Podcast 075: Happiness
Dr. Meaghan and Wendy tackle the topic of mood and happiness. We discuss various research articles and what is known about different things that affect happiness.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:
Podcast 074: The Truth About the Organic Farming Process
Dr. Meaghan and Wendy welcome to the program Ro Elgas. Ro is the co-creator and co-owner of A Bee Organic, a USDA Accredited Certifying Agent. She has a wealth of knowledge about organic production, methods, cultivation and the inner workings of the industry as a whole. Ro and Sarah Costin co-created A Bee Organic with a mission to treat organic producers humanely through the process. She shares with our listeners lots of great inside information about organic products.
Podcast 073: IV Therapy What You Need To Know
Dr. Meaghan and Wendy discuss one of the latest fads in alternative medicine: IV Therapy. There are many different types of IV therapy, and we discuss the different ones and the benefits.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:
• What is IV therapy?
• What are the most common types of IV therapy including Myer’s Cocktail, Vitamin C, Glutathione, and B shots?
• We also talk about the benefits of hydration therapy
• Who is a good candidate for IV Therapy?
• What to be careful about when choosing a place for IV therapy.
Podcast 072: The Skinny on Obesity
Dr. Meaghan and Wendy discuss the following article http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5644aca1e4b060377347e0b3?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067
We talk about different diets and why they work and why they don't. How it is important to balance all hormones and truly reset your metabolism in order to have the best results and permanent weight loss.
Podcast 071: The Leaky Brain: Brain and Gut Connection
The podcast show is stirred by a recent Huffington Post article. You can read the article at http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6480580. The impact of the microflora in our gut is linked directly to brain function. UCLA researchers have found that probiotics alter the brain function.
An important part of health is our microbiome. The microbiome is the bacteria that make up our ecosystem and is made up of 100 trillion organisms. This compromises 90% of our bodies. This is gut and brain communicate through the nervous system, hormones, and immune system. There is a gut/brain barrier that can be compromised during times of high stress. The microbiome actually can release neurotransmitters and speak to the brain via the vagus nerve. This is very important when realizing the whole realm of how the gut and brain are connected.
Stress and overactive immune system have similar results in the body because our body goes into a protective mood. We start to release inflammatory chemicals called cytokines to activate the inflammatory response. This is meant to protect our body because that is what inflammation does. However, chronic inflammation breaks down our bodies and “creates holes.” We see this in the leaky gut but we also now know there is the leaky brain that goes along with leaky gut. The longer the stress, inflammation, and immune system activation, the more the body has this response.
The leaky brain can start to let other toxins and molecules have access to the brain. A molecule called microRNA-155 is responsible for cleaving epithelial cells to create microscopic gaps. This is shown in research that was published in June 2014 in The FASEB Journal.
More and more research is coming out about gut health and mental issues
May 2013 Swedish study found that anxiety and depression are linked to abdominal problems; both IBS and milder GI symptoms
August 2013 Vanderbilt University study found that adults who had stomach issues as children were 4 to 5 times more likely to have anxiety as adults
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/01/12/mounting-research-shows-gut-brain-connection/79804.html
Podcast 070: How Society is Shifting the Way We Eat
Dr. Meaghan and Wendy discuss a recent New York Times article that talks about how diet habits have changed over the last few years. Here is the link to article:
There is also a great article that we read showed different stats for dietary changes. Here is a link to that article.
http://authoritynutrition.com/11-graphs-that-show-what-is-wrong-with-modern-diet/
It is interesting to see that our dietary habits are changing and this is single-handedly changing what big corporations are doing with food and advertising.
Podcast 069 I Can See Clearly Now
We conclude the book tonight regarding Dr. Wayne Dyer's life and the lessons that he has learned from different situations.
We talk about Chapter 24 when he was faced with a life decision regarding what to do professionally. He talks about how he was almost held back by fear. He left his comfort zone and made a difficult decision that really helped him grow.
This book is a great read and one that we highly recommend.
Next book club is Suzanne Somer's new book "Tox-Sick" Hope you decide to pick up the book and read along with us.
Podcast 068: Visceral Fat- What is it and what can you do about it?
Dr. Meaghan and Wendy tackle the issue of visceral fat on this podcast episode. Visceral fat is the fat that is specifically around the midsection, and it leads to increase in health issues including cardiovascular disease, metabolic concerns, insulin resistance, and an increase inflammatory markers. There truly are more health concerns being an apple shape person vs. a pear-shaped individual.
Fat goes to the visceral area both because of hereditary and hormones. The hormones we can affect with lifestyle choices. We now know that visceral fat is not an inert substance but that it releases its hormones leading to hormonal imbalance and disturbances throughout the body. We now know without doubt that visceral fat is responsible for releasing chemicals that affect the immune system and increase inflammation. These chemicals include cytokines including tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6. These chemicals increase the risk for cardiovascular disease. They also lead to a negative effect on insulin and blood sugars. They can increase blood pressure and have an effect on blood clotting factors.
It is important to focus on losing visceral fat because even 10 pounds can have an extremely positive effect on overall health and wellness (including increasing the longevity of your life).
Ways that you can lower visceral fat:
1. Balance hormones
2. Decrease stress/cortisol- Stress management
3. Sleep better
4. Exercise- especially interval training and cardio
5. Insulin friendly diet- South Beach, Atkins Diet, Low Carb. Low Glycemic Index Diet
6. Green tea (2-3 cups a day)
7. Apple Cider Vinegar- acetic acid can produce proteins that burn fat
8. Monitor your fat- Polyunsaturated fats are good. Saturated fats lead to more visceral fat.
9. Intermittent fasting
10. Increase protein intake
As always, thanks so much for listening. Remember to be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices.
Podcast 067: We're Back.
After a few weeks of crazy, hectic life, Dr. Meaghan and Wendy are glad to be back with podcasts. In this episode, we talk about what we have been up to and what exciting changes ar coming to Beyond the Basics Health Academy.
We discuss some of the major health and wellness topics that have come up. The most major news article was the WHO (World Health Organization) came out and said that processed meat causes cancer. This includes bacon, sausage, hot dogs, spam and other processed meat. New York Times does a good job of breaking down the research and true concerns.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/sunday-review/so-will-processed-meat-give-you-cancer.html?_r=0
One of the interesting aspects is that smoking increases your chance of cancer sometimes in your life by 2500 times. Eating two pieces of bacon a day increases your risk of cancer by 6%.
We also discuss how Tom Brady talked on a Boston radio show about the negative effects of coke on children's health. Here is a link to what he said:
http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-brady-calls-coca-cola-poison-2015-10
We are excited to be back and start podcasting again. We have many great podcast topics coming up in the next few episodes and great guests lined up. We are also working on the supplement line and new courses. So make sure to stay connected with us through our website and signing up for our newsletter on our website at www.beyondthebasicshealthacademy.com.
Podcast 066: Habits with Mark Schneider
Wendy and Dr. Meaghan are excited to welcome back Mark Schneider to discuss habits. He discusses what leads us to form habits and what it is needed to change your habits. He brings up fascinating points that will help with life, health, relationships and professional goals. He discusses the role of culture on habits and how we have to change our mindset and culture to really change habits.
This is a podcast you will not want to miss. It makes you think of a lot of different aspects of habits and how to approach changing your habits. Thanks Mark for coming back on BTBHA.
Remember to be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices.
Podcast 065 Emotions and Health
Dr. Meaghan and Wendy welcome back Dr. Patrick Quigley to discuss what role emotions play in your overall health. There truly is a triad of health that includes physical, emotional, and chemical balance. Many times the emotional aspect is not addressed as much as the other two pillars of health. This does not mean that it is not vital for healing.
Dr. Patrick Quigley provides great references and research that show the connection of emotional health with total health. He shares many different interesting and thought-provoking research articles.
Podcast 064: Book Club I Can See Clearly Now by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Podcast 063: Candida
Dr. Meaghan and Wendy talk about Candida. Candida is a fungal infection that causes a disruption on numerous levels. These are individuals that have a laundry list of symptoms ranging from digestive concerns to brain fog and skin issues.
One of the best ways to screen for Candida is to do a questionnaire. There are numerous ones that you can find online. There is also a spit test where you spit into the water and let it sit and see the consistency of your spit. It is also possible for a functional medicine doctor to take a stool sample and assess for Candida. Many times, though, these tests will provide a false negative and not reveal the Candida even though it is there.
For treatment, it is necessary to go after it with supplements and diet. You must avoid sugar, yeast, and other molds to make sure that you are not feeding the Candida. You will also want to take digestive aids and need to be on HCl, digestive enzymes, and probiotics. To kill off the yeast, you will need to add a supplement with oregano oil, caprylic acid, and berberine.
After you have successfully treated the Candida, it is important to make sure to repair the gut and restore the proper integrity of the digestive system.
It can be very difficult to treat Candida, and it is important to make sure that you have the proper support needed.
Thanks so guys for listening and remember to be kind to others, take care of yourself, and make good choices.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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
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.
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.”
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.
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
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.
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.
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.