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

disease

Gluten Issues –with the Gluten God!

What about all that GLUTEN????

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I absolutely love the Underground Wellness Site and always refer legitimately interested patients there to learn about nutrition and it’s healing effects on the body.  The body never ceases to amaze mean and the way that we are all so intricately woven together from system to system makes me marvel at the body’s resilience to its mistreatment.  I wasn’t ever aware of how perfectly in tune my mind, body, and spirit all were until these last few years and I am thankful to my awakening.  I’ve played this video in follow-up to the Wheat Belly video that many of you have watched during your office visits.  I am amazed at how little it takes to cause such an uproar in the body–This one is short and worth a one time viewing.  Tom O’Bryan is like the “Gluten God” to me and Sean Croxton has many resources on his site and podcasts that are filled with incredible science, tips, and transformation stories.  Please dig deeper if you are interested at all!

Posted on by Angela in disease, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Loving the Unsolicited Feedback!

“Dr Angela,

Just thought that you would like to know that I have been mostly gluten-free since Friday when I saw you.

I have a had a few moments when I did indulge but I am happy to report that I am already 7 pounds lighter! I am so happy and I noticed that my feet are not as swollen anymore.

I could actually lace my shoes tighter!

This is a big deal for me because for the last 2 years putting on my shoes has been a daily reminder of the weight I was gaining and risk I was putting my health in.

I have also cut caffeine completely.

My GI issues also seem to have been greatly improved.

This has been such a blessing.

Thank you”

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Need I say more?  I love that this is really happening for patients!  I couldn’t make this up if I tried.  Have I told you lately that sooooo many patients are getting better with this “Food is thy Medicine” thing.  Quackery, it is not.  This sh&% really works!!

 

Don’t worry-I plan to keep annoying and preaching to you regularly.   I honestly think that hearing the results from other patients is much more inspiring than hearing me preach to you.   So Game On!  Look forward to more inspiring patient stories!

 

Also, please realize this is really hard for my family and I as well.  Staying healthy is expensive, takes a lot of effort, and isn’t fun.  Jeez, it’s almost a full-time job.  Caving into guilt and exhaustion this last week,  I took both of my girls to McDonald’s for dinner (YUCK).   That must be rock bottom!

 

This is hard –and it’s best to take Baby Steps– One baby step at a time!

That’s just about all I can say!  Next week, I think I’ll move to Australia (Alexander and the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad, day)

 

Posted on by Angela in Nutrition, Uncategorized, Whole Food Leave a comment

Benefits of Gelatin

Gelatin- a virtual wonder drug!  Remember, the days when your grandmother boiled the chicken soup for close to 24 hours and you got all the warm healing properties from the bone broth?  That’s precisely where the amazing nutritional benefit came from—the collagen and gelatin that comes from the marrow of the bones.  Gelatin is a purified protein, derived from the hydrolysis of collagen.  Collagen is the organic component of the bones and skins of mammals.  Here are just a few quick reasons why gelatin is such a nutrient.

1.  Gelatin binds to H2o in the gut–this helps to improve digestion and essentially slicks up the GI tract for easy movement.

2.  Gelatin can help to reduce food intolerance by forming a protective barrier across the gut mucosa.

3.  The amino acids in gelatin help to strengthen bones and joint tissues.

4.  Gelatin helps detoxify the liver –the major detox organ of the body.0f1d1d7d25706b8d6c17a6529dae91d6

5.  Keratin found in gelatin is an essential building block for the teeth, hair and nails.

6.  Concentrated collagen found in gelatin helps give the skin a natural boost and prevents wrinkles.

7.  Last but not least, it improves sleep quality.

 

Here is an excellent tutorial on how to make a killer bone broth at home.

 For those a little less motivated —-Great Lakes has a great gelatin

Posted on by Angela in Diet, disease, Nutrition, Supplements, Whole Food Leave a comment

All About the Numbers

Thanks Dee–this is just more proof that a calorie doesn’t equal a calorie—Check out a little about Johnny Bowden who gives a great explanation on this topic.  All calories are not created equal.  And Snicker’s doesn’t satisfy!snick

 

Dee writes:

We recently had a dietician come to my work to talk about reading food labels and she gave a great presentation about the acceptable levels of sugar, sodium, trans fat, protein and carbohydrates. One thing that she said about calories was funny, that you could do a Snickers bar diet. What she meant was that I could consume all 1200 of my daily calories in the form of Snickers bars — about 5 a day — and lose weight. If you create a negative net calorie point, you lose weight. You need to burn more calories than you consume. Twelve hundred calories of sugar and fat however, will not lead to any long-term benefit PLUS you’ll be starving all the time from the high sugar, simple carb rush. The trick is to get your 1200 (or whatever) calories in each day in the form of colorful, nutrient-rich, raw or minimally processed fruits, veggies, lean proteins and whole grains. That is what keeps you feeling full, energized and ultimately healthy in the long run.

 

 

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Comments Off on All About the Numbers

So Glad I Kicked that Diet Dew!

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Ok–I’m going to admit a deep dark secret now that I have finally kicked the habit.  Up until about 5 months ago, I was drinking up to four diet mountain dews a day!!  I popped one first thing in the am.  I then cracked another for my 45 minute commute into work.  Of course, when I got to work, I needed something to sip on and help me get started.  And last but not least, lunchtime required another hit of the vice because I would be starting to drag.  I wasn’t worried about the sugar because it was DIET.  What I didn’t realize was that the artificial sweeteners + aspartame + caffeine was even worse for me.  I watched the documentary “Hungry for Change” and was flabbergasted that what I had been doing was so incredibly toxic to my body.  No wonder I felt like crap!  I can honestly say that it took some time and effort to wean the habit.  I started by telling myself that I could have 20 cans a day as long as I drank a glass of water between doses of my chemical romance.  That helped me wean down to 1-2 a day.  After months of affirmations in my mirror, (I am not an addict.  I am healthy and alive) replaced the drug with unsweetened iced tea.  I only have one glass (maybe two on a particularly busy day) of tea that I make at home without any artificial ingredients.  I have to admit–I really don’t miss the stuff.  If I can do it–you can too.  I wish I could get a five month sober medal just to represent my strength!!  Maybe I’ll start a DEW-Aholic group!!  Watch this cute little animated video that highlights some of the dangers of this addictive drug.

 

 

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food 2 Comments

Ten Steps to Better Health

Dee’s Update:

There are thousands of diets, with a thousand different strategies for how to reach the goal of optimum weight and physical health via exercise and nutrition. Because people are different with so many variables on how much physical activity they get in a day, age, bone structure, height, blood type, chemistry, there could not possibly be one solution that fits every person.

It is important, instead, to look at the most successful weight loss programs to see what they have in common. After that, each person can start with these tried and true fundamentals and modify them to keep whatever works and change the parts that don’t. Throughout the past few months I have volunteered myself to be a human experiment and I’ve assembled the top ten things that I’ve found to have worked when implemented. Start with one or two things on the list. After three or four days, add another. The scientific statement about “it takes 21 days to form a new habit” is actually an unfounded fallacy. New habits really take quite a bit longer to become ingrained to where they are second nature. The good news is that it takes one day to make up your mind to change your routine to incorporate good choices. For example, let’s say you usually drink a glass of orange juice every morning while you’re getting ready for work/school. If you decide today to substitute your OJ for water and an apple, you have just changed your habit. It will take a while for that change to feel like an automatic tendency, but when your refrigerator is full of whole fruit instead of bottled juice you will have some reinforcement to rely upon.
In no particular order, here are my top ten recommendations:
  1. Eat veggies at every meal
  2. Drink three 16 ounce glasses of water before each meal
  3. Don’t skip breakfast
  4. Don’t eat too few calories
  5. Eliminate sugars and starches
  6. Plan, plan, plan – think ahead
  7. Learn to be OK with hunger
  8. Eat to live instead of living to eat
  9. Find someone to partner with
  10. Cut out fried everything (see below)
OK, about number 10. This may be the hardest one to implement. Fried food simply tastes great. Growing up in the 70s with a Southern Baptist family, my mother fried everything from pork chops to potatoes to green beans. We used to cook with lard and bacon grease so it’s in my genes. As impossible as it sounds, cutting out foods can be done. Don’t tell yourself you can never eat it again; just know that eating fried food (and any fast food) has to be the exception not the rule. Fried food is not only unhealthy because of the amount of fat and calories, but usually the food itself (potatoes, hamburger, dough) is low on a nutrition scale. Equally important is the reduction of processed foods. Health benefits are found abundantly in whole foods, produce and grains in their most natural form.

 

For more on Dee’s journey to better health–visit http://www.gettingthebestoffood.com

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

Cancer Prevention with Dr. Chris

Thanks to Dr. Nagy for this great share!!!

For more info from Dr. Nagy—visit his site at http://www.yourpersonalwellnesscenter.com

Posted on by Angela in Body, cancer, disease, Nutrition, Whole Food Leave a comment

Retrain Your Brain

Thanks Dee!!!

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Retrain Your Brain

 
 
When I chose the title for my first blog, “Getting the Best of Food”, I envisioned a mental warfare. In a struggle, the person who overcomes their enemy is said to have “gotten the best of them.” Of course the double meaning is also to get the best qualities food has to offer.
 
 
Back to warfare. I work five days a week from morning until 5:00 pm. My breakfast, lunch and daytime snacks are perfectly healthy and I stick to the plan but dinner and post-dinner decisions often take a turn for the worse and I think I know why.
 
At the end of the workday, we’re run down, worn out and hungry. One of my strategies is always to have healthy food on hand and to eat something before you are famished. But there is also a little bit of brainwashing necessary to keep yourself from caving into cravings for junk food and comfort classics.
 
Here’s a normal weeknight example (after I’ve eaten fruits and veggies all day): 5:05 pm driving home, thinking about dinner options and my brain starts to recite all of the foods that make me joyful – chicken wings, pizza, potato skins, tacos… As I continue to drive home, the list is on a mental merry-go-round and it just keeps repeating incessantly in my head.
 
So what happens when you tell your brain “I can’t have that brownie, I can’t have that brownie, I can’t have that brownie?” There is only one thing on your mind for food and guess what it is – the brownie!
 
In the same way that you set up a plan to have easily accessible healthy food around, we all need to also retrain our brains to consider better choices before the disaster hits. Before the drive home and before hunger pains set in, start to recall how amazing fresh strawberries taste, or how flavorful grilled asparagus is with a touch of Parmesan cheese. Whenever possible, have your dinner prepared or at least planned the night before. One trick I have learned is start dinner for the next night as I’m clearing the table and washing dishes. This way I come home and finish cooking dinner that was started the previous night, eat and then start the first half of tomorrow’s dinner. It works really well.
 
To keep things simple, you can also come up with a short list of standard dinners that you know how to make simply, that fit your daily caloric goals. For me, this is usually fish every other night, alternated with chicken. One night is vegetarian and one night is lean beef or pork. Skip the starches unless it’s whole grain and double up on the vegetables. Salads compliment dinner very well too. Save calories with homemade dressing from blended berries, pears or apples, vinegar, mustard and a small bit of olive oil. Shake it with your lettuce so that a little goes a long way.
 
Don’t forget that this is a battle, truly. And that you can and will win it, and you’ll feel amazing for overcoming the challenge.
Posted on by Angela in Body, Call to action, Diet, Mind, Nutrition, Whole Food Leave a comment

The Infamous Fish Oil/Prostate Cancer Study?

“Too Much Fish Oil Might Increase Cancer Risk”

Wait?  Isn’t Fish Oil Supposed to be Good for Me???

 

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute recently reported data from the selenium and vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) that supported evidence that fish oil supplementation may increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Before we freak out here let’s look a little further into the data.

First, the primary goal of the SELECT study was to determine if vitamin E could be used to prevent prostate cancer.  The data concluded that patient’s taking  400 IU of Vitamin E had a 17% increased risk of prostate cancer.  The study was not designed to evaluate the role of fish oil supplementation in prostate risk.

The fish oil data was gathered because they measured plasma fatty acids (plasma phospholipids) –ironically, these levels tend to fluctuate after a meal is consumed.  A better study would measure the red blood cell concentration of fatty acids which is a better indicator of actual omega 3 consumption over the past 4-6 weeks.

The difference in data in the two groups was 0.2% which is virtually nothing.

The study did conclude that the that the patients with the highest concentration of EPA/DPA and DHA-3 fatty acids had a 71% increased risk of prostate cancer.

However, the study contained no documentation of any patient taking fish oil or even eating fish in their diet.

So how does that extrapolate out?

My suggestion is to continue to do your research, and hopefully this will stimulate more studies researching actual fish oil supplementation and diet  in correlation to disease.  My bet is that Fish Oil and Omega 3 supplementation will prove beneficial like all of the other studies.

For more science details for you nerdy types like me –please visit the following:

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/how-selected-bad-study-became-big-news

So don’t trash your fish oil yet!!!  REMEMBER–if you get the “Fish Burps”–put those babies in the freezer!  And if you want a really good brand—I recommend the green pasture.com FERMENTED COD LIVER OIL (no financial investment–it’s just what I take)

Posted on by Angela in cancer, Diet, disease, Nutrition, Supplements, Whole Food Leave a comment

Magnesium Monologue

Another big thanks to our dear friend Dr. Chris!  Good stuff as usual!  Visit his site at http://www.yourpersonalwellness.com

Posted on by Angela in Diet, Nutrition, Whole Food Leave a comment