During this episode, the PBTH doctors will discuss ways to overcome food addiction through Cognitive Behavior Therapy, journaling, mindfulness, and much more!
Questions Answered
- (00:04) – Intro
- (10:41) – Are there any alternatives for salty snacks? Chips, Nuts, and Popcorn?
- (17:18) – Any other grains or any questions or food preparation, things that you guys use?
- (20:59) – I've been recently diagnosed with CLAC. Are you able to tell me what to eat or what grains to avoid?
- (22:57) – Does the processing that makes oats quicker to cook mean that it's likely some nutrition is lost in that processing?
- (24:41) – If a doctor's licensed in lifestyle medicine, are they better than a family doctor? And does it automatically mean they're plant based?
- (28:25) – Can I be a lifestyle medicine psychotherapist?
- (28:25) – How can you gain weight when you have high cholesterol and can't have a lot of nuts and season avocado also no gallbladder?
Complete Transcript
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(00:04)
Well, hello everybody. I'm Dr. Kim Scheuer. I am double board certified in family practice and in lifestyle medicine. I've been practicing for over 20 years in Traditional Medicine. But then also I got into Lifestyle Medicine about 10 years ago, which has helped me with my own food addictions. So we're going to talk a little bit about food addictions today. And there's a whole gambit. Everybody, when we hit January 1st, we all want to start with new ways and new paths of living and eating and being. And then it falls off. And some of that has to do with addictions. And it's interesting because some people have addictive personalities. I do. I am Kim, I'm a chocoholic. And so, I can't have certain foods in my house. I just can't. It's just, if I start, I will eat and keep eating.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(01:03)
And I didn't realize how addictive certain foods could be for many, many years. I struggled with weight issues all my life, and I had not great cholesterol and not great energy. And I was lethargic and didn't feel great. And I didn't realize it was a lot of how I was eating and what I was eating. And so, unfortunately, we have so many things working against us. The food industry works against us because they make very highly palatable foods that are full of salts, and fats and sugars and our bodies want it. And so, what happens is when we eat these things, our brain chemistry changes. Our dopamine goes up. Our dopamine, which is one of the happy hormones in our brains wants more and more and more and more. And so you're eating highly desirable foods that are high in calorie, low in nutrients. So your body wants more.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(02:10)
It wants more because it needs nutrients and it's not getting that. And it's fascinating, the studies out there on these foods. There's actually a medicine called Naltrexone, which we use for people who are addicted to substance abuses, substances. And that actually has been shown to help with food addiction in some people. So this is a real deal. And for some people, it's really difficult. There's lots of ways to work on food addictions. For example, cognitive behavioral therapy helps a lot. So behavioral therapies help, physical separation. So abstaining makes a huge difference. So you can reset your brain and your brain chemistries back to a normal level. Because when you are eating some of these, you need more and more and more, just like cigarettes or alcohol for some people and things like that. And not everybody gets addicted the same way.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(03:10)
It's just like alcohol. Some people can have some alcohol and not need more. And some people can have certain foods, like I don't have a salt addiction, but I have a sugar addiction, where other people have the salt addiction, not the sugar addiction. So it's fascinating. But physically separating yourself makes a difference. And so there's lots of different things that you can do. But one of the things, if you have ever felt guilty about what you've eaten, if you have certain foods that when you have it in front of you, you eat and eat and eat and eat, and then feel bad about that, that's a problem. If you've ever changed your behavior around foods, you don't go to parties because some foods will be there and you know you're going to get in trouble, those are all indications you might have a problem with food.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(04:10)
And we have a lot of that in this society and this culture. And it's difficult because for me, for example, I always thought, “Well, if I could just stop eating, I'd be fine.” Because I can stop and then never have to eat again. So I was always thought, “I was so jealous of people who smoke cigarettes,” because I could stop cigarettes and never do it again. But you have to eat.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(04:32)
But I didn't realize when I was struggling, was that I just have to change what I eat. Not eat. You have to eat, you have to drink water. But it's just people have to drink drink, but they don't have to drink alcohol. They can change what they drink. And that helped me a lot too. And so, if you have struggles with that, plant-based telehealth can help because we have doctors here that can do that. And there are lot of different techniques. There's a lot of people who've done lots of research out there. If you've ever heard of The Pleasure Trap, have you've ever thought about looking into it? There're really good things on YouTube, just YouTube, The Pleasure Trap, and you'll find some really good information on that.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(05:28)
Knowing why you want to change and reminding yourself again and again, and again, those things can help. Having plans for when you're going to be in a situation where you're going to be tempted, having those plans beforehand, make a huge difference. Forgiving yourself, if you have a little mistake one day or you fall off for a day, there's lots of tips we can help you with to get back on to the right path onto the road that makes you happier and healthier. But planning for that and forgiving yourself are big, big things, and laughing, being happy and enjoying life. A lot of people think, “I have an addiction and I'm not going to have that. It's restriction. And that makes my life worse.” Well, no, it makes your life better when you finally realize and have control over your life. And there's lots of good books out there like Dopamine Nation, and there's lots of good help so we can help you with that. But I was wondering if anybody had any specific questions?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(06:45)
Yeah, we do. I'm going to undo this. Here we go. All right. I'm going to put [crosstalk 00:06:50].
Dr. Chris Miller
(06:49)
First of all, thank you, Kim. That was great. Thanks for sharing your personal story as well. It's nice to hear people getting better from food addictions. I definitely have an overeating issue even with plant-based foods. So I don't know how many other people out there, maybe this is everyone, maybe this is just me, but I find setting habits and guidelines for myself really helps me instead of just wanting to eat all the times. So doing three meals a day and scheduling my times and knowing what I'm going to eat in advance. And I put a lot of thought into it because otherwise, I can go crazy even on plant-based foods. I'm definitely a highly addictive person when it comes to food. I find a lot of comfort in it. And so I've worked with all those habits myself, and that has definitely helped. But thank you for sharing. That was very helpful.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(07:39)
And I think that limiting, for me, I can't have chocolate in the house. It just can't. But also limiting time of when you eat makes a difference too. So what's helped me is, I used to eat a lot at night. And that wasn't a good time. And so I would say, “Okay, no eating after 7:00, no matter what.” I can have hot tea or I can have some water or I can go out and walk around the block, if I'm doing that, and that makes such a difference, and abstaining for a while.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(08:13)
I would start to eat well, then I'd stop. Then I'd start, then I'd stop. Then I'd start. And if you can stop, and I did a food and exercise and mood diary for a month. Every time it would be holiday season and I would be tempted and I would eat a bunch of stuff, and then I'd feel terrible about myself or terrible physically too. And then I'd just go and I'd do this food and exercise and mood diary for a month. And having that accountability to myself made a difference. And that just broke that craving cycle. Because what a lot of people find it also is if they're addicted to certain foods and they stop eating them, they're craving them. They want them. It's in their head all the time. And so breaking that craving is important.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(09:02)
I think what I love about these conversations we have, one, I learned so much from you guys. But also I think it's important to relate people that we're humans as well, right? So we have our own issues and addictions. For me, it's this [inaudible 00:09:15], then cookies. Literally can eat an entire sleep there. I've known colleagues of mine who are not plan-based or care for my health apparently, would buy boxes and stick them on my desk. Wouldn't fess up, who did it? So it's like anything, Junior Mints then. So I get it. So like you were saying, the environment needs to be your safe space, and make the right choice, the easy choice. Because willpower, I either call it a finicky friend or a finicky lover. It comes around when it wants, but then it leaves when it wants. And so you can't rely on it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(09:48)
And so, we got lots of comments and questions. So I'm going to throw these out here. Someone did just on a little bit off topic for a second, was asking when the webinars are. So we are first and third Fridays of every month at 11:30 Mountain Time. I'll let you all figure out those time zones, and is when I do, goes wrong. And then the next ones are the second and fourth Thursdays at 12: 30 Mountain Time, as I'm in Colorado. Well, this is your Colorado crew here, and you can register on our Facebook page, Plant-Based Tele Health. You can click the events, you can go ahead and register there. And then the other ones are also on the website, Plant-Based Tele Health. And Dr. Klaper's joining us.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(10:41)
We're talking about food addiction, Dr. K. And we had some questions I was about to get to here. And I was just telling people how to register for the things. But Colleen said, funny, she goes, “Hi, I'm a potato chipaholic. So I can't have those in the house either.” And let me just get here. She said, “Nuts are a big issue for me.” Brenda says, “I know just an ounce or two, but I sit and eat the might popcorn.” And then another question was, are there any alternatives, right, to these salty and crunchy addicting nuts, which are quite delicious. Because those are an addiction that I need to leave them out of the house. Do you guys have any suggestions for alternatives when they're really just craving that?
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(11:21)
So a couple of things that I've found that help with crunchy or salty or things like that. So for crunchy, there's some really good YouTube videos on how to make your own tortilla chips that are like corn chip or things like that are baked, not fried. And so you can chew on those. But I actually, the recent thing I've gotten is, you know those little bags of the sweet peppers that are multicolored? You can just grab those and just munch on those peppers. And that's actually got much more… If you remember that the foods that are brightly colored and that have lots of phytonutrients, are the healthiest and they have a lot of water, that's better than the other option. So I go to those kind of things. Like veggies, I have chopped up, cut up veggies in my refrigerator that I can just grab.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(12:14)
If it's something like nuts that you're addicted to, where some is okay, and some is good. Make sure when you get a bag of them, first, no salt and raw nuts, and then put them into little baggies. So little, little baggies with just an ounce, each one. And then have those so you can grab and go one per day. And you don't get the big bag and just keep eating mindlessly. So mindless eating is a problem. And if you're going to mindless eat, which I have done at times when I'm stressed, I'll just get a bag of pre-prepared salad mix and just mindless eat that bag of things. I try not to do that. You want to be mindful each time, but if it's going to be something, it's going to be something that is high fiber, high nutrient high water content and easy to grab and go. [crosstalk 00:13:08].
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(13:07)
Slice hishima. hishima, slice it up. I'm just going to leave that out there. Slice hishima with a little bit of… It's that little, yes. And it's got this weird potatoey taste and it's apple-ish almost, but then some friends of mine, there's this Mexican peppery thing you can put on there spice wise. My goodness gracious, it's a whole, hishima one day, gone. But it's all good. I'm pooping well, I'm doing great. So TMI, but Dr. K, do you have any thoughts on that?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(13:47)
No. There was a Virtu performance theory we just heard on dealing. If you're going to mindlessly munch, make it healthy and there are ways to do it. And if you just think about it, and I really applaud that strategy. What else, when I'm wandering through the produces? Yeah. I'm a big crunchy pepper fan like you are there. And I'm learning about all sorts of different balsamic vinegars now, and just a little spruce there. Just dip it into a little balsamic. It goes, “Mm-hmm (affirmative).” You get munch on that for five minutes. So I get the most out of the taste delights but in a harmless way if possible.
Dr. Chris Miller
(14:42)
I think I maybe put more thought into it than you guys. So I use my dehydrator, which you can also do in your oven. I love my dehydrator. I've had it for 20 years. But I dehydrate kale and just make kale chips. And it's good. You can spray your vinegar on it. I've done that and add spices to it, garlic, a paprika, whatever you like on it. And so you make your kale chips and those are crunchy. And I also make dehydrated chickpeas, or you can put them in your oven and bake them, add your spices to that, and that's crunchy. I try not to snack on this stuff too guys. So it really helps me to not snack as much. And so, I will add my crunch with my meal. So I like a little of the crunchy chickpeas on my salad or the kale chips on my salad.
Dr. Chris Miller
(15:23)
So I get a crunch. Sweet potato fries can get crunchy. You bake them, you slice your sweet potato and add your spices and bake them, and that adds crunch to your meal. And I probably eat an apple every single day. And I think I eat it for the crunch. I just enjoy my apple, if I haven't had an apple. So it scratches that itch for me as well, if I don't have the other treats made. But I try to eat them. Like I said, I'm an overeater, as I said earlier. And so I don't snack anymore. I've set that guideline for myself. So it's breakfast, lunch, dinner. If I'm truly hungry, it's a piece of fruit and orange or something, but that's it. Otherwise, I'm not going to sit down and snack on any of these foods, but it'll be with my meal, the crunchy food. Yeah.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(16:04)
One of the things that I've thought about, about the truly hungry part, was Chef AJ has said, if you're not hungry enough to eat a vegetable, you're not truly hungry. So I go to the vegetable first. And if I'm still hungry after that, then I'll go to the fruit or something like that. That's why that bag of peppers really helps me get the crunch, get the sweet, get the feel, and then I'm not craving the other.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(16:34)
Yeah. The red bell peppers. Oh my goodness. I salivate just thinking about them. I'm just like, “Oh my goodness.” And so I got a boy, I got some interesting, let me go through here. Someone also had some questions we maybe since we're talking about the food element, in preparation, when you cook Quinoa, you want to do some rinsing, they're asking about specific. Is there any special preparation for Quinoa meal that you guys use with your cooking? I just rinse it really good just to get that… I forget the name of it, but that…
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(17:07)
Saponin.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(17:10)
Saponin. Yeah. It gives you a taste that stays in your mouth after you eat something like that.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(17:17)
MM-hmm.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(17:18)
But to bubble up, but any other grains or any questions or food preparation, things that you guys use?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(17:28)
If you don't know your team law intimately spread it out on a white towel and have a look there can get little stones in there, little devils there, and that'll cost you a crown and a trip to the dentist. So have a look at it. But yes, rinse it really well in the strain with flowing water or let it soak for an hour or so in water to spill off the water a couple times.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(17:54)
Yeah.
Dr. Chris Miller
(17:55)
And the instant part has become my best friend for making the different grains. So once I figure out the amount of time I wrote them on a little card. So if anyone's interested in Latin, I have just exactly how long. So it turns out perfectly every time now that's been great.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(18:11)
Quinoa though bubbles up into the Instagram or the Instant Pot top, have you had that? Maybe I added too much water. But anyway, go ahead Dr. K.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(18:20)
No, it comes out of the pressure release [inaudible 00:18:27].
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(18:27)
It goes to the top, the lid is just coded by the [crosstalk 00:18:29].
Dr. Michael Klaper
(18:29)
The lid is coded on the inside. I got it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(18:31)
Yeah.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(18:31)
Okay. All right. I see. Yeah. I could see that.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(18:35)
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Dr. Michael Klaper
(18:37)
For those folks who are just learning about getting into the grains, if you like chewy, textuary, grains, and you don't have a problem with gluten, which I don't, Faro, F-A-R-O is a lovely grain. It's really chewy. And a lot of body. It's like barley, but even one Barley's tougher upper cousin out there a bit. And I find it very pleasant grain. And just starting to tip, starting to show up in a couple of soups that I was getting brave. And so check out faro and there are worthwhile grains to get to know.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(19:19)
And Oak grits. Yeah.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(19:21)
Yeah. Oak grits, you can cook it just like you would cook rice and it has a good texture too.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(19:31)
[inaudible 00:19:31] is really is fun too. It reminds me a little bit of grits growing up. But nuts.com is a great place to get really good products. And honestly, that's where I buy my nuts of my grains if I can in bulk. There, you can get organic or none, if there's a price differential horse, but really good. And they're very prompt and excellent. Not been disappointed in any of their products at all.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(19:58)
Yes. I can tell the squirrels in our backyard love nuts.com. We get all our [inaudible 00:20:04]. They rag their tails when I mention nuts.com, but the squirrels like them too.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(20:11)
My goodness that's funny. And someone else said, buckwheat Grows are good as well. I'm trying to get through all these questions here. Yes. Chris, you've been requested to share your Instant Pot times.
Dr. Chris Miller
(20:27)
Okay.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(20:28)
So maybe next week on Thursday for our live, we can talk about that. That would be awesome.
Dr. Chris Miller
(20:32)
Yeah.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(20:36)
Also, Chris, talk about dehydrate settings and times and how you actually make the kale chips and all of that as well.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(20:43)
That'd be great.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(20:43)
Okay.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(20:44)
Yeah. Absolutely. Let's see here. Someone else said electric, African ancient grains, folio, eff and amaranth.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(20:54)
Oh yes. We ran into formula lately.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(20:59)
Interesting. I've not tried that one. Okay. Let's see here. And then they were asking also, so Vegan Under Pressure is a great book with charts, for cooking grains and beans. She's been using a pressure cooker for decades. I will tell you I'm fearful of pressure cookers personally. There's a story behind that. There's a reason I'm not just lunatic. Well, there's that. But she says, “I'm new to this. I've been recently diagnosed with CLAC. Are you able to tell me what to eat or what grains to avoid?” That would be the question.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(21:40)
So any meat kind of grains you would absolutely have to avoid and certainly…
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(21:46)
Barley rye.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(21:47)
Yeah. Barley rye, and then be careful of other grains that have been processed in the same place where those have been processed. And also you have to be careful of supplements. You have to be careful of medication. Some of them have that in it too. So be careful of all of that. And we can certainly at plant-based telehealth, go through that with you individually
Dr. Chris Miller
(22:09)
And it's in soy sauce, it's in condiments. So you really have to read labels because any, even this, the littlest bit can sabotage you. So you have to be super careful now, but there's a lot you can choose from. That's a good thing. So we can help you with that too. Like all the non gluten grains, the buckwheat, even that has wheat and it has wheat that term it, but doesn't have gluten in it. So buckwheat, and oats, and amaranth then, help me out you guys,
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:38)
There's tons of any of the pseudo grains, right? The [inaudible 00:22:42].
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:42)
And all that,
Dr. Chris Miller
(22:42)
Any of the pseudo grains. So there's a lot and then if you're eating whole foods, you're not missing it in the processed foods. And so it's not as hard it may seem at first. And if it seems intimidating, definitely work with one of us, we can help you make that a little easier transition.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(22:57)
And Karen mentioned, Costco sells pre rinse quinoa. There you go. And Denise asked, “Can you speak to the difference between eating oat groats or steel cutouts versus these products that are quick cook? Does the processing that makes oats quicker to cook mean that it's likely some nutrition is lost in that processing?” So any thoughts there?
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(23:18)
Absolutely. So oat groats are the most complete and whole of the oat. Then steel cut oats are cut up oat groats. And then you have the processed ones where there's smushed down and as you're going, and then the quick cut is smoothed out even more. So you have issues where you lose some of the fiber as you do that. You have higher quicker absorption. So you have insulin spikes when you do, when you eat the more fast cooking stuff. But so I would stick more toward the oat groats, the steel cut oats if possible, but I also still use some other oats in some of my cooking. And other people?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(24:06)
I like the
Dr. Chris Miller
(24:06)
Yeah, the more, oh,
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(24:06)
I'm sorry, Chris. No, go ahead, Chris.
Dr. Chris Miller
(24:09)
The more you slice it down, it presses it super fast. It's what you're breaking through that fiber. And so it becomes like sugar in your body. So when you eat instant, it's basically like eating sugar. So that is not going to be helpful at all. It's going to spike your blood sugar and your insulin and levels and be contra helpful. And so like Kim was saying, you want to stick with, it's best, if you could stick with the steel cutter oat groats, but the old fashioned rolled oats, I think are still okay. Especially if you're traveling and that's what you can get, then you do the best you can do.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(24:41)
And I was just going to mention sometimes I'll mix like quinoa with steel cut oats and cook that. That's… So start mixing some grains. You might find a different texture if you're diabetic, of course some grains are going to spike you more than others. So play around with it. Quinoa seems to be, do pretty good for most diabetics, buck wheat seems to do pretty well. But yeah, so there's just some things to get feedback on with a CGM or your monitoring your blood sugar. There was a question from Keisha. She says, “If a doctor's licensed in lifestyle medicine, are they better than a family doctor? And does it automatically mean they're plant based?” Well, I wish every lifestyle medicine doctor was plant based. It does not mean that. So, and it doesn't mean they're better than your doctor.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(25:26)
It's just mean they have front knowledge set and their focus is different. But although your regular Dr. may also be very open to promoting healthy habits, but most doctors in a traditional sense are so busy, just keeping up with the demands of having to see so many patients to meet whatever the quota is for that clinic or hospital that they're hired by. So the difference between our group is that, yes, we are plant based. We only bring on plant based physicians who have the same philosophy, because we don't want to be having someone on here's like “You can have some whatever this and yeah, go ahead and do that carnivore diet” [inaudible 00:26:02]. Trying to stay clean in line to the mission of what we truly believe is the answer to so many health problems in the United States and around the world.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(26:11)
So lifestyle medicines doctors are going to be more promoting and help you get to the space where you want to be, which is that healthiest life you can live right now. And so in that sense, I think lifestyle medicine physicians are a little bit higher. We're specialists, right? We're like the endocrinologist or the cardiologist. We help you get to a healthier space. We understand the prescribing medications. We know how about behavior change. Like, Dr. Kim's talking about food behavior, but our food addiction, but any other thoughts on the specialty of lifestyle medicine
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(26:47)
For doctors to be boarded in lifestyle medicine, you have to be boarded in another field. So I'm family practice and lifestyle. Other people are anesthesia and lifestyle, or this and lifestyle for the physicians in lifestyle medicine. So I think it adds another component of expertise then. So when I was a traditional family practitioner, I had my medical expertise, but then I started learning this on my own. But I had to get boarded, I had to take certain courses and classes and pass an exam too. And I have to continue medical education in both fields, in both family practice and lifestyle medicine. So I think it is helpful. But as Laurie Maras said, it's better to see somebody who walks the walk and talks the talk. I find it very helpful for people to see a physician who actually lives the lifestyle they're recommending and prescribing.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(27:54)
Absolutely. And then we had some other questions here. So, or someone actually mentioned another helpful resource. Denny says “I've had students ask this question. And I point to Brenda Davis' hierarchy of grain chart,” which I'm not familiar with, but I will be searching that out and see, I'm not sure where to find that, but that may be helpful, but.
Dr. Chris Miller
(28:17)
Google that hierarchy. It comes right up. And she goes from like oat groats to steel cut oats. She talks about the difference.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(28:25)
Yeah, absolutely. And someone asks, “Can I be a lifestyle medicine psychotherapist?” I think so. Absolutely. I think even more so, because you are talking all about the what's going on in their lives. Right. So let's just, we'll transition there. If you guys have a few more questions here, just a little bit transition to another topic. Yes. Denise, please send me the chart. She's going to send it to me. “How can you gain weight when you have high cholesterol and can't have a lot of nuts and season avocado also no gallbladder.” So she has trouble with the higher fat foods. She says, “I can't handle all the fat. My cholesterol is 235 and my LDL is 155. Thanks so much.” We do see these subset of patients who struggle to gain weight, any thoughts or help helpful hints there.
Dr. Chris Miller
(29:14)
Yeah, that's tough. So, but that's where we individualized treatment plan. So looking at what you're eating right now, I would recommend something like [inaudible 00:29:23] or my fitness pattern, looking at your breakdown of types of foods you're eating. Usually we don't do that. We just recommend a nice whole food plant based diet. But when you get a specific goal of trying to gain weight, I might take a little bit closer look. We talked about grains right now. So I might add a little bit more grains and they are a little more calorie dense. And another food that I like to add in is minimally processed soy foods. So like Tempe edamame, soybeans, tofu, which can also help with cholesterol and are a little bit higher in fat, higher in calorie, higher in protein, all those things that you need.
Dr. Chris Miller
(29:59)
And so I would look at that maybe the frequency of what you're eating or how much you're eating each time. And then also for awaken, I always talk about putting on muscle mass, right? For putting on weight. We got to put on muscle mass. So resistance training and time in the gym is also going to be important, but it is tricky. There're other tips that we might do too, maybe more dry for fruit or, play with it and watch what your cholesterol's doing while you're working on other things to get that cholesterol down a little bit too. So,
Speaker 5
(30:30)
Okay.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(30:32)
And I sometimes add some smoothies in and add some calories in there with some grains in the smoothies. Some, especially with the cholesterol you want to get that down, maybe some [inaudible 00:30:43], some other things. So I agree with Dr. Chris Miller. Is just, we need to find out one, if you are truly underweight or if you're at an appropriate weight, two, if you know what you are eating and then individualize it for you. So that would be really something that we could help you with. Dr. Klaper?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(31:06)
Well, this might be a little against the grain, but if this person is truly a hundred percent plant based, and is not eating any animal product. Then every one of those molecules in her bloodstream for total of 253 milligrams, her liver put there for its own reason. And it probably has to do with that she's underweight and her liver is trying to make up for, if fat is involved in a lot of things, your adrenals use it for steroid synthesis. Your liver use it for bile synthesis, adrenal or ovaries use for estrogen synthesis. And all these organs are telling the liver how much cholesterol they need in a vegan person's not anybody else's cholesterol. And the liver in this case is responding. The question is, does this pose any threat to this woman's arteries? Does she have, this goes through, she's got an elevated cholesterol.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(32:08)
Does she have the inflammatory disease of atherosclerosis burning in her artery walls or doesn't she. If she doesn't, if all she's eaten is rice and beans and greens and fruits and veggies. There's no reason those artery walls should be building a plaque and getting all inflamed. And twice a month, three times a month, I'm finding vegans with high cholesterol. That's why they're making the appointment to see me. And it's a common thing. And it probably, maybe if there's not enough omega3 in the diet, the blood size suspect, I think I saw it go by, their body uses cholesterol is like a docking station for omega3s. And if there's too few omega3s, et cetera, in the same way that the liver will put out, if there's [inaudible 00:33:04] or put out more binding protein or carrier protein, the liver might be putting out more cholesterol, just trying to scarf up every omega3 molecule it can.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(33:14)
But that's not the same as Joe six pack American eating Buffalo wings and cheeseburgers, and sitting in the sports bar and smoking cigarettes, inhaling secondhand cigarette smoke. That man's hurting his arteries. This woman probably does not have that disease. So when I get these folks, I rely on the Cleveland heart lab and others who've may very clear that true atherosclerotic platform is an inflammatory process. And as plaque develops, inflammatory markers starts showing up in the bloodstream, [inaudible 00:33:52] cholesterol, high sensors VCRP, prostate glanded tube, mylo proxies. So we have a battery of inflammatory markers to see if arteries are inflamed, if their disease is present. So I order that battery on all my vegans with high cholesterol. And if those numbers come back stone cold, negative, their hsCRP is not elevated. Nothing's only, it's… Relax.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(34:18)
You don't have that disease. If there's any question I send them over to the ultrasound department to visualize their carotid arteries. If those are nice and smooth and laminar, I say, “Well, it doesn't matter that your cholesterol's 230 or whatever it is. It's not causing you any physiologic problem.” If you're smoking cigarettes and your cheeseburgers that's something else. So I've summarized all that. I've got a little video on my website called Beyond Cholesterol, where I go into this. And so long winded answer here, but there's a good chance this person, if they're really [inaudible 00:34:56], relax, we feel your adrenal glands. You're okay. Nothing bad is happening here. So I would drill down on inflammatory marker before every,
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(35:07)
So she's been mentioning as this excellent information, but basically she's 5'4, 117. So I feel like that's a fairly healthy weight. In addition, she had low inflammatory markers and plant-based for four years, so are vegan. So that's where you're describing the inflammatory markers and history. Of course, what was her history before that? So, if you've only been plant based for four years, are you 68 in hypertensive pre and all that? So there's a history here. And that's where I feel like those patients who make our appointments with us, we can look back and, determine if the additional testing is necessary. Do you have a family history of family, hypercholesterolemia, lots of other things.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(35:52)
Do you have other things going too? So, but absolutely inflammatory markers, all those things and the body's needs. So I just understand the basic physiology is really key here too. So sometimes patients feel are like, “It's okay. Just calm down. It'll be all right.” Like he said rush your adrenals. Dr. Klaper, I'll just tell you, I can write a book about them and be, it would be a best seller. Geez. Every single time I love it. But I think that was the majority of the questions. There was some other things here, but I feel like we're doing well, but any final words from our incredible doctors here.
Dr. Kim Scheuer
(36:27)
So if you guys have any concerns, please contact us, because any one of our doctors in we're available in all 50 states plus DC, and we work together wonderfully. I love my partner. So if there's something that you can see me for, but I don't have all the answers and I, you don't, there's nobody available in your state. I will talk to everybody else in my group and be able to help you out. And as you can see, we love each other. We work well together. So come see us if you have questions,
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(36:58)
I tell you why I can't even tell you how I get so tickled. Every time I get to meet you with all these amazing doctors, it just makes my heart a bit better. So you guys absolutely check it out. We have the wonderful Dr. Klaper of course, Dr. Miller, and Dr. Scheuer, and there's five others. There will be some later in the year, probably some new faces joining us as well. So we really want to thank each of our doctors for not only providing the expertise, but taking, believing in us as a plant-based health. We're new. We're going to be two in March, but it was, there's some amazing people here, smart. So check us out. Plant-based health.com. You can see someone as early as next week, and it's pretty phenomenal. And I tell you, it's an incredible thing. Share this with your friends, your family, please share the word. We just want this available to anybody and everybody who needs and wants to see someone like us. So thank you again, doctors for joining me. It was the delight.
Dr. Chris Miller
(37:57)
Thank you everyone for joining us and all your great questions.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(37:59)
Bye guys.
Speaker 8
(38:01)
Bye.
*Recorded on 2.04.22