hol+ with Dr. Taz MD | The Future of Medicine is Holistic

Learn key food rules, as well as ways to stay on track this holiday season.You might know exactly which foods you should be eating, but too often life just gets in the way. Carolyn Brown, MS, RD, joins Dr. Taz to offer up some key food rules for everyday living, as well as tips for going into the holiday season. Key Food Rules  Keep a food journal. Eat every 3-4 hours. Keep a "safety snack" on you at all times to prevent you from getting to the "too hungry" point.  Eat at least two servings of vegetables per day.  Preparation for the Holidays Keep in mind the holidays are actually only 3-4 days, not the whole month of December. Choose your vice and stick with it; pick your poison so to speak. Instead of indulging in all treats, pick one. Allow yourself a realistic treat/splurge meal. This helps from taking the joy out of food.  What if you fall off track? Use these tactics to reset: Forgive yourself first and just let it go. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate (water with lemon works great). De-bloat and detox with asparagus, dandelion greens. Make sure you're taking your probiotics.  Carolyn is also very cognizant of the emotional highs and lows of eating, particularly around the holidays and offers these tips: Recognize when your emotional response starts to get out of control. Get moving with a walk or outdoor activity to get your endorphins flowing. This will also remove you from the tenuous situation of being faced with all those yummy goodies.  Listen in for more helpful advice from Dr. Taz and Carolyn Brown. The Superwoman Factor What makes Carolyn a superwoman? She's motivated to help others. What are three superwoman qualities she advises? Women helping other women, being open-minded and trying new things.

The one relationship you'll always be in is with your own body. How can you make peace with your body and learn to love it again (and accept the love it gives you)?The one relationship you'll always be in is with your own body. Unfortunately, for many individuals, women in particular, that is often a tumultuous marriage. You may feel angry at your body or disconnected from it. How can you make peace with your body and learn to love it again (and accept the love it gives you)? Much of that healing starts by recognizing that achieving a certain weight, shape or state of health is oftentimes not intellectual, but rather intuitive. You can't reason yourself well, or thin, or strong. This approach is something that took Cassandra Bodzak, author of the new book, Eating with Intention, years to uncover. In fact, her disordered thinking and behavior surrounding her body started when she was just five years old. It was the first time she had been weighed at school and could compare her weight to that of her friends. The assumption, whether conscious or sub-conscious, was that the lower the number, the better. And, even though Cassandra was much, much taller than her classmates, the fact that she was five pounds heavier than her girlfriend stimulated her mentality of "I'm fat." In reality, she was just a tall, lanky kid whose weight was justified.  From her elementary school days, Cassandra's disordered habits escalated. She was always on the latest fad diet and worked out for hours a day. People would say, "Oh, you're such a health nut," but no one knew it came from such a dark place.  The shift, which Cassandra refers to as a version of divine intervention, began in her college days. The message of her chosen career path (acting, dancing) was "the skinnier, the better." So, Cassandra upped her efforts even more. The result? Her body literally waged a war on itself. She developed severe pain in her abdominal area; so extreme she could barely walk at times. Blood and other lab tests led to no diagnosis. All Cassandra wanted was to be well again. Fortunately, with the help of a caring nurse on her campus, Cassandra embarked on an elimination-type diet. Despite the "diet" portion of that tactic, it seemed to work. Upon turning vegan and gluten-free, Cassandra felt better within a week. She was a different person. Her pain stopped and her energy skyrocketed.  As she played around with different recipes to keep up with this new way of eating, she received great support from sorority sisters and friends, which helped her to continue to make positive changes. Now, in her book, Cassandra is sharing what she learned along the way.  1) Check in with your body; it has all the answers. It's so easy to give your power away to everything outside yourself. But, your body is an incredibly smart machine. We take many systemic processes for granted, such as breathing or walking. Start to appreciate your body through practicing daily body gratitude.  2) Navigate your relationship with food with positive intention instead of adversarial intention. Elimination and detox diets often force you to get reconnected to what your body needs to thrive. 3) Recognize that being a superwoman doesn't always mean you "do it all." Sometimes it means that you take care of YOU... rest, nourish yourself, ask others to support you. Listen in as Cassandra joins Dr. Taz to share her arduous journey, as well as ways you can start reconnecting with and healing your own body.

Start to identify and corral damaging thoughts in order to shift the emotional, physical and behavioral responses they trigger.It's impossible for humans to capture each and every thought one has on a daily basis. However, you can start to identify and corral damaging thoughts in order to shift the emotional, physical and behavioral responses they trigger. This is the platform of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which Dana James, owner of Food Coach NYC, regularly uses in her practice. For example, you may know what you need to be eating, but your stress levels are out of control and you turn to unhealthy options. Certain situations can cause anxiety, such as going on a date with a new potential partner. Your thought may be, "What if he doesn't like me?" You become nervous, drink too much, are up late, and wake up tired and hungover. You skip your workout. Instead of making a good choice for breakfast, you grab a croissant.  Now, think of how that situation could be different by going in to it saying, "Of course he's going to like me!" The first steps in making this cognitive shift include recognizing that those thoughts are "automatic;" common thoughts that come through without invitation.  Also, look at your core beliefs. Identify where those beliefs came from. For example, your upbringing may have led you to believe that a woman's worth is based on her success or what she's able to achieve. Or, she is valued for her appearance.  Once you understand the basis for your thoughts, you can start to work to change your emotional, physical and behavioral responses to be healthier. In addition to CBT, Dana also uses functional medicine to address bio-chemical imbalances in her clients.  Listen in as Dana joins Dr. Taz to explain what CBT is and how you can use it to change your eating habits for the better.