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

Lessons from the Mental Hospital

All I can say is that I absolutely love this—it’s worth taking 17 minutes to watch.  It seems to reiterate that all I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten! Nothing beats transparency and honesty.

 

Posted on by Angela in Body, Mind, Spirit 1 Comment

Ash Wednesday

One year ago on Ash Wednesday, I vowed to officially go gluten and dairy free and finally practice what I was preaching. I had been limiting gluten and dairy for years before but would ultimately end up cheating every 3-4 weeks with occasional  pizza/cake/ nachos etc. So last year I gave it the 40day test and I was amazed at how great I felt. I lost weight, my energy and brain fog improved, my skin cleared up and my mood seemed great! Mind you , I wasn’t grain free all together and was still eating some brown rice and corn. I also wasn’t completely cognizant of all the hidden doses of gluten were stashed in food. Overall, I felt pretty proud of kicking diet cola, gluten and dairy. I would do it all over again in an instant. But, I got weak and lazy after Easter and gradually added back the dreaded cheese. I’m talking the factory farmed stuff too–not the organic goat stuff. However, when I did add the dairy —the weight came back instantly (proving to myself that I am one of those victims of molecular mimicry) that can’t tolerate casein.
The year was successful and I was able to kick gluten for good (I only cheated once with Coors Light at the Dave Matthews concert).
I was still doing some grain and dairy. 

So today I am starting the official grain free/dairy free diet again and am anxious to keep you updated on the results —
So far for breakfast I’ve had a spinach/mushroom/pepper/onion omelette with NO CHEESE and iced tea–lunch was a salad with only veggies/chicken and NO RANCH DRESSING.

I’m still alive!
I’ll keep you posted!

Our spirits dwell in a beautiful vessel that should be treated well -So it’s about time I get over myself and start relishing my health.

 

–What are you going to give up that isn’t serving you??? Leave your thoughts in the comments below

 

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Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition 2 Comments

Paleo Diet Hoax

I was listening to the healthy gut summit presentations today and they touched upon a very important point that I think needs to be addressed.   That point is that the Paleo diet is a hoax?   There are many different Paleo diets and frankly -none of them are anywhere close to what our paleolithic ancestors would have eaten. We see two schools of thought; those that call it a fad diet and those who honestly believe that it is the cure for a significant number of diseases.

There doesn’t seem much doubt that it is a fad diet.   As a society, we tend to latch onto the latest diet trend that’s been presented and most of us don’t understand the underlying fundamentals of the diet research (if there are any).  We treat a fad diet as all or nothing and perceive that it should be suggested for an entire population of people.  This simply isn’t true.  There’s no diet that is actually good for everybody.  Think about different climates and daily environments we exist in are highly variable. This is no different from in the Paleolithic era.  The type of foraging, meat and vegetable consumption greatly depends on the of availability of the plant life, and the climate and animals in the area.  Research shows that some of our Paleolithic ancestors did eat grains and legumes.  Just look at mortar and pestal from that era that were obviously used to grind down grains.

The Paleo diet is a great diet for one reason –it cuts out all processed foods. This diet is a whole,real food-based diet. Whether were eating more meat or cutting out legumes, we are vastly improving the plant-based component of our diet and cutting out junk carbs.  I can’t argue with that.  The biggest point I make is that our society’s food supply is based on processed foods that are stripped of the vital nutrients and minerals. So is any Paleo diet actually Paleo?  NO of course not.  You wouldn’t have seen a caveman walking around carrying a Paleo Kind bar.  The berries, seeds, and vegetables that were forging for are nowhere near the equivalent of the berries we buy at the supermarket. 

Here’s a great presentation based on some real science of what Paleolithic ancestors were actually eating. 

 Just you watch this quick TEDTalk that is a thorough evaluation of why the Paleo diet is a hoax.

 No single diet is good an the entire population people. There many factors that come into play.  Our gut microbiome is incredibly important as well.  We are just now beginning to discover  this huge complex microrganism community that plays such a huge role in our immune health. I do like the Paleo diet because it’s a clear concise diet shows you exactly what to eat based only on real food.  I do recommend this to a lot of my patients because the Paleo diet in of itself is probably 90% better than what most of us are eating right now.  #JERF  Just eat real food!!!

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

Healthy Gut Summit

So I just found out about this FREE online summit that starts tomorrow.  Sorry for the short notice!  I am definitely going to register tonight.  The talks all start tomorrow so I’ll be listening to the first podcast tomorrow morning on the way into work .  Here is the preview banner—-

HG_SidebarBanner_300x300_Attend

Are you one of 70 million people suffering from digestive diseases in the United States? You might be… and not even know your gut is the cause! Join me at The Healthy Gut Summit, February 9-16, online and free to learn more! Register HERE

32 reasons how your digestive health is intimately linked to your immune, endocrine, circulatory and central nervous systems… which impact physical, mental and emotional wellbeing! Healthy Gut Summit, online and free from February 9-16. Join me! Register HERE

Did you know? Gut health impacts our most basic physiological processes–including how we think and behave–it’s the foundation for physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Learn more at The Healthy Gut Summit, online and free from February 9-16.

 

Here is your last chance—

Register HERE

Order HERE

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

Warming Foods For Winter

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So I listened to a great old podcast of Alexandra Jamieson’s about winter foods.  I am reading her new book ” Women, Food, and Desire”  right now and wanted to hear a little more of her work.  You may remember her from the award-winning documentary “Super Size Me” in which she was the co-star with her ex-husband.  Since then she has an amazing transformation story and outlines a lot of that in her new book and on the pod cast she does with Sean Croxton from Undergroundwellness.com.

Anyhow, I really love some of the points that she makes about our food choices in the winter and our New Years weight loss goals.  She suggests that we actually sabotage our weight loss efforts in these New Year resolutions by trying to diet with foods that aren’t in season and are to cooling to the body.

For instance —we often reach for a smoothie in the am with lots of frozen fruits and then do salads for lunch.  Our bodies in the winter are in hibernation mode –they don’t want those cooling foods like bananas, grapefruit, and cold salads. Our body wants to metabolize warming foods. It is more natural for the body’s internal environment. Here is a short list of Warming Foods—

 

 

Anise

Basil

Carob

Cumin

Chives

Cinnamon

Cloves

Coriander

Dates (and most dried fruit)

Dill

Fennel

Garlic

Ginger

Ginseng

Honey

Kumquat

Leeks

Mustard greens

Nuts

Oats

Onion

Papaya

Parsley

Parsnips

Pepper (black, Chile, red bell, green bell)

Quinoa

Rosemary

Rutabaga

Scallions

Seeds

Tea

Vinegar

Wasabi

Watercress

Wild rice

Here is a copy of the book–I’m about 1/2 way through and I really like it.  It really puts emotions, cravings and eating into a different perspective

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Mind, Whole Food 2 Comments

Juicing 101

juicing

 

While browsing Facebook I came across a college sorority sister that has started a juice detox this week to start of the New Year.    She bought a pre-made 3 day juice cleanse from Le Nectar –a new juicing bar here in town located on the Northside next to Tulip Noir.  There are several different spots here in town where you can purchase fresh juice including Georgetown Market, EarthFare, and  Natural Born Juicers just to name a few.  However I am incredibly poor after the holiday season considering my children are now of the age where gifts require a more significant monetary investment than in the early years.  So I am now inspired to dust off my juicer that has been hibernating during the holidays and get back on board.  A juicer is a bit of investment at first, however you will save a lot of money in the long run doing your own juicing .  I came across a colleague’s article on the different types of  juicers that was extremely informative and helpful and wanted to share that with you .  Here’s the link that will explain the different types of  juicers available along with the pros and cons.

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

Be sure to check out his BLOG as well.

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