New Year, New Nutrition

Podcast transcript

INTRO
Welcome to Docs in a Pod, presented by WellMed. Over the next half-hour, Docs in a Pod will educate you about the health and wellness of adults everywhere. Co-hosts Dr. Tamika Perry and award winning veteran broadcaster Ron Aaron will share information to improve your health and well being. And now here are Ron Aaron and Dr. Tamika Perry.

RON AARON
Hello everybody. Welcome to Docs in a Pod. I'm Ron Aaron, the award winning Docs in a Pod podcast. Available wherever you get your podcast. We're also on the radio and a number of markets in Texas and Florida as well. Our co-host, Dr. Tamika Perry is with us today. Dr. Perry is an associate medical director at WellMed. She oversees several large clinics in the OptumCare North Texas region. As associate medical director, Dr. Perry's goal is to support the providers of these clinics as they deliver quality care and a compassionate patient experience. She earned her undergraduate degree from Prairie View A&M University. Went on to graduate from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she was named National Health Service Corps Scholar. There's a whole lot more in her background and maybe it'll sneak out as we spend the next 30 minutes or so talking about a really important topic. One of the areas where Dr. Perry has a specialty is in obesity, health and nutrition. So, let's invite Sai-Han Yu, who is a nurse practitioner and our special guest today. She's a highly skilled family nurse practitioner, has a passion for integrative medicine and holistic patient care. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a minor in gerontology from the University of California at Los Angeles before completing her Master of Science in nursing at UCLA. She furthered her education by obtaining a Doctor of Nursing practice in family nurse practice from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. She currently is completing her residency with the incredibly prestigious Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Fellowship through the University of Arizona. We could spend the next 20 days talking about Dr. Weil, and I'm sure we'll touch on it here today. She's at WellMed at Grissom in San Antonio. Sai-Han Yu, thanks for being with us again on Docs in a Pod. How are you doing?

SAI-HAN YU, NP
I'm good. Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be back.

RON AARON
Well, you picked a really important topic as we approach the new year. Of course, New Year's resolutions, 100 out of 100 people will add a resolution that says, I'm going to start losing weight, I'm going to start exercising and I am going to eat healthy and pay attention to nutrition. And that lasts about a week, right?

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Yeah, my favorite is when it's after the holidays. So, after the 25th, then people start getting serious.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
I feel like a Sai-Han just called me out. I thought this was a safe space.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
As it is. I can read you, Dr. Perry.

DR. TAMIKA PERRTY
I just felt called out. I was like, ÒSheÕs talking to me.Ó

RON AARON
Sai-Han, what is it about nutrition that interests you?

SAI-HAN YU, NP
I think over the years of practicing as a nurse and then now as a nurse practitioner, nutrition, getting through college, I was just trying to survive. Being on the pizza diet, beer diet, gummy worms at two in the morning just to get through, get on by. But as I've gotten older, I've realized there are a lot more foods out there that are probably a lot better for my body. So, I think going through my current fellowship, I've been really steering towards trying to find healthier options and affordable options because I think that's the most important thing right now.

RON AARON
One of the things you've learned practicing with Dr. Weil is the whole emphasis on meditation and breathing. Why is it important? You know, we all breathe. You couldn't be alive if you didn't breathe. You don't think you have any control over it. So, what is it about Dr. Wiles discovery about breathing?Ê

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Well, I think a lot of times, right with breathing, I think it's really important to kind of take a step back. One of my, one of my weaknesses is that I love gummy worms. But there's also almonds right next to it. When I'm in that moment of stress and wanting to grab for something that's quick and easy, and I know it's going to be sugary, sending that dopamine experience to my brain, in the long run of things, that's not going to be a good thing. So, what I've learned about breathing exercise is this 4-7-8 breathing relaxation exercise. It's really kind of allowed me to take a step back, kind of recover and then make a better decision for myself.

RON AARON
When you say 4-7-8, I've had a little training in this from Dr. Jamie Heisman, who has been on our program from time to time, a psychotherapist. What does 4-7-8 mean?

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Basically, what you would do is that for four, you would want to go ahead and inhale as much oxygen you can for four seconds, hold your breath for about seven, and then after that, exhale slowly for about eight. There's a something about this magical number of 4-7-8. It allows you to kind of reset. You want to do this about four times in one cycle and ideally you would like to do this at least twice a day. You can do this exercise anytime in the day, especially when you feel overwhelmed, want to grab that extra snack. So, it's really fast. If you're if you're cool with it, Ron, I would like to practice a cycle with you, if that's okay.

RON AARON
Sure.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Take a deep breath. 1, 2, 3, 4, hold it for about 7. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and then exhale 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Now I know we did that pretty fast, but you can go at your own pace, but the more that you practice doing that, it's really going to make a difference. It made a difference in my life.

RON AARON
Now, is that something that Dr. Weil recommends, for example, for first responders who deal with a lot of stress?

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Oh, yeah. I think it's for anybody. I'm a busy mom with two kids at home. First responders are out about going into a very stressful event or situation or maybe you burned your turkey and you want to say a few choice words and that instead we'll need to get some pizza I don't know and that's okay you know we all make mistakes right so it's great for anybody. It's free which is nice. Then at time. It's only 28 seconds. It doesn't take too much.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
During the pandemic, WellMed had a whole campaign about just breathing and it was based on the 4-7-8 method. Me and a few other docs did commercials to teach the general population how to do this method. It's because everyone was so hyped up and on edge and it was just for us to reset and to relax, so I'm definitely going to use this method next time I have to choose between gummy worms and almonds. I'm not saying that I'm going to make the right choice, but I'm saying I'm moving in the right direction.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Exactly. It's baby steps.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
Baby steps.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Maybe one gummy worm and five almonds. Hey, that's good. I like that.

RON AARON
I don't know that you can eat just one gummy worm.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
Ron donÕt rain on my parade. I'm going to try it.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Hey, if it's out of sight, it's out of mind, right? So, if you eat all of them, then you'll run out.

RON AARON
Sai-Han, as you take a look at the American diet, and you look at your patients, and you figure maybe you have them journal what they eat every day. What are you discovering about how we eat as a nation?

SAI-HAN YU, NP
As a nation, it's very heavy on carbohydrates, right? Especially a lot of grains, pasta, white rice, white bread, a lot of red meat, not a lot of vegetables in our diet.ÊIt's affordability, right? Unfortunately, we're in a society where we need something fast, we need something quick. I don't have time for that. That's what I hear a lot from patients. Then of course, meat is not very cheap. I know fish can be very expensive at times, especially salmon. But ground beef, it's way cheaper, like $2.99 a pound versus you know, $13 a pound.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
Yes. So, price, affordability, convenience has a lot to do with it. We don't live the lifestyle of our mothers and grandmothers where there was someone at home preparing meals. I tell this story anecdotally; I am a single mom. My daughter, she happens to be 19 now, but I was driving home from work and I asked my daughter what I want to eat, and she said Uber Eats. I almost ran off the side of the road because I'm like, what am I doing? That's not even a food group. You know what I mean? She literally said Uber Eats, and at that point in my life, I said, I have to do something to change my life. I actually sold my practices, and I started to work for some because I needed to control my life a little bit better. A lot of times what we eat is based on people can bring us food. We can drive around the side of a building. They'll hand it to us out of a window. Our eating habits are based on what is convenient. What is affordable to us? What makes us feel good? Carbohydrates release endorphins. Gummy worms may make me feel better than those almonds. Those almonds are better for me. But at that moment in time, those gummy worms may make me feel better.

RON AARON
It's interesting with Uber Eats, you not only can get food now, you can get absolutely anything you want, whether it's from the liquor store, the convenience store, in addition to food. So, you never have to leave your house.Ê

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
You don't.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Convenience.

RON AARON
What Uber Eats doesn't bring, Amazon will.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
Right. What they will not bring is those extra calories you would have expended by getting out of your house, going to your car, walking to the store, walking up and down the aisles. So, you don't even have to expend those calories. You can just sit on your couch and have someone bring your margarita to you. Oh my God, did I call myself out?

RON AARON
With or without salt.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
With or without salt. Yep.

RON AARON
Sai-Han, you take a look at the holidays that are coming up and let's quickly let folks know who may have just joined us. You're listening to Docs in a Pod. We're delighted to have you with us. Our podcast is available wherever you get your podcast, and we're talking with Sai-Han Yu, nurse practitioner, about nutrition and breathing and health. What is it you tell your patients when you do that first patient exam? Hi. Nice to meet you. Let's talk.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Yeah. We go over what they have, like high blood pressure, diabetes, just kind of getting to know my patient. What they're exposed to, what their diet is like, what do they typically eat in a day and getting that well-rounded aspect of everything. Because it's not just the diagnosis and the patient. It's about their life and their lifestyle. How much they can afford? Are they a single parent? All these different things. I think getting that basis is really important. But once I gather that information, then we talk about the reality of things in terms of food. So, a lot of times I'll have patients like I don't have time. I don't have the money. I just need something quick, in and out. For example, my patients who are truck drivers, D.O.T. Physicals, all those different things. I talk to them about their high blood pressure. They don't get a lot of mobility because they have to drive a lot. So, I tell them when you go to stops, maybe try to choose the best option there. Try to get a salad, try to get a sandwich, try to cut back on the carbs and focus more on protein. Protein doesn't necessarily need to be meat. You can get protein from almonds, from nuts, cheese sticks. I sometimes say have a bag of carrot sticks, celery sticks, that crunch so you're not having to munch on chips. So, some alternatives.

RON AARON
Oh, there's nothing like the crunch of a chip. Oh, I mean, a carrot. All right, stay with us. We're going to get right back to you. Sai-Han Yu, a nurse practitioner, is with us. She's at WellMed at Grissom in San Antonio and our co-host today, Dr. Tamika Perry in the Redbird area of Dallas, and we are delighted to have you with us as well. For those of you who are listening, you know the answer. You're listening to Docs in a Pod.Ê

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RON AARON
We are so pleased you were with us here on the award winning Docs in a Pod. Our podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Just look for Docs in a Pod. We also are on the radio in a number of cities in Texas and Florida as well. We're talking with Sai-Han Yu, who is a nurse practitioner, has her doctorate degree and she's at WellMed at Grissom in San Antonio. Our co-host, Dr. Tamika Perry is with us as well. You can find her up in the Dallas area and Tamika, as you listen to what Sai-Han Yu is saying, what thoughts come to your mind?

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
She has a lot of good stuff to say. Sai-Han made a really good point earlier. You have to look at what is the least of your evils. For example, I had a patient that was a courier. All day, she was out and she was like, I get Jack-in-the Box every day for lunch. Okay. If that's in your budget, that's on your route, that allows you to do your job. Let's look at the Jack-in-the Box menu. Can we deal with the fajita pita and not the jumbo jack? And you know what? She could. And guess what? She lost about 12 pounds over three months just by changing from one sandwich to the next.

RON AARON
That's interesting. I like where restaurants put the calories right there on the menu.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
They're supposed to do that by law. Everyone's supposed to do that.

RON AARON
Sometimes they're hard to find, though.

DR. TAMRIKA PERRY
Yes. And if you ask, they're supposed to produce those for you. So, if they don't that's a clear cut sign of well, this may be instant heart disease. I might want to stay away.

RON AARON
Interesting.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Dr. Perry, just to jump off on that, sometimes if I have patients, I'm like, these the stores nearby, like Albertsons, for us, we have H-E-B here, they have a lot of ready to make sandwiches and salads and somewhat, and it's definitely affordable. I think a sandwich here for us is like $4. I know you have to stop, you have to park and you have to go in, but again, that allows more movement on our bodies so we can fill our body with healthier, nutritious ideas. By the way with, my favorite thing about grocery stores about telling patients is that I always tell them, walk the perimeter, because if you walk the perimeter, that's all fresh food. If you go up and down the aisles, you're dealing with preservatives. You're dealing with names that you cannot name out loud, because I can't name them out loud. The only time that I tell patients that I give permission for them to walk through is the frozen food aisle, but to the vegetables. Because for vegetables, sometimes cooking fresh vegetables can take a little longer, but frozen vegetables, they're flash frozen, meaning that they've already been cooked. You pop it in the microwave, you have something ready, add a little bit of butter, salt and pepper, and there you go. So, a lot of alternatives that we don't even think about.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
I'm going to do that. Walk the perimeter. ThatÕs awesome.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Because it's all fresh food, right? All the fruits and veggies that are on the sides of the supermarket. You have your fresh meats and chicken and fish. You have your deal. I mean, that's all the stuff that's perishable. If it's on the shelf, it's going to sit there for a while.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
Yeah. I've never seen you put potato chips next to my oranges.

RON AARON
What do you look for in meals ready to eat when you go to the grocery store?

SAI-HAN YU, NP
I really love carbs. I'm not going to lie. Normally, IÕm going towards like the sushi aisle. I love my sushi, but that's rice, so I have to weigh things out. I look at the salads. I love a good Caesar salad. That's really easy. Put a little bit of dressing, not too much. That's kind of what I look for. I also love soups. I love the fresh soups that are made by the grocery store. I would prefer those versus the canned soup just because of the sodium content.

RON AARON
Yeah. If you look at the sodium in those canned soups, it's more milligrams than you should have an entire day.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
That's right. It's important that patients learn how to read labels. Ron, you and Sai-Han made a great point. For example, if you take the total number of carbohydrates per serving and divide it by four, that gives you the approximate number of teaspoons of sugar in that item. Even if it's not sweet. You can take that with your box of mac and cheese and do that. So, it gives you a realistic view. Once again, those are not on the periphery, they're up and down the aisles. It's important that you learn how to read a label so you know what you should and shouldn't eat.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Yeah, visuals, I think, is so important. Sometimes another thing, too, to help my patients with visuals, I normally say, think about a plate of food. Half your plate should be something colorful. Green. Not colored greens, but like, green green. Like green beans and artichokes and all that yummy stuff. A quarter of your plate about the size of the daintiest hand you can think of, whether it's your spouse, your mom, your own, whoever's hand, quarter of your plate should be your lead meat or protein, which would be the chicken, fish or turkey. Then the other quarter of your plate should be your one serving of a carb. So, if you're going to have one tortilla, one cup of rice, brown rice or pasta, it's just that one serving. If you notice you're hungrier, you should probably add more veggies and add more protein to your diet.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
That is exactly, exactly what I say to my patients. I always give an example of my favorite meal that my mother makes. My mother is a Southern girl, right? So, it is fried chicken, collard greens, candied yams, and cornbread. Unfortunately, I like my candied yams syrupy sweet, Sai-Han. I like my cornbread cakey sweet unfortunately. But when I eat that meal, 50 percent of my plate should be those collard greens, 50%. Then the next fourth should be that chicken portion, and even though I like the thigh, I need to choose the white meat. I always tell my patients, don't fire me. Don't put me in the corner when I say this. But choose which is most important to you, the cornbread or the candied yams. You do not need them both. If you get the yams, don't get two spoons full of them to compensate for the cornbread that you didn't get. You know what I mean?

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Or two cornbreadÕs.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
Or two cornbreadÕs. Right. So, choose which one of those carbohydrates is best for you.

RON AARON
All right, Tamika, describe your mother's fried chicken for us.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
Heavenly. Heart disease. Don't tell my mom. Heavenly. Yes. It is juicy. It is delectable. It is flavorful. You know what I mean? So, one day, if you guys are in the Dallas Fort Worth area, I'm going to have to have her make some for you.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Oh, please.

RON AARON
Oh, that'd be wonderful.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
I'll be there. I'll book my next trip up there soon, Dr. Perry.

RON AARON
And the candy yams?

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
Oh my God. ItÕs like you're eating a pie. It's so good.

RON AARON
Did you ever ask her how much sugar she puts in?

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
I've seen it and I just close my eyes real tight.

RON AARON
That's the only way you can deal with it, right? If you eat that three times a year, you're okay?

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
You're okay. But like in a lot of traditional Southern families, you have Sunday meals that are like that every day. And if you have a mom or a dad who stays at home who can prepare meals, they will prepare meals like that during the week, too. But most certainly on Sundays, you're going to get that and then some.

RON AARON
Wow. Before we run out of time here Sai-Han, when you think about the ways in which, and you noted, so many of us thrive on fast food because it's fast and convenient. How do you redirect people's energies? Perhaps by cooking at home at least a couple times a week.Ê

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Truth be told fast food, yes, it's fast, it's convenient, but it's starting to not be affordable. The other day, I think I was trying to get an adult hamburger meal with a child meal and through Uber Eats, it was $30. But when I would go through the drive thru, it was $20, which was still insanely high for me. So, I kind of bring that aspect out. I talk about finances from these restaurants. Then I'll just redirect them and be like, if you go to H-E-B, we have these already made meals that are prepped and ready for you. You just need to pop it in the oven for 20, 30 minutes at how many degrees. Then cook it, right? It's not frozen food. It's a freshly prepared meal that you just pop into the oven and have that cooked and ready for you. It has your protein, your veggies, and your carbs in there, all included.

RON AARON
Now, for those of you listening in Botswana, H-E-B is the local grocery chain across much of Texas.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Sorry. I love H-E-B.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
Me too.

RON AARON
You are not a paid advertiser for H-E-B, right?

SAI-HAN YU, NP
No, I am not.

RON AARON
Most people where they live, especially in a metropolitan area in the U.S., have a grocery chain that will have similar freshly made foods for you to buy and take home to prepare.

DR. TAMIKA PERRY
ThatÕs correct.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Yes, that is correct. But for those that don't have that option, here's my simple thing that I'll do. Again, frozen food section, because we have time. Frozen broccoli. Tell the patient to go ahead and microwave frozen broccoli for 30 seconds to a minute. I'll sometimes add a little salt and a little pepper, not too much, just a little bit for flavoring. Garlic salt, especially. In terms of my cooking carbohydrates, if I choose a potato, try to get some mashed potatoes in there or some rice, brown rice, and then for my protein, get some chicken. Sometimes I'll see if I can buy some frozen chicken breasts. That's another thing too. I'll pop that in the microwave, add a little bit of soy sauce or Italian seasoning on top. There you go. There's your meal.

RON AARON
Interesting. One of the foods I really enjoy is tofu, which tastes like anything you make it with.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
Yes, tofu is delicious. Actually, soy is a very good source of protein, and it makes you feel full and it's a great alternative. It's from a vegetable, a vegetarian standpoint, I should say, but it does make you full. It does take some getting used to. But there's a lot of recipes out there. I Google a lot of recipes to try new things, and I think that's important. One of my favorites is getting Soybean paste and pasting on the sides and then frying the tofu on top.

RON AARON
Oh, wow.

SAI-HAN YU, NP
You have to make sure your tofu is very dry when you do that, but it comes out with this burnt, not burnt, but a very hard, like a crunchy texture on the side, and I'll put that with a side of brown rice and then broccoli.

RON AARON
Wow. I'll tell you what, we're going to have you prepare a meal for us after we have TamikaÕs mother's fried chicken. I'm ready for that. We're out of time. Thank you so much, Sai-Han Yu, for joining us. She's at WellMed at Grissom in San Antonio, a nurse practitioner. To our co-host, as always, Dr. Tamika Perry, purveyor of great fried chicken, IÕm Ron Aaron. We will talk with you again soon on the award winning Docs in a Pod.

OUTRO
Executive producer for Docs in a Pod is Dan Calderon. The producer is Cherise Pendleton. Thank you for listening to Docs in a Pod presented by WellMed. Be sure and listen next week to Docs in a Pod, presented by WellMed.

DISCLAIMER
This transcript is generated using a podcast editing tool; there may be small differences between this transcript and the recorded audio content.

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