In this episode, I sit down with Mark Ristine to discuss his journey to health and wellness through a complete lifestyle change. Four months ago, Mark found himself at a crossroads; he was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and things were not looking good (his A1c was 13%). Mark decided to take back his health and changed his diet and sedentary lifestyle to completely reverse his diabetes, and his high cholesterol and hypertension reversed right along with it. We discuss how he did it, what his lifestyle looks like today, and support for others who may be interested in taking back their own health.

Mark's Facebook group, A New Choice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/anewchoice/

HealthFormation website: https://healthformation.pinecast.co

Fiber deficiency is a huge problem in the USA, with <5% of the population reaching recommended daily intake levels. Join us this week as we delve into the science behind the benefits of fiber and teach you more than you ever thought you needed to know about this carbohydrate.

Several topics/articles were discussed in the episode, including:

• Constipation
• The microbiome, short chain fatty acids, and butyrate; article discussed was titled Short Chain Fatty Acids in the Colon and Peripheral Tissues: A Focus on Butyrate, Colon Cancer, Obesity and Insulin Resistance.
• Insulin resistance & obesity
• Fiber and its role in estrogen modulation; Dietary fiber and breast cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies and Dietary fiber intake and risk of breast cancer defined by estrogen and progesterone receptor status: the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study

Follow our new Instagram @HealthFormPod Email: [email protected]

Best line from the conversation with Dr. Brangman: "there's no side effect to eating salads" which could not be more true! This week we bring you the amazing Dr. Judy Brangman, a passionate internal medicine doctor who is also certified in lifestyle medicine. We discuss her journey into medicine, how she incorporates lifestyle medicine into her work with patients, and her passion for utilizing food as medicine. Find Dr. Brangman at theplantbasedmd.com, on social media @ThePlantBasedMD, or via her email [email protected]

More information on finding a plant based doctor near you: http://plantbaseddoctors.org/ Environmental Working Group (EWG): Dirty Dozen (always buy organic!) https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php and Clean Fifteen (okay to buy conventional when needed) https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean-fifteen.php

Email us! [email protected] Check out our new Twitter! https://twitter.com/HealthFormPod Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/HealthFormation/

Soy is one of the more controversial foods in the nutrition world. From Paleo to plant-based, everyone is talking about soy. In this episode, we summarize what nutrition science really says about soy in your diet.

Several topics/articles were discussed in this episode, including:

Breast Cancer Soy Food Intake and Breast Cancer Survival Meta-analysis of soy intake and breast cancer risk

Testosterone Soybean isoflavone exposure does not have feminizing effects on men: a critical examination of the clinical evidence

Cholesterol Meta-analysis of the effects of soy protein intake on serum lipids.

Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia are on the rise, so this week Dr. Amber McLendon ([email protected]) joins HealthFormation to discuss how to keep your brain healthy and how to best care for a loved one with dementia. Amber is a geriatric specialized pharmacist and she works with patients with dementia on a daily basis, so there is no one better to share this information. We also discuss the benefits of the MIND diet, and how incorporating more foods from this way of eating can promote a healthy mind as you age, and even benefit those already experiencing dementia.

Resources discussed on today's episode: Finding a senior care pharmacist: https://www.ascp.com/page/custom_directory Early life linguistic ability, late life cognitive function, and neuropathology: findings from the Nun Study MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease

This week we delve into the topic of how to PRESS RESET on your body and restore it to its original strength. Our guest this week is the co-owner of the Original Strength Institute, Dani Almeyda ([email protected]), who brings years of knowledge in the health and fitness world. Dani teaches us what it exactly means to PRESS RESET, why it's important to do it every day, and how you can easily integrate these techniques into your day from anywhere, including your bed or your desk. By the end of the episode, you will be itching to up and move. Check out the OS YouTube channel for videos on how to PRESS RESET!

Original Strength https://originalstrengthinstitute.com and https://www.youtube.com/user/OriginalStrengthSys Original Strength Institute in Fuquay Varina, NC https://originalstrength.net/ Pressing Reset: Original Strength Reloaded by Tim Anderson, co-creator of the original strength concept and co-owner of the Original Strength Institute

Is CBD more than just THC's legal cousin? This week, Duncan Markovich, CFO of Better Ways LLC in Branford, CT teaches us about just that. We discuss what CBD is, how it works on the endocannabinoid system, its therapeutic uses, how to dose it, and what questions to ask if you are looking to purchase CBD. The most important things we highlight in today's episode are a focus on patient education surrounding CBD use, and the necessity of ensuring high quality product when you purchase any cannabinoid-containing product.

More information on Better Ways CBD can be found on their website: betterwayscbd.com or their Facebook page

Additional questions? Email Duncan and his partner Paul at: [email protected] or [email protected]

In part two of our plant-based series, we delve deeper into the science behind healthy plant-based diets, especially in regards to cardiovascular health. Two articles are covered in this episode, Healthful and Unhealthful Plant-Based Diets and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in U.S. Adults. and Plant‐Based Diets Are Associated With a Lower Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, and All‐Cause Mortality in a General Population of Middle‐Aged Adults

We also discuss the American College of Cardiology Primary Prevention Guidelines which are very long but two places to focus are the first page which summarizes the ten take-home messages for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and page 19, which Stephanie referenced in today's episode and discusses the cardiovascular risks associated diets low in carbohydrates and high in animal fat.

Additional resources discussed: -Dr. Gregor and his book How Not to Die, app The Daily Dozen, and website NutritionFacts.org -The Happy Cow app, which helps you locate vegan-friendly restaurants near you

Today's episode contained so much great information we broke it into a two-parter! In Part 1, HealthFormation guest Stephanie Deal brings us some wisdom on what a vegan diet looks like and and how a diet that omits animal products may not be entirely healthy. We also discuss diets along the spectrum of the standard American diet to whole food plant based, and give tips on how to incorporate a more plant-based way of eating into your day to day, even if you don't want to commit fully.

Part 2 will be released in one week, and we will delve deeper into the research on how healthy a whole food plant based diet really is, especially in regards to heart health!

Info on soy leghemoglobin, the additive in the Impossible Burger that gives it its "bloody" look

Episode Notes

More than likely, you've heard about, tried, or know someone who's tried to a ketogenic diet, so we had to bring the science behind keto to HealthFormation! In today's episode, we chat with (newly licensed!) physician assistant, Andrea, about her experience with keto and we break down a meta analysis on longer-term outcomes of patients using this diet.

As with all diets, there are healthy and less-healthy ways to follow a ketogenic diet. We break down the healthiest ways to follow keto and what health outcomes can be expected.

Very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet v. low-fat diet for long-term weight loss: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Keto resources discussed in today's episode include: Recipes (Keto and Paleo included) I Breathe I'm Hungry Dr. Stephen Phinney, blog Dr. Jeff Volek, Art and Science of Low Carb Dr. Eric Westman, YouTube