to at least 90 different things. No wonder she was so sick!

Food intolerances are not a part of Chinese medicine, but digestive health is believed to be one of the most important keys to well-being. People with digestive problems often have dampness, which can lead to pain. So, while we don’t have traditional explanations for a problem like leaky gut syndrome (at least not that I’ve encountered), it fits into our medical theory that problems with the intestines can make problems in the rest of the body.

To avoid another experience with anaphylactic shock, Nancy needs further testing to check for other allergenic foods. Her doctor has her eating the foods that she seems least allergic too until they can get more test results. Unfortunately for Nancy, it’s only 2 items–dairy and eggs.

It’s a difficult and depressing situation for her, and she’s hungry and getting tired of eating only eggs and dairy products. But, her pain is already starting to recede. For the first time in years, her neck is not in excruciating pain all the time. I expect that as her body detoxes (and as she is able to incorporate other foods into her diet), she will feel better than she ever has.

Jake Fratkin, and acupuncturist and naturopath in Boulder, has a great article about leaky gut syndrome. You can also go to his website here.

Dr. Andrew Weil has a brief posting here.

I’ve finally finished by 10-month yoga teacher training, and while it’s bitter sweet to be done, I’m looking forward to having more time for my blog. I have a lot of recipes to post, and Chinese medicine and yoga to discuss.

Today’s post is for my homemade veggie burgers, which are a constantly-evolving, free-form food that I change based on my whim and what I have on hand.

I’ve been experimenting with a couple of different recipes and found a nice combo in my last batch. It’s an amalgamation of Molly Katzen’s Tofu Nut Ball recipe (from The Enchanted Broccoli Forrest) and Mark Bittman’s Nut burger (from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian).

My version is pretty flexible for the proportions of rice/nuts/tofu–the key is to add enough whole cooked rice at the end to be able to form nice burgers.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to make your own burgers, we love Sunshine Burgers. They are gluten-free and made of sunflower seeds and other tasty things.

Cathy’s Veggie Burgers

1 cup raw almonds
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 onion
1/2 block Chinese-style tofu (about 8 ounces)
1-2 tbsp tahini or peanut butter
Sriracha hot sauce to taste (we like a lot–1/2-1 tbsp), or any other hot sauce or ketchup (optional)
Soy Sauce to taste (about 1 tbsp)
1 egg

Grind almonds in a food processor to make a coarse meal. Add about onion, tofu, tahini or peanut butter, Sriracha, soy sauce, egg and about 1/2 of the rice. Pulse to form a thick, fairly uniform puree.
Dump puree into a bowl and add enough brown rice until the mixture is mold-able but still a bit wet (not sopping wet, just a bit wet).

I like to cook these on my double-burner cast iron griddle, but I think they’d also do well in the oven.

To cook on your stovetop: heat a thick griddle or skillet to a medium to low temperature. Mold 1/2-3/4 a cup of mix into patties (easier to do this with wet hands). Cook on griddle for 5-10 minutes per side. Turn your burgers carefully–they should hold together pretty well, but need to be handled gently. The idea is to slowly evaporate the liquid out while cooking the egg to hold it together. Keep the temperature low so that your burgers don’t burn while they slowly dry out.

To cook in the oven: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place patties on a greased baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, or until patties are crispy and brown on the outside and cooked through.

Serve with whatever burger toppings you like. My favorite toppings are avocado, dijon mustard, and tomatoes. My husband usually likes to melt some cheese on his burger just before it comes off of the griddle.