Radio Naturopath Episode 454: Summer Produce and The Farmers' Markets

Speaking of summer, I felt inspired to talk about the health benefits of all the great produce that's available right now. Tomatoes for lycopene and cancer prevention. Berries for antioxidants. Cherries for sleep! Also, we discussed all the terrific benefits of shopping at your local farmers market, not the least of which is if you're going to buy celeriac from Anita, she'll tell you a great way to cook it! But even better, fresh, nutritious, low carbon footprint, meet your friends and neighbors, and DOGS!

Radio Naturopath Episode 453: How Sleep Affects Hormones

Ron and I are happily improving! I'm back on the bike and we're both getting our strength back. Rest, treatment, smart training, the right supplements. I hope it all keeps progressing! 

This week I talked about the interaction of sleep and hormones. Ideally, we should generally get between 7-9 hours of sleep for good health and specifically hormonal function. In order to have a good interaction of melatonin and cortisol, one sleep-inducing, the other for energy, 7-9 hours is ideal! Also for healthy reproductive function, weight, mood, and immunity: all the hormones that manage these bodily functions benefit from adequate sleep. So don't skimp! Have a wind-down routine, make sure the room is dark and cool, don't overdo sugar and carbs. Sleep is one of the most healing things you can do!

Radio Naturopath Episode 452: Low Impact Plyometrics, Exercise for Menopause and Osteoporosis

This week we went on to talk about plyometrics that you can do that don't affect the knees and hips especially if you have trouble with those. Hint: get a medicine ball! Carrying and tossing a heavy ball can be really helpful without the need for jumping. We also talked about more helpful exercises for menopause, especially dancing! And the important ways to build bone density. 

Radio Naturopath Episode 451: Sunscreens and Toxicity, Menopause and Exercise

This week, I got deeper into sunscreens. Avobenzone and octabenzone: BAD. And I found out that one of my favorite SPF-containing face lotions has avobenzone in it! And I cleared out most of my sunscreens except for the ones with zinc oxide in them! Sheesh. Turns out those two are the worse offenders, and are hormonal disrupters, and if you go to the drugstore or supermarket and look at the display, most of the sunscreens contain either or both of those! BEST is too find sunscreens with either titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, which sit on your skin, reflect the sun, and aren't absorbed. The only thing is to avoid sprays, because you can inhale the metallic microparticles. 

We started by reviewing Stacy Sims's recommendations for post-menopausal women and exercise. What's best? Living heavy stuff, and short intervals! Intervals of at lest 60 seconds promote increased cortisol, so keeping it to around 30 seconds is best. She also recommends plyometrics, which can involve a lot of jumping. There ARE ways to do low impact plyometrics, and we'll talk about that next week!

Radio Naturopath Episode 450: Brain Freeze, Hydration, Summer Heat, Bug Spray

I thought it would be useful to review help for surviving the heat. We talked about BRAIN FREEZE, which has real medical causes but is generally not a terribly serious condition! We also talked about hydration, how to keep cool in the heat, natural sunscreens like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, and natural insect repellents like lavender, garlic, cinnamon, lemon eucalyptus, and rose geranium. It's that time of year!

Radio Naturopath Episode 449: Supplements and Herbs for Hypertension; Energy Drinks

This week we got a little more into herbs and supplements for high blood pressure. Lots of people struggle with it, even while on meds. There are so many causes and you can help it from a number of different directions, and these can help. So can basic lifestyle changes like more rest and sleep, eating lots of produce, and limiting sugar, caffeine, and processed foods. We also talked about Energy Drinks: yay or nay? 

Radio Naturopath Episode 448: Supplements for Hypertension, Healing Lyme Summit 2024

This week, I talked about the no-charge Healing Lyme Summit that is being presented by Myriah Hinchey, N.D., and Richard Horowitz, M.D., a virtual summit that can be viewed from June 4-10, 2024. There's lots of talks about protocols and treatments to help with healing from Lyme. There's also opportunities to connect with other folks who are dealing with Lyme in various ways: patients, caregivers, family, and practitioners. Lots of great information! It's available at https://drtalks.com/lyme-summit-2024/

I also moved along with supplements to help with hypertension, and will talk more next week!

Radio Naturopath Episode 447: More Medial Collateral Care, Microbiome, Sleep and GABA

This week., I am STILL limping on that MCL sprain/mensicus issue! More interesting stuff, like having to use a hinged brace, heavy and hot in June! And more staying off the bike.  I was a lot better a few days ago and rode a couple of days and  now I'm set back; obviously not healed yet. HInged brace, exercises, rest, ice, elevation, specific exercises. Unlikely need for surgery! We also went back to discussing the microbiome, GABA, and sleep, and there are easy ways to improve sleep by eating the right foods and getting the right probiotics. We touched on help for high blood pressure and we'll pick up on that next week.

Radio Naturopath Episode 446: Natural Help for Sprain/Strain, GABA, the Microbiome, and Sleep

This week, I talked about my knee injury! There are great natural ways to help with knee pain, as long as the injury isn't TOO severe. I had marked knee pain for a few days that rapidly improved with the right care! Rest, ice, compression, elevation. Helpful salves. Chiropractic and acupuncture. Kinesio tape! PT exercises. All good stuff! Also, it's strawberry season, and the first strawberries have come out. Here's why they're good for you! We finished with starting to review one more talk from the CNPA summit, about GABA, the microbiome, and sleep. Did you know that Camden, NJ and Detroit, MI are the worst places to try to get enough sleep? I wonder how that compares to East Windsor, NJ, where I grew up??? 

Radio Naturopath Episode 445: Helminths, Naturopathic History, Natural Hormone Replacement

This week, I had MORE to talk about from the CNPA conference. So much great stuff! I started with Lyme disease causing arrhythmias. Lindsey Wells talked about the use of HELMINTHS, yes, WORMS, as a probiotic treatment epecially in the autism spectrum, and for PANS and PANDAS. Then we moved on to a GREAT talk from my friend and classmate Lorilee Schoenbeck all about the history of naturopathic medicine. Way to get inspired again! Then Robyn Kutka gave a great talk about natural hormone replacement therapy. Seems we don't need to be as cautious as we thought, and it can be very helpful!