WEBVTT - Improving Food and Nutrition Practices to Reduce Arthritis Symptoms 0:00:02.680 --> 0:00:07.600 Hi everyone. I'm Holly Robinson, pete actor, author, advocate, do 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:10.960 it All mom, and I'm also a caregiver. And this 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:15.480 is care Walks, a podcast from iHeartRadio and Voltaian Arthritis 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:19.280 Pain Gel. It's a show for family caregivers who give 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:22.680 everything to everyone and need to make time for themselves 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:27.040 through movement. Every episode is designed for you to walk 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:29.560 as you listen, so just think of me and my 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:33.360 guests as your weekly walking buddies. We'll hear stories from 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:37.239 caregivers and gain tips and insights from health experts and 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:39.800 advocates who know how important it is to take care 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:43.280 of yourself and manage joint pain due to arthritis that 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:47.720 often a companies being a caregiver. Together, we'll find community 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:50.960 ourselves and maybe even alleviate some joint pain in the 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:54.800 process as we walk together and connect to the best 0:00:54.800 --> 0:01:03.000 parts of being a caregiver. Hello, fellow caregivers, Welcome back 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:07.319 to care Walks. Thanks for joining us again. All right, now, 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:10.080 just a reminder. Right now you're listening to the full 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:12.479 version of this episode, but if you don't have time 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:15.000 for a full walk today, then go check out our 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:18.440 bridged version of this same episode. It's like cliff notes 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:23.160 for podcasts. So now that's taken care of, how have 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:25.920 you been? We're a few episodes in now, and I 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:28.160 just wanted to check in and see how you're doing. 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:31.720 Have you been asking for help? Have you been taking 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:35.320 a walk every day? Are you reaching out to find community? 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:40.560 Don't forget these are important ways to refill your cup. Hey, 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:43.240 what about your eating habits? Are you getting in fruits 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:46.000 and vegetables and other healthy foods into your daily diet. 0:01:46.920 --> 0:01:49.200 I know you have a lot on your plate, but 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:51.480 I just want to say I am so proud of 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:54.040 everything you've done to take care of the ones you 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:57.040 love and the progress you've made and taken care of 0:01:57.080 --> 0:02:00.200 yourself too, and now that you've started adding movie It 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:03.000 to your daily routine, I want to spend this episode 0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:06.320 learning about the role diet and nutrition play and combating 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:10.680 joint pain due to arthritis and improving our quality of life. 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:13.640 To help us better understand how our self care can 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:17.600 be applied to the kitchen, I've invited doctor Monica Agerwall 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:21.480 to join me on today's episode. Doctor Agerwall is an 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:25.760 adjunct clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the University of Florida. 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:30.600 Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. She's been conducting research on the 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:34.919 impact of diet on everything from physical fitness to mental health. 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:38.320 I'm really looking forward to talking to doctor Agarwall about 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:40.799 her work and learning about how we might be able 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.919 to use diet to treat the symptoms of our joint pain. 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:48.720 But before I share today's conversation, let's set out on 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:57.080 today's walk. Let's start with loosening your shoulders and walking 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:00.760 with ease and letting go of the day and just 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:11.399 focusing on the in and out of your breath as 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:15.720 you walk, take some time to reflect what has brought 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:22.840 you peace in your body today. This moment could be 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:27.200 anything from a tight hug, to your morning stretch or 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:30.960 the taste of a nourishing meal. Check in with these feelings, 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:38.040 how has this moment of peace made you feel? Carry 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:47.560 that piece with you through our walk today. I want 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:50.040 you to think about all the aspects of our health 0:03:50.400 --> 0:03:53.480 that help us stay powerful and strong. And as you 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:56.640 set your pace for the duration of the walk, we 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:59.440 are going to dig into some simple nutrition strategies that 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.040 can go a lot way in helping us protect our 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:07.240 joints from the inside out. Today I am joined by 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:12.040 doctor Monica Agerwall an adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:16.480 in the University of Florida Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. Doctor 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:21.080 Agerwall's book Body on Fire, How Inflammation Triggers Chronic Illness 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:24.520 and the Tools we have to Fight it outlines prescriptions 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:27.880 to help guide people to better health. And now she 0:04:28.000 --> 0:04:32.440 has a cookbook, Body on Fire, Anti Inflammatory Cookbook, Your 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:36.600 Guide to eating plant foods that fight disease. Doctor Agerwal, 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:38.600 thank you so much for joining us today. 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:41.120 It's my pleasure. Thank you so much for having me. 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:45.599 Tell me what first got you interested in studying nutrition. 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:50.520 You know, I am Indian by birth, so maybe my 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.320 whole life, my mom told me to eat turmeric or 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:55.960 you know that I would do better if I slept more, 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:59.679 or to you know, eat more couman and mango powder 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:01.080 because as it was going to help me with this 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:02.760 or that, and so I always sort of grow up 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:06.039 in that kind of space. And when I was in fellowship, 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:09.839 so in training for cardiology, you go to medical school, 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:11.840 then you do three years of internal medicine, and then 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:14.359 you do three years of cardiology fellowship. So here in 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:17.480 school forever and then during that time I also did 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:20.760 an integrative medicine fellowship, so I was always interested in 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:24.520 integrative practices try to maybe I don't know the combination 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:27.039 of east and west, but it really didn't kind of 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:30.680 hit home for me until I myself became sick. So 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:34.120 when I finished my fellowship, I decided to have children. 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.440 And when I got pregnant, it was the most amazing thing. 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:40.279 But I decided that, oh my gosh, I'm older now 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:41.880 I want to have all these kids. So I had 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:45.160 three kids within four years. Four months after I had 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:48.719 baby number three, I started manifesting joint pain and it 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.880 started with a finger and it migrated to my knees 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:54.840 and my shoulders. Within a two week period, I went 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:58.720 from being a runner, active, full time doc to being 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:01.720 unable to climb the stairs. There's, you know, very dark 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:05.080 time in my life where I was diagnosed with a 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:12.400 very poor prognostic form of inflammatory rheumatode arthritis. And I 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:16.279 went from nursing a kid doing all the things I 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:19.080 normally would do, and within a week of my diagnosis, 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:21.000 I was told that I needed to stop nursing my 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:25.120 kid and get on these medications. And that's a humbling feeling. 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:28.400 And I remember this feeling of being small and being 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:30.839 told that there was I had an incurable illness and 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:32.800 I needed to get on medications. There was no way 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:34.479 I was going to come off. So I just needed 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:37.680 to accept that. And that's interesting for a doctor because 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:40.320 I thought, you know, it's not that I embrace medications. 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.160 I was trained with medications. But isn't there another way? 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:45.440 Isn't there other things? Aren't there other things that we 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:48.160 can do to make our bodies better? So I started 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:52.160 on a path of learning about how lifestyle impacts your body. 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:55.080 I met a woman who said, maybe your nutrition's bad, 0:06:55.160 --> 0:06:57.920 and it's ironic because I was vegetarian. I was probably 0:06:57.960 --> 0:07:00.400 a jerk to her because I said, like, oh, yeah, no, 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:03.279 I'm vegetarian. I got this, But I was an unhealthy 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:04.800 vegetarian as many of us are. 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:08.279 What does that mean? An unhealthy vegetarian? Stop right there? 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:09.560 Yeah, yes, a good question. 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:12.680 I feel seen right now, So tell me that, tell 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:13.560 me what that means. 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:16.480 Well, that's a good question. And so there are many 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:20.200 people who call themselves vegan or vegetarian that eat a 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:23.480 lot of unhealthy foods. And to be fair, veganism is 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:26.640 often an ethical choice and not necessarily a health choice. 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:29.120 But we have to remember that there are many vegetarian 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:32.840 and vegan foods that are not super healthy. Doctors actually 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:36.080 get very little education and nutrition. So it took me 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:39.720 years of training after my training to learn how to 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.000 educate people and how to heal my b own body. 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:44.000 And so I had to learn a lot about the 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:47.240 impact of what we eat, how dairy infects your body, 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.760 how fats affect your body, how all of this stuff 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:53.720 triggers inflammation, how inflammation triggers illness. And I went through 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:56.760 this process over years of educating myself. 0:07:57.600 --> 0:07:59.280 Well, let me go back a little bit to when 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:03.320 you're talking about out being a mom of three and 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.600 then you get this diagnosis. I'm a mom of four. 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:10.800 I start off with twins. I've completely blacked out those years. 0:08:10.840 --> 0:08:14.800 I don't remember a whole lot but what that must 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:16.800 have been. And you touched on it a little bit, 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:20.240 But that must have been so difficult to be raising 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:25.520 these little ones and then you get this diagnosis. It's remarkable, 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:28.200 but I mean, this is your journey. I want to 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:31.000 shift to the way we can care for ourselves and 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:33.720 how we can take better care of our bodies with nutrition. 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:38.520 So let's talk inflammation because I know you know a 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:42.600 lot about that. What exactly is inflammation? How does food 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.040 contribute to or combat it? 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.559 Yeah, so inflammation. I always describe to people that inflammation's 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:51.959 like your body's mad at you. That's why the title 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.120 of the book is called Body on Fire. And I 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:57.640 always describe it to people as that your life is 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:01.320 full of stresses and resources. And just think about the 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:03.160 stresses in your life. Well, there are lots of them, 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.080 especially in twenty twenty two. There's our constant dinging of 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:09.600 our phone. There's the lack of sleep, the job stress. 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:11.160 Am I going to get this job? And do I 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:13.960 have this job? Do I have enough money? There's lack 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:17.160 of exercise, there's the foods that we're eating. All of 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.600 these things are stressors on our body. But then there 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:22.560 are all these resources too, and that's something that we forget. 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:26.440 And there's all these resources like healthy, clean eating. There's sleep, 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:30.480 there's movement, there's gratitude, journaling, there's all these things that 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:33.040 you can do switching off your phone and these are 0:09:33.080 --> 0:09:35.080 things that you could do for resources. And it's funny 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:37.320 because you know your cell phone goes to seven percent 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:39.200 and you panic, right, you run over and you're. 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:39.760 Like, I need a charger. 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:43.439 I need a charger, but we've forgotten how to charge ourselves, right. 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:46.520 We are so much focused on the demands in our life. God, 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:48.320 I remember when I was in medical school. I used 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:50.320 to talk to people and be like, oh, pulled an 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:50.800 all night er. 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:51.600 It's the test. 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:53.320 What a jerk I was? 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:53.600 You know? 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:56.280 Like who talks like because you're so proud, Like you 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:59.600 wear it as a badge of honor that you didn't 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:02.760 need the sleep. But you know, we should honor people 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:05.440 who sleep and who take naps and take time for 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:08.400 self care and recovery. You brought up nutrition, and so 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:11.559 what we're focused on in terms of nutrition. Gosh, there's 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:13.520 so many things you can do with your diet and 0:10:13.559 --> 0:10:15.719 people don't realize, like, wait, what, there's so much you 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.760 can do? Well? Absolutely so, there's all these toxins we 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:21.360 put in our body right now, and some of those 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:25.400 toxins are things like refined foods and process foods. So 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:27.800 think about all the instant foods that are out there, 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:30.400 or the open up the box and put it in 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.000 the microwave for three seconds and it's made. Those things 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:36.559 are very refined, and what happens with all those refined 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:38.920 foods is that they go inside your body and they 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:42.360 activate your insulin, your sugar levels go up, and they 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:45.079 process really fast, and they're actually the foods that give 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:47.520 you the high and low. So if just think about, 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.560 for instance, you worked all day and then at midday whatever, 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:51.920 you go to lunch with your friends, you go to 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:54.400 Olive Garden or something like that, and maybe I shouldn't 0:10:54.400 --> 0:10:56.120 have said all of garden, but some restaurant like. 0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:57.280 That, and then I know. 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:00.679 And then you eat like a pasta meal which has 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:04.079 no fiber in it and it's loaded in cheese and fat, 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:06.440 and you eat the bread that comes with it. And 0:11:06.480 --> 0:11:08.600 so people are like, oh my gosh, I'm so tired, 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:10.320 I'm not getting enough sleep. I know what I need. 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:12.920 I need more protein. Well, actually that's not the case 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:14.800 at all. Most of the time, it's neither of those 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:16.920 things that they just need to cut out their sugar. 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:19.600 So a lot of those refined foods and sugars are 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:24.280 a source of inflammation. Another big sources animal fat, unfortunately, 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:27.280 and mostly fried animal fat. People say, well, what am 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:29.160 I supposed to eat if I don't eat that kind 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:31.360 of food? Well, gosh, there's so many things out there, 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:33.400 and really the foods that we want people to eat 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:37.360 are anti inflammatory. There are fruits that are antioxidants, like 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:41.680 blueberries and berries in general. There are spices like turmeric 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:44.839 that are super potent and anti inflammatory. So all these 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:47.800 things that you can do to combat to take out 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:50.040 those inflammatory foods, and you add back some of that 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:52.600 anti inflammatory food and boy, there you go. 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:55.840 You know, when you say refined sugars, it sounds a 0:11:55.840 --> 0:12:00.240 lot like that is also carbohydrates. Is that accurate? So 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:03.040 our carbs something that we should widely avoid. 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:06.120 Oh, I'm so glad you asked that, because there's such 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:09.040 a fear of carbs, and I kind of added to 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:11.760 that just now, and I appreciate you bringing that up. So, 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:14.000 you know, I think the thing that people need to 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:18.520 realize is that carbohydrates are this humongous bag of different things. 0:12:18.559 --> 0:12:22.280 And there's complex carbohydrates and then there's simple carbohydrates. Well, 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:25.760 complex carbohydrates or foods that when you eat them, they 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:28.840 take a long time to digest. And so because of that, 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:32.120 your insulin level goes up slowly, your sugar level goes 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:36.000 up slowly. You feel full longer, and you don't feel hungry. Well, 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:39.960 those are complex carbs like beans and quin wah and 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:44.160 whole whole grains that don't have other additives in them. 0:12:44.559 --> 0:12:47.960 And so when we tell people we want to avoid carbohydrates, 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:52.439 we want them to avoid those simple carbohydrates and refined carbohydrates. 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:55.280 Then those are things like your candies and your cookies, 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:58.640 and your crackers and your sodas. Those are the foods 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:01.360 that we want people to avoid. Now, one of the 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:06.120 caveats is fruits, because fruits, while they are simpler, they 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:11.040 are loaded with so many nutrients and fiber which make 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:14.760 them healthier and cleaner. In fact, studies show that people 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:16.880 should eat about fifty to fifty five percent of their 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:18.959 diet on a daily basis should be carbs. 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:22.920 I'm curious about what a day in your life looks 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:26.280 like for you. What is the favorite part of your work. 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:29.760 I spend an hour long with my patients and I 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:33.760 do a preventive evaluation. And it's intensive. Isn't it that 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:36.280 we're treating the whole person? Right? We've just forgotten that? 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.480 And so I find that sometimes in my practice, the 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:41.760 best thing I do is I teach people how to meditate, 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:45.400 or I give them sleep techniques, or I teach them 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:48.400 how to move their body when they have severe arthritis, 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:52.480 or I teach them how to eat better and cleaner. 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.600 I talk to people about touch and intimacy and love 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:59.400 and connectedness. And you know, I'm a hugger, and COVID 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:01.440 was hard. You can hug for a little while there 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:05.200 and write at a sad story. Recently write a patient. 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:07.640 I asked her to look in the mirror, and I said, 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:11.200 what is it about yourself that you love? And she 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:13.120 didn't want to look. She didn't want to look in 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:15.320 the mirror. She didn't want to see who she was. 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:18.920 There's nothing about me that I love. And you know, 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:20.680 I think that there's a lot of people out there 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:23.960 that are suffering from that sort of lack of self love, 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:27.360 the joy. There's just so many areas there, and so 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:29.040 I think maybe the thing that I love most. You 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:30.720 asked me, what do I love most about my work? 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:33.720 I love most. When people walk out, they say, you know, 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:37.680 I feel better, or they'll say, now that I've talked 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:40.680 to you, I know I can do this. But for me, 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:44.120 I think you can't feel hope until you take time 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.920 for that moment, for that pause and really sort of 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.440 appreciating what it is in your life that you have. 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:54.840 It's the beauty of the earth. It's the people in 0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:57.240 your life, the people who give you love and love 0:14:57.280 --> 0:15:01.160 you and you love. It's your plan, it's your puppies. 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:04.800 It's those things that allow you to feel like, Okay, 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:08.120 I'm okay, I'm okay, I can get through this. And 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:11.440 I think I'm a big fan of gratitude journaling. 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:14.880 Yeah, yeah, good. I was just gonna say you, I'm 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:17.680 feeling so much gratitude listening to all of the things 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:21.960 that you're saying that hope emanates from. And yes, that's 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:23.840 so important. I do that as well. 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:26.760 Oh I'm so glad you do. And I really encourage that. 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:29.200 I tell people, get a journal, doesn't have to be 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:32.960 some fancy thing, and just get, you know, right every night, right, 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:36.880 three things in there that give them joy or that 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:40.280 they're thankful for, and they will see and you will see, 0:15:40.320 --> 0:15:44.320 and everyone will see how much they feel better. You know. 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.080 There's sometimes simple things that we enjoy in our life 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:50.320 are okay to be happy with, and then it's just 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.600 starts this process right of sort of remembering and appreciating 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:54.760 the things that we do have. 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:01.680 We'll be right back with more from doctor Monica Agriwall. 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:13.479 And now back to my conversation with doctor Monica Agriwall. 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:19.720 It can be really hard to change our eating habits. 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:24.040 What would you say is the simplest nutritional adjustment someone 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:27.520 can make that would have the most impact on someone's movement. 0:16:28.480 --> 0:16:30.480 So I know that change is hard. People tell me 0:16:30.520 --> 0:16:34.640 that every day, and certainly I have gone through it myself. 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:37.920 But I always remind people that even though change is hard, 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:40.680 change is good and that a little bit of change 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:44.320 every day can be very impactful. So if I were 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:46.600 to tell people something that I would like them to do, 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:49.560 to cut out inflammatory foods or sort of make a 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:52.160 choice so that they can feel better, I would say 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:53.920 two things, and I would know you said one, but 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:55.640 I would say cut out two things, and I would 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:58.720 say cut out your red meat and cut out your 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:02.880 instant profit cess food. Start there as the remove and 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:06.600 you will see I promise. In fact, if I'm wrong, 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:08.520 you should send me an email and tell maybe, and 0:17:08.560 --> 0:17:11.560 I will send you a gift certificate to your favorite restaurant, 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:14.400 because I will tell you that in six weeks you're 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:16.919 going to see such an improvement. I mean, this is 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.200 what I study. And so in fact I put people 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:22.159 on this dietary change, and in six days I was 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:24.840 able to show people's blood pressure got better, their cholesterol 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:28.119 got better, they felt better, their quality of life was better. 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:30.399 It was incredible. I mean, six days you can make 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:32.679 a change. So if you give people six weeks of 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:35.480 a lifestyle change, the sky's the limit. The other thing 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:39.000 that I'm really not a huge fan of is a dairy. 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:41.439 I'm not a huge fan of dairy. That data in 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:45.200 terms of dairy is controversial, is what I would say. 0:17:45.280 --> 0:17:48.360 And so I think that people have this perception that 0:17:48.640 --> 0:17:49.359 milka does. 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:49.840 Your body good. 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:52.560 Right, we all grew up with that I need milk 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:56.679 to make healthy bones. But if you look actually around 0:17:56.680 --> 0:17:58.760 the world and you look at the countries that have 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:04.720 the most milk intake, well it's America, Swedeen, Europe, Australia. 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.919 We actually take in the most dairy in the world. 0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:10.040 And if you look at the countries that actually have 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:13.359 the highest amount of hip fractures and bone fractures, what 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:18.159 are those countries, Well it's America, Sweden, Australia. So the 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:20.720 same countries that have the most amount of milk intake 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:23.520 actually have the highest fracture rates. In fact, the countries 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:26.879 that have the lowest fracture rates have the lowest milk intake, 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:32.400 like India, Africa, Peru, where they have very low amounts 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:36.280 of dairy intake and they actually have very little joint pain. 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:39.000 And that just shows to show so many things that 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:41.520 you know, dairy isn't the end all. Yes, we do 0:18:41.600 --> 0:18:44.320 need calcium, but we need vitamin D which comes from 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:47.199 the sun. We need vitamin K, which comes from our 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:50.600 green leafy vegetables. And it's the combination of these kind 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:53.119 of things that actually will build bones. And it's not 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:56.280 necessarily the milk and the cow's milk that people focus on. 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:59.920 And I think caregivers and people who are sick they offer, 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.680 you know, they feel stuck too, and so I think 0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:05.680 that it's really key to sort of say, well, gosh, 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:08.160 you know, I can make simple changes and I might 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:11.000 feel better. So let's start with these small things. And 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:15.959 almond milk is super easy nowadays because it's everywhere. You 0:19:16.040 --> 0:19:18.000 just have to be careful because there are a thousand 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:20.000 brands and half of them have stuff in that I've 0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:22.840 never even heard of. So try to get an almond 0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:28.439 milk where the ingredients are almonds and water. Yes, right, like, 0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:30.560 so why can't almond milk be as easy as almonds 0:19:30.560 --> 0:19:32.639 and water? But somehow it's just not. So the other 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:33.800 thing you could do is you can make your own 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:35.560 almond milk, which is super easy. I'm not going to 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:38.920 ask you to soak almonds and peel them off all 0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:41.080 of what you can do, but you can just take 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:43.960 almond butter, and you take almond butter, you put a 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:47.000 few scoops into your blender with some water press blend, 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:50.280 and there's your almond milk. I mean, wow, crazy easy 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:55.080 and super cheap. So I like almond milk there. My 0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:57.840 husband is a little bit more into those plant based 0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:00.720 cheeses that are out there right now that are cocon 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:03.119 and oil and oil based. You just have to be 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:05.760 careful because they're not healthy and so they're not going 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:08.800 to make your cholesterol go down. The other thing you 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:12.080 can do. Another trick is nutritional yeast, which is high 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:14.479 ind B twelve, which most of us need. Is a 0:20:14.520 --> 0:20:16.440 great way to get that cheesy flavor. 0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:20.680 Yes, we speak to a lot of caregivers on our show, 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:24.600 and with many caregivers, their time is dedicated to focusing 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:27.840 on the health and wellness of others. How do you 0:20:27.880 --> 0:20:32.680 approach nutrition with time boundaries, like finding fresh veggies, cooking 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:37.040 whole really good meals, snacks on the go. That's something 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:38.760 that I know I struggled with. 0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:41.919 So a couple things you can do is pre cooking. 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:45.760 I'm a huge fan of. So don't be a embarrassed 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:49.160 to use frozen food first of all, like embrace frozen foods, 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:52.679 and then batch cook like cook ahead of times and 0:20:52.760 --> 0:20:56.080 buy an instapot. Instapot is like heaven on Earth. The 0:20:56.119 --> 0:20:58.639 other thing for snacks, you know, I carry those baby 0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:01.960 carrot bags around, and I carry tups of hummus around, 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:05.280 and I carry peanut butters or almond butters, which are 0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:08.119 really good ways to get snacks. Those are sort of 0:21:08.119 --> 0:21:11.160 clever ways to get them in very clever. 0:21:11.960 --> 0:21:15.680 How can movement and physical activity aid in our approach 0:21:15.720 --> 0:21:20.560 to nutritions? Specifically, can it help our bodies absorb nutrients better? 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:25.600 So there's nothing negative about movement? Well, okay, that's wrong. 0:21:25.960 --> 0:21:29.399 If you overdo it, as you overdo anything, you can 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:33.159 definitely impact your health negatively. But in general, movement it's 0:21:33.240 --> 0:21:35.600