Ali Damron

I've been asked several dozen times in the past couple weeks if I think plant based diets are a necessity or I think my patients should do them. The truth is actually - no I don't think you should be 100% plant based. I think that animal products have amazing vitamins and minerals that women's bodies need to keep our hormones and thyroid functioning well. Most vegetarians and vegans that I see are deficient in vitamin D (most people are in general though), the b vitamins, choline, iron, calcium (sometimes), protein and omega 3's. If you're plant-based, you must actively work to get these into your diets. The bigger point of this episode though is to actually think about documentaries. They have science in them, but they are also produced for entertainment and they have an agenda. The science that is in documentaries is real, but it's biased. They don't report studies on the opposite opinion than theirs working. In this instance, Game Changers is about plant-based diets and they show all the benefits of being that way, but they don't show the people who have benefitted from a diet that includes meat. There are plenty of documentaries promoting the keto and paleo lifestyle as well. I'm not necessarily promoting a certain lifestyle (although I do think most women should eat meat sometimes in addition to eating a ton of plants). This is food for thought for you. Don't always believe everything you're told (even if they base it on science). There might be more to the story than you're being told.

Estrogen is a sex hormone that, where there is too much of it, can cause a myriad of health issues including breast and ovarian cancers, autoimmune diseases, irregular periods, weight gain, hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue, PMS symptoms, early puberty bloating and so much more! Estrogen is an important hormone for your menstrual cycle and fertility amongst other things in women's bodies such as bone strength and brain health. Estrogen dominance is a state when the body balance of estrogen and progesterone if off - either progesterone is low and it's making estrogen look dominant OR you actually do have too much estrogen in your body from what we call xenoestrogens - food, particles and other chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body.  When it's in excess, it can help create things like fibroids, endometriosis, and ovarian cysts as well.   Top 5 Estrogen Foods To Avoid Soy We have learned a lot about soy over the past few decades and many of us think it's healthy because we learned from Japanese people that eat natto, which is fermented soy.  In the US, our soy is GMO and heavily processed and is metabolized as estrogen. Sugar and Processed Carbohydrates The standard American diet increases estrogen and decreases progesterone with all its' excess sugar and processed foods.  They also increased inflammation, decrease our gut microbiome, and are considered endocrine disruptors.  Better choices for carbohydrates are fruits and vegetables and if you must eat grains, choose organic white jasmine rice, gluten free oats, quinoa and sprouted grains in moderation. Conventional Meat and Dairy Animals are raised in the US very inhumanely.  They are given steroids, hormone injections, antibiotics, corn for food and lots of other medications to make them more profitable for large companies.  Choose meat and dairy products from local organic farmers and make sure on the packaging it says pasture-raised, grass-fed and humanely raised.  You can actually find decent sources of meat and dairy in some grocery stores now. Plastic Products BPA has gotten a bad rap in the recent years about it's considered an endocrine disruptor and has been linked to certain kinds of cancer.  BPA is not the only constituent in plastic products that does this - there are many more that haven't been under fire...yet.  When plastic is heated, it's chemicals leach into your food and water so try to avoid that.  Choose stainless steel water bottles and glass food storage containers as much as you can. Teflon Pans These pans act very similar to the plastic products, so choose cast iron or "green" pans to cook on. Ways to Detox Excess Estrogen Eat fiber Love your liver Eat cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, etc. Drink dandelion tea Take milk thistle Listen to the entire episode here on The Ali Damron Show   Make sure to talk to a qualified medical professional before starting supplements.

Okay so I’m obviously not in the point in my life where I am shopping for maternity clothes, so I’m here to share some tips on the whole bit and tell you that you can look good and feel good in your clothes when you are sporting a big ol’ belly. My #1 tip is to […]

Last week, I did Aiden’s 14 month update, but here is the podcast about it too! Here are some updates from Aiden’s 14 months: Learning to run Being extremely vocal and beginning to say some basic words like “mama” and understand what they mean Getting better at sign language Examining everything you can find extremely […]

I always get the question – What can acupuncture help with? Well the short answer to that question is that traditional Chinese medicine is a full system of medicine, so it can help with virtually any condition other than emergency situations.  It’s basically limitless in it’s uses and what we can treat. I work a […]

In episode 34 of The Mother in Me Podcast, I discussed the options you have during labor and delivery and now, I’m here to talk about your options right during delivery and for the duration of your hospital stay. Did you know? During delivery, you have the option to be the first one to touch […]

  In this episode, I talked about the routine and not-so-routine hospital procedures that women in labor go through until they deliver. You may not realize how many actual decisions you have the ability to make when you enter the hospital doors in preparation for the delivery of your child.  Everything you have done in […]

In case you missed last week’s 13 month update, here is a podcast detailing the past month of Aiden’s life – the good, the bad and the ugly. The Good Mastering walking Getting better at independent play Personality shining through more and more Babbling longer “words” Eating well The Bad Painful teething Having a discipline […]

  I thought it would be interesting to go through the differences between the expectations I had before having a child compared to the realities of what has actually happened in several categories over the past year.  Spoiler alert: I was wrong in several! Listen to the Podcast Episode Labor and Delivery Expectation: I would […]

Happy birthday to my sister!! I hope it’s a great day. I was talking to some David and some friends of ours the a while back and the topic of Amazon using drones in the future to deliver packages came up.  I didn’t know about this until that conversation and honestly, I was horrified.  I … Continue reading "MIM 031 | The Problems With Instant Gratification"

As moms-to-be and moms, we are bombarded with conflicting parental advice and suggestions.  There are so many “experts” that recommend tips to you for things like how to put your baby to sleep, how to start solids, vaccinations, health and even what the best shoes are for your newly walking baby to wear! I’ve learned […]

If you’re like me, creating a baby registry was a daunting task!  There are so many products out there and as a first time mom, I had no idea what I actually needed and which ones were frivolous!  There are so many duplicate items on top of that! This podcast is here to tell you […]

We have all have things that we miss once we have the little ones and I am no different!  Sometimes in the midst of a trying moment, I think back to my life pre-baby and think about all the spontaneous things I did before I had a child and wish I would have appreciated those […]

In episode 27 of The Mother in Me Podcast, I talk about the the best and worst parenting moments of the first year.  There have been lots of ups and downs, but there have been a few that have definitely stood out in my mind making imprints. The good definitely outweighed the bad, but the […]

In episode 26 on The Mother in Me Podcast, I dissect the debate on whether to use cloth or disposable diapers.  There are many pros and cons to each option and we go through all of it! I wrote a post on this when I was pregnant and the decision I made at that point. […]