Would you ever imagine there could be a coffee substitute that helps with mental alertness while it smooths your wrinkles? We can thank Mother Nature for Gotu Kola, a versatile brain tonic that also strengthens and nourishes the skin. In this video Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf gives a brief explanation of what the herb is, the effects it has and the interesting correlation between the brain and the skin.

Gotu Kola is most commonly know as a memory enhancer. While it does have positive effects on the brain it also has positive effects elsewhere. It turns out that the nerves in the brain and the skin have a very special connection. Not surprising if you consider how much stress can influence both our minds and our skin!

While our stress hormone, cortisol, causes collagen breakdown, Gotu Kola promotes collagen growth, so along with greater mental clarity and alertness, this amazing herb actually delivers healthier, youthful skin.

Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf recommends drinking Gotu Kola tea instead of coffee, to avoid the caffeine– another collagen-buster– and naturally boost your mental energy. Tomorrow morning, skip the joe and reach for the “go” of Gotu Kola– you’ll perk up and look younger for it!

For more Ayurveda tips to enhance your health and well-being, visit Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf’s blog https://drlonsdorf.com/blog/

For a Personal Wellness Session over Phone or Skype with Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf, schedule your Personal Wellness Session today.

We all have emotional stress in our lives. Whether we experience it everyday or only on occasion, emotional stress is an inevitable part of life. While stress is natural to life, it is becoming more and more prevalent to deal with it by taking anti-depressants, even when not clinically depressed. Is this really necessary and can it be harmful? Every medication has side-effects, and with 13% of Americans taking antidepressants, with even higher rates of 25% for women between the ages of 50 and 64, it seems prudent to take a look at no-drug approaches to boosting our emotional strength and resilience. In this video Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf offers tips on how to overcome emotional stress naturally.

Dr. Lonsdorf has found that many women are taking antidepressants not because they are clinically depressed, when they may truly be needed, but because they are going through periods of increased emotional stress. There are many sources of emotional stress for women today, whether the cause is relationship problems, issues at work, money trouble, children with special needs or “normal” teenage challenges, or being a caregiver to family member.

There are thankfully many ways to handle the emotional stress other than to take an antidepressant. If there is a real need for an antidepressant, and you and your doctor decide that it’s the best choice, of course take the medicine. For more mild cases there are alternative options.

Self Care

The first tip Dr. Lonsdorf has is to focus on self care. Try to go to bed earlier and get more sleep. Research shows that a bedtime of 10 PM vs. midnight significantly lowers the incidence of negative emotions. Be mindful of your diet and stay away from lots of caffeine and sugar. Eat well balanced, wholesome food, and eat your meals at regular times. Regular yoga and meditation practice or classes, and exercise that you enjoy all can make a huge difference in how you feel. The best advice is to treat yourself like your mother treated you when you were a child! We grown-ups also thrive following what “Mother knows best.”

Stress Free Emotions

The second tip from Dr. Lonsdorf is to try the herbal supplement blend called “Stress Free Emotions.” Stress Free Emotions is a combination of a number of herbs put together according to classical Ayurvedic prescription. Ayurveda is a natural system of medicine from ancient India that combines herbs in a way to create the best influence without side effects. Dr. Lonsdorf considers this product to be one of the ‘miracle herbs’ because of how fast and effective it is, especially for relieving “pitta” emotions of frustration, anger, irritability and general negative feelings. She has found that many of the hundreds of patients she has prescribed Stress Free Emotions to over the years experience results almost immediately.

In the video, Dr. Lonsdorf describes the two of the herbs found in Stress Free Emotions, Arjuna and Cabbage, and why they are so effective.

Sometimes in life we experience uncomfortable levels of emotional stress. Dr. Lonsdorf describes important tools to help you balance yourself in these stressful times and reduce feelings of anger and depression naturally.

For a Personal Wellness Session over Phone or Skype with Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf, schedule your Personal Wellness Session today.

Disclaimer
The sole purpose of this video is to provide information about healthy lifestyle. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease. If you have any serious acute or chronic health concern, please consult your personal licensed health practitioner who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively.

Check with your doctor before taking herbs during pregnancy.

“Annie”, a 31 year old patient, rushed to the emergency room three times over a year and a half period due to ovarian cysts becoming so large they suddenly ruptured and caused extreme pain. She came to Dr. Lonsdorf in hope of avoiding further painful instances.

Annie had been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, a condition that affects as many as one in ten women. The symptoms can be severe and if left untreated can lead to infertility, long term hormonal imbalance, including acne, unwanted body hair, insulin resistance and painful cysts on the ovaries. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome includes three factors:

• Irregular periods
• Hormonal imbalances– which includes increased amounts of testosterone and testosterone-like effects such as acne, excess hair growth or hair loss
• Cysts on the ovaries– though not necessarily present

Dr. Lonsdorf explained that from a modern medical approach there is not much that can be done to prevent further cysts and ruptures. However, from an Ayurvedic approach, there is additional help for hormones and prevention of cysts through factors such as diet, herbs and lifestyle.

Important lifestyle changes include:

• Decreased carbohydrate and sugar consumption
• Increased fresh produce consumption (especially leafy greens)
• Drinking boiled hot water throughout the day (especially before and during the cycle)
• Regular elimination
• Good sleep and good exercise

Modern medicine is also recognizing the impact of diet on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. The syndrome is considered a metabolic malady, so not only are the reproductive hormones out of balance, it’s been discovered that metabolism in general is out of balance. Treating these metabolism imbalances are just as important as the hormonal imbalances because women with the syndrome often have pre-diabetic signs of insulin resistance and have an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and uterine cancer.

Check out Dr. Lonsdorf’s favorite supplements to balance women’s hormonal health:

• Rejuvenation for Ladies
• Smooth Cycle
• To enhance healthy elimination: Digest Tone

To hear the full talk by Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf, including the complete story of her patient’s recovery, watch the video here.

Check out two of Dr Lonsdorf’s favorite supplements for Women’s Heart Health:

• Stress Free Emotions – to protect your heart from anger, irritability and upset
• Cardio Support – general all -around support for cholesterol metabolism, emotional balance and heart function

For a Personal Wellness Session over Phone or Skype with Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf, schedule your Personal Wellness Session today.

Disclaimer
The sole purpose of this video is to provide information about healthy lifestyle. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease. If you have any serious acute or chronic health concern, please consult your personal licensed health practitioner who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively.

Check with your doctor before taking herbs during pregnancy.

Get Squeaky Clean and Fresh! How to Uplift your Body, Mind and Spirit with Nature’s Annual Detox Cycle

Ever notice that around the equinox at the end of March, you may feel a little “off,” fatigued, less hungry, or even feel a subtle “flow” in your system? Good! Ayurveda describes that ama or impurities deep in the body begin to loosen and “flow” out this time of year, not unlike the snow on a mountain melts and begins to trickle down towards the plains.

It’s spring and your body knows it! According to timeless Ayurvedic wisdom, these bodily shifts are Nature’s version of “spring cleaning,” and we can take advantage of this innate cycle by adjusting our diet and lifestyle during this time.

More than simply an interesting idea, a landmark study published in Nature Communications last May validates that our genes themselves change expression depending on the season, with over 5000, nearly 25% of those tested, varying seasonally.

As a result, for example, inflammatory tendencies are greater in the winter, while immunity is stronger in the summer (notice how rarely we get a July cold?!)

And very likely we are now only a few years away from “learning” in a future study that every spring, genes that enhance detoxification and elimination are especially active, validating the Ayurvedic wisdom yet again.

So what should you do now in light of this fascinating and important fact of your seismic seasonal genomic shift?? Take advantage of it!

Here are your Quick Detox Tips for 2016 (Do now! Your detox genes are up and ready. A 6-week course is ideal, but even a week or two will help.)

• Drink ½ c. of boiled warm-hot spring water every hour until 6 PM
• Add fresh ginger root to your daily diet. A thin slice with a dash rock salt and lemon before the meal will stoke your detox fire.
• Avoid cheese, yogurt (except as lassi, a fresh yogurt drink), cold foods and drinks, including ice cream and other frozen desserts, red meat, chocolate, sugar and alcohol.
• Include in your daily diet, ideally each meal: turmeric powder (an amazing detox enhancer,) coriander (supports liver detox enzymes,) fresh probiotic sources such as homemade lassi or kefir, hot water, fresh steamed or sautéed greens (chard, kale, dandelion, mustard, etc)

And finally, follow your body’s inclination for more rest, which itself aids detox. Go to bed early and spend time with family, friends and hobbies—which will also mellow out any accompanying emotional detox — and take some time to laze around. After all, Spring has sprung!

Photos by Jeff Kubina and Sue Sailsbury

Hear Nancy Lonsdorf, MD interview Suzanne Steinbaum M.D on the surprising rising incidence of heart disease in young women and how women can avoid this number one cause of death through simple preventative practices.

Dr. Steinbaum a top expert on heart health, is the director of Women’s Heart Health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She has been named one of New York’s best doctors and is a practicing cardiologist. In addition she is the national spokesperson for Go Red for Women and is the author of Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum’s Heart Book: Every Woman’s Guide to a Heart Healthy Life.

In the beginning of the interview Dr. Lonsdorf asks Dr. Steinbaum about her unique approach to women’s heart health and why, unlike most cardiologists, she focuses on preventative health.

Dr. Steinbaum explains that 80-90% of heart disease is preventable and that simple changes in diet, exercise and stress management choices can have a profound effect on the risk of heart disease. She also points out that women in particular are as vulnerable as men when it comes to heart disease and that the largest growing demographic of heart attack risk is women under the age of 55.

What’s causing this unexpected rise in heart disease in young women? The answer is simply, lifestyle. Dr. Steinbaum strongly recommends taking proactive steps to lower this risk. These steps include:

• Finding a way to manage stress levels
• Exercising every single day
• Choosing a diet that is sustainable and well rounded
• Minimizing sugars and processed foods

For her own personal stress management, Dr. Steinbaum says that she uses Transcendental Meditation. She explains that TM is a highly effective way to release stress and studies have shown there is a 48% reduction in cardiovascular disease in those who use the technique.

To hear more details about women’s heart health prevention and the latest research and studies watch the full video interview with Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf and Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum on Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf’s YouTube Channel.

To schedule a phone or Skype consultation with Dr, Nancy Lonsdorf visit Personal Wellness Consultation page.

Check out Dr Lonsdorf’s favorite supplements for Women’s Heart Health:

Stress Free Emotions – to protect your heart from anger, irritability and upset
Cardio Support – general all -around support for cholesterol metabolism, emotional balance and heart function