Diet And Behavior – part 2 of a 2 part lecture by Dr. Miroslawa Witalis

By Fred Ingham, Marigold Parent

On Monday May 20th, Dr. Miroslawa Witalis gave a second lecture about nutrition and wellness, building on the material she presented in April.  The topic of this second talk was how our diet can influence our moods and behaviors in specific ways.  In the first lecture, she focused on the role of cortisol in regulating alertness and energy.  In the second, she spoke about the role of a hormone called DHEA.  DHEA is a pre-cursor to the sex hormones testosterone, estrogen and progesterone.  DHEA serves in a “restorative” function, and is somewhat complementary to cortisol.  DHEA is part of what allows adults to get by with less sleep than children (who normally do not have much DHEA prior to puberty).

Dr. Witalis sees that modern diets and certain environmental toxins (especially those found in plastics) are causing children to show physical and behavioral symptoms linked to DHEA and its associated sex hormones.  Aggressiveness and anxiety (testosterone), social problems (estrogen) and lack of concentration (progesterone) are indicators that there could be a hormonal imbalance at work.  She has seen behavioral problems correlated with elevated levels of these hormones, and has found that dietary interventions can be an important aid in helping individuals and families to function better.

The keys to keeping DHEA in healthy bounds are to follow a diet that keeps cortisol levels in the normal range, peaking in the early morning and declining throughout the day.  This means having a protein dense breakfast, a substantial lunch, and a light dinner, ideally 4 hours before sleeping.   When we don’t follow this type of plan, cortisol levels can fluctuate irregularly, especially by dropping early in the day and rising at night.  This pattern can stimulate production of DHEA, which can lead to elevated levels of the sex hormones.  Another concern that Dr. Witalis raised was that elevated cortisol levels at night can actually be caustic to the brain, causing long term damage.

There are other things that seem to contribute to elevated levels of DHEA and its associated sex hormones.  Many compounds found in plastics mimic sex hormones in the body, so Dr. Witalis recommended that we avoid eating off of or around heated plastics (like at a computer or in the car). Dr. Witalis also suggested that modern parenting practices could be contributing to the elevated levels of DHEA often found in children.  In particular, the practice of engaging children with too many choices that are inappropriate to their age may be having a subtle effect.  Young children do best, she said, when adults set the rhythm and expectations of the children’s day, and follow that consistently.  This leaves the children’s minds and bodies free to develop in an age-appropriate way.  If instead, we are frequently asking them to decide, on everything from what clothes to wear to what the family should eat for dinner, we’re essentially calling forth their adult selves too early, and they respond, in part, by producing elevated levels of DHEA, which can contribute to some of the their behavior problems.

So, if behavior problems are affecting your family, consider the role that diet and environmental toxins could be playing, as well as whether the child’s choice-making is being overly engaged.  It may be that some simple interventions around how the family eats and makes decisions can bring significant relief.

Dr. Miroslawa Witalis is a Naturopathic Physician with a degree from Bastyr University and a Masters degree in Medical Technology from the Medical Academy in Krakow. She has taught pharmacology, lab chemistry, homeopathy, and Goetheanistic methodology in natural sciences and holistic medicine, and has served as a consultant to health care practitioners in Europe.

About Letting Go

WHRRR!!!

I am sitting at SeaTac waiting for my flight, as I head east to celebrate my oldest son’s graduation from college.  The bad news is that an engine issue has delayed my departure by seven hours; the good news is that I have time to reflect on this upcoming milestone (and get this to Gabi well before her kindly ever-flexible deadline).

A snapshot about my son. He’s 26 years old, is graduating from the University of Virginia with honors, and has a terrific job in his field of study starting July 1st.  He is officially launched, which is a marvelous accomplishment by any standard. However, there’s far more to Sunday’s diploma than good grades and a paycheck forthcoming.  My first-born entered the world seven weeks early, precariously balanced on life’s edge for many weeks.  A fighter, he never gave up – this resilience and persistence became his trademark for the next two plus decades. Whether struggling to get a hit at the Little League game, writing an A research paper despite learning challenges, or maintaining a smile after his first girl friend walked away, John just kept trying.

Meanwhile, I thought I did all the right things as a mother – helping with all those papers (“generous” proofreading, in hindsight), checking in regularly with teachers (they may have been on my speed dial, I fear), offering to call coaches if he didn’t get in the game. Long before the term was coined, I hovered as the helicopter parent extraordinare.

Then came college, and he was off on his own. Two years later he was back home, trying to pick up the pieces after his first real encounter with failure, further complicated by depression and anxiety. I couldn’t fix this for him, and he did not want me to. The hard work was his to do, and when he drove 3,000 miles away to Virginia for round two of college, I wept with fear and apprehension.  This weekend my tears will spill from a place of joy and pride, and reflect a humble recognition that while my intentions to help sprang from love, what he needed most was for me to step aside.

Last Sunday’s New York Times featured an article titled, “When Helping Hurts.” I smiled ruefully as I read it, wishing it had come my way 20 years ago. The authors explore recent research that points to the detrimental impact overly involved parents can have on their children’s intellectual and emotional development, as well as their overall feeling of happiness with their lives. One particularly surprising finding: the more money parents spend on their child’s college education, the worse grades the child earns. (Perhaps that is why my son insisted on taking out loans?) Similarly, the more parents are involved in their child’s selection of a college major, the less satisfied the student feels.

Before we rush to tell our kids to pull up their socks and go it alone, we can be reassured that there exists a healthy level of engagement out there, whether with our children, spouses or friends. Providing help is most effective when the recipient clearly needs it, and when our help complements rather than replaces the recipient’s own efforts. Our help should balance our child’s need for support with their need for competence, and should be calibrated to augment not replace their efforts.

Finding this balance is not easy, and the fulcrum is constantly shifting. In my case, it took my son pulling away  - literally, out of the driveway – for me to recognize that the best help I could offer was to take a deep breath and let him go.  I look forward to giving John a big hug of congratulations on Sunday for what is truly HIS accomplishment.  And, to pass on the gratitude from his four younger siblings that, thanks to him, I have garaged the helicopter – most of the time.

While I am heading east, our twelfth graders are presenting their senior projects (you can still see a few of them this afternoon and evening), students from fifth grade up will be giving their all in Ultimate playoff games this weekend, and eighth graders are busy preparing for their production of the Wizard of Oz next week.  Space is limited, so be sure to call the main office to reserve your free tickets for Thursday or Friday night to see the this fun musical!

Best wishes for the weekend!

Tracy

P.S.  Click here to view a wonderful 4 minute video about why “Waldorf bans iPads from elementary classrooms.” If you are on Facebook, “like” and “share” our post with the link to the video to help spread the word.

From:  End of the Week Update, 5/17/13

Innovation

By 2020, the sum of knowledge in the world will double every 12-18 months.

This was just one of the thought-provoking statements I and other school leaders heard in the opening presentation by Grant Lichtman at the PNAIS Heads of School conference last weekend.  A former school administrator, teacher, parent and trustee, Lichtman recently completed a 3-month journey from New York to San Diego that included visits to 64 independent schools across the country.  The purpose of his stops? To probe how schools are responding to the rapidly changing world in which students are living and learning, and flesh out what’s working – and what’s not. In Lichtman’s view, truly innovative schools are preparing students for their future, not our past.

Lichtman outlined some of the inherent challenges for schools as we confront a world that seems to be moving at warp speed, namely inertia and fear. Our culture as educators tends to trust that what we have been doing (for years, decades, centuries even) works just fine. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. And, sticking with what we know, even if it’s not great, is more appealing than venturing into the unknown. Schools are by nature risk-averse, preferring tweaks around the edges to major transformation. Given this predisposition to avoid – or at least to move excruciatingly slowly toward – change, what does successful innovation look like in schools today?

We need to start with defining innovation, which does not necessarily mean bigger, better and more expensive. Rather, Lichtman offered that innovation is evidenced in ideas that generate value. Successful innovation results from ideas that produce sustainable value over time.  Common characteristics of engaged and successful student learning emerged from his exploration:

• Dynamic: messy, noisy, risky, with students co-learning and leading one another
• Adaptive: interdisciplinary, collaborative, with new courses continually developing
• Permeable: off campus, experiential, with local, regional and global partnerships
• Relevant: big themes, deep exploration, unifying themes with systems thinking
• Self-correcting: empathetic, open, reflective and diverse
• Creative: embracing failure, student-generated, and knowledge creation

Sound familiar? Yes – Lichtman captured the essence of Waldorf education, which schools across the country are striving to bring to their teachers, students and communities. The pendulum of technology, test scores, and rigid curricula is swinging back, as research underscores the importance of non-linear thinking and open-ended questioning.  Here we are, well ahead (or behind, depending on how you look at it) of the curve, staying the course with a pedagogy and practices that offers today’s children’s the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to move toward the world of tomorrow.

Off to the grades 6-12 musical celebration – yet another affirmation of our wonderful work!

Warmly,
Tracy

Published in the Connection, 5/10/13.

The Three Big Rules for Healthier Eating – a lecture by Dr. Miroslawa Witalis

By Fred Ingham, Marigold Parent

On Thursday April 25, Dr. Miroslawa Witalis spoke in Huckleberry Hall about ways we can improve the health and happiness of our families by improving how we eat.  This was the first of two programs (the second will be offered May 20).  She stressed that the “how” of eating – the amount, the type of food, the timing, and reasons – is more important than the specific “what”.  We don’t have to “only buy organic”, or follow a specific list of ingredients.  Instead, she gave 3 simple “rules” (along with some other tips) for eating that she said would improve energy levels, digestion, sleep and overall health.  The mechanism that these rules target is the way our body regulates the stress hormone cortisol.  According to Dr. Witalis, normal cortisol levels peak at 4:00AM and then gradually decline throughout the day until midnight, when they replenish during sleep.  This natural rhythm supports healthy living because cortisol gives us the energy and alertness we need to function well in the early and middle part of the day.  As it declines into the evening, we are getting ready to sleep.  The problem she sees with many diets today is that they cause disruptions in this natural rhythm, which leads to lack of energy and cravings for sugary food during the day, along with poor digestion and disrupted sleep at night.

Rule #1: Eat a substantial breakfast with high protein density

Dr. Witalis said that we should aim to consume half our daily-recommended protein first thing in the morning.  The formula she offered was to take our body weight in pounds, multiply by .37 to .5, and that gives our daily target for protein in grams.  Excellent protein-dense foods to focus on for breakfast include fish, cold cuts, cheese (she favors soft cheeses such as chevre or camembert), eggs (chicken or duck) and nut butters.  These protein-dense foods should be balanced with high fiber items such as whole grain breads, bran, beans or ground flax.  Dr. Witalis said that yogurt doesn’t have enough protein density to support healthy cortisol levels.  She singled out oatmeal in particular as a poor choice for breakfast.  She explained that, as a starch, it floods our system with energy, and in response, cortisol levels drop precipitously and too early in the day, leaving us with depleted energy and sugar cravings later.  At our house, oatmeal has been my son’s breakfast staple since he began eating solid foods, and he seems to be pretty healthy and energetic.  However, I can see the logic of what Dr. Witalis is suggesting and may try to offer more protein in the morning.

Rule #2: Lunch should be the largest meal of the day.

Dr. Witalis favors starting off lunch with a warm soup, then a main course accompanied by plenty of vegetables.  She understands that many people feel like they don’t have time to prepare and eat a substantial, healthy lunch.  As a short cut, she suggested making a large pot of hearty soup, and then freezing it in serving-sized containers.  In the morning, you can just heat up the frozen soup on the stove and then put it in a wide-mouth thermos where it will stay warm until lunch.  The soup, along with a substantial sandwich on whole-grain bread, will make a nutritionally optimal and convenient lunch.  I don’t think I’ll have any trouble convincing myself to eat more at lunch.  The trick for me will be honoring Rule #3 as well…

Rule #3: Dinner should be early and light.

Our nutritional objective in the evening is to allow our cortisol levels to keep dropping.  Too many dinners involve large quantities of rich heavy foods, sometimes accompanied by alcohol and sugar, right before bedtime.  A meal like this, followed too soon by sleep, can lead to a cortisol increase, and inefficient digestion.  Dr. Witalis recommends that our dinners be early – at least 4 hours prior to sleeping, and light.  By light she means that we should stop eating at the sensation of “first satiation” – when we first feel “full.”  Too often, out of habit or social expectation, we eat more than we actually need to at night, which disrupts our healthy cortisol rhythms.  She also favors lighter foods at dinner, mentioning poached fish in particular.  She said that dinner is a perfect time for oatmeal and other starches, as they will tend to reduce cortisol at the right time of the day.  What she is saying about eating excess amounts at dinner is certainly true for me.  I will often take second helpings just because I enjoy the meal and the company, regardless of whether I’m truly hungry.  Maybe honoring Rule #3 will be easier if I do indeed eat a larger lunch.

Dr. Witalis offered several other ideas for healthy eating.  She said that our gut is a creature of habit – it gets used to digesting certain foods at certain times of day, and we should learn to work with that.  So, consistent meal times can be very helpful.  Chewing gum (which sends a false signal to our gut that food is coming) is not helpful.  She favors warm beverages, especially in the morning, to help prepare our digestive system to function properly.  Dr. Witalis thinks microwaves should never be used – that they destroy too many nutrients and enzymes and create “free radicals.”  She said that fruit is always a good option, and in the hierarchy of fruits, dark berries are at the very top.  She said fruit and berries make excellent afternoon snacks on their own or in a smoothie.  She doesn’t favor smoothies for breakfast – they are not protein dense enough.

Dr. Witalis framed the entire discussion by recognizing that society and habits being what they are, it may not be realistic to completely follow all of these rules perfectly.  However, Dr. Witalis said that, with intention and discipline, it is possible to form healthier habits around food, and if we do so, we will likely see many inter-related benefits.  I’m certainly intending to try some of these ideas and see how they work out.

Dr. Miroslawa Witalis is a Naturopathic Physician with a degree from Bastyr University and a Masters degree in Medical Technology from the Medical Academy in Krakow. She has taught pharmacology, lab chemistry, homeopathy, and Goetheanistic methodology in natural sciences and holistic medicine, and has served as a consultant to health care practitioners in Europe.  Her next talk at the Seattle Waldorf School on May 20 is again free and open to the public.

The Value Of Our Work

Spring is finally here! It’s been wonderful to feel the warm sun and see blue skies this week, especially as we anticipate our community celebration of May Faire tomorrow, with the special treat of music performances by our high school drummers and more. (See below.)  Grade school students have been excitedly rehearsing their dances, and the May Pole stands tall in the center of campus, awaiting the parade of young revelers. Our 10th graders will return this afternoon from their week long bicycle trip in the San Juan Islands – reports are they have eaten well, biked hard and laughed much. And our littlest ones continue to be thrilled to gather camellia flower petals and other treasures.

A few weeks ago I shared with the Board, faculty and staff some articles that have come my way, and I would like to pass these on to you as well. All underscore the value of our work at SWS and in Waldorf schools across the country.

From the Atlantic Monthly, “My Waldorf-Student Son Believes in Gnomes – and That’s Fine with Me.”  I found this article, written by a father whose son attends Urban Prairie Waldorf School in Chicago, particularly interesting, as he openly notes that there is some (perhaps much) of what I have heard referred to as Waldorf “woo hoo” that he doesn’t believe. But, what matters is that the principles and practice of the pedagogy work for his child – his son is  thriving.

In Need a Job? Invent It  Thomas Friedman calls for education that gives children “the capacity to innovate. The ability to solve problems creatively or bring new possibilities to life — and skills like critical thinking, communication and collaboration are far more important than academic knowledge.” He writes, “As one executive told me, ‘We can teach new hires the content, and we will have to because it continues to change, but we can’t teach them how to think — to ask the right questions — and to take initiative.’ ”   Young people who are intrinsically motivated — curious, persistent, and willing to take risks — will learn new knowledge and skills continuously. They will be able to find new opportunities or create their own — a disposition that will be increasingly important as many traditional careers disappear.

”Lessons Found in the Mud could easily describe our Kinderhaus students tromping through Woodland Park. It highlights a preschool begun two years ago by Joylynn Holder and her husband, Charlie Foster, both graduates of a Waldorf school on Long Island. They started a program called Brooklyn Forest, a series of classes with a Waldorf influence held for toddlers in Prospect Park, where the agenda doesn’t much deviate from getting dirty and making teepees with found branches. The program began with seven students, now has 200, and is planning to expand to Central Park.

Finally, here’s an article well worth reading about the importance of sleep for both children and adults. We all get less sleep than we used to, and often make our way through the day feeling lethargic and groggy, unable to focus in the way we would like. The number of adults who reported sleeping fewer than seven hours each night went from some 2 percent in 1960 to more than 35 percent in 2011. Sleep is even more crucial for children, who need delta sleep — the deep, rejuvenating, slow-wave kind — for proper growth and development. In Diagnosing the Wrong Deficit, Vastal Thakker points out that it might be more than a coincidence that as our sleep-restricting lifestyle began getting more extreme in the 1990s, we saw an explosion in A.D.H.D. (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) diagnoses.Attention-deficit problems are far from the only reasons to take our lack of quality sleep seriously. Chronic delta sleep deficits in humans are implicated in many diseases, including depression, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, chronic pain, diabetes and cancer, not to mention thousands of fatigue-related car accidents each year. With longer days and summer coming, it can be even more challenging to get our children – and ourselves – off to bed for a good night’s rest.

I look forward to seeing you at May Faire tomorrow!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend

-Tracy

From:  End of the Week Update, 5/3/13