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

Deception in the Food Industry

Watch this little tidbit!  Very informative!

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

Even an 11 year old gets it!

Even an 11 year old gets it!  It is amazing how we forget the basics as we age.  We allow life experiences to cloud our judgement into thinking that this journey is about money, technology, and believing what we are told.  The perspective of child can really help open the mind to educate ourselves and seek out new truths!   This journey is about prioritizing yourself, the people you love, and opening your mind daily to new ideas and concepts.  Jeez, I hope Sidney marries this kid someday!

Posted on by Angela in Body, Call to action, Diet, disease, Family, Humor, Spirit, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Ingenue

Kate Chaplin is a mom!  She aspires to pursue her passion for filmmaking, but is challenged by the economic demands of society.  She is currently filming her dream “Ingenue”.  Kate has chosen to follow her desires and be true to herself.  She made the decision to maintain her values during her journey in life.  Her goal is honorable and she is enacting her dreams within a timeframe that she can still afford;  offering her children an education, and remaining respectful to the morals only she was able to instill in them.   “Life is a journey, not a destination.” —-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Meet Kate Chaplin:

“When my oldest was born I promised her that she could be anything she wanted in this world. If she came to me at age 15 and said she wanted to be a magician I wanted to have the courage and the knowledge to say “yes, let’s learn what we need to learn to have you be the best magician you can be and make a living at it.” But I knew I could only do this if I truly gave it everything at my dream and showed them that it was worth fighting for.

Since a young age I wanted to work in film. I thought of it as the Wonderful World of OZ. I wanted to live behind the curtain where men pulled the strings. At the time I had my first daughter, I wasn’t persuing my dream of working in film. I was a stay at home and I was determined to be the best stay at home mom I could be – but I wasn’t happy. I didn’t feel whole.

Then I made a deal with my husband. I would stay at home with our children (I have two girls now) and pursue my creative dreams of writing and filmmaking. If by the time they were both in school full time and I was not making money, I would return to the standard workforce.

Over the last 7 years I have tried my hardest to balance my company, Karmic Courage Productions, and my family life. It’s a hard balance but I’ve been able to manage. In that time I’ve published 2 books (The Belief Test, The Celebration Diet), 13 short film projects, and worked on over 30 freelance film projects. None of it I can make a steady living on. The work is risky, I’ve been attached to more projects that get cancelled due to fundraising than I’ve actually worked on.

It’s now coming up on the eve of both of the girls being in full time school. I have till Fall 2013 to hope for a miracle or get ready to say goodbye.

I knew that if I looked back 50 years from now I’d regret never making a feature film. So this summer, which maybe the last big project I get to do, I’m making Ingenue. It’s a film I’ll be able to show my daughters when they ask again, “What did you want to be when you grow up?” I’ll be able to say whether I am currently working in an office cubical or flippin’ burgers that I tried, I gave it everything I had and it was worth fighting for. Fighting for your dreams is always worth it.

Odds are filmmaking and writing will never truly leave me, regardless of what happens this year.  I’m sure I’ll find weekends to make something small and fun but it won’t be a career. I’d be trading in the idea of making indie feature films for earning my kids college money. And I’m okay with that because when it comes down to it, I’m a mom.

But I’m not giving up without one hell of a fight. I’m going to put my heart and soul into Ingenue this summer. I’m so excited about this project, it’s themes and story fuel me. It’s the story that’s been hiding in me since I started this journey. It’s the cornerstone of everything I’ve learned, everything I’ve fought for. It’s the perfect piece to see if I can make some kind of money in this crazy film business.

Please, if you’ve dug my work. If you like what I’ve stood for: compassion, human rights, family and strong female characters, please continue to support me. Like Ingenue’s page on facebook, donate to our campaign (ends May 22), see my filmsbuy the DVD’s, or write me a note.

Win, lose or draw it’s going to be an awesome year. Because of you, my kids and my family I’ve gotten this far and I truly appreciate every moment of it.”

http://katechaplin.wordpress.com

Posted on by Angela in Call to action, Guest Blog, Mind, Spirit, Uncategorized 1 Comment

Common Diet Denominator

There are several brand name diets I’ve tried: Atkins, South Beach, Ultimate Weight Loss Solution, Weight Watchers, Pink…also low calorie, low-fat, vegan. With the exception of the Atkins Diet which I think should be more aptly called the “Fast Track to Coronary Disease” diet, all of the diets I’ve tried have some things in common that are really very logical. If you throw them all into a concentric circle chart, you’ll see that they all focus on this: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and water. If you’ve had a chance to watch “Forks Over Knives”, you know the shocking statistics on how eating a plant-based diet can help to reverse cancer, type two diabetes and hypertension.

In this documentary, the thing I found most interesting is a chart that shows three diagrams of the stomach. In three different scenarios, you can see what eating 500 calories of plant-based foods does to fill the stomach and to trigger receptors to let your brain know you’re full, compared to eating animal and dairy products that are calorie-rich but nutrition dense. That’s really what it’s all about. The reason that fruits and veggies are the superheros of the nutrition world is that they are jam-packed with vitamins, minerals, plant proteins, complex carbs, good fats, antioxidants…all with relatively low-calorie counts. Just for fun, I decided to see what a person could eat in one day for 1200 calories — the same number of calories as a McDonald’s Big Mac, fries and a coke. (Did you catch that? ONE lunch at McDonald’s is the equivalent of a full day’s worth of calories). Here is what you could do with 1200 calories instead:

  • breakfast:  1 C rice milk, 1 C strawberries, 1 banana
  • lunch:  4 oz. chicken, 1 C long grain brown rice, 1/2 C black beans, 4 T salsa
  • snacks:  1 C apple, 1/2 oz. almonds, 4 oz. yogurt
  • dinner:  4 oz. salmon, 1/2 sweet potato, 12 romaine leaves, 2 T salad dressing

 

 
 

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

Whitney’s Tribute

So I’m questioning myself after my 18yo’s graduation today , in which I found pride and faith once again;   Why did Whitney Houston lose her faith?  She claimed that she found the “greatest strength to love herself ”  but,  she lost it when she allowed herself to succumb  to her disease.   As I honor her and miss my childhood memories of singing her greatest tunes –I pity her for letting life and “outside forces”  bring her down.  We all need to remember that we are warriors –crusaders and not the victims of life.  We are “smart, kind, and important.”   The diseases we bring upon ourselves are only the results of letting others that are more worldly become the winners. Please trust your inner Angel and remember that life is a journey –it doesn’t have to be a battle.  Ask your higher power each day to make you attentive to all the signs that you may be given.  I thank my id, ego, and superego daily these days for allowing me to find my “greatest love of all” –myself.

Posted on by Angela in Benevolence, Body, Call to action, Diet, Family, Mind, Weight Loss 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

The Richest Gift—Family

 

This post is for Mother’s Day.  It is also for the value of family and remembering what is actually important in life.  Dee wrote a post last week that may have kept me out of  jail for considering inflicting some serious harm to a few of my selfish family members.   I texted my mom in my frazzled state (Yes, she is totally awesome and knows how to text) and asked her if I was on the verge of insanity?—she replied, “step back and put things into perspective.”  Thank God for my family and friends that are all consistently there for me!  And thank you Dee for putting perspective back into this crazy world.   Sometimes, you have a “horrible, terrible, no good, really bad days”  just like Alexander–but, that is no excuse to throw in the towel or move to Australia!

Dee wrote:
It’s lunchtime and I just returned from a meeting, so I’m at my work desk. Over the past couple of days, I have been corresponding with my sister Jody and my brother Bil via emails. Simultaneously, I have been conversing with my two teen daughters through text messages and arguing with my husband in a Google Chat. And in my work world I am discussing relatively trivial matters with co-workers and acquaintances while logging hours on a timesheet until 5 o’clock rolls around and my real life begins. I’m fortunate to have a job that I really like, fortunate to have a job at all, and a vehicle to get here and a home to return to. But, in the last couple of days, my brother and sister have given me the richest gift: a reminder of the inherent love that we were given for family and the appreciation of character traits that our parents instilled. This month is Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day next month. There are no words to describe the kindness and love of life my mother has. As a Christian, I know that my joy should never come from my circumstance but rather from the knowledge that I am God’s child and am promised eternal life. My mother has been subjected to nearly tragic medical traumas, and yet she is joyful. She’s in a wheelchair with physical disabilities and mental deficits, but she exudes love and compassion. Our father, the earthly one, is one of the strongest men I know. Even as I’ve grown up and have moved away from him, I don’t think there is any human who has the capacity to make me feel safe the way that my dad would or could. It’s like being a little girl and watching him lift something beyond my ability in amazement.And as for my sister and brother, they are a constant source of showing me in life, what Jesus would do. That’s really what I believe my purpose is, to find ways every day to help whoever God puts in my path. Whenever I see a kid with a broken down bike or offer a kind word to an elderly woman, I stop and thank God for letting me be in the right place at the right time. Jody and Bil are just like that, walking the walk, selflessly. I love you guys, so much.P.S. Dad called me today. It was the first call he made to me in about two years. Thank you.
Posted on by Angela in Benevolence, Call to action, Charity, Mind, Spirit Leave a comment

Food additives: Read the Label Part 1/10

Now that I have sparked your curiosity by telling you the true story of a food additive allergy (See blog “When I let go of who I am…), I am starting a 10 part series on Food Additives and the health consequences that accompany them.

I am starting my favorite obvious offender Red Dye # 40 because I have seen this mutant troll ruin the lifes of an undeserving woman and her family for 7 years!   This devious bandit is hiding undercover in more foods than you can possibly imagine, including something that I am serving my family for dinner tonight, Pillsbury crescent rolls.

Red Dye #40 debilitates the immune system -I  believe it’s the Michael Jordan of disease-causing  food additives.

Food coloring dates back to Ancient Egyptian writings as early as 1500BC.  In the late 1800’s chemically synthesized color additives were derived from coal and metal based compounds and actually contained some poisons (arsenic).  They used color to mask poor product and spoiled stock  from improper storage technology.  Documented injury and death from the tainted colorants demanded the necessity for “The Pure Food and Drug Act” passed in 1906.  This Act allowed the government to scrutinize the use of color additives.

By 1938, the FDA had successfully brought colorants  under stricter control by naming and assigning numbers to them. F for food use, D for drug use, and C for cosmetic use.  Hence Red Dye # 40 (FDC)  is the most commonly used food, drug, and cosmetic additive.  3 million pounds of this dye were manufactured in the year 1992 alone.   Today, it is by far the most commonly used colorant and hence–my new nemesis.  I will say that FDC yellow # 5, the second most commonly used dye,  will be put on hold because of its marriage Diet Mtn Dew, (my personal Bad Romance”).  Yellow Dye #5 causes adrenal tumors in rats!  More to come, I’ll have to go to an  AA  meeting or take abusive relationship course before I face the reality that I am emotionally dependant on this toxic relationship.  “Hi everyone, I’m Angela, and I’m a Diet Mtn. Dewaholic”  The first step is acceptance.

Next blog if you are interested:  The Foods that Contain Red Dye # 40 —Warning, it will be painful.

http://www.angelamd.com

Posted on by Angela in Call to action, Diet, Green Living, Humor, Nutrition, Organic, Spirit, Whole Food Leave a comment

The Red Flags of Food Additives

Okay, I’ll admit that only recently I have started reading food labels.  To be honest, I just don’t have the time to read labels while shopping because I’m rushing.  Frankly, the people cluttering the aisles reading ingredients just annoy me.  It’s not worse than the texting driver holding up traffic to complete the text.  I have learned that labels can be deceiving.  Here are a few of the stealth Gluten Red Flags to watch!

Gluten Free does not always mean gluten free.  Definitely avoid wheat, wheat gluten, barley, and rye.  However, malt or hydrolyzed vegetable protein are also enemies!  Be especially careful of cereals, pastas, cakes and cookies.  You can substitute with rice or potato flour.  Substitute rice noodles for traditional pasta. 

“Food Allergy and Food Intolerance” by Dr Jon Brostoff is an excellent resource in understanding food intolerance symptoms and has a large index of buzz words to watch for when reading labels.

Dee had a similar experience yesterday:

Sorry to pick on a brand name, but this is such a perfect example of why we need to read labels. I bought some things for a health fair at my work, and smoothies in a bottle were specifically requested. So I loaded my shopping cart with apples, bananas and Frusion. The first thing that caught my eye was 4% juice. As I was unpacking groceries, I decided to try one. Quickly glanced at the label without my reading glasses and saw 180 calories. My non-dairy coconut and almond milks are about 100 so when you add fruit I thought that sounded normal. Just now, I put on the glasses to see that — sure enough — high fructose corn syrup is item number four on the label, after yogurt, water and sugar. There are 33 grams of sugar. For comparison, Kool-Aid (pure liquid poison) has only 25. Fresh fruit is loaded with fiber but the drink has none. Here is a better smoothie option: 8 oz. rice milk (120 calories + 11 grams sugar) and 1 cup strawberries (65 calories and 12 grams sugar) plus 4 oz. Greek yogurt (65 calories + 4 grams sugar). Even though the calories are higher, the sugar is much lower and it doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup. It also has some great protein from the milk and yogurt and complex carbs from the fresh fruit. One real smoothie starts the day off right, no hunger until lunch. Even though processes and packaged foods are convenient, you always are better off with whole foods in their natural form. Remember that one very helpful website to use for learning about the nutritional benefits of most foods is www.calorie-count.com.

Posted on by Angela in Body, Call to action, Diet, Nutrition, Organic, Whole Food Leave a comment

“If you build it, they will come”

 

 

As you already know if you are visiting this site,  we are dedicated to helping  people take ownership of disease by inspiring them to change their diets.  We  post ideas, links and stories of other’s who have succeeded in changing their lives for the better.  This site is my “Field of Dreams.”  I started this  program because I realized that in the future, I will not be able to treat disease because of the sad state of the economy.  In 10-20 years, pharmaceuticals and insurance prices will be too high for most of us to afford.  Recent studies predict that by the year 2037, Medicare will be bankrupt and insurance premiums will exceed the average American household income.  For that reason, I am encouraging all of us to take an active role in disease prevention before our children and grandchildren require medical intervention that they can’t afford and may not be available.  I dedicated my career to helping people, took the Hippocratic Oath, and am sticking to it.  How can I help patient’s if I don’t treat the cause of their diseases?  We are not victims of genetics, we are victims of a fast paced, capitalistic society that has lost priorities.  That is why we are all fat, sick, and nearly dead.  We don’t have time to nurture our spirits, families and minds.  We are too busy trying to get through each day!  I strongly believe that physicians need to take back the healthcare industry.  We need to lead the revolution to change in the direction of prevention.  I have vowed to more actively help patients get the nutritional education and encouragement that they need to change their lifestyles.  Other physicians need to be encouraged to defy the rules and standards and take this leap of faith.  Political lobbying, insurance dictators, and pharmaceutical advertisements simply aren’t doing the job of cutting healthcare spending.

We do have options:  If Kony can go viral overnight via the internet—SO CAN WE! 

Share these messages posted on the site with others.  More importantly, try to slow down in life, take care of yourself and most of all —just be yourself.  Trust me, as I say in my home page, it’s scary, but people will still love you if you aren’t perfect!  Just be real.

 

 

 

.

 

Posted on by Angela in Call to action Leave a comment
« Previous   1 2 3 4