AboutDr. Candice Davis, ScD Expertise I specialize in answering questions about children's health and diseases. My answers are very empowering in that I teach home remedies and nutrition first. But also am an expert in pediatric herbal medicine. If you want a natural cure or natural mode of healing common to serious childhood diseases/illnesses--Ask Me!
Experience I have 5 children and have seen everything--if not in my own family, but in my clinic as well. With that said, I have tons of personal experience. On the academic side, I have years of clinical training and apprenticeship in herbal medicine, specifically Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. And further education in pediatric herbal medicine. Plus I have been through it all with my own kids and my neices/nephews.
Organizations I am a member of the American Herbalist Guilde, East-West Herbal Guilde of Arizona, and National Association of Professional Women.
Publications URTV-Asheville, NC. I was a guest speaker on the Dale Joyner Show LIve on televison. I discussed healthly lifestyles for the Asheville community.
Education/Credentials I am a certified medical herbalist specializing in Ayurvedic and chinese medicine. From the Asian Botanical College. I have a doctorate from Ashewood University in Health Sciences. Good Manufacturing Procedures (GMP) for health supplements Certified.
Awards and Honors International Who's Who Award in Medicine--November 2008.
Past/Present Clients many. one famous one Matt. www.mattannecharico.com
Question QUESTION: i am currently breastfeeding my 1 yr old son. What herbal medicine can i take if any to help cleanse and to accelerate my weight loss which would not affect my son?
ANSWER: I'd like to answer this question by giving you some encouraging news. When you breastfeed, your body stores more fat because this is what you and your baby needs in order to have a successful and nourishing nursing relationship. This is good news because it is not your "fault" for holding on to a little extra weight. It was different for me with every one of my births and it is different for every individual and their births. With that said, let me answer your question.
Everything you consume, your nursing baby consumes as well. So normal weight-loss herbs or drugs are not appropriate during nursing. But there are somethings you can do--so don't give up hope yet.
1) Watch your diet.
Avoid habitually drinking cold drinks and eating fatty fried foods. Minimize dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. Be sure to include salad without creamy dressings, but vinegar dressings are okay. And include beans or lentils in your meals. Drink hot water instead of ice-cold drinks. Add ginger, mint, or cinnamon in your water (or tea). These spices help speed up the metabolism and can help improve your child's digestion as well. If you like to eat meat, you can have some fish or dark chicken, but try to limit beef, lamb or pork. Make your biggest meal be early in the day. Start out with a good balanced breakfast high in protein and low in starches. Avoid eating late in the evening, with dinner being a light snack or bowl of soup. When your nursing, you tend to be more hungry. You can avoid the excessive eating by drinking hot water and honey. Whenever you become hungry in a "snacky" kind of mood, drink a cup of hot water with 1 teaspoon of raw honey and 10 drops or so of lime juice added. This is a great "energy drink" and will help melt the fat.
2)Get out and move.
I hate saying the word "exercise"--especially to a mom. As a mother myself, I know it can be difficult to do anything with your baby that is like exercise. But some form of movement is required to loose weight. Try to get at least one half hour of continuous movement a day. This can mean a brisk-walk while pushing your child in the stroller. I used to dance with my kids in a baby sling or while carrying them around the house. Fun for me and the child, plus I was burning calories. Swimming with your little one is also good exercise. Lift weights to loose weight. Lay on your back and lift your child up in the air with your arms and legs. This works like a bench press and is a good ab work out. Plus you kid will enjoy it. Immediately after your "movement appointment" you may feel hungry and thirsty and will want to rush to the fridge to have a cold drink and a bit to eat. But the cold drink and food will slow down the metabolism, defeating the gain from the exercise. Instead, have some herbal tea (ginger, mint, cumin, fennel) with lemon.
3)Learn to Love yourself.
After I had my 4th child, I struggled with my weight. I still feel that I have an extra 10 pounds to loose to get back to where I was before. But the best advise I could have given myself (and often have to re-give) is there is no "where I was before". Because who I am right now, is who I am. I'll never have the same body as before. My hips are bigger, I have stretch marks, my breasts are sagging--All the wonderful ways my body has transformed in order to support, bring forth life, and sustain life. To help develop more love for yourself, just as you are, try this. Go into your bathroom/bedroom and remove all your clothes, or wear some underwear. Then take a good look at the person you have become in the full-length mirror. Start at the head, the eyes, cheeks, lips, neck; look at your chest, belly and so on. As you look at the image in the mirror, look within your self. Ask your self "What do I like about my eyes, my nose, my lips?" "What is wonderful about my chest, my belly, my legs?" In this way by looking outside into the mirror and at the same time looking inside at your own inner observer, two things will happen. One, you may feel that you are more than your body. you are something higher, nobler, grander, more beautiful. Secondly, you may feel a greater acceptance to who you are and you will start feeling more love for yourself. Love that person you see in the mirror--the life giver that you are now. What you are is unique, and it is divine. One great website is http://theshapeofamother.com/ It is a real site that beautifully depicts the glorious bodies of mothers.
4)Do Yoga
Some helpful Yoga asanas that are gentle and may help speed up weight loss are: Palm Tree pose, Triangle Pose, the Fish, Camel, Cobra, and Cow poses. Please google these or consult a Yoga instructor on the way to do these poses correctly. Also, while sitting on the floor, bend forward as far as you comfortable can, with the goal of eventually touching your head to your knees.
5)Spice it up.
Use spices in your cooking. Such as Cumin, Coriander, Fennel, Cardamom, Ginger, Cinnamon, and Garam masala. These spices are good at speeding up the metabolism and aiding in digestion. They are also good for young infant digestion. The start to weight loss begins with a healthy digestive system.
I hope that I answered your question. Having a baby and trying to loose the baby weight is common among ALL moms. Hang in there. Sometimes a good friend to talk to and walk with is all you need to take those first steps in loving your self and loosing weight.
Cheers!
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QUESTION: DOES CINNAMON AND THE OTHER HERBS YOU MENTIONED ELIVATE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE? RECENTLY BECAUSE OF THE EXCESS WEIGHT AMONG OTHER THINGS MY BLOOD PRESSURE HAS BEEN FLUCTUATING.
ANSWER: Hi,
There is a lot beneath the surface in this question. Blood Pressure can be lowered herbally, but it depends on what is YOUR root cause of the high blood pressure. There are lots of reasons besides being "overweight" that your blood pressure can fluctuate. I would need to do a phone consultation to figure out what that reason is for you. But here are some general foods and spices you can eat to help lower and regulate your blood pressure.
Some Remedies:
1) Celery--Eat celery regularly; drink 3 cups lightly boiled celery juice daily. Or drink lukewarm celery juice on an empty stomach daily.
2)Corn--eating corn and drinking a tea made of corn silk can help lower BP.
3)Drink water with a 1/4 teaspoon of apple cidar vinegar and honey first thing in the morning.
4)Make mung bean soup.
5)Garlic eaten in a meal or made into a tea can clean out the arteries. Since you are nursing, you may find this to be to gaseous for your baby.
6)During the summer months, make watermelon juice or eat watermelon every day.
7)Make tea from the watermelon rind, add mugwort, and mulberry branches. Drink up to 3 cups a day for 2 months.
8)Take seaweed, pearl barley and a little honey and cook into a soup. Eat it every day for at least 5 days. Also a soup made from seaweed and abalone lowers BP.
Make sure you use common sense when doing these remedies. For example, if you are allergic to food in the nightshade family, don't consume eggplant. And if you know of a food that your baby is allergic too, also avoid it while you are nursing.
There are more remedies I can share with your for the foods listed above if you like. It is important to get plenty of Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium when you have HBP. Use a supplement with at least 2000mg of Potassium. You can work up to the 2000mg if you like. A Calcium/Magnesium combination supplement is also a good recommendation.
I hope these general remedies help you on your journey towards health. Unfortunately I can't be any more specific unless I did a complete health consultation. Good Luck and thank you for asking me on AllExperts!
Cheers,
Candice
QUESTION: I THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR ADVICE SO FAR WHICH IS GIVING ME A LOT OF ENCOURAGEMENT. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THOUGH. YOU MENTIONED USE OF SEAWEED TO LOWER HBP. I RECENTLY VISITED A HEALTH SPA IN MY COUNTRY WHERE THEY INTRODUCED ME TO A PRODUCT WHICH CONTAINS BROWN SEAWEED FUCOXANTHIN CONCENTRATE (UNDARIA PINNATIFIDA, LAMINARIA JAPONICA) POMEGRANATE SEED OIL, GELATIN,GLYCERIN,PALM OIL,PURIFIED WATER. CAPSULES ARE 200mg. IS THIS SEAWEED THE SAME AS YOU MENTIONED? BASED ON THE CONTENTS OF THIS PRODUCT WOULD IT BE CONSIDERED SAFE WHILE BREASTFEEDING?
Answer Hi again,
For this case, any seaweed is good seaweed. Best eaten as a whole versus the dried encapsulated kind. Your product looks okay. The only thing that rings a bell is the Palm Oil. Palm oil is a very "fatty" and "heavy" oil. If you are trying to loose weight--it is an oil that should be avoided. But it is your call depending on how often you are taking the supplement. Try to get your seaweed fresh and cook with it. Try making sushi rolls with cooked fish (safer than raw while nursing). Pomegranate seed and flesh is good. The oil that is in the supplement again may be too heavy for you. My email is herb[dot]gypsy[at]gmail[dot]com email me and I will send you some food guidelines to give you some direction about what foods to eat and what foods to avoid when trying to loose weight, thus lower HBP.
Cheers,
Candice
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