How to Turn Your Food Into Medicine
Episode 127
In today’s episode of Integrative Wellness Radio, Dr. Nicole Rivera and Integrative Practitioner, Grace Farren uncover the leading causes of stress in the body, how inflammation can present itself, and the food-as-medicine approach to countering inflammation. You will also learn the ins and outs of detoxification through food (hint: it's more than sprinkling charcoal on everything!) as well as what food CAN'T fix. Dr. Nicole and Grace will touch on the integrative testing approach they practice at IWG that ranges from food allergies to hormonal imbalances and much, much more. This episode of IWR was originally recorded and released as a live webinar. Click the links below to access Grace’s grocery shopping guide and superfood checklist! Grocery Shopping Superfood Checklist Interested in working with IWG? Book a complimentary consult call to learn more using this link: https://bit.ly/IWRcall2021 Noteworthy Time Stamps: 02:56 Dr. Nicole’s frustrations with nutrition 09:18 How your food can create toxic overload 11:03 Why no diet is forever 14:07 Leveraging strategy in your diet and nutrition 18:26 Why all superfoods are not always “super” 23:49 All wine is not created equal 30:04 Real food, fake food 32:41 Want to make the changes? Take it piece by piece 35:26 Natural flavors: the kiss of death 39:56 Choosing the right animal proteins 46:44 Why you can’t digest fiber 52:01 Getting back to REAL food 1:02:51 Food can heal you or hurt you 1:15:36 IWG’s approach to nutrition, testing, and healing
Topics: food, nutrition, medicine, integrative, because, nicole, inflammation, diet
Key takeaways from this episode
- Nicole to learn more about the top trends in integrative medicine to learn about what the limitations are with testing and what you can do to start your health journey.
- And, uh, we are here to really address the biggest things that you guys are confused around food and nutrition.
- So, we work side by side here at Integrative Wellness Group.
- But, tonight we're really focused on a big part of what we do, which is focused around nutrition because it's super, super important.
- And I would say one thing that I want you guys to take away from this is that we're not going to sit here and talk about an elimination diet.
Pull quotes
Imagine if Medicine actually looked at you as a whole opposed to looking at you as a bunch of separate systems.
Nicole to learn more about the top trends in integrative medicine to learn about what the limitations are with testing and what you can do to start your health journey.
Hey, So, tonight, uh we are talking about how to transform your food into medicine, but also how food could be anti-medicine.
Transcript
How to Turn Your Food Into Medicine. Imagine if Medicine actually looked at you as a whole opposed to looking at you as a bunch of separate systems. Dive into Integrative Wellness Radio with Dr. Nick and Dr. Nicole to learn more about the top trends in integrative medicine to learn about what the limitations are with testing and what you can do to start your health journey. Hi, everyone. Hey, So, tonight, uh we are talking about how to transform your food into medicine, but also how food could be anti-medicine. So, get ready because you know that we love to throw stuff out you that you're just like, what? Like, Holy crap, I didn't know that. And, uh, we are here to really address the biggest things that you guys are confused around food and nutrition. But, of course, we're going to be circling this back to really understanding the big picture as to why you may have hit plateaus in your nutrition journey, as well. So, there is a lot of confusion navigating everything from superfoods, things to throw in your smoothies. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, you know, what the heck to buy and what do the ingredients mean. So, we're giving you some of our top things that we really love. All right, guys. So, because we love to talk, or at least I do, um if you are new to us and our practice, I am Dr. Nicole. I'm Grace. So, we work side by side here at Integrative Wellness Group. We do a lot of amazing things here, and I'm definitely going to fill you in on what those things are. But, tonight we're really focused on a big part of what we do, which is focused around nutrition because it's super, super important. But, we both know that there is a ton of misconceptions around it. Yeah, yeah. And I would say one thing that I want you guys to take away from this is that we're not going to sit here and talk about an elimination diet. We're not going to talk about, you know, your traditional keto diet, or paleo and how everybody needs to do the same thing. We're going to help you understand, you know, what a diet should look like and how it should be used as a tool. Right. And also how your life should not be about elimination and deprivation. Yeah. Because that is, is key. It's that, it's all about balance and that brings us to things we're going to talk about today. It's how many things that are allowed to be sold on the market and how many things that are in the foods that we're eating that are deemed Chemicals, or carcinogenic. So, get ready, people. Hold on to your seats. You know, for me, one of the reasons that we have evolved into who we are now, is partly because I was very frustrated with nutrition and and what I mean by that is when I started to get into this world, and I started to understand, you know, functional integrative medicine. there was a lot of the same information circulating and a lot of it was eliminate this, eliminate that, anti-inflammatory, detox foods, you know, juice, smoothie, kale, this, that. Yeah. And for me, I grew up in a family, we're Italian. So, of course, we grew up with not necessarily the healthiest foods. But, everything that we did was quality time was around food. And when I started to eliminate and really deprive myself, I was missing out on things that were really important to me from a values perspective. And I just was like there has to be more. There has to be a better way to go about this that there can be balance and that I'm not always cutting things out. Yeah. And that kept me really trying to evolve and understand the deeper rootedness of what it looks like to heal and it wasn't just about removing things out of my life. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think that from a similar standpoint my journey was a little different because I was always in pain. And as an athlete growing up, being in chronic pain, that I couldn't describe, whether it was structural, or whether it was more anatomical was difficult as a kid. And as, like, a young adult to talk about. And so, my that led me to nutrition and it led me to elimination diets and it led me eventually to eating more plants and understanding food and even though I went down the more traditional route to begin with, it got me to where I am today. So, it got me to this level of understanding integrative health and functional medicine. 100%. Disclaimer for you guys is that listen, we know that some of you are here because you have hit a plateau with changing your diet. We know that you maybe have hit a plateau working with an integrative or functional practitioner or conventional medicine. So, just understand that we are navigating a massive, massive sea of conflicting information. And we are also navigating information that's saying that everyone should be keto, paleo, vegan and really understanding that it's not about being one thing or another. It's about using food as a as a leverage point, as a tool to really help to balance your body. And then it's really getting back into understanding like what is truly good and nutritious. So, don't beat yourself up if you have not been able to reach your health goals just yet because again, there's so much conflicting information. And you don't know what you don't know. If you haven't really figured out like what is the root of your issues, then you might be, you know, falling flat because you're not doing what your body really needs. So, one of the biggest foundational things that I want to really set the stage, essentially, is that when we're talking about things tonight, There's a lot of people that will say to us in practice and they're like, why have I never heard this before? Why doesn't every doctor talk about this? Or, why don't, you know, doctors do this type of testing? And I want you to understand that foundationally, medicine is is segregated. So, we have, you know, our cardiologists, our gastroenterologist, our nephologist, our neurologist, and everything is separate. But, unfortunately, that is ignoring basic physiology, because if we use the simplest example that the majority of your serotonin, which is your feel-good hormone, is made in your gut. So, you could easily be dealing with depression, but also dealing with irritable bowel syndrome. But, unfortunately, you're either going to a psychologist or a psychiatrist, but then you're also going to a gastroenterologist and nobody's talking to each other. So, when you're looking at the body from an integrated standpoint, you're able to find the root cause because you are considering basic physiology. Yeah, and go That's going back to what you said also about asking better questions. And I think that patients and, um, you mean our interrogation cave? Yeah. Our consultation is, like, an interrogation. And then people will sit there and and the best is when there's more than one patient, like, they have a family member. And they're just like, how did you do that? And it's like, well, we're just It's it's simple. You're just asking better questions. Yeah. And we're asking the same question in four different ways. Yeah. Very layering, like an onion. Um, so, you know, how many of you have changed your diet? And you're the all or nothing person. You did everything you were supposed to do. And, you know, you woke up, you did the juice. Then you did the smoothie. You ate the plants and, you know, you gave up X, Y and Z and you were gluten-free and dairy-free. And you hit the plateau. Yeah. Because I can think of what, how many patients have have that situation. Yeah, patients, friends, family. It's like everyone you speak to, I think, has experienced that, whether they're doing an exercise routine on top of a diet and sticking to it so well and not meeting even within an inch of their goal that not meeting it anywhere near that. Yeah. And we hear this over and over and over again, which is one of the types of things we kinda love to see in our practice because it means that we can actually dig a lot deeper and figure out what's going on. But, at the same time, we can also understand your frustration. Yeah. And this is not always about the food. Sometimes it is about what's in the food. So, that's something that we're going to talk about today because there are so many more chemicals than you realize on your food. And this is why this statement here is so important because it's not always about what you eat, but sometimes it is about the quality of what you are eating. And this is going to make more sense in the next few minutes. So, one of our biggest things that we say to everyone is we're here to help you understand you don't know what you don't know because conventional testing is not looking for toxicity and it is often having limitations on looking for even infections that can come into the body via the food. So, this is very, very important to understand. And you need to stop saying, I feel this way because I'm getting old. Oh. Because listen, I know that most of you have the situation of I used to be able to drink the bottle of wine and I felt fine. I could wake up the next day and go to work. But, now, I literally have one glass of wine and I'm I'm hung over for three days. So, what you need to understand about that is that's not getting old. That is an overloaded liver. And I'm not saying your liver is just overloaded from, uh, from alcohol. It's overloaded from medications, Tylenol, ibuprofen, uh, toxicity from everything from heavy metals, pesticides on the food, the list goes on. So, understanding that your body is extremely resilient. But, sometimes it needs a little love and a little strategy to be able to unclog the pathways. Right. Yeah. Okay, guys. So, myth number one. Diets are forever and there are no long-term effects from the same diet. So, Yeah, I had to take a deep breath there. So, I think that a lot of times when we do our testing, and patients get results, what the first thing they ask me a lot of the time is, will I have to do this forever? Mhm. And that's you have to try to shift the mindset is what I do first because you don't want to go into it with a negative thought process. But, I can also understand if we're making shifts away from the way you always ate and foods that may comfort you emotionally when you're stressed or whatnot have you, you maybe a little like put off or challenged by changing that and not wanting to do it forever. So, no, there is no diet that's forever. There are stylistic ways of eating that can be long lasting. Once you put in the work and realize what is actually going to benefit your body for a condensed period of time until we continue making changes. Yeah. But, also, too, it's like one of the biggest things that we see coming through our doors is like a blood sugar crisis. Yeah. And one thing that you guys should definitely listen right now because when you have a blood sugar crisis, This doesn't mean pre-diabetic or diabetic, or even if you're seeing these things in your blood work, what you might be dealing with is you wake up, you're not hungry. You drink coffee. It suppresses your appetite. Then you're starving. And now you automatically grab for carbs in the middle of the day. Maybe it's a sandwich. Maybe it's pizza. Maybe it's a sushi roll, which has way more rice in it than you realize. And then you get to dinner and you eat your dinner. And now you want something sweet after dinner. I tell most people that scenario. And they're like, that is me. Yeah. So, when we have this situation, we are then helping someone to customize their diet to balance their blood sugar. But, once that is corrected, now they go back to a more balanced diet. So, we're using a diet as a strategy, or as a tool. And when we have individuals that come in and they're like, they've been keto, let's say, for three years. And keto, you know, there's all different versions of keto, by the way. So, we have some individuals that they're eating a bacon cheeseburger, no bread. And then we see what, a completely overloaded gallbladder. Yeah. And they can't function. They have pain in different parts of their body that they're not connecting to anything else to what they're eating, even. Yeah. And I've had that, and then I've had the keto person who's doing it with coconut and overloading, um, all other systems, as well. And not eating any vegetables. And not eating any fiber. So, then their gut is a wreck. Yes. And they can't go to the bathroom, or have a normal day because there're not having any fiber, which we'll get to, as well. But, they're keto, so it's fine. Yeah. So, I love that somebody just asked about intermittent fasting because this is like the perfect time to circle this in because and I am so unbelievably guilty about this. So, I had terrible blood sugar. I was never hungry in the morning. If anything, I was like, ugh, like, can't even look at food. So, I'd wake up. I usually had coffee. My I could go till 2 o'clock and not eat. So, then intermittent fasting became a thing. And I was like, Oh, I well, I'm intermittent fasting, you know. That's healthy. And this is the issue is that intermittent fasting should be leveraged two days a week, three days max. And once you get beyond that, now your body is actually getting confused because we all think that we've evolved genetically, but in reality, we have we're our genes are still hunter-gatherer. So, if you are not eating, then your body is preparing for a famine. So, now it's storing more fat. And now you start to compromise your metabolism. So, just understanding that again, there's a lot of mixed information out there and you need to be able to know how to leverage something like intermittent fasting, but doing it in a proper way. Yeah. And also, too, it's like, your diet should change upon reaching your goal. So, like we said, is if a patient comes in and they're in a blood sugar crisis, we're going to leverage something to balance that. And then once that's corrected, now we're moving on to, you know, how can we now restore proper gut function? Bring in more probiotic-rich foods. Or more soluble fiber, et cetera. You have to diversify nutrients. Like, you you have to. You can't just keep eating the same thing all the time because your body is is it's designed for that array of nutrients. That's why, like, I always say this, I'm like, I would love to do this, like, literally go to Whole Foods with a microphone and a camera and ask people, like, what is the seasonal produce right now? I have no idea. Most people would have no idea. Yeah. And, like, this is what I'm saying is that we are designed to have a variety of different nutrients because we're supposed to be eating in season. But, here in the US, at least, like, we don't even we don't even know what's in season because we have access to everything all the time. Yeah. So, so, guys, it's really, like, this stuff sounds so simple. But, I can't tell you how important it is for the body and to be able to really just keep your body in balance and also restore systems that aren't functioning well. Also, from like a deprivation standpoint, where people are coming in and and expecting to be deprived, which is not what we end up sending them out the door with. But, everyone I put on a different type of therapeutic diet for a short period of time is their goal is to vary the bioavailability of different micronutrients. And the way to do that is also varying the foods you're eating within the realm of the diet you're testing for right now. 100%. So, myth number two. The nutrition label is giving you the best nutritional information. So, guys, I hate to break it to you, but the one thing that is missing from your nutrition label is the amount of pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified ingredients that are within your food. Yeah. So, we have to start thinking about like where is this food sourced? And, you know, this simple example is, you know, we all we I think most of us have heard of Dole, like Dole bananas. Dole has regular conventional bananas that are treated with pesticides. And now they have organic bananas. But, when you actually do your research, you'll find that the uh part of the farm that is sourcing organic is directly next to the farm using pesticides. Yeah. Yeah. And there is a thing called wind. And it is going to blow the pesticides around. So, you have to also think about these conventional brands that are now tapping into this organic market because even gluten-free is what is it? 25 parts per billion. Right. Yeah. So, you could have 25 parts per billion of gluten in a gluten-free in a product labeled gluten-free. That says that it is. Yeah. So, there is a lot of things that are insanely tricky and I know this is can sound like so overwhelming and stressful and it's not intended to. But, once you, you know, you build that that basis of knowledge, you can really know what to avoid. But, also, if you're focused on whole foods, it makes your life a lot easier. Definitely. Because going off of that is that the same thing can be said about thickeners, preservatives, uh, gums and everything that we're going to get into from like an additive standpoint. Yep. So, at that point, they're just tricking you with words that you don't know or understand and they're actually translating into toxins, chemicals, and MSG derived particles you can even call them food. Yeah. We're going to get into that, too, because we broke down probably some of the things that all of you guys are eating. Um, the one last thing that I want to say is superfoods are not always super. So, some of you that have been trying to, you know, dabble in getting healthier, you may have gotten on the smoothie train. And you may be trying to jam pack as many nutrients as possible in your smoothies. And you might be using things like chlorella, spirulina. What else? Yeah. pomegranate, barleygrass. pomegranate powder, uh, charcoal, people are throwing in their smoothies, too. So, green banana flour, like, the list goes on. But, if it's going to end up doing more harm than good because of it's not organic, because they're using certain type of materials to break down those products. Like, it didn't start a pomegranate powder didn't start in powderized form. Yeah. Started in a pomegranate. How did it get there? So, if you just, if you just allow a tiny bit of that thought process in when you're purchasing and when you're looking for things, it can shift your mindset. Not not just say that you can't include some of these items, but there's a smart way to do it. And we're going to give you a cheat sheet on some of the superfoods because, again, we know this stuff is tricky. But, one thing is like, a simple example, spirulina, so nutrient dense, so awesome. But, a lot of it is contaminated depending on where it's sourced. So, you know, knowing what brands are actually beneficial. So, that you can, obviously, get the the maximum benefit out of what you're trying to do. Yeah. Um, so, this is I we stole this from Food Babe, so we're going to give her full credits because she is the bomb and she really has done her due diligence of breaking down ingredients in food. But, this is always the most fascinating. I've personally been to France and I saw this firsthand because I was creeping around the grocery store and looking at all of these, you know, you know, American brands, Kellogg cereals, General Mills. And I was looking at the ingredients. And I was like, my goodness, it is completely different. Yeah. It's like half the amount. It's crazy. And this was the example from her site of ketchup. Is here's the UK version and on the left is the US version. Yeah. And it's interesting to think about because when I was doing some research on this, I was thinking how I'm I personally am not a condiment person. Yeah. I don't put them on things. We have Catch up on eggs, makes me cringe. Sorry people. I do like it at times, but it's like if you ever get something with ketchup on it, it's like crack. Like, you can't stop eating it. Even if you don't like condiments. Yeah. So, it's interesting because when you break this down, on the left side is obviously the Americanized ketchup. On the right is more european. So, starting out with just vinegar versus spirit, uh, vinegar. There's a difference there just in terms of alcohol versus preservative. So, they're using an alcohol derived vinegar, whereas distilled vinegar has preservatives in it. And then going off of I didn't know that. Then going off of the combination of high fructose corn syrup. So, like, that wasn't bad enough. So, we're just going to throw in a little extra corn syrup. The difference is that, uh, high fructose corn syrup contains glucose and then some glucose that's converted to fructose. And corn syrup is just 100% glucose. So, that glucose that's then converted to fructose, that combination is banned in the UK. Yeah. So, that's why it's not included in their ketchup. Yeah. It's banned in a lot of European countries. It's just crazy because high high fructose corn syrup is just amplifying the sugar content. And it's making a lot of our kids addicted. It's it's really just a not a great situation Yeah. So, Jan just asked about collagen peptides. We're going to get there. Um, I know that they're definitely there they're other ketchups that are not, um, that are following a very similar ingredient list when it comes to, you know, eliminating out the high fructose corn syrup. But, these are things you're sourcing mainly at Whole Foods or some other type of natural food market. Yeah. Even then, though, they could be they're full of agave. Yeah. So it's like six of one, half a dozen of the other but You gotta look at the sugar content. 100%. Exactly. Exactly. Uh, so, sorry, guys, we're going to talk wine. I know this is going to be devastating for some of you. But, we got to go there. Um, I think I told you this story but I went I was in Paris. And when I was in Paris, it was actually kind of funny. I did an Airbnb and when I arrived, the woman who owned it was there. And I was like, Oh. Like, hello. Expecting her. Yeah. So, she was very intense about making sure that I watched France 24 news. She's like, you need to know what's happening in the city that you're in. And I'm like, I will watch it. Okay. She was very intense. But, I ended up watching it. And I hate the news. But, it was so informative. And it was just like mind-blowing. But, anyway, besides the point. There was a specific segment about agritech. And it was technology being used in agriculture. And specifically, in France, they were using drones to hover over the vineyard. And they were taking snapshot, infrared snapshots of the vines to check for fungus. And if they found fungus, A.K.A. molds, they would go in and they'd rip the vine out. So, it didn't spread because it will spread rapidly once it happens. So, something that people are not aware of with wine because you hear about it all the time. There's, like, people who are like, Oh my God, I can't drink wine. It gives me a splitting headache. Or, it tears up my stomach. But, you will find that if you do travel and go to Italy or or France that the wine is so different. And it's because here in the US, we are not monitoring for fungal invasion of the vines or the grapes. So, very often, these wines are chock-full of something called mycotoxins. So, some of you that are here have potentially explored why you don't feel well. And you maybe have come across a podcast about mold. Or a webinar about molds. Maybe it was ours. And you might be thinking, Oh my gosh, it was somewhere I lived. It's in my house. I got to get an inspector. But, it can actually be from wine. Yeah. And you were having, like, terrible issues with wine. Terrible issues and I never understood it. And what I've found now that my cousins are growing up is that it definitely runs in my family. And that just means that the same, you know, that people I'm related to also have the same triggering response to mycotoxins because if you're the type of person that gets a flush when you're drinking. Like, a head-to-toe, sort of, heated flush. If you lose equilibrium. If you feel like a half a glass is going to make you pass out. A lot of times, yes, that can be related to the way that like you said prior, your liver is detoxifying. Yeah. Or or isn't, essentially. But, it can also largely be related to having a response to mycotoxins. And so, those are the microscopic molds that live on food, in beverages, specifically aflatoxins. And then this one, few monocin, B2, we're seeing all the time now. Yeah. And these are, like, Dr. Nicole said, growing on the vine. So, the other interesting thing about European versus America is the sulfite, uh, consistency as well. Because you could have an allergy or sensitivity to that preservative. Yeah. And even if they're coming from Europe into the US, they still need to have a certain amount of preservatives, uh, sulfites to get into our country. Yeah. Whereas when you're going there, they don't have to. Yeah. You know, something, like, my personal experience was, um, living outside of Napa Valley for a little while. And, like, I was young. And I was like, Ooh, I'm into wine. I know so much. But, um, I started getting really sick from drinking the wine. And it was, like, I didn't really understand it. So, actually, when I went to France, I didn't I didn't drink wine. I just, like, was like, no, it makes me sick. And I remember they looked at me like I was absolutely insane because it's like embedded in their culture there. And I remember drinking a glass of wine in France. And I was like, what is this? This is amazing. But, um, I find that with the organic wines, you are removing the pesticide, herbicide, acaricide issue, which definitely decreases negative symptoms. But, organic wines are not necessarily looking at the mycotoxin issue, but biodynamic wines are. And if you do live in our area here in New Jersey, we have, um, a place called, uh, Cork Liquors in Longbranch. And they carry a ton of biodynamic wines. So, that's something to keep in mind if you are a wine drinker. Yeah. And I think that there's something to be said about, um, especially people coming in being like, but the Mediterranean diet, you know, the culture is built on wine, like, what you're saying about Europe. The culture is built around heart health. Like, the culture is actually built on food. They have a very positive connection to healthy foods. Yeah. And so, when your antioxidant content throughout the course of the day is so high from everything you're eating and drinking, Yes. Of course, everything is going to feel cleaner and you're going to feel more fulfilled in that way, too. So it's not like we can just that Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. We can't mimic that. Yeah. But, it's also like the soil is so important. So, like, when like, I can't tell you how intense the French and the Italians are about their wine like, you know, creation. But, the the soil is something that is also dictating the nutrient content of the grape, which then dictates the nutrient content of the wine. So, these are all things to take into consideration. And definitely biodynamic is the way to go here in the US. Someone asks, what's wrong with agave? And I would love for you to speak to that. Oh, so, the thing about that is that it's marketed as being a low-glycemic alternative to sugar. Yep. And so, if you're the It just comes back to blood sugar. So, if your blood sugar, if you're the type of person who passes out after you have like a baked good, or after you have Not, like, really pass out, but get tired. Sorry. If you ever get tired, I call that passing out because I used to eat bake goods that were full of agave thinking I was doing something so great. Yeah. And I would come home and I couldn't function. I felt like I'd been drugged. And so, when I figured it out was that it was the agave because that has a wrecking ball effect on your blood sugar. Yeah. Spike and crash. Yeah. Exactly. Whereas something like a date or a piece of fruit, or even honey. Exactly. Has like more intact. So, that your body is actually absorbing it slower and it's able to utilize the glucose as fuel. Like, that's when carbohydrate and sugar can be used as fuel. Whereas you're having straight syrup, otherwise. Yeah. And there's a difference between pure grade A maple syrup, which used to be grade B, now it's grade A. Whereas that has a ton of, um, micronutrients and minerals from the tree. Like, that comes out of a tree. Yeah. So, there's just a difference there. And it doesn't I'm not saying it affects everyone that way. I don't I tend to deter from it. If you ever had a Kind Bar and had the same experience, that's why. So, um, I generally stay away from it. It's so funny. I used to when I first got into, like, nutrition, I I was making bars. And I didn't know anything. And I was just like, the the only sticky thing I could use to hold it together was agave. And now that you're saying that, I'm like, yeah, I think I used to get really fatigued from it. Yeah. Um, okay, so, this book is you I was just saying you haven't read it, right? I have not. No. So, this book blew my freaking mind, by the way. So, for those of you on Instagram, it's called Real Food, Fake Food by Larry Olmsted. So, this guy had the coolest job ever. He literally went, um, all over the world and he was a food journalist. So, he went all over the world and was able to experience, like, the authenticity of balsamic vinegar from Modena, um, parmesan from Parma, Italy. And, uh, went to Japan and experienced sushi firsthand and he pretty much came back to the US. And was kinda like, what the hell are we eating? You know, if parmesan is only like, it's called parmesan because it comes from Parma, Italy, then how are we labeling, say, like craft parmesan cheese, parmesan cheese? Like, how are we doing that because it is not the same in any capacity? And I personally was a pescetarian for about 10 years. So, I only ate fish. And I knew nothing about farm versus wild, et cetera. So, there is a third of the book that is actually dedicated to sushi. And I actually had this conversation today with a patient and he's like, yeah, I I stopped eating sushi because I was getting sick. And I was like, what were you eating? He's like, tuna. I go, Were you eating white tuna? And he's like, yes. How do you know that? And I'm like, well white tuna is not white tuna. It's called escolar. And escolar is called the ex-lax fish. Because it causes gastrointestinal distress and diarrhea. So, that was my moment. I was like, oh crap. Yeah. Um, but this is something that was just so interesting to me when you're breaking it down of how bastardized a lot of these foods are and, you know, it really comes back to even just some of the marketing around certain foods. You know, there's, like, these healthy alternatives now at these chain restaurants. And I remember I I got these like avocado egg rolls at Cheesecake Factory a long time ago. Thinking that was healthy. Yeah. And not even thinking about the dipping sauce. I blew up like a blimp and had a splitting headache. And then I asked that the cilantro dipping sauce had massive MSG in it. And I'm like, you know, how many women and men are going out to a restaurant and getting a salad thinking that's a healthier option? And their dressing is laden with anything and everything. Yeah. MSG, inflammatory oils, so much sugar you wouldn't actually believe that it could still be in liquid form. Yeah. And and. Yeah. Yeah. pesticides. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's definitely getting tricky. And I want you guys to understand is take it piece by piece, do not overwhelm yourselves because it's really, like, also, too, when you start going for different brands and better quality and you taste the difference, you're like, Oh my gosh, like I I can't even eat, you know, Purdue chicken anymore because this is what chicken's really supposed to taste like. So, it's it's very eye-opening once you start dabbling. But, start slow and start with, you know, easy things. But, I actually these are these are my old favorites. I know they are. Those are not yours. Those are my old favorites. But, it's very funny because I it took me forever to find this wrapper and I know it's super small for you guys to actually be able to see the label. But, this was the Kashi Go Lean bars. Oh yeah. I lived on these in college. And the first ingredient is, like, soy protein isolate. Mhm. And I thought I was healthy because everybody was getting going to Wawa and getting pork roll and cheese. And I was like, I'm going to get the Kashi bar. Yeah. I know. And it's wild because I grew up eating the Heart to Heart cereal, the Kashi Heart to Heart cereal. I would take a solo cup this big because I needed fiber. And I didn't know any other avenue to get it into my system at that time. So, Kashi definitely made a killing back in the day. But, nobody knew what was actually Yeah. Because the bars discontinued, so figure. Yeah. So, and then another one, too, was the egg white, spinach, feta wrap from Starbucks. That was, like, a go-to. And, unfortunately, sometimes I still go for it when I'm traveling because traveling options usually are terrible. But, we got into the ingredients and I was like, absolutely horrifying with what is actually in it. Um, and then the same thing with a mocha from Starbucks. And we're actually going to get into a few of these things. Okay. So, right now, a lot of us are grabbing milk alternatives. We're grabbing for oat milk, coconut milk, almond milk. And we're thinking, like, okay, well, this is a better option. And, uh, I think that we talked about this because I had the matcha. That's what it was. I had the matcha. And this is a long time ago. And I I had it with, I think, the the almond milk. And I remember just being like, wow, this is really good. And then I made matcha on my own. And I was like, this is so gross and bitter. And then I was like, what is? Because I didn't ask for extra sweetener. And I was like, oh my gosh, they must be putting so much sugar either in the milk or the powder. Or both. And, voila. Yeah. Can you even believe the there's water and coconut cream? Like, everyone could have just stopped there. No. Yeah. But, adding cane sugar, tricalcium phosphate, that's a calcium salt that can actually cause constipation and muscle weakness. And then going through the list here, okay, then we have coconut water. That's fine. But, it's a concentrate. Natural flavors. So, this goes way back because this could be anything from MSG, preservatives to animal derived byproducts. So, they can still sneak in even to something that's vegan, something that's plant-based because it falls under that mark that allows for it to be in food because it's it's largely synthetic. Yes. Sea salt. Carrageenan. So, this is interesting because you're still seeing carrageenan on everything. And if you've been in the realm of those who are health conscious, you know that carrageenan that carrageenan is a carcinogen and it's a thickener. Yep. So, it's in like your coffee mate, uh, creamer that everyone loves so much. And I mean, almost every patient starts off coming and talking about their coffee mate creamer. Yeah. And there's carrageenan in that and what the FDA labeled it as safe actually in 2018. I was shocked when I looked this up. And what they got away with was saying that degraded carrageenan is what is carcinogenic. But, when you do your research, you'll find that upon ingestion, 20% of carrageenan that you're ingesting becomes degraded in the gut. So, that absolutely horrified me because this is approved as a safe additive. Meanwhile, it's linked directly to colitis, IBS, rheumatoid arthritis, and colon cancer. Yeah. Um, vitamin A palmitate. This is just a synthetic form of vitamin A. So, then, that was the Starbucks coconut milk. That's what they're putting in your coffee when you order coconut milk. So, unfortunately, these plant-based dairy alternatives, which would otherwise be phenomenally available, Yeah. are not what you think they are. So, I'm the person that goes up there and asks them is there added sugar? That's the only thing I have to say. 'Cause if there is, I'm not having it, because the rest of this is in it as well. But, I was also the person in college that brought my own little jar of milk to the Starbucks and I was like It's like I'm getting failing in my coffee. Yeah. But, it was like a little personal size shot of coconut milk. So, Yeah. That I made in my dorm room. So, But, also, too, is like, we're talking about Starbucks because it's obviously big commercial brand. But, when you're going to some of your local coffee shops, a lot of them are definitely, they're not, um, you know, this is Starbucks coconut milk. They make everything, you know, for their company. So, a lot of these other facilities, they're not necessarily you like using this. Right. We're not trying to say that all coconut milk is crap. It's just certain types of it are. So, it's just keeping it in mind because, you know, the biggest point of this slide is to help you understand, Like, I know personally, I used to drink white chocolate peppermint mochas from Starbucks. And then I went over to the matcha latte thinking, like, oh, well, this is a better alternative. And just, like, being totally tricked into, like, how much crap is actually in it. It's anywhere you go because I walked into Whole Foods just yesterday. I was telling you and they're advertising that their matcha latte has what it was something like lavender syrup, vanilla syrup. That is straight cane sugar mixed with high-fructose corn syrup. Yeah. And this is the kicker because this is Dunkin. And, um, I this is literally from their site. So, hot coffee with oat milk. And I just, like, obviously, we're going in saying, I just want, you know, coffee, oat milk, and a story, no sugar. Make it black. And, look at all the crap that's in it. And I I just was like floored on you would never in a million years think, like, oh, I'm getting exposed to all this junk why just getting oat milk in my coffee? Yeah. So, it's and let alone the pink velvet swirl. I didn't even like You would almost expect more out of that. So, it's almost more horrifying about just the coffee with oat milk. Yeah. But, anyway, anywhere you go now, they're serving oat milk. Like I said, making it available without asking the question about like what's actually in it. Yeah. And, you know, dairy is, like, obviously a whole subject in itself because you could easily say, well, you know, just choose the dairy because at least it's, you know, it's sourced like from an animal and it's it's natural. But, there's kinda of its own issues there. And that kinda brings us to one of these tips. Is when you're when you're talking about anything that is cow based. So, this could be collagen powder. This could be, um, beef. It could be bone broth. It could be milk. Is understanding it's not about grass-fed, it's about grass-fed, grass-finished. Right. And when I tell patients that, they're like, what what are you talking about? What do you mean? And they're not necessarily like understanding that grass-fed means that the animal was fed grass for three-quarters of its life. And then the last quarter of its life, it was actually fed grain because they want to plump it up as much as possible right before butchering because it's heavier and they get more money for it. So, when you are sourcing and you're looking up things to figure out where am I going to start getting my meat from is grass-fed, grass-finished is something to keep in mind. So, you're not getting scammed, essentially. Yeah. And pasture-raised is really when you're getting into, like, chicken, turkey, pork. Um, chickens are not necessarily eating grass. They're eating a lot of like, seeds and Uh corn, even. Yeah. So, you want them to be free-roaming. You want them to be roaming on the pasture and you want to make sure that they are not being fed a feed but they're actually, you know, eating, you know, seeds and different things from the ground. Uh, so, these are a couple of things to keep in mind more so in the realm of of animal protein. And one thing that we talk about a lot, and I think this is always very surprising is, so, cow milk has high levels of casein, which is something that a lot of people have irritation to. And goat actually has less than half the amount of casein. but sheep has none. Right. Has no casein. So, when we're talking about dairy, it's not very often, like, you have to go to all those dairy alternatives, but goat and sheep products are actually a way better alternative to to cow. Um, so, it's not everyone's favorite. No. But I will say that most people when I explain this to them don't realize how many, uh, cheeses they're eating that are derived from sheep and goat. Yeah. Already. So, it's not always advertised in that way. I think because it is a deterrent to some. So, um, definitely, when you break it down to the structure, like, Dr. Nicole was saying, it can come to it that your sensitivity is actually related to the makeup verses the overarching, uh, dairy product. And we're going to get more into like the food allergy aspect because I know that this can be so, so confusing for you guys. So, definitely, we're going to get into that in just the next minute or so. Um, fresh herbs. Like, I use fresh herbs on the regular because they have so many detox benefits. Like, one thing with cilantro is cilantro can actually cleanse your gallbladder and pull heavy metals out. Yeah. It's very antimicrobial. And then parsley, in anything, is going to be amazing for your skin. And any sort of like if you're having halitosis, that's just a symptom of what's going on in the esophagus. Bad breath. Yes. In the esophagus. In the esophagus, in the gut itself. And so, if you're eating these herbs, they're actually neutralizing, uh, what's causing that response. Yeah. So, one of my tricks is I literally take a fresh herb, throw it in the blender, little bit of lemon, olive oil, clove or two of garlic, little salt, blend it up, kinda mix it like a bit of a pesto. And then you could add a little vinegar, too, if you wanted to, you know, have that, you know, um, acidity to it. And it's something dip your chicken in it, put it on your broccoli, put it on a salad. And it's it can stay in the fridge for, you know, days. So, that's a really, really easy thing to start amping up your nutrients and also starting to cleanse the liver and the gallbladder. Um, so, speaking of that, cruciferous vegetables. Yeah, you can probably name off all of them. Yeah. So, if we're breaking it down, it's cauliflower, broccoli are obviously the two on top. And then cabbage, kale's a cruciferous vegetable, um, kohlrabi. Yeah. Nobody eats that. No. I like it. Radishes are cruciferous, Brussels. So, the list goes on and on. And what it comes down to is anything that is very hard. So, that's what you have to think about with cruciferous, the brassica family. So, everything is going to have that high-fibrous content that is actually making it hard. So, it has to be cooked down. Or, if it's on your crudités platter and you're eating it raw, dipping it in Dr. Nicole's sauce. Yeah. So, um, either way, these cruciferous vegetables are going to work on detoxifying the liver. Yes. And the liver is what detoxifies anything from what we're discussing prior to a hormone imbalance. Yeah. So, a great modality in hormonal balance and the way to detoxify it's to up your cruciferous vegetables. But, I don't mean like eat a couple cauliflower florets. I mean, it's like try to get them in every single way that you can. Well, and that brings us to the next one that this is something that a lot of people are not getting because we're living in an era of paleo, keto, low carb. There's still people that are even doing, like, Atkins type diet. And I get that there's a lot of immediate weight loss. There's definitely some people that see inf, like, inflammation improved. But, again, it's using those diets as a tool. And then understanding that you need to introduce things that are absolutely essential for certain pathways. And soluble fiber, like, I feel like most of my patients that I'm talking to are eating zero soluble fiber. And soluble fiber, one of the absolute best sources is going to be beans. It's going to be kidney beans, cannellini beans, black beans, navy beans, white beans. And people are not eating these and they're not getting exposed to this soluble fiber, which is actually something that is cleansing your liver and your bowels. So, what happens is, if you have no soluble fiber, all of that bile from your liver. So, backtrack. Bile is made in your liver. The bile binds to toxins. And then that dumps into your gut. And then this ball of bile attached to toxins is supposed to go out of your body via a bowel movement. But, what happens is it goes through the small intestine. And if you have no fiber, then that ball of toxic bile circulates right back to your liver. So, you need soluble fiber and you should not be on low carb diets for years upon years upon years because you're actually further burdening your liver by having no fiber in your diet. Yeah. And I think that a really great indication of this imbalance is someone who says, oh, I can't eat beans because I can't eat that type of fiber. And, oh my God, like, I'll I'll get so bloated. And I'm so uncomfortable. It's like, you should be able, like, the goal is to get to a point where your body is able to digest these foods. Yeah. If your body can't digest fiber, it's not that you've a problem with fiber. There's a greater, a much greater issue going on with the micro-flora in your gut. Yes. And that's something that I'm so glad you said that because, you know, people call beans the fart food. And I I laugh because that the only reason you're developing gas from something like beans is because beans are also a prebiotic. So, they are feeding, supposed to be feeding good bacteria. But, unfortunately, if you have bad bacteria in your gut, it is going to feed that. So, with that being said, is that you are going to then create more of a bacterial dysbiosis. So, it's all about timing is really what it comes down to. So, it's not like, oh, just tolerate it and power through and just eat the beans. You might have to create more balance in your microbiome by clearing out bad bacteria. Bringing in good bacteria before your body can actually tolerate the legume. Mhm. And with that being said, is that when we're getting into like soluble fiber, oats is obviously one of them. But, one thing that I personally want to say is that because of the type of testing that we do, we find that there are a lot of individuals that oats are creating a blood sugar, well, I shouldn't say creating. It is furthering a blood sugar crisis. Let me reiterate what I'm talking about with a blood sugar crisis is that this does not mean that your glucose or your hemoglobin A1C is elevated in your blood. It means that you wake up. You have no appetite. Your blood sugar is really bad. You're like, ugh, can't even look at food. I'm nauseous. You usually drink coffee or something caffeinated. It suppresses your appetite. You get to lunch. And you're like, holy crap, I am starving. And now you eat something. You spike your blood sugar. You crash down. You have a mid-day, like low with your energy. You get to dinner time. You're starving again. You eat. Probably snacking on cheese and crackers. I know this because it was me, by the way. Snacking on the cheese and on crackers. You have your dinner. Now, ooh, where's the chocolate? Ooh, where's the ice cream. Ooh, I need something a little sweet. Mhm. So, when you have that situation, starting your day with oats, not for everyone, but it potentially can further the blood sugar issue. So, again, guys, this is about knowing your body through having better testing. And then this is something that will definitely allow you to know, like what how to navigate. Like, what does your body need right now? And what does it Maybe need later after you've resolved a foundational issue. Yeah. And just to add on is that oats are also one of the foods highest in mycotoxin contamination. So, if you're having a response to that, that's causing a or furthering a blood sugar crisis, it can also be circled back to the fact that you may be having a response to mycotoxins as well. Mhm. And so, we're not saying that you can only get soluble fiber from beans as well. So, if you're go back to the slide we were just on, we have listed broccoli, we have listed fruits and vegetables, we have listed avocado. Soluble, uh, fiber soluble fiber dissolves in water. So, it forms a gel that sweeps through the intestines. And that's what we're looking for. We're looking for that sweeping, grabbing effect. So, that it's pulling out anything that could otherwise have gotten stuck in the microvilli in the intestine. Yep. And psyllium husks is another great alternative. But, I personally find not many people can tolerate psyllium husks. And another thing that I just want to say, even piggybacking off of that is, you know, we we were doing a 21-day cleanse for a little while. And it was very interesting the transition because, you know, I've been practicing for almost 10 years. And when we first started doing the cleanse, um, people were fine tolerating the gastro fiber, which was a soluble fiber. And, you know, like, they would maybe have a little discomfort. But, they were able to get through the, um, the actual cleanse. And then what started to happen in the past few years is that people were like, I can't take the fiber. I cannot tolerate it. And what I started to, you know, connect was the fact that the amount of pesticides on our food has increased dramatically. So, people are doing the fiber. And that, you know, gel, binding effect that you're talking about is it was binding so many residues in the gut and people were like in agony. They're just like, oh my God, my gut feels horrid. So, just again, don't be discouraged if you're having that type of response because it just means that you might need a different approach to to eliminate residues out of your gut. Right. Because I can't tell you how common this is. If you're allergic to legumes, that's totally fine. Like we said before, it's um if you don't resonate with that blood sugar crisis profile, then, uh, steel cut oats could be a great alternative, broccoli, avocado, cruciferous. Yeah. So, definitely keeping those in mind. Um, but like Grace said, is that certain legumes, depending on where they're sourced, can be high in mycotoxins. So, you might actually be having an issue with the mycotoxins and not having an issue with the legumes. This is where it gets tricky. So, you know, certain foods being healthy for everyone, you know, we already talked about the oatmeal and how that's not great for someone, say, with a sugar, uh, a blood sugar issue. But, you know, celery juice, medical medium has blown that up. And something that people want to know is like, in the in a person who maybe has weaker kidneys, is a lot of celery juice can amp up oxalate in the in the kidneys and can cause a collection of that, which can lead to kidney stones. So, I'm not saying that that happens to everyone and I'm not saying celery juice is bad. All I'm saying is that if you're like, oh, you know, I have back pain a lot on the sides of my spine, but I drink my celery juice every day. Give it a break for a week. See if your back feels better. Yeah. Um, same thing with, you know, gluten is that there was an awesome docu-series that was done, it was called Cooked. And I feel like it opened my mind to gluten so much. We talked about this is that old school and countries that were founded on, like, the primary food group is is bread. Yeah. And pita and things like that is they went back to showing the old world practices. And really all it came down to was fermentation. They used to let the dough sit, rise, and ferment. And, like, they didn't use yeast. They allowed the yeast to be produced through the fermentation. And that actually broke down the gluten molecule, which then allowed people to digest it because it was like a pre-digested gluten. Right. Yeah. And it was just so fascinating to me because I just feel like everyone's like, gluten, gluten, gluten, anti-gluten, anti-gluten. And it's like, when we get back to true food from its origins, it takes away that negative connotation. And we realize, like, it's time, you know, if if we want to spend the time and maybe learn how to make our own bread. I get it, people. I'm an entrepreneur. So, I'm not sitting here saying, like, everybody's making bread. But, you know, if we if we say, like, I don't know, like, I'm going to do a fun thing with my kids and I'm going to show them, you know, how to make their own food, then it's like, it can be really empowering for even kids to, like, understand it better and not live in fear of food. Right. Yeah. I don't know. I've dorked out about it. I really loved it. No, I think I think I think that's something to be said because it's not the food that, well, it's food that we have access to. So, when you're taking the time, like you said, to create it on your own or to go back to basics and think about fermentation and think about other types of foods as well that can have the same benefit on the gut. And why we're not used to that in the form of gluten. Yeah. Um, there's a lot more with gluten but we'll save that for another day because it's like it's deep. Um, making bread is not easy, by the way. My husband kicked me out of the kitchen because I don't follow directions. So, like, I wasn't measuring anything. He was like, get out. Like, you can't do this. You can't do this. So, definitely, like, if you're like me, don't try to make bread. Yeah. But, at least have ciabatta bread. Um, but, I really want to talk about this next slide here because we see this all the time. And some of you are going to resonate with this. So, if you have an allergy to fruits, especially the skins of fruits, and nuts. Two of the foods that are highest with pesticides, herbicides, and mycotoxins. So, if you are that individual that there's no rhyme or reason, there's no correlation. There's no consistency with your reactions, you might not be reacting to the protein or the peptides in the food. You might be reacting to how the food was processed or what is on the food. So, this is definitely something to take a step further because I know there are a lot of you that are ripping your hair out because you don't know what to eat. You're scared of food. You're frustrated. You don't want to go out to eat because you're like, I can't even enjoy it. And, honestly, it's not a way to live. And it's understanding that there it might not be the food. It might be what is on the food. Lactose. Mhm. Anytime someone tells me I'm lactose intolerant, I automatically, I'm like, what's wrong with your gallbladder? Right. And I'm not going to say that there's people that are out there that are truly lactose intolerant. But, sometimes it's not the lactose. It's not being able to break down the fats in because a lot of people say that they're lactose intolerant because they can't tolerate, like, whole milk, cream, like, half-and-half and ice cream, which are the highest milk fat product. So, it's maybe not that. It might be that your gallbladder is overloaded. And that is the reason why you cannot tolerate or break down those, um, fats. Yeah. Especially if you're eating those things and you're noticing you get pain between your shoulder blades, that's a tell tell sign as well of like gallbladder malfunction or dysfunction because of that inability to break down. You can't lipid fat. Yeah. And gurgling, like, a lot of gurgling. If you're hungry, or after you eat. Yeah. Especially if you feel it like coming up and it's not reflux. Exactly. Like that sensation. Exactly. Someone was asking, you know, our thoughts on the autoimmune paleo diet. And just like a disclaimer that I want to make is that, you know, when it comes to certain diets, like we said before, they should be used as a strategy. But, I think the more important thing, and this I hope is empowering to you guys is that you need to figure out what the heck is going on in your gut that is requiring you to eat that diet because if you if you skew or you move away from that diet, you feel bad. And yes, we can sit here and say, oh, well, it's flaring my autoimmune condition. But, at the end of the day, if you're having such a reaction to foods, it's usually because there is something that is being missed in testing or something that's being missed by your practitioner that's not allowing you to address the root cause. And if you can really figure out what that root cause is and fix the foundation, then you should be able to get back to a balanced diet. But, be able to leverage that diet in the meantime of fixing the foundational problem. Um, so, one thing I wrote, allergies to meat. Beef. So, I'm going to really scare you guys now. So, one of the biggest things that I find, or we find, when someone is like, I can't eat beef. I have an allergic reaction to beef. And this is really also for pork. Is that someone has usually been exposed to contaminated beef or pork. And in some cases, this is them being exposed to the bacteria that is associated with mad cow disease. And, guys, this is not uncommon. No. Uh, it's really not and For the person that was asking about collagen powder, um, I do think vital proteins is a good brand and it is reputable and they're sourcing well. But, there is a lot of collagen powder out there that is derived from beef that is potentially causing issues. Secondary to that is there are vaccines that contain beef gelatin. One of them being the tetanus, also known as DTaP. So, these are things that you need to think about in reference to, like, why am I having such a negative reaction to beef? Is it, you know, because I just have an allergy to beef? Is it because you've been exposed to contaminated beef? And those toxins still live in your body. Yes, that happens. Um, and was that exposure from food? Was that exposure from collagen powder? Was that exposure from beef gelatin in a vaccine?
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Integrative You Radio is a root cause medicine and integrative medicine podcast hosted by Dr. Nicole Rivera and Dr. Nick Carruthers — two integrative doctors who build personalized wellness protocols from your DNA, minerals, hormones, gut, and nervous system rather than from a population template. Looking for an integrative doctor who reads your labs together instead of in isolation? This is the show.
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