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

diabetes

Why I Hate Diabetic Educators!

No offense.  It’s not their fault.  We don’t teach them real nutrition nor do we teach any healthcare providers real nutrition.  For years, out of standard of care compliance, I have referred my diabetics to educators to learn how to eat and balance carbs/proteins.  For a very few patients, scared enough by the actual diagnosis, the diabetic education is all they need.  They forge head on counting calories and planning meals.  They check their sugars and put an obsessive compulsive plan into action.   Here’s the real problem.  We haven’t really taught any of these patients that they can reverse their disease by eating whole foods (including fruits) without counting every calorie and carb.  It wasn’t until we started our wellness program that we were forced to take into account that most patient’s don’t have time to count every carb, weigh every meal, read every label.  This plan is really hard for most with busy schedules and complicated lives.  Eating whole, non-processed food straight from the earth does not raise your blood sugar.  It’s nothing like the low-fat, low carb, processed foods that continue to deteriorate the body with additives and artificial substances.   Most dietitians and doctors are recommending these without really knowing the potential danger.  This is where we are erring with these diabetics;  telling them to get sugar-free, artificially sweetened products instead of eating real fruit is a mortal sin committed against curing their disease.  Sure, we may control their sugars but ultimately, we haven’t done any thing to provide them real nutrition and reverse their disease process.  Consider looking into “Forks Over Knives” and “Hungry for Change” if you are a newly diagnosed diabetic–you are in charge of your own destiny and unfortunately you may have to take matters into your own hands.

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

Pride and Success

I’m so proud today!  I’ve been having a rough week having to doll out some difficult diagnoses to patients.  That is ultimately the worst part of my job!  I hate telling someone they have cancer or disease even if it is something we can treat and cure.  I feel like it rips a piece of my soul out every time–not to mention that I look like HE double hockey sticks the rest of my day because I cannot let someone cry alone.  So with swollen eyes and mascara stained cheeks, I forged ahead to see Miss Susie, one of my dear patients with diabetes.  She started my wellness program reluctantly back in December and has vowed to stick with it.  Upon starting, her blood sugars were out of control and her Hgb A1C was 10! (this is the average blood sugar over 3 months in a diabetic and should be 6).  Today, she clocked in 18 lbs lighter with an A1C of 7 and I am starting to take her off of medication.  I have to mention that during the last 9 months –her husband was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery as well!  So despite her emotional hurdles–she was able to overcome her disease by taking charge of her diet and what she actually put in her mouth and it has made ALL the difference.  My day is a little brighter now thanks to Susie who took a leap of faith with me and vowed that she would do what we told her.  She is my strong wellness warrior with the strength it took to get rid of diabetes!@!   Eat your veggies people!  This whole food business really does work!  You can get better if you really want to!

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