Naturally Nourished

Naturally Nourished Episode 41: Neurological Conditions

 

Do you have any concerns about neurological health/cognitive function including: ADHD, Parkinson’s, MS, Mood imbalances etc? Wondering why and how they happen and what you can do about it? Be sure to tune in for an in depth look at a functional medicine approach to these and more!

Currently, stimulant drugs (psychostimulants) are the most commonly prescribed medications for ADHD followed by antidepressants. Stimulants appear to boost and balance levels of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters; however, these drugs do not provide the building blocks to replenish neurotransmitters and can cause deficiency especially in a young developing brain. These medications help improve the symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity; however, they have high risk for dependency and misuse is on the rise. Parkinson's disease occurs when nerve cells, or neurons, in an area of the brain that controls movement become impaired and/or die. Normally, these neurons produce an important brain chemical known as dopamine, but when the neurons die or become impaired, they produce less dopamine. This shortage of dopamine causes the movement problems of people with Parkinsons.

Along with neurotransmitter imbalances, other common drivers of neurological dysfunction include: inflammation, micronutrient deficiencies, toxicity, bacterial imbalance and even blood sugar balance! The gut and digestion is often a place to start when treating these pathologies. To learn more how what lab tests, supplements, and foods to consider, be sure to tune in!

Also in this Episode:

• Mitochondrial function and Demyelination
• The role of ketosis in Neurological conditions
• Nutrient deficiency trends
• And more!

Naturally Nourished Episode 40: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Are you concerned about your heart health? Do you think that high cholesterol is a problem for you? Wondering if you should remove eggs from your diet? There are important factors to analyze beyond your standard lipid panel. Tune in to find out the true root cauases of heart disease, what to eat and supplements to consider for treatment and prevention!

 

Heart disease includes elevated cholesterol and blood pressure, heart attack, arrhythmias, and stroke. Your lifestyle diet, body composition and inflammatory stress can all play a role in your risk for heart disease. When we focus on lowering cholesterol levels with pharmaceutical drugs rather than treating lifestyle imbalances we can find ourselves at greater risk for dysfunction and ultimately disease. In fact, it is only diet and exercise that can reverse heart disease. Every 6 pounds of weight loss can increase your HDL (good cholesterol) by 1 point and this acts as a broom to clean out your arteries preventing plaque formation! Tune in to learn about all of this and more!!

 

Also in this Episode:

• Important lab markers to address
• Side effects of statins
• How to influence CVD with food
• Supplements and labs to consider:
  • Vessel Care
  • Curcum-Evail
  • Bioavail omega-3
  • Spectracell cardiometabolic panel

 

Naturally Nourished Episode 39: Forming Healthy Habits

Are you someone that knows what to do but can’t seem to make the changes you need to make in order to reach your goals? Do you find yourself making excuses and fall into the same patterns year after year? Tune in to hear Ali and Carli discuss tips and tricks to help finally make those New Year’s Resolutions happen!

Ali and Carli discuss the 3 stages of change and how to make permanent change happen once and for all. Sometimes human nature sets us up for difficulty in fighting our temptations and prevents us from meeting important goals we set for ourselves. There are however specific strategies that when applied, can help make any goal a reality, and consistency is key! If you are one that makes the same resolutions every year or can’t seem to break a bad habit that is holding you back, be sure to listen to this episode and learn the ways to finally reach your goals!

 

Also in this Episode:

• Mind, Body, and Nourishment wellness goals
• The most common barriers to change
• Journal techniques
• Breaking the chain of behavior
• And more!

Naturally Nourished Episode 38: Interview with Diana Rogers of Sustainable Dish

Ever wonder what it would be like to eat eggs from the chickens in your backyard or eat a spinach salad from greens you just harvested from your garden? Well get ready for your new girl crush! Diana Rogers, author of Sustainable Dish, sets the bar high for health sustainable living.

Diana Rodgers, RD, LDN, NTP is a “real food” Licensed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner living on a working organic farm west of Boston. She has an active nutrition practice where she helps people get on track with diet and lifestyle. She is also an author, host of The Sustainable Dish Podcast, and mom of two kids. Diana is Consulting Dietitian to several gyms and also to big names like Robb Wolf, Nom Nom Paleo, and  Whole30. She is staff writer for Paleo Magazine, contribute regularly to several blogs and my work has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Outside Magazine, and Mother Earth News.

Also in this episode:

• Diana’s top food flavor enhancing secret ingredients
• The power of animal based protein vs plant based
• Homesteading and raising animals
• Transitioning from a gluten-free conventional diet to a sustainable diet
• And more!

 

Resources from this episode:

• www.sustainabledish.com

 

Naturally Nourished Episode 37: Redefine Your Relationship with Food

What does food mean to you? What goes through your head when making a decision on what to eat or what to buy at the grocery store? “Redefine your Relationship with Food” most likely meals something different to each one of us. Tune in to find out how Ali and Carli have changed their thought process on food and how you can start to restructure your own through processes on the subject!

 

In the Episode, Ali and Carli  talk all about the evolution of their own diets and the ebbs and flows of how they got to where they are today! Beyond treating diseases, it is important to think about the emotional connection one has with food. From eating local to supporting fair trade, everything you choose to eat has a story. Ali and Carli discuss what balance means to them and how they help clients identify simple ways to improve their relationship with food so that their diet is sustainable. Nourishing, and satisfying--not stressful! Tune in to learn how  you can Redefine your Relationship with Food!!

 

Also in this Episode:

• Thoughts on Stevia and non-nutritive sweeteners
• Food tracking can lead to food freedom
• Emotional Hunger
• And more!

Naturally Nourished Episode 36: Integrative Oncology with Dr. Lorenzo Coehn

Ali welcomes Dr. Lorenzo Cohen director of the Integrative Medicine Program at MD Anderson Cancer Center and his colleague Robin Haddad, doctoral candidate in health promotion and behavior science to discuss the direction of cancer treatment and research advances in the area of biobehavioral oncology.

 

In this episode we will discuss integration of care and treating the whole person through the inclusion of lifestyle and behavior change to reduce cancer risk and improve control of disease. Dr. Cohen defines the AntiCancer lifestyle and both he and Robin discuss their ongoing research study “CompLife” being conducted in women with breast cancer that connected

 Ali with the MD Anderson team. Ali discusses her role in contributing to the development of the protocol and the food-as-medicine interventions while Robin and Dr. Cohen discuss barriers and successes.

 

Also in this episode:

Nature vs. Nurture the role of genetics vs. environment on cancer

Mindfulness and its importance in successful outcomes

Assessments of cancer risk and ways to monitor

 

Links discussed:

http://www.anticancerbook.com/

http://faculty.mdanderson.org/Lorenzo_Cohen/

 

Guest Bios:

Dr. Lorenzo Cohen is the Richard E. Haynes Distinguished Professor in Clinical Cancer Prevention and Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Cohen is a founding member and past president of the international Society for Integrative Oncology and the vice-chair of the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health. Dr. Cohen is passionate about educating others on how to prevent cancer and maintain optimal health across the lifespan.  As the majority of cancers are preventable, Dr. Cohen is conducting research to demonstrate that lifestyle factors can influence cancer outcomes. Dr. Cohen leads a team conducting NIH-funded research and delivering clinical care of integrative medicine practices such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, massage, diet, exercise, acupuncture and other strategies such as stress management, music therapy, emotional writing and more aimed at reducing the negative aspects of cancer treatment and improving quality of life and clinical outcomes. 

 

Robin Haddad is a doctoral student and research study coordinator at MD Anderson. The Texas Medical Center brought Robin to Houston after a childhood

 illness kept her at Texas Children's Hospital for many a night, from whose Windows she began to appreciate the city and dream of future studies in Houston.  Knowing from an early age she wanted to pursue a career in social epidemiology, she attended the University of Texas School of Public Health soon after graduating from Rice University. An internship at MD Anderson and masters thesis project on yoga and autonomic nervous system function brought her to Lorenzo’s team. After a year of employment with him, because Of her passion for health promotion she was tasked with working alongside him to make the protocol for the comprehensive lifestyle change study turn into a living, breathing , fully operational program. She managed the project and recruited its first participant on the same day as beginning her doctorate program in Behavioral science. She managed the program and its multidisciplinary staff until the birth of her child earlier this year. She continues to be close to the project today working alongside its current team.

 

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY PERFECT SUPPLEMENTS

Music for our sponsored ad is Royalty Free Music from Bensound

Naturally Nourished Episode 35: Boosting Your Mood with Food

Do you or someone you know suffer from anxiety, depression, ADHD, or other mood/cognitive related imbalances? Conventional medicine uses SSRIs, SSNRIs, Amphetamines and other medications to put bandaids on the issue, cause further imbalances. Get to the root of your issues and use Food-As-Medicine to find balanace again!

In this Episode, we talk all about what drive cognitive imbalances and mood disorders. Neurotransmitter imbalance from stress, trauma, micronutrient disorders, GI imbalances and more, Ali  and Carli dive deep into what is happening at the root cause of these common problems. From Serotonin to Glutamate, this episode will cover every neruotransmitter with common symptoms of excess or deficiency and more importantly, how you can rebalance them!

Also in this Episode:

• FAM for balancing Neruotranmitters
• Matcha- the superfood!
• Why should you take l-theanine
• And more!

Naturally Nourished Episode 34: Interview with Brian Williamson of Ketovangelist

Brian Williamson is a Ketogenic Coach with a dedicated following. He has a touching personal story that led him to the Ketogenic way of life and from that has reached thousands of people, supporting them on their own personal journey.

In this Episode, we ask Brian all about his story and how Keto plays a role in his life. From keto sticks to counseling skills, it is clear why Brian is good at his job. Beyond any information shared, one thing is clear, Brian is very passionate about what he does. He cares about people and wants to help them succeed.  Be sure to tune into our first release interview and check out Brian’s site and very successful facebook page:

https://www.ketovangelist.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ketogenicsuccess/

Also in this Episode:

• How Ketovangelist started
• Best way to measure Ketones
• Ketosis and Epilepsy
• And more!

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY PERFECT SUPPLEMENTS

Music for our sponsored ad is Royalty Free Music from Bensound

Naturally Nourished Episode 33: Staying On Track for the Holidays and Navigating Part Foods!

Are you one of those people that gains weight every holiday season just to start a fad diet in January to lose it all? Well let the yo-yo approach end! We have the top tips to keep your waistline in check through the holiday season and prevent the “inevitable” gain from parties and indulgent dinners.

In this Episode Ali and Carli break down the most common pitfalls during the holidays. From dealing with stress to knowing what to eat before and during parties, you will finally get the tools to help you stay on track when it’s most difficult. Don’t know what to do about alcohol? We have you covered! It is most important to go into a party or event with a plan, so tune in and identify your triggers before they throw you off.

Also in this Episode:

• Why Resistance is better than cardio
• What to eat first at dinner
• Importance of hydration
• Volumetrics
• And more!

For more information and resources go to www.alimillerRD.com

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY PERFECT SUPPLEMENTS

Music for our sponsored ad is Royalty Free Music from Bensound

Naturally Nourished Episode 32: Brain Boosting Food

 

Do you ever feel forgetful or that brain fog is interrupting your day to day life? Do you just chalk it up to getting older? In this episode we discuss different reasons why cognitive decline is so prevalent, but more importantly what we can do about using Food-as-medicine! Its undeniable that we all rely on our brain A LOT. Speaking, reading, writing, problem solving, making decisions etc. When we are sluggish or struggling from brain fog it can really affect our lives and functionality. In this Episode Ali and Carli discuss 5 top reasons why people suffer from cognitive decline from refined carbohydrates in the diet to micronutrient deficiencies. Also in this Episode: Importance of omega 3s Bacteria and the brain Neurotransmitters Top supplements to consider: L-Theanine Curcumasorb Curcumasorb Mind Naturally Nourished Baseline Probiotic   THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY PERFECT SUPPLEMENTS   Music for our sponsored ad is Royalty Free Music from Bensound