The blog has past 4,000 page views! 1,000 in the last 24 hours! This is incredible!

Hooray!  What a celebration :-)  I'm working on a post for tomorrow on the "Ten Things I Do to Keep Those Nearly 100lbs Off!"  I hope it is helpful to you! 

Just an FYI-- I'm going to have to shift my usually scheduled posts from this week to next week because of all the awesome Happy Herbivore hubub!  So look next week for the posts on my favorite cooking tools, how to boost kids' immune systems with food, Tip #9 on how to get the best medical care in the hospital & the "29 Gifts" book review!  

Still cannot believe how unhealthy the food was at my conference today.  And nary a doc blinked!  I mean I should expect this by now, but somehow its even more surprising in my specialty (one that is very big on holistic, team-based approaches to physical rehabilitation).  sigh.

Coming Up Next Post:  Ten Things I Do to Keep Those Nearly 100lbs Off! 

Coming Up Next Week:

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

Coming Up 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 ~

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.

The Blog Schedule Begins! Now posting Tues/Thurs/Sat

Ok folks!  Well I'm very excited that my blog has gotten off to such a great start!  Thank you all SO much for visiting and commenting!  (Special THANK YOU to The Healthy Librarian whose comment about loving my blog has brought me so many new readers!)

Now I'd like to settle into a regular schedule of posting :-)

Look for new posts every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday!  I'll look forward to your comments!!

Thank you!

:-) Dr. Cat (The Happy Rehab Doc)

Next time:  COOKING IN BULK TIPS:  How to Create a "Cooking Strategy!"

Coming Soon:

• Cooking in Bulk:  A Week of Recipes from The Happy Herbivore
• PAIN: How to Heal with Food (Part 2)
• How To Get The BEST Medical Care: Tips to Patients from a Doc
• 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.

PAIN: How to Treat Everything From Arthritis to Back Strain With Food (Part 1)

About a year ago I was in a car accident and herniated a disc in my neck.  It caused me excruciating constant daily pain.  After 6 months of daily high dose anti-inflammatory medications (I was on Mobic), 2 cycles of physical therapy, 30 acupuncture sessions and a ridiculous amount of money spent on massages, my doctor (another Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Doc) told me rather sadly that he thought I had now completely exhausted conservative measures and it was time for me to think of "facet injections" (steroid injections) to my cervical spine.  This terrified me.


I had been in the OR during many of these procedures with highly skilled attending (senior) physicians specially trained in interventional pain.  These procedures were relatively routine in my world, but every time I thought about getting the injections I thought about the (rare) complication of injury to the spinal cord.  Working in rehab, I've worked with spinal cord injury patients, and I really didn't want to become one myself.  While their stories are often inspiring, no one would willingly choose to sit in their shoes for even one day.  I started doing some research to try to find another way.


Late one night I found a website of a woman sharing her story of how she healed her neck pain with a combination of physical therapy, stretching regimens, acupuncture, massage and "eating an anti-inflammatory diet."  What the heck did that mean?  An "anti-inflammatory" diet??  I had already lost 70lbs, wasn't that enough alteration in my eating habits?


So I started reading, and then I started doing, and now--I am a passionate believer in the power of dietary change to reduce and eliminate inflammation. And by eliminating inflammation I've eliminated pain. 


Two months after starting an anti-inflammatory diet in conjunction with a third round of PT, I was able to get off the Mobic (my daily NSAID medication).  One month later, I no longer had constant pain throughout the day.  


Now, 6 months after starting to reduce the inflammatory foods and increase the anti-inflammatory foods I consume I can honestly say that I can have several days go by without pain--with an even more noticeable improvement in the last 2 1/2 months since becoming Vegan.  Yes, I do sometimes feel the pain--but it hurts when it makes sense to hurt--I'm doing a repetitive action with my neck or back, using muscles that I hadn't strengthened sufficiently.  So duh--I was hurting!

I've been so impressed with this amazing (miraculous to me) transformation in how my body FEELS that I've done even more research and really want to share what I've learned!  In my next post I'll talk about the medical science that backs it up and how to more specifically treat diseases of inflammation, particularly Arthritis, Muscle Strains, Fibromyalgia, and more!  Over this week I'll also post a third post talking about other diseases of inflammation that I do not treat in my specialty--diabetes, heart disease, cancer.

I want to particularly recommend two amazing books with highly relevant information:

1) The Anti-Inflammation Diet by Dr. Jessica Black, N.D.  AMAZING Book--soooo worth the $12 price on Amazon--particularly the table on p.42-43

2) SuperImmunity for Kids! by Dr. Leo Galland (yes its about kids at every lifestage, but if you read through it you can find a whole heck of a lot of good data for adults too!!)  Dr. Galland is what got me interested in nutritional healing of all kinds--I've been reading this book cover to cover for about 10-15 years!!

In closing though, I won't leave you without a carrot for next time (no pun intended):-). 


Here is a GENERAL table of known inflammatory and anti-inflammatory foods.  In Part 2 I'll talk more specifically about which of these foods is most important for Arthritis vs Acute Muscle Strain vs Fibromyalgia, etc.  


The degree of inflammation in each individual can be variable--Jessica Black's book does an excellent job of mapping out a plan for how to do a complete elimination diet (she has more foods listed & substitutions for each one) in her book.  If you are interested in embarking on this path, get her book and read it because she is FAR more knowledgeable than me on this!!  


That said, here is a list of Anti-Inflammatory and Inflammatory Foods synthesized from lists by four leaders in this field:  Dr. Jessica Black, N.D.; Dr. Andrew Weil; Dr. Leo Galland and Dr. Neal Barnard.  **Please see the notes below the table--one of my readers shared with me some more information on other potential inflammatory foods!!**

Inflammatory Foods 1.         Sugar (particularly white refined sugar & high fructose corn syrup)*  2.         Dairy Products* 3.         Meat (beef, pork, chicken,            turkey, fish—except wild      Salmon)* 4.         Corn* 5.         Wheat (gluten)*—more on           this later 6.         Caffeine* 7.         Sodas—even Diet sodas*         (Diet sodas manipulate the fat in your body to actually make it harder to lose it!  More on this in a later post) 8.         Tomatoes & Peppers 9.         White Potatoes 10.      Citrus fruits 11.       Alcohol 12.      Peanuts  13.  Peanut butter 14.  Tofu and Soy {* items are for most of the population—items 8-14 inflammatory foods are individually problematic)

Anti-Inflammatory Foods       1.     Omega-3 Fatty Acids (ground flaxseed meal)       2.     Pineapple (more on this later)       3.     Blueberries (see note below), raspberries, cherries, prunes       4.     Papaya       5.     Kale, Spinach, Collards & other dark leafy greens       6.     Broccoli & Cauliflower       7.     Other Fruits & Vegetables—except tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers       8.     Garlic       9.     Ginger      10. Turmeric      11. Most nuts & seeds (not peanuts)      12. Teas (particularly Roobios, Macha, decaffeinated green tea)      13. Shiitake, Oyster & other Asian Mushrooms      14.  Sweet Potatoes      15.  Quinoa, buckwheat (not a wheat product), wild rice, barley, steel-cut oats      16.  Wild Salmon

Additional Notes: One of my readers shared the following information with me from  Dr. Norman Childers: Arthritis Nightshade Research Foundation,  She got outstanding relief from her pain by removing all foods and products that contain "solanine.":  "blueberries, apples, artichoke, okra, sugar beets and all products that contain paprika/chili spice and potato starch (PS is commonly found in bakery products, thickeners for soups/sauces, excipient fillers in vitamins/supplements/medications)."  I have not had an opportunity to investigate this material myself, but she has been kind enough to provide some citations from the ANRF website (above) and Michael Fowler's e-book "Nighshade Free, Pain Free" which she recommends.  Thank you Jen Siskind!!  I'll look forward to checking the citations out myself in the coming future! :-)


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.


NEXT:  COOKING IN BULK TIPS #1!  This week with recipes from The Happy Herbivore

Coming Soon:

• How To Get The BEST Medical Care: Tips to Patients from a Doc
• RECIPES & Ideas:  Snacks!  YUMMY & Portable Plant-based Snack Food--all Sugar-free, Gluten-Free, & Without Added Oils or Fat!!

The Beginning: Using Food to Heal: My Journey

Today I was searching on the web for recipes to do some cooking on one of my rare days off.  If I don't cook and get organized today, it'll be another week of the occasional emergency take-out punctuated by leftover soups that my husband and I cooked last week.  Its now or never because during the week, neither of us have any energy to attempt creative cooking!

Don't get me wrong.  I love Green Pea Soup, Lentil Soup, Butternut Squash Soup and the ever outstanding Lentil and Barley Soup.  The Lentil and Barley Soup is a creation of my husband, aka The Happy Nurse, because according to him "anything with barley tastes amazing!"  I totally agree but after two weeks of tupperwared soups with varying veggie options, I need to branch out.  

I decided to start this blog because tonight, as I searched for recipes (and found an AWESOME blog of a librarian who shares my food philosophy: The Healthy Librarian ), I discovered how little organized, easy to access information there is out there on healing yourself with food.  Google searching turns up a lot of options that look good, but then if you read closely, most of the food has things I can't and shouldn't eat if I'm going to feel good!  So I'm going to do my best to provide you with organized resources, recipes and ideas to truly feel healthier!!  I'll also share some snapshots of my life as a rehab doctor and some HIPPA-compliant sketches of some of my patient's experiences.

I realize that most men and women searching for recipes may have some dietary restrictions that limit their options, but my husband and I have a few more restrictions when we eat.  We are getting "radical" and choosing to treat our health issues with food rather than needing cardiac surgery, cancer treatment or a cupboard full of meds in the future.


Huh?  I know, I'm an M.D. talking against the idea of piling on the meds!!  My patients are always surprised to hear that I'm not big on the traditional, let me pull out my prescription pad, cut you off from talking and send you out the door, brand of medicine.  Granted, I'm still in my final stages of training in my specialty: Physcial Medicine and Rehabilitation but I'm a fairly passionate person once I find a cause, so I doubt I'll be changing my medical approach anytime soon! But, stay tuned to this blog and I'll let you know!!  As a side note, I'll share more about my field later, and yes, we are doctors (MD's or DO's), we went to medical school and Physcial Medicine and Rehabilitation is a medical specialty just like cardiology, orthopedic surgery or psychiatry!  

For the last two months my husband and I have been eating a no-oil, plant-based Vegan diet according to the Cleveland Clinic's Dr Caldwell Esselstyn's program from his book, "How to Reverse and Prevent Heart Disease."  Our program is well-supported by clinical and scientific research (including such notables as Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, and more).   We started the plant-based diet because my husband has heart disease--intermittent atrial fibrillation--which lands him in the hospital every other year or so.  We are making a choice to change our lifestyles to prevent disability (stroke, cancer, angina, arrythmias) and to live longer, more active lives.

I add my own twists to the plant-based Vegan diet based on a twelve-step program I have been working for four years to recover from obesity and overeating behaviors.  I also fold in some anti-inflammatory diet practices to treat my chronic low back pain and acute neck pain following a car accident a year ago.


I can hear you now....wait Dr. Cat, no meat???????....(I can hear you wailing from here!)..but give me a chance and keep reading....take what you like and leave the rest.

I truly believe that eating this way has given me a new lease on life.  I've lost nearly 100lbs in the last four years.  I've gotten off all daily anti-inflammatory and pain medications.  I no longer have allergies or sinus infections.  Since transitioning to a no oil, plant-based diet I no longer have the GI issues I struggled with for years.  I have more energy.  I laugh more because I don't hurt as much.  I am a better wife and a better doctor.  

Remember, I'm not your doctor and if you follow any ideas I present on this blog, you understand that I will not be held liable for anything I share or recommend.  That said, I can't wait to get started!  Next post will be on what I eat, why I eat it and how you can too!

A great movie I can recommend that captures the power of the plant-based diet:
Forks Over Knives

Some great resources:

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn: Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease
Dr. T. Colin Campbell: The China Study
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet by Jessica Black, N.D. (Amazon link)
Dr. John McDougall's Website
Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Blog
Forks Over Knives' Recipe Book (Amazon link)

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.