Nutrition Mission

February 2, 2015KanodiaMDNutrition Mission

It’s the final week of the Good Day Columbus, 30- Day Nutrition Mission for Carolyn Bruck and me. The time has flown by and I’m a little sad that the time has gone by so fast. Carolyn has been a great patient and has worked diligently on her goals and is reaping the benefits.

Today, in Carolyn’s Blog, www.loveliestlife.com she addresses the value she has discovered by being “Mindful.” To many, the concept of Mindfulness is a new term. Simply put, Mindfulness is the skill of becoming aware and not judging yourself for what you should or shouldn’t have done. It is a tool that allows us to be less reactive to what is happening in the moment. To be Mindful, is to be in the present moment and look at things objectively without distractions that keep us in a state of stress.

So many of us spend time upset about what we did in the past that we clearly can’t change or what we “need” to do in the future that we clearly can’t predict or control. Peace of mind occurs when we live in the moment and experience the joy of that moment and become aware of our reactions.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t establish goals for ourselves and plan for our future. It means that we don’t spin our wheels all day long worrying about it. Worrying is a major energy drain and doesn’t have any action associated with it. Worry creates massive stress and at the end of the day the worrying doesn’t do anything other than damage our health and keep us in a state of chronic upset.

Here are a few tips to begin a Mindfulness practice:

1. Set aside five minutes upon waking to sit quietly and breathe gently through the nose. Eventually work up to twenty minutes and watch what happens.

2. Anytime a worry or stress comes up, take a minute to begin to gently breath through your nose. This will begin to bring down the stress.

3. Journal at night before going to bed. Take all of your worries, write them down and put the journal away. This can help stop the mind from spinning and worrying and help with a better night’s rest

4. Once per day practice being in the moment and release self- judgement about what you should or shouldn’t have done. We can’t change the past and we can’t predict the future.

5. Limit sugar, alcohol and processed foods. These items can wreck havoc on our neurological systems and can greatly contribute to stress.

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January 26, 2015KanodiaMDNutrition Mission

TV Anchor, Carolyn Bruck is starting her third week of the Good Day Columbus, Nutrition Mission. Carolyn has embraced a new way of eating, is sleeping more hours and has implemented her personalized supplement regime.  Congratulations Carolyn!!  Carolyn mentions, she isn’t sure what each supplement is doing for her, but she says she is feeling “much better.”  Likely this is a result of Carolyn’s customized protocol and her willingness to make changes.   Her pgoram is personalized, multifaceted and includes several targeted supplements, specific to helping Carolyn achieve her health goals.

The supplement industry has exploded over the last decade with more and more people taking various forms of supplements, such as vitamins, minerals and herbs. Any one of these or all of these can be enormously helpful to transform health but many people run into problems from self prescribing and buying poorly formulated supplements that have no quality control.

To maximize the positive effects of supplements, first and foremost be cautious about self- prescribing.  I find this to be the number one challenge with supplement usage. Shows like Dr. Oz have created much focus on supplements and while this is great, its important not to overload the system or take supplements that aren’t right for you.

Bio-individuality and personalization is critical when considering taking supplements. When it comes to taking supplements, this well known quote can be applied, “one man’s wine is another man’s poison.” The most effective way to create a proper supplement program is to work with a health professional trained in proper prescribing of supplements. Once your supplement program is started, it’s very important to review your program every three months as your health changes and your requirements become different.

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January 22, 2015KanodiaMDNutrition Mission

Congratulations to Carolyn for making a new recipe of roasted brussel sprouts! Yum! Looks like the Good Day Columbus, Nutrition Mission is inspiring Carolyn to cook.

Carolyn is a great example of trying new things in her efforts to transform her health. Often in our practice, patients initially say, “nutrition changes are difficult.” What we’ve discovered is that the changes aren’t so much difficult as they are unfamiliar and repetitive healthy behaviors tend to eventually become very easy.

When people start to feel healthier and the nutrition and lifestyle changes are the reasons why, the once “difficult” changes end up being embraced, enjoyed and appreciated.

Thank you, Carolyn for being so inspiring and willing to try new things for your health and wellbeing.

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January 20, 2015KanodiaMDNutrition Mission

It’s a delight to hear that Carolyn is already having success with her number one goal to more sleep.

Insomnia and sleep deprivation can wreck havoc with health.  It creates a host of issues, not the least of which is inability to simply function on a day- to- day basis. Daily energy can be severely depleted and coping skills almost non existent if sleep is missing.

Carolyn is an excellent student and immediately incorporated several important steps to increase her nightly sleep. As we discussed in an earlier blog, Carolyn is going to bed two hours earlier and this one step has increased her sleep to 6 hours per night.  Go Carolyn!

Carolyn also agreed and is having good success journaling before she goes to bed. Insomnia can be caused by many things,  but worrying or mind spinning can keep a person up for hours. The simple act of journaling before going to bed can help to stop this mind spinning and worry. By writing down worries, upsets, to do lists, etc. it allows the mind to put these things on paper and let go of them. Think of the journal as a depository of those things that are keeping you awake at night. They can sit in your journal while you sleep. Its like taking those items off the “worry plate” and letting them live in your journal.

Check out Carolyn’s comments about her sleep improvement at her blog, www.loveliestlife.com

Wishing you all some extra snoozing time.

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January 19, 2015KanodiaMDNutrition Mission

It’s Day 8 for Carolyn Bruck as she forges ahead with her Good Day Columbus, 30 Day Nutrition Mission.

On Carolyn’s Blog, www.lovliestlife.com she sheds light on the important point of Bio-individuality. The reality is that everyone is unique and there isn’t a one size fits all diet. Personalizing food plans based on Carolyn’s goals and needs and being willing to switch gears is where the opportunity for transformation is most likely.

For a week, good sport Carolyn heroically ate more meat as she attempted to follow her initial recommended Paleo program. After a week of meat, Carolyn was meated out and it was clear that a plant -based diet would best serve her.

Thank you Carolyn for speaking up! Certainly a plant based nutrition plan has many benefits and offers excellent nutrients. Many people report a sense of balance and well being when eating a plant based diet though over time adding some clean animal protein generally optimizes overall health.

Here’s a recipe for a nutritious plant based low sugar smoothie:

• One cup of unsweetened coconut or almond milk or coconut water
• One organic apple
• ½ of an avocado
• ½ tablespoon of coconut oil
• 1½ cups of fresh spinach
• Four raw walnuts
• Juice from ½ of a fresh lime
• One tablespoon of raw almond butter

Mix ingredients in high- speed blender like a VitaMix or Nutribullet and add about 4 ice cubes after blending the ingredients.

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January 15, 2015KanodiaMDNutrition Mission

I'm really loving working with Good Day Columbus TV News Anchor, Carolyn Bruck to help her achieve her goals during the GDC 30- Day Nutrition Mission. Carolyn says she wants and needs more sleep. Hmm, seems like today she wanted a Donut, by her own admission of her DonutGate proclamation on her Loveliest Life Blog. Three bites isn't so bad Carolyn and tomorrow is a new day!

But the sugar in that donut isn't going to be much help in the sleep department. Yes, that's right sugar can wreck havoc in just about every area of health including sleep. Though there will be no penance today for partaking in the evil donut, as your doctor and cheerleader, we might have to have a good sit down talk if these donuts keep appearing on the set.

Carolyn has to be at Good Day Columbus by 4:00 a.m. and that requires her to wake up at 2:45 a.m. I was taken aback to learn that Carolyn has been existing on 4 hours or less of sleep per night. And I have to say that even with that small amount of sleep, Carolyn looks darn good!

This kind of early wake up time can seriously impact the ability to get proper rest and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. Carolyn took her first step to improve her sleep a few nights ago by going to bed two hours earlier than normal and Voila she's now getting 6 hours of sleep per night. In the next few weeks, Carolyn’s goal is to sleep a minimum of 6 hours per night on the weekdays and on the weekends 8 or 9 hours per night.

Not being able to fall asleep or stay asleep has reached epidemic proportion. The reality is that sleeping is a basic human function, yet why does proper sleep elude so many of us? Sleeping difficulty or insomnia is no light matter and can wreck havoc on your physical and mental health. Ideally, most adults require about 8 hours of sleep every night to feel rested and refreshed. But the percentage of people who sleep that optimal 8 -hour number is getting fewer and fewer. Here are possible causes of lack of sleep:

• consuming too much caffeine
• drinking alcohol
• dehydration
• a bedroom  environment that is not conducive to sleeping
• too much excitement at night
• too much sleep during the day
• lack of exposure to sunlight
• getting up at night to go to the bathroom
• physical pain
• stress, depression or anxiety
• prescription medications
• excessive travel (jet lag)
• too much stimulation before bedtime (such as working on the computer, watching video games, watching TV or exercising late at night)

To determine the cause of your sleepless nights, consider keeping a sleep diary for one week. By recording your entire day's activities, you will likely uncover the cause(s) of your sleep deprivation. Here are some suggestions of what to include in your sleep diary:

1. The time you went to the bed and woke up
2. What you eat at every meal and snack
3. What you drink throughout the day and what time you drink alcohol or caffeine
4. Daily medications
5. Activity level/exercise
6. Stressors
7. Amount of time you spend on your computer, iPad, iPhone, watching TV, etc. and what time you turn off the last device

Tomorrow, learn more tips to solve your insomnia as we continue following Carolyn Bruck on transforming her health.

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January 13, 2015KanodiaMDNutrition Mission

Whether it’s managing stress, losing weight, eating healthier or sleeping better, most of us know what we “need” to do, but often have resistance when it comes to taking the steps necessary to achieve results. We may want to change and at times take steps to change but most of the time the changes don’t stick.

When changes do tend to stick is when there is a plan created that includes accountability and a sense of community. Trying to make health changes in isolation is difficult if not impossible but when there is someone or a group encouraging you on your journey then the magic begins to happen.

The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of usand incorporated into our common life”— Jane Addams

Kanodia MD is part of a  30- day Nutrition Mission with Good Day Columbus TV Anchor, Carolyn Bruck. Join us each day as we go on a journey with Carolyn and watch her health transformation.

Her first goal is to have improved sleep. Tomorrow learn how Carolyn quickly added two extra hours of sleep and is already feeling more refreshed when she wakes up.

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