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

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 by Angela in Body, cancer, Diet, disease, Exercise, Nutrition, Supplements, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

We’re putting it in the wrong hole!

So this weekend I am painting my 8-year-old daughter’s room (bright teal for the DIVA EMMA) and I have been catching up on my new favorite podcast!  The Food Heals Podcast—  I just listened to the truly inspirational story of Evita Ramparte.   In the year 2000, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and began an enlightening journey of detoxification and emotional and physical healing thru changing her diet.   She was inspired by a lady on New Year’s Eve who gave her set instructions on how to heal.  She starts this whole process off  by fasting and doing a COFFEE ENEMA— yep you heard me   —-EEk !!!  The podcast hosts (Suzy and Allison) had me rolling on the floor laughing when they exclaimed “We’re putting it in the Wrong Hole!”  So far-I’m with them–I like to drink my coffee and maybe on a whim, put the coffee grounds in my garden.

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My initial thought was on the logistics of how to actually do the enema.  Do you use organic coffee?  Does it have to be warm?  How do you do that without your family finding out?  Do your farts start smelling like hazelnut?????

I may have been a little high on paint fumes after that second coat of primer because when I stumbled upon a great link on how to do a coffee enema while perusing Facebook, I felt like the Universe was luring me into this world of detox and poop!  My friend Dr Christopher Nagy (Yourpersonalwellness.com) is always sharing a wealth of holistic information and I figured if he thinks it’s post worthy –it’s worth checking out.

I haven’t tried it yet but after reading all the health benefits — I may actually do it —Don’t worry- I won’t post pictures!a3ef587aff52ed01b2a9b5a67f5e7892

Here is the LINK  that Dr Nagy shared on liver detoxification and coffee enemas –I found it quite informative     http://www.mygutsy.com/the-ultimate-liver-detox-coffee-enemas

There is great information in this post.  She explains the many functions of the liver and how to determine if you have symptoms of a toxic liver.  Oh yes– and step by step instructions on how do one at home.

Coffee enemas aren’t a new concept –They have been used for years and were popular in healing cancer at the famous The Gerson Institute.  For more information on Dr. Max Gerson and his cancer treatments –see this BLOGPOST

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If you aren’t “gutsy” enough to try the coffee enema –check these other LIVER DETOX options.

Share in the comments below if you or anyone you know has tips or any experience with them.  We don’t judge here and won’t share your name!  We are all in this together!!

Posted on by Angela in Body, cancer, Diet, disease 2 Comments

Take these broken wings—

For all of  you who enjoyed the previous post about suicide prevention –see the post HERE.  Here is a quick update on Lucy and Maggie’s story: Lucy (Maggie’s childhood friend) and my dear friend got her 1st tattoo this weekend.  Her parents weren’t keen on the idea but told her that she could get one when she turned 18.  Lucy (now 18) got her first tattoo in honor of Maggie’s favorite Shakespeare quote!

 

“The course of true love never did run smooth”  

Maggie’s spirit continues to live on in so many of us that hardly even knew her.  Some spirits just leave their mark in this way.

Wayne Dyer says that we are spiritual souls inhabiting a human existence and I can’t help to believe that when I experience such profound emotion over a child I barely knew.  We were obviously soulful connections.

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It’s strange but this last week has been filled with interesting circumstances and spirit filled interactions that I am compelled to share.  Some of these were some pretty incredible near death experience stories.

 NDE”S

One of my favorites is the minister that had a fatal car accident.  His car was a literal accordion and he was pronounced dead on the scene after being hit by a semi.  The paramedic’s tried to get him out of the car for approximately 2 hours.

A man (also a minister) pulled up to the scene and asked the medics if he could climb in the car and pray for the man.  He had driven by and felt a sudden inclination to pray for the accident victim.

Annoyed, the medics told him that the victim had been dead for over 2 hours but they eventually allowed him to enter the scene.  The minister climbed in while the medic continued to  work at getting the dead man out.  The minister  prayed over the shoulder of the man he could not see for about 10 minutes.  After around 10 minutes, the man began to sing “What a friend we have in Jesus”.  He had no idea why, but he felt compelled to sing.  Then —– he heard another voice chime in and thought how wonderful it was that a medic was singing with him.   He stopped and the voice continued.   Suddenly, the shoulder he was holding began to move.—

Yes- the victim was singing!  The medics continued to work feverishly at this point and as they pulled the victim out of the car, the minister realized that it was his best friend.

I have a patient in the last 12 years whose spirit honestly connected with mine.  We were kindred spirits right at the beginning of our journey together.  The story about Ric is so amazing that I struggle to put words to its content.  Ric was diagnosed with cancer just about a year after my conscience decision to transform my  practice into a nutritional/functional health approach.  He was 100% on board to heal himself of his disease and was confident and supportive of the unconventional decision that I had made.  There was no judgement-he supported me unconditionally.   He lost weight, ate right, and Damn-he even watched the CRAZY SEXY CANCER video in the office with me!  I was thrilled to have a patient listen and I was sure he was cured after his chemo and radiation.  He claimed that the Cancer would never win the War.

Unfortunately, Ric died this last year.  I had the opportunity of seeing his brother whom was his caregiver throughout his final days.  On Friday, we spoke of a dream that his kindred spirited brother had before his final days.  The dream was as follows and is paraphrased of course.  He saw his brother in his most healthy, strong, and happy states the first two nights.  He was mid 20’s, smiling, robust, and full of energy and vitality.  On the third night, his brother looking wonderful, sat with friends and family and announced that cancer won the battle but he won the war.

His brother was confused by this notion, however, the day after Ric’s life here had ceased—-His brother looked back on the tired, cancer ridden body lying in a hospital bed spiritless and realize that it was all true.  Cancer did win the battle –but the spirit of Ric had certainly won the war and left some pitiful remains—–

Posted on by Angela in cancer, disease, Mind, Spirit, Suicide, Uncategorized 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

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

Genetic Roulette

Here is the trailer to Genetic Roulette which will help explain a little about GMO’s and why our food is making us so sick!  The version above is closed captioned and the one below is subtitled in spanish.

Posted on by Angela in Body, Call to action, cancer, Diet, disease, Nutrition, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Cow Farts

“I’ll never stop eating animals, I’m sure, but I do think that for the benefit of everyone, the time

has come to stop raising them industrially and stop eating them thoughtlessly.” (Mark Bittman)

Mark Bittman is a bestselling cookbook author, journalist and television personality. His friendly, informal approach to home cooking has shown millions that fancy execution is no substitute for flavor and soul.  Listen to this entertaining and informative talk on the necessity of changing our diets for the future of mankind.

Posted on by Angela in Call to action, cancer, Diet, disease, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Crazy Sexy Kitchen–by Kris Carr


I can’t wait for this!  I think I have a girl crush on Kris Carr because of her fabulous fun-loving attitude and charisma–watch the trailer to her new book which is available to order at her website http://www.kriscarr.com

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

Factory Farmed Dairy

Why am I drinking cooked milk from an unhealthy cow that only lives 42 months on a factory farm before being turned into fast food hamburger meat?  These animals are fed so poorly with pesticides, herbicides, gmo grains, antibiotics, and animal remnants that they are lucky to live that long.  Then we drink the milk from these “healthy” specimens and eat their dead bodies on the fly on the way to football games?  It’s amazing we last more than 42 months.  MILK-it does the body good?  Not.  Instead of “Got Milk?” ————— “Got Veggies?”

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

Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Manifesto

I absolutely love this gal!  She is an inspiration and I believe everyone is affected by cancer in their lives at one point or another.  It may be a friend, loved one or themselves and it is always game changer.  Kris stands for empowering yourself against disease and facing it with positivity.  Her movie, books, newsletters, and blog are a daily inspiration for me and my patients. Take some time to watch this superhero gal in action in the trailer from her movie “Crazy Sexy Cancer”.

 

 

I’m Kris Carr, author of the New York Times Best Seller, “Crazy Sexy Diet,” and founder of Crazysexylife.com, an award-winning and fantabulous wellness site with daily articles from leading experts and cutting-edge resources for building vibrant health and happiness. My wake up call – a stage 4 cancer diagnosis, with no cure and no treatment (Zoinks!) – ignited a personal revolution and taught me how to take responsibility for my well-being at the deepest level imaginable. Now I want to show you how to step into your destiny and become the CEO of your own health. Radiance is your natural state. You can banish the blocks that hold you back with a plant-powered diet and Crazy Sexy lifestyle!

Each and every one of us has the power to ignite a wellness revolution in our kitchens. Change now. Get juiced now. Learn to live like you really mean it and teach others to do the same. By joining the revolution, you vow to wake up and take a stand for your well-being. No one can take better care of you than wise, brilliant, capable, and STRONG you.

This self-care thing is bigger than many of us imagine. The pursuit of personal health, spiritual wealth and happiness is actually a political statement, a peaceful protest and a powerful act of love. Why? Because in order to care for ourselves in a full-tilt-boogie-I’m gonna-walk-the- talk sorta way, we must rebel against the broken systems that support dis-ease and dismantle the status quo. We can’t wait for special interests, government policies, subsidies, agribusiness, factory farming, pharmaceutical industries and advertisers to change. But we can get off our sofas, vote with our forks and knives and heal the way we eat, drink and think.

Read the guiding principles of the Crazy Sexy diet and lifestyle I’ve outlined below and make these simple health habits stick. Get inspired – print it out, hang it on your fridge and read it daily! This step alone will have a huge impact on your life.

Keep in mind, this is just an overview of the guiding principles. To dig deep and make lasting changes, grab your copy of “Crazy Sexy Diet” here.

Make juice not war and remember, you are the change you’ve been waiting for… Peace & Revolution,

Kris Carr

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