Meet Dee- She needs shoes!

A few years ago, I introduced you to my dear friend Dee. She invited us on her weight loss journey and did quite a few posts regarding her story. I just wanted to repost a few of these because:

1. I miss Dee!!

2. I always love her posts and admire how real and down to earth she is! Hope you enjoy them as well.

Dee is a mom! Dee wants to lose weight. Dee believes we need to eat healthy. I love Dee. She has invited us to follow her weight loss journey with her because she can’t see her feet! Please follow her amazing posts with me! She is inspiring! And to Dee, thank you for admitting that you aren’t perfect and this isn’t an easy thing to do! We should all have that much integrity.

Dee writes:

Funny how people are ashamed to share their weight. I don’t mind telling people who I weigh 190 pounds. When I’m speaking to someone and the issue of health or weight comes up, I freely share my weight…the real number. I share my age too, 49. People are sometimes surprised that I’m 49, but no one has ever reacted surprisingly to the 50 extra pounds. I’m guessing it’s because if they are speaking to me in person, they can see the extra pounds…mostly around my middle. I don’t like this section of me but I’ve gotten used to it. I chose this photo, taken from my chin looking down to show you what I see when I look at my shoes. Get it? No shoes. I’d like to see my shoes and have started a new goal to get there. After years and years of dieting, I am a diet expert. Most overweight people are diet experts. The trick isn’t knowing what to do, it’s doing it. If you want to jump into the journey, I would love the company. It might not always be pretty, but it will always be real.

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Angela in Diet, Guest Blog, Humor, Nutrition, Spirit, Whole Food Leave a comment

Check this out guys!!

So I was so excited to be offered the opportunity to do an interview on The Food Heals Podcast! This is my new favorite podcast after Sean Croxton retired from Underground Wellness. (By the way–check him out now on “The Sessions with Sean”). My 45 plus minute commute to work is über long and the time passes quickly if I listen to a health podcast rather than the Smiley Morning Show. (Don’t get me wrong –I love Smiley but I feel more productive learning about my passion of reversing disease). I stumbled upon “The Food Heals Podcast” which has been called the “Sex & the City for Food” on iTunes. These two gals are super fun and share all kinds of great information. They even have a great documentary completely worth watching. “Food Heals”- is a film starring Joe Cross, John Salley, & Kerri Kasem who have used food over drugs to heal! Remember Joe Cross from the documentary “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead“? He’s the guy with the sexy Australian accent that was able to overcome chronic urticaria (AKA –REALLY BAD ITCHY HIVES ALL OVER THE BODY) by going on a juice fast. Fortunately, the universe was in my favor when they asked me to share Susan’s empowering story. She was able to overcome an autoimmune disease by changing her diet and removing processed foods (Red Dye #40)

Here are the links —

Link to the episode on iTunes:
http://bit.ly/AngelaMD

The Food Heals Nation Web site:
http://foodhealsnation.com

The link to the episode blog post:

75: Let Food Be Thy Medicine with Dr. Angela DeBord Henriksen

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Angela in disease, Humor, Nutrition, Whole Food Leave a comment

Crazy busy is always an excuse!

These last two weeks have been crazy busy!

I haven’t eaten right and I fed my family take-out every single night for dinner!

I even gave my kids sugar to shut them up! (Fruit Roll Ups- no doubt)

Crazy busy is always going to get us down. Crazy is what crazy does! (Yes- that’s a tweetable Forrest Gump like euphemism )

However, I got back to the gym for some yoga (ouch) and Zumba (#uncoordinated white girl) and will hit the Farmer’s Market in the morning to get back on track.

Baby Steps and Forgiveness! We are all in this together!!!

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Angela in Call to action, Humor, Uncategorized 1 Comment

Free Macbook—Whaaaaaaat?

So you all know about my man crush, Sean Croxton, from http://www.undergroundwellness.com. This guy is the nutrition guru! He interviews top experts in the field of wellness and then podcasts his interviews for free. He is genuine and has massive integrity! He introduced a free Macbook giveaway over the last few weeks to the person with the best photo of #JERFING-(AKA – Just Eat Real Food) . Well, the AngelaMD wellness warriors are all about eating real food so we decided to enter the contest. We were under the gun last night to submit a photo after finding out that my oldest daughter’s computer died. She is in desperate need of a new one for this semester’s classes at a local college (she is studying to be a social worker). The Henriksen family rallied and produced these hilarious and somewhat ridiculous photos.

Sidney’s idea of JERF

Emma’s idea of JERF

The actual photo we submitted —

Just Eat Real Food!!!!

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Angela in Diet, Green Living, Humor, Nutrition, Organic Leave a comment

Why I love Theresa Mazza!

T.H.A.N.K.S.

November 20, 2012 — Leave a comment

Tell people in your life you love and care for them. Give thanks for friendships.

Help your neighbor out of humility and gratitude for the many provisions of God. Give thanks for the ability to bless others.

Always recognize the gifts, talents, and beauty found in those around you. Give thanks for diversity and uniqueness.

Never doubt that you can find blessings and beauty in any circumstance no matter how difficult it is. Give thanks to God for his peace, mercy, forgiveness, and grace. He makes all things beautiful.

Keep in front of you the many times God has helped you, guided you, and taken care of you by surrounding you with caring souls. Give thanks for the help you’ve received.

Savor all that is good in life. Don’t dwell on the hurts and disappointments of the past. Give thanks for you are loved by the one who is good.

Thanks acrostic by Theresa Mazza

Thanks to Theresa for letting me repost this—-please be sure to visit her site at http://www.theresamazza.com– or click the link at sanity pills on the Friends links——

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Angela in Body, Diet, disease, Guest Blog, Humor, Nutrition, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Unjunk your candy!!!

Emma-the Princess with Attitude!

Trick or treating time is here and it poses a difficult decision for parents. How much nasty sugary candy do we actually allow them to eat? I remember back in my childhood days of trick or treating that it was not uncommon to be invited into a neighbor’s house for popcorn and apple cider. These days we scan for razors, fear arsenic laden homemade treats, and dread “that house” that passes out the healthy stuff. Heck, I even think I went haunting without my parents well after dark and actually survived to tell about it. That was a different time and we live in a much different world. The reality of Halloween is that nothing fresh is safe, we trust the packaged brand name candy, and want our children to just be happy. Therefore, we allow the high fructose corn syrup laden candy and attempt to ration it with validation of good parenting. The truth is—-we might as well be injecting heroin or allowing our kids to sniff bath salts for all that good validating happiness on one evening. Have you ever really looked at the candy labels? I hadn’t until I started trying to be more conscious. The all too tasty Mounds and Almond Joy contain hydrolyzed milk protein which is a pseudoname for MSG. Snickers (satisfying) contains partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Reese’s has a preservative in it that is closely related to butane. Mars and M&M’s are laden with artificial coloring as well as those Hershey’s products which are made with partially hydrogenated oil (major artery clogging stuff). It makes me want pass on rolling that Rolo to my pal! I’m no drug dealer!

Hence— a solution to our parenting woes—

“A few years ago, Michael and his 13 year old son Nicky got into an argument over Halloween candy. Nicky came home with his bag of loot, went to bed, and woke up the next morning to find that his dad had confiscated most of it. It played out the way these fights normally do, with the candy gone and Nicky going to his room.

Later, Nicky did some research online (to prove to his dad that candy isn’t so bad). He discovered that his dad was right (for once).

It’s not that Nicky thought candy was healthy. It’s that he didn’t know how bad it really was. What Nicky learned was that the worst parts of candy (like hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives) aren’t there to make it taste good. They’re there to make it cheaper to produce.

Nicky had a hunch that without the junk, candy could taste better. With the help of his older brother Kris, and his dad, they set out to prove it.”

From that ingenious question stemmed a great corporation called “Unreal”. Unreal candy values not using HFCS or any artificial colors/flavors. Unreal products can be found at major retailers such as Kroger and Target. So thanks Nicky for being proactive and helping raise awareness that will benefit many generations of trick or treating yet to come.

Some of Unreal Candy’s ingredients:

Milk Chocolate (chocolate, skim milk, cane sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, organic blue agave inulin, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), Peanuts, Cane Sugar, Calcium Carbonate, Peanut Oil, Colored with (beetroot juice, turmeric root extract, purple cabbage juice), Gum Arabic, Vanilla Extract, Carnauba Wax & Beeswax

Contains milk, soy, peanuts. May contain tree nuts, wheat

You can visit their site at http://www.getunreal.com

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Angela in Body, Diet, disease, Humor, Nutrition, vegan Leave a comment

Toxic Relationships and Superheros

Maybe we should all read that book, “Women who love too much”–If you find yourself drained, not fulfilled, and not being pampered by your loved one; are you really living the life you were meant to live? I think not! That bad boy relationship that seemed so inviting and exciting, will only leave you spent and tired. Yes, those men are fun and full of passion, but it only lasts for a moment. Remember what you are worth and how much you have to offer in this world. Don’t sell yourself short girl–This too shall pass. It’s ok to be different! It’s ok to be you–that makes you different-not wrong!

I write these words of encouragement for many female patients whom neglect themselves and their own needs in order to be superwoman only projecting the image of perfection as wives and mothers! I am certainly the pot calling the kettle black with this one since I have to remind myself daily that I don’t have to solve every problem or issue that comes up in our household. It’s a narcissistic martyr role that I take when I try to do everything for everyone in my family. I think I am doing it out of kindness when I am actually doing it to prove to myself that I can. Then I resent everyone else for allowing me to do everything! When we make life too easy for our families and children–we disable them and neglect ourselves. I really don’t want my girls to fall into a pattern of overextending and resenting so I have vowed to try to lead by example and make the change for the better.

Luckily, my bad boy is actually a good one and he has been more than understanding and encouraging in my new “setting limits” mode. Fortunately, he wears his cape with less martyrdom than I ever did.

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Angela in Body, Call to action, Family, Humor, Mind, Spirit Leave a comment

Hipocracy- You Betcha!

What was my last meal?

Grass fed beef and veggies–yeah!

What is my next meal?

A big ‘ole chicken quesedilla from my favorite mexican restaurant La Hacienda!

Hipocracy you may say. But , I have an unhealthy relationship with mexican food. I can tell you exactly when it dates back to . In medical school, my roommate and I were chronically stressed and frankly probably clinically depressed because we literally lived and breathed medicine. We had no time for socializing were buried in books almost every waking hour we weren’t in class. Grabbing takeout mexican food and watching Jerry Springer episodes(yes we felt validated and normal seeing their dysfunction lives) on the weekend was a special treat to anticipate. So I have formed a comforting connection with eating mexican to make me feel good. It’s unhealthy but not necessarily a toxic coping mechanism. So I choose never to break that strategy for fear that the deprivation of my lifelong habit would allow me to pick up an even more toxic habit (ie doing drugs or something). Like relationships between people, the relationships we have with food can be healthy, unhealthy, or downright destructive. Many of my patients often exhibit signs of the latter, as many relate to food as medication, a best friend, or an escape from reality. Without understanding these relationships, making long-term dietary changes can be impossible. I choose the lesser of the evils and try to maintain insight into why I am making that choice. I am choosing to eat poorly tonight but I’m not going to make that choice again for a while. This is my one wild night then back to the books and the goal at hand! No different then medical school–you gotta stay on course for the goal at the end. Unfortunately, the health goal doesn’t end with a diploma or a degree–it’s a lifelong journey in vitality.

Here is a nice interview excerpt by Christa Orecchio, a clinical nutritionist that works on breaking programming lying at the root of unhealthy eating habits.

You can find more Real Food information on Sean Croxton’s site http://www.undergroundwellness.com

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Angela in Body, Diet, disease, Exercise, Humor, Nutrition, vegan, Whole Food Leave a comment

The New Normal – A Modern Family

Let’s face it. We aren’t living in a “Leave it to Beaver” world anymore. That’s why I relate to Claire from Modern Family a little better than June Cleaver. Do I have dinner on the table at 5 pm nightly? Of course not. I work and don’t even get home by five. Do I like texting my daughter at college rather than calling her to see how her day was? Heck no! Unfortunately, calling her would leave me hanging for days. Sensibly, I text her and she responds in nanoseconds. These days we are forced to ask ourselves, how can we connect without relying on the reality of what we were raised to believe was normal? I think Theresa Mazza does a great job with this post. We adapt and reconsider what we value daily–it may not be “normal” for us, but it just may be what we do to stand for what we think is right. Change is hard in the dance of life. Occasionally, we take a leap of faith.

Here is Theresa’s recent post–be sure to visit her blog at http://www.theresamazza.com

Cultural and societal norms seem to move as fast as the white waters of the Colorado River. The recent NBC series, The New Normal, highlights this reality. Every day it seems like there’s a new normal. What was normal 90 days ago is old school, out-dated, and irrelevant. Remember when paying for your flight included your luggage? That was then; now it’s normal to pay additional fees for each piece you check. Or remember when Christmas shopping meant fighting crowds and shopping till you literally dropped? But what normal person would put themselves through all that when you can shop for just about everything online and have it delivered right to your front steps?

The biggest question is, who decides what’s normal? The truth is, what’s normal for society doesn’t always become the norm in our personal lives. It’s normal for mothers to dress like their daughters these days, but maybe you can’t imagine adopting that as a personal norm. It’s more normal than ever to get a tattoo but, although I think tattoos are cool, I admit I’m all talk when it comes to getting one.

So what are we to do when we just can’t adopt the new norms that surround us? Do we picket and boycott, give in, do nothing, flounder in between, or do we resolve to continue loving people and allow Christ to shape our normal rather than society? “That’s normal” should never be the reason we accept something as a norm. Normal for the believer must come out of a relationship with our Creator.

In Genesis normal shifted as fast as it’s shifting now. It was normal for Adam to hang out in the Garden, walking and talking with God. It was normal for Adam and Eve to walk around naked. It was also normal for people and God to be so connected that God always knew where they were. But then, normal changed.

What happened?

Adam and Eve decided to adopt norms that were not in the interest of each other or their relationship with God, but self-interested. They left God out. This decision changed normal for them. In this Genesis story we see fear of God becoming normal over connection with God, we see blame becoming normal over caring for one another, we see a God who was normally delighted in his creation experience disappointment, we see a God who was able to give, now having to take away. It wasn’t just the first sin; it was the first time humans adopted a new normal outside of the normal God had established for them.

Self interest and the desire to know more and experience more allows normal to define us. Interest in others before ourselves and a desire to know God allows us to define normal. When our relationship with God is the deciding factor of the normal in our life we can influence normal instead of normal influencing us.

When we embrace God’s idea of normal, we can be a part of positive shifts in the society and culture we live in.

A “me” society can become a “we” society.
A violent people can become a peaceful people.
An exclusive local church can become an inclusive local church.
Global awareness can become global impact.
Followers can become leaders.

I recently spoke to group of teenagers about normal and left them with these two things:
Desire God first, and influence normal instead of letting normal influence you.

Where do we start? In the beginning…where God desired to walk with us, talk with us, share everything with us, create with us, and love us. Pursue God. Choose and live by his idea of normal for you. Then embrace and glorify him in your normal everyday life.

Romans 12 from the Message Bible says…

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Angela in Body, Diet, Family, Guest Blog, Humor, Mind, Spirit 2 Comments

Monsanto Evils

This post is for Cindy–a dear patient and friend who has been suffering from a debilitating illness since 2001. She has been to Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, and to all of the top specialists in the fields of neurology, rheumatology, infectious disease, dermatology, oncology, cardiology, and pulmonology. Geez–I think we hit every field of medicine. However, I promised Cindy that I would never stop looking for what may actually be making her sick! I recently did an ALCAT test on her to find that she has a severe intolerance to GLYPHOSATE. Ba Bam!!! Ironically, if you have been following the news lately, you are aware of The Monsanto Company who exclusively produces Roundup Ready soybean seed for the commercial market. Allegedly, many of monsanto’s seed products are genetically modified to make them resistant to the Monsanto produced agricultural chemicals such as Round Up herbicide. They also allegedly produce recombinant Bovine somatotropin. Yes, I know What??? It is a synthetic growth factor injected into cows to increase their milk production. Watch this trailer for more information. And watch out Erin Brockovich because if I cure Cindy by getting her off of Monsanto products—I’m casting Channing Tatum in the movie!