Summary: Please join us for 3 wonderful talks Friday, April 12, 2019, 8:30 AM to 11:55AM, at Caritas Christi, 129 DePaul Center Rd., Greensburg, PA. I will be speaking about diet, microbiome and the aging brain! Much of my talk will feature key points that I presented at the 2019 Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioner (VCNP) Annual Conference! You’ll learn that the Western Diet is aging the brain FASTER than the Mediterranean Diet, and that the MIND diet, a hybrid diet of the heart healthy Mediterranean Diet, DASH, and aging brain literature, decreases the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and slows cognitive decline better that its constituent diets.
This is information you don’t want to miss! Please join us as ALL of the talks presented April 12th encompass keys to grateful and healthy aging, resilience, and holistic health.
Category Archives: Workshops
Diet, Dementia, Cognition, Alzheimer’s
SUMMARY: We’re excited to be presenting what the evidence finds for WHAT TO EAT, and WHAT NOT TO EAT, for BRAIN HEALTH! We will be at the beautiful Blue Ridge Region for the 2019 Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioner (VCNP) Annual Conference! IN the meantime, you win too because we decided to share a bonus here –>\0/ the prelude videoto our presentation, which is called “Add 7.5 yrs to Brainspan with MIND diet and SAGE Cognition Assessment Tool”. We also want to let you know that your response has been overwhelming for wanting us to bring our DIET, DEMENTIA, COGNITION, ALZHEIMER’S presentation to you! We’re here to dispel the brain age MYTH –> Those in their 40s and 50s realize that brain changes are occurring in the midlife time-frame. By 2050, 20% of the US population will be over age 65. One fifth will have mild cognitive impairment, increasing risk of Alzheimer’s. The Western diet is aging the brain faster than the Mediterranean diet as found on both MRI and PET imaging. You need to learn all about this! We’re booking now, so if you are interesting in having your group learn this powerful information, click here to contact us! And, just adding… they are also including our other Therapeutic Diet presentations for (1) Hypertension, Atherosclerosis, and Obesity, (2) IBS and Autoimmunity, and of course (3) Dementia, Cognition, and Alzheimer’s. You can learn about all of those programs here! Let’s hear from you today. Let’s move off DiseaseSpan and onto HealthSpan!
Brain, Cognition, Diet, CE (Nursing). March 2019 PRESENTATION!
SUMMARY: Our upcoming CE presentation at the 2019 Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioner (VCNP) Annual Conference, March 7th, dives deep into BRAIN, COGNITION, DIET, CE, ALZHEIMER’S! We are going to share what the evidence finds for WHAT TO EAT, and WHAT NOT TO EAT, for BRAIN HEALTH! Our presentation is called “Add 7.5 yrs to Brainspan with MIND diet and SAGE Cognition Assessment Tool”. What you need to know –> A LOT of research is looking at specific diets and brain health. At this time, the MIND diet rises to the top for reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment both with strict and moderate follow. It is this latter finding that makes the MIND diet BETTER than the Mediterranean and DASH diet for brain health because those had NO significant impact on AD risk reduction for moderate follow! ♥–> Diet has incredible systemic reach, including all the way to crossing the blood brain barrier! BAM–> Diet is perhaps the biggest determinant of the microbiome constituents. The major focus of recent research is on the microbiome and its by-products (called metabolites) because those can be changed up by diet and lifestyle. Thus diet can alter the microbiome towards health (anti-inflammatory) or towards being more disease-prone (inflammatory). \o/ If you are a Licensed Nurse Practitioner (in any state), or student enrolled in a NP program, plan to attend this Brain, Cognition, Diet CE! Those unable to attend, or not nurse practitioners, message us for information on how you too can see this presentation! \o/ The bottom line is that everyone needs to hear this information because recent studies find that eating a Western-style diet literally SHRINKS the brain, even in middle age. The results accounted for the effects of all other lifestyle factors, indicating that, when people are in their 40s and 50s,diet exerts a stronger influence on Alzheimer’s disease than exercise or intellectual activity do. “Alzheimer’s doesn’t just turn on when you reach a certain age,” explains Lisa Mosconi, PhD, associate director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. “Instead, it’s a very long process that starts with changes in the brain when people are in their 40s and 50s. So we have a good 20 years to do something about it. The question is, what can we do in terms of prevention?” This Brain, Cognition, Diet, CE Alzheimer’s information is key to mitigating those risks! ♥
SCD PALEO Cucumber Salad (Mediterranean, Whole Foods, SCD, GAPS, PALEO, AIP)
Summary: This is the second of five family fav vegetable redic delic recipes I’m posting –> SCD PALEO Cucumber Salad. The first posted at SCD PALEO Cauliflower Mock Potato Salad! These salads meet all healing diet tenets be it: Mediterranean Diet, Whole Foods, SCD, GAPS, PALEO, AIP… You can add whatever vegetables you want to help meet the target of 30 different vegetables each week to increase microbiome diversity! These salads are also great topped on leafy greens! ♥ The BIG thing to learn in this post is that cucumbers are high on the EWG Dirty Dozen pesticide residue list (they are listed fifteen) so buy them organic if possible. Regarding the green peel, I recommend you peel cucumbers unless you can confirm there is NO coating, even if the cucumber is organic. I don’t want your gut seeing coatings! To avoid coatings, try growing cucumbers in your garden ⇒ they grow insane in ours! Or source from a farmer you trust! Of course this recipe usesunadulterated EVOO ⇒ those are listed on this UC Davis PDF report. Costco Kirkland Organic or California Ranch are listed as unadulterated on this report. Unadulterated EVOO is a heart AND brain healthy monounsaturated fat. This oil is a predominant ingredient on the Mediterranean Diet and MIND diet! The MIND diet stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. It combines Mediterranean, DASH, AND aging brain literature. Learn a bit more about it here! ♥ It’s the first time I’m posting about it, but contact me to learn How-Tos, Workshops, or for CME! XO
MICROBIOME CORPORATE WELLNESS PROGRAMS
WHY ADD Microbiome Modules to Corporate Wellness Programs?
CME MICROBIOME Questions & Answers
SUMMARY: CME MICROBIOME Questions is where the rubber meets the road! I learn what you really take away from the evidence packed Introduction to Microbiome presentation!!! Not only was it a GREAT turnout for the CME MICROBIOME, DISEASE, THERAPEUTICS, NUTRITION held OCT 25, 2017 in Pittsburgh, at Passavant Hospital (see this post for details), but the questions asked by these medical providers were spot on! Read below for some of the Q&A with focus on: What to do if on the “Avoid Diet”, the MIND Diet and Dementia Prevention, fermented foods, and the ketogenic diet — MACS, fruit and weight! The Therapeutic Manipulation of Microbiome slide (see below) shows how microbiome nourishingly sick the Standard America Diet is. Some call this diet void of MACs, or microbiota-accessible carbohydrates, leaving the microbiome to nosh on our carb-rich mucus gut lining, when dietary pickings get slim. [Desai et al 2016] This CME crowd took their first ever pass into the anaerobic world of this newly discovered organ and saw its systemic body-wide devastating health impact when the gut lining becomes compromised (see the below slide) ⇒ The next step is to learn our bolt on presentations of evidence based therapeutic diet ⇔ lifestyle changes that can move this organ to health. ♥ You want great timely, current, incredible microbiome and nutrition CME programs because microbiome information is what your medical professionals NEED to stay cutting edge current in understanding how to help patients keep (or move) off diseasespan! Click here to contact us
Businesses (especially self insured) looking to reduce healthcare costs, can contact us too because microbiome information is what your employees NEED to hear to keep (or move) them off diseasespan. Individuals and other groups wanting to hear this information can also CONTACT us to make that happen! See here for our SERVICES!
CME MICROBIOME Questions & Answers
I’m on the ‘Avoid’ Diet. “What do you recommend I do to get off that diet?“
First, the ‘Avoid Diet’ is on my ending slide, shown below! Generally, it is associated with the most restrictive elimination diet, Wahl’s Protocol, having research including clinical trial for neurological based MS as well as grants written for study for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and ALS. I explained that ALL of the healing diets meld together in that they are =&0=&. David Katz, MD noted the same, Oct 2017, in “Awakening From Alzheimer’s”, Episode 11. Further, he explained that what we can ALL agree on resolves over 80 percent of the health concerns as shown by the North Karelia Project (Finland). Consider the ‘Avoid Diet’ tenets as food for thought when health isn’t restored. I totally ♥ this question because it shows that my presentation motivated this doc to rethink diet and instilled desire to act to get off the path leading to diseasespan! Patient microbiome awareness education nudges nearer, and that is so necessary!
“Don’t ever underestimate the public — the key issue is lack of knowledge about microbes, not lack of intelligence,”
—Ed Yong keynote, October’s 2017 MoBE.
My suggestions were:
- Quitting things cold turkey can be hard. I don’t recommend it!
- Try eliminating the bad by crowding it out with better alternatives!
- You cannot make the transition over night.
- The tools I provide really help! The Interactive Fiber Spreadsheet teaches what YOUR fiber loads are and especially those supporting your beasties. The EASY 10 Day Journal Spreadsheet teaches you what YOUR proportion of meats, dairy… and most important, processed and prepared foods are. Those usually contain gut harming emulsifiers [see this post], sweeteners, and other additives as well as low quality antibiotic and hormone laced meat and dairy protein and pesticide laced vegetables and fruits. The worksheet listings of vegs and fruits (Wahl’s Protocol and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Phytonutrient PDF) helps you bump up your intake. Target 30 different vegs each week for microbiome diversity [see this post]. There are 21 meals in one week (3 each day). Think about eating a different vegetable or two at each meal!
- You can’t stop everything you are doing if you aren’t prepared to replace it with healthier alternatives. You need some recipes.
- I already armed you with a bank of recipes! Use my Pinterest Boards to learn what to eat and how to cook redic delic family and friend approved whole real microbiome friendly food. Focus on eliminating processed foods (having gut harming additives like emulsifiers) and increasing vegs!
- Certain vegs contain microbiota-accessible carbohydrates, or MACs, which nourish the beasties towards anti-inflammatory, and provides them food so that they don’t nosh on our carb-rich mucus gut lining, when dietary pickings get slim. [Desai et al 2016] The post, Fiber Additives Starve Gut Gut Microbes, They Eat Mucus Lining helps to explain.
- Contact me if recipes alone are not getting you where you want!
Healing Diet similarity
The top healing diets in each category share similar attributes including balance, higher vegetable and some fruit (especially low sugar like berries, avocados), wild caught fish/increased Omega-3s, fermented food, awareness of EWG toxin recommendations, along with self-awareness and monitoring of what you eat through journaling, and most important, finding a like-minded tribe of experienced healing diet eaters able to support your learning thereby establishing Blue Zones within families, to friends, to communities. =&1=& An emphasis on frequent, structured exercise and physical activity are also common themes.
With awareness of the many tenets of healing type diets and lifestyle impact on the microbiome, small diet and lifestyle changes result in big health improvement without the perceived rigidity of following a traditional diet plan, and these changes motivate you to your NEXT. – much is an excerpt from my post, What’s in a Practical Whole Foods PALEO, SCD, GAPS Healing Fridge?
Replicate the MODEL that WORKS for people successfully implementing diet change:
Experienced Eaters TEACH ‘Need to Know’ =&2=&
=&3=&
REMINDER: CME MICROBIOME, DISEASE, THERAPEUTICS, NUTRITION_OCT 25, 2017
SUMMARY: Friendly reminder to attend the CME Microbiome, Disease, Therapeutics, and Nutrition at UPMC Passavant Hospital, Pittsburgh, October 25, 2017, Assembly Hall, noon–1PM! See the last post here for specifics, but in general, THERE IS MORE TO THE STORY, and I will share those no-nonsense insights into microbiome associations for the hypertensive, atherosclerotic, obese, cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s, and IBS conditions (and more) as well as therapeutic diets being used for those disease conditions. What to eat information has been muddied by industry production of ubiquitous processed foods marketed as healthy foods. This CME shares tools your patients can use now to turn around disease as well as recognize its role in increasing drug efficacy and prevention of medication failures. Public Microbiome Awareness Education gives the ‘why’ behind disease=&9=&=&10=&=&11=&=&12=&=&13=&=&14=&
CME Microbiome, Disease, Therapeutics, Nutrition_October 25, 2017
SUMMARY: Microbiome CME!!! If you are a healthcare provider or medical professional, attend this CME Microbiome. Disease, Therapeutics, and Nutrition at UPMC Passavant Hospital, Pittsburgh, October 25, 2017, Assembly Hall, noon–1PM! The new discovery of the microbiome, a 2 to 3 pound organ having a key role in over 70 percent of our immunity, is a paradigm shift changing up our understanding of physiological and psychological health and disease. This CME shares current no–nonsense evidence of what the microbiome is and includes valuable insights into what is overselling the microbiome. Click here for the PDF: CME Microbiome. Disease, Therapeutics, and Nutrition, Oct 25, 2017, UPMC Passavant Hospital. LEARN eye-opening insights and actionable tips about the KEY role the microbiome plays in your organ of choice, in chronic disease (2/3 of deaths in Allegheny County are attributed to chronic disease) including hypertension, heart disease (this leading cause of death, at 30% in Allegheny County, is higher compared to the state of PA), diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, cognition, Alzheimer’s, IBD, IBS, MS, and more, as well as its role in increasing drug efficacy and prevention of medication failures. Listen as local patients share how they use evidence–based microbiome therapeutics to induce and maintain remission for autoimmune disease, and learn about the Pittsburgh—based cohort forming for inclusion in upcoming leading light microbiome researcher, Dr. Rob Knight, UCSF studies looking at ferment consumer gut microbiomes (see bio below). Bottom line — DON’T MISS THIS CME — Healthcare provider, medical professional, AND patient education/awareness of this organ is the “why” that causes patient diet and lifestyle behavior changes that moves them OFF diseasespan. The only way to do better is to know better. —poet Maya Angelou. The point of CME is to try to move the field and do right by our patients. Attend and LEARN the role of this new player in the organ/disease of your choice!
Where and When
- UPMC Passavant Hospital, Assembly Hall, 9100 Babcock Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15237.
- October 25, 2017, Noon — 1PM.
- Questions — Email biome393@gmail.com.
You can’t afford to miss this CME Microbiome. Disease, Therapeutics, and Nutrition!
I decided to eat gluten-free, ketogenic or MIND, ReCODE, Mediterranean, DASH, Caveman PALEO, FODMAPs, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, GAPs, AIP…, and I fast. Will that help prevent my getting chronic disease or help my existing disease condition? I’m restricting carbs and ‘focussing on protein’ but baffled because weight is increasing and I’m tired, moody, and feel lousy. I’m sleeping poorly or not exercising. This antibiotic script, how long will it take to recover my microbiome, and what should I do to best protect my microbiome? Here’s my 23AndMe genomic testing; I have the ApoE4 Alzheimer’s gene, or MTHFR. I am a C-Section baby. How do I protect myself from getting diabetes, obesity, asthma, IBD, and celiac disease? Can I reseed my babies microbiome? I can’t breastfeed; should I use a human milk bank even though its pasteurization process kills off beneficial microbes? Will daycare help or harm my child’s microbiome? Should I get a dog to increase microbiome diversity and reduce my allergy risks?
Published papers are beginning to address these questions. We are learning there is more to the story, albeit much has yet to be written. Still, attend this CME, Microbiome. Disease, Therapeutics, and Nutrition and shoot up the microbiome learning curve. Recognize the key role of gut microbes as participants in cardiovascular and metabolic disease pathogenesis. Learn actionable evidence–based tips, from the perspective of the microbiome, where over
70 percent of our immunity resides,
Join Dr. Mark Hyman Free 10 Day Detox Challenge
SUMMARY: I always share good worthwhile Workshops. Here’s your chance to participate in a FREE Workshop led by Dr. Mark Hyman’s group. He calls it a Detox Workshop, but it actually is going to get you off the sugar and carb addiction roller coaster. This Dr. Hyman Free 10 Day Detox Challenge is something everyone should try! What you learn will change your health and help to keep you off, or move you off, the diseasespan! Dr. Hyman is the Director the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine which opened in 2014. Since then, it has expanded twice to accommodate more patients, and the wait list at the start of 2017 was still 3,000 patients. Good luck getting seen there! Dr. Hyman is also the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center, chairman of the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine, a medical editor of The Huffington Post, and was a regular medical contributor on many television shows including CBS This Morning, Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, and The View, Katie and The Dr. Oz Show. Participating in one of his Workshops… WELL… It doesn’t get much better than that! Sign up. NOW!!!
Here’s what’s going down ♥ Dr. Hyman, Free 10 Day Detox Challenge:
Join Dr. Hyman’s Free 10 Day Detox Challenge here!
Regarding this detox Workshop opportunity, Dr. Hyman says, “Sluggishness, brain-fog, skin challenges, cravings and just plain feeling like crap are all signs that your body needs to detox from biologically addictive processed foods and sugars that hook your tastebuds with every bite. Why not give your body the deep reset that it deserves?”
Learn Vitality, Memory, Hormones at this Wellness Conference
SUMMARY: I want to let you know about this amazing 3rd annual Citizens of the World Wellness Conference, that you can attend, hosted by The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill on May 5, 2017, in Greensburg, PA. This year, “Lifespan Rhythms: A Focus on Memory, Hormones, and Vitality” is the theme. Come and learn the latest studies about the Vitality, Memory, Hormones link. Expert speakers throughout the day will discuss how to support families across the lifespan with a focus on MEMORY IMPAIRMENT. I participated in last years conference and am thrilled to do so again this year. I don’t normally give you a heads up of opportunities like this unless they are truely worthwhile learning opportunities. This conference makes my cut! If you can attend, you’ll leave with a boatleg of practical information! Come learn about the Vitality, Memory, Hormones link.
Maintaining hormone balance;
Alternative health remedies with an emphasis on nutrition and exercise to support vitality;
The role of toxins and hormones on the prevention of chronic disease and memory loss;
Early signs of memory impairment and necessary legal steps for the person and family/caregivers to consider; and
How financial resources impact lifespan vitality and rhythms.
Vitality, Memory, Hormones Conference topics
Download a brochure here.
Conference topics include: