You Are What You Eat: Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is a key to good health

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As 2018 progresses, New Year’s Resolutions have either flourished or fallen flat. For those who made personal goals on bettering your health and creating a new and improved lifestyle, it can be challenging to create a fitness routine that works with your crazy schedule. But, that’s only half the challenge- the food that you consume plays a huge part in weight loss, overall well-being, and skincare. While you may be thinking, “there’s so much to know… where do I start?” Lucky for you, mindful eating could be the first step to changing your life!

 

What Is Mindful Eating?

Basically, mindful eating is a perspective change on how, and why, you eat the way you do. With training, individuals become more aware of their hunger and satiety cues from their bodies, which in turn helps them to gauge how much to eat during a meal. Mindful eating focuses on bringing attention to the present moment of eating, using all of your senses, and observing your mental and emotional responses to different foods. It’s all about savoring your food, slowing down and enjoying your meal, which in turn can help you assess your level of fullness easier.

 

Why Is This Important?

For some, their eating habits are tied to emotional responses in their lives. Mindful eating teaches discipline, but is different than calorie-counting. Some individuals suffer from binge-eating habits, or eating when stressed or bored. Mindful eating aids in creating positive, healthy, and strategic ways to enjoy food without overindulging. When you are aware of poor eating behaviors, it is easier to correct them and replace them with nourishing ones.

 

Does It Actually Work?

Yes. There are several benefits to mindful eating. Besides a greater awareness of hunger and fullness, there is typically less weight regain that follows after dieting. There is also a higher level of self-esteem, and can act as a healthy coping mechanism for obesity and binge eating disorder. There can also be spiritual benefits to mindful eating, which is typically a Buddhist spiritual practice.

If you want to make a change in your life, mindful eating is a great place to start. When you change your perspective about your eating habits, there will be real-life changes that are tangible and will show results. We, at Wild Women Wellness, believe in you. For more information on our services, you can visit our website or give us a call at (650)-271-9453.

Feel the Benefits of Infrared Saunas

At the start of the New Year, many people put their health as a priority. It’s a new beginning for many, and we at Wild Women Wellness always support decisions to better a person’s health. A very underrated form of wellness is the infrared sauna, which has proven benefits to help you relax, relieve pain, and lose weight- among many other perks! Listed below are the beneficial ways that infrared saunas can better your life:

First off, what is an infrared sauna?

Glad you asked. To start off, we must understand that sunlight is a combination of visible and invisible light. Infrared light is an invisible light, and is one of the healthiest forms of light that can infiltrate the deep layers of our skin. Infrared saunas use infrared wavelengths, at all different levels, to help dissolve toxins in your skin, vitalize your metabolism, and have your body feeling balanced.

Relaxation

One of the most beneficial aspects of the infrared sauna is the way it allows your body to relax. The infrared wavelengths affect your body’s primary stress hormone, cortisol, which helps to make you feel more balanced. The heat generated in the sauna works to relax your muscles and relieve tension where you hold stress in your body.

Pain Relief

One of the more popular uses for infrared saunas is the ability to help with pain relief. As the heat from the infrared sauna increases, so does your core body temperature, which will then increase your body’s circulation. When your body’s blood flow is stimulated, it allows for inflammation to be relieved and for muscle aches or joint pain to decrease.

Detoxification

Another benefit that infrared saunas provide can be seen physically. Because you are sweating in the sauna, you’re eliminating toxins deep within your body, which can lead to many perks. One of them is purified skin; as you sweat out the toxins, you increase your circulation, which results in your skin becomes clearer and softer.

Weight Loss

Finally, infrared saunas are known for their ability to aid in weight loss. Because your core temperature increases, so does your heart rate to try to keep your core temperature at a manageable degree. When your body has to work hard at maintaining your body temperature, your body will burn more calories, which results in weight loss. Burning calories while relaxing- sign us up!

We at Wild Women Wellness believe in the natural powers of health and wellness. To learn more about our services, you can visit our website or give us a call at (650)-271-9453 today!

Don’t Suffer From SAD … Be Glad! Ways to Cope with Seasonal Affective Disorder

The winter months are approaching fast, with little we can do to control the weather. The days are getting shorter, bleaker, and darker with each passing second. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that occurs in a seasonal pattern, usually stirs up in individuals around late fall and winter months. While we can’t control the forecast, we can control natural remedies to help us fight SAD and have us feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally healthier.

Let There Be Light!
SAD’s cause is unknown, but the most common belief is that is occurs because of the lack of sunlight people are exposed to during the shortest days of the year. We suggest trying to surround yourself with as much natural light as you possibly can. Keep your windows and blinds open, and take walks outside when possible. Light therapy has also been proven to help those who suffer from SAD and can help with our chemical imbalances during these dark winter months.

Pump Those Arms!
Exercise has been proven to help in the treatment of depression, and this is no different. Exercising boosts your serotonin and endorphin levels, and can help you sleep better at night, which is a common symptom of SAD. If you can exercise outside with natural light, you’re killing two birds with one stone. Typically, aim for 30-60 minutes of fitness, and set up a workout routine to help keep you on track!

Replenish Your Body!
One of the most beneficial things you can do for your well-being is to replenish your body with the important nutrients it needs. “L-Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin and has been found to be an effective treatment for depression,” (Gaby 1079). Taking Vitamin D supplements has been linked to improvements in individual’s depression, and can be necessary if an individual is not receiving a healthy dose of natural light. Melatonin has also been proven to help with the treatment of depression, and also helps individuals regulate their sleeping schedules.

Seasonal Affective Disorder should not be ignored. If you or someone you know is dealing with SAD, reach out to someone and ask for help. We at Wild Women Wellness believe in the power of natural healing, and have seen it work firsthand. For more information on our services, you can visit our website or give us a call at (650)-271-9453 today!

Sources:
Gaby, Alan. Nutritional Medicine. 1st ed. Fritz Perlberg Publishing, 2011. Print.

Can Type 2 Diabetes Be Reversed?

Healthy fats can be found in avocado, lean proteins from eggs.

With Type 2 Diabetes, your body becomes inefficient at burning sugar for energy. The hormone insulin, that shuttles sugar from your blood into your cells to be used as energy, stops working. Either your body resists the effects of insulin, or the pancreas doesn’t produce enough. It all starts at the pancreas, in the beta cells that produce insulin, something causes damage here, and insulin dysregulation begins. While many see this as a roadblock in life, we at Wild Women Wellness know you can reverse your insulin resistance.

The First Step is to Uncover the Underlying Cause:

What caused the damage to the pancreas and insulin producing cells to start with? What else contributed to blood sugar dysregulation? There are a number of causes that can trigger the onset of insulin dysregulation such as:

  • Food allergies/sensitivities
  • Dysbiosis, leaky gut and gut microbiota
  • Food additives – like aspartame or high fructose corn syrup
  • Oxidative stress – from inflammation
  • Mitochondrial dysfunction – dysfunction in the energy centres of the cells
  • Toxins- like pesticides on your veggies or plastics in from your water bottle, heavy metal in your teeth and seafood.
  • Obesity
  • Stress or adrenal fatigue
  • Lack of sleep
  • Hormone imbalances
  • Infections – such as residual viral infections
  • Nutrient deficiencies
  • Rx Drugs (Statins and DM)
  • Genetic predispositions/SNP defects
  • High sugar/carbohydrate diet

Insulin resistance and diabetes are also linked to a host of other health conditions such as PCOS, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hypothyroidism, elevated liver enzymes (ALT/AST), and obesity. The insulin resistance often starts before the weight gain and lab results indicate HbA1C above 6.0. If your fasting blood sugar is above 90 or HbA1C is above 5.5, you will want to dig deeper to investigate if you are having early blood sugar dysregulation. Other clues are weight gain, arthritis, metabolic syndrome, weight around the midsection. You should know however, 60% of people at risk of diabetes are not overweight! If you feel sleepy after meals or irritable between meals this can be an indicator of blood sugar dysregulation. If you believe that you may be suffering from insulin resistance, you need to consult a functional medical or naturopathic doctor and work towards a diagnosis.

Diagnose Appropriately

In order to be diagnosed appropriately, I suggest an initial laboratory evaluation, which can include:

  • Adiponectin
  • Pro-insulin, C-Peptide
  • Glucose tolerance test
  • HbA1C
  • NMR lipoprotein profile
  • Fasting Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
  • GGTP
  • Uric acid
  • Methane breath test
  • Comprehensive stool test looking at the microbiome/flora

Choose Individualized Treatment Plan

Where we see the most success in treatment plans are changing dietary habits. The Westernized Standard American Diet is high in saturated and trans fats, salt, refined grains, and sugars, which can cause imbalances in our bodies and more specifically our gut microbiota. Implementing whole food, which is fresh, unprocessed, organic, colorful, and high in fiber will help work towards decreasing insulin release, modifying the gut microbiota, and increasing your cellular responsiveness to insulin. If it doesn’t look like a plant or piece of meat, then don’t eat it!

Foods to Avoid:

  • Fruit juice and dried fruit
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Gluten
  • Refined foods – pasta, bread, cereal, baked goods, pastries, packaged food
  • White foods – white rice, white bread, white potatoes, white sugar

Foods to Enjoy:

  • All vegetables (except white potatoes)
  • Free range chicken, fish- salmon, grass fed lean meats 1-3x week, eggs.
  • Fresh or frozen Berries, bananas, apples.
  • Good fats: olives, olive oil, avocados, coconut, nuts and seeds, nut butters like almond butter.
  • Fermented foods- like Kimchi

Meal Structure:

  • Make breakfast and lunch your largest meal
  • Keep dinner light
  • Intermittent fasting: 12-16hrs of fasting in 5 days per week, this can be done by not eating after dinner, and keeping dinner 12hrs before breakfast.
  • Avoid snacking
  • Eat protein and good fat with every meal

A structured sleep schedule is very beneficial in your treatment plan. Get your sleep, with a regular bedtime and wake time. Ideally to bed before midnight and getting 8hrs/night. Your body repairs itself in your sleep, so it’s important to make sleep a priority to help maintain your health.

Come work with us at Wild Women Wellness and we will help you establish a healthy foundation through your diet, address the underlying cause, set you up with a targeted supplement program and rebalance your microbiota so you can rely less on medications, feel better, and prevent serious complications down the road.

Take charge of your health, book your free 15 minute phone consultation here or give us a call at (650)-271-9453

How To Eat Healthy On a Road Trip

The end of the summer is a perfect time to take a road trip. Whether it’s a few cities or states away, road trips can create lasting memories and show you a different side of life you’ve never seen. Proper planning is essential, and your diet is no exception. It can be difficult to eat healthy when you’re traveling, but with these tips and tricks, you’ll be able to stay on track and still enjoy your time sightseeing!

Places To Stop

If you’re making a pit stop at a gas station to fill up the tank, you can easily fill up your tummy as well! While the healthy options are few and far between, there are still a few healthy foods that you can eat. Beef jerky is a great source of protein, and trail mix or nut mixtures can be a great snack to tide you over until you find something more filling. Plain potato chips can also be an option.

If you’re looking to stop at a restaurant or pick up some groceries, the best way to pick places to go is by trusting your handy-dandy smartphone. Whole Foods is a great store that can give you healthy and tasty options, or you can search for the closest “Health Food Store” which can bring up some great options. If you’re lucky, you can catch some farmer markets and get some fresh, organic cooking ingredients! When looking for restaurants, I’ve had the best luck searching “Vegan Restaurants,” which bring up organic restaurants that have great options for food- even if you’re not a vegan.

Pack Healthy Snacks

Another way to eat healthy on road trips is to pack lots of healthy options before you hit the road. Food prep will be your best friend, whether that means getting recipes ready or prepping some fun snacks. Nut mixtures are my favorite to bring along, since there’s a variety to choose from and I usually feel pretty full after. Packing bars like Quest bars, Kind bars, and GoMacro bars is also a good idea. Bringing lots of water is a necessity, along with herbal teas to mix it up and add some oomph to your drink.

Snack Ideas

Looking for some new, healthy, and delicious snacks to bring along? We’ve got you covered! I have a plethora of healthy recipes on my website, with a section dedicated to healthy snack options (my favorites are the kale chips and the apple/almond butter combo!) There are also several recipes that can be found on ThatCleanLife.com, which specifically focuses on healthy recipes and helps you create a plan just for you and your dietary needs. One of my favorite recipes, that works especially on the road, is the Campfire Baked Apples.

Here at Wild Women Wellness, we’re all about giving you the tools to live a happier, healthier life. Eating on the road doesn’t have to be hard when you follow these tips. If you’re interested in learning more about health and wellness, you can visit my
website or give us a call at (650)-271-9453.

Why your thyroid medication may not be working for you!

Artist: Ginger Slonaker. Used with permission

Artist: Ginger Slonaker. Used with permission

Are you taking Synthroid or Tirosint (levothyroxine)? Levothyroxine is the thyroid hormone T4. Did you know that the most active thyroid hormone in your body is T3. T3 is converted from T4 in the liver, kidneys and muscles. This conversion requires an enzyme called 

5’deiodinase, and the nutrients selenium, zinc, copper, vitamins A, B2, B3, B6,and C. If you are not converting your natural T4 or T4 medication to T3 you may not be getting enough circulating thyroid hormone. Factors that reduce conversion and will interfere with the efficacy of your thyroid medication include:

  • Stress
  • Environmental toxins (plastics and heavy metals)
  • Inadequate protein intake
  • High carbohydrate diet
  • Elevated cortisol 
  • Chronic illness
  • Decreased kidney or liver function
  • Inflammation
  • Medications (Birth control pills, Propanolol, Premarin….) 
  • Nutrient deficiencies
    • Iodine (high in Seaweed)
    • Iron (high red meat, mushrooms, kale)
    • Selenium (high in brazil nuts)
    • Zinc (high in shellfish)
    • Vitamins A, B2, B6, B12


Dr.E finds her patients feel much better one a T4/T3 combination treatment or a Natural thyroid alternative such as Nature-Throid or WP Thyroid. Ask your doctor to test your Free T3 levels, thehealthy range is 3.0-3.4ng/L and deficiency below 2.4ng/L. If you suspect your thyroid medication is not working for you ask Dr.Escobedo to evaluate your labs. 

Discover the Freedom of Healthy Digestion

The digestive tract is central to optimal health, find out how vital you can feel with healthy digestion.

When you think of your digestive tract you probably think of all the tubes that move food from your mouth to the toilet.  Your liver, gallbladder, and pancreas all play important roles in production, and storage of digestive enzymes, bile, and elimination of toxins from your blood into your stool.  Did you ever consider your skin a part of your digestive tract?! Your digestive tract is just an extension of your skin, a barrier between the outside world and your delicate insides.  Your digestive tract sanitizes and selectively absorbs nutrients from your food. A large amount of your immune system is in your digestive tract interacting with millions of bacteria.  Not only does your digestion absorb all the nutrients that become the building blocks for everything in the human body, but it stores a large amount of serotonin! Serotonin is your happy hormone. As you can see having a healthy digestive tract is central to having healthy skin, immune system, a balance mood, and a healthy body.

Common symptoms and conditions related to an unhealthy digestion:

 

Healing the Gut: Three important steps to healthy digestion.

  1. Remove: remove underlying inflammatory factors
    1. Problem foods
    2. Parasitic infection
    3. Candida overgrowth
    4. Stress and disordered eating habits
    5. Drugs/medications
  2. Heal the gut lining
    1. Anti-oxidants
    2. Soothing herbs (Aloe vera)
    3. Healing nutrients (Glutamine)
  3. Restore:
    1. Healthy stomach acid levels
    2. Healthy flora (Probiotics)
    3. Digestive enzymes/bile production

Dr.Escobedo has lots of success identifying the underlying cause of digestive complaints using specialties testing such as:

  • Food sensitivities testing: discover exactly what foods are causing inflammation in your digestive tract.
  • Comprehensive Stool Analysis: this test allows us uncover exactly what your flora is doing; good bacteria, commensal bacteria, parasitic infections or yeast overgrowth. And how well you are digesting your food.
  • Specialty testing along with an in depth history of your condition allows us to get your digestion back to health quickly and effectively.

If you suspect your digestion need improvement book your free 15 minute phone consult with Dr. Escobedo today!

 

Lose Weight

Want to try one of the most successful weight loss programs out there? You can lose up to 40lbs in 40 days with GeOMetric Shape Programs. HCG helps reset the brain, and lower your set point so you can keep the weight off easily. No more yo-yo diets, no more starving yourself. Reset your brain and learn how to eat right for your body type, so you can stay healthy and look great for good.

Read more about our weight loss program here.

Men’s Health

Feel the power of balanced testosterone.

If you are looking for a knowledgeable, wholistic, experienced doctor to help you restore your testosterone, growth hormone, or other hormones safely and effectivly Dr.E can help!

Are you experiencing:

  • Muscle loss
  • Weight gain-increased body fat especially around the mid-section
  • Loss of interest in sex
  • Depression or low mood
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Low energy
  • Increased risk for cardiovascular disease
  • Poor sleep
  • Lack of confidence
  • Feeling complacent

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you may have low testosterone, read on to learn how to boost testosterone naturally, how to get tested, and why having the right doctor is important.

Andropause

Ever wonder why you don’t feel as good in your 40 & 50s as you did in your 20s? It’s because your hormones are dropping rapidly as you hit adropause.

  • Men produce 10x more testosterone than women in their youth
  • Testosterone declines with age, about midlife levels can plumet, this is called Andropause!
  • Testosterone level start to decline significantly, muscle mass reduces, the beer belly makes an appearance, and the libido and erections aren’t what they used to be.
  • In fact as testosterone decreases, fat store increase along with the production of estrogen.
  • By retirement age men can be producing more estrogen than women of the same age.

How do you know if your testosterone or other hormones are low?

Get tested!

The first step is to get to the bottom of how you are feeling, is it low testosterone, low thyroid, poor growth hormone production, nutrient depletion or what?! Here are the tests Dr. E recommends every man should check included in brackets are the HEALTHY ranges (don’t settle when your regular doctor tells you your testosterone levels are “normal”!).

  • Total testosterone (600-1000)
  • Free testosterone (20-30)
  • SHBG (20-35)
  • PSA (<1.0)
  • TSH (1.00-1.50)
  • Free T3 (3.0-3.4)
  • Free T4 (1.1-1.4)
  • B12 (700-1000)
  • Folate (> 18)
  • Vitamin D (50-90)
  • IGF-1  (measure of growth hormone production)
  • Estradiol, sensitive (20-30)
  • CBC w Diff (Hb 13-16.5)
  • AST & ALT (10-26)
  • hs-CRP (<1.00)

Dr. Escobedo orders these test for all her male patients to ensure optimal health, most of which should be covered by your insurance if you have a PPO. If you want to get tested book a free 15 minute phone consult with Dr.E and ask to have her order your labs today!

Why Choose Dr. Escobedo?

Dr.Escobedo has extensive experience working with men to balance, replace and restore healthy hormones including testosterone. She is successfully prescribing, managing and safely monitoring hundreds of men on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), using well rounded programs including testosterone injections, topical bio-identical testosterone cream, hCG, clomid, sermorelin, growth hormone boosters and estrogen blockers such as anastrozole. Moreover, she utilizes supplements, diet, exercise and herbs to help restore the bodies natural hormone levels. Restoring adrenal health, reducing toxic exposure, and increasing building blocks for hormone production all support healthy hormone production and utilization. Maximizing your bodies health and efficiency.

Please don’t try to do it on your own! Did you know if  you’re on testosterone injections your blood gets thicker and increases your risk for a clot! Dr. E always monitors your hemoglobin levels regularly to eliminate this risk. Taking high doses of testosterone can also cause estrogen to sky rocket making you moody, irritable, cause gynocomastia (aka man boobs) and cause your testies to shrink! Managing your estrogen is a crucial part of safe effective hormone replacement therapy. 

Want to Fight Back!! Boost Your Testosterone Naturally Here’s some tips:

Exercise:

Studies have shown these types of exercises increase testosterone when combined in a dynamic workout.

Interval Training

  • 20 minutes total
  • 5 minutes warm up + 5 minutes cool down
  • 10 minutes intervals: 1 minute intense running or biking 1 minute walking X 5 times =10 minutes
  • Weights:
    • 3 sets compound movements
    • Heavy enough for 8-12 reps
    • Focus on large muscle groups

Get your Key Nutrients:

  • Good Fats: Fish oil, olive oil, coconut butter, omega-3s, your body uses them to build sex hormones
  • Protein: Whey Protein concentrate, best taken just before a weight lifting workout
  • Bio-available minerals: Zinc, magnesium, calcium and chromium
  • Lycopene, from tomatoes and is high in tomato past, helps to prevent prostate cancer!
  • Maca to support erectile health and sexual performance
  • B-vitamins to support energy and adrenal health

There are lots of Test booster supplements on the market, most are filled with junk and don’t do much or have fillers that are bad for you and others work really well. For the best results ask Dr. E she has seen most of them and knows what works.