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It might sound strange, but your food cravings often get confused with sexual desire.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 2
- Audio File naturally_savvy/1513ns3b.mp3
- Featured Speaker Alexandra Jamieson, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
- Book Title The Great American Detox Diet
- Guest Website Alexandra Jamieson
- Guest Twitter Account @deliciousalex
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Guest Bio
Alexandra Jamieson is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor, food blogger, and professional gourmet chef. Part of the dynamic duo behind the award-winning 2004 documentary Super Size Me, Alexandra has appeared on Oprah, CNN, and MSNBC, among others. She is the author of Vegan Cooking for Dummies (Wiley, 2010), Living Vegan for Dummies (Wiley, 2009), and The Great American Detox Diet (Macmillan, 2006). Alexandra offers one-on-one and group coaching sessions aimed at leading healthier, fuller lifestyles. She resides in Brooklyn, New York.
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Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Naturally Savvy | Original Air Date: March 25, 2015
Hosts: Andrea Donsky, RHN & Lisa Davis
Guest: Alexandra Jamieson, Certified Holistic Health Counselor
Whether you are new to the living healthy lifestyle or a healthy living veteran, this is the place for the honest answers to your questions. Naturally Savvy with a registered holistic nutritionist, Andrea Donsky and health journalist, Lisa Davis, on RadioMD.com.
LISA: Are some of your food cravings actually craving sex or vice versa? It can get confusing, you know?
ANDREA: Interesting.
LISA: I know sometimes, I'm craving sex. Sometimes, I'm craving chocolate. Oh! Shouldn't go there.
Well, we have got the wonderful Alex Jamieson with us. You probably remember her from her award-winning 2004 documentary, Super Size Me. She has been up to all kinds of awesome things since then.
Hi, Alex.
ALEX: Hi! How are you?
LISA: We're good. We're good. I would love some sex and chocolate, but in the meantime, talk to us about how these can get confused.
LISA: Oh, these things do get confused and, yes, sometimes we do want them at the same time. I discovered, a few years ago, that my libido and my diet were incredibly closely linked on many levels: emotionally, hormonally, nutritionally and I think a lot of people out there are suffering and feeling a lot of tied body shame and not realizing that (A) they have permission to explore their desires and their pleasure; and that what they're eating is affecting how they're feeling. So, there are a lot of layers to go through when it comes to craving for food and for pleasure which usually means some kind of sex or intimacy.
ANDREA: So, Alex, tell us a little bit about…I guess, what would be some examples? Obviously, Lisa is pretty funny. She talks about chocolate. What would be some other foods that people would crave, you know, I guess, or mistakenly crave that they want food versus sex? Just tell us a little bit. Dig deeper a little bit into what you're speaking about.
ALEX: Well, here's the thing. We are animals as much as we are human and we need touch. We need intimacy. We need other people and we know that intuitively when it comes to our children and we see it when it comes to animals. You know, there's been plenty of studies showing that if you remove a bunny or kitten or puppy from its litter and it gets as many calories and nutrients as the others, but it doesn't have that play, the intimacy, the touch of its littermates, it won't thrive. It won't put on weight. It will develop emotional problems. The same thing happens with people. We forget that humans need that, too. We give that to our children. We hug them. We pat them when they've not feeling well or when they're sad, we give them a hug, but we don't do that for ourselves. Many scientists believe that we humans need way more touch than we're getting, but there's this missing nutrient of touch that we're all deficient in, that we should be getting at least 8-10 hugs a day of at least 10 seconds in duration. So, we need ten 10-second hugs a day just to reach a baseline comfort level. If we don't get that touch, that intimacy with people, our body will seek it through food because that's the other way that we get comfort into our bodies most easily.
LISA: I am so under loved. No, I'm not under loved. I'm loved.
ALEX: Most of us are.
LISA: I mean, those hugs, right? I'm just thinking, "That's really tough." Especially if you work solo and you talk to people all day, but you're not getting that physical touch that's so it's important. What if you have a partner where they're not very affectionate or they don't have the same sex drive. What do you do? How do you approach this with them?
ALEX: That can be challenging, for sure. There's always a high-desire person and a low-desire person in the relationship, right? One person always has more desire than the other and it's really good to just start the conversation with the other person. Maybe you've never had the talk, like, "I need more touch from you. I need more hugs. I need shoulder rugs. I need more sex or more non-sexual cuddling. I need to just feel you." We absorb touch as love, some of us do. Now, some people are not touchers, not huggers. They didn't grow up in a family where physical love, you know, just non-sexual love, hugs, pats, back rubs, were the norm. So, we've got to start with the conversations like, "I need more of this. What would feel good and comfortable for you so that we can interact more on that level?" If that person isn't willing to give it to you or they're not ready or you need more conversation or you're not in a relationship, then there are a lot of other ways to get that physical pleasure into your body. So, I have a couple of great suggestions, if you're not a relationship.
LISA: Yes, definitely.
ANDREA: Yes.
ALEX: Okay. Well, you know, the first place to start is self-pleasure. That means masturbation. I think women, especially, from a young-age, we're taught that masturbation is icky and bad and that nice girls don't do that. Actually, masturbation is really healing, healthy and normal. It can really help to reset your hormones. It can help to make you feel really good all over. Not just physically, but emotionally, and it's something that you can do alone, safely at home. Or, you know, even on the road if you travel for work. It's something you can do almost anywhere. So, exploring masturbation. If it's something you've never done, look into the books. There are a lot of great books out there, websites, you know, space, well-lit places for sex toys, Good Vibrations, these are great stores that offer education and really good accoutrement or toys for women to start using themselves.
LISA: Good Vibrations is awesome.
ALEX: Mmm hmmm. Absolutely wonderful.
LISA: They have such a great selection of stuff and the support. Big fan.
ALEX: They're the ones that created May as National Masturbation Month. They said…
ANDREA: Oh, really?
ALEX: Absolutely. A few years ago, the medical lead of our country, I'm totally blanking on the name. I'm going to say Joyce Elders. She came out as saying masturbation was a healthy thing that we should be teaching kids and young adults and she got in a lot of trouble. Good Vibrations said, "You know what? We think May should be National Masturbation Month and there should be more education about this and people should, especially girls and young women, should learn how to do this so they know their own bodies and on a deeper level, it helps us understand our very deep, wide capacity for pleasure and that our bodies are safe places to feel good in.
ANDREA: So, what would be another one? We have about 2 minutes left. So, what would be some other ones?
ALEX: Great. Pleasure can also be play. In my book, Women, Food and Desire, I talk a lot about how women tend to deny ourselves fun and play until we reach our goal weight; or until we've done the job, you know? We put off pleasure and fun in our life until we've been perfect for other people. I believe that we need more play and pleasure in our life in order to get the body weight and to get the vitality that we want. So, in terms of play, I recommend stop the idea that you need to work out. Working out doesn't sound fun. Most people don't enjoy it, so they don't do it. Instead, I want you to go play. I want you to get some roller skates. I want you to get a hula hoop. I want you to sign up for that dance class that you always thought about doing. Join a bird walking group. Do something in your body that's fun. What's playful for you? Is it finding a swing set that will fit an adult rear-end? You know? And swing and just experience and remember what it feels like to be playful in your body. It will light you up and food will become a distant second when it comes to comforting yourself.
LISA: That is such a good point.
ANDREA: Awesome.
LISA: I love what you said, too, about talking to our daughters about that. That's something that I had to recently do and, you know, just say, "It's fine. Just do it in your room." You know, because it's totally natural and I think when you try to shame a child, it's not good at all, obviously.
ANDREA: It's awful.
LISA: It's just going to backfire. Yes. You've got to be open about it.
ALEX: Absolutely. We, girls especially, we start to come of age and realize that, "Oh, like our bodies, like, oh, they feel good when I do this." We start to explore our bodies. We start to have self-agency and come into this awareness right about the time when we start to perceive from the culture around us that sex is dangerous from media, from movies, from people, from just comments, images that we see. So, we start to have a very scary relationship with sexual pleasure which overlaps with our food cravings because, again, that's the other way that we bring pleasure into our bodies.
ANDREA: I love that, Alex.
ALEX: Again, I go deep into this in Women, Food and Desire. I highly recommend reading that.
ANDREA: Well, we loved having you on today. We're out of time, unfortunately. You can follow Alex @Delicious Alex.
Alex, we want you back on. I'm Andrea Donsky. This is Naturally Savvy Radio on RadioMD. I'm here with my beautiful co-host, Lisa Davis.
Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Internal Notes repeat guest
- Host Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH
Rickets was eradicated back in the early 1900s, but is now making a comeback. Why?
Additional Info
- Segment Number 1
- Audio File naturally_savvy/1513ns3a.mp3
- Featured Speaker Vinnie Tortorich
- Book Title Fitness Confidential
- Guest Website Vinnie Tortorich
- Guest Twitter Account @VinnieTortorich
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Guest Bio
Vinnie Tortorich is an author, radio and podcast host, fitness trainer, and model. For over 20 years, Vinnie has been Hollywood's go-to guy for celebrities and athletes looking to get fit fast. In 2012, he started the Angriest Trainer podcast with co-host Anna Vocino, who was best known for the self-improvised show Free Radio on Comedy Central. In July 2013, Vinnie released his second book called Fitness Confidential. The book was written with Dean Lorey and covers Vinnie's career as a personal trainer, as well as his "no sugar, no grains" approach to eating healthily. He is also the creator of Pure Vitamin Club, “the world’s best multivitamin supplement.”
- Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Host Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH
If you're in some sort of pain, whether that pain is physical or emotional, it can be extremely debilitating.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 5
- Audio File naturally_savvy/1512ns3e.mp3
- Featured Speaker Judith Orloff, MD
- Book Title The Ecstasy of Surrender: 12 Surprising Ways Letting Go Can Empower Your Life
- Guest Website Judith Orloff, MD
- Guest Bio Judith Orloff, MD, is a psychiatrist, intuitive healer, and NY Times bestselling author. Her latest national bestseller is The Ecstasy of Surrender: 12 Surprising Ways Letting Go Can Empower Your Life. Dr. Orloff synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition, energy, and spirituality. She passionately believes that the future of medicine involves integrating all this wisdom to achieve emotional freedom and total wellness. To learn more about the power of surrender visit www.drjudithorloff.com.
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Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Naturally Savvy | Original Air Date: March 18, 2015
Hosts: Andrea Donsky, RHN & Lisa Davis
Guest: Judith Orloff, MD
Your organic search is over. Here's Naturally Savvy with health experts Andrea Donsky and Lisa Davis:
LISA: We are so glad to have back on the show Dr. Judith Orloff. We talked last about her book, The Ecstasy of Surrender: Twelve Surprising Ways Letting Go Can Empower Your Life. It was such an insightful and powerful conversation that we wanted to continue because surrendering can be difficult. So today, we're going to highlight five of the twelve ways to improve your health and well-being.
Dr. Orloff joins us now.
Hello, there.
DR ORLOFF: Hello.
LISA: It's so great to have you back. Alright. So, surrendering is so essential for health and healing and we talked about that. For people who missed it, just give us a little bit about why this is so key.
DR ORLOFF: Well, as a physician, if somebody's going through an illness or pain, the first thing I teach them is how to let go and how to surrender so that they can relax their bodies enough as they're going through the process. Surrendering is so important because what it does is that it decreases the stress hormone and increases endorphins which are blissful neurochemicals that relieve pain. If you want to heal, you have to have your immunity very, very high. So, you want to maximize that. So, you want to decrease the cortisol and increase the endorphins. That comes from taking a deep breath; from letting go; from not clenching; from not holding; from not destroying your healing with negative thoughts going around in your head that increase cortisol, so you can take control of your body during the healing process by letting go.
LISA: You know, I love that you say that. For those who are listening, because sometimes letting go is easier said than done. I remember listening to Oprah years ago, and I don't know if I mentioned this on our last call, but she was saying how she really wanted to try out for a role in a movie. This doesn't have to do with health or anything, but this was about surrendering for what she wanted for her goals. She said as soon as she surrendered and she stopped obsessing about it and stressing about it, the role came to her. So, what can you recommend to people and how can they do it. If they wanted to surrender, what are some ways that they could do that because sometimes it's easier said than done.
DR ORLOFF: It is. Surrendering is not defeat. It's about learning to flow and learning to relax rather than trying to over control everything. I just want to make that clear. So, the first thing you can do, if you're listening, is just take a deep, deep breath now and let it out slowly and feel how your muscles relax. That is a surrender. Surrender is an exhale instead of a clench. The same is true with negative thoughts. If you have negative thoughts swirling in your mind. "I'm not good enough. I'll never make it through this day." Whatever is going through your mind. Take a breath, let them go and replace it with the thought of a beautiful sunset or something fun. You can take control by letting go of what's toxic for you.
LISA: You know, it's funny. My husband had a cold last week. Now, my daughter has a cold. Then, this morning, I woke up with the headache which they said was the start of theirs. So, all morning, I was stressing out. "I can't believe I got their cold. This stinks. I'm not feeling well. What am I going to do?"
DR ORLOFF: Right.
LISA: Then, I do that and I get more upset and then I get my cortisol up and then I get more worked up. So, this is really helping me because, I just have to give in. Like, "You know what? If I caught their cold, I caught their cold." What are you going to do? You know? I'm having some chicken soup and drinking a lot of water.
DR ORLOFF: You surrendered. You worked it down.
LISA: It's so hard. I don't want this cold.
DR ORLOFF: I know. Of course. Who would want it? But you have to work it down instead of working it up because if you're working it up, your cortisol is increasing and you're healing more slowly.
ANDREA: So, what are some other ways? I mean, I love the whole deep breathing and I love meditation. What are some other ways that you would recommend for people to surrender?
DR ORLOFF: Well, like, for instance if you're going through a pain process, instead of clenching around the pain, to begin to try and relax into the sensations of the pain and, ironically, it makes the pain less because the more you clench, the worse the pain gets. The more you can relax into it, not give in to it, but relax into it, the less the pain gets and the same is true with emotional pain. You know, if you're going through the pain of a breakup or whatever pain you're going through, if you could begin to work it down and give it some space, instead of obsessing. Obsessing is the opposite of surrender. Obsessing. "Why can't I get this? Why aren't I getting this?" And to begin to focus on other things other than obsession; to break the obsession; to consciously use your will to say, "I am not going to obsess" because, you know, once obsession kicks in, you're a goner. It just keeps gathering speed. You're going to turn it around. Then, you cut off that process.
ANDREA: You know, I love that you just said "You're relaxing into it and not giving in to it," because giving in to it, kind of, some people might think that it's surrendering or they're defeated, whereas, when you're relaxing into it, you actually have the power which is so beautiful. So, those of you who are listening, that's a gem right there, what you just said.
DR ORLOFF: Thank you. Well, in the book, I really wanted to make that distinction---that you're not giving in to the pain, you're relaxing into it. It's a Tai Chi movement. It's a martial arts movement. It's not a giving up, it just learning to flow with whatever your opponent is, rather than go right up against him or her and combat in that way. It's just a different—it's more an Eastern way of dealing with life than Western. Western is, you just go right at it. Eastern is more you flow with the energy and you wait for your opportunity. That kind of thing. As a psychiatrist, I'm much a proponent of that way. Tuning into your intuition and waiting for the right time and going with the flow and when the flow comes, then you just go for it. But, you don't try and push when the door is not open.
LISA: Dr. Orloff, how did you come to this way of thing, especially as a psychiatrist? Then, did the intuitive part and this Eastern part come later or was it when you went to school for psychiatry, you had this in mind?
DR ORLOFF: I was an intuitive child and both of my parents were physicians. I come from a lineage of 25 physicians in my family, so very strong scientific heritage. I was a little girl who was extremely intuitive and could read energy and was able to know things about people. So, my struggle, as I depict in the book, is how I came to grips with my intuition rather than thinking it was strange or weird and how I used it as a psychiatrist. So, it's been a process for me. Anyone who wants to learn to tune into their intuition for their health and healing purposes, I really encourage you. Really begin to listen to your body. Listen to your gut. Not just your head as you're going through a healing process.
ANDREA: I love that you're saying that. What about for those people who aren't necessarily wanting to heal? I mean, I guess there's always the emotional healing, but they really want, like I love that you said, to just "get in touch with our gut". Get in touch with that inner voice. Where do you practice? If people who are listening and saying, "You know what? I would love to go to see Dr. Orloff," how could they? I guess they have your book, but if they wanted to see you in person, are you in private practice? How does it work there for people?
DR ORLOFF: Yes. I do phone sessions for people who aren't in L.A. or I have private practice in Los Angeles and my website is DRJudithOrloff.com for anyone who wants to contact me. I'm also giving a workshop at Esalen Institute in Big Sur July 26 on developing intuition.
LISA: You know, I'm glad you mentioned that. I love Esalen. It's absolutely beautiful. What does it actually mean? I think when people say, "Oh, I have that women's intuition," but when you said you were intuitive as a child, what does that mean?
DR ORLOFF: That means that my parents could have friends over and I could sense when someone's relationship wasn't working out or if there was anger and nobody was expressing it. I once predicted that a friend of my parents committed suicide which was quite traumatic for me as a child to have been right about that. So, it's about just sensing things about people and knowing things about people and that helps me so much as a psychiatrist. You know? Now. But, as a child, it was really scary.
ANDREA: Well, we're out of time for today, but, as always, we find you so fascinating and interesting and I love the whole "listening to our intuition" and really learning how to develop it even more. So, for those of you who are listening, go to Dr. Orloff's website: DRJudithOrloff.com.
Thank you so much for being on our show today and we look forward to having you back very soon.
I'm Andrea Donsky along with Lisa Davis. This is Naturally Savvy Radio on RadioMD. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @YourRadioMD and @Naturally Savvy.
Thanks for listening, everyone. I hope you develop your intuition today. And, stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Host Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH
One out of four Americans suffers unnecessarily with chronic pain. Are you one of them?
Additional Info
- Segment Number 4
- Audio File naturally_savvy/1512ns3d.mp3
- Featured Speaker Jacob Teitelbaum, MD
- Book Title Real Cause, Real Cure
- Guest Website Jacob Teitelbaum, MD
- Guest Twitter Account @DrJTeitelbaum
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Guest Bio
Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, is a board certified internist and Medical Director of the National Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers and Chronicity. He is author of the popular free iPhone application "Cures A-Z," and author of the best-selling book, From Fatigued to Fantastic! (Avery/Penguin Group), Pain Free 1-2-3 — A Proven Program for Eliminating Chronic Pain Now (McGraw-Hill), Three Steps to Happiness: Healing Through Joy (Deva Press 2003), Beat Sugar Addiction NOW! (Fairwinds Press, 2010), and his newest book Real Cause, Real Cure (Rodale Press, July 15, 2011). Dr. Teitelbaum knows CFS/fibromyalgia as an insider — he contracted CFS when he was in medical school and had to drop out for a year to recover. In the ensuing 25 years, he has dedicated his career to finding effective treatment.
Dr. Teitelbaum does frequent media appearances including Good Morning America, CNN, Fox News Channel, the Dr. Oz Show and Oprah & Friends. -
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Naturally Savvy | Original Air Date: March 18, 2015
Hosts: Andrea Donsky, RHN & Lisa Davis
Guest: Jacob Teitelbaum, MD
She's not here to judge. She's here to report the honest news on health living. She's Andrea Donsky, along with Lisa Davis. It's time for Naturally Savvy.
LISA: Recently, I learned a fancy word called the "pes anserine." Now, we all have one. It's an insertion point below your knee where three tendons insert and there's a bursa underneath. The reason I'm mentioning this is because I have something called "pes anserinusitis", which is inflammation. Now, if anyone's had any sort of inflammatory pain in their body, it is very, very painful. So, this is perfect timing for me and for you out there as well if you're experiencing this or knows someone who has this type of pain.
We've got Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, back on the show.
Hi, Dr. Teitelbaum.
TEITELBAUM: Well, hello. It's great to be back with you gals.
LISA: It's so nice to have you back. I am icing as we speak, by the way, so I'm hoping that's one of the things you're going to recommend.
(laughter)
TEITELBAUM: Well, let's take a look at pain because 1 out of 4 Americans suffers unnecessarily with pain—chronic pain. And, you know, you can get rid of pain. The only problem is, the doctors are not trained in how to do it. So, we're going to teach people today, how to get pain free. Since you're talking about arthritis, inflammation, bursitis, tendonitis, those things that end in "itis", or inflammation. Let's start with that one because there's a really good way to get rid of inflammation naturally. Now, we have many of the arthritis medications called NSAIDs like Ibuprofen, but those kill over 30,000 Americans needlessly a year. Bleeding ulcers, heart attacks and strokes. I prefer using natural alternatives. Let me give you three different herbal approaches to the pain and you can use all three of them together. You want to give herbals six weeks because they rebuild systems. They heal the inflammatory system. So, I would start with a base called curamin. Anybody out there with pain, just write this down. Go to your health food store. We have at EndFatigue.com. It's easy to find. One to two tablets, two times a day. You can take it with any of your pain medications. Give it six weeks and you're going to find often near dramatic or miraculous results. Another mix is called End Pain. It also works very nice [inaudible] the curamin. I've not see anything as effective as curamin. Then, there's a topic called comfrey. You can just rub over the area. It used to be called "bone mint" used even for broken bones. So, those three, in combination, for pain that's been short-term. It knocks it out pretty quickly in most cases. For long-term pain that's gone on awhile, give it six weeks to see the full effect. That combination, for most people, will ease their pain much better and often pain-free. For listeners who have arthritis, add glucosamine chondroitin to that combination. A good vitamin powder like Energy Revitalization System and you're going to find an interesting thing. It takes six weeks to put out the pain. Then, once you're pain-free for 3 months, you can usually stop the medication or the natural remedies and you'll remain pain-free. So, that's for inflammation pain.
Shall we tell people how to get through the muscle pain?
LISA: Oh, yes.
ANDREA: Very interesting. But, before you do that, I just want to ask you a question. You mentioned curamin and I wanted to talk about the active ingredient, or the main ingredient which is curcumin, right? I want you to tell us a little bit about that and how it works on reducing inflammation.
TEITELBAUM: Curcumin hits multiple different pathways. The Cox pathway, the [inaudible] pathway. There are literally dozens of pathways that are being rebalanced and curcumin are what makes curry yellow. The yellow in Indian food. So, it can be very helpful, but the problem is, it's very poorly absorbed, so you would have to eat an Indian diet all day to get the effects.
LISA: Right.
TEITELBAUM: This is a form that adds these essential oils back in and dramatically increases your absorption. It replaces 7 pills of the next best ones in terms of…So, one to three pills a day can be very effective. It's just a really remarkable step forward.
LISA: Now, I have a quick question. The second thing you mentioned, which I wrote down, is called End Pain. Where do you find that?
TEITELBAUM: All of these can be any health food store or at EndFatigue.com. Our webshop will have it as well. Balance the mix with willow bark, boswellia and cherry. So, curcumin, boswellia, willow bark, these are some of the premier herbs for knocking out pain, but you've got to use the right types because if you don't have the right concentration or potency, it's not going to work.
LISA: Okay. Alright. Well, you were going to go on to talk about more ways because, I can't even tell you, as soon as we're done today, I can't run, but I'm limping to grab these.
TEITELBAUM: Well, ice it down, because ice helps inflammation for 20 minutes, then put on heat.
LISA: Yes.
TEITELBAUM: Now, let's talk about the most common cause of pain which is muscle pain—tight muscles. If you have it locally, it's one thing. If you have it all over and you can't sleep, that's fibromyalgia. Both of those represent the energy crisis in the muscles. Restore energy with Shine, sleep, hormonal support, infections and inflammation need to be addressed, nutritional support. Using a supplement called ribose. Two of our studies showed it increases energy 61%, on average, after 3 weeks while knocking pain down quite significantly. Then, a vitamin powder like the Energy Revitalization System also helps. So does the antidote exercise as well. But, again, we've talked about a lot of things today, but if you have an iPhone or Android, there's the app "Cures A to Z". This is a free app with over a million downloads. It will have health conditions from A to Z and how to use the best of natural and prescription treatments to get yourself feeling great.
ANDREA: I love that you said that it takes six weeks for people to feel a difference because a lot people who are in pain will say, "Well, I don't have six weeks to wait because I'm going to be in excruciating pain for those six weeks." What do you recommend to people who, let's say, they want to go on the herbal supplement regimen, but they also are in pain during those six weeks? Should they use some medication in the meantime to kind of bridge the gap? What do you recommend?
TEITELBAUM: I think that's very reasonable because the medication poisons systems. They work very quickly, but then, they can kill you and they're pretty tantric in a whole lot of ways. So, it's reasonable to combine the two of them and then as you get pain free, to wean down off the medication and then after 3 months to wean down off the herbals as well.
LISA: So, even when someone's…go ahead Andrea. Well, even when the pain goes away…
ANDREA: Well, I was just going to say…
LISA: See, we both have so many stories. Isn't that too bad because I think so many people have issues with pain? Alright. Andrea. You have the floor.
ANDREA: I was just going to say, my husband suffered from pain for a long time and that's what he did. He weaned himself off of the medication and just stayed on the natural treatment and it works really well.
TEITELBAUM: Yes. And, it works more effectively and instead of the side effects…Because like I said, with the ibuprofen and NSAIDs, bleeding ulcers, heart attacks, strokes, leaky gut, a host of other problems. With the herbals, you get side benefits. With the curcumin, less Alzheimer's. Seventy percent less Alzheimer's in India because of the curcumin. You have decrease in depression. In head on studies, it's as effective as anti-depressants. It decreases cancer risks. It's being studied in literally over 100 studies looking at its prevention and treatment of cancer. So, you get all of these side benefits. Glucosamine in one study—the people taking it were 17% less likely to die during the study period. So, you get side benefits instead of side effects. The herbals, wonderful way to go. Much less expensive, safe, healthy and they work.
LISA: I love curcumin. It's one of my favorite supplements to take and I love that you said that because I remember reading that, too. I think it was on Dr. Mercolaside and he was saying that it can be hard to digest it or to absorb it, so I love that you mentioned that earlier. I do think, I mean, Dr. Teitelbaum, we love having you on the show. You're such a wealth of information. So, we appreciate you coming back on today, even though we're out of time. Oh, my gosh, it goes by so fast, but, hopefully, you'll come back again soon, and just remind people, again, where they could find out more information about you and where they can find these products.
TEITELBAUM: Get the Cures A-Z app and, also, go to www.EndFatigue.com.
ANDREA: And, you're also on Twitter @DRJTeitelbaum.
TEITELBAUM: Not so much. Mostly on the website.
ANDREA: Okay. Perfect. Well then, scratch that.
Alright. I'm Andrea Donsky along with Lisa Davis. This is Naturally Savvy Radio on RadioMD. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @YourRadioMD and @Naturally Savvy.
Thanks for listening, everyone. Stay pain free today and stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Host Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH
Hosts of Naturally Savvy, Andrea Donsky and Lisa Davis, discuss the latest in healthy and natural living.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 3
- Audio File naturally_savvy/1512ns3c.mp3
- Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Host Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH
You may have heard of the Paleo diet, but what exactly IS it? And, who is it best for?
Additional Info
- Segment Number 2
- Audio File naturally_savvy/1512ns3b.mp3
- Featured Speaker Tony Federico
- Book Title Paleo Grilling
- Guest Website Tony Fed: Eating in an Evolutionary Direction
- Guest Twitter Account @TonyFedFitness
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Guest Bio
Tony Federico is a writer for Paleo Magazine, the host of the Paleo Magazine Radio podcast, and author of Paleo Grilling. He has been a personal trainer for almost ten years and has worked with hundreds of clients, from paraplegics to professional athletes. He blogs at livecaveman.com and can be found on twitter and instagram @tonyfedfitness.
- Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Internal Notes repeat guest
- Host Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH
Whether you've ever had slight moments of anxiety or suffer from full-on panic attacks, dealing with anxiety can be frustrating and confusing.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 1
- Audio File naturally_savvy/1512ns3a.mp3
- Featured Speaker Alice Boyes, PhD
- Book Title The Anxiety Toolkit
- Guest Website The Anxiety Toolkit
- Guest Twitter Account @draliceboyes
-
Guest Bio
The author of the new release THE ANXIETY TOOLKIT (Perigee), Alice Boyes, Ph.D. is a noted speaker, consultant on program development, and provides corporate training in mindfulness and resilience. Dr. Boyes’ expertise in social, clinical, positive, and relationships psychology topics has been featured in numerous magazines and radio segments including Psychology Today, Good Magazine, Women’s Health Australia, Lifehacker and Mashable. Originally from New Zealand, Boyes currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Naturally Savvy | Original Air Date: March 18, 2015
Hosts: Andrea Donsky, RHN & Lisa Davis
Guest: Alice Boyes, PhD
Honest information about living a healthy lifestyle on RadioMD.com. It's time for Naturally Savvy with natural visionary, Andrea Donsky and health journalist, Lisa Davis.
LISA: So many of us have experienced anxiety in one form or another. I remember when I was a child in second grade, especially. For some reason, if anyone ever called on me—a teacher—or, if I had to give a speech, my heart would pound so hard and I would turn bright red. So red that they used to call me "Cherry Face". I was just completely…
A: Oh, my gosh. Really?
L: Oh, yes. And now, I could stand in front of crowds of people and not feel nervous at all. So, it's funny. For some people, anxiety comes and goes, but for some people, it's a real struggle. So, we're so thrilled to have Dr. Alice Boyes. She's the author of the new release, The Anxiety Toolkit.
Dr. Boyes, welcome to It's Your Health. I mean, to Naturally Savvy.
D: Thank you for having me.
L: I can't believe I did that. I'm so sorry.
A: Well, welcome to the show. You know, Dr. Boyes, one thing I find very interesting is I have suffered from anxiety similar to Lisa and, I guess, what I'd love to know from you is what made you decide to write this book? And tell us a little bit about your experience in working with people with anxiety.
D: Yes. So, I had a group practice in New Zealand. I was a clinic psychologist. And, my PhD, actually, was on relationships, but I found that when I started practicing that my writing about anxiety was some of my most popular content that I was putting out on my blog and that I was getting a lot of clients coming to see me for anxiety. So, I just felt anxiety became something that I specialized in and it had always been something that was interesting for me personally. I've always had an anxious nature and I found the techniques that I've learned about in my training incredibly helpful for dealing with that. Why I ended up writing the book is because a lot of the techniques that are used in therapy clinic are also really helpful for people dealing with the lower level anxiety—more everyday anxiety. But, those techniques hadn't really been translated into things that people could use on an everyday basis. So, that is how I came to do the book.
A: Now, I guess, my question before we delve into the book is, do you think that there's more prevalence of anxiety? I mean, I look at my kids and my son, at the age of 8, had a sleepover with a bunch of friends and there were 5 kids and, literally, 4 out of the 5 kids had anxiety. I wonder if there are environmental factors or there are certain things that are coming into play that are causing people to have more of it. I mean, the fact that we're eating these processed foods. It's destroying our gut, which we now know there's a gut/brain connection. From your experience, do you think that there's more than there used to be, but also what could be contributing to it?
D: Yes. I don't know if there's more than there used to be through the ages, but certain things like helicopter parenting don't help. Social medial is often really triggering for people. So, the issue with email and social media is that all the context cues are stripped out of that kind of communication and also, it's often asynchronous, so you email someone and you don't know when they're going to email you back. So, there can be a lot of social media induced anxiety or email induced anxiety. Those types of anxiety [inaudible 3:57] and also the fear-based news and then news about bad things that are happening. I think that certainly that increases certain types of anxiety due to that.
L: Well, Dr. Boyes, share some of the tools in your book. What can we do to help ourselves feel less anxious?
D: Yes. So, anxiety is made up of thinking components, emotion components, behavior components and physical components. Those things sort of operate in a loop and the bad news is that when you start getting symptoms in one of those areas, it tends to cascade into other symptoms, so that if you notice that you start blushing, it will increase your feelings anxiety and your thoughts about anxiety. Then, the good news, on the flip side, is that you can actually choose techniques from any of those different areas to try and turn that back around. So, you might be someone that likes using physical techniques like exercise or mediation. You might be someone that likes using cognitive techniques like simple things. When you've got something anxiety provoking ask yourself if it is realistic and if it could happen. I use that technique all the time like every couple of days when I notice that I'm feeling really anxious about something. Or, you can use a [inaudible 5:28] technique. So, if I notice my anxiety creeping up about something, I'll often do just like a tiny little action toward getting that task done. So, if I've got something looming on my "to do" list for the next day, I'll just do something like 2 minutes into action mode for that task and then I'll often find that my anxiety about do it really dies.
A: Now, obviously, you have a tool kit, so it's something that's a practical guide or a practical tool kit that people can use if they have it or if they're going through it. What would you recommend to people who are going through, let's say, a panic attack or some type of anxious moment? What would you tell them that they should be doing to help alleviate that anxiety?
D: Yes. So, besides having a real panic attack, people confuse panic attacks and heightened anxiety, so a lot of the symptoms are the same but the intensity and the duration is really different. Panic attack is something that's really short and sharp that comes on and it's the type of thing that people often confuse with having a heart attack whereas, heightened anxiety can have similar symptoms that go on for longer. So, if somebody is having an actual panic attack, what I found really useful was learning about how the physical symptoms of a panic attack are all designed to do something. So, you know, there are [inaudible 7:04] like when you get goosebumps. Goosebumps is from our evolutionary history from when we had hair, more hair, on our bodies. You notice that when a cat is scared, its hair will stand up on end. That happens for us, too, even though we don't have that hair there any more. Like, it's part of that evolved response. So, if people can understand that all of those different symptoms of a panic attack have an actual adaptive evolutionary focus, that can make the symptoms a little less scary. Another thing to keep in mind is that you don't need to do anything to stop a panic attack. A panic attack will stop on its own. So, slow breathing is by far the [inaudible 7:48] and slow breathing [inaudible 7:50] deep breathing. Other than that, you really don't need to do anything to stop a panic attack because your body knows exactly what to do.
A: What about heightened anxiety, then?
D: Yes. Heightened anxiety that you can often [inaudible 8:11] is some type of mindfulness meditation. So, a lot of people think of mindfulness mediation is something that they need to do every day. But, you can also use it just when you're stressed out and you need to physiologically calm down. So, that's something that I find really useful. Some people don't like mediation and they prefer exercise as a way of physically calming down and also there's kinds of cognitive techniques I was talking about, so like, really noticing part of the reason you're feeling so much anxiety is because you're just imagining a catastrophe happen that might not actually happen.
A: Hmm. Very interesting. Well, thank you for being on our show today. For those of you who are listening, if you know anybody or you suffer from anxiety, you can visit Dr. Boyes website at TheAnxietyToolkit.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @ DrAliceBoyes.
I'm Andrea Donsky along with Lisa Davis. This is Naturally Savvy Radio on RadioMD.
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @YourRadioMD and @Naturally Savvy.
Thanks for listening everyone. I hope you don't have a lot of anxiety in your day and stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Host Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH
Doctors and nutritionists understand how essential healthy eating habits are from the very start of a baby's life.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 5
- Audio File naturally_savvy/1511ns3e.mp3
- Featured Speaker Dana Angelo White, MS, RD
- Book Title First Bites: Superfoods for Babies and Toddlers
- Guest Website Dana White Nutrition
- Guest Twitter Account @DWNutrition
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Guest Bio
The author of the new release First Bites (Perigee), Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, is the nutrition expert for FoodNetwork.com and founding contributor for Food Network’s Healthy Eats blog. A registered dietitian and certified athletic trainer specializing in culinary and sports nutrition, her recipes and articles have been featured in CookingLight.com, SHAPE, Seventeen, Prevention, GMA Health, and Good Day Street Talk, among many others. She is an educator, a clinician, and most importantly, a mom of two.
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Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Naturally Savvy | Original Air Date: March 11, 2015
Hosts: Andrea Donsky, RHN & Lisa Davis
Guest: Dana Angelo White, MS, RD
Your organic search is over. Here's Naturally Savvy with health experts, Andrea Donsky and Lisa Davis.
LISA: When thinking about what to give your baby and toddler, of course you want to give them the best and so I highly recommend First Bites: Super Foods for Baby and Toddlers. Let's just say that this book's not just for babies and toddlers because I made some of the recipes in here. Although some people might say I'm a big baby. Okay. I digress.
We have got Dana Angela White, MS, RDATC on the show.
Hello, Dana.
DANA: Hi, ladies. Thank you for having me.
LISA: It's great to have you on. So, I think we know "MS" and "RD", Master's of Science, Registered Dietician. What is an ATC?
DANA: ATC is a Certified Athletic Trainer. So, I actually have a degree in sports medicine. I started out in the sports medicine world kind of doing…It's emergency medicine and sports rehabilitation for athletes. That kind of was my first career path. In doing that, I got very interested in nutrition and in helping athletes kind of better their performance with nutrition. So, the athletic training brought me to become a registered dietician.
LISA: That's so cool. Now, you mentioned before we came on. What is it? Registered Dietician Day international something like that?
DANA: It is. It's National Registered Dietician Day today, so RDs like myself are kind of celebrating everything that we do to kind of promote healthy eating around the country.
LISA: Alright. Well, let's talk about this. What are some of your favorite super foods that you recommend for people to give their babies and toddlers?
DANA: So, my list of super foods is about 50 foods. More than about half of them are fruits and vegetables. So, it's probably not a surprise and I think "super food" gets kind of misused a lot and I think people often think that a super food has to be this kind of obscure, maybe hard to find thing, but my definition is more about kind of delicious and beautiful. So, apples are super foods. They're filled with nutrients; great for everybody growing. Children and adults as well. So, I kind of give love to a bunch of different everyday fruits and vegetables. If I had to pick some of my favorites, I think butternut squash is definitely on my list.
ANDREA: Yes. Love it.
DANA: It's kind of because it fits that bill of being beautiful and having all these nutrients to offer. Then, I get into, in the book, looking at other categories as well. So, even things like cheese and edamame and lentils and peanut butter, oats, brown rice, even cocoa powder makes the super foods list in my book.
LISA: Cool.
ANDREA: Does your book—unfortunately, I don't have a copy in front of me—does your book have a bunch of recipes that people can look to, to make for their families?
DANA: It does. It has about 75 recipes and I've organized them by the super food, so there are the fruits and vegetables, protein, dairy and egg, grains and then the book is kind of categorized by those different categories and then each section, it has age appropriate recipes for everything from little babies up through toddlers and kind of like you were saying, adults. I mean, these are the recipes that we make in my house all the time.
LISA: Yes, there are a lot of really great things. I love your breakfast quinoa with cherries. My daughter really liked that which was nice. I love that you can use a milk substitute like almond milk. You've got quinoa, a little bit of brown sugar and some fresh or dried cherries. All the recipes are simple, which is nice. They don't have like a million ingredients, obviously, because you want them to be healthy. Just like I said, you can eat this stuff. You've got a roasted salmon in here that I'm going to be making.
DANA: Good. That one—you know, I think salmon overwhelms people. I think people don't make it for themselves because they just don't know how or don't think that they know how. So, a simple roast in the oven with a little bit of mustard or maple syrup and some of those things makes it so easy. You know, the book was kind of meant to be a guide for busy parents. So, yes. The recipes are not time consuming because, as busy parents, we don't have time to do that. So kind of framed in that idea of "here's some fresh, delicious whole foods and here's some really easy ways to use them" that, hopefully, everyone in the family will be happy about.
LISA: Now, I was going to ask you about your inspiration in terms of being in the kitchen and trying all these different things. What kept you going? Because it's a lot of work to put together a cookbook.
DANA: You know, I was really looking forward to doing it. It was definitely a lot of work. You know, you hear horror stories about having no life while you're working on this, you know? But, I must say, it was a really positive experience for me. Certainly a lot of work, but worth it. I mean, my children, who are 3 and 5, were my taste testers. You know, part of it really was just taking some of the recipes that we make all the time and writing them down. Then, other things were kind of coming up with new creations and then letting them kind of play with it and try it and see what they thought of it. So, my family really was a big part of putting this book together because they kind of helped me create it along the way.
ANDREA: That's the best way anyway because when you know that your kids like it, you know that other kids are going to like it, too. So, I mean, it's amazing to have them with you when they're preparing it and then, you're like, "Yes. Kid approved." We know it's going to be a hit, right?
DANA: Absolutely. You know, we had friends come over. I mentioned this in the book, I have this kind of network of neighborhood moms and really close friends and we all spend a lot of time together. Literally, I had my friends that are moms like me testing a lot of the recipes because I didn't want to just be easy for me. I wanted it to be easy for everyone. So, I really did kind of did go through that and get their seal of approval as well, even from the kids eating it, but also from fellow moms making the recipes and testing them for me.
LISA: You know what's great about the book, too, is you actually have some equipment. What are some things that will help moms or dads or caregivers use your book and really be able to make these recipes?
DANA: Depending on the age. For baby food, my number one piece of equipment is a food mill which is really considered this kind of archaic…Do you guys know what a food mill is?
LISA: No, I don't.
ANDREA: I don't think so. What is that?
DANA: It's a hand-cranked, tiny little contraption that you can use to puree fruits, vegetables, soups—you can use it for sauces.
ANDREA: I think I know what you're talking about. Okay.
DANA: It is amazing. I mean, they make these fancy baby food makers now that cost tons of money and you don't even need it. Nothing makes baby food better than a food mill and they cost like $20 bucks. So, as far as baby food goes, that's my definite number one. A good quality blender was another one. It doesn't have to be top of the line but to make smoothies and, again, for baby food and even for some of the sauce recipes in the book, a good blender is a really good way to get fruits and vegetables into your kids.
One of the other tips I make for equipment is a decent knife. You know, I go to my mom's house and I try to cut things and it's harder on my hand to try to cut something. So, if you want to fresh and whole foods, you don't need top of the line, real expensive, but a decent knife so that you can kind of work with all these fresh ingredients, can be super helpful.
LISA: That is really good. Yes, it does make a difference. I can't stand a dull knife. There's like nothing worse. Hey, do you any tips on how to cut a butternut squash? I swear, when I try to peel that thing, it's impossible. Because you were talking about butternut squash.
DANA: It's so true. Honestly, what I do is, I peel it first. I think if you cut it…and so, first I peel it and then I basically cut…You know, I cut the kind of round, cylindrical part and then there's the round bulb at the bottom. I separate those two pieces. Once it's peeled, I separate those pieces first. Then, I find it's a little bit easier to work with when you halve the two pieces, then I cut the bottom—the base of it--in half, scoop out the seeds and then you can chop that up. But, I've tried cutting it and then peeling it and it never seems to work that well, so definitely peel it first and then separate those two sections because they're so different in shape, I feel like it's kind of easier to get at it once you break it apart, but you've got to peel it first. I've found that makes a big difference.
ANDREA: Or, you can buy it pre-cut at the store.
LISA: That is true.
DANA: And just take all of that out of it. Yes.
LISA: That is true, although sometimes it sits in the bin too long and then it gets a little funky and then I’m like, "Ugh." You have to cut it yourself.
DANA: I've got to say…and I have some that you do the sniff test. I even had a friend bring it over once to me and was, "Can I eat this? Is this still okay?" It's pretty forgiving, but…Actually, I tried growing butternut squash in my garden this past summer. The taste was just amazing, so that actually made it worth it and then I had to peel and chop it on my own.
LISA: Oh, boy. Well, Dana. We love the book. First Bites: Super Foods for Babies and Toddlers. How do we learn more about you?
DANA: So, you can go to my website which is DanaWhiteNutrition.com. Then, as far as my social media is really: dwnutrition (for Dana White Nutrition) and I actually just started a new Instagram account which is Dana Angela White where I'm posting every weeknight dinner that I make for my family, which has been really fun. That's something I just started doing as of January.
ANDREA: Well, Dana, I'm obsessed with Instagram, so we'll follow each other. I'm @AndreaDonsky. Totally obsessed, so let's do it. I'm loving Instagram these days.
LISA: Well, I want to thank everyone for listening. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Have a great day and stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Host Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH
From coconut water and coffee-infused food products to new turmeric supplements and green juices, the Natural Products Expo showcases new healthy eating options.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 4
- Audio File naturally_savvy/1511ns3d.mp3
- Featured Speaker Ashley Koff, RD
- Guest Website Ashley Koff: Better Nutrition, Simplified
- Guest Twitter Account @ashleykoff
-
Guest Bio
Ashley Koff is an internationally-renowned registered dietitian who believes better nutrition is simple and is on a mission to help anyone achieve their personal health goals by providing simple but highly effective tips and strategies. A self-described “Qualitarian,” Koff emphasizes the value of quality nutritional choices in achieving optimal health and has developed tools such as The AKA Qualitarian Nutrition Plan and The AKA Personal Shopper to help facilitate this.
Koff is widely sought after for her knowledge and ability to translate nutrition science into practical and motivating messages and appears regularly in the National Media, has authored two books and speaks frequently on the topic of better quality choices for better health. -
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Naturally Savvy | Original Air Date: March 11, 2015
Hosts: Andrea Donsky, RHN & Lisa Davis
Guest: Ashley Koff, RD
She's not here to judge. She's here to report the honest news on healthy living. She's Andrea Donsky along with Lisa Davis. It's time for Naturally Savvy.
LISA: My wonderful co-host Andrea Donsky got to go to the Natural Products Expo in California. I sound like a little kid. "She got to go and I didn't." But, no. I'm really glad that she got to go. Someone else who got to go is the wonderful Ashley Koff who joins us once a month. We're going to talk about the awesome products. I was so excited when I read the list that Ashley sent. I can't wait to try them all.
Hi, Ashley.
ASHLEY: Hello.
LISA: It looks amazing. One of the things on the list I'm just going to get out of the way so I don't think about it the whole time, is the cocoa whip by So Delicious. I put mine in the freezer so it was almost like the consistency of ice cream, but the first ingredient is organic coconut oil. Then, I just put it with berries and it's like my daughter's favorite dessert and mine. You only need a little bit. It's amazing. What other amazing things did you find there?
ASHLEY: Yes. You know what I would say is like I feel like I said we're so "coocoo for coconuts" and I think like coconuts is really blowing up in a bunch of different places and I think that part of it is awesome. I also think that there is a sustainability effort around sourcing coconuts so that we're doing it the right way. That made me happy. I had a number of those conversations. So, even like, I loved—which sounded gross, I have to say, at first blush, because I love Harmless Harvest-- all of their different coconut waters-- but they had a coffee coconut water and I was like, "I don't know." Then, I tasted it. I'm like, "I totally love this." So, I really think that there were some very fun things in the coconut space. On the flip side or to that end, the coffee. Coffee is everywhere. I think that that is awesome because one of the things that I find is a real issue for my clients is that a lot of times, they actually are having coffee without any food and they've confused "energy" that they get from coffee, which is just really a stimulant response, right? So, I love that you could actually have your coffee in a food form. But, there's a caveat to that and that is, if you are having your coffee in a food form, you definitely don't want to be having your coffee also in the beverage form. So, one of the things that we have to be careful about in that space is not overcoffeeing.
LISA: Yes.
ASHLEY: But, Barnana has these amazing chocolate covered bananas and the founder is actually a triathlete and he was like, "The coffee is so great for you from performance standpoint and getting the most out of your workout." That was really amazing. Then, I just think the supplemental food area was phenomenal also. I saw great ways to be getting in your turmeric which I think is, one of those ingredients that it's so good for us, but it's hard to get it. First of all, I don't like some of the turmeric waters and other things where they're giving us just tiny amounts or extracts of just the curcuminoids and so I love seeing organic, whole turmeric that you could get in a vegetarian capsule. I saw that at New Chapter but I also saw a Gaia turmeric boost that you could add to your smoothie. Tumeric's kind of a hard one to figure out what to do or to always have access to. So, I loved that.
ANDREA: I tried the one at Gaia. I really liked it. It actually was really, really good and I really like that company. I got a chance to talk to them at the show and I love what they're doing, so that was really interesting for me in terms of learning about Gaia in particular.
ASHLEY: Yes, and, you know, I think one of the things that I'm super passionate about is the quality standards in dietary supplements and we're working on that part, but there are some companies, I would say New Chapter and Gaia in that space, are two that I really look to for the quality assessment. So, that was pretty phenomenal. Then, I always am so happy, they probably stand out so much more for me because of everything else that's going on but, boy, am I happy that at like every turn, there was an organic juice that was HPP that were greens. Everything from, downstairs, we had Daily Greens which is a company that all of their juices will always have greens as the base. So, that that was really cool. Then, on the main floor, you had Lumi Love U Mean It and she was doing really fun shots. She even included my new favorite, broccoli leaves. She included that in in a couple of her juices. Upstairs, and I had actually had the tiger nut folks to try the broccoli leaves, so they did a blend of the two that was mind-blowing. I love it because I was there with my friend from ABC News and she never likes juices and she was like, "Oh, my god. I would drink this," because it had 9 grams of fiber in it because you're getting that from the tiger nut.
ANDREA: I know. I saw that juice with the tiger nut.
ASHLEY: That was really fun.
ANDREA: That was so yummy.
ASHLEY: Did you taste it?
ANDREA: I did. Not with the broccoli leaf, but I tasted it at the end of the show, actually. They were sampling it and I could not believe. I mean, I love tiger nut. That's one of my favorite snacks.
ASHLEY: Yes.
ANDREA: But, I couldn't believe that they had it in a juice form and I was like, "Oh, my gosh. That's amazing."
ASHLEY: Yes. Yes.
LISA: I have to interject because I don't know what a tiger nut is and I'm wondering if our listeners know. I don't even know what that is.
ASHLEY: I always say that the nuttiest part is that it's actually a root vegetable. So, a tiger nut is an old root vegetable that looks sort of like a mini brain or a tiny hazelnut that got wilted, but it actually is very high in fiber. It's high in that resistant starch to the tune of 9 grams per bottle if you're making it into like an almond milk, so they make it into a tiger nut milk. So, it's a really great, super useful and, actually a lot of Paleo folks are using it. There's a flour, a tiger nut flour, you can cook with is as well.
I would say on that part…
LISA: You know, it's funny you just said Paleo.
ASHLEY: Yes?
LISA: I was about to ask you about the Paleo. I'm so glad you brought that up. I've had that Zaza Paleo dessert. Some of those. Those are fantastic.
ASHLEY: And, you know what I loved? It's like there was a Paleo space, but it wasn't like so over your head egregious errors. There were some people doing really good quality jerkies and some Paleo chocolates and things like that. There were some places, like I saw water that had Paleo, vegan and gluten-free was how it was begin advertised. I walked up to them and I was like, "Let's just say water. Like, this is ridiculous." So, I think, let's be clear, water is always Paleo or not.
LISA: It goes too far.
ASHLEY: But, I also thought the really interesting thing was the Paleo/vegan space. So, looking at things like how you would use your seeds and how you would do, so if you are Paleo and you want to be plant-based, really giving a nod to that.
Andrea, I don't know if you had and, full disclosure, I work with Manitoba, but, oh, my gosh, I've been waiting for these hemp heart bites to come to market. Talk about a snack that I don't ever want to be separated from. I'm so…Like, it's just so delicious. Yeah. Really, really good. It's crazy.
LISA: What was that called?
ASHLEY: Manitoba Harvest hemp heart bites. Because when what happens when you do those hemp hearts is, you get your essential fatty acids, you get your protein, you get your fiber and it's pretty low in carbohydrate naturally, so you add a little bit of honey to it and you don't overdo it and it tastes like…I grew up with my family eating, as a dessert, halva and it kind of reminded me of that, but…
LISA: Oh, yes. Halva.
ASHLEY: But, it's just that sort of delicious…And they bites are really appropriate sized, kid-friendly, etc. Speaking of kids, everything from one of the juice companies had half pints—that was the Daily Greens, which…So, they had in there and then we had all these great…I think like kind of gone is the "we're going to try and hide the veggies from you" and, instead, like, celebrate kids and veggies. I saw that in a lot of places. I also saw appropriate portion sizes for kids which I thought was great. So, that seems really good, too. Yes.
LISA: Well, Ashley, it sounds like it was such a blast and I know you have a great qualitarian, I wish I had said that word correctly, newsletter. Tell us how we can get that.
ASHLEY: Sure. You can, on my website on Facebook just at AshleyKoffApproved.com or Ashley Koff Approved on Facebook. You can sign up for the newsletter and it has all of these finds in there as well as on my blog. I wrote up all of these different trends.
LISA: You can follow Ashley @AshleyKoff. We always love having you on. Next year, gals, one of you has got to come by, pick me up and kidnap me. Okay?
ASHLEY: You're coming. You're absolutely coming.
LISA: Because I am so sad. I really am. I have a question. If there is a Natural Expo West? Is there a Natural Expo East?
ASHLEY: September in Baltimore. September in Baltimore. Come visit me. I live right by there.
LISA: Oh, my gosh. I can make that work. Okay, why don't all go, gals? That would be so fun. Do you usually go to that?
ASHLEY: Perfect. Yes, you can cover it from there.
ANDREA: That's it. We've got to go, then. You know, what? We've got to meet up for tea there and make some time and then sit and talk and see what's new.
ASHLEY: Meet up for tea? We'll walk it together. We'll cover it together. It'd be so fun.
ANDREA: Let's do it. I'm in. Love it.
ASHLEY: Okay.
ANDREA: I love it.
LISA: September you said?
ANDREA: Yes. September in Baltimore. It will be beautiful.
LISA: Woo hoo. That will be fun. Alright, Ashley. Well, people should definitely check you out. I love AshleyKoffApproved.com. I want to thank everyone for listening. Hopefully, you can go to those expos, too. Make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RadioMD and @NaturallySavvy.
I hope you all have a great day and stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Host Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH
Despite your efforts, it can be difficult to wrap your brain around truly healthy eating when marketing tactics are so adept at fooling you with "faux" health foods.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 3
- Audio File naturally_savvy/1511ns3c.mp3
- Featured Speaker Stefanie Sacks, MS, CNS
- Book Title What the Fork Are You Eating?
- Guest Website Stefanie Sacks
- Guest Twitter Account @Stefanie_Sacks
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Guest Bio
Stefanie Sacks, MS, CNS is the author of the new release What the Fork Are You Eating? (Tarcher). A culinary nutrition specialist as well as a certified chef with a master's of science in nutrition from Columbia University, Sacks has been studying food and health for over 20 years. The host of Hampton NPR's Stirring the Pot radio show, she is truly passionate about promoting sustainable practices and wellness through food.
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Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Naturally Savvy | Original Air Date: March 11, 2015
Hosts: Andrea Donsky, RHN & Lisa Davis
Guest: Stefanie Sacks, MS, CNS
LISA: What the fork are you eating? Yeah, you heard me right. I said, "What the fork are you eating?" That is the wonderful book by our guest, Stefanie Sacks, who joins us now.
Hi, Stefanie.
STEFANIE: Hi.
LISA: It's so great to have you on. This book is so great and I have to say, that title is brilliant. Obviously, I love to say it. I've already said it twice.
STEFANIE: I know. A lot of people love to say the title. Even my children.
LISA: And, they can get away with it, right?
STEFANIE: They actually can, believe it or not.
LISA: Oh, my goodness. So, what the fork are we eating? I mean, apparently, a lot of things that are really not very good for us and sometimes even the things that they say are good for us can be deceiving. So, jump into both ends of this.
STEFANIE: Yes. Well, I think where I'd like to actually start this conversation is that everybody has a different starting point and the key to this book is that nutrition mavens and neophytes can grab something from it to understand sort of the truth about our food. The reality is that we've been duped for decades beyond decades by our food industry and we've bought into marketing and not real health. So, what I try to do in this book is really unfold some of the things that are in our food or being done to our food that are not great. What they are; why they're bad and the better alternatives because I'm am about solutions. You know? I 'm tired of talking about all the problems and putting Band-Aids on the problems. I want to give people the tools to really be able to help themselves without fear mongering; without blowing people up or blowing companies up. I really just want to give people knowledge because, in the end, and I've said this many times before, I don't care what somebody chooses to eat, I just want you to do it from a place of knowledge rather than from a place of not understanding what you're doing.
ANDREA: We're with you totally. I mean, that's really what Naturally Savvy's all about. We're about the solution, so I love that you say that. I mean, we wrote a book called Unjunk Your Junk Food. I mean, it's a matter of saying, "What's good? What's not? What can we eat?"
STEFANIE: I love your book.
ANDREA: Thank you.
STEFANIE: I absolutely love it.
LISA: Isn't her book great?
STEFANIE: I loved your book and I bought that book a while back and I have to say it is such a useful book and the reason why is, I don't want to preach to people, "Don't ever do this. Don't ever do that." Just give me a savior. If you're going to do it, know what you're doing and why you're doing.
ANDREA: I appreciate that.
STEFANIE: Yes. And, if the woman I see at my son's hockey game wants to pour red Gatorade into her screaming 18-month-old's bottle, by all means do it. Just please know why you're doing it and know what's in that beverage before you give your already hyperactive child something that causes hyperactivity.
ANDREA: And let them know that they don't have to necessarily use Gatorade, but there are so many things that are options that don't have the food coloring and don't have all those other ingredients, right?
STEFANIE: Exactly. Exactly.
ANDREA: I love it.
STEFANIE: And, it's all about the "better for you" alternative.
ANDREA: Yay.
STEFANIE: So, it's not making people feel bad about what they can't do. It hopefully makes somebody feel good about what they can do because for years, being in the trenches working with people in their homes, in groups, seeing what people are up against, whether they live in low-income communities or their finances are for celebrities, it's everybody's dealing with the same thing. You're on an even playing field as far as I'm concerned, when you're dealing with illness and you come to me for help. I see, first line problem: what do you do when you get diagnosed with cancer or like you had earlier on the show, with candida or with food allergies or with gastrointestinal problems? What do you do when you get diagnosed and there is no silver bullet; there is no magic pill. It's actually the beginning of a new type of education and a new type of living and I have to meet people where they're at.
ANDREA: It's so true. You know what? It's so true because if you don't, they're not going to listen to you anyway. So, really, you've got to talk to them where they're at in terms of like exactly what you just said. Don't overwhelm them. Once they get overwhelmed, you've lost them. So, the key is, you really want to get them in with tips, these easy things that they can really say, "This is easy. I can do this." So, what I'd like to know, Stefanie, let's talk about first, what are some of your big "no no's" of like, you know what? "I'm never giving my child these." And then what are some tips that you can help people to help them make those better choices?
STEFANIE: Okay, the first thing I like to start out by saying, there really are no forbidden foods even though I never give my kids certain things. My kids go to birthday parties and they get to eat what the other kids eat. My kids do go to the movies and if they want sweet tarts, they can have sweet tarts. I try not to be too militant because I think, in the end, what you do is create sort of an orthorexic situation which is, "Are we clean eating our way to illness?" So, what I try to do is approach it, you know 70-80% of the time, if you can eat whole foods, real foods, you're doing a great job. For me, the constant conversation points in our house are typically the food dyes which there's so much research out there that is really talking about the ill effects of food dyes. They have to be labeled on foods in Europe and not in this country. They have to have a warning label in Europe. So, it's just quite interesting that our country is so loose on food regulations. Genetic modification is another one. I just don't think we know enough about it. I think we've been a science experiment for biotech for decades without knowing it. I think artificial sweeteners are really scary also. I mean, very, very scary.
ANDREA: I would concur.
STEFANIE: So, if you're going to take…Out of my top then, if you are going to take what are the worst? I would say, artificial colors, genetic modification. I think my top ten isn't really my top ten.
ANDREA: You don't want to boil down to that.
STEFANIE: Trans fats, artificial flavors. Chemical preservation. I think there are some really scary chemical preservatives out there like DHT, PBHQ, GMOs. I think the overuse of antibiotics is scary. The overuse of hormones is scary. I think chemical pesticide residues, to a certain extent, can be pretty scary, but there are ways to navigate all of this and that's why I like to look at and live in sort of in this hopeful area where, if you understand the tools that are out there. So, for navigating pesticides, for example, download the Environmental Working Groups Pesticides in Produce or the Dirty Dozen and you can navigate how you can limit pesticide residues in your diet and your kids' diet. That's a great starting point. To understand labels on animal foods, most specifically. There's a great app called Labels Exposed by Animal Welfare Approved (AWA). That's a great option also. Also, Food Source Database by the Environmental Working Groups is another wonderful app. You can download, you can photo the barcode in of any food and you can learn about ingredients, nutrition and processing about this food.
LISA: Oh, that is so cool.
STEFANIE: Yes. So, what I like to tell people is, "Start to get an edible education." I just did a TED talk. A TEDx talk on this particular topic. How small changes in food choice can make big, every day differences and rather than trying to go and revamp everything, pick one or two things. If your kids are regularly drinking Gatorade and other types of sports drinks or these "energy bars" or power bars, start from a place and look for a better alternative.
ANDREA: Exactly. Baby steps, right?
STEFANIE: One thing.
ANDREA: Go on.
LISA: Oh, I was going to say like in Unjunk Your Junk Food. You can get tons of information. Alright. The book is What the Fork are You Eating? Stefanie Sacks, tell us where we can get the book and how we can learn more about you.
STEFANIE: Oh, gosh. Well, you can get book on Amazon and Barns and Noble, Indiebooks. Wherever books are sold. Obviously, book stores. You can learn more about me at StefanieSacks.com. You can sign up for my blog. I have a radio show called Stirring the Pot on NPR affiliate WPBB.
ANDREA: Very cool.
LISA: Oh, that's awesome. Well, I want to thank you so much. Everyone, thanks for listening. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @YourRadioMD and @Naturally Savvy.
Have a great day and stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Host Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH
