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Beyond The Basics Health Academy Podcast

Are you looking for practical, holistic, real-life solutions for healthier living? Join Dr. Meaghan Kirschling for real life education as she discusses and explores topics that affect everyday living. Dr. Meaghan brings in expert guests for a lively discussion about nutrition, supplements, holistic health, integrative medicine, and the latest research on a variety of topics. Join the Academy for the University of You!
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Now displaying: September, 2015
Sep 29, 2015

Men’s levels of testosterone naturally decrease 1% after the age of 30 years of age. There is also andropause where men’s hormones are off later in life. There are ways that you can preserve your levels naturally.

  1. Get the right amount of sleep
  2. Decrease weight and fat
  3. Control stress
  4. Eat less sugar
  5. Do detox to reduce estrogens
  6. Take supplements that help: zinc, DIM, I3C, Liver support, chrysin, saw palmetto
  7. Exercise especially interval training and resistance training
  8. Avoid food sources of estrogen

The website drmercola.com has great tips about how to boost your testosterone naturally.

There are differences between testosterone cream and injections. Injections shut down the production of testosterone. They also raise the testosterone levels drastically at the time of injection but then decrease during the week. So the levels vary. Creams give more stable levels every day. They also seem to have an effect on lipid levels.

Sep 29, 2015

Wendy and Dr. Meaghan discuss different aspects of addiction and how it has been tied to a lack of connection and not just an imbalance in the brain and dopamine. This conversation was stirred by a great talk done by Johann Hari, who has written the book "Chasing The Scream". He spent three years researching the war on drugs. His Ted Talk can be found at this link: http://go.ted.com/b5UU

Here is a good overview of what addiction is from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/addiction.

What Johann Hari found through his research is that many times addiction comes on because there is a lack of connection in other places in someone’s life and the substance fills that void. He relates this to how we should then change the way we approach addiction.

We highly recommend that you listen to the Ted Talk from Johann Hari. It is about 14 minutes and full of great information.

Thanks for listening. Remember to be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices.

Sep 28, 2015

Podcast 059: Book Club 3: The Marshmallow Test by Walter Mischel


Wendy and Dr. Meaghan discuss the last part of the book. This part of the book discusses how the habit of if.. then can be incorporated into your everyday life. He states that we are not necessarily destined to be either individual of self-control or not, but that we have to work on these habits.

This book has a lot of great nuggets of information that can easily be related to everyday life. How you are the master of your own thinking. It is about the balance of the emotional limbic system and the thought-based prefrontal cortex of the brain.

Also, it is great what he says at the end of Chapter 19: “But I can’t end this discussion without reiterating: a life lived with too much delay of gratification can be as sad as one without enough of it. The biggest challenge for all of us- not just for the child- may be to figure out when to wait for more marshmallows and when to ring the bell and enjoy them. But unless we learn to develop the ability to wait, we don’t have that choice.”

Sep 25, 2015

Podcast 058: Diet vs. Supplements: Which is more important?

We talk about what we have noticed with the effects of diet and supplements. Both play a role, but it is important that you are not supplementing a bad diet. When you look at diet, there is a quote that we love “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” By Michael Pollan.

There is a great article about the effects of a Big Mac. Not only does it have white bread that raises the blood sugar but it also has added high fructose corn syrup in the US. The amount of fat also causes the body to react in a negative way.
The article can be found at www.iflscience.com.

Thanks everyone for listening. We are working on a lot of cool things at www.btbha.com. We are starting a newsletter October 1st. If you would like to be included in this newsletter, please sign up by going to our website and sending us a message or signing up for our newsletter. There will be a lot of cool information with each newsletter. Our goal is to share information and streamline what is going on in the health and wellness world.

And remember to be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices.

Sep 24, 2015

Podcast 057: Lyme Support- Supporting Someone with Lyme Disease

Beyond the Basics Health Academy is so happy to be welcoming back Julie Roberts and Patrick Plum. Both of them have been on the show before talking about their stories. Pat was on Episode 23:

http://beyondthebasicshealthacademy.com/podcast-023-the-trouble-with-diagnosing-lyme-disease/

 

And Julie was on Episode 13:

http://beyondthebasicshealthacademy.com/podcast-013-lyme-disease-with-julie-roberts/

 

If you have not listened to those shows, we recommend that you do.

 

Lyme Disease is such a devastating disease that not only affects the person, but also the people that support that person. Many times the family and friends of Lyme patients do not realize the daily struggles of this disease. Julie and Pat discuss the different aspects of Lyme. There is a great article at TiredofLyme.com that discusses these components of Lyme:

  1. They’re not crazy, they’re not lazy, and it’s not all in their head.
  2. They’re not stupid. They’re under the influence.
  3. They’re on a special diet.
  4. They’re not ignoring you. They’re reeling.
  5. Yes, they had to leave their job or drop out of college; or both.
  6. Stop saying “Well, you look healthy to me.”
  7. Yes, they’ve been enduring it for many months or even years.
  8. Treatment makes them feel worse.
  9. They don’t have all the answers.
  10. They’re not bipolar.

 

If you would like to connect with Julie or Pat send us an email at info@btbha.com or find them at Lyme-Aid on Facebook.

 

Thanks so much Pat and Julie for coming back to the BTBHA podcast studio.

 

Be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices.

Sep 23, 2015

Podcast 056: Hodgepodge of the Week

 

Wendy and Dr. Meaghan discuss numerous things that happened in the last few days.

 

Wendy and Producer Scott just watched the new documentary that is available on Netflix called Cowspiracy.  http://www.cowspiracy.com/ It talks about the beef industry and the cover-up with the amount of resources that cows use.  This includes producing large amounts of greenhouse gases and our water supply.  They both thought it was an interesting documentary that was worth seeing and they were addressing a topic that a lot of people are not talking about.  

 

Also we have been looking at crowdfunding for some projects at BTBHA and found one that wants to start utilizing crickets for a source of protein.  They are supposed to be the perfect source of protein without overusing resources like the larger cows.

 

As we continue to grow, please provide feedback and submit questions to www.btbha.com.  We love hearing from our listeners and truly appreciate all the support and feedback.

 

Remember to be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices

Sep 22, 2015

Podcast 055: Natural Cold and Flu Remedies

We talk in this podcast about natural ways to prevent and treat the cold and flu. It is important to make sure that you are strengthening your immune system with specific immune boosters like zinc and vitamin C. Dr. Meaghan highly recommends utilizing essential oils like cloves, cinnamon, oregano, and melaleuca to help with both viruses and bacteria. Wendy also talks about utilizing Echinacea, yarrow, elderberry and other immune boosters when exposed.

 

There is a great article on Wellness Mama titled, 25 Natural Remedies to Beat Cold and Flu on www.wellnessmama.com

 

Thanks for listening.

Be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices

Sep 21, 2015

Podcast 054: Book Club 2 for The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control

We discuss the second part of the book Part II: From Marshmallows in Pre-K to Money in 401(k).  This part talks about how to take self- control and tap into the limbic system and making good choices in life. 

 

This book is full of good information on how to set yourself up for success.  Wendy and Dr. Meaghan discuss the book and how it implies to their lives.  We recommend that you do read this book.  There are so many different themes in this book that relate to a lot of different aspects in life.

 

Thanks for listening.  We got to 5000 downloads and now are in 46 countries.

Be kind to others, Take care of yourself, and Make good choices.

Sep 18, 2015

Podcast 53: Are your supplements really killing you?

Wendy and Dr. Meaghan welcome Dr. Patrick Quigley back to BTBHA podcast.  Today we are talking about the truth behind supplementation.  We review the research and discuss many different issues that are with articles that just completely disregard the need for supplementation.

 

Many times the research that is referenced is flawed by methodology and/or design study.  Many times it is the wrong form of the drug, small dose, or comorbidity of the population that was not properly controlled.  A perfect example of this is the Iowa Women's Study.  Another example is the way that dl-alpha-tocopherol is constantly used in studies to discredit supplementation and Vitamin E.  This is a synthetic Vitamin E that comes from coal tar.  There is a lot of research out there about the benefits and antioxidant power of gamma-tocopheral (a powerful form of Vitamin E).  Even though this natural Vitamin 

E is known to have many positive benefits, research uses the synthetic version and then makes negative claims about all Vitamin E.

 

 

This is a great podcast to listen to as we have a roundtable podcast discussion about the research and clinically what we have seen with supplementation.

Sep 17, 2015

Podcast 52: Ketogenic Diets

Dr. Meaghan and Wendy talk about the benefits of ketogenic diet.  Ketogenic diets focus on high fat, moderate protein, and low/no carbohydrates.  Ketogenic diets focus on utilizing ketones for energy over glucose and carbohydrates.  The power of ketogenic diets has been known since the 1920s and 1930s when it was utilized clinically for epilepsy.  There were dramatic results from putting children with epilepsy on this diet.  This kind of treatment was replaced though anticonvulsants and prescription drugs.  When you are in a ketone producing state your liver produces this source of energy that fuels the body.  Once in ketosis the body prefers ketones to glucose.   There are also benefits with the fact that ketones do not feed foreign cells and tumors like carbs and sugars do. 

 

Ketogenic diets also help to decrease weight because you are not relying on insulin like when you consume a diet higher in carbohydrates.  It also helps to suppress your appetite while carbs stimulate appetite.  Usually the hardest part of doing a ketogenic diet is breaking the addiction to carbs.  Another type of way to incorporate ketogenic diets is by utilizing intermittent fasting.

 

There is new research out there about the benefits of ketogenic diets including possibly helping with cancer, autism, Alzheimers, and diabetes.

 

“Be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices.”

Sep 16, 2015

Podcast 51: Making Good Healthy Choices by Natasha Stergion

 

Wendy and Dr. Meaghan welcome Natasha Stergion, a Certified Health Coach, to the podcast world.  She is a wealth of knowledge about how to implement healthy choices into your lifestyle.  We talk about what hesitations and reservations hold people up from making life changes. 

 

Thanks so much Natasha for coming by the studio and sharing your expertise.  You can email Natasha by natashastergion@comcast.net or by phone (516) 355-8940.

 

Be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices.

Sep 15, 2015

Podcast 50: Importance of Sleep

 

 

 

Wendy and Dr. Meaghan discuss the importance of sleep and what the proper amount of sleep is for optimal health and wellness.  Here is a great article about the pattern of sleep that is best.  It takes about why we should strive to sleep from 10pm-4am (at the bare minimum).  

 

 

 

http://www.brahmacarya.info/2009/12/sleep-by-10pm/

 

 

 

It has been shown that if you don’t get sleep until midnight then every hour is equivalent to two hours before midnight.  It is important to get to bed before 10 pm and get up everyday by a certain time. Research has shown that proper sleep patterns have been linked to various health improvements including better cardiovascular health, less stress, and less risk for many diseases. 

 

 

 

Be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices

 

Sep 14, 2015

 

Podcast 49: The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control by Walter Mischel Book 1

 

 

 

Wendy and Dr. Meaghan discuss the first 7 chapters of the book.  Walter Mischel headed research over 40 years to show the correlation between instant gratification vs. long-term self-control.  We are driven by two different parts of the brain; the emotional limbic system and the self-control prefrontal cortex.  Mischel calls the limbic system the “Go! System” and the prefrontal cortex the “No! System.”  This is because the hot system of the limbic system drives us to make impulsive behaviors and the cold system of the prefrontal cortex drives more thought out decisions.

 

 

 

This is a great book that discusses what drives us to do what we do and how we can teach ourselves to be more prefrontal cortex based.  That children that put off eating one treat for a long period of time for two treats had stronger prefrontal cortex based decisions.  This kind of behavior lead to many different benefits later in life.

 

 

 

Sep 4, 2015

Podcast 048: Intermittent Fasting; What is it all about?

 

 

Intermittent fasting is the act of incorporating eating patterns into your life where you cycle between periods of eating and fasting.

 

 

Eatlocalgrown.com had a great article on fasting titled “What is Intermittent Fasting Explained in Human Terms”.  Despite what you might think intermittent fasting is pretty easy to do and people have more energy. 

 

 

Dailyburn.com has a great article titled “Intermittent Fasting Methods”

 

Wendy loves Bob Tucker!

 

This site talks about the five popular intermittent fasting techniques that many of you might have heard about:

 

1.     Lean Gains- best for dedicated gym goers that want to lose body fat and gain muscle. Women should fast for 14 hours and men for 16 hours. 

 

2.     Eat-Stop-Eat .  Best for healthy eaters looking for an extra boost.  Fast for 24 hours either 1 or 2 days a week.

 

3.     Warrior Diet. Best for people that like to follow rules.  You eat 1 meal a day.

 

4.     Fat Loss Forever.  Best for gym rats that like cheat days.  1 cheat day a week followed by a 36 hour fast.

 

5.     Up Day, Down Day or Alternate Day Diet.  Discipline dieters that have a goal weight.  Eat very little one day (400-500 calories) followed by a larger amount the other day (2000-2500 calories).  States that you should love about 2-2.5 pounds/day.

 

 

There is great research out there about the positive effects of intermittent fasting and health.  Here is a great summary article (it is very scientific based but this is Beyond the Basics Health Academy so many of you will enjoy this literature):

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4352038/

 

There are many proven benefits of intermittent fasting:

 

·      Improved insulin sensitivity. 

 

·      Improve leptin sensitivity

 

·      Changes in gene expression

 

·      Increased Human Growth Hormone.

 

·      Give your body a break- especially the gut

 

·      Reduce oxidative stress

 

·      Improved mitochondrial activity

 

·      By decreasing calories by 30-40% you can increase your life by 1/3.

 

 

Dr. Mercola also has a great article about the benefit of intermittent fasting.  It can be found on fitness.mercola.com.  “Intermittent Fasting Beats Traditional Diets and Even Chronic Calorie Restriction for Weight Loss and Other Health Benefits.”

 

 

If you are finding that you are having a lot of cravings and appetite problems with fasting than chromium, cinnamon, and 5-HTP can help. 

 

Sep 3, 2015

Podcast 047: Change Your Water, Change Your Life

 

Dr. Meaghan and Wendy welcome Julie Roberts and Debbie Carlson to talk about the benefits of ionized water.   They have both incorporated this into their lifestyle and what benefits they have seen. It is interesting to note that Gershon Therapy has now incorporated Kangen water into their therapy. 

 

 

 

Kangen water is ionized water that has three major benefits:

 

1.     Alkaline pH- The alkaline pH allows the body to fight off acidity in the body and function in a more optimal pH level. This allows cells to hydrate better and function in a more optimal range. 

 

2.     Antioxidant and ORP benefits.  We can look at ORP readings to see the level of antioxidant that something possesses.  Being in the negative means that it has an antioxidant effect, while being in the positive means that it causes oxidative stress.  Almost all other drinks including tap water, soda, and fruit juices have a positive ORP and causes oxidative stress.  Kangen ionized water actually has a negative ORP and helps to combat free radical stress on the body.

 

3.     Microclustering.  The ionization actually changes the shape of the water allowing it to penetrate cells more readily.  This leads to more cell hydration and allows the water to be pushed into the cell.

 

 

 

Besides just drinking the water, Julie and Debbie also talk about how you can use the water to clean and wash your body and how they have incorporated the ionized water into other aspects of their lives. 

 

 

 

If you would like more information about Kangen water then you can visit this site: http://www.orginalrx.yourbodyiswater.info.  You can also contact Julie with any questions by emailing her at originalrx@me.com.

 

 

 

You can also find more research about Kangen ionized water by searching www.pubmed.gov.

 

 

 

Water truly is something that everyone needs to survive, why not utilize water that is the best for you and your health.  Thanks Debbie and Julie for stopping by and sharing all this information with us.

 

Sep 2, 2015

 

Podcast 044: Book Club #4: Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes Chapter 14-19

 

 

 

Wendy and Dr. Meaghan finish up the conversation about this fantastic book.  The book talks about how we have gone backwards in the past few decades about calorie-in vs calorie-out.  Gary Taubes gives many different examples in the past of how bread and carbs were known to cause weight gain.  We talk about what does cause weight gain and what we can do to improve weight loss.

 

 

 

Thanks so much for reading the book with us.  Join us for the next book club (The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control by Walter Mischel).

 

 

 

Be kind to others, Take care of yourself and make good choices

 

Sep 1, 2015

 

Podcast 045: Incorporating Exercise Into Your Life

 

Dr. Meaghan and Wendy welcome Tom Alcivar, owner of Train Me Tom, to the show.  Tom has an extensive background in many different training and coaching techniques.  Along with his experience with athletes, he also has an unique educational background that includes sports psychology.  

 

 

 

He talks about the different aspects of training from what it takes to make changes in your life. He address the differences between wants and needs along with perception and motivation.  Tom is also a father of two and discusses the positive effects of training on bonding and parenting.  He discusses many great conversational facts during the podcast.

 

 

 

Tom also has a great website with lots of additional information and blogs.  We recommend that all our listeners check that out at www.trainmetom.com.

 

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