Radio Naturopath Episode 297: St. Patrick's Day, Women in Naturopathic Medicine, Protein Calculators and Shakes

Today we talked about the origin of St. Patrick's Day. Apparently, good ol' Maewyn did NOT physically chase the snakes OR the pagans out of Ireland, but he DID promote and spread the practice of Christianity there. But he wasn't born in Ireland, likely in Wales or Scotland, to a Briton of Roman descent! Who knew. In the US, anywhere where there's lots of Irish (I'm looking at you, Boston, MA) there's a lot of drinkin', partyin', and the wearin' o' the green. In Chicago they dye the Chicago River green, and in New York and lots of other places they have a parade. Everyone is Irish for a day! Many pagans believe that St. Patrick at least sought to replace paganism with Christianity, so don't observe or wear snake jewelry for the day.

In continued celebration of International Women's Month, we profiled another celebrated naturopathic physician, Lise Alschuler, N.D. She is the premier woman naturopathic oncologist in the world!

We got out a protein calculator and figured out that a lot of folks, likely peri- and post-menopausal women, don't eat enough protein, and that may be why they're getting symptoms! Lots of women, especially in this age category, don't eat enough protein, which would likely help them with fat loss. So I recommending mixing animal and vegetable sources to get the right amount of protein. One way to do this is with protein shakes. If you're not dairy intolerant, the best one is whey, but if you are, we discussed alternatives, both animal and vegetable.

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!