Best of the Blogosphere From the Last Week!! Reverse Diabetes, Gratitude, Sleep & Salads!!! AND, the Recipe(s) of the Week!

Well, once again we have another week of outstanding posts in the free blogosphere (yay!).  I'm so grateful for my little "Pulse" app on my iPhone that I can use to keep up with all these posts on the fly!  


Here are my FAVORITE blog posts this week!  What were YOUR favorite posts?????!!! 


1) From the Healthy Librarian's Happy Healthy Long Life blog: Can You Really Reverse Diabetes with a Plant-Based Diet? 
 Fantastic video on Reversing Diabetes Mellitis with food programs--excellent explanation of diabetes & its effect on the body by Dr. Neal Barnard of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. AND how to reverse it!!  Its 37 mins long but SO worth it!! If you have family members who are pre-diabetic, diabetic or have a family history of diabetes than please forward this on to them:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqCxVEAUjd0.


2)  Really excellent post on sleep on the Disease Proof blog.  I think that sleep is absolutely critical to our health, well-being AND ability to be at a healthy weight!  (not to mention its effect on reducing Altzheimer's disease etc.)  I'm working on writing a blog post on sleep and am considering starting a special one month long "Sleep Challenge" for all of you!  What do you think?  Would you join me in something like that?  Either way, check this post out!


3) Two very exciting posts on salads!  I really love these posts because I've been avoiding having salads for so many years because for me, salad = diet food! But in the last month or so I've been inspired by both Wendy and Susan Voisin's posts on salads (as well as My New Root's Winter Slaw)!  Now I'm eating more salads and I love hearing how other people "build salads" and encourage themselves to eat them!

• Wendy from Healthy Girl's Kitchen did a guest post on the Engine 2 Diet blog!!  Its an excellent post on how to build a salad.  Check it out!  Extra bonus in this post:  links to her oil-free dressings (as you can see I'm a huge fan of her Caesar Salad No-Oil Dressing!)
• Susan Voisin from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's blog gives "Tips on How to Eat Salad's When You Really Don't Want To!"  Extra bonus in the post:  an AWESOME recipe for vegan ranch dressing!

4)  Oh She Glow's "Gratitude Challenge".  I posted on Facebook about this but I HAD to mention it again because it is so powerful.  The idea of having a gratitude CONVERSATION every day with another person is such a huge boost to our mind-body health!  I hope you will join Angela (the blogger) on this! 

5)  Prescribing Yoga's post on "Trying to Stay Healthy":  Ok unless you are in medicine you might not appreciate this blog post, but I read it and laughed.  This brilliant young doc is doing such a great job of surviving intern year AND striving for health.  When you are an intern (your first year of being a doctor after medical school) the pace literally almost kills you.  Am I a fan of this method of training doctors--NO. Will I spend my life trying to change this system--YES.   

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:  I've got TWO this week!  

1)  Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Butternut Mac & Cheese (soooooo going on my food plan for this week!!)

2)........Ok so this next recipe may shock you guys, and for those of you who have issues with chocolate then stop reading my post now!  

.

.

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Ok, are all my chocolate addict folks gone?  Alright, Post Punk Kitchen posted a recipe for Raspberry Truffle Brownies that I think I will be able to easily adapt to be sugar-free!  Will add a bit more gluten-free flour and a bit more of the raspberry jam (grape juice sweetened) instead of the sugar!  I'll let you know how it turns out :-)


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.

~Part 2~ A ToolKit to Communicate with Your Doctor and Take Charge of Your Health!!

Today, for Medical System Tuesday (well it actually is a Wednesday this week because I didn't have time to complete the post earlier!) we continue to focus on outpatient topics to optimize your health BEFORE you become acutely ill.  As I mentioned last post, I completed my inpatient series of "Insider Tips" and now we've moved out the outpatient series.  


Before we get started, I wanted to ask you that after you read this post, could you please share in the comments below if you have ever had problems communicating with your doctor and/or understanding why various tests or medications were ordered?  What do you do to make sure you are getting high quality care? Any tips to share with your fellow readers?


My goal by the end of this outpatient series is for you to be able to:

• get the BEST out of your doctor--in other words, to do your part to empower your doctor to optimally use their expertise to your benefit
• understand what is going on with your own health--knowledge is power
• learn how to organize your health information to improve the quality & efficiency of your medical care
• know how to advocate for appropriate preventive care according to your age, gender & medical history
• learn how to prevent medical errors (check out the last two of my reader Christy's comments on one of my older posts--she followed the communication tips from my previous post and actually was able to help prevent her doctor from making an error with her medications!!!-note--there are a lot of comments on that page, scroll down to the end to see what I'm referring to!)
• be an active teammate in your wellness journey as opposed to a passive participant

Part 1 outlined the the first steps to seize control of your own health. How many folks followed through on the assignments?  Don't worry if you didn't--even if all you do is read these posts to become aware of ways to improve your ability to receive excellent quality healthcare, that is an important beginning!!!  


Oh!  And for all of you who haven't been to a doctor in years--please go.  As you can see by Part 1, you may be due for some important preventive screens that can actually save your life!!

Ok moving on.


Today, in Part 2, we'll get specific about what data your doctor need to really get a comprehensive view of your health.  Why does this matter? Lets look at an example:


You come into your doctor's office for a check-up and says the following:  "I'm feeling good doc--a few headaches over the last few weeks, but other than that, I'm ok."  The doctor has 15 mins to see you.  The doctor checks the chart--your vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, etc) look good, your "finger stick" to check your blood glucose is mildly elevated.  So the majority of the visit you and the doctor talk about your headaches--what do they feel like, how long do they last, how severe are they, what makes them worse, what makes them better?  And then you get a quick physical exam, a prescription for some migraine medications and are sent to the lab to get your blood drawn.


Sounds ok right--well there is just one problem.  You forgot to mention that you've been urinating a lot more than usual, you feel thirsty all the time, and you actually came in this morning after not eating dinner last night or breakfast this morning because of your headache.  So when your doctor looked at your blood glucose "finger stick" they didn't become alarmed because they assumed you'd eaten breakfast that day and the elevation was due to that.  Instead, you may have diabetes.  It might show up on your labs but maybe not.  Next thing you know, three weeks later you are being admitted to the hospital with severe hyperglycemia and require IV insulin & an ICU stay.... 


Ok this is an extreme example, I know, but it could be really be anything--a black mole on your leg that is getting bigger but you forget to mention, some weight loss that wasn't intentional but didn't seem important to bring up, some increased shortness of breath with activity that you downplay to the doc....etc.  It is VERY hard to hit on all the points needed to make a good clinical diagnosis in a short interview.  That is where you come in!!  Docs need data from the patient to get the right diagnosis!!!!!!  It is 100% a team effort!!! And you can help them ask the right questions based on how organized you are before you come to the visit & how well you understand what is important to share with your doctor!


So to get you organized and keyed into the important parts of your history to share with the doctor, here are your assignments for Part 2. These are all key tasks to complete in the two weeks prior to your appointment. Your goal is to enter your doctor's appointment organized (see Part 1 as well) AND make sure you leave the appointment with a clear understanding of what your doctor recommended and most importantly, WHY!

1)  If you have any of the following chronic diseases, prepare CLEARLY PRINTED OR TYPED logs for your doctor on ONE PAGE:

• If you are a diabetic or have hypertension (high blood pressure) and you don't keep a log of your blood sugars or blood pressure, in the 2 weeks before you go to the doctor record daily at least 2 "finger-stick" values (at least one before breakfast) and get your blood pressure measured each day (use a home blood pressure cuff or grocery stories sometimes have them).
• If you have angina record the number of times you have been symptomatic in the two weeks prior to your visit and what you were doing at the time.
• If you have an inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome, write down your daily bowel symptoms for two weeks prior to the appointment as well.
• If you have depression or anxiety try to keep a "mood diary" for the two weeks prior to the appointment
• If you have a pain disorder, try to keep a "pain diary" of your pain levels at four different points throughout the day, when you needed to take your "as needed" medications and what effect the medication had on your pain level.  

2)  For EVERYONE:  Sit down before the doctors appointment & review your health in every body system you have so you will able to answer your doctor's questions quickly & clearly.  


Here is a link to good old Wikipedia's "Review of Symptoms". (currently down due to the Jan 18th protest--check it out tomorrow!)  There are also twenty million "review of symptoms" forms that pop up on a google search.  Don't get overwhelmed.  Just quickly go through each category and not any abnomalities.  For example:  Eyes: blurry vision, Heart: nothing, Lungs: cough, etc.

6) Read through everything you have organized (including the medical info sheet & history from Part 1) and make a list of questions to ask your doctor.  


Try to limit the list to less than 5 questions in order of priority.  Make at least two questions the following:

"Doc if you could pick two things for me to work on healthwise this year what would you choose?"

 And 

"Are there any medications I could potentially get off of if I changed my eating habits or exercise level?"

You can also use this Free Online "Question Building Tool" that the AHRQ put together to help patients prepare for doctor's appointments!

7) Once you have finished your question sheet, clearly PRINT/TYPE it and make 3 copies:  


1) Give 1 to the receptionist at check-in and ask her to give it to your doctor's nurse so your doc can look over the questions (if they have time) before entering your room. 



2) Give 1 to the doc when he/she walks in the room--just say: "I made this brief list because I want to make sure that I ask you the questions I have but also help you stay on schedule because I know you are very busy" (the doc will LOVE this statement).


3) Keep one in your lap with something hard to write on. leave enough room after each question on your copy so you can write down AS THE DOC IS TALKING so before they leave the room you can *quickly* repeat what they said so you make sure you understand.  Just say:  "Doc, I want to quickly repeat what you said to make sure I understand so I can follow through on what we discussed."  Don't be intimidated if you doctor appears to be in a hurry--keep it short but make SURE you repeat everything back to them--you'd be surprised how many errors can be prevented this way!!!


Ok!  Well that concludes this series!  I am hopeful that with this information you will be able to overcome the extremely frustrating & dangerous constraints on the patient-doctor relationship due to insufficient time to do a proper clinical interview!!!    


If you do end up using any of these techniques, please report back and let me know how it goes!!  I hope that this information is helpful to all of you! 


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.

WOW!!!! THE BLOG HAS PASSED 15,000 PAGE VIEWS and the "Dear 268lb Me" post has been read by nearly 1,200 people!!!

Oh my gosh!  The blog has passed 15,000 page views and even more amazing (and humbling) is that my New Year's "Dear 268lb Me" post has been read by nearly 1,200 people.  It is absolutely incredible to me that so many people would take the time to read what I write!!  


I just posted this news on my Facebook status but I wanted to take the opportunity on the blog itself to thank each and every one of you for becoming such an important and powerful part of my journey!  Thank you SO much for support!  


Thank you all of you who have posted about my blog on your Facebook pages, on message boards, via email to your friends, and especially all my kind fellow bloggers who have complimented my blog in their posts thus bringing me new readers!!  I've only been blogging for about 2 1/2 months now and the response has been so tremendous--loving, kind, supportive and SO inspiring for me.  I do not feel alone in my journey to pain-free health and I can't wait to see what we can all do as we heal together!!  


I feel so grateful to have been able to give service & to share honestly about my story--the good, the bad, the painful and lately, the astoundingly wonderful! 


What an incredible gift.  Thank you.  


Thank you all for being here and joining the conversation!! The comments lately have been particularly exciting to receive and I love hearing from all of you!!!




Sincerely, 
Dr. Cat

MONDAY MEDITATIONS FOR HEALING: A Commitment to Self for Caregivers & Perfection is Impossible

Good Morning!  Here is today's meditation to inspire your spirit to self-healing this week!  I realize that many of you long time readers have seen this one in the past--I just feel that it really speaks to my heart right now so I'd like to share it again! I hope it is helpful.  

Have a WONDERFUL week!

Today's Quote 

Today, I ask my Higher Power for the ability to accept and love myself for where I am today.

Help me remind myself that I am a work in progress, 

Like a tree that grows from self-care and nurturing, 

I will only grow if I'm gentle with myself.

A Commitment to Self for Caregivers 

(whether you are a healthcare provider or a family member caring for a loved one):

This week I will remind myself that there is no "perfect" way to care for someone.

 Perfection is impossible, just doing our best for today is enough.

RECIPES: What the Happy Nurse & I Are Eating This Week! Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup, Stuffed Acorn Squash, Lentil Spread, Olive & Tomato Biscotti, Caesar Salad & MORE!

Ok so I was sick with the flu the whole first week of the New Year and then my husband succumbed as well so no bulk cooking again this week--just throwing things together in the slow cooker and the Cuisinart with as little fuss as possible.  You'd think that with that lack of effort we'd be eating pretty sad food this week--quite the contrary actually!  The meals this week have been seriously yummy--I'm sampling from a bunch of different new cookbooks :-)


What are all of you eating this week?!  Any favorite meals or recipes to share with everyone?  :-)


Main Dishes

HGK's Sri Lankan Kale

Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Sri Lankan Kale (leftovers!  YUMMMMMM!!)--great flavor, perfect & surprising lime taste makes this recipe delicious!!


Butternut Coconut Squash from "Appetite for Reduction" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (leftover yumminess--made it super quick compared to the recipe in the book because I was running late to work--threw basmati rice in with cooked butternut squash, 1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract, a handful of chopped walnuts and oat milk until the mix was moist.  YUM)

Sweet Potato-White Bean Soup, Coconut Pumpkin Soup
& the stuffed Acorn Squash halves!! YUM!

Sweet Potato-White Bean Soup  from  Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester:  Excited about this because it included swiss chard which is super nutritious!


Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup from the  Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester:  This looks amazing--I used the Healthy Librarian's coconut milk trick for this (oat milk + coconut extract) to reduce fat.


Acorn Squash Stuffed with Cranberry & Brown Rice Medley from the  Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester:  Who knew you could cook a squash in a slow cooker?!  That is why I love this new cookbook--awesome ideas!

 Romaine & Avocado Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing from the Party Vegan by Robin Robertson   this dressing is fabulous.  I cut the oil by 3/4 and used water instead--it tasted just fine!  In fact, I may just use water totally next time because the cilantro is such a strong flavor that you really don't notice the lack of oil!

Vegan Caesar Salad with Healthy Girl's Kitchen's AWESOME No-oil Caesar Salad dressing!  Ok let me just explain how good this salad dressing is--way too good!!  I seriously could almost eat it by itself with some crackers :-) She uses chickpeas to thicken the sauce.  The only substitutions I had to make were I added oat milk instead of the soy sauce & a second bottle of capers (I think it needed it because the soy sauce is a strong flavor & a bit saltier so the capers compensated.)  YUM!


Sandwiches, Snacks & Side Dishes


Lentil Spread:  Sandwiches with sliced cherry tomatoes and this AMAZING lentil spread that I found on The Healthy Librarian's site.  Its SO good!  Be careful with the chipotle peppers in adobe sauce--I misread the recipe the whole time and thought it said "one CAN of the chipotle peppers", not ONE pepper!!"  Suffice to say, with one tiny bite I nearly burned my mouth off and had to throw out the first batch!  Once that trauma was over though and I remade it properly, the actual spread was so so so delicious!

Biscotti Dough!

Green Olive & Sundried Tomato Biscotti from the Party Vegan by Robin Robertson:  Surprisingly easy to make!  And SO good!  I made it for the first time with full fat (i.e. all the olive oil) but I'm going to try to repeat it in the future & try different substitutions for the fats!

Hummus with Rice Crackers (the hummus is my own recipe, thrown together from a bunch of different tahini-free hummus recipes--green onions, a tiny bit of adobe sauce with chipotle pepper, dijon mustard, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, garlic, water and vegetable broth.  No measurements.  Sounds crazy but it is crazy good!)


Spiced Rice-Lentil Squares by the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen--looking forward to FINALLY trying these--always need more bars for on the run & I couldn't make them the last time they were on our plan because I didn't have any allspice!!

Happy Herbivore's Pumpkin Bread from The Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay Nixon: Ok, this is a really delicious bread & super easy to make!  Just be careful slicing it because I was careless and managed to cut myself pretty badly with the knife when I sliced my loaf!!  :-( After that disaster was addressed, I happily enjoyed the spice of the bread. Instead of the whole wheat pastry flour, I substituted All Purpose Gluten-Free flour (which bumped the fiber and protein content of the bread considerably).  Instead of pumpkin pie spice (which I didn't have) I substituted cinnamon, ginger & allspice.  I wish I had ground cloves b/c I think it would have been even better.  If you make this, the only thing to remember is that her baked items tend to cook for a LONG time--when it says an hour, plan on an hour and 15 to 20 mins in actuality!


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.

Ok Lets Talk Skin! New Book to Recommend: The Clear Skin Diet!

Before

Ok so I've been having some issues with my skin that began a few months into my change to going strictly vegan! This perplexed me because I heard from so many others that the vegan thing has been wonderful for skin!  But since early November, my previously pretty perfect skin (and yes, this is my one vanity--first of all its genetic so I didn't do anything special and second of all it was the only thing I could really feel pretty about when I was obese so indulge me!!) broke out into spots that my new dermatologist calls "folliculitis" or irritation of the hair follicles.  It looks like teenage acne but it isn't.  

After (this past month)!

Of course it has caused me significant distress to look in the mirror every day (I think I was driving my husband crazy as I pointed out every new spot that cropped up!  His favorite phrase was: "welcome to my teenage years honey.")


Anyways, so when this all happened I started trying to figure out where I went wrong.  Nothing major in my life had changed--I had the usual stressors with work and family members being ill but this was normal for me.  So I started looking at what I ate.  The only new food that I can ascertain that I added in a major way in early November was that we went from eating soy maybe once every few months to soy everyday.  And before you point out the obvious--yes I know that I also eliminated animal products, but dairy and other meats are known to be a huge pro-inflammatory agent that cause skin issues so I really don't think the animal-free diet was the cause.  With this in mind, as a first step I eliminated soy. 


I have to be honest and share that this soy elimination has really, really upset me.  My dietary program is already quite restrictive in many ways--no sugar, no gluten, vegan....so to add soy to it too!  Argh!!  But I'm attempting to embrace a new cooking opportunity (trying to stay positive here!), so I'm searching out non-soy recipes.  So let me know if you all have any low-fat/no-fat non-soy, gluten-free, sugar-free recipes please?  Much appreciated :-)


Anyways, back to the skin problem.  With the elimination of soy I did notice that my skin started to improve.  But it was still not back to normal. So I bit the bullet and went to my first dermatology appointment.  And there, I really hit the jackpot.  I expected a very traditional doc as I knew he had a military background and was well over the age of 70 but much to my surprise, within the first two minutes of the visit he started talking nutrition!!  And then he actually complimented me on my dietary choices.  Whaaaat?  I know, you are all shocked here but he actually liked the vegan thing and the gluten-free thing and the sugar-free thing.  


Full disclosure, he wasn't 100% on board with my soy theory--mostly he thought it was likely not a true allergen but more like a "trigger" for beginning eczema (which is what he described my spots as!). And of course now my skin bumps were infected (helllo work in health care, land of disease!) and so I needed oral antibiotics on top of everything else!  He also gave me an excellent skin product regimen which I'm happy to share with all of you if you would like.  I say excellent because its been less than a week since the appointment and my skin is nearly completely clear (of course I also haven't had any soy for 2 1/2 weeks so I can't give the products all the credit but my skin certainly feels really nice!):-) 

Today
Soy Free, Omega-3 rich,
Dermatology Products & Antibiotics

Back to what he said about nutrition.  You all know I'm a fan of food-based treatment so isolating a soy allergy or "trigger" was not enough in my book.  I started wondering why I, with my anti-inflammatory diet, had developed a completely inflammatory disease (eczema)!  I have a strong family history of eczema so this diagnosis actually wasn't all this surprising but hearing that it was a potential diagnosis brought me back to reflect on whether I had made the right anti-inflammatory food choices.  Remember my list in my post  HERE? 


I found the answer in a book my dermatologist recommended:  The Clear Skin Diet by Dr. Alan Logan (ND) and Dr. Valori Treloar (MD).  I'm not finished reading it yet but I can tell you that from what I've read so far it is AMAZING!!!  It definitively demonstrates that diet DOES have a major impact on skin AND also reinforces my assertion that the reason most physicians don't prescribe nutritional treatments is that we are generally not educated in nutrition at all & therefore are very skeptical of data supportive of nutritive cures!  Don't get me started on the need to change medical education or else this post will be ridiculously long!  Suffice to say (and I'll write more about this in a second post because this one is getting too long), Drs Logan and Treloar give some fantastic advice.  


From what I can tell so far, my main issue appears to be a omega-3 deficiency.  This makes sense to me because the only other major change in my diet except for the soy was dropping my fish oil daily in favor of flaxseed meal!  Despite my own advice, I obviously wasn't loving the flaxseed meal (I ate it VERY inconsistently) so I have started to search out other plant-based omega-3 sources (in the meantime I'm back to fish oil daily).  


I do still strongly believe soy is at the root of this as well because it IS considered an inflammatory food for some, so I'm going to continue to eliminate it for another month & then start a few gentle food challenges to see if it really does have an impact. But for the omega-3 issue I'm going to start taking The Healthy Librarian's advice and try a seaweed-based omega-3 supplement with DHA (good for the brain).  In the meantime, I'm going to keep reading this book!  


I'll end with Drs Logan and Treloar's assessment of what the native Japanese & other ethnic groups with gorgeous clear skin eat (and we should too!).  From p.163 of , ethinic groups with beautiful skin eat:
1. Less processed foods (my side note: this can be a vegan problem too--a lot of the "fake meats" are very processed)
2.  More colorful antioxidants
3.  Greater intake of omega-3 fatty acids
4. Fewer foods capable of spiking blood sugar
5. More fiber 


Sounds pretty darn good to me!  Tune in to my next post on skin to get Drs Logan and Treloar's list of the highest antioxidant-rich foods that feed your skin and the doctors' advice on the specific types of food to embrace to have clear, healthy skin!   

Coming Up:

• Treating Pain with Food--more thoughts
• Foods That Make You Feel Good (A New Series Featuring Individual Foods & Their Nutrient Power)

Coming Up on Medical System Tuesdays:

• A Toolbox for Health:  Communicating with Your Doctor (Part 2)!
  
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