Foods That Heal: #2: SWEET POTATOES!!!! (and RECIPES!)! Does Your Body Hurt? Do You Feel Sick? Want To Prevent Disease? Start Eating These Foods!!

Well folks its time for spotlighting another awesome anti-inflammatory, antioxidant food!  This time I thought I'd pick a starch that may surprise you!  SWEET POTATOES!!  

Yes, thats right folks, I'm talking about potatoes!  But sweet potatoes aren't really "potatoes" as we think of them!  While doing research for this post, I was surprised to discover that sweet potatoes themselves are actually not part of the "potato family"--they are a root vegetable in their own family completely separate from white potatoes & even yams!  So bring on these "potatoes!"   As I shared last week with KALE, in each post I'll share why each food rocks nutritionally and give you some recipe options to try to prepare it!  Once again, I'd love to hear any recipe ideas that you have to cook/prepare yummy meals with the featured "Food That Heals!"  Please share your ideas in the comments below!

And now:  back to the sweet potatoes!

You'll note that sweet potatoes showed up on all three of the anti-inflammatory/antioxidant lists I've shared on the blog.  Thats because they are full of powerful micronutrients that pack a major punch to fight & prevent pain, cancer & even stabilize blood glucose in diabetics!  Extra bonus--they taste delicious & have a relatively low glycemic index which makes them a perfect food to satisfy a sweet tooth!

I really love sweet potatoes--I have since I was young but when I became vegan and sugar-free I got a bit stumped on how to cook them!  I was so used to having them baked with butter and brown sugar or in a casserole with marshmellows!!  Luckily, the vegan blogger world stood ready to provide me with many tasty recipes to enjoy this nutritious & delicious treat!  I'll share some yummy recipes later in the post but first, why do sweet potatoes rock?  Remember, I'm a doctor but still engaged in my own nutrition education so I'll do the best I can explaining these nutrients!

Antioxidant Value

• Vitamin A (1 cup provides 438% of the RDA!)--as I shared in Kale last week, Vitamin A is one impressive vitamin.  
• It protects cells against cancer and other diseases and is necessary for new cell growth
• It contains Carotenoids: lutein and beta-carotene--studies have demonstrated a cancer-preventive function for prostate cancer and colorectal cancer in particular! 
• The beta-carotene & anthocyanin in the sweet potatoes is what gives them their rich orange color--beta-carotene is a precursor for Vitamin A (which means it is a substance that helps make Vitamin A)!
• Vitamin C--like Kale, according to "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" this vitamin is an "antioxidant that is required for at least three hundred metabolic functions in the body including tissue growth and repair..."
• THE POWER OF PURPLE: 
• In one study, the antioxidant activity in purple sweet potatoes was 3.2 times higher than that of a type of blueberry! This is due to the anthocyanin (discussed in anti-inflammatory value below) which was  found in one study to have the strongest antioxidizing power out of 150 flavonoids
• I haven't been able to find any purple sweet potatoes at my local Whole Foods but I'm going to see if my little organic shop up the street will order me some from these folks that I found via Google!:-)

Anti-Inflammatory Value (some overlap with antioxidant)

• Anthocyanin:  the pigment that makes sweet potatoes orange and sometimes, even purple!
• a class of flavonoids.  As I mentioned last week, flavonoids are extremely beneficial, check out this paper by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
• Shown in studies to reduce the inflammatory agent  cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) {small informational note: COX-2 inhibitors--things that reduce COX-2--include the drug Celebrex!}

Other fantastic nutritional benefits include:

• Potassium; manganese; Vitamins B6, B3 & B5; copper; tryptophan
• FIBER:  nearly 4 grams per cup!
• and MORE! 

What diseases are Sweet Potatoes thought to influence, prevent, reduce or improve:

• Reduces Pain
• "In animal studies, reduced inflammation following sweet potato consumption has been shown in brain tissue and nerve tissue throughout the body.
• Once again, check out Dr. Neal Barnard's book: "Foods That Fight Pain"
• Helps improve blood glucose control in diabetic patients
• Recent research has shown that extracts from sweet potatoes can help improve the control of blood glucose levels by improving insulin sensitivity in diabetic patients.  
• "It also has been shown to significantly increase blood levels of adiponectin in persons with type 2 diabetes. Adiponectin is a protein hormone produced by our fat cells, and it serves as an important modifier of insulin metabolism." 
• Helps prevent cancer (like all antioxidant dense foods!) 
• May reduce damage to the aging brain, including reducing cognitive deficits
• May help reduce obesity
• studies have shown that the purple sweet potato's anti-inflammatory effects includes suppressing leptin (the molecule that generates fat tissue in the body)
• Helps fight arthrosclerosis & stabilizes the walls of small  blood vessels which can improve blood flow throughout the body
• Improves cholesterol
• A study shared in Dr. Fuhrman's Disease Proof blog indicated that anthocyanin dense foods reduced LDL cholesterol & increased HDL cholesterol

***Caveat:  If you have kidney or gallbladder problems, check with your doctor before you eat a lot of sweet potatoes--they have oxalates in them which can crystallize.***

Recipes:  SO many great recipes!!  What are YOUR favs?

• Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges and Zippy Yams & Bok Choy from p.9 of Dr. Neal Barnard's "Diabetes Recipes" pdf
• Susan Voisin of Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's Millet Sweet Potato Flat Bread sounds AMAZING!  She uses it to make a "cheese" sandwich!  Going on my list for next week!
• Probably my FAVORITE soup: The Healthy Librarian's version of Robin Robertson's Sweet Potato, Spinach, Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, and a Bit of Peanut Butter Soup
• Ok this looks amazing and I'm so sad that with my soy-free life I can't have it but for the rest of you:  The Vegan Epicurean's Sweet Potato Torta with Dijon Cream
• My New Roots Sweet Potato Hummus:  OK YUMMY!!!
• Sweet potatoes for breakfast?  Oh yes!  Check this out from "Oh She Glows":  Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole and this other Sweet Potato Breakfast Salad recipe from "Choosing Raw"
• Healthy Girl's Kitchen shared this great looking Sweet Potato Stew recipe from another blog The Jana/Dr. Joel Project 
• When Lindsay Nixon's new book the "Everyday Happy Herbivore" came out, she was kind enough to send me one of the recipes as a preview--yummy Sweet Potato Dal!

Ok thats all folks!  Enjoy!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Eat Delicious Food, Drop Weight Like Crazy, Save Money & Feel Amazing: Just a Few Reasons I LOVE Being Plant-Strong!

Plant-strong eating rocks!!


One thing that I like about my new vegan lifestyle is that it has gotten SO much easier to continue my physical recovery (health & weight loss).  


In Dr. Esselstyn's book one of the parts that really stuck out to me is the section where Ann Esselstyn shares that with this diet there is no "calorie counting" and no "portion-control" dieting techniques involved. (This is good because I don't do diets anymore!)  Its very simple.  If you start gaining weight--eat less starch.  If you are losing weight too fast--eat more starch. And that is it. I didn't really buy that explanation until I started practicing a plant-based no-oil low-fat diet.  I'm not 100% oil-free 100% of the time but I do my best and guess what?  It really is as simple as Mrs. Esselstyn described! 


Why is it simple?


No Calorie-Counting
I tried at first to work my vegan diet the way I worked my food plan before veganism:  weighing and measuring my food, portioning things on my plate so half of the plate was veggies, 1/4 was protein (beans) & 1/4 was starch (grains).  This worked solidly for me in the past--I lost 70 lbs doing it after all & I totally recommend it!  But in my new food plan of low-fat plant-based eating, these tried and true methods never worked because I was hungry a few hours later AND with all the beans I was eating I began to have some unwanted GI side effects which caused me great embarrassment!! 


So after discovering that the World Health Organization actually ONLY recommends protein as 8-10% of your diet (0.81g/kg body weight per day), I decided to stop stressing out about the balance of portions, reduce the excessive use of beans and just eat whatever no-oil, low-fat vegan food I can find.  So far this has been working for me--mostly because I stay away from the processed vegan foods & I continue to maintain my sugar-free, gluten-free lifestyle with a strong preference for anti-inflammatory foods! I also make a conscious effort to eat a WIDE variety of colorful foods--particularly a lot of dark leafy greens.  Its pretty hard to overeat because all the FIBER is exceptionally good at doing what it was designed to do:  fill us up!!  Its also pretty easy to eat reasonably because I'm avoiding all the "Standard American Diet" foods that were designed to addict us!  


Weight Loss Without Effort
Obviously for me since I have an eating disorder, there is effort involved with regards to my emotional and spiritual stability BUT the mechanics of weight loss & physical recovery are SO much easier than the first 70lbs I lost without being a 100% vegan.  I've literally effortlessly dropped 30 lbs in the last few months since starting a 100% plant-based diet with minimal fats.  


I actually think I've dropped more than that because my husband kept coming up to me yesterday and telling me I need to buy new pants because I can fit my fist between my belly button and the waistband they are so big!  I protested and say I just bought these pants 2 or 3 weeks ago--but I guess the weight keeps sliding off.  So I'll head back to Goodwill or Salvation Army sometime this week (and YES I shop there because why the heck would I buy full-priced clothes when I have to keep buying new ones that fit?!  Besides, you can find some gorgeous clothes there in perfect condition.  I even get work clothes there and no one has any idea--at least until I just published it here! :-))  This need for smaller sized clothes has happened multiple times in the last few months.  


As you know from my "Dear 268 Pound Me," I don't weigh myself often so I'll let you know in February or so where I am!!  I still have more weight to lose to get to my healthy weight per medical science so for now, I'll keep doing what I'm doing!


I Eat A Lot
Of course, I work my 12 step compulsive eating recovery program to prevent binge & compulsive eating behaviors, but I do eat a TON of interesting, delicious food.  When I share at work that I'm now vegan as well as the sugar-free, gluten-free from before, everyone looks at me like I have two heads and ask me what in the world I eat?!  Um, Soups & Stews & Pasta & Pizza & Sandwiches & Dips & Rice & Casseroles & Curries!  Oh yeah, I forgot!  I also eat a TON of Fruits & Vegetables!  Then I take off my little tupperware top and let people sample my lunch.  Most common response:  "What was that recipe again?  That's SO good!"  Seriously, you'd think eating fat-free plant-based foods would be tasteless or something (at least that is what I used to think!) but it actually tastes AMAZING if you use great recipes & great cookbooks!


We Save A LOT of money
People always say "isn't eating a vegan diet expensive?" Um, my answer is a resounding NO!  My husband and I have saved SO much money since switching to a vegan diet.  Just think about how much beans, rice, fruits and vegetables cost compared to meats & dairy products?  If you eat 100% organic all the time than it can be expensive but we take advantage of frozen organic veggies which seem to be cheaper than fresh a lot of the time.  We also can't eat 100% organic 100% of the time, mostly because we are on a tight budget (thank you my nightmare of student loans) and there aren't always organic options available where we live so we do the best we can!  To combat the pesticides as best we can, we wash all our fruits & veggies with this organic vegetable wash called "Fit." Just water really doesn't remove any of those pesticides and soap tastes bad!


We also save money by buying dry beans in bulk from our local health food store & we don't eat a lot of nuts or tofu.  We also don't eat any "faux" meats or things like vegan mayonnaise or vegan margarine etc.  The processed items do tend to be more expensive so we stay away from them.  We operate usually on a tight "cash only" envelope system so we can only spend so much on groceries each week!  We cook and bring all of our lunches to work & fix our own snacks, etc.  Planning our food in advance really keeps costs down too.


I Feel Good & Know That I'm Being Good To My Body
With every bite I put in my mouth, I know I'm helping reduce my risk of getting heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.  With every bite I know that I'm making a conscious choice to live an active, productive life that doesn't end with frailty & a nursing home bound existence.  With every bite I can feel my body get stronger & my energy levels rise.  I don't drink caffeine at all but I have more energy with a plant-based diet than I have in YEARS!  This way of eating is guaranteeing me health in a way no other diet can.  And that feels good.


Ok! So that is why I'm a huge fan of plant-based eating!  Do any of you have stories of your own experiences with a plant-based diet?  I always love to hear some inspiration! :-)
The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Struggling With Loved Ones' Choices: A Guest Post from The Happy Nurse

It's the Happy Nurse (the Happy Rehab Doc’s husband) here with a little post.

I'm Canadian yet I've lived and worked in the U.S. since the mid 1990's. My parents are retired and like so many Canadian seniors they head to warmer locations for the winter. We had the good fortune of having them here with us over Christmas this year, as they stopped in on the drive south. Unfortunately my father had some chest pain on Christmas day and spent a few days in the hospital having labs and other tests performed.

I spend my working life taking care of patients immediately after open heart surgery. I'm a critical care nurse and enjoy the challenge of open heart, trauma and ER. In short I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I like having to make quick choices and having to be really good at my job. Yet I still know that however many numbers I'm looking at, however many labs I'm reviewing, however many xrays I look at, it's always some one's mother, father, son or daughter. I think that the real strength of my job is being able to blend the technology with the person. Medicine is both art and science. When we bring the two together we are much more successful than either alone.

This time it was my father lying on the hospital bed waiting to find out if he was going to be ok. All the knowledge I have doesn't change the heart ache of seeing him and my mother scared. It's debilitating. I find myself having a very difficult time being objective. I try to remember this sensation, the fear, the helplessness, when I care for patients. If I do then maybe I can ease the pain of another family.

My father is a wonderful man. I have learned so much from him about how to live, give and love. It hurts to see him and my mother worrying about what will happen. I wish so much I could take that pain and worry away. My father also eats poorly. He smokes and doesn't exercise very much. I do my best to help him make better decisions but they are his to make.

I'll always love him no matter what he chooses. I know that others out there struggle with loved ones who make poor choices, I see it at work every day. I know your pain and I share your prayers. Thank goodness everything worked out and he was discharged to continue the trip.

I can't control or force him to change. I can try to lead by example. I can make sure he sees how much happier and healthier I am when I choose to eat vegan. When I choose to get on the rower rather than the sofa. When I celebrate life by living it to its fullest. I have my own health challenges. I have years of poor choices including what and how I ate to overcome. Today I choose to try to be an example to myself and my family.

Tip #8 For The Best Hospital Care: Be Nice ~ Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~

Today we continue our series on how to get the best hospital care--this post is pretty much common sense but you would be surprised at how easy it is to have The Golden Rule disappear out the window in crisis.  The purpose of this series however is for you to learn how to get the BEST hospital care, and if I didn't mention this than I would be remiss in achieving this goal.  


Please be nice is the FIRST & strongest piece of advice I gave my hospitalized family member AND all other members of my family.  So they were nice and things went a lot better (nurses gave quick assistance with a smile & physicians spent longer time in the room).  Take this advice to heart--if you do nothing else, follow this tip!


Tip #8:  Be Nice:  One of my Mom's best friends always said: "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."  This REALLY applies in the hospital setting.  I realize that when your are sick you don't feel much like "making nice" and when you are worried about your family you "just want answers." But the reality of the situation is that medical personnel are just that--people! 

Every person wants to be treated with courtesy and you WILL get better & more responsive care if you are kind to the nurses/physicians/techs/cleaning persons/administrative assistants/social workers/dietary staff.  

I know (from being on the patient side of things) that some staff members don't return the favor & this may not seem fair.  To be honest, I had to sometimes ACTIVELY tell myself not to snap at people last week as I sat with my sick family member.  I kept reminding myself of the following key point:  most staff members are not actively trying to be rude--they are stressed, they are understaffed & they are trying to please a lot of different people at once.  By surprising them by being nice, they will look forward to coming into your room--this translates into more attentive care.

With regards to the nursing staff & techs--one last thought.  Please remember not to treat them like they are your servant & remember that you are not their only patient.  Don't "speak down to them."  If you need something within your own reach & you are well enough than get it (*without doing anything you were told NOT to do by the nurse/doc*), than do it for yourself. 

• Please don't be like a patient I saw the other night who had the staff running in and out of the room trying to please her requests.  The evening culminated in her asking me to comb her hair & get her skin cream for her even though both items were on the tray in front of her & she was more than capable to do so herself.  I had to sit down & talk to her about the importance of bundling her requests & asking only for things that she cannot do herself so the staff could do their job for all the other patients on the floor.  After the explanation she seemed to understand & the staff enjoyed caring for her much more!  

That said, there are limits to this suggestion. If you believe that someone is actually actively being harmful to your or your family members than ABSOLUTELY you should stop them firmly & ask to talk to the nurse manager or patient care advocate immediately.  If its an issue with a doctor you can "ask for a second opinion."  Just no matter how angry you are, take a deep breath & ask nicely--things will get fixed a lot faster.

Coming Up Next Time on Medical System Tuesday: 

• Tip #9 For The Best Hospital Care:  Pay Attention ~ Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~

Coming Up This Week:

• BOOK REVIEW:  "29 Gifts!"
• SuperImmunity for Kids ~Part 2~!
• Practical Stuff:  Kitchen Tools That Help & Products I Like!!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

RECIPES: What the Happy Nurse & I Are Eating THIS Week!:-)

The Healthy Librarian's version of Robin Robertson's
Sweet Potato-Spinach-Roasted Tomato-Peanut Soup

This week is going to be particularly awesome because we will have food in the house!! Between work on the Spinal Cord Injury unit and visiting my dear family member every night at the hospital, the last two weeks have been a lot of eating take-out.  If I see the name Pei Wei again I think I actually might be ill!  


Anyways, thanks to a four day weekend I've had some time to plan to do a little cooking!  This is pretty much the FIRST Thankgiving in YEARS that I haven't been working!!!  Hooray!!  Of course my hubby, the Happy Nurse, did work Thanksgiving but he has this weekend off too so yay!!  And, best news ever, my family member is out of the hospital and tucked in at home in good health & spirits :-)


So this week we'll be eating (and I'm planning for us to cook enough for the next 2-3 weeks so thats why there is a multitude!):  

 Barley Soup, TJ's 17 Bean & Barley Soup & Aztec Corn Soup
in our NEW 3-in-1 Slow Cooker!!

Soups [all freeze well, and with our NEW 3-in-1 slow cooker (only $35 at Walmart!), SO easy to make multiple soups at the same time!!]


1)  The Healthy Librarian's version of Robin Robertson's Sweet Potato, Spinach, Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, and a Bit of Peanut Butter Soup
2)  The Happy Herbivore's Aztec Corn Soup from The Happy Herbivore Cookbook
3)  17 Bean & Barley Soup with dried beans mix from Trader Joe's (Recipe on the package & on a website I found via Google!)
4) Barley Soup (my own basic recipe--vegetable broth, barley, garlic, oregano, basil, salt & pepper)


Sandwich fillers & Sandwiches:
1) Curried Bean Dip from Susan O'Brien's Cookbook: The Gluten-Free Vegan
2) Artichoke-Bean Dip from Ann Esselstyn (Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease)
3) Kale & Lemon Sandwiches by Ann Esselstyn on The Healthy Librarian


Main Courses:
1) Enlighted Big Vegn's Creamy Triple Mushroom Fettucine (without the gluten Seitan)
2) Steak & Pepper Fajitas (The Happy Herbivore Cookbook)
3)  Tempeh Joes (The Happy Herbivore Cookbook)
4)  Hawaiian Chickpea Teriyaki (The Happy Herbivore Cookbook)
5)  Portobello Steaks (The Happy Herbivore Cookbook)


Sides:
1) Mashed Potatoes (potatoes, oak milk, salt & pepper)
2)  Frozen veggies (Thank You Trader Joes)!
YUMYUMYUM!!

Coming Up THIS WEEK:

• SuperImmunity Foods for KIDS (Calling All PARENTS!)
• RECIPES & Ideas: Snacks!  YUMMY & Portable Plant-Based Snack Food--all sugar-free, gluten-free & without adding oil or fat!!

Next Time on Medical System Tuesdays (new feature on the blog):

• Tip #7:  Know Your Doctors: A Short Guide to Hierarchy! ~ More Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

How To Get The BEST Medical Care: Insider Tips From A Doc! Part 1: In the Hospital!

If you ever expect to be in the hospital or expect to have a family member in the hospital than I strongly encourage you to read this series of posts & email them to your family & friends.  I'm not writing about food or nutrition or weight loss here but this post IS about HEALTH.  I'm writing this post on hospitals instead of my planned "outpatient tips" because I had a family member in the hospital last week and the whole experience made me realize how confusing the hospital is to everyone but us healthcare providers!!


Before I get to far into this post I want to say two things.

First, if you are one of my doctor/nurse/ancillary staff readers, please feel free to add any other "insider" tips to the comments to be of service to other readers.


Second, when I say, "how to get the BEST medical care" I am NOT saying that we are not trying our best to care for you!!  I am just letting you know a few simple ways to allow your doctors & nurses (and everyone else who cares for you) to perform to the best of their abilities.  At our best we can treat you more effectively & provide you with care beyond our usual high standard.


I planned to make this a single post at first but there is SO much information to share about how to navigate the hospital system that I'm breaking this up in to FIVE posts. As a side note--I don't particularly like the way this all works, but its the system we currently have & I want you to all get the best out of it!

Here are Tips #1 & #2 to get the BEST medical care during a hospital stay: 

Tip #1: Be a teammate:  The only information about your history that we know is what you tell us.  Be an active participant in your care--this is a team effort.  It may not seem that way because since we docs do have definite opinions after spending >12 years in school/training.  But this is your body & you need to take responsibility as well.  


Ask questions (See below on how to organize these questions to get the MOST data).  Understand what is going on and why different tests are being done.  ASK the KEY questions I list in TIP #3 (next time).  The most important thing is to be prepared, organized & concise (see my points below).  Write things down. THIS IS A TEAM EFFORT!!


Tip #2:  Be concise & be organized:  
The key to all hospital communication is "keep it short."   


How can you interact with physicians to get the best care AND get a good understanding of what is going on?:


On admission:  

• Bring the Meds, Allergies & Past Medical History documents I suggest (in tomorrow's post) & have the doc/staff make a copy.  Say that all the background information they need is on those sheets.
• If you have time en route to the hospital (& you or your family member is able to do so): jot down a quick timeline of all the events that led to you needing to go to the hospital. 
• Example:  Monday my stomach started hurting.  It was a stabbing pain in the left side of my belly.  Tuesday I began to vomit dark material.  Wednesday I fell because I was lightheaded and then we came to the hospital

In the hospital:

• Pick ONE spokesperson for the family.  This person is the point person for the family & will communicate all information to other family members.  Try to have this person be the only one who speaks during conversations with the doc.  The spokesperson can be YOU if you are the patient & want to be the one asking the questions.
• Put together a master list of all the questions you & your family have for the doctor. **Make sure you ask the KEY questions I list in tomorrow's post if they are relevant to your situation.** 
• After writing out all you can, prioritize them.  What do you need to know IMMEDIATELY?  What do you need to know eventually?  What do you need to know before the patient leaves? 
• Then go through the list & edit it again making EACH questions as short as possible.  
• If there are questions on there about patient care, ask your nurse (once again briefly) whether you should ask the nurse about these questions or the doctor.  
• If there are questions about what happens when you get home, save them for the social worker at first & if he/she doesn't have the answer, ask your doctor the next time you see them.   
• Pick the HIGH PRIORITY questions to ask the doctor when they see you in their morning "rounds." Give these questions to your spokesperson (this may be YOU if you are the patient!)
•  If you have a complaint, share it after you get the first two key questions done or your entire conversation with the doc will be about that & you will be wasting important data-gathering time.

Important FYI: The doctors will visit all their patients in the morning usually between 6am-10am.  These visits are called "rounds" or "rounding."  If they are a surgeon it will be earlier. If they are in a teaching hospital, the resident will come in early.  If its a community hospital, expect between 8-10am. If a family member wants to ask questions then make sure they are bedside with the patient during these times.


Within a short time period, we docs have to see all our patients & then focus on our sickest ones.  Sometimes we have to attend to our sickest folks first, delaying rounding on everyone else.  This is the way it works. Maybe someday this will change, but this is how the system runs now. 


Do not expect a doc to be able to have a prolonged conversation in the morning.


If you are stable, you may not see the doc again that day.  This may seem strange & honestly, its not really our preference (we'd prefer to see patients more often but it just isn't possible with our workload).  Just know that we are continuing to monitor you throughout the day and remember that everything is a balance between all our patients.  


If your/your family member's condition is serious or the patient is in the ICU or in Rehab, ask for a "family meeting" to be scheduled with the doc to provide a thorough discussion of what is going on with the patient with the whole family present.


Next Post:  How To Get The BEST Medical Care: Insider Tips From A Doc! Tips #3 &4: Key Question to Ask the Doctor in the Hospital & Key Things You Need to Know About Yourself!! (Part 2 of 5)


Coming Up AFTER Thanksgiving:

• SuperImmunity Foods for KIDS (Calling All PARENTS!)
• RECIPES & Ideas: Snacks!  YUMMY & Portable Plant-Based Snack Food--all sugar-free, gluten-free & without adding oil or fat!!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Using Food to Heal PAIN: Part 2: What Did I Do? Also, Effects on Arthritis, Acute Muscle Strains, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Pain, Chronic Fatigue, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer!!

Ok, the question you might be asking is what did I ACTUALLY do to treat my neck and back pain with food instead of NSAIDs (Mobic, Ibuprofen, etc)? As you saw in my last post on the power of the anti-inflammatory diet to reduce or reverse pain there is a very long list of both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory foods.   Discussing the literature is one thing, but what did I do in real life?

Well, basically, I used that Anti-Inflammatory Book as a Bible but made a few tweaks of my own (me, doing it "my" way--shocking?!).  


I first gave up all dairy (which actually wasn't that hard because I already wasn't eating cheese & I hadn't drank milk since I was a teenager because it caused recurent sinus infections).  I didn't notice a massive difference in my pain at that point, but it improved enough to make me a believer.  Then I gave up sugar & gluten--holy cow--HUGE improvement!  


Sugar as an agent of inflammation wasn't a huge surprise to me.  Prior to these dietary changes, whenever I started to feel a cold coming on, I would immediately eliminate all sugar from my diet (including fruit) and eat a ton of nutrient-rich vegetables (SPINACH! Kale, broccoli, green beans, collard greens, etc).  If I did that the very first day I started to feel bad (as well as take 1 day dose of 50mg of Zinc & 1000mg Vitamin C), I rarely every progressed to getting the cold or sinus infection I was heading towards.  I honestly can't tell you why I made this choice--I think that probably about 10 years ago I read about improving children's immune systems in Dr. Leo Galland's book "Superimmunity for Kids" & some of that removing sugar to improve the immune system advice was in there!  Either way, it works like clockwork for me despite the fact that I work in a hospital and get exposed to nasty germs every day!  


The whole gluten thing was a surprise to me though...so I had to do a little research.  One of my medical school classmates (and dear friend) had eliminated gluten from her diet because she was getting recurrent sore throats that stopped when she stopped eating it, so I knew that eliminating gluten from my diet would have some effects.  But, since I didn't have celiac disease (a disease that causes the body to reject gluten & cause severe intestinal & other dysfunction), I couldn't quite figure out why I got such a big bump in pain relief with the gluten elimination.  After researching it,  I now just think that maybe it is because wheat gluten isn't what it used to be.  What do I mean by that?  Well, briefly--if I was eating wheat about 50 years ago I wouldn't recognize the wheat we eat today.  Compared to farmer's products in the past, todays wheat is extremely genetically modified--with many natural nutrients depleted over time.  So my body obviously doesn't like our wheat!  I'll be happy to share more about that research in a future post, but I could go on forever about that so lets focus on the PAIN stuff some more.


Around the time I stopped sugar and gluten I also stopped caffeine!!  I cannot believe that I forgot to mention this in my earlier posts!  It was seriously one of the HARDEST things I've ever done.  I felt horrible stopping the caffeine--a headache that didn't budge for a week was so painful to work through.  But once again, on the other side--less pain, more alert brain.  Crazy how this all works!  I should note that the majority of my caffeine consumption was tea.  I didn't really drink much coffee or sodas even before giving up caffeine.  My "no coffee rule" was because back when I was obese I constantly had GERD (reflux/heartburn) and I eventually gave myself a severe case of gastritis that forced me to eliminate the coffee that kept me awake for most of med school!  My "no soda rule" was because sodas actually contain phosphorus which leaches the calcium out of your bones putting you at much higher risk for osteoporosis as you age.  Yup, its true folks--but sometimes its hard to get that message out about such a profitable product!  I'll write in a future post about why diet sodas are particularly bad (they damage your bones AND they change the way you store your fat so it makes it harder to lose weight)!


Tomatoes, Potatoes, Corn & Citrus fruits didn't really seem to alter my pain levels so I kept them in.  I already don't drink b/c we're 12 steppers so no alcohol to eliminate!  


So I marched along without sugar, gluten or caffeine while consciously eating more Omega-3's, nutrient rich veggies on that anti-inflammatory list, berries, garlic, Roobios team (no caffeine), quinoa (my fav) and other grains.  I did this while maintaining a daily professional traction machine & exercise regimen prescribed by my PT for my neck.  I was doing all those PT directed activities before the food changes so I believe I can isolate the food changes as an independent variable (science speak).  In other words, I think I can safely say that the food was the main thing that changed, and after that change, the pain improved enough to get off the daily anti-inflammatory meds (normal people speak)!  

THEN, comes the Vegan thing.  Literally about 2 weeks after giving up meat of all kinds (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish etc)--I was pain-free nearly all the time.  I even noticed that in the weeks prior to the initiation of the Vegan program we had been cooking out a lot on the grill (with delicious meat from a local beef farm of course--support local farmers!) & my pain seemed to be a bit higher in those weeks despite the lack of sugar, gluten or caffeine.  Then BOOM--goodbye meat, goodbye pain.


So there you go--thats my story!  Remember of course, my repetitive caveat to read my medical disclaimer below!!! 


Here are a few comments on specific ailments: Arthritis, Acute Muscle Strains, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Pain, Chronic Fatigue, Heart Disease, Diabetes and Cancer.  Please remember that the majority of the findings discussed below are still deemed "inconclusive as effective" in large scale peer-reviewed research studies--however, I believe there is enough quality data (even in small studies) to support at least considering dietary changes for treating or supplementing treatment of the following conditions.  The arthritis data however ARE very well supported in the literature (see the link below).


1) Arthritis:  eliminating anti-inflammatory foods obviously has a major and rapid impact on this inflammatory condition.  There should be no such thing as "I'm growing old at 50 and my joints hurt"--seriously--I mean it--seriously!  I spent over an hour with a patient a few weeks ago who could barely walk due to his arthritis--he committed to making dietary changes & I can't wait to see him walk into the office in a few months.  I am that big a believer in this! 


A few excellent resources on food as medicine for Arthritis include an outstanding article written by Dr. Neal Barnard from the Physicians for Responsible Medicine.  You can read it here: http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/foods-and-arthritis


2) Back strain, sprained ankles, tendonitis etc--all of these are examples of injuries with acute or chronic inflammation.  Basically the body has a very smart response to injury--in non-medical speak: it draws on its own resources to infiltrate the damaged areas, heat them to protect them from bacteria & stimulate the tissue to heal.  So inflammation is a good thing actually.  But when you pile on a bunch of additional sources of inflammation like food and chronic inflammatory diseases like Diabetes or Heart Disease, the inflammation can get out of control & healing can be prolonged.  


When I face those situations, I recommend eliminating every inflammatory food on that list immediately and starting to consume as many of the anti-inflammatory foods as possible.  Watch for yourself and see what happens.  Of course, the foods can only do so much to overcome the power of inflammatory diseases like Diabetes or Heart Disease but if you aren't severely ill with a chronic disease, I'll bet you'll be surprised with how quickly the injury heals and the pain goes away! That is at least my own experience.


3) Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Syndrome:  Both of these illnesses trap patients in a body that is extremely hypersensitive to normal stimuli.  What this basically means is that, if you touch a fibromyalgia patient during a flare, they are exceptionally sensitive to touch in particular areas of their bodies that occur in a very specific pattern.  They also are overwhelmed with fatigue (and in most cases, depression).  Chronic Pain patients feel pain when normal people do not--their nerve endings are so damaged that they are hyperactive, creating a seemingly "fake" response on physical exam.  True Chronic Pain Syndrome is very very real, and more common than I would like.  It is also accompanied by fatigue and depression.  


Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain patients are two of the most common patient groups in my specialty AND I believe they are two of the main groups that would benefit greatly from dietary treatment of their disease.  Many of these patients are as obese as I once was, and their bodies are in an overwhelming state of inflammation from the obesity ON TOP of the inflammation from the painful diseases!  I would love to see more doctors treating these patients with an anti-inflammatory, vegan diet before doing anything else (such as add narcotic medications to allow these people to function)!


3) Diabetes, Chronic Fatigue, Heart Disease:   These are all diseases of chronic inflammation.  There is a particular marker of inflammation that the body puts out, its called C-reactive Protein (CRP).  When you measure the CRP in people, the result can be predictive of future heart dysfunction if the measurement is done when the patient is not in an acute state of illness. Once again, inflammatory disease, eliminate inflammatory foods (including  oils & fats according to Dr. Esselstyn) & add anti-inflammatory foods!


4) Cancer:  I will devote a whole post to cancer in the future with regards to prevention & how to use foods for healing in conjunction with treatment by traditional Western Medicine.  I need to do some more research to supplement what I know but I can tell you this much.  First, significant studies have been done that demonstrate a reduction in cancer risk with adoption of an anti-inflammatory diet such as a vegan diet.  Second, any patient going through chemotherapy or radiation can tell you how exhausting and depleted the body feels.  They also do not feel like eating due to severe nausea, even though eating is the one thing that can boost their tolerance of the treatments!  They could possibly benefit a great deal by optimizing their intake of anti-inflammatory foods and eliminating inflammatory foods:

1. to reduce the activation of cancer cells (as demonstrated in rat models with casein (found in animal products)-- Dr. Colin Campbell's original research)
2. to provide them with the extra boost they need to manage the chemo and radiation process.  

Ok!  That about wraps it up for this post!  Hope this information is helpful and looking forward to writing more about this in the future!


****
After I wrote this I found some awesome posts from other bloggers on this topic!  Here are a few excellent ones:  


1)  Healthy Librarian: Using Medical Journals to Guide Your Cooking!
2) Vegan Epicurean (scroll down to the bottom to see her comments on a recent JHU conference!)
3) Healthy Girl's Kitchen: great post on sugar!!!


The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.