Radio Naturopath Episode 159: #neveragain Gun Control Is a Public Health Issue; Natural Help for High Blood Pressure

After the shooting in Parkland, Florida, I felt that I had to say something on the air. Civilians possessing semi-automatic rifles is a public health issue. In countries around the world where there were mass shootings, access to guns was restricted and the number of mass shootings dropped precipitously. There are other reasons why a disturbed young man would walk into a classroom and wreak such horror, but if said person didn't have access to an AR-15, he would not have been able to commit this horrific act. I touch on reasons why such a person might seek out the gun, such as isolation, poor nutrition, poor access to mental health care. But I think restricting access to these powerful weapons of war is the most important change we can make to prevent this from continuing to happen.

High blood pressure! Hypertension! There's great stuff that can help, from the simple to the sublime. Drinking plenty of water, magnesium, hawthorn, rest, meditation, nature, coenzyme Q10, and much more can help with blood pressure!

Radio Naturopath Episode 158: Chocolate, Cocoa and Your Health: How It's Good For You!

 I talked a little about the origins of Valentine's Day, which aren't so great. Like, did you know that the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia from February 13-15, during which time the main took goats and sheep and hit women with them? The women would line up for it, because they thought it would help their fertility! And then, the emperor Claudius executed two different dudes named Valentine two different years on February 14. Shakespeare helped to make it more of a romantic holiday. Thank goodness.

So CHOCOLATE. The higher flavanol content, the more antioxdants! Flavanols can protect against cardiovascular disease by lowering cholesterol and improving cardiac function. The antioxidant activity helps them to protect against cancer. They also help to regulate blood sugar, and improve cognition! Chocolate makes you healthy AND smart. But you have to eat the dark kind to get the antoxidant benefit. And if you eat at least 40 g/day (1.4 oz, or 1/2 to slightly more than 1/2 of a 70%+ chocolate bar/day), you can increase your exercise performance! 

Radio Naturopath Episode 157: Interview with Diane Dorfer of Cobblestone Farm, Know Your Farm Fair; and Celeste Kurz of Spring Valley Student Farm, A UConn Learning Experience!

Today, Diane Dorfer was one of our guests. She lives down the road from Ron and me with her lovely husband Bryan Connolly and their two awesome kids, William and Cordelia! Diane and Bryan have this great farm, Cobblestone Farm, on Bassetts Bridge Road in Mansfield. They run a CSA out of it, and also sell at the Storrs Farmers Market. I have eaten their food, and it's awesome, especially Bryan's special PSYCHEDELIC HYBRIDIZED TOMATOES! Bryan is a Seed Saver, and preserves great varieties of seeds for posterity. He is a professor of botany at Connecticut College in New London. Diane came on to talk about farming, and also to promote the Know Your Farm Fair in Willimantic on February 24, 2018, at Windham Town Hall! There will be many farmers there, workshops and talks, and good farm stuff. We also had Celeste Kurz, who is an agriculture student with a Spanish minor and the treasurer of the Spring Valley Student Farm, and she was promoting the Farm Day here at UConn where students can get to know the farm, on March 23 from 4-6 PM! Spring Valley Student Farm is about five miles from the main Storrs campus, and students can go there and work and learn all about farming!

Radio Naturopath Episode 156: How Sweet It Is: Natural and Artificial, From Aspartame to Sucanat!

While it's not good to eat sweet stuff ALL the time, we know yer gunna. So, I talk about a few different sweeteners and whether they're good for you or not. It seems like aspartame is problematic. It can cause brain tumors, and at least brain damage! It breaks down into phenylalanine (not so bad), apartic acid which is a neurotoxin, and methanol which is a GENERAL toxin. The cutoff is 40 mg/kg body weight, but that is a general cutoff and it's possible that it could cause damage in doses lower than that. Sucralose (the active ingredient in Splenda) doesn't appear to be as potentially toxic as aspartame. It also hasn't been on the market as long. We can assume there's at least going to be digestive issues since it can't be absorbed. Then on to stevia, which is MUCH better for you and may actually have some blood sugar regulating properties. There are some studies that show that it's effective against Lyme disease spirochetes! The down side is some preparations have a bitter aftertaste, but I find that it depends on what it's in. I also discuss erythritol, the sugar alcohol that's least likely to give you GI upset because it IS absorbed and excreted in the urine. None of these non-sugars taste exactly like sugar, so let's talk about some interesting sugars! First of all, white sugar is bleached with chemicals and has all the nutrition taken out, so all you get is stuff that can cause you to gain weight and eventually give you diabetes and high cholesterol. ALL true sugars in quantity have that potential, but some in moderation are more natural and actually have some nutrition. We talked about evaporated cane juice (Sucanat/Rapadura), muscovado, piloncilo, demerara, and turbinado, all having varying degrees of  molasses, fluid and nutrition, and all varying in earthiness, so you have to experiment with various recipes for best flavor. Then, there's my favorite caloric sweetener, coconut sugar. It's really evaporated coconut palm sap, so still contains nutrition, and has a starch called inulin, a prebiotic that's good for your gut flora. It's lower calorie and raises your blood sugar less. Last for today was YACON, a tuber from South America. They make a syrup out of it, and it really has a lot of health benefits, like anti-cancer, immune boosting, appetite suppressing, weight loss, and lowering cholesterol. Watch this space for more info on sweet stuff!

Radio Naturopath Episode 155: Radio Naturopath Episode 155: Keto Diet, Opioid Addiction, Apple Cider Vinegar, and More: Most Googled Questions of 2017!

Apparently, lists are all the rage. (You won’t BELIEVE #6!) So, I looked up the most Googled health questions of 2018, and answered them! Stuff like: what’s the keto diet? What’s opioid addiction? What is lupus? Why is coconut oil bad for you? (It’s NOT, unless it is!) What’s apple cider vinegar good for? Also, there was a call about my take on the flu shot, so I once again reminded people of the pros and cons, especially just because you’ve gotten the shot, doesn’t mean you have a free pass, and you still have to take care of your immune system, take your elder syrup, use your neti pot and gargle!

Radio Naturopath Episode 154: Review of Weight Loss Plans and Mindful Eating

Today I went into detail about the different weight loss programs people try and how if they’re too restrictive, they tend not to be sustainable, and I supported the idea of mindful eating. That most people need to move more and eat MOSTLY, if not ALL plants. Whether you’re a vegetarian or not, you SHOULD be eating mostly whole vegetables and fruits! Nuts and seeds if you’re not allergic. So in the end, I encouraged people to eat their fruits and veggies, be mindful, and work in their favorite foods occasionally! And move, move, move!

Radio Naturopath Episode 153: Happy New Year! Easy and Hard: How to Periodize in your Workout and Life; Success/Failure vs. Life as a Practice/Journey

We started off talking about the myriad of weight loss programs being advertised in every form of media: social, TV, radio of all kinds, even that old school deal, print! And how weight is a pressing issue in the US because >70% people have a BMI that puts them into that category. Before we had a chance to review programs and what works and what doesn't, I talked about my main new year's resolutions. One: Periodization. In my workouts, having hard days followed by easy days; respecting what I've done by harmonizing it with what I do next. I also hope to strive to do this in my everyday life: pair hard workdays with good quality rest, and also having down time that is just for me to recharge. I also talked about focusing in life on Practice instead of Success/Failure; instead of seeing something that doesn't come out the way you want as a failure, simply troubleshoot, fine tune and continue the journey! If you're not afraid of failure you're more likely to try and do more stuff. I also want to REALLY PRACTICE letting other people be who they are. 

Radio Naturopath Episode 152: Natural Medicine at the Drugstore; Staying Healthy in the Cold; Itchy Eyes

I took a little jaunt to the local drugstore and see what they had for herbal medicine. I found some nuggets: you DON'T have to get Vic's Vapo Rub which has PETROLEUM JELLY in it; there's a couple of brands which have shea butter, beeswax, and coconut oil in them, and no petroleum products! Also, I found shower tabs that fizz on your shower floor and smell like eucalyptus. And natural honey cough syrup, which works better than many pharmaceutical compounds! Speaking of which, guaifenesin tabs and liquids without other stuff in it are fine, as long as the only active ingredient is guaifenesin. It's a natural mucus thinner! Also, I read the Town of Mansfield's advisory about the cold, where the warming centers are, and their advice on staying warm. And I answered a call for help with itchy eyes! Whatever you put in them, make sure it's STERILE, although eyebright and black teabags don't necessarily have to be. 

Radio Naturopath Episode 151: Hurray for Jones, Remembering Myron Storch, Flu Vaccine Only Gives 10% Protection??

Today's Radio Naturopath did a Hurray for Justice since we have No Moore and Yes Jones in Alabama. I also remembered my father a bit, since this is the first anniversary of his death on December 13, 2016, and a little about grief. Then I went on to rant about the 10% success rate of the flu vaccine, and reminded people that if they get a vaccination, it doesn't just give them a pass to be cavalier about catching stuff. You still have to neti, gargle, take elder, exercise, rest, and eat your veggies! 

Radio Naturopath Episode 150: Interview with Selene Yeager, the Fitchick! Nutrition and Sensible Fitness Training!

This week we interview SELENE YEAGER, the FitChick of Bicycling Magazine! She writes for them every month about fitness and nutrition. She is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer and USA Cycling Coach! And she has lots of sensible opinions about nutrition and fitness for athletes and the newbie alike! Listen to Selene's intelligent, down-to-earth advice.