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

humor

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 by Angela in Diet, Guest Blog, Humor, Nutrition, Spirit, Whole Food Leave a comment

Guess Who’s Back? Back Again? Dee is back–tell a friend!

Remember Dee?

Dee fell off the wagon for a while–heck don’t we all?  I’m not sure I’ve had a CLEAN eating day since Thanksgiving!   That’s not even mentioning the half a bottle of wine I probably polished off that day.  How is that for toxic calories?   But remember, it doesn’t have to be black or white and all or nothing.  It’s about meaningful eating and wanting to be a better version of yourself.  This counts in all aspects of life, not just eating and exercising.  It’s about individual behaviors, decisions, and not about outcomes.  I am responsible for how I look and feel today!  Nobody else forced me to eat badly, skip exercise, or allow negative thoughts to arise.  I did that all myself.   There is no quick fix in the game of life and dieting isn’t just a hobby!  Or at least it shouldn’t be–save that for something that is actually fun and not such hard work!  Our good blogger, hilarious writer, and real friend Dee emailed me that she is back in the game!  She missed the team spirit and wants to play–so let’s get inspired by her spirit  and rededicate ourselves as well.

Dee writes:

Taking a quick-lunch break to check in. I have been AWOL again but I just noticed that Dr. Angela re-linked my blog and I have a co-worker who has agreed to work with me in the area of accountability. There is a saying that people don’t do what’s expected, they do whats inspected. This is true for me. So, thanks to Dr. Angela and my new accountability partner (you know who you are) for helping me help myself.

This blog has really been a blast for me, and was a great tool in helping in my weight loss efforts. Last November/December I lost nearly 20 pounds and plan to do it again. Actually, if successful, I’ll be losing the same 20 pounds. Frustrating to admit, but I will never give up. I will make better choices and I will get control of my weight.

I shouldn’t admit this, but I really love Dr. Phil-isms. As much as I try, they always pop into my brain when relevant. So, I have to say that “the only way to fail, is to quit trying.” Check back for new posts this weekend.

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Exercise, Nutrition, Weight Loss, 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 by Angela in Body, Diet, Family, Guest Blog, Humor, Mind, Spirit 2 Comments

You are what you eat

This cartoon is so hilarious, I shouldn’t even write anything to go with it. But I will. What prompted me to look for a graphic for this post is a memory I have of eating a hot dog and chips for lunch before I started the new eating plan. I drive and walk past this food cart every day and one day, I walked down with my $2 and got a hot dog, chips and a Diet Coke. I went back to my desk to eat and afterward I remember thinking “I feel like a hot dog.” The rest of the day I felt sluggish and gross. Since starting this blog, I’ve been paying close attention to the signals my body gives me when I eat well and when I don’t. Healthy food is starting to be my new normal, so when I eat some of my old comfort foods they are a bit of a shock to my system. Many times, if the food is greasy, it actually makes me sick.

Here’s something fun I’ve just started doing, I can now visualize myself as a skinny person. Actually the visualization I have is that I’m athletic, great biceps and quads. I can’t wait!

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

Juicing

I am frequently glanced at oddly in the hallways of the hospital when people see me carrying in my ball jar full of juice for breakfast.  If it is green, I get eye rolls or mysterious lurks.  Since my staff and I are all experimenting with juicing and recipes for tasty juice, I thought I would explain the differences between juicers.

Centrifugal vs Masticating

Centrifugal juicers work at high speeds and tend to be noisy.  They are wonderful at juicing fruits and vegetables quickly and are easy to clean.  However, they can juice green leafy vegetables but are not as efficient as a masticating juicer.

A masticating  juicer is especially good at juicing the green leafy vegetables such as wheatgrass, spinach, parsley, cilantro, kale, Swiss Chard.  One benefit of a masticating juicer is that it requires less veggies to create more juice than a centrifugal juicer.  It can also be used to make baby food, pasta, nut butter and ground meat.

I have a centrifugal juicer now since I am still a novice.  Eventually, I may upgrade.  I found my Omega 3 juicer at Georgetown Market for under $150.  There are juicers that are much less expensive and work well.

Tonight–I will be adding Kale and Parsley to my juice and disguising it in a colored glass so my kids will try it before they realize that it is green.  Baby steps and devious manuevers are required by this mom to change our family’s diet

 This is my juicer–so far so good although it is rather loud.

 Here is a link to a great article that is much more in depth on the differences in juicers —please check it out

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

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

Give and Take

Very well said Dee!  I have and regularly do change the toilet paper roll while on it!  For some odd reason, my family members are physically incapable.   I am raising teenage mutant toilet paper changers!  The infamous “MOM–BRING ME TOILET PAPER” echoes through the house at least once a week!”
Dee writes today:
This note is to women, specifically speaking to a couple of my closest friends, you know who you are. I’m of the strong opinion that most women are givers rather than takers. Men can be either one but I don’t know any women who are takers. I am a giver, married to a taker.At different places in my life I’ve reached really low lows and I actually feel like I’ve tapped into a deficit reserve, overdrawn my emotional bank account to be sure to give to the important people in my life. Lots of you do this, to a fault, despite the havoc it wreaks on your health and/or self-worth. The funny part about our performance of these super-human feats is that it’s not for any recognition or glory. There is no payment, payoff or earthly reward. The benefit is rarely an ego boost and efforts are frequently unnoticed or taken for granted.I’ve multi-tasked in some of the most humorous situations…ever sopped up water on the floor by scooting in your socks, scrubbed a shower while you’re in it, changed the toilet paper roll while your on it?

We eat cold dinner after everyone else has finished, or no dinner when unexpected kids show up.  We staple our hems and safety-pin our bras, squeezing every bit of life out of them before investing in new ones.

I’ve been called a martyr, but that was by the taker in my family, the adult one. It’s really not martyrdom at all, just what we do. Anyway girls, just be mindful of it and don’t feel like you can’t take time for yourselves, pamper yourselves, indulge yourselves. Afterall, you can’t give what you don’t have. Don’t drive on fumes!

Posted on by Angela in Family, Guest Blog, Humor, Spirit Leave a comment