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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. These are unprecedented and unsettling times for sure. As of today (April 5th, 2020), Indiana has 4,441 positive cases and 127 deaths from the novel coronavirus. The good news is that as of today, Spain has seen death totals drop for the third day in a row. It is possible that New York may be reaching peak numbers and we are about 2 weeks or more behind them (credit to Dr Bryan Sharpe). The demographics show that about 20% of patients are aged 50-59, 16.9% are 40-49 and 17.4 % are 60-69. Only 1.6% of the case are in age less than 19 and 8% in patients over 80. 54.3% are female and 45.7% are male patients affected. These statistics are for the state of Indiana only.
So enough of the somber news and let’s move on to prevention. Most of us are sheltering at home which is a great thing!!! I have seen new people out walking in my neighborhood. Families are Zoom calling friends and having parties. Neighbors are dropping off groceries and goodies for each other as well as decorating windows and front doors with all kinds of special messages. I see people wearing masks/ gloves and social distancing at stores which is great. If you wear a mask and practice good hand washing you have a >90% of not contracting the virus. Check out The Doctor’s Farmacy with Dr Mark Hyman called: Special Episode: Medicine In The Age of COVID 19 And Beyond. They analyze some of the recent data on treatments and answer listener’s questions as well. This is a very helpful podcast outlining prevention and future treatment options that may even include IV vitamin C as well as ozone therapies.
Hopefully, you checked out my previous POST on Coronavirus prevention and supplements to stock up on. I am still taking all of them and really focusing on daily exercise, good nutrition and sleep. This is also a fabulous time to really start zoning in on eliminating sugar since we all have more time to cook at home. It is also a great time to get outside and start a garden, catch up on yard work, and get some simple walks in. It is the perfect time to start meditating (Check out apps like Headspace and Calm).
So what happens if you do start to get sick and think you may have the virus??? First, don’t panic. You can call your physician for guidance since most are doing telephone and virtual visits at this time. They can walk you through a protocol to find out if you need to be tested and direct you on where to go to do so. Our program currently has a virtual hub that will triage patients to designated sites. Please call and don’t got to the emergency room or doctor’s office. The only reason to go the the ER is if you are having worsening difficulty breathing.
One major key it to stay well hydrated. Drink hot liquids like tea and broth regularly. As for fever and body aches, I usually recommend not treating the fever unless it gets dangerously high. I would avoid NSAIDS (like ibuprofen, naproxen also known as Advil and Aleve). I would stick with low dose Tylenol if needed. A fever is the body’s way to respond to infection so it is actually helpful.
So now I’m curious. How are all of you? What strategies are you using to cope? What fun ideas or projects have you come up with?
If you are a current patient, I am available via the My IU Health portal for questions and and also doing virtual and video visits so feel free to call the office and get one set up. Stay strong and this too shall pass. Prayers to all for good health and safety.
Magnesium-the unloved mineral
Do you remember watching Wild Kingdom as a kid? Did you happen to notice that the animals attacking their prey would immediately eat the organ meats. I never really thought about why until I listened to Morley Robbins explain the importance of magnesium. Magnesium is the Rodney Dangerfield of the mineral world. It gets “No Respect” I have been so remiss in not learning the importance of this underutilized mineral. Magnesium is a mineral found in oysters, must, seeds, almonds, cashews, pumpkin, pistachios, kelp and organ meats. You can also get it from wheat grass. The strange thing about magnesium is that nobody really talks about its importance. We speak ad nauseam about calcium and vitamin D–but magnesium is the missing component in this triad. It turns out that we may be enduring an epidemic of magnesium deficiency.
First a little history, our ancestors lived in a very magnesium rich environment. It was in the water, food, root vegetables and organ meats that we consumed. Around 100 years ago, the environment flipped. It became a calcium rich, magnesium poor environment. It became much more acidic with toxins. We started refining salt from its natural form (sea salt) which contained a natural balance of magnesium and sodium. Sugar cane started being refined which removes all the magnesium. So now, living in a calcium rich environment we have developed problems lack of the stabilizing magnesium particle. Calcium that isn’t regulated by magnesium causes massive inflammation. Hence (spoiler alert) the inflammation forms free radicals and oxidative stress which progresses to chronic disease states –with heart disease being very significant due to calcium deposits on the arteries.
Uses of magnesium:
Stabilization of bones–magnesium gives bones resilience
Regulates calcium in the body
Vital for support for muscles in body (remember the heart is a muscle)
Here is a link to a great tutorial on how to make magnesium lotion—check it out!
http://creativechristianmama.com/how-to-make-magnesium-oil-lotion/
Hungry for Change
Hey guys! Now is the second chance for all of you that didn’t get the opportunity to watch the full length documentary “Hungry for Change.” If you are one of my current patients, you probably being forced you to view the trailer to this film at your last physical. Then I inundated you with big stacks of healthy eating handouts and sent you on your way. Well, a some of you opted to not Deep Six the stuff and actually read it. Many have lost weight and gotten off of their chronic medicines! Hooray! This film exposes the hidden additives that are found in our food supply today. It also features Jamie Oliver, aka The Naked Chef from Food Network, exposing the amount of sugar found in kid’s school milk. It is definitely worth watching once and sharing with your family. Even your kids should watch it. It may subliminally implant the idea of being conscious of what is being put in and on your body. Lord knows they probably aren’t going to listen to their parents any more than my family listens to me when I evangelize to them ad nauseam. Think–this film may just save your life or someone’s close to you.
Click HERE to purchase your own copy of the DVD. Share with friends and family. It is a powerful way to get the word out. We all need to know this stuff. It’s life saving
Here is the trailer
Take these broken wings—
For all of you who enjoyed the previous post about suicide prevention –see the post HERE. Here is a quick update on Lucy and Maggie’s story: Lucy (Maggie’s childhood friend) and my dear friend got her 1st tattoo this weekend. Her parents weren’t keen on the idea but told her that she could get one when she turned 18. Lucy (now 18) got her first tattoo in honor of Maggie’s favorite Shakespeare quote!
“The course of true love never did run smooth”
Maggie’s spirit continues to live on in so many of us that hardly even knew her. Some spirits just leave their mark in this way.
Wayne Dyer says that we are spiritual souls inhabiting a human existence and I can’t help to believe that when I experience such profound emotion over a child I barely knew. We were obviously soulful connections.
It’s strange but this last week has been filled with interesting circumstances and spirit filled interactions that I am compelled to share. Some of these were some pretty incredible near death experience stories.
NDE”S
One of my favorites is the minister that had a fatal car accident. His car was a literal accordion and he was pronounced dead on the scene after being hit by a semi. The paramedic’s tried to get him out of the car for approximately 2 hours.
A man (also a minister) pulled up to the scene and asked the medics if he could climb in the car and pray for the man. He had driven by and felt a sudden inclination to pray for the accident victim.
Annoyed, the medics told him that the victim had been dead for over 2 hours but they eventually allowed him to enter the scene. The minister climbed in while the medic continued to work at getting the dead man out. The minister prayed over the shoulder of the man he could not see for about 10 minutes. After around 10 minutes, the man began to sing “What a friend we have in Jesus”. He had no idea why, but he felt compelled to sing. Then —– he heard another voice chime in and thought how wonderful it was that a medic was singing with him. He stopped and the voice continued. Suddenly, the shoulder he was holding began to move.—
Yes- the victim was singing! The medics continued to work feverishly at this point and as they pulled the victim out of the car, the minister realized that it was his best friend.
I have a patient in the last 12 years whose spirit honestly connected with mine. We were kindred spirits right at the beginning of our journey together. The story about Ric is so amazing that I struggle to put words to its content. Ric was diagnosed with cancer just about a year after my conscience decision to transform my practice into a nutritional/functional health approach. He was 100% on board to heal himself of his disease and was confident and supportive of the unconventional decision that I had made. There was no judgement-he supported me unconditionally. He lost weight, ate right, and Damn-he even watched the CRAZY SEXY CANCER video in the office with me! I was thrilled to have a patient listen and I was sure he was cured after his chemo and radiation. He claimed that the Cancer would never win the War.
Unfortunately, Ric died this last year. I had the opportunity of seeing his brother whom was his caregiver throughout his final days. On Friday, we spoke of a dream that his kindred spirited brother had before his final days. The dream was as follows and is paraphrased of course. He saw his brother in his most healthy, strong, and happy states the first two nights. He was mid 20’s, smiling, robust, and full of energy and vitality. On the third night, his brother looking wonderful, sat with friends and family and announced that cancer won the battle but he won the war.
His brother was confused by this notion, however, the day after Ric’s life here had ceased—-His brother looked back on the tired, cancer ridden body lying in a hospital bed spiritless and realize that it was all true. Cancer did win the battle –but the spirit of Ric had certainly won the war and left some pitiful remains—–
Benefits of Gelatin
Gelatin- a virtual wonder drug! Remember, the days when your grandmother boiled the chicken soup for close to 24 hours and you got all the warm healing properties from the bone broth? That’s precisely where the amazing nutritional benefit came from—the collagen and gelatin that comes from the marrow of the bones. Gelatin is a purified protein, derived from the hydrolysis of collagen. Collagen is the organic component of the bones and skins of mammals. Here are just a few quick reasons why gelatin is such a nutrient.
1. Gelatin binds to H2o in the gut–this helps to improve digestion and essentially slicks up the GI tract for easy movement.
2. Gelatin can help to reduce food intolerance by forming a protective barrier across the gut mucosa.
3. The amino acids in gelatin help to strengthen bones and joint tissues.
4. Gelatin helps detoxify the liver –the major detox organ of the body.
5. Keratin found in gelatin is an essential building block for the teeth, hair and nails.
6. Concentrated collagen found in gelatin helps give the skin a natural boost and prevents wrinkles.
7. Last but not least, it improves sleep quality.
Here is an excellent tutorial on how to make a killer bone broth at home.
For those a little less motivated —-Great Lakes has a great gelatin
Getting Your Greens–by Dee
Getting Your Greens
I am so excited about spinach right now I can’t even stand it. It’s a beautiful sunny day in Florida and most normal people are excited about body surfing in the Gulf of Mexico. But I’m not normal, so I am happy that I just found two great ways to put spinach in my lunch.
Keep this in mind when you get out your blender — can I add a handful of spinach? If it’s a margarita, the answer is no. But if it’s homemade fruit vinaigrette or a smoothie, throw it in. I made pear vinaigrette (one peeled pear, one orange squeezed plus the zest, a pinch of thyme, 2 T of pear infused balsamic vinegar and 1 T of olive oil). It was really good but when I blended in a cup of spinach it was even better.
I bottled it up and went to get a bowl of bean soup for lunch out of my Crock Pot. Before ladling in the soup, I chopped up another handful of spinach. Pouring the hot soup on top caused the spinach to wilt, which is what I wanted. It added a pretty color to the beige soup and added a whole lot of health. Only 7 calories per cup adds half a day’s supply of Vitamin A, 14% of your Vitamin C, 5% Iron and a gram each of fiber and protein. Best of all, your mama would be so proud!
For more posts by Dee–visit http://www.gettingthebestoffood.com
The Domino Effect
You all remember our dear real, honest, dedicated friend, Dee who has shared her weight loss/health struggles with us over the past few years. She has done amazing and lost quite a bit of weight by making simple lifestyle changes. Unfortunately, (like me and I am guessing everyone) life gets in the way of prioritizing our own bodies and health and we fall off the wagon. Dee and I had an unusual circle of events this last week. I sincerely believe they were signs from the Universe telling us not to lose site of the mission at hand. Yesterday, Dee’s blog post read as follows——-
THE DOMINO EFFECT:
Today started with a call from my sister on my way to work. I should preface this story to say that I’ve felt isolated in my attempts to take care of my health and isolation equals failure to eat well and exercise. So at 8:20 am my little sister mentioned that her friend commented on this blog, something about someone being helped with the right message at the right time. Before looking into the message, I received another little jolt of encouragement from my friend who is also my dentist. She is a beautiful woman (inside and out) who is determined to get the best of her health through exercise. I know she has adapted a routine of walking regularly and has been successful at weight loss (congratulations Dr. M!) Before I left her office today, she instructed me to walk for 30 minutes when I get home. I like a challenge so I halfheartedly mumbled “OK”. Then when I was half out the door but still close enough to hear she said, “if you don’t you have to do double tomorrow.” And — because I had no other choice — I replied “deal!”Here’s the fun of that story. I did come home and walk two miles. Without her direction to do so, there was a zero percent chance that I would have exercised. I invited my husband to walk also, and he did. He commented that he has been wanting and needing to get back into the routine of exercising and this was just the push he had been hoping for. So some stranger in Indianapolis, who encouraged my friend Angela to remind me to keep going prompted a discussion with my dentist who challenged me to exercise which involved my husband who in turn prompted me to continue to walk the next day. What a great chain reaction. You never know who you might help or impact. Sometimes the right people are in the right place at the right time saying the right things.
Visit her site at http://www.gettingthebestoffood—she may be “still a small voice”–but, a powerful one indeed!
Thanks Dee for sharing
Weightlossmavens.com
Hey there—
Just a quick update—you can now check out more posts on http://www.weightlossmavens.com
I will be guest authoring on this site which provides great tips on nutrition and the prevention of disease. What is the best side effect of great nutrition —DING, DING, DING—–Weightloss! Check out their site by clicking the link on the right side of your AngelaMD page.
Dr. Dan Perez started this site with the following mission—
Weight Loss Mavens is a multimedia site dedicated to eradicating obesity and the chronic degenerative diseases it spawns by channeling the collective knowledge of health experts, or mavens. The word maven comes from the Yiddish meyvn, meaning “one who understands.” But to be a maven you have to more than just understand a topic, you have to know its ins and outs. In other words, mavens know their stuff! Our goal is to help people all over the planet achieve a healthy weight and experience a life of optimal health. We believe that a world with healthier citizens leads to a more prosperous world for all.The site features content written by experts and thought leaders in the fields of peak performance coaching, behavioral psychology, weight loss, nutrition, fitness, alternative medicine, and functional medicine. New content is added daily.
Thanks to Dan for inviting me to write for them!
Here is my first post:
Food as Medicine
I am privileged to share my experience and health insights with the readers of Weight Loss Mavens. I am a board certified internist in private practice in Indiana for the last 12 years. Like most medical school graduates, I left medical school eager to treat and cure-all diseases. After completing my residency, I was absolutely sure that I had found my mission in life by becoming a physician.
To my surprise, I was WRONG!
My wake up call came about a year ago when I realized that I was repeating the same, ineffectual mantra by encouraging my patients to “eat healthier and exercise.” But nobody was getting better! Every year I wrote more prescription medications to treat symptoms. I never truly identified the root cause of their disease, and certainly didn’t give them specific information about how to eat better and exercise. I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t even know anything about good nutrition and prevention at the time.
Enter Susan–my “Ah Ha” patient that changed my life for the better. Susan was in her 40′s with four young sons, a successful veterinary practice, and the awful disease LUPUS. Lupus is a debilitating, chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks its own cells all over the body. We had her on immune suppressing drugs that were packing on the pounds, causing severe symptoms, and frankly not controlling her symptoms. She was unable to spend any time in the sun and couldn’t attend her son’s ball games. She frequently missed work due to pain and was relying on narcotics to get her through her days. She was nearly suicidal. This intelligent, beautiful woman had everything going in life until she was struck by disease. I wasn’t helping her at all.
We decided to go on a mission to determine the root cause of her disease. We began educating ourselves on toxins in our food supply and environment that could turn on auto-immunity. I spent sleepless nights feeling like I was a complete failure and contemplated quitting medicine. I felt that I wasn’t doing patients any good.
CUE THE DRUM ROLL!
We figured it out! After tedious symptom/ food diaries, spreadsheets, research/prayers—We discovered that Susan was intolerant to RED DYE # 40!
We immediately removed it from her diet. Today, Susan is a drug free, vital, beautiful, thin, happy woman who no longer has Lupus. It may seem too simple and hard to believe, but it is a true story!
Today, I continually educate myself on the power of food as medicine and integrate this knowledge into my practice. Susan was my wake up call. Thanks to her, I’ve helped many patients re-examine how they eat, move, and think. The results are remarkable.
My challenge to you is to start today—Start being conscious of each and everything that you put in your body, and ask yourself “Is this something from the Earth that is going to nourish my body?” If the answer is NO–reconsider consuming it! It just may save your life and give you many years of vitality versus disease.
When Rosie O’Donnell had her heart attack last year, she stated that was the first time she actually became conscious of what she was putting into her body. So that is the first step we can take. Let’s begin this journey by reading labels, focus on eating real food, and being mindful of what we are putting into our bodies.
About the author:
Angela DeBord Henriksen, MD received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and her MD degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine through St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis. Dr. Henriksen currently has a private practice at IU Health after serving as a hospitalist there.
Freezing Lemons
Did you know that the lemon peel contains 5-10 more vitamins than the juice alone. Lemons are a great source of vitamin C and they help to alkalinize the body (lower the pH–a good thing). Lemons have been proven to help in weight loss; improve bone health; and have anti-depressant qualities. Ironically, it was only a few years ago when I started learning to cook that I actually learned what lemon Zest was!
Here is a tip that I recently came across –If you buy Organic lemons–you can freeze them after a good washing and actually grate the entire lemon (peel and all) over salads or really any dish to add flavor and nutrients!
Lemons are considered excellent antimicrobials against fungal, parasitic and bacterial infections.
They are also used in cancer treatments. Some studies actually show that they may have more benefit than actual chemotherapy drugs. That valuable source of information comes from one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world. I won’t call them out now but let’s just say that dietary nutrients are pretty good at preventing and curing disease.
So here are my lemons ready to freeze. They are all organic and washed with vinegar to remove any possible wax or chemical residue. And don’t forget a nifty little stainless steel grater ready for action!!!
