Feel Grand

>> Jane Seymour: Funding for Feel Grand is provided by ... >> At Aetna we believe a health insurance company should be as passionate about their members' health as they would be their own because a healthier you leads to a healthier community and healthier communities lead to a healthier world.

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>> Jane Seymour: Today on Feel Grand, while we may have been raised to always think of the doctor's office as the first solution there's a whole world of healthcare solutions out there waiting to be discovered.

There are many remedies that go back hundreds, even thousands of years that Western medicine is just beginning to embrace, and most of them go beyond merely taking another prescription.

East meets West in our studio as Doctors Gabrielle Francis and Roberta Lee help us take a look at some alternative approaches to keeping our bodies healthy.

[ Music ] Hello, and welcome to Feel Grand.

I'm your host, Jane Seymour.

We all know the basic process for dealing with a health issue.

It's the same thing we've done for years.

You feel sick, you schedule your appointment with the doctor, she or he looks at you, tells you what might be wrong, and then it's take two of these and call me in the morning.

But that stalwart Western medicine approach is only one way of treating illness.

Travel the world over and you'll see many other ways to treat disease and promote wellness.

There are so many Eastern and holistic approaches to medicine that we've become familiar with, practices like Yoga, herbal remedies, acupuncture, homeopathy and meditation, and some of us have embraced these ancient practices and made them a part of our health routine already.

So what are some of the potential health benefits alternative medicine can bring to our health?

Is it possible that our doctor could be just as likely to prescribe hypnosis as another pill?

On each episode of Feel Grand we like to start the conversation by hearing from someone just like you, who is living with the illness or health issue that we're discussing on the show.

Obviously, when we're talking about changing the way we approach medicine it's a different kind of story, so let's meet Dr. Gail Parker, a veteran Psychologist, who runs a successful business introducing both current and future doctors to the benefits of alternative medicine.

>> Gail Parker: Focus your awareness on your natural breath.

I've been practicing Yoga for about, well, since I was 21 years old I've been practicing Yoga, before you could take Yoga at Yoga studios.

It helps people develop more body awareness.

As a Psychologist what we know is that people store memory in their bodies.

The older you are, the more you have stored in your body, and the way the restorative practice works is that as you come into deeper levels of rest and relaxation all of that stored energy, these are energies that we're talking about, come to the surface and release, they release, and then they don't come back.

If you had asked me in the early 1990s when I graduated from medical school and started training in medicine whether or not Yoga was important to health I probably would have said no.

It is not, it was not part of my medical training or experience, but now I would say that it's crucial to practice Yoga.

These health issues, particularly hypertension, become more of an issue as we age, so I think that Yoga for sure is important to practice, it's important to be knowledgeable about, and there are a lot of studies that support the benefits of Yoga and meditation on health.

So now I would say absolutely, I know that for me personally it's calming, allows me to focus.

There's a lot of medical literature to support that it reduces depression, anxiety, and it helps with eating disorders, it helps with cognitive function, perception of pain, reduces blood pressure, so it definitely has an impact on health.

When we mature we -- it's harder to see the future and it brings back that hope for a continued bright future because when you're in the energy of joyfulness and peacefulness it's contagious, just as when you're in the energy of negativity and depression and hostility and anxiety, that's contagious.

So what we say is that we become like the company we keep, so it's important to keep good company, and I feel like I am always in good company when I'm doing this work.

>> Jane Seymour: Thank you, Doctor, for sharing your story.

So if you're interested in incorporation Eastern alternatives to complement your Western medicine or even if you've done it for years what are some of the ways that East can meet West in our daily health as we age?

Today we have with us two Doctors who have known each other for a long time.

One who is an advocate of natural medicine and the other who is a medical Doctor incorporating some of those alternatives into her treatments.

Dr. Gabrielle Francis has been practicing holistic medicine for over 26 years and is the sole proprietor of Backstage Alternative, a mobile practice that provides holistic medical services to rock stars while they're on tour.

She's the Author of the new book, The Rock Star Remedy, a Rock and Roll Doctor's Prescription for Living a Long, Healthy Life.

And joining us long distance we have Dr. Roberta Lee, a recognized expert on the use of alternative integrative therapies in managing chronic diseases and optimizing wellness.

Dr. Lee recently relocated to the University of Arizona Medical Center, where she provides integrative primary care.

She currently serves as a Vice Chair of the Founding Board of the American Board of Integrative Medicine, which will offer national certification of doctors for the first time in integrative medicine in November.

She's also the author of the book, The Super Stress Solution.

Please welcome Dr. Gabrielle Francis and Dr. Roberta Lee.

[ Applause ] So how did you get into this, how did you get into alternative remedies?

>> Gabrielle Francis: For me, my family was -- we're big advocates of natural medicine since I was really little, and we only went to chiropractors and did homeopathic and herbal medicine when we would be sick.

So, for me, when I knew I would be a doctor was when I was about 10 years old.

And I graduated from high school, I went to massage school, and then chiropractic school, and then I did a combined program of acupuncture and naturopathic medicine.

And that took me about 17 years, and then when I finished all my medical school, my first practice incorporating everything together was touring with rock bands and working as their doctor on tour.

So during the years, about 15 years of touring, when I wasn't on tour I started traveling to different countries and learning the medicine in those countries and studying Chinese medicine in China, and Ayurveda medicine in India, and learning from indigenous healers and shamins.

And I still do that today when I'm traveling, I like to learn the medicine in those countries.

So, for me, alternative medicine is my main medicine, and Western medicine is my alternative.

>> Jane Seymour: And you, Doctor?

>> Roberta Lee: Back in 1988 when I finished my residency in Washington, D.C.

I became a General Practitioner in the Pacific Islands for four years near Guam.

And, you know, that area we were servicing a million square miles of ocean and about 200 islands with a handful of doctors.

Well, since there weren't a lot of doctors, there were a lot of traditional healers that I actually observed using herbs, coconut oil infused with lots of other different herbs and massages that were amazing for chronic conditions.

Then I came back after those four years and settled in Tucson, Arizona where I studied with Dr. Weil @, and really became intrigued in the process of how these traditional healers were doing actually better with chronic diseases than I was with the things that I was learning in the Western medicine training.

So what I did after that was spend 10 years working with the New York Botanical Garden going back and forth between New York City and the Pacific Islands, interviewing traditional healers and documenting some of these practices in a scientific way.

>> Jane Seymour: So what kind of remedies, tell us about some of the remedies that are amazing?

>> Gabrielle Francis: You know, if you think about it the remedies are coming from these systems of medicines that are thousands of years old, so the remedies can be anything from acupuncture and needles, to herbal medicine, to massage and body work type of remedies.

And, basically, as I was saying before, it's like all of the herbs that we take, all of the super foods that are on the market, all of the beauty elixirs that people are using now were once indigenous medicines in traditional cultures.

>> Jane Seymour: Would you like to comment?

>> Roberta Lee: Yes, I'd like to say that one of the wonderful things about several decades later is that working with Gabrielle Francis I've been able to see that there's a synergy, in other words, two and two equals five instead of four, in partnering with other healing arts practitioners.

And I think that that's something we never had the luxury of doing because everybody sort of in the old days practiced in their own craft without communicating and working together.

>> Jane Seymour: So a lot of us go to the health food store and we prescribe ourselves, what we think we need.

How important is it to go to a practitioner, a medical practitioner and find out what we should be taking and what doses to take?

And, also, how important is it that we tell our medical doctor what it is that we're taking?

>> Gabrielle Francis: I think it's very beneficial to have somebody who knows what these remedies are determining if they're the best ones for you because right now people self-medicate a lot because they read about something online and there's a sound byte of information and, oh, I have that, so I'm going to take that.

So people come in and they pretty much tell me everything, they're not afraid of that, but what I find is they're afraid to tell their medical doctors, not somebody like Roberta, which was wonderful to work with her because her patients weren't afraid to tell her.

They would tell her everything, and that's really important because a lot of times the alternative things, like the herbs and some of the supplements can interfere with medications and they can sometimes not be the right thing for your condition overall, you know?

So working with somebody like Roberta was really wonderful because a lot of times people don't tell their medical doctors what they're taking because they'll be chastised.

>> Roberta Lee: Even thinking about surgery, I've seen people take too many capsules of fish oil that have bleeding after the operation, much more than they were expected to have, probably because they forgot to stop taking their fish oil.

That's just a very small example of how not telling your doctor something can really be not a great thing.

>> Jane Seymour: Can you guys address the actual benefits of Yoga?

>> Roberta Lee: First, I'd like to just say that everyone thinks of Yoga as just changing positions and breath work, but Yoga is a whole traditional lifestyle.

So Yoga can calm the mind, there's foods that you can eat that are calming within the Yoga recommendations.

Typically no one ever stretches enough, and we're hunched over desks and over our blackberry's and our little computers, so we stretch out muscles that typically unless they're stretched out don't tend to go back into that long lengthening position, even when we're relaxing.

So I think that's good.

And most of us don't breathe deeply enough.

We're very shallow breathers, those of us who are anxious, and Yoga really reminds us to breathe deeply, and that stimulates the vagus nerve, which helps us also relax more.

>> Gabrielle Francis: I love Yoga, and you don't have to change religions to do Yoga, definitely don't have to change your religion to do Yoga.

You can just do the parts of it that you feel comfortable with and, in general, I think of it as kind of the movement with the breath and the stretching and the toning, so it's a kind of a balancing of those two dualities.

But if you really think about it flexibility is the key to longevity on so many levels, like keeping flexibility as an open mind, keeping flexibility in the organs so that things keep circulating and you keep, you know, your organs functioning properly, and then flexibility in the body, as well.

So in that way Yoga is kind of helping to enhance longevity, as well.

>> Jane Seymour: Often if I'm nervous and I'm going to do a performance or something I've noticed that if I do this it just makes me more stressed, but if I just literally open up my hands -- they all were laughing at me earlier for doing this -- I don't know what it is, but I can feel the energy, the negative energy just flows away.

And so I don't feel I have to go to a Yoga class to do it.

I can do the deep breaths, I can do something subtlety in an airplane or in the back of a car or a back stage before I go on stage, and I can have those same benefits.

So these are things that people can do at home, right?

>> Gabrielle Francis: Definitely.

>> Jane Seymour: So why is this important, Doctor, to incorporate Western and Eastern medicine for all of us, especially as we're aging?

What is it we would benefit from in this more so than just having Western medicine?

>> Roberta Lee: We know that inflammation as we age just builds and builds, so if we start doing some of these things at an earlier age, let's just say our 40s, 20s, 40s, 30s, whatever, and do it consistently.

You know, add spices in our food, add spices to our coffee, maybe have a little less coffee, get some acupuncture, we're actually going to decrease that perfect storm of inflammation and actually affect our genetics, believe it or not.

Basically, in a much more multi-dimensional way have a very good anti-inflammatory, anti-aging practice.

>> Jane Seymour: Have you seen anything alternative take the place of prescription medicine very successfully in your practice.

>> Roberta Lee: I've seen fish oils, ginger and turmeric be almost as effective as medication for chronic arthritis than non-steroidal anti-inflammatories.

I've seen magnesium and certain other herbs be much more powerful and proactive for migraine headaches.

I've had young women with pre-menstrual syndrome, who modify their diet, remove sugar, use certain kinds of herbs and get some acupuncture, and have really smooth periods without having a lot of trouble with pelvic pain.

That's just a little bit of what I've seen as a successful integrative approach.

>> Jane Seymour: Do you feel that Western medicine, though, is really good for diagnostic?

>> Roberta Lee: I think Western medicine is great for trauma, for starters.

If I have a head injury and I just got hit by a car and I go into the emergency room, I think that in many cases where we need to see inside the body and look at the organs, of course, imaging with an MRI, CT scan or X-rays are fantastic.

For some of the more obscure internal neurological conditions, like MS or when you can't move your arm, you're having a stroke, I think medicine is great.

But once you get out of that acute emergency situation, and we're talking six months, a year, two years, three years, four years, then starting to partner with other people, like Dr. Francis, who can help you with herbs, help you with diet, help you with lifestyle and certainly intervene with massage, acupuncture, Ayurveda, homeopathy, I think you're going to get a much more powerful outcome.

>> Jane Seymour: My sister had a brain aneurysm, and she had to have surgery on her brain.

And we went to the doctor and we said are we allowed to give her homeopathic arnica beforehand and after?

And arnica is a really big thing, it's a homeopathic thing because most doctors say we don't know anything about it, there's no science on it, it doesn't work.

Well, all I can say is that my other sister is a homeopath, and when my sister who had the surgery, had the surgery, the nurses and the doctor couldn't believe that she had one-third of the swelling after surgery of any of the other patients that had exactly the same surgery on the same day.

And it's really interesting because ... >> Gabrielle Francis: I believe that.

>> Jane Seymour: ... you go to a plastic surgeon now or a dentist and you say what about arnica and usually they say, well, my wife actually -- they can't say that they like it.

How do you feel about homeopathic remedies?

>> Gabrielle Francis: I especially like them for staid @ type things, and arnica is wonderful, but in general constitutional homeopathy is a whole science in itself, where they do a two-hour analysis of the condition before they assess something, but I use arnica all the time.

>> Jane Seymour: Well, a lot of people out there might be looking for some alternative solutions when it comes to their own health.

We thought we'd have some of our audience members share their story and maybe ask a question, if you don't mind?

Who has a question?

Thank you.

>> I was wondering if there are any ancient remedies for just basic great skincare, dry skin, any herbs, anything that can help you glow on the outside while you're taking care of the rest of you?

>> Gabrielle Francis: Well, my favorite one and the one I use is argan oil from Morocco, have you ever heard of that before?

>> I have.

>> Gabrielle Francis: Yes, my husband is from Morocco and I learned about it in Morocco, kind of studying with different healers there, but it's a seed from this tree in Morocco and it's very rich in all kinds of fatty acids, and it is like food for the face.

It really is beautiful, it makes -- it's good for wrinkles, anti-aging, it helps acne, it's good for inflammation.

>> Jane Seymour: I use it on my hair.

>> Gabrielle Francis: I use it on my hair, yes, I use it twice a day, I love it.

>> Jane Seymour: Oh, really?

>> Gabrielle Francis: Yes.

>> Jane Seymour: What about you, do you have any special tips on this?

>> Roberta Lee: Well, I think scrubbing the skin and creating a lot of circulation is good.

Moisturizing your skin.

We typically don't drink enough water.

We certainly don't get enough fish oils.

>> Gabrielle Francis: That's true.

>> Roberta Lee: So I'm a great fan of eating oily fish, like salmon, tuna, sardines, and certainly having enough fish oil in the diet.

But I love the argan oil, too, I think it's really great.

>> Jane Seymour: I eat a lot of salmon, I'm a smoked salmon addict, that's my morning thing.

But if you're taking fish oil how much should you be taking?

>> Roberta Lee: I think somewhere between one and two grams, that would be somewhere between two and four capsules on the average, depending on what supplement you're buying.

>> Jane Seymour: Sometimes it's very confusing because you can go to some nutritionists and naturopathic doctors and they say, okay, you have to have four of this, three of that, you have to have these at exactly this hour, then at that hour, and to be properly honest how do you find time to do all of that?

>> Gabrielle Francis: Yes, I try to serve as much as I can in these nutritional smoothies.

>> Jane Seymour: And should you get more of your vitamins out of real food?

>> Gabrielle Francis: Yes.

>> Jane Seymour: Ideally.

Okay, we have another question here somewhere, yes?

>> Hi.

Are there natural things that patients can do or use that are preventive in nature to support us or to offset disease or side effects from common medications?

>> Gabrielle Francis: Definitely, for example, when somebody is on antibiotics, if a patient of mine needs antibiotics for a bacterial infection I'll use some form of gastrointestinal lining support to build up the mucosa of the lining and then I'll have them on a good probiotic supplement, as well, because the antibiotics kill off a lot of the good bacteria, as well.

But for all kinds of medications there are ways that you can use alternative therapies to reduce the negative side effects.

I work as adjunct with a lot of cancer patients and there's different things I'll do at different phases of their treatment, and when they're done with chemo, for example, I'll do specific therapies to help clean the chemo out of the body, or if it's before chemo I'll do things to enhance their immune function and their gut function so they can handle the chemo better without as many side effects.

So we have little tricks like that for almost every medication.

>> Jane Seymour: Any thoughts?

>> Roberta Lee: You know, we often forget that sweating is a very effective way of detoxing, as long as you're well hydrated.

And so I think that's another thing to think about.

We've used homeopathy very frequently with children after they get their immunizations so they don't have side effects from that.

>> Jane Seymour: Well, thank you Dr. Francis and Dr. Lee for coming on the show and helping us start the conversation about finding a way to incorporate some of these ancient remedies into our modern health.

[ Applause ] I hope that so many of the things that we've talked about today will help people in the audience and at home, and that this conversation can continue once our audience leaves today and you turn off your television at home or close your browser or wherever you might be watching from.

When you travel around the world you really see that there are many different approaches to health and wellness, some of which have been around for a very long time.

It's not a matter of one way being better than the other, but maybe if we can keep our minds open to other solutions and treatments that might be out there we can find new ways to feel better and take a more active role in our own health.

If you'd like more information and to continue the conversation with our experts feel free to log on to our website at feelgrand.org.

Remember, life is a journey and we need to do everything we can to take care of ourselves so that we can make that journey last.

So be sure to keep healthy, live well and feel grand.

Until next time.

[ Applause ] [ Music ] [ Music ] >> At Aetna we believe a health insurance company should be as passionate about their members' health as they would be their own because a healthier you leads to a healthier community and healthier communities lead to a healthier world.

>> Right at Home provides needs based, personally tailored homecare and assistance to seniors so they can maintain their quality of life.

The right care right at home.

>> The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK offering books from Barnes & Noble, plus movies, TV shows and apps, with book recommendations and tools for everyday use.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK provides these options in a seven-inch tablet.

[ Music ]