Live Well Clinic

What’s so special about antioxidants?             Without antioxidants, we would die very young. Antioxidants stop and block free-radical damage to our body’s DNA, repairing our tissues and organs and to resist aging. Free radicals are normal byproducts of our body’s metabolism of environmental toxins and chemicals, radiation, some pharmaceutical drugs, and even inflammation from exercise. Oxidative damage from free radicals is like what rust does to an iron rod, except in your body. In response, your body circulates a variety of nutrients for their antioxidant properties and manufactures antioxidant enzymes in order to control oxidative damage/stress. For example, vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenes, and lipoic acid are well-known and well-researched antioxidant nutrients. Your body can manufacture some of these antioxidants, but not others, and your body's natural antioxidant production tends to decline with age. What ar...

By: Sonja N. Fung, ND The American diet is filled with calorie-rich and nutrient-poor foods. No wonder there is an epidemic of childhood obesity, ADD/ADHD, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. People are overweight but starving! So what can we do about this crisis? The answer starts with your fork! The first step of living a healthy, vibrant life starts with optimizing your diet and nutrition. You and your loved ones can start by taking control of your body and your health. Instead of relying on fast food and TV dinners as your staples, you can save money and more importantly, your life, by buying fresh, organic (if possible) produce and proteins and cooking them yourself. Avoid the expensive packaged and processed foods filled with sugar, sodium, dyes, and a slew of other chemicals and preservatives, and be proactive in preventing future chronic disease! When talking about nutrition with my patients, I always tell them this: Food is medicine you put into your body 3 ...

1)     What causes heartburn? “Heartburn” or acid reflux, occurs when pressure from your stomach triggers the opening of the lower part of your esophagus (called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES)) and lets acidic stomach contents back up and cause burning of the esophagus. The pressure on the stomach can be caused by overeating, being overweight, having a hiatal hernia, or being pregnant. Many foods also trigger the opening of the LES, such as chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods, gluten and wheat, fatty processed foods, and other inflammatory foods. 2)     Why are acid blockers used to treat heartburn? The majority of the time, heartburn is not caused by too much acid in the stomach. However, acid blocking medications are used to reduce the symptoms of acid reflux. If your stomach contents are not acidic, it will not burn the lining of your esophagus when you have reflux episodes. Therefore, the burning pain is resolved....

By Dr. Sonja Fung, ND Yes, you read it right. A doctor is prescribing a cocktail. Your health cocktail mix: 1 part detox, 1 part vitamins, 1 part nutrition, and 1 part exercise and stress reduction. Just follow the instructions below.   Healthy Steps for the New Year:        1)       Cleaning up your gut- Time for a detox! Participating in a post holiday 14 day detox program allows your body to rest and recover from the every day stress and toxins we put in our bodies, especially after the holidays!  Detox helps with weight loss, increased energy, eliminating inflammation, normalizing digestive function, improving sleep, and reducing pain, headaches, and other chronic disease symptoms.   2)       IV cocktail of vitamin and mineral replenishment for a post holiday jump start. The “Myers Cocktail” is a well known IV nutrient formula which includes concentrated doses of...

The Fever Fallacy Contrary to popular belief, fevers are GOOD. Fever is a positive indicator that your body has the strength to fight off pathogens. A fever is part of your body’s defense mechanism and actually kills off bacteria and viruses that can’t live in higher temperatures. Fevers should not be suppressed or reduced because of its beneficial effects in fighting infections. Temperatures up to 104* F are benign and of short duration and have not been shown to cause permanent neurological damage. The main goal for decreasing a fever is to improve the comfort of the person with a fever. Technically speaking, a fever is an oral temperature of 100.4 * F or above. Anything under that is not a fever. In children under the age of 3 years old, parents should monitor the behavior of their child, not the actual temperature. The degree of the fever doesn’t always correlate with the severity of the infection. I have seen 4 year olds brought into my clinic who are running up and down my...

Author: Dr. Sonja Fung Here's my dilemma. I'm going to my friend's house for thanksgiving dinner and their children are gluten-free and dairy-free and I'm bringing dessert! One of my favorite thanksgiving treats is southern-style banana pudding. So after scouring the web, I found a recipe that I could adapt to my gfcf needs. Hope you like it as much as I did. P.S. It's not sugar free = ) Happy Thanksgiving from my kitchen to yours. Gluten-free Dairy-free Banana Pudding with Meringue Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 8 minutes Total Time: 38 minutes Yield: 12 servings Ingredients: Pudding Ingredients: 2/3 cup cane sugar 1/3 cup tapioca starch 1/4 teaspoon salt 18oz coconut milk 14oz coconut cream 4 egg yolks - reserve egg whites for meringue 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or half of a vanilla bean 4 ripe, peeled and thinly sliced medium bananas 50 Trader Joes Gluten free (and dairy free) Ginger snaps (about 1 ¼ bags) Meringue Ingredients:...

1.     I’m having a difficult time deciding what to pack for my kid’s school lunches. What are some healthy, easy options? When packing lunches include a protein, veggie, fruit and carbohydrate. Proteins can come in more sources than just lunch meat. Peanut butter and jelly can be made many different ways. Try using different kinds of nut butters and different jellies. Hard boiled eggs, chicken, cheese, yogurt, tofu are all other good protein choices. Noodles, tortillas, spelt crackers and whole wheat breads are good carbohydrate choices. Cutting up fruits into different shapes will make it more appealing. Get your kids involved in choosing the fruits and veggies they want to eat. Dipping veggies into hummus will make eating them more fun. Water is always the best option but, it can be difficult to get kids to drink it. Try adding oranges or berries and it will make water appealing. 2.     How do I know if my 2 nd grade daughter is gett...