Carson Natural

Helping you to live well and be well informed.

Are You Suffering

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Are you suffering? If you are like some of my clients, you’ve suffered from “it happened when . . .” syndrome. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and this month I am talking about cancers and how they are destroying people’s lives in a lot of different ways every day. My own mother in law just recently passed away from brain cancer, and my wife Kim and her sibling were the primary caregivers of their mother. As Kim took care of her mom and her own family, she knew that she needed to be extra careful with herself due to the extra stress in her life. You can hear more of her story in The Feeling Good Podcast episode 85.

People can often trace their poor health back to traumatic or stressful events in their life. This is known as “it happened when . . .” syndrome. Are you suffering? Let me help! Many people go through traumatic experiences and hold their feelings inside and do not talk about it with others. Open communication is important when going through a difficult trial. I suggest talking about what is going on rather than holding it inside. When you hold things inside, it binds it up, and that binding can make you sick. Talking about it gives you freedom!

You might be thinking I don’t need to talk about my problems, symptoms or condition. I can deal with it on my own. Let me ask you a question? How is it working for you so far? Or maybe you are concerned that you can’t afford to work with me, but can you afford to suffer through life because you didn’t ask for help? I offer a FREE non-committal fifteen minute session to any prospective client to determine if there is a good fit for working together, so there’s no reason to suffer without seeking help.

Schedule a call with me today for a health consultation and find the right coaching package to get you feeling good again! You can choose to have your session in person, over the phone or with video conference software.

Healthy Blessings,

Dr. Phil

It’s Okay to Drink Tap Water, Right?

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When someone tells me about an ailment they’re having, one of the first questions I ask is: “How much water are you drinking each day?” Most people even admit to me that they’re probably not drinking enough. But I hear this question a lot as well, “It’s Okay to drink tap water, right?”

 

The human body is the world’s most amazing machine. With more than 600 different muscles, more than 200 bones, and more than 70 organs all working in conjunction with one another each day, it’s fascinating to think about how the human body functions. And even though your body contains all of these muscles, bones, and organs, they still don’t even account for the majority of what’s inside you. The human body consists primarily of water. Drinking water throughout the day is essential for overall health. Water helps us to perform at high levels, and we need to make sure we replenish our supply each day. We literally can’t live without water.

 

A deficit of water in your body can cause immediate and serious health problems, and if not addressed quickly, it will eventually result in death. To keep your body feeling fluid and performing at optimal levels, you should be drinking no less than one half ounce of water for every pound you weigh. For those of you who think water tastes too plain, I recommend trying The Right Cup.

 

According to recent studies, about 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. The first signs of dehydration include headaches, sluggishness, and loss of appetite. Severe dehydration leads to far more serious ailments such as chronic pain, organ failure, degenerative diseases, and death. If you’re reading this and are realizing you might be dehydrated, there’s a good chance you’re thinking about going to the kitchen sink and getting a glass of tap water. Don’t.

 

They type of water we drink is extremely important. 

 

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In my book How to Live Until You Die I stated “The truth is that tap water is the worst kind of water to drink because it’s full of chemicals.” There are hundreds of studies that will show you the dangerous chemicals that tap water contains, and many case histories done in the past few years that prove the deadliness of those chemicals. According to a report in Scientific American, “Traces of 18 unregulated chemicals were found in drinking water from more than one-third of U.S. water utilities in a nationwide sampling…”

 

Drinking tap water is simply not a safe way to sustain necessary levels of hydration in your body. The movie A Civil Action which dramatizes the true story of Erin Brockovich, profiles the inclusion of Chromium-6 in the tap water of more than 218 million Americans. Chromium-6 is known to be responsible for cancer, liver damage, reproductive problems, and developmental harm. You may also remember the crisis of 2014 in Flint, Michigan, when it was discovered that the tap water was contaminated with high levels of lead.

 

We need to drink water to stay hydrated, but drinking tap water will probably do us more harm than good. So what do we do? You have a few options. Bottled water is better than tap water, and so is filtering water through either a pitcher or a device attached directly to the tap. Water filtration will remove some of the chemicals, however, it is inconsistent and the lifespan of filters can weaken their effectiveness over time.

 

My favorite type of water is alkaline ionized water, which you can get through a Kangen machine. Alkaline water helps counteract any acidic things that we put in our bodies. It also contains electrolyte nutrients that help your body function the way it should. To learn more about proper hydration, safe and unsafe water sources, and my top recommendations for staying healthy by drinking the right kind of water, get a copy of my book How to Live Until You Die. (more blogs on water)

 

Healthy Blessings,

Dr. Phil

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Looking for a Good Book to Read this Summer

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Looking for a good book to read? It’s summer time, and that’s an awesome time to enjoy reading a good book. Don’t you love laying around at the pool or the beach while enjoying a good book? I’ve got a great new book out called “How to Live Until You Die, the 7 Keys to Living Happy, Healthy, and Whole.” If you want a good book to read for the summer, this is it! We will be doing book promotions all summer, so get ready for some really fun giveaways and posts on our Feeling Good Podcast, Instagram and Facebook pages.

If you are looking for fun, free activities for your kids or grand kids this summer, I encourage you to go to your local library and let the kids check out books to read or books you can read to your kids. Kids need to learn how to live happy, healthy, and whole too. Look for a few books that teach them about nutrition, health, and life. Keeping your kids and grand kids active and doing fun things this summer is a great way to promote healthy living.

Another fun thing to do at any age is to find a Little Free Library, where you can take a book and return a book. Have you seen one of these yet? Check out their map to find locations near you, or maybe even build your own Little Free Library in your community. Our staff loved reading their recent blog post, DIY Little Free Library (Adorable AND Affordable!) And if you ever happen to leave my book in a Little Free Library, send me a picture! I would love to see that happen!

I have an important question to ask you on this Feeling Good Friday. What could you do if you had a simple plan to increase energy, get in better shape, and improve your mental and emotional health? How to Live Until You Die makes it simpler than ever to unlock a healthier, happier, and more whole you, so today can mark a new beginning for your total health! You have more pressure on you than ever before, with competing demands for work, family and friends and our communities, it’s no wonder so many people are stressed, overweight, unhealthy, and exhausted. In my book, I developed a simple plan anyone can use with their healthcare providers to find balance in those seven key areas, which follow the acronym N.E.W.S.S.S.S., to improve:

  • Nutrition, to finally get rid of fad diets and expensive programs
  • Exercise, to help you start feeling and looking more fit
  • Water, to help you lose weight, improve your health, and feel better than ever
  • Sleep, to help you finally rest and recoverHow to Live Until You Die - books
  • Supplements, to resolve nutritional deficiencies in your body
  • Soul, to help you find true inner peace, and
  • Spirit, to help you plug into a higher power needed for lasting happiness

Visit howtoliveuntilyoudie.com for more information, free book resources and more!

 

Healthy Blessings,

Dr. Phil

 

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Is Your Memory Slip Slip Slipping Away?

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Have you lost your keys lately? When is the last time you could have swore you put that thing right there, but it’s nowhere to be found? Raise your hand if you’ve hit your car alarm in a crowded parking lot recently because your car was “lost!” These scenarios lead me to a question that I hear pretty regularly… “Dr. Phil, what can I do to improve my memory?

 

lost-car

I’ve even had some patients tell me that they can feel their memory fading. That can be a scary feeling. Their next question, most of the time, is if I have any good supplement recommendations that can help them.  I know a lot of people this day and time are scared of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia. I understand their concern about these conditions as it hits home with me as well. I’m not fearful of it, but I am fully aware of what it can do to a person, because I watched my grandfather suffer and die from the complications of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Therefore, I personally take a lot of preventative measures to keep myself from following the same path that my grandfather did. So today I want to share some of those with you. 

Raise your hand if you’ve hit your car alarm in a parking lot recently b/c your car was lost
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Take These Preventive Measures Now…

The easiest and most essential way to prevent memory loss is to keep your brain active, or in other words exercising your brain. One of the best things you can do is to read daily. I suggest you read things that challenge your thinking and stimulate your brain. There are all different types of things that you can read out there, but be selective in what you choose to read because you want something that will stimulate your brain. Another thing you can do to keep your brain active is to have some type of hobby where you have to use your brain skills. Crosswords, sudoku, word puzzles, strategy games, and I can go on and on with these types of suggestions, but I think you get the point here. Stay active and keep your brain active!

Secondly, in contrast to exercising your brain, you must also rest your brain daily. Just like your body, you push it and work it, but at the end of the day you have to rest your body! In other words, you have to get sleep, not just any kind of sleep, but restful sleep. There was a recent study done at the University of California at Berkley that tied Alzheimer’s to lack of sleep. Scientists at UC Berkley found compelling evidence that poor sleep, particularly a deficit of the deep restorative sleep, causes a buildup of the beta amyloid protein which is believed to trigger Alzheimer’s Disease attacks the brain’s longterm memory. 

If you’re interested in learning more about that study, then I encourage you to click here and read for yourself! 

Let me tell you that proper sleep and quality sleep are topics that I have talked about in previous episodes of The Feeling Good Podcast and I have also blogged about, as well. If you want to learn more about the importance of sleep in connection to your overall health, then check out this blog and listen to episode 19 of The Feeling Good Podcast.

3 of My Favorite Supplements….. 

I have also devoted a whole chapter to the subject of sleep in my new book that will be coming out later this year. Be on the lookout for updates about that! 

Thirdly, there are some wonderful supplements that studies have shown to be helpful in improving our memory and keeping our brains healthy. There are 3 particular supplements that I use personally.

One of those is phosphatidylserine or phosphatidyl complex. This particular supplement, for some people, can have a two-fold action. The first thing it can help improve is short-term memory and the second is to our ability to get to sleep, as well as improving the quality of our sleep.

The second supplement I take is called Pro DHA. It is a Nordic natural fish oil supplement that has a high concentration of DHA. DHA is necessary for brain support and brain health, as well as brain development. As a pharmacist, I have noticed that now all prenatal manufactures are now adding DHA to the prenatal supplements because all the studies coming out showing the importance of the fetus and mother getting this DHA for brain development. I highly recommend DHA to patients of all ages because of the importance of brain development, unless you are eating fish 3-4 times a week.

The third supplement I take is Co-Enzyme Q10. This supplement is important for heart health. There have been quite a few studies done with this supplement that show that it is very healthy for brain health and memory. Co-Enzyme Q10 is needed for our muscle cells, but is also helpful for our brain cells. According to these studies, I think it’s a good idea to take Co-Enzyme Q10 if you are having any kind of memory problems! 

You can find all of these supplements on our website, and if someone you know is having memory issues, then please share this information with them. If you have any other questions regarding memory and brain health please get in touch with me by emailing [email protected]! 

If you’d like to hear more about this then you can also listen to the latest episode of The Feeling Good Podcast by clicking here! 

Healthy Blessings, 

Dr. Phil

Stop Starving Your Brain!

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Can your brain really be hungry? Well not really but your brain does need certain nutrients to keep it functioning properly and to perform the many tasks that is required of it each day.

hand-holding-brains

There is no doubt that the best way to retain brain function is by eating the nutrient rich foods that support our brain. Two of the best brain supporting nutrients are Phosphatidyl Serine and DHA. Although it is not considered a nutrient, there is something else found in many of the foods that we eat that is extremely necessary to support brain health as well, and that is probiotics. Probiotics occur naturally in fermented foods such as yogurt, tofu, sauerkraut, and several other fermented foods. Of these three brain enhancing elements, probiotics is no doubt the easiest to consume on a daily basis, and there are many people that do consume probiotic containing foods daily. However the other two, Phosphatidyl Serine and DHA, are found in foods that are not typically consumed by the average American on a daily basis. The best source for DHA is cold water fish, such as salmon, sardines, and tuna which I’m sure, just like myself, you eat occasionally. Unfortunately, The two best food sources for Phosphatidyl Serine are cow brain and chicken hearts. I don’t know about you, but I’m personally not a big connoisseur of cow brains and chicken hearts, and thankfully I don’t know anyone else that is either. So what do we do if we can get these vital brain supporting nutrients from foods that we eat? Since most people don’t eat enough of these foods, I believe the best source is through supplementation. All three of the aforementioned nutrients are available in a variety of different supplements, and I have been recommending all three of these supplements to my patients for years!

I believe that most everyone can benefit from the use of one, if not all three of these, especially if you are dealing with some type of neurological issue such as memory loss, ADD, or ADHD. All three of these supplements have been extensively studied proving the amazing brain supporting effects of these nutrients. One of the more recent studies with Phosphatidyl Serine found that it helps improve short term memory in ADD and ADHD patients. I also increased focus and concentration and decreased impulsivity. These discoveries are great news for parents of children that struggle in school due to ADD or ADHD. I first learned about Phosphatidyl Serine more than 15 years ago from a colleague who was giving it to his son, who was in college, to take before exams in order to enhance his recall of what he had studied.

There are also a multitude of studies on the brain supporting effects of DHA. As I mentioned, the best food source for DHA is cold water fish, but if that isn’t a staple of your diet then I would recommend you try my personal favorite brand of DHA, which is Nordic Naturals Pro DHA.  I use and recommend this supplement for everyone! Many of the studies done with DHA demonstrate it’s ability to improve cognitive function in children and adults. Because DHA is so important in brain development in children it is being added to most all prenatal vitamin supplements and some baby formulas as well. I also recommend it to all of my patients that have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. 

Of these three awesome brain enhancing products, I believe probiotics to be the most vital! Probiotics is a common term used for good bacteria or normal flora. These are bacteria that live within our bodies and are mostly found in our gut or throughout our whole intestinal system. There was a recent study done at UCLA that shows the direct connection between these normal flora in our gut and the cognitive function in our brain. Therefore I believe it is vitally important that we maintain a good healthy growth of good bacteria in our guts, especially if we want our brain to function as efficiently as it should. Most people are consuming things on a daily basis that they don’t realize are destroying the good bacteria in their gut, such as: Processed foods, anti-inflammatory medicines, and hormones and antibiotics, which are also pumped into a lot of the foods that we consume. Stress is a also a major destroyer of good bacteria in our guts. Considering all these things that can destroy our good bacteria, I believe it is vital that we actively work to replace what we are losing on a daily basis with probiotic supplements. The only exception would be if you are currently eating and drinking several servings of fermented probiotic rich foods every day. If your current diet doesn’t fit that description, then I would urge you to begin taking one of my two favorite probiotic supplements, Enterobiotics or Primal Defense. There are many probiotic supplements on the market today but few that are actually helpful and these are two of the best out there!   

I watched my grandfather suffer for years from the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and because of that I am very passionate about being proactive with my brain health. With the number of cases of Alzheimer’s and other neurological disorders such as ADD, ADHD, and autism on the rise, I think it is vital that we all become more proactive in brain health, nutrition, and support!  

If you’re interested in learning more about brain health or having a health coach help you achieve a new level of wellness, then please fill out the contact form.  Also just below here is an email signup box to sign up for our monthly newsletter if you haven’t already! All you have to do is enter your email address and press enter. In our newsletter is a recap of selected blogs, a funny story, patient testimonials, product reviews and a money saving coupon code for products in our online store!

Healthy Blessings,

Dr. Phil


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Why Are We Sending Our Children to School on a High?

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This week I started a healthy living class at my church. The class is called Fine in 49, and it’s a 49 day program for living a more balanced, healthy, and vibrant life.

Week 1 was on nutrition and healthy eating. Of course I started out teaching the class about healthy eating by making sure they knew the most important meal of the day is breakfast! So I asked them the question, “What do you think are probably the two most consumed breakfast foods every morning by adults and especially children?” They had no problem answering correctly, cereal and pop-tarts. I went on to tell them about how unhealthy these two foods are, especially for our children. Most are sugar laden, and are loaded with all kinds of unhealthy chemicals and preservatives as well. Not only do they contain an excessive amount of sugar, but they are made with processed grains that convert to sugar in the body causing our blood sugar levels to go even higher. One of the sad things about this is that we feed these foods to our children and consume them ourselves without even thinking about the nutritional value of them or the harmful effects the toxic ingredients in these foods cause to our bodies.

cerealIn preparing for my class, I visited the grocery store and strolled up and down the aisle that contained all of these harmful breakfast foods. I picked up boxes and read the labels, and I thought to myself, “If people only knew what they were really eating, if parents only knew what they were feeding their children.” The thought occurred to me that there are millions of children right now that have started the new school year and are going to school every morning on a sugar high! Millions of these kids are being diagnosed every year with ADD or ADHD, and maybe, just maybe, these kids don’t have ADD or ADHD. They’re just on a sugar high when they get to school. You see, what happens to our bodies when we consume a high sugar food like cereal or pop-tarts is our blood sugar rises very quickly and within two to three hours it takes a sudden drop. At that point our bodies usually begin to crave more sugar or something to compensate for the lack of energy or focus. I call it needing a sugar fix! Do you think, maybe, what we’re eating can be contributing to the behavior problems and the learning problems in our schools today, more than ever in the history. This article, published on NPR, highlights several studies that concluded a protein rich breakfast to be the best for helping kids learn!

eggs and fruitAs I said, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It sets the tone for the entire day. The two foods that I’ve been talking about, cereal and pop-tarts, contain no protein, only carbohydrates and fats. Our nervous system requires protein, especially in the morning! I want everyone to know that you can and you should be eating protein every morning for breakfast. Here are my suggestions for a healthy replacement for cereal. How about two eggs and a small serving of fresh fruit, or your favorite breakfast meat and a small serving of fruit? If you’re eating a pop-tart out of convenience because you need breakfast on the go, try a protein bar instead! Preferably one made with whey protein or vegetable protein, and please note that I said a protein bar, NOT a high carb cereal bar, most of which contain no protein. Yes the protein bars are a little more expensive than a cereal bar, but is your health and the health of your child not worth it to you? Another option for a healthy breakfast is peanut butter! Check out one of the first blogs I wrote and find out why peanut butter makes an excellent breakfast! One more healthy option is oatmeal topped with nuts, cinnamon, and maybe a spoonful of berries! However be sure that you eat old fashioned oatmeal, not instant oatmeal. Instant oatmeal is just as sugary and processed as the cereal I’ve warned you about.

I challenge you to try my suggestions for 30 days and see for yourself the difference in how you feel, how you think, and how well you focus, and after 30 days talk to your child’s teacher and see if they’ve noticed a difference in your child! I’d be willing to bet that you’ll notice a difference in their grades. If you’re willing to accept my challenge, I’d love to hear from you in 30 days with a report of any changes you may have noticed in yourself as well as in your children. Eating healthy, of course, takes more time and more effort, if it didn’t then everyone would do it, but I guarantee you that it is and forever will be worth it. You will be glad to you were willing to spend a little extra time and put forth a little extra effort to make lasting changes for you and for your family! You can contact me at [email protected], by filling out the contact form, or by clicking on the “Ask Dr. Phil” Microphone and leaving a voice message! I look forward to hearing from you in 30 days!

There is a product I recently discovered that you may be interested in. This product can provide a genetic nutrition and fitness assessment based upon your unique DNA and lifestyle. Click here for a short video detailing the assessment. If you’re interested in achieving a new level of wellness, then please contact me through the channels above! Also just below here is an email signup box to sign up for our monthly newsletter if you haven’t already! All you have to do is enter your email address and press enter. In our newsletter is a recap of selected blogs, a funny story, patient testimonials, product reviews and a money saving coupon code for products in our online store!

Healthy Blessings,

Dr. Phil


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