Health Gig

We are so excited to have Dr. Tracy Freeman (BB&R’s Chief Medical Officer) in the studio today to share her thoughts on fatigue. She is a doctor who specializes in holistic medicine and integrative medicine.

Dr. Freeman is noticing more and more people coming into her office who are complaining that they lack the energy to live their optimal lives. This can be caused by being over scheduled. We create ongoing and never ending duties and to do lists that undermine our well being. Women often feel that they need to keep going going going and doing doing doing.

She explains that vitamin D3 can help fight fatigue. Vitamin D3 is actually not a vitamin it is a hormone that integrates with the cholesterol in our skin. Fair skinned people need 10 minutes of sun a day (when at it’s high point 11am to 1pm). Dark skin people need about 30 minutes a day.

Dr. Freeman also talks about our second brain (our gut) and breaks down what you need to know about probiotics. She talks about how to rotate brands of pills (minimum 25 billion CFU) and get them naturally in things like apple cider vinegar and fermented foods.

The light on computer screens can also keep our brain in day mode, but herbs like basil, ashwagandha and rhodiola actually tell the brain, “just take it easy for a moment let it go”. If you have problems staying asleep your adrenal glands may be overworked from stress and chronic fatigue.

If you are feeling severe and chronic fatigue that is not linked to your lifestyle it might be time for a workup on anemia, mono or lyme disease.

Florence Williams is a journalist who writes about the connections between people, health and nature. In this podcast she tells us about the superpowers of nature. Her book The Nature Fix reveals that even five minutes in nature can start to make a difference. The optimal goal is to have 5 hours in nature a month (which is about two 30-40 minutes in nature per week). After 20 minutes in nature our blood pressure starts to drop, our respiration can calm our entire nervous system, we have an expanded perception of time, we move into alpha brain waves and we become less short tempered throughout the day.

Studies show that people with views of nature from their hospital bed need less pain medication and prisoners with nature on the walls of the gym have lower incidences of aggression. Studies also show that depression and rumination goes down on a 60 minute walk in nature but not in the city, which makes finding a park or something natural optimal.

Williams also teaches us about forest bathing, popularized by Shinrin-yoku. It talks about the benefits of opening yourself up to all of your senses when you are in nature. When you can turn off running through the to-do list and move into a sensory, mindful mode, your blood pressure drops, your mood gets boosted and your heart rate variability improves.

Nature is truly a superpower and we all deserve to have a park less than 10 minutes away.

Florence Williams is the author of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative as well as Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History which won the 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize the 2012 Audie Award and a notable book of 2012 by the New York Times.

Official Website: www.florencewilliams.com
Books: The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative and Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History
Podcast: The 3-Day Effect and Breasts Unbound
Facebook @florencewilliamsauthor
Twitter @flowill
Instagram @florence999

Florence Williams is a journalist who writes about the connections between people, health and nature. In this podcast she tells us about the superpowers of nature. Her book The Nature Fix reveals that even five minutes in nature can start to make a difference. The optimal goal is to have 5 hours in nature a month (which is about two 30-40 minutes in nature per week). After 20 minutes in nature our blood pressure starts to drop, our respiration can calm our entire nervous system, we have an expanded perception of time, we move into alpha brain waves and we become less short tempered throughout the day.

Studies show that people with views of nature from their hospital bed need less pain medication and prisoners with nature on the walls of the gym have lower incidences of aggression. Studies also show that depression and rumination goes down on a 60 minute walk in nature but not in the city, which makes finding a park or something natural optimal.

Williams also teaches us about forest bathing, popularized by Shinrin-yoku. It talks about the benefits of opening yourself up to all of your senses when you are in nature. When you can turn off running through the to-do list and move into a sensory, mindful mode, your blood pressure drops, your mood gets boosted and your heart rate variability improves.

Nature is truly a superpower and we all deserve to have a park less than 10 minutes away.

Florence Williams is the author of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative as well as Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History which won the 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize the 2012 Audie Award and a notable book of 2012 by the New York Times.

Official Website: www.florencewilliams.com Books: The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative and Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History Podcast: The 3-Day Effect and Breasts Unbound Facebook @florencewilliamsauthor Twitter @flowill Instagram @florence999

Antwone Fisher is an award winning writer and director whose life story was captured in the film Antwone Fisher which was directed by Denzel Washington who also costarred in the film with actor Derek Luke in the title role. Antwone's life inspired a Hollywood movie because he was born in prison to a single mother and spent most of his childhood with the foster care family where he was physically, sexually and emotionally abused. And yet Antoine managed to overcome the many traumas he suffered when he joined the Navy where he met Lieutenant Commander Williams a psychiatrist who helped Antoine turn his life around.

In today's podcast we are going to talk to Antwone about resilience, dreams, forgiveness, gratitude and community.

He was homeless on the streets at age 17 after being released from school. Antwone then joined the Navy and found he could travel the world, work with people from all different backgrounds, and hone his inner confidence.

He shows us how he was able to turn a life of terrible circumstances into a life of forgiveness and self empowerment. He used his childhood imagination and survival skills to create a life of his dreams. We hear the incredible story of how he turned a security job at 20th Century Fox, into a quarter million dollar screenplay, and a long career as a professional screenwriter.

He is now directing his first feature film called Lincoln Perry.

Antwone Fisher is an award winning writer and director whose life story was captured in the film Antwone Fisher which was directed by Denzel Washington who also costarred in the film with actor Derek Luke in the title role. Antwone's life inspired a Hollywood movie because he was born in prison to a single mother and spent most of his childhood with the foster care family where he was physically, sexually and emotionally abused. And yet Antoine managed to overcome the many traumas he suffered when he joined the Navy where he met Lieutenant Commander Williams a psychiatrist who helped Antoine turn his life around.

In today's podcast we are going to talk to Antwone about resilience, dreams, forgiveness, gratitude and community.

He was homeless on the streets at age 17 after being released from school. Antwone then joined the Navy and found he could travel the world, work with people from all different backgrounds, and hone his inner confidence.

He shows us how he was able to turn a life of terrible circumstances into a life of forgiveness and self empowerment. He used his childhood imagination and survival skills to create a life of his dreams. We hear the incredible story of how he turned a security job at 20th Century Fox, into a quarter million dollar screenplay, and a long career as a professional screenwriter.

He is now directing his first feature film called Lincoln Perry.

Sometimes to achieve greatness you have to hit rock bottom. A common thread in many people’s lives, Michael W. Smith opens up about his transformation and the stunning life he has created.

Smith also shares his ideas about kindness, leadership and releasing the victim inside. Listen in to find out how to let yourself detach from what people think of you. He admits, “One of my greatest goals in life, and I think I'm getting there, is that I'll never ever be offended by anyone ever again.”

Michael W. Smith is an American musician and three time Grammy Award winner. He received an American Music Award and has earned forty five dove awards as a result of his 32 albums. Joy positivity and freedom have been hallmarks of Michael W. Smith and his music for decades.

Sometimes to achieve greatness you have to hit rock bottom. A common thread in many people’s lives, Michael W. Smith opens up about his transformation and the stunning life he has created.

Smith also shares his ideas about kindness, leadership and releasing the victim inside. Listen in to find out how to let yourself detach from what people think of you. He admits, “One of my greatest goals in life, and I think I'm getting there, is that I'll never ever be offended by anyone ever again.”

Michael W. Smith is an American musician and three time Grammy Award winner. He received an American Music Award and has earned forty five dove awards as a result of his 32 albums. Joy positivity and freedom have been hallmarks of Michael W. Smith and his music for decades.

Clif Smith, Ernst and Young's (EY) Americas Mindfulness Leader, has personally facilitated mindfulness training to over 20,000 EY personnel.

Clif was first introduced to mindfulness as a 10 year old during martial arts training classes. It was there he learned that the practice can help one overcome fear, self-criticism and self-doubt. This would one day be the tool which he used to overcome his fear instilled in him from being a “trailer park kid” and become a Chinese linguist, a diplomat, and apply to Harvard.

He started a small grassroots mindfulness network in EY’s Americas region and began “teaching small classes and 6 people turned into 12 people, 12 turned into 24, 48, etc.” Then, when his CEO Mark Weinberger had to cancel a keynote at an annual event for newly promoted leaders, Clif Smith was asked to step in. It was then he knew that mindfulness was not work, it was not a career, it was a calling.

Since then he has been helping people improve their wellbeing, focus and leadership as a result. Just knowing you have the tools to better navigate the normal ups and downs in life will reduce your stress.

Clif Smith, Ernst and Young's (EY) Americas Mindfulness Leader, has personally facilitated mindfulness training to over 20,000 EY personnel.

Clif was first introduced to mindfulness as a 10 year old during martial arts training classes. It was there he learned that the practice can help one overcome fear, self-criticism and self-doubt. This would one day be the tool which he used to overcome his fear instilled in him from being a “trailer park kid” and become a Chinese linguist, a diplomat, and apply to Harvard.

He started a small grassroots mindfulness network in EY’s Americas region and began “teaching small classes and 6 people turned into 12 people, 12 turned into 24, 48, etc.” Then, when his CEO Mark Weinberger had to cancel a keynote at an annual event for newly promoted leaders, Clif Smith was asked to step in. It was then he knew that mindfulness was not work, it was not a career, it was a calling.

Since then he has been helping people improve their wellbeing, focus and leadership as a result. Just knowing you have the tools to better navigate the normal ups and downs in life will reduce your stress.