Radio Naturopath Episode 163: Natural Healing After Surgery, Healthy Eating While Traveling

Today we answered a great question, about natural help for after surgery. All about homeopathic and herbal arnica, St. John's Wort, proteolytic enzymes like bromelain from pineapples and papain from papaya, antioxidants, and topicals like calendula. Also, eat good food and rest, and follow doctor's orders! Common sense.

Also, more health tips for travel! I introduced the ACAI BOWL. My new favorite thing!  It's basically a smoothie in a bowl. It has a bunch of banana and acai, and then you can top with whatever you like! Nuts, seeds, chia, fruit, coconut, you name it. I encouraged people to find healthy choices on the road. Find the produce wherever you can, and don't overdo the heavy starchy stuff. How about just 1 slice of pizza with an antipasto?

Radio Naturopath Episode 162: Interview with Sue Cote: All About Essential Oils!

The brilliant and delightful Sue Cote of Everyday Harvest joined us to show us the joys of essential oils. She taught us about how some companies connect with their herbs in a spiritual way, and tend them with loving care in small batches. She had Ron and me try out some oils and find one that suited each of us. Mine was white sage, since I need relief from dampness, and Ron's was mugwort, because it's a local plant and he's rooted locally and it helps him to be grounded. When she told us about their healing properties, we decided they were well chosen! This is the first Radio Naturopath episode to smell really good. If you focus and inhale, you'll experience it too!

Radio Naturopath Episode 161: Saag Paneer, Hemochromatosis, and Protein Powder, Liquids and Chewables

We talked about a good recipe for SAAG PANEER, which Ron made, an easy way to make it, and why it's so good for you. My favorite Indian dish! Because spinach is a vegetable that is thought to be higher in iron, we talked about hemochromatosis, iron storage disorder, and how to diagnose and treat it. Then I looked it up and found that per cup, kale actually has a bit more iron than spinach, and dandelion greens twice as much! It seems like for mineral content. dandelion greens are way up there. Now I know. So when they have them at the store, or when they're young and fresh in a clean part of the field, EAT 'EM!

Meanwhile, protein powders. We started with the not-vegan ones, and whey and micellar casein are really great for building muscle and supporting immunity. We also talked about the benefits of a few others, such as beef, bovine serum albumin, and bone broth. THEN on to VEGAN! Of the vegans, my personal favorite is yellow pea, because if its diverse amino acids, taste, low allergenicity, and support to the kidneys. But there's also rice, mixed grain protein, and hemp, all good choices; pick your favorite! Also GREEN POWDERS. I like the ones that mix greens, superfruits, chia and flax, and probiotic. We also talked about why liquid fish oil is better than caps, and why gummy supplements are NOT SO GREAT: sugar, and low yields of the nutrients you're trying to get!

Radio Naturopath Episode 160: Ow My Aching Back: Natural Help for Back Pain!

Today I discussed back pain. Ow! Why it happens, and how, and the different conditions that cause it. I talked about core exercises that I do to prevent it. Also ergonomics in the office. And great supplements! Magnesium, esterified fatty acids, fish oil, collagen, curcumin, ginger, bromelain. Also, making sure to stay hydrated! That can help ANY muscle pain. And don't forget the hands-on practitioners: chiropractor, massage therapist, acupuncturist, physical therapist! NOTHING like good physical medicine.

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!