Deanna Won is a former U.S. Air Force Colonel and physicist who specialized in electro-optics and lasers for over 26 years. She worked in space launch, missile defense, biological defense and NATO operations. But no military training prepared her for a battle with ovarian cancer. “When I was 45 years old, I experienced excruciating pain in my abdomen and had trouble breathing, which landed me in the hospital, where even the morphine could not reduce any of my pain,” says Deanna. “When I found out that I had ovarian cancer, I made the immediate decision to completely change my nutrition and diet to an
Read more →A recent walk in the woods yielded a brilliant treasure. Attached to the trunk of a dead tree was a giant mushroom. It was splashed with colors of yellow and orange and fanned out in layers resembling firm giant petals. We delicately removed it from the tree trunk and carefully carried it home. Research on the internet and a consult with a mushroom foraging expert confirmed it was a Chicken of the Woods, considered a delicacy in the food world. After photographing our find for posterity and Instagram we sliced it into thin strips and sautéed them in olive oil
Read more →A chef whom I knew and respected died this past week at the age of 50 after a long battle with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a devastating and progressive neurodegenerative disease. His name was Gerry Hayden, and his restaurant was the critically acclaimed North Fork Table & Inn on Long Island. I had just discussed booking a dinner at his restaurant with my friend Kathy, and then she sent me his obituary. Gerry Hayden stood heads above many star chefs in the kitchen even though he was confined to a wheelchair. Though his arms and hands were useless for cooking, his mind
Read more →Most people are aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but how many of you are also aware that September Is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month? At the end of this article I have provided a graph to give you a brief understanding of the impact both breast and ovarian cancer have on women in the United States of all ages and backgrounds, What’s important to also understand is that if you or a loved one is diagnosed with either disease, you don’t have to feel alone. There is an amazing support network available through organizations like SHARE, a non-profit whose mission
Read more →Imagine being diagnosed with a life threatening illness. “How can I gain control of my life and manage my health?” you ask. It’s happened to me and to many friends and colleagues. And it happened to my guest August 24th on Fearless Fabulous You! Shari Leidich was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2004. MS affects approximately 2.3 million people worldwide. MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. At this time the cause is still unknown, and there is no cure. Research is being done in many areas including genetics, immunology, hormonal and environmental risks. According to the National Multiple
Read more →Getting wasted is growing in popularity. I don’t mean drinking yourself silly and getting trashed. These days getting wasted means becoming more grounded and conscious about the food we eat and utilizing every part of it rather than throwing it out. In other words: Don’t trash your dinner. The United States is an agricultural wonder abundant in food. Stores stock hundreds of products both farm-raised and man-made. Restaurants and food shops are on every block in cities and towns. Yet, we waste more food than we ingest, and more than 46 million Americans are living with food insecurity (lack of food).
Read more →Many people, including myself until I was diagnosed in August 2009, never really understand the complexity of breast cancer, which affects 1 in 8 women. Breast cancer impacts women- and men- of all ages and cultural backgrounds. While lifestyle choices may help reduce your risk, there are many factors that can be related to a breast cancer diagnosis such as genetics and family history, but there is no one cause. And anyone who is diagnosed with breast cancer should not feel any blame or shame, or a “what if” or “if only” mind set. The focus should be on getting the best treatment
Read more →I’ve been curious about alternative and complementary medicines after researching my books and studying integrative nutrition. One that fascinates me is homeopathy, a system of natural medicine dating back over 200 years. It is very common in Europe where its originator, Samuel Hahnemann, created the word “homeopathy” from the Greek words for ‘similar suffering’ referring to the ‘like cures like’ principle of healing.” Ref: http://www.homeopathyschool.com/. Benefits can alleviate side effects from traditional Western medicine, strengthen your immune system, help healing and reduce pain, among other conditions. You probably have seen all sorts of homeopathic essences, gels, creams and pellets at your local health foods store. But do
Read more →As I’ve grown older I’ve noticed so many unwelcome marks on my body: brown spots, red blotches, strange folds and dimples and lines marking their territory. One of the areas that give me grief- and other women as well- are my legs. Forget cellulite! I’m talking spider veins. I’ve tried needles but now I just wear longer shorts and hemlines to cover them up. But, what can be done to avoid or minimize spider veins and varicose veins? I’ve invited Dr. Danielle Bajakian, Director of the Critical Limb Ischemia Program at Columbia University Medical Center, to join me June 22, 9:28pmET on Fearless Fabulous You!
Read more →Living with a chronic illness does not mean your quality of life or your outlook on how you choose to live needs to be compromised. @mightymelanie @lyfebulb #fearlessfabulousyou At age 17 Dr. Karin Hehenberger was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). A competitive tennis player and outdoors woman living in Sweden, Karin kept her diagnosis under wraps for 20 years out of fear and shame of living with chronic disease. As she grew older diabetes impacted her body and Karin under went both life saving kidney and pancreas transplants. Watch Karin’s story here. Her body may have taken a hit but
Read more →Who remembers Carnation Instant Breakfast? You just needed to add milk or water to these nutritious, artificially flavored, sugar laden meals-in-a-packet. My mother drank them before she took off for work. I drank them before I took off for school. We both tolerated the taste in the spirit of fast, nutritious and calorie conscious consumption. It’s still in the marketplace along with an assorted other liquid meal options. Flash forward. Today, I dread the idea of liquid meals. They remind me of being ill or watching my sick father consume Ensure (also a nutrient dense but sugar laden drink) during
Read more →I’m an adventure traveler. But sometimes the adventure comes with a detour I didn’t plan: getting sick. I’ve traveled the world and collected some amazing memories and photos for my scrapbooks. But sometimes I picked up a bit more than I wanted. I’ve had a few unplanned trips to doctors’ offices and pharmacies in various locations for an assortment of travel related conditions from food poisoning and many gastro-intestinal ailments to allergies, hives, rashes, nasty bug bites and even (ugh!) worms and scabies. I know! – Too much information! But you can never have to much information when it comes to
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