Finding a New Primary Care Doctor

A Big Thanks To Leslie at Wellparents.com for this great advice Thanks to Leslie at Read more

The Rollercoaster of Life

Grandma: "I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like Read more

Sheltering at Home/Covid 19

Never in the last two decades of my career as a physician would I have imagined that we would be using the same mask to see patients all day and then sterilizing/recycling them at the end of the day. Read more

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, Read more

COVID 19 Precautions

With the scare of COVID here in the USA now, I wanted to post a little info about boosting immunity to prevent contracting the virus. Here are some important facts about Covid-19 It is spread by contact with Read more

Natural Tips for Avoiding Colds

This cold and flu season is still upon us and unfortunately, many patients are still being plagued by these nasty viral symptoms.  Here are a few tips to try if you feel like you are coming down with something. Of Read more

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 Read more

Pharmacy to Farmacy

Many of you may know Erin-- the fabulous Pharm D that worked in our office a few years back.  Erin is a phenomenal gal and we embarked on the journey  into natural medicine around the same time.  As we both Read more

Body

Let’s be Real

Dee–you are so wonderful, I can hardly believe you are actually human–Any person that can put themselves out there being real and honest deserves to be praised!  Let us all learn a good lesson from Dee–it’s ok to be human, we are all imperfect.  Trying to be something that you aren’t never actually pays off in the long run!  Be yourself, accept your flaws, and flaunt your positive attributes!  We all have something to offer this crazy world!
 
Dee writes:
 
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been more focused on diet and nutrition than ever before. I’ve been publicly posting all of my ups and downs with some helpful tools and informative stats along the way. Unfortunately, I have not lost weight yet. I do, however, know why and what needs to happen for that challenge to be successful. I’m a bit discouraged, but I warned you that this journey would be real and — most importantly — I will not give up.
Here is what I have learned and what I’ve done RIGHT:
  • Made fruits and veggies the primary part of my diet
  • Greatly reduced sugar, white breads, fats, alcohol
  • Eliminated white pasta and white rice (except for a bit of sushi)
  • Started walking and AM yoga, barely, but started
  • Started reducing beef and pork
  • Switched from dairy milk to almond, rice and coconut milk
Here is what needs to CHANGE:
  • Still getting too many calories by eating crap at night after a good day of healthy eating
  • Still drinking beer, although half as much, still too much
  • Still eating/drinking out of boredom and stress
  • Still craving and eating salty late-night snacks
  • Not enough exercise
  • Not enough water
Bottom line — make good nutritional choices, exercise and watch portion control! If you do one or two of these things but not all three, you will not be successful. I’ve had days where I’ve eaten a very healthy diet OR days where I’ve limited calories to 1200 OR days where I’ve squeezed in aerobic exercise. But the only days where I’ve had some fleeting results were those when I managed to tackle all three.
 
We all face challenges.  The journey is never easy.  Many are picked, few are chosen to succeed.  You can be the difference.  Why?   Because you are smart, you are kind, and YOU are important!
 
 
 
Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Guest Blog, Humor, Mind, Nutrition, Organic, Spirit, Uncategorized, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Juicing

I am frequently glanced at oddly in the hallways of the hospital when people see me carrying in my ball jar full of juice for breakfast.  If it is green, I get eye rolls or mysterious lurks.  Since my staff and I are all experimenting with juicing and recipes for tasty juice, I thought I would explain the differences between juicers.

Centrifugal vs Masticating

Centrifugal juicers work at high speeds and tend to be noisy.  They are wonderful at juicing fruits and vegetables quickly and are easy to clean.  However, they can juice green leafy vegetables but are not as efficient as a masticating juicer.

A masticating  juicer is especially good at juicing the green leafy vegetables such as wheatgrass, spinach, parsley, cilantro, kale, Swiss Chard.  One benefit of a masticating juicer is that it requires less veggies to create more juice than a centrifugal juicer.  It can also be used to make baby food, pasta, nut butter and ground meat.

I have a centrifugal juicer now since I am still a novice.  Eventually, I may upgrade.  I found my Omega 3 juicer at Georgetown Market for under $150.  There are juicers that are much less expensive and work well.

Tonight–I will be adding Kale and Parsley to my juice and disguising it in a colored glass so my kids will try it before they realize that it is green.  Baby steps and devious manuevers are required by this mom to change our family’s diet

 This is my juicer–so far so good although it is rather loud.

 Here is a link to a great article that is much more in depth on the differences in juicers —please check it out

 http://www.juicingwithg.com/types-of-juicers/

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Organic, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar

Thanks to my fabulous patient Annie for sharing this with us!  Sometimes a picture says more than words.

What A Unique Way To Present This

 

 

4.2 grams = 1 teaspoon of sugar = 1 cube !


Someone ought to get an award for this. We know the facts, but this
brings it into perspective quickly, doesn’t it?

Each cube is a teaspoonful.

Now someone needs to do this with salt!

‘When someone shares something of value
with you and you benefit from it, you have
a moral obligation to share it with others.”
So send it on!!         

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Proof of the Cheat Day

Dee—I must admit that I broke down last week and had a Dairy Queen blizzard—I only got through half before I was feeling the pain!  Kevin Deeth is right about the cheat day—It is necessary, however it isn’t so pleasant to the aroma of the household when you go running for the toilet!  Never trust the silent but deadly!  Keep on the plan!  The tortoise always ends up winning the race and especially when it comes to really treating your body right!  It’s not our fault!  We are victims of  a food industry and are simply ignorant.

Dee writes:

Throughout the past few weeks, I’ve had days where I simply throw in the towel and eat/drink whatever sounds good. Even though it’s really fun in the moment, it is SO not worth it. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I had a package of all-natural chicken breasts and I made a last-minute decision to make homemade chicken fingers. I found this Southern breeding mix that you shake the chicken in and deep fry it. They are the most incredible fingers you’ve ever had. They tasted amazing, especially with my authentic Buffalo wing sauce and blue cheese. I probably had about six and the next day I thought I was going to die. After not eating grease for so many weeks, all of that grease sat like a cannonball in my stomach for the entire next morning. Also, for some reason, if I eat perfectly well for a few days and start to lose a couple of pounds, eating poorly for part of one day undoes so much good. It’s like six days of healthy food might take off three pounds and one day of eating junk puts on five…seriously…not fair, but it is so not worth it.

Posted on by Angela in Diet, Guest Blog, Humor, Nutrition, Organic, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Nutrition Bars

This post is for all those out there under the misconception that power bars, muscle milk, protein drinks and things disguised as healthy are actually good for you.  I have patient’s tell me all the time that they are eating healthy and when I ask them to actually  write down what they are eating it scares the crap out of me!     Typical patient–no breakfast, slimfast for lunch, and a healthy choice frozen dinner all accompanied with a “diet” cola.  Then they wonder why they aren’t losing weight.  Well, maybe if they were getting one ounce of nutrition out of any of those products, they would be.  It’s not their fault–it’s the physician’s fault!  We aren’t educating them on nutrition.  Most physician’s don’t know jack about nutrition because we aren’t educated on it either.  It’s time to think outside the box and stop drowning patients with pills for diseases they don’t need to have!

Thank you Kevin Deeth for doing your homework and sharing!   A+

Here is his post from his great website http://kevindeeth.wordpress.com/

 The Truth About Nutrition Bars

In a recent study published by consumerlabs.com 30 nutrition bars were broken down/analyzed and over 60% of the bars failed to meet labeling claims! What is really in your “health or nutrition bar”?

Thank you to Rachel for the suggestion on this topic.

Meal replacement bars, snack bars, weight loss bars, energy bars, and protein bars are a convenient and easy way for people to get a quick snack or meal when they are on the go. The problem is that 99% of the products out there are loaded with carbs and sugars that spike insulin levels and promote fat storage. Despite the hidden ingredients and artificial additives, marketing gurus have duped consumers into thinking that these “nutrition bars” are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals when in reality this is far from the truth. The FDA claims that it currently does not have any formal guidelines for nutrition bars or the labeling on nutrition bars.

The Breakdown

“Protein Bar” is an extremely deceptive term.  Most bars contain more carbs than protein. The consumer labs study found that a typical bar is made up of

  • 49% of calories from carbohydrates (mostly from sugars)
  • 29% of calories from protein
  • 22% of calories from fat
What To Stay Away From 
 
Clif Bars
 
 
The concern here is the 45 grams of carbs and 21 grams of sugar (for comparison a snickers bar has 35 grams of carbs and 28 sugars). If you are not an endurance athlete than that amount of carbs in the form of a small snack is way to high. Ever notice how the Clif Bar rapper conveniently covers the ingredient list. Here is why. With over 30 ingredients, it is hard to decipher what exactly the bar is made up of.  Organic rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, organic evaporated can juice, organic date paste, are all fancy names for sugar that make up this so-called “nutrition bar”. While ingredients like evaporated cane juice are not as detrimental to refined sugar, it is close enough.
 
The Take Away– Stay away from Clif bars
 
 
Atkins Advantage Bar
 
 
With Atkins Advantage you get more bang for you buck because the lower carb and sugar levels. You also get a solid 15 grams of protein with only 210 calories. The unfortunate part is the saturated fat and ingredients. With over 50 ingredients, there are several hidden land mines such as glycerin, sucralose, cellulose, artificial flavors, which are all code names for SUGARS!
 
The take away- Eat only if there is no whole/unprocessed foods available like fruit or nuts.
 
 
Nature Valley Bar
 
I commend General Mills for their bold and forthright honesty. They are not trying to hide anything. The second ingredient is SUGAR! With high levels of carbohydrates and sugar, nature valley bars have nothing “natural” about them. High fructose corn syrup and brown sugar syrup are two ingredients that have single handily added to the obesity problems in the US.
 
The take away- Don’t even think about it
 
 
Power Bars
 
This label is also very informative as it provides the disclaimer that the FDA has no regulation over these “health bars”. With 45 carbs,  27 grams of sugar, ingredients such as evaporated cane juice, glucose syrup, and fructose, a power bar is basically a glorified candy bar. At least they have less than 30 ingredients as opposed to some of the other examples listed right?
 
The take away- If you are going to have something with the nutritional equivalent of a candy bar why not actually have a candy bar that tastes great? Opt for a snickers or twix instead.
 
 
Why so much sugar?

In their early development, nutrition bars were bland and primarily eaten by fitness enthusiasts. However, the bars underwent a transformation to appeal to general consumers. The bland, stiff, and protein packed bars didn’t necessarily appeal to the general population. To compensate, manufacturers made their products more flavorful by adding corn syrup, sugar, sugar alcohols, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, colors and hydrogenated oils, which are all bad for your health.

What To Eat Instead

Kind Bar

Definitely the best nutrition bar out there. The calorie, carbohydrate, protein, and sugar content is a well-balanced mixture that can provide an adequate snack  in between meals. What I love about these bars is the simplicity of the ingredients and the natural additives. Unlike the rest of the bars, you don’t see a list of 30 ingredients with names that are too long to pronounce.

The take away– A good snack that offers a variety from eating nuts or dried fruits by themselves or with trail mix.

Conclusion

As a general guideline, the less ingredients the better. Eating something in its most natural state is always your best bet. The best example I can think of is a product like peanut butter. When buying peanut butter look for one ingredient, PEANUTS! Avoid products with ingredients other than peanuts like what you see in most commercial products.  For example, Jif regular peanut butter’s list of ingredients includes peanuts, salt, sugar, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils, and diglycerides. I never encourage people to eat anything processed like nutrition bars but I understand there or some times when nothing else is available. If that is the case, choose something like a KIND Bar where there are only a few ingredients or prepare ahead and always carry around some nuts and fruits.

Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any comments or questions.

From South Bend,

Kevin

kdeeth21@gmail.com

Posted on by Angela in Body, Call to action, Diet, Exercise, Guest Blog, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Organic Chicken

Dee–after I watched Food INC, something connected in my tiny little brain.  If  Tyson is injecting all their chicken with penicillin, why am I giving it to my daughters that are allergic to penicillin?  If they get hives, vomiting, and diarrhea when they take that antibiotic, why aren’t they getting physically sick from eating that chicken?  Well, they are-by eating very small doses regularly they don’t immediately have a reaction because they are young and healthy.  However, if I keep feeding them that for the next 10 years–they are going to be sick!  They will develop diabetes, heart disease, arthritis or even worse, an autoimmune disease.  That inflammation created at my dinner table is eventually going to make my babies sick!  Ignorance is bliss, until you educate yourself and find out you are poisoning your own kids!

 

Dee tried organic chicken and lived!  Read today’s post—

A few months ago,  I was on my way home from work and had to stop for something for dinner. The grocery is not on my direct route home, but a natural food store is so I stopped to find something. I bought a package of organic chicken that looked disgusting. It was vacuum-sealed so the packaging was wrinkled and the chicken itself was darker than what I usually buy, and smaller. When I cut it up, I noticed that the texture was strange, it was much more tender and didn’t need trimming. I decided to put it in a skillet with no oil and just salt and pepper. Even though the chicken breasts were smaller, they didn’t shrivel up like other chicken. I later learned that it’s because most chickens are plumped with water that cooks off when heated. The taste is like nothing you’ve ever tasted, it’s delicious! I have since taken the time to spread the word to people about the difference in the taste of chicken without hormones or antibiotics. One time (sorry in advance for the insensitive remark) someone rolled their eyes and said, “but it’s so expensive” and I replied “so is chemo.”

Interested in learning why organic chicken matter? Watch Food Inc. through this LINK

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, disease, Family, Green Living, Guest Blog, Nutrition, Organic, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

New Favorites!

Thanks Dee–

I used to think my sister-in-law was crazy for raising chickens.  I educated myself on nutrition and realized that what Atticus Finch told Scout in, “To Kill a Mockingbird,”  was a prediction of the future.  He said not to judge a person until you had heard their story.   I now realize that I was ignorant and superficial in those days.    We have to keep ourselves realistic because we are all products of the society  in which we were raised.   We don’t know everything, we know what we are told.  Atticus was right;  As was, Hippocrates when he said , “Let food be the medicine”.  Thank you for this post because we all need to educate ourselves and not judge others–they may just be two steps ahead of us!

Dee writes:

Continuing on with what I can eat, here are some things I’ve not only learned to like, but I actually look forward to eating them.

I used to think people who were vegetarian were strange (no offense) and I thought that veganism was half-crazy. Now, I am deeply remorseful for my hasty judgement. With all I’ve learned about plants as food lately, it seems as though they have had the last laugh.

Falafel with Homemade Tzatziki

First favorite – soy milk in coffee. What a blast of fantastic flavor. I first tried it as a shot of soy in my Starbucks espresso. It was heavenly and I doubt that I’ll drink coffee any other way. Putting dairy milk in my morning coffee was the last bit of regular milk I had failed to give up…milk’s off my list.

Beans, lentils, legumes, peppers, onions! For lunch today, I made falafel with tzatziki. Last weekend, lentil soup. Tonight, my sister’s recipe for Chicken Marbella. Black beans go in my salad, refried beans with salsa are a quick hunger cure, chickpeas in a salad…good all around.

And finally, as a grand gesture apology to all my vegan friends – silken tofu! It is amazing when blended with non-dairy milk and fruit. Check out this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs: Strawberry Mango Fruit Ice.

Remember that protein plays a key role in providing energy and feeling full. The reason we are told to stay away from “the white stuff” like sugar, white pasta, white bread, white rice and potatoes is that these foods are quickly digested, simple carbs made with one or two sugar molecules, they lack fiber and pass quickly into your bloodstream. Complex carbs contain a string of sugar molecules that digest slowly and keep blood sugar stable, full of fiber and filling. Because they are found commonly in whole plant foods they are high in vitamins and minerals.

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, disease, Nutrition, Organic, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

What can you eat?

When you get the blues, it’s often a comforting thing to focus on what you have, not what you lack. There is a saying about a man who pitied himself because he had no shoes until he met the man who had no feet.

There is a similar thing when transitioning to a healthier diet. As a result of watching recent documentaries, I have decided to make a major step toward a plant-based diet. I would rather make a reasonable step that is feasible than a 180-degree change that I will surely fail. Step one for me is to give up beef, pork and milk. I’ve already given up sugar, white flour, white rice, pasta and white bread…almost. I did enjoy a few slices of a semolina Italian last weekend and it was heavenly. When you decrease the amount of meat in your diet, you should be mindful of getting other kinds of protein. Non-dairy milks are a good source of protein, and yogurt and beans/legumes and nuts. Don’t avoid nuts just because they are high in calories, but do watch your portion size with nuts. Beans and legumes are an all around great choice. Today I decided to make a big pot of lentil soup for the week, stepping up the normal amount of carrots and celery for extra vitamins. You should have smelled my house. There are about 150 calories in a cup of the soup and it’s loaded with health benefits. The protein in the lentils makes you feel full. Remember too that color is a simple way to gauge the nutritional value of food. See “All About Color.” For example, in yesterday’s blog picture the color of the lunch from McDonald’s. The only color in it is the bit of lettuce and tomato on the Big Mac, and guess what the only part of that meal that is healthy is? Brown burger, brown bun, brown fries and brown Coke.
Posted on by Angela in Diet, Guest Blog, Nutrition, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Spice up your life!

Besides coffee, I love tea and one of my favorites is chai. Chai has a combination of spices that are a blast to your palette and offer great health benefits. True confession, I got really excited to remember how much I love spice when I made homemade ravioli with spinach, ricotta and nutmeg tonight. At least the nutmeg was good for me….

Cinnamon – cholesterol, diabetes, inflammation, cognition
Nutmeg – digestion, asthma, memory, anxiety, depression
Cardamom – asthma, bronchitis, digestion, circulation
Anise – cold and flu, laxative, diuretic
Cloves – analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, ulcers, indigestion
Black Pepper – digestion, nasal congestion, metabolism, respiration
For most people on a normal diet, spices are a win-win food. They add flavor to otherwise bland foods and have a lot more going for them. Check out this interesting article online that addresses the antioxidant power of spices, promoted by McCormick as their seven super spices [article].
Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Exercise, Guest Blog, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Hell has frozen over and pigs can fly!

No, I don’t have a fever.  Am I still alive?  (Pinch-OUCH-guess so!)  I am so proud of Dee!  She actually listened to me and rented the video!  I had 2 other patients this week that did as well.  It must be a full moon or I’ll have to accept that people may actually be starting to listen to my rants and raves!

Here’s what Dee had to say about the documentary…

When I started this challenge to spend 90-days getting healthy through a better diet and exercise, Dr. Angela mentioned a few documentaries that were very powerful in hammering home the grave consequences of the Western Diet — a diet rich in animal proteins, dairy, refined grains, sugars and processed foods. One of the documentaries, “Forks Over Knives”, has some staggering statistics that demonstrate the global impact of nutrition over the centuries. For example, the average American is 23 pounds overweight with forty-percent falling into the obese category. I myself, at 5 ft. 7 in. and 190 pounds am on the overweight/obese borderline. This year, 460,000 women will die of heart disease and stroke and we are seeing dramatic increases in diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and prostate cancer. Diabetes and hypertension are becoming diagnosed in children as young as four with one in every four preschoolers reaching obesity. This generation may well be the first generation of children who are outlived by their parents.

The United States spends 2.2 trillion dollars each year in health care, five times the budget for national defense and half of the US population is taking some type of prescription drug. Every minute, a person dies of heart disease….you get the picture. This 90-minute documentary is well-worth your time to watch. It is available on DVD, Netflix online and Hulu Plus.

“Let food by thy medicine.” — Hippocrates

“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” — Thomas Edison

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, disease, Exercise, Nutrition, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment