Neuroveda Podcast for Complex Health

Chef Arran Stark, Director of Food Service at Jefferson Healthcare talks method cooking, local eating and recipes like quinoa-crusted ling cod and citrus slaw to eat in season, like how many ways kale can be used over a winter growing season. Incredibly, this is how he feeds patients (both in-patient in the hospital as well as employees and out-patient visitors to the Hospital Café) at the critical access hospital in Port Townsend, Washington. Sitting around a campfire with his farming buddies, he hatched a plan to bring more local business to the labor-intensive process of organic small-scale farming and the need to offer fresh, healthy and tasty meals to nourish people as they heal. And he’s doing it! Part of the hospital budget goes to maintaining their on-site herb garden and they feed upwards of 300 people lunch daily. Part of the hospital budget goes to 4 local farms as vouchers in the slow winter times to plan for spring, summer and fall produce. This is really happening and if it can happen in Port Townsend, it can happen in your community too. Listen in to this brilliant Chef discuss bringing the sensual and artistic experience of cooking to the traditionally sad state of hospital food.

Dr Linda Bluestein, is a board-certified anesthesiologist and integrative medicine physician with a focus on hypermobility, Ehler-Danlos Syndromes and complex patients with chronic pain. In this brilliant exposition, she defines hypermobility, lays out the esoteric classifications of hypermobile Ehler Danlos Syndrome vs Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders and why naming matters for assessment and treatment of symptoms. Dr Bluestein then dives into practical recommendations for thinking about how connective tissue dysfunction (it's said "If you can’t connect the issues, think connective tissues”) can impact a variety of systems like the gut (constipation, prolapse, reflux, distention, gastroparesis), skin (delayed wound healing, poor scarification), dysautonomia, mast cell activation syndrome, in addition to the typical musculoskeletal conditions of dislocations, subluxations and other joint injuries. She notes, so wisely, that if we can shorten the typical diagnosis from ~25 years to, pretty much anything shorter than that, we can prevent a tremendous amount of chronic pain later in life. And then Dr Bluestein teases apart types of pain: nociceptive (meaning direct injury to tissues like from an injury), neuropathic pain (meaning dysfunction of the nerves themselves) or nociplastic pain (meaning dysfunction in how we process sensation) and the eventual progression to central sensitization syndromes, like fibromyalgia, if pain is allowed to linger. Finally, we cap off with a discussion about some selective pharmaceuticals, some common and some uncommon, and how to think about them: opioids, benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants, oxytocin, NMDA antagonists (magnesium, ketamine, memantine).  Find out more:  http://www.hypermobilitymd.com/ Book: Disjointed | Navigating the Diagnosis and Management of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders which can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.com/Disjointed-Navigating-hypermobile-Ehlers-Danlos-Hypermobility/dp/1734794909/ref=pd_lpo_14_t_0/136-4762933-2366558?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1734794909&pd_rd_r=acaa36c6-0aac-47c7-a2f3-4bd1b7ba15d7&pd_rd_w=fy7Ld&pd_rd_wg=HsWpW&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=RC3MY8A7KJ999FZDE4JY&psc=1&refRID=RC3MY8A7KJ999FZDE4JY

Riana Giusti, Certified Nutritionist, lives, practices & teaches the power of food as medicine in her role at Starkel Nutrition (www.StarkelNutrition.com). In this show, she shares with us insights from years of experience which have included directing brain-health focused teaching-kitchen counseling for patients with cognitive and neurological disorders (Alzheimer’s dementia, cognitive impairment), health coaching for a Seattle-based wellness company translating comprehensive blood, genetic, hormone, and gut microbiome data into personalized nutrition plans, work as a personal and professional chef throughout Seattle kitchens and in her current role seeing patients for nutritional consults and managing the Metabolic Reset Program, known as ‘relief from chronic dieting’ (www.metreset.com). This is such a practical and down-to-Earth show. She starts with a discussion of how she decides what to eat, which is a balance between her knowledge of the science and chemistry of food as balanced by love and intuition rooted in mindful eating practices & training. She shares her experiences with school gardens that lowered incidence of behavioral issues and violence in participating children. She deftly declines to recommend any one particular diet other than to target inflammation, noting so wisely that the best diet is the one is realistic, sustainable and beloved by the mind and the cells. She also doesn’t shy away from specifics! She dives into details about the ketogenic diet (currently getting certified), blood sugar stabilization, the brain need for healthy fats and intermittent fasting.  We end with the topic of her master’s thesis: chocolate! The mineral content can be remarkable and what is the difference between cocoa and cacao. Riana Giusti’s way with food is really a treat to behold and she shares her sweet spirit  with us in this week’s show, motivating and empowering her clients to not only lead a self-fulfilling healthy lifestyle, but also to achieve a relationship with their bodies and food that is nourishing, flexible, peaceful, sustainable, and balanced.

Originally recorded in the first week of March 2020, before the last two weeks of protest and before Coronvirus up-ended our social & economic lives, with an update recorded June 2nd, this podcast with organizational development and workplace equity consultant Fleur Larsen shines a bright and clarifying light onto the role white women can and do play in the structures of racism in our social fabric and economy. These are ongoing issues (for centuries since prior to the inception of America as a country) and are so ingrained that they constitute ‘the water we swim in and the air we breathe’. Unlearning these patterns requires attention and awareness and often brings up feelings. “I’m a good person so how can I be racist?” The two are not mutually exclusive- we will make mistakes and the solution is to learn and make amends. “As a woman, I am targeted by sexism. How can I be the oppressor?” The two are not mutually exclusive- in fact, historically because of sexism, we have used our white privilege to stay closer to power. Join us for a conversation that was critically necessary before the last week of video and events and will remain some of the most important work we can do to heal our collective neurology- uncovering and uprooting each deeper layer of bias so we can show up authentically and accountably for racial justice for the long haul. Resources: · www.Fleurlarsenfacilitation.comincluding curated list of resources, books and organizations: https://www.fleurlarsenfacilitation.com/resources · https://futureforus.co/To support the advancement of women of color in the workplace. · Rachel Cargle:https://www.rachelcargle.com/ · Robin Diangelo & understanding white fragility: https://robindiangelo.com/ · The Conscious Kid with age-appropriate resources for parenting & teaching children about race & racism: https://www.theconsciouskid.org/ · Seeing White Podcast: https://www.sceneonradio.org/seeing-white/ · To diversity the news sources: https://www.democracynow.org/ · Nikita Oliver: https://crosscut.com/author/nikkita-oliver · Compiled list of articles & resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/mobilebasic · https://www.upworthy.com/white-americans-asking-what-can-i-do · https://blacklivesmatteratschool.com/teaching-materials/ · Article: What will be different this time? By CompassPoint: https://www.compasspoint.org/blog/what-will-be-different-time%C2%A0 · Digital Postcard from the Ground: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyyUWh09lC4&feature=youtu.be · Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) helps white people move into accountable action & has chapters across the country: https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/chapters-and-affiliates.html

Instead of posting and promoting our regular episodes this week, Partyfish Media is pausing our shows and social media and standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movements and protests in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, Tony McDade, and countless others at the hands of corrupt police brutality, founded upon and perpetuated by white supremacist culture. Black Lives Matter and they are in need of support and attention, now in this moment and into the future. Ways to help & places to donate: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/# Books you can read to educate yourself (also available as audiobooks): So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo Follow these accounts to stay up-to-date on how you can help: http://www.instagram.com/blklivesmatter http://www.instagram.com/strongblacklead http://www.instagram.com/decolonizemyself http://www.instagram.com/ckyourprivilege http://www.instagram.com/blackvoices http://www.instagram.com/eji_org http://www.instagram.com/colorofchange http://www.instagram.com/colorlinesnews http://www.instagram.com/anantiracismbookclub http://www.instagram.com/reclaimtheblock http://www.instagram.com/privtoprog http://www.instagram.com/naacp http://www.instagram.com/showingupforracialjustice http://www.instagram.com/civilrightsorg http://www.instagram.com/unitedwedream Here's a larger list of resources: https://bit.ly/2McDnqu

Hear our favorite engineer, David Feinberg, founder, creator & CEO of Pure Juicers, describe in all the juicy (ha!) details about how juicers work and why they are so good for health. Over 40 years of designing equipment, including repairs to over 500 juicers of various brands, David took his fate into his own hands to create ‘the best juicer in the world’. Listen to him wax poetic about patented nuts, press pressure, clothes vs bags, blade friction and the different types of juicers (centrifugal, masticators and the two-stage juicers). We then dive into what a better juicer does for the juice itself (spoiler: minerals, enzymes, vitamins and shelf-life). Next, it’s a rousing love-fest for various fruits & vegetables and the best ways to prepare them for juicing (hear the engineer’s mind as applied to oranges, limes, pineapples, spinach, berries and others). Finally, we close with a celebration of the bees. Join us to learn the big deal about juice & how to think about the machinery used to extract fruit & veggie magic. Resources:  www.PureJuicer.com https://www.facebook.com/purejuicer/ https://www.instagram.com/purejuicer/ YouTube site with lots of videos & instructions on making juice: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWWidujA36vIVKdHnNvaiFw

Stefan Weitz was initially trained as a physicist, ultimately spent nearly two decades at Microsoft and in the interim, 14 years ago, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, MS. Despite trialing a number of pharmaceuticals and following conventional instructions, he continued to have symptoms not consistent with his expectation for what he wanted his life to look like & feel. He dove into learning about his diagnosis and potential treatments with the same curiosity and tenacity with which he’d already approached his life and career. Stefan noticed deep shifts with foundational changes in his… wait for it, not brain or nervous system, but GUT! He ultimately was able to ditch the daily fistfuls of pills with these changes in diet & gut support and started Jetson Health to share these insights and produce the world’s first seasonal probiotic based on the latest research. His mission is to intertwine the art and science of healing. His continually evolving probiotics, prebiotics and children’s products are the launching pad for discussing transformative medicine. We are thrilled to have Stefan on the show today as an ‘n-of-one’ for his experience and as a ‘citizen scientist’ for the knowledge he’s gained along the way.

Dr Daniel Krashin, MD, Psychiatrist, also board certified Pain, Addiction and Headache Medicine brings his extensive experience and uncanny ability to make science understandable and applicable to this widely ranging conversation (my favorite kind!).  In the first half, we review how pain and addiction are driven by the reward system in our brain. While this can get called the 'pleasure center', we really feel 'good' when we are 'rewarded' for life working, which has evolutionarily been eating and staying safe. This is akin to PacMan eating a pellet. Life is essentially running around, eating pellets for points, getting chased by ghosts and intermittently gaining powers to chase the ghosts back. Within all of this, we have learned how to short circuit this, like a cat with catnip, with substances. When the life is too stressful, our time horizon can shorten from what's best for us in the future to what will help us survive in the moment and the pressures can be shockingly minimal that drive us to think against our best longitudinal survival. Now in the time of COVID-19, these stressors are even more intense. This is a critical podcast for understanding how your brain works so you can think more clearly about making future choices. In the second half of the podcast, we dive into specific headache treatments especially highlighting 'electroceuticals' like GammaCore (which you can try in our clinic and/or be prescribed), Cefaly, H-wave and others which can be both preventative and abortive for chronic and/or debilitating headaches. Join us for this conversation that is both broad & deep. 

Dr Stephen Bezruchka, MD, MPH, is an emergency room doctor turned public health renegade who has devoted the last 25 years to seeing ‘the country as the patient’. Economic downturns in developed nations seem to prevent us from working ourselves to the bone and result in more time home with family, which research shows actually extends our lifespan. This contradictory insight is where we start. Most of us were squeezed for time and money prior to this pandemic. Now, what are we left with? How do we move around fear to find each other and intentionally move forward with our social and political structures? Spoiler alert: do what you love, do what you can do well, and do what you can for an extended period, preferably without being paid. But there’s lots more between our start and our conclusion, all anchored by Dr Bezruchka’s command of the social and political history of the United States & global events. Get ready for an intense and deep dive into our social, political and health realities. Resources:  Dr Bezruchka's faculty page: https://globalhealth.washington.edu/faculty/stephen-bezruchka The Population Health Forum: http://depts.washington.edu/eqhlth/index.htm The Effect of Economic Recession on Population Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2734206/pdf/1810281.pdf

We are in desperate need for conversations about how to anchor and possibly reinvent our lives and identity towards something beyond our usual social networks as required by this quarantine and Coronavirus pandemic. Matia Indigo Jones rooted her training and research in medical anthropology with an emphasis on social and environmental justice as preventative health and a dissertation in institutional and municipal food policy as it supports food sovereignty. She is unique in her approach to modern life in that she tip-toes thoughtfully into social media but spends the majority of her time with her phone off and her hands in the dirt. In this session, Matia shares her reflections and insights on the possible benefits of Coronavirus (“It’s not as deadly as Ebola or Spanish Flu & has the potential to serve as a capacity-building exercise for all of us for true threats like climate change.”), how to engage in moment to moment gratitude (“My identity has shifted into one who senses instead of one who does something.”) and she gives some essential tips on starting a Victory garden and extols the virtues of eating spring weeds- cheap, plentiful and nutritious. Join us for thinking differently about this new social landscape, within which the natural world remains unchanged and, as always, awaits us with open arms.