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

weight loss

Roller Coasters are Fun but YoYo Diets are Not

Thanks to Dee for sharing a very important point—

Diet should not be a hobby.

 

So many times we go head on into a diet to lose weight based on willpower and determination.  We do well for a while and since we’ve  chosen a habit that isn’t sustainable, we fall back off the wagon only to gain the weight back.  It is so much better to focus on changing one small habit at a time.  Pick one little thing to change at a time.  Start by drinking more water, eliminating soda, or adding breakfast into your routine.  Those aren’t overwhelming and are certainly sustainable changes once they are accomplished.  Then after it becomes a regular habit, it’s time to pick the next small step.  Soon enough, the well deserved side effect of effective weight loss ensues.

 

Dee shares:

Vintage YoYo's

Vintage YoYo’s

 

Roller coasters are fun!

Metaphorically speaking that is. I am not an amusement park roller coaster fan at all. I’m a chicken. There is nothing about a churned stomach and reckless body motion that is at all amusing to me. Control issues perhaps.

But a diet roller coaster is really not bad — provided that you end up on the ground with the ride is over. Some people diet by weighing themselves every day. I do, because it’s kind of fun to see how scientific the numbers can be. For example, I have been steadily losing a bit of weight all week. Yesterday, after getting to my 1200 calorie limit and not eating more until bed time, I blew it and ate a piece of pepperoni pizza at 11:00 pm. It was homemade and I served it to the kids for dinner without even trying it. But as I was cleaning the kitchen before going to sleep the pizza jumped off the counter and into my mouth. There was nothing I could do. It wasn’t my fault.

Sure enough, I woke up knowing that this morning’s scale would not show a smaller number but a larger number. The number went from 181.5 yesterday to 182.5 today. Bummer! But, overall, my weight has gone from 187.5 last Thursday to 182.5 today. You can’t let a single scale reading count for much. It’s the big picture that counts. AND, don’t let great results let you think you can slack either. That’s the mistake I made at the end of February when I had lost 20 pounds in two months. I thought I could relax on the diet for a while. That “while” ended up being five months and the return of ten of the pounds I lost.  Having chosen a habit that isn’t sustainable, we fall back off the wagon only to gain the weight back.

For more of Dee’s journey visit her  SITE

 

 

 

Posted on by Angela in Diet, Guest Blog, Nutrition, Uncategorized Leave a comment

Ten Steps to Better Health

Dee’s Update:

There are thousands of diets, with a thousand different strategies for how to reach the goal of optimum weight and physical health via exercise and nutrition. Because people are different with so many variables on how much physical activity they get in a day, age, bone structure, height, blood type, chemistry, there could not possibly be one solution that fits every person.

It is important, instead, to look at the most successful weight loss programs to see what they have in common. After that, each person can start with these tried and true fundamentals and modify them to keep whatever works and change the parts that don’t. Throughout the past few months I have volunteered myself to be a human experiment and I’ve assembled the top ten things that I’ve found to have worked when implemented. Start with one or two things on the list. After three or four days, add another. The scientific statement about “it takes 21 days to form a new habit” is actually an unfounded fallacy. New habits really take quite a bit longer to become ingrained to where they are second nature. The good news is that it takes one day to make up your mind to change your routine to incorporate good choices. For example, let’s say you usually drink a glass of orange juice every morning while you’re getting ready for work/school. If you decide today to substitute your OJ for water and an apple, you have just changed your habit. It will take a while for that change to feel like an automatic tendency, but when your refrigerator is full of whole fruit instead of bottled juice you will have some reinforcement to rely upon.
In no particular order, here are my top ten recommendations:
  1. Eat veggies at every meal
  2. Drink three 16 ounce glasses of water before each meal
  3. Don’t skip breakfast
  4. Don’t eat too few calories
  5. Eliminate sugars and starches
  6. Plan, plan, plan – think ahead
  7. Learn to be OK with hunger
  8. Eat to live instead of living to eat
  9. Find someone to partner with
  10. Cut out fried everything (see below)
OK, about number 10. This may be the hardest one to implement. Fried food simply tastes great. Growing up in the 70s with a Southern Baptist family, my mother fried everything from pork chops to potatoes to green beans. We used to cook with lard and bacon grease so it’s in my genes. As impossible as it sounds, cutting out foods can be done. Don’t tell yourself you can never eat it again; just know that eating fried food (and any fast food) has to be the exception not the rule. Fried food is not only unhealthy because of the amount of fat and calories, but usually the food itself (potatoes, hamburger, dough) is low on a nutrition scale. Equally important is the reduction of processed foods. Health benefits are found abundantly in whole foods, produce and grains in their most natural form.

 

For more on Dee’s journey to better health–visit http://www.gettingthebestoffood.com

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

Dee’s Race! On Your Mark!

I’m sharing Dee’s latest post.  She is building a tribe to help with accountability which is so great!.  Look forward to more posts coming once school starts.  I have great posts coming on water enhancers, sustainable farming, and autoimmune disease.

On Your Mark, Get Set

See, even in a race you get to mentally prepare for the sound of the starting gun. As much as I love food, and I mean really love food, I can’t believe how exciting it is to think about not eating food tomorrow. Of course I’ll eat, but smart choices make me feel so much better.I’ve recruited some friends to join the challenge to lose 10 pounds in August. Even though we all know a lot about what to do to be healthy and fit, there is an extra difficulty in trying to achieve this goal alone. Accountability to one another will be the key to success this month. Just get your head in the game and realize that you have a bunch of other folks going through the same exact steps. Most importantly, make sure you realize that this is ultimately about a lot more than extra weight. Getting to a healthy weight is REALLY about better health. So many illnesses can be stopped, stalled and even reversed through diet alone. Hippocrates:  “Let food be thy medicine…”The first few days are the hardest because your body will go through some change. Don’t let your brain trick you into thinking that you’ll die of starvation if you don’t eat more at night. You won’t. Get to your magic number of calories needed and then stop eating. Period.You will wake up feeling better and by the third day you will notice your tastes changing, leaning toward healthier food.

Visit Dee’s site at http://www.gettingthebestoffood.com

Posted on by Angela in Body, Exercise, Nutrition, Weight Loss Leave a comment

Retrain Your Brain

Thanks Dee!!!

 retrain

 

Retrain Your Brain

 
 
When I chose the title for my first blog, “Getting the Best of Food”, I envisioned a mental warfare. In a struggle, the person who overcomes their enemy is said to have “gotten the best of them.” Of course the double meaning is also to get the best qualities food has to offer.
 
 
Back to warfare. I work five days a week from morning until 5:00 pm. My breakfast, lunch and daytime snacks are perfectly healthy and I stick to the plan but dinner and post-dinner decisions often take a turn for the worse and I think I know why.
 
At the end of the workday, we’re run down, worn out and hungry. One of my strategies is always to have healthy food on hand and to eat something before you are famished. But there is also a little bit of brainwashing necessary to keep yourself from caving into cravings for junk food and comfort classics.
 
Here’s a normal weeknight example (after I’ve eaten fruits and veggies all day): 5:05 pm driving home, thinking about dinner options and my brain starts to recite all of the foods that make me joyful – chicken wings, pizza, potato skins, tacos… As I continue to drive home, the list is on a mental merry-go-round and it just keeps repeating incessantly in my head.
 
So what happens when you tell your brain “I can’t have that brownie, I can’t have that brownie, I can’t have that brownie?” There is only one thing on your mind for food and guess what it is – the brownie!
 
In the same way that you set up a plan to have easily accessible healthy food around, we all need to also retrain our brains to consider better choices before the disaster hits. Before the drive home and before hunger pains set in, start to recall how amazing fresh strawberries taste, or how flavorful grilled asparagus is with a touch of Parmesan cheese. Whenever possible, have your dinner prepared or at least planned the night before. One trick I have learned is start dinner for the next night as I’m clearing the table and washing dishes. This way I come home and finish cooking dinner that was started the previous night, eat and then start the first half of tomorrow’s dinner. It works really well.
 
To keep things simple, you can also come up with a short list of standard dinners that you know how to make simply, that fit your daily caloric goals. For me, this is usually fish every other night, alternated with chicken. One night is vegetarian and one night is lean beef or pork. Skip the starches unless it’s whole grain and double up on the vegetables. Salads compliment dinner very well too. Save calories with homemade dressing from blended berries, pears or apples, vinegar, mustard and a small bit of olive oil. Shake it with your lettuce so that a little goes a long way.
 
Don’t forget that this is a battle, truly. And that you can and will win it, and you’ll feel amazing for overcoming the challenge.
Posted on by Angela in Body, Call to action, Diet, Mind, Nutrition, Whole Food Leave a comment

Breaking Habits

I spent some time with Dee this weekend!  She looks great and is feeling confident and down 15lbs.  She is keeping it off and doing it the right way.  Here is one of her great posts on breaking habits.  Happy Saturday!

Dee writes:

Breaking a Habit

When you are in the middle of a challenge, it’s hard to imagine coming through the other side. If you are looking at getting healthy this year, you may remember all of the times you’ve failed. But take a moment and remember other major obstacles that you’ve encountered and conquered in life. When you are in the midst of the crisis it seems insurmountable. But you lived, the crisis is behind you and you probably learned that you are stronger than you thought you were.

Remembering those triumphant times will help you know that you have the strength to do this too. My downfall has always been at night. I can normally spend all day eating well, including a decent dinner. After dishes, some laundry and household chores, I tend to sit down for television with my family for an hour or so before bed. Sixty minutes can undo 14 hours of hard work.

To substitute this bad habit with a good one, I’ve come up with some ideas to keep from snacking on junk food at night.

  • Skip TV if it’s associated with food (plus commercials showing food make you want to eat)
  • Pamper yourself and get to sleep earlier than normal for a well-rested night (sleep aids in weight loss plus you won’t be around temptations)
  • Brew hot decaffeinated tea and read a good book
  • Light a candle and listen to favorite music

 

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

Wellness Clinic Props!!!

A big shout out to Donna and Steve for sharing their testimonials!!!  A huge shout out to Kathy Taylor who makes a great cheerleader and advocate to changing lifestyles!

Here is this weeks article in the IU Health Matters

 

 

Wellness clinic leads patients to healthier habits

“I’ve learned a different way of eating, and I’m enjoying more fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Donna Tipton, a patient who participates in the free wellness clinic offered by IU Health Physicians Internal Medicine at Indiana University Health West Hospital. Tipton continues,
“I feel so much better; I’ve lost inches and I’m slowly losing weight.”

The brainchild of Angela Henriksen, MD, the clinic came about because Henriksen found herself advising “diet and exercise” to her patients
year after year during their annual exams—and not seeing any positive results. “I know
how hard it is to change yourself, and

the trouble that I have doing it,” Henriksen says. She wanted a way to help patients take responsibility for their own health. A year ago, she established a program whereby all of the practices’ patients who are interested can first see their respective physicians and then meet with medical assistant Kathy Taylor on a regular basis for wellness consultation.

Today, 70 patients participate in the popular program, talking with Taylor for 15 minutes to an hour once or twice a month during office hours. Many of the patients report that
they like the accountability and encouragement the wellness clinic offers, and have gained healthier habits—resulting in being able to eliminate their diabetes medicine or losing weight. “It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change,” says Tipton. “It’s about learning what your body needs and feeding it what it needs.”

The wellness and lifestyle modification tips offered not only help prevent disease, according to Henriksen, but also provide cost savings in the long run by aiding with compliance issues. Taylor uses the visits to check patients’ medications, food logs and more. She also offers ideas about local resources, such as fresh fruit and vegetable delivery services.

As for the future? Henriksen shares that she would like to like to incorporate more exercise, such as yoga, into the evolving program. It’s all part of her personal wellness concept: “The best way to change the world is to change ourselves.”

For more information, contact the office of Angela Henriksen, MD, at 317.217.2600. IU Health also offers free personal health coaching to all team members. Health coaches can help you identify ways to improve your health and/or manage your health challenges. Call 317.963.WELL.

 wellness pic
Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Exercise, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

ShopNoGMO

 

What is a GMO?

A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the product of a lab process that takes genes from on species and inserts them into another species to attain a desired trait.  Viruses or bacteria are used to infect animal or plant cells with the new DNA.  The DNA is coated with tiny metal pellets and shot into the cells.  Then, the new DNA is injected into fertilized eggs and electric shocks create holes in the membranes of sperm forcing the new DNA into the holes.  Although, no research on humans has shown detrimental effects from eating GMO foods, numerous studies on animals have shown immune damage, pre-cancerous cell growth and many unexplained anomalies.

4 Tips to avoiding GMO

1.  Buy organic–labels saying 100% organic or made with organic ingredients

2.  Buy Non GMO–labels saying “artificial hormone free”

3.  Avoid high risk ingredients–corn, soybean, canola, cottonseed, sugar beets, corn syrup

4.  Download shopping guide and get the app “ShopNoGMO”—a great app with plenty of good information and specific products to avoid.

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Exercise, Nutrition, vegan, Whole Food 2 Comments

Now this makes me happy!

I recently got an email from one of my fabulous compliant patients.  She had an ALCAT test done to check for food sensitivities about 4 months ago and this is the testimonial/update that she has graciously allowed me to share with you.  I love when patients take responsibility for their health and really get better!!!

 

logo altered

” I have continued faithfully on my new way of eating and still feel great! I have less pain, fewer to no headaches, little to no inflammation, more energy, more mental clarity, and while I don’t believe I’ve lost any additional weight, I certainly haven’t gained any…and that is without regular exercise. 🙂

Here’s how I believe I’ve been able to be successful at staying on the plan:

– The ALCAT test proved most helpful, because I think it could take a lifetime of trial and error to figure out foods that may be hurting. The list of low, moderate, and high intolerant and list of acceptable foods are wonderful guidelines for eating in a way that helps rather than hurts. When people ask me about this, they invariably want to know what I’m no longer eating, but I must reiterate to them, that the test is the ONLY way to know for sure if a food/additive is bothering them. This highly customized view of things keeps me away from FAD/TREND diets or food systems that are based on points, counting calories, portions, etc. I think this is difficult for people to grasp, but eating foods off MY acceptable list and either abstaining or keeping to a minimum the intolerant foods helps me feel better; feel satiated, and therefore, I don’t worry about calorie counting or portions.

– When I started eating differently, I kept a journal. I think I wrote down about everything I put in my mouth for 120 days. This helped keep me on target especially with trying to eat five times during the day. I still struggle with that, but because I’ve changed the WAY I eat, I no longer worry about over-eating or consuming empty non-nutritional foods when I do feel really hungry.

– My family, friends, and co-workers have been super supportive. I’m surprised by how some of my family members will actually ask what I can eat so they are sure to have something for me when inviting me over for a meal. They’re all used to me making menu substitutions now, too, and I don’t get crazy with it. For example, yesterday I went to Applebees after church. I ordered grilled chicken with onions and mushrooms, but it also came with veggies (carrots, broccoli and squash) over red potatoes (which are a no no for me). I asked to leave off the potatoes, so they gave me extra veggies instead. YUM! I do the same thing with salads.

– And finally, realizing that I wake up more easily, have less pain, and don’t miss those cyclical headaches keeps me on track. I do NOT want to go back to feeling so terrible all the time. I’ve had a couple of headaches since being on the plan, but they have been much less severe and do not last long. I used to get headaches that lasted for days and were just brutal. I still have some pain in my hands each morning, but it’s possible that’s from years of typing/using computers. I don’t have near the pain throughout my body as I used to, and I don’t have the “heavy” feeling anymore. That one’s difficult to explain, but sometimes I just felt heavy, and I was getting depressed about it. I feel much lighter these days, literally and figuratively. :)”

food allergy

Thanks girl!!!  Love it and keep up the good work!  Thanks for sharing as you are an inspiration to other patients.  Please contact me or Michelle 317-217-2626 if you are interested in ordering an ALCAT test for yourself —there is more information on the ALCAT page of the blog.425352_10150688992766282_2072045193_n

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

Dee knows what to eat

Here’s another great post from Dee!!
As promised, here is an expanded narrative on focusing on what you can eat, instead of what you can’t. Let me start with an example of how one’s day goes on a diet. Let’s say there was a family gathering over the weekend and your neighbor’s half-eaten chocolate cheesecake was leftover in your fridge. You go to work on Monday with your cooler of veggies and mid-morning you start saying to yourself “I won’t eat that cheesecake, I won’t eat that cheesecake, I won’t eat that cheesecake.” After a nice, lunch of spinach salad and berries you start to think of your evening plans and again recite your directive of “I won’t eat that cheesecake…and on, and on. Guess what happens when you walk into your kitchen that night! You have practically brainwashed yourself on NEEDING to eat that cheesecake because it has been incessantly imprinted on your brain all day.

Right now, in order to gain better health, I have decided to not eat sugar, flour, potatoes, rice, pasta, fried food, fast food, high-fat food. That said, I cannot eat some of my favorite happy foods: Buffalo wings, pizza, egg rolls, baked Brie, loaded potato skins. (See where the need to change eating habits came from?)

Sounds like there’s nothing left to eat if I take away all of my favorite comfort foods. But let’s be honest. For the short list of what has to go away as I adjust to some better choices, here are some great things that I can eat: eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, pineapple, bananas, strawberries, oranges, kiwi, apples, blueberries, grapes, pomegranate, pecans, almonds, cashews, wheat tortillas, wheat pita, salsa, hot sauce, marinara sauce, spinach, avocado, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, tuna, turkey, chicken, salmon, ginger, tilapia, shrimp, lobster, filet Mignon.

True story: yesterday I had nothing planned for dinner and started thinking that maybe my kids would like a pizza because when Mama diets the whole family diets. That pizza notion turned into thinking maybe I would make a homemade flatbread pizza with turkey pepperoni. Then I thought maybe a turkey burger instead, no wait, a black bean burger on a bed of lettuce and tomato. By the time I pulled into the drive, I was actually craving a black bean burger and that’s what I had for dinner. It was delicious! Lucky for my kids and husband they had all gone out for Mexican before I got home.

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

Good Beginnings

Thanks Dee—

I love this post-E_Chinese_Symbols_Proverbs_Beginning

Dee writes:

As we enterred into a new year, many of us lookeded forward to the opportunity to begin things with a fresh, clean slate. Starting over allows us to be energized with the hope of finally tackling our hardest challenges. In the way that a new year sets the tone for the weeks and months to follow, a morning routine also stages the foundation of a person’s day.

When we were children, we lived on sugary cereals, breads, pastries and jams before a school day. As adults, our tastes and cravings for these things don’t change, but our metabolism and nutritional needs do. It becomes much more difficult for adults to consume high levels of sugar and baked goods made with processed enriched flour.
Whole grain options have become popular in recent years because health experts tout that true whole grain products are more time-consuming to digest. Because the grain hasn’t been broken down in manufacturing, it is not as readily absorbed into your bloodstream. Instead of machines processing the parts of the grain to make it smoother and more refined, your body has to put in a bit more effort with a whole grain product. That extra time and effort results in decreased sugar spikes, fewer cravings throughout the day, and diminished hunger until the next meal. Avoiding sugar will benefit the body in the same way.
And remember to eat a real breakfast! Breakfast means breaking a fast. When you start your day with breakfast, your body’s natural metabolism kicks into gear and starts to burn fuel. If sitting down to eat is a challenge, a fruit/veggie smoothie can be a good option.
All smoothies are not created equally. Making them yourself will ensure that you’re not getting a lot of extra sugar and processed foods. A basic recipe can include berries, bananas, yogurt, water, ice. It is best to skip the fruit juice. The sugar content in juices is often very high and — just like the processing of grains — you’re consuming something that is already broken down. If you like orange juice, try substituting eating an orange instead.
Coffee and teas can be added to your breakfast list, but don’t substitute them for water. Just because they are a liquid, doesn’t mean they count in your daily goal of drinking eight full glasses.
Being prepared is the key to making good choices, so be sure to have whole grains, oatmeal, fruit, yogurt on hand the night before. A few other good tips to start your day on the right foot:
  • Prepare clothes for work/school the night before
  • Make a short list of things to do the night before
  • Prepare a lunch or healthy snacks to bring (cut up veggies, nuts, fruit)
  • Give yourself enough time to avoid rushing
And the most important part – if you start your day with sugar and starch, you will have an extremely difficult time avoiding it the rest of the day. Trust me, I took my daughter to a Chinese buffet today. I didn’t overeat and mostly ate the veggies and noodles with a small bit of dessert. Nevertheless, I’ve been eating carbs and sugar all day long.

Follow along Dee’s journey at http://www.gettingthebestoffood

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