Turmeric Health Benefits

Have you ever wondered what the paste is applied to the bride and groom’s faces and arms in Indian weddings? It’s actually the spice turmeric. Turmeric is the ingredient in curry that gives it a vibrant yellow color. Actually, Indian traditional beauty secrets are handed down by ancestors to young women for skin radiance and hair removal using turmeric paste. Interestingly, turmeric has multiple health benefits and is a real power spice. Turmeric’s health benefits lie in the active ingredient curcumin. Curcumin has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, stomach soothing, and heart/liver protective qualities. It is thought to reduce histamine levels and stimulate the adrenal gland to decrease inflammation. It is often used to ease joint pain associated with arthritis. It is rich with antioxidants which are disease fighting substances that bind up free radicals (oh yes, cousin Joe that wacky guy) which are responsible for premature aging and cancer as well as destroying your marriage (see previous post on free radicals). Some animal studies even show that turmeric may benefit liver health and protect the liver from damaging toxins like alcohol (which cousin Joe definitely needs with his strong affection for Sun King). It may even harbor anti platelet activity which reduces the body’s ability to form blood clots and ultimately improve circulation. As always, you need to do your research if you are interested in taking a turmeric supplement and should check with your doctor first. However, I do have patients that have begun cooking more with turmeric and have seen some decrease in their arthritis symptoms.

Please be careful using turmeric since its deep color can stain.

Here are a few suggestions for cooking with turmeric–

1. Add it to egg salad

2. Mix brown rice, raisins, and cashews with turmeric, cumin, and coriander

3. Add it to steamed cauliflower or green beans

4. Add it to lentils

Turmeric 2 tsp:

15.58 calories

0.24mg of manganese

1.82mg of iron

0.08mg of vitamin B6

0.93g of fiber

111 mg of potassium

******One interesting tidbit is that if you add a spoonful of turmeric to the water in water-cooled radiators, it will stop leaks!

Many patients are currently taking 500mg of turmeric twice a day and claiming that it is really helping with joint pain!

I have linked an excellent article on the benefits of Turmeric HERE

Feel Free to check out Lyfebotanicals.com to learn more info on the benefits of botanicals!

You can also find excellent brands of supplements at FULLSCRIPT

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Angela in Body, cancer, Diet, disease, Exercise, Nutrition, Supplements, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Sherry’s Story

Sherry has a great story. She has been diabetic for years and she has made some massive changes!

“I have been on a lifestyle change. It has been a year following a ketogenic food plan. When I started this journey that sounded like “here I go. Another diet…” and I am sure my family and friends were skeptical too. However, I can honestly say I have never been HUNGRY, and have only felt the urge to cheat one time. Sitting between two grandkids in a movie theater and them both chowing down on extra buttery popcorn. But that passed and I felt better for it. My labs are improved. My a1C is 5.9 now. My ankles do not swell. And my arthritis inflammation is really improved. My eyesight is clearer and I do not have brain fog like I used to have. I eat regular foods. Take no Diet pills. No surgery.

Dr Henriksen us a major part of my success. She is with me every step of the way. I have lost 65 pounds in the last year. For some, that would be too slow of a weight loss to stay committed. However it takes a lot of work and time for me to drop a pound… and I did not put my weight on overnight either. My only complaint about losing weight is I am chilly. My insulation is leaving me. But a hoodie on a 70 degree day feels good. And when I feel good and I am on track it becomes a great day for me!”

I’m so proud of Sherry!!! It just goes to show that it CAN be done without a lot of medication or surgery—#FOODHEALS

Thanks so much for sharing your story Sherry!

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Angela in Diet, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

When Should I Take My Supplements?

If you are like me — you are just starting to realize why it is important to add supplements to your diet. Even if we are eating a clean, healthy and unprocessed diet; the mineral content of the soil that our food is grown in just isn’t equivalent to that of our predecessors. I won’t even begin to touch on the topics of pesticides, GMO’s, contaminated water supplies etc. Let’s face it — most of the food / water/ products that we put in our bodies simply aren’t healthy anymore. So I do think we need to augment our nutrition these days with some good quality supplements.

You can refer back to previous posts that will explain which supplements I think are important for most people and why—

But here is another big question—- WHEN should we take these supplements and WHY?

So here is the low down!

Multivitamins

Take these with the main meal of the day!

Multivitamins contain the major fat soluble vitamins A,D, E, and K– and should ideally be taken with a meal that contains some fat.

They also contain B and C vitamins which can notoriously cause some mild nausea or acid sensitivity when they aren’t taken with food.

The only exception is a B12 vitamin which is better absorbed on an empty stomach — however, I usually recommend using a sublingual formula of B12 which is placed under the tongue — so it doesn’t matter if it is taken with or without food

Fish Oil

Fish oil can cause some GI upset. That is why it is best to take it with your main meal of the day. Another little tip to remember is that if you are prone to getting “Fish Burps” or gas from taking fish oil, you can keep it in the freezer and take the supplement frozen. Remember, it is almost better not to take fish oil at all if you aren’t getting a high quality supplement. You want to avoid any fish oil that is generated in a farmed setting or that could potentially have high amounts of mercury. I recommend using something like Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver Oil or Carlson’s fish oil. Reputable supplement companies such as Metagenics, Pure Encapsulations, and Thorne are also safe bets.

Magnesium

Magnesium (see Magnesium- the unloved mineral) is quite beneficial as a supplement as it is necessary for many processes in the body and it helps stabilize calcium in the body. I like magnesium glycinate. It is quite bioavailable and doesn’t tend to cause diarrhea like magnesium sulfate or citrate. Taking magnesium before bed is helpful because it also assists with sleep and muscle relaxation. There is also a good supplement called “Natural Calm” which is a drink you can do before bed. They make magnesium sprays that you can use topically or you can take a bath with 1-2 cups of epsom salts dissolved in it if you don’t like taking the oral supplement.

Probiotics

Probiotics include helpful bacteria to re-colonize the gut micro biome after taking prescription antibiotics. I believe they are helpful to take on a daily basis if you don’t consume a lot of fermented foods (kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, kombucha) It is always best to get good bacteria from foods but taking a quality probiotic with at least 7 different strains of bacteria including lactobacillus and bifidobacterium species can certainly be beneficial (see Probiotics). I suggest taking these on an empty stomach and at night. Preferably 2-3 hours after your final meal of the day.

The website Fullscript – is my new go to supplement spot. Since we can’t always guarantee the what we order from Amazon is going to be stored correctly and is the quality manufacturers that we like — I now order everything from Fullscript- You can click the link below to go directly to the site and see all my favorites.

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Purchase products through our Fullscript virtual dispensary.

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Supplements 1 Comment

More Homemade Salad Dressings

Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp local honey

1/3 cup blackberries

Process all the ingredients together in a blender and then season with ground pepper and sea salt

The beauty of this recipe is that you can substitute just about any berry as well to mix up the taste

Basil Vinaigrette

2 Tbsp. of White wine vinegar

1/4 cup of avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. of Dijon mustard

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

Process all together in a blender and season with fresh ground pepper and sea salt — This recipe is also great because you can substitute any fresh herb of choice — parsley/ rosemary / thyme etc

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Angela in Diet, Green Living, Nutrition, Organic, Whole Food Leave a comment

Healthy Mayo and Ranch Dressing

This stuff is a must — If you read labels these days you will be hard pressed to find a mayonnaise or salad dressing that doesn’t contain some type of vegetable oil. Even the commercial mayos that advertise to be olive oil based —still contain vegetable oils. Dr. Cate Shanahan’s book “Deep Nutrition” is a fabulous resource that reminds us of the dangers of eating vegetable oils regarding the oxidation that they cause in the body. Yes those pesky free radicals are bad players.
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Homemade Mayo

1 egg at room temperature

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar at room temperature

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 cup extra light olive oil or avocado oil

In a tall container or mixing bowl using a blender, mix the egg, the juice, the salt and the mustard until well blended. While still blending, slowly pour in the oil. Blend until is has the consistency of mayo. (an immersion blender works well also.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

1/2 cup of mayo (recipe above)

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp dill

salt and pepper to taste

Optional additions:

dash of paprika, chopped fresh chives, chopped fresh parsley

Whisk all the ingredients together to combine

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week

This recipe is taken from Dr. Shanahan’s book “Deep Nutrition”

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup olive-oil-based mayonnaise (homemade, or Primal Kitchen brand)

1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

1 teaspoon mixture of dried onion powder, garlic, parsley, thyme, and basil

1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground white or black pepper

2 teaspoons sea salt n Fresh chopped chives (optional)

Place all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake for twenty seconds. Season to taste.

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Angela in Diet, Nutrition, Whole Food 2 Comments

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

So I got a little wicked crazy this weekend and decided to splurge on some pizza. We do gluten-free carry out around here sometimes, but my future son-in-law inspired me to make my own cauliflower pizza crust. He made it for his family a few weeks ago and it looked amazing. I have done cauliflower fried rice and mashed potatoes before but I’ve never been much of a baker. This seemed a little intimidating! But, I’m always up for an adventure and challenge.

So here are the ingredients that I used:

1 medium-sized head of cauliflower

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 small shake of crushed red pepper

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1 egg

1 tablespoon coconut flour (optional but I used)

So you start by placing your pizza stone in the oven (I used a baking sheet) and pre heated it to 450 degrees

Then place a piece of parchment paper on a cutting board and spray with nonstick cooking spray (I used coconut oil spray)

Wash and dry the cauliflower/ cut off the florets and then pulse in the food processor ( my NINJA worked great)

Place it in a microwave safe bowl and cook for 4 minutes

When cooled — dump the cooked cauliflower into a towel and wring all the water out of it. HINT — don’t use paper towels like I did — (A big shout out to my fab patients Gene and Cheryl that suggested using the towel) I didn’t get my cauliflower dried out enough which made my dough a little too wet –I was able to add coconut flour to dry it out some.

NEXT –make the dough

Dump the cauliflower in a bowl with the 1/4 cup parmesan, 1/4 cup mozzarella, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt) and a dash of red pepper

Then add the egg and mix away. I ended up adding 1 Tbsp of coconut flour (you could also use almond) to thicken the dough up since I hadn’t dried the cauliflower well enough.

Then form the dough into a crust and pat it down on the parchment paper (not too thick or too thin)

Slide the parchment paper onto your stone or baking sheet and cook 8-11 min until golden brown

Then remove from the oven and add your toppings and cook for another 5-7 minutes until cheese is bubbly

Then let it cool for a minute or two before cutting (this is crucial)

I added some homemade sauce (see instructions below), some shaved parmesan, fresh-cut mozzarella, tomato, and fresh-cut basil from my garden.

For the Sauce–

I took about 10 Roma tomatoes and cut an X on the skin with a knife.

Then drop them in boiling water for about 45 sec and pull them out. You can easily remove the skin from the cut areas.

Add those back in the pot with whatever other ingredients you prefer. I added a red onion, 3 cloves garlic, fresh oregano, basil, and chives from the garden and some roasted red pepper with a dash of sea salt and pepper.

I let this simmer for about 3 hours on low heat.

So here are my takeaways:

It’s ok to splurge every now and again and try a new adventure in cooking!

The pizza was definitely palatable and I will try it again. I didn’t get the texture just right and had to eat it with a fork (it was less chewy/more crumbly). I think it would work better with a pizza stone rather than a baking sheet. But that’s just my opinion.

Leave me some comments below on new healthy cooking adventures or mistakes you have made! We are all in this together!

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Posted on July 22, 2018 by Angela in Diet, Nutrition, Whole Food 2 Comments

Pumpkin Chai Smoothie

Here’s a throwback post that is certainly appropriate for this October weekend. This smoothie matches the season and will be a great way to start the lovely fall day.

Thanks to Smoothie Queen Amy for this great recipe

I can’t wait to make this Pumpkin Chai smoothie! It’s like the marriage of all my favorite things. It’s around 400 calories, so it’s definitely a meal replacement at this serving size. Here’s the recipe.

Blend the following:
1 1/2 cups milk, or milk alternative (I use almond or coconut because the protein is kickin’)
3/4 cup cooked pumpkin

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
2 Tbsp. coconut sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla bean
1/2 banana

If you’re a person who likes to know the calories in something you can add them up in no time flat using this FitClick’s “how many calories” link. Just type the food you’re wanting to know about in the search area. And from there you can choose specifics. It takes less than 5 minutes to add up a smoothie’s worth of ingredients.

http://www.fitclick.com/how_many_calories

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Posted on October 22, 2017 by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Organic, Weight Loss, Whole Food 1 Comment

Gluten Free Zucchini Bread

Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread

So I have been struggling with gluten-free baking because honestly — I’ve never been good at baking!! Then when I try to modify recipes using flours I’m not familiar with, it just makes a perfect storm of HOT MESS!

I have always loved zucchini bread and have made it for my family using traditional recipes but today I decided to make some that I could enjoy also. I am a little afraid of coconut still after trying to substitute it into my grandmother’s homemade egg noodle recipe. Let’s just say that I almost vomited after the first bite. So with much uncertainty and trepidation — I tackled this one. I think the trick with coconut flour is to really increase the amount of liquid ingredients to keep it from getting too dry.

So this really turned out moist!! It isn’t super sweet like you would find with some zucchini breads because we are going the healthy route here –But it really is good!!

Ingredients

3/4 cups coconut flour

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup honey

6 pastured eggs (cage-free)

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini

Directions:

SUPER SIMPLE!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking loaf pan with coconut non stick spray. Combine all the ingredients except the zucchini and mix together. Then stir in the zucchini and bake for 45 min or until fork inserted comes out clean.

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Angela in Diet, Nutrition, Whole Food 2 Comments

Tara’s Story

When I turned 30 years old I weighed in at 348lbs; clothes were getting harder to find and more expensive, and my life was getting difficult to manage. When going out to eat we had to have a table because I could not comfortably sit in a booth, my stomach hit the steering wheel when I drove, and at family gatherings, I often sat on the floor in the corner so no one had to navigate around me. My depression and anxiety were getting worse and, as a previous nationally competing athlete, I was disgusted with myself and how I was allowing my health, and weight, box in my life.

After attempting every fad diet plan, ‘cleanse’ and losing a few pounds only to gain them, and some of their friends, back, I was giving up. Then Dr. Angie had me watch a TedTalks video about a high fat, low carb diet and provided me with literature to go through. However, I knew after the video that this high fat, low carb (or Keto) diet change would be manageable. I still got to eat cheese and enjoy meat!

After 6 months, I have lost 60lbs and continue to lose weight even though I am not super strict all the time. When I want something, I have it, but in moderation. I do not beat myself up for slip-ups, or cheat meals. Not only am I am able to sit in booths again, I have started to enjoy shopping, my mental state is better than ever and my body is starting to feel like my own again. My weight no longer controls me.

I still have a long way to go, but I know I will get there.

This is the video I shared with Tara— There are many more that explain the theory of the ketogenic/ low carb/high fat diet.

I love seeing patients make changes that don’t involve pharmaceuticals!!

Share any of your own weight loss adventures in the comments below– and please call or message me if you want more info! You can contact me at the office (317) 217-2626, email at doc@angelamd.com or contact me thru my Angelamd Facebook page.

Congrats Tara! You are such and inspiration and I am so excited to continue to watch all your health improvements!

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Angela in Body, Call to action, Diet, Guest Blog, Nutrition, Organic, Weight Loss, Whole Food 1 Comment

Healing the Gut with Bone Broth

What is bone broth?

What the @&*$ is bone broth and why is everyone talking about it and its medicinal benefits. First, bone broth is simply stock! Chicken or beef bones are usually used although you can use venison/lamb/pig etc. They are simmered for over 24 hours or more along with vegetables/herbs etc. The more gelatinous the broth, the more nourishing it is. Simmering the broth breaks down the bones and bone marrow releasing calcium, phosphorus, collagen, cartilage, glucosamine, silicon, chondroitin, and essential acids including proline, glycine and glutamine.

The benefits of bone broth include:

Reduction in joint pain and inflammation– because of the chondroitin and glucosamine

Inhibits infection—“Jewish penicillin”–it apparently activates macrophages/natural killer cells/ B- lymphocytes etc that are important in the immune response to colds/viruses.

Fights inflammation–with the essential amino acids. glycine, proline and arginine all have anti-inflammatory effects.

Promotes strong bones –because of the calcium and magnesium –collagen provides the lattice-work for mineral deposition to build strong and flexible bones

Promotes healthy hair and nail growth– this is from all the gelatin in the broth–there is even some thought that it can eliminate cellulite

There is an excellent interview here by Kaayla Daniel, PhD, CCN whom has studied “broth” for over 20 years.

Now—the quality of the soup is only equivalent to the components that you put in it–are the vegetables organic? Are you using bones from pastured animals etc. So if you are making it yourself (the cheapest way) it is very important that you use quality, organic, non-processed ingredients.

I am now drinking bone broth for its primary benefit of healing leaky gut! I have made my own bone broth which isn’t difficult but it is time-consuming for busy working families.

I recently ordered some bone broth from Lance Roll “The Flavor Chef” that I really love.

Buy your own bone broth HERE! —The Brothery.com

If you are interested in making your own bone broth—let me know in the comments below and I will post some good recipes! It is much cheaper and as you know “chicken soup is good for the soul!”

I just found a new place to buy bone broth! KETTLE AND FIRE