393: Lifestyle Medicine Conference Recap: Insights on Health, Trauma, and Aging

Maya Acosta  00:00

Welcome back to another episode of the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast with your host, Maya Acosta. Welcome back, my friends, thank you for tuning in once again, and today, I'm giving you some live updates. And also, we're recapping the lifestyle medicine conference that I attended in October. Let's get started. This is the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast, and I'm your host, Maya Acosta. If you're willing to go with me, together, we can discover how simple lifestyle choices can help improve our quality of life, and increase our longevity in a good way. Let's get started. So much has been going on. And so before I get started on the lifestyle medicine conference that we attended, I want to share with you just some updates on why I have not been posting the last time that I actually recorded an episode and shared I think was December 1, there have been some other episodes. But I wanted to just sort of let you know that I've been taking care of myself, I have been overwhelmed. I've had a lot on my plate lately. And I needed to disconnect. As a matter of fact, I think I have not been active on social media for about a week. And as of today, I still have not tuned in, I always need to disconnect and go within and take care of myself. And this was very unexpected. We came back from Hawaii, I recorded an episode letting you know what our trip was like. And then I found myself being exhausted. Before I just share you know how I've been taking care of myself, I want to know, how are you doing? How are things going for you? I'd love to hear from you. You can always message me on social media at healthy lifestyle solutions. And, and so yeah, you know what I really wanted to just sort of recap since the month of August and tell you how busy we are. And then let's move into the lifestyle medicine conference. Now this is an episode that I really wanted to share with you the content of the conference. Because as you know, this podcast is about lifestyle, the things that we can do to take care of ourselves and prevent disease. And so I attended some great workshops, and I want to share those with you I actually have notes. Before that, I just kind of wanted to give you some insight as to what the last half of the year has been like for me and why I have decided to slow down on the podcast next year. I'm not going away. Nothing, you know, I'm still staying here, I've just completed five years as a podcaster. I am not going anywhere. I love to sit down here and speak with you all. But it's been really hard releasing all the content that I have done so far. But at the end of the day, I'd like to put more tools in your hands that are practical for you to be able to implement if you choose to this part of the reason why I've slowed down this last week as to try to go within and see what direction I would like for next year. Alright, so let me just start real quick on recapping, I'm going to in terms of what life has been like this year. So I'm going to pick up on the month of August, because that's when life started to get really busy. Now you might have heard in previous episodes, I talk about my mother and her health a lot. And, and so in the month of August, and in September, my mother came twice to Dallas for procedures. And so that involves a lot of caretaking on my end to make sure that you know I could feed her healthy food but also get her to be mobile again. And I think that's where things started to feel overwhelming for me. Because like many of us, you know, when I caretake when I when I'm, you know invested in someone I give 100% And then I forget to take care of myself. Also, it's really hard to see other people suffering and in pain. And so I think that's part of the overwhelm that I felt initially. So my mother came in August, and stayed here with us. And then I send her to a sister of mine who is in in Houston. And I told her stay put over there. I didn't want her flying around a lot. I just didn't really want her to go through all of that. And so then in between Riz and I went to Cancun, which was a much needed vacation and it was wonderful. But that kept us all it kept me away from being able to sit here and record content for you. And so that's what tends to happen is when I travel a lot, it's harder for me to to record. We came back in September, and then my mother returned and so she was here for another procedure. I did some more taking care of her. And that also felt a bit overwhelming and then September two 23rd 22nd through the 24th, we had it with a group of ours here in Dallas for a camping trip, which was wonderful. It was the first time that we did something like this, it's I'd like to do it again.

Maya Acosta  05:15

And so that's also in the works. But a lot of this takes, you know, planning, it takes work. We, you know, the group actually put the camping trip together because everyone participated in and got involved one person taught yoga, and then another person found a route that a trail that we could hike. So we really went out of our way and had a really good time. Loved it. It was pretty hot, though in September, it was hot. So the next time it's almost like out here, you're either going to be in the in the heat most of the time or in extreme cold, I don't know. All right. And then towards the end of September, we headed to Arkansas for his his daughter's white coat ceremony. She's in medical school now. And this is the way that they honor them as they make their way into learning how to be, you know, physician. So that was a wonderful, a wonderful trip that we took, we took our campervan and then the following week after that, we went to Houston for the peaceful planet foundation where I was the emcee for that retreat. For the main lectures that were being held in the auditorium. That was an intense weekend. Because that's the weekend we actually have problems with the generator in our van. And so we stayed in our van the first night without any AC and is still pretty warm at that time of the year. And then the next night, we actually went over to my sister's, who's north of Houston and we plugged into her just we stayed outside her home plugged into her electric electricity. And so as a result, our van has needed to have some work done. We came back the following week. And after that, we went to Caprock Canyon, ris and I we left our little puppy to low. And this was our opportunity to enjoy Caprock different from the previous experience we had earlier this year where it had rained continuously for several days and was very muddy. So this time we returned and we had an adventure with bison all around. And so I'm actually going to record an episode and tell you about Camp Rock. And the reason I want to continue to tell you about these trips is because I also want to encourage you to get out in your environment and hike and spend time in nature. And I learned about a program in Caprock that encourages families to camp. So I'm going to definitely be sharing that information. Then we came back. And then we headed just outside of Fort Worth. We went over to Chef Julia Dunn aways home where she has these quarterly retreats. And it's an entire day of learning about the importance of adopting a whole food plant based lifestyle. And this time, we didn't know anyone. As a matter of fact, she has really outgrown in many ways expanded her reach outside of Texas, and people flew in from various areas of the country. So when we get invited to her retreats, Riz gives him a one hour lecture on what he knows about vascular disease and poor lifestyle choices. We came back after that. After that retreat we headed on over the following weekend to Denver, Colorado for the American College, have a lifestyle medicine annual conference. And friends that day we flew in, we flew into a snow storm that we were not I mean, I guess we were not looking forward to but we made the most of it. So I'm going to pick up on that after I finished telling you about the rest of the year. Because I definitely want to tell you about that. All right, then. About 10 days after that trip to Denver we headed on over to Hawaii. We were both in Maui. And in kawaii I'm actually going to give you some episodes that I've recorded previously recorded so that you can revisit it in case you're interested but yes, that's what we did. And then we came back actually we spent Thanksgiving in kawaii I did an episode like I said, describing what it was like so we hiked at both islands which was absolutely beautiful. That's one of the things that we'd like to do when we travel is be physically healthy, and not just be at the beach all day not doing anything we actually want to connect with nature, eat healthy and exercise. Those are key things for us. We came back and I think I recorded that episode that we did recapping the Hawaii trip and then I found myself exhausted. I have been so tired This year. I mean, I just recap for you real quickly what we did from August till now. But earlier this year, Riz and I went to Ojai, California for a Couples Retreat, because every year we'd like to do some personal development or workshop that helps connect us as a couple. We went over to well, actually, I flew over to New York. And I want to say that was probably in March soon after Ojai for the vegan Women's Summit, where I sat in the media room and interviewed speakers like Miyoko. From the Miyoko Creamery, if you ever see her product in some of these natural whole foods like rest, places like sprouts and Whole Foods, I had the opportunity to interview her and Jill Jane Velez Mitchell and great women who have amazing businesses. And so that kept me very busy. And it's just been nonstop. We went to the National Health Association Conference, and that was in Ohio. And I mean, we've been traveling, it's been a lot of work on top of just the trips. And all the things that we do here locally, we have our monthly Walk With A Doc, where we walk with our community, except for November in December because of the travels. So all of that has really kept me very busy and exhausted. And then of course, the podcast, I mainly decided to make changes to my podcast, because I found that the team that I had previously hired for the past two years I've been working with, I've had two separate teams in the last two years that are in the Philippines. And they helped me to edit some of my episodes, but I edit most of my stuff. And mistakes started to happen. And I just realized that I cannot handle the content that I'm producing if I don't have a great team. And so I decided to end that relationship. And I also decided to minimize the amount of work that I do, and focus more on the quality of the work that I'm delivering. And so changes will be coming next year 2024 to my podcast, I may even rebrand. That's sort of what's happening within me as that I'm going within and asking myself do I need to rebrand and focus

Maya Acosta  12:30

on a niche that's more specific with content that is better tailored to what you probably are needing for me. So I'm asking you to be patient with me as I figure things out. This is my life's purpose, having this podcast, having this platform to support people in adopting and really encouraging people to adopt a whole food plant based lifestyle. While I'm also encouraging you to adopt the pillars of lifestyle medicine, the last 10 days, I've been quieting my mind, allowing myself to be more present, connecting more with my husband and my dog, and spending time in the kitchen, cooking healthy meals. And I love the ones that I've never made before. When I start with a new recipe I enjoy having that time, I really enjoy spending time in the kitchen, you would never know for my social media, but I don't pose food videos like I would love to. But that's one of my things that I really enjoy is is cooking for my family. And then of course spending quality time with people that I love. And then also in the last week, we attended three holiday parties. And you know, they happen early in December because then people have other gatherings. And so we went to two hospital parties that my husband's associated with. And then he had his own holiday style party. That's what's been going on. I'm basically just trying to catch up. And so today I felt restored. And you know, that's the whole idea behind my podcast is to encourage you and encourage myself to slow down a little bit. Take a deep breath, take care of ourselves, because anxiety and stress all of that can also contribute in the busyness of life can contribute to health issues. And we'll keep you informed in terms of the direction of my podcast. I'm not going anywhere. Right now. I'm recording episode 393 We will hit episode 400. And so yes, I have a couple of more interviews and other recaps that I want to share with you. So stick around I am going to release more. And here's some other episodes that I want to encourage you to listen to in case you missed out. Episode 390 I recap our trip to Hawaii episode 368 I talk about the white coat ceremony you might be interested in knowing what that's like for new medical students. It's episode 365, I talk about camping, or the camping trip that we did with our group, Episode 356. I talked about Cancun. And again, you know, with these episodes, I focus on the food, how we figured out what to eat, where to eat. Episode 347, I recap the couple's retreat that my life coach is actually part of in terms of assisting this retreat. It wasn't hers. But she assisted at the retreat. And she actually told us about it. It was a wonderful experience. And like I said, I'd like to do more of these things with my husband. So next year, I am slowing down so that I can have a richer lifestyle. And I, you know, being at home keeps me pretty busy. And so some people would never know that I actually work and stay pretty busy year round, especially working from home, having a podcast from home is overwhelming in the sense that this, I find it hard to separate work from relaxation, because it's all in the same space. So we do have an extra room. That's where I have my studio. But you know, it always calls me it always calls me there's like something to do something to schedule, something to edit something to write. And so lots of things have been going on associated with that. And then of course, my dog is very demanding. And so I've gotten back into training him as well, which is something that I enjoy the cooking and the cleaning and maintaining the home and prepping for trips. All of that keeps me pretty busy. So it's very hard for me when I'm here in Dallas, to get out of that busyness mindset. And so I continue to have my life coach who guides me and works with me and reminds me to do breath, work and meditation. But it's a work in progress. I'm a work in progress. And so yeah, I've been staying really busy with all of that. Alright, so I just told you about the episodes, let me tell you briefly about the lifestyle medicine conference. Basically, I want to give you an insight as to like what we learn when we dedicate our time to attending these conferences. So this one was held in Denver, Colorado, I did mention that we flew into a snowstorm. So I mean, we arrived, as the snow storm was coming in, and someone like myself, who actually has a lot of anxiety around flying. I don't know how I did it. So we were at the Gaylord, we didn't stay at the hotel, we stayed at another recommended hotel nearby, we drove in the snow and our car was covered in the snow. We're not used to that. But it was a lot of fun. This was also the first time that I attended. As a leader, I am the secretary for the Women's Health member interest group, there were meetings that were held on the side for leaders to get to know each other to talk about their member interest group. And then of course, we held our own interest group. And what an interest group really means is that people that are members of the American College of lifestyle medicine group that want to specifically focus on a topic like women's health, join these groups or attend our meetings and learn what are we doing to support providers in supporting their patients. And so that was the first time that we did that. I also wore most every day, our new brand, not for the podcast. But for the organization that we created here in Dallas. We used to go by Plant Based DFW and now we go by Love In Balance. And so I feel like I need to do a whole episode explaining all of that. But basically, I wanted to wear a shirt. Our new brand reflects our pillars of lifestyle medicine. And I'm not going to go into detail about it right now. But tomorrow's episode tomorrow's interview will be with Monique in dettol. And she is the person that I hired to rebrand me. She came over to the house and we sat sat down and talked about how we did it, how we work together to create this brand, which I really love. So yeah, stay tuned for tomorrow's episode because then you're going to actually learn what Love In Balance is and why we felt that that name really was a perfect fit. Basically on Sunday, the whole event kicked off with Meagan grega Susan Venegas and Meagan grega welcoming us and then Megan, Dr. Meagan grega. actually interviewed Dr. Dean Ornish, and that was a such a nice thing. And I'll tell you more about that in a little bit. Also, we created a WhatsApp group I didn't but I sort of kind of took over it a little bit and try to connect as many Texans as possible so our WhatsApp group was for any Texan attending the lifestyle medicine conference and two evenings Two separate evenings we all gathered to introduce each other and to have dinner some of the workshops that I attended that were really interesting for me. One was on recovery, and a really using lifestyle medicine to manage addiction. And then the other one was on trauma. I also learned about dopamine nation. That's a book that I'm I'm currently reading right now the author of that book also attended, but I missed her lecture. I attended other member interest groups like the fitness one to talk to really learn what what do they mean by fitness in health, like what is what part of Fitness is important two days in a row, I volunteered at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine booth. So that also gave me some additional responsibility. I didn't know I was going to be as busy as I was. So physicians who have a chapter with Walk With A Doc gathered to do videos. And so that was a lot of fun to see who is doing what in other areas of the country. So we try to attend the award ceremony every year whenever possible is not as attended. But this year, it was important because I knew that they were going to honor Hans Diehl, who recently passed in August. And so it was a beautiful way of honoring him. They had this video with him, you know, favorite expressions and just showing his playfulness and highlighting his personality. Columbus, Batista had a lecture on virtual cardiac rehab. And we had the opportunity to speak with him one on one because we arrived early to the lecture before anyone else attended. And so we actually asked, Is this really possible to actually create a virtual cardiac rehab and he basically talked about how successful it was for him. People that tend to drop out of cardiac rehab are people that have limitations like transportation. They tend not to be as compliant when you know they're not as supported by by creating a virtual group. They tend to be feel more supportive, being more compliant. We also stayed an extra day so that we could hike and explore the area but we were so exhausted that we just rested. Another thing that I attended was Dr. Maria Jose Hummel. She did a recap of a program that she and Beth Love have been doing in Santa Cruz, California, working with the Spanish community, and I'm telling you I was so touched, they have a nonprofit called Eat for the earth. And this program is called saloon and to plateau health on your plate. And so Dr. Hummel discusses the solution that Salut and to plateau, you know, the program provides, which aims to address health disparities, specifically focusing on conditions like hypertension, obesity and type two diabetes, which are prevalent in the Hispanic population there in the Santa Cruz County. Now they talked about that 10 Day Nutrition Education Program, which includes a dietary immersion initiative conducted in partnership with local churches, health care providers and volunteers. They would not be able to do it just if it were just Dr. Hummel and, and Beth Love. I mean, this is an entire program that includes, you know, having in person meetings doing biometric testing, including online education with translated videos, which are mainly viewed via the patient's or the participants, mobile phone, and also phone calls and texting. There's an emphasis on making the plant based nutrition culturally relevant, addressing barriers, like food insecurity and building a supportive community. And we've often talked about how important it is to be culturally relevant. When you're teaching people to make dietary changes, you have to take into consideration what the group of people prefer eating, and then try to modify those recipes to be healthier. I often say that even when I made the transition seven years ago, I tried incorporating into my diet foods that I didn't grow up with, like shepherd's pie and things like that, and stuffing and that in casserole, social not really common in, you know, for me growing up and so I until this day, I find them, you know, not as interesting as the foods that I like. And so this was a poster presentation that she did, and I loved it. I was so touched. I mean, she covered all of this in 15 minutes. Again, you know, it's a community centric approach. So the program is designed with the community in mind acknowledging the socio economic factors and barriers faced by the Hispanic population and then of course, having those Higher metric testings before and after to show participants how effective this program could be. And so this was one of my favorite things to attend. The other thing that I attended Dr. James Gordon's lecture, I was reading his book on the way to the conference, when I decided, You know what I'm going to start doing some of the breathing techniques that he incorporates that he really focuses on two things. And he covered this in the lecture. One is a soft belly breathing approach, where you breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth, while you're relaxing your belly. And doing that, I have the recording the audio books, so I was doing those exercises while we were flying into the storm in Denver, and then also a technique that he encouraged us more specifically for people that go into that fight or flight mode, or sometimes even freeze is the shaking of the body, so that you can shake and shake that anxiety away. So he teaches Mind Body techniques. And these include practices like meditation, guided imagery and movement. The techniques help individuals access the innate healing abilities of the mind and body. Meditation, for example, has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety and symptoms of PTSD. And I learned about James Gordon, a while back from some of the guests that come on my show. Again, a lot of the guests have been from the Women's Health member interest group, and they're mainly physicians, and are well read. So whenever they come on the show and make a recommendation, I read the book. Now, a couple of things that I want to share with you about trauma that I thought was really key was that he says, you know, we think of trauma, and we think only a certain group of people suffer trauma. And if I grew up in a comfortable environment, I probably didn't have trauma. But what he says is that trauma is universal, affecting everyone to varying degrees, it gets stored in our bodies, our minds and spirits. And also trauma disrupts the natural flow of energy leading to imbalances and physical and mental health with trauma affecting everybody in different ways can include like having a personal loss, a health crisis, or exposure to violence and war. He talks about the effectiveness of group therapy with small group settings offering a safe space for sharing experiences. And he talks about self care. So empowering us individuals with self care techniques like deep breathing, journaling, and movement. He was the last lecture that I attended on the last day of the conference. And it was so beneficial for me because he had all of us the entire audience stand up and do the body movements, the shaking, and I went for it because I was like, you know, I'm here to learn how to take care of myself and I do have a lot of trauma. I don't go into detail about it on the podcast, I more specifically work with my, my life coach on these techniques, but it's very important for me to take care of myself and to learn how to manage things so that I can, you know, move forward in life. So let me give you also a little bit of information about Dr. Columbus Batista. His talk, was titled revolutionising cardiac rehab, a virtual approach for improved patient outcomes. Basically, Dr. abattis explores the transformative potential of virtual cardiac rehabilitation in reducing readmission rates and enhancing overall patient outcomes. And by leveraging technology and innovative strategies, he presents a compelling business case for widespread adoption, highlighting the significant cost savings and improve health care system efficiency by implementing a virtual approach you reduce readmission rates. So virtual cardiac rehabilitation demonstrated a sustainable reduction in readmission rates from 24% versus 31%. Showcasing is effectiveness and providing continuous care and support to patients beyond traditional programs. The adoption of virtual cardiac rehab as forecasted could lead to significant cost savings of between one to $9 billion in third party health care system, Dr. boaties emphasizes the economic benefits associated with decrease hospital readmission. Also innovative technology integration. So the integration of wearables and apps along with regular coaching sessions into a home base cardiac rehab program showcases a potential of technology to revolutionize patient care. Dr. boaties emphasizes the importance of staying prepared for unexpected opportunities as demonstrated by the collaboration with Samsung technologies. Patients are equipped with wearables that continuously monitor and collect data on various health perimeters, such as heart rate and perceived exertion during exercise. And so they're continuously getting immediate feedback the virtual program, tailors exercise plans based on real time data and patient feedback. By incorporating wearables, patients receive personalized recommendations for exercise intensity, ensuring that the program aligns with their current health status and capabilities. And so the patient engagement goes up as well. The virtual platform prompts patients to provide regular updates on their well being, including how they feel before, during and after exercise sessions. Of course, this program integrates coaching and counseling. And so yeah, this ended up being a really informative and exciting lecture and it was the first time that I met Dr. abattis in person, which was wonderful. Okay, finally, another lecture that I really enjoyed was how not to age by Dr. Michael Greger, you might have heard Dr. Michael Greger actually got sick, he got COVID Because he was attending he had just attended another conference in the Denver area and then hopped on over like many other people to the lifestyle medicine conference. And so we met, we saw him the first day that he attended. And then he was scheduled, I think, the third day or so to give a lecture, and he had to record it in his hotel room. So it was not an in person lecture. But I just purchased the book. I'm listening to the audiobook right now. And this is a book that I think you're all going to want to listen to or read. This is all on what you can do to improve aging. He emphasized the benefits of restricting dietary protein, particularly certain amino acids as a way to suppress aging hormones. And this approach is highlighted as a means to slow down aging. He talked about the importance of incorporating a plant based diet, such as vegetables, legumes, fruits and whole grains, emphasizing that they actually may help to prevent age related issues which include dementia, specific foods like berries and greens are singled out for their potential to promote cognitive health. He covered skin health, the importance of using sunscreen and topical applications such as vitamin C for anti aging effects. And then of course, exercise and muscle health and other things like lifestyle factors, you know, again, eating a whole food, plant based lifestyle, exercising regularly maintaining and healthy weight, not smoking, all of these things can contribute to a longer and healthier life. This book is probably one of his longest books, I'm actually listening to the audiobook. And in there he says that throughout the book, they actually you'll hear like these beeping sounds in the book in the audio version, where you will be able to click on to videos that he and his team created to continue to actually be able to add additional information because otherwise his book would have been double the size probably. And so it's very detailed. I think you'll enjoy this lecture, and he talks about words like a toughie G, which is a term discussed in the context of aging and health. So autophagy is a natural, regulated mechanism within the cell that involves the self dig, digression, the self degradation and recycling of cellular components. It plays a crucial role in maintaining cellular health by removing damaged or malfunctioning cellular structures and promoting the generation of new and functional components. As a matter of fact, Riz recently wrote an article for the National Health Association's newsletter, or magazine, and he talks about a toughie G. The article has not been released yet. But I will read it to you once it is. And so Dr. Greger is very detailed in this book, I recommend you go and get yourself a copy. It just came out. And, and like I said, I really enjoyed the conference. I wanted to share with you what it was like for us to go and tell you a little bit about it. Anybody can go and attend this stuff. I personally love to learn and I had a wonderful conversation with various people. As a matter of fact, I did take my equipment and so I have several testimonials that I also recorded to share with you. Oh, and the other thing I don't want to forget is I did some other interviews with vendors, I didn't have time to go around and check everyone out. But I found like three vendors that have products or services or programs that I thought you would be interested in. So I am going to release that as well. Again, I mean, I'm just going to, I just want to give you additional resources that I think you might find interesting. So what I might do is to a separate episode, where I share with you short testimonials, like three minutes to seven minutes, I probably will do it all in one recording. And then in another episode, I think I'll share those vendors that I think you might be interested in hearing from but yeah, I wanted to paint a picture for you of what it was like attending this conference. And I can't say that actually got out and explored a lot. We were dealing with the snow the first few days. I mean, it was winter, and we're not used to that. And, and the mingling and the coming together. And I mean, just connecting with people is what I enjoy the most about attending, you know, retreats or workshops or conferences. And so I had a great time. And stay tuned, my friends, I'm not going anywhere. Like I said, we have more content coming up. And so I hope that you know, you're doing well, I'd

Maya Acosta  36:21

love to know, how are things going with you in the holidays? And how are you planning on bringing in the new year? What resolutions Do you have? That's one of the episodes that I wanted to record early in the year is what are your goals for 2020? For mine, one of my big ones is to take care of myself, and not overwhelm myself. And so I will have already started on planning that. And what I did is I did a list, I planned out 2024 of things that I know are going to happen. And then I worked around that what things would I love to do and how can I make those things happen for me, because there are some training that I also want to undertake. And I need to make sure that I make time for myself and for the things that I love to do. And so I want to thank you again for tuning in every week for listening. And like I said, Dr. Risk, has been staying pretty busy. He won't be joining me for any other episodes for the rest of the year because of his schedule. But I do plan on inviting him here and there next year. So thank you once again, my friends and I hope you have a great week. You've been listening to the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast with your host Maya Acosta. If you've enjoyed this content, please share with one friend who can benefit. You can also leave us a five star review at rate this podcast.com forward slash H L S. This helps us to spread our message. As always, thank you for being a listener