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

fish oil

When Should I Take My Supplements?

If you are like me — you are just starting to realize why it is important to add supplements to your diet.  Even if we are eating a clean, healthy and unprocessed diet;  the mineral content of the soil that our food is grown in just isn’t equivalent to that of our predecessors.  I won’t even begin to touch on the topics of pesticides, GMO’s, contaminated water supplies etc.  Let’s face it — most of the food / water/ products that we put in our bodies simply aren’t healthy anymore.  So I do think we need to augment our nutrition these days with some good quality supplements.

You can refer back to previous posts that will explain which supplements I think are important for most people and why—

But here is another big question—- WHEN should we take these supplements and WHY?

So here is the low down!

Multivitamins

Take these with the main meal of the day!

Multivitamins contain the major fat soluble vitamins A,D, E, and K– and should ideally be taken with a meal that contains some fat.

They also contain B and C vitamins which can notoriously cause some mild nausea or acid sensitivity when they aren’t taken with food.

The only exception is a B12 vitamin which is better absorbed on an empty stomach — however, I usually recommend using a sublingual formula of B12 which is placed under the tongue — so it doesn’t matter if it is taken with or without food

Fish Oil

Fish oil can cause some GI upset.  That is why it is best to take it with your main meal of the day.  Another little tip to remember is that if you are prone to getting “Fish Burps” or gas from taking fish oil, you can keep it in the freezer and take the supplement frozen.  Remember, it is almost better not to take fish oil at all if you aren’t getting a high quality supplement.  You want to avoid any fish oil that is generated in a farmed setting or that could potentially have high amounts of mercury.  I recommend using something like Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver Oil or Carlson’s fish oil.  Reputable supplement companies such as Metagenics, Pure Encapsulations, and Thorne are also safe bets.

Magnesium

Magnesium (see Magnesium- the unloved mineral) is quite beneficial as a supplement as it is necessary for many processes in the body and it helps stabilize calcium in the body.  I like magnesium glycinate.  It is quite bioavailable and doesn’t tend to cause diarrhea like magnesium sulfate or citrate.  Taking magnesium before bed is helpful because it also assists with sleep and muscle relaxation.  There is also a good supplement called “Natural Calm” which is a drink you can do before bed.  They make magnesium sprays that you can use topically or you can take  a bath with 1-2 cups of epsom salts dissolved in it if you don’t like taking the oral supplement.

Probiotics

Probiotics include helpful bacteria to re-colonize the gut micro biome after taking prescription antibiotics.  I believe they are helpful to take on a daily basis if you don’t consume a lot of fermented foods (kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, kombucha)  It is always best to get good bacteria from foods but taking a quality probiotic with at least 7 different strains of bacteria including lactobacillus and bifidobacterium species can certainly be beneficial (see Probiotics).  I suggest taking these on an empty stomach and at night.  Preferably 2-3 hours after your final meal of the day.

The website Fullscript – is my new go to supplement spot.  Since we can’t always guarantee the what we order from Amazon is going to be stored correctly and is the quality manufacturers that we like — I now order everything from Fullscript-  You can click the link below to go directly to the site and see all my favorites.

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Purchase products through our Fullscript virtual dispensary.
Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Supplements 1 Comment

Dealing with High Triglycerides

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I’ve discovered that elevated triglycerides and fasting blood sugars have become epidemic in my practice. It’s not surprising considering all the food misinformation we have been given in the standard American diet (SAD).  I remember questioning my girl’s pediatrician about feeding them honey nut Cheerios for breakfast because they were so picky. Her answer was “have you looked at the nutrition information on the side of the Box— Cheerios are fortified with most vitamins and minerals that they need.”  WOW is all I can say–WOW.  You would think I would have known better at that point after years of medical education.  But NO –I took her word for it because that is what I was taught in med school about nutrition too.  I didn’t have any concept about the importance of vegetables and REAL FOOD on health at that point.  I’ll bet you have been in the same boat as well. We simply haven’t been taught the correct information.

 

Why are triglycerides important?  I thought LDL was the BAD cholesterol–

Triglycerides block insulin– that can elevate the blood sugar and lead to weight gain

High triglycerides can cause pancreatitis and be toxic to the pancreatic cells that make insulin–this can add up over time–

Here is where the LDL is affected— more triglycerides will interact with lipoproteins and cause the LDL to be smaller particles which are more likely to cause heart attacks —

So overall –the higher your triglycerides are –you are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease.

What do I want my triglyceride levels to be?

The labs say that 150mg/dl is the cutoff for high triglycerides—however the levels really need to be below 60mg/dl to help decrease the size of the LDL particles.

How do I lower my triglycerides?

  1.  Supplement with omega 3 fatty acids— I recommend 3000mg of fish oil daily.  The EPA and DHA of the fish oil help remove the (chylomicrons and VLDL) triglycerides after a meal.  I personally love the brand BLUE ICE–fermented cod liver oil.  It sounds gross but it really isn’t a large pill and doesn’t cause fish burps (you can put it in the freezer if you get the dreaded burps).
  2. Have a healthy gut flora—yup– those probiotic foods play a role here too.  You need good healthy fiber to feed those good gut microorganisms because they help reduce lipid and insulin levels.
  3. Eliminate GRAIN and SUGAR:  Yep— sorry but these elevate your sugars and cause insulin resistance — this includes alcohol/carbs —I’m sorry — I know it isn’t fun. 
  4. Intermittent fasting —this can help as well — try to go a full 12-15 hours without eating (yes- you can still drink water/coffee/tea etc–just don’t add sugar)
  5. Don’t cut back on Good Fats —these include avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, and olive oil.

Posted on by Angela in disease, Nutrition Leave a comment

What Supplements Should I Take?

Many of you have been in for your annual physical this last year and have been instructed to start the following supplements.  You also got a boatload of homework assignments and reading material about healthy eating.  (Sorry about that–I treat insomnia too!) After some trial and error, a lot of research, and some penny-pinching–these are the supplements in my medicine cabinet right now.  Please leave comments on this post on any of these you have tried and any others you would recommend.  We are all in this together!!

Blue Ice Royal

Butter oil/Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend (add omega 3 fatty acids)

Ortho Molecular Products

Vitamin K2 with D3  (for hormonal and bone health)

For more info on Vitamin K2 –check HERE

Magnesium Glycinate (stabilize the calcium in your body)

For more info on Magnesium check HERE

Probiotics (Re-colonize your gut with good bacteria)

VSL #3

OR

For more info on probiotics check HERE

 

There you go;  I practice what I preach and take these every day.  They are expensive and when I think I can’t afford them;  I try and remember that cancer can’t be cheap!

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Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Supplements 5 Comments

The Infamous Fish Oil/Prostate Cancer Study?

“Too Much Fish Oil Might Increase Cancer Risk”

Wait?  Isn’t Fish Oil Supposed to be Good for Me???

 

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute recently reported data from the selenium and vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) that supported evidence that fish oil supplementation may increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Before we freak out here let’s look a little further into the data.

First, the primary goal of the SELECT study was to determine if vitamin E could be used to prevent prostate cancer.  The data concluded that patient’s taking  400 IU of Vitamin E had a 17% increased risk of prostate cancer.  The study was not designed to evaluate the role of fish oil supplementation in prostate risk.

The fish oil data was gathered because they measured plasma fatty acids (plasma phospholipids) –ironically, these levels tend to fluctuate after a meal is consumed.  A better study would measure the red blood cell concentration of fatty acids which is a better indicator of actual omega 3 consumption over the past 4-6 weeks.

The difference in data in the two groups was 0.2% which is virtually nothing.

The study did conclude that the that the patients with the highest concentration of EPA/DPA and DHA-3 fatty acids had a 71% increased risk of prostate cancer.

However, the study contained no documentation of any patient taking fish oil or even eating fish in their diet.

So how does that extrapolate out?

My suggestion is to continue to do your research, and hopefully this will stimulate more studies researching actual fish oil supplementation and diet  in correlation to disease.  My bet is that Fish Oil and Omega 3 supplementation will prove beneficial like all of the other studies.

For more science details for you nerdy types like me –please visit the following:

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/how-selected-bad-study-became-big-news

So don’t trash your fish oil yet!!!  REMEMBER–if you get the “Fish Burps”–put those babies in the freezer!  And if you want a really good brand—I recommend the green pasture.com FERMENTED COD LIVER OIL (no financial investment–it’s just what I take)

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