Author Archives: Lily Kiswani

About Lily Kiswani

I am an Integrative medicine practitioner. I transitioned into Integrative medicine after three decades of Gynecology practice and Endoscopic surgery. I was the first female Laparoscopic surgeon in India. I have co-authored a textbook, Endoscopic Gynecologic Surgery, available on Amazon. Now, after all these years, with the realisation that I can help people regain their lost health, I find myself inordinately excited and blessed to have this opportunity.

Keep your Heart Healthy – in 4 Simple Steps

Leave a reply

doctor drawing a heart shape Heart disease is a top killer. But four out of five cases of heart disease don’t have to happen and you can take control of your heart health.Cardiologists at the Mayo Clinic have come up with a program they call the “Eat 5, Move 10, Sleep 8” program.

Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Preferably 9 to 13. These foods contain important phytonutrients that protect the heart. Plus, by eating these foods, you may eat fewer processed foods that can increase your heart disease risk.

Get some exercise every day. All you have to do to help your heart is move for an extra 10 minutes a day (although more exercise than that will help even more). The Mayo doctors point out that being sedentary is as bad for your health as smoking. They also urge everyone to do less sitting and more standing.

Get at least eight hours of sleep a night. Sufficient sleep is an absolute necessity for a healthy heart.

Make sure you take time to enjoy your life. Indulge in satisfying, joyful activities. A positive attitude helps your heart stay in top shape and is just as influential on your cardiovascular system as genetics and healthy habits.

Stay Healthy!

Adapted from Carl Lowe.

Keep the Prostate healthy with Saw Palmetto

Leave a reply

images
Saw palmetto has many benefits for managing an aging prostate. It has an anti-inflammatory effect and is rich in phytosterols and fatty acids. Another benefit is that this supplement can help block the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Studies have found that it improves urinary flow and decreases nighttime urination, which can help improve a man’s quality of life.
• In one study involving saw palmetto and prostatitis, a group of prostatitis patients took antibiotics, while another group took antibiotics with a supplement that contained saw palmetto, curcumin, quercetin, and other natural ingredients. Nearly 90 percent of patients who took the supplement said their symptoms were gone after one month, compared to only 27 percent of the men who took only the antibiotic. Prostatitis did not return for any men in the supplement group during the following six months. Patients who didn’t use the supplement continued to experience persistent problems.
• One study found that saw palmetto relieved urinary symptoms in patients with an enlarged prostate due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) as effectively as  finasteride (Proscar), a popular pharmaceutical drug. And it avoided the scary side effects of the prostate drugs.

Men have been taking saw palmetto to help manage their prostate health for more than 200 years. There are no known drug interactions or major side effects. One side effect that many men enjoy is that saw palmetto helps prevent or slow the progression of male pattern baldness!

Stay Healthy.

Brown Bread – Is It Really Healthy?

Leave a reply

 

bread

Did you know that one of the major contributors to a SLOW metabolism is the overconsumption of whole grains, even foods praised as being “high in fiber” such as:

1. 100% Whole Wheat or Brown Bread
2. Whole Grain Pasta
3. Bran flakes and other Wheat-based “Fiber” Cereals, and…
4. Whole Wheat Tortillas and Wraps

Despite having more fiber than their “white” counterparts, these 4 high-fiber foods destroy our blood sugar and give rapid rise to the fat-storing hormone insulin.  In fact, believe it or not, two slices of whole wheat bread raise blood sugar far higher than a can of sugar-sweetened soda or even a sugary candy bar.  This is because the wheat of today is nothing like the wheat of generations ago, having been genetically modified by the food industry, mutated, and exposed to  industrial toxins and radiation to force an unnatural higher yield at the expense of our health.

These harmful wheat products, although praised by food manufacturers as healthy for their fiber and “whole grain” content, are a major cause of the raging obesity epidemic today.  Even more, because they are so rapidly digested, these foods provide virtually no metabolic benefit during digestion. Even if the loaf claims to be ‘multigrain’. Because it usually is just a few grains of oats and seeds sprinkled on top, not really altering the nutritional profile.

In fact, often the ‘Brown Bread’ is nothing but white bread colored brown with molasses or, even worse, chemical colors!

On the other hand, protein boosts metabolism and burns up to 30% of the calories we eat just during the digestion process, not to mention the fat-burning hormonal benefits of eating less wheat and more protein.  So by swapping toxic wheat for fat-burning protein starting today, we can do wonders for our metabolism and our waistline to boot!

Be Informed. Be Healthy.

Dental Health – No More Cavities

Leave a reply

The Complete Guide to Perfect Teeth

We often don’t relate the health of our teeth to the health of our body, but the reality is, we build up hundreds of bacteria on our teeth and gums on a daily basis simply by what we eat and drink. By not caring for this regularly, infection can occur, causing your immune system to go to work and attack the infection.

Our diet plays a vital role in our overall health, especially our teeth and gums. Our mouth is the first contact we have with our food, so it’s important that we choose to eat clean, whole foods.

Carbohydrates are part of the problem. It’s really the type of carbohydrates we choose to eat, like cereal, bagels, cakes, candies, crackers, cookies pasta, bread; you get the idea. All the processed refined sugars and foods that strip us of essential vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, zinc and magnesium which are important for immunity and bone health.

Avoiding these types of food will have the greatest impact on dental health and overall health. It is believed that it is our ineffective diet, not bacteria, which is responsible for tooth decay. Because if it were due to bacteria, then why should only a few teeth be affected? Visit this website for further information on this topic.

So what should you eat to prevent cavities and have the most perfect teeth ever? Follow the dental diet, which consists of delicious, whole foods, such as:

  • Organic fruits and vegetables grown in mineral rich soils
  • Fresh or dried spices and herbs that contain anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, such as turmeric, cinnamon, thyme, clove and mint
  • High quality fats such as, ghee, coconut oil or grass fed butter. These contain higher amounts of vitamin K2, a fat soluble vitamin that is essential for strong bones and teeth
  • Pasture raised, grass fed meats and dairy which contain higher amounts on anti-inflammatory omega 3’s
  • Vitamin C rich foods help to maintain healthy gums.
  • Vitamin D is another fat-soluble vitamin that is important for strong bones and teeth
  • Spinach, kale, almonds and shrimp are great sources of calcium which is also needed for bone health
  • Consume phosphorus rich foods such as organic eggs, sunflower seeds, poultry, etc. Phosphorus helps to nourish the teeth and protect the roots.
  • Opt for mineral rich and quality carbohydrates such as pumpkin, plantain and berries, all of which contain fiber and high amounts of vitamin C.

    •  

    Consuming the foods above and focusing on quality will ensure you supply your body with vital nutrients that not only protect your teeth, but help to prevent disease overall.

    teeth

    Here’s what your daily dental routine should look like:

  • Start with a salt rinse – grab a mason jar, fill it with warm water and drop in a chunk of Himalayan sea salt. Let it dissolve and viola! You’ve got yourself a simple homemade mouth rinse without any chemicals or alcohol.
  • Move on to tongue scraping – you can do this first thing when you wake up or after breakfast. Either way, get into the habit of doing it daily.
  • Brush
  • Floss – Carefully, deliberately and really focus on the gum line. Be gentle.

    •  

    Oil pulling

    This is a great addition you can add to the 4 steps above. This age old remedy is helpful for whitening teeth and improving gum health by removing harmful bacteria.

    Here’s how you do it:

  • Start with 2 teaspoons a high quality coconut oil. Feel free to add any antibacterial oils to the coconut oil, such as clove or cinnamon.
  • Swish the oil around your mouth for a good 20 minutes. It may take time to work up to a full 20 minutes, but timing is key! To fully reap the benefits, fend off plaque and fight bacteria, a full 20 minutes will do the trick!
  • Spit the oil into the toilet or garbage bin. Do not swallow it as it does contain bacteria.
  • Rinse with your homemade sea salt rinse to get out any remaining oil
  • Brush your teeth as you regularly would.

    •  

    Commit to these steps daily and ensure your diet is full of organic, whole foods and you’ll be on your way to the most perfect teeth ever!

    Be Healthy!

    Carotenoids May Prevent Not Just Macular Degeneration But Also Dementia

    Leave a reply

    Daily supplementation with plant-derived carotenoids can reduce the risk of age-associated macular degeneration, and may also have a role in prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, according to James Stringham, PhD, of the Nutritional Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Georgia, Atlanta.

    kale-sm

    Leafy green vegetables like this curly kale are the primary sources of carotenoids essential for retinal health.

    Lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso-zeaxanthin—three carotenoids that cannot be produced by the human body have, none the less, “a conspicuous concentration” in the eyes, said Dr. Stringham, speaking at SupplySide West, a nutrition industry conference.Dr. Stringham is among the nation’s leading carotenoid researchers, with a particular interest in the role of these molecules in visual function and cognitive function.

    The retina is unbelievably carotenoid-hungry.

    “If you don’t get a lot of lutein, zeaxanthin, and mesoxanthin in your diet, you are at increased risk of macular degeneration by age 60-65,” he said, citing several studies demonstrating a clear correlation. “Long-term oxidative damage catches up. Macular degeneration is a leading cause of blindness in people over 60, and it is a bad disease.”
    Neural processing speed, it turns out, shows a direct relationship with levels of lutein and zeaxanthin. Dr. Stringham went as far as saying that neural processing is actually mediated by these two carotenoids. People with the most macular pigment (carotenoids) are most able to adapt to shifts between light and darkness much more quickly than those with the lowest levels.

    Daily dosing with 15 mg of meso-zeaxanthin and 12 mg per day of a combination of lutein and zeaxanthin produces an almost immediate increase in MPOD measurements that continues to rise steadily with continued supplementation, peaking out after about 180 days, reported Dr. Stringham.

    Long term supplementation with lutein and zeaxanthin gives myriad improvements in visual function, including faster performance and better acuity ; reduced glare sensitivity; enhanced contrast sensitivity, improved vision in dim light, and reduced chromatic blur.

    There’s very little downside to lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation. It is extremely safe even at high doses.

    Improved Cognitive Function

    The eyes and the brain are intimately connected, so it should be no surprise that what’s good for the eyes is probably also good for the brain. That’s certainly the case with carotenoids.

    In one study, 49 women aged 60-80 years, were randomized to receive DHA (800 mg/day), lutein (12 mg/day), a combination of DHA and lutein or a placebo for a total of 4 months. Investigators measured verbal fluency, memory, processing speed and accuracy, and self-reports of mood.

    Those with the highest macular pigment densities had the best cognitive function; those with the lowest pigment levels had diminished cognitive function.

    “Macular degeneration is an excellent model for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Stringham. ”
    People with chronic inflammatory conditions should probably be on the high side of the dosing spectrum because dietary antioxidants will be preferentially shunted toward quelling inflammation, so there will be less available to reach the eyes.

    Heavier people with more adipose tissue may also need higher doses than lean people, as they will tend to store these pigments in the adipose tissue.

    Supplementation is certainly expedient, but getting people to eat more leafy greens is also important. “It is always preferable to get nutrients from food,” said Dr. Stringham. “Kale is the champion. You can’t get lutein and zeaxanthin from carrots.”

    Stay Healthy!