Our Approach
Nutrition Counseling
* Working on this aspect of your health is a great starting point if you’re looking to get on the path to a healthier you.
* This approach is the cornerstone in addressing insulin resistance states and cardio metabolic diseases such as Diabetes , Pre-diabetes , Over-weight & Obesity , Polycystic ovarian syndrome.
* It is often complicated for you to understand how the foods you choose affect your body given information overload and therefore it is overwhelming and confusing to sift through and make sense.
* Nutrition counseling simplifies these complexities so you can include foods that support your health and foods that you also enjoy using a non-diet approach. ( No fad or yo-yo diets )
* We will take the time to listen closely and understand where you are right now in terms of your lifestyle and diet, and work with you to help you set priorities and create individualized action plans which acknowledge and foster responsibility for self-care.
* Work with you to identify problems and gaps in your nutrition and suggest ways to incorporate healthy foods into your lifestyle
* You will learn how to interpret the results of your nutritional assessment and how to incorporate a variety of well-balanced nutrients into healthy, economical, and flavorful meals and snacks.
* To prepare for your visit, it can be helpful for you to write down everything you ate in the 24 hours prior to the appointment (or better yet, a food diary of two to three days’ worth of meals and snacks).
Teaching Kitchen
* Cooking is a skill that is learned. It has to be nurtured. Learning how to purchase, prepare, combine, and taste ingredients is a life-long apprenticeship.
* This does not advocate for a particular “diet”, but rather teaches individuals–and by extension, their family members how to purchase healthier ingredients , cook more fresh, less frozen and processed , more whole food predominantly plant-based meals in a simple, cost-effective and delicious recipes that will help you live a healthier life and/or manage your disease or condition.
* It might sound too good to be true, but this is one of the “most effective ways” to improve your diet by simply cook more at home with Whole Foods
* This everyday practice naturally lowers the salt, fat, and sugar intake of meals and can lead to healthier, longer, more fulfilling lives and to prevent , treat and reverse chronic metabolic disease such as type 2 diabetes , obesity etc
* Our Teaching Kitchen program will include skills that you will learn with your doctor
*Going to grocery shopping
*Hands-on cooking training Of culturally appropriate culinary recipes
*Nutrition lessons.
*Education about appropriate kitchen tools and utensils
*Chef demonstrations
*Combining above with farmer’s market and kitchen garden activities.
….. will open in near future
Teaching Stress Relieving Techniques
•Each one of us go through varying degree of stress in our lives .If we live too long under stress and get too little rest, our body will protest.
•Prolonged stress is associated with elevated health risks due to persistently elevated levels of stress hormones leading to cardio metabolic diseases.
•There are countless relaxing techniques and meditative practices . No matter our level of fatigue, pain, or disability, we are in constant relationship with our breathing, our level of relaxation, and we are aligned and supported by the ground.
•Therefore , I mainly focus on teaching and facilitating this extraordinary and powerful tool of ‘Breathing ,Relaxing and Grounding’ and teach every patient how to employ these skills.
•Until we have spent time practicing each of these aspects, we are unable to appreciate the enormous power we hold to benefit ourselves by these actions. Each is a living meditation
•I teach my patients to perform these actions as a deliberate act of kindness.
By doing so we can
*Put the brakes on an acute stress response and diverts the health problems associated with chronic stress.
*Control our emotions and gain a sense of calmness.
*Improve blood circulation and blood pressure.
*Help our nervous system’s chemical makeup, including our hormones and metabolic processes.
Learning these techniques by embodying kindness to ourselves is our primal power to heal
Physical Activity Prescriptions
* Performing any type of physical activity and avoiding sedentary behavior have known health benefits and can improve , prevent and treat myriad of chronic diseases.
* Physical fitness exercises include
– Aerobic/Endurance (Cardio respiratory)
– Strength/Resistance exercise
– Flexibility
– Balance
* Your doctor may recommend you to exercise more and the need to be more active but mostly this is non-specific advice and may be ambiguous.
* We at Nurturing Our Health incorporate stepwise approach
– Assessing you readiness for a certain physical activity along with barriers and facilitators
– Assist you in goal setting (eg, avoiding surgery, reducing pain symptoms, managing health conditions without medication, improving balance to reduce fall risk, improving mental health)
– Determine type , frequency and intensity and duration of specific physical activity and provide clear and unambiguous recommendations.
Expert Medication Use and Titration
•When Chronic metabolic health conditions are advanced or exacerbate acutely , medicines become a necessary adjunct.
•I am uniquely aware of what medicines work best for specific metabolic health conditions and how those medicines interact with all the other variables of your health and how to ensure maximum intended effect while minimizing any detrimental effects
•I spend time in discussing and considering medication treatment option where necessary and also guide appropriate titration and deprescribing of medications in situations where de-escalation of medication treatment is indicated specially once lifestyle changes are implemented.
•This is a highly individualized process that warrants proper supervision.