Misalignment

The main problem with high heels, says Bowler, is that they change your body alignment while you wear them. Elevating your heels places more of your body’s weight on your toes, which causes your body, particularly your pelvis, to tilt forward. To compensate and stay upright, you unconsciously lean backward and overarch your back, creating a posture that can strain your knees, hips, and low back. According to Bowler, this may not be a problem if you wear heels only on occasion, “But when you’re doing it all the time, it can cause unhealthy patterns—some muscles get tight, while others get weak—and these patterns can persist even when you’re not wearing heels.”

Knee pressure

Wearing heels also causes anterior loading, or uneven distribution of weight on the front part of the knee. This positioning can cause knee pain, and if you’re predisposed to arthritis, Bowler says, it may exacerbate the condition.

Nerve compression, muscle spasms, and pain

Over time, wearing high heels can shorten the muscles in your calves and lower back, leading to pain and muscle spasms. An overarched back can cause a forward head posture, which strains neck muscles. And, Bowler explains, it’s not uncommon for heel-loving women to experience sciatica. As muscles in the groin and hip flexors tighten, lower back and gluteal muscles compensate and can go into chronic spasm, creating pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Foot problems

High heels can cause plantar fasciitis, aggravate bunions, and contribute to other foot maladies. Any time you wear shoes that restrict the natural shape of your foot, you’re at risk of causing pain; with high heels, you add an angle that puts increased pressure on the restricted areas. Additionally, if you’re routinely wearing high heels, your Achilles tendon may contract, which strains your plantar fascia and can lead to painful inflammation of this fibrous tissue.

Will every woman who wears high heels suffer these consequences? Not necessarily. “Some women do better in heels than others,” Bowler says. It just depends on your body’s susceptibility and its innate stability and coordination. However, she adds, no matter how adept you feel at walking in heels, if you experience pain in your low back, groin, neck, or feet or get spasms in your calves at the end of the day, you should probably take a closer look at your shoe selection. Here are Bowler’s suggestions:

Mix it up

Vary the height of your heels and don flat shoes on occasion. Wearing shoes that allow your body to move naturally during walking will allow your feet, legs, hips, and back to stretch and can help keep you from developing damaging repetitive body patterns.

Go wider

Wedge heels provide more stability than stilettos. Your feet can also sit more naturally in square toe boxes than in pointed ones.

Stretch it out

Do yoga poses such as High and Low Lunge and Standing Forward Fold to stretch the muscles in your calves, hip flexors, and hamstrings. Core work can also help stretch out shortened muscles in your back and tone overstretched muscles in your abdomen.

“Excess oil can clog hair follicles, which can then get infected with bacteria and create the inflammation that we see as a pimple,” says Alicea Wu, a primary care physician with One Medical Group in San Francisco. During adolescence, there’s a rise in androgen hormones that increases sebum (oil) production and leads to teenage acne. As puberty hormones balance out in your early twenties, you may find that your skin clears up.

While the cause of adult acne isn’t completely understood, hormones may still be part of the problem. Women often experience hormone-related premenstrual flares. Pregnancy and medical conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome can also cause hormonal changes that affect the skin. In addition, other factors such as cosmetics, stress, medications, and diet may contribute to breakouts.

Eventually, adult acne will go away on its own, Wu says. Almost all acne clears up by age 50. But if you want to treat the condition, your doctor can help. And you probably don’t need a dermatologist. Your primary care doctor should be able to handle it. Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix. For chronic acne, a methodical approach works best.

Here’s what you need to know about treating adult acne:

1. Be gentle. When you break out, your first instinct may be to pick at pimples and to scrub your face clean. That just makes matters worse, Wu says. Picking can cause scarring, and repetitive trauma to the face from over-cleaning aggravates acne. Instead, Wu recommends washing your face gently twice a day, using just the fingertips, with lukewarm water and a liquid cleanser such as Cetaphil. Also, avoid oil-based products, like liquid foundation, which can clog pores. Instead look for products labeled “oil-free” or “noncomedogenic.”
2. Try a topical retinoid. Retin A is a derivative of vitamin A and may be one of the first treatments your provider prescribes. Retin A encourages new skin cells to regenerate. It also helps prevent the formation of blackheads and whiteheads. But it doesn’t work overnight. It may take weeks, or even months, to reap the benefits of Retin A, and during this time you may experience redness and peeling. The waiting period can be disconcerting, but hang in there. A secondary benefit of Retin A is its ability to reduce fine lines, which makes it a popular “anti-aging” skin treatment.
3. Fight the infection. To address the bacterial element of acne, your provider might suggest using benzoyl peroxide or a topical or oral antibiotic in addition to a retinoid. These help treat the current infection and may prevent the bacteria from coming back.
4. Manage your hormones. Many health care providers will recommend birth control for women to reduce acne. By balancing hormones (more specifically, by suppressing progesterone), oral contraceptives can prevent the overproduction of sebum that leads to clogged pores and pimples.
5. Reduce stress. During times of stress, including lack of sleep, your adrenal glands kick up their stress hormone output, which can lead to increased production of sebum. Yoga, meditation, and exercise help reduce your overall stress levels so your body can maintain a healthy hormonal balance.
6. Watch your diet. Theories abound about foods such as chocolate, wheat, coffee, and dairy causing acne. To date, there’s been no scientific proof that any one food causes acne. That said, many people have food sensitivities that can affect their skin. If you notice that you’re prone to pimples when you eat a lot of a particular food, eliminate it from your diet and see what happens. By closely observing your habits and your body’s response, you can help your provider treat your condition more effectively.

Recently, I sat down to interview one of our osteopathic physicians, Dr. Carrie Bowler. Carrie has been with One Medical Group for four years, and started with us in San Francisco before recently moving to New York City.

Lauren Pollini: What’s a DO? And what’s the difference between a DO and an MD?

Carrie Bowler: A DO is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. We’re trained similarly to MDs. We go to medical school and residency, and we’re board certified.

LP: How does this affect the way a DO approaches patient care?

CB: It really varies. Some DOs don’t practice any differently than an MD. But others, like myself, do what is called Osteopathic Manipulation Treatment (OMT). OMT involves placing your hands on the patient with the intention of releasing tension and restrictions. This allows the body to function optimally.

LP: Can you tell me more about OMT? What exactly do you do with your hands?

CB: It’s a cross between massage and chiropractic work. It’s more specific than a massage and generally more gentle or subtle than a chiropractor, although in rare instances it can involve “cracking.”

LP: Can you give me an example of why you would do OMT on a patient?

CB: There are so many examples. But let’s say a patient comes to me with a sinus infection. In addition to examining the patient, I might apply gentle pressure and manipulate to certain areas of the upper back, neck, and head to help release tension and encourage the sinuses to drain more readily. This gives the patient some immediate relief and encourages quicker healing.

Another example could be that a patient complains of chest pain and, after a thorough examination, it’s determined that the pain is a musculoskeletal—not a cardiac—issue.

I would put my hands on the patient’s ribcage and spine and make sure the vertebrae and ribs are in line. Then I might do an adjustment. It could be subtle or more vigorous to relieve the tension. The patient would walk out the door feeling much better than if he simply took an anti-inflammatory.

LP: Is there any condition or ailment that osteopathic manipulation is particularly suited to resolve?

CB: It really depends on the patient and the complaint. I’ve used OMT for everything— even high blood pressure. It depends if the root of the problem is in the musculoskeletal system, and also if the patient is open to it. Some people don’t like being touched, so OMT isn’t really right for them.

I’ve found it particularly effective at treating stress, anxiety, and gastrointestinal issues. I also love doing OMT with pregnant women. There’s a lot of upper and lower back pain when you’re pregnant that can be addressed through manipulation.

I never offer OMT as the only treatment plan for someone. We address lifestyle issues like diet and exercise, and I also try to empower people by teaching techniques they can do at home by themselves like applying heat, self-massage, or guided imagery.

LP: What made you want to be a DO?

CB: I really enjoy working with my hands and I also wanted to do something that would help people. This seemed like the perfect fit.

LP: Changing the subject slightly – I know you’re a really active person and a very healthy eater. What’s your favorite healthy activity?

CB: Yoga and hiking. I don’t get to go hiking as much now that I live in New York. But I’ve been walking through Prospect Park a lot recently and it’s great. You can’t hear cars or see buildings, so it really feels like you’re in nature.

LP: What’s your favorite yoga pose?

CB: Pigeon is a good one. It’s a great hip opener and hip flexor stretch. Something that is complicated enough on its own, but you can make it harder if you want to.

LP: How about your favorite snacks?

CB: Too many! I love kale. It’s delicious, crunchy, and you can prepare it all kinds of ways. I also love sweet potatoes – I snuck one before you came in here!

LP: You’re such a healthy eater. How did that start?

CB: A few years ago I started noticing that what I ate affected how I felt, both physically and mentally. So I started paying more attention to what I put in my body. And then I started reading a lot of books about nutrition, which is a really fascinating subject to me. Eating well is a habit – once you start weaning yourself off things like sugar and caffeine, it’s hard to go back. And other things start to taste better.

LP: Like sweet potatoes?

CB: Exactly! You don’t need a cookie – you can have a sweet potato!

Not quite. Before you permanently forgo your Merlot, it’s important to understand the details of the findings. Researchers used questionnaire data from the Nurses’ Health Study and looked at information gathered between 1980 and 2008 from more than 100,000 women. Alcohol consumption and drinking patterns were examined through an initial alcohol assessment and eight follow up surveys. By analyzing this information, researchers found a small (15 percent) increase in the relative risk of developing breast cancer for women who have three to six alcoholic beverages per week. For women who have two or more drinks per day, there was a 50 percent increase in risk.

While these numbers may sound dramatic, it’s important to know that the overall risk of developing breast cancer is relatively low. For most women, the likelihood that you will actually get cancer is not enough to warrant giving up drinking altogether. On average, women in their fifties have a 1/42 (or 2.38 percent) risk of developing breast cancer; the study suggests that light drinking (three to six beverages per week) would change this risk to about 1/37, which is equivalent to four additional cases of breast cancer per 1,000 women. Having two or more drinks per day would change this risk to 1/28, and would potentially result in an additional 12 cases of breast cancer per 1,000 women.

To drink or not to drink

This study may leave you feeling as though you have more questions than answers: Do you drink for your heart or abstain to avoid cancer? And if you do drink, it is better to have wine, beer, or a concoction from the hottest happy hour? What does this mean if you aren’t even a drinker to begin with? Here’s help distilling the details:

Weigh the risks and benefits for you

Many studies have concluded that alcohol has protective effects for cardiovascular disease and that moderate alcohol intake can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Heart attacks kill six times as many women as breast cancer, so it may be beneficial for you to consume small amounts of alcohol. Consider your individual risk factors for heart disease and breast cancer (such as your personal and family history and other risks) as you decide about whether or not to make a drink with dinner part of your routine.

Drink in moderation, whatever beverage you choose

It’s not clear that wine is a winner or that beer is better. The link between alcohol and increased risk of breast cancer in the JAMA study wasn’t dependant on the type of alcohol—beer, wine, and liquor all had similar effects. And although some research has suggested that the antioxidants and flavonoids in red wine make it a better choice than beer or hard alcohol for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, there haven’t been any direct comparison trials to confirm this. There is one thing to keep in mind: If cocktails are your drink of choice, you may be getting unnecessary sugar and other potentially empty calories in the mixers.

No matter what you drink, it’s important to pay attention to amount. Experts agree that excessive alcohol consumption isn’t good for any of your organs. For women, moderate drinking is defined as up to one drink per day; for men, it’s up to two drinks per day. One drink is the equivalent of 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or one and a half ounces of hard liquor, such as vodka or whiskey.

If you don’t drink, don’t start

There are other ways to get cardiovascular benefits that will also reduce your risk of breast cancer. Control your weight, eat a healthy diet, get plenty of exercise, and don’t smoke.

Devotees of detox programs profess that an occasional period of fasting or restricted food intake rids the body of toxins, resulting in a host of benefits ranging from clearer skin to better digestion to improved mood.

For centuries, many different healing systems (such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine) have incorporated practices of rest and fasting as a way of cleansing the body. Modern studies have shown that short periods of fasting can help with some chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. And if you have food sensitivities, it may make sense to do an elimination diet under the supervision of a health care provider. If you can learn which foods affect you negatively, removing them from your diet might make you feel better.

But what about the 10-day diet of lemon water and cayenne pepper? Should you follow the latest detox regimen that your favorite celeb posted on her blog? In general, the answer is no. Trendy detox regimens rarely produce any appreciable health benefits, and are often unsafe.

Many of the popular detox diets involve extreme measures—including severe calorie reduction or fasting. “That can be taxing on the body and affect your metabolism,” says Alex Tan, ND, a naturopathic doctor at One Medical Group. Instead of doing the latest detox diet, Tan recommends supporting your body’s innate ability to detoxify. “The body has a great natural capacity for getting rid of toxins—primarily through the liver, kidneys, skin, and lungs,” explains Tan. He cites alcohol (which is a toxic substance) as a classic example: when consumed in moderation, the liver is able to break it down, process it, and eliminate it. To help the body optimally deal with toxins, Tan encourages people to eat a healthful, balanced diet that includes foods with vitamins and nutrients to naturally aid in eliminating toxins: Selenium, B complex vitamins, and cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, kale, chard, and bok choy) all work to help the body create detoxifying enzymes. It’s also important to drink plenty of water and get ample amounts of fiber to ensure your system can get rid of waste products effectively.

The expert’s advice: Detoxify your life every day.

Rather than trying drastic detox diets, take steps to minimize your exposure to toxins in the first place. Eat more whole, unprocessed foods, switch to natural household cleansers, quit smoking, limit your alcohol intake, and clean your home’s air filters (in the heating and cooling systems) routinely. If you can only do two things, Tan urges his patients to exercise regularly (sweating can help eliminate toxins) and to avoid overeating. “Overeating—especially preservative-filled and processed foods—burdens your system and introduces new potentially toxic substances into the body,” he says.

1. Eat Healthy, Balanced Meals

Eating well-balanced meals will help you feel full, which is essential if you want to resist unhealthy party food. You might think that it’s better to save up your calories for a party by eating less during the day, but in fact that’s a recipe for failure. You can’t go to a party hungry and expect divine intervention to help keep you in control. Give yourself a chance to stay on track by eating well-balanced meals and a healthy snack before going to a party.

A healthy, balanced meal should consist of a lean protein, a small portion of healthy fat, and fiber-rich carbohydrates. (To learn more about how to create a well-balanced meal, take a look at our example of a healthy plate.

2. Stay Hydrated

You might feel hungry when you’re merely dehydrated. To figure out how much water you should drink in a day, take your body weight and divide it in half – that’s how many fluid ounces you should consume.  (For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, aim to consume approximately 75 fluid ounces of water throughout the day.)

3. Eat Regularly – And Often

If you skip a meal, sampling the cookies that your colleague brought is almost guaranteed. Eat a healthy breakfast within an hour or two of waking and plan to eat something about every four hours thereafter.

If your breakfast is at 8:00 AM, then lunch should be around noon. Better yet, have a small, healthy snack to tide you over between breakfast and lunch—this will minimize your risk of over-eating or of making poor choices when lunchtime comes around. Do the same thing between lunch and dinner.

4. Avoid Late-Night Eating

It’s also important to avoid eating approximately two hours before bed.  Your metabolism slows when you’re asleep. When you allow enough time for digestion before bed, you reduce your chance of digestive upset, and studies suggest that you’ll minimize your risk for weight gain, too.

5. Exercise Early

Exercise is energizing, so it makes sense to do it earlier rather than later in the day. Getting your exercise in early is especially important during the holidays when parties and activities will make it difficult to hit the gym after work.

6. Try Mindful Eating

This tip comes late in the list because it can be difficult to practice mindful eating if you haven’t already mastered the other tactics. Mindful eating helps you become more aware of how much you’re eating, how tasty the food is, and whether you’re actually hungry. Take the time to learn how to eat mindfully and use this skill to your advantage. Take a look at 5 Tips to Curb Cravings for more on this topic.

7. Relax and Enjoy!

Emotional eating tends to increase over the holidays, so you might try incorporating relaxation techniques into your day to help manage stress. Even something as simple as taking three deep, mindful breaths can help reset your mood.

It’s also more difficult to eat well if you feel deprived by your current eating plan. Use these tactics to make healthy lifestyle changes instead of trying to stick to any particular type of ‘diet.’  Trust that these tips will help you stay on track and allow you to focus on the most important part of the holidays – relaxing and enjoying the festivities with your family and friends.

When it comes to exercise, any amount of physical activity is better than none at all. “Just moving is so important,” says Daniel Dinenberg, MD, a physician at One Medical Group. “If it’s 20 minutes of exercise, that’s 20 minutes that you’re not sitting.” But to get a highly effective workout in a short amount of time, you’ll need to push yourself hard.  A leisurely stroll isn’t going to cut it.

That’s where HIIT comes in. This buzzword in the fitness world stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and it’s the best way to get a great workout in a limited amount of time. HIIT can be applied to almost any form of aerobic exercise (including running or cycling), and professional athletes have been using it in their training for many years. The idea is to alternate between a sprinting pace and a more relaxed “recovery” pace, spending the same amount of time – usually one minute – at each pace before switching. If you do this for ten cycles of sprinting and recovery, you’ll complete a full workout in a mere 20 minutes. Studies have shown that a brief but intense workout like this—done three times a week—can actually get you more fit than spending hours doing more activity at a slower, steady pace. “You don’t have to go all-out to see these results,” says Dinenberg,  “but your ‘sprint’ segments do need to be strenuous enough to be a nine out of 10 on a Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale (RPE).” RPE is a subjective evaluation of how hard you feel you are working and is a good, intuitive way to evaluate how much to push yourself during the sprints.

The expert’s advice: Make time for physical activity at least five days a week.

If you want to get in shape by spending as little time as possible, HIIT is a great solution. But for your overall physical and mental health, the real key is to engage in exercise that you enjoy and will continue doing. “It’s good to have a balance of heart-pumping cardio workouts, some resistance training, plus movement that connects to your breath and helps ground you, like yoga,” recommends Dinenberg. An ideal weekly regimen would include three HIIT sessions to work your heart and lungs and to burn calories, two sessions of weightlifting or other resistance exercises to maintain and build muscle strength, and at least one session of something less taxing to allow for recovery and help with stress reduction—like yoga, stretching, or just a walk around the neighborhood with a friend.

A DO is a doctor of osteopathy. The discipline of Osteopathy was founded by Andrew Taylor Still in the late 1800’s. He was a practicing physician and surgeon who served in the Civil War and felt that many of the medical treatments administered at that time were ineffective and sometimes harmful. Given that some of the common practices of that era included blood-letting and mercury infusions, it’s easy to understand his point of view.

After the Civil War, Still spent 30 years studying the structure of the human body. In doing so he became convinced that the structure and the internal functioning of the body are interrelated, which is one of the tenets of Osteopathy. The other tenets include: The human is made of a triune—body, mind, and spirit—and in order to attain health, we must address all three. And finally, the body has an innate ability to heal itself and we should employ treatments that facilitate this rather than interfere with the body’s natural tendencies.

Another interesting fact about Dr. Still: During the time when educating women was considered controversial in Allopathic schools, Dr. Still believed that women were as capable as men. In 1892 he founded the school of Osteopathy and encouraged women to train in Osteopathic Medicine alongside men.

What is OMT?

OMT (Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment) is the use of Osteopathic techniques to remove restrictions in the bony and soft tissues to restore balance. The end goal of these techniques is to reduce pain and improve function of both the structure (musculoskeletal system) and the internal organs of the body. OMT usually includes soft tissue adjusting and joint mobilization through gentle but specific movements.

So do all DOs practice OMT?

No. In fact, most DOs don’t, largely because it’s very time-consuming to do it in the office, but also because many modern DOs pursue specialties in which OMT isn’t even remotely practical, like emergency medicine. But some do! We have a few who do at One Medical.

If you don’t practice OMT, how does being a DO impact the way you practice?

Relative to MDs, DOs have a slightly different approach to diagnosis. A DO might be better equipped to assess the musculoskeletal system, or to see the ways in which musculoskeletal problems could be contributing to other diseases, and will then make treatment recommendations accordingly.

Are DOs trained similarly to MDs, then?

Like MDs, DOs undergo four years of post-collegiate education at osteopathic medical schools (different from conventional university-affiliated medical schools). At the end of those four years, DOs join MDs in residency programs, where they receive specialty training in areas such as Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, etc. These residencies can last from three to seven years, depending on the specialty. At the end of that training period, MDs and DOs both go through the same board certification processes.

Put another way: After medical school, the licensing, residency training, board certification and privilege-granting processes are the same for MDs and DOs.

Is there anything an MD can do that a DO absolutely can’t do?

Nope! There isn’t.

Our motto? Be prepared. First and foremost, be sure to get your flu shot, which can help protect you from the most common strains of the season.

Beyond that, consider packing up some natural remedies to tote with you on your next trip. Being prepared with a natural travel toolkit may help reduce your chances of full-blown illness, shorten the time you are sick, and be a bit gentler on your system than over-the-counter medications, says acupuncturist Amber Weiss. Plus, she says, many of them have fewer side effects.

We asked One Medical Group naturopaths and acupuncturists to share their top recommendations to help keep you healthy during the holidays – especially if you’re on the road. Here they are:

Cold and Flu

For symptoms such as fever, chills, body aches, and sore throat, our experts recommend Wellness Herbal Resistance Liquid. “This formula is based on a traditional Chinese formula for immune support, but also contains good amounts of vitamin A, C, and Zinc,” says One Medical Group naturopath Alex Tan. Other options to stop these symptoms before they develop into a full-blown sickness include Gan Mao Ling herbal tablets and Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic remedy.

Chuan Xin Lian is a Chinese herbal combination that works well for swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, and fever. EmergenC packets provide high doses of vitamin C, which may reduce the severity of cold symptoms. For a runny nose and nasal congestion, try the nasal spray Xlear.

These remedies work best when you take them at the first sign of your symptoms, and for one full day after you feel better. “We find that it’s more effective to treat something right at the very beginning,” says Weiss.

Digestive Distress

Before You Go

Tan says that taking probiotics with strands of both lactobacillus and bifidobacteria may decrease your chances of falling prey to traveler’s diarrhea. If you have a sensitive stomach or are traveling somewhere that warrants extra caution for your gut, prepare yourself by taking probiotics four to six weeks ahead of time. Of course, it’s still important to be smart about avoiding potentially contaminated food and water while you’re on the road.

On the Road

For diarrhea while traveling, Tan recommends bringing probiotics that don’t need to be refrigerated, like Jarro-dophilus or Primal Defense. Both lactobacillus and bifidobacteria strains of probiotics have been shown to shorten the recovery time of diarrhea, according to Tan.

For constipation, pack magnesium citrate, a gentle, powdered formula that you mix with water or can take in capsule form. Take with water at the first sign of constipation.

For indigestion, try ginger: it’s good for more than just spicing up your sushi. Ginger is also a medicinal herb that acts on the digestive tract to alleviate spasm and help with indigestion, gas and bloating, nausea, and diarrhea. A cup of ginger tea or even candied or raw ginger might help soothe your stomach so you can get on with your trip.

Sleep Problems

Changing time zones and getting adjusted to new places can negatively impact your sleep. Pack Natural Calm, a powder with magnesium that you mix with liquid and drink. Or try drinking teas or taking capsules that contain valerian, chamomile, or hops, which are known as relaxing natural sleep aids. Lavender is another calming herb that you can use for relaxation before bed or on a flight. Place a few drops of lavender essential oil on your inner wrists or add a capful to a warm bath.

Tan advocates taking melatonin, which has been shown in studies to help with sleep disturbances and jet lag, for travel-related insomnia. Of course, use common sense when using these aids: “As with any kind of drug, natural or prescribed, that can affect sleep, don’t operate machinery or take before a high-stakes situation, such as a big meeting, if you don’t know how it will affect you,” he says.

Finally, be sure to use common sense when taking natural remedies, as “natural” doesn’t always mean safe. If you’re pregnant or nursing or have a chronic health condition, you should consult your doctor before starting anything new. You should steer clear of probiotics if you have active ulcers, IBS or AIDS. And if you become ill with a high fever or prolonged symptoms, you should see a healthcare provider to be properly evaluated.

Buckwheat appears to be a grain, but it actually comes from the seed of an herb that’s related to rhubarb. Native to Manchuria and Siberia, it is known for being a tenacious plant – able to survive in extreme climate conditions and rocky soils. Once harvested, the outer shell is removed to reveal the inner kernel. The kernel is then split into smaller pieces, which can be sold raw or roasted.

From a nutritional perspective, buckwheat is a good source of fiber and protein as well as antioxidants, B-vitamins, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium.  It is also touted as being one of the richest sources of the bioflavonoid rutin, which has strong antioxidant properties.

Look for buckwheat in the bulk bins of healthy grocery stores, including Whole Foods. (It’s sold in bulk bins, and also sold under the name Eden Organics.) Once you’re home, you can cook up big batch of buckwheat in 20 minutes and mix it into different salad recipes throughout your week. (Note, ½ cup uncooked buckwheat yields 1 cup of cooked buckwheat.)

Basic Buckwheat Recipe

1. Bring 2 cups of water to the boil in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid.
2. Place 1 cup of groats into a sieve and wash in cold water.
3. Carefully add washed and drained buckwheat to the boiling water. Bring it back to the boil.
4. As soon as it reaches boiling point, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer.
5. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes (or until all the water is absorbed).
   Note, to maintain a fluffy/light texture I recommend immediately ‘fluffing’ it onto a separate plate and allow to cool if using it for salads.

Buckwheat Tabbouleh Salad

Typically tabbouleh salads are made with bulgur wheat, but buckwheat or quinoa make equally tasty substitutions. They also have more protein and fiber and are gluten-free.  This is the type of recipe you can have fun with – I like to add whatever other vegetables I have in the fridge – maybe some chopped cucumber or zucchini.
Serves 2

Salad ingredients
1 cup of cooked buckwheat (cooked according to directions above)
¾ cup of packed parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup of packed mint, finely chopped
½ cup of scallions, thinly sliced on a diagional (include white and green parts)
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing ingredients
Juice from 1 lemon
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt and pepper

1. Cook your buckwheat.
2. Chop the vegetables and herbs.
3. Mix buckwheat with the salad ingredients.
4. Prepare the dressing by whisking olive oil into the lemon juice, adding more salt, lemon juice or oil if necessary.
5. Stir dressing into buckwheat salad ingredients and let rest for approximately 1 hour before serving to allow for the flavors to meld.

Buckwheat and Pomegranate Salad

(adapted from Y. Ottolenghi’s Barley and Pomegranate Salad as featured in his cookbook Plenty) 

Serves 2

1/2 cup cooked buckwheat
Seeds from 1 medium pomegranate
2-3 medium celery stalks, diced small
½-1 (depending on taste) small garlic clove, crushed
1 ½ tablespoons of packed parsley, finely chopped
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/3 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of salt and pepper (to taste)

1. Place the pre-cooked buckwheat into a large mixing bowl.
2. Slice a pomegranate in half and place each half into a bowl of water. Let it soak for a few minutes, then, keeping the pomegranate in the water, remove the seeds. This will cut down on the mess in your kitchen.
3. Add the pomegranate seeds to the buckwheat.
4. Then chop the celery, garlic and parsley and mix them into the ingredients in the bowl.
5. Make the dressing: Mix the olive oil, sherry vinegar, and ground all spice together (adding salt and pepper to taste).
6. Mix the dressing into the salad ingredients and adjust any of the seasoning to your taste.