Return to Vibrant Health

Nature! Don't you CRAVE it? I sure do.

Today's guest is Dr. Nature herself - Dr. Melissa Sundermann, DO - physician at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA. Those of us that are nature lovers have always felt the innate healing power of spending time outdoors. Today you'll hear the science that is now validating what we've always known in our heart . . . and gut (as you'll discover ;).  From green spaces to blue, Dr. Sundermann shares why and how nature heals both mind and body.

By following her true passion, she's been able to blend her medical training with mind-body medicine and certification in Lifestyle Medicine,to land her DREAM job at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA!

Dr. Sundermann walks (and runs) the talk, creates adventure anywhere she goes, and may even be found running out in the snow before the sun comes up. As she says, "there's no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing". She's got some get up and go! She not only tells us the science behind spending time in nature, but shares great resources such as books and apps that will help you get back out there and connect with Mother Nature.

I created a booklist for you on Bookshop.org - an online shop that gives to brick and mortar bookstores (and a little to me) if you buy from the list. You can check it out HERE: https://bit.ly/Bookshop_Nature

You can connect with Dr. Sundermann on IG & LinkedIn:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/motivatormelissa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-sundermann-do-dipablm-226819146

Check her out at Canyon Ranch!
https://www.canyonranch.com/integrative-wellness-approach/experts/dr-melissa-sundermann

Interested in Culinary Medicine? Great! Here are a few resources for that.
https://culinarymedicine.org
https://lifestylemedicine.org/project/culinary-medicine-curriculum
https://www.uofmhealth.org/conditions-treatments/culinary-medicine
https://goldringcenter.tulane.edu

The Chef Doc! Dr. Colin Zhu (also mentioned in this episode) is killin' it with Lifestyle Medicine and teaching people the HOW of it all. Check him out here:
https://www.thechefdoc.app
https://www.youtube.com/@TheChefDoc

Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! Send me DM on social. I genuinely want to provide (and translate) all kinds of great info for you. 

You can find me:
www.vitaltransformationsllc.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VitalTransformationsLLC
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformations_llc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiespell

Do you have high blood pressure?  If so, grab my FREEBIE - how to accurately take your BP at home. 

As always, thanks to Lemon Music Studio for intro and outro music.

Ever feel like your doctor doesn’t listen to you - not really listen, anyway? And just keeps pushing medication down your throat (pun intended), or send you for yet another lab, test, or scan?  Want to break out of the hamster wheel of pills and procedures, but don’t know how? Or maybe you're a medical provider that’s sick and tired of being a pill pusher but when you look in your medical bag, there aren't many tools, so you grab the prescription pad, stack on yet another med and be on your way to see the next victim, I mean patient! The thought of having to talk to someone about diet or exercise seems futile - you don’t actually know what to tell them, they won’t do it anyway, and you already have hours of work to do tonight . . . and you already feel spent.

The burnout is on both sides of the desk. Patients AND medical providers alike feel the burn of the SICKcare model in the US.

Speaking of burning - how bout the planet? Most of us now accept the fact that the health of our planet is threatened, but what can YOU do about it? You . . . just one person among billions? Well, you can start with your diet. That's right! An action you take at least 3 (often more) times a day is more powerful than you may know - both for your body AND our planet. 

Today Dr. David Donohue & I talk to you about a few antidotes - things we can all do to slow the burn  - ways you (patient and medical provider) can break out of the sick care matrix and break new ground into true HEALTHcare. Dr. Donohue is a leader in Lifestyle Medicine, with a thriving medical practice called Progressive Health of Delaware and founder of the first and only LM accountable care organization network called Poplar Care. 

He drops knowledge about his LM medical practice that addresses ROOT causes of the many chronic conditions we face today, how you can eat to help eat Mother Earth back to life, big picture ideas like reforming health education for kids, shines a light on health disparities, and provides plenty of practical tips and resources to get started asap including his beloved purple potatoes with walnut date icing!

It's a good one, folks! 

Check out Dr. Donohue's practice here:
https://www.progressivehealthproject.com

American College of Lifestyle Medicine's HEAL Initiative:
https://lifestylemedicine.org/heal-initiative
and here:
https://www.lmhealthequity.org

ACLM: https://lifestylemedicine.org

Nutrition Facts: https://nutritionfacts.org
Nutrition Facts video mentioned in episode related to African Americans and food culture: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-harms-associated-with-eating-more-southern-style-food

Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! Send me DM on social. I genuinely want to provide (and translate) all kinds of great info for you. 

You can find me:
www.vitaltransformationsllc.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VitalTransformationsLLC
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformations_llc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiespell

Do you have high blood pressure?  If so, grab my FREEBIE - how to accurately take your BP at home. 

As always, thanks to Lemon Music Studio for intro and outro music.

Dr. Soham Patel, owner / director of the Center for Preventative Endocrinology and Nutrition (Tampa, FL) is back on the show to shed light on the elusive thyroid!

Ever wonder if you might have a thyroid problem? Or feel like doo doo (you know what I mean) all the time but have been told all your labs are normal? Then this one's for YOU!

Dr. Patel & I discuss benign thyroid problems (no cancer in this one, folks) - hypothyroidism (under active thyroid, Hashimoto's) and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid, Graves' Disease).

You'll better understand what your thyroid is, where it is, what it does as well as the best tests to check your thyroid (hint, hint - your provider might not be doing them) and other important factors like Vitamin D levels. You'll have a clear idea about what specific lifestyle and diet interventions are best for the thyroid.

We shed light on how the "standard" care in the U.S. may not actually be "optimal". I know you'll LOVE this one!

You can find Dr. Patel HERE (clickable)
Or on YouTube (clickable)

Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! Send me DM on social. I genuinely want to provide (and translate) all kinds of great info for you. 

You can find me:
www.vitaltransformationsllc.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VitalTransformationsLLC
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformations_llc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiespell

Do you have high blood pressure?  If so, grab my FREEBIE - how to accurately take your BP at home. 

As always, thanks to Lemon Music Studio for intro and outro music.

I welcome Dr. Julio Sixto, DMD of Admira Dentistry in Jacksonville, FL to the show. Ya'll...it's gooooood. If you don't think much about your oral health, you WILL after today's conversation! The mouth is the "gatekeeper" to overall health. Don't think so? Just listen in and you'll hear all the ways your overall health and well-being is connected to your mouth.

We cover the oral (and gut) microbiome, inflammation, diet, caring for your teeth from birth through adulthood, migraines, sleep apnea, and even increasing prevalence of oral HPV that can lead to oral and throat cancers (that's an STD, ya'll). 

Dr. Sixto recently joined Dr. Joseph Barton at Admira Dentistry. They share a philosophy of excellence in dental care, blending form and function that optimizes overall health and a keen on on beauty. Their mission is to address root causes of problems like migraines, sleep apnea, jaw pain, etc. It's super powerful! (wink wink, kind of like Lifestyle & Functional Medicine.)

At Admira, Dr. Sixto brings to life his passion for helping people truly heal and empower his guests to live life to the fullest. His practice is supported by advanced training at the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, the American Academy of Facial Aesthetics, and the University of Florida.

Adding to his passion to provide state of the art dental care, he also invites and welcomes other dentists and providers to chat with him and/or even come see what and how they're getting real results for clients, in the spirit of true collaboration and continuous learning.

Visit Admira Dentistry at www.admiradentistry.com
They also have a growing YouTube channel, so check them out there @PowerfulSmiles.

Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! Send me DM on social. I genuinely want to provide (and translate) all kinds of great info for you. 

You can find me:
www.vitaltransformationsllc.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VitalTransformationsLLC
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformations_llc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiespell

Do you have high blood pressure?  If so, grab my FREEBIE - how to accurately take your BP at home. 

As always, thanks to Lemon Music Studio for intro and outro music.

Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! Send me DM on social. I genuinely want to provide (and translate) all kinds of great info for you. 

You can find me:
www.vitaltransformationsllc.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VitalTransformationsLLC
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformations_llc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiespell

Do you have high blood pressure?  If so, grab my FREEBIE - how to accurately take your BP at home. 

As always, thanks to Lemon Music Studio for intro and outro music.

PHYTONUTRIENTS! What are they? Why are they important? Where can I find them? Today I welcome back Dr. Allen Williams, global leader in Regenerative Agriculture, to discuss phytonutrients - the micronutrients in plants that help our human bodies ward off inflammation, oxidative stress, and other harmful "stuff". Think about a bright red strawberry, orange carrot, the deep purple of beets, the white flesh of onions . . . you get the idea! These colors tell us something about their benefits, but so does their taste. AND, there's a way to measure them in your own kitchen too. So cool!

Dr. Williams ALSO shines a light on HOW they were grown. Anything grown in healthy and bio-diverse soil (aka, "regeneratively") ensures those nutrients are there in abundance (vs commodity grown crops that continue to decline in the richness of their nutrients).

We also get into growing your own food and befriending your local farmers. Why not stop by the Farmer's Market in your area next Saturday? Or any day they're open. 

You're going to LOVE this episode and will come away with a whole new appreciation for the phrase "eat a rainbow"! And don't forget to check Understanding Ag's website throughout this year and next, as their phytonutrient research findings will be published there. 

Here are some resources we discussed (and a few we didn't, but are helpful):
Notes & extensive resource list from our first episode together can be found at www.vitaltransformationsllc.com/podcast/19.
Understanding Ag
Understanding Ag's educational arm, Soil Health Academy
Shop Regen Foods
Regenified

ARTICLES by Dr. Williams (& others at Understanding Ag):
How does your garden grow? Helpful tips for growing it regeneratively is HERE
The most radical act you can do: Grow your own food! is HERE
Grass fed vs conventionally fed beef is HERE
A case for local ag is HERE
Can food be our medicine? is HERE
Regenerating human health & building a more resilient food system: Calls to action among farmers, consumers, and healthcare practitioners is HERE

Food Revolution Network's article Eating the Rainbow Health Benefits 

Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! Send me DM on social. I genuinely want to provide (and translate) all kinds of great info for you. 

You can find me:
www.vitaltransformationsllc.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VitalTransformationsLLC
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformations_llc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiespell

Do you have high blood pressure?  If so, grab my FREEBIE - how to accurately take your BP at home. 

As always, thanks to Lemon Music Studio for intro and outro music.

Meet the AMAZING Dr. Dawn Mussallem! You’ll be smiling as you feel the energy, joy, and passion in her voice. Dr. Mussallem runs and directs the Lifestyle & Integrative Medicine department in Mayo Clinic Jacksonville’s Breast Center. You will be enthralled by both her personal story of healing and how she brings that wisdom into her practice working with women in (and after) breast cancer treatment. 

Dr. Mussallem’s own health and personal struggles couldn’t stop this smart cookie from living a life of passion and purpose! From beating stage 4 cancer during med school, to having a miracle baby, losing her husband suddenly, to living 18 years with heart failure, a near death experience, and finally (and gratefully) having a heart transplant on February 5, 2021. One year later she ran a marathon too! She has her plant based diet and healthy lifestyle to thank, for sure. 

She adores each and every patient, using evidence based medicine to support and encourage adoption of health promoting practices not only during cancer treatment, but after as well. She even got patients IN TREATMENT, to run with her!

This episode is chock FULL of life changing info. So grab a pen! We discussed the best nutrition for women with breast cancer, the nuts and bolts of transitioning to a whole food plant based diet, toxic exposures, soy, water, protein, fiber, fasting, the gut microbiome, stress, importance of moving your body, benefits of coffee, and ultimately gaining control over your disease. 

 Here are some resources we mention:
The China Study
T. Colin Campbell’s Center for Nutrition Studies - 

• https://nutritionstudies.org/whole-food-plant-based-diet-guide (scroll to bottom to sign up for the mini-course)

Dr. Dean Ornish’s website https://www.ornish.com - UnDo It! book is available there as well as my store on Bookshop.org (see below)

FILMS:
Platwise
https://www.ardmoreinstituteofhealth.org/news/now-showing-plantwise-an-inspirational-film-that-offers-hope-for-better-health
Forks Over Knives
https://www.forksoverknives.com/the-film 

BOOKS & COOKBOOKS:
Find these at https://bookshop.org/shop/vitaltransformationsllc.com (if you buy here I get a little bonus, but so do brick and mortar book sellers)
UnDo It! 
The China Study 
4000 Weeks
Fiber Fueled & Fiber Fueled Cookbook
Be A Plant Based Woman Warrior Cookbook

PODCAST:
Lisa Miller, PhD on The Rich Roll Podcast - ​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuBDmIRThtk (The Neuroscience of Spirituality)

ORGAN DONATION:
Online at https://registerme.org
Or at your local DMV

Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! Send me DM on social. I genuinely want to provide (and translate) all kinds of great info for you. 

You can find me:
www.vitaltransformationsllc.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VitalTransformationsLLC
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformations_llc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiespell

Do you have high blood pressure?  If so, grab my FREEBIE - how to accurately take your BP at home. 

As always, thanks to Lemon Music Studio for intro and outro music.

Shout out to my nursing peeps! If you’re a nurse, in nursing school or a professor of nursing you will be psyched about today’s conversation with NYU’s Clinical Assistant Professor, Dr. Karla Rodriguez. 

Dr. Rodriguez teaches med-surg and an elective course, Lifestyle Approaches and Wellbeing in Nursing, to undergraduate nursing students in New York University’s (NYU) Rory Meyers College of Nursing. She is a content expert in Lifestyle Medicine, is a role model for healthy living as she walks the talk, and is a leader in both the Nursing profession and as a nursing representative within the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. 

You’ll hear about the Lifestyle Medicine 101 curriculum available to educators via the ACLM, how Dr. Rodriguez brings the lifestyle pillars to life with fun and experiential assignments meant to facilitate and support nursing student’s self-care, resources she uses, and even how to make oat groats!

Contact Info:
Karla Rodriguez, CNE, DipACLM, DNP, RN
NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing
Clinical Assistant Professor
You can find Dr. Rodriguez HERE
O: 212-998-5215
Email: [email protected]

Plantwise Documentary

Lifestyle Nursing, 1st edition

Lifestyle Medicine Handbook (in collab with ACLM):

NYC Mayor Eric Adam’s story is HERE.

Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! Send me DM on social. I genuinely want to provide (and translate) all kinds of great info for you. 

You can find me:
www.vitaltransformationsllc.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VitalTransformationsLLC
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformations_llc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiespell

Do you have high blood pressure?  If so, grab my FREEBIE - how to accurately take your BP at home. 

As always, thanks to Lemon Music Studio for intro and outro music.

Mr. Karl Karch didn’t want to bother anyone with his heart attack. Fortunately, that same heart attack was the impetus for significant life changes (via the Ornish Intensive Cardiac Rehab program) that created space to go from having a “soft trigger pull” in life to being the healthiest he’s ever been - mind, body, and spirit.

In today's episode you'll hear Karl's inspiring and relatable story of living the American dream - grilling out a few times a week with friends and family, drinkin' a few beers, working a high stress job, was a professional at repressing his feelings, never sharing emotions . . . and then . . . (like so many other Americans living the dream) he had a heart attack. He knew he needed some lifestyle changes and the Ornish program sure helped turn his life around.

He loves his new lifestyle - whole food plant based diet, regular exercise, daily self-care practices like yoga and meditation, and opening his heart to others in a rich and deep way. His new endeavor, Yoga 5-0, will help fellow police officers create awareness, centeredness, and connection with not only their families and friends, but for the communities they serve. Win! Win! Win!

Connect with Karl on LinkedIn and at YogaFive-0

Karl's story reminded me of this funny (but not funny) video from the American Heart Association. It's a woman's perspective, but a great one to raise awareness about heart attacks in women.

Learn more about Heart Attacks at the American Heart Association.

Interested in BOOKS to reduce or eliminate your risk for a heart attack? Check out my heart healthy book list at Bookshop.org. Or see all my book lists HERE. If you buy from Bookshop.org not only do you benefit brick and mortar local booksellers, but I get a small commission too.

***Sorry about the couple sound issues . . . still learning, tweaking, and trying to get the podcasting thing down!***

Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! Send me DM on social. I genuinely want to provide (and translate) all kinds of great info for you. 

You can find me:
www.vitaltransformationsllc.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VitalTransformationsLLC
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformations_llc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiespell

Do you have high blood pressure?  If so, grab my FREEBIE - how to accurately take your BP at home. 

As always, thanks to Lemon Music Studio for intro and outro music.

I'm SO excited for you to hear today's conversation with Dr. Alan Williams! When I saw him in the short film, Farmer's Footprint, I knew I had to talk to him. He is a global leader in the Regenerative Agriculture movement and what he has to share with us is one of the most important (and pressing) issues of our time. Rebuilding soil health might just save the planet, and us along with it. He was wonderful at connecting soil health with human health, making the info easy to understand and practical too. You're going to love it!

He has dedicated the last 20 years to building healthy soil around the globe and is a recognized authority in the growing field of Regenerative Ag. Dr. Williams is a 6th generation family farmer, a recovering academic, and a pioneer of early regenerative agriculture practices. He and his colleagues improve farming practices that result in healing of both human and planet, with an added bonus of revenue and quality of life for farmers and ranchers that grow our food. Win-Win!

And he certainly knows his stuff. He holds bachelors and masters degrees in Animal Science from Clemson University in his home state of SC,  a PhD in Livestock Genetics from LSU, and is a farmer himself in Mississippi & Alabama. 

Check out his work (links are clickable!):

• founding parter of Grass Fed Insights LLC
• founding parter of Understanding Ag and their non-profit educational arm, the Soil Health Academy. 
• authored over 400 scientific & popular press articles
• co-authored the book Before You Have A Cow
• speaker at local, regional, national, and international conferences and meetings
• featured in a number of films  and videos including the Carbon Nation’s Soil Carbon Cowboys, the Dr. Oz show, ABC Food Forecast News, Kiss the Ground, A Regenerative Secret, Farmer’s Footprint, and the Sacred Cow.
• consulted thousands of farmers and ranchers in the US and abroad, on operations ranging from just a few acres to over a 1 million.  
• You can find many of his presentations and webinars on YouTube. 

Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! Send me DM on social. I genuinely want to provide (and translate) all kinds of great info for you. 

You can find me:
www.vitaltransformationsllc.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/VitalTransformationsLLC
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformations_llc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiespell

Do you have high blood pressure?  If so, grab my FREEBIE - how to accurately take your BP at home. 

As always, thanks to Lemon Music Studio for intro and outro music.